Chapter Text
The gang was able to close the gate of the Upside-Down successfully. It was a team effort. Eddie was hoping that after climbing into the regular world, he would never have to cross back into the Upside-Down… that was short-lived. He handed Steve his guitar and amp. Praying that his playing would be enough to distract the demobats and buy them some time. His stupid act of heroism also helpt. El and everyone else were able to get to Hawkins and help close the gate. It truly felt like a happy ending for them.
Not having to worry about Vecna, Demogorgons or Russians has allowed everyone to try to get back to normalcy. Expect that when feelings are amplified, and you think you will die any second, emotions surge, unexpected ones. At least, that is what is happening between Steve and Eddie.
**
Robin and Steve had gone back to the Family Video. Keith had chewed them a new one and scheduled them in all the slow days. At first, it was fine, but then it became quite boring at the store. Steve had stopped hitting on every chick that came into the store, which did not go unnoticed by Robin.
“I figured after an epic battle, you might have gone head first into the ladies. But you don’t even flirt anymore, even when they flirt first,” Robin says, raising her eyebrows at Steve, “don’t tell me you gone celibate?” She gasps, throwing a hand over her mouth dramatically.
“Yea, Yea Buckley. I am a born-again virgin-” Steve’s sarcastic answer was interrupted when none other than Eddie walked into the store. Like he does almost every shift they have.
“No way, Steve fucking Harrington is a born-again virgin!” Eddie chuckles. Steve thanks every god that no one comes into the store on Mondays.
His ears redden, “why so interested, Munson? Are you trying to take away my innocence?” Steve simply could not let Eddie one-up him.
Eddie raises his arms up, “no, man. I would be too much for your first time. But you can call me once you pop your cherry, princess.” He winks at Steve and heads over to the VHSs.
The redness from Steve’s ears moves to his whole face. He turns to Robin. She stops laughing, “very amusing seeing Eddie get under your skin.”
“Whatever, since you find him so amusing, go help him find something to watch,” Steve says to her and gives her a shove. He aimlessly fixed the candy by the counter, remembering how Eddie had helped him.
Ever since Eddie risked his life playing on top of his trailer while Steve saved him from the Demobats, they have become unlikely friends. They believed that near-death experiences and having to fight side by side speed up the course of their friendship. Eddie and Steve hugged for what felt forever but not long enough when it was all done. After they checked that Nancy was okay, Eddie told Steve to go into his room to clean up his wounds.
“Those Demobats really fucked you up,” Eddie says as he unwraps the makeshift bandage that Nancy made. “Chunks! I felt them take them out, Munson.” Steve hisses as the air of the room hits his wounds. “Sorry, Stevie. It’s only going to hurt more from here.” Steve was not able to focus at all because Eddie had put his hand on his thigh reassuringly. He only realized Eddie had gone to get a first-aid kit from his bathroom when the warmth was gone. He did not give it much thought as to why that amount of contact had left him flustered; he chucked it up to finally being the one taken care of.
Eddie came back with a container and a weak smile, “I am going to have poured some alcohol on the chunks, and I would sitch it up but they look really bad. I don’t want to do more damage than good.” Steve finally looked down and realized just how much the bats had taken. “I guess it might be a better idea to get it stitched up by professionals. Just clean it before I decide getting an infection is better.” Steve tried to chuckle at his bad joke, but it came out more like a whimper.
Eddie raised an eyebrow and shifted when he heard the sound coming from Steve. He decided he better clean him up, don’t want Steve waiting any longer. “Mmh, here.” Eddie hands him his bandana that he always has in his left pocket, “you can bite down on it, you know, so you don’t scream and scare the kids.” Eddie said, clearing his throat, a blush on his cheeks.
