#(and put an arm around Keith when he did that!)
Text
Mick teasing Charlie during final bows (Shine A Light: 2008, dir. Martin Scorsese)
#I still can’t believe that mick just walked up to Charlie#unzipped his jacket#and started grinding on him#(and put an arm around Keith when he did that!)#what is this band?#the rolling stones#charlie watts#keith richards#old married band#mick jagger#ronnie wood#gifset#gif set#martin scorsese#the married trio
17 notes
·
View notes
Text
Employee of the Month // Eddie Munson
Prompt: enemies-to-lovers, “the employee of the month gets a free dinner to a fancy restaurant and you both fight to win it until it goes too far and oh shit, I think I love you but everything is falling apart.”
wc: 24K (don't even ask)
tags: miscommunication, cursing, misunderstandings, idiots in love being idiots in love, female reader
Masterlist
YOU groaned the second you walked into the store and heard the sounds of Nightmare on Elm Street playing on the television. “Isn’t it my turn to pick the movie?” You asked, walking past the counter and into the back. Precariously balancing your coffee and breakfast sandwich on the ledge of the lockers, you started pulling your jacket off.
“Well, if you arrived on time, your Grace, you’d have been able to,” Eddie’s grating voice filtered in through the swinging door.
Gritting your teeth, you closed your eyes and counted to ten. It’s illegal to murder. You’d go to jail. Your mother would cry if you went to trial. His body would be too heavy to drag into a ditch. The blood would stain your favorite shoes. Dustin would never forgive you. You hadn’t helped stitch his body back together only to turn around and kill him now.
“I am on time, shithead, you’re just always early,” you hissed.
“It’s been literal seconds and you two are already fighting?” Robin groaned from where she had her face buried into her elbow at the counter. You shrugged on your vest, put your backpack into the locker and slammed it shut.
“He started it,” you said defensively.
Eddie turned, hair flipping like he was some goddamn heroine in a movie, and shot you an incredulous look. “Did you not just come in, metaphorical guns blazing?”
“It’s my turn to pick the movie!” You insisted. And it was. You always picked the movie on Mondays. Always.
His brows furrowed, as if confused by your genuine anger. “Then pick the movie! The TV has an eject button or did you need me to help you learn how to use it?”
A small ember lit in your chest like it always did when you were around his infuriating presence. “Need I remind you that I’ve worked here longer than you have, Munson?” You huffed, grabbing an armful of the returns without looking and walking around the store. “Some of us graduated the first time around.”
Eddie snorted, the barb falling short. “You’ll need to find a new insult, Lightning.”
The condescending tone rung throughout the air. “Do not call me that,” you hissed, whipping your head around to glare at him.
He held up his hands and didn’t even try to hide his smirk. “I didn’t give you the nickname Superstar.”
You hated it when he called you that. It always sounded so patronizing. “Have I ever told you how much I hate you?” You grumbled, making sure to clip his shoulder with your own as you passed him.
“On a daily basis,” he retorted, whirling his arms in the air to keep his balance.
Steve sighed as he walked in and saw you both glaring at each other. “It’s been less than an hour, how are you both already arguing?”
“He started it,” you grumbled again, turning around and started to shelve the returns.
“He started it,” Eddie mimicked, yelping when Robin smacked him. You started in the far back left-hand corner and did what you always did when you were on shift with Eddie – you ignored him.
A half hour into shelving, and only midway through your coffee, you heard Steve groan loudly. Robin’s head popped out from the aisle behind you and she sighed. “Keith incoming,” she alerted you all, everyone rolling their eyes. “Oh shit, he’s coming with a suit.”
“What?” You asked, hurrying around the corner to join her. Catching sight of the senior supervisor, one of the execs in suits who show up once a few months – if that – you frowned. “You think we’re being shut down?”
“I hope not, this place is a shithole but it’s a paycheck,” Eddie grumbled, starting up the computer and pretending to look busy.
“Good morning, everyone,” Keith said, uncharacteristically polite as the entrance door swung open.
Hiding a laugh behind a cough, Robin and you nodded. Keith looked like a small child who’d gotten dressed in his parent’s working clothes.
“We’ll be in my office,” Keith said through his teeth, shooting you all a look as the suit disappeared through the door.
Robin turned to you instantly. “Oh shit, do you think we’re actually getting closed down?”
“Honestly, at this point, that job down at the grocery store is looking more appealing,” you sighed.
Steve, on the other hand, sputtered. “I don’t! This might be a shit job but I still need the money,” he huffed. “Driving you people around is expensive.”
Robin rolled her eyes and you shot him a look. “I drive the other half of your kids, so don’t even look at me.”
“They’re not my kids!”
“Well, they became mine through you so, what’s that say?” You asked, joining him behind the counter.
“That you and Robin wouldn’t leave well enough alone at the mall,” Steve huffed.
Robin whipped her head around. “If it wasn’t for us, you and Henderson wouldn’t have cracked the code!”
“I took a punch for you,” you said, elbowing him.
Steve shook his head but you saw the smile building. Much like Robin’s entrance into the party, you’d been hired at Scoops Ahoy when Starcourt opened as a part-time employee. Also, like Robin, you’d been hesitant to trust the self-proclaimed reformed Steve ‘The Hair’ Harrington. You’d known Robin, your next-door neighbor, for years. Despite the suspicion, you’d become pretty close friends. There was something about surviving a near apocalypse that bonded you all together. Especially considering his band of kids had welcomed you in with open arms.
“Demobats ate chunks of my skin off, you aren’t special,” said Eddie, tone – once again – grating on your skull.
Grinding your teeth, you ignored Steve’s pointed look and did what you did second best – shot him a withering glare and pretended he didn’t exist.
Unfortunately, your newfound friendships had led you back to Eddie Munson a few months ago. Despite fighting off those demented demobats with him in the Upside Down, and the way your heart had dropped to your feet when you fought to save his life, your distrust for him had only deepened.
“You both have to get over it eventually,” Steve grumbled under his breath. You reached out, quickly, and pinched his bicep. He yelped, brown eyes widening pitifully, and you glared at him.
Eddie and you hadn’t always had this…animosity. Steve had managed to break you down eventually, pulling the reason why from you after a summer party when you’d gotten plastered.
You had never thought of yourself as a spiteful person, but some things weren’t easy to get over. And what Eddie Munson had done to you was one of them. The worst part, was him acting like it had been your fault. That dumb, big-eyed, stupid son of a –
“Nice to see you all,” the suit said, coming out Keith’s office suddenly. You all mumbled incoherently, straightening when Keith glared, and watched as they walked out.
Not five minutes later, Keith sauntered back in with a smug look on his face. “Apparently, we’re the best performing Family Video in all of North Indiana.”
“Cool,” Eddie said, the nerd actually looked interested. You’d already known the store was doing better – considering Family Video was the only video store around for miles after the earthquake. The three of you had struggled enough to warrant bringing Munson into the mix.
“What does that mean?” Robin asked, always voicing the question on everyone’s mind.
Keith snorted. “That means, ducklings, we get to reap some perks.”
“Perks?” Steve asked, eyes brightening. Keith ignored him and turned to the rest of you.
“For starters, the suits are instating a best employee of the month,” he said, “excluding me of course because it wouldn’t be fair otherwise.”
You coughed, putting a hand up to your chest to really sell it, and attempted to hide your laughter within the sound.
“And what do we get if we win?” Eddie asked.
Would Family Video shell anything out? You wondered. They barely managed to replace your vest for free after you’d shredded it to shit from your adventures during spring break.
Keith leaned in, failing spectacularly at building tension, and smiled. You only just barely refrained from flinching back at the sight. “Get this, the first employee of the month gets a free dinner to Osteria da Fortuna. I get a free dinner obviously, because I’m the senior manager…”
His voice trailed off in your mind, your eyes widening and back straightened. Osteria? The fancy ass Italian restaurant downtown? Holy shit, you’d been dying to go there ever since Heather went with her boyfriend and told you about the desserts. She’d said it was the best tiramisu she’d ever tasted in her life.
By the time you’d snapped out of your daydream buffet, Keith had gone into his office again.
“Oh my God, I need that dinner. It’s the only thing that’ll help recover this month – shit, this year,” you said to Robin, her eyes softening. She’d been well aware of how shitty your life had been of late. “I’ve always wanted to go there!”
“Uh, everyone wants to go there, sweetheart,” Eddie said, his voice patronizing, “it’s the best restaurant for miles.”
You glared at him but he did what he did best, continue to annoy you.
“Besides, we’ve all had a shitty year.” He flipped his stupid hair again and you clenched your hands. Why did he always have to twist your words around? You hadn’t meant that yours had been worse than anyone else’s. You were well aware of how shit of a spring break ’86 had been for a lot of you.
“How no one has ever choked you is a mystery to me,” you said, matter of fact. A brief image of your hands around his neck made you smirk.
Eddie turned to glance at you over his shoulder. “I won’t say no if you’re offering Princess,” he winked.
Your heart slammed against your ribcage. Ignoring his jab, and the sudden rage in your chest, you walked into the breakroom to grab your cold breakfast sandwich. Heating it up in the tiny microwave you grabbed your bottle of water before stalking out again.
Keith leaned against the counter, reprimanding Steve about something, and his nose twitched. Eyes drawing towards you, they narrowed and you felt nervous. Shit. Keith had never cared when you ate and worked but you definitely didn’t want to piss him off as you started the race towards that dinner.
“Holy shit I haven’t eaten since last night I’m starving,” Keith said instead of admonishing you.
The idea popped in your head and before you could think twice, you offered Keith the wrapped breakfast sandwich. “Do you want it? I’m not that hungry,” you said, begging your growling stomach to stay quiet for a while.
You saw the appreciative glint in Keith’s eyes when he took his first bite – and by the scowl on Eddie’s face, he had too.
“Thanks Lightning, you’re a lifesaver,” he said, “you always were my favorite. I’ll be back later losers.”
With a flurry, Keith was out the door and the only noise for a few moments was Freddy Kreuger killing Glen. Then, your stomach roared to life.
“Not hungry?” Eddie echoed flatly.
Robin, however, stepped in before you could start another fight. “Well played you, well played,” she said, offering you a high five.
“If I give you my entire paycheck, will you take me with you when you win?” Steve asked, eyes pleading. It didn’t take a genius to know there was no way Keith was choosing Steve.
“As if,” Robin snorted, “she’s taking me.”
You watched them bicker amicably, laughing when Steve gaped at Robin after a low blow and barely registered Eddie next to you.
“I’m gonna win the dinner,” he said, nonchalantly.
Eyes darting up to his, ignoring his cologne wafting over to you, you glared at him. “Whatever, Munson.” Jesus, is that all you could come up with? What the fuck was in that cologne?
Eddie, however, just smiled. “Let the games begin.”
Where the hell was everyone? You mused, walking into an open, but empty, store. Considering the schedule posted yesterday – Eddie, Robin, and you were set to open today.
Spinning your keys on your finger, you walked back into the locker room and tossed your stuff inside. Pulling your vest out, you shrugged it on and went to fill up your water. Once you were by the cooler you realized the back door was propped open.
What the?
You quietly stepped forward, eyes darting around looking for who was out there when you heard Keith’s voice.
“Dude, are you sure?” Keith asked, voice tinged with excitement.
Eddie’s soft voice filtered in through the crack. “Absolutely. I had extras and you know we’re cool right? I thought – why not ask Keith if he wants to take them off my hands.” Narrowing your eyes, you crossed your arms. You knew that tone – that was Eddie’s ‘I’m a bad liar but no one can tell,’ tone.
Keith stepped into view and you watched him take the Ziploc bag from Eddie’s hand. You bit your cheek to keep from cursing.
Joints.
Of course Eddie was going to start sucking up too. Because there’s no way he couldn’t let you have this – why would he? He’s been a pain in your ass from the start. What the hell could you give Keith that one upped free weed? Fuck, you needed to get creative.
There was no way in hell you were letting Munson win this fucking dinner. At this point, it was a matter of pride.
Scrambling to the front of the store, you started your morning to-do list with fervor. Robin stumbled in, looking still half asleep, she motioned to the back and you barely nodded in her direction.
A few minutes later, Eddie sauntered out. Grinding your teeth, you shifted your shoulders away from him so you didn’t have to look at him directly.
“It’s rude to eavesdrop you know,” Eddie said eventually, hopping onto the counter to your left.
You felt a flash of embarrassment at being caught but you carefully stomped it down. Without flinching, or hesitation, you lifted your eyes to his and quirked your brow. Leaning in slowly, you watched his eyes widen and his mouth part. You waited a moment to speak, eyes drawn to the way you were sure his brown ones had flashed down to your own mouth. Just a little closer, the tiny – stupidly intrusive - voice in your head echoed.
Blinking away the thought, you smirked. “It’s illegal to sell drugs, you know,” you said. Eddie gaped at you, clearly not expecting that, and huffed a moment too late.
Swiveling in your chair you turned to the computer, indicating that you were done speaking and you’d taken it as a win.
Not one to ever let you have the last word, “It wasn’t a sale, it was a gift,” he said.
You hummed, just as petty. “I’m sure Hopper would love to hear that explanation,” you said agreeably. Everyone knew that after El and Joyce, you were Hopper’s favorite.
Eddie grumbled and slinked off towards the returns. Internally pumping your fist, your win was quickly extinguished when Keith came out. “Alright I’m off until tomorrow. Don’t forget to tell Harrington to make sure the box is shut this time,” Keith said, with a weird grin on his face, and turned to Eddie. “Thanks again man, I really appreciate it.” He winked and you had to practically bite a crater into your bottom lip to keep from gagging.
“No worries,” Eddie said, smug expression radiating from the back. You could hear his stupid unsaid words. Your turn, Lightning.
You scowled. God, even imaginary him was unbearable.
“What the fuck?” You muttered to yourself as you opened up the store. “Where the hell is everyone?”
This time, the entire store was dark. You went around quickly flipping the lights on and checked the time. I’m on time, you thought, checking the backrooms. Your morning shift was scheduled as it usually was, an hour after opening, but Eddie was nowhere to be found.
Shit – that never happened. Eddie was always on time.
For a brief second, you wondered if something had happened to him. Anxious fingers already reaching for the phone, you realized you didn’t know his number. Keith would have it, right? Were you ever allowed to look at employee records? Where the hell did Keith keep employee information anyway? Spiraling, you glanced around you one more time like you’d accidentally missed him in the store.
Calm down, you told yourself, Eddie was probably just lazing around like he usually did.
He’s never been late to work, your mind reminded you, especially not your Tuesday morning shifts. Tuesdays were Steve’s day off – Robin always joined you after school at 4PM and helped you close. The both of you would bicker the entire morning about his movie pick, argue about who was shelving returns faster, and usually eventually draw a tentative truce with the shitty coffee from the kitchen.
Despite your vow to never say it out loud – you knew Eddie took work seriously. He was a massive asshole but he was weirdly earnest about this stupid video store. Yanking the phone to your ear, you dialed a number you did know quickly.
“Hello?” A groggy voice answered.
Without preamble, and with a pitch high enough to rival Robin’s, your words stumbled out your mouth. “Steve, I need you to call Eddie. It’s ten thirty and I just came in and had to open the store and he’s always here on time Steve. Always. It’s the most annoying fucking thing on the planet how punctual he is. Something had to have happened on the road or like, I don’t know but-”
“-wait, wait, I just woke up, what are you talking about?”
Annoyance surged through you. “Eddie didn’t show up for his shift!” You hissed into the phone.
“Shit, really?” Steve asked a little shocked despite the sleep clinging to his voice.
“Yes, really! I had to open the store when I showed up a few minutes ago.”
Steve suddenly went quiet. “Fuuuuck,” he said, now sounding completely awake, “is today Tuesday?”
“Yes?”
“Fuck, I totally forgot,” Steve groaned, “Munson asked me to cover his shift.”
You chose to actively ignore the relief that bloomed in your chest. “Jesus Christ Steve,” you sighed, the worry draining out of you and making you feel lightheaded.
“I know, I know, I’m so sorry! I can be there in like five minutes-” a loud crashing sound made you wince and lean away from the receiver. “Ouch,” Steve groaned pathetically.
Biting back your laughter you shook your head. Steve Harrington was undoubtedly, not a morning person. “Hey, it’s fine. Tuesday mornings aren’t exactly rush hour over here. Take the morning off, I’ll be fine until the afternoon.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah, Harrington, I’m sure. I owe you one anyway,” you rubbed a hand down your face, suddenly exhausted.
“Thanks dude, I’ll be down in a few hours, I’ll bring you coffee,” Steve said gratefully.
“From the good place!”
Steve laughed but promised to bring you the largest cup of coffee they had.
The morning, predictably, was slow. You spent the first half of it shelving returns and the second half of it assisting the odd customer that made their way by. Right as the latest man walked out the door, you caught sight of Keith leaning against his car. Groaning, you straightened and tried to look like you weren’t bored out of your mind.
Right as he started towards the store, you watched him chuck the butt of a joint towards the side. Keith had a dumb smile on his face and yesterday’s interaction slammed into you. Scowling, you smacked the enter button on the keyboard a bit too hard.
“Morning,” Keith drawled, the scent of weed wafting over to you. Grinding your molars, you could practically see the dinner slipping from your fingers.
“Hey,” you greeted, trying and failing to sound upbeat.
“Where’s Munson? I need to thank him again for – a favor he did me,” Keith ended lamely.
You opened your mouth to let him know what had happened but you hesitated. Shit. As of last year, the suits had established a new rule about swapping shifts. They all needed the manager’s approval. If Keith was here asking for Eddie, he hadn’t approved the swap. Steve was on thin ice considering the rule was put in place because of him.
An idea sprouted in the back of your mind and you chewed on your bottom lip. Was it too far? Eddie’s smug expression taunted you for a moment before you shook your head.
“I don’t know actually, he hasn’t called and wasn’t here when I came in,” you said, making an exaggerated notion of checking your watch. Gasping a little dramatically, you put a hand up to your chest. “Oh wow, I hadn’t even realized he’s two hours late! I’ve just been so busy here with customers,” you added, smiling dutifully and completely ignoring the empty store.
A small frown formed on Keith’s face but he shot you an appraising look before nodding. “Good job, thanks for keeping us in shipshape. You’ve always been reliable.”
Shipshape? You cringed at his wide, and weirdly sincere looking smile, before offering a weak one yourself. “Yes sir.”
Yes sir? Jesus you were laying it on thick.
Keith preened at the term and sauntered out the store without another word.
You really should’ve known better than to assume Eddie wasn’t going to try and get back at you.
“Are you fucking kidding me Munson?” You screamed, kicking the front door open so hard that the frame rattled.
Eddie stood behind the counter, eyes glinting, and you could practically feel his skin underneath your hands as you smothered him with a plastic bag. Smug fucker.
“Oh, I’m sorry, did you forget to see the change in schedule?” He asked with his stupid smirk on his face. Seeing red, you had a brief moment where you considered launching forward to actually kill him.
Picking a happy medium, you picked up a nearby box of Twizzlers, you launched it at his head and he ducked, shooting you an incredulous look. “I just got yelled at for thirty minutes by Keith,” you said, launching another box of candy. “I didn’t give you a fake schedule making you miss your shift, Eddie. You’re the one who swapped without telling anyone.”
“I told Steve! Who told you!” Eddie argued, eyes flashing.
Putting your hands on your hips you shot him a glare. “Yeah, which is still not allowed!”
“Oh,” Eddie said, his tone dripping with incredulity. He huffed and stomped over to you. “Get off your pedestal, Lightning, don’t act like you give a shit about store rules.”
Stepping closer, you felt your arms brush as you poked his shoulder. “I’m not saying I do, but what did you want me to do? Get you both in trouble?”
“Not lie would be a good start!” Eddie shouted, poking back at you. God, he was infuriating. And why the hell did he always smell so good? “You saw an opportunity and you went for it! I was just evening out the playing field.”
You laughed incredulously. The audacity of this idiot. “Right, and you giving him your weed was what? You being kind?”
Sputtering for a second, you crossed your arms to avoid the visceral instinct to smack him.
“Whatever, the point is we’re even now!”
Even? How the hell were you even? “Munson if you think we’re even, you’re even more of an idiot than I thought.”
At that, he raised his brow. His eyes darted over your face, a ghost of a smile twitching on his lips. “Yeah? Alright then Superstar, you want a war?”
“Bring it on,” you hissed, stomping off into the backroom.
Flipping the sign on the door around to closed, you sighed in relief when the last customer drove off.
“I’m going to go change!” Robin called out, disappearing into the backroom. Steve already had his Westley costume on, black mask and all.
With a twirl and outstretched arms, he asked you what you thought. “You look great Steve,” you said with a smile. “Is Robin Buttercup?”
Steve snorted. “No, that really wouldn’t help the dating rumors. She’s wearing something with Vickie I think,” he said. “Nina is going in the red outfit.”
A soft knock to the front door had you both scowling and you walked up to the glass intending to wave away whoever it was. “Oh, it’s Nance!” You called out. She beamed at you as you opened the door and handed you a small bag. “Ugh, thank you. You’re a life saver!”
“Of course!” She grinned, her Grease costume looking great. “Jonathan’s in the car.”
You waved towards his car and smiled when he waved back. “What are you supposed to be?” Eddie’s voice behind you practically echoed. Steve started his explanation and you rolled your eyes when you saw that he was dressed like Tommy Lee. Predictable.
“So, how’s that going?” Nancy whispered, nodding towards Eddie.
“It’s fine,” you said, avoiding her eyes and shifting your weight to your other foot.
Nancy’s eyes narrowed at him, her loyalty coming off her in waves. “It’s okay, really,” you assured her, “we have an unspoken pact not to bring it up. It makes everything easier. Besides, we all basically went to war against Vecna together.”
“Yeah,” she said, hand going up to play with her hair, “have you…told anyone else about what happened?”
Glancing back at Eddie, your eyes darted down to the bag in your hands and you shook your head. “Only Steve.”
“Why-”
“It’s mortifying, Nance. He’s made how he feels about me abundantly clear,” you said, gritting your teeth and trying to ignore the old hurt that bloomed in your chest. “I’m going to go change before we’re late, okay?”
Slipping past everyone, you found Robin messing with her hair.
“Vickie isn’t going to know what hit her,” you said, smiling when her anxious hands stilled.
“Really? I don’t look stupid?”
“Definitely not,” you assured her. “Help me into this?”
Robin grinned as you quickly changed. The one piece was easy enough to slip into. “You’re going to blow Blake’s socks off,” she said, helping you tie the back of your costume as you pulled the wrist pieces into place.
You shivered a little as you pulled the pantyhose up higher, the cool air quickly causing you to break out into goosebumps. “Remind me why we chose this again?” You asked, already shivering a little. You’d all been invited to Halloween Party by a mutual friend of yours – costumes required. It’d been a stroke of good luck that you had all been scheduled for today’s closing shift. You were actually pretty sure that Keith was still locked in his office after his impromptu visit this afternoon.
“Because Jenna’s house is going to be really hot and you said you’d rather be cold than sweating,” she reminded you, “besides, Blake said he was dressing up as Batman, right?”
You nodded, wiggling into your red boots and wincing when the zipper caught your skin.
“Maybe you’ll win the costume contest,” Robin waggled her brows and you knew she was thinking of the bottle of tequila Jenna had promised to the winners.
Blake, one of your neighbors, had asked if you had any plans for Halloween last week. He was quiet, sweet, and had eyes so blue they almost looked violet. So, you’d taken the chance and invited him along to the party. Checking the time, you winced. “Shit, he’s going to be here soon,” you pulled at the bust one more time before turning around to face Robin. “How do I look?”
Robin’s eyes widened. “Whoa, holy boobies,” she said, hand going up to your chest. You swatted her hand away and rolled your eyes.
“I’m going to assume that’s a good thing,” you laughed when she grinned mischievously. “What?”
“Oh, this night will be fun,” she said, adjusting her cape motioning towards the front door. “Please, Princess Diana of Themyscira, you first.”
Grabbing your hoodie and bag, you made sure to double check that the back doors were locked and shut off the lights. You had barely stepped out when you heard a choking sound. Glancing up, you saw everyone’s eyes on you. Feeling a little self-conscious under the attention, you froze.
“I told you,” Robin said quietly and you barely resisted the urge to turn and swat at her. Your eyes, of their own traitorous volition, shifted to Eddie. His eyes were wide, a little awed, and were trailing down your body. You couldn’t help but smirk when you realized he was checking you out.
“Holy shit, you look great,” Steve said, drawing your attention away from Eddie’s expression, his eyes on the rope you’d attached to the belt, “I’m glad the belt worked out!”
“Thanks,” you said, remembering how Steve had helped you spray paint it gold, “I owe you one.”
Everyone talked amongst themselves, double checking that they had everything before leaving. Feeling someone’s eyes on you again, you glanced up to see Eddie standing a few feet from you. “You look good,” Eddie said, his voice soft, “the costume looks just like her.”
Fighting the pleased, slightly giddy, smile that wanted to break out into your face at his compliment, you shot him a small smile instead. “Thanks, Steve and Robin helped me pick it out,” you said, eyes darting down to his chest and only now realizing that he was shirtless underneath his vest. Suddenly, you felt your mouth dry up and you crossed your arms to keep from coughing. “Uh, your costume is pretty good too.”
“Thanks,” he said, hand coming up to scratch at the back of his neck, “Dustin and Steve helped me paint on his tattoos.”
You couldn’t help it, your eyes glanced down at the new tattoo across his stomach. “Did Tommy Lee have a demon tattooed onto his chest?” You asked, leaning forward to get a better look. “It looks really well drawn.”
“That’s uh,” you watched, transfixed, as his Adam’s apple bobbed the closer you got, “my real tattoo actually.” His eyes caught yours and the both of you froze, having gotten much closer than you realized. For a brief, insignificant moment, you couldn’t help but think how much nicer brown was than blue.
“What the hell is going on?” Keith’s voice silenced the rest of your group.
Stepping forward, you automatically went on damage control before Steve or Robin sputtered out something that got you all more in trouble. “We’re just leaving, Keith,” you assured him, “I double checked the back and made sure everything was locked and cleaned.”
You continued to prattle on about your closing checklist, including a few admin tasks that needed his sign off on that you’d left on his desk for next week. Glancing up at him, hoping you’d saved your asses from a reprimand, you realized Keith wasn’t listening. His eyes were south of your face and you barely resisted the urge to gag on sight.
You need this job. You all need this job. Don’t break his nose, don’t do it. If you punch him, you’ll all but hand Eddie that free dinner. You’d probably break your hand. Hopper might be called. Inhale. Exhale.
Fucking pervert, your mind screamed one last time before you buried the thought and your discomfort. Using his distraction to your advantage, you crossed your arms and motioned to the front lights. “Are you okay to close the front on your own?”
At Robin’s cough, he sputtered back to life. A splotchy, disgusting, blush rose on his face and you fought the need to snap. “Of course,” Keith answered eventually, his leering grin making you immediately uncomfortable. “You always think of everything, good job. I’ll take a look at those forms on Tuesday.”
Nodding, you took a few steps back before being stopped by Keith’s voice. “You look good, by the way.”
Spine stiffening, you forced your customer service smile onto your face before nodding. “Thanks, have a good night?” Your voice sounds so fake you knew your friends could feel it radiate off of you.
“Yeah, yeah,” Keith said, gawking at you one last time before disappearing back into his office.
You spun around, ready to smile triumphantly at your friends for avoiding the lecture, when you’re thrown off by Eddie’s sour expression. What the hell crawled up his ass?
“God, I feel like I need a shower,” Nancy said, gagging. Robin and Steve shot you grateful looks, knowing that you’d taken one for the team.
The sound of the front door opening again caught everyone’s attention, your eyes all turning towards a sheepish Jonathan. “Sorry, just wanted to let you know Blake just pulled up.”
You rushed forward, looking out into the parking lot and seeing the familiar red car parked by the front doors. Smiling, you ran a nervous hand down your hair before turning to your friends.
“Meet you guys there? I think Blake wants to stop by for some burgers first,” you said, not able to keep the excitement out of your voice.
Robin rolled her eyes and pushed you towards the doors. “Yes, we’ll be fine. We’ll see you at the party, go say hi to your date, I’m sure his eyes will fall out his head when he sees you. Just like Keith’s did.” You shot her a glare and she laughed like the bully she was.
“Low blow Buckley, low blow.” You pulled the hoodie on and shot everyone one last wave before pushing the front door open.
Seeing you, Blake stumbled out his car. He was dressed as Batman, with a beaming smile, and you waved excitedly. You ran out to meet him but before you got too far, you heard Eddie grumble: “Who the hell is Blake?”
“Good morning,” Eddie said as he walked in, the bell above the door slamming against your skull. God, why the hell had you listened to Steve about the tequila last night.
