Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It took all of them a good while until they accepted that it’s over. Years of horrors that no one, especially not children should ever experience were finally over. Vecna is dead. The world keeps spinning.

But it feels wrong. It’s not fair. They fought. They fought, and they cried, and they lost and they grieved. And that is it? No great ceremony, no medals?

No one to tell their story?

Well.

Anyways, Steve had to wear glasses.

Yes, that was a trivial matter. He knew that. Loads of people wore glasses and they were fine. And he should’ve expected it; the amount of concussions he received in past couple years was definitely leading up to that. But come on… none of the frames fit his head shape, and if they did, the color was off. He really shouldn’t even have paid so much attention to it, it wasn’t like he was going to wear them out anyways. The Steve Harrington has to wear glasses? No. No way.

But his vision went blurry too often, and it took him a moment too long to see road signs clearly. So, he settled for the black, half-rimmed ones, which stayed safely tucked into his nightstand, for the lazy days when he didn’t leave the house or the evenings when the migraines got worse.

Such as today. After his shift at Family Video, which on its own was barely manageable since Robin was scheduled this month in a way that they barely had any shifts together, he had to listen to Dustin yapping about his new D&D campaign for the whole ride to and from Eddie’s new trailer, generously funded by the government as a hush money situation.

And that was another issue: Eddie. Both men grew closer after the whole Vecna thing, with Eddie practically becoming a third in the platonic duo of Robin and Steve. Trio, now? Anyways, they spent a lot of time together, just the two, three and sometimes four of them whenever Nancy had the time. But Eddie’s presence wasn’t the issue in itself. It’s the feelings that came along with it. The strange tightness in his chest whenever someone made a snarky comment towards the boy, the wooziness when Eddie patted his shoulder or leaned against him, the empty quiet when he wasn’t around.

Well, Steve knew what it was.

But for now he swore to himself that it’s the same protectiveness he feels towards Robin or Nance. After all, they all have seen what the world can be and Steve will be damned if despite surviving literal hell any of his friends still get hurt. Because that’s what he’s good at, protecting people. It was his role in the little fucked-up family they built for themselves. And now, after carrying his bloody, limp body out of the Upside Down Eddie was one of his people too. And he’ll protect him all the same.

He sighed, looking up at his ceiling. He thought this very thought over and over many times already, but still came to the same conclusion, even if for the sake of his own sanity. He put the glasses high up on his nose and sat up, before going downstairs to finally make some food.

There was a pile of dishes in the sink. He cleaned them up. Threw out the empty box of takeout.

The trash was overflowing. He took out the bag and took it outside. A full ashtray on the porch.

He emptied it and went back inside. The laundry was done. He put it in the dryer. The living room was a mess.

Put back the tapes. Clear the table. Put the cushions in their place. The plants are withering.

Fill the watering pot. Every room had at least three plants. Who needs so many plants? Water the plants.

There was a spill on the floor in the guest room. Mop it. While at it, mop the rest.

His stomach let out a loud grumble, but he could make some food later, there were still so many things to do. Change the sheets, fold the laundry, clean the bathroom.

In the midst of his cleaning episode a loud banging took him out of his thoughts. It had startled him in the past, but there was only one person who expressed their obnoxiousness so well even before making an appearance.

He opened the door to a grinning metalhead, who held a six pack in one hand and chips in the other, both of which dropped the moment their eyes met.

“No way.” Eddie whispers.

Steve eyebrows furrowed. “What?”

It clicked the moment a finger was raised in front of his eyes.

Steve quickly took off the glasses, tucking them in his pocket and wiping a hand down his face. “What do you want, Munson?” He tried to sound as nonchalant as he could, as if his latest biggest secret wasn’t just revealed. (Well, biggest besides the one he does not admit to himself.)

“Oh no. No, you’re not getting out of this. Since when do you wear glasses?” His voice raised a pitch and he tried to reach for them, but only earned a slap on the hand.

“I don’t.” He mumbled, turning back inside but leaving the door open for the other to come in.

Eddie scrambled to pick the things from the floor and get inside. “Uh-huh. So, I might be dumb, but I’m not stupid.” He kicks off his shoes and makes himself comfortable on the couch next to Steve. “Are your not-glasses for reading?” He inquired.

“I thought you'll be tired after your little game.” Steve retorted, reaching for the remote. He was still tired after listening to Dustin rambling about it, and was quite surprised Eddie still had so much energy after hours of apparently talking, or whatever the game was about.

“Little game,” Eddie scoffs under his nose. “Dungeons & Dragons, my dear friend, cannot tire me out to the point I wouldn't want to spend some time with my favorite knight.” He ruffled his hair, gaining a half-hearted push and eye roll.

Just when Steve tried to make a snarky comment his stomach tightened, letting out yet another grumble today. Eddie’s eyebrows furrowed. “Hungry?”

“Just a little, I’ll be fine with chips.” He started, but Eddie was already on his way to the kitchen. “Eds, just-“ he sighed, but followed the other man.

“What? I’m hungry too,” he said with a shrug, his eyes focused on searching for food. “Will you deny a poor man a warm meal?” He held a hand over his heart, shaking his head dramatically. “You wound me.”

Steve reached for the knife to help, but was quickly shunned. “Tsk. I am the grand chef tonight, and I shall make this meal marvelous for my most honorable knight in the kingdom!” He went on with his extravagant performance, adding more medieval-themed comments while almost cutting himself a couple times. Steve allowed himself to smile and shake his head from time to time, sitting back on the kitchen island. The other boy turned back to him a couple times, checking his reactions from time to time, his cheerful smile plastered on constantly.

The meal was gone in a matter of seconds. From Steve’s plate, at least. It’s been a good fifteen hours since his last meal, and at least two days since the last warm one. It was not anything special, just some pasta with veggies, but god, what it does to an empty stomach. He looked up at Eddie. “Thanks, man.” He leaned back in his chair, earning a soft smile at the comment. Too soft, but he didn’t dwell on it.

“Do I get to see you in your glasses again now?”

“Seriously dude?” He sighed, more tired than mad.

“Come on, I didn’t even get a good look at them!” Eddie protested. “I get here, bringing beer and all, cooking you a nice dinner, practically housewife-ing this shit, and you won’t even get your glasses on for me? If that’s how you treat your girls Harrington, I’m deeply disappointed in your dating skills.”

Steve tried to ignore the strange twist of his stomach when Eddie compared himself to his girls.

Maybe the dinner hasn’t settled in yet.

“Does Robin know?” He leans over the table.

“No, and I would like it to stay that way.” That earned him a gasp.

“Oh, my god. Am I your secret keeper? Am I the only one who knows?” He gasped again, grabbing the empty plates to wash them up. “I can’t believe I’m the chosen one!” The space was being filled with his constant chatter, quick and chaotic enough so that Steve didn’t even notice when Eddie wiped down the counter and cleaned up the space.

They returned to the couch, now full and content, watching a movie and sipping a beer. Somewhere in the middle of it, Steve slipped on his glasses. The moment he did, he could feel the eyes on him, but even when he met them, Eddie didn’t look away. Just tilted his head slightly. “They suit you.” he commented and turned back to the TV. “Makes you look smart.” They sat in silence after that.

Did they? Steve was so sure they made him look dorky and unserious. Didn’t fit his image at all. He spiraled into the thoughts, paying no attention to the movie, but Eddie ever so gently tapped the side of them and asked so many questions Steve barely even remembered why he was so ashamed. He has been through so much, he fought demobats with his bare hands, and that was what he worried about?

“If they help, you should really wear them more often.” Eddie threw his feet on his lap. Steve's hands absentmindedly went to rub circles over his calves. “Why aren’t you?”

“I look stupid in them.” He mumbled, and winced, when Eddie kicked his leg.

“Nuh-uh. You look fine. And I’m the king of stupid, I know what I’m talking about.” He stretched, and Steve had to hide a smile at the way the other boy got so easily comfortable around him, then hide his blush as his shirt rode up from stretching. “But seriously, nobody’s gonna laugh. It’s hot. Chicks gonna dig it.”

Steve groaned. “Can we not, do this?”

“Well at least wear them around me. I can’t keep seeing you squinting at the TV as if it offended you personally.” He nudged his leg again.

“…Maybe.”

°°°

Steve gradually wore glasses more often, when there were just the two of them. He opened the door with them tucked in his pocket, putting them on halfway through a movie. Then, when he came back from work until he went to sleep.

Eddie hasn't said a single bad comment. Actually, he kept complimenting each time he saw Steve with them on. It was marvelous how many adjectives he found for it.

“How do I look?” Eddie said as he put on Steve’s glasses.

“Like a dork.”

“See, only you can pull them off.” He stupidly pushed them up with his pointer finger. Then he took them off and carefully set them on Steve’s face, before pressing his ringed fingers to his cheeks. Steve felt the coolness of them chilling his heated up skin. “Do you know you have two moles right under the frame?” He pushed his thumb to the first, then the second. “There.”

“Y-Yeah. Well, I have ‘em all over, so.” He cleared his throat, but Eddie only sent him a soft smile in response. He patted his cheek and moved on to pick a movie, leaving Steve frozen in space.

When he finally moved to the couch, the knock on the door stopped him in his tracks. While Eddie busied himself with a search for an appropriate title for the evening, Steve opened the front door to a very angry teenager. “Finally. You were supposed to drive me to the arcade! I’m already late like, twenty minutes! I bet Nancy doesn’t let Mike be-“ He cuts himself off, squinting his eyes at him and taking a moment. “Are we now keeping secrets from each other? You never told me you wore glasses! Seriously, it’s like I don't even know you anymore!” He continued to rant, throwing his hands up to accentuate his point

Eddie appeared behind the older boy and leaned his chin on his shoulder. “He gets the dramatics from you.”

Steve just scoffed, and tried to hide a chuckle while Dustin's face contorted into a mix between offended and confused. “You two are hanging out now? And weren’t you supposed to be working on our next D&D session tomorrow?” He pointed at Eddie and huffed. “Can’t trust anyone now.”

Steve ignored the comment, grabbed his car keys and put on his shoes. “You comin’, or waiting here?” He turned to Eddie.

“Nah, I’ll make dinner. Housewife duty.” He bowed theatrically, making Steve chuckle. Dustin raised an eyebrow for a moment.

“Keep moving!” The kid pushed him by his shoulders out of the door and to the car, even going as far as to take the keys and put them in. Steve slapped his hand away from it and turned on the ignition.

“You know the games won’t disappear if we’re a little late?” He said, and took off his glasses.

Dustin gave him a concerned look. “Hey, put them back on, you’re driving.” He reached for them and put them in his hand again.

“It’s fine, I don’t need them.”

“Steve.” The kid turned to him, and turned Steve’s shoulders to make them face each other. “If you have to wear glasses, do it. I don’t want to watch you push yourself too hard just because you feel weird wearing them.”

“I didn’t say-“

“Shush.” He put a hand over his mouth. “You might think that you look like a nerd, but your safety and health is much more important than your looks. I can’t have my older male best friend hurt because he was too stubborn to take care of himself!”

Steve pushes away his hand, and leans back against the seat. “Alright, fine.” Resigned, he slipped the glasses back on. “But for the love of God don’t call me that again.”

He dropped him off and returned home, finding Eddie in the kitchen, deeply focused on making sure that the food doesn’t burn. He sneaked up behind him, resting his chin on his shoulder to mirror the other boy from before, making the man startle a bit.

“You don’t have to make dinner each time you come over.” He mumbled, feeling slightly bad as a host. “We can order take out sometimes. Or I can cook.” He observed the sizzling oil and Eddie’s ringed fingers grasping the spatula. Did he ever take off those rings? The small piece of tape wrapped around a fragment of one of the rings peeked from his grasp. Even a wrong size didn’t stop him from wearing them. Steve’s gaze followed the lines of his slender fingers up to the slightly calloused tips — probably from his beloved guitar — and chipped black nail polish that adored surprisingly well-cared for nails and cuticles.

“I like cooking. You have all of those fancy pots and pans and I get to up my game here. Back in the trailer I mostly make mac and cheese or other quick shit so I don’t wake up Wayne after his night shifts.” He turns his head to the side, his lips brushing Steve’s hair. “Besides, don’t you like my cooking?”

He felt the hairs on the back of his neck prickle, but he ignored it and just jabbed his finger into Eddie’s side, jolting him slightly, and stepped back. “Yeah, when you don’t burn the chicken.”

“That was one time!” Eddie whined, offended.

°°°

“Steven Richard Harrington. I can’t believe you!” Robin bursted into Family Video, to get ready for their shift. Usually Steve would pick her up, but today she caught a ride with Nancy. She noticed him in the store window, and upon seeing her gasp, he knew he was in trouble.

Fuming, she strided over to him, sticking her finger to his chest. “How long did you know you had to wear glasses? Were you driving me around blind? Answer!” She jabbed him in the chest a couple times before he pushed her hand away.

Frankly, he was getting tired. Yet another person was yelling at him, and he barely got out of his comfort zone to wear them during work. His migraine today was killing him, and even the pills barely helped. Now he had an angry friend demanding an explanation. He kind of wished Eddie was there to do it all for him.

“First of all, if you use my full name again I will take away your key to my house,” He fixed his glasses higher on his nose. “And second, I don’t need to wear them all the time. Honestly I didn’t want to wear them at all but Eddie kept pestering me- and you know what? At least he didn’t scream at me for not telling him.” He crossed his arms, accusingly.

Her eyes widened. “He knew before me?!” she yelled, before collecting herself. Robin wasn’t giving up. “Well, maybe your little boyfriend doesn’t care as much as I do!”

“He’s not my boyfriend, Rob.”

“He might as well be with the way you keep telling him stuff before telling me.” She crossed her arms, mirroring his pose.

“I didn’t plan for anyone to know, okay?”

“That is not comforting, Steve!”

They narrowed their eyes on each other in a silent battle. After a while, Steve relented.

“Fine. I’m sorry. I should’ve told you.” He sighed and pulled her into a hug, which she reluctantly reciprocated.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” She asked as they parted. “It’s not a big deal.”

He looked at her with raised eyebrows. “No big deal? So the whole scene was just to what, train your theatrical skills?” He shook his head and took a rag to wipe down the counter. “I just didn’t want to wear them. I look like a dork.”

“Maybe you act like one, but you don’t look like a dork.” She put on her work vest.

