"Hey Harrington," Eddie's voice stopped him in his tracks, "we should hangout some time."

Steve furrowed his brow. "We're hanging out right now."

He sighed. Looking at Steve like he was the dumbest person on the face on the planet, "I meant just us. Wanna get to know you without the kids meddling."

A massive smile made its way onto Steve's lips and he nodded eagerly, "okay. yeah. Just let me know when."

"I've got some free time tomorrow. We can chill at mine, maybe just watch a movie. Smoke a bit."

Steve nodded, "yeah. Is it cool if I come by around six?"

Eddie nodded and with that they continued walking silently. They spotted the group nearby and mentally prepared themselves for the berating they were about to get.

"Where were you two?" Nancy asked first, the look of worry leaving her face when she saw them walk over.

Dustin shook his head, "we've been looking for you two idiots for the last hour. Don't pull stupid shit like this again."

Steve rolled his eyes. Dustin was always extra dramatic, "watch your language."

Eddie reached out and ruffled Dustin's hair, earning an irritated groan in response. "calm down Henderson, Stevie and I just went to check out the house of horrors and lost track of time."

"Well next time let us know before you rush off together. These idiots thought you two got Vecna'd."

"He's dead, dumbass" Mike uttered.

Will looked between the two with a curious gaze before looking down and playing with the fair entry bracelet around his wrist. He trailed back as the group started walking to yet another ride. He watched Mike and El walk hand in hand, matching smiles on their faces.

"We should go on the ferris wheel" Mike spoke. "Its the perfect ride, plus Max can go on it too."

Everyone agreed and headed in that direction. They paid and got on, Will watching everyone else fill the seats. Dustin with Suzie, Lucas with Max, Robin with Vickie, Jonathan with Nancy, Argyle with Eden and Mike with El. The only three left was Steve, Eddie and him. A small frown covered his face when he realized he was alone.

Steve noticed Will's eyes lingering on Mike as he settled down beside El, throwing an arm over her shoulder and laughing at something she said. He knew that look anywhere. Jealousy.

Eddie nudged him slightly, "you should ride with Baby Byers. He looks like he could use some of that special babysitter charm you've got going. I'll go solo."

Steve nodded, ignoring the bit about the babysitter charm, even though it made his stomach flutter. He loved those kids and he was glad that Eddie accepted that side of him. So he walked over and tapped Will on the shoulder,"come on kiddo."

Will slid in and let out a soft breath when Steve joined him, "you don't have to do this... You can sit with Eddie"

Steve gave him a questioning glance, "I know I don't have to. I wanted to sit with you though. Eddie's a loud mouth and I've had to deal with his stupid complaints for the last hour."

Will laughed lightly at that, "do you like–"

He caught on to what the boy was asking and nodded nervously, "yeah I do... He doesn't know though."

They stayed quiet for a minute as the ferris wheel moved. Eventually Steve spoke up again, "it's okay you know — Liking boys."

Will's head snapped up at that, his eyes wide. "How did you know?"

"I've seen the way you look at Mike."

"Do you think he knows?" his voice was small.

Steve shook his head, "no. He's more dense than I am. When it comes to matters of the heart at least."

Will let out a sigh of relief, "thank goodness. He already doesn't want to hang out with me as is. Him knowing would probably ruin the little bit of friendship we still have."

"He won't hate you for it Will. It's not something you or I have any control over. You are who you are and you love who you love." he spoke softly, reaching over and squeezing Will's hand gently. "You never asked for any of this and you need to stop beating yourself up for feeling the way you do."

"It's just hard. Seeing them together everyday just reminds me of how much of a freak I am. I love El and I'd never want to hurt her, but seeing them together all the time... It just–" he stopped, getting a bit choked up. This was the first time he really spoke to someone about his feelings for Mike. "It's really hard."

Steve nodded, "yeah that must suck... It'll get better and you're not a freak. You're an amazing person Will."

"I'm not sure it will Steve. I love him and he loves my sister." he whispered, eyes brimming with tears.

"look Will, feelings are complicated. It's hard to understand it, but I know Mike cares for you."

Will sniffled, wiping at his eyes. "I hope you're right."

He gave him a soft smile, "Mike would be lucky to have you. Anyone would be happy to have you Will and I know one day you'll find that person who will love you the way you deserve."

"Thank you Steve" he gave him a side hug and sniffled lightly.

