[ he types out and deletes a variety of responses ranging from "i want to learn more about the stuff you like" (because that's not entirely true, he doesn't really want to know all that much about d&d) to "hey forget it do you wanna find somewhere to make out" (because they haven't really talked about what happened at the price is right yet, so). ]
i'm just curious, man. that's all.
[ is what he finally goes for. and then he rethinks it, because he really doesn't want to be an asshole to eddie. so, he revisits some of those typed-out-then-deleted messages. ]
look, i'll be honest. i don't think i'll ever really get the game. it's just not my thing.
but i was asking cunningham if she thought i could talk you into playing a game of basketball with me and she kind of made me realize that i can't ask you to do stuff i like if i don't give the stuff you like a shot too.
[ eddie isn't sure what he's expecting. maybe it stings a little that it took chrissy's influence to get him to consider this, but if he's being honest wkth himself, he wouldn't have even expected him to care with her meddling, so he should just take this as a win.
but wait, then, back up. he wants eddie to play basketball?
and in exchange is willing to learn a little about d&d?
shit, if eddie weren't already so fucking smitten with this guy. ]
so let me see if i'm getting this right.
you want me, eddie munson, the one who marched across the cafeteria decrying school sports to play basketball
and as payment you'll play dungeons & dragons?
yeah, i think that's a fair tradeoff.
[ the actual tradeoff here isn't so much watching steve squirm while trying to calculate damage
but if there's a chance he can recover his handbooks, that alone would be worth humiliating himself a little on a basketball court.
besides, he does genuinely want to understand more about the things steve enjoys. he might never get what's so fun about basketball, but maybe the smile on steve's face alone will be worth it. ]
[ one day steve will get better at this. he'll quit staunchly rejecting anything that doesn't appeal to him. he'll give stuff a chance willingly and without the promise of a fun sportsball trade off.
just not today.
eddie's easy agreement to this arrangement surprises him, though. he hadn't really been expecting it to go so smoothly. ]
no shit?
okay. cool. i don't know anything about it so you'll have to teach me everything, sorry. i'll try my best
[ and that is actually true. if he's going to commit to this he's going to try to do it right. that doesn't mean there won't be a lot of whining about it, but he can whine and also put in the effort. ]
i'll teach you too. we can do some one on one sometime. just the two of us.
[ oh boy, that sets him off. the idea of having to teach steve everything, from how to build a character, to what the different dice mean. it's been a while since he's had an entirely green player come into the mix, and it's steve.
but he knows he shouldn't get carried away. because it's steve. ]
yeah? i can show you the ropes. we usually do a session zero where i meet with everyone separately to talk characters and backgrounds and shit, so we can just have a bit of a longer session.
oh yeah? some one on one, huh?
[ he knows what steve meant, of course, but he can't not be his usual annoying self around steve. ]
seriously, though. i'm gonna need a lot of one on one if you're expecting me to be at all good at anything resembling a sport.
hey man you don't have to be good at it. it's ok. we'll still have fun
[ as for the d&d... ]
but yeah like i said, i can't promise i'll really get it. henderson used to tell me about it sometimes and it was like he was speaking a foreign language.
not sure if i like basketball and fun being in the same sentence, but i'll settle for steve harrington and fun being in the same sentence.
[ especially if it involves steve in those tight basketball shorts, though he'll probably have to settle whatever tommy bahama's has. ]
i'll do my best to explain it in a way that'll make sense. the most important thing here is that you have fun playing d&d just as much as you'd have playing basketball. or maybe not as much fun, but close to it.
it's weird but i'm kind of looking forward to it. hope henderson never finds out though. it'd kill him if he found out i did this without him.
[ he would leave it at that. he should leave it at that, maybe, and it would be fine. but the fact that they haven't talked about the price is right incident is still nagging at him. they've sort of lapsed back into this old song and dance, skirting just around the edge of flirting with each other, but not actually talking to each other like a couple might.
maybe it's stupid because they kissed. hell, eddie was the one who initiated it. but steve still can't stifle that little bit of worry that maybe he's the one pushing for too much too fast. ]
do you want to talk about what happened at the game show?
