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🎃🧡🎃
"What do you mean you've never carved a pumpkin before?"
Before Steve can form a reply, both Eddie and Robin are crowding into his space with matching looks of surprise.
Steve just shrugs, not wanting to make this a thing.
"My parents aren't big holiday people. We never celebrated Halloween at all really. Most holidays they'd attend, like, a work event and leave me home. I’d go trick or treating with Tommy and Carol sometimes. Well, we TP’d Mrs. Click’s house once."
“So, you're telling me you’ve never carved a pumpkin? Like never ever?” Eddie asks, his eyes wide and nose slightly scrunched up.
He feels Robin's hand grip his knee a little too hard, he looks over and makes eye contact with her. She's giving him this look that makes his ears burn with embarrassment.
"It's not a big deal guys." Steve can’t help but shrug again, wanting to change the subject.
“Steven Marie Harrington. It's absolutely a big deal!” Eddie says, grabbing his hand and lurching to his feet, all wild, frenetic energy. Steve stumbles, grabs at Robin but she just follows him down.
They all end up on the floor, a mess of limbs and giggles. Someone's elbow is digging into his side. Eddie and Robin have him pinned as he struggles to free himself from under them. Feels fingers inching up his side. On a path to tickle.
“I will kick you both.”
“So mean, Stevie.”
“I mean it! And my middle name is not Marie.”
“Robin says it is and what she says is law!”
“I’m so glad we see eye to eye on these matters, Munson.”
The light blots out, casting them in warm, fuzzy shadows. Steve looks up to see Nancy leaning over them, hands on her hips, quirk to her lips, haloed by the fluorescent lights.
“What are you guys doing on the floor?”
“Steve’s never carved a pumpkin!” Robin shouts and wiggles to sit up and it's definitely her elbow digging into the soft give of his side.
“We should carve pumpkins. The four of us, together.” Eddie grins, as he climbs off Steve to stand. Steve doesn’t make a move to stand. Tries not to think about how he misses the weight of them.
"Saturday?”
“I thought you were planning something with the kids this weekend?” Steve asks from the floor.
“Those little anklebiters can wait. This is more important.” Eddie says, eyes crinkling as he grins down at Steve.
Eddie squeezes his hand gently as he pulls Steve up from the floor. Bringing them close and they're just inches apart and why does that make his skin itch. He looks back up into Eddie's eyes and Eddie winks at him causing warmth to bloom in his stomach.
He's scheming something, Steve thinks. Definitely.
Eddie lets go of his hand and he thinks he misses that too.
“Okay, yeah sure. Why not?” Steve hopes he aims for nonchalant.
“We could order some pizza and Steve and I can grab some scary movies from work.” Robin knocks shoulders with him and Steve can’t help but feel fondness for her at her excitement. “Make a whole night of it!”
Nancy nods, “We can pick out pumpkins at Merrill's pumpkin patch”, grinning as Robin and Eddie’s excitement catches, “Let's make it a party. ”
🎃🧡🎃
Three days later finds Steve standing in the doorway of his house, Eddie blaring the horn of his van repeatedly, heedless of his neighbors. Robin leans halfway out the window of the backseat, waving and yelling.
“Get in dingus, we're going to the pumpkin patch!”
When Steve climbs in, Eddie drops a box of cassettes in his lap, “Go on, I’ll even let you pick the music”
“So generous,” Steve mocks, “Even if I pick out Abba?”
“There’s not—”
“Oh, let’s listen to Bowie! Please!” Robin yells right into his ear.
“I thought it was my choice?” He says, laughing, as he pushes her face back. “Sit down Robbie. And put on your seatbelt!”
He pushes the tape in and watches as Eddie’s fingers tap along to the opening of Radio Ga Ga . Feels his face heat when he’s caught looking.
Eddie just laughs, “I see that someone or someones have been sneaking tapes into my collection.”
“We had to make sure you had some decent music we could listen to.” Robin snarks back.
“Oh, I don’t know, I was kind of warming up to Eddie’s music.”
“Nancy! I knew I’d make a metal head out of you yet.”
“Noooo!!” Robin takes Nancy’s hands, “Steve! We have to save her from the darkside!”
“I dunno. It’s not all bad. Kinda grows on you.”
Robin gasps, Nancy giggles, and when Steve peaks over Eddie’s smile is blindingly bright.
🎃🧡🎃
As soon as they are out of the van, Eddie grabs his hand and leads them both to the entrance of the field, decorated with scarecrows and vines of ivy. The day is sunny and bright, a crisp breeze rattles the leaves on the branches.
“We'll find you guys once we’ve picked out our pumpkins!” Robin shouts as she drags Nancy away from the group. Steve watches as they wander off to the opposite side of the field, heads bowed close in conversation.
The place is pretty busy, families and couples mingling and calling out to each other, pushing wheelbarrows laden down with pumpkins as they make their way down the rows. It smells like fresh dirt and growing things. Steve breathes deep even though the cold air stings his lungs. Children run around them, weaving their way through the field shouting to their parents about which pumpkins they want.
Eddie lets go of his arm to pull a small ax from the stump by the gate and holds it out to Steve with a soft smile.
“You're on ax duty.”
Steve wrinkles his nose. “Ah, you bring me out here to do manual labor. That’s what this is.” Then he laughs, glancing down at his sweater. “Don’t think I have the look of a lumberjack.”
He looks back up in time to see Eddie glancing away, cheeks red. There is a chill in the air.
Eddie waves his hand back and forth, “You just need to borrow some of Robin’s plaid shirts.” He laughs and Steve chuckles along with him.
Steve grips the handle of the ax, feels the weight of it. It feels like the bat did. A touch heavier. He can’t fight the shake in his hands. Lets the ax fall to his side, held in a loose grip.
Eddie reaches back to take a hold of his arm again, “Come on,” He says, voice soft. “Let's find some kickass pumpkins.”
