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Eddie hissed sharply and held his breath, counting in his head to try to wait out the pain in his lower back.
He was sprawled out on his bed, trying to ignore the heat as it made his head swirl. His knees were resting on the headboard, bangs stuck by sweat to his forehead. His binder, despite being sized properly, dug into his chest, which was throbbing the way it did every month since he was eleven. He wore one of his uncle's tank tops over it, simply because Wayne had told him it was either that or no shirt. ("I know you feel like shit, but I'm not letting you die of heatstroke.") When he finally let out his breath, it was labored. He stared blankly over his wheelchair, at a poster on his wall, letting out a disgusted grunt.
"You never had to feel like this. Asshole."
He heard Wayne in the other room, opening cupboards and moving things around. Thinking a little harder, he realized he was probably doing the dishes, which Eddie was supposed to do. He bit his lip and called out.
"Wayne? Can you bring me the hot water bottle?" He grimaced at his voice. He could never really deepen his voice enough when he was on his period. He sounded, in his opinion, like shit.
Wayne didn't answer. Eddie didn't ask again and returned to staring at the posters. He didn't know how long it had been when the door opened. Tilting his head back, he saw his uncle with a dish towel-wrapped hot water bottle wrapped in one hand and an actual water bottle in his other. He lifted one hand to accept the hot water bottle, but Wayne handed him the other one.
"Drink."
"But it hurts-"
"You're dehydrated. Drink."
Eddie sighed and opened it, downing half the bottle before screwing the lid back on and setting it on the mattress next to him. Wayne passed him the hot water bottle, which he pressed to his stomach. He moaned in relief, before looking back at his uncle.
"Do we have any strawberries?" he asked hopefully.
Wayne shook his head apologetically. "No, sorry. Did you change your pad within the last hour?"
Eddie nodded weakly. "Yeah. I um. Need another pack, it's getting heavy again."
"Alright. You think you can take a shower tonight?"
He shook his head. "No. I can't... No."
"Alright. Tomorrow then. Heat's supposed to get worse, a cool shower might help with your headache."
"I don-" Eddie was cut off by the sound of a car in the driveway. He turned his head pathetically toward the window. The curtain was closed, but that wouldn't have mattered. It was too high for him to see out of from his position anyway. "Who's here?"
Wayne opened the curtain, eliciting another pained groan from his nephew as sunlight fell across Eddie's eyes.
"Your boyfriend."
Eddie panicked, sitting up and reaching for his jacket. "He can't see me- he doesn't know I'm-"
He doesn't know I'm a girl, he finished the thought.
"I'll tell him you aren't feeling well."
Eddie nodded, watching anxiously as Wayne turned to head out of his room. He pulled the jacket up to cover his chest. He didn't put it on, partially because he was hoping Wayne would be able to get Steve to go away, partially because it really was fucking hot, partially because even one more layer would kill his chest.
Wayne opened the door to Steve, who was carrying with him a plastic bag. He opened his mouth to tell him Eddie was too sick for company, but Steve beat him to the punch.
"I know you guys don't like accepting charity, but. With the heat, and Max said Eddie wasn't doing well, I thought I could at least distract him a bit from everything." He opened the bag and showed it to Wayne, but Eddie couldn't see from the angle what was in it. "I know it gets stuffy out here."
"Eddie's not feelin' up to entertaining company at the moment. He's had a bad headache for a few days."
Eddie realized, then, that not telling Wayne about the Upside Down was the wrong choice.
Because Steve would not leave a single member of the party without company if they had a headache.
Steve pushed past Wayne with obvious panic in his eyes and voice- "Sorry, Mr. Munson, I need to see him."
Eddie didn't have time to put the jacket on before Steve was barging into his room. He met his boyfriend's eyes, panicky and hopeful all at once as Steve looked around the room.
The fresh blood on his bed from a leak. The half-empty water bottle next to it. The fallen hot water bottle in front of the jacket, coming unwrapped.
Eddie waited for Steve to call him a freak and storm out.
He waited for him to hiss that he'd been put through the agony of a bisexual awakening for nothing.
He watched Steve approach him while Wayne followed, ready to pull Steve off him if he tried something, and Eddie waited for him to call him crazy or delusional or a creep.
He watched Steve reach for him, closed his eyes and waited for him to slap him.
He didn't.
Steve brushed his sweat-slick bangs to the sides and lifted Eddie's chin gently.
"Put the jacket down, it's too fucking hot for that."
Eddie's hands shook as he opened his eyes again. He listened, watching as Steve studied him from head to- well, not toe, but to knee. He felt most confident about that, knowing that Steve already knew the bats had taken his legs. He watched Steve's eyes glance over his chest, his shorts, the bags under his eyes.
"You look like shit, Munson. When's the last time you slept?" Steve asked, voice soft and loving.
