Rcbinbvckleys·:

zccming·:

.

“okay…” max began her amendment with plenty of attitude, “don’t blow up my shithole trailer.” satisfied with her new answer, she added, “please.” and flashed a sarcastic smile. she glanced to his hands, wondering if he’d scathed them. though she figured, if it was really that bad, he’d probably say so. 

with the weight of eddie out of the kitchen, max finished up her cleaning. although she was irritated she had to do it in the first place, she forced herself to stop and be appreciative. eddie was only here in hawkins for so long, and they were having their substitute family dinner. no time for grouchiness. it wasn’t lost on her that he didn’t have to come back and visit, but she was always grateful he did. while their experiences in hawkins were vastly different at points, she still felt like he understood her. he understood the feeling of being alienated (more intensely than most at that), and generally speaking, he understood, by some miracle, what max always needed.

she stopped, glancing to eddie from the kitchen. she never did stuff like this with billy. their routine when they were alone typically consisted of billy rushing to dump her off his hands at the first chance he got, usually scaring her with harsh words or reckless driving in the process. eddie, on the other hand, was sat on her couch, making up for his mess in the kitchen by finding them a decent show to watch. despite the fact she ordered him to, max was sitting in the feeling of gratitude.

if they were here together and the most pressing matters in hawkins were the unsolved mysteries that robert stack narrated on her television, she couldn’t be all that annoyed. in fact, she’d go as far to say she was happy. 

 now both were nestled with their plates, that happiness quickly became muddled by her momentary aggravation, “i didn’t think you could either, but this is nasty.” she told him, lips pursed. max watched as eddie took a bite and she maintained an unwavering expression of i told you so. “you really shouldn’t need a recipe to make pasta, you know. that’s like…baby stuff.” she then rose from the couch, “pay attention to the tv you’re going to have to fill me in!” max made it clear she was invested in the program. 

it really wasn’t a huge deal. it took all of fifteen minutes and a very oblivious restaurant employee to get their food ordered. when she wrapped up with that, she grabbed them each a beer from the fridge, and for hopefully the final time for a while, max plopped down beside eddie. sighing, she informed, “here.” she handed him his beer, “give the food like an hour. hope you’re not hungry.” her eyes flicked to the screen for a moment as she took a sip of beer, then asked, “what’s this one about? is it a real mystery or another case of the incompetent coppers?”

+++

“ ‘baby stuff’ ?”, he echoed with feigned outrage. “max, i nearly lost a finger in there. cuttion onions and shit is like, hard.” with a proud grin, however, eddie leaned back, folded his arms behind his head. “but i didn’t even cry. ‘cause i’m hardcore. if this is such ‘baby stuff’ then why don’t you do it yourself, smartass?”

well, it was eddie who’d wanted to do something nice and thoughtful for the both of them. and as disappointed and frustrated as he was with himself that he couldn’t even cook a simply pasta dish, he was equally happy and glad that they could joke about it now so easily. 

eddie had grown up alone,  his uncle cared about him, of course, more than his parents ever had, but he’d been working his ass off to keep a roof over their head so eddie had grown up alone. lonely, sometimes, too. but looking over at max bitching about his cooking, mumbling to herself incoherently, jumping up to go order delivery. eddie sometimes wondered if, in another life, he’d been destined to be a big brother, growing up in a household filled with laughter and chatter and not a moment’s peace.

this, however, this was nice, too. he’d gladly do it all over again if it meant he got to end up watching unsolved mysteries with max in her trailer, feeling a sense of belonging he didn’t even feel with wayne. eddie smiled fondly, took the beer from her and craked it open. “fuck, you’re an angel, maxine. thanks, man,” he muttered, eagerly took a sip. 

“not sure yet. it’s called ‘sons of sam’. looks pretty incompetent copper-y so far, but you never know.”

dvstybuns·:

Dustin was glad that Eddie was out - he still for the life of him couldn’t figure out what the fuck they were even charging Eddie with. Hopefully they hadn’t, because a court case was the last fucking thing any of them needed now. He was glad that Eddie was a free man currently, and that he’d finally gone home to rest here instead of with Steve. He had to take care of himself right now too, which Dustin knew was easier said than done. After all, he was struggling with that himself - he assumed most of their group was.

