Archive of Our Own

“I’ll take you,” Steve is saying before he can think twice about it. He probably shouldn’t be offering to take the whole gang to the apple orchard this weekend but, well, it sounds nice.

Normal.

And of course El has never been to an apple orchard before. Poor kid has never gone anywhere nice in her life, Steve is pretty sure.

“We don’t need a babysitter!” Dustin protests from the passenger seat.

“I’m not your babysitter.” This is what he gets for agreeing to chauffeur half the kids home from their nerd game. “Listen, I’m going to the apple orchard this weekend either way. Do you want to go or not?”

“We want to go,” Mike says in the backseat, squeezed in between Will on one side and El on the other. He’s holding a whole stack of binders and a bag that keeps making a strange clack-clack sound whenever Steve hits a pothole.

“Then unless you’re prepared to ride your bikes all the way out there and back, I suggest you accept that I’ll be taking you.”

“I don’t think we’re all going to fit in this car,” Will points out, pressed against the door.

“Eddie is going too,” Steve says, crossing his fingers next to his seat. He can only hope he isn’t about to live to regret this one.

Dustin’s face scrunches up with a whole lot of suspicion. “He hasn’t said anything about it to me.”

“It’s—he wasn’t sure. Don’t worry about it. Are you in or out?”

“In,” El says, her voice filled with a strange mixture of hesitation and confidence. It’s weird how long Steve’s known her when he still feels like he doesn’t know her at all.

“It’s settled.” Steve pulls up outside Mike’s house and shifts into park. “Don’t ask me to pick you up from Dungeons and Daggers next week, I’ll be busy.”

“It’s Dungeons and Dragons,” Dustin shrieks.

***

“I’m sorry, Steve, can you say that again?” Eddie says from the other end of the phone line. “I thought I heard you volunteered me to drive to an apple orchard.”

Steve winces, glad that Eddie can’t see his face right now. “I did.”

“Okay.” A long pause. “And what about me screams apple cider and flower picking to you?”

Steve rubs the bridge of his nose between two fingers, stopping when he remembers his father doing the same thing. “The kids aren’t all going to fit in my car. I panicked.”

“Don’t they have parents? Like, actual ones?”

Steve isn’t actually sure some days. He knows Joyce and Hopper would volunteer, but she flew back to California to deal with her life out there and Hopper is still recovering from the whole Russian prison thing. “You hang out with them as much as I do. You tell me.”

“Fair.”

Steve doesn’t say anything, letting Eddie turn it over in his head. He could maybe ask to borrow Eddie’s van—if he thought the guy would ever agree to that.

“What’s in it for me?” Eddie asks at last.

“You’ll save me from admitting to Dustin that I lied to him when I said you were already thinking about going?”

“You drive a hard bargain.”

Steve leans his elbows on the counter and twists the phone cord around one finger. “It’ll be fun. Don’t you remember your first hay ride?”

Eddie is quiet again but it’s different this time. Heavier. “I’ve never…I’ve never been, Steve.”

“What?”

“Yeah.”

Even Steve has found his way to Bennett’s almost every year. His parents took him when he was young, then just his mom when his dad got promoted. When they both left him alone, he went with his friends or a date, luring them with promises of donuts or kissing in corn mazes. Sometimes it doesn’t feel like autumn is real until he’s had a taste of fresh apple cider.

“Eddie, will you come to the apple orchard with us?” Steve asks. “You’ll enjoy it, I promise.”

“You’re just saying that so I’ll drive,” Eddie says, but his tone is teasing. Steve’s stomach gives a strange clench. He should probably figure out what he’s eating for dinner soon.

“No, I mean it.”

“You wore me down. When is this little adventure?”

“Two on Saturday, if that’s okay with you.”

“See you then.” Eddie hangs up without waiting for Steve to respond, leaving him staring down a silent phone in a dark empty house.

***

The Camelot Motel is a low building, clean but nothing special to look at, but it’s still way better than Hopper’s breaking-down cabin or Joyce’s house thousands of miles away. Steve pulls up outside, scanning the row of doors for any sign of the kids. Jonathan and Argyle wave at him from outside room 103 as the door bursts open.

Mike leaps into the car like Steve is their getaway driver rather than just their ride. “Where’s the fire, dude?” Steve asks.

“What?” Mike gives him a weird look as El and Will get into the car at a normal pace. Steve tenses a little as Jonathan wanders over to the driver’s side door and waits for him to roll down the window.

“Thanks for this, Steve,” Jonathan says, as Will gets settled in the passenger seat. “We’d have taken them in the Surfer Boy van but…”

But the back is still stained with blood from the man who died inside of it. Steve doesn’t need to hear him say it.

“I don’t mind,” Steve says, because he doesn’t. “You don’t want to come with?”

