Chapter Text
Steve sighed as he waved goodbye to the pretty girl that had been talking to him from across the counter. The second the door of the Family video store closed announcing that the girl was gone, Eddie, who had been watching the interaction like a hawk, jumped towards Steve.
“You turned another girl down?” He asked, incredulous. Steve just rolled his eyes and turned to wipe the counter, even though there wasn’t anything to clean and it was more of an attempt to avoid answering. Of course Eddie, being Eddie, either didn’t get that, or just didn’t care, because with one swift impulse he sat on the counter and moved his legs over it so that he was seated right where Steve was cleaning.
“Munson! How many times— Don’t sit where we sell the snacks—”
“No, no, no. Don’t change the subject. This is like the third girl I’ve seen you turn down.” Steve took a step back and cursed internally the moment he told Eddie he could come hang out with him while he worked. The man before him chuckled as if all this amused him. He stuck his hands in the pockets of his vest and angled his head as he asked. “What happened to your ‘pursuit for the one’?”
“It’s done. I’m done.” Steve sighed as he shook his head. “It’s impossible that there’s something wrong with the entire female population of Hawkins, so there must be something wrong with me.”
“Something wrong with Steve ‘The Hair’ Harrington? No way, man.” Eddie scoffed. Steve wished someone would walk into the store so he could stop talking about this. Obviously with his luck, the door remained closed.
“Well, then, why is every date I go to so awful? It’s like… I don’t know— I lost my touch…!” Steve had gone on over a dozen first dates in the last three weeks alone. He’d only been on two second dates, and really, he had wished he had stayed in watching a movie with Robin on both. “Honestly at this point I’ve decided, why bother? Every date I’ve gone to this past week has felt… bland. Even when the girls were nice and made good conversation, I just can’t… care.” Steve rambled as he felt Eddie's eyes on him. He wished the man interrupted him because he was now like a running tap water, spilling stuff he had been bottling up for a while without control, but the guy only listened quietly. “It’s not them. They are great most of the time, but I… I don’t know, there must be something wrong with me.”
“Why don’t you take me on a date then?”
Steve did a double take before answering. His voice cracked when he did.
“Wh— what?” Steve stared wide eyed at the man, who aside from the way he was swinging his feet he seemed to be completely calm.
“Take me on a date, pretend, of course,” He added, like it was obvious, which— Was it? Was this really happening? “and then I’ll tell you if there’s something wrong with you or not.”
“You want me to… take you on a date?”
“I want to help you, Steve-o, by letting you take me on a pretend date.” Eddie corrected. “Just treat me like one of your ladies and I’ll do, like, a review of you in the end.”
Steve stared at the man for probably longer than he should, he was broken out of his stupor when he noticed Eddie begin to squirm under his gaze, and suddenly he realized that maybe Eddie was taking his silence the wrong way.
“Look, Harrington, if this makes you uncomfortable—”
“No!” Steve quickly interrupted. “No, no. Of course this doesn’t… I don’t have a problem with—” Steve wasn’t sure how to end his phrase, although he was a hundred percent okay with it, he just got awkward when it was time to address it out loud, given that he had never done that except for that time with Robin when he was highly drugged. “It doesn’t weird me out that we are both guys. It’s just the fact that the guy is you.” Jokes. Yes, jokes were good. He almost sighed in relief when Eddie relaxed and smiled at the insult.
“Hey. I’ll have you know I’ve been told I’m a delightful date.”
“Mhm, sure. Whatever you say, Munson.”
“And I’ll finally be able to see what’s so great about King Steve. I’m sure your reputation precedes you.”
“Yeah, right now I’m not so sure about that.” Steve thanked that the awkwardness he had caused had dissipated, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t still freaking out about this. “What— What would we even do in a date— what would you—”
“Nu-uh, I have to see Steve Harrington, serial dater, in action and unbiased. Just treat me like one of your usual ladies, so I can have the real full experience. Else I’d just review a usual hangout between us and that’s not really the point, is it?”
Steve shrugged in agreement. What should he do? Should he play it safe and invite him to the cinema? or should he go all out and take him to Enzo? No, that felt like… too much. This was a pretend date after all. Enzo seemed like a more serious, slow burn place for a date to take place in—
“Look at him go, Harrington casanova at the works right away. I’m just saying you are giving yourself some points from the start.” Steve rolled his eyes as a smile threatened to escape.
