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When it’s all over, they need a nap.
The four of them stumble into the empty Harrington house covered in blood and gore just as the sun starts to rise. There are two showers in the house and after sending Nancy and Robin off share the master, Steve leads Eddie to his down the hall. He coughs uncomfortably as he shows Eddie how to run the shower and turns to leave until he's done.
Uh wait, Eddie says, his hand finding its way around Steve’s wrist. Steve doesn’t question it and follows Eddie silently, fully clothed into the cramped shower. They stood there staring at each other, saying nothing as the scalding hot water beat down on them. Eddie is the first to move, grabbing Steve’s shampoo and lathering his hair. Soap slides down his neck and it makes Steve swallow hard, a deep pit of shame building in his stomach for staring at someone who just needed company after almost dying. He forces himself to avert his eyes until he feels hands in his hair. He looks up to see a soft smile on Eddie’s face
Gotta take care of your legendary hair dude. They both chuckle but say little after that, still deeply exhausted. Steve does at one point peel off his shirt to clean his wounds then neither move until the water runs clear down the drain and cold.
When they finally leave the bathroom, Nancy radios the (not) kids to tell them they are safe and where they are. Dustin tries to convince them to come over to the Wheelers basement where they are but Robin reaches over Nancy’s shoulder and turns off the radio so Dustin's voice is abruptly cut off and the house is once again silent.
The four crash into Steve’s parents master bed and promptly fall asleep. There is no time or energy to care for personal space so they quickly became a tangle of limbs and hot breath. Eddie is spread out on the right side, his hand tangled into Steve’s still damp hair. Steve is curled up on his side, Nancy is buried deep into his chest and clinging to the shirt he’s wearing like if she doesn’t he’ll slip away again. Steve has a arm thrown around her and he feels Robin under his hand, curled around Nancy like a security blanket. For the first time in years, Steve feels safe.
They sleep for what feels like days, but it must have been only a few hours. It’s Steve who first wakes up to the banging on his door, to worried about the people around him to ever really let his guard down. He slowly untangles himself from Eddie and Nancy to answer the door, chuckling to himself when Eddie rolls until he finds Nancy’s shape under the covers and becomes her little spoon. Into a pillow he mumbles behind his long hair:
If that’s Henderson, shut the door in his face and come back to bed.
Steve’s heart swells in a way he absolutely does not want to examine and goes downstairs to shoo away what he assumes are the children.
It’s some time after noon and there a golden look to the whole home. Steve never really loved his home, he always thought it was took big and empty. Without siblings and parents who traveled for work more then they were home, Steve had always preferred being at the Wheelers or the Byers, even if being at the later usually meant the world was ending and he’s recently gotten his ass kicked. But with three people he cared for fast asleep upstairs, waiting for him to come back, he started to see the appeal of his house.
When he finally gets to the door, Henderson’s names already on his lips when he opens it and he comes face to face with Jonathan Byers and gravity comes crashing around him.
When Steve thought he was going to die he gave Nancy a soft kiss and told her he still loved her then promptly kissed Eddie with such ferocity he split his lip. He then hugged Robin tight and ran into the fight. But Steve didn’t die, somehow none of them did and while they still hadn’t talked about it they were able to come back to his home and take a long wonderful nap.
And Steve was happy, he was properly, actually happy, but now he was staring at Jonathan Byers. Nancy’s Jonathan, and he couldn’t seem to get a word out. Then little Wheeler stepped into his eye line, looking as annoyed as always and shoved past him into the house. He was shouting Nancy’s name and running around the living room looking for her. Steve finally snapped out of it when Mike got to the staircase.
She’s passed out Wheeler, Steve puts on his best babysitter voice, We all had a long night give her a minute.
Well she better wake up, Mike turns to face the staircase and scream Nancy’s name a few more times before Steve has to grab him by the collar and drag him to the living room and shove him onto a couch.
Just sit there you little heathen, she’s probably awake now and will be down soon.
Steve’s annoyance toward Wheeler almost makes him forget that Jonathan is standing in the door way with a few other people. Um, he hopes he doesn’t sound as uncomfortable as he feels, you guys can all come in, Nance is up there with Robin and Eddie; they should be down like any minute.
Will and El are the first to come in both giving him a crushing hug that makes him shout. They both jump back. He's realized he’s scared them and he feels crushing sadness.
It’s not you two, he assures, some bat things took a chunk out of me. He lifts his shirt to show them and El doesn’t say anything but theres something in her eyes that makes him want to fix the world for her. He puts a hand on her head, realizing it’s shaved again.
