Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

STEVE

He doesn't remember much from before. He remembers the rainbow room, knows they were allowed to play there with whatever was available. Knows that they were allowed to go there whenever they didn’t need to train, or sleep, or eat.

There had been a rainbow on the floor and he thinks that maybe he kind of remembers two younger children, who looked nearly the same, that used the rainbow as a road for the toy cars. But he is never sure if it is really a memory or just imagination, just something he wants to imagine, wants to think is real, to fill the emptiness where these things should be. The memories of his childhood.

He remembers that he was hurting all over when he made his way through the empty hallways. They weren’t really empty, there were people lying all around on the ground, half slumped against walls or doors, red blood dripping everywhere, smearing over everything.

Most people’s limbs were twisted in odd ways and he briefly wondered why the same didn’t happen to him. He had no idea why he wasn’t with them, he just knew that he had to leave. He doesn't remember why it was so important for him to get out in that moment, but in the end he is glad that some small part of him had felt the need to get out. If he hadn’t, he’s not sure if he would still be around. Maybe whatever, or whoever, had killed everyone would have come back for him as soon as they realised their mistake of keeping him alive.

When he stumbled through the woods and fell he didn’t get up again.

Everything hurt and just the thought of moving again made him feel sick. He knew he needed to get further away but he couldn’t move, couldn’t make his body comply. The last thing he remembers of that moment is the sound of footsteps slowly drawing closer.

The day he was supposed to finally go to school like all the other normal kids felt like a nightmare. Seven, now Steve, had tried again and again to make them listen, the once nice couple who had taken him in and given him a name.

They had been great at first, had seemed to know where he came from and seemed to not care. They gave him a name, a name that wasn’t a number, and they promised him to let him stay and not tell the people he escaped from where he was.

He knew that they lied, that late at night, when they were sure he was asleep, they called the bad people who had kept him. They told them that he was with them and he wasn’t sure what the person on the other end said but no one ever came to get him.

They stopped being nice to him.

At first they tried to hide it but he could sense it in he way they looked at him, with barely concealed disgust. They officially adopted him and at night behind closed doors and in hushed voices they talked about how they didn’t want to keep him but the amount of money they were gotten regularly was too much to say no to.

He didn’t understand then, had been too clueless about the real world, but he does now. They never cared about him, just about the money. Ultimately, they didn’t let him stay because they cared about him, they let him stay because the Lab didn’t want him back and since they had already adopted him, there was no way they could get rid of him.

After three months of staying with them the school year began and they made him go, made him practice the story he was supposed to tell when someone asks where he was from every day for hours on end until he knew it by heart, until you could have been woken up at night and he could have recited it to you without being properly awake.

It was better than the Lab he had been in before, but only a bit, and sometimes he wondered what would have happened if he had stayed. He’d always shake the thought off very quickly, because thinking of the Lab made him think of twisted limbs and blood, blood, blood everywhere he looked.

The children at school were the worst, but maybe that was just because he was new. Or maybe it was his incredibly short hair because no one else had hair as short as him.

Everyone but one other boy the year above him. Their gazes met once over lunch and they stared at each other for a few seconds before Steve averted his gaze. He was sure that it was just a coincidence, that the other boy was just someone regular boy like all the others around him. That he was the only odd one out.

Those first years in middle school didn’t get much better for Steve but he held himself back and he learned how to act normal from the others around him. He figured out what to do and what not to do and by the time he started his second year of school no one seemed to care that they had all been mean to him the year before.

When he started Highschool he properly started over and worked his way towards becoming King Steve, the most popular guy of Hawkins High and for a short while he was able to forget about everything that happened. About his fucked about childhood and the experiments and the Lab. About the Harringtons who had been so nice at first but then turned distant and started hurting him when he messed up, who only kept him around because for some reason the Lab was paying them to keep him around, to not send him back.

The Harringtons who only showed their faces a few times a year and basically only kept him around to keep an eye on the house.

And for a while he pretended to be normal, like the watch on his wrist wasn’t hiding three numbers, permanently etched beneath his skin.

And it worked for some time. It did. He brushed off the nightmares that suddenly started to become more frequent again, pretended like they didn’t mean anything.

In the end he knew he should have payed more attention to them, knew that they were probably important. But he was too busy being King Steve and failing most of his classes. Until he ran after Nancy into the Byers’ house and came face to face with a monster, not a human one but one that is very real.

That’s when it all came crashing down around him again.

He starts to become aware of him when people start comparing them. He had always known about him, everyone knew him.

Eddie Munson, the freak.

But no one had ever dared to put them on the same level, not until Steve Harrington, former King of Hawkins High, took the deepest fall one could take and was forced to repeat his last year of school.

He knew Munson was on his third round of the final year of Highschool already, knew because last year Munson had loudly explained that this year he would graduate in front of a packed cafeteria. He didn’t manage to graduate that year and here he was again, spouting bullshit about how this was his year.

Steve rolls his eyes before he can stop himself and looks for a place to sit but all the tables are already filled with chattering students. That is one of the downsides of not being the most popular guy anymore, it's always a fight to actually find a place to sit and eat.

The last few weeks it had become a habit for him to sit at the same table as the guys from the Hellfire Club, simply because Dustin, Lucas and Mike are always sitting there as well and Steve doesn't really have a say in it. It's not like he can make Dustin get away from those guys. Still, every time when it comes to searching for a place to sit he tries to find an alternative before inevitably giving up.

Before he can take a whole sweep of the cafeteria someone calls out his name and his head snaps around to see Dustin excitedly waving at him. From the table with the other guys from the Hellfire club, including Eddie Munson.

He can't believe it himself but Steve just sighs to himself and makes his way over to them. Again. He had already fallen as far as one could fall, it doesn't even matter at this point and for some reason he also secretly enjoys talking to them, as weird as that sounds. Steve from two years ago would definitely strangle him for this.

As soon as he sits down next to Dustin, the younger whoops in triumph and turns to Wheeler who is sitting next to him.

“Hand over the money Mike!”

Wheeler rolls his eyes but hands some money over to Dustin without complaining.

“Did you really take a bet on whether I’ll come over or not, Wheeler?”, he asks incredulously.

Sometimes he can't believe that boy’s stupidity, especially when he considers the fact that he's been sitting with them every day since the school year started.

Said boy just starts to stutter out something that sounds a lot like unnecessary justifications before Munson interrupts him. “See who we have here, King Steve. Oh how the mighty have fallen.”

Steve just rolls his eyes.

For some reason Munson has decided that that would be his new standard  greeting whenever Steve sits with them for lunch. Which is every day and Steve is seriously starting to wonder if Eddie will ever get tired of it.

“You know, at some point I’ll start to wonder if you’ve got nothing more original to say, Munson.”, he says before taking a bite of his lunch.

Eddie chuckles. “You want me to get creative, fallen king, I can do that.”

Steve just shakes his head, chuckling to himself.

It's weird but for some reason he and Eddie just seem to click. He doesn't want to admit it, because that would be ridiculous, but he actually likes him. Maybe they could have been friends in some other life, but as it is Steve had spend most of his time looking down on Eddie and people like him.

Now it's different though, Steve doesn't need to care about popularity anymore, he had already fallen as far as one could fall and he never even had real friends in the first place.

There's still the gnawing feeling that something bad will happen at the back of his mind. He knows that the gate to the Upside Down is closed again, knows that Hopper and Joyce have shut down the machine that had opened that stupid gate underneath the Starcourt Mall.

Something still seems wrong but he tells himself that it's just paranoia, nothing more. He just can't wrap his head around it, that it's over now and that the Lab has never actually gotten to him again, that no one ever found him.

Maybe it just seems a bit too good to be true, especially now that the others know the truth about him. He never meant to tell them, but Dustin had pulled him into the Upside Down business when he asked him to help find Dart and he couldn’t stand by and let the kids get hurt when he had more than just a nail bat at his disposal to protect them.

The rest of the school day passes in a blur. He knows that he should pay attention, that he's already on incredibly thin ice with the Harringtons. If he doesn't graduate this year who knows what they will do. They already threatened to kick him out if it so much as looks like he will fail any of his classes again.

Not that it's his fault really, it’s not like any of the people in the Lab had ever been concerned with teaching them how to read. Considering that, it's no wonder that he is so bad at English and had inevitably failed the class.

When Steve opens his locker to get rid of his books after last period two folded pieces of paper are in it. He doesn’t even have to see who signed it to know that the first one is from Dustin, he finds notes from Dustin in his locker nearly on the daily so by now he is very good at distinguishing his hand writing.

The note is just a reminder that he had promised Dustin to join him and his mum for dinner. Steve isn't sure how exactly it happened, but somewhere between Dustin finding out about his powers and the rest of the group figuring out that the Harringtons aren’t the nicest people, Dustin had decided to make Steve his honorary big brother, which meant that he had to join the Henderson family dinners regularly. He can't say that he minds, it's better than spending the evening in an empty house.

The second note he finds in his locker is something he had not expected at all, but at the same time a small part of him, one that he kept buried deep down, had hoped for it.

It's from Eddie. At least, he thinks it's from Eddie based on the capital E it is signed with.

He can't think of anyone else whose name begins with an E except El, but El is 1) in California and 2) very unlikely to ask him if he’d meet her at a hidden place behind the school during lunch break.

He isn't sure why Eddie is asking him to do that either, but he will definitely go there to find out.

Steve stuffs both notes into his backpack and slams the locker shut before walking out of the school building. Every day he spends in it is a day too long but at the same time he can't say that he minds it.

He has no idea what he actually wants to do with himself after school, the Harringtons would never actually let him work in their firm even though a lot of people seem to believe that he would, just based on the fact that he’s their son. He really doesn't want to correct anyone on that assumption.

Dustin and the others are already waiting by his car when he steps outside. The younger doesn't notice him approaching so Steve decides to sneak up on him and lightly pushes Dustin when he's close enough.

Dustin yells in surprise and Steve almost feels bad but Mike, Lucas and, surprisingly, Eddie start laughing and Dustin soon joins in so everything is fine.

Mike is the first to stop and asks if they could finally get going.

Steve crosses his arms in front of his chest and grins at him. “Why, need to be somewhere Wheeler?”

Mike scoffed.

“No, maybe.”, he hesitates for a moment before finishing the sentence. “I’m waiting for a letter from El and I’m pretty sure it arrived today.”

Eddie raises an eyebrow and asks in an overly theatrical way. “And who is this El, my young comrade?”

Before Mike can respond Lucas does it for him. “She’s Mike’s girlfriend, but she lives in California.”

Mike throws his arms up in exasperation as Eddie begins to chuckle. “Alright, we don’t want to keep Wheeler from his love. See you tomorrow guys.”

Before any of them can say something else Eddie turns around and leaves, waving a hand over his shoulder as a good-bye. The kids start to pile into Steve's car, Dustin on the passenger seat as always.

Another thing that has somehow established itself without Steve really noticing is that he's now driving all three of them to school and back home if their classes end at the same time.

It's fine, he doesn't mind, it gives him a few more minutes away from the empty house or, in the case that it isn't empty, away from the Harringtons.

He drops them off one by one until only Dustin is left since he's the one who lives closest to him and since he's joining him for dinner any other order wouldn’t make sense anyways. When they stop in front of the Henderson’s house he gets out of the car after Dustin and they make their way to the front door together where Dustin rings the bell.

It only takes a moment for them to be met by Ms. Henderson who smiles as soon as she sees them. Steve smiles back but he is sure that it is nowhere near as bright as the smile on the face of the woman in front of him.

He really appreciates that she always makes him feel welcome and lets him hang out with Dustin all the time even though he's definitely not in the same age range as her son, but sometimes he still feels like he's somehow intruding.

He shakes the thought off for now, he's staying for dinner so he can't let these thoughts catch him off guard right now.

Dinner goes well, like it always does with the Hendersons.

It's a casual thing, they just sit around the table, eat and talk about school and anything else that is going on. It's nice.

Steve can't know for sure because he never experienced it like this, but he thinks that this is probably what a normal family dinner should look like.

The Harringtons didn’t have many dinners with him because they are always away and don't like him anyways, but when they did it's always tense and no one talks. If they talk, Steve is never allowed to say anything. He isn't exactly prohibited from talking, but Mr. Harrington always says that he is only allowed to talk if it is a full and coherent sentence. At the time when the dinners had actually happened Steve had only been out of the lab for a few weeks and had no idea how to properly string words together so he never said anything to avoid their anger.

He gets back ‘home’ late but it doesn't matter since there is no one around anyways. The Harringtons have been away for about a month now and they won't be back for at least another.

When he was younger he had enjoyed the solitude but after a few weeks it had already started to bother him. It's always too quiet, the walls too white and the echoes too loud.

It reminds him of the hallways of the Lab. Hallways that had been covered in too much blood the last time he had seen them.

Before Steve can get too caught up in his thoughts he hears the distant sound of someone talking through a walkie talkie. Without hesitation Steve makes his way upstairs and to his room where he drops his backpack next to the door and lets himself fall onto the bed.

He grabs the walkie from his bedside table and presses the button at the side to talk into it.

“This is Steve, whoever just talked please repeat I couldn’t hear you. Over.”

He lets go of the button and instantly hears a groan from one of the kids. Probably Wheeler.

“Do you never listen, Steve?”

Yep, definitely Wheeler.

“Sorry for not being near the walkie while you where talking.”, he makes sure he can hear that he isn't sorry at all. “So what did you say?”

Mike groans again but he actually explains what's going on. “Okay so, I was thinking, or we were-“

Before Mike can finish the sentence Dustin chimes in. “Do you want to join Hellfire, Steve?”

Steve frowns at his ceiling. Does he want to join Hellfire?

He doesn't even know how DnD works, at least not really. All he knows comes from listening to the kids talk about it and even then he's lost on what they are actually talking about like half of the time. Dustin even tried to explain it to him but if he's honest most of the rules just go over Steve’s head.

He sighs before he presses down the button to talk into the walkie. “I don’t know guys-“

Dustin doesn't let him finish either.

“Come on Steve, you’re already part of the party anyways and we need a new mage now that El isn’t around anymore.”

Steve snorts in amusement and he makes sure that the others can hear him. “So you’re just asking me because you need a new mage, huh? Seems like a dangerous kind of employment since you seem to have lost your previous one.”

There is a big smirk on his face and they all know he is just making fun of them but Dustin and Mike still seem to take it very serious.

“You know that’s not what happened!”

“It’s not our fault that El moved with the Byers!”

Are Mike and Dustin’s respective responses.

It seems like about the best moment for Lucas to join the conversation. “You trying to make Steve join Hellfire again?”

They start to bicker among themselves for a moment and Steve is content to just listen for now.

He really isn't sure if it would be the right thing to join them. He likes to spend time with them, no question there, but he's already getting raised eyebrows as it is, spending so much time with a bunch of kids who are all a few years younger than him. And he really doesn't want to intrude on their DnD thing, it's one of the only things the group actually does without him.

They aren't actually by themselves since they're playing with the other Hellfire guys but still, it feels wrong to intrude on that even if they want him there. What if he completely messes up because he's just too dumb to understand the rules and then they’d regret ever asking him to join their little nerd club?

He is pulled out of his spiraling thoughts by someone calling his name and this time it isn't coming from the walkie. Someone is downstairs, calling his name.

He sits up abruptly and puts the walkie close to his mouth so they would actually hear him while he tries to keep as quiet as possible.

“Hey guys, I’ll think about it okay but I really need to go right now.”

Without waiting for a response he turns the walkie off and slides it underneath the bed. No one would think to look there.

He slowly walks to his open door and through the hallway towards the stairs leading down.

Mrs. Harrington is standing in the hall close to the door and looks like she is just about to call his name again when she spots him at the top of the stairs.

She crosses her arms across her chest. “Took you long enough. Come down and help carry to suitcases, they won’t get in by themselves.”

He suppresses the urge to say something and quickly walks down the stairs and through the open front door to take the suitcases out of the car.

It's no use to argue with her and he can just be glad that it's just her who's coming home today. Steve isn't sure if he can deal with Mr. Harrington right now, the man is almost always in a bad mood and will definitely find a reason to let it out on him.

He has no interest to find some sort of bullshit explanation for a random bruise on his face, the school year had just started and he hasn't really crossed hairs with anyone yet so he can't even brush it off as a fight without clarifying who he got into a fight with.

After everything is inside he excuses himself to his room, telling her that he had already eaten. Mrs. Harrington just shrugs her shoulders and goes about the house as if he isn't there in the first place so Steve goes upstairs and locks himself in his room before she can remember that he exists.

He slides down to the floor with his back against the door and just stares at the space in front of him for a while. He really hopes she'll be gone in the morning.

Chapter Text

STEVE

To Steve’s surprise he's greeted by an empty house the next morning and for a short moment he thinks that maybe it had been a dream or hallucination or something like that but then he finds a sheet of paper on the kitchen counter. It's written in a neat handwriting that can only belong to Mrs. Harrington.

We’ll return in exactly four weeks and will stay for at least two weeks, I expect the house to be spotless when we return. If your grades aren’t staying steady until then you will have to face the consequences. Remember that the Lab may have been shut down but Dr. Brenner is always just a phone call away.

He swallows down the uneasiness that had begun to settle in his gut while he read the note. It's good to have a warning when they'll return next but the reminder of the threat that they could always inform Dr. Brenner if he so much as stepped out of line makes him feel anxious.

El told him that Brenner is dead, that he was killed by the Demogorgon but if there is one person to somehow get out of something like that it would be him. The Harringtons could be making empty threats of course, but he can't quite get it into his head that the man can actually be dead, so for now he has to keep those threats in the back of his mind. Just in case they might actually be real.

He slowly eats breakfast in the kitchen but the note has already managed to ruin his day, a knot of anxiety forming in his gut and settling in, making itself at home there.

It would probably take him a few days to forget about this again, about the threat constantly looming over his head. Or to at least push it away far enough so he doesn't think about it constantly. After getting ready and skimming over the note one last time Steve goes outside and gets into his car to pick up Dustin, Mike, Lucas and Robin for school.

The others seem to notice that something is going on and Steve knows that he is quieter than usual but none of them say anything. Steve knows that both Robin and Dustin might suspect what his mood change is about but they both have the sense not to say anything in front of the other two. Not that Mike would care anyways, he always seems to have other concerns, like asking him too many questions about El.

“Did you talk to El yesterday? Did she say anything? Her letter didn’t arrive yet and I think maybe it got lost in the mail or something.”

Steve sighs and shakes his head. “I talk to her on Thursdays Wheeler, and today is Thursday in case you haven’t noticed, so no I didn’t talk to her yesterday.”, he hesitates for a moment, thinking about whether he might have been too harsh with him. He decides that maybe he had been so he adds. “I’m sure the letter will get to you soon enough, I’ll ask her on what day she sent it.”

He can see Mike nodding in the rear view mirror. “Okay.”

They spend the last few minutes in silence before Steve pulls into the parking lot of Hawkins High. The three freshmen scramble out of the car as soon as Steve puts it into park, yelling something about a project they still need to finish till second period. The same project they told him was finished two days ago.

He rolls his eyes at their antics but stays where he is when Robin makes no move to actually get out of the car. There's definitely good reason for why Robin is his best friend.

“What happened?”, she asks in her matter of fact, don’t even try to pull some bullshit on me, voice.

Steve slumps back in his seat and stares ahead for a moment. Where should he even start? Robin knows that his situation with the Harringtons isn't great, knows that it is always tense when they actually come back to Hawkins, but he never told her about the threat they hold over him.

He decides to tell her anyways, she'll find out sooner or later anyways and maybe it helps if at least one person knows about it.

“Mrs. Harrington came back yesterday evening. She made me carry her suitcases into the house and she was already gone when I woke up this morning.”, he stops for a moment but he can feel Robin’s gaze on him.

She can tell that it isn't everything, he can't quite figure out how but somehow she always knows when he leaves things out. He takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly, somehow slumping down into his seat even more.

“She left a note, threatening to call him if my grades don’t stay like they are or I do anything else they don't like.”

There's silence for a moment and when Robin speaks again it's barely more than a whisper. “Call who?”

He looks up to her. She looks at him like she already knows but he can understand why she asked.

He never told anyone about this and he never thought that he actually would, not until all the shit first with the Mindflayer and then at Starcourt happened and they found out the truth. He never would have thought that anyone would ever know about this part of him. He never thought that he’d ever have some actual friends that know the real him and not just King Steve.

He meets her eyes when he says it. “Dr. Brenner.”

Robin takes in a sharp breath but doesn't say anything. He's glad that he already told her about him, even if it was only briefly and while they were both incredibly drunk.This way he doesn't have to explain who he's talking about.

“They have his number, have been holding the threat of taking me back to him over my head ever since I started living with them. El told me he’s dead but I can’t be sure, the bastard could still be alive for all I know.”

Robin nods and they sit in comfortable silence for a few moments before she breaks the silence again. “You want to come over and watch a movie after our shift today?”

“Are you sure? You know I talk to El every Thursday night.”

Robin shrugs. “I don’t mind, you’re driving me home anyways, you can just as well stay and I’ll just do something else while you talk to her.”

That finally brings a smile to Steve’s face and he starts to feel a bit lighter. Any chance to stay away from the house for a little while longer is enough to lift his spirits these days and he knows that that is incredibly sad to even think about but he can't bring himself to care either. He's glad that Robin suggested it because he would have never done so himself.

They leave the car together and head towards the school building for first period.

The threat is still lingering at the back of Steve’s mind but now that he got the chance to actually talk about it with someone, the knowledge that someone else knows about it, is enough to push it to the back of his mind for now.

He can worry about the implications that Brenner might still be alive at some other point in time.

By the time the break comes around, and Steve is supposed to meet with Eddie, he's in a better mood than he had been all morning. He's more than glad because while basically everyone he shared a ride to school with could at least guess what might be going on Eddie would probably question the sudden drop of his mood and there is no way he can explain any of this to him.

They aren't even friends, not really at least, so maybe he won't care enough to ask but Eddie seems like the kind of guy who is too curious for his own good. Better not risk it.

Fortunately he finds his way to the meeting place Eddie had suggested without too many problems. It's a table with two benches, abandoned somewhere in the woods behind the school, a place where no one would ever think to look.

He knows that Eddie deals weed to the students and this is probably where he does it, the place is definitely secluded enough. Everyone knows that Eddie is the one to go to when you want to buy something and Hooper has complained about his inability to actually catch him do it more than once.

Steve arrives first so he sits down on the table, his feet resting on the bench in front of him. He rests his arms on his legs and just stares at the trees around him. It's so quiet here you can nearly forget that you are so close to the school or any other human beings.

He has no idea how much time has passed but it doesn't take long until Steve hears some noise coming from he direction he himself had come from. It can only be Eddie making his way towards the bench.

His suspicion is confirmed almost immediately when the long haired boy stumbles out into the clearing from in between two trees. He has his hands stuffed deep into the pockets of his denim vest, causing him to stumble and nearly fall but he catches himself with a grand gesture of his arms and a manic grin on his face before he nearly face-plants into the ground covered with dead leaves. Steve is impressed that he manages to keep is feet under him.

He can't help but chuckle at the display, it's just too ridiculous to look at.

Eddie holds his arms out next to his body, the grin never leaving his face. “What’s so funny Harrington, you enjoy watching people nearly break a bone while stumbling through the woods?”

Steve just shakes his head, still silently chuckling to himself. “Only if it’s you, Munson.”

Eddie huffs and walks closer to the bench until he can properly sit down next to where Steve’s feet are resting on the wood.

Eddie chuckles again and leans back to look upwards at the top of the trees. He leans so far back that Steve is a bit scared he’ll fall over and he nearly reaches out to grab a hold of his stupid denim vest but he can hold himself back. It would be too weird if he’d do that and it would show that he actually kinda cares about Munson, as weird as that sounds.

Steve has no idea why but the last few weeks, while he had gotten to know Eddie, he realised that the other wasn’t so bad. If he hadn’t spent so much time being focused on staying popular maybe they could have been friends before now.

They sit in silence, Eddie staring at the tree tops and Steve staring at Eddie. As much as he wants to look away because he fears Eddie will catch his gaze, he can't bring himself to look away. After a while, Steve can't possibly tell how long it's been, Eddie looks over to him and breaks the silence.

“Seriously Harrington, I’m a bit surprised. Didn’t expect you'd actually come.”

Steve huffs and averts his eyes, staring down at the worn wood between his feet. He isn't sure what he's supposed to tell him. The truth? That he wants to be friends with this guy he didn’t even dare to look at too closely as of last year because he's supposed to be the popular guy and Eddie is the opposite? And now when he was asked to come here he did it because he hopes that maybe Eddie wants to be friends with him as well and if Steve is honest with himself he even maybe has a little crush on him but he would never act on it so friendship is the best option and the note in his locker seemed like an olive branch he is only too willing to accept.

Instead of that embarrassing mouthful Steve settles on shrugging and: “Honesty man? I was just curious why you asked me to come here.”

Eddie chuckles and Steve can feel the eyes of the other still stuck on him. Could he maybe look away so Steve doesn't have to spent all of his energy on not looking in Eddie’s direction?

“You’re not who I expected you to be Harrington, who knew that beneath the untouchable King Steve there was an actually decent guy.”

Steve shakes his head and glances at Eddie. That was a mistake because of course their eyes meet and now he can't look away again. It feels like his eyes are stuck on Eddie’s and he can't find the energy to tear them away again.

“So, why am I here?”, Steve asks and he's surprised and grateful at how steady his voice sounds, not betraying how he feels inside right now. “You wanna recruit me for your nerd club?”

He adds that second part as an afterthought, thinking back to Dustin trying to make him join Hellfire yesterday. Maybe Eddie made them ask him and now he wants to try it himself? It seems like a pretty well-coordinated attack if it really is one.

What comes out of Eddie’s mouth next is not at all what Steve expected.

“I just wanted to make sure we’re on the same page, Harrington. You don’t need to hang with us Hellfire boys during lunch if you don’t want to. Like maybe you feel an obligation to look out for the kids because they’re freshmen and you are someone they already know but seriously, you don’t need to, I think they can handle themselves and we definitely don’t bite.”

Steve frowns. What? Did Eddie seriously think he was just sitting with them during lunch because he doesn't trust Dustin, Lucas and Mike to be around Eddie and the other Hellfire members on their own?

He says that first thought out loud before he can stop himself. “What?”

Eddie shrugs. “Just wanted to make sure you know that dude.”

Steve just shakes his head and gets up from the table, starting to pace in front of Eddie who turns around to better track his movements. After going back and fourth a few times he stops and looks at Eddie who's looking up at him expectantly.

“Okay, let me get this straight.” Eddie snorts at his choice of words, but Steve ignores him. He doesn't have time to delve into that right now. “You think that I’m just sitting with you at lunch because I think that you might-“, he pauses for a moment, trying to find the right words. He isn't sure if the right ones actually come to him but he decides to just roll with it. “-corrupt them or something and I have to look out for them, is that it?!”

He starts pacing again, glancing at Eddie every time he takes a turn to see his reaction. Eddie seems to be in shock for a moment before something slicks.

“Wait, that’s not what you where doing?”

Steve stops his pacing again, looking at Eddie with shock most likely written clearly all over his face. “No?! I was sitting with you because if you haven’t noticed, King Steve not being able to graduate on the first try did lead to a very fast fall and an even harder landing. It’s not like anyone else would want me to sit with them.”

He lets himself fall down onto the bench, maybe a bit too close to Eddie but his brain can't quite comprehend the possible consequences of their knees brushing against each other right now so he ignores it. There are more important things to focus on right now than his idiotic crush on a guy he only really got to know a few weeks ago when his second shot at senior year started.

Eddie interrupts their silence after a far too short moment.

“I’m sorry man, I really thought there was some ulterior motive or something. Aren’t you friends with Nancy and, what’s her name? The one with the short blonde hair, I think she’s in band?” He gestures his hand vaguely over his shoulder to signify Robin’s hair length.

Steve nods. “Yeah that’s Robin but she always sits with the other band nerds and they can’t really stand me so I stay away from them and well, and Nancy is my ex-girlfriend and she has other friends who think I’m an idiot so yeah, I don’t think either of them would mind me sitting with them but it would be the absolute last resort.”

Eddie awkwardly shuffles his feet through the dead leaves on the ground before he looks up at Steve again, directly meeting his eyes.

“Sorry for assuming, but there’s still this imagine of King Steve stuck in my head so I guess that’s why I jumped to conclusions.”

Steve shrugs at that. He isn't even mad that Eddie thought what he did, it's his good right to believe Steve would have an ulterior motive to his every action around the Hellfire club. If he were he same person he had been before all the Upside Down shit started and he failed at graduating, maybe he would have had an ulterior motive in this situation, but as it is, King Steve is pretty much buried six feet under at this point.

“It’s fine man, I can’t even blame you for assuming the worst.”, he pauses before he adds his next thought. As much as it pains him to admit he knows that he should be honest with Eddie about this. “If our roles were reversed I would have thought the same thing. If all this had happened a year ago maybe I would have had another motive behind it that isn’t trying to befriend some people my own age, but now? That’s actually what I was trying to do, make some friends.”

Steve gets quieter during that last sentence, nearly whispering the last part. Silence settles over them and regret starts to coil in Steve’s stomach, mixing together with the anxiety that had been nesting there since he found Mrs. Harrington’s note this morning. He quickly pushes the thought of the note out of his mind again, now is not the time to think about that.

After what feels like an eternity, Eddie finally says something. He sounds more serious than Steve has ever heard him.

“Listen Steve, I really am sorry, I guess I just couldn’t wrap my head around why Steve ‘The Hair’ Harrington suddenly decided to hang out with a bunch of nerds, trying to befriend the local town freak. It just didn’t make sense in my head, still doesn’t to be honest but I’ll accept it.”, he hesitates for a moment and it looks like he wants to say more.

Steve just barely suppresses the urge to stop Eddie from turning the rings on his fingers. It seems to be a nervous habit of his, one that Steve is sure he wouldn’t even have noticed if he hadn’t been staring at the other’s hands way more than he probably should. And damn, he really needs to talk about this with someone, but Robin has been so busy the last week he hadn’t had the chance to discuss his embarrassing crush with her yet. He'll really need to do that soon before he makes an absolute fool of himself.

Steve has been so lost in his thoughts that he nearly misses it when Eddie continues talking.

“You know what Harrington, if you wanna hang out you can come over to my trailer tonight. I even got some weed if you’re up for that.”

Steve chuckles and a grin is spreading over his face without his permission. This is honestly going better than he ever would have thought.

“On a Thursday, really?”

“Oh, you not up for it Harrington?”

Steve shakes his head, he already feels so much lighter than he did a few minutes before. Maybe he could really become friends with Eddie, he’d be content with just that if he can actually manage to befriend him, and how pathetic does that sound?

He really wants to say yes to the invitation, it isn't like he’d never smoked weed before and he would take any chance to hang out with the other boy one on one. But Thursdays are reserved for talking to El and he will never ditch her, no matter what happens, so he has to pass up the invitation, no matter how much it hurts to do so.

“I’m really sorry but I’m gonna need a rain-check on that Munson, Thursday evenings are reserved for El.”

Eddie replies with a “Don’t worry we can just do it on Friday” before something seems to register in his mind and he pauses. “Wait, the same El as Mike’s girlfriend El? What the hell dude.”

That makes Steve laugh out loud for no apparent reason. Whatever weird connection Eddie has just established in his mind, it is most likely completely inaccurate and unreasonable. For some reason that only makes him laugh harder and he nearly falls off the bench while clutching his middle but Eddie grabs the back of his jacket and holds him back.

“What’s so funny Harrington? No one ever deemed it worthy to tell me who the hell this El person is and then you tell me you got a whole evening reserved for her which makes me assume that you’ll probably talk to her over the phone because from what I know she lives in California.”

Somehow Steve manages to stop laughing while Eddie is talking and looks up at him again, Eddie’s hand still holds onto his jacket tightly. He can't even put into words how much he just wants to kiss him so he shuts up. He stomps the thought down as soon as it emerges, that will definitely not happen.

When Eddie finally stops rambling Steve deems it worthy to explain what seems to cause Eddie more of a headache than he would have thought.

“El is my cousin and Hopper’s adopted daughter. After he died last year she was taken in by the Byers and moved to California with them. We’re just trying to stay in contact because we didn’t even know we were related until she came to Hawkins and started living with Hopper two years ago so we agreed on a set day and time to talk each week.”

Eddie nods his understanding.

“That’s actually really nice.”, he pauses for a short moment and just as Steve wants to open his mouth again to suggest they hang out on Friday Eddie’s mouth pulls into a bright smile. “How come you let her be with Wheeler, man? He’s an idiot!”

Steve rolls his eyes, he suspected Eddie would say something like that. “Believe me, I’ve tried to talk her out of it, they were disgusting this summer but no one ever listens to me. I hope they’ll grow out of it soon enough.”

Eddie chuckles and they fall into a companionable silence. Steve suddenly bedomes aware of the point where their legs are pressing again each other again, and the way Eddie’s hand is still resting on the small of his back. They had gotten closer to each other somehow, and for some reason their tights were pressed together. Neither of them moves but Eddie slowly pulls his hand away and Steve is suddenly hyper aware of the contact.

“So do you have any free time on Friday?”, he asks after a while. There is still an invitation to smoke weed hanging between them and he won't let it go to waste.

Eddie shrugs and Steve can feel it because they are so close to each other.

“Sure, you know where I live?”

Steve nods even though Eddie isn't looking in his direction, instead he's staring ahead and playing with his rings again.

“Yeah, trailer park, opposite of the Mayfield’s, right?”

“Harrington, how many children are you friends with?”

Steve slams a hand onto his chest, acting mock offended. “Are you suggesting all my friends are children, Munson?”

Eddie laughs and shoves him.

Steve isn’t sure if Eddie did it on purpose or not but the next thing he knows he tumbles off the bench and into the dead leaves littering the ground. Steve just starts laughing again.

Eddie is leaning over him from his seat on the bench and asks: “What if I am?”

Steve just continues laughing and shakes his head in amusement with no plan to answer the question that Eddie doesn't seem to expect an answer to anyways.

Somewhere in the back of his mind he wonders how he can feel so carefree and so much like himself with a person he barely knows but he shoves the thought down as quickly as it comes up.

It doesn't really matter right now.

Chapter Text

STEVE

The end of their shift at Family Video can't come around fast enough. After spending too much time in the woods behind the school yesterday Steve and Eddie had ditched the rest of their classes altogether and agreed to hang out on Friday.

Steve feels like he just can't stop thinking about what will happen tonight, has felt like that for the entire day. It's foolish of him, it’s not like Eddie would ever reciprocate Steve’s idiotic crush on him but he can't help but feel excited at the thought of them possibly becoming actual friends. Hanging out at Eddie’s trailer seems like the right step to accomplish that.

Unfortunately the Harringtons still make him work even though he's also going to school. They do have enough money but they don't feel like wasting more on him than they need to, so he still needed to get a new job after Starcourt. Bless Robin for getting him the job because he never would have managed that by himself.

Steve would never dare ditch his work at Family Video, no matter how mind numbingly boring it is. When he'd lost his job at Scoops, which had absolutely not been his fault because the mall burned down, he had walked away with a new black eye just after the rest of the injuries on his face had healed, curtesy of Mr. Harrington. He had no intention of repeating that.

He knows that he is quieter than usual, lost in his thoughts more often than not, but he doesn't notice that he's so obviously staring into space when he doesn't have to deal with customers, not until Robin points it out.

“What's up with you today Dingus, can you stop being so quiet?”, she calls over to him from were she's restocking the shelves. Steve is leaning on the counter and watches her while she works, having no plans to actually help her. The store is empty anyways.

Steve definitely doesn't want to admit what his thoughts keep circling back to, hell he hasn’t even managed to tell her that he has a crush on a guy. If anyone would understand it it’s Robin, and he knows that, but the anxiety he feels just at the thought of telling anyone is still holding him back.

He knows that the anxiety is mostly being caused by the lingering feeling of dread the note he found yesterday morning has left in him, but still. And Robin will definitely freak out, but in a positive way, if he tells her that he doesn't just like girls.

He doesn't really know why he never told her, he's known for a while now, he did put a bit more thought into it after Robin had come out to him and the conclusion that he reached is that he definitely likes both.

Steve isn’t sure if that’s even a thing, and maybe that’s the reason he hasn’t told her, but nonetheless he definitely likes to think that he has his shit together when it comes to this. So why is he so nervous to tell her, his literal best friend?

Suddenly Robin snaps her fingers right in front of his face. “Hellooooo, earth to Steve, is anyone around?”

He flinches back as he didn't notice Robin even coming this close to him but calms down again when he realises it's just her. She looks at him with an expectant gaze but Steve has no idea what he should say to her and apparently he's waited too long again because she just sighs and leans her arms on the counter in front of him.

They are standing opposite each other with just the counter between them and she leans so close that if anyone comes in right now they would probably think that the two of them are doing something else than just talking.

“Did something happen when you talked to El, is that why you keep brooding and looking like you want to punch someone? I thought everything was fine after you guys talked yesterday.”

And damn it, Robin really sounds concerned now. Steve sighs and shakes his head.

“Nah, El is fine, still El. There’s still some people who bully her at school but she’s learning how to deal with it and she promised me to tell Joyce.”

Steve is glad that El has opened up to him about the bullies but he had to literally swear an oath that he’d never mention it in front of Mike or any of the others. But especially Mike. He really has no idea what El sees in the little Wheeler but he knows he can't convince her of something else anyways. And he's sure that she won't actually tell Joyce, but that is an entirely different conversation. He probably already broke El’s trust by telling Robin but he has no idea how to give El advice on her problem so he had to talk to someone about it.

Robin seems to think the same thing. “You know she’s not really going to tell her, right?”

Steve sighs. “Yeah, I know. If this goes on for much longer I’m gonna have to break my promise but for now I’m gonna trust her to do it herself.”

Robin nods and takes hold of Steve’s left hand. She starts inspecting it and Steve has no idea what she's looking for.

“That’s not why you’re so deep in thought though, right? So what's really going on?”

Steve tries to pull away but Robin just grips his hand tighter, stopping him in his escape.

So that’s why she took my hand.

When he still doesn't say anything she lets out a long ‘Steeeeeeeve’ that sounds more like a whine than anything else. He isn't sure how he to even tell her. I’m hanging out with this guy I got to know better than I did before a few weeks ago because of the kids and I also may or may not have a crush on him but I haven’t even told you that I might like guys too, so…?

“Come on Steve, out with it! I can’t continue watching you dig a hole for yourself because you think something bad is going to happen.”, she hesitates for a moment but not long enough for Steve to actually form a coherent sentence. “Wait, did the Harringtons come back already, you said they were only supposed to come back next week right?”

And this seems like the part of the conversation where he definitely has to tell her what is really going on before she makes any other incredibly wrong assumptions.

“No, they didn’t show yet, it’s just-“, he hesitates. Why is he still hesitating? He and Robin can talk about everything. Steve takes a deep breath and slowly lets it out before he continues. “I’m hanging out with this guy later today that I may have a crush on.”

He rushes the words out so fast he isn't even sure if Robin can piece their meaning together or if they actually make sense. From the expression of absolute glee that is taking over her face it was comprehensible enough.

The next thing she does is slap the hand she is still holding. It isn't hard enough to actually hurt but he still pretends like he's in unimaginable pain for about two seconds before facing Robin again. The grin on her face is seriously in danger of splitting her face on half.

“You have to tell me everything. Well, first of all I’m really offended that you didn’t tell me you like guys, I could have made so much more fun of you for that, but still, you have to tell me everything now. Who is he, do I know him? I mean, this is Hawkins the possibility of me not knowing him is small. Is he going to school with us or did he already graduate? And you said you’re hanging out today so you’re friends right, who could-“, she stops her rambling abruptly, her eyes widening in realisation. “No.”

Steve ducks his head to avoid her eyes. The counter is really interesting all of a sudden. “Don’t make me say it.”, he whispers but it's too late.

“Uh no, Steve, just spit it out. I think I know who this is about and I cannot believe you, are you serious?”

He sighs. There is no way around it now. “Fine, it’s Eddie.”, he mumbles, words addressed more to the counter than at Robin.

“I cannot believe you didn’t tell me sooner, haven’t you guys been hanging out for weeks now?”

At that Steve’s head snaps up again. “Actually today is the first day we’re actually hanging out together.”

Robin raises an eyebrow at him and Steve sighs in defeat.

“Fine, the first time we’re hanging out somewhere that isn’t school or with the others.”

He purposely leaves out the time they spent in the woods behind the school yesterday, Robin will never stop asking about it until he tells her everything if he even dares to mentioned it.

Robin sighs. “We could have spent all evening talking about this if you had mentioned it at movie night Steve! Why didn’t you?”

Steve shrugs. “Honestly Robin, I have no idea why I didn’t say anything. I guess I was just worrying too much about other things.”

She nods. “Fair enough, you still have to tell me everything. Like did you-“

Whatever she wants to say next is interrupted by the bell above the door to Family Video ringing, signalling the next customer coming in. Reluctantly, Robin lets go of him and goes back to restocking the shelves but not before giving him a look that basically means don’t even think that we’re done talking about this.

Steve just shakes his head and goes over to the customer to ask him if he can help him in any way.

Unsurprisingly, there is always at least one customer in the store until they are closing, giving Robin and Steve no other opportunity to talk about Steve’s crush on Eddie Munson. He can tell that she isn't done talking about this by the looks she keeps throwing him and she really stays true to her silent threat because as soon as they are both sitting in Steve’s car she starts again.

“Okay seriously, since when do you have a crush on him? And why him, Steve, I though you were only tolerating him because of the kids like the amount of times you have complained about him and his dramatics in the six weeks since the school year started!”

Steve leans back in his seat and really wishes he could disappear right now. He is slowly realising why he hadn’t told Robin about this.

“Listen, Robin, I was only complaining about him because he’s so infuriating okay, but like, not in a bad way more in a, I really like him for it way.”

Robin literally squeals in the passenger seat and she really looks like she can barely contain herself. She pulls herself together after a moment and looks at him again, this time with a more serious expression on her face. “You know you can tell me everything right?”

And suddenly the mood in the car becomes serious again, the joking mood gone in an instant. Steve nods, hands gripping the steering wheel tightly. “I know, Robin, I wanted to tell you and I have no idea why I didn’t.”

And if that isn't the lie of the century, because he knows why. And he realises in that moment that he can tell her and that she will probably understand. So he does.

