Steddie Meet Cute Where They Both Go To A Queer Costume Party Where You're Supposed To Dress As Your

NWHを観てきました！！！

Tony: kiddo by any chance did you tell anyone that I adopted you?

Peter: of course, mr.Stark, I am a freaking teenager with no self control who desperately adored you, of course I did.

Tony: jeez, that was a good one, but no need for sarcasm.

Peter: huh? I was serious, mr. Stark.

Happy turkey day to those that celebrate, I’m thinking about Steve who has absent, borderline neglectful parents but THAT’S ACTUALLY OKAY it’s actually perfect on holidays because Steve’s pretty extroverted and probably has a large group of friends extending from close to “we’re on the same basketball team and Steve will high five your face if you don’t get your hand up fast enough”

so really all he’s gotta do it bat those puppy eyes at some unsuspecting mom and BAM invited to holiday dinner. He probably does rounds, and thankfully he has teenage boy metabolism because he probably manages to fit 7 different moms’ dinner in in one day

And sure, after he graduates he’s not sure if it’s good manners to show up at old teammates’ doorsteps. BUT THEN Mrs. Henderson looks at him mid-November and totally claims him for the day where she’s hosting her brother’s family too. Except Dustin brags to Lucas and Lucas gets jealous so Steve then also has to show up at the Sinclair’s in the evening. Max is already there so Steve drives her home that night with leftovers. (Mike is very secretly butthurt about all of this and is really nasty to Nancy the weeks of thanksgiving and Christmas.)

(Robin’s family doesn’t DO thanksgiving but instead goes camping for the week. Robin hates this, and they wouldn’t let Steve join them even though he had his own tent so she hates it MORE. She tries to mutiny but her mom gives her these sad teary eyes and cries about Robin growing up too fast and robin’s fate is sealed. She and Steve instead have their own tradition of movies and junk food the weekend after, so Robin gets reintroduced real food again. So while Buckley’s aren’t on the thanksgiving rotation, Robin gets special Christmas privileges and Steve stays over on Christmas Eve.)

So by the time Eddie is in the picture, Steve already has standing expectations for his presence that’s not just a drive-by plate cleaning, and he’s kinda sad, he and Wayne don’t usually do much and Wayne has to work usually. But actually how dare he be sad, because Steve’s like “🤨 you’re coming too, stupid” and he Eddie and max go to each house like trick or treaters but for turkey.

Then Steve gets close with Eddie’s friends and they have to start splitting holidays like children of divorce.

One time Steve gets it in his head to hold friends giving the week before. He never does it again.

wanted to finally draw them! luv these kids

Steve glances up to ask Eddie where he wants the box in his arms when his eye catches on something, frankly absurd, and he stops in his tracks.

Eddie has taken off his jacket, which was stupid to have on to begin with, and underneath is wearing a sleeveless tank top, the bottom of which is about three inches shorter than anything Steve has seen him in.

"What the fuck?"

Eddie glances up to see him staring. "What?"

Instead of answering, Steve sets the box down and marches over to him. He grabs the bottom of Eddie's shirt and lifts it up to his armpits.

"What is happening?" Eddie asks while trying to squirm out of Steve's reach.

"Are you hot? When the fuck did this happen? You have abs, Eddie. How long have you been hot under that stupid jacket?"

"What?!" He squirms some more, this time away from Steve's poking fingers.

"You have pecs. What is happening in the universe? You're supposed to be all noodle arms and Doritos gut. This isn't right."

Eddie finally manages to get away, yanking his shirt back down and then pointing a 'stay back' finger in Steve's face. "Hey, man, I'm not a piece of meat!"

"Piece of beefcake, apparently," Steve mutters.

Eddie chokes. "What do you care? You can't be jealous, you're as hot as you've ever been."

Why does Steve care? Thwarted expectations? It can't just be that, he's practically vibrating in place, skin all hyper aware of itself.

"You think I'm hot?" He asks instead of giving Eddie an answer he doesn't have.

He scoffs.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Steve puts both hands on his hips.

"It means I'm not getting reeled in by your fishing. Can we finish moving this shit now?"

Steve stares some more. His arms aren't as big as Steve's, but the way his bicep moves under his skin as he bends to lift the box Steve dropped, it's....uh...

Uh oh.

Eddie is hot, stamps itself into the fabric of Steve's universe.

Steve turns and marches back outside. "Robin!!!!"

