1. The Precarious Intimacy of a Drug Deal

“Please, Eddie,” Robin whined, leaning over the checkout counter, pausing from working the returns cart. “You told me yourself when I started taking you to parties that they were actually pretty fun. When did that change?”

“The actual party is fun,” Eddie clarified. “What’s not fun is constantly getting stuck in a corner with Steve Harrington because you’re off with Vickie, and I don’t know anyone else.”

“What if we promised to stay with you guys the whole time?” She offered, but Eddie gave her a knowing look. “Okay, fine. What if we promise to stay with you guys like… 60/40?”

Eddie stared at her as he debated the proposition. “70/30 and I’ll think about it,” he countered, Robin pumping a fist in triumph.

“Deal!” She grinned in excitement.

“And to be clear,” Eddie pointed at Robin, “You and Vickie stay with us 70. Alone time is the 30.”

“Yeah, I know Eddie. I’m not trying to swindle you,” Robin scoffed. “Let me know by Thursday. Steve offered to give us a ride, so you don’t gotta worry about sobering up.”

“What a gentleman,” Eddie muttered with a flat expression.

“Hey, he’s the reason we get invites to any of these things,” Robin pointed out. “And don’t act like you didn’t enjoy Chip Hudson’s birthday party.”

“I barely remember Chip Hudson’s birthday party,” Eddie retorted. “But you guys don't shut up about it. I don't even think I know who Chip Hudson is.”

“Exactly!” She beamed. “Trust me, you had a great time. You and Chip sang a Queen song together and then you and I argued for the rest of the night over whether or not he was gay.”

Eddie made a thoughtful face. “What side was I on?”

“That he wasn’t,” Robin informed, Eddie nodding in understanding.

“Well, if I go,” Eddie was sure to accentuate his uncertainty on the event. “My goal is to actually remember the night. While remaining intoxicated enough that the awkward silence with Harrington doesn’t kill me.”

“You always seem to be talking fine every time I find my way back to you,” Robin said with a skeptical arch of her brow.

“Yeah,” Eddie scoffed. “That’s after all the painful small talk and long sips of alcohol to distract from the fact neither of us particularly enjoy each other.”

“Did he say he doesn’t enjoy you?” Robin asked in that way she did when she already knew the answer.

“He didn’t have to. I can just tell,” Eddie shrugged as he began finally restocking the candy next to the register. The box had been sitting there for easily half an hour, but the store was dead and he didn’t have anything else to do. What he liked most about this job was it had enough downtime for him to write songs or plan D&D campaigns. Well, at least when Steve wasn’t working with him. He always felt self conscious about him seeing whatever he was working on, especially if it wasn’t finished yet. Steve aside, Eddie was eternally grateful to Robin for getting him a job at the Family Video Store.

“Are you sure you were reading it right?” Robin asked genuinely. “You and I aren’t the best at reading open-ended social cues.”

“Pretty sure, Rob,” Eddie gave a pointed smile.

“Whatever you say,” Robin sang, unconvinced as she resumed putting tapes back in their correct spot. Eddie finished restocking the candy and disappeared into the back to put away the rest. Just as he came back, the bell above the entrance dinged, Steve Harrington himself sauntering through the door. There was no sign of his work smock, and Eddie didn’t remember seeing his name on the schedule for today. Though, he did actually come in the store quite frequently on his days off, renting a different movie every time. Except for a few, which Eddie noted he’d rented multiple times; Blade Runner twice, Raiders of the Lost Ark a whopping five times, and– shocking Eddie deeply– Grease for a total of four times.

Eddie actually hadn’t seen Steve rent Grease himself, but one slow day– after the fourth time Steve came in to rent Raiders– Eddie got bored and curious so he decided to check out Steve’s rental log. Grease was rented twice in the same week, which Eddie found amusing enough to bring up to Robin, and she informed him he’d rented it a couple of times two weeks prior while she was working. He never said anything to Steve about it, instead decided to keep it filed in the back of his mind for ammo if the man was being particularly annoying. In fact, the only conversations he and Steve really had were when the latter decided to entertain himself by pestering Eddie.

