Archive of Our Own

“Come on, Steve! Lucas can’t play tonight, and Eddie said we need a substitute.” Dustin was following Steve around the Family Video and pleading with him while he tried to restock the shelves.

Steve sighed. “I already told you, Henderson. I have a date tonight, and I really don’t want to cancel.” He continued pushing the cart around the store, picking up tapes and putting them back in their rightful places.

Robin was watching it all while shoving chips into her mouth, not bothering to step in, that traitor.

Dustin bounced around to stop in front of Steve’s cart, putting his hands down to stop it from moving. “Can you really picture a future with this girl, anyway? It’s just one night, Steve. Mike, Will, and I will even help you make your character!”

Knowing that he always had trouble saying no to Dustin, Steve reluctantly replied, “Alright, fine. But don’t get mad at me when I ruin the game because I don’t know the rules.”

Dustin cheered, pumping his fist in the air. “Yes! Aw, man, this is gonna be so much fun!”

While Steve meandered around the store and did his various chores, Dustin followed him around with a notepad from his backpack and asked him questions that he really didn’t understand. Before they could get too far, though, Will and Mike came barreling through the door.

“I expect compensation for working the counter all day, dingus!” Robin called, grinning at him as she flipped another page of her book.

Steve rolled his eyes. “I’m still working, Robin. You’re just jealous because I’m not paying any attention to you.”

Pretending to swoon, Robin put on a funny voice as she said, “Alas, my poor heart cannot survive without the witty quips of King Steve. I shan't live much longer all by my lonesome.”

With a scoff, Steve turned around to lean on the back of his cart, raising an eyebrow at the kids. “Alright, what am I supposed to do?”

Will stepped forward, smiling shyly at Steve as he said, “We’re helping you make a character. So try to think of some heroic traits, and we can translate that into your character’s stats.”

“Stats?” Steve questioned.

“Yeah, you know. Their stats. Their statistics.” Dustin tilted his head in thought before straightening up. “You know in sports how all the players have numbers associated with them? Like how many points they’ve scored and other shit like that? Well, your character stats are kind of like that.”

Steve nodded in understanding, secretly glad that Dustin was taking the time to make it easier for him to understand rather than making fun of him. Plus, Will said the boys would be doing most of the hard work anyway, he just had to imagine the kind of things that make up a hero.

Mike grumbled beside them. “This is stupid. He’s a total newbie! Eddie’s totally gonna tear us apart for bringing Steve Harrington to a D&D game.”

Will shrugged. “I don’t know, I think it will be fun. It’s nice of him to step in for Lucas even though he’s new to the game.”

Grateful for Will, Steve decided to tune them out. He didn’t know what Mike’s problem was, but he didn’t really want to find out. Some things were just better left unsaid. Right now, he just needed to focus on what made a hero.

All Steve could imagine when he thought of heroes was the Spider-Man comics hidden away in his bedside drawer where Dustin couldn’t find them. The first one in the series had been a Christmas gift from Jonathan Byers, and begrudgingly, Steve had loved it so much that he bought the rest of the issues that had come out.

There was just something about a broke college student that still found the time to protect his city and sass the baddies even though he was barely making it through his internship. Not that Steve could relate. Of course he couldn’t. Nope.

Well, maybe not to the college kid part. The snark that Peter Parker threw back at the various villains he fought sort of resonated with Steve in an odd way, and he just couldn’t get enough. The humble beginning of Peter Parker that led him to his heroic life intrigued Steve to no end.

So perhaps that was why Steve found himself describing a hero that talked back to the villains and protected his town out of the good of his heart. Attacking non-lethally but not letting the law get in the way of doing what he knew was right.

Will grinned, writing everything Steve said down while Mike eyed him suspiciously. “It sounds like your character is Neutral Good! That means they don’t mind the rules and authority, but they’ll still break them if it seems like the right thing to do.”

Scowling, Mike threw his hands up. “Are we just going to ignore the fact that he’s literally just describing Spider-Man? There’s, like, no creativity at all!”

Dustin waved him off. “Dude, he doesn’t know anything about this game. We’re just taking what he says and turning it into a character that would be easy for him to play. I’m sure Eddie won’t mind if he’s loosely based on Spider-Man. At least he’s trying!”

The boys had Steve roll a twenty-sided die six times. Will wrote down the numbers that he rolled before explaining what they were for. As he listed the different stats that his character could have, he gave examples of what each stat would be used for. Steve nodded along, barely keeping up and starting to regret his decision to join them. He was going to get eaten alive.

Luckily, Will noticed him struggling and put each stat in terms of Spider-Man and his abilities. “Okay, so Constitution would be like resilience. Basically how many hits, drops of poison, curses, and stuff could he take before he gets really hurt. Then Dexterity is like agility and the ability to move quickly and dodge things. I should hope you know what Charisma is…”

Steve grinned at him. “Yeah, I think I’ve got that one down.”

“If you understand each of the stats, you should assign each stat a number that you just rolled. Remember that the higher the number is, the stronger your character is in that particular thing.” Dustin put his hand on Steve’s shoulder, and the smile that he gave him almost made all the hassle worth it.

They worked together, Mike in the form of complaining, until Steve was ready. Just in time, apparently, because the sun was beginning to set, and Steve still had to speed down the road just to get the little shits to the school in time for the meeting.

As they got out of the car, Steve took a deep breath. It was just a nerd game. He could do it. It couldn’t be any harder than basketball…

***

“Harrington. What are you doing here?”

As soon as Steve walked through the drama room door, a voice that he recognized said his name. Not with distaste. More shock and apprehension.

Dustin beamed. “He’s our sub!”

“Absolutely not.”

Steve would admit, he wasn’t really paying attention to the uproar that Dustin’s statement caused. He was too busy staring at the owner of the voice and realizing that Dustin’s Eddie was Eddie Munson. And he looked just as handsome as Steve remembered. Possibly even more.

His hair was longer, and it looked soft in a natural sort of way that Steve had to use a variety of hair products to achieve. He couldn’t help but note that Eddie had really grown into his face, and his eyes were somehow warm despite the way he was looking at Steve.

Biting his lip subconsciously, Steve took in Eddie’s outfit, blushing a little at the way his shirt rode up on the side where his jacket pulled it. That little sliver of skin at his hip was almost tantalizing, and Steve could feel the heat rushing to the tips of his ears.

When he finally dragged his eyes back up to Eddie’s face, his gaze had turned kinder. He gave Steve an electric smirk before holding his hand up, effectively silencing all arguing. It was impressive, and Steve briefly wished he had that ability with the kids.

“Alright, Harrington,” Eddie said, leaning back with his arms crossed across his chest. “Tell me about your character.”

Steve glanced at the kids, fidgeting with his hands as Will and Dustin nodded at him encouragingly. “Um, he’s an… elf rogue named Parthan. Neutral good?”

Eddie’s friends, the ones that Steve didn’t recognize, laughed at him, elbowing each other. Eddie silenced them again with a sharp look. Putting his hand to his chin, Eddie addressed Steve, “Okay. But what’s he like? And how about you talk about him as if he’s you.”

Steve blinked. Eddie was being really understanding; from what Mike had said, Steve had been expecting more pushback. From a quick scan around the room, it seemed like it had surprised everyone except Dustin.

