stackofiguanas

“Uh, I’m not letting you go in there alone, dingus, but I will have the emergency button ready on my phone,” Robin insists, gripping a key from her keychain between her fingers as she makes a fist, holding her phone ready near her face. Knowing it’s a battle he won’t win, Steve sighs and nods, before cautiously leading the way into their apartment. He steps around the plant and motions at Robin to keep quiet and not let the door slammed closed behind them.

Steve takes a moment to check around into the kitchen first, which he finds empty, and glances down the hallway toward Robin’s room, considering. If leads them toward his room, he’s leaving Robin vulnerable with her back turned to the potentially dangerous intruder. But if it’s just Dustin, or any of the Party, they’d be in the living room in the opposite direction, toward Steve’s room.

“Turn around and walk back to back,” Steve eventually whispers, feeling a little breath of relief when Robin’s back is near flush against his as they move down the hallway. They turn the corner toward the living room and Steve holds his stick a little higher, just in case, when-

“What are you doing, Steven?”

Steve lowers the hockey stick immediately, but Robin startles and drops her phone. She scrambles to pick it up as Steve’s eyes settle on his father, standing just outside on the balcony.

“I could ask you the same thing, seeing as this is my condo and I haven’t heard from you in months.” Steve answers, icy and harsh, meaning every ounce of shit he’s giving his dad. One of the perks of having made his name for himself is that he doesn’t have to give a shit about hurting the old man’s feelings anymore.

“You heard from me a few weeks ago, when I sent you the gala invitation,” His father steps in from the balcony, and Robin clears her throat to catch Steve’s eye. He gives her a little shake of his head, hoping it assures her that everything is fine and this is not going to be a big dramatic scene even though he’s almost positive his father will find a way to create chaos. “I haven’t, however, heard back from you about it. Which, honestly, Steven, I thought we raised you better than to rudely ignore invitations to private events on this scale.”

“You hardly had a hand in raising me,” Steve bites back, dropping his bag to the floor.

“Watch your tone with me, boy. I didn’t come here to be disrespected further.”

And there’s the Daniel Harrington that Steve’s used to. Demanding and harsh, ruthlessly focused on his own agenda. 

“Right, instead you broke into my home, disrespecting me. I’m allowed to have an attitude.” Steve retorts, watches as his father rolls his eyes, hands on his hip in a pose Steve recognizes from himself and instantly wants to take out of his rotation. They stare at one another in silence for a beat, before Daniel sighs.

“You still haven’t answered me about the gala.”

“And isn’t that answer enough for you?” Steve asks, not understanding why his dad was pushing so hard on this.

“No, son, it’s not. You don’t really have a choice, frankly.”

“Since when?” Steve asks, voice cracking in a high-pitched break. He’s starting to feel like the walls of the condo are closing in around him, and he’s suddenly feeling like the room is hot enough to be mistaken for the middle of summer even though it’s hardly spring.

“Since you launched a war with Billy Hargrove on the ice. I won’t let you ruin the Harrington legacy, so you’ve got some ass-kissing to do. All the owners will be there, along with the Commissioner. You’re going to show up and schmooze until you’re back in good-favor. Hear me?” Daniel asks, and Steve feels his heart rate starting to spike.

There’s another beat of silence, before Robin clears her throat again. Steve holds his hand up, trying to keep her from speaking, but once she’s set her mind to something, he knows there’s no turning back.

“Mr. Harrington, I’m not sure you entirely understand the situation between Steve and Billy,” She says, her voice a bit shaky, but Steve can’t tell if it’s from fear or anger. “You realize your son was the victim, right? Of an unsolicited attack by a psychopath who shouldn’t be allowed on the ice if he’s going to play dirty and hurt people like that.” 

Daniel lets her speak, but scoffs when she goes quiet again. “And you realize that Steve and Billy have been going at it since high school? They’ve always been hot heads on the ice when it came to one another, always taken the competition too seriously.”

“Not that you would know that first hand, since you never came to those games.” Steve snipes, and then continues before Daniel can stop him. “And actually, no, we’re not going to play this game anymore. Billy hitting me in the face wasn’t an unprovoked attack.” Steve says, then takes a pause to let Daniel react.

“See, you don’t know my son the way that I do. He has a way of getting under people’s skin, I knew he must have done something to make Billy hit him like that.”

“I fucking trusted him,” Steve practically cries out, unable to control his words any better than he’s able to keep himself together anymore. “I trusted him, that’s all I did to make him hit me, dad.”

“What does that even mean, Steven? You’re getting hysterical and not making any sense.” Daniel starts to dismiss him, but Steve barrels through. It’s now or never.

“We were together!” He yells, watches as his father doesn’t react at all. Can see Robin tense out of the corner of his eye, but he keeps going. “Billy and me? We were together, when he was on the Hawks. Not dating, but we may as well have been. And he has assaulted me not once, but twice since things ended, and that’s barely even scratching the surface of all the times he’s checked me into the boards or iced me in games. So, yeah, I made Billy attack me, because I trusted him.”

Daniel doesn’t say anything. He doesn’t move for a long moment, doesn’t take his eyes off of Steve. Eventually, though, he lets out a heavy breath and moves toward where Steve and Robin are standing.

Then he steps around them, continues down the hallway, and Steve turns to watch him go, unsure of what he’s even feeling about his dad choosing this as the moment to go quiet and walk out on him. But then Daniel stops in the doorway, after moving the potted plant out of the way.

“I expect you at the gala, Steven. We’ll have a lot to discuss.” He says, looking at Steve with an expression the younger Harrington can’t read, before leaving and closing the door behind him carefully.

“What the fuck just happened?” Robin asks after a few moments, and Steve runs his hand over his face.

