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Eddie was lying in his bed reading through the notes from his last DnD campaign when he heard a knocking on the door. It had shocked him considering it was really late in the evening and he wasn't expecting anybody. He got even more shocked when he saw Harrington outside the door.
“Dude, what the fuck are you doing here?”, he said when he opened the door. It was first after he had said that that he saw the terrified look on Steve's face, and the tears running down his cheeks. “What’s going on?”, he asked, now freaking out, hoping it isn’t about the upside down.
“Nothing really, it was just, just a dream”, he could hear that Steve was struggling getting out words. “And I just needed to know that...that you were alive... I'm sorry, I know I shouldn't be here, I just needed to see you”, he said when he saw the shocked look on Eddie’s face.
“No, I'm glad you're here. Come in", Eddie assured him.
Seve awkwardly followed him inside to his room.
“You can stay here tonight if you want”, he said, not wanting to send Steve home.
“You sure your uncle doesn't mind me staying?”
“Oh, he’s not even home. He's doing something tonight, so he won’t come back until tomorrow”, he said, quickly ensuring Steve that he didn’t have to have an awkward conversation with his uncle.
“You don’t mind me borrowing something do you?” Steve said when they started to get ready for sleep.
“No, let me see what I have”, Eddie said, looking into his closet. After a short while he threw a pair of sweatpants and a worn out metal shirt he usually sleeped in.
He couldn’t help but gaze at Steve when he took off his shirt. Eddie quickly looked away and pulled his hair in front of his blushing face when he met his gaze. He didn’t dare to look back at Steve after that.
“So, how do I look?” Steve said after a while, looking so hot where he stood in Eddie's room in Eddie’s clothes.
You look so hot and fucking gorgeous.
“You look fine”, he said, trying to sound like he didn't care, but he could feel how red his face was. God, he hoped Steve didn’t figure out his crush. Steve gave him a weird look but didn’t say anything about it.
“Come on, ‘fine’? Is that all I get?” he joked after a while, acting offended by his comment. Usually Eddie would laugh and say something teasing about him, but right now he didn’t feel like joking like that with Steve. Not after blushing twice in front of him that same night. He just nodded politely at the joke before he picked up one of the pillows on his bed and started walking out of the room.
“Dude, where are you going?” Steve shocked him a bit with the question.
“I thought you were going to try and get some sleep?” he answered, a bit confused.
“Aren’t you going to stay here with me?” Steve said, sounding a bit abandoned.
“Steve, I only have one bed”, he said, trying to get Steve to get why he had to leave. He was not taking the very tempting opportunity to say yes to the very handsome guy in his bedroom.
“It's a big bed, we can just share.”
He felt shivers of excitement going through him, his crush was literally asking him to stay and share a fucking bed with him, his bed.
“Are you sure though?” he just had to ask, but god he had hoped Steve was gonna say yes - although he knew that it probably was for the best if he said no, nothing god could ever come from sharing a bed with your very straight crush.
“Yeah, of course!” Steve quickly assured him. Eddie slowly walked back to the bed and lied down next to Steve.
He lied stretched out on one side of the bed and glanzed over at Steve lying next to him looking so very adorable.
“Come on dude, I don’t bite”, Steve said, dragging him closer towards him. Eddie blushed a bit -for the millionth time- but he just kept looking up at the ceiling. Steve was now so close to him that he could feel his hair tickle him through the shirt.
"Goodnight Eddie”, Steve said, making Eddie smile sadly over lying next to his crush just like he had dreamt about for a long time now, but in a completely different situation.
“Goodnight Steve”, he answered, in his dreams it would have been followed by a casual "I love you" to his boyfriend, but that wasn't real, and it wouldn't ever be.
He woke up later that night, Steve must have moved in his sleep, because now he lied with his head on Eddie’s chest, cuddled up against him. He smiled a little to himself at how pretty and peaceful Steve looked in his sleep. But his smile quickly faded when he thought of how Steve was going to react if he woke up cuddling like that with a guy, with Eddie. He quickly but carefully got up from the bed and left Steve there alone.
He walked into the kitchen to get a glass of water. Eddie didn’t really know what to do, but he knew for sure that he couldn't go back to the room and lie down next to Steve again. He bent forward a bit, leaning his head against the wall trying to figure out what to do.
“You okay, Eds?” he winced when he heard Steve's voice behind him.
“You’ve been out here for quite a while now”, his words shocked Eddie. How did he know how long Eddie had been gone? Had he woken up when Eddie left, or had he been awake all along? Did he lie that close to Eddie while he was awake?
“Yeah, I'm fine", Eddie answered after a while, “Just needed to get some water”, he held up his glass in the air, showing it to Steve.