“I just wasn’t sure how to tell you because I didn’t even tell you that I like guys and I know it’s stupid because if someone would understand it’s you, right? As I said, it’s very stupid.”

They sit in silence for a while, it isn't really uncomfortable but it still makes Steve wish he could fill it somehow. “You’re not mad at me, right? I mean I totally get it if you a-“

He doesn't even get to finish that sentence before a hand covers his mouth. “If you finish that sentence, I swear to god Steve! Of course I’m not mad at you, I know how hard it is to talk about this kind of stuff just, next time please promise you’ll tell me. You know I’ll always listen.”

Steve nods and Robin slowly lowers her hand. They look at each other for a moment and a silent understanding passes between them, that they will always talk to each other no matter what. Steve starts the car and leaves the parking lot.

After he dropped Robin off at home (with another promise to call her tomorrow so she could press every single detail about tonight out of him) he starts driving towards the trailer park.

He knows the route well enough by now that he doesn't even have to pay much attention to it from driving Max around all the time. She had it rough after Billy died during the stuff that happened at Starcourt and maybe Steve feels a little guilty about it because if he had just been faster, maybe he could have saved Billy.

Don’t get him wrong the guy was an asshole but he still didn’t deserve to die and Max doesn't deserve to suffer because of it. He really hopes she will actually get better soon, she has pulled away from the others again as soon as the school year started even though Steve had hoped that they had made progress over the summer break. He should really check in on her soon, maybe he can go check on her tomorrow.

He arrives at the Munson trailer sooner than he expected and suddenly he doesn't know what he's supposed to do. Why didn’t he ask Robin for advice?

Steve checks his hair in the rearview mirror one last time, all the while berating himself for doing so because seriously, for what was he even doing this they were just (maybe) friends hanging out. The goal here is becoming actual friends with the guy, nothing more.

Then he opens his car door and steps outside before he can overthink anything else. His gaze drifts over to the Mayfield trailer almost on instinct but he can't see anyone so he turns away and walks towards the door of the trailer he actually wants to go to.

The door opens shortly after he knocks and he is met with Eddie in his Hellfire T-shirt and ripped jeans. It is no different from any other day but he just notices that he has never seen the other without his leatherjacket and denim vest combination.

When Steve doesn't move Eddie raises a brow. “Are you going to come in or do you want to spent the night on the doorstep, Harrington?”

He could have taken it as an insult but there is a bright grin on Eddie‘s face that makes him feel all warm inside. How is he supposed to make it through this without making a complete fool of himself? He has no idea and quickly shakes the thought of. Fortunately, some part of his brain still seems to work properly because he manages to reply: “Can’t really come in when you’re blocking the door, Munson.”

Eddie shakes his head in amusement but finally moves to the side to actually let him in. “Fair point.”

Eddie leds him into the living room that's basically just behind the entrance door and falls onto the sofa. After a short moment of hesitation Steve sits down next to him, very conscious of leaving enough space between them so that they can't accidentally touch.

It makes him think back to yesterday when they had sat on the bench, way too close and he had to abruptly stop that thought before he starts blushing again. Why is he so hopeless?

Steve is pulled out of his thoughts when Eddie gets up again and walks over to a shelf next to the TV.

“Want me to put on a movie?”, he asks without turning around to look at him. Steve needs a short moment to comprehend what Eddie had said, he had been too busy staring at the black hanky hanging out of Eddie’s back pocket. And if he's honest Eddie’s ass in general but he isn't ready to admit that.

Steve quickly answers before it can get awkward, before Eddie can turn around and see where his gaze had landed. “Yeah, sure.”

So Eddie pulls a movie from the shelf without actually asking what he wants to watch but Steve doesn't care about the movie that much. When the movie is on and Eddie finally sits down next to him there is a little less space between them but still enough so they can't actually touch. Eddie probably hadn’t even payed attention to it but Steve is hyperaware of their closeness, again.

Sometime during the movie that Steve is paying absolutely no attention to, Eddie pulls out a joint and holds it out to Steve. He isn't even sure where Eddie has pulled it from but he accepts and puts it between his lips. And suddenly Eddie is leaning in close and pulls a lighter out of the pocket of his jeans.

Steve tries not to panic at the sudden closeness, tries to keep his breathing normal and he is pretty sure that he succeeds. As soon as the joint is lit Eddie is out of his space again and leans back on the couch. Steve doesn't want to admit that he kind of missed it.

They continue to watch the movie and pass the joint back and forth, every time their hands brush Steve feels like his nerves have been lit on fire, far too aware of the small point of contact between them.

Has he ever felt like this with Nancy? He can't recall it now but he is pretty sure it hadn’t been this intense, even though he had definitely been in love with her. But this is different, different in a good way. He stomps the thought down as soon as it surfaces. Eddie will never feel the same way, not in a million years.

He looks over again and studies the lines of Eddie’s face, the other’s gaze is fixed on the movie so he doesn't notice.

Somehow the time passes way too fast and the movie is over and the joint only a stump pressed out on one of the ashtrays spread all over the living space of the trailer. They've let the TV turn to static when the movie ended, neither of them getting up to do anything about it for a moment and just sitting in comfortable silence.

Slowly but surely the static starts to remind him of when he and El had worked on their powers together, after he had to reveal his secrets to the bunch of them during the Mindflayer thing because fighting against Demodogs actually works better when you can push them away with your mind before they rip your throat out.

She had showed him that it's easier to enter the weird mind space they can all access to find people when there is static playing in the background to filter out any other noise. It works pretty well but now he can't stand the sound of static anymore, so he gets up and walks over to the TV to turn it off.

He lets himself fall back down onto the sofa next to Eddie and huffs. “Sorry, I just hate the sound of static, it’s pretty idiotic.”

He didn't even mean to say that but the weed has definitely loosened his tongue and now that it is out he can't exactly take it back.

Eddie just snorts in response. “Yeah, it’s whatever dude, you don’t have to explain.”

Steve lets out a sigh of relief before he can stop himself and he really hopes Eddie didn’t hear that. He leans his head back against the backrest and stares up at the ceiling, wondering about what would happen if he maybe leans over and just kisses Eddie.

He knows that he really wants to, if the glances he had sneaked at Eddie’s lips all throughout the movie had been an indication but he holds himself back. Eddie will probably hate him if he does that and he knows he only feels so confident about it right now because he is high on weed. He smiles to himself. Why exactly did he think it would be a good idea to get high with Eddie?

“What’s so funny, Steve?”

Eddie’s voice pulls him out of his thoughts abruptly and he turns his head to the side to meet the other boy’s gaze. Eddie is laying in a similar position as he is, leaning back against the backrest and the head turned to the side to face Steve.

Their faces are so close to each other and Steve really has to focus to keep his gaze focused on Eddie’s eyes. It is only then that he even registers the question and he needs to wrack his head for an answer, fast.

“Just thought about how all my friends are literal children. I mean, except for you and Robin.”

Why did he even say that? Well, if he's honest it was the first thing that had come to mind. But why did he have to say it? Damn, he should not get high with Eddie like, ever again.

A grin slowly spreads over Eddie’s face. “Well, in that case I’m glad to raise the quota of your non-child friends.”

Steve honest to god giggles and why the hell did he do that?! Their faces are still so incredibly close to each other and did Eddie come closer or is that just his wishful thinking?

Before Steve can think too much about it the front door unlocks and Steve jumps upwards and away from Eddie as if he's been burned.

An irrational fear is rushing through him and the only thing he can think of is what would happen if the Harringtons had just come in and seen them like that. It would definitely earn him at least a black eye, probably a few bruised ribs as well. But it's not them, it's just Eddie’s uncle and when that finally registers in Steve’s brain he lets himself sink down onto the sofa again and just looks over to Eddie, trying to convey an apology just through his gaze.

He isn't sure if it worked when Eddie shakes his head and asks if he is okay.

Steve just nods, still too stunned to speak and looks over at Mr. Munson who watched the whole interaction with what seems like amusement on his face before he walks into the kitchen and out of sight.

As soon as the man isn't in hearing distance anymore, or at least what Steve hopes is hearing distance, he finally finds his voice again.

“I’m really sorry, he just surprised me.”

Eddie shrugs but there is a hint of concern on his face. “It’s fine, I should have told you that he’ll come back at some point.”

They fall into silence again until Steve clears his throat. “I should get home, it’s getting late.”

To his surprise Eddie immediately shakes his head. “No way am I letting you drive like this, you can stay over.”

Steve shakes his head. He hates to impose on Eddie like that and he can really drive home on his own, he'll be fine. “No, really, Eddie, I’m gonna be fine. Even if I get pulled over Hopper would never arrest me.”

He stops short as soon as the words have left his mouth. He forgot, how could he forget about that? Before he can hold himself back, because how would he explain that he was actually really close to the former chief of police to Eddie, who doesn't know about all of the Upside Down shit, he feels a tear roll down his cheek. He is fast to wipe it away but when Steve looks up at Eddie he can see a hint of sadness in his gaze, mixed with confusion.

“Sorry, forgot about that for a second.”, he whispers into he silence that has settled over them.

Steve looks down at his lap, not daring to look at Eddie again. He will definitely be suspicious now, because why would Steve Harrington of all people he close to Jim Hopper?

“I didn’t realise you were close.”, Eddie hesitates for a moment and Steve doesn't dare to look up. “Wait, didn’t your cousin live with him?”

Steve had not expected that he would actually remember that and a small smile creeps onto his face at the realisation that Eddie had actually listened and kept the information in the back of his mind. He still doesn't dare to look up, doesn't want to see the pity.

“Yeah, I spent a lot of time with them during the summer, you know, before everything at Starcourt happened.”

He can see Eddie nod out of the corner of his eye. “You can sleep on the couch, it’s no problem.”

Steve nods and finally raises his head again to look at Eddie. Their eyes meet and Steve manages to smile at him, even if it is small and a bit forced. “Thanks.”

Chapter Text

STEVE

 Steve ends up sleeping on the couch in the Munson trailer. It's surprisingly comfortable but that shouldn’t be a surprise given that they only slept on hard mattresses in tiny cramped rooms in the Lab. He pushes the thought away as soon as it makes itself known, there is no need to think about that place right now.

It takes Steve what feels like an eternity to fall asleep and he definitely doesn't feel well rested when he jerks upwards from a nightmare, a scream, that hopefully hasn't been loud enough to wake anyone, escaping his throat before he can stop it.

He lets himself fall back onto the couch and raises his left arm to squint at the watch on his wrist. He can't make out the numbers but he decides that it is definitely too early to be awake.

With a sigh Steve turns onto his side and stares into the dark room in front of him. He still feels rattled from the nightmare and he can't even remember what it was about. Not that there isn't enough to choose from, sometimes his whole life basically feels like a nightmare.

After a while Steve falls back asleep and surprisingly manages to sleep until the morning light hits his face and gently pulls him awake. He turns onto his back with a groan and squints at his watch again, this time actually being able to see the time it's displaying. It's barely eight.

It doesn't take longer than a few minutes before Eddie comes walking down the hallway from his room to go straight to the kitchen. Steve isn't sure if Eddie just hasn't realised that he's awake or if he simply forgot that he insisted that Steve sleeps on his couch, but he decides that it will probably be better to let him know that he's still there so Steve stands up from the couch and follows Eddie into the kitchen.

In retrospect Steve does realise that sneaking up on someone after they just woke up is not the greatest idea he’s ever had but to his defence, he's also just woken up. Said sneaking after Eddie ends up with Steve pinned against the wall and Eddie’s face definitely too close to his own and how screwed is he that that is his first thought in this situation?

They stand like that for a moment, both frozen in the moment and staring into each other’s eyes. Eddie breaks the moment when he steps back and slowly lowers his arms. “Sorry Harrington, forgot you were here for a second.”

Steve shrugs and takes in a deep breath of air. He didn't even register that Eddie had pressed against his windpipe and limited his air supply until he is able to properly breathe again. “It’s fine, I should have said something instead of sneaking up on you.”

Eddie doesn't respond and turns towards the kitchen counter where he started making coffee before Steve interupted him. “You want one too?”

Steve nods before he realised that Eddie still has his back turned to him. “Yeah, thanks.”, he says before Eddie can realise Steve’s mistake and goes over to the small table that is stuffed against the wall of the kitchen and sits down.

It's small and a bit crammed and the table is full of stacks of paper, ashtrays and an assortment of other little things but for some reason Steve likes it. It's messy but at least it looks like someone actually lives here, the complete opposite of the Harrington house.

Neither of them say anything when Eddie sits down opposite Steve and places the steaming mugs on the table. They drink their coffee in comfortable silence, just existing in each others presence and Steve realises that maybe he doesn't have to try so hard to be friends with Eddie because this feels like they already are.

This feels like the mornings he spends with Robin after movie-nights, when they both stayed up way too long and drank too much and where basking in each others silence, both nursing their respective hangover with hot coffee. It feels nice.

It's nice up until Steve glaces at his watch again and realises that it's somehow already nine and he had promised to pick up Dustin and the others to take them to the arcade in half an hour.

Steve rushes home, showers and changes before he even realises that he had already been at the trailer park and could have taken Max with him on the way. It definitely would have saved him time but as everyone knows he can be incredibly stupid sometimes so he pulls back into the trailer park to pick up Max.

Of course Eddie sits in front of his trailer smoking a cigarette when he parks his car in front of the Mayfield's trailer. The other boy grins when Steve looks over to him.

“What’s wrong Stevie, missed me already?”

Steve rolls his eyes but decides that he's already late so it won't hurt to talk to Eddie for a few minutes, it won't make much of a difference anyways. He walks over to the Munson trailer and sits down on the step next to Eddie.

“I just wanted to pick up Max, I’m taking everyone to the arcade.”

Eddie shakes his head and when Steve looks over to Eddie he's grinning at him in amusement. “I could ask how many kids you’re friends with again but I think I already know the answer.”

Steve sighs and on a whim leans over and grabs the cigarette from Eddie’s fingers to take a drag himself. “Believe me, asshole-Steve from a few years ago would throw a fit if he knew where he’d end up in ‘85.”

Eddie laughs and takes the cigarette back, sending a jolt of electricity through Steve when their fingers touch. “For what it’s worth, I like this Steve better.”

They fall into companionable silence after that in which Steve steals the cigarette a few more times before it's completely burned down. Eddie puts it out on the heel of his boot just as the door to the Mayfield trailer flies open and a furious looking red-head storms out. She slams the door behind her and runs down the steps and towards Steve’s car, only stopping briefly to greet the neighbour’s dog.

Steve realises in horror that it had been more than a few minutes and a glance at his watch tells him that he should already be well on his way to the Wheelers, the last stop on his route to pick up the kids before going to the arcade.  Instead he's still sitting on one of the steps leading up to Eddie’s trailer, looking up at a very furious Max.

“Nice of you to come over and tell me you’re here Steve.”, she says with her arms crossed in front of her chest.

Steve sighs. He actually feels very bad for forgetting the time like that. He did promise them on Monday that he would take them to the arcade today, as early as possible, so they could spent as long as possible there.

Dustin and Mike made a bet with Max that they would get the day to try and crack her high-scores. Steve has no idea what the winner will get from that little contest but he doesn't want to know either. Just in case it's something really stupid he should probably stop as the responsible one of the group.

He stands up and slowly walks over to his car.

“I’m really sorry, Max, I forgot the time.”

She shrugs and goes to sit in the passenger seat while Steve turns back to look at Eddie. The other is still sitting on his front step and waves his hand in good-bye when he sees that Steve is looking at him. “See you in school, Harrington.”

Steve nods. “Sure thing Munson, can’t leave you alone to manipulate my kids.”, he adds a wink to the last part, just to make sure that Eddie will take it as the joke it is.

Considering the grin that spreadsover his face it was the right thing to do. With one last glance at Eddie, Steve opens the door to his car and gets in, pulling out of the trailer-park only moments later.

Max is silent at first, staring out of the window and seemingly lost in thought.

“Since when are you hanging out with Eddie Munson?”, she asks after a while, still not looking at Steve but at the trees passing by.

Steve shrugs.

“We were just hanging out yesterday and well, we are both in senior year and I for some reason sit with the Hellfire guys during lunch.”, he hesitates for a moment, because he isn’t even sure why Max asked him this and he knows that Max has been shutting herself off. He also knows very well why she has been so unreachable for the better part of the last few weeks.

She still blames herself for Billy’s death even though the blame falls on Steve way more than her. He had been so close, he could have saved him if he had only been faster. Sure, Billy had been an asshole but he was still Max’s brother and she didn’t deserve to watch a person close to her die like that. No one deserves that. And Steve has his powers, he could have done something. He would never admit to anyone that he blames himself like this, Max would definitely punch him if she knew. But she also shouldn’t blame herself, so he decides to extent the olive branch if she ever needed it.

For when she decided that she didn't want to shut herself off from the rest anymore. “You know you can join us during lunch too, right? The others definitely wouldn’t mind.”

Max nods. “I’ll think about it.”

They both know that thinking about it is just as good as a no until stated otherwise but Steve decides to stay quiet on it. He doesn’t want to push her too much either, she’s been through enough.

Steve reaches Lucas’ house next and the boy comes running down from the porch before Steve can even properly stop the car.

“Dude, why are you so late?”, he yells as soon as he's in the backseat of the car, the door not even fully closed after him.

“Calm down Sinclair, be glad I’m your ride.”

Steve can see Lucas rolling his eyes in the rearview mirror but he doesn't say anything else which is good enough for Steve.

Picking up Dustin and Mike goes similar as both boys complain about him being late but when Steve threatens to revoke their privilege to be driven around by him they shut up.

They all know that Steve would never actually do it but no one really wants to push it either. They arrive at the arcade without further complications and in the end they are only fifteen minutes later than they had planned.

Immediately, the boys race each other to the doors, Max not far behind but going at a more moderate pace. She's fiddling with the walkman she has taken to carry everywhere with her.

It seems to be her lifeline in all the shit that surrounds them and honestly, Steve can’t really blame her. She has been through enough, first with her abusive step-father and violently idiotic step-brother and then the death of said brother. If music makes her feel a bit better, Steve will be the last to deny her that.

He enters the arcade last and has no trouble to find everyone as they are crowded around one of the games watching Dustin as he tries to beat Max’ high-score. Unsurprisingly, he misses it by quite a bit, Max is just way better than him and the others and they all know it, no matter how much none of them want to admit it to her.

After a long day at the arcade, filled with trying to navigate between giving four kids his attention and trying to break up a fight between Lucas and Mike on who is better at this one specific game, Steve is incredibly exhausted. He also forgot that he agreed to a movie night with Robin.

She turns up at his door at exactly eight with movies gathered under her arm and a shit-eating grin on her face.

“You have to tell me everything!”, she says while pushing past him into the house before Steve can even get out a hello. He shuts the door behind her and follows her into the living room where Robin throws the movies on the table and starts looking through them to choose which one they should watch first.

When she finds one she grins triumphantly and puts it on before letting herself fall onto the couch. Steve joins her there, absolutely dead on his feet. He decides in that moment that he won't even try to pay attention to the movie because he will fall asleep before it ends anyways.

Robin turns so she is sitting sideways on the couch facing Steve, also looking like she has no intention to pay attention to the movie that had just started.

“Okay, yesterday, you and Eddie. What did you do?”

Steve groans and lets his head fall back against the headrest. “We just smoked weed and watched a movie Robin, that’s it.”

Robin looks over to him with an incredulous look on her face.

“That can’t be all Steve! Did you just get into your car and drive off afterwards? You can’t tell me you guys didn’t talk to each other at all!”

Steve sighs, his gaze firmly fixed on the ceiling.

“Of course we talked to each other Robin and…”, he hesitates because if he tells Robin about sleeping over she will freak out but she is his best friend for a reason so that doesn’t really matter anyways. “I slept on the couch instead of driving home, he didn’t want me to drive because of the weed.”

He purposely leaves out that he had cried over Hopper on Eddie’s couch, he will take that to the grave.

Robin starts bouncing on the couch and Steve looks over to see an expression of absolute glee on her face. “He made you sleep over?! That’s good Steve, it means he cares about you too!”

“Yeah Robin, we’re friends, it doesn’t have to mean anything. He just didn’t want me to crash my car on the way back.”

Robin shakes her head but she doesn't say anything else about it and glances over to the tv to actually see something of the movie. After a few minutes her head whips back around to him.

“If you slept over then what happened in the morning? Did you just leave or did you stay for a bit?”

Steve shrugs. “Well, I had a nightmare so I was pretty dead on my feet but he offered me coffee and we just sat in the kitchen together for a while before I had to leave to take the kids to the arcade.”

Robin grins again. It's the sort of grin that tells you nothing good can come from it. “It wasn’t awkward or anything?”

Steve frowns at her. He has no idea where exactly Robin is going with this, but maybe he is just too tired to follow her line of thought.

“No, it wasn’t?”, he says slowly. It sounds more like a question. He really isn't sure what kind of conclusions Robin will jump to based on his answer.

She just squeales and bounces on the couch a bit more before saying: “Don’t worry Steve this is going to work out.”

Then she just turns towards the TV again.

Steve’s frown deepens. “What does that even mean, Robin?”

She shakes her head, not even looking in Steve’s direction. “You’ll see soon enough dingus, now watch the movie.”

Steve does in fact not watch the movie because he is too caught up thinking about whatever has gone through Robin’s head earlier.

No matter how much he thinks about it or from what direction he looks at it, he can't decipher what Robin meant with her words. How will anything work out, in her eyes? They don't even know if Eddie is gay but Robin doesn't seem to think about that at all.

Steve startles awake from another nightmare to find himself lying on the couch with a blanket draped over him. After his eyes have adjusted to the darkness of the living room he can make out Robin on the second couch.

She must have put a blanket over him after he had fallen asleep sometime during the movie. He slowly gets up and walks into the kitchen where the clock on the wall tells him that it's just after 5 am. Too damn early but by now he's pretty used to it given that he never sleeps longer than six. He's been pretty surprised that he had made it till nearly eight when he had slept at Eddie’s place.

For nothing better to do Steve goes up to his room to do whatever until Robin wakes up and they can make breakfast. Maybe he'll just continue to painfully pine over Eddie because fortunately Robin can't see it if he does it in his room.

In the end Steve does fall asleep again only to be shaken awake by Robin. Steve opens his eyes and immediately closes them again when he's blinded by the sunlight streaming in through his windows. “What is it Robin?”

Robin does not stop shaking him while she hastily rushes out. “Steve we have the stupid Sunday shift today and it’s already 11 am we need to get going.”

As soon as the words register in Steve’s brain he shoots upwards. “What?!”

“Exactly, get up dingus, we’re already late!”

They both rush into the bathroom to brush their teeth, Robin permanently has a toothbrush at his place at this point.

While Robin sprints downstairs to gather her things from the living room, Steve runs into his room to change into fresh clothes and then into the kitchen to gather some sort of food so they can make it through the day.

They meet at the car a few minutes later, both slightly out of breath. Steve throws the food into the backseat while Robin scrambles into the passenger seat before Steve gets in as well and starts driving.

The store is open from 11 am to 5 pm on Sundays and it's the worst shift imaginable because most people don't rent out movies on Sundays. Keith also loves to put Steve and Robin in for the Sunday shift because he definitely hates them.

Steve pulls into the parking lot in front of Family Video twenty minutes after eleven and both he and Robin go out as fast as possible to unlock the store. No one is around to reprimand them that they are twenty minutes late to open and they can only hope that no one had tried to rent a movie in the last twenty minutes.

As it turns out, they have a total of seven customers the whole day and Robin once again curses Keith while they are locking up for the day. But even she has to admit that the lack of customers has given them plenty of time to talk about everything and while Robin has pestered Steve about his crush on Eddie, Steve has annoyed Robin about her crush on Vickie.

Chapter Text

EDDIE

 Steve Harrington is not at all what Eddie expected. He thinks he vaguely remembers him from middle school, a year below him but the only other kid with a shaved head. But looking back on it Eddie isn't even sure if that was Harrington or not, because he can't imagine King Steve without his infuriatingly good looking hair.

Eddie struggled through that one year of middle school, he was so bad at reading and math went completely over his head at the time, still does, but somehow he managed to not have to repeat the year. Maybe it was because he had been the new kid, or because the teachers heard about his fake tragic backstory and took pity. Whatever it was, Eddie’s luck on barely passing classes continued all through high school until he reached his senior year and it came back to bite his ass.

His fake tragic backstory is another thing that went over his head because he knows that uncle Wayne, his actual biological uncle, had never told anyone what had actually happened but people seem to know a thing or two about his parents and the rest of the story wrote itself. Not that he minds, it leaves him with less to explain since everyone seems to think they know everything already.

After Eddie escaped the lab he had been lucky to stumble over Wayne, who had found him wandering the woods near the trailer-park. The man took one look at him and the number on his wrist and took him in. Gave him a name and a roof over his head.

Over the years Eddie learned that Wayne knows more than he had first let on, that Eddie is his nephew not only by cover-story but also by blood. That Wayne’s sister had been caught up in some scheme concerning the lab and that she told Wayne she had given her baby away just after he was born, in a moment when she was too drunk to think about what that would sound like to anyone else. And about what that would mean for the baby.

Wayne told him everything he needed to know about his biological parents and Eddie had decided that knowing what he knew is enough, he never felt the need to meet them.

He's still being haunted by his memories of the lab and sometimes they keep him up at night. The day he escaped he was in one of the rooms where they had to train their powers with Papa. He made him look at what Six had been doing in the other room and suddenly the door had burst open and Six was being raised in the air, just hanging there, frozen and then her arms and legs had started breaking, just snapping in ways and directions they shouldn’t. There was so much blood. He remembers falling to the ground and hitting his head.

There was so much blood.

When Eddie woke up Papa was gone and everyone around him was dead. The memory of getting out is hazy, but he knows that he stumbled through the hallways, dead people lying on the ground left and right and blood everywhere, the walls, the ground, the doors. There was so much blood. Sometimes, on the bad days, he still sees the blood every time he closes his eyes.

It's been getting better with every year away from the lab but two years ago it had started to get worse again.

If he didn’t grow up the way he did Eddie would never dare to make a connection between the disappearances from ‘83 and his nightmares getting worse again, but he did and this is Hawkins.

He can't pin down what exactly it was but something was changing. He's also too much of a coward to actually go and investigate it. He's sworn to himself to never use his powers again.

He's one of the worst of the experiments when it comes to controlling his powers anyways and there is no reason to use them, never again. Eddie never plans to use his powers again so he doesn't go looking, doesn't let himself think too much about the weird feeling and the nightmares that never seem to leave ever since Will Byers went missing in 1983.

Then there is this group of freshmen who he recruited for Hellfire shortly after he began his third attempt at senior year.

Eddie saw them in the hallways, lost and for some reason always hanging out with Steve Harrington of all people and they seemed like the right people for Hellfire. Overhearing that they all like to play DnD was only a bonus and from that moment on the Hellfire club had three more members. But with the new members who join them during their lunch breaks in the cafeteria also comes one Steve Harrington, recently dethroned King of Hawkins High.

Eddie is aware that Steve was already pushed from his position pretty early on during the last year, when Billy Hargrove managed to make his way to the top and then promptly died last July.

And sure, failing senior year doesn't look good on anyone but Eddie still expected Steve to push his way to the top again but he just doesn't. Instead Harrington seemingly decided to spent his time with a bunch of nerds and from what Eddie could deduce in the few weeks since school started again Harrington is friends with an incredible amount of freshmen. And somehow three of them are kind of his friends now too.

It became clear to Eddie pretty early on that Steve “The Hair” Harrington had gone through a hell of a change from his jock persona to whatever he is now. When they are sitting at lunch Steve always seems hesitant to join them until Dustin, Mike or Lucas ask him to sit with them. It had become some sort of weird ritual over the last few weeks. And what surprises Eddie even more is that Steve had not made one stupid joke or poked fun at any of them even once.

Eddie can't pretend like he ever really knew Steve Harrington but from what he had observed in the hallways the last few years, he had not been like this for a better part of high school.

Thinking back on in he can't really pinpoint when the change happened but he did hear the rumours that were spreading around the school a year ago, after Hargrove had beaten Steve in a fight that had seemingly been very bad, because Steve’s face looked horrible for weeks after it. But that wasn’t what people were whispering about.

They were whispering about how Steve Harrington didn’t seem to care about his popularity at all anymore, about how he would sometimes fall asleep in classes and frequently look like he didn’t sleep for at least a week. How his grades were apparently dropping even though no one really had proof for that.

Sometimes he turned up with more bruises that Eddie knew weren’t from Hargrove because whatever happened during that fight that had left Steve bruised for weeks, Hargrove didn’t go after him again afterwards.

It's weird because Eddie can't deny that he likes this new Steve who spends breaks with them and is nice and so very much not like the Steve that had been such a strong presence for most of his high school years.

He can't help the lingering suspicion that just won't let go of him. Eddie can't stop thinking about how this could all just be a trick. A trick to achieve what, he doesn't know but some small part of Eddie’s brain still insists that this is King Steve eating lunch with the Hellfire Club and even though he looks like he hasn't closed his eyes at all for at least three days he could still be planning something harmful.

He keeps telling himself that that is the reason for the note he puts in Steve’s locker, asking him to meet up behind the school. Definitely not the steadily growing part of him that is kind of fond of Steve and how he acts around those kids. Absolutely not the part of him that can appreciate his looks from way closer now that Steve is just another loser repeating senior year and hanging out with nerds and freshmen. Not that part at all.

He planned to confront Steve about having ulterior motives hidden somewhere beneath this new person he is suddenly being but as it turns out he is just looking to make friends and if that doesn't baffle Eddie to his very core.

And somehow Steve ends up on the inside of his trailer Friday night and they got high together. Eddie kept sneaking glances at Steve when the other wasn’t looking, eyes fixed on the movie that was playing. Eddie really wanted to touch his hair, just to check if it's really as soft as it looks. He didn’t.

At some point, while talking about how Robin and Eddie were Steve’s only friends the same age as him that weren’t also his ex they suddenly came incredibly close to each other and Eddie couldn’t bring himself to move away. Maybe he even got a bit closer, just to see what Steve would do and he isn’t sure if he really saw Steve glancing down at his lips or if he hallucinated that part.

It had probably just been wishful thinking but he will never find out if it really was because then uncle Wayne came in and Steve looked so freaked out when he saw the other man Eddie just wanted to hug him and tell him it’s okay.

Finding out that Steve Harrington of all people had been close to the former police chief that died not even three months ago when the Starcourt mall burned down is an absolute shock to his system and just another reason why he is so tempted to just hug his friend. Because somehow Steve had actually become his friend during the last few weeks and if anyone had told him that a few months ago Eddie would have laughed at their face and told them it’s bullshit.

Eddie only hesitates for a second to check the hallways before he slides a note into Steve’s locker. It's stupid, incredibly stupid, but he wants to hang out with Steve again, without any of the kids around. As much as he likes them all they are so incredibly noisy as well.

After Steve left Saturday morning, only to come back and smoke with him before being dragged away by Max Mayfield, Eddie hasn't been able to stop thinking about him. Or more specifically about the moment on the couch before uncle Wayne had come home. Eddie really wishes the man had had better timing. Eddie can't help but keep wondering what would have happened if the door hadn’t opened the moment it had. Would Steve have kissed him?

The possibility seems so outlandish when he thinks about it because this is Steve Harrington he's talking about, one of the straightest dude he’s ever met. But Steve had glanced down at his lips when their faces had been so close they breathed the same air for a moment. Maybe Eddie just wants to see where this could go, or maybe he just needs an excuse to hang out with his new friend that he may or may not have crush on.

His classes till the break he’d meet up with Steve are pretty uneventful, but he does notice that he and Steve are in the same English class together, both sitting in the back on opposite sides of the room.

Steve waves in his direction when he sees him come in but apart from that they don't acknowledged each other. At least Steve doesn't acknowledged him as far as Eddie is aware, because Eddie spends the better part of the class sneaking glances at the other boy.

Steve seems tired and he keeps nodding off before shaking himself awake, and it's only second period. Eddie can't help but think back to last year and the rumours he overheard and wonder if Steve still can't sleep.

He can't dwell on the thought for too long as that is when the bell rings and everyone files out of the room to get to their next class. Steve waves him good-bye as he excits the room.

This time Eddie arrives at the bench first so he can't make a fool of himself again. He'd only been as late as he was last time because he needed to shake Dustin off without being too suspicious and that is not an easy task to accomplish.

He sits down at the table and puts his metal lunch box down. He isn't even sure if Steve will actually show up, the other didn't give him any confirmation so he just decides to wait and see. If Steve doesn't turn up after about half of the break he’ll head back to school.

Eddie’s worrying about Steve not showing up turns out to be very unnecessary as he appears from in between the tress after what feels like only a few minutes. Eddie checks the watch on his left wrist, the one he's always wearing to cover up the number he is permanently marked with. He'd only waited three minutes for Steve to show up.

The other boy sits down opposite him and rests his arms on the table, looking intently at Eddie. “Why am I here, Munson?”

Eddie scoffs. Considering that Steve was so desperate to confirm that they are actually friends he is very adamant on calling Eddie by his last name.

“Why are you still calling me by my last name, Harrington? I thought we’re friends now.”

The ‘Harrington’ actually slips out on accident but now that it's out a grin spreads on Steve’s face. “You’re one to talk.”

Eddie shakes his head. “Yeah, yeah. That was just revenge.”

It really wasn’t, it was a very unconscious thing to call the boy sitting opposite him by his last name, not that he would admit to that.

He takes a closer look at Steve as the other observes the metal lunch box sitting between them. Now that he's closer, Eddie is sure that Steve looks incredibly tired and it really isn't a surprise that Steve nearly fell asleep during their English class.

Steve still stares at the lunch box but now it looks like he isn't even seeing it, like he's only staring into space.

"Hey Steve?”, Eddie asks carefully, he doesn't want to startle him.

He can only think back to Friday night and the way Steve jumped away from him like he'd been burned when the door opened. Steve’s eyes snap upwards when he hears his name and he looks at Eddie questioningly.

Eddie takes a deep breath and decides to just get the question out. It can't hurt and Steve can just leave if he doesn't want to talk to him, if he feels like he can't talk to Eddie about this. “You okay?”

Steve glances down at his hands and starts picking at one of his nails. After a moment of hesitation he mumbles: “I’m fine.”

It doesn't sound very convincing. Eddie gets up with a sigh to get some distance between them, he doesn't want to seem too invasive, he's in no position to question Steve’s sleep schedule. Not when he also wakes up way too early most days because of nightmares about the lab or some other stuff he can only vaguely remember. And they only started talking to each other a few weeks ago.

“Listen, Steve, you don’t need to say anything but I saw how you nearly fell asleep in English earlier and I’m not one to judge, that class is boring as hell, but I was just wondering…”, he pauses for a moment, looking for a reaction from Steve but he's still staring at the wooden table. “You were already awake when I got up on Saturday and I got up way too early because I couldn’t sleep. And you always seem tired so I was just wondering if every is okay, you know? You don’t have to say anything, tell me to shut up and mind my own business and I will.”

Eddie stops his little tirade and leans back against the tree he stopped next to when he left the table. Steve starts tracing patters on the table at some point but he doesn't look up when Eddie finishes talking. It's quiet for a while before Steve seems to find his voice again.

“A lot of shit happened over the last few years and I really don’t want to talk about it but I just don’t sleep really well most nights. You don’t have to be concerned or anything, really. I’m fine.”

When Steve looks up at him he looks so sad Eddie isn't sure what to do with himself for a moment, but the expression on Steve’s face vanishes the next moment, replaced by a smile that only looks slightly pained.

Eddie shrugs and grins, deciding that this is the right moment to change the topic to what he actually wanted to talk about.

“Alright, now to business.”, he walks over to the bench in a few long strides and Steve looks at him curiously but he's smiling and it doesn't look strained anymore and that's enough for Eddie.

“I know you said you’re not actually interested in DnD and just hang around because of the kids but…I wanted to ask if you’d be interested in making a character and joining the next campaign?”

Eddie looks at Steve and he's sure that the hopefulness is all too visible on his face. He'd actually thought about this the whole weekend, when he stopped thinking about how Steve’s lips would feel on his for a moment. There are multiple reasons why he decided to just ask Steve in the end.

The first is obviously having an excuse to hang out with him more, maybe spending more time together will give Eddie the chance to figure out how straight the guy really is and if he'll get a punch in the face if he tries kissing him or not. And as is obvious from his earlier outburst he did think a lot about Steve seemingly not sleeping well and had come to the conclusion that he maybe just needs a distraction which is where DnD really comes into play. It's the perfect plan if Steve only says yes to joining, which is a big if judging by the expression on Steve’s face.

Eddie actually isn't sure what Steve is thinking judged by the way he looks at him right now, there is confusion and shock and something else Eddie can't name. Steve also seems like he is thinking very hard about what he had just said.

“You want me to join the Hellfire Club?”

Eddie shrugs. “You don’t have to, I just thought maybe you’d like to try the game out sometime because Dustin and the others talk about it constantly and maybe you’ll understand a bit more about what they are actually saying if you’ve played it at least once?”, he pauses for a moment to see if Steve will cut him off, when he doesn't Eddie continues. “I thought we could maybe design a character together and you join the next campaign? It will only be a few sessions long and if you don’t like it you never have to do it again. It will definitely get Dustin and Mike off your back, I heard how they were trying to talk you into joining in the hall last week.”

He chuckles a bit at the memory. It was pretty ridiculous seeing Steve Harrington being swarmed by Dustin and Mike, both begging him to join their DnD campaign while Lucas and Max stood a bit to the side and looked like they weren’t sure if they should help Steve or just leave and pretend they don’t know these people.  Another upside were the glances other students kept throwing at the scene while they were passing by, it had been one of the funniest things Eddie had ever seen happening in the hallway of this godforsaken school.

Steve also smiles as he is reminded of Dustin and Mike’s antics, then he sighs and finally meets Eddie’s gaze again.

“I’m not a hundred percent sold on this, but I’d be willing to design a character and let you explain some rules for now.”

Eddie can't quite believe his ears. “What did you say?”

Steve sighs but his smile gets a bit brighter. “I said yes, you idiot.”

Eddie jumps up from the bench when his words finally registers and kicks up some dead leaves to get rid of the big emotions he's currently feeling. Then he lightly punches a tree, just for good measure.

He doesn't regret his decisions when he hears Steve's laugh from where he is still sitting on the bench, he doesn't look quite as tired as he did earlier.

Chapter Text

STEVE

Steve has no idea why he agreed to this. And he tells Robin as much when they are stuck behind the counter of Family Video again two days later. He'd spent the rest of his Monday classes and pretty much all of the following day going back and forth between being okay with his decision and regretting every part of that conversation with Eddie.

“What do I do, Robin? He'll explain it to me and I won’t understand shit and he’ll just find out that I’m stupid and then we won’t hang out anymore and-“

Robin turns around to him and threateningly holds a video tape so close to Steve’s face that he goes cross eyed looking at it.

“Would you shut up, Dingus?! First of all, you’re not stupid, sometimes that nerd shit is just unnecessarily complicated and second, even if you back out in the end he won’t just stop being your friend you-”, with that she shoves the tape even closer to his face and Steve has to lean back to avoid being hit in the face. “-are just being dramatic, which tells me that you’ve spent too much time with Eddie already.”

Robin turns back to the pile of tapes she'd been sorting through earlier and Steve sighs. He knows she's probably right but the worry just won't leave him. He's glad that Eddie asked because it will give him an excuse to hang out with him but that also means that he will have more time to do something stupid, like get too close to Eddie’s face and kiss him or something. If he does that, Eddie will definitely stop being his friend.

Apparently his thoughts are way too obvious to his best friend because Robin groans next to him. “Stop worrying Steve, just let him explain the rules and if it goes way over your head you can just tell him and it’s gonna be fine.”

Steve turns around to face her, once again glad that the store is empty right now. Not that many people come in to rent a movie on a Wednesday afternoon. He really can't believe her sometimes, because nothing will be fine if he doesn't even get the basic rules of the game. “It’s not gonna be fine Robin, he’ll just think I’m stupid or something.”

Robin groans again and lets her head fall against Steve’s shoulder in an exaggerated movement. “I swear Steve, you are killing me.”

She's silent for a moment and Steve doesn't dare to move, he doesn't want to interrupt whatever Robin is thinking about because maybe she's coming up with something helpful right now. Finally she moves her head off of him and faces Steve again. “If you kiss a boy before I kiss a girl, I’m going to punch you!”

Steve can't help but laugh. This is not at all what he expected but it's such a Robin-thing to say and he loves her for it. “I’m gonna keep it in mind.”

“You better, I’m gonna punch you so hard you’re going to regret doing it before I got my chance.”

They go back to working after that as the bell at the door rings not even a minute later to announce a customer.

EDDIE

Eddie isn't sure what's going on with Steve but since he'd asked him about joining the next Hellfire campaign the other had been weird. And not weird in the way that he always seems to operate on with no sleep and his weird attachment to a bunch of freshmen. Weird as in he's going out of his way to not spent any time alone with Eddie, and Eddie had just started to believe that Steve enjoys talking to him without any of the others around.

Eddie decides that maybe Steve hates him after all and regrets that he'd agreed to Eddie’s suggestion. Because that has to be it, why else would Steve avoid him if not to have enough time to get out of their agreement to meet on Friday to plan his character?

Eddie wiss seriously starting to wonder if their tentative friendship will be over just like that. If it will really end now just after it began only because Eddie decided to be an idiot and to pressure Steve, who clearly has no interest in their nerd game, into playing DnD only because he needs a reason to spend more time with him.

Eddie is ripped out of his thoughts by a loud knock on his door followed by someone calling his name. It sounds very much like a certain freshman he knows.

Eddie gets up from the couch where he had surrounded himself with his DnD books to prepare everything for Friday and the upcoming campaign and goes to open the door. Like he expected, it's Dustin who is facing him as soon as the door isn't in between them anymore.

Dustin looks slightly out of breath and his bike lying in the grass in front of the trailer confirmes to Eddie that he just biked here. The kid is truly a lunatic. Eddie leans against the frame of the door and curiously looks at Dustin as the other tries to regain his breath. “Can I help you Henderson?”

Dustin nods in agreement but he still seems to need a moment until he can talk properly again so Eddie just walks inside, expecting Dustin to follow and shut the door behind him.

Eddie actually can't care less about whether the door is open or not because what would you steal from the trailer anyways, but it's been getting colder over the last few weeks and the late September air is already more chilling than it has any business being.

