Time stretched endlessly for the next five seconds until Steve jumped up and away from Eddie as if he'd been electrocuted. Eddie grasped Steve's injured hand tighter, though, refusing to let go. Steve looked back at Eddie, confused. Eddie gave Steve the slightest hint of a sheepish smile and shrugged.

He's right. Dustin's already seen what he's seen. Why bother denying now?

Something inside of Steve let go in that moment. A tiny piece of the larger anxious puzzle, but it was still significant. He looked into Eddie's eyes and couldn't stop himself from shrugging right back. He kept their hands clasped and moved to stand next to Eddie again. Finally, after another few seconds of silent communication with Eddie, Steve took a deep breath and looked back over at Dustin.

"Um," Steve said. Dustin's eyes were still wide as saucers, but he started blinking and looking between Eddie's face, Steve's face, and their still clasped hands.

"Wh—what is going on?" Dustin finally said quietly. Eddie stepped forward and cautiously reached out a hand to put on Dustin's shoulder. Dustin only slightly flinched.

"Dustin, look," Eddie began. Steve ran a hand through his hair.

"Are you guys— I mean, I've heard the rumors about you, Eddie. But Steve?" Dustin looked over at Steve now, face utterly confused. "Like, is this a joke? Are you guys messing with me?"

Steve blushed and exchanged a glance with Eddie. Dustin watched this intently.

"It's totally not a joke, is it?" Dustin muttered to himself.

"We're sort of figuring it out as we go," Steve finally said. Dustin looked at Steve, the guy he had looked up to as an older brother for years now, looking so utterly distraught. It was clear he both cared for Eddie, but also really really cared about Dustin's opinion of him. The fear in Steve's eyes brought Dustin perfect clarity. He hated seeing Steve upset, and he wanted him to be happy. If that happiness was through Eddie Munson of all people, he didn't see a reason to be upset about that.

"Are you—are you happy?" Dustin asked Steve. At this Steve had to smile slightly.

"Would you believe me if I said yes?" Steve said, earning a deep eye roll from Eddie.

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but yes," Dustin replied. He relaxed a little bit and looked back at Eddie. "So the rumors are true, then? You're just another member of Hawkins high drooling after Steve Harrington?" Now it was Steve's turn to roll his eyes. Eddie's face broke into an adorable grin.

"Yup. It's literally the most embarrassing thing about me. And that's saying something," Eddie said, fully back to his lighthearted demeanor. Dustin laughed.

"Hardly. It's way more embarrassing for Steve," Dustin joked, and Steve sighed.

I can't believe he's taking this so well.

"Relax. Let's just do what we came here to do, right?" Eddie said, putting a hand on Steve's back and rubbing small circles with his thumb.

"Wait, are you here to play, Steve?" Dustin asked, practically buzzing.

"Unfortunately," Steve said, totally resigned.

"Oh my god. Well that right there means I could never be anything other than thrilled about this!" Dustin gestured between Steve and Eddie. Eddie clapped his hands together once and turned back to the D&D materials. He started setting up the table and Steve walked over to Dustin.

"Henderson, thank you so much for not running and screaming," Steve said in a low voice. He felt very uncomfortable. Dustin's expression softened.

"Steve, you're like my brother. I can't pretend I'm not surprised, and maybe even a little bit confused, but I want you to be happy. And Eddie, too." Dustin clapped Steve on the shoulder. "And honestly? When I really think about it, it works. You need someone who can keep you in check. And Eddie keeps everyone in check."

When did the kid become so wise?

"Thanks, man. Just, if you don't mind, keep this to yourself? Not everyone is as cool as you," Steve said. Dustin nodded immediately.

"Of course."

"Well, you can gossip with Robin," Eddie said, not even looking up from the spread of documents he had surrounded himself with. Dustin's mouth fell open.

"ROBIN knew before ME? You're shitting me! I am so hurt!"

"Oh, get over it, Henderson. You're still in a very exclusive four person circle of trust, here." Eddie waved him off. "Now am I going to get some help to setup or what?"

