Archive of Our Own

-

“Ridiculous,” Steve muttered to himself. His dryer was busted AGAIN, which meant he had to call the stupid landlord to have it fixed AGAIN. 

He’d been so busy with shows that he hadn’t had a lot of time to do laundry, and this was him finally catching up. Of course, the damn thing broke. Now he had no clothes. 

He sighed and went to the designated Robin drawer she insisted she have at Steve’s apartment. She was there a lot of nights anyway, so she always kept some pajamas and things just in case. Thank god for Robin’s love of oversized clothing. 

He grabbed the first shirt he saw, threw it on, and headed to the grocery store. 

Steve wasn’t even conscious of what the shirt said. Maybe he should have glanced in the mirror before he left, but he was tired and just needed to get food for the week. He’d been out of town on tour for a while now, so there was nothing at home. 

People were staring at him, but that wasn’t too unusual. His stage name was HARVEST, which was nice because he could separate himself from his music when he wanted to. His persona when he performed was vastly different to the guy wandering a grocery store in his best friend’s clothes, and he liked that. It was freeing. It gave him some semblance of privacy, because most fans of his music didn’t even know his real name. 

The more devoted fans, however…

People took his picture sometimes without asking first. That was common. It wasn’t great, but it was common. Steve was never that concerned with looking ugly on the internet, anyway. Although, if people went up to him and asked, he usually said yes if they were nice about it. 

It took about three hours for the notifications to pour in. Steve ignored them, at first. His publicist would handle whatever it was. But then, Robin called. 

“Steve!” she greeted when he answered. “You wore my shirt out?”

“Uh, yeah?” Steve responded. He looked down to see that it was a band t-shirt. Nothing too crazy about it. “That okay?”

“Yeah, it’s fine,” she assured him. “It’s just funny because somehow now people think you’re Corroded Coffin’s number one fan.”

“That’s…strange,” Steve said, confused. “All because I wore their shirt one time?”

“Yeah, well people looked into it and they found out you and Eddie Munson went to high school together -”

“Ah,” Steve acknowledged, starting to understand. 

“- and now people are shipping you with him and all that.”

“Wait, what?” Steve’s face fell. “They’re - Like, that’s insane. It’s only been a few hours and - I mean, I don’t even know the guy.”

“Yeah, but do you remember that TikTok you made last year?” she asked. “The one where you took the metal song and stripped it down, sang it in your style instead?”

“Uh, yeah, I think so.” 

Steve did that a few times with a variety of genres. He liked taking music to weird and unexpected places. So, sometimes when there was a viral song or sound, he’d put his own spin on it. 

“Okay, well that was a Corroded Coffin song,” Robin explained. 

“It…was?” Steve genuinely had no idea. He didn’t look into the artist before he’d made the video. 

“Yeah,” she confirmed. “You seriously didn’t know?”

“No,” Steve answered. “So, that combined with the t-shirt and now people think I’m having an affair with this guy or something?” He scoffed. He’d never understand why people were so hellbent on creating stories from nothing.

“It’s just the internet, Steve,” Robin replied. “People say all kinds of things.”

“Yeah, but -” Steve sighed, shutting his eyes tightly. It wasn’t just that he was being shipped with some random guy, it was that Steve wasn’t even out yet. It was kind of a whole thing he and his team had been working on. His new album was supposed to announce it, not some random pairing based on zero evidence.

“Yeah, I know,” Robin said. Steve knew she understood completely, even without him saying anything. She knew his sexuality before he did. “I promise it’s not a huge deal. Sorry the internet sucks.”

“Thanks,” Steve responded. He hung up, groaned, and collapsed onto his couch, where he fell into a deep sleep. 

-

“Eddie, we can use this.”

Eddie held back the groan he so desperately wanted to let out. He was on the phone with his manager, Carla, who had just told him that people online were pairing him with some other musician that Eddie had heard on the radio a few times and - yikes. It wasn’t his vibe. 

“Use it for…?” he asked, completely nonplussed. He picked up a rubber band ball on his desk and rolled it around in his hands. 

“You both have albums coming out soon,” she continued. “So, if you’re dating him then - I mean, think of the publicity.”

“Dating him?” Eddie echoed, confused. “Aren’t we jumping the gun, here? Do we even know if this dude likes other dudes in the first place?”

“No, but you should find out,” Carla insisted. “I mean, it’s HARVEST, Eddie. His music is everywhere right now.”

