( It had been the best possible way their encounter could have ended. Both encounters he had in that damn haunted house resulted in him having to knock his attackers out, but if one of them had to die... For as much guilt as Eddie brings with him at having to give Steve another concussion, he knows that it could have been worse.
He nods as he gives Steve's hand a gentle squeeze before hopping up and motioning for Steve to join him. ) To the bathroom, then. I'll have you feeling and looking good as new in no time. ( He holds out a hand for Steve to take, his face displaying a mixture of sympathy and hopefulness. If they can just get past this, if everything can go back to the closest thing to normal... )
[ Eddie's words bring a faint flush to Steve's cheeks, and he runs his uninjured hand through his hair like he's just realizing he probably looks like shit. Compared to how Eddie's seen him, either cleaned up and coiffed or gritty and battle-ready—this current state is something new and vulnerable.
Clearing his throat, he stands to follow Eddie to the small bathroom. He only hesitates a moment before giving him his hand again with a nod. ] Alright, I'm yours, doc.
( It's all too easy for Eddie to feel himself transported back to the Upside Down, where Steve had far worse injuries and Nancy Wheeler had been the person to tend to Steve's wounds. He thought it would have left a sour taste in his mouth, a jealous one, but he recognizes how far they've both come since then.
He lets one more beat pass before taking Steve's hand and striving to be as gentle as possible as he cleans it carefully yet thoroughly. Once he deems it clean enough, he applies a bandage to it and then wraps some gauze to keep it in place, brushing a thumb across the finished product. )
There, good as new. ( His lips twitch as if he's not sure if he should be smiling or frowning. He feels accomplished, having been able to help Steve, but he also doesn't want this moment to end so soon, fearful that Steve will continue to shut him out. ) Hey, you know I've volunteered to be one of the musical acts at this, uh. Gala? Prom? Thing? At the Planetarium. You should come.
[ Steve is, in his own opinion, very brave and manly about the cleaning. He only winces once, letting out a hiss of breath as he relaxes a moment after some of a cotton ball snags on his stitches. Mostly, he's focused on Eddie and his downcast eyes that are focused on his task, long eyelashes reaching towards his cheeks, making him seem softer than he usually looks with angular grins and wild eyes.
The brush of his thumb doesn't go unnoticed, but Steve chalks it up to checking over his work rather than anything more tender.
Parting his lips to thank Eddie, he gets cut off and ends up letting out a very intelligent— ] Huh?
[ Prom? Eddie? In the same room? For some reason, Steve has pegged Eddie as someone who rejects things like that, or at the very least would make a show of doing so to maintain his role as the outcast. But at the same time, he was a musician, so maybe things balanced out enough for him to be interested. Besides, how likely is it that a prom in this city will be anything like proms back in Hawkins? ]
Uh, yeah. [ Clearing his throat, he thinks about how much smaller this bathroom feels with two grown men standing in it together. ] I mean, no, I didn't know that. I didn't think you be into that kind of thing. [ Because of course Steve had heard about the party, but he hadn't thought about attending. ] But yeah, I'll come.
( It's really no secret that Eddie can be incredibly impulsive. It has gotten him in trouble on more than one occasion, usually in school when he's rushed to the defense of one of his fellow Hellfire recruits. Never do what's expected of you - just one of the many things in his so-called Munson doctrine.
So it really shouldn't have come as much of a surprise when, in response to Steve agreeing to come, Eddie tugs Steve's injured hand, bending down like one of the knights in shining armor in the storybooks he used to read as a kid to place a gentle kiss to the newly bandaged wound. This city might not be the backdrop of a fantasy, but that isn't stopping Eddie from pretending for a moment that a kiss could have profound healing properties.
Okay, in reality, it just seemed like the sort of cheeky thing to do. Eddie tries to set aside the bitterness as he considers the genuine possibility that Nancy Wheeler would have likely done something like that. Get a grip, Munson, he tells himself, reminding himself that Nancy isn't even here. )
Yeah, so, um. See you there, then? ( Eddie stammers out when he realizes he can't take back that ridiculous gesture. ) I should probably go, right? I, um. Thanks for letting me, you know, ( he trails off, gesturing around the bathroom as if Steve is supposed to know that means bandage you up and take care of you.)
[ Looking back on this moment, Steve will tell himself that he should have expected a kiss on the hand. Eddie is dramatic and impulsive, and who hasn't played around with the healing kiss of life that so many fairy tales spoke of? But even if he manages to kid himself into believing all of that, he could have never foreseen Eddie committing to the bit so much so that he would kneel in front of Steve on the bathroom floor.
Steve's eyes can do nothing but follow Eddie's downward trajectory, gaze glued to his lips as they reach even lower and kiss his wounded hand. He doesn't have the full context for this situation—is Eddie treating him like a girl because he's gay? But that's not how gay men work, is it? Was he just being a dramatic little shit who's unable to pass up the chance to ruffle Steve Harrington's feathers? Ever since Eddie had come out to Steve, it's like he's looking at their friendship on two different movie screens and can't figure out which one's real and which one's fake. ]
Yeah. [ It's sort of a blanket statement and currently the only word in Steve's vocabulary. ] Yeah, um, bye? And thanks for, you know... [ He gently wiggles the fingers of the hand still held in Eddie's grasp. ]
(Stupid, Eddie chastises himself. This was a mistake; he knows it, but at least it doesn't seem like Steve is still closing himself off from Eddie. If he's a little bit awkward about it, well, that's probably to be expected for Eddie's silly antics.
