3. The Birds and the Bees: XXX Edition

The first thing Eddie did after clocking in at work was make a beeline straight for his magazine drawer. He had searched through it three times just to be sure, but he was positive the magazine she mentioned wasn’t in there. Eventually he came to the conclusion that he must’ve taken it home. Made enough sense, considering there wasn’t much use for it at work.

He was working on the same song as last week when the bell jingled. Eddie looked up, expecting to see Robin coming in for her shift.

Instead of Robin, however, it was Steve, already in uniform. “Howdy, Munson,” Steve said as he entered.

“I thought Robin was working today?” Eddie asked with furrowed brows.

“Nah, she’s sick. I’m covering,” he supplied before heading to the back to clock in. Eddie returned his attention to his small notebook, trying to wrap up a thought he had before Steve came back out.

The bell jingled once more. Upon Eddie’s glance upwards, he saw the three painfully familiar faces of Jason Carver and his two lackeys, Andy and Chance. Eddie stiffened up, sliding his notebook off the counter and putting it on a shelf behind it. “Well, well, well,” Jason said with an irritated smirk. “Munson the Murderer works at fucking Family Video Store!” His boys shook their heads in disdain beside him.

Needless to say, Jason was among the people who still believed Eddie welcomed the devil into his body.

“Careful, Carver,” Eddie couldn’t help himself, despite his nerves. “What would dear old daddy Christ say about that kind of language?”

“You’re a freak, Munson,” Jason spat, Eddie scoffing at the unoriginality of the insult. “I can’t believe they’d let someone like you work here.”

“I know, right?” Eddie went along, leaning one arm on the counter as he huffed in disbelief. “How could they trust me with the sensitive, private information that is the people of Hawkins’ weekly rental history? Ya know, I hear it’s a great position to have as an up-and-coming cult leader.” Suddenly Eddie was being hoisted above the counter, Jason gripping fistfuls of his clothes to pull him close in a threatening manner.

When Jason spoke again, forcing eye contact, he spoke in a low, even tone, “One day they’re gonna find you dead in a ditch, Munson. And I’ll get away with it just like you got away with what you did to Chrissy and the others.”

Eddie felt his throat clog at the mention of Chrissy, unable to hold up the unbothered facade. He had no response. There was no point saying, for the billionth fucking time in his life, that he didn’t do it. With the way most people in Hawkins treat him, he might as well have.

“Hey!” An angry voice that could only belong to Steve shouted from behind him. “What the fuck do you think you’re doing, Carver?” There were fast footsteps before Steve was in front of the counter, shoving Jason away from Eddie, hard. Steve followed the distance Jason was pushed with a few slow, antagonistic steps. He stared down Jason with a deep look of malice Eddie wasn’t sure he’d ever seen in Steve.

“Showing the freak what it’s like to be scared,” Jason glared over at Eddie, who felt helpless in his ability to de-escalate the situation.

Steve stepped so close to Jason he was forced to look him in the eye, Steve towering a good three or so inches over him. In a low, steady voice he said “I think it’s time you leave.”

As Jason and Steve stared each other down, Andy and Chance started to flank Steve from behind. Eddie straightened, mentally preparing to spring over the counter if he needed. Jason shot Eddie a glare, clearly debating if this was worth it. It was three against two, they’d have the upperhand, but the store had cameras inside.

Barely bridled anger was clear on Jason’s face as he looked Steve in the eye. “C’mon boys,” he said. “Home Video Rentals has a better selection anyway,” and with a few more final glares, the three left.

Steve and Eddie looked at each other in silence, the air still charged from the aggressive encounter. Then, slow smiles split their face as they broke out into a laughter neither could hold back.

“Does he think we, two minimum wage twenty year-olds, care about the competition in the video rental industry?” Eddie questioned in disbelief once his laughter had died down a bit.

“Honestly,” Steve smiled with a shake of his head. “Probably. Don’t think that guy has ever worked a day in his life.”