“Shut up, Munson.” He sighed and backed away, trying to give himself some distance from his friend. “Alright, I’ll pick you up tomorrow at seven, does that work for you?”
“Uh, let me check my calendar…” Eddie muttered as he pulled up his sleeve and looked at his watch. Steve scoffed as he watched him pretending to check, an amused smile on his face. Eddie perked up and smiled. “Yep, tomorrow night works for me.”
“Great then.” Steve smiled. “It’s a date.”
“Oh my god, I’m so excited,” Eddie said mockingly with a fake high-pitch voice, making Steve laugh.
“Oh, and Munson?” Eddie hummed back in answer. “Wear something nice, will ya?”
Okay. Maybe Steve was freaking out a bit.
He checked his hair for what felt like the millionth time as he pulled into the trailer park. He parked right in front and turned the lights off to give himself a few minutes to calm down.
He wasn’t freaking out because Eddie was a man. He refused to freak out because of that. What would that say about his relationship with Robin? He was completely fine with that. Shocked? Sure, when she came out to him, but fine nevertheless. He refused to be freaked out about going on a date with a man. A pretend date, anyways.
No, he was nervous about the date part. He was nervous because this was his thing. Eddie probably knew him because of this. And even though Steve was proud of the change he’s been through since High School, this was one of the few things he didn’t have to change about himself, one of the things he was good at from the beginning. Well, until now, and having Eddie judge him on that…? he shivered.
“God…” Steve whispered, resting his head on the wheel. “Alright, get it together, Harrington.” and with that he stepped out.
It took Eddie a minute to open the door after Steve knocked, and what Eddie was wearing made Steve pause.
“Wow.” He couldn’t help it. Eddie smirked and bowed his head slightly. It wasn’t that what he was wearing was stunning, but it was different. Good different. He was wearing a burgundy button up, something Steve has never seen him in, paired with a pair of blue jeans with a few slits on his right thigh and knees. It was a common outfit, but Steve couldn’t tear his eyes away. Eddie could really rock a button up.
“Yep. Not really my usual outfit but I’m committed to playing the part.” He said, pointing to his clothes with a downwards hand motion, Steve noticed he was still wearing his rings, and Eddie seemed to notice too because he paused and then chuckled. “Well, somewhat committed.” And yeah. Eddie looked great. The rings gave him that familiar Eddie look, and the button up— Steve felt a pull in his gut, and wondered if maybe he was jealous of how well Eddie could pull it off.
“You look great.” Steve managed to get out, his voice cracking a bit.
“You don’t look too bad yourself.” Eddie smirked, and Steve shrugged with a laugh.
“Did what I could.” And he had. Steve could do a lot but he wasn’t one to brag. He noticed Eddie glancing him up and down once and he felt a bit of heat rise to his face. He picked his outfit carefully. He was wearing a white shirt with a black jacket on. His shirt was tucked into a pair of blue jeans, and they may or may not be the pair Robin mentioned his ass looked good in.
Maybe he’d ask Eddie if he thought the same.
“Modest. Good.” The other man smiled. “Well, let’s see what all the fuss is about, King Steve. Lead the way.” Steve saw Eddie pick up his leather jacket from the rack next to the door and he found himself smiling at the final look. He looked different but he still looked like Eddie.
“Right this way.” Steve said, leading him to his car.
Deciding where to take Eddie had been a three hour ordeal. He literally made a list of places worthy of dates. Then he filtered out those he thought Eddie would hate. When he realized he had scratched most of the places out, he decided to go back to the basics, and then he had screamed into his pillow because he had no idea where to take him.
Then he thought, why not go with a classic?
“'Dino’s Diner’ ?” Eddie asked as Steve parked the car. “A diner?” Steve would be offended by his tone if he wasn’t painfully aware this was as cliche as it could get. Thankfully he had something up his sleeve.
Not that Eddie had to know that yet.
“Trust me.” Was all Steve said as he opened the door for him.
“O-kay…” Eddie looked around the diner as they entered. It was a nice place, nothing that special. With red padded seats glued to the wall and a million photos and posters plastered all over the wall. Steve knew by the look on Eddie’s face that he wasn't impressed.
