Steve flopped on to the bed, looking expectantly at Eddie, who stood by the doorway with his arms crossed.

Eddie hesitated, unsure whether he should sit down next to Steve or settle on the floor.

He decided the floor was the better option.

They sat in awkward silence for a few minutes, Steve running his hands through his hair and Eddie sitting cross-legged on the rough carpet, fiddling with his rings.

Eventually, the silence became too much for Eddie, and he cleared his throat. Steve looked up at him, and Eddie felt himself flinch under the intensity of his gaze.

"So, uh, what do you want to talk about?"

Steve thought for a moment.

"How about we play truth for truth?" He suggested.

"Truth for what?"

"Truth for truth, I'll tell you something about myself, and then you tell me something about yourself,"

Steve explained, propping a pillow behind him and lying back against the wall.

"Uh, alright," Eddie cleared his throat again, "you want to go first?"

"Sure," Steve shrugged.

He thought for a bit, looking up at the ceiling as if the answer would be written on the crumbling plaster.

"I tell everyone my favourite movie is Top Gun, but it's actually Grease," he admitted, staring at Eddie sheepishly.

Eddie stared for a moment, wondering if he heard correctly. Then the corners of his mouth stretched into a smirk and he threw his head back and laughed, much to Steve's annoyance.

"Steve Harrington is a liar and a hopeless romantic? Now that's interesting," he quipped, grinning maliciously.

Steve sighed.

"You're going to tell everyone, aren't you?"

"You bet."

Steve chuckled lightly, and Eddie felt a glow of pride because I did that. I made Steve "romcom obsessed" Harrington laugh for the second time today. And fuck it feels good.

"Okay, your turn now."

Eddie tilted his head to the side, wondering what to say.

"Geez... I don't know Steve, it's going to be hard to top that one after hearing such a serious confession."

Steve rolled his eyes, causing Eddie's grin to widen.

"Seriously though, let's hear it Munson."

Eddie racked his brains, trying to think of something that would impress Steve.

"When we were in the Upside Down, fighting those monsters... A part of me, a big part of me, was terrified. But it also felt kind of..." Eddie paused, trying to think of the right word. "Exhilarating. Like I finally got to be the hero I always played at being at Hellfire Club, only this time I wasn't rolling a dice or holding a wooden sword, this time it was real."

He looked up at Steve and felt a tinge of embarrassment.

"Sorry, kinda poured my heart out there for a sec."

Steve shook his head.

"Don't apologise, you were telling the truth."

Eddie felt his face going red, his embarrassment sinking in further.

"Alright, your turn, Harrington," he said, desperate to turn the conversation around.

"I liked it too," Steve confessed, "I mean each time is scarier than the last and there were times I really didn't think we stood a chance, but I have to admit, it did feel good wacking those Demo-bats and kicking Vecna's ass. At high school people either thought I was a king or just some dumb jock, but when I was in the Upside Down, I finally had a chance to prove them all wrong, show that I'm not just some asshole with a crown, you know?"

Eddie smiled slightly. And now it was Steve's turn to be embarrassed.

"Guess we're both pouring our hearts out today."

"Yeah..." Eddie replied. But he felt like his words were tainted with dishonesty, especially after Steve had confided in him like that. Eddie hadn't told him the whole truth, and he couldn't bear it any longer.

"How do you do it?" He asked quietly.

"Do what?" Steve responded, eyeing him curiously.

"Deal with it afterwards? I know I said I liked it but I'm no superhero, Steve. No matter how much I felt like one in the moment."

Eddie could feel himself crumbling and desperately tried to pull himself together, but found it near to impossible with the way Steve was staring at him, a mixture of pity and reassurance painted on his face. Eddie realised how much he wanted Steve's help right now, how much he wanted to sit down next to him and cry in his arms, comforted by the knowledge that he was safe in Steve's embrace, that he always would be safe as long as Steve was there to hold him.

"Truth is..." he continued, "I have been struggling, the past few months have been so fucking hard for me. And then there are these brief periods where I feel happy again and I try to grasp on to that for as long as I can, but it always... slips through my fingers, and then I'm left in the dark again."

Eddie could feel hot tears trickling down his face but he wiped them away, determined to stay strong for as long as he could before the mountain collapsed completely.

"I felt so good, after we saved the world. For a time, I felt more alive than I had ever felt in my whole life. But then the reality of what had happened sinked in. Every small noise, scares me. I hate the dark. I hate the nightmares, every night I dream of her, of Chrissy... I just ran, you know? She needed my help and I ran like a fucking coward and... and I..."

Eddie could feel the tears now, streaming down his face. He could no longer hold it in. He cried and cried for what felt like hours, as if all his thoughts had been building up inside his head until it was all too much to bear and he could feel them crashing down around him. He couldn't remember the last time he had wept like this. He couldn't remember at one point Steve's arms wrapped around him and hugged him tightly. He could only faintly hear him whispering in his ear, repeating the same lines over and over until he eventually calmed down.

"It's okay, Eddie. It's going to be okay, I'm here. I'm here and I'm not going anywhere."