Eddie: *to Robin And Steve* Who Are These People You're Gossiping About Again?!

Jealousy Looks Different On You

[Part One] ✨ [Part Two] ✨ [Part Three] ✨ [You Are Here]

Steve was a romantic, once upon a time. Twenty-year-old Steve would have swooned at Eddie's words, at the idea that love is enough. However, Steve is not twenty anymore. Steve is thirty-one with a string of failed relationships. He's always been one to fall hard and fall fast and if love truly was enough, Steve would have made it work by now.

Because he loves Eddie, but it's not like he's only loved Eddie. It's not like Steve's been living a celibate life full of longing and pining and sorrow. He'd loved Nancy, back in high school. Candy, his first girlfriend here in Chicago, had his heart for eight months before she moved away; they'd even debated long distance but, in the end, knew it wouldn't work. Sarah, Mary, Savannah; after coming out there was Mark and Dylan. All of whom he loved while still loving Eddie.

What was the point in pining after someone who didn't want him back?

He'd even had a long-term boyfriend, Brian, for two years that Steve thought would be forever, until the breakup he never saw coming. Because Steve never saw them coming. He was in love. Why would he look for signs that his relationship was ending?

"Eddie, I can't. If we don't work out- I can keep going as we are. You're one of my best friends. I know how to manage, it's- we'll be good as we are," Steve says, finally ending his pacing by dropping back onto his spot on the couch.

"I can't," Eddie says, words uncharacteristically soft and quiet.

"What?" Steve asks, voice laced with hurt and confusion, feeling like ice has been poured down his back. What does Eddie mean he can't? Can't what? He braves a look at Eddie to find he looks devastated, eyes wet and his pouty lips downturned.

"I can't," Eddie repeats and it's his turn to stand from the couch, to pace the living room that was once his too. "I- Jesus Christ Steve, you've had fucking, what, years? To accept that- years of thinking we'd never be together. All this time thinking I knew but didn't want you back.

"I didn't get that. I had, fucking hell, I never let myself accept that you might actually want me back. I haven't- I can't learn that we might have a chance and just not take it. How can you ask that of me? You're all I've fucking wanted for-forever, and I can't- I don't- Why didn't you ever ask me if I was interested in you?" Eddie's voice cracks on the last sentence.

And Steve should probably feel bad for Eddie, should understand what he's feeling, but all he feels is angry. It hits quick and fast, and all feelings of ice are gone. "Ask you? Ask you!? Why the fuck would I have done that when you've never, not once since I've known you, hesitated to go after who you want!? You don't hesitate to grab someone and drag them to the dance floor at the bar, you don't hesitate to ask for what you want, don't hesitate to go on and on about all the things you want in a partner; a list, by the way, that I don't fulfill. A list I'll never live up to!"

Steve doesn't remember doing it, but at some point in his rant he's stood again. The coffee table separates them as Steve yells out his frustrations. He doesn't want to be yelling at Eddie, though. The alternative is to cry, and Steve feels his throat grow thick as he finishes in a quieter tone, "You-You throw yourself at everyone who isn't me. Use me to make them jealous so they'll make the first move. How was I supposed to ask you if you'd ever want me when you made it- made it seem like you never would?"

"I- I was trying to make someone jealous enough to make the first move, but it wasn't- fuck, Steve, it wasn't them."

Steve sniffles, trying to will himself to not fully cry, "if that didn't work the first time, why did you think it would work any of the other times?"

"It's not- I wasn't ever expecting it to work. I just- I don't even know what I was thinking, much less expecting. But Steve, please, please believe me. I want to be with you. Please, give me, us, a chance," Eddie begs.

Jesus Christ. How often has Steve daydreamed about this? About Eddie showing up and confessing and begging Steve to give him a chance? A pathetic amount, surely, yet Steve can't bring himself to follow the script of his daydream. In the dream, Steve accepts; pulls Eddie into a kiss that makes them both dizzy.

This isn't a daydream, though. This is his life, real life, and Steve has things he won't compromise on now.

"Eddie, I... I want to. I used to dream that we'd get a chance, but I, I have other dreams, too. Ones I'm not willing to give up. Not even for you."

"I'm in," Eddie jumps to say, "whatever you want, whatever your dreams, they'll be mine, too."

Fuck, Eddie's not making this easy, is he? Steve wishes he could believe him. Steve wants to believe him. "I want to buy a house in a small town, or on the outskirt of a bigger city. With a yard, for a puppy."

Eddie is nodding quickly because these demands are easy to agree to. It's the last bit that Steve's not sure Eddie wants.

"The house has to be at least four bedrooms. Because I want to be a dad. I want kids."

Eddie doesn't nod to that, which Steve was expecting. He shouldn't be disappointed and yet.

"I never... I've never thought I'd be a dad," Eddie says slowly.

"I've always wanted to be one."

Eddie makes the first move, stepping around the coffee table that separates them, to get close to Steve. "I know. Sweetheart, I know," he says, reaching out for Steve, and Steve lets him. Eddie reaches out with his left hand to grasp one of Steve's hands, and the other hand reaches up to Steve's face. Steve closes his eyes, accepting, and Eddie cups his cheek so tenderly it forces a hiccupped sob from Steve, and Eddie swipes away the tear that fell when he closed his eyes.

"I know you'll be an amazing dad. And if you're with me, I think I'll be an okay one."