Eddie knew that much, at least. He didn’t listen to the music when he could help it, but people talked about it all the time. The mysterious HARVEST who wore disguises on stage and left cryptic posts on social media. Eddie couldn’t think of a single person he wanted to date less, and he didn’t even know the guy’s name or what he looked like. 

Eddie, on the other hand, had been busting his ass to maintain the little audience he’d accumulated over the last five years. Corroded Coffin started as a high school passion project, then devolved into a more serious band that played sporadic shows in his hometown, and then went through a series of changes and replacements until Eddie was the only original part of it that remained. Well, that and the name, of course. 

Eddie Munson. Corroded Coffin. They were pretty much synonymous at this point. The fans he had knew who he was and what he looked like. He rarely used social media, but when he interacted with fans he was blunt and to the point. No games. No mystery. This HARVEST guy kinda seemed like a tool. 

“Yeah, I’ll pass,” Eddie said, snapping one of the rubber bands rhythmically. 

“Eddie,” Carla prodded. “If you do this, you’ll blow up. Think of what you could do with the money. Merch. A tour. A vacation. A new house. Whatever you wanted, you could get.”

Money sounded nice, but it’s not like Eddie was living in poverty or anything. Well, he was in a tiny apartment in a shitty area of town, but it was Los Angeles. Who could afford anything more than that? Besides, he’d lived in places that small and shitty his whole life. Then again, he’d never had any other choice. Money would give him the choice. 

The popularity aspect was also intriguing, because Eddie loved attention almost as much as he loved music. Sure, there were downsides to fame, but he adored the glimpses of it he’d had so far, and it’s not like being around HARVEST was going to turn him into Leo DiCaprio or something. 

“Okay, so if I agree to this, what does that mean? Do you want me to DM him or something?”

“Actually,” Carla said. The playfulness in her tone caused Eddie to drop the rubber-band ball, because she only talked like that when she had a creative idea that he tended not to like. “He’s going to be at this launch party tonight that I may or may not have gotten you an invite to…”

Yup. That sounded about right. 

“So you want me to crash the party and proposition this guy?” Eddie asked. 

“Of course not,” she replied. “You’re invited, so it’s not crashing.”

Eddie had to chuckle at that one. She was a sneaky one, sometimes, and damn good at her job. 

“Fine,” Eddie agreed. “Send me the details and I might go.”

“Will do!” Carla responded. He could hear how excited this made her, and he was glad at least one of them was into this whole thing. “You don’t have to do anything too wild, okay? Even if you’re just spotted with him, it will spread the narrative that something is going on. Deal?”

It felt a little gross to go somewhere just to track a random guy down and cling to him for popularity. It was kind of a dick move, really. Then again, Eddie was kind of a dick. 

“Deal,” he replied. 

-

“This will never not be the coolest thing to ever happen to me,” Robin said, as she always did when Steve took her as his plus one to events.

“Yeah, well since Nancy dumped my ass, get used to it,” he teased. “You’ll be filling in for a while.” Steve nudged her shoulder, causing her to laugh. She was wearing this beautiful, brand new jumpsuit. It was pressed and ironed and cost almost a full paycheck. Lucky for her, she didn’t have to pay for it. Steve was doing pretty damn well for himself financially.

The Uber driver pulled up to the bar and dropped them off. Since it was the grand opening or something, the place was entirely closed off and only people on a list were allowed in. 

“Name?” the security guard said at the door. 

“Uh,” Steve stuttered. He never knew which name was on these stupid lists. “Steve Harrington, and my guest.” He gestured to Robin beside him, who blushed. 

The security guard nodded, crossed them off, then opened the door for them to go inside. 

“Holy shit!” Robin said as they walked in. The place was nice, even by Steve’s standards. They headed to the bar to order their first round of drinks. 

Steve went to these kinds of things pretty often - he’d go, have a few drinks, hang out with people, then do it all again a few weeks later. He enjoyed them, for the most part. 

Well, except for one thing. 

Steve choosing to do music under the stage name HARVEST was great in a lot of ways. It was kind of like the whole Miley Cyrus vs Hannah Montana thing, except Steve wasn’t gonna show up to these parties wearing sunglasses, a wig, and an ugly vest - his signature look when he performed. He showed up as Steve, who was a nobody, and that felt kind of lame. To everyone else at the party, he just looked like a normal guy. Even Robin stood out more than he did. 

Steve had this whole thing where HARVEST rarely posted anything or did interviews, and when he did he was in disguise and using a voice changer. It started as a joke and then just…stuck. HARVEST was a completely separate entity from Steve. HARVEST was all the parts of him that made him popular in high school, and Steve was whatever was left underneath. 

