oops. || steddie fanfic

that touch.

"c'mon, harrington. what are you so afraid of?"

eddie wiggled his fingers in front of steve, handing his joint back to robin. robin surprisingly enjoyed smoking weed almost as much as eddie. steve refused to try and it seemed to upset eddie. robin found everything funny. like, everything. she would giggle at nothing, too. eddie found it hilarious so he would join in on the laughter.

it was already getting late.

steve was glad eddie offered to let them stay the night, but steve had no idea where he was gonna sleep. his trailer wasn't exactly big and robin already claimed the couch. eddie went into his room and came back a few seconds later, tossing a few blankets and a pillow at robin. she caught it effortlessly.

"harrington. you're sleeping with me. c'mon."

"i'm sorry, what?"

"you heard me. unless you're too scared of your ego getting bruised because you slept in the same bed as a freak?"

that was all he had to say. steve scoffed, speed walking into eddies room. he tried to ignore the smirk on eddies face as he went in. eddie said his goodnights to robin before following.
steve couldn't get over eddies room. he was still in awe by how.. cool it looked. and nerdy, of course.

"hey," eddie said, tossing steve an extra shirt and extremely soft pajama pants. they were black, obviously, and the shirt was Black Sabbath merch. of course it was. steve almost dropped the clothes when eddie tossed them but successfully pulled it off, giving eddie a fake smile. he pulled his shirt and jeans off as fast as he could since he was starting to feel too hot and cramped in his own clothes.

steve swore he could feel eddie giving him side glances.

eddie was first to climb in bed and he immediately made himself comfortable, spreading his body out and letting out a very exaggerated groan. old ass. steve climbed in after eddie, seeming tense and extremely uncomfortable by the way they were so close.

"relax, harrington. i'm not gonna try anything unless you want me to."

fuck. steve averted his eyes from eddie and let out a soft exhale, reaching over quickly to turn off the lamp. it was pitch black now, but steve preferred it that way. he didn't have to see eddies puppy dog eyes staring into his like he was longing for a bunch of attention. god, they were so pretty. so so pretty.

steve turned away from eddie and laid on his side, curling up into fetal position to give eddie more space. it wasn't uncomfortable, actually, minus the fact that steve could feel the warmth of eddies body and every breath he took. it was oddly comforting. it was better than listening to the horrible silence.

"harrington," eddie cooed and poked steves back. eddie dragged out his last name as much as he could when he said it, and steve could practically hear the smile on his lips after. "do you ever sleep?" steve asked in reply with a snappy tone. one, he was grumpy and didn't want to be sharing a bed right now. two, eddie didn't know how to shut his mouth. "i don't, actually. it's hard to. so you get to entertain me!"
steve tried to shake off how sour eddie sounded when he said the first two sentences. how strange. what stopped him from sleeping?

steve turned over so he was facing eddie. he could only make out eddies face since they were so close and holy shit, he was even prettier close up. it's almost like his eyes were sparkling due to the moon lightly shining through eddies window. steve moved his arm down so it rested between him and eddie.

"this might be hella invasive but.. why can't you sleep?" steve was practically whispering now. not because he didn't want robin to hear, but because he felt like he had to be softer with eddie; gentler. eddie broke eye contact first and huffed out a little sigh, looking at steves arm. he moved his own down.

"i just.. can't? as soon as i lay on my bed, i get- like- all of these bad thoughts. what if i'm stuck here my entire life? i love it and all, but i'm almost 21 and i'm still livin' with my uncle. am i actually gonna get anywhere in life? or will i just keep playing with my band in a group full of drunks? i love life but i should be doing more."

eddie shakily exhaled and bit down on his lip to prevent any other words spilling out. steve went to say something but before he could get any words to leave his lips, he felt eddies hand touch his.

it wasn't just a simple touch, like when they would banter. this was a genuine touch. it was almost desperate, as if he'd never been touched before but was too scared to do anything too severe. steve opened his hand and intertwined his fingers with eddies as a way to hopefully say 'i'm here'. he was never good with words, but he wanted eddie to know he wasn't alone.

"well... we're all wondering that, ya know? will we always be stuck here? i mean i get it. i love hawkins, it's great, but it's so.. small. i feel like i should be doing more. you're not alone. never have been, 'kay?"

it was bad comforting, but it was genuine. and it seemed to cheer eddie up. his blank expression turned into a half smile and he looked back up at steve.

so much silence. so much tension.
so much awkwardness.

steve was first to take his hand away. he did it quickly, too. as he did, he cleared his throat and gave eddie a sort of fake smile that he hoped didn't look too fake. "try your best to sleep. it's late," he whispered to him and turned to his other side again.
his heart hurt.