Steve's parents were gone. They'd left for New York that morning and his mom had actually cried, which had kind of blown his mind. The first transfer of his new allowance had also cleared. He knew this because the bank had called and asked if he'd like to come in and discus his account. He'd asked why, they'd told him his balance, and he'd had to sit down. When his mom had said it would be enough to look after his little flock he hadn't asked for a number. As it turned out it was a lot bigger than he had been expecting.

If he had been a different kind of person, he might have quit his job on the spot, but for starters he didn't want to leave Robin on her own since she'd taken extra hours over the summer, he also wasn't about to abandon Keith without anyone to take over, he liked earning his own money, and he liked having a reason to leave the house. He did plan on asking Keith if he could reduce his shifts, however. Given that it was summer there were bound to be teenagers on the look out for temporary work, so he doubted it would be a problem.

It did make him start thinking about the future more, as well. He had ideas, lots of ideas that he was going to have to take some serious time to think about, but some of those sparked other, more immediate things as well.

"How do you feel about us coming out to a few more people?" he asked quietly as he and Eddie sat together in the back room to eat lunch.

Eddie put down his PB&J sandwich at the question.

"You want to tell the kids," Eddie said, seeing right to the heart of him as usual.

"Eventually, yes," he said, "but I was thinking more of Dustin and maybe Will first."

"Dustin has begun giving us those long hard stares," Eddie said, "and he hasn't mentioned you and Robin getting together in a couple of weeks."

"He's too clever for his own good," Steve agreed, "and Will, well..."

"The longing looks at Wheeler the second," Eddie finished for him.

Steve nodded.

"If we do tell Will, though, we have to tell El too," Eddie said and surprised him.

"Yeah, good point," he agreed as he thought about it.

El and Will had been inseparable since the Byers return to Hawkins. Even when El was hanging out with Max, it seemed to have become El, Max, and Will, when it wasn't the whole party.

"So, what do you think?" Steve asked, because he knew what he would like, even if it scared the hell out of him, but he was in no way willing to force Eddie into anything.

"I think," Eddie said slowly, clearly considering it carefully, "that we have good kids, and we should start with Dustin."

The back of Steve's mind began chanting 'oh god' really loudly, but the bit in charge had him reach out and take Eddie's hand while smiling.

"Any thoughts on how and when?" he asked.

"Hell no," Eddie replied with a dramatic shake of his head. "I'm only good at planning fantasy campaigns, I suck at real world problems."

Steve would beg to differ, but it wasn't like they had to decide right then. Neither they nor their friends were going anywhere.

~*~

"Is this part of the demobat thing?"

Steve realised he probably should have seen that question coming, but it still hit him out of left field when Dustin asked it. The kids were over to use the pool on one of Steve's new days off and it had felt like the right time to reveal the truth. He and Eddie had decided that it would be best to go about it naturally rather than setting up something specifically.

Dustin had followed him into the kitchen for more drinks while everyone else splashed around outside. When Dustin had started talking about how excited he was for Eddie's new campaign, Steve had taken the in for what it was. He'd dropped the fact they were dating in as casually as he could manage.

"No," he replied, "this is an Eddie and I got to know each other and fell in love thing."

Dustin's mouth formed into a large o shape.

"That's serious," the kid said as he processed that.

"Yes," Steve admitted, "it is, that's why we're working up to telling everyone."

"So what number am I?" Dustin asked.

Steve had to think about that for a moment.

"Technically number six," he replied, "but that's only because Eddie accidentally outed us to the Corroded Coffin guys by kissing me in front of them when I came to get you on the day the cover story came out. The other two are Robin and Wayne."

"So I'm first out of the guys," Dustin said with a grin.

"Of course you are," Steve replied.

Dustin all but leapt at him and enveloped him in a hug.

"I'm glad you and Eddie are happy, Steve," the kid said as he pulled back.

"Thanks, Dusty-bun," he responded, feeling relief, even though he had been pretty sure Dustin wouldn't react badly. "Just, please, don't tell anyone else yet. We kind of have a plan."

