Author's Note:
A big apology to anyone who read this months ago when I started posting and was looking forward to updates. I plan to finish it but the little goblins in my brain keep coming up with other ideas and distracting me. If you haven't read any of my other stories I'd love it if you checked them out! I have more posted on my ao3 than here. (username: weird_witchcraft) Plus I think my writing has grown a lot in the five (!) months since I first started writing this. Honestly, sometimes it's hard to come back to writing this, but I have a good ending planned out, I just need to write it!
Chapter title from Black Blade by Blue Öyster Cult
Chapter 12: Carving Out Destiny
Sunday, August 3, 1986
Steve tries to hold in a laugh as he watches Eddie pace around the living room, "will you stop before you wear out the carpet? It's going to be fine, everyone's going to have a great time."
"I miss my throne," Eddie pouts, making Steve laugh.
"Of course you do, King Eddie," Steve sticks his tongue out at Eddie before disappearing back into the kitchen to grab some chips and pour them into a bowl.
Steve knows this is a big deal for Eddie, being able to host the party at his house instead of in the drama room at the high school. He's trying to be as supportive as he can be, without letting Eddie get too in his head about it. Steve came over early to bake cookies for the party while Eddie set up the table with all of his note books, DM screen, dice, and those little figurines. Even though Steve isn't sure what half of the things are, Eddie was still hilariously secretive and wouldn't let Steve near his end of the table.
The oven beeps and Steve slips on the oven mitts to remove his chocolate chip cookies, they're perfect. He's about to start moving them on to a plate when Eddie comes up behind him and pulls on the tie of his apron.
"You're making me crazy in this thing Stevie," Eddie says huskily, nosing at Steve's neck. "It's like you're my little housewife in your frilly little apron."
Steve blushes, face suddenly hot and not from the oven. He knew Eddie would tease him about wearing one of his mom's old aprons when he brought it over, but he didn't think he'd get this reaction at all.
Steve turns around in Eddie's hold, "Mr. Munson, don't you get fresh with me," he says, patting Eddie on the cheek with his mitt covered hand.
Eddie laughs and pulls him in for a kiss, he tastes like the cookie dough Steve had scolded him for sampling. Steve wraps his arms around Eddie, pressing himself closer and groaning as Eddie licks into his mouth and grinds their pelvises together.
"I'd love nothing more than to get fresh with you sweetheart," Eddie says, giving Steve a wicked smirk, "but I think Wayne will be up soon and then we'll be overrun with little demons."
Steve groans, "Ugh, how am I going to keep my hands to myself for a whole evening?"
They've agreed that they're going to act how they normally do together, except a little less handsy, and just see if anyone notices. Eddie's been mischievously looking forward to the boys reactions to the fact that he's fucking their babysitter—"we will not be putting it that way, Munson!" Steve had protested, laughing.
"Could always tie you to your chair," Eddie jokes, but then immediately goes sombre when Steve flinches at that.
Memories of being tied up and beaten by Russian soldiers coming to the forefront of his mind. He tries to breathe, to focus on Eddie, to push down the panic welling up inside of him.
"Shit, baby I'm sorry, I wasn't thinking," Eddie says softly, hands cupping at Steve's cheeks as he whispers more assurances.
Steve manages to pull himself back, to look into Eddie's eyes and feel safe and cared for.
"Sorry," he says sheepishly, he's embarrassed that something so small can set him off. But Eddie never makes him feel bad for it, they've both got their own shit from the things they've been through.
"You never have to be sorry with me sweetheart, you know that," Eddie says, his eyes are intently focused on Steve's face, big pools of brown softly gazing at him.
They're interrupted by the doorbell, and Steve's able to box up his lingering anxiety and focus on the task at hand. They both walk to the front door to greet their guests.
Eddie barely gets the door open before he's got his arms full of Dustin, "Eddie!" he cries loudly, "Steve!" but Dustin halts before he hugs Steve, "what are you wearing?"
Steve blushes and rips the apron off, "I was baking cookies and didn't want to get chocolate on my clothes."
"Oh, that's so sweet Steven, I love a man that can cook!" Claudia Henderson smiles at the sight of her son so excited to see his friends. "I made you boys a lemon loaf," she says, holding out a tupperware container.
"Come on in Mrs. Henderson, you're the first ones here," Steve says, waving her in, "would you like a cup of tea before you go?"
"Steve I've told you before, call me Claudia. Yes, please, that sounds lovely."
Eddie gives Steve a disgusted look, mouthing Stepford Wife at him, as Steve guides Mrs. Henderson into the house. Steve flips him the bird behind Claudia's back.
