Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

As Eddie sat next to an unconscious Steve in the Harrington household, he could, upon reflection, conclude that he was way fucking out of his depth right now.

Eddie had worried after Steve had left the family video store. He’d worried a lot because everything had been going fine up until it suddenly wasn’t.

Steve had been joking, smiling and Eddie had been watching him with a fond grin as he’d sat on the store counter. And then he’d gone and picked up the phone and suddenly it seemed like he’d completely shut himself down. The change had been rapid, and Eddie almost felt like he'd gotten whiplash from it.

Eddie didn’t know who had called him, didn’t know what they’d said to freak him out so badly but whatever it was Steve hadn’t been open enough to share.

 A staple when it came to Steve apparently.

Eddie cut down that line of thinking. Steve obviously had trouble verbalising his problems and holding that against him wouldn’t exactly help the situation. Either way, Eddie had shot a look to Robin as Steve had made up some halfhearted excuse and left the family video.

“What do you think that was about?” Eddie had asked, and Robin shrugged.

“I dunno, he’s never reacted like that to a phone call,” Robin pursed her lips in worry, “can you check up on him actually? Usually, I’d just crash his house myself but I promised I’d meet Nancy today and I’ve already blown her off before,”

“Yeah,” Eddie said easily, “No problem, I’ll drive down and see what he’s up to,”

Robin nodded in gratitude and Eddie had stayed a little longer before heading out the store with a ‘Later Buckely, ’ tossed over his shoulder.

Eddie had gone home with the intention of heading over to Steve's immediately, but then he’d run into Uncle Wayne who’d roped him into running a couple of errands, which had him driving around Hawkins for well over 2 hours searching for Mrs Wright to drop off a package or two. By the time Eddie finally found her the day had passed a lot faster than he'd been hoping for and the sky was beginning to get dark. Eddie backed up and started the drive over to the Harrington residence. 

See the drive was pretty familiar to Eddie by now. Between dropping the kids off there and study sessions-turned-movie-nights he’d gotten pretty used the navigating his way through the frankly high-class neighbourhood. That being said he’d nearly gotten his van towed both of the times he'd parked in the Harrington driveway from some snooty neighbour who thought he looked ‘suspicious’. As a result of this Eddie usually parked in the parking lot a little further away from Steve's house.

It did mean that he had to travel through the forest, but Eddie kind of enjoyed the journey so he didn’t mind walking a little extra if it meant he didn’t have to deal with nosy neighbours.

The woods around Steve's house were a little weird though. Every few paces, as Eddie got closer to his final destination, he’d start to encounter weird crater-type things. He would find circles of flattened earth that always looked as if a focused blast of air had briefly appeared and then promptly disappeared.

It was a little weird, but Eddie figured it was either the neighbourhood kids messing around in the woods or fucking aliens or some shit. Weirder things have happened, and as long as those circles didn't start glowing or sprouting vines then he really didn't care what was going on there.

A while of stepping through the forest had Eddie eventually pulled out a cigarette and a lighter. It was honestly a nice night, and if he wasn't currently making his way to check up on his emotionally repressed friend he might have even stopped for a bit and enjoyed the quiet.

To be fair, Steve had been more open since the party. At least it felt like it. He hadn’t dropped any major information but he seemed less like he was going to hurl himself into the sun when he talked about himself. He was also touchier, in that whenever Eddie fell into his usual habits of draping himself over people like a human blanket Steve more often than not actually let him, sometimes even laughing and patting whatever arm he had slung across his shoulders fondly.

It made Eddie feel good. Made him feel like he was doing something right, that they were heading towards something that wasn’t quite like the friendship they currently had. Made him feel like he had a chance.

That thought made Eddie feel all fluttery and spinny, and he was almost embarrassed by the ability Steve had to make him feel like a fucking schoolgirl at the mere thought of them being something else.

It was at this point Eddie had realised that the forest, which had previously been filled with crickets and stray rustling here and there, had suddenly gone quite silent.

Eddie frowned. It sounded unnatural, a kind of stillness that felt artificial, forced.

(The question that Eddie was more preoccupied with was what had caused that silence?)

He kept heading in the direction of Steve's house, now with significantly more pace. Maybe he should have just driven, because the forest was starting to get seriously freaky and Eddie had dealt with enough supernatural bullshit for a lifetime thank you very much. 

And then it had hit him. Quite literally.

There was some kind of wave of what could only be defined as pure panic , which rushed past him, briefly paralysing him and sending his heart lurching in his chest before dissipating just as quickly as it had arrived.

Eddie stood frozen, before coming back to himself with a sharp inhale and shaking himself off.

What the fuck was that?

He seriously debated turning back, going to pick up his car and leaving whatever the hell creepy horror story was going on here, but Eddie couldn't see anything, no monsters or anything so surely he was just being paranoid? His brain was probably making things up, that's all it was right?

“Losing my mind in the forest,” he mumbled to himself, “Reeeally living the psychological thriller life here,”

But Eddie kept walking, and as he went those pulses of pure terror would force past him, getting stronger as he walked forwards. A wave of fog started to sweep across the forest floor too, and he noted that it seemed to be revolving around something,

This was a bad idea, he was intimately aware. Every single dead horror movie protagonist was literally screaming at him right now. It was rule number one that you don't approach the thing emitting shockwaves of dread in the middle of the forest with creepy fog to back it up.

But at this point it would irresponsible of him to ignore whatever the fuck this was, so he kept walking forwards.

And then the winds started, and Eddie found himself struggling to walk through a minor tempest, clutching the leather jacket he had tightly around him as he walked through.

At this point the shockwaves of panic had evened out into a constant presence, a steady ambience of dread, and there was a pressure on his chest that felt like a hand trying to cave in his ribcage making it hard to stay calm. He took a few breaths, to ground himself and took another few steps forwards.

He looked up squinting against the wind and he finally caught sight of what seemed to be the centre of the storm and holy shit was that-

“Steve?”

Quite Distantly, Eddie thought that Steve looked kind of ethereal. 

There were great swirling nebulous clouds around him and they sparked with bright red lights that zipped around and lit up his face momentarily, reflecting in his eyes. They looked like they were glowing slightly, glowing with a kind of power, and for a moment Eddie could very really believe he was some kind of god.

And Eddie thought that the idea that even gods bleed must have been a true one, because he had his back against a tree with his chest heaving in time to the chaos around him. He looked like an absolute wreck, and watching him shut those glassy eyes and press his face into his knees had Eddie forgetting all about how crazy this was because there was something wrong with Steve, and Eddie needed to help.

So Eddie had braved against the winds, even as he felt like his brain was imploding in on itself, even when he very well thought he would get blown away by the sheer pressure of it all.

And then Steve had quite literally exploded, and if Eddie had thought he looked like a god before he was wrong.

He had been confused when Steve looked at him after placing a hand on his knee. The panic filling the air had abruptly cut out but Steve had snapped his face towards, eyes wide and filled with a sinking fear.

And then he’d shoved Eddie, hard, scrambling back as far as he could and for a second Eddie was a little hurt that he pushed him away again but-

The smell of ozone filled the air, and Eddie's ears had plugged up and the hairs on his arms had raised.

The hum of what could only be described as pure power started to sing in the air and Eddie felt his breath forcefully expelled from his chest as that hum of power became a low ringing sound, which slowly grew and grew in pitch, along with a glowing light from Steve himself.

The humming grew in volume, and an oppressive white light started to become blinding, enough for Eddie to throw a hand over his eyes in an attempt to relieve himself from the searing intensity.