Robin groaned next to you, her body slumped over and her hands on her head. “Please stop screaming.”
You caught a flash of amusement on Eddie’s face before he disappeared through the back. “This is your fault,” you mumbled to Robin, who grunted.
“Keith said that we were scheduled to have a half-day! How was I supposed to know that his idea of opening the store late the day after Halloween was going to be only two hours later?” Robin said, her skin turning green, her eyes closing as she gulped audibly.
Hands coming out to smack against her, you pointed her in the direction of the bathroom. “Don’t, please, if I hear you then I’ll start,” you said. Robin sped off towards the employee bathroom and you dropped your head back into your arms.
“Someone clearly enjoyed the party,” Eddie’s voice echoed in the quiet front room. Wincing, you turned to him and glared. He wasn’t wrong, but he didn’t need to sound so smug about it.
Eddie raised his brows, as if reading your thoughts, and you huffed. “I don’t have the energy to deal with you today,” you informed him, willing the two Tylenol you’d taken earlier to start working.
“That’s a first,” Eddie muttered, puttering around the store. “So, you seemed to have fun with Blake.”
The tone of disdain in his voice made you blink at him. From your, admittedly patchy memory – Blake had managed to get along with everyone. He was like the human version of a puppy; he made friends with everyone wherever he went.
You opened your mouth to defend him when a loud voice greeted you both. Fighting the urge to grab at your head, you pulled energy from deep – deep – within your reserves and smiled up at Keith. He had a scarf wrapped around his neck and two different colored gloves on. “Good morning, Keith,” you greeted warily. He never came in on holidays or the day after, having a Keith sighting twice this week was never good.
“I’m just passing by,” he said, eyes trailing down your body. Confused, you looked down at yourself to make sure you hadn’t accidentally tossed your cookies and hadn’t noticed. Your usual t-shirt and jeans looked in place and you only glanced back up with you heard Eddie scoff. Maybe he was just being normal gross Keith?
Keith reappeared, keys and a folder in his hand, walking back out towards the door. He stopped, eyeing the two of you before his gaze landed on you. Straightening reflexively, your spine cracked as you did. “Your costume yesterday…was really good. It helped – uh, give the store some seasonal cheer.”
Seasonal cheer? You thought, confused. Wasn’t that usually Christmas? Eddie seemed to be thinking the same as you were because his brows dipped.
The poignant silence seemed to echo and Keith cleared his throat. “Anyway, I just wanted to let you know that you’re doing good work and…keep it up.” With another gross smile, he disappeared. Ugh, ew, you groaned.
“What the fuck?” You muttered, encounter already being pushed away by your pounding headache. Another scoff caught your attention and your eyes drew towards the source.
Eddie’s face was turned towards the horror section, his brows furrowed and expression pinched. “Do you have something you’d like to say out loud?” You snipped, not at all in the mood for his emotional whiplash.
“If I had something to say, sweetheart, I’d say it,” Eddie snapped back.
Surprised, you blinked. What the hell was wrong with him?
“Whatever,” you said, the pounding in your head getting worse.
The entire morning went along the same way, Robin dashing to the bathroom, and you barely holding it together up front with Eddie. While you were used to sparring with him, and would admittedly normally find it comforting, this was more than his usual annoyance. He seemed…genuinely angry at you and you couldn’t understand why. To be perfectly honest, the constant nausea from the moment you’d opened your eyes wasn’t really letting you care much about the why as long as he long as he left you alone for two fucking seconds.
Whatever it was, you were tired of it. “I’m taking my break,” you announced, needing space and maybe a coffee now that your stomach had started to settle.
“Uh, no you’re not,” Eddie said, stopping you from moving to the backroom for your wallet. “My break is scheduled before yours.”
How many times had you all taken a break whenever you wanted? Was he really going to be a stickler for this now? “Dude, are you serious right now?” You asked, about two seconds from whining and stomping your foot like a toddler. Holy shit, all you wanted was peace and quiet and a coffee the size of your head.
“Yeah,” Eddie grumbled, crossing his arms, “remember that time it was my break and I was about to pass out from my hangover but you just left the store-”
This again? You fumed. “I didn’t know you were hungover!” You defended yourself for the millionth time. “If you would’ve asked for help like a normal person instead of sulking, I would’ve gotten you something! Or I would’ve let you go first!”
Robin’s head popped out, eyes squinting, and a frown on her face. “Are you guys serious?”
“Ask him!” You threw your hand out towards him. “He’s the one being an asshole today, I don’t know what the hell I did!”
“Isn’t it obvious? Clearly, you’re taking the cheap shots with your fucking costume with Keith. If his eyes had gone any wider than they would’ve popped out his head,” Eddie fumed.
What? “Are you trying to say that it’s my fault Keith is a pervert?”
“No! I’m saying you’re using it to your advantage!” His words hit like a physical blow.
Robin stepped out, hands out to both of you, eyes sharp in his direction. “Dude, too far.”
Feeling like you’d been punched, and more than mildly wounded at the fact that Eddie clearly thought you were willing to lower yourself so that Keith of all people would notice, you blinked at him. In the silence, and to your utter dismay, Eddie seemed to notice that he’d actually hurt you. The apology in his eyes made you dart yours to the floor.
“I didn’t-”
“Don’t,” you said quickly. The last thing you wanted was an apology, especially from Munson. “I stopped expecting apologies from you a long time ago,” you said, not able to keep the hurt and barb out of your tone.
Eddie cleared his throat. “What the hell does that mean?”
Of course. “Right,” you snorted, hating that you’d peeled at your own scab. What the hell did you need to go through to learn your lesson with him? “I’ll be out back. You’re right, it’s your scheduled break and you can go first.”
“But-”
You made sure the door slammed as you stepped out and fought the pressure you felt behind your eyes.
Deep breaths, deep breaths, you reminded yourself. After grabbing a few tentative swings of your water, you splashed some onto your face and nodded at your reflection. You weren’t going to let Eddie get one over on you again.
When you came out a few minutes later, he was gone and Robin had an inquisitive stare.
“It’s nothing,” you said, not even believing yourself.
“Sure.”
The next time you were on shift with Eddie left you wondering if an alien had inhabited his body and was parading around as him.
“It’s weird, right? That he’s being this polite?” You asked Steve as you both got ready to leave after the morning shift. After your pseudo-fight with Eddie two days ago, he’d been stiffly polite and you didn’t know what to do with that.
Steve rolled his eyes and shot you a knowing look. “What? Do you miss the sexual tension you had during your fights?”
Sputtering, you reached out to smack him and he dodged your hands. “I’m joking!”
“I’ll choke you,” you told him.
Steve winked at you and you huffed, hurrying out towards the back exit like you did after every Thursday afternoon. Instead of your usual sight, you froze when you saw Eddie standing by the dumpster with a cigarette.
“Uh,” you said, taken aback. You thought he’d left the second it hit three considering how quickly he darted out.
“Hey?” Eddie said, making it sound like a question.
With an awkward wave, you cleared your throat and said, “Hey.”
Checking your watch, you realized you still had a few minutes but now you didn’t know what to do. Eddie, clearly feeling the tension, broke the silence. “I’m just, smoking…as the car heats up,” he motioned to his van that he kept parked out back in the employee lot. He’d gotten special permission because the van didn’t fit in the regular parking lot.
“Right,” you said, rubbing your hands together for warmth. You pulled your beanie tighter against your head and chewed on your bottom lip.
“What, uh, why do you always come out here after your shifts Thursday?”
Not able to help your smile, you saw his eyes light up with interest. Before you could answer, you heard the telltale sign of a gate being opened. With your hand, you motioned for him to follow you as you rounded the corner to the building.
As always, there was a big, furry, dopey, smile waiting for you. From this angle, you could see his golden tail wagging happily at the sight of you.
“Thought he was gonna cry when he didn’t see you,” Maggie, the owner of the bookstore and the adorable golden retriever who was currently jumping in excitement at the sight of you.
Reaching over the fence, you scratched at his ears and chin. “Hey Fitz, who’s a good boy?” Fitz leaned his big head into your palms and you looked over your shoulder at Eddie. The sight of his wide smile smacked into your chest so intensely you felt off balance. Gripping the fence, you waved for him to come over.
Fitz, sensing another potential hand for head scratches, let his tongue loll out and tilted his head in a desperate attempt to look cuter. Your heart melted at the sight and Eddie’s soft murmurs didn’t help. After a few minutes, and a lot of attention, Fitz jumped off the fence and you waved to Maggie before pulling Eddie back towards Family Video.
“The shift change today always coincides with Mags letting Fitz out for a bathroom break. It’s nice, to see them before I leave,” you shrugged, “Fitz is always happy to see me.”
“Yeah, dogs are great,” he said, “especially big ones with dopey smiles.”
You thought of Maggie’s other dog, her shy little elderly chihuahua and you grinned. “The small ones are cute too.”
“It’s definitely a blanket understanding that dogs are all great,” Eddie said, smiling.
Wait a fucking second, were you getting along with Eddie Munson? As if realizing the same thing, Eddie’s hand came up to scratch awkwardly at the back of his neck. “Uh, I’m gonna go-”
“-yeah, me too, uh, bye,” you said, not letting him finish and darting back inside.
Still a little dazed by the weird, almost normal, conversation – you didn’t realize Steve is practically drooling until Robin turned to shoot you a desperate look.
“What now?” You sighed, picking your bag up.
“One of Harrington’s crushes is here,” Robin said, “he flirted, she responded, they’re going out for coffee, and he’s acting like an idiot over, what number is she again?”
“Number three, Robin, three,” he hissed.
Scrunching your nose, you turned to slap Steve in the head. “What the hell is wrong with you, are you rating girls on a scale?”
“Ouch!” Steve hissed, turning to try and discretely check to see if the blonde had noticed. “I am not rating them on a scale, they’re numbered by how often they come in. Three is three times a week!”
Oh. “Woops, thought you were being a weirdo again.”
“I’ve had considerable growth, I’ll have you know,” he said.
Robin snorted and Steve shot her a wounded look. He then turned his big brown eyes to you. “So, remember how you usually catch a ride with me today because your dad uses your car?”
With a big, dramatic, sigh you pretended to think about it. “What you’re saying is, you’d ditch your friend for a girl? Your best friend who fought Russians and Vecna with you?”
Steve’s eyes turned down, a little sheepish, and he shook his head. “You’re right, I’m sorry. I wouldn’t do that to you. Let me go tell her-”
“Oh my God,” you shoved his shoulder, “you really do love me Harrington. I’m messing with you, go have fun. I’ll catch a ride with Robin when her mom comes by. I’m literally her neighbor.”
“Are you sure?” He asked, the light flush returning to his face.
You laughed and pointed to the door. “Go on Romeo, have fun.”
“I owe you one dude, you’re the best!” He said, straightening his jacket before running a nervous hand through his hair. Robin elbowed you and you grinned as he walked out but managed to slip on a pile of wet leaves. He recovered before she noticed but both of you couldn’t help but snort along with Robin.
She turned to you and leaned onto the counter. “You sure you want to wait? I’m on until closing.”
“Yeah,” you glanced at the low sun. While you loved the fall, you definitely weren’t keen on walking home in the dark – not after what you’d seen. Robin knew – shit, you all knew – and usually was your buddy in the system Dustin rigorously implemented. “I’ll grab a late lunch at the coffee shop and be back in an hour? Want anything?”
“Can you grab me a coffee?” She asked, eyes widening as she plead.
You grinned and squeezed her elbow before pushing the door open. “Be back soon!”
The second cup of hot coffee had quickly gone lukewarm while you walked back towards Family Video two hours later. The sidewalk was littered with fallen leaves and you stepped towards a particularly crunchy pile of leaves when you heard it.
“Lightning?” The voice called out while your foot was mid-air.
“Jesus Christ,” you clutched your chest, pulling your headphones off. Eddie looked mildly amused, head leaning out his van.
“You can call me Eddie, no need to be formal,” he said. You rolled your eyes, resisting the urge to chuck a fistful of leaves at him.
“Do you make it a habit of driving up to girls in the dark?” You asked, gazing at him. Eddie rolled his eyes and you realized. “Also, stop calling me that.”
“I’m not the one that gave you the nickname!” He said, like he always did.
You fought the urge to leave him there, not wanting to be the first to ruin the precarious peace you had. He wasn’t wrong – but it wasn’t about the nickname per say, it was the tone he used to say it. Kicking the leaves by your foot, the memory of your high school coach floated to the surface. He was kind, intense, but a huge believer of everyone on the girls’ soccer team. He’d been offered the chance to coach the boys’ varsity team but had stuck with the girls.
He'd dubbed you Lightning as a freshman, claiming that you’d win a scholarship to college with how fast you could run the field. The moniker stuck.
Eddie shifted, eyes going over your shoulder towards the store. “Why the hell are you still hanging around here? Our shift ended two hours ago. Keith isn’t around to kiss his ass,” he said, fiddling with a cigarette.
“Pot, kettle,” you said with a snort. You motioned to the store. “Robin is on until closing. Harrington had a date and I don’t have a ride. Why the hell are you still hanging around here?”
“Was at the arcade with the kids. What about you? Your legs broken?” He asked, his stupid tone rubbing you the wrong way.
You glared at him. “My house is like an hour walk away and it’s freezing outside. I’d rather not freeze to death walking in the dark by the forest.”
“Scared?” He teased, and you could see a faint smile building.
“Yeah,” you answered honestly, eyes falling to the visible scars on Eddie’s hands. You knew what hid in the shadows in Hawkins. You weren’t risking shit.
Clearly not expecting your honesty, he blinked at you. After an awkward moment, he nodded. “Alright, hop in.”
“With you?” You said eyeing his car.
Eddie rolled his eyes at you and you saw hurt flash across his face. “I know it’s not a sports car like you’re used to but-”
You held up a hand. “I drive my dad’s old car, Munson. Steve is the one with the BMW. I wasn’t doubting your car, I was doubting your driving skills.”
The defensiveness melted off to give way for comical indignation. “How dare you?” He asked.
Weighing your options, you sighed. You were pretty hungry and hadn’t wanted to spend so much money on food in the café when you knew you had perfectly good leftover pizza at home. Besides, you’d woken up early and desperately just wanted to shower and get out of your jeans. “Alright,” you said reluctantly and Eddie snorted.
“Don’t sound too excited there Lightning,” he said.
Ignoring him, you motioned to the store. “Just let me go tell Robin.” Without waiting for a response, you jogged up to the door and empty storefront. “Hey, Munson’s giving me a ride home. See you tomorrow?”
Ignoring her wiggling brows, you waved off her teasing jabs and jogged back to his van. Pulling yourself into the passenger seat, Eddie had closed his window and blasted the heating.
“Heating takes a minute to get going, you want a blanket? I’ve got some in the back,” he asked, cheeks a little flushed.
“I’m okay,” you assured him, tucking your hands under your thighs. “Thanks.”
As he nodded, pulling away from the curb, you were struck by the scent that enveloped you. It was a mix of smoke, laundry detergent, and something woodsy. Inhaling deeply, you hated how much you seemed to chase after it.
Shit, you thought, the scent was going to sink into your clothes and it’d drive you insane every time you wore this jacket. You vehemently tried to ignore the reasoning behind why it’d drive you up a wall. Nope, not touching that one with a ten-foot pole. You buried that part of you back into the dirt where it belonged.
Clearly uncomfortable with your sudden silence, Eddie hurried to put on music. “Sorry for the mess,” Eddie said, oddly earnest. He tossed a few wrappers into the back and you reached out to stop his fumbling.
“Seriously, it’s fine, my car looks the same. Well, not exactly the same but I’ve been there. I’m not…” you trailed off as Eddie headed towards the direction you’d pointed.
Eddie glanced at you, hands on the wheel. “You’re not?”
“I’m not that type of person,” you muttered, your fingers burning where they’d touched his, and stared at the window, “I wouldn’t make fun of your car.”
“Oh.”
The radio station announced a change in song and by the first few chords you’d already started bobbing your head along to the music. Your brother had been playing this non-stop all month and it’d grown on you.
She's got a smile that it seems to me
Reminds me of childhood memories
Where everything was as fresh as the bright blue sky
You hummed along and watched the trees flash by. Eddie cleared his throat mid-chorus and you startled. “Uh, I just…I wanted to say I’m sorry.”
“For what?” You asked, shooting him a suspicious glare. “Is this the part where you murder me and toss my body in the woods? I helped clear your name Munson. I hauled your unconscious ass through a hole in the roof of your trailer.”
Eddie, surprising you both, laughed. You blinked, unaware you were even capable of making Eddie laugh and stared at him a little disbelieving.
“No, I’m not the smartest kid in this town but even I’m not dumb enough to think I can take you on,” he said.
You grinned, feeling a little pleased at the compliment and nodded. “I’m glad you recognize my superiority.”
Snorting, Eddie shook his head and sighed. “No, I meant, about the comment I made about – about the implication that you’d dress a certain way to gain Keith’s favor.”
Completely floored at the fact that Eddie fucking Munson was actually acknowledging that he’d crossed a line and apologizing for it, you nodded dumbly. “It’s okay,” you heard yourself say faintly.
“It’s not,” he insisted, eyes a little too sincere for you as he looked over at you while at the red light. “It was uncalled for and I was annoyed you’d…gotten one over on me. It was immature and shitty and I’m sorry. It won’t happen again. Besides, no one wants Keith’s attention that badly. No one.”
It was quiet for a few before you broke it with a small smile. “I didn’t know you were capable of emotional maturity.”
The tension snapped when Eddie registered what you’d said with a scoff. “Ha, ha,” he said dryly.
“Thanks,” you said quietly, looking at the familiar houses as you drove past, “I appreciate it.”
Eddie nodded, his grip on the steering wheel tight. You itched to ask him something, anything, but the awkward silence had descended again.
It became suffocating the longer you sat silently but you didn’t have it in you to say anything. You thought of the tentative truce you had for the past few days, and his apology, and something soft unfurled in your chest.
Whoa, oh, oh
Sweet child o' mine
Whoa, oh, oh, oh
Sweet love of mine
The music curled around you, eyes peeking at him discretely and you couldn’t help but smile at how he mouthed the words to the music. Suddenly, an old memory steamrolled you, bubbling up unbidden.
You were so excited, you couldn’t believe you’d found the dress you wanted at such a discount – and it was the last one – in your size! Anne said it was definitely a sign. You carefully applied your mascara and the last bit of hairspray into your hair.
“Do I look dumb? I don’t want him to think I’m trying too hard,” you said, nervous beyond belief.
Anne beamed at you; eyes soft. “You look beautiful and trust me, he won’t be able to keep his eyes off of you.”
The guitar solo broke you from the memory. Oh, you were here.
“The blue one at the end?” He asked. “Robin’s is the yellow one, right?”
“Yeah,” you said, voice coming out too shaky.
Eddie shot you a confused look but your eyes darted down to your bag at your feet.
While you’d never admit it out loud - your attraction to Eddie had never fully been stomped out but…as you glanced at him from the corner of your eyes, you couldn’t help but remember.
The memory of that night slithered back to the front of your mind and your nails dug into your palms. The feeling of your dress under your fingers, the smell of hairspray, and the memory of the butterflies in your stomach.
Eddie came to a stop and you jumped out like you were a bat out of hell. Inhaling deeply, you felt your clammy hands unclench as clean air filled your lungs.
“Thanks for the ride, I owe you one,” you said, not bothering to look back.
Eddie’s confused voice followed you as you slammed the door behind you. “Oh, uh, sure-”
You jogged towards your front door, quickly shutting it and dropping your bag onto the floor. Eddie Munson was not to be trusted, you reminded yourself, watching through the blinds as he idled in your driveway before pulling out. No matter how nice he smelled or how deceptively beautiful his stupid eyes were. Those had been the same things that had pulled you in before and he – he’d…
Wiping your face with the back of your wrist, you ripped the dress off your body and climbed into your bed. Crying until your chest hurt from heaving, you still couldn’t help but wonder how you’d read him so wrong.
That’s what you’d gotten for trusting Eddie Munson and no matter what truce or bond you had, you weren’t making that mistake twice.
You had spent the entire night replaying the painful memories in your head like some sick twisted version of your own personal hell. So, when you woke up bleary eyed and cranky for your shift the next morning, you weren’t totally surprised.
“Good morning,” Eddie said, early as always, when you walked in.
Grumpy at having to work the morning shift on little to no sleep – thanks to him no less – you grumbled incoherently. A ghost of a smile flashed across Eddie’s face before he handed you a to-go cup.
Narrowing your eyes at it, you watched as his lips twitched before he wiggled the cup at you again. “It’s not poisoned, I swear. I got it from the coffee shop two streets down.”
“Oh,” you said, realizing you did know the design on the sleeve. You took it from him and sipped it cautiously. “That’s my favorite coffee shop, the baristas are so nice.”
“I know,” he said, ears turning red as he whirled around.
You blinked at him, confused. “Thanks,” you said, not sure if it was a statement or question.
He waved his hand in the air and you tossed your things into your locker. Coming back out, you hopped onto the counter and watched Eddie reshelve as you rubbed the sleep from your eyes. Suddenly, you realized he had put on The Breakfast Club – one of your favorites. Hadn’t he given you shit for how many times you liked to watch it?
Your eyes darted towards him to find him already watching you. “What?” He asked, startled at your sudden attention.
“Interesting movie choice,” you said, shrugging.
Eddie’s molten eyes seared you as his mouth curved into something resembling a sheepish smile. “It’s a good movie,” he said, chewing on his bottom lip.
The quiet of the store, the one only a Friday morning could conjure, echoed loudly. You both blinked at each other, unsure. You did know, however, that he was extending a metaphorical olive branch. And you didn’t want to be the asshole that rejected that. No matter how much you didn’t trust him.
“It is a good movie,” you agreed, taking a swig of your coffee and realizing that Eddie had gotten your coffee order correctly. How did he know how you liked your coffee?
Eddie’s voice pulled you out of your thoughts. “Let me guess, you’re Molly Ringwald.”
You snorted so hard, you almost felt coffee come out your nose. Thumping your chest, you coughed until it cleared. “Dude, what the hell?”
Eddie looked bewildered.
“I wish I was Molly,” you said, looking up at the television again. “I’m definitely Brian.”
“What?”
“Oh, don’t look so surprised,” you said, waving him off. “Mr. Bateman’s AP Chem lab is the reason I lost the full ride to Indie State. The only reason I kept some of it was because of the soccer scout. My mom didn’t care, she’s happy I was top of the class but, whatever. Mr. Bateman can fucking suck it.” Alright, maybe you were still a little bitter about it.
Eddie’s contemplative silence only made you more nervous.
“That’s why I’m in this shithole,” you added, picking at the coffee cup cover. “I can’t afford college yet; I’ve got money from the grants I did get – and my soccer scholarship but…I still needed some more. My mom said she’d get it somehow but, I barely see her enough as it is.”
“I didn’t know,” Eddie said quietly.
You looked at him over your shoulder and shrugged. “I know you didn’t. That’s why I like to remind you that your trailer park and my neighborhood are only a few blocks apart. I didn’t grow up like Steve. I don’t know what image you have of me but, just because I hung out with cheerleaders and jocks at the end of high school didn’t mean I had the money they did.”
Before Eddie could say anything else, you switched the subject. No matter how nice he was being, you’d learned the hard way that Eddie Munson had two sides and could flip between them with enough speed to give you whiplash.
“Let me guess, you’re Bender,” you asked, grabbing the next stack of tapes. You needed to do something or you were going to end up biting off all your nails.
Eddie sighed. “I’d like to prove you wrong and tell you definitely not but, yeah – we’re just a cliché in the end huh?”
There was something about the way he’d said it, numb – like a bunch of people had told him he wouldn’t amount to anything until he’d started to believe it himself. A flash of Bender’s face while Vernon yelled at him crossed your mind. A surprising wave of protectiveness surged in you.
“No, Eddie,” you said, finally meeting his eyes. You let your eyes roam around his wild hair, curls jutting out like they had a mind of their own, his Metallica long sleeve t-shirt was faded and looked incredibly soft underneath his Family Video vest. Why couldn’t you just let the idea of him go? A pang of old hurt shot through you. Your eyes fell back to his and you felt your stomach summersault at the look in them. “You are anything but a cliché.”
The smile that grew on Eddie’s face reminded you of a gar den. It was warm and welcoming as it split his face nearly in two. After a moment, you turned back to the computer, hands clammy, and tried hard not to focus on the new comfortable silence that had settled.
You couldn’t help but feel embarrassed at how much you’d revealed with your answer but also wondered if that had been the metaphorical white flag to finally wave between you two. Either way, later on in the day when Robin skidded into the store, she shrieked.
“Did you finally kill Munson? I knew you’d crack one day.”
“What are you talking about?”
“It’s too quiet in here! Where’d you hide the body? Actually, don’t tell me, I don’t want to accidentally sell you out.”
Eddie walked through the swinging doors and smiled when he saw Robin. “Oh, hey, I didn’t hear the bell. How was your midterm?”
Ignoring his question, Robin looked between you two nervously. “I don’t know what’s worse, the bickering or the truce.”
Eddie leaned onto the counter and you used every ounce of willpower you had not to dart your eyes towards the exposed sliver of skin at his waist. “What’s she talking about?” Eddie asked, eyes sparkling with humor.
You eyed him, the small voice that usually warned you away from him mysteriously quiet. After a beat too long, you offered up your own white flag. “I don’t know,” you said, playing along, “you know how she is.” Surprise and relief flashed across Eddie’s face before melting into a small smirk.
People could change, you’d seen it in Steve. And while it didn’t change your opinion about the past, and what’d he’d done – you didn’t need to fight him for the rest of your lives.
Robin’s eyes almost bugged out her head. “No, no, no you can’t gang up on me! Where’s Harrington when you need him?”
Wincing as the group on stage screamed their goodbyes, you sipped your beer and wondered if you’d taken the metaphorical flag waving a bit too far.
It was a combination of Eddie’s complete one-eighty change in personality, the hopeful look in his stupid Bambi eyes, and Steve answering for you, that landed you in a crowded bar downtown waiting for Corroded Coffin to take the stage as the final act. According to Dustin, their pseudo-manager, it was a huge night for them. They were the main band, and had managed to get a full house.
“Hey everyone,” a voice echoed and your eyes shot up to the stage.
Dustin shushed everyone, Nancy and Robin sharing an eye roll – and you muffling your laugh – as he stared up at the band.
“We want to thank everyone for coming out,” Eddie said, looking completely at home up on the stage. You couldn’t help but be a little…well, shocked. He’d transformed completely as he strummed his guitar, his head banging as he made the stage his home.
It was clear now, compared to the other bands, why Corroded Coffin was the main attraction. They played well off each other, the other three members balancing out Eddie’s energy and ramping it up when they needed to.
“Now, I know you guys are here for the classics but we did get one request and I promised him I’d play it before the end of the night. So, Harrington, this one’s for you,” Eddie said with a wink.
Your group turned to gaze at Steve who grinned. At the sight of all the stares, Steve grinned sheepishly. “We made a bet last week at the store. If he lost, he had to play a pop cover,” Steve said, grinning victoriously. Despite the shift, the crowd still ate it up.
Steve pulled your hand up to his and twirled you around. Shrieking at the sudden, unexpected, movement, you laughed when Steve herded you onto the dance floor. His head bopped, one arm around yours and you jumped along to the tempo. Nancy and Jonathan joined you both, in their own world, and you opened your arms to beckon Robin over.
Soon, the set came to an end and Steve had led the group back over to the bar. A little out of breath, and sweaty, you ordered another beer and pressed the cool bottle to your cheek. “Damn Harrington, you’ve got moves,” you said, impressed.
Steve winked at you and for a brief moment you could see what girls saw in him. Robin, however, just rolled her eyes and sipped her drink. “Oh, look, it’s Eddie!” She waved, greeting him with a hug. Your little group cheered for them, offering up their congratulations. Feeling a little awkward, the peace between you two still too new, you focused on getting your pulse back to normal.
“So, I saw you dancing,” Eddie said, sliding into the bar stool next to yours.
Biting back a smile, you shrugged. “You weren’t atrocious,” you said nonchalantly.
Eddie, recognizing the compliment hidden underneath, threw his head back and laughed. “High praise from you, Lightning.” The echoes of his laughter flittered around you.
“Don’t say I never said anything nice,” you said, teasing back. The electricity between you both yawned awake and you chewed on your cheek. This new development had you avoiding Eddie recently, unsure on how to handle it. Glancing at him, you saw his stare already on you. Not wanting to flinch away like you normally did, you sipped your drink, eyes still on his. You licked at your bottom lip, catching a stray drop of beer and your stomach summersaulted when you saw his eyes follow the movement.
“I didn’t think you’d come,” he said quietly, almost inaudible under the music blaring from the speakers.
