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Steve is stupid.
It’s just the facts.
The earth is round, the sky is blue, and Steve is stupid.
Everyone’s been telling him that his whole life, so why wouldn’t it be the truth, except…
Except it isn’t.
Steve knows he’s slow on the uptake, and his head doesn’t work as fast as all the people he surrounds himself with, but he knows, in his gut, he’s not stupid. That’s why it hurts so goddamn much when they tell him he is.
Robin, of course, is the first to notice the way Steve shuts down when his intelligence comes into question. It’s not a loud shut down, more like the gears of the machine are slowing down so much that if you weren’t paying close enough attention you wouldn’t notice the hault. Except Robin is always paying close enough attention to Steve. She’s seen him trying to learn D&D under the family video desk, gliding it swiftly away when he thinks someone’s watching him, she’s seen the way his eyes light up when someone agrees with something he said, standing a little taller and feeling proud. And she’s seen the way he flinches when someone moves too quickly next to him, or appears from his left side. She’s seen the way he clutches his hands into fists so hard he leaves crescent shape marks on his palms when someone so much as thinks something foul about the people he loves. And she’s seen his shoulders slump, his eyes go glassy and unseeing when someone shoots “Don’t be an idiot, Steve” at him, like his whole body just gives up even trying to actively participate in anything going on around him. It’s usually followed up very quickly with a small shake of his head and a soft smile pasted to his face.
But Robin knows, she saw it, because she always sees everything about Steve. He’s her favorite channel to watch any day, her platonic soulmate capital P, so she makes note to not use that word directed at Steve ever, and to find ways to showcase to him that he matters, even when he feels like he shouldn’t.
Eddie is a godsend Robin decides. After they’ve defeated Vecna and saved Hawkins from impending doom once again. He seems to always approach Steve from his right side, speaking loudly when he has to approach from the left so it doesn’t startle the other man. And the compliments he shoots at Steve constantly, causing Steve’s cheeks to flame and his posture to be a bit straighter.
Robin thinks if she was into that sort of thing she would kiss Eddie Munson right in his big boy face and never stop thanking him for being kind to her other half. Sure he jabs at Steve and picks on him, but never about anything that causes him to shut down into himself. Eddie’s only ever implied Steve is stupid one time and as soon as Steve’s eyes had gone a little glassy the other man instantly rectified the situation.
“Steve that’s stupid man, come on use your head” the reaction was instantaneous. Steve’s body shrinking in on itself subtly, a small shake of his head and he turned to walk away. Eddie had shot Robin a panicked look “I mean man come on I know that beautiful brain of yours doesn't like horror movies, but The Breakfast club being better than The Shining? As if dude!” And just like a few seconds ago the reaction is instant. Steve’s shoulders straighten, and a blinding smile cuts across his face, and yea Robin thinks I could kiss Eddie Munson for taking care of my best friend.
Robin still hasn’t quite figured out the flinching. She assumes maybe it has something to do with all the monster hunting or the fact that Steve doesn't seem to quite see fully out of his left eye, but the nearly violent flinch he let out the other day when Dustin raised his voice and his hand at the same time, is starting to tell her otherwise.
Eddie notices too because of course he does.
“Hey Robin.” He comes into Family Video on an evening shift she’s working alone. His voice has a solemn somber to it and his eyes are darting around the store quickly. “Is Steve here?”
“Nope, just me.” She smiles, inching one eyebrow up into her hairline with a knowing smirk, before registering the heavy weight that seems to be sitting on Eddie’s shoulders, her face dropping. “What’s up buttercup?”
“Uh…okay this is probably like none of my business, but do you know anything about Steve’s parents?”
The question takes her by surprise momentarily, but then she thinks back to the flinch a few days ago and remembers categorizing Eddie’s face, a mask of sadness as he’d noticed it too. Her sigh is dejected.
“Not much, they aren’t home often, but Steve refuses to let me meet them when they are. Used to think he was embarrassed of me, but.. now..”
