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1 — 1983
It all started with Eddie saying, “¿Por qué mierda tiene que ser tan atractivo?” A comment that Steve overheard by accident as he was walking past the freaks’ table.
And, okay, it’s not like Steve is nosy—he is, but that’s not the point—it’s the fact that the comment was made in a different language so that no one else who might overhear the conversation would understand it. Which is pretty smart, if he's completely honest.
It’s just rather unfortunate for Eddie that Steve knows how to speak said language.
Out of all the things that Steve turned out to be good at, mainly sports, his only academic inclination was his ability to learn and speak different languages.
And honestly, just because he has a pretty face doesn’t mean he isn’t intelligent. So yes, Steve Harrington can speak Spanish perfectly, to the point that he has the highest grade in the class, not that he really ever mentions. Though Steve would be lying if he didn't at least admit to understanding where the impression of him being dumb came from, considering that he's on the verge of failing all of his math-related classes.
The point is, Steve speaks Spanish. He's been speaking it since he was a kid, ever since his mother insisted on enrolling him in language courses during his sports’ off-season. And that’s why hearing Eddie not only speak it, but noticing his fluency makes him curious enough to sit in the chair that's closest to the Freak's table, instead of where the basketball team usually eats.
That can barely even be called eavesdropping, he’s sure of it.
It doesn't take long for Steve to realize that Eddie is the only person at the table who speaks Spanish. The rest of his friends seemingly understand some of it, at least based on what Eddie tells them, and it's pretty clear to Steve that he's tried to teach them at some point, but stopped at petty gossip.
“Why do you have to have a crush on a jock?,” is the response Steve manages to hear.
From whom? He doesn’t know, because his seat isn’t facing their table, and luckily for him, that helps him disguise even better the fact that he is, most definitely not listening to their conversation. He can’t help it if they’re talking loudly enough that straining his ears and making absolutely no movement that would cause a noise, lets him hear everything.
“Mirá, Jeff, justamente esa es la cagada. Qué ése pelotudo es el típico deportista fachero de la escuela. Es el cliché más quemado que existe.” Eddie replies to Jeff, apparently, and his voice sounds odd, muffled, as if Eddie is pressing his face against the table.
And based on his dramatic antics, the ones where he gets on tables and gives speeches about conformity and brain-washed jocks, Steve is pretty sure he probably is face down.
“I still don't understand what you see in Harrington.” And, oh, that catches Steve's attention.
Because Eddie isn't just talking about having a crush, about liking someone who is the opposite of him; he's talking about Steve. Which, if Eddie were anyone else, might disgust him, but for some reason—which Steve doesn't want to probe too deeply—it doesn't.
In fact, it only makes him even more intrigued.
But before Steve can hear the reason, or reasons, Tommy catches his attention by asking about the party that Steve is apparently throwing at his house. Not that Steve was aware of it, but a party is a party and his parents are out of town, so taking advantage of having the house to himself and a bar full of drinks he shouldn't touch sounds like a good plan.
A crowd of far too loud Freshmen walk between their tables, breaking Steve’s concentration. He tries his best not to glare at them as they walk by.
By the time Steve catches up with the conversation at Eddie's table again, Eddie is already speaking in English about some campaign that Steve doesn't understand at all.
2 — 1984
Steve knows he probably shouldn't be alone in the Melvald's parking lot the day after Billy beat the shit out of him, but his parents aren't in town, his new friends aren't old enough to help him without telling their parents, his old friends aren't people he can really count on anymore, and asking Nancy for help seems excessive—not to mention pathetic—plus the pain is driving him crazy and sleeping is one of the few things Steve hasn't completely lost yet.
Which is becoming increasingly difficult due to the pain.
And yes, maybe going to a hospital would be a better idea, if Steve is honest with himself, but there's no way he's setting foot in a hospital, especially knowing that the receptionist would be forced to call his parents, and if there's one thing Steve doesn't want, it's for them to see him in such a deplorable state.
So, with his head throbbing from what is probably a migraine and dark glasses covering what is necessary to hide the state of his face as best he can, Steve gets out of the car with the sole purpose of going in, getting what he needs, and leaving, no unnecessary interactions or distractions. No more people than necessary seeing the state Billy Hargrove left him in after defending the only friends he apparently has now.