As their final laughs cleared the air, Eddie dipped his head a bit before saying, “Uh, thanks, by the way. He’s…” Eddie chuckled. “Not my biggest fan, as you can see.”

“No problem,” Steve shrugged, smirking. “You just remember this moment when Gareth comes in for that blowjob. I’m determined to hold that number seven.”

A genuine smile broke across Eddie’s face again at this, Steve coming behind the counter. Eddie rolled his eyes, sarcasm thick as he said, “Yeah, I’m definitely gonna think of you while I’m getting head.”

“Don’t knock it ‘til you try it, Munson,” Steve smirked, lightly hitting his shoulder with the back of his hand before picking up a crate of magazines (ones they actually sell) he must’ve set down earlier. Eddie distracted himself from his blush by grabbing his notebook and tucking it away in his vest, where it hung in it’s usual spot over the stool.

Steve placed the flimsy crates of mags on the front counter, walking back around to start stocking the rack. “What’s in there, anyway?” He asked, not visible to Eddie until he walked back over and leaned on the counter.

“In what?” Eddie asked.

“That little book,” Steve clarified. “I see you writing in it a lot.”

“Uh… mostly songs, I guess. Some stuff for D&D campaigns, if we’re running one,” Eddie shrugged. “Random thoughts. I dunno. Shit people put in notebooks.”

“Do you let people see this 'shit?'” Steve looked up at Eddie expectantly.

Eddie smirked. “Need to be higher on the list for that, Stevie.”

Steve chuckled. “What? Number seven and having a new nickname isn’t enough to grant me access to the mystery that is Eddie Munson’s mind?”

“Well, it quickly stops being a mystery if I let just anyone see, now doesn’t it?” Eddie retorted.

Steve shook his head with a smile. “Frustratingly logical reasoning, but I guess you have a point.”

A moment of idle silence passed as Eddie debated asking a question. It wasn’t an incredibly intimate one, but he didn’t know if Steve would take offense to it. He was also taken aback by his hesitancy to offend him, but didn’t have much time to sit on it.

“Out with it, Eddie,” Steve glanced up at him. “You’re burning holes into my head.”

“It’s just… why do you work here?” Eddie asked, crossing his arms on the counter as he leaned a little more forward. “Aren’t your parents wealthy like Carver’s?”

Steve’s lips twitched in amusement. “Fair, but not all rich parents are so content with letting their adult kid siphon off their money with nothing in return.” Steve stood back up, leaning on the counter with his hands. “If I wanna move out, I gotta do it on my own dime,” a slightly dejected look crossed his face before it was washed away by a snort. “And my dad wants me out pretty bad, so…” he gestured to the store around them before letting his hands fall back on the counter.

Eddie couldn’t help but take in Steve standing in front of him, and thinking about what his younger self might say if he saw him and Steve conversing so… friendly. Not that Steve was ever particularly rude to Eddie, but he used to hang around people that were. “Ya know, Harrington, I still find it hard to wrap my head around the fact you’re actually a pretty decent dude.”

Steve chuckled, sliding his hands so he could lean on his forearms, now just barely infringing on Eddie’s space. “Jeez, Munson. You told me that like, over a year ago,” a genuine smile stretched his face as he asked “What more I gotta do to convince you?”

“I didn’t say I wasn’t convinced,” Eddie said simply, unable to tear his eyes away from the soft brown ones staring into him. “You just continue to surprise me, that’s all.”

There was a pause in their conversations as they observed each other, one that neither of them seemed to notice for a moment. Then, the bell above the door dinged, the two of them moving apart seemingly on instinct as a customer entered. Eddie cleared his throat, averting his gaze from Steve but unable to stop from stealing a few glances in his direction.

“You’re on rental cart duty,” Steve took great pride in informing Eddie of this, who groaned in response.

“I hate the rentals cart,” he whined.