“I don’t even know.”

~~~

There’s too many words floating around his head, all coming to him at once, so as soon as he drops Steve off at the airport, Eddie’s back in his studio, raw recording all of his thoughts as he plays the tracks the band had laid back and sings about everything he’s feeling.

A few hours later, he texts Steve back to tell him he’s happy they made it back to Chicago safely. He’s a little surprised to not hear back from Steve right away, but he tries not to be too crazy about calling him so soon. He’s sure Steve is exhausted after traveling, and is probably showering or sleeping. 

Gareth shows up a little while later and is surprised to find Eddie still in his pajamas, but catches sight of the hickey forming just below the other’s ear and immediately understands what’s happening. 

“I’ll order food.” That’s all he offers, staying outside the tracking booth to give Eddie as much space and privacy as he needs to finish what he’s doing.

A few hours pass by like that, with Eddie only coming out briefly to grab containers of broccoli and beef and noodles along with a few extra waters, then disappear back into his creative spiral. 

Eventually, though, Gareth does intervene. “Alright, man, it’s been at least 4 hours, and you’re getting stuck on things that sound way better than you think. Let’s take a break and you can listen to the playbacks in a bit?”

When they’re upstairs in his living room, Eddie takes his hair out of the messy bun it had been pulled up in, but Gareth just scoffs. 

“What?” He asks, confused, and Gareth rolls his eyes.

“Already saw the hickey, man. Guessing date night went well?” He teases, and watching as Eddie flushes, then his cheeks light up bright red. Gareth finds it ridiculously satisfying to see Eddie flustered, since he’s usually the one dishing out this kind of teasing.

“Shut up,” he mumbles, hiding his face behind his hands.

“Look, I’m just happy you two finally kissed about it, that’s all.” Gareth eventually offers. “It’s been kind of insufferable watching you both tease and flirt then stonewall one another.”

“We haven’t been stonewalling one another,” Eddie dismisses, and rolls his eyes when Gareth raises an eyebrow. “Shut up already.”

“I really am happy for you two, you know. All the guys will be.”

Eddie just gives Gareth a little smile, and eventually grants him permission to start sorting through the audio tracks.

Steve FaceTimes him not long after they get back into the studio. “Hey! You did survive your return trip after all, I was starting to worry.” He teases, and watches as Steve huffs out a little laugh.

“We’ve had an interesting day.” Steve says, setting the phone on the kitchen counter as Robin steps into frame.

“We came home to an intruder in the condo.” She says, and Eddie is standing instantly, concerned and not sure how to help but trying to formulate a plan to get himself to Chicago.

“It was just my dad! For fucks sake, don’t scare him like that.” Steve interjects quickly, but it does little to ease Eddie’s concern. 

“What did he want?”

“He still wants me to go to his stupid fundraiser to schmooze the league because he thinks I owe everyone an explanation about Billy.” Steve explains around a shrug, leans closer to the phone while dipping a tea bag into a mug of hot water. 

“Steve even told him about the Billy situation.” Robin adds, earning a glare from Steve, before he mumbles a thanks in her direction as she adds honey to his mug.

“So you came out to him?” Eddie asks, and Steve shrugs.

“Kind of? The whole thing was weird. It’s been a weird day.” He answers, takes a sip of his tea, then rests his chin on his hand. “I miss you. Tell me about your day?”

——

Routine settles back to Steve’s pre-injury normal. Yoga with Robin on the deck, smoothies, rink. By the time the next game rolls around, Steve feels like he’s back on track, even if he still has to wear extra protective gear.

The Blackhawks lose by a goal in overtime, but Steve manages to spot Eddie in the suite with Robin. His flight had been delayed because of the snow, so neither of them was sure he’d make it in time for today’s game, but there were three more over the next five days so there were plenty to observe in the near future.

Steve meets Eddie and Robin at the car and smiles as Eddie tangles their fingers together and tugs him into the backseat. 

“I’ve missed you.” Eddie greets, pressing a soft kiss to Steve’s lips.

“I’ve missed you, too,” 

“I’m gonna puke. What do you want to do for dinner?” Robin shifts the car into drive as Eddie and Steve scramble to close the door.

“Can we just head home and order in? I want to talk to Eddie.” Steve answers once they’re settled in. Eddie’s head quickly snaps toward him, concern visible in his eyes. “Not bad talk, I promise.”

“I don’t know of a single time when that sentence has been said and it wasn’t related to a bad talk, Steve. In fact, the last time someone told me they just ‘wanted to talk to me’ was when Wayne shipped me off to rehab.” 

“I promise, I’m not sending you to rehab,” Steve tried to joke, lifting his hand to cup Eddie’s jaw and brush his thumb under the other's lower lip. “You can pick whatever we order, and if you feel like it turns out to be a bad talk, I’ll buy you ice cream or a new guitar or something.”

“This feels wildly unfair to me, why does Eddie get to pick out what I’m having for dinner?” Robin asks, glancing at Steve in the rear view at a stop light. Their eyes meet and Eddie can almost hear the silent conversation they’re having, even though he doesn’t understand the language they’ve built. The light changed and Robin sighs heavily but doesn’t protest further.

Once Eddie secures their halal dinner, he tucks his feet under himself as he sits on the sofa beside Steve and pulls a piece of chicken off a kebab skewer. “Ok, what is it you want to talk about?”

“I told you my dad was here the other day.” Steve starts, and Eddie frowns, stops mid-chew to try and get a read of his body language. He can’t, though, so he swallows hard.

“…yeah…”

“So. I think I want to go to the gala.” Steve says, scooping rice onto his fork. “And I want you to come, too. As my date.”

Eddie takes a few beats to process. Steve keeps eating, like this isn’t a huge deal, and Robin is staying surprisingly quiet from the arm chair she’s occupying. “Aren’t, like, the commissioner and a bunch of other important NHL people going to be there?”

“Yeah,” Steve shrugs. “Kind of the point I want to make.”

“You want to come out?” 

“Already told my dad. The world didn’t end. Can’t see how it could get any worse than Billy smashing my face in, really.” Steve’s lips turn up into a smile, turning his hurt into a joke, but Eddie knows it’s a front.

He inhales, thinking. “You don’t think it’ll make you a target on the ice?” 

Robin’s eyes move to Steve, the most acknowledgement she’s given to their conversation yet. Steve actually gives a genuine smile at that.

“It’s like you two talked about this already without me knowing,” he huffs. When Eddie raises an eyebrow, Steve explains. “Robin asked the exact same thing. I think it could. I think it could mean I get benched.. There’s a lot of things that could happen, and there’s no way to know what sequence of events will cause what. But I’ve already been thinking about coming out for a while now, and I would prefer I be the one to tell people. On my terms.”

“Okay.” Eddie says, gives a little nod and starts eating again. “I’d like to go to your family’s gala with you.”

Steve smiles back at him, bumps his knee against Eddie’s gently as they settle into the sofa.

“I still get to come, right? Even though Eddie’s your date?” Robin asks, and Steve laughs.

“You still get to come. I’ll RSVP for both of us, and Eddie’s our plus one. I’d tell you to bring Nance, but…”

“Everyone would assume she’s with you, negating the ‘Eddie-being-your-date' thing. I get it. One of the many cons of dating your ex that I have to live with.” Robin said, catching Eddie’s full attention.

“Oh my god, I totally forgot you dated Wheeler Senior in high school!” He said, making Steve roll his eyes. 

“Please don’t become another person who psychoanalyzes my dating history.”

Robin snorts at that. “He’s just upset that he has a type and has been called out on it.”

“A type?” Eddie asks, raising an eyebrow. “How the fuck do Nancy and I fit together?”

“Have you seen yourself?” Robin asks, incredulously. “If I didn’t know better, I’d assume you were cousins, if not siblings. Between the hair, big doe eyes, you know? I told Steve about this when he called you hot in that TikTok!”

Eddie considers this longer than he should, and Steve hands him a piece of flatbread and shoves the hummus toward him. “Stop overthinking it. I don’t have a type.”

“No, dude, you totally have a type,” Eddie teases, leaning over to press a kiss to Steve’s cheek. “Kinda, at least. Badass curly tops of any gender. But I like that I fit into this category.”

“Ew, don’t call me ‘dude’ like that.” Steve frowns, shouldering Eddie back to his side of the sofa gently, earning a laugh from Eddie.

“Sorry, would you prefer ‘baby?’”

“I would prefer to eat my dinner without the gag fest, thanks.” Robin voices. “Also, we’re still getting ice cream, right?”

___

Steve curls into Eddie’s side as they lay down for bed, resting his head on Eddie’s chest, which earns him a soft chuckle.

“You’re going to cuddle me to death, aren’t you?” He teases as Steve hums in agreement, eyes closed and smile painted on his face.

He can’t help but feel content, maybe for the first time ever. Steve brings a hand up to Eddie’s chest, fingers tracing over his tshirt where he knows there’s a tattoo on the skin beneath. Eddie, in turn, runs a nearly too-soft touch from a finger along his cheek, tracing the edges of the still-healing scar there. It makes Steve a little self-conscious, but nowhere near as much as he would have been years, or even months, ago.

“You don’t have to go,” Steve eventually says, turning his chin up to look at Eddie through his eyelashes. “To the gala, I mean. It’s okay if you don’t want to go.”

Eddie is careful, smiles softly at Steve as he considers his response before speaking; something he’s not super familiar with. “I would love nothing more than to get you in front of everyone at the gala and plant a big ole messy kiss right on your lips.” He continues to tease, pleased with himself when Steve snorts and hides his face in Eddie’s shirt. “But seriously. I want to go. I’m happy you invited me. I just want you to be sure this is what you want to do.”

Steve goes so still then, Eddie’s almost convinced he fell asleep. But he eventually lifts his head again, rests his chin on Eddie’s ribs, and nods. “This is what I want. It’s what I’ve wanted for a long time, but I was scared. And I don’t think I’m as scared anymore.”

“Well then,” Eddie grins, hooking a finger under Steve’s chin and pulling him forward into a soft kiss. “I think we’d better get me some gala-appropriate clothes, because I’m pretty sure my leather jackets aren’t going to cut it.”

“I actually think my mom might faint if you rolled up in a leather jacket.” Steve laughs against Eddie’s lips, then nuzzles into his neck. “And as hot as I think you are in your leather jackets, I think you’ll clean up nice. I’ve seen those award show outfits. We can get you into a fitted suit, I know it.”

“And you’ll spend all night looking at my ass.”

Steve can’t help but snort. “Well yeah, how else will I make it clear that I’m definitely into you.”

“You’re totally right, it’s the only way.” Eddie laughs, rubbing a hand over Steve’s back. “Now go to sleep, you have another game and you’re not blaming me for not getting enough rest.”

Steve mocked him in a high pitched voice, but rearranged himself so he was more comfortable, head resting on Eddie’s chest again, and sighed softly. “Good night.”

“Night.”

And if Eddie stays awake for an extra 30 minutes, fingers gently combing through Steve’s hair and soothing him to sleep, that’s nobody’s business but his own. Steve lightens when he drifts off, and Eddie secures an arm around him, keeping him close, before he falls asleep as well.

In an almost exact reversal of the night prior, Eddie wakes up to Steve gently toying with his hair. He stills as Eddie’s eyes open, a soft pink shade settling over his cheeks, before he bites at his lip.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you.”

Eddie closes his eyes, smiling, then peeks through one squinted eye at Steve. “10 more minutes?” He asks, wrapping both of his arms around Steve’s waist and pulling their bodies flush together. Steve laughs, tossing his head back in a display of joy that has Eddie opening both eyes to fully take in. Then, Steve’s bringing their foreheads together and resting a hand on his jaw.

“You could go back to sleep for another 10 minutes, sure,” Steve says, through a smile. “Or, you could kiss me.”

“Well, that’s an offer I can’t exactly turn down.” Eddie chuckles, sliding a hand up Steve’s back to his neck and bringing their mouths together.

What’s definitely more than 10 minutes breezes by, Eddie’s sure it’s been more than that, though he has no other concept of the passing of time until Steve’s alarm goes off. Eddie blindly reaches to turn it off, but Steve pulls away and sighs heavily. 

“We can snooze it.” Eddie assures, sitting up to chase after Steve. He ends up peppering kisses along his collarbone and up to his neck. 

Eyes sliding closed, Steve turns off the alarm and drops his phone back onto the bed beside them. His fingers tangle into the hair at the base of Eddie’s neck and he hums softly before tugging Eddie up to bring their mouths together again.

It’s more, somehow, this time than it was before. Than it has been, each time they’ve kissed. It hasn’t been a lot— no where near as much as either of them would like it to be. But Eddie feels himself melting into it, letting Steve take the lead.

Then, Steve’s got Eddie gasping; he hadn’t even processed the kiss ending before Steve’s teeth sink into the dip of skin where his shoulder meets his neck.  He soothes over the mark his teeth leave with his tongue as Eddie whines, grips tighter at his hip, and that’s when Eddie feels Steve’s lips twist up into a smile against his skin.

“You-“ Eddie’s onto him instantly, but his words are broken into a moan as Steve sucks on the skin he’d been teasing. 

As soon as he’s able to get his limbs working in coordination with one another again, Eddie flips them over so Steve is under him. His legs straddle Steve’s thighs, but he sits high and cautious, eyes locked on the others below him. Steve’s wide-eyed, huffs out a heavy breath with the quick movement, then licks his swollen lips and Eddie’s grateful he can even go through the process of saying words.

“How long before you absolutely have to leave?” He asks, hovering close to Steve’s face, but just far enough that they’re not kissing again.

“About 70 minutes.”

“Oh, that’s an eternity," Eddie grins.

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The rest of the band shares a collectively confused look, all seeming pleased to find they’re not alone in whatever they’ve missed.

“What?” Jeff asks for the group.

In lieu of an explanation, Gareth just flips the phone in his hand around to show a TikTok, stitched with the clip they’d made earlier that morning.