[ not to mention, he doesn't want dustin to show up here. this place is too dangerous for someone like him. he doesn't want that kid to change, and he's afraid he will have to, in order to survive.
of course, he doesn't get a chance to dwell on that too long before steve is changing the subject. and of course, this subject was going to come up eventually. he hasn't even meant to avoid bringing it up, he doesn't even have an excuse beyond not knowing if he should be going out of his way to do so, or if he should be waiting for steve to approach him.
well, there's no more waiting, and now he tries to stamp out his insecurities, that little voice in the back of his head that wants to sabotage this before it can become something that he can possibly ruin. because good things don't last for eddie munson, and he'll always be worried that this extends to steve, too. ]
yeah, you know, i was gonna try to find you after, and then everything just...
anyway, not important.
i hope that was okay, like. i didn't really mean to spring that on you in public, but you know me, always getting caught up in the moment.
for the record, though, i meant every word i said. just wish i got to say more.
[ one day he'll share the struggle he went through to reach this point. a struggle expedited by trauma, yeah, and that would've taken him much longer to work through if they were back in hawkins, but a struggle all the same. not yet, though. that's not for this conversation.
right now, he just wants to talk about the good things. ]
i mean it took me a while to get here but it turns out i like you. like, a lot.
when i hang out with you this place feels different
i don't know
less like hell, i guess. before i felt like i was living the same day over and over again, just waiting for the other shoe to drop. now that you're here
well
the place still sucks. i won't try to pretend it doesn't. but it doesn't suck as much. things almost feel normal when i'm with you.
you can tell me if i'm being too much. but i want you to know i mean it, seriously.
[ his stomach's tied in a nervous knot by the time he sends that last message. he knows he can come on too strong, say too much, sound too clingy. he thought it might be different through text but it turns out it's a lot easier to spill his guts this way. the last thing he wants to do is to scare eddie off after everything. ]
[ eddie isn't sure what he expected steve to say. he had maybe convinced himself that he was reading the room completely wrong, that it was eddie getting carried away as usual and seeing signs that weren't there.
because he's still not sure how someone like steve can see anything in him, even after all this time. he almost doesn't believe his eyes, but the words don't shift into anything else, no matter how many times he reads and rereads them. ]
i like you, too, steve.[ he uses steve's name, no nicknames, to show he's being sincere. ]a lot, have for a while now. even before we both showed up here.[ and yes, he's still wrapping his head around the steve that he'd been (he assumed) one-sided flirting with isn't one and the same with this steve, but even with the unequal memories, it doesn't feel all that strange anymore. ]
you help make this place feel less of a hellhole. those days when you weren't around and i had to fumble around this ship on my own? it was almost unbearable.
then you show up again, and it's like.
it felt okay again. 'cause i had you. it's stupid, i know, but. bottom line, you're not being too much.
you have no idea how glad i am to hear you say that
[ god, steve feels like he's barreled down this path of denial to confusion to acceptance at breakneck speed and to the point of exhaustion. to be at this point, finally realizing they're both on the same page, is such a fucking relief it feels like the weight of the entire world has been lifted from his shoulders. he's grinning at his phone as he types. ]
i think we could probably find somewhere quiet to hang out on this bucket of bolts if you want
because i kind of really want to kiss you again too
[ steve's not the only one to feel a sense of relief at squaring all of this away. he had been second guessing himself all this time, and now? now he can just enjoy this, the knowledge that they both feel the same way and he wasn't reading too far into everything. ]
i'd like that. know any really good makeout spots?
[ what? it's steve harrington, it's thanks to him that skull rock was even a thing. ]
and yes, i can't believe i typed that either. look at you, corrupting me already.
okay so it's not like i've had a chance to do any test runs but maybe the theater. it's kind of creepy but i've never really seen anyone hanging out there
[ which could be because he's also never really hung out there either but he's poked his head in a few times and never noticed anyone. gotta be good enough, right? everywhere else is either too busy or too public. ]
[ look at that, he wasn't too high to forget about the stupid tiny pictures.
you better believe he drops everything to make sure he looks and smells as nice as he possibly can before he heads out. he sculpts the hair, he checks the breath, the whole thing. this is steve harrington at his peak, or at least as peak as he can be in grandfatherly cruise attire.
