Work Text:
Eddie Munson hated hospitals.
They were cold and sterile, and it usually meant a beloved family member was dying. Not that Eddie had much experience having family other than Wayne, but hospitals always gave him the creeps. He didn’t trust doctors, either. Something about a rando telling you to take meds or - even worse - deciding they need to cut into your body ? No, thanks. But here he was, in the hospital, by choice, because Steve Harrington had been unconscious since Vecna.
Robin had tried to explain what had happened once Steve, Robin, and Nancy met up with Eddie and Dustin outside of the hell dimension. Steve had been unconscious already, Robin and Nancy holding him up on either side. Apparently, they’d been slammed into a wall by some of the gross hive-mind vines, and apparently Steve hit his head a little too hard. He hadn’t passed out immediately - Eddie assumed due to adrenaline - but once they’d defeated Vecna, Steve had fallen to the floor in a heap.
And now the three of them were taking turns looking after Steve. Robin had just left to get some food for the both of them, so Eddie was alone, staring at Steve’s sleeping face. It was unfair how pretty he was even with a bandage wrapped around his head to cover up the stitches they’d given him.
The chair was pulled up close to the bed. Close enough to where Eddie could lay his head in his arms on the edge of it. Steve was even pretty from this angle. Asshole.
And as Eddie was staring at Steve’s face, he saw Steve’s brows wrinkle with a wince, and his eyes fluttered open. He locked eyes with Eddie, who grinned and said, “Good morning, hot stuff. How you feelin’? Bonked your head pretty bad there, Stevie.”
Steve looked confused, looking around the room.
“Oh, right. We’re at the hospital. You-know-who is dead, so. No more dead teens!” Eddie grinned, but hesitated when Steve looked even more confused. Eddie’s intrusive thoughts won and he took Steve’s hand in his. “Hey, you good? I should probably call the doctor anyway.”
Steve looked down at Eddie’s hand on his, then back at Eddie. “Head hurts.”
Eddie snorted. “Like I said, man, turns out you have a rough time with head trauma, huh? Robin was telling me about the whole Starcourt thing and - well, probably shouldn’t talk about that in public, right? The whole government secrecy thing?”
“Oh! Steve’s awake!” Robin had arrived, and she rushed next to the bed, abandoning the bag of snacks on the extra chair by the wall. “How’re you feeling, dingus?”
Steve looked at Robin, more of that confused expression on his face. He looked back at Eddie, as if to ask him some silent question. Robin noticed. “Hey, Steve? What’s that look for?”
“I…” Steve looked back and forth between them. “Who’s Steve?”
Eddie and Robin looked at each other, eyes wide. Steve continued. “I don’t…sorry, but…who are you?”
Robin’s face was one of fear. Like, fighting Vecna fear. Eddie didn’t blame her. Hell, he’d only known Steve for two seconds and even he was a little upset about Harrington not knowing who he was. He half expected Steve to say that he was joking, but the look on his face told Eddie that he wasn’t faking it. Robin bolted out of the room to find the doctor. Steve just watched her leave, then looked at Eddie, a terrified look on his face.
–
“ Amnesia ?” Nancy had arrived a few minutes ago, the three of them standing outside of Steve’s room with the doctor. “He didn’t even hit his head that hard.”
The doctor sighed. “I’m aware Ms. Wheeler, but it seems that Steve has had quite a few encounters with head trauma. It isn’t as out of the blue as it seems.”
Robin (who, Eddie noticed, was holding Nancy’s hand) chimed in. “How long will it last?”
The doctor sighed. Again. Eddie’s distaste for doctors was getting worse by the minute. “Well, that’s the thing. It could be a few days. Weeks. Months. Or forever. Amnesia is a tricky thing.”
“So what the fuck are we supposed to do, then?” Eddie crossed his arms over his chest, feeling like the spirit of Mom Steve Harrington had taken over his limbs.
“Be there for him, mostly. Make sure someone is with him at all times. Do things that might trigger memories. It’s imperative that you keep him around people he knows and loves.”
Nancy smiled a small, tight smile. “Thank you, Doctor.”
“He’s discharged now,” he handed Nancy his papers. “I’ll have a nurse bring a wheelchair to get him to the entrance. Do you have a change of clothes for him?”