Steve sucks in a sharp breath and his eyes snap open to look at Eddie. Both their eyes are wet. Steve searches his face, looking for what, he doesn't even know. A sign that Eddie means what he says, probably, but it's not something Steve will be able to find just from looking.

It's only something Steve can fully accept and believe by Eddie proving it.

"Please, Steve. I'll make every dream you have come true if you let me. I love you."

Steve swallows thickly before saying, "You can't flirt with other people, to try and make me jealous. It's fine if you flirt like you used to, harmless and playful, but not- You can't do that anymore. I won't- I can't watch that again."

"Why would I even want to, if I have you?"

What a fucking charmer. "I- Okay. Okay. We have... we have a lot more to talk about, but if you're serious-"

"As a demobat bite."

"And we'll- we'll have to take it slow. Because I can't- I can't just dive in because if we don't work, I can't-"

"As slow as you need," Eddie promises, and Steve doesn't think he's ever seen Eddie looks this serious.

"Okay. Let's try." Steve can't bring himself to say 'I love you' back, even though Eddie knows. For real, now. It's what got them into this situation but saying it now feels big. Too big, too fast, too much. There are more conversations to be had and things to plan for before Steve will feel like he can say it again.

Steve expects Eddie to kiss him, but he doesn't. Eddie pulls him into a tight hug, clinging to Steve like letting go will kill him.

Steve holds back just as tight.

-

This is where I'll end it! A hopeful ending for the boys <3

@xxbottlecapx @im-sam-fucking-winchester @novacorpsrecruit @thewickedkat @dreamy-jeans137 @everywherenothere @hangingupinthehallway @estrellami-1 @queenie-ofthe-void @dreamsteddie @acowardinmordor @steviesummer @kinryuuki @genderless-spoon @paperbackribs @steddiecameraroll @yesdangerpls @jackiethevampireslayer @skitchskatchbat @sani-86 @exasperatedsighohmy @tinyplanet95 @chaotic-waffle

😂 taking the pie AND booking it. I truly have the Headcanon that Munson style for Wayne and Eddie is more about taking the pie than running away 😂

When Eddie gets his wisdom teeth removed, Wayne already makes plans to toss him to Steve. It isn't because he doesn't want to take care of his boy, it's just because he knows Eddie's filter - however low it is - would practically be nonexistent and he'll hear things about Steve everyone in a ten mile radius would take damage over hearing.

So he takes Eddie to the appointment, nods at Steve when they see each other in the waiting lounge with a near delirious nephew, takes the apple pie the other man baked, and books it. Munson style.

Throwback thursday to when I was like 12 and I was putting out new writing DAILY...... Like entire Chapters of my then-current wips just, over an afternoon. What the fuck was I on

Monster town S2, P2!

A note: Parts 1, 2, and 3 happen simultaneously. Parts 4 and 5 (possibly 6) happen simultaneously.

Worldbuilding: 1–2–3

Season 1: 1–2–3–4–5–6–7–8

Season 2: 1–2

This is what happens when two intellectuals get together to solve problems. If the story sounds weird, sorry, never really been smart before.

(You ever heard of She-Ra?)

————

Nancy wrapped a bag of ice in a dish towel, before walking back into the main area. The bodies of the basketball players were still up against the walls, hopefully only asleep. There were about 8 of them, with an average of two per wall.

Steve had fallen fast asleep on the couch, to the point where he had started snoring. Both Nancy and Dustin knew Steve snoring loudly was highly unusual—obviously it meant whatever magic he’d used earlier was massively exhaustive. Therefore, they both made it a goal to try and be as quiet as possible so they wouldn’t wake him.

In theory, that’d mean moving rooms in order to provide him more silence while they talked and strategized.

The main issue with that was what if any of the basketball players woke up? It would leave Steve completely defenseless. Not to mention Dustin, either, who’d completely refused to leave his side once everyone left. Nancy assumed it was some sort of werewolf pack thing, since it was very clear by the way he had positioned Steve’s arm over his torso: he needed sensory comfort.

She handed the ice pack over to the kid, before sitting herself in front of him criss-crossed.

That was another thing, too. When Dustin was pushed down, he was pushed down on his bad ankle. By Nancy’s suggestion (requirement) he was sitting and icing it for 20-30 minutes.

“I don’t need this,” Dustin raised an eyebrow, trying to give the ice pack back. Nancy shook her head and shoved it back to him.

“I don’t care,”

“I have super healing!” Nancy rolled her eyes.

“And I still want you healing the tried-and-true human way. Steve would agree with me if he was awake,” she raised an eyebrow, and Dustin sighed.

He couldn’t fight her on that one, and she knew it.

“What do you think happened with Steve?” Dustin asked, “I have my ideas but I want to know yours,”

Nancy shook her head. She wasn’t on any research teams, only the main theorizing one.

“I understand it’s probably related to being a siren. You saw how he re-shifted when the wind picked up, right?”

Dustin nodded. “Yup. I was reading earlier; Mélusine descendants have wind powers. I wonder if he’s powerful enough that he just can’t control it.”

"That would make sense, especially since his line is direct. Could Eddie teach him anything to help midigate any future outbursts?”

Dustin shrugged. “No clue. Plus, Steve’s response indicated this has all happened before. He wasn’t even shocked!”

Nancy nodded wildly. She’d noticed that too, how nonchalant Steve’s response to the whole ordeal was. If that had happened before though, who had that happened to? Had anyone gotten hurt in the process?