Not knowing what to say, you shrugged. “Technically, you didn’t invite me,” you said, “Steve just pulled me along.”
Eddie’s head reared back, his eyes flying back to yours and he only dropped his shoulders when he realized you were joking. “I’ll invite you personally next time,” he said, knocking his beer bottle with yours.
More than a little surprised, you shot him a look and he just ducked his head to smile. Your heart skipped and you wanted to reach down and beat it back into submission. This wasn’t the time to forget.
“Although, I can do you one better,” he swirled in his stool, his knees bumping into yours and leaving them there. His warmth seeped into your skin, like he was branding you, and you quirked your brow in a last-ditch effort to seem unaffected.
“Do you want to go to an afterparty? Jared, one of the guitarists, lives out by the lake and has a bonfire after. It’s got shitty alcohol but good people,” Eddie added when he saw you scrunch your nose.
Dropping your hand to his, surprising you both, you winced. “Lover’s Lake?” You asked quietly.
Understanding bled into his expression and he shook his head. “Opposite side of town, I promise,” he said, his finger tracing a small circle onto your skin. “I…can’t really go by that lake either now.”
“Are the others going?” You asked, glancing around for a familiar face.
Eddie smiled. “Why? Scared to be alone with the Satan worshippers?”
Not able to help yourself, you snorted. “Eddie, I could sucker punch you into next week without blinking,” you said.
With a dramatic gasp, hands going to his chest, you watched amusedly as Eddie sputtered. “How dare you? I fought demobats for you.”
“I’m still the better fighter,” you said, laughing when he feigned hurt.
“I can’t believe you’d say that completely true fact right to my face,” he said, huffing.
Before you could tease back, a scruffy haired guy popped up by Eddie’s shoulder. “Eddie, Mark wants to talk to you. Said something about payment and next week’s schedule.”
Eddie looked almost remorseful but he tapped your arm. “I’ll be right back and then we can all drive out to Jared’s.”
“You’re coming?” The newcomer asked, surprise tinting his expression.
Feeling a little defensive, you felt your shoulders rise and were suddenly almost thrown from your seat when Eddie stood up. His back was to you but you managed to catch his death glare towards his friend. You placed an stumbling, desperate, hand on his hip for balance and Eddie jumped. His eyes dropped to yours and they softened. “Sorry. Lightning, Gareth - Gareth, Lightning. I’ll be right back.”
You nodded, lifting your bottle in a semi-salute and Eddie smiled before disappearing into the crowd. Nancy, a little disheveled and out of breath, leaned against you and sighed. “It’s so loud!” She said, a little too loudly for how close to your ear she was. She swayed a little and you knew by the flush in her cheeks that she was tipsy.
“Come on Wheeler, park it,” you said, bumping her into your stool. She beamed at you, pushing hair away from her face.
“Hey, Gareth, right? You played really well.”
“Yeah, thanks.”
Completely forgetting Eddie’s bandmate, you glanced at him to find him watching you. Feeling awkward again, you steadied Nancy as she chatted with the bartender. “Um, I know who you are by the way,” you said, shifting your weight. “We were in English and Biology together during junior year.”
Gareth smiled, making him look younger, and you watched him as he became a little flustered. “Yeah, you always helped me out with the pop quizzes.”
Snorting, you glanced at him. “By helping out do you mean letting you and Jeff cheat off me?”
Laughing, he nodded and you grinned. “Not a lot of people would’ve helped,” he said, “but you were always nice to us. You never let Tommy pick on us either.”
“He wasn’t as much of a bully without his leaders,” you said with a scoff, remembering Steve’s old friends. “Besides, he knew from experience not to fuck with me.”
Clearly that had been the only thing Gareth needed to break the ice because conversation flowed easily after. At one-point, mid-sentence, you glanced over at the dance floor and caught sight of Eddie.
Voice drying up, you watched as he wrapped his arms around a girl a good head shorter than him. She leaned back, eyes sparkling in clear adoration, and you felt your stomach drop to your feet. She had long, beautiful, black hair that you knew was something she was born with – hair that nice had to be genetics. Her entire outfit screamed effortless and grunge in a way you’d never in a million years be able to replicate. She looked like the girlfriend of the guitarist of a band, like someone who fit in, you thought, annoyed.
Whoa, where had that come from? You straightened, realizing you’d completely ignored Gareth. His eyes shot you a knowing look. “That’s Mark’s daughter – the owner of the bar. She’s cool-”
“-I’m sure she is. Um, I’ll be right back,” you said, rushing towards the exit. The cold November air stung as you took a shuddering breath. You watched it evaporate into the air and you frowned.
What the fuck was in the air in that place? Had you gotten jealous? Over Eddie? You shook your head, leaning against the brick wall and placing a hand to your forehead. Get it together, you scolded yourself, get it the fuck together.
“Hey.”
Nearly jumping out of your skin, you whirled around and came face to face with Eddie. He was rubbing his hands together, clearly cold. “You’re shivering,” he said as your mind whirled with an excuse to just drive home.
Before you could tell him you were fine – you hadn’t worn a thick enough coat since you knew you’d be driving to the bar – Eddie had unzipped his hoodie and wrapped it around your shoulders. Clearly, your body was certifiably insane because your arms tucked themselves into the sleeves and latched onto the warmth. Hello? You mind screamed. This is the opposite of getting it together!
“You’ll start to shiver now,” you said, brows furrowing at the sight of his thin long sleeve. Eddie just waved off your concern and tucked his hands into his jean’s pockets. His eyes were wide as you burrowed into his hoodie, his brown ones stuck on your torso. Did he want it back?
“I’ll be fine, I’ve got my leather jacket inside,” he said, voice sounding a little strangled, and his eyes darted over your head, “I just came out to see what the hell had you thinking you could pull an Irish goodbye.”
You hadn’t been aware he was watching you. Mind coming up blank, you looked down towards your hands and immediately regretted it. The motion brought your nose closer to the collar and a waft of Eddie’s stupid smell just wrapped around you. “Uh, I was just getting a bit too hot,” you lied, poorly.
“Right,” Eddie said, “so this would be the right moment to tell you Jared’s party is mostly outside?”
Well, fuck.
“Hey Munson!” A group of guys from one of the earlier bands waves towards the road. “We’re gonna go help Jared set up. You coming?”
“Yeah!” He called out waving them off and turning back to you. “I let Harrington know he could leave his car behind in the parking lot but he said he’s giving a Robin a ride. I don’t mind giving anyone a ride. Byers said he’d take the kids home with Wheeler. She’s a little-”
“-drunk already?” You finished for him with a smile. “Nancy is a certified badass in every way but her alcohol tolerance.” Wrapping your arms around yourself, you tried your best to ignore the waft of cologne that threatened to pull you under.
Eddie laughed, stupidly pretty eyes trailing down to your torso again. His cheeks flushed and you frowned. “So, you want shotgun?”
And like the complete, and absolute mess that you were, you felt yourself nod. “Sure, can’t let Steve have all the fun.”
There was absolutely no way in hell you were telling anyone how absolutely fucking freezing you were. How the fuck did everyone look warm enough? On the ride over, Eddie had the heating blasting and it still didn’t feel like enough.
As Eddie pulled the van into a spot by a house in the woods, everyone in the back piled out and you groaned internally at the gust of air that came through the open side doors.
“Here,” Eddie said, rummaging around the back and pulling out a purple blanket. He tucked it under his arm and motioned to the fire that had already been started. “It’s much warmer in front of the fire, I promise.”
Not needing to be told twice, you sped over to the empty logs by the fire and plopped down. Curling your arms around you, you let the warmth of the flames sink into your skin. “Jesus that’s good,” you said, extending a hand out towards the fire.
Something soft dropped into your lap and Eddie took a seat on the wooden log next to you. “Here, I’ve got a few blankets in the van if you want another.”
Your fingers were curled into the soft material and you blinked up at him. Eddie Munson had warm fluffy blankets in his van?
“I remember that blanket,” Gareth said as he passed you both on his way towards the food. He wiggled his brows at Eddie who looked like he was turning purple.
Car blankets…ew! “Oh my God, is this your sex blanket? Eddie, did you just offer me your hook up blanket?” You asked, staring at the purple cloth suspiciously.
Clearly not expecting that answer, he choked, eyes wildly turning to you. “No, Jesus, Lightning – no it’s not my fucking sex blanket,” he hissed, voice lowering towards the end.
You took in his mildly offended expression and snorted. “Oh, stop looking like I pissed in your cheerios, you’re telling me you’ve never hooked up with a girl in your van? With all that space?”
Eddie’s cheeks turned suspiciously pink and you couldn’t help but grin. “I haven’t hooked up with anyone on that blanket!” He insisted.
Giving it a tentative sniff, the same Eddie scent drifted out and you deemed it suitable. Wrapping the fleece around your shoulders, you tucked yourself into it and almost cried at how warm you felt. Beaming up at Eddie, you leaned your shoulder onto his. “Thank you, Munson.” Jesus, clearly the cold was interfering with your common sense.
Despite your mind screaming into the void, your heart skipped when he smiled softly. “Yeah, yeah,” he said, eyes on the fire.
“Someone’s a little cold,” a voice said, an enormous man sitting onto the log next to you. For a moment, you swore the ground shook.
“Jared,” Eddie greeted, fist bumping against his. “This is-”
“-I know who you are,” Jared said with a grin and you raised your brow. He laughed, eyes scrunching when he did. “You went to school with my little sister. She was on the junior varsity team.”
A flash of Mariah’s face came to the forefront of your mind and you grinned. Mariah had been a freshman right as you’d graduated. Her determined expression, box braids tied neatly back, and wide smile came to mind.
“No shit, I didn’t know she had a brother,” you straightened, smiling up at the giant. “She’s like five feet worth of anger and determination on the field. I helped coach the JV team my last year.”
Jared smiled, his teeth incredibly straight and white. “Yeah, she idolizes you man. Said she wanted to be just like Lightning,” he said, “she told me how you worked with her after practice to get her drills better. Thanks.”
You waved away his gratitude. “No thanks needed; she’s got a great career ahead of her. She’d get scouted in a second – last I heard she wanted to go to Brown?”
“Yeah,” Jared said, clearly proud, “she got the brains.”
“I’m assuming that means you got the brawn?” You asked. Eddie sputtered, trying and failing to hide his laugh.
Jared, amused, shook his head. “Everyone’s gotta mention it,” he said, “if you ask me what the weather is like up here, I’ll kick you out.”
“No, you won’t,” you said, burrowing back into your blanket and smirking up at the man who clearly adored his sister, “or I’ll tell Mariah and she’ll never let you live it down.”
Jared’s laughter echoed around the trees and illuminated the forest. It was the kind of laughter that you couldn’t help but join in on. “Munson, I like this one. How’d you manage to bag Lightning of all people?”
You opened your mouth to tease Eddie but instead he turned a bright red and said adamantly: “We’re not dating, we work together.”
It took everything in your soul to not let your face show how stung you were at how quickly and fervently he said that. Jesus. Alright, he didn’t want to date you – that was crystal clear. “So, you’re single?” Jared said, wiggling his brows. Having known him for exactly five minutes, you could already tell he was joking.
“Keep playing your cards right and maybe I won’t be,” you teased back.
Jared laughed, utterly delighted, and Eddie huffed. “You wouldn’t want Batman coming after you,” he said.
Completely confused, you turned to him and lowered the blanket. “What?”
“Blake?” Eddie said, tone equally confused.
“Oh,” you said, shaking your head, “he’s just a friend. He’s one of my neighbors – he just broke up with his girlfriend and didn’t want to go to the party alone. He knew I…well, I needed the night out so we decided to go together. Then we won the contest and the tequila…”
Eddie’s face went blank and Jared chuckled. “Sounded like a hell of a party.”
“It was, so was the hangover the next morning,” you said, shivering when a strong gust of wind hit you.
“Well, the weather down there looks cold if your teeth chattering is anything to go by,” Jared said, eyes mischievous. “Hey Eddie, why don’t you give her some of my special blend? It always warms people right up.”
Eddie snorted and you turned to glance at both of them. “Is that euphemism for something? Because I may not be as tall as you but I’m scrappy and I’ll kick both your asses.”
Jared’s laugh boomed again and a few people turned to glance at your curiously. “You’re funny, I really like her Munson,” he said, tone suggestive.
Not wanting to go down that particular road – something told you that an older brother like Jared would be ruthless in teasing – you hopped to your feet. “Come on Munson, let’s get this infamous drink.”
You followed Eddie’s lead towards the tables set up by the lone house near the lake. Glancing around, you watched as a few people smiled at you and greeted each other warmly. You had no idea there was such a big metalhead scene in Indiana.
“They like you,” he said, handing you a red cup filled with what smelled like paint stripper.
“A lot of people finding my presence to be scintillating, not everyone despises me the way you do,” you said, quirking a brow at him, you took a sip and almost spat it out into the dirt. What the- “Holy shit what the fuck is that?”
Eddie laughed, eyes turning towards Jared. “He makes this gross moonshine concoction that he swears is great.”
Not able to scrub the taste from your mouth, you shouted: “Jared this tastes like acetone! If I die from ingesting this shit, I’m haunting your ass!”
Jared and his bandmates laughed, waving away your grievances and you rolled your eyes. “A beer, please, I’ll even take some shitty vodka.”
Snorting, Eddie snapped the cap off your bottle with his keys and handed it to you. It was cold but you instantly swashed it around your mouth, trying to get your nerve endings to return.
“I don’t despise you,” Eddie said after he’d opened himself a beer.
“What?” You asked, practically drooling at your attempts to wash down the moonshine. God, your mouth was on fire. Eddie smiled but handed you the bag of chips he’d swiped from the table. Digging into them with gusto, you looked up at him curiously.
“I said, I don’t despise you,” he echoed quietly, his eyes darting down to his beer bottle. You froze, mid-chew and followed his eyesight. Eddie’s thumb was picking at the label relentlessly, the sticky paper peeling as his nail grated at it.
Hating the light awkwardness that had settled in, you shrugged, bumping his shoulders with your own. “High praise coming from Eddie Munson.” Your eyes flittered around the woods and you stood, nodding towards Jared. “Come on, I need to go give him more shit for that drink. I don’t know if I’ll ever taste anything normally again.”
You took off, Eddie’s footsteps and laughter following close behind.
“Did you know that the Harvest Festival opened last week?” You asked Eddie, words slurring.
Eddie nodded, the movement distracting you. “Yeah, Lightning, you’ve told me like six times tonight. I’ll be right back, okay?”
“Have I?” You hiccupped, chest shuddering against your permission. “I really want to go.”
“Oh my god, me too!” Robin said, leaning her entire body weight onto your side. Falling over, you stumbled into someone’s lap.
“Liam!” You said, greeting Eddie’s newest bandmate excitedly. Oh my God, you’d found Liam!
“You did find me, I was sitting right below you though,” Liam said, amused, “you okay?”
Not moving an inch, you stretched towards the fire and nodded. “Yeah, totally!” You realized he’d been mid conversation with a blonde girl and you thrusted your hand out. “Hi!”
Her green eyes crinkled with amusement and she shook your hand. “Nice to meet you again,” she said.
“You’re so pretty,” you told her.
Her cheeks went pink and she ducked her head, her leather jacket rustling with the movement. Robin, who’d ended up sprawled next to you nodded enthusiastically. “So pretty,” she agreed. “I love your fishnet tights.”
“It works really well with the outfit,” you added. “I would date the shit out of you.”
“Me too!” Robin laughed, falling half into you.
The girl, looking pleased and amused, laughed. “Munson, I like your friends. They’re good for my ego,” she said, helping you sit back up onto the log and squeezing your shoulder.
Eddie popped out of nowhere and you squealed. “Eddie!” You wrapped your arms around his and tugged him down towards you. God, he was so warm. “Where’d you come from? Have you met Liam and his pretty girlfriend?”
“Yeah,” he said, laughing lightly, “I have met Liam and Alianna.”
“I missed you,” you said softly, leaning your head onto his shoulder and closing your eyes. The fire had begun to spin and you felt the faintest nausea roll through your belly.
A few soft fingers danced across your cheek and pushed the hair out of your face. Eddie’s big brown eyes swam into your vision, steady and a little amused, and you grinned. “Hi.”
“Hi,” he said, fingers still at your cheek, “I missed you too.”
“That’s an understatement,” Liam laughed, his eyes on the two of you, and you watched Eddie lean down to punch his shoulder.
“Shut the fuck up, she’s drunk,” Eddie hissed.
You weren’t drunk, you thought, you’d barely had a cup of that acetone. “Good,” you said when his eyes were back on yours, “I’m a very miss-able person.”
“You are,” he nodded, eyes darting away from yours and glaring towards the man at your feet. “I was gone for about five minutes and it’s because I needed to grab you two these.” With a flourish, a pair of water bottles appeared from thin air.
Stumbling up to your feet, you felt your eyes widen as you gasped. “Oh my God, you’re magic.”
“Something like that,” Eddie said, helping Robin open hers.
“Where’s Steve?” You gulped down your water and managed to spill a bit onto your chin.
“Right here. Jesus, are you two drunker than when I left fifteen minutes ago? I found a few bags in case they puke on the way home.”
“I drank Liam’s beer,” Robin declared and you cheered, liking the beaming smile she sent your way. “Holy shit. Lightning look!”
Whirling around to follow her finger, Eddie’s hand came up quickly to steady you. Not able to find what Robin was clearing gasping at, you blinked at her. “What?”
“A bunny!”
You clasped your hands in front of your chest and shrieked. “A bunny!?” You loved bunnies! And dogs. And clouds. And snow!
Steve snorted. “I highly doubt-”
“Race you!” You screamed, shaking Eddie’s hand off and darting out into the trees.
Robin’s laughter and heavy footsteps followed you but she’d quickly veered to the left. You hesitated, hearing Eddie and Steve shout out your names.
“Fuck, they’re both fast. I’m closer to Rob – just, go – she can run across the field in a minute, hurry!” Steve’s voice echoed.
You gasped. They wanted to find the bunny first. Grinning, you felt the strength in your legs as you pumped your arms and sped off through the trees. You could see the field in your mind, feel the ball at your feet and the wall of defense you needed to get through before you got the goal.
With a well-practiced kick, a zing of pain shot through your leg when the rock cracked in two against the tree a few feet ahead.
“Holy shit,” Eddie said, hand clamping down painfully tight on your wrist. “You – you run really fast.”
“I’m a center forward,” you said, still jumping up and down a little at your successful goal, “did you see that? I scored!”
Eddie blinked at you. “What the hell are you talking about? Jesus you should’ve stopped after the fourth cup.”
You pouted, crossing your arms. “Eddie, didn’t you see me score?”
“Of course I did, who’d you score against? The bunny?”
Bunny? “What bunny?” You asked, tilting your head and stumbling when the motion made the world spin.
Eddie’s arm pulled you towards him so your back was to his chest and his arms cradled you.
“It’s dizzy in the woods,” you mumbled, rubbing your eyes. “You have a bunny?”
At your wide-eyed look, Eddie tossed his head back and laughed. “You’re kind of hilarious, you know that?”
Obviously. “Duh.”
“Maybe we should walk back and tell everyone how you scored,” he said gently, tugging you forward.
That was a great idea! You thought, letting Eddie tug you back towards the flickering warm light. “Can you help me take off this jacket?” You asked him, feeling warm.
“Let’s keep it on,” Eddie said quickly, “it’s cold and you could get sick.”
“But I’m hot,” you whined, stomping your foot.
Eddie groaned. “Please? For me?” Ugh, those stupid eyes.
Conceding, you resumed walking and remembered. “Hey, the quarter is almost over,” you said, “the best employee is going to be picked soon.”
“I promise to bring you back some leftovers,” Eddie teased and you grinned.
Thinking on the cake you’d been dreaming of, you nodded. “If you win, bring me some cake okay? Pinky promise?”
Surrounded by Eddie’s laughter and his fingers hooked in yours, the lights from the party still swam in your vision, the ground felt more solid beneath you.
Suddenly, a memory shoved your smile aside and you frowned.
“It was all a joke.”
Eddie wasn’t to be trusted. He’d left you. He broke promises. He wasn’t going to bring you cake.
Upset, you stopped walking and looked to him. “Why?” Because that’s all you’d ever really wanted to know. Why had he done that to you?
“Why what? Why am I half carrying you back to the clearing? Because knowing you, you’d get lost trying to drunkenly run after a bunny in the woods,” he said with a laugh.
“No,” you grunted, pulling your arm out of his. The bubbly feeling in your chest was replaced with a soft, familiar, hurt. It radiated outwards, your skin crawled with it. “Why’d you do that to me? You really…hurt my feelings.”
“What are you talking about?” He asked, ducking his head to catch your gaze.
The way he softened his tone, his eyes warm and inviting, lured you in like a moth to a flame. “I hate that I still like the sound of your voice,” you said, annoyed at yourself and scrunching your nose. “You’re so pretty and it’s not fair. In math class I’d stare at you the whole period. Did you know that you stick your tongue out when you concentrate really hard?”
“What?”
“I’ve always wanted to know what it’s like to kiss you.”
Looking stunned, Eddie blinked. “Am I?” He asked, looking confused and pleased. “Do you? Exactly how much have you had to drink?”
Ready to tell him all the ways you thought he was beautiful; you were interrupted by Steve’s voice. “What the hell is wrong with you guys?” He panted, out of breath. “I got Robin shoved back into my car. I think it’s best if we just crash at my place, it’s the closest. A few others need rides though.”
“I can drive her to yours,” Eddie offered quickly, hand coming up to your elbow.
Steve shrugged. “I can take her or you can just stay over too.”
Eddie frowned, looking unhappy. You poked at his cheek and giggled when he smiled down at you. “Are you…sure?”
“Dude, I helped keep your skin together while you bled out in her lap. Crashing on my sofa at almost five? in the morning,” Steve groaned and you giggled, “isn’t crossing any lines.”
Eddie turned back to you. “Come on Superstar, we’re going home,” he urged you forward. “We have a lot to talk about tomorrow morning.”
“Let’s take some more of the m’shine,” you whispered to Eddie, stumbling over roots. “That stuff is good.”
His laughter echoed in your bones and you smiled up at him. “I’ll make sure to tell Jared you said that.”
Fuck, you groaned, sharp pain digging into your skull and slapping your brain like the little bitch it was. “There go my corneas,” you hissed, clutching at your head.
Where the fuck were you? You glanced around and caught sight of a snoring Robin on the bed next to you. Steve’s house.
Flashes of last night came back to you and you groaned. What in the hell had possessed you to drink a whole ass cup of moonshine? You were going to kill Steve. Just come out with us, what’s the worst that could happen?
It took you about five minutes to talk yourself up to standing. You felt like you had the equilibrium of a baby deer as you darted into the bathroom across the hall. Locking the door and hurrying over to the toilet you realized you’d managed to change into the pajama set you kept in Steve’s guest room. Smiling, a fuzzy memory bubbled up and you remembered laughing so hard you cried when Robin had gotten her head stuck in her sweatpants while trying to change.
A loud whirring sound startled you to attention. As quickly as you could, you splashed your face and brushed your teeth to get the taste of last night’s events out your mouth.
Feeling mildly better, you grimaced when the light from the hallway reawakened your migraine. Squinting your eyes, you tried to stumble towards the noise coming from the kitchen in the hopes that someone was brewing coffee.
You were a few feet away from the swinging door when you heard your name. Freezing in place, you peeked through the circular window and watched Steve hand Eddie a mug.
“I don’t know dude…” Eddie said, “she looked pretty sad but I don’t understand…she said some stuff. I just want to talk to her.”
Steve sighed. “Listen, I promised her I wouldn’t take sides but you have to give her some space. She’s not good at – this wasn’t easy for her. Working with you, you gotta understand that right?”
You winced. What the fuck Steve? What the hell was unclear about ‘don’t speak about this ever?’
“Right…” Eddie said, still sounding unsure.
“I’m not judging you, it was a long time ago now, and people change but, she’s still hurt. She tries to hide it but-”
“She’s hurt?” The indignation in Eddie’s voice confused you. What the hell did he have to be mad about?
You heard Steve’s soft laughter. “Besides, you both looked pretty cozy to me last night. I see the way you look at her. She might be blind to it, but we’re not. Dustin definitely isn’t.”
Eddie sputtered, and you heard the nerves in his tone as he stumbled over his words. The instinct to defend yourself, to deny it, was so strong you had to grab the doorknob to keep you steady. You wanted to hear what Eddie had to say. Blind to what?
“That’s-”
“Dingus!” Robin’s voice cried, “Is that coffee I smell? God my head feels like fucking lead!”
She bumped into you, jarring your heads, and you both groaned at the same time.
“Sorry,” she moaned, “I didn’t hear you come out the bathroom. My brain is pounding.”
You did your best to look like you weren’t just eavesdropping on them and waved away her apologies. Robin shoved the doors and you followed suit.
Steve grinned, his eyes teasing over his mug of coffee and you knew you were going to pay for the shit you’d given him the last time you had to pick up him from a bar.
“So, let’s recap the night, shall we?”
Robin groaned and you stood in silence, sipping at your coffee, taking each teasing jab with a smile or scowl. Eddie’s arm brushed against yours as you sat at the kitchen island next to him and you jumped. He smiled, making room for you, and you mumbled your thanks. The memory of his arms wrapping around you in the woods flashed through your mind and you stiffened. Shit. Had you said anything embarrassing? Just be normal, be cool, you snapped at yourself.
Despite everything, you still felt Eddie’s eyes on you the whole morning.
This was weird. You were being weird.
And yet…you had still shrugged Eddie’s hoodie on over your shoulders this morning. The worn material was soft and warm.
There was absolutely no reason, aside from your clear temporary insanity, for you to be wearing it. In fact, you should’ve returned it to him the next day. But here you were. In your car, panicking about Eddie seeing you in it and scrambling to take it off. You had reached for it that morning without realizing that you had a whole shift with him.
“What the actual fuck is wrong with you?” You muttered to yourself, pulling on your outer coat on and checking your hair.
In your defense, everything between you two seemed to have shifted after that night – after the party. Despite the fact that you couldn’t remember half of the night. Eddie had done a one eighty and spent most of his time being…well…nice to you. You were both still trying to win the dinner but, it was about making yourself look good rather than making Eddie seem lacking.
It’d been a whole five days and you hadn’t had a single homicidal thought once. That had to be a record; something of that caliber had to be documented.
So, because of all this – you’d yet to give back the sweater. He hadn’t asked you for it and you’d possibly taken advantage of that. Last night, you’d had a nightmare about Homecoming and it had been enough of a wake-up call that you’d become resolute in returning it to him today.
While you’d laid down the metaphorical pitchfork, your suspicion still lingered. You couldn’t help it at this point, it was in your nature.
“Hey,” you said, walking into the store.
Eddie whipped his head around to you and smiled. “Good morning, Lightning.”
You rolled your eyes but smiled when he shot you one of his stupid soft smiles. You weren’t sure if it was guilt from hoarding his sweater or a genuine effort at peace, but you pulled out the breakfast muffins you’d baked last night. Coming out to the counter, you hopped into the high chair and placed the second muffin onto the far left.
“Would it be presumptuous of me to assume that the second one is for me?” Eddie’s voice drifted over from the sci-fi section.
“It would be actually, that’s my second helping,” you said, hiding your smile as you turned to check the returns bin.
Eddie gripped his chest and pretended like he’d been shot. “You wound me, m’lady.”
With a light laugh, you shook your head and waved to the muffin. “You never eat breakfast and I made too many of them…”
His brown eyes softened, his hand coming out to cradle the baked good in his hands. “I can’t believe I’m finally worthy of a Lightning Special.”
Quirking a brow, you watched him take a big bite. He moaned around the food, your heart tripping over itself, and shook his head. “What the hell is a Lightning Special?”
“It’s what I call whatever you’d cooked. You’d always bring Steve or Robin some extras and I’d never admit it, but they always smelled amazing.”
“I would’ve given you some if you’d asked,” you mumbled, smirking when he shot you a disbelieving look. “I don’t know why you’ve got this idea I’m a gremlin or something. I’d like to think most people think I’m polite.”
Eddie snorted and you crumpled up your napkin to chuck at him. “Eddie! Fine, see if I ever bring you something else.”
“Oh, come on,” he said, rolling his eyes when you crossed your arms. With a dramatic flourish unique to Eddie, he walked over to your chair, bowed, and pressed a hand to his heart. “I’m so sorry your highness, can you ever forgive me?”
“Buy me a coffee on break and I’ll think about it.”
With a wide grin, he snapped his fingers. “Done!”
You hopped off the chair, your stupid vest getting stuck on the arm, and stumbled forward. Eddie’s hands steadied your arms and the both of you froze. Noses a few inches apart, you blinked up at him. “I-I’m stuck,” you stuttered, wincing when you heard your own voice. Mistaking your wince for pain, Eddie’s hand darted to the garment and freed you.
