Chapter Text
“Thanks for coming to my show tonight, Stevie,” Eddie grinned, face flushed from excitement over the night.
Sitting in the driver’s seat of his parked car, Steve turned to face Eddie with a smile.
“Of course, Eds. And hey, you put on one hell of a show.”
Eddie and his band had performed at a local nightclub that night, playing metal song after metal song with nothing but sheer joy and excitement. Eddie was one incredibly talented guy; his fingers had flown across his guitar in a flash, playing each note and chord perfectly, his songs sounding like something out of a dream. Steve had no idea how he had ended up with such a talented boyfriend, but here he was in the car with the guy, still completely enamored by his performance.
It had taken Eddie quite some time to recover from his battle with the demobats that he had successfully distracted and fought off. His body was still etched with scars, many bite marks criss-crossing across his entire body, especially his torso — the scars there mirrored Steve’s. Steve actually thought that was kind of weirdly romantic, in a way. Eddie also had a large scar going down his left eye and over the bridge of his nose, and one going through each lip. Eddie went through phases where he either despised his facial scars because of the memories they brought up, or he thought they were the coolest things ever and added on to his punk look.
Eddie also struggled with nightmares and flashbacks; initially, they had haunted him so much that he never left his trailer much — he had really only left to meet up with Steve at the various restaurants and parks Steve had only sometimes successfully dragged him to in order to actually see sunlight. But the nightmares and flashbacks were getting slightly better, and Eddie was no longer so paranoid. He was back to playing guitar like normal, playing D&D with the kids, and performing for audiences. Steve still sometimes had to comfort Eddie in the middle of the night from a nightmare, but he was willingly leaving the trailer now, and Steve considered that to be a success. He was proud of Eddie for performing again after everything he had gone through.
“Thanks, man,” Eddie smiled softly.
Steve had given Eddie a ride to and from the nightclub, so now they were parked in front of Eddie’s trailer, about to go in.
“You’re real talented, did you know that?” Steve breathed, leaning closer to Eddie by propping an elbow on the center console.
“I did, but it’s nice to hear you say it,” Eddie smirked playfully.
“You’re real cocky, Munson.”
“It’s called confidence,” Eddie chuckled, voice dropping a little bit, leaning close to Steve as well.
“Call it whatever you like, but my point still stands. You looked amazing up on that stage. I wanted you so bad.”
“Really?” Eddie whispered, his voice excited at Steve’s words.
“Really, Munson. You’re really fuckin’ hot,” Steve gasped, heat rising in his pelvis as Eddie leaned close enough to hover his lips up against Steve’s, his breath tickling Steve’s upper-lip. With his nose brushing the other boy’s, Eddie placed a hand on Steve’s thigh.
“Say it again, Harrington. Call me hot. I like it.”
Steve moved his hands up to grip Eddie’s denim jacket, needing a hold on something. Eddie’s voice was so low and seductive and hot and God Steve needed to kiss him right now.
“Fuck, Eddie, you looked so perfect on stage,” Steve rambled on, totally flustered, “and- and you play guitar like a god, and while you were playing it I wanted those fingers on me so bad,” he groaned.
That last part seemed to really affect Eddie, because he lunged forward to hungrily kiss Steve.
Steve immediacy reciprocated, humming from the back of his throat. Eddie was using tooth and tongue, which Steve admittedly couldn’t get enough of.
Tangling his fingers in Eddie’s hair, Steve kissed back just as fervently, hot and heavy and needy.
They made out in Steve’s car for a good amount of time before Eddie began to move his hand up Steve’s thigh, reaching a more sensitive area.
Steve gasped and tilted his head back, just a simple touch there by Eddie making his whole body feel like jelly.
“Eddie,” Steve managed to gasp.
“Mm?” Eddie mumbled as he began to kiss down Steve’s throat.
“Wanna take- take this inside? To your bedroom?”
Eddie was out of the car in an instant. So that was a yes.