He and Robin enjoyed the night anyway. They were handing out some sponsored cocktail throughout the night until everyone was good and drunk. Whatever was in that thing was lethal. Steve had only had two and he was feeling pretty tipsy. Robin was already on the dance floor after one. She’d pulled him to the photo area while a slower song played, urging him to get a picture with her and commemorate the night before she got too sweaty from dancing. 

They held up their branded glasses and smiled. The light flashed so bright they both winced, then laughed at their dramatic reaction. When they began stumbling away from the camera, Robin paused. 

“What?” Steve asked, confused. 

“Eddie Munson is here,” she said. 

“Where?” Steve asked. She pointed vaguely in Eddie’s direction, trying to act like she was just playing with her hair. Steve searched the room until his eyes locked in on the curly-haired brunette that the world wanted him to be with, apparently. Eddie was at the bar, talking up some of the other guests. “What is he doing here?” Robin shrugged. 

Steve had never seen Eddie at one of these parties before. His band wasn’t really that popular. Their only claim to fame so far was a chorus of one of their songs going viral on TikTok. Then, like an idiot, Steve had done a cover of the damn song, and now he was in a whole mess of a situation. Eddie Munson was going to inadvertently reveal Steve’s bisexuality before his album even came out. 

It wasn’t Eddie’s fault, and Steve knew that. Fans were going to say what they were gonna say. But still, Eddie being at the party was a crazy coincidence, considering the circumstances. 

Steve took a sip from his third cocktail and decided not to think about it. 

-

Eddie had never in his life been invited to something like this before. He’d had to talk to a guard and get let in, like some bigshot celebrity. If being around this HARVEST guy gave Eddie more opportunities to go to shit like this, maybe it was worth it. 

Once he got inside, he went to the bar to get a drink. They were serving some cocktail that Eddie had no interest in drinking, so he ordered a whiskey on the rocks as he chatted with the people around him. They were all nice, although it was a bit too loud to have any actual conversation. Plus, most of the guests were well on their way to being drunk. 

All in all, it was Eddie’s exact kind of chaos. 

He scanned the room for a man that matched his only reference point of what HARVEST looked like. Eddie had seen a few pictures of him on stage, and his outfits were always a little out there. He had different hair every time, but his absurd style stayed consistent. 

Nobody at this goddamn party looked like that. 

“Hey,” Eddie said after nudging the person beside him. “You know where HARVEST is?”

He realized as soon as he asked that he probably could have just Googled him to see what he looked like. Whatever. 

“Uhh, you mean Steve?” the woman responded. “He’s here somewhere. His date is in this gorgeous glittery blue jumpsuit. Find her and you’ll find him. He follows her like a shadow.” She finished her description with a light chuckle. Eddie turned back to face the rest of the bar and continued searching the crowd.

Okay, first of all - Steve? The man, the myth, the legend known as HARVEST was actually just…a guy named Steve? Eddie almost burst out laughing. 

Secondly, he brought a date. Of course he brought a date. A woman, at that. Eddie wasn’t cool enough to have a plus one, but Steve on the other hand…

Wow. Eddie didn’t think he’d be able to find the glittery jumpsuit as fast as he did, but it really was a dead giveaway. It sparkled under the lights of the bar, and the girl next to Eddie was right - it was gorgeous. Steve’s date was gorgeous overall, actually. No wonder he was following her around. 

“Him?” Eddie asked, pointing to the guy dancing with the woman in the jumpsuit. 

“Yup,” the guest at the bar confirmed. She took the last sip of her cocktail and set the glass down on the counter. “So, do you wanna dance?”

Eddie froze. He wasn’t a huge fan of dancing in public, and he also wasn’t sure if this dance was just a dance or if it was something else. 

“Well, I, uhhhh -” he began. “I mean, I’m like - ya know - gay.” She laughed in response, her face red from the alcohol. 

“No shit,” she replied. “You obviously have heart eyes for Steve, and he’s dancing with someone else, so let’s go out there and you can make him jealous and I can dance until someone who likes women steals me away.”

Eddie grinned. This chick was dope. He held out his hand for her to take it, and then he walked her to the dance floor. He figured that he could strike up a conversation, get Steve to take a picture with him at the photo area, and then call it a night. 

“What’s your name, by the way?” he yelled over the music. 

“Chrissy!” she yelled back. 

“Eddie!” he responded. She smiled at him, and he couldn’t help but notice how drop-dead gorgeous she was, too. Everyone at this party was perfect-looking, actually, and it was intimidating and weird. Eddie was grateful he'd decided to wear his nicer clothes. 

