Eddie fascinated Steve. His passion for DnD also confused him. So the first time he saw Eddie's room and the figurines littered about the place, Steve was captivated by the time and care that had obviously got into making all of them. He spent a lot of time examining them as Eddie made more or wrote new campaigns, playing his guitar. All of it was interesting and so new to Steve.

One day, he spotted an older, worn-out figurine that had lost most definitions. The only thing he could tell was that it was a woman with wings and a spear. When he picked it up to look more closely, he realized it was a Valkyrie.

"Who's this?" He asked, and Eddie's eyes narrowed when he saw what Steve held. He wordlessly held out his hand, and Steve handed it over, confused. "Sorry."

"It's fine. This is my mom's character. We used to play together when I was little. My character broke a few years ago, so this is the last one." Eddie set it carefully on the desk beside him with a sigh. "I don't have much from her."

Steve didn't know what to say to that, so instead, he hugged Eddie from behind. He stiffened but then relaxed into the hold with a laugh, patting Steve's arm. Another thing Steve had learned about Eddie was that he liked physical touch, even if he wouldn't ask for it.

"Okay, big boy, let me go so I can finish this section, or the guys will kill me."

Steve let him go just as there was a knock at the door, so he went to answer it, finding it was Dustin. "You're early?"

"And you're here?" Dustin pushed past him and disappeared into Eddie's room, where an immediate conversation started about the campaign.

Too dull for Steve, he occupied himself with cleaning up their mess from an earlier movie session. Somehow, he had become Eddie's personal maid, always picking up after him. If he weren't so charming, Steve would have been annoyed. As it was, he lived for Eddie's smiles now, so he didn't even care.

The room was almost spotless when Dustin hurried in, looking worried. "Uh, Steve?"

"Yeah?"

"I kinda… did something? Not on purpose! But Eddie's upset."

Before Steve could ask what, Eddie joined them. He did look frazzled but not that upset. In fact, he smiled and ruffled Dustin's hair. "It's fine, Henderson, I told you. Just stay the hell out of my room, yeah? I can't have you breaking all my shit. Come on, we need to get going, or we'll be late."

Ignoring Steve's warning noise about swearing, they packed up to go. Steve had to go back into Eddie's room to find his shoes and found a broken figurine sitting on the desk. He picked it up, recognizing the wings. It was his mom's character. Making a snap decision, Steve pocketed the pieces and joined the others to leave.

At the school, Steve stayed in the car. "I've gotta go somewhere. Pick you guys up after the meeting?"

Dustin just waved goodbye and headed inside, but Eddie hesitated, frowning at Steve. "Where are you going?"

"The store. Gotta buy some stuff for home. Don't worry; I'll be back in time to pick you up."

"Okay." Not sounding all that convinced, Eddie left.

At home, he got out the old toolkit in the garage, dusty from years of disuse, and found the industrial-strength glue inside. It had worked on his mom's casserole dish, so he was hoping it would work on the figurine, too.

It took a long time, and it felt more like putting a puzzle together than anything else, but finally, he sat back and was happy with how it looked. The cracks were barely noticeable, and after it dried, he could paint it. Luckily for Steve, Eddie left a lot of shit over at his house, too, so he had some special paint made for the figurines already. But that would have to wait because he had to get back to the school.

A week and a stolen illustration guide later, Steve was satisfied.

He carefully wrapped up the figure, not wanting it to break again, and left for Eddie's. Thankfully, he was in, and he stared at the bubble-wrapped thing in Steve's hands curiously. "You bought me a present?"

"Yep. So let me in, and you can have it."

"Could've wrapped it properly." Still, Eddie stepped aside, and Steve handed it over nervously. "Thanks."

"You haven't opened it yet."

Rolling his eyes, Eddie led the way to the table and sat down, carefully pulling away the protective layers. When he saw what was inside, he just stared down at it, expression unreadable. Finally, he looked up at Steve with a blinding smile and teary eyes. "You fixed it."

"Yeah. I know how much it means to you. I hope the colors are right. Oh, I'll bring back your guide next time. I forgot to-"

Steve's rambling faltered when Eddie got to his feet, and he watched him approach nervously. He wasn't sure what to expect, but it wasn't for Eddie to yank him in and press their lips together. Oh, now he understood why he put up with Eddie, arm coming around his waist to keep him close.

"You're welcome," Steve said dazedly when they broke apart, and Eddie laughed.

"Thank you."