I like the haircut, she gives him a small smile and blushes before plopping into an arm chair. Steve finds it weird she doesn't sit beside Mike but before he can think to long about it a random guy comes up and claps a hand on his shoulder.
Thanks for having us dude. He smells strongly of weed, but before he can question the strangers presence Nancy comes padding down the stairs and Steve’s throat goes dry.
Her hair is messy and sticking up, bur her eyes are bright and she seems to be glowing a bit. His heart feels like it’s gunna burst when he has the crushing realization she is wearing one of Eddie’s Hellfire club shirts and a pair of his boxers. Steve feels like any other time this would be the most beautiful thing he's ever seen. The shirt brushes the her mid thigh and Steve can't help but think about sliding his hand up it, pulling the shirt off slowly or watching Eddie do it. Nancy moaning that loud and unashamed way she does while Steve lives between her thighs, Eddie kissing her sounds away and chuckling darkly before giving Steve a bruising kiss. It’s all too much and he’s almost grateful that hearing Nancy say Jonathan’s name like its a surprise yanks him out of it.
She doesn’t move from the staircase and Jonathan doesn't move from the foyer and Steve watches both of them. It feels like all the air has been sucked from the room. It’s in that moment thats Steve realizes how much the three of them have hurt each other, both physically and emotionally. He knows he’s about to say something break the silence when Eddie comes crashing down the stairs and in his wonderful, oblivious way and throws his arm around Nancys shoulder, making her stumble a bit but he catches her and gives her a small smile when she falls back into his chest a bit.
Was that Wheeler I hear? He asks before looking up and making eye contact with Jonathan whose eyes are now firmly locked on Eddies arm wrapped around his girlfriends shoulders. Before it can get any awkwarder, Mike comes barrelling into the room shouting Eddie and Nancy name, it snaps Nancy out of her trance and she runs into her little brothers arms. Eddie follows after, to ruffle Mikes hair and Nancy holds the kid at arms length and examines him for any damages. Steve stares for Jonathan, wanting to say something, anything when Robin comes down, in one of Steve shirts and sweats and smiles at Jonathan.
Byers! She says his name brightly like nothing is wrong, making her either very oblivious to what is going on or is the best actor of all time.
Hi Robin, Jonathan’s voice is smaller then it use to be and it breaks Steve’s heart in a way he can't explain. She makes her way into the living room and Steve follows, because when all else fails, Steve follows Robin. He thinks he feels Jonathan follow behind them but he's too scared to look. He gets conformation when Nancys eyes go soft and sad when she looks past Steve’s left shoulder and gives Jonathan an almost imperceptible nod to follow her into the backyard. As they leave Steve tucks himself between Robin and Eddie on the couch. The heavy black pit in Steve’s stomach seems to get bigger with both Nancy and Jonathan out of his sight; the only things that ground him to reality are Robins hand in his and Eddies arm slung across the couch behind him and pressed into his back. He feels safer with them crowding him like they are. His anxiety distracts him so much he forgets the other people are in the room, but now that Nancy is gone, Mike clears his throat and with all the tact of a Wheeler fixes his eyes on Eddie and asks:
Why is my sister wearing your shirt.
Eddie chuckles and Steve feels eternally grateful for him. None of your damn business Wheeler. Before Mike can say something else Eddie turns his sights to Will.
So you're the great Will the Wise I have heard so much about. Dustin and this dick head want shut out about how amazing you are at playing. Mike turns a deep shade of red and for the first time, Steve thinks he understands the little Wheeler. The conversation continues and Steve allows himself to relax and let the nerd talk act like white noise but then he sees El get up abruptly and slip into the kitchen. No one else notices, too engrossed in the conversation, so Steve follows his babysitter instincts and follows her.
When he walks into the kitchen, El is hunched over the island. He doesn’t speak, scared he might spook her off, but slowly walk over and stands beside her. He stands there for almost a minute when he starts to hear her quite sobs.
He asks if he can hug her and she comes crashing into him.
Mike doesn’t love me anymore, she sobs and Steve holds her tighter.
You know that can’t be true El, he’s loved you since he met you. In what way Steve doesn’t say or even know but he continues to hold her, trying in his own way to take all her pain.
No, he loves Will. Steve’s stomach drops like a stone. He was scared of this, scared to explain this all to El because he knows she doesn’t understand. He lets her go slowly and gets on one knee to come to her eye level.
