Will appeared in the doorway in front of them and immediately stopped. He gave them a small nod before turning away and walking back into the other room. Eddie gave Steve a long, vaguely terrified look, so he leaned in and pecked his boyfriend on the cheek, giving his hand a quick squeeze in support at the same time. 

The way Eddie took a deep breath and closed his eyes for a second was very familiar to Steve. He'd used the same technique himself more than a few times in his life.

"Okay," Eddie said quietly and took a step towards the door.

Steve followed a little behind. He wanted to make sure Eddie felt supported, but he also didn't want to intrude on Eddie's moment.

Everyone was gathered in the middle of the living room when they stepped into view. Steve had never really interacted with Eddie's friends, but he knew them by sight, and he had checked with Dustin to make sure he didn't do something stupid like get any of their names wrong. Gareth and Jeff were talking to Dustin and Mike about something, so only Frank was looking in Eddie's direction.

The way Frank's eyes went big and round and the poor guy kind of flailed at Jeff to get his attention would have been funny under other circumstances. When Jeff turned and had an almost identical reaction, Steve held his breath. Only he didn't need to, because a second later the tableau broke.

"Eddie," Jeff said, face breaking out in a huge smile.

In moments, Eddie was swamped by Frank and Jeff, even though Jeff appeared to be limping.

"Hey guys," Eddie said, apparently trying to get his arms around both his friends at the same time.

Steve couldn't help noticing that Gareth hung back a little, even though he had followed the other two.

"I knew you were too stubborn to get yourself killed," Frank said, all but squeezing the life out of Eddie.

"It was close," Eddie replied.

"What happened?" Jeff asked, eyes clearly on the scar on Eddie's face.

"Bad shit I am not allowed to talk about," Eddie said, "sorry. What happened to you?"

"Oh, Mom's mixer fell off the counter onto my foot during the quake," Jeff said with a shrug. "I was dumb and tried to save it and missed."

"You have a war wound from a stand mixer?" Eddie asked, a smile making his mouth twitch.

"My mom was impressed with my valour," Jeff replied, and Steve could see why they were friends.

"A noble act of heroism indeed," Eddie said with a laugh. "And Gar, what's your story?"

Steve had also noticed the bandage on Gareth's hand around two of his fingers. Both obvious injuries were making his instincts prickle. He'd seen people at the hospital when going to see Max who had been in need of help, but they hadn't made him feel like this. Whether it was because he was more aware now, or he'd been focused only on Max, or if it was something to do with these being Eddie's friends and hence now in his orbit to protect, he had no idea. All he knew was it was a little bit frustrating.

However, what pushed those thoughts into the background was the way Gareth reacted. The other boy shrugged and hung his head. If Steve didn't know better, he would have read it as guilt. Frank leaned towards Eddie and whispered something that Steve couldn't hear. The way Dustin was looking over told Steve the kid knew what was going on as well.

"It's so good to see you guys," Eddie said brightly, covering the awkwardness. "If you haven't guessed, while Will the Wise would no doubt have done a great job, I am your DM for today. Thy battlefield awaits."

He made a big gesture towards the dining room table, and everyone groaned as if this was the worst news in the world. Eddie looked gleeful rather than offended, so clearly that was the correct reaction.

"Gar, come help me grab the sodas our noble host, Sir Steven, hath stashed in the box of ice while our comrades fight for dominance," Eddie went on.

Steve rolled his eyes at the dramatics because that was what he was supposed to do. The odd tension between Eddie and Gareth, who Steve knew was one of Eddie's closest friends, had him worried, but he knew how to follow a lead.

"Do not drop anything in the cake," he warned as Eddie all but bodily dragged Gareth towards the kitchen.

"Cake?" Dustin asked, eyes lighting up.

"Well, this is a celebration," Steve said, "but don't get any ideas Henderson, it's for later."

"Did you make it?" Dustin asked, looking hopeful.

"Sorry to disappoint you, but not this time," he replied.

He'd picked it up on a whim when he had been grocery shopping.

"You bake?" Jeff said in such an incredulous tone, Steve found his hands on his hips in his default defensive pose.

