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Steve wouldn’t consider himself lonely. Sure, the kids had all gone their separate ways to college and sure, Robin was also long gone in Massachusetts, but he wasn’t lonely. Just…alone. In Hawkins. Which was fine.
It was fine.
He had got a pretty good gig as a baseball coach at Hawkins Middle and the sex ed teacher at the high school. It took up a surprising amount of his time. He knew pretty much everyone his age in town. He had gone on dates with most of the eligible women even but nothing was sticking, not even in a friendship way. But it was fine. He was fine.
So fine, in fact, that he was living a normal, functional life. A functional life that included grocery shopping at 5:30pm on Friday night. It was the best time for it really, the end of the week so everyone else had something better to do, he could go right after baseball practice finished, get himself a nice treat for another week finished. It was a good part of the week.
This week in particular his treat of choice was to bake himself a cake. He’d started baking lately, just something to do and the results were a nice bonus. He was staring down the cake mixes, trying to decide between red velvet and chocolate. Robin’s voice was in his head rambling about how red dye #2 was found to cause cancer and the flavor was ‘basically indistinguishable from chocolate,’ so he reached for the chocolate when he heard a thud beside him. He turned and saw a can of condensed milk on the floor and an old man standing over it.
“Gosh darn it!” The old man exclaimed. His voice was pretty gruff to be saying something so silly. Steve smirked to himself. The man went to bend down but quickly stopped, grabbing at his back and exclaiming in pain. “Son of a-”
“Here, I got it,” Steve interrupted, quickly moving over and picking up the can. “Nothing worth hurting yourself over. They’ve got like hundreds of these.” He handed the can to the man and caught sight of his baseball cap. “Cubs? You see the last game?”
The man perked up, not much, he didn’t seem like much of a smiler but he smirked. “Oh yeah, I watch every game. They really screwed the pooch in the ninth inning, eh?”
Steve let out a surprised laugh, “Yes they did, sir.”
“You coach?” He asked, gesturing to Steve’s ‘Coach Steve’ jacket the kids had pitched in to get him.
“Oh, yeah. The middle school team,” Steve answered, shrugging.
“Hey, you give ‘em a good foundation, they can go places,” he said kindly, finally placing the can of condensed milk in his cart.
“That’s true,” Steve said, smiling. “You bake?” He wasn’t sure why he didn’t want to let the conversation go. He wouldn’t admit it was because he was lonely. Because he’s not. But it was nice to talk to someone he didn’t work with or someone that wasn’t a girl he was on a date with. Recently those weren’t making for fun conversation.
“No, I uh,” he chuckled to himself. “I put this in my coffee.”
“Really?” Steve asked, actually intrigued by something so small. “You know, I would’ve taken you for a black coffee man.”
The other man let out a loud laugh then. It surprised Steve and made him feel a bit proud. He didn’t seem like a man who laughed like that often.
“You would think. You know, my boy–my nephew,” he clarified. “He drinks his coffee black as the night sky. Not a drop of sugar in it. He thinks I’m crazy for puttin’ this stuff in mine.”
“It does sound pretty sweet,” Steve agrees, chuckling.
“What’s your name, son?”
“Steve. Harrington.” He added the last name a bit begrudgingly. His parents weren’t in town anymore, not since the ground had opened up and split the small town to pieces. It was better now, but they still couldn’t bother to return. Their name still carried weight though. Mostly the weight of looks; pity, judgment, annoyance, nothing great.
“Ah, I knew your old man back in the day.”
“Sorry,” Steve responded, meaning it.
He just chuckled. “No apology necessary. You’re your own man. You seem alright.”
Steve beamed. It was sad how much a simple ‘you seem alright’ brightened his day. “Thank you, sir.”
“Wayne Munson,” he said, holding out his hand very formally.
One thing Steve’s dad had taught him was formality so he quickly took the other man’s hand and shook firmly. Wayne chuckled under his breath.
And that’s how a man in his 50s became Steve’s best friend. Well, second best friend, after Robin. Which Wayne totally understood.
—-
They didn’t hang out overly much, they both had jobs, of course. At opposite parts of the day, at that. But every now and then they’d meet at Wayne’s trailer, drink a beer and watch the game. It was nice. Steve liked the company, Wayne clearly did too. He mentioned that after his nephew left for ‘the big city’ the house felt empty. Steve could understand the feeling of an empty house; the stillness that was never broken, the quiet that felt almost awkward. He hated it. Evidently, so did Wayne.
“I’ve been thinking of getting myself a place here. Forest Hills,” Steve said easily. The two of them were sitting on the sofa, not speaking much, just listening to the game. It was a nice shared silence. Steve wasn’t used to that. Silence with his parents usually felt like a precursor to yelling. Like a bubble about to burst. Here, with Wayne, it felt kind of nice.
“Here?” Wayne asked, raising an eyebrow. “Seems like a downgrade from that big ole house, boy.”
“I don’t think so,” Steve disagreed easily. “I like it here and I don’t need all that space. I never liked that house. It was good for parties and stuff but we know I don’t do that anymore.”
Wayne chuckled, “No, you do not.”
“Plus, it’ll be cool. I know another person here, I can check in on her.”
“Who?” Wayne asked, distracted but curious.
“Susan Mayfield.”
“Oh, Susan. She’s good people. Her daughter lived here not long ago.”
“Yeah, Max. I used to babysit her and her friends. I like to check up on their families from time to time. Just to make sure,” Steve said. Possibly alluding to too much with the end but choosing not to dig deeper. Wayne just hummed like he understood it anyway.
“That’s nice of you.”
“Thanks. The least I could do.”
