Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Steve loved that Robin and Vickie were dating. At first, he was a little worried that he was doomed to be the eternal third wheel yet again. But Vickie was the best, she was funny and kind and perfect for Robin. It was incredibly fun to see how flustered they got around each other, and he never got bored of making fun of Robin for her clumsy flirting. Fitting karma for how much she mocked his (superior) flirting back in the day.

Plus, she hung around during their shifts at Family Video these days and the steady conversation always made work go by faster. He liked that now he had a companion to tease Robin with. The kids took her side most of the time so they were no fun.

“You’re telling me your first crush was Tammy,” Vickie said incredulously. Steve laughed along, never passing up a moment to give Robin shit for that. It was his favourite of their in-jokes, representing the moment when they truly became best friends, a solidification of trust between them.

“She’s really not that bad,” Robin defended to no avail, “Who was yours then?”

“Well my first crush was Tommy H,” Vickie said to a loud cackle from Robin.

“That’s so much worse!” Robin said, “I cannot believe you made fun of me for Tammy Thompson.”

“It really is,” Steve agreed. He knew he used to be friends with the guy but he was a total douchebag in high school. Not that Steve was much better back then, but Tommy took every joke too far. But he got the appeal, Tommy was good-looking and funny when he wasn’t being an asshole. Tammy wasn’t nearly as bad in comparison despite her pitchy voice.

“He was sweet in middle school, okay! My first crush on a girl was on Claire though,” she continued.

“The cheerleader?” Robin asked, slightly jealous. He nudged her gently in commiseration. Claire was hot, all big blue eyes and perfect blonde curls. He’d gone out with her way back in the day before Nancy, though he wouldn’t mention that detail to Robin lest he wanted her to murder him.

“Yeah, she was how I knew I liked girls as well. I looked at her the same way I used to look at Tommy,” Vickie said reminiscing.

“But everyone does that?” Steve replied confused, “Like a hot person is just hot right?”

“Oh, I definitely don’t,” Robin said, “Guys just don’t register like that in my brain. Like I can tell if a guy is good looking but attraction is different.”

“Yeah, it’s different,” Vickie nodded, “When I started thinking about girls the same way I did about guys everything clicked for me.”

“Oh,” Steve said, shocked. Suddenly a lot of things seemed different in retrospect. So it wasn’t normal to notice Tommy’s muscles in the shower or the curve of Billy’s neck or the bounce of Eddie’s hair? Because he paid just as much attention to those as he did to the freckles of Nicole’s cheek or the natural flush in Melissa’s cheek.

He never made a distinction between people, it was just looking. He didn’t think it meant anything. He thought everyone was like him, that everyone noticed both men and women equally. He knew that Robin didn’t like guys but he thought it was more about her never falling in love with one, not just not finding any attractive. Did other guys really not notice attractive men?

Steve liked girls, he did. But Vickie liked guys too and that didn’t stop her from liking girls. He felt like a lot of things were suddenly making a lot more sense. Like the way he got flustered around Eddie might be more than simple nerves. He never realised that you could like both.

“Steve, who was yours?” Vickie asked, taking him out of his contemplations.

“My first crush? It was Carol way back in the day,” he said. Before Carol and Tommy had started dating, of course, when they were 12. It was short-lived, they weren’t a good match in any way but he was head over heels for a solid two weeks. He could barely even remember why he liked her and he knew he didn’t tell her about it.

“Carol,” Robin scoffed, “You have the worst taste. How have you gone out with upwards of a dozen girls in the last year and still not found anyone.”

“Hey! I have great taste in women, but things just aren’t clicking. Plus don’t say that around Nancy or she’ll deck you,” Steve replied.

“Ha, okay so there are some exceptions in your history,” Robin said in equal parts fear of Nancy and respect for her. Nancy really was the best person he had dated.

But now that he was thinking about it, he didn’t know for certain whether Carol was his first crush. He had looked at Tommy the same way he had at Carol a few months earlier but just chalked it up to puberty or curiosity. Oh, Steve really did third wheel a lot huh.

But if it really wasn’t normal to look at guys like that, then maybe he had a crush on Tommy back then. He had felt quite similar about Tommy, but it was easy to brush aside in the past. He had been awfully flustered for a while around him, he used to follow him around, seeking out his attention. He found Tommy to be as pretty as Carol until he learnt that you weren’t supposed to call boys pretty.

Oh my god, he totally had a crush on Tommy as a kid.

“Actually, I was wrong,” he said in a sudden fit of courage, words slipping out of him before he was able to stop himself. What was he doing? He had only sort of admitted this to himself and now he was ready to tell two more people? Well, at least he knew they weren’t going to judge.