It felt for a second like Eddie was dying, that a crescendo was building and building and the symphony was rising for the big finish.

For a split second all of it had stopped.

And then an earth-shattering explosion had thundered against the ground, and like the rain breaking after a drought everything washed away. There was a second of delay before a great gust of wind ripped past him, slowly dying down before settling completely.

There was silence and for a second Eddie couldn’t help but lay stunned on the floor.

Slowly lowering his hands he caught sight of the crater in the earth, (just like the craters he’d seen on his way here he thought to himself) and in the centre of it, of all the destruction, was Steve.

Who looked small, who looked up at Eddie with a certain helplessness in his eyes, looked at him with a silent plea.

So Eddie had brought him close, and he’d held him as he’d cried and mumbled incoherent things into his chest. Held him as he wailed and sobbed and begged him to help him because it hurt it hurt so much and Eddie didn't know what was hurting him so he just held on.

Eddie kept them there until Steve seemed to pass out from the exertion of whatever the fuck had just happened and Eddie was left with an armful of unconscious Steve.

And thus had begun the second hardest part of Eddie's night.

Carrying Steve home.

At least, they weren’t too far from the house, and Eddie could just about manage to pick him up from the amount of Stage equipment he’d had to lug in his life.

That being said, there was a reason he skipped PE in school, and carrying Steve through the forest had his arms screaming at him to just dump his body and leave.

He made it though, not before noticing that Steve's car wasn’t parked in its usual spot, and that a very expensive-looking black car pulled out of the driveway just as Eddie made it to the house.

Eddie frowned at that one, watching with sharp eyes as the car drove down the road and out of sight. Steve was pretty cagey when it came to the subject of his parents, and there was no one else Steve had in his life that could afford a car like that, at least none Eddie knew about.

He briefly wondered if their appearance and subsequent departure had something to do with what had just happened, but Eddie's arms were two seconds away from failing him so he simply focused on getting them both inside.

He briefly worried about whether or not he’d have to use those lock-picking skills his dear old dad had imparted to him, but thankfully enough the back door was swung wide open, and Eddie wasted no time in shouldering his ways in.

He practically collapsed onto the couch, dropping both him and Steve onto the soft cushion and heaving a great sigh of relief at finally being able to lose the strain on his arms.

“Jesus Harrington, you’re a real handful,” Eddie muttered to himself, massaging his aching arms before relaxing into the sofa.

Eddie stood up again, and looked down at Steve who had remained unconscious throughout the entire endeavour. He at least was already in his pyjamas, which was good for Eddie, but also concerning because it meant he’d been out in the woods without shoes and only a thin t-shirt and pair of shorts as clothing.

He was probably cold in that.

Eddie worried his lip, before giving up and making his way up the stairs. He grabbed the blanket and the pillows from Steve’s bed, because he would much rather drag them down than drag Steve up, and returned to the living room.

He arranged him into a more comfortable position, tucked a pillow under his head, and then draped the blanket over him.

“You’re really getting pampered now,” Eddie wryly as he tucked the side of the blanket under him, “Hope it lives up to the King Steve standard,”

Eddie was not expecting to end the evening tucking Steve into bed and fluffing a pillow for him, but he also hadn’t been expecting to nearly get blown up either so really today was just the perfect time for surprises.

Honestly, Eddie was pretty beat. The clock on the wall told him that it was way late into the night and he did have school tomorrow. Eddie briefly considered going home, briefly considered the fact that he had secured Steve’s safety as much as he could and could probably leave without worrying about his safety too much.

And then Eddie's brain kindly reminded him that he was fucking whipped for this boy and there was no way in hell he was leaving him after all of that.

He briefly considered sharing the blanket with Steve and sleeping next to him to make sure he was close enough to check if he was ok, but Eddie was very disciplined in beating his lizard brain into shape and instead sat himself upright next to Steve’s head.

He kicked off his shoes, and enviously eyed the comfortable sprawl Steve had settled in along the couch. 

The things he did for love Eddie sighed wistfully to himself and he adjusted his pillow to cushion his neck.

He couldn’t help one last glance down at Steve. His face was smooth, a stark difference from the blazing terror that had been in its place before, and he breathed softly and slowly.

Eddie couldn’t help but reach out and brush the hair on his forehead lightly, huffing a quiet laugh to himself when Steve’s nose wrinkled in his sleep at the tickling sensation.

“Sweet dreams Steve, ” he said, and shook his head in amusement “Sweet dreams for a sweetheart, “ and he leaned back into the couch cushions and closed his eyes.

He slept lightly, and it felt like every two seconds he would blink himself awake. If not for the light of the rising sun beginning to creep in through the blinds, Eddie wouldn’t have been surprised if time wasn’t going forwards at all.

After the tenth time of cracking open his eyes, he decided that that was probably enough sleeping anyway and got up to do something a little more useful.

Eddie busied himself with rummaging through Steve’s fridge, going through the motions of making a simple ham and cheese sandwich, before settling himself on the counter and starting to eat.

It was then his brain started to wander.

Because the full ramifications of what had happened last night were begging to settle in and Eddie was now 100% sure it wasn’t some fucked up fever dream and that all of that actually happened.

And listen, maybe with the whole revelation that alternate dimensions existed and kids could move shit with their minds, this should have just been another thing on top of the increasing pile of ‘ what the fuck this is normal now? ’ Pile but…

But this was Steve, Steve who was kind and protective and sure he was kind of bad at voicing his thoughts but somehow Eddie wasn’t sure how all of that turned into ‘having panic attacks in the middle of the woods surrounded by a hurricane before blowing up in a flash of white light that instilled the fear of god within me.’

It was a large shift, and Eddie above all was just confused.

He paused mid-bite.

Did… did this have something to do with Vecna? 

Steve had been scared, maybe Vecna had been making him see shit and he was freaking out? Maybe the storm was upside down related and maybe that explosion was… some sort of summing circle- Eddie didn’t fucking know, Eddie didn’t fucking know anything and honestly he was a little scared of that fact.

Maybe Vecna had somehow survived and this was round two? Maybe he was possessing Steve or something? Turning him into his latest puppet?

Would… would Steve have hurt him? He had pushed him back before the explosion had gone off but what if he’d been too late? Or too close or just anything.

No, Steve would probably rather die than do anything to hurt him, than hurt anyone but.

He hadn’t told Eddie about any of… this. Or maybe it was a new development? 

Either way, the sandwich was starting to taste like ash in his mouth and he put it down as he swallowed his last mouthful.

He was… ok, Eddie was freaking out a little bit. Before he’d just been concerned with making sure Steve was ok, was safe and not on the verge of a panic attack but now he was alone in the kitchen and he just had so many questions.

He tugged in his hair, “F uck, ” he said to himself, because he was beginning to feel a little jittery thinking of what would have happened if he’d been just that little bit closer to Steve when he’d blown, of whether or not he was ready to potentially face Vecna again

Yeah, Eddie thought looking at his slightly shaking hands, definitely freaking out here.

His head snapped up at the sound of quiet footfalls. 

Steve stood at the door to the kitchen. He looked better than last night at least, more well rested, and less distressed in general. His hair was smooshed up against one side of his head, a classic case of bed head.

He looked slightly ruffled in the way people were when they just woke up. All squinty-eyed, sleeping shirt riding up around his waist, shorts resting a little lopsided.

Endearing, he looked endearing.

Either way, Steve stepped into the kitchen, and swivelled his head towards Eddie and narrowed his eyes slightly.