“Yeah, so do I,” Steve chuckled. “But fortunately for me, and unfortunately for you, I’m shift manager and you have to do what I say.” Steve said smugly before heading toward the back again. He flipped around to face Eddie, “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a chair to spin around on,” he waggled his eyebrows with a goofy smile before backing into the room and disappearing behind the door. Eddie couldn’t help but smile to himself as well.

It ended up being a busier day at the store, which Eddie was actually grateful for. It gave him a few hours of distraction, before inevitably what happened today would crawl under his skin and eat away at him.

And eat away it did, as he sat on his couch in the empty trailer. The lighting in the trailer was dim despite it still being the afternoon, as the curtains were drawn and Eddie couldn’t be bothered to turn on the lights. He stared at the floor in front of him in a catatonic state as an overwhelming sense of nothing filled him.

Everything was somehow both so loud and so dulled, like the adrenaline from earlier today was still coursing through him but something was blocking it from actually being felt. It left him with a juxtaposing composition of jittery and slow-moving thoughts that kept him too stressed to relax but too unresponsive to find a solution.

Eddie sucked in a shaky breath through his nose, blowing it out just as unsteadily as he tried to flip the switch to either feeling or not feeling, because being stuck in this in-between position was grating away at him. A part of him knew at some point he was going to have to face the 'feeling,' and that every time he took the easy way out it was like trying to dampen the inevitable blow of a bomb with clingwrap. But he couldn’t do it. Not for lack of trying, but simply because no matter what he did the switch never flipped. The dam never broke. All he could do was wait in agony for the other shoe to drop, and hope he was the only casualty.

+++

For someone who constantly complained about being the babysitter, Steve frequently agreed to whatever the children asked with relative ease, Eddie had come to realize. Dustin had come into the video store while Steve and Eddie were working, asking the former if they could use his pool that weekend.

“You’re in luck Henderson,” Steve told Dustin. “Parents are out again for a few days.”

“Perfect,” Dustin grinned. “Man, it feels like your parents have been gone every weekend for a while.”

“That’s a blessing, not a curse, Dusty,” Steve said. “Just so I know, how many teenagers am I hosting, exactly?” Eddie gave a snort.

“Should be all of us,” Dustin shrugged, Steve making a displeased face.

“Christ, I feel like there’s so many of you,” Steve ran his hands over his face before turning to Eddie. “Munson, you gotta come. They outnumber me like…” Steve looked up as he visibly counted in his head, “Six to one. I’m callin’ Robin too.”

So here Eddie was, waiting for Steve to open the door in his only pair of swim trunks and a band tee. He slung his towel over his shoulder and leaned against the wall, Eddie momentarily wondering if he got the day wrong.

Then, a disheveled (and shirtless) Steve pulled open the door, staring at Eddie with those wide eyes he got when he was stressed. “Hi,” he breathed out simply, turning around and gesturing for him to follow. “Sorry, right before you rang the doorbell Henderson asked if they could jump off the roof,” Steve let out a heavy sigh as he closed the door behind them, leading Eddie through the house. “And I had to make sure that didn’t turn into a whole…” Steve gestured erratically. “Thing. Anyway,” He paused, turning to look at Eddie properly. “You came.”

“I said I would,” Eddie said with a small, teasing smile. And, so what? He couldn’t stop himself from glancing at Steve’s bare chest. Sue him. The hair was just as attractive to Eddie now as it was the first day he saw it. Going against his strong desire to do otherwise, he forced his gaze back up to Steve.

There was a brief pause as Steve examined him. For what, Eddie didn’t know. “Good,” Steve said pleasantly, quietly continuing through the house. Eddie took this time to soak in Steve's house. It was a pretty open floor plan, and yeah, definitely belonged to a rich person. There was an upstairs, and for a portion of the house there were large glass windows, giving you a full view of the pool. It seemed everyone else was already there, except for Mike and Will. Robin was sitting with her legs in the pool, talking to Vickie who was swimming. The rest of the kids were scattered either in the water or poolside. Dustin was yelling at Lucas about something, which Eddie couldn’t hear clearly until Steve opened the glass door.

