There's one thing all of Steve's partners should probably be aware of and that is that his top priorities are a bunch of children who aren't related to him and a girl who never stops talking and gets a little too close to him for comfort but they both swear up and down that they're completly platonic and the idea of them being any kind of romantic together is gross.
It makes dating difficult because he'll have to radomly cancel on plans sometimes and there are only so many times someone will understand 'Max fell of her skateboard again I have to take her to the ER' or 'I'm so sorry but I promised Lucas I'd help him practice his shot tonight' or 'Robin went and left her keys in my car again and now she's locked out, do you mind if I'm just a little late?'. It always stops being sweet eventually, but Steve doesn't mind because if someone can't get on board with his family committments then they're not the right person for him.
Robin insists it's because he dates all these really uptight people who see him as a status symbol. And he needs to find someone more laid back chaotic to compliment the chaos in his life. After his latest date falls through because one of his friend decided to 1 v 1 Lucas in basket ball and dislocated his little finger (Mike, goaded into it by Max), he tells Robin he gives up and allows her to set him up with her friend.
He's surprised at first when Eddie "the freak" Munson steps into the diner, mostly because he didn't know Robin knew the guy. Once they settle into it though, Steve realises he's having fun, more fun than he usually has on dates. And it definitely helps that Eddie is just Steve's type with his wavy brown hair and big doe eyes.
The banter between them is flowing well when Steve catches sight of the date in the corner of the screen of a TV on the wall.
"Oh shit," He says, his heart sinking because he actually likes Eddie.
Eddie notices Steve's expression falling and touches his arm gently. "What's wrong?"
Steve lets out a loud sigh. "I just remembered I promised Dustin I'd go to his debate team thing tonight. He's been practicing for ages, I'm going to have to go."
Eddie gives him a small smile. "Ah yes, the single mom duties Buckley warned me about."
"Yeah," Steve sighs. "There's always something, but I love them. They're like family, you know?"
Eddie nods. "Yeah, I know."
Steve prepares for rejection. "I can drive you home on the way?"
"Drive me home?" Eddie questions, confused. "And miss Steve Harrington doing his best impression of a single mom? No chance, I'm coming with you."
While Steve is reeling over that, he adds. "Besides, I gotta meet the future step children and embarrass them publically at some point. It's an important right of passage."
Steve is ready to propose right there, luckily Eddie breaks him out of it by handing him their food to go.
A few hours later they're almost thrown out of the event for yelling things like, "Yeah, tell him Henderson!" Every time he catches his opponent off guard.
While Dustin rolls his eyes at them fondly, Steve looks over at Eddie, sees the delight and mischief in his eyes and thinks, 'Yeah, this one's here to stay.'