When Eddie finally opened the door and pulled him into a hug, Dustin set the pizza down on the end table beside the couch to wrap both arms around him. He needed this - they both did. It was proof that they were both okay, that they’d made it back here in one piece and comfort from the shit they’d experienced. Dustin hugged him tightly, just happy that he was okay, as a few tears slipped out. He wiped them away quickly when Eddie let him go, smiling at the familiar hair ruffle. Dustin had missed this while Eddie had been in Chicago, although part of him wished now that Eddie had stayed, if only because it meant that he would be safe and not at risk of being arrested again. 

“No, I’m okay.” Dustin told him, shaking his head. “Some bruising and scrapes, but nothing major.” There was a lot happening emotionally, but he didn’t need to talk about that shit right now. Not when he was worried about how Eddie was holding up. “What about you, though? Are you okay? Do we need to find you a lawyer or something?” He asked, brow furrowed in concern for his friend. That was a terrifying prospect, but they’d handle it if they had to. 

+++

eddie pulled away from the embrace very reluctantly, tempted to draw dustin right back in again as he spotted the few wayward tears on his cheeks. why did everything about hawkins have to be so complicated? why could this town not grant them more than a year’s peace? they had no control over where they’d been born, so really, the universe was quite cruel for roping them into the curse so undeniably interwoven with hawkins’ very core. “good. ‘m glad. i  - i saw you going in the tent with suzie and - “ he stopped to take a deep breath, shook his head softly. it didn’t matter, no need to dwell on the tragedies that could’ve been. “you gotta be more careful, kid. got it?”

and eddie gave him a stern look that soon faded into another weak attempt at a smile. the mention of lawyers brought the ever present nausea back to the pit of his stomach and, with a sigh, he turned around and plopped down onthe couch, gestured for dustin to follow along. one hand reaching up to rub at his temples, he shrugged. “i don’t know, man, i - all i know is they released me. said i’m still a ‘prime suspect’ or whatever, that was it, that was - that was all they told me. apparently they think that hargrove and i are responsible for the explosion - or, well, they’re pinning it on us, anyway.” another shrug, he let his head fall back against the cushions. “but it’s - don’t worry ‘bout me, henderson. i’ll be fine. always am.”

stevehharringtcns·:

steve felt like this was right, like he always meant to be like this with eddie. when the other had invited him to go to his place, steve didn’t hesitate when he said yes, knowing that they needed to spend time together after being apart. sure, they weren’t apart for that long, but steve felt like he needed to spend more time with eddie. so there they were, sitting on eddie’s couch. they were lucky that his uncle was out or this would have been awkward, but with eddie’s legs on his lap and with them kissing occasionally, steve felt like he was in heaving, his hand resting on eddie’s leg as he pulled him down for a kiss again, blushing slightly at the contact.

when they broke the kiss, steve felt his hair tangle on one of eddie’s rings and he whined lowly. “ow, ow, ow…” he hissed as he finally rid himself of the ring, smiling at eddie right after and letting out a chuckle. the way he called him princess made him blush, but that was another talk that steve wasn’t ready to have. he didn’t know why he liked it so much. “it’s okay, plus the rings look hot on you, you don’t need to take them off.” he said as he pulled him for yet another kiss and smirked into it. this felt nice.

steve smiled when eddie grabbed his hand, steve almost immediately pulling it to press a kiss on eddie’s hand and nodding his head. “you look so cute.” he said with a smile, before squeezing the other’s cheek. it was almost as an instinct as he did so, and steve was glad that the two could share this moment without having any kids barging in. steve only hoped that dustin wouldn’t come in the house or even worse, that he would yell code red through the walkie. but it wasn’t the time to think about that.