Steve rushed out and barely had time to lock his car before Eddie was on him again, kissing the corner of his mouth.
“We gotta actually get inside first, Munson,” Steve chuckled.
“Then stop being so kissable, Harrington.”
Steve grinned as the two of them made their way up to Eddie’s trailer. Eddie had his hand in one of Steve’s back jean pockets, grabbing his ass.
Steve’s face was a pretty shade of red as he watched Eddie use his free hand to grab his keys. Suddenly, however, Eddie froze up and took his hand out of Steve’s pocket.
The instant change in behavior immediately caught Steve’s attention.
“Eddie? You okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine, it’s just…” Eddie began nervously, “uncle Wayne might be home, and…”
“I thought you said he would be away tonight for work?”
“Yeah, he should be, but sometimes he gets back early.”
“Oh,” Steve said simply. He was silent for a moment before going on after putting the pieces together. “And are you worried about him… seeing us?”
Eddie awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck, looking more shy than Steve had ever seen him.
“It- it’s not that I’m, like, ashamed of you or anything. You know I’m proud to be dating you,” Eddie said quickly, nervously. “I just don’t know whether or not uncle Wayne would be… accepting. He’s always been super supportive of my interests, but I really don’t know how he would feel about me being gay. That’s a step higher than guitar and D&D.”
Steve watched Eddie for a second before putting an arm around his waist comfortingly.
“Hey, it’s alright, man. I understand.”
“You do?” Eddie asked, relief clear on his face.
“Yeah, man. I mean, I’m, like, incredibly honored to be your boyfriend, you know that, but I wouldn’t show you off to my parents for obvious reasons.”
Those reasons being that they would, scarily, kick Steve out.
Eddie gave Steve a sympathetic smile.
“Okay. Good- about the understanding thing. Not the asshole parent thing.”
“I got that,” Steve chuckled.
“I just want to make sure he’s not here.”
“Alright, go ahead,” Steve nodded.
Eddie kissed Steve on the cheek before getting his keys ready and unlocking the door. Steve watched as Eddie stepped into the trailer and glanced around cautiously.
“Uncle Wayne?” he called out. He waited for a second before being met with silence. “Coast is clear,” he smiled, turning to face Steve.
Steve smiled back before stepping into the trailer after Eddie. As soon as Steve turned and closed the door, he suddenly felt Eddie’s hands slam down against his shoulders, pinning Steve chest-first against the door.
“Looks like we’re alone, Harrington,” Eddie whispered into Steve’s ear, sending a strong shiver down Steve’s whole spine.
Being trapped by Eddie like that was turning Steve on to an embarrassing extent, and it was made evident to Eddie by the way Steve groaned.
“You’re liking this,” Eddie smirked, completely smug at this point. He kissed Steve slowly, teasingly on the neck, sucking marks into the skin there. Those were totally going to be visible tomorrow, but Steve didn’t care in the moment.
“Am not,” Steve gasped. That smugness of Eddie’s was so annoying that it was hot.
“How about now?” Eddie grinned as he began to grind his hips against Steve.
Steve balled his hands into fists and pressed them against the door, aroused to all hell. He definitely had a problem going on in his jeans right now.
“Eddie, bedroom,” Steve breathed.
“That’s the spirit,” Eddie grinned before releasing Steve.
As they slowly made their way to Eddie’s bedroom, they began to unzip each other’s pants, throwing jackets off shoulders, kicking shoes off.
Then, finally, they made it to Eddie’s bedroom, where the door was promptly slammed shut.
********
Steve had his face smushed against a pillow, and he was hugging Eddie close, who had his face resting on Steve’s chest. The two of them were in nothing but boxers as they slept on Eddie’s bed together.
Steve was lost in a dream as a voice and a knocking on the bedroom door cut through Steve’s haziness.
“Eddie, breakfast is ready. Come and eat,” uncle Wayne called from the other side of the door.
“Be right there,” Eddie mumbled, voice slurred from sleep.
