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Steve Harrington is on the couch with a tub of ice cream. It’s seven pm on Christmas Eve, his flatmates have all left, and he’s the type of miserable he always is around the holidays.
The TV’s on, set to a nature channel – because frankly, Christmas movies depress him in ways few things can – and he’s wearing flannel pyjamas. It’s so sad he kind of wants to laugh. (He ran out of tears a long time ago).
It wasn’t like he’d been planning to spend Christmas like this, locked away in a dorm room which, despite having only been his for half a year, feels more like home now than what he’s started to refer to as his parents’ house. But here he is: alone, marinating in the self-pity, and so full of ice cream he could explode. Glancing with heavy eyes at the snow coming down hard outside he thinks a little guiltily that it’s not the worst way to spend the holidays, maybe. And yet...
He jolts awake a little while later, arms tightening around the tub of ice cream, confused frown on his face. He sits up a little, shivering. That’s when he hears it: a quiet but distinct scrape at the door.
“–mind? This is breaking and entering,” comes a muffled hiss.
Steve hauls himself up, trying to be as quiet as he can. It’s not like this hasn’t happened before; living in a dorm room isn’t so bad, but the occasional drunk visitor is a bit annoying. It happening now when everyone’s gone home for Christmas is a bit weird– but, hey. Maybe it’s someone who’s in the same boat as Steve– someone who was uninvited back home for Christmas last minute. Maybe they were smart enough to stock up on booze. (Maybe they’d be willing to share.)
“He won’t mind if it saves our lives,” another voice whispers back, a little frantic. “We’ll call him tomorrow, and– why are we whispering? This place is literally deserted, Nance.”
Steve’s heart jumps to his throat. Fuck. Fuck, Robin and Nancy were supposed to drive back to Hawkins hours ago, what the hell are they doing here?
“God, this stupid lock–”
The door flies open, and Steve freezes.
“Hi.”
Both girls scream.
Steve jumps. “Woah– hey! Hey, it’s just me. Just me.”
Nancy and Robin stare at him from the doorway with similar expressions of shock. They’re both wrapped up in big winter coats, carrying two big suitcases between them.
“You,” Robin says, clutching her chest, “Are the worst.” She rips off her woollen hat and throws it at him. “What the hell are you doing here?”
Steve fumbles to catch the hat and says dumbly, “I live here.”
“You’re supposed to be in Hawkins!”
“So are you!”
“Guys,” Nancy interrupts, mouth thin. “Can we maybe do this inside? It’s freezing.”
“Shit, yeah. Come in.” Steve hurries over to help them haul the bags in.
With the door closed, he puts his hands on his hips and watches as the two most important women in his life kick snow onto his carpeted floor. Robin dances around, trying to get out of her winter coat, whilst Nancy unzips hers a little slower, glancing worriedly at Steve like she knows. He tries to swallow down the embarrassment of having been caught in a lie.
“So. Steve,” Robin says casually, letting Nancy take her hands and blow hot air onto them. “You can’t have been caught in the snow like we were, seeing as you were supposed to leave yesterday.”
“I– um. Well–”
She ruffles her hair, trying to get the snow out. “And the lights were off yesterday, and they're still off, and- were you hiding? Have you been here the whole time? Because, we love you, but what the fuck?”
Steve winces, embarrassment colouring his cheeks red. The thing is, he'd still been under the impression he’d be going home when he’d wished everyone a Merry Christmas yesterday morning, so– yes, he’d turned the lights off and pretended not to be here, when he got the news. He feels cowardly now, but– well. He didn’t want anyone’s pity, and frankly, he should’ve assumed from the beginning he’d end up staying here alone. It was stupid he hadn't, stupid he'd let himself believe his parents had wanted him home.
“Um, no?” he says, looking down.
“Steve.”
Frustration bubbles to the surface, and Steve flaps his arms in the air. “Yes, okay? I’ve been here the whole time. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you, but, uh– surprise, my parents are my parents and–” he walks in a little circle, feeling like a circus animal, “–they called, like, an hour before I was meant to leave to tell me they got caught up in something, or whatever.” He chuckles humourlessly. "Which is, like, so lame, right? So I didn't want you to know. 'Sides, it's not so bad- it saved me a trip cross-country."
Silence.
He turns around to face them again, and is met by big eyes.