Dustin trails after him and stops in the middle of the living room while Eddie lets himself fall down onto the only free spot of the couch, the rest still covered in open books. He watches as Dustin’s gaze wanders over the books on the table and the couch all around Eddie until it comes to rest on him.

Eddie does his best to keep his expression passive and he knows that he succeeds because he’s had a lot of experience not showing his emotions back in the lab. Dustin lets out a huff before he apparently decides to just sit on the ground since there is no space for him anywhere else.

“Are you planning the next campaign for Hellfire?”, he asks and it seems to be a genuine question. As if Eddie would cover the whole living room in his DnD stuff just for fun or to annoy Wayne.

“Seriously, Dustin, that was an incredibly dumb question. Last time I checked I didn’t play DnD with any other party.”

Dustin rolls his eyes at that. The audacity of this child.

“Okay but why…”, he trails off and looks at the book closest to him. “Why is this opened to a table of character classes?”

Eddie glances over at the book Dustin is looking at, but he doesn't have to take a closer look to know what exactly Dustin is talking about. It's just a chart with character classes and races and Eddie just spent the last ten minutes staring at it because he can't decide what would fit Steve best.

Trying to figure this specific thing out has been a great way to realise that he doesn't know much about Steve apart from the little snippets he gets at school and from hanging out one on one all of three times. He can add some rumours from the last few years to that but not much more. Steve Harrington turns out to be a far more complicated puzzle than Eddie would have thought. And that is coming from the guy who can literally never tell anyone about where and how he actually grew up.

Just as Eddie wants to answer Dustin’s question about the open page of the book the boy’s eyes widen and Eddie stops himself. He really wants to know what kind of thought process just went through Dustin’s head.

“Did you recruit a new Hellfire member?”, his voice is hesitant but he also seems deep in thought, as if he's contemplating who this new recruit could possibly be.

Eddie spreads his arms out on his sides and grins widely. “Ten points to you Henderson, took you long enough to piece it together.”

Dustin just frowns. “But who is it? I didn’t see you talking to anyone in school or something.”

Really, for how smart Henderson is, sometimes he is just so incredibly dumb. Eddie groans in annoyance and lets himself fall back against the couch. “Please tell me you’re not serious right now Henderson!”

The one in question just keeps frowning for a moment until it seems like some points have been connected and an expression that can only be described as a mix of disbelieve and excitement spreads across his face.

“Did you get Steve to finally say yes?! We’ve been trying to do that for weeks!”

Eddie raises himself up from the back of the couch again and waves Dustin off. “Yeah, yeah, I know. I actually think that’s part of why he said yes in the first place, to get you guys off of him.”

Dustin nods in understanding and his gaze falls down to the open books spread all around him again. He seems to think about something and Eddie decides to just wait and find out what it is instead of interrupting whatever is going on in that head right now.

He glances over at the clock on the wall and realises that it's later than he had thought. This was never supposed to take so long, he'd just wanted to get a vague idea of what kind of character would fit Steve so he can start planning the campaign. He did not anticipate to unearth that Steve is a fucking enigma in and of himself.

Dustin cuts off his thoughts before he can delve too deep into that again. “So how exactly did you manage to convince him? He doesn’t even know how DnD really works and like I said, we’ve been trying for weeks.”

Eddie shruggs. “I offered that he could try it out for a short campaign and if he doesn't like it he doesn't have to join. Maybe you should have considered that before pestering him about it every single day.”

Eddie grins at the boy sitting on his carpet and Dustin only rolls his eyes in annoyance. “Okay, okay, I get it. We were very annoying and you’re literally best friends with Steve now.”

Now it's Eddie’s turn to roll his eyes. “You know very well we’re not. I’m pretty sure that place is reserved for Robin and Robin only. If I didn’t know better, I’d think they’re dating.”

He honestly doesn't know better except for Steve’s insistence that they are just friends.

But he isn't blind and can see how the two of them sometimes glance at each other across the cafeteria or how they have whole conversations in the hallways without even talking to each other. Or how Steve drives Robin to school and back home every single day. They even work at the same place and he knows they worked at Scoops Ahoy together as well because he'd seen them there the one time he had dragged himself into the mall to see if there was anything worth his while to find there.

Turned out there wasn’t, but he had filed the image of Steve Harrington in that stupid sailor outfit away in some corner of his mind. Looking back it's no surprise that he has a full on crush on the guy now.

Dustin doesn't seem to notice the internal conflict he's got going on and he's honestly glad about that. “I also told him that it’s bullshit, you know? The two are perfect for each other but Steve just doesn’t listen, just keeps saying that he isn’t Robin’s type and that they’re platonic with a capital P.”

Dustin actually puts that last part in air quotes and Eddie is really glad that he's good at keeping his feelings from showing on his face. Because who would say that Steve Harrington of all people is not their type? Seriously, Robin has to be out of her mind.

“Can I help you with the planning?”

Eddie’s thoughts come to an abrupt halt. “What?!”

To be honest he's been too caught up thinking about Steve and Robin and the apparent not-relationship going on between them that he'd forgotten what they were originally talking about for a moment.

“You know, with the character. I could help make it, I have some ideas.”

And honestly Eddie wanted this to be a one on one thing but as Steve turns out to be far more mysterious than he'd thought he decides that maybe it will be a good idea to invite Dustin along. He will obviously pretend like he had Steve all figured out while they were doing it but Dustin doesn't have to know how clueless he actually feels about Steve right now.

“Alright Henderson, we’re meeting Friday after school at Steve’s place.”

 STEVE

Steve is aware that he's been avoiding Eddie but he also doesn't know how to stop. Eddie must know that something is going on so he decides to just keep his act going until they meet at his place on Friday. In the back of his mind a small part of him is screaming that this is a bad idea that will definitely backfire on him but he decides to ignore it.

He hasn't slept that much since Monday, first because of excitement as he realised this means he can spent more time with Eddie without having to come up with a reason, and then because of the dread that settled in his stomach at the thought of being really shitty at DnD. The nightmares also don't help at all. This all leads to Steve being incredibly exhausted when he prepares himself to chat with El Thursday night.

He's alone at home and while it's been nice to be with Robin last week while he did this, he's glad to be on his own today.

Robin has the annoying habit of talking to him while he's in the black in-between thing and it always takes him a lot of concentration to not let himself be pulled back by her words. Especially when he is incredibly tired, which is a constant since everything happened at Starcourt, first with the Russians and then the Mindflayer, less than three months ago.

He settles down on the ground in front of his bed, the radio in front of him and turned to a channel that is only spitting out static. Steve takes the bandana he uses as a blind fold and ties it around his head.

Before he met El he hadn’t done this very often. First because he didn’t want to spy on anyone and didn’t even know what exactly to do with this part of his abilities, and then because he had trouble actually shutting off the outside world enough to be able to focus on the in-between and nothing else.

It's been easier back in the lab but here there were so many noises and other impressions constantly beating around his head that it's been hard to focus on anything.

El showed him all the tricks she uses to use this ability and then they trained together and figured out that they could contact the other this way, and talk to each other when they both entered the black space. They will probably be able to contact others like them too, but El told him that Eight doesn't want anything to do with them and as far as they know everyone else is dead.

Died the day Steve escaped, running through the hallways filled with dead bodies. Steve has no idea how El survived that day but he never asked her. If she wants to talk about it she’ll tell him and maybe she just doesn’t remember it and he doesn't want to pull up any painful memories that are buried somewhere in her mind where she doesn’t have to remember them.

Steve shuts off his thoughts and focuses on the static. He lets his mind float away, lets everything around him fade away until he was standing in the black space, bare feet submerged in the water that always covers the ground. El is already there, sitting cross-legged a few feet away from him. She leans her head slightly to the side as she looks at him while Steve approaches her and sits down opposite her, mirroring her pose. “You’re late.”

Steve shrugs. He really doesn't want to talk about this and he really hopes that El won't see through him. She isn't one for social cues but she did grow up in the same environment as he did and can tell when he is hiding something. She is generally very good at being able to tell when someone is hiding something from her.

“I’m just tired.”

El nods with a serious expression on her face. Steve isn’t sure why but it's kind of adorable. “I have nightmares too.”

“I think we can open a club.”, Steve smiles at her and he hopes it looks reassuring. “How is school going?”

El sighs and she seems to deflate a bit. There is a sadness in her eyes that he hates and he desperately wishes he could wipe it away. But he can't because she is in California and he is stuck in Hawkins.

“The others don’t really like me, I think they can tell I’m different and weird.”

Steve leans forward when he hears that and pulls El towards him into a hug. “You’re not weird El, at least not in a bad way. I know this is easy to say but don’t listen to them. You’re so much better than them and they don't deserve you.”

He means it, every word he says. He's been King Steve for most of his time in school but he realises now that it's hard when you don't belong into the popular crowd. And El is the new weird girl from Indiana, it's no surprise that she is having a hard time.

“Did you tell Joyce about this?”, Steve asks into El’s hair. It nearly reaches her shoulders now and she'd recently told him that she wants to grow it out like Max’s hair. El shakes her head, face still hidden in Steve’s shoulder and arms firmly wrapped around him.

“El, if you don’t tell her I will, I’m not joking.”

She pulls back from him a bit. “But she can’t help, I have to do this on my own.”

Steve shakes his head and grabs her by the shoulders. “No, you don’t. She can help you figure out what to do, maybe even talk to your teachers if you want that. And even if it doesn’t help you’d have someone to listen.”

El frowns at him. “I have you.”

“That’s different, I’m not there with you.”

After a moment of hesitation El finally nods. “I’ll tell her.”

Steve smiles but he knows he can't trust her word on this anymore. El has been saying the same thing for three weeks now. “If you haven’t done it by next week I will call her, I promise you that.”

El nods and hugs him again. They saty like that for a while until El pulls back and sits down opposite him again. “Can you do me a favour?”

Steve nods without thinking about it. Whatever El asks of him he's learned over the last few weeks that her requests are always reasonable and by now he agrees to them without wanting to hear what it is first. It's been the same thing every week anyways.

“Can you bring some flowers to Hopper? Tell him they’re from me?”

There are tears gathering in her eyes and Steve quickly gathers her in a hug again. He can feel his eyes burning with unshed tears as well but he holds them back for her sake. “Of course I will, I’ll do it tomorrow after school, yeah?”

El nods into his shoulder and sniffs before pulling back again. There is a small smile on her face when she thanks him and as always when she asks him this, he tells her it’s no problem.

They separate after a while of just enjoying each other’s company when El tells him that Joyce says it's time for her to go to bed. They hug each other one last time before Steve watches El leave, then he leaves the dark in-between space himself.

Steve pulls the blindfold off and blinks a few times to adjust to the light, then he turns off the radio and looks around his room. It's already dark outside and a glance at his watch tells him that it's already approaching half past ten. It's longer than Joyce lets them talk normally but maybe she's noticed that El needed the time to talk to him. Absentmindedly, Steve wipes the trail of blood from under his nose away.

Originally Joyce offered him to join her and her family in California but Steve declined. He can't leave the kids alone in Hawkins, scared that some new monster will burst out of the ground at a moments notice. And he wants to finish high school in Hawkins, as dumb as it sounds.

He's glad that he made this decision because while Hawkins keeps reminding him of all the things he continuously has nightmares about, he enjoys the time he gets to spent with the remaining members of the party. And with Robin and Eddie of course. And sometimes even Nancy when she isn't too busy with school and the school newspaper and college applications and everything else.

And it's better this way anyways, to give El some space to become her own person. And to visit Hopper’s grave for her. Someone needs to do it and it might as well be him, after all if Steve had been a bit more insistent and went down into the base with Hopper, Joyce and Murray, he might have been able to save Hopper. But he didn’t because Hopper had benched him and Steve hadn’t even tried to complain and now Hopper is dead.

Steve knows it's stupid to blame himself but he can't stop himself from doing exactly that. Just like he blames himself for not saving Billy from the Mindflayer, causing Max so much more pain than she should ever have to experience.

Chapter Text

EDDIE

 Friday comes around faster than feels possible and Eddie, as much as he hates to admit it, is nervous. Steve has been more or less normal in school, has actually talked to him during lunch, but he still seems tense.

Eddie can't help but feel slightly guilty that Dustin wormed his way into their afternoon plans. Sure, he didn't explicitly said that it would be just the two of them but it isn't far off for Steve to think exactly that.

Classes rush by in a blur and Eddie knows that he needs to pay attention, that he can't risk failing any classes again. He really doesn't want to do a forth round, if it comes to that he’ll probably just drop out and skip town. Maybe go for a bigger city where no one will judge him for who he is.

The problem with that is that he's gotten very attached to certain people here in Hawkins, and he's only really known said people for a few weeks. Yeah, Eddie knows he's fucked.

He and Steve agreed to meet up in the parking lot of the school after classes and go to Steve’s place immediately after school. Eddie is leaning against his van waiting for him, and he doesn't have to wait long for him to show up.

As always Steve is surrounded by his gaggle of children, all three of the boys talking his ears off while Max trails behind them silently. Eddie isn't quite sure what's up with Max, he knows she didn’t have the best of time since Hargrove died but on the other hand, he knows that Hargrove was the biggest asshole to her so he isn't quite sure why she is still so down about it.

He can't judge of course and he decided not to ask. He's been thinking about asking Steve but then he started to avoid Eddie for the rest of the week so that doesn't seem like the best idea right now.

The boys finally stop talking when they come to a stop at the van and before Eddie can really comprehend what's happening Dustin calls shotgun for his passenger seat, not Steve’s.

“What are you doing Henderson?”, he asks with a confused tone.

Dustin just looks at him like it's obvious and says: “I’m coming with you to Steve’s.”

That gets the attention of the other boys and Eddie doesn't have to look at Max to know that she is rolling her eyes. He may not know her well but her interactions with the boys in the hallways are enough to clue Eddie in on the fact that while she likes them she is also incredibly annoyed by their antics.

He hears Steve sigh before he turns to look at him. “Actually Dustin, I need to take care of something before we wanted to meet so I’ll get all of you home first.”

Dustin groans, loudly, but Eddie is busy looking at Steve and trying to figure out what is going on in the other’s head. He didn't mention anything about postponing their plans. Maybe he wants to get out of it somehow and that’s why he's stalling? When Steve meets his eyes he shrugs. “I just need to do a favour for El, it won’t take long.”

Before Eddie can say anything Steve herds the kids into his car but Dustin refuses to move from the side of Eddie’s van, as if he's been glued to it or something.

“Don’t you want to join them?”

Dustin shrugs and crosses his arms in front of is chest. He has his gaze fixed on Steve as he gets into the car. “Can you take me, Steve will probably be done with his favour in an hour and I don’t want to bike to his place.”

Eddie shrugs, even though Dustin can't see it anyways. He has no idea what exactly is going on with Steve right now and maybe he can get something out of Dustin if he gives him that ride he’s asking for. He does seem to know more that Eddie at least so it can't hurt.

“Alright, fine. Get in Henderson, before I change my mind.”

Dustin doesn't wait for him to say it twice and rips open the door to scramble inside. Eddie looks over to Steve’s car one more time and meets Steve’s eyes. Steve seems almost grateful and it doesn't do anything against the ever growing confusion.

Steve leans out of the open window. “I’ll be home in about an hour, you can just wait for me there Dustin knows where the second key is.”

Eddie nods, a bit dumbfounded at the fact that Steve basically just told him it's fine when he breaks into his house. Not that he's going to complain. “Okay, see you there.”

STEVE

He’s not sure why he didn’t tell Eddie about what kind of favour he did for El. He already told him that she lived with Hopper and that he was close to them, so why doesn't he? Steve is pretty sure that Eddie won't mind postponing their plans a little so he can put some flowers on Hopper’s grave.

But he didn't tell him so he drives the kids home and then goes into the woods behind the cemetery to pick up some flowers. He knows that he could just as well buy some but the first time El asked him to do this she insisted that he picks some from the woods or some other place outside.

He can't deny her her wish so this has just become another weird routine he picked up after Starcourt. Maybe that’s why he didn’t tell Eddie, because he doesn't want to appear too weird or too easy to convince of things by a bunch of kids. Steve decides not to dwell on it.

He slowly walks the by now familiar path to the grave with the hand-picked flowers in hand. He hates being here, it reminds him too much of what has happened and it always makes him think of the possibilities if he had just insisted to come down into the base with them. Maybe he could have saved him, but Hopper insisted that he stays in the mall with the kids and even there he wasn’t able to save anyone. He let Billy die.

Steve kneels down in front of the grave, tightly clutching the flowers in his hand. He stopped caring about what people might think of him a long time ago, and there aren't many people regularly visiting the cemetery anyways so he started talking to Hopper's grave a while ago. At first he was hesitant to talk to the grave of a dead man but as stupid as it sounds it brings him comfort. As if Hopper can hear him here, despite the fact that there is no body buried here, there wasn't anything left to bury.

“El asked me to bring you some flowers again, I hope you like them. There probably won’t be any flowers left in this part of the woods if she continues to ask me the same thing every week.”, he lets out a weak laugh that sounds painful even to his own ears.

“I really wish you were here, she misses you. I miss you.”, the last part is more a whisper than anything else.

Steve doesn't know why but he almost feels like he isn't allowed to say it. Because Hopper was like a dad to El and Steve already has the Harringtons. He never meant to intrude on the both of them, but it just happened. They asked him to stay over, again and again, until he just didn’t leave anymore, until Hopper put a bed in the small loft of the cabin and Steve really didn’t have any excuse left.

Somehow Steve had felt more at home with them than he had ever felt with the Harringtons. He doesn't even want to compare it to the lab, everything is better than the lab. And now it's all gone again.

After Starcourt El attached herself to him and didn’t let go. For several days they were a package deal and he will be forever grateful that Robin just went with it, with everything that happened. That she just went along when they all got to the Byers’ house and just listened when he told her everything, some two nights later when El was asleep, her side pressed against his, head resting on Steve’s shoulder and a hand wrapped around his wrist. She had been clinging to him even in her sleep, unwilling to let go of him for the first few days.

Steve takes a deep breath, trying to calm down again. He didn't meant to get stuck on the memories of that night again but he can't help himself. Every week when he comes here he just has to think back to what happened before and maybe he should stop coming here, stop putting himself trough this but he can't. He has to do this for El because she can't come here herself.

He places the flowers down on the ground, in front of the headstone. The flowers from last week have already started rotting away so Steve picks them up and throws them to the side.

He stays there, kneeling on the ground in front of an empty grave with tears welling up in his eyes for a few more minutes before he gets up and begins the walk back to his car.

Like every week he doesn't look back as soon as he started walking.

EDDIE

It's weird, being in Steve’s house without Steve actually being there. He hasn't actually been here before and Eddie can't help but shudder at the empty feeling of that damn house. It looks like it comes straight out of a catalogue, like no one even lives in it. The only proof of living are the dirty dishes in the sink and a few pictures in the living room.

Eddie walks over to them, curious about what baby Steve might have looked like. There aren't any pictures of him where he isn't at least twelve or thirteen, which is weird. Eddie can't really judge because he doesn't have any pictures of himself younger as fourteen either but he has a good reason for that. The question is what kind of reason Steve’s parents have to just not have any pictures of a younger Steve.

Dustin steps up next to Eddie as he's looking at the photos.

“What are you looking at?”, he asks, curiously taking a look at them as well.

Eddie shrugs and stuffs his hands into his pockets. It isn't his job to pry into the mystery that Steve Harrington is turning out to be. “Nothing man, just thought there would be photos of like, a really tiny Steve, but I’ve been disappointed.”

Dustin looks at the photos for a moment longer before he shrugs. “I don’t know why there aren’t, didn’t really look at them before.”

He hears the front door open and turns around to greet Steve, because who else would it be. Dustin runs past Eddie into the hallway but he stays where he is. He can't see them but it isn't hard to hear them, Dustin is incapable of not being loud.

“Steve, where have you been?”

“Where have I been every single Friday since Starcourt, Dustin?”

Steve sounds tired, more than he did this morning in school. Something is definitely up so Eddie decides to slowly make his way towards the hallway as well. When he can finally see them he notices that Steve looks like absolute shit. And it looks like he's been crying.

Eddie files that information away for now, he will not ask Steve why he looks like he's been crying while Dustin is around, and leans against the doorway, trying to look as casual as possible. “You ready to start with your DnD journey, Steve?”

Eddie knows it's been the right thing to say when Steve smiles at him, it's small but Steve seems grateful for the distraction.

“Sure, but don’t complain if you have to explain things multiple times.”

Eddie shakes his head. “DnD is really not as complicated as you think.”

And Steve actually rolls his eyes, but his smile widens as well so Eddie counts it as a win. “So why do the little shits always make it sound like it is?!”

“We don’t, you just never listen.”, Dustin grumbles while he crosses his arms in front of his chest.

Eddie doesn't pay attention to him and just walks into the living room, letting himself fall down onto the expensive looking couch in a very ungraceful way. The other two follow him and Steve sits down next to him while Dustin settles on the ground looking up at him. He's practically vibrating with excitement and Eddie has to admit that he is kind of dreading what ideas Dustin is bringing to this.

“Alright adventurers, let us introduce Steve to the wonders of our world.”, Eddie says in his DM-voice, a big grin on his face. It's worth the snort he gets out of Steve.

Dustin grabs the character sheet they brought and puts it on the table in front of Steve. The frown that settles on Steve's face when he looks down at it is almost cute. “What exactly do I do with this?”

Dustin groans. “It’s a character sheet Steve, it’s were you put all the information about your character.”

The frown lifts a bit but Steve still seems confused. “Alright, but where do I start, there is a lot of stuff on here.”

And that's Eddie’s sign to step in before Dustin says anything stupid that will cut this short. As much as Eddie likes Dustin sometimes the kid doesn't think before saying something rude.

“It’s easiest to start with the race and class of your character, we can do the stats later.”

Steve nods and smiles at Eddie. He seems grateful for Eddie taking the lead on this before Dustin gets the chance to say something stupid.

“Dustin can you give me the book?”, Eddie says, looking over to the kid and stretching his hand out. Dustin grabs said book and puts it in Eddie’s hand without saying anything.

Eddie settles the book on his legs and opens it to the pages about character races. “Alright, first you’re gonna choose what race your character is going to be, but we can help you with that. You can just go with whatever you want it really doesn’t matter.”

There still is a small frown on Steve’s face but he also seems intrigued enough to lean forward and look at the opened pages. “What options do I have? I think it would be easier if you just tell me.”

That is all he's been waiting for so Eddie snaps the book shut again and looks over to Steve. The other startles at Eddie's sudden movement but he doesn't move away and Eddie really didn't anticipate how close their faces would be to each other when he looks back up.

He quickly leans back against the backrest of couch, remembering that Dustin is here with them. He really can't risk doing anything stupid while Dustin is here, he will never shut up about it.

“Okay so, there’s dwarfs, dragonborns, elves, half-elves, gnomes, halflings, half-orcs, humans and tieflings. There’s a few more but those are the basic ones we’re going for right now.”

Steve nods and he seems deep in thought for a moment, then he looks over to Dustin. “I really have no idea, too many options so… what do you say Dustin?”

It's as if someone had flipped a switch. Dustin sits up straighter and looks way too energetic for Eddie’s comfort. He seems like he already put a lot of thought into this and is now very excited that he can finally share with someone else.

“I thought Steve could be a human, but that may be a bit too basic, so maybe a dwarf. I really don’t know, I put a bit more thought into the class because I think-“

Eddie raises a hand before Dustin can drag them into territory they aren't even in yet.

“Let’s focus on race first, I agree with human. I mean, it is a bit basic but humans are easy to play which would be good for Steve since he’s never played before.”

He looks over to Steve who still seems a bit lost but there is excitement flickering through. “I have no idea what half of the things are that Eddie listed so human sounds great.”

Steve grabs a pen from the mess of books, paper and writing supplies that Eddie threw on the table when they arrived and writes human on the line that has race written in small print in front of it.

STEVE 

After the discussion on what race his character would be had been easy enough Steve has to discover that the rest isn't so easy. And that Eddie and Dustin had very different views on what kind of character would fit him.

“Dustin, for the last time why exactly do you think that Steve should be a sorcerer? What problem do you have with a fighter or ranger. Or even a paladin, Dustin, why are you so fixed on the sorcerer?”

Eddie has his face hidden in his hands and he sounds beyond exasperated. This discussion has been going on for so long Steve isn't even sure what the point is anymore. It is very clear that they won't come to a conclusion. And that this doesn't seem like his own decision.

“Why not, it would fit him. We always said that El is the sorcerer of our group, but now that she’s in California Steve can take her place.”

That makes Steve look up from where he had, hopefully in a not so noticeable way, stared at Eddie’s ring-covered hands. He did not pay too much attention to most of the discussion, happy to let them fight it out on their own, but the mention of El makes him curious. He's sure that he knows what Dustin’s logic is, he had heard this argument multiple times in a slightly different context.

“You are aware that El never actually played with you, right?”

Eddie looks up at that. “So why does he make it sound like she did?”

Steve shrugs. “Maybe Dustin is insane and just desperate for something that is not another bullshit reason.”, he says with a pointed look at the boy on the carpet.

He really hopes that his expression will give Dustin the hint to finally drop it before he says something stupid and reveals anything about Steve that Eddie isn't supposed to know.

“Alright, fine.”, Dustin says with a loud groan and lets his head fall back so he is staring upwards at the ceiling. “It’s getting late anyways so I should probably get home.”

And just like that the discussion is over and Steve is herding Dustin out of the house. It isn't too far to his house and it isn't dark yet so he forces him to walk.

After a few minutes of arguing Dustin finally gives in and starts walking. “Call me when you get home!”, Steve yells after him before he goes back inside.

Eddie is still sitting on the couch but he started gathering his stuff together. Steve lets himself fall down next to him again.

“You know you don’t have to leave, right? I know we didn’t exactly plan for Dustin to crash the character planning.”

Eddie finally stops what he's doing and leans back. They are eye to eye now and Steve can't help but look down at his lips, only for a short moment before he remembers that Eddie is just there, looking at him. He really hopes the other didn’t see where his eyes had strayed for a moment.

“I’m sorry I brought him along, he found out by accident and I didn’t have the heart to say no. I don’t think I would have been able to get rid of him anyways, he can be really insistent.”

Steve shrugs but it feels awkward leaning against the backrest.

“It’s fine, we can watch a movie or something?”

Maybe Steve is grasping at straws right now. He knows that he hasn't been very nice to Eddie the last few days but there is too much on his mind right now, and there have been the thoughts of regret, that it had maybe been the wrong thing to agree to Eddie’s idea.

The moment Steve decides to apologise Eddie has already wandered over to the Harrington VHS collection and starts browsing for a movie. After a few moments of silence he falls down onto the couch again.

“There is nothing but shit over there, where do you hide the good movies?”

Steve shrugs. “I don’t even know why we have them it’s not like my parents are here often enough to watch any of them.”

He didn't meant to let that slip out but now it's out in the open and he has no way to change anything about it. He fixes his gaze on the white ceiling above him, there is no way he will be able to look at Eddie right now. Fortunately Eddie decides not to open that particular can of worms right now and just further slumps down into the couch.

“You don’t have to tell me anything, my parents were major assholes too. It’s the reason I live with Wayne.”

They fall into silence after that. Eddie doesn't seem like he wants to elaborate and Steve doesn't need him to, the knowledge that they both have shitty parents is enough. It’s not important that they aren't really Steve’s biological parents and it’s not important what exactly Eddie’s parents have done for him to be living with his uncle.

After a while Steve turns his head and is met by Eddie’s warm brown eyes. It seems like Eddie was already looking a him for a while. Before Steve can say anything Eddie starts to talk.

“I’m really sorry if you feel like you have to do this, you know? You didn’t have to say yes to my suggestion and if you regret it or something you can still drop out, I know that you aren’t a nerd or something and you don’t have to be one to be friends with the kids, they understand it if you don’t always know what you’re talking about.”

Steve can't believe what is happening or what exactly Eddie is apologising for. Is he sorry for asking Steve to join the campaign? Or does he think that Steve agreed even though he doesn't really want to?

He interupts Eddie before he can continue saying stuff that just isn't true.

“Eddie, shut up. I didn’t say yes out of pity or whatever else you’re thinking okay? I’m sorry for not talking to you, I was freaking out over stupid shit and-“

And then Eddie interrupts him again, starts talking about how he would understand if Steve was only trying to play DnD with him and the others because he thinks he owes it to Dustin and because he thinks he needs to, to be friends with Eddie and Steve just can't take it anymore. For a very short moment Steve thinks about just kissing him, that would definitely shut him up.

But he doesn't, because that would never end well and he will be punched by Robin and Eddie, no matter how often Robin insists that Eddie won't do that. So he just puts his hand over Eddie’s mouth and that works just as well to shut him up.

Their gazes meet and Steve knows he will have to tell Eddie the truth about why he's been going out of his way to avoid Eddie, why he has regrets about his decision.

“Listen, Eddie, I was freaking out about agreeing because I thought you would just think I’m stupid when you find out that I don’t understand how DnD works. That I’m too dumb to figure out the game and then you’ll decide that hanging out with me really isn’t worth your time.”

Immediately after he says it Steve feels a bit lighter, like a weight has been lifted off his shoulders but at the same time it still hurts to admit this. He never planned on actually telling Eddie this, but Steve has the feeling that Eddie would have just continued to blame himself if he didn’t tell him the hard truth.

Steve doesn't even realise his hand is still clamped over Eddie’s mouth until he feels something wet on his palm and realises it's Eddie licking his hand. He pulls it back like he's been burned and he can feel his face get red. Eddie sits up so he can properly look at Steve again.

“It doesn’t mean you’re stupid if you don’t understand DnD, it’s just not for everyone. And if you decide not to play with us that’s fine, doesn’t mean I’m gonna stop hanging out with you.”

And Steve knows that, he really does, but he is also prone to worrying over stupid shit. He smiles at Eddie, thankful for his words. “Thanks,  knew it was stupid to worry but I couldn’t stop myself.”

Eddie shrugs. “It’s fine, I’m gonna make a nerd out of you one day Harrington.”

Steve shakes his head but the smile still won't leave his face. He's glad he got this off his chest now, it's one less thing to worry about. The fact that he feels the urge to just lean forward and kiss Eddie ever time he looks at him for too long is a completely different problem he’ll have to face later, now that this is off the table.

Chapter Text

EDDIE

There was blood everywhere, smeared on the walls and the floor and the doors. He had never seen a dead body before, not like this. There had been animals, cats and rabbits and rats mostly, but never people. Never human bodies.

He was running and he could hear something behind him, footsteps coming closer and no matter how fast he was running they didn’t stop and the hallway just wouldn’t end. Every time he reached a corner there was another hallway filled with blood and bodies, the bodies of doctors and nurses and the other children. There was no escape and no matter how fast he was running the footsteps just kept coming closer and closer and they were just behind him.

A hand grabbed his shoulder, turned him around and there was one of the orderlies, a mean smile on his face and one of the other numbers behind him. He didn’t know which one she was.

He ripped himself out of the orderlies grip and started running again, faster and faster until he finally reached the door. He ripped it open and there was fresh air and the sky. He had never seen the sky before.

The orderly and the girl were long forgotten again, pushed to some part of his mind that was locked away and just out of reach.

Eddie wakes with a start, his heart hammering in his chest. He frantically looks around the darkness until he realises he's in his room, with uncle Wayne probably sleeping in the next room. He is save.

He can't even remember what his dream was about, he just knows it has filled him with deep terror and the urge to run away. He is willing to take a bet that it's related to the lab, the deep seated terror that settles in his bones after a nightmare like this one always reminds him of the day he fled from the lab. He actually doesn't remember much from his time in the lab, mostly the experiments and when he was locked into one of the small empty rooms because he had gotten something wrong or disappointed Papa. He remembers flashes of the others, shaved heads and tired expressions, numbers tattooed on each of their wrists.

He mostly kept to himself. He was one of the oldest but he remembers that the others didn’t like him, the others his age. They were always mean to the younger ones and Eddie didn’t want to join them so they started being mean to him too.

It's weird, the way his memories are so full of holes. He can't remember their faces, but he can remember their attitudes. And he knows that they are all dead, everyone except him and that has to be a sick joke because why is he the one who survived? Why him?

He can vaguely remember some of the others though. There is one of the younger girls who suddenly became so much stronger than she had been before, a short time before he escaped. There were two boys younger than him that looked the same and liked to play with the toy cars when they were in the rainbow room. There was a boy only a bit younger than Eddie who got lost in his head sometimes but when one of the younger ones was scared or sad he was always there to comfort them.

He reminds him of Steve in a way but he is dead like all the others. He doesn't even remember his face, just like he doesn't remember the faces of any of the others. There was a girl who looked nearly the same as that boy, sometimes Eddie had trouble keeping them apart and he had only realised a long time after he got out that the two had most likely been twins, just like the two boys who looked the same and liked to play with the toy cars. 

Eddie sighs and swings his legs over the side of the bed. He keeps staring into the darkness for a bit until his eyes some to rest on his left wrist. Usually he’s wearing a wristband and a watch to cover the numbers now glaring back at him but he took them off last night to shower.

The wristband alone is big enough to cover the numbers so the watch is just a precaution. He never takes them off when he goes to sleep, doesn't want to be reminded of them but he forgot to put them back on last night.

Eddie can't help but stare at them now. 005. He thought about covering up the numbers with a tattoo but he can't do it himself and he knows others will ask questions when they see it so for now he doesn't do anything about it. But if he ever finds a tattoo-artist who he can trust to not ask questions, somewhere in a big city far away from Hawkins, where no one even knows him, he’ll do it in a heartbeat. Get rid of one of the last pieces of evidence that he has ever been inside that stupid lab to begin with.

The week drags on and on and the nightmares seem to be determined to accompany him through the whole week so Eddie wakes up every night with his heart racing and his eyes fixed on the dreaded numbers on his wrist. He thinks it's hilarious, that he's slowly turning into Steve, who also seems to be sleepless most nights.

The first Hellfire session for the new campaign, the one Steve will be joining, is on Friday so Eddie spends the extra time he gets by waking up from nightmares to plan everything as thoroughly as he can.

Steve never played before and Eddie has no idea how he will play so he wants to be prepared for every possibility.

On Monday he and Steve met after school to actually make Steve’s character since they didn’t really manage to do so on Friday with Dustin and his very important character class discussion. In the end they settle on a human paladin and even though Eddie knows that Dustin will have something against it Steve seems happy with what they did so he will gladly take Dustin on in another stupid discussion.

STEVE 

Steve can't bring himself to focus on his shift at Family Video on Friday. It's the day of his first DnD session with the Hellfire club and he's nervous.

Eddie gave him a rundown on how the game works and what to do with each of the dice and he also promised to tell him what he needs to do during the game. They had finally made a character for Steve that is not quite what Dustin kept trying to accomplish last Friday but Steve is pretty sure that he understands what the character does and what his role is within the group.

And really he doesn't know why he's so nervous because it's already going better than he thought it would and Eddie offered him an out again after this first session if he doesn't like it at all.

And it does go well. Everything is already set up when Steve arrives at school after his shift and the rest of the club is already gathered around the table.

He sits down and Eddie hands him his character sheet. He'd taken it with him on Monday to make sure that Steve won't forget it because he'll come over directly after his shift at Family Video and Steve is glad that he offered that because he might actually have forgotten it.

Eddie starts the session by asking everyone except Steve to introduce their characters and Steve listens with interest as they all introduce themselves. He doesn't feel bad about not being asked to introduce his own character, Eddie told him how he planned to play this because the others were already an established party and his character would just join them at a slightly later point of today’s session.

This later point comes when Eddie has the whole group gathered and Steve’s character joins them and Steve does his best to explain his character to everyone.

Dustin doesn't seem too happy at first but Steve gives him a stern look that makes Dustin shut up and as the story progresses the younger boy seems to forget about it.

Steve has more fun than he would have thought. He's a bit lost at certain points and he definitely doesn't appreciate the math involved in the game but he does enjoy it. And while he will never admit it he enjoys Eddie’s narrating voice. Steve can't quite pinpoint why but it sounds nice.

They finish the session after about three hours and Steve stays behind with Eddie while everyone else leaves the school building.

Steve knows Mike, Dustin and Lucas will wait by his car since he will drive all of them home, just like he did every Friday since the school year started and they all joined the Hellfire club.

“Can I help you with anything?”, Steve asks and Eddie looks up at him. He seems confused for a moment before he gathers himself. If Steve is honest Eddie looks very tired, like he hasn't been sleeping well but he isn't sure if he should say something about it.

After a moment Eddie nods and tells him he can gather the character sheets that are spread out all across the table. Steve starts doing just that but he keeps glancing over to Eddie while the other gathers the miniatures together. He really does look tired and Steve is no stranger to sleepless nights and nightmares and all that so he decides that maybe he should say something.

“Are you okay? You look tired.”

It's not the smoothest thing he’s ever said but Steve tells himself that it's fine.

Eddie hums. “Yeah, didn’t get that much sleep the last few days but I’m fine.”, he seems to hesitate then so Steve decides to wait and see what else Eddie wants to say.

He should have expected the other’s next words, considering what they are talking about.

“What about you, think I’ve never seen you not look at least slightly tired.”

Steve shrugs. “You get used to it.”

It's a lie, and a very obvious one. He meets Eddie’s eyes for a moment while he hands him the character sheets and he can see that Eddie doesn't believe him but he doesn't say anything about it.

They go outside together and Steve helps carry everything to Eddie’s van. Dustin, Lucas and Mike are standing by his car discussing something and Steve isn't close enough to hear what they are saying but it's definitely suspicious that they stop talking simultaneously as soon as they see them leaving the school.

Steve will definitely ask them about it later.

EDDIE 

He does not believe a word Steve said when he told him that you get used to it. You definitely do not get used to sleepless nights, especially because they don’t get easier, they just make you more tired every time. But Eddie decides not to say anything about it. Maybe Steve will tell him why he isn't sleeping one day, or maybe they will just continue like this.

Whatever option of the two it will be, he will take it. Eddie does have to admit that he won't tell Steve about his nightmares either. How do you explain growing up in a laboratory where they did human experimentation on children with superpowers? Yeah, no. That sounds too crazy, even for him.

 Somehow things become relatively normal again after that nightmare riddled week of sleeplessness. As normal as Eddie’s life can be now that he's friends with a bunch of freshmen and Steve Harrington, who is actually a great guy when you get past the jock exterior, and who turns out to have a scary amount of luck at DnD.

Eddie can still hear Dustin’s screams that Steve is somehow manipulating the dice reverberating in his ears while he's walking into Family Video the next day.

He agreed to Steve’s offer of joining his and Robin’s movie night which also means that Eddie has to pick out the movie, which brings him to the video store.

Since he hasn't been here often Eddie can't tell how busy the store normally is at this time on a Saturday but it seems pretty deserted to him. Steve and Robin are both behind the counter with their backs to the door and it looks like they are sorting trough piles of tapes. They either don't hear the bell at the door or decide to ignore it so Eddie silently makes his way towards the counter.

He really wants to use the opportunity to sneak up on them and scare them shitless. It may be an idiotic idea since he has no idea how they’d react to it but Eddie will definitely try it out, if only so he’ll know for future reference.

They still don't seem to be aware of his presence, too caught up in their conversation and even though it is rude considering that Steve is his friend Eddie decides it can't hurt to listen for a moment before executing his plan to scare them.

“Steve we’ve had this conversation so many times already and I’m telling you it’s hopeless and I’m not gonna do it because, guess what-“, Robin pauses for a moment but not long enough to give Steve the chance to respond. “it won’t get me anywhere. It’s hopeless.”

Steve bumps his shoulder into Robin’s while they continue to work side by side.

“It’s not hopeless Robin, she definitely likes you. She kept staring at you across the classroom while we had math yesterday.”

What Steve said sends Eddie’s mind reeling because is Steve implying that Robin likes girls? And just as important how did Eddie not see it? He definitely sees enough of Robin these days because she joins them for lunch from time to time and she is definitely not above dragging Steve away from him and the others during random breaks to talk about whatever.

Eddie didn't quite believe Steve’s claims that he and Robin were just platonic with a capital P but with this added detail it suddenly starts making a lot more sense. Of course Robin could only be able to resist Steve if she isn't interested in boys in the first place.

After his small revelation Eddie has to notice that he just missed a good part of the conversation while he was lost in thought and now has no idea what the two are talking about. They have definitely moved on to a completely different topic but Eddie hasn't payed attention. Now that his eavesdropping doesn't even make sense anymore Eddie finally executes his plan.

He jumps up onto the counter and swings his legs over it so he's sitting just behind Steve and Robin. While he does so he makes as much noice as possible which gets the reaction he wanted out of the other two.

Robin turns around with wide eyes and pushes a few tapes off the counter in the process while Steve jumps slightly when he sees Eddie and presses a hand onto his chest. They both look at him like he just summoned a demon or something.

Steve is the first who finds his voice again. “Holy shit, Munson, was that necessary?”

Eddie shrugs and grins at the two who still look a bit worse for wear. He decides to ignore Steve calling him by his last name, he can forgive him because Steve really looks spooked.

“Was it? No. Was it fun? Yes.”, he shrugs and thinks about mentioning how they maybe shouldn’t be so deep in conversation they don’t hear a customer walking in while they’re at work. He does just that. “Maybe you should be aware enough of people coming in while you work, don’t want the wrong people to hear your conversations.”

Eddie watches in amusement as both of their eyes widen and Steve seems to pale a bit. Which is interesting because he would have thought that Robin would be more worried about what Eddie might have heard.

She does turn out to be the one to ask about what Eddie is implying. “What did you hear?”

Eddie smiles at her and it's genuine this time, not overly theatrical like most of his smiles and grins tend to be when he wants to get a rise out of someone or annoy Steve.

“Don’t worry Buckley, your secret is save with me. Any chance I know the girl your pining over, I could give my expert opinion on your chances?”

He wiggles his eyebrows at her while he says it and he knows it's a risk because he is definitely heavily implying things here but this is Robin, apparent local lesbian who had accidentally come out to him just now because he was eavesdropping on a conversation between her and her best friend and he does feel kind of bad about it.

And maybe he can figure out if Steve would do anything drastic if Eddie did something like lean in too close and kiss him. Not that he is planing to do that but he doesn't have the best self-control at times. Based on Steve’s close friendship with Robin he probably won't do anything violent but Eddie would really rather be sure.

Robin is shaking her head at him while Steve looks very confused and Eddie isn't really sure why but he decides to ignore it for now. Before she says anything Robin looks around the store to make sure that no one else is around to hear him and then leans close as if she is sharing the biggest secret with him.

