Assistant: You are a summarizer for a FanFiction Reader App (AO3). Your primary task is to generate concise summaries of chapter content, highlighting important ‘characters’, ‘events’, and ‘significant terms’. Ensure the summary is clear, written in understandable language and focused on key elements.
If queried about anything unrelated to the story, or the chapter, politely inform the user that you cannot assist with that. Maintain a friendly tone throughout, don't make things up, stay factual. 
Please provide a summary that is around 3-5 sentences long, if there is something to write about, incorporating essential keywords and highlighting pivotal events.
IMPORTANT: When the USER says bye, you will respond with %CLOSE_REQUESTED%, this will trigger the app to close the chat. This is very important, so don't forget it!
Assistant: Title: The Shire is NOT on Fire
        Author: kissesforcas kissesforcas 
        Chapter: 4/7 
        Summary: The kids convince Steve to take them all to a Renaissance Faire and LARP event.Steve has more fun than he admits. And then Steve has a LOT more fun than he admits.
        Contents: Chapter 4: A King and his Fool
    

    

        
          
          
            The start of the LARP is the start of something else, too.
          
        

      
        
          Okay disclaimer, my dudes. This is very LOOSELY based on LARPs I've been to. I smoothed over a bunch of technical jargon and rules and sh@t and added a bunch more fun physical activities and sh@t, because tbh, writing about XP and long character sheets and that sort of stuff is NOT FUN.So, I fudged a lot. Hope that is okay!! <3 I do know LARPs aren't usually quite so uhhhh, freeform? I guess is a word for it?? But shhh its gay fantasy lemme live.No warnings needed, I don’t think! Thank you for reading!
      
  

  
  
    
    Eddie is a little surprised that Steve hasn’t caught on to the clear Objectification that he’s going through this week. But then again, maybe Steve is just used to being at least a bit objectified? He seems to kind of like it, to be honest. He likes being pretty, at least, because whenever anyone calls him that he preens like a peacock. Eddie took his shirt again. He will repent for his sins later (no he won’t), but for now, he’s going to ogle and drool as much as he wants. Steve’s in riding boots and two thick leather belts lined with pouches, his bracers (and the bracelet Eddie won for him) on his arms over a series of off-white wraps that could pass for bandages. Eddie even gave him a cloak! Granted, it’s got no hood and intentionally tattered and burned along the edge, and really only covers his shoulders with a thick and soft mantle of fur, but he could have sent Steve out there in full bodice-ripper glory, and he didn’t. So.“Are you sure about this?” Steve asks, looking at himself in the full-length mirror that he’s been hogging all morning. The cabin is ridiculously huge, fitting all the kids and the trio of young adults without issue and having two full bathrooms. The boys had claimed the upstairs bathroom to get ready, the girls the bottom one, and Eddie and Steve got dressed and prepared in the middle of the living room.“You don’t like it?” Eddie asks from where he sprawls across the couch. He tilts his head, observing Steve(‘s ass) from a better angle. The jingle of a few tiny bells rings out, and he grins like the devil as Steve twists to look at him.It means he gets to see a lot of bare skin. Steve is shirtless once again, his chest and belly and broad, strong shoulders and all that coppery, suntanned skin on display again. Spending the last few days out in the sun has made him even more golden and given him an array of freckles across his face and shoulders. Eddie wants to sink his teeth into Steve’s scars and see if he can still make them pink and red with his tongue. Eddie forces his eyes away from Steve’s abs towards his face and gets distracted by a smattering of freckles under Steve’s left pectoral.“I don’t really go around shirtless much anymore,” Steve admits, and lets his hands fall to his hips. His thumbs nervously rub the very same scars Eddie was just fantasizing about, and Eddie winces. “Sh@t,” he mutters, sitting up with another loud jangle of bells and metal. Steve watches him with rapt attention, and he would normally absolutely revel in it, but he kind of feels like a d@ck all of a sudden. “I think I brought an extra shirt or something, you don’t have to–”“No, it’s fine,” Steve waves a hand, and with the fur around his shoulders and the scars up and down his sides and the regal way he stands, he looks every single inch the part of his character. They’ve given Steve a quick and tidy backstory to also explain why he doesn’t know sh@t about the LARP itself - he’s a simple warrior from a barbarian clan far away, come to participate in the tourney and represent his people. “I just… they’re kind of ugly, aren’t they?”Eddie finally looks Steve in the face. Steve is aiming for his eyes already, meets them through the diamond-patterned mask Eddie wears over the top half of his face. He’s still awkwardly half-hiding the raised scars on his waist, one hand drifting up to brush against the faint white line that still lingers at his throat. For a moment, Eddie wants to tell him how badly he wants to roll him into the furs and drag his tongue over every single part of Steve’s body and not leave this cabin until neither of them could walk.