The silence returned for a moment.
“I’ve been meaning to ask,” Wayne began, turning to speak to him so it must be important. “You got any friends your age?”
Steve laughed, “You tryna’ get rid of me?”
“‘Course not, don’t be silly.”
Steve was just teasing but the affirmation was nice anyhow.
“Not really,” Steve answered, then decided to expand upon it. “The kids I babysat are all in college now. Scattered across the country a bit. They’re all a few years younger than me. My best friend Robin is my age, well, a year younger. She’s in Massachusetts though…So here, um…no friends my age, nope.”
Wayne hummed thoughtfully. “That’s too bad, kid.”
“Oh, it’s fine. I got you now, so…”
Wayne gave him a look, “An old man is your best friend?”
“Second best friend,” Steve corrected. “Robin and I still call every week.”
“That’s good at least,” he said, chuckling. The man looked to think for a moment. “You should meet my boy.”
“Your nephew? Yeah, you’ve mentioned him. Isn’t he in ‘the big city?’”
“He is but he comes around sometimes to visit. He would’ve been in high school with you. Eddie Munson.”
The name was familiar. They had never spoken. Eddie was a year ahead of him until he was in the same year and then the year behind him. The infamous super senior, freak, drug-dealer, Eddie Munson. He had heard a lot about him. He wasn’t going to say that to Wayne though.
“I recognize the name,” Steve said evenly. “We never spoke or anything. Ran in different crowds.”
Wayne scoffed, “I’ll say. I know what you heard but he’s a good kid.”
“I believe you,” Steve assured. “I never believed half the crap everyone said about him anyways.”
“Well…some of it was true. He’s really straightened out though. Him and his band are apparently doing real well in the city. They play at this bar every week. Eddie says there’s a label eyeing them, whatever that means.”
Wayne looked proud speaking about him. It made Steve smile. His dad never looked like that while talking about him. He certainly never looked like that while talking to him. It was nice that Eddie had an uncle like Wayne, Steve wished he had one too.
“That sounds really cool,” Steve said. “I’d love to meet him next time he comes to visit.”
Wayne surveyed his face then nodded looking pleased. “Good, then you will. It’ll do you good to talk to someone your age. Can’t be listening to an old man like me all the time, you’ll start to sound like me.”
“Doubt that’s true,” Steve said, chuckling.
“That sounded just like me,” Wayne joked. “Uncanny.”
Steve laughed, “Whatever, old man.”
“That sounded better. Like Eddie.”
Steve smiled, sipping his beer as they slipped back into a comfortable silence. He wasn’t sure if he’d really have to meet Eddie. He had no clue how often the man came to visit. When the time came he certainly would, he’d never lie to Wayne. He wasn’t sure how well it’d go though. How much could the two of them even have in common?
---
Over the next few weeks Wayne was constantly slipping in tidbits about his nephew. He played Dungeons and Dragons, for starters, which sure, Steve didn’t play himself but his kids did. Eddie was an animal lover, made friends with all the strays in Forest Hills. He had a habit of bringing them in and feeding them which Wayne still had to keep up to this day. Steve thought that was sweet.
Eddie played guitar in his band. He was really good, their band had just signed onto a label and Eddie was thrilled. So was Wayne. Steve thought it sounded really impressive.
Eddie had a job as a mechanic to pay the bills which was pretty cool. Steve loved cars and he knew a little about fixing them but mechanic knowledge was really helpful. Impressive too. Means he’s good with his hands…which makes sense since he also plays guitar.
For weeks, it was Eddie this, Eddie that. It made sense that Wayne talked about his nephew so much and Steve didn’t have a problem with it. In fact, it was becoming the opposite. Eddie seemed like a really interesting guy. Steve actually found himself looking forward to hearing the next Eddie fact. He wanted to know more.
“How’s uh…how’s Eddie doing?” Steve asked, fake casually as Wayne popped open their beers. The man smirked to himself, looking pleased but Steve didn’t see, too busy looking like he didn’t care.
“He’s doing good. He’s coming to visit next week, actually.”
“Really?” Steve said, far too quick, far too excited. “I mean, really? He’s not like…busy with the label or the autoshop?”
“No, he was able to take a few days off work and the label says they need more songs so Eddie’s coming down to try and write. Said something about needing a ‘change of scenery to break writer’s block.’ I think he just misses me,” Wayne said, chuckling and nudging Steve’s shoulder.
“I bet,” Steve agreed.
“So, you wanna meet him, right?” Wayne asked.
“Yeah, sure, if that’s okay. I wouldn’t want to take up any of your time together or anything.”
“Nonsense, boy. It’ll be nice.” Which decided it. Steve was going to meet Eddie Munson. For real. Eddie Munson who kind of sounded amazing if he was honest. Which could be partially due to the fact that he was hearing about him from the man’s uncle, who clearly loved him more than anyone else. Steve didn’t think that was all it was though.
A while back, Robin had told him what the term ‘bisexual’ meant on one of their weekly phone calls. He hadn’t been sure why she was telling him but he was welcoming to it. Said it made sense that would be a thing. If it could be one or the other why not both? More the merrier or whatever. Robin had chuckled.
“You just have been mentioning Eddie a lot. Like a lot. Like a strange amount for someone who has not spoken to him ever. How do you even know so much about him?”
“Wayne talks about him all the time,” Steve had responded dismissively.
“That doesn’t mean you have to.”
“Sorry, is it annoying or something?”
“Not at all, dingus. I just think it’s interesting you’ve taken such an interest in him. I’ve never even heard this much info about the dates you’ve gone on.”
“Well, there’s not much to say.”
