Work Text:
Friday
The sound of thunder had jolted him out of almost falling asleep. He groaned slightly as he sat up and squinted at the alarm clock sitting on his nightstand.
2:25am
Sighing as he got up out of bed, he didn't really know what to do, he couldn't just go back to sleep, that was a difficult task since he was always in fight or flight at the slightest noises due to all the shit that's happened. Pacing on the spot, contemplating if he should even try and go back to sleep or just go for a walk or something, he glanced around the room. The moonlight peeking through his curtains caught his gaze, he followed it to the illuminated item sitting on his desk. The neatly folded denim that's slowly been collecting dust over how ever long it's been.
Eddie's battle vest.
Steve didn't really know what to do with it, the plan was to return it after everything was over, but Eddie didn't make it. He just stared at the vest, eyes darting away whenever that one feeling started to pool in his stomach.
He wasn't sure what the feeling was, grief? Regret? Anger? Dread? Maybe all of them at once? Whatever it is, Steve didn't want to feel it, would rather ignore it, bottle it back down so he can just keep pretending that everything was fine, that eventually he could bury it far enough down that he'd feel normal again.
God it still had his blood on it.
He didn't want to wash it for fear it would fall apart. He crossed the room to his desk, hand hovering over the denim before gently picking it up and watching it unfold itself in his grasp.
He just wanted to sleep normally for once, get a good 8 or so hours in without waking up thinking something or someone is trying to kill him constantly. Running a hand through his hair as he sat down on his bed, stared intently at the vest and sighed as he let his head fall onto his pillows. He held the vest close to his chest and shut his eyes, listening to sounds around him.
So what if it was weird to sleep with his sort of friend's bloodied vest? It helps him sleep sometimes! And he hopes it will help this time too.
It's not weird. You're weird– it's his way of grieving. At least that's what he you'd Robin when she checked up on him that one time.
When his eyes opened again, he was sure he was dreaming. He was in a place of nothingness but the floor seemed to be water and he could stand on it for some reason.
Dream physics or whatever.
But it was also silent. Even as he walked through the blank space, his footsteps didn't make a sound. This dream was way nicer than the usual ones he had– if you could even call those dreams, usually it was just a replay of something that happened but 10x worse. As he continued to walk he spotted something in the distance. Someone. And as he quickened his pace his gut sank as he recognised who.
It was Eddie. Laying there lifeless.
Kneeling down to him, he gently placed his hands on the others' battle torn clothes to examine the damage. He traced the bites, starting from his lower stomach all the way to his chest. God even if they got him out of here, would he have just died anyways? These bites looked deep and were practically littering his torso. His hand trailed up further up his neck and over his cheek, gently turning his head so he was looking in his direction. He looked.. peaceful almost– which didn't really fit Eddie. Eddie was chaotic, loud, bold, anything but peaceful.
As he stared down at him he couldn't help but feel his throat go tight as he tried to hold back a small sob. He didn't know why he was crying, he barely knew the guy but he just couldn't help himself. Eddie didn't deserve this. No one did. Dying to monsters from other dimensions wasn't a fair way to go. None of it was fair. Covering his mouth as he leaned over, trying to stop himself from having a full blown breakdown, he watched through watery eyes as his tears landed on Eddie's face. He turned away, choking up sobs, hands still covering his mouth trying to silence himself– make himself as quiet as he could even though no one was around to hear him.
Habits die hard he guessed.
And then something happened. The quiet noise of clothes rustling made Steve look back at his lifeless friend at the exact time Eddie had lifted his head to look at him.
"..Steve..?" Eddie mumbled with a raspy voice.
That alone made Steve practically jump away from the once lifeless corpse in front of him, scaring Eddie in the process, before everything started to fall apart. Literally. Steve couldn't even begin to process what was happening as he watched Eddie suddenly fall through the floor and then felt the floor below him just disappear and now he was struggling in an ocean that didn't exist and he couldn't breathe and his heart was pounding away in his ears and he couldn't see anything– couldn't feel anything–
And then he woke up.
