Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

Steve knew he was annoying the living hell out of the kids. And Robin. And Nancy. And just about everyone else in his life. But it was mostly the kids.

It didn’t take a genius, or someone with super powers, to know that. Steve was perfectly aware on his own. He knew he hovered, he knew he was in far too deep with their lives and safety, whether he wanted to be or not. And no, of course he didn’t want to be. But who else was going to do it? Who else was going to protect them?

People made a lot of jokes, he knew. Jokes about Steve being a mom, or a dad, or their babysitter. People liked to poke fun at him for being friends with a group of freshmen in highschool, and no, Steve hadn’t exactly thought that this is where he’d be in life, either. Still stuck in Hawkins, still hanging out with fifteen year olds, still babysitting, still waking in the middle of the night from endless nightmares, working at a video store, his father’s greatest disappointment.

Sometimes he thought about finally leaving. Maybe. He thought about going to a big city, probably not college, and never speaking to either of his parents ever again. Maybe he’d convince Robin to join him, and they could work somewhere in Chicago, or New York, or LA.

But as he dropped Max off at her place after school, watching as she tapped around the ground with her new white cane, a pair of dark sunglasses covering her milky eyes, Steve could feel a tug in his chest, like his heart literally couldn’t handle the idea of leaving. It jolted in his chest at the very thought, crashed against his ribcage, and the answer was clear: absolutely not.

Yes, the kids were getting tired of his motherly hovering. But he wouldn’t leave them. He wouldn’t abandon them. He had to protect them.

* * *

“Alright, it’s official,” Dustin declared, lacing his fingers together over the wooden table. The kids—Dustin, Lucas, Mike, Max, Will, El, and even Erica—had managed to sneak into the Wheeler’s basement without the knowledge of Steve for the first time since…well, since before Vecna. Since long before Vecna. And they were only able to do even that with the help of Robin and Nancy, both of whom Max had pleaded with to keep Steve occupied and join their meeting. “This meeting is in session.”

“Just to clarify,” Lucas chimed in, holding a hand up. “Where is Steve? We’re in the clear?”

“He owed me,” Robin said, her arms crossing her chest. “He’s covering my shift at Family Video right now. Trust me, he’s not happy about it. And I’m not too thrilled about it either, by the way. Steve is my best friend, I don’t like going behind his back like this.”

“But you’re here anyways,” Dustin said, pointing a finger in Robin’s direction knowingly. “Which means that you understand our predicament.”

“I can agree, that…” Robin sighed heavily, her eyes fluttering closed. “He’s a tad bit… uptight, these days, and I can understand and empathize with everyone’s frustrations. But I’m not here to go against Steve. I want to help him.”

“He’s overprotective,” Nancy said knowingly, grimacing. “We know. That’s why we’re here.”

“Where is Eddie?” Mike seemed annoyed, looking around the basement. “Didn’t we invite him?”

“Yeah, I tried to get ahold of him, but he’s probably not coming,” Dustin said, rolling his eyes. “He never comes anywhere anymore.”

“Whatever, it’s fine,” Max said, waving her hand. She’d finally been released from her casts, but unfortunately, her eyes would remain the way they were. Blind, and frosty, and hidden by dark sunglasses. She was still learning to use her new cane. “I’ll fill him in later if I need to.”

“Great. Let’s get straight to the point,” Dustin slapped a hand down onto the table. Everyone jumped in surprise, but Dustin didn’t apologize. “Steve is crossing into unknown motherly territory. He’s overprotective, unhinged, a complete lunatic. None of us can do anything without Steve acting like we’re a bunch of four-year-olds without thumbs. What are we going to do about it? Any suggestions?”

“Here’s a thought,” Will said, leaning forward onto the table. “We could…I don’t know…talk to him? Communicate?”

“No.”

“Absolutely not!”

“That is the single worst idea I have ever heard—”

The chorus of protests continued to ring out, and Will held his hands up in defense. “Why not? What could go wrong?”