“You could barely hold your handstand!” Dustin argued, the water splashing with his gestures. “It was literally five seconds! How do you win with five seconds!?”

“So? At least I was doing a handstand for five seconds,” Lucas defended himself. “God knows what your legs were doing. You looked like one of those…” he gestured distastefully. “Tube men outside of car dealerships.”

Eddie and Steve shared a look as they approached the pool. “I’m just glad they’re not on the roof,” Steve muttered. He would say Steve was joking, but they did once leave the kids and they apparently got immediately arrested.

“Eddie!” Dustin lit up when he noticed him. “You gotta judge our handstands. Lucas is trying to cheat me out of my victory.”

“Chill, kid. I just got here,” Eddie smirked. He reached behind his head and pulled off his shirt, Robin and Vickie whistling. Eddie laughed at this, tossing his shirt on a pool chair and taking a seat next to Robin. “Where are Mike and Will?” The Byers had moved back to Hawkins after Vecna was killed, and Eddie found out the Sheriff, Hopper, hadn’t actually died. Honestly, it was at the bottom of his list in terms of shocking events he'd witnessed that year.

They had simply said Hopper had some sort of mental break after nearly dying in a fire, and ran off to live in a secluded cabin, one that no one knew about. This was surprisingly on brand for what people knew of Jim Hopper, so everyone believed it pretty easily.

“They both couldn’t come,” Max supplied from across the pool, where she and El had their legs in as well. El seemed to find this funny, biting back a smile behind her hand.

“Yeah, they’ve been weirdly busy lately,” Lucas noted. Robin raised her eyebrows at Eddie, which Eddie returned, sharing a knowing look. Eddie wasn’t an idiot, and Wheeler talked about Will non-stop when he still lived in California. Seriously, it was like, clinical. “And I know Will paints but y’all I’m gonna be honest, I don’t think Mike has any hobbies besides D&D. So… I dunno even know what he’s doing.”

“Dad won’t let him come,” El supplied. Oh yeah, and Eddie learned Hopper was El’s dad. Also not very shocking, considering. “I don’t know about Mike.”

“Hopper won’t let Will come, but he let you come?” Lucas asked, unconvinced, before continuing sarcastically, “Yeah, sounds like Hopper.”

The doorbell rang, then, and Steve perked up from where he had been letting this conversation unfold in front of him. “Why don’t we all…” Steve began to propose. “Mind our own business, while Henderson helps me get the pizza?” He asked in that way parents and teachers did where it was technically a question, but really you had no choice.

“Why do I gotta help get the pizza?” Dustin challenged.

“Because I’m letting you swim around in my pool with your pubescent hormones free of charge– and feeding you,” Steve added in disbelief. “Now make a move.”

Eddie, Robin, and Vickie laughed at this interaction as Dustin reluctantly got out of the pool and followed Steve back to the door.

“Sick tats,” Vickie told Eddie, gesturing specifically to one on his chest.

“Thanks,” Eddie glanced at them in consideration, smirking, “I think so too.”

Lucas swam over to talk to Eddie about starting up a new campaign soon when Steve and Dustin returned. Steve had two pizza boxes in his hand, and Dustin had one and a stack of paper plates. The pizza was set on a pool chair, everyone making their way over.

Eddie was sitting on the foot of a pool chair, eating a slice of cheese pizza, when Steve sat down to do the same in the chair beside him. “So, Munson,” he said. “Am I still number seven?” He raised his eyebrows, eyes hard to see behind his sunglasses.

“Mmm…” Eddie hummed in dramatic consideration. “Guess you can be number six now.”

Steve pumped a fist into the air once, biting his lip in triumph. “Yes,” he hissed excitedly. “Who’d I knock down?”

“Uh…” Eddie wracked his brain for people he knew, knowing full and well the list was bullshit. “Jeff. Another band mate.”

