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rogueddie · 6 months

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Steve has always known that, one day, his parents would turn on him.

It's always been an uphill battle with them. It had taken him weeks to even get the conversation started, months to get them to turn a blind eye until he could finally be him.

He had won, in the end. He got what he wanted. They even moved across the country, all the way to Indiana, they keep their mouths shut and lie where they have to... mostly to protect their reputation, not Steves life, but still.

All of it, however, was made in the promise that Steve would one day work with his father. That he would fight his way to the top and be another thing that makes his parents look good. The long desired son and heir to the Harrington name.

With his parents extending their travels more and more, he's able to lie a little. He makes a lot of vague promises and waves away questions that inch increasingly closer to the truth.

But they're getting impatient. Their questions turning sharp, with vague implications of returning early so they can "correct" him. Put him on the "right course". They want him to finally fulfill his end of the bargain.

He's running out of time.

"I thought you were going to stick with Robin when she goes to college?" Eddie frowns.

"I was," Steve turns so he can hide his grimace. "She's going to stick as close as she can though. I, uh... kinda want some space from all of this. A break, you know?"

"Yeah, I think I do."

Eddie stays silent, the quiet dragging on long enough that Steve turns to glance back at him.

He's leaning on the counter, raising his eyebrows at Steve when they make eye contact, expression expectant.

"That's it," Steve lies, insistent. "Really. I need to get away for a while."

"Sure," Eddie nods. His smile is tight, forced. "And this has nothing to do with your parents coming home soon."

"What? That- no. Don't be silly."

Steve tries to laugh, wincing at how strained it sounds.

"Man, come on. You can talk to me. If they're..." Eddie pauses, glancing around the store, leaning closer and lowering his voice. "If they're hurting you, you can stay with us. Wayne won't let them near you. Robin would kill them for you."

"They're not hurting me. I'm not worried about that."

Although, Steve pauses. His fathers anger about his poor grades had been worse than he'd expected. He'd been worried, for a moment, that things were about to turn violent. If they find out that he's going to break his promise...

"Steve? Hey, are you alright?"

"What? Oh, yeah, I'm fine. I'll be fine. Forget about it, I'll just... think of something else. It's not a big deal."

"Right, uh... maybe you should talk to Robin about-"

"Hello!" Steve greets, turning the customer with a wide grin. "How can I help you?"

He tries to keep his focus on the customer, but he can see Eddie shaking his head and shuffling out. He pauses at the door, glancing back with a frown.

Steve glances at him, worrying at the determination on his face.

He clears his throat, looking back to the customer, trying to brush it off.

It plagues his mind. Its only when Robin finally joins him that he's able to push it to the side, soaking up the time and teasing as much as he can.

"We should visit Nance," Robin says, towards the end of their shift. "Hang out. We haven't for a while, have we?"

"Uh... sure?" Steve frowns at her. Something in her tone sounds wrong. "Did something happen?"

She glances at him, shifting uncomfortably. "I don't know," she shrugs. "Maybe?"

"Ok," he grabs her shoulder, squeezing reassuringly. "We'll make sure she's ok."

It isn't until they're leaving for the Wheeler house that he grows suspicious.

Usually, Robin is relieved when he figures out what's worrying her. She wouldn't talk about what she thinks is wrong with Nancy, but she would usually talk about why she's worried. She'd take the opportunity to vent her stress.

But she's silent. She won't look at him, picking at her nails...

"This isn't about Nance, is it?" He asks after a minute.

"No, it is!" She insists, voice cracking. "Totally!"

He glances at her with a raised brow.

"Ok, fine, it isn't! But I'm not telling you what it's really about!"

"It's about me," he huffs, gently smacking her leg and looking at her with a smile so she knows he isn't mad. "Eddie's idea, right?"

She grumbles, folding her arms, sinking low in the passenger seat.

"Did he tell you to lie?"

"Of course he did, he's an idiot."

Steve snorts.

He throws an arm around her shoulders as they walk up to the Wheelers front door.

"Steve!" Mrs Wheeler greets with a grin, which softens when she looks to Robin. "Robin. Oh, it's so lovely to see you two. They're waiting for you in the basement."

Steve is taken back when they step down into the basement. There's more people than he would have expected to turn up for him.

Eddie, Nancy, Jonathan and Argyle are gathered around the bottom of the stairs, beckoning them down. The kids are all piled on the sofa, with El and Lucas propped up on the arms. Even Hopper is waiting, arms crossed in the corner.

"Steve," Eddie starts.

But Steve quickly cuts him off. "What did you tell everyone? This isn't an emergency or anything."

"So there is something," Nancy says.

"Yeah, but it's my problem to deal with."

"You don't have to do it on your own," Robin points out, squeezing his waist.

"It is."

"What is going on?" Lucas asks. "Like, why do you need to go to Chicago so bad?"

"It's so far away," Dustin complains.