“Morning,” Eddie chirped, looking at him from where he was sat cross-legged on his kitchen counter. He subtly tucked his shaking hands under himself.

“Morning,” Steve mumbled, and he looked closer at Eddie, inspecting something before heaving a deep sigh and rubbing a hand down his face. He walked over to the fridge.

“You’re freaking out,” Steve stated bluntly, and Eddie jolted, thankful that Steve couldn’t see his look of surprise from how where was currently rifling through the fridge.

“I’m not,” Eddie said, and he was acutely aware of the fact that he was definitely fucking lying here.

“You are,” Steve called over his shoulder, and he finally pulled out two cans of coke and two slices of the leftover pieces of pizza in the fridge. “Not much point in denying it, Munson,”

He tossed a can of Coke over and Eddie caught it, hesitating, before clicking the pull tab.

“Ok,” Eddie conceded, “But I think it’s a pretty fair fucking reaction to…”  Eddie gestured vaguely in the air, “ this,”

Steve grumbled and put the pizza in the microwave.

“Yeah I’d say it’s pretty fair,” he said, and Eddie narrowed his eyes.

“Ok, by that lacklustre excuse for a reaction I can conclude that whatever is going on here is old news to you,” Eddie said and Steve didn’t turn to look at him, keeping his eyes on the rotating disk currently spinning his pizza.

“Yeah.” Was all he said and that had a flicker of irritation building in Eddie which apparently got Steve to finally look at him.

“'Yeah'? Dude I literally watched you like, I don’t even know what that was but it was some weird magic shit and all you’re saying is ‘ yea h’?” Eddie asked incredulously and Steve winced like someone with a hangover having to deal with people being loud in the mornings.

“Christ could you maybe be a little less frustrated,” was Steve’s reply and that had Eddie throwing up his hands into the air.

“What does that even mean? Also maybe I’ll be less irritated when I get some answers here,” Eddie said pointedly and Steve turned and pulled his pizza out of the microwave.

He hopped onto the adjacent counter so that he was facing Eddie and shoved around half of a pizza slice into his mouth. Eddie’s mouth was already running to fill the silence.

“Is this another Vecna thing? Because I don’t think I can do another Vecna thing so soon,” Eddie said leaning forwards, and the possibility had been terrorising him since the beginning, that this would be ‘fucked up adventure: part two,’ and that they would have to fight more hell creatures and more monsters and-

“No,” Steve burst out, waving hands frantically, “No this isn’t a Vecna thing. This is my own brand of bullshit. No upside down or anything,” he said and Eddie breathed a sigh of relief.

He stared in silence for a bit as he watched Steve polish off the first pizza slice, and honestly, it was kind of impressive how quickly he ate that thing. It wasn’t a small slice either and-

Eddie broke himself out of his own thoughts and shook his head lowly, huffing a disbelieving laugh,

“You’re really not making this whole thing easy you know that?” 

Steve sighed heavily and hunched into himself slightly, and Eddie noted how the weariness seemed to return, hanging over his shoulder.

“Yeah yeah I know it’s just,” Steve grimaced, “I never like, thought about what I’d do if someone ever… ya know, found out, and I’m not going to lie I’m trying very hard to figure out what to do and how to not like, start freaking out.” He admitted and Eddie blinked while Steve picked up the second slice.

“And also I woke up five minutes ago with a killer headache and I’m really hungry,” he said, before promptly shoving half of the pizza slice into his mouth.

“This is not how I was expecting this conversation to go,” Eddie said bemusedly and Steve huffed.

“Yeah, me neither,” Steve pushed aside his now empty plate and Eddie couldn't help but ask.

“How are you so calm right now?” Eddie asked bewildered, because from the reaction he’d given yesterday, with all the shaking and the crying and the word vomit that had spilled from his lips as he’d broken down in Eddie's arms, this was pretty tame. Maybe it was because whatever high of emotions from yesterday night had calmed itself.

But then Steve gave a sharp bark of laughter.

“Calm?” He said incredulously, and he hopped down from the counter.

He approached Eddie, with a certain wild look in his eyes and Eddie watched captivated as he placed his hands on the counter on either side of him, just shy of brushing against the sides of Eddie's legs. He stayed put as Steve leaned in, enough so he was looking up at him, enough that Eddie could feel the slight heat radiating off him.

Steve took his left hand, curling his fingers around it and bringing it up to rest on the side of his neck.

“Feel my pulse there?” Steve said lowly, and Eddie nodded, his fingers pressing against a beat that was rabbit fast, stuttering rapidly.

“My heart feels like it's trying to beat out of my chest, my hands,” the hand that was around his, still pressing it firmly against Steve's pulse, tightened, “my hands are sweating, I feel very much like I'm about to step off the cliff and freefall straight into the abyss,” Steve said, and he let go of the hand pressed against his pulse point, “I am not calm Munson, I'm very far from it,”

Steve hesitated, and the burning in his eyes briefly shifted to something a little more vulnerable, “I’m scared right now actually, because I … I don’t know what’s going to happen next,”

And there was a confession in that. A very quiet ‘ I’m scared of what you're going to say, I'm scared of what you think of me I’m scared of what you’re going to say ’  and Eddie exhaled slowly, dragging out the breath from his chest.

“What’s going to happen next,” Eddie said softly, dropping his hand from the side of Steve's neck, “Is that you’re going to explain what happened last night, and we’re going to find a way to work things out. Together, ok?”

Steve studied his face for a while, and had it been any other situation Eddie would have combusted at that look, would have ached to lean forwards and see if Steve would do the same.

But Steve nodded, removing his hands from the counter and taking a step back.

“Ok,” he said, and then a little weaker, “Ok, uhmmmmmmm,”

Steve started to pace up and down the spaces between the counters and Eddie watched him.

“So, basically um,” Steve stumbled over his words,”Fuck, ok, how do I even say this- “

“Just go for it dude,” Eddie interrupted, “I already saw you do your magic exploding thing yesterday I feel like there’s not many things that can shock me here,”

Steve winced, “Well…”

Eddie blanked, “There’s… there’s nothing that’s going to shock me right? This… is there more? To this?”

Steve stayed unnervingly quiet.

“ Steve -“

“I don’t know maybe?” Steve blurted out, “I don't know if it’s surprising but like, I don’t know I’ve been keeping it secret for like 3 years so it’s kind of a big thing?”

“Three years, ” Eddie exclaimed, “this has been a thing for three years- Wait you-  how did nobody notice?”

“I mean, I’m good at keeping secrets I guess,” Steve shrugged and Eddie covered his face in his hands.

“Ok, explanations please you’ve built up enough suspense by now,” Eddie said and Steve rolled his eyes.

“Ok,” he said, and then he bit his lip, “How do I even start… so remember that tattoo I told you about?” Steve said and Eddie raised an eyebrow but nodded.

“Well… ok, you know what? Fuck it,” Steve roughly undid the clasp on his watch and shoved his wrist towards him, closing his eyes tightly as if he was scared of his reaction and Eddie looked Down and holy shit-

“You,” Eddie looked at the 007 tattoo with wide eyes, “You have a James Bond tattoo? That’s what it is?” Eddie said because of all the tattoos he expected Steve to have that was not the one he was expecting.

Steve’s scrunched-up expression faltered, and his face dropped in confusion.

“…what?” He croaked out and Eddie jabbed his finger on the tattoo.

