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It was a slow day at the record store.
Slower than usual.
Much, much slower.
Eddie was by himself, he had to close up for the night by himself soon. There hadn't been much traffic except for a slight uptick around the time that school had let out. A few groups of very enthusiastic teenagers looked through the new releases before leaving.
He was also more than ready to leave.
Though, it wasn't like there was much for him to do at home. Steve had classes all day in Indianapolis so he wouldn't be home until late. So all he really had waiting for him was leftovers and a TV screen, but that was better than staring at the wall at the store.
It was almost nine, and Eddie decided to call it early. What was staying open another ten minutes going to accomplish? With a soft sigh, Eddie crossed the store but as he reached out to lock the door it was ripped open; a very anxious looking Max Mayfield stood in front of him.
"Hey, Red, what's up?" He asked, stepping aside.
Max slipped past him into the store. She had her skateboard under her arm and the backpack that was slung over her shoulders looked to be pretty full. Much fuller than he normally saw it.
"Just… wanted to look around," Max answered, her voice clipped and terse.
Eddie locked the door and flipped the sign to Closed before he turned to watch her. He'd seen her the day prior when he and Steve dropped Henderson off at the arcade. He was fairly certain that she was wearing the same oversized flannel shirt. Her hair was pulled tight into a braid that was then wrapped up into a bun close to her head.
Something wasn't sitting right in Eddie's stomach.
There was something going on.
He made his way back towards the counter so that he could begin to count the money in the register. Out of his peripherals, Eddie could see Max poking around some of the displays. She wasn't staying in one place for too long before she moved on to the next.
She looked nervous.
Eddie popped open the drawer and began to count through the money inside. As he worked, he could sense Max walking over. He heard her skateboard tap gently against the glass front of the display where the register sat. He could feel her eyes boring holes into the side of his head.
He filled out the slip for the register and put it along with the money inside a pouch, ready to put it into the safe in the backroom.
"Do you need a ride home?" Eddie asked easily as he stood up from his stool.
He noticed the way that Max's posture tensed at his question. Her lips were tight, pressed firmly together. Her eyes blinked rapidly as she stared down at the glass in front of her. He noticed a slight tremble to her body.
No, something was definitely wrong.
Eddie set the pouch down and leant over so he was able to look Max in the face; so that he was on her level. He could see tears building in her eyes.
"Kid, what's the matter? You know you can talk to me," He asked in a soft voice, almost afraid to speak louder.
Max sniffled. A single tear slipped down her cheek and she quickly swiped at it with a shaky hand.
"My-My mom. She hasn't paid our water bill. A-and she either hasn't gone grocery shopping or she spent all our money already but… I haven't had food at home for like three days and I don't have any clean clothes and I didn't know where else to go."
It felt as though Eddie's heart had been pummeled inside his chest. For the briefest of moments, he felt as if he were staring at a younger version of himself. He remembered going to school hungry, in dirty clothes. He remembered wearing shoes with holes in them and clothes that didn't fit right anymore.
He remembered buzzing all his hair off because it was harder to tell that it hadn't been washed when it was cropped to his head.
Eddie felt so sad looking at Max like this. She was always so confident and strong. She looked so much smaller now. It was more than a little disconcerting to see.
He reached out to lay a hand on her shoulder. Max slowly raised her eyes to look up at him. A few more tears had fallen down her face. She didn't look too concerned with wiping them away anymore.
"Let me finish closing up here, okay? I'll take you home with me. We've got food, and a shower. I'm pretty sure there's some clothes there you left from summer. If not, we can definitely wash yours for you," he said firmly, giving her what he hoped was a reassuring smile.
Max visibly swallowed and nodded her head jerkily, but seemed to be unable to find her voice.
That was fine.
Eddie stood upright, grabbed the money from the register, and headed into the backroom. He quickly stowed it in the safe, signing off that he had done so. Then, he flipped the switch on the stereo to cut off the music that was playing through the store. He had already cleaned up in his boredom so everything looked good to go. And if it wasn't, he'd deal with it tomorrow.
Grabbing his jacket, Eddie walked back up front to find Max was still in the same spot; the same blank look was on her face.
There was a bubbling anger inside of him when he thought about what she was going through. How could her mother let things get this bad?