Eddie started sobbing, falling forward into Steve's chest. Steve ran a hand through his damp hair, setting the bag down on the bed and rubbing his back too. He let Eddie cry as hard and as long as he needed to, holding him tightly. Wayne stayed and watched for a moment, but stepped out of the room when he was satisfied that Steve wasn't going to hurt his nephew. Eddie cried for a solid twenty minutes, until he finally caught his breath and pulling back.
"You don't- You don't think I'm a freak?" Eddie asked, sniffling.
"I think you're currently in pain, and you're probably dehydrated. But you're not a freak." Steve didn't know what he was looking at- Eddie knew for a fact that Steve wasn't trans- but he did know that Eddie was upset, and that seemed to outweigh everything else.
Eddie settled back, wincing at the feeling of his near-soaked pad. "I guess... You have questions?"
"Nope. Well. Is that blood... From a cut? Or...?"
Eddie shook his head. "I'm-" His voice gave out. "I'm transgender. Which means I'm a guy but I have... Girl bits."
"And this is period blood?"
Eddie nodded.
"Okay. That's okay." Steve sat down next him and picked up the bag. "Brought some stuff for you."
"You didn't have t-"
"I know." Steve met his eyes, looking dead serious in a way even Eddie could see. "I know I don't have to do things like this. But I want to."
Eddie took a moment to process it, and then nodded. "Thank you."
Steve didn't reply. He pulled a Walkman, much like Max's, out of the bag, setting it down next to Eddie. Eddie's stomach lurched- a Walkman wasn't exactly within his price range, which is why he didn't already own one. But he knew Steve liked to spoil people around him, so he didn't say anything. Steve pulled out a small stack of cassette tapes next, showing them to Eddie for approval. Metallica, Black Sabbath. Replacements for the one he had lost in the Upside Down, Eddie realized; and a few recordings of songs that were released more recently. Steve also had two that Eddie didn't know.
"These ones... It's kind of stupid. Not... Not metal, not what you listen to. But they're some of my favorites and I know how excited you were to show me yours and-"
Eddie leaned forward and kissed Steve to shut him up. Steve was shocked, but he didn't complain, kissing back a little more deeply before breaking it off.
"I'm... Sure I'll like them," Eddie lied. Well. Did I lie? Maybe... Just because Steve likes them... I will too.
"It's okay if you don't. No pressure." Steve smiled. "And I also got a couple more things!"
"Steve, I can't repay you- I don't even have a job right now-" Eddie protested.
"I don't want you to repay me." Steve looked a little hurt. "I don't care about the money. I just... I want you to know I'm thinking of you. That I listen. That I try to."
Eddie's heart broke a little. "Okay."
Steve smiled softly, reaching back into the bag. He pulled out a small stack of chocolate bars- caramel, which Eddie had mentioned was his favorite after dragging Steve out to a concert the month before; some sort of white chocolate with pretzels in it; and some plain dark chocolate, one of Eddie's other favorites. He set those closer to Eddie than the Walkman. Eddie reached for the hot water bottle, leaning back against the wall and pressing it to his stomach as his cramps returned. He didn't say anything; but Steve noticed.
"How bad are they?"
Eddie debated telling the truth. "Awful. Worse than... Worse than the bats. Been that way since I got it."
"I'm sorry to hear. Um. If you need to. My house, I've got these... Bath bombs, I think, or bubble bath? Nance liked them, so did Carol, and Robin and Nance still use them when they get the bad ones."
Eddie laughed a little. "I don't always have the... Energy? To wash myself when I should. Um."
"I can wash your hair for you. I mean. It can't feel comfortable to not be able to do it, but maybe you'll feel better with that-"
Eddie was stunned. Steve didn't think twice about offering up everything he had, about helping the people around him who need him. It was one of the reasons Eddie liked him, he knew; but it was hard to process. "I might... Take you up on that."
Steve smiled. "Oh! And two more things."
"Steve, I can't-"
Steve pulled out a small stuffed snake, one that looked like one Will had drawn from their D&D campaign. Eddie almost cried seeing it. He also produced a container of strawberries. Eddie sniffled.
"Steve, you didn't have to..."
"You said you can go through a pound of strawberries a day." Steve was right. He gestured to the window, as if to say "heat", and to the blood on the mattress. "Besides. I think you needed them more than I expected."
Eddie smiled, looking like his entire day was made just by those. Steve gently squeezed his hand, smiling warmly at him with the way that Steve smiled at everyone. After a few moments, Steve opened the container, lifting a strawberry to Eddie's lips. Eddie opened his mouth and accepted it, taking a bite and throwing his head back, savoring it.
"You're a godsend, Harrington," he let out after swallowing.
Steve scanned over Eddie's body again. "Anything I can do to help?"
Eddie took a moment to think. "Could you... Could you help me to the bathroom? And hand me some pants?"
Steve glanced around, finding a pair of black sweat shorts- well, they were full pants on Eddie- laying over a chair. He grabbed them, tossing them over his shoulder before picking Eddie up. Eddie leaned into him, wrapping his arms around his shoulders, carrying him to the bathroom.
Eddie decided he'd had worse coming out stories.