“Agent double oh-seven? James Bond? Wow, you must have been really drunk getting this tattoo if you didn’t even know who James Bond was- “

“It’s not,” Steve started, stopped and then blue-screened again, “ I literally can’t believe I have to say this- it’s not a James Bond tattoo it’s-“

Steve groaned and covered his face with his hands, “Dude you’ve totally thrown me off my rhythm now what the fuck,”

“ I’m the one? You’re the one who decided to detour from the whole big secret thing by showing me your James Bond tattoo-“

“ It’s not a James Bond Tattoo - Ok seriously screw this, I have fucking superpowers are you happy now,” Steve said throwing his hands out and Eddie blinked at him.

“Superpowers?” He said dumbly.

“Yeah,” Steve said firmly.

“Like… Dustin's comic books type superpowers?”

“Oh my god- yes, we’ve fought murderers from different dimensions how is this the thing you’re finding difficult to believe,” Steve said and Eddie shook off his surprise.

“I’m sorry it’s just… you’re like, the last person I would expect to have secret superpowers,” Eddie said, and Steve recoiled as if he didn’t know whether to be offended or not.

“What? Why not?” Steve crossed his arms.

“You’re like, Steve Harrington, you already have the whole badass-fighter-bat-wielding-babysitter Schtick, adding powers to the mix is like, I don’t know it’s just unexpected,”

But even as he was saying it Eddie realised that that wasn't exactly true. Steve was cagey sometimes, got touchy on certain subjects, clammed up when asked certain questions. He was open but only when he wasn't talking about himself. Steve was absolutely capable of keeping this from someone, and maybe Eddie should have even expected something like this to happen.

If it's even possible to expect someone to have powers.

“Who, who do you expect to have secret powers then?” Steve asked and Eddie shrugged.

“I dunno, I’m assuming Els out of the picture since she already has powers but, maybe like Nancy?”

“Nancy?” Steve said sceptically, “You think Nance would have secret powers,”

“I don’t know she seems the type, who knows what secrets that lady has.” Eddie tilted his head, and decided that he might as well be direct if he was looking for answers, “So can you like, blow stuff up then? Is that what you like, do?”  

Steve hummed, “Mmmm not really. Yesterday was… an outlier. I’m, I can like,” Steve considered his words, “it’s like I have an extra sense, kinda.”

“Well now you’ve got me intrigued,” he said and he pulled up his legs to perch on the counter, chin resting on his knees.

“It’s… I can like, sense what people are feeling,” Steve said, waving a hand in the air and that caught Eddie's attention. Empathy huh?

Eddie was surprised, and then he realised that that meant Steve could feel his surprise, and that was kind of trippy to think about.

And then he was thinking about the fact that Steve could probably feel what he felt for him, and suddenly Eddie felt very warm because it’s a little mortifying when the guy you’re mooning after could literally tell the entire time. Could he tell? That Eddie liked him? God that would a little humiliating and then Eddie realised that Steve could feel that embarrassment and-

“So you can like, feel what I’m feeling?” Eddie asked and Steve made a so and so sign.

“Kinda, I don’t necessarily feel what you’re feeling, I can like, sense it, or feel it or hear it or just, just any sense and I can experience it through that.” 

Steve stumbled through his explanation, but in all fairness, it’s probably hard to explain a sense to someone who doesn’t share it. It’s like describing music to a deaf person.

Eddie still frowned, “ I don't think I get it,” 

“Yeah, it’s… it’s kind of hard to explain… I’ve never really had to explain it before,” Steve admitted sheepishly, and his eyes flickered to Eddies left.

“You’re embarrassed?” Steve asked carefully and that had Eddie's face exploding with a blush and he put his head in his hands and groaned.

“Yeah, I’ve just been hit with the mortifying idea that you… I don’t know just the fact that you know… how I feel,” Eddie said lamely, and Steve raised an eyebrow.

Steve let the silence stew before clicking his tongue.

“You know being able to sense emotions doesn’t mean I exactly know the reasoning behind them.” Steve said, “If someone’s mad, I can tell they're mad but I can’t tell why, you get what I’m saying here?”

Eddie dipped his head, “Ok, I think I get that,”

Steve shrugged, but he seemed slightly tense “I know the whole empath thing is probably a little weird and I totally understand if me knowing your feelings thing makes you uncomfortable and-”

“Woah Woah slow down Stevie boy,” Eddie said, “I'm not uncomfortable, it’ll just take a little adjusting is all,” Eddis shot him a grin, “It’s no different from seeing someone smile and knowing they’re happy. You’re just like, really really good at it,”

Steve seemed slightly stunned, “I’ve… never thought of it like that,”

Eddie leaned forwards and dramatically batted his eyelashes, “I’m sure you just can't get enough of all these big ole Munson feelings,” He was joking but he wanted to know, wanted to know how much Steve picked up on.

Steve smiled wryly, “I mean, your emotions are nice,” 

Eddie couldn’t help the surprised laugh that bubbled out of his mouth, “Nice?”

Steve seemed to realise the ramifications of what he said, and he flushed a little “Yeah, they’re like. I dunno they’re very you? I guess?”

Eddie shook his head with laughter. Here he was discussing feelings with the guy he liked, who may or may not be able to tell that he liked him, but Eddie didn't know if he knew because he couldn’t sense intention. The situation was a little ridiculous but the bubble of fondness in his chest expanded regardless.

By the way Steve smiled at him, he could believe that that was an emotion he’d picked up on.

Eddie opened his mouth to reply, before his attention caught on the clock and oh shit-

“Shit, I’m going to be late for school,” Eddie said and usually he wouldn’t give a flying crap about school but he’d actually been attending his classes ever since he realised he wanted to graduate but this conversation was important and Steve was important.

“It’s fine I’ll just skip-“ Eddie started to say but Steve was quick to interrupt him.

“Nope,” Steve said, and he’d already grabbed his keys from somewhere, “We’re heading to school, get your shoes on.”

“What about all of… this,” Eddie said as he slipped off the counter and Steve hesitated.

“I…” he looked at a loss for words.

“Come over, to my place tonight and we can… we can continue talking?” Eddie offered, because there was definitely more that they had to cover, definitely more to say.

“Yeah, that sounds nice,” Steve said genuinely.

“Perfect,” Eddie smiled, and Steve smiled back at him, before looking down at the pyjamas he had on and grimacing

“Ok I’m going to quickly get dressed cause I’ve got work and I'll meet you in the car,”

Eddie shot him a two-fingered salute, “Got it,”

In the aftermath of everything, Steve was struck by how… normal everything was.

He dropped Eddie at school, drove into work, and greeted Robin as they started their shifts. They cracked some jokes, helped some customers, and rewound some tapes.

There were no SWAT teams, no shady government cars pulling up to his place of work. Steve went through the motions of a usual day as if nothing had happened, as if nothing had changed.

It was surreal, and Steve spent most of the time mulling it over in his head. Steve had thought about his secret being revealed many times, and in nearly every iteration it ended with something terrible happening, with his friends sneering at him or his hands being covered in their blood.

Now that it was out there, Steve just felt, normal. He felt more normal than he'd ever been, and this was a fact helped by how his head was pretty clear in the aftermath of his explosion. To be fair it was always like that, the clear-headedness after it all, but usually he still had a residual headache hanging around for a couple of days.

He didn't usually wake up to Eddie Munson in his kitchen either, and Steve wouldn't be too surprised if there was some kind of correlation there.

Out of all the people Steve had revealed his powers to, he was a little happy that it had been Eddie. Sure, Robin was probably the first person he would have told if he’d had the choice to, but at least with Eddie the information he imparted to him came solely from him.