“I think you look badass, man,” Eddie says instead of saying that. No use scaring Steve off when he’s being so vulnerable and brave. “I don’t think there’s anything ugly about you at all. Jesus, you really could be on a dime novel cover, Harrington.”Steve glances down at himself and purses his lips. “Are you sure?”“Stevie,” Eddie says, sitting up with another ringing sound. “You’re like the exact image in my head of all my favorite fantasy heroes.” Too much, f@ck, backtrack, don’t scare him off.  “I mean, you’re – you look great, alright? You’re, uh, totally metal, and clearly a fighter. You look like you could kick my ass. You’re – god, you’re—”“Shut up, man, I’m just me.” Steve is flushed, and Eddie is painfully aware now that when Steve Harrington blushes, it goes all the way down his chest. “Right, and I promise you look cool. You’ll look even better when I finish your makeup.” Eddie says, and stands. He jingles every time he moves, and that makes Steve’s eyes constantly stray to him. He loves it. It’s why he loves this costume.Whereas Steve is all bare skin and leather and furs, a true wild thing, Eddie is covered from the top of his head to the bottom of his pointed boots. He’s got a domino mask patterned with black and white diamonds over the top of his face, covering his eyes completely. He can see through the eyeholes, but Steve and anyone else won’t be able to see his eyes. He’s covered in black and purple diamond-patterned fabric and solid black bells, the jingle of his hat and the bells on his boots an absolute delight every time he moves. “And you’re… a clown?” Steve checks, as he sits down on a stool in front of his claimed mirror so that Eddie can properly reach his hair and face. “I forgot what you called yourself.”“A Harlequin,” Eddie reminds patiently, as he dips his brushes in black paint, coats Steve’s eyelids, drags it down his cheeks. But he also tacks on: “Jesus, don’t call me a clown, you ass. Clowns are the worst. Harlequin or Jester both work. Not a f@ck@ng clown, though.”“Sorry,” Steve says, as Eddie puts away the makeup and ruffles his hair with gloved hands, spiking it one way and then the other. Steve leans into his hands, all but purring like a cat at the touch, and Eddie smiles to himself and tries not to let the warmth in his chest get to his head. “A Harlequin. I’ll remember. But what's it mean again?”“I entertain my liege,” says Eddie, with another tug on Steve’s hair just because he can. Steve shivers, and Eddie has to forcibly remind himself of the kids upstairs and how straight his friend is before he does something stupid, like pull his head back and kiss him. “That’s you.”“Entertain… with music?” Steve’s eyes are still closed as he slides a hand up Eddie’s side, back around his waist to where Eddie carries a small, simple black acoustic guitar on his back. It’s not his true love, his sweetheart, but she’s nice. Simple. Cute, even.“And jokes. Stories. Whatever,” Eddie is finished helping Steve with the final touches, but he lingers, looking at them in the mirror over Steve’s head. Steve’s eyes flicker open, and his eyes look like gold, bright and glowing in the middle of the dark, black warpaint. Eddie drapes his arm over Steve’s shoulder, puts his chin on Steve’s head of wild, untamed hair, and smirks at him in the reflection. “You can do with me what you wish, my lord.”Steve’s cheeks redden again beneath the streaks of black and purple, and Eddie’s smirk goes slightly more crooked, and dangerous. Flirting with Straight Steve Harrington is dangerous, a sure way to lose him, but Steve never seems angry or disgusted. He usually just rolls his eyes, bats the flirting away with a waved hand like a tired mom. But since the start of the week, Steve’s been looking at him, with those big brown eyes all curious and pretty. He does it now. Steve looks at him in the mirror, and then reaches up and curls his bare fingers around Eddie’s clothed elbow again, where the bats are. “Careful what you promise me,” he says, in a voice that sounds like all of Eddie’s favorite daydreams.“Keep it in your pants, my lord,” Eddie mocks, swaying out of the way as he hears footsteps on the stairs. It’s safe, putting distance between himself and getting hurt by Steve. “You’ll never win over the maidens if you’re flirting with your fool!”“What if I don’t want any of the maidens?” Steve presses, standing up off the stool, turning, and Eddie freezes, the jingling of his costume stopping abruptly as he goes still.But then the kids are there, swarming them both, crowing with appreciation, and the moment is gone. Steve is back to loudly making sure the kids have sunscreen, all flirtatious fire gone from his expression, melted off and replaced with annoyance and exasperation as he forces a water bottle into Dustin’s hand and orders him to drink. Eddie stays where he is, his head cocked to the side, jester hat tendrils on his shoulders as he watches Steve parent his party.  — “Nancy called last night,” says Mike, as they all stuff their faces with all the snacks and food that Steve brought along in the back of his car for when they all forgot to eat breakfast. They’re all gathered around the low, long coffee table in the middle of the cabin. They’re all in their finished costumes, makeup fully done, being forcibly fed snacks since Steve learns none of them are eating properly because they’re too busy playing games and making up stories. “What did she say?” Robin asks, feigning casualness, and Steve looks up from his cup of coffee to see her idly brushing her hair behind her ears and fidgeting with the wrapper on her snack.