~~~

“Marry. He’s hot, I’m not gonna kill him.”

#Stitch

“Is… is that supposed to be a compliment?” Steve asks, making a pinched face as he laces up his skates.

“You watched the whole video. He compared you to Joe Jonas.” The girl behind the camera responds, but he levels her with an unimpressed look. She doesn’t respond, and after a beat, he sighs.

“Yeah, alright, I guess Joe Jonas is hot. I’ll take the compliment.” He huffs, standing to his feet and moving from the bench he’d been suiting up on toward the ice. The girl follows him, gliding toward the net once they're in the rink, never falling out of pace with him.

“Do you know who it is talking in the video?” She presses, and Steve looks unimpressed again.

“You mean the other hot guy?” He asks with a grin, then nods. “That was Eddie. I’m surprised you don’t know him, the Party listens to Corroded Coffin all the time.”

The video loops back to the stitched clip from Gareth’s initial TikTok then. Everyone in the room processes what just unfolded.

“The Party? Did… did Steve Harrington just make a reference to DnD? Or is that some sports thing I dont understand?” Jeff asks.

Freak raises his hand, indicating he’s next to speak. “Not only that, but his nerdy DnD friends listen to us all the time?”

“Did King Steve call Joe Jonas hot?” Eddie asks, visibly still trying to connect the wires in his brain that fried at Steve’s agreement. “Did he call me hot?”

All three turn toward Eddie, whose face is still reflecting the long form math equation his brain is trying to work out, and Jeff sighs.

“Well, boys. I think we’ve officially lost him.” He says, bowing his head. Freak and Gareth join him solemnly, making Eddie huff and cross his arms over his chest.

“You’re all so dramatic.”

“Gee, I wonder who encouraged us to be this way,” Freak exaggerates through a grin, before shoving a guitar into Eddie’s chest, just in time for Paige to open the door and summon them.

“We can have a meltdown over Harrington after the gig,” Gareth promises with a pat to Eddie’s back as everyone moves around him, exiting the green room and heading for the stage.

~~~

Riding his post-show high, Eddie makes a bold move in the CC band TikTok, commenting under the video Steve had stitched.

corrodedcoff!n: we’ll be in chicago 1/26 if @harrington94 and ‘the party’ are free 🎫

He only gets about 20 minutes of peace before Gareth is jumping around, proclaiming himself the greatest wingman in history.

“It’s an offer for free concert tickets made over social media, and he hasn’t even answered, Gare Bear.” Eddie tries to get him to relax, but he, too, is eager to see how the other reacts to the offer.

He wakes up the next morning to the answer he’d been waiting on, and his stomach flips as he reads it over.

harrington94: only if you guys come to the home game 1/27 🏒

__________

Steve doesn’t even bat an eye when Max shoves her way into the locker room, b-lining straight for him.

“Can I help you?” He asks without looking up, unhooking the padding from his calf and letting it drop to the ground in front of his locker.

“Are you using TikTok to publicly flirt with Eddie Munson?” She asks, voice quieter than he’d typically expect from her, but he just scoffs.

“I’m just being friendly! You’re the one who started this in the first place! What, you didn’t expect me to log on and check if they’d responded?” He asks in response, freeing his foot from the skate, before placing a cover over the blade and letting the boot drop into the lower shelf beside his locker.

“I’m just confused because you’ve been super weird about coming out, and now you’re out here hitting on a rockstar all over social media, that’s all.” Max says, and Steve freezes for a moment.

“Do you…” he trails off, before closing his eyes and rubbing a thumb into his temple. “You really think I just accidentally came out?”

“You called Joe Jonas and Eddie Munson hot, encouraged this rockstar to come to your game when he’s in town and also accepted tickets to see him perform, Steve.” Max was monotone, and held her hands up defensively when he groaned. “I’m not starting anything, I’m just saying that this could get blown out of proportion now.”

They discuss a little further, deciding neither of them will publicly acknowledge anything that’s been posted to the account for now, until they actually come up with a plan.

Once he’s in his car heading home, Steve calls Robin.

“Dingus,” she greets, as always, and he lets out a grumble. “Uh oh. What happened?”

“I think I accidentally came out on the internet, and it’s Eddie Munson’s fault.” He’s met with several seconds of silence as he starts his car on the path to him and Robin’s shared apartment.

“Eddie, the drug dealer from high school?” Robin eventually asks, confused, and Steve groans again.

“Yeah. He uh, also is in a band?” He supplies, and Robin’s quiet for a moment as she processes. Then, he hears the tapping of a keyboard. “What are you doing?”

“Looking Eddie up, obviously.” Steve can practically see her eye roll, even though they’re not FaceTiming. “You’re nothing if not consistent, I guess. Doe-eyed curly brunet.”

Steve scoffs. “You say as though you’re not the one currently waking up beside Nance every morning.”

He’s met again by a short silence, before Robin lets out a little puff of air, in a small laugh. “Thank you again for being so cool about that, by the way.” She says, before he hears clicking on her end. “Apparently, Eddie is out as bi. Corroded Coffin does a charity show for the Trevor Project every year, and he’s been to a lot of Pride events.”

Steve’s stomach twists with each new bit of information she provides, because a part of him wants to be that out, wants to be like Robin or apparently Eddie, freely sharing that part of themselves with the world and having no one give a shit. But that’s not how it works on so many levels for Steve. Beside the shit he’d have to deal with on the ice from certain other players, he had no idea how it would impact the team overall. There’s no way to gauge how fans would react, when there’s never been an openly gay player in the NHL. And that didn't even begin to touch on how his parents would react.

“Hey,” Robin breaks him out of his spiral and he realizes he’s been chewing a hole into his cheek. “I can hear how loud you’re thinking right now. Do you need me to come home?” She asks, gently, and he sighs.

“Please.” He mumbles after a long pause, and is grateful when he hears the jingle of car keys from the other end of the phone.

~~~

Robin scrolls through article after article once she gets to their place, pulling Steve onto the sofa with her and laying his head in her lap. Her fingers twist through his hair, doing her best to keep him calm as she reads up on the situation playing out to try and help gauge how big of a hole he’s dug himself this time.

“I don’t think there’s really anyone who thinks you were flirting with him. Not seriously, at least.” She tries to assure him, but he’d already seen the twitter posts to contradict that before she came over. He sighs and rolls onto his back, so he’s looking up at her, and shrugs.