Eddie didn't know about the tattoo, didn't know the full ramifications of what having powers actually meant, and at the very least, Steve would be able to control the information he told him. Maybe it was a little silly to be holding onto the last scrap of control he had but Steve knew he would anyway. 

Either way, Steve trusted Eddie a great deal, and the simple fact that he had taken it so well had Steve feeling as though a weight had been lifted from him.

He was knocked out of his thoughts by a tape hitting the back of his head. 

“Ow,” Steve said and he shot a glare to Robin, who had her arms crossed, “What was that for?”

“That was for worrying me. What happened yesterday?” She asked bluntly, Steve ran a hand through his hair.

“Before or after I left the store?” He asked and Robin raised an eyebrow.

“The very fact you have to make that distinction tells me a lot happened,” Robin said pointedly, and Steve thought about his parents, thought about his own emotions tearing him apart.

Thought about Eddie holding him close, thought about one of the most important conversations of his life being dissolved into a debate about a James Bond tattoo, thought about how it had relieved him how easygoing Eddie had been with everything.

“I swear to god Steve, deciphering what’s going on in your life is like putting together a jigsaw puzzle but you keep like, hiding half of the pieces under the carpet,” Robin said and Steve rolled his eyes to cover up the guilt that rise within him.

“I know I know. Trust me I’m beginning to realise that I really don’t make it easy for you guys huh,” he said, and Robin softened her stance.

“No, you don’t,” she said, and she lightly punched him in the arm, “you’re lucky you’re my best friend and I’m willing to put up with all of your bullshitting,”

“Yes yes, I’m blessed to have you in my life Buckley I’m well aware,” Steve said, and the teasing tone did nothing to disguise how much he meant it.

“Damn straight. So, I take it you had a…busy day yesterday?” Robin said, and she was promoting him, extending the opportunity for her to listen. She was reaching out.

“Yeah I had a busy day yesterday,” Steve said, and he had told Eddie about his powers, he’d told him and the world hadn’t ended, and if today was the day of letting go, then letting go is what he would do.

“I got a phone call from my dad,” Steve started and Robin tensed. Steve didn’t talk about his parents, and he could tell that from their lack of presence in both his life and his house that Robin had drawn some conclusions as to what his family situation was.

Her conclusions were correct, but Steve had never had a long enough conversation about them to neither confirm nor deny her assumptions.

“They came home and uh, well they dropped some pretty intense stuff on me,” Steve laughed nervously. “I think I might be like, adopted? Or something? Like they implied that I wasn’t their biological child and… I don’t know,”

Robin looked at him wide-eyed, “Oh my god Steve” 

“Yeah, that was, that was my reaction too,” Steve said wincing and he rubbed the fabric of his sleeves between his fingers. He frowned, and for once didn't stop the words that started to take form in his head, speaking them as they came.

“You know I don’t even think I would be like, upset about it if it was just the fact that I wasn’t, wasn’t their biological kid but they’re just- they’re just really shitty people, just generally, and they always make me feel so bitter seeing them and it just kind of sucks,”

Saying the words out loud had a knot building up in his throat, and the emotions rushed up within him. But all the same, it felt weirdly freeing getting it all out there. Steve knew he was upset about it, but it didn’t feel real.

Saying out loud helped, helped put together what he actually felt about the situation, helped make the thoughts in his mind feel more comprehensible.

But Steve was still unused to putting his words, his feelings so far out there like this, and he felt unsteady, like he didn’t quite know where he was treading when he spoke.

He suddenly felt extremely self-conscious and he moved to backtrack.

“Sorry that was a lot to just drop like that-“

He was cut off by Robin throwing her arms around him, gripping tight and pressing firmly.

“I’m sorry your parents are so shitty, you deserve so much better,” she said, and she pulled back, “but I am so proud of you for telling me too, and if- if your parents ever show up again I swear you can stay at my house for days, months if you need it,” She said reverently and Steve laughed at her enthusiasm. “I’m serious Steve you can live in my basement for as long as you need,”

Steve pushed her away playfully, “God ok ok I’ll take you up on your offer if I ever need to become your basement hermit jeez Buckley,”

She was still smiling at him, the kind of smile that came from seeing someone grow before your eyes.

“You’ll be the best goddamn basement hermit this world has seen,” she said and Steve laughed, "Your basement dwelling habits will be legendary,"

The moment was interrupted by Dustin barging into the store. Steve instinctively moved to clear the front Desk just as Dustin hopped up to sit on the counter

“Steeeeve,” he drew out and Steve sighed, hands coming up to rest on his hips.

“Henderson, what brings you here,” Steve asked, but he already knew exactly what Dustin wanted from him.

“So, I need a ride-“ he started and Steve scoffed.

“Of course you do.” Steve said and then he frowned,  “Don’t you guys have like, bikes? I swear you guys have bikes.”

“Yeah but I didn’t come here on a bike,” Dustin shot back, and he crossed his arms, “I was dropped off by Miss wheeler,” 

“Right ok,” Steve said, unimpressed and Dustin kicked his legs.

He kept looking at him expectantly, clearly searching for Steve's answer. After a moment of quiet Dustin opened his mouth.

“So are you going to-“

“Christ yes whatever, I’ll drive you just give me a second to close up here,” Steve said, and was quickly interrupted by Robin.

“Actually I got it,” Robin called, swinging the keys around her fingers, “Nancy's picking me up so I have time to spare while I wait.”

Steve couldn’t help the grin that creep across his face.

“Nancy’s picking you up is she?” He said teasingly and Robin huffed, turning to cover the red on her face.

“Oh my god go drop off your hellspawn before I change my mind and make you close up here,”

Steve waved her a salute, “Good luck with Nance, she likes coffee shops by the way,”

Steve received one last middle finger before he was out of the store with Dustin at his heels. Steve could tell from the buzzing around him that he was worked up about something and Steve steeled himself against whatever was about to come out of the boy's mouth.

“So, what’s up with you and Robin huh?” Dustin said, wiggling his eyebrows and Steve groaned because of course they were going to talk about this.

“Please don’t tell me we’re going back to this,” Steve said and Dustin threw his hands in the air.

“I don’t get it, I literally saw you guys hugging when I walked in. You guys are practically dating already,”

Steve winced at the thought, “First of all, gross, there’s such a thing as platonic hugs, and second of all I thought I told you to stop poking your nose into my love life” Steve slipped into the car, and Dustin rounded to sit in the other seat.

“Yeah but it’s painful Steve, absolutely painful watching you give up Robin like that,”

Steve sighed, tightening his hands on the wheel and praying to god above to give him the strength deal with this, because Christ when Dustin got invested in something, he did not let it go.

“And it’s painful when you don’t listen to me when I say me and Robin are Platonic with a capital P,” Steve started up the car, and Dustin crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair. Steves's brain was still on Eddie, the most consistent thought he’d had to say, so he really couldn't be blamed for the words that almost involuntarily came out of his mouth.

“Plus, I’m kind of invested in someone else at the minute,'' Steve slipped out and as soon as he said it he knew it was a mistake, because Dustin's interest was buzzing around him and he’d bolted to sit upright in his seat.

“Invested?” Dustin said excitedly, “You mean there’s someone else?”

Then Dustin frowned and squinted at him, “It’s not Nancy again is it? Cause I Know she’s back on the market after breaking up with Jonathan but-“

“No, for the last time it’s not Nance,” and then Steve winced, “Also please do not refer to Nancy as ‘back on the market’ we both know she would beat your ass for a comment like that,”

“Sorry Steve,” Dustin said genuinely, before that excitement was jumping around again, “So it’s a new player in the game. Is it anyone I know?”