“Are you admitting your taste is shit?” Vickie said.

“No,” Steve replied, rolling his eyes, “About my first crush.”

“Are you telling me you misremembered your own first crush? Steve, those concussions really did a number on you,” Robin said.

“I think Vickie and I have more in common than I thought,” he replied, ignoring Robin.

“Wait,” Robin said, eyes lighting up, “Are you saying…?”

“That my first crush was on Tommy H? Maybe,” Steve said. Vickie squealed in delight, squeezing his arm in support.

He wasn’t fully sure, but it was seeming increasingly more likely that he didn’t just like girls. Maybe he was like Vickie who liked both.

Robin hugged him and he leaned into the touch. “I cannot believe my girlfriend and best friend both had a crush on Tommy H. You both have the worst taste.”

“Robin, you’re just insulting yourself there you know,” Steve replied, shooting a grin at Vickie.

“Oh, shit, you’re right,” she said, looking contemplative. He tossed one arm around Robin and the other around Vickie, soaking up their support.

Maybe, being normal was overrated anyway.

Chapter Text

The last two weeks of his life have been educational, to say the least. Robin and Vickie were the best. After he told them that he was, you know, they were super supportive.

Robin pointed out all the gay movies at Family Video, making him check out a handful to watch as homework. While he did not see what the second Nightmare on Elm Street movie had to do with being gay, it was fun regardless. Robin mostly just seemed excited to have a friend to who she could relate. Since Vickie was her girlfriend, it was different.

Vickie was very open to talking about her experiences too, and he liked that he had someone to connect to even if they were not super close friends. They had a lot of similar experiences and Steve was realising so much about his own past. She called herself bisexual which seemed to fit him well too. He wasn’t fully comfortable with it all but everything made more sense now. It felt like his whole life was just clicking into place.

They had even gotten him a handful of pamphlets and zines about sexuality. Some of the images on it made him blush, but it was informative, to say the least. He was now very sure that he was as equally attracted to men as he was to women.

He had been lazily reading over a zine when he heard the doorbell ring. If it was Dustin begging for yet another ride, he was going to kill him. The kid had a bike. He did not need Steve this much.

He opened the door, surprised by who he saw there.

“Nancy,” Steve exclaimed, “What’re you doing here?”

“Hey Steve,” Nancy said, “I think I left my jacket here last weekend?”

Things between them were still awkward. They had navigated dating and then being friends before but something had happened between them in the Upside Down. Steve could swear there was a connection. But when Jonathan came back from California, it was like everything had gone back to normal. But Steve suddenly found it harder to do the ‘just friends’ thing with Nancy this time.

He was trying. He had invited them, Nancy and Jonathan (because they were a package deal now), to their weekly games night. Normally, it was just him, Robin, Vickie and Eddie. It was still fun but something had been off the whole night. And it wasn’t just him acting differently. Nancy was withdrawn now; she wouldn’t smile at Steve the same. He couldn’t deny that it hurt.

“It might be in the living room, I can go check,” he offered. He vaguely remembered a jacket being thrown over the couch.

Nancy followed him in though he thought she’d wait at the door. He tried to think of something casual to say to break the awkward silence but every conversation topic felt like it was laced in minefields. College was a loaded topic, the newspaper club was a loaded topic, and obviously, Jonathan was beyond loaded. What did they talk about before?

At the last second, once it was too late, he remembered what he was doing before she got here. The zines were spread across his couch and they were not subtle.

He quickly went to cover them up, shuffling them in a big pile and stuffing it under a few pillows. This only managed to draw her attention to it. He should have cleaned up before he opened the door, what was he thinking? At least it was Nancy who saw it and not one of the kids. He couldn’t bear that.

“Steve? What is that?” Nancy asked, her typical inquisitive frown out in full force.

This was not a conversation he wanted to have with anyone, least of all with his ex-girlfriend.

“Oh, just some reading material,” Steve said, wincing at his own explanation. Reading material? He couldn’t think of anything better than that?

“You read?” she joked. He felt hurt even though he knew she was joking and also right. Steve hadn't picked up a book since high school.

“Yeah,” he snapped before calming down and measuredly adding, “It’s just something Robin gave me the other day. It’s nothing okay?”

“Okay,” Nancy drawled out, confused.

“I think I see your jacket,” Steve pointed out, in relief, thankful for the distraction.

Nancy went to grab it and they walked towards the door in silence.

“Hey, you can talk to me. I know with the Upside Down and Vecna, it’s been stressful. We’re all having nightmares, but you can talk to me, you know if anything is wrong,” Nancy said. Steve’s officially lost track of the conversation.