“I kind of don’t think there’s any avoiding it, at this point.” He mumbles. “I’m not… I’m not ready to come out, not like this. Not on this scale. I think the only thing I can do is carry on and hope it doesn’t get turned into any bigger of a deal.”

Robin hums down at him, and continues to brush his hair back out of his eyes. “Okay. So you don’t come out yet. But don’t overcompensate for it, okay?” He scrunches his face up at her, and she types something into her phone before turning it back into his face. He immediately pales, met with a photo of him out with Heidi last year. With a black eye on full display, he looks miserable behind a fake smile.

“Low blow,” he grumbles, pushing himself away from Robin to sit up beside her, and she raises her eyebrow at him, still holding the photo pointed in his direction.

“‘Maybe they won’t notice or ask why my literal teammate punched me in the face at practice if I take a fucking supermodel out to dinner.’” Robin’s imitation is a little too good, a sure sign of too much time spent together.

“Hey, it worked, didn’t it!” He asks, taking the phone off of her and closing out of the image before locking it. He drops it back into her lap with a sigh. “I just don’t know how many times I can keep getting away with hiding it.”

“Well, it helps that Billy got traded out to LA. He would be insufferable about this, and would absolutely make everything 10 times worse.” Robin muses.

Steve sighs and hesitates for a moment before dropping his head back into her lap, curling into her. “I just want it to be on my terms, when I’m ready.”

“We’ll figure it out, and it’ll all be okay, no matter what. Okay?” She assures quietly, leaning down to press a kiss to his cheek.

His phone dings with a new notification; Max texted him a screenshot from TikTok.

She looks to her left where the voice came from, blinking when her gaze falls on a figurine that would barely reach her ankle. He's dressed in a toga with a chest plate, wrist guards, a sword on his waist, and a deep purple cape over his shoulders. His hair is, honestly, the most impressive thing Robin has ever seen, made only more impressive by the golden laurels resting perfectly against his temples.

He's looking at her with wide eyes, more awed than anything else. "Yes," he says. "I have heard the gods are larger than life."

Okay. Fair.

"Why Diana, man?" Robin asks.

He tilts his head, studying her for a moment, looking her up and down. "You give me the same feeling as statues of Noble Diana with her Huntresses," he explains, pausing for a moment before adding, "A feeling of kinship, perhaps?"

Oh. This...this is like ancient Roman gaydar, right? Robin snorts and turns, resting her elbow on her knee. "I'm definitely not Diana. My name is Robin. I'm the new night guard."

His eyes brighten some, his smile growing wider and certainly charming enough to make the hearts of a few girls and guys flutter. "I am Servius Tullius, Sixth King of Rome, son of Vulcan, weapons master of the gods, and adopted son of Jedediah, Cowboy King of the Wild West, and Octavius, general of the Roman army."

Robin nods, letting all of the those words process in her head before saying, "Mind if I call you Steve? You look like a Steve."

The Sixth King of Rome blinks, looking slightly confused before his eyes light up with understanding. "Ah! A nickname! Yes, I am familiar with this concept. You may call me Steve, Lady Robin, as a show of our newfound friendship."

"Yeah, don't call me Lady Robin. Just Robin is fine," she says, hesitating before offering her hand to Steve.

"As you wish, Just Robin," he says, stepping carefully onto her hand and remaining steady as she raises him higher.

Robin blinks, frowning slightly and about to correct him again when she sees his smile and realizes it's a joke. "Okay, very funny, dingus," she says, carefully poking his side.

"Is dingus another nickname? It sounds like an insult."

"It usually is, but it's affectionate when I say it."

"Oh! Yes, like when Ockie calls Jed a philistine."

"Uh, sure," Robin says, nodding once as she lets Steve move to stand on her shoulder. He quickly sits, holding onto the collar of her jacket as she carefully stands up. "Hey, you know what I'm supposed to do about the dinosaur bones?"

"Rexy? Yes, he enjoys a game of fetch."

"Fetch. Of course."

----------

"What's going on in that head of yours, little man?"

Steve blinks, looks over at Jedediah, and raises an eyebrow at him. "I'm taller than you," he says, gesturing to the good inch he has on Jedediah.

"As long as you're my son, you're a little man."

Doing his best to not laugh, Steve nods once and points to the new diorama set up in the middle of the room. It's a circular diorama, centered on an equally circular stage divided into sections. A cacophony of noise echoes from it, clashing as each slice of the stage fights for dominance. "I'm trying to figure out what in Jupiter's name they're doing over there," he says.

"Well, most of it sounds like music," Jedediah says, "I think."

"It's not any music I've heard before," Octavius says, coming to a stop next to Jedediah and frowning at the diorama. "I would have assumed it the unholy shrieking of the damned."

"Perhaps it would be nicer if they weren't all playing at once," Steve suggests, hands on his hips as he tilts his head.

"Oh, boy, there it is," Jedediah says, his grin audible in his tone. "He's got the King Face."

"What are your intentions, my boy?" Octavius asks.

Before Steve can answer, Robin strolls into the room, grinning when she sees the raving diorama in the middle. She walks over to Steve, Jedediah, and Octavius, crouches down, and says, "Hey, guys. I see you're checking out the History of Rock display."

"History of Rock?" Steve asks.

"What in the sweet hell do rocks have to do with that mess?" Jedediah asks, gesturing to the noisy stage.

Robin rolls her eyes. "No, like, rock music. It's a genre. Anyway, it was sponsored by some musician, so it's a permanent display now."

"And they will be...playing every night?" Octavius asks.

"Probably."

Steve frowns a little more and nods, rolling his shoulders back. "If they are a permanent fixture in our hallowed hall, they must be welcomed. As Sixth King of Rome, this duty falls upon my shoulders. Fathers, I shall return shortly."

"Woah, woah, hold your horses there, little man," Jedediah says, moving to stand in front of Steve. "You're not going anywhere near that snake pit without some back up."

"A few centurions, at least," Octavius agrees.

"I will have Robin. What better protection is there?"

Jedediah and Octavius glance at each other before looking at Robin. She grins and offers them a two finger salute. "I'll guard him with my life," she says, "It's literally my job."

With that reassurance, Jedediah and Octavius move out of the way. Steve steps onto Robin's hand and settles on her shoulder with practiced ease, ignoring the nervous flutter in his stomach at greeting the new museum residents. He hopes they'll get along, but he also knows the might of his Roman army and the railroad workers can crush any who stand in their way.

Robin stops next to the diorama, tilting her head as she studies it. This close, Steve can see the bands playing on each slice of stage, the instruments and fashion shifting as his gaze travels around it. "Uh, excuse me," Robin says, raising her voice.

The raucous noise from the diorama screeches to a halt, the feedback making Robin and Steve grimace slightly. "Uh, hi. We're the official welcome crew for the Hall of Miniatures here. So, I'll need someone to represent your, like, whole display," Robin says, glancing over the bands until she finds one she recognizes. "Okay, I know you guys, so I'll be designating you the spokesband. Now, could the lead singer step forward?"

Steve watches as someone on the "Corroded Coffin" (what an odd name for a band) slice of the stage steps forward. Robin offers her hand to them, carefully lifting it away once they step on. "Great, uh, carry on, I guess. But, like, maybe play some of your quieter stuff for a bit," she says, her words barely out before the music starts up and the crowds start screaming once more.

She sighs and just walks over to the bench, letting off the person on her hand before letting Steve slide down her arm in a move they spent nearly three weeks practicing if only because they knew it would look cool.

When he hops onto the bench, Steve walks up to the other miniature, a man his age with long hair and odd clothes with tears that Robin once said were fashionable. His instrument is still slung over his shoulders, resting casually against his hips much like Steve's sword. Steve suddenly finds himself thinking that the man looks a little like a warrior. An odd one, to be sure, but a handsome one nonetheless.

He flashes his most charming smile, lets his shoulders relax, and says, "My friend here is Robin, Guardian of Brooklyn. I am Servius Tullius, Sixth King of Rome, son of Vulcan, weapons master of the gods, and adopted son of Jedediah, Cowboy King of the Wild West, and Octavius, general of the Roman army. You, however, may call me Steve."

-----

As far as Eddie was concerned, nothing mattered so long as Corroded Coffin got to keep rocking in an endless concert. The energy never waned, the set list never grew boring, and the music never stopped. He was ready to inform this welcoming crew of just that and promise Hell on Earth if they tried to disrupt the music (angry concert goers are a force of nature), when the words just died in his throat.

