Given that Steve was pretty sure Keith still didn't like him, the fact he still had a job after being off for nearly a week was kind of amazing. It was also a little bit intimidating, however. So far, the only people he had interacted with since his significant life change were people in the know about the Upside Down. He could not imagine what would happen if he lost it and grew fangs or claws in the middle of a shift.

It didn't help that leaving Eddie at his house was the last thing he wanted to do. Wayne was going to be keeping Eddie company for part of the day, but that didn't help Steve's inner worrywart all that much.

"Feeling better?" Keith asked as he walked in.

"Um, yes, thank you," he replied, shocked by the enquiry.

When he and Keith worked together, their interactions tended to be minimal.

"Robin was graphic with her descriptions," Keith said. "Thank you for not sharing at least. You're on returns."

"Okay," Steve just agreed and watched his boss walk away to the office.

He owed Robin yet again.

About the only thing worth noting until around lunch time was how hard he had to work to remember to keep his customer service smile teethless. He doubted anyone would pay enough attention to notice his new fangs in their retracted state, but he wasn't about to take the risk. Turning on the Harrington charm was more work when he had to think about exactly how much of his upper teeth were showing. Not that it stopped him with the few female customers who came in on a Tuesday morning.

If he could make some of the ladies smile by being nice to them, he was going to do it. It was good for business, and he was in a surprisingly good mood when he forgot to be anxious.

He was about to ask Keith if he could take his lunch when warmth and the fizz of delight zipped up his spine. Unfortunately, he dropped the tape he was holding because it was such a surprise. For a second he tried to chase down why on earth standing in front of the horror section could have caused such a reaction, before it dawned on him, the feeling wasn't coming from him at all.

It was Eddie.

Looking at his watch, Steve came to the conclusion Wayne had arrived early to visit with Eddie. Picking up the copy of Halloween he had been about to reshelve, he smiled to himself. He was glad Eddie was happy. Of course, now he was going to be wondering all afternoon if Eddie's apparent delight had just been seeing his uncle again or something more. It would undoubtedly drive him crazy, but it was hard to begrudge such a burst of joy.

~*~

If there was one thing Steve knew without a doubt it was that if the kids wanted something there were only so many times 'no' would work. Hence, he did not argue when Dustin rang and asked if he, Mike and Lucas could come over after school. El was unavailable or he was sure she would have been included as well. He was also well aware he was not the only one who had missed Eddie.

He would have offered to pick them up, but his shift didn't end until five thirty, so there were bikes scattered in his driveway when he finally made it home. As he opened the door, the first thing he heard was someone playing the guitar and Dustin yelling at the top of his lungs.

"I hate you all!" was the first sentence he could actually understand from the dramatic wailing.

That was when he figured out the tune. It was Neverending Story. He couldn't help smiling as he realised it was clearly torture-Dustin time.

"You mentioned Suzie five times in the last ten minutes," that was clearly Mike's voice, "and you know the penalty."

"You asked about what I was building in my basement and it's a project with Suzie," Dustin defended himself, "of course I mentioned her. How about we come up with something really embarrassing for every time you mention El?"

"El goes to school with us, how am I supposed to not talk about her?" Mike demanded.

"That would be your problem," Dustin said giving Mike a glare as Steve walked into the room.

"Hi Honey, I'm home," he called since nobody seemed to have noticed his entrance.

"Great, then you can take your kids," Eddie shot back with typical comedic timing.

"Oh, so when they're causing trouble, they're my kids? Right," Steve said, putting his hands on his hips.

He was answered by a dramatic strum on the acoustic Eddie was holding. Wayne had to have brought it with him when he visited. It looked as if Eddie wasn't letting it go any time soon.

"Should we be worried by how domestic you two are getting after just a few days?" Dustin asked as they both burst out laughing.

"Domestic he says," Steve replied. "Does that mean you're not in my house expecting to eat my food, because I can let you starve if you'd prefer."

He was never going to admit he had half a freezer full of meals he had prepared in advance for just such invasions so he had things to throw in the oven that weren't out of a packet. If the kids ever thought about it and realised that they would never shut up about it.

"Although given the mess on the coffee table, you've already helped yourselves to snacks," he added.

"We're growing boys," Lucas told him with a grin.

"Because sugar and additives are so good for healthy bone and muscle development," he countered.

"You are such a mom," Mike complained.

"Someone has to be," Steve replied, "or you'd all die in sugar comas. Now I'm gonna go change and I expect that mess to be cleared up by the time I come down or this playdate is over."

"I think he means it," Eddie said in an ominous tone and gave him a wink.

"Of course I mean it, I've been dealing with these gremlins for years," he replied and headed for the stairs.

It was good to see them all so relaxed and normal, but he wasn't letting them get away with trashing his house.

