All I talk about is Steddie

"Dustin. For the last time," Steve groans. "Read my fucking lips, dude: I am not going on a blind date with your girlfriend’s sister."

"She’s only in town with Suzie for the weekend," Dustin wheedles, also not for the first time. "So if you don’t feel any sparks, it’s no pressure! Nothing like that time I tried to set you up with my RA, I promise."

Eddie drops his head back on the top of the couch with a thunk. Ah yes, Melanie the RA, the pretty blonde girl who moons aggressively after Steve every time they visit Dustin’s campus and has thus unfortunately limited their visits. Someday someone is going to find a lock of Steve’s hair in her desk drawer, or perhaps a shrine to Steve in her closet, and Eddie won’t be the least bit surprised.

"Eden used to date Argyle," Steve tries. "I wouldn’t steal a friend’s girl."

"Uh," Will chimes in, raising a hand like he’s in fucking class or something. "Argyle’s got this whole 'free love' approach to dating, so… probably not a huge concern."

"And dude, it’s Argyle," Dustin says. "He’s the chillest guy ever, he won’t mind. You know, you could really stand to learn a thing or two from him."

"Still," Steve says loudly, looking with a pained expression between Dustin, Will, and Eddie. "I don’t want to… I wouldn’t do that."

"Steve, it’s fine! I’ll get Argyle on the phone right now and he’ll tell you it’s fine!"

"You can’t just call people whenever—"

"Yeah I can, he said I could and he always answers. Well, unless he can’t find the phone, but—"

"Dustin, quit it! I’m not doing it!"

He’s going to. Eddie knows he’s going to because Steve always does; the kids know it too. The thing is, though, even after years of this Eddie still isn’t quite sure if Steve knows that he’s going to. If each time he genuinely tells himself he’s gonna put his foot down this time, or if it’s a courtesy to Eddie for having to watch it happen over and over again, token protest that keeps getting rehashed.

II.

Two days later Steve is on the date and Eddie is face-down on the bed they share in their two-bedroom-for-appearances-sake apartment above Melvald’s. He wants to kick and scream a little bit, but what’s the point?

Four years ago he and Steve had talked it out and agreed not to tell the kids, and there had been plenty of reasons at the time. This thing between them had still been new. They’d been coming off telling Robin (fine but she made fun of them for taking so long to get their shit together) and telling Eddie’s band mates (weird and uncomfortable, not because of the gay thing but because of King Steve). And the kids were… well, okay at keeping secrets, but Erica had told them how transparent Dustin and Lucas had been under police questioning in ‘85 and that might not have cut it if any serious homophobes had started sniffing around.

Hawkins had learned to grudgingly accept wrongfully accused not-actual-murderer-or-cultist Eddie Munson, but if he turned out to be a confirmed fag? Or if they found out about Steve, and him working at the middle school as the a gym teacher and local kiddie league coach? The best possible outcome would’ve been getting run out of town.

But.

But but but.

With the kids off at college, they're not as firmly rooted in Hawkins as they used to be. Steve could get a job at a different school in a more accepting area. Eddie has experience as a mechanic and as a bartender now, and people needed both of those pretty much anywhere. Robin and Nancy are in Massachusetts, Northampton and Boston respectively. Jon and Argyle are "splitting the difference" between New York and California by moving to Oregon, apparently. Jeff and Gareth are currently still on the Midwest but thinking Los Angeles; they keep clamoring for Doug and Eddie to hitch onto that plan, even if they still don't seem wild about getting Steve in the bargain.

So Eddie and Steve are this close to leaving Hawkins, probably—they haven’t talked about it yet, or at least nothing concrete—and the kids still don’t know. Robin came out to everyone last year, and there's Will… It's not like any of them will take it badly. But at this point it’s almost more daunting to admit to hiding it for so long than the actual telling them.

Four years. And Eddie is still lying here doing the Very Adult version of plucking petals from a daisy while chanting "he likes me, he likes me not."

Because Steve is only half gay—or bisexual, whatever—and that doesn’t mean he can’t pick a side but it does mean that he has options. Eddie saw the picture of Eden: dark hair, dark clothes, eyeliner, he’d even spotted a few patches and pins on her jacket that he has on his own. She’s cool, or Argyle never would’ve held out for a whole six months before long distance did to them what Dustin and Suzie seem weirdly immune to. She has a big family (like Steve’s always wanted) that she’s still keeps in touch with (the way Steve’s parents have never bothered to), and doesn’t come from a trailer park like Eddie or have any kind of rap sheet. Hell, she’s just similar enough and at the same time just different enough that Steve might actually be trading up if he decides to… If the date goes well.

