-On The Road- (A Steddie and Ronance Story)

The Lake

(SORRY I'VE BEEN DEAD, I'M MOVING RN AND LIFE IS A NIGHTMARE)

(Anyways, back to the fluffy stuffs. Enjoy <3 )

After the group had all sat down and gotten some food, the day sat before them, and they decided to try to plan ahead of time what they wanted to do, as Steve insisted on having some sort of structure in this mess of a trip they planned in a total of two days.

"So, we're gonna go clean off the dirt and shit from Eddie's jacket, what are you two going to do? Gonna do each other's hair or something?" Steve teased, and Robin rolled her eyes.

"No, Harrington, I'm gonna go take Nance and I am going to show her something cool, without you two nerds to ruin it for us." She shot back, and Steve gasped overdramatically.

"You're not going to let us come along? How hurtful of you, Rob, what did Eddie and I ever do to deserve such hateful behavior?" Steve said, and Eddie played along, putting a hand to his heart and sighing.

"Sure, yeah, you two are obviously so innocent. Anyways, don't drown cause otherwise the town's gonna think you two were taken by the devil or something." Robin said, grabbing Nancy's hand and gently pulling her along. Nancy turned a bit pink and just waved, letting herself be dragged along by Robin, as they walked into the forest, disappearing into the greenery.

"..How much you wanna bet Robin has a thing for dear ol' Nancy there?" Eddie said, after they were both out of ear shot.

"Wouldn't surprise me honestly. Also, are you like.. Okay with that kind of thing? Like.. her being gay and stuff?" Steve asked, and Eddie scoffed a bit.

"No, I'm an absolute raging homophobe and think gay people are of the devil."

"..."

"I'm kidding, Stevie."

"Oh! Oh yeah, of course, sorry, sarcasm sometimes goes over my head."

Eddie laughed and reached to put a hand on Steve's back, seeing his eyes widen a bit at the contact and his face turn a little red. Something about flustering Steve was fun to Eddie, kind of like a game. He pushed it a little further, reaching his other hand to mess with Steve's hair, and then pulling away, standing up, and walking to grab his jacket. Steve sat for a little bit, just stunned, and then quickly regained his thoughts, trying his best to remain cool. Eddie made him nervous sometimes, and he didn't like that. Moreso, he couldn't exactly understand why, and that was what he actually didn't like.

"You coming? I'd rather clean off this sooner than later." Eddie said, looking back at Steve and smirking a bit. He nodded, and stumbled behind him, trying to regain whatever cool he had, to no avail. Eddie had gotten in his head, to his dismay. And he was probably going to stay that way, if Eddie had anything to say about it.

- - -

The two had walked for a while, not saying much, but observing the beautiful trees and forest around them. Tall oak trees surrounded them, as the two boys made their way down a relatively unconventional path.

"Tell me again why you insisted we go this way instead of, y'know, the very obvious path." Steve said, and Eddie laughed.

"Cause it's more fun, Harrington! Loosen up a little. We're on an adventure!" Eddie said, putting his hands in his pockets. Steve rolled his eyes, attempting to keep pace with him. Accidentally catching his foot on an unearthed root, he tripped forward, reaching to brace himself from the dirt and mud. He closed his eyes tight, but instead on a faceful of earth, he felt a hand on his waist.

"Already falling for me, sweetheart?" Eddie said, winking, and pulling Steve back to a standing position. Steve scoffed, and turned away, his face warm. Stupid Eddie. Stupid Eddie and his stupid face and his stupid voice and his stupid eyes. Steve followed behind Eddie, who now had a big grin on his face. Once again, he made King Steve nervous, and he was enjoying it more than he probably should have been.

Eventually, they found the lake, stepping onto the surprisingly clean shoreline. It wasn't anything huge, but it was definitely deep, the center seeming to reach down a couple meters. Eddie took his jacket, and draped it into the water, rubbing away the bits of ash and dirt that had gotten stuck. Steve, however, paused. He felt his heart quicken a bit, and his breath shallow. Something about the water, the lake, it all brought back the memories. Eddie, noticing his companion seeming to struggle a bit, walked back to him and put his hands on his shoulders.

"Hey, what's going on? Are you okay?"

Steve looked into his eyes, and shook his head.

"If this is too stressful, we can go back. My jacket can wait."

Steve shook his head again, trying to calm his own racing heart.

"No, I just.. It's hard."

"I know, I know. But you're safe here. I'll keep you safe, alright?"

"..okay."

With that, Eddie walked backwards, stepping into the shallow water, enough to get the edges of his pants wet.

"Come here, Harrington." He said, holding out both of his hands. Steve complied, not super sure what was going on, but appreciating the distraction from his panicked mind. He gently grasped onto Eddie's hands, looking into his eyes. Eddie had very nice eyes, Steve thought, though he quickly shook the thought away. That was weird.

"If you're okay with it, I want to help you, and exposure is sometimes the best way to cope with the fear. So, I'm going to step back, and you are gonna follow suit. I promise I've got you, alright?"

Once again, he complied. He was scared, but something about Eddie being there was calming to him. He felt.. Safe. The two took a step, and Steve flinched, feeling the cold water on his shoes.

"See? Not so bad."

They took another step. Steve was now calf deep, and Eddie had soaked his jeans up to his knees.

"One more, you got this."

They took one more steps, and Steve was knee deep in the water, and Eddie was submerged from the waist up.

"Good job, Steve. I'm proud of you. Now, let's get outta here and-"

He was interrupted by Steve kicking and splashing him a bit, smirking. Eddie took a moment, and looked up at him.

"Now, before you do something you may just regret, Are you more comfortable with the water now?"

Steve nodded.

"Alright then. Get ready for some payback then, sweetheart."