“But there’s a lot to say about Eddie?”
Steve had been silent for a moment.
“I’m just saying,” Robin explained softly. “That I kind of brought up the term for that reason. So think about it, if you want.”
And think about it he did. He couldn’t be sure. Like she said, he had never spoken to the guy. He certainly couldn’t claim he had feelings for him. But he remembered him from high school a little. Steve always thought his long hair was cool, if a little undercared for. Sometimes he’d find himself wanting to give Eddie haircare tips so it would look softer. He knew it could look really pretty if Steve got his hands on it, gave it some good TLC. The man’s style was interesting. Nothing he would wear himself but it suited Eddie. He recalled one time in the locker room when they were changing, Eddie taking off his shirt. Steve hadn’t meant to look, that was generally frowned upon unless you were in conversation but he had caught a glance and stuck there for a moment. He remembered thinking the boy wasn’t as scrawny as he thought he’d be. Eddie never participated in gym, just changed and showed up for the credit but somehow he seemed a little toned. Lithe almost. Steve wondered how he did that, he thought it looked good.
It was stuff like that that built up in his head. That and some thoughts about movie stars and magazine models that he allowed himself to entertain more than usual. Of course, Robin knew exactly what she was talking about, as always. The term might be for him. Bisexual.
Of course he came to that conclusion a mere day before he was set to meet Eddie for real.
Wayne opened the door with a bigger smile than Steve was used to. It was nice to see the man so excited. “Perfect timing! Come on in. He should be here soon.”
“Thanks,” Steve said, coming in and closing the door behind him. “I brought wine. I don’t know if Eddie likes wine but it felt like something I should bring.”
“You didn’t need to do that, kid, but I appreciate it,” Wayne said, taking the bottle and searching for an opener. Then there was a knock at the door. “Why is that boy knocking? He knows he can just come in.”
“I’m not just gonna walk in, Wayne!” Eddie shouted.
“Could you go get the door? Looking for that damn wine opener,” Wayne asked, digging through the drawers.
“Uh, yeah, of course,” Steve walked to the door, a bit nervous if he was honest. He took a deep breath and opened the door.
“Old man–-you’re not my uncle,” Eddie started out all animated then froze in place. He looked surprised which was weird because surely Wayne would have told him he’d be here. “What’s going on? Why is Steve Harrington at my uncle’s house?”
Unless he didn’t tell him.
“Oh, I thought he would’ve told you, sorry. I’m friends with Wayne and he, uh…wanted us to meet,” Steve scratched the back of his neck, feeling awkward and like he maybe shouldn’t be here.
“You’re Steve? The Steve? I thought you were some guy from his job…Wayne’s new best friend is Steve Harrington?” He said the last bit more to himself than to Steve.
“Aw, I’m his best friend?”
“Boy, why are you still standing outside?” Wayne asked, approaching suddenly with the bottle of wine in his hand, attempting to open it with the opener he finally found. “Get in here.”
“Sorry, I was just kind of taken aback by Steve Harrington being here,” Eddie said, sending him an almost nervous looking glance as he stepped into the house.
“I told you he would be here.”
“You told me your friend Steve would be here and I assumed it was someone your age. Not King Steve.”
“No one calls me that anymore,” Steve interjected. Should he leave? It feels like he should leave. Which sucked because he was kind of looking forward to meeting Eddie but it didn’t seem like the other man felt the same.
“You’re being rude to our guest, Eddie,” Wayne admonished, shaking his head.
Eddie opened his mouth to speak but then looked to rethink it. He sighed and shook his head, “You’re right. Sorry, Steve.”
“It’s okay. It’s uh…nice to meet you. I’ve heard a lot about you. Wayne talks about you all the time,” Steve said, trying to restart and offset the uncomfortable feeling he had of intruding.
“Does he?” Eddie asked, smirking mischievously at his uncle. “All good things, I hope.” He smiled at Steve, as if the whole initial introduction hadn’t happened and he was suddenly happy to be seeing him.
“Yeah, very good things,” Steve assured, nodding. He hadn’t really gotten a moment to take Eddie in but now that he was…He was a lot like Steve remembered but a little more grown, a light stubble on his face that looked quite good on him. He still looked lean, his arms though looked to have a bit more muscle to them. Steve was sure that checking out your second best friend’s nephew was probably not a cool thing to do but he couldn't help himself. Even hundreds of miles away Robin had been right on point.
“He practically asked to meet you,” Wayne said, finally getting the cork to pop out of the wine as he smiled broad. It looked a lot like Eddie’s previous mischievous smile but he didn’t pay it much mind.
“Wayne!” Steve whisper-shouted at the man.
“What? It’s true. You said you’d love to meet him,” he shrugged. “Come on, let’s eat.”
The two of them followed Wayne to the small kitchen table set up with their dinner. Eddie leaned over, bumping his shoulder against Steve’s. “You’d love to meet me?”
Steve shrugged, “He made you sound good.” He walked ahead and sat at the table, Eddie trailing behind smiling.
The three of them sat at the table, eating and chatting easily. It was really nice. A lot like the family dinners Steve always imagined as a child.
“So, how did this friendship even come about?” Eddie asked, gesturing between Wayne and Steve with his fork.
Steve chuckled, “We met in the baking aisle.”
“Since when do you bake?” Eddie asked Wayne. Before the man could answer though, Eddie looked more surprised. “Wait, you bake?” he asked Steve this time.
“I dabble. I’m not making anything from scratch yet but it’s something to do,” he explained, bashful.
Eddie looked impressed.
“And to answer your first question,” Wayne chimed in. “I don’t bake. I was getting my condensed milk.”