Steve follows with an unsteady breath, allowing Eddie to lead him farther into the patch, away from the crowd at the front of the patch, away from giggling teens and screaming children, to where it's quieter and he can breathe. He can feel the cold nipping at his skin beneath his sweater. Should have grabbed a jacket before they left, but feels the warmth of Eddie’s body bleeding into his own and he relaxes more, leans more into Eddie’s side to soak up his body heat. It’s just to combat the chill in the afternoon air he tells himself.
“So I can just pick any pumpkin?” Steve glances around. Merrill’s stretches out before him, not so much a patch but a very large farm. Pumpkins of all shapes and sizes and colors spread far into the distance.
“Just pick any old pumpkin.” Eddie mutters under his breath, letting him go and turning, placing his hands on his hips. “No you can’t pick just any old pumpkin! There’s an art to it.”
“We’re going to find the best pumpkins,” Eddie pats his chest, “you’re talking to an expert.”
Steve rolls his eyes teasingly. “ Right, of course. How could I forget?”
“And good thing I'm your teacher,” Eddie grins, wiggling his eyebrows. “I won’t lead you astray.”
“Uh huh, and I’m your, uh, padawan.” Steve grins, snapping his fingers.
Now Eddie rolls his eyes, but there's a look of fondness bleeding through, and he’s unable to stop himself from smiling.
“You and Robin and your Star Wars!” he teases, tossing his hands up and turning to keep walking.
“Hey, I like the little bears!”
“How about this one?”
Eddie pauses and bends down to roll a warty looking pumpkin right side up. “No,” he shakes his head, “that one’s terrible for carving.” He tosses the fringe from his eyes as he stands up, “We need one that’s smooth, at least, on one side but sturdy on bottom. And with a good stem.”
They wander together for the next few minutes. Steve eyes the rows and rows of orange gourds at his feet. Some are still green in spots. Different sizes and colors, some too small to do much with. All connected by intricate vines weaving in and out, rooted in the soil.
He comes to a halt as his vision blurs and darkens. He feels his lungs seize up and everything starts to spin and suddenly he’s standing in a different field with different vines and-
Eddie brushes past him, just a simple touch to his back as he leans around Steve and then crouches down. The simple touch roots him to the mud he stands in.
It’s okay. He’s alive, breathing—he’s here. They’re all here.
Eddie is squatting next to a pumpkin larger than his head, picks it up from the bottom and raps his knuckles against the side. He grins at Steve, “This one’s a good size, and ready to be picked. It’s not too funny shaped and doesn’t have any bad spots.” He holds the pumpkin steady, “Alright big boy, you can cut it here.”
Steve grips the handle of the ax more firmly and wills his hands to stop shaking. It takes him a minute to figure out how much force to put behind his swing. The ax is small and in need of a good sharpening but Steve makes it work. Tries to show off a bit because he knows Eddie is watching him.
After the pumpkin has been cut, he cradles it to his chest.
“Let's find a few more.” Eddie says as he moves on through the patch in search of the next victim in his hunt for the perfect pumpkins.
“How do you know so much about all of this, uh, picking pumpkins and stuff?”
“Wayne used to take me when I was younger. Haven't been in a while. But I figure, it’d be nice to bring one back to put on the porch of the new place.”
They wander some more, a few catching his attention when a little boy barrels past him, pulling his father along. A woman brushes past him and murmurs a soft “excuse us” as she follows after them. The boy points excitedly, "This one This one!” The mother smiles, the father chuckles. They cut the pumpkin from the ground together and continue on.
Steve thinks of his own parents. He imagines what that would look like, picking pumpkins with them. Holding his mothers hand while his father cut roots and stems.
For the first time in a while, his heart aches.
He blinks back tears and kneels into the dirt, cutting two pumpkins from their vines and then joining Eddie where he points out a few more to cut, a thin layer of mud caked to his boots. Eddie watches him with a faint smile, eyes soft around the edges.
Steve doesn't know what to do when Eddie looks at him like that. It leaves him with the urge to run, with a feeling that sits heavy in his chest, weight threatening to drag him down. The urge to drag Eddie down with him, right here, down in the dirt. His fingers itch to drop the pumpkins, to reach out, to touch. Looking at him shouldn’t hurt like this, he thinks. Shouldn't make him feel—
“We’ve got a good haul,” Eddie says, struggling to hoist both of his pumpkins under his arms, nearly dropping them. “Let’s go grab the girls. We’ve got shopping to do and pumpkins to carve!”
🎃🧡🎃
They make it back to Steve’s house late that afternoon, Eddie and Steve hauling in their pumpkins while Nancy and Robin carry several grocery bags on each arm before depositing them on the kitchen island. Outside, the temperature has begun to drop and Steve starts the fireplace while the others unload the bags.
It’s warm inside by the time Eddie and Nancy cover the dining room table with newspapers, opening their assortment of pumpkin carving kits. Eddie lays out the pumpkins along with serrated knives, scrapers and a few cheap carving knives from the carving kits they bought. Steve rolls up the sleeves of his sweater and slips off his shoes, tossing them lazily in the pile by the stairs.
“Alright Stevie, you ready to hack up some gourds?” Eddie cackles, rubbing his hands together.
“You’re entirely too excited about this.’ Steve grumps, already feeling raw from the day so far.
“And I don't know how I feel about you with a knife.” Steve then eyes Robin, “Or You.”
“Hey!” Robin squawks. Eddie snickers, waving the knife around. “Who’s the one with experience here?”
Steve shakes his head and presses his lips together. Resists the urge to place his hands on his hips. “Just take it easy okay? Safety first.” He tosses a look in Robin’s direction.
“Okay, Mom. ”
“I don’t want to be spending the night in the emergency room.” Shaking his head. “So what’s the plan and why did we need so many?”
Eddie turns his whole body towards him, clearly excited, “What? Did you think we were only going to do one? We’ve got to spooky-fy this place! Scare all the neighbors.” And then he winks, “Plus, Jonny owed me one, so we can document the special occasion!” Eddie scrambles away to grab a backpack he’d brought in, pulling out and waving a camera.
