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It's 1985. The world in general isn't very accepting of same-sex relationships, AIDS scare still running through the U.S. very prominently. Fucks sake, they'd originally named it after gay people for a couple years before they changed it, so leave it to society to blame them for it and cast them out.
Eddie feels like Hawkins is somehow even worse than the rest, though. It's a small town and everything is so… conformist. Families of trophy wives, their working husbands, and their little nightmares of children occupying the big, pretty houses that line the streets. It's the perfect town for all the straight-edge people that live in it. But not for Eddie. Eddie's not like them.
Eddie could at least find comfort in that he wasn't completely alone, though. Because Eddie had Steve. Yes, Steve Harrington shockingly ended up not only being more like Eddie than he knew, but then also agreed to be Eddie's boyfriend. Eddie couldn't wrap his head around it really, but he found that he didn't need to when he had Steve.
Thanks to their fucked off town, though, Eddie couldn't show Steve off like he wanted to. I mean, what do you do when you're dating Steve Harrington? Any girl would show it off like no tomorrow, and they did when they had the chance in the past. Eddie felt jealous then, and he feels jealous now, too, for two different reasons. He just wishes that people could know that Steve was all his now.
Everyone still looks at Steve like he's a lady killer and thinks he's going to grow up to be like his fatherーmarry a pretty girl and knock her up, move into a nice house where they'll "raise" their family. Some girls all around town still try their luck to be that pretty girl. But Eddie knows that's not going to happen. Steve is his now and he's not going anywhere, it's just everyone else who doesn't know.
Eddie wants them to. Wants them to know that Steve Harrington is Eddie Munson's. They can't, though, so instead he settles on just letting them know that he's taken. He just needs to think of ways he can subtly do it, make sure any girl who lays eyes on Steve will realize right away that they have no chance.
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The Family Video uniform isn't necessarily anything special. It certainly has nothing on the sailor outfit they forced Steve into at Scoops Ahoy, which Eddie silently suffered through watching from across the mall. His ass in those shorts should have been a crime to put on display to the public, yet Eddie was also thankful that he got to see it from afar.
In contrast, the Family Video uniform should be boring and should not make Eddie want to run across the store and tackle Steve to the ground right then and there. But Steve looks so good in his jeans, his stupid polos and that little vest on top for no reason. So Eddie still does, but he controls himself, if only for the sake of Robin.
Eddie's not the only one who loves the look. Steve gets tons of girls coming in just to look at him and try to flirt only to be gently shut down. Robin always looked at him in total shock at first, recalling how terribly he tried and failed to hit on girls when they worked at Scoops, but now that she knows, she just laughs with him after the girls are gone.
Eddie doesn't like it. He knows he can't stop people from staring at Steve, can't blame them either, but they only flirt because they don't know he's off the market, right? They think they have a chance. So Eddie comes up with a solution to this problem that he hopes Steve will be on board for.
One fateful night, when Steve climbs into his van after work, Eddie blatantly checks him out before he drives away. He can see Steve blush under the attention, reaches a hand over the center console to grip one of those delicious thighs. He feels the muscles of it tense up under his fingers and massages the area the entire ride back to Steve's house.
His parents are never home, and tonight is no exception, so Eddie is going to stay over, like he has been many nights now. Steve's house is too big to stay in all alone, if you ask Eddie. He hates to think that Steve spends so much time by himself because he knows that Steve hates it, so if he's not at Steve's house, then Steve is over at the trailer.
When they get inside, Steve turns around, eyes shining and wide, like he's doing it on purpose, and Eddie giggles. Steve crowds him until they crash onto the couch, willingly lying himself down for Eddie. God, Eddie will never get over that this is for him. He dives right in, doesn't waste a second of his precious time with Steve.
He kisses Steve deep and full, mouths slotting together just right. They feel like they're molded for each other and Eddie swears he gets drunk on it sometimes. Steve sighs into the kiss, wrapping his arms around Eddie's neck and pulling their bodies flush against each other. Eddie can't help the grin that takes over his lips.