“Hello, Stevie, dear.” A voice came from behind the counter. Steve waved at the lady.
“Hi, Mrs. Trevor.” He smiled. Eddie raised an eyebrow at him curiously. Steve ignored it with a smirk. “How’s everything going?”
“Oh, just peachy. Had a slow weekend but it’s been gaining speed.” She said with a wave of her hand, her brown eyes moved to Eddie like a hawk and she smiled cheekily. “Who is this handsome fella with you?”
“This is Eddie. Eddie, this is Mrs. Trevor, the owner.”
“Oh, hi.” Said Eddie awkwardly, taking out a hand for the woman to shake. He smiled politely at her as she took it.
“Hi, love. It’s not everyday that Stevie brings someone over here.”
“Oh?” Eddie seemed interested now, and Steve felt like this could all backfire easily.
“Yes. I’ve begged him to bring someone because he always looks so lone—”
“Alright! That’s enough pleasantries.” He interrupted her before she could incriminate him further. Mrs. Trevor rolled her eyes fondly, but kept quiet. Eddie looked really interested in what she was saying, but thankfully, before he could ask further, Mrs. Trevor talked.
“Well then. What can I do for you, handsome boys?”
“We’ll take two number twos and one number four to go.”
“To go?” Eddie asked. Steve smirked knowing he now had Eddie’s interest. Mrs. Trevor smiled knowingly.
“You picked a good day.” Was all she said before going into the kitchen. Eddie stared at her and then back at Steve.
“Alright. You can be mysterious. I’ll give you points for that.” Eddie said finally which made Steve chuckle.
“Come on, let's sit here while we wait.” They sat across from each other in one of the booths. Steve noticed that the place was quite empty for a Thursday night.
“So… you come here often enough to get recognized?” Eddie asked.
“Well, kind of. I found this place about a year ago? Been coming here ever since” He had been driving around, because at some point moving was the only thing that made him feel safe. Eventually, one of his pointless drives left him stranded without gas and after walking a few miles looking for somewhere with a phone he found this place. “Mrs. Trevor is nice to talk to. She’s one of those people with a natural mother instinct.”
“The pot said to the kettle.” Eddie murmured and Steve almost didn’t catch that. He rolled his eyes but couldn’t answer back as Mrs. Trevor came back with their order.
“Here you go, sweethearts.”
“Thanks Mrs. Trevor,” He thanked before picking up the two bags. “Come on, Munson. You don’t want to miss this.” Steve took hold of Eddie’s wrist and led him to the back door. The air outside was way cooler compared to the inside, but thankfully it was nothing their jackets couldn’t take. “Don’t worry, it’s a small walk.”
“Ah— Alright. Lead away.” Eddie stuttered as Steve kept guiding him by the wrist. They walked a few meters until they entered a small forest. Almost no moonlight made its way through the trees, but Steve knew the way perfectly, even in the dark. If Eddie was nervous about how little he could see, he didn’t say. Finally, the tree barriers stopped and they got to their destination.
“Here we are.”
“Holy shit.” Eddie muttered, and Steve resisted the urge to throw a fist into the air in celebration.
“Holy shit, indeed, right?”
And it was a holy shit view. The good thing about Dino’s diner and the reason why so few people knew about it was because it was placed at one of Hawkins’ hills. Steve discovered that if you walked a bit further back the diner terrain there was this cliff overseeing most of Hawkins.
And was the killer view the most holy shit of it all?
Nope.
“No way, are those swings ?” Eddie asked with a laugh to which Steve nodded.
“Please, after you.” He answered, bowing his head jokingly. Eddie short of jumped onto the left swing and immediately began gaining momentum. Steve laughed as he sat on the other swing and began taking the things out of the bags.
“This is terrifying. I’ve never seen a swing so close to a cliff.”
“Mrs. Trevor and her husband put them here after they opened the diner. I found them once and she lets me come here whenever I want.” Steve said as he took in the view. Not only did the night lights in Hawkins look amazing, but the stars too. He chuckled to himself before he picked up one of the cups in the bag and gave it to Eddie. “Here you go.”