“It’s really not such a big deal, guys” Steve hedges, embarrassment coloring his tone.
“It is! And Oh! We could carve some to wear them like masks. For spooky pictures!” Steve eyes the erratic wave of Eddie’s hands and how he bounces on the balls of his feet unable to stand still and knows that the entire bag of candy corn that Eddie had knocked back earlier in the van has finally made its way into his system.
“Wear them?” Nancy squeaks, “ Not on our heads you mean?”
Steve, Robin and Nancy all simultaneously touch their hair with matching grimaces. “I do not want pumpkin guts in my hair, Munson” Robin gripes.
“Oh c'mon. Live a little. It’ll be fun!” Eddie makes huge puppy eyes at them. “Please? For little ol’ me?” Steve thinks he’s really hamming it up now. Sighs. “How about you show me how to carve one first and then we’ll go from there, yeah?.” Steve pushes Eddie back toward the table laid out with the night's project and hears Robin’s relieved sigh and looks back as Nancy gives a slight nod of her head and smiles. Steve gives her a small smile back.
“Yes! On to the festivities!” Eddie pumps his fist, nearly dropping the camera. “Oh shit.”
🎃🧡🎃
Eddie teaches Steve how to gut a pumpkin, demonstrating on his own by jaggedly cutting into the top. “Okay first, for the jack o lanterns, you gotta cut the top off and make sure it’s not too big but still big enough to get your hand in.” Tugging the top off, a trail of seeds and slime follows. “Ta-da! Now I can get into all its icky insides.” Eddie wiggles his fingers. Steve eyes the motion, realizing for the first time that Eddie has removed his rings and it’s odd to see them bare. He glances up and locks eyes with Robin whose eyes flick from him to Eddie and back. He coughs and looks away. He hears her let out a huff.
“Alright,” Eddie thrusts a knife in his direction, “Your turn! Show this gourd whose boss.”
Steve lets out a startled laugh, takes a few stabs to get the depth and pressure right before successfully cutting a hole and removing the top to his pumpkin. Hears a murmured “good job” from Eddie as he peers down into the seed-filled contents, crinkling his nose.
“Do I have to touch it?”
Eddie lets out a loud laugh, head tilting back and clutching his stomach, “Yes, you gotta touch it. That’s the fun part! Here, it’s a little weird at first, but you’ll get the hang of it.” He reaches his hand into his own pumpkin, pulling out seeds and the slimy inside, tossing it down onto the newspaper with a wet plop. “Gotta get your hands a little dirty, Stevie!”
Steve barely chokes back a gag, looks down in disgust, “I don't want pumpkin to get under my nails.”
“You can use a spoon, Steve.” Nancy leans forward to hand him a long handle spoon from the carving kits. “It’s easier to scrape it off the sides with this anyway.”
“You're no fun Nancy-pants.” Eddie pouts dramatically. “Cmon Steeeeeve, live a little! Don’t be a girl.”
“Hey!” Nancy and Robin shout at the same time. “What’s that supposed to mean?” Robin then scoops out a handle of pumpkin guts and rears back like she's going to toss it all in Eddie’s direction. “Whoa, whoa, wait! Do not throw pumpkin guts all over my kitchen! Please! My mom will kill me!”
“I apologize for my mishap, most venerated and esteemed lady Robin.”
Robin, still glowering at Eddie, flicks a slimy seed in his direction. “You’re safe for now, Eddie Spaghetti.” she threatens before digging her hand back into her pumpkin. Steve looks back to Eddie who’s already looking at him expectantly, eyebrows raised expression turning to pure glee when Steve sighs and sticks his hand inside the pumpkin.
The pumpkin guts squish in his hand as he pulls out a stringy mass of seed and pulp, the texture unpleasant, dropping it onto a designated patch of newspaper.
“Oh, ew, ew, ew .” He chants.
He hears Eddie snicker as he continues to pull the pulpy bits out until he has a pile next to his pumpkin. He uses the scraper to catch the rest of the mess left inside. It’s quiet as they all concentrate on spooning the remnants off the insides, the smell of burning wood and pumpkin filling the room.
They move onto the designs next, Nancy and Robin flip through a little book of stencils with little ohs and ahs and how about this one? Oh, no, this one! While Eddie picks up another stencil book and leans in close to Steve. “ Let's find something easy for your first one, yeah?” Steve nods, feeling the warmth of Eddie’s body where they touch. “How about this one?” Steve points down to a typical looking jack-o-lantern face.
“Perfect. A classic.” Eddie rips the page from the book, shows Steve how to use the stencil. Once it's in place Steve looks back at Eddie with expectant eyes.
“What if I mess it up?” Steve whispers.
“You won’t mess it up. I promise. I'll help you get started so you know where and how to cut it.” He grins cheekily and grabs a knife for Steve, handing it out to him before moving behind Steve. “And anyway, that’s why we got the extra pumpkins.”
“Okay, here, you’re gonna carve it with a knife with a kind of sawing motion” He reaches out and holds Steve’s hand loosely to gently guide him and together they plunge the knife into the pumpkin and start to slowly cut around the guidelines. Steve feels the heat from Eddie pressed to his back, the heat on his face, and from the girls stares. He refuses to look up to meet Robin’s gaze this time.
Eddie releases his hand with a “Let me know if you get stuck or need help with carving it.’ His voice soft, a smile playing on his lips. Steve can just nod, as Eddie goes to work on his own jack-o-lantern, free-handing his design with a marker and a contemplative look on his face. He stops to check in with Steve every few minutes and soon enough, Steve gets really into carving his pumpkin. The tip of his tongue poking out the side of his lips as he slowly hacks away bits to reveal his design.
When he zones back in, he tugs off the tattered remains of his stencil and smiles down at his handiwork. He feels Eddie’s shoulder knock into his and stray waves bounce into his view and Eddie takes a look.