“You workin’ today?” Robin asked with furrowed brows as Steve wandered over to the action movie section, only giving Eddie one of those cool-guy-nods in greeting. Eddie suppressed an eye roll, pulling out one of his magazines and flipping it open on the counter.

“Nah, just stoppin’ in for a movie,” Steve idly browsed the movies. That was another thing Eddie noticed, despite knowing literally where everything is and more or less their entire stock, he always took fucking forever to actually pick a movie. Eddie noticed out of the corner of his eye Steve glance up at him before he said, “Convince Munson to come to the party yet?”

“She’s certainly trying,” Eddie sang, flipping the page of his magazine.

“C’mon,” Steve dragged out the word. “Why don’t you wanna come?”

Eddie looked up at Steve properly now. He was leaning lightly against the returns cart while Robin grabbed movies off of it, his arms crossed as he looked at Eddie in casual waiting.

Eddie shrugged. “I’d rather smoke my weed in solitude where random people aren’t trying to weasel some out of me,” he made claw-like shapes with his hands and wiggled his fingers, letting them fall back onto the counter before adding, “Plus, I usually just end up being a background character, anyway.”

“Yeah, tell that to Chip Hudson’s birthday party,” Steve supplied with a smug scoff.

“Thank you!” Robin gestured to Steve appreciatively.

“C’mon, Munson,” Steve tried again. “Live a little.”

“If you want free weed out of me you’re gonna have to try harder than that, Harrington,” Eddie smirked, but internally a pang of melancholy shot through him.

He felt completely detached from who he was before… well. Before Chrissy Cunningham. And the constant terror that was his life after that. On the run for a murder he didn’t commit but would definitely be charged for, and then immediately thrown into fighting a tentacled version of Freddy Krueger. Before all that he would’ve been way more eager to go out to a pointless party just to see what happened. Now he found himself wanting to hide away most days. The world was scarier than it used to be. But so was his empty trailer. It often felt like Eddie had nowhere to exist in peace. Except maybe Robin’s house.

“Okay, look,” Steve said with a half-hearted roll of his eyes as he uncrossed his arms and used his hands to brace the cart behind him. “I won’t drink, so as soon as you wanna leave I’ll take you home. That better?”

Eddie raised his eyebrows at this, incredibly surprised that Steve Harrington, of all people, was going so out of his way to get him to go to some dumb party. “Fine,” Eddie said with an exasperated sigh. “Since your guyses’ enjoyment is apparently so dependent on my presence,” he grinned, trying to come off as full of himself as possible. “Here I was thinking Robin was the glue.”

“Alright,” Steve held a hand up, walking back over to a movie he had been looking at earlier. “Slow your strokes, Munson. We want you to come to a party, not be our cult leader.”

“Well, apparently people think I’d be pretty good at that, too, so,” Eddie joked, but a tinge of bitterness tightened his stomach. He returned his attention to his magazine, the words on the page blurring into a block of nothing as he just stared at the colorful spread.

That was another thing that changed after Chrissy. He’d always been one to get lost in a daydream, sure, but this was different. It was like he was lost in thought, but he wasn’t even… really thinking. At least not anything in particular that he could pin down when he came out of it.

Sometimes he was vaguely aware of what was happening around him, however it was like everything was a tv show playing in the background, volume low but just audible enough. Sometimes he had no awareness of what was going on at all, or how long it was going on for.

Like now, for instance, when suddenly Steve was in front of him, sliding a movie onto the checkout counter. Steve seemed to notice Eddie’s weird state, a confused but curious look crossing his face, but only for a brief moment as he apparently decided to drop whatever questions he had in his mind. Opting to annoy Eddie instead, of course. “I know I’m pretty, Munson, but no need to stare,” he teased, sliding cash onto the counter.