Steve and Dustin joined Eddie at the table and Steve sat and watched them get to work. There wasn't much else for him to do other than create a character to play, which he did begrudgingly and with lots of "whatever you guys think is best" responses to Eddie and Dustin's questions. Eventually, the rest of the group joined up and demanded an extensive explanation as to why the actual fuck Steve was joining their campaign. Dustin enthusiastically shared an elaborate and complete lie, ending in a horribly lost bet for Steve. The group didn't question Dustin's integrity nor the fervor with which he delivered the story. Steve was hoping they wouldn't buy it so he could jump up and shout "GOTCHA!" and claim the whole thing to be a prank, but sadly that never came. So, he collected his dice and examined his reference papers as the gang adventured through another realm. He had to admit watching Eddie switch into dungeon master was absolutely incredible. It seemed to start at a moment's notice, and suddenly Eddie was slamming his hands down onto the table, causing Steve to jump a mile out of his chair — Eddie's lips twitched — and the story picked up where the group had left off, with a new traveler in their midst.

By early evening when it was time to finish up, Steve utilized a fight between Mike and Lucas as a distraction and slipped one of the reference books into his bag.

I gotta start reading up on this stuff. I need to be able to do a fireball spell next time.

God, listen to me. I'm off the deep end.

Everyone helped clean up and they dispersed. Steve was giving Dustin a ride home but when he realized Eddie would be walking home he turned to his younger friend.

"Henderson, are you okay with me giving Eddie a ride home too?"

"Sure," Dustin shrugged and slipped his backpack on. Steve approached Eddie who had his bag in one hand, examining the chipped black polish on his other.

"Yes, I'll accept your ride," Eddie said, looking up and grinning at Steve. His stomach swooped and he rolled his eyes, blushing all the same. Eddie mussed Steve's hair and Steve yelped, ducking out of the way. Eddie laughed and settled for a gentle tap on Steve's nose, bringing his hand down to then brush against Steve's hand. They locked eyes for a few moments and desire started clawing its way through Steve's body. Both boys leaned in a few inches— and Dustin cleared his throat loudly from the doorway. Steve jumped, Eddie laughed.

"I do have to get home eventually." Dustin said.

"Yeah, yeah. Let's go," Steve replied, shouldering past Dustin and leading the way to the parking lot.

The boys piled into Steve's car and Dustin started rubbing his hands together and nodding as he observed the other two.

"What the hell are you doing, Henderson?" Steve asked, glancing back at Dustin in his rearview.

"I'm ready to watch you in action, Steve! Pick up some tips. You would have never let me ride in a car alone with you and a girl you were dating. I'm sure it can't be that different now, though. This is great!" Dustin continued grinning and sat back silently.

"Oh my god. You are such a little weirdo," Steve muttered under his breath. Eddie chuckled and flipped on the radio, spinning the dial to find something tolerable. Despite his cool exterior and attempt to look casual, Steve's heart was pumping hard as he reached over to wordlessly lock hands with Eddie. A quiet "nice" was issued from the backseat and Eddie shook his head, smiling to himself. He had paused his music search when Steve grabbed his hand and the notes of a song began playing. Steve hummed along.

"You like this?" Eddie accused. Steve shrugged.

"Sure. Who doesn't like Journey?"

"Highway run… into the midnight sun..."

"I don't know, people with taste?" Eddie looked absolutely disgusted.

"Well, what would you suggest?" Steve asked.

"I'm forever yours… faithfully..."

"Metallica? Dio? Van Halen?"

Steve scrunched his nose. "You can barely even sing along to those bands."

Eddie gaped.

"Two strangers learn to fall in love again..."

"First off, that's wrong. And also, there's more to music than singing. What about the incredible guitar skill?" Eddie was gesticulating with both hands now.

The guitar solo of the song had just begun playing on the radio.

"There's guitar in Faithfully" Dustin piped in from the backseat, pointing at the center console.

"Shut the fuck up, Dustin." Eddie snapped. Steve laughed and pulled Eddie's hand loose from his tightly locked arms crossed against his chest, intertwining their fingers again. The last few moments of the song were playing now, and Steve suddenly sucked in a huge breath and belted the words, squeezing Eddie's hand.

"FOREVER YOURSSSSSSS…..FAITHFULLY"

Dustin burst out laughing and Eddie couldn't hold his straight face any longer. He joined in laughing with Dustin. Steve was smiling too.

"See? Not all Journey is bad. Especially my version."

Eddie shook his head, still chuckling.

"Maybe I can make one exception."

"I'll take it," Steve replied, looking over at Eddie, who was now gazing out of the window. Steve could just barely see his dimple still showing from a smile. Eddie didn't change the radio for the rest of the ride, letting the music Steve enjoyed continue playing without a single complaint.