“Thanks, Rob. That was almost a compliment.”

°°°

Steve realized it was a bit silly to concern himself with those glasses. After a couple weeks of warming up to wearing them, he started to put them on first thing in the morning. Surprisingly the kids didn’t give him shit for it, either. Mostly he was met with initial shock and a couple of nods once he explained why he needed them. Also a stuttering compliment from Will, which he thanked for. He put that interaction somewhere in the back of his mind.

So he sat in his living room, surrounded by kids and older teens during their biweekly hangout. Kids spread around on the blankets on the floor, Jonathan and Argyle sharing a blunt by the pool and Robin and Nance on his one side.

Eddie, of course, on the other. Cozied up to his shoulder, dozing off.

“You picked the movie, man.” Steve poked his leg, but only got a dissatisfied grunt in return. “Next time we’re watching Grease.”

Eddie grabbed his poking hand and held it there to stop him. “Do you like literally any other movie, Harrington?” He mumbled, still not letting go.

“That one movie that just came out, Top Gun? It was cool.” Praised be the volleyball scene, but he won’t admit it. It just had nice shots.

The other boy snorted. “Of course you’d pick that.” He squeezed his hand imperceptibly.

“What is your favorite movie then?”

“I’ll show you someday.”

“Ooh, so mysterious.”

Eddie just hummed and closed his eyes again.

And if Robin noticed their joined hands, she hadn’t said a thing.

Chapter Text

“I really don't get why we need to drive so far. What’s out there that you won’t tell me?” Steve argued.

Robin forced him to go on a mini road trip to Indianapolis. She insisted that it’s important, especially for him, but wouldn’t elaborate.

“You don’t need to know everything. Just… clear your head and have an open mind.” She continued to instruct him where to drive, all too excited.

°°°
The store Robin led him to was… something. First of all, it was situated somewhere in a hidden alley. From the outside it was nothing special, just some mannequins in the window and scraped up sign that was unreadable.

The real shock was inside. The store was bright and colorful, filled with various clothing, some dangerously cut out in risky parts. The left wall was fully covered in brochures and magazines, some having small striped flags on the front. One aisle, which Steve decided to pass by all too quickly, had been generously adorned with fetish gear and other erotic products. He grabbed Robin by her elbow.

“Did you make me drive all the way to Indianapolis so we could visit a sex shop?!” He whispered accusingly.

“It’s not a sex shop! I promise you, this is for your own good.”

“That is not as reassuring as you think it is.”

Right as he said that, a person appeared behind Robin, putting their hands on her shoulders, making her jolt slightly.

“Has Birdie finally decided to visit?” they spoke and got an excited squeak in return. She quickly spun around and pulled them into a tight hug. Steve stood there awkwardly, watching the scene.

“Tay! It’s been so long!” she says as they part. “Oh, this is Steve, my best friend. The one from Scoops I wrote to you about, remember?”

The person looked at him and back at Robin, raising their eyebrow. “The “hair as big as his ego” dude?” As soon as they said it Robin froze up. She wanted to argue, but they already extended a hand to him.

They were slightly taller than Steve. Their hair reached their waist, dark brown from the scalp switching into bright red. Their features were a mix; soft brow but sharp jawline, plump lips, gentle slope of the nose and bright eyes, defined with black pencil. The clothes were more of a nice complement to the rest, rather than being a statement — loose button up with a tie, tucked into deep red bell bottoms. Their extended hand was adorned with gold rings and chipped red nail polish.

Eddie only wore black, he thought.

“I’m Taylor.” They smiled. Steve shook their hand. “Robin told me a bit about you. That big ego thing was from like a year ago, don’t worry. I just wanted to rile her up.” They chuckled and Steve couldn’t help but smile back.

“Steve. I, on the other hand, haven’t heard a word about you.” He responded, but it sounded more like an accusation directed at Robin, who nervously shrugged. After a second of awkward silence, he added “You look cool. I like your hair.”

“I like yours.” Taylor started fixing up the items on the shelf. “Our dear Robin here probably didn’t mention me because she was too afraid I’ll scare you with my… queerness.” Steve quickly glanced at Robin, who only mouthed he can say that. Tay chuckled. “I use all pronouns. He, she, it. Just, whatever.”

“Oh. Okay. Cool. I’m cool with that. I mean, not that I have my word is important, I just mean-“ He stopped himself from rambling as soon as he heard a giggle. Tay was laughing at his reaction. It made Steve smile a bit.

“You’re so nervous, it’s adorable.” Taylor continued to focus on the items, but still kept talking. “That’s a better reaction than usual. Most just give me their right hook.”

Steve winced. ”So… how do the two of you know each other?”

“Well, a couple years back I ran away from home,” Robin started and glared at Steve to shut any snarky comment he already had in mind. “And I hitchhiked to Indy. When I got here it was already super late, so I just wandered around streets, worrying whether to sleep in some shady alley and hope for the best, or just not sleep at all. I wasn’t gonna spend all my saved money on a motel, right? So I walked around for hours, and I decided to just hide somewhere and rest my eyes for a while. That’s when Tay found me, hidden behind a dumpster. We spent the night at a homeless shelter, and then she talked me out of running away. I came home the next day, but we kept in touch.”

“You did kick me in the shin when we met, too.”

“That was self defense!” She chuckled.

They all chattered for the good portion of the hour, just got occasionally interrupted when a client walked in. Somewhere in the middle of it Steve realized that this was some sort of a gay shop (what would be a better way to put it?), and that’s why it was so conveniently hidden and open in the late hours. Despite its mysterious way of operating, it was quite cozy. The lights were yellowish and not too bright, the barely visible through decor walls were wooden, while colorful products brought life to it but the bright smile of the cashier brought the place together.

“So, you came here to see an old friend, or is there something you need?” Tay turned to Robin.

“Oh, yeah. Um, do you still have those brochures from before?” She asked, before turning to Steve. “Could you grab me some nail polish? I'm out of dark green.” Before he could argue, Tay already led her to the aisle with magazines and books.

Steve spent a couple minutes trying to choose the right shade; there were a few, he can’t be blamed for taking his time. After he returned, she checked out the nail polish separately and put it with rest of her stuff.

“Thanks Tay. I’ll visit again sooner this time, I promise.” She gave him a smile and turned to leave.

When Steve was ready to follow her, he was stopped by a hand on his shoulder.

“Hey, um. If you want to talk, or go out when you’re in town, you can call me.” Tay scribbled down her number on a sticky note and gave it to him.

Steve smiled politely and nodded, pocketing the note. He caught up with Robin, who was already taking a seat in the car, rummaging through her purchases. He sat behind the wheel, not driving yet, sensing a pending conversation. She grabbed one of the brochures and put it face down in her lap.

“Steve. You know I love you, right?”

“Are you about to kill me here?”

She rolled her eyes. “This is important. I don’t want you to panic or get defensive or anything, okay?

“So, I know you like girls. But… I want you to read this.” She put the brochure in his lap and bit her lip nervously.

It had pretty colors and patterns. The cover featured both male and female gender symbols and a big word “bisexuality” in the middle. He gave her a confused look but started reading. The text went on explaining the term; how the attraction may vary from person to person, and how frequent it is in societies. Steve’s eyebrows furrowed. The more he read, the more the experience seemed familiar. He recalled the times he looked at another boy, movies where his attention stayed on the actors a bit too long to be casual; the moments where hanging out with Tommy H. were more appealing than some casual hookup.

He recalled Eddie. And now, every feeling he pushed down or disguised as simple care couldn’t be interpreted any other way. Couldn’t be ignored.

His fingertips kept making indentations in the paper. He wasn’t sure if he should speak or not, so his gaze stayed fixed on the letters, reading some words over and over, until Robin’s hand covered his.

“Steve? You OD’d over there?” She spoke softly, as if not to scare him off, like a wild animal.

He took her hand in his, squeezing. “You should’ve just told me about this. Back home.” He said, his voice quiet and unsure. “How am I supposed to drive now?” He chuckled half-heartedly. He lifted his head, finally looking at his friend. His eyes glazed over.

She gave him a pitying look, pulling him into a hug. “It’s okay. We can stay over at a motel. Or I can ask Tay if she can take us in.”

“…Motel sounds good. Tay makes me nervous.” He mumbled and turned on the ignition.

°°°

Steve ignored the tightness in his chest all the way to their room. There were not many rooms available, and to save money they took just one to share. Once inside, they both dropped on the bed next to each other, letting out deep sighs, exhausted from the journey and events.

“…Rob?”

“Yeah?”

“Why didn’t you tell me about this sooner?”

Robin turned on her side to look at him and put her hand on his shoulder. “I was afraid you would try to be alone after. And you shouldn’t be alone with this.” She scooted closer, pressing her cheek to his shoulder. “It sucks. But it’s okay.”

He sighed. “How did you know what to do with me?”

“You’re my best friend, dingus, of course I would know.”

“Even before I did.”

“Even before you did.” She lightly poked his side. “And I saw the way you look at Eddie.”

The tightness returned. It was not like he didn’t realize this before — he did, but it’s one thing to know and another to understand. It was obvious from the start that what they had went beyond platonic, but who would be brave enough to tell them? Steve and Eddie were just that; Steve and Eddie.

But after this Steve couldn’t pretend anymore. He was falling for Eddie and that only complicated things more. The questions swarmed his thoughts and he felt like his brain was going hundred miles per hour, so he just started talking.

“Even if I am… bisexual,” He started, still unsure of the word. “That doesn’t mean Eddie will like me. I mean, he’s cool in that edgy way, why would he be into me? I'm the total opposite! He laughs at me because I like pop! Everybody likes pop, why is it so funny? That’s why it’s called pop — popular. Or even if he did like me, somehow, how would this even work? My dad would be furious-“

Robin giggled, and Steve shot her a glare.

“You’re so in love with him.”

“You’re not helpful.”

She just giggled again, before letting the silence fall.

“…It’s scary, Rob.”

“I know.”

After a couple minutes to take it all in, they shuffled out of their pants and went under the covers. Steve reached for Robin’s hand and closed his eyes, and she did the same.

“Thank you.” he whispered.

She squeezed his hand. “I’m here, you know.”

“I know.”

°°°

They set off back home in the morning, after a simple breakfast in a diner nearby. This time Steve appreciated how talkative Robin gets, since the whole ride back she went on about everything — school, job, how she needed new clothes and her favourite eyeshadow was running out, never mentioning the day before. He was still struggling to come to terms with the sudden rush of information, which he only processed in a small part, but it would be ten times worse if she wasn’t here, so he stayed grateful.

Once they got back in Hawkins, Steve spoke again.

“Can you… stay over tonight again?” He asked softly.

“Of course. I’ll just call my parents to say we’re back home.” She rubbed his shoulder. “Steve, do you want to… talk about it?”

He did not know what was there to say. It started to feel unimportant, like there are many other things that he should be focused on rather than this. As well as his thing with Eddie — there was no reason to dwell on his feelings since they wouldn’t be returned either way.

“You think I should call Tay?” he finally spoke.

He was met with a flabbergasted look from Robin. “What? How-“

“He gave me his number.” Steve shrugged. “Told me to call if I want to talk… or if I’m in Indy.” He looked at Robin, and back at the road. “What? She was being nice.”

“Oh my god. Steve Harrington, only you can be the biggest flirt I know and be so oblivious to being flirted with at the same time.”

“She was not flirting with me! I-“ He took a pause and thought it over. “Was he?”

“Yes you dingus! Do people just generally give you their number?”

He was about to respond, when they pulled into Harrington’s driveway and Steve spotted a familiar head of curls waiting on the porch.

He got out of the car quickly.

“Eds? What are you doing here?” He stepped in front of him, while Robin caught up.

“Well, you weren’t picking up the phone and I knew it wasn’t your shift today, so…” he shrugged.

“We just got back from Indy. Rob wanted to go, and we came quite late so we stayed the night.” He shifted from one side to the other. “Want to hang out?”

Robin approached the two. “Yeah we were just visiting my friend.” she added quickly.

Eddie gave them a confused look. “Ooo-kay… sure.” He said, suspicious of their behavior, but walked behind Steve as he opened the door. “Did anything fun in Indy?”

Robin shook her head. “Not much. Just talked to a friend and walked around. I was super bored at my house and wanted to get out.” She walked upstairs. “I’m gonna go change and call Nance!” She disappeared in Steve’s room.

The boys walked to the kitchen, where Eddie started to rummage through the fridge.

“So, you guys didn’t party? Seems like a waste going all the way to Indianapolis and not going clubbing.” Eddie spoke with his back to Steve.

“Nah. I didn’t feel like it.” He only got a hum in response.

Eddie was preparing a bigger meal, taking thing after thing out of the fridge. Steve watched as he skillfully cut the vegetables, showing huge progress from when he started; when he used to have at least two band-aids on his fingers after cooking. Now, his hands were clean of injuries and the veggies were done even faster.

Not that Steve noticed.

Sometime later Robin joined, announcing that Nance should be there in time for food. She changed into the shirt she kept around Steve’s house and his sweatpants. They helped Eddie around the kitchen, doing the dishes and cleaning up until Nancy arrived. They set the table and ate, chatting. Mostly the girls, and while Steve spoke a thing or two, Eddie kept quiet. He nudged him under the table and gave him a confused look. He just furrowed his eyebrows and shook his head, nudging him back. They kept doing that back and forth, until Eddie chuckled under his nose.

“So, movie?” Robin asked, already moving to the stack of the tapes.

“Grease?” Steve proposed, earning a groan from all three. “What? It’s a good movie!”

“Sure, but we can’t watch Grease every week, Steve.” Nance crouched down next to Robin.

The boys sat down on the couch. When Eddie put some distance between them, Steve’s eyebrows furrowed. He scooched closer, poking his side.

“Is everything okay?” he half-whispered.

“Yeah. Yeah, all good.” Eddie answered, unconvincingly.

As if that was his cue, Steve scooched back. He knew when to stop himself, when he became too much. He never lingered with touches, never talked when the other person didn’t engage eagerly enough. It was something he learned very early on to make sure he doesn’t make anyone uncomfortable, the way his parents taught him; now he knew exactly how long a hug should last or how many questions to ask is appropriate before it gets annoying. Only with Robin he allowed himself more, knowing that she either won’t mind or gently tell him that something is wrong. He brought a blanket over his lap to have something to hold onto and focused on the movie.