Steve is so focused on his goal of getting in and out as unnoticed as possible that he doesn't notice Eddie Munson coming out of Melvald's, too distracted with lighting a smoke to notice Steve walking toward him.
It's not until they both find themselves on the ground, Steve's glasses no longer on his face and Eddie's cigarette pack no longer in his hand, that they notice each other's presence.
“¿Qué no ves por dónde andas, bolu-”, is the first thing Steve manages to hear as his head throbs more intensely from the new pain inflicted on it after colliding with Eddie. “Harrington?”
“Munson?” Steve asks, squinting in an attempt to ease the headache after noticing his sunglasses are missing.
“Holy shit, what happened to you?”
And to Steve's misfortune, he sounds genuinely concerned. Which makes Steve's heart start beating faster, and damn it, he really hopes his face isn't red, especially based on the heat he feels rising in it. Because what could be more pathetic, after getting your face beaten up, than running into your newfound—remark in newfound—interest while trying to hide the state a big-headed idiot left you in?
Interest cause it's clearly not a crush, cause he is not gay, and him fixating on how hot some guys are, on how hot Eddie Munson is, doesn’t mean anything. Which may seem like a stretch but, well.
Steve's week really couldn't be going any worse.
“Billy Hargrove,” Steve replies, because he's already humiliated, so what difference does it make to accept the reason?
“Mierda.”
And yes, like shit is how Steve feels right now.
“Let me help you,” Eddie rushes to say when Steve tries to get up off the floor without much success due to the incessant pain in his head.
Steve should say no, that he can do it himself, that he really doesn't want to bother him, but Eddie looks so concerned, with his big eyes and furrowed brow, that Steve finds himself nodding before he can even fully process what's happening.
That's how Steve's plan to go unnoticed goes completely to shit.
Because Eddie doesn't just help him up, no, he has the audacity to retrieve his glasses and walk into the damn store with him to make sure Steve is really okay, as if they were lifelong friends. Which makes Steve feel butterflies in his stomach, like the lovesick idiot he is.
And the worst part? Steve doesn't want the interaction to end, even though he and Munson are supposedly from completely different circles. But Steve's reputation can't get any lower, although that's not something Steve cares about anymore, not with everything going on in his life right now.
With monsters now becoming the number one concern in his life.
When they both leave Melvald's, Steve poorly tries to pretend his face looks worse than it really is, but it seems Eddie isn't willing to tolerate his “Everything's fine” bullshit. Something that becomes abundantly clear to Steve when Eddie offers to drive him home, an offer that Steve, with all the sorrow in his soul, declines before getting into his car.
“Okay, um, I'd say call me when you get there, but that sounds weird because we're not... friends or anything,” Eddie says, and Steve has to fight the smile that tries to grow on his face. "Y ni siquiera tengo tu número… lo cual me hace sonar aún más pelotudo," Eddie mumbles to himself, and Steve lets the stupid smile grow on his face.
Because, who knew Eddie Munson looked so damn cute when he was nervous.
“Thanks,” is the response Steve decides to give after composing himself.
A response to which Eddie nods once, twice, three times, before walking backwards toward his van—which is parked three spots away from Steve's BMW.
The last thing Steve hears before closing the door and starting the car is Eddie saying.
“No puede ser que aun hecho mierda se vea tan lindo.”
And maybe it's stupid, but that simple comment makes Steve's rest of the day a little bit better.
3 — 1985
The third time Steve hears Eddie speak Spanish is at Scoops Ahoy during one of those slow days when hardly any customer stops by. Steve's break is still half an hour away, and there aren't enough people in the Starcourt food court for Steve to at least distract himself by watching and imagining nonsensical scenarios based on their expressions or shopping bags.
“Mierda,” Steve hears him before he even focuses his gaze to get a good look, and damn.
Steve understands, because Eddie isn't just on the other side of the counter looking at him with wide eyes and a slightly open mouth, he's also not wearing the layers of clothing he normally wears.
Which, wow, because who would have thought that Eddie's alternative to layers would be to wear a crop top—clearly made by himself from an old band T-shirt—which reveals a pale abdomen and a happy trail that Steve really, really, wants to follow, but restrains himself because of customer service and keeping decency in the workplace.