“sure, we can watch a movie…” he said, knowing that the two probably wouldn’t pay that much attention to the movie. “oh, do you have dirty dancing? i…” he said, before blushing and lowering his tone. “love that movie…” he said, letting out a small chuckle as he leaned down to kiss eddie’s forehead lovingly.

+++

lovingly. everything steve did was so caring, loving, that eddie felt his heart might just burst. this was uncharted territory for him, hell, eddie had never even dated anyone, or not properly. not like steve harrington was dating him. the forehead kisses, swinging your intertwined hands between each other as you walk - and love letters and sharing as milshake in a fifties diner kind of dating. proper, nice. nobody had ever treated eddie ‘the freak’ munson as nice as steve ‘the hair’ harrington, and he gazed up at him in awe, a grin on his lips, all wide and toothy.

the amount of attention steve payed him was unfamiliar, too. eddie didn’t have to ask or beg for kisses, no, steve kissed him on his own accord, grabbed his hand, pressed light pecks to his cheek. he was there, ever present, and eddie thought that this might be what his heaven would look like after he died.

he giggled, downright giggled, and pulled his hair in front of his face to hide his blush. “oh my god, steve harrington called me cute, i might just, like, die, he’s so fly and, like a total hottie.”, he said in his best valley girl impression, chuckling all the way through it, wiggling his eyebrows. eddie bat his lashes at steve, then leaned in to press a gross, wet kiss to his cheek. “you’re hella cute, too.”

he shivered, shook his head and limbs, as if shaking off the valley girl character for good. another forehead kiss had eddie biting his lip, brushing furiously. lips twitching, on the verge of bursting into a loud cackle. “dirty dancing, man?”, he echoed, eyes widening. he purse dhis lip to stop the smile from spreading. “i mean, like .... okay, if you tell anyone this then your ass is grass, steve, yeah? i’m going to kill you, like, satanic ritualistic dnd murder your ass for real, but ... “  eddie held up a finger as if to say ‘don’t move’ before he jumped up towards the tv, digging through the few vhs tapes stored in the small cupboard underneath.victorious smile on his face, he quickly popped the tape in and rejoined steve on the couch. rubbing his hands together as the title sequence to ‘dirty dancing’ started playing.

“i’m .. .yeah, i watched that movie religiously when it came out. i’ve got the biggest crush on patrick swayze. you know, you two kinda look alike.”

stevehharringtcns​:

“you could have gotten my attention without almost getting yourself killed… we survived all of that stuff two years ago, don’t take it for granted by throwing yourself in front of a car…” he said, shrugging his shoulders as he looked over at eddie - he was pretty sure he would have never run over eddie, even on accident, he was confident that he was a pretty good driver - he was sure of it, actually. but he couldn’t do much if someone had jumped in front of his car. “so, you haven’t been back for long, i’m assuming? it’s like you forgot how good hawkins really is.” he said, teasingly, letting out a small chuckle as he started driving again, this time actually paying attention to the road and not letting himself get distracted by his thoughts - at least he had eddie to talk to while he drove to the wheelers’ house - he wasn’t sure how people would react to him bringing eddie, but people around seemed to like him.

at the question about him and nancy, steve sighed and shrugged his shoulders slightly. he should have expected for him to ask this, it was all people did when they saw him and he couldn’t blame them, but it was still uncomfortable to talk about it. “huh… there’s not really any trouble.” he lied, he wasn’t even sure how nancy felt after they split, but in his head everything seemed to be alright. “we just broke up… not that long ago. but we’re fine. i think, i really can’t be sure… if we haven’t talked since, you know, we broke up.” he said, as he kept his eyes locked on the road, not daring to look at eddie while he spoke about it.

his lips curled into a smile as he heard eddie talk, letting out a small chuckle as he heard that the other was still wreaking havoc. it didn’t surprise him that he was still doing that. “you know what, it is kind of weird not having you around, so i did kind of miss you, dude. it’s good to have you back, even if it’s just for the summer.” he said with a nod, now looking at eddie for a couple of moments and then back on the road. “well, you know, i’ve just been… working at the video store still. taking a few classes at the community college… not that much fun, as you can see, but that’s hawkins for you.” he said with a shrug.