Dustin nodded seriously, but then his forehead crinkled and he leaned in closer again.

"Um, I think it might be good to tell Will next," Dustin said quietly, which made Steve's heart bloom with even more warmth.

Dustin could sometimes be pig-headed, but he was scarily observant and often hit the nail on the head. When he didn't it was usually to do with wishful thinking and wanting people to be happy.

"That's the plan," Steve said, sharing a look to let Dustin know they had the same suspicions.

"Are you gay now then?" Dustin asked a few moments later.

"No, I'm bisexual, I like boys and girls," Steve replied, perfectly happy to broaden Dustin's knowledge. "I'm just Eddie-centric now."

"Huh," Dustin said, clearly absorbing that piece of information, "I didn't know you could like both."

"Definitely a thing," he said. "I didn't know when I was your age either, but it made a lot of sense when someone explained it to me. It was a bit scary, but it also helped me understand some things that had been confusing me."

"Yeah, I can see that," Dustin said, nodding along. "Thank you for telling me."

"Thank you for being, well, so you," Steve replied. "You're a great kid, Dustin."

That led to a whole new round of hugging before they headed back outside.

~*~

When it came to telling Will and El, they waited until the day of Eddie's new DnD campaign and simply told them a time half an hour before everyone else would be arriving. The Hellfire guys and all the kids were going to play, even those who didn't usually including Max and El. It was a one off with characters created just for it so everyone could have fun. Steve wasn't going to be taking part as a player, but he had been roped in by Eddie to be a recurring NPC at various points, which he was more than happy to do.

Hopper dropped Will and El off and Eddie welcomed them in with full dramatic flare. The dining room table had been moved out and they'd even borrowed the throne from the drama department at school. Will looked utterly delighted when he saw it. The only reason they had decided against going the whole hog and doing costumes as well was because not everyone would be able to rustle one up at short notice.

"Make yourselves at home, Adventurers," Eddie said while Steve set up snacks on the kitchen table they had set up for that specific purpose.

"Hi guys," Steve greeted. "Sorry, I got the time wrong when I told Hop, everyone else will be here in half an hour. Feel free to dig in though."

"Are those mini-Eggos?" El asked, looking at the plate Steve had just put down.

"Well mini-waffles," he replied.

He'd made the waffles and cut them up, before using cocktail sticks to add fruit to the top of each one. On reflection he might, possibly, have gone a little over the top with the food, but he had wanted everything to be perfect and he'd been enjoying himself. It felt like an important moment somehow. Everyone was safe. Everyone was back in town. It was Eddie's first campaign after surviving the Upside Down. It simply deserved to be celebrated.

"Everything looks amazing," Will said with a big smile.

"Yes," El agreed and nabbed one of the mini-waffles.

Steve shared a look with Eddie as the kids perused the food table and he nodded.

"And while we have you alone, fair friends," Eddie said after giving them a few minutes to get comfortable, "there is news we wish to impart."

Both Will and El turned curious eyes on them.

"We're telling everyone bit by bit," Steve said.

"And we'd like you to know," Eddie went on, dropping out of character now, "that Steve and I are a couple."

Will's eyes went big and round.

"You are dating?" El checked.

"We are," Steve said.

El immediately beamed at them and dived in for a round of hugging.

"Bitchin'," she said, making them both laugh.

"You okay, Will?" Steve asked, since the kid still looked kind of shell-shocked.

Will nodded slowly, before also diving in for a hug.

"Out of you kids, only Dustin knows so far," Eddie said after the hugging was done, "so if you could keep it to yourselves for now, we would appreciate it."

"Why haven't you told everyone at once?" El asked and Steve was reminded that no matter how much she had seen, about some things she was still innocent.

"Some people don't like two men being together, El."

It was Will who spoke first.

"Telling people, even people you trust can be frightening," he added. "Thank you for telling us," he added, looking at both of them.

"That seems silly," El said with her thinking face on. "It two people like each other why would it make anyone upset."

"Why indeed," Eddie agreed.

