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#mike: if we’re friends again… best friends…
chirpsythismorning · 2 years
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The significance of the byler scene in Will’s room just hit me.
Think about it. Mike said the best thing he’s ever done was ask Will to be his friend.
So I don’t ever want to hear anyone downplaying the importance of that scene in 4x04. Mike was literally beaming and smiling more than we’ve seen him smile in ages, and there’s a reason for it! Because he was out here recreating the best thing he’s ever done 😭
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dumbseee · 29 days
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reunited.
when you’re the one interviewing lando norris for the podcast you co-created with your best friend, the only issue is that you’re his ex.
lando norris x ex!reader.
fc: riley hubatka.
_
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liked by y/b, yourbestie, ameliadimz and 271 728 others.
cutthecam: guess who’s joining us tomorrow 👀
_
fan1: NO FUCKING WAY???
fan2: THEY’RE HAVING LANDO NORRIS???
fan3: how tf did they manage to get him on that podcast?
fan4: it looks like everyone forgot that y/n and lando used to date…
fan5: WHAT
fan6: FOR REAL???
fan7: is y/n doing the interview?? because yourbestie is literally in cabo partying with tana mongeau
fan8: Y/N AND LANDO REUNITED YEARS AFTER THEIR BREAK UP??
fan9: i used to pray for times like this
fan10: MY DIVORCED PARENTS ARE BACK
see more.
_
imessage:
you:
i fckg hate you bitch
how could you do this to me??
out of EVERYONE you picked lando??
ONLY TO NOT BE THERE FOR THE PODCAST??
yourbestie:
oops 🤪
no fr i totally forgot i was leaving for cabo
thank me later you’re reuniting with the love of your life
you:
BITCH
you’re the first name going on my suicide note
i’m not doing it
AND HES NOT THE LOVE OF MY LIFE
yourbestie:
stop being dramatic omg
you have to be professional
besides mike already confirmed him on the podcast and you doing it
you:
i’d rather bleach my eyes than do it
yourbestie:
it’s been YEARS y/n
btw you still call him in your sleep so maybe he didn’t forget you
why would he even say yes??
he’s totally into you
i can smell it
you:
says WHO
we broke up years ago and he got a lot of gfs after me
but it is weird that he said yes to the podcast when he knew i co-created it
yourbestie:
i told you
totally in love with you
_
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liked by landonorris, yourbestie, tarayummy and 372 819 others.
y/n: 💋
_
yourbestie: you’re so fucking hot
liked by y/n.
fan1: MY QUEEN
fan2: pls invite charles leclerc for your podcast!
fan3: the prettiest podcast owner fr
fan4: your hand in marriage pls maam
fan5: i understand lando tbh i wouldn’t move on if i were him
fan6: pls get back with lando
fan7: she’s so pretty wtf
fan8: forget about lando i need her
fan9: can lando fight?
fan10: I LOVE YOU Y/N
see more.
landonorris just posted a story!
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caption: cheers my friend 🥂
_
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_
imessages.
yourbestie:
you sneaky bitch
"he’s not the love of my life 🤪🤪"
and literally goes to the restaurant with him
LIAR
you:
okay okay let me explain
HE invited me for the sake of old times and i said yes bc i was hungry
yourbestie:
hungry for his dick
you:
WTF NO
EW
as if you’d say no to a free meal in a fancy restaurant
yourbestie:
with your hottie ex bf? ofc i’d say no
(just bc he’s your ex, i would’ve said yes otherwise)
you:
SEE?
anyways i won’t see him ever again
yourbestie:
whatever helps you sleep at night pookie
_
ig message:
landonorris:
hi
i have some paddock pass for the japan gp, wanna come?
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liked by landonorris, larray, monetmcmichael and 562 929 others.
y/n: blocked @.yourbestie for this
_
fan1: OMGGG ITS HAPPENING GUYS
fan2: I KNEW IT
fan3: pls not her blocking her friend bsjslslsl
fan4: how to be her
fan5: YESSSS MY PARENTS ARE BACK
fan6: let’s not jump into conclusions omg they could be friends!
landonorris: nah we’re not
y/n: LANDO
fan7: HOLY SHIRBZJSKLSLS
fan8: OMGGBZKSKSLLSLSLSLS
see more.
imessages:
lando:
can you follow me back now :( ?
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katsu28 · 6 months
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☕️ steve harrington and "you called me your friend." "was i not supposed to say that?" "you really think i'm just your friend? after these last few weeks?"
anna u have singlehandedly pulled me out of my steve slump with this request thank you i love you <3
steve harrington x reader, 1.8k, join the celebration!
“Steve, we’re gonna be late for the movie.” 
“Who cares?” Steve’s voice was muffled from where his face was buried in your neck pressing kisses to it. You gave the hair at the back of his head a gentle tug, making him retreat to meet your gaze. His eyes were darker than usual in the backseat of his car, hair mussed, lips kiss-swollen. You were sure you looked the same. 
“Uh, the ticket taker, probably?” 
Steve huffed overdramatically, licking his lips. “We don’t have to watch the movie, y’know. We could always just stay here, doing what we’ve been doing. Doing some more stuff, preferably with less clothes…” You shot him an unimpressed look and he sighed, letting you climb off his lap and out of the car swiftly. 
He followed rather begrudgingly, straightening out his wrinkled clothes the best he could, taming his hair back into the artfully messy appearance he’d styled it in before your hands had been through it. “Do I look okay?” 
“Cute as usual, but you got a little something right there, pretty boy,” You said fondly, reaching out and swiping a smudge of your lipstick off the corner of his mouth. Steve’s eyes tracked your hand, not realizing he was leaning into your touch until your knuckles brushed against his cheekbone softly. He cleared his throat suddenly and you retreated, dropping your hand back down to your side. “How ‘bout me?” 
“Beautiful as always.” He laced his fingers through yours, bringing you forward to dot a few kisses against your hairline before tugging you into step with him towards the movie theater. 
The smell of popcorn hit you the moment you entered, the thought of a mountain of the buttery snack in a bucket giving you a little extra pep in your step and Steve noticed, because he gave your hand a squeeze. 
A voice calling Steve’s name from behind the two of you made you both turn around. A boy and a girl were making their way towards you hand in hand, the girl’s free hand raised in a wave. 
From beside you, Steve beamed. “Hey guys! Didn’t know you were gonna be here tonight.” 
“Oh, Nance wanted to watch Labyrinth again.” The boy tipped his head towards his movie partner—girlfriend, you assumed. He looked at you, offering you a small but warm smile. “What about you guys?”
“This is my friend, Y/N. Y/N, this is Nance and Jonathan.” He introduced you so nonchalantly you almost scoffed. If Steve still considered you just a friend after all the time you’d been spending with each other and all the things you’d been doing with each other lately, then you’d hate to see what he did with his other friends. “We were just gonna catch that new Matthew Broderick movie, see if it’s any good. You seen it yet?” 
“Not yet, I was gonna see if Will wanted to watch it with me. Seems like something he’d find funny.” Jonathan shrugged. His gaze just so happened to wander down to yours and Steve’s joined hands, but if it surprised him, he kept his composure, opting for a sharp nod. “Well, we won’t hold you. See you Friday, Steve? Hellfire’s meeting at our house this time and my mom’s making pot roast, so you’d better bring your appetite when you come pick up Dustin and the others.” 
“When do I not?” 
“Reliable as ever, Steve.” Nancy joked. “It was nice to see you again, and really nice to meet you, Y/N.”
You smiled at her as best you could, saying a soft goodbye before they made their way past the two of you. 
“You okay? Kinda looks like you just got sucker punched.” Okay, so maybe your poker face wasn’t great. Steve looked genuinely concerned for your well-being, and you hated how it sent your stomach into a whirl. “Are you sick? Fuck, I knew Mike’s nasty cough would rub off on me, that little shit! I can take you home if you want, don’t worry about the movie.”
“I don’t want to go home, Steve.” 
“We can always catch it another day, it’s gonna be here for a month at least, we—” He’d already started to guide you back towards the entrance, but you stopped him with a palm across his chest. 
“Steve, stop. I’m not sick.” 
“Then what’s wrong?” 
You shook your head. “It’s nothing. It’s dumb.” 
“No it's not. Something’s bothering you, c’mere,” He said gently, gesturing for the two of you to step to the side, out of the way so you could talk somewhat in private. “What’s going on?” 
“You called me your friend.” You said quietly, trying to ignore the ugly knot in your stomach. It seemed so stupid now, getting all worked up over something as silly as a single word, but you couldn't lie to yourself. Or Steve for that matter. 
It did feel like you’d gotten sucker punched. 
Steve shot a confused look at you, tilting his head. “Was I not supposed to say that?”  
“You really think I’m just your friend? After these last few weeks?” 
“I thought—hold on, we were on the same page about this, weren’t we? No labels, no defining anything, just you and me.” 
“Well yeah, but that was before you used your stupid charm on me and made me like you and your stupid hair more than I should.” You were more angry at yourself than anything. You should’ve known Steve didn’t feel the same way about you as you did about him, but you’d stupidly given yourself an ounce too much of hope. 
Never mind the days you’d spent together wrapped up in each other’s embrace, talking about anything and everything until the sun set and your eyes grew heavy. Never mind the being on the phone with each other until dawn poked its head above the horizon, the kissing and the holding hands and the sipping coffee silently in the morning until one of you woke up just enough to fold the other into their embrace. 
All of that meant nothing, because you and Steve were just friends. 
“My charm? What are you—what are you talking about, my charm?”
“You seriously don’t know what I mean?” 
“Does it look like I do?” He shot back, then winced. “Sorry. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to be so sharp.”  
“You got me flowers last week, Steve!” 
“Yeah, ‘cause they were nice and I thought you’d like them!” He exclaimed, gesticulating wildly. You just stared at him, waiting for him to realize your point. When he did, his mouth dropped into a silent ‘oh’. “I—I didn’t mean—” 
This was your worst fear—the reason why you didn’t want to bring it up at all. You had a good thing going with Steve, and now you’d just lost it. “Just forget I said anything, okay?”
“No. No, stay. Please. Talk to me, I wanna talk about this.” He insisted, nodding fiercely. His hands came to plant themselves on your shoulders, then retreated a split second later, like he didn’t know what to do with them anymore. Not even twenty minutes ago, he’d had no problem touching you. 
You hated how things were already changing between the two of you. All because you’d gotten your feelings hurt about something small. 
“I like you, Steve! There it is. I like you, and I don’t know what to do about it because I don’t know what you want from me.” You blurted, voice strained with emotion. You squeezed your eyes shut, digging the heels of your palms against them tightly for a few seconds before refocusing on Steve, who just looked stunned. “Am I just someone you fill your time with because you’re bored, or is this thing between us going somewhere? ‘Cause if it’s not, I’d like to know now. Before I fall for you any more than I already have.” 
As much as you swore to yourself you weren’t going to cry, you could feel the tears welling in your eyes. You bit down hard on your bottom lip to quell them, and Steve noticed. His expression softened like butter and he reached out, rubbing a gentle hand down your arm.  
“Hey, I—I’m sorry. I didn’t know you felt that way, I swear.” Steve’s voice was soft. Comforting. You could tell what you’d just confessed was really eating away at him. That was another thing you liked about Steve. Whenever you told him something, he always took it seriously. “Guess we do kinda need to talk about the elephant in the room.” 
“By all means, you first.” You muttered, folding your arms over your chest. Steve inhaled a sharp breath, letting it out as a heavy exhale through his mouth. 
“I don’t exactly have the best track record with girls. I’m sure you’ve heard about what I was like in high school. I was a dick, plain and simple. I did things I’m not proud of, and I hurt people, but I swear on my life, I’m not that person anymore. I’m not…him anymore.” He looked almost upset with the way his jaw clenched, brow furrowing deeply at the mention of his past. 
You’d heard plenty about the high and mighty King Steve, and part of you didn’t want to believe it. This was the same Steve who helped old ladies carry their groceries and always played basketball with the neighborhood kids when they needed another player. 
“I guess I just didn’t wanna say the wrong thing and jinx what we’ve got going here, because I…I want this to go somewhere. I really like you too, Y/N. And I know it’s only been a few weeks but I—” Steve cut himself off with a short chuckle, raking a hand through his hair and bunching it at the nape of his neck before letting the strands fall back into place. 
His expression was cynical, like he was positive you were about to reject him and leave him here in this dim parking lot and never talk to him again. You weren’t going to, obviously, but Steve was a worst case scenario kind of guy. “I think I’m already falling in love with you.” 
“You’ve sure got a shitty way of showing it, Harrington.” You huffed, but there was no real anger behind your words. In fact, you were looking at him quite fondly, and the way you bumped your shoulder against his seemed promising. 
“Believe me, I know that already. Workin’ on it everyday, though.” He shook his head with another chuckle. Even you cracked a tiny smile at that, sniffling slightly. “Can we start over?” 
“I’d like that very much.” 
“Yeah?” He perked up, looking pleased. You nodded and he beamed even brighter, sticking his hand out for you to shake. “Hi. I’m Steve, I think you're amazing, and I wanted to know if you’d like to watch a movie with me.” 
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Steddie Upside-down AU Part 30
Part 1 Part 29
Will feels cold here, huddled into the bleachers, surrounded by his best friends. He can feel something in his chest tugging, urging him to follow Eddie out of the gym and off to find Steve.
He doesn’t.
It’s weird, to feel this jittery being out of sight of two people he barely knows but feels inexplicably connected to. Will hopes they feel the same when they make it back. He doesn’t know what he’ll do if they make him go away.
Jonathan does that, sometimes. When he has to concentrate, or go to a shift at the diner, but with Jonathan, that means he has to be on is own for a few hours. Their tie is concrete – blood and love. With Steve and Eddie? He doesn’t know.
Will lets his gaze wander as his friend’s chat around him. His Mom is sitting on the first bench of the bleachers, everyone else organized in a wonky pyramid behind her. She’s chewing her nails, watching the door that Hopper, Eddie, and Eddie’s Uncle had gone through like they’ll be back any moment.
The school is quiet, his friend’s voices the only sounds, as they echo off the walls of the empty gym. Dustin is in the middle of explaining to El what a school dance is when Will realizes it’s too quiet.
He glances over to the corner, where Jonathan, Nancy, and Barbara were huddled before and sees no one at all.
“Where’s Jonathan?” It comes out of his mouth quiet, barely above a whisper, but Dustin stops mid-word to look around while Mom jumps up from the bleachers to do the same.
“Jonathan?” she calls, eyes getting that same frantic edge that had finally started to dissipate.
“They’re probably just sucking face somewhere,” Dustin says, shrugging like it’s all no big deal.
Mike recoils. “No way!” he says, at the same time that El says, “no,” quietly, eyes downcast. Mike turns to her, brows furrowed. “Did you see them? Do you know where they went?”
El looks up, eyes big and sad in her face. “Yes,” she says, nodding slowly.
“Where?” Mike sounds a bit frantic. “Where did they go?
El answers with a word Will’s starting to hope he never hears again. “Demogorgon.”
Will feels a tremor running over his bones. He’s so cold, like all the warmth has been sucked out of the gym.
“No, no, no!” his Mom says, running a hand up through her hair, irreparably messing up her bangs. “What are they doing?”
“Helping,” El says.
His Mom groans. Will remembers Nancy’s plans shared around the table like they were the only logical next steps and feels his hands begin to tremble where they’re hanging between his knees. Just the thought of Jonathan coming face to face with the Demogorgon armed with nothing but a bear trap and a bat makes a cold sweat break out on the back of his neck.
Come on, we’re going to find a phone!” his Mom says, gesturing impatiently for them all to get up and follow her. El shrinks a little into Mike’s side at her erratic gestures, but dutifully gets up with the rest of them and follows her out of the gym.
Dustin helpfully points her toward the administrative office. She drags the phone over the lip of the front desk to get at the keys, punching them in by rote and listening to it ring and ring.