+++

a wicked glint in his eyes, eddie grinned. “oh, but harrington - ‘to die by your side, is such a heavenly way to die’ “, he half-sung half-spoke the infamous smiths lyrics, watching steve with his brows raised in anticipation, to see if he’d get the reference. “you know? like the song?”

he rolled down the window, jesus it was hot outside, and put one arm behind his headrest, absent-mindedly drumming his fingers in the tune of the before mentioned smiths song. he shut his eyes for a moment, relishing in the feeling of the soft breeze lightly grazing across his heated face, locks of dark brown, curly hair - all frizzy due to the humidity - flying about. eddie nodded, eyes still closed. “yeah, man. just got back yesterday,” and he scrunched up his nose at steve’s comment. “if anything i forgot how much hawkins smells like cow shit.” though there was some truth to steve’s words - eddie had, actually, missed hawkins. not the place itself, but the people still inhabiting that strange little town.

no way. he opened his eyes.“oh shit, man. i’m sorry.”, eddie said,his delivery a little awkward because...well, he sure as shit hadn’t seen that coming. after all that stuff with vecna, wheeler and harrington both risking their lives for one another without a second thought, well, eddie had thought they were bound to stay together, forever, or something along those lines. he shited in his seat, looked over at steve with a frown. “i didn’t know..” of course he hadn’t, eddie silently cursed himself. awkward social situations, not his forte. “do you wanna, like, uh...talk, or something- ?”, he trailed off, grimaced. “i mean, we don’t have to, i usualyl don’t - i’m not realyl good with - “, more wild gesturing before ddie dropped his hands in his lap with shrug. “yeah. whatever. i just mean that i got an ear to lend, steve. just so you know.”

a wide grin spread on his lips, a twinkle in his eyes, eddie dramatically clutched at his heart. “oh, harrington, you big old softie! how those words warm this cold, cynical heart with affection! i missed ya too.” with a laugh he stretched his arms over the seat again, both hands now behind his headrest. he caught steve’s eye, his thoughts momentarily trailed off because holy hell, why did harrington always have to look this pretty?

“you still working with buckley, i assume?” another person he definitely needed to pay a visit to sooner than later. “oh, community college, huh? you know, academic scholars are like, super hot.”, he said with a teasing grin. “what classes?”

stevehharringtcns·:

.

steve gave eddie a small and weak smile when he saw him take off his vest and placing him over him. that was a sweet gesture, he thought to himself, and steve loved it. he loved the vest, a vest that he had worn before, more than once now and he loved it. he loved the smell of it and it made him feel closer to eddie, especially now that they couldn’t be in the same bed because of steve’s injuries. he had to keep telling himself that the pain was only temporary or he might have gone crazy by the thought of not being able to hold eddie close to him ever again. he hated thinking about that, thinking about that one day he could lose eddie or that eddie could lose him, but he was trying not to think about that right now. he wanted to focus on the man in front of him right now, a weak smile on his lips.

steve hardly cried, so this was new to him. he had cried when nancy broke up with him the first time, but now that seemed something stupid to cry about. he wasn’t sure if he was crying because he was happy that eddie was there and alive, and he could feel him. or if he was crying because he was scared of something happening to him, to them. he let out a small sigh as he felt eddie caressing his cheek, his eyes locked on the other as he watched him close. “it’s okay… crying is okay sometimes… i’m just happy that you’re okay, eddie.” he said, taking a deep breath as he looked at him again. there was nothing more than he wanted other than to kiss him right now. “kiss me?” he asked, looking over at him, hoping that he would just lean forward and kiss him.