“He wasn’t. If he hadn’t explained why he stopped using sirenspeak, I would’ve thought maybe that stopped him from using magic,”

Dustin frowned, looking as if he was processing through an idea.

“What if…he did? What if he had more magic, but whatever he did changed him, and from then on he only ventured so far as to sirenspeak people?”

Nancy’s eyes widened.

“Then when the demogorgon happened, he bottled up the last parts of him left, and this was the first time he’d let anything go,”

Dustin’s eyes widened in tandem, and they both panned their gaze to Steve, still sound asleep.

There was a brief pause.

“How many books did you collectively check from the library again?” Nancy asked, attempting to see if there was anything she could scrap to find a historical narrative there. Maybe there was something in one of the books that said why Steve was so powerful, or alluded to how or when Steve had his first outburst.

“You’re not gonna find what you need, not many books actually go in depth with siren magic, much less siren anatomy,” Dustin shook his head, “That being said, Steve’s dad has a good collection of books in his office. Maybe one of those could help?”

Nancy nodded and started getting up.

“Be right back,” she said, but Dustin stopped her before she walked away.

“Wait, one thing before you go, did you hear that song?”

Nancy frowned, looking at Dustin.

“What song?”

“Okay, that answers my question. It’s the song that played in the air while Steve was doing his whole,” he made large wind movements with his hands, and Nancy understood.

“Nope. Remember, if there’s anyone in the group who could hear as well as you, it’s a Sinclair,”

“One sec—you stay with Steve,” Dustin got up, bolting (with his limp) to Steve’s basement. Nancy tried to protest, but he pretended not to hear her.

Stubborn dick.

10 minutes later, Dustin came out holding an electric keyboard over his shoulder. He set it up near the couch, turning it on. It seemed like he was trying to play the melody he’d heard, but he kept screwing up whatever note he was playing.

“Bb…Gb—no, Ab…E—no, F—no, Eb…”

Nancy walked away, since that was something Dustin could manage on his own. She walked towards Steve’s dad’s office—which Steve had never allowed her into before—opening the door to the most sad, beige room she’d ever seen.

The most important thing about it was the large shelves covering the right wall, all completely filed with books on books.

The first book that caught Nancy’s eye was something in the runic script from Steve’s book. She had no clue what the title was or what any of it said, but something in her gut told her it was something she needed.

The second book that caught her eye had no title or cover, but when Nancy looked inside seemed to be a diary of sorts in English. She put both books on the desk as she looked for a third book—the same gut feeling said she had only one more book to look for.

The book in question was large and red, coated in copper runes, and completely bound by a bright, tight red ribbon. As she analyzed it further, it almost looked like—

“NANCY WHEELER,”

————

I’d like to know: any suspicions on who the last voice is? It’s not Dustin, but still someone very important to the plot.

And yes, Dustin is a little choir boy. Because he is a little choir boy and he’s Dustin, that means he definitely is a music theory nerd and knows at least enough piano to get by. It’s quite literally the math of music.

The correct sequence he’s trying to play is Bb-Ab-Eb-Gb-Rest-Bb-Ab-Eb-Db. For my fellow music people, go and play it! It’s completely unrelated to the plot but it is a cutesy little Easter egg.

Finally, again, anyone heard of She-Ra?

Tag list: @estrellami-1 @cookies-and-doom @beckkthewreck  @dbquills @impeachy @sassysleeplord @ironydude @bowl-o-queerios @221b-fandom

Coming in late on Pack Dynamics day for @stmarchmm

Pack Omega Steve Harrington is so important to me.

Like, he doesn't really have a pack with his family, which is both small and distant, and never formed anything but a preliminary bond with anyone besides Tommy and Carol. He gets really close to pack with Nancy and Johnathan, but its cut off swiftly and abruptly when Nancy dumps him and turns to Johnathan.

Then all of a sudden he's got one pup, and then three, and suddenly he's Pack Omega to seven 10-13 year olds. They raz him and bully him, but they also look up to him and seek him for comfort. They don't always listen to him, but they know that he's always going to keep them safe.

Robin very quickly becomes Steve's alpha in every way but romantic, but she never quite steps into the role of Pack Alpha. She's got a stable pack at home and never feels the need to try and look over the kids in quite the same way Steve does, even if she does love them and look out for them.

When the kids start highschool, suddenly the boys aren't around as much. Max, El, and Erica still spend most weekends and after school at his house in his big living room nest when they don't have their own extracurriculars, but the boys start coming around less and less. The Hellfire Club has scooped them up and taken all their time, and it starts to take its toll on Steve.

He's been left behind and rejected so many times that his body is on a hair-trigger, reacting hard and fast to the slightest hint of abandonment. It starts with a generally lower mood but quickly descends into something bordering in rejection sickness. Every time the boys brush him off for Hellfire or get in his car only to talk on and on about how cool Eddie Munson is and how much they want him to hang out that day, Steve sinks a little deeper.

El, who is also extremely sensitive to pack bonds, pretty much glued herself to Steve's side once he started feeling unwell. Unfortunately, she's very easily influenced by other people's hormones and eventually becomes unwell herself.

Once that happens, it's Hopper who has to step in. He gets Max and Erica to tell him what the hell is going on and Hopper takes that all to mean that it's all actually Eddie Munson's fault. He rolls up to Hawkin's High on Hellfire night in his cruiser, barges in, drags the kids out and squishes them all into the back seat, and then goes back to pull a very confused Eddie out as well.

