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steve slid into the booth in the diner, dustin sliding into the other side of it. dustin smiled as he opened the menu and steve couldn’t help the fondness on his face as he saw it.
“can i-“
“yes, you can get a milkshake,” steve chuckled, still looking at him. dustin looked up and his grin got bigger before he closed his menu and slid it to the end of the table. “i think i want one too.”
“so…” steve popped an eyebrow at that and sat back in the booth. dustin looked at him for a second before speaking again in a such a quiet voice that steve had to strain to hear him. “when did- you know- when did you know you didn’t just like women?”
“i’m not sure when the realization finally hit, but i know that it started in the boat house,” steve sighed. “i’m not going to go into in depth detail. why are you asking?”
“i was surprised,” dustin said, earning a snort from steve. he lowered his voice before tacking on the rest of the sentence. “i was so sure that you and billy were together because of all the weird flirting you guys do.” steve had to bite back the laugh at that.
“billy is great. he’s one of my best friends and i love him, but i have never thought of him like that, in fact, he’s kinda gross,” steve said with a laugh. dustin smiled at that. he leaned forward and rested his elbow on the table before leaning his chin on his hand. “billy was the first person i told.”
“why not robin? you guys have always been so close and she’s- you know- so,” dustin waved his hand as he said it. the waitress walked up at that time, and they told her what they would be having. she wrote it all down and smiled before walking away. steve looked back at dustin, who was already staring at him, and he sighed.
“i think- i think i blurted everything out to billy first because i knew that robin would be supportive,” dustin furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. “both robin and billy mean so much to me. you kids do as well but it’s different. and i know that billy supports robin but it’s different when it’s a guy.”
“oh.”
“and i had a full blown panicky word vomit when i told billy. i was so fucking nervous about it but i also kind of felt like as soon as he just looked at me and said ‘steve’ the way he did, that it would be okay to finally let it out to him. and it was. like he already knew and was waiting for me to tell him. and he was so supportive.”
“that makes sense,” dustin mumbled, looking deep in thought. “and don’t worry, i know you wouldn’t have talked to me about that.”
“i’m not worried,” steve said with a laugh. “it was definitely something i needed to talk to a person my age about.”
“when did you decide you liked eddie though? you guys never really, like, told us anything and i know we’re young but we’re also nosy,” dustin said with a smirk. steve smiled at him for a second, rolling his eyes before opening his mouth to respond.
“eddie was the thing that set it in motion, kid,” steve said with a laugh. “i think i’ve always kind of known, but never felt like it meant anything until i couldn’t really keep my feelings for eddie hidden anymore. it happened so fast, too. like, it just hit me in the face and i wasn’t expecting to like him.”
“oh ok,” dustin said. he looked up at steve and shrugged his shoulders before nodding. “that makes sense. so you’ve liked other guys before then?”
“i have definitely found other guys attractive for sure,” steve whispered, nodding his head. he stopped talking when their food and milkshakes showed up. he smiled up at the waitress and said a quick thank you as she walked away. “but i just thought it was like, admiration and being like ‘oh his hair is nice’ or ‘oh he’s built, i wish i looked like that’ because i didn’t know any different. you’ve met my parents dustin, there’s no way that i could have known.”
“yeah your parents are the absolute worst. the one time i met them was enough,” he scoffed. steve nodded in agreement before they made eye contact and started laughing. “i am happy for you. and eddie. you guys both mean a lot to me and it actually makes me really happy that you guys have each other. you guys deserve to be with someone you love after all this shit.”
“you are wise beyond your years, dustin henderson,” steve sighed, still smiling at him.
“i think fighting monsters does that to you.”
“you’re tellin me,” steve scoffed. he sighed again as he looked around the diner at the people, just making sure he’s aware of his surroundings. his eyes stopped on the girl sitting in the booth alone. vickie. she glanced up and caught his eye before smiling and waving. he smiled and waved back at her.
“hi steve,” she said with a laugh. dustin turned around to look at her and then turned back to steve.
“how are you, vickie?” he asked, still smiling. she chuckled and shrugged her shoulders.
“can’t complain,” she said. steve huffed a laugh and nodded his head.
