Chapter Text
We’re not kids anymore.
The first time Steve heard that God-forsaken phrase, he heard it from Mike the first time Wheeler asked him to let them sneak into a horror movie.
"I'm not letting a bunch of kids in to see a horror film, dude. Your parents would kill me if they found out, not to mention Hopper." Steve said, rinsing off his scoop and grabbing a cloth to wipe down the counters. It was nearly closing, and he was the only one working, with Mike being the last customer of the night.
Mike rolled his eyes so hard Steve worried he'd hurt himself. "We're not kids anymore, Steve."
He frowned at that, opening his mouth to retort, only to have the little twerp keep talking.
"Besides, it's not like it could be worse than facing down a real, live Demogorgon."
Steve shut his mouth, any argument he had for refusing dwindling away. The kids had definitely seen more messed up stuff in the past couple of years than a movie could show them in an hour or so. He sighed, admitting defeat. "Fine." Mike pumped his fist in the air, and Steve quickly tacked on. "But just this once! This isn't going to become a regular thing."
It became one regardless.
Let Them Be Kids
The second time it happened, it was with Lucas. Steve hadn't felt like taking his break in the food court, so he'd walked outside to an alley along the side of the mall, looking for some peace and quiet. Instead, he turned the corner just in time to see Lucas accept a cigarette from an older kid that Steve remembered being two years behind him in school. His name might have been Phil.
"Hey!" Steve stalked down the alley and smacked the joint out of Lucas' hand. "What's wrong with you, Sinclair?" He hissed before rounding on the other kid without pause. He grabbed him by the front of his shirt and jerked him around a bit. "What's the idea, huh?"
"Steve, let him go!"
He ignored Lucas in favor of quelling the older teen's retort with a look. "That kid is fourteen years old, dammit, and if I ever catch you passing cigarettes or drugs to him or any others, I'm going to call the police down on your ass. You got that?" He asked, shaking him again when the guy stayed silent. "I said you got that?"
He pushed him away when the guy nodded. "Get out of here. And you." He turned back to Lucas as Phil(?) ran off, huffing at the glare he sported. "Don't give me that look. I'm already pissed at you. What were you thinking?"
"It's just a cigarette, Steve." He said with a roll of his eyes.
"Yeah, for now. But then it turns into two, and then a pack of them, and then you're ruining your lungs with that shit and blowing all your chances at being a pro athlete." Steve snapped.
Lucas stayed silent, looking away, and Steve shook his head. This kid was going to make him late for his shift.
"Come on, I'm taking you home." He said, grabbing Lucas' arm.
"What?"
"I said I'm taking you home. You're grounded."
"You can't ground me!"
"Oh, yes, I can. Unless you want me to tell your parents so they can do it." Steve threatened, but Lucas only got angry, ripping his arm away.
"Stop treating me like a kid! I'm not a kid anymore!" He shouted.
Steve scowled at the phrase he'd now heard twice in two weeks. "Then stop making stupid decisions like one!" He shouted back. "For Pete's sake, kid. There are better ways to de-stress." He mumbled, more to himself as he ran his hand through his hair.
There was a beat of silence before Lucas broke it. "Like what?"
"Huh?" Steve blinked, not having expected the question.
"What better ways are there?" Lucas clarified.
"Geez, I don't know. Listen to some music, take a walk, maybe make yourself some tea. Talk to a friend if you think that would help." Steve told him, watching as Lucas nodded. "Hey, you know I'm always here if you want to talk." He told him, pitching his voice a bit softer now.
"Yeah, I know. Thanks." Lucas murmured, looking a little embarrassed.
"Anytime, dude. Now let's go. You're banned from the arcade until this weekend, got that?"
Lucas groaned but nodded. He glanced at Steve as they left the alley behind. "Tea, huh?"
"Hey, don't knock it 'til you try it. Chamomile can do wonders for the nerves."
Lucas kept his promise to stay away from the arcade, and if Steve made it up to him with a care package of different teas to try out and free ice cream that weekend, well, no one had to know aside from Steve's coworker as she drew her first line under 'You Rule'.
(For Just a Little While Longer)
The next time it occurred was after Starcourt, after the Russians, and after everything that the Mind-Flayer entailed.
Steve had driven the kids (minus Erica who wasn’t allowed out late) to a fair happening a few towns over, trying to make up for the fact that they had missed the one happening that fateful night. It was going well. The kids were having a blast, going on all the rides, trying out the games, and eating as much cotton candy and fries as they could without getting sick.
