ic inbox.

[heatmetal]

[ his voicemail greeting is just a guitar riff ]

Comments

[heatmetal]

[ usually other people's emotional baggage is his secret to keep. eddie doesn't go around telling other people's stories. it's the price to pay when you're easy to talk to and have a knack for picking up the damage.

the door opens and he sing-songs a honey, i'm home before flicking the lock and stepping inside, taking stock of the clean room with the visible floor and marveling as he does every single time. ]

[retromix]

Hey!

[ Steve all but bounces his way over the bed to kneel on the end, hands open to beckon Eddie over. ]

Come over here for a minute. [ Remembering what he was told earlier, he ducks his chin snd pouts like he's done wrong. ] Please come over here?

[heatmetal]

[ raising his eyebrows. ]

Good boy. [ deep praise. he makes his way on over, reaching out to slide his fingers through steve's ridiculous hair. ]

[retromix]

[ If he did have a tail it would be wagging. He loops his arms around Eddie and tilts his head into the fingers combing through his hair, dropping a soft, sweet kiss by way of an apology on that praising smile. ]

Can we have five minutes of saying hello to each other first? Pretty please?

[ Steve bats his lashes, teasing and demanding in the same breath. They can talk about Billy, sure, but he missed Eddie and it shows in the way he sways into his body, kneeling on the bed like a begging supplicant.

Billy could have had a slice if he'd been nicer. ]

[heatmetal]

[ he should say no. he really should. but those big brown eyes are so full of adoration and eddie is weak in the knees. ]

Four minutes. [ he slides onto the bed with him, kissing hard as he backs him back down against the mattress. ]

[retromix]

[ Those four minutes are sheer hedonistic bliss for Steve who gets his hands under Eddie's shirt and in his hair, pawing at him hungrily as the kisses turn filthy with an ease borne of comfort. Steve runs his nails up the back of Eddie's shirt to drag it higher and hikes up his knees to bracket him in, moving with him as they make-out, so that when their self-imposed time-limit is up Steve is pink-cheeked and breathless beneath him, dark eyes hooded, relaxed and happy. ]

So. You wanted ... to talk?

[heatmetal]

[ this boy will be (and was) the death of him. eddie's brain needs a moment to reboot, trying to remember why he came in here if not to just ravage steve.

right.

right. ]

About Hargrove. Yeah. [ his eyes are on steve's lips. ] Uh... [ okay, look at his eyes. and while he doesn't move away, he does try to roll them into a better position to cuddle and talk. ]

[retromix]

Mmhmm?

[ Steve is absolutely no use as they roll onto their sides, fingers running idly in circles around Eddie's bare hip that somehow wriggled free of his jeans with all their squirming. He tips his head back and bites a lip. ]

You want to do that right now, big boy?

[ Touché, sir. ]

[heatmetal]

[ god fucking damn it, harrington. eddie looks down at him, opens his mouth. pulls a hand free and holds up a finger, shuts his mouth and shakes his head. ]

This is playing dirty.

[retromix]

[ Steve's bright, delighted smile is far less guileless, laughter sparkling free to shake Eddie pressed close. A long dark curl is twirled around his fingers as he cocks his head. ]

I'm just wondering if you ever miss me half as much as I do you, baby.

[ Arching a brow to see how that goes over. ]

[heatmetal]

[ Fuck. He's being played here and he fucking knows it. But one of them is a theater kid. ]

I miss you more.

[ He takes hold of Steve's chin, head tilting to the side, letting his breath ghost across steve's lips as he leans in close. ]

Do you want to hear about all the nights I spent imagining you like this? How I'd take you to pieces [ kiss ] bit [ kiss ] by [ kiss ] bit? [ and then he pulls away ] Bring you right to the edge and leave you hanging just to listen to you cry my name and beg for sweet release?

But all that missing has given me infinite patience, baby boy. Something you're gonna have to learn.

[retromix]

[ The trouble is, Steve wants everything once he's had a single taste. Having had multiple, he whines in the back of his throat when Eddie chastises him and feels the weight of attraction only strengthen. God damn it.