Because the most gorgeous man he's ever seen slides down that giant lady's arm, easily and smoothly landing on the bench. Somehow, his hair is perfectly windswept, the golden laurels glinting in the lights above them. His purple cape flutters softly as he walks closer, his toned thighs on full display with the toga hem that falls to the middle of them. There's a sword on the guy's hip, a chest plate that Eddie wants to pull off, a smile he wants to taste, and a pair of freckles right next to each other on the guy's cheek he wants to drag his tongue across.

He misses most of the introduction because he's too busy staring. He gets the important bits, though: Robin, a king, son of a god, adopted son of two dads. Eddie licks his lips nervously, a grin of his own tugging at his lips as he steps forward and playfully bows. "It's an honor to meet you, Your Majesty," he says.

It's supposed to come out joking, a little poke at the guy's authority to see if he can be riled up. It actually comes out way too genuine, and Eddie has a sudden realization that he meant it. He absolutely will accept this guy as his king, actually. He'll fall to his knees before him right now if asked, and not just because it might give him a little peek under the dude's toga.

"Please, just call me Steve. There's no need to be so formal."

Eddie bites the inside of his cheek, hoping Steve doesn't realize that the things Eddie is thinking about (the things he wants to do to and with Steve) are just about the least formal things on this earth. "Good to know," he says, relieved his voice sounds normal as he stands up straight and offers his hand. "Name's Eddie Munson, uh, lead singer of Corroded Coffin."

Steve blinks, and his smile becomes a bit more genuine as he steps closer and clasps Eddie's forearm. "A fellow leader," he says, squeezing Eddie's arm. "Welcome to our museum."

"Y-yeah," Eddie says, his arm still tingling when Steve lets go. He clears his throat, idly tugging on a few strands of hair. "So, uh, what's the deal around here? I mean, giant women...Roman kings...cowboys, it looks like."

"Our noble museum is home to Pharoah Ahkmenrah and his tablet, which brings the exhibits to life each night," Steve explains.

"There's a few rules, though," Robin says, sitting down on the bench behind Steve. "One, no getting into fights. Two, be back in your display by sunrise. Three, no leaving the museum at night."

"What? Why not?"

"We have lost good exhibits to Sol Invictus's morning rays," Steve says, frowning slightly. "So, be careful."

Eddie stares at Steve with wide eyes as he nods, amazed at the fact that Steve seems to talk like that so genuinely. And the fact that Eddie is...kinda into it. Holy shit, that's not helping with Eddie's whole "fall to his knees" thing. He wouldn't mind some good old-fashioned worship if Steve would just smile at him again.

Maybe his prayers are heard, because Steve smiles at him again. "Wonderful," he says. "Now, Eddie, could I interest you in a tour of the museum tonight?"

"Oh, you could interest me in a lot of things, sweetheart," Eddie blurts out, his mouth running faster than his brain.

He snaps his jaw shut, relieved and horrified at Steve's slightly confused expression and Robin's "I know what you are" thousand-yard stare from over his shoulder. Before he can try to backtrack, Steve snaps, understanding in his eyes. "Ah! Sweetheart is a nickname, yes? I accept your offer of friendship."

Eddie clenches his jaw, stopping himself from saying that it's more than friendships he's offering, and smiles. "Yeah. A nickname. That's all. I'm just...a nickname kinda guy. I'll probably think of more, too, Stevie. Like that."

Steve practically beams, and Eddie feels his knees go weak. "I look forward to it," he says, turning on his heel to look at Robin, who thankfully schools her expression. "Robin, this is where we leave you for the night. You have my word that Eddie will be back in place before sunrise."

"Well, you two kids have fun," she says, grinning in a way that immediately puts Eddie on edge. "I'd better not hear about any funny business, though. Absolutely no bases should be reached tonight, and you'd better not do any conquering or pillaging."

She definitely looks at Eddie when she says that last bit. Eddie stiffens, doing his best to hold back a blush when Steve glances over at his, the confusion clear on his face. "Conquering requires more planning than this, Robin. I've told you before."

"Don't worry about it, dingus. Just have fun. Here, I'll even call a ride for you," she says, winking at them before turning, holding her fingers to her mouth, and whistling sharply.

Steve walks over to Eddie right as the ground starts to shake, easily catching him around the waist before he can lose his balance. "The shaking does take some getting used to," he says, his tone full of sympathy and obliviousness to the crisis Eddie is experiencing.

When his brain finally catches up enough to ask what he's talking about, a dinosaur skeleton slides into the room, its body wiggling excitedly as it growls. Eddie jerks back, the arm around his waist tightening some. "What the fuck?!" he shouts.

"Worry not," Steve says, leaning closer. His voice is a little softer now, his breath fanning over Eddie's ear. "This is Rexy, our steed for the evening. He's very friendly."

"Friendly," Eddie mumbles, letting himself be dragged over to Rexy and placed on the dinosaur's head by Robin. "The dinosaur is friendly."

"Many of the exhibits are," Steve tells him, grinning brightly as Rexy begins moving after a pet on the snout from Robin.

Eddie looks at him, feeling blinded by Steve's smile once more, and completely forgets about the living dinosaur skeleton.

--------

Lemme know if you'd like to be added to the tag list!

(Also I know there are like one or two upcoming parent AUs that people have asked to be tagged in and I tried to see if this was one of them but couldn't find anyone for the life of me hfjdks so I'm sorry if you asked on another post and I missed you orz)

And, finally, a meme for you

He distracts himself by looking at Robin, fixing her hair behind her ear. She looks great. Slack pants and a tight dress shirt in grey tones with black suspenders adorned with metal cufflinks. Short hair loose and just the right amount of disheveled and a graphic eyeliner so sharp it could cut you. He would know. He did her makeup. They were asked to dress party chick but professional, which neither of them knew what the hell meant but Steve is pretty sure Robin nailed it. He just hopes he did a good job too.

He’s wearing a white thigh shirt of a soft material he couldn’t for the life of him remember the name of and black dress pants, the ones that fit him like a second skin, paired with a big leather belt, just to add a little extra. He tries to inconspicuously check himself out in the mirrors of the elevator but accidentally meets eyes with the well-dressed man again. Who adverts his gaze quickly and Steve realizes he just caught him checking him out. He smiles to himself and looks down bashfully only to be horrified by what he notices because, his white shirt? The stupid fabric he can’t name? Totally sheer. Well not totally, but a little. Like he can see his nipples right now a little.

Oh my god. Oh my god.

“Robin, we need to go.” he suddenly says grabbing Robin by the back of the elbow. 

Robin turns to him previously just nervously watching the floor numbers change and frowns worried, “What? We are already here, Steve! What do mean?”

“I need to go home and change Robin! I can’t-” He whispers to her, although he knows it’s in vain, there’s no way the handsome man isn’t about to hear a very embarrassing conversation. 

“We are literally in the elevator. We are not going back home so you can change!” Robin huffs annoyed now that she knows it wasn’t anything more serious, “What’s wrong with your clothes?” she asks pinching his shirt between her fingers.

Steve turns his back to the man and crowds Robin, facing her, “Can you see my nipples?” he asks trying to keep his voice low but he hears a cough that sounds suspiciously like a chuckle behind him. 

Robin looks at him like he’s lost his mind but, as always she goes with it, “Yes?” 

Steve puts his palms over them and gasps and Robin starts laughing “What are you doing?” she says between giggles at the same time Steve exclaims, “I can’t show our new boss my nipples!” 

“Steve, what?! I thought it was on purpose! You know, just a peek, a little chess hair, a little nipple.” Robin says still laughing but stops when she sees Steve is looking actually distressed. 

She huffs and runs her hands up and down his arms comfortingly.

“Why would I want to show them my nipples!” Steve groans and Robin shrugs.

“It’s sexy? We were asked to dress for a party”

“Why would I want to look sexy for work?” Steve asks again, still trying to convince Robin to let him go home and change.

But Robin tilts her head to the side, “But you can’t turn that off, though? Like, you are always sexy.”

Instantly his mood changes and he smiles and coos at her, “Aww, that’s so sweet, babe! But you are biased…”

Robin scoffs at being babied and raises an eyebrow, “How am I biased?”

“Because you love me!” Steve answers like it’s obvious. And Robin nods as if taking in the information.

“Okay. I see your biases and I raise you the following point: It’s objective. Because I’m a lesbian.”

Steve laughs, but he’s not the only one. For a second, Steve had forgotten they had an audience member. A very handsome audience member. He blushes, the guy must think he’s such an idiot. But at least he thinks they are funny. He turns back to his side and smiles at him again. 

But Robin suddenly jumps a little beside him, like she had just noticed him, and says, “Stranger! Opinion?”