And so they were wheeling an amnesiac Steve outside, wearing some discarded clothes they had found in the back of his Beemer. He’d been quiet, barely saying anything other than “thank you” when they had given him his clothes. Nancy had pulled Steve’s car to the front. They had all ended up piling in after Vecna and heading straight to the hospital, so the car had just been sitting in the parking lot for a few days.
“Jonathan is going to come pick Robin and I up,” Nancy walked up to Eddie, giving him the keys. “Don’t wreck his car. When he gets his memories back, he will be pissed.”
Eddie kind of gaped for a moment, but nodded. Why Nancy trusted him, an almost stranger, to take Steve home was a little weird, but hey, maybe this was what happened when you saved the world with people. Fast friends and trauma bonding and all that shit.
Eddie helped Steve out of the wheelchair, and Steve was thankfully pretty sturdy on his feet. He mumbled another “thank you” and got into the passenger side of the car, Eddie getting into the driver’s side.
“Not that you remember,” Eddie started the engine and put the car in drive. “But you’d probably usually have a cow if you saw me driving your car.”
Steve’s eyebrows raised. “This is my car?”
“All yours, big boy,” glanced over at Steve long enough to notice he was blushing. Eddie chalked it up to hitting his head too hard. They rode in silence for a while, the radio station Steve preset lightly playing in the background. Some Tears for Fears song was playing.
Steve’s eyes lit up, turning up the volume. “I know this song.”
Eddie rolled his eyes. “Of course you recognize Tears for Fears . Typical.”
It was quiet again, sans Steve’s quiet humming from the passenger seat.
And then Steve broke the silence with, “How long have we been dating?”
Eddie swerved, Steve’s question taking him completely off guard. Dating ? Why did Amnesiac Steve think they were dating? “Pardon, Stevie?”
“Well, I mean, I’m assuming we’re dating,” Steve crossed his arms over his chest (some things never change) and shrugged. “All signs so far point to yes.”
Eddie bit his lip. “And, pray tell, what signs?”
“The hand holding, the pet names, the way you look at me,” Steve was looking straight ahead. Was he blushing again? Eddie couldn’t tell. If he looked any longer he would crash the car. “Not to mention the… feelings I get when I look at you. Dunno. Seems like my heart’s remembering more than my brain is at the moment. I mean, I felt some feelings towards the girls too, but it was different.”
All Eddie could say was, “Huh.”
“So?”
“So what?”
“We’re dating, right? How long?” Steve was looking at Eddie now. Eddie didn’t need to look over to know.
Eddie knew he should say they aren’t, but that would lead to Steve feeling embarrassed and Eddie couldn’t handle that, so Eddie told a half-truth. “Oh, it’s - it’s pretty new.”
“Huh,” Steve looked ahead. “Weird. I would’ve guessed longer.”
Eddie didn’t say anything the rest of the drive to the Harrington household. When they arrived, Eddie parked the car and ran over to the passenger side, opening the door for Steve. God, laying on the whole boyfriend thing thick, aren’t you Munson?
Eddie assumed one of the keys on Steve’s key ring was the house key, but it took him a couple tries before he picked the right one. Once they were in, Eddie set the bag of pain meds they’d given Steve on the hallway table. Steve wrinkled his nose, looking around. “I live here?”
Eddie nodded. “Yup. Harrington residence.”
“Alone?”
Eddie bit his lip, remembering how often Steve’s parents probably weren’t home, due to the sheer amount of parties he’d thrown during high school. “I think your parents are gone a lot for, uh, work related things.”
Steve hummed a response, making his way to the kitchen. Eddie followed, curious. Steve opened the fridge looking for something to eat, Eddie assumed. He silently wondered when Robin and Nancy would get here. They had mentioned coming over to try to help jog Steve’s memory.
“There’s fuck all in here,” Steve shut the fridge, moving onto the cabinets. He found a box of pasta, and went back into the fridge where he found half a jar of tomato pasta sauce. He looked over at Eddie. “Pasta?”
So Steve didn’t forget how to perform basic cooking skills. He had even added some seasonings to the sauce (notably knowing exactly where they were), and shit, it tasted good. They were finishing up when the door burst open and Dustin’s voice filled the house, “STEVE!”
He rounded the corner, seeing Steve and Eddie sitting at the dining table. Steve glanced at Eddie as if to ask “who’s the teenager?” and Eddie just grinned and said, “Oh, that’s Dustin. He’s a little shit, but apparently you’re like his second mom.”