once he's satisfied, he's on his way with a surprise gift in hand. ]
Edited (omg i forgot something VERY IMPORTANT) 2022-11-29 23:38 (UTC)
[ once he receives confirmation that steve will be there (pausing of course to laugh at the little emoji), eddie doesn't do nearly as much to prepare himself. he still tries to make the hair looks somewhat presentable, though it tends to have a mind of its own.
with hands stuffed in pockets, eddie makes his way to the theater, feeling a little off his mark due to his attire. he can only do so much with tommy bahama's truly remarkable selection, but mostly it looks like his clothes just lost a fight with the bahamanuel.
the theater feels much bigger without the crowd sitting inside, and the eerie quiet does make it seem much creepier. but this is fine, totally fine, they're gonna be distracted anyway, right? while waiting for steve to get here, he's gazing around the place, and trying not to get into too much trouble. his attention is immediately drawn to the instruments, and he can't help but look to see if there's a guitar handy that he can fuck around with while waiting for steve to get here. ]
[ it is a little weird to be back in the theater after the ruckus that was the price of right, but it's not quite as creepy as steve had anticipated. it reminds him a little of the days of basketball and swim practice, when he and the other guys would roam the empty hallways of the high school sometimes on their breaks.
he spots eddie checking out bellona's various instruments and heads over. in one hand he's carrying something familiar β eddie's denim vest, though steve doesn't address it right away.
first he sidles up next to eddie and loops his arm around him. now that they're ~official~, it means eddie won't be the only without any sense of personal space. ]
[ he hears steve coming before he's at his side, so it's not too startling to suddenly have an arm snaking around him. a smile slowly forms and he tears his eyes away from the instruments to take in steve's everything, though curiously not noticing the denim vest just yet.
he wraps an arm around steve's waist and pulls him closer, turning his head just enough so that he can lean his forehead against steve's. ]
Hey, Stevie. [ he's not sure he'll ever be able to stop smiling, feeling immensely lighter ever since they both cleared the air. he only lasts another few seconds before he's wrapping his other arm around steve and burying his face against steve's neck. ]
Missed you. [ it's shortly after those words leave his mouth that he notices the flash of denim in steve's hand. ] Wait. Is that...you still have my vest? [ yep, he's done for, especially if there's a chance he can get steve to model it again when they're not fighting for their lives in the upside down. ]
[ it's not so much that steve had forgotten what this is like. it's more that the time he'd spent dating around for casual sex and hunting for "the one" had dulled the memory of how it feels to be close to someone because you want to be, because you like them, and not just because you like the idea of liking them.
eddie's breath on his neck sends goosebumps prickling across his skin and he squirms. god, he wants to kiss him. he wants to do a lot of things with him. not to be dramatic, but stevie and missed you kind of almost make him think this fucking awful cruise ship hell is worth it.
once eddie notices the vest, though, steve takes a step back and reluctantly loosens his arm from eddie's waist so he can hold the vest up with both hands, offering a better look at it. ]
Yeah, I've been meaning to give it back. Just couldn't find the right time.
[ it's clean, scrubbed of lake stink and upside-down grime and steve's blood. he'd committed the placement of each pin to memory before carefully removing them so he could wash the vest safely, and he'd put them all back in more or less the same places. the vest probably hasn't looked this good since... okay, probably not since that fated morning eddie woke up and put it on for school. ]
[ he'll happily return to keeping steve in his personal bubble at all times, but first, he needs to inspect the vest. it's insane how one single article of clothing can mean so much to eddie, but it's not so much the vest as what it stands for.
he had poured so much sweat and tears into crafting this, from choosing just the right t-shirt for the back panel, to each patch and pin, finding the perfect placement for everything. and he had assumed it lost forever, but he's holding it, in his hands, right now.
