I’ve never been to New Mexico
“Hey mom.” Steve is leaning against the fridge, wrapping the phone chord around his finger. He already wants this conversation to be over.
“Hi Steve,” she grimaces back, as if he’s already done something wrong. She says something about New Mexico, and a business conference and how it’s unbearably hot and Steve is doing what he always does during these phone calls, emotionally detaching so the sting of his parents words don’t cut into his skin.
“You would hate New Mexico.” That snaps him out of it.
“What?” He chokes out. He pretends it doesn’t hurt.
“We’re in the desert, and you can see all these stars from the house we’re staying at and it’s so boring.”
Steve swallows.
Steve wonders how his mother can take the stars in the sky and turn them cold.
And also how she’s so far from knowing him, the real him, that its almost laughable.
“It’s just dreadful here - oh look your fathers home! Don’t get into any trouble Stev-”and the line clicks dead.
Steve shakily sets the phone down and inhales. Part of him wants to rip it off the wall and smash it into a million tiny pieces. He never wants them to contact him again.
The funny thing is that yesterday, Nance, Rob and Eddie had all come over to help him plan their summer road trip. They took some of Erica’s left over My Little Pony stickers and mapped everything out. There was currently a pink pony placed carefully next to Santa Fe on the map. Eddie and Steve had watched as Nancy and Robin launched into an argument about which route they should take and they both ended up covered in unicorn stickers. Eddie and Steve shared a knowing look.
They all needed a break from the upside down. From what happened during spring break. So when Jonothan suggested that the kids spend the summer at Argyles family’s beach house in California, Joyce and Hopper didn’t put up much of a fight. Nancy, Robin, Eddie and Steve were going to meet them and spend the rest of the summer bugging the kids to put on sunscreen and heard them from activity to activity.
Steve loves the kids, he does. He loves the way Dustin always comes to him with his scientific discovery of the day, he loves Erica’s sense of humor, although some manners wouldn’t hurt, he loves the way Will always quietly says thank you, how El says bitchin’, how Mike can always find a way to trip over air. He loves Lucas’s high pitched laugh and the way Max rolls her eyes at Steve when he makes a lame dad joke. But the month long break had been nice. It gave him time to focus on other things.
He was actually looking forward to New Mexico.
His parents always assumed he hated the outdoors because he spent the summers of his childhood locked away inside trying not to bother anyone while his parents fought, or his mom drank too much, or when they inevitably left. Steve wasn’t exactly going to summer camps like other kids his age. Didn’t mean he didn’t want to.
Steve places his hands on the kitchen island and takes a steady breath. He isn’t going to let her get to him.
“Honey I’m homeeeeeee,” Eddie calls out from the entryway. “You would not believe what happened at practice, Gareth had the audacity to fuck up the one so- Eddie freezes and gives Steve a once over. “What’s wrong?”
“Mom called.”
“Oh.”
“Yeah.”
“What’d she say?” Eddie steps around the kitchen island and takes both of Steve’s hands in his own. Steve fidgets with Eddie’s rings.
“That I would hate New Mexico,” Steve whispers not even bothering to look up at Eddie.
“She doesn’t even know you, how would she know that?”
Steve’s silent. He wants to travel across the entire country with Eddie, do it all. And secretly he hopes that maybe one day they’d somehow have a family and do it again. Maybe every summer.
Eddie brings Steve’s hands to his face and kisses his knuckles, the sensation grounding him.
“She doesn’t deserve you Stevie.”
Steve gives Eddie a soft smile. Eddie always tells him that. Steve never fully believes him.
“They don’t deserve you,” Eddie leans his forehead against Steve’s when he says it.
“Also, the girls are coming over, we have a surprise for you.”
“What?” Steve says looking up. Eddie just raises an eyebrow and an epiphany crosses his face.
Steve watches as Eddie pats himself down till he finds what he’s looking for. He pulls out his black bandana with a smirk and motions for Steve to turn around.
“Is now really the time?” Steve muses.
“Shut up.”
Steve lets Eddie tie the black bandana around his eyes so everything is pitch black. Eddie carefully guides Steve by his shoulders till they’re standing in his front lawn.
“Eddie what the fuck.”
Eddie giggles.
“Just wait.”
Steve huffs as his boyfriend wraps an arm around the nape of his neck and pokes at his frown till it turns into a smile.
Steve suddenly hears a honk.
A very loud honk that‘s getting closer and closer. Eddie absentmindedly runs his thumb in circles on the back of Steve’s neck.
He hears a pair of footsteps on the hot pavement. “Dingus!!” Steve feels a crash of weight on his side and tries not to let that startle him. He can tell it’s Robin from a mile away.
“What are you guys doing?” Steve says, bandana wrapped tightly around his eyes as Robin squeezes his hand.
“Hey Steve!” Nancy’s voice rings out from across the lawn. He‘s faintly aware something’s jingling in her hand.
“Are you ready? Are you ready? Are you-”
“Robin,” Steve says exasperated.
“I’ll take that as yes.”
“Ok guys on the count of three,” Steve hears Eddie say.
They all inhale and in unison Robin, Nancy and Eddie start counting.
“One. Two. Three.” The bandana comes off.
Parked right in front of Steve’s house is a brand new, state of the art RV. Steve is kind of having trouble breathing.
“Guys…” he trails off.
They all look at him waiting for his reaction.
“Who’s RV is this? It’s really nice.”
Robin groans, Nancy hits her shoulder lightly.
Eddie’s hand is still resting on the back of his neck.
“It’s yours,” Eddie finally says.
That seems to snap Steve out of his daze.
“What?”
“Guys this is too much. I mean look at it!” Steve motions with his hands.
It’s the newest model. Big enough to fit the entire party and more.
“So Steve,” Robin begins, looking up at him hopefully.
“You know how Owen’s gave us all hush money? Well we talked to the kids and we were talking about how much we love you and how much you do for us, and how we want to spend as much time together as we can before the kids leave for college, and you know before we all move and everyone gets separated and how we should start doing family vacations and basically-”
“Robin,” Steve sighs.
“Let me finish! Basically we decided that we want to do family road-trips… every summer.”
Steve drinks in the words “family road-trips.” Sweat is prickling his skin from the Indiana heat.
“And we decided to all pitch in and get an RV, it’s in your name by the way, we want you to have it.”
Steve is at a loss for words. Robin is still waiving her hands around in excitement, Nancy‘s looking at him expectantly and Eddie’s palm is now cemented on his shoulder.
“Why me?”
“Because we love you dingus, duh.”
“Plus we gotta make room for those six little nuggets huh Stevie,” Eddie whispers into his ear with a smile.
Steve lets their words wash over him. He loves them so much. He doesn’t know what he did to deserve them but he’s grateful nonetheless. Steve breaks out into a wide grin and catches Eddie’s gaze.
Robin makes a gagging noise as Nancy presses the RV’s keys into his free hand. The key is dangling from a unicorn keychain.
She smiles. “Wanna see the inside?”
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