“I’ll take you up on that offer, from one queer to another. You know Vicky from band?”

Eddie nods. He does know Vicky from band, maybe not well but he can definitely put a face to the name, but that is also about where it stops for him.

“Gotta admit Robin, I can only judge by the few times I’ve seen her in the hallways. I’ve never actually talked to her.”

Robin shrugs. “It’s fine, your observations may be better than the shit reasons Steve is giving me.”

That finally seems to snap Steve out of whatever he has going on in his head while Eddie is talking to Robin.

“It’s not stupid Robin, I’m telling you she likes boobies.”

“Can you stop using that word Steve?! I still don’t like it, especially not out of your mouth.”

“What’s your problem with the word? It’s just a word.”

“Yeah, a stupid word.”

Eddie watches them bicker and it seems like this is a discussion the two of them have on a regular basis.

“What do you say, Eddie?”, Steve suddenly asks and Eddie is confused for a few seconds what exactly they are talking about when he realises that Steve wants his opinion on the word boobies. And hell no, he will not answer that.

Just as Eddie wants to tell him just that the front door opens and three giggling girls walk into the store, saving him from actually having to say something on the topic. And did Steve just not get the hint or did he really just ask a gay man what his opinion on the word boobies is?

Eddie hops down from the counter which places him on the same side of it as Steve and Robin and looks to the three girls who are now at the counter. They are in the same year as them, Eddie recognises them from some stupid class he has with all three of them. Two of the girls are pushing the third towards the counter and the girl glances nervously between Steve, Robin and Eddie before looking at Steve again.

Eddie should have known what is going to happen next but he somehow pushed the possibility to the back of his mind. The girl leans forward and places he arms on the counter, looking at Steve like she wants to jump him.

Robin grabs Eddie’s arm and pulls him over to the shelves, leaving Steve to fend for himself while still being close enough to hear the conversation.

The girl asks Steve if he wants to go out with her today, apparently there is also this party at a friend’s house they can go to after. Eddie watches silently and he can feel his blood boiling.

He knows he won't be able to do anything about it if Steve decides to go out with this girl, he has no right to stop Steve from doing so no matter what his stupid crush on the guy decides. He still doesn't have to like how the girl looks at Steve, like she just wants to jump into bed with him.

Robin seems to be able to sense his discomfort because she places a reassuring hand on Eddie’s arm and he smiles at her in thanks. She just nods and her eyes wander back to the counter. They seem to have missed some important part of the conversation because the girl and her friends look furious and then suddenly turn heel and leave the store.

Steve seems to breathe out a sigh of relief as soon as they are out of sight and Robin lets her hand slip off Eddie’s arm while she walks over to Steve.

“How bad was it this time?”

Steve just sighs and Eddie watches as he seems to deflate even more which he didn't think is even possible. He leans his head against Robin’s shoulder and just stares into space for a moment. He never answers Robin’s question but it seems like he doesn't need to.

Eddie feels like he is invading on some kind of intimate moment he shouldn’t witness, but he doesn't move from his spot by the shelves.

In his head Steve is still the ladies man that his high school reputation assigned him, but that seems to be a thing of the past even when the girls themselves haven't gotten the memo yet. It makes him wonder what exactly caused Steve’s fundamental personality change from high school jock to honorary nerd and mother-hen of four freshmen.

The last part isn't even Eddie’s words, said freshmen have just jokingly called Steve mom one too many times and it is now permanently branded into Eddie’s memory.

Chapter Text

STEVE

While Steve is talking to El the next Thursday, not even a week after Eddie decided that sneaking up on him and Robin while they are working is a good idea, he hears noises from downstairs.

Steve quickly tells El that he needs to go and that they can talk the following week. El seems confused for a moment but she seems to understand the sudden urgency so she agrees after making Steve promise to drop off flowers at Hopper’s grave again. He agrees like he does every week, it isn't even a thing she needs to ask of him anymore, he’d do it anyways.

He pulls the blindfold up over his head after what seems like an eternity but he knows that it actually hadn’t taken long to shake El off, the noises from downstairs are just making him nervous.

He knows that he is just paranoid sometimes, especially while he is talking to El and vulnerable to the outside world but there are definitely people in the hallway. He didn't hear a car but that doesn't really mean anything, sometimes he doesn't pick up on everything happening around him while he and El are hanging out in the in-between. And it could be the kids on their bikes.

He slowly opens the door to his room and creeps towards the stairs. He opted against the bat under his bed but only because he vaguely remembers that the Harringtons had been due to return last week but didn't turn up.

He is pretty sure that it's them, a week later than they told him, but back nonetheless. He really doesn't want to find out what they’ll do if he tries to attack them with a bat full of nails. Probably call the lab people and get rid of him, whispers a small voice at the back of his mind and as much as he hates it, Steve knows that it's probably right.

When he looks down into the hallway he ccan see the front door standing open and there are voices coming from outside. After a moment Mr. Harrington walks inside, a heavy looking suitcase in his hand. Mrs. Harrington follows after him, a small bag in her hand. Steve knows he can't hide from them forever so he starts walking down the stairs. He really doesn't want to talk to them but they will make him do so sooner or later anyways, better to just get it over with.

Steve joins both of them in the kitchen after descending the stairs as slowly as possible, trying to prepare himself for the inevitable. They are quietly talking to each other, not even noticing Steve until he greets them with a few words. There are two pairs of eyes on him then, boring into him. Mr. Harrington is the first to speak up again.

“I was informed your grades have been holding up, they better stay that way or you can pack your bags.”

Right to the point as always. Steve tries not to let it bother him but it still hurts. He knows that the man isn't his real father, but he's the closest he ever got to one. After stumbling out of the woods and being welcomed with open arms he had hoped. It had been a childish hope and most of it had died very quickly but a small part of him had been holding on to it for a long time. Had held on to it until Hopper basically adopted him into his weird little family and made him a room in his attic. But that is over now too and he has to deal with these two all over again.

He remembers belatedly that Mr. Harrington said else to him and asnwers before the man can take him not answering as personal insult.

“I know, and I’m sure they will.”

Mr. Harrington nods, seemingly satisfied with the answer. He doesn't seem to be in the mood to interrogate Steve right now and he's glad for it, he is too tired for it anyways and he can already feel a tension headache forming.

It's silent for a moment and Steve hates every second of it, the tenseness of the moment pressing down on him from all sides. But he waits because he learned his lesson a long time ago and never walks out except they tell him to because the last time he just left because he thought the conversation was over he had bruises on his torso for a week. After a while of them just standing there, Steve awkwardly hovering in the door and the Harringtons going about their own business, Mr. Harrington loolooksed up again. Their eyes meet briefly before Steve averts his own.

“Why is there blood under your nose?”, he asks, matter of factly but there is something dangerous buried beneath, a deep suspicion.

Steve tries to swallow around the lump that has formed in his throat. He forgot to wipe the blood away from under his nose after he hastily ended his conversation with El. It was so far from his mind while he thought that someone is possibly breaking into the house.

Steve shrugs and wipes the blood away with the back of his hand, his gaze firmly fixed on the ground. “It’s nothing, probably from the small nosebleed I had earlier.”

He hears Mr. Harrington get up from the chair at the table and walk over to him but he doesn't dare look up. A hand roughly grabs his chin, forcing him to look up and at the other man.

“Don’t lie to me boy, you used your abilities.”, it isn't even a question but Steve nods anyways. He doesn’t know how but somehow Mr. Harrington always manages to see through Steve’s lies, from the very first day Steve arrived at the Harrington’s house when he was twelve.

The hand tightens on Steve’s jaw and he wants to screw his eyes shut, prepare himself for the blow but another lesson he learned is that it will just be more painful when he looks away from the inevitable.

A hard blow lands in his stomach, forcefully punching the air out of his lungs. Steve gasps from the sharp pain that shoots through his abdomen. He doesn't dare say anything, instead he glances over to Mrs. Harrington who busies herself checking the fridge, probably to see what she needs to get when she goes grocery shopping.

It's just an excuse to ignore what is happening a few steps away from her, she's always done that. He looks back up at Mr. Harrington, he knows he can't expect any help from her.

A few more punches land in his stomach, each one pushing the air he painful sucked into his lungs back out and Steve tries to curl around it to stop them from coming but Mr. Harrington just roughly grabs his hair and yanks him upwards again.

EDDIE 

Eddie knows he should probably contain his excitement a bit more while he's walking to the next session of the Hellfire Club but he just can't help it, he is excited for what he has planned for today. It will be the third session with Steve and he has prepared for everything, even for Steve’s insane luck when it comes to getting good throws.

He is the first to arrive in the room they always play in after school hours and begins to set up everything. One after the other the other hellfire members start to come in and the room immediately erupts in excited chatter when Dustin and the other idiots came in. Steve is the last to arrive, a few minutes late and with a bruise on his jaw. Eddie can't help but stare at it for a moment, wondering what caused it.

Steve sits down in his usual chair to Eddie’s right, Dustin on his other side. He greets them briefly but doesn't say anything else and Eddie decides that it will probably be best to just start the session and ask Steve about it later, so he starts narrating and setting the scene from where he left off last week.

Eddie notices that Steve doesn't seem to be all there during the game. He still takes part and gets a few good throws that would have frustrated Eddie if he hadn’t been prepared for it. But it feels different, and he notices that Dustin, Mike and Lucas seem to try and make up for Steve being distracted from the game. He can't help but wonder if they know anything about what has gotten into Steve today.

After the game Steve offers to help him gather everything together like he does every week while the others already leave. Eddie can still hear Lucas and Mike’s voices echoing down the hallway while they are loudly discussing the villain that Eddie had hinted at this session.

He really would have liked to focus on that, maybe even make fun of them for being completely wrong but he is more concerned with Steve right now. Steve, who is silently gathering the character sheets and who still has a bruise on his jaw that definitely wasn't there yesterday.

A (possibly very) stupid idea flashes through Eddie’s mind and he really should think these things through before doing them but it's already out of his mouth before he can stop himself.

“You wanna come over to my place, maybe smoke something or watch a movie, or both.”, Eddie wiggles his eyebrows at Steve while he says the last part. The other boy looks up at him, a confused frown on his face.

“Are you sure, I know I’m not the best company today.”

Eddie shrugs. He will definitely not admit that he is inviting Steve exactly because of that. And because he is concerned and maybe Steve will tell him what is going on if they’re alone and relaxed from smoking and watching a movie. Yep, Eddie definitely doesn't have any ulterior motives here, not at all.

“I don’t mind, and it’s just an offer, you don’t have to agree.”

Steve shakes his head and glances down at the sheets in his hands for a moment before he looks up again.

“I’m in.”

Eddie can't help but grin when he hears those words and quickly grabs a strand of hair to hide his smile behind it.

“I’m assuming you’ll have to drop the kids off at home first?”, Eddie asks after a moment of them both gathering the last few things together. Steve nods and starts for the door.

“You know all too well that I’m their glorified taxi driver!”, he calls over his shoulder before he vanishes through the door, leaving Eddie behind. He really wants to call after him or something but the words are stuck in his throat. Did Steve really just walk out on him?

Eddie shrugs it off after a moment, sure that Steve just wants to get a head-start on driving the kids so Eddie won't have to wait for him for too long. At least that’s what he tells himself.

STEVE

He has to admit that he feels a bit bad about walking out on Eddie and then taking way too long to finally get to the trailer, but in his defence he does have good reasons for all of those things.

First, he had to drop off Dustin, Lucas and Mike, which takes its good time like always because they always want to discuss the day's session with each other and, now that he plays, with him as well. And then there is the fact that it's Friday and Steve has a promise to keep.

After getting everyone home safely Steve makes a detour to the cemetery for his weekly flower drop-off. He tries not to linger too long this time but he still can't stop himself from talking to Hopper’s grave for a bit.

He tells him about his week like he always does, about DnD and the kids and El and that Eddie had tried to scare him and Robin at work and that he also overheard their private conversation.

It starts raining at some point, just slightly more than a drizzle but it still manags to slowly soak Steve’s clothes while he is standing there to talk to a cold and lifeless stone. He knows it's very stupid and every week when he leaves he tells himself that he'll stop doing it and just put the flowers there for El but every week without fail Steve finds himself standing by an empty grave and telling it about his week again.

He only leaves when he can't stand the cold anymore, the rain picked up at some point and completely soaked his jeans and hair and he really can't justify standing there a moment longer, especially with the knowledge that Eddie is still waiting for him. If he is even still waiting, he might as well have given up on him already. Steve wouldn’t even be able to blame him.

Steve arrives at the trailer park after a few minutes of driving and he does have the mind to feel slightly self conscious about arriving there completely drenched and shivering but right now he just wants to get into a warm environment and his house definitely didn’t qualify as that at the moment, not with the Harringtons at home.

As soon as Steve gets out of his car the door to the trailer opens and Steve can make out Eddie’s silhouette standing in the doorway, illuminated by the light from within the trailer. Since it's still raining Steve doesn't hesitate to get over to the open door and inside.

He is immediately met by Eddie’s big brown eyes that are filled with concern and yeah, okay, Steve does feel a bit stupid about the state of his clothes now because there is no reason for him to stay out in the rain for so damn long.

Before he can say anything to explain himself, Eddie vanishes into the bathroom and throws a towel at him while passing him again to get to his room. Steve just stands there, rooted to the spot and clutching the towel like a lifeline. He only realises what is really happening when Eddie comes back after what can only have been a few seconds but feels like an eternity at the same time and gives him a shove in the direction of his room.

“Go change in my room Steve, I put some clothes that should fit you on the bed.”

Steve needs a moment to comprehend the words before he finally gets his legs to start walking. He only really starts registering what he is doing when he closes the door behind him and finds himself standing in Eddie’s chaotic room.

He realises that he has never been inside it before, and he definitely hadn’t planned for the moment he first sees it to be like this. After a moment of leaning against the door and trying to get his whirling thoughts back under control Steve slowly stands upright again and walks towards the bed where Eddie had laid out some dry clothes.

He starts getting out of the wet clothes and dries himself off, with every second that passes he feels more and more like himself again.

EDDIE 

He has no idea what he expected when Steve took about one and a half hours to finally get to the trailer after leaving DnD, but it was not for him to show up looking like a drowned cat.

Eddie really has no idea how else to describe the state Steve had been in when he showed up at his doorstep. A drowned cat that has no idea how it ended up in that state. Steve looked so incredibly lost standing there in the doorway, just staring at the wall of the hallway but seemingly not quite comprehending where he is or what he is doing there.

Eddie is incredibly glad that Steve seems better and more in his right mind again when he finally emerges from Eddie’s room and comes into the living room where Eddie is sitting on the couch, anxiously waiting.

He drops down next to him and they sit in silence for a moment, Eddie is unsure what to say and Steve seems to be thinking something along the same lines. Eddie can't stand the silence for long so he decides to say something.

“What happened?”

He knows the question is a bit stupid as soon as it leaves his mouth. It can mean so many different things. But Steve seems to understand what he means regardless as he answers after only a moment of hesitation.

“Remember how I told you that I was kinda close to Hopper because my cousin lived with him?”

Steve seems to need a confirmation so Eddie nods and hums in affirmation so the other continues.

“I talk to her every Thursday and every week she asks me to put some flowers on his grave, which I do every time, I’ve done it every Friday since she moved away with the Byers. So, I went to the cemetery after getting the kids home and the rain surprised me, I guess.”, he hesitates for a moment, it seems like he wants to say more so Eddie keeps his mouth shut.

He slowly moves his arm around Steve’s shoulders, pulling him closer. Offering some comfort because he remembers the last time Steve talked about Hopper, he had seen the deep sadness in his eyes at the time. Steve takes a deep breath before he continues. “I do this stupid thing where I just stay for a while and talk. I always imagine that I’m talking to him so I tell him about my week. I know it’s stupid because there wasn't even a body to bury but I still can’t stop myself from doing it.”

Eddie nods. He understands, in a way. Steve seems to have been closer to the chief than Eddie thought at first, but he can understand that he has the need to somehow talk to the man, even if it is just his grave because the man himself isn't around anymore.

“I don’t think it’s stupid.”, the words are out of his mouth before he can think it through but it seems to be the right thing to say because Steve relaxes further against him, laying his head down on Eddie’s shoulder.

If this was any other situation he probably would have felt giddy at the thought that he and Steve are basically cuddling on his couch but now really isn't the time to overthink his crush on the guy, not when he seems to be going through some shit.

He has no idea when he fell asleep, or when Steve fell asleep. For a moment Eddie isn't even sure what woke him up, he didn't have a nightmare for once so there isn't really a reason. Not until he notices that Steve has tensed up at his side, still asleep and head laying on Eddie’s shoulder. It looks like he is having a nightmare and Eddie has no idea what else to do but to wake the other up.

Steve flinches when Eddie touches his shoulder to try and shake him awake but he forces himself to ignore it. The priority is to get Steve to wake up. So he continues shaking his shoulder and talking to Steve, trying to pull him out of whatever dream he's stuck in. And somehow it works pretty well, Steve eyes snap open after a moment.

That’s when it all starts to go to shit.

As soon as Steve is awake he jerks upwards and into a sitting position, hitting Eddie in the chin in the process. While Eddie is still a bit dazed from the hit and his aching jaw Steve gets up and somehow gets himself into the corner of the room, cowering there and surveying his surroundings like some kind of monster could jump him at any moment. And Eddie has no idea what to do.

He is pretty good at dealing with his own nightmares, but with those he always know what causes them. He has no idea what has Steve so freaked, or how to help him.

Hell, he has no idea how he can help Steve. He knows that everyone reacts differently, so either touching him will snap him out of it or make it worse.

In the end Eddie decides to stay on the couch and keep an eye on Steve while he waits for him to snap out of it by himself. It isn't ideal but Eddie doesn't want to make it worse. And Steve isn't hyperventilating or anything so he seems to be relatively save for now.

After a while, Eddie has no idea how long because it's still dark out and there is barely any light in the room so he can't see the clock on the wall either, Steve blinks a few times and then looks round he room.

His stance seems to relax a bit and when his gaze lands on Eddie, all the tension seems to leave his body. Eddie feels beyond relieved because it seems like whatever episode Steve had is finally over and he slowly gets up from the couch and sits down on the ground in front of Steve.

They look at each other for a while, neither of them saying anything until Eddie feels like he should say something. They really don't need stay on the ground the whole time and if he is honest, Eddie really wants to get some more hours of sleep in his own bed.

“Wanna go to sleep? We can share my bed if that’s alright, I don’t really want to leave you on the couch right now.”

Steve seems to need a moment to comprehend what Eddie said but then he nods. “Sure, I don’t mind.”

Eddie feels a smile creep onto his face and gets up before stretching out a hand towards Steve. The other grabs it readily and Eddie pulls him to his feet, nearly making him collide with his chest.

They slowly make their way down the hall, one of Eddie’s hands hovering near Steve’s back because the other seems even more exhausted than when he showed up on his doorstep earlier and his orientation also seems a bit off. That one isn't surprising considering that this is only the third time Steve is inside the trailer.

Somehow, Eddie manages to get both of them into bed and he is glad that any lingering awkwardness that might have been there is eliminated by the fact that they are both just incredibly tired and only want to sleep.

Steve is out as soon as his head hits the pillow and Eddie spends a few minutes watching him sleep, feeling a bit like a creep while doing so, before falling asleep as well.

STEVE 

He wakes up to sunlight shining on his face, gently pulling him out of sleep. Steve keeps his eyes closed, unwilling to have to acknowledge the world around him. He vaguely remembers the nightmare from last night, and Eddie pulling him to bed afterwards. The other probably thinks the worst of him now, that he’s broken or something for overreacting like that to a simple nightmare.

He’d really prefer to stay like this for a moment longer, in the warmth, his legs somehow tangled with Eddie’s so much that he’s not sure where his end and Eddie’s begin. He feels Eddie moving beside him and Steve already braces himself for what would happen next.

Eddie realising how close they are, remembering the mess Steve had been yesterday and kicking him out. He really wants to stay in this little bubble of comfort for a while longer before the unavoidable disappointment hits.

Steve is surprised when he feels fingertips brushing against his temple, brushing the hair away from his forehead. Why would Eddie do that?

He finally opens his eyes, just to see if he is maybe dreaming, imagining the gentle touch. He is met with Eddie’s big, deep brown eyes staring at him. Steve is sure that if he just stares long enough, he can get lost in those eyes.

Then there is Eddie’s hand again, brushing against his cheek now. He doesn't seem to have any specific reason for it and Steve can't help but lean into it. The negative thoughts that were occupying his mind a moment ago seem to all float away with every gently brush of Eddie’s fingertips against his cheek.

Neither of them say anything, just staring at each other and Steve never wants this moment to end. Never wants to face this perfect moment and face a reality where Eddie might possibly try to distance himself from him because Steve’s life is way too messy for him to be apart of after all. Before he can think it through he leans forward and presses his lips to Eddie’s.

Robin will definitely punch him. That is the first thought that enters Steve’s head when their lips connect. The second is, that he is absolutely fucked because this could never end well.

The third, nearly secondary thought that crosses his mind is, that he really likes the feeling of Eddie's lips on his. He doesn't know how he could have ever doubted his attraction to the other, it seems so clear to him in this moment.

EDDIE 

He's been thinking about just kissing Steve for days, even weeks, now, but he's been too scared to do so because he might get punched for it.

He resigned himself to just friendship because their friendship is more important than his stupid, definitely unrequited crush. He really wants to kiss Steve in that moment, illuminated by the golden rays of sunshine that are streaming in through the window.

He really wants to but he holds himself back because he really doesn't want to loose Steve. Eddie can't stop himself from brushing the hair off Steve’s forehead and when the other opens his eyes he wants to pull his hand away, but it feels like his body isn't listening to his mind. Like his hand is glued to Steve’s cheek.

And then Steve surges forward and kisses him.

STEVE 

This will definitely not end well, not with the life Steve has.

But in this single moment it doesn't matter because a second after Steve’s stupid decision to kiss Eddie, he kisses back, presses his lips back against Steve’s.

It only lasts for a few seconds, but it's enough for now. It's so different but at the same time it feels the same. He is kissing a boy, he is kissing Eddie Munson. And his worries can wait for a moment.

EDDIE 

Eddie still can't comprehend that Steve is kissing him, but it's definitely happening as Eddie presses his lips back against Steve’s. He doesn't try to deepen the kiss and Steve doesn't try to either. After some time that is both long but not nearly long enough they both pull back a bit.

Eddie stays close and he can feel Steve’s breath ghosting over his skin. He wants to stay here forever without having to face reality. There is no way he could actually get to do that.

A small part of him is waiting for Steve to freak out, to realise what he just did and bolt. To never talk to Eddie again because Steve Harrington is straight. Right?

“Are you okay with this?”, Steve whispers into the quiet and Eddie can't help but chuckle. Eddie never thought that Steve could be so blind, could not connect the dots already. Couldn’t see that Eddie is not the one who needs to be asked this question.

“More than okay, never thought you’d be though.”

Now it's Steve’s turn to chuckle. “Why not?”

Eddie leans back a bit, just far enough so he can see Steve’s face, to tell if the other is serious or not. Based on his expression, the genuine confusion on his face, he is.

“I was sure you’d punch me in the face if I tried to kiss you. I never thought…”, he trails off while he says the last part, not sure how to end that sentence.

He can't look away from Steve, can't believe this was happening. But he knows Steve well enough by now to know that he isn't making fun of him, that this isn't a very cruel prank. He might have thought exactly that if this had happened three years ago, when Steve was still King Steve. But not now, never now.

“Guess we’re both idiots then.”, Steve whispers into the space between them.

And he is smiling, it is so wide it's spread over his whole face. Steve seems better than he had last night, so much better. And if this is what it takes, Eddie will gladly kiss him every day for as long as Steve allows him to do it. Just to keep that smile on his face.

STEVE 

Steve just stares at Eddie as a soft smile spreads over the face of the other. He never thought this would actually happen but as he said, it seems like they are both idiots. Eddie leans towards him again and Steve can't help but meet him halfway, closing his eyes as he does so.

Just like that, they are kissing again, lips pressing against each other. Steve moves his hand to Eddie’s cheek, just to have another point of contact to the other. There is no urgency to the kiss, they have all the time in the world. At least that’s what it feels like right now, in their own little bubble away from reality. If things ever go Steves way, he’ll never leave it.

They part some indiscernible time later but neither of them moves far. Somewhere along the way Steve’s hand had moved from Eddie’s cheek into his hair while the other grabbed the front of his shirt. Eddie’s hand is still on Steve’s cheek, the other has a firm grip on the back of his neck, as if he is scared to let go.

Steve leans his forehead against Eddie’s. “I’m not going anywhere.”, he whispers into the quiet of the early morning. Eddie hums and Steve can feel the vibration through the hand fisted in Eddie’s shirt.

“Still not sure if I’m hallucinating or not.”

Steve untabgles his hand from Eddie’s hair then and rests it on Eddie’s cheek again. He moves his forehead away from Eddie’s to be able to actually look at the other, making their eyes meet.

“You’re not.”

Then Steve moves forwards again, kissing Eddie and he realises in that moment that he never wants to be anywhere else but here, with Eddie, being as close to him as he can possibly be. Steve is definitely fucked.

Chapter Text

STEVE

Steve has never been more glad for not having to work on a Saturday than today, if it goes his way he will never leave this bed at all. He is amazed by how save he feels in Eddie’s arms, in the warmth of his messy bedroom. He can't bring himself to regret kissing Eddie, not when the other kissed back with just as much enthusiasm as Steve.

They've just been lying in each others arms for a while now and Steve can't help but get lost in Eddie’s eyes every time he looks at them. He is running his hand through Eddie’s wild locks, even more out of control after sleeping, the movement almost subconscious by now.

“Hey Steve, can I aks you something?”, Eddie breaks the silence.

Steve nods. Whatever Eddie wants to now, he will be glad to answer. Eddie's hand wanders to the side of Steve’s face, resting on his jaw and lightly stroking it with his thumb.

Steve knows exactly what is there, just below the part of his chin that Eddie is touching. “What happened?”

Steve feels the sudden urge to pull away but he stops himself before following through with it. The more rational part of his mind tells him that it isn't surprising for Eddie to ask, that he is most likely just concerned for him.

Still, Steve hesitates. He really doesn't want to dump all of the shit the Harringtons do to him every time they are home on Eddie. He doesn't want to lie either. And that is what really makes up his mind, that he doesn't want to lie to Eddie. He knows that he will have to lie about so many other things, his childhood, the Upside Down and the monsters, at least for this Eddie deserves his honesty.

“My dad.”, he whispers and closes his eyes.

He doesn't want to see whatever expression will be on Eddie’s face, not now at least. Eddie’s hand is moving, coming the lay against his cheek instead of his jaw. Then Eddie moves closer, pulling Steve closer until they are hugging while still lying down. He can feel Eddie pressing a kiss into his hair.

“I’m sorry.”, Eddie whispers into the quiet of the room and Steve relaxes against him. He doesn’t even know what he expected to happen, why he was so scared to admit it.

His fears have been completely irrational and now that Eddie is just holding on to him even more tightly than before he allows himself to melt into the touch and forget that the Harringtons are home for just a moment.

He tries to ignore the bruising on his ribs and stomach for the time being, he doesn't want Eddie to see how bad it can get just yet.

After a while Eddie breaks the silence, moving away just far enough so he can look at Steve and their eyes meet. “If you ever need a place to stay while they’re in town, you can always come here.”

Steve nods, burying his face in Eddie’s chest again.

“Thanks.”

EDDIE 

Eddie doesn't know what else to do but hold Steve tight and show him that he’s there. He suspected that it's something like that, simply because he knows that Steve hasn't been a part of any fights recently, hadn’t been since the school year started and he became part of his little gang of nerds.

So the bruise was suspicious, and paired with Steve being weird the whole day Eddie really can't say he is surprised when the other admitted that the bruise is a curtesy of his dad. Offering a place to stay if he needs it seems like the least he can do.

They stay in bed the whole morning, Eddie knows Wayne is already home, had come in at some point while he and Steve were still on the couch, Steve already asleep. Wayne had just raised a brow at him when he saw them but didn’t say anything, just went to his room with a slight shake of his head.

Eddie will be eternally grateful for having the man in his life. At least until said man knocks on his door and shakes them out of their little bubble of warmth.

“You guys want breakfast? Or lunch, I guess, it’s kinda late already.”

Eddie huffs a laugh but he notices how Steve has tensed up next to him when he heard Wayne’s voice. Suddenly his first reaction when Wayne came home while they were smoking on the couch makes a lot more sense than it had at the time.

“We’ll be there in a minute!”

His uncle doesn't answer but he can hear him walking away from the door. As soon as he is gone Eddie directs his attention back to Steve who is still kinda rigid at his side, face buried in Eddie’s chest. He touches his shoulder and gently pushes on it so Steve has to look up at him. He needs to make sure that Steve actually understand what Eddie is about to say to him.

“Uncle Wayne knows about me and he’s cool with it okay? We don’t have to let him know but he will suspect something anyways, especially when you come over more often.”

Eddie can see the gears turning behind Steves eyes, can see the small frown forming on his face that he immediately tries to hide. After a while he gives Eddie a small nod and smiles up at him. The smile is small and seems strained but Eddie takes it.

“Okay.”, he pauses and it seems like he wants to say more so Eddie waits, doesn't do anything but start stroking Steve’s cheek with his thumb, careful not to touch the bruise that is still prominent on his jaw. “Can we not tell anyone yet? I’m going to tell Robin because we tell each other everything but no one else?”

Eddie can't help the small smile that overtakes his face at Steve’s words. Over the course of knowing Steve, actually knowing Steve and not just knowing of him, he's learned one thing very early on. And that is that Steve and Robin come as a double deal.

If he didn’t know better Eddie would have thought the two are dating, but Steve has always insisted that they are just friends and ‘platonic with a capital P’. Eddie didn’t really believe it at first, which was aided by Dustin’s frustration over their insistence that they weren’t dating because the freshman was just totally sure of the fact that they are. But overhearing Steve and Robin’s conversation a week ago has put a bit of perspective on that and now Eddie just feels stupid for not getting it sooner.

Apart from that he’s pretty sure that something must have happened to bring those two together as closely as they are but he has decided not to ask. Not yer, at least. If Steve ever wants to tell him he can do that and Eddie will listen, but if he doesn't Eddie won't mind either.

“I don’t mind keeping this secret, it’s safer anyways. Just wanted you to know that Wayne will definitely figure it out at some point.”

Steve nods before hiding his face in Eddie’s chest again. Eddie lets him, at least for a moment. He knows Wayne is not above just coming in to check he didn’t die in his sleep or something if they don’t show up soon.

"Come on, we should get up. Wayne’s making breakfast and I don’t want to make him wait.”

He just gets another nod in response, one that he feels more than he is able to see it.

Steve seems a bit laid back during breakfast but that isn't really a surprise considering the state he was in yesterday and that he doesn't really know Wayne and is probably still a bit worried about what he will think.

Eddie can understand but he also knows that Steve’s worries about his uncle are entirely unfounded because Wayne already knows anyways. As soon as Eddie managed to drag Steve into the kitchen Wayne had given him a look and that is all Eddie needed to know that his uncle connected the dots.

He gave a small nod in his direction, to indicate that he is right and then the topic isn't broached again while they are in the kitchen with Steve. Steve doesn't even seem to notice the silent conversation that happened right in front of him.

He really doesn't mind that Wayne already figured it out, it isn't like he can keep something like this a secret in the small trailer they live in. When he first came out to Wayne, about a year ago and not quite voluntarily, he'd just smiled and pulled him into a hug. Told him that he suspected but wanted to wait until Eddie told him himself.

Since then Wayne had made clear that Eddie could do whatever he wants in that regard as long as he stays save and keeps any incriminating things out of Wayne’s sight. Eddie is very determined to keep his side of that bargain.

STEVE 

Breakfast is kind of awkward, at least for him. He isn't sure if Eddie is feeling the weird energy too or if he is making it up, but he definitely catches the glances Eddie’s uncle will sneak at him from time to time. And he definitely catches the silent conversation between the two of them just after they entered the kitchen, but he pretends that he doesn't. Apart from that it isn't so bad and when they are done Eddie just grabs him by the wrist and pulls him back to his room.

As soon as he door is closed Eddie goes over to his cassette player so Steve decides to just sit on the bed and wait while Eddie puts on some music. He has no idea what Eddie puts on but it isn't as bad as he expected, not as loud and metal as the stuff he always hears blasting out of Eddie’s van when he pulls out of the school parking lot. He also doesn't turn it up as much as he probably would normally so it's nothing more than some background noise.

“Can we talk about this morning?”, Eddie cuts right to the topic while he lets himself fall down on the bed. Steve frowns at him, not entirely sure what the other is talking about.

Does he mean that he admitted his dad caused the bruise on his jaw? Or that he wants to keep this a secret? The kiss? Before he can even start to panic Eddie shuffles a bit closer so their shoulders are touching. It stops the pile of questions from growing any bigger but it doesn't answer anything. “Eddie?”

Eddie doesn't answer, just starts fiddling with his rings and Steve watches him for a moment before he finally manages to raise his gaze again and sees the nervousness on Eddie’s face. He puts his hand down on Eddie’s, stopping his fiddling. “What do you mean?”

Finally, Eddie lets go of his rings and turns his hand palm up to lace his fingers through Steve's. He didn't expected that but he likes the feeling of it. Eddie’s hand tightly holding on to his.

“What is this to you?”, he nods down to their hands before meeting Steve’s eyes again. “I like you, Steve, I really do. That’s why I want to make sure that we’re both on the same page about this.”

Eddie chuckles then and shakes his head, breaking the eye contact that was getting more intense with every passing second. Steve can't really stop the next words from tumbling out of his mouth. They are the first thing that comes to mind in that moment and sometimes he really wonders if Robin’s lack of a brain-to-mouth-filter is contagious.

“I like you too.”, he swallows past the lump that has suddenly taken residence in his throat.

Why is this so hard? He wanted this for weeks now, had wondered what it would be like to kiss Eddie, to be close to him like this. And it really seems like Eddie feels the same so he really shouldn’t be as nervous about this as he is. But this is also new to him. Sure, he dated a few girls, was with Nancy for nearly a year. It being a boy instead of a girl suddenly makes all of this way more terrifying, but not necessarily in a bad way.

Something occures to him then, that maybe Eddie thinks that he just did it to try. To see if he'll like it and then forget about it because they’re friends and Eddie will never tell. And that is definitely no what Steve wants from this.

“Listen, if you think this is just me experimenting or something ,it’s not. I’ve known for a while that I like guys too I just never did anything about it.”

Steve doesn't look at Eddie, for some completely stupid reason he's terrified to look at him right now, to see the expression on his face.

Eddie chuckles again and bumps his shoulder into Steve’s. “That’s good to know. I was just…concerned, I guess, because you always seemed like the straightest guy in Hawkins. Especially with the King Steve shit.”

Eddie squeezes his hand a bit tighter and Steve looks over to him again, only to be met by the side of his face. The wild locks falling into his face and the way the sun reflects in his deep brown eyes makes Steve want to lean in and kiss him again, but he holds himself back. They are still having a kind of serious conversation after all and it seems like Eddie is still waiting for something.

Their eyes meet when Eddie suddenly looks to the side and that is when Steve realises that Eddie is waiting for him to say something. He has to take a moment to think back to what Eddie said last, too caught up with staring at Eddie. “I’ve really put that stuff behind me, I swear.”

He really has, and if he needs to remind Eddie of it every single day so that he won't forget it he absolutely will. Eddie’s eyes are twinkling, and Steve isn't sure if it's just the light or if Eddie has just come up with something Steve will peobably not like. His fears turn out to be completely justified when Eddie lets go of his hand and scrambles off the bed only to land in a heap on the floor because his foot somehow got caught in the blanket.

He gets up and onto his knees just as Steve reaches the edge of the bed to peer down at him and make sure he didn’t hurt himself.

There is a small and mischievous smile playing around Eddie’s lips when he suddenly grabs Steve’s hands and looks up at him, something like determination in his eyes.

“My dear Steve, we shall meet in secret for our love is forbidden, but we shall persevere and prove those, with too small of a brain to see, so very wrong. We shall creep in the shadows as long as it is needed, the former king and the town freak, united in an unlikely bond. So will you accept the terms of being my boyfriend, sweetheart?”

And just like that every single thought that has ever been present in Steve’s brain is just gone, evaporated into thin air. There is just a stupid grin spreading over his face and a deep fondness for the dork in front of him settling deep in his bones. Instead of answering he just leans forward and kisses him.

They only pull apart again when they need some air to breathe and Steve tries to use that moment to pull Eddie back onto the bed but he resists and instead gets up and stumbles, while somehow still looking graceful, over to the bookshelf. Only when Eddie falls down onto the bed with a book in his hand does Steve realise what he is doing, still a bit dazed from the kiss and lack of oxygen to comprehend it sooner.

Eddie sits with his back against the headboard and Steve joins him without hesitation, leaning into Eddie’s side and trying to absorb as much of his warmth as he possibly can. As soon as they were situated Eddie holds out the book to him and Steve takes it reluctantly.

It’s not that he’s totally against books but he just doesn't like reading them. The letters tend to swim across the page when he tries to focus on them and if it had only started like two years ago he would have blamed the possible brain damage he has from multiple concussions. But he has always struggled with reading, and maybe it has something to do with the fact that he only learned it really late because the lab didn’t really care about basic education and only taught them as little as possible or maybe his brain is just weird like that. It doesn't matter why, he just knows that he has a bit of a problem with reading in general and it makes the copy of The Fellowship of the Ring seem more intimidating than it has any right to be. He doesn't want to let Eddie down since he seems like he really wants him to read it, but he really isn't sure if he can manage to read more than a few pages at a time and that will probably make it really unenjoyable.

Steve hasn't even said anything but Eddie seems to read his silence the absolute wrong way. “Listen, if you don’t want to read it you don’t have to, but I’d like for you to read it. Those books really mean a lot to me so I thought maybe you’d like to know them as well and-“

Steve leans over and presses a quick kiss to Eddie’s lips to stop him from digging a hole for himself. His hesitancy to tell Eddie why he doesn't want to read the book is thrown out the window the very same moment.

“I want to read it, Eddie, but I just struggle with focusing on reading for too long. The letters just start bleeding into each other after a while and that’s pretty much the reason why I failed my English class last year, not that that’s important.”

Damn Robin and her contagious lack of filter, he's already said more than he wanted to. He pushes a hand into his hair, trying to downplay how nervous he is over admitting what he just had and probably messing it up even more. “I can still try but I’ll need a really long time till I’m finished.”

He adds it as a bit of an afterthought and it isn't much more than a whisper. Eddie hears him anyways and gently tugs the book out of his hands again. He places it next to him on the mattress and slings an arm over his shoulders, pulling Steve closer.

Steve goes with the movement and rests his head on Eddie’s shoulder. He didn't noticed how tense he'd gotten until Eddie starts stroking a hand through his hair, making Steve relax further into him.

“I can read the book to you if you want?”, Eddie whispers into the comfortable silence that has spread over the room. “That way I can see your reactions.”

And Steve can hear the grin that for sure spreads across his face right now and maybe he should feel some apprehension at that, but he doesn't. He just lets himself sink a bit further into Eddie and lays his head down on his shoulder. “Sure, why not.”

When Robin opens the front door to let Steve in he immediately knows that she knows that something is up. Steve doesn't even need to tell her for her to know that something happened because he can see it clearly on her face. And he probably still has a stupid (maybe slightly lovesick) smile on his face, telling her exactly what is going on.

It's already evening and dark out, which isn't surprising for the end of October, and Steve came to her immediately after leaving the Munson trailer. After Eddie read Lord of the Rings to him for who knows how long he tried to get him to stay, telling him he can stay as long as his parents are home, which they definitely still are but Steve managed to shake him off. He really needs to talk to Robin and he can just as well crash at her place instead of going home. That is how he finds himself on the Buckley’s front porch.

“Will you let me in?”, he asks when Robin doesn't step to the side to let him in. Robin rolls her eyes but makes space for him to get out of the cold.

As soon as Steve has taken of fhis jacket Robin grabs his wrist and pulls him towards the stairs.

“You have to tell me everything.”, she hisses but before she can actually pull him up to her room they are stopped by her mum coming out of the the kitchen.

A smile spreads across her face as soon as she sees them and Steve can already feel the dread pooling in his gut. That woman looks way too delighted to see him.

“I didn’t know you would come Steve, are you staying for dinner?”, she asks, a kind smile on her face.

Steve really wishes he could say no and leave again, sneak in through Robin’s window so they can talk but he can't. Robin would never live it down, especially since he just came in and she is still holding on to his wrist.

Her parents already think that they are dating anyways so him refusing will come off more than weird and will probably strengthen their suspicions. Before Steve can pull himself together to answer, Robin saves him, like she always does in these weird situations with her parents.

“Sure, he’s staying. We’ll be in my room till dinner is ready okay, we wanted to study for a test next week.”

Robin’s mum just smiles at them and it seems like she has very different ideas about what they will be doing in Robin’s room and Steve will definitely not correct her. Before he can add anything to the incredibly awkward conversation Robin tugs at his wrist again and pulls him up the stairs into her room. She only lets go when the door is firmly closed behind them.

“Where have you been all day?”, she asks before turning around and falling onto her bed and staring up at the ceiling. Steve slowly approaches the bed and lays down next to her.

“The Munson trailer.”, he says carefully and it sounds more like a question and Robin doesn't say anything, gesturing for him to continue.

“Robin?”, he says and turns onto his side to be able to see her properly.

Robin mirrors his position, now also laying on her side and stares at him. “Yeah?”

Steve really can't stop the smile that starts spreading on his face and he is sure that Robin already knows what he's going to say but she waits because she just enjoys tormenting him.

He whispers “I kissed Eddie.” into the silence of the room and he knows nothing bad will happen, knows Robin is his best friend and biggest supporter but it's still terrifying to say it out loud.

The knowledge that he never even needs to worry is further proven correct when a manic grin spreads on Robin’s face and she sits up just to punch him in the arm. And damn that hurts, even when she doesn't hit that hard but Robin always has the talent of hitting the points that hurt the most. Steve sits up too and rubs his arm while glaring at her.

“You deserve it.”, she says before pulling him into a hug. Steve can't help but melt into it, slinging his arms around her lower back and burying his face in her shoulder. He has no idea what he would do without Robin by his side.