And maybe, just maybe, a little bit of knowing that his fixation—his interest—in guys isn't just that, but rather a liking. A liking that confuses him because he's not gay, but noticing how hot another man is doesn't hurt anyone. Especially when no one is aware of what's going through his head.
“Would you like to set sail on this ocean of flavor with me? I'll be your captain. I'm Steve Harrington,” Steve says with practice as soon as he regains his composure.
A smile spreads across his face, which grows when Eddie's face begins to show the faintest hint of a blush.
“Me gustaría hacer más que eso.” Steve manages to hear Eddie mutter before he clears his throat and straightens up.
With this action, Steve notices that Eddie is a few inches taller than him. Not enough to be very noticeable, but enough that Steve needs to raise his gaze slightly to continue looking him in the eye.
“Uh, a rocky road cone, please.”
“Rocky road? That's my favorite,” Steve says, moving to prepare the cone.
And, yeah, preparing a cone it's not rocket science, but showing off to get attention is Steve's favorite thing. Especially when he knows the customer is checking him out. Just as Eddie is doing at the moment in a very unabashed way, with a very noticeable blush now covering most of his face.
And if Steve flexes his arms in a way that his biceps become more noticeable, or if he leans over the counter with a half-smile when he hands Eddie the cone, it's nobody's business but his own.
“How much is it?” Eddie asks after a few seconds of just staring at him without taking the cone Steve is offering him, finally taking it with a very uncoordinated move.
“It's on the house,” Steve replies, tilting his head the same way he's seen millions of girls do when he's the one on the other side of the flirting.
And boy, does it work, because Eddie practically turns into a tomato. His face is completely red and a number of brambles comes out of his mouth, of which Steve can only make out “Dios Santo” and “thank you” before Eddie stumbles out of the store.
Somehow, it reminds Steve of a new born deer.
“I didn't know Steve Harrington was desperate enough to flirt with boys.”
Robin's voice startles Steve, making him jump in surprise.
“Damn it! A warning, please, I'm too young to die from a heart attack,” Steve replies, clearly avoiding what Robin just said.
“Uh-huh,” is all Robin says before taking Steve's place so he can take his break.
4 — 1986
As soon as Steve hears the doorbell ring at Family Video, he looks away from the girl who has been trying to flirt with him for the last twenty minutes and sees none other than Eddie Munson.
Eddie Munson, who goes to Family Video at least three times a week and whose history of late movie return fees Steve erased because admitting he has a crush comes hand-in-hand with doing stupid things. And Steve's stupidity is erasing Eddie's debt to the video store... without telling him, of course.
Because it's one thing to admit to Robin that he feels attracted to Eddie Munson—and the rest of the male gender—in the mall bathroom while under the influence of whatever drug the Russians injected them with after being tortured, and another to admit it to the very person with whom he has had barely two face-to-face interactions outside of school.
Though, those interactions have gradually grown more consistent as the months go by thanks to his new job at the video store. It may not be much, but it's enough to try to break down that barrier Eddie still maintains between them, even though Steve is fully aware that Eddie likes him.
And it’s not like Steve can go up to him and say, “Hey, I know you like me because I overheard you speaking a language you don't know I speak almost two years ago. Rude, I know, but the bright side is, I like you too! Want to go out with me?”
No, Steve definitely won't do that. In fact, it sounds stupid even in his own head.
“Hey, Munson,” Steve greets.
And Steve has to hold back the smile that wants to spread across his face when Eddie jumps in surprise at hearing his voice and then blushing because of it.
“Why are you talking with the Freak?”
The girl's voice almost makes Steve roll his eyes, which takes him a lot of willpower to control.
“Are you going to rent a movie or not?” is the answer he decides to give, because the faster she leaves, the more opportunity he has to watch—discreetly—Eddie as he chooses the movies he will take that day.
The response he gets is an offended sound from the girl, Megan? Claire?, he doesn't remember, before she turns around and leaves. Not before shooting him an angry look, which Steve isn't really bothered about. It's not like they were having an interesting conversation.
Or even a conversation, for that matter, since it was more like her trying to look hot and giggling at him every few seconds, which had been starting to give Steve a headache.
“Bad luck in paradise, Harrington?”
Eddie's voice brings Steve back to reality, drawing his gaze away from the door and towards the curly-haired boy now standing in front of him.
