Will didn't think that this night could get any worse. He knew about bad nights, the nights he spent in the Upside Down, the nights of panic and fear after being possessed by the Mindflayer and all of the tortured nights after that, yet, despite all of this, this night seemed to take the cake.

Max had nearly died. Dustin had nearly died. And Steve was losing his cool.

Not in a way similar to Lonnie losing his cool, but in a way similar to Will's mom. It was as if all of Steve's emotions, emotions that he held so tightly, hid from the world, was finally breaking through, all at the same time, leaving a shaking, sobbing mess behind.

Will wasn't sure if anyone noticed, but he did. From the backseat he watched as Steve's hands tightened around the steering wheel, his facial expression scrunching up and his eyes blinking rapidly, as if he was trying to push back tears. His chest heaved ever so slightly, with choked sobs or raw emotion Will didn't know.

Dustin opened his mouth, and Will shook his head rapidly, trying to tell him to stay quiet without saying a word at all. He knew that Steve wasn't in the mood to talk.

But Dustin didn't see him, and that was all it took for everything to get worse.

"Steve, about Jason一"

"Don't!" Steve yelled, raising his voice like never before, "Just be quiet, Dustin! What were you thinking? I told you to stay back!"

Dustin seemed to melt into his seat at the words, his eyes wide. "Steve, I一"

"No! I'm talking right now, Dustin! You could've died! You would've died if I wasn't there!"

"But you were!" Dustin yelled back. "You were there so I knew that I would be safe!"

"That shouldn't matter! You listen to me in situations like this, okay? I might not have been able to reach you on time! I can't bring people back from the dead, Dustin!"

Lucas and Max's eyes were wide, and Will had no doubt that his was, too. Steve had never blown up like this. Ever. Something was so, so wrong.

The dam was breaking, and Steve appeared to be caught right in the rush of water.

"I had it handled Dustin! I had it handled! Now who knows what's going to happen? They know about my powers now, and I'll be shocked if they don't hunt me with pitchforks!"

Tears began falling out of Steve's eyes, and he pulled to the side of the road, putting the car in park. He seemed to have trouble breathing, and he wrapped his stomach with his arms, gagging.

Dustin put his hand on his shoulder. "Steve? Are一are you okay?"

Steve took in a shaky breath. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, I 一shouldn't've…I…"

He threw open his door, getting caught on his seatbelt that he quickly escaped from, stumbled to the ground and heaved, crying and puking at the same time. Will rushed outside, shocked by the cold weather and Steve's reaction, but knew that he needed to help. So often Steve had been there for them, now it was time for Will to return the favor.

Will leaned down onto the street beside Steve, rubbing his back reassuringly and pulling Steve's hair away from his smell of vomit reached his nose, yet Will didn't back away.

"Let it out, Steve, just let it out. You're okay. We're okay."

Steve's whole body shook, his eyes wide and panicked, and Will distantly wondered when he had cried this hard last. When he had last felt so much pain. When he had been so scared.

Steve began to pitch forward, and Will held him up, muttering reassurances that he hoped would help the older teen.

Eventually Dustin joined them outside, helping hold Steve up as he cried. Dustin's own eyes shined with tears, and Will was sure that Dustin was scared for Steve, too.

Will didn't know how long they all sat together, holding Steve until he could do it himself. Steve had stopped puking after a while, and had pressed his hands to his mouth, his eyes squeezed tightly shut as more tears escaped.

"I'm sorry." Steve gasped out, his voice no louder than a whisper. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay." Dustin said, matching Steve's tone. "I should've listened to you."

"I just…I thought that you were gonna die. I thought that you were gonna die. If that happened, I…I…"

"It won't happen." Will said softly. "We protect everyone. But we'll be more careful from here on out."

Dustin nodded. "Yeah. Yeah, of course. I promise."

The three of them fell into an easy silence until the last of Steve's tears had dried. Will gently pulled Steve up into a hug, holding the older teen for as long as he felt Steve needed. Steve melted into the embrace, gripping Will with a strong yet comforting grip. When Steve pulled away he gave Will a grateful look before taking off Dustin's hat and ruffling his hair fondly.

"Thank you, guys. I…I don't know what came over me. I was a jerk and…not the best babysitter."