Someone clearing their throat rips him out of the comfort of the hug and they jump apart. Robin’s dad is standing in the doorway, his arms crossed and a smug smile on his face. He just tells them that dinner is ready before turning around and leaving.

Robin groans as she lets her head fall onto Steve’s shoulder. “I will never live this down, that was just more poof that we’re apparently dating.”

Steve stops himself from shrugging so he doesn't disturb Robin head and instead pats her hair a few times.

“They already think that, this won’t change it anyways.”

She sighs. “I hate that you’re right, dingus.”

And with that Robin gets up and grabs Steve’s hand to pull him along to the usual hell that is dinner with the Buckley’s. He won't say it out loud because it will just earn him another hit from Robin but her always grabbing his hand to drag him along really doesn't help their point.

Chapter Text

EDDIE

He was in the rainbow room when Papa came inside and asked him if he was up for some lessons. He said yes, of course, he knew that it wasn’t actually a question.

They passed Dr. Ellis on the way to one of the rooms they always did the lessons in and during the lesson Papa asked him to tell him what he drew on a piece of paper.

A sun, a dog that looked like a cow. Then he asked him to see what Dr. Ellis was doing and Five did, he found them and he told Papa what he saw. Dr. Ellis was with Six, a girl just a bit younger than him.

She and Seven always look out for the younger ones, especially when one of the older numbers was mean too them again. They also looked like the exact same person and sometimes they seemed to know what the other was thinking, it was scary.

Six was alone with Dr. Ellis right now and she was trying to move a red block. He watched for a moment but then something changed and he wasn’t sure what until he saw another person in the room. He recognised him, it was one of the orderlies, blond hair and white clothes. He had never really spoken to him but he still knew who he was. He had seen him more often the last few weeks.

The orderly had talked to Seven a lot for a few days and afterwards he started talking to Eleven. An now he was in the same room as Six and Dr. Ellis even though the orderlies weren’t supposed to interrupt their lessons.

Ten watched as the orderly lifted his hand and suddenly Dr. Ellis lifted slightly up into the air and her legs and arms started twisting in ways they shouldn’t. Her eyes started bleeding and then she dropped to the ground. She didn’t move. Five couldn’t help but watch while the same thing happened to Six, couldn't help but listen to her screams.

Only then did he register that Papa was talking to him, asking him what he was seeing. He said the first thing that came to mind, eyes still closed and mind in the other room. The orderly had already left.

“Six and Dr. Ellis…dead. They’re both dead.”

He could hear more screams echoing down the hall and just as he opened his eyes the door burst open-

Eddie startles awake and bolts upright, drenched in sweat and breathing heavily. He needs a moment to reorient himself, to be able to tell where he is.

When he's in his own room in the trailer it takes him next to no time at all but he stares blankly at the plaid walls, trying to figure out where the hell he is. His breathing is still going too fast.

The nightmare was more vivid than any others he’s had over the last few months. Normally he just wakes up with a sense of unease but without actually remembering the nightmare itself. This time he can remember everything clearly, can see their bones slowly breaking and blood spilling everywhere, covering the walls and floor.

He can still hear the screams echoing down the hall.

He flinches when a hand touches his right shoulder and it immediately pulls back when he instinctively moves away from it. He knows, in theory, that whoever the hand belongs to has no intention to hurt him, that he is away from the lab, but he is still disoriented and needs another moment to get his breathing back under control.

When he finally feels like he can breathe normally again Eddie slowly raises his face from his hands and looks over to the side and comes face to face with a very concerned looking Steve.

That is all Eddie had needs to piece the last puzzle-pieces together. He is at Steve’s place, which explains the atrocious wallpaper, and he woke him up because of another damn nightmare about the lab.

Eddie can't stand the concern on Steve’s face, feels like their roles should be reversed like they normally are. It hasn't even been a week since Steve kissed him but since then Steve has stayed over at the trailer two more times, Sunday and Monday night when his parents were still in town.

Both nights Steve was the one to wake them up with his nightmares and Eddie really can't help but feel a little guilty about waking Steve up the one night he didn’t seem to have a nightmare himself. Before Eddie can spiral even further down the hole he is digging for himself Steve breaks the silence.

“Can I touch you?”

It isn't more than a whisper but it's enough to break through Eddie’s spiralling thoughts.

He nods. “Yeah.”

Steve doesn't wait any longer to pull him into a hug and downwards so they are laying on the mattress again. Eddie buries his face in the space between Steve’s neck and shoulder and just breathes for a moment, tightening his arm around Steve’s middle. One of Steve’s hands is playing with his hair while the other is firmly holding him close.

“Do you want to talk about it?”, Steve asks, his face half buried in Eddie’s hair, slightly muffling his words.

Eddie shakes his head, still hiding his face away in Steve's shoulder. Even if he wants to he can't tell Steve about the lab, he can never tell him how fucked up his childhood really was and where the stupid nightmares come from.

“Nah man, I don’t feel like talking about it.”

Steve doesn't push, just like Eddie never pushes when Steve refuses to talk about his nightmares.

STEVE

In the morning Steve wakes up to hair tickling his nose and some weak rays of sunlight hitting his face.

He forgotten to properly close the curtains last night. Despite the feeling of hair tickling his nose Steve buries his face deeper into Eddie’s hair and tightens his hold on him. Eddie is still laying partly on top of him like they did after waking up in the middle of the night.

After a while of just laying in his bed and enjoying the warmth of Eddie lying next to him Steve realises that the other won't wake up any time soon so he starts to shake Eddie’s shoulder to try and wake him up.

For someone who wakes up immediately when Steve has a nightmare he is stupidly hard to wake up in the morning.

After a bit Steve manages to shake Eddie awake and forces him out of bed so they can have breakfast before any of the kids can storm Steve’s house and catch them doing anything that could incriminate them.

That’s how Steve finds himself at the stove making eggs with Eddie plastered across his back, his hands settled on Steve’s hips and slightly swaying them from side to side. Steve doesn't really question it, he already noticed that Eddie always seems to have the need to move in some way or other, even if it's just a slight swaying movement while sitting or standing in place.

It doesn't bother him while he makes them breakfast so he just goes with it.

“So what’s the plan for later? You having a movie night with Robin and if yes, can I join?”, Eddie asks while Steve flips the eggs.

Steve can't help the chuckle that escapes him at the question and he can tell without looking that Eddie is frowning at him.

“What’s so funny?”

Steve just shakes his head while Eddie places his chin on Steve’s shoulder and tightens his hands in front of Steve’s body.

“I promised Dustin and the others to go trick or treating with them.”

It's something Steve isn't exactly proud of but when Dustin asked him if he would go with them because their parents wanted an adult to be there Steve had asked if they weren’t too old to go trick or treating. Dustin had seen that as a personal offence and rattled off a whole list why Steve was wrong and because Steve knew that he would never be able to live it down he gave in.

If they wanted to feel like normal stupid kids for once, without having to think about the monsters that live right under their feet, Steve will be the last to stop them from doing exactly that. Steve isn't invited to any parties anyway and would have ended up watching movies with Robin.

“Aren’t they too old for that?”

Steve huffs. “That’s what I said too, but Dustin had a whole debate planned out and I didn’t have the energy to listen to that for longer than five minutes, so I gave in.”

Eddie presses a quick kiss to the side of Steve’s neck. “That easy to convince you, huh?”

Steve can't help but shove Eddie’s face away from his neck at that comment. “Shut up, you’re coming with me.”

Eddie pulls back slightly but his hands remaine locked into each other in front of Steve so he can't go far.

“How do I deserve that, Steve? Did I cause any offence?!”

Steve just shakes his head at Eddie’s ridiculous theatrics and takes the eggs off the stove to put them on two plates. Eddie shuffles along when he moves along the counter, apparently still determined to never let go of him again.

“No, but I need someone who isn’t four years younger to come with me to survive the night and Robin ditched me for some party with the band kids so you’ll have to do it.”

Eddie lets go of him them, stumbling backwards until he reaches the table and then leaning backwards over it, a hand clasping his chest. “I have been wounded. How could you say something so vile to me, how could you make me be only the second choice. Am I not good enough for you?”

Steve chuckles and puts the plates down on the table, away from Eddie’s reach, before pulling him upwards and pulling him closer by the hips. “You’re ridiculous.”

Eddie moves impossibly closer, their noses nearly brushing against each other and Steve goes a little cross eyed trying to keep his focus on Eddie.

“You know you love it.”, he whispers into the space between them before leaning forwards and pressing a quick kiss to Steve’s mouth. It's over before it has really started and Steve tries to follow when Eddie leans back but the other stops him by pressing a hand against his chest.

“We should probably eat, I already see Henderson barging through your front door and grabbing our breakfast before we can even comprehend he’s here.”

Steve shakes his head in amusement but he can't really say anything to prove Eddie wrong. All of the Party members are prone to stealing their breakfast and he really wants that to himself, thank you very much.

EDDIE 

In the end it isn't as bad as Eddie expected. A while after they have eaten their breakfast in peace the kids start to arrive, all already dressed up for the evening.

After some complaining from Dustin, Erica drags both him and Steve into the bathroom and covers them in red paint, claiming that they have to dress in all black to finish their costumes. They are vampires, apparently.

Going around with Dustin, Lucas, Mike, Erica and a very reluctant Max turns out to be quite fun, especially when Eddie realises that they get a lot of candy that way.

He has never really gone trick or treating when he was younger, mostly because when he got out of the lab and started living with Wayne he didn’t have any friends to go with (middle school was another kind of hell, and it was worse than highschool because he didn’t know anyone and hadn’t yet learned how to act like a normal person that didn’t grow up in a lab) and he didn’t want to go with Wayne so he stayed home. He's never really been to a halloween party either because, let’s be honest, he's only ever invited for the drugs. But this, going around with a bunch of freshmen who don't seem to care that most of their peers will make fun of them for going trick or treating? This is fun.

After filling their bags with an impossible amount of sweets Dustin somehow gets the great idea to go to the corn-maze and of course, somewhere in the middle of it the whole gaggle of children abandons him and Steve. Steve just sighs in annoyance while Eddie is still trying to comprehend how they lost five children and he contemplates going after them but on the other hand, Steve is right there next to him and they are finally alone. In the end it isn't a decision at all.

Just as Steve starts walking into a random direction that Eddie is very sure isn't the one the kids ran off to, he grabs the others’ hand and pulls him back towards him. Steve doesn't really resist and turns around so they end up standing chest to chest, way closer than they should probably be out in public. Eddie looks to every side again but they are totally alone, abandoned in some lonely corner of a maze. He presses a quick kiss to Steve’s lips and settles his hands on his hips.

“Guess we’re finally alone, sweetheart.”

And Steve has the audacity to roll his eyes at that. “Yeah we are, but we should really go look for them soon. I gotta get everyone home in, like, half an hour.”

Eddie pouts at that.

“You’re no fun Steve.” and then he tries to knock his forehead against Steve's and Eddie isn't even sure why, he just feels the urge to do it so he does.

Steve moves backwards and out of his reach, avoiding the incoming forehead and starts walking in a seemingly random direction. For lack of anything better to do Eddie starts following him and they end up getting lost multiple times. Which is fine in Eddie’s opinion because that way they can spent more time together before being near people again.

He pulls Steve close and kisses him in multiple places, many times throughout their journey, and Steve doesn't stop him once so he counts it as a win.

When they finally get out their five lost ducklings are waiting by the entrance, expressions ranging from delighted to annoyed.

Steve complains the whole way home about being abandoned and being late but he smiles all the way through and they all seem to know that it's fine. Eddie really wants to take his hand while they are driving but he holds himself back, reminding himself that the children don't know. He respects Steve’s wish for secrecy but he starts thinking about how he could approach the topic the longer they are driving.

Maybe he should really ask Steve if they can at least tell the people close to him,the kids and his uncle. Robin too. Eddie suspects that Steve’s parents are a no-go but he hadn’t expected anything else, not after Steve told him that the bruise on his chin had been caused by his dad.

Chapter Text

STEVE

The holidays are coming closer with every passing day and everyone around him seems to get into a festive mood over time. Even El sounds more excited when he talks to her, now over the phone since they have decided it will be easier on both of them.

Now that Steve has a good grip on the whole communication thing between them, there is no need to practice it so often like they have done before. Steve has the sneaking suspicion that El still hasn't told Joyce about her trouble in school but he tries not to press it too much, unsure if his constant pestering over the past months has been the reason why she hasn't actually talked to anyone else about it.

While everyone else seems to be looking forward to the upcoming holidays, first Thanksgiving and the Christmas, Steve can't really bring himself to be excited about it. He already knows that the Harringtons won't be home for it and he doesn't want them to be either. He likes to imagine that maybe Joyce would have invited him to the Byers’ thanksgiving dinner, but now that they live in California that is off the table.

Three weeks after Halloween, and about a week before Thanksgiving, Eddie stopss by to bother Steve at work, which isn't all that unusual. What is unusual is that he seems even more jittery than he usually is, and he refuses to tell Steve why. And he refuses to leave, even though Steve still has two hours left because he and Robin have the closing shift. It's really shaping up to be an interesting day.

Just earlier that day, Dustin declared a code red at lunch. It was a false alarm but it had rocketed Steve’s panic level to incredibly high levels that he is still feeling a bit rattled from it even hours later.

All that just because Dustin forgot one of his textbooks at home, one that couldn’t have been that important, because Steve got through most of his high school time while regularly forgetting books at home too. In retrospect he realises that that is probably one of the many reason why he is repeating senior year right now.

Steve just puts away a tape and turns back toward the counter only to find Eddie directly in front of him, his face incredibly close to Steve’s. He jolts backwards slightly, startled by the sudden closeness but Eddie makes no move to make some space. Fortunately there is no one but Robin in the store right now.

Steve sighs.

“What exactly do you want Eddie?”

Eddie only starts pouting, still not moving or telling Steve what’s going on. Steve can't help but sigh again.

“I’m serious Eddie, is there something specific you want? I still need to work for about two hours.”

And Eddie just shrugs, grins and walks back over to the counter with a spring in his step.

Steve frowns. It isn't that he doesn't appreciate Eddie being here but he just doesn't know what to make of the others behaviour. It isn't that unusual for Eddie to act a bit like a feral cat at times, but he usually doesn't do so while hanging out in Family Video.

Steve exchanges a glance with Robin, who is pushing tapes from one side of the counter to the other for lack of anything better to do. She just shrugs and turns back to her completely useless task so Steve follows Eddie to the counter. He doesn't have any more tapes to put away anyways.

Eddie is already sitting on the counter, legs swinging back and forth as if he is trying to dispel all his excess energy that way. As soon as Steve is close enough Eddie grabs his wrist and pulls him closer to whisper in his ear. “So what does a code red mean?”

Steve needs a moment to even comprehend what Eddie is asking him, confused by the sudden question coming out of the blue and slightly distracted by their sudden closeness. “What?”

Eddie sighs and leans backwards, only the hand not holding on to Steve managing to keep him from loosing his balance and falling backwards off the counter.

“A code red, Steve? You were immediately panicking when Dustin said it and the other brats also seemed to know what it measns, so what does it mean?”

Before Steve can even respond Robin appears next to Eddie on the other side of the counter, leaning her arms on it and raising her brows at Steve suggestively. “Yeah Steve, what does it mean?”

Steve sighs. Sometimes he really hates Robin and her need to cause chaos.

“You know exactly what it means Robin, so shut up.”

Steve knows that his answer does nothing to keep Eddie’s curiosity in check but at least it distracts him for a moment, putting Eddie’s attention on Robin.

“So tell me Buckley, what does it mean?”

Robin rolls her eyes. “You really don’t want to know, it’s really stupid.”, she hesitates for a short moment before she adds. “I think Mike came up with it.”

She glances over at Steve and he knows immediately what she was doing. She is trying to steer Eddie away from the topic, because they can't really tell him that the code is to tell everyone that the Upside Down is back around, that there is a threat they have to fight against.

Before Steve can say anything to confirm Robin’s statement they are saved by the front door of the store opening. Steve quickly drops Eddie’s hand and steps away, putting some distance between them to avoid any possible suspicion.

Robin just rolls her eyes and pushes at Eddie’s back to get him off the counter. Eddie does follow Robin’s direction after a moment and wanders off into the store again, pretending to browse the movies on display.

Steve just shakes his head in annoyance, but he can't shake the fondness either. He is really hopeless when it comes to this idiot in his stupid leatherjacket and denim vest.

EDDIE 

He knows that Steve suspects that something is up, and he has good reason for it too. Eddie has been thinking about inviting Steve to Thanksgiving for days now, but he never managed to actually approach the topic.

He and Wayne don't really do much on the holiday, just have a cosy dinner together in their living room. It really isn't anything fancy but Eddie has the suspicion that it's more than what Steve will get. His boyfriend told him in passing that his parents won't be home for Thanksgiving and that he isn't sure what his plans are for the day.

He doesn't want Steve to be alone on the day everyone else gets together with their families but he doesn't want to tell him like that. He has no idea how to approach the topic. And that’s how he finds himself in Family Video spending his afternoon bothering Steve and Robin while they are trying to work.

It feels like an eternity till they finally close the store behind them.

Eddie really wants to just grab Steve and take him to the trailer but he knows that Steve will drive Robin home first. Robin starts talking before Eddie even gets the chance to ask Steve if he wants to come over later.

“So what are your plans for Thanksgiving Steve? You can come over to my place if you want, but you’ll have to deal with my parents thinking that we’re dating.”

Eddie wants to see how this conversation plays out so he stays silent and listens instead of interrupting, but he does file the information that Robin’s parents seems to think her and Steve are in a relationship away for later. He really needs to ask Steve about that because he isn’t sure if the other has ever even mentioned it before.

Instead of giving a proper answer Steve just shrugs. “I don’t know Robin, my parents won’t be around but I really don’t want to spent the whole evening with your parents and their questions about our ‘relationship’”

He makes air quotes around the word relationship and yeah, Eddie can see how that would be incredibly annoying, especially when you’re stuck together for a Thanksgiving dinner. Before Eddie really thinks it through he blurted out: “You can come to my place if you want.”

And well, he doesn't mean to hang out today but to spent Thanksgiving together. Maybe that is taking things a bit too far too fast but now that it's out he can't possibly take it back.

The shocked expression on Steve’s face nearly breaks Eddie’s heart. “You really don’t have to do that Eddie, I’m pretty sure that Dustin’s mum is going to call me, like, tomorrow, to ask me if I’m going to come over like I did last year.”

Eddie doesn't really have anything to say to that. Judging by the expression on his face he seems genuine and if Steve is a fixed part of the Henderson’s thanksgiving plans already Eddie doesn't want to pull him away from that. So Eddie just nods.

“Alright, Stevie. If she doesn’t, my door is definitely open.”

Eddie catches Steve leaning over to him out of the corner of his eye and he isn't sure what exactly Steve is trying to do but he feels like causing problems on purpose right now so he steps further away and out of Steve’s reach, putting himself already halfway to his car.

“You still coming over after driving Robin home?”

Steve shakes his head and crosses his arms in front of his chest but he seems more fond than annoyed.

“Yeah, give me half an hour.”

STEVE 

Steve does end up getting invited to the Hendersons and Thanksgiving passes without any incidences. And none of their friends seem to have caught on to his and Eddie’s secret yet.

Eddie asks his shortly after Thanksgiving if he would be okay with telling people they are close to about their relationship, but Steve tells him that he isn't ready yet. He still feels like he isn't ready when Wayne catches the two of them making out on the couch in the living room of the trailer.

They were only there in the first place because Eddie is sure that Wayne will only return a few hours later. To Steve’s relief Wayne is incredibly calm about it and only asks them to move any activities from making out to more into Eddie’s room so he doesn't have to be aware of it.

Apart from that Steve doesn't really feel ready yet to confront the others about it, not because he thinks they’d react badly and more because he wants to keep this thing he has with Eddie just between them for a little while longer.

Steve is shaken out of his thoughts by Eddie dropping onto the bed next to him, the second Lord of the Rings book in had.

“Wanna read some more before Wayne comes back? He promised to bring takeout for us.”

Glad that Eddie doesn't mention how he was obviously lost in thought Steve nods and leans further back into the pillow behind him.

It has become kind of a routine for them, every time they are just hanging out, with no other purpose than to be near each other, Eddie will continue reading Lord of the Rings to him. And Steve has to admit that he really likes it, even though he never would have picked the books up on his own.

It also provides him with some nerd knowledge he can use against Dustin because he never seems to expect Steve to get any of his references. Every time Steve does get a reference it looks like Dustin’s eyes are close to falling out of his head and it is truly hilarious to watch.

After some time Wayne does show up with takeout, pulling both of them away from Middle Earth.

“So, your parents gonna be home for Christmas Steve?”, Wayne asks him at some point over dinner, looking at Steve with an unreadable expression on his face.

Steve just shrugs.

He doesn't expect the Harrington’s to return for Christmas, not for him, but he also doesn't want to impose on the Munsons like that. He is already glad that Claudia invited him to Thanksgiving because as much as he would have loved to spent the evening with Eddie he doesn't want to seem like too much of a burden by having to be invited any time some holiday comes around. He can just as well spent Christmas alone in his big empty house, it won't be the first time.

“I think so, they usually come back a day or two before Christmas Eve.”

Steve isn't sure if Wayne catches the lie or not but he just nods and the conversation returns to saver territory.

EDDIE 

He knows that Steve lied about his parents being home for Christmas.

Eddie doesn't outright talk about it with him, doesn't want to spook him. He realised a good time ago that Steve’s parents are always a touchy subject and he doesn't want to spook Steve. He also doesn't know how he can get Steve to spent Christmas with him and Wayne, because he just doesn't want Steve to be alone during the holidays.

Eddie never mentions it in the weeks leading up to Christmas even though the words are always right at the tip of his tongue. On Christmas Eve Eddie is pacing in his room while he contemplates how he can drag Steve over to the trailer when Wayne appears in the doorway and knocks on it to get Eddie’s attention.

“Why exactly are you running around like you just lost your head”, he asks with a knowing smirk on his face.

Eddie just sighs and deflates a bit when he looks at his uncle, his shoulders slumping slightly in defeat.

“I’m just thinking about how I can drag Steve here because his parents aren’t home and I don’t want him to be alone.”

Wayne crosses his arms over his chest and looks at Eddie with a contemplative look on his face. Eddie crosses his arms in front o fhimself defensively, preparing himself for a possible lecture about how he should leave Steve alone if he doesn't want to be with them for Christmas.

“Did you tell him that he wouldn’t impose on us if he were here?”

The question snaps Eddie right out of his thoughts again. “What do you mean?”

Wayne shrugs. “I’m assuming that he lied about his parents because he thinks it will be a burden for us to have him here.”

While Eddie’s thoughts are racing, thinking about the implications of what Wayne just said his uncle already continues.

“How about you move your ass over there after dinner and give him his present, invite him back over here if he feels up to it. I’m assuming you have a present for him?”

Eddie huffs incredulously.

“Why should I now have a present for him?”, then he walks over to Wayne and leans his forehead against his shoulder in a kind of imitation of a half hug. “Thanks.”

Wayne just chuckles and patts his hand on Eddie’s back. “Anytime kid.”

Eddie leaves after he and Wayne exchanged presents after dinner. He still plans to bring Steve back to the trailer and Wayne suggested that they exchange presents before he does to take some more pressure off of Steve.

Eddie doesn't have anything to say against that so he agreed.

Now he is sitting in his van that just rolled to a stop in front of the giant Harrington house at the edge of the woods in Loch Nora. Eddie is really starting to hate that house with all its emptiness with a burning passion.

After taking a deep breath to calm his nerves he opens the door of his van with a bit more force than necessary and starts walking up the driveway. From the outside the house seems completely dark and empty and Eddie kind of hopes that maybe Steve isn't home after all.

That he is maybe spending Christmas with Robin or Dustin and that he just forgot to tell him about it. Eddie kind of hopes that that is the case because despite the fact that it would destroy his plans for the day it would mean that Steve isn't sitting alone somewhere in that empty dark house in front of him.

Eddie rings the doorbell and buries his hands in his leather jacket that is definitely not thick enough to hold off the decembre air but he didn't plan to stay outside for long so he couldn't be bothered to wear something warmer. After a while the door finally opens revealing a slightly rumpled looking Steve, his hair very far from its signature look. It kind of looks like his boyfriend just fell out of bed.

Eddie cocks an eyebrow at Steve’s confused expression.

“Your parents are home for Christmas, huh?”, he asks while crossing his arms in front of his chest.

Steve looks slightly embarrassed at that and he just shrugs. “I didn’t want to crash your Christmas with Wayne?”

Eddie huffs at that. He can't believe that Wayne had been right about why Steve lied. “Wayne’s actually the one who sent me to get you, he doesn’t mind if you join us.”

That causes Steve’s eyebrows to rise up to his hairline. “He did?”

And this time Edie can't help but laugh, because seriously? “Yeah man, he likes you, just in case you haven’t noticed yet.”

They stand in comfortable silence for a moment before Steve breaks it. “I’m gonna get my present for you and we can go, okay? I don’t have anything for Wayne, tough.”

Eddie laughs at that, because how did Wayne predict all of this? Maybe it's because Eddie missed some years of normal human interaction and just doesn't get certain social cues but still, it's getting kind of ridiculous at this point.

“Sure, but don’t take to long I’m freezing over here.”

Steve shakes his head at that but he is smiling so Eddie counts it as a win. “Just get in the car already, I’ll join you in a few minutes.”

STEVE 

They end up sitting on Eddie’s bed, sides pressed into each other and just trying to be as close to each other as possible. Wayne fell asleep on the couch while they were watching a Christmas movie that was on some channel so they sneaked away to let him sleep.

Steve still can't quite believe that he is here with Eddie, he was so determined to spent this Christmas alone just like he's done since he started living with the Harringtons. But he really couldn't deny Eddie standing at his front door offering him to join him and his uncle for the evening.

Eddie has been fiddling with a small package that is wrapped with newspaper since they sat down and after a while Steve can't take it anymore and puts his hand on top of Eddie’s, giving him a small smile when Eddie looks over to him.

Eddie smiles back and offers the package to Steve. “It’s your present, if you want to unwrap it now.”

Steve grin grows bigger at that and he gives Eddie a small kiss on the lips before leaning over to the nightstand where he put his present. He offers it to the other and Eddie happily switches with him.

“Unwrap yours first?”, Steve asks and Eddie just grins at him and starts ripping the wrapping into tiny parts. Steve shakes his head at his antics and the mess he's making but watches with anticipation as Eddie reveals the small book.

Steve can't help but start explaining himself when Eddie just stares at the book-cover showing a forest with mountains in the background, everything held in tones of green and blue. It's a new copy of The Hobbit.

“I noticed that your copy is pretty much falling apart, so I thought I’d get you a new one so you can read it without being at risk of all the pages just falling out.”

Eddie just laughs at that but it doesn't sound like he's laughing at Steve. He meets his eyes after a moment and his eyes are crinkled in joy.

“It’s great Steve, I love it.”

And then he grabs the sides of Steve’s face and pulls him into a kiss. Steve smiles into the kiss and Steve does too and he really doesn't want to part again but he is also itching to unwrap his present.

They seperate after a moment and Steve starts to tear the newspaper apart, more careful than Eddie had been with his. It's a wide bracelet that seems to be selfmade, tied together out of black and blue ribbon.

Eddie looks slightly sheepish when Steve looks over at him. “This may sound stupid but I noticed how the bracelet you’re always wearing on your wrist is getting kinda thin so I thought I’d make you a new one before yours completely falls apart. If you don’t like it I can still make another one, that’s no problem.”

Steve just shakes his head at Eddie’s ridiculousness. He can't believe that his boyfriend would even a moment think that he doesn't like it.

“I love it Eddie, can you help me put it on?”

Eddie nods enthusiastically and Steve takes off his bracelet without even thinking about it, holding his hand out to Eddie so he can tie the new bracelet around his wrist.

A small part of his brain is screaming at his that this is a bad idea, that Eddie is gonna see the stupid tattoo on his wrist, but Steve pushes that part away. He is holding his hand out palm down so he can't see it anyways, the room isn't well lit and his watch covers most of the tattoo anyways, the bracelet has always been nothing more than a precaution.

He hesitates when Eddie suddenly stops in his movements for a second before suddenly grabbing his wrist and turning it around so he can see the inside. It's in that moment that it dawns on Steve that he definitely misjudged the situation and the placement of his watch on his wrist and he tries to pull his hand back to hide the numbers tattooed under his skin but Eddie only tightens his grip.

When Eddie still doesn't say anything after a tense moment of silence, grip still tight around Steve's wrist, Steve takes a chance to actually look at his boyfriend’s face.

Eddie isn't even looking at him like Steve expected, instead his gaze is frozen on Steve's wrist and his face has turned incredibly pale.

“Eddie?”

Eddie just shakes his head and still doesn't look at Steve, his gaze fixed on the ink underneath Steve’s skin.

“What the fuck?”, he whispers and Steve isn't even sure if he is meant to hear those words.

"I can explain."

Before Steve even gets the chance to voice said explanation, Eddie lets go of him and starts pushing the countless bracelets on his wrist to the side before turning the inside of his wrist to Steve. And Steve has to do a double take because what he is seeing can't possibly be real.

There are numbers tattooed on Eddie’s wrist, just like his own. 005.

“What the fuck?”, he whispers into the silence and it seems way too loud in the quiet of the trailer.

EDDIE

He starts laughing, he can't even help himself, the laugh just bubbles out of him without his permission.

He definitely sounds at least slightly insane right now but he really doesn't care. He definitely feels insane. He just can't believe that Steve comes from that same awful place he has grown up in. The chance of him ever meeting any of the others again had been so incredibly slim, especially since he thought that everyone else is dead.

Steve joins him in his hysteria when he finally comprehends what is happening and yeah, they are definitely waking Wayne with this but Eddie just can't contain himself.

When he finally manages to calm down again and Steve’s laughing also resolves to occasional giggles he takes hold of Steve’s wrist again and looks at the numbers again. 007.

“Seven.”, Eddie whispers while rubbing his thumb over the tattoo. Then he looks up to meet Steve’s eyes. “How did you get out?”

Steve just shrugs and looks to the side but he does start talking after a moment and he doesn't pull his hand away either. “I’m not sure why I survived but when I woke up everyone was dead, so I just ran. I walked into the woods and then collapsed somewhere near Loch Nora, that's how the Harringtons found me.”

In that moment multiple things slot into place for Eddie. It explains why Steve’s parents are never there and also don't seem to care very much about their son. It explains why Mr. Harrington doesn't care if he hurts Steve and why Steve prefers when they aren't around.

Steve rips him out of his thoughts before Eddie can get lost in them. “What about you?”

Eddie just shrugs. “It was pretty similar I guess, I was doing experiments with Dr. Brenner but then I lost consciousness and when I woke up he was gone and everyone was dead but the doors were open. I somehow made it to the trailerpark where Wayne found me and well, turns out that he’s actually my uncle. His sister, my mother, was one of the women who volunteered and kind of kicked everything off but she died before I got out so I never met her.”

Steve takes hold of Eddie’s hand that is still holding Steve’s wrist.

“I wasn’t quite as lucky as you were, I’m in no way related to the Harringtons and they only let me stay because at first they thought they could gain something from it. When it became clear that they couldn’t, they wanted to give me back to the lab but they didn’t want me so they started to pay them to keep them quiet. I’m not sure how long the lab will keep paying them but I think the moment they stop they’ll kick me out because they never really wanted to keep me there in the first place. I’m just something that chains them to this town.”

Eddie’s grip on Steve has gotten tighter with every word the other said and he only really notices when Steve squeezes his hand back, causing Eddie to lessen his grip again. Steve still doesn't look at him when he continues talking.

“It’s okay, you know, I’ve known for years and I don’t really need them anyways. I’ve got the kids and Robin and you and that’s enough.”

Eddie nods, even though he still doesn't like it but he doesn't want to start an argument right now. He pulls Steve closer to him so that he is laying nearly on top of Eddie and rests his chin on the top of Steve’s head.

“You know you’re always welcome here, right? Even if it is for some family holiday or something similar, Wayne really likes you and he would never mind if you join us. And I would like to have you here too.”

Steve nods against his chest and somehow snuggles even closer into Eddie.

“Okay.”, he murmurs into Eddie’s shirt where he is hiding his face.

They somehow fell asleep like that, wrapped up in each other and halfway leaning against the wall behind the bed. They both regret it in the morning.

Chapter Text

"Is anyone else still alive?"

The question catches Steve slightly off guard. It's been two weeks since Christmas, two weeks since they found out about each other's past. Or, more accurately put, about their shared past.

They have matching bracelets now, both self-made by Eddie. They cover their numbers and at the same time, they are a subtle way of saying that they belong together. Steve just hopes that no one will notive that they are the same, but he doesn't think that anyone is that observant.

He leans his head against Eddie's shoulder and stares off into the distance for a moment, thinking about how much he can actually tell Eddie without revealing too much. Now that he knows that Eddie is another one of the lad kids, it feels wrong to keep the Upside Down and everything else away from him, but he really doesn't want to pull him into the whole bullshit of it.

A small part of Steve still hopes that they are done with the Upside Down now that the Mindflayer has been defeated for over half a year. The small, very paranoid part of his brain doesn't believe for a second that it's actually over. Bit it still can't hurt to tell Eddie about El and Eight, he can tell him everything without mentioning the Upside Down.

Steve grabs Eddie's hand and laces their fingers together.

"You know my cousin Jane who everyone just calls El?", he waits for a moment and he can feel how Eddie moves his head to the side like he's thinking hard about it.

Steve can pinpoint the exact moment he connects the dots.

"Wait, your cousin is one of the other lab kids?!"

The intonation on the word cousin is very easy to hear in his sentence.

Steve nods against Eddie's shoulder. "She's Eleven, that's why everyone calls her El."

Eddie is quiet for a moment and just when Steve wants to lift his head from his boyfriend's shoulder to check on him, he starts talking again.

"But how did she get out? She was one of the younger ones, right?"

"She survived the day we got out, but she didn't manage to escape and they kept her, continued the experiments. She fled in 1983."

Eddie nods, and then he seems to connects a bit more. "The same year Will Byers disappeared, right?"

Steve nods again. "Yeah. Hopper took her in then, hid her in a cabin in the woods."

Eddie snorts. "Of course he did."

They are silent for a long moment and Steve is just glad that Eddie didn't make any connections between Will's disappearance and the lab. He really doesn't want to broach that topic, because that topic inevitably touches on the Upside Down and the monsters sooner of later. He really doesn't want Eddie to know about the monsters.

It's rule one of their group of people that are in the know: Never tel anyone else about what happened. And apart from that, Steve did sign a NDA and he doesn't want the government to come after him because he broke it and then they find out he escaped the lab and then his life is definitely over.

Eddie unknowingly breaks him out of his spiral.

"Do you know of anyone else?

Steve sighs. "El says that Eight is still alive, somewhere in Chicago I think?"

Eddie readjusts his position on the bed so he can look at Steve.

"She was the girl with the darker skin, right?"

"Yeah, she mostly kept to herself."

Eddie seems to be deep in thought for a moment.

"You know, I don't remember much from back then, like, my memory is really patchy. I barely remember the day I got out of the Lab, and I regularly have nightmares about it."

Steve hums in understanding but before he can say anything, a knock on the doorframe startles both of them.

If Steve had known that Eddie wants to talk about this, he would have closed the door on the way in. They only didn't do it because Wayne wasn't home when they arrived.

Now, said man is standing in the open doorway and if looks could kill Eddie would definitely be dead beside him now.

"Eddie, can I talk to you for a second?", he says, and his tone is more stern than Steve has ever heard.

A shiver runs down his spine and dread starts collecting in the pit of his stomach. He looks over to Eddie, who looks a bit pale but doesn't seem too worried. Not that it means much, now that Steve knows that he had an equally screwed up childhood as he did. He can probably hide his feelings pretty well.

Eddie gets up from the bed but Steve can't really move and stays where he is. He just watches as Eddie follows ways into the rest of the trailer and Wayne pulls the door closed behind them.

As soon as they are out of sight, Steve's instincts kick in and he scrambles off the bed and to the door, pressing his ear against it to listen in on their conversation. Only so he can step in, just in case. He knows that Wayne is not like Mr. Harrington, but his fears aren't exactly rational.

Their words are muffled through the door, but they can't be too far away, the trailer is not particularly big anyways.

"Why did you tell him, Eddie, we have a deal."

The words definitely belong to Wayne.

It's silent for a big, then Wayne's voice again. "Eddie? I know you like that boy, but it's dangerous for people to know, and you know that."

"He saw the tattoo, what was I supposed to do?"

"On accident? I know you're a bit clumsy, Eddie, but I know you're not stupid. What really happened?"

Eddie groans. "I just told you!"

"I don't believe you!"

Steve already hates that they are fighting because of something that is definitely his fault. If he hadn't been so careless, Eddie wouldn't have seen the number and then everything would be fine and they wouldn't be fighting right now.

"Was I supposed to lie to him?", Eddie asks then.

"Well, maybe. I'm not saying it's a good thing to lie to him but it puts you in danger when people know. You can never predict what is going to happen, or who lets what slip!"

"Steve would never tell anyone."

"How can you be so sure about that?"

In that moment, Steve decides that he's heard enough. He doesn't want them to fight and he knows exactly how to put a stop to it. He does have to reveal the truth about himself to Wayne to convince him, but he doesn't care right now.

Steve can already hear Hopper berating him for being so stupid, but he pushes it away. It's not like Hopper could actually say those words to him, and the realisation stings but Steve pushes that away from him too, at least for the moment.

He opens the door and walks the few steps to the living room, where Eddie and Wayne are still deep in discussion.

Steve clears his throat.

"Can I have a say in this?", he asks and suddenly the room is deadly silent.

Wayne looks confused but Eddie seems to realise what Steve's plan is and he sublty shakes his head. Steve ignores him and looks over to Wayne.

Wayne shrugs. "Sure."

Steve takes a deep breath.

"It's my fault, so you really shouldn't blame Eddie, and…", Steve pulls in the bracelet Eddie made for him and pulls it just far enough to reveal the first zero, then he pushes his watch towards his wrist to reveal the second zero and the seven. He holds his exposed wrist out to Wayne. "I understand how dangerous this secret is, trust me."

Wayne just stares at Steve's wrist, too stunned to speak. Then he pushes Steve's hand down.

"Cover that up, boy. You never know who comes creeping round the trailerpark looking for trouble."

Steve does as he is told and pulls the watch and bracelet back into place, then he looks over to Eddie who still looks a bit too stunned to speak.

"Sorry.", Steve says to him and that seems to break him out of his frozen state.

"You don't have to apologise for anything, Steve. And you didn't have to do that either."

"I didn't want you guys to fight because of something that is my fault."

Wayne clears his throat and Steve just notices that the man looks a bit worse for wear.

"The only one at fault for anything is the government, so you boys stop blaming yourselves.", he looks at Steve then. "Please remember that you are always welcome here, this doesn't change anything."

Steve nods. "Thanks."

Wayne nods and goes over to the couch. He sits down and gestures for them to follow him.

"I have a few more questions, if that's okay with you, Steve?"

Steve needs a second to comprehend what he means but then he nods. "Sure."

He sits down on the other end of the couch and then looks over to Eddie, who is still standing in the middle of the room. "Are you coming?"

Eddie seems a bit confused at being talked to but he nods.

"Yeah, sure."

He comes over and sits down between Wayne and Steve, which Steve is silently glad for because it gets some distance between the two of them.

"How did you get out?", is the first thing that Wayne asks.

Steve is glad that it's a question he can easily answer.

"The same day Eddie did, I don't know what happened but I saw the chance to get out so I started runnign and didn't stop."

Wayne nods. "And the Harringtons? How'd you end up with 'em?"

Steve shrugs. "It was chance, I guess? They found me in the woods near their house."

"They haven't been treating you well."

It's not a question, it's definitely a statement and Steve can't even say anything against it.

He nods. "They only let me stay because of the hush-money they get out of it."

Wayne hums but doesn't say anything for a moment. Then he asks him the same thing Eddie asked him earlier and Steve really starts to get that they are related to each other.

"You know of any others?"

Eddie laughs. "You wanna take them in too or what?"

Wayne glares at his nephew and ignores his quesion, turning back to Steve.

"Two others got out, they're save."

"You know that for sure?"

"Yeah, I talk to one of them every week, and she talks to the second girl who got out."

Wayne seems to think about that for a moment before he asks the next question and Steve starts to feel like he is being interrogated.

"And you guys are sure there's no one else out there, who escaped?"

Eddie seems to think the same thing.

"Can you drop it, Uncle Wayne, how is he supposed to know?"

"I just wanna make sure, Eddie. If the government knows that multiple of their child-experiments escaped, they might still be looking for you. Meaning it's not as safe as I thought."

Steve sighs. He doesn't really want to tell Wayne what he knows, because it shows that he knows way more than he should, but he can understand that the man is just concerned for Eddie's safety.

"It's safe.", Steve says before Eddie can counter Wayne's concerns.

Both of them are looking at him now.

He sighs.

"They know where I am, and they know where one of the other girl's is, the one I talk to regularly. I'm not sure about the other girl, I think she's flying under the radar. But fact is, they know about me and El, and as long as we fly low and no one finds out about us, we are left alone. That's the deal Hopper made with them."

Wayne seems a bit confused at that. "Chief of Police Hopper?"

"The one and only.", Steve tries to smile but he can tell by Wayne's expression that he isn't doing a good job. "Don't worry, the deal is still on. Even with Hopper's death, he made sure of that."

Wayne nods in appreciation.

"Thank you for telling me that."

Eddie inserts himself in the conversation again. "Can you stop interrogating him now?"

Wayne sighs. "Yes, Eddie, I will. This is ony for your best, you do realise that, right?"

Eddie sighs. "Yeah, I know."

"Good.", Wayne gets up from the couch. "I'm making myself coffee, do you guys want some?"

"No thanks.", says Steve before Eddie can even react.

EDDIE

Eddie thought that the revelation of Steve's childhood to Wayne would change something. That he wouldn't want Steve around too much, because Eddie realises himself that it's a bit weird that he and Steve grew up in the same environment. In an environment in which they were referred to as siblings.

He and Steve only talked about it once, and came to the conclusion that they don't care, because they aren't actually siblings and they didn't really life like siblings in the lab, not like one would in a normal family.