Jonathan glances over the top of the car at Argyle. “Can’t. He’s leaving in the morning to go back home.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah.” Jonathan knocks twice on the car’s roof and takes a step back. “Have fun, though. Will, you got the money that Mom left you?”

“Yes, I got it,” Will says and coming from him it doesn’t even sound sassy.

Steve waves one last time before he rolls his window up. It’s barely twenty minutes from the Camelot to the apple orchard. Steve turns the radio up and cracks the window, tuning out the chatter from the backseat. It’s not like he knows what a cleric is and someone has yet to explain Mordor to him.

It’s a beautiful day, the air crisp and warm in the sun, only a few fluffy clouds in the sky. Eddie’s van is already waiting in the parking lot when they pull in.

“About time,” Dustin grouses as Steve climbs out of the car.

“Play nice.” Eddie snorts and ruffles Dustin’s hair. “Is this all there is? I was promised an apple orchard.”

Steve can see the trees in the distance but he only waves at the waiting cart filled with actual hay and drawn by two dark brown horses. “Our chariot awaits. All aboard.”

“Why does this feel like a trap?” Eddie asks, eying the cart as the kids all climb inside.

“Where’s your sense of adventure?” Steve teases, offering a hand to help Eddie up.

Eddie accepts it, boosting himself up and onto the trailer. Steve props his foot on the edge and drags himself up alongside. There’s one family already sitting in the far corner and, with the eight of them, it’s a tight fit.

“Looks like we’re full up,” the driver announces, snapping the reins. The cart lurches as the horses step forward. Eddie braces a hand on Steve’s shoulder so he doesn’t fall over. His mouth is tight with concern, like he thinks the horses might bolt off with them at any moment.

“It’s fine,” Steve murmurs, his side pressed tight against Eddie’s. “They do this all day.”

“I know,” Eddie says, dragging his eyes away from the horses and focusing out over the open fields. “I’m not worried.”

Steve hums and surveys the cart, anything to distract himself from the way Eddie’s shoulder is rubbing against his with every bump in the path. El is stretched as tall as she can without standing up, her eyes fixed on the horses with a mixture of awe and terror.

“Look over there,” Dustin says, pointing at something ahead of them.

Steve looks, expecting to see a deer or a pheasant or more likely nothing at all because Dustin is fucking with them, but instead there’s a whole display of Halloween decorations alongside the dirt road.

The centerpiece of it all is a twelve-foot skeleton from Home Depot, hand raised like it’s waving at the passing carts. All around are inflatable jack o-lanterns and ghosts, witches with green-painted faces and bubbling cauldrons, plastic gravestones with zombie hands sticking out of the ground.

On the other side of the road is a tree, leaves turned a rich gold. Plastic skulls and bones are littered around the roots, guarded by an enormous wolf with glowing green eyes. The little girl with the other family shrieks, pointing at it.

The cart hits a rut and jolts. Eddie loses his balance, planting his hand on Steve’s thigh. “Sorry,” he whispers, as he moves again. Steve’s skin feels as hot as a brand, even once the touch is gone.

Steve bites back a sigh of relief when the cart comes to a stop at the end of the road. He watches everyone else climb out first, making sure they don’t need help.

This time, it’s Eddie offering him a hand to help him. Steve resists the urge to flex his fingers when his feet hit solid ground. His thigh still feels abnormally warm. He can’t explain it.

“Where to?” Eddie asks, taking in their surroundings. They’re standing on a flat plot of grass with two barns, multiple vegetable carts, and a wide array of mums on offer. A corn field towers above them to the right and the apple orchard stretches out to the left.

“Corn maze first, always,” Max says, like any other choice would be lunacy.

“Any other votes?” Steve asks, but the others shake their heads. “Corn maze it is.”

The entrance isn’t far, but it takes approximately twelve seconds for them to disagree on a direction.

“We need to go to the left,” Max insists, arms crossed tightly over her chest.

“It’s right,” Mike insists. “It’s always right.”

“I think we should go to the left,” Lucas says, earning an eye-roll from Dustin. “Always taking a right would just be a giant circle.”

“You go left then,” Dustin suggests, “and we’ll go right and we’ll see who gets out first.”

“Fine.” Max storms off with her red hair billowing in the wind. Lucas follows on her heels.

“We shouldn’t split the party,” Will says quietly, as everyone else starts off along the left.

“I think it’s okay this time,” Eddie says. “We’ll all end up in the same place, and there won’t be any beholders to fight.”

“The fuck is a beholder?” Steve asks as they wind around another turn.

“It’s a monster,” Mike says, before anyone else can. “One giant eye, many smaller eye-stalks, no limbs. Very hard to fight.”