And then they danced. Eddie did his best to jump to the music and twirl Chrissy around. Over the course of the first song she managed to glide them through the crowd and strategically place them right by Steve. 

Chrissy was a total boss. 

“STEVE!” she shouted, acting much drunker than she actually was. She threw her arms around Steve, who returned the hug with a warm smile. “How are you?”

Steve said something, but it was so loud on the dance floor that Eddie couldn’t hear it.

“I’M ROBIN,” blue jumpsuit woman said. She looked like she was having the time of her life. “NICE TO MEET YOU!”

“YOU TOO!” Chrissy replied. She turned to Eddie. “THIS IS MY FRIEND EDDIE!”

Oh, shit. Okay then. 

Robin and Steve just kinda looked at him and didn’t say anything for a moment. There was no equally loud greeting for Eddie Munson, no sir. He immediately felt judged, and almost bolted right out of there. He didn’t fit in with this crowd at all. 

“H-hi, Eddie!” Robin finally said. “I actually know you! I went to your show a few weeks ago!”

“Woah, really?” Eddie responded, shocked. Nobody had recognized him here, yet. Maybe he wasn’t so different from these people after all. 

“YOU’RE A MUSICIAN, TOO?” Chrissy asked, amazed. Eddie nodded. Suddenly, the most beautiful man Eddie had ever seen approached Chrissy and asked her to dance. He recognized the guy as this famous actor who’d been in a ton of movies. Score for Chrissy, although she was perfect, too, and barely fazed. Instead, she took the actor’s hand and smiled. “GOTTA GO, SEE YOU GUYS LATER!”

And then, she was off. What a crazy life these people led.

Steve spoke again, but only Robin could hear him properly. She nodded, then gestured for Eddie to follow them to a less loud part of the bar. 

“Much better,” Steve said once they could all hear themselves think again. The light in the bar was dim, so it was hard to make out all of Steve’s features, but Eddie could have sworn he looked familiar. “So, you’re the famous Eddie Munson?”

Eddie thought for sure he’d heard Steve wrong. Like, he must have, because no way in hell Eddie could be considered famous among this group of people. Unless Steve was being condescending, in which case…ugh. Sure, whatever. 

“I - I mean, yeah,” Eddie replied. He turned back to Robin, who he already liked more than Steve. “So, you’ve seen Corroded Coffin in concert?”

“Yeah!” she said, her face lighting up at the question. 

“Why?” Eddie asked before he could stop himself. Robin and Steve laughed. “I just mean, you’re not really my usual demographic -”

“I’m full of surprises, Eddie,” she teased. “Okay, so I only went because my friend had an extra ticket, but still.”

“Ouch,” Eddie responded with a laugh, clutching his heart as if he’d genuinely been distraught. 

“What the fuck is in these things?” Steve said, staring intently at the drink in his hand. 

“It’s basically a long island iced tea with all their cheapest liquor and a splash of sprite,” Eddie answered plainly.

“How did you know that?” Robin asked, amused. 

“I asked,” Eddie replied with a shrug. 

“The bartender?” Robin pressed. Eddie nodded. 

“Yeah. I have this thing where I never shut up, so I tend to talk to everyone,” Eddie joked. Well, it wasn’t really a joke. “Anyway, how many have you had?” Steve’s brow furrowed as he desperately tried to remember his drink tally.

“One more than he should have had, apparently,” Robin said, taking the glass from Steve and setting it down on a table. “I’ll go get him some water.” 

She disappeared with no further warning, leaving Eddie alone with Steve. Am I supposed to babysit this guy until she comes back or something?

“So, you and Robin,” Eddie said, shifting back and forth on his feet. He really could not for the life of him stop talking, especially with whiskey coursing through him. “Are you guys, like -?”

“Just friends,” Steve snapped back. He almost seemed pissed at the question. “She’s been my best friend for, god, I dunno, since college.”

“Cool,” Eddie replied. Steve was clearly very drunk, and Eddie wasn’t sure how much of that was contributing to his standoffishness. “Are you okay, man?”

“Why're you even here, dude?” Steve asked, his words slurred. “What made you come here?”

“Uhhh, I was invited?” Eddie answered. This guy’s a real trip.

“So it wasn’t because strangers online want us to be together, and if that happens you get more fame or whatever?”

Oh, damn. While that's exactly what was happening, Eddie sure as hell wasn't going to admit it. To save face, Eddie did what he did best - he defaulted to assholery.