“You can’t just…” Dustin sputtered, his hands clenched into fists. “We can’t talk to Steve, he won’t understand. We’ll just get scolded and he’ll do that thing where he puts his hands on his hips and gets all sassy.”

“He’s not wrong,” Max said. “Last week, he actually walked me into school. When I told him it wasn’t necessary, he told me that he needed to make sure I got across the parking lot safely.”

“Well,” Robin quipped, her cheeks flushed. “That doesn’t seem so bad—”

“Robin, there was no one there,” Max snapped. “I was late. There was no one in the parking lot. I didn’t get there until third period.”

“Oh. Nevermind, that’s kind of bad.”

“I’ll do you one better,” Dustin leaned back in his chair. “A few days ago, he picked me up from my house to take me to Hellfire Club. I thought he would drive away when I got there, but he stayed. For two hours, he stayed and waited for us to get out.”

“At work, a couple of weeks ago,” Robin suddenly said, her cheeks flushed, like she couldn’t believe herself—and really, she couldn’t believe herself. Having a meeting about Steve, without his knowledge, talking about him behind his back…it made her feel awful. “It started storming. Thunder, lightning, y’know…he made me hide in the bathroom until it was over in case of a disaster.”

“I remember that,” Lucas said. “He called all of us to ask if we were okay. Like, three times.”

“Great, now that we’re all on the same page about Steve’s traumatized state of mind,” Dustin leaned forward against the table. “What are we gonna do about it? Because quite frankly, I’m going out of my mind! I love Steve, but I wanna be able to ride my bike down the street without getting told off about the dangers of the world and lectured about my safety!”

“More importantly, though,” Nancy’s tone was pointed, stern, directed towards the kids. She and Robin shared a look. “How can we help Steve? Because remember everyone, he’s not doing these things to be mean, he’s doing it because he’s traumatized and he feels responsible for your guys’ safety. How can we show Steve that he can relax a little bit? This needs to benefit Steve as well.”

The kids shrunk into their seats. Even Dustin couldn’t hide the look of guilt that flashed across his face. They were being selfish—only thinking of themselves and their own frustrations.

“Alright, fine…so this isn’t entirely Steve’s fault. He’s used to taking care of us. He feels responsible. It’s very inconvenient for everyone involved. Again, any ideas? Literally anything at all—don’t be shy.”

Mike shrugged. “Maybe we could suggest a shrink?”

“What is a…” El finally spoke. She was so quiet, they’d nearly forgotten she was there. Her hair had finally grown out a little bit again. It wasn’t long—certainly not as long as it had been before Vecna—but it curled around her ears and framed her cheekbones. “A shrink?”

“It’s a counselor,” Will explained. “Someone—a professional—that Steve could talk to.”

“I hate to put a hole in that idea, but,” Robin placed her elbows on the table in front of her with a sigh. “That won’t work. Steve is completely out of touch with his emotions, or any vulnerability whatsoever. I doubt he even see’s any of this as an issue. As far as he’s concerned, he’s just doing his natural babysitting duties.”

“How about a girlfriend?” Max suggested. “That might keep him busy.”

The group turned their gazes to Nancy. Her cheeks flushed. “No. No way. We put that behind us. We both decided, y’know…bad idea.”

Everyone slumped in their chairs again.

“Do we have to do this?” Will whined, sinking down in his chair. “I like Steve. He protects us. What’s so bad about that?”

“He’s nuts!” Dustin snapped, his face turning sour.

“Wait!” Robin said loudly, her fists flying up into the air, as if in triumph. “Hear me out! I know this is going to sound confusing for everyone, and maybe not everyone will like this idea, but…maybe instead of a girlfriend, we could find Steve…a boy friend?”

Silence hung in the air of the basement. No one was entirely sure how to respond to that, whether or not they should, or why they would at all. The idea was ridiculous.

Steve? A boy friend?

“You’ve got to be joking.” Nancy finally said. “You’re joking, right?”