“Damn, that looks good, Stevie!” His heart swells at the sight of Eddie’s grin, face flushing when Eddie takes his pumpkin, holding it above his head to show the girls. They clap and tell him how good it looks for his first time. He feels fuzzy and embarrassed from all the praise.
“Uh, thanks man.” He winces.
He’s starting to feel raw and twisted inside out.
He finally makes eye contact with Robin and maybe it's the look in his eyes that has her not so subtly shaking her head in the direction of the hallway.
“I've got to, uh, bathroom, yeah. Uh, be right back.”
Robin jerks up, knee hitting the table and knocking a knife to the floor.
“Oh crap, sorry. Ah!”
Nancy gently pries the knife from her hand looking mildly alarmed.
“Me too! Bathroom, I mean! Uh, I mean I gotta pee! Yeah!”
And then she's pushing Steve into the hallway, both of them crashing into the bathroom in a tangle of limbs.
“Oh my god!”
“Oh my god .” Steve groans
“Jinx, you owe me a soda!” Robin cackles.
Steve sinks to the floor, back against the bathtub as Robin leans against the door and sinks across from him. The bathroom is smaller than the others. Meant to be a guest bathroom so their legs knock together as they spread out like puzzle pieces that lock perfectly together.
When Steve looks up Robin has a large grin on her face. He sighs.
“What?”
She shrugs, grin growing wider. Knocks a socked foot into his knee.
“You and Munson were getting pretty cozy in there.” She wiggles her eyebrows at him, or at least, attempts too but it just makes her look silly.
Steve snorts, “Ugh, I know, like, what is he doing?”
“The knife thing! I feel like I need an award for keeping a straight face for that!”
“Oh god, I was like 5 seconds from popping a boner right there!”
“Oh, gross Steve! I did not need to know that!” Robin screeches but she hasn't stopped smiling. “Eddie, really, of all guys?”
And it's teasing, but—
“It’s weird right?”
“Its not weird.”
“No like, its weird to me. I don’t, because im not — ” he sighs frustrated. “You know I’m not like that."
“Not like what Steve?” He hears her defensive tone. See how her shoulders draw up. “Not gay ?”
“No I don’t—,” Steve draws up his lags and hangs his head between them, "I'm not explaining this right. I’m not doing this right.” He sees her hand, palm up, appear in his line of sight. He holds her hand. “I still like girls. So that’s not the same right?”
“Oh I guess not. But you like him right? You like Eddie?"
It feels like he’s being asked questions with the weight of boulders behind them. “Yeah, I do, Robbie,” He rubs at his chest, “Kind of a lot I think.”
“Okay.”
“Okay?”
She gives his hand a squeeze. “Yeah, okay.”
“But I'm not, I'm not gay.” He whispers. “Right? Does it work like that? Is there, um, something else it’s called?”
“You know, I have no idea.” She must see his face fall because she quickly adds, “I’m sure there is, though! There’s always been people like us. I’m sure we can figure it out together! And maybe Eddie knows.”
He nods, looking down at his crossed legs at her hand that he holds loosely in his grip. It’s not what he wants to hear.
“Together?”
“Yup! You and me.” She’s grinning at him, all teeth. “I've got you.”
“So, it's okay?” He asks, feeling suddenly small.
He hears Robin hum and then she's crawling up and into his lap, knocking their foreheads together as he wraps her up in his arms. They sway for a minute before Robin speaks, voice a little raw.
“It's good. Great even. Totally judging your taste in men though, Steven. I mean, I've seen him eat a sandwich that he dropped on the floor!“
“Five second rule, babe.”
“Ugh, you men are gross. Floor sandwiches Steve!”
Steve snickers and then they dissolve into giggles.
“We should head back before they come looking for us.” She stands and holds a hand out to help him up, “We’ll figure this out, Stevie. Don’t stress, okay? You’re not alone here.”
Steve stands and stretches his legs before turning back to her.
“Yeah, hey, Robbie? I, uh, you know I, uh, I mean—”
“Love you too, Dingus.”
🎃🧡🎃
They go on to carve the rest of their pumpkins with Robin and Steve deciding to do each other’s pumpkins, keeping their designs secret.
Steve keeps his eyes on the knife and the orange flesh he's cutting into. He ignores the texture between his fingers and under his nails, and focuses on his second pumpkin. They make sure to cut the bottoms out large enough to stick their heads in, taking extra care to hollow them out so the insides won’t be gross when they wear them. Robin and Nancy wipe the pumpkins off with a towel when they finish carving holes on the bottoms and Steve and Eddie have finished disemboweling them.
Once they are ready for carving, they work in companionable silence for a while, leaning away from the other so as to hide their creations. Stealing glances at each other, with a raised eyebrow, a smile or a giggle, while covering their work with an arm, guarding it defensively.
Steve is almost finished with carving the pumpkin’s face, shimming the blade into the pumpkin to carve the last few pieces away, his hand cramping, when the knife slips, slicing into his finger.
"Damn it," He hisses between his teeth.
Some of the pumpkin insides are orange-red from his blood. A little blood can't hurt and he contemplates working through the pain for all of a second. Except Eddie is tugging the knife from his hand, dropping the blade onto the table and grabbing his hand to inspect it. He lets out a breath, a gentle puff of air that Steve feels as his hand drips blood that soaks into the newspaper lined table.
He then wraps Steve's hand in one of his mom’s fancy, white, kitchen towels and is tugging him to the kitchen, tossing an— It's okay. I’ve got it. — over his shoulder before the girls could make a scene.
“Where’s your first aid kit?” Eddie asks as he turns on the tap and maneuvers Steve's hand under the flow of water.
“There’s one under my bathroom sink.”
“Okay, hold tight.”
He leaves Steve at the kitchen sink watching as his blood mixes with the water and swirls down the drain.