Once Eddie stood up and went to the kitchen, Steve felt this is it. He wouldn’t get too close anymore and would keep a safe distance, wouldn’t speak too much like he used to when he got comfortable. Not around him. He almost overstepped once and wouldn’t dare to do it again.

Well, he thought so, until Eddie came back and settled a big bowl of popcorn on Steve’s lap. Then settled even closer than before, and as if on purpose, reached into the bowl each time Steve did. By the fifth time, Steve simply grabbed his hand and held it down.

“Seriously, what’s going on?” He whispered.

Eddie shrugged. “You’re being weird.”

“You started it!”

“I didn’t start anything.”

Steve sighed. He put the bowl in Robin’s lap and went to the bathroom, trying to collect his thoughts. He stepped inside and leaned his hands on the sink, while looking in the mirror. He tried so hard to focus on his reflection and think what to do with himself and Eddie, and the whole weird thing they got going on, but the spots on the mirror kept taking his attention. Eventually he gave up, picking a cleaner and a rag to clean the mirror.

“You’re cleaning. While the movie is on.” Eddie commented as he appeared in the bathroom door. He leaned against the frame and crossed his arms.

His curls were put in a loose bun and his arms visibly flexed beneath a band T-shirt, tucked into black jeans. His face was adorned by a slight stubble that Steve hadn't thought would be this attractive before. He himself shaved often, preferring a clean look, but on Eddie the facial hair complimented his sharp jawline. Then their gaze met in the mirror: big brown eyes looked back at him, worried.

“Just these spots.” He started to wipe them down, but Eddie grabbed his supplies from his hands and set them down.

“C’mon, Stevie. Your mirror won’t break if it’s dirty an hour longer.”

“Let me finish this, and I’ll be back.”

Eddie grabbed his hands and swung them back and forth. “You can do this later. You can relax, you know.”

“…Why were you mad before?”

His eyebrows furrowed. “I wasn’t mad.”

“So you were sulking.”

“I don’t sulk-“ he took a deep breath. “Alright. I was a bit upset you two went to Indy without me. I think Nance would be upset too if she knew.”

“It wasn’t like I didn’t want you to go, we were just going for a couple hours to visit Rob’s friend. Just got caught up and had to stay the night.” Steve squeezed his hands.

“I know, I know. I might be a bit unreasonably jealous sometimes, okay?” he squeezed back. “At least it wasn’t that fun without me.”

Steve chuckled. “No. Not as fun.”

“Take me with you next time?”

“Yeah.” Steve kept one of his hands in Eddie’s and they returned to the touch, leaving the dirty mirror behind.

Once it was dark outside, Robin went to the guest bedroom to make the bed for her and Nance, since they decided they both should stay over. Eddie started to gather his stuff when Steve put a hand on his shoulder.

“You’re not staying?” He asked, letting his hand fall to his side.

“Uh, I can? If you want.”

“I mean, the girls are staying.” He tried to reason without sounding like a sad puppy. “You always do too.”

“If I can borrow some sweats. I didn’t bring any.”

They both went to Steve’s bedroom to change. He threw a pair of sweatpants and a shirt at the other boy, who discarded the latter on the chair. Steve went to take a shower while Eddie talked to his Uncle, so he wouldn’t worry where his nephew went. When Eddie went to the bathroom, Steve went downstairs to talk to Robin, who he met halfway.

“You were supposed to stay over alone!” he yelled, whispering.

“I’m sorry, she just took my hand and I panicked!” she answered in the same tone.

“I can’t believe you’re flirting with my ex in my house!”

“I’m not! She is! Or she isn’t, I haven’t figured it out yet!”

“Rob,” he sighed. “She is. I’m letting you off the hook this time. You better not fuck this up.”

“I’m really sorry, Steve.” Her face of genuine guilt made him furrow his eyebrows and shake his head.

“It’s okay, I was joking. I don’t mind if you two get together.” He gently clapped her on her shoulder. “But you did leave me alone with Eddie.” He flicked her forehead. “Asshole.”

She winced and rubbed the spot. “If you two get together, we won’t mind too.”

“We won’t.”

“Sure.” She rolled her eyes.

Steve just rolled his eyes and ruffled her hair before exchanging their goodnights. He returned to his bedroom, where Eddie was already sitting on his bed shirtless, drying his hair with the towel.

“Need a hairdryer?”

“Nah. Too much work.”

“Come on, I don’t want a wet pillow.” He already went to the bathroom and retrieved it, then nudged Eddie’s ankle so he would sit on the floor with him behind the boy on the bed.

He put the air on low and scrunched the curls while drying. It went on a bit long, but he didn’t mind. He stayed focused on the task, gently touching his hair to not accidentally pull on it. “Can I braid it?”

Eddie chuckled. “Why?”

“So they don’t get too messy while you sleep.”

“Can I braid yours then?”

“Ha-ha.”

“Alright, alright. If you want.”

So he separated the hair on the top into three parts, and kept adding more as he went lower, making a slightly loose french braid. He left out the bangs and took off the hairband from Eddie’s wrist and tied the end.

“When did you learn how to braid?” Eddie turned to him, resting his head on Steve’s knee and making a pretty sight of himself.

“I… I had younger cousins. When we were children they often visited, and our parents just put them in a room to get us out of their hair. They taught me how, so I could do it for them.” His gaze focused on a single curl that fell down Eddie’s right cheek. “That’s until my father found out. He wouldn’t let me do it anymore. I mean, I still did it, they just lied that they did it for each other.”

“Have I mentioned I hate your dad?”

“Multiple times, yeah.”

“I do.”

“I don’t blame ya.” he huffed. “Sleep?”

“Sleep.” Eddie stood up and jumped under the covers, with Steve right after. They lied down on their backs, and Steve turned off the lamp.

After a couple of minutes, he snuggled closer to Eddie, pressing his forehead to the other boy’s shoulder. His head has fallen to the side, so Steve felt Eddie’s nose buried in his hair.

Chapter Text

“Hi.” Robin smiled up at Nance, who just came back from her shower.

“Hi.” She returned, setting down her clothes. She wore a pastel pink pyjama set to bed. Despite it being absolutely adorable, Nancy looked just beautiful. The color matched her soft face and gentle smile. She stepped closer to Robin, slightly tugging at her sweatpants. “Are these Steve’s?”

“Y-Yeah?” She tried to lean back casually.

“Ugh. Can’t get a moment without him, huh?” she chuckled, trying to tease the other girl.

“I can take them off?” She returned, before realizing what it could mean. 

Thankfully Nancy only giggled. “You should. I can’t keep being reminded of my ex while having a girl in my bed.”

It felt like each word was just trying to fluster Robin even more. She felt heat rush up to her cheeks but she obeyed and slid under the covers in just her shirt and underwear. She turned off the lamp and laid stiffly on her side, with a hand under her cheek. Nancy turned off the light and shifted on her side to face the other girl.

“Hi.”

“Hi.” Robin smiled nervously.

“Are you alright?” She shifted closer. “You seem nervous.” 

“It’s nothing. Just tired. Lots of emotions today.” She tried to keep the casual act, but the warmth in her cheeks became traitorous.

Nancy pulled her free hand into hers. “You know, you and Steve talk quite loud.” She scrunched her nose, holding back a laugh as she saw Robin’s face pale in the moonlight and her mouth fall open.

“Wh-What did you hear?”

“Just enough to tell you yes, I am.”

“You’re what?”

“Flirting. With you.” She let out a chuckle. “Is that okay?”

Robin’s stomach felt like it was doing flips, the excitement washing over her. “Yes. Very much so.” She scooched closer, inches from the other girl’s face. “Is this okay?” She whispered, her breath mixing with Nance’s.

“It will be, if you make a move.” Nancy whispered back, and her gaze fell down to her lips.

The rush of emotions pushed Robin forward and she pressed her lips to Nancy’s. It was slightly too fast and at an awkward angle at first, until Nancy put her hands on her cheeks and turned their faces just right. They slowed down, exploring their mouths with their tongues. Robin gently bit the girl’s lower lip, earning a quiet moan.

“Fuck, I can’t believe this,” She whispered and dove right into another kiss. Her hand went down Nancy’s side, squeezing at the waist. “You taste so good.”

Nancy giggled, so she stopped, looking between both of her eyes. 

“What? Did I do something?”

“No! No. You’re just adorable.” She giggled again, and Robin buried her face in the girl’s neck. “Oh come on, I’m not laughing at you.” She ran her hand through Robin’s hair.

She gently bit her neck in response and looked up at her. “I just wanted this for so long,” she slid her fingers in Nancy’s hair. “But I thought you didn’t like girls.”

“I do, just never had a girlfriend before.” she shrugged. “I did kiss a few girls, but it’s hard to find one that would take it seriously.”

“Yeah. I felt like I’m the only one like this in Hawkins.” she sighed and laid on her back. In a moment, her eyebrows furrowed and she looked back at Nancy. “Wait, did you say girlfriend? Are we..?”

“Too fast?” she raised an eyebrow, and brushed her finger over Robin’s stomach, which made her skin tingle.

“No. I mean, not for me. For you?”

Nance just shook her head and leaned down to press a soft kiss to her lips, which she immediately tried to chase, unsuccessfully. “No. I did try to flirt with you for like, five months. I didn’t think you would ever catch on at this point.”

“How did you know I liked girls?” Robin pulled on her hip so she would lay down on her.

“Do you really have to ask?” Nance chuckled, running her thumb over the girl’s cheek. “Every movie you rent for movie nights has a female lead, you get nervous around women, and you’re friends with Steve without trying to get into his pants.” She moved her thumb to her lips. “Besides, you left to get more soda when the volleyball scene in Top Gun started.” She took a pause. “Thinking about that, Steve was quite focused during…”

“You saw that too, right?” Robin said excitedly.

Nancy just giggled. “Yeah. But let’s not talk about my ex while I’m almost on top of you.”

“Yes ma’am.”

°°°

The first thing Steve did when he woke up was run to the bathroom to vomit. The pain in his head kept growing, while he leaned over the toilet seat. For once he wanted to enjoy cuddling with Eddie in the morning, waking up to his curls against his nose and an arm wrapped around him, but his head forced him to move faster than his legs could. He felt the tears prickle the corners of his eyes with each shot of pain, and all he could do was sit there.

“Steve?” A raspy voice reached his ears from the darkness of the bathroom. “You okay?” he didn’t even raise his head from the bowl, just pointed at the pills on the sink.

Eddie grabbed them and put one in Steve’s hand, before quickly leaving. He returned just as fast with a bottle of water, and crouched down to his level so he could help him drink.

“Is it the migraines?” he asks softly, tilting the bottle to his lips. All Steve managed was a hum. He rinsed out his mouth with the first sip, and then drank a couple more to chase the pill. “You want me to bring anything else?” He capped the bottle and set it down.

Steve just shook his head and leaned it against Eddie’s shoulder. “A moment,” he mumbled. Eddie’s hand went up to his hair, petting gently. Steve nuzzled his shoulder. “M sorry.”

“Why?”

“Woke you up.”

Eddie chuckled. “You felt sick, Stevie. There’s nothing to apologize for.” His hand squeezed the back of his neck and they stayed like that for a little while. “Feeling better?”

Steve just signaled a pinch with his fingers. 

“Enough to brush your teeth?”

He nodded in response, rubbing his forehead over the boy’s shoulder. 

Eddie helped him up to his feet and put the toothpaste on his toothbrush, then handed it to him. His movements were a bit sluggish and his legs felt wobbly, but Eddie’s hand on his hip kept him upright. After he finished he rinsed off his mouth and grasped the sink tightly.

“Back to bed?” Eddie gently pried his hands off the sink. Steve complied, leaning against him until he dropped down on his side of the bed. Eddie closed the curtains and tucked him in, before laying down behind him. 

“I feel like shit.” Steve mumbled into the pillow.

“You want more water? Breakfast?”

Steve shook his head. “Sleep.”

Eddie chuckled quietly and shuffled closer, spooning him from the back. If it weren’t for the migraine, Steve was sure he would get flustered and tense. This was the closest they ever were, despite the blanket between them, but even then he couldn’t help but get more comfortable. He shuffled back to snuggle into Eddie and closed his eyes again. The other boy buried his nose in his hair, and let out a quiet huff.

°°°

Next time Steve woke up he knew Eddie wasn’t there, since his back got cold in the spots where the blanket had been raised. He sat up and reached for his glasses, wiping them on his shirt. After pushing them high on his nose, he swung his legs over the bed. The pain in his head slightly faltered, but he still felt weak. He drank the whole glass of water that was left on his bedside table and finally got out of the bed to find the rest. As he walked, he could already hear the music coming from the kitchen. Inside, Robin and Nance sat on the counter, watching Eddie make breakfast. The girls sat close, holding each other’s hand and chatting up.

Steve groggily walked behind Eddie and put his forehead on the boy's nape, ignoring others. “Why’d ya go?” he mumbled.

“Girls were getting hungry. So did I.” He shrugged. “Feeling better?” He asked without moving too much.

“A bit.” He leaned back and turned to make coffee, but Robin quickly snatched the cups first. 

“Go sit. I was going to make some since we woke up anyways.”

Steve just furrowed his eyebrows, and then pointed his finger at Eddie accusingly. “You put her up to this.” Without further explanation, he sat down and waited for breakfast.

Eddie set down the plates, putting one in front of Steve. “My liege,” he bowed theatrically, to which he responded with an eyeroll.

He looked up at the girls. “Didn’t fuck up, huh?” He raised an eyebrow at Robin.

“Didn’t. How does it feel now that I took your girl?” 

“You are terrible, you know that right?”

“I’ve been called worse.” She shrugged. Nancy just shook her head and stole a piece of her sausage.

Soon after, Eddie did the same. “What’s the point of making me food if you’re going to eat it?” Steve huffed and took a bite of his omelette.

“Oh, I’m sorry sweetheart. Here,” He stabbed a piece from his own plate and put it in front of his lips. “So we’re even.”

Steve looked at him incredulously, but complied. Eddie’s eyes followed the movement of his lips as they closed around the fork. If the girls weren’t deep in their own conversation, they would notice how weirdly intimate the moment got. 