Maybe she wouldn’t even steal the covers, or put the milk carton back in the fridge when it’s only got a dribble left inside, or blow their extra money on a really cool and unique dragon figurine that the local game shop finally got in on back order. Maybe she and Steve would have really cute kids and a house with a picket fence and an official master bedroom. Maybe—

The phone rings, and it’s fine. It’s fine! Eddie needed to stop wallowing anyway.

~

Steve checks his watch for the third time in ten minutes and feels his date’s eyes on him, fuck. He always tries so hard not to be rude on these dates but it’s so… uncomfortable. Like trying to fit back into an outgrown suit.

No, literally: his date night jeans are definitely getting a bit too tight. Has it really been that long since he’s taken Eddie out? They can’t afford it often, but sometimes when their work schedules line up for a entire weekend free they drive out to Indy and hit this one gay club they can both agree on, music-wise. Except the last time they’d tried to go it had been closed, and they don’t know if it’s permanent this time, and it’s a long drive, so… Yeah it’s been a while. Shit.

He makes a mental note to do something to rectify that soon, then sucks it up and jumps back into small talk with Eden. She seems nice enough, but he can't wait to get home.

III.

It’s Steve and Eddie’s housewarming party in Chicago with all of their friends visiting from out of town. (Except for Erica, who sent a disgruntled letter about age discrimination against people who are still in high school and whose parents won’t let them joyride to Illinois just whenever. When they arrived it was already in their mailbox.)

Everything is going great (aside from Eddie’s bandmates still being kind of awkward sand standoffish) until Steve half-hears his name across the room and looks up to see Dustin going a mile a minute in excitement about something to Eddie. Which is fine, until he catches a glimpse of Eddie’s profile and realizes his boyfriend is practically wilting. It’s subtle, but Steve knows the man’s tells and he hasn’t seen Eddie this braced since the last time they had to fight the Upside Down.

Steeling himself, Steve walks over and just catches, "—been letting himself of go a bit lately, but he just needs someone to look after him, you know? So I was thinking—"

"Hey!" Steve barks, hands on his hips, and he’s barely even aware of the entire room turning to look. "Stop telling my boyfriend he’s not taking good care of me, Henderson!"

Dustin whips around to gape at him, and Steve realizes what he’s just done. How he’s unceremoniously outed them in front of everyone. His eyes fly to Eddie, who he’s sure is going to be shocked or aghast at him making this important decision for the both of them, or even embarrassed because who wants to be known for dating a guy who peaked in high school—

But Eddie is beaming. There are fucking tears in his eyes he looks so happy. Behind him, Robin is giving Steve two huge thumbs up from across the room.

Gareth, who until now would barely give him the time of day, claps a hand on Steve’s shoulder and says loud into the ringing silence, "About time, Harrington."

Oh. Oh, so that’s why they’ve never liked him. That… makes a lot of sense.

"That’s my boyfriend," Steve breathes, holding out a hand that Eddie immediately takes, draws him close, and dips him for a kiss. The kind of dramatic, lovey shit he’s been dying to do for forever but couldn’t in Hawkins. Robin and Eddie had both drilled into him how unsafe that would be and it’s been a boundary he’d accepted long enough ago that he’d sort of forgotten it could be crossed again.

But they’re not in Hawkins anymore. They’re not in Hawkins anymore and Steve is kissing his boyfriend with tongue in front of all their closest friends, to a chorus of whoops and cheers and whistles that even Dustin, recovering from the surprise, is starting to join in on.

Steve finally told the kids, No, look, I love Eddie Munson, and he’s never going to stop.

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Which in itself is nothing, but she keeps using the phrase pigging out exclusively when saying this. Like. I want to issue a Say It Differently Just Once, See If You Can Do It Challenge.

(Related: she once addressed my partner’s weight with “Have you tried being more active?” and presented hand-me-down skirts to me with a cheerful “I wore these while I was fat! Do you want them?” So ‘pigging out’ feels… pointed, I guess? Or at least more telling in context.)

It’s just so… weird, the attitudes people have towards indulgence sometimes.