“Pick up, Jonathan,” she hisses furiously. If they all make it out of here, his brother is going to be grounded for eternity.
“What are they doing?” Lucas asks quiet enough not to disturb his Mom’s threatening over the answering machine.
“They were going to lure the Demogorgon with blood,” Will answers, just as quietly.
“Why would he be at your house then?” Dustin asks, in that know-it-all voice that makes bullies try to beat him up between one class and the other. “If they’re trying to help Steve, they’ll be at—”
“Steve’s house,” El says, frowning.
Will wants to shake her until what he wants to know falls loose. But there’s something fragile about her, like if someone raised their hand, she’d wilt like a dandelion in the summer sun.
His Mom turns around, still clutching the base of the phone to her chest. She looks manic, like when she’s worked a double at Melvald’s and drank a whole pot of coffee. “Do any of you know Steve Harrington’s phone number?”
Lucas elbows Mike in the ribs. “He’s your sister’s boyfriend. Isn’t he calling your house all the time?”
“He is not her boyfriend!” Mike replies hotly. “And I don’t know it!”
Privately, Will thinks Mike’s probably right. Steve didn’t mention Nancy once in all the time Will was with him. That doesn’t seem like boyfriend and girlfriend behavior.
His Mom is wilting in front of them. She sets the phone down with a clatter that makes El jump.
“We should go to his house,” Mike says. “We can’t just leave Nancy to do something stupid.”
“She’s fine, she’s with Jonathan,” Dustin says with a careless shrug, as if Jonathan is an action hero, and not some teenager with a baseball bat. Just like Steve. “Besides, she’s kind of a badass now.”
Mike opens his mouth, ready to retort when his Mom cuts over the conversation, voice raised. “No one is going anywhere!” she says. “None of you are leaving my line of sight until I hand you personally to each of your parents.” She doesn’t seem to notice the way El stoops her head and curls her fists. “I am not losing another kid tonight!”
She sits down in a chair in one of the chairs kids sit in to wait for the Principal to be free to doll out punishments, crosses her arms, and glares up at them until they all comply.
Will notices that El sits as far away from his Mom as possible. No one says anything else for a long time.
Part 31
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nburkhardt · 8 months
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We’re just gonna see where this goes but it’s inspired by this! Hope you don’t mind @thorniest-rose
~
When it first came to be, it was strictly dnd. Honest. It was a safe place for anybody who wanted to play in the game, to find friends.
But somewhere along the way when it was just the core four; Gareth, Jeff, Frankie and of course, Eddie.
They used their time in Hellfire to become best friends and eventually learn something else they have in common.
A crush on Steve ‘The Hair’ Harrington.
The four of them hated admitting it out loud but it came to a halt when the jock was partnered up with Jeff for a project and Jeff couldn’t stop talking about how nice the guy actually is. It snowballed from there, Gareth found out the guy drove middle schoolers around when he accidentally ran into him at the arcade and one of the middle schoolers wouldn’t leave him alone. Then Frankie accidentally bumped into him during lunch and Steve gave up his food when Frankie’s was all over the floor.
What really sold all of them on the crush was when Eddie decided all of them deserved a treat for defeating the latest campaign. Eddie froze the second he stepped into Scoops Ahoy when Steve turned from his coworker and greeted them.
It was after that they all really admitted to the crush and would spend a few minutes each hellfire session to talk about it.
They thought once the new school year started, they’ll finally move past it.
It was going really good, until the new members came in and all four of them got a front row seat yet again of the one they all like.
Steve dropping off Dustin Henderson and Robin Buckley at school, or Steve hanging around Hellfire to drag Henderson home. They see him around town too, usually with Robin but sometimes he’s out with Dustin and Sinclair’s sister getting ice cream of all things.
They’re all cowards though.
Never actually finding any sort of courage to actually talk to the guy. At least not directly and never long enough, sometimes they’ll say hi and how are yous. Little stuff, ya know?
Luckily no one caught onto it, especially since they actually see Steve more and more now. Instead of talking about the crush during hellfire sessions, they use band practice now. Just to save themselves a from tiny bit of embarrassment.
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Eddie’ll admit later on that he got a little, just a tiny amount really, high. A bit, truly. That’s what makes his lips a little loose, makes his brain mushy, makes him giddy and have the giggles.
He’ll blame Henderson or maybe thank him? Eddie isn’t sure yet but for now not just himself but his best friends are all frozen right now.
“You what?!” Henderson screeches and makes them move again, “Hellfire is what now?”
Eddie can process that this is starting to go sideways but the high is pleasant and blurring his lines, so he looks up at Dustin, “a Steve Harrington fan club? A bit. Stevie is pretty boy! How can we not? He’s nice and sunshine in human form, he’s just so so good! And and and gorgeous!”
He sighs and closes his eyes, “so kissable tooooooooo”
Everyone else in the have very different reactions. Jeff, Gareth, Frankie all shrug and nod. Mike and Lucas look a little disappointed and annoyed, Dustin’s the only one that doesn’t seem to either agree or disagree. He looks both happy and grossed out. Eddie’s head is floating away, he can’t really process any of this information. And he’s not gonna ask questions in this state or answer more questions.
“Sooo, I gotta admit, was not expecting this”
Eddie’s stomach does a flip as his eyes fly open and when they focus, there, standing in the doorway with his arms crossed and a smile or maybe a smirk- maybe neither? Eddie’s can’t tell. It’s very, very nice. He does know that at least.
Steve is very, very pretty. Especially as he moves into the room, “Seeeee, Henderson? Ain’t he just gorgeous?”
Dustin looks between them, shaking his head before turning to the others, the ones not currently high. “Seriously?”
Frankie shrugs again, “I mean, Ed isn’t wrong. Thought I’d be over it, but here I am anyway.”
Jeff nodded and Gareth rolled his eyes, “we tried keeping between us only”
The new members frowned, while Dustin and Steve stared at each other. Steve fighting back a laugh, while Dustin already cracked a smile before looking back at Eddie, who’s head is finally floating back down and he’s started to sit back up.
“Oh. Oh man. I did-” Eddie looked between everyone, face turning bright red as he closes his eyes and blinking before meeting Steve’s eyes, “fuccccck, dude- I,”
There’s a glint in Steve’s gaze, his laugh dying but a smile staying in it’s place, “Picked a great day to hang around, maybe we can do all of that again some day?”
“What?”
Eddie sees the younger boys snap their heads to look at Steve, Dustin’s the only one to smile and bounce in his place. The older boys are glaring at him, Eddie can tell even without looking, green isn’t really their color.
Steve’s face hasn’t moved though, still looking at him and definitely smirking.
“Let’s try the complaints and pretty names again, Eddie baby” Steve says, and Eddie cannot believe his ears.
Eddie can tell he looks dumb but he nods and nods and nods as his smile grows, “I can come up with so many. So many, Sunshine, Darling, just you wait!”
(His best friends are both very jealous and very happy for him. And they’ll eventually with time, joke about this and play try getting Steve to themselves. Eddie will always win at the end. Someday it’ll come out that Steve was just waiting for the day for the guts to ask Eddie out. Robin let’s Eddie and the guys in on that secret.)
~ ~
Like I said I don’t know where this was going it kinda wrote itself. I… don’t know how it got this long. Also Lucas and Mike look annoyed because that’s their babysitter. It gross. Dustin’s happy because it’s his big brother. 😌
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cluelessbees · 1 year
Text
Yknow what ? I think Byler getting Murray’d would be more heartfelt than anything else.
Because like-
Murray doesn’t just call out Jopper and Jancy because it’s obvious. He points it out because he knows they’re being stupid. In their cases, it’s really just them not communicating their feelings to one another and trying to pretend they don’t exist.
But with Byler it’s like…it’s different.
Because it’s not just that is it? We’re not just watching two people pine over one another whilst being oblivious to the fact they other likes them back. We’re not just looking at two people who can’t communicate well. There’s more to it.
Because they’re two boys who have been best friends since childhood. They grew up at the peak of the AIDS epidemic. They live in a small town and they’re expected to act a certain way. It’s different for them.
I don’t think Murray is gonna waltz in acting all holier than thou and essentially out both Mike and Will to one another. He’s a smart man as we’ve seen. He’s attentive. He doesn’t just call jancy and jopper out to prove a point he knows what they both need to hear so they can get over their miscommunication hurdle.
I think he’s going to go up to them. Either both or just Mike or Will or whatever, and he’s going to talk to them about it. Because that’s what they need. They need someone to talk to them about it. And I don’t think he would start with just directly talking about it. I think he (and this is me headcanonning Murray as queer) would open up first. Like about his own experiences- to show them that he gets it, and he knows what it’s like. And then he would casually bring up the whole byler thing.
Hmmm something along the lines of...
Okay– picture a conflict Mike Wheeler sitting by himself – either on the couch or on the floor or whatever. And, he’s stuck in his head. A lot had happened. He broke up with El and he’s struggling to grasp what he’s feeling about his best friend. And there's this…weird tension between them that– he just– he can't put his finger on. But they’re off. They aren’t clicking like they used to and Mike can’t seem to fix things. 
So he sat alone, trying to understand or comprehend whatever he’s feeling whilst everyone else is god knows where in the house. Will was in the kitchen though. Mike knew that much. And then suddenly, he felt a weight on the couch seat next to him or the space on the floor beside him was no longer there and he heard the words of Murray Bauman pull him out of his thoughts with the weirdest fucking ice-breaker he has ever heard.
“Y’know…I was like you when I was younger.” 
“Really?” Mike asked – mostly out of disbelief as he scanned Murray. No way. Not a chance. 
“Oh yeah…” Murray smiled, nodding to himself as he continued. “I know it's hard to believe it, but I was this…brash, stubborn, reactive teen who loved going against authority. I was very...headstrong in my beliefs.” 
He paused and Mike turned to him. Murray had his head down, looking at his lap silently, and Mike didn’t know what to do but watch or…more– listen to the silence. 
“And…I was also in my head a lot.” Murray looked up, turning to Mike once before looking forward again. “I was angry at things – at people and at myself because…no matter how much I pretended like I loved being a freak…a part of me hated that I wasn’t normal…”
Mike felt cold. His heartbeat raced as he turned away from Murray – facing forward and staring at his lap as he continued to listen.
“Yeah?”
“Oh yeah…I was-- going through a lot of stuff internally that I tried pretending didn’t exist.” He paused again – taking a deep breath. “I was…in love with someone who I didn’t want to be in love with.”
“...You were?” 
“Yeah…” Murray laughed to himself. “Yeah…it was– well he was…my best friend.”
Mike held his breath.
“I fell for him. And I was mad at myself for falling for him. Because even though I knew it wasn’t wrong…I just kept thinking about how I wasn’t supposed to like him. Because that’s not normal– Well ‘normal.’” Murray airquoted, rolling his eyes. Mike’s eyes were glued onto him at this point. 
“So…I grew angrier. And I took it out on myself. On him. Even though he didn’t deserve it. Even though I loved him– I just..I let my fear get the better of me and I pushed him away until I lost him…And I hated myself for doing that.” He breathed, another pause, before finally turning to Mike. “It took me a long time to realise that there was nothing wrong about loving someone.”
Murray tilted his head towards the direction of the kitchen as he raised his eyebrows – and it clicked to Mike.
“I..” Mike’s throat felt dry. “You know?”
“I had a hunch.”
“Is it obvious? Does he–”
“No, he doesn’t know. Your secret's safe with me, kid.”
“Okay– good.” Mike paced his breathing. “I just…I– I can’t lose him because of this. If he knew– if– if he knew he would–”
“He’s your best friend right?” Murray cut him off.
“What? Yes but–”
“Then. he could never hate you, Mike. Not about this.”
“How do you know that?”
“Call it…another one of my hunches.” Mike knitted his brows together.
“Look – kid, I’m not going to force you to tell him or anything. It's your choice at the end of the day. And I can’t say much, but it doesn’t take a genius to know how much that boy cares about you. And you care about him, correct?”
Mike nodded. 
“And you trust him?”
Mike nodded again. “With my life.”
“So…all I can say is…if you trust him? Then...trust him with this.” Murray began to stand up. “Take it from me. Holding it in only hurts the both of you.”
And then Murray leaves
Anyways yeah thoughts––
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lunabug2004 · 3 months
Text
Guys whatever you do don’t think about the fact that Mike Wheeler gets no comfort while watching his best friend get taken over by a literal monster and then be in excruciating pain because of this monster, only to be lost to this monster in front of his own very eyes. Don’t think about the fact that despite being the only (aware) child in the situation, none of the adults around him ever try to check up on him or support him through this.
Then when Bob dies he’s the one providing comfort to Joyce when they run, he’s the one comforting and supporting the others by coming up with plans.
The only comfort he gets isn’t until the beginning of episode 9, when everything isn’t even over yet, and it’s too late. He’s already lost his trust in Hopper now. He kept El from him for almost a year, letting him soak in his own depression and self-guilt. He may stay by Hop after he comforts him because that’s what he is craving, it’s what he needs, but we’re back to disrespectful Mike in the next season bc obv it was too much for Mike to forgive Hop.
In season 1, we see a kid with his heart on his sleeve. He knows what he wants and he’s not afraid to tell people this, even when his own family is putting him down for it. But in s3, we see a kid who represses his emotions as far down as they’ll go, full of self-hatred, never opening up to anyone.
I believe this change is mainly due to these facts: 1) he was depressed for a whole year and no one ever picked up on it, again, no one comforted him, esp not his family. He probably thought he was being stupid, we already know he thought he was crazy. 2) at this point, he had been repeatedly shut down when voicing his thoughts (Lucas shutting down his worries about Will, Dustin yelling at him when he was grieving for Bob, Hopper immediately getting mad when he was voicing his frustrations), and he probably doesn’t think there’s any point to it anymore. No one ever listens to him anyways. And then 3) the complete lack of comfort he is (not) given throughout seeing Will, his best friend, suffer and being completely unable to help him. That is, until he’s forced to listen to his screams as he’s convincing the others to put Will to sleep.
So yeah… don’t think about that guys :)
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ashwhowrites · 1 year
Note
eddie x cheerleader (strangers 2 lovers)
she had an awful fight with her deadbeat dad when she got out of work at the diner he told her he would try to take dustin away from her and her mom and when she refuses he slashes her face with a beer bottle 3 times ,
shes not close with the other cheerleaders so shes having a bad day
she chooses to sit with hellfire cuz dustin is her brother
eddie gets mad cuz he thinks its a joke to humiliate them so he tells her to go away
she listens but shes crying even more
she apologizes to everyone including dustin when she leaves & leaves him half her sandwich
dustin mike and lucas all say something mean to eddie and they follow u
they find u sitting in ur car and they join u
u and the boys avoid eddie for the rest of the day and he ultimately feels horrible when he overhears u crying to dustin , lucas and mike about why ur upset & then he hears u say he made it worse
he tries to talk to dustin but dustins crying too cuz we’re his best friend and he hates his dad he would never wanna leave Y/N and mike and lucas tell eddie he needs to figure it out how to apologize on his own so he does and u guys get close and both fall in love eventually
⚠️mentions of abuse- no detailed descriptions of the action.
⚠️Eddie is an asshole but he slowly figures it out
Thank you sm for your patience as I worked to get this out💕
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Y/N woke up sore with puffy eyes. Her reflection wasn't ever a pretty girl anymore. It was a girl who was abused, hurt, and drained. She gently cleaned the three new marks on her face. Her skin slashed open from her dad. She felt tears falling down her face as she was reminded of last night. Him waiting for her to finish work, threatening to take away Dustin from her. She'd never let that happen. She refused to let her dad ever see Dustin. She'd take the abuse, but she will never let Dustin be the target.
"are you sure you're okay?" Dustin asked from behind her. Sadness in his eyes as he watched his sister place band aid patches on her cheek.