Steve hugged him back and ruffled his hair when they pulled away, "anytime kid. I'm always here if you need someone to talk to."

They spoke about some other random things for the rest of the ride. Will even started teasing Steve about his crush on Eddie and they both laughed about it. It was easy speaking to Will. The kid was wise and sweet, probably the most caring person in the group. It had been a while since they sat and spoke without having the stress of saving the world on their shoulders. It was fun.

It was exactly what both of them needed. It felt good to just talk about it, get some of their feelings off their chests.


Their night at the fair had gone by extremely well and now the kids were dragging themselves to their respective chauffeur cars. Exhaustion visible on all of their faces. It was great seeing the kids having fun again. Just pure, innocent fun. They deserved this more than anyone else, they deserved to just be kids.

Jonathan walked over to Steve while the others walked to their cars and stopped beside him. He cleared his throat, "thanks."

"For what?" Steve asked.

He nudged his head in Will's direction, "he's been down for a while now. Always in his head and I didn't know how to get him out of it, he said I wouldn't understand... But you– You got him to smile again. A real smile, and I don't know how you did it but I'm grateful. So thank you."

Steve felt his eyes well up a bit, he loved those kids so much and he would do anything for them. "You don't need to thank me for that. They mean a lot to me."

He nodded, "still. It means a lot."

"Well if he's ever having a shitty day again, I'm here to talk."

Jonathan smiled, "I'll keep that in mind. Night Steve."

He followed him towards the parking lot, "good night Jonathan."

Eddie walked up to him and raised a brow at him, "you okay Harrington? You look like you're a few minutes away from crying."

His tone was concerned and gentle, not a hint of teasing in it. He wanted Steve to know that he was there for him, genuinely.

Steve nodded, wiping at his eyes. "I'm good. Jonathan thanked me for talking to Will."

A smile tugged at Eddie's lips, "can see why. The kid looked ecstatic when you got off that ride. Not sure what you told him but it must have helped a ton."

"Wasn't that big of deal. Just a little conversation."

Eddie shrugged, "sometimes that's all you need."

There was a deeper meaning to Eddie's words and Steve knew it, but he wasn't going to push for answers. He had done enough digging in Eddie's life already.

Eddie stayed still for a while, just watching Steve. His eyes taking in every detail of his gorgeous face, every freckle. "You're very pretty, Stevie."

Steve's breath hitched. That was the very first time that being called pretty made him feel that good. Sure he liked it before but not like this. Not in a way that made his entire body shiver and his breathing stutter. Hearing Eddie call him pretty boy always made him blush, but that was usually just him teasing Steve. This didn't feel like teasing, it felt honest. Like a real admission. It felt amazing.

He knew that his face was burning red at this point, he always loved compliments. Now he wanted nothing more than to hear them from Eddie's lips every day.

It was pathetic. He was practically gagging for compliments from the other man. Whether they were teasing or not, he just wanted Eddie to keep calling him pretty.

Eddie felt his own face flush. He did not mean to say that out loud. Now Steve would think he was weird. He was such a fucking idiot.

"I need to go. Good night Harrington." he said, rushing off.

He wasn't ready to hear Steve turn him down yet. He would deal with the consequences of his loud mouth some other time. Right now he just needed to get away from Steve, being close to him for too long was clearly affecting his brain.

Steve watched Eddie rush away and let out a graon, "I'm so fucking stupid" he whispered. He didn't mean to freeze up. Now Eddie probably thought Steve hated him.

He sighed, watching Eddie's van pull out of the lot and drive off into the main road. His shoulders were slumped as he made his way back to his car shuffling into the drivers seat and checking on the kids in the back. They were knocked out.

Dustin was pressed up against the door, his head resting against the window. Lucas was positioned the same at the other door. Mike in the middle, head thrown back as loud breaths escaped his slightly opened lips. Nancy would be staying over at the Byers place so he offered to take Mike home.

Robin looked just as exhausted in the passenger seat, her eyes heavy as she fought back a yawn. Steve was too disappointed in himself to be tired, he had the perfect opportunity to flirt with Eddie and he screwed it up. Eddie would probably never speak to him again.

"What's wrong?" Robin asked. Her voice was quiet, not wanting to startle the children at the back.

Steve shrugged, "I'm so fucking dumb. Eddie probably thinks I hate him."

Robin raised a brow at him, "why would he think that?"