he can't even tell it was once covered in blood and grime with the way it's been painstakingly cleaned. it's no surprise, then, that eddie feels overcome by emotions, his eyes stinging with tears -- happy ones, this time. no one's ever done anything like this for him. ]
Shit, Steve, this is. Definitely the right time. [ the level of emotions he's experiencing is clear by the waver in his voice. he pushes the vest back to steve with a smile, using one hand to wipe at the threatening tears, a few of them spilling down his cheek in the process. ]
You should keep it, though. Looked better on you. [ not to mention, it's a little like giving your letterman jacket to your sweetheart. there's a level of possessiveness to it that eddie can't deny he's going to feel every time steve wears it. ]
[ for a split second steve thinks he's fucked up and ruined the mood, but that quickly shifts to confusion as eddie pushes the vest back towards him. he's giving it to him? that's not β
steve shakes his head with a baffled frown. ]
Eddie, I can't β [ he starts to protest, but the words die in his throat as his gaze drops to the vest. he understands the significance of the gift. it's more than that, too. this vest was his only lifeline home for so many weeks, the only proof that hawkins β and his friends β even existed outside of himself. it's come to mean a lot to him, too.
when he looks back up his expression has softened into one of understanding. he steps forward to cup eddie's face, thumb brushing softly over his cheek to wipe away those few tears. ]
Thank you, [ he says, and he means it. to show just how much, he leans in and presses a kiss to eddie's lips. it's bolder than their last, backed by the confidence that they both really do want this. they don't have to dance around it anymore. they don't have to pretend. they can just be, without fear or worry or any of the bullshit that might've tied them down back home. ]
[ that's settled, then. eddie finds himself leaning into the hand against his face, letting out a shaky breath when steve's thumb brushes away the last of his tears. now he's smiling, because how can he not smile when steve is touching him like this?
his eyelids flutter shut as steve leans in to press a kiss to his lips. with nothing to interrupt them and no watchful eyes, eddie feels much more comfortable at letting this lead wherever it wants to, wherever steve wants it to.
they have all the time in the world now. quite literally, even. and yet at the same time there's a level of desperation that goes hand in hand with we might die at any moment because of this accursed place that leads eddie to kissing back a little faster, a little more passionately. he brings a hand to steve's waist, the other one reaching around his neck, fingers sliding through the hair that's at the nape of steve's neck, because now that he has free reign to touch it, how can he not? ]
[ steve matches eddie's desperation beat for beat. the hand cupping eddie's face slides back to tangle in his hair as steve kisses him with a kind of hunger.
he had felt so isolated his first month here, alone and scared and certain his friends still needed him back home. then came the nothing, and for weeks that's all he had known. now, standing nearly flush with eddie, with the warm, comforting presence of a hand on his waist, of fingers in his hair, steve feels unexpectedly emotional. he hadn't realized how badly he needed to be reminded that he isn't alone here.
he works through the sudden tightness in his throat by kissing eddie's neck, nuzzling close and grazing his teeth gently over the delicate skin there. ]
We should - [ he begins before reluctantly pulling away completely, flush-faced and dark-eyed. ] We should find somewhere more comfortable.
[ he looks out at the theater, and his eyes drift up towards the private balconies that dot the upper level. he nods towards one of them as he looks back to eddie. ]
[ and to think, eddie had tried pushing steve and nancy back together. it had seemed easier than facing the fact that he had been developing anything resembling a crush for steve, back when he had been convinced that he had no future and a hawkins prison was the only life he would know.
but now, as the kiss gradually becomes more and more heated, eddie can't imagine him being anywhere else but by steve's side. maybe eventually they'll have to figure out what a future looks like stuck on this ship, but for now, he's content to just be.
when steve's mouth makes its way to eddie's neck, he gladly tilts his head back to give steve more skin to work with, until suddenly steve is pulling away and eddie is making a noise of dissatisfaction before he realizes what steve's pausing for. ]
Ah, yeah, good idea.
[ his eyes follow steve's line of sight until he spots the private boxes, a sly smile forming as he turns back to steve. ]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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[ oh sweet baby jesus steve has a lot to learn. ]
not that i know of? but i've also never been to the casino, and this boat is fucking weird so maybe??
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i'm just curious, man. that's all.
[ is what he finally goes for. and then he rethinks it, because he really doesn't want to be an asshole to eddie. so, he revisits some of those typed-out-then-deleted messages. ]
look, i'll be honest. i don't think i'll ever really get the game. it's just not my thing.
but i was asking cunningham if she thought i could talk you into playing a game of basketball with me and she kind of made me realize that i can't ask you to do stuff i like if i don't give the stuff you like a shot too.
