Chapter Text
Steve Harrington is stressed.
Between that Byers kid going missing and Barbara Holland disappearing from his own backyard, not to mention his girlfriend slinking around with fucking Jonathan Byers of all people, there’s a lot going on. It’s stressful, trying to make sure Nancy is okay while trying to keep out of trouble, and he needs a break , needs some kind of relief. Needs five fucking minutes to just zone out and not have to worry about anything for once.
Tommy is the one to point him in the direction of one Eddie Munson when Steve complains to him about it.
It’s not that Steve doesn’t know who Eddie is. The guy has been the resident drug dealer at the high school for a couple of years now, his name tossed around easily by those looking for more recreational fun, but Steve has never personally sought him out before. That doesn’t stop him from hiking through the woods out behind the track and field course, to the spot where everyone knows Eddie sets up shop after school.
He breaks through the treeline into the little clearing, sees the picnic table that’s definitely seen better days and…
No Eddie.
Shit.
A sigh escapes him as he goes over and drops down onto the bench, scrubbing his hands over his face in frustration. He might just have to let Tommy buy the shit for him, which he doesn’t really want to do, doesn’t want Tommy to see just how fucked up this all actually has him.
A branch snaps nearby and Steve jumps, hands dropping and revealing exactly the person he was looking for, and Eddie lets out a low whistle as he approaches.
"Harrington, this is a surprise. I was expecting Hagan."
"No, he uh, he just set this up for me. I know I haven’t bought from you before, so I wasn't sure you’d show if I had asked.”
Eddie hums and looks at him appraisingly, sets his lunch box on the table before sitting down across from Steve. “Smart move. Well, what can I do for you today, your highness?”
“I need something to help me relax, man. Nothing- Nothing heavy that'll fuck me up, just like- Maybe some weed? Or something."
The older boy raises a brow skeptically and Steve sighs, pushing a hand through his hair.
“It’s just- Everything going on with the Byers kid, and Barb going missing. It’s got Nancy stressed, which stresses me out, and I just- I just need something to take the edge off.”
Eddie stares him down for a minute, big brown eyes locked onto Steve’s own hazel, and Steve doesn’t know what he’s looking for, what he sees , but whatever it is makes him relax and nod.
“No, I get it. I think I can definitely help you out, Harrington.”
Forty bucks sets him up with a few joints and another searching look from Eddie, and Steve goes home that night and just. Stops thinking for a while. It's absolute bliss, just being able to drift for a while, no expectations or responsibilities.
He'll cling to that sensation over the next few days as everything goes to shit, as his life is completely turned on its head. First by Jonathan Byers, then by his own biting words to Tommy and Carol, and finally, by the monster that rips through the wallpaper at the Byers' house.
For now, though, he doesn’t worry about anything. For now, he just floats.
It’s two weeks after- after , and Steve can’t fucking sleep. His face is healing up well enough, most of the cuts and scrapes are healed over - aside from the one on his lip that keeps breaking open because he can’t stop fucking messing with it - but that’s not what’s affecting his sleeping issue.
The real problem is that every time he closes his eyes, he sees the flashing lights, hears the otherworldly roars of that fucking thing . He thinks about Barb being snatched from his yard, a mere thirty second walk from where he sleeps. It’s starting to affect him in a bad way, he needs to rest , but after so many nights of lying in bed, staring at the ceiling and jumping at every shadow and noise, it seems like getting there on his own is going to be impossible.
And then, he thinks about Eddie Munson. Thinks about the easy relief Eddie had provided him with during the midst of everything, and knows that he needs it again.
He knows that Munson lives in the trailer park, and it’s almost child’s play picking out the guy’s van among the collection of homes. The lights are on and Steve can just hear music coming from somewhere inside as he climbs the short steps. His hands shake slightly as he knocks on the door, shifting from foot to foot anxiously as he waits.
It opens after just a moment, the music suddenly much louder as it filters into the night air. Eddie looks surprised to see him, and Steve doesn’t really blame him for it.
“Harrington? What are you doing here?”
Steve shifts again and glances back over his shoulder. “Hey, I’m sorry for just showing up without warning. I um, was wondering if you could help me out again?”