Eddie just made a face as he rang up Steve and inputted what he needed into the system. Even though Steve was joking, a tingle of fear always shot up Eddie’s spine when he teased him like that. He didn’t tell Steve he was gay, and Robin and Vickie would never out him, though comments like that set off alarm bells in his head. Like there was a big, flashing, light-up sign above Eddie’s head that said “QUEER” in all caps.

He didn’t even think Steve would care– he was completely fine with Robin and Vickie, after all– but Robin was Steve’s friend. And Eddie was most definitely not Steve’s friend. They just tolerated each other because of their mutual proximity to Robin. And because they sort of saved the world together, Eddie supposed. But he tried not to think about that. For a lot of reasons.

“Alright,” Eddie said, sliding the movie back over the counter after typing in its serial number. “Enjoy Blade Runner... for the third time.”

“Excuse me, sir,” Steve said in an exaggeratedly offended tone, perfectly mimicking some of the older people that came in. “I don’t think it’s in your job description to judge my movie choices,” he snatched the movie back dramatically, face falling into a smirk as he dropped the bit. He lightly tapped the counter with the tape, still smiling as he said “Pick you up at eight on Friday. See ya when I see ya, Munson,” he told Robin to be ready by 7:30 before turning on his heels and leaving the store, bell jingling as he did so.

“You’re right,” Robin said flatly, and Eddie could feel the sarcasm coming. “He’s your worst enemy.”

“Okay, so he tolerates me enough to annoy me for entertainment,” Eddie responded just as flatly. “What a valuable friendship.”

“Ya know, if you gave him a chance maybe you would be friends,” Robin said as she pushed the cart to the other side of the store. “You guys actually aren’t too different.”

Eddie gave a humorless laugh. “Yeah, practically twins.”

Robin sighed dramatically. “Whatever you say, Eddie. Just figured maybe saving the world from certain annihilation might be considered a bonding experience,” she gave him a blank look. “Clearly I was insane to assume such a thing.”

He didn’t mention that killing Vecna together had actually raised quite the storm of questions, all centering around what exactly Steve thought about him. But then Vecna was dead, and so was the weird, charged air that followed them around when they were fighting for their lives together every day.

Everything felt so flammable then. Like any moment could be his last– or the last time they saw someone. His future knowing any of them could’ve been burned to ashes in an instant. There were certainly plenty of close calls.

A lot of them had seemingly random intimate moments. He saw it first between Steve and Nancy, and it made perfect sense. Hell, for a second Eddie thought he might’ve even been a little in love with Robin. And they’re both strictly gay. It’s what happens when someone saves your life, or you theirs. Anyway, once Vecna was dead nothing else ever happened to indicate Steve thought of Eddie as anything more than Robin’s friend.

And as much as it weirded out Eddie to admit, Steve wasn’t a horrible guy. It was clear the people he did care about, he cared about deeply. When someone cares about people like that, they generally make at least a small effort in being nice to the friends of those people. If Robin wanted to pretend that meant he and Steve were also friends, Eddie was fine in letting her live in that delusion. He just simply would not be joining her in it.

+++

Work was painfully slow. Eddie had been managing to pass the time messing around with some song ideas, but that would unfortunately end soon, as Steve was due in any minute. It really wasn’t something that was Steve’s fault, and Eddie knew this. He was surprisingly very secretive about the raw versions of whatever he was making, letting very few people see ideas straight from his brain. Simply, he wasn’t comfortable sharing things that weren’t polished to his idea of perfection. Not with just anyone, at least.

Robin occasionally asked what he’s working on when things are slow, and he showed her with no hesitation. Truthfully, though, she was the person he got closest to not only during everything last year, but after. Sure, he spent a lot of time with the kids, running campaigns for them or sometimes being a PC, but it felt weird to speak about things on a deep level with a bunch of high school sophomores. Maybe the occasional comment one on one about Vecna related topics, especially when Lucas was really struggling over what he apparently witnessed with Max.