“Gareth still off the list?” Steve asked in intrigue.

“Still off the list,” Eddie confirmed with a genuine chuckle.

Steve shook his head, sucking his teeth in disappointment. “Gotta get on that BJ, GareBear,” he deadpanned, pulling a sudden, loud laugh from Eddie.

“Yeah, he’s really gotta get on that,” Eddie agreed, still laughing. He shook his head as he looked out at the pool, laugh dying out and Eddie muttering to himself, “God, GareBear.” He and Steve both took bites of their pizza, silence between them as he watched the group having their fun. El was making the water dance and morph into cool shapes, Max watching on in awe (as well as Eddie.) Dustin had instead recruited Vickie and Robin to judge the handstand competition, the two of them laughing amongst themselves every time he and Lucas began to argue. Eddie smiled pleasantly. I’m glad I lived to see this, he thought.

Eddie glanced over at Steve, “So, where are your parents?”

It was barely noticeable, but Eddie gleaned that Steve seemed to shrink back into himself in the slightest. “This time? Aunt in Maryland, I think. Won’t be back till Wednesday,” Steve said, still looking at the pool. “And then my dad leaves Friday for some work thing, and usually when he’s out of town my mom goes to stay with one of her close friends… so…” Steve seemed to have drifted a little from the moment, but he brought it back quickly with a halfhearted smirk. “But don’t tell the little freeloaders that. They’ll infest my house and I won’t get a moment to myself,” he raised a soda can to his lips and took a long sip.

“Why do they travel so much?” Eddie found himself asking, watching for all the minute reactions Steve might have. Steve met his gaze for a second, but it was too hard for Eddie to read his expression behind the glasses.

“Uh, I guess… ‘cause they’re rich,” Steve said with a shrug, mouth downturned in slight distaste. “And they can.”

Eddie hesitated, debating if he should ask the question at the front of his mind, once again not knowing if it would be too personal. But he decided he wanted to know. “Guessing that’s why you’ve gotten so good at sniping bottles with baseballs?”

Steve turned his attention from the pool to Eddie. He gave a light scoff. “You’d guess correct,” he took another swig of his soda. “But I mean, hey,” Steve said, the energy picking back up in his tone, albeit a bit forced at first. “If my biggest problem is being alone in a big house with a pool– I got a pretty good life, right?” He gave a smile, but it was unconvincing to Eddie. Still, he didn’t push Steve’s clear attempt at changing the subject.

“Yeah, maybe,” Eddie said, noncommittal. They finished eating their pizza, occasionally commenting on something funny the kids did or firing back at a good-natured insult.

Eddie was walking back to the chairs after tossing his paper plate to possibly lay down and get some sun (he figured he had a lot to catch up on) when all of a sudden, Steve’s arms were wrapping around his middle. "Harrington! What the hell are you--" He cried as he was promptly picked up, and thrown into the pool before Eddie could even finish his protest.

Laughs and cheers became muffled as water surrounded him, clearing in a loud burst as he submerged with a gasp. “Why?!” Eddie cried as he flipped his hair back out of his face. He squinted up at a grinning Steve.

“Sorry,” Steve shrugged casually. “It was calling to me,” before Eddie could respond Steve was rushing right at Eddie for a cannonball.

“No!” Eddie yelled, scrambling to back up in time but to no avail. Steve crashed into the water inches in front of Eddie, water splashing directly in his face. When Steve popped up, still grinning, he was right in front of Eddie. His hair was slicked back, water droplets dripping from his nose and chin, shoulders glistening. He shook his head like a dog, Eddie scrunching his face to brace for the water, chuckling. “God, you really are a menace,” he said, trying to maintain an annoyed demeanor but mostly failing.

“You were taking too long to get in the pool,” he shrugged again as the two of them treaded water.

Eddie put on a disciplinary tone. “Ya know, Harrington, this could merit knocking you back down to seven.”

Steve hummed in uncertainty. “Will it, though?” He squinted, Eddie only now recognizing that his sunglasses were gone.

