chapter 1 part 1 of my steddie fanflic lolz

Steve tilted his head as Eddie wiggled his ring covered fingers in his face smugly.

“I thought we were playing Go Fish.”

“Ah.” Eddie drummed his fingers against his chin, his mouth pursing in dramatic thought, “I don’t know who’s winning then.”

“Well it’s certainly not you.” Steve lifted the card Eddie had put down and scoffed, “These don’t even match.”

“You weren’t paying attention.” Eddie shrugged with a smile, “And who says we need to be- be bound by quite frankly barbaric rules made by people-”

“Barbaric?” Steve repeated incredulously.

“-who probably never played the game anyway. Dictating to us common folk how we may enjoy our free time but I say: no!” Eddie leapt off the counter and raised a hand over his head, pointing to the ceiling, presumably the ‘people’, “I say we- me and King Steve, yourself-” Steve nodded, a grin he couldn’t contain taking over his face- “I say we make our own rules. What say ye?” Eddie dipped into a theatrical bow, holding an arm out with the other behind his back as if inviting a dance.

A few months ago, when they were fresh out of the storm and he and Eddie’s friendship was tentative at best, Steve would’ve been embarrassed by the fan-fair. He would have huffed a laugh with a slightly red face and said something along the lines of ‘you’re ridiculous’.

Today, though: “I say yay!” Steve slammed a fist down on the counter and laughed when Eddie started marching back and forth in front of the doors with his hands in a poor mimic of a trumpet, hooting a loud tune.

“I take so much offence to that.” Robin appeared and slapped Eddie’s hands away from his face, “Don’t ruin the good name of a classic brass instrument.”

Eddie batted his eyelashes and dipped his head.

“I have scorned you, fair maiden, and I apologise. Will you ever forgive me?”

“You’re a dork.” Robin rolled her eyes before disappearing into the backroom. Steve looked at Eddie with raised eyebrows.

“If I didn’t know her better,” Eddie pointed to the closed door Robin had gone through, “I’d say she was genuinely pissed at me.”

“I think ‘genuinely pissed’ is basically her main energy she gives off like 90% of the time.”

“You’re right.” Eddie conceded, then hopped back up onto the counter in one swift movement Steve followed eagerly with his eyes, “What would the rules be to a combo of Go Fish and Snap be?”

Steve leant over their skewed pile of cards so he could basically see every speck of colour in the other man’s eyes. His gaze went nowhere else on Eddie’s face, with purposeful intent.

“Who says there have to be any rules at all?” He widened his eyes meaningfully, leant back, and threw two of his cards down, “Spalunk, bitch.”

“Oh, shit.” Eddie laugh came out of him like he wasn’t expecting it, “Good move, Harrington.”

The bell above the door jingled and Steve immediately slid behind the counter and put his hands over the cards to throw them in the floor in panic before he saw who entered.

“Oh, it’s just you, Henderson.”

Eddie hadn’t moved from his place and his head was a foot above Steve’s, his frantic move to look like he was working ending with them closer than before and Steve’s hand dangerously close to touching the other man’s knee. He swallowed and focused his attention on Dustin.

“If you’re here to bother me about tonight, no spoilers.” Eddie pointed at the younger boy with a mighty glare. He raised his hands in surrender.

“Swear I’m not. Max just asked if she could come along but not play, and I wanted to check with you first.” He was looking at both Eddie and Steve, their apparently combined permission extremely important.

That was another thing Steve couldn’t have predicted. Since summer began, with schools no longer open and Eddie having graduated, the kids all needed a place to play D&D. It hadn’t taken long before they figured out Steve’s was the best place since it was basically always vacant and he had an inability to say no to his friends when they wore him down.

For the last two weeks they’d held their little club at his place. A new campaign just for them, the survivors of Vecna, and Steve hanging out on the side-lines with Robin as moral support just watching it all go down.

“’Course she can come. You don’t have to ask.” Steve leant one hand against the counter, nodding at Eddie.

“She’s one of us.” Eddie agreed, holding his hands out either side of him, “Always welcome, little man.”

“Awesome.” Dustin grinned, infectious to the point of causing the other two to smile as well, “I did actually also want to get a movie. Do you have Little Shop of Horrors?”

Eddie gasped and fell back so he was lying on the counter with a hand on his chest and his legs still awkwardly crossed. His shirt rode up slightly and Steve was basically eye level with a strip of stomach that he should definitely not be staring at.

“Who knew you had taste?” Eddie swooned from the counter, “Tell him you have it, Stevie, or I might just perish.”

Stevie.

Eddie was looking at Steve with wide and playful eyes, his hand still on his chest and gripping his shirt.

“So dramatic.” Steve rolled his eyes, “Follow me Henderson, I know where it’ll be if it’s in.”

“My hero!” Eddie yelled as they walked over to the aisle. Steve sent a wave over his shoulder, only just resisting the urge to blow a kiss as if they were in some stupid movie. Maybe Eddie would pretend to catch it, hold it to his heart with one of those small smiles he sometimes wore.

He looked away from the other and saw Dustin giving him a sparkly eyed look.

“What?”

“Nothing.” Dustin denied, quickly looking away to browse the shelves as they hunted for the video he was looking for.

*