“she should come sit with us,” dustin mumbled to him. steve shrugged and dustin turned around again.
“do you wanna come sit with us?” he asked her. she looked at him before looking at steve.
“you don’t have to, but you’re more than welcome,” he said. she sat there for a second before grabbing her bag and coffee, walking over to them. she slid into the booth next to steve and dustin smiled brightly up at her.
“you’re robin’s friend right?” he asked her. steve bit his lip to try not to laugh before looking down. he glanced art her and her cheeks were a little rosey but she smiled and nodded.
“yeah, we were in band together,” she said in a soft voice. steve just has a feeling about her that he has to be right about. the way her face heats up every time she’s with robin or robin is mentioned just can’t be platonic. steve picked up his glass of what to take a drink when she spoke next. “how are you guys?”
“alive,” dustin said. steve coughed into his glass but thankfully didn’t choke as he swallowed the water. he glanced at dustin, who was too busy laughing to notice and vickie looked at steve with concern.
“are you okay?” she asked him, placing a hand on his back. he nodded his head and wiped his mouth with his napkin.
“yeah, i’m fine, wrong pipe,” he said with a smile before kicking dustin’s shin a little. dustin just huffed, the smile not leaving his face.
“i have to piss,” dustin said as he started to slide out of the booth.
“dude,” steve groaned, looking at him. “word usage, dustin.” he mumbled a sorry before he walked to the bathroom. vickie giggled from beside steve, her hand dropping form his back. steve sighed and shook his head.
“i’ve been trying to get him to have a filter but it just doesn’t exist,” he said with a laugh. she smiled at him and shrugged.
“eh. teenage boy. what can you do?” she asked. steve smiled and nodded. “so, how long have you and robin been together?” his eyes went wide at that and he almost let out a laugh.
“oh! no! we’re not!” he rushed out, holding a hand up to her as he waved it as if to say ‘no’.
“oh! i thought-“
“yeah, lots of people do,” he said then coughed. “uh- i love her, i do. with my whole heart but it’s definitely not like that. not at all. platonic with a capital p, she calls it.”
“i’m sorry. i just kind of assumed since you’re always together.” she mumbled, her face turning red. steve didn’t say anything for a while before he sighed and looked at her again.
“can i tell you something kind of personal?” he whispered. she looked at him unsure but then nodded her head. “i’ve been kind of- seeing this person. uhm. a guy” her eyes went wide at that but she didn’t say anything. “robin has been nothing but supportive of it since before even i knew i liked him. she knew before i did.” she kind of smiled at that.
“she’s really smart isn’t she?” she asked. steve nodded his head.
“the reason i’m saying anything- well- i was just wondering-“ he stopped, taking a breathe and shaking his head before he continued. “do you- do you like robin?” she looked down at her hands, not saying anything. he cringed at how forward that question was mentally smacking himself. he sighed again. “eddie munson.”
“what?”
“i’m in a relationship with eddie munson,” he whispered to her. she looked taken aback by that before she nodded her head once. “and i am surrounded by people that love and support me. and him. and i guess what i’m trying to say is that i get it.”
“yeah,” she sighed. “i like robin.”
“oh thank god,” steve breathed out, covering his face with his hands. “you have no idea how relieved i am to hear you say that.”
“what?” she asked, laughing a little.
“she likes you so much,” he said, looking at her. “like so much. talks about you all the time at work. talked about you when i would take her to school in the morning. all the time.”
“really?” she asked, her face burning bright red. he nodded his head at her.
“i promise,” he laughed. she bit her lip and looked away but he could see the grin on her face. dustin walked out of the bathroom and almost skipped back to the booth to sit down.
“they were out of paper towels in there so i had to use my shirt,” he grumbled all while having a smile on his face. steve snorted and vickie giggled.
~
steve was leaning against the counter in front of the register, trying not to fall a sleep when robin rushed in, smiling large. he looked up at her with eyebrows raised as she sprinted over to the counter to look at him. she grabbed his face in her hands, still smiling wildly and his eyes went wide. eddie walked in behind her and started chuckling when he saw the two.
“steve harrington,” she said, pulling his face closer and toughing their foreheads together. “i love you more than life itself.”