Drenched in sweat and choking on his own spit, he looked at his surroundings trying to figure out where he was. He was in his room, in his bed. In his house. Taking a shaky breath he checked the time.
4:46am
He, at the least, got 2 hours in even if it didn't feel like he was truly asleep. He pressed his palms against his eyes and tried to do those breathing exercises Robin and the others had taught him, only opening his eyes when he felt something drip down his forearm. As he looked down to check what, he noticed the vest in his lap and quickly tossed it away from him as if it would burn him. He felt another drip on his arm and swiftly got out of bed after realising that it was too dark to be anything but blood.
Heading to the closest bathroom, struggling to turn the light on, missing the switch twice only to get it on his third attempt he stepped in front of the mirror to get a good look at himself.
He had a nose bleed.
Which is weird but it happens. It was a bit of a warm night, so he probably just overheated and got one– he did wake in his own sweat so it made sense to him. Searching around for some tissues, cupping a hand under his nose as he travelled out of the bathroom and back towards his room. He remembered the extra tissue box sitting in one of the draws of his desk.
After securing a tissue, he did the thing where you twist it and put it up the nostril so that he didn't need to constantly hold it in place. Dustin taught him that trick.
Letting his hands fall from his face he let out a sigh as he glanced at the vest sitting on his floor.
"It was just a dream... Just a stupid dream.." He mumbled to himself as he picked up the fabric, refolding it and placing it back on his desk.
[Saturday 9:46pm]
The first thing Eddie noticed was that he was not where he was when he had died, the second thing he noticed was that he wasn't dead.
Immediately sitting up and checking himself over for injuries that should be there, only to find healed over scars. He should have open wounds– bleeding bat bites– torn flesh! But no, somehow he was fine.
Which he wasn't complaining it was just confusing is all.
"What the fuck." He hissed as he took in his surroundings, he was in his trailer, in his room. Or the alternate dimensiony version of it– How'd he get here? He swore he was outside when he became a buffet for the demobats to feast on. Standing up took a bit more effort then usual, like his legs had been out of commission for some time. So wobbling around like a newborn deer, he managed to figure out walking again in no time as he stumbled around his upside down home. Making it to the living room where the gate was he groaned as he realised he would have to make a way up to it.
He cursed himself for cutting the rope so Dustin couldn't follow him after his stunt– if he knew he was going to come back he wouldn't of cut it!
So he started grabbing things he could stand on and stack on top of eachother to place under the ceiling gate.
He moved the couch, the table– even the small dresser from his room that took way to long to push since he was not strong at all.
So like a dangerous game of Janga he began to stack them up. He placed his dresser next to the couch so he could balance the table ontop of it and before he could even start worrying about if it would work he climbed on top of it all and jumped through the gate.
Curling into a ball and protecting his head, he landed with a pained groan onto his shitty mattress below.
Sitting up and rubbing the side that he landed on, he looked around only to realise that his trailer was in two pieces.
What had happened after he died? They killed vecna right? Where was his Uncle staying if the trailer was like this? Looking back up at white the gate was all he found was empty space.
Strange. What was also strange was the fact that the only thing he can recall was him laying in Dustin's arms, bleeding out and Steve Harrington hovering over him, crying.
Steve Harrington. Crying– over him, Eddie Munson.
And that just left him more confused than he was before. Getting up and walking towards his room, he wanted to at least change out of the clothes he potentially died in but that seemed to not be an option since his entire room was just gone. That sucked. Alot actually he had tub of savings he was going to use to get out of hawkins but now all of that money is just gone.
Turning around and trying to think of a game plan, it currently was dark out so he could go find some place to go, but where exactly would he go? He could go to Dustin's, kids smart but what if the whole town still thought he was a murderer? He wouldn't want to scare Dustin's poor mother. Going to the police station was a no go too if the whole town was still after him. And he wasn't going to risk going to his friends houses and potentially get them in trouble either.
