Chapter Text
"It's ten to 3 in the goddamn morning, Harrington. What the FUCK could you possibly need from me at this hour?”
Steve knew it looked bad, and if pressed he wouldn't have been able to tell you why he needed to talk to Eddie, but he could tell you that he knew for sure that he needed to talk to Eddie. That's why, after a week of restless nights, he finally worked up the courage to hop in his car and drive to Forest Hills mobile home park.
The only problem was he hadn't thought of what his next step would be. Now that he was here, his mind was a total blank as he stood staring up at Eddie from the bottom of the stoop.
"You're right, it's late. I should go. Sorry for waking you up," Steve managed to get out as he turned back to the BMW that stuck out like a sore thumb.
"Wait!" Eddie called out as he reached for Steve's shoulder to make him stop, his voice thick and groggy. "You're already here, and I don't think you would've come all this way if you didn't have something on your mind. Besides, I'm already awake, so you might as well come in.”
Steve turned back to Eddie, searching his eyes for any signs of sarcasm or sincerity, but it was too dark to get a read.
"Are you sure it's ok for me to be here?"
Eddie cocked his head to the side and yawned. "Why wouldn’t it be ok? Now, will you please come inside? I'm freezing my balls off out here."
Steve followed Eddie up the stairs and into the mobile home. He noticed Eddie's pajama bottoms were about an inch too short, and his Led Zeppelin t-shirt was thin and threadbare. For all his exaggerations, Eddie probably wasn't kidding about freezing outside in the early morning air.
"I like your shirt," said Steve, trying to make conversation.
"Thanks," said Eddie, looking down with a half smile. "It was my uncle Wayne's way back when. I saved it from the rag pile. It's kinda the origin of all of this," he added while gesturing at himself.
"And you," Eddie's hand and gaze switched to Steve, waving up and down at his outfit. "You got all gussied up for little ol' me?"
"What? This?" Steve looked down at the sweatshirt, jeans, and sneakers he'd thrown on in the dark. "I usually sleep in my boxers during the summer, so I grabbed whatever was close by and put it on."
Eddie arched an eyebrow and steepled his fingers under his chin. "And why would I need to know you sleep in your underoos?"
"You don't need to know anything," Steve huffed. He was starting to miss sleepy, grumpy Eddie. "I was just explaining why I put on what I put on. It is not like I went through a bunch of outfits before I settled on this."
"RELAX Harrington! I'm yanking your chain," laughed Eddie. "Please, have a seat. Make yourself at home. Me casa and so on and so forth."
Steve took a seat on the couch. It wasn't quite broken in yet, so the cushion underneath him bounced back under his body. The former Munson residence served as a portal to the Upside Down, so it wasn't exactly hospitable. At least that was easy enough to chalk up to the earthquake. Nearly everything Eddie and Wayne owned had been restored after their mobile home was "destroyed." Opposite the couch, a small collection of coffee mugs and baseball caps hung on the wall. Dustin and Eleven had taken it upon themselves to scrounge through every second-hand shop and yard sale they could once the weather warmed up enough. It was impossible to replace what had been lost, but Wayne's heart swelled when the girl with a buzzcut handed him a newspaper-wrapped mug with the familiar face of an orange tabby.
Eddie busied himself in the refrigerator. "You want something to drink? We got water, Bud, some Sunny Delight. There's milk in here too, but that's for Edgar's Lucky Charms."
"I'm sorry, who's Lucky Charms?" Steve called back. He wanted to be sure he heard correctly.
"Mine. 'Eddie' is short for 'Edgar.'" Eddie's head popped up over the refrigerator door. "Drink? "
"Uh yeah. Water is fine. I could have sworn it was 'Edward' though..."
Eddie sauntered over with a glass in each hand and a lopsided grin. "It is 'Edward.'"
"Oh," said Steve, taking a glass, with his mind back to whatever had been bothering him before. "OK then."
"Dude! You gotta cheer up! I've never seen you so serious. I'm trying to lighten the mood a little, but you gotta meet me halfway."
Steve looked a million miles away as he tapped his thumbs agains the glass's rim. Eddie waved his hand in front of Steve's face. "Hello? Earth to Harrington?"
Steve snapped out of his stupor. "Yeah, hello, hi. Thank you for the water."