Eddie hadn’t been there, but he knew all too well how scary it was to see something like that. He couldn’t imagine if it was someone he cared for that deeply. It was the strangest feeling, such an overwhelming joy that Lucas sought him out because he trusted him, coupled with the all encompassing heartbreak of watching someone so young go through such unfathomable terrors. Terrors that he was still drowning in himself.

The song he was writing touched on the subject matter. Or, at least, that was his goal. He was trying to figure out how to turn Vecna into some kind of metaphor, so far failing miserably, when the bell to the store jingled. In walked Steve, shrugging on the blue work smock. Eddie flipped the small notebook closed and shoved it into the pocket of his vest, where it was hanging over a stool.

“Morning, Munson,” Steve nodded as he headed to the back to clock in. Eddie simply waggled his ring-clad fingers in greeting, pulling out a random magazine from the drawer he kept them in. If their manager ever found them, she certainly hadn’t said anything.

“Slow day?” Steve asked as he came out from the back, leaning back against the counter. Dear god, Eddie dreaded. Small talk time.

“A ghost town,” Eddie supplied, flipping a page.

“Ya know, it’s rude to indulge in your porn stash around others,” Steve teased. He walked over to where Eddie was, leaning one hand on the counter as he tried to get a look at the magazine. “Whatcha reading?”

Eddie briefly flipped it close, marking his spot with his finger as he checked the cover. “Rolling Stone. Sorry to disappoint.” He gave a sarcastic pout before opening the magazine back up. “Want one?” It was an attempt to end Steve’s apparent obligation to talk to Eddie.

“You have more?” Steve raised his eyebrows.

“Harrington, how do you not kill yourself from boredom?”

He shrugged. “Usually I just spin around in circles really fast on the spinny-chair in the backroom,” Steve said matter-of-factly.

Eddie chuckled genuinely at this. “‘Course you do.” He reached down, pulling open the drawer and stepping to the side, giving a flourishing gesture. “Have at it.”

Steve circled behind Eddie to crouch in front of the drawer, starting to flick through the options. “So uh, I’ve been meaning to ask you…” Steve started, still looking through Eddie’s collection of various magazines. Honestly, he’d amassed so many over the months working here he forgot most of what he had. “Do you still sell weed?”

Eddie looked down at him with a sly smile. “So you were trying to get free weed.”

Steve rolled his eyes in jest. “Clearly not, Munson, considering I’m asking to buy some.”

“Yeah, I still sell weed,” Eddie said with a lazy smile. “Twenty for half an ounce. What time you get off?” He knew Steve was rich, and probably should’ve up-charged him, but he was Robin’s friend, and supposed that would be unnecessarily rude.

“Usually somewhere between the hours of midnight and three AM, what about you?” He asked, and Eddie furrowed his brows.

“We close at–” his confusion fell into a flat stare when he saw Steve with a stupid grin. Eddie grimaced, and to his utter disgust, felt his face heat. He turned back to his magazine to be sure it wasn’t seen. “Thank you for that horrid image, Harrington. Frankly, I should make you find another dealer.”

“C’mon…” Steve dragged, “You know you love it.” Steve lightly swatted Eddie’s calve with a magazine he had been inspecting, earning a glare from the latter. Steve’s proud smile had given way to a cocky smirk as he stood up with his choice, lightly kicking the drawer to close it. “I close today. What about you?” He asked, seriously this time.

“Unfortunately, so do I,” Eddie sighed, attention back on his Rolling Stone. “You can just follow me to the trailer park.”

“Whatever gets you goin’,” Steve remarked, walking over to a free space on the counter beside Eddie, sitting on top and opening the magazine. Eddie shook his head, amused.

Time passed agonizingly slow, but eventually closing time came, and Eddie drove home with Steve riding his tail lights. The lights were off in the trailer, as they should be at the early hour. Eddie unlocked the door and led Steve into the trailer, turning on the lights and closing the door behind him.

“You live with your uncle, right?” Steve asked, looking around. “Guessing he’s not here?”