"That..." Robin starts. "God, I'm gonna kill them."
"Rob," Steve says weakly.
Nancy meets Steve's gaze, concern written all over her face. “Where are they now? Your parents?”
Steve shrugs. “Not Hawkins, apparently. Pretty sure they’re still in America, at least,” he jokes, but it falls flat.
The air is tense, until Robin suddenly sighs, shoulders coming down, and marches over to Steve. She looks at him with an expression he’s seen her wear many times before: unflinching determination. Before he has time to react, she’s wrapping her arms around him, hugging him tightly.
“Come on," she says softly. "Let’s make this the best Christmas ever. Just the three of us.”
Steve swallows down the burning lump in his throat, and nods. “Okay.”
So. Change of plans.
When Steve’s got the extra mattress out next to the couch (he couldn’t convince them to take his bed, but they also would not be separated), Robin roots through her bag until she finds a sweater Steve knows is Nancy’s, and pulls it on, goofy smile on her face.
Steve's known about Robin's massive, hopeless crush on Nancy for a while now, and has spent countless nights listening to her whine about it over the phone. He's no expert when it comes to women, but he does know a spark when he sees one, and it's undeniable, the thing between the two women. Robin swears Nancy hasn't shown more interest beyond holding hands, inviting her over for wine nights (a tradition Steve's been valiantly pretending he's not jealous of), and the occasional heated look, but Steve's pretty sure it's going to happen at this point. Already, there seems to be something... different, about the way the two of them are acting around each other.
Steve shakes his head at Robin and flicks the TV back on before handing Nancy the remote, letting her pick.
They talk for a little while with a Christmas movie on in the background (weirdly not so depressing with company), and slowly, that knot in Steve's chest starts unwinding itself a little. The thought of his parents at some fancy dinner, happy as pie to be rid of him, doesn't linger in the back of his mind. He even catches himself laughing a couple of times– that is, until a large crash sounds from just outside his door.
Everyone goes quiet, looking at each other.
Robin jumps when a second crash follows.
“Maintenance guy?” she suggests weakly.
Nancy looks at her. “On Christmas?”
"Wait here." Steeling himself, Steve gets up and, for the second time this evening, creeps towards the front door.
“Shit, fucking–” he hears, and oh. He knows that voice.
Wrenching the door open, one Eddie Munson tumbles inside.
“What the fuck–” Eddie yelps, scrambling to right himself, eyes as wild as his hair as he extricates himself from Steve’s arms.
“Eddie?” Steve says, eyes widening. He shivers, because it’s cold with the door open, and Eddie seems to notice, gaze traveling up and down his body before he quickly shimmies past him and closes the door behind him. Steve has to whirl to keep up with him.
“That’s me,” Eddie mutters, tossing his backpack on the floor with a grimace, peeling off his soaked leather jacket, and– shit, he must be freezing.
“Hold on.” Steve bolts over to his dresser and rips open a drawer. Benefits of living in a dorm room: everything's two steps away.
Whilst he searches for a clean sweatshirt (and tries to calm his racing heart, because what the fuck is happening), Robin and Nancy go over to greet Eddie.
“I can’t believe you’re here,” Nancy’s saying when Steve's grabbed a sweatshirt, pulling away from a hug.
“Yeah, uh,” Eddie laughs tiredly, accepting a hug from Robin, too. “Neither can I. Wasn’t really the plan, so to speak. Think most of the roads’ve been shut.”
“Here,” Steve says, holding out the sweatshirt. Their hands brush, and Steve feels suddenly warm all over. He tries to take as take a step back because being in close proximity to Eddie is apparently dangerous, but Eddie grabs the sweatshirt and uses it to haul him in. Steve stumbles into Eddie’s open, toned arms and feels himself shiver.
He breathes him in - smells the cologne on him, the cigarettes, the snow - and laughs nervously, patting him on the back in a decidedly bro-y way, which– fuck, why did he do that– before Eddie pulls back, wearing a playful smile. He looks at Steve a moment longer before saying, “Sorry to crash your party like this, man. Just, uh. Didn't know you were here.”
Nervously, Steve wets his lips. He tries not to look at Eddie's mouth. Fails, and flushes, looking away. “Should I, like, be worried everyone's first instinct is to break into my place when something goes wrong?”