“Thanks,” you said, not able to look at him in the eye. Both of you awkwardly took a few steps back – Eddie’s hand coming up to the back of his neck.
“Right, yeah, no problem,” he stammered, walking back to the discarded muffin.
Not wanting the awkwardness to linger, shit – maybe you had gotten used to the ceasefire, you reached for his forearm and were struck by how warm he was. “I promise to bring you some of the baked stuff when I make them,” you said. Eddie’s eyes softened and you watched as they dipped, for a millisecond, down to your lips. Suddenly, it felt too hard to inhale properly.
“I’ll hold you to that,” he said eventually.
The bell on the door rang and you both jumped apart. “Hi, welcome to Family Video,” you both said, a touch too loud. Amused, you shot him a look that he laughed at.
“Hi! I’m looking for Eddie – oh, hey Eddie,” a soft voice said. You glanced up and realized you faintly recognized the girl standing by the doors.
Eddie’s cheeks flushed and you blinked, surprised. The girl he was dancing with at the Hideout, your mind supplied. You watched her tuck a strand of inky shiny black hair behind her ear and you fought the urge to scowl.
Without any prodding, you pointed to Keith’s office. “Oh, I totally forgot I need something from there, right now,” you said, ushering yourself into his office before anyone could say anything.
Unsure of what to do, and definitely not wanting to touch anything, you sat on the edge of the chairs by his desk. God, Keith really needed to clean this room. Ew, was that a moldy sandwich?
Keeping the door ajar, you tried your best not to listen in but your mind wouldn’t shut off.
“Gareth said you wouldn’t mind, I swear I wouldn’t ask you if I wasn’t desperate,” she said, her voice too soft for you to hear anything after.
Eddie’s mumbled something. “-I owe you one.”
“Thank you so much! Can you pick me up around eight? I’ll wear the blue dress from the bar.”
“It’s a date.”
A date? Your heart stilled. Of course they were dating – she looked like his perfect match. Trying your best to ignore the sudden pressure in your chest, you looked around for something you could use as an excuse.
The bell to the front rang again and you shot up to your feet, anxiety ricocheting. Grabbing the first thing you saw, an empty folder on Keith’s desk, you walked out with your eyes on the ground.
“Oh, you just missed Clara,” Eddie said, “you met her at the bar last week.”
“Yeah?” You said, disinterested.
“She said to tell you that she’ll sell you her kidney if you give her the recipe for the muffins,” he said, smile growing.
Your eyes, however, darted to the muffin wrapper crumpled up on the counter. He’d given it to her? The knot in your throat grew and you nodded. “Yeah, sure, whatever.”
Eddie’s brows furrowed and you just turned to the shelves. “Hot date?” You asked, like the masochist you were.
“You overheard?” Eddie asked with an anxious smile. Jesus, you cringed internally, did he need to be so in your face about it? “I’m a little nervous to go but, you know, at least this time I know I won’t be stood up. It’s all a joke anyway.”
Your blood froze. “What’d you just say?”
The front door rang again, Robin’s face coming into your peripheral as she yawned. “Hey guys,” she said, eyeing your clenched hands. “What’s wrong?”
“Did you really just say that to me?” You asked, a little disbelieving.
“Say what? That I might not be stood up?” He asked, confused.
It was getting hard to breathe, the anxiety bubbling up in your chest. You really couldn’t believe it - Eddie could be mean, rude, loud - but he was never cruel. You both had an unspoken rule never to talk about it, and he broke it.
Not able to keep the words down, they spilled out with vengeance. “Wow, you’re going to throw Homecoming back at my face now? After all this time?”
Eddie’s face morphed into confusion. “Homecoming? What the hell are you talking about?”
“Right,” you snorted, the painful memories floating to the surface. “I can’t believe I thought you’d changed. That you were actually going to be nice to me.”
“I am nice to you! What the fuck is going on?” He hissed.
Robin stepped up between you both, her hand coming up to you. “Hey, what’s wrong?”
“He’s what’s wrong!” You blurted out, the tension of the last few weeks spilling out. “You know what you did to me – I thought we agreed never to talk about it. Wasn’t it embarrassing enough?”
“What I did to you?” Eddie half-shouted.
Robin shot him a hard look. “Everyone, let’s calm down for a second-”
“Good morning,” Keith’s voice boomed in the empty store. Steve walked in behind him, brows raised, as he caught onto the tension in the air.
Oblivious, Keith strode towards his office. “I just need to grab something I left. I will let you both know -- I’ve submitted my notes to the senior supervisor and we should have our first employee of the month by tomorrow!”
Feeling like you were underwater, you grounded yourself with Robin’s touch. “Hey, look at me, what happened? What did Eddie do?”
“Nothing! I’m the one who looked like an idiot that day!” Eddie hissed.
You stepped back, as if he’d struck you, and you realized Steve’s expression had turned thunderous.
“Hey, dude, that was uncalled for. I thought we talked about this,” he said, moving to stand by your side.
“Talk about what?” Robin asked again.
“Ask him,” you said, pointing to Eddie. Turning to the back room, you scrambled to get your things, tears making your vision swim.
As you stalked back out, you saw Robin holding Steve back by the arm. Bypassing them both, you turned to Eddie, anger coming off you in waves. “I can’t believe you,” you snapped at him, “you - you can’t just joke about that night. Wasn’t it enough that you just fucking left me there? You knew how much I liked you. I can’t do this anymore. Hey Keith? I don’t want the dinner. Eddie and his date deserve it.”
Without looking back, you slammed the door open and all but peeled out the parking lot. The grip on your steering wheel was so tight you were sure you’d have bruises. As you made you way home, you let your mind wander back to that night.
“Just go ask him!” Anne urged you, her eyes sparkling. “Look, he’s alone right now!”
Your fingers fluttered nervously around the hem of your shirt. “But what if he laughs at me?”
“He won’t!”
“You don’t know that!”
Anne huffed exaggeratedly. “Oh my God, just go ask him!” She shoved you into the room and darted away like the traitor she was.
Eddie looked up, surprised at the sound of someone else in the room. When he saw it was you, his smile bloomed. Your stomach fluttered, anxiety doubling. You’d only recently started talking to each other, after your biology project together last semester.
“Hey you,” Eddie said, dropping the papers in his hand onto the table. “What are you doing here?”
Sputtering, you stumbled over your words. “Hi. I – uh-”
“Are you joining the dnd club?” Eddie asked incredulously.
“No – hey, wait why’d you say it like that?” You crossed your arms, nervousness forgotten for a moment.
Eddie’s hands shot up, brows smoothing. “I didn’t say it like anything!”
“I could be here for dnd,” you insisted, not sure why you felt so indignant about it.
“Are you?” Eddie asked after a beat.
Clearing your throat, you tried to hide your embarrassment. “Well, no…”
“I knew it!” He said, grinning smugly. “What can I do for you fair maiden?”
You watched Eddie go back to setting up for his campaign. Glancing at the time, you realized if you were going to ask him – you had to ask him now. Before any of his friends showed up. Besides, if he rejected you then you had all weekend to sulk about it.
“Um, are you going to the Homecoming dance?”
Eddie snorted and your heart sunk. “It’s Sadie Hawkins this year. Who’s going to ask me?” He said, completely unselfconsciously.
“Oh.”
His eyes turned towards yours and he blinked, surprised by what he found. “Are you...wait, are you asking if I’m going or asking if I’ll go with you?”
“I-I…” You wrung your hands together, anxiety bubbling. Maybe you should just leave…you could lie and tell Anne that he said he wasn’t going. Surely the girls wouldn’t force you to try again.
Something shifted in Eddie’s gaze and you suddenly felt a surge of courage in your chest. Squaring your shoulders, you nodded to yourself.
“Eddie Munson,” you said, “will you go to the Homecoming dance with me?”
After a beat of silence, Eddie’s blank expression morphed into a wide smile. “Really?”
“I…I really like you,” you admitted, mortification softening at the sight of his grin growing even wider. “I’d like to go with you. If you want to go with me.”
Eddie blinked.
“Eddie?” You asked, stepping closer when he didn’t answer.
He jolted, as if he’d been shocked and bobbled his head furiously. “Oh, yeah – definitely, like fucking absolutely.”
You brought your hand up to hide your laughter at his half-screamed reply. “Okay, um, cool,” you said, scuffing your cleats onto the linoleum floor.
“Do you wanna meet in the parking lot?” You asked. “Before the dance?”
“Yeah,” Eddie said, still staring at you a little incredulously. You smiled at him and watched as the red flush traveled down his neck.
“Okay, um, so I’ll see you later?” You asked as you heard faint footsteps coming towards the room.
Eddie straightened. “Yeah, I’ll see you Monday.”
With a grin, you waved awkwardly and darted out the room. Before you could fully let the door close, you heard Eddie’s loud ‘yessss!’
Not able to keep in your laugh, you rushed over to the doors and saw Anne leaning against the frame.
“So?” She asked, perking up.
Grinning, you threw an arm around her shoulders and pulled her into a hug. “I owe you a milkshake.”
Anne squealed and you laughed, following her towards your bikes.
--
“I don’t understand, you talked to him two days ago right?” Anne asked, her hands fluttering nervously. Her date, Mark, looked just as anxious. The dance had started an hour ago and upon not seeing you inside, Anne had come looking for you.
“Yeah,” you said, swallowing around the lump in your throat. “He kissed me on the cheek and said he couldn’t wait. I told him what color my dress was going to be – h-he said his uncle told him that was important.”
“Maybe something happened,” Mark added, eyes wide. “Like an emergency?”
Not having thought of that, you straightened. Anne’s hand almost knocked you in the face as she pointed towards a couple walking towards the doors. “That’s his friend, right? The one he plays with? Go ask him! Aw shit, I forgot my bag on the table. I’ll be right back.”
You whirled around to look at where she’d pointed and hurried over to him. His date, a pretty girl in red, tugged on his hand as you made your way over.
“Hi, um, Jeff right?”
“Yeah,” he said gruffly, eyes glaring. “What do you want? He’s not here.”
Confused, you took a few steps back. “I know – I wanted to ask you if you knew where he was? I’ve been waiting-”
“He knows, okay?” Jeff said with a sneer. “He knows what you did.”
“What I did?” You asked, not sure what he was talking about. Jeff’s eyes drifted over your shoulder to where Mark stood at a distance.
Jeff’s eyes hardened. “It was all a joke – a stupid joke. I can’t believe you even showed up.”
Your heart plummeted to your feet. A joke? He’d accepted as a joke? But Eddie…he couldn’t have…
“Go back to your real date and do us a favor and stay away,” Jeff warned, walking past you and heading inside.
Frozen to the spot, you felt the tears spill over as a hand wrapped around your wrist. Anne’s frown swam into your blurry vision and she shook you. “What happened? Mark, what happened? What’d he say?”
“I need to call…I need to call your sister. Would she come pick me up?”
“Jesse? Yeah, she would. But what happened?”
Not able to speak past the lump in your throat, you burst into tears and Anne’s nervous hands fluttered over you. “Okay, okay – Mark, go call my sister. Tell her she needs to come back now.”
It was all a stupid joke. Of course, he didn’t want to come to some stupid dance. Not with you.
You called out of work for the week. At this point, you didn’t care if Keith fired you.
For the first few days, like clockwork, Steve and Robin took turns calling your house. Your sister had made it her job to speed to the phone before your mom, letting them know that you were sick and couldn’t come to the phone. She’d been too little to remember your middle school Homecoming but, you promised you’d make it up to her.
On the third day of your self-imposed quarantine, your mom brought you up some lunch midday. “You know,” she said quietly, her hand coming out to rub your calf. “The supermarket was looking for someone to work morning shifts. It’d give you enough time until you start your semester next year.”
“Thanks mom,” you said quietly, still wrapped in your comforter. “I’ll check it out.”
With a soft sigh, she pressed a kiss to your forehead and nodded. “I’m here if you want to talk.”
On the fourth day, you finally decide that you’ve moped for long enough. This was something you needed to move on from. How pathetic to still be upset over something that had happened in middle school?
Except it mattered to you, your mind added helpfully, because you really like him.
“Shut up,” you hissed at yourself.
“We didn’t say anything yet,” a voice behind you said.
Squealing in surprise, you instinctively threw the socks you’d been folding at the sound. The cotton bundles bounced off Robin’s chest and you brought your hand up to your face. “Jesus fucking Christ, you scared the shit out of me.”
Robin rolled her eyes and walked into your room like she always did. Steve, a little sheepishly, waved and sat by your desk.
“How did you get inside?” You asked, crossing your arms.
“Your mom when she was leaving for work,” Steve said, shooting Robin a look.
“I live a house down, I can see that you haven’t left yet,” Robin huffed. “Keith has us all on double shifts until you’re back Sunday, the least you could do is look happy to see us.”
“Well,” you grumbled, “I’m busy.”
“Super busy,” she said, motioning to the laundry on your bed.
“Robin…”
Her indignant expression softened. “Why didn’t you tell me? I thought you both hated each other over some stupid high school clique stuff.”
“To be fair I didn’t tell anyone.”
Robin’s arm shot out too fast for Steve to avoid it. He grunted as her knuckles hit his sternum. “You told Dingus!”
“To be fair, I was drunk and a little stressed post-Vecna win,” you turned to Steve for corroboration and he nodded.
“She was,” he snorted, “she puked in my mom’s rosebush.”
A flash of that night echoed in your mind. You winced. Jesus, you really needed to stay away from tequila. “I don’t want to talk about it,” you told Robin, “I asked Keith to keep me on closings. Just for a while.”
“You both can’t avoid each other forever. Eddie-”
Not wanting to hear his name, you put up your hand. “I don’t want to talk about it!”
Robin huffed. “But he said-”
“I don’t care what he said! He can date whoever he wants to date! This is such a stupid thing to be upset over anyway. I’m over it. It’s ancient history.”
You could see Robin turn to Steve. Catching his gaze with yours, you watched his eyes soften at whatever he found. God, you must look really pathetic if Steve looked like he wanted to wrap you in a blanket and hide with you. He shook his head. “Leave it alone Rob.”
She sighed, exasperated. “We can’t let this go on like this Harrington. They have to talk it out!”
“Robin.”
She sighed and flopped down onto the bed. “Fine. You’re both idiots.”
“Thank you,” you said, reaching out to squeeze her hand. Robin frowned but let you change the subject to Keith’s newest blubber.
You’d made it an entire week of shifts without running into Eddie. Robin still grumbled when his name was brought up but she kept her word and let it go. Or so you’d thought.
Honestly, you should’ve known better. She was like a dog with a bone.
“Hey,” Robin bounded up to you as you locked the front doors. “Wanna see if we can catch the last of the festival?”
Checking your watch, you frowned. “We’re not going to make it. Doesn’t it close at eleven?”
“Yeah, but some rides stay open a little later. It takes a while for everyone to clear. Besides, it’s only in town for a few more days!”
You turned to Steve, who was swinging his keys around his fingers. He shrugged, his expression a little too casual. “We could pass by on the way home. I don’t mind.” Considering he was your ride, you nodded.
“Sure?”
It took you three another thirty minutes before you were all in Steve’s BMW, cruising down towards Waverly.
The entire park was dark, only a few rides lighting up what was clearly a deserted clearing. Robin, not one to ever be deterred, hopped out the car. “I think the Ferris Wheel is still on! Let’s see if we can grab some funnel cake.”
“Go ahead, I’ll follow,” Steve said, motioning towards a quickly disappearing Robin.
Wincing at the dark. “Am I the only one who’s retained a healthy fear of what hides in the dark after all our escapades?”
Steve huffed a laugh. “I don’t think Russians are hiding in there. Go on, you’re gonna lose her,” he nodded towards a bouncing Robin.
Hopping out the car, she beamed and immediately started towards the rides.
“Robin, I think the festival is closed now,” you huffed, trying not to lose her from your sight. She barreled forward, quick, and you were struggling to keep up.
“They said some rides stay open late,” she insisted, turning a corner.
Grunting, you jogged to catch up. “Jesus, what is the hurry-” your voice trailed off as you caught sight of the only illuminated ride. Robin was standing off to the side, her expression apologetic.
Eddie stood by carousel, his hands tucked into his pockets and his shoulders up by his ears.
“No,” you said, already turning around to head back towards Steve’s car. Robin’s hand caught you quickly, her grip surprisingly tight. “Is this a prank? Do you guys think this is a joke?” You asked Robin, feeling beyond hurt this time.
“Hey, no,” she said quickly arms coming to yours. “I wouldn’t do that to you, I swear. You know me.”
You did. Robin didn’t have a mean bone in her body.
“Just, hear him out? You don’t need to forgive him but he’s got an explanation. A stupid one,” she said loudly, and you watched as Eddie winced, “but I think you need to hear it to move on from all of this.”
“Robin…”
“Yeah, I’m not buying your whole – it was middle school, I’m over it, bullshit. Please? I’m going to be over there with Steve probably eavesdropping if you need me or want to leave at any moment,” she said, “Steve said he’s open and ready to punch anyone you need him to.”
“I punch harder than Steve,” you said, crossing your arms.
“Dustin punches harder than Steve,” Robin said, “it’s the thought that counts.’
You rolled your eyes, tears building at the corners. Glancing back to Eddie, you nodded. “Okay.”
Catching sight of Gareth, he waved weakly at you. Lifting a hand back, you ignored Eddie’s hand and climb up the steep stairs by yourself. “What’s he doing here?” You asked Eddie, your first words to him since that day in at the store.
“He’s doing me a favor and keeping it open for a little while later. I know you said you had wanted to come here,” Eddie explained, nodding towards Gareth who had moved towards the control station. You climbed into a carriage instead of a horse and sat.
Eddie, for a moment, looked like he was going to sit next to you but the withering glare you sent his way gave him pause. Instead, he made his way towards the horse next to your carriage and awkwardly stood by the pole.
“How long is this ride?” You asked.
“Three minutes.”
You checked your watch. “You’ve got three minutes Munson. What the hell is so important you orchestrated all this to get me here?”
He opened his mouth and you felt your anger flare all over again. “You know you really have some nerve,” you huffed, not letting him speak.
Eddie sighed. “Lightning-”
“-don’t call me that! I can’t believe you’d-”
“-I’ve been in love with you since middle school!” He shouted over you, chest heaving.
Shocked into silence, you felt your eyes widen and watched Eddie as his skin flushed.
“You were the nicest seventh grader I had ever met,” Eddie started, his voice straining to be louder than the music. “You were the star of the soccer team, fast as lighting. Anytime someone was mean to me, or my friends, you were always the first to come to my defense. You never said anything about my nail polish, our club, about the band t-shirts, or the shaved head.”
Eddie took a deep breath. “When we were sophomores and they announced that the Homecoming was going to be a Sadie Hawkins theme, I was crushed. It was the first dance we were allowed to attend and I had spent the entire first semester determined to finally ask you to go,” he said and ran a hand through his hair.
“I thought, there’s no way you’ll ask me. We’d done that project together but after all that time, I didn’t even think you knew my name. Then, that day afterschool, you came up to me and asked me to the dance. I couldn’t believe it. I think I must’ve told Wayne about it like a hundred times that week. He’d worked a few extra shifts to get me my first suit. I wanted everything to be perfect. Then, a week before the dance, Gareth and Jeff had overheard the soccer team talking about you betting over your dates to the Homecoming dance.”
Your brows furrowed and Eddie pinched the bridge of his nose. “I’d decided I was going to confront you – because, there was no way you’d made a bet. You were nice – you wouldn’t do that. I had barely gotten to the field when I heard your friends mention how it was all a joke. ‘I can’t believe she took the bet to ask Eddie out to the dance,’ they all laughed and I got pissed. I wanted to find you and call you out on it.”
What? Why the hell would your team say that?
“Eddie, I-” He held up a hand and you frowned.
“Before I could find you, I ran into Brittney. Who, after realizing I was looking for you, told me that you’d never meant it. That it had all been a joke. So, as a completely and utterly heartbroken fifteen-year-old, I avoided you after that. You’d slipped that note into my locker about meeting me in the parking lot before the dance and I couldn’t believe you’d be so…well, cruel. I stayed home the entire night, playing video games with Gareth and Liam. You never said anything the next day after the dance, Jeff didn’t either – he says he’s sorry by the way - then you started dating the men’s soccer captain so I assumed…”
What the fuck?
“Wait Brittney?” You asked, confused, he nodded. You briefly remembered how much she’d hated you. “Brittney Johnson told you I had been joking? That bitch.” Oh my God, you were going to fucking strangle her the next time you saw her. Eddie looked more confused at your outburst but you urged him to continue.
“While I managed to avoid you successfully, you were always in my peripheral and you’re so fucking beautiful it hurt. So, when you popped up in the shack at Rick’s house with everyone else, it was just the safer option with what was going on to fall into the constant arguing. You argued back so I thought, this was safe. We could both let stupid high school shit go?
Then…well…you believed me. When I told you about Chrissy – when we went back down there, you fought next to me. You were there when I woke up,” Eddie cleared his throat, eyes flashing.
“Then the whole best employee thing happened and uh, then it became apparent to me that maybe you had a different recollection of that week.”
Holy shit. You rubbed your temple as a headache bloomed at the base of your skull. You’d realized that the ride had long been over, both of you facing the lit Ferris Wheel.
Rubbing the tension building in your temples, you nodded. “Uh yeah. My friend Molly - the only other freshman on the team, had been bet by the other junior girls on the team that she wouldn’t ask out her crush, Teddy - a junior. She asked and he accepted but everyone was worried he’d find out it was a bet because they actually liked each other. That had nothing to do with me. Brittney was a jealous bitch because I'd managed to get captain over her and she knew how much I liked you,” you thought back to all those times in the locker room you’d spent with Jessica urging you to ask Eddie to the dance. “I'm going to rake her fucking eyes out,” you said to yourself.
Eddie blinked, looking dumbstruck. “So what you’re saying is that I stood you up for no reason. Because I’m an idiot?”
“An eavesdropping idiot,” you said through a disbelieving smile. “Although, to be fair, having Brittney confirm it for you probably didn't help. You should've...come to me. I don't - I didn't think you thought I was capable of something like that.”
“Right,” Eddie said faintly.
A little hurt, you kicked at the edge of the carriage you sat in. “I wouldn’t have done something like that – to anyone. I don’t… know why you thought I would’ve. I always saw how people treated you and hated it. I never let anyone on either soccer team mess with you or your friends. Even after...I was so excited to go with you - I thought you were really cool and sweet.”
“Sweet?”
The memory of the first time you’d talked to Eddie floated up to the front of your mind. “Yeah. After what you did in seventh grade…”
“What?”
You sighed. “I tripped in gym class and smacked my head into the goal post. I was mortified but you took me to the nurse’s office and stayed with me the entire period. You told jokes and made me laugh. I don’t know, I always sought you out afterwards. Besides, you know,” you said pointedly. You didn’t want to say it – he had to know.
He took a step forward, as if that would draw it out of you. “I really don’t and even if I did, I’ve had enough assumptions to last a lifetime.”
Not able to keep it to yourself, and tired of the misunderstandings, you shrugged. “You’re beautiful Eddie, how could I not have a crush on you? I thought…you did too until I was standing at the dance, in my new dress, with your friends letting me know you weren’t coming. That you’d never taken my offer seriously. Because who would want to go with some stupid jock?”
Eddie smiled before groaning and clutching at his temple. “Oh my god, I’m a fucking idiot.”
You shrugged, the lump in your throat growing. What a fucking mess. “Listen, its history, at this point. We had a massive misunderstanding, for years, and now we’ve cleared it up. I promise to try and stay out of your way-”
“No,” Eddie said quickly, “I don’t - I like being friends.”
“Is that what we were? Have we ever been?”
Hurt flashed across his face before he ducked his head and scuffed his shoe against the metal. “Do you think we could-”
“No,” you said quickly, your walls coming back up.
You had officially given up on this. This, whatever this was, between you two was too difficult to try and make work.
“Right,” Eddie nodded, eyes on the horse to your left, “that was a stupid question, sorry.”
Feeling the urge to comfort him, you clenched your hands into fists. “I’m not - I’m just, it’s a lot to process. I need to get my head on straight for Spring semester. I’m starting school and it’s been a lot with everything going on. I just…I need time. Maybe we can be friends for once.”
Eddie nodded dumbly, his eyes following you as you stood and made your way towards the steps. You turned to him and ask. “Why the festival?”
A ghost of a smile twitched at his lips. “You said you’ve been dying to go but had closing shifts almost all month. I thought, I might as well.”
“Oh,” you said softly. “I’ll…see you later.”
“Yeah, right,” he ducked his head and waved his hand. You stumbled towards the red BMW waiting for you in the parking lot.
“So…” Steve started. He grunted when Robin smacked him. “What? We're just going to sit in silence and pretend we didn't all hear that?”
Robin turned to look at you. “I'll egg Brittney's house with you if you want.”
Steve perked up. “Holy shit yeah, her brother is a piece of shit.”
You smiled, touched by their offer. “Let's just go to your house Harrington, you promised me a movie night.”
Steve huffed. “Does this mean you two are finally going to stop attacking each other?”
“Or that maybe you'll go on a date with him?” Robin perked up.
“Robin.”
“What? Like you weren't wondering the same thing!”
“I always knew he liked you,” Steve said.
“Yeah okay,” you snorted, finally joining in the conversation.
Robin laughed with you. “I did!” He insisted. “You should see the way he looks at you. It’s like he comes alive when you walk into a room.”
Your heart stumbled and you sighed.
“Dingus! You’re not making this any easier!”
“She asked!”
You let their bickering fade into the background, your conversation with Eddie swirling around in your mind.
“So,” Steve said, dragging out the vowels.
You glanced at him from where you were using his mom’s fancy mixing bowl for the cake you were baking. El had shyly asked you for the chocolate cake you’d made last year for Max’s birthday. Not one to ever say no to El, you’d set up camp at Steve’s.
Watching him struggle to figure out what to say, you sighed.
“Spit it out, Steven.”
“That’s not my name,” he grumbled, running a hand through his hair, “now that we’ve all sort of put this whole Homecoming business behind us – I was thinking-”
Steve’s voice faded out as you thought back to the past week. It’d been incredibly awkward for the first few days, both you and Eddie avoiding each other as much as you could. On the third day, your regular shared morning shift, he’d brought you a coffee from your favorite bakery. The ice hadn’t completely melted, but it was warming up.
“Hey, are you even listening to me?”
Blinking away your busy thoughts, you shot Steve an apologetic look. “Sorry Steve, what’d you say?”
“I was saying,” he huffed, “since we’re all over this now, how’d you feel about going on a date?”
“What?” You said, completely taken aback.
Steve shrugged. “The girl I’m seeing asked me if I was interested in a double date. Her best friend, Sam I think, said he was up to it. I was going to say no but…thought maybe you’d want to?”
“I don’t know Steve,” you started.
“I just wanted to ask, especially considering that it’s been almost two years since you broke up with that meathead,” Steve snorted.
Rolling your eyes, you shot him a look over your shoulder. “You were friends with that meathead. It makes you a meathead adjacent.”
“I- don’t appreciate having my past drudge up that way,” Steve said, crossing his arms. You huffed a laugh.
“Where are you going?”
“Osteria da Fortuna,” Steve said, shrugging. “You and Eddie forfeited the dinner. I’m pretty sure it’s going to Robin who said she’d give it to me if I would go with her to a band party. I think her and Vicki might finally be going somewhere. Did she tell you about-”
You waved your wooden spoon in the air, effectively stopping Steve’s rambling. “What?” You said, some of the batter splattering onto the kitchen counter. “Did you just say Eddie forfeited the dinner?”
Steve frowned. “Yeah, like a week ago.”
“What.”
Why the hell would he do that? You know why, a tiny voice inside your head said.
With a narrowed glance in your direction, Steve groaned. “Are you really not going to give him a chance?”
Not this again. “Steven.”
“Okay, hear me out,” he put his hand up, “I know. I know you’re hurt that he thought you’d be the type of person to prank him over Homecoming. I know you’re annoyed at this whole mess that could’ve been cleared up if both of you had managed to get your heads out of your asses earlier. But you didn’t.”
“I-”
Steve waved his hand. “Eddie was…is not everyone’s favorite. You know that. You’ve seen how the people we thought were our friends treated the people they thought weren’t worth it. He was fifteen. Are you that stubborn that you’re going to hold onto this from over five years ago? We’ve been through so much since then.”
“I don’t know,” you said, uncertain.
“Don’t kill me but, I think you’re holding on to this hurt because you’ve realized it’s easier. It’s always been easier to hate him, to do your little bickering thing. It’s easier to keep him at a distance because if you never let him in close again you won’t get hurt. But it’s been this long, you’ve both dated other people, and you both haven’t moved on. What does that say?”
You frowned. “That we’re stubborn immature idiots?”
“Yes and?”
You blinked.
Steve sighed. “You’re both so obviously into each other. Even when you’d fight, it was like foreplay or something. You both believed you had the right reasons to hate the other but you’ve both been hung up on each other. That means something. That’s not nothing.”
Letting Steve’s words sink in, you realized that he was right. Even when Eddie thought you’d pranked him, he’d always stuck by you. In the Upside Down, after every earthquake, he’d reached for you – arms steadying you as you fought your panic attacks.
He’d let you use his leather jacket when you were shivering from the lake water. He made sure you went through the gate first, his steady hands on your hips as you climbed. He’d made you eat a sandwich while you were all waiting for the party to get back from the gun store.
“Coming down from adrenaline is a bitch, trust me,” he said, nudging the milkshake in your direction.
He dove for you when the bats attacked, his body curled around yours as you both tried to buy your friends more time.
You thought of Eddie in the hospital bed, your hands interlocked. The way the dread in your chest wouldn’t lift until you saw his eyes open. Until you knew he’d make it through.
Jesus Christ, you still liked him. And you were doing what you always did. You were pushing him away. Even after he’d apologized and you hadn’t. Even after everything.
“Fuck you Harrington,” you said, standing and grabbing your keys off the table.
Steve’s eyes widened at your sudden departure. “Where are you going?”
“To the store!”
Barely taking a moment to lock your car, you stomped into Family Video. As usual for Thursday mornings, it was dead. Eddie was draped across the counter as Jeff and Eddie talked to him animatedly.
Slamming the door open, all three of them jumped and turned in your direction. Dustin, seeing your thunderous expression, darted away from the counter as you stormed up to it.
“What the fuck Munson?”
Eddie blinked at you, eyes wary. “Um?”
“Why the fuck would you forfeit the dinner?” You hissed, seeing Robin’s head pop out from behind the Comedy shelves.
“Because it wasn’t right,” Eddie stammered, “I didn’t want you to give it to me.”
“Are you serious?”
Eddie’s nervous expression morphed into indignation. “What did you want me to do? Go and enjoy it when you basically handed it to me?”
Throwing an arm out, you felt a headache starting. “Isn’t that what we’ve been fighting over? For almost two months!?”
“It didn’t feel right!” Eddie insisted.
What the hell did that mean? “Munson.”
Annoyance flashed across his expression. “I’m not – I don’t – I wanted to go with you. Okay? Every time I picture the stupid fancy Italian restaurant all I do is think of you. Everything all the time always reminds me of you. It reminds me of your stupid smile, the stupid way you give me shit for everything, the way the scent of your stupid shampoo is engraved into my brain,” he shouted, “going alone would be pathetic. At least Steve will get some use out of it.”
Your brain slowed. Your shampoo? Shaking your head, you got back to the point. The idea of that dinner going to anyone but one of you felt wrong. “Go with someone else, the grunge girl.”
Eddie looked like he wanted to throw something at you. Livid, his eyes flashed. “She doesn’t matter. That ‘date’ we were going on was her ex-boyfriend’s wedding. She was invited and didn’t want to go alone.”
Ignoring the way that made your heart flip, you crossed your arms and gave into the petty feeling swelling in your chest. “Well, I saw you two at the bar. Clearly, there’s something there.”
Eddie’s hands shot up into the air, exasperated. “I wanted to make you jealous! She knew, she was in on it. That night at the bar, she was teasing me about how into you I was – because even she could tell. Everyone else besides you is painfully insignificant. Okay? You’re the only one that matters. Since I was twelve. I’m pretty sure the reason me and Amy broke up junior year is because even she could tell I was gone on you. Give me more than a week to try and get over that.”
Taken aback by his sudden confession, and unable to ignore that, your arms dropped to your sides. “Are you…trying to get over me?”
Eddie shot you contemptuous look. “Well, considering that I didn’t realize I was the asshole that stood you up all those years ago and you’ve hated me since then and the likelihood of you ever loving me back is close to nothing, yeah, Lightning, I’m trying to get over you. So, excuse me, if I don’t want to go to a stupid fucking restaurant and think of you the entire time.” His chest heaved like he’d just run a race and all you could think of is how much you wanted to kiss him.
“You love me?” You echoed, like a broken record.
“Oh my god, is that all you heard?” Eddie started a verbal rampage, his arms flinging around for emphasis. As you watched his animated speech, you realize how stupid this whole thing was. Steve was right. You were so used to being guarded, to the traumatic events that seemed to never end after Starcourt, that you were pushing away something important. Something that could good, and you were risking it over your own stupid fear.
This was it, you thought, the second chance you’d always secretly hoped you’d get despite your anger and hurt. You weren’t going to let this one slip away too.
Before Eddie could start on another tirade, you grabbed the edges of his vest, hauled him across the counter, and towards you.
For a beat, you could feel his confusion radiating off of him. You pulled him tighter to you, your tongue tracing the seam of his lips. As if struck, he surged forward to meet you, his own arms coming up to your forearms. He whined as you softly bit into his bottom lip before pulling back.
“Fucking finally!” Dustin cheered. Jeff shushed him.
Eddie, on the other hand, looked dazed as his eyes darted around your face. “Please tell me you aren’t messing with me.”
“I don’t know about love just yet,” you said quietly, “but, take me to dinner and we’ll talk.”
Eddie blinked twice before a slow grin grew on his face. “Italian restaurant? Tonight at eight? I heard some place called Osteria something is meant to be great.”
“I thought you forfeited it to Keith,” you said, laughing when he vaulted over the counter and settled his arms around your waist. He pulled you into another kiss and, this time, snipped at your lip. You couldn’t hold back the shiver it caused. The mischievous glint in his eyes let you know that he’d noticed. “Shut up.”
“I’ll give it back to you two!” Robin said eagerly, her eyes lighting up.
Eddie, without taking his eyes off of you, pointed in Robin’s general direction. “I’m naming my first born after you Buckley.”
Robin snorted. “Hear that, Lightning? Your first kid’s my namesake.”
Eddie flushed, his neck turning a little splotchy. “That’s not what I meant.”
With a swift, quick kiss, you couldn’t help but place a second kiss to his neck. You watched in fascination as his jaw clenched. “I mean, there’s no harm in practicing,” you teased, smiling when Eddie groaned and dropped his forehead to your shoulder.
“You’re killing me Superstar.” Eddie lifted his head after a beat, his eyes catching yours. “So, what do you say?”
You watched his eyes dart around your face, as if committing this moment to memory, and you let your own hand trail a line across his stubble. He leaned into your touch, his lips coming to kiss your palm. Your heart fluttered, threatening to break free from your chest. Steve was never going to let you live this down. But, as Eddie ducked down to catch your gaze, you raised yourself up higher to catch his lips a third time. That was going to get addicting quick.
“It’s a date, Munson.”
AN: I am so sorry the ending is so weak lmao but I had the first 75% of it in my drafts for months. It was starting to haunt me.
3K notes
·
View notes
Text
Trailer park Steve AU pt 57
part 1 | part 56 | ao3
“I need a ride.”
Max is glaring at him over the counter with a skateboard tucked under her arm, no hello and no further explanation because why should he deserve one? Seriously, what is this? National Annoy Your Babysitter Day?
Steve leans over his side of the desk and rests his weight on his forearms, giving her an unimpressed look. "Did Dustin put you up to this?"
"To... needing a ride?" she asks him like he's stupid. God. All these kids are little assholes.
"Uh, yeah to needing a ride." He straightens up, crossing his arms over his chest and resting a hip against the counter. "How do I know this isn't some convenient little-" he snaps his fingers for the word "-little scheme you shitheads cooked up to get me to sub in for Hellfire?"
"Steve," she says with feeling. Tucks her chin and holds his gaze. "Do I look like a dork to you?"
And, like, he can’t not take the opportunity, right? She handed it to him on a platter. He scans his eyes over her face, playing it up and humming to himself like he's just really not sure, like he needs another minute to think hard about the question.
"Oh, screw you!" She flips him the bird, but he can tell she's trying not to smile because he’s doing the same thing. Can feel himself caving already like a total softie. Something about these kids, man.
"Okay," he says; feels his face doing something tender and vaguely pathetic. He can't have her thinking he's gone too soft, though — that's how he ends up with another 'unlicensed teen driving his car while he's concussed' situation on his hands — so he pushes off the counter, widening his stance and pointing at her. "I’ll give you a ride, but you can't touch my radio.”
"Fine."
"And I'm dropping you off by 5:30."
That one, she protests. "Five-thirty?”
"Five-three-oh. I have a date tonight."
"Ew."
Wow. The goddamn entitlement. Like he isn’t doing her a huge favor right now. "So what I'm hearing is that you don't want that ride after all."
"I didn't say that," she says in a low rush.
"Mhmm." He glances down at the clock. "My shift's up in ten minutes. You can hang out in here while I finish up if you don't make a mess."
"Oh, if I don't make a mess?" she mocks. "Wow. So generous."
"Thank you," he answers. He goes back to working, keeping an eye on her browsing the aisles while he runs through his end-of-shift tasks — wipes down his work space, pulls his drawer. She seems bothered. On edge. Every time he glances over she's either tapping her foot or chewing her lip or throwing tense looks over her shoulder like someone's watching. If Steve didn't know her he'd think she was psyching herself up to shoplift.
But Steve does know her; knows all the crazy, horrifying shit that she's seen.
The twitchy way she's moving is starting to give him goosebumps.
When he goes to the back to clock out, to put his stuff up and say hey to Keith, she follows him. Hesitantly calling his name down the hall, a nervous quiver in her voice.
"Steve," she says, poking her head around the office door. Quiet. Urgent. Her face so suddenly pale that she looks carsick.
Keith wipes grease on a stack of reports and says, "Hey, you can't be back here," through a mouthful of chips.
Max ignores him. "Steve, I need to go."
"Yeah," he says. "Yeah, one second, just gotta—"
"—No, now."
Steve turns and starts counting his drawer as fast as he can. The numbers jumble in his head. He curses under his breath and starts again. Twenty, forty, sixty, seventy—
"Steve!"
"Okay, Jesus, I'm hurrying!"
Eighty, eighty-five, ninety, ninety-one, two, three—
Max snatches his keyring off of his vest.
“Hey! What the- Max!” he shouts as he chases after her.
She’s already tugging open the driver’s side door by the time he catches up. Got a headstart while he was begging Keith not to fire him for running out without finishing his count.
"What the hell?" he demands, wrapping a hand around the fist she’s holding his stolen keys in.
She glares at him over the car door. “I’ve driven it before.”
“Yeah, and you didn’t have my permission then, either, you little shit.” Steve pries her hand open and takes back the keys. Frowns at her as she sneers right back.
Fucking stalemate with a fourteen year old girl, that’s what Steve Harrington’s life has turned into.
But under the bravado he can see that she's afraid, that something's seriously spooked her, and he needs to know what it is.
“…..Go around,” he sighs and slides into the car.
—
part 58
tag list in separate reblogs under '#trailer park steve au taglist' if you'd like to filter that content. if you want to be added please comment and let me know (must be over 21; please either verify in the comment or have your age visible on your blog)
274 notes
·
View notes
Text
Kiss a Girl
↣ Summary: When Bang Chan is finally over a break up, he comes across someone that seemed to make things feel like he was a high schooler again.
↣ Characters/Pairing: Bang Chan x Reader
↣ Genre: fluff
↣ AU/Trope info: idol!au, webtoon artist!reader, foreign!reader, post break-up, song inspired fic
↣ Word Count: 2.9k
↣ Warnings: none
↣ A/N: I am from Texas where country songs are just a must. I grew up on like 2000s country songs and will always go back to them lol. But I heard Keith Urban while I was in the store the other day and was like. This is giving Bang Chan. Could it be because they are both Australian? Quite possibly. But TBH I do wanna hear Bang Chan sing one of Keith Urban’s songs.
Staytinyville’s Permanent Taglist
↣ Affiliates: @cultofdionysusnet , @k-labels , @k-vanity
↣ Special Thanks: Thank you @saradika-graphics for the amazing banners! Please go check her out if you have specific banners in mind. She is great!
You have been in Korea for the past month doing some things for a work project you would never have thought to be possible. You were just a simple college kid a couple years ago who enjoyed making comics about a couple OC you created years ago. When the story became a hit around the world it garnered a lot of attention.
Especially TV companies that were asking you if they could create your story into a series.
You, being someone who was studying in the entertainment industry, agreed they could use it so long as you were allowed to work on the project with them. Your credits in college really help to put them along for the ride. Now you were going to be living in Korea for a bit until production finished and the whole series came out on the TV.
In the past month, you had made some good friends with the people you worked with. There were A-list actors who enjoyed your company and sometimes would invite you out to go drinking with them. While you did enjoy going with them, you found yourself attached to your translator a lot more compared to them.
It was easy to find people who spoke English, especially in the area you were working in. But the way your translator had to stick closer to you than others, you both found yourselves becoming close friends. And for them, as someone who worked closely in an industry that called for a lot of high ends, they were the ones who often took you out to fancy places where normal people would only wait years to get reservations.
“This is a very classy spot.” You told your friend as you looked around the club.
“It's a very high end club.” Your friend/translator told you. “Like only a select few people can get in.”
You laughed out loud. “How did you pull it off then?” You asked.
“Did you forget where it is that we work at?” They laughed. “Of course we are going to get the best stuff. Just gotta be careful because they will make us sign NDA.” They deadpanned at the end.
You laughed even louder. You glanced around for a moment to find where the bar was, easily spotting it along with a crowd. Just as you were about to head in that direction, you froze for a moment just as someone passed in front of you.
You let out a polite excuse me, bowing your head just a bit. The person looked at you oddly for a moment before giving you a small smile and telling you it was alright. When the man began to walk away, you tried to keep a neutral face, but were secretly panicking inside over you had just ran into.
“Bro!” You gasped quietly, smacking your friend’s arm. “Did I just see Yugyeom? Like the idol?” You gushed.
“Probably.” They looked over your shoulders, frowning as they nodded. “This is a popular club for idols because it's so exclusive.”
“Why would you bring me here?” You looked at them wide eyed, feeling like you were going to make a fool of yourself and risk a lot of things.
“This is where a lot of people in the entertainment industry come when they want to experience normal things. Like a club.” They explained to you. “This place is also really popular with the younger generations. You’ll probably come across a couple of people winding down from promotions and stuff.”
You did in fact see a couple of more idols. Your friend was the one who explained to you who was in attendance at the club for the ones you weren’t able to pick out right away. There was a good amount of older people as well, at least at the bar.
Once you got a drink in, you dragged your friend out to dance, laughing as songs you weren’t able to make out the words to blasted on the speakers. WIth how much your smile seemed to stretch across your face, other people began to notice you. Many of them were much to shy or reserved to go out and dance along with you but there were a few who wanted to feel your excitable energy.
“Hello.” A girl smiled while talking in English, coming into your closer circle.
“Hi.” You beamed, holding your hands out to grab onto hers. “Come dance!” You swung her arms around as you tried your best to not look like a fool.
But it seemed the more others drank and the night went on, you didn’t have to worry much about that. Things would never change once people had alcohol in their systems to make them let loose just a bit.
With you dancing along with the girl, a lot more came to join your side as your contagious positive attitude had an effect on others around you.
“Like this.” The girl laughed, trying to copy your silly jumps.
“Yes!” You laughed, trying to get others to dance as well.
Just as a large crowd was beginning to form on the dance floor, there were others going around and enjoying their time with friends. There was an idol who had just arrived after finally getting out of his post-break-up slump. He was ready to get back out there and mingle with new people after being in a mental blockage when it came to friends.
His bandmates had gotten him to agree to going out with his closer friends that weren’t any of them. They had other things to do, which did make him a bit upset but as they had told him, he had a life outside of them as well.
“Chan!” Yugyeom hugged the man’s side. “Look at you! Finally out.” He said, showing him towards where the others of the group were.
“I don't know.” Chan nodded to himself. “I'm ready to be out.” He said.
“For once and it's not in the studio.” Another one of their friends teased, lightly punching Chan in the arm.
The Australian laughed, looking around the club he had not been to in a while. He took in the large crowd that was going on around the dance floor.
“There's a foreigner?” He furrowed his eyebrows, turning to the others.
“She's cute!” A friend called out. “Been dancing and getting others to join. Seems social.” He added.
“I'm going to go ask her to dance.” Yugyeom called out, going to join the crowd.
Once others saw the boy coming down to stand next to the floor, everyone else seemed to join as well, having you get sucked into the crowd that was chanting as songs continued. Yugyeom came up to you giving you a smile as he caught your attention.
“Dance?” He asked you.
“Oh, sure!?” You nodded your head, moving to turn and face him as his song started to play. You laughed watching as he tried to explain to you the dance moves that came along with it.
You kept laughing, cheeks hurting from the fun you were having. You hadn’t really gotten the chance to experience something like this back home. You have been to bars but the energy isn’t the same as a club that was meant to pump people full of adrenaline. You enjoyed the atmosphere, it helped your need to be social.
“Yes.” Yugyeom gushed in English that had an accent. “Like that. Good!” He gave you thumbs up to show that you were correct.
You laughed at his way of trying to speak to you. You waved him off, telling him thank you in Korean which made him laugh even more. He tried to have a conversation with you, but you laughed most of it and tried to explain to him he needed to speak slowly in order for you to understand just a bit more.
When a new song came on, you hadn’t noticed someone else coming up to your side. All you did was turn to face the DJ stand as you began to sing to Stray Kids TOPLINE. You laughed as those around you began to do the same, in your own world. You turned to the person next to you, shouting out lyrics as you both gave off the same energy.
You started singing louder when you noticed it had been Bang Chan singing along with you. The chorus came around and you fully turned to give him your attention, trying to keep up. Bang Chan felt something in his chest as he danced with you to his own song. It wasn’t that he was proud, it was just that he seemed to be content with how you didn’t seem phased with who he was.
When the song came to an end, you clapped for Bang Chan, giving him a dazzling smile that made him turn his lips up.
“You know Stray Kids!?” He asked you, shouting over the speakers.
“No, who are they!?” You shouted back, face looking serious.
You almost laughed at how Bang Chan’s eyes went wide and he looked at a loss for words. “I'm just kidding. It's really nice to meet you.” You gushed, bowing your head.
“Oh, you don't need to bow.” Chan awkwardly giggled. “It's okay.”
“I got used to it here!” You told him, coming to stand up straight.
“Would you like to sit with me?” He asked you after a moment.
Your eyebrows raised, eyes wide as you took in his question. Looking just around him, you noticed your friend quickly nodding their heads, telling you to accept the offer.
“Am I allowed to?” You laughed.
He thought about it for a moment, looking over at his group of friends. “Ah, if you don't tell anyone.” Chan chuckled.
“Sounds like a risk.” You hummed. “I'll take it.” The smile you had made Chan a bit dizzy.
It had been so long since he had seen someone look at him that way. He had a ton of people look at him that way actually, but never to someone who made it seem like they just wanted to be friends. Chan had no problems with hookups, but it was refreshing to meet someone who wasn’t over him because they knew him.
You did know him–sure–but you were taking into account who he was which made you a bit cautious. While it was normal for others to be that way, you weren’t scared of talking to him like you had been friends for years.
When he showed you where his friend group were, you laughed a little at how they seemed to begin hollering when Chan brought you over.
“Don't listen to them.” He shook his head.
“Even if I did, I don't think I'd understand much.” You told him honestly.
“Are you visiting then?” Chan asked, allowing you to sit down first before he sat in front of you.
The music was much quieter in the area, but you figured it had to do with the fact that the table was sectioned off in the VIP. They had their own bar as well, classy stuff.
“It's for work. I'm going to be here for a few months.” You answered him. “I did study what I could but I still need people to talk slowly.” You explained.
“Ah, I see. I see. Lucky you, I speak English.” He laughed.
“Even if you didn't, I'd try my best.” You nodded your head. “Miss the chance to speak with Bang Chan? Mega producer who’s part of 3RACHA?” You gushed, making his face turn red.
“I wouldn't say mega.” Chan shrugged, getting bashful.
“I mean I don't know.” You pursed your lips in thought. “The Scoville scale is out here close to blowing up.” You laughed.
Chan bursted out laughing, cheeks hurting from how much he was stretching them. “You're cool.” He told you.
“Why thank you!” You waved him off. “I pride myself on being cool.” You said.
“Han would like you.”
“Just going to drop bandmates on me as if I'm not freaking out on the inside.” You suddenly said, making him laugh.
“You and I both.” Chan answered truthfully.
“No! Please don't! It's all cool!” Your eyes went wide hearing his confession.
You both spent a good hour sitting at the table laughing about stories that would come up or just things about the other’s life. Chan hadn’t noticed when his friends would get up to get more drinks or when they would go out to dance. And they didn’t want to disrupt you two either, eyeing each other with smirking as they teased the poor boy behind his back.
Before you knew it, you were telling your friend that you would be heading back to your temporary home with Chan as company. They gave Chan a thankful smile, bowing down in respect for someone of higher standard. But they told you to be careful, having gotten used to you always telling others that whenever they would leave.
You found yourself outside some plaza eating Tteokbokki from a small restaurant outside on the sidewalk. The night was nice and cool, leaving you in a refreshed feeling after having danced in the hot club. Chan was laughing at you struggling to get the rice cake on your chopsticks.
“Why would you eat it like that!?” He laughed, covering his mouth.
“I can't pick it up with the chopsticks!” You exclaimed, stabbing the rice cake treat with both chopsticks so it looked like you were at least eating them correctly. You managed to put it in your mouth before looking up at Chan who was pursing his lips.
“Don't look at me like that!” You gushed, smile on your face.
“It's like this.” He moved closer to you, trying to get you to hold the chopsticks correctly.
It wasn’t that you didn’t know how to use them, it was just that trying to pick up slippery food proved to be harder than you cared to admit.
“I'm trying!” You exclaimed, moving closer to him as he kept trying to put some food on your chopsticks.
As you were moving to place it in your mouth, the slippery cake fell from your utensils and onto the floor. “My Tteokbokki!” You cried out.
“Ok fine. Keep stabbing it.” Chan laughed, giving up.
Next thing you knew the night had come to an end and Chan had walked you to the building you were staying at. He had his hands in his pockets, looking up at the tall apartment building before giving you a kind smile.
“This is me.” You told him. “I had a great time.” You confessed.
“Me too.” Chan smiled softly. “Thank you for coming out with me.” He added.
You laughed as your face flushed red. “Of course. Thank you for inviting.” You told him.
“Ah. I guess I'll see you.” Chan nodded his head, shoulders dropping for just a moment.
“Yeah.” You nodded your head, soft smile on your face. “I had a really great time. I mean it—thank you for taking me out. Only could ever dream of something like that.” You told him honestly.
“Yeah.” Chan thought about something for a moment, which made you stop from going in completely. “Ah, is it okay if I ask for your number?” He asked you.
“I mean for me it is but is it for you?” You joked once more.
“Sounds like a risk. I'll take it.” He mocked you from earlier.
“You know though, I really don't want to make you sign an NDA.” He quickly added after you both traded numbers.
“To kiss and tell is just not my style.” You sang off, grinning from ear to ear.
Chan laughed for a moment, understanding your joke. “But the night is young and it's been a while.” He played along.
“Ah, you know it! Wasn't expecting you to honestly.” You told him.
“I'm a music producer—I listen to a lot of things. Besides, it's kinda relatable.” He smiled a little, looking down as he took in a calming breath.
You weren’t going to ask about it, it wasn’t your place. You knew what the song was about–it was one you had heard since you were a little kid. Besides, Chan was an idol who had secrets to keep from the public. That was one of the first things you had to get used to when moving to Korea and working in the entertainment industry.
“Then I'm happy to be that girl you wanna kiss.” You joked, thinking about the rest of the song.
“I wouldn't go that far.” He laughed, shaking his head.
You gasped, eyes going wide at the scene you had just made. “Making me sound like a fool then. Ah, forget about it.” You said in a rush, face red from actual embarrassment this time.
“No, I don't think I will.” Chan hummed, stepping closer to you.
You watched him step closer, feeling your heart stop for just a moment as he placed his lips against your cheek. “Goodnight, (Y/N).” He told you softly.
“Goodnight Chan.” You smiled.
You waved him off, turning around when a cold breeze blew past you. He continued on his journey towards his car parked in the front of the building.
“I wanna kiss a girl. I wanna hold her right. Maybe make a little magic under the moonlight.” You sang to yourself, nodding your head along to the nonexistent beat you were playing in your head.
“Don't wanna go too far just to take it slow. But I shouldn't be lonely in this big ol world. I wanna kiss a girl.” Chan quietly sang to himself as he walked home.
Permanent Taglist: @hecateslittlewitchling , @ldysmfrst , @rln-byg , @vampcharxter , @angieskzzzz , @puppyminnnie , @marvel-potter-1d-korea , @smilingtokki
#stray kids#skz#bang chan skz#bang chan#bang chan imagines#bang chan fluff#bang chan x reader#stray kids imagines#stray kids fluff#stray kids x reader#stray kids scenarios#kpop#kpop fanfic#skz imagines#skz x reader#skz fluff#bang chan stray kids#stray kids bang chan#bang chan fanfic#cultofdionysusnet#k labels#kvanity
370 notes
·
View notes
Text
How Much Love
Genre: Steve Harrington x fem!reader / gn!reader; angst with fluffy ending, hurt/comfort, established relationship
Summary: Steve has a migraine attack but he’s too stubborn to take care of himself.
Word count: 1.4K
Warnings: one curse word, non-descriptive vomiting, migraine symptoms, chronic pain, crying, one use of Y/N, dumb joke, p*rn reference?
Author’s note: I know the migraine thing has been overdone but idc :) I'm pretty sure this could be read as gender neutral but you can lmk if that's not the case
Enjoy!
Main Masterlist
Steve knew he shouldn’t have gone to work. The second his eyes opened he knew it was going to be a rough day. The persistent throbbing on the left side of his face and the twist of nausea in his stomach would be enough to convince anyone else that they should take it easy.
Not for Steve though.
He’s done this dance before. The battle in his mind of not wanting to waste one of his precious sick days or if he should stay home and take care of himself so he can make it through the next day. He usually sucked it up and went with the former.
I’ve had worse before, he’d rationalize to himself. I can handle it.
His true motivation for leaving the comfort and warmth of his bed was the date he had planned for you two. Steve went all out with flowers, chocolates, dinner reservation at Enzo’s, and concluding the night snuggled up on his couch watching a rented movie.
But the customers kept coming. Steve could've sworn they were all there, not to rent a movie, but to exacerbate his migraine attack. Tired mothers bringing in their screaming babies, a group of smelly teenagers, and a boisterous man who was trying to convince Robin that The Godfather was the greatest movie ever made. That’s not even mentioning the flickering fluorescent lights that Keith refuses to change the bulbs in.
Robin began to take notice once Steve kept bumping into the shelves as he put away tapes around the store. She watched as he mustered up enough strength to pick up a stack of returned tapes and mindlessly put The Muppet Babies in the Horror section and something called I Dream of Weenie in the kids section.
By 4:30, he was absolutely fried.
“Go home, dingus,” Robin ordered.
All Steve could muster was a small grunt from his spot at the register. His forehead was pressed to the cool counter, toned arms wrapped around his head, trying to keep as much noise and light out as possible.
The bell on the door of Family Video was the final nail in the coffin. People have been coming in and out all day but this time the ring pierced through the side of his head like a burning knife, swiftly penetrating his brain and twisting it for good measure.
Steve’s back stiffened as he sat up too fast, stomach turning when he ran blindly through the store and into the bathroom before emptying out the contents of his stomach. He tried not to think about when the last time the toilet was cleaned as he kept his face in the ceramic bowl, spitting out the rest of the sour bile coating his throat.
Steve barely heard the door creak open through the throbbing in his head and the ringing in his ears, but he did notice the light in the bathroom turn off. “Go away, Robin,” he croaked out.
The disobedient footsteps continued towards him. He just wanted to be left alone, feeling too vulnerable in this state. He felt embarrassment twist in his chest at the thought of not being able to handle a simple headache.
A cold hand landed on the back of his neck and began to massage lightly. It felt comforting but Steve’s mind was rejecting it, “Robin, I said-”
He finally lifted his heavy head, half opened eyes widened slightly as he met your concerned gaze, only for him to start welling up. Steve’s lip trembled as it failed to keep a sob from escaping.
“Oh baby,” you whispered. “Not feeling good?”
Steve hung his head the best he could with his stiff neck and shook his head in response.
“It’s okay, Stevie. Try not to move your head too much.”
You squatted next to him on the nasty bathroom floor and gently brought him into your arms. You let him cry into your shirt, gently rubbing soothing circles on his back and neck. Steve knew that crying would only hurt his head more, but he couldn’t help it. He didn’t understand the emotions he was feeling yet, but he knew he was relieved to see you show up. Like a superhero, there to heal and protect him from any harm.
“I’m here now, baby. Let’s get you home, okay?”
_______________________________________________
Steve was so out of it he wasn’t sure how it happened, but the next thing he knew he was snuggled in a cocoon of pillows and blankets. He peeled his eyes open and recognized the dark ceiling of his bedroom.
You were puttering around the room, tidying up a little so Steve would have one less thing to worry about. He admired how natural it looked for you, knowing where everything goes and even avoiding the loud creaking spots on the floor. Steve had the sudden urge to reach out but you tucked him in so well he was having trouble slipping his arms out.
His grunt of protest over the blanket entrapment alerted you and you were by his side in an instant.
“What is it baby?” you whispered gently, “you need some water? Or a new ice pack?”
Only when you removed the cool washcloth from his forehead did he notice the satisfying chill. He must have been practically asleep when you brought him home because he really doesn’t remember anything.
“What time is it?” Steve croaked out.
He leaned into the kiss you pressed gently to his cheek before you answered, “almost midnight.”
“What?!” Steve immediately went to sit up, but in his weakened state you were easily able to push him back down. “We had reservations!”
“I know, Stevie. It was really sweet of you to make plans but nothing we can do about it now,” you tried to reason. “We need to get you feeling better.”
“But I-”
“Stop that,” you demanded, still with a quiet and gentle tone, but it was still enough to cut him off. “Let me take care of you, Stevie. I know you feel bad, but I want to take care of you.”
Steve wasn’t sure if you meant he was feeling bad because he was sick or because of the immense amount of guilt he feels whenever he sees himself as a burden to others. Probably a little of both.
“I just…I was looking forward to tonight,” Steve muttered tiredly. “And this stupid chronic thing just always gets in the way and I don't…I don’t like asking for help.”
Steve wasn’t sure if he was making much sense but your smile showed him you understood. Your expression was soft and comforting as you gently raked your fingers through his hair. “Steve, I love you. All of you. Every single part of you I just adore. It doesn’t matter if those parts are feeling bad or good, I’ll always be here,” you stroked his cheek gently with the back of your hand, his eyes fluttering shut at the feeling. “I like caring for you Steve. It makes me feel good. So don’t worry about burdening me or anything like that, okay?”
Steve felt his lip tremble again but managed to gulp down his sobs this time. He whispered a quiet, “thank you” before fully relaxing. He lazily pursed his lips, silently asking for affection, which you happily fulfilled. You moved in close and kissed his lips as a way to let him know you will support him during this tough time.
Once you were leaned back you said, “now, on a scale from one to ten, how bad does it hurt?”
“Mm…Eleven.”
“No, it’s Y/N.”
Silence engulfed the negative space until a curious Steve peeled one eye open, only to see your shit-eating grin. He knew you’d be frozen like that until he laughed, but your expression was usually funnier than the joke.
He puffed out a laugh through his nose before shutting his eyes again. “That was horrible,” he said.
“Maybe, but at least I got you to smile,” you said smugly.
“Mm you sure did,” he praised you lightly. “Now c’mere. Cuddling is the best medicine.”
It’s called ‘chronic pain’ for a reason. Sure you can dull the pain with medications and treatments but it’ll always be there. Sometimes all you have to do is deal with it and ride it out, but it makes it so much easier when there’s someone there who loves and supports you.
Love may not be able to cure all kinds of pain but Steve thinks your love comes pretty close.
thank you for reading!
Main Masterlist
#stranger things#steve harrington x reader#robin buckley#canon divergent#steve x reader#steve harrington x y/n#fanfiction#netflix#80s#established relationship#migraine#chronic illness#chronic pain#concussion#steve harrington#steve pov#hurt/comfort#fluff#angst#Spotify
502 notes
·
View notes
Text
Keith keeps popping up in unexpected places.
He appears in the mirror as the scar on Lance's upper lip, acquired the time Keith shoved him down behind a barricade and the butt of his own rifle clocked him in the face. The move had saved Lance's ass, but it still hadn't stopped him from chewing Keith's ear off post-battle for “damaging one of the team's greatest assets.” What did stop him mid-rant, words grinding to a halt on his tongue, was the annoyed huff of, “Don't worry, you're still pretty.” For, like, half a second anyway, before Lance’s brain caught up and he realized Keith was being sarcastic and was definitely insulting him. Lance's hellraising started up with renewed vigor.
Keith appears in the boots that peek up at Lance from the squeaky cabinet of his wardrobe, left behind because Keith was too concerned about waking him the morning he headed out to pick up the Blade member that would eventually kill him.
He lingers in the seventh plate that sits empty at the set dinner table, the one placed there out of habit, then left there as they ate because getting up to put it away felt wrong.
He's in the long dark hairs Lance rolls over in the morning to find stuck to the bedsheets.
He's in the scuff marks on the training deck floor and the sweat that drips down Lance's temple as he increases the bot's fighting difficulty.
He's in the face of the Red Lion - the ship that solidified Keith's place on the team, the place it ended, the spot Lance has to fill.
And when Lance finally makes his way to Red’s cockpit out of his own volition, for Red’s sake, closing his eyes and reaching out to her to offer support in their mutual grief, he finds Keith, again, in the familiarity of the mind link. As Lance’s bond tugs Red’s consciousness to him, he feels her ghost over him. He lets out a shuddering breath. The connection allows the lions and their pilots to communicate and understand one another while also granting them the ability to sense their teammates when they’re bonded in their respective cockpits. It’s welcome - the shared connections are comforting during long flights and necessary in battle. Lance dreams of it when he’s asleep, launches himself from his covers when he feels Keith’s energy flow over him and twine with his, wonders why he never felt the connection break when a blade was dragged across his throat.
Then, Lance’s lungs constrict, freezing the breath halfway into his chest, and his fingers curl tighter around Red’s control arms. A phantom connection whispers along the hairs at the nape of his neck, a specific hum of energy he never anticipated feeling brush against his own ever again.
Blue eyes snap open to take in familiar grey ones staring back, heart seizing at the sight of a mouth set in that stubborn, concentrated frown that says less about its wearer’s emotional state and everything about the intensity of his focus. Slowly, the frown softens, and then turns up gently at the corners.
Keith sighs and leans back against the viewing monitors. “Hey.”
Dead Keith/Red Paladin Lance AU (Part 3/?)
So much of this story is not going to be told linearly and is mostly just a bunch of scenes that are fun for me, but this part felt necessary to share before I start bouncing around.
Part 1 Part 2 Part 3
You can now read this on AO3 as:
Empty Spaces You Left Behind
#klance#keith kogane#lance mcclain#voltron legendary defender#voltron#vld#fanart#fanfic#red paladin lance#dead keith red paladin lance au#major character death#closing my eyes and hitting post
155 notes
·
View notes
Text
Part 3 of this fic Part 4
Steve is shrugging on his vest and getting ready to clock in when Robin comes into the store and makes a beeline for him, "Are you and Nancy back together?"
"Good morning to you too, Robin. I slept fine last night. My morning was also pleasant. What the fuck are you talking about?"
"Steven Elizabeth Harrington-"
"Not my name." Steve rests his forearms on the counter facing Robin.
"-I walked into the kitchen yesterday to you twirling her around in your arms and goddamn giggling! Don't get smart with me."
"Wouldn't dream of it Bobby."
Robin leans across from Steve, mirroring his posture, "Seriously, if you're back together you have to tell me, it's best friend law. Are you a criminal Steven? Are you breaking best friend laws?"
"Stop government naming me! No, we are not back together. We're friends again and she was teasing me about my stupidly embarrassing crush on Eddie Munson. She said she thinks he likes me back Rob. But you're friends with him, you would know if he liked me, wouldn't you?"
"I... In theory, yes that is probably information I would know." Robin straightens up and tilts her head to the side like she's considering the possibility.
"And you're my best friend, and best friend law would mean you're obligated to tell me, right?"
Robin steps back from the counter putting space between her and Steve and glances behind her towards the door. "I'm not sure that best friend case law covers that particular area."
Steve stands straight up and smacks his hand against the counter and then points at Robin, "YOU DO KNOW SOMETHING!"
"I don't know anything or even if there is anything to know and even if I did know something, which I definitely do not, it wouldn't be my secret to tell. Okay bye Steve, see you later!" Robin yells over her shoulder as she runs out the door, saying it all so fast that Steve is impressed that she didn't pause for breath.
"Well, that was weirder than usual, even for her." Steve mutters as he watches her mount her bike and take off down the street.
"It definitely was." A voice says from Steve's right side, making him jump.
"Where the hell did you come from!?" Steve looks wildly around and past Max, scanning for any more of his children sneaking up on him.
"I've been here since before you, Keith let me in when he opened. And for the record, Robin definitely knows more than she's saying."
"How do you know?" Steve is suspicious but still desperate for information, "Wait, how much of that did you hear?"
"All of it. But your 'stupidly embarrassing crush on Eddie Munson' isn't exactly a secret, Steven. You're always looking at him like a lost puppy dog. Like you want to wrap him up and take him home to-"
"Okay! Enough Maxine-"
"Now who's government naming?"
"You started it."
"Actually, Robin started it, but do you want to know how I know she's keeping secrets or not?"
"You're right Max, Robin is the villain here, please tell me what she's hiding."
"Don't try to butter me up. And I never said I knew what she was hiding, just that she is hiding something. I can guess at what it is, but I think you already know. After we left your house yesterday Eddie dropped off Dustin, but Robin came back to the trailer park with Eddie and me. I went home and Robin went with Eddie. About an hour later, I heard the van leave and when it came back Eddie was alone, so he must have been dropping her off."
"So, they were alone for about an hour and that's your proof?"
"No, that's circumstantial. My proof is that when Eddie came home, he knocked on my door and asked me for help running errands today. He said he would give me $5 to return some movies for him. He dropped me off 20 minutes ago and he's picking me up," Max looks towards the front of the store where Eddie's van is pulling into the lot, "right about now. Combined with whatever that was that Robin just did, I think that smells like a plan."
Steve could see it. It made sense. If Eddie did like him then that would explain why Robin ran in here asking about Nancy and why Max was here, giving Eddie a chance to come in and see Steve. Robin knew he would be working right now, and he could just bet that Eddie had been waiting off on a side street for Robin to report back about Nancy. Max had clearly already put all that together and he could see in her face that she was watching him fit the pieces together as well.
"You know, you're a lot smarter than we give you credit for Steve," Max smirked at him and then turned towards the door as Eddie walked in.
@charliechaplintheawesome @flwerkitty @dbquills @zerokrox-blog @bidisastersworld @respect-snails @estrellami-1 @4nemo1egend
#stranger things#steddie#steve harrington#eddie munson#robin buckley#max mayfield#max the meddler#I think Robin broke best friend law too honestly#Eddie isn’t as sneaky as he thinks#max and Steve as besties
404 notes
·
View notes
Text
“Woo-oof, Mullet. How has training every second of every day made you worse, somehow?”
Keith clinches his jaw, forcing himself to keep his attention on the gladiator in front of him, and ignore the taunting to his left.
He doesn’t understand what Lance’s problem is. A couple months ago, he was putting a soft hand on Keith’s shoulder and saying he trusts the Black Lion’s judgement, sticking with Keith even when he makes dumbass decisions, and now he’s back to that stupid — rivalry? Again?
What’s his fucking angle?
“I’m still doing better than you,” Keith grits out, because the high road is for losers. Unfortunately the jab doesn’t have the intended effect, and Lance only smirks.
“Not for long.”
Faster than Keith can fully process, Lance fucking back handsprings out of his gladiator’s range, widely avoiding its attack, and then he flips forward, using the momentum to hit the gladiator full force in the chest. As the gladiator stumbles, Lance wraps his legs around its shoulders and almost throws his own body to the ground, sending the gladiator’s head to the floor at frightening speeds. It cracks on impact, Lance scrambling a couple feet away, and then a low hum fills the room as a robotic voice announces: “Level 24 complete, Red Paladin. Congratulations. You are in the lead.”
Lance turns and smirks in Keith’s direction. He doesn’t even say anything, but the smugness drips off him in waves.
There’s absolutely nothing Keith can do to stop himself from what he does next. His fuse is short, he knows that, and Lance has fucking burnt it to a crisp. He feels something implode in his stomach, and he sees red.
He lunges for the gladiator, using his training staff to vault off the mat and throw himself right at the gladiator’s chest, just like Lance did. He twists his body, trying to wrap his legs around his shoulders and bend his back to get the right momentum.
There’s no noise, no crack or snap, but Keith feels something give in his lower back, and he drops to the ground , trying and failing to bite back a pained shout. The gladiator, obviously undeterred, raises its staff above Keith’s head, whipping it down so quickly it whistles. Keith throws himself out of the way, which hurts so badly his vision actually whites out a little.
“End training sequence! End it! Stop!” shouts a panicked voice. The robot voice confirms the instruction, and Keith hears the whooshing sound of the gladiator dematerialising, then footsteps hurrying towards him.
“Holy shit, Keith, are you okay?” Lance leans over him, brown eyes wide in concern, hand resting gently on his arm.
Keith scowls. He pulls his arm away and pulls himself up and out of Lance’s reach.
Well, he tries to. The second he tries to sit up the same agonizing pain from before radiates from his back, and barely manages to muffle his groan.
“Jesus, Keith, don’t move —”
“I’m fine,” Keith interrupts gruffly. He grits his teeth and drags himself upright, ignoring the way the pain makes his ears ring. “Leave me alone.”
Keith’s movement makes Lance’s hand shoot out on reflex, but he stops himself right before he makes contact. He meets Keith’s gaze, glaring heavily.
“Don’t be a dumbass. Let me help you.”
Keith bites back the urge to tell him what he thinks of his help, because he knows that’s a step too far, even though he really wants to take it. Some part of him, something mean and angry that he can barely keep a hold on, wants to hurt Lance’s feelings as much as Lance’s weird mixed signals have been hurting him, lately. Worse.
Keith has more control than that. He will have more control than that.
“I’m fine,” he insists again. “Training’s over. You won. Go brag to Hunk, or something.”
Lance does nothing for a moment, then he sighs, getting to his feet and walking away.
Keith’s heart sinks, even though he doesn’t want Lance’s help and he’s perfectly capable of handling himself. It’s good that Lance is leaving him alone. Keith doesn’t fuckin’ need him. He’s handled himself since he was twelve goddamn years old, thanks ever so, and that’s not going to change now.
Only Lance doesn’t walk out the training room door. Instead he walks over to where he’s discarded his jacket, digging through the pockets for a moment before pulling out something long and thin, rounded on the edges and an off-white colour. He shoots it at Keith, and before he can speak up to ask Lance what the hell he’s doing, a blue laser shoots from the white thing.
A scanner.
Lance runs it over Keith’s back and torso, then mutters something angrily to himself, too quiet for Keith to hear, and tucks the scanner on his jeans pocket, walking back over to Keith.
“You threw out your back, stupid,” he informs him. “That shit’s not going away. Let’s go. Can you stand?”
Keith wants to argue, but finds that he’s…exhausted. All the pain hits him at once and he barely stops himself from sagging forward so as to not hurt his back any further.
“Probably.”
Lance helps him anyway, putting one of Keith’s arms around his broad shoulders before slowly helping him stand.
It hurts like hell, and Keith lets him know it.
“Mother of fucking God that smarts like a cactus spike up the shitter fucking hell —”
“I am trying so hard,” Lance starts, voice shaking, “to be serious and helpful, dude, but I am going to lose my mind if you keep going. Please cuss like a normal person and not a cowboy that just got kicked in the nuts by a horse.”
“Hurts about the fuckin’ same,” Keith shoots back, but tries to reign it in anyway.
Lance helps him out of the training room, guiding him down the hallways until they finally make it to their rooms.
“Few more steps,” Lance says encouragingly. Any teasing attitude evaporated somewhere between when Keith hit the floor and when Lance helped him up. “You can do it, Samurai.”
They finally make it to Keith’s door, and he slaps his free hand to the lockpad and stumbles to his bed.
“Lie on your stomach,” Lance advises.
Keith furrows his brow. “Isn’t lying on your stomach bad? Aren’t you supposed to lie on your back when you hurt it?”
“Well, it’ll be pretty hard for me to massage the pain out of your muscles of you’re lying on them, dork-brain.”
Keith pauses. “Huh.”
Lance rolls his eyes. “Will you just shut up and do as I say, Commander?”
“Um, no,” Keith says. For whatever reasons his heartbeat has increased, and his palms are sweaty through his gloves. “I’m just going to sleep it off. You can go now.”
Lance crosses his arm. That stubborn look enters his face, the same one he gets when he knows he’s right and he doesn’t care who agrees.
Keith has never, not even one time, won an argument with him when he gets that expression.
“Bed. Now,” he orders. “Ditch the shirt. I’ll be back in five minutes, and if you’re not doing as I say I’m going to knock you out and shove you in a healing pod.” Without waiting for a response, he turns around, marching out the door and somehow making it slam behind him, even though the doors are literally automatic and Keith has never once seen them slam before.
Keith glances at his bed. He glances at his lockpad.
It’s not like Lance can strongarm his way through Altean lock security, right?
Keith takes one step towards the door. His back twinges, and he winces.
“Oh, for fuck’s sake.”
He chucks off his shirt, wincing as the movement makes his back twist, and gingerly lays down on his stomach. He shifts until he finds a position that hurts the least, pillow tucked under his head and over his arms.
Whatever. He’s doing this because he doesn’t want to sit in a stupid pod, not because Lance ordered him to.
As promised, his door opens again five minutes later, and Lance’s near-silent footsteps approach the bed.
“See?” he mutters. “Doesn’t kill you to listen to me.”
“I hate you.”
“Uh-huh.”
There’s a shuffling sound, then a creaking as the bed dips, and the next thing Keith knows, Lance has a leg on either side of Keith’s hips and he sits gently on Keith’s thighs, right beneath his ass.
Keith’s face flames. He shoves his face into his pillow and prays for death.
(No one has ever been this close to him in his life, probably. It’s weird.)
“My hands a freezing,” Lance says apologetically. “Might feel weird for a sec.”
Cold fingers trace gently down the curve of Keith’s spine, covered in what Keith assumes is some kind of medicinal lotion. He shivers, goosebumps erupting all over his bare flesh. The air suddenly feels suffocating.
“Where’s the pain?” Lance whispers.
Keith swallows. His throat is so dry that it takes him several attempts. “Lower back.”
The cool fingers slowly move to the backs of his hips, one on each side. Then, without warning, they dig into his flesh.
“Fucking — ow, Lance!”
“Baby.”
Keith glances back at him incredulously, face still burning. “In what world is now a good time for pet names?!”
Lance snorts, a small smile pulling up the corners of his mouth. “I’m not calling you a pet name. I’m insulting you. Baby.”
Keith’s jaw drops. “You —”
“Shut up and let me focus, Mullet.”
Keith does.
But not because Lance tells him to.
Eventually he gets used to the hard kneading of Lance’s bony fingers. Every once in a while he winces as Lance digs into a particularly painful spot, and once he outright shouts in pain. Lance hurries out an apology, easing up a bit and moving to a different part.
“I suppose I should apologise,” he says after several minutes of silence, interrupting only by Keith’s various grunts of pain and relief alike.
“For being a dickhead?”
Lance laughs. Keith isn’t facing him, but he can picture his wry smile. “For goading you. I knew you were going to fuck up the takedown I did when you tried it, but I just thought you’d fall or something.” His voice gets solemn. “I didn’t think you’d get hurt for real. I didn’t mean for that to happen. I’m sorry.”
His hands have stilled, thumbs no longer pressing into the knotted muscles. Only his fingertips gently trace his skin.
His fingers aren’t cold anymore, but Keith still feels goosebumps come up again.
“I could’ve done that takedown thing,” he grumbles eventually. He’s full of shit and he knows it, but he’s sure as shit not about to admit that Lance is better at a hand-to-hand manoeuvre than he is.
Lance snorts. “Yeah, right. I’ve been in gymnastics and dance classes since I was two, bonehead. I’m bendy as hell. I’m good at contorting. I do it all the time when Hunk and Pidge haven’t slept in a while, and I need to make them think they’re hallucinating monsters from sleep deprivation. You have to be practiced at this sort of thing, Mullet.”
Keith opens his mouth, then shuts it again. “What have you been doing to Hunk and Pidge?”
Lance ignores him. “Anyways. I won’t goad you into something like that again, no matter how funny it would be to see you fall on your face.” He pats Keith’s hip twice, then shifts off the bed. “All done. Try sitting up. Does it still hurt?”
Carefully, Keith pulls himself into a sitting position, expecting the same white-hot pain he felt when he sat up in the training room. But there’s nothing.
He looks to Lance with wide eyes. “Holy shit.”
Lance preens. “I’ve got magic hands,” he brags.
“Thank you,” Keith says sincerely. He can’t quite help the small smile he shoots in Lance direction.
Strangely, a light blush burns across Lance’s cheeks. “Yeah, yeah, whatever, Mullet. It’s not like you and your thick head were going to go into a pod, so.” Lance coughs, rocking back on his heels. He looks anywhere but Keith.
Suddenly, a vague memory pops up into Keith’s brain, of himself at around thirteen, venting to an amused Shiro about how one of the boys in his classes, Taylor, kept bugging him about test scores and insisting on some stupid competition.
“I don’t get it, Shiro!” he had said, frustrated frown pulling the corners of his mouth down. “I don’t want to compete! I don’t know what his stupid problem is!”
Shiro had smiled, ruffling Keith’s hair. “He’s pulling your pigtails, kiddo.”
Keith frowned. “I don’t have pigtails.”
“No, I mean —” Shiro had shook his head. “Nevermind. Just ignore him, he’s just getting a reaction out of you because he doesn’t know how else to talk to you.”
Adam had snorted before Keith could comment, reaching over and tugging on Shiro’s forelock without looking up from his marking. “Familiar with the pigtail-pulling strategy, aren’t you, babe?”
Keith hadn’t understood it then, why Shiro’s face had gone bright red or why Adam had laughed louder as Shiro got more flustered. He just remembers being disgusted by their blatant gross flirting, and forgetting about the confusing words entirely.
It hits him now, though, looking at Lance’s red face, thinking about every time he’s driven Keith insane and smirked when he finally lost it, gone against Keith’s orders just to be contrary, literally tugged on Keith’s hair just to piss him off, but why he always sits next to Keith at meals and reassures Keith when he’s sure he’s not fit to lead the team.
Why he offered to rub his hands up and down Keith’s back for a half hour instead of sticking him in a pod.
“Holy shit,” he mutters, more to himself than anything. He looks at Lance with wide, unbelieving eyes.
Lance glances back at him, and his expression only makes the Cuban more red, somehow.
“I promised I’d help Coran with something,” he blurts. He points vaguely at the door, stumbling backwards. “Right now, actually. Um, bye. Don’t hurt yourself again, dumbass.”
He’s out the door before Keith can stop him, so fast there’s practically a cloud of dust where he used to be, like a cartoon.
Keith sits down heavily on his bed, still staring unblinkingly in front of him. He thinks of the way he rises to Lance’s challenges, every single time. How he always pushes himself harder when Lance is watching, like he has to make sure Lance knows how good he is. How he, too, always seeks Lance out and sits next to him during team meetings or even movie nights. How he almost always assigns them as partners on missions.
How he shivered when Lance’s cool fingers touched his skin.
“Holy shit,” he whispers, a smile fighting its way onto his face. He yanks gently on his own hair.
Butterflies erupt in his stomach.
#i love making them stupid it’s so fun for me#vld#voltron#keith#keith kogane#lance#lance mcclain#klance#pre klance#pining lance#oblivious keith#dumbass lance#dumbass keith#they’re so fucking stupid#rivals to rivals#bamf lance#gymnast lance#brown-eyed lance#black paladin keith#red paladin lance#injury#my writing#fic#longpost
505 notes
·
View notes
Text
Grief (A Friend Indeed) Part 10
Just two more chapters to go and then this little story is done. I'm glad I wrote it. It was very cathartic for me. I hope it brought some comfort to you too.
Here we find out who Steve has been grieving this whole time and that Eddie mourned them too.
Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9
****
Steve was quiet and contemplative on the trip back. And Eddie let him be. That was quite the roller coaster of emotion he had gone through and he knew Steve needed time to sort out all of his thoughts and feelings.
As they neared Ashland, Eddie asked, “Are you okay? It got pretty heavy back there.”
“Sorry,” Steve murmured.
“I wasn’t asking for forgiveness,” Eddie admonished gently. “I was asking if you were okay.”
Steve sighed. “I guess I just had so many things bottled up that it all came out in a rush.”
“So talk to me,” Eddie said softly. “I know you think you can’t talk to anyone else because they’re all younger than you. But I’m not. So spill.”
Steve let out a long shuddering breath as if he had been holding it in for years.
“It’s just there have only ever been two adults involved in the whole Upside Down shit,” Steve murmured. “Well, there have been others, but either they haven’t been trustworthy or they’ve died. And I’m not going to lie and say I’m not bitter about Mrs Byers taking her family out to California and leaving me as the remaining adult.”
“Oh shit,” Eddie said softly. He hadn’t even thought about that. “That wasn’t right. I get she was trying to get Will and El as far away from Hawkins as she could, but considering the frequency of the U.D. coming back, it does seem selfish when looked at from your point of view.”
“El wasn’t the only one grieving Hopper’s death,” Steve spat out. “Why were only her feelings taken into consideration? Why was his funeral ‘a private family’ affair instead of one benefiting a hero where the whole town could attend? Why was El the first one that got to see him? Why did it take days before anyone else was informed?”
Eddie saw a shoulder and pulled off onto it, the Bimmer crunching the gravel as it slowed to a stop.
“It must have been so hard on you,” Eddie murmured. “You mentioned back at the diner that he always looked out for you and then suddenly he was gone and no one thought to ask you if you needed time to grieve, right?”
Steve nodded. “I just felt so stupid after it was announced that he was alive, you know? Like how dare I mourn someone who hadn’t even died. But I thought that once everything settled down we would get a chance to talk, but nope. He went off to California with the Byers. They’re supposed all be back before school starts, but who knows if that’s even true.”
“Steve it isn’t stupid you grieved,” Eddie murmured. “But I bet if you told him what you’ve been feeling, he’d pretty upset that he hurt you like that.”
Tears started streaming down Steve’s face. “I just want to be loved as much I love them, is that really too much to ask for?”
Eddie unbuckled his seatbelt and pulled him in for a hug. “Of course it’s not. And I don’t doubt if you stopped to really think about it you can name at least a half a dozen people who love you as much as you love them.”
Steve let out a watery chuckle. “I could probably fill up all ten of my fingers, if I was honest to myself.”
Eddie wiped away his tears. “There you have it, big boy. But it’s okay to cry and if you feel like you need to fall apart, call me. I’ll come over with beer, weed, and bad horror films to mock until you laugh.”
Steve wiped his nose on his arm. “You promise?”
Eddie leaned back far enough to hold up his pinkie. “I pinkie promise.”
Steve hooked his finger around Eddie’s and shook on it.
“You ready to face the road again?” Eddie asked.
Steve nodded. After a moment or two of silence, he spoke up. “You remember when ‘fake’ cried for Keith?” He used his fingers around the word fake to put it into air quotes.
Eddie, who was about to pull into traffic again, cut the engine. “Holy shit. It was Hopper, wasn’t it? That’s who you were remembering.”
Steve nodded. “It’s easy to cry when thinking about him, you know?”
“Because it’s new and even though he’s not dead, you never got your resolution?”
Steve nodded again. “I just feel so selfish about the whole thing, you know. He wasn’t my dad. I wasn’t related to him in anyway. But I thought I meant something to him, you know?”
Eddie turned the car back on and eased into traffic. “I’m sure you meant a lot to him, but there could be extenuating circumstances that prevented him from expressing that. Like I said before, I bet if you told him how you felt he’d be gutted.”
Steve just shrugged.
Eddie glanced over at him and then back at the road. “You tell anyone about this and I’ll tell Dustin about the time you flirted with his mom to get the brownie recipe.”
Steve’s went wide. “That was not flirting! I was just buttering her up a bit. That’s not the same thing.”
“Oh I know that,” Eddie said with a grin. “But would Dustin know the difference?”
Steve thought about it for a moment. “You drive a hard bargain, Lord Eddie.”
Eddie giggled. “You know, sometimes I forget you like ‘Star Wars’, you just aren’t great with their titles.”
“The third one is my favorite, after all.”
Eddie cleared his throat. “So back when I was just little metalhead, dealing for the first time one of my best customers was the Chief.”
Steve blinked. “Oh wait, I think I did hear something about that. I’m surprised he wasn’t fired.”
Eddie shrugged. “He wasn’t up for re-election. Sheriffs are elected. And small town like Hawkins, change is difficult. Hop would have to straight up murder babies in town hall and smear their blood over the church walls to get people to not vote for him.”
Steve snorted. “I doubt even then. It would take him being soft on homosexuals before they ousted him.”
Eddie laughed. “You’ve got me there.”
Steve smiled at him.
“So,” Eddie continued, “the reason I bring it up is that despite what people think, I’ve never been arrested for dealing and Rick hadn’t either until Hop ‘died’.”
Steve straightened up in his seat. “What do you mean?”
“Hop always said it was better to steer Rick away from certain places because he could,” Eddie said, “then it was to arrest him and have an all out war with the new supplier.”
Steve’s eyes went wide. “That’s why Rick didn’t get arrested until Powell took over because he didn’t have the same philosophy that Hop did.”
“Right in one,” he said. “And it did get bad with people trying to fill the void he left behind. Uncle Wayne convinced to stop selling once I was out until Rick was released because I couldn’t trust the new suppliers not to cut their shit with something dangerous.”
“Holy shit, yeah,” Steve agreed. “So why are you telling me this?”
“Because Hop looked out for me, too,” Eddie said. “Especially when my old man rolled into town. He would make sure he got to the carnage first and made sure I never got a record.”
Steve scratched his cheek thoughtfully. “That makes since I always wondered why the police or Jason never brought up your arrest record. It’s because Hop made sure you never got one.”
“So this is me saying,” Eddie finished, “I get it. I get mourning him. Because in my own way I mourned him, too. Because between Hop and Uncle Wayne they made sure I could get out of Hawkins when the time came.”
“This is exactly why I pushed for a public funeral,” Steve grumbled, sinking back into his seat and crossing his arms. “I don’t know who had the final say on that, but it makes me mad that just because they didn’t have a body people in town wouldn’t want to come see anyway. It blows.”
“Here’s that,” Eddie agreed.
Too soon they were pulling up the Nelsons’ and the sun was starting to set.
By silent agreement they both got out of the car and sat on Steve’s hood to watch the sunset in a beautiful array of blues and purples until the sky darkened and the stars came out.
“Thank you for today,” Steve murmured. “For all of it. Getting me out here, taking me to my grandmother’s grave, sitting with me when I talked to Uncle Percy. Helping me with my grief even though yours is far more fresh and painful than mine.”
“Grief is grief, Stevie,” Eddie murmured. “You don’t get to decide when it heals over. You were there for me when my dad showed up, so I was more than happy to return the favor with your family.”
“Thanks, man,” Steve said.
“So...” Eddie said. “You want to tell me why you and your uncle weren’t keen to let your other uncle see you?”
Steve snorted. “He’s the one that was the most against my mom getting any kind of inheritance. He didn’t think she should have gotten anything because she was a girl child. He kept saying that she got her money in the form of the lavish wedding she had when she married my dad.”
He ran his fingers through his hair.
“He’s sued her at least three times that I know of. If he had seen me he would have started screaming about how my mom didn’t deserve that money and that I was just as complicit in its ‘theft’ as she was.”
“But he got the house or whatever it was, right?” Eddie asked.
He nodded. “Yeah and the two acres of land it sits on. If he were to sell it would go for at least a few million, easy.”
“I’ll bet,” Eddie said, whistling long and low. “Which means Percy got the business?”
“Which another thing that upset Uncle Jasper,” Steve said. “But Uncle Percy is the oldest and had the best business sense, but he can’t let it go that he thinks his siblings got the better deal.”
“I heard this quote once about how some people are content in life, but that others just can’t be. That they will always seek more. Nothing will ever be enough.”
“Uncle Jasper is definitely one of those.”
Penny poked her head out the front door. “Come on in, boys, it’s really getting late.”
Eddie and Steve stood up and walked back into the house, feeling lighter then they had since before March.
****
Pt 11|Pt 12
Tag List: @spectrum-spectre @estrellami-1 @zerokrox-blog @artiststarme @swimmingbirdrunningrock @gregre369 @pyrohonk @a-little-unsteddie @chaosgremlinmunson @chaoticlovingdreamer @messrs-weasley @goodolefashionedloverboi @maya-custodios-dionach @val-from-lawrence @i-must-potato @danili666 @carlyv @rozzieroos @emly03 @wonderland-girl143-blog @justforthedead89 @bookworm0690 @itsall-taken @bookbinderbitch @redfreckledwolf @vecnuthy @littlewildflowerkitten @scheodingers-muppet @mira-jadeamethyst @cinnamon-mushroomabomination @gutterflower77 @genderless-spoon @hel-spawn @ellietheasexylibrarian @anne-bennett-cosplayer @mamafaithful @yikes-a-bee @dragonmama76 @flaming-reauxster @r0binscript @awkotaco24 @ilikeititspretty
172 notes
·
View notes
Text
part 2!!
read part 1 here
—
it takes four days before somebody notices anything is wrong.
it’s keith of all people. steve had called him at the beginning of the week to tell him he was sick and wouldn’t be in for a few days. keith told him three days. it’s day four and he’s stomping up from the back room. he looks behind the line, whips his head around and scans the parking lot. with a hefty sigh, he snatches up one of the landlines, punching in numbers with much more force than necessary.
it rings a few times before being sent to the voice message machine. robin watches him from the counter.
“harrington. it’s…” he checks his watch, “11:30. you were supposed to be here at 9:00. i’ve called like a million times. get here or find a new job,” keith says before slamming the phone down.
“who shoved a stick up your ass this morning?” robin asks, her arms crossing over her chest.
“harrington. you seen him lately?” keith said with a huff.
“no. why?” she furrows her brows, standing up straighter at the mention of her best friend. now that she thinks about it, when did she see him last? the bonfire? did he make it home okay? what if he crashed his car and he’s dead in a ditch? is he sick? and she’s not taking care of him? oh god, what if his parents are home?
“he was out the past couple days, was supposed to be back in today. clearly he’s not, and i can’t get in touch with him,” keith shook his head, annoyance dripping off his very being.
“maybe i can call some of our friends to go check on him,” robin says, mainly to herself, and grabs the phone keith was just using. there’s a notecard taped under the counter with all the party’s house phone numbers, even the byers’ home all the way across the country. she pulls it off, reading through it and typing in dustin’s phone number. “c’mon c’mon c’mon…”
“henderson’s, this is claudia,” dustin’s mother answers, her voice as bright and cheery as always.
“hi, ms.h. it’s robin. um…is dustin around?” she tries to keep her voice even, even puts a smile on her face in hopes it makes everything sound okay.
“of course, honey! let me go get him for you.” the sound muffles for a few seconds as claudia calls for her son, pressing the phone to her chest. robin can hear the smallest bits of their conversation before the phone is handed off.
“robin? what’s up?” dustin’s voice filters through the receiver. he sounds happy to hear from her, but of course he doesn’t know what to expect. robin’s calling? in the middle of a work day? that doesn’t happen.
“hey, dustin! quick question, have you talked to steve recently?” robin asks and brings a hand up to chew on her nails, a bad habit she gets from her dad. her mom always tries to pull her hands from her mouth.
“no, last time was at the fire. why, what’s going on?” he doesn’t seem happy anymore. his voice drops quiet while he talks, like he’s waiting for robin to drop an upside down related bombshell on his morning.
“oh. well he was supposed to be in today but hasn’t showed. not picking up the phone either. i was just wondering if he’d said anything to you.”
“no, he hasn’t said anything. i’ll go check on him, i got nothing else going on today. i’ll radio when i see him,” dustin says. robin’s nodding along before she remembers he can’t see her. “robin. he’ll be okay.”
“i know. i know, i do. i just worry about him,” robin says truthfully and her shoulders deflate with a sigh. she runs her fingers through her hair, closing her eyes and tugging on the strands.
“i do too. i’ll get back to you.” and with that, the dial tone sounds. robin’s chewing her lip as she puts the phone back and gets ready to handle the incoming customers
—
dustin knows the route to steve’s house like the back of his hand and it takes him less than fifteen minutes to bike over there. he hops off once he reaches the end of the harrington’s long, unpaved driveway, walking his bike up the rest of the dirt trail. he always hated this part, especially at night. giant trees would loom over and every single one seemed to hold some kind of animal making some kind of weird noise. also way too close to where will went missing all those years ago for his liking.
the first thing dustin notices when he approaches the house is the lack of a car in the driveway. the familiar maroon bmw is nowhere in sight. odd. steve wouldn’t lie about being sick to get out of work and then go get caught driving around instead. maybe it was just in the shop.
he walks up to the red door and starts pounding on it.
“steeeeeve! steve, it’s dustin!” the kid yells, his fist continuing to slam against the wood. he waits a few seconds, gets no response, and repeats. he’s out there for ten minutes before accepting that he was, in fact, not going to answer the door. he takes his walkie from the side pocket of his backpack and switches to the main scoops troop channel.
“robin, it’s dustin. he’s not answering the door, so i’m going in. over,” he says and tucks it back in his pocket.
“keep me posted. over.”
he pulls his key ring from his shorts, flipping through to the gold key to the harrington house. dustin sticks the key in, twists and opens. it creaks on its hinges.
the second dustin steps inside, he’s hit with how warm it is in the house. how has he not turned on the ac?! it’s like a million degrees in here! he must be like dying if he’s actually sick and it’s this warm here.
“steve?! steve! are you here, man? it’s dustin,” he calls out as he starts his ascent up the stairs. “steeeeeve!”
no response. just echoes of his own voice bouncing back in his ears. what is going on? it’s eerily quiet, the silence making the blood rush in his ears. dustin approaches steve’s door. it’s cracked an inch or so.
“steve?” dustin says quietly. he places his palm on the door, gives it a gentle push so it swings open.
the room is empty. everything is spotless.
pictures of the kids are gone from the mirror on the wall.
the closet devoid of brightly colored sweaters and well-loved sneakers.
dustin’s eyes are wide as saucers, jaw dropped wide enough to catch flies. his hands fall to his sides and he doesn’t even try to stop them from trembling.
“st-eve?” his voice cracks. blue eyes are flooded with tears that won’t quite fall but certainly make it hard to see. “STEVE?”
the walkie is back in his hand.
“robin. this is dustin. i think i might have a code red. over,” he whimpers into the walkie. his free hand pushes under his hat, tangling in sweaty curls. “robin, i have a code red! over!”
“dustin? it’s robin, what’s going on? is steve okay? over.”
“he’s- he’s gone? n-nothing is here? i’m- robin, his room is empty.” he doesn’t care that he’s now openly crying into the receiver, fat tears rolling down his flushed cheeks.
“i’m on my way.”
#stranger things#steve harrington#eddie munson#robin buckley#dustin henderson#stranger things fic#steve harrington fanfic#stranger things fanfiction#steddie#later tho
980 notes
·
View notes
Note
98 for Robin?
98. "Hold me back!"
Ahhh thank you very much for this! I'm sorry it was so late nonny!
This is taking place in the same universe as this piece which you can also read on AO3
***
"I swear to God" Robin moans as she smacks her head onto the counter, "I will walk into traffic if I have to explain the plot of Labyrinth one more time".
Steve puts the money from the recent rental into the till and shrugs, "I dunno Birdy, I liked your take on it this time".
She snorts, finally cracking a grin, "you just liked the look on her face when I talked about how half the movie is Bowie's package and the other half is Muppets".
"Potato, Tomato," Steve hums, closing the till with a soft snick.
For a Saturday opening shift it had been strangely slow.
They had their usual guests during the day, screaming children with parents who were clearly at the end of their tether. Irritating teens who stole as many snacks as their thieving little backpacks could handle. Movie nerds who asked for as many titles as they could think of before settling on something so obscure there was no way they carried it -or on the off chance Family Video did have it in their inventory, it was already checked out.
However, with half an hour until Keith was set to arrive for the closing shift, the front door bell jingled harshly to announce a new presence in the store and in an instant Robin’s stomach falls into her shoes.
Because Tommy Hagan and Carol Perkins have just walked in.
Robin has dealt with assholes from highschool before, she had to wear a sailor outfit with shorts for her last job for fucks sake, but she’s also never gotten into a physical fight with any schmucks from her forth period algebra class.
Steve on the other hand…
He’s on the other side of the counter all of a sudden, standing in between her and Tommy.
His expression seems neutral, but Robin can read the line of tension in his shoulders as Carol whispers something into Tommy’s ear.
"Welcome to Family Video," Robin says, her voice clipped and stony, "it's two for one Saturday and all the sections are labeled so you should be able to get in and get out".
"Come on, we just got here," Tommy scoffs, he's glaring openly at Steve while Carol seems to be scanning Robin, watching her carefully.
"Boy, you really do have a type huh Stevie," Carol sneers from Tommy's side, "at least this one plays an instrument, she's just as stuck up as Wheeler though from what I remember".
"If you guys don't want to rent anything, then leave," Steve says slowly, deliberately with wary hostility.
"You're suddenly so fucking tough huh?" Tommy scoffs, stepping closer towards Steve.
Carol moves with him but her eyes widen slightly in surprise, she grabs at his arm and pulls just slightly, "Tommy--"
"I'm not going to fight you man," Steve sighs, running a hand over his face and into his hair, Robin watches as his shoulders droop ever so slightly.
She knows Steve has complicated feelings about his former friends, they'd known one another for such a long time and those old feelings don't just disappear.
He'd been hurt to see Tommy and Carol gravitate towards Billy so easily. To egg him on as he bullied Steve their senior year, the tables turned so suddenly it was like whiplash.
Well, Steve may feel conflicted about his old shithead friends, but Robin has no such compunction.
"He won't but I will," Robin blurts out, the words run away from her faster than she can even catch up to them.
Steve closes his eyes, his expression pained while Tommy and Carol both turn to her with equal looks of surprise.
Huh, it's the first time in her life she's ever seen Carol Perkins speechless and it's glorious.
Robin lets the thrill of it carry her forward until she's stepped around the counter to stand beside Steve.
“Yeah, Steve's gonna have to hold me back,” Robin snarls as she grabs Steve’s hand and places it on her own shoulder.
Steve gives her a withering look as he mimes pulling a zipper over his own mouth.
"You let your bitch off her leash huh Harrington?" Tommy says with a lecherous grin as he stares at them both.
He lets out two barks and laughs again as he swings an arm around Carol's shoulder, her tinkling laugh joins his own and Robin can't believe this is even happening. Did she hit her head getting out of Steve's car this morning?
Fuck this.
"Funny stuff Hagan," Robin bites out, "your ass must be pretty jealous of your mouth for all the nasty shit it gets to spew in public".
"What did you just say to me?" Tommy snarls as he stomps closer, his ears have turned a ruddy pink that matches the flush crawling up his neck.
Carol tries to reach for his arm, whispering, "just drop it Tommy, let's go," but he wrenches away from her and continues forward, only stopping as a flat palm catches him in the chest.
Steve stands his ground in front of Tommy, looking down his nose with cold eyes.
Steve told her about the last time he and Tommy had squared off. It was just before Robin spotted Steve outside the corner store while she waited for her mother to pay for their things, the aftermath that she hadn't thought much of at the time, but now…
Steve walks forward, using his height to his advantage to tower imposingly over Tommy, his face twisted into a vicious snarl that Robin has only seen one other time, underneath Starcourt.
"Get out, I don't want to tell you again Tommy," Steve says lowly under his breath, just loud enough that Robin has to strain to hear him.
Tommy's eyes narrow as his mouth pulls into a sneer, "and what are you gonna do about it, you're not scary Harrington," he grins despite taking a step back as Steve continues forward, pushing them towards the front door.
"I don't have to be scary, but I do have an in with your drug dealer and I can make it impossible for you to score for as long as you live in this godforsaken shithole".
"You're bluffing".
"Try me," Steve whispers just as the bell dings again at the front of the store. Tommy doesn't look away from Steve even as Carol exclaims a small, 'oh', beside him.
Robin smirks and leans back against the counter, raising her hand in an enthusiastic wave towards the entrance, "hey Eddie!"
Tommy curses under his breath and wrenches himself away from Steve, just in time to see the murderous expression on Eddie's face.
Carol takes the opportunity to grab at the sleeve of Tommy's shirt and drag him the last few steps away towards the door, they give Eddie a wide berth as they pass.
Tommy glares at Steve and Robin the entire way, muttering curses under his breath as Robin blows them a kiss with her middle finger.
The bell jingles again as the door swings open and falls gently closed, leaving them in an uneasy silence.
"You guys okay?" Eddie says quietly after a beat, he steps towards Steve, his brow pinched with concern.
Steve nods silently before turning towards Robin. She expects a lecture from the frown on his face but blinks in surprise as Steve pulls her into a tight hug.
"Don't do that again," he mumbles into her hair, she opens her mouth to speak, to insist that she doesn't need a babysitter like his gaggle of children.
"I know it's just Tommy," Steve breathes out as though reading her mind, "but I don't think I could handle it if something happened to you Robin, I mean it".
And all at once the fight drains out of her as Robin wonders just how she wound up with someone like Steve Harrington in her corner.
"I wasn't going to let them talk shit," she huffs, despite pressing even closer, she feels his head shake against her own.
"I can take a hit and I'm not going to let some asshole have a chance to go after you too," he says sharply.
Robin rolls her eyes and steps back just enough to look him in the eyes, "remember what your annoying child friend said, if you die, I die".
She shrugs at the incredulous expression on his face, "what? Smartest thing that kid has ever said".
"You're ridiculous," Steve whispers and there's so much warm affection in his voice as he squeezes her once more, that Robin has to bury her face in his shoulder to hide the sudden shine in her eyes.
Eddie seems to take this as his cue to move forward and let his hand rest on Steve's lower back, the pinched look fading slightly as he smiles at Robin.
"Well, my original plan was to take Stevie here, out after his shift, buuut I'm thinking the three of us are in need of a night on the town, what do you say Buckaroo?" Eddie asks with a waggles of his eyebrows and a wide grin.
"I'll come if you never call me that again," Robin says with as much of a straight face as she can muster.
Steve barks out a laugh as he leans into Eddie's side, "oh you've done it now Buckaroo".
Robin squawks and flaps her hands at Steve until he ducks away behind Eddie who immediately shields his face with his hands.
"You think way too highly of me if you think that's where I'm aiming," Robin says dryly, snorting as Eddie gasps and lifts a leg for further protection, prompting them both to collapse into a fit of giggles while Steve watches fondly.
They all eventually relax, falling into an easy conversation as Steve and Robin finish up the last of the morning duties. The tension from earlier fading away as Eddie sits on the counter top, with his eyes on the door, watching out, just in case.
#platonic stobin#robin buckley pov#steve harrington#eddie munson#tommy hagan#carol perkins#afewproblems writes#afewproblems answers#stranger things#we love protective steve harrington#protective robin buckley#robin buckley is ride or die#eddie munson is the supportive boyfriend that loves their shenanigans and is definitely hoping for robins approval#steve x eddie#more of this universe because I love the idea of these three being friends before season 4#wip weekend#I know no one voted for my askbox list but its been haunting me
300 notes
·
View notes
Text
An Embrace at the Edge of the World
WC: 509 | Prompt: Edge | Rating: T | Tags: Established Relationship, Hurt/Comfort | @steddiemicrofic
Steve’s had his fair share of bad days at work. On a scale of ‘bad’ to ‘fucking awful’, he’d label today a resounding ‘pretty shitty overall’. Robin was out for the week- she was visiting family on the east coast- which left Steve to work with Keith, which actually meant that Steve worked alone while Keith smoked and sorted returns in the stock room. To make matters worse, it was two-for-one Tuesday at Family Video. Steve was faced with a steady stream of customers, which led to crowded aisles and the inevitable knocked-over endcap. On top of all that, he got chewed out by an older woman who was pissed about being denied the ability to rent (she had five overdue rentals, so Steve was literally not allowed to rent to her- it was company policy).
By the time he clocked out, he was ready to curl up in bed and have Eddie read him to sleep.
That didn’t happen, though. Steve got home, trudged up the stairs to his room, expecting that Eddie was already up there and strumming on his guitar (as was routine nowadays). Instead, he opened the door to find Eddie sitting on the edge of the bed, face in his hands. His shoulders were shaking, and muffled sobs filled the room.
Steve left his bad day at the door and crossed the room in an instant, taking a seat next to Eddie and wrapping his hands around Eddie’s middle. “Hey, baby. What’s goin’ on?”
Eddie turned, burying his face in Steve’s neck and wrapping his arms around Steve. “’S stupid.”
“No, no sweetheart. It’s not stupid. Not if it’s you.”
Eddie let out a wet-sounding, humorless laugh in response. “I went to the store today and some assholes started harassing me. I should be used to it by now, but… just got to me today.”
Steve leaned back to take Eddie’s face in his hands, inspecting him for any injuries. “They didn’t hurt you, did they?”
Eddie shook his head, his eyes downcast. Steve tilted Eddie’s head up with his hand, smiling reassuringly when Eddie’s wet eyes met his.
“You’re allowed to be upset, Eds. The way that you're treated- most people would leave town the first chance they got if they were faced with even an ounce of the shit that’s thrown at you every single day. You are the strongest man that I know, Eddie Munson. A man that I love more than words.”
Eddie’s face crumpled, indicative of another round of sobs, and Steve pulled him back into a tight embrace, running a hand through his boyfriend’s curls. “I’ve got you, baby.”
Yeah, Steve had a pretty shitty day. He could put all that aside, though, and be here with Eddie- sit at the edge of his bed, hold his boyfriend close, and remind him how much he was loved. Because in times like these, it’s just the two of them existing in their own little world- and at the end of the day, that’s all they really needed: each other.
#stranger things#steddie#steve harrington#eddie munson#my writing#em writes#steddie fic#steddiemicrofic#steddiemicroficfebruary
84 notes
·
View notes
Text
Remember the server/waiter AU... Well, I wrote the first chapter... Here you go loves :) (Warning: It's almost 3k words)
Steve can’t catch a break.
And by that, he means that not a single one of his dates are going well.
He doesn’t know what it is about the girls in Hawkins, but the Harrigton charm isn’t working the way it used to. Sure, he works at Family Video and his only friends are mainly children and Robin, but that doesn’t equate to the fact that he can’t go steady with a single girl. Hell, he can’t even make it past the first date.
At this point, his wallet is starting to get smaller and smaller, and the staff at Enzo’s have all memorized his name and order.
He relays all of this to Robin who laughs at his misery and says, “At this point, you need to start going to some cheap diner for your dates because I know Family Video isn’t paying you more than they’re paying me. And you certainly are getting a pay cut with all the movies your kids keep hogging until they’re overdue. You can’t always wave the fee, you know.” Robin huffs as they hit a slight bump and her mascara wand bumps her eyelid.
“Don’t worry. I never wave Mike’s fee, and he’s usually the one hogging them. But hey, you make a good point. Think I should go to Linda’s Diner next time?” Steve asks turning into the parking lot.
Robin twists the cap back on the mascara and comments, “It’ll certainly weed out the gold diggers, that’s for sure.”
“Maybe that’s for the best.”
Robin climbs out of the car and makes eye contact with Steve over the roof. “It definitely is. Now come on before Keith loses his shit at us being three minutes early instead of five.”
“You act like I wasn’t going to same speed as you,” Steve argues.
They continue bickering throughout the first part of their shift, stopping only when things get busy. In that time, Steve manages to flirt his way into a date that night with a girl named Melinda, although Robin sends him warning looks the whole interaction.
Once the store is dead again, Steve saunters over to Robin. “Did you see the hot chick I’m going on a date with tonight?”
“Did you not see the crazy eyes I was giving you?” Robin shoots back.
“Come on. She even agreed to meet me at Linda’s Diner. What’s wrong with this one?’ Steve leans back against the counter with his arms crossed.
“She has red hair, Steve! You know who else has red hair?”
“Vickie,” they both say at the same time.
“Need I remind you of what she did?” Robin says, frantically sorting through the stack of returns, handing Steve tapes to rewind.
“Trust me, I remember,” Steve cringes and begins rewinding tapes. “But you can’t just blame the entire ginger population on behalf of her... decisions.”
“It’s a very small population, Steve. I just might,” Robin says, waving a tape aggressively in the air to punctuate her point.
“Careful there. You’re turning that tape into a weapon.”
Robin sighs and puts the tape down, glancing at the clock. She nudges Steve and tilts her head towards the clock. “Think we can close five minutes early?” Robin asks.
Steve glances around at the empty store and empty parking lot and nods. “Yeah.”
The pair rush around to grab their stuff from the staff room and quickly turn off the lights and lock up. When Steve gets in the car, he says, “You know what’s great about diners?”
Robin hums in response as she tugs off her vest.
“I can wear my work clothes on a date there.” Steve beams and drums his hands on the steering wheel to the song playing over his stereo. He feels Robin jab something against his arm. He glances down when he gets to a stop sign and sees the deodorant Robin’s pressing against him. Steve throws her an apologetic look and immediately puts it on.
When Steve pulls up outside of Robin’s house, she says, “Can’t wait to hear about how awful this date goes. Bye dingus!”
“Just because she has red hair doesn’t mean-” Steve gets cut off when Robin slams the car door shut. “...that it will go poorly,” Steve finishes his thought, mumbling to himself.
The rest of the drive is uncomfortably quiet even with the music, reminding Steve why he goes through the effort of all the failed dates.
Maybe this one will be different.
He arrives and finds parking on the street in front of the diner. He notes that he’s about fifteen minutes early which is perfect for fixing his hair then scoping out the best spot for a date.
With about ten minutes remaining, Steve makes his way inside. A bell jingles, signaling his entrance and barely any patrons glance up. Luckily, there are only a few people there, not too busy and not empty enough to signal that Steve might get food poisoning. He glances at the sign that signals for customers to seat themselves and makes his way to the front corner of the diner. Steve sits facing the entrance and begins glancing out the window.
In the reflection, he catches the door to the kitchen swing open. He glances over and makes eye contact with one of the waiters who stops in his tracks. The sound of silverware clattering to the ground rings out along with a whispered, “Shit,” as the waiter bends down and picks it up. He throws them into a bin and picks up two more sets and two menus and makes his way to Steve.
Steve feels his mouth go dry as the man comes fully in view. He’s wearing an awful server’s hat, a red button down with black jeans, and a ridiculous white apron around his waist that Steve can’t take his eyes off.
“Trust me when I say they don’t pay me enough to wear this,” the waiter deadpans as he sets down the utensils and menus.
“How’d you know that there would be two people?” Steve asks for some reason.
“I just kind of assumed it would be a date.”
“Why’s that?” Steve questions, genuinely curious.
“I’ve never seen someone work so hard on their hair before for nothing.”
Steve’s eyes widen. How’d he know?
“Your car window is pretty clean, man. It’s a clear shot through our windows to yours.” He nods his head towards where Steve’s car is parked.
Steve can feel himself turn bright red.
“Not that there’s anything wrong with that! It looks... it looks good,” the other man finishes lamely. He clears his throat. “Anyways, I’m Eddie, I’ll be your waiter today at this fine dining establishment. What can I get you and your date to drink?”
“I have no idea about her, but I’ll get a water,” Steve answers. Eddie weirdly stares back at him for a few moments. “Is there something wrong with your water?” Steve questions.
Eddie shakes his head. “I just took you as a Coke person. But water impresses the girls I guess,” Eddie says with a shrugs and walks off.
Steve finds himself watching Eddie, specifically the long curly ponytail that he managed to miss before. It swings a bit as the guy walks away, matching the slight swivel his hips make. And why is he staring at this man’s ass? It’s just because of the bow above it from the apron that draws attention to that specific part of his body. That’s all.
The front door bell rings out, and Steve is snapped out of his thoughts. He glances over and sees Melinda scrunching her nose up at the diner. Eventually she makes eye contact with Steve, who waves her over to the table.
She struts over and hesitantly sits on the opposite side of the booth.
“Hi,” Steve says with a smile.
“Hi,” she responds, voice more nasally than Steve remembered.
“Two waters,” Eddie suddenly announces appearing at the table, setting the drinks down. “Did you want anything else to drink, ma’am?”
Melinda looks Eddie up and down in clear distaste, looks away and shakes her head.
Eddie’s eyebrows furrow and his mouth forms a tight line. He looks about two seconds away from saying, “They don’t pay me enough for this shit.” Steve thinks it’s probably something he says often.
“Okay!” Eddie says with false joy, “I’ll leave you two to our wonderful selection for a few more minutes unless you’re ready to order.”
“I’m not getting anything to eat,” Melinda says pushing the menu aggressively away.
Steve makes eye contact with Eddie for a split second trying his best to look apologetic.
“I’ll give you a moment to think,” Eddie says to Steve and leaves shaking his head.
“Do you want to split a milkshake or something?” Steve suggests.
“If it’s strawberry,” Melinda replies flatly.
Steve nods and smiles. Melinda glances out the window looking as if she would want to be anywhere else. “How was your day?” Steve asks, hoping that maybe she had a bad day resulting in the bad mood.
“Fine,” she replies.
Steve has no idea why he didn’t listen to Robin. He prays the milkshake will help. And fries. He gets hangry too sometimes.
Eddie blessedly makes his way back to the table, sticky note pad in hand. “Have you decided on anything?” He asks Steve.
“We’re going to get a strawberry milkshake and fries.”
Melinda shoots Steve s look that he catches in his peripheral vision. Maybe fries were a bad idea. Eddie scribbles on the sticky note in what looks like very large font and says, “Fantastic choice,” dripping in sarcasm. His eyes flicker over to Melinda who stares out the window, arms crossed.
Eddie flips the sticky note pad over which reads “RUN!” Steve puts a hand over his mouth, trying to cover his laughter. For the first time, Eddie gives Steve a real smile and hurries away saying, “Coming right up!”
Melinda sighs heavily immediately killing Steve’s good mood.
“Are you okay?” Steve asks.
“I just wish that you would’ve asked me first before you added fries to our order.”
Steve genuinely apologizes, “I’m sorry. Is there something wrong with fries?’
Melinda huffs and rolls her eyes. “No.”
“I’m sorry. I don’t understand what I did.”
“You added them without consulting me first. It’s just something Bobby used to do.”
“Bobby?” Steve questions.
“My ex. He was so annoying. Always getting stuff without asking me my opinion. Like he bought this jean jacket and didn’t ask me before he started wearing it. And it was so embarrassing for me and a betrayal of my trust. Who does that?” Melinda says throwing her arms up.
“I mean-”
Melinda cuts Steve off. “And then he got mad at me, saying that I was too controlling. As if it wasn’t his fault. We were supposed to tell each other everything. Besides, it ruined our whole couple aesthetic.” She looks Steve up and down for a moment. “You can keep the hair; we’ll work on your style later.”
Steve’s jaw drops and eyebrows raise, unsure how to respond. Apparently, Eddie is equally a good judge of character as Robin. As soon as Steve finds himself thinking of Eddie, he appears suddenly again with the milkshake and basket of fries. “For the lovely couple,” Eddie says with a large grin, and Steve fights to not roll his eyes at him.
Steve thanks Eddie who hovers with a smile. Melinda lifts her hand and flicks her wrist at Eddie, as if ushering him away.
Eddie’s eyes fill with rage. Steve cuts off Eddie’s meltdown by doing exactly what he knows will enrage Melinda. He takes a fry and dips it in the milkshake.
Her face flushes red. Steve puts the final nail in the coffin and says, “I’m actually shaving my head tomorrow.”
Melinda scoots out of the booth saying, “This isn’t going to work out. Have a good life.” She struts out of the building. Eddie and Steve watch as she storms out, gets into her car and starts apparently screaming and punching her steering wheel.
“See, clear shot,” Eddie comments and walks towards the kitchen. Steve stares as Melinda drives away, nearly causing an accident in the process. Steve sighs and puts his head in his hands. He sits by himself for a few minutes, working his way through the basket of fries.
A plate slides in front of him. Steve takes in the stack of pancakes with a wonky smiley face made of chocolate chips on top. It’s even decorated with fantastic whipped cream hair. He even got Steve glass of Coke.
Eddie slides into the booth where Melinda was sitting. Steve can’t help but think that he’s certainly a sight for sore eyes. Eddie looks bashfully at the display and says, “It’s on the house. Think of it as compensation for the free entertainment.”
Steve laughs and shakes his head, he reaches over to where Eddie’s hands rest on the table, fiddling with his rings. Steve puts a hand on top of Eddie’s and squeezes it. “Thank you,” he says sincerely. He takes some of his remaining fries and gives the face eyebrows and a mustache.
“A masterpiece that rivals the Mona Lisa,” Eddie says.
“Rivals?” Steve questions. “It’s edible so automatically it’s worth way more.” He picks up his fork and digs into the art.
Eddie gasps. “Our beautiful creation!”
Steve swallows the bite and says, “I just needed to taste test it.”
“Oh, of course. You’re absolutely right... So, how does it taste? Valuable?”
Steve takes his time cutting a new piece and chewing it thoughtfully. Eddie eagerly awaits his response. Steve hums. “I’m getting notes of...”
“Chocolate?” Eddie supplies.
“Yes.”
“Whipped cream?”
“Correct again.”
“And.... this is a stretch... pancake.”
Steve gasps dramatically. “How did you know?”
“It’s like I made it or something.”
“Ah,” Steve says and nods. The pair stare at each other for a few moments then Eddie starts giggling, and Steve snorts leading them into a full laughing fit.
A loud cough interrupts the two of them and Eddie sighs, “Guess I have to do my job. Capitalism, am I right?” He slides out of the booth, and Steve watches as he goes to the other table, bring them their ticket and taking their cash to the register.
He quickly finishes off the pancakes and Coke, glad to actually have some semblance of a real meal that wasn’t just fries. He fishes his wallet out of his pocket and leaves ten dollars on the table, not wanting to take the pancakes and Coke assumedly out of Eddie’s paycheck.
He walks up to the counter and leans on it saying, “Thank you for turning a bad date into a good one. Uh- I mean... not like that. You know what I mean.”
A teasing smile lights up Eddie’s face as he flirts, “Oh, I know what you mean.” He punctuates it with a wink which has Steve blushing. What the hell?
Steve nods and smiles at Eddie, heading towards the door. “See you around, Eddie.”
“See you around... uh, pretty boy.”
Steve’s head whips around.
“I don’t have a name, so I gave you the first one that came to mind,” Eddie slyly says.
“It’s Steve,” he replies, not knowing what else to say.
“Steve,” Eddie repeats, and Steve finds that he really likes hearing him say it. He waves at him and makes his way out of the diner and into his car. He starts laughing and remembers what Eddie had said before and glances through the glass of the diner. He finds Eddie laughing as well and doing a cute little jig around.
He suddenly freezes and looks up through the window, directly at Steve.
He was right. It’s a clear shot.
#steddie#steddie fanfic#steve harrington#eddie munson#once again writing instead of doing work#it's because i love you guys
885 notes
·
View notes
Text
Caught And In Trouble – Steve Harrington
Wattpad Request by i45e679
It should've been weird that I was dating my sister's ex-boyfriend. I didn't mean for it to happen. And to be fair, I had feelings for him long before she even met him. Steve and I were in the same year at school so I've known him since kindergarten. We didn't interact much.
Actually, we didn't interact at all. Not until he and Robin walked into the video store, asking for a job. After Keith hired them, I had a lot of shifts with him. At first, Steve was uncomfortable around me. I wasn't surprised. About three years ago, he dated my younger sister, who broke up with him. Not to mention he risked his life several times to protect my younger brother.
After Steve's first week, I couldn't handle the tension anymore. He wouldn't look at me. He'd barely talk to me. We couldn't keep working like this so I forced him to talk to me. In our conversation, I told him that I didn't care what happened between him and Nancy. He felt better when I said that he was right, not Nancy.
Two months later, Steve and I were working the closing shift. Robin had brought some "medicine" for me. Steve and I ended up smoking it in the supply closet. Sometime between halfway through and done, we ended up making out - heavily making out.
The next day, I avoided him. Wherever he was, I wasn't. If he was accepting a shipment, I was busy helping a customer. When he was checking someone out, I was restocking the returns. It worked until closing.
Before I could leave, Steve stopped me and asked if we could talk about it. Neither one of us started the conversation at first. Finally, Steve blurted that he had feelings for me. I then blurted out that I had feelings for him.
Then came the issue of Nancy.
Instead of dealing with it, we ignored it. We planned to not tell anyone about us. It actually hasn't been that hard. Mike was focused on maintaining his long-distance relationship with El. Nancy was focused on the school paper.
Plus, we worked together so we didn't have to sneak out to be together. We just covered it with work. We took turns bringing or picking up lunch for each other. When one of us was working and the other wasn't, we stopped by. Date nights were nights that we had to do inventory or had a late delivery.
The only person who knew was Robin. She caught on after a week of us constantly switching shifts so we could work together. She didn't like the idea of keeping a secret, but it only took her seeing one of our lunch dates to keep our secret.
I was in the middle of restocking the candy when I felt someone wrap their arms around my waist and start kissing my neck. It was 11 o'clock on a Wednesday. Weekdays weren't very busy.
"You should know," I teased as he continued to make out with my neck, "my boyfriend is grabbing something from the back room and he's gonna be pissed."
"Oh?"
"Yep," I smiled as Steve turned me toward him. "My boyfriend is hella protective."
"Is he?" Steve continued to play along as he pulled me closer and slid his hands down my back.
"Mmhmm," I hummed. I moaned when he reached my ass and squeezed it. "And he has an extremely short temper."
"I do not," he defended himself. I sent him a look that made him laugh. "Okay, fine. I have a short temper. Especially when it comes to someone messing with my girl."
Steve glanced around the empty shop and turned back to me with a playful smirk on his face. I knew exactly what he was going to do, but before I could tell him not to do it, he did it.
He leaned down and kissed me. I knew we shouldn't be doing this at work, but I didn't care. Ever since Steve and I started dating, things have felt easy. Except for the lying to everyone we love part.
We didn't bother to break the kiss as Steve moved us to the back room. He leaned down and picked me up, putting me on the table.
"Steve," I moaned against his mouth, "baby, the store."
He broke the kiss and moved to my neck. He kissed up my neck until he got to my ear. "The store has only been open an hour," he said against my skin. "You know that no one ever comes before 3 o'clock. Plus, it's Wednesday. So, game on."
I gasped when he roughly pressed his lips back to mine. I wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling him in between my legs. He grabbed my right one and massaged my thigh as we continued to make out.
Steve broke the kiss and went back to kissing my neck. I moaned as his lips started pushing my v-neck lower. I arched my back, throwing my head back as he got as close to my chest as he could.
"What the shit?!"
We gasped, pulling apart when someone yelled. We looked over to see Mike frozen in the doorway.
"Mike," I stuttered. "I can explain."
"Wow," he said, glaring at me. "Wow, Y/N. I never thought you'd betray your family."
Before I could say anything, Mike turned around and ran out of the store. My eyes burned as I tried to figure out what to do.
"You okay?" Steve whispered.
"This is bad," I mumbled. "Really bad, Steve."
"He's just surprised," he tried to make me feel better. "Give him some time. He'll calm down."
* * * * *
Steve was wrong. Mike didn't calm down. As soon as I got home from work, Mike was gone. He spent the entire week at Dustin's. Every time I called, Mike refused to answer. Steve even tried to go over to Dustin's house but Dustin told him that Mike didn't want to talk.
I went to work at the end of that week exhausted. I ignored Robin as I walked into the back and put my bag in my locker. I closed it and leaned my forehead against it.
"Hey, you," Steve whispered as he walked up behind me and wrapped his arms around me. "How are you?"
"Horrible," I said, my voice breaking. "Mike still won't talk to me. Dustin and Lucas can't talk to me because Mike won't let them."
"Have you talked to Nancy?"
"No," I sighed. "But I heard Mike telling her the night he found out. I didn't hear her response."
"Y/N. . ."
"We should get back to work," I said, pulling out of his embrace. I went through the rest of my shift with my stomach in knots. While restocking the kid's movies someone walked up to me.
"Welcome to Family Video," I recited. "What can I do for. . ."
I cut myself off when I turned around and saw Nancy fixing her shirt. "What are you doing here?" I couldn't help but ask.
"I figured we should talk," she said lightly.
"Look," I started even though I had no idea how to finish this.
"Let me go first," she cut me off. "I'm okay."
"You're what?"
"I'm okay with you and Steve dating," she continued. "Steve and I were over long ago. We're just friends and if you care about him then I support you guys."
I didn't know how to respond. Instead of saying anything, I wrapped her in a hug. She laughed as she hugged me back.
"You're really okay with this?"
We pulled out of our hug and saw Steve walking out of the back office. Nancy looked between me and him and smiled. "Yeah, I'm okay," she said. "Besides, it's clear that you guys are a better couple than we ever were. Plus, you make my sister happy. How can I be upset?"
"Thanks, Nancy," Steve sighed. He sent me a wink before heading to the front desk to help a customer.
"Hey," Nancy said, lowering her voice. "Mike is being stupid, okay? He just needs to calm down."
"I guess," I said, wrapping my arms around myself. "But how long will that take?"
"I don't know," she said honestly. "He wasn't too happy when I dated Steve. And with you now dating him. . . Mike is just confused and angry that you kept a secret. Give him time."
Later that night, Steve was in the back accepting a delivery. I was checking the returns for damages. Suddenly the bell above the door rang.
"Sorry, we're closed."
"We need to talk."
I looked up to see Mike standing in the doorway. "Hey," I said under my breath.
"I'm sorry about the other day," he forced out. "I didn't love that Steve and Nancy were together and then I found out you had started dating him. It was weird but. . . I talked to Steve."
"Wait, what?"
"Steve came by the house the other day," Mike explained. "He told me that things were different between you two. He promised me that this was for real."
"So you're okay?" I asked slowly.
"Yes," he nodded. He quickly added, "As long as I don't have to see or hear anything."
"I promise," I chuckled. "Thank you, Mikey."
Mike hugged me before leaving. I started chewing on my bottom lip as I wondered what Steve could've possibly said to my brother.
"You okay?"Steve asked as he walked back into the store. I turned around and ran toward him. He laughed as I jumped into his arms.
"Thank you," I whispered.
"For what?"
I pulled out of our hug and looked up at him. "Mike stopped by," I explained. "He said you talked to him. I don't know what you said to him, but thank you."
"Of course," he shrugged as he moved some hair out of my face. "It was killing me that you were struggling so much. I couldn't have my girl blaming herself."
"Thank you," I whispered again. I bit my lip before forcing myself to confess to him. "I love you, Steve."
Steve leaned in and gently pressed his lips to mine. I tightened my arms around him as I kissed him back.
"I love you too, Y/N."
#steve harrington imagines#steve x reader#steve harrington#stranger things imagine#strang#joe keery x reader#joe keery
77 notes
·
View notes
Note
🌹Can I request a blurb from list 4 number 13 "meeting as the best friends/wingmen/chaperones of their two friends who want to go out together, but not alone" with Steve please? 💗
okay this took me forever, but. i think i really like it, and i hope you do, too! lots of steve and robin being besties, and steve making a fool of himself on a date. 1.4k
-
“Steve, please. I never ask for anything, and I really like Lori. Please please please,” Robin begged Steve, eyes wide as she clasped her hands together.
Letting out an unamused laugh in the form of a huff, Steve continued to sort the tapes on the shelves, ignoring Robin’s pleading look. He repeated her words with a shake of his head, “You ‘never ask for anything,’ my ass. Robs, you begged me to take an extra shift today so you wouldn’t be alone with Keith.”
“You didn’t have to say yes!”
“Robin.”
“Okay, okay,” she conceded, holding her hands up in surrender, though she did continue to give him her best pout, “I’m sorry, really. But please. I won’t ask again.”
Steve had a hard time saying no to Robin, especially when it came to her love life, but he couldn’t exactly say he was thrilled. He’d gone on a few double dates with Robin and her crush — paired with girls he didn’t know — and it was usually painfully awkward. They clearly didn’t want to be there, and Steve didn’t want to, either, leading to unbearable silence as Steve watched Robin attempt to flirt with whatever girl she was interested in at the time. Still, he knew she would do the same for him if he asked.
“Alright, fine, but this is the last time, I swear to god,” he grumbled, trying to hide his smile as Robin threw her arms around his neck and thanked him profusely.
—
“Can you at least try to look like you don’t hate your life?” Robin hissed under her breath, shoving her elbow into Steve’s side as they waited outside of the roller rink for their dates to arrive.
“Sorry,” Steve rolled his eyes, but did attempt to not look so bored as he leaned back against the wall and glanced at Robin, “I’m just… nervous.”
Robin laughed a little, scoffing, “You? Nervous?”
“You know I’m not a fan of blind dates!”
“I know. I’m sorry,” Robin softened, leaning into Steve’s side and giving him an appreciative smile, “Thanks for coming with me. Lori said her friend is super nice. And super pretty. Totally your type. If that helps at all.”
“Yeah, okay,” Steve nodded, bumping his shoulder into hers gently. It was silent for a moment before Steve added, the hint of a teasing smile on his lips, “Did you choose this date on purpose? Roller skating? You’re the clumsiest person I know, you’ll have to hold her hand the entire time.”
“It wasn’t my idea. But either way, maybe that’s the point, dingus. Maybe if you’re lucky, y/n will hold your hand, too.”
—
Though Steve hadn’t exactly been looking forward to it, the date was going much better than he’d anticipated. You were totally Steve’s type — so pretty, and super funny and kind. Unlike other blind dates he’d gone on, it wasn’t awkward at all. You were easy to talk to, and even better, you had no problem poking fun at Robin and Lori with him. They’d left their milkshakes at the table, venturing off to the rink, leaving the two of you behind, sipping on the rest of your own shakes.
Steve laughed behind his hand as he watched Robin attempt to stand from the bench she’d been sitting on to put her skates on. She nearly fell over immediately, sending her arms flying for Lori’s help. Shaking his head, Steve grinned over at you and shook his head, “Robin is literally the most uncoordinated person I know. This is gonna be interesting.”
“Oh god,” you giggled, eyes going wide as you glanced over at your friend and her date, “Lori isn’t much better. When she told me we were coming here, I thought she was joking.”
“Shit,” Steve laughed, “maybe Robin just wanted me to be her ride to the ER.”
“I guess we’re just the babysitters.”
He huffed, though there was no real malice in his voice, and rolled his eyes, “I’m always the goddamn babysitter.”
“Well, babysitters can still have fun,” you gave Steve a shy smile, playing with the straw in your shake before glancing back up at him, “Do you wanna skate with me?”
Steve’s heart flipped in his chest, butterflies fluttering wildly as he nodded, maybe a bit too quickly, “Yeah, of course. I’d love to.”
“Okay, but no promises I’ll be any good at it,” you laughed as you started to slide out of your side of the booth, leaving Steve to scramble after you as you made your way to rent some skates for the evening.
“You can’t be any worse than Robin or Lori, from the looks of it,” Steve snorted, glancing over at the couple who were both clinging to the wall around the outside of the rink, “Besides, I’ve got you.”
After paying the fee for both of your skates — to which you tried to deny, but Steve had insisted — Steve found a spot to put on your skates. He plopped down on the bench, scooting over to make room for you as he untied his shoes. You sat down next to him, your shoulder bumping into his, causing you to stammer an apology, feeling like your face was on fire.
When Steve looked up from his skates, your breath caught in your throat from how close he was. If you wanted, you could’ve counted each of his eyelashes or memorized every single one of his moles. He gave you a gentle smile (one that he hoped didn’t betray his own nervousness) and shook his head, “’S okay. Are ya ready?”
It took a moment for you to come to your senses, and your face filled with warmth as you watched Steve stand up, holding his hand out to you. Nodding quickly, you took Steve’s hands and let him help you onto your feet, which caused you to roll forward, nearly bumping into his chest. You both stumbled a bit, causing nervous giggles to erupt between the two of you.
Though Steve was certainly not the most experienced skater on the planet, he started moving back towards the rink, still holding your hand in his. For as much as you’d been making fun of your friend, you weren’t exactly the best skater either, and you followed him clumsily, giggling, “Showing off, Steve?”
Steve laughed, a shy, quiet sound as his face colored with a noticeable bright red, even under the dim lighting, “I wasn’t trying to, but if I’m impressing you… yes.”
“It’s definitely worki-“ you stopped mid-sentence as you nearly lost your balance after following Steve onto the rink. Your free hand flew out, landing on Steve’s bicep to regain your balance.
His warm hand grasped yours quickly, and you could see that he was clearly trying not to laugh as he pressed his lips together and asked, “You okay?”
“Oh yeah, never better,” you replied, reluctantly removing your hand from his arm, though you kept your hand in his, “I wanna see what other cool moves you have.”
“Oh, you’ll see ‘em, babe,” he grinned, quickly turning around to face forward again, only to spin himself too hard and land on his ass, nearly pulling you down with him.
You were sure you’d never laughed harder in your life as you bent at your waist in an attempt to catch your breath, “Was that one of them?”
If you thought Steve had been blushing earlier, his face was now deep red with embarrassment. He let out a groan, hands covering his face, “Fuck, I’m never going to live this down.”
“Probably not.”
After another fit of laughter that Steve eventually joined in on, you held both of your hands out to help Steve up. The two of you struggled for a few moments; an awkward dance of trying to help Steve onto his feet while simultaneously trying to stay on your own. You almost toppled onto him at least twice and when he finally stood up, Steve huffed, “Okay, next time, we’re doing something that is a lot less dangerous. And embarrassing.”
“Next time?” you asked hopefully as your hand slipped into his, fingers slotting between the spaces of his perfectly.
“Yeah, next time,” Steve nodded, one side of his mouth quirking up into a small smile, “If you want.”
You nodded quickly, eyes shining, “I’d love that.”
“Then it’s a date.”
yes, you held hands the entire time. and if the whole thing had actually been an elaborate plan by robin to get the two of you together, she wasn't going to say anything.
#steve harrington#steve harrington x reader#steve harrington fluff#steve harrington blurb#steve harrington imagine#robin buckley#platonic stobin#besties for the resties#vday sleepover#sunshinesteviee writing#sunshinesteviee#blurbs#my blurbs#steve blurbs
351 notes
·
View notes
Text
I'm not a writer but i had this thought so- bear with me, yeah?
For months Eddie hears all about how cool and badass Steve Harrington is, yeah, but you know what he also hears about? How Steve and Robin are made for each other and how cool and pretty Robin is and how stupid it is that they're not a couple for some dumb reason, like Steve not wanting to be with a band geek and still clinging to high school hierarchy. And in all of the things Dustin says about Steeeve Harrington, that last part is the only thing that fits into the Munson Doctrine, so obviously everything else Henderson is saying is what's skewed in his little shrimp world view.
Steve Harrington thinks he's better than a band geek and that's why we won't look twice at a girl that would be perfect for him (according to Dustin Henderson, so... still questionably trustworthy information). Eddie probably assumes Dustin is talking up how close Steve and Robin actually are, just how he's exaggerating how close Dustin himself is to Harrington (like that would impress Eddie and the rest of Hellfire??? He really doesn't know how to get through to the little sheep that his worship of Hawkins' most notorious square is a detriment to his character and not something Eddie would find impressive. If it was real. Which it obviously isn't. Anyway-)
Turns out? Steve Harrington? Actually a cool dude. Not cool as in popular but cool as in "holy shit did he just bite that thing's head off???? Oh and he's not even gonna brag about that, it's just nbd, yeah sure, cool cool cool be fucking cool Eddie, oh god he's talking to me why is he talking to me" and just, chill to hang out with. After the whole shit show went down. Who would have fucking thought, huh? (except for Dustin Henderson, yeah yeah yeah, shut up)
So now Eddie has to reevaluate some other assumptions he made. Maybe Dustin was right and Steve actually is cool and badass, and he and Buckley actually are as close as he had said (and they really fucking are! He has seen them give Keith eerily matching bitchy looks for trying to schedule them on opposing shifts and basically bully the guy into changing the schedule around so they can spend as much time as possible in each other's presence. It's enough to make a guy question his own friendships when sometimes a few hours of band practice are enough to make him want to never see any of those chucklefucks again. Of course, that feeling abates but seriously, how are those two never sick of each other??)
So if they're as close as advertised but not a couple (and after meeting everyone Steve cares about and they're basically all nerds so the "Harrington thinks he's too good for a band geek" thing can't actually hold true-) what is the hold-up? Why aren't they a couple? And somehow, somehow Eddie comes to the conclusion that Steve is in love with Robin. Steve is a serial romantic (emphasis on romantic) and while his love life isn't the talk of the town post-earthquakes as it would have been before, people do still talk about the fact that he hasn't taken out a girl since it happened.
Which brings us to a day in summer, maybe fall, after Eddie has seen Steve look wistfully at a young couple with a baby, that he shows up at Robin's door step.
"Eddie? Hey what's up?"
"Good, good, how are you? Uhh can I... can I come in?" There's a nervous energy around him that is immediately infectious and she leads him to the living room where he immediately starts walking back and forth in front of the couch. She watches him for a moment, hands fluttering through different motions trying to find one that might calm him down before giving up on that. Instead Robin swerves around him, clambering onto the couch and wrapping her arms around her right leg, putting her head on her knee. She follows Eddie's path with her eyes and decides to wait before quickly realizing that she can't, actually.
"As riveting as it is watching you walk a groove into my parents' rug, do you maybe want to say something? I mean I can definitely talk enough for the both if us if that's what you want it's just that I have the slight suspicion you've got something you need to get off your chest" Eddie stopped walking halfway through her monologue and starts nodding.
"Yeah. Yeah yeah yes you're right it's just- I haven't a hundred percent made up my mind about saying something", Eddie has one arm wrapped around himself and uses the other to alternately play with his hair and gesticulate at her, "because on the one hand it's a little bit driving me crazy, maybe, but on the other hand this is none of my fucking business" And Robin who was worried at first just because Eddie is nervous, then for a second because she was scared he was going to confess to a very ill-advised crush on her, is stumped. What the fuck is this about and why did it bring him to her of all people?
"Just say it you weirdo", is what decides to comes out of her mouth but it doesn't even matter because half of her sentence is layered with his "Are you aware Steve is in love with you?"
[here we're facing the issue of me not actually being a writer and pretty much running out of steam but we also haven't reached the part that sparked this whole thing yet, which is wild - let's just pretend I wrote a very funny dialogue between those two in which Eddie confronts Robin for stringing poor Steve along ]
There's a moment when they're both silent and there's a moment when they're both talking and then there are steps coming down the stairs. They make a smirk grow on Robin's face that is starting to worry Eddie when not a parental figure but Steve Harrington steps through the doorway. He's wearing sweatpants and a shirt that might be Robin's and there's a headband pushing his hair away from his face.
"Don't yell at me for coming downstairs, you took forever and the first layer... is... dry....", he stops in his tracks the moment he looks up from his bare toes and sees Eddie. Then he very quickly rips off the headband and slings it somewhere to his right into the unknown of the hallway.
"Hi Eddie. What's... up" Eddie is going to sink into the floor and never come up for air again.
In the meantime Robin stood up on the couch to sit cross-legged on the back of it for a better vantage point and is steepling her fingers in front of her face. Eddie is getting the distinct impression he's missing some crucial information here.
"Stevie, babe, platonic love of my life-", Steve nods for her to go on, "you know how we decided I get a veto on your romantic life because we realized droves of suboptimal dates actually make you miserable so we're going for quality over quanity for the first time in your small-town Casanova life?" Steve has that cute little crease between his eyebrows while he's looking back and forth between Eddie and Robin, trying to figure out what's going on but he rolls his eyes at the end of her sentence, back in familiar territory. "Yes, Robin-"
She interrupts: "And you know how I also reserved the right to give a shovel slash molotov cocktail talk to anyone we deemed worthy of being a potential future partner?" Steve's face somehow shows an emotion that can only be encapsulated by "?!" as he glances to Eddie before shifting back to Robin with just the "?" remaining.
"First I have to say I'm personally very pro, I loved this experience; Eddie here really made a fool of himself, very worried for your delicate sensibilities and how I'm breaking your sweet little heart." "...what...?"
"So: what's the verdict on a potential future partner giving me the shovel talk?"
#Robin had painted 7 of Steve toes when Eddie rang the doorbell btw#they're a dark blue because Steve didn't want to jump into the deep end with too feminine a color#but black felt too edgy#but while they were drying and on the way down he kept looking at them and thinking#''i don't think this is my color... maybe a light blue? no too baby boy. yellow? nah that's ugly. orange? wait maybe with a stripe?#can nails be striped...?'' so when he arrived downstairs he was starting to worry he had never looked at a girl's nails because he didn't#know and whether that was sexist somehow#he had to shift gears very quickly when he arrived downstairs is what i'm saying#anyway i cannot stress enough how much i am not a writer#but the thing with the reverse shovel talk came to me and it wanted out#platonic stobin#steddie fic#steddie#hey i'm talkin' here#robin buckley#steve harrington#eddie munson#not beta read#top posts
164 notes
·
View notes
Last Seen Blogs
mackenziegonzales0
The Journaling of Ladefoged 856
shit-tests
Vagabound
can-of-coca-koda
Tell everybody I'm on my way
mililuv
#NEVERSAYGOODBYE
sporklemcytbox
sporks mcyt blog!