[ while it's certainly not the same, eddie can't help but compare their upbringings. eddie's brand of parenting was neglectful in a much different way from steve's, resulting in eddie nearly getting pulled into the wonderful world of juvie at such a young age.
but he got out of it in the end, wound up with an uncle who's been a better parent than he could have ever hoped for. but steve? steve's stuck with his parents, and Eddie can't help but feel a touch sad, even though he doesn't know the extent of what steve has been through. ]
Yeah, Wayne's a good guy. For sure. Gonna miss him when I move out. [ he says it so casually, and even though he has no solid plans, he knows it's going to happen eventually. he can't live in that trailer forever. for one, it still gives him the creeps.
he tries to convince himself it won't be running away to move on, to grow up, maybe even move in with someone one day. ]
You're definitely better at staying still than Dustin is. Love the kid to death but damn if he doesn't fidget at the table when it's not his turn.
[ at this point, he's talking to fill up the silence, to make it feel less weird that he is applying makeup to steve's neck and cover up someone else's handiwork. while simultaneously ignoring the fact that he maybe kind of wishes that were his handiwork. ]
True, I am. Don't exactly have the luxury of a backyard with a pool to lounge around at. [ it's meant to be teasing as he continues to spread the concealer across the bruise, building up enough layers and blend it out so it doesn't look like such an obvious cover up job. it's a little bit different than covering up a tattoo, but he likes to think he did a pretty damn good job. ]
Vampy, though, huh? You think about me biting other people's necks? [ yeah, that's it, munson, just dig yourself deeper and deeper into that hole of yours.
time to break out the powder and finish this the hell up so he can get out of there before he makes a further fool out of himself. ]
You're going to move out? Like to your own place? ( that catches steve's attention, actually, because he knows that's a thing people do. they move out, get their own places. they even leave hawkins. for some reason, it's easier to think about it in terms of other people than something he'd do himself.
thinking of eddie leaving makes him frown, even though that'd probably be better for him. hawkins isn't exactly a fan of eddie munson even though he's been cleared of all the accusations made against him. ) I mean, that's cool.
( smoothe, steve.
he rolls his eyes at the mention of the pool. it's taken him so long to get over what happened there, to be able to use it again. he doesn't shudder under eddie's touch and maybe if he does, a little, it's because the skin on his neck is sensitive and eddie's touching the faint scars. ) You could use my pool if you want. Didn't realize that was all that was keeping you from golden skin.
( another cough. totally that powder. ) I mean... It kind of goes with your whole vibe? The vampy thing and, sure, the biting. ( maybe he's thought about that a lot. ) You'd probably not leave someone looking this mauled.
[ It should be so easy, right? Just pack up all the belongings he have (which is not much considering he's had to fit them in a double wide) and find a place that will rent to him. Yet something is still tethering him in place, and he's not so sure it's Wayne anymore.
He knows Wayne would be all too happy to see him go. ]
Yeah, you'd come visit me, though, right?
[ The thought of using Steve's pool catches Eddie's interest and he pauses his work on Steve's neck to pull back and raise an eyebrow dramatically. ]
Why, Harrington, if I didn't know any better, I'd say you wanted to ogle me while I'm sunbathing. [ He says it teasingly, because he can't resist the urge to flirt with Steve. It's definitely one of his more innocent of self destructive habits, but still he knows he's only making it worse and worse for himself the more he does it. ]
Oh, yeah, I'm all about subtlety when it comes to that. The whole thing with vampires is they don't usually want to get caught, right? [ He brushes the last of the powder over Steve's neck and then uses his own hot breath as an extra step to set his handiwork. ]
I'd leave a tasteful mark. Just enough so that the person could admire it and remember, but not terrible enough that it's immediately obvious to anyone who so much as glances their way.
Sure, I'd visit you. Henderson would probably make me drive him too. That kid would miss you a lot. ( steve not ready to say that he'd go without dustin too, but he would.
if he doesn't look at eddie when he teases him, well, that's not really new. and luckily there's enough make up on his neck to hide some of that blush. ) Wow, man. You've caught me. ( and that comes out as dry as he can manage, looking a little skeptical at eddie so hopefully it comes out more like a guy teasing another guy (which is just what eddie is doing, right?) rather than that the answer to that statement is a surprising 'yeah, kinda' that steve doesn't know what to do with.
and oh. then eddie's leaning in, breath hot on his neck and steve's balling his hands into fists on his thighs. he's going to die. he is. ) Is that so?
Aren't vampires not supposed to have any self control when they drink blood? What if you go overboard, dude? Your poor victim's going to have a neck that looks like mine. ( which looks pretty bad, honestly. steve would love a subtle mark instead of what he's dealing with and eddie so close isn't helping his imagination not run wild. )
[ 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.
( eddie seems so blase about that, about being close and talking about necking of all things that steve's not sure what to think. he'd thought that maybe he'd react to that? maybe?
something that would give steve a hint of if he can flirt a little of if they're just two friends without boundaries. can guy have that? eddie seems to operate under that assumption but steve's not really sure since there was an unspoken keep three feet apart rule between him and his other guy friends. bro code, you know?
eddie scoots back and steve nods, lifts a hand to run it through his hair and definitely doesn't mess it up. ) How would you exhibit self control against blood lust? ( he sounds skeptical at that, brow raised as he looks at eddie. )
[ that's the thing about eddie. he's never cared enough about keeping up appearances. everyone knows he's a freak anyway, right? and besides, steve's never told him to fuck off, so.
big boy it is.
and maybe somewhere along the line the flirting became a touch more than just his usual method of communication. but he's also been really good at dramatics, at smoke and mirrors, at saying one thing while meaning another entirely. so if he manages to fool even himself, well, nobody is any the wiser. ]
Most of my supply would be from blood bags. Borrow them from the hospital, super easy. That way when presented with a neck as luscious as yours, I'd only need to sample a taste.
