3. Like a Strand in the Wind

"Steve we're going to be late!" Dustin cries as Steve pulls into the high school parking lot, "it's a critical moment for the campaign! Eddie will kill us if we’re late!"

"Well maybe you should have thought of that before spending an extra half hour talking to Suzie," Lucas snaps, hands plastered to the door as though he's prepared to jump out at any moment. A quick glance in the rear view mirror shows Mike with his hand on the door handle and Will's lap belt already unbuckled.

"So help me God if any of you jump out of this car while it's moving you can go back to riding your bikes!" Steve yells over the top of the chaos, hitting the brakes and pulling up outside the school just as his clock ticks over to six pm. The boys all tumble out, leaving every door open and not bothering to offer a thank you. Steve sighs, slumping into his seat and pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Always the babysitter," he groans, "always the damn babysitter."

He climbs out and closes the doors, muttering darkly to himself before sliding back behind the wheel. He has two hours to kill, and normally he would fill the time with a date, but ever since his most recent experience with the Upside Down, meaningless flirting and shitty dates had lost their shine. It isn't pathetic that he ends up outside Family Video, he tells himself. It isn't. Robin is slouched over the counter when he walks in, eyebrow raised and tongue peeking out from between her teeth as she continues trying to wind a cassette tape back together with the end of a pencil.

"No hot date tonight?"

"Nope."

He plants his hands on the counter and swings himself over, lets his legs dangle off the edge as he leans back on his arms. Robin continues her attempt to fix the mangled tape, passing Steve a pencil and the box of unwound cassettes he had found during his organization of the back room.

“You know I’m not on the clock, right?”

“Yeah, but you’re here and your ass is on my counter, so you can help.”

Steve starts winding the tape back together, "You were right, you know."

"Of course I was. About what specifically though?"

"That we should combine. I was thinking after my date with Brenda and you’re right. I have no idea what it is I want. I could date anyone-”

“Okay, Casanova, calm down.”

“-but it doesn’t matter if I don’t find the right connection,” he finishes, selecting another tape from the box of doom. He kind of wishes he’d left this box where he found it, crammed behind the refrigerator and duct taped shut, “But you know what you want. You’re just, y’know...”

“Hopeless?” Robin offers, and Steve sighs.

“Struggling.” he says firmly, “I just... I don’t want to have to date every eligible woman in Hawkins,”

"You know, there aren't just women in Hawkins," she offers gently, and Steve feels his neck prickle with heat. He looks around the store, though he knows Robin wouldn't have said it if they weren't alone.

“I don’t- I mean- how would I even... it’s not like I can just ask.”

“You see my predicament,” Robin says with a sad smile, dumping the tapes under the counter and propping her chin into her hand. “Sure, sometimes there are signs. But otherwise you’re just guessing and hope you don’t get punched in the face or called a freak,”

She looks thoughtful for a while before shrugging herself out of it with a smile, “But I’m definitely getting good vibes from Vickie, so who knows. Also, Eddie said yes to Sunday, so pick him up first and then come get me, but let him know if he sits in my seat, I’ll pull him out by his hair. Now, want to put The Nightmare on Elm Street on and see how long it takes for a parent to yell at us for terrifying their child?” she offers, making Steve smile.

“Sure, what’s our current record at?”

“Twenty minutes and ten seconds,” Robin replies as she shuts off The Breakfast Club and switches the tapes, “But I like our chances tonight.”

He's a little late for pickup, it was always easy to get carried away when he was talking to Robin. He was the only person she could talk to, really talk to about things. With the back drop of Freddy Krueger murdering teenagers, she’d quietly admitted that she was worried she’d never find what she wanted, not in Hawkins at least. Steve hadn’t wanted to leave that conversation unfinished, so he’d figured Eddie wouldn’t mind keeping them in line a little while longer.

The four boys are standing in the light of the school, Eddie leaning against the wall beside them with his arms crossed and one leg bent against the brick wall. There’s a cigarette in his hand, but it isn’t lit yet.

"You're late!" Dustin yells as Steve pulls up to idle.

"By seven minutes,"

“We thought you were injured.” Dustin continues and Steve feels guilty, but only until Will butts in and climbs into his seat.

“No we didn’t, Robin walkied to tell us you’d be late.”

The kids giving Robin her own walkie had been an experience. Dustin had made a speech, Lucas had lectured her about the sanctity of walkie use past eight pm, while Mike and Will insisted she learn the proper over and out techniques. Robin, for all her amusement at the time, had been flattered to be included in “The Party”.

“Don’t be a butthead, Henderson,” Eddie calls from the wall, his cigarette lit now that the kids have piled into Steve’s car.