Not even a minute passes when he comes bounding back with a first aid kit and another towel. He turns off the water and cradles Steve’s hand with the delicacy and care he would use handling a baby bird. Eddie cleans the cut, spreading antibacterial ointment over it before pressing on the gauze, wrapping and taping it. Steve’s gotten used to the sight of blood but he still doesn't like it. Instead he keeps his eyes on Eddie. Watches how his tongue sticks out between his teeth in concentration. At the crease between his brows. When he nods in silent satisfaction when he's done.
And Steve thinks that that will be it. That Eddie will let go of his hand, but instead, Eddie pulls his hand up towards his face. He looks as though he’s making sure the bandage or tape is on right, except he pulls Steve’s hand right up to his mouth and kisses the bandaged finger. The kiss is short, just a soft press of lips that instantly causes Steve to feel flush and then Eddie looks up at Steve through the mess of his bangs, his eyes seem to burn with intensity, as he finally lowers Steve’s hand.
Steve feels all the air punched from his lungs. He can’t breathe.
Eddie steps away and takes all the warmth with him.
“A kiss to make it heal better.” Eddie says, like that’s supposed to make any sense to Steve.
“What?”
“It’s, uh, something my mom used to do,” he shrugs and then, “You know. I got hurt all the time as a kid. Scrapes and cuts and bruises. Mom would always give them a kiss after she bandaged me up.” He chuckles, “It always made it feel better.” and then, “Your, uh, mom never…?”
Steve just shakes his head, "No, but, um, thanks," he chokes out, voice caught in his throat.
"Anytime, Steve."
Eddie takes over finishing the last bit of Steve’s pumpkin that's really Robin's pumpkin but she doesn't seem to care.
Unable to do much with a bandaged finger, Steve makes his way back into the kitchen to put the halloween cookies on to bake. Needing to do something .
Eddie steps up next to him as he finishes placing the last cookie down and pops the pan into the oven. He stays close, bringing his hand up to tap Steve’s cheek, fingers still wet with pumpkin remnants. “Eddie, gross!” he laughs, “You smell like pumpkins.”
“Uhuh, c'mon, scooch over so I can get this funk off my hands and we can go put our spooky little creations out on the porch.”
They toss the discarded remains of newspaper and pumpkin guts in the trashcan by the back door, leaving the space as clean as they can. Steve grabs the box of candles and his pumpkin as they make their way to the front door. Eddie holds the door open as they shuffle all their jack-o-lanterns down near the railing for the steps.
The pumpkins all have different patterns and faces, bats and black cats, some grinning in mischief and some in delight. Nancy hands out the candles as Eddie pulls out his lighter, lighting his candle before lighting Steve’s. “Like this” nudging Steve as he drips wax on the bottom of the pumpkin so the candle sticks into place. “Thats to keep it from sliding all around.”
When the four of them are done decorating the Harrington house they all walk out into the yard and face the porch. The sun was starting to set, night creeping in and the porch was cast in shadows and an orange hazy glow. Steve drifts closer into Eddie's orbit until their hands brush.
“We should do this with the kids next time.”
“You really wanna do this with all those little gremlins?” Eddie laughs.
“Little gremlins with knives.” Robin adds.
“Yeah,” Steve smiles, feeling soft, “I think it'd be fun.”
The yard glows with the light of the pumpkins. Inside it is cozy-warm from the fire and smells of pumpkin and cookies.
For the first time it feels like a home.
🎃🧡🎃
“It's quiet out here,” Eddie murmurs, the crunch of dry leaves underfoot the only noise that echoes softly around them.
“Yeah, it's nice,” Steve replies, shooting a small smile at him before turning back to watch his footing. They’ve taken to collecting wood for a bonfire while the girls order and wait for their pizza to arrive.
The sun was quickly fading now, sky colored with the indigo that lingers at twilight. The encroaching dark making the woods seem more dense. Steve shivers and drawn like a moth to a flame, he lets his feet carry him forward before his mind could catch up.
Steve bumps into his side, catching a whiff of his cologne. Eddie grabs his hand and links their fingers together. Steve looks down at where their fingers are intertwined, making his chest ache with that feeling of restless sadness. This close Steve can see the freckles adorning Eddie’s cheeks, how they're flushed red. Steve finds that he likes looking at Eddie this close. The way his mouth forms words, the way his eyelashes fan across his cheeks.
“So, how are you doing, lumberjack Steve?”
“I never got to… thank you, for this,” Steve starts, “I know you probably had something more fun planned-”
Eddie cuts him off before he can finish. “Stevie, you know there’s nowhere else I’d rather be, right?”
“I just…Thank you. I didn’t think it would be like this,” and at Eddie’s inquisitive look, “ I guess I kinda forgot what it feels like to get my hands dirty, to have a little fun.” He smiles then, more to himself, “It has been fun despite the pumpkin I’ll never be able to remove from my nails or my hair.”
Eddie hums and carries on collecting more sticks, stacking them up high in Steve’s arms as well.
“You deserve it, y’know?” Eddie breaks the silence between them.
“What?”
“You deserve to relax, to have fun. To dig out slimy pumpkin guts with your friends.” Eddie says it like it’s so simple, like it's true. Steve can’t deny that he’s wished for it, after everything they’ve been through these past few years. To sleep without a bat under his bed, to let someone tend to him for a change, to laugh with wild abandon with a boy that makes his heart beat too fast.
He doesn’t realize he’s stopped walking beside Eddie until there are a pair of hands holding his shoulders, the heat of them bleeding through the layers of clothes down to his chilled skin. Darkness has descended around them. People have died in this forest. The world tilts. He tries to focus on Eddie’s face in front of him. Steve breathes, feeling the air rush out of him, all the tension flowing from his veins.
“I don’t know what I’m doing Eddie. I don’t know what to do. What if…What if this isn’t real? What if you’re not— And I—,”
“Hey, hey— Take my hand. You’re here. You’re alive. You're alive and you're with me.” Eddie places Steve's hand up against his heart hard enough that Steve can feel its pulse through his jacket. “Feel that? I'm here. You're here. We're okay.”