Kissing Steve is something Eddie will never tire of, he's sure of it. He licks into Steve's mouth with fervor, wants to taste him on his tongue even after they've pulled apart and are only connected by a string of saliva. Steve makes pretty noises under him, responding eagerly to Eddie's every move, drinking it all up.
Eddie has a goal, though, so he pulls away from Steve's perfect mouth to kiss the rest of his perfect face. Steve giggles, and Eddie's heart practically melts and falls out under him like goo. He kisses across Steve's jaw, teasing the skin with scrapes of his teeth, getting Steve warmed up for what he really wants. Steve likes it, or at least he doesn't push Eddie off at the action.
A little groan comes out of Steve when Eddie starts leaving open mouthed kisses on his neck, head falling back to bare the skin for his boyfriend. It's when Eddie starts to sink his teeth in that Steve gasps and pulls himself to sit up on the couch. He looks at Eddie with his eyes blown out as if he's done something wrong.
"Eds—what are you doing?" Steve questions, hand rubbing at the place Eddie's teeth had been. Eddie sighs, picking up a strand of hair and covering his face with it as if it will hide him away. He didn't intend to make Steve uncomfortable but it feels like he really did, and he feels incredibly guilty for that.
"I just… All the girls in town keep flirting with you at work! I just wanted every single one of them to know that you are not available. I may not be able to tell them you're mine, but at least they'll know you're someone's," Eddie rushes out, turning more red with every word and realizing how ridiculous he must sound to Steve.
Steve bites his lips as he looks at Eddie before he breaks out into a huge smile, shoulders shaking as he laughs. Eddie can't help but smile back when he's so cute sitting there. "Oh, baby. You're so cute. I would agree to this, but don't you know the whole reason we've never done this before?"
Eddie thinks back to the talk they had in the past about leaving marks on each other. It's actually because of their little shitheads that they decided not to. The kids didn't really care for Eddie's love life, but Steve's? They loved to annoy him about it, especially Dustin. Dustin was also a big fan of Robin and Steve getting together, no matter how many times both of them said they were strictly Platonic.
So if Steve showed up covered in hickies, they were bound to bring it up and tease Steve about it on top of asking him far too many questions about who did it. Steve didn't want to lie to them, and frankly he doesn't really know what he would say, knowing how much they would ask.
"Yeah, you're right, I know," Eddie sighs, "I just wish that we didn't have to worry about people probably coming to kill us just to be together in public like every other dumb couple in this town. We even have to hide it from the kids." Eddie rubs a hand down his face, frustrated at the entire situation. He's already had these people hunt him down before and he does not want to do it again, or have Steve go through it.
"Or… we could tell them the truth?" Steve says, almost a whisper. It's Eddie's turn to look at him with wide eyes, wondering if he heard him right. "Steve, you know we can't. I…trust them, mostly. I don't know about the Wheeler kid," Eddie jokes. Steve smiles with him, "I trust them, too. I think that it will be better for all of us if we just get it over with. What do you say?"
Eddie takes a deep breath before he ends up nodding, knowing he'd do anything for Steve. They're really going to tell someone other than Robin about their relationship. It's exciting but it's also absolutely terrifying. It makes his stomach twist with anticipation. He wonders when the next time they're seeing the kids is, hoping it will come soon. Steve lunges at him from across the couch, hugging him tight.
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Eddie waits at Steve's house on Friday while he's out picking up Dustin and Max to bring them over for a movie night. Jonathan is going to drop Will and El, and Nancy, Mike, Erica, and Lucas. Eddie's getting everything ready, blankets and pillows thrown on the couch and popcorn in the microwave. It's coming along nicely.
As for the whole 'coming out to the kids' thing, Eddie is much more nervous now that it's almost time to do it versus before. He knows it shouldn't be too complicated, they can just say they're a couple and that would be it, but it feels like it can't just be that. Eddie's hands are sweaty as he reaches for more snacks in the pantry.