And damn it, why does Eddie have to be so hot? With his big doe eyes, plump lips and messy curly hair. It just makes Steve want to do a lot of things to him, or have Eddie do a lot of things to him—whatever happens would be more than perfect for Steve.
“Not really,” Steve replies almost automatically, “She's just not what I'm looking for today.”
“Really?” Eddie says, playing along, “And what is King Steve looking for on this boring afternoon? If this humble servant can have the privilege of being shared said information,” he continues, leaning on the counter in such a way that, if Steve were to do the same, would leave only inches separating their faces.
And oh, Steve is going to take advantage of that. Of course he is, because Eddie is practically handing him the opportunity to flirt with him on a silver platter, and Steve is not one to waste opportunities.
“Well, I'm looking for someone more interesting,” Steve begins, leaning forward, resting his arms on the counter, his face now close enough to Eddie's to notice the freckles on his nose and the shadow of a pink blush returning to his face. “You know, someone who isn't afraid of what people will say, who's willing to do something more than vanilla.”
Steve can see the moment Eddie swallows, noticing his Adam's apple bob up and down. He takes it as a sign to push further. To see how far Eddie will let him go before pulling away.
“Besides, she's not my type.”
“N-No?” Eddie asks, clearing his throat in an attempt to hide the high-pitch tone with which the question came out. “And who's your type? Nancy Wheeler?”
“Hmm, don't get me wrong, I do like curly, dark, long hair, especially to pull on, but I've always preferred plumper lips,” he adds, looking Eddie straight in the eye. “And God, you don't know how weak I am for big doe eyes, particularly when they're looking up at me, if you know what I mean.”
Steve finishes with a smirk spreading across his face as he notices Eddie's face going from a slight pink to bright red, growing more intense with each passing second.
"La puta madre… éste me está boludeando."
Steve hears Eddie whisper.
“Oh sorry, did you say something?”
“No, no,” Eddie almost shouts, which only makes his blush more intense.
They both remain silent after that, staring at each other for several seconds, seconds in which Steve has the opportunity to notice how Eddie's pupils are slightly dilated, even with the lock of hair Eddie pulls in an attempt to hide a blush that is already coloring his entire face.
Steve is about to ask Eddie if he’s sure he didn't say anything when Robin walks into Family Video complaining loudly about how she had to take the bus because her mother wouldn't drive her to work.
The sound makes both Steve and Eddie jump in surprise. Steve watches mournfully as Eddie puts some distance between himself and the counter they were leaning on.
“Just, uh, this movie,” Eddie says, dropping his tape on the counter. He was looking anywhere but Steve, attempting to hide the fact that they were mere inches apart less than a few seconds ago.
It was rather unfortunate, because now Steve can no longer see those hypnotic dark brown eyes that have been the star of countless wet dreams for entirely too long now.
By the time Eddie awkwardly says goodbye and leaves the video store with the tape in his hand, still avoiding eye contact with him, Robin is standing next to him with a smile on her face that Steve knows means trouble.
“So…” Robin begins, “How was your morning without me? Did you tell Eddie how many babies you want to have with him, yet?”
Steve lets out a grunt at Robin’s question, leaning over the counter and covering his face with both hands, an action that earns him a laugh from his best friend.
Her reaction tells him it's definitely going to be a long shift.
5 — 1986
"Give yourself a break, man." That's Steve's answer to Eddie's confession about cowardice and only playing the hero from the comfort of his throne while running D&D campaigns.
A response that stirs something inside Steve, perhaps because of the sudden closeness between them or because of the intense way Eddie is looking at him.
Maybe Steve should kiss him.
The thought hit him hard. It wasn’t the first time that he’d thought about it, but it was certainly the first time that Steve thought about it while in the twisted depths of the woods that have seen him kiss millions of girls in the past.
Steve’s ready to say “fuck it,” and throw caution to the wind. Their faces are mere inches apart, he just needs to lean in a little. It would be so easy. Whatever Eddie is saying would die between their lips. But before Steve can muster the courage to eliminate the little space between their faces, Eddie brings Nancy into the conversation.
"But Wheeler right there, she didn't waste a second. Not one second. She just dove right in. Now, I don't know what happened between you two, but if I were you, I would get her back. 'Cause that was as unambiguous a sign of true love as these cynical eyes have ever seen." What? Steve thinks and frowns after hearing Eddie's words, especially because of how fragile he looks when he says them.