“Nothing is wrong!” Steve said passionately. He probably should have toned it down a little, this wasn’t helping his case.

“Really? You’re going to go with that. I’ve never seen you try to deflect so hard. Clearly something is wrong,” Nancy replied, unamused.

“It’s nothing,” Steve said.

“Are you serious right now? Don’t lie to me,” Nancy said fiercely.

“It’s none of your business,” he finally said truthfully. This had nothing to do with anything else. He didn't have to tell anyone. He only told Robin and Vickie because he knew they would never judge him for it, but he wasn't sure he felt ready to tell other people.

Nancy flinched. “I see how it is.”

“Nancy, no, don’t be like that,” Steve said. It just was not about her.

“No, it’s fine. You’re right, I shouldn’t have pushed," she said, withdrawing from him. What if this was the last straw in their strained friendship? Steve took the leap reluctantly, desperate to salvage whatever he could.

“Nancy,” Steve sighed, “It’s not about the Upside Down. I realised recently that I like- that I’m attracted to men. The pamphlets in the living room are stuff I got to help figure this all out. I just got flustered when I thought you saw them and freaked out a little bit.”

Steve prepared himself for Nancy’s reaction. He felt like he was on a precipice and that Nancy was either going to push him off the cliff he was on or pull him back. It was stupid to think of this as so important. He had people in his life already who didn’t judge him for this.

It shouldn’t matter what Nancy thought but it did. It really mattered to Steve.

“Oh,” Nancy said, blinking back in surprise.

Steve felt his heart drop. This was the worst-case scenario. Why wasn’t she saying anything? Steve should have lied. She was so quiet.

“Look, please don’t tell anyone,” Steve whispered. He couldn’t take losing the kids. His vision was narrowing and he was getting dizzy. He couldn't even look at her.

“No,” Nancy said, “Steve, it's- not like that. I was just surprised but it’s fine. It's good! I'm happy you told me. Honest.”

“Oh, good,” Steve chocked out, still feeling on edge.

“I just- so you don’t like women?” Nancy said, still looking a little lost.

“I like both,” Steve replied. He didn’t want her to think that he hadn’t loved her. He really had loved her, even if he wasn’t sure if it was ever reciprocated.

“Can I give you a hug?” Nancy asked after a few moments of silence.

Steve nodded and she rushed to wrap her arms around them. He leant into the embrace and felt himself settle down. Things might not ever be the same but maybe they would be okay anyway.

If they could get through that conversation, then maybe they really could become friends again.

Chapter Text

Steve loved the kids; he really did. He could hardly comprehend what his life was like before Dustin befriended him. However, that didn’t mean they couldn’t get on his nerves like nobody’s business.

Dustin especially had the unique ability to cause Steve equal amounts of joy and distress in one conversation. He loved the kid but man, was he a piece of work sometimes, especially when Steve dropped him off at school in the mornings. The combination of Steve not being a morning person and Dustin having nothing but energy did not mesh well.

“I just don’t get why you won’t date Robin,” Dustin said, continuing his favourite hobby of speculating on Steve’s dating habits.

Not this again, Steve groaned, letting himself slump forward in the driver’s seat. He was sick and tired of everyone badgering him on this. Yes, he’d initially had a crush on Robin but that was ages ago. Even if Robin did like men, Steve wouldn’t want to date her. Their friendship was far too important for him and he didn’t get why people thought their closeness meant they had to date.

“You’ve got to get a life. Why is my love life so interesting to you? Worry about your own,” Steve replied. His life was a bit of a mess right now, but he had been taking big strides forward in the self-discovery aspect recently. Maybe it wasn’t the right time to add another person into the mix.

“My love life is just fine, thank you very much. Suzie and I are doing great. I’m going to visit her over the summer,” Dustin said before pivoting back onto him, “But Robin is the perfect girl. Why won’t you date her?”

“Okay, first off, it just sounds like you’ve got a crush on Robin now. And second off, we just do not want to date each other. Is that such a foreign concept to you?” Steve said. Dustin was platonically friends with Max and El so he didn’t get why this was so hard for him to understand.

Dustin squinched his face. “It just doesn’t make sense. Did Robin reject you? You’re funny, good-looking, and not a bad guy. Sure, you could use some hobbies or a career but you're a catch.”

“Flattering. Maybe I rejected Robin,” Steve pointed out, a little offended. He was right, Robin did reject him in a way but it very well could have gone the opposite way, as far as Dustin knew.

“No, that can’t be it,” Dustin said absently, deep in thought.

“Dude, just drop it,” Steve said, wishing he could drive faster, “Can’t we talk about something else? What’s up with your D&D thing?”