He makes everyone apologize and make nice, especially Eddie who, again, is so very confused by everything that is happening.

But hey, he's not one to pass up a perfectly good opportunity, and he's always kind of had a thing for Steve. Maybe a very heartfelt, prolonged (like maybe a couple of months) elaborate apology is a good way to start a courting.

so i wrote this yesterday and now it's become a whole thing

basically: Steve is actually smart but nobody realized it until he just fixes their various STEM related problems

anyway this is Eddie's very first experience with how smart Steve Harrington actually is

also please don't call me out if my physics explanations are wrong. just suspend your disbelief, i'm begging you lmao

also also, if you see any typos, no you didn't

---

"You're going to fail my class, Munson."

"Gee, no need to sugarcoat it," Eddie mutters, shoving his hands into his pockets and avoiding Miss Chester's gaze. His eyes land on one of the posters behind her desk, a cat hanging off a tree branch. Maybe it would like to trade places.

Miss Chester sighs, looking pointedly at the desk closest to hers. She waits until Eddie sits on it, legs hanging over the edge. "I'm serious," she says. "You're going to fail, Eddie. I don't want you to, but there's just some...disconnect happening here."

He appreciates that she's not totally blaming him. Most of Eddie's other teachers would've been berating him for his laziness by now. This, among other things, is why Eddie likes her class even if he can't wrap his head around physics at all. "I don't know, Miss. It just doesn't make sense."

"So I'm noticing." Miss Chester leans back in her chair, her finger tapping against her desk. Eddie immediately recognizes it as the drum beat from a KISS song. "You know you'll probably be held back if you fail, right?"

"Not the first time."

Miss Chester waves off his words, looking deep in thought. "What do you think about tutoring? I think you'll do better in a one-on-one setting. If you understand the concepts better, I can start grading you based on the work you do with the tutor."

"It wouldn't be you?" Eddie asks, frowning slightly. He's not sure he wants some random geek tutoring him. Not that he has anything against geeks, of course, but he's never known one to talk in a way he can understand. They get all...technical and Eddie's eyes glaze over whenever he overhears their conversations.

"No, I don't have the time. But don't worry," Miss Chester says, smiling reassuringly before pulling her roster close and looking down the list. "The student I have in mind probably knows more than me, if I'm being honest. He should be able to answer any question you have."

"What student?"

"His name is Steve."

Of course, Eddie immediately thinks of that Steve. King Steve. Steve "The Hair" Harrington with his blinding smile that's always looked a little strained in Eddie's opinion.

He then dismisses Steve Harrington as a possibility and reviews the other kids named Steve at Hawkins High. There's Steve Paulson, Steve Meyers, and Steve Barns. Maybe it's Barns? He's the only one that Eddie could imagine being somewhat good at physics.

"Are you open to tutoring?" Miss Chester asks. "For one session, at least?"

"Yeah, sure, one session. Won't help, though."

Miss Chester smiles like she knows something Eddie doesn't. Which, to be fair, she does. She knows a lot more than Eddie in terms of physics, at least. "I'll set it up. Just come by tomorrow after school."

--------

On his first day at Hawkins High, Steve realized two things.

One, his parents weren't kidding when they'd said public school would be vastly different from the private group tutoring he'd received up to that point.

Two, if he wanted to have a good high school experience, he needed to be cool. And being cool, it seemed, meant not being smart. He didn't need to be dumb, but he couldn't breeze through his classes, either.

He's done a good job of it so far. He's bored beyond reason in most of his classes, sure, but he's also popular. Nobody bothers him or tries to copy off of him, and it's great. He can even swallow down the weird surge of frustration and annoyance and guilt whenever his classmates assume he's too dumb to be a good project partner, or when his parents ask why he isn't enrolled in AP classes, or when his teachers give him confused looks after he aces tests for a unit he seemingly didn't pay attention to.

Anyway, he almost rejected Miss Chester's request to tutor a student from a different class period. He was just about to say he didn't have the time when she leveled him with a look so profoundly hopeful that he just couldn't. So, Steve said yes and now he's hesitating outside the physics classroom.

What if the student inside uses this against him? Steve thinks he could play it off, maybe convince his friends that the kid is lying, but he's not sure. Nothing dire would happen, but Steve would have to reorient himself to a new place on the social ladder, and that sounds exhausting.

"Just get it over with," he mumbles. Then, before he can chicken out and just leave the other student hanging, he opens the door and steps into the classroom.

Miss Chester isn't there. Steve knew she wouldn't be. She'd said something about a department meeting that would take her time but leave them with the classroom to themselves.

The only other person in the room is Eddie Munson, bent over a notebook and furiously scribbling on the page. He looks up when the door opens and freezes at the sight of Steve. They stare at each other for a few seconds before Eddie breaks the silence by asking, "What, get lost on your way to the locker room, Harrington?"

Steve blinks, frowns slightly, and takes a deep breath. Okay. Fine. Eddie Munson it is. "Nope. Miss Chester asked me to tutor you," he says, because that's the only reason another student would be in this room after school has let out.

Eddie laughs. He nearly falls out of his chair with how hard he laughs. He's wheezing and clutching the edges of the desk by the time Steve moves another desk to face him and sits down across from him. "Are you done, Munson?" he asks.