"Why does everyone say that?" he complained.

"Steve, platonic love of my life," Robin said with a laugh, "have you seen you? You do not look like the baking type."

"His chocolate cake is to die for," Erica said in a surprising show of solidarity. "He made it for my birthday."

It was nice to know he rated above the Corroded Coffin guys.

"Steve, you baked for Erica but didn't bake for Eddie?" Dustin said in a mock shocked tone.

"Do not think I am above throwing you in the pool, slime and all," Steve threatened. "When was I supposed to get the good chocolate exactly?"

Dustin was grinning at his bitchy tone.

"Did you say slime?" that came from Frank.

"After the quake, something fell in the pool and became slime," Steve replied. "Haven't had time to get it properly cleaned yet. Don't worry," he added, looking at all the kids, "it will be ready by the time the weather is warm enough to use it."

Dustin had already extracted that promise from him. He hadn't had a pool party in a long time, but after all they had gone through as a full group this time, and with everything being over (hopefully) it seemed like something to look forward to.

Steve could see the way Jeff and Frank were swapping looks like they couldn't quite believe what they were hearing. Not that he could blame them. It didn't really match the image he had had in school.

"Come on," Mike said, "let's get set up."

"Make yourselves at home," Steve invited, and everyone headed towards the dining room table at the end of the large room. "If you could just keep the snacks out of the rugs, that would be great," he added.

He'd loaded a side table with chips and candy that he hoped would satisfy all tastes. Frankly he might have gone a little over the top, but he had wanted everything to be perfect for Eddie's comeback campaign. Eddie and the kids all deserved time to just have fun. He didn't want them having to worry about anything.

Gareth and Eddie appeared a few minutes later, carrying many cans of soda, shoulders bumping together looking very much more relaxed. Steve exchanged a glance with Eddie, who gave him a nod and a small smile. Whatever had been bothering Gareth was clearly dealt with. Steve was dying of curiosity, but he could live with that if Eddie was happy. He'd just give his boyfriend the third degree later.

"Daring adventurers," Eddie announced loudly as he reached the table, "art thou ready for thy dangerous quest?"

Everyone yelled a hearty response and Steve felt himself smiling, despite the chaos that was taking over his home.

~*~

Steve had just finished making sure everyone had snacks yet again while Eddie put them through hell in his campaign to end all campaigns when he heard a key in the door. Since Robin was chattering away to Wayne on the couch and everyone else who wasn't already battling away around the table would have rung the doorbell, he was immediately on alert.

"Mom," he said, shocked as he peered around the corner towards the front door.

Everything went ominously silent behind him from the end of the room.

"Steve," his mom said, "thank heavens you're safe. We've had terrible trouble trying to call you."

"Sorry, Mom," he said, heading over to her. "The phones have been up and down. I left messages, didn't you get them?"

"Yes, Darling," his mom replied as she enveloped him in a hug, "but there are only so many, 'everything's fine, don't worry' messages a mother can get before she does start to worry. And your definition of fine is not always accurate."

He heard Robin snort a laugh.

"I know we're in the middle of a big merger," his mom said, giving him a motherly once over, "but I've left your father to deal with it. Now, are you going to introduce me since we have guests?"

"Oh, yes," he said, turning to find all eyes on him. "Mom, this is Robin."

"Ah, the Robin I have heard so much about," his mom said. "Nice to finally meet you, Robin."

"And you Mrs Harrington," Robin replied.

"And this is Wayne," Steve went on, "and Eddie, Wayne is Eddie's uncle. Um, I offered them a place to stay because their home was destroyed by the earthquake and it's going to take a while to fix. Eddie's a friend from school." It wasn't that much of a stretch. "Then there's Dustin, Will, Mike, Lucas, Erica, Gareth, Jeff and Frank."

"Very nice to meet everyone," his mom said with her polite smile. "Some names are very familiar, it is lovely to finally have faces to go with them."

Everyone chimed in with various greetings and Eddie surreptitiously climbed off the chair he had been crouching on while playing what Steve thought might have been a dragon, but he wasn't sure.

