A Rockstars Motto (the brain on love) | Steddie

Divorced

It's a week before he can gather enough strength to sit the kids down. He shuts them down every time they try to ask questions, avoiding them when his emotions get too heavy. He can't pick up the landline, he's too scared to find out who's on the other end of the line. Dustin is the most persistent, of course. He talks to Eddie the most, calling him every day. He assumes that Eddie shuts him down too, because he continues to be just as persistently curious.

So he sends out a text on Saturday morning, which reads, 'come to Robins.' They question it with an overwhelming slew of messages but he doesn't answer them.

Dustin, of course, shows up first.

"Please, for the love of god, tell me you're going to answer my questions now," he says the moment he walks through the door of Robin's apartment. He doesn't even sit down, he just stands in front of Steve with his arms crossed over his chest.

"Yes, I will be answering your questions. Sit down and eat a bagel or something until everyone else gets here," he waved him off, his heart stuttering in his chest. Robin promised to sit at the table for emotional support but she wasn't allowed to comment or make her sympathy face. He's heard her leaving voicemails for Eddie when she thought he was sleeping. Calling him selfish and mean, emphasizing how much he broke Steve, how much he hurt him. Her face twists up every time one of his songs comes on the radio, and she'll change the station with a glare and a white knuckle grip on the steering wheel. He's envious of her anger. He wants to be as angry as she is, but he can't get the void that Eddie's absence has caused. He feels empty and numb most of the time, it's more like grief.

Dustin waits impatiently, aggressively biting at a bagel until the door opens again. Max and El show up next, curious but not demanding. Mike and Lucas get there five minutes after Max and El, and Will shows up a few minutes after them. They all pile onto the couch, Mike and Lucas on the arms.

"Okay." He dragged the coffee table back a few inches so he could sit facing all of them. He linked his fingers together so they wouldn't shake. "I want you all to understand that nothing in our relationship is going to change. I love you all, Eddie loves you all, and we are both going to be here for you no matter what." Dustin's face falls, and he knows their stomachs are probably as low as his is right now.

"Please, don't say..." Max trails off, her eyes already shining.

"Eddie and I are no longer together," he states, squeezing his hands together. Max's tears fall and they all stiffen, mouths parting and eyes widening as they stare at him.

"What?" Dustin sits forward, his cheeks pink. "Why? What happened?"

"I'm not going to give you all the details, that's between me and Eddie. I know this is hard-"

"It's not hard, it's impossible!" Max shouts, angrily wiping her tears from her cheeks. "You can't break up, you're Steve and Eddie!" Steve can't hold back his own tears anymore and no matter how hard he squeezes his hands are still shaking.

"Was it the distance?"

"Did he do something?"

"Why can't you work it out?"

"Stop!" Steve's voice breaks and the kids all fall silent, aside from a few sniffles. "I know that this is confusing and sad, I do. I'm sorry that I can't tell you everything, maybe someday I will, but for right now I need you all to stop asking questions. You still have us, okay? We're not going anywhere. We just won't be a couple anymore."

"This is worse than when my own parents divorced," Dustin said, tears streaming down his cheeks. "What about holidays? Whose house am I supposed to go to? And thanksgiving! Are you going to be able to eat together?"