When you were young

by KikiDoesFanfic

Summary:

When Eddie gets a call from a frazzled Robin that Steve is somehow four years old, he rushes over to help.

When he sees tiny Steve all quiet and unlike himself, he decides immediately that he's stealing him.

What could go wrong?

Notes:

Let's assume Nancy shot Vecna out the window a minute earlier and they all went outside and set him on fire, so the bats dropped earlier and Eddie just has a bite or two that got stitched up and everything is fine.

This was written for the Steve Harrington Big Bang, and I was paired with two amazing artists, Fucktacles and RavenCL, you'll see their work throughout, including the dividers and banner, please go check them out I'm in love with all the things they've drawn for the fic! I cannot sing their praises enough, working with them during this whole process has been so wonderful.

Chapter 1: Easy as one, two, three

Notes:

Chapter title is from ABC by The Jackson Five

The divider was made by Fucktacles and the banner by RavenCL the wonderful artists I was paired with for the bang, go check them out!

"What do you expect me to do, Robin? Hide him in my basement?" Nancy scoffs, as Eddie walks in the front door of Steve's house. "Why is this only on you and me anyway? What about Jon and Argyle?"

"You want to give a four year old to a pair of stoners? You have younger siblings, I don't, I don't know what to do with a child!" Her voice is very frazzled, and part of Eddie knows he should interrupt but a quick scan of the lounge room shows no Steve in sight, just some of the kids huddled and talking lowly while Robin and Nancy are on the verge of yelling. "And anyway, El was hidden in your basement for a while right? Why can't you do that with him?"

"He's four at most, you can't leave a four year old in a basement unsupervised." Nancy says slowly, like she's realising Robin actually has no idea about children, "plus it's Steve, if he's anything like himself he's going to be a handful."

Eddie rolls his eyes as he walks away, he is nothing like he was at four years old, he doesn't think anyone is. That's practically a baby. Indecisive, he waffles a moment at the bottom of the stairs, unsure if Steve would have gone up there.

"If I was a tiny tyke in a big house where would I go...?" He asks himself.

Looking around the bottom floor he sees the kitchen, yeah that's definitely where he'd go. Snacks and plenty of cupboards to hide in. As he walks through the doorway the argument between Nancy and Robin intensifies, he can hear them yelling now.

"It's not my responsibility! We don't even know how long this will last, I'm not having a clingy child dumped on me taking over my life just because I'm the closest woman!"

"It's not just some clingy child he's our friend! Of course he's our responsibility!" Robin throws back, "you sound like you don't even care!"

"Of course I care, but that doesn't mean I can bring him to my house and drop everything in my life for god knows how long!" Whatever follows has gone too quiet for Eddie to make out most of it, he hears 'best friend' and 'parents' and a few other words but it's not important. If he can hear them in here, and Steve is in here, that means Steve can hear them, which would be less than ideal.

"Steve?" He says softly, because his first guess is that Steve's going to be in the walk in pantry, and he doesn't want to startle him by just yanking the door open. "You in here?" He leans in towards the door, and he can hear little sniffles coming from inside. Well if that doesn't just break his heart. "I'm gonna open the door now, okay?"

"Kay," comes a tiny little dejected voice in reply, and oh. He opens the door enough to slip inside- there's plenty of room in the thing for two people when one of them is so tiny- leaving it open just enough for light to get through so he can get a good look at Steve.

When they'd called to tell him what happend he believed them, with all the crazy crap that's happened to Eddie these past few weeks he'd be stupid not to, but it's an entirely different thing to see it. Steve is tiny he doesn't look near as big as his neighbors twins running around the trailer park are, and their fifth birthday is coming up in a month or two. His knees crack like rice crispy treats as he settles cross legged across from Steve with a groan, sure he didn't have to stay in the hospital longer than overnight- stitches and a blood top up, and he was kept the rest of the night for observation before being cut loose by morning to make room for more severe earthquake related injuries- but it doesn't mean he isn't stiff and a bit sore still, especially when his stitches tug.

"Hey there buddy, you hiding?" He asks, and Steve nods, watching him warily over the hand that scrubs at his cheeks. His hair is just as fluffy as it is when he's bigger, perhaps just a bit lighter in colour, and he has a lot of the moles he has when he grows up. A few are missing but it's easy to see the resemblance. "Yeah, they're getting pretty loud huh?" He lets his voice get low, a conspiratorial stage whisper, "I'm Eddie, can I hide with you?"

"'Kay," Steve says again, eyes still guarded. Geez tough crowd, though the raised voices filtering through from the other room again are probably not helping.

"Do you want to go somewhere else? We can go upstairs where we can't hear them?"

"M'not s'posed to go with strangers." Ah. Right.

"That's very good that you know that..." makes this difficult though. "Have they told you what's going on?" He asks, because it definitely sounds like the kind of thing Dustin would try and explain, even to a toddler. Steve just nods again, eyes darting between the door and Eddie.

"Everyone is a stranger right now huh?" He says as it dawns on him, "is that why you're hiding?"

Steve shakes his head, flinching at a particularly sharply shouted word. Eddie's not used to such a meek and quiet Steve, not sure if he's just scared or if this is how quiet he always is at this age.

"They're yelling like mother and father." And that's just. First of all hearing a tiny little voice so formally say mother and father, so very carefully and stiltedly pronounced, is making Eddie want to hunt down said mother and father, so jot that down. And second he's kicking himself a little for not asking more about Steve's parents before. It's not that he thought rich kids all had a perfect picket fence home life but... okay maybe he did think that once upon a time, or that at the very least parental shortcomings could probably be papered over with money.

But he wouldn't trade Uncle Wayne for a house like this or expensive gifts, not for all the money in the world.

Some things are priceless.

Steve has his little hand over his mouth now, as if in the absence of an answer he's realised he shouldn't have said that, so Eddie rallies quickly.

"Yeah it's no fun when parents fight is it?" Steve's eyes well up and oh shit, oh no.

"They don't w-want m-m-me here," he stutters out around a quivering bottom lip before hiccupping breaths take over, he looks like he's about to bawl his eyes out. Did Eddie mention he wants to hunt down Steve's parents?

"Oh- hey no, it's okay-" Eddie reaches out and Steve straightens up abruptly standing, wiping his eyes quickly before placing his hands behind his back, chin up but eyes averted.

"M'sorry," he sniffles and Eddie is experiencing some gnarly whiplash.

"Why are you sorry?" Eddie asks, baffled.

"Boys don't cry?" Steve says, voice rising at the end like it's a question. Parents. Hunting.

"If boys aren't supposed to cry then what do we have tear ducts for? Everyone can cry buddy." Eddie slouches back into the shelves behind him, the lowest one digs into his spine something shocking but at least he's not crowding Steve as much.

"Tear ducks?" Steve says, squinting at Eddie and scrunching his mouth like he doesn't believe him.

"Yeah in your eye, I can show you in the mirror later."

"I got ducks in my eye?" Steve says sounding kind of horrified, hands coming up to press around under his eyes, and... oops.

"Duct, with a T," Eddie says before quickly changing the subject. "Hey why don't we make a snack? Get out of the cupboard?" He hasn't heard any yelling for a little bit now at least, so hopefully they can make a snack and then pack a little bag for Steve and take him back to the trailer.

"What do duck-ts do?" Steve asks, with a curious little tilt of his head, and Eddie kind of wants to pinch his cheeks. He's about to start explaining that they're like a little pathway for tears but yelling starts up again, this time though it's not necessarily angry, but panicked.

"Steve? Steve!" Robin yells and her voice heads towards what Eddie guesses is the stairs. "Dingus why did you run off?!"

"We should probably go out there," Eddie says, and when he looks at Steve he's crouched back down and shrunken against the shelves again.

"Do we got to?" Steve mumbles, and Eddie is fully prepared to say 'nope' and sit here in the cupboard until Steve is ready, but...

"STEVE!" Eddie hears again from somewhere above them, and yeah they gotta go out there.

"They're worried, not mad," Eddie says, because if Steve's used to arguing that might be what he's scared of. "We should go before they send out a search party." Steve stands up slowly, an almost hangdog expression on his face, as he shuffles on the spot. And yep, that cinches it, Eddie is stealing him. "You can hold my hand if you want," Eddie adds, and Steve looks almost offended.

"That's for babies, m'not a baby." Eddie assumes 'yes you are' wouldn't go over all that well.

"Well okay then, offer stands if you change your mind," another quizzical look. Right, a kid. "My hand will be right here and free if you have need of it my liege." He says dramatically, opening the door to the cupboard with a flourishing bow. It makes Steve giggle, and Eddie feels accomplished.

"M'not a leeg, you're silly."

"Well, of course, silly is the most fun way to be after all, little prince," Eddie says, leading the way out of the kitchen.

And straight into an unimpressed Nancy Wheeler.

"Eddie. When did you get here? We've been waiting," she turns to Steve, "and you. You can't just go running off Steve, we were worried sick, Robin was convinced you ran out into the street."

Steve shrinks further behind Eddie, grabbing a fistfull of his pant leg in one hand and his belt chain in the other.

"How about we cool off with the lecture, he's been hiding since before the yelling started, so you haven't been 'worried' that long. Maybe keep a better eye on him next time?" Nancy opens her mouth, frustrated look on her face, but Robin comes thundering down the stairs before she can say anything.

"Oh my god you can't do that to me, I thought I got you pancaked by a car, see this is why I don't look after small children, I have enough trouble with the brat pack in there as it is and they're big enough to mostly look after themselves." She finally stops to take a breath, and then launches into 'the plan'. "Nancy can stay here with him tonight, I can't my parents have me practically on lock down after disappearing so long, and then tomorrow night he can stay with Jonathan and Argyle, and then I'm going to hide him in my room the day after that, and then Dustin-"

"Woah woah woah," Eddie interrupts her, because that's ridiculous. "Little guy needs stability and all that crap not to be shuffled around and shoved into a different corner every night. Wayne knows what's up and even if he didn't he'd be fine at mine." And that's mostly true, Uncle Wayne had been told the Upside Down basics, not buying the cover story in the slightest, but Eddie's side of the phone call and a yelled 'Steve's somehow a kid be back later' probably didn't give him too much to go on today.

"Eddie you still have stitches, how are you going to run around after a four year old?" Nancy says, more concerned than anything.

"Doesn't matter, you guys were just yelling about this, and I want him to come with me and Wayne, we'll figure it out."

"I don't think that's a good idea, have you ever even looked after a kid?" Nancy asks, "you can't just bring a kid home for your uncle to look after."

"Okay, well what if we ask Steve what he wants to do?" Nancy purses her lips , but it's the scoff from the side that raises Eddie's hackles.

"He's a baby why would he get a say?" Dustin says, and Steve crowds even closer to Eddie's leg.

"M'not a baby," he says, but it lacks the bite it did when he said it to Eddie before.

"You're not even two feet tall, that's a baby." Dustin snarks, and Eddie can feel Steve squeezing his little fists even tighter. "Leave it to me and Nancy we already worked out the perfect plan."

"You're like twelve, you're one to talk short stack." Eddie snaps, forging on ahead before Dustin can get another word in. "Hey Steve, want to come to my house? You can meet my uncle Wayne, he makes the best mac and cheese on the planet."

"The whole planet?" Steve says with a healthy amount of awe.

"Yup, maybe even in the whole galaxy," Eddie says cheerfully.

"My mother says cheese makes you fat," Steve says, but he has his head tilted again, curious, it makes Dustin laugh but Eddie ignores him.

"Nah that's not right, all food is good for you, just not all the time, you know?" Steve nods like he does in fact know, even though he didn't seem to a moment ago.

"Eddie don't tell him that, he's going to want mac and cheese every day, Mike and Holly both had phases where they wouldn't eat anything but fish sticks for the same reason." Theres a little bit of an exasperated smile on Nancy's face as she says it, Mike's little 'hey' ignored in the background.

"Nope, only moderation in Casa Munson, isn't that right little prince? So we're gonna have mac and cheese for dinner!" He picks Steve up and plants him on his hip, opposite from the side with the worst stiches in his waist. He still lets out an oof at the contact but it's no big deal, Steve's not exactly a heavy kid.

"Modernation!" Steve cheers and Eddie raises his other hand to cheer with him.

"I guess that's decided then," Nancy says begrudgingly. She didn't want to look after Steve anyway, so Eddie's not sure why she was even fighting it in the first place.

"You have to let me come over and visit though," Robin says, "I might not know anything about looking after little kids but that's still my best friend you're holding there."

"Yeah yeah, you're welcome any time Buckley," he jolts Steve on his hip a little, "let's get you a bag together okay bud?"

"He doesn't have anything, his clothes are too big, his toothbrush, everything, what are you going to get together exactly?" Nancy asks, arms folded across her chest and an amused eyebrow raised.

"Ah, right... well we'll just have to stop by Melvads and Goodies thrift on the way home and pick up a few things then." He examines Steve, his clothes are slightly ill fitting but not anything too big so? "Did his clothes shrink with him or?"

"No they're Mikes old ones, mom keeps almost everything in boxes in the basement, he was running around in one of Steve's polos when Robin found him." And that sounds adorable.

So now the plan is this, Eddie and Wayne are going to look after Steve, sometimes the others will come over to baby sit if Eddie has something to do and can't bring a four year old to, like band practice if Steve doesn't like it. They wait for Eleven to make the temporary drive back from California next weekend- her and Will are supposed to finish out their school year there while Hopper and Joyce pack up the house ready to move back when they're done- and go from there. So just over a week and Steve should be back to his regular self, apparently.

Somehow Eddie feels like it won't be that simple.

Chapter 2: And the ball goes up and the ball comes down

Notes:

Chapter title is from The Greatest by Kenny Rogers

The art and dividers in this chapter were made by Fucktacles on of the lovely artists I was aired with for the bang, please go check them out!

They're there for clothes, a handful of shirts and a few pairs of pants already picked out- to go with the underwear and toiletries they'd already picked up elsewhere- when Eddie sees the shelf of toys. He should get something right? Eddie's pretty sure he could entertain Steve for a week without toys, he has the power of imagination on his side, especially with a trip to the library on the agenda for some books.

But still, surely a stuffed animal or action figure wouldn't be the worst thing to add to the pile.