"We just love you so much," Robin says.
"Also, you've got your own kitchen," Nancy adds.
"Glad to be of service, I guess," Steve mutters, but he finds himself starting to smile.
Eddie seems to be watching him, as he slips into Steve’s sweatshirt. And Steve’s not any better, eyes on Eddie, who always seems to be moving.
“Nice PJ’s, by the way,” Eddie says then, and Steve flushes, running his hands down his flannel pajamas self-consciously.
“Yeah, yeah, yuck it up,” he mumbles. He clears his throat. “Anyway, we were just watching, um– I don’t know, some Christmas movie? So, like, come in–”
That’s when the entire room goes black.
Steve holds his breath, momentarily frozen by fear, adrenaline spiking.
Could it be- no, it's been years, and they're nowhere near Hawkins-
He doesn't notice his breathing's gone a bit funny until Eddie wraps a hand around his arm. The touch grounds him, and he focuses on it. Strains to see the outline of Eddie as Eddie whispers, “Just a power outage.” Then he clears his throat and reiterates a little louder, “Just a power outage, guys. We’re fine.”
Steve lets loose a shaky breath. Makes himself laugh. “Right, yeah. Power outage. Duh. Um– candles. We’ll need–”
He darts off in search of candles, still feeling the phantom touch of Eddie's hand on his arm. It takes some maneuvering and a whole lot of squinting, trying to make out vague shapes in the dark, but eventually he finds the three candles Robin gifted him a couple of months back. They should be enough for the night.
Coming back into the living room, Steve lights them up, putting them on the coffee table.
“This is so–” Robin starts, sitting back down on the mattress, laughter clearly bubbling underneath the surface.
“Bizarre,” Nancy says, small smile on her face, watching Robin. They're sitting very close together, now.
“Bizarre,” Robin agrees. “And so, totally us.”
“Hear, hear,” Eddie sighs, falling onto the couch now that the candles have been lit.
Without thinking, Steve tosses a blanket at Eddie, and another at the girls (they’ll want to share, he’s pretty sure– and also, he’s not a bad wingman).
In the low candlelight, he catches Eddie’s dark eyes. Steve hesitates, but Eddie just raises his eyebrows at him, gesturing for him to join him on the couch, and that’s all it takes. He climbs over the mattress the girls are on and slots himself next to Eddie, pulling the blanket over himself. His arm brushes Eddie. He finds himself oddly reluctant to shift away.
Looking at all his friends in the dark, he lets a soft smile settle on his lips. It’s cozy, he relents. Cozy and warm, and so much better than being alone.
Slowly, Steve feels his shoulders come down, letting his breathing even out as his friends talk, discussing the state of the roads again.
“Oh–” Eddie shoots off the couch suddenly, tripping over himself to get to his bag.
“What the hell?” Steve twists to narrow his eyes at him, a little annoyed at having been ditched so quickly. His gaze drops to Eddie's ass, which- no, nope, not doing that. Steve focuses his eyes elsewhere, cheeks going pink.
"Maybe he's looking for his dignity," Robin whispers, and Steve snorts.
Eddie's muttering under his breath right before he finally he pops back up, turning around with a victorious grin on his face. He waves a bottle at them, and Robin whoops.
“What’s in the bottle, man?” Steve asks, fighting not to grin.
“Cold, hard liquor, baby,” Eddie coos, sauntering back over, clearly pleased with himself. He crawls over Steve to get back to his spot on the couch, and Steve has to mask a shiver by shifting in place. Seeing Eddie in his sweatshirt is doing something to Steve he doesn’t think he should examine too closely.
“Glasses?” Robin asks, but Eddie shakes his head, feral grin on his face.
He unscrews the cap and takes a sip. Cringing at the taste he says, “More fun this way.”
“Should– um, should we make a game out of it?” Nancy asks, tucked under Robin’s arm. Huh. Steve hadn’t even noticed Robin putting her arm over her.
“Sure,” Steve agrees, accepting the bottle when Eddie passes it to him, a twinkle in his eyes. “Truth or dare?”
“What, you asking or suggesting?” Eddie asks.
Smiling, Steve leans back. “Asking.”
Eddie doesn’t hesitate. “Dare.”
Steve mulls it over. Decides to be cocky: “Dare you to like, put on lipgloss or something. And wear it for the rest of the evening."