“Goodbye, Eddie!” Dustin yells, louder than he needs to. The other boys echo the sentiment and Steve offers Eddie a two finger wave. The van is parked in the lot, which means Eddie doesn’t need a ride, but Steve waits until he sees him behind the wheel and hears the successful turn of the engine before he drives away.

Steve has perfected the post Hellfire drop off route, right down to the minute. Lucas is first, being the closest to the school, with the Wheeler house only a few streets over. The new Byers-Hopper residence is further out of town, so Dustin and Will geek out together for an additional ten minutes until it's just Dustin and Steve. The remaining twelve to fifteen minutes of the drive is usually reserved for Dustin harassing Steve about a variety of topics, but usually his romantic life. Today is no different.

"So who was the lovely lady of the evening?" Oh wait, I remember, you spent it with Robin.” He says, growling and wiggling his eyebrows. He digs in the glovebox, ripping into one of the individually wrapped packets of nuts Steve keeps on hand for the kids when they start getting bitchy, throwing walnuts out the window despite Steve's request to please not.

"Yeah, I spent it with Robin rewinding cassette tapes, for your information. Because we are friends. Jesus Christ, I cannot wait until one of you starts driving so this isn't my problem anymore."

"You say that, but you'd miss our time together," Dustin rebuffs, throwing a pecan at at Steve's face and shaking the bag in his hand.

"You know you should really just buy the peanuts, Steve. All this other stuff is gross."

"You aren't the only person that eats them, and Will hates peanuts."

Dustin lights up at the mention of Will, "Oh yeah, I forgot about the party! Are you coming to Will's place on Sunday?"

"Yes, I will be at the party. I’m picking up Eddie and Robin though, so I might come later.”

Dustin chokes on his peanuts and Steve slams his hand into his shoulder blades, veering wildly on the road until Dustin stops coughing, still clinging to the packet of nuts for dear life.

"Eddie is coming? Why is Eddie coming?"

Steve, heart racing and breathing hard, frowns, "What do you mean, ‘why is Eddie coming?’, I thought you liked Eddie?"

"I do like Eddie, since when do you like Eddie?"

Steve takes his eyes off the road to give Dustin a look, "Were you there, with the Vecna stuff? Cause it was kind of a bonding experience. Besides, Eddie and Robin are friends, and so are Robin and I. So, therefore,"

"Good word, Steve," Dustin says, like the snarky shit he is.

"Therefore," Steve repeats, "Eddie and I are also friends. Friend adjacent. Friendly."

Dustin is quiet for a moment and Steve immediately wants to bang his head against the steering wheel. Nothing good ever comes from Dustin being quiet.

"Oh, I see what's happening," Dustin says, and Steve is willing to bet his entire Family Video paycheck that he does not, in fact, see anything, but he doesn't voice the thought. Dustin reaches over and gently pats Steve's hand.

"Robin likes Eddie, doesn't she?"

The absolute absurdity of the thought makes Steve choke on his own spit and he knocks Dustin's hand away and shakes his head. "No, Robin does not like Eddie. Eddie and Robin are friends. Robin and I are friends. We all spent time running for our lives in the Upside Down and now we get along. It's very simple."

Dustin throws his hands into the air, "I cannot understand why you can't date Robin. Are you blind? She is the. Whole. Package. Steve!" He slaps the back of his hand into his palm on the last three words to make his point.

"Oh God." Steve mumbles, looking down at the clock and wondering how far over the speed limit he could go at this time of night without a cop pulling out to ticket him. Maybe he'd leave them in a room with Dustin for an hour and they'd understand his need to escape.

"Robin is not a package, Dustin. How would Suzie feel if she heard you talking about a woman like that?"

"I've told Suzie the whole story, actually, even she doesn't understand why you two aren't dating." He responds smugly.

The Henderson home comes into view and Steve breathes a sigh of relief. Dustin drops the crumb filled bag of nuts into the cup holder and swings his bag over his shoulder, "I'm just saying, Steve. She's a catch, and we all already like her. You could do a lot worse, you know. It would be nice to have a consistent female figure in our lives, rather than whoever you're seeing that week. Consistency is important at this age."

"What the hell have you been reading-" Steve begins, his words cut off by Dustin slamming the door and waving goodbye. Steve sits in the car mouth open and thoroughly confused for a few minutes before shaking his head and running his hands down his face.

"I need friends my own age, I need friends my own age," he repeats as he pulls away from the curb.

The rest of the week is wholly uneventful, Steve’s Friday a riveting night with Johanna Beth, who wore too much perfume and used far too much tongue when he kissed her goodnight. He knocks at the Buckley residence only twenty minutes later and Robin’s smirks when she answers. He’d cancelled their regularly scheduled movie night for the date, but it wasn’t like he was doing anything else now that he'd very quickly ended the evening.