So either he goes and live out in the forest or he goes to Steve's. He knows the address– practically everyone did and there was a high chance of their being no parents so win win no? Hes sure Steve wont turn him in to the police. It'd be a long walk but it's not like he had much else to do so he started his treck and let his mind wonder. He wasn't really worried about anyone spotting him, it was late so he assumed most people were asleep.
When the house finally came into view, he let out a relieved sigh and quickened his pace. He was convinced that he was lost, how does Hawkins look so different at night?
Walking up to the door and knocking on it, he waited for a minute or two. Nothing. He knocked again but a little harder this time and waited another 2 minutes. No response. Which was fair, Steve probably was asleep.
He tried the doorknob, checking if it was actually locked (spoiler, it was) before groaning and walking around to the back and trying the back door– which opened! Surprisingly! Wow Harrington this is so dangerous.
So quietly he walked into Steve's house, gently shutting the door behind him and locking it, the next thing he needed was another unexpected visitor. Looking aroumd, he be-lined it to the kitchen to grab a glass of water and something to eat. After sculling 3 glasses of water(he never realised he could get this thirsty) and eating some fruit that was sitting on the counter, he looked around and noticed the stairs. Right, that's where the bedrooms were. Everytime he's in this house he just can't believe how big it was. Swiftly going up the stairs he's faced with his first challenge– which one was Steve's and should he even wake him up? Taking a guess he headed to the end of the hall and opened the first door, only for it to open to some sort of office. Definitely not that one. He tried the few rooms nearby, none of them being Steves. It was kind of eerie, all these empty rooms in this big ass house with no one to occupy them. Walking to the other side of the hallway that made up the second floor, he tried a few more doors but ultimately getting the same results as before. Until he opened one near the end of the hallway and noticed the plaid pattern covering the walls that he knew this was Steve's room.
Seriously Harrington? How'd you manage to score as much as you did with plaid fucking wallpaper?
Quietly walking in and shutting the door behind him he looked around the room, noticing the lump on the bed and a few other things. Mainly the car posters and a piece of clothing that look really familiar. As he turned around to get a better look at the room, his shoe squeeked against the wooden floorboards and as he turned back around to check if he woke up Steve he was being shoved against the nearest wall while letting out the most manliest yelp he could muster. Totally.
He felt a hand around his throat as he darted his eyes towards the others face, trying to make out the details– wow how the roles have reversed huh? His eyes locked to Steve's as he grabbed at the others wristto pull it away just a tiny bit so he could, you know, breathe.
"Hey! Dude– it's me! It's Eddie! Eddie Munson–" He pathetically cried out, hoping that maybe Steve would let go. It was silent for a while, he felt the hand around his throat tighten and loosen a few times before Steve let go and dropped his hand to his side.
"What the fuck." Steve muttered quietly, taking a few steps back, covering his mouth with his hand and just stared him.
"You– you're supposed to be dead."
"Yeah I don't know how I'm not honestly." Eddie weakly chuckled, rubbing his neck and looked around again, not wanting to look at Steve and his kicked puppy look.
"What do you remember? Before– I don't know– waking up or whatever?"
You.
But Eddie couldn't just say that, that would be weird no? But he didn't know what else to say.
"Um.. you know just uh– you?" Eddie mumbled with a small shoulder shrug as he took the chance to glance at Steve only to practically want to melt– how does he look so sad! This man's puppy eyes were insane! Maybe that's how he got with so many people in high school.
"Me? Was I doing anything?" Steve asked as he continued to stare at Eddie only this time he was looking at his clothes, almost as if he was checking him out which totally didn't make Eddie's cheeks flush pink– noooo..