“Oh my God-” he cut himself off with a sigh and an affectionate eye roll. “For your coffee, wasn’t it?”
Wayned nodded and Steve chuckled.
“He tell you he puts that in his coffee?” Eddie asked Steve.
“Yeah, he did.”
“Isn’t that just ridiculous? Way too sweet,” Eddie said, shaking his head. “How do you take your coffee?”
“Just a bit of sugar,” Steve answered.
“A man after my own heart,” Eddie said, smiling.
Steve blushed at the comment. The rest of dinner went quite the same. Good conversation, catching up, sharing stories. Eddie updated him on his life in the big city which sounded pretty nice. Nothing too crazy like Steve had assumed. He told some stories about himself and the band, the things they got up to. There was a particularly funny story about him and his bandmate Gareth getting locked in the bar overnight when they fell asleep in a backroom after their gig. It had Steve laughing so hard he almost spit out his beer. Eddie beamed with pride when it happened.
Steve thought Eddie was really funny. Even when he wasn’t telling his theatrical stories he was making Steve laugh. He was also charming. Steve found himself unable to look away. It got to a point where he almost felt like they weren’t including Wayne enough and he felt guilty, turning to include the man just to find him smiling wide, like it didn’t bother him at all.
They finished up and Steve collected the dishes, bringing them to the sink to wash. Wayne excused himself to the porch for a smoke and it was quiet, a comforting quiet.
“I was just surprised to see you,” Eddie said, coming to stand next to Steve at the sink.
“Hm?” he hummed back in question.
“At the door. I was just surprised it was you. I wasn’t…upset to see you though,” the other man explained.
Steve smirked, handing him the plate he’d just rinsed off. Eddie dutifully grabbed a towel and began drying it off. “Glad to hear it,” Steve said.
“I’m just sorry if it seemed like I wasn’t happy to see you.” Eddie propped the plate up to dry further, grabbing the next one Steve handed his way.
“So you’re happy to see me then?” He sent what he hoped was a winning smile Eddie’s way.
The man got a little pink in the cheeks if Steve wasn’t thinking wishfully. “Yeah, it’s been nice. Nice to really meet you.”
“You too. I was wondering if Wayne was just really good at talking you up. He was right though.” He finished washing the dishes and turned off the faucet.
“About what?” Eddie asked, drying the last plate.
“That you’re a good guy. That we’d get along. That I’d like you,” Steve answered, shrugging shyly at the end.
Eddie smiled wide, “Well, one thing about my old man is that he’s always right. Wisdom comes with age so he’s got plenty.”
“That’s a nice way of callin’ me old, boy,” Wayne said, reappearing from outside with a fond smile.
“Well, I’m very nice,” Eddie said, smiling still.
Steve really liked his smile. It felt nice to see it. He probably saw it in school but not nearly as often as he’d seen it tonight. Which felt like an honor. A major success.
“I should get going. It’s getting late,” Steve began, not really wanting to leave but not wanting to overstay his welcome. “I’m sure Eddie’s tired from his drive over.”
“I’m surprisingly alert, actually,” Eddie said.
“If he’s gotta go, he’s gotta go,” Wayne said, sending Steve a smile he couldn’t decode. “It was nice havin’ you over, son. I had a good time with y’all.”
Steve smiled, “Thanks for having me. It was fun.” He turned to Eddie, “And it was really nice meeting you. Officially.”
“You too, Stevie,” he replied, sending him an incredibly charming smile.
That and the nickname made Steve blush, hopefully not too visibly but he couldn’t be sure. Eddie looked quite smug. Now that he thought of it, Wayne did too. Strange.
He left the trailer, sending them one final wave as he left, a big smile on his face.
—
Eddie hadn’t decided how long he was staying. He didn’t seem to have a deadline. However long it took him to write a good few songs, it seemed. It was nice. Wayne was in good spirits. So was Steve. They had only seen each other once since the dinner but it had been equally as nice.
They’d run into each other at the Family Video. Eddie had brought up the fact that Steve used to work there, which he was surprised he even knew. They had talked about what movies they were renting, how Eddie was going home for a movie night with Wayne, how Steve was just going home to watch a movie alone. Eddie had invited him over and Steve had considered it but talked himself out of it. Said he didn’t want to intrude. As he sat on his own couch that night, watching his movie alone he regretted that though.
Today, though, was his and Wayne’s game night. They didn’t do it often, about once a month but it was nice. He and Wayne would play cards, drink some beer, he looked forward to it.
As he drove there he wondered if maybe Eddie would participate in that night’s game night. Since he was probably there. Unless he wasn’t. Steve didn’t know his schedule or plans…but he kinda hoped he was there.
He knocked on the door of the trailer with a six pack of beer in hand and waited. The door opened, revealing Eddie himself, dressed in loose fitting pajama pants and a tank top with quite low cut arm holes. It drew attention to his arms and the sides of his abdomen. It drew attention to all of him really. Steve thought it was kind of ridiculous how someone could look so good in old pajamas in the comfort of their own home.
“What’s up, Stevie?” Eddie asked, tilting his head with a smirk. He had kept calling him the nickname since that first time. Steve really liked it, he thought that might be part of why the other man kept using it.
Steve realized he might’ve been standing there in silence too long. He cleared his throat, ignored the blush rising to his cheeks. “Is Wayne here? It’s uh, our game night,” he said, unsure.
“You guys have a game night?” Eddie asked, leaning against the door frame and crossing his arms. It brought even more attention to his arms and his sides, to Steve’s delight and embarrassment as he found himself staring again.
“Uh, yeah, just like once every now and then. Is he here?”