“Well, he- uh, I… I’m a secret protector of my village, and the knights don’t like me very much. I talk back to the villains that I fight, but I’m always quick enough to dodge when they try to catch me.” Will gave Steve two thumbs up, grinning.

One of the guys scoffed behind Eddie. “Harrington’s just describing Spider-Man. Way to be imaginative.”

“That’s what I said!” Mike exclaimed, huffing like a child.

Eddie frowned at them. “Dustin said that he’s been trying to convince Steve to play with him for ages. If this is what makes Harrington excited to play, then who am I to gatekeep our little nerd game just because you don’t think his character is creative enough.” With a wink at Steve and a warm smile at Will, Eddie continued, “I’ll allow it. Will, make sure you’re showing him the ropes while we play. I don’t want him to fall behind.”

Dustin jumped up and down with delight, clapping his hands together. Eddie ruffled his hair over his hat before gesturing for everyone to sit down. Once they had all taken their seats, character sheets and dice sets in front of them, Eddie took his place at the head of the table behind his Dungeon Master screen. He took Steve’s character sheet and scanned it quickly before nodding to himself and handing it back.

“Welcome, adventurers, to the final battle. The Cult of Vecna awaits you.”

Steve sat back and let the kids take the lead, rolling whatever dice that Will told him to and trying to follow along as best as he could. With Dustin and Will on either side of him, he felt much more comfortable. Enough to speak up every once in a while, much to Eddie’s delight.

A couple of times, he found himself watching Eddie when the other players tried to figure out one of his puzzles. Eddie had an incredible poker face—Steve figured he would have to if he wanted his puzzles to be difficult—but every time one of the kids got all excited about finding the solution, Eddie would get excited with them. It was strange; Steve expected Eddie to be the bad guy in their adventures, but it seemed he genuinely wanted the rest of the players to succeed.

Somewhere along the way, Steve’s feelings about Eddie’s DMing had turned from admiration into a need for Eddie to get excited for him. To direct that giddy smile at him. But he didn’t understand the puzzles, and he didn’t want to make a fool of himself. Especially not in front of people that Will and Dustin really looked up to.

But then everyone was arguing, talking over each other, and getting way more into it than Steve had ever expected. Will was sitting quietly next to Steve, interjecting only when he felt that it was necessary, and for that Steve was grateful. Steve looked up to find Eddie watching him carefully and he averted his eyes back to the board in front of them, racking his brain for any information that could help them.

Steve leaned over to whisper in Will’s ear, “Why has Eddie been making us roll a dexterity check every time we move?”

Will thought for a moment before he leaned over. “I remember him mentioning something about vines on the floor. I’m pretty sure it's just to see if we trip or not since Mike failed his last check before this battle, and Eddie only told him that he had tripped over one of the vines”.

It was like a lightbulb went off in Steve’s head. His eyes shot up to meet Eddie’s, surprised to see a broad grin there. Before Steve could say anything, Eddie was raising his hand, effectively silencing everyone in the room.

“Silence. I believe Parthan has something he would like to share with the group.”

Then everyone’s eyes were on Steve and his knee started bouncing faster and faster. Will nudged Steve’s side and gave him a kind grin, and Steve did his best to relax. He let the rest of the room fall away as he stared at Eddie and his infuriatingly hot smirk.

“The rest of the monsters are being alerted to our presence by the vines on the floor. It’s like … a hive mind. When Mike - er, sorry, Sir Michael - tripped on one of the vines, we got ambushed by monsters. I think we should be extra careful when we’re walking through this place.”

The rest of the party turned to face Eddie, their mouths dropping open when Eddie beamed, jumping up from the table and dancing around a little before he returned to his place at the head of the table. “Congratulations, Steve Harrington! You are officially smarter than these little losers.” He leaned forward a little to wink at Steve and stage-whisper conspiratorially, “They’ve been complaining about the number of battles they’ve had to fight for ages. I’ve been waiting for someone to figure it out, and who better than King Steve, complete beginner to Dungeons and Dragons!”

Dustin whooped, shaking Steve’s shoulders as everyone started shouting again, but Steve couldn’t stop staring at the fond smile Eddie was giving him. He smiled back tentatively, shocked at the red that began to spread up Eddie’s cheeks to the tips of his ears.

Before everyone could settle down and take their seats, Eddie stood abruptly, his chair scraping against the floor before falling over behind him. He paid it no mind. “With the battle finished, and Parthan figuring out one piece of the mystery, I call this meeting of the Hellfire Club to a close!”

They groaned, but Steve couldn’t dampen the wild grin on his face. Then his eyebrows shot up, and he stood up quickly from the table. 

“Lucas’s basketball game!” Steve grabbed Dustin’s wrist and pulled him to the door. “Come on, we can grab your things later. I don’t want to miss the end.” Will set his dice back down gently from where he had been picking them up, running after Steve and Dustin to catch up.

Just before they were out of hearing range, Steve heard Eddie say, “What are you nerds looking at me for? Let’s go, we need to support Sinclair with his laundry baskets!”

Somehow, Steve’s grin grew even wider. They slowed down a little when they reached the doors of the gym and Steve hurried them to the bleachers next to the band as quickly as he could. He stood on the edge, waving all the kids down the row until they were all there, Eddie standing next to him at the end. Eddie knocked his elbow against Steve’s arm, and then Steve was turning his attention to the court.

Lucas had the ball, and Steve was bouncing up and down on the balls of his feet. Eddie’s friends didn’t seem nearly as excited, but Steve was happy to see Dustin, Will, and Mike watching Lucas carefully with smiles on their faces. Once a party, always a party, he supposed.

It was a free throw with seconds left of the game, and Lucas had the ball. Steve knew the kind of pressure he was under, so when Lucas turned to the bleachers, searching the crowd for any faces he recognized, Steve gave him a big thumbs up. Lucas nodded at him nervously and turned back to the game.

He jumped, lifted his arms, and threw the ball toward the hoop. Steve held his breath as the last few seconds of the game ticked down.

Swoosh.

Steve jumped up and down, his hands holding Eddie’s arm as he cheered and yelled along with the boys. Lucas turned back to him with a shining grin, and Steve was so glad he hadn’t missed the end of the game.

“Way to go, Sinclair! Just like we practiced!” Steve shouted, privately beaming at Lucas’s embarrassed flush. He didn’t care if people were looking at him; he got to support Lucas at his championship game!

The crowd filling the bleachers slowly filed out of the gym, but Will, Mike, and Dustin stayed by Steve’s side as they waited for Lucas to join them. To Steve’s surprise, Eddie had stood right next to him, bumping their shoulders together.

Lucas ran over as soon as the team was done talking to their coach, wrapping his arms around Steve in a tight hug. “Thanks for practicing with me, Steve. I don’t know if I would’ve made the shot without you.”

Steve scoffed, ruffling Lucas’s hair gently. “Don’t give me that, Lucas. You’ve been dribbling circles around me every time we practice. This was all you, buddy.”

Eddie spoke up, jostling Lucas around a bit. “I gotta admit, Sinclair… There might be something to this balls-in-laundry-baskets game after all. That game-winning point was pretty kickass.”

“Eddie! I’m sorry I missed the meeting tonight, but it means a lot that you came to watch some of my game.” Lucas beamed at Eddie, slinging his arms around Dustin and Will’s shoulders.

