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Steve sat by the stage as he watched Eddie dance, thinking about how the last couple months had been for his little family. He and Robin had started working at the club during the day. The kids were home on summer break. Max and Jane often just wondered around town while the boys were involved in a campaign with Eddie and his friends. Eddie had been able to cut back on hours at the garage to work on the campaign and to work on recording a demo for Corroded Coffin. Nancy was hallway through her last semester of journalism classes. By year’s end, she will have graduated, started a new job at a newspaper a couple towns over, and will have gotten married to Robin.
Meanwhile, Steve was just being. The biggest struggle in his life was legally changing his name, despite most everyone having already adjusted to using Eddie’s last name for him. At the thought of Eddie’s last name, Steve glanced down to the thin gold band resting on his left ring finger. Eddie had presented it to him on a sunny Saturday afternoon in May during a picnic. Eddie had told him that since he’d be using their last name, he should have a proper engagement ring.
Engagement ring.
Steve was engaged. He looked at the ring again and then back to the dancer on the stage. His fiancé. He smiled as a warmth flooded through his body and for the first time in a very long time, he felt full of pure joy. When people asked how he could possibly be engaged after a few short months, he could just respond that he knew it was right. That Eddie was the one.
As he was pulled from his trance, the second song Eddie danced to ended and the lights went down, scattered applause filling the club. Steve grabbed the stray dollar bills on the side of the stage he was sitting by. He handed the money to his partner before making his way over to the back door of the club to wait for Eddie.
“Hey, Steve. Are you able to work next Wednesday during the day? You’re already working that night.” Nancy asked, clipboard in hand.
“Yeah, no problem, Nance.” He answered, bouncing on his toes as he waited on his partner. He smiled as Eddie walked out, grabbing them by the wrist and pulling them in for a kiss.
“Hello to you too, gorgeous.” Eddie cooed, hands resting on Steve’s waist.
“Hurry up. Need you.” The younger of them whined before trailing his fiancé’s hand down his pants.
“My, my. Needy tonight, aren’t we, princess?” The chuckled and squeeze quickly before leading him to the van.
Moments after the two of them went outside, the club phone rang. They rarely got calls that weren’t pranks, so Nancy ignored it. Robin asked at one point if they should answer and Nancy waved them off. Until the third time the phone rang in five minutes. Nancy finally grabbed the phone and took a deep breath.
“Eternal Exotic, Angel speaking.” She said as cheerfully as she could manage while fully expecting to hear something that she’d heard too many times before.
“Steve? Is Steve working tonight?” The woman on the other end was frantic and distressed.
“Ma’am, you’re going to have to be more specific. We have a couple Steve’s that work here.” Nancy replied, tone changing.
“Harrington. Steve Harrington. Is he working tonight?” The woman clarified. Nancy flinched at the use of her friend’s birth name. And then it clicked.
“Margaret? I thought Steve made it clear he doesn’t want to speak to you anymore.” She answered sternly.
“Trust me, I don’t want to be calling this place. If it wasn’t for what happened, I wouldn’t be. Just get him. It’s about his father.” Margaret replied in a huff.
“He’s not available at the moment. If you leave your number, I’ll have him call you back if he chooses to.” Nancy answered, grabbing a blank scrap of paper.
“Absolutely not, I’ll wait on hold. I know you don’t plan on telling him I called if I hang up.” She sneered.
“Fine. I’ll put you on hold.” She huffed, angrily pressing the hold button.
Every few moments, Nancy would check to see if Margaret had hung up, which, much to her chagrin, was not the case. She went about her work, flirting with her fiancée, and checking out the back door to see if the boys were on their way in to the club.
“God, you’re so pretty.” Eddie chuckled as Steve stepped out of the van, a dopey grin on their fiancé’s face.
“Thank you.” Steve chuckled while his partner climbed out of the van as well.
“Let’s get you back inside, handsome. Unfortunately, we do still have jobs to do.” They cooed, kissing his partner’s temple and leading him inside.
“Finally, you’re back. There’s someone on the phone for you. They called literally right after you went to break.” Nancy said as she spotted her friends walk toward the bar.
“Who is it and why wouldn’t they call my cell?” Steve asked with a raised eyebrow.
“They, uh, don’t have your number.” It was all Nancy said as she handed him the phone. He grabbed the phone, still eyeing her with suspicion.
“Hello?”
“Steve? Steve, is that you?” The frantic voice on the other end was instantly recognized by him. He hadn’t her voice in months, but immediately stiffened up at the pitch and his breath started hitching
“Yes, Margaret, it is. How can I help you? Are you interested in booking a party?” He asked, trying to remain calm as he fidgeted with his engagement ring.
“Your father fell and hit his head here in town and it’s really bad. When they ran tests, they found a large tumor on his brain…”
“Just get to the point, Margaret.” Steve interrupted, rolling his eyes.
“He has late stage cancer. They don’t think he’ll make it very long and he said he wanted to see you.” She finished, voice shaking.
“I have absolutely nothing to say to Harold. He hasn’t wanted to speak to me for a decade, why should he get to now?” He seethed, near fuming at this point.