“i love you too, robin,” he said, face not changing as he said it. she started giggling like crazy and then she kissed his nose and then his cheek before pulling away.
“vickie asked me out!” she all but yelled. eddie leaned up against the counter and looked at steve, still smiling. “she said that someone had her sit with them at the diner and talked some sense into her.”
“oh- shit. i forgot about that,” steve said before laughing. robin hopped the counter so that she could hug him full on. he wrapped his arms around her and kissed the top of her head with a smile on his face.
“i- steve- it just- you can’t even begin to imagine how much i adore you. do you know that? i fucking adore you, steve harrington. you literally took a risk telling vickie about you just to find out if she liked me? i can’t- ugh i’m gonna cry, steve,” she started to get choked up and steve sighed, rubbing her back.
“robin. we both know that i knew. i called it so long ago- it just- wasn’t a big deal,” he mumbled. she pulled away to look at him. he laughed and reached up to wipe her eyes but more tears just came out.
“it is a big deal! and you just-“ she huffed and hugged him again. steve looked over at eddie with his eyebrows furrowed. eddie just looked at him with a proud expression and steve is so confused.
“i really don’t understand here. i literally told you that she liked boobies,” he said, shaking his head. “i straight up dove into that in my head, deciphered it, and voiced it all to you.”
“i know!” she yelled, muffled by his shirt. “your gaydar is somehow working better than mine and you didn’t even know about yourself.” eddie barked out a laugh before pulling himself up on the counter to sit on it. steve just rolled his eyes as he shook his head. robin pulled away from him and grabbed a tissue from under the counter to wipe her face. “which, i’m still quite offended about that.”
“ohmygod,” he mumbled, leaning back and crossing his arms over his chest. “what do you want me to say?”
“oh robin! my deepest apologies for telling billy first! i should have never betrayed you like that! i am but a stupid man!” she yelled out dramatically. eddie snickered from where he was sitting and steve tried not to laugh but let out a chuckle anyway. steve looked around just to make sure no one came in while they were talking. he moved over to where eddie was sitting and rested his hands on his knees before leaning in to give him a kiss. eddie hummed and brought a hand up to the nape of steve’s neck, giving his hair a tug. steve groaned before pulling away with a smile. he kissed him one last time before pulling away completely and leaning against the counter next to him.
“the mark on your neck is almost completely white now. can barely see it,” eddie said quietly as he brushed his hand against steve’s neck. robin looked over and nodded her head in agreement. steve smirked at him.
“you could always put another one there with your hand later, if you want,” eddie rose an eyebrow before wrapping his hand around steve’s throat, just resting it there. steve huffed a laugh, looking right at eddie. robin groaned and banged her head on the counter, making them laugh.
“gross! quit! i’m begging! please quit!” eddie gave a quick squeeze before dropping his hand, still smiling at steve.
“we will definitely be doing that later,” eddie said in a low voice. steve hummed and kissed the corner of his mouth before turning back to robin.
“so since this is like, the topic of conversation right now, was the hanky in your pocket part of the code?” robin asked. steve looked down at the floor, trying not to laugh and eddie gave her a look of shock.
“buckley, what the fuck do you know about hanky code?” he asked her, an amused smirk on his face. her eyes widened and she started laughing.
“so it was!” she exclaimed, clapping as she laughed. steve shook his head and looked up at her, smirking. of course she would know about hanky code. she absolutely would.
“oh, it absolutely was,” eddie said, giving her a cheesy grin. she pointed at him and waved her hand around.
“but you don’t wear it anymore,” she said it in more of a statement than a question. eddie looked up at steve, his smile softening before he looked back at her and shrugged.
“you only wear it if you’re flagging. looking. you can technically still flag if you’re in a relationship, but i don’t feel the need to because i’m not looking for someone to recognize it. i’m more than happy, so i don’t need to ‘broadcast it’,” he shrugged. she stared at him for a second before awing really loud. steve rolled his eyes at her before laughing. him and eddie had already had this talk when steve asked him about it. he remembers flushing the first time eddie said that to him but also, in that moment, he felt really loved because even if it was a code eddie followed, steve had never actually meant that much to someone before and he didn't really know how to handle it.
the bell jingled and they all turned to look. billy sauntered in with max and dustin in tow. he rolled his eyes when he looked at the three at the counter as max and dustin were just bickering behind them. steve smiled at the two teens before nodding at billy.