Jonathan arrives first, El and Will running in while Jonathan waves from the car and tells them to have fun. Eddie knows them the least of all the kids, but he's been warming up to them the more time they spend together, especially Will. They're alike in a lot of ways, more than Will lets on, actually.
Eddie can look forward to that, at least. He would love to show Will that it's okay to be himself, like he and Steve are. Maybe not for the whole world, but here, with the people who care about him. The thought puts Eddie's mind at ease as he offers the kids some snacks. Nancy is there not long after, so Eddie welcomes Lucas, Erica, and Mike in.
The energy immediately picks up once they arrive, going over to talk to Will and El after they've greeted Eddie. Finally, Steve gets back with the last two of the party, completing it. All of them are excited to watch whatever movies are in store (Steve and Eddie had told them they could bring any movies they wanted).
When Steve gets in the door, he walks straight over to Eddie and plants a kiss on his lips. It's just a little peck, and then he pulls away and walks to the kitchen to grab the popcorn. Eddie is glued to his spot, mind running so wild that nothing is comprehensible. The kids are all staring at him from the couch, looking just as surprised as he does.
It doesn't last long though. Dustin yells, "What the fuck? Steve, did you just kiss Eddie?" And with that, all the kids break out into indecipherable noises, all too crunched together to make out what they're actually saying. Steve walks back in their direction, bowl in hand for the movie snack. "Yeah, I did."
That silences them once more, before Max asks the simple question, "Why?" Steve looks at her with a straight face, "Why else do people kiss each other on the mouth, Max?" She glares at him in response, but huffs a little laugh out of her nose.
"No shit, I mean why Eddie?" she corrects herself, and that finally snaps Eddie back into reality. "Hey! What's wrong with me?" Eddie cuts in, finally making his way towards the couch. Everyone's heads turn to him and he feels way too seen by the group of teenagers in front of him.
"Nothing," Steve says, at the same time that Max says, "So many things." She laughs over everyone while Eddie crosses his arms at her words. Erica speaks up, "I think it's an upgrade from Nancy, though. Good for you, Steve." Eddie smiles at her, before returning to frowning at Max. The girl just grins at him, evil.
"Are we just going to skip over the fact that Eddie is a guy?" Mike interrupts. Lucas answers, "What about it? I think we all knew Eddie was a guy, Mike." That gets everyone laughing, besides Mike of course. "I meant…like, you know!" He huffs, but when everyone continues to laugh, he lets it go.
Eddie smiles, seeing that everyone is taking it pretty well. El is sending him a thumbs up, and Will looks close to tears but is silent. Eddie makes eye contact with him and gives his best grin, and Will blushes in response, but beams back. Eddie feels proud, warm in his chest as he moves to squish himself next to Steve on the couch.
Steve turns to him when he settles and kisses his cheek and pulls back to stare at him with this dopey smile, and he's so, so happy. The kids are arguing over what movie to play first, loud as ever, and everything feels perfect. Eddie returns the peck from earlier, before he snuggles into Steve's side.
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"Thank you, have a nice day," Steve says, sliding a tape across the counter. The girl on the other side sighs as she picks it up, turning to leave the store. Eddie practically giggles from the other side of it, wants to stick his tongue out at her but controls himself and celebrates in silence.
Eddie is a goddamn genius, he thinks to himself. It worked! Every girl that came in to flirt with Steve as usual today was gaping at the dark marks covering his throat. They seemed disappointed afterwards, and they didn't try their usual antics when they came to pay for their tapes.
When Steve sees Eddie's little celebration, he shakes his head but the fond smile on his face says everything. Robin fake gags behind him, but Eddie just smiles right back at his boyfriend, eyes soft and shining.
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"Ew, oh my god! Eddie, seriously, you're an animal! Did you have to? He's my big brother!"
"Yes, I did have to, actually."