"Yeah, that's kinda the point," Steve rubs his temple, sighing. "It's a long story, alright? All you need to know is that I made a deal with my parents and I'm not going to uphold my side. I want to get out of dodge before shit explodes."

"Are they threatening you?" Hopper asks.

"Not yet. I don't plan on sticking around to find out."

"What are they threatening you with?" Jonathan asks.

"It doesn't matter."

"We will keep you safe," El says. "You are our friend. We can protect you."

"Thanks, El, but this isn't something you can really protect me from."

"Jesus, just tell us!" Mike snaps.

"Mike!" Nancy scolds.

"What? We can't help him if we don't know what's going on!"

"He has a point," Jonathan says.

"Steve," Eddie starts, stepping closer, speaking softly. "You can trust us. We're here for you."

He hesitates, before finally turning to Robin.

As always, she can read him like a book. She nods, grabbing his hand, dragging him back up the stairs.

"Woah, where are you going?" Nancy calls.

"Bathroom!" Robin calls back, not stopping or slowing down.

Luckily, the bathroom is clear and no one is around to see them both go inside before Robin shuts and locks the door behind them.

She crawls into the tub first, patting the spot next to her. She pulls him tight to her side when he sits next to her, wrapping both arms around him.

"I don't know if I can say it," he finally mumbles after a moment.

"It's ok. Take your time. They can wait."

She rubs circles on his back, unbothered by the dragging silence.

"Do, uh..." Steve clears his throat. "When you were talking about, like, being born lesbian... do you think it's like that with, uh... gender?"

She stills for a moment. She squeezes him, resting her head on his. "I know you were born a man."

"No, Rob, that's what I'm trying to say. I... I wasn't."

"Yes, you were," she insists. "You are a man. Just... some parts haven't always matched. You're still the best guy I know. Always have been. Knowing that people used to wrongly think you were a girl doesn't change that."

He twists, burying his face in her shoulder. "I love you, Robs."

"Love you too, Steve. So much."

"You're too good for me."

"I'm just right for you. And if your parents are threatening you with this, I'm going to kill them."

"They aren't," he says, finally pulling back. "I don't think they will. It'd make them look back too, like, we go down together or whatever. Probably best if I'm not here though. Just in case."

"Mutually assured destruction," Robin hums, squinting at the wall. "We could use that?"

"We?"

"Yeah! If they threaten to expose you, we threaten to expose them too. I mean, those crazy people like to pretend like they care so much about children- imagine how they'd react to your parents letting you transition at such a young age! They'd be ruined!"

"You think the others would go along with that?"

Her expression darkens, glaring at the door. "They better, or I'll have to kill them too."

He snorts, dropping his head back onto her shoulder. "You can't kill everyone that is mean to me."

"I can try."

"Yeah, yeah, you're so scary," he grunts as he climbs out the tub, offering a hand to help her. "So... what are we telling the others?"

"What do you want to tell them?" She grabs his hand, entwining their fingers. "We don't have to tell them anything if you want. They don't have to know if you don't want them to."

"I don't know... I feel like we need to."

"No. If you don't want to tell them, we don't tell them."

He pauses, thinking it over for a moment.

Robin squeezes his hand, patiently waiting.

"We should tell them. I just... I don't know if-"

"-You can do it yourself?" She finishes. "I can, if you want."

"Thanks, Rob."

"Always." She turns to the door, taking a deep breath. "Ready?"

"With you? Hell yeah."

Eddie and Nancy jump to their feet as soon as they start walking down the stairs.

"Are you alright?" Eddie asks.

"Fine," Steve nods. He turns to Robin, who nods back. "But, uh... there's something you should know."

"First," Robin starts, pointing sharply at all of them. "We've faced monsters from another dimension. El can move things with her mind. Steve is not weird at all and, in comparison to all that bullshit, you should understand how norml he is. Alright?"

Steve has to bite back laughter at how stunned everyone looks.

He's pretty sure it works though. He watches all of their reactions as Robin answers as many of their questions as she can, dismissing a lot of them with a simple; "stupid question, next".

When they finally run out of questions, it's Mike who breaks the silence.

"Well, that was dumb and pointless," he says. "Congratulations, Steves a man. We all knew that!"

"Mike-" Nancy snaps, starting towards him.

"No, listen," he shouts, raising his hands. "No one here knows about this apart from his parents and now us, right? Or is there, like, files?"

"No," Steve answers. "They lied and forged what they had to."

"Oh, that could work," Lucas says, looking to Mike.

"What could?" Nancy asks, impatient.

"Everyone sees Steve as a man," Lucas asnwers. "And all the information says he is too-"

"No one would believe them," Mike finishes.

"I've seen your birth cirtificate," Hopper says, nodding. "Everything says you were born male."

"It's their word against reality," Mike says. "They'd look insane."

"No one would believe them," Nancy repeats, grinning.