It takes Steve half a second to zone in on one toy in particular, Eddie pulling it down from the shelf and looking it over. It's not in too rough shape, not stained at least.

"His leg's a bit loose so we gotta be careful with him, okay? I can fix him up later." 'Him' being a long limbed stuffed frog, a ball of a body with long arms and even longer legs that dangle below it. It's bright green with a yellow tummy and little pink stiched oval cheeks, and little black beady eyes set in semi-circle lumps on top it's head. It's kind of an ugly little thing, but Steve picked it out all by himself, only frog on the shelf and Steve still wanted him even with his leg hanging on by loosened stitches. "Wayne and I are both handy with a needle and thread, so he'll be back to hopping around in no time."

"Kay," Steve looks between the frog and Eddie, he has his fingers in his mouth in a way Eddie has gathered is some kind of self soothing gesture.

"What are you gonna name him?"

"Me?" And he seems surprised, like Eddie had what? Made him choose it and then wasn't going to give it to him? Eddie is gonna get Steve so many god damn frogs.

"Yeah of course, he's yours," Eddie holds him up under the armpits and wiggles him, putting on a higher pitched voice, "I'm very hoppy to meet you little prince, what's my name?" Steve looks at him very seriously taking the toys hand and shaking it.

"Mister Hobber."

"Hobber? That's the one?" Eddie asks.

"Yeah 'cause he likes to hob around!" Steve says, as if it's obvious, look on his face radiating 'duh' in a way that has Eddie smiling.

"That's a great name! Mister Hobber it is." It's adorable so Eddie's certainly not going to correct him, instead handing over the stuffie. Steve holds it out back toward Eddie carefully, mindful of the loose leg, so Eddie pats it on the head. "Okay, ready to go?"

"You gotta shake his hand," Steve says, looking at Eddie exactly like Big Steve had when he'd put his feet up on the Mayfield's couch with his shoes still on, asking if he was raised in a barn. He'd been tempted to say yes at the time, to push and poke and prod at the other boy until his pigtails were thoroughly pulled, but the thought had kept the words locked behind his teeth.

"Right, yeah of course," Eddie smacks a hand against his forehead, grabbing the frog's less delicate leg to shake around in a circle. "Good afternoon good sir! A pleasure to make your acquaintance!"

"That's his foot," Steve giggles, shaking his head all exasperated.

"Here?" Eddie says pinching one of the frogs cheeks and wiggling it back and forth.

"No, silly," and Eddie gets to watch Steve roll his eyes by moving his whole head, "his hand." This time he helps, holding out Mister Hobber's little arm as if Eddie could never find it alone, "see?"

"Aaaah I see," Eddie draws out, shaking the hand with a nod of his head.

"Well, now that introductions are done with, what do you say we go back to the car?" Steve gives him a little 'mhmm' holding out his hand- not attached to the arm carefully cradling Mister Hobber like a precious treasure- for Eddie to take. He does that constantly now, a far cry from the 'that's for babies' he'd said mere hours ago.

Eddie takes his hand and leads them through the checkout and back down the sidewalk towards the van, Steve isn't even looking where he's walking, too enamoured by Mister Hobber to care.

Getting Steve all set up and buckled in to the back bench seat, he dumps all the bags of clothes with the others crowding his front seat and footwell, and Steve is still just staring at Mister Hobber where he's now buckled in at his lap. Eddie hasn't had to look after any kids as young as Steve for more than an hour or two at a time, but Steve seems happy enough.

So he's killing it so far.

"Alright, two more stops before home, think we can do that?" Steve nods, yawns, follows it up with another little 'mhm' noise. Right, kids need naps... and Steve has had an excitable day.

"We'll be quick okay? The library and then the grocery store for dinner stuff." Steve blinks at him with eyes that are already half closed. That was fast, maybe they skip the library today? But he really did want to get Steve some picture books so they could do story time...

"Mac'n'chees?" Steve mumbles, and yeah alright, maybe no library today.

"Yeah buddy, mac and cheese." He glances at his watch, it's already one in the afternoon. Shoot he'd meant to feed Steve like an hour ago, he'd gotten caught up picking out the stuff they wouldn't be able to get from Melvads or the thrift store, like underwear and a toothbrush and stuff, and then Steve had been so fascinated by being able to pick his own clothes out so Eddie hadn't wanted to rush him along, and they'd had to try some of it on to make sure it would fit, and... Eddie's realising he's a bit of a pushover. "You want a snack?" A beat with no reply. "Steve?"

He glances over his shoulder and sees Steve's little chin is hitting his chest, head wobbling freely with the movement of the van. Okay, new plan, they go to the library and park for a bit so Steve can have a nap and a snack, then they'll run into the library real quick, and then pick up the groceries.

Now he just has to find a kid friendly snack in the van. Piece of cake.

Eddie lets Steve nap for around half an hour before waking him up to eat his snack and head into the library. It ended up being easier to find one than he anticipated, a stray bag with some chips and a fruit rollup from when he'd driven up to Indianapolis with the guys. Better than nothing, and they're heading to get groceries anyway.

The librarian had loved Steve, which is no surprise the way he sleepily wandered in with Mister Hobber clutched in his arms to ask for 'books 'bout frogs please and thank you'. Of course she was charmed, who wouldn't be? She'd been the same way with Eddie as a child asking for books about dragons. Okay maybe long after he was a young child as well, but she seemed to love when any kid was excited about reading, and Eddie had definitely always been that.

Which brings them to now, a bag of books sitting on the passenger seat along with all their other finds so far.

"What kind of snacks do you like?" He asks, because it's probably easier than trying to plan for the week himself. "We can get some fruit and stuff but what else? What's your favorite?"

"Do you like string cheese?"

"I do like string cheese! What else?"

"Mm... ants on a log?"

"The celery thing?" Eddie must make a face because Steve hurries to add:

"You can do apples too, just gotta stick the ants on them. You can stick ants on anything."

"Even on you?" Eddie says, exaggerating a faux look of shock on his face, Steve looks at him sideways in a way that is so perplexed he has to fight not to laugh.

"I s'pose so." He scrunches his nose, "but it's sticky."

"Okay, I guess we'll stick to putting then on the food then," Eddie says with a sigh and a shrug of his shoulders, Steve giggling at him from the back. "Alright then little man time to go get the groceries, just like the other stores what's the rule?"

"Hands an' eyes."

"Yep good job, okay lets do this thing," he rounds the front of the van with enthusiam, opening the door to unbuckle Steve's belt for him. A child seat should probably go on his list of things to borrow ASAP, now that he thinks about it. He's just picked Steve up- the van is a bit too high for Eddie to be comfortable with him getting himself down- and closed the door when he hears a voice much too close for comfort.

"You steal someone's kid Munson?" And fuck if this isn't the worst possible time for these assholes to crawl out of the wood work, Andy blocking Eddie's exit from between the parked cars while some nameless lackey -probably attempting to look menacing, not that it's working for him- stands behind him. "Bit young for you I thought you only offed teenagers."

For the most part the cover up had been accepted around town- Jason Carver implicated after attacking Lucas and almost killing Max the same way the other's had died had cinched the cover story, and with Jason dead they didn't have to complicate things further- but some of Jason's old buddies refused to believe it. That he could be a jilted boyfriend not liking that his girlfriend broke up with him and freaking out seeing her getting into a car with another guy, promptly snapping and committing horrific acts.

It couldn't have happened to a nicer guy. Though Eddie doesn't love that they'd had to involve Chrissy in it, not that it seemed like she'd be dating Jason much longer anyway. At least this way it doesn't tar people's view of her by mentioning the ketamine, though.

"What you hoping I put him down so you can tackle him Andy? Or was it only little girls you do that to?" Eddie says, keeping a calmly neutral facade to his voice lest he worry Steve more. He needs to get them out of here and into the store where they'll be left alone. Fast.

"Shut the fuck up Munson," Andy says, practically snarls it, and Steve flinches. Right, no more of that. He covers Steve's ear with the hand not holding him at his hip, he'd been keeping it free in case they try something but this way he's holding Steve to him more securely.

"Language, little ears are here after all, we have groceries to get and we'll be on our merry way so how about we all leave each other alone for today, hm?"

"I don't think we should let you leave with him, don't you agree Matt?" And Matt seems to have some sort of concience because he looks conflicted at how small Steve is making himself. "Hey, hey kid," Andy says, and that's apparently his buddy's limit.

"Maybe we should go..." Matt says, hand on Andy's shoulder trying to tug him away.

"Seriously? What if-"

"Oh Eddie dear, it's good to see you," Claudia says pointedly, a guardian angel sent from above. Andy lets himself be tugged back a few steps, losing bravado quickly.

"Who's this adorable little one?" Sue asks, waving her fingers at Steve where he's practically climbing into Eddie's neck. Andy and Matt slink away wordlessly, and Eddie watches Andy get into his car before he answers, keeping vigilant.

"He's a friend's kid," Eddie says as the car pulls away, almost saying his name is Steve but not wanting to draw up too many comparisons with people who Steve has spent time around. "I'm looking after him for a few days, aren't I buddy?" He directs it at Steve with exaggerated enthusiasm, hoping to bring him back out from his turtling. It doesn't work. "Thanks for the save ladies."

"Think nothing of it," Sue says. She's looking at Steve with that soft concern Eddie saw in the hospital while Lucas stood at Max's bedside, and Eddie's not sure what to do about it.

"...Well," Eddie says after an awkward beat of silence, "we'd better go grab our stuff so we can get home."

"Of course, before you go, will you still be hosting your game tomorrow? I know you usually alternate pick up and drop off with Steve, but I can round up the kids if that helps?" And shoot, Eddie had totally forgotten about Hellfire. He could probably still run the game just fine but it'd have to be at the Harrington house to have enough room for everyone, and he'd have to explain Steve somehow to the rest of Hellfire... he could probably leave Steve with Wayne for a few hours but to be honest he doesn't really want to right now.

"I hadn't thought about it, this was kind of unexpectedly last minute... maybe we give it a miss this week, can you let Dustin and Lucas know? They can spread it around the the others." Claudia looks back at him from where she'd been scanning the parking lot, as if she was looking for trouble to ward off at a moment's notice.

"I'll tell Dusty, I'm sure he can handle passing the message along to the rest of them. Now you head on inside, maybe let him pick out a nice treat." Eddie had already planned on it, but he wouldn't take the permission from one of his favorite mothers for granted.

"Or one of us could come with you, it's no trouble." Sue says, and the offer is tempting, but he's avoided giving them Steve's name so far and he'd like to keep it that way.

"I'm sure we'll be fine, we only have a few things to pick up today before Wayne shops tomorrow." He tilts his head towards Steve even if he can't see his face, "we're making ants on a log while we wait for Wayne's famous mac and cheese!"

Steve's mumble of 'mac an' cheese' is quiet and said into the skin of Eddie's neck, but it's there, just loud enough for Sue and Claudia to hear and coo over.

"Alright, but if you need anything, you call and let one of us know," Sue squeezes his arm reassuringly, and Claudia gives him a nod.

"I will, thank you ladies." They both fuss over him a little before they say their goodbyes and go their separate ways. It hits in in that soft gooey part he has where his mother is supposed to reside, catches in his lungs as he watches them walk back to Sue's car and finish loading their own groceries inside together.

"Right, okay, we should... we should go and get the shopping done," Eddie says, shaking off the moment and taking them inside.

Eddie had never considered the logistics of shopping with a young child.

He has faint memories of going with uncle Wayne when he was younger- on some of his shorter stays at the trailer while his mom was in rehab or his dad was gone off god knows where- still so wirey he fit in the seat well after he should have, kicking his feet while Wayne gave him items to toss in the back.

Steve, however, doesn't fit very well into the seat at the front of the shopping cart, Eddie's not quite sure what the limit is for those sorts of things, and even though Steve is pretty small he is four years old. Robin mentioned that he seemed to think his birthday happened a week ago, so he's barely four, to be fair, but four none the less.

"What if I put you in the cart and you look after all the ingredients for me?" Eddie asks when Steve is still clinging to him and refusing to be put down, Steve thinks about it for a second before nodding.

Baby Steve, much like adult Steve, is easy to convince if you give him a job to do.

All in all it's an easy trip, Steve is a good little helper taking everything Eddie hands him and stacking it in the cart, watching over it all like a little dragon with a hoard. Mister Hobber is of course holding court over the proceedings with that dead eyed stare of his, sitting atop a throne made of a pasta bag and packets of string cheese.

They make it to the checkout without incident, Steve carefully holding his chosen treat- a bag of reeces pieces- ready to pass to Eddie to put on the conveyor belt. They load everything, and when they get to the front the bored teenager looks at Steve and sighs.

"You're not supposed to put kids in the basket."

"Why?" Steve asks, curious tilt to his head.

"It's against the rules."

Steve opens his mouth, closes it, sits down with a slight scowl, and it takes Eddie a moment to parse out what the problem might be. Steve is a quiet kid, he doesn't ask many questions, and Eddie can think of a habit he'd had himself that his father always complained about.

"But why?" Eddie asks, and Steve perks up again to listen. Bingo.

"It's policy."

"But why?" Eddie asks again, blinking big faux innocent eyes at the cashier.

"I'm not paid enough to deal with this," the guy says under his breath, "just- don't do it next time."

"Sure thing dude," Eddie says, handing over his cash and grabbing his change so they can finally get home. Wheeling Steve out into the parking lot he makes some quick turns and even jogs the cart when there are no cars around, Steve giggling and clapping the whole way, earlier car park confrontation seemingly forgotten.

"You know, you can ask me as many questions as you like," he starts as he gets Steve strapped back into the van with a snack and the groceries shoved into the passenger seat footwell. Uncle Wayne had told him the same thing, made sure he heard it and let Eddie pester him endlessly, so he's going to do the same for Steve now.

'It's good to be curious, you're a smart kid an' you're still learnin', don't let anyone go an' tell you otherwise.' He'd said, and boy did little Eddie take that as permission and run, askimg every single question that came to mind. Wayne answered best he could, took Eddie to the library for what he couldn't, the memory leaves a smile on his face.