To his shock, Eddie just shrugs. Steve feels his own eyes widen to saucers when Eddie pulls lipgloss out of his own pocket, applying it generously (and with flair) before cleaning up the edges with a finger. Mouth dry, Steve swallows hard. He feels Robin’s eyes on him, but ignores her.
“Satisfied, your Highness?” Eddie asks.
“Um– yeah.” Steve can’t breathe. Fuck. “Looks good.”
Eddie’s eyes widen a fraction, but then he grins again. He grabs the bottle from Steve’s slack grip and raises it slowly to Steve’s lips.
Eyes intense in the low light, Eddie coaxes, one eyebrow raised, and Steve unthinkingly puts his mouth to the bottle, taking a big gulp. He swallows it down, letting the liquor burn all the way down, eyes on Eddie the entire time.
There’s something in Eddie’s expression now. A fire, simmering just underneath. Quiet, so quiet Steve only barely catches it, Eddie murmurs, “Jesus.”
And then he turns back to the girls like nothing happened, and Steve has to bite his tongue, pretending his heart isn’t racing. He catches Robin looking right at him and makes a face at her. She cracks a smile, but still looks like she wants to haul him out of the room and demand answers he's not sure he's got.
Eddie goes on to dare Nancy to lick Robin’s elbow, which elicits a very funny noise from Robin, who vehemently denies it came from her. Nancy takes a hefty gulp from the bottle before passing it to Robin.
Playful smile on her lips she says, “Truth or dare, Ro?”
“Truth,” Robin says quickly. Then, “No, fuck– dare. Definitely dare.”
“Okay,” Nancy says, eyes twinkling. “I dare you to kiss the smartest person in the room.”
“Oh,” Robin says, snorting. “Well, that’s easy.”
And then, like it’s that easy, she leans in and kisses Nancy.
Even more shockingly, Nancy reciprocates without hesitation– even goes so far as to lick gently into Robin’s mouth and woah–
Steve looks away. Eddie makes a small noise next to Steve, and Steve turns only to find him already looking at him.
“Did you know they–?” Eddie says, eyes searching.
“No,” Steve says honestly. “But, like,” he leans in closer, trying not to ruin his best friend’s moment. “Good for them, right?”
“Yeah,” Eddie smiles softly, eyes a little wide. “Yeah, good for them.”
Heart pounding, Steve has to look away before his face betrays him. Seeing that Robin and Nancy have settled into each other's arms once more, no longer kissing, he judges it safe to reach over and snag the bottle from Robin. He takes a long gulp, before handing it back.
Robin laughs and says, “Now I have to dare you, idiot.”
Steve shrugs. Voice rough from the alcohol, he says, “Fair enough. Do your worst.”
“Dare you to put this up.” Out of her pocket, Robin pulls a small green thing. Steve takes it from her and realises that it’s mistletoe.
He groans. “Where the fuck did you get this?”
“Had it in my pocket.”
“But why?”
“Secret.”
“Weirdo.”
“Hang it up, dingus.”
Steve does, taping it to the doorway between the kitchen and living room. Then he falls back onto couch.
It takes a few more turns, but they get back to Steve quickly.
“Truth or dare,” Nancy asks, passing him the bottle back. She’s slurring just the smallest amount, but so is everyone else by now.
Steve narrows his eyes, pursing his lips. “Dare.”
“I dare you to go stand in the doorway,” Nancy says, satisfied smile on her lips. Robin cackles, and plants a kiss on Nancy’s cheek, whispering, “You’re a genius.”
“For how long?”
Nancy shrugs.
Steve makes a face. “What, indefinitely?”
“Sure.”
“That’s mean. It’s cold, Nance,” Steve complains as he clambers off the couch dizzily. He bundles himself up in the blanket, only for Eddie to start tugging at it, pouting up at him.
"Steeeeve," Eddie whines.
Steve sighs, defeated, and lets Eddie have the blanket.
“This is bullying,” Steve informs them from the doorway, wrapping his arms around himself. “Ostracisation. I’m gonna catch a cold.”
“Quit whining, you big baby,” Robin says, passing the bottle to Eddie.
“Hey,” Steve says, frowning. “Isn’t it my turn to ask?”