"yes, don't worry about me dusty" she said, she gave the best smile she could. The bandage stopped her from making a real one.
Dustin knew not to try to fight with her. Nodding as he kissed her hurt cheek, heading to get ready for school.
She felt everyone staring at her cheek and she hated it. Luckily everyone in this school was an asshole. None caring to ask if she was okay or what happened. That included her cheerleading team. A group of girls she was with constantly but didn't have a real single friend on it.
She didn't want to deal with them so she headed to where she knows Dustin's table is. Seeing only Mike was seated, she took the spot across from him.
"hey Y/N, you okay?" Mike asked gently. Being closest to Dustin, he knew all about Y/N's relationship with her father.
"not today Mike" she said as gently as she could. Opening her lunch box, dividing her sandwich in half and digging out Dustin's half of the brownie.
She ate silently as the table filled up. Dustin still wasn't arriving yet, so she left his parts of lunch near her lunchbox.
"and who the fuck are you?"
She looked up to see a taller and much older boy, compared to the rest of the table. He had long hair and deep brown eyes. She's definitely seen him with Dustin, but couldn't recall his name
Before she could even answer, he spoke again.
"I don't know what game your little cheerleader ass is playing. But we don't allow stuck up assholes to sit at our table" he barked out, very harshly.
So harsh that she felt like her dad was standing across from her.
"Eddie stop" Mike said harshly as he could see Y/N's eyes watering.
"Mike shut up. I'm handling this" Eddie, apparently, said.
His brown eyes, glaring daggers at her softening slightly when he noticed her bandaged cheek but moved on. Figuring it was some cheerleading accident. She sat quietly letting him continue his rant.
Letting him call her every name in the book. A bitch, a princess, stuck up, rich, and shit she's never heard of.
She sat there and silently cried. Head down as she tried to take deep breaths. Reminding herself this was a random boy, it wasn't her dad and he wasn't going to hurt her.
She panicked when she felt a hand grab her shoulder. Flinching as she flew out of her seat.
Eddie quickly withdrew his hand as she practically sprung out of the seat. His eyes softened once again when he saw tears working down her face.
"Y/N, what's wrong?" Dustin quickly dropped his tray on the table and walked closer to her.
She shook her head and wiped her tears.
"nothing dusty. See you at home" she said quickly, handing him the sandwich and brownie. Racing as fast as she could out of that cafeteria.
~~
"dusty?home? Who is that?" Eddie asked
"that's my sister. What the fuck did you do?" Dustin snapped, Lucas walked up confused at all the tension.
"what's going on?" He asked
"Eddie just totally freaks out on Y/N for no goddamn reason" Mike scoffed. Standing up as he grabbed his backpack.
"really Eddie. What did she do to you?" Lucas added in
"what you say to her?" Dustin said filled with anger. He didn't take that Eddie could easily kick his ass. He can't protect his sister from their dad, but he can protect her from Eddie.
"I didn't know she was your sister! I saw a cheerleader sitting here and I just got pissed" Eddie tried to explain. But seeing all three boys staring at him with the most pissed off look he's ever seen, he had a good feeling he fucked up.
"so you lashed out on her totally unprovoked? I mean did she even say anything to you?" Dustin argue.
"well no...she just kinda sat there and before I knew it she was crying. I didn't think she'd be so upset. Usually the jocks are cold-hearted assholes." Eddie tried to defend his stance
"SHE'S NOT LIKE THEM!" Dustin screamed.
"she only joined that stupid team to get a scholarship so she can leave this hellhole of what she's forced to call home. Fuck you Eddie" Dustin snapped as he grabbed his backpack. Marching straight to the parking lot.
"dude you know nothing about her. If you did, you'd feel like the biggest ass right now" Mike sighed, following behind Dustin.
"well I already feel like an ass" Eddie sighed
"that's a shame. She was excited that Dustin found a new friend. After this, I don't think he's going to ever want to see you again" Lucas added, following behind Mike.
Eddie decided to follow the group. At least he could apologize for being an asshole. He found all of them standing in a circle against her car.
Eddie gave them their space but waited to talk to her. With being so close he could easily hear their conversation.
~~
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt your guys' lunch. Go eat, I'm fine" Y/N said as she wiped her face. Carefully not to touch her bandage.
"you didn't. Let's take deep breaths and talk a little bit. I know you don't want to talk about last night but may-"
"Dustin! I told you last night never happened and we don't speak about it." She snapped
"you can't let dad abuse you like this" Dustin said softly as he touched his sister's cheek.
Mike held her hand softly and Lucas rubbed her back.
~~
Eddie felt a very bad feeling in his gut.
He's been abused, he knows what it felt like. He didn't ever think twice about a girl being on the cheerleading team would struggle with the same shit he has. Eddie wanted to be better than the jocks but he proved he was just like them. Judging someone based on how others perceived them.
"I don't know what happened. But the way he was calling me names made me think of dad. And I shut down. But then he touched me and my brain was screaming at me to prepare for another blow."
Eddie could feel his own tears in the back of his eyes.
Eddie can't believe he allowed himself to be something he hated.
He was abused, he should have noticed the signs. He should have stopped talking the second she got quiet and didn't say a word.
If it was a joke, like he thought. She wouldn't have sat there and taken every word.
He was an idiot.
He took a deep breath and wiped his eyes. Putting his hands in his jeans as he walked towards the group. All seated in the car, except for Dustin.
"hey Dustin can I talk to her?" Eddie asked softly.
He watched as her eyes snapped to him through the windshield. He wanted to offer her a small smile but his heart shattered at the fear that rested as she quickly looked away
"hell to the fucking no. Leave her and us alone. We won't be at hellfire tonight" Dustin snapped as he slammed the car door.
Eddie watched as she drove out of the parking lot.
~~
Dustin stook to his word. Not a single one of them showed up to hellfire. And Eddie wasn't even upset he had to cancel the campaign. He was more upset with the fact he put himself in a position that he wasn't sure he could get out of.
~~
A few days past and the three little sheep, and Dustin's sister hasn't looked in his direction. They all sat at a table in the back corner, smiling and laughing.
Eddie noticed her cheek was no longer banged. Small marks left in her cheek but she smiled like she wasn't bothered.
Eddie thought she was gorgeous. He thought she was gorgeous when he first saw her at the table but watching as she laughed so hard, she had to clench her stomach. He realized how beautiful she really was.
She didn't deserve what he said to her and she deserved a real apology.
~~
Y/N was searching through her car when she heard someone knock on her window. She jumped and quickly looked to see Eddie standing there.
She rolled down her window
"can I talk to you?" Eddie asked as he peaked his head in
"um I guess" she said quietly.
Eddie hated how closed off her body was. She didn't feel safe near him and he gave a good reason for that.
"I wanted to say I'm really fucking sorry. I was completely wrong. I should have never spoken to you like that. I should have never put a hand on you. You didn't deserve any of that"
She nodded with a small smile. Showing that she appreciated his words.
"I also overheard you talking to Dustin about your dad"
Her body stiffened quickly and Eddie noticed
"it's okay. I actually have been there before" he said softly, pulling out a piece of paper.
"I used to call this number every time my dad got done hitting me. No matter the time, they will pick up. And I added my number at the bottom. In case you need someone who can slightly understand." Eddie smiled as soft as he could.
"thanks Eddie" she said tearfully. Putting the piece of paper in her backpack
~~
She calls Eddie every night, and he always picks up. He listens and listens. He never hangs up first or says he has to go. He devoted all his time into her calls. Speaking of things he buried down to forget. But allowing himself to open it back up for her.
The more she called, the less it was about her dad. She just loved hearing his voice. It made her feel giddy and excited. She was terrified the first time she called without wanting to talk about her dad. Afraid he'd hang up because that wasn't the reason he gave his number out.
"hey Eddie. I'm actually doing good tonight but I still wanted to talk to you. Maybe about happy things? I know it's stupid and that's not why you gave me your number but i-"
"shh it's okay. I gave you my number because I wanted to. And I'll gladly sit here and listen to you talk about anything you want gorgeous. Hit me with it"
After that call, she screamed into her pillow and kicked her feet. Dustin teased her for it for weeks. Making kissy faces at the lunch table when Eddie looked away.
"OW!" Dustin screamed as she kicked his leg under the table.
Eddie turned to the noise, "you good Henderson?" He asked as he looked at Dustin concerned
"totally" Dustin huffed out as he rubbed his leg.
Then she wanted more. She wanted more than phone calls
"random question but would you maybe want to go eat sometime? Talk in person instead?" Her body was shaking with anxiety. Preparing for a no
"only agreeing if this means I get to finally take you on a date"
And after that, there were many more dates planned.
Tags!
@bmunson86 @mxcheese @ladymunson @michaelfuckinglangdon @z0mbie-blah @biittersweet @mirrorsstuff @slightlyvicked @micheledawn1975@ago-godance@magnificantmermaid @tlclick73@hargrovesswifee
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ultralightpoe · 4 months
Text
Full House llll l -Eddie Munson
Authors Note: And with this final chapter we say goodbye to the Munson family. Thank you to everyone who has read this series.
Warnings: angst, mentions of ptsd and fear of suicide but not a lot.
Word Count: 10,129
Part One HERE - Part Two HERE - Part Three HERE - Part Four HERE - Part Five HERE -
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(Thanks for the gif @spookynebula )
Enjoy! -Warning. This chapter had mentions of depression and ptsd. Reader hints at suicide-
It was insane how fast things escalated that night. 
Friday nights had become somewhat of a massive tradition in the entire group, since that was the one night that EVERYONE had off. It became a family dinner/ game night all around. 
Everyone brought over plates of food, the kids all got to spend time together and the DnD party got a night to catch up on their campaign. Anyone who didn’t want to play got some time to relax with friends. 
Tonight was an extra special night because everyone was celebrating Dustin and Erica’s son, Luke’s birthday. 
So the second you all got home from all the activities and clubs and meetings everyone got cracking and starting setting up. Ziggy cleaned the downstairs living room that became the kids play room with the help of Halen. 
You helped clean up the living room before leaving Eddie and Ozzy to set up their DND tables for their respective campaigns as you went to start the food. 
By 7, an hour earlier than her normal time, Motley comes in with a smile that has you on edge immediately. 
It’s not that she was a bad kid, you loved your daughter more than the world itself, you just didn’t like her current path. And you had gotten used to the coming in and stomping straight into her room  so this smile told you something was up. 
“Hey ma!” She smiles, moving forward to kiss your cheek. 
“Hi angel.” You mumble, making a kiss noise back as you focus on the food. “We’re doing chicken Alfredo tonight for everyone so-“ 
“I was actually hoping I could go to Samantha’s for a movie night.” She smiles, watching you pause and then look at her. 
“Again?” It had been a year since she had attended one of these family dinners since her and Samantha did movie nights. “Wait, I thought you were mad at Samantha for something. When I was doing laundry you were on the phone talking about her.” 
“You were eavesdropping?!” 
“No, I was doing your laundry and you were talking loudly!” You snap. “And I’m gonna have to say no to the movie night because it’s Luke’s birthday. A special event.” 
“And next week it will be Uncle Jonathan’s birthday and after that Sara’s birthday-“ a small smile spreads across your face at the mention of Sara, the cute toddler girl Mike and El had brought into the world. She was so sweet and reminded you of your kids back then. 
“That’s the thing about birthdays. They happen every year?” You mumble, confused on why you have to explain this as she curses under her breath. 
“I just mean it’s always something with this family.” 
“Okay. I already said no so suck it up buttercup.” You snap, turning back to the food. 
Eddie comes into the kitchen with an excited smile when he sees Motley home, and you already know what’s coming. 
“Hey Metalhead. You wanna see how cool I am?” 
“Sure.” She snaps, rolling her eyes at him. 
“People say I’m magic, cause I always have a few Twix up my sleeve.” Just as he says it he makes the Twix candy bar slide down into his awaited palm with such excitement. 
“Wow dad.” She sighs. “This is an all time low.” 
“Oh! Twix!” Halen snatches it and dashes to go fine his best friend. 
“You eat today?” Eddie asks Motley, trying not to let her mood get at him. “We have snacks set up already-“ 
“Why do you constantly feel the need to ask me if I’ve eaten?!” She snaps. 
“What?! I just want to make sure my daughter actually eats instead of that dieting smell a carrot bullshit!” 
“UGH! Just leave me alone! This house sucks!” She stomps downstairs and Eddie turns to you. 
“What’d I do now?” 
“I actually told her no to something before you came in so it was me.” You explain, using the spoon to pull out a noodle and move to feed it to him. 
And before you know it everything is packed with people. 
Steve and Nancy came in a bundle of hugs, Eddie making a tall joke to their tallest son which makes Vinny laugh nervously as he moves out of the way for his three younger brothers to come in. 
Vinny takes his spot at Ozzys table, getting his dice ready as two of his brothers join him while the third dashes to follow Ziggy to go play with Zeppelin. 
Steve takes a seat at Ozzys table as well, since he wanted to play but didn’t really know how he was playing Ozzys campaign to learn the basics of the game. 
Jonathan and his son arrive soon enough, Halen snatching his friend and they dash upstairs to play video games as Jonathan takes a seat on the couch where you Nancy and Robin always sit and talk shit about anyone and anything. 
Eddie tries to call Motley up for dinner but she doesn’t answer so he just shrugs and starts his campaign, missing the pointed eye roll Vinny had. 
“He prefers to be called Vince now.” Nancy explains over her wine. “And Steve found not one but 4 little notes from girls or guys asking him out. All unanswered and just shoved into his desk drawer.”
“I still can’t believe you’re raising a valedictorian. Any idea on where he’s applying to colleges?” Jonathan asks. 
“Oh come on.  The kid is tall, attractive, has amazing grades and an all around good student. Not to mention the star baseball player for the team. It doesn't matter where he’s applying because they are all going to be reaching out to him.” Robin scoffs, making Nancy smile. 
You hear a bunch of groans coming from Ozzys table and look over to see your son smiling just like his dad as the table is panicking on what to do. 
When you look over at Eddie you see he is already smiling from ear to ear as he watches before the sound of Zeppelin barking in the back yard pulls your attention. 
“What was that?” Mike asks, trying to look out the window. 
“Probably just heard a car door. Dogs on about everything lately.” Eddie sighs, focusing back up on the game. 
Then some more time passes and he begins to get to get more and more anxious. Motley hadn’t eaten so she should come up. 
“Hey Zig?” He calls. “Send your sister up please!” 
There’s a slight rustle downstairs and he hears Ziggy knock before swinging the door open. His first sign of trouble is when he doesn’t hear Motley immediately scream at her sister to get out of her room. 
But he thinks that maybe she managed to fall asleep, she did come from cheer practice after all. 
That is until Ziggy dashes upstairs and Eddie is met with her wide eyes that makes everything fall into a panic for him. 
“What’s up?”
“She’s not there.” 
“She’s not where?” 
“She’s not in her room-“ Eddie is zipping out of his chair to zoom downstairs and check for himself, barging into her room to find it empty. “You’ve gotta be kidding me-“ 
He moved to see that she had somehow shimmied out of the small window she had and he gets pissed. 
How long has she been doing that?! 
He storms back upstairs, snatching the phone angrily as you come closer, watching him dial Perez' number and wait. 
“Hello, this is Eddie Munson. I just need to make sure my daughter got to you house safely-“ he stops, heart thundering in his rib cage at the man’s response as you keep peering at him. “What do you mean she’s not there?” 
Vinny is watching you both, an annoyed look on his face as everyone’s mood immediately drops, once again for Motley. She ruined everything these days. 
“She’s at a party.” He sighs. “Her boyfriend Aaron and his best friend Henry are throwing a huge rager tonight.” 
“I thought she wanted to go to Samantha’s?” He asks you, confused since that’s what you told him earlier. 
“Her and Samantha haven’t actually been friends for months. Samantha is too nerdy now.” Vinny explains and Steve sighs. 
“Vin, why didn’t you say anything?” 