Winking at Lucas, Eddie said, “I ended the session early. Ol’ Harrington here figured out my puzzle before the rest of those nerds, so I had to make it up to him somehow.” While he nudged Steve exaggeratedly, Eddie continued, “He basically dragged us all to the gym to see you play.”

Steve flushed, but he was saved from defending himself when Dustin, Will, and Mike jumped into an elaborate retelling of their session for Lucas, talking over each other. He loved to see them messing around with each other again, but unfortunately, it left him alone with Eddie as they all walked back to the drama room.

“You really love those kids, don’t you?”

“What?” Steve croaked, blinking at Eddie owlishly.

Eddie leaned into Steve’s space, smirking at him like he knew a secret Steve didn’t. “Come on now, Harrington. I know you would never stoop so low as to join us measly peasants for a game of make-believe if Henderson hadn’t flashed those puppy-dog eyes at you.”

Steve shook his head. “Maybe not, but it was fun. Dustin will probably want me to play more, but I’m fine just watching. I don’t really have the brains for it.”

“I don’t know about that. You figured out my puzzle before any of those shitheads did. You don’t have to play again if you don’t want to, Harrington, but…” Eddie paused for a moment, seemingly thinking something over before he stuck his hands in his pockets and continued nonchalantly, “Well, I wouldn’t be opposed to a couple more visits from the King of Hawkins High. You should stop in and watch sometime. I like the energy you bring to the group.”

Steve couldn’t stop the blush from rising up his cheeks and tinting the tips of his ears. It was strange. If he had to be truthful with himself, the idea that someone like Eddie Munson might want him around even when he had done nothing to stop his asshole friends from bullying the man back in high school was mind-boggling.

He hadn’t exactly done anything to change Eddie’s perspective of him, after all. After graduation, Steve had only interacted with the Party. And they were only together because they were trauma bonded. He didn’t have any other friends. 

For Eddie, Eddie “the Freak” Munson, to tell Steve that he genuinely wanted him around even though they hadn’t gone through hell together… Steve wasn’t used to it. He wasn’t used to people wanting him around just because they liked him.

“Uh, thanks. That means a lot actually. I just know your friends don’t really like me that much, so I wouldn’t want to impose…” Steve scratched at the back of his neck and averted his eyes from Eddie. “If I did stop by, I’d probably just show up early to pick the kids up and watch the end.”

Eddie grinned, leaning into Steve’s space. “Oh, you’ll grow on them, Harrington! I’m probably the least open to change out of all of us, and you grew on me pretty fast, didn’t you?”

By the time they finally returned to the drama room, Steve was bright red, and the other boys had already packed up all of their things. They were standing at the door to the drama room, ready to leave, and it looked like the other Hellfire boys had cleaned up everything but the notebooks in front of the throne.

One of them, Gareth if Steve was remembering correctly, shook a cardboard box at Eddie. “You sure took your sweet time, Eddie. I cleaned up everything for you, and you’re lucky I didn’t sneak a peek at your notes.”

Eddie rolled his eyes, his grin still going strong, and bounced over to Gareth's side to swoon, almost toppling him over with his weight. “Oh, my dear Gareth, how could I ever repay you for such a selfless display of compassion? My hero!”

Gareth scoffed in response and pushed Eddie off of him. “Just grab your shit, dude. I know Wayne’s not waiting up for you to get home, but I have a strict curfew, and I’ll never forgive you if my mom tears me a new one.”

Briefly, Steve saw a flash of him and Robin in their interaction, and the steadily growing jealousy that had pooled in his chest when Eddie flung himself at Gareth started to dissipate. He could recognize that same platonic bond, and it relieved him more than he ever expected.

Eddie was charming, alright? And he had been smiling at Steve almost all night. You could hardly blame Steve for developing a little crush when a guy that was his exact type (read: nerdy, outspoken, brunette, curly-ish hair, etc.) started looking at him like that! It certainly wasn’t the fastest Steve had gotten a crush on someone. That honor was reserved for Jamie Hughes in the fourth grade, when Steve had skinned his knee playing tag and Jamie had used the water from his water bottle to clean it carefully, even though Steve hadn’t asked him to.

That didn’t matter now, though. Because Eddie had said that he liked being around Steve. Which actually meant more than Eddie realized considering Steve used to be an asshole that surrounded himself with assholes. Assholes who messed with Eddie just because his hair was longer than most boys their age and he liked playing a little role-playing game. A little role-playing game that Steve had just played with him.

How Eddie could so easily forgive him for that was unfathomable. So, yeah. He was a little into Eddie.

Once Eddie had grabbed his notebooks, everyone was heading out into the mostly cleared-out parking lot. Gareth, Jeff, and Frank were walking over to a couple of cars several spaces over from Steve’s while Eddie leaned against the wall by the door. Steve turned to the kids.

“Alright, who am I driving home?”

Lucas shook his head. “My mom and dad came to support me, so they’re waiting by the car.” He turned to face his friends, wrapping them up in shoulder hugs. “Thanks for coming to watch, guys.”

After Lucas had waved his goodbyes and caught up to his parents, Steve turned to Will, Mike, and Dustin. “So just the three of you?” They nodded so Steve said, “Go ahead and get settled in the car, I’m going to say bye to Eddie.”

Dustin and Mike scrambled to the passenger door, shoving each other away as they fought over who would get to sit up front. Will had already moved to sit in the backseat, rolling his eyes at their antics.

Over by the doors to the school, Eddie and Gareth were talking to each other and Jeff and Frank had already driven away. Just as Steve was within hearing range of the two boys, he caught the tail-end of their conversation.

“But you said you needed a ride tonight. Did you get your van back from the shop already?”

“Not exactly. Look, here’s the thing…”

“You're gonna try to flirt with Harrington, aren’t you? Don’t think I missed the eyes you were giving him tonight, Munson.”

“I am but a simple man, my dear Gareth the Great! How could I resist those charms?”

“Gross, I don’t want to hear about his charms. Just call me when you get home, man. Good luck with your prince.”

“He’s the king, actually.”

“Whatever, dude.”

Okay. So. Right, so… basically, Steve was freaking out. It was one thing to admit his crush, but finding out that maybe, possibly, that same crush liked him back was almost too much. Eddie admitted to wanting to flirt with him, for fuck’s sake! How was Steve supposed to handle that?

But he had been walking over for a reason and stopping in the middle of the parking lot now was probably more suspicious, so he forced himself to continue making his way toward Eddie normally.

“Heya, Harrington.”

Calm, cool, and collected. He was Steve Harrington, King of Hawkins High. He could flirt. He was good at flirting. In fact, he was practically overflowing with charm!

Steve smiled at Eddie, hands in his pockets as he stayed just outside of Eddie’s space. “Hey, man. You heading home?” Yes. Good. Smooth moves, Harrington.

Eddie nodded before gesturing with his head over to Steve’s car where the kids were waiting, having finally settled their argument. “Yeah, I’ll start walking home once you get the kids out of here. Always gotta be the last to leave, you know?”

Steve frowned, feigning confusion despite already knowing the details of Eddie’s transport predicament. “Walking home? Don’t you have a car?”

Eddie shrugged casually. “Yeah, but it’s in the shop right now. And the boys had to get home before their curfew, so I couldn’t bum a ride.”