“He’s your father. You should try to make peace with him.”
“I SHOULD TRY TO MAKE PEACE WITH HIM?! I’m not the one that had a problem with him! He stopped talking to ME! He never loved ME!” He shouted as tears formed in his eyes.
“Please just talk to him. It sounded like he wants to apologize. Just give him ten minutes. Please.”
“Fine. Ten minutes.” Steve huffed. He listened as she rattled off the room number and how to get there in the hospital. He hung up and told Tony he needed an hour and would make it up as part of his shift the next day. He had driven separately from the rest of his housemates, so he got in his car without telling his friends or fiancé where he was going. He told Tony to let them he had something to take care of and that he’d be back, despite knowing Nancy would likely figure it out.
Steve listened to one of the random playlists Eddie had made on his phone, hoping to keep himself calm before going to the hospital. He sang along softly to the songs before pulling it the parking lot. He made his way through the silent halls, purposefully going the wrong way at times to stall. He finally got to room 420 and walked in to see Margaret sitting in a chair beside the bed, where Harold laid, his head bandaged.
“Steve.” Margaret was crying as she stood up, rushing to embrace him.
“Do not touch me.” He said calmly and held up his hand to keep her at bay.
“You’re denying me a hug from my son? During this stressful time?” She asked, tears in her eyes.
“I’m here for Harold and I agreed to ten minutes. You’re cutting into that.” He replied, walking past her to stand roughly six inches from the foot of the bed.
“Steven. You cut your hair too much, I see.” Harold said with a scowl as he looked him over.
“Really? You see me for the first time in a decade and that’s the first thing you decide to say to me?” Steve scoffed.
“You’ve put on weight and got a face piercing too? That’s disappointing. I thought I have made it clear that you were supposed to keep your hair longer, keep your weight down, and never get a face piercing or a tattoo.” Harold continued to chastise, completely ignoring what was said to him.
“Can you hurry up? You have eight minutes left and I want to get back to my job with my fiancé and the rest of my family.” The younger man huffed, fiddling with his ring again.
“Oh, did you finally decide to stop being a filthy queer? You find yourself a nice girl? Nancy Wheeler, hopefully.” The other man asked.
“Nope. I’m engaged to the love of my life, Eddie. He makes me so happy. He encourages me to be myself and held my hand when I got my piercings and my tattoo.” Steve answered with a smile, this time touching his ring in admiration.
“You’re so disgusting. I was hoping this was just a phase and you’d realize that you need to be with a woman to be happy. Nothing better than a real woman’s love.” Harold spat out.
“You’d know all about loving women, huh? How many mistresses have you had? How many abortions have you paid for while also donating to ‘pro-life’ organizations? Do I even need to mention the amount of kids you really have? Or have you never told Margaret about Michigan and Ohio?” Steve replied, voice filled with venom.
“Steven Alexander! How dare you say such things about you father?!” Margaret squealed, metaphorically clutching her pearls.
“Why do you think Harold has taken ‘real estate scouting’ trips and wouldn’t take you? Always came home with jewelry and flowers and took you to nice dinners and actually slept with you? Because he was feeling guilty.” Steve was cooking now and fully intended to air it all out.
“But Harold wasn’t the only one going against your marriage vows, was he? Or did you think no one knew about you sleeping with our gardener? Or the manager of the country club you used to go to? Or the lady you hired to clean our house for a while? Yeah, I know about all of them.” He went on, staring daggers into her.
“How do you know all of that?” She asked while avoiding her husband’s gaze.
“The house wasn’t always empty when you thought it was.” He answered coldly. He turned his attention back to the older man, eyebrows raised and waiting for the next blow from him.
“At least tell me you’re the man of the relationship and you haven’t gone full fag.” Harold said with a smirk, hoping he insulted the younger man beyond belief.
“Then I’d be lying if I said that. Eddie dotes on me and treats me so well, almost like royalty. And he bends me over…” Steve started, taunting the older man before he was interrupted.
“You need to get out, Steven. You’re a disappointment and I refuse to have a fag for a son. And as soon as possible, we’ll be removing you from our will.” The older man sneered.
“Fine with me. If your cancer makes you less of a jackass, feel free to try and reach out to me. Otherwise, I hope you’re as miserable as possible for as long as possible.” Steve said flatly before walking out of the room. He choked back tears as he walked to the car and then he let them all out, pulling out his phone to text Nancy.
S: So that went horribly
N: Should I go ahead and tell them? They’ve been worried sick about you and have not stopped bothering me.
S: Yeah. Eddie’s hugs and Robin’s scolding are needed and welcome at this point.
N: She’s going to be beyond pissed at you.
S: I know and honestly, I deserve it.
Steve drove through the city, blaring the loudest music he had and screaming along to it. He was thankful the roads were empty as it was well past two in the morning on a weekday. He pulled into the employee lot of the club and got out to walk toward the door. He stopped dead in his tracks as his friends stood in front of the door, letting out a groan. Robin stood with her arms crossed and fury in her eyes. Nancy, ever neutral in expression stood beside her fiancée. And Eddie, his rock, stood ready to embrace him at a moment’s notice.