“Yeah, uh, why don’t you come inside? You look like the devil’s on your heels or something.”
The younger huffs a laugh but nods, and steps inside when Eddie moves out of the way. He glances around, briefly taking in how homey the trailer feels as Eddie shuts the door behind them. They end up on the couch, and Steve can’t stop his knee from bouncing as Eddie takes a moment to just look at him.
“Listen, Harrington- Steve . I know this probably makes me a bad businessman, but uh, I don’t think you should do anything right now, as far as drugs are concerned. You seem pretty freaked out, man.”
“‘Freaked out,’ he says.” Steve pushes a hand through his hair as he stands and paces the room. “Yeah, it’s not like my girlfriend’s best friend disappeared off my property, or that I had my face beat in by Jonathan fucking Byers, or that I lost my childhood best friend because I realized how much of an asshole he is. It’s not like I can’t fucking sleep because my brain won’t tun off and it-”
He freezes in place, taking a shaky breath as his voice drops to a whisper. “Fuck, it’s so loud sometimes inside my head, Eddie. There’s just- so much .”
There’s a moment of silence that’s only broken by the sound of a dog barking from somewhere nearby, and Steve’s hands clench around empty air.
“Can I try something?” Eddie asks softly, his expression curious. “It might seem odd, but I think it could help.”
“I- Sure?” Steve huffs a laugh. “I’ll try pretty much anything at this point, man.”
Eddie moves to sit on the edge of the couch, his knees spread apart, and gestures to the floor in front of him. "Kneel down here."
He- What?
Eddie must be fucking with him. That’s the only reason for the request and Steve shakes his head. He gives a disbelieving “Yeah, good one man,” but Eddie's face remains serious as he replies “I’m not joking, Steve.”
Something sharp and unexpected flashes through Steve, and he has to stop his entire body from jolting at the sensation. "You- You’re serious?"
“I know how it looks, but I promise it's not what you think. I said it might be weird, and come on, man. There’s no one else here, you don’t have anything to lose. If it doesn’t work, I’ll give you some grass, free of charge. Okay?”
Steve stays where he is, completely frozen in place because there's truly no way Eddie isn't fucking with him right now. He's taking the chance to humiliate Steve while he can, to take the King down a peg. The thought of being on his knees - for a boy, for Eddie - makes him feel hot all over.
Eddie must be able to read his thoughts clear as day, because his expression softens.
"No one's gonna know, Steve. Who would even believe me? That Steve The Hair Harrington got on his knees for me ? Sounds like a bad fucking joke."
Steve knows he shouldn't. He should just leave and not come back, should regret ever setting foot in that clearing in the first place.
But then he thinks about the nightmares. Thinks about how fucking tired he is, how he just wants a moment of rest. Eddie’s right, who would believe him? It’s laughable to think about, the idea of Steve sinking so low, of belittling himself for Eddie The Freak .
Even though his resolve is set, shame flushes through Steve as he steps forward and sinks to his knees, the motion familiar even in a setting that's practically alien to him.
Eddie just smiles gently, taps the logo on his shirt and says "Look here, and just relax. Okay?"
“Okay,” Steve replies softly.
There's a moment where nothing happens. Steve just looks at Eddie's shirt, his face red and completely unable to meet the man's eyes as they sit there, letting the sound of the nearby radio wash over them. Then one of Eddie’s hands moves to settle on Steve's chin, the thumb stroking over the slight point of it, and then the other is pushing into Steve’s hair, and oh .
It feels good . Nancy doesn't do things like this, says she doesn't like the feeling of touching other people's hair, and yeah, he can respect that. Eddie seems to have no problems with it though, with how his fingers card through his locks. Steve’s brain melts a little when blunt nails rake across his scalp gently, and he feels his body following in turn, his anxiety leaching from him and seeping into the carpet below while he relaxes into the touch.
The hand on his chin moves to join the one in his hair, and both work in tandem as they brush through the strands, as they scratch the skin near his nape then drag up to his temples and tug gently at the locks. Something about that makes heat flare low in Steve’s stomach, and he jerks back upright, eyes flying open - when had he closed them? - as he glances up at Eddie’s face, notices that his hands are still hovering around Steve’s head, like he’s waiting to start again.
