Chapter Text
Steve sucked on the end of the perfectly rolled joint in his hand. Smoke curled in front of him as he blew out. Next to him, Robin laughed at something Jonathan said.
Steve leaned his head onto the back of the couch, neck arched to an uncomfortable degree. He closed his eyes and breathed in the smell of weed seeping into Eddie’s new trailer. He caught the sweet scents of Robin’s shampoo and Nancy’s perfume, of Jonathan’s deodorant and Argyle’s, well…Argyle just had a pleasant scent that Steve couldn’t place.
Steve wanted to hold this moment close to his heart, to savor it. The battle was over, and his people were here just hanging out, enjoying each other’s company without the stress of planning a strategy for defeating the next big bad Upside Down creature.
Cold fingers gently pried the slowly burning joint from his hand. Steve could tell it was Munson without even looking. He’d spent more time than he would admit staring at those hands. They were thinner and longer than his own, constantly adorned with silver rings and calloused from hours playing guitar. Steve often wondered how those callouses would feel against his skin.
“All right,” came Eddie’s voice, pulling Steve away from his thoughts. “Who’s crashing here?”
Eddie stood in front of the group like he was standing in front of a crowd: always ready to perform, to put on a show.
Jon and Argyle were way too high to go anywhere and declined Nancy’s offer for a ride. Robin decided beforehand that she’d ride with Steve as her parents were expecting her home soon, not too keen on letting their teenage daughter out too late after all the murders.
Steve, Robin, and Nancy stood at the door ready to leave when Robin cleared her throat to call for everyone’s attention.
Here goes nothing, Steve thought. Robin told him a few days ago that she wanted to come out to the rest of the Upside Down gang. Steve told her he would back her up no matter what happened or what anyone said because of course he would. She was his soulmate. Besides, he honestly doubted any of the older teens would react negatively to the news.
“I’ve been meaning to tell you all something, and I hope it doesn’t change the way you see me, but we’ve been together through literal hell, and if I can't tell you guys then who can I tell. God, this is hard. Way harder than last time. Well, I guess the Russian drugs helped. And the puking—”
“Robin,” Steve called. She looked up from where she’d been staring at the floor. “It’s okay.”
Robin took a deep breath in.
“Yeah, okay. So what I’m trying to say is…I like women. Yay…” She did jazz hands at the end to which Steve sighed and rolled his eyes fondly. She was a mess, but she was his mess.
“Looks like we have something in common,” Eddie said. “Well, not the woman part, the gay part. Or was that implied? Whatever. Yeah. I’m gay. Too.” And wow, Steve was not expecting that, though, in hindsight, he probably should have. Robin told him you could never tell someone’s sexuality by looking at them and that you should never assume, but Steve did. He kind of assumed everyone was straight until proven otherwise. Robin would probably be disappointed in that line of thinking. Maybe Nancy would too.
Nancy, of course, reacted with warmth and positivity. As did Argyle and Jonathan. Steve was proud of his friends for reacting way better than he did when Robin told him. Insulting her crush was not the best move.
It took Steve a moment to realize everyone was staring at him. He hadn’t reacted: didn’t think he needed to when he already knew Robin was gay, but Eddie had also come out, so he had to say something.
Steve looked around at the faces in the room. Eddie looked anxious, rocking back and forth with his eyes glued to the floor beneath him. Robin was also rocking back and forth, but she seemed more excited and happy than nervous. Nancy’s brows were pinched in disappointment which Steve thought was unfair because he hadn’t even said anything yet, but he also understood. He was kind of a fuck up when it came to these things. Jonathan looked defensive, ready to throw a punch if necessary as if Steve would say or do something unsavory, and boy did that sting. Steve thought he’d changed from junior year. He thought everyone knew that. Guess not. Of course, Argyle looked uninterested.
“Oh,” Steve said sheepishly. “Well, I already knew about Robin.” Eddie looked up at that and locked eyes with Steve. “But, uh. Yeah, man. That’s cool.”