"Being curious is a good thing, asking questions is how we learn, you can always ask me and Uncle Wayne when you want to know something, okay?" Steve looks skeptical, but nods, holding out a fist clutching his half eaten string cheese to Eddie. "Oh uh, none for me right now, I need to drive." He jumps into the front seat, smiling back at Steve, "alright kiddo, ready to blow this popsical stand?"

The confused look on Steve's face shouldn't be as amusing as it is, and as Eddie drives carefully out the parking lot- he's never driven as carefully in his life as he has been today- he hopes he can make the rest of the day better for Steve than the beginning.

Chapter 3: Oh, darlin', don't you ever grow up

Notes:

Chapter title from Never Grow Up by Taylor Swift
Art and dividers in this chapter were made by one of the artists I was paired with, the lovely Fucktacles , you should go check them out!

Eddie and Wayne's new trailer was a fun bonus government prize, awarded for the theft of their first trailer and loss of any unsalvagable belongings, closed portal in the ceiling and all. Thankfully they have two bedrooms now- and a slightly nicer bathroom, larger kitchen, and living room... nicer everything really, they even have room for the washing machine to go in the bathroom cupboard instead of the middle of the kitchen- Wayne no longer needing to sleep on a cot by the couch.

The downside to a new home, however, is that not everything is unpacked. With Eddie injured and Wayne refusing to take off of work- even though they own the trailer outright now instead of paying monthly like their old one, Wayne doesn't trust it, and Eddie doesn't blame him- they've been unpacking at the breakneck speed of... a single box a day. Sure they'd gone and picked up some furniture and essentials from thrift stores around the place, and plastered Eddie's walls with the help of Jeff, Gareth, and Frank who wanted him to feel at home, but otherwise, a lot of the less essential bits and bobs were being unpacked as needed.

And now with a small child running around the towering stacks of boxes, both of their belongings and the stuff their new little family had donated, seemed ill advised.

"Maybe we need a few more hands after all," Eddie muses out loud, "you think you can be careful around here until Robin comes over tomorrow?"

Steve 'mhmm's at him, looking around and clearly not paying any attention in the slightest. Eddie looks around, tries to see the trailer through a kid like Steve's eyes. It's obviously nothing like what Steve's used to, even bigger than the old trailer it's still a smaller space than his mansion of a house, the boxes everywhere, the sparse furniture... he must be wondering what's going on. Maybe he won't want to stay here, would prefer it at the Wheeler house or Robin's, with their multi story suburban middle class family homes and-

"Are you makin' a fort?" Steve asks.

And that's... what?

"A- a fort?" Eddie asks, and Steve points at the boxes stacked in a loose curve where they hadn't been bothered to move them further than next to the couch vaguely against the wall.

"S'like a castle," Steve says around his own fingers, "with big towers."

Eddie rolls his eyes at himself internally for his little spiral. Steve's a kid. A kid that age still think living in a tree house is a viable option. No, he's not talking from experience.

"You know what? That's a great idea, maybe when Uncle Wayne gets home he can help us move some of the boxes, I have a bit of an... uh..." Eddie stalls on an age appropriate bat chow explanation, landing on a slightly lamely offered "ouchy tummy right now."

"S'okay, me too." Steve says, entirely too casually for the bomb that he drops into Eddie's lap.

Because what? Does Steve- Surely Nancy or Robin would have mentioned if Steve's Upside Down injuries had transferred over to his tiny child body. Eddie would have to look after them, with all the stitches and the... did Steve even get checked out at the hospital? From what they'd patched together he dropped everyone off and made sure they all got seen to, took Eddie to Wayne's motel room when he was released, helped out with the relief efforts, brought some stuff to the new trailer, eventually gone home, and woken up a kid when he'd finally actually slept, Robin finding him a few days later when she'd escaped her parent's new overbearing eagle eyes. Even the thought of it is. Nope, okay, Eddie has to check.

It doesn't occur to him until after he's started frantically checking Steve over, that he'd have noticed the giant gaping bat bites he was now remembering when he was helping Steve try on clothes back at the thrift store. Or the angry looking cut along his neck that was pretty damn hard to miss while they were wandering around the Upside Down. Steve, for his part, just shrieks and giggles like Eddie's trying to tickle him or something, not suddenly freaking out over something that's not even there.

Is this what having kids is like? Watching them be adorable and silly one second and freaking out the next feeling completely out of your depth, like a never ending roller coaster ride? Wayne would be laughing at him if he was home right now.

At least he can laugh at himself, crouched down poking at Steve like wounds would have somehow magically appeared in the last few hours. Jesus christ.

"Okay, alright, everything is so fine," he says to Steve, as his giggles peter off into little occasional hums, completely oblivious to Eddie's little freak out. So that leaves the problem that wasn't Eddie's illogical panic. "Does your tummy still hurt?"

Steve 'mhmm's again, and Eddie's really gonna need him to get more descriptive.

"Okay... well what does... uh, what does it feel like?" Eddie tries, and then watches Steve look down at his own stomach, poke it, and look back to Eddie as if to say 'I dunno man, it's a stomach' and Eddie can't even blame him. "Alright well, do you feel sick? Are you hungry?"

"Mac n'cheese?" Steve asks, perking up immediately, Eddie puts the back of his hand on Steve's forehead anyway, just in case. Does he feel warm? Eddie can't really tell, checks his own forehead to compare and that doesn't really tell him much either. Hm.

"Mac and cheese after Uncle Wayne gets home, and- actually that'll be him now." The rumble of the truck engine hasn't changed since Eddie was a kid, the distinct sputter from years of home repair, "he can probably help me figure out why your not feeling so good too." He stands from his crouch, and was going to open the door for Wayne, but Steve is suddenly grabbing his pant leg and sticking to him like a bump on a log.

"Hey, I told you about Uncle Wayne remember? He's great! He just looks like a big grump sometimes but he's a softie, I bet you'll be friends in no time!" There's a pregnant pause when the door opens, Wayne stopping in the doorway when he sees Eddie standing in the middle of the room, eyes darting down to Steve and back up to Eddie with a questioning raise of an eyebrow.

"I see we have a guest," he says, and he doesn't seem all that put out by Eddie choosing to comandeer Steve. He'd probably known Eddie was going to do it before he'd left the trailer, even with only half a conversation to go off of.

Wayne has been taking everything in stride, the Upside Down, Eddie's dissappearance and reappearance, their suddenly larger extended Upside Down family of codependant children. Well. He's taking it better than Eddie did, anyway.

"Yeah Wayne, this is Steve," he says, as if it could have been someone else after what was said this morning. "Steve, this," Eddie says with a flourish that goes entirely unappreciated by the barnacle on his leg, "is Uncle Wayne."

Steve doesn't move from behind Eddie, still standing there stiffly, and Eddie... well he's not quite sure what to do. Thankfully Wayne takes the initiative on his own.

"Hello Steve," Wayne says, bending down a little and hopefully making himself seem less intimidating, "Eddie tells me you're stayin' with us a while?" Steve looks up at Eddie, unsure, so Eddie gives what he hopes is a reassuring little nod.

"Yes Sir." He holds out his little hand like he's waiting for Wayne to shake it, and he does, but now he's looking at Steve like he's a tiny alien and he's not sure which planet he's from.

"Ah.. well there ain't no need for any of that sir business," Wayne says after a beat, recovering quickly to put a hand on Steve's head and ruffle his hair, leaving him looking a little mystified. "Just Wayne'll do. Now, what am I makin' for supper? You boys picked up the groceries I see."

"Yeah we grabbed a couple things, it felt like a mac and cheese kind of night," Eddie says, grinning at the way Steve is watching Wayne all wide eyed. "I told Steve you make the best mac and cheese in the world, so there's a lot to live up to old man."

"No trouble there, never met anyone who didn't clean their plate of it." Wayne heads into the kitchen, washing his hands at the sink and then looking at Eddie expectantly. "Well? Wash up, I ain't doin' all this cookin' without a sous chef."

"Sous chef? Look at you getting all big for your britches, just because you make world famous mac and cheese and watch a cooking show or two." Eddie teases with a smirk.

"Boy you go an' wash those hands before I wash your mouth out instead," Wayne chuckles, tossing a balled up tea towel at Eddie where he stands across the counter. "Big for my britches- I'll show you britches," he adds under his breath.

"Whatever you say," Eddie sing songs, passing Steve the tea towel and turning him to face towards the bathroom door. "Bathroom is that way, I'll be just a moment can you take that towel in for me?"

"Mhmm!" Steve hums, nodding with a serious look on his face, as if Eddie has given him a Very Important Job. When he turns back to Wayne and the knowing look on his face he waves it away.

"I know, I know, but look at him! We can talk about it later, he's gonna conk out immediately we'll have plenty of time, but I wanted to- he said his stomach hurts?" Wayne tsks, hand coming up to scratch at the stubble on his chin, and it's such a dad move.

"What'd he eat? Drink?" He questions, and okay, maybe Eddie should have thought of that? "Gonna guess by that face the mystery is solved then?"

"Yeah... a fruit rollup and some chips as a snack, not sure what he ate before that," Eddie winces and Wayne shakes his head.

"Get some water in him 'fore dinner and we'll keep an eye," and thank god for Uncle Wayne or Eddie himself would have been a shriveled raisin as a child, "now scoot before he climbs the counter."

He hustles to go help Steve wash up- a little too short to reach the taps by himself yet, but he can just reach into the basin without help when he's on his tippy toes- and moves to follow him back into the kitchen after, but is blocked in the doorway.

"You're s'posed to wash your hands," he says, hands on his hips, and it's so Big Steve that Eddie's heart gives a little pang. He's enjoying spending time with little Steve, but after the Upside Down he'd been hoping... well. From the way everyone in their little party is in each other's pockets he assumes friendship was on the table, maybe some fun new levels of codependance in crises at the least.

From the way Steve allowed Eddie right up in his space, and flustered at Big Boy, and that moment- that one charged moment- where Eddie had chickened out and said make him pay instead, he thought there could, perhaps, be more than friendship. Maybe.

Eddie isn't worried that he'll never know- he might not have seen the superhero girl in action, only met her once before her and Hopper and the Byers went back to California, but she seems to solve everyone's problems- it'll probably be resolved soon enough. It's just that the slight delay hasn't exactly steeled his nerves. Those little glimpses of the real Steve, even before this mess, before Eddie watched Chrissy die and got pulled into all of it, he'd seen the change. Working at the mall in a sailor suit, picking up the kids from Hellfire, dropping in to visit Max. Hell his last years of highschool were more keeping his head down than keeping it Kingly.

It made Eddie pay attention, and the week following the basketball game and Hellfire and Chrissy proved it even further.

It only took a week to feel like he really knows him now, knows who he is at his core. And he wants to see more.

When he turns back to the doorway, hands squeaky clean thank you very much, Steve is gone and he can hear him and Wayne talking in the kitchen. Rounding the corner he sees Steve sitting up on the counter with a cup of water held carefully in both hands and Mister Hobber on his lap, perched next to where Wayne is grating the cheese and giving him pieces to 'taste test' to 'make sure they're good'. It was little Eddie's job once upon a time as well, later he'll get to mix the noodles with the sauce, probably even sprinkle some of the cheese on top. It's a Wayne secret, that helping cook makes the food taste even better, and it always works.

Eddie watches until the dish goes into the oven, Wayne helping Steve hop down so he can run over and grab Eddie's sleeve.

"Uncle Wayne says we can play in your room until mac n'cheese!" And he's so excited about it all, already so different to how he was at his own house, and how he was the first few minutes after Wayne walked in the door. Less reserved in a way that Eddie can't help but smile at him, and let the excitement buoy his mood.

"Is that so? Well we better hop to it then." He says, watching Steve run in the direction he's pointed, rosey tinge of nostalgia still making it's home inside his chest as he shares a look with Wayne before following behind.

"What's that?" Steve asks, pointing at one of the posters on Eddie's wall.

"It's art from an album cover," Eddie answers.

"Why?" Steve has been asking a lot of questions since the grocery store where Eddie told him he can ask as many as he likes. He can't tell if Steve actually wants the answers or he's trying to see if Eddie will change his mind.

"Why is it on my wall?" He asks, and Steve nods. "I like that band."

"Why?"

"I like the music they play."

"But why?"

"They play really good music, so I want to have it so I can look at it all the time." Steve sits with that a moment, staring at the poster a beat like he's absorbing the information, before turning to another thing hanging on the wall.

"What's that?" Steve asks pointing at the hanging Corroded Coffin banner. Eddie smiles and shakes his head fondly, they're going to get through his entire wall really quickly this way, it's not yet as cluttered as his old one.

"You remember how I said I was in a band?" Steve nods at him, "well, that's the name of my band, it's a... well not a poster because it's fabric, a banner maybe? We made it."

"Why?"

"Why did we make it? Or why is it for our band?"

"What did you make it for?"

"Well, the guys in the band and me, we're friends and the band is something we do together, and we wanted something to immortalize the band, you know?" Steve looks like he very much does not know, so Eddie back tracks over his words in his head, "immortalize means making something remembered forever, we never want to forget the band and playing together, does that make sense?"

"Can we put Mister Hobber for on your wall?" Steve asks next, and it's not the question Eddie was expecting.

"I can, if you draw him for me?" he says, voice going up in question.

"No," Steve says, looking at Eddie like he's about a thousand steps behind, "we have to draw him together an' immortle him." And that's... pretty sound logic actually.

"Yeah, of course we can, we'll immortalize him for the wall together then."

"Kids," Wayne hollers from the other room, "dinner's ready." Steve makes a face.

"What's up buttercup, I thought you were excited for mac and cheese?"

"You're not a kid you're a bajillion years old." Steve says, confused.

"Hey," Eddie whines on a laugh, "I'm not that old, just older than you." He leads Steve out into the kitchen before continuing, just to make sure Wayne can hear when he adds: "Anyway if I'm a bajillion years old how old does that make Wayne?" Ignoring the look he knows Wayne is giving him and getting Steve set up at the table.

"Least two bajillion," Steve looks at Wayne with scrutiny, "maybe only one an' a half." Wayne barks out a laugh.

"Well thank you Steve, one and a half bajillion is better'n dead." Steve smiles big enough that he's showing off all his teeth, and Eddie can't help but be pleased that he's, so far, not screwing any of this up.