“What if I fuck this up, Eds. Im gonna fuck this up. Shit, we gotta get this wood back. I’m sorry.” Steve tries forcing the tremor in his voice to die.
“Fuck what up?”
“You know.” He can't say it, not yet. Even for all the kindness Eddie has shown him the words get stuck in his throat. But he thinks Eddie knows. He has to.
“You’re not. You couldn't."
“How can you know that?”
He feels like he's on the brink of getting everything he's ever wanted. That it's already in his grasp, in his hold and maybe it's been that way for awhile.
“Steve, I— I know, okay. It’s okay. You’re okay. I know.”
He feels it for what it is— a confession. Feels the vastness of those words settle between them.
Then Robin’s voice shatters the silence, echoing through the forest around them, breaking the moment.
“We should probably get a move on. We've got enough wood and it's getting too dark.” Eddie releases Steve’s hand and gathers the sticks and leaves they had abandoned to the forest floor. He helps Steve with his stack and turns on one of the flashlights to light their path.
The silence that surrounds them on the trek back isn’t a bad one. With fireflies dancing at their fingertips, like floating lanterns leading them home.
🎃🧡🎃
“There's a leaf in your hair.”
Steve plucks the shriveled leaf from Eddie's hair and tosses it to the side. He's brushing his fingers through the dark brown strands before his brain catches up to what he’s doing and tries not to snatch his hand back.
“Thanks,” Eddie grins and tosses another branch into their little fire pit. He seems intent on stacking them a certain way so Steve leaves him to it. The temperature has rapidly dropped since the sun had fallen.
Steve shivers.
“You cold, princess?”
“You wanna warm me up?” Steve snarks back before thinking about the implications of his words.
Eddie's cheeks go pink.
“I meant with the fire! Let's uh, get the fire going!” Steve rushes out, fumbling with his pockets for a lighter before remembering that Eddie has it. Eddie's cackle startles him but he tosses the rest of the sticks in and goes about getting the fire started.
Steve settles down next to him on the blankets they've spread out around the fire, drawing his knees up to rest his chin on them. The flames danced, casting flickering shadows that seemed to bring the trees around them to life.
Eddie laughs and pokes his side. “Warm now, your highness?” Steve leans away and rolls his eyes but can't hide the smile on his face.
They slip into a comfortable silence, listening to the crackle of the fire and the wind rustling through the trees, as they wait for the girls to return with their dinner.
It doesn't take long before the air is filled with the mouthwatering aroma of pizza. Steve's stomach grumbles and he thinks maybe a few cookies and a handful of tootsie rolls was definitely not enough food for the kind of day he's had.
It’s quiet as they tuck into their pizza, just the crackling of sticks and logs and an owl hooting in some far off tree. He concentrates on filling his stomach and thinks on what Eddie had said in the woods, his words reverbating in his head.
🎃🧡🎃
“That's the last one.” Eddie announces waving the Polaroid above his head. “We took some good ones tonight.”
“I'll go return the camera inside so Jonathan doesn't have a reason to kill you.” Nancy says with mirth in her voice.
“And that's why you're the best,” Eddie calls after her before turning back and stepping up to the fire with a wide grin. “You know what time it is right? It's scary campfire story time!” He barrels on without waiting for a reply.
“Who wants to go first?”
Steve smiles up at him and Nancy takes her place next to Robin across the fire. “You're the storyteller Eds. How about you go first? Show us how it's done?”
“Alright, but you'll have to promise not to scream.” He then launches into stories about talking pumpkins and witches and ghosts, being stuck in mirrors and wandering woods with shadow creatures. His voice carries over the fire strong and steady and even has Steve glancing back at the woods from time to time.
Eventually, Nancy takes a turn that devolves into her and Eddie fighting over ghosts of all things.
As the fire burns low, Robin plops herself down next to Steve. “They're going to fight all night about scary stories at this rate.”
When Steve just hums she nudges him with her shoulder and asks, “How are you holding up? It's been a pretty eventful day huh?”
He lets out a shaky breath and thinks about lying but, this is Robin, and she always knows.
"A little overwhelmed, I think. But it's good. I'm, yeah, this is really good."
He rubs a hand over the pumpkin she had carved for him and asks, “Why the hearts?”
“Oh, so it'd be more accurate.”
“Accurate how?”
“With you making heart eyes at Eddie all night.”
His body warms sick-fast but Robin reaches over and holds him steady.
Oh.
He looks up as Eddie paces around, hands waving in jerking movements as he tells his ghost story. The fire casting steep shadows. He's still got his pumpkin head on for dramatics and he's arguing with Nancy over his story.
“It's a ghost story, Nancy-pants! You're not supposed to take it so literal!”
Robin presses lips to his hairline and pulls the blanket around them tighter as Steve leans more heavily into her, the chill of the night starting to seep in.
“You really think that’s scary?” Steve laughs and Robin chimes in, “It was so lame! I wasn’t even scared.”
Eddie rolls his eyes under the pumpkin and flaps his hand at Steve, “Alright you two. Tell us a really scary one then.” Steve thinks he’s grinning under his pumpkin mask, “C’mon, or are you all talk?”
“Noooo!!” Robin yells, “It’s getting so cold and the fire is dying. Let’s go inside.”
Eddie starts to protest before Steve chimes in, “We’ve got candy and scary movies inside.” Steve dangles the bait and Eddie takes it hook, line and sinker.
“Well, what are we doing out here? Let's douse this fire and get back inside. We've got scary movies to watch!”
🎃🧡🎃
They settle onto the couch bundled in an abundance of blankets. Robin and Eddie fight over candy preferences, specifically Eddie’s love for candy corn and an assortment of other equally gross candies.
Eddie finally claps a hand over her mouth to stop her candy-fueled tirade.