“that kid?” billy said, pointing at dustin. “has the biggest goddamn ego on him and i’ve just about fucking had it.” max and dustin didn’t even say hi, they just started looking at movies.
“oh it’s the worst,” steve agreed, nodding his head.
“his tone, man. it’s demeaning,” eddie added with a scoff.
“okay, right? he makes me feel so stupid,” billy grumbled out. “anyways, why is robin so red?”
“she’s learning about hanky code,” steve said, glancing at her and laughing at the big grin on her face.
“ah yes. have heard it’s a thing from friends in cali. don’t know what any of the colors mean though,” billy nodded absentmindedly.
“eddie knows all about it and that means steve does so i want a full lecture,” she said excitedly. eddie just snorted and shook his head.
“i’m gonna need the kids to go to the arcade first,” steve mumbled, pulling out his wallet. he knows robin isn’t going to let this go so he’s not even going to fight it. “maxwell, dusty buns.”
“what?” “hey, fuck you!”
“here’s $20. leave. go to the arcade,” he said, holding it out. max walked over to him, happily.
“thanks, stephanie,” she said, grabbing it. dustin walked up with a smile on his face before grabbing the hood on max’s jacket and dragging her back. she let out a choked off noise before slapping him. billy snorted as they walked out the door.steve sighed and walked over to the break room door, holding it open for them. robin giggled wildly as she walked in, plopping down on the couch.
~
“okay so we got the gist on how it works. what color did eddie wear?” billy asked, looking at steve. steve flushed as he glanced at eddie, seeing the smirk on his face. “oh shit, steve. what color did eddie wear?”
“black,” he mumbled, scratching the back of his neck. billy looked at eddie, waiting for him to elaborate.
“black is S&M,” eddie said with a shrug. billy looked back at steve with wide eyes. he slapped his shoulder and let out a laugh. robin squealed before giggling again, rolling falling to her side on the couch.
“which pocket means what for that?” billy asked in a rush, still staring at steve with wide eyes.
“left is dom, right is sub,” eddie said, his smirk getting bigger. steve sighed. billy didn’t even look at eddie as he said it, just trying not to laugh at steve.
“and which pocket did you wear it in, eddie?” he asked. robin burst into laughter before yelling out ‘left!’ and billy fell forward on the table, laughing. steve just rolled his eyes and pushed billy’s hand off his shoulder, leaning back in his chair. he looked over at eddie and any embarrassment he was feeling kind of just faded when he saw eddie smiling at him, the feeling replace with warmth and comfort as soon as they made eye contact. robin calmed down and smiled at steve.
“so as of today, i know that steve likes being choked,” she said, billy choked (haha nice) on air at that and steve tried not to laugh.
“i fucking knew you were a masochist,” billy said, picking his head up. he had tears in his eyes from laughing so hard.
“somewhere along the lines of getting my face beat in by jonathan, getting my face beat in by you, getting tortured by Russians, being thrown against a wall with a broken bottle to my neck, and then almost dying in the upside down, some wires had to cross,” steve said with a laugh. billy just wiped his eyes and shook his head, a smile on his face.
“yes. i think about that moment daily,” eddie mumbled, staring into space. billy snickered at eddie, slapping his arm. eddie smirked and looked at him. “what about you billy? you’re a fuckin psycho most of the time. you have to be into some weird shit.”
“not like that, but i am very open about how i like my hair pulled, being spit on and how i like it when a girl slaps my face,” billy said proudly, smiling at them.
“that makes so much sense,” robin muttered as she looked at him with her eyes narrowed. billy nodded his head and shrugged.
“that’s so funny because steve also likes to be slapped and spit on,” eddie said, smirking at steve. robin started giggling again and steve just shrugged his shoulders with a small grin on his face.
“pretty sure you just like spitting on me and in my mouth, but i’m not complaining either way,” steve rose an eyebrow at eddie when he said it. billy’s eyes widened a fraction and he muttered an ‘oh shit’.