Steve frowned, “No way am I telling you-“

“Ok ok,” Dustin said backpedalling, “What’s she…what’s she like? ”

Steve snorted slightly at the use of ‘she’, but didn’t move to correct him. He was still trying to figure out that part of the equation, what it meant that he liked someone who was a ‘he’. Steve didn’t know what that meant about him, all he really knew was that he really really liked Eddie, and that was the one thing he could be certain of.

“‘She’, is…” Steve hesitated, “She’s not who I expected to see like that. Romantically I mean,” Steve started out and Dustin nodded sagely.

“Hidden in plain sight,” he said and Steve huffed.

“Uh, sure, hidden in plain sight,” he echoed before continuing, “She’s, pretty out there, and she’s super creative. Like, the stuff that goes through her head is pretty insane,”

 Steve’s mind travelled to all the notes Eddie kept on his DnD campaigns. He'd always been impressed by how dedicated he was, how he could think up stories as easily as breathing. He thought about Eddie's guitar, deft hands dancing across the neck of the fretboard. He thought about the jokes he’d crack, about the overdramatic speeches he’d burst into.

“She’s talented, and fun to be around, and I swear she's one of the most interesting people I’ve met.” He continued and he heard Dustin laugh quietly, his amusement filling the air with yellow sparks, drawing Steve out of his thoughts immediately.

“Hey, hey, why are you laughing,” Steve demanded and Dustin stifled his laugh behind his hand.

“Nothing, Nothing, you just sound like, really gone for this girl,” he said and Steve flushed.

“Shut up man,” Steve said smiling, and it was true. Somewhere between first meeting Eddie and now Steve had grown completely and ridiculously infatuated with the man. It had taken him a while to admit it, but he could say it with his full chest now.

“So why haven’t you, Ya know, pulled out the moves,” Dustin said and Steve paused at that.

Why hadn’t he made a move on Eddie yet?

To be fair, he hadn’t really had a very good chance to sit down and really examine his feelings. He’d only realised things recently, and after that, there was the whole fiasco with his parents that had really drawn him away from thinking about anything to do with romance, let alone how he could make a move.

And Steve probably should have been thinking about romance. He had literally been cradled by the man as he cried. Steve was certain if he hadn’t been trying to piece together his head he would have been a flustered mess because in hindsight, Eddie had been warm, and he’d been so close, and Steve could feel all that affection-care-worry sinking into his bones from the contact between them.

And it wasn’t that he was scared of confessing to Eddie either. They had been playing this weird game since the start, with Eddie flirting and Steve flirting back which was a little too real to be passed off as a joke. And even then Steve could tell that Eddie held affection for him, could feel it swell whenever they laughed at a joke together. Granted, he wasn’t sure if it was romantic affection, but Steve was pretty confident that it had the chance of being that.

They had been dancing in the grey area for ages, had been tiptoeing around each other a long while, and seeing how close they were, how easily they could fall into being something other than friends, Steve really wondered why he hadn't just, gone for it. 

They had come close to addressing it this morning when Eddie had pried about how Steve felt his emotions. Steve didn't tell him then but he could, he could feel it all, and maybe it had taken him a long time to figure out what all that affection meant, but he knew now and it was about damn time they finally stepped out of the grey area into something a little more definite.

“That’s a good question Henderson,” Steve finally replied. “You know, I might just take your advice,”

Dustin grinned, and fist pumped, “Yes, time to go get that girl, Steve”

Eddie had spent the majority of his day thinking about Steve. That in itself wasn't too out of the ordinary but with added bonus of honest-to-god superpowers, it certainly made for a cluttered mind. 

He’d invited Steve over because above all he was kind of worried about him. Steve seemed pretty settled with the idea of having powers, but Eddie was still kind of stuck on the whole ‘panic attack in the middle of the woods thing’.

Eddie needed to make sure that Steve knew he was here for him. He didn't understand what exactly was going on but he wanted, he needed to try. It had been the most prevalent thought throughout his school day, and he’d nearly walked into a locker multiple times with how distracted he was.

Eddie eventually came home to his mess of a room, and preemptively pulled out a six-pack of beer, setting it on the table. He had been considering if he should go and quickly tidy the absolute mess that was the place when a firm knock had sounded.

Eddie took a deep breath, mentally preparing himself and made his way to the door. He swung it open, and there he was, the man himself.

Steve Harrington standing in his doorway with a nervous smile.

“Hey,” Steve said, and Eddie huffed out a laugh.

“Hi,” Eddie replied, before, taking a step to the side and letting Steve in. Steve wandered his way over to the table, huffing a laugh at the pack of beer Eddie had set down.

“I see you prepared,” Steve said, and he pulled out two of the bottles, handing one over to Eddie with a teasing grin.

“Yeah, well, something tells me this isn't the type of conversation to have without being a little tipsy,” Eddie responded and Steve swallowed, shaking his head.

“Definitely not.” He said and Eddie took a seat, gesturing for Steve to do the same.

They sat in silence for a little bit, with Steve resolutely picking at his fingers while Eddie tried to read the expression on his face, tried to puzzle together what thoughts were currently going through his head.

“I…ok so I've got the whole powers thing down,” Eddie said and he winced, “Kind of, whatever. My main question is like, why didn't you tell anyone?” and then Eddie paused.

“Wait does anyone else know? I mean I'm assuming Robin knows but I have my doubts about the rest of the party cause they can’t keep a secret to save their lives and I would probably have already known by now if-”

“No one else knows,” Steve intercepted quietly, “I… yeah you're like, the first person I've told,”

Maybe Eddie should have felt some sort of pride in being the first, but the way Steve hunched in on himself told Eddie that maybe that wasn't a good thing, that holding onto a secret like that for, what had he said, three years? All by yourself? 

Sometimes Eddie would have nightmares, and when he woke up, Wayne would be shaking him awake, looking at him with those eyes full of worry and helplessness. 

He wasn't allowed to tell him, wasn't allowed to tell him that he dreamed of being torn apart by bats at night, that he had witnessed monsters and death and that he had played a part in stopping the world from ending and had the scars to prove it.

And it sucked because he could tell Wayne knew that something had happened to him, he could tell that Wayne was waiting for him to talk to him and Eddie didn't know how he was going to live with the fact that he simply couldn't, that this was something he'd have to keep from him for as long as he had his name signed on those damn NDAs

But even then Eddie had the others, he had Robin, the party, Steve . All of them who had gone through what he had, who he could confide in without the government breathing down his neck. He had them to support him when the guilt of hiding such a big thing from Wayne felt like it was tearing him apart.

And here Eddie was, listening to Steve, who had apparently held onto that secret for years, had had nobody, had been completely and utterly alone without anyone to confide in and Eddie could feel his stomach churn at the very idea of going through something like that.

"Actually, El knows," Steve said, as if the thought had just popped into his head, "But I don't really tell her about the uh, panic stuff, and we haven't really had much of a chance to talk since she moved to Cali,"

“Why?” Eddie breathed, "How come only she knows and not the others?" and Steve's face twisted and he sighed running a hand down his face.

“It's a very long story, but it's got a lot to do with the reason with,” Steve swallowed, “With why I'm the way I am. I didn’t want, I didn't want to put you guys at risk.”

Steve dipped his head, “I didn't want you guys to be in danger, I didn't want you to worry,”

That had Eddie raising an eyebrow, “Worry?” 