Almost as if it hurt him.
And it's the intensity of his gaze that leaves Steve with no choice but to look away. He stares blankly at Nancy and Robin, his head barely processing Eddie’s words. Because what part of all his flirting attempts over the last few months gave Eddie the idea that he still likes Nancy? That Steve is actually looking to get back together with someone who broke his heart and cheated on him.
But Steve can't express anything he's thinking before a new earthquake causes everything around him to shake and destabilize him.
"¡La concha de la lora!" Steve hears Eddie shout as the tremor forces both of them to the ground. “Here we go again.”
The world around them continues to move, but all Steve can hear are Robin's shouts calling Nancy's name. Yes, Nancy may have broken his heart, but Steve still cares about her as a friend, and Robin shouting her name doesn't feel like a good sign. Especially not in the middle of the situation they’re currently in.
Inside the Upside Down, with no idea how to get out.
When the ground stops moving, Steve notices Eddie has already gone ahead of him to follow Robin's voice. Steve ends up pressed against his back when they reach where Nancy is standing, looking at her house in the distance.
At least now they're closer to finding a way out of this place.
“Come on,” Nancy orders, continuing on her way.
The few yards they have left to walk to the Wheeler house give Steve a new opportunity to talk to Eddie again, and attempt to clarify the situation that no, he doesn't like Nancy. In fact, if Steve were to like anyone, it would be Eddie. But Steve is interrupted by the muttering he hears from Eddie, who is at a considerable distance from Nancy and Robin as well.
"Bien ahí, Munson. Mándalo con la ex mientras está distraído con vos." Eddie sounds angry with himself, which confuses Steve because he seemed quite convinced of his words a few moments ago. "Igual, ni que tuviera chances con él. Ni en pedo el “Steve Harrington” no sea heterosexual y encima que le guste alguien como yo."
And it's that last sentence that makes Steve angry and gives him the urge to cut Eddie's muttering out and confess. To confess that no, he's not straight, and yes, he does like Eddie and has liked him for quite some time now, but Nancy's house looms larger in his field of vision and Steve knows he's just lost his chance again, because if he didn't have the courage in the middle of the woods, it's even less likely he'll have it now that Nancy and Robin might hear them.
+1 — 1986
The last thing Eddie says before the pain consumes him, before the taste of blood in his mouth becomes nauseatingly unbearable and everything around him turns black is, “No quiero morir sin que sepas que me gustas.” His words were, of course, directed at Steve, who was holding him in his arms while he yelled at Nancy Wheeler to drive faster.
When Eddie wakes up, the first thing that crosses his mind is how much his body hurts. It's as if someone had torn him apart alive... Which, now that his brain is slowly becoming aware of his surroundings, Eddie remembers is exactly what happened.
The demobats practically tore him apart alive. If he were a little more awake, he might even laugh at the idea of being a chew toy and not a human being.
As Eddie becomes more aware of his surroundings, he can smell alcohol and hear the beeping of the machine that he assumes is keeping him alive. This really surprises him, especially because the last thing he can remember before everything went black is Dustin crying and begging him not to close his eyes.
The next thing Eddie hears are voices, voices that at first sound distant, as if he was lying at the bottom of a swimming pool, listening to the voices on the surface. He struggles against the feeling, trying to push out of the water, and take a breath.
The seconds pass, and the voices become clearer until Eddie can understand what both voices are saying.
"¿Cuánto tiempo crees que le tome despertar?"
Hearing Wayne's voice almost makes Eddie cry because it means Wayne is here with him. Wayne knows he's alive and not rotting in the Upside Down, as he himself believed he would end up while demobat after demobat tore parts of his body off.
"¿Tal vez un par de horas más? El doctor dijo que en el transcurso del día podría ir despertando."
The second voice responds, and it sounds horribly familiar to...
"¿Desde cuándo Steve Harrington habla español?"
Saying those words hurts like hell; his throat feels dry, and the effort of even uttering them makes him feel like he's been run over by a truck. Which would have been a thousand times better than what actually sent him to the hospital, if Eddie had any right to be picky about it.
Apparently he didn’t, he thinks ruefully.
