Work Text:
“Only girls and babies play with dolls, Steven.”
The voice of his parents berating made him want to crawl into a hole and hide away anytime he would point out a teddy bear or god forbid the one time he grabbed a wonder woman action figure and gawked at it, excitedly showing it to his father only to get it taken away and pulled out of the store by his ear.
“Daddy, it’s just a superhero!” Steve begged as he was hastily shoved into a booster seat, and he clinged on to the metal bars as he stared up at his father with tears threatening to fall. All of his friends had action figures and toys, why couldn’t he?
“You know to only address me as father, Steven.” The man grumbled, starting the car and looking at Steve from the rear view mirror. “And cut that out, I will not raise a boy that cries over toys.”
“He’s just seven, Robert—“
“Don’t pull that crap on me, Shirley.” His father would constantly say, puffing from his cigarette holder.
Steve’s mother was kind in some ways, but was mostly distant as per his father’s incessant reprimanding. She learnt to just stay quiet and nod, never disagreeing. And as a result, Steve was most often ignored.
But it was fine, right? Because he was being raised to be a strong, independent man. Not a priss that cries over dolls and teddy bears. Steve was fine. He always bounces back.
Until one time he doesn’t.
-
“C’mon dingus, let’s go already.”
Robin pulled at Steve’s arm as he locked his car, checking it was safe before reluctantly following Robin into the fairgrounds. If he was being completely honest, he didn’t want to be there. The only reason he agreed to come was because Robin needed a ride and he didn’t want to be there reason she missed out. Also Eddie was going to be there. But that totally didn’t matter at all, no.
He and Eddie hadn’t really put a label on anything. Steve quickly got over his initial panic of ‘oh god why do i want to kiss a man? Is that gay or is it just a bro thought? What the hell is going on?’ When he was suddenly bombarded with a kind of flirting he had never experienced for himself, and he honestly couldn’t compete. He was pampered in all kinds of petnames and casual little touches and cuddling, and he couldn’t keep up. All Steve knew was that he liked it. Loved it, even. And he knew that he definitely did not want it to stop.
But no, he didn’t exactly want to be here for the crowds and greasy food trucks. Especially not when he knew Robin was going to insist on them both going on the dreaded ferris wheel. He only really came so Robin could go and so he could see Eddie.
At least all the lights were pretty, especially the ones cascading down onto Robin from the ferris wheel as she grinned and pulled him through the gates, making him pay the small fare to get in.
Steve was content to just follow her around like a puppy until he had to do something like pay for drinks or the massive pretzel that Robin begged him to buy for her.
“Let’s go on the ferris wheel!” Robin jumped up and down excitedly, pointing at the large spinning death machine behind her.
“Absolutely not. You may have forced me here but I am not letting you drag me up there.”
Robin groaned, opening her mouth to express her annoyance when Steve felt an arm sling around his shoulders, quickly pulling him into the person's side..
“What are you ladies cat-fighting about, huh?” Steve peeked up at the grin on Eddie’s face, letting himself enjoy the scent of the leather and cheap cologne. He smelt faintly of cigarette smoke and Steve perked up, reaching to pat over Eddie’s pockets, searching for the box.
“Y’alright there, Stevie?” Eddie chuckled, rubbing his thumb over Steve’s shoulder, pulling out a carton of Malboros and handing them to him.
“Thank you.” Steve’s face was dusted in a cute pink and he looked away, practically melting at the display of affection.
“Alright lovebirds, let’s get a move on!” Robin clapped as if to say ‘chop chop’.
“Robbie, I really don’t wanna go on that thing—“
“Hey guys!” Nancy’s voice cut him off and they all looked over to see Nancy, Jonathan and Argyle approaching and waving with big smiles on their faces.
“You’re talking about the ferris wheel, right?” Argyle grinned, pointing his thumb over to the ride.
“Yeah but Steve’s being a pussy about it—“
“Hey!” Steve pouted, pulling away from Eddie to put his hands on his hips, lit cigarette dangling from his fingers, threatening to burn his shirt.
“You should come with us, dude! We need an extra person in the cart!” Argyle clapped a hand on Robin’s shoulder as the other two agreed.
“Uh- did you want to go?” Steve rested his arms and looked up at Eddie, gesturing over to the others.
“Nah, I got a better idea.” Eddie gripped Steve’s arm and tugged him away from the group. “Meet back here in an hour or so?” He called out to the others, grinning with a thumbs up when they all agreed.
“Where are we going?” Steve furrowed his eyebrows, letting Eddie pull him along.
“ We are going over there so I can win you that!” Eddie smiles, pointing over to the stall, more importantly the big yellow duck hanging from the display.
“The- what?” Steve watched as Eddie hurried over and handed over a few coins to the man behind the booth who passed back a few balls for Eddie to knock over the stacked cans with.
“You ready for this, big boy?” Steve crossed his arms, shifting in his spot as he eyed the plushies on the display wall. He felt sick to his stomach, something in the back of his mind telling him he should leave. That he wasn’t allowed this.