Eddie chuckled shaking his head, “Dude, we’re going to end up worrying no matter what,  at least if we’d known we could have- we could have helped you,” Eddie softened his voice, watching carefully for Steve's reaction to his next words.

“The…The craters in the woods, those kinds of panic attacks…do they happen often?”

Steve jolted, before shaking his head.

“No,” he said, and when Eddie gave him a disbelieving look he rolled his eyes, “They used to . When I first found out about the fact that I had… powers, but nowadays I have…other ways of dealing with it.”

Eddie frowned, “Other ways?”

Steve winced, “So, you know how I do that thing where I disappear for like, a week? That's, that's the alternative for…exploding”

Eddie frowned, “Ok, I don't think I quite get it. How does that stop that whole, kaboom thing?”

Steve took a swing from his beer before setting it down and clapping his hands together, “Ok, so, let's take it from the start. When I first found out about my abilities, it kind of like, clicked something in my brain and suddenly I was quite stupidly aware of like, every emotion anyone in my vicinity has which, spoiler alert, people feel things, all the time. ”

Eddie winced at the picture this was painting, “Yikes, ok, a lot of emotions all the time, got it”

“Right,” Steve said, “See the thing is that I started to kind of, unconsciously pick up these emotions and hang onto them, and after a while, all that starts to pile and pile and pile up right? Now, this would usually be fine, because eventually  they unstick and leave my brain but…”

Steve gives a wry smile, “Well, when you go through like, three life-threatening ordeals you tend to get a little… unstable. And it turns out that nightmares are not a very fun combination with my powers.”

Eddie frowns, “So you have a nightmare and… then what happens?” 

“Well, the uh, let's call it the mental stockpile. The mental stockpile is like, full at this point, which is pretty shitty in and of itself cause like, migraines and all of that, but then I get something that kind of, tips everything over the edge ya know? Nudges it a little too far, and suddenly there's not enough space to contain all of the stuff in there so it all just goes-”

Steve made an explosion gesture with his hands, “ Rushing out. All at once. Boom. The nightmares are usually the trigger, but honestly just having too many emotions at once will be enough to set things off,”

“Jeez, wait so what about the ‘locking yourself in your room' thing?’ how does that help you not…go kaboom,” Eddie asked.

“Well, like I said, I end up collecting a bunch of emotions, and especially in the aftermath of…” Steve grimaced, “uh, nearly dying all the time, things can get really bad. So I kind of sit in my room for like a week and wait for the stuff in my head to leave by itself,”

Eddie winced, “Dude, that sounds like, really bad,”

Steve shrugged, “The migraine is the worst part of waiting it out, hurts like an absolute bitch. But it…you get used to it,”

Eddie nodded through his explanation, and then paused, mind flickering over to the image of the dishevelled Steve that had greeted them the night they had fought, the way he’d seemed sick and off balance.

 “Wait is that what happened that night when I came over? The night we had that…argument,” 

Steve deflated slightly, “Yeah I… I was feeling pretty shitty. I wasn't expecting anyone to come over either,”

Eddie suddenly felt even worse for the part he’d played that day and he hung his head, 

“Fuck, Steve, I’m so sorry I… god that must have sucked,”

 Eddie couldn't imagine what it must have been like to already be in pain, to already be on the brink of losing control only to have Eddie come over and bring along with him a whole host of other problems. 

Steve’s erratic behaviour that day suddenly made a lot more sense too. Eddie would also have panicked if he were two steps away from quite literally blowing up only to have someone turn up at the door and make things infinitely harder.

Steve was shaking his head though, “No, no you- It was pretty much my own fault,  I was the one who… who wouldn’t let you help me. I was the one who let you in when I knew full well I wasn't in the right head space.” Steve gave a laugh and titled his beer bottle at him, “You know you're very good at making me lose control of my powers, it's honestly a little crazy,”

Eddie frowned, he wasn't quite sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing, but Steve's tone was light when he said it so it certainly wasn't something he seemed to hold against him, “Lose control? What do you mean?” 

Steve seemed to turn a little red, and he rubbed at his cheeks, “Uh,” he said, “You uh…” Steve inhaled sharply and restarted his sentence, “So I can like, manifest feelings, which is what happens with the explosions except like, less destructive,,”

Eddie tilted his head, “Like, those clouds that were around you?”

“ Yes ,” Steve said, snapping his fingers “Exactly. And like, when I start to lose my grip or control it gets hard to not do that,”

Eddie frowned tapping his fingers on the table.

“And I make that…difficult?” Eddie asked and Steve barked a laugh.

“Difficult?” Steve said, “Try impossible.”

“Why? What about me makes it so hard?” Eddie asked because the way Steve spoke about it sounded like it was almost wasn't necessarily a completely negative thing, which was confusing when the only other example Eddie had of Steve losing control was… well, was last night. Eddie leaned in to listen to Steve's explanation.

“It's the goddamn energy around you, it's, it's you,” Steve frustrated, “You make me, want to like, lean in, and just sink into it, and when I do that I forget myself and I start pulling it all up. You're like empath catnip, ”

Eddie spluttered, “Empath catnip? Is that a good thing or a bad thing?”

Steve hummed, “It's a ‘You drive me crazy’ thing,” was his reply.

Eddie swallowed, “What could…what would happen if you did lean in?”

Steve blinked, and he looked surprised, flexing his hand absent-mindedly “...what?”

“Well,” Eddie said, tucking a lock of his hair behind his ear, “You keep saying you have to stop yourself from leaning in and manifesting it but like, what if you just let it happen?”

“You…I…” Steve swallowed thickly, “I don't know… I’d probably manifest what we’re feeling. You’d probably like, see it all,”  

The stress on his last few words had Eddie raising an eyebrow.

“Haven’t I already seen them?” Eddie asked and Steve hadn't moved his eyes from his face.

“No,” Steve said lowly, “What you saw wasn't- it wasn't what I feel around you,” What I feel for you. He was leaning in slightly, his beer having been pushed aside for him to rest both elbows on the table and the look in his eyes held something Eddie couldn't quite decipher.

“Can…can I see ?” Eddie asked, keeping his eyes on Steve's face, on the intense look that had Eddie positively drowning.

“Yes, you can,” Was all he said, and he stood up, the chair scraping as he did. Steve lowered himself to the floor, sitting cross-legged and patting the spot in front of him.

“Sit,” He said and Eddie moved to follow his instruction. He lowered himself to the floor, and Steve scooted forwards until their knees were just shy of brushing up against each other, and Eddie held his breath as he waited for Steve to do whatever it was he was about to do.

Which is why Eddie's heart started to beat out of his very chest when he started to lean in, his face getting closer and closer and was this it? The moment? Steve had his eyes closed at this point and Eddie couldn't bring himself to copy him, couldn't take his eyes off when the only thing going through his head was holy shit was he actually about to kiss him?

But his approach stopped just shy, close enough that Eddie could feel his breath disturbing the air between them.

“I’m going to need you to trust me, ok?” Steve whispered, hovering, hovering so achingly close.

“Ok,” Eddie breathed back, and he let himself flutter his eyes shut.

He thought the next thing he would feel was Steve's lips pressing firmly against his, but instead, Eddie got something entirely different.

He got the press of Steve's forehead against his, and for a second, that was it.

And then the world exploded.

It was like a flood gate had opened in his mind, and what came rushing through could only be described as a torrent of colours sounds smells textures, the feeling of grass under your fingers the sun warming your face cigarettes shared on the roof of a car jackets shirts the smell of someone holding his hand, a kiss pressed on the crown of his head, that one time he was 6 and first found a ladybug in his shoe ginger cinnamon a loaf of bread fresh out the oven and a million other things careening through the tunnels of his mind. 

