Steve & Company - 001/???

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stevehharringtcns·:

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steve couldn’t believe his eyes when he spotted that the person in front of his car (and that he had almost ran over with his car) was no other than eddie. he was pretty convinced that he had walked in front of his car on purpose, but then again, he couldn’t really be surprised by that - it was eddie after all. he couldn’t help but to chuckle at the other’s reaction to seeing him. only eddie would react like that, but at least someone was glad to see him. he couldn’t imagine nancy’s reaction when she spotted him, but he didn’t want to think about that right now. “what the hell are you doing, munson? you can’t just jump in front of my car like that, i could have killed you!” he continued his protests, but this time he had a smile on his face, shaking his head slowly as he laughed.

before he knew it, eddie was making his way inside of his car and before he could say anything about it, he was being pulled into a hug by the other, which made him chuckle awkwardly as he patted his back. “alright, alright, munson, don’t get too emotional just by my presence. it’s not like i went anywhere, you’re the one that has been missing from hawkins.” he said, shaking his head slightly as he kept patting the other’s back until he finally was pulled way from the hug.

staring at eddie as he invited himself over to the barbecue, steve thought to himself: it would be better if he showed with someone else, right? it would be less awkward than just showing up on his own and having to deal with the wheeler family all by himself. right? “i don’t think she’ll mind… but it’s not like i can ask her either way, so… the wheeler barbecue it is then.” he said as he started driving again, not thinking twice as he started making his way towards the wheeler house. “what have you been up to, munson? don’t tell me you came back to hawkins, after all this time?” he asked, a smirk showing up in his features as he drove.

+++

he shrugged. “had to get your attention somehow, didn’t i?” wide beaming smile fixed on his lips, eddie settled into the seat with a sigh, lifting his hips to pull the bandana from his back pocket. perhaps the hug had been a bit much, he thought to himself as he patted away a sheen of sweat on his forehead. he gave steve a sheepish smile. “sorry, man, didn’t mean to get all...”, he gestured between them with his hands, then dropped them in his lap. “it’s just you’re, like, the first friendly face i’ve come across here, ‘cept for my uncle, of course. and that means a lot, at least in hawkins, you know.”<7small>

although steve and eddie were... well, friends - bound together by that fucking whacky shit they’d gone through two years ago - eddie’s brow still twitched in anticipation as he awaited steve’s reply. he was still afraid of rejection, even after two years of keeping in contact. platonic rejection, though - yeah, no, eddie was pretty damn sure steve was as straight as they come. he’d put the moves on him during their time fighting vecna, really, come to think of it he’d never flirted as shamelessly with anyone else. dropping hints left, right and center, to no avail. until he’d moved to chicago and, well, had been forced to give up pursuing steve, for his own good.

but whatever. eddie noticed the sudden shift in tone as steve talked about nancy and cocked an eyebrow, buckling th seatbelt as he spoke. “huh? trouble in paradise, harrington? are you and wheeler, like, doing okay, or...?” a sort of open ended question, leaving it to steve to fill him in on the details he wanted to share.

he stretched his arms above his head, slipped his bandana back into his pocket. “oh, i’ve been up to all sorts of things. y’know. wreakig general havoc here and there, same old, in true munson fashion.”, he said and gave him a grin. “god, no, i’m only back for the summer, stevie. why? did you miss me?”

“you been up to anything fun, harrington?”

EDDIE MUNSON + HANDS Stranger Things 4 (2022)

thequeenofhawkins·:

— ♔ —  

What. The. Fuck. 

It was a thought, one that Chrissy would never speak out loud, fear that Laura Cunningham would hear her all the way from the Cunningham two story house to the trailer park. She watched as Eddie backed away from her, grabbing the remote and using it as some sort of defense. Chrissy shook her head, trying to listen to his frantic voice. He was scared.

Scared of her. 

She couldn’t understand why. Sure, Chrissy was presumed dead or at the very least missing. Her parents buried an empty casket. People had mourned her. For all intensive purposes, she had come back from the dead. Chrissy just wasn’t thinking this would be her homecoming from Eddie. The same guy that had made her laugh. Like, genuinely laugh in years. After that, there was just darkness. Haziness. A cloud she couldn’t walk through. 

“What…” She couldn’t even get a sentence out from his yelling and then subsequently, his passing out. Chrissy could have ran, leave in the opposite direction. He’d wake up eventually and then it would be like she was never there, but she stepped into the trailer.

