Eddieintheupsidedown - Saturn

One day, seemingly out of the blue, Max starts calling Steve "Skippy".

No one knows why, no one knows where it comes from. And no matter how many times they all ask her to elaborate, she never does. She never tells them why.

They look to Steve for clarification, but even Steve is confused where it comes from.

Until one day she calls him "Skippy", then pointedly looks between him and Eddie, that mischievous quirk of her lips growing and one eyebrow arching slyly. It clicks then, for Steve, and he sinks back into the couch, blushing and grumbling under his breath about not having any privacy with these kids, jesus christ.

Because.

Max got the nickname from that one night a few weeks ago when she hadn't been able to sleep, so she'd wrapped herself in her blanket and slipped out of her front door to sit on the porch. She found that breathing in the shock of the cool night air helped ground her. Helped give her something else to focus on.

So that night she'd snuck outside, quietly so she didn't wake her mother. The Munson trailer was just a hop, skip, and jump away, and from her perch on her front steps she had the perfect view of it. And of the maroon Beemer parked right out front (as it so often was these days).

And of Eddie and Steve where they stood just outside the door. Where Steve's hands cradled Eddie's face, and Eddie's arms embraced his waist.

Where they were kissing.

It hadn't lasted long, just a short, sweet little thing. But when they two of them broke apart, they'd shared these shy looks, matching smiles curling their mouths. And, though it was too dark for Max to see, matches blushes painting their cheeks too.

They'd shared a bit more conversation that Max couldn't hear either, then one more fleeting kiss before Steve started to back away. He laughed as Eddie stepped forward, following him, and he'd put his hand between them, pressed it against Eddie's chest to stop him. Steve shook his head, and said something else that made Eddie pout, but reluctantly take his own step backwards.

Steve paused at the top of the stairs, watching Eddie retreat back to his front door. Eddie had blindly felt for the knob behind him, so he didn't have to look away from Steve, and when he found it and pushed the door open, he'd slowly slipped back inside. He paused in the archway, hanging onto the door, and had said something else (another goodbye, Max thought), and he'd waved one last time before the door finally closed.

Steve stayed put through it all, watching with stars and hearts alike in his eyes (not that Max could see those either, but if she knew Steve, and she did, they were definitely there). After the door shut, he lingered still, until he finally turned away.

He'd hopped down the stairs, and then, to Max's shock and absolute delight, god damn skipped the entire way to his car.

She'd had to stifle her laughter into her hand so as to not draw his attention.

Thus, "Skippy" was born.

But, after the initial surprise at finding out that Max had been (unintentionally) lurking in the shadows, Steve found that he didn't really mind the silly little nickname. In fact, he kind of loved it.

Because that night had been the night of Steve and Eddie's first kiss. That night had been the start.

A really good start.

And Steve kind of loved the reminder of that.

Steve and Eddie kissing and doing dating stuff.

as SOON as steve gets eddie's phone number, he just starts leaving him all sorts of ridiculous voicemails. it's his favorite thing to do and he does it ALL the time.

they all make eddie smile into his hand and twirl his hair around his finger like a god damn giggly pre-teen, but these are some of his favorites:

— "hey eddie, just calling to say hi... hi."

— "when i saw you this morning you said you used the last of the milk for breakfast so this is me reminding you to get more milk."

— "hey eddie, you're probably not home yet, you just pulled out of my driveway, like, less than a minute ago, but... i had a nice time tonight. thanks for coming over."

— "robin took me shopping for dorm stuff with her and i saw this plant that had leaves so curly they reminded me of your hair. she ended up buying it. just thought you'd want to know."

— "hey eddie, i saw wayne at the hardware store today. i told him to tell you hi for me, but in case he forgets... hi."

— "eddie, there was a guy in front of me in line at the post office and he had the longest, grayest beard. it made me think of that wizard dude from those books you like? anyways, he looked kinda funny."

— "you left one of your tapes in my car — the dio one. that's the band on your jacket right? the vest, i mean. i... might have listened to it. and i... god, i'm never gonna hear the end of this am i? but i kind of liked it."

— and honorable mention to the time steve drunk dialed him and left a message of him and robin singing "oh eddie you're so fine you're so fine you blow my mind hey eddie hey hey hey eddie" that was so long that the recording cut them off halfway through.

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

Eddie tried not to cling onto Steve finally responding to him. It didn’t necessarily mean they would get back together, but, god, it was hard not to hope that was where this was headed. 