“i do,” eddie nodded in confirmation.
“okay. i wanna know everything,” robin said, seriously. “like, you guys know me. i haven’t got to experience any of this shit. i want all the fuckin details.”
“hands,” steve mumbled, looking down at eddie’s. eddie spread his hand out on the table in front of him and steve looked at him with a small grin. billy gasped at that.
“oh my god. that’s a thing? because i had a girl tell me she liked my hands one time and i was like ‘uh ok. they’re just hands’.”
“definitely a thing,” steve mumbled. robin tilted her head to the side as she looked down at her own hands before shrugging and looking back up. steve snorted at that and rolled his eyes. “you’re not gonna be attracted to your own hands, rob.”
“i was just- oh shut up! tell me more!” eddie leaned forward and tilted his head, glancing at steve. steve loves when he does that. it's so teasing every time and it shouldn't probably be something he finds so attractive but he does.
“so because of the absent parents, i very obviously have some issues. between not being loved as a child, constantly being made to feel as if i am not good enough, and having gifts of monetary value thrown at me when they realize they’ve not talked to me in three months-”
“mommy and daddy issues, one would say,” billy said then snorted.
“yea so like, praise, degradation, objectification,” steve trailed, counting on his fingers. robin looked at him with wide eyes but steve was looking up at the ceiling trying to keep track. eddie bit his lip, smiling at steve. billy just rose an eyebrow at him. “i like being choked, slapped, don’t mind being spit on. as ironic as it is, i really enjoy being tied up. edging is nice. uh- there was blood involved one time on accident but that was actually really hot so-“
“hold on,” billy held a hand up and coughed, trying not to smile. “i’m sorry. blood?”
“eddie bit my lip too hard once.”
“oh that’s why you had a random scab on your lip all of a sudden,” robin concluded, no judgement in her tone at all.
“we went and got tested after that,” eddie said, pointing at her. “i don’t fuck around with that shit.”
“good,” robin mumbled, nodding her head at him. “anyways, so i’m guessing it’s good then.”
“yes,” steve and eddie said at the same time, almost instantly. she smiled and shook her head. billy looked deep in thought and steve looked at him for a second before glancing at eddie, who was also giving billy a weird look. steve leaned forward and poked his face, looking at him with an eyebrow raised. billy looked over at steve.
“sorry, i was just thinking about how it would feel to be tied up,” he mumbled, spacing out again. steve snorted before laughing and eddie started chuckling. robin gave a dramatic gag and rolled her eyes. “like, with cuffs? or rope? belt? other things?”
“yes,” steve said, not elaborating. robin snorted at that, and billy smiled, nodding his head.
“nice,” he said with an almost proud grin on his face. he held his fist out for steve to bump. steve giggled but did so. “we knew you were a bottom, but a sub? surprise.” eddie started laughing and robin choked before also laughing.
“no, that’s fair. i didn’t know either,” steve nodded with a laugh.
“and he’s such a good boy,” eddie said with a smirk. steve’s eyes flicked over to eddie fast and he could feel the heat rising on his face. billy and robin started laughing again upon seeing steve’s face. he cleared his throat and glared at eddie, who just continued to stare at him in return. “such a good, obedient boy.”
“eddie. please stop,” steve said through gritted teeth, making billy and robin laugh even harder. eddie just smiled fondly at him.
~
steve groggily stumbled out of eddie’s room and out into the living room of the trailer. wayne sat at the kitchen table reading his paper and looked up at steve as he walked in. he gave him a little smile before looking back at the paper in his hand.
“there’s coffee if you want it,” he said. steve smiled back at him and grabbed a mug from the cabinet, pouring a cup. he walked over to sit next to him as wayne was pulling the crossword out of the paper for steve to do. steve hummed and grabbed the pen from the pocket in wayne’s jacket that was hanging o the back of the chair before getting to work. wayne glanced at steve with a little smile still on his face and then looked back up as eddie walked out, yawning.
“morning,” he grumbled as he grabbed his coffee. he walked over to them, laying a hand on steve’s shoulder and kissing the top of his head. he then rested his chin where he had just kissed steve’s head and looked down to watch him do his crossword. “five letter word for disappointment? billy.” steve started giggling and eddie smirked before walking over to a chair.
