How he got through breakfast Steve would never know, especially after Robin appeared and kept giving him looks. Clearly, he was not doing as well as he thought, but it wasn't like he could just ditch when there were guests in the house.

However, the moment breakfast was done, Steve hightailed it to his room with Robin and Eddie close behind. He sat on the bed, doing his best not to overthink himself into a hole.

"Okay, what am I missing?" Robin asked the moment his door was closed.

"I think my mom suspects about me and Eddie," Steve blurted out as Eddie came and sat next to him.

"Holy crap," Robin said, sitting down on his other side. "Are you okay? What did she say? Are you sure?"

"Steve, tell me if I'm reading this wrong, but I think she was trying to be supportive," Eddie added.

Steve nodded.

"Well, that's good," Robin said, "that's great ... um ... isn't it?"

"Yeah," he replied, sounding kind of unsure.

It wasn't that he didn't want his mum knowing and being okay with it, it was just all the doubts crowding in the back of his head that were doing a number on him. What if they were wrong? What if his mom had just been talking and didn't have a clue about him and Eddie? Too many what ifs.

"I think," he added.

Robin took his hand.

"Tell me everything," she said.

"Turns out I have lesbian aunts," he said, because it was the first thing that leapt into his head.

Robin's eyes went big and round and for a moment she looked like she might be having a heart attack.

"Well not actual aunts, but I've always called them Aunt Marie and Auntie Annie," he explained. "God I am so stupid. I never ... not even after you came out to me ... it never occurred to me."

"Stevie," Eddie said, since Robin still seemed to be processing, "when we grow up believing something, we don't always question it. Your mom literally said, they pretend to just be friends to a lot of people. When did you last see them?"

"About six years ago, I think," he replied. "They came to visit. They stayed in separate rooms."

"Yeah, well this is Indiana," Robin said. "Safest for them, safest for you."

"I hate they thought they had to hide it from me," he said quietly, "and they were probably right."

"No, stop right there," Robin told him firmly. "I came out to you, and you were nothing but sweet."

"Yeah, but that was after the Upside Down and Russians, that was after King Steve," he pointed out.

"And that didn't all just give you a personality transplant," Robin insisted. "Maybe it made you think and reassess a few things, but you didn't just become a different person. It would probably have shocked your socks off, but you wouldn't have done anything bad."

Her faith in him was gratifying, but he wasn't sure he completely believed her. He might not have done anything deliberately, but he'd been a stupid kid. Getting drunk and blurting it all out to Tommy and Carol being one distinct possibility.

"She's right," Eddie said from his other side. "You were a bit of a dick at times, but you were never outright mean. If you had been an asshole like Billy Hargrove, I never could have fallen for you."

"So, back to the point, you have lesbian kind-of-aunts and you mom brought them up at breakfast?" Robin asked.

Steve nodded and began to explain the whole backstory of breakups and girlfriends and falling in love, with Eddie adding in the odd comment.

"Yeah," Robin said when he finally finished, "must agree with Eddie, I think that was your mom letting you know she'll be there for you if there's something you need to tell her. The whole 'shining example of how love is always right' part was about as subtle as a brick through a window."

"So, what do I do?" he asked, because his thoughts were all over the place.

"What do you want to do?" Robin asked.

"I don't know," he said, a little bit louder than he had intended to.

"Do you want to talk to her?" Eddie suggested gently, rubbing the back of his hand.

"Yes," he replied immediately, "but no. God why am I so scared?"

"Because this is scary," Robin replied. "You have no idea how many times I have played over possible scenarios of coming out to my parents in my head. Most of them are trainwrecks because it's a really, really scary thing."

"The scariest," Eddie agreed. "When I came out to Wayne, I had a bag packed and was ready to make a run for it."

"What happened?" Robin asked, just before Steve blurted out something similar.

"He hugged me and told me he didn't care who I loved as long as I was happy," Eddie explained. "Then he sat me down and gave me the most embarrassing sex talk, I nearly died. I had no idea Wayne knew anything about gay sex, but I guess I must have been giving off some signals, because he had pamphlets."

