It was one of the worst storms of the winter so far. Being stuck in the trailer made the rain sound ten times worse, and the occasional streak of lightning followed by thunder did not help, neither did the creaking. Eddie could normally ignore it, blast some music to drown it out, but this time, Steve was stuck with him. Maybe his big house helped damped the sound of storms because he was extremely jumpy, setting Eddie on edge, too.
When the lights inevitably went out, it was terrifying. It felt like being back in the upside down again.
Except this time, he had Steve.
They naturally moved together in the sudden darkness, only the occasional flash of lightning from outside illuminating Eddie's room. Steve was still flinching with each rumble of thunder, and Eddie hummed softly, trying to distract him. "It's not so bad, just a storm."
"Just a storm," Steve echoed without much conviction.
Eddie had a sudden thought and jumped up, dragging Steve with him. He went willingly until Eddie threw open the door, the sound of the heavy rain flooding the trailer. Eddie stopped when Steve did, squeezing his hand. "Trust me."
"Okay."
Guiding him outside, Eddie stepped onto the porch. The overhang kept them mostly dry aside from the floor, and they sat down to watch what little they could see. Steve was initially very stiff, but he soon relaxed as Eddie held his hand.
"See, nothing bad."
"How can you stand this?" Steve whispered, face a blur of shadows in the darkness.
"Because it's over." That wasn't the only reason, and Eddie swallowed thickly when Steve snorted, forcing the words out in a barely audible whisper. "And I feel safe with you."
Steve didn't respond at first, and Eddie was beginning to worry he'd made a mistake. But then he lifted Eddie's hand and kissed the back of it. "Me too."
The darkness really wasn't that bad after that. Eddie felt safe, and he knew Steve did, too. When the storm passed and the lights came back on, they continued to stay outside, only wrapping a blanket around themselves to keep out the cold. After that, whenever there was a storm, Steve would come over to sit with Eddie and wait it out. The rain became their safe haven instead of something to be afraid of.
As long as they had each other, everything would be okay.