My brain has created a fun amalgamation of these two posts (link, link)

Steph deciding after Startcourt life is way too short to continue living it for anyone else and immediately starts transitioning, everyone who matters in her life is of course accepting. and the rest of Hawkins is too wrapped up in the drama of the mall to notice that Steph and Steve are the same person, its just assumed Steve got out of dodge after the mall burned down.

the party starts going to hellfire and Stephs babysitter mode activates because these people don't know what monsters and references could set her kids off so she decides to tell Eddie what he is not allowed to use in his campaign or even mention around them. She goes in boymode because no one knows Steph but Steve still has a reputation.

Eddie is very very confused when Steve Harrington approaches him and immediately gets into what he is not under any circumstances to mention in front of the newest members of hellfire and its got to be the weirdest prank or something because the kids have never mentioned knowing Steve at all and all and the only connection Eddie knows about it that Steve is Nancy's ex which would not explain this behavior at all. so of course he has to test it, to disastrous results they do a good job at putting on a brave face but its clear they're terrified and as soon as the session is called they pull out a walkie and start calling for check ins. a voice that must be the mysterious badass and beautiful babysitter Steph that they're constantly going on about tells them to stay put and that she'll come in and get them. they protest that they aren't kids anymore but she isn't hearing it.

Eddies excited to get to see her for himself to see if she really is all they've built her up to be or is this is just a childhood crush clouding their judgment. he decided they haven't been doing her enough justice as she swings the door open and is doing head counts and visual wellness checks backlit from the fluorescents in the hall way like some kind of angel. once shes assured of the partys safety she rounds on him hands on hips looking so bitchy and disappointed "you used something off the list didn't you" it isn't a question. the party catches her attention before he can untie his tongue ruffling hair and giving half hugs, he'll have to thank them latter because the wave goodbye Henderson gives him is definitely conspiratorial like he was taking her attention on purpose.

It takes a day after the weirdness that was the last hellfire meeting for curiosity to get the best of him and he goes to get answers, he has no idea where Steph lives but he's sold at enough Harrington house parties to find his way. Imagine his surprise when its Steph that opens the door and starts talking to him like they've actually conversed before. Like she was the one that gave him the list of things not to mention, while simultaneously dressing him down for not listening.

for at least a brief moment Eddie assumes Steph is dating herself, it would explain how she knows about his conversation with Steve why Steve felt it was his place to tell him about the monsters, maybe she had been busy and he'd offered to go in her stead, and why she was answering his door.

She explains that she can't actually explain all that much about why he cant use demogorgons and mindflayers in his campaigns, because NDAs are a bitch. but does give him what she can leaving him even more curious because what the hell did a bunch of 14 year olds get into in Hawkins that require NDAs

before he leaves though he has to ask how she knows steve because that shouldn't be some huge secret.

Steph looks like a deer in headlights for a moment before doubling over with laughter, snorting hard to breathe crying laughter ( it really shouldn't be as cute as it was) once shes composed herself enough she just states "I am steve"

Happy Stranger Things Day!

Sept Stobin Extravaganza Day 12: Codependent

Rated T | @sept-stobin-extravaganza | 2,183 Words (it's a long'un) | A lot of this story is inspired by this post and some of it's comments/reblogs/etc

The kids hadn’t noticed how close Steve and Robin were at first after Starcourt. Sure, the two were glued together constantly, but Dustin was fairly certain they were dating, and couples spent a lot of time together, right?

And he thought he was being proven correct in his assumptions about their relationship status when he headed over to Steve’s one Saturday in October. He didn’t bother knocking on the front door, just headed straight inside. “Steve?” he called out.

He didn’t hear a response, but he had seen the BMW in the driveway, so he took a look around. The ground floor was empty, and he didn’t see Steve in the backyard, so he headed upstairs. Once he reached the landing, he heard water running from the direction of Steve’s bedroom and ensuite. Honestly, maybe Dustin should have knocked or waited for Steve to come out, but he and his friends didn’t have a lot of boundaries, and also, Steve was like his big brother, so he didn’t think before opening the bathroom door a little (he didn’t look! He knew better than that!) and calling in.

“Steve! I need a ride! Hurry up your shower!” Dustin said.

The voice he heard back was… decidedly not Steve. “What the hell, mini-dingus?” Robin’s voice replied. He heard the curtain rustle, so he peeked his head around the door and met her eyes.

Her hair was all soapy, and she had the most disgruntled look on her face.