"Holy shit, you're serious," Eddie says, his voice slightly strained and his face red from laughing. "No fucking way Steve Harrington is here to tutor me in physics. You probably don't even know what two plus two is!"

"It's four. Do you know what 12 times 40 is?" Steve asks, watching as Eddie blinks.

"I'm not a fucking calculator, man."

"No, you're not. It's 480, by the way."

"You could've just memorized that."

Steve sighs and reaches into his bag, digging around some before pulling a calculator out. He places it on Eddie's desk and says, "Ask me something."

Eddie looks at him like he's grown a second head but still pulls the calculator closer. "1,239 plus 378."

"1,617."

He watches Eddie use the calculator, feeling smug when his face twists into confused disbelief. He then puts the calculator down and frowns at Steve. "So you can add, big whoop. Doesn't mean you can teach me shit about physics."

"Won't know until we try," Steve says, resting his elbow on the desk and propping his chin in his palm. "So, what don't you get?"

"...All of it. Just assume I don't know shit."

"You don't know Newton's laws?"

Eddie snorts, looking back down at his notebook. "There's that motion one and the reaction one," he says.

"Right. Newton's first law and his third. What about the second?"

"It's just...some equation or some shit."

Okay, Steve is starting to get an idea of where things stand. He thinks for a moment before asking, "What kind of stuff do you like?"

"What?"

"What do you like?"

Eddie looks so shocked by the question that he doesn't really think before answering, "Heavy metal. And, uh, D&D, too."

Steve knows heavy metal is music, and he could work with that but the D&D Eddie mentioned might be better. "What does it involve? The D&D?"

"It's a fantasy role playing game. Like, using your imagination to go on adventures with friends and stuff. Needs dice to work."

Oh. Perfect. "Do you have dice with you?" Steve asks. After another brief pause, Eddie nods and pulls one out of his pocket. He passes it over and watches as Steve turns it between his fingers. "Oh, an icosahedron. Cool."

"A what?"

"Icosahedron," Steve says, looking at Eddie. "It just means a twenty-sided polyhedron."

Eddie still looks confused, and Steve is about to explain it again when Eddie says, "Just call it a D20, dude."

"Oh. Sure. Anyway, let's use this," Steve says, rolling it between his fingers before letting it clatter to the desk. It bounces a few times before settling, a 17 facing up. "Do you know what made it stop moving?"

"The desk. I'm not an idiot, Harrington."

"I didn't say you were, Munson," Steve replies, leaning back slightly. "Just...yes, the desk stopped it. This is Newton's first law. If the desk wasn't there, it would have kept falling until it hit the floor. It stopped bouncing because it lost power each time it hit the desk. An object, the D20, will stay in motion, falling, unless acted upon by another force, the desk."

"That...kinda made sense," Eddie says, blinking a few times.

"Great!" Steve says, unable to help the bright smile at knowing Eddie understood him. "Okay, for the second law, the equation is mass times acceleration equals force. Basically, the movement of an object depends on how much it weighs and how much force you apply."

"Aaaand ya lost me," Eddie says.

"Okay, uh, you fight things in that game, right?"

"Yeah, kind of the whole point."

"Right, yeah, and the stuff you fight comes in different sizes, right?"

"Well, an orc isn't gonna be as big as a dragon, is it?"

Steve isn't really sure what an orc is, but he nods anyway. "Right. So if you want to move a dragon, you need to land a stronger hit than you would need for an orc."

"Duh. You're not gonna fell a dragon with a basic cantrip."

"Not sure what that is, but yeah. For this example, moving, or defeating, an object, or a dragon that weighs more than an orc, relies on how much force you apply, which is the strength you use."

"Oh. So, because an orc weighs less, I don't need as much force to defeat it," Eddie says, grinning as he fidgets with his pencil. "This doesn't really sound like math, though."

Steve shrugs. "We'll get to the math part later. Right now is basics. You need to understand those to do more complicated stuff. So, the third law, this is the action-reaction law. Music might be better for it. What happens when you strum a guitar?"

"It...makes a sound. Because it's an instrument."

"Well, yeah, but do you understand how the sound is being made."

"By...strumming it?"

"Yeah, that's part of it. Sounds are vibrations in the air that we can understand. If you touch your throat while talking, you'll feel your voice box, your larynx, vibrate to make the sound of you talking."

He waits as Eddie does exactly that. While holding his fingers to his throat, Eddie says, "Didn't know it was called a larynx. Oh, fuck, yeah, there are vibrations."

Steve nods, waiting patiently as Eddie hums for a few minutes before looking back at him. "So, vibrations. Instruments make sound because playing them causes vibrations. When you strum a guitar, the strings rapidly move back and forth, and that movement is translated into notes."

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but yeah, I'm following you."

"So, the action of strumming a guitar creates the reaction of the strings vibrating. That action of the strings vibrating creates the reaction of air rippling, and those ripples create the reaction of audible noise. Did that make sense?"

"Yeah. It did," Eddie says, his voice soft as he stares at Steve like he's really seeing him for the first time.

Steve shifts uncomfortably, unused to this aspect of himself being known so well by someone at school. He's almost tempted to end things now and apologize to Miss Chester for walking out halfway through a tutoring session. Steve is practicing the apology in his head when Eddie says, "Hey, by the way, sorry for earlier."

"What?" Steve asks, trying to blink away his confusion and failing.

"You know, earlier, when I laughed at you? Pretty shitty of me to do. So, yeah, I'm sorry."

