Right Side Up (Steddie)

True Love's First Kiss

Steve knew Dustin had carried out his task two hours later when his phone started ringing. It was Robin. She was talking faster than the speed of light, but Steve had been able to discern that Dustin told Mike and Nancy about Eddie. Then Nancy had called Robin. And somewhere in there he learned that Dustin and Mike had gone to see Lucas to let him know. She assumed they'd go to the hospital to tell Max since Lucas went to visit her every day since she'd woken up from the coma.

Next, Nancy called. She was calmer than Robin and Steve welcomed the change. He found her level-headedness to be calming, though it wasn't doing much for him today. Though he was doing a good job of appearing calm on the outside, inside he was anything but. He was panicking. Eddie still hadn't woken up, and other than rolling over onto his side, he hadn't moved again either. The slow rise and fall of his chest and the raspy sound of his breathing were the only indications that he was even alive. Steve was beginning to think that maybe this was more than just sleeping.

Nancy offered to come over and help him look after Eddie, but he declined. Partly because he wanted to be alone with Eddie. But also, he didn't want to be alone with Nancy. After admitting to her that he still had feelings for her and that he'd always dreamed of having a huge family with her, he felt awkward around her now that Jonathan was back. But he promised to keep her updated on what was going on.

He had barely hung up the phone when the walkie-talkie started crackling and buzzing and Dustin's voice cut through the static. Dustin, Mike and Lucas were together, and they wanted an update on Eddie. Steve let them know that he was still sleeping, keeping his fears that he might be in a coma and not sleeping to himself. Mike and Lucas asked him to tell them his version of Eddie showing up, even though Dustin had told them everything Steve had told him. But it made them feel better to hear it from Steve.

Steve spent the rest of the day just absently wandering the house. He made something to eat. He washed a load of laundry. He stared at a show on television without really seeing it. And every few minutes he'd check on Eddie. Sometime after midnight, Dustin called him. He was getting ready to go to bed and wanted another update. Nothing had changed, Steve told him. Except that at some point in the late afternoon, Eddie had rolled over again. He was now on his other side, still curled in a ball, with his hands folded under his head. Steve promised to call him in the morning, then changed into his pajamas, a pair of shorts and a tank top, and crawled into bed with Eddie.

With Eddie on his side, they were face to face in Steve's bed. Steve brushed Eddie's hair back from his face then cupped his cheek in his hand and ran his thumb over Eddie's lips. More than anything he wanted to kiss him. He considered it for a moment, thinking of Sleeping Beauty and Snow White. True love's first kiss. Could it really be that simple? With everything he'd seen and experienced in The Upside Down, he didn't think it could hurt to try it.

Steve leaned in and touched his lips to Eddie's, softly at first, then applying just the tiniest amount of pressure. In the back of his head, he sent up a silent prayer for Eddie to open his eyes. Even if he opened them, found Steve kissing him, and kicked his ass halfway to Indianapolis and back, as long as he woke up, Steve would gladly take the beating. He didn't care. After several long moments, Steve pulled back. Nothing happened. Eddie just lay there, his eyes still closed.

"Good night, Eddie," he whispered.

Steve closed his eyes and fell into a fitful sleep. He slept through the night, but his dreams were filled with nightmares about being in The Upside Down and Vecna. But in one of his dreams, one that wasn't a nightmare, he dreamed that he and Eddie were standing back-to-back, fighting off Demobats together. And in the end, Steve had saved Eddie and brought him back to Hawkins.