His voice comes as a surprise to the two men in the room, because the next thing Eddie does is open his eyes, blinking a couple of times in an attempt to quell the burning sensation caused by the white light illuminating everything around him.
Wayne appears in his field of vision. He looks tired, with circles framing his eyes so blue that they’re almost black. His eyes are bloodshot, a stark contrast to the sharp fluorescent light hitting his face. Eddie suspects it's not just from lack of sleep, which makes him feel even worse.
“Wayne,” Eddie says slowly, his throat still burning from dryness.
“Here, drink,” Eddie hears Steve say, handing Wayne a glass of water. He helps Eddie sit up carefully so he can drink without spilling the water on himself.
The room falls into a somewhat tense silence as Eddie drinks from the glass Wayne holds to his lips, an action that makes Eddie notice the heaviness he feels in his body, along with the number of bandages that probably cover stitches that help keep his organs inside him and not on the dirty floor of the Upside Down.
“So?” he asks, turning his head toward the side of the bed where Steve is standing. “Since when do you speak Spanish? Because I know I didn’t hallucinate it. You speaking my first language definitely wasn’t an effect of the morphine.”
Steve has a small smile on his lips and a blush that gradually intensifies from a soft pink to a deep red, rising from the base of his neck to his cheeks. The blush distracts Eddie for a few seconds, because—damn Steve Harrington and how attractive he is, even more so when he blushes.
“Fluently? Probably since I was ten. My mother wanted me to do more than just sports.” That makes sense; Steve is still a rich kid. “Plus, a lot of my nannies growing up spoke the language,” Steve adds. “That really helped me learn it.”
Eddie nods, thinking that if it weren't for Wayne refusing to stop speaking Spanish at home, he wouldn't have continued speaking it, since his father refused to do so under the excuse that it hurt too much after Eddie's mother passed away. He even yelled at Eddie when he heard him muttering things in Spanish while playing.
But any insight Eddie has on the matter is forgotten when his past encounters with Steve slowly return to his memory. The mumbling and muttering in Spanish expressing his horniness for the other guy.
“Oh mierda,” and maybe the sudden wave of memories is reflected on his face, because Steve, the bastard, smiles at him in a way that makes Eddie's legs feel like jelly.
A smile that Eddie has seen directed at millions of girls in the school hallways for years, and now that he thinks about it, has been directed at him since last summer, only Eddie’s been too distracted by Steve himself to notice.
“Yeah.” Steve's response snaps him out of his thoughts abruptly.
“You understood everything,” Eddie accuses, feeling a familiar heat color his cheeks. Wayne's not-so-subtle laughter beside him doesn't help his situation at all.
Traitor.
“Yup,” Steve replies, the damn smile still plastered on his face. “It was pretty flattering, if I'm being honest.”
“Why didn't you say anything?!”
“And ruin the fun? No way. Besides, I liked knowing things that not everyone knew.”
“What things? That I'm horned up on you half the time?” Eddie mutters under his breath, looking at his hands in an attempt to calm his heart, but the stupid machine monitoring said heart gives him away, causing his blush to become even more intense.
Steve laughs, but not in a mocking way; he seems embarrassed too. As if the conversation was also revealing things about his own feelings and not just Eddie's.
“That and...” Eddie hears Steve pause, which makes him look up and notice that Steve is looking at Wayne, which is weird because...
“Oh, oh!” Very eloquent of him, but it's all his brain can manage when he realizes what Steve is probably hinting at. “Wayne knows, about me I mean...”
“Oh, okay,” Steve replies, and Eddie can't help but look at his lips when he licks them in an attempt to, Eddie believes, calm his nerves. “And that... you like me? Which is totally fine because I like you too!”
The speed with which those words come out of Steve's lips and his previous distraction with them almost makes Eddie miss the confession Steve just made. And the only thing his brain-to-mouth filter is capable of doing is letting out an incredulous laugh which, accompanied by his rather obvious blush, makes him feel sixteen again.
All giggly and smiley.
“I think this is my cue to leave,” Wayne says, and Eddie knows it's to get both of their attention. “Suerte con tu chico,” he hears his uncle say as he leans down to press a kiss on his head before leaving the room, not without first nodding in Steve's direction. Closing the door behind him.
Any blush that might have appeared due to Wayne's comment is overcome by the blush caused by Steve, which has not yet left his face.