Eddie snaps his fingers in front of Steve, “Harrington, I am ready to check out.” He gives Steve a smirk and holds up his choice of VHS. “Was that your choice, or was it Robin’s?” Steve asks as he takes the VHS and inputs it into the system. “Mine,” Eddie leans into Steve’s space and tells him. Steve, frozen by the sudden closeness, stares at the cover of the VHS, “David Bowie?” “Yea, I don’t listen to him much, but I only heard good things about it,” Eddie tells Steve, and he finally stops leaning over the counter. Steve nods absentmindedly.
“You can come by and watch it with me if you want, Stevie,” Eddie offers to Steve as he takes the VHS. Steve’s eyes go wide, which doesn’t go unnoticed by Eddie. “Umm” -he clears his throat- “sure, I’ll come by 8, Munson.”
Eddie smiles, “you know I always have beer, so you bring the food.” With that, Eddie leaves the store, the bell ringing after him. Steve looks at the back of his leather jacket and his hair bouncing until he gets in his van. It wouldn’t be the first time Steve had watched a movie with Eddie; he had gone to his trailer, and Eddie had gone to his house. Steve always prefers Eddie’s trailer, and his house is so big and empty, finding any excuse not to be there.
“So date night with Eddie?” Robin raises her eyebrows at him, teasing him. “You know it's not like that,” Steve leaves the counter and goes to the VHS racks. “Sure, because when ‘it’s not like that’ you blush and stutter,” Robin says, fixing the candies that Steve messed up more than fixed.
“Just friends, how many times have we gone over this? I stopped bothering you when you told me you weren’t giving the eyes to Nancy,” Steve walked back to the counter next to Robin. “I told you it was a near-death experience I am only a woman. You know I like Vickie. And Nancy is back with Jonathan. I don’t want to break friend code.”
“Yea, yea. It is the same with Eddie and me. And I told you that since he started coming here. Especially cause at first he came to see you and not me. I don’t understand why you keep bringing it up, knowing that it's nothing. We are just friends that had near-death experiences,” with Steve noticing that there are 5 minutes left until they are free to go and start heading for the back.
“We are just friends, just friends, my ass, Harrington,” Robin mutters under her breath.
***
It’s 7, and Steve is debating what to wear and what to bring. He did not want to dress down and come in just sweats and a shirt; Eddie always bothered him when he did. No fashion sense, Harrington? Or I bet it took you forever to decide on that intricate outfit. He also did not want to seem like he was trying super hard on what he was wearing. In frustration, he runs his hands through his hair and instantly regrets it. “Fuck! I had just fixed it.”
As he was fixing his hair, he decided a basic t-shirt and jeans were fine. As he heads out his door to figure out what food to bring, he sees Eddie’s denim vest draped over his chair. Eddie had told him to keep it, that he looked good in it. Steve’s felt heat coming to his face as he thought about it. The vest would make it better. He grabbed it and threw it on.
A pizza seemed like the smartest choice; he also got some popcorn just in case. He heads over to the trailer park, Eddie and his uncle moved trailers. Eddie said the stain on the ceiling and knowing what had happened in there were too much for him.
Steve gets out of his car, balancing the pizza and popcorn, and closes his door. He swore he saw a curtain move from the inside of the trailer, but he has been extremely jumpy since everything happened. He knocks on the door, and almost immediately, the door opens.
“Were you waiting for me, Munson?” Steve asks with an eyebrow raised and a smirk. Eddie runs a hand through his hair. “How did you know? I just wanted to see you so badly, Harrington” Eddie steps to the side, letting Steve in. “The vest looks good on you, love,” Eddie whispered as Steve passed him. Steve felt his breath hitch; he did not respond, did not want to risk his voice cracking.
He clears his throat and says, “I got pizza and popcorn,” Steve puts them on the coffee table in front of the couch. “The peak of health, pizza, and beers. We will live forever, Harrington!” Eddie says and grabs the popcorn turning to Steve, “popcorn before pizza or after?”