"Oh my god," Robin said with a smile. "I love your uncle more the more I hear about him."

"My mother better not have pamphlets," was what came out of Steve's mouth.

"She'd probably get your dad to do that part," Robin commented.

"Oh god no, that would be worse," Steve said, shaking his head. "Mom had to do the whole birds and the bees talk because when Dad tried, he was so awkward about it."

"Think we might be a bit beyond the safe sex talk anyway," Eddie commented.

Robin's gaze flicked between them.

"So have you two..?" she asked.

"I wish," Steve said, before his brain caught up with his mouth.

His face heated up quickly.

"What Steve is so eloquently trying to say, is no, we haven't gone all the way yet, but we've done more than kissing," Eddie revealed, "and if you want more details, you can ask Steve when I am not in hearing range."

At least Eddie's cheeks were flaming as well.

"So, back to my mom," Steve said before the conversation could get any more awkward.

"You should talk to her," Robin said confidently, "but you don't have to do it right now. If you need time, you can take it."

"I think this morning might have been your mom's way to give you an opening," Eddie added. "That's probably why she didn't just come out and say it directly. She doesn't want to push you."

"What about you?" Steve asked, looking his boyfriend in the eye.

"Well, I'm kind of terrified your mom might give me a shovel talk to end all shovel talks, because your mom is scary as hell, but I can cope with that," Eddie replied, leaning into him for a moment. "This is about you, not me. So, whatever you need is okay by me."

Steve took a deep breath and squeezed Eddie's hand.

He had never thought about coming out to his mom or his dad, it just wasn't something he had considered, given how long he had known he had anything to come out about. Maybe in the back of his mind there had been a vague idea, but it had been an amorphous thing. He'd more thought about revealing him and Eddie to the party than to his parents. The last few days had been such a whirlwind on top of weeks of upheaval that it was all a bit much.

"I'll talk to her," he decided as he let himself process it all, "but maybe not today."

"If you need backup," Eddie said, "I'm always here."

"Me too," Robin agreed.

"When you do decide, let me know and I'll talk to Wayne too," Eddie added. "He's far too observant for his own good so probably has us pegged already, but it couldn't hurt to have another adult who can vouch for the fact I'm not a serial killer."

"My mom already thinks your adorable," Steve replied.

He gave them both a smile, dropping their hands and pulling them both into a three-way hug. This was something he was pretty sure he had to do by himself, but he was grateful for their supports.

~*~

When they had come back downstairs after Steve's freakout, his mom had been perfectly normal, entertaining Robin's parents and even inviting them to stay for lunch so they could all watch the press conference together. It was due at one pm.

Steve spent the morning with Eddie and Robin, going through their packets of cover story information and discussing it between them. Owens had provided them with an outline, enough to answer questions if anyone threw some at them, but Eddie was a consummate storyteller. As they talked it through, he came up with details they could use to sell it more, which in turn inspired Robin and Steve to come up with their own too. It helped solidify the story in Steve's head as they fleshed their interactions out a little.

Eddie suggested they get all the kids together to do the same thing at some point, and he could only agree.

He helped his mom put together a light lunch around midday and he was perched on the arm of one of the couches next to Robin with Eddie beside her and Wayne in the last seat, while his mom and Robin's parents took up the other couch and his dad had an armchair. They had the TV on, on the local news station, but had it turned down for now.

Steve wasn't sure why he was nervous, but from the way Robin was gripping his hand, he was pretty sure he wasn't the only one. He wished he could have been holding Eddie's hand as well, but Wayne seemed to be doing a good job of that.

The cover story was thorough, clever, and covered all the bases. It made them all out to be heroes, which made Steve feel a little uncomfortable, but he understood why. This was to protect them from shady government types by making everyone remember them. He didn't feel like a hero though. He never had. He'd done what he had to do and that was just the way he saw it.