Steve shivers at the thought of encountering one of those in the Upside Down but the path twists around a sharp corner and splits into another fork before he can say anything. Steve stares as far as he can see in either direction, but both paths stretch out for only a few paces before taking sharp turns to the left. Not very helpful.

“We went right last time so we should go left this time,” Will reasons.

“It feels like we’re getting closer to the middle,” El says, although she doesn’t elaborate whether the feeling is average or supernatural.

“Always right,” Mike repeats, holding El’s hand tight.

“We’ll just end up going in a big circle that way,” Dustin says, already stomping off to the left.

“That’s not how mazes work. Come on, El. We’ll be waiting for you guys back at the orchard.” Mike turns his back and takes a slow step forward, like he’s waiting for someone to stop him. No one does.

Will takes a step, like he’s going to follow them, but he seems to think better of it as he shakes his head. Steve recognizes the pained look in his eyes with a pang. It’s the same one he used to have when he saw Jonathan and Nancy together.

“Don’t try to take any shortcuts,” Steve calls after their retreating backs. He turns left and leads the way—right into a dead-end. “Oh fuck.”

“I think I know how a mouse feels,” Eddie mutters as they retreat to the fork, taking the opposite path this time.

“This feels way harder than last year,” Steve says, although he doesn’t remember much about the actual maze. He’d wasted half an hour by pulling Lisa into the corn and getting to second base.

“Okay, I feel like this is make or break,” Eddie says as they arrive at another fork. “One way leads to the end and the other to certain defeat.”

“I’m not sure wandering for a few extra minutes is certain defeat,” Steve says.

Will scuffs his shoe in the dirt, kicking up dust from the dry ground. “Maybe we should flip a coin.”

“We could roll a D20. Even number we go left, odd number we go right,” Dustin suggests.

“Do I look like the kind of person that carries dice everywhere?” Eddie asks.

“Yes.”

“Well, not today.” The leaves crunch underneath Eddie’s shoes as he shuffles his feet. “I was afraid they’d fall out of my pockets.”

“Nerd,” Steve mutters under his breath and Eddie shoots him a sharp look. Steve shoves a hand into his pocket and comes back with a quarter. “Any other ideas?”

“We split up,” Eddie says, a challenge in his eyes. “I’ll go right and you go left. We see who wins.”

“Why do I have to go left?”

“Fine. You can let the coin decide.”

Steve balances the quarter on his thumb and flicks. He catches it in the air and slaps it on the back of his hand. “Heads I go right. Tails I go left.”

He looks.

Heads.

“See you on the other side,” Eddie says, offering him a salute as he starts off to the left. Dustin follows on his heels, leaving Will behind to accompany Steve.

“Come on,” Steve says. “We’ll show them.”

They wander in relative silence, the path meandering through twists and turns but no more forks. Steve hears voices a couple of times but they don’t run into anyone else.

“So,” Steve says, shading his eyes as he looks up at the sun and determines that they’re mostly heading east at this point, “El, huh?”

Will looks up from the carpet of leaves under their feet. He must’ve grown a lot in California because he’s looking Steve right in the eye. “What?”

“You looked like you wanted to follow El and Mike. I know what someone with a crush looks like.”

“I don’t have a crush on El. She’s practically my sister.”

“Oh.” Steve frowns, replaying the moment over in his head. He knows what he saw: Will staring after El and Mike, eyes filled with equal measures of wistful and distress.

El and Mike.

Mike. Of course it would be another Wheeler. “Oh, you…”

“Yeah.” Will kicks a stone and it bounces off into the corn. A slight flush rises on his cheeks.

“Does he know?”

“No.”

“Does anyone?” Steve doesn’t know if he’ll be able to cope with the idea that he’s the only person that two Hawkins queer kids have been able to come out to. It feels like an awful lot of pressure.

“Just Jonathan.” Will lets out a long sigh that Steve doesn’t think he’ll ever be able to fully understand. “Does it get any easier? Being in love with someone you can’t have?”

Steve mulls that over as they make their way around a right turn and then an immediate left. They’re moving west now but he has a good feeling about it. They have to be getting close.

He doesn’t know if it gets easier exactly, so much as it fades with time and distance and, he hopes, spending time with others. Sometimes he still catches himself day-dreaming about what his life would be like if he and Nancy were still together, even though those feelings have mostly faded by now.

“Yes and no,” Steve says, quietly. “It’s like—you think about them every day and it hurts. But then one day goes by without thinking about them at all. Then two days. Then three. Until you hardly notice that you aren’t thinking about them that way at all anymore.”

The smile Will offers is brittle. “I don’t think I’ve made it through the first day yet.”

“You’ll get there. It helps when you meet someone new.”

“That might be hard for me.”

“Yeah, I—” Steve halts before he can say understand what you mean. He’s had a million dates with girls; it isn’t at all the same thing. “I can see how that would be hard.”

“What about you and Eddie?”