“D&D can wait. Steve, you can totally win Robin over.”

“Oh for fuck’s sake. Dustin, leave it,” Steve said.

“No, no, we just have to get her to see you differently. I’m thinking candle-light dinner, flowers, a confession after midnight,” Dustin said.

“Okay, dude, that’s so over the top. What kind of movies are you watching now?” Steve asked. Where did Dustin even get this bullshit from? Was this Eddie’s influence?

“It’s romantic Steve, girls appreciate that kind of stuff. See, this is why you’re single. You have to put in the effort,” Dustin lectured.

“Okay, can you stop? I’m not dating Robin.”

“But why?” Dustin asked.

“I’m just focusing on myself, right now,” Steve said.

“What’s there to focus on?”

“Rude. I realised something recently and I don’t know, it just doesn’t seem like the time to date anyone. Not even Robin,” Steve said, hoping this would be enough explanation.

“What did you realise?” Dustin asked, eyes wide and bright. He should’ve better than to give Dustin another mystery to try and solve. He was endlessly stubborn. Was the drive to Hawkins High longer than normal today because this conversation was endless?

“Something personal,” he deflected.

“Are you keeping secrets? I thought we didn’t do that anymore,” Dustin pouted. It was times like these when Steve was reminded about how young Dustin is.

“It’s not a secret, just a thing I haven’t shared,” Steve said.

“That’s the definition of a secret,” Dustin said, “Steve, you can trust me.”

“Fine. But you don’t tell anyone this; not Lucas, not Suzie, not Mike. Okay?” Steve said, giving in. What the hell, he’d been planning on telling Dustin eventually anyway. And if this would get him to back down on his love life, that it was well worth it.

“Okay, just tell me already,” he said expectantly, bouncing on the edge of his seat.

“I recently realised that I like- that I like men. The same way I do women,” Steve said, staring at Dustin out of the corner of his eye. He was nervous but telling Nancy had felt so stressful that he didn’t know if much else could compare. Dustin was a good kid, always bemoaning how the town treated outcasts.

Steve couldn’t imagine him being a dick about this but he was just a kid. He wasn’t sheltered but Steve doubted he even knew another gay person. Either way, he knew that if Dustin didn’t take it well from the get-go he would come around soon.

“Oh,” Dustin said, “Ohhh. That’s cool.”

“Yeah?” Steve asked, wanting to double-check. This was going even better than he had expected.

“Yeah, of course,” Dustin said sincerely, loosely hugging him, “I don’t care if you’re gay.”

“Thanks, kid,” Steve said, nudging him gently with his elbow, not bothering to correct him on the terminology.

“Plus, now you have double the options of people to date! This is sick,” Dustin said.

“I’m not sure that math checks out,” Steve replied.

“Wait, you should date Eddie,” Dustin said.

Steve choked. “What?”

“Well, you like boys and I think Eddie might too. If you won’t date Robin then you should date Eddie. Eddie’s the best,” Dustin said.

Dating Eddie. Now there was a thought. Sure he was a little attracted to him and may have had a little crush but it was hardly reciprocated. Plus, Steve had only known he was bisexual for a few weeks, wasn’t it too soon to be putting that into action. Robin knew she was a lesbian for years before she started dating Vickie.

Steve pulled the car over, finally arriving at Hawkins High. “You need to stop meddling so much.”

“Think about it. You and Eddie would be perfect together. The candlelight dinner plan still works.”

“Bye, Dustin,” Steve said, ignoring him. He was not going to take dating advice from a 14-year-old. Although, maybe Eddie would like it if Steve made him dinner…

“This conversation isn’t over Steve. We’ll find you someone to date,” Dustin called out as he left the car, attracting the attention of many people who were lingering in the parking lot. Steve gave a salute to some of the less subtle people who were staring and drove off.

Chapter Text

It was a little too cold for a day like this to be spent by the lake. But the kids wanted to and he didn’t have the heart to deny them after everything they’ve been through. It was nice for them to have normal childhood experiences.

Not that he had much choice when Dustin and Mike showed up at his door demanding he drive them to the lake. He was glad that Max and Lucas had similarly strong-armed Eddie into driving them; at least this way he wasn’t surrounded solely by high schoolers.

“Which flavour of popsicle do you want, Steve,” Lucas asked, holding out two tubes.

He dallied as he debated between the orange and grape popsicles. Maybe it was just too cold for popsicles right now.

“The orange ones are good,” Max cut in, helping him decide.

“No way, the grape is way better,” Lucas tossed back in derision.

“You know, it’s completely fine to like both flavours,” Dustin added.