“I’m sorry!” he yelped.

Steve’s head popped up over top Robin’s in the gap. “Dude, just go wait in the living room. I’ll be down in, like, twenty, and I can give you a ride then.”

Dustin nodded frantically and hurried out of the room and downstairs.

He waited twenty-two minutes exactly (he kept checking his watch) while wearing a hole in the living room rug before Steve came downstairs, dried and dressed, followed closely behind by Robin.

“I thought you weren’t dating!” Dustin accused them.

Steve had the audacity to look fed up with Dustin. “We’re not.”

Dustin sputtered for a second before saying, “Then what were you doing showering together?”

Both of them just shrugged and didn’t answer his question. And they kept not, for the entire ride to the arcade, where he met up with the others.

Of course, when Dustin told the rest of the Party, none of them took it as seriously as he thought they should.

“So what?” Lucas said. “They’re dating but saying they’re not. What’s it matter?”

“What’s it matter?!” Dustin said, flabbergasted.

Of course, they didn’t realize that wasn’t the end of Steve and Robin being a lot. There were all sorts of things that they started to notice that indicated something more.

Like, one day Mike went into the Family Video to rent a movie to watch that weekend, which wasn’t out of the ordinary. However, when he went to check out, he saw Robin was wearing Steve’s name-tag. He didn’t say anything about it to her, but a couple days later, Dustin brought it up at lunch.

“I went to get a movie after school yesterday, and I get there, and Steve’s wearing Robin’s name-tag!” he told them.

“Yeah, I saw Robin wearing his name-tag on Saturday,” Mike replied.

“Really?” Dustin asked. “I asked Steve why, and he said Robin was sick. Like, I get it; he’s covering her shift or whatever, but why is he wearing her name-tag?”

“Was Steve sick on Saturday?” Lucas asked, thoughtfully.

Dustin thought it over for a minute. “I think so? When I called his house, Robin answered the phone and said something about him having a stomach bug.”

“Hm,” was all Lucas said in response.

Another time, when Lucas called Steve’s house, Robin was the one to answer again.

“Hey, Robin,” he said. “I was calling to ask Steve a question.”

She didn’t even pause before saying, “Sure, what’s up?”

“Um… Well, I wanted to know if he’d help me practice for basketball tryouts, but if he’s not free, I can call back.”

Robin hummed in thought for a moment. “He’ll be by to pick up up on Saturday just after lunch. Like 2-ish. Does that work for you?”

“I… guess?” he told her. “Are you sure that’s fine with him?”

“Yep!” she said, popping the P.

The two sat in awkward silence for a few moments too long. “Okay, bye,” he said quickly and hung up the phone.

Well, Steve showed up at 2PM on the dot Saturday, so Lucas just rolled with it. His mom agreed to stuff for his dad all the time, so this must’ve just been like that.

Now, Max wasn’t around Steve and Robin as much as the boys so she hadn’t been having as many weird experiences as they were, but she definitely had one that stuck out so much that she broke her month-long avoidance to tell them.

It happened when she’d been about to skate home from school and she passed Steve’s car in the parking lot. He raised one hand to her as she approached, Robin at his side.

Max just gave him a tight smile, so Steve let her be and turned back to Robin.

But when he did, Robin just opened her mouth, and he reached in and pulled out her gum and stuck it in his own mouth. What the actual fuck?

Max just straight-up stopped and did a one-hundred-eighty-degree turn and headed back to the entrance of the school where she waited for the boys to come out.

“Max!” Dustin cheered upon seeing her. “What’s up?”

“Have they been super weird around you guys too?” she asked them.

“Who?” Mike asked, brows furrowed.

“Steve and Robin.”

Lucas looked at her carefully. “What’d they do now?”

She paused before telling him. “I just saw Steve pull gum out of Robin’s mouth and put it in his own to chew.”

All three boys chorused, “Ew!”

“Why?” Dustin cried out.

Lucas told her, “We’ve been keeping track. They’ve been insanely weird lately. Dustin thought they were just dating, but this goes way beyond that.”

“Yeah,” Mike chimed in. “Like, we’re not sure if it’s a new thing or if they’ve been like this the whole time, and we just didn’t notice.”

Max hummed, “Hm. Keep me looped in. I wanna know what’s up too.”

Lucas gave her a bright smile. “Sure!”

