stolen kisses • steddie

28.

28.

Robin saw Eddie's van pull up and stood up from where she was sitting next to Steve. She watched as Eddie hurried to get out of the car, rushing inside. "Where is he?"

"He's right here," Robin gestured behind the counter to the floor where Steve was sitting.

Eddie made his way over to Steve and sat down next to him, wrapping an arm around him and pulling him close. Steve leaned into him, not saying a word. He let out a tired sigh and put a hand on his head, signaling to Eddie that it hurt.

"Are you okay?" Eddie spoke softly, rubbing Steve's back slightly.

"I don't know. I'm sorry," Steve muttered, not looking at Eddie or Robin.

"Please take him home. I don't think he's feeling well enough to come back to work," Robin spoke quietly to Eddie, and Steve shook his head, standing.

"I can work."

"Steve, I don't think it's a good idea," Robin put a hand on Steve's arm in a comforting way, and Eddie nodded in agreement.

"I promise I'm fine, you two. Stop worrying so much about me," Steve joked, getting a quiet laugh out of Eddie.

"It's all I do," Eddie put a hand on Steve's lower back, lightly pushing him to leave the store. "Come on, Robin can handle the store today."

Robin nodded and opened the front door for the two boys, waving as they got in Eddie's van. Eddie helped Steve into the passenger's seat of the car and got in on his own side once Steve was settled.

As they got back to the trailer, Steve had just gotten settled on the couch as the phone rang. Eddie hurried to pick it up, motioning for Steve to stay put.

"Eddie here," Eddie picked up the phone and raised his eyebrows as he heard who was on the other line. "Hey, Chief Hopper."

"Is Steve there? We need him to make an official statement so that we can bring Jason Carver in on assault charges," Hopper explained, which got a sigh out of Eddie.

"Does it have to be right now? He's not feeling well today, he needs to rest," Eddie spoke quietly, hoping Steve didn't hear him.

"He can come in tomorrow morning, I'll be here at eight to take his statement. Thank you, Eddie," Hopper hung up the phone, as did Eddie.

"Who was that?" Steve questioned from the couch.

"Chief Hopper," Eddie sat down next to him, pulling Steve close to him.

"What did he need?" Steve glanced at Eddie, reaching for his hand and holding it gently.

"He wants you to go in to the police station tomorrow morning and make an official statement about what happened. He wants to bring Jason in on assault charges," Eddie explained, and Steve sighed, nodding.

"It's probably for the best, he needs to stop pestering us."

"Are you sure you want to press charges?" Eddie ran his thumb across Steve's jawline and pressed a kiss to his forehead.

"I think it needs to happen in order for us to get some peace," Steve nodded again and sat up. "I didn't think I would press charges at first, but I think it'll be for the best."

"If you're sure, you go for it," Eddie gave Steve a small smile and gave his hand a small squeeze.

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Steve walked into the police station at eight o'clock sharp the next morning. Eddie had driven him and decided to wait in the car while Steve did what he needed to do. Chief Hopper noticed him walk in and waved him over to a different room. Steve nodded and followed him, hesitant.

This wasn't the first time he had been there. There had been numerous fights where Hopper had to come break them up, and he would always bring Steve into the station to try and teach him a lesson. Steve didn't learn that lesson for a while.

"So, I'm going to take your statement, and then you need to tell me whether or not you'd like to press charges," Hopper explained, sitting down and gesturing for Steve to do the same.

Steve sat down, taking a quick look around before looking back at Hopper.

"Why don't you start off with telling me what happened?" Hopper questioned, leaning back slightly in his chair.

Steve nodded nervously, shifting in his seat before speaking up. "I was staying at Eddie's trailer, I had issues with my parents and decided not to stay at home. Jason and a few others came by one day, while Eddie was there too, and they beat him up a little bit before leaving."

Steve conveniently left out the part where he threatened them with a bat if they didn't leave Eddie alone. He figured he didn't need to be questioned about that at the moment, and it wasn't too much of an important detail.

"They came back the night after. Eddie wasn't home, it was just me. I just got home from work and I heard a knock on the door. I grabbed some sort of weapon for safety and went to answer it, but I was put in a headlock," Steve stopped, taking a deep breath as he recalled the events of that traumatizing night. "Andy was the one who had me in a headlock, and Jason came in with two others. They basically held me down and.."

Hopper could tell it was difficult for Steve to talk about that night, and waited patiently as Steve collected his thoughts.

"They just beat the shit out of me. One hit after another. Then, on their way out, Jason took a pocketknife and sliced up my arm," Steve rolled up his sleeve to show the bandage that covered his healing wound. "That's all I remember before I passed out and woke up at the hospital."

Hopper sighed as he leaned forward on his elbows. "Thank you for explaining it all, I know it was probably difficult. Would you like to press charges against Jason and the others?"

Steve thought for a moment before slowly nodding. "I think so."

Hopper nodded. "Now, answer one last question for me. Did Jason have any motive to go after you? Did you provoke him in any way?"

The ultimate question that Steve hoped he wouldn't have to answer. He debated between telling Hopper everything, or telling him that he didn't know anything.

"Not that I can think of. I know that they hate Eddie for some reason, and I guess I was an easier target."

Hopper stood from his seat and opened the door to the separate conference-like room. "That's all I needed. Thank you."

Steve gave him a small smile and stood, leaving the room and heading towards the doors of the police station. As he left, he heard Hopper giving orders to bring in Jason and the three others that attacked him.

Eddie was waiting outside the station, leaning against his van. He was twisting the ends of his hair nervously, and let out a sigh of relief when he saw Steve. "How'd it go?"

"It was fine, he asked me to explain what happened and then asked me if I wanted to press charges. I said yes," Steve explained, and Eddie lightly touched Steve's arm.

"It looks like they're going after them now," Eddie noticed a handful of officers leaving and getting into their patrol cars, sirens wailing as they tore out of the parking lot.

"I don't think I'm going to hear the end of this from anyone," Steve sighed, going around the front of Eddie's van and getting in the passenger's seat.

"At least we'll finally get some peace around here," Eddie said jokingly, sighing as he looked over at Steve.

Steve reached for Eddie's hand and held it tightly. He didn't know what he would do if he didn't have Eddie.

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a/n: thank you for your patience on this chapter!! my home state got hit with a hurricane and i've been helping get things set back up and dealing with power outages. hope you enjoyed it, next one coming soon!

- jj