Boys Don't Cry - Steddie

Chapter 3

The house was eerily empty as Eddie wandered around aimlessly. Steve had gone out to the store to get actual food so they didn't have to live off of a canned or frozen food diet for the next week. That was usually how Eddie ate anyways when his uncle was working the night shift, which was more often than not. He had never been bothered to learn how to cook, and the only reason he could do a load of laundry was because he didn't want to smell like shit every day at school. Steve seemed to like cooking anyways, so Eddie let him go, hoping he would pick up more drinks while he was out too.

He walked through the different rooms of the house, each probably the same size as his trailer. Okay, maybe not THAT big, but they definitely weren't small and cramped like he was used to. Not that he was complaining, his uncle had done a lot to raise him, and he was appreciative. From the looks of the house, Steve's parents hadn't done that much for him.

There were family pictures when he was younger, baby photos, one of 7-year-old Steve on a bike, that one was dated. It was his first time without training wheels. There were a few more when Steve seemed to be somewhere between 10 and 13, apparently he used to play baseball, and one from his graduation two years ago. They were all shut away in the same room, an office from the looks of it. The desk seemed clutter-free, so Eddie assumed no one used it regularly. Steve had mentioned something about his parents not being home most of the time.

The rest of the house was decorated with paintings, pictures, wall art, small trinkets 'Made in Italy' or 'Handcrafted in Indonesia.' It didn't seem like a very welcoming place for family. In fact, if he didn't know Steve, he would have assumed the Harringtons didn't have any kids whatsoever. It probably wasn't his business to be looking around, but it wasn't like he was snooping. He wasn't snooping. He was just bored. It didn't really matter that much because the front door opened a few minutes later, "Be quiet. I don't know if he's sleeping."

"Huh?" Eddie poked his head out of the doorway to the dining room to see who Steve was talking to.

"Eddie!" Dustin smiled when he saw him.

"I brought you a visitor," Steve put down a few bags of groceries. "Well, more like I ran into him and he begged me to let him come see you."

"How are you? Are you feeling okay?"

"I'm alright. Harrington's got me on a strict schedule, but I think I'll manage." He sat down on the stairs to talk to Dustin while Steve went back to the car to finish bringing the rest of the bags in. "What's new with you, Henderson? You're not missing me too much, are you?"

"Actually, yeah. Mike's got this crazy idea that since you haven't been at Hellfire he gets to be DM now. It's bullshit. We need you back, it's, like, complete and total chaos."

"Ah, the true motive behind your visit comes to light... and here I thought you were worried about me."

"I was! I am! I just thought you would want an update, that's all."

He caught up with Dustin while Steve busied himself putting groceries away. It was nice to be able to talk to someone again. Someone other than Steve. Not that there was anything wrong with Steve, he just always seemed to make Eddie feel a certain way.

"Thanks for bringing Henderson over," Eddie noticed Steve hadn't really said much over dinner.

Steve smiled and looked up at him, "I don't think I had a say in the matter to be honest. He really missed you."

"Yeah, I missed him too," Eddie felt like it took all of his willpower to look away from him. "Where'd you learn how to cook?" Small talk was never his strong suit, but he hated silence.

"My mom taught me when I was little. She said, 'Your wife won't want to have the responsibility of making dinner for you every night, Steven.'" He laughed a little to himself, but it sounded bitter, "So now I make dinner for myself every night."