If Steve was not keenly aware that Eddie was lying out of his ass, he probably would have believed him.

“Aww, that’s too bad.” He hesitated, intentionally turning on some of that confident charm that he had been severely lacking the whole night. Then, he looked up at Eddie through his eyelashes and said, “I have an extra seat in my car if you need a ride. It’s not a big deal, and besides, the trailer park is on the way anyway.”

Pulling a lock of hair in front of his face, Eddie pretended to swoon. “Wow, Harrington! You’re such a charmer. If you insist, I guess I could ride with you. As long as I really won’t be a bother.”

Lying out of his ass.

“You could never be a bother, Eddie.” Steve smiled softly, mentally fist-pumping when Eddie actually blushed for real. Grabbing Eddie’s wrist, Steve pulled him over to his car, holding tight just in case Eddie didn’t think he was serious.

As soon as they were standing next to his car, Steve knocked on the passenger window where Dustin had won the battle for shotgun privileges and waited for Dustin to roll it down.

“What do you want? Why aren’t you getting in the car?” Dustin raised an eyebrow in one of his signature I-think-you’re-being-stupid looks.

Steve smirked at him. “I’m giving Eddie a ride home. Which means your front-seat victory has just been revoked.” Dustin groaned, but Steve didn’t let it faze him. “Go on, dude. Get back there.”

Dustin sighed as if every movement pained him, throwing Eddie a scorned glare.

“Thanks for keeping my seat warm for me, Henderson,” Eddie quipped with a snicker, ruffling Dustin’s cap until the boy swatted his hands away.

Will slid over to the middle seat as Dustin opened the door to the back before he met Steve’s gaze in the rearview mirror and rolled his eyes in solidarity at Dustin’s insufferable whingeing. Steve gave him a knowing look in response and turned the keys in the ignition.

“Alright, so I’m dropping off Wheeler first, then Eddie, then Henderson, and then Will. Is that alright with everyone?” As soon as everyone gave their assent, Steve threw his arm over the back of Eddie’s seat to watch where he was backing out of the parking space, leaning a little closer to him than was strictly necessary and inwardly relishing in the way he could feel Eddie’s warm breath stutter against his neck. Then, when he straightened back up, he made sure to let his eyes roam over Eddie’s face, so he could take in his delightful blush and wink when their eyes met.

Steve almost expected the drive to be spent in relative silence, but with Dustin and Mike in the car, peaceful silence was always few and far between. Adding Eddie into their dynamic basically eliminated any chance of a quiet car ride. Whenever Dustin and Mike started arguing about something that had happened during the session, Eddie would cut in to prove one of them wrong or taunt them with the promise of hints for the sessions to come.

It was incredibly endearing, and Steve had to remind himself to keep his face in check just in case he started giving Eddie heart eyes every time they were stopped at a red light. Will had definitely noticed already if the looks he was giving him in the rearview mirror were any indication.

Once Steve had dropped Mike off at his house, the car had gotten drastically quieter, and Eddie had taken it upon himself to start sifting through Steve’s tapes in his glove box.

“Duran Duran? Seriously, Harrington? I thought you would have better taste than this.” Eddie waved one of the tapes back and forth with a playful scowl, pretending to throw up before he put it back in the glove box in search of a better one.

Steve put one hand to his chest in mock affront. “How dare you! I’ll have you know that I only select the best tapes to keep in my car. You’re dissing the cream of the crop here, Munson.”

Eddie scoffed, holding up one of Steve’s Madonna tapes. “I wouldn’t be too sure about that, Steven. I’m pretty sure all you’ve got in here is Top 40s Pop garbage.”

With a coy smirk, Steve looked over at Eddie and replied, “I guess you’ll just have to show me what real music looks like, then. Unless you’re all talk…”

Dustin gasped in the backseat, but Steve paid him no mind—even when Will elbowed him in the ribs and he yelped—because Eddie was turning to him with a challenging grin. “You have no clue what you just signed up for, Harrington. I’m gonna blow your mind.”

“Ew, gross. Keep it in your pants, Eddie!” Dustin stuck a finger in front of his mouth and imitated gagging. “This is like watching my parents kiss…”

Eddie spluttered and smacked at Dustin wherever he could reach, but Steve just smiled to himself and let the blush rise up his cheeks freely.

While Eddie was distracted, Steve reached into the glovebox to grab his favorite Queen tape. He could tell which one it was without looking because the plastic case was a little more scuffed at the corners. He put the cassette into the tape deck and let it play.

The opening of “Princes of the Universe” resonated from the speakers, and Steve grinned, tapping his fingers along to the song on the steering wheel. Eddie’s head whipped up to face Steve so fast that Steve felt bad for his neck.

“This guitar doesn’t sound like your usual scene, Harrington. You sure this tape is yours?”

Steve rolled his eyes and huffed, “Oh, please. Queen is for everyone, dude.”

Leaning in close to Steve’s face, Eddie tilted his head and grinned. “Hmm. I guess I was wrong about you, Steve. There’s a potential metalhead in you that’s just sitting in wait for me to coax out.”

“I wouldn’t be too sure about that,” Dustin called out from the backseat. “Every time he picks me up he’s either playing ABBA or Wham!”

Steve gasped dramatically as he made eye contact with Dustin in the rearview mirror. “Dusty! I thought you loved my ABBA.”

With a sharp thwack to Steve’s arm, Dustin leaned forward to hiss, “Shut up, man! I don’t need Eddie to know that.”

“Too late, dumbass,” Eddie retorted, flicking Dustin’s forehead lightly and forcing him to escape back into the safe haven that was Will’s soft laughter.

Sooner than Steve would have liked, they were pulling up to the trailer park and Eddie was moving to get out of the car. Steve drummed his fingers on the steering wheel as he tried to build up the courage to call after him. Before he could psych himself out of it, he unbuckled his seatbelt and moved to follow Eddie to the door of his trailer.

Eddie turned around in surprise and quirked an amused eyebrow at him. “What’cha doing, big boy?”

“Uh, I just thought… I was just walking you to your door.” Steve looked anywhere but at Eddie, scratching the back of his neck nervously. God, he was such an idiot. Why did he think he should be all gentlemanly now? It’s not like Steve had just driven him home from a date!

After searching Steve’s face, Eddie’s eyes softened and he gestured with one arm to the trailer behind him like he was presenting a masterpiece of art. “Well, mission accomplished. Unless… there was something else you wanted?”

Steve let his gaze wander over to Max’s trailer just in time to see her shut the curtains of her window hastily. She certainly hadn’t gotten any better at spying on people through windows in the past year and a half.

Then, following a brief pause of deliberation, Steve turned his head back to face Eddie and blinked up at him from under his eyelashes. He had learned that little trick from a girl he had dated for about a week in middle school, and it never failed to get his dates flustered.

“I just wanted to thank you for not holding my past against me tonight. I know we talked about it earlier, but… I had a lot of fun with you.”

Eddie blinked once, then twice, then a deep red flush spread up his neck to the tips of his ears. It was probably one of the most beautiful things Steve had ever seen.

When Eddie opened his mouth and no sound came out, Steve smiled and reached a hand out to squeeze his bicep. “I’ll see you around, Munson.”