Both of them remained still and content, eyelids closed, before they realized their predicament. Both of their eyes shot open at the same time — it was actually pretty comical.
“Oh, shit,” Eddie whispered, still wrapped around Steve.
Steve stared up at the ceiling, mouth open as he contemplated what to do.
“Yeah,” Steve breathed.
Steve was supposed to have gone home last night after finishing with Eddie, but they had both immediately crashed after having sex into a deep sleep. Now they were facing just what they feared would happen if Steve didn’t go home on time: the threat of uncle Wayne discovering their relationship.
“We need to get you out of here,” Eddie whispered, sitting up. He began to lean over the side of the bed to grab Steve’s clothes that were tossed about the floor messily.
“How-“ Steve was cut off by his own jeans promptly smacking him in the face.
Slowly grabbing and removing the pants, Steve scowled at Eddie, who was grinning.
“As I was saying,” Steve whispered harshly, “how am I getting out of here without being noticed?”
“Window,” Eddie simply said, whacking Steve in the face with his shirt.
Steve grabbed the shirt and threw it back at Eddie, hitting him in the back.
Smiling playfully, Eddie gripped the shirt in his hand and, still holding it, began to whack Steve senseless in the head.
Unable to speak or yell, Steve kicked out uselessly with his feet, grazing Eddie a few times. Steve tried to hiss under his breath, but Eddie was ruthless.
Quickly grabbing the shirt by the other end, Steve momentarily caught Eddie off guard and was able to use his body weight to push Eddie over, pinning him down to the bed and straddling him.
Panting, Eddie grinned up at Steve.
“You put up a good fight,” he whispered.
“You’re a brat,” Steve huffed.
“Yeah, but you still slept with me last night, Stevie.”
Steve opened his mouth to form a comeback, but he found that he couldn’t come up with anything. So, he chose to just lean down and kiss Eddie, soft and slow in the gentle glow of morning light seeping through the window. That would shut him up.
Eddie hummed happily, resting his hands on Steve’s bare hips as he kissed back.
Suddenly, a knock on the door sounded again.
“Your food is getting cold, kid,” uncle Wayne called.
Steve froze and stared at the door from his position on top of Eddie. If uncle Wayne opened that door, he would be in for the worst surprise of his life. Steve silently hoped and prayed that that didn’t happen; It felt very rude to mortify the uncle of the guy you’re dating, after all.
“Be there in a second!” Eddie called back. Then, he began to whisper to Steve. “Alright, big boy. You gotta go.”
“Right. Window time,” Steve sighed, disappointed to leave Eddie. He stood up to begin throwing on his clothes, stepping into his jeans and socks. As he slipped on his shirt, though, he realized something. “My jacket is in the living room,” he hissed.
“I’ll just return it next time we see each other, alright?” Eddie said. “I don’t want to draw attention to clothes that clearly aren’t mine, because if we’re lucky, he hasn’t even seen it yet.”
“My shoes are also in there.”
“Oh.”
Steve stared at Eddie as they both tried to think of something to do.
“It would be weird to go and grab a random pair of shoes in front of uncle Wayne… so you can just borrow a pair of mine,” Eddie whispered, suddenly crouching down to pick up a pair of shoes lying beneath his bed.
“But it’s-“
Steve was cut off when he saw the shoes.
They were a pair of black combat boots, sturdy and tall.
“You want me… to wear those?” Steve whispered, staring at the shoes in bewilderment.
“Well… yeah. It’s all that I think will fit you. You’ve got big feet, dude. Monster feet.”
“Forget about my feet for a second,” Steve sighed. “I can’t wear… those,” he frowned.
“Eddie!” uncle Wayne called in frustration. “I’m about to eat your breakfast myself!”
“Sorry, uncle Wayne! I’m- I’m getting dressed!”
“Well, hurry up, kid,” uncle Wayne sighed, his footsteps walking away.
“Okay,” Eddie whispered. “Shoes. Now,” he demanded, pressing them against Steve’s chest.
Sighing, Steve took them.