“It went that well, huh?’

“Shut up, Robin.”

They watch Alien, which Robin had deemed a crime for Steve to have not seen. The titular alien bursts out of someone’s chest and Steve screams and Robin laughs until she can’t breathe properly. He stays over on her couch, because her parents like him, but don’t trust for even a second that he and Robin are just friends. They have a shared shift at Family Video on Saturday, the entire day filled with screaming children and harried parents, doe eyed couples and shifty looking people in the ‘adults only’ section. He drops Robin off and waves to her father, who stares them down from the porch every Saturday night as though he’s waiting to catch them making out.

“Don’t forget,” Robin calls over her shoulder, “I’ll drag him out. By. His. Hair!”

Steve smokes half a joint before bed, checks his locks and draws his blinds. His mother left a note in the foyer, his father was called away on business and she’s going with him. He doesn’t mind.

Sunday is bright; crisp and clear and hot. Eddie is already outside when Steve pulls up, wearing jeans without holes and a plain black shirt. He looks so nervous that Steve can’t help but ask.

“You good?”

Eddie reaches for the passenger door and Steve smiles apologetically, “Robin said if you sat here she’d pull you out by your hair.”

Eddie takes his hand off the handle and rolls his eyes and he climbs into the back seat.

“Of course she would. I’m fine, just... you’re sure I’m welcome at this thing?”

“You helped save the world, dude,” Steve reassures him, “You’re part of the group now. It’s a shit group to be in,” he amends, “But you’re part of it.”

Robin is obviously pleased to find her seat empty when Steve pulls up, offering Eddie a wave as she slides in and pulls back her hair, “Drive fast, if my dad sees two guys in this car I’m going to be grounded for life.”

Steve hits the gas without comment. Mr Buckley is a more traditional man than most, though his wife is far more lenient. The first time Steve had ‘slept’ over (lay awake in the darkness, listening to every foreign sound the old house made around him and waiting until the sun rose), he had seen the silhouette of the man in the doorway at least three times, clearly checking that Steve had kept his promise to stay on the couch.

The new Byers-Hopper home is large, a sprawling backyard and a porch that wraps around the house. Steve can already hear the kids yelling as he pulls in beside Nancy's car. Eddie hesitates in the driveway, but Robin slides an arm through his, catching Steve's arm with her free hand and they make their way to the open front door. Joyce is yelling something over her shoulder at Hopper when she sees them, her warm smile making Steve's chest ache. 

"Oh, there you guys are! Come inside, we are just trying to get all the food out. How are you, sweetheart?"

She grabs Steve in a hug, and then Robin, moving to Eddie without a second thought.

"Hi Ms. Byers, I hope it's okay I came-" Eddie begins, only to fall quiet when Joyce wraps her arms around him as well.

"Oh call me Joyce, sweetie. You're always welcome here. Can I get you a lemonade? Let me get you one, hold on."

She lets go and Eddie is looking mildly dumbstruck. Robin is snickering, and even Jonathan is trying to hide a smile as he pours lemonade into several large pitchers in the kitchen. 

"He's getting the full Joyce Byers mom experience," Robin whispers into Steve's ear as Joyce hands Eddie a lemonade and a squished cupcake before steering him out into the sunshine.

“He looks terrified.” Steve replies.

It’s well known that Eddie lives with his uncle and not his parents. Steve doesn’t even know if the other Munson’s live in Hawkins anymore, but he doesn’t know Eddie well enough to ask. He steps into the backyard, avoiding the small selection of potted plants lining the doorway. Nancy is sitting by the bird feeder, a stack of essays in her lap and a pen caught between her teeth. Max is sitting beside her, looking worried. 

"I mean, I don't really see anything wrong with it," he hears Nancy say as she touches the pen to paper, "you've hit all the major points, it looks like A material to me. Get Lucas over here though, I have some questions about his thought process." 

"Thanks, Nancy," Max replies as she takes the paper and screams across the yard for Lucas, who comes jogging over immediately. 

They greet everyone easily, settling in to the chairs Joyce had set out in a haphazard circle. Steve brings Robin a lemonade, and then Max, which leads to him handing out lemonades to everyone because the kids aren't capable of walking to four steps to the table where Jonathan had set it out. 

Hopper is the last person to emerge from the house, his shoulders tense but his face relaxed. El is holding his arm, chattering mile a minute about something Steve can't make out. She's more confident now than he'd ever seen her, more self assured and eager to add her opinions. Steve sees her eyes zero in on something and he follows her gaze across the lawn to Eddie. They'd met briefly before, in the Upside Down. Exhausted and barely standing, Steve had needed to carry El back to where the government rescue party was waiting for them. She had looked up at Eddie, eyes unfocused and confused. 