“It’s okay, Steve. It's alright, just let go.”
Part of him doesn’t want to, a big chunk that sounds like Tommy Hagan, like his team mates who pick and poke and tease whenever they sense any kind of weakness. That part begs him to leave, to get up and walk away, to not look back.
And yet.
There’s a smaller part, a tiny little piece that can’t deny how nice this is, if he just doesn’t think too hard about it. Somehow, the little part wins out, the bit of him that craves this comfort without expectations. His mouth is dry, words impossible to find as he makes his decision, and he closes his eyes as the fingers find a home in his hair again.
Eddie mutters a soft “That’s it, Stevie. Doing so good for me,” and that .
Steve sighs, the last bit of tension he didn’t know he was holding just melting away, and the gentle praise feels like helium, makes him feel like he’s drifting off into the clouds and the only thing keeping him from flying away is Eddie . Everything else goes out of focus, and all that matters is the hands carding through his hair and gently scratching at his scalp, and Eddie’s occasional, quiet words of encouragement.
He doesn’t know how long he just floats there before he blinks back to awareness. At some point he'd tipped over to lean against Eddie’s leg, and the feel of denim pressing against his cheek is grounding, the fabric rough against smooth skin. He just stays where he is, waits to feel weird about the whole thing, but finds that he just feels good.
Eddie doesn’t move, just waits until Steve eventually sits up and scrubs at his face. “What the fuck was that , man?” he can’t help but ask, and the older boy suddenly looks a bit bashful as Steve just stays on the floor, too tired, too content to move.
“Well, uh. Do you know anything about BDSM?”
Steve does, surprisingly. He’d learned about it from the local preacher’s daughter, of all people. Penelope had been a year older than Steve and wild , something she hid well from her parents, and when she found her way into Steve’s bed she’d honestly rocked his world a bit. They hadn’t quite clicked for reasons Steve still doesn’t fully understand, but she’d taught him some stuff in the few times they’d fucked.
Even still, what Eddie just did with him, what he made Steve feel is different from anything he ever did with Penelope.
“Like, the sex thing?”
Eddie shrugs, his hands rub at his jean-covered thighs like he doesn’t know what to do with them. “I mean, yeah, but it doesn’t have to be about sex. I met this cool chick out in Indy who does this same thing with her partner. Said it helps with her anxiety attacks. That, uh- That’s what made me think about trying it with you.”
Huh. That’s not what Steve was expecting, but now that Eddie’s mentioned it, he does feel better . Not just good like he’d initially felt, but calmer, like his emotions have settled a bit. He picks at the fabric of his own pants, unable to look at Eddie as he says “I can see why. It was- nice, I guess. I don’t really know how to describe it.”
“But it did help?”
“Yeah. Yeah, it helped.”
“Would you want to do it again?”
He hadn’t thought about that. Would he?
Something squirms low in Steve’s stomach and he finally rises from the floor, brushing off his knees as tingles start in his calves and feet from kneeling so long. “I don’t- I don’t know.”
“We don’t have to. Just- If it helps you, and I really don’t mind.”
Steve needs to go. The urge to flee hits him out of nowhere along with a hot rush of shame, and he just nods jerkily. “Yeah, I’ll keep that in, uh- You’re not going to tell? You swear?”
Eddie must be able to sense the shift, because he nods as he stands. “Yeah, man. It doesn’t leave this room.”
Steve makes it three weeks. He’s spent the time worrying himself sick that Eddie is going to blab, that one day he’s going to find himself shunned by his schoolmates and dumped by Nancy, everything that matters gone in one fell swoop.
But nothing happens. He sleeps well for a little while, continues to not think about it too hard and just appreciates the peace it brought him. The peace doesn’t last, unfortunately, and it’s not long before he jerks awake from another nightmare.
It’s a memory of the fight at the Byers’ house, that thing running right at him, but this time he was unable to move, to get out of the way before that awful, flower-shaped mouth closed around him. He trembles as he lays there, pajamas soaked through with sweat and breathing heavily as the images refuse to shake free from his mind, the teeth-covered flesh closing around him and biting into his skin.