"Oh." Steve stares at Eddie for a few seconds before his shoulders relax. "It's fine. I'm not exactly known for being smart."

"Why not?"

"It's just...easier to let people think I'm dumb. Most of our classmates look at me and think I'm just, you know, a typical jock. They don't expect more from me than that, and I don't expect them to look any deeper."

"Does anyone else know, though?"

"My parents and the teachers. And you."

"Well, don't worry, big boy. Your secret's safe with me."

"Big boy?"

"Don't like it? Would you prefer Stevie?" Eddie asks, grinning as he leans in and exaggeratedly waggles his eyebrows at Steve.

Steve can't help snorting at the sight. "Whatever. Just call me what you want, Eddie," he says.

He tries to ignore the weird swooping in his stomach when Eddie's smile gets wider and he says, "You better not regret it, Stevie."

Steve had spent his entire life trying to be perfect. He tried to be the perfect son with sports and popularity, he even tried his best with his grades which was evident until his first major concussion. He tried to be the perfect friend to Carol and Tommy H., even the basketball teams and other jocks, by providing free rides, parties in his house, and being a listening ear for their teenage drama. He even tried to be the best Steve he could be after the popularity faded and the demons from the shadows of Hawkins emerged. Nothing was ever enough.

He wasn’t a good enough son that deserved not to be ignored or neglected by his parents. He wasn’t a good enough student to be allowed to get into a good college or even a local community one. He wasn’t a good enough friend to the people in High School and that’s why they left him.

Through everything though, he thought he was a good person afterwards. He helped the kids the best he could, he protected them with his life, and he would do anything to ensure the survival of everyone in the Party. He knew he was good at that.

Or he thought so until he saw Eddie wasting away in a hospital bed with handcuffs on his wrists and blood soaking through the bandages on the mauled skin of his chest. He tried his best to be a good friend that could support the Party until Dustin broke his heart into splinters for something he couldn’t predict.

“You were so jealous of Eddie that you gave him the most dangerous job?! You knew how harmful the demobats were and you sent him there for a reason! That’s why you didn’t let him go with you, you wanted Eddie to die!”

After all he’d done to be good, to be the person people could count on, to be perfect; he still wasn’t enough. The kids still looked at him as the mean boy of the town and if the kids did, what did the others think?

Did Mrs. Byers still see him as the teenage dirtbag that got into a fight with her son and got him arrested?

Did Hopper still see him as the scoundrel that drank underage and threw parties that upset the neighbors in Loch Nora?

How did Nancy see him? She was the person who actually saw him at his worst, the one who opened his eyes to his failures. Did she still see him as the guy that he never wanted to be?

Steve had worked so hard his entire life to be what everyone else always wanted him to be. He hid so deeply beneath fake masks and facades that he didn’t even know who he truly was anymore, he didn’t know if he ever had.

All he knew was that after their latest run-in with the Upside Down, he went home to an empty house. He ignored the broken glass and the damage caused by the earthquake. He only focused on the fact that everyone else was currently with their families. His parents were who knows where doing who knows what but they were together, the only family they had ever wanted.

Robin was at her place with her family, her parents probably doting on her after worrying for so many days. They’d let Steve in but he didn’t want to intrude more than he’d already had. Nancy and Mike were with their parents, Jonathan, Will, and El were with Joyce and Hopper, Lucas and Erica were with the Sinclairs and Max, and Dustin was with Mrs. Henderson and Mews II. Even Eddie in a pain-induced state of unconsciousness was with Mr. Munson.

Despite all of his efforts to be perfect, to be deserving of love and pride, Steve was still alone. He’d worked for years to be someone worth loving, hell, someone worth tolerating, and it still wasn’t enough. All he had were his friends in the Party and after his talk, nay the lecture, from Dustin, he wasn’t even sure he had them. If he didn’t have them, what did he have?

Depression, PTSD, chronic debilitating migraines, night terrors, and scars?

What was the point of anything if that’s all he had? Did he really want to stick around to find out just for things to worsen like they always did?

After years and years of trying to be perfect, Steve realized he never truly would be. The night he got back to his house after watching the rest of his friends reconnect with their families, he packed up the Beemer and left Hawkins in the rear view.

He was sick of the expectations, the disappointments, and trying to reach a standard he could never sustain.

He left his heart behind wrought with guilt at leaving the Party without any notice and leaving before he knew Munson would be alright but he had no choice. If he didn’t have the kids, he had nothing and that was something he couldn’t face.

The Party

tags: major character death, angst, grief, healing, Eddie POV, stobin

word count: 692

The Party throws a party.

for @stobinmonth prompt: Steve and Robin die

They don't talk as much anymore. Ten years ago, things were different-- he would hear from the East Coast gang once a month and at least one of the Cali group was always hanging around the house, shoe rack overflowing in the front hall.

Eddie gets it. That's why he's so grateful when they can all get together like this, everyone under the same roof, just like Steve and Robin always wanted.

It's the anniversary of their death today. They were barely 50 when the two of them left the house for work and never came back. Time has healed the very worst of the loss for Eddie, but it stings him sometimes when he isn't expecting it. He can't imagine ever living through this day alone.

The shoes are piled up around the shoe rack, all different shapes and sizes and styles. The children are playing a video game in the living room. There's a loud ruckus going on in the kitchen over the margarita recipe. He already knows what he'll hear if he walks in. Steve's disciples will bray on about adding jalapeno in his honor. Robin's group will defend her lasting belief that jalapenos have no place in a beverage. They'll get nowhere until Lucas breaks and makes a second pitcher.