“Oh. Thanks.” He said, slowing the swing down and taking the cup. Steve smiled as he watched Eddie take a sip through the straw. Eddie's eyes widened and he did a double take before taking another sip. He threw his head back with a groan.
“Holy shit, right?” Steve asked.
Eddie looked at him.
“Holy. Shit.” Eddie laughed. “This is delicious!”
“Mrs. Trevor works magic with milkshakes.”
“I’m not sure if you are trying to date me or trying to get me to fall in love with Mrs. Trevor.” Eddie said before taking another sip and Steve snorted out a laugh.
“Listen man, if she weren’t married…” He began and Eddie barked a laugh.
Steve moved to take a carton with fries and fried chicken bites out of the bag and offered it to Eddie who made a happy little shake of his head Steve found quite cute before taking a piece.
“Gotta hand it to ya, Harrington. I was a bit disappointed to see the King of Hawkins High taking me out to a diner as a first date, but… you managed to turn it around.”
“Did I?”
“Yep. I was about to cast permanent judgment on you, but I guess I’ll wait until the end.” Eddie smirked as he popped another chicken bite into his mouth.
Steve smiled and ducked his head slightly to hide it. He coughed once and then looked back at Eddie.
“This place is nice. I’m surprised I never heard of it.”
“Oh, yeah. It’s a bit on the outskirts, but it’s nice that way. Sometimes you want to just… stay away, you know?”
“That I do.” Eddie muttered, and of course he’d get it. “It’s strange, how much things changed after…” He didn’t finish, but Steve knew what he meant. “Yet, nothing really changed at all,”
Steve hummed as he thought about it. Everything got covered up. Every loose thread was explained to the public. A breach from the asylum. A forgotten killer on the loose. A horrific car crash and a severe overdose. A mall fire that left a police chief on a private comma. And then there were them, left with a closure only written on paper were they promised not to talk, and with enough chills and nightmares of whether it was really over or if there’s another threat right around the corner to last a lifetime.
Steve suppressed a shiver that had nothing to do with the cold.
“Hey Munson, I don’t know about you but this doesn’t seem like a first date topic.”
“I totally agree with you. I haven't drunk enough milkshake for it, that’s for sure.” Eddie nodded, taking a sip. “So, how’s your small talk? That’s really important date stuff.”
“Oh, yeah. My small talk is great, and I tell you a secret…” Steve leaned over towards Eddie, who leaned his ear as he kept sipping his milkshake. “My talk is the only small thing about me.”
Eddie choked on his drink before he barked out a laugh. Satisfied, Steve laughed along.
“That has got to be a strike, Harrington!” Eddie chuckled, wiping a tear from his eye.
“Oh, come on!” Steve groaned.
“You can’t talk to a lady like that!” Eddie wheezed, “Least of all on a first date.”
“Well, yeah, I see your point.” Steve giggled. He sighed and looked up to the stars. “It’s hard to talk to you as if I don’t know you, I feel like I’ve known you forever.”
“Well, that happens when you save the world together, I guess.” Eddie followed Steve's gaze and sighed.
From the corner of his eye he noticed Eddie taking his jacket off and putting it aside. He committed to fully turning to look at him when he began rolling his sleeve. His eyes were glued to the newly revealed patch of skin. He wondered if those tattoo’s hurt. Surely they had been worth the pain, given how great they looked.
“Alright.” Eddie declared turning towards Steve, breaking him from his trance. “Concentrate, Steve. I’m your brand new hot date.”
“Okay,” Steve shook his head and turned to face him fully. “You are my brand new hot date.”
“Alright. Good. Pull your moves on me. Seduce me, King Steve.” He motioned with his hands for him to go ahead.
He took a deep breath. He could do this, he seduced people all the time.
He looked at Eddie.
He blanked.
“Come here often?” He managed to blurt out. Eddie stared at him a total of three seconds before he burst into laughter.
“Wow.” Eddie laughed, and Steve followed right after.
“Come on! There was a lot of pressure!”
“Oh, so does Steve the hair Harrington not perform well under pressure?” He teased with a wiggle of his eyebrows.
“That’s not— Not what I meant.” He muttered, taking a sip of his milkshake. “Alright, let me try again,”
“Come on, sweet talk me— Something romantic, first thing that pops in your—”
“You look great in that shirt.”