Steve busies himself with putting the kettle on and grabbing a plate of cookies and bringing them to the little breakfast nook. Dustin is excitedly asking Eddie about the campaign but Eddie refuses to give up any information.
Wayne wanders into the kitchen, grumbling about needing coffee, until he sees Claudia and runs his hands over his hair to flatten it.
"Oh, uh, hello, I didn't realize we had company already. I'm Eddie's Uncle Wayne," he says, holding his hand out for Claudia to shake.
"This is Claudia, Dustin's mom, you remember Dustin," Steve says, ruffling Dustin's hair and grinning when his young friend squawks in protest.
"Hello there, would you like some lemon loaf to go with your coffee? I baked it fresh this morning," Claudia says with a bright smile directed at Wayne.
Wayne honest to god blushes and Steve shares a look with Eddie as if to say "well isn't that the cutest fucking thing ever?" that leads them to corralling Dustin into the living room to give the grown ups some space to chat.
Steve just knows Eddie is going to have a field day teasing Wayne about Claudia later, especially after all the shit Wayne's been giving the two of them.
Thankfully Dustin seems oblivious for the time being about any sort of flirtation going on between his mother and Wayne in the kitchen. Eddie gets Dustin talking about their last game, grinning as he deftly avoids answering any questions about their upcoming adventure.
Steve's trying not to feel too nervous about playing for the first time, he hates being put on the spot and the last thing he wants is to feel stupid in front of Eddie. But it helps that Eddie's been so sweet about it, explaining the rules to Steve and telling him that he'll be there every step of the way to guide him. He thinks that's the first thing that's going to give them away, how gentle Eddie is with him when he's learning something new. The boys will be sniffing around like bloodhounds in no time.
Lucas, Erica, and Max arrive, letting themselves in and are followed shortly after by Mike. They all drop their bags in the hallway as they join Eddie and Dustin in the living room, chatting excitedly about their predictions for what Eddie's cooked up this time. Steve grumbles as he grabs their mess of bags, not wanting Wayne to trip over them, and throws them on Eddie's bed for later. The doorbell rings again and goes he to answer it, smiling at Joyce, Will, and El as he opens the door.
"You could have just let yourselves in you know," Steve says, "Erica certainly did."
"Mom did not want us to be rude," El says, with a little smile at Joyce. Steve's heart nearly melts as Joyce returns the smile and squeezes El's shoulder, guiding her and Will into the house.
"Hi Steve," Will says shyly, Steve's gonna have to work on pulling Will out of his shell, if Eddie doesn't get him there first. He knows that Eddie's looking forward to getting to know Will better after all the stories that the rest of the guys have told about Will the Wise.
"Hey you two, the rest of the gremlins are in the living room with Eddie," Steve responds, gesturing with his arm as Will and El follow the noise into the house.
"How are you Joyce?" Steve asks, starting towards the kitchen, "want some tea before you go? Claudia and Wayne are in the kitchen if you want to join them"
"I'm good thanks Steve, but how are you honey? You holding up okay?" Joyce asks, stilling Steve with a hand on his arm as she appraises him with her dark eyes.
The urge to brush off her concern with a hollow answer is strong but Steve knows she'll see right through him. "Still getting nightmares sometimes, but Eddie and I have been spending a lot of time together and it helps. You know? Being around people who get it," Steve says quietly.
"Yeah, I know," Joyce says, rubbing his arm, "so how's Eddie liking the job? Frank seems to really like him."
Steve smiles fondly, "he loves it, Frank seems like a nice guy. Thanks again for talking to him, it was beginning to feel like no one in town was willing to take a chance on Eddie"
"You really care about him don't you?" Joyce asks, and her face is almost a little too perceptive for Steve's liking, he and Eddie had agreed to let the kids find out about them, but Joyce and the other adults knowing still makes Steve nervous.
He trusts Joyce though so he gives her another honest answer.
"Yeah, I do," Steve sighs, "I really do."
"I'm glad you have each other then, make sure you bring him to our housewarming party, it'll be nice for us all to get to know each other better. I know Will has been so excited to play Dungeons and Dragons with Eddie after everything Mike's said about his storytelling skills"
"He really knows how to spin a yarn," Steve chuckles
"Well you all have fun, call us if you need anything!" Joyce says as she ducks out the door.
Steve heads back into the living room, peeking in the kitchen on the way. Wayne and Claudie are still talking, and Wayne's wearing the sweetest smile Steve has ever seen on him.
Oh yeah, Eddie's definitely going to lay into him about this later.
The boys are arguing with Eddie about stats while Max, El and Erica are sitting on the couch with an assortment of nail polish, hair elastics, and magazines on the coffee table in front of them. Plenty to keep Max and El entertained while they watched the others play the game.