Both Max and Lucas gave Dustin a weird look, knowing damn well that he preferred orange and has never in his life advocated that it’s okay to equally like two things. Dustin was the king of debating inconsequential things; he’d once gone a full hour debating which Star Trek movie was the best.

“Thanks, Dustin,” Steve said, rolling his eyes but taking the orange popsicle with a smile. He knew this was Dustin trying to be supportive. He’d been like this all week, finding increasingly unsubtle ways to proclaim how cool he was with Steve being bisexual. It would annoy him if it was less endearing.

“Will, how about you? Which one?” Lucas said to no response.

Will was staring at the water, sitting apart from the rest of the kids. He’d been withdrawn ever since he came back from California. Steve knew the kids were worried about him. Lucas was five seconds away from staging an intervention. None of them knew how to best reach him or even what was going on. They knew Will could sense Vecna so the working theory was that he was suffering from the lingering impacts of that trauma. Steve wasn’t convinced of it, however, but he didn’t know Will as well so he was probably wrong.

“Will!” Mike called out this time forcefully.

“Sorry, what?” Will said finally, looking up and blushing after making eye contact with Mike.

“Popsicles,” El said, taking them from Lucas to hand one over to her brother. At least he was still talking to El. Not that he could avoid her the way he did the others considering they lived together.

Steve watched the way Will’s eyes slid to Mike after taking the popsicle, seemingly unconsciously. Will turned red when he saw that Steve noticed his glance. The glance itself didn’t have to mean anything but his reaction after was a little more incriminating.

“Steve,” Eddie said and his own gaze was averted. He felt himself start to flush too, although he suppressed the reaction. Ever since freaking Dustin had suggested dating Eddie, it had been on his mind. Sure, he was a little attracted to him before but now it was like he just couldn’t help but notice him.

Was Eddie always this attractive or was this a new thing? He couldn’t even tell anymore.

Dustin was giving him an encouraging look and Steve subtly flipped him off. He was not asking Eddie out just because Dustin inexplicably wanted this to happen. Dustin was like a hawk whenever he was with both Steve and Eddie, waiting to pounce on any mildly suggestive sentence.

“Yeah?” he said, remembering why he looked over in the first place.

“You have a little popsicle juice here,” he said, pointing at his chin.

Steve tried to wipe it off. “Good?”

“No, it’s still there,” Eddie said before leaning over and gripping his jaw. He wiped off the residue with his thumb with a firm stroke. He unconsciously sucked off the juice from his thumb before Steve could even react.

“Thanks,” Steve said, his voice embarrassingly hoarse. It was like he was a kid again with his very first crush. How was this affecting him so much?

Will was staring again but this time at him and Eddie, not at Mike. Maybe his sudden reclusiveness had little to do with Vecna after all.

Steve got up and stretched before walking over to Will, ignoring Dustin’s inquisitive look. He was far from the best person for this chat but he couldn’t let things go on like this.

“Hey, Will,” he said. Of all the kids, Will and El were the least close to him. They both were gone for the better part of the last year and already had an older brother so they didn’t need him for rides or advice. Steve didn’t mind this; he already had Dustin and Max glued to him, and even Lucas and Mike seemed to like him more these days.

But maybe, Steve had one thing to give Will that Jonathan might not be able to. A shared experience.

“Steve,” Will replied evenly, looking nervous. Steve tossed over a smile to calm him down.

“Hey, you can keep a secret,” he said. In for a penny, right? This was going to be a weird conversation regardless of how he started it so why obfuscate from why he’s here.

“Sure,” Will said, understandably confused.

“I might have a bit of a crush on Eddie,” Steve said, getting straight to the point. Robin would be miffed that she wasn’t the first to know but considering he told her he liked boys five seconds after he realised, she couldn’t be mad.

Will’s jaw clenched and his eyes squinted angrily at him. “That’s not funny.”

“I’m not trying to be funny,” Steve said, wondering if he has horribly misread this whole scenario. Even if Will wasn’t like him, the last thing he’d expected was for him of all the kids to be shitty about this. He really wasn’t sure how to defuse this situation, he hadn’t really seen Will angry before.

“I know you dated Nancy,” Will said, still not backing down.

“Oh. Yeah, I did. I liked Nancy and now I like Eddie,” Steve said.

“You’re not making fun of me?” Will whispered out quietly with a hopeful look on his face.

“No, never,” Steve said before correcting himself, “Not about this.”

He couldn’t promise not to make fun of his haircut but that was a tease best saved for when they knew each other more.

“I like Mike,” Will confessed. Steve glanced over at the kids to make sure they were out of earshot before responding.

“Is this why you haven’t been hanging out with the rest of them?” Steve said.

“I didn’t want anyone to find out that I like Mike- that I like boys,” Will said.