Robin licks his hand.
Yanking his hand back with a disgusted face as he wipes his palm on his jeans. ”Real mature,” he rolls his eyes as she shrugs.
“Children,” Nancy clears her throat.
Robin blushes.
Steve giggles.
Eddie sticks his tongue out at her before popping a handful of candy corn in his mouth and taking a bite of black licorice.
“Floor sandwiches, Steve.”
After several rounds of rock, paper, scissors, Eddie picks their first watch of the night from a pile of movies they’ll never make it through.
“It’s a classic,” he states, as he pushes in the vhs and presses play. He climbs his way back into the pile of bodies and blankets, burrowing until he’s pressed in close to Steve’s side.
The opening scene to Halloween fills the screen and ten minutes on the floor is littered with popcorn and candy wrappers. Steve feels Eddie tuck his feet under Steve's thigh and melts a little further into the couch.
Steve was tired.
Eyes drooping in an effort to stay conscious. Sleep clings to him like cobwebs, draping over him like a thin veil as he rubs his eyes in an attempt to keep himself awake. He hears Robin's soft snores and sees her form curled up against a sleeping Nancy. He watches as Eddie drapes a soft blanket over the two and then he's being pulled gently to his feet.
Hands that aren't his, steady him. Steve hums happily and steps in closer. Nuzzles into the soft heat of Eddie’s body as his blanket falls to the floor.
“C'mon big boy, time for bed.”
He lets Steve lean heavily into him. Carrying most of their weight as they make their way up the stairs to Steve's room. Eddie smells like smoke, thick and lingering on his clothes and in Steve’s lungs. He smells like burnt sugar and the whiskey they'd stolen earlier from his dad's office. He smells good and Steve presses his nose right up into the space right under his jaw.
Eddie yelps and drops him. He tilts and drops heavily, landing on his bed.
“Your nose is cold!”
Steve just chuckles and splays out starfish on the bed. Feels it dip as Eddie crawls up beside him.
“Hey, sweetheart, we need to get your clothes off.”
Sweetheart .
“Mmm. ‘m too tired Eds”
“I know baby but we smell like a forest fire. You don't want that in your sheets.”
Oh.
Baby.
And then he feels Eddie's hand grip his hip.
“Can I take these off you?”
God.
Yes. And then. Please.
Eddie's hands are unbuckling his belt and undoing the button on his jeans and pulling on the zipper and-
Steve is willing himself not to do something stupid like get hard. He squeezes his eyes closed. There's no way he can look as Eddie pulls his jeans down. He helps kick them off when they get tangled in his ankles. And then Eddie's hands are slipping under his sweater.
His fingers warm, rings too.
“This too Stevie.”
Call me baby, he thinks.
He hears Eddie chuckle as he sits up letting him pull the sweater up and up and off. He opens his eyes to Eddie just inches from his face. Eyes soft. Eddie grins.
“Cmon, baby, get under the covers.”
Steve’s eyes snap open and land on Eddie’s equally wide eyes as he tucks Steve beneath the sheets. Eddie jumps back, nearly trips and looks sheepish as he straightens up.
“My turn,” he murmurs and Steve knows he should look away but he can't help it. Watches as those long fingers unclasp Eddie's belt, pulls it through the loops. It lands with a clank on the floor. Jeans follow. And then he's pulling his shirt off and Steve is still staring.
Knows he's been caught.
He doesn't feel so tired anymore. Reaches out as Eddie crawls in next to him. Goes easily when he's tugged into that warm embrace. Socked feet tangling together under the sheets. Eddie guides Steve’s face back so they can see each other’s faces. Warm fingers pressed to his jaw, just holding gently in place. He’s smiling, warm and soft.
Eddie kisses him.
Just a small kiss on the corner of his lips, much too tender to be real. Steve thinks he must be dreaming. He’s gone and had too much whiskey or they got into Eddie’s stash and he’s hallucinating— caught in a dream that will leave him raw and aching when he wakes.
Eddie grabs Steve’s hand, the bandaged one, and kisses his fingers again, this time with a fire in his eyes. There’s miles of skin freed from the confines of Eddie’s too-big tee shirt as Steve places a shaking hand over Eddie’s heart, the rhythm he finds there is the one he's been found seeking over and over all day.
He falls into the next kiss with ease. The feeling of Eddie’s lips on his, the bite of his teeth in his haste. Eddie kisses like he’s starving. Like maybe he too thought he wasn't allowed to have this.
Steve cups the back of his neck, dragging him closer. Eddie's lips are full, his tongue imploring, leaving Steve to open up to the insistence of Eddie's kisses.
Eddie's hand reaches up to cradle his nape, the other slipping lower wandering for whatever skin is available. They kiss until they're breathless, Eddie laughing against his lips.
Steve loses track of time after a while, enraptured with every touch, every press of fingers and swipe of tongue.
Fire burns through him at the first brush of Eddie’s erection against his own, hard in his boxers, aching, straining.
Eddie finally pulls away, lips kiss swollen, pupils completely swallowing the deep chocolate of his eyes. It's then that Steve rolls so he's got Eddie beneath him, pushes him flat before running his hands over Eddie’s chest. Over the parse chest hair, the raised edges of his scars, settling back over his heart. He loves the feeling of it, beating a wild rhythm against his palm.
Eddie flushes red with the attention. Steve likes how it travels from his cheeks down his chest.
“What do you want?” Steve asks, palms sweaty where they're pressed flat against Eddie’s chest.
“Mm, just want you.” Eddie whispers. Never thought I’d get this. I don’t. I’m not… anything. I just want anything you'll give me.”
“That's dangerous Munson,” he huffs with a smirk and then, “You’ve thought about this?”
Eddie shakes his head, wild curls fanning out around him. He stops, eyes bright as Steve pushes his bangs from his face. “I did, I do.
“I’ve thought about it, man. I’d go to bed imagining you there with me. Imagining—” He cuts off with a moan.