“She’s going to make it here tonight,” Mike says, “The tour for college was boring, and she says she and Jonathan and Argyle will be here at like, nine or so. So they’ll come hang out with us tomorrow and everything, and see Steve and Robin in the tournament.”Robin turns pink, which isn’t subtle at all. Luckily, the kids don’t give a sh@t and immediately ignore her. As Mike turns back to his friends, arguing with Lucas about whether or not Nancy will be persuaded to dress up, Steve leans in, slow and with a predatory smile.“Sl@t,” he whispers, clearly teasing, “First Vickie, now Nancy?”Eddie leans in over his shoulders, draping himself across Steve’s back and dropping his head to whisper at Robin as well: “What sort of torrid love triangle are you pulling, here, Buckley?”Robin scowls at them both and shoves an oreo in her mouth. “I’m not in a love triangle,” she says, spitting crumbs, and Steve twists to look up at Eddie, raising his eyebrows.“So you think Nancy won’t be impressed by your stunning displays of combat?” Eddie ‘tsks’. “I don’t know, my lady, she does seem to be a bit bloodthirsty, Princess Nancy Wheeler.”Robin reddens further and swallows her oreo before looking between them both. “I’ve totally gotta win, huh?”“Nah,” Steve swats at her, “I’m gonna win. You can have second place, though, I’m sure there’s a ribbon or something, so–”Robin punches him and she shoves a carrot stick in her mouth in retaliation. Eddie has to break them up before she ruins their costumes with her chocolate-y hands.  — They signed up the night before, after the Renfest ended but before they were checked into their cabin on the LARP grounds. They had their props checked and their character sheets completed, and now they were free to roam and experience everything there was to offer. Some events are adult-only. Robin barely scraped by at eighteen, and the kids had been furious to learn that they would not be allowed at the fancy ball Thursday evening or any of the after-dark events. But they’d been quickly assuaged by the knowledge that they were still allowed to compete in all of the competitions and could do whatever they wanted during the day. The kids have all coordinated their costumes with one another. They elected Eleven their leader, and Eleven got to design a crest for their kingdom. The crest is a rabbit (for Hopper, get it? says Eleven proudly) with a circle behind its head like old-style Catholic saints, but the circle is absolutely an Eggo waffle. It was drawn by Will, given the others’ lack of drawing talent, and sewn carefully onto all their tabards by Joyce and Hopper. Eleven wears a long red dress with the crest proudly displayed over it on a tabard and a pair of bunny ears made of fake fur and felt on a headband, poking out of her short, fuzzy hair. The others are all in beige pants, red long-sleeve shirts with the collars cut out to look pirate-y, and matching tabards bearing her crest.Since the kids were all matching, Eddie made sure Robin would be firmly in the same group as he and Steve. She wears the same dark purple, though hers is a cropped tank-top with black bandages beneath. A sheer black sleeveless coat overlays it, thin and floaty. Her hands and feet are wrapped and her pants are loose and flowy. He wove a leather band around her head, twisted tiny braids in her hair, and she did her own warpaint to match Steve. “Y'all have fun,” says the woman in the low-cut barkeep outfit at the gate, when she lets them all in, and they all chorus happily that they will.“At least it's less hot today,” Steve says, looking up at the cloud cover. It’s supposed to rain later in the week, and he isn’t looking forward to slogging through mud instead of treading down these neat, dusty paths. “But how will you show off how your muscles glisten in the sun if there’s no sun?” Robin mocks, and Steve rounds on her to shove his thumbs into her sides and squeeze. “I’m not the only one naked here, Robin, watch it,” Steve mocks as she shrieks and knocks his hands away.“Her name is Rowena, my lord,” Eddie corrects, but he’s grinning at Steve, amused. Steve frowns, nodding seriously and clearly mouthing ‘Rowena’ a few times. Eddie sweeps in close, and Steve blinks at him in surprise with his ridiculously long eyelashes. “It’s fine. I promise nobody is going to disqualify you or kick you out for calling her the wrong name.”“Unlike that time you called Lindsay Mavins the wrong name and got kicked out of her bed–” Robin taunts, and while the kids shriek and catcall and yell threats, Steve jabs her sides again and then covers his face, sighing heavily.“Nothing is sacred to you.” Steve complains, “I hate you, you’re fired from being my handmaiden or whatever.”“She’s your bodyguard,” Eddie reminds, throwing an arm around Steve’s shoulders and then backing off as some of his many buckles get a bit caught in his furry mantle. “Not that you need it, of course.”“She’d absolutely get her ass beat if she ever tried to protect me,” Steve mutters.“F@ck you, my lord,” says Robin cheerfully, and Steve rolls his eyes and groans into his hands.“We’re leaving before we find out any other sordid details about your gross leader’s s@x life,” Max says, catching Eddie’s sleeve in one of her hands, “Come find us and let us know when Stefan competes. Rowena too, okay? We want to see you guys win.”