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but wait, then, back up. he wants eddie to play basketball?
and in exchange is willing to learn a little about d&d?
shit, if eddie weren't already so fucking smitten with this guy. ]
so let me see if i'm getting this right.
you want me, eddie munson, the one who marched across the cafeteria decrying school sports to play basketball
and as payment you'll play dungeons & dragons?
yeah, i think that's a fair tradeoff.
[ the actual tradeoff here isn't so much watching steve squirm while trying to calculate damage
but if there's a chance he can recover his handbooks, that alone would be worth humiliating himself a little on a basketball court.
besides, he does genuinely want to understand more about the things steve enjoys. he might never get what's so fun about basketball, but maybe the smile on steve's face alone will be worth it. ]
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just not today.
eddie's easy agreement to this arrangement surprises him, though. he hadn't really been expecting it to go so smoothly. ]
no shit?
okay. cool. i don't know anything about it so you'll have to teach me everything, sorry. i'll try my best
[ and that is actually true. if he's going to commit to this he's going to try to do it right. that doesn't mean there won't be a lot of whining about it, but he can whine and also put in the effort. ]
i'll teach you too. we can do some one on one sometime. just the two of us.
no subject
but he knows he shouldn't get carried away. because it's steve. ]
yeah? i can show you the ropes. we usually do a session zero where i meet with everyone separately to talk characters and backgrounds and shit, so we can just have a bit of a longer session.
oh yeah? some one on one, huh?
[ he knows what steve meant, of course, but he can't not be his usual annoying self around steve. ]
seriously, though. i'm gonna need a lot of one on one if you're expecting me to be at all good at anything resembling a sport.
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hey man you don't have to be good at it. it's ok. we'll still have fun
[ as for the d&d... ]
but yeah like i said, i can't promise i'll really get it. henderson used to tell me about it sometimes and it was like he was speaking a foreign language.
but i want to try.
no subject
[ especially if it involves steve in those tight basketball shorts, though he'll probably have to settle whatever tommy bahama's has. ]
i'll do my best to explain it in a way that'll make sense. the most important thing here is that you have fun playing d&d just as much as you'd have playing basketball. or maybe not as much fun, but close to it.
[ he's just being realistic here. ]
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it's weird but i'm kind of looking forward to it. hope henderson never finds out though. it'd kill him if he found out i did this without him.
[ he would leave it at that. he should leave it at that, maybe, and it would be fine. but the fact that they haven't talked about the price is right incident is still nagging at him. they've sort of lapsed back into this old song and dance, skirting just around the edge of flirting with each other, but not actually talking to each other like a couple might.
maybe it's stupid because they kissed. hell, eddie was the one who initiated it. but steve still can't stifle that little bit of worry that maybe he's the one pushing for too much too fast. ]
do you want to talk about what happened at the game show?
no subject
[ not to mention, he doesn't want dustin to show up here. this place is too dangerous for someone like him. he doesn't want that kid to change, and he's afraid he will have to, in order to survive.
of course, he doesn't get a chance to dwell on that too long before steve is changing the subject. and of course, this subject was going to come up eventually. he hasn't even meant to avoid bringing it up, he doesn't even have an excuse beyond not knowing if he should be going out of his way to do so, or if he should be waiting for steve to approach him.
well, there's no more waiting, and now he tries to stamp out his insecurities, that little voice in the back of his head that wants to sabotage this before it can become something that he can possibly ruin. because good things don't last for eddie munson, and he'll always be worried that this extends to steve, too. ]
yeah, you know, i was gonna try to find you after, and then everything just...
anyway, not important.
i hope that was okay, like. i didn't really mean to spring that on you in public, but you know me, always getting caught up in the moment.
for the record, though, i meant every word i said. just wish i got to say more.
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[ one day he'll share the struggle he went through to reach this point. a struggle expedited by trauma, yeah, and that would've taken him much longer to work through if they were back in hawkins, but a struggle all the same. not yet, though. that's not for this conversation.
right now, he just wants to talk about the good things. ]
i mean it took me a while to get here but it turns out i like you. like, a lot.
when i hang out with you this place feels different
i don't know
less like hell, i guess. before i felt like i was living the same day over and over again, just waiting for the other shoe to drop. now that you're here
well
the place still sucks. i won't try to pretend it doesn't. but it doesn't suck as much. things almost feel normal when i'm with you.
you can tell me if i'm being too much. but i want you to know i mean it, seriously.