“They’re too… metal. I’ll look funny.”
“Are you calling metal funny?” Eddie gasped, mock offended.
“You get what I mean,” Steve huffed, rolling his eyes. He went along with Eddie, though, and sat down on the bed to start putting on and lacing up the shoes.
When he got the big things tied on, he stood up and quickly found that he had a little more height. Turning to look at Eddie, Steve frowned. Eddie was watching his feet with fascination.
“See? They look ridiculous.”
“Nah, man… you look, like, totally hot.”
Steve crossed his arms, but he couldn’t help but blush a little.
“Glad you think so. Can I leave now? I don’t like keeping you from eating breakfast.”
“Yeah, man,” Eddie nodded, moving over to the window and sliding it open.
As Steve walked up to it, he gave Eddie a quick kiss.
“Cya, Munson.”
“Cya, Harrington,” Eddie smiled.
And with that, Steve found himself clambering out a window and jumping down onto the grass on the other side.
Oh, well. He would do anything for Eddie, even if he would never admit it.
********
“Are you… taller than normal?” Robin asked, squinting at Steve in confusion.
As he placed tapes on the shelves at the Family Video, Steve shook his head.
“I’m wearing Eddie’s shoes. I had to leave mine at his place.”
Robin, of course, knew about Steve and Eddie’s relationship. In fact, she had been the one to help Steve realize that he liked Eddie in more than just a friend way.
Robin kept frowning.
“You had to?”
“I accidentally stayed the whole night, left my shoes in the living room, and neither me nor Eddie could go and fetch them back because his uncle was home.”
“Does he not know about you two?” Robin asked.
“Nope. Eddie’s afraid to let him know, which is understandable.”
“Tell me about it,” Robin snorted. “Is his uncle, like, homophobic?”
“No idea. I doubt it, though,” Steve shrugged. “The guy lets Eddie play guitar all day long in that little trailer even when he’s home. He doesn’t mind Eddie playing D&D. I don’t think Eddie liking guys would be that big a deal to him.”
“I’ve only met uncle Wayne, like, once when Eddie and I were hanging out, but I can tell he adores Eddie,” Robin chuckled. “No way will he hate Eddie over something like being gay.”
“That’s what I’m thinking,” Steve said, taking the cart that he carried stray tapes on to roll it down another isle, Robin following him. “But you know Eddie, he’s pretty scared of the world in general. And especially after his dad mistreated him, he’s even more scared of disappointing uncle Wayne.”
Eddie didn’t like to reveal much about his parents — especially his father — but he had opened up to Steve a little.
When Eddie was a kid, his dad would beat him for showing any kind of femininity or difference from other boys. Apparently Eddie had tried to grow his hair out once as a kid, but had to shave it all off after facing the rage of his father.
But after Eddie’s mother had passed away and his dad had gone to jail, uncle Wayne was overjoyed to have custody of Eddie to finally raise him right, and he let Eddie act and dress and play guitar and D&D however he wanted. Eddie went from being terrified of being non-conformist and gay to being proud of it.
Steve was just glad that Eddie’s dad was in prison, and uncle Wayne had raised him properly since he was twelve. Uncle Wayne had a soft spot for Eddie; he loved that boy.
No way would uncle Wayne repeat what Eddie’s dad had done to him. But Eddie was understandably skittish, and if he wanted to delay telling uncle Wayne for a while, Steve understood.
“Makes sense,” Robin said. “I mean, you know Hawkins. It’s a small town filled with old people who still probably think that actually stoning gay people is an appropriate thing to do.”
“I mean, if my dad found out that I was dating Eddie, he’d disown me, for sure,” Steve grumbled. Even just thinking about his father pissed him off.
“Gotta love parents,” Robin said sarcastically.
Steve gave Robin a tight-lipped smile.
“I just hope that me and Eddie having to sneak around won’t be such an issue,” Steve sighed. “And I hope that uncle Wayne accepts Eddie when Eddie tells him.”