"Yeah– you know– just uh, crying." He hummed softly with a small nod as he actually registered what Steve was wearing. Just some sweats. No big deal for the normal person but Eddie was not normal and his crush from fucking middle school was resurfacing extremely fast because Steve had a hairy chest that he wanted to shive his face into and abs– but not like washboard abs– like abs that have clearly not been worked on in a bit and has a little bit of chub– and God Eddie was practically trying not to froth at the mouth at the sight.
"Uh. And– and then I woke up in the upside down, found a gate, went through it and then walked to your house!" Eddie added, coughing into his fist, glancing away from Steve and towards his desk.
"There was a gate?" Steve asked with furrowed brows, tilting his head to the side.
"Yeah! I went through and when I went to look back at it, it was gone! Poof!" Eddie laughed weakly, making a small gesture of something blowing up.
"Okay.. well it's um.. good that you're here and not– you know." Steve muttered quietly as he looked away, staring at the floor.
"Dead? Yeah it's great! Hey I'm not still a wanted murderer right?"
"No– no that's been cleared. Hop made sure of it." Steve assured with a small nod as he looked back at Eddie.
"Do you want a change of clothes? Or even a shower?"
"That.... would be appreciated." Eddie hummed as he clasped his hands together, realising that he probably stunk. He watched as Steve went to his closet to grab some clothes, handing Eddie a burgundy sweater and some grey sweats before hesitating for a second.
"Do you expect me to sleep commando or?" Eddie teased with a small grin as he looked over the clothes Steve had handed him.
"I was getting to that." Steve muttered as he tossed some undies at Eddie not caring if he caught them or not.
"Steve I am NOT wearing whitey fucking tightys."
"It's all I have man! Be grateful!" Steve huffed with a small giggle.
"You can not be serious!"
"I am! Go have a shower you stink!" Steve chuckled as he ushered Eddie out of his room and towards the bathroom.
"Okay okay! I'm going! Jeez–" Eddie giggled along with Steve before walking into the bathroom and shutting the door behind him.
Looking around he placed the clothes on the counter and striped out of his disgustingly dirty clothes, letting them drop to the floor with a thud. As he went to step into the shower he caught his reflection in the mirror, halting his movements.
Wow those demobats ate more than he thought– he was practically missing his entire left side of his torso! Nipple included! The scar looked pretty cool though so he wasn't exactly complaining when in reality he probably should be. Before he could overthink it anymore he quickly stepped into the shower, turned the taps and almost jumped out of his skin due to how cold it was.
[10:05pm]
Steve was sitting on his bed with a small medical kit next to him– he wanted to make sure Eddie wasn't still bleeding or anything. He had thrown on a shirt to try and be a little bit modest. He had heard the shower turn off a bit ago so now he's just waiting for Eddie to walk back to his room. His knee was bouncing and he didn't know why– it was just Eddie– Eddie who was recently dead who is somehow alive in his house– in his room– Eddie, who he might have developed a small crush on because he was figuring out a few things about himself while walking through a hell dimension with the other man.
Speaking of the devil, Eddie walked into the room, shutting the door and waltzing over to his bed, promptly plopping down onto it.
"What's this for?" Eddie hummed as he grabbed something out of the med kit to examine it.
"You? I wanted to make sure you weren't.. bleeding still." Steve mumbled as he blankly stared at Eddie.
"Aww– you care about little old me, you make me blush Harrington, but don't worry I am a-okay! See? No bleeding happening here." He teased before he lifted his borrowed sweater, gesturing to his mangled torso.
Steve's gaze immediately locked onto Eddie's torso, examining every little and big scar he could see– jeez– how did he survive like this? Whose to say Eddie isn't a zombie of sorts right now?
"Course I care– We're friends man." Steve huffed as he grabbed the hem of Eddie's sweater so it didn't fall down as the other let go so he could continue to look over the scars.
"No way– Steve Harrington admitted to being friends with me– the Eddie Muson– I can see the headlines now! The Hair and the Freak; friends!?" Eddie teased with a cheeky grin and a few giggles as he gestured dramatically in front of himself. Steve just rolled his eyes as he let go of the sweater, placing his hands in his lap.