With a long and dramatic sigh, Eddie rolled his eyes. “I suppose not.” His lips quirked up into a smile.

“Guys, I have a question–” Dustin started, swimming up to Steve and Eddie with Lucas in tow.

“No!” Lucas exclaimed urgently. Steve and Eddie raise their eyebrows at him in tandem. “Dustin,” Lucas urged through gritted teeth. “Do not ask them that.”

“Well if you’re not gonna tell me what it is!” Dustin threw up his hands at Lucas. “And I tried to ask Robin but you practically drowned me–”

“Yeah, for a reason,” Lucas pleaded.

“I have a feeling I might regret this question,” Eddie said cautiously. “But ask us what?”

“You see, Suzie asked me what something meant last night, and I assumed it meant taking someone out to eat, or something,” Dustin explained, Eddie growing more and more worried about the direction this might take. “She said she didn’t think that was it, because the girls she overheard were talking about it like it was such a big deal. And then I asked Lucas,” Dustin turned to Lucas pointedly. “And he jumped down my throat about it.”

“Out with it, Henderson,” Steve said simply. “What’s the question?”

“What does ‘eating someone out’ mean?” Eddie’s mouth fell open in shock, paired with an uncomfortable smile as he glanced at Steve, as if to say ‘you wanna handle this one?’

Lucas ran a hand over his face slowly, shaking his head. Steve stared at Dustin with raised eyebrows, face not too different from Eddie’s as Dustin glanced between the two of them.

“Uhh…” Steve choked on a laugh. “I… How old are you again?” He narrowed his eyes at Dustin, voice a higher pitch than usual.

“Fifteen,” Dustin answered simply.

Steve winced in uncertainty as he shared a look with Eddie, who just shrugged with a blustered laugh. “Hey, we can’t act like we didn’t know at that age, right?” Eddie muttered.

“Yeah, but still, I don’t wanna say it,” Steve muttered back, ignoring the teens right in front of them.

“Hello?” Dustin waved his hand back and forth. “I can hear you? C’mon, what does it mean?”

They both turned back to Dustin, Eddie staying completely silent and forcing Steve to take the plunge. Steve let out a final begrudging sigh. “It’s when… two consenting adults,” Steve was sure to stress this, raising his eyebrows pointedly at Dustin. “And at least one of them has a… vagina...”

Eddie turned to Steve with furrowed brows. “They don’t need to have a vagina,” Eddie said matter-of-factly. Steve’s face fell into one of utter confusion, blinking his eyes rapidly as he appeared to be doing rocket science in his head.

“They don’t?” He asked with wide eyes, brows practically at his hairline.

“No,” Eddie attempted to telepathically communicate what he was referring to, like if he stared at Steve hard enough he’d hear his thoughts. “They don’t.” But it was to no avail, Steve now looking at Eddie like his world had just been turned upside down.

“Do you guys even know what it means?” Dustin accused.

“Yes,” Steve and Eddie answered in unison, as if Dustin was foolish for thinking they didn't.

“Look,” Eddie began, since he was pretty sure he now had to explain to Steve as well. “It’s something done during sex. One person…” Eddie grimaced deeply before he said, “Pleasures the other…” the other three made a disgusted face at this as well. “Using only their mouth and tongue.”

“So…” Dustin said thoughtfully, face still uncomfortable but the gears turning slowly. “Like a blowjob?”

“No,” Steve said with a shake of his head. “But close,” he offered up, unable to fully force the encouragement.

“Same concept, but less sucking, and apply it to vaginas and buttholes,” Eddie supplied.

“Buttholes?!” Lucas and Dustin exclaimed loudly, drawing the confused attention of the girls, who had also been talking amongst themselves.

Eddie gave the girls a dismissive wave. “Playing a… word association game,” he called over. “Don’t worry about it.”

“Ohhh,” Steve said, the realization finally hitting as he looked at Eddie. “I get it now.” Eddie nodded pointedly.