He hikes his leg higher around Eddie's waist, giving a squeeze. ]

Alright, [ resignation tinges with a deep blush that rides low down the collar of his shirt, ] but this better not be a long conversation, Munson.

[heatmetal]

[ god, he's fucking crazy. prioritizing billy fucking hargrove's well being over how badly he wants to throw this boy down and ravage him properly, now that he's sure he's not going to skitter off just as eddie gets comfortable. god damn it. god damn conscience. god damn friendship. ]

Good.

[ give him a second to calm his dick here. ]

Alright. Look. Listen. Hargrove's not doing so hot.

[retromix]

[ Pursing his lips, Steve gives a roll of his eyes and nods back against the pillow. ]

I know, and I shouldn't let him rile me up. Guy got shish-kebab'd right after being used by Vecna for God knows how long.

He knows how to get under my skin.

[heatmetal]

[ billy breaking down and crying on him is going to be taken to his (early) grave. ]

No shit. [ flicking his forehead fondly. ] Watching you two fight for dominance puts me right back in those highschool hallways.

[ but... ]

We know Vecna goes after people who are already sporting some pretty hefty damage.

[retromix]

[ His hand sweeps up and down Eddie's back, resting there. ]

Sorry I reminded you of that stuff.

[ Instead of getting defensive, Steve just looks guilty. ]

I know. I want to be nice to him for Max's sake. I'll try harder.

[heatmetal]

I'm kidding, Steve... Half-kidding, at least.

[ but that's nice. He cups his cheek. ]

But talk to me, man. What's got your back up?

[retromix]

[ Taking a moment to rephrase himself, Steve exhales steadily. ]

He makes me feel like ... like I'm unprepared to deal with being attracted to men. It's a game to him, or he ... makes it feel that way. Insincere, as if he's trying to knock me down on the court again in front of everybody.

[heatmetal]

[ well. billy knows what he has and isn't afraid to flaunt it. he rubs the pad of his thumb along steve's cheekbone. ]

It's his tone, right? [ a stab at levity. the way dustin always said the wrong thing in the wrong way and made you want to strangle him just a little. ]

[retromix]

[ That makes him snort a laugh, nodding. ]

Yeah.

[ Bringing both hands up to cup Eddie's face, Steve spends a long moment staring at him. ]

You're so confident. You took shit from my crowd for it but you were never a dickhead to anyone, you always stayed a good person. I wish I'd been more like you in school.

[heatmetal]

[ yeah. yeah. it's so hard to be yourself when the world is bearing down on you, demanding you be something else. ]

You know why I never gave a shit about any of that?

[retromix]

Because you're cooler than any of them put together?

[heatmetal]

Well, yes, obviously. They all have trash taste in music and have probably never had a creative thought in their lives.

[ but. ]

But before all that, I tried to fit in... pretty hard, actually. [ his tone takes on that melodic sing-song ] Waaaay back in those early years, where my hair was buzzed and my Saturdays were spent learning the old family biz. It never worked. No matter how hard I tried, I was just a square peg jammed in a round hole, and people always saw through that.

[retromix]

Like I said, [ he leans up for a slow kiss, smiling into it, ] too cool.

[ It's so relaxing to have Eddie all to himself, to touch and to bounce his thoughts off. The lowkey simmer of Steve's desire never goes away, it just undercurrents his gaze with warmth. ]

All those popular kids, you know, they're all miserable. Tommy H and the rest? Hate their parents, just like I did. They can't admit it so they get nastier as they grow up. If it hadn't been for a Demogorgon busting through Jonathan Byers' wall I might never have had my priorities straightened out and stayed that way.

[heatmetal]

Nothing like a little dose of supernatural terror to reset your life path.

[ and its still so hard to believe that steve looks at him like this. touches him like this. especially when he thinks back to the person he used to be, the crowd he used to keep. ]

Remind me when we get home I need to introduce you to my uncle. [ another slow, soft kiss. ] He'll show you what a parent is supposed to act like.