“I can’t vouch for all of them,” Steve said, “But I have a feeling they would be okay with it because they love you so much. Dustin knows about me, that I like both, and you would not believe how supportive he is. Too supportive if anything.”

Will hummed thoughtfully. "Maybe I'll tell him."

"Even if you don't, start coming around more. We all miss you," Steve said earnestly. He barely even knew the kid and missed him just the same.

Will squeezed his arm. Steve sat next to Will for a couple of minutes until he was ready to join the rest of the kids. Lucas's ecstatic smile when Will sat next to him was enough to make the whole conversation worth it. This whole being bisexual thing might be useful after all.

Chapter Text

Steve added a piece of wood to the fire, poking it gingerly with a metal stick. The kids wanted to do a bonfire so badly but he was mildly worried they’d end up burning the house down even if they were just in his backyard. Robin was armed with a bucket of water just in case it got out of control.

“Keep your hands away from the fire,” Steve warned, making sure the kids were a good distance away from the fire pit, “I do not want to have to tell your parents that you injured yourselves again with me.”

“You’re such a worrier,” Robin replied, rolling her eyes. Like she was any better. She was the one who kept the first aid kit stocked in the first place.

“Steve, do you have marshmallows? We can make s’mores,” Max said excitedly, reminding him why he even agreed to this. It was well worth it to give up his Friday plans if it got them so happy. Eddie and Robin were happy to pivot to having a bonfire with all the kids and even if it gave him less opportunity to hang out with Eddie, it was still fun.

“What are s’mores?” El asked. It was a little heartbreaking how many childhood experiences El missed out on.

“You’re going to love them, it’s chocolate and marshmallows melted together sandwiched between a cookie,” Mike explained, miming the layers with his hands.

“Here,” Steve said, tossing Lucas the bag of marshmallows he’d gotten previously, predicting they’d want some. Thank god at least one of the kids had any sort of reflexes. He’d once tossed Dustin a bottle of coke from less than three feet away that he failed to catch, having it shatter all over the floor.

“You’re gonna love them, El,” Will said from where he was sitting next to her and Mike. Their conversation at the lake really did seem to have an effect on him, he seemed a lot happier these days.

Lucas was handing out the marshmallows and Dustin was getting sticks for them to use as skewers.

“I’m good,” Eddie said, passing up the marshmallow, “It’s too sweet for me.”

“It’s not nearly as sweet as you are, Munson,” Steve said with a wink. Robin rolled her eyes at the remark. Sure it was not his finest work but he was going for quantity over quality right now. He just needed to know if Eddie could like him back and really any reaction from him would be helpful.

Dustin shot him a thumbs up which was better than the glare Mike was giving him. Steve didn't know what was up with him lately. Mike was being snappier than usual but just with him. He was closer than ever with Will now, and as comfortable with El as ever. On a good day, they had a somewhat playful banter but this was pure vitriol. It was like the kid was trying to murder him with his eyes.

“Flatterer,” Eddie said back evenly. Steve was going to have to up his game, nothing he was doing was having any impact on Eddie.

“You’re so ridiculous,” Robin whispered, coming up close behind him.

“You’re one to talk, I’ve seen your flirting,” Steve replied. Robin for all that she made fun of his flirting, was far worse than him in every conceivable way. She was such a mess around Vickie, it was a wonder they had managed to even start dating.

“Ow,” Mike said, accidentally touching the end of the stick that had gone into the fire, diverting Steve’s attention back to the group.

“Oh, for fuck’s sake, Mike,” Steve said, walking over to him. The kids had already huddled around him in concern.

“It’s nothing,” Mike said, hiding his arm behind him to no avail. El gripped his wrist to get a better look at the red patch on his fingers. It was just a minor burn from the looks of it but it had to sting.

“Let’s go inside and put something on that,” Steve said with a sigh, leading him back into the house. He knew one of them would find a way to injure themselves. His bets were on Dustin but he wasn’t surprised that it was Mike.

Make was wincing as he held up his wrist towards his body. Steve sat him down on the couch, pulling out the supplies. Lifeguard training really came into handy these days with how much the kids got hurt.

“I can do it myself,” Mike said, pulling away from him when he tried to clean the burn.

“Alright, what’s up with you?” Steve said. His patience was fully gone. He gave Mike the wet cloth so he could wipe off the debris himself.

“Nothing,” Mike spit out.

Steve shot him a sceptical look. “You’ve been snappy all day and only with me.”

“Look,” Mike said, mulling over his words, “It’s not funny to flirt with Eddie.”

Steve dropped the bandage. “What are you talking about?”