~*~

Steve liked to cook, it calmed him down, and he'd taken to dragging Eddie into it as well. It was just the two of them today and they were making a simple casserole for lunch. Steve was on the afternoon and late shift, with Robin joining him after school, meaning there was time to do lunch properly.

"You know I'm gay, right?" Eddie said, completely out of the blue as they were standing shoulder to shoulder preparing ingredients.

"The way you flirt with everyone I thought you might be bisexual," Steve replied without even thinking about it. "Thanks for telling me though."

Eddie didn't reply, so he glanced over from the carrot he was dicing. The other man was staring at him with one of those narrow-eyed I-am-coming-to-some-sort-of-conclusion stares.

"No, definitely gay," Eddie said after a few moments, "I just can't deny the ladies a taste of my charm on occasion, and I am an unstoppable flirt."

Steve grinned and rolled his eyes a little.

"Useful cover too," Eddie added, "since most people don't really know much about bisexuality."

"Yeah," Steve agreed, going back to his chopping, since he was perfectly happy to talk about this if Eddie wanted to, "I didn't until a friend educated me on the subject."

He wasn't about to out Robin even though he was pretty sure she was working up to telling Eddie herself, but he also wasn't going to lie about something that was clearly important to his friend.

"And why did they do that?" Eddie asked, and Steve could feel the other man's gaze on him.

Steve took a moment to think. He could tell where this conversation was going, and he could head it off or let it run its course. They'd been living in each other's pockets for a few days now and it was getting much harder to ignore the chemistry between them. He wasn't dense, he knew it wasn't just all him, but Eddie was still so vulnerable. Yet, Eddie's sudden announcement was a neon sign if ever he saw one.

He took a deep breath.

"Because they noticed I was confused about something after they came out to me and I confessed that I didn't think I was gay because I definitely liked girls, but I wasn't sure because sometimes I kinda felt the same way about a few boys," he explained.

"Holy fuck," was Eddie's response to that. "Harrington, you hide that well."

"Yeah, well with my dad, anything remotely non-conforming is a big no, and he had an absolute fit with my obsession with Han Solo when I was a kid, so I learned young that even a hint of something not completely 'normal'," he made air quotes with his fingers, "was not acceptable in the Harrington household. Was a real dick about it when I was younger too. Thank fuck we all grow up eventually."

"Yeah," Eddie said, seemingly still thinking it through. "Wait, Han Solo? I have literally heard Dustin complain that you refer to Return of the Jedi as the one with the teddies, but you know Star Wars."

"Gotta keep you nerds on your toes somehow," Steve replied and carried on with his veg prep.

"Dumb jock," Eddie complained.

Steve smiled to himself as they continued in companiable silence for a while. He was pretty sure the conversation was not over.

"So," Eddie said eventually, "what's your type."

"Well, brunet, obviously," Steve replied, "given the whole Han Solo thing."

"Yeah," Eddie commented, "I would have put you down as more of a Luke Skywalker guy."

"Nah, I prefer a sharper tongue," Steve continued, deliberately not looking over at Eddie, "and big brown puppy eyes are a plus, y'know, or red."

Eddie dropped his knife. Steve put his down and turned properly this time. Eddie was looking down at his cutting board, but slowly turned as well.

"You're not messing with me, are you," Eddie said, but it was a statement, not a question.

"No," Steve replied anyway.

"You really..?" Eddie asked, trailing off.

"Yes, really," he said with a nod. "You drive me completely crazy, but I like it, I like you. Only it's been so fucking weird around here I didn't want to complicate things for you, so I didn't say anything."

"Since when?"

"Since when what?" he asked.

"Since when have you liked me?" Eddie asked, voice quiet.

"Since you dived into a lake to help save me and turned out to be a funny guy with a heart of gold," he replied. "And every day since we got you back, I've been falling a little more."

"Jesus, Stevie," Eddie replied, "you don't do declarations by halves do you?"

"It's a character flaw," he said. "You slamming me against a wall with a bottle to my neck was kind of eye-opening too, but I put that down to adrenalin at the time. Didn't figure out it might have been something else until looking back on it."

Eddie was staring at him again, but this time with his mouth open.

"Was it the danger or the manhandling?" Eddie asked eventually.

Steve shrugged.

"Haven't figured that out yet," he replied with a small smirk, even though he could feel himself blushing.

"Jesus Christ, you're trying to kill me," Eddie said, eyes flicking to his lips.

"That would be a waste after dragging El into the Upside Down to save your ass," he said, enjoying the effect he was having on Eddie.

The low-level hum of Eddie in the back of his brain was sparking with exciting things.

"So, if I kissed you right now, you wouldn't object?" Eddie asked, nervously biting his bottom lip.

"More the opposite," he replied.