“I’m his wha -” and then Dustin was hugging Steve, and Steve hugged him back, still unsure, but obviously accepting the affection.
Dustin let go, looking at Steve. “Do you really not remember anyone?”
Steve shook his head, a sad smile on his lips. “Sorry, man.”
“We’ll figure it out, Steve,” and then Dustin was running back out the door.
Steve looked at Eddie. “Who’s ‘we’?”
And then all the kids were there. El, Max, Lucas, Dustin, Will, and Mike. Nancy and Robin followed them in, Robin with a bag from Family Video and Nancy with a bag of snacks.
“We figured we would watch some of your favorite movies and eat some of your favorite snacks?” Robin almost approached Steve as if he were an injured bird.
“Sounds good, uh…” Steve winced. “Sorry. Could everyone tell me their names?”
And so they did, and it only took Steve about twenty minutes into Grease to get used to everyone’s names. He was sitting on the couch between Eddie and Robin and, to Eddie’s shock, Steve had at some point put his arm around him. Robin just gave Eddie a look and Eddie mouthed ‘explain later’, so she continued watching the movie.
After it ended, everyone looked at Steve, hope in their eyes. Shit, Eddie felt bad. This whole situation was bad. And the fact that Eddie had lied to him -
“I think i recognized the songs,” Steve shut his eyes, eyebrows furrowed in concentration. “And I think -” He opened his eyes turning to Robin. “Do we work together? Somewhere with movies?”
Robin grinned. Eddie noticed her eyes get a bit watery. “Yes! Yes, we do! The one and only Family Video .”
Steve snorted. “I don’t think it’s the one and only, Rob.”
Robin looked like she wanted to hug Steve, but she stayed put. “You remember anything - or anyone else?”
Steve shook his head. “No, that’s it. I - I remember I call you Rob. And we work there. And - we worked somewhere with - sailor outfits? But that’s about it. It’s still…foggy.”
Nancy smiled. “That’s okay Steve. Any progress is good progress.”
They all stayed for a few hours longer, but soon the kids needed to get home. Robin and Nancy pulled Eddie to the side as Steve was bidding farewell to the gaggle of kids. “Eddie, do you mind staying here with him?” Nancy glanced over at Steve, a sad smile on her face.
“Me?” Eddie looked between the two of them. “Shouldn’t one of you stay here with him? Steve barely knows me.”
“Can I say something?” Robin held up her hand. “Why was Steve acting all cuddly with you during the movie?”
Nancy looked from Robin to Eddie. “What’s Robin talking about?”
Eddie covered his face with his hands. “I might’ve…insinuated to Steve that we’re…dating.”
“ What?! ” They both whisper-screamed. Steve took that same moment to glance over at Eddie and give him a smile before turning back to Dustin.
Eddie lowered his hands. “I know - I know , but - Steve asked first! And I didn’t wanna see him get all embarrassed so I…told a half-truth.”
Nancy sighed, nodding. “Okay, I get it. Just…stay with him tonight. I’ll be back tomorrow morning. Robin’s coming after her shift at Family Video .”
Robin rolled her eyes. “Honestly wish I could just call out, but Steve’s out of commission, so.”
And so here Eddie was, alone with Steve. They had migrated to Steve’s bedroom, thinking that something in there would jog his memory. So far, nothing. Eddie could tell that Steve was getting frustrated. He was sitting on his bed, a pained expression on his face. Eddie hesitated before he decided to sit next to him, putting a hand on his shoulder. “Steve? What’s going on in that pretty little head of yours?”
Steve sighed. “That’s the problem. Nothing! I mean, I vaguely remember Robin, but…nothing else. Even this house - it feels…empty. Weird. Not like a house should feel.” Eddie had begun to rub small circles on Steve’s shoulder. Steve leaned into the touch. “I don’t know, I just - it’s like everything is on the tip of my tongue, y’know? ‘Cept I can’t figure it out.” He looked over at Eddie, his eyes painfully sad. Eddie’s chest hurt. “I wish I could remember you, Eds.”
Eds .
If only he knew there was barely anything to remember.
But Eddie just moved his arm to Steve’s other shoulder, giving him a squeeze. “It’s okay, man. You’ll remember everything soon enough.” Eddie hated that a part of him wished Steve never got his memories back. That he could continue the ruse, be able to hold Steve like this all the time, maybe even play with that stupid hair of his.