"Okay, first off, you're not a jerk. I deserved that." Dustin said, counting on his fingers. "And second, who told you it wasn't okay to cry? You should, after everything that happened. It just shocked us."

Will nodded in agreement. "It's okay to feel things, Steve. You don't have to be strong all of the time."

Steve managed a smile. "Thanks. I think I needed to hear that. Since when did you guys get so smart?"

Dustin scoffed. "I was always this smart."

Steve chuckled. "And Will's always been Will the Wise, right?"

Will smiled. "Yeah, I guess."

A metal clang filled the air, and the three looked over to see Lucas step out of the car, shutting the door behind him, holding the walkie talkie.

"Hey, guys? Sorry to interrupt, but I got a call from Mike. We're meeting the rest of the gang at the Wheeler's house."

Steve nodded, collapsing his hands together. Will could see the leadership in Steve that they all looked up to come back into his eyes, the sadness nearly gone, but not completely.

"Alright, then that's where we'll go. Boys, hop in the car and, uh..." Steve looked to the ground, where a pile of puke sat. "Avoid stepping in that."

Dustin shoved Steve playfully and obeyed, and Lucas got back in the car, leaving Will and Steve alone.

"Hey, thank you, Will. For everything." Steve said. "Maybe after all this you could try and teach me DnD?"

"Sure, that would be fun. We'll have to have a whole teaching campaign with Max." Will replied, and Steve gave him another quick hug before getting back into the car. Will didn't waste another second, and he slid in beside Lucas. Steve put the car out of park and began driving, a lot more calm than before, and Will allowed himself to breathe, if only for a few minutes.

Helping Steve wasn't hard. He was happy to help Steve after everything that had happened, not just tonight but from the nights and days before. It was just knowing why Steve had panicked, and knowing what might come that kept him on edge, that tugged at the back of his mind like a parasite, making his neck grow cold.

How long would it be until Will wasn't just comforting a friend because of a near death? When would he be helping someone because Max had died? Because any of them had died?

Will forced himself to breathe once more. That was a problem for another time. For now, he just let himself be thankful for Steve, for his bravery, for his strength, and for the love and protection he gave, and for the Party, who was so, so much stronger now than ever before.

If anyone could defeat One, Will was certain that it would be them.

When they arrived at the Wheeler's, Steve let the kids go ahead of him, Will giving his shoulder a gentle touch before leaving him alone.

Steve breathed in the air around him, rubbing his eyes, eyes that had cried rivers yet still felt like crying even more. The emotions that had slammed into him were still there, yet thankfully dulled. Will and Dustin helped a lot. Steve, at that moment on the street, didn't think that he would survive the emotional assault that he had experienced, yet they guided him through it.

He was super thankful for it. He hoped that Will and Dustin knew it.

Now the storm in him had dulled to a shower of rain, miserable, unstoppable, yet manageable. He knew that he wouldn't collapse, wouldn't start puking, and wouldn't yell, but it still sucked. He needed a second to gather his bearings before continuing into the house, into the chaos.

In the end, it was only his desire to see Robin that moved his feet forward, the need to see her and make sure that she was okay.

Nancy met him at the door. She looked tired, more tired than Steve was used to seeing her, yet she smiled when he walked in, giving him a quick hug.

"Hey. Will told me what happened. Are you okay?"

Steve nodded hesitantly. "How much did he tell you?"

"Everything Max. Jason. Your…"

"Outburst?"

She winced at the word, yet continued. "Your emotional struggle. It happens to everyone, Steve, don't feel bad about it. And Dustin's not upset, either, I think he's more worried about you than what you said."

"Thanks, Nance. I'll be fine. I'm just worried about what Jason is going to do now."

She squeezed his arm comfortingly. "We'll worry about that later, okay? You should rest up. Robin's just downstairs, on the couch."

"Is she okay?" Steve asked with a frown, and Nancy nodded.

"She's more exhausted than anything, but she's okay. She'll be happy to see you. I think it's been a rough day for all of us."

Steve felt more tears burn in the back of his eyes at the words, and Nancy seemed to understand. After giving him one last kind glance, she made her way into the kitchen, where Max and Lucas were eating what looked like leftovers. Steve watched them for a moment, making sure that Max was aware, that she was awake, that she was okay, and then made his way to the basement.