“I will let you know when my lady and my lord are set to compete, Lady Madeline,” Eddie agrees, tweaking the braids on Max’s head, “Enjoy the festivities. I am sure we will see you around.”The kids depart, Dustin dragging them off towards the boards offering out quests and tasks.Not far from the entrance to the park, there’s a series of signs that list out the names of the competitors for the tourney, the person they’re competing against, and the challenges. Most of the tourney is simple combat, but there are also a few major events to thin out the competition. The trio head towards the signs, because Robin and Steve have both signed up to compete and they need to know when and where they need to be.There are thick crowds of people around the signs, all talking to one another, elbowing and jostling to get closer and see their names. Robin pats the boys on the shoulders and then adjusts the wraps on her hands. “I’ll get close and figure out the plan. You two stay here, no need for us all to get elbowed in the face.”“Thank you, Lady,” Eddie agrees, and he and Steve step to the side.Steve leans in to talk to Eddie. “You’re not competing… uh, Edmund?”The fake names are Steve’s weakness, Eddie knows. It’s one of the reasons he went so simple, giving everyone names that are close enough to their real ones. Steve still forgets them, sometimes, but Eddie doesn’t blame him. Steve has done very well at adapting to the thigh-high boots and the cloak. He doesn’t even step on the hem anymore. “Of course not. I’m not a fighter, I’m a bard,” Eddie bows to Steve, and when he looks up through his mask Steve is pink again. It’s not hot enough to blame on the sun. Eddie burns with the knowledge that it’s just him and his usual antics making him fl@stered. He pushes harder, because Eddie always pushes harder: “Your bard, specifically, my lord.”  “Right,” Steve says, swallowing, “My Harlequin.”Eddie beams and then Robin returns, excitedly telling them that she and Steve are both in the first challenge of the day, before the fighting starts. He and Robin talk over one another as they start down one of the grass-lined paths, plotting and planning and leaving a flustered Steve to catch up as they head towards the biggest field. — The first challenge is to narrow down the amount of players in the tournament. This event is big, but evidently they knew watching four hundred people sword fight each other with foam weapons was not going to be entertaining for that long.So the first event is a different sort of challenge, designed to halve that number.“This is flag football,” Steve mutters under his breath as Eddie returns from the stall with two belts, each holding a bright neon yellow scrap of cloth. Eddie chuckles. He slings the leather belt around Robin’s narrow waist but leaves her to buckle it, but then he swoops up into Steve’s personal space and loops the belt around Steve’s hips and does not leave his personal space, sliding the leather through the metal loops and tightening it until the sun-warmed belt rests snug and tight, right against his scars. Steve watches Eddie’s fingers work, nimble even in his gloves, and doesn’t retreat from Eddie’s space like he would have a week ago.“I did tell you, my lord, that this was as close to sports and athletic activity that one might find me.” Eddie says, letting the belt buckle go with a final flick and raising his head. He has to look up to meet Steve’s gaze, because Steve’s boots have heels on them, not tall ones but just enough to give him an inch or so on Eddie. Steve can’t see Eddie’s eyes through his mask, and that’s been bothering him. He likes Eddie’s eyes. They’re expressive and big and pretty. He’s good with masks, Eddie, good at hiding, but his eyes are honest. “Any fancy rules I need to know?” he checks, after too long of a pause at staring at the white fabric that covers the eye holes in Eddie’s mask.“No excessive violence,” Eddie rattles off, ruffling the fur on Steve’s shoulders and then reaching out and scrubbing at his hair. “And no biting. No weapons, either, but you knew that one. They’ll probably frisk you before you go in, just to make sure.”“Oh?” Steve arches an eyebrow, letting Eddie do as he pleased, fussing with his outfit and hair. He never lets anyone play with his hair, but Eddie’s had his hands in it all weekend, and he loves it. “You’re not doing that enough right now?”“Hardly,” Eddie grins, “Would you like me t–”“Hey, dumbasses,” Robin interrupts, glaring, “This belt is too big. If I lose in round one because you two are too busy flirting, I’m kicking you both in the head.”Eddie retreats from Steve’s personal space and spins his way into Robin’s, tapping her chin with one gloved finger. “Look alive, darling girl, you’ll be fine,” he says, and then he undoes the terribly knot Robin wove her belt into to redo it, smooth and easy. It sits lower on her hips than Steve’s does, but then the two of them have their gold bandanas. Steve’s is on his left hip, Robin’s is on her right, so if they stand side-by-side they’re protected.“I won flag football all the time in middle school,” Steve says, grinning slightly.“And then you switched to throwing b@lls in laundry baskets,” Eddie sighs and shakes his head. The exaggerated movement is made even worse by the loud jingling bells on the ends of his hat. He leans over backwards, tips his head back and bends his spine so that he’s looking at Steve upside-down, even while still holding Robin’s hips. “Boring, my lord, boring. But maybe, just this once, your rough and tumble golden boy upbringing might lend itself to a victory. Plus, you’ll have Rowena.”