And the boys did. Every couple days, Max joined them at lunch to compare notes of whatever weirdness Steve and Robin had gotten up to lately. Most of the discoveries were from Dustin, who saw Steve way more than the rest of them, but they all had something. So far, they’d discovered that the two would only ever eat sharing a plate, Robin seemingly never left Steve’s house, and they apparently shared a toothbrush (they all found that one even nastier than the gum thing). One time, Dustin even got traumatized walking in on Steve shirtless with Robin popping a huge pimple on his back.

A few weeks after the gum incident, the four kids were gathered in Steve’s living room for a movie night. It’d been a while since they’d all hung out together outside of school, and technically they still weren’t. The absence of two of their Party members was sorely felt.

Out of the corner of his eye, Dustin saw Steve watch them mope for a few minutes before taking a deep breath and suggesting, “Okay, you know what, why don’t you guys call Will? I’m sure he misses you.”

“Really?” Mike asked, incredulously.

“Yes, really, Mike. It’s not like I pay the phone bill. I’m sure my parents can afford the long distance charge,” he informed the boys.

Then it was a scramble as the three hurried to the phone. Max hung back, though.

“Don’t want to talk to Will?” Robin asked her.

“No,” she told her. “If I could, I’d talk to El, but you know she can’t come on the phone.”

Robin sighed. “Yeah. That sucks, kiddo. Want to get your nails painted while we wait? I did ours earlier.” She patted the cushion next where they were practically glued together on the couch.

Max thought about it for a moment before nodding. “Sure,” she agreed and sat on the couch. “Wait.” She went back over what Robin said. “Our nails?”

“Oh yeah!” Steve said cheerfully. “Robs painted our toes earlier.” He wiggled them on the rug, and they were indeed painted; they were even in the same shade as Robin’s toes.

“Yeah! We don’t like polish on our hands, so toes only!” she said. “But I can paint your fingers.”

“… Okay.” Max picked a color from the bag Steve offered her and sat patiently while Robin painted, Steve holding the bottle for her.

When Robin had finished the first coat, she capped the bottle and said to Max, “I need to take a pee break! Let that dry, and we’ll finish it when we get back.”

Max raised an eyebrow at her. “Where’s Steve going?” she asked, since Steve got up too.

“… The bathroom?” he said, confused.

“Together?” Max asked them.

Robin just shrugged, and the two headed into the guest bathroom off the living room.

Whatever. If the two wanted to sneak off to make-out and lie very obviously about it, she wasn’t going to say anything.

Eventually, after her second coat was dried and the three of them had started watching TV, the boys came out of the kitchen, finished with their call to Will.

“How’s baby Byers?” Steve asked.

The boys told him all about what was going on in Will’s life, while Steve and Robin just nodded along and listened.

“Cool,” Robin said when they were all done. “Sounds like you had a good chat.”

“Mhm,” Steve added. “Now, what do you all want for dinner?”

All four of them looked at each other before saying in unison, “Pizza!”

Of course, getting all of them to agree on pizza toppings was a nightmare. It took almost 30 minutes of haggling with Steve over what he was willing to pay for. Mike only wanted pepperoni, Lucas didn’t really care but didn’t want too many ‘wet’ toppings, and Max wanted anything but pepperoni to be contrary to Mike.

“I want supreme,” Dustin told him.

“Okay, but no mushrooms. We’re allergic,” Steve told him.

Dustin stared at him for almost a full minute before saying slowly, “You’re not allergic to mushrooms, Steve. I’ve seen you eat them at my house before.”

“Well, Robin’s allergic,” he said matter-of-factly with his hands on his hips. “So no mushrooms.”

“Robin can just have a different pizza, Steve! The mushrooms are important to the balance of the supreme pizza. Without them, both the taste and texture are altered.”

Steve pinched the bridge of his nose. “It’s either no mushrooms or no supreme pizza, Henderson. You’re the only one who wanted it, and I’m not about to order a specialty pizza just for you.”

“But-!”

“Nuh-uh. Those are your two options,” he said firmly.

Dustin rolled his eyes so hard they almost rolled out of his head. “Fine. No mushrooms. God!”

When he stomped back over to the Party, he complained to them about what just happened.

“So because Robin can’t eat mushrooms, he can’t either?” Max asked.

The four looked over to where the two were standing at the landline, Steve dialing to order the pizza.

“Maybe it’s a serious enough allergy that they can’t kiss if he’s eaten any?” Lucas suggested.