when eddie agreed to doing the lift with him, steve let out a weak laugh as he thought about the two of them doing it. eddie was clumsy and knowing them, they would end up on the floor. but they would get up again and they would laugh. steve smiled at the thought, of making memories with him and dustin, max, lucas and everyone. he couldn’t wait until he got out of the hospital. he was glad all of them were okay, even if it would take them all a while to recover from what they had gone through. but steve was trying to focus on the good things for now, looking at eddie with a smile. “i’m pretty sure… i can lift you easily.” he finished off, nodding his head.

he watched eddie closely as he tried to assimilate what steve had asked. steve didn’t regret asking it, in fact, he would ask it again in a heartbeat. they were young and they were clearly into each other. and after this whole thing, steve thought it was for the best if he just admitted his feelings for eddie. he had done that, but he didn’t want to hide anymore. he wanted everyone else to know, he wanted them to share their happiness too. he wanted to tell max and see her reaction. he wanted to tell dustin so he could be happy for them, because he knew he would. he was just waiting for the other’s confirmation, smiling at him. “you heard me correctly.” he said at eddie’s first hesitation, nodding his head slowly.

and then he felt his heart filling up with happiness once eddie said yes, pulling him into a soft kiss and blushing as he did. he was so happy in that moment that he almost forgot the pain he was in, wanting to wrap his arms around eddie and pull him closer to him. but he couldn’t do that without wincing, so he thought it would be for the best if he stayed still. “of course… i’m sure. i’ve never been so sure of anything, ed. i… want you to be my boyfriend. and trust me, i could be put through… russian spies super drugs or whatever, and i would still ask it. i don’t care about anything else, i just want… you. to be my boyfriend.” he said with a nod.

+++

eddie choked on a laugh, mingled with a sob he tried to cover up with said laugh, and he nodded, over-exggeratedly. “you’re....so wise, stevie, i’m... thoroughly impressed.” a weak attempt at a joke to lighten the somber mood, though eddie feared neither of them would be in high spirits anytime soon. as glad as eddie was that they had both gotten out of it ... somewhat okay, he couldn’t ignore the nagging thought at the back of his head. they’d made it out this time.they’d made it out and yet he was visiting steve in the hospital, pulling down his sleeves so he wouldn’t see the marks callahan’s handcuffs had left on his wrisst. eddie couldn’t imagine what it would be like the next time around - if there was a next time. if they survived said next time. this, whatever it was, was far from over.

“i’m happy you’re okay, too.” so happy. and eddie readily complied, leaning in to press a soft kiss to steve’s lips. don’t cry again, don’t cry, don’t cry, don’t cry. eddie did his best to try and ignore the constant rhythmic beeping of the monitors and machines around them, the acidic smell of cleaning agent that lingered in the air. it was all .. .well, for lack of a better word, incredibly and horribly depressing. and it simply wasn’t... fair. they deserved their sliver of happiness. they’d been through plenty - they deserved a break. a clean cut, even. a moment of peace, no matter how fleeting.

eddie decided that, despite the stale and creepy atmosphere of a hospital, this must be his moment of peace. a soft chuckle fell from his lips, so low it was barely audbile, yet a sound of genuine happiness, however brief. he shook his head softly, smiling. “you know, sometimes i forget you’ve been through this, like, what ? four times already ? you’re such a ... i hate to say it, you’re kind of a ... badass.” eddie had to give him that. though, the first time steve had told him about their past run-ins with hawkins’ resident supernatural creatures, eddie had had a hard time believing him. well, he’d thought that the starcourt mall incident of ‘84 and steve’s subsequent fighting with russian spy soldiers in their secret underground miliatiry base had been total bogus. but here they were and eddie had come to know that well, stranger things had happened. 