Robin was laying on the couch, her eyes closed and her hair a fuzzy halo around her head. A small blanket had been laid on her, and she held it loosely in her hands. The small television the Wheeler's had was turned to a cartoon, yet no one was watching it. Robin was the only one there, and from her deep breathing Steve could tell that she was asleep.

Not wanting to wake her, yet still yearning for her presence, needing to be beside her, making sure that she was okay, Steve sat down on the floor, resting his head on the couch by her feet. He watched the cartoon distantly, not really hearing the words or seeing the figures on screen. All he could focus on was One, Jason, death, pain, loss, the future, past, everything.

He hadn't felt this scared since Brenner, since not knowing if Robin was okay, if he would be able to save her when she was shot, if they would be able to escape, and his thoughts continued to spiral.

He couldn't stop thinking about Robin, who was so close to him yet still so, so far. Was she okay? Had One hurt her? Would she recover from this? Was One now targeting her? Was she his next victim?

And, one selfish thought broke through, a thought that he hated; Would he have to go through all of this without her?

He knew that he wouldn't be able to do that. The Party helped him a lot, but Robin was the only person that could make everything better. Without her he wouldn't be here, he wouldn't have been able to recover from Brenner, he wouldn't be the man that he was now.

Steve could feel his chest tighten, tears falling onto his cheeks silently, and he held back the sobs that wracked his chest. Even though he needed to talk to her, he didn't want to wake her. She needed sleep.

He distantly realized that his powers still weren't working, weren't not calming him down. He really wished that they would.

A small groan broke him from his thoughts, and he turned around to see Robin's eyes on him. She was squinting, as if she just woke up, yet realization dawned in her features nearly instantly.

"Steve? Steve, is it really you?"

Steve grinned, getting up and wrapping her in a bone crushing hug, relief flooding his entire body.

"Robin. Robin, it's me. It's me, I promise."

"Dignus! I thought that you got hurt or One got you or something, you guys weren't responding to the radio! Are you okay? Is Max okay? Did One throw you into a memory, too? Wait, have you been crying? Are you hurt?" She asked, swinging her feet off of the couch so that he could sit down.

"Whoa, whoa, slow down, one question at a time. You're making me feel like Tom Cruise with all of the questions. Is this what being attacked by paparazzi feels like?" Steve found his self defensive mechanisms instinctively spring into him, the need to deflect, to get the attention off of him, yet it didn't work with Robin. He swiped away the tears that still sat on his cheeks, and Robin's gaze softened.

"Steve…are you okay? You look like you've been crying. Not that it's a bad thing, it's just…strange."

Steve nodded, all of his humor gone instantly at the words. "Yeah. I sort of broke down after Max and Dustin nearly died."

"Dustin, too?" Robin's eyebrows furrowed in confusion, and her fingers wrapped around the blanket that lay on her. "What happened?"

"Carver and his gang. One of the guys put a knife to Dustin's throat. He's okay, but after Max and Dustin…I lost it. I was puking and everything." Steve sighed, running his hands through his hair. "If it wasn't for Will and Dustin, I would still be a mess. They're all okay though."

She rested her hand on his shoulder comfortingly. "It's not your fault, Steve. Everyone has days like that."

"Yeah, thanks. I'm just glad everyone is okay. I'm still feeling like crying, though."

If it were anyone else, Steve wouldn't have admitted that. But it was Robin. Robin, who, even without powers, could see right through him, who knew all of his worries and fears. Robin, who would never judge him or think any less of him, no matter what. He could let his guard down around her.

Robin seemed to think for a moment, before pulling him into a side hug, letting him rest his head on her shoulder. He let her cover him with the blanket, and leaned into her touch, glad that he could be weak around her.

"Then, do it." Robin said, and Steve frowned.

"What?"

"Cry."

Her voice was barely above a whisper, but it was still loud enough to break into the walls that still stood. He let the tears fall, let Robin hold him, and let all of his emotions seep through again.

Eventually sleep took him into its open arms, speaking words of safety and hope in his ears.

Or maybe that was Robin.

Steve didn't complain either way.