"Please, don't let me interrupt," his mom said. "I'll just go and freshen up."

"Can I get you anything, Mom?" Steve asked, picking up his mother's suitcase and taking it towards her and his father's room.

"I have been dying for a coffee for the last hour," his mom told him, "I am just about ready to kill for one."

"You're in luck," he replied. "Wayne just made a fresh pot. I don't know what he does to it, but he has a magic touch or something. Do you want it before or after you change?"

"I think I'll have a quick shower first," his mom replied.

Steve followed her just into her and his dad's downstairs bedroom and popped down the case as his mom disappeared into the ensuite bathroom. When he came out again it was to find everyone staring at him.

"Are we really okay to carry on?" Eddie asked.

"What?" he replied. "Oh yeah, Mom's cool."

"Even with DnD?" Lucas asked, and he couldn't really blame them, after all the town had just gone crazy about it.

"Yeah," he assured them, "we've talked about it loads of times when we talked about Dustin."

"You talk to your mom about me?" Dustin said, mouth open in shock.

"Um, yes," he said, not really understanding the surprise. "Why?"

"Dude, you've mentioned your mom, like once ever," Dustin said.

"Oh," he said. He hadn't really thought about it. "Well Mom and Dad have been away a lot the last couple of years because they've been working on a merger, their company is taking over another one. We talk on the phone all the time though."

"Phone time is scared time," Robin said in a very serious tone before breaking into a fit of giggles.

"Robin!" he scolded, but that just made her laugh more. "You are so losing best friend points for that."

"Oh no, you wound me," was all she replied.

"My whole world view is shifting," Gareth said with mock wonder.

"Pool, slime," Steve said glaring at the whole table. "Don't think I won't."

That just got him a fond smile from Eddie and some scoffing. It seemed gone were the days when he could inspire terror with a glance.

~*~

"Steve," his mom said as he poured her a cup of coffee, "Eddie's not just a friend from school, is he? I have seen the news."

He took a deep breath. He'd accompanied his mom into the kitchen a few minutes previously and he'd been waiting for something like that.

"No," he replied, "honestly, we barely spoke in school, that was just the first thing that came into my head, sorry. We became friends after he was accused of murder because Dustin's been friends with him since school started this year. He's completely innocent and we knew that from the beginning. So, when he needed a place to stay, I offered him one of our spare rooms. Then the press began to hound Wayne where he was staying at the motel, so I invited him as well. I hope it's okay."

He finally looked up from where he was concentrating hard on the coffee pot when he felt his mother's hand on his shoulder.

"Of course, it's okay," she told him with a soft smile. "I trust your judgment."

"It was crazy, Mom," he said. "The whole town tried to hunt Eddie down because he runs a Dungeons and Dragons club. They actually believed he killed Chrissy and Fred and Patrick in some ritual because he worships demons. It was like everyone lost their minds."

"And then the earthquake happened like an act of God," his mom commented. "I see you managed to do yourself some damage again."

His hand went to his throat and the now silvery scar. The lie about being caught up in something during the quake jumped into his mind, but he just couldn't say it.

"Things happened," he said quietly, "things I'm not allowed to talk about yet. Did you see Chief Powell's full press conference?"

His mom nodded.

"Then you know there's information that isn't public knowledge yet," he said. "It's part of that. I really am fine, though."

"I noticed Eddie has a similar colour scar on his face," his mom said. "It looks unusual. Did his come from the same source?"

Steve nodded.

"Oh, Steve, my sweet boy," his mom went on, gently placing her fingers on the side of his neck, "how do you keep finding yourself in the middle of the bad things in this town? Actually, I can guess; you are far too brave and far too worried about everyone but yourself."

She leaned forward and placed a kiss on his forehead.

"I'm proud of you," she said, "and I will drop the questions for now, but I will want an explanation in the end. Okay?"

"Okay," he agreed.

He didn't like lying to his mother, but once the cover story was finalised that was what he would do, so his parents never ended up in danger from the Upside Down. It was all supposed to be over, but he would believe it when he saw it. It had been supposed to be over so many times before too.