"He called me pretty and I kind of froze then he ran off." he sighed out.

"are you finally admitting that you have a crush on Eddie?" she teased.

Steve flushed again, "there's no point in denying, it."

"You don't have to hide it you know..." she started. "At least not from me or the party. Especially not from Eddie."

He shot her an incredulous look, "are you insane. Just because he's gay doesn't mean he's attracted to me."

Robin fought back a groan, "Steve that man is head over heels for you. He likes you. Everybody can see it. Plus I've never heard him calling anyone else pretty before."

"Well then why hasn't he said anything to me?"

She stayed still for a moment, thinking it over, "Steve you've only ever dated girls. You've never given a guy a second glance or mentioned anything about being interested in men romantically. He thinks you're straight... Even if he knows you won't hate crime him for being gay, he still doesn't know that you have feelings for him."

He mulled over her words, staying silent for the rest of the drive. She was right, he knew she was right about it, but how would he even tell Eddie about his crush without making a fool of himself. If Eddie didn't feel the same he'd have to leave Hawkins and never come back.

Yeah, he could never tell him. He would just suffer in silence and pine away for Eddie's love for the rest of his life. That was perfect. That was what he would do, it was his best bet.

He walked into his house after dropping everyone off and let out a heavy breath, "I'm so fucking screwed."


Eddie laid on his bed, staring up at the ceiling while his Metallica vinyl played softly. His mind was a mess, he was going insane.

Images of Steve's fucking pretty smile and his perfect hair and those gorgeous brown eyes were stuck in his head. He would give everything to be with Steve, to get to call him his boyfriend. It was stupid. Falling for a straight guy was the dumbest thing anyone could do. Especially if that man was Steve Harrington. He was a well known ladies man. A chick magnet.

He was utterly screwed. It was a harmless crush at first, just an attraction to Steve's gorgeous face and his amazing body. However all of that changed after the upside down. Seeing how brave and selfless Steve was. How he put himself in the line of danger for those he loved. How he gave his everything to protect those kids like they were his own. Seeing him get all flustered when Eddie called him big boy and leaned into his space. It was all to much and somewhere along the lines he realized that he had fallen in love with Steve.

He was in love with Steve and it scared the living shit out of him.

On top of all that shit, he finally came out to his uncle, who wasn't surprised at all. Apparently Eddie never bringing any girls home was the first sign to his uncle, and then he told Eddie that he saw him out at the hangout as he drove by while on his way to work. Eddie knew what Wayne was talking about. He had seen Eddie making out with some guy outside of the hangout, his nephew caging the guy in. He teased Eddie about it a bit before telling him that he loved him no matter what and that he didn't care about all that as long as Eddie didn't go around fucking anyone in front of him. Those were his exact words.

"I'm about to head in to work" Wayne said, leaning against his doorway. "why are ya staring a hole in the ceiling?"

Eddie shrugged. He trusted Wayne and knew he could tell him anything. He played with his rings, spinning them around his fingers.

Wayne moved into the room and sat on the edge of his bed, concern evident on his face. "Boy problems?"

"Yeah... Something along those lines."

"Well whoever it is, they'd be damn lucky to have you. You're a good kid Eddie. Doesn't matter what all these assholes say about ya. I know you and I know that you deserve someone great." he assured him.

Eddie gave him a weak smile. "He is great. S'just... He's straight and he's my friend. I didn't want it to happen but I fell in love with him and it sucks so fucking bad because he's perfect and accepting and everything I could ever want in boyfriend."

Wayne sighed. He hated seeing Eddie hurt, "can't control who we love kid. It's hard and it'll hurt but it'll blow over eventually and then you'll look back and laugh at this. Don't beat yourself up for loving him, there's nothing wrong with loving someone." he patted his shoulder, "now get your ass up and go eat something. There's some mac and cheese in the oven. I gotta go. Love you."

"Love you too, Wayne. Drive safe."


A/N

Me right now: Let's see how much gay suffering I can pack into this one.

I figured we needed a little Wayne Munson action and what better to bring him in than to have him comforting his sad gay nephew.

Also our boy Will has been going through it since season 1. My man needs to vent to someone, and who better than the best babysitter in Hawkins.

Anywho I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Don't forget to vote and comment.

bitches are losing hope out here. It's me. I'm bitches.

Also I'm a whore for encouragement.