As soon as he hopped back in the car and put it in reverse, he caught Max’s eye and grinned when she gave him a thumbs up with a begrudgingly impressed look.

Of course, that was when all hell broke loose in the car.

Dustin leaned forward until his head was between the front two seats and whacked Steve’s chest. “What the fuck was that, Harrington?

Steve waved his hand in a shooing motion. “Dude, at least let me drive away first. God, you kids have no subtlety.”

Thankfully, Dustin sat back in his seat and stayed quiet while Steve waved at Eddie, then at Max, and then pulled out of the trailer park. That silence lasted until Eddie was no longer in sight, and then Dustin was yelling again, Will’s own curious questions adding to the cacophony.

“You gonna tell us what that was? I’ve seen you chat up girls at Scoops and Family Video, and that looked a hell of a lot like flirting, Harrington,” Dustin demanded.

“I mean, you don’t have to tell us, Steve! We don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to…” Oh, sweet Byers. There’s a reason Will was starting to become Steve’s favorite. Eddie could have Dustin as long as Steve could still have Will.

Steve sighed and shook his head with a small smile on his face. “Okay, you caught me. Yes, I was flirting with Eddie.”

Clearly not expecting that answer, the car fell silent again, and Steve chuckled softly to himself at the uncharacteristic surprise from know-it-all Dustin. 

“Wait a second, I thought you hated Eddie!”

Grimacing, Steve flexed his fingers on the steering wheel. “That was before I knew the Eddie you were describing was Eddie Munson…”

Dustin stared deadpan at him for longer than Steve was comfortable with. “What are you talking about? The Eddie I was describing and the Eddie Munson you flirted with are exactly the same. How does knowing his last name make any difference to whether you like him or not?”

With a blush, Steve did his best to avoid Dustin’s demanding glare, especially when he decided to tell him the full truth. “I was jealous, okay! I thought you had found some cool new guy to look up to. I didn’t know your Eddie was the same Eddie I had a massive crush on back in freshman year!”

Will let out some sort of strangled squeak while Dustin slumped back in his seat to stare up at the roof of the car.

“Oh my god,” Dustin mumbled. “It really is like watching my parents kiss. This is disgusting.” Steve snorted, even when Dustin panicked and started backtracking to explain, “Not you liking guys! Or even just one guy. That’s not disgusting. Watching you two flirt is disgusting.” Another pause. “But it’s not disgusting because you’re both boys! It’s just gross because you’re like my brother. I swear I’m not homophobic.”

“Calm down, Dusty, Jesus Christ.” At a stop sign, Steve reached back to ruffle Dustin’s hair from over his hat.

“If it helps,” Will spoke up, “Eddie was definitely flirting with you tonight. I mean, he barely took his eyes off of you.”

Chuckling, Steve glanced up to wink at Will in the rearview mirror. “Don’t worry, Baby Byers. I already overheard him talking to Gareth about how he was trying to flirt with me. I’m pretty sure his whole needing a ride thing was a scam.”

That, of course, set Dustin off on another overdramatic fit as he threw his hands up in betrayal. “You’re telling me I never needed to give up my shotgun privileges? And you knew the whole time?”

“Of course I did, Henderson. Why would I want the guy I’m trying to flirt with in the back of my car?”

“I can’t believe you.” Dustin scoffed and shook his head, sending Will an exasperated look that he did not reciprocate. “After everything I’ve done for you? This is unbelievable.”

None of Steve’s placating convinced Dustin to stop his whining, so when he finally dropped Dustin off in front of his house, the peaceful quiet practically seeped into his bones. Now it was just Will, and Steve was more than capable of dealing with anything sweet Will had to throw at him.

For a block or two, the only sound in the car was the faint voice of Freddie Mercury crooning through the speakers. Steve tapped along to the rhythm and hummed under his breath, feeling strangely giddy following the events of the day. From what Steve could tell, Will was gearing up to say something, but he was in no rush to make him spit it out. 

Then, once Steve was pulled up in front of the Byers’ house, Will unbuckled his seatbelt and opened the door only to turn to Steve at the last second and whisper frantically, “I like boys too!” The next thing Steve knew, his car was empty and Will had disappeared into his house.

Well. That was certainly a productive start to the break.

***

Spring break came and went for Steve uneventfully—if having Robin over every night to yell about Eddie counted as uneventful—and Steve found himself looking forward to picking up Dustin from their next Hellfire session. He had done some deliberating over the week and come to the conclusion that he needed to be bold.

During his girl talk with Robin, under the influence of his absent mother’s best wine, Steve decided not to join Dustin for the next session. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to play with them! That wasn’t it at all. Robin had just suggested that Steve do some grand gesture to show Eddie that he really was interested in him. A grand gesture didn’t seem appropriate to spring on Eddie after a long final session to end his campaign, so Steve had settled on just baking him a batch of Snickerdoodle cookies. And then maybe asking him on a date afterward.

Of course, none of the kids knew about his plans. He knew how they would react already. Mike would roll his eyes and say something snarky, Lucas would be supportive but ask to have a cookie, Will would get excited for him, and Dustin would complain that Steve hadn’t baked any cookies for him.

So Steve was keeping it a secret. The boys were already in the middle of their game, and Steve had just put the dough in the oven to make sure they were delectably warm when he gave them to Eddie.

“Come on, dingus! At least let me have one. ” Robin had begun circling Steve in the kitchen as soon as he started mixing the dough, and it reminded Steve of a vulture staking out its prey.

He sighed at her. “How will it look if I show up to give Eddie cookies and you’ve eaten them all by the time I get there? These are for Eddie and Eddie only.”

Grabbing a dish towel from the oven door, Robin spun it into a rat tail and whipped Steve in the ass. “I see how it is. You finally find someone that’s interested in you and now you have no compassion for little old me.”

Steve jumped and swatted her away. “Jesus, Rob! Go sit at the counter if you’re going to be a menace. I will not have you messing this up for me, even on accident.”

“You’re going to be insufferable aren’t you…” Robin huffed and jumped up to sit on the edge of the counter, sticking her tongue out at Steve when he gave her a look. “You better not kiss a boy before I get to kiss a girl.”

Steve smirked and leaned back against the wall. “Then you better find a willing participant before I get to the school.”

She gasped, “No! Really? You’re going to kiss him tonight?”

Biting his lip, Steve shrugged and played with the hem of his shirt. “I don’t know. I can be optimistic, can’t I?”

Robin softened and reached her foot out to nudge at Steve’s leg with the rubber tip of her Converse. “Of course you can! Based on what you’ve told me, I’m pretty sure you won’t have to worry about Eddie not reciprocating.”

Before Steve could respond, the egg timer next to the oven went off and he put on his oven mitts to take the tray of cookies out to cool. Even after Steve’s warning, Robin still hopped off the counter to lunge at the tray and snag a cookie, shoving it in her mouth before Steve could stop her. Steve only cackled in her face when she panted, open-mouthed, in a feeble attempt to cool down the cookie on her tongue.

By the time the cookies were ready for Steve to take to Eddie, Robin had already eaten at least two before she was banished from the kitchen. The rest of them were packed away into a Tupperware, and then Steve was in his car and driving away, with Robin promising to hold down the fort while he was gone.