“Nope,” Robin says from the mattress, leaning back on her hand. “Ostracised bastards lose asking privileges. Sorry.”
Steve glowers, but stays where he is. Surely they’ll let him come back to the couch in a round or two.
“Need some water,” Nancy says a while - not one or two rounds, decidedly more - later, getting up.
When she approaches Steve, Robin gives him a look from behind her. “Don’t lay one on my girlfriend, Harrington.”
Eddie barks a laugh from the couch, but Steve just rolls his eyes, giving Nancy a quick peck on the cheek.
Nancy just shakes her head, smiling, before she goes to the kitchen, fetching two glasses of water. Steve zones out a little, watching the back of Eddie’s head from here, eyes catching on his side profile in the candlelight. He wants to trace his nose with his finger. Wants to be sitting next to him again, and fuck, he really is getting cold.
Sighing, hoping to win some sympathy, Steve sits down on the floor, crossing his legs.
When Nancy’s rejoined the group – glancing apologetically at Steve – Robin says, “Eddie. Dare you to go make me hot chocolate.”
Nancy leans over and whispers something.
“Ooh, yeah– dare you to ask Steve to help you do it.”
Eddie scoffs, but Steve swears his cheeks go a little pink. “Uh, right. Because hot chocolate is a two-man job.”
“Someone needs to monitor how generous you are with the marshmallows, man,” Steve says as Eddie gets to his feet, swaying a little. He makes his way over to Steve, pulling his hair in front of his face, smiling almost shyly.
“Oh, I’m very generous,” Eddie promises.
He offers Steve a hand, when he’s stumbled his way over, blanket draped over his back. Steve takes it with a small smile, letting Eddie haul him up. As he starts to turn, slipping his hand out of Eddie’s, Robin clears her throat behind him.
“What?”
She nods at something above him, and… oh.
“Uh– we don’t– we don’t have to–” Steve starts, but Eddie just rolls his eyes and leans in, pressing warm lips to Steve’s cheek, before pulling away slowly. His dark eyes look almost molten, in the low light. He scans Steve’s face like he’s searching for something, and Steve can feel himself staring. Hesitantly, Steve closes his hand around Eddie’s arm, giving the tiniest of squeezes. Eddie’s eyes dive down again, gaze flickering up to Steve’s eyes nervously before he seems to decide something. He leans in.
Gently, so slowly it’s agonizing, Eddie catches Steve’s mouth in a kiss. His lips are soft, and he inhales, his hair tickling Steve’s neck. Steve melts into it, hand coming up to Eddie’s neck, thumb tracing his jaw.
Kissing Eddie is like drinking mulled wine: the heat is delicious, slow-building, molten. Steve feels that familiar tug in his gut, and finally pulls away an inch, exhaling shakily. He opens his eyes, focus narrowed down to the man in front of him.
Eddie's brown eyes pin him in place. “You–?”
“Yeah," Steve breathes.
Then Eddie does something surprising– he wraps his arms around Steve, burying his nose in his neck, breathing him in. Steve stares over his shoulder, catching Robin’s look of shock momentarily, before his arms come up around Eddie, pulling him as close as he can.
“You’re my favourite,” Steve mumbles into his shoulder.
Eddie laughs. “Your favourite what?”
“Person. Guy. Friend. I don’t know.”
“Glad to be your favourite person guy friend, Steve.”
“Shut up.”
Eddie chuckles, kissing up Steve's neck, until he gets back to his mouth. Steve's heart kicks up a notch when he finds his lips again, body singing with it, with how good it is.
"Hot chocolate, boys!" Nancy shouts.
"Chop chop!" hollers Robin.
Steve pulls away, smiling wide.
"You guys are assholes," Eddie tells the girls, before tugging Steve into the kitchen.
"Here," Steve says, turning the gas on. He grabs the half-full carton of milk and pours it all in (might as well use it all, since the power's out).
"Hell yeah," Eddie breathes, clearly excited. It's so utterly charming, it nearly floors Steve.
That’s the nice thing about growing up, Steve thinks, watching Eddie search for the chocolate with only the streetlight outside for help. You get to create your own traditions. Pick your own family. Make what you want of a holiday, of a situation, of a relationship. It’s up to you.
"Merry Christmas, Eddie," Steve says softly, and Eddie turns. Smiles wide.
"Merry Christmas, Steve."