The domesticity of living together, sharing a meal and simply talking made Steve melt in his seat, and feel the comfort he didn’t allow himself too often. He knew the emptiness was going to return once their little hangout was over, but he held onto the moment every time he got it. It almost dulled the pain in his head.

Eddie must’ve noticed his contemplation, since he gave him that soft smile, one hidden behind a cheeky grin or a casual smirk that he wore almost all the time. It felt now as if it was reserved only for him to see. He wanted to believe that. 

“I really like your omelette.” Steve said, finally continuing to eat.

“I’ll do it more often then.” He scratched at the boy’s scalp and returned to his own food.

°°°

Once everyone filtered out of his house, Steve sat down by the wall. In truth, the guests really only put a pause on his ongoing crisis that stood on the back of his head. Every interaction with Eddie was overanalyzed now, and he couldn’t make out if it was platonic or romantic. They acted this way for so long, the lines blurred. And how could it even be romantic, when the other boy must’ve thought Steve was straight? Was Eddie even gay? And now, Robin was dating Nancy. Did it mean that Nancy only ever liked girls, and their whole relationship was fake? Or was she just like him, and he never realized that what he feels isn’t as alien as he might think?

Upon consideration, he found the post-it note from two days ago and called Tay.

“Hello?”

“Hi, who is this?” The voice answered.

“Steve. Did I call the right number?”

A chuckle. “Yeah. I didn’t expect you to call so soon.”

“Sorry, If you’re busy-“

“No, no. I’m not.”

Steve smiled to himself. 

“So, just calling to see if I gave the right number, or..?”

“No, I… I just have a bit of a crisis, you know. I think you know. You sold the brochure to Rob after all.” he laughed nervously. “Um, how- Does everyone panic like that when they find out? This, is this normal?”

”Isn’t Birdie with you?” The phone rustled for a moment, as if Tay was moving, before it got quiet again.

”Rob? No, she just left. She stayed over when we got back but like, I know she’s my best friend and all, but this… I don’t know how to talk to her about it. To anyone, to be honest. It just feels…”

”Lonely?” Tay finished his words. „Yeah. At first. But you know, once you come to terms with it, it gets easier. And you notice there are more people like you. Closer than you realize.” Her smile could be heard through the phone. “Maybe you’ll get to leave Hawkins with Birdie and live in a big city. It’s definitely easier here. In Indy especially, you have a queer person on almost every corner. It just becomes a part of you, like any other.”

Steve took the words in. “I’m sorry, I know you were flirting with me when you gave me the number, and now I’m calling all pathetic and panicky-“

”Woah, woah! Who said anything about flirting?”

”…You weren’t, flirting?” Steve felt all the blood rush from his face.

Tay chuckled again. “I’m just messing with you, relax. You’re just going to strain yourself if you keep being this tense! I did give you my number to flirt, but I’m not above having new friends. And I’ve been in the same spot you are now, I would be an ass to leave you alone with it.”

”Thanks, Tay.” Steve slid his back down the wall. “When did you realize?”

”That I was bisexual or bigender?”

”Uh, both?” He took a pause on the second word, but could somewhat gather what it could mean.

”The first one was way back in preschool, I think. I always had a boy best friend, always wanted sleepovers, you get the gist. My parents caught up quickly. I came out to them at fourteen, and honestly — they didn’t act surprised at all. I should have been offended!” He laughed, and Steve. Couldn’t help but join in. “The bigender thing was a bit harder, though. Three years ago. Imagine explaining to fifty-year-olds that you’re both man and woman. It’s like trying to teach a senior dog to play fetch. Completely useless. It did take them more time and a couple of black eyes on my face to catch up to the support. But we’re cool now.”

”Damn.” He sighed. “They sound nice. My father would probably be the one to give me the black eyes.” Steve scoffed. There was a short silence.

”…Steve, if you ever feel unsafe back home, you’re welcome here. Just… call me. I can help.”

”No, I’m okay. It’s okay.’ He stood up and leaned his head on the wall. “Thanks. Again.”

“Anytime.”

”So… anything new in store?”

°°°

Steve finally had another shift. It was Wednesday so he barely had any clients, and ended up spending most of it by walking around the aisles to sort any tapes that were out of order. He was just about to sort the mess in counter drawers, when the bell rang.

The one and only Eddie Munson walked in. Wearing his yellow sweater. His favourite, yellow sweater.

“Are you serious?” he pointed to his chest. “I’ve been looking for it for days!”

“You were the one who gave it to me, actually.” Eddie stepped closer and began to rummage through the snacks on the counter.

“What.”

“Yeah.” He threw a pack of gummy bears in front of him. “I only had a T-shirt and it was getting cold outside. You said ‘You can’t walk home like that, you’ll freeze your ass off!’ or something. Seriously, worse than Wayne.” the boy mocked him and went to the closest aisle.

Steve walked around to catch up with him. “It was like a week ago. We see each other every day, Munson.”

“Ouch, a downgrade! From Eds to last name? I feel the sweater was a great offense.” He shook his head dramatically.

“How ‘bout I get my sweater back, and you pick yourself a nickname?” He poked a finger between the boy’s ribs, earning a slight jolt. “I really like it, you know.”

“Oh, I would prefer you pick me a nickname, and you get your sweater back next time we’re at casa de Harrington, huh?” 

Steve stepped closer, enough to whisper. “Is honey okay? Or… baby?” His confidence rushed through, and he leaned his chin on Eddie’s shoulder. “Hm?”

Right as he tried to answer, the bell rang again. He went back to help the other client while Eddie wandered around the shop, moving the tapes around. Steve watched him from the corner of his eye the whole time, until the other person left with a satisfied rental. 

“You can come here now, baby.” Steve called, and instantly heard a couple tapes falling to the floor, and he was sure he heard “Jesus” muttered under a nose. He chuckled and went to help instead.

“You are a menace, Harrington.” The boy said while cleaning up his mess.

“Oh? Did I downgrade on the nickname too?”

“Now that I think of it, you should. Where is my vest? It’s been months, you know.”

Steve’s eyes widened. After Eddie made himself a new one, he was sure he either forgot about the last one, or thought it was lost. In truth, it was tucked in his own wardrobe, cleaned of the bigger stains but mostly in the state from Upside Down. It simply carried the smell that Steve became so attached to that he preferred to keep it as his secret rather than come out clean and give it back.

“Wasn’t it lost?” He tried to act oblivious.

“You tell me, big boy.” Eddie bumped his shoulder against him and went to the counter with a copy of A Nightmare on Elm Street and grabbed the pack of gummies from before. “Wanna watch it with me?” He smirked and leaned on his elbow.

“I’m on chauffeur duty for Dustin after work, unfortunately.” He said as he checked Eddie out. “Saturday? You can pick a different movie if you can’t wait.”

“Saturday it is.” He grabbed his things and looked up at him, narrowing his eyes. “Wear your glasses. See ya.” He quickly took Steve’s hand and lightly bit his finger before running out the door.

°°°

On Saturday, Steve spent his morning cleaning the house. He put on some shorts and a gray sweater and got to work. Only halfway through mopping the first floor did he realize that the coffee he drank three hours ago was in fact not enough for breakfast, so he decided that after he finished he would go downstairs to finally eat. There wasn’t much in the kitchen to eat quickly so he had to settle for some beef jerky and went back to work, snacking in between. It took a couple hours, since his house wasn’t small and now it was only him that lived there. The Harringtons decided it was for the best to move out of Hawkins after those “earthquakes”, but they were “generous” enough not to sell the house and from time to time send his son some money to survive on his own. And so he did, and despite having all the chores thrown upon him, it was much better than having his parents there to supervise and judge his every move. As long as the house was presentable, he was welcome to fend for himself.

“Do you always have to wear the shortest shorts ever?” A voice from behind him made him jolt slightly. “And where are your glasses?”

Steve turned around to see Eddie, wearing his yellow sweater. “Do you always steal people’s clothes?” He crossed his arms.

“When they’re this comfy, yeah.” He started to walk upstairs. “I’m gonna get them — no complaining! — and you can make popcorn.” He disappeared in Steve’s bedroom.

He had no choice but to comply, and soon he was settled next to Eddie under a blanket on the couch with a bowl of popcorn. It became his favorite un-activity: movies, popcorn and friends. It was the time when he could truly not think and just let himself relax. Eddie put the glasses on for him and he immediately cuddled up to the boy's side. Eddie already waited with his arm up and let Steve get comfortable.

“You can keep the sweater.” Steve mumbled at some point.

“You sure? It’s your favorite, isn’t it?” His hand went to play with Steve’s hair.

He tugged at the material a little. “Looks good on you. And it’s great as a pillow.” he snuggled closer to prove a point.

“You can take a nap if you want, I don’t mind.” He spoke softly, his hand never stopping. “I can watch on my own.”

Steve closed his eyes for a moment. His thoughts wandered for a bit, until he made a decision to finally speak out about something. “I know what you’re doing, you know.”

“Oh?”

“Taking care of me. Thinking I won’t notice.”

His fingers paused, then gently tugged on his hair. “Are you mad?”

“No. I just wanted you to know. That I know.” He took off his glasses to sleep.

Eddie set them down on the table and maneuvered himself and the other boy so they both could lay comfortably, and he himself could continue to watch the movie. It didn’t take Steve long to fall asleep, snuggled against the boy’s chest and having his hair played with. He already longed to be able to do this every night; stay in a warm embrace of someone who cares.

Chapter Text

“Stevie?” The voice whispered so softly, he didn’t want to open his eyes. “The movie’s over.” Fingers gently tugged at his hair.

”M still tired.” He mumbled.

”If you haven’t been overworking yourself, you wouldn’t be, dude.” He sighed and nudged Steve’s shoulder. “Let’s put you to bed at least, yeah?”

Steve's sluggish form moved up to sit, and then stand. He went upstairs and Eddie followed close behind, making sure he didn't double over. The amount of blankets on Steve’s bed in which he curled up in made it so that only his face barely peeked through. The other boy borrowed one of them and laid close to him, before taking off his rings and setting them on the bedside table, getting ready to take a nap as well.

While Steve was already slightly drifting, Eddie brushed his hair from his forehead. The touch was so soft, he could only let out gentle hums in response.

”Sleep.”

He furrowed his eyebrows and grabbed the hand from his forehead and pulled it to his cheek, nuzzling it, and ignoring the words. The other boy inhaled sharply, but didn’t cease his ministrations, continuing to brush his hand along the skin there. Every minute added to the intimacy of the moment and neither of them wanted to break it.

The voice got quieter, as if it was dangerous to raise it any higher. “Stevie, you can’t keep doing this to me…” His thumb rubbed over his cheek, pressing down on a mole.

“Doing what?” His eyes opened just a bit, before closing again.

“Giving me hope.” It came out as a whisper. A thumb brushed over Steve’s lips, and he couldn’t help but to graze his teeth against it. “See?”

”’S not hope.” His eyes opened again, this time with an expression that could only be described as a question, pleading. “Eds.”

Eddie closed his eyes and sighed, before leaning down to lay a soft kiss on his forehead. As he moved to lean back, Steve tugged at the end of his hair to keep him close. The next kiss has fallen on his cheek. Another on the nose. Another on the chin. He shifted the blankets to plant the last in between the moles on his neck.

Steve’s face had already been flushed from the first kiss, now became fully red. “Now you’re the one giving me hope.”

”It’s not the same.”

”Why?”

”Because I want you in a way you don’t want me.”

His eyebrows furrowed further and he snaked his fingers out of his blanket-cocoon just enough to pull at the boy’s guitar pick necklace. He pulled him close enough so their lips were only inches apart. 

“Not true.” He leaned up to press the softest peck to his lips.

”Stevie…”

”…I’m not gonna push you into this.”

Eddie gave him a slightly pained look; one of hesitation, before finally relenting and pressing his lips to Steve’s. 

And there were no fireworks. No rush of adrenaline, no more tightness in his chest. This, it was much better, as if it was meant to happen ages ago, as if this was the most natural thing in the world. Steve felt content, safe in the embrace of warm hands and gentle lips. This kiss felt like it was his first again: feeling the slight stubble against his chin, tongue that was not pushing too much, hands that were not… well, too handsy. It felt like he could melt right then and there,  and Eddie would put him together all over again.

“I want you the way you want me.” Steve whispered in between, moving both his hands up to the boy’s hair. “Believe me?”

He gently pried his hands away and pinned them to the bed. “Yeah. Yeah, I do. Just tell me that once you’re fully awake, yeah?” He chuckled quietly.

Steve nodded and pulled on the boy’s waist to snuggle into his chest. “You’ll still be here when I wake up?”

”I will.”

He nodded and laid a gentle kiss on the man’s neck. “I meant it all.” He closed his eyes again and tucked his head under Eddie’s chin.

°°°

This time he woke up not alone. For the first time in forever he felt gentle arms wrapped around him and a soft breath in his hair and he did not get up. He allowed himself to stay and take in the moment. As his nose rubbed along the collarbone the other boy shifted closer and put a hand on the back of his head.

“Tickles.” A raspy tone reached his ears and the hand in his hair tugged slightly.

Steve pushed his hand under the hem of Eddie’s shirt, desperate for more touch, to make sure this is real; that whatever they have going on is there, not just a distant memory of a quiet night.

“I like you.” he whispered, slowly waking the other man up, and himself. It was his first thought when he woke up, and he had to prove his words from the night before. His mouth landed on the man’s collarbone. “I wasn’t just being lonely yesterday.” He moved up, laying soft kisses on his neck. “I was serious.” He kissed his jaw. “I like you, Eds.”

A quiet chuckle joined the grin on Eddie’s face. He barely got his eyes open in time for Steve’s kiss on his lips. “Okay, okay. I believe you.”

“Promise?” 

“Promise.” He laid on his back and grabbed Steve behind his thigh to pull him on top. “Sleep well?”

“Mhm.” He buried his nose in the crook of his neck. “I don’t like sleeping alone.” He rested his full weight on Eddie. 

“Yeah, I’ve gathered.” He pinched his side. “You’re all clingy in the morning.”

Steve stiffened slightly at the comment , and began to push himself up to make some space between them. “Sorry.”

Eddie’s eyebrow furrowed and he grabbed his hips to pull him back. “I was joking. C’mere.” He leaned in to press a soft kiss to his lips. “G’morning.”

He snaked his hands under his shoulders and cuddled up. “You know how long I wanted to do that?”

