Eddie knew Steve patrolled around Hawkins at least once a week. He'd seen the maroon Beemer stop in the trailer park many times now as Steve checked on first Max and then himself. These days, he simply waved at the Beemer to save Steve the hassle of knocking on his door. Sometimes, if it wasn't too cold, he would even go outside and join Steve for a while. They both ignored the sleepless circles under their eyes, the relief of being with someone who understood.
"Just making sure everyone's okay," Steve had told Eddie when he finally asked why. "When it's warmer, I like to walk."
"Sounds like a lot of work."
"Maybe you should join me."
So Eddie did once the nights turned warm. Steve would drive over to the trailer park, and they would start their circuit of the town. It took a few hours, but Eddie found he slept better afterward. Maybe that was because Steve often crashed at his trailer once they were done. Knowing everyone was safe and having Steve so close definitely helped.
Until the day Steve decided to take a shortcut through the forest towards Dustin's. Eddie protested at first, but as soon as Steve took off, he quickly followed. It was starting to get dark, the shadows lengthening and playing tricks in the corner of Eddie's eye. Several times, he whipped around, sure he'd seen something moving in the trees, only to find nothing.
"This is fucking spooky."
Steve stopped, looking back at Eddie in amusement when he saw he wasn't joking. "Seriously? You've been in the upside down, and this creeps you out?"
"This happens to be our dimension," Eddie replied defensively. "If there's some monster here, it's a problem."
"There's no monsters."
"Uh-huh." Steve stopped, waiting for Eddie to catch up, and held out his hand. Unable to read his shadowy expression, Eddie accepted it slowly. The friendly pressure helped calm his nerves. "Promise?"
"Promise."
Steve always kept his word, and this time was no different. No monsters attacked them, and it was a relief to finally get back on the brightly lit streets and continue their patrol.
When they got back to the trailer park, Eddie didn't need to ask Steve to stay; they only left the door open for him to follow inside. "You want something to eat?"
"Nah, man, it's late." He accepted a beer, though, and caught Eddie's wrist before he could step back. "Hey, thanks for coming with me. I know it's not an easy job, but it helps. It's nice to have company."
Eddie nodded, looking down at Steve's hand. It was incredibly warm, and swallowing thickly, he screwed up his courage to cover it with his own. "Come on, we should get some sleep."
In his bedroom, Steve started to chuckle.
"What?"
"You live next to the spooky forest. Like, five feet away."
Eddie scowled at the window and quickly closed the curtains. "Don't remind me. Why do you think I want you to stay? You'll protect me from the monsters, right?" He said it jokingly but couldn't hide the fear in his voice because Steve's expression softened, and he came over to hug Eddie.
"I promise."
If Eddie knew one thing about Steve, it was that he always kept his promises. They were safe.