“No,” Eddie said, shaking his head. “He’s at work. Took a shift.”
“Really?” Steve asked, confused. The game night was a standing thing. They did it the same day every month, on a night Wayne didn’t work and Steve didn’t have to get up early the next day. Wayne hadn’t missed it yet. It was unlike him to take a shift, surely he remembered their plans. He would’ve called, though, if he did.
“Yeah, maybe he forgot you had plans,” Eddie explained. “But um,” he scratched the back of his neck nervously. “You could still come in, if you want. We could…hangout. You know, since you came all this way.”
Steve smiled, looking down at his shoes bashfully. “Yeah, sure, that sounds good.”
Eddie moved aside and let him in. Steve grabbed a beer for each of them and put the rest of the pack in the fridge.
“What do you and the old man usually play?” Eddie asked, sitting at the table with the beer he’d gratefully taken from Steve.
“Just some cards, a little bit of poker with pretzels.”
Eddie laughs, “Sounds like him.” He gets up and grabs a bag of pretzels from their cabinet. “And it sounds like fun. Let’s do it.” He sets the bag on the table and pats the seat across from him.
Steve smiles, sitting down across from him as he pulls out the cards he brought. “You any good,” he asked as he dealt them in.
“I’m alright. Not my game of choice but I’m not bad.”
“What’s your game of choice?” Steve asked, grabbing a handful of pretzels. He already knew the answer but he thought it’d make good conversation.
“You heard of Dungeons and Dragons?” Eddie asked, looking at his cards and assessing them.
“Yeah it’s that uh…” he feigned confusion before snapping his fingers like he’d just remembered the words. “Tabletop roleplaying thing? With all the monsters and stuff, right?” Steve asked.
Eddie paused, froze really, his face reading pure surprise. Steve smiled to himself, proud.
“You know Dungeons and Dragons?” he asked, disbelieving.
“Yeah,” Steve replied easily, shrugging like it was no big deal. “I mean, I’ve never played but the kids I used to babysit were in love with that game. I tried to pick some stuff up but it never stuck for me.”
Eddie looked deeply impressed. He put his cards down on the table, quick to ignore the game they hadn’t even really started. “You tried to learn it?”
“Eh, not too much but I listened in on campaigns they did.”
“Campaigns, he says,” Eddie said, shaking his head and looking amazed.
Steve felt really proud of himself at that moment. He was definitely surprising Eddie. Finally the little knowledge he had of that game came in handy.
“I could always teach you something, if you wanted. You know, for the next time you see the kids or something,” Eddie offered, picking up some of his pretzels and just snacking on them.
“That would be nice, Eds.”
Eddie smiled wide, blushing. “I know I said we could play poker but I’m actually pretty bad at poker. I fibbed before.”
Steve chuckled. “We don’t have to play, I don’t mind.”
“Perfect,” Eddie said, getting up and reaching for his pocket. “Because I have a better idea,” he pulled out a joint and offered it up.
Steve smiled and the two of them headed outside to light up.
They stood outside, passing the joint back and forth. It was nice. The kind of calm and quiet that he liked. Like with Wayne. He wondered if that’s just how it was with the Munsons. If it just ran in the family. Maybe not. Maybe it was just them.
“I’m glad Wayne has you,” Eddie said a bit out of nowhere. “I worried that, you know, he’d get lonely or something, out here without me. It’s nice to know he’s got someone.”
Steve smiled, handing the joint back to him once he’d finished talking. “I’m glad too. I don’t really…have a lot of people left in town. Everyone’s kinda doing their own thing now so…meeting Wayne has been nice for me. He’s a good guy.”
Eddie nods in agreement, passing the joint back once more. “He is,” he agreed.
“It was nice that he was willing to hang out with me,” Steve said, inhaling the smoke while Eddie gave him a questioning look.
“What do you mean?”
“Just that he said he knew my dad and, I don’t if you know this, but my dad kinda sucks,” Steve said with a laugh, a bitter tone still sneaking its way in.
“Yeah? Well I can relate,” Eddie answered, reaching for the joint and taking it happily. Steve stayed quiet, giving him a second to add to that, which he did after a deep inhale. “A lot of people held my dad’s…everything over me. Thought I would be just like him.” He said it like that would be the worst possible thing. “But I’m not and that’s in big part due to Wayne.”
Steve smiled.
“All that to say, he would never hold your dad over you, he knows what that can do. He knows that you can still be your own person,” Eddie smiled encouragingly and Steve couldn’t help but smile back. He offered him the roach but Steve shook his head no so he took a final hit before crushing it under his foot. The two of them silently agreed to go inside and retired to Wayne’s room. Which was apparently previously Eddie’s room. Since he moved out Wayne moved into it, happy to finally have the bed instead of the couch but while Eddie was visiting the man insisted on him having the bed. The two of them lounged on it, unable to really be that far from each other which made Steve nervous. When Eddie would fidget, which Steve figured out quickly he often did, their arms or legs would brush and his skin would prickle and get warm along with his cheeks.
“Can I ask why you stick around? If your people aren’t here? Why don’t you leave too?” Eddie asked easily, prying his eyes away from the ceiling to look at Steve.
He exhaled deeply. If he was honest, he wasn’t sure anymore. For a while he stayed for the sake of the kids. Now that they were gone too, though, he wasn’t sure. “I’d feel a bit bad leaving the kids I coach,” he explained, finding that was true as he said it. “But other than that…I’m not really sure.”
“You think you would ever leave?” Eddie asked.
“Maybe. If I had a good enough reason, I guess. If I knew where I was going.”