“Oh? How long?”

“Since Upside Down. I realized later, though.” 

“I did realize, back then.” Eddie’s eyes closed again, thinking, recalling.

He looked at the man under him.“So why didn’t you say something?” He started to trace his features with his finger absentmindedly.

“Yeah, like I was about to go and tell King Steve that I pathetically want him.” He bit the finger that traced his lips. “In a gay way.”

He winced at the nickname, but decided against commenting on it. “It could’ve helped me understand sooner.”

“Or earn me a black eye.” He raised an eyebrow, to which Steve’s both furrowed.

“I wouldn’t punch you.” 

“But it would’ve been super awkward.”

“So what?”

Eddie sighed and basically manhandled Steve to lay them both on their sides, facing each other. “Not important anymore, right?” He lightly scratched at his scalp. “Five more minutes.” He rested his forehead on Steve’s.

“How do you even do that? I’m heavier than you.” He marveled.

“You’re not exactly resisting.” He shrugs. “I would go as far to say you like it.”

“…I plead the fifth.”

°°°

There is always a plus to being a girl that likes girls, and it is that nobody’s suspicious when you have a sleepover with just the two of you. Robin felt glad that she could just simply walk in through the front door with a box of homemade cookies, instead of sneaking through the window like she heard from Steve’s stories. 

“Hi Mrs. Wheeler! Sorry if they’re a little burned, I got distracted. Most of them should be good though!” She started chatting the woman up, to which she responded with a kind smile.

“Oh, no need to worry sweetheart. I’m sure they’re just delicious.” She took them to the kitchen.

Right then Nancy walked down the stairs, and their eyes met. She wore a light blue, checkered skirt with an off-shoulder shirt of the same color.

“Hi.” Robin smiled up at her.

“Hi.” She returned and caught up on the last few steps, before grabbing her hand and leading her upstairs. “Come on, before my mom talks your ear off.”

“I like your mom.” She shrugged.

“Sorry, my love, but her bed is already taken.”

“Not like that!” She chuckled and as soon as the door closed behind them she pressed Nancy to the door, kissing her deeply. Her hand wandered up and down her waist, squeezing and brushing against the material. “What’s the outfit for?” She mumbled between the kisses.

“I was out running errands,” She answered, not even pulling away. “What, want me to change?” 

Robin’s answer was to set her hands on the back of the girl’s thighs and lift her up. She walked to the bed and dropped her down to crawl on top, already over eager.

“So that’s a no.” Nancy grinned, and brushed her nails over Robin’s back, earning a staggered breath. “We do have only a couple of minutes before my mom comes up to ask a thousand questions, you know.”

She groaned and buried her face in her chest. “Why does she always do that?”

“She’s just friendly. I haven't had a girl best friend in a while.”

“Girl best friend.” She mocked, huffing, but couldn’t hold back a smile upon hearing a giggle from Nance.

“One more kiss.” She gave her one more peck on the lips before sitting up.

Not long after, as expected, Mrs. Wheeler came over to chat. Robin liked their little gossip sessions, despite them interrupting her alone time with her girlfriend. But her mom was nice, always bringing something to eat or telling some stories from her youth, but most often it was to spill some tea on the neighbors or other people of Hawkins. Sometimes Robin wished they could just tell her the truth, and just how easier would it get if she could simply hold her girlfriend’s hand by the dinner table.

Later on, when they finally had a moment alone, they got ready for bed and could jump under the covers at last, and see each other in the dim light of the night lamp.

Nancy reached out for the alarm clock. “When do you need to get up?”

“I don’t have a shift tomorrow, so I could stay longer…” Robin brushed her fingers over the girl’s thigh under the covers.

“Absolutely! If I didn’t have mine, Robbie.” She set the alarm and put it on the bedside table. “Sorry, it’s just… they barely rehired me, and I don’t want to mess it up. I feel like I can do it better this time, you know?”

“You don’t need to explain yourself to me, Nance.” She grabbed the girl’s hand and laid back down. “We can just go to sleep.”

“Well, it’s still early…” She leaned over her girlfriend. “And I didn’t say we need to go to sleep right now.” Their noses brushed against each other slightly.

“Where did you learn to talk so dirty?” Robin teased and leaned up to kiss her, but was pinned back down.

Nancy swiftly threw her leg over her hips to straddle her. The other girl immediately moved her hands to rest on the hem of the skirt. “When you were trying to flirt with my mom.”

“Oh my god, Nance, I don’t want your mom!” she chuckled.

“Do you want me, then?” She leaned down to taunt her with the small space between their lips.

The hand on her legs moved up, fingers slightly shifting under the hem. “Yes.” She whispered, so desperately; her eyes gleamed with need, her mood shifting in a second to make sure Nancy knows how serious it is to her. 

Nancy leaned down to catch her in a deep, sensual kiss. Her hands wandered, from cupping her face to her neck and down the collarbones. She swiftly moved them under the girl’s shirt, before slowing down and with a tantalizing tempo ran one of them up to cup her breast.

Robin’s breath staggered. “Nance-“ She tried to keep up with her lips. “Nancy, please…”

She rolled her nipple between her fingers, earning a quiet whine. “Want me to keep going, baby?” 

She could only nod eagerly in response. 

Nancy didn’t hold back, pushing her shirt up and leaving soft kisses around her chest, avoiding her breasts for now. Robin wrapped her fingers in her hair to have something to hold onto, but kept her grip gentle. When her girlfriend finally took her nipple between her lips she put her hand on her own to keep quiet. With each second she felt like her heart was about to jump out of her chest and she squeezed her eyes shut.

“God Nance, please, please…” she mumbled behind her hand. “I love you so much baby…”

“…What?” she stopped, sitting up. 

That was the moment when Robin panicked. She froze, realizing her words, and the fact that it was the first time she said them, especially in a moment like this, made her want to crawl out of her skin. She knew it was something she meant, but definitely was supposed to be spoken in different circumstances; yet her mouth worked faster than her brain.

“I’m so, so sorry,” she instantly started rambling. “It’s not like I don’t love you, I wouldn’t have said that if I didn’t, but I shouldn’t have done it now, it was stupid! I do love you, Nance, and I’m sorry, I fucked up-“ She would have kept going, if Nance didn’t cup her cheeks right at that moment.

“Hey, it’s okay,” She gave her a soft smile. “I was just… taken aback,” She interlaced their fingers, as she continued. “I love you too, Robbie.”

“Oh. Okay. I mean, fuck, I’ve never been happier. I thought I was about to jump out of the window and like, escape the country-“ she was cut off by a pair of lips on her neck, sucking. “Oh god,” She closed her eyes.

“Shh.”

“Yes Ma’am.”

Nancy went lower and lower, peppering kisses down her chest and stomach. When she reached her waistband, she looked up. “Do you want this?”

“Yes… yes please.” she let out a breath, before inhaling sharply as her shorts were pulled down. Nancy didn’t stop, kissing upwards on her thighs. “I-I’ve never done this, just so you know.” she admitted.

“Neither did I. But you’ll tell me if something is wrong, okay?”

“Okay.” She nodded and gently brushed her fingers through Nancy’s hair. The girl gave her a long lick over her underwear, and Robin had to hold herself back with everything she had not to moan out loud.

Her girlfriend continued to tease her through her panties, until she was heavily breathing and shaking. She tried to keep her moans short and quiet, barely able to contain herself, and almost falling apart when the last piece of clothing was stripped off of her. Nancy started to alternate between licking and sucking, but so agonizingly slow that Robin felt like she was being tortured the best way possible. The house was already quiet so it took a lot from her to keep silent. Her hands shook with the effort not to pull on Nancy’s hair too hard and not clench her thighs when a finger entered her, finally bringing her to climax. She saw stars, and it was a thousand times better than doing it on her own. She was ready to give the world to Nance just so she wouldn’t stop.

“Fuck…” She breathed heavily to calm down while her girlfriend rubbed her legs up and down, waiting.

“Feeling better?”

“Feeling like I’m in heaven.” She propped herself on her elbows. “Are you the angel that’s gonna lead me to the gates?”

Nancy chuckled and shook her head, before leaning down to catch her in a kiss.

The door swung open. “Do you have to-“ Mike stood there frozen, wide-eyed. “Holy shit!” he quickly slammed the door, and only his quick footsteps were heard.

The girls looked at each other in panic. Nancy jumped off the bed and covered Robin in a blanket, before getting to the door. “I’ll fix this, I swear!” She disappeared.

Robin’s heart started beating faster, this time in a really bad way. She dressed herself and sat up, curling into a ball and trying to level her breath. The realization that someone might know now was terrifying. Her brain already made up at least three escape plans and a million scenarios of how badly it might get. It was running a thousand miles per hour with no stopping.

°°°

Nancy knocked on her brother’s door. “Mike, can we talk?”

“…Yes? I think?”

She furrowed her eyebrows but walked in anyway. He sat on the edge of the bed, scraping at his cuticles. 

She took a seat next to him. “So…”

“I can pretend I never saw anything.” He answered all too quickly.

“Mike, it’s not that,” she started. “I mean, you weren’t supposed to find out like that, it’s super awkward. For all of us.” She started to rub the hem of her skirt between her fingers. “But just… you won’t tell anyone, right?”

“Nobody else knows?” He finally looked at her with furrowed eyebrows.

“Only Eddie. And Steve.”

“Really? Them? Before your own brother?” he scoffed. “Shame on you, Nancy.” 

She chuckled, finally feeling the ease of the tension. “I’m really sorry, Mike.”

“It’s fine.” He relaxed as well. “I don’t mind that you like girls.” He took a small pause, before turning his gaze to the ground. “Do you… not like guys now?”

“I do. It’s just… I’m dating Robbie now.” she shrugged, pulling her lips into a tight line. 

“I think,” he took a deep breath. “I might be like you too.” 

Nancy’s heart sank. She remembered how terrifying it was when she realized it herself, and now her brother was going through the same and she had no idea. How easier would it all be if they were closer? Maybe neither of them would go through so much if things were different. But it did no good to dwell on it. Now, the only thing she could do was be there for him.

“Oh, Mike.” She took on a supportive role. “It’s absolutely okay, you know? Even if you hear otherwise.” 

She reached out to hug him but he quickly pulled away. “I don’t know where your hands were!” He said, half-accusing and half-joking. She laughed in return.

“Alright, alright.” She stood up and straightened her skirt. “If you ever want to talk, whatever happens, I’m here.”

“…Thanks.”

“I love you.” She opened the door and looked back at him.

“I love you too, jeez,” he rolled his eyes. “She’s making you cheesy.”

°°°

Nancy finally returned, to the sight of her girlfriend curled up, forehead resting on the knees, panting. Upon seeing that, she quickly closed the distance to wrap her arms around her.

“It’s okay now, Robbie. I’m here, everything is fine.” She tried to calm her down. “He doesn’t mind. He won’t tell, I promise.

Robin wiped her tears with the back of her hand. “Nance?” She looked up at the girl. “Are you sure?”

“Yes. Yes, I’m sure.” She ran her hand through her hair. “Everything is settled.”

“God, I am such a mess, I was just frozen-“ she would’ve gone on if she wasn’t shushed by Nancy.

“It’s okay.” They both laid down, holding tight onto each other. “Let’s just sleep it off. It was too much emotion for one night.”

Robin buried herself into Nancy’s embrace, legs tangling together, and they stayed like that until they both fell asleep, exhausted from the evening.

Chapter Text

He stood in front of the trailer’s door with a box of Hershey’s kisses behind him. He wore a simple polo and jeans, unsure if he should present more formal or casual, since he wasn’t even sure if their hangouts would be called dates or not.

Eddie opened the door with a smile. His outfit wasn’t anything too fancy, to Steve’s relief. “Hi, sweetheart.”

“I missed you.”

“It’s been two days.”

“Two days too long.” He stepped inside. The words weren’t too serious, since he knew Eddie had to help his uncle with some business out of town. “Kiss?”

As Eddie leaned in, he pressed the wrapped chocolate against his lips.

“Menace.” The boy commented and unwrapped the chocolate. “So, you up for hours of watching me and the kids being nerds?” He went to gather his things.

Steve set down the box and waited for him by the door. “You are always nerds.”

“I’ll make you into one, someday!” He yelled from his room, before emerging from it with a backpack. He threw it on one shoulder, but Steve stepped closer and took it from him.

“Sure, sure.” He set it down. “We still have like, five minutes to spare?” His finger snuck into the boy’s belt loop, and he pulled him close.

“Dustin will eat you alive.” He grinned, but didn’t pull away. His hands moved from his hips up to rest lazily on his shoulders.

“I think I’ll survive.” He pressed his lips to Eddie’s, sighing into the kiss. They took their time, enjoying the closeness before spending the next couple of hours in the presence of others. Their lips moved languidly and hands stayed in place, relaxing rather than turning it into a heated moment.

That was until Eddie finally pulled away. “The kids are waiting, mother Steve.”

He groaned. “Please do not call me that. Ever again, preferably.” After taking the backpack for Eddie he walked outside, with the boy tailing behind him.

They drove to Hawkins High. It was the last time they were allowed to use the room there for Hellfire before they had to relocate since the school was already over, so it was collectively decided to leave it for a one-shot just to use up the most hours. Eddie packed almost his whole collection of minis and dice, while Steve, despite not playing, generously brought loads of snacks for everyone. They wanted to make their last time last, especially considering that Eddie was no longer in school and the torch had been passed to Will. 

The kids and the rest of the guys from Hellfire had already been inside, setting up their spots. The pair of boys were kindly greeted by a very displeased Dustin.

“Really? Do I have to teach you about the importance of being on time again?” He huffed. “You’re the Dungeon Master, you should be more prepared!”

Eddie just ruffled his hair as he walked past to set up the DM screen and his notes. “Don’t fret little guy. I’m always prepared.”

Steve sat down on the couch behind him, feeling almost hidden already.

The room was dimly lit by two lamps, and the whole place was decorated as if it was a haunted house, with fake, black and white webbing and plastic spiders. The windows were covered up and the walls were haphazardly adorned with random material of darker colors. It set the mood for a spooky storyline that Eddie had planned (for about a month prior) but the thing that brought Steve’s attention was the chalice that he had just pulled out, alongside a can of Mountain Dew.

“Do you seriously drink this out of that?” He snorted.