"I like your hair." She mumbled, and Steve had laughed at the absurdity of it all. They were covered in blood, sweat and dirt, and El liked Eddie's hair. Eddie had taken the confusing compliment like a pro, with a nod and a smile and a polite thank you. El had fallen asleep in Steve's arms only seconds later, and as far as Steve knew, they hadn't spoken since. 

Her eyes are laser focused on him where he has rolled up his sleeves and is lounged back in one of the chairs like he's always belonged here, laughing at something Robin had said.

She's suddenly making a beeline for him and Hopper notices the same time Steve does, hands full of potato salad and green beans and watching helplessly as his daughter rapidly approaches Eddie. Eddie, clearly noticing her approaching, leans forward and puts his elbows on his knees and smiles.

"Hey."

"Hey," El replies before barrelling directly into her question. "You played the guitar."

Steve is surprised El noticed, all things considered. Vecna had her by the throat, the demobats were everywhere, there'd been a lot going on.

"I did, yeah. And you did the-" Eddie holds out his hands, fingers splayed and this rings flash in the sunlight, "cool stuff with your mind. Saved the day. I'm Eddie."

He's smiling up at her and Steve notices that every eye at the party seems to be at least partially observing this conversation. Max is unashamedly staring and eavesdropping, but Lucas and Dustin are at least pretending to hold a conversation of their own. Joyce has an arm around Hopper, the movement of her arm suggesting that she's rubbing his back. Since coming back from Russia, Hopper's protectiveness had almost doubled, and not just for El. 

"I'm El. Or Jane. It doesn't matter."

Eddie tilts his head to the side and Steve prays that he doesn't ask. Unless one of the kids told him, or Robin had, Eddie's knowledge of exactly how El got her powers and what kind of life she had lead before her escape was minimal. But Eddie doesn't ask, only nods and holds out his hand.

"Well, it's nice to properly meet you, El- or Jane. Thanks for saving the world."

El smiles and takes the offered hand, but doesn't let go. Instead, she points at the faded tattoo on the top of his hand.

"I like your tattoos. Who gave them to you?"

"I've got a friend in Indianapolis, he does them for me. You want some when you're older?"

El frowns and Steve knows what she's going to do before she does it. The long sleeve of her patterned dress is pulled up, exposing the three inked numbers.

"I have one already. I like yours better though."

Eddie's eyes dart down to the inked numbers, and he isn't fast enough to hide the shock, "What?"

"My Papa," El says, "he gave us all tattoos. I was number Eleven." she taps the tattoo pointedly, apparently oblivious to the wide eyed stare she was being given. She continued, sighing as she looked down at it,"I wish it looked more like yours. Nicer."

Anyone who hadn't already abandoned the pretense of not eavesdropping had given up at that moment. It was strange to remember that Eddie hadn't been here from the beginning, nor had Robin. Some things just didn't come up, and by the way Robin was staring bug eyed at the tattoo, she hadn't been expecting it either.

Eddie is staring now too, lips parted and something dark and angry in his eyes that Steve has never seen before. Robin looks a bit like she's going to throw up and Steve is ready to intervene, angry at himself for never explaining everything to Robin, let alone Eddie, but he doesn't need to.

Eddie reaches out and gently takes El's arm, scooting closer as though to get a better look.

"You know, when you're older... You could get a cover up if you wanted."

"A... Cover up?'

Eddie holds out his own arm, the cluster of bats tattoo on display. He points to one in the middle, "see how this one is bigger than the rest? I used to have something else there, but I decided I didn't like it anymore. So I got them to put something else on top. It usually needs to be bigger than what you have, but yours is pretty small. You could cover it up in no time,"

El is staring at her wrist like she's never seen it before, fingers tracing the three digits. Eddie shrugs one shoulder, eyes still on her, "You don't have to cover it though, not if you don't want."

El nods seriously, suddenly looking so much older than she should and younger at the same time and Steve breathes a sigh of relief as she breaks into a smile. The moment of tension has eased, but Steve knows he's probably going to be in for a major grilling from both Robin and Eddie. It's interesting how everything that happened is impossible to forget, but also somehow so difficult to remember sometimes. He tunes back into the conversation to find Eddie trying to explain Dungeons and Dragons to El, Robin and Max, with the boys clamouring over one another to add their own thoughts and opinions. The ladies looks more confused by the second and Steve decides to put them out of their misery as he sees Joyce drop a plate of hot dogs onto the table with a flourish. 

"Who wants food?"

As though unfed for days, the boys are the first to descend on the table. Steve makes a plate for Max and El, avoiding green beans and ketchup on El's plate and adding extra potato salad to Max's. By the time he has his own plate, Mike and Lucas are already eyeing the remaining food with hunger. He makes his way over to where Robin and Eddie are sitting on the edge of the garden bed. Robin is staring down at her plate, fidgeting with her cutlery and shuffling her feet.