Eddie nodded. “That’s smart. Makes sense.” The silence returned and sat for a moment before he broke it again. “Do you like it here?”
Steve sighed. “It’s alright. It’s where I’ve always been but…it’s not my dream place, that’s for sure. Not even my parents’ dream place. They left a few years back, actually. Now I have their place to myself…I don’t like it.”
“You don’t like the huge Harrington manor?” Eddie asked, jokingly.
Steve answered him seriously though. “No. Too big, too cold. I don’t have great memories there. I’d rather be somewhere else.”
Eddie looked sad for him. “You should go somewhere else then.”
“I’ve thought about it. I mentioned moving here to Wayne actually.”
“To Forest Hills?” Eddie asked, surprised.
“Yeah, why not?”
Eddie shrugged, “Forest Hills isn’t bad. But I meant more like…another city or state even.”
“I’m not sure where I’d go,” Steve answered.
“You’ll figure it out,” Eddie said, easily.
Steve wasn’t sure if it was true but Eddie seemed confident for him so he didn’t argue.
The two of them spent the rest of the night shooting the shit in Wayne/Eddie’s room. He hadn’t realized how late it was until Wayne got home. “Ed? Steve,” he called into the house.
“In here,” Eddie called back.
Steve only had a couple seconds to wonder if the situation was weird before Wayne walked in and looked at them with an easy smile before leaning on the doorway. “Don’t y’all look cozy,” he said, seeming happy. It comforted Steve that it wasn’t weird for him to be laying with Wayne’s nephew in what was technically the man’s own bed.
“We are, thank you for noticing,” Eddie said with a cheesy grin.
“You two have a good night?”
“Yeah, no thanks to you ditching on ‘ole Stevie over here. He told me it was your guys’ game night?”
Wayne hummed, “Oh darn, I must’ve forgotten. They needed me on shift and I took it without thinkin’. Sorry Steve,” he explained.
“No problem,” Steve answered. He meant it, it really was no problem and it worked out well. But part of him didn’t believe Wayne. His hum, the way he had never forgotten game night. Something seemed strange but he couldn’t bring himself to wonder too much longer, just thankful for how it worked out.
“Well I’m gonna head to bed, you two should too,” Wayne said, starting to walk out.
“Oh, I can head home-” Steve began but was quickly interrupted by the old man turning back.
“Nonsense. It’s too late. Eddie can share, right, son?”
“Yeah, no problem,” Eddie answered. It didn’t sound like a problem but when Steve looked over to him the man seemed slightly nervous. A little pink in the cheeks.
“Good, see y’all tomorrow.”
After that Wayne left, closing the door behind him and going to lay down on the foldout couch.
“You want to borrow pajamas?” Eddie asked, putting his arm behind his head. Steve’s eyes were quickly drawn to his arms and the large hole in his shirt that gave him a clear view of the man’s side.
“Uh, maybe just some shorts?” Steve asked, figuring he could sleep in his current t-shirt easily but not his jeans.
Eddie nodded and got up, digging through a drawer quickly before returning with an old pair of Hawkins High gym shorts. Steve chuckled and took them. “Sorry if they’re a little small, not sure we’re the same size,” Eddie said. When he turned to look at him he was eyeing Steve’s thighs up pointedly which made him smirk.
Steve walked to the bathroom and quickly changed into the shorts which were in fact a bit small. A little tight on his thighs, a little short and he turned around, eyeing himself in the mirror. He chuckled to himself. His butt looked good, so sue him. The tightness of the shorts accentuated the curves. Part of him wondered if Eddie really was checking him out before and how he would be looking at him now. He happily grabbed his jeans and quickly tiptoed back over to the bedroom.
“They’re a bit small but they’ll do,” he said, closing the door softly behind him before he turned around.
Eddie was lounged in pretty much the same position, arm behind his head, propped up against the wall but Steve could see how wide his eyes were. He fought the smug smile that tried to appear as he got closer to the bed.
“That’s…that’s good,” Eddie said distractedly before coming to and awkwardly clarifying. “I mean it’s good that they’ll do, not that they’re small…”
Steve smirked and lifted the comforter, settling down beside the other man. It was quiet for a bit, a little awkward this time unlike the rest. Eddie silently reached over to turn off the lamp by the bed and laid down, getting comfortable.
It remained quiet for a bit and Steve almost thought Eddie was asleep but when he turned to look at the other man he was staring up at the ceiling with his eyes open.
“Do you miss the big city?” Steve asked in a whisper.
Eddie chuckled. “The big city? You get that from Wayne?” He turned on his side, facing Steve so he matched the movement. “It’s Indianapolis, not New York but yeah, a little, I guess.”
“When do you think you’re gonna go back?” Steve asked, a little nervous the answer would be soon.
“Not sure,” Eddie whispered. “I’ve got like one new song since I got here. I need at least five but the other guys are supposed to be working on stuff too. Maybe at the end of the month.”
Steve thought that wasn’t too bad. He had got here the first week of the month luckily and now it was only halfway through. So, if he had good luck, he’d get to see Eddie for another two weeks.
“That’s cool,” Steve said.
“You gonna miss me already?” Eddie asked, teasing, poking Steve in the side.
“Shut up,” Steve said, pushing his hand back. He let the silence sit for a moment before adding, “But maybe a little.”
Eddie gasped, theatrically. “Steve Harrington is gonna miss little ‘ole me?”
“On second thought-”
“Nuh-uh, no take backs,” Eddie said, laughing a bit too loud for the late hour. Steve joined in and hoped they weren’t keeping Wayne up but he figured the old man would let them know if they were. Eddie reached back over to the lamp, turning it on. “Can I ask you something?” he asked, laying back down as he was, facing Steve.