“Don’t flatter yourself,” he responded. “I’m here for the same reason you are.”

“So, it’s a total coincidence that I see you at one of these things for the first time the same day people started talking about us online?”

“Maybe I’ve been to a ton of these parties and you’ve just never noticed,” Eddie retorted. 

“I doubt it,” Steve shot back. 

“Why?”

“Because you’re hard to miss, Munson. Always have been,” Steve replied. 

“Always?” Eddie echoed, confused. Then, the lights hit Steve’s face and illuminated it entirely. Enough for Eddie to remember where he’d seen him before. 

“Got your water!” Robin announced as she returned. She handed Steve the new glass, and he took it without breaking eye contact with Eddie. 

“Ohhhh my god,” Eddie said, stunned. “You're Steve Harrington. HARVEST is Steve goddamn Harrington.”

“Sure is,” Steve replied, his voice even. 

“I missed something, didn’t I?” Robin asked. 

“I mean, kind of,” Eddie said, raising his voice. “Just a couple years of King Steve bullying the school Freak.” Robin turned to Steve, alarmed. 

“Wait, you bullied him?” 

“How did you not know it was me?” Steve asked, getting agitated now. “Did you seriously come here to try to mooch off me without even doing your research first?”

“I never said I came here for you,” Eddie replied. 

“You didn’t deny it either,” Steve reminded him. “You still aren’t, by the way.”

“Okay, fine!” Eddie relented. “You caught me. I came here to cash in on your fame, like some poor commoner in need of charity, and I didn’t even bother to look you up first because honestly? Your music kinda sucks.”

“Oh, I definitely missed something,” Robin muttered nervously. 

“You wanna talk about shitty music?” Steve said through gritted teeth. 

“Okay!” Robin interjected, inserting herself between them. “No more of this. It was nice meeting you, Eddie, but I think we should split.” 

“No need,” Eddie replied. “You stay, I’ll go. You’re the ones who belong here anyway.” He did a slight bow and walked away, leaving Robin and Steve behind. 

So much for fame. 

-

@lemondar93 i thought the whole #steddie thing was a reach but saw them together tonight and uhhhh 👀 idk there's something there

@izzierosieb wait omg at the Frolique grand opening? How tf did you get in??

@lemondar93 suuuuper lucky! Matty was supposed to go but he’s sick and I was backup!

@geegeedaheed tell us everything!!!!

@julijmonroe if steddie is real I will actually lose my mind wtf

@chasityseventeen no fr because we have so little and yet I’m already INVESTED

@belloca123 NOT THERE ALREADY BEING FANART OF THEM AHAHAHAHA

@camerohno Everyone just remember that these are real people and we shouldn’t be speculating about their lives even though they’re obviously secretly married

@lemondar93 LMAO

-

Steve woke up the next morning with the hangover from hell. After Eddie left, he and Robin stuck around for another song or two before heading out themselves. 

Steve never really liked Eddie that much in high school because he was a show-off. He loved making a scene in the cafeteria and he always acted like he was better than everyone else just because he refused to like anything that was popular. Sports, music, TV shows. They were never going to be friends, because Steve usually liked the stuff that other people liked. He used to follow the pack, so to speak, and do what the people around him expected him to do. Eddie tended to do the opposite. Eddie was abrasive and loud and obnoxious. 

Back in high school, anyway. Steve knew that people had the capability to change (after all, he sure did), but after reuniting with Eddie at the bar, he was skeptical any growth or development had actually occurred in the last six years. 

Eddie was still a dick, and Steve had no interest in ever seeing him again. 

He pulled out his phone to see that it was still blowing up. There was a new tag trending - #steddie. Yikes. He’d also gotten even more followers. Then, another update caught his eye. 

His new album had double the pre-orders it had the night before. 

He’d put his heart and soul into this album, and he wanted more than anything for it to be recognized. He was popular, yeah, but mostly for a couple singles that played on the radio all the time. This album was a piece of art from top to bottom that Steve had painstakingly planned and created from scratch. 

Maybe. Maybe this stupid ship with Eddie Munson could be worth something. But not enough to contact the guy. No way. 

Steve opened his Instagram and then felt his heart drop. 

@nancywheeler: Life hack - date a photographer so you get amazing candids on vacation 💕

It hadn’t even been that long since Nancy left Steve for Jonathan Byers. Well, maybe it had been long enough, but still. Cute couple’s posts already? 

Oh, no. Steve wanted Nancy to feel like he did, and he knew what would do the trick. She was always a bit of the jealous type.

God dammit.