He shook those thoughts from his mind as he pulled his jacket on and fished the keys out of his pocket. "Alright, let's go, Red," he said as he flicked the lights off. The pair of them made it to the front of the store together. Max unlocked it so that they could get out. Eddie made short work of locking it up again once they were both out front.
"Do you need to stop by your place to get anything?" Eddie asked as he turned to face Max, shoving the store keys into his pocket.
Max shook her head as she motioned to where Eddie's van was parked nearby. Her bike was leaned against the back doors with a large, overstuffed duffle bag hanging from the handlebars.
So she knew what she was doing.
Smart kid.
Eddie chuckled softly, nodding his head, "Okay then. Let's load up."
While Max went around to get into the front seat, Eddie opened the back doors. He placed the bag into the back before he carefully lifted her bike in as well. Once it was all settled, Eddie closed the doors and walked over to the driver's seat. Max had already put on her seatbelt and was staring out the window.
Eddie nodded to himself as he turned on the van, moving quickly to turn down the volume on his stereo. He had been listening to Ride the Lightning pretty loudly on his way to work earlier, and he knew that Max wasn't the biggest fan of his taste in music. He didn't want to upset her any further than she already was.
"So, do you want to eat or take a shower first?" Eddie asked as he and Max walked into the house.
He dropped her duffle bag down on top of the washing machine as they passed through the laundry room. Max paused in the living room, her hands were gripping tightly at the skateboard she was holding in front of her. She seemed to be chewing at the inside of her cheek as her eyes snapped between the kitchen and the bathroom door.
"Shower," she finally decided, nodding.
"Alright, well, you know where the bathroom is. There should be clothes in the guest room. If not, I know you're more than comfortable enough to steal Steve's," he said with a small smile.
Max let out a breath of air that could be described as a soft laugh. Eddie would take it. She turned around to walk off towards the guest room so Eddie made his way into the kitchen. He paused for a moment as he looked around. It was nearly ten o'clock and he didn't really feel like making anything new to eat.
So, he opened the refrigerator to look around.
Inside he found a few Tupperware containers that had leftovers from the week. He pulled out the remains over the chicken and rice that Steve had made the other night. There was enough to feed the both of them as well as Max. While he got to work dishing out the food and heating it up he could hear the sound of the shower turning on.
Not long after he heard the garage door opening and closing. Steve was home. Eddie walked out of the kitchen and met Steve right at the door as he came in from the garage.
"Hey, ba- whoa! Okay, what's going on?" Steve asked as Eddie grabbed his wrist and yanked him into their bedroom.
Eddie closed the door with a loud sigh, "Max is here."
Steve's brows furrowed, "Why is she here? She has school in the morning."
"She showed up at the store when I was closing," Eddie explained as he pulled off his jacket, tossing it to the bed, "Things are… bad at her place. She hasn't had food there for days or water for I don't know how long."
Steve's face fell immediately. His eyes transformed from just a bit confused to full blown sad puppy eyes. Eddie knew how much he cared for Max, just as much as he did. He had to be feeling the same terrible mix of sadness and anger in his gut.
"She's taking a shower right now. I was heating up some leftovers for us all to eat," Eddie explained as he reached out to tuck a bit of hair behind Steve's ear. Fully looking at his boyfriend now he noticed a pretty sizable grey smudge at the hinge of his jaw, sweeping out onto his cheek.
Eddie looked down to see that Steve's hands were a mess of what looked to be either graphite or charcoal. "Had a productive drawing class?" Eddie teased as he grabbed the handkerchief he'd tied to his belt. Steve made a mildly confused sound but Eddie just rolled his eyes fondly as he wiped at the smudge.
"Why don't you go wash up so we can eat when Max is out of the shower?"
Steve nodded slowly before he leaned in to press a quick kiss to Eddie's lips. The touch did wonders for Eddie's nerves. He hadn't noticed just how tense his muscles were until they relaxed as Steve pulled away from him. As Steve turned to go into their adjoined bathroom, Eddie returned to the kitchen to finish heating up their dinner.
By the time Eddie got their three plates out onto the table both Steve and Max emerged from their respective rooms. Steve had cleaned off his hands and changed out of his jeans into a pair of sweatpants. Max must have snuck into their bedroom while Eddie wasn't looking because she had on Steve's green long sweatshirt over a pair of her own shirts.