“Separated, we suck,” Steve says, and brings up his arm. “But together, we’re unstoppable,” Robin bangs her forearm against his and then they do a quick, elaborate hand-shake that ends with Steve kissing her loudly on her forehead. “You two are rotting my teeth out, here,” Eddie says, but he’s grinning. “Alright. You should head out there. All you have to do is have a flag at the end, so don’t get cocky, and you’ll be fine.”“Wish you were coming with us,” Robin complains, “It feels weird to head into battle without you. And Nancy.”“Yeah, well,” Eddie sweeps forward and ruffles her hair, and then turns to Steve and taps his chin with his gloved fingers, causing Steve’s back to straighten just a tad. “There’s no undead telepathic monsters this time, no need for me and my shield. I’ll be on the sidelines, composing a victory song for both of you. Hm?”“It better be cool,” Steve says, and then he and Robin share a look and a nod. Eddie swings his guitar around to his front and strums a few chords that sound suspiciously like the start of an acoustic version of You Really Got Me by Van Halen. Then, Steve and Robin enter the crowd of people competing, and pass through a gate that Eddie can’t follow.The song switches to I Was Made for Loving You by KISS, but nobody that matters is around to hear it. Eddie goes to join the stands, slinging his guitar across his back. — Steve thinks capes might be stupid, actually. He thinks this as yet another person grabs it in an effort to get at his flag. He knocks their hands away, side-steps around one of the water-filled barrels that have been placed sporadically throughout the arena, and watches as someone else collides with the person that had been aiming for him, and they tumble away, wrestling. Neither of them have a flag, but Steve isn’t about to reveal that to them as he backs away carefully.It’s a lot more aggressive than Steve would have expected from a bunch of nerds, but then, Eddie and his kids are also a lot more aggressive and physical than any nerds Steve has ever dealt with, so maybe he shouldn’t be surprised.The arena is about the size of a football field. It’s all thick grass, warm and sharp-smalling from the sun that has finally peeked out from behind the clouds to make everything sticky-hot and humid. They’ve dotted the field with tree trunks, barrels, piles of wood or hay and big rocks. Just obstacles for players to dart around or climb on, really.Robin is wrestling with a lanky guy twice her height (which is saying something, because Robin isn’t short). He stole her flag, apparently, because it isn’t on her belt anymore. Steve is about to surge forward and help her when she gets it back, launches herself off the guy with both boots in his stomach, and grabs Steve’s arm. “Run!”Steve is grinning as he spins, cloak flaring about him dramatically. He snatches another flag from someone’s belt just for the hell of it as they pass, dashing to the other side of the grassy field in a whirl of purples and dark colors. Maybe it's the constant sprinting in fear from Russians or creatures from the Upside Down, but he and Robin are barely out of breath as they cross the arena horizontally, drawing closer to the stands as they bob and weave around their opponents. Steve has three flags on his belt and another in his hand. Robin has two by the time they slam into the opposite wall, smirking at one another and laughing. It feels good to be competing, Steve thinks, he likes it.There is a tower at one end of the arena that has a giant hourglass filled with black sand. Most of the sand is in the bottom already. Judging by the speed of it filling, they’ve got maybe another minute or two to last before the game ends.A group of men in blue and white are approaching, nearly all flagless. They’re eyeing the gold bandanas on Steve’s belt with greedy, eager eyes. Steve cracks his neck and puts his weight on the b@lls of his feet, looking at Robin.“Russian tactics.” Robin says quickly, and Steve nearly chokes on laughter as he nods. “Scoops Ahoy, baby,” he says, and she snorts, giggling.Then they both swing to face the incoming attack, scream at the top of their lungs, and sprint straight at them.The four men stagger back a moment, clearly startled by the screaming. Steve gets to them first and grabs one of them by the chainmail hood, pulling it down over his eyes as Robin ducks in under his arms, unhooks the guy’s belt entirely, and throws it at his friend’s face.They don’t stick around after that, though. Robin kicks a guy’s legs out from under him and then they’re off again, sprinting down the side of the arena and attempting to keep running while they laugh so hard tears smear their makeup.By the time the sand trickles down to nothing, Steve is holding a grand total of five golden handkerchiefs, and Robin has three clipped into her belt and another wrapped around her fist, over her hand wraps. The horn sounds loudly, causing everyone to stop where they are, some still wrestling or grappling others. Robin and Steve are on top of a singular barrel, Robin crouching like a goblin and Steve standing over her. Robin’s got blood on her knees from sliding across the grass, and Steve has hay sticking to his side where he tackled someone away from her. They’re grinning so wide it hurts their cheeks and sweat has their hair stuck to their necks. “We’re the coolest people here by so much,” Robin says, punching his arm. He drops down to the ground and puts her on his shoulders, holding up his full belt and howling. She laughs, one hand gripping his hair to keep herself steady, and pumps her fists in the air, cheering.As soon as they’re let out of the arena (and awarded a few heavy metal coins that can be exchanged for free food or drinks for their extra stolen flags), the kids all but tackle them to the ground. “You guys kicked so much ass!” Dustin yells, hugging Steve around the middle and shaking him, “You did so good!”Steve laughs and ruffles Dustin’s hair through the skull-patterned bandana he’s wearing. Lucas and Mike are right behind Dustin to shove at Steve and clap his arms and shoulders, loudly telling him how badass he was.Steve finishes giving Mike a noogie and looks around, frowning. “Where’s Eddie – er, my jester?”