“it fits,” steve gasped, quickly scribbling on the crossword. wayne snorted and shook his head at them. “i’m hanging this one up at work.”
“frame it and give it to robin for her birthday,” eddie said with a laugh.
“oh my god, i am totally doing that instead,” steve mumbled as he continued to do his puzzle.
“i have to leave soon, and i won’t be back tonight,” wayne said, looking up at eddie. eddie nodded his head at him with a smile.
“okay. did you make your lunch?” wayne smiled at him.
“yeah, and dinner so i’ll be fine.” he stood up and stretched before grabbing his jacket from the chair to put it on. steve finished with his crossword right as wayne was getting ready to walk out the door, like clockwork, and held his pen out to him. wayne smiled and grabbed it, putting it back in the front pocket. “i’m sure i’ll see you boys later, have a good day.”
“have a good day at work, wayne,” steve said with a smile. the door closed behind him and steve turned to look at eddie. eddie was already looking at steve with a smile on his face. “what?”
“i just don’t think i would have ever expected someone so perfect to walk into my life, make me happy, and get along with my uncle as well as you do. i just love you a lot is all,” eddie said with a shrug. steve flushed but he got up and moved to eddie, sitting down on his lap, wrapping his arms around his neck. “it’s all domestic-y and cozy and you guys have your little morning thing and it just makes me happy. i like it. being all domestic like this. i want to do this every day with you.”
“i wanna do this every day with you, too. eddie, i am so in love with you,” steve mumbled, leaning forward and pressing his lips to eddie’s. he hummed in approval and the corners of his lips twitched up but he brought a hand up to steve’s cheek and kissed him back. eddie then pulled away and grabbed steve’s hand, bringing to his chest to lay over his heart.
“every time, steve,” he whispered. steve felt the pounding of eddie’s heart under his hand and he sighed. steve dropped his hand, falling forward so that his forehead was against eddie’s chest, closing his eyes. “one day, when it is legal, i’m gonna marry you.”
“eddie-“ steve choked out a sob, wrapping his arms around eddie’s neck. eddie’s arms tightened around steve’s waist and he leaned down to press a kiss to his neck. “promise? even if it’s 20 years from now?”
“i promise. i have never made an easier promise in my life,” eddie mumbled, his lips grazing steve’s neck as he spoke. “you’re just- god i’m gonna be so cheesy here and you’re not allowed to laugh. you know how you get excited for a day off from work? or like how you crave a certain food, and you finally get to eat it and it’s the best thing you’ve ever eaten? god, steve. i feel like that excitement all the time. you make me feel like that every second i think about you or i’m with you. and i just have this feeling inside me that you are going to make me that happy forever. you will always make me feel like that.”
“god, eddie you can’t just-“ steve cut himself off as he actually felt his eyes well up. “i love you so much. it’s not just you. it’s like that for me too. i would marry you in a heartbeat. without question. there is not a doubt in my mind when it comes to you,” eddie smiled at him and grabbed his face with both hands, wiping at the tears that had just started to fall.
“i’ll get you a ring today if you need me to. i will put a ring on your finger right now, even if we can’t actually get married for another 20 years. i have never been so sure of anything in my life.”
“only if you wear one too,” steve said, still with tears in his eyes. he brought a hand up and cupped the back of his neck, giving a squeeze. eddie smiled up at him and nodded his head. steve smiled back at him and then they were giggling at each other in between kisses.
~
“oh my god!” robin squealed as steve recounted his morning to her. he had come into work even happier than he had been lately and she immediately noticed, prodding him until he told her. “so fucking cute! i can’t stand you guys! i hate you both so much! ugh!”
“robin- he just- ugh,” steve said as he let his head fall onto the counter. she squealed again and wrapped her arms around him from behind. “i have literally never- god. love isn’t even a strong enough word- i can’t-“
“steve, i could not be happier for you if i tried. i could not have picked a better person for you. i haven’t ever seen you this happy before. i just- ahhh!” she pushed away from him and did a little dance. he looked up at her with a smile on his face and his cheeks rosey. she squealed again and grabbed his face so she could kiss it. he huffed a laugh at her as she moved away from him again. “oh my god! we could do a little thing now! it may not be legal but-“ she stopped as the bell on the door rang. they both turned to look and sighed in relief when it was billy. he looked at them for a second before he lifted an eyebrow, a smile tugging on his lips.