In an instant, heaviness hit her. Every step she took felt like there was someone pressing on her chest, it was nauseating. Something she didn’t feel prior to walking inside. Chrissy didn’t feel like she belonged inside and something told her it wasn’t because of a class difference. “Eddie?” She walked further, hoping he would pop back up, but he was still out cold. She bent down to his level, tapping him on the face. Again, hoping that would jolt him awake. “Eddie, wake up.”

+++

slowly, grimacing and groaning, eddie came to, from one if the most vivid nightmares he'd had in a long time. jesusxit had all felt so real. opening his door to see chrissy cunningham, queen of hawkins high, standing there - alive, breathing and fucking furious. standing in the doorway of the very trailer where she'd died some two years prior.

it had all felt so scarily real. just as real as the persistent tapping on his face that pulled him back to the realm of the living, the voice insisting that he 'wake up!'. and if he hadn't been quite so frightened and confused, eddie would've chuckled at that - the wax the voice echoed what he'd said to chrissy shortly before she'd started floating to the ceiling.

speak of the devil - another groan, eddie cracked one eye open. and met with the gave of chrissy cunningham once more, he instinctively backed into the wall behind him, hitting his head. eyes darted to the side for a moment - he'd dropped the tv remote when he'd fainted, it had slithered underneath the coffee table, out of reach. eddie gulped, backed himself as far as he could into the wall.

"this is not real - no, you are not real. this - am I dreaming? am i, like -", eyes widening even further, his breath hitched. "oh fuck, shit, am i dead? did I die? Is this, like, hell and you're coming back to haunt me?"

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?”

god, I miss him so much. please come back :((

zccming·:

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before max could even get mad, she was grateful. eddie came to visit often, but it wasn’t often enough by max’s standards. after the dust settled, eddie and herself struck up an odd little friendship in those last few weeks before he finally managed to hop into that cap and gown then leave. it consisted of meals spent together, regular check-ins, and generally good, quality time. with her mom still out of it, it was the closest semblance to family max had in a long time. so of course, it sucked when he left. but it was an even better feeling when eddie eventually made his rounds back. she didn’t like to clue anyone into how much either meant to her, though. same as now, she stifled her reaction and took the hug in stride. 

“i thought you were the cops.” max lied, pulling away. there was no time to be wasted with the when did you get in?s or the how long are you in town?s. “there’s a barbecue at the wheeler’s. you can come if you want.” she explained with a hefty sigh, as if she wouldn’t eat up every second of suburban normalcy. “i’m trying to get something to bring.” she gestured to the store, “didn’t have anything at home, don’t want to show up empty handed, here i am.” max glanced back to the road where she had discarded her rock, then looked up at eddie with a faint smirk, “i mean, how bad would it really be if i smashed through the front? nobody would know.” then she added, as if it were a perfectly good point, “and it’d be pretty cool if i were maybe able to…i don’t know…snag a couple of beers and bring them to my friends?”

+++

eddie was an only child, didn’t really have any family except for his uncle, but if you were to catch him in a vulnerable moment, there was a seventy percent chance he’d list max as a family member. he returned to hawkins semi-regularly,but if it weren’t for max he surely wouldn’t come back just as often. his uncle was fine, after all, got on great on his own, eddie wasn’t too worried there. but, jesus, with all the shit max had gone through ever since moving to hawkins - well, he just liked to make sure she was ok.

“do i look like a cop to you? be honest.” eddie gave her a ltitle tiwrl, showing off his outfit - black ripped jeans, worn out converse - not docs like he usually wore but how was he expected to survive in boots in this weather ? - black muscle shirt and his denim vest. and, of course, that ever present black bandana dangling from his back pocket. “‘cause if there are cops in hawkins looking like this well, shit, i might just have to go an join the force.”

eddie clicked his tongue, narrowed his eyes as he looked back and forth between max and the store. “ok, so, let me get this straight, yeah - you’re invited to a barbecue at the wheelers” - he emphasized the name, paused afterwards - “and instead of showing up there and going ‘oh sorry! i spaced, my bad, all store’s are closed’  your next immediate thought is ‘oh, you know what, let me fucking .... break into melvald’s and smash in the front’. just so karen wheeler won’t look at me funny.” 

he stared at her for a moment, feigning outrage before he erupted into loud laughter. eddie softly shook his head, dug into the pocket of his jeans to produce a hairpin. “thought i taught you better than that. take this -”, he thrust it into her hand, looking at her intently - “ and pick the lock in the back, and, like, grab some... i don’t know, some barbecue-y stuff.” he shrugged. “my van’s parked across the street, meet me back there once you’ve secured the good. i got a couple of six-pack’s in the back, so at least you don’t have to steal alcohol. ‘cause that’s like so beneath you, maxine.”