There’s no way he’ll be able to get back to sleep, and he lays there long enough that he goes from trembling to twitching, like he has too much energy but doesn’t know how to release it, adrenaline that refuses to recede. A brief thought flashes through his mind of hands in his hair and Eddie’s soothing voice, and before Steve knows it, he’s out of bed and in his car, driving across town to the trailer park.
He shifts from foot to foot as he knocks on the door, breathless in the worst way possible. It takes a moment for the door to open and he freezes when he sees Eddie dressed in a well-worn t-shirt and boxers, looking like he just crawled out of bed - because he probably had.
Oh shit.
“Fuck, it’s late, isn’t it? I’m sorry, I- I didn’t even realize. I’ll come back-”
Eddie frowns and reaches out to take Steve’s wrist. “No way, you’re already here. And if you’re here this late then something’s wrong.” He gently pulls Steve into the trailer and guides him to the couch, sits them down without releasing his hold on Steve. “Talk to me, man. What’s going on?”
Steve’s knee bounces as he sits there, nearly chewing a hole into his lip before he makes himself ask “What you did last time. Can- Can you do it again?”
The older boy seems surprised but nods. “Of course. Do you- Like last time?”
A nod, and Steve finds himself in a familiar position. The last few weeks, he wondered if he’d just imagined just how good it was, how nice it felt, and now he realizes that it’s actually better than he remembers.
That floaty feeling comes quicker than it did last time and seems to last longer as well, and he wonders if that’s because he leans into it this time, welcoming it in instead of resisting the pull. Steve finds himself in a familiar position when he comes back to himself, his cheek pressed to Eddie’s thigh and body heavy in a good way.
There are fingers still in his hair, not carding like before, just playing with the locks, and they sit in silence for a while before Eddie says “How would you feel about making this a regular thing?”
A regular thing. Steve thinks about how well he slept after the last time, how he enjoys just being nothing for a while. He sits up, dislodging Eddie's hand from his hair and asks “Would it be any different from what we’re doing now?”
“A little? It’s- Wait, before we get too deep into this, I have to tell you something.”
“Okay?”
Eddie toys with his fingers for a moment, clearly nervous as he builds up to whatever it is he has to say, and Steve isn’t expecting it to be a soft “I, uh. I’m gay.”
He doesn’t know what to say. No one’s ever come out to him before, and the only thing he can get out is a blunt “Oh.”
“Yeah. I wanted you to know now, because I don’t want to make you uncomfortable or even upset you if you found out down the line. If it’s not something you’re cool with, I would at least appreciate you not telling anyone else, and I would especially appreciate you not punching me.”
“No! No, it’s- It’s cool, Eddie. You’re fine.” Steve frowns and chews on his lip for a second. “I know I’ve been a shitty person, but I’m trying to be better. Your secret is safe with me, and not just because you also kind of have dirt on me too.”
“Mutual blackmail, I like it.” Eddie smiles a little and nods, then smacks his hands on his knees as he stands. “Okay, so. I know it’s super late, but I have something for you. I went back to Indy to learn a little more about this whole thing, because I’m not super experienced, and I got some info that kind of explains it better.”
He helps Steve to his feet and guides him down the short length of the trailer to a bedroom, messy and lived in and the exact opposite of Steve’s own. There’s a lot to see, and Steve blinks in surprise when Eddie hands Steve a few pamphlets that are turned to a specific spot. Steve glances over them, sees something about contracts, boundaries, safewords. He feels a little overwhelmed by all of this new information.
“This is a lot.”
“I know. But it’s all to make sure we’re both safe, and comfortable with this.”
“What is this ?”
Eddie takes a breath, like he’s bracing himself, before he says “A contract, if you’re interested. We set up some boundaries and expectations, and then we can meet as often as you want.”
“This sounds like a business deal.”
“I mean, it kind of is.”
Steve resists the urge to flip through the pamphlets and just shoves them in his pocket, glad when Eddie doesn’t stop him from doing so. He’s definitely going to need to read them in detail. “So, what? I get pulled out of my head and chilled the fuck out so I can sleep, but what do you get out of this?”