El, he tries carefully, I know it hurts, trust me I know, but something like that. Thats a dangerous secret. She cocks her head to the side, clearly confused so he tries another approach: It’s like your powers, how we all kept that secret? It’s not something you can tell people okay? She then nods slowly so he stands back up confident he got through to her and pulls her into another crushing hug.
Now when it comes to love I’m not the best person to talk to, but when it comes to heartbreak, well, I’m the king of heartbreak. He gets a wet laugh out of her which bodes well.
I know when I got my heart broken the best thing for me was to be with my friends. Dustin and Robin, they helped put me back together and look at me now; he steps back and does a spin and a pose earning him another laugh from El and in that moment he feels more like a hero then he ever has with a bat in his hands. So why don’t you go call Max up, she at the Wheelers and we might as well have the whole gang now.
Steve can’t help but feel a little pride when El walks out of the kitchen with her head held high, but without El to care Steve could now hear the muffled yelling coming from his backyard. He couldn’t make out much, trying his best to ignore it. But he could hear the words Emerson, Lied and Distant and a small selfish part of Steve is extremely grateful this fight doesn’t seem to be about him. He’s about to force himself back into the living room when Nancy comes crashing in though the back door.
She looks as terrifying and beautiful as ever. She has the same determined, angry look she has when they’re fighting monsters and she's walking with an intense purpose. She blows past him and grabs Robins hand dragging her upstairs with her. Robin gives him a quick panicked look before racing up the stairs with Nancy.
For a moment the house is silent, all clearly waiting to see if Jonathan will come in and follow her. But he doesn’t, and the silence stretches on and for god knows what reason, Steve goes outside.
Jonathan is sat on the edge of the empty pool. Steve hasn’t had the heart to fill it in over two years, he only does if his parents or the kids ask. It’s not much, but Steve thinks it’s the best he could do for Barb, someone he thinks about every time he sees the gapping hole in his back yard.
Jonathan is cradling his head in his hand and he looks like he’s smoking a joint, which only comes as a mild surprise to Steve. He’s to scared to speak , but against every instinct he has he sits beside Jonathan. Jonathan doesn’t even flinch when Steve sits, like he was expecting him to come out, the thought of which makes Steve’s stomach do something weird. Without looking at him, Jonathan passes Steve the joint and Steve takes a quick drag. He tries to keep his coughing at bay, but fails and starts hacking up a lung, it hurts like hell with his slow healing wounds, but Jonathan quietly laughs and the pain is suddenly worth it.
King Steve can't handle his grass, Jonathan chuckles and theres something cruel behind it, something that Steve elect to ignore and instead feign offence by making a loud, very stupid sounds.
I can handle my grass, he defends, this California crap is just ridiculous. Jonathan laughs again and its softer, what ever poison seeming to have left his system. The slip into an easier silence, passing the joint back and fourth until Steve’s limbs are loose and his head get so heavy he has to support in on Jonathan’s shoulder. The weed makes Steve’s brain foggy not unlike a concussion but somehow warmer and far more pleasant. When the door slides open behind them, Steve is too move but then Eddie plops down next to him and for a moment Steve feel like he’s been caught dong something wrong, like a kid with his hand in the cookie jar. He finds himself wanting to explain but he doesn’t think he could if he tried. But Eddie only takes the joint out of his mouth, letting his thumb drag across Steve’s lower lip in a way that makes him swallow an embarrassing moan. He leans back on his elbows and shakes hie eyebrows at Steve and thats that.
The three of them sit their in silence until they hear three more children come crashing into the house. With a dramatic sigh Steve and up, taking a handful of Eddie shirt in his hand to drag him up with him, he then turns to Jonathan and offers him his hand, smiling in a way he really hopes is charming:
Back to the real world.
The house feel so full with all the kids there; El and Max are curled up on the couch together, whispering and giggling. Lucas and Dustin have circled Will and asking him a million questions a second. Mike is firmly attached to Will’s side and Steve has a sneaking suspicion he's hold Will’s hand behind his back. Argyle and Eddie have taken up judging Steve’s parents record collection that Steve can’t defend, laughing as they pull record after record out, screaming a little when they find ABBA. Steve stays back with Jonathan just watching it all unfold with a warm feeling in his chest and a big smile on his face. He still doesn’t know what to say to Jonathan, but as usual, Byers takes charge:
Thank you.
What, Steve stutters.
Thank you for being here for them always. Especially this year. Especially for her.
Jonathan.