Steve cocks his head at the change in subject. “What about us?”

“Dustin says you’ve been spending a lot of time together. And he’s, you know—”

“Know what?”

Will’s normally-pale face goes a couple shades paler. He lifts his head as they turn a corner. “I can hear voices. I think we’re getting close.”

Steve’s pulse thunders in his ears. He wants to ask what he’s supposed to know but doesn’t—but he knows avoiding a subject when he sees it. Will picks up the pace, almost jogging down the path. There’s a break in the corn ahead and, this time, it isn’t another fork.

Steve grins, ready to wipe the smirk off Eddie’s face—until he steps out onto the open field to find Eddie and Dustin camped out on the grass.

“Hey, guys,” Dustin says, waving up at them. “Thought you got eaten by the corn.”

“Ha ha.” Steve kicks the kid’s shoe. “Very funny. Are the others out yet?”

“Not yet,” Eddie answers. “It’s only been a few minutes for us.”

“Never split the party,” Will mumbles inexplicably as he and Steve settle down on the grass to wait. An adult couple emerges from the maze, holding hands and cheering.

The sun sparkles off Eddie’s rings as he spins them around one at a time. Steve can hardly take his eyes off them.

Eddie pauses, cross ring turned upside down. Steve looks up to see Eddie watching him, one eyebrow quirked up. His stomach gives that same strange wiggle that it had when they were on the phone, talking about coming here.

Steve glances over at Dustin and Will but the two of them are deeply embroiled in a debate over whether their D&D characters would be able to find their way out of the maze or if they’d just use fireball to burn the whole thing down.

“Do you think we should go in after them?” Steve asks, keeping his voice low. Anything to avoid trying to explain his fascination with Eddie’s hands.

“They’re fine, Steve. I’m sure El and Max can handle anything this corn maze might hold.”

Will looks up sharply, stopping in mid-sentence, and Steve follows his gaze. El and Mike emerge from the corn, their expressions equally stormy.

“We took a wrong turn,” Mike says, a bit grumpily, as he drops down on the grass next to Dustin.

“We played rock paper scissors,” El elaborates, settling down beside him. “I lost. He chose wrong.”

“Whose side are you on?” Mike protests, but he settles down on his back with his head on her thigh. Steve watches as Will looks away, a flush coloring his cheeks.

It only takes a few more minutes for Lucas and Max to appear. Lucas’s lips are a bit swollen and Max’s long hair does nothing to disguise the red mark high on her throat. Steve smirks but says nothing.

Dustin isn’t as polite. “Hey, lovebirds. Did you have fun?”

“Yes,” Max says, her eyes flashing with the suggestion that Dustin is about to never have any fun of his own if he doesn’t knock it off.

“I was told there’d be apple picking here, but I haven’t seen any apples yet,” Eddie says, getting to his feet with a crooked grin.

“We can remedy that,” Steve says, already herding them all in the direction of the little wooden stand waiting at the entrance to the orchard. He rolls his eyes when Dustin turns to him with doe eyes and “Can we borrow some money?” on his lips, but he pays for two baskets for the kids to share.

The six of them race off into the trees, Steve and Eddie walking along just fast enough to keep them in sight. For all his denial that he’s their babysitter, Steve feels a bit like one right now.

Or maybe a father.

That would make Eddie—nope, better not think about that one too closely.

“So,” Eddie says, kicking a rotten apple out of the path, “this is what all the hype is about?”

“Yep.” Steve snatches a low-hanging apple from a branch and takes a bite. It’s crisp and sweet, just like always. He offers it to Eddie.

Steve feels an odd warmth crawling up his neck as Eddie bites down right next to his own and juice slicks his lips. Eddie makes a soft hum of satisfaction. “It’s good.”

Steve’s gaze jerks away and he focuses down the row of apple trees. They’re the only ones around and El is taking advantage of her powers to bring apples down from the highest branches while Mike holds the basket.

Lucas is holding Max on his shoulders so she can reach a higher branch, Will lingering nervously below them like he might catch her if she falls. Dustin is poking at something among the grass and Steve can only hope it’s not another baby monster.

“I’m glad our kids are having fun,” Eddie says quietly beside him. “They deserve it.”

“They do,” Steve says, but it comes out sounding more like a croak. It hits Steve like an anvil, how right our kids sounds in Eddie’s mouth. He forgets how to breathe, forgets how to walk, nearly doubles over as he feels like he’s been punched in the stomach.

Our kids.

Because they are, aren’t they? Steve—and now Eddie—had been there for all the highs and lows of the past few years, in ways even their real parents hadn’t.

“What’s wrong?” Eddie asks. Steve blinks to realize he’s still standing in the middle of the path, Eddie turned round in front of him.

Steve snatches the apple right out of Eddie’s hand and takes another bite. “Nothing. I’m glad you came out with us today.”