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but he got out of it in the end, wound up with an uncle who's been a better parent than he could have ever hoped for. but steve? steve's stuck with his parents, and Eddie can't help but feel a touch sad, even though he doesn't know the extent of what steve has been through. ]
Yeah, Wayne's a good guy. For sure. Gonna miss him when I move out. [ he says it so casually, and even though he has no solid plans, he knows it's going to happen eventually. he can't live in that trailer forever. for one, it still gives him the creeps.
he tries to convince himself it won't be running away to move on, to grow up, maybe even move in with someone one day. ]
You're definitely better at staying still than Dustin is. Love the kid to death but damn if he doesn't fidget at the table when it's not his turn.
[ at this point, he's talking to fill up the silence, to make it feel less weird that he is applying makeup to steve's neck and cover up someone else's handiwork. while simultaneously ignoring the fact that he maybe kind of wishes that were his handiwork. ]
True, I am. Don't exactly have the luxury of a backyard with a pool to lounge around at. [ it's meant to be teasing as he continues to spread the concealer across the bruise, building up enough layers and blend it out so it doesn't look like such an obvious cover up job. it's a little bit different than covering up a tattoo, but he likes to think he did a pretty damn good job. ]
Vampy, though, huh? You think about me biting other people's necks? [ yeah, that's it, munson, just dig yourself deeper and deeper into that hole of yours.
time to break out the powder and finish this the hell up so he can get out of there before he makes a further fool out of himself. ]
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thinking of eddie leaving makes him frown, even though that'd probably be better for him. hawkins isn't exactly a fan of eddie munson even though he's been cleared of all the accusations made against him. ) I mean, that's cool.
( smoothe, steve.
he rolls his eyes at the mention of the pool. it's taken him so long to get over what happened there, to be able to use it again. he doesn't shudder under eddie's touch and maybe if he does, a little, it's because the skin on his neck is sensitive and eddie's touching the faint scars. ) You could use my pool if you want. Didn't realize that was all that was keeping you from golden skin.
( another cough. totally that powder. ) I mean... It kind of goes with your whole vibe? The vampy thing and, sure, the biting. ( maybe he's thought about that a lot. ) You'd probably not leave someone looking this mauled.
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He knows Wayne would be all too happy to see him go. ]
Yeah, you'd come visit me, though, right?
[ The thought of using Steve's pool catches Eddie's interest and he pauses his work on Steve's neck to pull back and raise an eyebrow dramatically. ]
Why, Harrington, if I didn't know any better, I'd say you wanted to ogle me while I'm sunbathing. [ He says it teasingly, because he can't resist the urge to flirt with Steve. It's definitely one of his more innocent of self destructive habits, but still he knows he's only making it worse and worse for himself the more he does it. ]
Oh, yeah, I'm all about subtlety when it comes to that. The whole thing with vampires is they don't usually want to get caught, right? [ He brushes the last of the powder over Steve's neck and then uses his own hot breath as an extra step to set his handiwork. ]
I'd leave a tasteful mark. Just enough so that the person could admire it and remember, but not terrible enough that it's immediately obvious to anyone who so much as glances their way.
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if he doesn't look at eddie when he teases him, well, that's not really new. and luckily there's enough make up on his neck to hide some of that blush. ) Wow, man. You've caught me. ( and that comes out as dry as he can manage, looking a little skeptical at eddie so hopefully it comes out more like a guy teasing another guy (which is just what eddie is doing, right?) rather than that the answer to that statement is a surprising 'yeah, kinda' that steve doesn't know what to do with.
and oh. then eddie's leaning in, breath hot on his neck and steve's balling his hands into fists on his thighs. he's going to die. he is. ) Is that so?
Aren't vampires not supposed to have any self control when they drink blood? What if you go overboard, dude? Your poor victim's going to have a neck that looks like mine. ( which looks pretty bad, honestly. steve would love a subtle mark instead of what he's dealing with and eddie so close isn't helping his imagination not run wild. )
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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.
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something that would give steve a hint of if he can flirt a little of if they're just two friends without boundaries. can guy have that? eddie seems to operate under that assumption but steve's not really sure since there was an unspoken keep three feet apart rule between him and his other guy friends. bro code, you know?
eddie scoots back and steve nods, lifts a hand to run it through his hair and definitely doesn't mess it up. ) How would you exhibit self control against blood lust? ( he sounds skeptical at that, brow raised as he looks at eddie. )
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big boy it is.
and maybe somewhere along the line the flirting became a touch more than just his usual method of communication. but he's also been really good at dramatics, at smoke and mirrors, at saying one thing while meaning another entirely. so if he manages to fool even himself, well, nobody is any the wiser. ]
Most of my supply would be from blood bags. Borrow them from the hospital, super easy. That way when presented with a neck as luscious as yours, I'd only need to sample a taste.