“She’s not my business. I try to stay far away from her these days-“ 
“Why?” You ask, getting defensive of your daughter. 
“Because they make everyone’s lives miserable. They just constantly bully Mickey about his stuttering. Samantha is bullied about her weight and all they do is walk through the halls making everyone miserable. And she just lets it happen with a laugh. She thinks it’s great.” 
Your heart breaks, imagining all the things he is saying as Eddie is losing patience.
“The party's address. Where is it?” He snaps, moving to grab his keys. 
“Eds..” you mumble, reaching out to stop him but the second he has the address he is out the front door. 
So you, and everyone else, wait. 
Sending all the kids including your twins down stairs to watch a movie as the adults and teens sit around and wait for Eddie’s car to emerge again. 
And when they do you already know it’s gonna be bad based on the way they both slam the doors. 
He’s yelling before they even make it to the front door. 
“I’m sick of this bullshit with you!” He shouts. “When’s it gonna stop, huh?!” 
“Fuck off!” She screams back, obviously crying. “You just ruined my life!” 
“No Motley, I just helped it!” He yells, opening the door. “I can’t fucking believe you.” 
“Why do you care so much?!” She screams as they both come into view. “IT WAS JUST A PARTY!” 
“YOU WERE DRINKING AND SMOKING!” He screams back, both red in the face. “I HAD TO PULL THAT FUCK OFF OF YOU! DO YOU REALIZE WHAT COULD HAVE HAPPENED MOTLEY?!
“Right. So you’re the hero once again right? You barge in and take control over everything and now everyone is gonna say what a wonderful guy you were and how my mom is so lucky she found you.” She sneers, tears streaming down her face and makes her eyeliner stain her cheeks. “Thank god for Eddie fucking Munson. My family was fine before she met you! We were fine without you!”
“I don’t know what you’re on about but you’re on thin ice tonight.” He warns. 
“Just fucking say it! Say I remind you of my dad! That’s why you hate me right?!” She snaps and his eyes widen. 
“Motley- you don’t. Wait-“ your husband tries, you see the panic on his face as he realizes that this situation was spinning out far too quickly. 
Meanwhile Eddie felt like he couldn’t breathe. He had just found his daughter half asleep with some jock on top of her at a party and he was freaked the fuck out. He was mad and stressed and scared but the feeling he was getting as she glared at him made him go cold. 
He had his tiffs with her, these days all he could seem to do was irritate her but this was something entirely different. 
“I’m Billys kid right? That’s all I am to you? I look and act like him! That’s all you see! Right?!” 
“You’ve had a lot to drink.” Eddie sighs, rubbing his face. “Maybe you should go get some rest.” 
“You talk all this bullshit about how it’s the people that raise us and not the ones we’re made from. But you know what I think? I think you’re lying because you know that’s not true. I’ll always be like Billy and you will always be like Alan.” She continues and Eddie feels something cold in his chest, a cracking feeling as his ears start ringing. He hears you shuffle closer already trying to diffuse the situation but neither of them look at you. 
When he doesn’t respond she keeps going, like a feral animal backed into a corner. 
“You think I haven’t heard the stories?! Huh?! Alan Munson arrested for drug abuse and manslaughter. Eddie Munson, the schools fucking freak that sold drugs and killed Chrissy Cunningham.” 
“I am nothing like him-“ Eddie snaps, skin hot and fists clenched. Alan was an abuser, who had hit Eddie more than he hugged him.  Eddie had never hit you, or the kids. He had never killed anyone, not even Chrissy and sure he sold drugs but he always made sure everyone was safe when using them. 
Is that how she saw him? 
“You’re just like him! Nothing but a low life fucking freak. You can take your cheap fucking necklace back, freak.” She sobs, tearing off the necklace he made her and chucking it at his chest. Some of the chain hits his cheek at how hard she threw it, and it falls to the floor beneath him with a clank. 
And just like that he’s back to nothing. All the hard work he’s done to run from his name and all the hard work he’s put into supporting people is gone. She’s right. He’s nothing but a freak. Always has been and always will be. 
Her face falls from one of pure anger to shock and sadness as she watches him. He doesn’t know what he looks like but by your devasted face it can’t be great. 
“I’m going to bed.” He announces, voice sounding bland and empty, kicking his mothers ring away from his feet and moving upstairs without another word. 
“W-wait dad-“ she gasps out, sobering up a bit. “Please just-“ 
He doesn’t hear. Or he just blatantly ignores her as the bedroom door slams harshly. 
“No. No no no.” She sobs, falling to her knees to try and find where the ring had gone after Eddie kicked it. Her fingers grasp around the chain, sobbing harder when she sees it snapped and broken. 
Ziggy comes into view then, eyes wide as she watches her sister scramble across the floor. 
“Ziggy. You need to go downstairs-“ you try and control the situation, moving your daughter to head back only to find that all of the kids were standing in the kitchen and had heard everything. 
“I think it’s time we go.” Steve mumbles, not looking at Motley as everyone begins to grab their kids and make their way out. 
She can’t breathe, she can’t breathe and she can’t find the ring. 
“Z-zig- help me p-please. I can’t find it.” She sobs, reaching her arm under the couch to try and feel for it. 
Ziggy doesn’t move to help her sister, and you can only watch with tears streaming down your face as your oldest breaks down. 
“Ididntmeanit!” She sobs. “Pleasebelieveme-“ 
“I think everyone needs to go to bed.” You state calmly. “Motley we will discuss all of this in the morning once we’ve all had room to breathe. Okay?” 
She nods, still violently sobbing as Ziggy walks away from her and storms downstairs. Halen has tears streaming down his own face as Ozzy grabs his arm to lead him upstairs, hearing nothing but silence coming from their parents room. 
You shuffle away too, trying not to look at her and trying not to cry. You had no clue what to do right now. 
She searches for a couple minutes before realizing the point was mute since she couldn’t actually see from her eyes anymore with how hard she was crying and finally she gave up, shuffling downstairs. 
At first she walks to her room, but the second she hits the door she realizes she doesn’t want to be alone so she moves closer to Ziggys door and knocks softly. 
Back when you first moved in, Motley and Ziggy were terrified to sleep in the basement, both so sure ghosts were real. Motley often let Ziggy in her room so they could sleep together. 
Now it was her knocking on her baby sister's door, chest aching as it opens a bit. “C-can I sleep with you Zig? I-I don’t want to-“ 
“Why do you have to ruin everything?!” Ziggy cries, shoving Motley away. “Why do you have to chase him away?!”
“Zig-“ Motley sobs but her sister doesn’t hear her. 
“You ruin everything! And he’s gonna leave because of you!” And then the door is slammed in her face once more. 
So Motley shuffles to the couch, curling into the cushions as she sobs. Eddie’s face stuck in her mind. 
She had never seen him look so…. Broken and empty. She did that. 
And he had never walked away from a fight with her. 
“I want dad…” she sobs, shoving her face into the pillow to sob. “I’m sorry dad.” 
You were going to be sick. 
Never before had you seen such silence from your husband. 
By the time you made it to the room he was just sitting on the bench in front of your bed, just staring at the wall. 
“Eddie?” You mumble, moving closer to him and try to rub his cheek. “Do you want to talk about it?” 
He just shakes his head no. Not actually looking at you as he brings his hand up to pull yours away from him. 
There’s a crater in your chest as your husband pushes your hand away, this gaping hole just gushing out blood as you try and figure out how to fix this. But before you can think of something he stands and walks past you to go into the bathroom, locking the door and turning the shower on. 
-
You’ve thankfully passed out by the time Eddie gets the courage to leave the bathroom, he can’t look at you right now. 
He’s a coward. 
A freak. 
We were fine without you.
She thought he was Alan. She probably heard everyone at school making fun of her dad. 
Nothing but a low life fucking freak.
Freak. Freak. Freak freakfreakfreak. 
“You’re nothing Edward. You hear me boy?” Alan calls, watching Eddie dash to his room to hide. 
Later that evening his mother would give Eddie a buzz cut, the hair being the thing that got him in trouble in the first place. 
He could do nothing but stare into the mirror as she did so, looking at the deep purple bruise that covered most his cheek as she worked on his hair. 
Nothing.
Nothing.  
He didn’t mean to stay awake all night, sitting there staring at a wall. But he somehow managed to. 
So he unplugs his alarm clock before it can wake you, shuffling around to get dressed silently. He was used to doing chores on the weekends, for the yard or the family cars. 
Today he chose to head out for a bit. Leaving a tiny kiss on your forehead as he grabbed his wallet and keys before heading out.
Motley wakes up to the front door closing, her neck aching from the spot on the couch she had slept on and her head blaring from crying so much last night. 
It takes her a moment to get up, shuffling upstairs half asleep until she is in the main part of the house, when she sees no one there she shuffled up the stairs to sneak into your room. 
Her heart plummets when she sees it’s only you, her anxiety and guilt heightening as she crawls into bed to lay with you, pulling the blanket close as you turn to cuddle your daughter. 
“I’m sorry mommy.” She cries. 
“I know.” You mumble, still half asleep as you keep her close. 
Soon enough the boys wake up, dashing downstairs, and you have to get up to go feed everyone. Motley stays close to you, sitting at the table awkwardly as you get the twins set up with cereal. 
They don’t look at her. Neither of them even look near her as they eat silently which upsets her more. 
“Have you decided what song you’re going to do for your performance, Oz?” She tries to break the tension, watching her brother shrug. 
“Dad and I were going over some stuff. Doesn’t matter.” He shrugs again, spinning his cereal around the bowl as you go downstairs to grab Zeppelin for his daily walk and wake up Ziggy.  
You rush Zeppelin out, the older dog excited as he is every morning and the second you leave the front door Ziggy emerges from downstairs. 
“Morning Zig.” Motley tries to smile, stomach clenching when her sister ignores her. 
“Hey Zig? Can I borrow your charcoal markers?” Halen asks, excited to see his sister. “I have this really cool idea to take my Halloween mask and make it look like the words are-“ 
Motley zones out watching all three of her siblings talk excitedly amongst each other. It had been a family tradition for as long as she’s known to have breakfast together on Saturday, just the 6 of them. A tradition she’s blatantly ignored in favor of spending time with her friends. 
“I have a new eyeliner, Zig, if you want to try it?” Motley offers, once again trying to break the tension. 
“I’m good.” Ziggys is quick to shut her down, moving to clean up her mess. “Remember guys. Dads birthday is coming up and we all gotta keep it a surprise what we got.” 
“Right.” Ozzy smiles, tossing his bowl in the sink before dashing off while Ziggy rushes downstairs. 
Halen is the only one left and Motley turns to him. “What’d we get dad?” 
“I don’t know what you got him. But we all chipped our allowance in for something.” Halen mumbles, hands clenched. 
“Why didn’t you guys tell me? I would have-“ 
“Why does it matter? He’s not your dad right?” Her brother mumbles out, getting up to slam his bowl in the sink as well. He stomps off soon after that, and soon enough the sound was mixed with the sounds of Ozzy practicing cello and Halen dashing around for his project. Ziggy playing music in her room. 
-
“DADS HOME!” Halen yells excitedly, dashing down the stairs to come into the kitchen where you were preparing lunch.  “I saw him pull in.” 
“Good.” You smile, some of the anxiety easing as the kids collect at the table around where Motley was sitting and doing homework. “We’re going to eat lunch together. No fighting guys.”
The front door opens and shuts and Motley stands up awkwardly, both of you waiting for Eddie to enter. 
When he does you are silent, eyes wide as he blinks at you slowly. “Y-your hair?” 
It was cut, short. There were still some curls at the top of his head but the rest was gone. 
“I….. yeah I thought I needed a change.” He mumbles, reaching a hand up to pull through it awkwardly. “Thought the mop head was a little outdated.” 
I didn’t want to look like a freak. You know that’s what he meant even if he didn’t say it. 
“Dad. I am so sorry about what I said. I didn’t mean any of it and I can’t believe-“ Motley begins, wiping her cheeks as some fresh tears roll down her face. 
“Hey hey hey.” Eddie stops her. “It’s fine. Okay? No hurt feelings Motley. You had some stress and needed to get it out. I get it.” 
She shakes her head. “I didn’t mean any of it dad.” 
“I know.” He nods. “I’m not upset at you Motley.” 
And that was settled. But he doesn’t move forward to hug her, he doesn’t even touch her, instead he shuffles to sit down and look at the others staring at him. 
“Does it look bad?” He asks as they all blink at him and his new hair. Immediately after he asks they all rush out to tell him no and that it looks good. 
Motley takes a seat again and so do you, everyone beginning to eat silently. 
Eddie had said it was fine, but everyone at the table knew it wasn’t. 
Eddie didn’t try to crack any cheesy jokes or pull you into an embarrassing kiss that would make them all gag. He didn’t ask about their plans or if they all wanted to hang out. Eddie ate in silence. And the silence was the loudest part of the meal. 
-
Things remained tense for the rest of the weekend and by the time Motley had to go to school she was tired and stressed. 
Her bad was still shut down, he tried not to be but he was. And things were just so…..wrong now. 
This morning was awkward enough. She had told Aaron she didn’t want a ride, and she really didn’t want her dad seeing him in general. 
But he left early for work and you had assumed she already had a ride so you took the rest of the kids, which left her to walk to school. 
She showed up drenched from the rain, bumping into Samantha by the door and dashing to the bathroom quickly. 
By the time she gets out first period is already over and the hallways were already packed with people moving for their next class. 
She just wanted to cry. She was cold and soaked and missed her dad. 
She broke her dad. 
“Motley! Hey!” Aaron calls, and she tenses, casting him a look before dashing down the hall and bumping into Vince harshly. 
He manages to catch her as her heeled boots slip, hauling her easily into an empty classroom the second he sees the tears rushing down her her cheeks. He closes the door and pulls the blinds of the window down. 
“Just take a moment.” 
“I have to get to class.” She sniffles. 
“It’s biology with Fitz. He barely takes attendance and we’ll be fine.” He tries to joke. “Just take a breather.”
“I can’t! I can’t catch my breath at all.” She snaps, and he moves closer to wipe at her eyes as she sobs before she is latching herself onto him with her face pressed into his chest as she sobs. “I’m sorry Vinny.”
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have snitched on you like that.” He mumbles. 
“No. No. It actually was for the better.” She moves to sit down after breaking from the hug, sliding against the door and sitting with her back to it. 
He follows and they are side by side. 
“I’m thankful my dad showed up.” She admits. “There was a split second where I was so fucking happy he was there actually. I saw him when he tore Aaron off of me and I knew I’d be safe.” 
“Did Aaron….?” 
“Oh. It’s….. I was just too out of it.” She mumbles, trying to get comfortable. 
He moves slowly, unzipping her boot slowly to take it off and doing it to the other so it was easier to sit without the heels. 
“Then what happened?” 
“I…. Saw the look on my dads face when he dragged me out of there. And I just felt like….. Billy.” She admits, swiping the tears.  “I remembered what you said and-“ 
“I lied.” Vince blurts. “Motley you had to have known that I lied. Your dad would never say that.” 
“You lied?” 
“I lied. I was trying to hurt you because you…. I was being a dick.” 
She sniffles quickly, laughing a little. “Vinny.” 
“I’m sorry Motley.” 
“Oh my god.” She laughs and he can only blink at her from guilt. “I spent the past year bullying you with my friends and you’ve been holding back your punches.” 
“I just….there is no excuse.” He mumbles but she just keeps laughing with tears still springing down her face. 
“Don’t feel bad. I was…. Out of control and you ended up saving my ass.” She rushes out. “And then I just completely destroyed my life after.” 
“You didn’t. I’m sure this can all be fixed.” He sighs. “Your dad is one of the…. Best.” 
“He is.” 
“And he forgives my dad after years of king Steve’s bullshit.” He mumbles. “Now they are best frie-“
Before he can finish his sentence her lips are on his. Warm and soft. 