“and then, in the next minute you turn around and ask me to learn the dirty dancing lift with you. you’re - “ eddie had to stop, interrupted by genuine giggles. a couple of beats passed before he’d calmed down enough to continue, grinning down at steve with a fond look in his eyes. and god, his heart felt like it might burst. “you’re a dork, steve harrington.” shutting up any and all protest steve could’ve thrown in with another kiss. followed by a quick peck on the tip of his nose, his cheek, his forehead. yeah. eddie munson was officially whipped. fuck.

he leaned back reluctantly, eyed steve with a curious expression on his face. wondering if the topic better stay avoided but - no, he had to ask. for his own sake, too. he shifted in his seat, cleared his throat. “so, uh. where -have your parents been in yet? “

cassieconrads·:

WHO: cassie conrad & @eddiemcnson· WHERE: near town hall

Ever since Cassie had seen her, the cheerleader, in her mind, it was all she could think about. She hadn’t even seen the girl’s face, really–Cassie had become her, and the thought of who it could have been had been racking her brain every waking moment (which there were many of, since she hadn’t slept). She finally had the chance to sneak out of the Wheeler household and head to the library, where she could maybe find some more information. Asking Nancy seemed too risky–she didn’t want to worry her about some weird vision that she had at the cemetery just yet, not until it seemed important enough. With Thad in town, she had enough to worry about.

Looking like a lost tourist with her folded map again outstretched, Cassie sat on a bench outside the Town Hall, looking for her bearings. It seemed like the library had to be close enough to where she was, but it was too hard to tell on the dated map. “Hey! Would you mind, um, giving me some help with this map?” she asked the guy passing her, thankful that she finally found someone to help. “Sorry, I know this one is from a few years ago, and I’m trying to find the library, but every street … looks the same.”

+++

eddie was a little disgruntled, seeing as he found himself on the second walk through town this week. walkman clasped to his belt, headphones tight and secure over his ears, he just needed a little fresh air to clear his head. after the disaster at benny’s. the fact that hopper had been there at least meant he didn’t need to worry about the cops busting down the trailer door to arrest him for arson - if it was going to be pinned on anyone, eddie was sure it’d be him -  but the other aspects of their investigation just didn’t seem to leave him.

well, granted, how could he hope to get some peace of mind when they had stumbled across those freakishly large eggs - hatched eggs, he thought to himself and grimaced - and had set the freaking diner on fire, too. it was hopeless. coming back to hawkins, that cloud of threat and doom always lingered above them. some people went as far as saying that hawkins was cursed. eddie thought that they were absolutely spot on right on the money.

“huh?” eddie jumped a little, pulled down his headphones so they hung around his neck. he glanced down at the map, frowned, looked back up. “uh...you know what, i’m like, headed in a similar-ish direction. wanna tag along? i mean, i gotta warn you i’ve got a bit of a reputation as the town ‘freak’ ‘round here, so you might get some, uh, dirty looks.”

zccming·:

.

if there were any men that max hated nearly as much as billy and his dad, they were named callahan and powell of hawkins p.d. her interrogation with them in the spring of ‘86 never strayed far from her mind. max recalled how they chose her first, probably thinking she was the weakest link. they must have thought it would be so easy to plop her into a chair and that she would tuck herself away into a corner at the first sign of intimidation, that she was merely some stupid, meek, little girl for them to scare and trick into fessing up. well, they were wrong, and frankly, not very intimidating either. from the moment she exited that room, max vowed to herself that if she made it out of this vecna bullshit alive, she’d make them pay. 

she made good on that promise for the years following that, wreaking minor nuisances and unleashing dishonorable displays at any chance she could. and she didn’t do it just for herself, she did it for eddie. while she might have initially bought into the idea that he could’ve been some psycho killer, her opinion of him changed swiftly and drastically. eddie didn’t do it and he didn’t deserve the complications from having it pinned on him either. this rivalry of sorts came to ahead earlier in the summer when callahan pulled one over on her by arresting her at the blue quarry mall. it hadn’t been fun while it was presently happening, but now that hawkins p.d was doing this shit to eddie again, giving them that grief felt worth it. 