Eddie looks up as Steve walks over and shifts, giving him room to sit between them.

"I should have told you." Steve says as he drops into the seat beside her with an apology bread roll. Robin takes it and shakes her head.

"You kind of did. It's just weird to think about. I guess I didn't really think about how she could have gotten her powers, or the stuff they'd have done to her. I thought it was so awesome..." Robin chews on her lip and looks back at her plate.

"How many were there?" Eddie asks, eyes following El as she and Max craft a dance routine to the Madonna song playing. Max has rhythm, it appears El very much does not. 

"Kids? No idea." Steve answers, "honestly I don't even know the whole story, not really. Just that the Hawkins lab took the kids, juiced them up, and then ran tests to see what they could do. It's fucked up."

"So fucked up," Robin echoes quietly around her bread roll.

"But El is with us now. With Hopper and Joyce. And nobody is ever going to let anything bad happen to her again. She's been through a lot, but she's strong as hell. And not just because she's closed that goddamn gate four times now."

He doesn’t want today to be sad, doesn’t want them reliving the things they had gone through in the Upside Down and all of the pain it had caused. Instead, he heads over to where Joyce has set a beat up stereo, warbling the last few lines of the Madonna song that seems to have Max and El laughing hysterically. He’s shuffling through the selection of Joyce and Hopper's tapes, picking up some that clearly belonged to Jonathan. He recognizes one of them from Family Video, ‘borrowed’ to be put in Steve’s car on longer rides, when he and Robin would cruise around Hawkins just to talk about their lives and sing far too loud. Now that graduation is coming closer, they haven’t had the chance and he misses it. He throws the tape into the stereo and turns up the volume.

"ROBIN!" he calls across the lawn, "Robin it's your song!"

The opening notes echo out and Robin laughs, immediately jumping to her feet and running over, “Oh, Steve I don’t think they’re ready for this.”

“Well, they’re going to have to be.”

He throws out an arm and Robin holds her fist in her face like a microphone as the lyrics begin.

“Tonight,” she sings dramatically, “I want to give it all to youuu-”

She’s a terrible singer. Tammy Thompson levels of not good, but that has never stopped her before, and the audience of kids doesn’t seem to faze her either.

“Cause girl I was made for you- and girl you were made for meeeee! SING IT, STEVE!”

Steve picks up at his usual spot, pumping his fist into the air and belting for all he’s got, "I was made for loving you baby! You were made for loving me! And I can’t get enough of you, baby, can you get enough of me?”

Hopper is laughing, and so is Joyce. Nancy has her hand over her mouth but Jonathan is unapologetically cackling in his seat. The kids have rushed over to Robin, picking up her energy and running with it as they dance around, half knowing the lyrics and half not. Robin is in her element with the second verse, dramatic and uncaring as she sings her heart out like they’re driving down an endless road, windows down and acting like they haven’t just bared their souls to one another. Robin is so off key it should be painful, especially considering she’s a band geek, but the pure joy in her face as she jumps around to the music, hair flying and arms flailing makes Steve laugh. He twirls her around, brings her in and drops her into a dramatic dip as they sing, loud and wild and carefree in a way he can't remember feeling in so long. He can see Nancy and Jonathan laughing but he doesn't care, they've been through too much shit to not enjoy things like this. Besides, the sad look is gone from Robin's eyes and that's more important than anything.

"Eddie!" She calls, still bouncing on the balls of her feet to the beat, "don't act like you don't love this song!"

"I like the song," he calls back easily, "or at least I did until someone absolutely murdered it."

Robin sticks out her tongue and continues dancing, or at least making an attempt at something that could be called it, she grabs Nancy's hands and drags her in as well, the two girls throwing their heads back and yelling the words for all they're worth. Steve makes the mistake of looking at Dustin, who mouths 'the whole package' at him with a pointed stare. Steve shakes his head, but notices the way Dustin’s eyes then narrow towards Eddie, who has been dragged into the fray by Mike and Lucas and is air guitaring with them.

By the time the song comes to a close, Steve is breathless and Robin’s face is alight with happiness again. It switches to a different song and Steve leaves the makeshift dance floor, starting to gather things to begin bringing inside. Steve clears off the counters, stuffing leftovers into Tupperware and tossing old packaging. He's trying to made it all fit into the refrigerator when the door swings open behind him.

"Don't suppose you could explain to me why Dustin just started trying to interrogate me about how attractive I find Robin. I only got out by telling him I promised to help you in here."