A blush dusts across Eddie’s face, and it takes Steve a moment to realize that he’s flustered. “I get to take care of you. That’s what I enjoy about this, is getting to take care of someone and seeing that I’m helping. Last time you- you called it a sex thing , but that’s not the foundation of it, this is. Care and control.”
Oh. Steve is pretty sure that Eddie’s flush is mirrored on his own face; he’s never had someone openly talk about wanting to take care of him, not his parents or his girlfriends, not Nancy. He’s always been the man, the caretaker, and it sparks something warm in his gut that someone wants to be that for him, for a change.
“Let, uh- Let me read this stuff, and think about it, and I’ll, I’ll let you know. Yeah?”
“Yeah, okay.”
They set up the contract the next week. It takes time to hash it out, mostly because neither of them really know what they’re doing - Steve even less so than Eddie - and it doesn’t help that Steve feels awkward through the whole thing.
They settle on something simple: Eddie can put Steve down in any way he wants - within reason - as often as Steve wants - at Eddie’s discretion - no bells and whistles, no sexual contact. The last one had been Eddie’s addition, his assurance to Steve that their time together will be strictly platonic - strictly business? Whatever. It’s not something that bothers Steve any which way, so he lets it be, and they officially start a few days later.
It helps a lot. Like, a lot a lot. Every other week he finds himself at the Munson trailer, either spread over the couch or settled on his knees, letting Eddie take him down into that delicious nothing. Sometimes it’s hands in his hair, sometimes it’s Eddie massaging the nape of his neck until he can hardly sit upright, and sometimes it’s just Steve sitting very quiet and very still, on the floor next to wherever Eddie has seated himself.
All of it works, all of it sends him drifting off, like a leaf floating on the breeze, and he finds it so much easier to keep a level head, to not stress about the aftermath of that fucking week.
He does not tell Nancy. There’s no reason to tell her, no reason to make her worry about him when he’s fine, when Eddie is just helping him be fine. It’s not like they’re doing anything, not like he’s cheating on her. And it’s better than drugs, better than gorging himself on alcohol until the thoughts stop, until the nightmares keep their distance. Not when Eddie’s presence does the same thing.
One day, a month or so into the contract, Eddie introduces something new.
"You want to tie up my hands?"
Eddie nods and picks up the rope that’s been sitting on the counter since Steve arrived. "Yeah. It's nothing crazy, just a simple restraint. It shouldn’t be too restrictive, but it might add to the experience for you.”
Steve is a bit hesitant, but agrees, and they move to sit on the couch. He watches Eddie uncoil the length of rope and begin wrapping it around his wrists, working efficiently, like it’s something he’s done before. It doesn’t take more than a couple of minutes, and Eddie slides two fingers between the rope and Steve’s skin before he smiles in satisfaction.
“There, that should do it. It’s not too tight, yeah?”
“No, it’s fine, I- Where did you learn that?” he asks, almost shocked at how quickly Eddie has restrained him. The older boy just shrugs.
“When I went back to Indy that last time, Andrea taught me a few things.”
Steve pauses, ignoring the sour feeling that curls in his stomach and looks up at the other boy. “Andrea?”
“Yeah, the girl I told you about. Who does this for her anxiety? She told me that she likes to be tied up, likes the compression around her arms and chest. I thought if you’re interested, we could start with your hands, and if you like it we could take a trip so she could teach us some more stuff.”
That sounds practical, actually, and it would probably be good for Steve to talk to someone who’s more familiar with this whole setup. “Yeah, that sounds like a plan. I guess let’s, uh, give this a try.”
Eddie’s right, it does enhance the experience. He’s not usually one to touch Eddie during this, to hold on to him, but knowing that he can’t now adds a new layer to the whole thing. He sits cross-legged on the floor, back against the couch and shoulder pressed to Eddie’s calf as the older boy reads or watches tv; Steve isn’t really sure. He comes back up gradually, guided back to himself by Eddie’s careful tone and gentle touch.
“What did you think?” Eddie asks once he’s had time to recover, once he’s seated on the couch with a glass of water and the haze all but gone.