“Excuse me for trying to get into the mood, my liege.” Eddie said over his shoulder. “Not everyone gets to sit back and enjoy the show. Some of us do the work here.” 

Steve, from his position on the couch, just brushed the toe of his shoe up Eddie’s calf. He heard a quiet chuckle in response.

“Devil.”

The group finally got their shit together and everything was set in place. They sat around the table with Eddie standing behind his screen. Everyone eagerly awaited the first words to come out of the DM's mouth.

“Darkness yields to light.” He started, with a serious, but gentle tone. “It reflects in the morning fog as the town awakes. Not all too quick of course, as Crowstead only has so many folks, and even less that would be eager to spend yet another day working. But at last, people start to go on about their day to make enough for a living, while most of their earnings went to the King’s “offerings”.” He turned to Mike, who nervously looked down and back at him. “You would know about that, wouldn’t you, Wilcenes?”

“Uh, yes!” He shifted in his seat. “These long shifts at the tavern have already left a print on my health,” he went on, introducing his character.

Soon everyone got accustomed to the new setting and new characters, quickly playing into their roles. Steve watched from his spot how the game went and subconsciously tried to understand some of those rules. It seemed like a lot of remembering and math, but with the way everyone got it so quickly it couldn’t be as hard as imagined. His eyes traveled to the DM's hands, which switched from running over the notes, fidgeting and rolling the dice. The first thought was to reach out and grab them, but he settled for stretching out on the couch and nudging Eddie’s foot with his, once the rest were discussing their next move.

Eddie turned half way and rested his chin on the back of the chair. “Bored?”

“Not really. I like when you talk.” He grinned at the roll of the eyes he got in response and slight blush he saw on the boy’s face. “And the game is not too bad, I guess.” 

“I’ll get you to play it someday.”

“Good luck, baby.” He took his hand and rubbed his hand over the knuckles.

“Could you two stop flirting over there?! We have a game to play!” Gareth’s voice beamed from the other end of the table, to which Eddie jolted in his seat and sat straight, before getting into the character(s) again.

Steve’s eyebrows furrowed. He caught Will’s gaze, who made almost a similar expression to his before the both looked away. And maybe he was reading too much into it but he was so focused on their hands that he saw how quickly Eddie snatched his when Gareth called them out. Nevertheless, he leaned back and decided to ignore the issue for the moment.

About five hours into the session the group decided to finally take a break longer than five minutes. After ordering pizza for dinner both Steve and Eddie walked outside to stretch their legs and grab a cigarette.

“Doin’ okay?” Eddie started, lighting up the other boy’s cig. “You can go home if it’s too much.” He moved his hands to fix Steve’s glasses and then his hair.

“I’m fine, promise. Besides, I brought a whole book to read.” His mouth wrapped around the cigarette.

“Take a nap if you need it. If not there, then in the car, alright?”

“Yes sir.” He joked.

Eddie squished his cheeks with his hand. “Devil.” He gave him a little peck on the lips and stepped back just in time before the door behind them opened. 

“Something’s matter, little guy?” Eddie spoke to Will, who just joined them.

“Uh, kind of?” He looked nervous, something in his expression a remnant of the emotions from when Gareth made that comment before. Panic, maybe? “It’s going to be weird to ask, and I hope you won’t get mad, but… are you two together?”

“Yes.”

“Not really.”

Both answers came at the same time, shocking all three. Steve looked at Eddie, whose gaze was as of a deer in the headlights, unmoving.

“No… we haven’t… discussed it.” Steve started unsurely, returning his gaze to Will, whose face showed a quick process of realizing the awkwardness of the situation. “Bad to assume. Never assume. Always good to ask. Uh..” He nodded, agreeing to himself. “Yeah. Why do you ask?”

“Just… curious. Does that mean you like men now?”

“And women.”

“Oh.” Will nodded. “…I think I should go.”

He quickly left, leaving both of them to try and solve this situation by themselves. Eddie still stood unmoving, while Steve’s brain wasn’t stopping. He thought of a million ways to deflect this situation; it would be terrible if they talked it out and something went wrong while he still promised to stay another god knows how many hours to watch him play. There was no good solution so he had to settle for his favorite temporary one: ignore the issue.

“Let’s head back inside. I think I should finally start that book, Dustin’s been getting on my ass about it for like two months already.” He moved to the door, extending his hand.

Eddie only nodded and took it without a word. Despite being attached at hand, neither of them looked the other in the eyes. They separated inside the room, each doing their own thing. Even when the pizza arrived, Steve didn’t move from his spot on the couch to sit close to Eddie as he always did during meals. In fact, he barely took a couple of bites of his slice, before setting it on the table and stretching along the length of the couch. Between a nap and a book, the first was a clear choice, so he rolled on his side to face away from the group, took off his glasses and closed his eyes, the voices in the room turning into a gentle hum as he drifted off to sleep.

It must’ve been a couple hours when he woke up, since there was only a quiet chatter of two people in the room, meaning the rest went on another break. Steve stretched, feeling the jacket that was thrown on him fall to the ground, turning the attention of both people.

“Sleeping beauty has finally awakened.” Eddie grinned and picked up his jacket to throw it over the back of his chair. 

Steve just groaned and sat up, rubbing his eyes. “How long did I sleep?”

“About two hours.” He stood up to grab the glasses from the table and stepped close to the boy. “Feeling okay?” His voice went softer as he pushed the glasses onto Steve’s nose.

“Mhm.” He leaned his forehead on Eddie’s stomach, and immediately felt a hand in his hair. “Nap was good.”

“Eat some more pizza, alright?” After a final ruffle to his hair he sat back in his chair. “You didn’t even finish your slice.”

Steve was finally able to make out the other person in the room, which was Will, who simply observed both of them without a word. To avoid saying something uncomfortable like before, probably. He took the slice of pizza as instructed and forced himself to eat at least a little.

The room soon filled back with the rest of the players. Yet again, they got into the character, but now their play got more energetic. It seemed like it was nearing the end, since Steve was sure he heard something about a “final boss”. Eddie even stood up, dramatically acting out each line of the antagonist he was playing. The group was either plotting their next turns, observing the map eagerly or searching through some guide books to find help. It all seemed so chaotic, but enticing at the same time, and the eagerness of each participant enhanced the appeal.

“Roll for an attack.” The DM said, leaning over and closing his gaze on Lucas, as intimidating as possible.

The boy clutched the dice, closing his eyes and letting out a breath before throwing it on the tray. He looked at it closely. “ An 18, so it hits!” He rolled a different set of dice, and then started counting them up. “It’s 38 piercing damage.”

Eddie sat back down and intertwined his fingers. “What are your final words to the great vampire tyrant as he watches his stomach get cut through by your blade?”

The table fell silent.

“Your blood is not worthy of the soil of this land that you’ve desecrated, yet I pray your soul is still not lost. May the gods bring you judgment.” He delivered the lines with utmost seriousness.

The table erupted in cheers as everybody threw themself on the boy in celebration. Steve couldn’t help but smile at the sight.

“The king is dead!” Eddie exclaimed, making everyone jolt and sit back in their chairs. “Runnam the Great is no more. His bloodied corpse lays limp on the ground, and now only silence surrounds you. You, the marvelous heroes who saved the town of Crowstead from their centuries old torment. It calls for a celebration!” 

“To the tavern!” Yelled Jeff.

The rest echoed.

“And to the tavern you go. Celebrating as never before; ale spilling, people dancing, the congratulations coming from left and right… Everything is back to normal. Except that slight feeling of dread and dark, almost imperceptible fog that travels behind each one of you. No matter how far you walk or how much you try, it’s there, looming. It’s that moment when you realize it’s not over. The king is dead. But the curse is there to avenge him.” He stood up. “But the game is done. Congratulations.”

The collective protests that followed made Steve wince from the loudness.

“You can’t just leave us on a cliffhanger!” Dustin threw his arms up in frustration.

“I can, and I will.” Eddie started to pack up his things. “It’s just a little something for the next one-shot I’m planning. You’re welcome.”

Despite initial displeasure the group accepted that they’re not getting more this session and went to clean up the room.

Steve helped out with taking down the decorations, but stayed close to Eddie.

“Sounds cool.”

“What?” Eddie turned around to look at him. His back, to be precise.

“The next game. It sounds cool. The setup is pretty great.” 

“My god, is this true? The Steve Harrington is interested in playing D&D?” He gasped, clutching his chest. “Pinch me.”

He rolled his eyes and turned to the boy. “I didn’t say I’ll play.” He pinched his side, earning a jolt.

“You didn’t say you won’t.”

Another roll of the eyes.

“I’ll take my chances.”

They cleaned up the room the best they could. The next morning they were due to give up the keys, and were bound to find a new place to play. But for now, exhaustion took its toll on everyone. They all said their goodbyes and went their separate ways. Steve drove Eddie back to his trailer. It was already dark outside when they drove and Eddie was already falling asleep on the car’s window, definitely exhausted from the effort he put in the campaign. Steve took his hand, making the boy turn to him.

“Don’t sleep yet. We’re almost there.” 

“‘M not sleepin’.” He mumbled, squeezing his hand.

They parked in front of the trailer. After grabbing the backpack from the backseat they made their way to the door and stood in the doorstep, neither of them saying a word for a while.

“So about earlier…” Eddie started, but Steve quickly cut him off.

“Don’t worry about this, Eds. We can talk about it later. Now we’re both tired and I, personally, don’t want to say the wrong thing. We are fine,” he leaned in and laid a quick kiss on his lips. “I promise.”

“…Alright.” He took his backpack. “Goodnight, Stevie.”

“See you tomorrow?”

“Yeah. Tomorrow.”

“Goodnight, Eds.”

°°°

Steve spent the next morning preparing food. He went to the grocery store first thing in the morning to get everything fresh and once home he got to work; the kitchen quickly became a mess of spilled liquids, flour and vegetable peels. By noon the table was filled with baked goods, fruits and cut up veggies, as well as some lemonade. Proud of himself, he packed as much as he could into a big basket he found somewhere in the house, and since it was only gathering dust he decided to use it for a picnic. Everything was neat, so he brought another bag to carry blankets and other useful things to make sure the date was perfect.

He put everything in the car and went back inside to change into a short sleeve button up and slightly better-than-casual pants, trying to look just slightly better than he does on average. He went downstairs to sit by the TV, lazily switching through channels while waiting for Eddie. Waves of excitement kept washing over him since he spent a good portion of last evening and the whole morning preparing himself; today was the day he was going to confess. He knew he loved Eddie for a good while now, but every time seemed like too soon. Now, after the situation from the day before it was a perfect moment to fix it. They never put a label on what they were, and to get confronted about it finally pushed Steve’s brain to get his act together. He couldn’t forever stay in that in-between, he knew he wanted more. He wanted to be boyfriends, no matter how scary it sounded, because the thought of Eddie not being his terrified him more, and he was the first person after Nancy to make him feel like loving someone was something worth his time and all the risks that come with. Everything felt new and special again and their last month or so together only proved this further.

And so he waited for his first date with Eddie, unable to contain his excitement. It was all going to be perfect, just as he planned since yesterday.

Chapter Text

“Hi.” Steve overexcitedly opened the door. Eddie stood there with a meek smile, dressed in his usual black jeans and a band tee.

“Hi. Gonna let me in?” Eddie said.

“Um, not really. Unless you want to use the bathroom, but I planned something outdoorsy.” He slipped on his shoes.

“Oh? Lead the way then.”

He locked the door and led them both to the car. It wasn’t a long drive, just outside of Hawkins. Steve drove them to his secret spot in the woods. They had to walk through them a little before they reached the spot: a little clearing by a small creek, the water barely covering the rocks in it. It was clearly unused, since there was no clear path around, but fortunately it was a straight line ahead. Steve set down the blankets just a couple feet from the water and started to pull out various food.

“What’s all this for?” Eddie chuckled, joining him on the ground.

“A date. Thought you would figure by now,” Steve shrugged. “We never really had one, so…”

“And you made all this. For me.” His eyebrows raised.

“Are you surprised?”

“Well, kinda. I’ve never been on a date. I don’t know how to act.”

Steve paused his unpacking. “You never had a date?” 

“Nope.” His lips made a popping sound at the “P”. 

“Oh. Well, just… act normal? I guess. There are no rules on how to behave on a date,” He took his hand. “And I wouldn’t want you to feel weird anyways.”

“Yeah alright, no need to get cheesy on me.” Eddie shifted the food to make space just so he could lay his head in Steve’s lap. “I’m pretty sure now is your cue to feed me grapes. I saw this in a movie once.”

Steve chuckled to himself but complied, popping grapes into his mouth. “Don’t get yourself full of them. I baked a lot for today.”

“Oh my,” He said as he chewed. “I’m getting the real deal then. How many girls did you take here, huh?”

“…None.” Eddie’s eyebrows furrowed in the corner of his eye. “Dates were for skull rock. This place was just for me.”

Eddie sat up and turned to face him. “You never took anyone here?” He looked like he didn’t believe it.

“No, it’s… this is like my ‘oasis’,” Steve shifted, slightly uncomfortably. “It’s where I used to go when my parents were giving me shit. Even before I had a car, you know? That was quite a walk-“

Eddie shushed him with a quick kiss to his lips. “Thank you. For the date, and taking me here.”

Steve couldn’t hide his blush, so he covered it by kissing him fully. He savored the kiss, moving his lips slowly against the other boy’s. His hand wrapped in the long curls, moving it between his fingers. It was relaxing to finally be away from everyone, and staying there just with Eddie, being able to be as close to him as he wanted without fear of being too much or being seen by someone who shouldn’t know. It was sweet, a moment just for them.

Steve sneakily reached for a cinnamon roll and pulled away. As Eddie moved to chase his lips, he pressed the bun to his lips.

“If you keep doing that, I’ll bite you.” He complained, but took the roll from him, taking a bite.

“If you’re into that.” This earned him a choked sound. 

“Jeez, you’ll kill me one day!” Eddie coughed, but proceeded to keep eating right after. 

They made their way through most of the food, sharing the pieces in order to make sure everything is tasted. There was still a lot of food around them, but neither could eat anymore. They lied side to side, eyes bored into the treeline and sky above, hands intertwined. Only the hum of water and chirping birds accompanied them in this moment of peace.

“…Eds?”

“Yeah?”