He can taste the salt from her tears, and his heart is beating through his rib cage as the girl he’s been dreaming about for years finally kisses him. 
But then he pulls back, blinking at her. “Sorry.” He blurts out. 
“Why are you sorry? I kissed you.” She blushes. 
“Motley.” He begins, not really knowing what to say. “You’re beautiful.” 
“I know.” She smiles, laying her head on his shoulder. “You are too.” 
Family dinner was quiet, and Eddie spent most his time pushing the food around on his plate and everyone ate in silence. 
Motley leans over, elbow pressing into his as she whispers. “Have you eaten today?” 
A tiny smile breaks out, and Motley can’t tell if it’s real or fake. So she leans back and keeps pushing around her own food. 
“I think I’m gonna drop out of the concert.” Ozzy blurts, pulling Eddie’s attention quickly. 
“Why?” 
“I’m just…. Not really feeling it.” Her little brother mumbles, shrugging. 
Everyone turns to Eddie, waiting for him to talk Ozzy into it. This is what he did. A problem arose and Eddie was there to make them all feel better. He would talk Ozzy into the concert, get rid of all the anxiety and stress he was carrying about it. 
But it didn’t come. 
“Okay well….. just let your teacher know yeah?” He mumbles, picking up his plate to clean it before heading out of the room quickly. 
“I hate you.” Ziggy snaps at Motley, storming off. 
-
“EW! Absolutely not!” Motley snaps, slapping Vinny’s hand away which makes him laugh. “I refuse!” 
“Go fish. Go fish!” He laughs, waving the card in her face again. 
“No! I refuse!” 
“That’s the point of the game!” 
Motley and Vinny had been eating lunch together in the abandoned science classroom everyday for the past week. They did homework together and played card games. He told her about his mom and dads most recent fight where Steve had managed to break their bedroom door handle and trap them both in the room on accident. 
“No it’s not. I win.” She mumbles, shaking her head as he groans out. “Which means I deserve a victory kiss.” 
Whenever she won he had to kiss her. And whenever he won she had to kiss him.  Oh how miserable life was. 
He smiles, leaning forward to kiss her lips nervously which makes her giggle. When he pulls back he scratches the back of his neck. “So… the Sadie Hawkins Hawkins dance is coming up.” 
“Yes. I hear them announce it every morning.” She teases. “Who you gonna ask?”
“Oh ha ha.” He scoffs right as the bell rings. “I have practice after school. You good to get home?” 
“I’ll be good.” She smiles, watching as he stands up and heads out. 
It was weird seeing Eddie like this, so bland and empty. It really scared you. 
He had never shut down like this before, and you were getting to the point where you had begun to hide all the sharp objects and pills. 
Today he sat on the bed, well more or less laid on the bed splayed out as he watched the ceiling fan turn slowly. It had been 2 weeks since that fight with Motley, and he had nightmares anytime he managed to fall asleep which wasn’t often. 
You knew what he was dreaming about of course, between his father, Chrissy or Wayne’s passing he always woke up calling one of their names in a panic. 
“Hey Eds?” You call, trying to get his attention. “Do you wanna try sleeping? I can lay with you.” 
“No.” He mumbles out, not moving as the bed dios while you curl into his side. 
“You need sleep.” You murmur, kissing his shoulder, taking your hand to rub circles on his stomach. 
“I just need…..” What did he need? You’d give him anything. 
“She didn’t mean it.” You whisper, tears beginning to burn your eyes. 
“I know.” He whispers back. “I just can’t shake it.”
“Maybe, we should look into some therapy.” Your whisper, watching as he finally switches to lay on his side facing you pushing until it’s his forehead against your chest. 
“If I start dreaming about them-“
“I’ll wake you up.” You promise. 
-
Eddie’s first therapy session falls on a Monday, so you drop the kids off at all their clubs before taking him and waiting in the car as he spends the next 2 hours in the session. 
You catch up on some of your book and when he gets back in the car you are happy to note that he seems a little better. Not a lot but he’s not too empty. 
“You haven’t eaten in a minute. Want to go get a burger?” You ask and he shrugs. “You wanna wait for the kids to eat?” 
“I just want to sleep.” He answers truthfully and you smile, because at least he was answering. So you turn down the radio and drive to pick up all the kids from their clubs. 
First are the boys, Halen still in his karate outfit and Ozzy without his cello. When you ask he simply mutters since he didn’t need to practice he was gonna leave it there tonight. 
Eddie closes his eyes like he is in pain when Ozzy says that, but no one says anything. 
Next is Ziggy, but you are shocked to find both sisters standing together outside of Ziggys school.
“Motley? Why aren’t you at practice?”
“They end at 5.” She answers.
“Then why did you keep coming home at 8?” 
She looks guilty as she shrugs, looking between you and Eddie as he keeps his eyes shut. “I’m sorry.” 
“Jesus.” You grunt, feeling like a crap mother. 
Later that night you knock on her door, and when she lets you in you shut the door, sitting her on her bed so you could have a long conversation about sex and boys. 
It was a little too late as you had come to find out. But she ended up telling you everything. 
-
Friday rolled around and it was DND night, but no one set up any campaign tables and no one bothered to get excited. 
Eddie helped you in the kitchen and Motley tried asking about any ideas he had for another campaign. 
“Have you ever done a dragon one?”
“Yes.” 
“Well maybe you can do a futuristic one then?” 
“I actually think I’m done for a bit.” He shrugs. “It’s a game meant for kids.” 
He shuffles off to the garage to grab the drinks for tonight as Motley looks at you. 
“Hey mom?” Ziggy asks, coming up the stairs. “I have this project I’m doing and it smells really bad cause of the paint. Do you think dad will let me work in the garage?” 
“I don’t care. Go for it.” Eddie snaps, walking in with the sodas. “Have at it. Take what you want.” 
He drops the drinks by the coolers before walking up the stairs. 
“He hates us.” Ziggy mumbles. “He hates us now.” 
“He doesn’t hate you. Enough of that.” You snap. “You two have absolutely no clue what he’s been through or what he’s done to be where he is now.  You throw Chrissy in his face and his father in his face and all he ever does is try to cheer you guys up constantly.” 
They both blink at you.  
“He’s upset. He’s gonna be upset from his trauma and it shouldn’t constantly be about you two. Have you bothered to ask if he’s okay ever?” You snap, irritable. “Go clean something.” 
They disperse quickly and you turn back to keep cooking, slamming everything as you go. 
“You okay?” Eddie asks, leaning against the door. 
“No I’m not.” You snap. “I’m so sick of everything. When did this get so hard and - and you’re listening to me complain again. Even when I’m stressed about you carrying all our burdens I still give you more.” You laugh bitterly. 
“I don’t mind taking in your guys’ burdens.” He sighs, moving closer. 
“This isn’t working.” You snap. “None of this is working.” 
“I know.” He sighs. 
“I think it’s time we take a look at the next step here.” You mumble, turning away from him. “Because I don’t think I can do this anymore.” 
“I don’t think I can either.” He whispers. 
“Then….” You can’t even put it into words, what are you saying? “I need to finish cooking.” 
He doesn’t say anything, just merely disappears again. 
-
“Divorce?” Robin scoffs. “You find out your daughter is a slut and this is where you end up?” 
“No. Not divorce. We just need another strategy.” You mumble, not looking in the direction that Eddie was sitting in. “It’s like playing tug of war through a brick wall. Whenever either of us begins to make movement the other just hits the brick at full speed.”
Tonight’s ‘family dinner’ was extremely different. It felt more like an awkward party than a family dinner. 
Motley sat on the stairs with Vinny, pretending to study as Ziggy sat in the corner sketching. 
No dnd, no fun conversations. Your family was truly beginning to crumble under pressure. 
“And I feel like absolute crap because how did I now see that my daughter had a sex life?” 
“I hear that Aaron kid is a jackass.” Robin sneers. 
“From Jonathan. His photography teacher.” Nancy clarifies. 
“What great intel.” You sneer and she sighs, rollling her eyes. 
You spend the rest of the night talking about Robins most recent girlfriend, and why it ended. By the time you said goodnight to everyone you truly thought you knew too much about her love life. 
You wave off her car, being the last to leave, and you shut the door before pressing your forehead to it with a sigh. 
When you turn around you are surprised to find Eddie standing there waiting for you and the kids still in sight watching you. 
“Goodnight everyone.” You mumble, locking the door and moving to start picking everything up. 
“I’m craving donuts.” Eddie blurts, making everyone look at him. “When’s the last time we had an actual Munson meal?” 
“What?” Ozzy laughs. “We had dinner together yester-“ 
“No no. I mean an actual Munson meal.” Eddie shakes his head. 
Ziggy catches on then, a smile spreading on her face as Motley soon gets it. 
“Guys, I’m tired so maybe we should-“ you don’t get to finish your sentence because Eddie is there, pulling you to the kitchen with the kids to prep for Munson dinner. 
-
A little while later you are all sat on the floor, knees connecting all of you together as you pass around the snacks and laugh. 
Homemade donuts and ham wrapped around cheese sticks. Sliced apples and peanut butter with grapes. Any snack you could think of was in the center of the circle. 
You all had pillows and blankets, and there was a cartoon playing in the background as Ziggy told you guys the story of how her math teacher broke his foot by dancing in class. 
You’re laughing too hard, tears streaming down your face as you try to breathe in while she imitates his crying. 
“Stop!” Motley cries. “He did the same dance thing when I had him!” 
“Do the dance one more time.” Eddie laughs. “I gotta see it.” 
So Ziggy does, looking like an absolute fool as she does but everyone is still laughing and having fun. 
Halen catches you up on his drama club, and how he got the old grandma as a roll. “It’s not funny!” 
“Its not!” Ozzy laughs. “But your costume is!” 
“Wait. Tell them about your concert!” Halen mumbles to which Ozzy shakes his head quickly. 
“What’s going on with the concert?” Eddie asks, leaning to snatch an apple slice out of your hand. 
“I…. They….. well they gave my solo up before I quit.” He admits. 
“What? Why would they do that?” You mumble, worry striking you. “Ozzy,” 
“They said I lacked control.” He blushes. 
“That’s not fair. You’re the best in that group.” Eddie snaps. 
“Every parent says that about their kid.” Ozzy groans. 
“Well yeah but I’m not just saying that because you are my kid.” He mumbles. “You’re fucking amazing Ozzy. And if they think you’re not then we need to look for another program.” 
“But-“ 
“Dads right, Ozzy. You play better than any of them.” Motley mumbles. 
“We’ll look for another program. Rather than the school.” You nod, and he shrugs with a small smile playing on his lips. 
“What’s going on with you?” Eddie asks. “How is life at school, you know after I….” 
“Life is better.” She cuts him off. “I actually…. I spend all my free time with Vince now and-“ 
She starts blushing, and Eddie and yourself are shocked by this image. It had been forever since you saw your daughter with no makeup and in her cheesiest pajamas. 
“Well I like all my makeup and outfits but there is no stress of how I look around him so I get to have more fun with it all. You know?” She’s getting redder and redder now. “And the Sadie Hawkins is coming up and Iwastryingtofigurrouthowtoaskhim.” 
She mumbles the last part out but everyone heard it, excitement jumping through the group. 
“Oooo. Motley and Vincent sitting in a tree-“ a pillow hits Ziggy in the face as Ozzy and Eddie are already talking over each other with ideas. 
“How about you write it on a baseball?” Halen asks, and everyone stops at his idea before Motley lights up. 
“That would be very sweet.” You smile. 
“I don’t have a baseball though.” 
“That’s easy. Send Zeppelin outside for 5 minutes and he’ll find one.” Eddie teases. 
“I have paint for it!” 
“Then we have a plan.” 
Eddie sighs, shifting a bit as he tried to conjure up what he needs to say. “I think we’ve been failing as a family lately.” 
“How so?” 
“When’s the last time we’ve actually talked? Actually sat down together and talked about life? We have all been so caught up lately that we haven’t made time for our best team and that needs to change.” 
“How so?” 
“I propose that we do family dinners like this from now on. Actually talk. Actually take time for each other and tell eachother everything.” He sighs. “But in order for that then there has to be complete honesty. And I have not given you guys that.”
It’s silent as everyone stares back. He reaches into his pocket and pulls out something. 
It takes you a minute to register it. It’s a bat tooth. 
“Who wants the truth about Chrissy Cunningham and my scars?” 
-
It’s around 3 am when you wake up, confused and groggy. 
Somehow everyone had managed to cuddle together on the couch, everyone connected somehow. You were all merged as one, sleeping in a pile, with Halen snoring loudly. 
You blink a couple times, wondering what had woken you up, so you sit up, making Halen stir a bit and try your best to sneak out. 
You limp to the sound that had been waking you up, tense from the awkward position you had been sleeping before you shuffle to open the window and look out at what was outside. 
A small laugh escapes you when you realize that you had left Zeppelin out and he was whining. “I am so sorry baby boy.” You coo, shuffling to the door quickly to let him in. He dashes to the couch to crawl his way into the pile. 
You catch Eddie staring at you, trapped underneath all the kids as he nods his head for you to come back. So you do. Finding your spot and falling asleep with your family once more. 
“Would you just take a breath?” Eddie laughs, watching his oldest daughter rush around in a flurry of panic. 
He is standing in the center of the living room, doing his best to help her as she struggles to find her shoe. 
“Dad I can’t find it..” she mumbles. “He’s gonna be here any minute and I-“ 
“Just sit down a moment.” He mumbles, moving her to sit before he starts looking. He instantly finds, throwing it at her to catch easily before shuffling back to the kitchen to find you sitting with Ziggy as she shows you her most recent project. 
“How’s it going in there?” You ask, looking up at him for a second.  
“Found her shoe. I came to get you for pictures.” And within a moment you are up, kissing Ziggys head and dashing to find your camera for the photos. 
Eddie shuffles closer, snatching a chip from her bag as he looks at the oil painting. “Jesus. Did a teenage mutant ninja turtle possess you?” 
“Huh?” 
“You know? Micheal Angelo, Donatello-“ 
“Oh my god dad.” She groans as he picks up the painting. 
“This is really good. You're gonna submit it for something?” He asks. 
“My art teacher says I should compete in this art show thing.” Ziggy mumbles, watching him look at the painting.  “That one is called lifeline.” 
An extravagant oil painting with a blurry faced female holding a leather jacket. And when he tilts the photo he realizes that she had hidden bats into the jacket, using another paint so if it moved in the light you might be able to see the bats she had hidden. His bats. His tattoo but with them in a purplish paint hidden just the same were 4 birds. 
“You’re really talented.” He mumbles, fingers tracing over the birds. 
“Yeah yeah.” She blushes, snatching the painting back and shoving him away. 
“HES HERE!” Motley screams from the other room and Ziggy moves to go into the living room to watch Vinny park the car and take a moment to prep himself. 
He fixes his jacket and Motley is inside making sure all her makeup is set and perfect as he walks up the pathway. 
“Oh my god. Oh my god. Be cool.” She warns you and Eddie, trying to breathe. 
“We’re cool. You’re the one over there hyperventilating.” Eddie teases and she snatches a pillow to throw at him. 
The knock sounds at the door and Motley rushes to answer, tripping unceremoniously so Eddie has to catch her before she breaks an ankle. 
He helps her stand straight and moves to answer the door himself. 
“Vincent.” 
“Mr. Munson.” He smiles, already blushing. 
“Is there going to be drinking?” 
“No sir.” 
“Smoking?” 
“No sir.” 
“Sex?” 
“N-no sir.” 
“You know I can kick your ass if you hurt her. Right?” 
“My dad said the same thing.” 
“That he can kick your ass?” 
“No. That you could.” And Eddie can’t help but laugh, letting Motley pass. 
It’s another 30 minutes of you taking pictures and him giving her a corsage before they are taking off in his car, Motley smiling from ear to ear. 
“Wait…” Eddie mumbles, looking at you with panic. “Something is wrong.”