"How are you.. okay? Like– how are your wounds just.. healed?"
"I dunno man. Maybe I have a guardian angel looking out for me." Eddie hummed, leaning more into Steve's space, fluttering his eyelashes. He had to stop himself from rolling his eyes again as he jokingly pinched Eddie's side only for the other man to let out a small squeal that immediately grabbed Steve's attention.
"No way." Steve muttered in disbelief as a smirk grew on his face as he stared at other, clearly getting an idea. Eddie stared back with narrowed eyes before he shifted away from Steve, knowing what was about to happen.
"Don't you dare Harrington." He hissed playfully as he pointed at Steve.
"Whaat– I'm not going to do anything." Steve hummed calmly, leaning back on his palms as he watched Eddie slowly go back to his spot next to Steve.
As soon as Eddie thought he was safe and was about to say something was when Steve pounced, hands flying to Eddies sides as he tickled him with a shit eating grin on his face. Eddie let out another squeal that quickly devolved into laughter as his hands tried to grab Steve's, resulting in some sort of uncoordinated wrestling match.
"You suck Harrington! Waited for me to get comfy again you prick!" Eddie growled as he tried to push Steve off of him. He wasn't mad or anything– he was having fun!
"Had to– otherwise you would have gotten away." Steve chuckled as he grabbed one of Eddie's wrists and slammed it onto the mattress behind the other while moving to try and get the other.
"Oh– didn't want me getting away huh? Wanted me vulnerable did you?" Eddie basically purred as he looked at Steve with his own shit eating grin. That shouldnt of sent a shrill down his spine. Steve paused as he looked down at Eddie. Was he.. flirting? It sounded that way– the tone used made him think so but he wouldn't really get to process it because apparently Eddie saw Steve's hesitancy as an opportunity to switch the dynamic.
Steve who was now on his back staring up at Eddie.
Steve whose heart was skipping a beat every two seconds, trying not to freak out about the way the other's legs caged his own.
Steve, who quickly tried to push himself up and away in a spurred panic, only to swift his leg and accidentally knee Eddie in his nether regions.
With a pained groan Eddie fell forward onto Steve before rolling off clutching his family jewels.
"What the fuck dude–" He grumbled out with a small whine which Steve tried not to think about.
"Sorry– you– you startled me man!" Steve weakly tried to explain as he moved to sit next to him, his hand hovering over the other's arm. As he was about to open his mouth to say something he was cut off by Eddie grabbing the collar of his shirt to pull him down to his level.
"You suck man." Eddie mumbled quietly as he glared at Steve– not with actual hatred– it seemed more playful than anything. Steve didn't really know how to respond , he had already apologised so he shrugged his shoulders and laid on his side opposite of Eddie. The two laid there in a comfortable silence just looking at one another.
"I still can't believe that you're actually here." Steve mumbled quietly, reaching out as his fingers hovered inches away from the other's face before he hesitated and let it fall back onto the bed below.
Eddie stared at him, his expression softening as he gently placed his palm over Steve's hand, lifting it and placing it on his chest, over his heart as if to show that he was really here. That he had a heartbeat– that there was blood running through his veins– that he was warm and truly alive.
Steve let out a small breath of air that he didn't even realise he was holding. He kept his hand against Eddie's chest, feeling the others heartrate as he felt his own speed up.
He couldn't help the tears that started welling up in his eyes– couldn't stop the lump from forming in his throat– why was he even crying? Eddie was fine! He's okay and alive and he's here! He quickly removed his hand from Eddie's chest and pushed himself up, covering his face with his hand as he turned his body away from him, trying his best to stifle the small sobs threatening to spill out.
"Woah– Hey– did I do something wrong..?" Eddie muttered as he instantly sat up, cautiously placing his hand on Steve's shoulder.