“You’re leading him on! I know you like Nancy- or maybe Robin, I'm not sure. That’s beside the point. I know you like girls and flirting with Eddie because you think it’s funny is mean.”

“I’m not leading anyone on,” Steve said, truly confused about where Mike got all this from. It wasn’t even seeming likely that Eddie liked him at all and he hadn’t even realised the other kids had noticed Steve’s attempts at hitting on Eddie.

“Yes, you are! You’re always saying things and it’s not fair to him because Eddie actually likes boys,” Mike said. Steve clearly had to work on his subtlety though in his defence it was hard to flirt with someone enough that they noticed and no one else did.

“Eddie’s gay?” Steve said, getting sidetracked. Was this common knowledge among the kids or had he missed something? Maybe he did have more of a chance than he thought because it really felt like he’d been flirting into the void the last few days.

“Uh, yeah,” Mike said, his eyebrows scrunched up in confusion.

Not the point, he was getting sidetracked. “I’m not flirting with Eddie as a joke.”

“Then what are you doing?” Mike said, genuinely pained.

“Mike, kiddo, I’m flirting with Eddie because I like him,” Steve said.

“But you dated Nancy,” Mike said resolutely.

“I did,” Steve replied evenly, used to this line of questioning by now, “I like women too. As well as men.”

“Oh,” Mike responded, staring down at his singed fingers, “I didn’t know that was a thing.”

“It took me by surprise too,” Steve said. He was lucky that he had Vickie in his life because he didn’t know how long it would’ve taken him otherwise to realise that he was bisexual. How long would it have taken him to even learn the word bisexual? Steve liked Hawkins but sometimes he wondered how much he was missing out on, how many experiences he would never have by staying here.

“So you have a crush on Eddie then? For real?” Mike asked.

“Have you seen his hair? Of course, I do,” Steve said.

“Yeah,” Mike sighed out commiseratingly. Steve squeezed his hand and wrapped the bandage around tightly.

“It’s okay, you know. To like both,” Steve said softly, letting his arm go.

Mike looked up at him with wide eyes, completely speechless. Steve wasn’t going to push him. It took him years after he first liked a boy to realise it and he was still working on accepting it, even if he fell head first into a crush. Mike was young, he had plenty of time.

“I think he likes you back,” Mike said, walking to the backyard, “And maybe if you told him that you like boys, the flirting would work better.”

Steve rolled his eyes. Great, now he had another teenager giving him romantic advice. Just what he needed.

Chapter Text

“I cannot believe I’m about to take advice from Mike freaking Wheeler,” Steve muttered quietly as he paced outside of Eddie’s trailer. He had been working up the courage to knock on the door for a solid five minutes now. And that was not even taking into account the amount of time it took him to admit that Mike maybe had a point. Robin agreeing that he should come out to Eddie if he wanted an actual relationship with him had finally won him over.

They were right. All the flirting in the world would not get anywhere if Eddie didn’t know that he liked boys. And with the kids, and Robin insisting that Eddie was likely attracted to boys too, there was some incentive to really give this a chance. And he was friends with Eddie regardless so maybe it was good for him to know this about him. At least, this was what Steve recited to himself, reminding him why he had been planning this in the first place.

“Steve,” Eddie said as he leaned out of the trailer, “Are you planning to come inside or-”

“Yup, sorry,” Steve said, walking in. There was no time to back out now. He hoped Eddie had not noticed him pacing outside for long. He sat down gingerly on the couch, eyeing the door hopefully.

“What’s up? Were we supposed to hang out today?” Eddie asked. He looked like he was about to go to bed, with all sleep-mussed hair and half-lidded eyes. His shirt was too big on him; almost sliding off his shoulder, showing off the smooth skin there.

Steve cleared his throat to avoid the question. “Could I get some water?”

Eddie poured him a glass, passing it over as he sat next to him. “You’re freaking me out, Harrington.”

Steve was freaking himself out too. Maybe this was a mistake. What if Eddie took this poorly? Robin, Dustin and even Mike thought Eddie liked boys but none of them gave him any proof to believe this. What if Eddie hated him for this? Steve could handle rejection – he was used to handling rejection – but rejection coupled with disgust would hurt. How was this still so scary? He had told so many people already so he should've been used to it by now.

“Okay, what’s going on? Is Vecna back? Is something wrong with Dustin?” Eddie rambled, the words tripping over each other anxiously.

“No! Nothing like that,” Steve said, trying to reassure him. He should have planned this out better. Of course, Eddie defaulted to assuming the worst possible scenario. Steve would’ve done the same.

“Then why do you look like someone’s been murdered?” Eddie asked.