“‘That’s cool’?!” Robin cackled.
Steve banged his head on the steering wheel and groaned.
“Hey! Eyes on the road, dingus.”
“Sorry, sorry,” Steve mumbled as he returned his gaze to the road in front of him.
“Well…It could have gone worse!” Robin tried.
Steve shot her a quick look before turning back to the road for fear of another admonishment from Robin.
“Well, anyway…You totally missed your chance back there.”
“Hmm?”
“Well, while you were off in dreamland, we were kinda having a…coming out thing? Whatever. Point is, you could have totally told everyone you were bisexual. And you didn’t!”
Oh yeah. See, Steve realized pretty quickly after Starcourt, after getting closer to Robin and learning more about what it meant to be gay, that he was bisexual. He learned the word from Robin after they went to a gay club in Indianapolis and he noticed some people dancing and making out with people of the same and opposite genders. It took weeks of hard thinking and long nights remembering people he didn’t want to think about ever again—Tommy and Billy—to realize that sometimes he looked and thought about men in a way that wasn’t “normal.”
“Guess I just didn’t want to take the spotlight off you,” Steve joked. Robin punched him in the shoulder. He barely felt it.
“I’m serious, Steve. You had the perfect opportunity.”
“I know, Robs. I just think there are some people who need to know first, ya know.”
Steve saw Robin give him a look from his periphery, just as he pulled up in front of Robin’s house, modest compared to Steve’s too big mansion.
“Some people?”
Steve huffed. “Okay, fine. Someone. God knows he’d throw a fit if Eddie knew before him.”
“Oh he absolutely would. It’d be positively hilarious.”
“For you maybe. Now, get out of my car before your parents come out here. It’s late.”
Robin reached across the center console to give Steve a hug. She always gave the best hugs, second only to the ones his dad gave.
Robin ran out of the car and onto the front porch.
“Bye, dingus!” she yelled, completely ignoring the fact that it was late and many of her neighbors would be sleeping.
Steve waved from the window. He drove home thinking about what he would say tomorrow when he saw Dustin.
“And then Max told Mike he was too controlling, and Mike got so mad, Steve. You should have seen his face. It was so red! Steve! Are you listening?”
Steve was pulled out of his trance by Dustin’s yelling.
“Keep it down, kid,” Steve said before taking a bite of his burger. He was sitting across from Dustin at Jill’s, the new diner. It opened a few months ago and quickly gained popularity as a replacement for Benny’s Burgers. It was much brighter than Benny’s with its bright red and white 50s vibe.
Dustin dipped some fries in his chocolate milkshake and popped them in his mouth. Steve nearly gagged.
“Ew, dude.”
“Don’t knock it ‘til you try it. And stop zoning out, this is important!”
It really wasn’t. Steve loved listening to Dustin regale him with the adventures of The Party, but they were never truly important. Not like the return of the Upside Down. Not like what Steve was itching to tell Dustin. He was just waiting for the right time, waiting for the diner to clear out a bit. Steve honestly wasn’t sure why he chose to do this at the new diner where everyone would be during a hot summer day, but it was better than his empty house where he would no doubt chicken out. At least at the diner Steve could be comforted by a good meal. Jill really knew how to make a mean burger.
Dustin kept talking about The Party while Steve hummed and nodded along. Finally, the diner cleared out and it was just him and Dustin. And some old married couple, but they sat far enough away that Steve was sure they wouldn’t hear him.
“Dustin,” Steve interrupted.
“Rude, Steve. I was just getting to the best part. El almost--”
“Dustin,” Steve said again. “I brought you here for a reason.”
Dustin raised a brow. “So you don’t just want to hang out with your best friend in the world?”
“Robin’s my best friend,” Steve mumbled.
“What was that?” Dustin said even though he clearly heard Steve.
“Nothing, nothing. This is serious, Henderson.”
Dustin bristled at the tone of Steve’s voice.
“Okay,” he said as he sat up straight and met Steve’s eyes.