Robin sighed. “No, I am not joking. Everyone hear me out. I’ve seen Steve checking out guys before, and although he hasn’t said anything, I’d say I’ve got a pretty solid read on these things. Steve likes girls, yes, but here’s the thing. You’re not going to be able to find a girl in this town for Steve to date. He’s either dated all of them and screwed them over, or they have boyfriends, or he’s already attempted to flirt with them, and it failed miserably. Trust me, I’m there when it happens. But a guy on the other hand—”

“Wait, so,” Mike held up his hands to stop Robin’s word-vomit. “You think that no girl will date Steve at this point, so you want to set him up with a random guy, even though he’s never dated a guy before that we know of? That sounds like a horrible plan.”

“Yeah, I don’t know about this,” Dustin had a pained look on his face. “Steve seems pretty interested in women to me.”

“You fools!” Robin groaned. “You can be interested in both men and women! Yes, that’s a thing, don’t look so surprised! Open your minds for like, half a second here. Steve even once made a comment about how hot Patrick Swayze is to my face . I know in my gut that Steve is attracted to guys.”

“Fine,” Lucas caved. “I’m willing to entertain this very out-of-place fantasy for a moment…why does it need to be a guy? How is that gonna help any of us?”

“Like I said, I’ve seen Steve checking out guys before, and even kind of flirting! Super subtle, but still…I think it would benefit Steve to come to better understand his own sexuality if we enter a dude into his life. You know, expand his horizons a little bit.” Robin bit down on her fingernail anxiously. Her stomach was in knots. She was spewing everything she’d been thinking for so long, and it was wrong, she knew that, but she couldn’t stop herself. “Besides, it’s the same concept as the girlfriend thing. It’ll keep him occupied. Coming to terms with your sexuality is so consuming that he might finally leave you guys alone every once in a while.”

“Even if that were to work. Even if Steve isn’t straight,” Nancy crossed her arms over her chest, seemingly unconvinced and not entirely on-board with this idea. “There’s a few holes. Number one, who would possibly agree to do that in this town? What guy in Hawkins, of all places, would go for that?”

“One more thing,” Erica, who had been unusually silent during this meeting, had decided to chime in. “Whoever this person is, it needs to be someone who can really give Steve a run for his money. Someone who could make Steve back down, and really bend him to his will. Steve needs to be smitten, sure, but he also needs to be thoroughly distracted. And who the hell could possibly be persuaded into distracting, taming, and ultimately helping Steve freakin’ Harrington, of all people? And be successful at it?”

Erica, as always, had a point. The basement went quiet once more, and Dustin cursed under his breath. “We’d have to pay them, too…no one is going to do all of that for free, or for fun.”

Again, silence. A long silence.

It stretched so long that Dustin was beginning to think that the plan would fold altogether. But it sounded almost plausible. If they could just find one more piece to the endless puzzle that was Steve Harrington, they might be able to pull this off.

Dustin would get his long phone calls with Suzie again, uninterrupted, and be able to ride his bike down the street. 

Mike and El could do…whatever they do.

Robin wouldn’t have to hide in the bathroom at Family Video during storms anymore, or talk Steve off the ledge during his panic attacks.

Will could sit in his room and paint without getting a nightly, thirty-minute phone call from Steve about how Will was feeling lately.

Max and Lucas could go to the movies, and sit far away from everyone else so that Lucas could explain what he was seeing on the screen (at least, that’s what they said they did at the movies, no one fully believed them).

It was the perfect plan. Or it would be, if they could just tweak a few things.

“Think, think, think,” Dustin said, mostly to himself, squeezing his eyes shut. “Who could we pay, that would be brave enough, to take on the task that is Steve Harrington?”

The answer to that question came in the form of a familiar voice that sounded as they descended the stairs—a voice that made Dustin grin so wide, he thought his cheeks might split.

“Hey, Henderson, you down here? Figured I’d stop by and see what this meeting was—what? Why are you all staring at me?” Eddie stood at the bottom of the steps, his eyes wide when he looked around the room at the group of his fellow world-savers, all staring at him as though they were watching the second coming of Christ. 