Steve leaned his head on Eddie’s shoulder. “I hope so. The concerned look in everyone’s eyes today - it was a lot. I can tell they’re all important to me, at least. Just…my stupid brain can’t keep up.”
“Your brain isn’t stupid,” Eddie moved his hand up to play with the hair on the back of Steve’s head. Of course it was that soft . Eddie wondered how many hair care products Steve used on the daily. “Just gotten one too many concussions, is all.”
Steve lifted his head, turning to Eddie - did he just look down at his lips? Surely not. “You’re really great, Eddie. D’you know that?”
Eddie couldn’t look into Steve’s eyes any longer, so he looked down, his hair shielding his face. “Eh, I’m not that great.” He’d wanted to say ‘I’m not great enough to not lie to your face.’ He could feel Steve looking at him, so he stood up, fiddling with one of his rings. “We should both take showers. Wash the hospital ick off of us.”
Eddie spent a little too long in the shower, mostly thinking about the growing guilt in his gut, but eventually he stepped out, slipping into some borrowed clothes from Steve’s dresser. Steve was already out of the shower, his hair damp. He smiled when he saw Eddie. “Hey. I apparently remember how to wash my hair, so. That's something, right?”
Eddie nodded. “Absolutely. Curious - how many hair products do you use?”
Steve rolled his eyes, his arms crossed “There’s nothing wrong with wanting my hair to be soft and healthy!”
Eddie grinned. “Nice to see your personality and weird obsession with your hair is still consistent.”
Steve threw up his arms, exasperated, but there was still a small smile on his face. “Yeah, whatever, Munson.”
Eddie’s eyes widened. “You remembered my last name.”
“Shit. I did! That’s good, right?”
One step closer to remembering our non-existent relationship.
Eddie forced a hopefully convincing smile. “Yeah, Stevie. That’s great!”
Steve yawned, then, making Eddie’s heart flutter. Fucking asshole was even cute when he yawned. “Ready for bed?”
Eddie nodded, “Right, yeah. See you in the -” He had begun to make his way to the door, but Steve stopped him by grabbing his hand. Eddie stared down at their hands, then up at Steve.
“Where’re you going?”
“Uh, I was gonna…” Eddie gulped, feeling his cheeks get hot. “Guest room?”
Steve rolled his eyes. “C’mon, that’s nonsense.” He flicked off the light, and led Eddie over to his bed, his hand still holding Eddie’s. Steve practically pulled Eddie into the bed, Eddie ending up on top of him. Eddie frantically scrambled off of him, flopping down next to Steve.
Steve shifted next to Eddie in the dark, and suddenly his arm was draped across Eddie’s middle, his head in the crook of his neck. Eddie resisted the urge to scream. Steve’s hair tickled his chin. “G’night, Eddie.” Steve was out in minutes.
Eddie, on the other hand? Fell asleep after a few hours of wondering:
How am I gonna get outta this mess?
–
The mess, in fact, went on for weeks. Steve kept remembering little things at first, but he was now remembering the bigger things, like the whole Upside Down thing, the Russians, Nancy saying their relationship was “bullshit”, and most importantly, people.
It started with Robin. He’d been in the middle of pouring milk into his cereal, when he dropped the carton. Eddie had rushed into the kitchen, concerned, when Steve turned around, tears in his eyes. “I remember Robin - everything . God, how could I forget Robin ?” He’d driven to Family Video , then, his work vest on and Eddie in the passenger seat.
When they walked in, Robin had started to say the usual, “Hi, welcome to Family Video -” until she saw Steve, who had tears rolling down his face. Robin had rushed from behind the counter to get closer. “What happened? Are you -”
Steve pulled her into a hug. “I’m sorry, Rob - God , I can’t believe I forgot who you were . That’s, like, awful best friend behavior.”
Robin pulled away, her eyes wide. “Wait - what?” She looked over at Eddie, then back at Steve. “What? You - ohmygod Steve !”
Eddie might’ve also shed a tear.
He started working at Family Video again, and that was where he remembered Dustin. It had been a slow day, Eddie annoying Robin and Steve at work, when Dustin walked in, babbling about some D&D campaign Mike was planning, and Steve had interrupted with, “Henderson you know I don’t understand anything about your Dungeons and Gargoyles game.”