“Rob, no-” Steve starts but Robin leans over him to talk to the man, “Shirt. Good? Bad?” She says moving her hands in front of Steve as if she was showcasing him. Steve blushes some more and tries to keep a neutral face. So he ends up just white-man smiling awkwardly.

The man chuckles again and then looks at Steve from top to bottom and back again, “You look good,” he says smirking.

And Steve's blush deepens. But Robin either doesn’t notice or is enjoying it, because she keeps questioning him, “Good. What are thinking? Slutty or sexy?”

The man leans his head to the side, his eyes roaming over Steve's chest and Steve has to resist the urge to cover his nipples again.

“It’s sexy.” he says, voice deep and serious as if this was an important conversation and not Robin and Steve being dumbasses, “Like, sophisticated sexy.”

Steve shakes himself to try to make his blush go away and addresses the man, “I- well, thank you, first. And second, I’m sorry you were dragged into this. But would you want to look sexy meeting your new boss?” he asks him.

He taps his chin in thought and then says, “Your friend is right though, are already here. Just don’t flirt with them and you'll be fine!” 

At that Steve purses lips and Robin snorts rudely. “That might be a problem,” she says.

The man laughs surprised and Steve can’t help but think he has a really nice laugh, “How?” he asks them.

“Steve has a little miscommunication problem,” Robin explains, “When he tries to be charming people think he's flirting.”

Steve crosses his arms and huffs making the few locks that fall on his forehead lift a bit and fall back down, “I have no idea what I’m doing wrong! I’m just trying to be nice..”

The man is looking at him with raised eyebrows and he blinks a couple of times before snickering, “Looks like your friend is right, again. You just can’t turn sexy off, uh?”

Robin laughs really hard at that and Steve goes back to full tomato status.

“I could've tried!” he says, not even sure what are they arguing about anymore.

“How?” Robin asks him amused.

“I don’t know, a big sweater? Something knitted, comfy?” he tries but they both shake their head at him.

“That sounds sexy too,” The man says and Steve frowns,

“Literally. How?” 

“It gives off fuck vibes. Like you are really fuckable,” he says, and then his eyes go wide and he bites his lips.

Robin’s eyes go wide too and she snorts, looking at Steve who is just staring at the guy with his mouth hanging slightly open.

“Sorry!” the man says, raising his hands in mock surrender, “That was so out of line- I- oh! Saved by the bell it seems,” he says when the elevator dings, “This is my floor”

The doors open and Argyle and Jon are on the other side and Steve realizes, this is also their floor.

“Eddie!” Argyle says as the man moves towards him and they shake hands enthusiastically. 

“Steve, Robin” Jon greets them with a smile as they slowly walk out of the elevator, watching Eddie’s deer-in-the-headlights expression.

“Ah! I hope you had a pleasant elevator ride and didn’t do anything awkward!” Argyle jokes completely oblivious, “I’m a little sad I didn’t get to introduce you guys!”

“...What do you mean?” Robin asks with a forced smile.

That was also the first time Steve truly experienced Arkham's lax security. Through no fault of his own (and he would continue to argue this point; how did two superheroes let an 8 year old wander off?), Steve had somehow ended up in another part of Arkham altogether.

This hallway had large cells with reinforced glass walls that allowed Steve to look inside. He could name most of the people he passed, recognizing Killer Croc and Riddler and the Penguin by his mother's descriptions of their defining features. Most of them tried talking to Steve, but he pushed ahead, eager to see if his mother was at the end of the hall.

She wasn't. Instead, Steve found another woman. She had green skin and bright red hair and Steve hadn't been able to contain himself. He'd practically squished his face against the glass and asked, "Are you Poison Ivy?"

"Oh, her he talks to," the Penguin said, his tone mean and his voice carrying.

Poison Ivy ignored him, choosing to instead open one eye from where she lay on the bed. She stared at Steve before sitting up. "Do I know you?" she asked.

"Nope! But my mom knows you. She talks about you all the time. She said you're the baddest badass to ever badass," Steve said.

"Oh. You're Harley's kid," Poison Ivy replied, walking over to the glass and crouching down to meet his gaze. "What are you doing all the way over here?"

"It's my birthday, so Uncle Bruce said I could see Mom."

"Well, happy birthday. Now, what are you doing here?"

Steve blinked, looked around the hall again, and realized for the first time that he was, in fact, a bit lost. "Uh, I'm not sure. I was with Uncle Bruce before."

A moment passed between the two of them in which Poison Ivy said nothing while Steve tried to remember how, exactly, he'd ended up here. When he came up blank, he simply shrugged and looked back at her. "Hey, you like plants, right?" he asked.

"Yeah, kid, I like plants," she said, her tone taking on the same inflection his mother's did when he asked something she thinks is obvious.

Steve didn't linger on the tone. Instead, he dug around in his coat pocket for a few seconds, pushing past candy wrappers and erasers until his hand closed around an acorn he'd picked up off the ground a few days ago. He pulled it out and presented it to Poison Ivy on his palm. "Is it still a plant if it fell off the tree?" he asked.

"Yeah," Poison Ivy said, her voice soft like she was staring at something unbelievable. Steve watched as a huge grin spread across her face, her eyes lit up, and she pressed her hands to the glass. "Can you do me a favor, Steve?" she asked.

"Sure! Mom said you're a person I should listen to," he said, starting to close his fingers around the acorn. Now that he was thinking about it, he didn't actually know how to give the acorn to her with the glass between them.

"Your mom is right. You should always listen to me. And her. But mostly me right now," Poison Ivy said, her gaze a bit softer as she looked at Steve. "So, go ahead and put the acorn on the ground and stand as far away as possible."

Steve didn't question her. Whatever Poison Ivy wanted to do would probably be fine. After all, Uncle Bruce didn't warn him about talking to her like he had about the Joker. So, Steve put the acorn down and hurried to the other end of the hall. "Now what?" he shouted.

The only response he got was the acorn shuddering, spinning across the floor, and then bursting open. In the blink of an eye, a tree grew, its roots breaking through the ground and its branches shattering the glass of Poison Ivy's cell. Steve was just thinking that was probably why Poison Ivy told him to stand back when she walked out, rolling her shoulders and breathing like the air is fresh.

She looked at Steve and walked over, standing in front of him for a moment before sweeping him into her arms. "Thanks, kid," she said, opening her hand and letting a tiny purple flower grow from her palm. She tucked it behind Steve's ear. "Now, let's go find your mom."

Of course, Poison Ivy's escape had set off numerous alarms, and Uncle Bruce just about fainted when he saw her carrying Steve while Nightwing looked two seconds from laughing. But Steve's mom had smiled so wide that her cheeks must have hurt after only two seconds when she saw them.

It was, by far, the best birthday Steve had ever had.

‐-----------------------------

Hawkins, Indiana, is...boring. Steve has only been in the town for a few weeks, and he's bored out of his mind. He could have been sent to Metropolis or Central City. Hell, he would have preferred Bludhaven to the absolute snoozefest that is Hawkins. But, no, Uncle Bruce insisted on somewhere safe, which means somewhere boring, which means...Steve will just have to make his own fun.

That's why he's found himself in a dive bar on the edge of town, sitting at the bar as the owner (a woman named Bev who definitely killed her husband; Steve would know, he's met plenty of women who definitely killed their husbands) refuses to give him anything alcoholic. "Listen, kid," she says, her tone hard and unyielding, "I can give you water, a Shirley Temple, or a permanent ban. Which do you prefer."

After a few seconds, Steve sighs, slaps way more money than is necessary on the bar, and says, "Gimme a Shirley Temple."

Bev nods, swipes up the cash, and starts making his drink. He watches her with a slight frown before looking away, noticing another boy his age wiping down a table. He looks, and Steve cannot say this affectionately enough, like a wannabe goon for a motorcycle gang. Between the bandana stuffed into his back pocket, his slightly frizzy hair falling to his shoulders, and the leather jacket/vest combo, the guy is the first reminder of home Steve has seen since arriving in this sleepy town.

When he notices the guy's shoulders tense, Steve looks away to keep from being caught staring. A Shirley Temple is placed in front of him, and Steve represses a sigh, missing the sounds of fights happening behind him as he drinks with Jason.

"Aren't you a little young to be hanging around here?"

Steve slowly takes a sip of his drink, the saccharine cherry flavor washing over his tastebuds, and glances at an older man a few seats down from him. He looks the man over, lingering on the half-tucked shirt, muddy loafers, and circles under his eyes. Without permission, his mother's DSM-V rushes through his mind, a blur of his mother's voice accompanying the page flips. They finally settle on "Adjustment Disorder," accompanied by his mom saying, "Sometimes, that's just a fancy term for a mid-life crisis, Dumplin'."

