So, Steve has always kind of known that he was attracted to other boys. It’s been a constant in his life since he was 12 when he first had a crush on a boy on his rec baseball team. It was pretty fleeting, something that came and went but -- it was still something that changed the way Steve thought about himself and the way he thought about boys. It also ingrained a lot of shame into him, shame that he still hasn’t properly dealt with at all and I don’t think he’ll ever really deal with it because he doesn’t like to face his emotions head on. 

He only really started to ‘open up’ about his bisexuality when he was 17. Before and during season one was really… when he started experimenting. Most of it done with Tommy -- who despite his outward opinions, was practically begging for it any time Steve was down to mess around. Steve didn’t really mind messing around with Tommy either -- casual sex was something that Steve was actively seeking out at that point, and sleeping with your friend is better than sleeping with random dudes in shitty motel rooms. 

His relationship with Nancy is very important to this as well. Nancy was the first girl he ever slept with and in my personal opinion, I don’t really think he was as into it as he may have led Nancy and everyone else to believe. Sure, he enjoyed it -- he enjoyed being with her and he enjoyed the sex .. but I think afterwards he got really caught up in this unstoppable cycle of thinking that Nancy thought he was only using her for a good time -- and so it kind of put a really bad taste in his mouth anytime he thought about it, if that makes sense. 

But that’s Steve in season one. He’s never really been in love with a boy before. Never really knew if he was actually into guys or if he just liked the sexual aspect of it. Until Billy rolled into town in his stupid car. I have and will always headcanon that the first time Steve sees Billy step out of the car in the school parking lot -- is the first time Steve actually felt something when he looked at another boy. The wave of emotion that just kind of knocked him on his ass was something that he’d never experienced before -- and it scared the absolute shit out of him. 

And the way Billy and Steve’s whole relationship progresses is just really indicative of Steve not knowing what the fuck to do with the feelings that he’s feeling. And it’s really apparent by the way he deals with his and Nancy’s break up. A lot of the grieving process and the things that he does in season two regarding their break up is just… Steve going through the motions of trying to get her back because he knows that the feelings he has for Billy aren’t supposed to be what he’s feeling. His entire reasoning for wanting to get back with Nancy is because it’s what he thinks he should do. I mean, it’s also because he did love her, but I think the show really erases a lot of Steve’s negative emotions towards Nancy, because we only really see him hurt by her words at the party and the day after the party. They just .. assume we’re all gonna be okay with them erasing Steve being hurt and having him try and go right back to that semi-toxic relationship that wasn’t really full of love on either side -- and I for one am not okay with it and I will not acknowledge this part of canon unless I have something plotted out with a Nancy beforehand. 

Season Three doesn’t really give us any development for Steve as far as his sexuality goes because the duffel bags got so scared of having Billy and Steve be the number one ship on the show that they constantly had Steve hitting on girls / falling in love with Robin and then the whole nasty ass Billy and Karen plot that was so fucking unnessecary it hurts. While I guess it could be feasible that Steve would fall in love with Robin -- I will not ever acknowledge this on my blog. Steve having a crush on Robin before she comes out to him is not canon to my Steve and never will be. By the time season three rolls around for my Steve -- he and Billy are already dating. They start dating at the very tail end of their senior year, and Steve is so fucking wrapped up in his love for this stupid blonde boy from california that he would never -- NEVER fall for Robin like that. 

And the way he is post three really depends on if Billy survives or not. Post three if Billy survives -- I don’t think Steve would ever fall for anyone else.. I think Billy is the only person Steve would ever love unconditionally and I don’t think I could see him getting with another person post three in a world where Billy lives. 

If Billy stays dead, it takes him a while, and I think he’d just … find a girl to settle down with to appease his parents. They’d probably get divorced 10 years into their marriage and then Steve just gives up on finding someone entirely, because he doesn’t want to end up like his parents in a marriage that makes him unhappy. I don’t think he ever really deals with the trauma of seeing Billy die in front of him, so that plays a huge role in why it’s so hard for him to actually fall in love again -- because he feels like the upside down shit just follows him everywhere and he doesn’t want to put someone he loves through that shit.