Dustin had stopped talking, his eyes widening. Steve looked up from his magazine, his eyes meeting Dustin’s. “Shit. Shit . I - “
Dustin grinned, eyes watery. “You remember. Took you long enough, asshole.”
He remembered the rest of the kids, too. Nancy, Jonathan. All the while, Eddie was terrified of when Steve would remember him . How they had never interacted much until Vecna. How Eddie had lied to his face. But, no, another couple weeks went by, and nothing. He didn’t seem to remember much about Vecna, either, except for bits and pieces. He knew Eddie had been involved somehow. He remembered Max’s near-death. But that was about it.
“Hey, Eds? You good?” Steve had paused the movie they had been watching without Eddie noticing. He had been too lost in thought.
“Hm? Yeah, yeah. M’ fine.”
Steve shifted so he was facing Eddie on the couch. He brought a hand up to Eddie’s chin, turning his head towards him. “You sure? I haven’t seen you this zoned out since we found you in the boathouse, man.”
“Yeah, I’m sure, I was just -” Eddie’s heart stopped. “Hold on - what did you just say?”
I haven’t seen you this zoned out since we found you in the boathouse.
“You - you remember the boathouse?”
Steve’s face flushed. “Did I say boathouse? I - uh - I meant - fuck.” He looked down, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Shit.”
Eddie could feel his stomach plummet. “Shit. Steve, I’m so sorry . I don’t know why I lied to you, I just - I didn’t want you to be embarrassed, but that probably would’ve been better than -”
“Eddie, wait -”
“- lying to you . And it was selfish . I mean, sure, I had this stupid fucking crush on you for years , but -”
“Eds -”
Eddie squeezed his eyes shut, turning away from Steve. God, he couldn’t bear to look at him. “I’m such a fucking idiot . You dated fucking Nancy Wheeler, of course you’d never -”
“ Eddie ,” Steve put a hand on Eddie’s shoulder. “Fuck, Eddie, look at me .”
Eddie slowly turned his head, opening his eyes. Steve didn’t look pissed off. He didn’t look mad at all, actually. “There you are. Jesus, Eddie, can you just…listen for a second?” Eddie just nodded, keeping his mouth shut. Steve took a deep breath. “So. I, uh, remembered you. Weeks ago, actually.” Eddie opened his mouth to speak, but Steve continued. “And I’m not - I’m not mad. You’ve been there for me, man. And…you went along with my stupid amnesiac brain thinking that we were…” Steve blushed. “Sorry about that, by the way. I just…I didn’t want this - us - to end. And I knew that if I…said I remembered, you’d stop pretending to be my boyfriend and -”
“Steve -”
“- I know that it’s stupid and selfish and -”
“Stevie.”
“What?”
Eddie put his hands on either side of his face. “You’re saying you…pretended not to remember because you thought I would leave you?”
“Its stupid, I know.”
“Steve, babe,” Eddie bit back a smile. “Did you not hear me just say that I had a massive crush on you?”
“...you did say that, yes.”
Eddie grinned. “You wanna be my boyfriend, Stevie?”
Steve’s cheeks reddened. “Shut up, Munson.”
Eddie removed his hands from Steve’s face, mocking offense. “Back on the last name basis, Harrington? I’m hurt.”
Steve smiled fondly, and Eddie almost melted right there. “Sorry sweetheart , didn’t mean to offend you.”
“Uh -”
“Eddie Munson? Rendered speechless by me ? I’m flabbergasted.”
“That’s a big word, Harrington.”
“Thanks,” Steve tucked Eddie’s hair behind his ear, moving his hand to cup Eddie’s jaw. “Learned it from my boyfriend. He’s a nerd. Maybe you’ve met him.”
They had kissed before during their fake relationship, but this one was different. Because instead of Eddie believing he was taking advantage of Steve, he knew that somehow Steve Harrington wanted to kiss him.
When they pulled apart, they just sat there, their foreheads touching.
“Steve?”
“Yeah?”
“You’re fucking incredible.”
Steve gave Eddie another quick kiss. “Right back at you, Munson.”
“You do realize Robin’s gonna flip out, right?”
Steve snorted. “Yeah, she will. That’s a problem for future Steve.”
“And what is present Steve planning on doing now?”
Steve pulled away to look at Eddie, a hungry look on his face. “Present Steve’s got a couple ideas.”