“Nah, won’t be home for a few more hours. Not that he doesn’t know about my second form of income,” Eddie supplied as he walked to his room. “Well, the pot, at least. I just don’t like… conducting business in front of him.” He paused, noticing Steve standing in his living room, looking like he didn’t know what to do with himself. “Honestly, Harrington, it’s disconcerting when you’re all–” Eddie stiffened his posture in an exaggerated manner before relaxing back to normal. “Stiff and weird. C’mon,” he gestured for him to follow.

Steve scoffed in surprise, raising his eyebrows at Eddie as he followed him to his room. “I’ve been called a lot of things, but ‘stiff and weird’ have never made the list.”

“Yeah, probably because when you’re stiff and weird, no one wants to talk to you,” Eddie smirked, rummaging through the deeper drawers in his dresser.

“So, you said your Uncle knows about the pot…” Steve didn’t hesitate to make himself comfortable now, plopping himself down on the foot of Eddie’s bed. “What doesn’t he know about?”

Eddie paused his searching, looking at Steve curiously for a moment before resuming his quest in another drawer. “Uh, currently, coke and shrooms. But I can get LSD and X…” He looked back over at Steve again, raising his eyebrows softly. “Am I still just looking for weed, or…?” He was surprised. Eddie never took Steve as the kind of guy to experiment with harder drugs.

“Yeah, yeah,” Steve gave a small shake of his head. “I was just… curious,” he shrugged.

“Alright, good… because honestly,” Eddie gave a halfhearted snort. “Lord knows I’m not a saint, but I’d feel pretty bad if I got you addicted to crack. And I’m pretty sure Robin would kill me.” He gave a sideways glance as he reconsidered his words. “Actually I know she’d kill me.” Eddie looked under his bed, yelling out an “Aha!” as he found a small, black, tin chest. He popped back up with the old lunchbox and sat next to Steve on the bed. Eddie pulled out one of the bags of weed, which he had pre-measured out into groups of half ounces, and passed it to Steve.

Steve, who pulled a twenty out of his wallet before tucking it back in his jeans, took the baggie and gave Eddie the money. “Pleasure… conducting business with ya, Munson.”

Eddie smiled, tapping his nose twice before closing the lunchbox and showing Steve back to the door. “Anything for a payin’ customer.”

Steve was almost out the door when he stopped abruptly, turning back around and hesitating a moment before saying “I really wasn’t, by the way.”

Eddie’s brows knitted together. “Wasn’t what?”

“Trying to get it for free,” he said with an earnesty Eddie hadn’t seen since… well, since then.

“Yeah… I know, Harrington,” Eddie breathed an uncertain laugh. “No worries.” He gave Steve’s shoulder a swift clap, still caught off guard by his sudden demeanor.

Steve gave a lopsided smile. “See ya at work, Munson,” he said as he walked backward down the steps, before sliding in the driver’s seat. Eddie waved with a smile of his own, pulling his trailer door closed. And now he was alone.

He just stood there for a moment, the silence and room around him fading into background as half-formed thoughts entered and left his mind. His eyes drifted upward, falling on the ceiling. Falling there.

His chest tightened, breath becoming shallow as the only thing in focus was that awful, tainted space. Eddie vaguely recognized he was shaking, instability racketing his body, but he couldn’t tear his gaze away. It was as if he could see her right in front of him. Eyes lifeless and body contorting in impossible, sickening angles.

A dog barked outside, snapping Eddie out of the horrifying stupor with a gasp. The soreness in his jaw broke through in that moment as well, and he realized he had been clenching it tightly. He walked out of the trailer with urgency, trying not to slam the door behind him.

Eddie’s heart pounded in his chest as he sat down on his steps, his breath ragged and shaky like he’d just run a mile. He squeezed his eyes shut and took a few jerky but deep breaths, until he could feel himself inhale and exhale without a hitch. On the final exhale, frustration prickled through him. Eddie pulled out his carton of Marlboro Reds, plucking one out and hastily lighting it. A shaky stream of smoke puffed into the cool air, dissipating quickly. He used to love the fact he had the trailer to himself.

But these days, he fucking hated being home alone.