“So...” Eddie begins, a dopey smile growing on his face as he looks at Steve. “Did I hear something about liking?”
And it seems to spark something in Steve, because one second he's standing next to his bed and the next he's leaning over, carefully so as not to aggravate Eddie’s wounds, leaving their faces mere inches apart. If either of them leaned forward just a little more, their lips could brush against each other in a kiss Eddie had been dreaming of since he was sixteen.
“Tell me no and I'll back off,” Eddie hears Steve whisper, mint and a hint of coffee filling his senses. All this alongside intense hazel eyes looking directly at him.
“That's a tough bargain to refuse. I'd be an idiot if I said no.”
His answer is all Steve needs to close the space between them, opening up a new world of sensations in Eddie, dominated by soft lips and smooth hands holding his face with a delicacy that almost makes Eddie burst into happy tears.
“La puta… no sabes lo mucho que me gustas,” Eddie says between soft kisses to the growing smile on Steve’s face.
“Tú también me gustas mucho, Eds.”
And Eddie can't help but kiss him again, trying to pour everything he feels into it, smile included, even though that makes the kiss a little sloppier. But hey, Eddie finally has the hairy-chested Knight he's been dreaming about since junior year.
Extra — 1987
Eddie is too distracted by the warmth of Steve's body sitting next to him to pay attention to whatever Hopper and Dustin are arguing about at that moment. It's not like Eddie can contribute anything because he genuinely doesn't understand what they're talking about, so his distraction isn't a big deal.
What is a problem is how badly he wants to climb onto Steve's lap and find a way to get under the cream sweater Steve is wearing at that very moment. And it's not Eddie's fault, okay? His boyfriend looks too soft for Eddie to ignore how much he likes to snuggle with him, even in the middle of a meeting that is basically deciding whether they live or die, surrounded by people who don't know about them yet, apart from Robin and Dustin.
His mind is fantasizing about just that, about how easy it could be to lift that sweater and get underneath it, to come face to face with Steve's hairy chest, when Dustin and Robin's voices filter into his thoughts.
"It's too big. It's not gonna fit."
"Steve hears that all the time and goes in anyway. Don't you Steve?"
"What the hell is wrong with you?"
Steve's voice joins in, but it's too late; his brain is already sending an automatic response. And the only thing Eddie can be thankful for being distracted enough is that it comes out in Spanish and not English. Even when his brain doesn't fully process it.
"A veces sí duele cuando entra."
Silence.
A silence that lingers long enough for Eddie to process what he has just said out loud, his eyes widening in surprise as he immediately turns to look at Steve, who is also staring at him with wide eyes and a blush that gradually becomes more intense and obvious.
The laughter of Murray—because of course the man speaks Spanish, much to Eddie's misfortune—and Robin breaks the awkward silence that has formed in the room after his comment.
"Por favor, decime que no me la mandé solito," Eddie pleads looking at Steve, his voice quivering and embarrassed, to which Steve slowly nods before turning to the rest of the group in the room who are watching them.
“What?”
Dustin is the first to ask, moving from where he is fighting with Hopper to stand in front of Steve and him.
“Since when do you two speak Spanish?”
“It’s my first language.”
“Since I was ten.”
Eddie and Steve answer at the same time.
“And you never thought I should know that information?!” Dustin cries out, as if the end of the world were him not knowing they speak Spanish and not Vecna kidnapping children.
“It wasn't relevant,” Eddie begins, playing with one of his rings, specifically the one Steve gave him for his birthday as a promise of a future that Eddie really hopes they can achieve.
“It wasn't relevant?! How could it not be relevant?!”
“Dustin!” Hopper calls out in exasperation, which makes him laugh, earning him a nudge in the shoulder from Steve. “I understand that you love to know everything, but right now it’s not relevant that Steve and Eddie speak Spanish, unless one of them knows how to solve the problem we’re facing.”
And so the fight resumes, and Eddie can once again lose himself in thoughts of how hot his boyfriend is, until said boyfriend decides to move away from his side to get the others' attention and explain that they may indeed have a chance to merge the Upside Down version of Hawkins with the Abyss without needing any extra vehicles beyond the SQUAWK radio tower.
"No sabes lo caliente que sonaste en este momento, bebé."
And there goes his brain-to-mouth filter again.
“Eddie!”