Eddie is leaned against the doorframe, arms laden with plates and cutlery from outside, he must have seen Steve come in before he’d been cornered by Dustin. Steve offers him a tight smile.

"He's trying to figure out why Robin and I aren't dating," he explains apologetically, "and somehow that translated to Robin liking you instead."

Eddie makes a face as he sets the dishes in the sink, "how exactly did he come to that conclusion?"

"It's Dustin,"

Eddie laughs, "Good point."

He's filling the sink with hot water, sleeves tugged up around his elbows and Steve steps forward, knocking him out of the way.

"No, you're a guest. Don't do that."

"And you're not a guest?" Eddie shoots back, but let's himself be manhandled out of the way and instead reaches for the drying towel.

"I am," Steve concedes, "but Joyce has done a lot for me, even when I don't deserve it. Besides, she put this all together, she deserves to relax."

He sets the plates on the rack, watching as Eddie stacks the dried ones in neat piles on the kitchen island. Outside, he can hear the screaming excitement of the kids and catches flashes of movement from the corner of his eyes. It looks like Mike has Lucas in a headlock while Will cheers him on. He's not sure how they started, but he's confident Joyce has a handle on it.

"Robin doesn't, though. Just in case you were wondering," he says as he tries to scrape a dried ketchup stain off one of the plates.

"Doesn't what?"

"Like you. I mean she likes you," he amends, unable to look up because he can feel Eddie's amused stare on the back of his head, "you guys are friends. But she doesn't like you. Not like that. Just... Just in case you were wondering. Didn't want you to get your hopes up, or anything. Dustin's definitely not correct."

Eddie laughs, closer at Steve's back than he'd thought and he's reaching around to grab one of the dishes from Steve's hand.

"I wasn't wondering," he says, "nor did I have my hopes up. Buckley's great, but she's not my type."

"Oh. Well, good."

"Is she yours?" Eddie asks, taking another wet dish directly from Steve's hand instead of waiting for him to set it down.

"Robin? Well... Yeah. Kind of."

It's not a lie. Robin is every part his type, but that's not the problem. But Eddie doesn't know that, and he wishes he'd just denied it when he sees the smile spread across Eddie's face.

"But you guys are platonic though, right?"

"With a capital P," Steve adds out of habit before continuing, "she's my best friend."

"And you've never asked her out? Never considered it?"

Eddie is definitely prying, but he's nicer about it than Dustin ever was, so Steve relents.

"Oh I did. Back when we worked at Starcourt. Resounding rejection. Immediate no."

"Ouch."

Steve shrugs, the embarrassment of that night faded into the adrenaline and the hangover of being that high. Robin had trusted him that night, in more ways than one. It hurt like hell at the time, but it had been the start of the most deeply complex friendship Steve had ever had, and he appreciated every second of it.

"Not really. She's awesome, and we stayed friends."

"She is awesome," Eddie agrees, "which might explain Dustin's interest."

“His interest?"

Eddie shoots him a look. Steve almost drops the plate he's holding, hands wet and soapy as he tries three times to grip it tight, "You think Dustin has a crush on Robin? He's dating Suzie!"

Eddie waves a hand, "he's dating a girl in a different state with a very confusing family situation. Besides, look at that and tell me he's not at least a little starry eyed. We are entering a dangerous era with our young friend, dude."

Eddie is pointing out the window to where Robin is laughing with Nancy, lounged back on the grass with her arms braced behind her and her legs stretched out. Dustin is beside her, hanging on her every word.

"Oh God, no," Steve croaks and Eddie laughs.

"He'll get over it. Last week he practically fell out of his chair when one of the cheerleaders complimented his ball cap," Eddie takes the last plate and sets it atop the stack, "Young infatuation, what can you do?"

Steve lets the water drain and dries his hands, leaning back against the kitchen counter beside Eddie, "In that case, you're aware Max thinks you and your guitar are pretty impressive, right?"

Eddie nods slowly, "I'd gathered there was something. Like I said, it's a phase. Besides, Lucas has a six step plan for getting her to go out with her again and I'm confident in his abilities."

Steve has, in fact, heard about the plan. He's got high hopes. He begins putting away the dishes and directing Eddie to the bizarrely organized cutlery drawer that he knows Joyce has her own system for, though he had never personally figured it out. Eddie seems to get it though, slipping the cutlery back into the drawer with ease. Steve looks down to the cluster of bats on his arm and remembers how he had traced over them that night in October. 

"What you said to El about her tattoo," it feels wrong to call it that. Tattoos were what Eddie had, designs he clearly loved enough to permanently ink into his body. El's was something different, "that was nice."

Eddie keeps his eyes on the drawer, but his voice is heavy as he replies. "She shouldn't be stuck with someone like that for the rest of her life if she doesn't want it." 