“Yeah, that did something. I’m actually kind of surprised, if I’m honest, but yeah, I’m- I think I’d be open to more of that.”
The older boy smiles and digs into the back of the couch. “I was hoping you’d say that, so I stashed this here.”
This turns out to be a magazine that he smacks into Steve’s hands. The cover features a scantily clad woman trussed up in violet ropes, and Steve can’t deny that he’s curious. He flips through it a little and his face flushes at some of the stuff he sees.
“What the fuck is this magazine?” he asks, and Eddie rolls his eyes as he flips to a different page.
“A great resource, for a couple of newbies like us. There’s tips and instructions and shit. You wanna be safe about this, don’t you? This is how we learn.”
Steve huffs and shakes his head a bit as he pauses on an article. “You’re lucky I trust you,” he mutters, and he glances up to see Eddie looking at him with something akin to awe, before the older man grins.
“So I guess we can officially add bondage to the contract, huh?”
They don’t get the chance to visit Andrea before something goes wrong. Though if he’s honest, Steve is surprised they made it two whole months without any hiccups.
The night starts out like normal; Steve shows up to Eddie’s after dark, mind muddled and body full of restless energy. Eddie puts him under, ties his twitching hands behind his back and makes him kneel at his feet, pushes him down and down until all Steve can focus on is the dull ache in his knees and the gentle touch through his hair.
It’s a familiar fog, a soft haze that dissolves with the opening of the trailer door.
Steve snaps back to himself like a rubber band as Eddie stands up with a sudden “Wayne! You’re back early!”
The man replies somehow, but Steve can’t hear it over the ringing in his ears. His chest is tight, the ropes wrapped around his wrists suddenly feel sharp, like they’re digging into his skin and cutting off his circulation. He needs- he needs to get out. Needs to hide away until the shame that's lit him on fire has burned out.
He's sure he's barely audible when he mutters a soft "Eddie, will you please untie me?" but Eddie's attention instantly shifts from his uncle to Steve. He moves closer, kneeling down behind Steve as he starts to undo the binds with practiced ease, and dropping the restraints off to the side.
Once Steve is free Eddie tries to rub his thumbs over the indentations in his skin, something he's done every time to help ground Steve, to bring him back into the moment while also reassuring himself that Steve isn’t hurt, but the last thing Steve wants in the moment is for this man he doesn’t even know to witness something else that's supposed to be private . He scrambles up from the floor and away from Eddie's hold, and he knows he's muttering something as he slips on his shoes and darts out the door.
Eddie follows him out, reaches to grab Steve's wrist, but the touch that is normally so soothing only makes his skin crawl.
"Stevie, come back inside, please. Wayne's okay, he doesn't care, alright? He was just surprised, and- I just need you to come back inside so I can take care of you."
Steve shakes his head. The thought of going back in, of being around someone who saw him in such a vulnerable, exposed position makes him want to hurl on the grass. Eddie’s the only one who-
"No, I'm- I can't be here right now, Eddie, I need to go."
"Steve, you were shocked out of subspace, and you’re probably going to drop. All of the reading I've done says-"
Something in Steve snaps. It's too much all at once, the shame still crawling under his skin and Eddie's burning hot grip on his wrist. He needs to go , and he can't stop himself from lashing out like a cornered animal. "Fuck your reading! Nothing like that has ever happened to me, Eddie!"
For a moment Eddie looks like he’s been slapped, the shock on his face clear as fucking day, until it shifts into a hard scowl. It’s an expression Steve has never seen, but he instantly hates it, this new face that makes Steve feel so small .
"Because I've worked to make sure it doesn't happen! That's what fucking aftercare is , Steve! It’s making sure you don’t crash back to Earth once you’re done being a space case!"
Something about that stings , and Steve shakes his head as he pulls away and heads down the steps to his car, his hands trembling as he unlocks the door. He hears an angry sound from the porch before Eddie says "Fine! Don't fucking call me later when you're crying your eyes out and panicking."
Steve glances up in time to see the trailer door slamming shut, and he's properly shaking as he settles behind the wheel of his car. He doesn't remember the drive home, practically just blinks and he's suddenly at his house, unlocking the door and stumbling inside. He feels hollow, like a bottomless pit has opened up inside him and nothing is ever going to make him feel okay again. His body moves on autopilot, getting him undressed and in bed without a thought, until he's wrapped up in his blanket as tight as he possibly can.
