[ and to think, when this friendship started out, the two of them were jealous of each other, thinking dustin liked the other more. now, though? now he knows steve would go to the deepest, darkest pits of despair if it meant keeping dustin and the rest of the kids alive. and eddie? well, eddie is still trying to grapple with the idea that running isn't automatically cowardice.

he smiles, though, at the thought of dustin insisting that steve drive him hours away just for a visit, regardless of what steve wants. he likes to think he's picked up on steve's idiosyncrasies enough to know that deep down, steve wouldn't do something like that for dustin if a part of him didn't actually want to himself. ]

Thought so. [ eddie is grinning as he puts the finishing touches on his handiwork, admiring how much more difficult it is to tell that the love bites were far more menacing looking before he started. it's thanks to his distraction that he doesn't really pick up on steve's reaction to his teasing. which is definitely flirting, but he doesn't expect steve to flirt back anyway. people generally don't flirt back with eddie munson. ]

Oh, well, in that case I guess I'd better keep more of this concealer on hand, just in case. [ he scoots back a bit so he can get a better look at what steve's neck looks like from a bit of a distance. aside from the scarring around his neck, it looks more or less steve-like. ] I wouldn't be like the other vampires, though. I would definitely exhibit self-control.