Feather-light, Steve palms the front of Eddie’s worn-soft plaid boxers. ”Imagining something like this?”
Eddie laughs and sits up onto his elbows, chasing Steve’s lips, bare legs straddling his waist. “This is more than anything I could have imagined.” He confesses. “I've wanted you here with me, all the time. I want you.” And even softer, “ I need you.”
Eddie's eyes flutter shut, eyelashes long where they fan over his pink cheekbones. Beautiful Steve thinks, not for the first time.
This is Eddie— both terrifying and beautiful.
Steve feels the heaviness of the emotions fluttering in his chest, the pinpricks in his eyes. He bends to press a kiss between Eddie’s eyes.
”No, c’mon, kiss me right. Kiss me kiss me kis—“
Steve surges, without a moment’s hesitation and kisses him quiet. Chases every little sigh that he makes, every groan as they grind against each other. Everything feels desperate, fumbling hands, stuttered moans. Steve thinks maybe they should slow down, take a breath, talk more but Eddie keeps babbling praises and endearment into the skin of Steve's neck and he's left helpless in the wake of Eddie's affections.
Steve reaches down again between them to palm at Eddie's clothed dick again. He wants to see it. Wonders how it compares to his own.
Eddie heaves a whine that breaks in his throat, hips stuttering against the light pressure of Steve's palm.
“Please, can we move?” He drags his hands up Steve's thighs. “Please, Steve, don't make me beg.”
Steve chuckles and ducks his head. “You're already begging.”
“Need more,” His voice is soft, quiet and vulnerable in the space between them. Steve watches his throat bob and moves his hand up to tangle in Eddie's hair, the noise of protest he lets out. Tugging at Eddie's hair, careful not to pull too hard, he bends to lick a strip up Eddie's throat.
Eddie gasps and surges his hips forward, rutting up against Steve's own hardness, trapped within his boxers. With every kiss, Steve grinds their hips together, their breaths growing more frantic, chest heaving against one another's. Eddie grabs a hold of Steve's thigh and pulls it higher, knee hooking up around his waist.
“Eddie,” he pants into the other man's mouth. The angle has Steve seeing stars. He feels Eddie's nails sinking into his thigh, his breath hot on Steve's neck, grinding their cocks together, his hips working in a frantic motion.
Steve almost loses himself to the euphoria, until he's pulling back, saying wait, hold on . Eddie stilling beneath him instantly, watching him with wide eyes as he pulls away, just far enough back to hook his fingers into the elastic of Eddie's soft boxers. He looks down at Eddie with hooded eyes, begging a silent question.
“Holy shit, yeah. Yeah, oh my g—”
It takes some awkward maneuvering, and elbow to the side and Eddie whining as Steve finally just hops off the bed to remove his underwear altogether. But then he's climbing right back up into Eddie's lap, ventures to his cock, now full against his belly, weeping and wraps one large hand gingerly around it.
The precome he was leaking eases the way, keeping the glide of Steve's palm slick and wet. Steve was pleased with how easy and familiar this was. With how right it felt, with Eddie beneath him. He thought about how he'd love to hear Eddie beg again, maybe see how red he turned when desperate. Maybe next time he thinks.
Then Eddie lets out a strained whine that brings Steve back to the present. To the dry rub of his hand against Eddie's cock.
“Hold on hold on, let me, I gotta-”
Eddie watches with wet eyes as Steve lets spit pool in his mouth before letting it drop between them. He throws his head back and groans, “Oh fuck.” Steve wraps a hand around them both, Eddie beneath him writhes with the touch, the wet slide of them together.
He falls into it after that, hips chasing the sensations, little whimpers escaping when it catches him at the right angle until they're both moaning with every touch.
Steve watches torn between Eddie's cock and his face but Eddie wraps his arms around him pulling him crashing down into Eddie's embrace, his arm trapped between them. He forms a loose fist for Eddie to thrust into. He sucks at the skin of his jaw and listens to him moan and whine, feels the way his hips stutter.
“Steve,” Eddie chokes out. “Steve, I'm gonna—”
Another thrust and Eddie tenses, breath getting caught in his throat, body shuddering, legs shaking around Steve's thighs.
“Oh god, oh god, oh god,” he chants to himself.
Steve keeps rutting against Eddie. The space between their bodies warm and wet with spit and cum. Eddie whispering praises in his ear, biting and licking at his neck. Taking Steve's face in his hands and kisses him, soft and slow. Steve lets out a whine into Eddie's open mouth.
He comes the instant Eddie grabs hold of his ass, rings digging in, nails leaving half moon indents in his skin. His orgasm leaves him whimpering and shaking, adding to the sticky mess between them. He holds Steve through it, rolling through the aftershocks, the friction eventually making him twitch.
Eddie falls back, limp and boneless, spread out across the sheets. Steve follows, sprawls over him in a sticky, sweaty mess.
He should find it gross but it sends a thrill down his spine and his dick twitches and he knows Eddie felt it by the grin that spreads across his face, dopey and soft. He pets through Steve’s sweat-laden hair, rings catching in the lamp light.
“Stay,” Steve whispers, his voice brittle and shaky, mouths the word into the fleshy bend of Eddie's throat. He wants Eddie to stay like this, at his side, in his heart.
He thinks Eddie must understand when he takes Steve's hand and presses a kiss to the delicate skin of his wrist.
🎃🧡🎃
Steve wakes in the morning. The heat of the sunlight from the bedroom window eventually shines in his eyes and he grumbles, stretches and feels a pair of arms tug him back into a sleep-warm chest. A smile spreads across his lips and he rolls over to face Eddie’s sleepy face.
“Morning sweetheart”, he murmurs, voice rough with sleep.
”Morning.” Steve whispers back, afraid to break the easy softness of the morning.
He places his hand to Eddie’s chest as their lips meet. Steve feels the beat of Eddie’s heart against his palm, the beat of it strong and steady as the morning.