Her hair was down and damp, but she looked much more relaxed than she had when she first showed up at the record store. Almost immediately, Steve wrapped Max up into a hug with his arms securely around her shoulders. Eddie watched the way her hands gripped tightly into the back of Steve's t-shirt as she pressed her face into his chest.
Eddie's heart ached just a little bit at the sight.
"You okay?" Steve murmured, running his hands over her back.
Max nodded as she sniffled softly, "I'm better now."
Steve pressed a quick kiss to the top of her head, "Good. Let's eat some dinner. You've got school in the morning."
They all took their seats at the dining table but Eddie couldn't keep his eyes off of Max and Steve. Sure, the kids had always joked that Steve was like their mom. He toted them around town, lectured them, kept them safe, gave out advice when he could. But this felt different. Seeing Steve care so deeply for someone inside their own home felt bigger.
He had the sudden thought of one day maybe having their own kids. A warmth and longing he'd never felt before filled his chest cavity. Which he quickly squashed down. What the hell was that? He and Steve were twenty years old, that was absolutely no way to think. Not right now.
He had to shake his head to fully clear those thoughts away. The movement must have caught Steve's attention because he noticed the way that Steve tilted his head to the side, carefully lifting an eyebrow in a silent question.
Eddie only smiled back at him, giving a small shake of his head. Steve didn't need to know what he was thinking about. He didn't want to scare him.
Steve narrowed his eyes just a bit but turned his attention back to Max. "So, I'm gonna throw some of your clothes in the machine for school tomorrow. I don't have work or class so I can take you to and from school," Steve explained before taking a bite of his food.
"Do I have to go back home tomorrow?" Max asked softly, her voice full of melancholy.
Eddie and Steve made eye contact across the table. Obviously neither of them wanted Max to go back to the trailer if it didn't have water or food, but they also couldn't just move her into their house.
"Maybe not tomorrow," Steve broached carefully, "But your mom w-"
"My mom won't notice," Max said, dropping her fork to her plate. Steve sat back in his chair, obviously a little taken aback. This wasn't Max's normal strong-willed attitude; there was genuine pain behind her tone. She exhaled, a shaky little breath, as she seemingly rolled her eyes at herself.
"When you guys were in the Upside Down, do you know how Dustin, Lucas, and I ended up at the Wheeler's house? The cops found us and said that their moms were worried sick about them," Max scoffed and picked up her fork again.
She poked around at her rice as she kept her eyes fixed on the plate in front of her. "You know who was looking for me? Who called the cops because they hadn't seen me in a few days? Wayne did," she said in a hard voice. She lifted her eyes to look back at Eddie.
He had no idea that's what happened. Wayne had never told him that. He didn't know what to say. Max swallowed hard and Eddie could see tears building up in her eyes again.
"There was a supposed serial killer on the loose and my mom either didn't notice I was missing, or didn't care."
Max silently took a bite of her food, and chewed as if that particular bit of chicken and rice had particularly offended her. Steve cast a glance in Eddie's direction, his eyes were wide as he tried to silently communicate with him. Eddie rolled his eyes and lifted his hands to sign across the table.
'What do we do?'
Steve looked between the two of them and shrugged.
'Take care of her tonight. Worry about the rest tomorrow.'
While Eddie cleaned up the dishes from dinner, Max and Steve went into the living room. It was late. Max probably should go to bed but Eddie understood her not wanting to just yet. The fear that being somewhere calm and safe for once could all just be a dream that disappears the moment you close your eyes to sleep.
He could hear the two of them talking from the living room. Steve had turned on some movie but Eddie couldn't make it out over the sound of the sink while he rinsed off the dishes. He took his time stacking thr plates into the dishwasher. He grabbed a dish towel to wipe down the counter as well as his hands, hanging it over the handle of the oven on his way out of the kitchen.
In the living room, all Eddie could see over the top of the sofa was Steve's head. As he got closer he peered over to see Max sat on the floor in front of Steve while Steve worked her hair into a loose braid.
That strange longing warmth wrapped itself around Eddie's heart again at the sight.
Eddie shook his head and walked around the couch to take a seat beside Steve. "What're we watching?" He asked as he pulled his legs up to sit crisscrossed.
"Clue," both Steve and Max answered without looking up from what they were doing. Which just made Eddie snort back a soft laugh.
Once Steve had finished with Max's braid, she climbed up onto the couch beside him. Eddie watched as she grabbed a throw pillow, a bright yellow one that Chrissy and Robin had gotten for them, and placed it on Steve's lap before she laid her head down on it.