Eddie slips upstairs to collect the decorations. He should have done this before they all arrived, but he was busy. Okay. He was wallowing, but you would too sometimes if your best friends had been dead for ten years.

There's the string of letters that spells out their names. The giant blown up posters of the worst pictures of them he could find. A box of random shit he keeps firmly shut every day but this one.

When he comes back down, they're all in the living room cheering on the kids. And Mike, who has commandeered one of the tiny controller things. It seems like he's losing to his own son, who looks about as smug and shit-eating as Mike always had at his age.

They all help him hang the names and the posters, laughing as they do. The box takes its place of honor on the coffee table for anyone to open and sift through if they want to. It's always El who dives in first, somehow unafraid to face her grief.

They spend the day and half the night together. The older children go upstairs to watch a horror movie when it gets late while the youngest (a mop-headed Henderson) falls asleep half on top of his mother. There's a plush alligator wrapped in his lanky arms.

"He should keep that," Eddie says. The words come off his tongue more easily than he feels they should. He fights the urge to snatch them back.

Suzie and Dustin stare at him. "Are you sure?"

"It's just collecting dust in that box. Robin would want him to play with it instead." The fact that it's true makes the idea of it leaving the house a tiny bit more bearable.

Dustin sniffles, his eyes suddenly wet. "He never got to meet them, you know. It kills me sometimes."

Suzie pats his left hand, Max grabs his right. "He knows them, honey," his wife tells him. "Why do you think he knows every single story in that box? Why do you think he loves coming over here to be with everyone each year? That's Steve and Robin, babe. They're still here."

Eddie finds himself joining the waterworks that spring up after that, everyone grabbing a tissue from the table to wipe at their eyes or blow their nose.

She's right, he knows. Steve and Robin are here every year when the people they loved the most come together to talk about them. To complain about how annoying they were in life and in death. I mean, who lives through five separate otherworldly monster attacks and then dies in a ten car pile-up? It's absurd.

But he knows this party, these people all laughing together, is everything Steve and Robin would have wanted.

Eddie slowly collects the items from around the room and closes the box for another year.

Dragon!Steve whose parents won't let him have any sort of hoard. As soon as he managed to start one they confiscated/threw out/sold what ever it was. He used to try and fight back but he was just a kid so he lost every time and eventually stopped trying

Til the party comes around and while unconventional he realized his parents can't take these little twerps away from him that they'd fight to stay with him just as much as heed fight to keep them

Based on this post by @jadewritesficshere

Steve looked at himself in the mirror from all angles. Maybe, even just a year ago, he might have squashed all of this down and pretended he was just like any other All American white boy in a Midwest state. Except a year ago he still carried the baggage of his failures and was trying to be someone he was not.

And then Robin Buckley, with her ‘You Rule, You Suck’ board, entered his life.

Now, he was able to fully appreciate how much he had never been able to get Eddie “the Freak” Munson out of his head. He might have played it off had this situation never arose, might have been able to keep his lies to himself secret, but…well. It was a good thing Vickie’s locker had been right next to Eddie’s.

Admittedly, he did feel a little guilty about using the lip gloss that Nancy had left at his place, but then she had let him borrow some before back when he worked at Scoops, so really…was it that bad?

He just hoped that Eddie liked the taste of strawberries.

If Steve was lucky enough to find out.

So here he was, fifteen minutes early, waiting to meet Eddie in the band room after school. He’d never been here, obviously, but he’d managed to sneak into the place Robin and Vickie frequented quite often. Luckily there were no other band geeks hoping to use the free time to practice their instruments…or their instruments—he never realized how fucking horny band geeks were before Robin spilled all that gossip. He should have cast his net wider in high school.

Anyways, Steve got himself ready, trying to pose himself perfectly against an abandoned desk, legs crossed at the ankles as he leaned back on his hands to push out his tits, or whatever guys had, accentuating the thickness of his thighs as well. He’s got this.

And then the handle was turning and there’s Eddie, glancing behind him to obviously make certain he wasn’t being followed and no one is paying attention to him—he must know that the room is used for more than just music practice too—before finally turning to face his supposed secret admirer as he closed the door.

Only to freeze when he caught sight of Steve, face draining of color. Steve was across the room in an instant, hand keeping the door shut where Eddie had turned and immediately tried to open it again, leaning into Eddie’s space with a small smirk.

“What’s the rush, Munson?” he murmured in a tone he hadn’t had to use in a while, letting his eyes drag over the dumb Dungeons & Dipshits club shirt Steve couldn’t wait to get his hands under. His eyes drifted lower, thinking of other things he’d like to get under. When his eyes finally made their way back up to Eddie’s face, the dude’s face was tinged pink.

“Ha-Harrington,” Eddie said with a small stutter, eyes darting frantically to the hand keeping the door closed. The metalhead cleared his throat, stiffening his spine as he seemed to gather himself, though he crossed his arms defensively across his chest. “Is this some sort of sick joke? Got you buddies hiding around here somewhere waiting to jump me?”

Steve softly snorted. “While I’ve had a threesome before, I’m not really interested in a gangbang. Besides, darling, I’m not super keen on sharing,” he purred, reaching out with his free hand to lightly brush through the curly hair at Eddie’s shoulder, twirling a strand with a smile.