“But that’s where…” Dustin lowered his voice, eyes darting around. “Shit comes out.”

“You piss out of your dick, don’t you?” Eddie retorted with an arched brow, Steve barking a laugh. “It’s called a shower, Henderson. And anyway, don’t worry about it. I’m… assuming you’re mostly gonna be dealing with vaginas.”

“Hey, you never know,” Steve commented, mostly only directing this to Eddie.

Eddie gave a half shrug in agreement. “Yeah, ya know I always wondered.”

“Again,” Dustin said flatly. “You know I can hear you.”

“Point is,” Steve said with a small shake of his head, looking like he was making up whatever he was saying on the spot. “We’ll, ya know… support you. Whether it’s vaginas or assholes.”

“Or both,” Eddie offered with a shrug. “As long as it’s safe and consensual we don’t care.”

Dustin hesitated before answering, him and Lucas looking between Steve and Eddie in clear uneasiness. “Thanks…”

Lucas splashed Dustin, who whirled on him. “Hey!”

“Told you not to ask,” Lucas shook his head, swimming away with an arguing Dustin on his tail.

Steve and Eddie simultaneously let out a heavy sigh, Eddie’s turning into a groan as he rubbed his face roughly with his hands. “Jesus Christ,” he said.

“I hated every second of that,” Steve said flatly, face appearing as if he had just eaten something that tasted bad.

“Sending ‘em to Robin and Vickie next time,” Eddie muttered, feeling somehow like he just ran a marathon.

“God, I hope there isn’t a next time.”

A few hours later, the sky was an amalgamation of orange and pink, hues of violet just starting to bleed down toward the horizon line. Eddie was dried off, save for his hair which always took hours to dry all the way, and in a change of clothes he brought, ready to take some of the kids home.

“Shotgun!” Dustin yelled as he ran passed Eddie and Steve, Max and Lucas following behind. Robin and Vickie had just left to take El home.

“You always get shotgun!” Max complained.

“You don’t like sitting in the back with me?” Lucas chuckled with a tone of mock dejection. Max stuck her tongue out at him with a playful smile as they slid into the back of Eddie’s van, closing the door.

Steve sighed as he came up beside Eddie, who was tying his shoes. “Ah, young love…” he said whimsically, before adding “And Dustin.” Eddie chuckled at this. “Thanks for takin’ them home, by the way.”

Eddie stood once he finished with his shoes, giving a shrug and a casual smile. “Figured the least I could do, considering you fed us and let us use the pool,” he snorted. “Those gremlins might be ungrateful but, I’m not.”

“Yeah, well, don’t go getting a big head,” Steve teased. “I’m just trying to get to number one.”

Eddie smiled at this, feeling a stupid sense of fondness at Steve's goal, whether it was a joke or not. “Good luck with that, Harrington.” He started to head for the van, but Steve stopped him by gently catching his bicep.

“Hey, uh, before you go,” Steve said, Eddie turning back in intrigue. Steve’s hand didn’t fall from his arm as he got his attention. “Robin sort of convinced me to throw a surprise party for Vickie. It’s her birthday next week, so I’m having a proper pool party– no fifteen year-olds this time,” he smiled a bit. “But, uh, you should come. You can try out the jacuzzi this time.” Steve waggled his eyebrows playfully, earning a light laugh from Eddie. “What’d you say? Starts at eight next Saturday.”

Eddie’s smile fell slowly into one of disappointment as he glanced away from Steve’s expectant gaze. “I’ll come, but I’ll only be able to stay for like,” Eddie shrugged. “Maybe three hours.”

“Caaan… I ask why?” Steve looked at him with big, curious eyes, dropping his hand to tuck both of them in his jean pockets as he leaned against the doorway. “Is number six good enough to get that information? Or am I gonna have to do Gareth’s job to pull it out of ya?”