“What’s that?” 
“She’s leaving and I don’t feel that punching feeling in my gut.” He murmurs, looking genuinely confused. “I don’t feel the need to follow her and make sure she makes it there.”
“Yeah. Well if I trust anyone to protect my daughter it would be Harringtons kid.” You laugh. “Because we all know she will be the one throwing the punches and he will back her up.”
-
There was a nervousness in her stomach that she hadn’t gotten before, a blush on her cheeks as she does her best not to seem like she is going insane with panic. 
“I’m…. shit- sorry. I am really nervous.” He mumbles after messing with the radio awkwardly. 
“I’m nervous too.” Motley admits, smiling at him. 
“You? Nervous? What for? I am the one dating way above my natural league here.” He mumbles. Before she can respond he is pulling into the school parking lot. The Sadie Hawkins Dance. Hawkins High School went all out. 
There are balloon gates leading into the front doors and streamers covering the door itself. She kept a firm hold on his arm as they went to get the tickets, ignoring the way Aaron and his friends snicker when they see the both of them together. 
“Drinks first?”
“Lead the way.” Motley smiles. 
Eddie lays on the couch, reading the eragon book that Ozzy and Halen wouldn’t shut up about, with your head on his lap as you doze off. 
You had spent the morning helping your daughter get ready, and now you were tired. So he offered to help you fall asleep, and you had taken the chance, letting him play with your hair as you closed your eyes. He made it seem like he was doing you some huge favor, but truth was you were doing him a favor. 
Laying on the couch with you was his favorite thing, well laying with you in general. Gone were the days of having to jump all over each other, now you both were getting to the part in life where you just needed to be near each other. You rooted Eddie to this earth and he needed you like a hurricane needed wind. 
He would be nothing without you or the kids. Would still be a freak, spiraling into the unknown but you had given him everything he never knew he needed. 
Soon enough he found himself dropping the book on the floor, focusing on you, doing his best to memorize all your features the best he could as you slept peacefully. 
He understood Ziggys painting now. Lifeline. You were his lifeline. 
By the end of the night Motley and Vinny sat side by side on her front porch, laughing loudly as they shared a gallon of icecream they had stolen from the fridge. 
Her feet ached so she had taken off her heels and when he walked her to the door (he was very serious about Eddies curfew) but he hadn’t been ready to say goodnight yet so they decided on hanging out on the porch. She was technically home so her curfew was fulfilled. 
“Oh my gosh, Mr. Fitz tried to dance when the YMCA came on!” She giggles. “Smacked Margaret right in the face.”
“WHACK!” He laughs, imitating the slap. 
“That poor girl definitely left with a bruise.”
“And Aaron left with a bruised ego.” 
“HE DID!” Motley cackles loudly before covering her mouth when she realizes someone might hear her. 
“I should get going.” Vinny mumbles, watching her. “But I…. I have something for you.”
“Yeah?” 
“I…. well I found this the other night at DnD night…” He murmurs, digging into his pocket to pull out a chain with a really familiar necklace linked to it. 
“Oh my god.” Motley gasps, dropping her spoon. “Vinny-”
“I should have given it to you immediately but then I had this idea to- that was wrong wasn’t it? I should have just given it to you I am so sorry-” She leans forward quickly, kissing him before he could keep rambling. 
“That was the sweetest thing you could have ever done.” She whispers before hearing a thump from inside and pulling her attention to the door. 
“Goodnight.” He murmurs. 
“Goodnight.” She answers back, he kisses her again at the door before making sure she gets in without a problem and then walks to his car. 
Eddie is shuffling to the couch, eyes wide when he meets his daughters eyes. “I was not spying. I went to grab a blanket for your mother and I.”
Motley smiles, moving to hug him. 
“Did you have fun?” He asks, kissing the top of her head.
“So much fun. He was the perfect gentleman.” She whispers. “Goodnight dad.”
“Goodnight metalhead.” She moves to walk away and he calls out once more. “Your mother and I’s first date ended on the kitchen floor of that apartment you guys used to live in.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah. She had to get home to relieve the babysitter and I never wanted to let her go.” He smiles. 
“I’m glad you didn’t.” She smiles back before moving to go down the stairs. 
Time passes, quicker than Eddie would like, and yet as slow as they can be. 
He wants so badly to see his kids grow up and yet he just isn’t ready to let them go, he wants to see every second. 
Motley and Vinny go to prom together, and Steve and Nancy all get drunk with you and Eddie that night after you say bye to them. 
Soon enough he was saying goodbye to his firstborn daughter as her and her nerdy boyfriend drove off to college. He cried, so did you. Steve sobbed. 
Ziggy grew into this very hippie lifestyle, most of her clothes looked like they came from Steve Nicks closet and she smelled of incense more than anything. She focused on art, excelling at it truthfully, and as she went through high school Eddie found that he didn’t need to be as worried about boys taking advantage of one of his babies since she seemed absolutely disgusted by them. 
She came out to him in her sophomore year, he had been sitting with her in the garage, helping her staple a new canvas that was bigger than his car. She had been panicking all day about something, even Zeppelin had been feeding off her energy and whining. 
But then she blurts it out, a quick and simple “I like girls.”
He stops, unplugging the staple gun to turn and look at her, watching her face pinch with anxiety. 
“You got a girlfriend?” He asks. She shakes her head no and he nods. “You got a crush on someone?”
There was a nod on that one and he smiled. “Well any girl that gets ya will be a lucky son of a gun. And I mean that, because you are a very freaking special Ziggy. Always have been.”
She hugs him tightly, crying into his chest that night. 
Zeppelin passes away two months later, and Eddie finds himself with the grief of losing a child. He tells the kids that it was time, time for him to move on and find Wayne. He is completely devastated by it, but he tries to keep a brave face for Ziggy since she just lost her oldest best friend. 
He keeps his collar on the fireplace right next to Wayne's ashes and a photo of all of them at the park.. 
Once the boys hit freshman year their biggest fight starts…. Over another boy. Well more specifically Ozzy makes a friend and Halen gets mad that he never sees his twin anymore. 
The fight led to physical blows, and soon enough Eddie had to move Ozzy into Waynes old room just to get them to chill out. 
Ziggy graduates, barely (his poor sweet baby), and gets accepted into an art school so he has to say bye to yet another child. He had a gaping hole in his chest. 
When everyone comes back for Christmas that year it's a time for shock. Eddie’s two biggest shocks? The hole in his son's face and the ring on his daughter's finger. 
Ozzy looked different with his new piercing, a new punk grunge look that Eddie tried to support. He really did. But the piercing looked so infected and gross. 
“Did you do that in the bathroom with one of your moms earrings?” He teases, trying not to laugh straight in sons face. 
“Yes?” Ozzy answers which makes everyone laugh. 
“Next time just let me take you to get it pierced.”
 -
For the boys’ 16th birthday Eddie takes them to get a tattoo. They chose something silly, shocker. Eddie however added 5 bird silhouettes by his bats to symbolize the 5 most important people in his life. 
The day Vinny and Motley get married he walks her down the aisle, kissing her head once they reach the end and handing her off to Vinny. They get married with a red piece of yarn, just like you and Eddie had. 
They move into an apartment in Hawkins, and have a baby girl soon enough and Eddie is ecstatic to be a grandfather. He is at the hospital the day she is born, and once everyone is allowed into the room they rush to see the new baby while he rushes to see Motley. Kissing her head and wiping the hair out of her face as she cries happily. (I saw a tiktok where it said ‘everyone went to see my baby  and my dad immediately went to see his baby and immediately thought of Eddie)
He gets to hold the baby girl first, which makes Steve complain loudly but Vinny decided that Motley pushed her out so she got to decide who in the family held her first. 
For the boys’ highschool graduation Ziggy comes home and everyone takes a picture with them in their matching cap and gown. 
Ziggy in her fleetwood mac outfit, smiling from ear to ear as she hugs Halen close. Halen had decided on a buzz cut that suited him well, with one ear pierced. He smiled, arms linked with Ozzy who was a spitting image of Eddie. Motley hugged Ozzy tight, and the picture had caught the moment she realized her baby brother had a snake bite piercing, everyone laughing as she cursed out at him. 
Baby Stevie sat on Eddie's hip, smiling happily at her grandfather as he cooed at her. It had been a constant running joke on whether Stevie was named after Steve or if Motley had just been following the rock theme. 
We all know the answer. 
Ozzy went to New York after graduation while Halen ended up getting into a college in michigan. 
The very first you and Eddie have in your empty house is spent on the kitchen floor, eating macaroni and cheese straight from the pot as you both cry softly. 
It seemed like neither of you could decide whether you wanted to be upset or happy for your kids. 
It became a habit with you two, to sit on the floor to eat side by side just as you always used to. 
Stevie’s first Munson dinner happened the weekend of her first birthday. 
Everyone had come home for it, including all her aunts and uncles, and had chosen to stay in the house just like old times. This time with the addition of Vinny, who seemed so excited to be there in general. 
“Alright, you know the rules.” Eddie smiles at everyone, knees pressed to your own and Motleys. “I want to hear everything.” 
Stevie giggles in the center of the circle, tearing apart the muffin she had been given before marching over to where her uncle Ozzy was sitting and plopping herself in his lap which makes everyone laugh. 
Ziggy tells them about her classes at the art school, and all the paintings she had been selling. She talks about a new girlfriend and jokes about the time she got trapped in her bathroom for an entire day until her girlfriend came home from work. She talks about struggling with being so far away from the family all the time.
Halen talks about his classes, complaining very loudly about his grades before moving on to complain about his dorm mate that never stopped jacking off which makes Eddie laugh. He talks about wanting to drop out, and what he would do after. Eddie is quick to let him know they had his back no matter what, even if he wanted to sell all his stuff and go traveling around the world. 
Ozzy goes on a rant about the girl that lives across the hall. He rants about how he hates her hair and her choice in music, and how his roommate is constantly checking her out. He says she is the most annoying person on the planet and Eddie risks a knowing look with you. Smiles on both your faces as he continues to rant. By the time he is done he looks around the group as everyone holds in their laughter. “What?”
“You’re just…. So oblivious.” Vinny mumbles which makes Ozzy flip him off. 
“Says you!” Ozzy snaps. “You chased after my sister for years you whiny little-”
“Cuss in front of my granddaughter and I will end your life.” Eddie mumbles quickly which makes Ozzy roll his eyes while smiling.
Motley just tells stories about things that have happened with Stevie, which everyone loves. 
Eddie catches them up on his therapy sessions, and you catch the kids up on your health. The family close together once more. 
Eddie Munson was home, and he would have it no other way.
-And with that we say goodbye to the Munson family. I do have more Eddie works coming out. Let me know if you would like to be tagged and I truly hope you all liked the story. -
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corroded-hellfire · 1 year
Text
Wrong Crush - Eddie Munson x Reader
Summary: Eddie thinks Will has a crush on you. When he doesn’t believe your protests, Will decides it’s time he’s let in on a secret.
Note: This really just came about because Will Byers is my son and I love him with all my heart and want to protect him from the world. Also, Will totally would have had a crush on Eddie. 
Warnings: platonic!will byers x reader, language, coming out, i think that’s it?
Words: 3.2k
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Eddie’s second favorite thing in the whole world was Hellfire Club. With the first being you, obviously. Even after, finally, graduating from high school, Eddie still got together with the guys once a week to play DND. Dustin kept the game going at school, but it was a whole different level when the guys played the game with Eddie.
Friday nights became Hellfire nights for the guys, and you and the girls would have a girl’s night. Whether you had dinner, went to a movie, or just hung out at someone’s house having wine, it was a nice night for everyone. Eddie would always come home to your shared apartment with a smile on his face, telling of either the valiant effort it took the guys to beat his campaign, or of his success in defeating the gang.
But lately, Eddie would come home from Hellfire nights in a less-than-happy mood. You’d ask if something was wrong, but Eddie would always deny. You knew, though. He wasn’t his happy self.
One Thursday, a day before the beginning of the next campaign, Will came by after school.
“Are you sure?” you ask him as you sit at the kitchen table. You cup your coffee mug in your hands and lean in towards him.
“No, I’m not sure,” he says with a shrug. “But it seems like he is. It’s not like I’m going to come out and ask him, though.”
“Why don’t you try to hang out with him?” you offer. “Does he like DND?”
“No,” he says with a shake of his head. “He’s a baseball player. Total jock.”
“So, what makes you think he’s gay?” You didn’t want to sound harsh, but you couldn’t stand the thought of Will getting hurt.
Will runs his hands over his hair and sighs. “Just like…a feeling, I don’t know. All these girls want to go out with him, but he never wants to. He’s quiet when his friends talk about dating.”
“You’re eavesdropping on his conversations, huh?” you ask with a smirk.
“Shut up,” Will says as his cheeks turn red.
“Look, I just don’t want you to get hurt again.” You reach across the table and take Will’s hand in your own. You’ll never forget the heartbreak Will went through when he revealed his feelings to Mike. Thankfully, they were able to put it past them and continue to be best friends, but Will had been severely depressed. Will still wasn’t out to everyone, but you were one of the lucky ones he trusted with his secret.
“I know,” Will says.
The front door opens and Eddie walks in, grease and oil smudges on his white t-shirt.
“Hey, babe.” He kicks his boots off and comes to a halt when he sees Will at the table. His eyes snap to your joined hands. “Hey, Will.”
“Hey, Eddie.” Will smiles and bashfully pulls his hand out of yours. “I was just heading out.”
“Oh sweetie, you don’t have to,” you tell Will.
“No, I better get home for dinner. I’ll see you later. See you tomorrow, Eddie?”
“Yeah, sure thing.” Eddie smiles at him but you can tell it’s forced.
“Bye!” Will calls as he walks out the door.
You take your cold coffee mug over to the sink while Eddie washes his hands.
“What’d he want?” Eddie asks.
His tone makes you frown. “Why’d he have to want anything? We’re friends.”
“Yeah,” Eddie says sharply as he shakes water droplets off his hands, eyes searching for a towel.
You hand him one and scowl. “What is your problem?”
“I don’t have a problem.” He roughly dries his hands before tossing the towel on the counter. You watch as he stalks over to your bedroom, tension tight in his back and shoulders.
“Could’ve fooled me,” you say as you follow him. “Bad day at work?”
“Nope,” he tells you as he strips his shirt off. His eyes won’t meet yours as he pulls on a Metallica tee. He goes to walk out of the bedroom, but you step in his path.
“Babe, come on,” you say. He sighs and you place your hands on his chest, rubbing softly. “When have you ever been able to lie to me? Hmm? Come on, talk to me.”
Eddie drops his head forward and lets out a groan. He takes a deep breath before raising his head and meeting your gaze.
“Will has a crush on you.”
It takes everything in you not to immediately smile and laugh, telling Eddie how wrong he is. But you manage to compose yourself and nod your head a few times, thoughtfully.
“What makes you say that?”
Eddie gently places his hands on your hips and tugs you closer. “Every week in Hellfire he talks to me about you. He’s always hanging out here. And every time I come home, he gets all flustered and leaves.”
And what else could that all mean? You think to yourself. With a deep breath, you lean forward and press a kiss to Eddie’s cheek.
“Sweetheart, Will does not have a crush on me,” you assure him. “He’s just comfortable talking to me about things that he isn’t comfortable talking about with other people.”
“Like what?”
“I can’t tell you,” you say. “They’re not my secrets to share.” Eddie huffs and sidesteps you, exiting the bedroom. With a groan, you follow him into the kitchen. “What, you want me to betray his trust? What kind of friend do you think I am?”
“You’re just not listening to me,” Eddie says. “I’m uncomfortable around him now. I know to us he’s just a kid, but what if he thinks it could be more?”
“Eddie.” You walk forward and take his face in your hands. “Is this why you’ve been grumpy coming home from Hellfire?”