Wayne does the opposite of what Eddie expected. He goes out of his way to invite Steve to everything they do, even if it's just dinner. He just plays a more active part in making Steve feel welcome in their little screwed up family. And Eddie appreciates it, even if it gets a bit much sometimes.

Especially considering that Eddie and Steve are still keeping their relationship secret from everyone, even their friends. Literally only Wayne and Robin know about it, which results in quite a bit of sneaking around the kids.

Said sneaking gets harder every day, at least when Dustin is involved.

Example A: the scene Dustin is causing in the hall that Eddie is an unfortunate witness to.

"Why do you never wanna hang out anymore? You always have time for Eddie!"

Steve tries to keep the volume down, which Eddie greatly appreciates. He doesn't wanna be the centre of attention over this. In any other case, he does like to attract attention, but not like this. Not when it's not on his own terms.

"That's not even true, Dustin. I do have time for you, just not today."

Dustin crosses his arms in front of his chest.

"Because you have plans with Eddie?", he asks in a suggestive tone that Eddie does not appreciate at all.

Steve throws his hands up in exasperation. "No, because I have a shift at Family Video with Robin."

"Oh yeah, and Robin is more important than me too now?!"

Dustin's voice goes up an octave at the end there.

Eddie can even see Steve's eyeroll from over the distance between them. "It's my job and she is literally my best friend. Can you calm down?"

"No, I can't calm down. Steve, you-"

Before Dustin can finish, another player enters the field and Eddie leans back against his locker to watch the scene unfold. As much as he would like to go save Steve, this is too good entertainment to pass up. And he tries not to interact too much with Steve in school so no one gets suspicious over what kind of relationship they have.

"Is this guy bothering you?", Robin yells, louder than Dustin, which is impressive. So impressive that Dustin promptly shuts up.

He turns around to her and looks at her, mouth slightly agape in shock.

"What do you have to do with this?"

Robin groans. "I am the one who has to work with him today and I need him with functioning ears. Thank you very much."

And that somehow dissolves the situation. At least, that's what Eddie thinks until Dustin takes a visibly deep breath again. He is just contemplating whether he should cover his ears or not, when Steve takes the decision away from him.

"You wanna come with and hang out during our shift?", he asks, the annoyance clear in his tone.

Dustin either doesn't hear the tone or doesn't care.

"Deal!", he says and grabs Steve's hand in some kind of handshake that Steve is a part of before he can escape it.

Eddie just turns away from them, slightly laughing to himself.

What has he gotten himself into?

Chapter Text

EDDIE

It's only days before Srping Break when they have their first actual fight. Wayne says that he's been waiting for it to happen but Eddie is not impressed. It's so stupid too.

Eddie wants Steve to come to their DnD session because by know he is a fixed part of their party and the session wouldn't work the way Eddie has planned without him. Well, and Steve wants to go to the fricking basketball game. For reason Eddie can't quite grasps.

Like, he understands that Steve wants to support Lucas, but he should not support him on his way to become a jock. It has never done anyone any good, Steve is the best example for that. Steve doesn't want to hear it though.

And that's were their fight started, two days ago.

Because Eddie wants Steve to come to the last Hellfire Session before Spring Break and Steve wants Eddie to cancel said session so he and the kids can go to Lucas' basketball game. Neither of them wants to budge from their standpoint. How do you even find a compromise in this situation?

"Come oooonnnn, Steve, it's the last session before break!", he whines while following Steve through Family Video.

The store is blessedly empty and for once, Steve seems to be incredibly annoyed by that fact.

Steve turns around and uses the tape in his hand to point it at Eddie while he's talking. Eddie nearly stumbles into him because he turned around so suddenly but manages to remain standing.

"You are on thin ice, Eddie. This is Lucas' first game on the basketball team and there will not be a second first game for him while there will be more Hellfire sessions after break."

Eddie rolls his eyes.

"But it won't be the same without you, it's hard enough to somehow exclude Lucas' character from the plot while still making it make sense, I can't take you out too, you're too important."

"Well, too bad, because I'm going to the game and you could just cancel the session."

Steve turns his back to Eddie again and walks along the row until he finds where the tape in his hand belongs and he puts it back.

Eddie stays where he is, shocked by Steve's audacity. They had this discussion before and Eddie will tell Steve the same thing he told him last time.

"I can't just cancel Hellfire, Steve, it doesn't work like that!"

Steve turns back around to him and throws his arms up in exasperation. "You're the DM, you can just decide it!"

"It wouldn't be fair to the other players.", Eddie counters.

"Wel, it would be fair to Lucas who is also part of Hellfire and he would appreciate you canceling so his friends can come to his game."

"I don't care."

Before Steve can counter, Robin interrupts them, shouting from the counter.

"Hey, children! Can you stop fighting over the remote it's getting really old."

They both turn around to face her and yell simultaneously.

"Shut up, Robin!"

She raises her hands in the air. "Okay, geez. I'm taking my break, don't scare away the customers."

With that she leaves, leaving Steve and Eddie to their discussion that they promptly continue.

STEVE

Steve hates fighting with Eddie, but he doesn't want to give in either. Because he knows that Eddie is in the wrong on this one. Not that Eddie would agree.

He already asked Robin who she thinks is right but she just rolled her eyes and told him not to pull her into the discussion. Which he took seriously, so he didn't involve her again. But now there's only one day left till the last school day before Spring Break, and well, the topic is still not off the table.

"What do you mean you didn't find a solution?", Robin asks incredulously as she lies outstretched on Steve's bed.

Steve is sitting on the chair that belongs to his desk, chest to the back of the chair and one leg on the chair in front of him. He is pressing his chin onto the top of the back of the chair and looks over to Robin.

"I don't know. Neither of us wanted to back down."

Robin sighs. "Yeah, I know. But… like there is a very easy solution to this and that is clearly Eddie moving the session. You could just do it Saturday."

"Well, that's what I told him be he wouldn't listen."

"So, you're going to the game then."

Steve huffs out a frustrated breath. "Yeah."

They're quiet for a moment, then Robin raises herself up onto her elbows to get a better look at him. "Don't you dare break up over this."

Steve snorts. "Yeah, as if."

Honestly, he didn't even think about it until Robin mentioned it just now. And now that she did, he isn't sure where his convidence is coming from.

They've been together for a few months now, yes, but how well does he really know Eddie. Apart from their shared traumatic childhood of course.

And now he can't help but think about what would happen if they really break up over this. That what they have could just be over.

He shakes his head. No, he can't let himself think about it, he won't make it come true by catastrophising over it.

"Steve?", Robin pulls him out of his spiraling thoughts. "You don't really think you guys would break up over this, right?"

Steve throws his arms up in the air, exasperated. "Well, I don't know, maybe? I've only really known the guy for a few weeks now, Robin. Maybe he would break up with me over this, I honestly don't know."

"I don't think he would.", she says carefully.

Steve looks at her hopefully. "You sure."

Robin gets up from the bed with a sigh and walks over to where Steve is perching on the chair. She comes to a stop next to him and pulls him into an awkward sideways hug.

"I am. You two just work, for some reason I do not understand, because seriously, you shouldn't. And he's a good guy, he won't just dump you because of an argument."

Steve rests his forehead against Robin. "I hope you're right."

He does hear how she responds to that with a low whisper. "Me too."

EDDIE

Steve does not show up to Hellfire club.

Eddie knows that he shouldn't be as disappointed as he is, Steve did tell him that he's going to the game. He even told him again this morning.

A small part of him had been hoping anyways, hoping that Steve will reconsider and join today's session. But realistically, he knew that he would never reconsider.

Normally, after their session, Steve stays to help gather everything. Then Steve would drive the kids home and come over to the trailer when he's done. Normally, Eddie gladly waits for him.

Today, for some reason, he invites Chrissy over to come home with him. Not for any sexy reasons of course, because ugh, but Chrissy asked him for stronger stuff and if you have the money in exchange for it, Eddie shall deliver.

And Chrissy did not give him a good vibe earlier. Like, don't get him wrong he was glad to talk to her and that she treated him normally. He is honestly shocked that she actually does remember tiny middle school him.

But her asking him for something stronger than weed? That is both suspicious and not good because this is Chrissy Cunningsham he's talking about. He was already confused when she showed up to buy weed from him.

Doesn't matter though, because he and Wayne actually need the money he makes from selling drugs, so he would never say no to the question. But he does not carry the harder drugs around with him, obviously, he's not crazy.

Inevitably, his thoughts go to Steve again. Steve, who has tried to offer him money on several occasions so he can stop selling drugs because he doesn't want him to get caught by the police. Steve, who may live for free in the Harrington's house, but who doesn't get any other money from them. Who lives from the money he makes at Family Video.

Eddie obviously declines.

He just hates that he can't give Steve a head up about Chrissy, he didn't manage to catch him over the school day and well, he wasn't at DnD for obvious reasons that Eddie still hates. Because of that, Eddie has no idea if Steve comes over after getting everyone home or not. He kind of hopes that he will show up, but he wouldn't be too mad at him if he didn't.

He does not like being so unsure about Steve's possible appearance at the trailer, especially with Chrissy there. Probably, if she actually shows up.

Chrissy does show up in the parking lot after the game and Eddie herds her into his van before anyone sees the two of them together.

The drive ist mostly silent, Eddie goes for some chatter here and there, but she doesn't really answer and at some point he gives up. He just turns the music up louder to cover it up.

He can't help but start talking again when they arrive at the trailer and get out.

"This is, uh, my castle."

Chrissy doesn't responds, so Eddie hops up the stairs and opens the door, letting her in first and then following her inside, pulling the door closed behind him.

He starts rumming around as soon as they're inside. The whole trailer is a mess, as always, but he suddenly feels a bit self-conscious about it. With Steve around he doesn't mind it at all, but now? For some reason Eddie feels the need to gather some of the things together.

"Sorry for the mess.", he starts rambling. "Uh, the maid took the week off."

Chrissy stands in the middle of the living room, looking around while Eddie hurries to the small kitchen to throw some stuff away.

"You, uh,", she hesitates. "you live here alone?"

Eddie responds from the hallway. "With my uncle. But he works nights at the plant. Bringing home the big bugs."

He opens one of the boxes he thought the drugs are in. It's empty.

"How long does it take?", Chrissy asks next.

"Sorry?", Eddie looks up at her, confused what she means.

She takes a deep breath. "The special K. How long to kick in?"

Eddie is stunned for just a second but he doesn't let her notice it. "Well, depends.", he starts looking around in the cupboard again. "Depends if you snort it or not. If you do, uh, then, yeah. It'll kick in pretty quick."

He opens another box while he says that, it's empty too.

"Oh, shit.", the words escape him before he can stop himself.

Chrissy seems to start having doubts. "You sure you have it?"

"No, no, I got it.", Eddie takes a look around the room. "Somewhere."

Eddie wanders off to his bedroom, not resisting the urge to greet his guitar as soon as he enters. He glances over to the bit, of small spark of hope inside him that maybe Steve snuck in before he got here and then stayed in his room because he heard that Eddie isn't alone. That's not the case, of course. Maybe better, with Chrissy in the next room.

He starts rummaging through more boxes, pulling all kinds of stuff out of the cupboard in his room. He should really clean up at some point, sort through all the stuff he got. Not right now, though.

Finally, he finds the box, the grabs it and checks the contents within, it's what he is looking for, and he holds the box up in triumph.

"Gotcha."

He gets up and makes his way back over to the living room, the box held up triumphantly. He starts talking before he can see Chrissy, because where else would she be.

"Got it, peaceful bliss, just moments away."

He stops in the entranceway to the living room. Chrissy is just standing there, like a mannequin someone forgot.

"Chrissy?"

She doesn't react.

Eddie slowly creeps closer. He doesn't like this situation one bit, it's giving him the absolute creeps.

He starts waving his hand in front of Chrissy's face, calling her name and just trying to get her to react. Nothing.

Then the lights start to flicker, and yeah, Eddie doesn't like this one bit.

Eddie has no idea how much time has passed, of how often he has screamed Chrissy's name, when she suddenly starts to float off the ground.

He slowly backs away when her body suddenly slams under the ceiling and he scrambles back, tripping and falling in the process.

"Jesus Christ."

He tries to get further away while still being on the ground but he can't take his eyes off Chrissy. It feels like that day in the Lab, the day he escaped, when he was ordered to look at what Dr. Ellis was doing and he watched her and Six die. Extremeties bending and eyes popping.

Then the most insane thing happens.

Chrissy's arms and legs bend, in multiple places where they shouldn't, accompanied by the sound of bones cracking loudly, then her jaw, blookd is running from her eyes and then they pop and she falls to the ground, completely liveless.

Eddie screams.

He has no idea what to do.

What he just saw is insane, and that is a lot coming from him. And it concerns him that she died in the same way Dr. Ellis and Six died. In the same way she should have died all those years ago.

He tries to get further away but his back only hits the door behind him.

That's what breaks him out of his panic. He has to get away. He can't be found next to Chrissy's dead body.

He has to find Steve.

Chapter Text

STEVE

He's running. He doesn't know from what, or how long he has been running, he just knows that he has to get away.

His legs burn, every breath burns his lungs and he wants to stop. wants to turn around and see what he is running from. He doesn't.

A bright pain shoots through him, starting at his sides, travelling upwards. He looks down at himself, sees some sort of things sticking to his sides, biting into it. He tries to shake them off, but they stay, buried into his flesh.

Steve tries to scream, it's muffled by the blood collecting in his throat.

Steve wakes up with a really bad feeling. Not that he got much sleep, being shaken awake by nightmares more times than he could count doesn't help to get a good nights sleep.

He hates that he kept Robin awake with him, more than once. She is the one who shook him awake when he couldn't quite get out of the nightmare himself. It happened more times than he is comfortable with.

Now he slowly sits up and looks around through blurry eyes that don't quite want to focus. And of course he and Robin have a shift today, because what else is new. Their shifts at Family Video seem to have the worst timing more often than not. And he still hasn't talked to Eddie.

Yesterday, after the basketball game, he waited in the parking lot for a bit. Mainly because he had to get the kids home, but he also wanted to see Eddie. Maybe exchange a few words. Maybe even ask if he can come over, he didn't feel like just showing up, not after their fight.

But then he saw how Chrissy Cunningham got into Eddie's van, and Steve knows that Eddie would never have anything in that way with her, because Eddie is gay and he would never do that to Steve. It still hurt, and Steve wasn't able to stop that white hot jealousy from curling up in his chest and making a home there.

That's why he went to Robin's place after getting everyone home and she just took one look at him and told him to stay. He would be back in the morning anyways to pick her up for their shift, so he would just save one way. That's what she said at least, before she knew that he would keep her awake all night.

"Mornin'", Robin mumbles into the pillow when she notices his movement.

Steve turns and buries his head back into the pillow.

"Sorry, didn't want to keep you awake."

Robin mumbles something he doesn't quite catch, so he turns his face to look at her. "What?"

She also turns, no longer mumbling into the pillow. "It's okay, not your fault."

"Still." Steve buries his head in the pillow again.

They stay there for a bit, and Steve's thoughts wander back to his nightmares. He doesn't remember everything, but one of them seems to be stuck in his mind. The one where he was attacked but something, those things burying into his sides. He has no idea what to make of that, it felt so real.

"We should get up.", Robin whines into her pillow, and Steve agrees.

He doesn't start moving, and Robin doesn't either. Not until they hear pounding on Robin's door.

"Robin, don't you have a shift today?"

It's Robin's mom and Robin just groans again. "Yeah, I'm coming."

There is no answer from outside, which is good. Steve is just glad that she didn't just come in. It won't help their case when they see that they both slept in Robin's bed. Steve is pretty sure that Robin's parents think he sleeps on the floor when he sleeps over. Or not, depends on how sold they are on their 'Steve and Robin are dating' theories.

Robin slowly gets out of bed and Steve, inspired by her bravery to face the day, follows suit. When he sits upright he has to hold on a second, a sharp pain shooting through his sides. He grabs his sides, lifting his shirt to check if anything from his nightmare actually came true. He has no idea how that would even be possible, but he doesn't question anything anymore.

His sides look fine, the skin unbroken, and the pain is completely gone after a few seconds. He pushes his shirt down again and he's glad that Robin didn't notice his hesitation. He won't mention this to her or anything else, it will probably be fine.

They manage to get to Family Video on time, with one annoying customer actually waiting for them when they arrive. Typical, this can only happen on a day like this, when they ae both sleep deprived and dead on their feet. Steve is just glad that they aren't late.

As soon as that one overpunctual customer is gone, the store falls silent. Only for a moment, or course, because Robin sees that as her time to shine. Or better, to confront Steve about their sleepless night.

"Sooooo, you wanna talk about it?", she asks while pulling herself up onto the counter.

Steve sighs. He expected this to happen but he still had this very small hope that Robin would wait a bit longer to ask.

He slumps into his forearms on the counter, resting his forehead against Robin's side.

"I have no idea why it was so bad.", he mumbles.

Robin shrugs and starts dangling her feet back and forth.

"Anything specific or just the general nightmare fuel?"

Steve shrugs. "It was weird. I think most of it was the usual stuff, but I only remember one thing specifically."

"What was it?"

"I was attacked by something, it was…different than usual."

Robin starts carding her fingers through his hair. "You think it means something?"

"Don't know."

They stay silent for a while until Robin broaches the next topic.

"You saw how Vicky laughed at me yesterday. Like, not in a fake way, but a real, genuine laugh?"

Stev raises his head from its hiding place and scoots back a bit to get a good look at Robin.

"Of course she laughed. It was my hilarious Muppet joke."

Robin rolls her eyes and pushes against Steve's shoulder.

"My point is that Vicki laughed and everything was just like…perfect."

Steve knows exactly what Robin is doing, that she is trying to distract him. From the nightmares of last night, from his fight with Eddie. But he can also hear that this is genuinely important to her and that she has mor to say. So he tries to keep her going.

"But?"

"But I'm having this problem where it's like, I should stop talking. I have said everything I need to say. But the I guess I just get nervous and the word keep spilling out and I just don't stop and my brain is moving faster than my mouth or better, my mouth is moving faster than my brain and it's like I'm digging this hole for myself that I want to stop digging and I'm trying to stop, but I can't."

Steve can't stop the smile from slowly spreading on his lips. Yeah, this is the Robin he knows all to well and he will definitely not stop her in her rambling that does the exact same thing she is just describing. Digging a hole for herself.

"And I'm doing it right now, aren't I?"

Robin finally says. She looks over at Steve, who really can't stop grinning now. He leans on the counter with one arm and just looks at her for a second, fake stern expression on his face.

"Yeah, you are."

That's the moment where he can't contain his find smile any longer.

Robin takes a step back, slumping backwards against the counter. "I'm hopeless."

Steve shrugs.

"We both are, in our own ways."

Robin glares at him. "You have Eddie, you're actually in a relationship."

Steve shrugs. "Yeah, but…we'll see for how long, I didn't talk to him at all yesterday."

Robin rolls her eyes. "You guys are fine, you just had a little fight, nothing to end a relationship over."

"Yeah, I guess."

Suddenly, Robin perks up and hastily walks over to one of the displays.

"I know what our morning movie is gonna be.", she grabs a tape and turns it around to Steve. "Doctor Zhivago."

Steve can't help but groan. "I don't do double VHS, Robin."

Robin pouts. "But it's about doomed love."

That makes Steve rethink what he just said. Doomed love sounds just about right at the moment, with him and Eddie fighting and Robin still being hung up on Vickie.

"Well, that's relatable."

Robin glares at him at that but then she shrugs. "Precisely."

She walks back over to Steve and grabs the remote to switch on the TV behind the counter. It starts to the local news channel and they both stop in their movements.

Steve feels like he is frozen, like someone emptied a bucket of ice cold water over his head, turing him to ice.

We're in the Forest Hills trailer park in east Roane County. We don't have a lot of details right now, but we can confirm that the body of a Hawkings High student was discovered early this morning. Police have not released a name…

"Holy shit.", is all Steve manages to whisper.

Everything inside him feels like it's cold and he grabs the counter behind him to stay upright. His thoughts are racing, but they all come back to the same horrible question.

What if they found Eddie's body? What if someone killed his boyfriend and the last hing they did was fight?

They are at the exact trailer park were he lives, that reporter is standing in front of the Munson trailer, and-

He should have gone over yesterday, he should have jumped over his own shadow and gone to Eddie instead of hiding out at Robin's house. He should have done…something.

Steve feels himself slowly sliding to the ground, the counter pressing into his back, his legs just giving out beneath him. He's aware that Robin is talking to him, but he can't quite register what she is saying. It feels like his ears are stuffed with cotton, nothing quite coming through. The only thing he can focus own is his worry about Eddie.

He could never live with himself if they actually found Eddie's body and the last thing they did was fight.

"Steve, you have to breathe.", is the first thing that gets through to him again.

Steve tries to comply, but his breaths only come in gasps and his lungs are burning, not receiving enough oxygen. His thoughts are still circling aroung this worst case scenario.

Robin keeps talking, not that he registers any of it, but slowly he gets clearer and he calms down more and more until he can finally breathe again. Robin is squatting down in front of him, one hand on his knee and the other on his shoulder, still talking to him. Steve can finally make his eyes focus on her again.

"Steve, we don't know it's him."

Is the first thing that gets through to him. He looks up at her and they just look at each other for a moment.

"What if it is?", he whispers, his voice breaking halfway through.

Robin leans forward and pulls him towards her and into a hug.

"We'll wait with the panicking till we know for sure, okay?"

Steve wraps his arms around her and holds her tight, manages to nod into her shoulder. It doesn't really help with the overall fear but it does make him feel a bit better. Only a little bit.

They stay wrapped up in that hug for a while until the beel at the door rings.

They seperate and Steve already wants to get up when Robin pushes him back down again.

"I'll go, you look like shit.", she mumbles before standing upright and greeting the customer that just entered.

Steve once again realises how much he loves Robin. He really doesn't know what he would do without her, especially today.

He stays on the floor while he listens to Robin and the customer talking, her rambling grounding him in the moment. He slowly starts feeling like a person again but after a while his gaze automatically drifts over to the TV again.

Robin seems to have muted it, but it's still running, showing the same reporter as earlier. Steve look saway before he can start to panic again.

At some point, Steve feels able to actually work again, at least a little bit. He's still worried about Eddie, so so worried, but he can't do anything right now and it's not like he can leave.

Just as he is standing again, taking a look around from behind the counter, Dustin and Max enter the store.

Dustin walks straight to the counter, Max trotting behind him like a very unmotivated dog that didn't even want to go on a walk in the first place and Steve wonders how these two ended up coming here together. And where the rest is.

He knows that Mike flew to California to visit El, so he's out of the picture for the moment, but Lucas is usually found wherever Max is, so the combination of just Dustin and Max is a bit strange.

Dustin kind of flops onto the counter with his forearms when he reaches it, Max stopping slightly behind him with a sort of pleading expression on her face. That's all the warning Steve gets before Dustin starts whining at him.

"Steeevvveeeeee, can you find Eddie?"

Steve has to do a double take and looks to Robin for a bit of help. Robin is just approaching after getting rid of their last customer and she shrugs. Steve looks at Dustin questioningly, trying to play down how much he wants to know anything Dustin might know about where Eddie is.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, Max saw Eddie running from the trailer last night and he has to be hinding somewhere.", Dustin has the sense to take a look around the store to check that they are alone before continuing. "And we thought maybe you could find him with your powers."

It's like a weight lifts from Steve's shoulders and he can't stop the sigh of relief that leaves his lips.

"So it wasn't Eddie they found dead?", he still has to ask, just to be sure.

Max nods. "It was Chrissy Cunningham."

Robin gasps. "How do you know?"

Max shrugs. "I live opposite, I managed to get a good look before they took her away."

"Okay, so Steve can you do it?", Dustin asks again, already getting impatient.

Steve shrugs. "I can try, but you know that I'm not as good at it as El, right?"

"I don't care, Steve, El isn't here."

Steve shrugs. "Fair enough."

EDDIE

Eddie drives as far as he can. He just has to get away. Away from his fucking trailer and whatever the fuck just happened inside.

It feels so so wrong to just leave Chrissy there but what the hell is he supposed to do? She's fucking dead and he watched her die and god, everyone will think it was him, won't they.

Sounds about right, local town freak lures popular cheerleader into his trailerpark home to break all her bones and turn her eyes to mush, leaving her dead. The papers will love that. Hell, national TV will love that.

Eddie isn't even sure where he is going until he arrives at Steve's place. It was his first instinct, to go to the one person he trusts more than anything. It doesn't matter that they've been fighting, he just needs someone who will believe him.

He's pretty sure that Uncle Wayne would believe him too, but he can't just show up at the power plant, that would just raise suspicions. Turning up at Steve's though, regular friay night acitivity at this point.

He turns off the van and jumps out, nearly loosing his footing in the process. He is so shaky right now and he really doesn't know how to make it stop. He just feels like vibrating out of his body for nothing better to do, because what the fuck.

And it's not like Steve can actually do something against it, he can just give him a hug and tell him that everything will be alright. Maybe tell the police that they were having a movie night or something to give him an alibi. Would Steve lie to the police for him?

Eddie reaches the front door and rings the bell. He hates waking Steve if he's already asleep but it can't be long since he got home since he drove all the kids back home after Hellfire/the game. There's no responce.

Eddie takes a second look at the house and notices that all the lights are out. Doesn't have to mean anything with Steve though, for some reason he sometimes forgets to turn the lights on. Eddie doesn't get it but he hasn't questioned it either, he doesn't want to start a topic that might lead back to their childhoods at the lab, that is generally a topic they avoid.

He rings the bell again, then a third time. No reaction.

Eddie shrugs and walks around the house, getting the second key that is hidden under a stone in the backyard. Neither creative nor save, but it's not like Loch Nora is known for being burgled often.

Eddie lets himself in with the second key and walks through the whole house, looking for his boyfriend. He can't find him anywhere.

"Steve?", he calls out into the silence but the silence stays the same.

Haunting and kind of moving closer.

Eddie hates this house so much.

As soon as he is sure that Steve isn't home, he leaves and locks the door again, putting the key back in its hiding place.

He'll just have to find another hiding place, because he will definitely not go and hide out in this fucking place. Absolutely not.

Chapter Text

STEVE

Steve tries to find Eddie, he really does. He locks himself into the breakroom while the other three stay in the front. Robin to actually do their job and Max and Dustin to keep trying to find Eddie the normal way, by calling people that they know might know where Eddie is.

Steve doesn't have anything to cover his eyes here, so no blindfold. He can still see the bits of light that are peeking through the blinds he pulled closed. He also turned the little radio they have back here on a channel it can't receive so it just plays static back at him. He can still hear Dustin and Robin bickering over the top of it.

He closes his eyes, tries to find the dark in between place like El taught him. It's hard, harder than usual with everything around him. With the dull arguing of his friends, the low rumble of a car passing buy, the bell of the store ringing, but somehow he still manages it, reaches the place he was last in before El insisted they switsch to phone calls.

He concentrates on finding Eddie then. Thinks about him, trying to make out where he is. He just starts walking in a random direction, keeping the thought of his boyfriend close, hoping that it will be enough.

He ends up in front of his own house, sees a shadow of Eddie at the door before it vanishes. Just an after-image, something that already happened. He curses himself that he didn't go home yesterday. Maybe if he had, he could have helped Eddie.

He moves on, keeps walking.

"Steve!"

Someone grabs his shoulder, shaking him.

Steve rips his eyes open, finding himself face to face with Dustin.

"What?!", he half yells at him, frustrated at being interupted.

He could have done it, he's sure. He just needs enough time.

Dustin point his finger at his own nose and Steve lifts his own hand to wipe away the blood before completely focusing on Dustin again.

"What is it?"

"We think we know where he is, but we don't know where that is?"

Steve looks at him in confusion but doesn't resist when Dustin offers a hand and helps him get up from the hard floor. They walk back into the main room of the store.

Steve looks from Dustin to Robin and Max.

"Any of you care to elaborate?"

Max nods. "I think I have a lead."

"And you interrupted me for that?", he asks, crossing his arms in front of his chest. He has to admit that he is a bit annoyed at this.

Max mirrors him by crossing her arms too.

"I found out that Eddie sometimes crashes at the place of a guy called Reefer Rick, apparently he gets his drugs from him. What do you got?"

Steve sighs in defeat. "Well, less than you. I only saw where he was, not where he is right now. If I had more time-"

"Well, time is the one thing we don't have, Steve, so we check out Max' clue first."

Steve rolls his eyes at Dustin's interuption, but he has to admit that he is right. That is their only clue. Robin seems to think the same thing.

"Sounds promising. Where does this Reefer Rick live?"

"Well, that's the thing, no one knows. He's more of a legend, not a guy people actually know.", is Max' response to that.

Dustin still tries to work with it. "What about a last name?"

Max shrugs. "Don't know."

Steve tunes out of the conversation at that point, because for some reason that name does ring a bell for him. He just can't place what exactly it is that he should remember in relation to it.

He knows that Eddie has definitely mentioned the name to him before, and it was definitely related to how he gets his drugs because Steve got curious and asked him about it.

Eddie had just shrugged and said, well Reefer Rick, you ain't heard of him?

Steve hadn't, which Eddie found funny for some reason. Then he told him where this Rick lives, just in case anything ever happened. Steve didn't get why he told him back then, but now a few things seem to slot into place.

"2121 Holland Road."

The words slip out before Steve can think through what his knowledge might imply in this situation. He only notices when three pairs of eyes look at him in varying states of confusion.

Robin is the first to break the silence. "What?"

Steve shrugs. "I just remembered. The guy lives at 2121 Holland Road, over by Lovers Lake."

Dustin's eyes seem to get bigger with every word Steve says.

"How do you even know that?"

Well, and that just sounded like an insult that Steve can't ignore.

"What, you think I just made that up?"

Max interjects before Dustin can escalate the situation. "It's weird how you know that, we don't even knwo the guys last name."

Steve throws his hands up in exasperation. "Eddie told me, okay?"

Dustin's eyes narrow. "Why would he do that?"

"Why not?"

Robin groans. "Okay, children. Lets all get in the car and check, yeah. Because like we said earlier, this is out only lead."

Dustin is not so easily convinced. "No, I want an answer."

Steve rolls his eyes. "And I repeat, why not? Now lets go."

He doesn't wait for an answer, just turns around and goes back to the break room to get rid of the Family Video vest and grab his car keys. Robin is right behind him and throws the vest on top of his.

"You heard the guy, lets go."

Dustin already takes another deep breath to keep the argument going when Max punches him in the arm while she passes him. Steve doesn't miss the look she throws him though, it seems like she knows more than she lets on.

Steve pushes that suspicion away for now. He knows that he is over at the Munson trailer a lot but that doesn't have to mean anything, so either Max is just suspicious because of that, or she has seen something that incriminates him and Eddie. He really hopes it's the first option.

They lock the store despite it not being near closing time and all pile into Steve's car. Time to try and find Eddie.

EDDIE

He looks up in panic when he hears the engine of an approaching car, but he doesn't move.

It's like Eddie is frozen in his panic, and he has been for a while. Basically since he arrived here. He abandoned his van somewhere close to Loch Nora, not too far from Steve's place. It took a long time to walk out to Lovers Lake, but he knows that no one ever comes here, and that's exactly what he needs.

Well, he thought that no one comes here, but apparently he was wrong about that.

He flinches when the car doors are slammed closed and then he hears steps approaching. And suddenly his paralysis is lifted.

With a new found energy, Eddie leaps up from his perch on the ground and looks around in panic until his eyes land on the tarp on top of the row boat. It's the best hiding space he can come up with so he goes for it. He grabs the empty bottle he smashed against the wall earlier to have some kind of weapon and rolls into the boat, pulling the tarp on top of him in the process.

He lays there and waits, anxious and filled with nervous energy. His grip tightens around the neck of the broken bottle and he wishes that he had used his powers at least a little bit in recent times.

Just a small thing here or there, nothing to be noticed or get caught just, something. Because right now he has no clue how to even tap into his powers, it's just been way too long. But if he knew how, maybe he could defend himself better, get out of here without getting arrested and skip towns.

Now that he thinks about it, maybe he should have just skipped towns.

STEVE

The others approach the house, knocking against the door and windows, trying to get a reaction from inside, trying to see if someone occupies the house. Steve's gaze falls on the shed right next to the lake. It seems like the place Eddie would hide out in first, he can't pinpoint why but it just feels right.

"Guys.", he calls out to the others while slowly getting closer.

"Where are you going?", Dustin yells after him but Steve just ignores it and keeps walking towards the shed.

Just as he reaches the door he looks back over his shoulder and sure enough, the others are right behind him.

Steve slowly pushes the door open and looks inside. It's kind of dark, the only light that gets in is creeping trough all the cracks in between the wood.

He goes in first, the others right behind him.

It happens so fast that Steve needs a moment to comprehend what even happened. One moment he is walking next to the boat, patting down the tarp inside it, the next he is slammed against the wall, a sharp object pressed into his throat. It takes him a few seconds until he manages to make his eyes see what is in front of him, or better, who. It's Eddie.

Eddie, with a crazed and panicked look in his eyes and apparently, no recognition that he is threatening to slit his boyfriend's throat.

Steve can't make everythign out that the others are saying, but they are definitely all yelling over each other, probably to placate Eddie and make him back off.

Steve slowly raises his hands to the sides of his head. "Eddie, it's me."

His voice doesn't come out as more than a whisper. The expression on Eddie's face doesn't change and the others are still yelling over each other, their words all mushed together into something he can't even begin to understand.

Steve slowly lowers his right hand and moves it towards Eddie, touching his shoulder.

"Eddie? It's me, it's Steve", the bottle at his throat doesn't budge. "You're safe."

It's like a switch has switched inside Eddie mind, he lowers his hands and drops the bottle, kind of collapsing into Steve's arms.

Steve, who is kind of shaky himself due to the stress of the situation, just falls back against the wall with the added weight of Eddie pressing him against it. He doesn't care, he just raises his arms and tightly wraps them around Eddie, pulling him even closer.

For a moment, he forgets about the other people who are with him, especially Max and Dustin who don't really know what his relationship with Eddie is. He just holds Eddie tight, trying to calm him down.

Eddie lets out a shuddering breath and wraps his arms around Steve's torso.

"You came for me.", he whispers, so low that only Steve can hear it.

He nods, his face halt hidden in Eddie's hair. "Of course."

Eddie takes in another deep shuddering breath before nodding again, slowly loosening his tight grip on Steve and taking a step back. Steve immediately misses his closeness, but only until he reminds himself of their situation and their audience.

Eddie offers Steve a hand, a small smile on his lips.

"Sorry for scaring you, Harrington."

The use of his last name should sting, but Steve sees it for what it is. A desperate attempt to create some distance between them, for the sake of them and their relationship.

Steve nods and takes the offered hand in a short handshake.

Eddie nods too, then leans back against the wall. He slowly slides down along it, kind of staring into space.

Steve just wants to take him into his arms again, tell him it's gonna be okay until he stops being so shaky and just looking so scared. What happened with Chrissy that scared him so much?

Before Steve can react, Dustin pushes him to the side and takes his place in front of Eddie, crushing down to be eye to eye with him. Steve just lets him, Dustin doesn't know how close he and Eddie actually are, and it's supposed to stay that way.

"Eddie.", Dustin says and waits until Eddie looks at him before he continues. "We just want to talk."

When Eddie doesn't say anything, Robin crushes down next to Dustin. "We just wanna know what happened."

Eddie looks up at them, then to Steve, then back to Dustin.

He starts shaking his head.

"You won't believe me."

While he says it, he looks over to Steve and Steve is really glad that they're as close as they are, because he understands what Eddie is trying to tell him. Eddie thinks that Steve would believe him.

So it has to be related to something only they know of, at least as far as Eddie is aware. A cold shudder runs down Steve's spine and he feels how all the colour drains from his face.

"No."

It's only a whisper but loud enough for the others to hear. All three just glare at him.

"Ignore Steve.", says Dustin and Max throws in a "Try us." at the same time.

Steve glares at them but it's ignored.

Eddie takes a deep breath and exhales shakily before he begins.

"Chrissy came home with me because she asked me for some drugs, like stronger stuff than the weed I sell at school. I went to my room to get 'em and left Chrissy in the living room, when I came back she was just staring into space, unresponsive. No matter what I did, she didn't react. Then her body just, like, lifted up into the air and she just hung there. And then her bones-"

Eddie stops there, the avalanche of words suddenly coming to a halt. Steve sees how Eddie glances at him from the corner of his eyes.

"It was like…", he trails off, taking a deep breath. "Her bones startet to snap."

Steve takes a deep breath in, his mind flashing back to broken bodies on the floor, blood spilled everwhere, extremeties bending in places where they shouldn't, in places without any joints to allow the movement.

His eyes find Eddie and Eddie nods.

Dustin looks back and forth between Steve and Eddie when Eddie doesn't continue.

"What the fuck kind of creepy communication is happening between you two?", he asks, breaking the heavy silence between them.

Steve ignores him, just continues looking at Eddie, his gaze questioning.

He knows that they are both thinking the same thing. Eddie is thinking of the same bodies that Steve is thinking of, the question is if Eddie wants to reveal that part of him to the others. He doesn't even know that they know about Steve.

And the others don't know about how Steve escaped the lab, he never told them what the bodies looked like, that they had all been bend in twisted in ways a human body shouldn't. Not even Robin.

Then Eddie shakes his head and he continues.

"Then there were her eyes, it was like someone was pulling them from behind, from inside her head. Blood everywhere. I didn't know what to do so I ran, it was like…"

Again, Eddie stops himself.

"I left her there.", Eddie adds, and then he looks up at them. "You must think I'm crazy."

Dustin immediately shakes his head and Eddie seems a bit taken aback by his reaction.

"No. We don't think you're crazy."

Eddie's eyes widen. He looks to Steve, so many questions in his eyes and suddenly Steve feels a wave of guilt wash over him, for not telling Eddie anything, for not preparing him. Because of course the Upside Down would come back, of course it's not over, and of course it will pull Eddie in with them this time. Fucking typical.

Then Eddie starts yelling.

"Don't bullshit me man, I know how it sounds!"

To Steve's surprise, Max is the one who calms the situation down again.

"We're not bullshitting you."

"We believe you.", Robin adds.

Eddie exhales heavily and shakes his head again.

That seems to be Dustin's sign to start the explanation. Steve would love to stop him, to just step in front of him and just take Eddie into his arms and explain everything to him later, on his own terms, but he knows that that isn't an option right now.

"Look, what I'm about to tell you might be a little…difficult to take."

"Okay?"

"You know how people say Hawkins is cursed. They're not way off. There's another world hidden beneath Hawkins. Sometimes it bleeds into ours."

Eddie nods, just slightly.

He looks up at Steve. "Like ghosts and shit?"

Steve nods.

The question Eddie says and the one he's really asking are very different. They talked about it once, how they could warn each other if something is related to the Lab without letting anyone around them know what they're talking about. For some reason Eddie decided that ghosts and shit would work. Somehow it just did.

Max, who obviously doesn't know what Eddie's question was actually refering to, continues the explanation.

"There are some things worse than ghosts."

Dustin inserts himself in the conversation again.

"These monsters, from this other world, we thought they were gone. But they've come back before and that's why we needed to find you."

"If they're back again, we need to know.", Max adds.

Eddie glances up at Steve again but this time Steve isn't sure what Eddie is silently asking him.

Robin does not seem to notice it: "Did you see anything?"

And Max seems to be just as oblivious to the silent conversation Steve and Eddie keep coming back to: "Dark particles maybe?"

Eddie shakes his head.

"No man, there was nothing you could see or touch. There was no warning, I just came back and she was standing there. I never-"

Eddie stops again, his look going to Steve, again.

This time Max and Robin notice too, but Dustin is the one who says something.

"What exactly is with you two, I feel like you're not having the same conversation as we are."

Steve ignores him, keeps eye contact with Eddie.

"You mean it looked like…"

He doesn't have to finish and Eddie nods. "Yeah."

"But that was…"

"So long ago. Yeah."

Robin steps in between them to interrupt them looking at each other.

"You two are stopping this right now, it's creepy. What are you talking about."

Eddie shakes his head again, it seems to be the thing he does the most right now.

"I can't tell you."

Steve leans to the side to be able to see Eddie again, searching his gaze.

"Eddie, they know."

Eddie head snaps up, his eyes suddenly panicked. "What? How?"

"I'm so lost right now.", Dustin mumbles and the other two seem to think the same because they both nod.

Steve takes a deep breath, exchanges one last look with Eddie to be completely sure. He can't quite tell what Eddie's expression means.

"You wanna tell them?"

Eddie shrugs. "Yeah man, whatever. It doesn't matter anyways, we'll probably all be dead in a week."

Steve can watch as the other three all turn very pale. Dustin is the first to find his voice again.

"What?"

Steve sighs. "How about we all go back to my place, I'll explain there."

"You sure that's safe, with the cops looking for Eddie?", Robin asks.

Steve shrugs. "They won't even think of checking if he's with me, because why would they. And, you know, I'll deal with it if anything happens."

Robin snorts.

"Sounds very promising, Steve."

He rolls his eyes. "You know what I mean. Everyone to my car, now."

No one seems to hesitate to follow that order.

Chapter Text

EDDIE

As soon as they get to Steve's house, Eddie practically sprints up the stairs and into Steve's room, firmly closing the door behind him. He has a change of clothes stashed here, just in case.

He has no idea when he and Steve even agreed to it, but Steve has a similar pile in Eddie's room. It just occured to them at some point that a change of clothes is great after staying over without planning it beforehand and their styles are too different to just borrow something from the other without it being to noticable.

Eddie hears Dustin shout something downstairs, but it's too muffled to make out what he is saying. Probably something about Eddie being so at home here and just running away.

He hates everything about this situation. He hates that he can't control himself and just had to say what he did, basically paving the way for telling the others about the lab. He hates that he is way to obvious with Steve, and he doesn't care about Robin, she knows anyways, but Max and Dustin are here too. He loves Dustin and his big mouth but he has no idea how the kid would react to hey I'm gay and I'm also banging your best friend. He can't imagine it will be a quiet reaction.

Apart from all that, Steve has a lot of explaining to do, but what does he mean they know? About the Lab? Why the fuck would Steve ever tell them that, he only suspected that Robin maybe knows, but the fucking kids?

And that whole shit about the monsters and them having to check if they're back? Eddie has a lot of question and the first is why Steve didn't trust him enough to just tell him. He thought they were better than that.