"Some people are intolerant, El," Steve decided to be a bit clearer. "They don't understand people not like them and so they make them the enemy. There are places where people like me and Eddie can be ourselves, but Hawkins isn't one of those places. We have to be careful."

"We want our friends to know, but it's still kind of scary," Eddie agreed. "So we're telling people slowly."

"That is not fair to you," El said.

"No, it's not," Will said quietly.

"But change is slow," Eddie added. "Hopefully one day all those who hate will be no more and until then, those of us who don't quite fit in will stick together."

Steve did not miss the way Eddie and Will shared a look at that. He could see some quiet conversations in their future.

~*~

"You know," Steve said many hours later after a roaringly successful day, as they climbed into bed, "you were amazing today, you should write a book."

Eddie had been captivating throughout the whole campaign and held everyone under his spell the whole day. Every character, every twist and turn, had all been brilliant. Even Steve, who had never been a big reader, could imagine the wonders Eddie could put into a novel or three.

"I failed English, twice," Eddie pointed out.

"Yes, but that's because it was boring," Steve replied. "Those books were old and stuffy, and you were never interested in them. You were incredible today, you always are."

"But I'm bad with writing words down," Eddie protested yet again. "I can write notes, but the real words come when I'm DMing. Like when I'm writing lyrics, it's all out loud first."

"Then dictate it and type it up, or get someone to type it up for you," Steve suggested. "You can be a rock star with a writing side-line."

Eddie laughed at that, but Steve could tell he was thinking about it. As they curled up together, Eddie's arm thrown over Steve's back as he lay on his front, one leg hooked over his, he could feel the hum of pleasure and curiosity from his boyfriend in the back of his brain.

"I need to find a proper job first," Eddie said just as Steve was drifting off.

"Why?" he mumbled back.

"Because I am out of the drug dealing business and I have no other source of money," was the quick reply.

Steve propped himself up on his elbows so he could turn and look at Eddie properly.

"How do you feel about being a kept man?" he asked, semi-seriously.

"I can't welch off you my entire life, Steven," Eddie said. "You've been looking after me long enough already."

"Look," he said, turning over for a moment so they were facing each other, "I have a trust fund that is giving me more money a month than I've ever had even with my rich and privileged upbringing. It's not like I earned the money, and I love you and am perfectly happy to share it with you. And let's face it, getting a job in this town is going to be a nightmare because of all the morons who still think you are evil incarnate. So, you practice your music and/or write your book, and when you are rich and famous you can buy me a Ferrari, how's that?"

"A Ferrari?" Eddie said.

"Or a Lamborghini, I'm easy," he replied with a small smile. "The Beemer will probably have clapped out by then anyway."

"You really mean that," Eddie said, wonder in his voice.

"Of course I mean it, Eds," he said. "You deserve everything. You've literally been to hell and back. You helped us save the world. I will support you in whatever you want to do, and if that is trawling around town for someone to hire you, I will help, but I'd really like to give you a chance to do something you love, not something you have to do, if you'll let me. Oh, and I need you to help me figure out how to convince Robin to accept something for her college fund. I mean I know she's probably going to end up with some sort of scholarship, but that won't cover all her expenses."

Eddie blinked at him in the dimness of the darkened room.

"What?" he asked when Eddie didn't say anything.

"How did I ever think you were a selfish asshole?" Eddie asked eventually.

"Well, I was," he replied.

"No," Eddie said and leaned forward to kiss him, "I don't think you were. Misguided, led astray, maybe, but a heart like yours doesn't just spring into being because you got hit on the head a couple of times."

"Does that mean..?" he started to ask.

"Yes," Eddie said in an exasperated tone, "I will graciously accept your offer to live in the lap of luxury as your sex slave. Do you have a tape recorder I could borrow?"

"There'll be one somewhere," Steve said, grinning. "What if I wanted to be your sex slave?"

Eddie groaned.

"Don't say things like that when I'm exhausted," Eddie complained and flopped down onto the bed.

"You started it," he replied.