max sat across from eddie, shoving the bowl of cereal into his hand and clutching her own close to her chest with no intention of eating. instead, she silently watched him, brows furrowed as she looked him over for any signs that she might actually set hawkins p.d ablaze when the dust settled. at the same time he spoke, max did too, “i’m gonna fucking get them.” she said, voice feeling raw and unfamiliar in the back of her throat. max got mad all the time, she’d learned to deal with it, but rarely did her rage scare her or feel out of control like this. she wondered that as she felt the aftershocks of what had happened at the carnival, she skipped ahead to the anger stage of grief, that this was misplaced. maybe she was upset, sure, that was always a possibility. or maybe, it was the best she knew how to show eddie she cared, how sorry she was that this had happened. she didn’t know and didn’t plan on figuring it out. 

poking at her cereal with her spoon, max mulled over eddie’s question she had spoken in time with. finally, she answered, “i’m alright, steve made me get stitches.” she said his name warmly, flashing it like a lighthouse, a beacon to eddie to indicate that not only was he alright, but so was steve. that was important to her to convey. “i busted it on some mirrors…” max added, then shrugged as if to say no big deal. it was a big deal, but everything was right now. quietly and flatly, max reminded eddie, “you didn’t answer my question….” a pause, “how fucked are you?” to max, it was her way of wanting to know how he was holding up and what was happening on his end. 

+++

eddie stared thoughtlessly into his bowl, tired eyes searching for something, he didn’t know what. something to say, maybe. something to think about other than shock, horror, disaster. life and death. the upside down. vecna. he weakly pushed the bowl a bit further away from him, like a defiant, sulky child. eating was the last thing on his mind. then again, eddie couldn’t even pin point one singular string of thought - it was a mess up there. more so than usual. it felt like the world was spinning. there wasn’t a fibre in his being that wasn’t aching or nauseaous.

he didn’t quite register max’s words, they accompanied the faint beating of his heart and loud rushing and ringing in his ears,  but there was ‘alright’ and ‘steve and that’ snapped him out of his momentary trance, drew a shaky, relieved exhale from his lips. “you’re good? you’re okay. you’re - you’re alright.” eddie whispered, more to himself, nodded. 

a couple of beats passed, the room silent except for their labored breathing and the sound his knee made as it the coffee table every now and then. he wanted to cry, he desperately needed to, to sob his heart out and draw max into a bone crushing hug. staying in the embrace until one of them would start whispering empty, reasuring promises of how ‘everything was going to be okay’. but eddie was exhausted, and ... god, he felt so... resigned to his fate. he barely managed to muster up the strength to meet her eye.

“i can’t do this.” was what eventually broke the silence. voice barely above a whisper, a fatalistic tone to it. “i can’t ... i can’t have everybody thinking i’m a monster again. hunting me down, i - no. “ he gave a weak shake of his head, drew in a ragged breath. “i’m not - i can’t run anymore. i can’t- i can’t do it. not again.”

stevehharringtcns·:

.

steve smiled at eddie’s reaction, and he couldn’t blame him. steve himself was a little surprised that he was dating eddie. he was dating him. that was real. king steve wouldn’t believe it either if this had happened during high school, but he was too busy being an asshole to eddie. to everyone. it was weird to think about how he used to do that. he didn’t like looking back to high school and be remembered of all of that. while in the end of their friendship he had blamed tommy hagan and carol for everything, the truth was that he was as much to blame as the two of them. he didn’t even know why eddie had chosen to forgive him for allowing his friends to torment him, but… this was definitely going well for the two of them now. they were dating. and for as long as steve could predict, there was nothing that could separate them. and steve liked the idea of that - with nancy, there had always been doubts. with eddie, there was nothing in their way.

he had been lost in his thoughts. he kept his eyes glued to eddie. it was addicting to look at him and he couldn’t get enough. he was glad that no one else had access to his thoughts, because he was pretty sure people would make fun of them. but steve really did like looking at eddie - and before all of this, he would do it when no one was watching. or at least, when he thought no one was watching. and now he was all his to look at for as long as he wanted. a small smile formed on his lips, not leaving his face for a long time as he watched his now boyfriend so close to him.