He might as well quit while he's ahead. Which means standing back up, straightening himself up, and reluctantly dropping Steve's hand. With a silly wave, Eddie starts to back out of the bathroom, nearly tripping over himself as if matters couldn't possibly be made worse. He probably should have expected as much; since when did he ever get to have nice things? )
If you need any more bandages changing, you know who to call, ( he throws in, as if he hasn't dug himself a deep enough hole. )
Oh, yeah, thanks. [ He sounds like a broken record, but he doesn't know what else to say. He should show Eddie to the door but his feet are rooted to the spot as everything runs through his head. Eddie had forced his way over only to be completely nice and charming, and Steve had just gone along with all of it like a big idiot in sweatpants. At the very least, it seems like the confrontation in the haunted house was mostly water under the bridge, even if Steve wasn't going to trust himself around Eddie during the city's antics for quite a while after. ]
( Eddie clenches his eyes shut and draws in a deep breath. They're okay, he thinks. Or, at least, they're on their way to being okay again. That's really all he can ask for, after everything. )
See ya 'round, Steve. ( He gives a mock salute in Steve's direction and doesn't so much as wait for a response before he's shuffling out the door, more to save himself from further embarrassment than anything else. Oh, if only a hole could swallow him up and let him forget all about the past, oh, five minutes. But, no, of course, he wouldn't be so lucky. )
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hairsprayed) wrote2023-06-11 12:55 pm
no subject
He nods as he gives Steve's hand a gentle squeeze before hopping up and motioning for Steve to join him. ) To the bathroom, then. I'll have you feeling and looking good as new in no time. ( He holds out a hand for Steve to take, his face displaying a mixture of sympathy and hopefulness. If they can just get past this, if everything can go back to the closest thing to normal... )
no subject
Clearing his throat, he stands to follow Eddie to the small bathroom. He only hesitates a moment before giving him his hand again with a nod. ] Alright, I'm yours, doc.
no subject
He lets one more beat pass before taking Steve's hand and striving to be as gentle as possible as he cleans it carefully yet thoroughly. Once he deems it clean enough, he applies a bandage to it and then wraps some gauze to keep it in place, brushing a thumb across the finished product. )
There, good as new. ( His lips twitch as if he's not sure if he should be smiling or frowning. He feels accomplished, having been able to help Steve, but he also doesn't want this moment to end so soon, fearful that Steve will continue to shut him out. ) Hey, you know I've volunteered to be one of the musical acts at this, uh. Gala? Prom? Thing? At the Planetarium. You should come.
no subject
The brush of his thumb doesn't go unnoticed, but Steve chalks it up to checking over his work rather than anything more tender.
Parting his lips to thank Eddie, he gets cut off and ends up letting out a very intelligent— ] Huh?
[ Prom? Eddie? In the same room? For some reason, Steve has pegged Eddie as someone who rejects things like that, or at the very least would make a show of doing so to maintain his role as the outcast. But at the same time, he was a musician, so maybe things balanced out enough for him to be interested. Besides, how likely is it that a prom in this city will be anything like proms back in Hawkins? ]
Uh, yeah. [ Clearing his throat, he thinks about how much smaller this bathroom feels with two grown men standing in it together. ] I mean, no, I didn't know that. I didn't think you be into that kind of thing. [ Because of course Steve had heard about the party, but he hadn't thought about attending. ] But yeah, I'll come.
no subject
So it really shouldn't have come as much of a surprise when, in response to Steve agreeing to come, Eddie tugs Steve's injured hand, bending down like one of the knights in shining armor in the storybooks he used to read as a kid to place a gentle kiss to the newly bandaged wound. This city might not be the backdrop of a fantasy, but that isn't stopping Eddie from pretending for a moment that a kiss could have profound healing properties.
Okay, in reality, it just seemed like the sort of cheeky thing to do. Eddie tries to set aside the bitterness as he considers the genuine possibility that Nancy Wheeler would have likely done something like that. Get a grip, Munson, he tells himself, reminding himself that Nancy isn't even here. )
Yeah, so, um. See you there, then? ( Eddie stammers out when he realizes he can't take back that ridiculous gesture. ) I should probably go, right? I, um. Thanks for letting me, you know, ( he trails off, gesturing around the bathroom as if Steve is supposed to know that means bandage you up and take care of you. )
no subject
Steve's eyes can do nothing but follow Eddie's downward trajectory, gaze glued to his lips as they reach even lower and kiss his wounded hand. He doesn't have the full context for this situation—is Eddie treating him like a girl because he's gay? But that's not how gay men work, is it? Was he just being a dramatic little shit who's unable to pass up the chance to ruffle Steve Harrington's feathers? Ever since Eddie had come out to Steve, it's like he's looking at their friendship on two different movie screens and can't figure out which one's real and which one's fake. ]
Yeah. [ It's sort of a blanket statement and currently the only word in Steve's vocabulary. ] Yeah, um, bye? And thanks for, you know... [ He gently wiggles the fingers of the hand still held in Eddie's grasp. ]
no subject
He might as well quit while he's ahead. Which means standing back up, straightening himself up, and reluctantly dropping Steve's hand. With a silly wave, Eddie starts to back out of the bathroom, nearly tripping over himself as if matters couldn't possibly be made worse. He probably should have expected as much; since when did he ever get to have nice things? )
If you need any more bandages changing, you know who to call, ( he throws in, as if he hasn't dug himself a deep enough hole. )
no subject
no subject
See ya 'round, Steve. ( He gives a mock salute in Steve's direction and doesn't so much as wait for a response before he's shuffling out the door, more to save himself from further embarrassment than anything else. Oh, if only a hole could swallow him up and let him forget all about the past, oh, five minutes. But, no, of course, he wouldn't be so lucky. )