“So, you know how I dated Nancy—no don’t roll your eyes at me. Anyway, you know that I like girls—don’t look at me like that! There’s a point to this. I like girls. I’ve always liked girls. But, I uhm…I also like…other kinds of…people.”
“Other kinds of people?” Dustin asked.
Steve looked around the diner again before leaning toward Dustin. Dustin leaned in, too.
“What I’m trying to say is…I like guys too,” Steve whispered.
“Oh,” Dustin said.
“‘Oh’? That’s it?” Steve chuckled nervously. He really didn’t want to lose Dustin over this. He didn’t want to lose anyone over this, but especially not Dustin. The kid was his brother. They were bonded for life. You die, I die.
“No! I mean…I wasn’t expecting it since you’re so girl crazy.” Steve scoffed. “It’s true. Oh, god. Are you gonna be all boy crazy now? God, you’ve already got all the girls chasing after you—”
“No one’s chasing—”
“And now all the guys will be, too? And I have to hear about all of it!” Dustin threw his hands up in frustration.
Steve laughed. Loudly.
“So, that’s it? You’re just…annoyed ‘cause I’ll be dating more?”
“Well, yeah,” Dustin replied.
Steve lurched over the table and hugged Dustin, hard.
“Hey, hey! You’re gonna spill my drink. Watch the hair! Steve!”
Steve sat back in his seat with a huge smile on his face. He really loved this kid.
“So, do you have a crush on any guys, yet? Or are you still thinking about dating Robin?”
Oh, god. Steve really had to get Dustin to stop with the Robin thing. Luckily, he had special permission from the lady herself.
“First of all, Robin is like a sister to me. Plus, even if she wasn’t, she’s gay. Second,” Steve continued as Dustin stared at him in shock, “yeah. I think I might have a crush on someone.” A certain long-haired metalhead came to mind.
“A crush?” Dustin yelled. The old couple sitting across the diner gave him a quick look before turning back to their conversation. “On who?”
“I… don’t think I’m ready to say yet,” Steve responded. Dustin deflated but quickly regained his composure and gave Steve a beaming smile.
“You should get with Eddie. He’s gay too, you know.”
“Dustin! You can’t just go around telling people that!”
“Oh shit! Forget I said anything!” Dustin was pale and looked guilty as hell.
“Calm down, kid. I already knew. He told me yesterday.”
“Oh. Well, I’m pretty sure everyone in Hellfire knows. It’s sort of an open secret in the club.”
Steve nodded. It made sense that Eddie would tell Hellfire Club. Its members were some of Eddie’s closest friends. Eddie still met with them often even though none of them knew what happened over spring break.
“Wait, why do you think I should be with Eddie?” Steve asked, truly curious. Was it obvious that Steve liked him? Did they seem compatible to Dustin?
“Well, you’re the only two gay guys I know.” Dustin looked off to the side and squinted his eyes like he was thinking about something. “Eh, kinda.”
Steve raised a brow. “Kinda?”
Dustin gave him a shit eating grin. “Can’t say more. It's classified information.”
Steve scoffed though he had a feeling he knew who Dustin was talking about.
“So. You’re really okay with this?” Steve asked nervously.
“Of course. You’re still Steve.”
Steve ruffled the kids head again, skewing his hat out of place.
“Steve!” Dustin whined. He took a moment to fix his hat. “So…about Eddie…”
Steve groaned and took another bite of his burger.
“Come on, Alex! We gotta go!” Alex heard his mom call out.
“Coming, mom!” he yelled back.
Alex was packing the last of his clothes into the cardboard boxes his mom gave him weeks ago. He was supposed to have already packed by now, but, as usual, he got distracted. He quickly stuffed the last of his underwear into the box before sealing it closed with a length of tape. He easily lifted the heavy box and took one final look at his room: the room he grew up in. Without all his things in it, it was just any other room. Alex sighed and walked out of the room, out of his home, and to the car where his parents were stacking the last moving boxes. Thankfully, most of their stuff had already been shipped to their new home with a moving company, so Alex wouldn’t be too squished in the back seat.