It was nice to see them having fun for a change, even if he was just hanging back to watch for most of it. He was still recovering from his time being tortured, and though he'd finally been officially cleared to drive, there was no way he could handle the spinning and the jerking of the rides. His stomach still churned if he ate too much at once, and after a couple of games (he sucked at throwing darts but did exceptionally well with Whack-a-Mole), Steve was ready to take a break, which was why he groaned when Mike started insisting that they all do the haunted house together.
He got roped into accompanying them with the help of Dustin's teasing and El's pleading, the manipulative knuckleheads.
The haunted house wasn't anything that impressive. It was mostly bad actors in mediocre makeup, and a few animatronic jump scares that had the kids screaming with surprise and then laughing in delight at themselves and each other.
But as they walked through, Steve realized that Will was getting progressively quieter, that the boy seemed to gravitate more towards him or El after a scare, his laughter forced and fake. So he pulled him back a little as they started into another room, creating some space between them and the others."Hey, you alright, mini Byers?"
Will hesitated before nodding as the others called for them to hurry up. "Yeah, I'm fine." The kids said, shooting Steve a smile before pushing ahead into the next room.
Steve didn't trust that smile for a second, and maybe a minute later, he made a show of stumbling slightly, catching himself with Will's shoulder. Immediately, he had six pairs of eyes looking at him.
"Steve?" Dustin queried, voice wavering, and Steve hated himself just a little for making him worry.
"I'm fine, guys," Steve said, waving off their concern. "Just a little dizzy spell."
"I thought you stopped having those?" Mike asked, crossing his arms.
El looked upset at the idea that Steve was still hurting and hadn't told anyone. "Friends do not lie."
This wasn't going quite how he had planned, and Steve tried to hedge the accusation. "They're mostly gone."
Max and Lucas both groaned. "Steve!"
"Guys, come on, I'm fine. Just need to sit down for a few, okay?" He patted Will's shoulder. "Find me a way out of here, Will the Wise."
Will finally seemed to clue in to his act, and he quickly nodded. "I saw a door behind the werewolf back there."
"Perfect. The rest of you have fun." Steve said, leaning a bit more against Will to sell the act of needing his help. "We'll be waiting outside." He called over his shoulder as they turned back around.
“You didn’t have to do that,” Will said quietly as they sat down outside.
Steve shrugged a bit as he sat down, quietly glad for the break as he had started to feel his injuries more as the night wore on. “It’s no big deal. Plenty of people get freaked by haunted houses.”
Will’s hands clenched into fists against his lap. “It shouldn’t bother me, though. I’m not a kid anymore; I should be braver than this.”
“Whoa, hey. You are one of the bravest people I know, Will.” Steve told him, frowning as that familiar phrase popped up again. “You think anyone could survive the Upside Down? Face the Mind Flayer the way you did? That’s real shit, man. Stuff like this?” He gestured to the haunted house. “That stuff doesn’t matter.”
The boy didn’t look like he believed him, and Steve tried to explain it better. “It’s like… There’s a difference between being brave when you’re scared and not wanting to be scared, you know? There’s nothing wrong with not wanting to be scared. Don’t like haunted houses? Stay out of them. Don’t like scary movies? Don’t watch them. That’s fine! There’s nothing wrong with that.”
“You really think so? You don’t think I’m a baby for not liking haunted houses?” Will asked.
Steve shook his head. “Nope. ‘Sides, I don’t like them either.”
Will’s eyes went wide. “You don’t?”
“I don’t. Don’t care for horror movies either.” He admitted. “They freak me out. Not sure how you guys watch them.”
The boy was quiet for a moment before whispering. “I don’t really like them. I just go along with the others ‘cause they think it’s cool.”
Steve sighed, looking up at the colorful lights of the Ferris wheel, the slow-to-heal cuts and bruises on his face highlighted by the pink and purple glow. “Yeah, I get that. I did a lot of dumb things for the sake of looking cool. For the sake of being ‘grown up’, you know?” He shook his head, thinking back to past decisions he regretted. “Looking back, it’s not a bad thing to let yourself be a kid, though. Enjoy it while you can, mini Byers.”
He glanced over as the rest of their group joined them before Will could respond. “Hey, twerps, you ready to go home?”
He got a variety of yesses and complaints, but then Will spoke up. “Actually… Can we ride the Ferris wheel before we go?”
Steve looked over at him, eyes a little soft as he nodded. “Yeah, sure. One last ride of the night. I’ll even join you.” He said, getting up and stretching his sore muscles. He rolled his eyes when he saw Dustin and Max looking at him dubiously. “I’ll be fine, jeez. It was just a little dizzy spell, it passed, I’m good.”
The two immediately started to berate him for overdoing it, but the little white lie was worth it when Steve saw Will squished between Mike and El, grinning and laughing in the light of the Ferris wheel.