“Maybe,” Dustin conceded. “But you know, I’ve never seen them kiss… Like even once.”

The rest of the group thought over all the past interactions they’ve observed and agreed.

“They might not like PDA,” Mike said.

Max chimed in, “Maybe they’re really not dating. Maybe they’re just weird.”

“They were showering together,” Dustin said to her.

“True…” she conceded. “And I saw them go to the bathroom together earlier tonight. Pretty sure that was to have a secret make-out session,” Max added.

“Really?” Lucas asked her.

“Mhm.”

“They’re like my grandparents,” Lucas said to them all.

Mike frowned. “What do you mean?”

“Like, they’re so in-tune, as if they’d been together forever. But then sometimes they’re so weird it’s not like my grandparents at all,” he explained.

“Like with the name-tags thing?” Dustin asked.

“Yeah!”

“Who even knows with those two,” Max said. “Maybe they’re just trauma-bonded or whatever. And it messed them up along the way.”

“No way!” Dustin insisted. “Steve’s not like that.”

“Gum, Dustin,” she said. “I saw him pull it right out of her mouth.”

“Ew, yeah. Maybe you’re right.”

Mike added, “Too bad El’s not here. She’d be able to figure out whatever was going on.”

The group saw as Robin poked Steve in the chest as he was hanging up the phone, and Steve said, “That was right in the nipple!” and clutched his chest.

“Score!” she cheered, laughing. He started chuckling too, leaning in and resting his head on her shoulder.

“Yeah,” Max agreed. “They’re too weird to figure out without superpowers.”

Nancy knows what people think when they see her and Steve together these days. People mostly include Robin Buckley who, despite what they both say, Nancy doesn't completely believe isn't carrying some kind of torch for the man.

They aren't dating, but it's obvious to anyone who knows them that's what Nancy is angling for. She's not subtle, and she's not trying to be. Doesn't see any reason why she should be. But she knows what it looks like. Nancy Wheeler, fresh off an amicable but heartbreaking end to her relationship with Johnathan Byers has turned tail for a rebound with former boyfriend Steve Harrington. She's using him. She's leading him on. She's going to break his heart, again.

The truth is that Nancy has always liked Steve, was in love with Steve for a fleeting moment when they were both young and stupid and full of mistakes waiting to be made and in the end they had hurt each other, misunderstood each other, too many times to last through their tumultuous teenage years.

The Nancy and Steve of 1984 couldn't have loved each other right, but Nancy knows in her heart that the Nancy and Steve of 1987 could make something beautiful.

Steve is so different from who he used to be. There's a steadiness in him that he always tried to emulate but never fully embodied until the summer of 1985. He always knew how to make her laugh, how to get her to tap into that adventurous spirit within her and live life, but now he also makes her feel safe.

She wants to hold him the way he used to hold her. Wants to whisk him away to New York and build a life perfectly balanced between her ambition and his steadfastness. So she's putting everything she has into rekindling those embers that have always smoldered between them into a steady fire.

She just has to convince Robin that she's in it for the long haul this time.

------

Robin thinks that before she met Steve Harrington her life was never so much like a soap opera.

Her best friend seems to attract danger, betrayal, and romance to him like the world is full of moths and he's the only flame for miles. It would be funnier if it wasn't so god damn annoying sometimes.

Steve doesn't know it, despite how much he insists on being some kind of love expert, but he's got two very eligible bachelors vying for his hand at the moment. She's pretty sure they both see themselves as tragic heroes in this tale of romance, but from her vantage point, it's more like two ornery cats fighting for the prized spot of their owner's lap.

Nancy and Eddie have made themselves both near-permanent fixtures at the Family Video. Ostensibly, they come in because Hawkins is still in the process of rebuilding and there isn't much to do at the moment outside of wandering the woods, loitering at the convenience store, and watching movies at home. In actuality they're both trying to monopolize as much of Steve's time as possible, each trying to lock down his weekend plans before the other.

The first couple of weeks it was funny just to watch, now the only enjoyment she gets out of the whole circus is ruining their plans. She relishes the pissed-off-priss look she gets from Nancy when she asks Steve to go to the drive-in the next town over and Robin turns it into a group outing instead. It's equally funny to watch Eddie's puffed-up shoulders droop when he can't figure out a way to say no to Robin enthusiastically asking if she can join them at the trailer to smoke up on a Saturday night.