Eddie froze in his tracks and processed the answer for a bit. Steve noticed maybe he spoke too quickly, but he didn’t care, Eddie’s flustered expression was worth the embarrassment.
“Uh— Thanks.” Eddie toyed with the top button of his shirt slightly, Steve made an effort to not look down at it. Eddie cleared his throat. “A compliment, that’s good.”
“No, but really, that color looks great on you. Besides with your rings? You look classy and edgy.” He added, and he smiled as color flooded on Eddie’s cheeks. Good. This was good. “Have you ever thought about wearing earrings?”
“Uh, yeah, I have my ears pierced, I just always forget to put them on.”
“You’d look great with them, jewelry really suits you.” Steve said with a low voice.
“I would wear them, I just keep forgetting. It’s not the same as my rings, I can feel they are not there, but earrings? Unless I look in the mirror I—” Eddie blinked twice and slowly a grin began forming on his face. “Look at you…” Eddie shook his head amused. “Aren’t you good at this?”
“Girls like compliments.” Steve shrugged, “Everyone likes compliments.”
“Hm, I guess so.”
“But I meant it. You’d look great with a couple of piercings. It’d go with your whole…” Steve motioned with his hand to all of Eddie while he tried to find the words.
“Spawn of the devil thing?”
“I would call it devil may care attitude.”
“I think the devil would care about his spawn, don't you?”
“As long as he is wreaking havoc…”
Eddie laughed as he raised his cup.
“I’ll drink to that.” Steve clinked their cups together and hid his smile as he sipped his straw.
You’d think the milkshakes had alcohol in them.
By the time they said their goodbyes to Mrs. Trevor and got in the car they were a giggling mess. Eddie was trying to tell him about the time Dustin rolled a d20 (whatever the hell that was) so hard it hit Mike on the forehead, and how slowly, as the campaign progressed, a bump began growing until Eddie told him to put something cold on it else he’d have to change his character into a Tiefling (Again, no idea what that was) so they’d match.
“I swear these kids are addicted. I’m sure that the only thing that’d stop them from playing would be imminent death.”
“They have faced it enough that honestly I think they would just keep playing.”
“Yeah they definitely would.”
Steve whistled as he saw the hour on the dashboard’s clock. He wasn’t that surprised to find out it was nearly midnight, he chuckled at the thought that arose.
“What?” Eddie asked.
“Not very gentlemanly of me to drop you off past curfew, is it?”
“Oh no!” Mocked Eddie, bringing one hand to his forehead in false despair. “Daddy said to be home by midnight, or else…!”
“No worries, my lady. We’ll be there.” Steve smirked before swerving onto the highway.
“Holy shit, man!” Eddie laughed as Steve pressed on the pedal. “Pretty sure breaking the law does not give you extra points.”
“Come on. Chicks love a bad boy.” Steve said, which made Eddie laugh.
“This one sure does.” He muttered.
Steve looked at the clock. 11:53 p.m. He looked back at the road. He’d make it.
Through the corner of his eye he saw Eddie lower the side window and take one of his hands out.
“Eleven fifty seven, Harrington, you’re on thin ice.” He chuckled as he played with the wind.
Steve floored it, making Eddie slam back into his seat with a laugh. Steve chuckled when he saw the entrance to the trailer park, and slowed down enough to take the turn. His eyes shifted for a second to the clock, 11:59. He smirked.
Eddie cheered as he pulled up in front of his trailer right as the clock turned 12:00.
“Damn, Harrington.”
“What can I say? A gentleman respects the curfew.” Steve shrugged as he got out of the car and moved around it to open Eddie’s door. “Allow me,” He said, offering his hand.
“It sucks how charming you are, you know that?”
“Ladies dig it,”
“They sure do.” He murmured, taking his hand and getting out of the car. Eddie stuck his hands in his jacket pockets as they approached the trailer and looked up before he spoke. “You surprised me today, Harrington. You actually live up to the King Steve nickname.”
“So you think there’s actually nothing wrong with me?”
“Hmm… I think it’s too early to tell. But your dating game definitely has more points in your favor than against. A bit vanilla for my taste, but there’s nothing wrong with that”
“Vanilla? What’s that supposed to mean?” Steve gasped, taken aback.
