Chapter Text
Things were always shitty after an Upside Down event, Steve is used to that. But the first week after Venca is something else. He, along with the rest of the party, spends days cycling between hospital rooms. Dustin gets a cast on his leg, Steve gets his bat bites properly cleaned and bandaged, Lucas presses an infinite number of ice packs to his head. And, of course, there is Max and Eddie, hooked up to half a dozen machines and IVs. Max’s condition is precarious, but stable for now, in a medically induced coma and potentially permanently blind, but stable. Eddie, at least, is awake and almost guaranteed to get better (treating the bites of supernatural bats controlled via hivemind by an evil interdimensional wizard, as it turned out, was functionally the same as treating a bite from your neighbor's terrier) so long as he takes care of his wounds after he gets released.
And yet, Steve find himself lingering in Eddie’s room, bringing tapes and books and clothes, updating him on the goings on of the kids, helping him with homework (which he is grossly inept at), and, on a few occasions, he has fallen asleep in the chair by the window. Eddie looks at him weird every time he shows up, like the strangest part of the whole ordeal is Steve’s becoming a presence in his life, not the aforementioned evil wizard. And Steve can’t blame him, because why is he becoming such a constant in Eddie’s life? Why does he spend hours listening to Hawkins’ weirdest resident explain the plot of Lord of the Rings ? Why does Steve insist on showing said resident The Sound of Music ? Why does he drop in everyday after work for the weeks Eddie is in that hospital?
And why, when Eddie is released after two weeks, is Steve so damn disappointed ? What kind of person was upset when their friend got released from the hospital? Ultimately he’s decided it's just a vague annoyance at the loss of an excuse to see Eddie; sorta like how he felt when Nancy switched out of his study hall in junior year (except it was different because Steve spent most of that time flirting with Nancy and he wasn't flirting with Eddie) he wasn’t actually sad or anything, just preemptively mourning the loss of interaction.
Two days after Eddie was out of the hospital, Steve is complaining to Robin as they restock tapes. “It's just, now I have no reason to see him. I can’t really justify popping by to make sure he’s doing alright and has everything he needs if he’s in his own fucking home.”
She rolls her eyes and says “You could just hang out with him. Watch a movie or whatever. Ya know, like people who are friends do.”
“Yeah.” Honestly, the idea hadn’t crossed Steve’s mind. “I guess I could do that. But what if he thinks it's weird. We barely even knew each other before all this. The only time I can remember interacting with him in school is this one time we were on the same team for dodgeball in PE and I’m pretty sure all I said was ‘try not to get hit too hard’. Who says that, Rob? And maybe he was only tolerating me during all the Vecna stuff because what choice did he have, really? I mean, he said I was cool or ‘metal’ or whatever, but you can’t trust anything people say during that kinda thing. And I brought him stuff and bothered him in the hospital but he was kinda bedridden, so it's not like he could do anything about my presence. But now he has no reason to see me, which sucks cause he's, like, really cool and I’d like to keep spending time together. And he has other friends that he’d probably rather hang out with way more, which is fair, but we’re supposed to be bonded by this stuff, right? So maybe he’ll—”
“Hey, Steve.” Steve whips his head in her direction. (When did he walk away from her? Why is he sitting on the countertop?) “You sound like me right now.”
“What?”
“You’re word-vomiting. Mouth moving faster than your brain and stuff.”
“Oh, guess you're rubbing off on me, Buckley.”
Robin crinkles her nose and abandons the Returns cart to lean against the counter next to him. “Sure. Did you say Eddie was really cool?”
“I—” Steve can feel his face get hot. Why is he blushing at that? What is wrong with him? “Yeah, I guess. Like his whole metal thing is sorta neat. The rings and leather and stuff. And I can appreciate some good hair.”
“Right. That’s…” She pauses like she's searching for the right word. “Definitely something. Wouldn’t expect you to be so invested in Eddie Munson.”
“I’m just full of surprises.”
Eddie himself bursts through the door, then, already yelling as the bell jingles. “Greetings and salutations, movie wenches!”
Infuriatingly, Steve feels his face get hot again (seriously what was up with that?) as Eddie strides up to them. He also can’t seem to get any words out, too busy processing the image of Eddie—grinning, in ripped jeans and a red tie dyed t-shirt, curls bouncing wildly as he practically runs up to the counter. He’s so himself, so aggressively Eddie—loud and dramatic and confident—it's sorta… hot. (Jesus, Steve, where did that thought come from?)
Robin, thank god, is not frozen in place or actively breaking. “Sources say you got cleared of all changes!”
“Your sources speaketh the truth, Lady Robin!” Eddie drops into a bow. “You are looking at a free man, friends. A free man! These government people are really something. I did actually come to rent something, though.”
Steve, with his voice finally returned, rolls his eyes. “Let me guess; the Rocky Horror Picture Show ?”
Eddie looks at him fully then, narrows his eyes, then shakes his head. “Not tonight, Stevie. Wayne and I are having a movie night, and that means westerns. You got any suggestions, sweetheart?” The nickname makes Steve flush again . What the actual fuck is happening?
“Uh, sure.” Steve slides off the counter and leads Eddie to the far wall. “There's Red River , if you wanna go classic, or The Magnificent Seven . And, uh— Butch Cassidy is always good. Or! There's Oklahoma , if you like musicals.”
Distantly, he can hear Robin fail at stifling a laugh. He expects to hear one from Eddie too, but doesn’t. Instead he asks “You got the Dollars trilogy?”
“I think so.” Steve scans the shelf. “You want all three?”
This does make Eddie laugh—bright and contagious. Has he always laughed like that? “Of course. You can’t just watch Fistful , can you? And watching the others as standalones is practically sacrilege.”
“Uh, sure.” Steve grabs the tapes off the shelf and spins back toward the counter, where Robin is staring at them with a look on her face that Steve can’t quite decipher. The staring continues as Steve scans the movies, along with a pack of Sour Straws, and as Eddie leaves with a wave and an “Until the next time, movie wenches!” called through the door.
Robin stares at him all funny for the rest of the shift and on the car ride home too, just for good measure. “You got any plans with your children tomorrow?”
“No. I’m actually taking a day off on my day off this week.”
“Sweet.” Robin slams the door shut. “I’m coming over."