In truth, as much as she enjoys messing with them, Robin knows who she wants to win this war. She knows too much about Steve and Nancy's past and all the ways they weren't good for each other to trust her deceptively fragile best friend in Nancy's capable hands.

Eddie, on the other hand...well she's still going to make him work for it before she throws him a bone.

------

Eddie's never been one to fall in love.

He's had crushes, shared a few kisses with girls and boys alike, and lost his virginity in the same fumbling but meaningful way most teens do.

But love? He's never had that before, wasn't sure what it would even feel like.

It turns out that for Eddie, being in love feels a lot like being an overgrown house plant that's finally been moved into suitably a larger pot.

You see, Eddie knows a lot about growing up on his own. Raising himself and finding ways to survive, if not thrive, with a distinct lack of nurturing. He knows how to grow under someone, to grow under the clumsy guidance of his uncle Wayne who never intended to become a parent. And most of all he knows a hell of a lot about growing despite. Growing under the harsh boot forever trying to push him back into the hard dirt he came from.

It's something else entirely to grow with someone in the way he's been growing with Steve.

Steve who was there when he woke up, almost equally as injured as Eddie himself after a second, world saving round with Vecna. Steve who let Eddie lean on him in the difficult month of physical and emotional recovery that came next. Who helped Eddie come to terms with the new reality he was living under the way Steve wished someone had been there for him after his first encounter with the Upsidedown. Steve, who on paper should have been one of the people pushing him down, always gave Eddie the space to be himself and never tried to force either of them into a box they didn't fit.

Eddie knows he's not The Girl. He's not the one who got away, he's not the stalwart princess in one of his campaigns who saves the day herself but still gets the guy. He's not Nancy Wheeler.

But he's also not a quitter, and even if everything about the world and the narrative arc of their lives says that Steve will never end up with him, Eddie knows he would regret it for the rest of his life if he didn't put his hat in the ring for the hand of the fair Sir Steve.

------

Steve's not stupid.

He knows that there's something happening between Nancy, Eddie, and himself. Knows that if he chooses to look a little closer, to examine why exactly all his weekends are suddenly booked up and Robin has taken to stealing the Recese's Pieces off the shelf whenever either one of them comes into the store like she's settling in for a show, he would come to the conclusion that two of his best friends are essentially courting him in competition with each other.

But Steve isn't looking closer.

His mom always said that he was just like his father, too stubborn for his own good.

Robin says he's a control freak, pushing non-life-threatening problems off until he knows how to deal with them on his own terms.

The truth is Steve already knows how this will end, and he knows how this should end.

Because in the eyes of society, in the arc of the narrative, Steve and Nancy should already be making plans to move out to New York and start a life together. Steve should be looking at apartments while Nancy finalizes her class schedule. He should be looking into getting a job at his dad's New York office to support his future wife through her college education where they both know she'll breeze through her classes and move onto the world-changing career she was always meant to have, while Steve stays home with their children like a perfect little modern family.

And the thing is, if the story had gone like it was supposed to, if the world had been saved the fourth time around and Eddie Munson had died on the cold, hard ground of the Upsidown, that's probably exactly the future that would have happened and Steve would have never known to not be content with it. But Eddie did make it, and while Steve mourns the future he could have had, he knows it's not the one he's going to choose in the end.

Even though Steve knows exactly what will happen when he allows himself to face the ever-mounting tension between the three of them, it's scary to take that plunge.

Everything about Steve's world up until Robin has told him that what he's going to choose will damn him forever, and even if he's never put much stock into God and the church, he knows that the future in front of them will never be easy. There's a part of him that wants to take the easy way out. He's never been attracted to a man before Eddie, never had to imagine himself loving someone discreetly, and the thought of it makes his heart hurt prematurely. It would be simpler, he knows, to choose the path most taken.

But Steve has always thought more with his heart than his brain, and he knows that after everything they've been through, after all the time they've spent healing together and growing as one that he could never choose anyone but Eddie.

The time is coming for him to make his final decision, he can feel it, but for now he'll let them sit in this liminal space a little longer.

Eddie: yeah you're a whore but you could be bad at sex

Steve: *bewildered* what

Eddie: I'm just saying, you can have a lot of sex, how do we know you're good at it? We don't have first hand experience, you could be lying to us-

Steve: *smirking*

----

3 hours later

Eddie, tangled in sheets, breathless, red, panting: OK. Ok. You proved your point

Steve passing Eddie a cigarette: Mhm~