[ his stomach's tied in a nervous knot by the time he sends that last message. he knows he can come on too strong, say too much, sound too clingy. he thought it might be different through text but it turns out it's a lot easier to spill his guts this way. the last thing he wants to do is to scare eddie off after everything. ]
no subject
because he's still not sure how someone like steve can see anything in him, even after all this time. he almost doesn't believe his eyes, but the words don't shift into anything else, no matter how many times he reads and rereads them. ]
i like you, too, steve. [ he uses steve's name, no nicknames, to show he's being sincere. ] a lot, have for a while now. even before we both showed up here. [ and yes, he's still wrapping his head around the steve that he'd been (he assumed) one-sided flirting with isn't one and the same with this steve, but even with the unequal memories, it doesn't feel all that strange anymore. ]
you help make this place feel less of a hellhole. those days when you weren't around and i had to fumble around this ship on my own? it was almost unbearable.
then you show up again, and it's like.
it felt okay again. 'cause i had you. it's stupid, i know, but. bottom line, you're not being too much.
also, i'd just really like to kiss you again.
no subject
you have no idea how glad i am to hear you say that
[ god, steve feels like he's barreled down this path of denial to confusion to acceptance at breakneck speed and to the point of exhaustion. to be at this point, finally realizing they're both on the same page, is such a fucking relief it feels like the weight of the entire world has been lifted from his shoulders. he's grinning at his phone as he types. ]
i think we could probably find somewhere quiet to hang out on this bucket of bolts if you want
because i kind of really want to kiss you again too
no subject
i'd like that. know any really good makeout spots?
[ what? it's steve harrington, it's thanks to him that skull rock was even a thing. ]
and yes, i can't believe i typed that either. look at you, corrupting me already.
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[ which could be because he's also never really hung out there either but he's poked his head in a few times and never noticed anyone. gotta be good enough, right? everywhere else is either too busy or too public. ]
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[ besides, after everything they've been through, he'll take just about any location so long as it's not the upside down, thank you very much. ]
meet you there in five?
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[ look at that, he wasn't too high to forget about the stupid tiny pictures.
you better believe he drops everything to make sure he looks and smells as nice as he possibly can before he heads out. he sculpts the hair, he checks the breath, the whole thing. this is steve harrington at his peak, or at least as peak as he can be in grandfatherly cruise attire.
once he's satisfied, he's on his way with a surprise gift in hand. ]
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with hands stuffed in pockets, eddie makes his way to the theater, feeling a little off his mark due to his attire. he can only do so much with tommy bahama's truly remarkable selection, but mostly it looks like his clothes just lost a fight with the bahamanuel.
the theater feels much bigger without the crowd sitting inside, and the eerie quiet does make it seem much creepier. but this is fine, totally fine, they're gonna be distracted anyway, right? while waiting for steve to get here, he's gazing around the place, and trying not to get into too much trouble. his attention is immediately drawn to the instruments, and he can't help but look to see if there's a guitar handy that he can fuck around with while waiting for steve to get here. ]
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he spots eddie checking out bellona's various instruments and heads over. in one hand he's carrying something familiar β eddie's denim vest, though steve doesn't address it right away.
first he sidles up next to eddie and loops his arm around him. now that they're ~official~, it means eddie won't be the only without any sense of personal space. ]
Hey.
no subject
he wraps an arm around steve's waist and pulls him closer, turning his head just enough so that he can lean his forehead against steve's. ]
Hey, Stevie. [ he's not sure he'll ever be able to stop smiling, feeling immensely lighter ever since they both cleared the air. he only lasts another few seconds before he's wrapping his other arm around steve and burying his face against steve's neck. ]
Missed you. [ it's shortly after those words leave his mouth that he notices the flash of denim in steve's hand. ] Wait. Is that...you still have my vest? [ yep, he's done for, especially if there's a chance he can get steve to model it again when they're not fighting for their lives in the upside down. ]
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eddie's breath on his neck sends goosebumps prickling across his skin and he squirms. god, he wants to kiss him. he wants to do a lot of things with him. not to be dramatic, but stevie and missed you kind of almost make him think this fucking awful cruise ship hell is worth it.
once eddie notices the vest, though, steve takes a step back and reluctantly loosens his arm from eddie's waist so he can hold the vest up with both hands, offering a better look at it. ]
Yeah, I've been meaning to give it back. Just couldn't find the right time.