“‘Course,” Steve answered easily. The other man had been asking him questions all night, he wasn’t sure what brought him pause this time.
“Why did you want to meet me?” he asked. Steve didn’t even know what to say. Eddie quickly added on, sensing this. “I just mean like, we didn’t really interact in high school, you didn’t seem to notice me much. What changed, I guess?”
“Well, your uncle for one,” he began, easing himself in with the easy truth. “He talked about you a lot and he clearly loves you, he made you sound really cool.”
Eddie smiled softly at that and Steve continued.
“And I know we didn’t interact back then but…I still noticed you. I didn’t really realize how much until I started talking to Wayne about you.”
Eddie pulled a chunk of hair over his face, probably to hide the big cheesy grin that was there but Steve saw it anyway. “King Steve noticed me?” There was teasing in the question, but it seemed like the idea still affected him.
Steve rolled his eyes and made a sound of disgust at the old title but nodded, “Yeah, I did. I didn’t think much of it at the time though.”
“What did you notice?” Eddie asked, sincere.
Steve cleared his throat, not sure how honest to be. “I dunno, just you and how different you were but how free you seemed…and like your hair and arms and stuff.”
“Sorry, what was that last bit?” Eddie asked, sitting up in the bed and cupping a hand to his ear.
“I’m not repeating it. Don’t fish for compliments, it’s unbecoming,” Steve said, blushing at his admittance.
Eddie scoffed, “Unbecoming, he says.” He laid back down beside Steve, maybe even a little closer if he wasn’t imagining that. “I noticed you too, you know?”
“Yeah?” Steve wasn’t above admitting that made him a bit giddy.
“I think everyone did but yeah. I noticed you change, but in a good way. You stopped hanging out with those jerks, you minded your business. Then in my final senior year I noticed you dropping Robin Buckley off at school every day.”
Steve laughed at that. He used to drop her off every day just for the company, he didn’t even realize she didn’t have her drivers license.
“And of course I always noticed, you know,” he gestured up and down Steve’s body with a wave of a hand.
He let out an abrupt laugh, “What is,” he repeated Eddie’s movement, “that?”
“Steve,” Eddie said, raising an eyebrow. “Didn’t you just say fishing for compliments was unbecoming?”
He rolled his eyes. “You started it.”
Eddie gave him a searching look before speaking. “I always noticed how hot you were. But that was like a known thing…Wasn’t just me,” he said softly.
Steve was struck by the statement. Sure, it wasn’t just Eddie, he had always noticed that in high school. It gave him a big head for a while. But now he was struck by what that statement could mean for now. They knew each other now, liked each other even. At least Steve liked Eddie. It seemed like the other man liked him too.
And they only had two weeks if Steve was lucky.
So he figured, why not try?
In the brief moment after Eddie said that it was quiet. Not awkwardly so, he seemed to realize Steve was processing but he still looked at him nervously.
In a movement slow enough that Eddie could stop it, Steve leaned over, bridging the small gap between where the two of them lay in bed. Eddie’s eyes dropped to his lips and it gave him the confidence to keep going, to softly connect their lips in a shy first kiss. Lips really just tenderly pressing against each other more than anything.
Steve had kissed quite a few people in his life, most of them way more intensely than this, but something about this one stood out anyways. It was tender, nerve wracking, slow. The two separated, not going far. “Was that okay?” Steve asked.
Eddie nodded as he leaned back in, connecting their lips once again. They kissed like that for a while. Slow, learning what the other liked with no rush for anything else. Exploring softly, pecks became something more before they finally separated. “We should probably get to sleep,” Steve whispered, leaning in to peck Eddie once more.
Eddie sighed softly, “Yeah, we should.” He stroked Steve’s jaw once more with his thumbs and released the hold he had on the other man’s face before reaching back over to the lamp and turning it off. “Goodnight, Stevie,” he whispered into the dark.
“Night, Eds.”
—
When the two of them walked into the kitchen the next morning they were met with Wayne’s almost expectant stare.
“What?” Eddie asked, heading for the coffee pot and grabbing two cups.
“Nothing,” Wayne said, shrugging but not changing the look on his face. He studied the two of them, his eyes quickly landing on Steve’s borrowed shorts causing him to give him a shit-eating grin and a raised eyebrow.
“I borrowed Eddie’s shorts to sleep in,” he said, weakly, though it probably didn’t need an explanation. Steve just didn’t know what was going on.
Eddie rolled his eyes and poured two cups of coffee, leaving one black and adding a little sugar to the other which he then handed to Steve. “Here you go,” he said, easily, sipping from his own mug.
“Thanks,” Steve answered shyly before taking the mug and sitting down. Eddie sat down between him and Wayne who hadn’t stopped eyeing them with a weird look on his face.
“Alright, old man, what’s with the face?” Eddie asked.
“I was just wondering if you had anything to tell me,” his uncle answered, raising a pointed eyebrow.
Eddie paused, a bit frozen, “What do you mean?”
Wayne just shrugged, taking a slow sip of his own coffee which was surely filled with condensed milk.
He didn’t take his eyes off of them which made Steve antsy and he couldn’t stop himself from blurting out, “We kissed!”
“Steve!”
“What? It’s like he knew or something!”
Wayne just started chuckling to himself. It was a nice sound, it was always nice to know you’d made Wayne Munson laugh but it was a little different this time. “I had a feeling,” he said. “I don’t need all the details but I’m happy for you boys.”