“Me too.” Eddie tips his head back, closing his eyes against the sun. His eyelashes look impossibly long against the paleness of his face.

It seems like no time at all before both baskets are filled to bursting, mostly thanks to El. Steve and Eddie pitch in to help carry them back to the head of the path. A teenage girl with freckles and blond hair helps them dump the apples into sacks and writes their names on them so they don’t have to lug them around.

“Is that it?” Eddie asks Dustin, dragging him in to ruffle his hair. “Do we go now?”

“I’m not leaving without donuts,” Max says, crossing her arms over her chest like she’s daring anyone to challenge her.

“No one told me anything about donuts,” Eddie says. Dustin tries to slap him on the shoulder, but Eddie side-steps easily.

Max points at the little barn, the only place they haven’t been yet. “Let’s go,” Lucas says.

One wall is open to reveal an airy room scattered with picnic tables. There are people everywhere—families, friends, couples—eating and drinking and chatting. The back wall is hidden behind a counter and a glass case filled with cookies and donuts. There’s apple butter and cider and coffee. It smells like autumn and simpler times.

Steve orders cider mixed with vanilla ice cream and an apple cinnamon donut—the way he always does. They take a box of a dozen donuts and their drinks to the only empty picnic table. Eddie stays on his feet, leaning against the wall with his cup of hot chocolate in one hand.

Steve’s stomach flips when Eddie looks over at him with a bit of whipped cream on his lip. He remembers the same thing happening with Lisa last year. Only, back then, he’d kissed her to lick it away.

He wonders what Eddie would do if he tried that now.

Wait.

What?

No, he doesn’t. He doesn’t wonder at all. That would be a weird thing to do. It’s—it’s Eddie. He’s a man. And, you know, Eddie.

“Why are you staring at me like that?” Eddie asks, a look of concern on his face. The words shake Steve out of his stupor.

“I—”

“You have whipped cream on your face,” Max interrupts, helpfully.

Eddie blinks and wipes it away with a napkin. That isn’t disappointment settling deep in Steve’s gut. It isn’t.

“How about a movie night at Steve’s house?” Dustin asks, pointing a cinnamon-sugar-covered finger at everyone like he’s checking to see if they’re in or not. Half the box of donuts has already disappeared.

“Don’t volunteer my house for a party, dude,” Steve snaps and this is normal, this is what he can handle.

“Did I say it was going to be a party?” Dustin asks with all the innocence he doesn’t have.

“You all have houses, don’t you?”

“My mom has her book club over tonight,” Mike grumbles, like he’s embarrassed to have his family around.

“My mom doesn’t like anything that interrupts Jeopardy,” Dustin adds.

Will raises one hand and says, “I’m living in a motel” like it’s some kind of contest.

“My parents won’t let me watch anything scary with Erica around,” Lucas scoffs. “Like that makes any sense. She’s braver than all of us. Don’t tell her I said that.”

Steve looks to Eddie for help but the man just shrugs. “Don’t look at me. I can’t fit all these brats in my trailer.”

“Fine. I’ll swing by work and pick up a couple movies. Eddie, your car gets the snacks.”

“And the beer?” Eddie asks hopefully.

“No beer.” Steve thinks about it for a moment and then revises, “One six-pack but it’s only for the two of us.”

“Come on,” Dustin says, poking Steve in the ribs with his elbow. “It’s not like we can drink and drive.”

Steve pokes Dustin back right in the middle of the chest. “You can always go drink wine with Mrs. Wheeler’s book club if you don’t like it.”

“I can’t believe you would say that to me, your best friend.”

“Robin is my best friend.” Steve grabs the empty donut box from the table and tosses it into the trash. “Are you ready or not?”

Eddie chugs down the rest of his hot chocolate and licks away the froth from his lip before Steve can get any more weird ideas. As they step outside, the hay cart pulls up with what looks like an entire elementary class with their beleaguered teachers.

Steve very carefully keeps a few inches of distance between his shoulder and Eddie’s, so they don’t bump against each other the entire ride—again. His skin crackles with a strange awareness that he’s never experienced with another guy.

The ride back to the parking lot seems to take no time at all. Steve grabs Eddie’s arm as the kids all run ahead toward the cars and holds him back. “You’re okay to pick up the snacks, right? You don’t have to,” Steve says, yanking his hand away as Eddie looks down at it. “Oh, fuck, I didn’t even ask if you were okay with a movie night—”

Eddie laughs and when he punches Steve on the arm, his knuckles linger. “Don’t worry your pretty head. It’s fine. I can pick up some snacks for the kids and beer for us.”

“Good.” Steve looks ahead to where El, Mike, and Will are already waiting at his car. “I’ll see you in a bit then.”