[ it's clean, scrubbed of lake stink and upside-down grime and steve's blood. he'd committed the placement of each pin to memory before carefully removing them so he could wash the vest safely, and he'd put them all back in more or less the same places. the vest probably hasn't looked this good since... okay, probably not since that fated morning eddie woke up and put it on for school. ]
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he had poured so much sweat and tears into crafting this, from choosing just the right t-shirt for the back panel, to each patch and pin, finding the perfect placement for everything. and he had assumed it lost forever, but he's holding it, in his hands, right now.
he can't even tell it was once covered in blood and grime with the way it's been painstakingly cleaned. it's no surprise, then, that eddie feels overcome by emotions, his eyes stinging with tears -- happy ones, this time. no one's ever done anything like this for him. ]
Shit, Steve, this is. Definitely the right time. [ the level of emotions he's experiencing is clear by the waver in his voice. he pushes the vest back to steve with a smile, using one hand to wipe at the threatening tears, a few of them spilling down his cheek in the process. ]
You should keep it, though. Looked better on you. [ not to mention, it's a little like giving your letterman jacket to your sweetheart. there's a level of possessiveness to it that eddie can't deny he's going to feel every time steve wears it. ]
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steve shakes his head with a baffled frown. ]
Eddie, I can't β [ he starts to protest, but the words die in his throat as his gaze drops to the vest. he understands the significance of the gift. it's more than that, too. this vest was his only lifeline home for so many weeks, the only proof that hawkins β and his friends β even existed outside of himself. it's come to mean a lot to him, too.
when he looks back up his expression has softened into one of understanding. he steps forward to cup eddie's face, thumb brushing softly over his cheek to wipe away those few tears. ]
Thank you, [ he says, and he means it. to show just how much, he leans in and presses a kiss to eddie's lips. it's bolder than their last, backed by the confidence that they both really do want this. they don't have to dance around it anymore. they don't have to pretend. they can just be, without fear or worry or any of the bullshit that might've tied them down back home. ]
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his eyelids flutter shut as steve leans in to press a kiss to his lips. with nothing to interrupt them and no watchful eyes, eddie feels much more comfortable at letting this lead wherever it wants to, wherever steve wants it to.
they have all the time in the world now. quite literally, even. and yet at the same time there's a level of desperation that goes hand in hand with we might die at any moment because of this accursed place that leads eddie to kissing back a little faster, a little more passionately. he brings a hand to steve's waist, the other one reaching around his neck, fingers sliding through the hair that's at the nape of steve's neck, because now that he has free reign to touch it, how can he not? ]
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he had felt so isolated his first month here, alone and scared and certain his friends still needed him back home. then came the nothing, and for weeks that's all he had known. now, standing nearly flush with eddie, with the warm, comforting presence of a hand on his waist, of fingers in his hair, steve feels unexpectedly emotional. he hadn't realized how badly he needed to be reminded that he isn't alone here.
he works through the sudden tightness in his throat by kissing eddie's neck, nuzzling close and grazing his teeth gently over the delicate skin there. ]
We should - [ he begins before reluctantly pulling away completely, flush-faced and dark-eyed. ] We should find somewhere more comfortable.
[ he looks out at the theater, and his eyes drift up towards the private balconies that dot the upper level. he nods towards one of them as he looks back to eddie. ]
Up there?
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but now, as the kiss gradually becomes more and more heated, eddie can't imagine him being anywhere else but by steve's side. maybe eventually they'll have to figure out what a future looks like stuck on this ship, but for now, he's content to just be.
when steve's mouth makes its way to eddie's neck, he gladly tilts his head back to give steve more skin to work with, until suddenly steve is pulling away and eddie is making a noise of dissatisfaction before he realizes what steve's pausing for. ]
Ah, yeah, good idea.
[ his eyes follow steve's line of sight until he spots the private boxes, a sly smile forming as he turns back to steve. ]
Yeah, I think we can work with that.
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