Don’t Steve, I was suppose to be here and I wasn’t. I am so thankful you were. ‘
You’re welcome I guess, it comes out clumsy and Steve flinches but he hopes Jonathan understands how much this all means to him. They sit in silence for another minute, just watching their people together.
I’m gunna go check on the girls, see if they need anything, Jonathan give him a short nod and Steve all but runs up the stairs.
He walks down the hall slowly, trying to gather his thoughts as he looks for Robin and Nancy. He really needs to talk to Robin, get his head around everything that has happened in the last 8 hours. The previously open door to his parents bedroom in now shut, so without really thinking Steve swings it open and his breath catches in his throat.
Nancy is sat on the bed, on the side Eddie was passed out in not two hours ago with Robin standing between her legs. Robin has her hands on Nancy’s thighs and they're kissing. Nancy’s head is tipped upwards so her hair is falling down her back in damp beautiful curls. There’s a small smile on her face, the same smile she used to have when he kissed her in the halls. Steve wonders if he should be upset or confused, but instead he’s just filled to the brim with joy. Watching two people he loves so deeply making each other smile brings on a sensation like his heart is glowing. A mix of the weed and the strong love he’s feeling has him feeling woozy so he leans his weight on the door frame for support; without taking his eyes off them he knocks softly on the wall beside him
Ladies, we are missing you downstairs.
They break apart quickly, both turning to look at him. For a second he sees fear in Nancy’s eyes, but she searches his and understands, because she always understands. She gives him a warm, beautiful smile and leans back on her elbows. Robin, on the other hand, is a ball of anxiety. She runs up to him trying to explain. He lets her get three words out before pulling her into a crushing hug.
Oh, this is nice, Robin says lamely into his shoulder. He keeps holding her until she wraps her arms around his waist and he thinks she gets it, he hopes she gets it. Nancy appeared behind them and they slowly untangle from each other, neither really letting go. Steve keeps a hand on Robins shoulder, and hers rests on his hip bone.
I’ll leave you two to chat. I’m going to try and talk to Jonathan again.
She kisses Robin lingering and sweet, and then turns to Steve and kisses him the same way. After she leaves, Robin flops down on the bed and Steve follows. She signs deeply, in a way that Steve would describe as fond.
I have absolutely no idea whats going on, she sounds wistful.
Me neither, but it’s kinda awesome.
They end up laughing for a whole minute. When it dies down, Steve curls up on his side, looks at Robin and he studies her face.
Yes? She asks. He takes a breath and admits to something he has been keeping in since he didn’t die:
I kissed Eddie Munson, and I liked it. Robin barks out a laugh, sharp and loud and anything but harsh. I mean I really liked it Robin, he stresses, needing her to understand what he's saying.
I know buddy, I was waiting for you the catch up.
But I also really like kissing Nancy, so like, what does that mean? Robin sighs and turns onto her side so they are looking at each other, she gives me a small smile and bumps their foreheads together.
Just because I only like girls doesn’t mean thats the only way you can do, she gestures between them, this. His mind starts racing, putting several pieces in to place he had pushed to the side for so long. Steve rolls onto his back and stares up at he ceiling, he runs through years of memories, including weird moments with Tommy H and a few guys on the basketball team, and him, always back to him. Seeing those photos and getting a weird thrill in his stomach, thinking about them kissing and the pain mixing with something warm and sticky that he would drink away, pretending he was just nursing a broken heart.
Oh, Steve said, So I have a crush on Jonathan.
And he’s all caught up, Robin sounds far away and Steve is pretty sure the weed has reached its peak. He feels the urge to laugh again but sleep is taking over so instead he lazily reaches for a pillow and and curls up into a ball.
I think I need a nap, please keep the children away. Robin laughs and kisses the top of his head and he can hear her softly close the door behind her. In the silence, with the muffled hum of a full house below him, he slips into darkness.
The next few hours come and go in flashes: Nancy coming up and putting a blanket over him, kissing his cheek and telling him she loves him: I should have said it that day. Eddie telling Dustin to fuck off outside the door then slipping into bed beside them. Robin coming back and forcing them both to lay on the bed correctly them curling up on the other side of Steve. Finally Nancy and Jonathan, quietly whispering above the bed, his names falling from both their lips. Theres a bit a shuffling and a bit of coaxing from Nancy but Jonathan ends up beside Steve trying not to touch him. Steve, too tired and high to care abut what is proper anymore reaches out and pulls Jonathan into his chest. He gets no resistance so he’s pretty sure this is okay. And surrounded by the people he trusts and cares about most, Steve sleeps.