Without thinking, Steve asks in return, "Aren't you a little old to still be going through a mid-life crisis?"

In Gotham, that might get him a laugh, an eye roll, and possibly an elbow to the ribs from whichever friend accompanied him. Here, it gets him a tense silence that he only thought happened in bad movies gearing up for a fight sequence. Seriously, what is wrong with Hawkins?

"I'll give you one chance to apologize," the guy says, clearly thinking he's being sufficiently threatening.

It takes every ounce of Steve's self-control to keep from laughing at the guy. Does that usually work? Do people usually find this guy threatening? He's got nothing on Alfred, so Steve just can't bring himself to even fake intimidation.

"Yeah, don't hold your breath, man," Steve says, rolling his eyes as he takes another sip. The Shirley Temple isn't bad, but it's not what he was expecting, and it feels like just another disappointment atop a pile of them.

They're building in his chest, now that he thinks about it. Steve is slowly suffocating under the weight of them. They buzz in his lungs, surging through him until the energy is so overwhelming that he has to bounce his leg and tap his finger against his glass to expel some of it. He shouldn't have agreed to leave Gotham, or at the very least, he shouldn't have left the location entirely up to Bruce. Holy shit, that was a dumb decision. He ought to know better.

A sudden, annoyingly harsh drag of chair legs against the floor rings in Steve's ears, making his shoulders tense and his fingers twitch. He looks over to see the guy standing over him, glaring down at Steve like that's supposed to scare him when nothing else has.

Steve sighs, drinking the last of his Shirley Temple before standing. Over the guy's shoulder, he can see the boy his age watching them, and...well, Steve kind of wants to make a good impression on the first person to remind him of home. Plus, a fight sounds great. He'd love a chance to expel some of this disappointment-fueled energy.

The guy suddenly snorts, pulling Steve's attention back. "You're young, kid, so I'll let you off the hook this time around, but learn some respect."

What? Seriously? All of that, and the guy doesn't even start a fight? Does he know how rude that is? He'd get killed in Gotham. "Oh," Steve says, his voice flat, "you're scared of getting your ass kicked."

Somehow, that's what the guy considers the final straw. It wasn't even that good. Like, that's just fucking small talk in Gotham, and Steve can't bring himself to understand what about it was so infuriating that the guy swings his fist.

Either way, Steve happily embraces the fight. His eyes light up, and adrenaline rushes through his veins as he ducks and kicks the guy's left knee. The familiar sound of a bone snapping rings out. Steve's ready for more, hands curled into fists and held up to protect his face, when the guy drops.

After one kick, he drops. Steve blinks, staring down at the guy cursing and holding his knee. He slowly lowers his hands when he realizes this isn't some kind of fake-out diversion and looks at Bev behind the counter. She's frowning at him, hands on her hips, and Steve comes to the conclusion that bar fights are not, in fact, a thing in Hawkins. "Do they usually go down so easy around here?" he asks.

"They usually don't fight at all."

Oh. Holy shit, this place is boring.

Steve sighs and pushes some hair out of his face, frowning slightly. "Well, uh, sorry about the disturbance, then. I'll just...get going," he says, awkwardly pushing his chair in and doing the same for the guy whose kneecap he kicked. Nobody says anything as he leaves, and Steve shoves his hands into his jacket pockets, frustration and disappointment and homesickness building in him.

He's halfway to his car when somebody shouts, "Hey! Wait!"

With a huff, Steve stops and turns, his mood only lightening when he sees the boy that was wiping down tables. He waits patiently, watching as the boy runs up to him and holds out a wad of cash. "Bev said to give this to you," he says.

"What, is my money not good enough?" Steve asks, raising an eyebrow at the cash before looking up and meeting brown eyes.

"No, no," the boy says, "Bev only gives change to people she likes. She said you're welcome to come by and kick Phillip's ass whenever you want."

Steve blinks, studying the boy for any signs of lies. When he doesn't find one, he takes the cash and nods. "Good to know," he says.

"Yeah. Right. Um, I'm going back inside now."

"Hold on," Steve says, grinning when the boy listens and stands still. He takes a step closer, holds out his hand, and says, "My name's Steve. I'm new around here, if you couldn't tell."

The boy stares at his hand for a few seconds before taking it, the rings on his fingers pressing against Steve's skin. "Eddie. I could tell," he says, his shoulders relaxing some. "Where you from?"

"Gotham."

"Holy shit, no wonder you looked so ready for a fight," Eddie says, staring at Steve like he's incomprehensible. Steve tries not to preen under his gaze. "Hawkins must be dead compared to Gotham."

Robin got her masters degree, Steve was still on minimal talking terms with his parents, and the two of them decided they’d stay in Indiana but make their way closer to Lake Michigan. Robin had been hired by a conservation group for the Dunes and Steve was working two jobs and started sensing a pattern.

It was almost like these animals in need sought him out. A bright, bold, cartoon style arrow pointing to him, sucker for wounded wildlife.

Next was a dehydrated raccoon who was able to be re-released after the rest and nourishment they needed. Then some abandoned baby chipmunks- the regular vet pointed them in the direction of a more wildlife focused care team and Steve couldn’t deny that maybe this was his calling.

That many animals needing a special brand of treatment couldn’t be a coincidence.

He had looked for a sanctuary or rescue that specialized in native wildlife and the closest one he had found was in Northern Michigan or much further south in Indiana- not a single one in his vicinity.

His mom had been reaching out more often. Trying to reconnect now that she knew Steve was going to be his own person and not what his father wanted him to be. She still wanted a relationship with Steve. He was her only son and she deeply regretted the divide the past had driven between them.

Growing up Steve wasn’t allowed pets. His dad had severe animal allergies, but his mom had always loved animals. Had grown up with a large bunny named Daisy she had adored. When Steve told her about the daydream that had spun into an actual plan she had let herself get lost in the daydream with him.

Whether it was guilt or an olive branch she was the first to donate to Harrington Safe Haven. The donation helped start the non-profit and secured himself and Robin a sprawling ranch style home on three acres of land. Steve wasn’t afraid of some hard work, thus their social media platform was born.

Instagram, TikTok, YouTube- Robin ran the accounts and it had really taken off from there.

#HarringtonSafeHaven

#HSHsanctuary

#SafeHavenSteve

#BucksBreaksItDown

#Wildliferescue

And the hashtags continued. Four years in and they were staying above water, which was pretty decent when it came to non-profits. They had the funds to care for their home and animals and enough to survive. The most recent reel was one of Steve introducing their followers to a baby skunk,

“Hey folks! This is Safe Haven Steve and I’ve got a new friend here for you today. I didn’t wanna be cliché and name her Flower like from Bambi, and no it isn’t a baby deer it’s-“ He lifted her into the screen, “A baby skunk! Could she be any cuter?” He gushed over the small striped critter.

“Did you know skunks can be litterbox trained like cats? So, Sage here, is taking on a lot of learning the next few weeks with me and Robs. Wanna follow her journey with me? Like and subscribe to follow along with our updates! As always there’s a link to our website and for those of you in a place to donate we encourage you to do so, we email you how your donation is used and which native to our home in the midwest animals it directly helps! Have a great day and sending so much love from myself, little Sage here, and all of us that keep Harrington Safe Haven up and running because of your support!” Sage nuzzled her nose into Steve’s cheek like a little kiss for the camera.

Filming with animals was chaotic at the best of times, but sometimes it worked out as if scripted and today couldn’t have gone better.

Robin put down her phone and clapped before scooping Sage from Steve’s arms, “That was perfect! Let’s get my sanctuary break down for the month filmed and we can post that later this week, but our outreach is going so well! Our follower numbers have gone up the past two weeks since you did the local news segment.”

They switched locations so Robin could tell their monthly donators about how the sanctuary was benefiting from their generosity and how all the animals were currently doing. It was part of their premium membership a special breakdown of each animal and how their ongoing care is continued or if the ones in position to be released have been.

Another private content they released to their premium members was videos of the release- so all of these premium members had seen Steve cry more than a few times. Always happy tears, bittersweet, when he got to re-release a wild animal back to their habitat.

After filming Steve was doing his evening rounds, making sure enclosures were secure. That the foxes were fed and getting along. Robin was on reptile room duty getting snakes fed and checking in on the small amphibians that called the sanctuary home.

They sat down to their own dinner as Steve gingerly blotted at a small scrape bestowed upon him by one of the minks in their care. Robin had doctored up some instant ramen for dinner and placed a bowl in front of him, “Some of the new premium memberships came through, two are birthday subscriptions one went with the upgrade so tomorrow we’ve just gotta do a little happy birthday video or arrange a FaceTime for day of. Otherwise it’s a chill day on the docket.” She chatted idly.