He doesn't actually change his clothes in the end because he is so filthy so it doesn't actually help and he'd rather take a shower later. Eddie runs down the steps again, finding the others in the living room with all the curtain pulled completely closed. Probably a good call.

"Where were you?", Dustin kind of screeches in his direction.

Eddie shrugs and grins at him. "Just had to clear my head for a minute, is easier without you yelling at me, kid."

Dustin rolls his eyes in annoyance. "Can you finally tell us what's going on with you and Steve?"

Eddie halts at that for a second before he comprehends that Dustin does not mean what his brain automatically jumped to. He does notice the little snort from Max though and that confirms his suspicion from earlier that the little shit seems to know something. Not that that is important right now.

Before Eddie can say something, Steve starts explaining, and damn, that's why Eddie loves him.

He does a double take at his own thoughts, because that is new. Not that he has time to inspect it right now, he'll have time to properly panic later.

"Okay, so, you know what I told you after Starcourt. About my childhood."

All three nod, but Eddie just feels more confused, so many more questions emerging in his mind.

"What does the Starcourt mall have to do with this?", he asks, looking at Steve.

"You'll see.", he just answers before going back to his story. "What Eddie meant earlier is that, what happened to Chrissy, I saw it before. The day I got out."

He stops there and waits until the others have connected the dots. It doesn't take as long as Eddie would have expected, which just elongates that list he has in his mind. He really needs to confront Steve about all those secrets he apparently has from him later.

Dustin is the first who seems to think further then, and this is the moment Eddie dreaded.

"Okay, but if you saw it in Hawkins Lab, Steve, then how would Eddie know…"

The kid doesn't finish his sentence, trailing off into disbelief. He catches himself impressively fast and looks at Eddie in shock.

"Hey Eddie, could I take a look at your wrist?"

It should be a really weird question, no matter the context, but this is no normal situation. Eddie realises more and more that there seems to be a whole layer to Steve's life, and to Dustin's and probably the other freshmen Steve always hangs out with, that he never saw coming.

Very slowly, Eddie opens the clasp on his watch and pushes the bracelet down to his hand, revealing the numbers. He stretches his hand out to Dustin, who grabs it and then seems to freeze.

Max gets up from her perch on the arm of the couch and Robin also takes a curious glance from her place next to Steve. The shock is clear on their faces.

Especially Dustin seems way too stunned to speak, opening and closing his mouth multiple times like a fish out of water. Max is the first to say something.

"So…you're from the Lab, like Steve?"

Eddie nods slowly. He never expected that anyone else would find out so soon, after he and Steve discovered this fact about each other.

He looks to Steve, searching for answers but Steve is looking away, avoiding his gaze. And yeah, the fight about the Hellfire session and the game seems to be off the table because they have bigger problems right now, but Eddie definitely has to pick another fight about this with Steve.

Later, at some point. Right now, he would just like a hug and a chance to go hide from the world and everything that is happening right now.

Dustin seems to rediscover his ability to speak in that moment.

"Let me get this straight, you escaped from Hawkins Lab the same day Steve did, and the bodies looked like Chrissy's body did after what happened?"

Eddie nods again and swallows hard. He clears his throat. He guesses that now is as good a time as any to tell them his story.

"I was in one of the rooms they trained us in when it happened. I was asked to take a look at what Six is doing in the next room over with one of the other doctors."

He takes another deep breath, glancing at Steve again. Steve is finally looking back at him again, meeting his eyes. There is something in his expression that Eddie can't place, some sort of pain. He will have to ask about it later.

He forces himself to start talking again. "I watched as they were both lifted in the air and I watched when their bones started snapping. What happened to Chrissy looked exactly the same."

"How did you get out?", Dustin whispers into the heavy silence in the room.

Eddie shrugs. "No idea. After seeing what I saw, the door to the room I was in burst open, I don't remember anything after that, just that I woke up later and everyone was dead so I just ran. The doors were all open."

Robin perks up at that, looking back and forth between him and Steve.

"It sounds very unlikely that both of you were just lucky. What if whoever caused this wanted you to escape?"

Eddie has to admit, he never really considered this possibility. In all fairness, until a few months ago, he also thought that he is the only one who got out, so who can blame him for his assumption?

"I don't think we were supposed to get out.", Steve adds then.

His voice sounds heavy and he's staring at the ground, picking at his hands. He looks so miserable that Eddie would love nothing more than to just get over there and pull him into a hug. But he can't, and technically he is still kind of mad at Steve for keeping all of this away from him.

Dustin doesn't seem to pick up on Steve's misery.

"Maybe you did, think about it. It's a really big coincidence that you two were spared for some reason. Eddie apparently passed out and you never said what you did, but you both got out that day. And El survived too."

Eddie looks at Steve again. "You never told me either, why you weren't killed."

Steve turns his head away from them, looking at Robin. They seem to have a silent conversation and Robin slings an arm around Steve's back, pulling him slightly closer to her.

"I thought that I died, for a moment. I felt all my bones break and my eyes burst, but…", Steve swallows. "I woke up again and was fine. It wasn't my own pain that I felt, that made me pass out. I probably just looked dead and that's why I made it."

Eddie can't help the confusion he feels at his words. Why did he never tell him that? And Eddie did not have this sort of connection with any of the other Lab-kids, he didn't even know that that is a possibility with their powers.

"How? Like, who's pain did you feel?", he asks carefully.

"Six.", Steve finally looks at Eddie again and he can finally place that pain in Steve's eyes, it's grief. "She was my twin, we were conected somehow, with our powers."

A heavy silence settles over them, it seems to suffocate the whole room. Even Dustin is quiet for a bit and when he says something again, it's very quiet.

"You never told us."

Steve shrugs. "I never thought it would be relevant, but whatever or whoever killed Chrissy, it's definitely connected to the rest."

They all nod and Eddie is once again reminded of the fact that for some reason, they all seem to know exactly what is going on. Somehow this is not the first time they have faced something like this together. It makes something inside him twist, that Steve never said anything. About this and about his sister.

It feels like he didn't trust Eddie with any of this information, and that stings. It stings so much and Eddie feels so wrung out he just wants to curl up in the corner and cry the tears that have been just beyond reach since last night. He just wants to sleep and maybe even be held by Steve while doing so.

He doesn't want any of this.

He wishes that he had never taken Chrissy to his trailer, that he never became a part of this.

Wishing unfortunately never got him anywhere in his life.

STEVE

He hates that Eddie got pulled into this, this bullshit that has been defining his life since that fateful night at the Byers' house when he just wanted to apologise to Nancy. The night that pulled him back into the things that are related to the lab. Eddie deserves to never have anything to do with the lab ever again, but here they are.

After explaining everything that has happened to Eddie, which he let Dustin do because Steve is just exhausted at this point, he sends Eddie upstairs to take a shower. Eddie just nods, a relived smile on his face, before he goes upstairs again.

It leaves Steve with Robin, Dustin and Max.

Dustin directs a glare at Steve as soon as they hear the door upstairs closing behind Eddie.

"How lng have you known about Eddie?", he asks with an accusing tone.

Steve sighs. He really doesn't have the energy for this right now.

"A while,", he just says. "Since Christmas."

Dustin eyes go wide.

"Christmas? Why didn't you tell us, Steve?!", he basically screeches.

Robin's hands go up to her ears and she glares at Dustin.

"Inside voice, Dustin."

Steve joins Robin with the glaring.

"Yeah, apart from that, I was not obligated to tell you. Eddie saw my number by accident and when I tried to explain, he showed be his, that's all that happened."

Max cocks her head to the side, a thughtful expression on her face, but she doesn't say anything.

Dustin still seems offended.

"It could have been relevant Steve, what if something happened and we didn't know?"

"Then I would have told you. I never expected that Eddie would get pulled into all of this, I thought I could keep him out of it."

"You never mentioned the Upside Down to him?", Dustin asks, incredulous.

Steve shakes his head.

"No, I didn't. We all signed a fucking NDA, Dustin, no scratch that, we all signed at least three fucking NDAs. Technically, we are breaking so many rules right now by just telling Eddie."

Dustin rolls his eyes. "Who cares about that, he's our friend."

That's when Eddie appears in the doorway.

"NDAs? Like, seriously now?"

Steve nods. "Yeah, that's why I didn't tell you."

Eddie crosses his arms in front of his chest and leans against the doorway. "Still fucking rough man, it's like all of you are living a secret second life or something and I just stumbled into it on accident."

Before Steve can say something about it, Robin interject.

"I mean, yeah, that's exactly what happened. It's the same thing that happened to me last year, I had no clue about all this bogus before that."

Steve watches as Eddie looks at each of them, the next question already clear on his face, at least to Steve.

"When did this all start then."

"1983."

Steve and Dustin answer simultaneously.

"The night Will Byers disappeared.", Max says, before adding. "I only moved here in '84 and then somehow got pulled into all of this."

"That's so insane.", Eddie just says, shaking his head.

Steve can vaguely imagine what is going on in Eddie's head right now. He probably wonders why this is happening to him, like Steve did when this first happened. When he first faced off a Demogorgon and realised that maybe, just maybe, the lab did not just vanish from existence when he left it behind.

He wishes that he could have warned Eddie, could have told him that it's not all gone, that some of it is still creeping around just under their feet. He kind of hates himself for not telling him, but how could he have known?

They all thought that this is over. Yes, Steve had this underlying feeling that they aren't done yet, had this dread that he carries around with him since Starcourt Mall went up in flames last year, but he had hoped.

He had hoped that maybe, he and the others can just have normal lives from here on out, can just try to find some normalcy again.

He hates how wrong he was in his assumptions, in his hopes.

Just as the silence starts feeling like it will suffocate him, Max speaks up.

"Eddie, where did you even get a clean Hellfire shirt from?"

Her eyes are narrowed and her tone is nearly accusing. And damn, why did she have to mention it, because now Dustin's eyes widen too and he and Max exchange a glance.

Steve doesn't think that they reached the same conclusion.

Before either of them can voice whatever thought they are having, Robin interjects.

"How about we all try and get some sleep? It's late and we have a lot to deal with tomorrow."

Dustin groans but no one objects.

Steve gets blankets and pillows and some of his run down shirts for everyone, then looks around at everyone.

He would love to just grab Eddie and take him upstairs to his own room, but that would raise suspicions, and Max already has enough of those. But he does have another idea.

"Eddie, you can have the guest room."

Eddie looks at him wide eyed. the shock clearly written all over his face. "What?"

Steve just looks at hi fondly for a second before remembering that they are not alone and schooling his expression into something neutral.

"We can't risk anyone walking by and seeing you by chance, so you take the guest bedroom upstairs, it's not in use anyways."

No one objects to that, not even Dustin who, if this was a normal sleepover situation, would definitely try to claim the normal bed over the couch.

After making sure that everyone is properly situated, Steve wishes them a good night and gestures for Eddie to follow him. Eddie follows him without question.

Chapter Text

EDDIE

When Eddie wakes up, he needs a few seconds to orientate himself. He recognises the wallpaper first, just as atrocious as the one in Steve's room, but in a different way.

Then he remembers, everything that happened the two days before slamming into him at once. For a moment, he considers just staying here, pulling the blanket back over himself and ignore the outside world. He knows exactly that he can't do that.

Instead, he slowly raises the blanket and leaves the room, creeping over to Steve's room and gently closing the door behind himself. Steve seems to still be asleep and Eddie crawly under the blanket next to him.

He wishes that he could have slept here last night, but they were both too scared that something would happen and then one of the kids runs in and finds them curled up in bed together.

Steve lets out a small sighs when Eddie wraps his arms around him, then he starts moving and turning towards him. He blinks blearily at Eddie, and Eddie can't help but smile at him. It's just too cute to look at.

He leans forward and presses a chaste kiss on Steve's lips, a smile sneaking on his own face.

He's still a bit mad at Steve, for not telling him anything and keeping this whole big aspect of his life secret. But he got some time to think about it last night, as sleep didn't come easy, and he understands it at least a little bit.

"Mornin'", Steve mumbles and Eddie smiles again.

"Good morning.", he murmurs.

Steve smiles. "You been here long?"

Eddie shakes his head. "Nah, I think I woke you."

"It's okay."

Eddie moves a bit closer to Steve, pulling him into a tight hug. Steve lets himself be pulled, burrying his face in the crook of Eddie neck.

For a moment they just lie there like that, then Steve starts talking.

"I'm really sorry, about everything. That I didn't tell you about any of this and that you have to be part of it now. It's all very shitty."

Eddie huffs a laugh. Very shitty doesn't quite cover it.

He says exactly that.

Steve nods in response, face still hidden against Eddie neck.

"I know, it's just…I thought about it, after I found out that you're from the Lab too, but then…I just kept this hope that it's over. That we closed the Upside Down for good and that we can live normal lives now. I was convinced of it until you told us how Chrissy died."

Eddie is stunned into silence by that. He did not expect this, and all the anger he had felt yesterday, that had already lessened by sleeping a night, simmers down to nearly nothing. He just feels sad now, sad that Steve's life never really stopped being messed up and scary even after getting out of the horrors that were their childhood.

By the thought of their childhood, he suddenly remembers what Steve told them yesterday, about Six.

"I'm sorry about your sister.", he mutters into Steve's hair.

Steve sighs. "It's okay, it was a long time ago."

Eddie doesn't really believe him, but he leaves the topic alone for now. He isn't sure if he wants or should open this can of worms right now, not when they have more pressing matters to attend to.

Speaking of which, there is one thing he didn't quite get yesterday.

"Can I ask what happened at Starcourt, you mentioned it more than once yesterday, and I only remember that there was a fire?"

Steve snorts and lifts his face from it's hiding place in Eddie's neck. There's mirth on his face and it looks out of place, especially considering the topic.

"The fire was just a cover up.", he says.

Eddie smirks. "After what I heard yesterday, I suspected. So, what happened?"

Steve smiles too. "Basically, there were Russians underneath the mall, trying to open an interdimensional portal to the Upside Down, that's the dark place with the monsters we mentioned that exists like underneath Hawkins or something."

Eddie nods in understanding.

He can't say that he completely gets it, there are still bits and pieces everywhere in the stories he's been told since yesterday that are missing, things that are not adding up.

But they'll have time for that later, he's sure of that. At least, he is trying to convince himself of that.

They both flinch when they hear a loud crash from downstairs, then Dustin's voice echoes through the house.

Eddie has no idea what he is saying but there's an urgency to it that reignites the panic in Eddie, the one that was on the very back of his mind since he crawled into bed with Steve. He really just wants to stay here, hidden away from the world, where they are safe.

He knows that the world has other plans, and so, apparently, does Steve, who sighs like the weight of the world rests on his shoulders. Maybe it does, after what Eddie has learned yesterday.

Eddie watches as Steve slowly sits up and stretches his arms up over his head. His shirts rides up at his sides and Eddie wants nothing more than grab him and pull him back down into bed with him. He hates that he can't do that.

Instead, Eddie sighs and rolls sideways until he kind of falls off the side of the bed, not really falling to the ground but getting to his feet in an extremely ungraceful way.

When he looks over to Steve, who is also standing beside the bed, there is an adoring smile on his face and yeah, that makes it all worth it.

Eddie walks over to his boyfriend and grabs him by the waist, pulling him close. Steve starts to protest but doesn't get far as Eddie presses a quick kiss to his mouth.

When he leans back, Steve follows the movement, chasing his lips. Eddie grins and gives him another peck on the lips before stepping backwards.

"Sorry, sweetheart, but I fear the child is yearning for attention."

Steve groans but nods, hiding his face in his hands for a few seconds. "Yeah, I know."

Steve's face emerges from his hands again and he jumps forward to kiss Eddie for the last time before he opens the door and gets to the stairs first. Eddie grumbles about it not being fair but follows him without any other protest.

Downstairs, it's like hell has broken loose.

Not the kind of hell that Eddie has started to imagine the Upside Down to be, but more in the sense that somehow, Dustin has managed to make a big mess over night.

Said kid is sitting on one of the couches, fully dressed and fully awake, a fucking walkie talkie in hand and a big grin on his face.

"Finally!"

If he wonders about Eddie and Steve appearing at the same time, he doesn't show it. Eddie is very sure that he just doesn't think about it being unusual or anything, just chance. Judging by the excitement on Dustin's face, he seems to be preocupied with something else anyways.

All that put aside, Eddie doesn't miss the raised eyebrow the Maxfield girl can't seem to hide before she avoids his gaze. He already noticed her looks yesterday and he will pull her aside at some point to make sure of her loyalties.

He knows that she lives in the trailer park, not far from his and Wayne's trailer, and as often as Steve is over at his, he wouldn't put it past the redhead to put stuff together. He just needs to check in on what exactly the stuff is that she thinks to have put together. And soon.

The front door of the house opens and Eddie quickly ducks into the living room so no one can spot him from outside. Also because he has no idea who it is, could be the Harringtons, as unusual as their appearance is.

He hears Robin's voice a second later and realises that he needn't have worried. He glances around the doorframe and sees her holding up some shopping bags.

"I got us some food.", she grins while saying it before disappearing into the kitchen.

There's a few more minutes of chaos before they all settle in the living room with breakfast in their hands.

Dustin practically seems to vibrate in his seat while he waits his turn to share whatever he has seemingly uncovered instead of sleeping. Eddie takes pity on him and nods in his direction, signalling him to just get it out.

"Okay, so I have good news and bad news. What do you wanna hear first, Eddie?"

Eddie wonders how that can even be a question. "Bad news first, always."

He sees Max nod out of the corner of his eye and he's glad that she agrees with the only sensible option in this scenario.

"All right. Bad news. We tapped into the Hawkins PD dispatch with our Cerebro, and they're definitely looking for you. Also, they're pretty convinced you killed Chrissy."

Eddie raises his eyebrows, but before he can even ask his question, max adds on.

"Like, 100% kind of convinced."

Well, that explains it then. Whenever they even had the time to do that. Eddie doesn't even want to begin to question what the hell Dustin's mentioned Cerebro is, he obviously knows it from the comics but he has no idea to what exactly that translates in real life.

Steve seems to be asking himself similar question.

"When did you even do all this?"

Dustin shrugs. "Couldn't sleep, thought to just get some stuff done while you needed to get your beauty sleep, apparently."

Eddie does not like the tone on him at all but he doesn't want to get into that now. One look at Steve confirms that he seems to feel the same.

He decides to get back on the topic. "And the good news?"

"Your name hasn't gone public yet. But if we found out about you, it's a matter of time before others do too. And once that gets out, everyone and their shallow-minded mother is gonna be gunning for you.", Robin says.

She had been silent till now and she sounds very severe. As it should, given the topic, what she just predicted sounds kind of familiar.

"Hunt the freak, right?", he gets out around the lump that has formed in his throat.

Robin nods. "Exactly."

"Shit.", is the only thing Eddie can mutter in response to that.

Eddie risks a glance at Steve, who has gone a few shades paler too. He also knows what this means, in more ways than one.

They both know that everyone in town will come after Eddie without hesitation once they know he is a suspect. He's the easy, obvious target to choose. Of course.

Always the Outsider, the one that sticks out of the crows, the one that doesn't fit. The metalhead who has a reputation and a bunch of rumors floating around about his queerness and general satanic stuff his after school club gets up to according to the general word of mouth at Hawkins High.

Dustin doesn't really seem to pick up on the tenseness of the situation. Or on the looks that Eddie, Robin and Steve are exchanging with each other. Instead, he just keeps talking, because apparently, he wasn't done with his news.

"I thought about what you told us yesterday, Eddie. And I hvae a theory of what we're up against."

Eddie raises his eyebrow in confusion and exchanges a look with Steve, who doesn't seem to follow either. Probably for different reasons, Steve has done this before, and Eddie hasn't. But from what they told him, it didn't sound like they had no clue who they are facing. So this is surprising.

"What do you mean, I thought you guys have done this before."

Dustin shrugs. "I mean, yeah, but it's different this time. But I have a theory!"

Steve sighs. "Please do share with the rest of us, Dustin."

He sounds so annoyed that Eddie would like to confront him about it. Because as much as Dustin is trying to pull this conversation longer than necessary, it's no reason to be this annoyed about it.

Then he takes a closer look at Steve and notices the deep rings under his eyes. He didn't notice before but Steve looks like he barely slept last night, so maybe that's why his patience is already wearing thin. Eddie regrets not noticing it sooner, he could have asked him about it while they were still alone.

Eddie forces himself to look away from Steve and face Dustin again who is already preparing to share his theory.

"Okay, so Eddie said that Chrissy was in some sort of trance, right. And I thought, hey, what or who could do that and it sounds like a dark wizard or something, stalking his victim and then, bam!"

He slams his fist into his open hand and Eddie watches as both Max and Steve flinch at the sudden movement and sound. Regrettably, Eddie realises that he does feel like he knows what Dustin is talking about.

"You mean like Vecna, in the campaign?"

Dustin nods.

Steve groans and this time Eddie can't help but comment on it.

"What is your problem, Steve?"

Steve buries his face in his hands. "Sorry, it's just, this is not DnD, Dustin. Yes, it sounds like what Vecna does, but we can't trust that it works the same way in our situation."

Dustin shrugs. "It's better than nothing, Steve."

Steve shrugs, face still buried in his hands. "I guess."

They are all quiet for a moment, before Eddie speaks up again.

"So, what do we do about the police thinking I killed Chrissy?"

Dustin perks up again. "Well, we just have to find Vecna and kill him and prove your innocence."

Eddie just looks at Dustin, he is sure that the shock is clear on his face. "Yeah, sure, sounds like a walk in the park."

This is when Robin finally says something again.

"He might sounds delusional, but this is not our first time fighting some sort of interdimensional, supernatural monsters, so he does have a point."

"So, what do we do next. Wait here till something happens?"

Just as Max utters those words, the phone starts ringing. They all flinch and Eddie slumps further down into the couch. He knows it's a stupid reaction considering that a phone only transmits sound, but he can't stop himself.

Steve's face finally emerges from behind his hands and he gets up from his perch to walk over to the ringing phone. He picks it up while they all watch him anxiously.

"Harrington?"

"What? Nance, calm down, what happened?"

"We'll come over okay, stay where you are."

Steve rolls his eyes. "Yeah, I know where. See you in a bit."

He hangs up and turns back around to them.

"Someone else died, we'll meet Nancy at the trailer park."

Eddie's eyes feel like they're close to bulging out of his head.

"Nancy as in Nancy Wheeler?", he asks in shock.

He is met with four nodding heads, no one elaborates.

"Who exactly is involved in all this, apart from you?", he asks carefully.

Steve is the one to answer.

"The Byers, the Wheeler siblings, Lucas and his sister, Hopper was in on it too."

They are all silent for a while, Eddie would take a bet that Steve is thinking about Hopper again.

Max breaks the silence.

"We should go, find out what Nancy knows."

No one objects her, and Eddie stays behind in Steve's cold and empty house.

As soon as they're all gone, he grabs some snacks from the kitchen and goes upstairs, barricading himself in Steve's room with the curtains drawn closed.

STEVE

Steve tries to keep himself in check and stick to the speed limit, but it's not as easy to do when you're concerned about your friend who sounded absolutely terrified over the phone and your boyfriend is hiding out in your house because he is the prime suspect in a murder he didn't commit.

Steve really wishes, not for the first time, that they could have one normal year. Maybe they can, after all this is over. He will just have to keep hoping.

When they finally reach the trailer park, it's all eerily quiet. Steve parks a street away, like Nancy instructed and then tells the others to follow him. While passing the main entrance, they all see the police car still posted there.

Steve finally gets why Nancy told him to take the entrance around the back, the one that isn't watched by the cops.

While he walks in the front, the others a few steps behind, Max catches up to him. They walk in silence for no more than a few seconds before Max decides to destroy his piece.

"Can I ask you something? About Eddie?"

Steve really doesn't know if he wants to answer a question about Eddie, especially when Max is the one who is asking him, because lets be honest, that can't mean anything good. He nods.

"Sure."

Max takes a deep breath in.

"If I'm way out of line here, please tell me, but…I noticed that you're at Eddie's place a lot and then yesterday, Eddie had clean clothes at your place that were obviously his, and I…"

She trails off and Steve glances over to her. She looks like she's deep in thought, but she doesn't look hostile or anything.

Despite that, Steve can't help the dread pooling in his stomach, curling upwards until it feels like he's suffocating. He thought they weren't that obvious.

He knows that his car is parked at the Munson's trailer a lot, but he didn't think that anyone would really care about it, but if it makes Max suspicious.

He realises that she never actually asked him anything.

"What's your question?", he manages to get out past his constricting throat.

If Max notices how pained it sounds, she doesn't comment on it.

"Are you, like…more than just friends? You and Eddie?", she finally asks in a low whisper.

Steve swallows past the lump in his throat and looks at Max again.

There's no hostility in her gaze, no anger or aggression or anything like that, just open curiosity.

Steve knows that he should ask Eddie first, if it's okay for him that someone apart from Robin and Wayne knows, but he can't just leave Max hanging like this. Her question sounds so genuine.

He clears his throat. "Uh, yeah, we…"

He doesn't get further into the sentence, because he hears the steps behind them getting louder. When he turns around Dustin is just catching up to them.

"Look, Nancy is over there.", he sort of yells and point over to a picnic table and sure enough, there's Nancy Wheeler, looking put down and staring at the top of the table.

Steve shrugs. Max's disappointed look at the interruption doesn't escape him.

"Well, lets catch up with her then.", he just says and they start following Dustin over to their friend.

After a few steps, Max starts running after Dustin, whether it is to tackle him to the ground or not, Steve isn't sure.

He just shakes his head at them, and then looks over to Robin who is now next to him.

"What was that about?", she asks in a low tone.

Steve takes a deep breath and pushes his hair back out of his face. "She asked me about Eddie, about…well, our relationship."

Robin makes a surprised sound and looks at max with an indecipherable expression, like something new about her just revealed itself to her.

"What did you say?"

Steve scoffs. "Nothing, that's when Dustin needed to point out the obvious."

He nods in the direction of the picnic table that Dustin and Max have reached in the meantime.

Robin laughs, short and sharp.

"Well, I guess this just got even more interesting huh?"

Steve groans and playfully punshes her in the shoulder. Robin pushes him in retaliation and they both laugh.

"Can you two lovebirds get over here, we don't have time for this!", Dustin shouts at them and when Steve looks over to them he can't help but notice Max look of sudden understanding.

Seems like his conversation with max isn't over yet, not that he has time for something like that at the moment.

Chapter Text

Tick, tick, tick.

There's the ticking again, getting closer. It's been at the back of his mind for days now, this ever lasting sound of a clock ticking away.

He already checked the whole house, if for some reason there is a clock around that he hasn't noticed before. He didn't find anything, obviously not. They never had a big clock in the house.

He already knew it was hopeless before he started looking, he can hear it even when he's not at home, he hears it at school, at work. Filling all the silences that he enjoyed before, stuffing them with eternal dread.

He has enough experience with the strange and unusual that he knows that this can't be good. It can't be a normal thing, like maybe a psychosis.

Not that he would like to have a psychotic breakdown, but thinking about what else has happened in his life up til now, he is very sure that he won't be lucky enough to have this be something normal.

STEVE

"Do we have any idea what Chrissy and Fred could have in common?", Robin asks into the group.

They all just kind of shrug and look at each other.

Steve has to admit that he never really noticed Fred. He knows that he is part of Nancy's newspaper team, and that's about it. Chrissy on the other hand, he had a few classes with her and Eddie did mention to him that she approached him about drugs, but that's it. Ever since falling out of his King Steve persona, he didn't really keep up with all the popular kids and what they're up to.

Max seems to be the only one who notices anything, it turns out.

"I saw her leaving Miss Kelley's office."

They all know that Ms. Kelley is the school's psychologist, not that Steve ever put more thought than that into it.

"So, can we assume that this Vecna, as we now call him, maybe stalks his prey before killing them?"

Nancy nods. "Makes sense."

"But wouldn't you tell someone if you're stalked by this guy?"

Max shrugs. "Maybe they told Ms. Kelley."

Dustin seems to agree. "Right, that makes sense."

"We should find out who else goes to Ms. Kelley, maybe he chooses people that go see her."

Steve muses and the others all agree with him. It seems like they have a new plan now, just like that. There's just one more thing they have to bring Nancy up to speed about. Nancy seems to remember that do.

"Have any of you heard from Eddie? They found Chrissy in his trailer and we have to consider that her death might be related to him."

Steve can't help the offended tone that slips into his voice. "He had nothing to do with it."

Nancy raises an eyebrow at his outburst. "And how do you know?"

She sounds so doubtful, and Steve can't stand it. He and Nancy are friends, at least, after everything he thinks that they are, even if they haven't spent much time together recently. He can't believe that she would even think that Eddie is capable of that.

He can already feel the anger boiling right under the surface and he knows that he is very irritable today, he doesn't quite know why, this whole situation just gives him a major headache and he didn't sleep well either.

Steve really hopes that this will be over soon.

Dustin comes to his rescue before Steve can loose his temper completely.

"Because Eddie is our friend, and he didn't do it."

"How do you know.", Nancy shoots back.

Dustin rolls his eyes. "I just do."

Damn the attitude on this kid.

Before Steve can say anything to deescalate, or maybe escalate further depending on what Nancy says next, he sees Robin's eyes widen. Steve turns around to look behind him and sees a figure approaching from the direction of the Munson trailer.

It's Wayne.

The others have all noticed him by now and they are all stunned to silence, even the discussion between Nancy and Dustin has come to a sudden stop. None of them want to say something in front of Wayne that could get the man involved and Steve already feels guilt at the thought of lying to him about Eddie's whereabouts.

Wayne clears his throat as he comes to a stop next to their table. He looks directly at Steve, mostly ignoring the others.

"You seen Eddie?", he asks in a nonchalant tone that Steve sees through immediately.

Steve watches as Wayne pulls a cigarette and lighter out of his pocket, lighting it before looking back at him.

Steve swallows, unsure what to say. He doesn't want to lie to the man that has been nothing but kind to him, but he knows that it will only put him in danger. But Wayne also knows of the Lab, which means that he is probably already in danger anyways, always has been.

Wayne huffs out a cloud of smoke in annoyance.

"You got my boy hidden away somewhere, Steve?"

Three heads turn his direction, Nancy and Dustin in confusion, Max has a knowing smile on her face.

Steve sighs. He can't keep quiet forever.

"He's save."

He says, not quite managing to meet Wayne's eyes.

The man takes another deep drag from his cigarette. "Good."

There's a tension in the air that Steve doesn't like at all. He risks a glance at Wayne and he doesn't know why, but he just knows that Wayne is carefully thinking about his next question right now. He already dreads it.

Wayne looks at each of the others before looking back to Steve.

"Can I talk to you privately, Steve?"

Steve could groan, smash his head into the table, anything. This will definitely raise questions later. Not from Max, with the knowing look on her face, and not from Robin, who knows anyways. But Dustin will definitely have questions about why exactly Eddie's uncle needs to speak to Steve privately.

As expected, Dustin is already suspicious of the situation. The kid crosses his arms and glares at Wayne.

"Whatever you wanna say to Steve, you can say to all of us."

Wayne sighs. "I really can't, kid."

Steve already pushes himself up from his place on the bench.

"It's fine Dustin, I won't be long."

He pushes Dustin's cap down into his face while passing him and that distracts Dustin enough to not try to stop him. Steve sees the raised eyebrow and questioning look from Nancy but ignores it.

Wayne is already walking away, and Steve jogs up to him to then fall into step with the older man. He glances back over his shoulder to make sure that the others are all staying where they are. They are already leaning across the table, heads together, most likely conspiring against him.

Steve sighs and nearly misses the moment Wayne stops walking.

Wayne just looks at him for a moment before he says something.

"Is he really save?"

Steve nods. "Yeah, he's at my place."

Wayne lights up another cigarette and takes a deep breath.

"You know what happened? It ain't a pretty sight in the trailer right now."

Steve knows that his face goes pale at the question, he can't stop it. He just has no idea what to say to that. He can't tell Wayne the truth, he can't do that to him.

"I…we have a theory. It definitely wasn't Eddie."

Wayne snorts. "I know, boy, Eddie would never do something like that, even with the ability to do so. You know that as well as I do. I fear the rest of Hawkins doesn't."

He looks back to the others still sat at the table, all four watching them like hawks.

"They know it wasn't him.", he feels the need to clarify. "They're friends."

"Yeah, I know that the Buckley girl is your friend, you always talk about her, and the Mayfield girl isn't my problem either, I'm more concerned about wannabe reporter Nancy Wheeler."

Steve crosses his arms in front of his chest. "We told her it wasn't him."

"She believe you?", Wayne shoots back immediately.

"She trusts me and I trust her."

Wayne scoffs. "Didn't she break your heart before you ran into my boy?"

Steve shrugs. "That was a long time ago, Wayne."

"I know, I just want you to be careful. And keep Eddie save."

Steve nods. "I'll try."

"I wish that you didn't need to."

They are both quiet for a moment and when Steve glances at Wayne, he sees how tense he is. He wishes that he could tell him that everything will be alright, but he knows that he can't promise that, not when it comes to anything related to the Upside Down.

"Is it in any way related, to you know what?", Wayne asks then, breaking the heavy silence of the trailer park.

Steve nods, barely noticeable. He is scared that someone might be listening in on them, so he doesn't give a verbal confirmation. He knows from Wayne's expression that he caught the nod. His eyes have grown dark, a tight frown on his face.

"Please be careful then, both of you.", Steve nods. "And reach out to me if you need help, with anything."

"I will."

He tries to ignore the stares as soon as they're all in the car. Dustin is literally just staring at him and he can practically feel Max' eyes boring into him. He is so glad that Nancy and Robin went their own way in Nancy's car. He couldn't face Nancy's questions right now.

"Since when are you close to Eddie's uncle?!"

It's more of a screech than an actual question and Steve has to show a lot of self control to not roll his eyes at Dustin.

"I'm not."

Dustin crosses his arms in front of his chest and Steve just needs a second-long glance from the corner of his eyes to know that he doesn't believe him. At all.

"Why did he want to talk to you then?"

Steve doesn't even need to see Max to know how hard she is rolling her eyes at Dustin. "Because they're friend, you idiot."

Dustin turns around to look at Max and most likely pick a fight with her. Steve really wishes they wouldn't do it in his car.

"I'm also Eddie's friend, so what that means nothing!"

Max pushes Dustin back to the front. "Well, Steve is over at the trailer regularly, so Eddie's uncle knows him. How often have you visited you friend at his home?"

"Can you two not fight in my car?", Steve asks before the situation can escalate.

They have enough problems as it is, he doesn't need those two trying to rip each other's heads off as well.

Max and Dustin stop at his question, neither of them saying another word until they reach Ms. Kelley's house. Max gets out with a short, "I'll be back in a bit", and then she's gone, leaving Steve alone in the car with Dustin.

Dustin, who is once again staring at him from the passenger seat and he thinks that this time, he can't shake him off as easily.

"Why did Eddie have a clean change of clothes at your place?"

The question throws Steve off so badly, he is too stunned to speak for multiple seconds. he was so sure that Dustin didn't catch up to that, which isn't even fair to Dustin who is a generally smart kid.

Too stunned to speak, he doesn't manage the smartest of responses.

"What?"

Dustin sighs. "Yesterday, when we were at your place. Eddie came back with clean clothes that were obviously his own, so why did you even have them?"

Steve shakes his head. He really doesn't have the time for this, or the nerves. He glances over to Ms. Kelley's house, but it really hasn't been long enough for Max to be coming back.

He hates lying to Dustin, but he fears that right now, he has too. He already kind of revealed his and Eddie's relationship to Max without wanting to, he can't add another person on the same day, even if this is Dustin, who is basically his little brother at this point.

"I think he forgot them a few weeks ago when we did a movie night."

Dustin raises an eyebrow but doesn't say anything else. He doesn't seem to be done though, because it only takes second for him to raise the next question.

"Will you tell me now why Eddie's uncle wanted to talk to you?"

Steve sighs and leans back in his seat. He decides that he'll tell Dustin a part of the truth. He needs to talk to Eddie first, about everything else. About telling anyone about their relationship.

They have good reason not not telling anyone yet, even their closest friends. It's not easy living in a small simple minded town like they do. As much as Steve loves Dustin, he wants to have this conversation with him with Eddie by his side.

"He knows that I grew up in the Lab, like Ed-"

He can't even finish the sentence as Dustin immediately interrupts him. "He knows about it?"

Steve turns to properly face Dustin and looks into wide eyes.

"Why does Eddie's uncle know about it?", he asks, and Steve really wonders how a kid as smart as Dustin can be so dumb sometimes.

"Because Wayne took Eddie in after he escaped? Why would he not know?"

When Dustin doesn't have anything to say about that, Steve continues.

"Ever since Wayne found out that I'm one of the lab kids too, he started to look out for me as well, especially after he found out that the Harringtons are never home. That's why he wanted to talk to me without all of you listening in."

Dustin nods. "Okay, fine. Still doesn't explains Eddie's clothes at your place."

"What do you-", Steve never gets to finish the sentence.

The back door of the car opens and Max is yelling at them to drive, now. Steve doesn't have to be told twice and they're on the way to the school only moments later.

They drive in blessed silence until Dustin's walkie crackles to life.

"Dustin do you copy, It's Lucas."

Dustin scrambles to get a grip on his walkie and basically yells into it. Maybe Steve needs t talk to him about controlling the volume of his voice at some point.

"Lucas? Where the hell have you been?"

"Just listen. Are you guys looking for Eddie?", Lucas sounds at the same time calm and hurried and Steve doesn't like that at all.

Dustin doesn't seem to pick up on it and just snarks back. "Yeah, we found him, no thanks to you."

"You found him?"

"Yeah, don't worry, he's safe."

Steve is just glad that Dustin doesn't tell Lucas where exactly Eddie is. Who knows where Lucas is and who might be listening.

"You guys know he killed Chrissy, right?", is what Lucas says next, and Steve can already feel the anger start to boil in his veins again. Lucas really should know that Eddie wouldn't kill anyone, and it makes Steve both sad and angry that he seems to believe what everyone is saying.

Dustin seems to be thinking the same thing. "That's bullshit, Eddie tried to save Chrissy."

"But all the cops say he did it."

Max takes the walkie from Dustin's hand, who glares at her but doesn't protest. "Lucas, you're so behind, it's ridiculous. Just meet us at school, we'll explain later."

"I can't, I think some real bad shit is about to go down."

Max frowns. "What are you talking about? What bad shit?"

"Jason and his guys."

They all wait and Steve thinks that none of them are breathing for a few seconds, waiting for whatever comes next. The only response they get is static.

Wherever Lucas is and whoever he is with, it will be a while till they hear from him again. Steve just hopes that he is alright.

EDDIE

He can't help the anxiety that is non-stop running through his veins. Who can blame him in his situation, trapped in the cold and empty Harrington house because he is suspected to have murdered the popular cheerleader. Him, the local screw up drug dealer metalhead. It sounds like such a cliché that Eddie just wants to roll his eyes at it.

He keeps staring at the walkie that stands on the nightstand, unmoving and no messages coming through. He just goes back to imagining the worst, to catastrophising what the other's are doing right now, wondering if Steve is save.

After a while, Eddie gets bored, so he starts wandering around the house, at least around the rooms that have the curtains drawn completely closed. He is not stupid enough that he would just walk around for any passerby to be seen.

It's not like he expects to find something new, he's been here enough times to know that all the rooms are depressingly empty and devoid of life. Except for Steve's room, of course.

While he is looking around, he hears a car pulling into the driveway.

Eddie risks a look outside and really wishes he hadn't. It's not Steve's car that just pulled up.

Fuck.

Chapter Text

STEVE

Steve can't help but get lost in his thoughts while Max is looking through the documents of the other student. It doesn't sit completely right with him to just look through them, they deserve their privacy despite their death. On the other hand, they do need the information to fogure out what exactly is going on.

Steve is the first to notice that Max has stopped looking through the pages, just after Dustin handed her everything they have about Fred.

"Max?"

Dustin looks at Steve in confusion, but Steve ignores him and touches Max' shoulder gently. Still not reaction.

Eddie's words echo in his mind. She just stood there, as if in a trance.

It's all Steve needs to be grabbed by panic. He starts shaking Max' shoulder without any reaction.

"Max? Max! You have to wake up!"

That finally seems to wake up Dustin, whose eyes widen and then he starts to panic too and joins the yelling.

It doesn't help and Steve notices that his breathing is getting faster, that he is starting to panic. He needs to get a grip, he really does. Because fuck, he is the responsible adult in this situation so he should be the one who keeps his cool. Fuck.

Suddenly, Max is back, from one second to the next. She flinches and looks around in a panic, seeming confused.

Steve crushes down in front of her, takes her hands in his. "Max?"

It takes a moment until her eyes find his. They are wide and panicked, tears already gathering. Before Max can say anything, apologise or do something else that is equally stupid, Steve just pulls her forward and into his arms.

She goes willingly and remains there for a moment. Steve holds her tight, feels how she shakes in his arms and hides her face so they can't see the tears.

Steve looks up at Dustin, who seems frozen in shock.

What just happened to Max is exactly what Eddie described, which can only mean one thing.

Max is next. And Steve will do anything to stop it, he would rather let this Vecna take him instead of Max, she has suffered enough already.

After a while, Max finally stops shaking and then she slowly pushes herself out of Steve's arms. They look at each other and Steve watches as a single tears roll down Max' cheek, one that is quickly wiped away with an angry motion of her hand.

And then the patented Max Mayfield glare is back. Steve doesn't take it personally. How could he?

"What just happened?", asks Dustin, the first to break the silence.

Max takes a deep breath, looks at Steve and then at Dustin.

"I think I'm next."

Dustin looks at her questioningly. "How can you be sure?"

Max rolls her eyes and pushes herself up, sits down on the chair again and starts going through the documents again.

"Here.", she points at some of Ms. Kelley's notes. "Chrissy and Fred both had bad headaches, then nightmares, bad ones, general trouble sleeping. Then they started seeing things, bad things from their past."

Steve throwns, because everything Max is listing sounds like a regular week for him. It's been a while since he managed to sleep through the night, since he didn't have at least a vague headache all day, the only thing that doesn't apply is that he isn't seeing things that aren't there.

Max continues before Steve or Dustin manage to say anything.

"It says here that Chrissy's headaches started a week ago, I've had headaches for five days."

"We can probably assume that Fred was having them for six days?", Dustin asks.

Max nods. "I guess."

Steve feels dread rising in him again, because unlike what Dustin seems to think, he is not stupid, and he can connect the dots. He can conclude what this means.