he grinned. truthfully, eddie could think of a about a thousand better ways to spend his afternoon that lounging in karen wheeler’s backyard, getting dirty looks from hawkins’ good society. but whatever, it was gonna be worth it if it meant he got to spend some time with max.

backtowheeler·:

— ✎ —

Nancy clocked that. The nervous laughter. The same laughter anyone would use to cover up something. She chose not to say anything, though. It wasn’t her business and she wasn’t the prying type. Besides, Eddie wasn’t exactly what she would call debonair, so she didn’t want to say the wrong thing and have it turn out that nothing was going on. “I’ve seen you pass by a few times,” she pointed out to the hallway. Not that is meant anything, of course. She had also seen Adam, Max, Dustin, and Robin pass by her room on their way to Steve and Cole’s. “It’s sweet,” then she followed up with, “Steve needs someone like that with him,” with him meaning just spending time in his room. “He doesn’t get taken care of often.”

She let out a groan. Not from the pain, but because Eddie was completely right. “Fine. No breaking out of this place but,” she shrugged her shoulders. “I just want to get some air or something,” she wasn’t fully on bedrest anymore, but she just hadn’t gotten a minute to so much as just walk around the corridor. She planted both of her feet on the ground, slowly standing up. It hurt, but she had a feeling she’d be like this for the next few weeks regardless of how much ‘R&R’ she got.

And not the bring the conversation back around to Steve, but she brought it back to Steve. “Can I ask you something? And just promise me you’ll answer honestly and not tell Steve I asked you?” Now that was a loaded question. It was hard not to do, but she worried about Steve. He always had a smile on his face and was always helping out that she felt like sometimes he got shafted when it came to personal matters. “Has his parents come to check on him? Like, at all?”

+++

i’ve seen you pass by a few times. right, right, that made sense. eddie nodded idly, yet still unable to shake off the perpetual and persisting nervousness. growing up not-straight in the smalltown indiana, well, it was a habit hard to shake off. even after his move to the big city. eddie pulled his bottom lip between his teeth, eyes darting around nancy’s hospital room. a particular spot on the wall seemed to capture his attention but really, eddie was trying to look anywhere but nancy’s eyes. with him. he gulped. “yeah, yeah, he needs someone looking after him. someone - like you said, yeah, with him. i mean not - not that i, or we -like, when you say with him, i don’t - it - “ shit, fuck, bullshit. he stayed like that for a moment, forming his mouth around words that didn’t come. no, this situation was unsalvageable. so he pursed his lips, nodded again. “whatever.”

it was very much not ‘whatever’ but judging by how fast his heart was beating, if eddie spent another second talking to nancy about how he was sort of kind of really in love with her ex-boyfriend he was afraid he’d have to be admitted, too. he watched carefully and with a concerned wrinkle in his brow as nancy slowly got up, ready to rush over and steady her should she need it. thankfully she didn’t. “i - i can go out to the patio with you, if want to.” he shrugged. “like, if you don’t want any company i totally get it, and i’ll be out of your hair in a second. but if you don’t i’ll come with you.” lord knew he needed some fresh air of his own. maybe a glass of water, too. a bite to eat. a wink of sleep wouldn’t hurt either but then again, you couldn’t have everything, could you. a cigarette would have to do. “i - tell me if i’m, like, overstepping in any way here, but i could take a look at your hair if you want me to? i’m...sort of an expert when it gets to bedrest induced matting.”

just when he thought they’d been past the topic of steve harrington, his name fell from her lips again and eddie inadvertently tensed again. even more so when she hit him with the aforementioned question and he exhaled deeply, felt his stomach drop a little as he thought back to his conversation with steve. there was a sad, almost hurt look in his eyes as he met her gaze again, a soft shrug of his shoulders. “what do you think?” it’s a scoff and by the way nancy was looking at him, and the way she’d asked the question, he knew that that was enough said. still, he went on. “he said his mom swung by but only for, like, a half hour. his dad didn’t even show.”

stevehharringtcns·:

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“trust me, i would have stayed behind if i knew you that most of you would start fires and get attacked in cemeteries… but i really didn’t have a choice, it was my… great aunt’s funeral.” steve shrugged his shoulders. it was the truth, he shouldn’t have left town for the funeral, after all, he was pretty sure that he only saw his great aunt during christmas and even then it wasn’t for long. also, all of the biscuits she made him were stale, so it’s not like steve had really a connection with her. but his parents insisted that he went, and since he didn’t want to argue with them and risk getting kicked out of the house, he obliged. “you really think i’m a fearless leader, huh?” he asked with a small smirk on his lips, as he looked down at eddie’s bruise carefully.