He doesn't know what anyone was complaining about, this looking after kids thing is a breeze.

Chapter 4

Notes:

Dividers were made by one of my lovely artists, Fucktacles, go check them out!

It's only six hours after Eddie finally gets to sleep that he's rudely awoken by banging on the trailer's front door. A glance at Steve shows he's still sleeping, sprawled over the bed horizontally with his head towards the wall, mouth hanging open and drool pooled below on the blanket and Mister Hobber both.

At least someone is getting a lie in.

From what he'd always heard about young kids they wake early? He'd been expecting to be poked awake with the sun to be honest, but yesterday was a long day. After dinner- and yes, the mac and cheese was a big hit, Uncle Wayne keeps his crown- they'd gone through a rough idea of what a bedtime routine should be, having a bath, brushing teeth, and reading through one of the library picture books, funny voices and all.

After the third read through of Frog and Toad Are Friends- at which point Eddie was about ready to hide the book under the bed til morning- Steve was out like a light, and Eddie explained everything that happened that morning to Wayne, the less fun revelations about Steve's parents, and the plan for supergirl to come save the day yet again. Not the quickest conversation, and Eddie got to bed a lot later than Steve did to say the least, where he warded off Steve's tiny kicking feet and jabbing elbows barely missing his stitches for an hour before he settled down like a log.

Eddie had originally meant to set up the cot bed for Steve at the end of his own, but well, his bed is big enough, and the way Steve had climbed up yelling 'sleep over' while wiggling his way under the covers like an excited puppy had killed that idea pretty fast. Even if Steve does sleep like he's doing gymnastics and fighting ninjas at the same time.

Leaving Steve to sleep a little longer, Eddie shuffles his way past the kitchen, scratching at his stomach as he goes. He startles a moment when he sees Wayne sitting in his recliner with the morning paper, entirely ignoring whoever is on the other side of the door.

"Leaving them o-" Eddie interrupts himself with a yawn, "on the porch?"

"Til they learn some manners, come calling round 'fore seven thirty, bangin' the door down." He raises an eyebrow, "pretty sure that's your circus an' monkeys out there Ed."

That's definitely one way to describe what he can now hear is Mike and Dustin by the yelling added to the thumping on the door.

"You're not wrong." Eddie walks to the door with silent steps, grabbing the handle and inhaling deeply, preparing. "WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING? ARE YOU TRYING TO WAKE THE WHOLE PARK?" he bellows, as he yanks the door open. It's incredibly satisfying the way the two boys scramble, jumping near out of their skin. Dustin heaves in a breath, hand to his chest and a low muttered 'son of a bitch' but it takes him all of two seconds to push past Eddie into the house.

"You can't cancel Hellfire," he says, before Eddie has even turned to face him, and he's not quite yelling yet, so Eddie takes a leaf out of Uncle Wayne's book and raises an eyebrow.

"Hi Eddie, hi Wayne, sorry for trying to break down your door, how are you both today?" He snarks when Dustin doesn't continue.

"Yeah yeah hi whatever, but really, Hellfire," Dustin emphasises. Mike elbows him, probably understanding Dustin's method is not going to produce results.

"Hi Mr Munson, sorry for being so loud," he says, watching Wayne fold his paper and place it on the coffee table.

"You're lucky you didn't wake the kid, or you'd've been in real trouble." He says, giving them the disappointed face that, god it still sets something in Eddie so contrite with no effort. Mike however seems less effected, scrunching his own face with displeasure.

"Is that why you cancelled Hellfire? Because of Steve?" Mike asks, looking back at Eddie. "Can't Nancy take him or something?"

"He's staying with me and Wayne for the week, it's just one session-"

"Just one session? When Lucas was gonna miss 'just one session' it was the end of the world and he was a traitor, but Steve doesn't even need to be there during it, we can still all play!"

"No, Dustin, look I was wrong for- I shouldn't have done that. It was spectacularly shitty of me to not move the game for Lucas and make him miss the finale, it was shitty of you all to skip his championship game, it was shitty of me to replace him with his sister." He rattles off, "all of it, just shitty all the way down."

"You said a bad word," comes Steve's sleepy voice, and Eddie winces, he probably woke him up when he opened the door yelling.

"That he did, should we get out the soap for breakfast?" Wayne asks him, cutting off the rest of the conversation.

"Mm mm." Steve says with a shake of his head, fingers back in his mouth again and Mister Hobber clutched against his chest, noticing Dustin and Mike for the first time.

"I suppose we can let him off with a warnin' this time. You like your eggs scrambled?" He asks, walking Steve toward the kitchen. It's a bold strategy- ignoring the existence of Dustin and Mike's argument and continuing on with the morning- Eddie is curious to see if it works, especially when he throws a "You kids eat?" Over his shoulder at a slightly slack jawed Dustin and Mike.

"Uh, I could eat? Thank you Mr. Munson," Dustin says, snapping out of it and finding his manners. "Geez, I forgot how little he was," he adds to Eddie and Mike.

Uncle Wayne makes enough scrambled eggs to feed a whole army, Steve sitting up on the counter kicking his legs while he watches sleepily, flinching when the toast pops while his eyes are dipping closed.

"Can we at least discuss Hellfire? Like adults?" Mike asks.

"If you were one," Eddie snorts, "but it's not happening dude, I'm not changing my mind. It's at least a quarter of our day spent on the session, and I'm not prepared anyway."

"I don't believe that for a second." Dustin insists.

"Oh no, looks like we aren't playing next week either, wanna add a third? Rocks fall everyone dies? How about two levels of exhaustion each?" Both boys keep their mouths wisely shut, "see, that wasn't hard was it?"

"Alright, enough of that, let's eat." Wayne says, making up five plates and gesturing at the table. "Don't dawdle, Mack is dropping by with those old night stands from his garage and you boys can help me bring them inside."

"Us? But what about him?" Dustin points his fork at Eddie.

"Ah but I am injured, my poor stomach, alas I shall have to supervise you all with my deputy here from a safe distance! What a shame, Right Steve?" Steve, for his part, is entirely ignoring them all- concentrating on scooping up eggs and dropping half of them every time he brings the fork off the plate, poor Mister Hobber catching stray bits of egg to the head- "...or maybe I'm on my own."

They finish up their meal, a sharp toot of the horn out front alerting them to Mack's arrival, Uncle Wayne heading outside. The boys don't bring up Helfire again for a while, but Eddie can practically see the gears turning in Dustin's head.

"What if Steve plays? Maybe he'd have fun and then we could make him play when he's big again as well." And that would be a good tactic, Eddie does want to see Steve sitting at his dnd table, but the kind of game that would be fun for Tiny Steve probably wouldn't keep everyone else all that entertained. Not that Eddie minds that much at this point, it'd serve them right for pushing the issue, a room full of strangers just doesn't seem like Steve's current idea of a good time.

"He can't keep up when he's an adult," Mike snorts, "what makes you think he'd be smart enough as a baby."

"Mike!"

"Sorry," he shrugs, not looking apologetic at all.

Steve slides off his chair and stomps over to the couch, climbing up to sit with his little arms crossed, ignoring them pointedly.

"God you're both little shits sometimes you know that?"

"Me? What did I do?" Dustin protests, at the same time Wayne calls Eddie's name from outside.

"Just, both of you play nice for two minutes, I'll be just outside." He jumps down the trailer steps, past their apparently newly donated furniture and over to where Wayne is talking to Mack through his truck window. Mack's wife is in the passenger seat, apparently she's been meaning to talk to Eddie, 'always knew he was innocent because he wouldn't hurt a nice girl like Chrissy', that her 'whole book club agrees what happened was just awful! Truly!' And then she hands him a few tupperwares and a baking dish, all full of god knows what, from herself and her book club friends.

It's... baffling, and nice to know he supposes, that he has the backing of yet more middle aged women of Hawkins. It does however take him a few minutes longer than he thought it would before he's sent back inside with a cheery wave and a promise to visit to pick up the dishes.

Apparently five minutes were five too many, because when he opens the door to send the boys out to help Wayne, Steve's poking mournfully at a sad wet pile of plushie on the ground, tangle of limbs creating a puddle of water on the linoleum.

"They drown-ed him," he croaks, and it's then Eddie notices the stuffing coming from where the loosely attached leg once hung. Hopefully Steve doesn't.

"Its okay, frogs like to swim remember? I bet Mister Hobber is a great swimmer, so how about you grab me a towel from the bathroom bud? And we can dry him off." As soon as Steve is out of earshot he scoops up Mister Hobber and pushes the bit of stuffing back into the seam, and turns to Dustin and Mike. "You want to tell me where his other leg is?" He hisses, pointing at the toy.

And look it might be his fault, just partially, that he hadn't repaired the stitches sooner, but it's not like he'd expected it to take an apparently violent bath. Steve was so careful with it, and he'd been clutching it in his sleep the night before and Eddie didn't have the heart to sneak it away.

"Calm down, we just washed it in the sink, it had sauce and egg on it." Dustin says, like Eddie- like Eddie is being silly or something, and it simultaneously pushes all of Eddie's buttons, "We were just trying to help." He adds, and Eddie takes the two steps to the sink, hiding the liberated limb behind Mister Hobber's big round body where Steve won't see it, whirling back around towards the two boys.

"You didn't need to drench the whole-" he cuts himself off with a forceful sigh through his nose, he is measured, he is patient. "Okay. I'm not giving you a pass, but at least you're an only child, do you do this kind of shit to Holly, Mike?" He knows Mike must not, Nancy would eat him alive if he even thought about it.

"It's just a toy," Mike starts, and Dustin is making agreeing noises and opening his mouth, but Eddie holds up a hand to silence them. He might be reacting a little harshly, but Eddie can't help thinking about this being the only toy Steve has right now, how attached to it he's been since the very first second he saw it, how he seemed so suspicious of getting to pick it out himself and name it and then actually take it home.

"You are both going to watch cartoons with Steve and keep him distracted for fifteen minutes so I can fix this before- oh hey, yeah that's exactly what we needed, good job buddy!" Steve is dragging one of the big towels, one of the ones he'd practically disappeared in last night when Eddie'd wrapped him up after his bath, behind himself into the kitchen. "Okay, let's get you set up on the couch with some Scooby Doo while I get Mister Hobber all dry huh?"

"Mister Hopper? Like Hopper-Hopper?" Dustin asks.

"His name is Mister Hobber," Steve says, that ever adorable hint of duh lacing his voice- if grumpier than usual- and Eddie is ready to hop in- pun intended- if Dustin tries to correct him.

"Okay whatever, let's just get this over with so we can talk about Hellfire," Mike interrupts, and hobbing around lives another day.

Eddie gets them all set up on the couch, leveling Dustin and Mike with a stern look- and wow did he never think he'd be giving the kids the stern dad look, that's supposed to be Steve's job- before going to hide away in the bathroom with a hairdryer to dry out Mister Hobber so he can sew his leg back on. It's risky in that he can't hear anything over the noise, but Eddie can remember more than one toy he took outside to 'swim' as a child that got... gross inside.

The distinguished Mister Hobber deserves better.

When he turns off the hairdryer, it's suspiciously quiet outside the bathroom, but Eddie is on a mission, pulling the kit from under the sink and grabbing out a needle and thread.

"You gonna doctor him?" Steve asks from somewhere very close behind Eddie, startling him out of his skin.

"Hey what are you doing in here?" Eddie asks, "you scared the bajesus out of me."

"What's bah jesus?" Steve asks in return, and then Dustin comes skidding into the doorway.

"Sorry! Sorry! Robin's here, and I let her in, and she was telling us about a phonecall with El, and we turned around for a second and then he was gone." He does actually look contrite, so Eddie will give him a pass this time.

"I mean that's what, at least 0 for 2 at the child minding, but there's nothing to do about it now. We'll be out in a minute, let Robin know for me?"

"No, no that's- it's okay, Robin is helping Wayne, and Mike and I are gonna go. We shouldn't have pushed, Steve comes first this week, you're right. Sorry." And what a lovely turn around that is, though it does make Eddie slightly worried about what Robin's phone call with El entailed. "And you too Steve, sorry."

"Appreciate it kid, I'll see you in a few days?" Eddie says, mostly a dismissal because Steve is starting to rifle through their little first aid kit he'd left open on the floor, not aknowledging Dustin at all.

"Yeah, or maybe- mom might have some of my old toys Steve could have? At least for the week? He probably needs some stuff right?" Dustin looks uncharacteristically bashful, "I could bring some stuff by tomorrow?"

"Sounds good Dustin, thank you," Eddie can't help but smile, Dustin smiling in return with a nod before heading out. Steve didn't say a word to him, pulling bandaids out of the tin and lining them up on the floor. "You know... it's not nice to ignore people."

"He drown-ed Mister Hobber," Steve says simply. And well, who's Eddie to argue with such a valid grudge, he'll probably thaw to Dustin tomorrow when he drops by anyway. And for now it's not all that important, with Steve seeming curious about fixing Mister Hobber's leg, Eddie leans into it.

"Fair enough, alright nurse Stevie, you ready to help me operate on the patient?" Steve gets a determined look on his face, 'mhmm'ing while he pushes the kit towards Eddie and then patting Mister Hobber where he lays on the ground.

Eddie stitches him up nicely, you can't even tell there was a tear when he's done, leg securely in place and stitches hidden. All that work on his battle jacket definitely paid off.

"Okay, all done!" Eddie holds him up so Steve can inspect him, wiggles him around a little to make his arms and legs swing around. "See? All better."

"Nu uh, he needs a plaster first for the ouch then we gotta kiss it better." Steve says, and Eddie fights a smile to nod seriously.

"Oh of course, how could I forget the most important bits?" Eddie watches Steve pick one of the bandaids with intense scrutiny, holding it out for him to open and then taking it back to carefully stick just under one pink embroidered cheek. Eddie can't help but notice it's nowhere near the original injury, but he's not going to criticise, especially when Steve follows it up by kissing Mister Hobber right between his beady eyes and looking at Eddie expectantly until he does the same

"All better?" Eddie asks, letting Steve pull the stuffie into his own arms.

"All better," Steve agrees, hugging Mister Hobber to his chest with a big grin.

Eddie can't help but agree.