Max says it out loud before he gets the chance to do it.

"I guess I'll die tomorrow."

They all fall silent.

"Shit.", Dustin mumbles and Steve can't help but agree.

Before they can talk about what to do next, what they can do to save Max, the door to the office is ripped open.

Steve raises his hand, ready to throw back whoever just entered, screw that anyone could see his powers.

It's just Robin and Nancy.

Steve lowers his hand again and Robin looks at him with wide eyes.

"Did you just think about throwing me into the next wall, dingus?"

Steve throws his arms up in exasperation. "I didn't know it as you."

"Whatever, we have bigger problems!", Dustin interrupts before Steve can descend into bickering with Robin.

Steve has no idea when Dustin became sort of responsible, but between one of his close friends being framed for murder and another close friend just learning that she's most likely going to die, it shouldn't be surprising.

They repeat what they just learned about Vecna's victims to Nancy and Robin and just as they finish, they hear a crash from down the hall. Everyone freezes, looking at each other in panic.

Steve sighs.

"You guys stay here, I'll check it out."

Dustin jumps up from his perch on a table. "I'll come with you!"

Steve frowns. "The hell you are, who of us is the one with superpowers?"

"You wanna get caught or what?", Dustin groans.

Steve shakes his head. "Just stay here, man."

Dustin doesn't protest and Steve leaves the room with silent steps. He hears a loud noise in the distance again and he really wishes he had some kind of weapon, his bat for example.

He knows that he technically doesn't need a weapon, but he feels safer with something in his hands. Some weight in his hands.

He can hear steps getting closer, just around the corner. Steve stops and raises his hand, focusing on the tug and pull of his powers, gathering the energy to throw off whoever is approaching.

Someone skits around the corner, nearly falling over and Steve is ready for a fight, really he is,. but then he realises it's Lucas. Shit.

He drops his hand, breathing heavily to keep himself under control. He doesn't know who or what he expected, but it definitely wasn't someone from their group.

Lucas is panting hard, leaning against the wall and Steve can't contain himself.

"Are you crazy, Lucas, I could have hurt you!"

Lucas is still panting, visibly ringing with himself to get air back into his lungs.

Steve sees out of the corner of his eyes that the others are approaching from behind, they clearly didn't follow his instruction to stay put, which is not a big surprise.

"Okay, wait, give me a second.", Lucas mumbles, still trying to catch him breath.

"Where have you been?", Dustin asks and Lucas raises a hand, telling him to wait.

"I was with Jason and his guys, they're after Eddie."

"We already know that.", is all Dustin says in response.

Lucas shakes his head. "Yeah, I know. But they think that Dustin knows where he is, so they're after you too."

"Shit."

They all drive to the Wheeler's, because there's no other good place to go. Robin's mum would get a heart attack when they all appear, same goes for Dustin's mum and Lucas' parents, and well, given that Jason and his guys are after Dustin now too, they can't risk going to Steve's place. Too risky that they might be followed.

So the Wheeler's basement it is.

The girls update the on everything they found out about this Victor Creel, which is more than Steve expected but nothing really helpful. He says as much.

"Okay, be honest. You guys understand any of this?"

He directs his question at Dustin and Lucas, who are both sitting on the couch, news articles in their hands. Max is over by the table under the stairs, doing god knows what with her back turned to them and her headphones on.

Lucas agrees with him: "No.", while Dustin responds with a "Pretty straight-forward." at the same time.

Steve already feels the annoyance at Dustin bubbling up, even though he wants to keep that to himself. He knows that he's being kind of unfair to Dustin today and that he lashes out at him quicker than usual, but he just can't help it. He is already on the edge and Dustin's attitude really doesn't help.

"Oh, straightforward, really?"

Dustin rolls his eyes.

"What's confusing to you? So far, everyone Vecna has cursed has died, except for this old Victor Creel dude Nancy found. He's the only known survivor. If anyone knows how to beat this curse, it's him."

It all sounds so easy when Dustin says it, and maybe Dustin really believes that this will be easy. As if anything in Steve's life has ever been easy. Steve has learned better than to believe in an easy out, a simple solution to any problem that relates to his life.

And there are just too many things in the story that don't seem to add up.

"That's assuming that he was cursed, Henderson, which we don't even know. How can Vecna have existed in the '50s? It doesn't make sense."

Dustin takes a deep breath, immediate answer already on his tongue as it seems.

"As far as we know, Eleven didn't create the Upside Down. She opened the gate to it. The Upside Down has probably been around for thousands of years. Millions. I wouldn't be surprised if it predated the dinosaurs."

Steve can't help but be confused at that, because how did Dustin manage to get himself that far into the past.

"Dinosaurs? What are we even…"

Lucas doesn't even let him finish his sentence.

"But if a gate didn't exist in the '50s, how did Vecna get through?"

Steve gestures in Lucas direction while keeping eye contact with Dustin, to show him how Lucas is on his side and that he is being stupid.

"And how is he getting through now?", he adds to their catalogue of questions, and he's glad when Lucas keeps adding.

"And why now?"

"And why then?", Steve feels like he's on a roll now. "Just pops out in the '50s, kills one family and he's like "I'm good." And poof, he just disappears, just gone? Only to return thirty years later and start killing random teens? No, I don't buy it. Straightforward, my ass. You should really not pretend like this is all super easy, Dustin, some of us have experience with nothing ever being easy."

Dustin lowers his head and avoids Steve's gaze.

"Sorry.", he mumbles, and it pulls on Steve's heartstrings.

He doesn't actually want to fight with Dustin, not now, not ever. But he tries to stay strong and not give in immediately, because the kid does need to learn a lesson every once in a while.

Steve watches as Dustin looks over to where max as sitting, and Steve turns around to look at her too. He still can't see what exactly she is doing over there. When he turns back, he notices that Lucas seems just as interested in Max' doings as him and Dustin.

"What do you think she's doing over there?", Dustin asks.

Lucas shrugs. "No clue."

"I just hope she'll talk to us again at some point.", Steve adds.

It gets at least a small smile out of both of them.

That's when Nancy runs down the stairs into the basement, Robin hot on her heels.

Steve exchanges one glance at Robin, wondering what the two had even been doing upstairs the whole time, and Robin just shrugs at him, her hands also going up with the motion.

Steve can't help but keep being impressed at how Robin seems to shrug with her whole body. He only knows one other person who does that, and that is Eddie. He really needs to reach out to Eddie again and check if he's alright, but the walkie is over on the next table and Nancy is already launching into the explanation of their plan so Steve pushes it back for later.

When Nancy is done, Steve throwns.

"What about me?"

Nancy looks at him questioningly. "What about you?"

"Why don't I get fake documents? I thought I'm coming with you?"

Nancy responds with a tiny shrug, the complete opposite from Robin's earlier. "You stay with them, and you wait here for us. This is not a three person job."

Steve wants to protest, he really does, but he also knows that Nancy is right. And like this, he can keep a look on Max and try to talk to Eddie. He really just wants to know that Eddie is alright, and he hates that he got pulled into all of this.

As soon as Nancy and Robin are gone, the next discussion starts up, this time prompted by Lucas.

"Are any of you also worried that we can't reach Mike, Will and El?"

Dustin agrees without hesitation. "Yeah, it's really strange."

They both turn to look at Steve, who raises his hands in defence. "Don't look at me like that, I agree."

"Have you tried reaching El?", Dustin asks, and there's that tone again, like he things that Steve should have thought of it already.

"Well, no, when exactly should I have done that?"

"I'm just asking, dude."

Steve runs a hand over his face. "Yeah, I know, it's just your tone…"

"Can you just try, Steve?", Lucas interrupts and Steve is honestly glad that he does.

"Sure, no promises though."

EDDIE

Eddie has been very on edge since the close call with the neighbours.

He knows it's silly, they just reversed on the Harrington's driveway and he doesn't hae anything to worry about, but it still worries him.

What if next time, it's not a random neighbour doing a turn because he knows no one is home anyways, but someone who means him harm? The police or maybe even Jason who wants revenge because he thinks that Eddie killed his girlfriend.

Ever since that little incident, Eddie hasn't left Steve's room except to go to the bathroom and he can't help but keep glancing at the walkie, waiting for something to happen. The others have been gone basically all day and it's making him antsy that he doesn't know what's going on.

He finally looses his patience, grabbing the damn thing and pressing down the button on the side.

"Hey Steve? Dustin? Anyone copy?"

He waits for no longer than a few seconds before he gets a response.

"Dustin here, everything alright?"

Eddie breathes a sigh of relief. He would have liked hearing Steve's voice more, but he won't complain about getting Dustin.

"Yeah man, just wanted to check in. What's happening?"

This time, it takes a moment longer before he gets a response. It's Dustin again.

"Yeah, we got good news and bad news. Good ones are that we have a clue about Vecna that Nancy and Robin are following, but we have more bad news. Max is cursed by Vecna and if we got the timeline right, he will come after her tomorrow, and we can't reach our friends in California."

Eddie frowns. He has no idea who is even supposed to be in California but maybe he just forgot with all the stress of their current situation.

"California?"

This time, Dustin doesn't answer him, instead Eddie finally hears the voice he was hoping for.

"Hey man, it's Steve."

Eddie can't help but chuckle, as if he wouldn't recognise his boyfriend's voice. He tries to ignore for now that Steve already sounds exhausted.

"Our friends in California are Mike, and the Byers, you know with my cousin El? They haven't been answering the phone and I just tried to reach El in a different way, but she's not answering."

Eddie doesn't miss the second meaning in Steve's words. He does remember Steve telling him about El, short for Eleven, who comes from the Lab too. And it should concern all of them that Steve can't reach her with their freaky abilities.

STEVE

He doesn't miss the way Lucas' eyes widen when he tells Eddie not being able to reach El in different ways either.

He tried for a good ten minutes minimum before giving up. No matter how far he goes into the In-between, no matter how loud he yells for her, there is no answer. It's beyond concerning and it exhausted Steve more than he wants to admit. He just hasn't slept well in the last few days.

"Does Eddie know?", finally bursts out of Lucas, who can't seem to be able to hold it in any longer.

Steve lets himself fall back ion the couch again, their conversation with Eddie already finished. They can't risk clogging up the frequency too much, but at least now he knows that Eddie is fine.

"Yeah, he knows about me and El."

It doesn't seem to help with Lucas confusion. "How much time did you have to catch him up? It been a day."

"Eddie already knew about them, before all this.", Dustin answers, not that it helps one bit with Lucas problem of understanding the situation.

"Why? How?"

That's when Dustin crosses his arms in front of his chest defensively.

"You'll have to ask Steve that, he told him."

And wow, that is a low blow, even for Dustin. Sure, they didn't agree on leaving everyone in the dark about Eddie's past or anything, but the more people know the more dangerous it gets for them, and Dustin should know that. Steve doesn't have a choice but to explain now, though.

"I told him because he found out that I'm from the Lab and when we talked about it, I found out that he is too. That's why I told him about El too."

Lucas looks even more confused than before.

"Eddie's from the Lab?"

Before Steve can answer, Max finally says something. Steve didn't notice that she got up and is standing behind him now.

"Yes, Lucas, keep up. Can we get to the more important things now?"

Steve turns around to her and raises an eyebrow when he sees the letters in her hands. "What exactly are those?"

Max rolls her eyes at him, which is exactly the reaction he wanted from her. An easy thing to break the tenseness between them.

She doesn't say anything else, just steps forwards and hands out letters one by one. First to Dustin, than him, then Lucas. After that she thrusts three more letters at Steve.

"For Mike, El and Will."

His question seems to be evident on his face as she answers without him having to say anything.

"It's a fail-safe, for after, if things don't go…"

Lucas interrupts her: "Things are gonna work out!"

Max shakes her head and Steve can already tell that she will not accept condolences from any of them.

"No! No, I don't need you to reassure me and tell me it's all gonna work out. Because people have been telling me that my entire life and it's almost never true. It's never true. I mean, of course this asshole curses me. Should've seen that one coming.", she stops for a moment and takes a deep breath. Her eyes fall on the walkie they put back on the table after talking to Eddie. "If we go to East Hawkins, will this still reach Penhurst?"

Dustin answers before thinking through what Max' question might lead to. "Of course, yeah."

Steve really doesn't like where this might be going. "Why are we talking about East Hawkins?"

Even while he says it, the pieces fall into place. The cemetery is in East Hawkins.

"No.", he looks over to Lucas, then to Dustin. "No. No!"

Max rolls her eyes at him again.

"Come on Steve, I won't spent my last day alive in Mike Wheeler's basement and I just want…"

She already has him there. How could she not, Steve would do anything for her.

"Alright, we'll go. Lets just hope Dustin is right about the reach of the walkie."

He just hears an offended noise from Dustin.

"I am right."

Steve ignores him and gets up, slinging an arm around Max' shoulders and pulling her into a half hug, before letting her go again to let her take the stairs, following closely behind.

He knows that this is probably a stupid idea, he knows that knowing them, something will go wrong. But he wants to let Max have this, and as long as he's with her, he can at least protect her.

That has to count for something.

Chapter Text

STEVE

The car ride is tense, to say the least. Max and Lucas are in the backseat, with Max just leaning back against the backrest and staring out the window, as far as Steve can see. Lucas is fiddling with the letter Max gave him and Dustin, for once in his life, is quiet in the passenger seat.

They pull to a stop at the trailer park, right next to the Mayfield's trailer. The one stop Max asked for before going to the cemetery.

"Whatever you have to do, this better be fast, Max."

"Twenty seconds.", nothing more, than she disappears inside, leaving the three of them behind.

It feels like an eternity until makes comes back. So long that they all get out of the car at some point.

Steve can't make himself leave the open door, just in case they need a quick getaway. Not that he'll be able to actually pull one off, because Dustin for some reason decides to sit on the hood of the car. Steve doesn't comment it, he's just glad that Dustin has the walkie in hand and keeps an eye on any activity from it.

After a bit, Steve glances over to the Munson trailer. There's yellow police tape fluttering in the wind and it's so quiet. It gives everything a very eery feeling. The Munson trailer shouldn't be quiet, it never is. It's always bustling with life an activitiy, just filled with noise. It's one of the things Steve loves so much about it, it's the complete opposite from the house he was forced to grow up in after making his escape.

Sometimes, he wishes he had run in another direction, fallen into someone elses arms. Sometimes, he wonders what his life would be like today, if something had been different. He tries not to dwell on it for too long, it always makes him sad to think about it.

Then, Max finally gets back. Steve can't help the comment that slips out.

"That was longer than 20 seconds."

He only sees that Max is crying when she gets closer. Steve turns with her as she walks around him, trying to get to the back door without having to look at him.

"Hey, woah. Are you alright?"

Max rips the car door open as if it has personally offended her, still not meeting his eyes.

"I'm fine, just drive."

It doesn't sound like she's fine but Steve gets into the car anyways. They don't have the time, unfortunately.

Dustin does not seem to get the hint, he turns back around as Steve starts the car.

"Did something happen?"

Steve catches Max' movement to avoid looking at Dustin in the mirror and puts the car in reverse.

"Can we please just go?", Max deflects and Steve doesn't need to be told twice.

Max gives him instructions where to go and Steve pretends like he doesn't know where Max is leading him. Shortly before getting there, Max tells him to turn right, and that seems to be the point where Dustin puts together their destination.

Max doesn't react to his questioning looks and then they pass the stone, annoucing Roane Hill Cemetery. No more questions left.

Max gets out immediately, not looking back and Lucas runs after her, stopping her a few steps away from the car. Steve watches them, not being able to hear what they're saying because they're a bit too far away. It seems to be about the letter, judging by the way Lucas is waving it around.

Then Max walks away, leaving Lucas just standing there. He doesn't follow her and comes back to the car, looking put down.

Steve can't really say that he can blame her, she is in the worst situation out of all of them.

He keeps an eye on Max from the car, can see her sitting over at Billy's gravestone. She pulled one of the letters out at some point. He won't admit it to Dustin, not right now, but he's been in this situation before, minus the letter.

Steve only managed to spent so many nights and days in the Munson trailer before Max reluctantly came over and asked him if he would drive her somewhere. Somewhere turned out to be here, to Billy's grave.

He took her, anytimes she asked. How could he not.

Steve doesn't know how long it's been, but from one second to the next, this horrible feeling of dread slams into him and he is out of the car before he has properly comprehended it. He just knows that something is going to happen, something bad.

He hears Dustin and Lucas yell behind him, saying something about giving Max space. He ignores it, he knows something bad is going to happen at any moment.

When he reaches Max, he knows that he was right.

Her eyes are nearly completely white, rolled back and she is just staring into space. Like Eddie described with Chrissy.

He grabs his shoulder, gently shakes it. "Max? Max!"

No reaction, and shit, this is exactly what he wanted to avoid. He has no idea what is happening in Max' mind, but it can't be anything good. And as many times as he calls her name, she just won't react.

Max has no idea why exactly he does it, or why he even think it will work, but he does it anyway.

He positions himself in front of Max, takes her face between his hands and then, he closes his eyes, focuses in the space he needs to go to properly access his powers. To slip into Max' mind, like El taught him.

He doesn't even know for sure if he can do it, in a situation like this. This is El's area of expertise, but he'll be damned if he didn't try.

He feels like he's being swallowed, like the ground just opens up and sucks him in. Then the feeling vanishes and when Steve opens his eyes he's still in the cemetery, but it's darker now, like it suddenly became night. Max is there, looking at him in shock.

Steve lowers his hands and turns around, looks at the treeline behind them. He can't see anything, so he turns back to Max.

"We have to go, Max, you have to wake up."

He tells her, grabbing her shoulders.

Max eyes just go wide, lookig at a point over his shoulder, behind him.

"I don't think he'll let me."

Steve turns around now too and then she sees him, it, whatever you want to call the creature in front of them. He slowly turns around, dropping his hands to his sides but staying in front of Max.

"Stay behind me."

The creature tilts its head to the side. Is that Vecna?

He doesn't really care, he just stretches his arm out to push Max further to the back. She seems to go willingly, as far as he can tell from the glance he throws her from the corner of his eyes.

he focuses on the creature again and wishes for his nailbat again, not that he could have taken it with him, as this is not the physical world.

The creature, Vecna, just stares at him, then raises it's hand.

Steve mirrors the movement, preparing for an attack. He feels a force pulling on him, like he is trying to throw him off to the side, away from them. Steve resists, pushing it away.

He feels a light trickle of blood escape his nose.

Vecna tilts his head again but doesn't lower his hand.

"Which of them are you?", he asks and his voice makes Steve shudder.

Something truly evil resonates inside it, he can feel it. He hates it.

He decides to definitely not answer the question, stands up a bit straighter. "What do you care?"

Vecna doesn't move, and Steve doesn't either.

Then, Steve's opponent starts talking again.

"A protector, I only know one who always threw themselves in front of the others."

Vecna makes a sharp motion with his head to the side and Steve nearly goes flying. He poshes against the force, managing to stay on his feet but stumbling a few steps to the side. Suddenly, he's in front of him, grabbing his hand in a tight grip.

Steve tries to pull his hand free but the force behind the grip is too strong. Vecna looks down at his wrist and pushes the bracelet aside, revealing his number.

"Seven, of course. You always tried to take the blows."

Steve begins pulling even harder, tries to push back against Vecna with his powers. How is he so much stronger than him?

Vecna pushes him away then, and Steve falls. Instead of hitting the ground, he goes right through and then he's suddenly underwater, searching and grasping for something to hold on to that isn't there.

His years of being on the swim team kick in and he manages to get himself up, despereately gasping for air when he breaks the surface.

He's in the family pool and, how did he get here? He glances down, and there's Barb's body, staring up at him from the bottom, vines wrapped around here, holding her down. It looks like she is screaming.

Steve pushes out of the pool, takes one look at the house and starts running in the direction of the woods.

He has no idea where Vecna is, or Max. God, he hopes Max got out, that he distracted him enough from her.

He reaches a clearing and stops, looks around. He doesn't know how he didn't notice before, but suddenly Skull Rock is in front of him. There's someone laying there, still and lifeless. Steve would recognise that denim battle vest anywhere.

Momentarily forgetting where he is, Steve runs forward and falls to his knees, grabbing the figure that might be Edie by the shoulders and turning him around.

Eddie looks at him, face bloody and clearly beating up. He smiles up at Steve but the pain is evident in his eyes, then it turns to anger.

"This is all your fault."

Steve shakes his head. "No, no."

He lets go of Eddie and starts running again.

Something grabs his ankle, he falls and instead of slamming into the dark forest floor, it's suddenly light again and he finds himself on the floor of the cemetery, right in front of Billy's grave.

Everything hurts. His ankle is throbbing, his lungs still burn from the water he accidentally breathed in and adrenaline is still pumping through his veins. He reaches upwards and wipes the blood from under his nose away.

Only then does Steve become aware of his surroundings again. And of the yelling.

Then, Max appears in front of her, her face pale and filled with panic and concern. Lucas is right next to her, looking up and down as if trying to determine if he is injured and Dustin is just off to the side yelling into the walkie. Steve can't tell if anyone is answering.

Steve takes a panicked look around then, looking for the humanoid flesh-monster that calls itself Vecna. He's nowhere to be seen, but still Steve can't shake the feeling of being watched.

"Steve?", Max voice rips him out of his panicked thoughts.

Dustin has stopped yelling into the walkie, now looking at him as well. Steve finds himsefl confronted with three concerned teens, all looking at him for answers, while he isn't completelte sure what even happened.

"What happened?", Dustin asks, his eyes still wide and so so scared.

Steve wishes he could take the fear away, from all of them, take it onto himself.

He finally gets himself to answer. "I'm not sure."

Max shakes her head.

"You saved me.", she whispers.

Steve runs a trembling hand through his hair, pushing back a few escaped strands that are hanging in his face.

"I'm not so sure about that."

Dustin starts to protest without hesitation.

"Are you kidding me? You did!"

Steve just looks at Dustin questioningly.

He isn't sure what he did and didn't do. Yes, he entered the same mindspace Vecna was trapping Max in, and yes, he tried to protect her, but he failed, didn't he? He got attacked himself, he lost sight of Max. She could just as easily still be under attack, could have been while he was stupidly running through woods that were only projected into his mind.

How could he be so stupid? He should have taken better care of the situation, actually gotten Max out of it.

Before Steve can spiral further, Dustin starts talking again.

"When you grabbed Max, Lucas and I came running and when we reached you, Max was already waking up again. But then you we like, spaced out for a few more minutes. We thought he got you too."

Steve blinks at Dustin.

He didn't realise that he got Max out of the situation so fast, that he distracted Vecna so much that he let her go. He has a bad feeling about that, because that can't mean anything good. Especially for him, which sounds just like his typical luck.

"What happened?", Max sounds so small, so put down. Steve really just wants to hug her, but he isn't sure if he'll just fall over if he moves from his sitting position, so he doesn't move.

"I distracted him, so he'd let you go."

He could say more, and they seem to realise that too, but there's not other follow up questions.

Just in that moment, the radio comes alive.

"Hey guys, we just left Penhurst. We'll be back in twenty."

Robin sounds way too cheery and Steve just knows that that will change as soon as she finds out what happened.

Dustin is already opening his move ti respond when Steve stretches out his hand for the walkie. He complies without question or hesitation.

"Meet us at my place, we'll be there."

"Sure, see you there.", Robin confirms without follow up question, but Steve knows that he'll have to answer them later.

Lucas looks a him in question. "I thought we're not going to your place because of Eddie?"

Steve shrugs. "I think we have different problems right now."

And, at least to himself, Steve can admit that he wants to go where Eddie is so he can hug his boyfriend and make sure he is alright, to banish that nightmare vision from his mind.

EDDIE

Eddie is pacing back and forth in Steve's room. He's been antsy ever since he heard that transmission on the walkie.

First, Dustin had started yelling into it, asking for help. Since Eddie has no idea what the other's are up to, he didn't answer. He was sure that Dustin was not calling to him, that they seperated and was calling for the other group, whoever that is.

The first few seconds, it was easy to ignore too, because the yelling was very unspecific. Then he started getting more specific.

"Nancy, Robin, do you copy? We have a problem, Steve he-"

The transmission cut out then and Eddie had been frozen in place, just staring at the damned thing.

It was quiet for a long time before the walkie crackled alive again. Eddie didn't grab it like he wanted, didn't scream into it that someone tell him what is happening with Steve, because he didn't want to block the line.

The next thing he hears is from Robin.

"Hey guys, we just left Penhurst. We'll be back in twenty."

It gives Eddie the feeling that Robin and Nancy did not hear the earlier screaming. It concerns him, especially the fact that he still doesn't know what happened to Steve.

Eddie feels like a weight has fallen off his shoulders when he hears Steve next.

"Meet us at my place, we'll be there."

It only stays for him for a second, the feeling of relief. Steve's voice sounds shaky, not as strong or confident as it usually does. Something definitely happened.

Robin doesn't meantion it, even though Eddie is sure that she must have noticed too.

"Sure, see you there."

That brings Eddie back to the present and to his frantic pacing. He knows it's only been five minutes, and that that is barely any time to get anywhere, even in a small town like Hawkins. He's just so worried, because what could have happened in the meantime, he only saw everyone this morning.

He has no idea how much time has passed when he hears a car pulling into the driveway. Scarred from his earlier scare of a car in the driveway, he squats down and peeks out of the window in the hallway from underneath the curtain. The sigh of relief is immediate when Eddie spots the Beemer that unmistakably belongs to no other but Steve Harrington.

Eddie makes his way downstairs, waiting off to the side in the entrance to the living room while everyone piles into the hallway. He doesn't emerge from his semi-hidingplace until the door is closed again. Would be stupid to get spotted now, after a whole day of successful hiding.

The first thing he notices is how put down everyone seems. They bring a negative feeling into the house with them, a sort of sad vibe that Eddie doesn't like at all. Then his eyes fall on Steve.

He's pale, the knees of his pants are covered in dirt and there's dried blood crusted under his nose and smeared on his hand.

Eddie takes a step forward without hesitation and grabs Steve by the arms when he's sure that Steve saw his motion. He looks so spooked right now, like back at the beginning when they first started hanging out and Steve sometimes got this faraway look. He's definitely gonna fight whoever put that look back on Steve's face.

"What happened?", he asks, aware how concerned he sounds but not able to care.

He tries to catch Steve's gaze, but he looks off to the side, eyes flicking over the hallway but seemingly not seeing anything.

"Steve?", he asks, now kind of scared.

What could have happened to put Steve in this state?

Before Eddie can keep wondering, Steve finally looks at him, not that it makes anything better.

"Can we wait for Robin and Nance so we don't have to go over it twice?"

He sounds so desperate that it breaks Eddie's heart and he can't do anything but nod.

"Sure."

Ignoring what the kids might think, he takes Steve's hand and starts pulling him towards the living room.

"Come on, lets at least not stand around in the hall while we wait."

No one protests him, and Eddie almost feels better when he sees the small smile on Steve's face.

He put that there, and he will do everything to make Steve smile again, no matter what put him into the state of mysery he is in now.

Chapter Text

EDDIE

It doesn't take much longer for Robin and Nancy to arrive.

It takes enough time for the kids to catch him up on what they learned though. How Vecna chooses his victims, that Max is next, the info about Victor Creel and that they met Wayne at the trailer park. And that they met up in the Wheeler basement earlier before their paths diverged.

Eddie asks them repeatedly what happened after they seperated with the girls, but no one wants to answer him. Even Stvee avoids looking at him, picking on the blood that has dried on his hands.

"What did Wayne say?", he asks then, for lack of anything better to say. He just wants to fill the awkward silence.

Finally, Steve says something.

"He told me that he knows you're innocent."

Eddie lets out a breath he didn't even realise he was holding until right now. Deep down, he had known that Wayne knows it wasn't him, but hearing it makes it better still.

"Good."

Steve nods, still not looking at him.

"He said we should reach out to him if we need help with anything."

"Why would you need his help?", Dustin interjects before Eddie can say anything.

Steve sighs like the weight of the whole world is resting on his shoulders. Considering that Eddie still doesn't know what happened, maybe it does.

When Steve doesn't say anything, Eddie decides to answer Dustin's question.

"He knows about the Lab.", all eyes fall on him. "And he would definitely try to fight the entire government if they try to pin Chrissy's murder on me based on that fact."

He watches as Lucas' eyes widen, and he definitely expected the others to have caught him up, but it seems like they hadn't. Judging by the look on Dustin's face, he had momentarily forgotten about that too.

That's when the front door opens to reveal Robin and Nancy. Robin only takes one look at Steve and comes running over to them, falling into a crouching position in front of the couch and taking Steve's hands in hers.

"Steve.", she sounds shocked and surprised, not that Eddie can blame her for that. "What happened?"

"Well, we were waiting for you so we don't have to tell the sotry twice."

It's the first time Max has said anything since they've arrived. Eddie only notices now that Max' pants are dirty too. What the hell happened?

The girl keeps talking.

"I wrote letters for everyone, just in case I don't make it and after you left, I asked Steve to take me some places, because sorry Nancy, but I didn't want to spend my last day in your smelly basement.", she glances up at Nancy who only shrugs.

"It's basically Mike's basement, so no offense taken."

Max nods and continues. "We drove back to my trailer first, and I left the letter for my mum. I had a little Vecna induced hallucination there but got out of it and we drove to the cemetery next. I wanted to see Billy's grave one last time."

She trails off and Eddie has a second to wonder why the hell she would want to see Billy's grave. He knows that he was her step-brother, but from what he saw of the guy at school and what Steve told him, the guy was a major asshole and the worst to his sister.

When it becomes apparent that Max won't continue, Dustin chimes in.

"We were waiting for Max at the car when Steve suddenly went running, yelling about something being wrong. We followed and when we got there, Max was in a trance, like Eddie said Chrissy had been. And Steve, I'm not sure, did you go after her?"

That finally gets a reaction out of Steve and he looks up. Eddie notices the small gasp that escapes Nancy, he guesses that she hadn't noticed the blood on Steve's face before now.

Steve looks at all of them before looking back at his blood-smeared hands again.

"I did. I went into Max' mind to try and get her out because she wouldn't wake up."

"It was like I was stuck in some sort of nightmare. I was at the cemetery, but it was darker, and Billy was there, telling me that his death was my fault."

"It wasn't.", Lucas chimes in.

Max nods. "I know that, but it still hurt. And then, Billy was gone and this…thing appeared, I guess it was Vecna? Then Steve was just there and pushed me behind himself, told me that I need to wake up."

When Max doesn't continue and Steve doesn't volunteer any information either, Eddie tries to prompt them into continuing.

"What happened then?"

Everone is quiet for a moment longer, then Max shrugs.

"I woke up shortly after that, I only heard Vecna ask Steve something like…", her face scrunches up in concentration, and looks at Steve. "He asked something like which one of them are you? Do you know what that means?"

Steve shrugs. "He recognised me."

That gets various reactions from around the room. Eddie hears Nancy gasp, sees how Dustin and Lucas exchange a look and Max keeps looking at Steve and Robin, her gaze drifting to their joined hands. Robin squeezes Steve's hands a bit, as if to reassure her best friend.

Eddie wants nothing more than to stretch out his hand and take Steve's in his, or better even, pull him into a hug and tell him that everything will work out, even if that isn't true. There's a feeling of dread collecting in his stomach, a bad feeling about what it means that Vecna apparently recognised Steve.

Finally, Lucas asks what everyone is wondering.

"What happened after that? You were like, spaced out for a few more minutes after Max woke up."

That sounds concerning, that Steve was stuck in that mind place or whatever for a while longer than Max. Before he can put too much thought into it, Steve finally says something.

"Vecna pulled me closer, after the question. Grabbed my wrist and looked at the number, and then he looked at me and said something like, how he should have known that it's me.That I have always been the protector. Like he knew me."

A shiver runs down Eddie's spine and he finally gets over himself and what the others might think and reaches out and lays a hand on Steve's shoulder. Steve slightly leans into it, throwing him a grateful smile.

He looks so scared, Eddie has never seen him like this. He wants to pull him into a hug and never ever let go again.

"Do you recognise him? He has to know you from the Lab, right?", Nancy asks carefully.

Steve shrugs. "I don't know, I definitely don't remember any flesh monster from back then. Vecna doesn't look human…"

Eddie nods. "Me neither. I don't remember much, but I think that would have stuck."

Nancy raises a brow. "What?"

Eddie shrugs. "Like, the Lab? I don't really remember most of it, with all the dark stuff happening and all that…"

He waves around his free hand to make his point, not that it really helps. It doesn't seem like it helps to make Nancy understand.

"No, I mean, what do you have to do with Hawkins' Lab?"

Well, that explains it. She doesn't know, yet. Seriously, what did they even talk about when they met up in Mike's basement.

Steve comes to his rescue, that seems to be what he does best. The protector. Now that he said it like that, and now that Eddie knows more about why Steve and the kids are so close, so many things make more sense. Especially Steve's stupid DnD character.

"Eddie grew up in the Lab, like me.", Steve looks at Eddie and he seems to be asking permission.

Eddie shakes his head an decides in that moment that he can speak for himself. "I got the number five, if you want any specifics. But I swear I don't remember seeing Vecna there."

Nancy rolls her eyes. "Is this a joke or something, we should be taking this serious."

Steve sighs. "We are, Nance, it's true. Anyways, Vecnas threw me to the side afterwards and instead of slamming into the ground I fell through it and suddenly, I was in the pool."

Steve nods in the direction of the door that leads into the garden to indicate which pool he means.

"I thought I was drowning for a second but then I reached the surface and when I looked down, there was…Barb's body looking back up at me, covered in vines. I ran into the woods and…then I woke up in the cemetery."

Eddie glances over at Steve and if he hadn't been completely sure before, he definitely knows now that Steve left something out. Something else must have happened in that vision or whatever it was, he can tell.

"So, any plans on why Vecna seems to know Steve?", Robin asks into the silence of the room.

No one says anything, then Dustin raises his hand as if they were in fuckiing school. Eddie has to execute a lot of self control to not roll his eyes at that.

"What if he's from the Lab, like Steve, Eddie and El. It would explain the freaky mind powers he seems to have and all that stuff."

No one complains about that, but it doesn't sit quite right with Eddie.

"It doesn't make sense, everyone was killed…"

"Well, not everyone.", Nancy objects. "You apparently got out, and Steve too. What if there was someone else?"

Steve shakes his head. "No, Eddie's right, it doesn't add up. We already established that Vecna killed that family in the '50s, right, so how did he get into the Lab?"

"The shady government?", Robin asks.

No one objects, and that makes Eddie realise that he still doesn't get the big picture, that he is still not completely in the know about everything.

"I'm not sure about him having been in the Lab, but maybe he was the one who killed everyone."

It sounds more like Steve is thinking out loud, but Dustin still tries to make sense of it.

"You think it could be connected?"

Steve takes a glance at Eddie and he doesn't know how to interpret his expression.

"You said that Chrissy's arms and legs were brokem right, and that her eyes just…exploded?"

"Yeah?", he responds, not sure what Steve is getting at.

Steve doesn't look away from him. "Did you ever take a closer look at the bodies that day?"

It should sounds like an accusation, from anyone else, Eddie might have read into it and interpreted it as one even though it isn't. He told Steve this before, that he tried not to look to closely, that he mainly remembers the blood, the echoes of screams.

He shakes his head.

Steve responds to it with a small pained smile.

"I did. I mean, I felt it happen too, I still have nightmares about feeling every bone in my body break and then waking up and just…being fine."

"You never told me that.", Nancy mumbles and Steve ignores her.

"Considering what Eddie said, I think Vecna is the one who killed everyone at the Lab too. The people there died in the same way."

No one says anything until Eddie can't hold it in any longer.

"Shit."

After that, they all spread across the ground level of the house. Nancy and Dustin start discussing the situation, what Steve's involvement means and the fact that Vecna recognised him. Eddie tunes that conversation out really fast.

Max leaves for the kitchen, Robin following her shortly after. He hears them rummage around in there, probably pulling together some sort of dinner. It's starting to get dark out and Eddie thinks that none of them have really eaten today, not much at least.

Eddie glances over to Steve, who is now sitting in an armchair over in the corner, legs pulled up and arms wrapped around them. He is watching Dustin and Nancy, following their conversation but not participating in it.

Eddie manages to watch him for all but a minute before the sight in front of him makes him a bit too sad. He decides to throw all caution to the wind. He has no secrets in front of these people anyways, except for the one that hangs between him and Steve.

Steve might hate him after this, for fueling the others' suspicions, but he doesn't care right now. Eddie just can't stand the sad look on Steve's face, the put down expression of someone who has taken one hit too many in his life. He just wants to take his mind off all the bullshit for a second.

So Eddie gets up from his perch on the couch and walks over to Steve, dropping into a squat in front of him. Steve raises his head slightly, looking at him over the top of his knees.

Eddie grins at him, tilting his head to the side and trying to look as silly as possible. It gets the expected reaction out of Steve, as he snorts a little laugh and grins back at Eddie.

He can basically feel Nancy's look boring into the side of his head but he ignores it. Let her stare all she wants, she doesn't deserve his Steve anyways, not after what he was told about their relationship and inevitable breakup.

"How are you doing?", he asks directed at Steve.

That beautiful smile vanishes from his face and Eddie regrets even asking, he wants to see Steve smile again.

Steve shrugs then. "Don't know, I keep thinking about what I saw, in that nightmare vision."

Eddie hesitates a moment, unsure if he really wants to make the offer or not. Then he decides to throw caution to the wind and just get it out with. Anything to help his love.

"You wanna talk about it?"

Steve raises his head again, takig a look around the room. He nods then, slow and hesitant. "Yeah, but not here."

Eddie springs up into a standing position and Steve unfolds himself from the armchair. There's that little smile on his face again.

"Where are you going?", Dustin asks when he notices them going for the door.

Steve turns around and answers before Eddie gets a chance to.

"I want to wear something that isn't covered in dirt and blood, and I wanted to drop Eddie off at the kitchen to be useful for once."

"Fine.", Dusin rolls his eyes but doesn't protest, goes back to his discussion with Nancy.

Eddie looks on in confusion when Steve really does enter the kitchen next and follows him like a lost puppy. He would rather just grab Steve by the hand and pull him up the stairs, finally uncover what exactly he isn't telling him. He refrains from doing that, not that it matters if Robin sees them, but Mayfield doesn't know and it should stay that way.

To Eddie's surprise Steve walks over to said girl, who is sitting on the counter and doesn't help at all. Eddie is unsure if Robin should be left to her own devices in any kitchen, but he trusts Steve's judgement on this, and as long as he doesn't stop her, it seems to be fine.

"Do you still feel his presence, in your head?", Steve asks, without any preamble.

Max face scrunches up in concentration, then she shakes his not.

"Not right now."

Steve nods. "Okay, good."

Steve turns back around and looks at him, then turns back around to Max as if he forgot something.

"Can you keep it a secret, what we talked about earlier? I never got around to ask you and…"

Eddie sees how Steve glances back at him again, concern in his gaze.

Max just snorts and Steve turns back to him.

"Don't worry, I'm not stupid.", she throws a pointed look Eddie's way and he really starts to be concerned about this, because what the fuck are they talking about? "Your secret's safe with me."

Steve nods "Thank you."

Max shrugs and then Steve turns around to Eddie and grabs his hand, pulling him towards the stairs. He hears Max groan behind them.

"I hate this, actually.", but she is laughing while she says it, so Eddie isn't too concerned about it.

Steve chuckles too and Eddie would willingly watch him and Max play fight a bit more if it makes him that happy. They don't stop, instead making their way up to Steve's room, Eddie pulls the door closed behind them and then, they're finally alone.

They both fall onto the bed, Eddie flops down so he is laying on his back but Steve stays seated. Eddie looks up at him and Steve peers down at him, a silly smile on his face.

"What?", Eddie asks, a smile gracing his own lips.

Steve just shakes his head. "I don't know, it just. That interaction with Max just made me happy."

Eddie smiles too. He knows how much the girl means to him, despite the fact that Max had been pulling away from him since her step-brother died, Steve had never stopped trying to reach out to her, offer her help and support. Eddie admires it, he doesn't know if he could have done it for that long, keep trying while being pushed away every single time.

"Did you tell her?", he asks, not accusing, just curious.

A guilty look appears on Steve's face and he avoids Eddie, rubbing a hand over his neck.

"I didn't mean to do it without your permission, I just…she asked me very directly, earlier when we went to the trailer park the first time, and I didn't want to lie to her."

Eddie smiles again and takes Steve's hand, forces him to look at him again.

"I'm not mad, it's okay."

Steve finally looks at him again. "Are you sure?"

Eddie shrugs, which he is sure looks weird while laying down, and nods. "Yeah, I don't mind people who are close to us knowing. Only if you're fine with it too, of course."

Steve seems unsure, but he is still smiling. "I'm just scared that any of them might not get it, so…let's not just tell anyone? But if they ask, we don't lie to them either."

"Sure, sounds good to me."

Eddie grabs Steve's hand again and gives it a light tug. This time, Steve gets the hint and lays down next to him.

"What now?", he asks.

They are so close and Eddie wants nothing more but to pull Steve that little bit closer and kiss him. Forget the world for a little bit and pretend like this is a normal day, that nothing bad has ever happened since he escaped from the Lab. Just hold his boyfriend close and pretend that they are the only two people in the whole world.

Unfortunately, there are other things on Eddie's mind that they very much need to talk about. Things related to the very stuff he doesn't want to actually think about.

"What is it that you saw, that you didn't want to tell the others?"

Steve sighs and stares up at the ceiling. He stays still for so long that Eddie is ready to shake him, the spaced out look on Steve's face to similar to Chrissy right before she died in his living room.

Then, Steve finally starts talking, killing his fears in an instant. Even if only for a short moment.

"When I was running through the woods, I suddenly was at Skull Rock and saw someone laying there, not moving. I went closer and then I saw that it was you. You were covered in clood and clearly dying and then you told me that it's all my fault. That's when I started running again and then I woke up."

Steve's voice sounds choked now, like he is holding back tears. Eddie is so fucking scared right now, because that sounds very bad, for him and for Steve, but he can't focus on his own dread right now, because there is an actual tears rolling down his boyfriend's temple now. Without hesitation, Eddie scoots a bit closer and pulls Steve into a sideways hug.

Steve reacts immediately, turning on his side and hiding his face in Eddie's shoulder. Eddie can feel how he is shaking in his arms, being wrecked by silent sobs. He just holds him closer, tightens his arms around him.

He'll stay up here, for as long as he needs to, to make Steve feel okay again.