“He said he needed to get something,” Dustin says, unbothered as he rounds on Robin to also squeeze her to death and congratulate her.“Oh,” says Steve, frowning slightly as he slides the heavy metal coins into one of his pouches. “But he saw you win,” Will says quickly, reaching out and touching Steve’s left bracer. “He was cheering the whole time, too. Well, cheering and writing down stuff in a little tiny notebook he had.”“Oh.” Steve repeats, feeling a little bit happier at that knowledge. He smiles, and Will raises his eyebrows knowingly. “Okay, good. Uh, cool.” “You guys might actually have a chance to win this competition if you keep acting as crazy as you do,” Max says, and then wrinkles her nose, “But I kind of hope only you win, Rob– er, Rowena. I don’t want to have to deal with King Steve being even worse.”Steve reaches out to pull one of Max’s braids and she punches him in the stomach, knocking his breath out. He stumbles back a step, wheezing, and Max turns to Robin serenely. “I really do hope you win.”Robin smiles back, like Steve isn’t rasping for air beside her, and squeezes Max’s shoulder. “They’re going to have to work really hard to knock me down now. I’ve got a lot of adrenaline and false confidence to burn through.”“Do you want a small band-aid?” Eleven asks, producing one from a small pouch on her waist and offering it to Robin. Robin sticks it on her knee proudly, and doesn’t even seem bothered that the small dinosaurs on it clash horrifically with her costume.“You losers don’t know what’s coming for you,” Erica says, her nose tilted up and her arms crossed over her chest, but there’s amusement in her face. “You might win big group stuff like this, but you’ve still got to beat the one-on-one sword fights.”“I don’t know, we’ve done a lot of fighting before this.” Steve says, letting Dustin go to put his hands on his hips. His cloak falls back over his shoulders, and he grins a little as Max, Erica, Eleven, and Will all immediately stop looking at his face. “In, uh, our other lives, or whatever. And King Steve – or Stefan, whatever – still sounds pretty d@mn good.”“I think they have a chance, even if it is slim,” Will says, tapping his chin, “At least they’re reflexes will probably be good.”“Honed from fighting monsters.” Robin nods, “And Russians.”“Russia is my favorite far-off fantasy land,” Lucas snorts, laughing at his own dumb joke.“So you guys got food money now, right?” Erica prods, “Aren’t you gonna buy us lunch? You’re the grown-ups, we deserve it.”“Spoiled,” Steve says, bumping his shoulder into Robin and looking across all of the kids with pursed lips, “Don’t you think you should get your food provided from your own kingdom and stop mooching off of ours?”“I have very little money,” Eleven says nervously, sounding very awkward and small, and Steve huffs and reaches out, patting her head between her felt rabbit ears. “I’m teasing, kid. You’re all lucky I'll be a very giving king.”“Everyone say thank you to m’lord Harrington,” Robin says, holding up her hands like a conductor, and the kids (minus Mike and Erica who just sneer) all give a loud chorus of thank yous as Steve puts a hand on Dustin’s head and steers him towards one of the large, sprawling tents that’s giving out food.“Let’s go eat!”  — Eddie finds them just as Steve sets the last plate down on the table and drops down to sit on the wooden bench. He plants a hand on the side of Lucas’ face – “Move it, Sinclair, that is the seat of my lord’s right hand, and you are but an enemy of the kingdom.”Lucas grumbles under his breath about Eddie being much more of a Wormtongue than a Legolas or Arwen, which earns him a thunk to the top of the head as Eddie plops down. “Hey!” Steve says, brightening up immediately. If Eddie thinks about how happy Steve looks to see him for too long, he is going to take psychic damage from the sheer audacity of Steve Harrington wearing his heart so firmly on his sleeve. “Kids said you had to go get something? What was it?”Eddie feels heat rush to his face. His hand falls to the pouch on his hip, making sure it's still buckled shut, and he shrugs, “Something for later, my lord, I assure you it is not pertinent.”