Steve's eyes are still on the bats, locked on the largest one and wondering what Eddie could have had that he wanted covered up. Eddie slides the drawer closed with a thump and turns back to Steve. 

"Planning on loitering in here all day like a lame ass or are you coming back outside?" 

"You're such a dick," Steve replies without heat, happy that whatever solemn mood had swept over them was gone.

He and Eddie head back outside to find the boys huddled together and looking serious. Dustin waves them both over, drawing them into the tight knit circle.

"The girls are conspiring," Lucas tells them, sneaking a glance over his shoulder to where El and Max have their heads bowed close together and are whispering furiously.

"Yeah, that can't be good." Steve admits with a concerned smile. Max is rapidly becoming more.of a handful than even Steve had thought she could be, and El's newfound confidence had solidified something in their friendship. Robin is making her way past and Max reaches out to fist her hand in Robin's jeans, pulling her into the conversation.

"Well it definitely just got worse," Eddie adds.

The three women glance over and Steve waves, arm yanked down by Dustin.

"Now they know we were watching them!"

"They have eyes, Dustin. And it's not likely you guys were being subtle."

Max has disappeared into the house and El is walking over, face determined and chin high. She stops in front of Eddie and smiles.

"Max says you play the running song for her sometimes. On your guitar. Will you play for me?"

"Please, El." Hopper adds from where he's scraping down the grill, "say please. Manners, remember?"

"Please." She adds firmly, so serious that Steve wants to laugh.

Eddie looks very put on the spot and Steve almost feels bad.

"I mean, I can sometime if you'd like. I don't have my guitar- "

Max slams the door to the house with a hurried apology to Joyce, an acoustic guitar held aloft.

"Hopper said you can use his!"

"Oh. You play?"

Hopper shakes his head, "a lifetime ago. It's probably out of tune as hell, but the ladies were persuasive."

Eddie already has his fingers around the neck of the guitar, strumming softly and fiddling with the knobs every few strokes. El is watching with rapt attention, clearly excited by the prospect of watching Eddie play. Even Steve had to admit, though never aloud, that he was interested. Watching him play in the Upside Down, demobats swirling around him in the red sky as he poured his whole heart into a song to save a girl he barely knew hadn't really been the correct location for Steve to properly appreciate his talent. Eddie's fingers ghost over the strings again and he nods, clearly happy with whatever he'd been doing.

"Do you have a favourite song?"

El blinks and looks at Will, who hurries to answer.

"Mom has a tape of it somewhere, but I don't know the name. You might not even know how to play it."

"Know some lyrics?"

El fidgets, and it's only Will's gentle and encouraging hand on her shoulder that prompts her to speak, voice shaking as she sings softly.

"It goes like... A white wing dove sings a song sounds like she's singing a lady sings it."

Eddie smiles encouragingly and snap his fingers, "I do know that one. Good choice."

He drops his fingers to the guitar and begins plucking at the strings, entirely focused on what he is doing before smiling up at El, "I'm not much of a singer though, so you'll have to excuse me."

El smiles and sits at Eddie's feet, waiting expectantly. Eddie clears his throat plays a chord, beginning to strum out a song that Steve has heard a few times before. Joyce makes an excited noise, fists clenching together in happiness as she recognizes it and whispers to Hopper, "oh I love this song!"

Eddie had said he wasn't much of singer, but Steve certainly thought he sounded fine. More than fine, actually, the softer timbre of his voice complementing the notes of the guitar, soothing and strong. El is mesmerized, grin so wide on her face that Steve is briefly concerned that he's about to have another kid with a crush on Eddie to keep an eye on. Eddie finishes the song with a smile and El bursts into applause, followed by the rest of the group. Eddie is looking at the ground, cheeks flushed as though he's embarrassed by the attention. As if he isn't afraid to make a spectacle of himself as the DM for Hellfire every Thursday, or at least that's how it seems when the kids recount the campaign in dramatic detail, down to each voice Eddie uses for the characters. 

El seems pleased with the offering, thanking Eddie and returning to her seat beside Hopper. The party is much calmer after that, groups breaking into smaller conversations that overlap. Hopper brings out a case of beer and offers the older kids one, much to the chagrin of The Party. Steve pretends he doesn't see Eddie offer his can out to Dustin, who takes one sip and spits it out immediately. Nancy has to leave first, something about the yearbook committee. Jonathan comes to join the three on the ground and immediately starts talking music with Eddie. Robin is weaving a dandelion bracelet for Steve, who is watching Will and Mike having a quiet conversation in the distance. He'd never say anything, but ever since El and Mike had broken up, the two had become a lot closer. When Will thought no one was looking, his eyes would always find Mike. 

Will would talk when he was ready. If he ever was. 