“i am not… a dork, eddie munson. i was popular because i was… co-captain of the swimming team and i was also in the basketball team. and… i had and still have great hair.” he said with a small chuckle, looking over at eddie with a smile. “i would have never joined hellfire club back then… but now, maybe… i would. for you. and you know, i would have to say that it was because of dustin too, or else he would be jealous.” he said with a small chuckle again, holding on to his chest for a few moments as he took a deep breath and looked at eddie. “speaking of… dustin… have you talked to him? he seemed… pretty upset last i saw him.” he said with a sigh. the two cared too much about the kid, he was family for both of them at this point and they both hated when he was down, although it was sort of impossible not to be after what happened.

steve didn’t like talking about his family, in fact, he hated it. he knew that eddie had meant well when he had brought it up, but he couldn’t help but to be a little sad about it. he knew that most parents would visit their kid if they were in the hospital, but steve’s parents weren’t like most. but that was another story for another day. he didn’t feel like talking about. he looked over at eddie as he talked about wayne and his casserole, a small smile forming on his lips again as he heard him talk. steve knew that eddie’s parents weren’t that present either, but at least eddie had wayne. and wayne was a sweetheart, from the interactions steve had with him. nodding his head with a smile, he looked at the other. “i… i would like that a lot, eddie. you can tell him… but only if it’s not… a burden to come visit me or whatever. i don’t want to bother him.” he assured the other with a sigh.

+++

eddie waved it off with a dramatic eyeroll. “yeah, whatever you need to tell yourself, man. though i gotta agree with the great hair part. can’t deny it, much as it wounds me.” a melodramatic sigh, it soon shifted and made way for a light-hearted chuckle as he lifted his hand to gently card his fingers through steve’s hair. awfully careful, so as not to pull too much and end up hurting him. “i’m afraid that best feature of yours has seen better days, sweetheart...”, he muttered, lips twisted into a pitying crooked smile as he absent-mindedly scissored his fingers to detangle a knot in his hair. “but i got a couple of tricks up my sleeve. don’t you worry, we’ll get you back that title of steve ‘the hair’ harrington in no time.”

he kept his hand there for a moment, contuing to detangle steve’s hair, eddie grinned, all wide and toothy. “you would willingly join hellfire, huh?” the thought alone seemed outlandish, with a stifled chuckle eddie recalled the wheeler’s bbq, when steve had sat on his lap, looking all sorts of lost while eddie had attempted to explain the rules of dnd to him in hushed whispers. “you know, there’s no need to sweet talk me anymore, harrington. already got me wrapped around your finger.”

the mention of dustin brought that same worry wrinkle to his brows that was seemingly ever present on steve’s face, he nodded. “i’ve seen him, yeah. he came by. he’s - he’s alright, i think. seemed fine. considering.” he twisted his lips into what was supposed to be a reassuring smile, yet eddie couldn’t completely shake his worries off. the second he’d seen him and suzie go into that tent his heart had dropped, a feeling he’d not forget too soon. there was no parallel universe where eddie wouldn’t worry about dustin. there was none in which he wouldn’t care. there was a running joke, about how steve and later eddie had sort of adopted dustin. eddie didn’t have any siblings, or none he knew of, but he rather thought that this was how one felt about a younger brother. a son, even, if you will.

eddie mirrored his smile, nodded too. “i’ll let him know. it’s on his way, anyway. and he offered, so.” a shrug, eddie fell silent for a moment, simply looked at steve. it was as if he could feel his heart swell, and he wondered if it would always be like this when he looked at steve. when eddie spoke a couple of beats later his voice was soft, low. “you’re so beautiful, steve.” and, adding a pained timbre to his voice, he added: “i was so worried. i ... still don’t - i’m afraid this isn’t real. does that make sense?”

walkie talks || steddie

steve: i didn't think anything

steve: fine, i'll be there soon

steve: nothing

steve: just forget it, we'll talk when i'm there

eddie: nothing?

eddie: ... alright then. suit yourself.

eddie: see you later, king steve.

eddie: over.