“See you at home,” Eddie says, and while the laugh in his eyes says he’s joking, the soft smile on his lips says he isn’t.

***

Steve pulls into the familiar parking lot of Family Video, grateful that it’s empty except for Robin’s car. “I’ll be right back,” he says, opening his door. “Stay here and don’t talk to strangers.”

He slams the door before he can hear whatever protest Mike is about to launch. Robin jumps to attention at the counter and is halfway through, “Welcome to Family Video” when her eyes land on Steve.

“Oh, it’s you. Aren’t you off today?”

“I’m here as a customer.” Steve glances over his shoulder to where the kids are sitting in the car like puppies waiting for adoption. “There’s apparently a movie night at my house tonight if you want to swing by after work.”

“I’d love to, but I told Nancy we could go to the movies to get her out of her mom’s book club,” Robin says, following him over into the shelves. “So, what’s going on?”

Steve raises his eyebrows but he doesn’t ask. “Took the kids to the apple orchard with Eddie. Dustin didn’t want the fun to stop.”

“What a great father you are, spending time with your kids.”

“Shut up.” Steve sets Beetlejuice and Gremlins aside. “Can I ask you a weird question?”

Robin adds Ghostbusters to his stack. “I’m pretty sure our friendship is based on weird questions.”

“Have you ever…have you ever felt a sudden urge to kiss a guy?”

Robin sticks her tongue out at him. “Can’t say I have.”

“Let’s say you did. What would that, like, mean?” The Evil Dead and A Nightmare on Elm Street are missing from the shelves, probably checked out. He grabs Halloween instead.

“Steve, do you want to kiss a guy?”

“I don’t know.” Steve glances out the wide glass windows, making sure the kids are still where he left them. “Eddie had some whipped cream on his lip and I—it reminded me of a date I had with Lisa last year. Except I thought about kissing him, instead of her.”

Robin cocks her head, looking at him like she’s never really seen him before. “Do you think it was just the memory?”

“Maybe.” Steve grabs Poltergeist and makes his way to the counter. He has to stop himself from going around back out of habit. “Probably. No, definitely. It was just a memory.”

“You seem to be thinking about it a lot for just a random memory.” Robin checks the movies out for him and slides them across.

Steve tucks the whole stack under his arm. “Maybe I should call Lisa tomorrow and see if she wants to hang out.”

“Sure. Maybe.”

“Have fun with Nancy,” Steve calls, walking backward toward the door. “You’re going to have to tell me how that happened later.”

“We’re friends. And Vicki is coming with us.”

“Definitely talking about this later.” Steve pushes his shoulder into the door and eases it open.

Mike snatches the stack of tapes out of his hands the moment he opens the car door and begins to sort through them. “No Hellraiser?”

Steve shifts the car into reverse and twists around to back out. “Everyone’s a critic.”

***

The driveway is empty when Steve pulls in. He’s barely unlocked the front door before he hears the rumble of Eddie’s beat-up van pulling in. He hopes the neighbors don’t try to call the cops—again.

Steve holds the door open as Eddie balances three pizzas in his arms. Lucas, Max, and Dustin are on his heels, loaded down with two cartons of ice cream, multiple bags of chips, a two-liter of Cherry Coke, and a two-liter of Sprite. Eddie drops the pizzas off in the kitchen and ducks out again, returning with a six-pack of beer that he deposits in the fridge.

“All right, all right,” Steve says, dragging out a package of paper plates that he keeps for when he wants to have as few dishes as possible—and times like this. “Silverware in the drawer. Glasses in the cabinet. Try not to make a mess.”

“Sure, Dad,” Dustin snarks as he loads his plate up with pizza and chips.

“Shut up.” Steve waits until everyone else has food before he grabs the last two pieces of pepperoni and a beer. They set up in the living room, Steve and Eddie on the couch, the kids sprawled out across the floor.

Dustin pulls Poltergeist from the middle of the stack and shoves it into the player. Steve’s already seen this one six times, and he finds himself distracted by the sight of his family around him.

Eddie with his legs stretched wide and comfortable, sipping on his beer and toying with his rings.

Dustin leaning back against the couch, shoulder tucked up against Eddie’s leg while he eats a frankly unreasonable amount of ice cream.

Max and Lucas sharing a plate with a whole mixture of chips, Lucas flinching closer with every jump scare until Max puts her arm around him.

Mike resting between El and Will, all three of them stretched out on their stomachs on the carpet. When Will jolts at a jump-scare, he almost reaches for Mike’s hand before he catches himself. Steve feels an odd pang in the depths of his stomach.

He wishes Robin were here. Then his family really would all be together.

The moment the movie is over, Will gets up and exchanges it for Ghostbusters. No one protests. Lucas is half-sitting in Max’s lap already.