“Eddie Munson,” Dustin couldn’t have wiped the grin off of his face even if he wanted to. He stood from his chair slowly. “Consider yourself employed.”

“Wait, what? No, I have a record. Nobody around here will employ me, I’ve tried.”

It was a sweet, innocent answer. It was a bitter, sinful plan.

After a few long minutes of very poorly explaining to Eddie what their plan was, it seemed that perhaps Eddie was finally allowing all of the information to sink in. He sat on the floor against the wall, staring at the group through his lashes, great confusion on his expression.

“So you want me, ” Eddie pressed a hand to his chest. “To try and… date Steve fuckin’ Harrington?”

“Language.”

Dustin nodded. “Yes.”

“And it has to be me because…I’m the only one who could be brave enough to try and tame that tightly wound mess of a man, or something like that?”

“Yes.”

“So you want to pay me…you want to give me money, to go to Steve, and to essentially seduce him, so that then he’ll be off of your guys’ backs, and maybe distracted, and maybe it’ll help him to understand his sexuality, and maybe it’ll help him with his trauma, and maybe it’ll help him to loosen up a little bit—”

“Yes, yes,” Dustin was growing impatient.

Eddie began again. “So you want me to hang out with Steve, you’re gonna pay me to hang out with Steve, and hopefully that will—“

Dustin’s nostrils flared, his face turning red. He was growing very impatient. “You process this however you need to, Eddie.”

Eddie groaned, allowing his head to fall backwards against the wall with a thud. “This feels wrong, guys, I don’t know…It makes me feel kind of skeevy. Messing with someone like that. Especially someone who is straight.”

“No, no, no!” Robin said. “Don’t think of it that way! I’ve seen Steve check dudes out before. He doesn’t say it but I know he’s into dudes. Even if he doesn’t know it yet. He just needs a little… push. By the way, none of you better tell him any of this, or I will kill you in your sleep.”

“Tell him what?” Max scoffed. “That you kinda outed the poor guy? ‘Cause we all thought he was straight.”

“I’m still not convinced he’s not.” Mike shrugged.

“I know, I know!” Robin’s cheeks flushed. She felt awful all over again. “I can’t believe I just did that. I just thought—”

“Relax, Rob, it’s okay,” Nancy placed a comforting hand on Robin’s shoulder. “No one will tell him. No one will tell anyone. Are we all clear on that? Everything that was said in this meeting today, will stay in this room. We tell no one.”

A chorus of voices came from the kids around the room, agreeing that none of them would mention a word of their meeting, or what they’d spoken about. It made Robin feel…almost not at all better. She continued to try and settle her stomach, which was doing flips within her.

“Fine, I’ll do it,” Eddie suddenly said, standing up with a huff. “I think I’m the only gay dude in this town anyways, so…yeah. Fine. But Steve can’t find out, right?”

“Right!” Dustin nodded furiously. “No, Steve can never know about this. Any of this.”

“Right,” Eddie was nervous. Steve made him nervous. Even when he wasn’t around, Steve made Eddie nervous. “How much am I getting paid for this?”

“We’ve all agreed to combine our allowances from each week and give you most of what we get.”

Eddie rolled his eyes. “That doesn’t sound very promising.”

“Robin and I can chip in, too,” Nancy volunteered. Robin nodded in agreement.

Eddie sighed heavily, his hands on his hips. It still felt wrong. It still made him feel skeevy. But he desperately needed the cash. No one was even buying drugs from him anymore, he couldn’t find a job…despite his murder charges being dropped since their fight with Vecna, Eddie was still very clearly not welcome in Hawkins. People still thought he was a freak. People still thought he was a murderer. People still hated him.

He really needed the money. And maybe even more than that, he really needed some companionship. This wasn’t exactly his ideal way of finding one of those, but…it was Steve. He knew Steve. He could do with Steve—at least until the dude got better and came to terms with his supposedly questionable sexuality (according to Robin), and his monstrous anxiety.