Eddie had trouble concentrating on the movie. His eyes were constantly shifting from the television to where Max was definitely nodding off where she was laying against Steve. He saw how she fought to keep her eyes open until finally they fluttered shut and stayed that way. Eddie checked his watch.
It was almost almost midnight.
"Should we move her to bed?" Eddie asked after she had been asleep for a solid five minutes.
Steve glanced down at her, nodding slowly, "Yeah, probably."
Eddie carefully got to his feet. He very gingerly slipped an arm under the bend of Max's knees, as well as under her arms before he lifted her off the sofa. She had essentially trapped Steve on the couch. Eddie quietly made his way to the guest room.
Over the summer a few of the kids had stayed the night there. It was a basic bedroom set. The double bed was currently made up with a simple olive green and cream colored bedding set.
As soft as he could, Eddie lowered Max to the mattress. He pulled the sheet and comforter up over her body, feeling a bit silly about tucking in a teenager. Once she was settled, Eddie grabbed the alarm clock from the bedside table to set it for the morning.
He then shut off the light and left the room, leaving the door cracked just a bit on his way out.
Once out of the room Eddie could hear the sound of the washing machine going. The living room lights were off but Eddie could see the light from their bedroom spilling out from under the closed door. He shuffled down the hall to their bedroom and slowly opened the door.
Steve was sitting in the middle of their bed with a textbook in his lap. He had a hand up to his face and looked like he was chewing at the side of his thumbnail. Eddie glanced at the dresser to see Steve's hearing aid was there charging. With a small sigh, Eddie started to get undressed.
His rings and watch went to the box on top of the dresser while he hung up his belt and chains from his jeans in the closet. He dropped the actual jeans, along with his shirt, into the hamper before he headed back to the room. Steve hadn't moved. His eyes looked a little unfocused, like he wasn't actually reading whatever was in front of him.
Eddie approached the bed and tapped his hand against the mattress to get Steve's attention.
"What are we gonna do?" Eddie asked once Steve looked up at him.
Steve sighed, closing his textbook, "I don't know. We can't just send her back to her mom where there's no food or running water."
"I know," Eddie murmured in agreement. He climbed up onto the bed to flop down against the pillows. He laid on his back, staring at the ceiling, with his arms stretched out to his sides.
There was a bit of shuffling but then Steve was laying down beside him, his head resting on his shoulder. "Well, for now… Max is safe here," Steve said, laying a hand on Eddie's chest, "We have a room for her, a washing machine, a shower, and food. We just… keep her safe."
Eddie nodded before pressing a soft kiss to Steve's forehead, "We keep her safe. Here on the island of misfit toys."
Steve rolled his eyes but kissed Eddie gently.
When Eddie woke up in the morning, he could hear voices out in the kitchen. He huffed out a breath as he sat up, stretching his arms and back until he felt a pleasant pop in his joints. He then slipped out of bed and made his way down towards the sound.
He rounded the corner to see Max and Steve standing at the counter, each with a mug in their hands.
Steve looked up at him and rolled his eyes, "Put some clothes on, Ed."
"It's my house," he grumbled, crossing the room to the coffee maker.
Max snorted into her coffee. Which was a good sign in Eddie's book. She was smiling now, even better. Her hair was a bit wavy from sleeping in the braid that Steve had done for her the night before. She looked well rested and was in clean clothes.
Honestly, he and Steve were killing this whole parenting thing.
Steve drained the rest of his coffee and went to the sink to rinse out his mug. His yellow Steve mug that Wayne had gotten him for Christmas. It still made Eddie smile to see him using it.
"Alright, Max, let's go. You're not going to be late on my watch," Steve said as he opened the dishwasher, setting the mug on the top rack.
Eddie grabbed a mug from the cabinet and poured himself some coffee while Steve and Max cleaned up. He felt a sudden kiss against his cheek followed by a quick slap against his ass, nearly making him spill his coffee all over the counter.
"See you in a bit, babe," Steve laughed as he followed Max out of the kitchen.
Eddie parked his van out in front of the Mayfield's trailer. He stared at the place, pushing down the slow bubbling anger in his stomach. Having grown up a bit and gotten some distance from his own train wreck parents he had sympathy for people who were struggling with their vices and addictions.
