And All That Could Have Been (Steddie)

Hope We Can Again

Eddie pushed all thoughts of Steve out of his mind. He didn't want to think about him. He didn't want him in his life. It hurt too damned much. Eddie couldn't figure it out. Why did it hurt as much as it did? It had been fifteen years. He'd done a damned good job of not thinking about him for many years. He'd even convinced himself that he didn't have feelings for him anymore. But he did. He loved Steve Harrington with every fiber of his being. He always had and he always would. That was why he was still single. He couldn't let himself love anyone else. His love for Steve was so all-consuming that there was no room in his heart to love someone else. Not romantically anyway.

So, Eddie focused on Charlotte, and the diner, and Christmas. Those were the only things that mattered. Those were the things that were important. Eddie let Charlotte decorate the diner, though he insisted that he was putting up his black aluminum Metalli-tree. That wasn't even up for discussion. Charlotte could do anything else she wanted to do; Eddie trusted her.

And that was how Eddie ended up on a ladder on top of the diner, nailing rows of Christmas lights to the roof. He didn't mind. Not really. If it made his little girl happy, then he was glad to do it. Besides, she was inside running things in his absence. When he'd walked out with the box of lights, she was acting as both hostess and waitress, and doing it with a smile. She never minded working for her dad; and he paid her well for it.

Charlotte clipped an order to the order wheel and spun it around so Louie, the cook on duty today, could get it. He smiled sweetly at her, and she smiled back just as the bell over the front door jingled. She turned, still smiling, to greet the new customer but she froze in her tracks when Steve Harrington walked in. Her smile faltered for a fraction of a second, but then he saw her and smiled back. He approached the counter and took a seat on one of the stools as Charlotte approached with an order pad in one hand and a pen in the other.

"Hi," Steve said amicably.

"Hi." She was friendly and welcoming, but inside she was praying that Eddie would stay on the roof until Steve was done eating and was long gone. "What can I get you?"

"Uhm, let me see." He looked up at the menu over the chef's window and squinted. "Sorry," he chuckled. "I forgot my glasses. A burger and fries?"

"Sure," Charlotte answered. "Regular, turkey, or meatless?" Steve raised an eyebrow at her. "I convinced my dad he'd get more business if he offered healthier alternatives. We have regular burgers, turkey burgers, and black bean veggie burger."

"Your dad, huh?" She nodded. "He still works here?"

"Oh, no," Charlotte laughed. "Daddy owns this place. He bought it when Benny retired."

"He owns it." It wasn't a question, but Charlotte nodded anyway. "Let's go with a black bean veggie burger," Steve said after a long moment of thought. "No cheese, no pickles."

"Something to drink?"

"Diet Coke?"

"Coming right up." Charlotte scribbled his order on her order pad, ripped the top sheet off, then stuck it to the order wheel and gave it a spin. When she turned back around, Steve was still smiling at her. She went back to the counter and absently picked at the Formica between them. "Hey, can I ask you something?"

"Of course."

"When you came in, you didn't know my daddy owned this diner, did you?" Steve shook his head. "If you had known, would you have still come in?"

"I'm hungry, so maybe," he laughed. "But in all honesty, I probably wouldn't have."

"He's up on the roof hanging Christmas lights," she told him. "Wouldn't you maybe rather take your food to go?"