“Y-yeah. Go for it, man..” Whatever face Steve was making clearly wasn’t noticed by Eddie, as he just kept his signature grin and turned towards the stall, squinting as he lined himself up and aimed. Steve took the last puff from his smoke and stamped it out on the ground, crossing his arms.
Surprisingly, Eddie did pretty well but it wasn’t quite enough for the grand prize Eddie was hoping for and he moped about it as he was handed a slightly smaller plush of a light pink bear.
Steve stood nervously as Eddie sighed, dejected as he beckoned Steve to follow him to a more private area.
“I really wanted to get you that real big one, sweetheart. i swear I would’ve, I was so close!” Eddie huffed, rolling his eyes as he lifted up the lid of a rubbish bin, intending on throwing it away.
“Woah- what are you doing with that? You just got it!” Steve reached to grab it from Eddie’s hands, stumbling a little.
“C’mon, Stevie. This puny little pink thing is nothing. I’d rather not look at my failure all night, I’m sure you have a million plushies hidden away in your closet or something, you hardly need this.” Eddie chuckled, grabbing the bear out from Steve’s hands.
‘You hardly need this.’
‘Only girls and babies play with dolls, Steven.’
‘Puny, pink.’
‘I will not raise a boy that cries over toys.’
‘Not allowed. Not allowed. Not allowed. Not allowed—‘
Steve startled out of his thoughts by the sound of the rubbish lid slamming shut, and Steve hesitantly looked up. He felt slight relief that Eddie didn’t throw it away, maybe he could allow himself to have something like that—.
“I guess we can at least give it to a little girl. You should probably do it, I might scare ‘em” Eddie snickered, handing the bear over to Steve and wiggling its arm, making the bear wave.
“Bye bye, Eddie and Steve!” Eddie pitched his voice higher, making it crack and he choked a little, laughing as he cleared his throat from the assault that doing the voice had on him.
Steve smiled, letting out a little breathy laugh but he felt somber. Of course he wasn’t allowed this. It’s not for him. Things like this are for girls and babies.
He scanned the area around them, spotting a little girl dressed in a small pink dress, holding hands with her dad as she giggled at something he was saying.
Steve felt something churn in his stomach at the sight, but he approached the pair and smiled at the father, crouching down to wiggle the pink bear in his hands and gesture for the girl to take it.
She gasped, letting go of her dads hand and grabbing the plushy from Steve, immediately hugging it. “It’s pink! Daddy, look!”
That made Steve retract a little, flinching away but keeping his composure as he made small talk with the dad, backing away smiling. As soon as the conversation ended Steve raced away, not even looking at Eddie as he rushed to an area of trees and grass where people had picnics. It was fairly empty now, as it was dark.
‘You know to only address me as father, Steven.’
Steve leant behind a tree, hands reaching up to pull at his hair as he willed his tears to go away before someone noticed him.
“Steve?” A soft voice approached him and he let out a shuddered breath.
“S-sorry, need a minute.” He sniffled, wiping his tears away and hunching over as if that’ll hide him away from prying eyes. “I’m fine.”
And he is, isn’t he? He always bounces back. Always. Except, this didn’t feel a lot like bouncing back because Steve was still struggling to breathe.
“Hey now. What happened just then, sweetheart?” Eddie reached up and pulled Steve’s other hand away from his hair, cupping his face and looking at Steve with so much concern and care that he wanted to break down again. He felt like he was being looked at from under a microscope, like Eddie could tell every little thing about him just from the way he was looking at Steve right in this moment.
“I-I J-Just—“ Steve let out a frustrated sob, immediately covering his face.
“Shhh, shh. Stevie, hey. It’s okay, you’re allowed to cry but you need to calm down and breathe, okay? Follow my lead.” Eddie pulled Steve’s hands away and inhaled dramatically, using hand motions in time with his breathing and Steve let a small smile pull at his lips as he sniffled and tried to copy him.
It took a while, but eventually Steve was breathing normally, albeit a few shaky breaths every now and then as the tears threatened to spill over when he thought about it a little too much.
“Do you want to tell me what happened?” Eddie stood before him, gently rubbing his thumb over Steve’s cheek to soothe him. Steve reached up to hold Eddie’s wrist, a silent plea to keep him there.
“I-I’ve never..” Steve’s breath picked back up a little and Eddie shushed him, concern glittering across his face. Steve had a vague thought about how pretty he looked with all the coloured lights shining over his face.
“Hey, take your time. I’m sure the other guys will be fine waiting a little.”
Steve nodded, slipping his eyes shut and leaning into his touch.
“I’ve never.. had a- uhm.. a plushy before. Or toys, really. I-I don’t know why I’m so upset, it doesn’t matter as much I’m making it seem.” Steve huffed as if he was annoyed at himself for having emotions. Horrible, really.
“What- you mean like… never? Even as a kid?” Steve nodded his head, looking away..
“Jesus, that’s… I mean I’m poor and I still got plushies to sleep with. Like a million fuckin’ action figures, too.” Eddie’s face showed disbelief, as if he couldn’t possibly render the fact that a rich kid like Steve was never allowed toys or soft teddy bears growing up.
Steve sighed, pulling away from Eddie’s hold. Something about what Eddie said made it feel like a mockery.