In his opinion, heroes were people who chose to be soldiers or firefighters or doctors, he'd just been thrown into it every time.

"Here it comes," Robin said, pointing at the screen.

Steve's dad turned up the volume.

"And now we go live to Hawkins and our reporter Denise Wellman," the anchor was saying.

"Thanks, John," a woman with a microphone, standing in front of the ruins of the town hall said. "Hawkins has been the site of some very strange and tragic happenings since the end of March, but we have been led to believe that these are linked to other incidents which have plagued the town. We are just waiting for law enforcement representatives to begin the press conference."

Denise went on for a little longer, going over the recent earthquake, the murders and more as she filled in while activity started on the platform behind her. Steve tuned most of it out, just watching as familiar faces appeared on the small stage that had been built for the purpose. Hopper was wearing a suit, which just looked bizarre to Steve.

"Hop scrubs up well," Eddie commented.

The reporter lowered her microphone as the camera panned away from her and focused on the group of people on the stage. Hopper was in the front, with Owens just behind his left shoulder and Chief Powell behind his right.

"Good afternoon," Hopper began as silence fell. "Thank you all for coming today. My name is Jim Hopper and many of you will know me as the ex-chief of Hawkins' police. I've been officially dead since the summer of last year, but I will get to that later. I stand here today as a representative of the government and of our town. I know everyone has questions, but I will take them at the end as I have a prepared statement and I thank you for your patience."

He looked round at his audience with a grave expression on his face.

"Our town had been under a shadow for several years," Hopper went on. "The first incident which alerted us to this was the disappearance of Will Byers, but unfortunately it goes back further than that. Until now, we were unable to reveal the truth because of an ongoing investigation, but that is now complete. Hawkins had been at the centre of a very dangerous international drug ring."

A murmur went round the gathered crowd at that.

"A new and incredibly dangerous drug came to the notice of the federal government four years ago, one no one had ever seen before," Hopper went on. "It was known only as Vecna on the underground scene, and it could be deadly with only one use. No one could figure out where it was coming from. What no one realised at the time was the fact the group behind it were highly organised, from countries all around the world, and had government contacts in those countries."

"There were no clues until the disappearance of Will Byers. He was the first victim in Hawkins. We believe he saw something he was not supposed to, was exposed to the drug, and left for dead. That he was found by his family and friends and survived is a miracle. Unfortunately, he could not recall what he had seen."

"Barbara Holland was not so lucky."

Hopper paused to give the reporters and towns people time to digest that. Steve closed his eyes for a second as that night flashed behind his eyes. He still couldn't shake the guilt. Robin rubbed his hand.

"Hawkins Lab was being used by its head scientist Dr Martin Brenner and a few select members of his team to manufacture Vecna type 1. Every disaster this town has seen since has been caused by the same source," Hopper continued. "The accident at the lab which caused its closure and the hallucinations among people in town, the Starcourt mall fire, the murders of our children, and the earthquake."

"Each of these was the drug cartel attempting to take over our town. They caused the accident at the lab and a chemical leak to drive the government presence out of Hawkins. They built Starcourt mall with the help of Mayor Kline, burning it down to cover their tracks when they were discovered. And their secret, illegal mine under our town, and their testing of their drug on our kids caused everything this year. It has been terrible, but it could have been so much worse."

"I was recruited by the DEA in 1985 to help them figure out if there were still any cartel agents in town by playing at being a cop who would look the other way for enough cash," Hopper explained. "And when the mall was torched, I had a chance to go deeper into the cartel. I've been undercover since. However, and I cannot stress this enough, we owe our town not to government law enforcement, but to a group of kids and young adults. They are why this town is not a battle ground, and the incident in Lock Nora a few days ago was the cartel's attempt at revenge."

The noise from the crowd became much louder and Hopper had to hold up his hand to quiet it down.