“No, no. Nothing bad, and I don’t blame you, chicks dig that, especially Hawkins girls.”
“Well, then, duh? That’s the point isn’t it? Do things chicks like.” He scoffed. “Who else are you taking out on dates, then?” He laughed, and Eddie stared at him for a moment. He probably noticed that the silence stretched on too much and after a cough he spoke again.
“Nothing, never mind. Yeah, I guess that makes sense. Maybe I’m just not in the market for the same type of… dates as you.” Eddie laughed, and Steve was sure there was something he was missing, but he didn’t know how to find it.
“What type of market are you in, then?” Eddie looked at him like there was something crazy on his face. He chuckled as he bit his lip.
“Not the type that’s full of girls looking for Vanilla dates, is all I’ll say.”
“But you still enjoyed yourself tonight?”
Eddie smiled a bit and gave him a small nod.
“Yes, Harrington. I did.”
Steve resisted the urge to make a victory dance and walked Eddie to his door. He went up the stairs of his trailer and opened it before he turned to look at Steve. The steps were giving Eddie a few inches over him, and he smiled as Steve looked up to meet his eye.
“This is where I leave you. So tell me, King Steve. Do you usually kiss your date goodnight on the first date?” He teased, and Steve's eyes fluttered as he considered his answer.
“After a date as good as this? Yeah, I would.” Steve answered.
“Hmm.” Was Eddie’s only response, a deep hum that sent a shiver down Steve’s spine. Maybe it was the topic, maybe it was the fact that they just went on a date—
Pretend date, Harrington. He kept reminding himself of that, no matter how well the date went.
—but he couldn’t help his eyes dropping to Eddie’s lips. They were slightly chapped, and they probably wouldn’t feel soft, like a girl’s, but he wouldn’t mind.
Steve shook his head and chuckled.
“Shit Munson. For a second there I thought you wanted me to kiss you.” He joked. Eddie’s first response was a low chuckle.
“Crazy.” He whispered, his tone betraying that maybe— just maybe— he didn’t find anything crazy about the idea at all, but when Steve met his eyes his expression betrayed nothing more.
“Yeah. Crazy.” Steve whispered back. They stared at each other for probably longer than they should, and Steve only broke away when someone a few trailers away shut a door loudly. He coughed and shook his head slightly to get out of the trance. “Well, Munson. You are a delightful date.”
Eddie smiled and took a step back.
“Yeah. You too, Harrington. Drive home safely.”
“I will.” He answered. He knew he had to head back to the car, and that probably Eddie was waiting for him to do so before closing the door, but for some reason he didn’t want to do that. Still, he forced himself to take a step back and then another. He turned around fighting the urge to keep looking at Eddie.
Right before the man could close the door he spun around anyways and said.
“Why don't you show me.”
“What?” Asked Eddie, surprised.
“You said your dates aren’t ‘vanilla’ or whatever.” Steve elaborated and Eddie raised his eyebrows as he realized what Steve meant. “Then take me on one. A not vanilla date. Just so I can… broaden my horizons.”
Eddie took a while to answer, but Steve saw how the beginnings of a grin began slowly forming on his face before he ducked his head and shook it.
“You are… something else, Steve Harrington.” Eddie muttered.
“Is that a no?” Steve asked, feeling the beginnings of disappointment form in his gut, but it was short lived.
“No. It’s not a no.” Steve found himself grinning at Eddie. “You free this Saturday?”
“Yes.” He said, maybe a little eagerly for someone who didn’t even pretend to check his calendar.
“Then it’s a date.” Eddie said, and Steve wasn’t sure but maybe, just maybe, Eddie was blushing a bit at him. He wouldn’t comment, he felt his face a little hot too. “I’ll call to tell you the details.”
“Great. Cool.” Steve said, and for some reason his delivery made him feel really not ‘cool’.
Eddie probably thought the same, because he chuckled and repeated back at him;
“Cool.”
“Fuck off, Munson.” He laughed.
“You fuck off.”
“O-kay! Bye!”
“Bye!”
It took Steve the whole drive home to wipe the grin off his face. This is how a date should leave him, this is how a date should feel. He wished at least half of his dates were as great as this one.
Steve sighed as he laid in his bed later that night.
If only there could be a girl like Eddie Munson, Steve said to himself.