“I know. Big loser, not being allowed toys.” Steve shook his head, turning to walk back to the spot they were meant to meet back up at but Eddie gripped his shoulder, pulling him back.
“Hey- Stevie. I didn’t mean it like that. I-I’m just saying-“ Eddie let out a small sigh, before he furrowed his eyebrows. “Is that why you looked all sad when I was going to throw the bear away? You didn’t want to give it to that little girl, did you?”
Steve shook his head, wiping his eyes. He felt embarrassed being this worked up over a pink teddy bear.
“Yeah, s-sorry. We should go back.”
“Nah- No. Steve.” Eddie reached back up and stroked over Steve’s cheek again. “Let’s go to another stall and I’ll win you something better.”
Before Steve could even think about protesting against the idea, Eddie was already patting him on the head and tugging him away from the tree and towards the traffic of people and stalls.
“This one, easy peasy.” Eddie liked to brag about how good he was at the rubber duck game, even though it usually garnered eye rolls and chuckles about how it was a ‘kids game’ . Eddie simply shrugged it off. His skills worked perfectly for moments like this, so who's losing now?
And alas, Eddie won and he was able to choose from the bigger prizes lining the display and he cheered, bobbing up and down excitedly as he grinned over at Steve.
“Eureka, baby!”
Eddie pointed to the big brown dog with the floppy ears and droopy brown eyes, thanking the lady behind the stall and passing it to Steve with a smirk.
“Looks just like you.”
Steve rolled his eyes with a little smile and he was handed to big plushy, it was about half his size and incredibly soft and squishy. Steve hugged it just to test it out as Eddie practically wheeled him away from the stall and back over to the spot where they found the other three waiting, and in addition a few stray stragglers from the party. Namely, Dustin, Lucas and Mike.
“We’ve been waiting for literal decades! Where were you guys?” Dustin exclaimed, running up to the boys as they approached, giant plushy in tow.
“Had to get one of these for Stevie, doesn’t it look just like him?” Eddie snickered, gently taking it away and holding its face up besides Steve.
The others giggled at the resemblance and Steve went red. “Okay, whatever. You can shut up now.” He grumbled, taking the soft toy back.
“Oh come on, you look just like a puppy!” Robin giggled, ruffling Steve's hair and quickly retreating when Steve glared and batted her hands away.
Steve looked over at Eddie who was smiling at him, something in his face told Steve they’d be talking more about this whole thing later. Probably tonight when they’re curled up on the couch with a joint and a movie playing.
Although, this time Steve found that he wasn’t afraid of talking about it with him. He felt secure around Eddie like he never had around anyone besides Robin. And even so, this was a newfound feeling.
Steve felt content, and happier with his new family than he had ever been with his old one. He was allowed to cry and he was allowed to indulge in silly things like oversized plushies from stupid fair kiosks. Time heals, and Steve has a lot of it. He just hopes Eddie will want to be with him along the way.
“You ready to go, m’lady?” Eddie’s smile shone brighter than the sun as he jokingly held out his arm, not expecting Steve to actually take it.
“Where are we going?” Steve smiled back, holding onto Eddie’s arm as if they were an old timey couple and Steve was getting escorted.
Eddie’s face burned red as his smile turned sheepish and he gently rubbed his other hand over Steve’s knuckles.
“Dinner, maybe a smoke break then we can head to mine?”
Steve nodded his head, giddy. But he quickly remembered his promise to Robin.
“O-oh but I promised Robbie I’d drop her home—“
“I’ve got it!” Nancy held Robin's hand up as they started to walk away, waving at the others.
The three kids aswell as Jonathan and Argyle retreated to go find the rest of the party, waving to the boys and walking away with a knowing smile.
“Let’s get outta here, yeah Stevie?”
“‘Kay, which car? Or do you want me to follow you?” Eddie bowed and held his hand out in a gesture for Steve to walk and he giggled, stepping out and started walking towards to the exit, turning back to meet Eddie’s eyes. He was grinning, and stalking towards Steve.
“We’ll take the van, don’t worry about your precious little beemer. We’ll come back in the morning and get it, alright?”
“Yeah. Let’s go watch a shitty movie.”
“Accompanied by a joint?”
Steve huffed out a laugh and nodded, beckoning for Eddie to follow quickly.
“Yeah, Eds. Whatever you want.”
Steve preened at the way Eddie’s face melted from the nickname, grinning with pride as he walked away with the giant dog plushy. Eddie stood, speechless, his mouth curling into a smile as he shook his head quickly as if to shake his thoughts and jogged to keep up with Steve.
“Your chariot awaits, Princess.” Steve bit his lip, bringin his hand up to chew at his nails nervously as he flustered, getting into the van. Eddie shut the door with a smack on the roof and quickly hopped in the drivers side.
“Just start the car, Eddie.”
“Flustered? You’re gettin’ a little red there, Stevie .”
“You sure you’re not the one going red, Eds?.”
“… let’s go home.”
Steve stifled a laugh, looking out the window at the pretty luminous lights that shone brightly over the fairgrounds.
“Okay.”