“you don’t need to act tough with me, trust me, i know how painful it can be. i’m not proud, but after getting beaten up by a ton of people, including russian spies, i know how a painful bruise looks like. i’ll get you some ice.” steve nodded his head slowly. he always seemed to get into fights, whether he put himself in them or if he just got in the way, but the bruises were the worst part of it. he kept his hand on eddie’s hand as they went up the stairs and towards his room. he opened the door and let the other inside with a smile, before turning to look at him. 

“you don’t need to worry, i wasn’t sleeping, but i was almost falling asleep. it’s fine, i’ll be sure to catch some sleep.” he said. “and don’t apologize, you clearly were… disturbed by that whole thing. you can always come over when you want.” he said, remembering everything that had happened in eddie’s place - it was probably hard to sleep after having a portal to the upside down on his room and after seeing chrissy… die like that.

“you’re very lucky… here, i’ll borrow you some of my clothes. but i want them back, so don’t you dare try and run off with them.” he said with a small chuckle, smirking slightly as he turned away from eddie, letting go of his hand, and towards his wardrobe so he could grab some of his clothes. he grabbed some sweatpants and a shirt that he hadn’t worn in a while and placed it on top of his bed, as he looked at him with a smile. he stood there awkwardly for a couple of moments, debating on what to do. should he stay with eddie? or should he just leave him alone? part of him thought that the last thing eddie wanted was to be alone, but then again, he didn’t want to assume anything.

“i’ll…go to the guest room. i’ll leave you alone. if you need the bathroom, it’s just across the hall. and the guest room is right next to it if you… if you need me.” he said as he started making his way towards the door, turning around to look at eddie, as he pondered if he should leave him alone or not. it wasn’t that hard of a decision, but like usually, he seemed to be complicating things.

+++

“oh shit.” eddie frowned, carefully tried to read the expression on steve’s face. though he knew family was a touchy subject for him, with his parents being gone most of the time, he still gave him a sympathetic look, squeezed his hand. “i’m sorry, man.”

steve mentioned russian spies and the like - robin had let him in on all the details of the shit that had gone down in hawkins, starting with will’s disappearance - but eddie’s thoughts were still stuck on the fact that a) steve harrington had very nearly touched his bare skin and b) he was going to sleep in steve harrington’s bed tonight. he felt all consumed with ... just steve. he was all around, eddie caught a whiff of his cologne and his eyes nearly rolled back in his head. “thanks.”, he smiled when steve offered to get him some ice. “it’s really not that bad, y’know. i’m tough.” eddie offered him a charming toothy grin. “and yeah, duh. ‘couse i think you’re a fearless leader, stevie. you got roughed up by literal russian slash alien super spies and made it out alive. that’s, like, so hot. you’re a hero, man.”

‘you can always come over when you want’. it made eddie’s heart skip a beat, he blushed, bit down a grin before he tore his eyes away fro steve, opting to look around his room instead.”jesus fucking christ, harrington. are you, like, freakily into geometrical shapes?”, eddie muttered with an amused huff as he let his gaze wander over the wallpaper, the matching curtains. steve’s room looked oddly like some model room, or a page right out of architectural digest. eerily not...lived in. while eddie’s room, their trailer, was the absolute opposite.

steve let go of his hand and eddie instantly missed the warmth and weight of it, his fingers flexed, he began rubbing his fingertips over his palm, nervous habit. “thanks.”, he repeated with a small nod, immediately went to pull off his own shirt and replace it with steve’s. steve’s. it smelled like him, like his detergent and eddie turned his face to hide his grin. oh, he was definitely keeping it. and the sweatpants, too. “jesus, how is your clothig so fucking....soft, man?”, he muttered with a chuckle, hands rubbing along the fabric.

and suddenly, steve had moved to the door, said goodbye for the night and eddie was left just ... standing there. a little on edge, he chewed on the inside of his lip nervously, opened his mouth to say something, anything, even a simple ‘good night!’ but didnt’ manage a single word. he’d come to steve’s house to not be alone, and while he was fucking jumping at the chance of staying somewhere that was so quintessentially steve’s, it still meant he’d spend the night on his own.

but steve turned back around, a curious, unreadable expression on his face, and eddie flexed his hands again. “i - uh. can you...stay?”, he asked, voice meek, brows drawn together, bracing himself for the impact of steve’s rejection. “i ... your bed’s like, big, and i don’t...want to be, uh, alone? yeah.”