He just shook his head because Eddie hadn't done anything, it was just that it was finally hitting Steve that the man who sacrificed his life for everyone else is here and it was just a tad overwhelming. He felt stupid for crying over the fact that Eddie somehow lived– he should be happy! Celebrating even! But he's just crying for reasons not even he knows.
He felt Eddie shift behind him, feeling the hand on his shoulder lightly trail down his back before wrapping around his front, being joined by his other arm in the process. He felt Eddie's cheek pressed against the back of his shoulder first before the rest of him settled against his back.
"Is this okay?" Eddie asked quietly, seemingly ready to back off but Steve just nodded softly nit wanting him to move. It was nice to be hugged and he hadn't been hugged in a while.
"It's okay. I'm not going to judge you for crying man, you don't have to hide your emotions from me– I get it– I'd probably be crying too if someone I thought was dead was suddenly alive." Eddie mumbled softly, hoping Steve didn't shove him away. After waiting for a response and not getting one, he shut his eyes and softly hummed a song Steve didn't recognise. It didn't really matter though– all that did matter was that Eddie was letting him be vulnerable and that made him want to sob even more.
He wasn't going to though, the last thing he wanted or needed was to just dump his emotional baggage onto the other.
Taking a shaky breath of air to try and calm himself down, he moved his hand from his face and placed it over Eddie's as he let his head fall downwards while closing his own eyes. He let out a quiet hum as he felt the cold bumps that clad Eddie's fingers. Opening his eyes to look at them, noticing that they were clean, he let out a small scoff with a weak chuckle. He rolled his eyes as his hands fiddled with the rings.
"Is this why you took so long in the shower? Were you washing your rings?"
"Uhh… no comment." Eddie hummed with a small grin as he wiggled his fingers against Steve's hand. Shifting his body to face towards Eddie, feeling the other lift his head off his shoulder at the movement, Steve underestimated how close they actully were. They were practically nose to nose but that didn't stop Steve from trying to tease him.
"Uh huh. Cause these look pretty clean to me compared to earlier." Steve smirked as he grabbed Eddie's wrist and brought it up to their faces.
"You were looking at my hands earlier?" Eddie muttered with a raised brow, turning the tides even if he was sporting a pink face.
"I– no–" Steve sputtered out as he felt heat prick at the back of his neck, making him feel the need to lean away from the other.. So what if he took notice? He had to make sure Eddie was in one piece!
Eddie giggled softly as he removed the arm that was still around Steve's side to remove one of his rings and hold it up to the other's face.
"I, Eddie Munson, give thee, Steve Harrington, this ring of…. Perception! For noticing the little things that others don't or some shit– Do you take it?" Eddie grinned, speaking in a way he's only heard when the other is hanging out with Dustin. Was this a little game to him? If so, Steve could play along.
"I accept." Steve mumbled as he went to grab the ring, only for his hand to be smacked away. Before he could even start complaining, Eddie took the hand closest to him, holding it up before slipping the ring onto Steve's ring finger (because of course he had to go with that finger). The ring was nothing special, just a simple silver band, looking more closely it had the detail of thorns ingrained into it, which was cool.
"So what now?" Steve asked as he looked up at Eddie only to freeze when he caught the other just staring at him with a small grin. He watched as Eddie fiddled with his own hair, covering his face in the process as he glanced away. He took notice of the pink filling his cheeks, eyes darting downward at the way Eddie was biting his bottom lip and Steve had to remind himself to look away, to not be weird about itbut it did make him widner what Eddie was thinking about to be smiling st him like that.
"Well– I was going to ask where I'd be sleeping but I'm not sure if I could sleep in another room by myself after.. everything." Eddie hummed as he looked back at Steve, only for the other to already be looking at him again.
Steve understood what Eddie meant though. Trying to sleep after everything they've experienced is difficult, it took months for Steve to find a way to actually get some decent sleep and that was only if he wasn't plagued by nightmares, which is often.