“C’mon kid. I thought you were ready to go!” Alex’s mom, Scarlett, chastised from where she was closing the trunk.
Alex opened the back door and stuffed his box in with the others.
“I was!” Alex lied.
“Don’t lie to your mom, Alexander,” Ava drawled from the driver’s seat.
“It wasn’t a lie, ma,” Alex said as he got into the back seat, closing the door behind him.
Ava raised a brow from behind her sunglasses.
“That’s everything,” Scarlett said as she climbed into the passenger side.
“Ready?” Ava asked.
Scarlett reached over and grabbed her partner’s hand.
“Ready.”
“I’m ready too if anyone cares,” Alex said.
Ava rolled her eyes and started to drive.
Alex stared out the window watching apartment buildings turn to skyscrapers turn to highways surrounded by sprawling flat land. He would call out any time he saw a deer to the joy of Scarlett and the annoyance of Ava who was too preoccupied with driving to turn and look.
“Awww, ma! You missed it. There was a little baby deer with its mom. So cute!” Alex gushed.
“Ya know, you could always switch places with me,” Ava said through gritted teeth.
Scarlett chuckled. “You could just tell me if you wanna switch.”
Ava grumbled under her breath knowing Scarlett hated driving and that her offer wasn’t genuine.
Alex zoned out watching the farmland roll past. He was going to miss New York, but he could admit the scenery was way nicer outside the city. Plus, he would enjoy having a backyard big enough for a dog. He just had to convince his ma that it was worth it. Scarlett was already on board, so Alex knew Ava would break easily. She could never say no to the power of Scarlett and Alex’s puppy dog eyes.
After a few pit stops and a couple of naps, they finally passed the worn out “Welcome to Hawkins” sign. Scarlett pointed out stores and buildings she remembered from before she left Hawkins for New York.
“Oh! That’s old lady Mor’s house. She used to take care of you when you were a baby! Remember that?” Scar asked her son.
“No, mom. I was a baby, remember?” Alex sassed.
Ava pulled up into the driveway of their new house, if it could even be called that. It was more of a dirt path that led into the woods where a cute little house stood. It was painted a fading yellow and was surrounded by a faded white picket fence. The front yard was overgrown with plants that may have once been part of a garden. Alex was just glad there was enough room for a large dog to run around.
They began to pack their belongings into their new house. The boxes brought by the moving company had been left right outside. Alex was surprised they weren’t stolen but chalked it up to small town living where everyone knew everyone.
Alex chose a room on the second floor while his moms took the master bedroom on the first. His room was painted the same soft yellow as the exterior of the house. It was in good condition and yellow just happened to be one of his favorite colors, so there was no need to repaint it.
After they finished unpacking, Ava suggested they go to the diner they drove past earlier.
Once they had all sat down, plates piled with food, Alex brought up what he had been itching to all day.
“So about that dog…”
“We are not getting a dog,” Ava said.
“Aw come on!” Alex begged.
“Who’s gonna take care of it?”
“I will!”
“Won’t you be busy with work,” Ava said, trying to get her son to see reason. She didn’t hate dogs. She just knew they were a lot of work and that they had just moved to a new place. They did not need the added stress of a dog.
“Yeah, but I won’t be gone all the time. Plus, mom can look after him when I’m gone!”
Ava’s gaze shot to Scarlett.
“C’mon, Ava. Give the kid a dog!” Scarlett said.
“Not you too, Scar,” Ava groaned.
“Please!” Alex begged.
Scarlett and Alex both pouted and gave Ava their best puppy dog eyes. Ava’s dark eyes stared into her son and partner’s green ones.
“Fine!” Alex cheered. “But! I am not cleaning up after it.”
As Ava dug into her dinner, Alex and Scarlett shared a knowing look. Ava would totally fall in love with the dog within a week.