Steve rolled around to prop himself on his elbows and look down at Eddie. The boy promptly met his gaze. “I wanted to talk about, well, us?”

“…Okay.”

“Alright, I’ll just… that moment yesterday,” He started to go on. “Was absolutely awkward, I know. But, I thought about it like, since it happened, and you did too, probably. And I know we didn’t put a label on it and I just assumed and I was in the wrong there,” Upon seeing Eddie’s lips part, he raised a finger at him. “Let me speak, please. We kiss and we hang out all the time and it’s unfair to both of us to just not do anything about it. I… I want us to be boyfriends. There was no good time to say this before and so I did this whole date and I’ll get on with it because it’s stressing both of us now so-“ He swallowed. “I love you.”

Eddie stayed quiet for a moment. His eyebrows almost imperceptibly furrowed and he sat up, deftly avoiding the other boy's gaze. “Steve,”

He sat up as well. “I don’t expect you to say it back now. Or ever, really, if you don’t want to. Just the first part? I didn’t put it as a question but-“

“No, Steve, it’s not- you don’t want that,” his expression turned more pained, and maybe a bit angry too. “I get that it was fun, but I can’t do this.”

“What? Eddie, come on, you don’t know that-“

“No! You don’t want this. All this is new and intriguing for you, but that’s it.” He stood up. 

Steve grabbed his wrist. “Eds,” it was almost a plea; the tears already formed in the corners of his eyes.

“…I’m sorry, Harrington. Go back home. I’ll… see you around.” Without sparing a look he went down the path they came from.

And so he was left there, between half eaten food and half finished conversation, sobbing quietly enough that it was barely heard over the hum of the creek. Steve Harrington sat there, heartbroken once again; but this time it wasn’t just a knife pushed through his heart, it was a knife, twisted and turned and pushed around until there was only a gaping wound of flesh and meat because it was not supposed to happen this way. Because this time love felt reciprocated, because he finally wasn’t too much. 

But he must have been, after all. There must have been a reason why he deserved to live this pain again and he just didn’t know what was it; because if that was not the case then life is just so cruel for the simplest reason possible: because it can. And there was nothing else left to do.

He gathered all the food back into the basket and folded the blankets, wiping his tears in his sleeve. He washed his face in the closest spot of the creek and walked back to his car. It took him another twenty minutes or so before his eyes were focused enough to be able to drive.

He didn’t steer to his house, instead he drove forward, without a clear destination in mind. His mind was a mess and only until his first stop at the gas station about an hour later did he finally decide where to go.

It took a couple more hours and some more food eaten from the basket later when he parked the car by the shop he visited during his last time in Indianapolis. The lights were on and a couple of clients browsed inside. Behind the counter stood Taylor, browsing a magazine and looking bored out of her mind.

The bell rang as he entered, immediately bringing attention to him. He swiftly made his way to Tay, who already had a welcoming grin on her face.

“Hi.” Steve sniffled slightly, forcing a gentle smile.

“You look like a mess.” He chuckled, reaching out to wipe a nonexistent tear from his cheek. “Something happened?”

“Yeah… sorry, am I- is me being here not a bother? I can go, just, I didn’t know what to do.”

“Hey, it’s alright. I’m finishing my shift in half an hour. Want to keep me company, tell me what’s going on?”

“…Yeah.” He took a deep breath. “Do you have a tissue?”

°°°

Until Tay got off his shift, they caught up on everything since their last call, carefully avoiding the heated topic. It was not a good time, since there still were clients coming and going and a person crying by the counter would be quite a deterrent. Later on, Tay led them both to his apartment a couple blocks away; from the first look it was clearly lived in.

It was not a big place, just a tight corridor leading to three bedrooms, a kitchen with a dinner table and a bathroom. Despite not having a lot of space it felt cozy. Every wall had handmade decorations and instead of turning on overhead lights, Tay just lighted a couple lamps around, giving it a warm atmosphere. She led them to her room, which had numerous posters and pictures on the wall, making it seem even smaller than it already was. In one corner was a desk with scattered papers and the other had a single bed. The shelves around were adorned with plants, books and other little trinkets that caught the eye. Overall it was quite maximalist, but not cluttered.

She sat crisscrossed on the bed and looked up at Steve. “So, do you feel like you can talk about it now?”

He swallowed but sat down opposite to him, taking a moment to prepare. “I assumed,” His eyes closed. The emotions came back, clutching at his chest and making it harder to speak already. “That Eddie liked me. We got pretty close, and even other people thought we were together. So I prepared the whole date and a little speech — which also didn’t go as planned — and I told him I loved him. I planned everything, showed him my spot that I never showed anyone, I made a perfect date and even dressed for the part,” He pointed to his clothes. “And asked him to be my boyfriend.” His eyes opened again, the tears forming once more. “And he left.” The last words were almost whispered, as if it hurt just to say them.

“Oh. Oh, Steve,” Tay scooched closer to wrap his hands around him. “Shh. It’s okay.” Her hands went to his hair trying to comfort him.

Steve sobbed into her shoulder, clutching at the back of her shirt. “I keep messing up,” he sniffled. “What did I do?”

“Hey, it’s not your fault,” Tay started. “It’s not. It’s neither of yours, okay? Maybe… there was something he hadn't figured out yet. Or maybe you hadn’t. There always could be another reason, or this issue just needs more time.” Her hand petted his hair. “Did he say something? Or just leave?”

“He-“ Steve tried to catch his breath. “He said I don’t want this! He doesn’t know what I want. He can’t decide for me!” His voice cracked. 

Tay took a moment to make a good response, one that wouldn’t make the situation worse than it already was. “…You need to talk to him, alright? Honestly.” She leaned back and wiped his face with her sleeve. “This doesn’t seem like he said it because he doesn’t feel the same way. If it was like this, he wouldn’t convince you that you’re the one who doesn’t want it. Just…” He gave him an encouraging smile. “Be honest. And listen to him. Hear him out.”

Steve nodded, letting him keep wiping his tears off. He sniffled a couple times. “It still hurts.”

“I know baby, I know.” His hand went to fix Steve’s hair.

There was a beat of silence, and in the dim light he saw her looking down at his lips for a second. If not for the exhaustion, he would react more, but maybe this was for the better. He wasn’t angry or awkward. He simply knew it wasn’t what he wanted; or more who he wanted.

“I still love him, Tay.” He whispered.

She only smiled slightly and nodded. “I understand.” Her hands fell to her lap. “You should get some sleep. Calm down after everything. I’ll take my roommate’s bed, she’s out for a couple of days.” Tay stood up and went through his wardrobe, taking out pajamas for both of them.

“Thank you. For all of this.” He stood up as well. “God, I must look pathetic.” He chuckled halfheartedly.

“No, not at all. I’m glad you came here. I did say you can always talk to me.” She gave him the clothes. “Goodnight, sweetheart.” She rubbed his arm and went to the bathroom to get ready for bed.

Steve changed out of those damned clothes that from that day on would only remind him of his heartbreak. He snuggled under the covers and kept his gaze stuck in the wall opposite of him, replaying the moment over and over. He wasn’t sure if only a couple minutes passed or was it hours until his eyes finally felt like shutting down, and even then his brain kept going for a little bit longer before letting him fall asleep.

°°°

He woke up with a start, looking at the clock. It was around 7 A.M., so if he was quick enough he could still make it in time to drive Dustin to the arcade.

It was slightly insane, come to think of it. He got ready in a rush, ready to drive all the way back from Indy just to give his friend a ride that was less than fifteen minutes. But if he didn’t, if he made up an excuse, there would be questions, and he wasn’t sure he would be able to say anything without breaking down. It was better to get back into the usual; to change anything was to explain everything, and he already did that with Tay, so why complicate his life more?

Therefore he quickly gathered his things and woke up Taylor to say goodbye, before setting off back home. He popped a Bowie album he got from Eddie into the car radio and tried his best to ignore the basket with scarce leftovers from the day before, before giving in. His stomach rumbled louder than the music so there was no way to ignore it.

Upon entering Hawkins he took a stop to throw any evidence of the date in the trunk. There was no reason to make his failure known. He drove to the Hendersons and parked in the driveway, not getting out of the car, rather waiting inside.

Dustin walked out around fifteen minutes later, waving excitedly. He took the passenger seat, and already appeared like he was going to ask a thousand questions. “Why didn’t you pick up the phone? I almost thought you wouldn’t come.”

“Well hello to you too.” Steve started the car.

“Well, hi, but you know they just put in a new Donkey Kong and I want to get to the top before Max does!” He looked at him. “Steve?”

He was lost in thought for a moment, more focused on the road than whatever Dustin was saying. “Uh-huh.”

“Also, care to explain to me why Eddie cancelled the next session? We thought after the last game it was already planned but I called him up and he said he doesn’t have any ideas for now.”

“I don’t know.” Steve said as monotone as he could, covering any emotions.

“Well he couldn’t hang out yesterday, and the last game was two days before, so something must’ve happened in between, and I know for a fact that there is 80% chance you two spent time together.” He spoke quickly, acting like a detective on a case.

Steve clenched his jaw, not saying anything. He already felt his eyes burn slightly, begging to let the tears fall again at the mere mention of the other boy.

“Hello? Earth to Harrington?”

“Drop it.” His gaze stayed focused on the road, but slowed down the car just to be careful.

“I can’t have you two arguing! It ruins my schedule. And what if you two don’t make up? I’m not choosing sides!”

His breath hitched, a stray tear already falling down. There was no way to stop this; Dustin would’ve found out eventually and Steve was still shaken from the whole thing. He could barely hear others speaking about Eddie, he couldn’t imagine what would’ve happened if they saw each other again. And they would, definitely. Their whole friend group, their little family wouldn’t let them keep it in, and it was only a matter of time; but to someone taking concern this quickly, was surprising.

“Steve? Hey man, what’s going on?”

He sniffled, but only shook his head in response.

“Pull over.”

“Why?”

“I said pull over!” 

Steve abruptly steered off the street and stopped the car in a rush, jolting them both. 

“Jesus man, you can’t do that!” He tried to act angry, wiping his tears fast, as if that was going to make things less difficult.

“I… I clearly said something wrong. I’m sorry.”

“It’s… not that,” He sniffled again, looking out the side window.

“…Can you tell me what it is?” His voice got quieter and more gentle.

Steve thought for a moment. To tell Dustin the truth was out himself and Eddie. He wasn’t going to do that, but sharing a half truth would at least take half the weight on his shoulders. And it was about time to say it; he trusted the boy with his life, so this couldn’t change a thing between them.

“Dustin, I,” He took a deep breath, wiping his tears again. “I like Eddie.”

“Yeah, I like him too. I told you he’s a cool dude.”

“No, Dustin,” His eyes squeezed shut. “I told him that I loved him. Yesterday.”

“…Oh.”

“Yeah. Oh.”

He scoffed under his nose, remembering that dreadful night with Robin and the toilets. Did she feel the same, telling him who she was? Was it the same tightness in her chest, lack of breath and shaky hands that couldn’t let her move if she tried? It was terrifying. To not hide himself, to finally come out to someone from the “outside”. Even if you know they would accept you, there still is that voice in the back of your head telling you to run, like an animal free of its cage.

That’s how it felt. An animal let out from its cage is a free one, able to make their own decisions and mistakes. But to free an animal that spent its whole life in a cage is to put it in danger. It had no place to live in its nature, so now every path felt like it was laced with thorns.

Only careful steps led the way.

“…Did he not say it back?”

Steve finally managed to look at him with red, puffy eyes. His lip wobbled as he shook his head. There was no more hiding it.

Dustin threw his arms around Steve’s neck, pulling him close, even as the boy soaked his shirt in tears. “I’m sorry.” His hand rubbed circles on his back to comfort him.

“Y-You don’t feel weird about this?” He mumbled out as clear as he could, which was not very comprehensible.

“No, god no, Steve!” Dustin pulled away just enough to grab his face, making it serious; as serious as it could be, with Steve’s face squished like a pufferfish. “I’m always here for you. You’ve been nothing but the best dude I could ever imagine being friends with and I would be the biggest asshole ever if this was something that I would hate you for. I don’t care if you like guys! You’re still you.” Now Dustin himself seemed to hold back tears. “I’ll never hate you, man. I love you.” 

And they both ended up sobbing. 

“Thanks, man.” Steve finally managed to speak, wiping his tears.

“…I don’t have to go to the arcade. We can hang out alone, I’m cool with that.” 

“Nah. I’ll be okay on my own. Besides, plans are plans. Don’t leave the others hanging.” He gave him a comforting smile.

“Alright. But you’ll come to me if something’s wrong next time, right?”

“Yes sir.”

Chapter Text

Despite everything

Steve quickly parked the car once he saw two people arguing in his driveway. 

As he got closer the head of curls was obviously familiar — Eddie was in the middle of an argument with Harrington’s neighbor, Mrs. Williams. 

“It’s not your house!” Arms flaying, voice pitched, Eddie seemed like he was about to burst.

“Uh, hello? Good morning Mrs. Williams, what’s going on?” He caught up to the pair.

“This, this bandit was trying to get into your house through the backyard! Thank God I caught him.” She shook her head. “I was ready to call the chief!”

Eddie’s eyebrows furrowed at him. He looked tired, by the bags under his eyes and the same clothes he was in yesterday. Well, he couldn’t blame him, since they both hadn’t changed yet. But Eddie seemed like he didn’t sleep at all; his lips were chapped, hair stuck out in every direction and eyes seemed to gloss over as they met Steve’s.

Despite that, Steve still thought he looked heavenly.

“…I told him to. I was out of town and forgot to give him the keys to water the plants.” He barely ripped his gaze away to look at the elderly woman, the lie coming through swiftly. “But thank you, Mrs. Williams, for help.” He managed to smile a little.

“Oh.” The woman looked like she had no intention to apologize. And that, she did not. “You’re welcome. Since all is settled I… I have things to tend to then. Goodbye.” She left quickly.

Steve didn’t spare another glance at the boy, moving past to get into the house. He felt like a second of eye contact would break him yet again.

“Where were you?” Eddie walked right behind him as he got the keys in. “I tried to call.”

“Indy.” He threw over his shoulder, walking inside and moving on as if nothing happened.

“Indy? You drove all the way to Indy? Why?”

“Clear my head.” 

“You could’ve done it much closer to home.”