“Fuck.” He mumbled, head hung in preparation for the verbal stripping he was about to receive.
“Steven Alexander Munson! You absolute pain in my fucking ass!” Robin shouted, punching him in the arm.
“Hi, guys.” Steve said sheepishly as he rubbed his arm.
“Just answer me this: what the fuck were you thinking? And why not tell us? You had Nancy tell us on your way back. That’s bullshit, Steve. You’re lucky you only got punched in the arm. You deserve to be punched in the face!” They scolded him, hands flying in anger.
“I’m sorry and you’re absolutely right. I knew you’d talk me out of going and Margaret made it sound like he wanted to apologize to me.”
“And how did it go? Judging by your face and the very cold, kicked puppy body language you’re showing, I’m assuming it didn’t go the way you hoped.” Eddie said softly, eyes roaming over their fiancé.
“You’d be correct. It went even worse than that. He took one look at the hair and the piercings and mentally retracted any apology he had planned. Can we talk inside?” He answered quietly as he leaned into his partner.
“Of course we can, angel. My shift is nearly over and you look like you could use a Corroded Coffin.”
“Why would I need your band?”
“It’s a drink I make too. It’s originally called a ‘Grateful Dead’ but Tony let me rename it for the exposure. Let’s me give the DJ songs too. Anyway, come on.” They chuckled and lead him inside.
“Aww, I thought you’d take me inside to a private room and hold me and let me cry into your shirt.”
“Even in a private room, you know you won’t cry in a public place. Save the tears and snot for home and tell us about Harold and Margaret.”
Eddie made the drink while Nancy and Robin took inventory, listening to Steve vent. He told them about Harold having cancer and all the names that he was called. He told them about the evil glares and slurs amidst the spilling of several family secrets. There was also talk of how Steve may have crossed some lines with the things he said to them.
“Did you really drop the news about your half-siblings and tell Harold you hope his cancer makes him miserable, all in ten minutes? Kinda harsh, Steve.” Nancy said as she worked on the schedules.
“Are you kidding? That is amazing! You let them have it and they deserve everything you said to them. After the way they’ve treated you all these years and the things they said to you? It was time you let them knew exactly how much you knew.” Robin said, back turned as she kept taking inventory of the bar.
“Could have at least bit a little gentler. The man has terminal cancer, for Christ’s sake.” Nancy said back.
“’He’ is right here and can hear you. I regret nothing, by the way. I shouldn’t repeatedly be called a ‘fag’ for being myself. I shouldn’t have to defend myself over and over and be made to feel miserable. I am fed the fuck up.” Steve huffed, running a hand over his head and looking at Eddie.
“No, you don’t, baby. You had a lot of terrible things said to and about you your whole life. And you had a lot of hard emotions to deal with. No one is blaming you for lashing out at them.” Eddie said and held their hand, running a thumb over the skin.
“And if you did end up feeling bad about it, you can always go visit and apologize.” Nancy added.
“Do not count on that at all.” Steve slurred slightly after finishing the last of his second drink.
“Okay, sweetheart. No more of these. Nance, you drive his car home with Robin and I’ll drive him home in the van. No driving for the drunk pretty boy.” Eddie chuckled and washed Steve’s glasses while Nancy and Robin finished their tasks.
The four of them finally made their way outside, Steve giggling and kissing Eddie’s neck. They helped him into the van before waving their other friends off and climbing in the driver’s seat. He looked into the back seat before driving off to see the love of their life curled into the pile of pillows and blankets.
“Eds? Eddie? Eeeeedddddssss?”
“What is it, baby?”
“I wish you could have been with me at the hospital.”
“No, you don’t. I would have been in the way.” Eddie replied with a smile.
“Uh uh. It would have been funny to see Harold freak out over seeing you with me. Maybe he would have passed out.” Steve slurred with a giggle.
“You’re drunk and not thinking straight. Not that you ever do when I’m around. We’re picking you up some greasy food and then we’re going home to get you some ibuprofen and some sleep. You and I are both off tomorrow, so we’ll get sleep and binge watch ‘Supernatural’. You know you’re dying to see how Dean and Cas are doing.”
“You’re my Dean, Eddie. Oh my god, this is like when Cas drank the liquor store.” Steve said with a groan, rubbing his eyes.
“You are so much cuter drunk though, Stevie.” The chuckled and pulled up to a drive thru.
Once greasy food had been acquired, Eddie drove them home, leading Steve upstairs and putting him in bed. He went to get water and ibuprofen for his love after making sure Steve had changed into his pajamas. Before going to keep Steve company before he fell asleep, Eddie stopped by Nancy and Robin’s room to wish them good night.
“Good night. Now go. You know how he gets when he drinks.” Nancy chuckled. Eddie walked back to their room to find Steve snoring.
“Baby, wake up. You need to eat, drink, and take the ibuprofen.” Eddie cooed, kissing his fiancé’s forehead and doting on him.