Chapter 5: Run boy run! The sun will be guiding you

Notes:

The dividers in this chapter were made by the lovely Fucktacles, go say hi and tell them what you think!

Chapter title from Run boy run by Woodkid

Robin stays a while after Wayne leaves for work, thrown off by Steve being Not Steve, awkward when he's not comfortable around her even though he's usually the most comfortable around her, but stays all the same.

"He's not my Steve, you know?" She says, "and I think I'm just... making it worse? I'm anxious and it makes him anxious, but it's so weird knowing everything about him but feeling like I know nothing at all."

And Eddie gets it, he feels like he understands who Steve is, but it's not going to translate into wrong footedness the same way Robin mentioning something Big Steve should know has, or the jarring way Tiny Steve doesn't know her in return, doesn't trust her.

They do however draw together in comfortable silence for a while, and when Robin folds a tiny sailor hat out of paper for Mister Hobber to wear Steve lights up considerably, won over.

"I should tell you about the call with El," Robin says eventually, and Eddie nods his head towards Steve with a questioning look. "He was there for some of it at his house and he seems to not care? I don't know, Dustin tried to explain it to him in case he was just in a younger body with his normal everything else. He didn't really get it, but I don't think he's paying much attention now?"

He's really not, Eddie had taken the chance while Robin was drawing with him to make him up a little plate of ants on a log and carrots and string cheese. He's not paying them any mind, too busy swapping his focus between eating, drawing, and cartoons, humming a little under his breath as he goes.

"El's going to come back sooner, I know they said they were waiting until next weekend, but..." Eddie tries not to feel a pang of loss, he knows this isn't permanent, he's known that this whole time, and he wouldn't want it to be. He'll still miss this, though, this stolen time. "She did her freaky mind palace void thing to try and look for Big Steve from a distance, Hopper was so mad, but she's a little worried if he's like this too long either he'll start dreaming his memories, or get stuck like this." Eddie winces, they need Big Steve back, and Tiny Steve dreaming up Big Steve's memories? Disaster. Torture? Monsters? Being almost beaten to death? Being eaten alive by bats? Yeah, no. Not conducive to sleeping through the night or having a good time when you wake up after as an adult. As a child? He'd be traumatised.

"They should have been on the first plane out here anyway, if it was Nancy, or you, or one of the kids, they probably would have been."

"I wish I could say you were wrong." She shakes her head, annoyed, "Steve has always dealt with the after of the Upside Down stuff alone. At least the stuff after Starcourt I could check in, but that was actual real life torture by regular humans, and I was the only one. He just went home. After Billy too, after every time he almost dies. He just goes home alone to an empty house."

"Why does it feel like the party motto is 'Steve can handle it'? The point of having so many people to have your back is you don't have to."

"Yeah well, even this time. I got stuck at home with my parents watching my every move for three days after I last saw him, I know he checked on everyone, but I don't think anyone would have noticed he was tiny for a while if I didn't go looking for him myself."

"Nah, I would have been there a day or two later at most, grand plans of pestering and all." He watches Steve for a moment, he's settled on his stomach with paper in front of him and crayons scattered around, comfortable. "Anyway, he's stuck with me and Wayne now, has been since the boat house. Or well, since the hospital for Wayne, stood there looking ten seconds from falling over, but still reading Powell the riot act for wanting to handcuff me to my hospital bed, Wayne was ready to adopt him on the spot."

"Yeah but... he can't adopt him, that'd be weird for you, right?" Robin says, and it feels like she's being careful with her words.

"Huh?"

"Well, you definitely don't want him to be your brother if the way you were staring at his tits on the boat was anything to go by." She laughs, and then gasps and covers her mouth, eyes darting to Steve. He's laying flat next to the coffee table now, no longer scribbling on the paper in front of him, might even be asleep by the loose limbed sprawl he has going on but Eddie can't see his face to confirm.

"He's not listening," Eddie waves away, he's not too worried about what Robin thinks she knows, she's not subtle at all- if you don't want to be clocked you probably shouldn't draw boobs on your shoes, at least- but she is Steve's best friend, so Eddie still needs to tread at least a little bit carefully. "I wouldn't want him as a brother no, do you think... would he want that? Brothers?"

The way Robin is looking at him, evaluating, calculating, like there's some sort of test he needs to pass. Waiting under that penetrating gaze is more terrifying than he expected it to be.

"No, I don't think brothers would suit him either." Her expression clears up, less harsh, "it's not like he doesn't have a type," she snorts. Ah, so they're dispensing with the code.

"You're scarier than I gave you credit for Birdie, Nancy with a sawn-off, that's one thing, but-"

"Yeah," she interrupts, drawing it out, and examining her chipped nail polish, "knowing if you break his heart I'll rip off something you're very attached to with great prejudice usually does that to a guy." Her eyes cut back to his, "he may be a dingus, but he's my dingus."

"Jesus christ. Alright, don't worry I'll refrain from doing anything that requires you ever needing to come near my junk. For all our sakes." Eddie says, with an exaggerated shudder.

"You do that. I really don't want to even know your junk exists at all, I think we both lose in that scenario, but, soulmate and all." She waves a hand to encompass what Eddie guesses is their weirdo twin telepathy bond they have going on.

"What a generous sacrifice," Eddie deadpans.

"Anyway, we got off topic, El, coming back, she said three days at most instead of a week, but she's gotta fight Joyce and Hopper on it. As far as they're concerned Steve is safe and being looked after, so she shouldn't miss any of her first week back at school after spring break." Robin rolls her eyes, and Eddie fights to keep his expression neutral, he's not judging, he is not a judgemental person. Okay he's not a judgemental person most of- some of the time. "I don't think she wanted to go back to school in California at all, she definitely didn't want to leave Max, but Hopper and Joyce are suddenly all super involved in their kid's business and trying to be engaged parents or whatever. Or well, Hopper probably always was, he seems like a hardass kinda dad from what everyone said, and he was 'dead' there for a while. But Joyce has been more involved with her kids. Or well not kids, Jon stayed here. This is all feeling very judgey and off topic, it's just A Lot, you know? Capital A captial L. Maybe I'm holding a bit of a grudge about some of the stuff I wasn't around for on other people's behalf." Her head drops onto the back of the couch. "Is that unfair of me?"

"No? Maybe? But is it entirely unwarranted?" Eddie may have only gotten the crib sheet version of the last three years- and a lot of stories retold by Dustin that sound exaggerated and glossed over in turn in all the wrong places- but he does know that Hopper was dead, and Joyce left. "I mean, packing up your kids and moving across the country when you're the only actual adult around who knows about all of the Upside Down stuff seems. Mm." Eddie shakes his head, "I can't imagine not telling Wayne, or what I would have done if I didn't, you know? What does Dustin's mom think? Lucas and Erica's parents? It's... difficult."

"I think... I think that's why I'm so mad at her. She left." Robin says, voice gone small and quiet. "I got pulled into all of it, it was terrifying, I'm still in highschool, and I thought 'at least there's an adult around who knows what's going on' and then. She left, packed up her kids and went before Starcourt finished smouldering. And we weren't her responsibility, I do get that it wasn't fair to expect her to shoulder that, but. Steve became our Default Adult. Steve shouldered that, all the traumatised kids and teens. And I don't think that was fair either." She brings her hands up to her face, wipes at her eyes. "And now, he's a kid, and they're still gone, and they're not hurrying back, because Will and El need to go to a school they hate, away from all their friends who understand everything they've just gone through again."

Eddie doesn't... he doesn't know what to say to all that that isn't 'yeah fuck'em' and Robin seems to be taking a beat to compose herself, so he lets his knee bump hers, a silent 'I'm here' until she's ready.

"What if Vecna isn't actually dead?" She continues, unaware of how it spikes Eddie's heart rate straight into heart attack range. "Because how else is Steve suddenly lile that? What if tomorrow the world starts splitting open, and people start dying, and the kids are in danger, and they're still gone like always and Steve is still a kid? What do we even do?" She raises her hands up, lets them fall back onto the couch cushions, immediately starts picking at a loose thread. "Is that selfish to be worried about? That Steve won't be here to make it all feel. Doable."

"No, I don't think so. I mean, you guys have been through this shit so many times, and he's always been around." Eddie sighs, "when I said he's had me since the boathouse... Dustin was there spitting things at me a mile a minute, telling me magic and monsters and alternate dimensions were real, and it was terrifying. But then I'd look at Steve, and he looked so in control of it all, he'd nod or explain things or clap a hand on my shoulder, and it just felt. Doable, like you said. Less dire."

"So then what do we do?"

"It's different this time, there's more of us, I'm pretty great at it now, practically a veteran." The look she's giving him is so dry and unimpressed, he can't help but laugh a little. "I dunno, we have a Wayne this time, that's gotta count for something."

"You know what, that does make me feel better. At least we have a Wayne."

"Yeah, he's pretty great." They lapse into silence a moment when Steve stirs, rolling over towards the legs of the coffee table. They hear a little 'thunk' a moment later, and then an even littler 'ouch', but then he just... stays there? Goes back to sleep?

One look at Robin has Eddie pressing both lips between his teeth to not lose his shit laughing, because that'd definitely wake him up, and she's not fairing much better. They sit there on the couch silently giggling until it peters out, feeling like a release of all the pent up nerves and aggravation their conversation had caused, the air calm again.

"How does he just? I don't understand children, not the tiny ones. I don't have siblings or baby cousins or anything to judge it off of, are they all just like that?" Robin asks.

"Oh I have so many stories I can tell you about yesterday, kids are weird. And easier than I was expecting? And also harder? I don't know what I'm doing." Robin chuckles at him at that, a little 'pfft' sound at the end.

"You're really good with him. You took charge so easy, it was- you picked what was best for him within ten minutes of walking into that house when we all panicked for like an hour." She socks him on the arm, "you did good, Munson, A+ crisis work."

"See? Like I said, practically a veteran." Eddie says, and she shakes her head, but this time it's fond. He'll take it.

"I should head out," she says, slowly standing, "parents are still freaked out and all.. hey, you think he'll notice if I take this?" She picks up one of Steve's drawings, Mister Hobber with a little sailor hat, "it's Scoops A'Hobber."

"That was terrible, get out of my house." He herds her towards the door, and she surprised him by clinging on for a fast but rib breaking hug before she jumps her way down the steps, leaving him standing there with his arms still awkwardly half hovering.

"Seeya Birdie," he calls after her, waiting until she's on her bike and out of sight before he closes the door.

That codependance in a crisis he was thinking about earlier? It doesn't feel like it anymore, instead it feels like maybe he and Robin are actually friends now. He's much happier about it than he thought he'd be.

"Alrighty kiddo, time for me to skedaddle, if you're good for Uncle Wayne I'll bring you back a treat." Steve's lip wobbles dangerously, but he rallies quickly to hide it away, turning around and thumping his way into Eddie's room without a word. "Well that could have gone better."

Steve had napped for a while longer after Robin left, until the early afternoon, when he'd woken up, they'd had lunch, and Eddie had played him a few songs on his acoustic until Wayne got home. A nice and relaxed afternoon.

So of course Wayne decided maybe a tantrum was in order? Eddie may be being a tad ungenerous with that interpretation, but he's not saying it out loud so he can think what he wants.

"I'm thinkin' it was pretty good all things considered, you ain't been away from the kid more'n fifteen minutes since this whole thing started." Eddie hadn't realised until Wayne had tried to gently suggest he get out of the house earlier. So far it's just been a fun but eventful two days, but Wayne's probably right. Though it's probably Eddie's own fault for telling him El would try to come home sooner.

That Tiny Steve might be gone sooner.

That Robin thought hell was about to break loose again, magic and evil wizards and curses and earthquakes and monsters and and and all the anxiety it caused as he rotated it in his mind during the quiet moments.

So now he has to 'go out' and 'see a friend' and 'stop worrying about looking after someone else for an hour or two to decompress'. Pfft.

And okay that makes sense, but Eddie doesn't want to leave, doesn't want to miss any time in his last few days with Tiny Steve.

"Look," Wayne says, clearly reading Eddie's expression well. "We're gonna have ourselves a nice evenin' watchin' a movie, an' eatin' one of those casseroles the nice book club ladies made, and you're gonna leave the house for two. hours. That's nothin'. You've been cooped up, he's not goin' anywhere right this second, you need a break an' a bit of normal. Go." And looking at Wayne, Eddie thinks he maybe detects a hint of worry there that Eddie is getting too attached.

He doesn't need to worry about that though, Eddie will be just as attached at the hip with Big Steve, if he's willing. He's very aware that this is just... fun bonus time where he gets to understand Steve a little more. As a treat.

So, going to visit Jeff for two hours. It'll be fine, a great idea even. Jeff is Eddie's best friend and he doesn't know about the Upside Down, which means Eddie doesn't have to talk about it at all for the next few hours.

So that's what he does. He drives to Jeff's house, Jeff picks up immediately that he's a bit stuck in his head- practically as soon as he opens the door- and it feels great to feel so known. They put a record on low, order a pizza, and Jeff goads Eddie into talking about the pros and cons of the new monk subclass released in the latest Dragon magazine because he knows it gets Eddie fired up, even if they've already talked about it half a dozen times.

All in all it's two hours well spent, and Wayne was right, he feels like he's taken a full exhale for the first time since the kids arrived banging the trailer door down in the morning.

But he's ready to go home.

"You're a lifesaver Jeff, I owe you a quality smoke sesh soon," he says out tha van window, taking it out of park.

"Damn right you do, now get out of here," he pats the side of the van. "Just- remember you can talk to me about it. When you're ready."

And what did he ever do to deserve a best friend like Jeff.

"I think I will be, soon, just..." Eddie trails off.

"Yeah, yeah, not right now," he starts walking backwards towards his house, turning to the door and heading inside but not before adding a yelled: "tell my favorite Munson I said hi!"

The little shit.

It feels almost peaceful while Eddie drives home, music blaring, windows down. Somehow, thankfully, mercifully, he feels ready to take on the next few days, whatever comes.

Chapter 6

Notes:

The art in this chapter is by Fucktacles (the lovely dividers) and RavenCL (Eddie, Steve, and Mister Hobber) please go check them out, I'm in love with everything they made for the bang!