“I hope so too,” Robin said softly.
“But I’m sure he will. I’ve heard a lot about Uncle Wayne, and I’m sure he’ll take care of Eddie no matter what.”
Steve sure as hell hoped that was true.
*********
“I don’t think you could be any louder if you tried,” Steve grumbled as he drove.
From his place in Steve’s passenger seat, Eddie was sucking down a to-go milkshake that Steve had gotten him during their dinner at the local diner. Eddie was finished with the milkshake, but he was still trying to get the remaining drops with his straw.
“Hey, I totally can. Just watch and learn,” Eddie smirked before sucking into the straw as hard as he could, producing the most grating sound from his styrofoam cup.
“I’m trying to drive, here, Munson!” Steve snapped, wincing, although there was no real anger to it.
Eddie just grinned mischievously.
“Hey, you were the one who offered to drive me. You knew what you were getting into, Stevie,” Eddie said sweetly.
“I should have taken that cup from you the moment you finished your milkshake,” Steve grumbled as he pulled into the trailer park.
As Steve stopped and parked in front of Eddie’s trailer, Eddie finally stopped producing the worst sounds ever and turned to Steve.
“Wanna come inside?”
“Is uncle Wayne home?” Steve asked, frowning.
“He shouldn’t be,” Eddie shrugged. “He told me he had a long day of work ahead.”
“Alright. Then yeah, I wanna come in,” Steve smirked, leaning forward to kiss Eddie’s cheek.
Eddie giggled a little, then unbuckled his seatbelt, hopped out of the car, and waited for Steve to join him. As Steve locked the car and walked up to Eddie, he hooked a finger through one of Eddie’s belt loops and tugged him close, kissing him.
Eddie smiled into the kiss, which made it even better.
When Steve pulled back, they gazed into each other’s eyes for a moment, both clearly infatuated with the other.
“You’re a dork, Munson,” Steve said affectionately.
“Takes one to know one,” Eddie responded.
Steve chuckled and kissed Eddie once more.
Continuing on their way, Eddie slipped an arm around Steve’s waist and lead them both up to the door, where Eddie unlocked it and stepped it along with Steve.
Steve almost leaned in to kiss Eddie before they both instantly froze.
Uncle Wayne was sitting on the couch, eyes on the TV.
Before he could look up, Eddie tore his hand away from Steve like Steve had burned him suddenly.
“Hey, uncle Wayne!” Eddie greeted, his voice higher than normal from nerves. “I thought you were at work?”
Uncle Wayne looked up from the television, frowning slightly when he spotted Steve, who was standing there awkwardly, hands in his pockets.
“Heya, Eddie. I got off early, they had plenty of guys. Who’s this?”
“I’ve talked about him before. This is my friend Steve,” Eddie smiled, patting Steve on the shoulder.
Steve found it pretty amusing to just be called Eddie’s friend; friends totally made out with each other all the time.
Uncle Wayne stood up to approach the two boys, inspected them for a second, then held out his hand to Steve, much to the relief of the two boys.
“I’ve heard a lot about you. Nice to put a face to a name.”
Steve gladly took uncle Wayne’s hand in his own and shook it firmly.
“Nice handshake, kid,” uncle Wayne nodded, patting Steve on the shoulder. This family sure liked patting shoulders.
“Thanks.”
“So, what are you two doing here?”
“We’re just hanging out,” Eddie smiled. “I’m gonna play Stevie here some of my music. Gotta show him the good stuff.”
Uncle Wayne chuckled.
“It’s not my type of music, but have fun. And try to keep it down a little, will ya?”
“Will do, uncle Wayne,” Eddie said, saluting dramatically.
Uncle Wayne rolled his eyes affectionally before making his way back to the couch.
“C’mon, Stevie,” Eddie said, walking towards his room and waving Steve forward.
Steve followed him until they were both in the room, where Eddie closed the door. He let out a large sigh and turned, his eyes hidden behind his hands in exasperation.