And even if Stevie wasn’t gay, or bisexual, or anything other than straight, Eddie knew that Steve wouldn’t beat his ass for trying to pull a move. They could laugh it off, move on, still be good friends. Plus, Eddie would make a few bucks along the way.

It was a win-win...right?

“Alright,” Eddie pulled up a chair and sat down next to Dustin, and leaned against the crowded table. “What exactly do I need to do?”

* * *

Steve wasn’t prepared to see Eddie Munson walking towards Steve’s car after school, a smug and flirtatious smirk crossing his mouth. Steve was never all that prepared for Eddie Munson, though. How could he be?

Eddie didn’t come around much. After he’d been cleared as a murder suspect, Eddie didn’t seem to leave his trailer much unless it was to go to school. But that was it. Otherwise, Eddie kept to himself.

Even Hellfire Club, which Steve often had to drive the kids to, had started being held right there at Eddie’s place…which made Steve nervous, like most things did, so he often waited outside until those were over. Just in case one of the kids got into drugs or something by accident, Steve wanted to be there.

He didn’t care that Eddie dealt drugs, did drugs, bought drugs…really, Steve couldn’t have cared less. But the kids being around it…that made something in Steve’s chest tighten again.

But Steve felt bad for Eddie. He was practically the town’s pariah. He was often bullied and bombarded by people in the street, people who still didn’t see him as worthy, despite the fact that he helped save the world and almost got killed by mutant bats in the process…he was one of the greatest heroes that Hawkins—the world—would never know about.

And sure, Eddie had long since been exonerated, ever since Hopper had taken back his position as Chief and the kids had explained the situation, but that didn’t stop people from hating Eddie ‘The Freak’ Munson.

Steve knew why he, himself, stayed in a dead-end town like Hawkins. He wondered why Eddie did.

“What’s up, Stevie?” Steve raised an eyebrow at the nickname. A sign of affection, perhaps? Eddie propped his elbows against the door of Steve’s car and gave Steve a smile. “How’s it going? Long time no see.”

“I’ve seen worse days, I’ve seen better days,” Steve shrugged nonchalantly. It was all he knew to say. “How about you?”

“About as well as you’d imagine I’m doing, sweetheart,” Eddie smiled, almost sarcastically, but Steve couldn’t entirely tell. Again, the nickname caught Steve off guard, but he said nothing. “You waiting for the kids?”

“I am,” Steve explained, reaching back to scratch his neck nervously. “Aren’t I always?”

“Sometimes it’s me. I guess we’re co-parenting these days, huh?”

“Yeah, sure,” Steve shrugged. “I could use the help anyways with these brats, I guess. I’ll warn you though, they’ve started bullying me every chance they get.”

“Really?” Eddie’s smile was playful, his tone light. It felt rare to see him like that these days. “Sorry, sweetheart, they don’t do that to me.”

Steve rolled his eyes. Of course they wouldn’t bully Eddie. They practically worshiped the ground he walked on. And Steve couldn’t really blame them, maybe Eddie really was just that cool. And he hadn’t been lying, he could use the help, but Steve wasn’t sure he entirely trusted Eddie to be the help.

Yes, Eddie had proven to be a good guy since the whole Vecna thing. Yes, the kids adored Eddie. But Eddie was also irresponsible. He sold drugs, he got into frequent trouble, he was a senior three times before they finally let him graduate—which he would finally be doing in just a few short weeks. Was he really the best influence for the kids? Would he even really care about the kids? Would he commit himself to their safety?

Steve shook his head to himself. No one would commit to their safety the way Steve had over the years. That was almost an unfair expectation.

“Hey listen, I actually wanted to ask you something,” Eddie revealed, almost shyly, scratching the back of his neck. Steve watched him in nervous anticipation.

“Yeah? What’s up?”

“I was just wondering if…I don’t know, maybe you’d wanna come over sometime? I’ve got…herbal pain-relief, if you know what I mean. Or we could just drink.”

Steve was taken aback. Eddie Munson wanted to hang out with Steve Harrington? What in the hell for? He was far from Eddie’s usual crowd. But at the same time, maybe Eddie thought of Steve as a friend now. After everything that happened. But…

“I don’t know man, I’ve got my hands pretty full between work and the kids.”