The ride over to the school found Steve tapping his fingers on top of the plastic lid as he tried not to let his mind run wild with the reception the Hellfire Club might give him. Obviously, he didn’t have to worry about Will and Dustin; it was Eddie’s friends he was anxious about. Yeah, Gareth, Jeff, and Frank seemed cool, but what would they think of King Steve asking their friend on a date?

They’d probably assume it was a prank, and while he didn’t blame them, he wanted them to trust him and believe that he had changed. Hopefully playing D&D with them last week had changed their perspectives enough…

After Steve parked, he spent several minutes hyping himself up since he was still early. As much as he assured himself that everything would be fine, asking someone out on a date had never been a breeze for him. Not even when he was still the heartthrob of Hawkins High. He liked to play at being immune to rejection, but that wasn’t exactly true. He didn’t want rejection, especially not from Eddie.

With a deep breath, Steve grabbed the Tupperware from the passenger seat and headed into Hawkins High. His walk through the hallways was slower than it needed to be, but if anyone asked, he was just taking his time so the boys could finish up. He wasn’t stalling.

Even before Steve reached the drama room, he could hear them yelling inside. It sounded like they were in the middle of an important battle, so they must have been fighting Vecna. Dustin had mentioned that he was looking forward to finally defeating the big bad guy. Now, Steve didn’t want to intervene when they were just getting to the good part.

On the other hand, walking in unannounced while they were in the middle of a high-tension moment made for the perfect opportunity to scare the shit out of the little twerps, and Steve had it on good authority that Eddie would probably find the whole ordeal hilarious.

Mind made up, Steve opened the door to the drama room as quietly as he could and snuck in while everyone was preoccupied. Eddie, being the only one facing him, looked up when he walked in, but Steve just held his finger up to his lips with a wink, grinning when Eddie looked away as if Steve had never been there. God, he was a great actor.

With a manic grin almost stretching his features, Steve loomed behind the players and brought his hands down to rest on Mike and Dustin’s shoulders at the same time as he called out, unnecessarily loud, “So, which one of those little guys is Vecna?”

Mike let out a high-pitched squawk and jumped nearly a foot in the air at the same time that Dustin, while screaming, turned around and started hitting Steve wherever he could reach. All that pain was worth it, though, for the giddy cackle Eddie let out from the other side of the table.

Eddie gasped in breaths like he was drowning as he thumped the table with his fist. “Oh, fuck! That was hilarious. Oh, I needed that, Harrington.”

Chuckling, Steve bowed in a mimic of Eddie and looked up at him to wink. “You know me. I live to please, Munson.”

Beside him, Dustin gagged and Steve rolled his eyes while Will elbowed Dustin in the side with a look. Then, Steve was walking across the room to join Eddie, his eyebrows furrowing when a hush went over the room and the boys started whispering to each other.

“What is it? Did I do something wrong?” Steve asked, looking between everyone curiously.

Eddie glared pointedly at the rest of the club. “Not at all, Harrington. Come in, pull up a chair! We’re just about done. Once I kill off the rest of these shrimps, at least.” He grabbed one of the nearby chairs and pulled it up next to his own before he patted it with a raised eyebrow at Steve.

When Steve sat down in the offered chair, there was a sharp gasp from across the room followed by a pained grunt and a hushed, “Dude, shut up!”

Steve squinted suspiciously. While Jeff and Frank looked incredibly shocked, Dustin was grinning wildly at Steve and Will was giving him a secret thumbs-up. Lucas, to his credit, seemed curious but nonplussed, and Gareth didn’t seem to react at all, weirdly enough. It was Mike’s reaction that gave Steve the most pause.

Because Mike seemed to be a conflicting mix of outraged and disgusted, and for the life of him, Steve couldn’t figure out why.

All he was doing was sitting next to Eddie! What was so weird about that?

“Alight. Where were we, boys?” Eddie clapped his hands together, electing to ignore the confusion in favor of returning to battle. “Oh, I remember. You were all falling victim to Vecna’s henchmen. Disappointing…”

As if Eddie had flipped a switch, the boys were all clamoring back together to shout at Eddie and plan their next attack. Steve smiled and leaned closer to Eddie, glancing down at his notes to see what he had in store for them.

Wordlessly, Eddie pushed his notes closer to Steve for him to look over before he whispered in his ear, “Y’know, I don’t usually let people get a peek behind the curtain like this.”

Steve looked up at Eddie with his lips open in a little ‘o’, but Eddie had already pulled away to taunt the rest of the boys.

“Vecna stands at the back of the rotting room with your old pal Kas at his right hand. In front of him, three more henchmen are rushing toward you. One of them holds a crossbow while the other two carry axes. It looks like they’re heading for Will the Wise specifically. What do you do?”

Now that he was up close, Steve couldn’t help but stare, mesmerized, as Eddie gestured in the air and swiped at the figures lined up on the table. There was just something about seeing him in the zone that Steve found enchanting.

He tore his eyes away quickly just in case anyone had been looking at him, but they were all intensely focused on the game. So instead of showing his hand right at the beginning, Steve turned back to Eddie’s notes to see what he had in store for them.

With raised eyebrows, Steve let out a long breath, privately relieved that he was only a spectator. Eddie’s plans seemed almost cruel if he really did plan to keep throwing henchmen at them until they went for Vecna himself.

Suddenly, Dustin jumped up and down on the tips of his toes. “Hang on! Will, remember when we were in the forest and you used Fireball on those enemies? They took so much more damage than usual.”

Lucas nudged Will in the side and grinned. “What do you say, Will the Wise? If we get you past the henchmen, you want to fireball that sucker?”

Will nodded resolutely. “Let’s flambé this asshole.”

After a bit of discussion, Will, Mike, and Gareth were going to move forward to tackle Vecna while Dustin, Lucas, Jeff, and Frank held the attention of the henchmen. Next to Steve, Eddie was bouncing slightly in his seat as he tried to keep a poker face.

“You dare approach me, feeble mortals?” Eddie boomed as he stood above the table and glared down at them. “I have already won. There is nothing you can do now.”

Steve was leaning forward until he was on the edge of his seat as Mike called out, “That’s what you think, you wrinkly bitch!”

Will was next in the initiative order, so he cast Fireball at Vecna. A hush fell over the room as he rolled his d20. It rattled along the table until it slowed to a stop, the 20 staring prominently back at them from the top of the die. 

Whooping and hollering, the boys hugged each other as Dustin yelled, “That’s a crit-hit, motherfucker!”

After Will rolled his damage, Eddie made a roll of his own behind the screen. Steve looked down to see a 17 and almost panicked until Eddie started narrating.

“With a flaming ball of magic, the strength of which could rival a solar flare, Vecna begins to burn. As his body withers and decays, the stench of scorching rot fills the room you stand in. The henchmen stop their attacks to turn back to their leader, their rage landing on the sole caster of the spell.”

The boys gasped and clutched each other. Dustin moved to interrupt, but Eddie held out a hand to stop him.

“Gathering up the last of his strength, Vecna reaches out a clawed hand and growls. But before you can react, a sword pierces through his chest from behind and Vecna’s hand falls limp.”

Jeff’s eyebrows skyrocketed. “Kas!”