“Well, are you planning on coming back soon? I can’t sleep without you.”
Eddie knew that he was kidding, but he still felt the electricity running through his body.
“Yeah, just a second”, Steve gave him a concerned look but went back into the bedroom. Eddie emptied the glass and put it in the sink before following him.
When he entered the room the first thing he saw was Steve lying on his bed, looking just as gorgeous as he always did. Steve looked up at him and smiled when he walked in. Eddie tried to look happy as he smiled back, but he didn’t think he succeed. Steve gave him that concerned look again, he must have seen that the smile wasn't real. But Steve still didn't say anything about it, he just kept staring at Eddie.
Eddie walked up to the bed and lied down. As far away from Steve as he possibly could.
“Dude, seriously. Do I smell bad or what? Why do you keep insisting on staying that far away from me?” Eddie wasn’t sure if he was joking or seriously asking him.
The real reason Eddie lied so far away for Steve was that he really wanted to lie close to him, he wanted it too much. It just felt like he was taking advantage of the fact that Steve didn’t know he was what he was, that Steve didn't know he was gay. Because if he did, it would change everything.
“Steve, it’s not you, okay? There is just something you don’t know about me, and if you knew you wouldn't want me that close to you. Now, when you don’t know that, it feels like I’m taking advantage of you”, Eddie finally said. He wasn't sure if Steve understood what he was implying, since the boy wasn’t really the brightest person Eddie knew.
“What are you talking about?” Steve said after a while.
Yeah, not really the brightest.
“Steve, I’m gay”, he finally said.
At first, he didn’t really dare to look up at Steve. But when Steve hadn't said anything for what felt like an hour he couldn't stop himself. Steve's expression was weird. Not disgusted or angry, just weird. He almost looked, relieved? No, that wasn’t possible. Why would Steve, straight Steve Harrington, feel any sort of happy feelings because Eddie was gay? He just wouldn't, Steve was probably just shocked and didn’t know what to do.
“Look, you can leave. You don’t have to talk to me, or even look at me again. I know I should have told you this before, I just.. I didn’t know how to do it, and I was scared you were gonna be disgusted and…”, he didn’t get to finish the sentence before Steve interrupted him.
“You know I would never react like that. Robin is out to me. Hell, I was the first person she came out to. Did you really think I was going to react like an idiot?” Steve didn’t sound like he was angry or offended by Eddie's fears, more like, upset. Upset with himself.
“Steve, you know that’s different. Robin said she didn't like you, that she couldn't like you. The only thing that did was hurt your ego a bit. But now, I’m saying the opposite”, Eddie didn't know what he would do if Steve didn't get what he meant this time.
“You like me?” Steve asked after taking in Eddie’s words. Eddie didn’t know what to do. He couldn’t lie to Steve, not now.
“Gay guys ain’t immune to that charm of yours, Harrington.”
“You like me”, Steve repeated, but this time he wasn’t just asking. He was stating facts. Eddie couldn't make himself answer, so he just nodded, almost unnoticeable. Steve saw it anyways.
“I’m sorry Steve. I know that you're straight and that you wouldn't ever like me back, you don’t have to say it. You don’t have to say anything, you can just leave.”
“Eddie, I was the one who showed up at your home. I was the one who asked you to share a bed with me. I was the one who asked you to lie closer to me, and I was the one who literally cuddled with you."
Eddie could feel his face going red from Steve's words. He really had no idea where Steve was going with this, not until he opened his damn mouth again.
“You really think I’m straight?” Steve asked quietly.
“Aren’t you?” he heard his voice shaking, but in that moment he couldn't care less.
“No”
Eddie couldn't help but to smile at Steve's reply.
“For the longest time I thought I was, but then I became friends with this guy. I really liked being around him, but I used to tell myself I just hadn't ever had a friend like him before. And after a while I realized that I had been wrong, I realized that I had a crush on him.”
Eddie couldn't get over the shock that came with Steve so casually using the word crush about a guy, even though he had already admitted that he wasn’t straight.
“So I started to flirt with him. One night I had a nightmare of him dying, so I wanted to go check if he was okay. Then when I was at his place I figured I would try to flirt a bit with him. I asked him to share a bed with me, and I even cuddled with him."
It took him a while to take in what Steve was actually saying. He had a crush on Eddie.
Next thing he knows Steve’s hand was on his neck, pushing him a forward to let Eddie’s lips touch his own. When he broke away from the kiss he met Steve’s gaze. He had never seen him look that happy.
“Will you go out with me on Saturday?” Steve asked him.
“I’d love to”, Eddie answered, his voice filled with joy.