Steve was forever grateful to Robin’s organizational skills.

He swallowed his bite and let her know, “Couldn’t do this without you Robs.”

Robin paused from scrolling on her phone and looked up at him smiling, “I know dingus.” She said simple as anything, “I love it too.”

Steve was twenty-nine, and ran a small but sturdy wildlife rescue with Robin. It wasn’t always easy, but everyday something would happen that reminded him how much he loved what he did.

•

Eddie knew he was in for a phase. Regina was turning ten and the sweetness she always embodied was turning into something more akin to pre-teen angst. He had made some choices in his very early twenties, to him attraction was attraction even if most of his interests were men. Then there was Reggie’s mom Kelly. They were drunk, she was bright and nerdy and in the moment it had been fun.

Three months later she told Eddie.

After Reggie’s arrival Eddie did his best to help support them, marriage was never in the talks, then Kelly wanted to pursue school asking him to take responsibilities for the time being.

And that time being had been her way of  just clean cutting them out of her life. Eddie hadn’t tried very hard to track her down and had moved himself and Reggie in with Wayne and never looked back.

He did contracted work writing music for scores in films and videogames, even commercials sometimes. If it paid and didn’t suck Eddie usually signed on for it. It had taken years for him to break into the industry. He had done odd jobs to make ends meets when Kelly had split. Eventually taking a vet tech position at Chrissy’s insistence in his early twenties. He kept submitting music and sound samples and had completed an online degree in sound engineering that finally got his foot in the door to where he was at in his career today.

The one thing outside of music that Reggie was happy to share with Eddie were all the animal rescue accounts she followed, the top one being Harrington Safe Haven, it was practically local, and the main people who ran the sanctuary were hilarious to watch. Safe Haven Steve had the same heart as Steve Irwin his love for all critters shone in his videos and Eddie, he lapped that shit up.

The man holding a garden snake and kissing it on it’s head reminding them to, watch out for wildlife on your hikes folks!

Steve gently cradling a baby rabbit in his large hands, check for rabbit kits and bunny nests before mowing your lawns in the spring! Saves a lot of heartache all around.

They uploaded regularly and when Eddie checked out the donation membership he knew what would make for a great birthday present for Reggie. She had been begging him for a pet lately, and he was considering it, after they settled into their new home.

Wayne was kicking off his retirement by selling the trailer, getting an RV, and setting off on an epic road trip. The first stop being Sawyer, Michigan to help Eddie and Reggie move into their new place. A small apartment close to Eddie’s best friend Chrissy and within a stronger school system than Hawkins had to offer.

One thing Reggie possessed that Eddie never had was being a good student. The kid always got the report card comment of, ‘a pleasure to have in class’. She was testing into honors level classes and if she continued on that path would eventually need a high school that offered decent AP classes when the time came.

He knew they weren’t moving far, but to Reg it was the end of the world. All her friends and comfort of the known being uprooted for Michigan. Eddie’s current bargaining chip was Aunt Chrissy, but he knew he had no choice but to make Reggie’s tenth birthday one to remember.

•

Eddie was just two weeks into their new place, Reggie’s room and décor had been top priority and now he felt like he was just getting around to finishing touches in the shared spaces. Most of the days peppered by Chrissy stopping over and talking about the various pot bellied pigs, lizards, ferrets and parrots she’d seen through the day.

The apartment was close to the library and small downtown strip of shops. Eddie had made a point to walk the path more than a few times since moving in. Making sure Reg was getting comfortable in her new surroundings.

It was the evening before her birthday, “You said this weekend I could have a sleepover at Cara’s back in Indiana, right? You remembered to make sure it was okay with her mom?”

Eddie smiled at his daughter. Her curls more youthful and bouncy than his had ever been. A lighter more golden color than his darker brown. Her eyes and dimples were a dead giveaway that she was his. Her face an open book to her feelings. Chrissy always teased them they shared the same catalog of expressions.

“Yeah lovey, of course I did. It’s set in stone, I think Mrs. Klein is bringing you girls to the movies and maybe baking something special- it’s a whole thing baby doll.” Eddie knew he could be forgetful in some aspects but never when it came to Reggie.

She slipped her hand into his, “Thanks, I think ten might be too old for you to call me baby doll.” She made a face of disgust as Eddie laughed.

“Kid you’ll always be my little baby doll, buttercup, sweet pea-“ She shoved him to cut him off.

“Foul play!” Eddie cried happily.

Hoping the rain cloud attitude she’d carried around the past few weeks was dissipating. Maybe ten would be a good year for them. He hoped so. He had the ability to work from anywhere and he knew he was upending her world, but he wanted her to have more opportunities that small town Indiana just didn’t offer.

“I gotta get a couple things for my office but want to grab an ice cream after?” Eddie asked giving them a game plan.

Reg gave him a devious smirk, “Can I get two scoops?”

Eddie lifted an eyebrow at her, “You think you can handle two scoops? It’s your funeral, kid.”

She giggled at him. He basked in it knowing that she was already at an age that was starting to think your parents were lame and embarrassing or what was it? Cringe.

Chrissy had lost her breath from laughing so hard a few days ago when Eddie had his bandana tied around his hair as he hung up pictures in the apartment and Reggie had come in the room and declared him an 80s wannabe and cringe.

Once they secured the office supplies and then ice cream decisions they sat at one of the ice cream parlor tables as Eddie’s phone buzzed. He checked the notification and turned the phone to Reggie, “Ah! A new Harrington Safe Haven video! I wonder if it has Sage in it again, has Aunt Chrissy worked with skunks before? Oh my god, has she been sprayed?!”

Eddie laughed softly, “I dunno Reg, but we can ask her.”

Reggie thoughtfully worked on her two scoops of ice cream in a waffle cone, “Did you see in the owl video how Safe Haven Steve said their member accounts get footage of the animal releases? Oh and Chrissy said bearded dragons make awesome pets, just saying…” She gave him an impish look.

Eddie chuckled, “Trust me Regina, I am keeping an open mind to getting a pet- let’s see how the school year starts first? October, okay? Let’s reevaluate the Munson’s get a pet discussion for October?”

She pretended to think it over, “Okay, but then I’ll have to rethink my Halloween costume to be matching with the pet we get.”

Eddie shook his head happily, “Sure kid, whatever you say.”

“But it means it’s still up for discussion?” She wheedled.

Eddie’s smile grew, “Of course.”

She was almost down to the waffle cone, “Head home so we can watch the newest video on your laptop?”

“Good thing ice cream in cones is portable! Shall we?”

“Yeah, dad.” She said as she walked in step with him back to their new place.

They settled in on the couch and pulled up the animal sanctuary’s YouTube channel to be greeted by the smiling and currently bespectacled face of Steve. Eddie thought the man was beautiful but the videos with his glasses were something Eddie held near and dear to his single-dad who hasn’t been on a date in two years heart.

“Hey Folks!” Steve waved at the camera, “I’m Safe Haven Steve and did you know skunks are omnivores?” He scooped Sage up from down by his work boots, “Sage here is still a baby so she’s getting regular bottle feedings. We reckon she’s about two months old so at three we’ll start introducing more solid foods for her to eat on her own. What is an omnivore you might be asking? Well it’s what we are too! I suppose not everyone if you’re a vegan or vegetarian- but what it means is omnivores eat both plants and meat, so when baby Sage gets a little older she’ll think crickets are a treat! Skunks are opportunists when it comes to feeding they’ll go for mice, birds and their eggs, grasshoppers, wasps! And all kinds of fruits and veggies. They’ll definitely go for your trash too, so keep your outside garbage bins with tight lids!”

Robin walked on screen and did a Vanna White style hand gesture at the food laid out on a small table next to Steve. The two of them keeping the commentary going as Sage tried to crawl up on Steve’s shoulders.

Robin laughed at his expense and shot a quick, “You’re on your own Stevie!” before walking out of the shot.

Sage jostled his glasses as he giggled and held her in one arm as he adjusted his frames, “As always I encourage everyone to learn about their friendly neighborhood critters and emphasize these guys are wild and not meant to be pets. All our buddies here at Harrington Safe Haven have had circumstances that bring them to us and your donations and support help us a boat load! If you have the means to do so click the link at the end of this video. As always thanks for watching and loving on Sage as much as we are! We love you have a great day!” The video cuts off on a close up of Steve cuddling Sage close to him and kissing the top of her head.

“Again?” Reggie asked excited to watch the baby skunk content another time, “Can we comment too?”

“Sure Reg, let’s watch it again.”

•