“Pertinent?” Steve’s nose wrinkles, and Eddie frowns, tilts his head one way and then the other, and shrugs. “Like… uh, it’s not important right now?”Steve nods and starts drinking from the huge pint full of what smells like root beer in front of him. “Well, the kids stole all of Ro–Rowena and I’s winnings for food, so dig in.” Eddie does, helping himself to some of Steve’s fries mostly as an excuse to scoot even closer to him. Steve seems ridiculously happy, both to see him and to just be existing at the moment, eating good food and talking to the children and Robin.They finish their food off quickly, despite how much of it there is, and Steve starts to clean the table while the kids chatter amongst themselves about their upcoming quest. They’re being sent out into the woods to look for a few magic items, it seems, and they are meant to leave in the next fifteen minutes. As they all clump together and then dash off towards the other LARP-er that serves as their quest giver, Eddie grins. “Wonderful, the kiddies are gone,” he says, and as Steve turns to him, curiosity in his eyes as he returns from throwing away all of their trash, Eddie swings his legs so that he’s facing Steve, back to the table.  And then he puts both hands on the table behind him, getting a nice, flat placement, and rolls backwards, flipping his way up onto the table with a loud clunk of his boots on wood and a rattling of all the bells and buckles on his body.“Ladies and gentlemen and every monster in between,” Eddie calls out, bringing his guitar to his front again and grinning at the stunned look on Steve’s face with a sort of feral excitement. “Lend me your ear, as I sing you a song!”Cheers erupt around him, as do a few ‘oohs’ and ‘aahs’. Steve shoots a look at Robin and Robin shrugs, sitting at the table at Eddie’s feet and staring up at him. Steve is still standing a few feet away, frozen, and Eddie shakes his head like a lion shakes its mane. And then, because he’s a bit of a little sh@t and absolutely saw the tape in Steve’s car while snooping for some cigarettes, he starts playing Holding Out for a Hero by Bonnie Tyler. It sounds a little different, because it was never really meant for an acoustic guitar and he’s got a bit more of a rough voice than Miss Tyler, but it's absolutely recognizable. The lyrics, slightly less so, because he’s changed them. Just a bit, just here and there, so that there’s no doubt who he’s talking about. And as he sings, people join in with clapping, background ‘doo doo’s, hooting and hollering. Robin starts dancing, laughing, but Steve is just staring, bright red beneath the sweat-streaked smoke of his makeup. Eddie doesn’t stay on the one table. He jumps up on another, walks his way across a few benches, prances his way around any space that’s clear. The jingles of his costume are hidden behind the rapid strumming of his guitar and the stomping of his feet. The clapping draws a lot of eyes, and soon he has an audience bigger than he ever had at The Hangout. Eddie has always loved performing, loves having attention on him (especially if it's positive), but this feels even better, because no matter where Eddie spins and spirals to, Steve watches him. With slightly parted lips, and huge doe-eyes, and a blush that’s rolling down his neck like fire. He finishes his altered song with a little bow, and the crowd roars. Robin included.Eddie rocks back up, straightening out, and meets Steve’s eyes across the audience. Steve stares a moment long, stunned and pink, and then his mouth snaps shut. The corner crooks up at the side, and he tilts his chin down, looking up at Eddie through his lashes. He brings his wrist to his mouth and tugs on something, and Eddie watches him pull out the thin leather bracelet from yesterday, the one Eddie won him by throwing knives.Steve sinks his teeth into the leather while maintaining eye contact with Eddie. Eddie swallows. Steve smirks even further, drags the pink of his tongue across the woven braid of leather, and then lets his arm fall as he licks his lips instead. It’s like his bloodstream is gasoline for how fast it goes up in flames. Eddie’s already out of breath from his performance, but even if he hadn’t been, the way his heart pounds and his breathing hitches is enough to make him lightheaded. He forcefully pulls his eyes away from Steve’s mouth, but his eyes are somehow worse – daring and dark, like whiskey in a cold glass in the middle of the night. Do not get aroused in front of this entire faire, he orders himself firmly, mostly talking to his d@ck, which would not be hidden at all by these pants, thank you very much. Eddie would probably have leapt off the table and into Steve’s arms, dragging him away to a tent or the woods or their cabin, but then someone from below taps on his leg. He looks down, and it’s a guy a little younger than him, probably about seventeen if Eddie had to guess. He’s in the scarlet and yellow that proclaims him a squire to one of the knights, so Eddie squats down to hear him.“You are the Harlequin of Stefan? The wildling barbarian lord?” asks the squire. He’s clearly unsettled, whether by Eddie’s appearance as a jester cloaked in black, gray, and purple or because of the way he found Eddie standing on a table while the crowd screamed for more. Eddie likes to be unsettling though and nods, just once, sharp and quick.“Aye, that’s me.” Eddie says, in his favorite NPC voice, and leans forward, “Who is asking after my lord?”