“You’re wondering if maybe he’s been protecting you?” Eddie supplies, pulling himself up onto the counter and tucking his leg under the other as it hangs loosely over the side.
“So you’ve noticed it too.” She breaths, her face falling into her hands.
“I recognize the signs.” He blows out a breath harshly, pushing a few stray pieces of hair out of his eyes and giving Robin a pointed look. She huffs because she knows she doesn’t always pick up on social cues but she can pay attention when someone is implying something, thank you very much. Robin clutches the counter so tightly suddenly Eddie can hear one of her knuckles pop.
“His parents.. oh god Eddie, his parents were home yesterday and he called out of work today cause he said he had a cold.” Eddie slides off the counter, his fists clenching and unclenching. Robin hops the counter quickly grabbing Eddie’s hand and dragging him out the door, flipping the sign to closed and locking it behind them. “Can you drive?” Her voice barely above a whisper, ice crawling its way up her spine.
“Yea, get in Buckley.”
Robins not sure what she was expecting when they got there, Steve’s never had to call out of work after his parents visits before, but she remembers him flinching sometimes if he moves too fast. But when Steve opens the front door her veins freeze and a soft sob slips from her lips.
“Oh Steve.” Her voice echoes to Eddies and then she’s pulling him into a crushing hug as she steps inside the house. The hiss he lets out has her dropping her hold quickly as Eddie steps in behind her and closes the door. His hands shaking.
“Steve what happened?” Eddie’s voice is strained, anger and worry coiling together.
“Uh,” he starts, cut off by a cough that makes him wince again, clutching at his ribs, before motioning them to follow him into the living room and easing himself into the couch. His left eye nearly swollen shut, a large gash above his eyebrow steadily bleeding down his face. “Dad.. found out I’m Bi and kinda lost it on me.” He wheezes, Robin sitting down on the couch next to his right side. Eddie taking his place on the coffee table in front of them, his position angles more towards Steve’s right.
“Fuck, Steve.” She should be suprised, that he’s bi, and that he hadn’t come to her, but after almost a year as his other half she knows he was probably over researching it so when he did come to her he wouldn’t have felt lost in his explanations. Eddie’s breath comes in sharply as he stands up heading to the kitchen. Steve tensing up as he watches him walk away.
“I’m not going anywhere Stevie, just getting something to ice that pretty face.” He throws out easily over his shoulder, of course he noticed the fear in Steve’s eyes. Suddenly a harsh sob peels from Steve’s lips, his whole body convulsing with it and Robin gently pulls him to her chest. She doesn't think she’s ever even seen even a tear roll out of Steve’s eyes before and it’s a little jarring but she understands. Her stomach clenching and unclenching with nausea. When Eddie’s back in the room with a frozen bag of peas he sits down in front of them again.
“Hey Stevie, I’m gonna reach at you with the peas now.” He narrates his next move, his hand coming up to cup the peas to Steve’s face and the flinch Robin had been expecting never came. She notes that information in her brain for later. Steve's hand comes up to grab the peas.
“God I’m sorry Robs, I got blood on your work vest.” His voice is small, meager in a way Steve Harrington voice has never been and should never be again. His words startle a soft laugh from her lips.
“Keith can just give me a new one, dingus.” She hums, “I’m gonna move the hair off your forehead” Announcing her next movie like Eddie had, and no flinch comes as her hand reaches up and pushes it out of his face. When she looks down she sees Eddie’s fingers interlocked with Steve’s free hand and she breathes a little easier, thankful that Steve has someone else in his corner.
“Let’s get you cleaned up, pretty boy.” Eddie offers, him and Robin helping Steve stand and leading him towards the bathroom.
“I like when you call me that.” It’s just a breath of words, here and gone so quickly if the house hadn’t been so quiet Robins sure she would have missed it. But Eddie’s soft laugh dances around the space between the three of them and she realizes yea, this is going to be a long hard road, but they have each other and she’s pretty sure the three of them can get through anything as long as they stick together.