It's late in the afternoon when Steve finally decides to pack it up. Hopper is asleep in a lawn chair, Joyce curled up beside him with a book in her hands. Lucas is trying to show Mike and Dustin how to shoot hoops, and the success rate is currently sitting around 0%. Steve nudges Robin, who has her head pillowed on his thigh and is clearly enjoying a mid afternoon nap. 

They bid Joyce a quiet goodbye and Steve reminds the kids to actually be ready for him when he picks them up tomorrow. Joyce shoves leftovers into his arms and kisses his cheek, a whispered thank you for her clean kitchen. He tells her Eddie helped and she smiles. 

"He's lovely. He's always welcome here, make sure he knows it." 

They're making their way back to the car when Eddie's name is called. El and Will are running down the driveway towards them and El skids to a stop, arm held out. Where her tattoo had been was now a detailed drawing of a bird in flight, the sharpie slightly smudged around the edges. 

"Will gave me a cover up," she explains, breathless. 

Eddie smiles, and Steve sees the soft dimple in his cheek as he bends down and take a closer look. 

"A pretty sick one at that, too. Nice work, Byers." 

"Thanks." Will's reply is quiet and shy, but proud. 

Steve waves as he pulls out of the driveway, watching as Will takes El's arm and they head back inside. His heart feels full, his brain not screaming anxiety and panic and fear. Joyce had been right, to be all together and not facing imminent death had been good. Robin's house is his first stop, more out of habit than anything. He's going to need to back track a bit to take Eddie home and he hopes neither of them notice.

Robin jumps out of the car with a departing "Goodbye dingus, goodbye Eddie!" and Steve feels the brush of Eddie hair on his shoulder for a brief moment as the boy climbs into the front seat the moment Robin disappears into her house. 

"Considering Buckley is the shortest of us, I really feel like I should get some considerations for the front seat here"

He stretches his legs out and leans back, elbow on the window ledge and turning to look at Steve. 

"Robin gets shotgun every time she's in the car. You're welcome to fight her on it but I'd like to warn you that she fights dirty. She's a hair puller." 

Eddie laughs again, louder this time, but doesn't say anything else.  

"You're good at guitar," Steve says as he pulls away, eyes firmly fixed on the road. Eddie nods.

"Thank you. Wasn't expecting it, but I didn't want to let the kid down. Surprised she was even interested."

"Kind of more surprised you know Stevie Nicks," Steve admitted, "Thought she would be well out of your wheelhouse. 

Eddie's shoulders are tense for a second, head turned out the window as he answers. 

"My mom liked Fleetwood Mac, so..."

Steve doesn't know what to say to that, feels bad for bringing it up until Eddie turns his head and smiles. 

"Happy to have made the ladies happy though. Joyce especially." 

They don't talk much the rest of the drive, only an exchange of barbs when Steve turns the sound up on a Journey song and Eddie makes a noise like he's being injured.

"Don't knock Journey," Steve says firmly, "you aren't allowed shotgun if you're talking shit about Journey." 

Eddie unclasps his seatbelt and makes for the backseat with a shit eating smile and Steve hits the breaks, laughing as Eddie has to catch himself on the door to avoid falling into the footwell. 

"I might not be able to knock Dustin around for being a dumbass but I'm not scared of you," he teases as Eddie rights himself in his sear and Steve cranks the volume even higher. "Put your fucking seatbelt back on, we're almost there." 

Max is sleeping over at El's house, leaving the Mayfield trailer dark in the early afternoon. Eddie climbs out with an appreciative thanks, and a promise to make Steve eat his Journey tape whole if he ever has to listen to it again. He's walking away when Steve can't help it anymore, thinking back on every moment that day when Eddie had surprised him. How good he had been with El, helping with dishes, playing guitar just because the girls had asked. 

"Eddie!"

Eddie turns and Steve almost chickens out, almost tells him not to worry about it. But between the Upside Down and today, he's itching to know more about him, to maybe make another friend that isn't fourteen- or Robin.

"We should hang out some time.” 

Eddie stares, eyebrows raised and Steve feels like fidgeting in his seat.

"You can say no," he offers, feeling awkward as hell. Eddie smiles and leans down to look in through the passenger window.

"Sorry, I think I'm just stunned by the fact that Steve Harrington wants to hang out with little old me." Eddie places a hand delicately to his chest and flutters his eyelashes.

"Don't make me regret this." Steve says flatly, "I'll take that offer back right now."

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry. Sure, Harrington, we can hang out some time. Thanks for ride. Goodbye, dingus"

"Hey, only Robin gets to call me that!" He yells at the retreating figure, only knowing he was heard because Eddie flips him the bird.

God he's so going to regret the fact that those two are friends. He can feel it.