“No, it’s nothing bad. I just have something to tell you,” Steve said. He was thinking about how best to phrase this. Of course, he’d practised at home but looking at Eddie here, it didn’t feel like the right move to lead with the crush first.

“Okay… So are you going to tell me sometime soon or are we just going to sit on this couch staring at each other for the next half hour?”

Steve rolled his eyes. “You’re so impatient.”

“Steve! Tell me already,” Eddie demanded, shifting closer to him, and staring at him intensely.

Steve shut his eyes. He didn’t want to see his reaction. “I’m bisexual.”

“What?” Eddie said. Oh right, even Steve didn't know what the word meant until Vickie explained it to him. It was weird how quickly he forgot that after he’d grown more comfortable with it himself. He squinted his eyes back open to see Eddie staring at him in confusion.

“I like men and women. Like as in-”

“No, I know what bisexual means,” Eddie said, cutting him off.

“Oh, well, that’s what I am,” Steve reiterated. This was not quite the reaction he’d expected but he was pleased that it wasn’t a negative one.

“Yeah, I know that.”

“What?”

“Was it supposed to be a secret? Dustin referenced it like four times during the bonfire. Robin has been picking exclusively gay movies for movie night to 'educate you'. Nancy kept nudging you whenever a hot guy popped up on the screen last time too. Plus, you clearly told baby Byers something related when we were all at the lake. He told Mike he was gay one day after I saw you talking to him.”

“Will told Mike he was gay?” Steve said, momentarily distracted. He hadn’t realised. He was so proud of Will; the kid was far braver than him. No wonder why Mike was all weird at the bonfire. He was probably trying to be supportive of Will. The kids were so sweet.

“Yeah, after D&D last week. I overheard accidentally but in my defence, they weren’t subtle,” Eddie said.

“Wow,” Steve said, impressed. He was still reeling from the fact that Eddie had known about him for what seemed like weeks.

Eddie laughed. “Wait, this is not the point. I can’t believe this was supposed to be a secret.”

“Hey! You’re the only one who realised without me telling them,” Steve protested. He didn’t think he was that obvious. Sure, maybe his friends were being aggressively supportive but no one had said anything explicit.

“Well, maybe it was in part wishful thinking,” Eddie said, draping his arm on the couch behind Steve. If Steve leant back a little, they’d be touching.

Steve looked at Eddie with wide eyes. “What do you mean by that?”

It sounded flirty but it didn’t have to be a romantic statement, right? Maybe Eddie was gay after all and just wanted a friend to who he could relate.

“How are you so blind? I’ve been flirting with you for weeks, ever since I first caught on that you liked men,” Eddie said. Eddie had been flirting with him? Since when? Steve supposed the popsicle incident was flirtatious but he had not realised that was a purposeful action in the slightest.

“Okay, in my defence, I’ve been flirting for ages too and I didn’t even know if you liked guys,” Steve said. He’d been pulling out all his best pick-up lines, finding occasions to be shirtless and making excuses to be in Eddie’s space for weeks now. He had to have been more blatant than Eddie.

“Of course, I like guys. Look at me,” Eddie said, gesturing to himself incredulously.

“You know, no matter how many people say that it still doesn’t make more sense,” Steve muttered. How was he supposed to just look at him and be able to tell? That was not a thing.

“So if I’ve been flirting with you and you’ve been flirting with me…” Eddie said, trailing off.

“We’ve both been kinda stupid?” Steve suggested.

“No! Well, yes that too. Maybe we should go on a date and, you know, try flirting with each other when we’re both aware it’s happening,” Eddie said.

“Oh! You free Friday night, Munson?” Steve said, tilting his head questioningly. He leant a little forward, enjoying how Eddie’s cheeks pinked up at the increased proximity. Now that he knew Eddie liked him, it was easier to read into all the signs that were blaring in his face.

“For you? Of course,” Eddie said.

Steve moved even closer, his eyes firmly locked on his lips. “I’ll pick you up at 7.”

“Cool,” Eddie stuttered out.

Steve slowly, giving Eddie plenty of time to back away, pressed his lips to Eddie’s in a soft, chaste kiss. Eddie’s lips were soft against his. He was gripping Steve's cheek firmly, sending shivers down his spine. Even the innocent kiss, which was really just a peck, was enough to fire Steve up. He pulled himself away quickly, knowing if he stayed, things would escalate. Not that he’d be opposed to that, but he wanted to do this right and take Eddie on the date he deserved first.

“I’ll see you Friday, Eddie,” Steve said as he walked away, a grin firmly affixed on his face. This went so much better than he ever could have dreamed up.

“Bye,” Eddie called out weakly.

This whole being bisexual thing really was pretty great, after all.