But there was still quite a bit of internal ire. Maybe it was just little Eddie inside of him pained to see someone else dealing with what he had to do while growing up.
He had to swallow the burning in his throat as he exited the van. Steve had work to do for his history of art class so Eddie took it upon himself to make this trip. He headed up to the door, finding it to be unlocked. Inside smelled of stale beer and it made Eddie's stomach sink.
Pushing away that feeling, Eddie walked down to Max's bedroom. He just wanted to get some more of her stuff, to make her more comfortable at their house while she stayed there.
He packed up some more of her clothes, some tapes and books, and made sure to grab the stuffed lion that Lucas had won at Indiana Beach over the summer. He then stopped in the bathroom to get together her own things. Sure, they had stuff in the guest bathroom but he was sure that Max would prefer her stuff over the basic and generic items they had.
After a quick second lap through the trailer, Eddie decided he had all that he needed and walked back outside to his van. As he got there he noticed Wayne's truck pulling up in front of his trailer across the way. Eddie tossed Max's things in the back of the van just as Wayne got out of the truck.
"What in God's name are you doin' over there, son?" Wayne called, raising a hand to shield his eyes from the sun.
Eddie sighed loudly as he closed the side door. He stuffed his hands into his jacket pockets, and strolled over to where his uncle was standing, watching him. Eddie stopped a few feet away from Wayne, kicking at a small rock on the ground.
"Max is, uh, she's gonna stay with me and Steve for a bit. I just came by to get some of her stuff for her while she's at school," Eddie explained with a small shrug.
Wayne's face creased unhappily, "Things got bad over there?"
"Yeah. She showed up at the record store last night a mess," Eddie sighed softly. He saw a pained expression pass over Wayne's face. "It's not your fault, Wayne. Her mom… she's struggling. And you know how stubborn Max is. But, she knows how much you care about her."
"I coulda done something more for her," Wayne said a little sadly.
Eddie shook his head, "You're too hard on yourself, old man."
Wayne scoffed loudly and glared at Eddie, which just made him smile. Eddie took a few steps forward to wrap Wayne into a firm hug, patting his back. When he pulled away, he kept his hand on Wayne's shoulder. "Max told me and Steve that you were looking out for her when all that mess was going on in the spring. She knows you care about her," he said, squeezing his shoulder.
"Thanks, son," Wayne said gruffly with a stiff nod.
Eddie gave him a warm smile, "Of course. You should go get some rest though. I've gotta get this stuff to the house before I go to work."
"Yeah. Make sure you and your boy, and Max, stop by sometime, alright? Don't be strangers."
"Of course, Wayne."
"What's that?" Eddie asked.
He was draped over Steve's back where he was sitting at the dining room table, pointing at a picture in Steve's textbook. He could feel the annoyed energy just wafting off of Steve. It made Eddie grin to himself.
Steve huffed, "Cave paintings."
Eddie hummed, pointing at a different picture, "What's that?"
"My last nerve," Steve laughed brusquely as he closed the book with a sharp snap.
With a truly amused laugh, Eddie stood up so he wasn't leaning on Steve any longer. Steve twisted in his chair to look back at Eddie with raised eyebrows. He looked very irritated. Eddie couldn't help but grin. He swooped in to capture his lips in a quick kiss.
"You're cute when you're annoyed with me."
"I must be fucking adorable all the time."
Eddie smirked, "Someone's feisty."
Steve rolled his eyes as a soft smile fell into place on his lips. "Don't you have to go to work soon?" He asked as he reached out to tug on the chain dangling from Eddie's belt.
"Mm, yeah. I'm unfortunately closing again," Eddie sighed, pushing his fingers into Steve's hair.
Steve nodded slightly, "Well, I was going to order pizza for dinner since Max and I both have to study tonight."
Eddie grinned broadly. "My college man," he murmured as he ducked down to kiss Steve again. A little longer this time. A little slower.
"You're a dork," Steve laughed softly, a happy sigh escaping him.
"I'm your dork."
Steve rolled his eyes, waving a hand at him, "Yeah, yeah. Get out of here so I can actually get some work done before I pick the kid up from school."
Pick the kid up from school.
The kid.
There was that gentle warmth filling his chest again. Eddie swallowed hard but nodded his head absently, a bit lost in his thoughts. "Love you," he said softly, kissing Steve's head.
"Love you too, baby."