Eddie isn't spying, okay? It's just that Steve is sitting on the floor playing with Mister Hobber- early morning light filtering through the curtains enough to see by for the most part- and it's so cute. He must have been at it a while, even though he's still wearing one of Eddie's t-shirts as a nightgown, voice an attempt at a whisper that's more akin to the stage whisper Eddie would put on in the campaign to still be heard.

"I am going to do a ske-tattle on you-" followed by a higher pitched, "no don't ske-tattle, I got you a whole mac an' cheese Mister Hobber I promise." And then, "you should have got that before you stoled my cowboy hat parder, stick'm up!"

Suddenly it becomes obvious that Wayne put on one of his westerns last night while Eddie was out.

When Eddie had gotten home the night before Steve had still been upset with him- even the reeses pieces he'd picked up as a treat when he'd stopped to fill up the van hadn't been accepted, instead pushed back across the coffee table toward him with a huff and a tiny scowl, crossed arms and all- it'd taken a promise of four more readings of 'Frog and Toad Are friends' before bed to get Steve to stop pouting.

Eddie might have been played for a fool there.

Mister Hobber is currently being walked across the floor in an exaggerated gait, Steve making little pshh noises with each 'step' to mimic what Eddie assumes is the jangle of boot spurs.

"Where's my pony? Time to catch varmits!" His volume has been slowly increasing, still not loud enough to actually wake Eddie on a normal day, but Steve gasps anyway and slowly turns to peer over the edge of the matress, catching Eddie before he can close his eyes and feign sleep. He hiccups another gasp, ducking down beside the bed like he needs a moment to think.

And then it's not Steve's little face that appears next over the matress, no, instead Eddie is treated to Mister Hobber's round unsettlingly beady little eyes staring into his soul.

"Ribbit."

Eddie presses his lips together to hold back the laugh that almost bursts out of him.

"Well good day to you too, Mister Hobber, have you seen Steve this morning? I swear he was around here somewhere." Mister Hobber disappears down beside the bed again, Steve's chastising face popping up to replace it.

"You're not s'posed to swear, 'member?"

"Are you gonna tattle on me to Wayne? He might get the soap out." It's a toss up, Eddie thinks, because all Steve had talked about- when he'd finally stopped ignoring Eddie last night- was how they 'hung up Wayne's hats on the wall, and Wayne even let him pick which hat went where, and how Wayne likes horses, did you know he likes horses Eddie?'

The crayon horse drawings Steve made for Wayne are nightmare abomination creatures. Eddie loves them, Wayne put them on the fridge.

Thankfully this time is a victory in Eddie's apparent favor, Steve agrees to keep his secret for now as long as he 'pinky swears no more swears'.

Eddie graciously does not point out that pinky swearing is also a type of swear.

Wayne's not around when Eddie's finished getting Steve dressed and hair brushed and face washed ready for the day, a note on the whiteboard on the side of the fridge that simply says 'back soon -Wayne'. Very descriptive. It had started because of Wayne's night shifts- hard to know if Eddie would be home when he got back, or before he left, especially once he'd gotten his license and the van- it helps them keep track of each other at least. Or it does, when the messages aren't vague.

Breakfast made and cartoons on, Steve is sufficiently occupied so Eddie can call around for updates, going straight for Robin since she was the one El called last time.

There aren't any. He's not sure how he feels about it, continually flipping between kind of happy he gets just a little more time with Steve like this, and disappointed that he's waiting longer for Big Steve to be back.

He's been thinking about it, and he wonders if Steve will even remember any of this, if he'll have these memories of playing pretend and Mister Hobber and cooking with Wayne. Eddie hopes he does, hopes these memories can be a nice bright spot in a childhood Eddie has learned was otherwise quite lonely. How would it even work if he does remember? Will he remember these memories happening as if they happened this week? Or will they slot into his four year old self's memories as if they were always there? But how does that work for his actual memories of this time when he was a kid? Will they be overwritten, and he'll lose other memories replaced by these instead? Or maybe they'll be seperate entirely, like some sort of alternate reality movie? Or-

"Can we go play outside?" Steve asks, interrupting Eddie's impending self inflicted headache.

"Sure thing bud, let's wait just a little bit to see if Wayne gets home first. Maybe we can make a picnic out of it or something," he replies. He really should check Wayne's work schedule for the next few days, "does that sound fun?"

"Like Yogi?" And okay Eddie may have taken inspiration for the days activities from some of the morning cartoons, sue him.

"Well, not exactly, we should probably make our own picnic basket instead of stealing one." Eddie says, "but yes, like Yogi."

"And BooBoo," Steve adds.

"And Boo-Boo," Eddie agrees.

"Okay!" Steve scurries back over to the table, paper already out and waiting, looks like Eddie is making the basket up himself then.

It doesn't take long for Wayne to get home, plastic bag in hand and a questioning look at everything Eddie has spread out over the kitchen counter.

"Picnic, you?" Eddie asks, gesturing at the bag with the spoon in his hand.

"Ah. Well, I thought since you mentioned we ain't gonna be doin' this much longer..." there's a pause, Wayne fidgeting with the bag uncharacteristically before emptying it onto the counter. Three disposable cameras. "I thought when- if he might like the chance to see 'em, when he's big again. An' if not, well they seemed worth havin'."

Wayne's not looking at him, instead past him at the fridge, plastered with drawings from these last few days of the three of them, of Mister Hobber, of things Steve realised they like and then wanted to give to them. Guitars and horses and cowboys, and mugs and caps and a skull with a ridiculously unanitomical smiley little mouth, and a silly green squiggly flower because Wayne had said he 'works at the plant' and Steve had said he liked playing in the garden too. And and and.

Eddie planned on keeping them all, maybe showing Steve later, maybe not, he hasn't decided yet. Wayne's right that Steve might not want to remember all of this, Eddie knows he might not remember it at all, can't imagine the loss of time and knowing you were relying on everyone around you without knowing. The vulnerability of it all especially with people he, if Eddie is honest, barely knew before all of this.

Steve might not want to think about any of that.

It would be nice, though, if he did.

"Good call," Eddie says, let's Wayne's own moment of vulnerability pass by uncommented on, knows he's enjoyed having a kid around again and would like the memories too.

Eddie finishes packing up their little picnic- last of the sandwiches made and packed away with all the cut up fruits and vegetables into what admittedly is a bag not a basket but, close enough- and the three of them head out into the woods surrounding the trailer park.

Not far, especially not right now while things are a bit uncertain with the whole 'is Vecna really dead, maybe there are monsters lurking around every corner, or some other new fresh horror that awaits' thing, just far enough that there's plenty to fascinate a small child.

Eddie had been worried Steve might get a little bored, that when he asked to play outside he meant throwing a ball around or something, which isn't a thing Eddie of all people has on hand. But no, Steve is busy running a zig zag path ahead of them, from tree to tree, from rock to flower to stick, the latter of which he picks up to brandish as a sword as he continues ahead.

Wayne pulls one of the cameras out, had given another to Eddie before they'd left that's currently shoved into his back pocket, and snaps a few pictures of Steve frolicking around in the woods and sword fighting trees and defeating invisible opponents. Eddie leaves them to it, laying out the blanket he'd almost forgotten to bring and flopping down onto it dramatically, closing his eyes and letting the sun warm him.

Eventually Steve and Wayne make their way back over, Eddie opening his eyes just in time to see Steve sprawl down next to him, slightly out of breath.

"Did you know we're in a for real whole forest? It goes on forever!" He says, little legs kicking up a moment, tapping the tips of hs shoes together before letting them flop back down. "There's prob'ly bears in here, and a witch in a hut, and a whole big frog pond with frogs the size of a big... a big horse."

"Not a little horse?" Eddie asks.

"Mm-mm not little horses, 'specially not the teeeny tiny ones," he holds up a hand, a finger and thumb held with barely any space between them. "They're so tiny they got to um- they got to live in pet zoos, or people can't find them."

"That makes sense, if they're so tiny they must be really good at hiding." Eddie hears the click and wind of the camera, can't help but smile.

"Mmhm, real good," Steve agrees, "that's why big horses, because they're big frogs, not little frogs."

"Right, but what do the big frogs eat? Are there giant bugs as well?" An intense look of concentration takes over Steve's face at the question, and it takes him a moment to answer.

"Nah they prob'ly eat leftover kids from the witches hut," he says, like that isn't an insane thing to say.

"They- what? The witch eats children?" Eddie says, trying to figure out where that one came from.

"Yeah cause they try to eat her candy house," he says, matter of fact. And ah, right, Hansel and Gretel, "it's not nice to eat someone's house." Eddie's not sure that's the moral kids are supposed to take from that story, that if you eat someone's house they're given free reign to eat you back, totally fine.

"Why don't the witch and frogs eat candy instead?" Eddie asks, because that seems like the logical solution here really, he'd always wondered as a kid why you'd bother luring children into the forest- which, how often would children even be coming across the house? it doesn't sound like a very sustainable method of feeding yourself all things considered, very limited food supply- when you could make that much candy anyway.

"Frogs can't eat candy, their tummy would hurt." Steve says, like it's obvious.

"And the witch? She has to eat the children too?"

"Well 'cause then she'd have no house, you wouldn't eat your house 'cause then you'd have no house no more."

"He's got you there Ed," Wayne chimes in, pulling out the container of cut up carrot sticks and putting it down between the two of them.

"Ganged up on, by my own flesh and blood," Eddie sighs dramatically, crunching down on a carrot stick. "I suppose I shall concede defeat."

They stay laying there a while, looking up and finding shapes in the clouds and making up stories about them until it's time for lunch, sandwiches and fruit disappearing leaving behind sticky fingers and crumb covered cheeks.

Eddie's relishing in a calm lazy day, in what he's hoping will be fond memories for Steve. And then it's time to make their way back, Steve flagging entirely so Wayne carrys him, sleepy head nodding onto his shoulder more and more with every step. Eddie makes sure to take a photo of them as well.

The closer they get to the trailer, the more he starts to get a feeling in his gut, a sinking feeling that something is coming, something much less nice than a calm lazy day.

Steve is settled down for a nap.

Wayne and Eddie unpack another box.

Robin calls, El will be here tomorrow.

Chapter 7

Notes:

Dividers in this chapter are by the lovely Fucktacles

The day El is due to arrive itself arrives with little fanfare, lightly raining with an overcast sky. Eddie is... not entirely sure how he's feeling.

Anticipating something going wrong, mostly, or some kind of fight kicking off with Zombie Vecna crawling out the ceiling or something equally messed up for them to deal with next.

He can tell Wayne is restless as well, he'd called out of work for today and tomorrow just in case, and both of them being somewhat unsettled has left Steve slightly off kilter as well. He watches them a lot, picking up on the tension even though they're both doing their best to keep a lid on it around him.

Everyone's going to meet up at the Harrington house in the afternoon, Eddie had been tempted to get everyone to come here to the trailer- where Steve would be the most comfortable- but they really don't have the room to host what will likely end up being more than ten people cramming in.

And also a little bit that they don't need their new trailer to be the site of an interdimensional superhero fight. Just a little bit though.

They'd spent the morning the same as they had any other day, breakfast, cartoons, drawing. Steve really likes drawing.

It's approaching lunch time when they tell him about their afternoon plans, Eddie hadn't realised how much of a miscalculation that would be. See up until this point Steve has been pretty easy going, even when he was upset with someone he was more likely to ignore them or leave whatever room they were in. So Eddie didn't expect the complete meltdown.

"We're gonna go back to your house after lunch okay? Just for a little while to see everyone." Eddie says, casually and unaware he's seconds from disaster.

"No," Steve says, immediate, firm, scooching a little further from Eddie where they were having a nice time colouring together.

"Steve we have to, just for a visit, okay?"

"NO." Steve yells.

"We have a friend coming over that wants to see you," Eddie tries.

"I don't WANNA," Steve screams, and Eddie has never seen him like this in the last few days, this worked up.

"Steve, sometimes we have to-"

Steve promptly bursts into tears.

Not tears silently streaking down his cheeks, not just hiccoughing sobs, full on wailing tears.

Well shit.

"What? Steve, wh-"

"Y-you- wanna- take m-me back." It's that last completely coherent thing he says, the kind of teary snotty crying with heaving breaths and gasps interrupting every other word.

Eddie realises quite sudddenly that Steve hasn't mentioned going home once since he's been here. That he never asked where his parents were or when they'd be back, and Eddie hadn't really given it any thought.

"Hey Steve no, our friend El is visiting, she only knows how to get to your house so we have to go see her there." He tries, because 'she's gonna turn you big again' probably isn't going to make Steve feel better. Wayne's watching from the kitchen, had been making food but is now instead paused looking like he's not sure if he should intervene. Eddie doesn't want to, but he lies, "we'll come right back here after, back home okay? You're not going anywhere, we're not- we're not gonna leave you there we'll come right back home."

"P-promise?" Steve asks, big watery eyes and quivering bottom lip, and man is he breaking Eddie's heart.

"Yeah, oh yeah bud I promise, it's okay." Eddie catches Steve as he practically throws himself into a hug, clutches him tight and looks up at Wayne to share a rueful look. This doesn't feel good at all.

Their last few hours at home pass with an air of finality, Steve clinging to Eddie's side less than a step away the entire time. He's not hungry, he doesn't want to play, he doesn't want to draw or read. Instead, he just wants to sit on the couch in between Eddie and Wayne, Mister Hobber on his lap while he slumps into Eddie's side and the TV plays in the background. It's torture. Which, considering someone in the room actually has been tortured Eddie probably shouldn't phrase it like that, but this being Tiny Steve's last memory of their home isn't what he wanted at all.

Before they leave the trailer, Steve insists Mister Hobber stay at home, tucked into bed waiting for when they get back because 'he's tired'. Eddie thinks Steve just wants some kind of insurance, that if Mister Hobber is here Steve will have to be coming back as well.

They start loading up into the van and truck, Wayne pointing out they don't know how many vehicles they'll need if everything goes south again, and before Eddie can lift Steve inside he asks: "I can stay?" Like he's trying to bargain for one last story before bed or an extra cookie. God Eddie feels like a monster today.