“Totally get it! But hear me out,” Eddie had a mischievous smirk again. “They’re high schoolers now. Maybe, just maybe, they can keep themselves out of trouble for like, one night, every once in a while. Don’t you think so?”

Steve sighed. Eddie was probably right, but the thought still made his spine feel weird. The tightness in his chest, all the worse. But, maybe just one night. He felt bad saying no…

“Yeah…yeah, alright, Munson. Let’s do it. But!”

“Yes?”

“If I get one call from one of those dweebs saying something is wrong—“

“We’ll be there at lightning speed,” Eddie agreed firmly, nodding. “I’m on board with that. Believe it or not, I’ve grown to care about those little assholes, too.”

Steve turned his head just in time to see the kids piling out of the school, looking around for Steve’s car. It looked like all of them would be riding with Steve. They crossed the parking lot together. Mike, Max, El, Will, Lucas, and Dustin. Steve sighed. He’d piled them all into the car before, but it was difficult, and dangerous.

“Hey man,” he turned back to Eddie, who was still resting against Steve’s car. “Are you going home?”

Eddie smiled. “Of course.”

“Would you care to take Max? Since, y’know…”

“No problem,” Eddie gave Steve a pat on the shoulder. “I’ve got her.”

“Alright, just,” Steve cleared his throat, shifting in his seat. “Please drive carefully.”

Eddie rolled his eyes playfully. “Aren’t I always careful?”

“No,” Steve said immediately, glaring at the older boy. “Do I need to remind you of the bats? The drugs? Everything else?”

“Touché.” Eddie shrugged. “But yes, I will drive carefully with your little princess in the car.”

Steve rolled his eyes at the sarcasm in Eddie’s voice, but said nothing. The car doors opened, and Robin suddenly slid into the front seat.

“Red,” Eddie said to Max. “You’re with me. And uh…Dustin, I’ll take you, too. Not enough room.”

Steve nodded. “Thanks, man.”

“Like I said, no problem.” Eddie leaned down then, leaned his head into the window and lowered his voice. “Hey, does Saturday work for you? Like seven-ish?”

For a moment, Steve was confused, before remembering that he’d agreed to plans. At least for the beer and the weed. “Oh. Yeah, sure, that works.”

“Sweet. I’ll see you later then, man.”

“Later, Munson,”

“Oh, please,” Eddie gave Steve a playful, nonchalant wave. “Call me Eddie, sweetheart.”

With those final words intended to confuse Steve even further (which they did, mission accomplished), Eddie draped his arms over both Dustin and Max, and walked them to his van. The rest of the kids, plus Robin, remained in the car. It was still a tight fit, but it would be fine.

“I really gotta get a bigger car.” Steve grumbled, mostly to himself.

He watched as the two kids climbed into the van, and Steve felt his stomach do tumbles when Eddie popped himself into the driver’s side. He was cringing, it was evident on his face, but he couldn’t wipe it off even if he wanted to.

“Steve,” Robin rested a hand against Steve’s shoulder. “They’re going to be fine.”

As promised, Eddie drove uncharacteristically carefully out of the parking lot. And then, they were out of sight entirely, going a completely different direction than the one Steve would be taking.

But Steve thought of Max, her blindness, her vulnerability (despite her insistence that there was no vulnerability). Her, more than any of the others, was who he worried for the most.

He should’ve been there to protect her. He should’ve done better. She was supposed to be able to stay safe.

It was his responsibility, and he fucked it up. Now, Max was…

“Steve? Earth to Steve,” Lucas snapped his fingers in front of Steve’s face. “Can we go now? I’ve got homework to do.”

“Y-Yeah,” Steve said, his face flushing. “Yeah, let’s go.”

And that’s what he did. He pulled out of the parking lot, and left. He tried not to think about Max, and he didn’t follow Eddie to make sure his driving was still satisfactory. Instead, he simply left.

Every bone in his body begged him not to.