To his credit, Eddie didn’t flinch, though he did frown severely. Even still, his eyes dropped to Steve’s lips for the briefest moment, which Steve took as a win. “What the hell, Harrington?”

Steve chuckled, moving to lean his shoulder against the door instead, since it allowed him to pop his ass out a bit. “You got my note, didn’t you?” A little fib since it wasn’t technically his note that Robin had accidentally slipped into Eddie’s locker, but whatever. “I wanna take you out on a date. Right now, if you’d let me.”

Eddie blinked at Steve like he couldn’t believe what was in front of him. “I know I have hair like Wheeler, but you do know I’m a dude, right? I have a dick.”

“You’re a musician, yeah?” Steve said, ignoring that for a moment to lean in closer, trailing the hand from Eddie’s hair down his arm. “Then I bet you’re really good with your hands.” He let his eyes drop to them meaningfully. “I bet those fingers can reach all sorts of places. Bet you know how to get the best sounds with them.”

When Steve looked back into Eddie’s face, it was flushed a bright pink this time, his mouth dropped open slightly in shock. Steve took the opportunity to press his fingers under that sharp jaw to close it with a soft click.

“Bet you’re talented with that mouth too.” And, okay, normally he wouldn’t be quite so forward with a girl, but Eddie wasn’t a girl. Things were a little different here. He had a feeling Eddie would appreciate the direct approach too. “You know, I’ve done a bit of singing myself. I’d love to show you my talent as well.”

Eddie let out a huff of breathless laugh of disbelief as he took several steps back into the room, holding his hands up. “I don’t know who put you up to this, man, but—”

“No one put me up to it,” Steve interrupted. “I haven’t been able to get you out of my head since high school and I would be the idiot of the century if I didn’t ask such a pretty boy like you out on a date.”

“No one thinks I’m pretty, Steve,” Eddie said with another nervous laugh, grabbing his hair to cover his mouth in embarrassment.

“Then everyone else has to be the idiot. You’re gorgeous, Eddie.” Steve let his gaze drop again, taking in all of Eddie’s lithe form. “You’re hot as fuck and I should have asked you out on a date years ago. Sorry I don’t have flowers with me, but if you let me take you on a date, I’ll buy you whatever flower you want.”

“D-dude, what even makes you think that I’m…you know,” Eddie said, eyes darting around as though searching for another escape route.

“Because if you weren’t, you wouldn’t have checked out my ass back in high school.” Eddie looked terrified again, which wasn’t Steve’s intention. He was supposed to be charming for Pete’s sake…whoever Pete was. He stepped forward, holding his hands out to show that he was without malice. “I promise I don’t mean any harm, Eddie.”

“No? Former Keg King and head cock of the roost Steve Harrington just asked Eddie ‘the Freak’ Munson to an empty classroom to ask him on a date? Am I really supposed to believe that?” Eddie scoffed, arms once more wrapping around himself.

“I checked you out too, you know,” Steve murmured. “I think I did even before I realized that guys could be an option.” He licked his lips, tasting that hint of strawberry, but it had the desired effect of snapping Eddie’s gaze to them again as well.

“What, you wanna get dicked down by the king freak?” Eddie lightly sneered. “Really fell that far, Stevie?”

“What can I say, you’re easy to fall for,” Steve said with a wink, slinking his way slowly closer. That seemed to shut Eddie up, his face turning that lovely shade of dusty pink again. “But if you need me to fall further…”

Steve smirked as he dropped to his knees in front of Eddie, who gulped thickly enough that it was audible. He reached out to grab Eddie’s fingers, bringing them to his lips as he looked up at the older boy through his lashes.

“Because I am more than willing to worship Hawkins High’s one true king,” he whispered, pulling out all the stops as he brushed his lips over Eddie’s knuckles in a soft kiss. He had a feeling that a theatrical man like Eddie would appreciate some theatrics himself.

And appreciate it Eddie seemed to do, judging by the first honest look of awe on his face as he stared down at Steve. Like he was maybe starting to realize that Steve meant everything he was saying. Eddie drew in a deep, shuddering breath, before releasing it with a small smirk of his own.

“Is that so? And what does that make you, Steve? My dashing knight, ready to obey my every command?” Eddie murmured, turning his fingers in Steve’s hold to slip under Steve’s chin, his thumb brushing just under his glossy bottom lip.

Steve shivered at the touch. “I’ll be whatever you want me to be, Eddie, if it gives me the honor of taking you out on a date.”

“Well,” Eddie breathed. “You do look good on your knees.” He leaned in, bending down to bring his lips to Steve’s ear, his hair curtaining around them. “Do you look just as good on your back?” he whispered.

Steve grinned, bringing his other hand up to hold on to Eddie’s hip. “I guess you’ll just have to find out, Munson,” he murmured back. “So what do you say? Go on a date with me? I promise to treat you good. And then you can treat me very, very bad.”

Eddie flushed again, but he was smiling as he pulled back enough to look down at Steve. “That a promise, Sir Harrington?”

“Wanna seal it with a kiss?” Steve grinned.

It turned out, Eddie did like the taste of strawberries.

Later, when he learned the truth about the note mishap, Eddie laughed so hard he cried, but he didn’t waste any time in thanking Robin for her little blunder. After all, without it, he never would have gotten his first (and hopefully last) official boyfriend.

Who did, in fact, look entirely too good on his back.

~~~~~~

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