Your Name Here

Chapter 1

Steve's heart raced, his hands shaking. He could feel the coolness of the sharp bottle against his neck. And there in front of him, wild, disheveled, and dirty, stood the most beautiful man he'd ever seen in his life. There was no way this was Eddie Munson, the Freak of Hawkins. And if it was? There was no fuckin' way he had killed Chrissy. Gods, he was too pretty to be a murderer. Although, he thought, that's what they said about a lot of killers. Wasn't Ted Bundy just an ordinary guy? But if Eddie had done it, well, maybe it was forgivable, the way his full lips were pressed together, his brows clenched in determination. His hair was wild. His face was dirty. His skin was soaked in sweat. He was the picture of absolute beauty. Steve felt breathless. He didn't think he'd ever wanted to kiss someone so bad.

Then it hit him. Eddie was a man. Steve was also a man. Did that mean he was... like Robin? But he'd dated girls. Hell, he had loved Nancy. So why did he feel this way towards the very male man who was currently threatening his life? He didn't have too much longer to dwell on it, though, as Dustin's frantic voice cut through his daze. He was calling out to Eddie. Something about Steve being friendly? Which, at this point, he... absolutely was not a threat. Dustin yelled for him to drop the oar, which he did immediately.

As soon as he dropped the oar, Eddie dug the bottle into his throat harder and Steve instinctively yelled out. He knew he could easily overpower Eddie. All he had to do was grab the man's wrist and flip them over. But... something about the way he was pressed against him, the cold of the glass against his throat.. it wasn't entirely unwelcome. His face felt warm and flushed, and he was grateful for the dim light of the moon that didn't allow for anyone to see how flustered he was. Dustin was yelling about him being "cool". He didn't want Eddie to feel any more threatened by him than he already was, so he mumbled "I'm cool- I'm cool." "What are you doing here?" Eddie asked, his voice tight. Just then, he realized how absolutely terrified Eddie looked. It broke Steve's heart.

For a split second, Steve wondered could have possibly happened to scare him so badly. Then he knew, remembering just how confused and freaked out he had been when he first encountered the Demogorgon. He wanted to embrace Eddie, promise him everything would be okay. Instead, all that his body seemed to be able to do was stay frozen in place. He scrambled for words, trying to find something to say that would put the older man at ease. All that came out, though, to Steve's horror, was a mumbled agreement with Robin. "Yeah- Dustin's- Dustin's mother." He realized immediately how stupid it sounded, but it was too late to take the words back. He was silently praying Eddie wouldn't laugh at his and Robin's slip-up.

He grimaced in anticipation, before Eddie finally released him, backing away. He groaned in a mix of relief and.. disappointment? He would definitely have to work out these strange feelings later. He looked over at Max, Dustin, and Robin. Robin was giving him a strange look, her eyebrows raised pointedly. He wasn't sure what it meant. Oh well, he could always bring it up later, once they had a moment to relax. Until then, Eddie was their main priority.

Eddie backed away, panting. He sat down slowly on the ground. Steve crouched down in front of him, looking into those big, deep brown eyes and resting a hand on his shoulder. God, his eyes were pretty. Dark brown, with thick dark lashes. They looked like a deer's eyes, big and round, yet piercing. Steve was jolted out of his thoughts by a smirking Robin and a confused Dustin. Dustin had sat down next to him on the ground, looking at Eddie with concern in his eyes after giving Steve a questioning glance. Robin leaned on Steve's shoulders, paying more attention to him than she was Eddie. "Hey, Eddie, man... what's going on? Just tell us what happened, 'kay?" Steve said.

Steve kept his hand on Eddie's shoulder while he was shakily explaining the seemingly terrifying ordeal. Robin kept glancing at Steve's hand, then back up at him. He felt she was implying something, but he had no clue what. Dustin looked concerned. As soon as Eddie finished telling his story, he launched into a hug, pulling Steve in. The awkward angle pressed Steve and Eddie against each other, and Steve could feel his face burning. Robin smirked.

"You alright there, Stevie?"
"Uh- Yeah- Why wouldn't I be?-"
Robin's eyes twinkled mischievously.
"Oh, just checking."

Steve shrugged his shoulders, deciding to ignore it as he wrapped his arms around Eddie and Dustin. Eddie seemed to notice him for the first time at that. His voice was shaky and he still seemed terrified, but he grinned at Steve anyways.

"So, Harrington. Didn't expect to find you here."

Steve blushed yet again. Did he have to smirk like that? All he wanted in that moment was to kiss the smug look right off of his face. Instead, Steve took a deep breath, steadied himself, and replied.

"Yeah, well. Henderson over here wouldn't let me say no, so. Guess you're stuck with me on the welcome wagon."

"Yeah, well, I'd ride on that welcome wagon any day of the week."

Steve and Dustin looked at Eddie, then each other, both confused. Robin fell on the floor in a fit of laughter. Steve made a mental note to ask her about it later. Eddie was smirking.

"What do you mean? I thought you didn't like Steve." Dustin wondered.

"Maybe I will, if I get to know him more closely."

This caused another burst of giggles from Robin. Steve was completely lost, as was Dustin.

"Steve, any idea what he means?" Dustin asked.

"I have... absolutely no clue." Steve shook his head.

Eddie chuckled to himself.

"Oh, Harrington. You'd think a guy would learn after a while. Heard you were quite the ladies' man back in high school."

"Well what's that got to do with anything??"

Eddie just shook his head.

"You'll figure it out, big boy. I believe in ya."