Eddie flopped down on the couch next to him, concern set between his brows. "This really is serious, isn't it? Is someone after you? Do you need money? Did you get someone pregnant?"
That brought Steve back to full attention. "What?! No, no, and NO I have not gotten anyone pregnant, ok?"
"Look, I'm trying to keep the conversation going so you don't try to hightail it outta here again. I can tell whatever's on your mind is pretty heavy." Eddie took a sip from his glass. "I don't expect you to just spill your guts, but you know you can tell me anything, right? I'm no Buckley, but at least you know I'm not gonna spread your business around."
Steve sighed. "It's not that I can't talk to Robin. It's just, she's in Boston right now looking for apartments for her, Vickie, and Nance. I don't want to bring her down with my shit."
"Vickie's going back east with them too?" This was news to Eddie. "Is she doing the community college thing with Robin?"
"So get this," Steve brought his leg up onto the couch while he set his water down. He needed both hands to talk. "Not only was Vickie also accepted into Emerson, on a scholarship no less, it was her safety school." Vickie seemed like a sweet girl the couple of times they'd all hung out as a group, but Steve couldn't help but feel envious of her.
"No shit? Damn Vickie! Robin has two genius girlfriends."
"And I'm happy for the three of them, I really am-"
"Ooooohhhhhhhh, but where does that leave Stevie come fall? Heading up Family Video and babysitting all by his lonesome?"
"When you put it that way, it sounds really sad. But I'm not sad about it. The Family Video thing isn't going to last forever, and the kids are practically old enough for driver's training."
Steve realized what he had just said and leaned his face against the heels of his hands. "Jesus Christ they're practically old enough for drivers training!"
Eddie giggled. "It's always tough when they're old enough to leave the nest."
"Nah, Eddie, you don't get it. I’m gonna get stuck teaching them. Nancy'll be on the other side of the country, and Jonathan's car was already falling apart before the Byers' ever moved to California." Steve paused for a second, thoughtfully. "Do you think I could get Jonathan to apply to Family Video? I bet he'd be great with the art house stuff, and he could work high as shit if he wanted.”
Eddie shifted back into the couch. "If it's any consolation, I don't know what to do with myself either. The Feds did something to make my charges go away, and the state of Indiana sends me checks every month for my defamation settlement, but I still get stared at whenever I go into town. And it's different from how I was stared at before. It's more like the 'Holy shit, it's the murderer' kind of stares. Not the best feeling in the world."
It was Steve's turn to be concerned, but Eddie waved it off and changed the subject.
"As far as your stuff goes, I don't think it'll be too bad. I'd volunteer to help teach them, but you probably don't want that. Hell, you could set Erica up with some wheels and she'd teach them to drive for you.”
"I know you're kidding, but honestly, I might just do that. Might have her apply at Family Video too."
Eddie snorted out a belly laugh, the kind that started from deep within and shook the couch. It was a gorgeous sound, Steve thought. A gorgeous sound coming from a pair of voluminous, gorgeous lips, beneath a pair of vast, gorgeous roasted tobacco eyes.
This is what kept him up at night, not knowing how to put the feelings into words, only knowing he felt a severe sense of lack.
But right now? This was exactly how he wanted to feel all the time. Knowing he was the one that made Eddie laugh so hard that he was on the verge of tears. Steve wished he could bottle this feeling for the times he felt needy but didn't want to burden anyone. He wished he could use it like a shield whenever he was reminded he was a walking academic disappointment. He wished he could wrap it around him like a scarf when the small town of Hawkins felt suffocating.
None of that mattered because Eddie Munson, who laughed easily but not openly, and rarely for this long, was holding his stomach and wiping his eyes with his t-shirt sleeve.
Eddie finally got a hold of himself and turned to look at Steve. Steve kept looking at Eddie, holding his gaze.
Eddie inched his hand toward Steve's. Then onto Steve's hand. Then up his forearm, past his elbow, over his bicep, and onto his shoulder.
Steve's cheeks flushed pink, almost imperceptible under his summer tan. He followed Eddie's trail up his arm, mesmerized, but he didn't pull away. Nor did he pull away when Eddie placed a hand on Steve's other shoulder. And Eddie didn't pull away when Steve leaned in closer, or when their lips met.