Eddie’s laugh caught in his throat, effectively choking him for a second as a mixture of a laugh and a cough spilled out of him. Steve watched on in amusement. “Nope, no. Don’t have to do… that,” he swallowed thickly, face heating as Steve chuckled at his reaction. Eddie shook his head with a more certain laugh. “You can’t just offer to give someone head for information, Harrington.”

Steve made a humorously confused face. “Why not? Historically, it’s worked very well for other people. But,” Steve sighed, tilting his chin down and looking up through his lashes at Eddie with a patient, knowing smile. “You didn’t answer my question.”

Eddie sighed, staring at a spot on the ground as he began to explain. “Wayne keeps staying up until I get home ‘cause he worries, and… I dunno. I feel like a jackass making him stay up when he works so much. But it’s fine,” Eddie gave a shrug, attempting a reassuring smile as he looked back up at Steve. “If I don’t drink and head out by eleven, I should get back a little before he gets home.”

Steve seemed to think about this, Eddie looking at him curiously. “What if,” Steve began. “You tell Wayne next time you see him that you’re sleeping at my place on Saturday.” He raised his eyebrows, his eyes so similarly resembling those of a begging puppy it made it too hard for Eddie to contain his smile. “He won’t be expecting you home, so no reason to stay up.”

“Mmm… I dunno,” Eddie said uncertainly. He wanted very badly– surprisingly badly– for that to be the solution, but he wasn’t sure. “Feel like he just might stay awake all night in that case.”

“Okay, how about this,” Steve said with a small smile, clearly determined to get his way. “You give him my number, and he can call here to talk to you when he gets off of work.” Eddie thought about this for a second, but wasn’t able to come up with a reason it wouldn’t work. “Yeah,” Steve grinned in accomplishment. “Try and poke holes in that.”

“Alright, Harrington,” Eddie smiled back. “You wore me down. I’ll tell Wayne next time I see him. But you better be serious,” Eddie pointed a finger at him. “Because he will call.”

“Serious as a heart attack, Munson,” Steve held up a hand like he was swearing on the bible, goofy smile still stretching his face.

“I should get the little monsters home,” Eddie turned over his shoulder to look at the van, pausing when he saw not only Dustin watching intently from the front seat, but Max and Lucas leaning over the center console to see as well. They froze for a second, as if they were caught doing something they shouldn't, before Max and Lucas disappeared quickly into the backseat, Dustin looking up and around him in a horrible attempt at acting natural.

Steve chuckled with furrowed brows, Eddie turning back with a confused expression on his face. “Anyway…” Eddie said, “I’ll see ya later. And don’t be late to the store again tomorrow,” he pointed at him as he took a few slow steps backward in the direction of the van. “I’m opening with you and you’re the only one with keys.”

“Yeah, yeah, hey– who’s the shift manager?” Steve asked sarcastically. “Last time I checked it was me.”

Eddie just shook his head with a smile. “Later, Stevie.” When he closed the driver’s door behind him, he looked at the three kids with raised eyebrows. “Any particular reason for that, or…?”

All of them chorused their various versions of ‘no,’ shaking their heads. “Just…” Lucas started, trailing off as he clearly didn’t have an excuse lined up.

“Wanted to see what was taking so long,” Max finished for him with a shrug and an all too pleasant smile, one Eddie had come to recognize as a lying smile that worked on just about everyone, if you didn’t know her that is.

“Uhuh,” Eddie said, unconvinced as he started the car. What the real reasoning of their intrigue was, Eddie didn’t know, but he accepted a long time ago that the kids frequently came up with their own mysterious agendas, and unless it involved some interdimensional gate opening, it was best to stay out of it.

For the first time in a while, when he arrived home at the empty trailer, his head was too preoccupied to drag him into the melancholic stupor it usually did. He went to bed earlier than usual that night, body sluggish and weighted from swimming. Even in the dark, silence of his room, his brain’s thoughts circled drowsily around one topic and one topic only as he drifted into sleep: Steve Harrington.