The next day, Eddie arrived at Robin’s house at his normal time, drinks in hand, and did his new normal routine. Knocking, confirming that the love of his life was listening at the other side of the door, and then talking like they were sitting side by side instead of having a barrier between them.

He tried so hard not to burst out of his skin every night he left, doing his tap tap tap and getting a tap tap tap in response.

In order to not to pull his own hair out, Eddie started to channel all of his anxious energy into his music whenever he’d get home. When his band first started, they wrote all of their own songs, all with passion for the music, but over time that passion had dwindled.

It was cathartic to have this outlet again. Every emotion, every thought, put towards something that made him happy. Not just something to numb the pain. The lyrics flowed out of him like a running tap, and the rest of the band were immediately receptive.

He couldn’t wait to tell Steve.

Practically running up to the door, Eddie knocks and immediately begins talking a mile a minute as soon as he sees Steve’s hair.

“And Gareth added this sick drum solo right before the chorus starts,” Eddie says, letting out a long whistle. “It is metal. Lars Ulrich, eat your heart out.”

Eddie leans against the door and brings out his cigarettes and lighter, smile never leaving his face. He lights one and brings it to his lips before continuing.

“Janine says this is a good coping mechanism—”

“Who’s Janine?”

The cigarette falls from his mouth as Eddie’s jaw practically hits the ground. It’s the first time he’s heard Steve’s voice in well over three months.

Eddie composes himself enough to bend down and pick up the cigarette before putting it out.

“Oh, uh, Janine’s my therapist.” Eddie rubs the back of his neck. “I’ve gone to a couple sessions, and she seems cool. She’s helping me work through all my shit.”

Eddie stares at the door, silently praying to whoever is listening that Steve will speak again.

When it doesn’t happen, Eddie continues on. “Yeah, she’s been informed about everything that happened in the Upside Down, so I can actually talk about it. Apparently it was really traumatic. Who knew?” Eddie says sarcastically, earning a snort from the other side of the door.

Progress.

Little by little, night after night, Steve started to respond more. At first it was an occasional grunt or small laugh, maybe a question, but anything from Steve was like music to Eddie’s ears and hope in his heart.

“Hey, sweetheart, how was your day?” Eddie starts after completing his normal steps after arriving, settling his back against the door.

“Oh my god, did Dustin tell you he picked out a ring?” he asks.

“Yeah, I helped him pick it out.”

Okay, stay calm. This is good.

“Oh yeah? How did that go?” And Steve just goes off. He tells Eddie that Dustin wouldn’t decide on one until they went everywhere in Hawkins you could possibly find a ring.

“I had to talk him out of going to a pawn shop. A pawn shop! And he looked at me like I was crazy for thinking he was crazy for wanting to find an engagement ring there!”

“Hey! There’s some great stuff you can find there!” Eddie says with a permanent smile on his face.

Steve lets out a loud huff. “Yeah, if you want a cursed ring. Some weird, little guy would probably find Suzie one day and try to take it back while yelling ‘my precious!’”

Eddie eyebrows shoot up. “Did you just make a Lord of the Rings reference?”

There’s silence for a beat before Steve says, “Yeah, I started reading them before…y'know…as a surprise. Just finished the second one.”

Oh.

Steve started reading Eddie’s favorite book series. For him. And he didn’t stop.

It took everything Eddie had in him not to break down the door.

Eddie clears his throat. “Yeah, definitely wouldn’t want that to happen. So, what do you think of them so far?”

They sit for the next hour, back to back on their own sides of the door, and talk. It feels like it used to. So, so easy. They discuss their favorite characters, Steve going into great detail on why Sam was the best, and Eddie didn’t realize he could possibly love Steve more.

When the streetlights had already been lit for a while and the chilly breeze of the night has started with vengeance, Eddie stands up and faces the door.

“I better call it a night before I freeze my ass off.” Tap tap tap. Silence. Eddie waits for a minute and frowns before turning away.

He thought things had been going well. How could he have fucked it up (again)? Did he say someth—

Eddie hears the door open and he whips around. Before he has a chance to process, a pair of gloves and a hat are thrown straight at his face. The hand that threw them quickly disappears as the door closes.

Eddie looks down at the items, and then back up at the small window where he can barely see Steve peeking through it. He let’s out a laugh and puts everything on while walking back to the door.

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Eternal gratitude to @sidekick-hero and @yournowheregirl for their feedback and encouragement throughout writing this series <333

Next part coming soon!

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