He nods and rests your forehead against yours. “I know, I’m sorry. I’m not jealous, I swear. I just don’t want him having a crush on my girl.”
You peck his lips and wrap your arms around his middle. “If you promise to be nice to him tomorrow night, I’ll talk to him.”
“Deal.”
What you were going to say, you weren’t sure.
 On Saturday, you pick Will up from his house and grab burgers for lunch. You go to the park, away from other people because you don’t want anyone else to hear what you’re going to talk about.
“I talked to him at school,” Will tells you. “In biology class. Told him I liked his Hoosiers shirt. I only knew what it was because of Hop.”
“Good! I’m glad you worked up the courage.”
As much as you knew Will, he knew you just the same. He could tell something was on your mind and would do anything he could to help you with it.
“What’s up?” He asks.
You sigh and fold up your burger wrapper. “I’ve got a problem.”
“Anything I can do?” Will asks.
“I don’t know,” you say honestly. “I don’t want to make you feel uncomfortable.”
“Oh, come on,” he says with a smile. “I doubt you could ever do that.”
“Eddie thinks you have a crush on me.” Better to rip the Band-Aid right off. Will’s face drops and his eyebrows pull together.
“Why would he think that?” He asks.
“Because you talk to him about me at Hellfire. You come over and hang out with me and leave when he gets home.”
“W-Well, that’s because-.”
“I know. I know, Will,” you say. “I told him you didn’t, but he doesn’t believe me.”
Will drops his head back and balls up the fast-food bag in his hands. He lets out a long, loud groan and flops down on his back.
“I know, sweetie. I’m sorry.” You lay down next to him and reach over for his hand. He laces his fingers with yours as he stares up at the sky.
“Will he hate me if he knows?”
“Oh, not at all.” You sit up straight and lean over so you can look him directly in the eyes. “He knows about Robin, and you’ve seen them together. Thick as thieves. He doesn’t care who she loves, and he won’t care who you love.”
“Promise?” Will asks. There are tears in his eyes, and it breaks your heart. You want to punch anyone who ever made him feel, or anyone who ever will make him feel, like he isn’t worthy. Worthy of love, worthy of friendship, worthy of respect.
“I promise.”
“I don’t want to lose his friendship,” he says quietly.
“You won’t.” You bring your joined hands up to your mouth and press a kiss to his knuckles. “He loves you, Will. He’s just irked right now because he thinks you’re moving in on his turf.”
He cracks a smile, and you breathe a sigh of relief. With your free hand, you pat his chest a few times.
“Nothing will change if he knows. I guarantee it.”
“Okay,” he says. “You can tell him, then.”
“Are you sure? Because I don’t want you to feel like I’m pressuring you or forcing you into anything.”
“You’re not. Eddie’s my friend. He’s a good friend. I would’ve told him eventually, anyway. But I don’t want him to be upset with you. Or me.”
“Honestly, the first time he sees you after he finds out, he’s probably going to give you the biggest hug ever and everyone is going to look at him like he’s crazy.”
Will laughs and sits up. “That’s okay, I like hugs.”
“Good. Because you’re about to get another one.” You pounce on Will and knock him back down to the ground. He laughs and squirms as you snake your arms around his chest. “Just let me hug you!”
“You’re squeezing me!” he shouts between bouts of laughter.
“It’s how I show my love!”
“Poor Eddie.”
You sit back up quickly, jaw dropped, as you stare at him.
“William Byers, was that a dirty joke?”
He looks up at you with wide innocent eyes, cheeks pink, and shakes his head. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
You lean back down to tickle along his ribs, causing him a new fit of laughter.
“Eddie’s going to have to teach you some dirty jokes because that one was pretty tame.”
 When you get home from dropping Will off, Eddie is sprawled out on the couch, a can of beer in his hand.
“Is that sports I hear on the television?” you ask as you set your purse down.
“Most guys spend Saturdays watching football and drinking beer. I figured I’d try it.”
“And?”
“It fucking sucks.” He picks up the remote and turns the television off before walking over to join you in the kitchen. “Who cares how far some guy can run the ball down the field? What does it matter if Florida State University beats the University of Florida? It’s a game and it’s stupid.”
“I know, baby,” you say. “It’s not an important game like DND.”
“Yes, exactly. You get me.” He rests his head against yours and you let out a laugh at your boyfriend’s dramatics. Anyone who knew you as a couple knew that you weren’t the drama queen in the relationship.
“So, how did it go with Will?” Eddie asks.
“Good,” you tell him. The kitchen table is behind you, and you lead Eddie over to it, your knee knocking into one of the matching blue chairs on the way.
“What’s up?” Eddie asks. You lean forward, arms sprawled over to Eddie’s side of the table. He takes your hands in his and pulls them up to his mouth to breathe hot air on them when he finds them cold.
“I talked to him,” you say.
“And?”
“Eddie, he did not and does not have a crush on me. I wish you would’ve believed me,” you say.
“Princess, it’s not that I don’t trust you. Or think you’re lying to me. It’s just kind of what the evidence led me to believe.”
“Well, it’s not true. And to prove it even further, Will has given me permission to tell you one of his secrets.”
“He has?” Eddie looks surprised and a little flattered.
“Why not? He said you’re good friends.”
“We are,” Eddie agrees.
“Alright then.” You grip his hands in yours and make sure he’s paying attention to you. “Well, how I knew with such certainty that Will doesn’t have a crush on me, is because he couldn’t. He doesn’t have crushes on girls, Eddie.”
Eddie’s face screws up in confusion. “What? Like, does he think they still have cooties or something? He’s eighteen, right?”
You snort out a laugh and shake your head. “No, baby. I mean, yes, he is eighteen, but he doesn’t think girls have cooties. He just doesn’t like girls in that way.” At Eddie’s still confused face, you continue. “He doesn’t like girls the way that you do. Or the way that Steve or Mike do. He likes boys, like how Robin likes girls.”
Understanding dawns on Eddie’s face and his eyebrows raise so high you think they’d disappeared in his hair. “So, he’s gay?”
“Yes,” you say, weight taken off your chest.
“Oh,” Eddie drawls, as if this clicks pieces of a puzzle together for him.
“And now he’s worried you’re going to think differently of him once you know.”
Eddie frowns and shakes his head. “I would never do that.”
“I know, that’s what I told him,” you say.
Eddie shrugs. “I don’t care who he wants to be with. As long as it’s not my girl, it’s fine.”
“You’ve gotta still treat him like one of the guys,” you tell him. “The last thing he wants is to be treated differently. He’s still the same Will he’s always been.”
“I will, I will, don’t worry.” Eddie stands up from the table and opens the fridge, eyes scanning on what he could make for dinner.
You watch him. Nothing in his demeanor has changed. He doesn’t look more tense, actually the opposite. He’s relieved there was a simple explanation for what was bothering him. Eddie frowns into the fridge though, before closing it and turning to you.
“Wait,” he says. “But that doesn’t…explain why he’s always talking to me about you at Hellfire. And why he gets all flustered when I come home. Unless all your conversations before I come home are about his sexuality, which I doubt.”
“I mean,” you say, your voice an octave higher than you meant it to be. “There’s an explanation for that as well.”
“Do I get to hear it?” Eddie waits with a hand on his hip, leaning against the refrigerator door.
“Okay, so,” you start as you stand up from the table. You’re trying to come up with the right words to say and Eddie takes this to mean you’re stalling. He urges you forward with a hand motion, and you roll your eyes at him. “So, at Hellfire, right? Who’s he talking to?”
“Me,” Eddie says.
“Mhmm. And you said he gets flustered when who comes home?”
“Me.”
You raise your eyebrows at him, and he shrugs.
“Are you going to get to the point?” he asks.
“Oh, God,” you say as you rub your hands over your face. For such a clever man, he wasn’t always the quickest with picking up emotional clues. “Okay, so there’s two people who live in this apartment. Will has a crush on one of them.”
Eddie’s face scrunches up in confusion. “But you just told me- oh.” Eddie’s face changes so quickly that it makes you laugh. From confusion, to raised eyebrows as he takes in this new information.
“Huh,” he says. He pushes off the refrigerator and takes the few steps over to you. “So, he thinks I’m hot, huh?” The self-satisfied smirk on his face makes you roll your eyes.
“You tease him about this, and I swear to God, Eddie-.”
“Hey, hey, hey. I wouldn’t do that.” His face still looks self-satisfied even if the smirk has fallen off. “Just means he has good tastes.”
“And what, he didn’t when you thought he had a crush on me?” you ask, crossing your arms.
“Now sweetheart, this isn’t about you,” Eddie placates playfully with a pat on the top of your head. He knows he’s winding you up, but he also knows that you’re aware he’s just goofing off.
You glare up at him. “You’re the worst. Let Will spend a week with you and these feelings go away. He’ll have complete focus on that baseball player at school then.”
“Aw baby,” Eddie coos as he wraps you up in his arms. “Don’t get jealous. You know I’m not into guys, and Will is a kid, so you’re stuck with me. Forever and ever.”
“Jealousy isn’t the word I’d use,” you say, staying still as he squeezes you in his grip.
“What word would you use?”
“Annoyed.”
Eddie lets out a bark of laughter and presses a chaste kiss to your lips.
“You’re just thrown off because now there’s someone who thinks I’m the hot one in the relationship.”
“I’ve always thought you were the hot one in the relationship!”
“Mm, well you’re wrong.” He leans in for another kiss and this one is far less chaste. “Always been you,” he mumbles against your lips.
“Alright, sweet talker,” you say. “It’s time to put up or shut up.”
Eddie scoops you up into his arms and plops you down on the bed before you can even let out a laugh.
 On Monday, Will comes back over after school. He wants to make sure that the conversation with Eddie went alright.
“He spent all of yesterday telling me how bad he felt for getting upset when he thought you liked me. If we had the money, I swear he’d buy you a car just to ease his guilt.”
Will laughs and takes a sip of his coffee. “I’m relieved. Not just that telling him went okay, but that another person in my life knows. It seems kind of daunting that I’m going to have to tell the people I care about for like, the rest of my life. But you telling Eddie kind of took that piece of the burden off me, and I’m thankful.”
“You don’t have to tell anyone you don’t want to, whenever you don’t want to,” you say. “It’s all your call. It’s your life so you get to call all the shots when it comes to that.”
Will smiles gratefully at you before the front doorknob starts to turn. Eddie steps inside and grins when he sees the two of you there. It’s a nice change from how the last few weeks have gone. You’re just praying Eddie doesn’t say something stupid as he drops his keys and comes over to the table.
“Can I hug you?” Eddie asks.
Will looks like he might cry if he opens his mouth, so he nods instead. He stands up and Eddie pulls him into a bear hug. You know how tight those squeezes of his can be, and that he reserves them for the moments that call for them. This was certainly one of those times.
Eddie pulls away and places his hands on Will’s shoulder. He looks Will straight in the eye and gives him a smile.
“Still love you, dude. You’re not getting rid of me that easily.”
Will nods through a tearful smile and Eddie pulls him back in for another hug. You wipe away a few tears of your own as Eddie smiles at you over Will’s shoulder.
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tineteenieworld3 · 1 year
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My take, my take: I DON’T think Will, especially at this point in their relationship/friendship, would appreciate any outside input when it comes to Mike.
Let me explain. I see a lot of posts (and this is just my opinion it’s not a slap to anyone of course, I think it’s a mean thing to do in general but whatever) about Will gossiping or talking shit about Mike with El or with El and Max and I personally just don’t like that. If you do, absolutely nothing wrong with that, I respect that 100%
I mean, in my opinion, Mike deserves better than that. But #2, the relationship Will has with Mike is so vastly different than the one El has. When El gossips with Max about Mike, it displays immaturity to us. A good way of showing the middle school ish parts of it.
Anyway, I always babble, back to the point. I couldn’t ever see Will doing that. The thing I love about Mike and Will is that they are kind of private when it comes to the two of them, and they have this immense respect and love for one another.
In my opinion, Will would never ever open his mouth to gossip in any negative way, or maybe even at all, about Mike. Especially with El, the amount of disrespect in that is insane (again I know they aren’t real and it’s just for fun so absolutely zero hate whatsoever)
At most maybe he’d tease Mike with Lucas and Dustin, but that would probably be when Mike is there and involved, not behind his back.
Idk, I just think we’re shown such maturely, love, and respect when it comes to byler. These two boys are so selfless when it comes to one another, they’re best friends and actually just love eachother so much. Will wouldn’t, in my opinion, go around gossiping about him.
Will is gonna stand up for Mike in a way very few others would. He’s not, again my opinion, gonna go to Mike’s ex girlfriend and talk about him behind his back.
Mike and Will are so good because they don’t take outside influence or input, their relationship is only their own, and that’s what makes them so fantastic.
Anyway that’s just my confusing take cause I’m all over the place, but yeah. Will would ‘keep my wife’s name out your fucking mouth (in a politer way)’ to anyone. Maybe not season 3 Will tho, and to be fair that was Mike’s villain era.
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byeoltoyuki · 5 months
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my kind of fighter
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↳ Pairing: Felix x Reader
❧ Genre : Fluff / friends to lovers / smut
❧ Words : 2k
❧ Summary :  “Are you sure I can’t punch him in the face?” “Yes.” “What if I just break his nose a little?”
A seminar, a great invention according to your manager, to learn new things, meet new people and spend some quality time with selected colleagues. A great moment to strengthen the bonds between you. It did sound like a great idea, but only theoretically. What if you found yourself among a bunch of arrogant, narcissistic assholes? Not that great anymore, was it?
It wasn’t your first seminar; somehow you always ended on the list and fortunately for you so did Felix, the only reason you hadn’t snapped. Felix with his bright smile, cute freckles and his just too lovable personality; nobody could possibly resist this man and you were definitely not an exception. Despite his rather boyish look, he could be bitchy and incredibly straight forward – just what you needed to appreciate him more. Did you mention that he was also hella good looking? No? He was. Sadly.
Now, unfortunately for you, the two of you weren’t the only one on the list, Mike, your colleague who also happened to be a piece of shit, was on the list. Out of the three of you, he was definitely the one enjoying this seminar the most; after all he had a bunch of new people to impress, to brag about his skills, his projects (that weren’t his in the first place).  Your dislike for Mike wasn’t a new thing, you weren’t hiding it and Felix knew the extent of your hatred better than anyone.
“This project got us a big client! Quite frankly I’m impressed with myself.” You heard Mike talking from the corner of the room, frowning at his words. “I’m sure I’ll get a nice bonus and a promotion.”
You scoffed at the audacity of this man and averted your eyes from his disgusting face for the sake of your sanity.
“Relax.” Felix whispered as he leaned closer to you. Maybe to make sure you wouldn’t snap out of nowhere or maybe he just wanted to be close to you and give you some comfort (his presence did help you to relax half of the time). Or maybe both. “It’s Mike, you know how he is.”
You took a deep breath, counted till ten in your head and then looked at Felix. “I know but I still want to punch his face. And maybe break his nose too.”
Felix couldn’t stop himself from imagining the scene and chuckling. What a sight it would be. And a lot of trouble too. “As appealing as it sounds, it’s a no.”
“Are you sure I can’t punch him in the face?” You asked again, trying to do your best puppy eyes (as if it could work on Felix).
“Yes.” “What if I just break his nose a little?”
“Y/N.” “Fine! Whatever.” You huffed and turned to look back at the people in the room, avoiding Felix’s eyes on purpose, pouting.
Felix shook his head, quite amused with you. He knew, of course, that if he didn’t object to your wish, you would have done it and damn the consequences. He couldn’t let you do it. “Oh no.” You groaned, noticing that Mike was done bragging and was walking towards you. Even with Felix’s comforting presence, you tensed, knowing that you couldn’t avoid the man and his bullshit.
“Felix! Y/N!” Mike called for you, too cheerful for your liking. “Why are you standing by yourself? Come on! I have some really nice people to introduce you to!”