“It’s his turn, sir,” says the squire, “He and the monk, Lady Rowena, they’re next in the duos. I’ve been sent to fetch you.”Eddie rises fluidly to his feet, “We must be off, dear people,” he calls out, spreading his arms over the heads of the people around him, “My Lord and Lady Wild Things are next. Wish them luck as they proceed, won’t you? Not that they need it, but they do so revel in the attention, just like me.”He jumps down, the crowd parting for him as he makes his way to Robin first, who has lipstick on her cheek and a bewildered look on her face, and then to Steve, who meets him halfway and locks their hands together with a grip on each others’ fingers that Eddie is very reluctant to break.The crowds pat them on the backs and shoulders, wishing them luck and wishing them well as Eddie guides them through people towards the fighting arena. — Steve and Robin’s first match is a duo battle, which means they once again get to work together. Eddie follows them into the waiting tent, flitting around them like a jingly firefly, completely unable to stand still as the man at the back of the tent reads off instructions and rules. Any blow to the head or throat is considered deadly, but also results in a strike against the one who landed it. They don’t want anyone to actually get hurt, and hitting in the face or neck is really frowned upon. The weapons are padded foam, so no real damage should happen, but they know accidents can occur. Fights stop when a ‘deadly’ blow is achieved or one person is knocked down or pinned and cedes victory. Blows to the limbs result in a ‘wound’, two blows to the same limb result in the loss of the limb. “Don’t play dirty, remember it’s a game,” ends the speech, and Steve and Robin both nod with slightly feral looks about them. Robin’s name is called first – “Rowena Buckwheat, daring darling wildling monk of Hawks, left hand of the plains!”She leaves the tent to cheers and crowing, a staff in her hands because it suits her character and also awards her reach and distance. Also, before she played trumpet she did color guard in band, so she knows how to spin things. Eddie sees her twirl it above her head through the flap in the tent before he quickly turns to Steve.They’re alone, for the first time all day. Steve is swinging the greatsword in his hands, testing its weight and heft, finding out how to move, but he stops as soon as Eddie grabs his arm.He turns, questioning, chocolate eyes flicking between the blank canvas where Eddie’s eyes should be, and Eddie squeezes his bicep where he holds it in his hand.“Go out there and win one, huh, Stevie?” Eddie says, dropping his sing-songy character voice for a moment, and Steve tilts his head, grinning dorkily.“Yeah, that’s the plan.”Eddie hesitates. He hadn’t been planning to give it to Steve so early, wanting him to win a few before he did in case he lost right here and they both felt like fools. But Steve had liked his song, Steve had wanted to fight Matt on his behalf, Steve stares at him, all hungry and wanting and longing, and it isn’t just lust, either, because Steve laughs at his jokes and smiles at him like sunshine and caramel and honey, and he smells like clean laundry every time he gets out of the shower, and they’ve gone through too much and he’s here, playing nerd games, dressed up in leather and fur and war paint because Eddie had asked him to be. Eddie reaches into that same pouch he’d futzed with earlier, and he pulls out a bandana. It’s filthy - charred a bit on one end, stained a little with blood, shredded and torn. It’s got a skull on it. It’s the one he wore when he and Steve walked through hell together, Steve’s bare feet on ash-strewn ground, blood making their hands tacky as they gripped each other tight and pulled, one more step, one more fight.He tugs Steve towards him and wraps the bandana around one of his wrists. “It’s, uh, called a favor.” Eddie says, quietly, when Steve just stares at the bandana and then looks at Eddie, endearingly confused. “It means you’re fighting for me. Means that when everything is done, you–”“Do I get a kiss?” Steve asks, leaning in like he might take one then and there, “If I’m fighting for you, I get a kiss if I win, right?”Eddie blinks at him, not that Steve can see it through the mask. And then he smiles, leaning back on his heels, swaying into Steve’s face too, and basking in the fact that Steve doesn’t back down. “If you want one, yeah. You can have one. If you win.”Steve reaches down and tucks the favor under his bracer, safely keeping it close. And then he reaches out, grabs Eddie by the back of the neck, and bumps their foreheads together. “I’m gonna win this whole d@mn thing. What do I get if I win the whole thing?”Eddie swallows, because their breaths are mingling and their noses are touching and he feels warm in his entire body, hot and too big for his skin, the bells faintly ringing all over him as he trembles. “Nothing you don’t already have, I don’t think.”Steve huffs a soft laugh that’s a puff of air against Eddie’s cheeks, and then he pulls back.“Good to know,” he says, and then inclines his head, “I’ve gotta go win this thing real quick, alright? Keep my prize pretty.”Eddie scoffs, tosses his head like he would if his hair were out and free instead of trapped under his loud, eye-catching hat. “I’m always pretty, Stevie.”Steve beams, “I know. I’m so lucky.”And he says it so honestly, as he spins back around and trots out to do fake battle with foam swords. Eddie’s knees give out and he hits the ground, covering his mouth with the back of his hand, and smiles, helpless as anything. And then he scrambles quickly to his feet and runs out of the tent, hurrying into the stands to watch Steve Harrington beat the sh@t out of a bunch of nerds.'
User: Summarize the chapter based on the content provided, ensuring to follow the set format and emphasize key aspects within the specified length.
User: Summarize the chapter based on the content provided, ensuring to follow the set format and emphasize key aspects within the specified length.
Assistant: