Perfectly You. -Steddie

04.

A/N

I'd like to give you all a bit of a warning before you read this chapter.

This chapter will contain Steve's dead name and a short overview of how his transition began. It'll also have a brief look into Steve's feelings as a child.

It's not too detailed (I hope) but I figured a warning wouldn't hurt.

...

Movie nights became a tradition between the party, they alternated between each other's homes and sometimes the kids joined in too. It was nice having something that felt normal, without the weight of monsters and saving Hawkins resting on their shoulders. They felt like normal adults and the kids could finally be kids without any threat looming over them.

Robin and Vickie were pretty much inseparable as the weeks went by, spending every movie night huddled together and whispering to each other when they thought nobody was looking. Robin came into work everyday sporting a massive smile and telling Steve all about their late night phone calls. It was as annoying as it was endearing.

He loved seeing his friend happy, she deserved it more than anyone he knew. She was constantly bubbling over with joy and going on long parades about how pretty Vickie is and how seeing her smile makes her feel warm inside. It was cute.

Steve sported a massive smile as Robin recounted their date to him. Turns out Vickie took his advice and their first kiss was on the feris wheel, Robin said it was magical. She told him all about the shooter games they played and how both of them won prizes, Vickie won a giant stuffed frog for her and she won a giant panda bear for Vickie. She told him how they shared some fries from the same box and got corn dogs and slushies.

While Robin was moving forward in her relationship, Steve was wallowing in self pity because he still hadn't done anything to further his relationship with Eddie. He also hasn't spoken to Robin yet and it was starting to eat at him. He really wanted to but he wasn't sure how to bring it up. How does one explain something like this.

Should he go with a simple 'Rob I was born as a girl and I have a vagina.' or should he ease into it and make casual mentions of having top surgery done? How does one make a conversation about top surgery simple though? He had no idea.

So he let it simmer, avoiding the topic like the pest even though it was harder to keep it to himself each day. He knew that he didn't have to tell her, it was his thing to deal with but he wanted to tell her. He wanted someone to support him, to understand what he was going through and how he felt sometimes. He wanted someone to talk to when his emotions got messed up, or when the body dysmorphia got so bad that he couldn't even look at himself in the mirror. He needed it.

So he spent the last month trying to build up the courage to say something and he was sure that he would tell her soon. He had to for his own sanity.

The only person who knew about it was Nancy, she found out while they were dating and she handled it okay. She was shocked and didn't really know what to say or do about it so she didn't comment on it. He remembered that day so vividly and constantly replayed it in his head.

Steve sat on the edge of his bed and let out a heavy sigh. Nancy was seated up against the headboard, a nervous look on her face after seeing her boyfriend freak out because she wanted to undress him in the heat of the moment. The air in the room felt heavy and she didn't know what to say so she stayed silent and waited until he was ready to speak.

“I'm sorry for freaking out like that,” he started. His voice sounded wrecked, like he was on the verge of falling apart.

She let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding before moving forward and settling next to him. She sat sideways so that she was facing him and reached out slowly before slipping her hand into his.