“Pizza first, I am starving,” Steve says and stands up, pulling Eddie to the side by the waist to have him step to aside, so he can get to the kitchen. The fact that the trailer allows for closeness between Steve and Eddie might also be a reason why Steve always chooses to go to Eddie’s.
Eddie flustered at the smallest amount of contact and freezes for a moment touching his waist. He clears his throat, “I’ll grab the beers.” He mentally slaps himself, it's not like he is not used to contact. He is not some sort of virgin school girl who has never been touched before. He might be quite the opposite. He chalks it up to the fact that he has not had such a close friendship with anyone in a while, and being permanently scared might just make him crave small touches.
After the pizza is on plates, beers open, and The Labyrinth is playing; they settle into the couch. Eddie’s couch is not very spacious; if one wanted personal space, you had to move all the way to one side. They always ended up touching shoulders and legs. Steve did not understand most of the movie. He got lost in thought at the beginning and felt as if he was lost from then on. Eddie, on the other hand, was engrossed, leaning forward and aimlessly bouncing his leg.
Steve got up to make them the popcorn. Eddie barely noticed, when the kernels started to pop he jumped up from the couch. “Oh shit, Eddie. I’m just making the popcorn. It’s just the popcorn, see” - Steve points at the microwaves and rushes to Eddie - “the movie is still on, our beers are there. It’s okay, I got you.” Steve wraps his arms around Eddie calming him down, he understood right away what had happened. He understood too well. He knew it from when the lights flickered and his stomach dropped or when he would hear kids yelling, and he started looking for his kids.
Eddie leaned into the touch, letting himself melt. Steve drew circles on his back and kept pointing out things that were present. He only stopped when he felt Eddie stop trembling. Steve held him a little longer and then grabbed Eddie by the shoulders and pushed him to see his face. “Hey, are you feeling better, Eddie?” Eddie only nods. Steve guides Eddie to the couch and gets the popcorn out of the microwave. “It might be slightly burnt but still edible.”
When Steve sits back down, his whole side is pressed to Eddie, and he keeps his arm around his waist to reassure Eddie that he is right by him. Eddie is feeling much better, but he doesn’t pull away from Steve. He leans more into his touch, hoping that Steve doesn’t notice. When the movie ended, neither one of them moved. Eddie would have thought that Steve had fallen asleep if it weren’t for the circles he was drawing on his side. Which had made Eddie not focus for the rest of the movie. He made a note to rewatch the movie before he returned it. Steve thought Eddie had fallen asleep. His breath seemed mostly normal, except for when it seemed to hitch every once in a while. It was getting late, and he had to go back home.
Steve turned to look at Eddie and almost jumped when he saw him looking back, “fuck, Munson. I thought you were asleep.” Steve started standing up. Eddie immediately felt cold when Steve was not next to him. “Are you leaving, Harrington?” Eddie asked, getting up and fixing his shirt that had moved up from Steve’s touch. “Yea, it’s getting late.”
“Umm, thank you, man. For helping me with the whole… thing, it's just that sometimes things happen, and it feels like I am back there, you know?” Eddie says, not looking Steve in the eyes. “I understand, trust me. Sometimes it just happens… ummm… sometimes when the lights flicker, I always have to check that it isn’t like a sign of all that weird shit. So don’t worry about it. I don’t mind at all,” Steve says and is getting ready to leave.
Eddie goes up to him and gives him a hug. Steve tenses up from surprise, and Eddie starts to pull away, thinking he overstepped, but Steve brings him back in. Eddie lays his head on Steve’s shoulder, and Steve rests his head on Eddie’s. They just stood there like this for what seemed like forever but also a second. Steve was first to pull away.
“I’ll see you around, Munson,” Steve says, clearing his throat and opening the door. “Soon, Harrington,” Eddie says, closing the door behind him.
Eddie couldn’t help but touch the side that Steve had been aimlessly playing with. Steve was no different, touching his shoulder as he drove home. Both had a smile on their lips.