"That's fine. We could.. share? If you're okay with that or– or I could sleep on the floor, I don't mind." Steve mumbled, realising what he was saying halfway through saying it and stumbling over some of his words while he felt his face heat up.
"I'm not making you sleep on the floor in your own room, Steve. I’ll slee–"
"Nope."
"What?"
"You're not sleeping on the floor after somehow coming back to life dude! I don't know about you but I think your body probably needs proper rest!" Steve huffed as he threw his hands in the air to exaggerate.
"Okay– how's this going to work then? Are we sleeping head to feet or what?" Eddie asked and Steve couldn't help but roll his eyes as he playfully shoved Eddie down onto the bed before laying next to him.
"Yeah– okay guess this works too." Eddie mumbled with a slight chuckle as he got himself more comfortable, pushing himself up only to let himself fall back down after grabbing one of Steve's pillows.
The two laid facing each other. It felt weirdly normal.
"So… You come here often?" Eddie joked with a small grin.
Steve scoffed out a small chuckle as he flicked Eddie's forehead.
"Ugh! You wound me Harrington! Truly!" Eddie dramatically exclaimed as Steve watched him lay on his back, place a hand on his chest and one in the air like he was pretending to be stabbed– like this was in some sort of play. He watched as Eddie's limbs fell back down onto the bed and took notice of how his hair splayed across the pillow.
Steve was stuck staring at him– at everything that made Eddie, Eddie.
His wild hair, his loud personality, his fashion sense, his hands, his doe like eyes and even his lips.
God Steve wanted to kiss those stupid lips.
What?
Fuck. That's new– well not new, new but still new enough to make Steve pause and try to figure out why he had thought that. He remembered how close they were before– Steve could have totally kissed him back then but would Eddie have kissed back? Probably not, he probably wasn't even gay.
Fuck was he gay? Couldn't be, he liked women– he loved Nancy but now he possibly likes Eddie so is he some secret third option that he didn't know about? Robin would know– god Robin would lose her shit over this. She would help him get through this, understand what was going on in his stupid head.
"Steve?" Eddie called out, waving his hand in front of Steve's face, making him blink a few times as he looked at Eddie.
"Huh, yeah, what?"
"Nothing, you've just been staring at me for like the past 2 minutes." Eddie mumbled as he fiddled with a strand of his hair which stole Steve's attention for a second before he shook his head slightly and looked back at his face.
"Oh uh, just thinking." Steve hummed with a weak smile.
"What you thinking about huh?" Eddie asked softly as he poked Steve's forehead.
"You." Fuck why'd he say that– Eddie's going to think hes some weirdo– they barely know eachother–
"Me huh? Anything in particular or?" Eddie teased slightly with a small smile tugging at his lips.
"..Your face." Steve muttered softly, feeling strangely brave even while sporting a pink face.
"My face? What about it? My gorgeous dark eyes– or my perfect and totally not crooked nose? My dry lips?" Steve's bravery crumbled to dust as Eddie dramatically listed his features, clearly enjoying teasing Steve if his smile was anything to go by and he swears Eddie's smile grew wider when he caught him looking down at his lips as he listed his features.
"N– Nothing– nevermind– forget I said anything." Steve flushed as he quickly rolled over, his back facing Eddie. His heart was racing at this point. He felt like a schoolgirl– he felt stupid for even feeling this way in the first place for another guy!
"Oh come on– I'm joking!" Eddie huffed as he pushed himself up to lean over Steve, prodding his back.
"Steveeee. Steveo– Stevie." Eddie coo'd in a softer tone, one that tugged at Steve's heartstrings while the use of nicknames made his pulse quicken.
With a small sigh Steve turned back over, watching as Eddie laid back down, mirroring his position and waiting for him to speak.
"You're annoying." He huffed, which got a small chuckle from the other.
"So I've been told by many sources, anything else?" Eddie hummed with a smug grin.
"No not really." Steve mumbled with a small shrug as he fiddled with the ring, keeping his attention on that rather than Eddie.