"Steve will let me paint his nails, won't you Steve?" Max asks with an innocent eyed pleading look that is completely out of place on her face.
Steve scoffs, "nope, not happening"
Max takes that as a challenge and doubles down, "my doctor said I need to work on building up my fine motor skills, you want me to get better don't you?"
Okay, wow, that's more her speed, laying it on thick with the guilt. Steve sighs, "did you at least bring the remover?"
Max brightens instantly, pulling a pink bottle out of her backpack, "yeah! Perfect we can give you rainbow nails," she says with a devious grin.
"Well, come on now, let's not get too crazy," Steve responds, feeling out of his depth.
"Why would we not get crazy? If you are going to take it off after anyways?" El says, her sweet smile turning more mischievous as she glances at Max.
"Yeah nerd, live a little!" Erica says.
He should have known better, these girls are a pack of jackals and they know all his weaknesses.
"Fine, sure, whatever, you can paint my nails after the game," he says, resigned to his fate.
The girls whoop, and Max adds "toes too!"
Steve's about to scoff again and tell her no, but Erica beats him to it, "ew! I'm not touching his feet!"
"What, Steve has nice feet," says Max with a shrug, "they'd look pretty painted"
"I concur, Red. You can do mine too, I've always wanted a pedicure," Eddie says with a laugh, wrapping an arm around Steve. "Just let yourself be pampered Harrington, maybe you'll like it"
Steve barely stops himself from making a suggestive comment about how he likes it better when Eddie's the one taking care of him. Some words are not meant for virgin ears.
"I can paint your toes," El says looking up at Eddie, "but I'm not very good"
"I don't mind a little mess Lady Jane, lay it on me," Eddie replies, knocking his knuckles against her shoulder as she preens at the nickname.
Eddie claps his hands, "alight! Alright, gentlefolk! The time has come for our journey to begin! Will the party make their way to the table please," Eddie says, sweeping his arm towards the table and bowing dramatically.
Eddie insists that Steve sits to his right so he can help him with his dice while the boys argue and scuffle about who's going to sit where. Dustin wins the seat to Eddie's left while Will and Mike settle next to Steve and the Sinclairs settle on the opposite side of the table.
"Your party is journeying homeward after your last adventure and comes upon an inn along the road. You decide to take shelter there and indulge in the local mead and fine food. Your bellies are full as you listen to stories and songs from the common folk. The innkeeper laughs heartily, telling your group about a foolish young knight who left that morning on a journey in search of the Black Blade. He asks if you've heard tales of it before, when you all answer in the negative he regails you with the story of a mystical sword that was forged thousands of years ago. It's thought to be hidden in an abandoned castle a few days' journey eastward, and though they've had many a traveller come through in search of the sword, none have succeeded in finding it. Some say that the blade calls to its evil master, a dark creature of unknown origins, and that the sword will corrupt any who attempt to wield it, making them bloodthirsty and murderous. For the blade will grow in its dark power with every life it takes, forcing its master to cut down every being they encounter, slowly making them lose their minds as their soul becomes as black as the wicked weapon…"
Eddie begins his tale and Steve is instantly captivated by the deep timbre of his voice, he's absolutely magnetic and Steve can't take his eyes off of him for a moment. The story Eddie spins intrigues them all as they lean forward, all of them hanging on their Dungeon Master's every word.
Author's Notes:
I'm debating if I want to continue to cross post this on here since I'm much more active over on Ao3 I might continue to do so just for the sake of actually completing it on here, but feel free to let me know in the comments if you prefer reading on here. You can find the story on Ao3 under the same title but my username is weird_witchcraft there. I'm pasting a link below but this website hates links so I'm not sure if it'll work.
/works/40684758/chapters/111223288
Credit to oaeseas for being the original pirate of the Claudia x Wayne Ship in their fic "this is your home. these are your people."
Okay I know I sound like a broken record, and I hate to be so unsure of myself but try as I might I can't seem to wrap my head around how DnD works since I've never actually played it. Hopefully that little tease of a story is enough to satisfy you cause that's the best I could come up with.
I've gotten way more into researching period accurate music since I first started writing this story which lead me to listening to Cultösaurus Erectus a 1980 album by Blue Öyster Cult, hence the chapter title from "Black Blade". Which I just discovered is actually about a sword called Stormbringer, featured in Michael Moorcock's books. And funnily enough I looked him up the other day because his name was mentioned in "echo" by CaptainHoney (also on ao3) So really the fandom is coming full circle with our nerd knowledge. And once again I'm using my author's notes to spread the word about my favourite fics.