—
Steve’s nearly blind in his left eye. Once his face has healed and they’ve packed his things up and moved him in with Dustin because Mrs. Henderson said “that’s my son” and she meant it. Steve comes into work a few weeks after settling in, a slight panic making his hands tremble.
“Steve, what’s going on?” It’s the first words Robins spoke all day, Wednesday’s only gracing the store with one or two customers the entire shift and no one’s come in yet.
“If I can’t drive the kids around anymore do you think they’ll still want to spend time with me?” The soft timber of his voice snakes around Robin's throat, causing a soft inhale of her breath before she walks over to him making sure her footsteps are loud enough he knows she’s coming . Robin doesn’t think she’s ever known anyone that loves people the way Steve Harrington does.
“Of course they will Steve. Your Dustin’s brother, and those kids worship you. I don’t think anything would ever really change that.” Her words uncoil him, like those flutes do to cobras and he rocks forward until his forehead is resting on her shoulder.
“I can’t see anything but shapes out of my left eye anymore. Before it was just… directly in front of me that I could see out of it, but.. uh,” his hand reaches up and scratches at the back of his neck as he rights himself again. “After my dad… after my dad this last time, everything’s just… blobs of shapes and colors.” And Robin wants to cry. She wants to scream and kick and destroy anyone in the world who has ever dared made her soulmate feel as small as he’s making himself look in this moment. “Claudia took me to the eye doctor to see if glasses might help, but uh… I’m legally blind in that eye. We think it’s from all the head trauma I’ve sustained over the years.” His words are small, his grip tight on her arm.
“Steve, I love you. You are so loved that I don’t think even the pope could rival it. No one’s going to stop loving you because you can’t see out of your eye.” The whisper is a promise, a reassurance and a hug wrapped up into those words and for the second time since she’s been friends with him, Robin sees Steve cry. She makes the mental note to tell him she loves him everyday and pulls his shaking body into her for a hug.
—
“Steve Harrington you are the blessing I never knew I was allowed to have.” Eddie’s voice is loud across the house. Echoing around door frames and kissing Robin's ear drums as she walks in the front door of their shared apartment, Tupperware from her parents balances in her hands as she follows the sounds from the kitchen.
“It’s just pie Eddie.” His laugh echoes through Robin's rib cage. Dancing around her lungs before settling right next to her heart.
“Just pie, Robin, get a load of this guy!” Eddie chirps, his arms wrapping around Steve’s waste from behind as he sets his head on his shoulder. Robin notes him whispering in Steve’s ear what he’s going to do before he does it and smiles.
“When did you guys get home?”
“Not too long ago. Steve’s mom woulda had us there all night if she could.” Eddie says it easily, like Mrs.Henderson had been the one to raise Steve his whole life and he’d been cherished just as long. “Wayne and Dustin helped us sneak out the side door with leftovers and when we got home, Stevie here all casual like just goes ‘oh Ed’s by the way I made some apple pie yesterday for our apartment thanksgiving.’ Like that wouldn’t just make my pants drop right here in the middle of our kitchen.” The laugh that barks out of Steve surprises her and Robins answering cackle is followed up with a wrinkle of her nose
“This is a shared living space. All sexcipades are for bedrooms only.”
“Oh shit… uh… maybe we need a new couch then.” Steve’s face turns bright red at Eddie’s words and Robin's face scrunches up in disgust.
“Jesus Christ you guys.” But she’s not mad. Not really, if Eddie keeps cherishing her best friend the way he has been, she doesn't think she could ever be mad at him.
As time goes on, Steve flinches less, the kids learn that Stupid is off the table, and they all adapt to his eye sight issues. No one ever treats him like he’s lesser then. Mostly everyone treats him like he’s worth more than everything, and when they tell him they love him, Robin watches the set of his shoulders straighten and his chest puff out slightly and she knows, he’s finally starting to believe them.