"Everything is going to be okay," Eddie deflects, trying to inject as much confidence as he can into his voice, even though he doesn't feel it. "Anyway, you'll be back soon." He doesn't mention that the 'you' is adult Steve, their Steve, instead lifting Tiny Steve up into the van when he finally acquiesces and lifts his arms.

The drive over passes too quickly, and when they arrive there's already multiple cars parked outside and bikes scattered on the lawn, heralding a very full house.

The three of them head in together, Steve clinging and hiding away in Eddie's neck just like he had in the grocery store when he was scared, it makes Eddie's heart hurt. Robin is the one to open the door, a questioning look at Steve's subdued mood.

"We maybe shouldn't have chosen here to do this," Eddie says.

"It was the only private place with enough space for everyone and nobody around who isn't already roped in to the whole fiasco." Robin says, though she does sound apologetic.

"Yeah, well..." he trails off, and she throws him a wry smile, Wayne walking past them to speak to the more 'adult' adults in the room. They get a few weird looks from the kids as they walk into the lounge where everyone is congregating, but it only takes a few warning looks from Eddie to ward everyone off.

There's an overwhelming amount of people, Max the only one missing because she's still in the hospital a while longer, but between the kids, the older teens, the adults. It's a lot, even with Argyle and Jonathan clearly high in a corner and Wayne distracting Hopper with small talk, and Robin trying not to be intrusive.

"Okay, now that everyone's here," Joyce starts after a moment, followed by glancing at Steve and doing a double take. "Should he be in here for this?"

"It's about him, he's fine," Eddie says with no room for disagreement. He needs to be here for this, and it's not like he can shove Steve in another room until they're don es discussing whatever this is.

"Alright... well, Jane is going to take a look, see what's going on and see if she can find Adult Steve, and then we can figure out what happened from there and what to do. We should-"

"I think I know already what happened," El interjects, turns to Robin when she asks "who was the one to kill Henry's Upside Down body, was it Steve?"

"Yeah, I lit him on fire, Nancy shot him out the window, we all went outside and Steve took the axe to him until the vines stopped moving, and then gave him a good few more to be sure."

"That is what I thought, I know what happened." She doesn't elaborate, and Eddie looks around to find out if anyone else thinks this is odd or? But no, apparently just him. "We need a room alone, in case the energy jumps again." She cups her two hands together, let's them come apart like an explosion and then back together quickly.

"So it... rebounded? When he got the killing blow?" Eddie says, starting to understand.

"Yes, Henry was holding the Upside Down hivemind together, all the vines and monsters at once, he fled back to his body when I destroyed him in Max's mind. Then he died in the Upside down as well, and everything he was controlling, all the power came back to his body when he died, to bring him back."

"So he's alive?" Will asks, sounding small, hand rubbing at the back of his neck. "I haven't felt anything."

"He is dead."

"How?" Mike asks, looking confused as Eddie now.

"Robin said Steve hit him with an axe-"

"No you said that but then all the energy rushed back you said to bring him back, so is he- is he an undead now?" Dustin asks, gesticulating enough to rival Eddie himself.

"No he is dead dead." El says plainly, and that's not enough words for Eddie to follow the thought process here.

"He hit him with the axe. A lot. Not just once," Nancy says, "whatever energy was coming back to do something apparently didn't give Vecna enough time to even open his eyes before Steve swung again."

"Yes, exactly," El says, "then it had to go somewhere."

"So it went... into Steve?" Lucas says.

"He was the closest."

"Right, makes sense, but-"

"Alright," Joyce says, clapping her hands together like a school teacher trying to control a class. "If we know what happened, we need to plan where we go from here, Vecna is dead, will Steve just age normally now if someone looks after him?"

"I can go find him, I have looked already but I was too far."

"Isn't that dangerous? Last time with Max you pushed yourself too far-"

"I would do it again." El says stubbornly, Joyce exchanging a look with Hopper before he takes over.

"I know you would, but if it's dangerous, and he's okay like this, then..." Hopper trails off and the room is still for a moment before the kids all start yelling over each other when they realise what he's implying.

"Okay like this? Okay like this?"

"You can't just leave him like that!"

"How can you say that!"

"You just don't care!"

"We don't leave people behind!"

Eddie wants to join them in the yelling honestly, but he's too busy focusing on Steve and the way he tensed at all the yelling. Running a soothing hand down his back he turns them further away from the kids, taking a few steps back so he can still watch but not upset Steve further. Besides, he knows Robin will handle things.

"HEY," Hopper says sharply when they show no sign of stopping. "Not an option, I hear you. But it has to be as safe as we can make it."

"It is no more unsafe than anything else I have done." El says, with what Eddie is learning is her usual placid cadence.

"That's not very reassuring, kid." Hopper says, pinching his nose, like he's fighting a headache. Eddie thinks, a little spitefully, that he might deserve one.

"It was not meant to be." Kid has some sass. "Now everyone should get out, just me and Steve." Hopper hesitates, all of the kids hesitate, it's Robin that manages to get everyone moving.

"Well? You heard Supergirl, everyone out she needs room to work, let's move it." She points everyone to the kitchen door, watches them all file into the smaller space before following and closing it behind her with one last meaningful look to Eddie.

He's not quite sure how to do this, Steve has practically fused himself to Eddie's side, and he's certainly not going to make him let go, so...

"Hey Stevie, I need you to do something for me okay?" He feels Steve shake his head against his neck. "It's important, and look, everyone is gone except you, me, and El." Steve does look, his grip doesn't loosen but he let's his head pull back enough that he can confirm they're mostly alone.

"Hello again Steve," El looks to Eddie, "the couch is fine." She sits on the coffee table in front of the couch, apparently a long way from the tvs and blindfolds and water baths Dustin had mentioned.

"Okay, I need you to sit here with El for me, just for a little bit, can you do that?" Eddie sits with him instead of trying to put him down, lets him slip onto the couch, tiny hands coming up to grab his arm and hold on.

"Don't go," Steve says, but it's quiet and resigned and not at all like he actually expects Eddie to listen.

"El, please, can I just-"

"It is not safe." She shakes her head, and Eddie can tell she'd let him if she thought it'd be okay. He closes his eyes, squeezes them shut for a second to gather some kind of resolve, before looking back to Steve.

"I'll be right behind that door over there, and I'll be right back. I'm not leaving you here Steve, I promise, we've got so many more adventures to go on together." He doesn't look convinced, and Eddie can't even blame him- he already knows once he walks out that door this Steve will be gone, and he's made his peace with that, is looking forward to having big Steve back- but he nods. "Here, take this," Eddie pulls off one of his rings, the big skull that'd made Steve draw one for him the other day, puts it in his hand and curls his fingers around it. "You hold onto this for me, and I'll come and get it back from you in a few minutes? Yeah? It's collateral."

"Coladderall," Steve repeats, nods, clutches the ring to his chest in both hands as he lets go of Eddie completely.

Eddie stands but gives himself a moment longer, gives into the impulse to kiss Steve on the fluffy untamable mess of his hair, says a silent thankyou and goodbye. Then he walks out the door.

"You good?" Robin asks him after he's joined them. Wayne's waiting for him too, conversation with Hopper abandoned to listen in.

"I am," Eddie says, and he means it, "it was time you know? Tiny Steve is a really great little guy, but I wouldn't trade them forever." Robin smiles at him, Wayne gives him a nod- like he's satisfied for now, though Eddie knows he won't escape at least one proper conversation- and then the room starts to feel off, everyone going silent at once.

A bending pressure- like when you drive too high up into the mountains and your ears want to pop- a groan and a shudder from the house as if it's straining along with it, and then as suddenly as it came its gone.

"Is that it?" Dustin asks, just in time to hear the distinct sound of two bodily thuds against the walls.

"WAIT, wait, just wait one second." Robin says, slipping through the door and closing it behind her. There's about a three second pause before Hopper starts going for the door, Eddie beating him to it and going through first.

The scene they come upon is, thankfully, not as dire as Eddie was imagining. El is sitting against the wall opposite the couch- now overturned- as if she'd hit it and slid down, she's casually wiping a frankly frightening amount of blood from under her nose but seems otherwise unharmed and unbothered. Across from her is Steve- Actual Steve and not four year old Steve- in the same position, though Robin has barely finished covering him with a blanket as they all barge in.

Right, makes sense that if his clothes didn't shrink, they also wouldn't grow.

He looks... less casual about things than El, more disoriented, which Eddie supposes makes sense, especially when all the kids start surrounding him. It's where Eddie wants to be, but he isn't sure yet what Steve remembers, isn't sure of his welcome.

"I'm going to choose to believe that you didn't get an eye full." Hopper says to El as he checks her over.

El merely smiles smugly.

"That was SO anticlimactic though. Nothing cool even happened, we basically all got together for nothing." Dustin complains, and Eddie just. Resists the urge to do more than roll his eyes, there's a Hellfire game next week, Eddie can be patient. He has to be, let's everyone take their turn crowding Steve and talking at him- he hasn't even gotten up from the floor- until Wayne is the one to get everyone's attention this time with a shrill whistle, lowering his fingers from his mouth and waiting a beat to make sure all the kids are looking at him.

"I'm thinkin' Steve is pretty tired after all of that, maybe we should head out an' give him some peace an' quiet." It's phrased as a suggestion, but his voice tells Eddie isn't one, and if the naked relief on Steve's face is anything to go by he appreciates it being said. "I can give a few of you a ride, who wants to come with? Let's get movin'."

Everyone else leaves one by one, wishing Steve well as they're on their way and then it's over. It's done again, another Upside Down debacle survived with little fanfare.

And now it's... kind of awkward, Eddie's not sure what to do.

"I'm gonna go take a shower," Steve says to break the silence, one hand on the wall to get himself upright, the other firmly holding the blanket around himself. The wound around his neck is back in startling colour, Eddie had forgotten how bad it looked after not seeing it for the week, it's funny now thinking about how obvious it would have been when he was freaking out over nothing.

"Steve, we need to take you-

"Robs." He cuts her off sharply, "later, please." Steve looks at Eddie then, but his expression is unreadable, Eddie doesn't know what he's thinking.

"I'm glad you're okay man," Eddie offers, kicks himself internally.

"Thanks, Eddie." He's still looking at him with that same inscruitable look, it makes Eddie want to peer inside his head and see what's going on. "I'm just gonna," he points at the ceiling, shuffling a little before disappearing toward the stairs.

"Well that was awkward, man," Robin says, which is great, just lovely really, means Steve noticed it as well.

"Yeah yeah, I'll sort my shit out I just needed a second." Decides to choose violence, in revenge, "I mean he was standing there naked under a blanket Robin, did you expect me to focus?"

"Ew. I didn't need to think about that, I already had to see it." Robin says, disgusted look on her face.

"Lucky," Eddie says with a dreamy sigh, hoping to make it worse.

"Nope! Nope, no more of that. Ew," she shoves him in the shoulder, laughing at him more than anything. "Anyway, Steve's probably going to be up there a while, he looked ready to drop, he'll probably sleep right after, I don't think he'll come back down?"

"Oh... I was going to stay? Maybe make him some food, make sure he's okay?" Because he doesn't think today is the right day for any big conversations, but it'd still be good to know where they stand, to make sure Steve doesn't totally hate Eddie for stealing him away to the trailer in the first place.

"Don't worry about it, I've got him from here." Robin says, not quite dismissive but definitely waving him away.

"What?" Eddie's stomach drops,

"Kid Steve was your specialty, Big Steve is mine," Robin says, not completely blocking his path if he'd want to stay but the intent is there. "Let me take care of this and make sure he's all looked after, and I'm sure he'll come find you when he's had time to process, okay?"

"If- if you think that's what he'd want?"

"Eddie you just spent most of the week looking after him, you should go get some rest too, I know he'd want that at least." And that all sounds reasonable enough really, that there's nothing he can say to argue against it without sounding... crazy.

"Yeah, yeah okay." Eddie nods, kind of hates the idea actually, but what else is he going to do?

He goes home.

Chapter 8

Notes:

Remember the art throughout this fic, the banner, the dividers, were all made by two wonderful artists I was teamed up with, Fucktacles and RavenCL. Please go check out their work, it was absolutely wonderful being teamed up and working together with the both of them and they deserve all the love.

Steve is avoiding him. It's been a whole week and he's gone from seeing Steve every day to not seeing him at all. Even before the whole turned into a child by an evil mind wizard thing he saw Steve almost every day since the boat house. It doesn't feel great.

He misses looking after Tiny Steve too, not in the same way he's been missing regular Steve but, missing it all the same. And it wouldn't be this bad if Steve wasn't entirely gone.

Cornering Steve at home didn't work, his car was almost always gone, even at night, it was starting to get a little concerning. If Robin hadn't confirmed she'd seen him at least once every day Eddie would be losing it a little. Okay maybe he is still losing it a little. Because if Robin has seen Steve that means he's definitely avoiding Eddie, and Eddie needs to know why.

It's like a constant itch at the back of his mind where he goes around in circles until he's catastrophized in the most spectacular fashion.

Does Steve not want to see Eddie because of something he did while Steve was a kid? Did he remember everything? Did Eddie do something he shouldn't have or cross some line he didn't know existed? Should Eddie have not brought Steve to the trailer at all? Or maybe Steve would have preferred someone else look after him?

Eddie doesn't know.

And he can't apologise if Steve won't even be in the same room as him.

At least it's not just him though, most of the kids haven't seen Steve since the day he was turned back more than once- definitely a reduction from pre Tiny Steve where he was driving them around most days- and neither have the rest of the more adultier members of their little Scooby Gang.

And all Robin will say about it is 'I'm sure you'll see him soon' which is easy for her to say as the only person who actually has seen him.

Eddie can't even casually stalk him into family video, apparently suddenly dissappearing for a while without a call or excuse is grounds for termination, especially when it's for almost two weeks when you include Eddie's week on the run. Who knew.

Wayne has been no help. Wayne says to call him. When that doesn't work, Wayne says to give him some time, that it must be a lot to process.

Wayne says to be patient.

A. Whole. Week.

So Eddie maybe... does something a little questionable, a little... crazy. But nobody could expect him not to after seven whole days so. It's Steve's own fault.

And anyway, is it breaking into a house if he doesn't actually break anything?