Steve knows he should wake everyone up when it’s over and probably take them home, but everything feels a bit hazy from all the beer. He’s warm and comfortable and he can’t bring himself to. Lucas is asleep on Max’s thigh. El and Mike are sprawled across their portion of the floor, eyes closed, shoulders pressed together.

“Be right back,” Steve whispers, heading upstairs to the linen closet. It’s stocked full of sheets and blankets for guests that his parents are never home to invite over. He chooses a few of the larger blankets and brings them downstairs, draping them over everyone.

Eddie gets up and pops in Beetlejuice.

Steve isn’t sure exactly when he falls asleep. All he knows is one moment he’s watching the Maitlands meet Lydia and the next he’s opening his eyes to a dark room and a watch reading two in the morning. His mouth tastes sour and dry. There’s something heavy in his lap.

He looks down to find Eddie using his thigh as a pillow.

Eddie’s face looks peaceful in a way it never does when he’s awake. His mouth is soft and his eyelashes twitch gently against his cheeks. His hair is fanned across Steve’s jeans.

Steve wonders if it’s as soft as it looks. Eddie is asleep, surely there’s no harm in finding out. If he wakes up, Steve can always say that’s what he was trying to do.

Steve cards his fingers through Eddie’s hair once, then again. The strands feel impossibly lush and soft. He should stop, now that he knows how it feels. This is weird and Eddie could wake up and that would be weird—

Eddie’s eyes are open and staring at him.

“Hey,” Steve whispers, like this is a perfectly normal thing for him to be doing. He doesn’t stop. Why isn’t he stopping?

“Hey.” Eddie doesn’t move away. “What time is it?”

“After two.”

Eddie lets out a soft groaning sound that makes the hair on Steve’s arms stand up. “Can I stay over tonight?”

“I think that ship has sailed.” Steve’s hand stills in Eddie’s hair and, if anything, that feels even more intimate. “There are guest bedrooms, if you want one.”

“I’m fine right here.” Eddie’s eyes slip closed, like he really is going to fall right back asleep on Steve’s lap. Eddie’s hair is brushing over the zipper of Steve’s jeans and that feels important in a way he doesn’t quite understand.

“We could—” Steve knows he shouldn’t say it. He does. “We could move to my room.”

Eddie’s eyes spring open. He stares at Steve’s face, like he’s waiting for him to laugh. “Steve…”

“Forget it. I shouldn’t have said anything. I’m fine right here.” His neck will probably hurt like a bitch in the morning, but he’s had a lot worse.

“You meant it,” Eddie whispers, like he’s talking to himself more than Steve. “If you want to take me to bed, Harrington, all you have to do is ask.”

Heat crawls up the back of Steve’s neck and into his face. He’s glad they turned all the lights off so Eddie won’t be able to see how hard he’s blushing right now. “I—”

“Do you…” Eddie pauses, the teasing gone entirely from his voice. “Do you actually want that?”

“I don’t know.” Steve tries to picture it, Eddie underneath him, Eddie on top of him, Eddie’s skin pressed against his own, but he can’t. It must mean something that his heart hasn’t stopped racing since the words came out of Eddie’s mouth, though. “Maybe.”

Eddie turns his head, surveying the sleeping teenagers on the floor. “I think we should take this conversation elsewhere.”

“Come on. My room is upstairs.” Steve bounces his knee until Eddie sits up.

It takes barely a minute for Steve to lead Eddie down the hall and up the stairs to his room, but he almost turns around a dozen times. This isn’t happening. He has to be dreaming.

Steve pushes open the door, grateful that he’s kept it mostly clean lately. There’s a couple dirty shirts hung over the back of a chair but his boxers are in the laundry and there’s only one empty glass on his nightstand.

“No offense, Steve,” Eddie says as he steps inside, “but your room is even more boring than I imagined.”

“I try not to spend a lot of time here.” Steve closes the door behind them. It hits him like a slap in the face that this is the first time he’s been really alone with Eddie.

And they’re in his bedroom. To talk. About how Steve maybe sorta has feelings for Eddie.

Fuck.

“So,” Eddie says, turning around and shoving his hands in his pockets. His hair is standing up in interesting ways from Steve running his hands through it.

Steve can feel his cheeks heating again and this time he doesn’t have the darkness to hide behind. “So.”

“I’m gay.”

“I’m—” Steve doesn’t really know where to go from here. He hasn’t had time to think through the specifics. “All I know is that I keep thinking about kissing you.”

A smile plays at the corners of Eddie’s mouth. “You do?”

“Yeah.”

“You should know that if this is some kind of experiment for you, I’m not interested.”

“It’s not.” Steve stumbles forward a step. “I swear.”

Eddie’s tongue traces over his bottom lip, leaving it shiny and slick. Steve feels far drunker than three beers. He wants to know what Eddie’s lips feel like, if he tastes like beer or pizza or something else entirely.