“Yeah?” Steve asked, instantly emotional. In retrospect, he definitely should’ve thought further before blurting that information out but Wayne had always been so welcoming, had such a kind presence he didn’t even consider it could go poorly. Something told him the older man had known the same rumors about Eddie that he had and he still loved him the same. It was still nice to have that confirmed.
“Yeah, I hoped it’d work out for you two,” he said with a smile, finishing his coffee and standing up. “I’ve gotta run errands, y’all have fun today.”
“That’s it?” Eddie asked, shocked. “You’re not surprised or anything?”
Wayne turns, giving him a disbelieving look and huffing a laugh. “You’re clueless, boy.”
—
The two of them had ended up spending the rest of that day together. They spent the rest of the month together too. They knew their time was limited with Eddie set to go back to his real life in Indianapolis eventually so they didn’t waste time. Their relationship progressed easily, happily. Casual dates at the diner and the drive-in but mostly hanging around at one of their places and just talking.
Steve knew it could only last so long though. The last week of the month and he knew Eddie was set to leave the next day, he had warned him a week in advance. He’d been steadily ignoring it though.
The two of them sat on Eddie’s couch, Steve’s head leaned on the other man’s shoulder, hands linked. He sighed deeply, beginning to get a little sad, a little anxious about Eddie leaving. He didn’t know what that would mean for them. They’d been so busy ignoring it that they hadn’t really discussed it.
“Can I ask you something?” Eddie asked.
Steve chuckled remembering the last time he had asked that only a couple weeks ago. “‘Course,” he answered, same as before.
“Would you want to come to Indianapolis with me?”
“Like to visit?” Steve asked, not getting it.
“Like to move there.”
Steve hadn’t really considered that as an option. It definitely didn’t sound bad. Quite the opposite really. “Are you sure?” he asked anyway. “You don’t think it’s too fast?”
“Nah,” Eddie disagreed easily. “I just figured…you don’t really like it here, and none of your people are here…”
“Yeah,” Steve agreed.
“And you said you’d move if you had a good enough reason and you knew where you were going. So I figure, this could be that.”
It sounded nice. Steve couldn’t think of a good reason to say no which seemed like a good enough reason to say, “Yeah, okay. Let’s do it.”
“Really?” Eddie asked, excited, standing from the place they were seated and knocking Steve off his shoulder.
“Yeah, why not? It sounds like a good idea,” Steve said, smiling wide and watching the other man practically bounce in place.
“You’re not gonna regret it, Stevie. I have big plans. Big!”
Eddie had spent the rest of the night explaining said big plans to Steve. Working on the band’s album with the new collection of songs heavily inspired by Steve himself, moving into a small apartment if they could or splitting a bigger place with the band. He had even had the guys send him newspaper clippings of job openings in Indy so Steve could start looking for a job there. It was nice that Eddie really wanted him to come with, to make a life for the both of them in a new place. Sure, Steve would feel a little sad leaving behind the kids on his baseball team but that was the only thing he’d miss. It was worth it, he knew it would be.
—
2 years later
The ceremony was small, technically not a ceremony at all considering it wasn’t legal yet but it was perfect. It was just the people closest to them, no officiant was needed. They both wore suits, Eddie’s was a bit more creative, adorned with all sorts of metal alterations. Steve thought it looked great on him. Robin was there, Nancy happily taking the position of her plus one though she would’ve got an invitation anyway.
Wayne tapped his fork against his glass, calling attention to everyone as he stood.
“Oh god, don’t embarrass me old man,” Eddie called jokingly, getting a shove from Steve.
“Don’t count on it, boy,” Wayne just replied easily before pulling some cards from his coat pocket. “I always knew Eddie would have a rough go of it. I did everything I could to make it a bit easier; encouraged his music, his hobbies, let him have the bed over the poor, suffering old man,” he grabbed his back at that and the crowd chuckled. “And I never stopped. I met Steve here in the baking aisle at the grocery store.”
The audience laughed at that again as Steve looked on with a smile. “We bonded over baseball and how I use condensed milk in my coffee and we became a funny little pair of friends. The thing is, I don’t know if my boy ever figured this out but I was setting them up almost from the start.”
Eddie guffawed and Steve just looked over at his new unofficial — but official in all the ways that mattered — and just smiled knowingly. He had figured it out not too long after they had gotten together. He hadn’t mentioned it though, just grateful for his second best friend’s meddling.
“I was talking Steve’s ear off about him. ‘Oh Eddie loves that game your kids love,’ and ‘Eddie’s in a band,’ for a while there I hardly stopped. But it worked. Pretty soon this one,” he gestures to Steve who looks bashful. “Was asking to meet Eddie, which of course, I had already planned for.”
Eddie looked between Wayne and Steve with a kind of crazed face. “Is he joking?”
Steve shook his head but grabbed his husband’s hand and shushed him to listen.
“I introduced them and it went swimmingly. I always knew Eddie held a candle for the boy. I heard enough about his ‘annoyingly perfect face’ back in the day to know that.”
Eddie put his face in his hands, “Oh my god.”
“But I had limited time, Eddie was only visiting so one night when Steve and I were supposed to have game night, I took a shift without telling him and left them to it,” he declared proudly and the crowd laughed with him once again. “I told them I just forgot but I don’t think Steve here ever bought that. Either way, it worked out and after about two weeks of being attached at the hip my boy asked him to move to Indianapolis. It was a pretty big swing but that’s how I raised him and I’m glad he did it,” he looked at Eddie with a proud, close lipped smile. It was practically beaming as far as Wayne was concerned.
Eddie begrudgingly wiped a tear from his eye as Steve chuckled.
“To Eddie and Steve!” Wayne said, lifting his glass as the crowd followed. “You’re welcome!”