He lets himself in, is what he does. At six thirty in the morning, because he's not letting Steve avoid him for another day even if he has to stay here until midnight. Steve's car is still not in the driveway like it usually would be, but when he'd been circling the place for the easiest window Eddie had noticed way more garages than any house needed.

He sits down at the kitchen counter- figures Steve will go there first when he wakes up- because going upstairs and checking if he's sleeping while he's unaware, that feels like a step too far. Patience is a virtue blah blah blah he can wait for Steve to wake up and come downstairs on his own.

He doesn't want to be creepy is the thing, breaking and entering aside, because if Steve's problem is that he crossed some kind of boundary then... well.

It's not long before he starts hearing Steve shuffling around above him, and then footsteps as he makes his way downstairs, so Eddie prepares. He turns himself in his seat, facing the door with an elbow casually resting on the countertop, chin in hand. He is casual. He is so relaxed and normal. This was such a bad idea.

"Holy fuck!" Steve jumps about a foot in the air, back bumping into the doorway with a hiss and a low 'jesus christ', hand coming up to his chest like he's calming his own heart. His lower stomach has two of those hospital sized dressings covering where Eddie knows the bat bites are, he can only see them because Steve is wearing sweatpants with nothing else, and they ride low on his waist, peek of his happy trail visible between them.

"Hi," Eddie says cheerily, when he's able to draw his eyes back up to Steve's face, because in for a penny and all.

"What are you doing here at six in the morning, how did you even get in?"

"It's closer to seven now, actually. And... I have my ways." Because Eddie is nothing if not a man of mystery.

"I need to move the hide-a-key," Steve says under his breath, shaking his head, looking reluctantly amused.

"You have a hide-a-key? That would have been useful before-"

"Eddie. Why are you here?" Steve asks again.

"You've been avoiding me, so I took matters into my own hands." He answers.

"No I haven't, I've just been... busy?" Steve doesn't even sound convinced by Steve.

"You don't answer your phone or answer your door, your car is hidden, Robin won't talk about it. Ergo, you're avoiding me."

"Oh, 'ergo' sure." Steve doesn't even look at him when he says it, starting the coffee pot and putting bread in the toaster. With his back to him Eddie can see two more dressings covering his shoulderblades.

"Steve, can you just tell me what I did, it's been eating me alive all week, if I did something just tell me. Put me out of my misery." He lets his head slide down onto the counter, watching Steve continue to move around the kitchen out the corner of his eye.

It takes a minute, but Steve puts a plate and mug down, slides them across in front of Eddie, sits with his own.

"The first few days I just wasn't up to seeing anyone. Robin made me go get all the-" he waves a hand to encompass the bat bites and road rash on his back and whatever else Eddie can't see, "checked out at the hospital. Probably a good thing too, they were a little... infected." He takes a bite of his toast, peanut butter, but he gave Eddie jam. So he must remember at least a few things.

"And then after those first few days?" Eddie asks.

"I don't know, Eddie, it's not- it's not like you did something bad, okay?"

"Then what is it like? Because Steve I've been losing my mind about it for days! Seven of them!"

"I was just embarrassed I guess, it's nothing." He's being too casual about it, a forced casualness as he finishes off his toast in two big bites and downs his coffee. Eddie has barely touched his.

"About what?" Because Eddie can't think of anything beyond regular kid stuff really, nothing he'd look back at and think 'aw man, I should hide from Eddie for a whole week'. No, he's not ready to let that go.

"Uh how about you guys having to look after me? For days? Come on Eddie, you were there." He says it like some foregone conclusion, and it rankles.

"Yeah I was there, we looked after you, so what?" And maybe he shouldn't have been flippant about it, because Steve's eyes narrow as soon as the last two words leave his mouth.

"So what? It's embarrassing is what." Steve says, and he's starting to get all worked up about it. "You realise that you and Wayne had to like, bathe me and- and help me go to the bathroom? And that I was too scared to sleep by myself so I just kept climbing into your bed, and I cried over everything! Yelling, a stuffed animal, and you leaving the house. Just about every minor inconvenience that came my way, like a clingy baby, and I was just dumped on you to look after."

"You were a baby. Like quite literally you were a baby, Steve, that's what young kids do."

"You think Dustin acted like a tiny pod person any time an adult was in a room when he was a baby? I didn't want anyone to know, and now everyone knows, and the kids kept bringing stuff up about how weird of a kid I was or making fun of me for crying over a toy or whatever and it's- I can't deal with it right now."

"Okay first of all Dustin always acts like a pod person, that's his entire personality, have you seen that kid around Ted Wheeler? It's like he's never interacted with a human before, I thought Ted was going to-" he cuts himself off, "not the point, the point is, the kids are assholes and I get that, avoid away, I'll even help you. But that doesn't explain why you're avoiding me."

"You're not gonna drop this are you? Fuck it, you wanna know why? Fine. You liked kid Steve, not that I understand why but you did. And now he's gone and I'm here instead. And fucking- Mike said that he- that they all liked me better when I was a child," fucking Mike indeed, goddamn it. "And he was just joking, probably, trying to be funny in that asshole way of his but I just- I've been thinking about that. A lot."

"Steve, Mike is full of shit." Eddie starts, and then stops because he has no idea what else is going to come out of his mouth. How does he reassure Steve that he likes him better as he is now, without making it sound like looking after him as a child was the burden he also seems to worry it was? "I wantedto look after you when you were a kid, you were never dumped on me at all, none of them even considered me as an option I just showed up. I had a choice and I made it," he emphasises. "I kind of planned on stealing you actually if anyone else tried to stop me? So I wasn't stuck with you or whatever you keep imagining, I even planned how to fight Robin the whole drive over and you know she fights dirty she goes straight for hair pulling."

"It's the only way she can win," Steve says absently, "but that's what I mean. You left, Eddie, after El changed me back, and I thought maybe kid me was..." Steve's eyes are so big and sad, Eddie just wants to fix it. "Well he was gone, and then you left so." Jesus christ has this been a misunderstanding this whole time? Did Eddie spend a week spinning out because of Robin?

"Steve, if your soulmate and I duel with pistols at dawn, theoretically how upset would you be?"

"What?" Steve asks, and at least the look of utter confusion is better than the puppy dog eyes for Eddie's sanity.

"I only left because Robin told me to, was pretty insistent about it actually. Look I- I'm not saying any of this right but I wanted you around because it was you Steve. Nothing against the others but if a single one of them was in the same position I... well, you have to have figured out by now it's different for me, when it's you."

"I don't... Eddie, you thought I was an asshole like three weeks ago."

"No Steve, I thought you were an asshole two years ago, and I thought you were attractive long before that. Do you know how embarrassing that was? Being such a cliche stereotype, the nerdy outcast crushing on the popular jock? My own friends bullied me mercilessly, Jeff still hasn't let it go, it's been years." Steve's just watching him, lips slightly pursed, not unconvinced but Eddie has never been one to not lay it on thick as he makes his voice turn deadly serious before adding: "I went to basketball games Steve. Plural."

That does get a laugh, just one bark of a thing, Steve's hands coming up to cover his whole face for a moment before he lets them drop.

"You're so-" he finishes with a gesture, and Eddie's not quite sure what it means but it doesn't look bad so he'll take it.

"Handsome? I know, it's a curse," he tries.

"Irritating. Insane." Steve says, deadpan, "but for some reason, I'm very into it."

"Well, I find you intriguing, and I know you might not want to hear it, but I learned a lot about you these last few days."

"What? That I'm needy and I can't draw horses?" Steve says lightly.

"Okay yeah you really can't draw horses, those things were awful, I'm talking nightmare fuel, worse than the bats-"

"Okay asshole-"

"I learned that you're very thoughtful, and curious, and kind. And that you really like ants on a log, which I gotta say Steve, very weird of you," he teases, and Steve scoffs but it's good natured. "You were a lonelier kid that I realised you could be, and that was me being a bit blind, but I know better now. And you like frogs. Possibly also think canibalism is okay in retaliation for candy theft," he adds to keep things lighter, earning him a smile and a shake of Steve's head. "I learned a lot from Robin as well, he adds.

"Oh god." Steve says, rolling his eyes and slumping further into his seat.

"Nothing bad, just extra words to add, reliable, dependable, protective, stuff like that." Because he'd known some of it from the story as a whole, that Steve had been there, but not how far that went. Kind of wants to kiss him about it, but it doesn't feel like the right time.

"See why doesn't she says those things to my face?" Steve complains, "all I get is Dingus this, loser that. Unfair." His face sobers, a weighted pause before he says, "I don't know, Eddie, I don't think- I mean I was a kid."

"How much do you remember?" Eddie asks.

"Not everything, but a lot of it at times," Steve says. "It's all kind of a big blur with bits standing out here and there, and then I'll see something or smell something or whatever, and a whole memory will hit me." He hesitates, "Wayne let me help cook?" Eddie nods, "and you- you read me a book, a lot."

"You kind of insisted on that one, I had to bribe you with it when-"

"When you left the house," Steve finishes for him.

"Yeah. Wayne and I took some photos, that last day or two, if you want to see them?" Eddie says, and Steve hesitates, so he adds: "I know Wayne would like to see you either way."

"Haven't I bothered you both enough for a while?" And it's probably meant to be funny, but.

"Are you kidding? Wayne was happy to have a kid around again. And I just told you how I felt about it," Eddie says, poking Steve in the chest- oh, hello chest hair, good morning to you- and huh, when did they get so close, he could swear they started this practically across the kitchen from each other.

"You might have to tell me a few more times before I believe it." And Steve is, his eyes flick down to Eddie's mouth, and he really wants to- but he has more to say first.

"Hmm, I think I can do that. But really Steve, Wayne misses you as well."

"You mean he misses the kid version of me." Steve says, matter of fact, and Eddie wants to shake him, just a tiny bit.

"A little, maybe, but, pretty sure he also missed yells at the police and bars them from Eddie's hospital room Steve too. Helps us get settled into our house Steve. Saved Hawkins while keeping his nephew alive Steve. That Steve guy's pretty great you know, only took him a week of running around after me to become irreplaceable."

"Okay, okay, I get the point." Steve says, rolling his eyes.

"Debatable," Eddie says with a hum, letting himself lean in this time,"but I'll let it slide for now, if you're not gonna disappear for another week."

"I guess I can't." Steve concedes. "You know, I remember you telling me we've got more adventures to go on together, did you mean that?"

"So many actually, I said 'so many adventures'," Eddie corrects, feeling a little giddy with it.

And then Steve leans back.

"You know, I was about to ask you out by asking if you wanted to go on one of those adventures, but I've changed my mind. No adventures for you." He's looking at Eddie like he's baffled and Eddie loves it because he looks entirely pleased about it as well.

"Aw what nooo, come on, here ask me again about what you remember me telling you, I'll be good." He settles back into his seat, gives an exaggerated little wiggle. Waits.

It takes less than a second for Steve to reel him closer, pulling his chair in by hooking his ankle around it- and are those bandages on his god damn foot? Why does he- and then they're kissing.

Eddie can't lie and say it's everything he thought it would be, past Eddie's expectations have been thoroughly blown out of the water, and then Steve guides his head slightly tilted with a hand in his hair and. Wow. Wow. They're doing this again, preferably many more times in many more locations, and-

Steve pulls away, looking to the side with an ear tilted more towards the lounge. He looks a little perplexed, but Eddie's too busy feeling kiss drunk to pay attention.

Eventually Steve shakes his head, though it seems to be more at himself than anything, so Eddie makes a questioning noise. Good job Eddie.

"The house, it's nothing it's just been settling funny since last week, a lot of new creaks and noises when I was used to all the old creaks and noises. It's always quiet enough to hear them all, it used to drive me crazy. I just have to get used to it again I guess."

"I know this is a huge nice house and all so feel free to tell me to fuck off, but it sort of seems like you hate it here dude." Eddie says, prompting a wry chuckle.

"I do hate this house. A lot. It never felt like home in the way people describe it, always just a place I live, and it's been so much worse since everything went back to normal because now I know what home is actually supposed to feel like." And that just warms Eddie's heart, makes his chest feel full with it.

"Then come home," Eddie says before he can realise how insane that sounds. He blames the kiss, this is the kiss' fault for sure.

"Are you asking me to move in with you before a first date?"

"No?" Eddie says, sounding very unconvinced by Eddie. "Well I mean, I did already give you a ring?"

"Collateral," Steve laughs at him, and it's beautiful, nothing like the tiny giggle he'd grown used to.

Spending time with Tiny Steve was amazing, he learnt so much about what made Steve the person he is as an adult, and he got to hang out all day with such a fun little guy. His own revelations about how he maybe could actually be a good father some day instead of turning out like his own father aside, looking after Steve had been- he'll treasure those memories, but, and it's a big but.

Eddie wouldn't trade this version of Steve, this Steve that is somehow illogically his match, this Steve that's apparently into every unhinged thing Eddie's done since the boathouse.

And Eddie has so many things he wants to show him from his second stint as a child, the photos, the drawings, wants to give him Mister Hobber, and tattoo one of those nightmare horses on his arm, and just. He also wants to take him out on dates, and write him songs, and introduce him properly to his friends, and see him wearing that stupid skull ring, and kiss him absolutely stupid among other things.

There's so much he wants to do.

And he can't believe Steve is going to give him a chance to do them.

Notes:

Eddie with kid Steve: aw whatcha got there buddy? Wow! What a cool drawing, you want a snack? I wanna pinch your little cheeks!

Eddie with adult Steve: BARK BARK BARK BARK

And that's a wrap!
Wild to finally have this whole fic out of my head and into the world.
If you stuck with me this long, THANKYOU! I really appreciate all of the love you've all shown this fic, I've been reading every comment and I promise I'll reply to them all when I have a chance.
Thanks again~

Notes:

A heartfelt thankyou to the amazing artists I'm teamed up with for this bang, seeing the adorable work they put in was so motivating for writing and finishing this fic that I've had kicking around in my head but never been able to get out onto the page.

I'm in awe of everything we created for this bang, from the full art pieces down to the banner and dividers that are all so perfectly on theme, I'm so beyond pleased and appreciative, they both really went above and beyond.

It was a pleasure to be teamed up together, and everyone reading this should go check out their tumblrs and ao3s and give them some love.

Fucktacles and RavenCL