Random OneShots

Wasteland, baby! Pt.2

By: Coloredlove8 on Ao3

Steddie

~~~~~

"I don't understand Nance. I like girls, I obviously like girls. I'm not gay." He mumbled

She smiled again, "You can like more than one. If you like girls and boys then that's okay. You just have to accept that."

Steve was silent for a bit.

"He called me baby."

Her eyes widened, "Is that what caused," her left hand moved off his cheek to grab the beer, "this?"

He nodded.

"Did you not like it?"

He shook his head, "I liked it a lot. It made me feel," his eyes scanned across her face, trying to find the right words, "like I was melting, but like he would mold me back together. Does that make sense?"

She laughed lightly, "Yes, perfectly."

He laughed back, his now free hand moving up to the one she still had on his face, "What do I do now, Nance?"

"You tell him exactly what you told me."

He felt tears well up in his eyes, "What if he doesn't feel the same?"

She rolled her eyes, "Think about it, we're in Hawkins, Indiana. You're an ex-douchebag from a rich family. Your weapon of choice is a baseball bat with a shit ton of nails sticking out of it. All of that spells out 'don't do gay things around this kid.' Yet you don't see Eddie calling any of us 'pretty boy' or 'baby.' I think you're safe, Stevie."

He nodded, sniffling, "Thank you, Nance."

She smiled, "Any day."

She pulled away, turning to walk back outside. She held the beer above her head, "I'm keeping this as thanks."

He snorted, wiping at his eyes. As she left, Eddie came in, glancing at her as they passed each other, "You hiding beer in here, Harrington?"

Steve turned and reached down, grabbing another can and tossing it to Eddie. The older boy caught it easily, popping the tab and hurriedly sucking down the fizz. He made his way over to Steve who was now leaning against his countertop. Eddie stopped in front of him. Their positions mimicking Steve and Nancy's from before.

Eddie took in Steve's appearance, most likely noticing his probably red eyes, "You doing okay? This isn't because of what I did, is it?"

Steve laughed, "No, Eddie, it's not."

Eddie nodded, his fingers tapped against the can. His rings making a clinking noise as they did, "You sure, because I can't really read social cues, so I don't know if you're being sarcastic."

"I'm sure," Steve stuck out his pinky while laughing, "pinky promise."

Eddie looked down at it for a second before reaching his own pinky out and interlocking them. Neither letting go of the other's.

"Can I ask what happened then?"

"You know, just chatting."

"About..." he trailed off

Steve looked at their still interlocked pinkies, "You called me baby."

"I did."

"I liked it." he looked up

Eddie stared blankly at him, keeping completely quiet. The silence dragged on for a few seconds, but those seconds felt like hours. Steve felt like his stomach was going to jump out of his throat. He began thinking that Nancy was wrong, utterly and completely wrong. That Eddie called him sweet names because he thought it was funny to mess with him, or that he would be the only one who wouldn't reciprocate. He racked his brain to make up a lie, a way to tell Eddie that he was only joking. 'Pay back for scaring me in the pool' seemed like the easiest to get away with. He wondered if it was good enough, if it would be convincing enough.