He licked his lips, an unconscious gesture until he noticed himself doing it. Eddie did too. Those big beautiful, deep brown eyes focused in on his mouth like a homing beacon. Standing his ground, he waited as Eddie stepped into his personal space. They were almost the same height, Eddie being just shorter than him, but he felt anything but bigger as Eddie reached out and lightly placed fingers against his neck.

It sent shivers up his spine, pulling a soft gasp from his lips as Eddie's presence in his head increased at the physical contact. A hum of anxiety, excitement and something else Steve couldn't quite name burned through him, joining with what he was feeling himself. As Eddie leaned in, Steve's eyes drifted shut of their own accord and he immersed himself in the feeling of Eddie's lips on his own. It was short, chaste even. Eddie's lips were soft but a little chapped.

Steve immediately wanted more.

As Eddie went to pull away, he reached out himself, threading his finger into the hair at the nape of Eddie's neck. He leaned in this time, meeting halfway for a longer, much firmer reuniting of lips. Eddie nipped at his bottom lip and wound an arm around his waist, bringing their bodies closer together. When Eddie urged him backwards, he just went, moving until his back hit the wall at the end of the counter.

He found himself crowded into the corner, and he reciprocated by carding his other hand into Eddie's hair as well. It was so soft. Ever since Steve had washed it for him on the first day out of the Upside Down, Eddie had let Steve help him keep it in condition and it was paying off. Steve could run his fingers through it all day if Eddie would let him.

"Fuck," Eddie whispered against his mouth, sounding kind of amazed.

Steve could only agree, making a small needy noise. He opened his mouth, flicking his tongue over Eddie's bottom lip, inviting. He was immediately answered. The slide of Eddie's tongue against his was obscene and he opened his lips further, wanting more. He let Eddie plunder his mouth while he tightened his fingers in Eddie's silky hair.

It was just about perfect, but he soon discovered they had forgotten one thing.

"Ow," Eddie said, pulling back.

Steve probably would have reacted to that, but he didn't have the chance. It was as if someone connected him brain and body to the mains powered by one Eddie Munson. His senses went into overdrive, sight, taste, smell, touch, hearing, all focused completely on Eddie as the underlying metallic tang of blood filled his mouth.

He could only gasp as he became aware of everything all at once. Want, need, anxiety, caring, all bounced around inside him, telegraphed like they were his own, mixing and churning with what he was already feeling. Overloading his ability to completely comprehend what he was sensing.

"Steve, hey, hey, Stevie," Eddie said.

He couldn't respond. He barely remembered to breathe as he was overwhelmed. Nothing could have prepared him for what he was feeling. He felt more awake than he ever had, as if someone had injected him with the most powerful stimulant known to man. Every sense was alive. He could feel everything from Eddie's hand on his hip to the low ache in his back and feet from standing for a good percentage of the morning. Only he couldn't focus on any individual part as it all bombarded him. All his brain would scream at him was Eddie.

"Holy fuck," Eddie moaned into his neck, "I can feel that. What the fuck am I feeling?"

At least Eddie was a little coherent. For a good few seconds Steve could only cling on for the ride.

"Jesus Christ," he said when he was finally in control enough to do anything except shake. "I ... oh god ... that ..."

He had no idea what he was trying to say, and he belatedly realised his otherness had come out.

Eddie pulled back and as their eyes met, Steve couldn't help it, he laughed. For a second Eddie stared at him as if he had grown another head, but slowly Eddie smiled too and then laughed along with him.

"Shit," Eddie said, still laughing. "What the fuck was that?"

"Your blood," Steve said. "Oh my god, I feel like I just had a tanker full of coffee with a chaser of Eddie Munson."

"You lit up in my head," Eddie revealed. "Only felt you though."

"Yeah, a feedback loop would be a bitch," he replied. "I got a hit of Robin's blood once, but it was nothing like that."

"You've tasted Robin's blood?" Eddie asked, if the wide eyes and slight twist of his mouth anything to go by, somewhere between shocked and jealous.

"She wanted to see the fangs and pricked her finger," Steve explained with another breathless laugh. "I got a momentary blast of what she was feeling, but this was like being wired to an outlet and you at the same time. I feel like I could run a marathon right now and not be tired."

"I caught my tongue on your tooth," Eddie said, "and that was still the best kiss of my life."

"Me too," Steve replied, even though his brain was still turned up to ten.

He wondered if this was what it felt like on cocaine.

"Not that I want to let you go, ever," Eddie said, blinking as if trying to clear his brain, "but maybe we should get back to making lunch. I don't think I can take that again without ending up in a heap on the floor."

Steve nodded, going to push himself off the wall when he discovered something of a problem.

"Um, I think my claws are tangled in your hair,"he said as he failed to free his hands.