“I don’t think he saw anything. But he still could’ve seen out the window, and-“
“Eds, hey,” Steve interrupted, stepping forward to rest a hand on Eddie’s hip. “If he saw anything, he would have seen something, don’t you think?”
“Probably,” Eddie shrugged, still not one-hundred-percent convinced.
“And if he did see and he disapproved, he definitely would have said something.”
“Yeah… yeah, alright,” Eddie nodded, putting his hand down.
Steve stepped up to Eddie and kissed his forehead, producing a little grin from Eddie.
“Good. Now, we can’t get up to any funny business, so instead, I’m gonna request that you play me a song,” Steve smirked.
Eddie was clearly very happy at the idea of putting on a concert just for Steve based on his grin.
“Looks like I’ll have to honor your request, Harrington,” he said as he moved past Steve to stare lovingly at his guitar on the wall.
Steve watched in amusement as Eddie gently grabbed it, slung the strap over his shoulder, and caressed the guitar.
“You touch that thing with as much love as you touch me,” Steve snorted.
“Hey, you’re lucky I love you as much as I love her,” Eddie smirked.
“I feel honored,” Steve deadpanned.
“Enough griping,” Eddie said, playing a dramatic chord to shut Steve up. Eddie always had to be dramatic, which Steve actually found endearing. “This one is by Kiss,” he smirked. “It’s called “I Was Made for Lovin’ You.”
Sitting down on Eddie’s bed, Steve watched and smiled all throughout Eddie’s performance, which was filled with lasciviousness, powerful notes, and plenty of pelvic thrusts. Steve was glad that uncle Wayne was focused on the television in the other room, because the way Eddie sang was just downright dirty. His performance was quiet enough not to draw too much attention, but it was just loud enough to give Steve a powerful show. And wow, did Eddie sure deliver.
********
Steve and Robin were both engrossed in a game of paper football on the video store desk. There were only two customers there right now, an old woman and a teenager browsing the horror movies. The evening rush was soon to arrive, so for now, Steve and Robin were busying themselves with whatever games they could come up with.
“Football is so stupid,” Robin said as she successfully flicked the paper triangle into the goal Steve had made with his hands.
“I think it’s entertaining,” Steve said, frowning at Robin’s success.
“Yeah, because you’re a huge dweeb.”
“That is so rude, Robin,” Steve scoffed.
As Steve flicked the paper into Robin’s face for revenge, the front door bell chimed.
Just before Robin could throw the paper back at Steve, Steve ducked away to glance at the front door.
Eddie was walking in, hands in his pockets, a smile on his face as he approached the counter.
“Do you guys have a porn section?” he asked Steve. Loudly.
The old woman turned to Eddie with a look of disgust, and the teenager just snorted.
Steve gave Eddie an unamused glare.
“Sorry, Eddie Munson, we do not have the porn that you so desire,” Steve responded, voice just as loud.
Eddie didn’t look ashamed at all. Robin looked ready to kill the two.
“Shame. So, Stevie, how’s it goin’?” Eddie asked, suddenly hauling himself up the counter and sliding to the other side.
“Eddie, woah! Employees only!” Steve warned.
“When have I ever followed stupid rules, Harrington?” Eddie asked, smirking.
“Never. And it’s insufferable.”
“Makes sense for you to think that, considering you like rules so much. I mean, you always do whatever I say when we’re hav-“
Steve slapped a hand over Eddie’s mouth.
“Do not finish that sentence, Munson!” Steve yelped, face flushed.
“Really?” Robin laughed. “You like it when he demands you around?”
Steve tried to slap his other hand over Robin’s mouth, too, but she leaped back just in time.
“Both of you shut up,” Steve grumbled, blushing.
Suddenly, Steve felt something gross and wet slide across the palm of his hand.
Jumping back as if he had been burned, Steve yelped.
“Did you just lick my hand?!”
Eddie grinned, proud of himself.
“It got your hand off of my mouth, so yeah, I licked your hand.”
“You’re disgusting,” Steve huffed.