“Maybe we should get some sleep.” Eddie motions at the bed, barely big enough for the both of them. “It’s late.”

“Are you trying to get me into bed?”

Eddie’s mouth twists and he steps out of his shoes. “I’m serious, Steve. It’s late and we’ve been drinking and I—I don’t want you to do anything you’ll regret in the morning.”

“I’d never regret you.” Steve takes another step forward and Eddie’s eyes widen in surprise. He wants to take Eddie’s face in his hands and drag him into a kiss, but he’s right. They shouldn’t do this now. So, he takes Eddie’s hand instead. His skin is calloused from playing the guitar. “I have a suggestion.”

“I’m listening.” Eddie’s fingers twitch against his own.

“We’ll go to bed and, in the morning, if you’re okay with it, I’m going to kiss you.”

Eddie’s lips split open around a huffed laugh. “Okay. You have a deal, Steve.”

“You can borrow something to wear, unless you want to sleep in your clothes.” Steve lets go of Eddie’s hand and goes to his wardrobe. He pulls out a pair of faded gray T-shirts and sweatpants.

Eddie accepts one of each and drags his shirt over his head with one hand. Steve tries not to stare at the newly revealed tattoos on his chest—a zombie head and a spider over his heart.

He turns away, so Eddie doesn’t catch him looking, and changes as quickly as he can. He’s used to being naked around guys—it’s practically a requirement for being on the swim team—but it feels different here. In his own room. With Eddie.

Steve turns around and immediately regrets it. Eddie is standing there, looking a little awkward and wearing Steve’s clothes. The shirt is a little loose in the shoulders but short in the torso and the sweatpants are threatening to drift down around his hips.

“I’ll—” Steve starts, but his mouth is suddenly very dry. “I’ll turn out the light.”

Eddie smirks as he climbs into the bed and gets settled closest to the wall. It isn’t until Steve turns off the light and climbs in after him that he realizes what a giant mistake this is. It was one thing to fall asleep together on the couch by accident, and another to crawl into bed together. His bed is not large enough for this.

Steve startles when he feels Eddie’s arm wrap over his waist. His head comes down to rest over Steve’s heart. “Is this okay?” Eddie asks.

“Yeah.” Steve rests his arm around Eddie’s shoulders, marveling at the easy way he fits there. “Better than okay.”

Steve doesn’t expect to be able to fall asleep but fall asleep he does.

***

Steve wakes with the sun in his eyes and Eddie’s hair in his mouth. His heart feels like it’s glowing. He could have more mornings like this. Every morning could be like this.

“You’re awake,” Eddie says, not moving from his position on Steve’s chest.

“So are you.”

Eddie shifts, resting his chin on Steve’s sternum. Steve’s neck aches as he cranes his head up to take him in. “I’m okay with it,” Eddie whispers.

Steve’s heart jolts with nerves and anticipation. He smiles down at Eddie and says, “Get up here.”

Eddie braces his arms to either side of Steve’s shoulders. His eyelashes flutter as he leans closer and closer. Steve tilts his head back to meet him.

Eddie is hesitant, his lips covering Steve’s with a stiff touch. Steve tries to adjust the angle to better deepen the kiss, but their noses knock together.

Eddie pulls away with a soft laugh. Steve wraps a hand around the back of his neck and brings him in again. It’s better, this time. Eddie’s lips are soft and eager, Steve matching him with ease.

Eddie’s tongue tastes like sour beer and Steve’s sure that he can’t be any better. He doesn’t care and Eddie doesn’t seem to either. Steve is trembling like it’s his first kiss by the time they pull apart.

“Will you come to breakfast with me?” Steve asks, pushing Eddie’s hair out of his face and tucking it behind his ear.

“Like a date?”

“Exactly like a date.”

There’s a crash from downstairs. It sounds suspiciously like someone just dropped his mother’s very expensive skillet on the tile floor. “I’d love to, but I think we need to take care of those kids first.”

“Fuck.” Steve lets out a long sigh as he lets Eddie shift off him so he can get out of bed. “Lunch? Dinner?”

Eddie chuckles and pulls his borrowed sweatpants higher onto his hips. “I’ll let you take me out for whatever meal you want.”

“Good.” Steve swings his bedroom door open to find Max about to knock, her shirt streaked with flour. “What the fuck is going on?”

“Dustin and Mike tried to make breakfast. It did not go well.” She looks past him to Eddie climbing out of bed. Her face twists into a smug smile but thankfully she keeps any comments to herself.

Steve curses under his breath as Eddie joins him at the door. He shouldn’t have left them alone. “Come on, Steve,” Eddie says, snapping the waistband of Steve’s sweatpants against the small of his back. “Let’s go take care of our six nuggets.”