“I would, if the place I usually go to didn’t feel like it does now.” 

“Well then you shouldn’t have taken me there.”

The pain hit back. It crawled through his whole body and a little more of it would make him burst at the seams. So he walked into the kitchen and took out a bottle of wine and a glass.

“… That was not what I wanted to say.” The boy kept following him.

“But you did.” He poured himself a full glass and swung it all at once.

“Stevie, just talk to me.” He tried to reach for the glass, but he pulled it away.”

“No. No, Eddie. Not yet. I respect your feelings, but you have to understand that I can’t take it now. So I’ll be fine. Everything will be back to normal and I’ll forget yesterday.”

“I don’t want you to misunderstand why I did what I did!”

“I don’t need to understand!” he yelled, unable to hold it in. “You left! That’s it!” He couldn’t keep playing it cool, not when he was there, reminding him of what happens when he finally lets someone in.

“Steve,” He grabbed the boy’s arms, forcing him to look him in the eyes. “Listen to me. Please.” The words got quiet and soft again, pleading to him.

Steve stood there, lip wobbling, but closed his eyes, took a breath, and nodded. Tay told him to listen, and even though he still wanted to crawl into his bed and ignore everyone for the next three days he listened.

“It’s not that I don’t love you,” He started. “It’s the fact that we shouldn’t do it. I don’t deserve you, you know? As cheesy as it sounds. I don’t.”

“Why? What makes you think you can make that choice for me?” He argued.

“Because! You’re all, white knight in shining armor, Steve, there are tons of those damned princesses lining up for you! I’m just like, some court jester at best, I don’t- I’m not-“ He wanted to keep going, but his voice started cracking. 

“This is not one of your stupid fairytales, Eddie!” He snapped back. “I told you I loved you. And you left. I spilled my heart out for you and finally let someone in again and-“ He swallowed, not even trying to hold back the tears. “You were not supposed to leave! Of all people, you wouldn’t do that to me.” He poked a finger right in his chest, lip quivering. “But you did.” He whispered.

Eddie seemed almost panicked to explain himself. “…You don’t realize what it means. To be together, to be with another man and for this man to be me. I am not someone that would be good for you. I’m the Freak! Fuck, Steve, couple months ago I was still wanted for murder! I’m nobody here. And that would only drag you down.” He rambled on, trying to reason.

“I don’t care about that, Eds.” He could barely get the words out. “This whole damn town can hate me if it means you love me back.” 

Eddie looked like he had millions of processes going on in his brain all at once. His hands snaked up Steve’s arms to gently hold his face in his hands. 

“Stevie, it’s going to be hard.”

“Don’t you want to at least try?”

“You’ll get hurt.”

“I already am.” He put his hands on top of his. “I’m scared. But I love you. More than this scares me.”

“Fuck.” Eddie’s eyes were already wet for a good while. “I love you too Stevie.” 

He crashed his lips against his, grasping tightly onto him. It was messy and desperate, but this was all they needed. Everything they needed. 

“So… will you be my boyfriend, this time?” Steve whispered, pulling away an inch.

“Yeah. Everytime.”

Chapter Text

Out and about

“I want to do it seriously.” 

Steve stood in front of Eddie, Robin and Nance, giving them a speech on how he wanted to come out to the rest of their friends. It was a big deal to him — it was the first time in his life that he had a chance to do it prepared. Sure, the three people on the couch already knew. Robin knew before him and she told Nancy (with his knowledge, of course) and Eddie, well, was his boyfriend. And there was Dustin, who found out by accident, though took it surprisingly well. 

So now he had the chance to do it his way. He couldn’t keep lying to the most important people in his life.

“What’s the plan then?” Eddie spoke.

“Well…” He thought for a moment. “I’m not sure yet. For now I thought about gathering all the kids. And maybe Jon and Argyle. What’s up with those two anyway?”

“They’ve been looking at colleges in Cali. I mean, Jonathan is. Argyle is his support system. They should be back this weekend I think.” Nancy chimed in, sprawled over Robin as if the couch wasn’t big enough. 

“Alright, alright. Lemme think.” He walked a couple steps back and forth before taking a seat on Eddie’s lap, who gracefully wrapped his arms around his waist to hold him. “I’ll just make dinner. Everything is better with food, right?”

“You sure you want to make this a big thing?” Eddie looked up at him, rubbing his side in comfort. “Wouldn’t it be easier one on one?”

“And to go through that panic over and over again? No thanks.” He shifted a bit just to lay his head on his shoulder, and Robin made a gagging sound. “Oh please, as if you’re not all over Nance right now.”

“Whatever. You better think how you’re gonna say it.”

“How does anyone come out? How did you guys do it?”

There was a beat of silence.

“I have like, one coming out story?” Eddie started, shifting a little in his seat. “I don’t know if I can even call it that. I was talking with Wayne, and I was so young I didn’t know yet that it wasn’t normal to talk about how much you like your guy friends. He gave me a whole speech about how it’s okay to like him, but to be careful with talking about it to others.” He played with Steve’s fingers. “Not really coming out of my own volition, y’know.”

“Don’t you want to do it on your own? We don’t have to tell it at the same time.” Steve’s eyebrows furrowed.

“It’s not that important to me, baby. As long as you trust them, I do too.” He leaned up to peck him on the lips.

He sighed and looked at the two girls. “You don’t have any story to share?”

“I only told you, dingus.” Robin rolled her eyes. “You know that.”

Steve rolled his eyes back and looked at Nance questioning.

“Only Mike knows. And he walked in on us.” She shrugged.

“My god, the kid is traumatized.” Eddie joked, earning himself a kick from the girl. 

“Alright, focus! What do I say?” 

“I don’t know man. Hi, I like to take it up the ass sometimes?” As soon as he said that he earned himself another kick, this time to the shin from Steve. “Ow! Take a joke!”

“You guys are very helpful, you know?” Steve responded sarcastically and got up to the bathroom. 

All of this was something he wanted to do right. To come out on his own terms, even if it meant some of the kids were going to look at him differently. Sure, there were dangers to it; what if one of them tells their parents, or what if it slips out when they’re talking to someone? And the worst, what if they would have a problem with him dating Eddie?

“I can almost hear your thoughts, that’s how loud you’re thinking,” The man in question appeared behind him.

“Do you like, knock, ever?”

“Not my fault you don’t lock the doors.” His arms wrapped around his waist, and he buried his nose in Steve’s neck.

He turned off the tap. “Do you not care about this? I mean. This is… just so much,” he sighed and leaned back into his boyfriend.

“I care that you care. That’s why I’m okay if you tell them about us.”

“…Cheesy.”

“Oh yeah? I’ll show you cheesy,” He moved his hands quickly to pick up Steve bridal style just to embarrass him, and walked back to the living room.

“Eddie I swear if you drop me-!”

°°°

Steve thanked his parents’ job making them buy this giant dining table for business meetings, so now the dinners in his house felt more like a feast rather than simple meals. The table easily fit twelve people, and with a little bit of a squeeze even fifteen, although less comfortably. The dinner plates, glasses and various meals were already in place. There was still some chicken cooking in the oven to make sure everyone was fed.

He and Eddie spent most of the day cooking and prepping to ensure everything went according to the plan. The invites were out, None of the food got burned and everything was nice and proper. 

“I’m nervous. Are you nervous? I am.” Steve rambled, fixing his button up in front of the mirror for the hundredth time this day.

Eddie grabbed his glasses and put them on for him. “It’s gonna be okay. We’ll eat, you give your speech, and then kids’ gonna want to watch a movie or something. Nothing to stress about.” He pressed a soft peck to his lips.

“…I’m too dressed up.”

“A little.”

“Should I change?”

“No.” His boyfriend popped open two first buttons for him. “I like you in black.”

The doorbell rang. Behind the door appeared Robin with Nance on an early invite, both dressed slightly more formal than usual in support.

“You overdid it. They’re going to think you’re dying or something.” Robin plopped down on a chair, already reaching for a muffin.

Steve looked at his boyfriend. “I told you!” 

“It’s fine. Don’t worry.” Eddie threw an angry look at Robin before grabbing Steve by his shoulders. “I’ll be right here, baby.”

°°°

First thing that went wrong was the fact that uninvited Joyce Byers and Hopper appeared at his doorstep along with invited Eleven, Will, Jonathan and Argyle. Two additional people to set the table for, not a big deal. Two adults to come out to — big deal. Mrs. Byers wasn’t as scary; she was the greatest mother Steve has ever seen, and she must’ve known about her son — or both sons (honestly, what was the deal with Jon and Argyle? Not that Steve assumed anything). But Hopper was a different thing entirely. Big, burly chief of police is an intimidating figure, yet it’s also the same person who’s at his knees every time Joyce does so much as to ask a favor. Despite appearing as he did, Hopper was a family man first, seeing how much happier he seemed after moving in with the Byers.

The second thing was the chicken. Burnt chicken. There was some already waiting on the table but he had to make more to make sure everyone had some. Thank goodness Mrs. Byers never came empty handed, bringing some of her lasagna so nobody had an empty plate. That didn’t mean Steve wasn’t panicking on the inside, opening the windows so the smell would come out quicker and taking a quick break in the kitchen to give himself a pep talk that it would all be fine.

The third, worst thing was questions. Almost every two minutes either Dustin or Max would bombard him with “Why so much food?” or “Why did you get so dressed up?” and each question was followed with a nervous glance at Eddie and dismissive answer. His hands got sweaty, even as his boyfriend kept squeezing them encouragingly. That tightness in his chest returned; pain that shortened his breath which he hadn’t felt in weeks.

He excused himself from the table and went upstairs, walking into the bedroom. He had to pop more buttons open as he sat down on the floor. It felt like the room was on fire, the walls closing in, and the dull pain in the back of his head returned, making itself known. His breath came in short pants as he pressed his fingers to his temples, trying to calm down.

The door opened and closed. Soon, in front of him appeared a pill and a glass of water.

Robin sat down next to him, rubbing his back soothingly. He downed the pill and water before leaning into her side.

“You don’t have to do it today, you know.”

He exhaled shakily. “I want to. I was so ready, I swear. But they keep asking and I just-“ His hand gripped hers. “I’ll do it. I just need a minute.”

They spent as much time as they could in there before it became suspicious, and headed back downstairs to join the rest. Everyone was busy with their conversation, while Eddie, as soon as Steve sat down, reached under the table to hold his pinky.

“You okay?” He whispered.

He only gave a soft smile and a nod. It was his moment, he finally felt ready enough. Well, as much as anyone would be for something like this.

He stood up and cleared his throat to draw attention, which worked after the third or fourth attempt. All eyes were finally on him and he felt nervous again. It was slightly better this time, when on one side he had support of his boyfriend and on the other his best friend. Even if this would go wrong, there are always those two (and Dustin) that will always have his back.  

“I know it’s absurdly suspicious, the way I’m dressed and that whole dinner. I’m not dying, I swear.” He started, looking between the eyes of everyone. “It’s just… There's that one thing I wanted to tell for a while and the thought of saying it over and over to each of you made me nauseous. It’s better this way, to have you all here at once. I love you guys, and I need to get it off my chest.” He took a deep breath. “So, I’m bisexual. I like women and men.” He looked at Eddie for encouragement. That little smile on his boyfriend’s face instantly eased his frayed nerves. “And I’m dating Eddie.”

The group went silent. The kids’ eyes wandered between the two boys as if trying to make sense of the situation.

The first one to do something was, of course, Joyce. She stood up from her chair to come up and bring Steve into her arms. Despite her small stature her hug felt like she could smush him back into one piece. He wrapped his arms around her and squeezed his eyes shut, feeling the relief that would soon flood his eyes with tears.

“Oh, Steve. That’s okay.” She petted his hair in that motherly way that made him want to fall apart again. “Thank you for telling us.” As she pulled away, her hands immediately went to wipe his wet cheeks and fix his hair and shirt. “We are always here for you, alright?”

He sniffled and nodded quickly. All the tension spilled out of him, finally feeling like this weight has been lifted off of his shoulders, and he could once again fill his lungs to the brim with air. His eyes wandered around the room to catch on what seemed to be angry Dustin.

“You.” He pointed between Steve and Eddie, his tone accusatory.

“Us?” Eddie’s eyebrow raised.

“You didn’t tell me you finally got together! I was the one to console him!  Why am I the last to know?!”

“You’re literally finding out with everyone else, right now.” Eddie argued.

“Oh yeah? What about Robin?” He pointed to her, and her eyes widened before curling up in her chair to disappear. “And Nance?” The other girl didn’t seem as guilty, just making a “what can I do” face.

“Hey, shithead, maybe take a minute to think that this might not be the time and place?” 

“Why you gotta make it about yourself dude?” Lucas chimed in.

“Yeah. Don’t you think this is something important to Steve?” Max added, and that escalated the whole argument between the kids, all while Steve and Eddie stood there, silently exchanging looks. This certainly didn’t go the way Steve had planned, and while it was extremely chaotic he wouldn’t have it any other way.

In all this mess, Hopper stood up quietly, unnoticed by the kids who were shouting over each other. He took a stand in front of Steve, his expression as neutral as ever, making the boy nervous once again, maybe even more than before.

“Are you safe here, kid?” He asked. Of course, he meant his parents. If the Harrington’s were here, the answer would be different. But here, in this moment, was with his favourite people; the ones who truly cared about him.

“Yeah. They’re mostly out of the picture.” 

“…Good. If that changes, let me know.” He pulled him into a crushing hug, just the same as Joyce did moments before. 

“…Thanks, Hop.” He took a moment to get out of his surprised state before hugging him back.  

The kids caught on to the situation, all rushing to his side to crush him in a group hug that he barely was able to stand up. 

“Can I say something mean?” Max spoke somewhere from the group.

Steve only scoffed half-heartedly. “If it makes you feel better.” 

“I knew you guys were together.”

“How?”

“Oh please. The amount of times I saw you sneaking into Eddie’s trailer-“

That only elicited loud groans and protests from everyone.

Steve reached for Eddie’s hand, gripping it tight and smiling widely, feeling better already. He finally felt true to himself, not having to hide from the people closest to him. And to have everyone accept both him and them being together was everything he could ask for. Their little family was all in one place, happily buzzing around the place, talking and enjoying their time together, because after everything they’ve been through, being together was just the thing that kept them going.