“what’s up with you two?” he asked as he walked around the counter to sit on the stool. robing squealed again, bouncing on the balls of her feet.
“steve! tell him! tell him!” she exclaimed, slapping his shoulder. he stood up and opened his mouth but robin beat him to it. “eddie told steve that he plans on marrying him when it’s legal, even if it’s 20 years from now and he even said he would get steve a ring today and that they would both wear one!” steve flushed even more as he looked over at billy. billy just looked from robin to steve, eyes wide and mouth open slightly.
“steve.” he said, the smile slowly growing. “steve. you’re kidding.” steve bit his lip before covering his face with his hands. “oh my god.”
“i know!’ robin pretty much yelled, throwing her arms in the air in excitement.
“that’s cutest shit-“ he was cut off by her giggling and nodding her head. steve dropped his hands from his face, looking at billy again. “steve. oh my god.”
“I know,” steve whispered. “i just- ugh- why is he just so- he’s just so fucking unreal.”
“so is he buying rings or…” billy asked, still smiling at him. robin started giggling again, covering her face with her hair.
“i don’t know. we didn’t really even get a chance to talk about it. i had to be here,” steve said, shrugging his shoulders and worrying his bottom lip between his teeth.
“but you want him to.”
“i- yes. of course i do. billy, i have never been so fucking in love with someone in my life,” steve stressed, running a hand down his face. “i told him, from the beginning, that he’s it for me. he’s the only one. he’s it. he will still be ‘it’ 50 years from now. he is the only person i will ever want for the rest of my life. i have never been so sure of something. someone. i fully believe that he still would be even without everything that happened. like, we would have crossed paths some way or another.”
“oh, stevie,” robin sighed, her eyes a little wet. she wrapped her arms around him again and he hugged her back. billy just huffed out a breath.
“i can’t even imagine being lucky enough to find that. being that happy,” billy said, shaking his head. it wasn’t so much disbelief as it was incredulous. like he can absolutely believe it but it’s shocking at the same time.
“yeah. steve. i don’t think i’ve ever, in my life, seen two people be so infatuated, in love, and adoring of each other,” robin agreed, still smiling so big, looking up at him. steve kissed her forehead before dropping his head to her shoulder and sighing. “and for it to be so real and for you to find that so early on in life- it’s incredible.”
~
“give me ‘a clockwork orange’ please,” robin said as she held out her hand, not even looking at steve. robin decided that they were going to reorganize the store again today because it had been so slow. he’s not even sure how she’s doing it this time, he’s stopped asking questions.
“nah, that doesn’t go there,” billy interrupted, pointing at her section. “that would go with like, barry lyndon and lolita and the shining.” she gasped and looked at him.
“you’re so right!” she grabbed the vhs from steve’s hand and ran to a different spot with it. steve just sighed and shook his head at her, smiling a bit. the door dinged but none of them really turned to look at it, robin too caught up in her strategy and billy and steve just watching her.
“how often does this happen and can you call me the next time it does? i have never been more entertained in my life,” billy said. steve snorted and laughed a little.
“it happens roughly once a month,” he mumbled, turning around to look around the store. he smiled as soon as he saw him, face getting a little pink. “i didn’t even hear the door.” billy turned to look and smiled too.
“hey, man,” he said, nodding at eddie. “sorry, robin’s being free entertainment right now.”
“isn’t she always?” he asked, leaning up against the counter. she popped her head up and smiled really big at him.
“hi eddie!” she shouted before looking back down. he chuckled at her and shouted a ‘hi’ back before looking at steve.
“hi baby,” he said quietly, smiling at him. steve flushed as leaned up against the counter across from him to kiss his cheek, still smiling.