"I know that sounds fantastic," Hopper told everyone, "but it's the truth. After Will Byers' brush with death, his friends, his family and those closely associated with them became hypervigilant. These kids don't let anything get past them. It wasn't the DEA or the FBI who figured out Starcourt was a front, it was these kids. It wasn't the government who discovered the illegal mine under the town, it was these kids. Without them, the damage to our town would have been far worse. It was their quick thinking, their heroism which prevented a far bigger explosion that would have turned most of this town to ash."

"Who are these kids?" someone called out.

"I'll get to that," Hopper promised. "First there are a few things you must understand. Hawkins was targeted originally because there is a rare mineral under our feet the cartel needed to produce their new designer drug. The earthquake was their mine going up in flames and the heat opening fissures to the surface. The fissures closed once the fire finally burned out. There was also an underground storage facility of other chemicals which had they burned would have caused an explosion that would have taken out the whole town."

"The three murders this spring were the cartel testing out Vecna 3.0," Hopper went on. "They targeted innocent high school kids by doctoring ordinary prescription medication. The drug causes catastrophic seizures and contortions when ingested at too high a dose and can cause psychosis at lower levels."

"So there was no serial killer?" someone asked.

"No," Hopper replied. "These innocent victims were targeted by faceless scientists with no conscience."

"What about Eddie Munson?" another bright spark piped up.

Steve's heart beat harder at that, even though he already knew what was coming.

"Okay, let's talk about Eddie. Eddie is the opposite to the lies and slander that have been spread about him," Hopper said in a tone that begged someone to argue with him so he could punch their lights out. "Everyone in Hawkins knows Eddie used to sell weed. More than a few of you have bought from him. What you don't know is when he heard whispers about a new dangerous drug making its way into Hawkins, he came to me, way before I was recruited by the DEA. He even deliberately failed to graduate the second time so he could keep an eye on what was going on at Hawkins High. He was also my only contact with the outside while I was undercover."

"No one is ever going to believe that," Eddie muttered, the first person to do more than breathe as they watched.

"If I didn't know the truth, I'd believe it," Robin said quietly.

"Eddie nearly died trying to get the word out about the mine when he found out about it," Hopper went on.

"Where were you?" someone asked.

"Chicago," Hopper replied. "We didn't know why Hawkins was a focus until we knew about the mine. It's the puzzle piece that made the picture make sense. After Starcourt we thought the cartel were only mildly interested in Hawkins anymore. Eddie would have died if it wasn't for his friends, who also happen to be friends of Will Byers. The kids I am talking about are Robin Buckley, Will and Jonathan Byers, Gareth Emerson, Argyle Franco, Steve Harrington, Dustin Henderson, my daughter, Jane Hopper, Jeff Newton, Max Mayfield, Lucas and Erica Sinclair, Frank Thomas, and Mike and Nancy Wheeler. Some of them have been involved since the beginning, some only more recently, but they have all saved this town."

"When Eddie went to ground and was taken captive by the cartel, these kids went looking for him," Hopper told the enrapt crowd. "Just like when they heard coded messages at Starcourt mall they went looking too. They found Eddie, got him out and together they all prevented the explosives in the chemical storage facility from going up. Without them this whole area would be a crater. There was also information in the facility which allowed the DEA and other organisations to finally close in on the puppet masters in the cartel. We owe so many lives, local and international, to a bunch of very brave kids, and several of them wear the scars to prove it."

Steve's hand went to his neck without his conscious consent. Hopper made it sound like a badge of honour.

"There are more details in the press packs," Hopper said as he wound up his explanation. "Now I will take questions."

A barrage of sound came from the reporters and members of the public in the crowd and Steve's dad turned down the volume.

"Who knew Hopper could be more dramatic than me," Eddie commented.

"Maybe he's a closet thespian," Robin said in kind.

"Closet what?" Steve asked.

"Actor," Eddie said without the remotest hesitation.

"Well, he's definitely got my vote," he replied. "I would have believed every word he said."

He couldn't help noticing that all their parental figures were looking at them a little bit strangely. Possibly their coping mechanisms were showing.