“Really? Because you seemed to like it the other night when I was licking your neck and-“
As Robin let out a sharp laugh, Steve grabbed Eddie and put him in a headlock.
“Shut it, Munson!” he demanded, although he couldn’t hold back a laugh.
“Ah! I’m under attack!” Eddie yelled, delighted and cracking up.
As Steve aggressively ruffled Eddie’s hair, the front door chimed. Assuming that it was the old lady having enough, nobody looked up — that was, until a bewildered voice spoke.
“Uh… what the hell did I just walk into?” Dustin asked.
Eddie quickly yanked himself out of Steve’s grasp and faced Dustin, face flushed from both his little play-fight and nerves.
“Oh, heya kiddo!” Eddie greeted with a terrified smile.
Steve just stood there awkwardly, hanging his hands at his side, unsure what to do with them.
Dustin narrowed his eyes and glanced between Steve and Eddie.
“You two were awfully close,” he said.
“It’s called play-fighting, Henderson,” Steve huffed. “You and your friends do it all the time.”
“That’s fair,” Dustin shrugged after some thought. Instead of continuing his investigation on Steve and Eddie, he just walked up to the counter and fixed Steve with an expectant stare. “Do you guys have The Evil Dead?”
“Yeah, man. It’s over in the horror movies.”
“Sweet,” Dustin grinned. He ran over to the shelf of horror films, found the tape, grabbed it, and began to dash out the door.
“You have to check it out-! he’s already gone,” Steve sighed.
Robin chuckled.
“There’s no stopping that kid.”
“Tell me about it,” Steve grumbled. He then turned to Eddie, expecting to see him amused, but Eddie just looked petrified. “Woah, Eds, what’s wrong?” Steve asked, expression going from amused to scared.
“He saw us,” Eddie mumbled.
Steve put a hand on the small of Eddie’s back, trying to be comforting.
“Hey, Munson, c’mon. It’s not like we were kissing or something. Plus, even if we had been, Dustin wouldn’t care. He’s a good kid.”
“I know that,” Eddie sighed, chuckling a little. “But he would tell his friends, and then they would know, and who knows what they would all think?”
“Hey, Dustin can keep a secret. And even if he spilled it, all the kids would accept us — especially your little Hellfire group.”
“Hellfire Club,” Eddie corrected.
“Club. Whatever,” Steve huffed. He could hear Robin snort slightly. “My point is, the kids won’t care.”
“Right. I’m just being paranoid,” Eddie laughed weakly.
“You usually don’t care what anyone thinks about you, Eds,” Steve sighed. “Why does this have to be any different? If anyone gives you shit for it, just snarl like an animal at them like you usually do.”
“You don’t get it, Steve,” Eddie snapped suddenly, catching both Steve and Robin off guard. “If this information reaches the wrong audience, they’ll hurt me. They’ll hurt me like my asshole, deadbeat father did, because God forbid I be gay,” Eddie growled, dramatically pointing at his own chest. “And I want uncle Wayne to know about you, because you’re an important part of my life! But he’s the one who takes care of me, supplies for me, and cares for me like a parent should! If I lose him, where the hell am I supposed to go?! I’ve been homeless and on the run once before, and I really don’t want to relive that!”
Steve stared at Eddie with wide eyes, not expecting such anger. He probably should have approached this with more sensitivity.
“Sorry, Eds,” Steve sighed. “I wasn’t thinking.”
“No, you weren’t,” Eddie huffed. He quickly leapt up on the counter and jumped to the other side, storming out of the store.
Steve stared after him in distraught, unsure what the hell to do.
Of course Steve understood Eddie’s fears; if the information reached the wrong people, Steve could be hurt, too, especially by his parents. But he still had not experienced what Eddie had.
Suddenly, Steve felt Robin place a hand on his shoulder.
“He’s just scared,” Robin said. “He knows you meant well. Give him time, he’ll realize that you’re on his side.”
Steve sighed.
“Yeah. Let’s hope so.”