“steve! i need taxi driver!” robin yelled. steve sighed and turned to look at billy, who just laughed and started searching for the movie. he found it and took it over to her, laughing as he said something to her that steve couldn’t hear. she snatched the movie out of his hand and elbowed him with a smile. steve looked back at eddie.
“she’s rearranging again,” he mumbled, rolling his eyes. eddie’s grin got bigger before he reached in his pocket before pulling something out and grabbing steve’s hand. steve’s heart started pounding as he saw the ring being slipped on his finger. “eddie, now is not the time. i’m not gonna cry at work.”
“too bad,” he chuckled, showing that he had on a matching one. steve groaned and grabbed his face in his hands, bringing him forward to kiss him. “i said i would and i am. and i feel like if i did this any other way, you would hate it” steve laughed and nodded his head at him as robin squealed for the umpteenth time that day and started giggling. steve huffed out a laugh, turning to look at her with wet eyes and she did a little jump before running over and throwing them in a hug. eddie laughed as he wrapped an arm around her before she moved away from them.
“i just love you guys so much and i love how cute you are. oh my god you guys are so cute. and i’m just so happy that you guys are happy. i’ve never seen two people so in love before and oh my god i’m gonna cry. oh my god-“ she rambled as she reached up and wiper her tears away. billy smiled at them as he made his way back over, standing next to her.
“i want everyone to know that if i am not someone’s best man, i’m gonna be fuckin pissed,” billy said, raising his eyebrows. robin groaned and slapped his arm but eddie and steve just laughed at him. “but for real though, i agree with everything she just said.” eddie leaned forward and wiped steve’s face. he hadn’t even realized he’d been crying, too overwhelmed to care.
~
eddie had been laying on the harrington’s couch with steve laying on top of them, running his hand up and down his back while they watched a movie when the walkie went off. steve grumbled and groaned as he reached for it on the table to turn it off before they heard dustin’s voice.
“steve, come in. over.” steve sighed and pressed his face into eddie’s chest, letting out a muffled scream, making the man laugh. steve cleared his throat as he brought the walkie to his face and pressed the button to talk.
“what, dustin?” he whined, making eddie laugh even harder. dustin didn’t reply and steve groaned again, louder this time. he didn’t give in though, waiting for dustin to reply again. eddie furrowed his eyebrows at him, smiling. it took a few second before he replied.
“steve, you have to say over. over”
“over.” steve said, releasing the button and glaring at the walkie. eddie started cackling, throwing his head back.
“no- that’s not- you say over after you’re finished. we’ve been over this. over”
“over. over.” steve said, sitting up and looking at eddie. eddie had tears in his eyes from laughter and steve smiled at him.
“no- that’s- ugh whatever. are you busy?”
“yeah.” eddie just looked at him with wide eyes.
“you’re doing this on purpose,” he said. not a question but a statement. steve just smirked and shrugged his shoulder. eddie started giggling again at that.
“steve! why do you- UGH! we were wondering if we could come over and swim. over.”
“not today dustin, maybe tomorrow.” he pointedly didn’t say over again just to continue being petty.
“what are you busy doing, anyway?” dustin asked, sounded offended. steve rose an eyebrow at the walkie before eddie grabbed it.
“dustin, your mom said he is busy right now. call back on another date.” he released the button, smiling at steve. steve rolled his eyes at the nickname.
“does that make you dad?” steve asked.
“oh it absolutely does,” eddie said with a laugh. the walkie picked up again and they both looked down at it.
“come on guys, what is more important than-“ eddie cut dustin off this time.
“dustin, I’m gonna have to let you go. i have plans to fuck your mom and you’re interrupting,” he said. steve choked on air before he started cackling, falling forward into eddie again.
“hehe nice,” max’s voice came through, making the both of them laugh even harder. there was a ‘haha burn, henderson!’ in the background that they knew was billy, only making it funnier. there was an 'ew gross' and a 'get wrecked' followed by laughter from the other kids who were on the channel as well. eddie shut off the walkie before tossing it on the table.
“you gonna follow through with that?” steve asked after they calmed down, running his hands under eddi’s shirt and leaning up to kiss his jaw. eddie’s smile changed and his eyes got dark. god, steve could survive the updside down no problem. but eddie? eddie was gonna kill steve.