"You sure? You seem like you've got a lot on your mind." Eddie grinned as he tapped Steve's forehead again.
He didn't know how to respond without weirding Eddie out. Practically all his thoughts were just occupied with something Eddie related and it was starting to border on the territory of not being appropriate. So gathering all the courage he had left he blurted out something he probably shouldn't have.
"Can I kiss you?"
"Wha– you– me? You wanna kiss me?" Eddie stumbled over his words as he stared at Steve in shock while his brain short-circuited.
"..Yeah? Who else?" Steve muttered quietly with a weak laugh, trying to make a little joke– did he fuck up? Was Eddie not into him? Was he not into guys?
"You– this isn't a joke right?" Eddie huffed as he pushed himself up into a sitting position.
"No? I'm not joking or pulling a prank or whatever else you think I'm doing." Steve quickly followed Eddie's movements, sitting up himself as he looked at the other , seeing how he was clearly conflicted by what Steve had said.
"What are you doing exactly?" Eddie asked quietly as he fiddled with his hair and leaned away from the other.
"I– I don't know? Being brave? Stupid possibly?" Steve chuckled sheepishly as he slowly moved towards Eddie space, making sure that there was enough time for Eddie to stop him if he wanted to.
But he didn’t stop him, so he took that as a sign to continue. Starting to lean in a little closer while he traced the features of the other's face. Once they were nose to nose, he reached for Eddie's hand that was currently fiddling with his hair and lightly tugged it away while gently lacing their fingers together.
"Can I?"
"Can you?" Eddie mumbled with a weak giggle as he leaned further back while sporting a small grin.
Was he making Eddie uncomfortable? Was he stepping to far? Was Eddie not into this like he was? Maybe he needed to pull away– this was a mistake–
But as he went to lean away from the other he watched as Eddie's face went through a multitude of emotions, primarily surprise and panic and suddenly there were hands flailing around and another mouth on Steve's.
Oh. Oh shit! It was happening! Quickly regaining his composure he placed his hands on Eddie's sides and kissed back.
Was it awkward at first? Yeah. Especially since their noses were squished together. Steve could tell that Eddie hadn't really kissed anyone before but that didn't matter. He could teach him.
So tilting his head to the side to kiss the other boy better he swore he heard the tiniest whine come from Eddie and that poked the fire that was practically roaring in his guts. Hands wondered, teeth clashed before tongues met and Steve was pleasantly surprised by how quickly Eddie's confidence grew the longer they kissed.
Eventually though, they both parted for air. Lips swollen and faces pink, Steve couldn't help but giggle at the dumb smile Eddie's face was supporting.
"You're a dick by the way." Steve huffed.
"Wha– huh? What'd I do?"
"You know exactly what you did dude."
"Okay you can't dude me after we just made out." Eddie crossed his arms as he playfully glared at Steve.
Which– fair. But now comes the question Steve really didn't want to ask.
What were they?
Were they just messing around? Was this just a one time thing or were they more and why was Steve hoping that they were more? That maybe the two of them could be something– have something special together. Did Eddie even want to be with him? Steve knows there's not alot of queer people in Hawkins but surely Eddie could do better them him no?
"So we dating now or..?" Eddie asked, trying to act calm but Steve could see right through him at the way the other fiddled with his rings.
"Yes– I mean– only if you want to." He tried not to sound eager but the idea that Eddie might want to be in a relationship with him excited him.
"I'd like that." Eddie hummed with a small smile and Steve felt his body relax, he didn't even realise he was so tense. He tried to think of what to say or do but his body beat him to it as he let out a yawn and laid back down. Only this time he lifted his arm and invited Eddie to cuddle up if he so wanted to. He got his answer when the other practically landed on top of him before manoeuvring so they could properly hold eachother.
And they stayed like that for the rest of the night.
And hopefully they'll spend more nights curled around eachother. One could only hope.