Eddie sat back down on his throne and knocked his knee into Steve’s gently. “A sharp tug rips the sword out of Vecna’s chest and he falls to the ground with lifeless eyes. All around you, the henchmen begin to wither away into dust with anguished cries that echo throughout the room. The one who dealt the final blow, Kas the Bloody-Handed, steps forwards as he wipes the grime from his sword across his thigh.”

Steve held his breath as Eddie cleared his throat to speak as Kas. In front of him, the rest of the boys were doing the same.

“It’s been some time, adventurers. While I hoped we would not meet again this way, I must thank you for the role you have played in defeating Vecna once and for all.”

Steve blinked. Eddie sounded so eloquent. Almost like a completely different person. It was incredible. For once, Steve was beginning to understand why the kids loved D&D so much. Eddie’s storytelling enraptured him, and the care Steve had begun to hold for him melted in his heart and dripped down until it warmed his entire body.

By the time Steve had blinked back into reality, Eddie was wrapping up their tale, beaming like the sun at his players as they grinned back at him with the same energy.

Steve slumped back into his seat and took a deep breath. Suddenly, he felt way over his head. Eddie was incredible, and he… he was just a babysitter. What could Eddie see in him that could possibly match all the remarkable things Steve saw in Eddie?

He didn’t have too much time to dwell on that line of thought, however, because Dustin and Will were crowding Steve and attempting to pull him away from Eddie, whispering furiously with wide grins.

“Steve! He’s so into you it’s almost embarrassing,” Dustin said, shaking Steve’s arm.

Will nodded. “He never lets anyone see his notes. Not even Gareth! You must be really special to him.”

Steve gulped and looked over their heads to see Gareth, Jeff, and Frank surrounding Eddie in much the same way. 

Then, Mike was storming over to Steve and poking him in the chest. “What did you do to Eddie? He’s been acting weird, and it only started when you joined our last session, so you must have done something! Don’t even bother to hide it from me.”

Suddenly emboldened by their words, Steve pushed the kids out of the way gently to make his way over to Eddie, ruffling Lucas’s hair as he went. As soon as he got close enough, Eddie’s friends clammed up and watched Steve with wide eyes. Steve paid them no mind.

“Hey, Eddie,” Steve began, tapping his fingers along the edge of the plastic Tupperware, effectively drawing everyone’s attention to the cookies in his hands. “I wanted to thank you again for last session, and I guess now for letting me sit in on this one. So I made you Snickerdoodle cookies. They’re not quite as warm anymore, but I pulled them out of the oven right before I drove over, so they’re definitely fresh.”

Eddie’s mouth dropped open and a bright blush filled his cheeks. “Oh! Wow. Thanks, Steve. Snickerdoodles are actually my favorites… thank you so much.” He took the container from Steve gingerly and held it close to his chest.

Steve grinned. “Well, go on. Try one! I want to know what you think.”

Eddie cracked the lid, inhaling deeply before sighing. “Fuck me, that smells divine.”

Immediately, Dustin screeched and bounded over. “Steve, what the fuck? You made cookies? Why didn’t you tell us earlier?” He reached out a hand to take one from the container, but Steve slapped his hand away at the same time that Eddie hissed and pulled the cookies closer to his chest protectively.

“Nuh-uh, Henderson. Those cookies are for Eddie. It was hard enough trying to stop Robin from eating them as soon as they came out of the oven, so I’ll be damned if I let you get your grubby paws on one.”

Before anyone else could get any ideas, Eddie grabbed a cookie and closed the lid. He stuck his tongue out at Dustin childishly before taking a bite and moaning obscenely. “Holy fuck, those are good! Goddamn, Harrington, you must have some magic skills in the kitchen. I think this is the best cookie I’ve ever eaten.”

Mike pouted. “What about the cookies my mom made last month? You loved those.”

Scoffing, Eddie shook his head and held his cookie up. “No chance, Wheeler. Your mom’s cookies tasted like dirt compared to these.”

With all the praise Eddie was throwing at Steve freely, Steve was beginning to feel his blush in his ears. He was almost entirely sure that he resembled the reddest prized tomato ever displayed at a county fair nationwide.

“I’m glad you like them. I’ll have to make you more for the next time I see you.” Sure, it was a little presumptuous of him, but Steve didn’t want to let Eddie back out of his life. In his experience, showing that he was interested and committed usually got him major points romance-wise.

Eddie raised an eyebrow and leaned closer into Steve’s space. “Oh? You’re planning on making this a regular thing, huh, Harrington?”

Steve chuckled. “Like you’re complaining, Munson.”

Raising his hands in surrender, Eddie grinned, still not backing out of Steve’s bubble. “I’m definitely not. Anything that gets me more quality time with my favorite jock and some delicious baking is not something I plan on giving up.”

With a hand pressed to his chest, Steve moved a little closer while he pretended to swoon. “Awww. I’m your favorite jock, Munson? I’m flattered.”

Eddie opened his mouth to retort when he was interrupted by Mike stepping in between them. “No way! If whatever’s happening is what I think is happening, I won’t let it!”

Steve sighed and stepped back from Eddie reluctantly. “And what exactly do you think is happening here, Michael?”

Mike turned on him with a pointed finger. “What’s happening, Steven, is you’re stealing my dungeon master from me! This is Nancy all over again!”

Eddie lifted an eyebrow. “The fuck do you mean this is Nancy all over again?”

Mike crossed his arms in front of his chest and frowned. “Nancy used to be cool! She would hang out with us and dress up for our games! Then, this asshole came along and started dating her, and it was like everything we did would annoy her. I won’t let it happen again.”

“Are you fucking kidding me?” Will muttered under his breath to Dustin who nodded solemnly in agreement.

Narrowing his eyes, Steve stared at Mike. “So let me make sure I’m getting this right. You don’t want me to date Eddie because you think I’m going to change him for the worse and he won’t want to DM for you guys anymore?”

Mike rolled his eyes. “Obviously,” he replied petulantly.

“Why would I want to stop Eddie from DMing for Hellfire?” Steve asked slowly.

“Uh, I don’t know, maybe because you think it’s a stupid game?”

Steve snapped his fingers in front of Mike’s face with one hand on his hips. “Alright, enough with the sass, asswipe. I need you to listen to me carefully.” Mike scoffed and opened his mouth to argue, but Steve interrupted him. “No, seriously, Mike. I was wrong about D&D, okay? It’s fun to play, and I enjoy watching it. Plus, Eddie’s storytelling is absolutely incredible and it would honestly be a disservice to everyone to have him back down from DMing for you guys.”

Eddie squeaked adorably next to him, and Steve smiled, but he didn’t let it stop him.

“If Eddie decides he wants to go out with me, I’m not going to force him to stop playing because that would be an asshole move, and I actually enjoy watching you guys play. Even if we don’t date, I would still show up to watch your sessions, so you’d just have to get used to me being around.” Steve paused for a second and set his hand gently on Mike’s shoulder. “If, for whatever reason, you feel like I’m taking someone you care about away from you, just tell me. I promise you that I’ll listen and work it out with you.”

The room was silent as Mike nodded, sufficiently cowed, and Steve patted his shoulder affectionately. When he looked up, though, he was surprised to see everyone staring at him with matching floored expressions.

“Did I say something wrong?” He asked, looking to Eddie for assistance. 