It's only then that the tears start, gasping, heaving things that make his chest ache, that widen the gaping hole inside him, that rattle around in the empty cavity of his chest. He wants to call Eddie, wants to apologize for lashing out and beg for forgiveness, but the memory of the older boy's anger stops him. Eddie told him not to call, and Steve has already been bad enough tonight. He can’t risk disobeying again, can’t risk Eddie ending everything because Steve can’t fucking listen.
Steve cries himself to sleep that night, and he doesn't go to school the next day for how ill he feels. His entire body aches like it does when he has the flu, and he constantly finds himself seconds away from breaking into tears. When he calls Nancy to let her know he can't pick her up, she wishes him well, and he goes right back to bed, unable to gather the energy to do anything else.
The next time he wakes up, it’s to hands cradling his face and a gentle murmur in his ear, and all he can do is whine in response. He hears Eddie mutter a soft “Okay, I’m here now, you’re okay.” The bed dips and arms wrap around him, pulling him into Eddie's familiar form, and Steve buries his nose into the collar of his shirt as the tears start up again.
It’s not the heavy sobs from last night, but Eddie holds him through it, his arms so grounding, the guiding light finally pulling Steve home after he's been adrift for so many hours. There’s soft humming and muttered reassurances, and eventually he feels better, more human , like that yawning expanse in his chest has reduced drastically, and he’s finally okay again.
He vaguely registers fingers threading through his hair, twisting gently and playing with the locks, and he hums softly to catch Eddie’s attention.
“Feeling better?” the older boy asks, and he hums again.
There’s a long moment of quiet, before Eddie mutters “I’m sorry, Steve. I shouldn’t have snapped at you. I mean, what kind of a shitty Dom lashes out like that?”
“I started it,” Steve mutters, needing to reassure Eddie even with how dry his mouth is. “I got scared and just- I had to go.”
“We both kind of suck at this, huh?”
They chuckle softly, and Steve shakes his head. “Yeah. We’re not stopping though, right?”
"I mean, I don’t want to,” Eddie says, shrugging as best as he can. “But like, listen. My whole job in this thing is to take care of you, Steve, and you have to trust me to do that, you said you do. I understand that it was a weird position to be caught in, but you being alone and falling into a drop makes me feel like I’ve failed at that. I'm upset, and I'm hurt that you don't seem to trust me enough to let me do my job.”
“I didn’t want that,” Steve replies softly. “I just- it’s scary, sometimes. Terrifying. But I want- I don’t want to be afraid. I do trust you, Eddie, and I don’t want you to doubt that anymore. I just want to forget that anything happened so we can go back to normal.”
“I think we can make that happen.”
It’s quiet for a moment before Steve gives a soft “You’re sure your uncle doesn’t hate me?”
Eddie’s uncle is there the next time Steve goes to the trailer. They cross paths outside, and the man - Wayne - stops him with a gentle hand to his shoulder.
“You boys sort yourselves out?” he asks, voice gruff but soft, the care obvious in his tone. Steve nods.
“Yeah, I think so.”
"Ed told me a little about what you two were doin'. Said that you went through somethin' rough, and that it helps you get out of your head. I'm not gonna say that I understand, because I don't, but- my boy cares about you, that much is clear."
And Steve knows that, has seen the evidence first hand, but hearing it from an outside perspective is almost shocking. "How can you be sure?"
There’s a twinkle in the man’s eye as he says "Because even after he yelled at you, he stayed up half the night worrying before falling asleep by the phone."
"But he- He told me not to call."
"Listen, you're both just dumb teenagers. You're gonna say things you regret. Just- be open, and honest. You gotta work for the good things." Wayne pats his shoulder and heads down the short steps. "I'm off to work, for real tonight. You boys be safe."
Steve smiles, watching as Wayne climbs into his truck and pulls away. He has a moment of clarity where he knows that the man is right. They are dumb, and they are going to mess up. But Steve knows it’ll be worth it in the end.