He was distantly aware of the fact that he was gasping, but he seemed to get further and further away from his body every second, caught up in the absolute surge of emotions that had made its way through the connection between them.

Eddie kept his eyes firmly shut, and mentally he reached out for some kind of stability. He felt Steve almost instantly, a warm pulsing presence amongst the ever-moving flood and Eddie clung to him, clung to his mental presence and he could feel himself begin to stabilize from it. 

And it was at that point Eddie realised that all those feelings, all those lovely warm sentiments rushing past them was what Steve felt for him. Every scrap of it, every wave and surge and fragment, every piece that brushed passed him was for Eddie, for Steve to give and Eddie to receive and he felt giddy by how much of it there was.

There was a silent question in there, a small tingle of fear that Eddie could tell was from whether or not Eddie would pull away, whether or not he was too much.

He wasn't, and Eddie made this known, unveiled his own tangle of emotions that he held for Steve, and he almost shyly pushed it towards him, like an offering. He held it suspended and had to stop himself from shivering at the vulnerability of letting himself be known like this, being seen so completely and thoroughly, seeing right down the fabrics of what he was made of, his building blocks. It was downright terrifying to have someone be able to see so deep into his existence, and it was even more terrifying that he didn't resist it.

But Eddie trusted him, and he let himself be seen in that way, didn't pull back when Steve saw it all.

His response felt like the sun itself had smiled down on him, like the first breath taken after swimming in the sea, it was relief happiness joy and budding pods of love sending them swinging into each other and for a second they just held each other there, at the centre of the oceans of their minds that roared around them.

Slowly Steve started to ease him away from him, started to untangle the points of each other that had become so tightly entwined, drawing Eddie out from it all and nudging him back into his own body.

Awareness came back to him slowly, and he could still feel Steve's forehead pressed against his. At some point, Steve’s hands had come to rest on his cheeks, and Eddie's own hands were gripping the wrists of those hands tightly. Eddie’s chest was heaving, and every nerve still felt like it was crackling and sparking from that all-encompassing flood.

“Hey, you with me?” Steve asked quietly and Eddie gave a half-hysterical laugh.

“Holy shit,” he choked out, and he couldn't help the grin that split across his face, “Holy shit, ”

“Maybe save that for when you open your eyes,” Steve said, and Eddie could hear the smile in his words.

Eddie wanted to see that smile on his face, so he opened his eyes and again his breath stuttered in his chest.

“Holy shit,” and this time the words were adoring. 

In the dim light of Eddies van hung what seemed to be hundreds of little lights. They drifted through the air slowly, pulled along through some unseen current, like stars swimming through the sky. Eddie pulled back so he could see the clouds that accompanied them, the pink clouds curling slowly in on themselves, and the more he looked, the brighter those glowing orbs glowed, humming in time to his wonder. It was as if Steve had brought the very night sky into his van.

“This is…” Eddie started, and stopped, because he couldn't name this, couldn't put a label on all of this.

“It’s you,” Steve said, and Eddie dragged his eyes away from everything to look at Steve's face, “It’s joy, It’s adoration, it’s…it’s how I feel about you. It's us,”

And somehow amongst all the wonderful things in this room, Steve felt like the best of it all. Eddie was close enough to see the way everything reflected in him, bright lights in his eyes, devotion in his smile. It wasn't beautiful because it was magic, it was beautiful because it was Steve. 

Steve breathed in deeply, “What are you going to do now?”

Eddie knew what he was going to do, they both did, and Steve's hand came back to rest on his cheek, thumb pressing slightly down. Eddie responded by curling a hand around the back of his neck, tangling in the hair there.

Steve was the one who leaned forwards, the one who tilted his head, just enough so that their noses brushed lightly against each other, enough that Eddie could feel and hear when Steve's breath hitched. They were stepping over the line, they were making the grey area something more definite. But simply Steve held his face there and Eddie gave a frustrated huff.

“Update on that kiss Harrington,” Eddie mumbled, and the sound was low and raspy but he was sure Steve could hear him, “Taking a while to deliver there,”

“You're such an idiot,” was Steve's only reply, and finally, finally he leaned in the rest of the way, closing the distance with a soft press which Eddie leaned into with a satisfied hum. 

Around them, those orbs of light crackled and sparked like fireworks in the corner of his vision, matching exactly the feelings bursting within him, which had Eddie smiling into the kiss like an idiot

 They pulled back once, before Eddie was pressing back more insistently, using his other hand to grasp Steve's bicep, and it was incredible, better than Eddie had been expecting and he couldn't help but start to laugh, especially when he felt the curve of Steve's own smile against his lips.

“Sorry sorry,” Eddie said, and Steve pulled back slightly as Eddie ducked his head down and smothered his laughter into the crook of Steve's neck. He could feel Steve's arms coming up around him, chest shaking under Eddie as he chuckled.

“You're laughing,” Steve said, in faux offence “I'm kissing you and here you are laughing,”

“I’m sorry,” Eddie said between giggles, “It's just, I cant believe it took this long ,”

“It didn't take that long,” Steve defended weakly.

“Dude, It took like months of pining,” Eddie said and he felt Steve freeze slightly, and from the corner of his eye, Eddie saw wisps of embarrassment curling through the air.

“Steve,” Eddie said slowly, “When did you realise you liked me,”

Steve ducked his head down, pressing his face into Eddie's hair, “I only realized like, less than two weeks ago,”

Eddie chortled with laughter and moved to pull back to see Steve’s face, but the arms around him tightened, keeping him firmly pressed into Steve’s chest.

“Two weeks, I literally came over to your house like, daily, we watched movies like all the time,” Eddie said incredulously, “Do you really think I'd listen to ABBA for just anyone? I flirted with you like constantly, I blow you a kiss goodbye when you drop me off at school. ”

“I know,” Steve groaned, voice slightly muffled from where he still had it smushed into Eddie's hair.

“You have empathy powers for christ's sake,” Eddie crowed and Steve was shaking with laughter again, the feeling sending a plume of his fondness cascading through the air, quite literally filling the air.

“I know, Robin literally had to drag me aside and knock some sense into me after I kept staring at you in the pool,” Steve said, and Eddie huffed.

“The pool?” Eddie questioned. Granted he too had been staring at Steve but he hadn't realised it was a mutual thing.

“That makeup really did it for me,” Steve mumbled and Eddie laughed as he pulled back and brought his hands up to frame Steve's face. He held him there, and for a second there was quiet between them.

“Something on my face Munson?” Steve asked quietly, a slightly teasing tone in his voice.

“Yeah, I’m a big fan of it though,” Eddie said back, and then he was dipping his head, “I'm glad you told me. About everything I mean. About the powers, and all of this ,”

Steve closed his eyes and pressed his face against Eddie's palms.

“I was pretty scared of what was going to happen,” Steve admitted, “Scared of what would happen if I let go but…you make me feel like maybe things are going to be ok,”

Eddie smiled, “Yeah?”

“Yeah,” Steve swallowed, “I think… I think things are going to be ok,”

Eddie brought his forehead to rest against Steve’s and he got a full view of the way his lips curved upwards.

“Why are you smiling?” Eddie teased and Steve just smiled wider.

“I’m just glad that you're here with me. I'm glad that I got to share this with you,"

Eddie pressed a kiss to his forehead, and he vowed to do it again in future, and again and again and again.

"I'm glad too,"