But Eddie was staring at him much the same way, aside from maybe the deep blush painting his cheeks crimson. Before he could ask what was wrong, Eddie squeaked out, “You… you want to go out with me?”

Mentally, Steve played back everything he said, groaning when he realized what everyone had gotten stuck on. He flicked the side of Mike’s head lightly and said, “Damn it, Wheeler! It was supposed to be more romantic than that.”

Will giggled in the corner and Steve shot him an exhausted look. Then, he turned back to Eddie and grinned sheepishly. “Uh, yeah. So… I was going to ask you out on a date once I got the kids in the car, but I guess that plan didn’t exactly work out.”

Gaping, Eddie’s mouth opened and closed before his features split into a wide, sunny grin. “You want to go out with me? For real?” Steve nodded and Eddie laughed, bouncing on his feet. He stuck his tongue out at Jeff and Frank. “See! I told you! Get fucked, assholes.”

Eddie’s friends rolled their eyes at his antics, but they were smiling too.

Steve watched Eddie flounce fondly. “So, is that a yes? Or do I need to take those cookies back?”

“You’ll have to tear these cookies from my cold, dead hands, Harrington.” Eddie moved back into Steve’s space and beamed at him. “And yes, I do want to go out with you.”

While Steve had been somewhat relaxed before, hearing the words from Eddie himself had relief seeping through his bones, and he couldn’t stop the giddy smile from filling his face. Fortunately for him, the look on Eddie’s face matched his perfectly. Steve couldn’t remember the last time someone had actually been excited to go out with him, and it was giving him a bit of a rush.

Of course, that was when Dustin had to ruin their moment.

“Alright, we get it, you’re both head over heels. I already had to witness Steve flirting with Eddie last time, and I don’t want a repeat performance tonight.” Dustin crossed his arms over his chest and stood directly in between Steve and Eddie, looking between the two of them with a no-nonsense glare.

Lucas spoke up from next to Will sheepishly. “Yeah, I mean, I’m happy for you two, but my mom wants me home by nine and it’s already eight thirty…”

Steve huffed. “You shitheads have no respect for romance. Why can’t you be nice and respectful like Gareth, Jeff, and Frank.”

“I’m gonna have to stop you there, Harrington,” Gareth said with a smirk. “As soon as you guys leave, we’ll be ribbing Eddie about this until the end of time.”

Eddie groaned and threw his head back. “Ugh! Come on, guys, can’t you just let me have this for once?” Mike snorted and Eddie turned toward him so fast that Steve was surprised his neck didn’t crack. “You got something to add, Michael?”

Shrugging his shoulders with an obnoxious smarmy smirk, Mike said, “No, nothing. I’m just thinking about how my mother will react when I tell her you think her cookies taste like dirt.”

Eddie dramatically sucked in a sharp gasp. “You wouldn’t.”

Mike narrowed his eyes and his smirk widened. “Try me, Munson.”

Standing up straight, Eddie turned to Steve seriously. “Well, Stevie, I think that’s your cue to drive these little angels home safely. We wouldn’t want anything to happen to them, now would we?”

Steve laughed. “I can’t tell if you want me to crash the car on purpose or not, but just in case, I will not be injuring the kids in my car.”

Eddie nodded sagely. “Of course. That’s exactly what I wanted to hear.”

“Yeah, yeah, we get it! We’re annoying little assholes. Drive me home now,” Dustin said, dragging Steve out the drama room door before he had a chance to wave goodbye.

The Party got settled into Steve’s car, and as a treat for being patient and supportive the whole night, Steve made sure Will got the front seat. Mike and Dustin whined like children, but one glare from Steve shut them right up.

Across the parking lot, Gareth was once again trying to give Eddie a ride home. Seeing his opportunity, Steve jogged over to catch Eddie before he left.

“Eddie! Hey,” Steve began, unable to stop himself from beaming, his heart teeming with affection. “So… are you free on Sunday?”

Eddie tilted his head to the side and fixed Steve with a wolfish grin. “For you, Stevie? Yeah, I’m free. Pick me up at 8?”

“I’ll be there,” Steve replied, walking backwards slowly with a playful salute to Eddie.

“Woah, woah, hang on a minute!” Eddie waved a hand to stop him with a smirk. “Where do you think you’re going, big boy?”

Steve quirked an eyebrow. “To my car? Where the children are waiting?”

Sighing dramatically, Eddie shook his head sadly. “So I don’t get a kiss goodnight? I thought you were a gentleman…”

With widened eyes, Steve shook his head. “No, no, I’m a gentleman!”

Gareth wrinkled his nose. “And that’s my cue to wait in the car. Don’t take too long, Munson.”

As soon as Gareth was gone, Steve stepped forward into Eddie’s space and smiled softly at him. “Hi, Munson.”

Eddie huffed out a laugh. “Hi, Harrington.”

“I’m really glad you agreed to go out with me. I mean, I knew we were flirting, but I was worried you were just messing around,” Steve admitted shyly.

Blinking rapidly, Eddie shook his head as if to clear his thoughts. “I’m sorry, what? You didn’t think that I would want to date you?” He chuckled and put his hands on Steve’s shoulders before drawing him just a little closer. “Steve. Stevie. Baby. You must have lowered your standards to flirt with me. If you were to tell high school Eddie that Steve Harrington would ask him on a date and mean it, I think I would have had my world rocked. It would honestly be a crime for me to turn you down.”

Averting his eyes, Steve tried to push down the overwhelming giddiness that was bubbling up in his chest, but… Eddie sounded so sincere! And he was flashing those deep brown bambi eyes at him like he knew the effect he was having. It was intoxicating.

“Well, Eddie Munson, I think I should probably admit that I had a pretty massive crush on you in high school.” Eddie’s jaw dropped and Steve just giggled a little deliriously. “Yeah, I know it might seem hard to believe, but I was seriously into you. I mean you’re pretty much my exact type, so forgive me if I’ve been a little forward. This is all a bit surreal for me, if I’m being honest.”

Eddie’s mouth was dropped in a sweet little ‘o’ and it looked like his eyes were sparkling under the warm yellow glow of the streetlights. “Steve Harrington, how are you real?”

Before Steve could answer, Eddie was cupping his cheeks ever so gently and pulling him into the most tender kiss Steve had ever had the pleasure of receiving. His eyes fluttered closed as he slid a hand up Eddie’s chest to rest over his heart. The way that Eddie’s thumb brushed softly back and forth across Steve’s cheekbone made his knees feel like jelly, and Steve felt like he was melting into him. It was incredible.

Steve had never had someone kiss him so slowly but still with such care, and it was making his head spin deliciously. There was nothing rushed about it. Eddie was simply holding him like he was something to be cherished while he kissed his breath away with no expectation of anything further. Together, Eddie matched the same sweet energy that Steve was putting in and turned it into butterflies that he set loose in his lungs.

Eventually, they had to pull back for air, and Steve couldn’t help the dreamy sigh that escaped his lips without permission. Across the parking lot, Dustin wolf-whistled from out his backseat window and Eddie chuckled, but Steve just pressed his forehead against Eddie’s and whispered, “Shut up. Just let me process this for a second.”

“That good, huh, Stevie?” Eddie grinned like the cat that got the cream, but Steve couldn’t find it in himself to act annoyed. He had just kissed Eddie Munson. And it was perfect.

God, Robin was going to freak!