"phone for ya, eds," wayne chuckles as he comes out of the house to the front porch where everyone's sitting. "think your boy's had one too many."
eddie frowns and stamps down the worry bubbling inside him. steve rarely ever drinks anymore. doesn't smoke anymore, either. not since starcourt. eddie slides off the porch swing where he'd been sitting with his aunt pep and goes inside to the wall phone in the kitchen, the receiver laying on the counter.
"steve?" he says, lifting the phone to his ear.
"country boy, i love youuuuuuuu!"
steve's words are slurred, which doesn't make eddie any less panicked. what happened? was he okay? eddie leaves to visit his family for one week and he can't seem to escape the horrors that hawkins, indiana seems to breed every day.
"stevie? baby, you okay?" eddie tries to keep his voice from shaking.
there's a laugh on the other line and steve flat out yells into the phone, "eddie! hi!" yep. he's definitely drunk. eddie strains to hear any background noise that would give any hints as to where steve is at, but it's silent.
eddie's knuckles grip the phone. "where are you, sweetheart? are you safe?"
steve makes a grumbling noise, like he's talking to someone else and eddie doesn't know if that makes him feel better or worse.
"i'm fiiiiiine, eds," steve says after another second of grumbling. "teds. teddy. teddy bear." he starts listing every iteration of eddie's name, and eddie doesn't want him to stop. if he keeps going, then eddie knows he's not in immediate danger.
"dingus! stop hogging the phone!"
"robbie, i'm trying to talk to my boyfriend," steve whines and there's sounds of a scuffle and "no—hey—robin, it's still my turn—!"
"hi, eddie!" robin's voice is suddenly in his ear and sounding just as drunk as steve. jesus christ, eddie's never leaving them unsupervised again.
eddie sighs and runs a hand down his face. "robin, where the hell are you? and why are you drunk?" these two are gonna finish what the bats started and put him in an early grave, he swears it.
on her end, robin groans. "dingus!" she scolds steve. "you didn't remind him?"
"remind me of what, bobbie?" eddie asks. now that he's sure the two of them are somewhat coherent and probably not in danger, he feels so fucking tired all of a sudden.
"it's my birthday, doofus!"
well now eddie feels awful. steve reminded him before he and wayne left, but in all the excitement of seeing the rest of his family again, it slipped eddie's mind.
robin continues, "and you, theodore munson!"
if eddie thought he was off the hook, he's dead wrong. he's never hearing the end of this now. it's not likely, but maybe luck will be on his side for once and she'll forget this conversation ever happened.
"you owe me a birthday breakfast, lunch, and dinner when you get back. and you have to buy me a present."
eddie rests his forehead on the wall as a laugh bubbles up out of his chest at the ridiculousness of the situation. "alright, birdie," he promises. "as soon as i get back, i'll start right on it and get you the most expensive present i can afford."
"it better break your bank account, munson!" she threatens, but eddie knows she's bluffing.
"alright, birthday girl, can you put steve back on?"
robin yells out for steve. "you better not be doing any hanky panky on my birthday, dingus," she warns before steve comes on the line.
"hi, baby." he's definitely still drunk, but he's quieter, not yelling into the phone like he was a few minutes ago.
warmth fills eddie's chest and he leans his shoulder on the wall, angling himself away from the door to give himself a sense of privacy in case anyone comes inside. "hey sweetheart," he says just as softly. "you two having fun?"
he can practically see steve's nod. "mhm," he confirms. "miss you, though. wish you were here."
eddie's gonna marry this boy someday, just you wait.
"i miss you, too, sugar," eddie tells him. "wayne said he thinks you've had a little too much to drink."
"no i haven't!" steve's voice raises for a second before dropping back down again. "just had one... three... four beers, i promise."
eddie hums, not bothering to hide the amused grin on his face. "uh-huh. s'at why you sound drunker than a skunk, right now, sweet thing?"
steve huffs and eddie wants so badly to kiss the pout off his boyfriends lips. "m'not drunk," he says without any real argument.
"alright, i believe you," eddie concedes. he can't help but to let a little worry back in. he bites his lip. "can you promise me something, stevie?"
steve's answer is immediate and almost shatters eddie's heart. "i'll promise you forever, teddy."
eddie takes a breather to calm himself down so he doesn't jump in wayne's truck and make the five hour drive back to hawkins. "promise me you'll call nancy if either of you start to feel weird?"
steve hums in his ear, like a purring cat. "i promise, baby. cross my heart 'n everything."
eddie grins and wishes he was there in front of him so he could touch him. "thank you. i won't keep you any longer, then. i'm sure birdie's getting impatient."
"she's always impatient," steve huffs. "it's her best quality."
there's no argument there.
"i love you, stevie. call me tomorrow when you wake up?"
steve sighs softly. "i love you, eddie." he makes exaggerated kissing noises over the phone until he hangs up.
eddie hangs the receiver up. he's here in his grandmother's kitchen, surrounded by his family, but his heart has never felt as full as it does in this moment.