Whoever considered Mike interesting and believed his bullshit wasn’t worth your time in your opinion, but you forced yourself not to comment.
“We’re fine here.” You finally replied, trying not to sound too annoyed.
Mike cocked a brow at you, clearly unconvinced but it didn’t fazed him that much. He stood by your side and didn’t hesitate to wrap an arm around your waist. “Come on, you need to relax, darling.” The nerve, you thought. This was also why you hated Mike with all your guts. He believed he owed everything and everybody; he believed he could touch any woman without consequences. You hated his touch. You hated his scent. And you hated it even more when you felt his hand getting lower, dangerously close to your butt.
“Sorry Mike,” Felix started to attract Mike’s attention on him. If Felix wanted to throttle him, he didn’t show it, but you knew better. He was definitely holding back. “But Y/N and I already have plans. We were about to leave.”
Mike didn’t reply for a moment. He watched Felix, frowning with clear displease but finally let go of you. He stepped back, his eyes going back and forth between you as you neared closer to Felix. “I’ve been wondering for a while but…” He smirked as he stared knowingly at Felix. “Are you guys fucking?”
“None of your fucking business!” You finally snapped, blood boiling, ready to jump at him and finally break his nose. Whether Felix liked it or not.
Before you could do something that would definitely feel good for you but attract even more unwanted attention, Felix grabbed your hand and pulled you against him, holding your hand tightly in hope to calm you down. The gesture only made Mike’s smile grew wider.
“Guess you are.” He commented, “Aren’t you a lucky man.”
Luckily for you or him, you weren’t sure about who was really the lucky one, he left the two of you alone. You pushed Felix away, fuming with rage. You knew, of course, he was right holding you back but in a moment of pure hatred, you couldn’t think straight.
“I can’t believe you stopped me.” You yanked your hand from his gentle yet strong grip.
“He’s not worth the trouble.”
“So I have to deal not only with his bullshits but also with his disgusting behavior?”
“Y/N…”
“Don’t bother. I’m going back to my room.”
*** The moment you got back to your room, you disregarded all your clothes and went straight to the shower, wanting the hot water to wash Mike’s scent from your skin and erase his existence from your mind. It did help. To some extent. But with this shower came also the realization that you hadn’t been very nice to Felix. He was looking out for you and in your anger you didn’t see it. You promised to yourself to apologize later.
Later came sooner than you expected.
You were scrolling through your phone, wearing the oversized t-shirt you brought in your bag, relaxing when someone knocked the door.
You hesitated, wanting to be left alone, yet your curiosity got the best of you.
“Hi.” Felix said, smiling sheepishly at you as you opened the door. But his smile slowly vanished from his face as he noticed what you were wearing. He gulped, trying not to stare, trying to keep his eyes on your face. He cleared his throat. “Can I come in?”
You didn’t trust yourself to speak, instead you moved from his way to let him in. It was your chance to apologize for your behavior but your voice got stuck in your throat as you silently observed him.
“I’m sorry for earlier.” He apologized, taking you completely off guard.
“What?” “I shouldn’t have stopped you. Especially not after he touched you.”
And yet, you knew he was absolutely right stopping you from getting in trouble. You watched him for a moment, watched as he clenched his fists before releasing a long sigh.
“You’re not the one who should be apologizing.” You finally said as you got closer to him. “I shouldn’t have snapped at you. I’m sorry.”
Felix shook his head and took your hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. “I should have let you stand up for yourself. Mike will never learn. Not until someone teaches him a lesson.”
You stayed this way for a moment. Felix didn’t let go of your hand, not that you minded, quite the opposite. His gentle touch was more than welcomed and made your heart beat a little faster.
After a moment, Felix took another step closer to you, your bodies so close to each other, you could feel his warmth.
“You know that I would always fight for you, right?” He said, eyes locked with yours. He was looking at you with so much intensity, with so much longing, you could melt right on the spot. You were always close to him. But this? This was new and too overwhelming. You averted your eyes from him face and gulped - Felix was having none of it. Gently, he grabbed your chin and made you look at him. “Y/N?”
Was he trying to kill you? Because, you thought, he was doing a rather good job. “Yes.” You managed somehow to say but didn’t sound as confident as you were supposed to.
Felix hummed, satisfied but didn’t let go of your face, his eyes on your lips. “I really want to kiss you right now.” He admitted
Did you want him to kiss you? The answer was on the tip of your tongue but you held back. Crossing the line was dangerous, you knew it and he had to know it too. And yet, he didn’t seem bothered, so should you?
“Say something, please.” He begged, hopeful.
It was pure madness, there was no other way to describe what you were about to do, but you couldn’t deny your own feelings. Because yes, you wanted to kiss him. You wanted him to hold you in his arms. You wanted to feel his lips, his touches, everything.
“Fuck it.” You cursed under your breath, pulled him by his collar and crashed your mouth against his.
Felix didn’t hesitate, not even for a second; he wrapped his arms around your body and pulled you fully against him, lifting you lightly from the floor. Just like you, he wanted to feel all of you, he wanted to know your touch, your taste, everything you were willing to show him, to give him.
“Fucking finally.” He groaned against your lips.
The kiss was just everything you had ever imagined. Needy but sweet. Desperate and yet controlled. Butterflies erupted in your stomach as you poured all your feelings, all your needs into the kiss.
Felix lifted you from the floor, wrapping your legs around him as he carried you to your bed, lips never leaving yours. He broke the kiss only to drop you on the bed. He stilled and admired the view before him. Your t-shirt was barely covering your body which made him realize that you wore absolutely nothing underneath. He licked his lips, memorizing every part of your body, every curve, every mole, every little scar. You were perfect and he couldn’t wait to explore you, to make you his.
“It shouldn’t be allowed to look so good.” He whispered and quickly got rid of his shirt, exposing a perfect skin and abs; you couldn’t wait to trace your lips over his body.
“Look who’s talking.” You giggled and wiggled your brows playfully at him.
Felix got on his knees, grabbed your ankles and pulled you to the edge of the bed. He didn’t hesitate; he kissed your right ankle while having his eyes on you, watching you like a prey, watching as you inhaled sharply. His lips trailed from your ankle to your calf, to your knee, leaving loving kisses here and there. He was so delicate, so sweet, turning you on even more. He was so close yet so far from where you needed him most.
“Felix.” You pleaded
“Hm?” He smiled against your skin. 
“Are you going to make me beg?” You asked and regretted almost instantly your question as Felix looked at you (looking too beautiful between your legs) smiling too proudly for your liking. He liked the idea.
He pressed another kiss to your inner thigh. “So tempting.” Yes, it was and you would absolutely beg if it came to that because it was Felix, the sweetest person on earth. Because he was your comfort person. Because you wanted to give him everything he wanted.
“But, as tempting as it sounds,” He started and gave a light lick to your pussy, just to have a taste. He groaned. “I don’t think I can resist your sweet pussy, love.”
Thank god, you thought.
Felix didn’t hesitate any longer and dove in. He licked, he sucked, he feasted on you, already addicted to your taste. How did he manage all this time to resist you was a mystery even to him. Now that he had you, now that he had a taste, Felix knew, there was no way in the world he would let you go. There was no way he would allow another one to touch you.
“Felix.” You moaned and arched your back in pure bliss. But you still needed more, wanted to feel more.
“So sweet.” Felix hummed in satisfaction, memorizing now not only your taste but also your voice, your sweet and lovely moans.
Felix pushed at first a finger inside you, then quickly added a second one, thrusting them in and out, watching how your pretty moans got louder, how you rocked your hips wanting to feel him deeper inside you.
“Fuck, fuck.”
“Look at you, love.” Felix purred, “So eager, so wet. And just for me.”
“Just for you.” You managed to say in your dizzy state. You could barely hear him. You could barely think when he was reaching all the right spots.
His tongue, his fingers were all you needed to fall apart, to come completely undone with one silent scream.
Felix rose from the floor and while staring at you, eyes filled with lust, he licked his fingers, taking his time – you almost came once more with the sight. He knew exactly what he was doing to you.
“I’ll never get enough.” He admitted
You wanted to taste him too. To mark him. To pleasure him. Before you could do any of that, Felix disregarded the rest of his clothes and joined you, hovering over you, pushing your legs apart a little bit further.
You always knew that Felix was beautiful, but now that you saw him fully naked, his warmth enveloping you, you knew that beautiful wasn’t the right word to describe him. Unable to say anything else, you wrapped your arms around his neck and pulled him for a needy, wet kiss, softly moaning into the kiss as you felt him against you.
Felix slowly eased inside you, inch by inch, stretching you.
“Fuck love, you feel so fucking good.” Felix growled, his voice sounding deeper than ever. He stilled and took a moment to pepper your face with kisses, to kiss your jaw, your neck while giving you a moment to adjust.
Nothing and nobody could compare to Felix, not then and definitely not now. Not when he was gently thrusting into you, setting a slow, loving yet deep rhythm, making you whimper and moan his name, begging for more. The world around you simply ceased to exist as he kissed you, loving you with his every thrust, with his every kiss, with his fingers working their magic on your clit, slowly bringing you to a shattering release you were sure you had never experienced before. Maybe he was that good, or maybe with Felix, everything felt different.
“Can I say it now?” Felix asked, growling as he sought his own release. “I love you.”
Your heart leaped up for joy. You kissed him fiercely, letting him explode inside you as you poured your own feelings into the kiss, hoping he could feel just how much you loved him back.
Felix fell on top of you, head resting on your breast, his warm breath tickling your sensitive skin. You ran your fingers through his locks.
“I love you too.” You whispered, “In case you doubted.”
Felix lifted his head to look at you. He gifted you with his sweetest and brightest smile you had ever seen. How could you not love him?
***
Despite the few hours you managed to sleep, you felt happier than ever, filled with new energy – enough to face the face and fight the world if needed. Felix, by your side, mirrored your expression as you had breakfast on the terrace of your hotel. The weather was lovely and so was your sight.
“I think, this seminar was useful, for once.” You admitted between two bites. “I can’t even complain anymore.”
Felix chuckled fondly. “I’m sure you’ll find something to complain about.”
Felix was absolutely right. You would.
“Wait-“ Just when you were about to stuff your mouth with your yummy pancake, you spotted Mike getting to a table by the window. You frowned, taken aback. He was alone which was so out of character, but maybe it had everything to do with his swollen nose. You gasped loudly and dropped your fork. “No way!” You pointed an accusing finger at Felix. “His nose was mine to break!”
Felix tried to look guilty but one look at your pouty face and he burst into laughter. “Sorry.”
It was hard to feign being mad at him when he looked at you like that. Who could possibly be strong enough to resist his pretty smile and his eyes? Definitely not you.
“I promise; next time I won’t hold you back.” He swore. “I’ll try not to.” He quickly added.
“Sounds like a plan.”
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ladykailitha · 1 year
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The Eddie Munson Guide to Dating an Oblivious Jock Part 2
LOL! I am loving the reactions for this. This is going to be part fun, with a little a seriousness, because Steve does have to be built up a bit.
Part 1
*
Step Three and Four: Getting your crush alone and Building Their Self-Esteem
This next two are interchangeable depending on your jock. If you think building their confidence is needed before you get them alone, you’ll need to do that first. But you if think that getting them away from their peer group first is essential to building their confidence; get them alone first.
“I think with Lucas,” Max said, “I would need to get him alone first. Because I don’t think he realizes how much they look down on him.”
Eddie nodded. “I did the opposite way with Steve. I needed build his confidence in front of everyone else, so that they would stop picking on his intelligence.”
Max nodded. She had been there for a couple of those smack downs. And she approved.
Now that you’ve established a shared interest, you’ll want to get them alone with you as often as possible. It’s harder to make moves on oblivious jockus, when there are others around to block you, make fun of your attempts, or even catch on to what your doing. Because if they figure it out before the jock, then they’ll tell him and ruin your plans. You want him to come to you all on his own and not because his friends told him to.
But as I said, I had to build his confidence first.
“Look, I know what a gorgon is,” Steve complained. “And I know what a demogorgon is. But what you just said right now, the gelatinous cube thing? That sounds like something I did at a rager.”
“Can you not talk about your slutty past while we’re talking about D&D, please?” Dustin asked, rolling his eyes.
Steve threw his arms in the air. “I’m not! I’m just saying it sounds stupid.”
“It’s not stupid!” Mike cried. “It nearly ate me. And it destroyed my shield. And and part of my armor!”
“This isn’t real life, man,” Lucas said. “I know we’ve gone up against some pretty heinous shit, but in the game world it’s pretty scary.”
Eddie ran his tongue over his teeth and he grinned that closed mouth grin that made him look condescending. Steve raised an eyebrow, fully expecting Eddie to join in on the dog piling.
“It’s pretty lame, guys,” Eddie said, kicking back and putting his feet up on the table, interlocking his fingers behind his head. “In fact it was pretty pathetic you got caught in it all.”
Steve pointed to Eddie. “See?”
Eddie grinned. “I was bored. And we weren’t really moving forward in the campaign so I threw it at you to see what you would do. And Mike pretty much tripped and fell into it.”
Dustin, Mike, and Lucas all winced.
“And Steve is allowed an opinion,” Eddie growled. “Even to an outsider, a gelatinous cube sounds lame. Now everyone apologize to Steve.”
The three boys looked at each other in shame and they mumbled their apologies.
Steve straightened up.
Once you start building up his esteem, give your jock opportunities to show off his intelligence.
Steve was waiting for Eddie to divvy up gold and experience. He frowned at all the stats they were rattling off.
“How do you keep track of all this stuff?” he asked.
“Well,” Mike said with a sneer, “if you weren’t so slow...”
“Hey,” Will defended. “You try remembering all that stuff with three concussions.”
Eddie just shook his head. “It’s not about intelligence, Steve. It’s about interest.”
Dustin frowned. “No it’s not.”
“I can prove it,” Eddie replied. Steve had his hands on his hips, his mouth a firm line. “Hey, Steve whose team is arguably the best in the NBA?”
Steve’s frown deepened, but he starting talking about who had the best defense and whose offense was superior before landing on a specific team.
All four boys stared at him in shock.
“Now who understood that?” Eddie asked, gleefully rubbing his hands together.
Lucas raised a tentative hand.
Eddie nodded. “Because you’re interested, right?”
The boy nodded.
“Hey, Steve?” Eddie called again, this time Steve looked a little less leery. “Who do you think will win the World Series this year? Not your favorite team, but the best one overall.”
Steve’s eyes lit up. And he rambled on for about five minutes explaining who had the best chances of going all the way.
Again all mouths remained slack jawed and all eyes remained wide open.
Eddie grinned. “Now who understood that?”
Will raised his hand. “A little. My dad used to watch baseball.”
Mike nodded. “I understood that a little bit more than I did the basketball.”
“That’s because someone you know would watch it all the time,” Eddie said, “that you kinda pick up a little bit. But you wouldn’t be able to rattle off those stats yourself, right?” He leaned forward, putting his hands on the table.
Mike and Will shook their heads.
“It’s just like I can name all of Metalica’s albums or my five classes in D&D,” Eddie continued. “Steve isn’t slow or stupid. He just has different interests. And it’s not as though you had all that D&D stuff memorized when you first started. And I bet Steve didn’t either, but years of watching and playing gave him that knowledge.”
“How did you know Steve could do that?” Dustin asked.
Eddie laughed. “He and my Uncle Wayne get together on the weekends when I’m practicing with my band to watch sports. They are often argue stats.”
Steve stared at him in shock and then blushed. “I didn’t realize you were about paying attention.”
Eddie just smiled.
Once you’ve given him chances to show off his smarts, make sure you shut down further attempts from his friends to insult his intelligence.
Steve was cleaning up after movie night with the help of Eddie and some very reluctant gremlins.
“You guys made the mess,” Steve insisted. “You get to clean up. Except Max, who, you know, is still using crutches?”
Max smiled up from the couch. “I get to supervise!”
Steve laughed. “Which you won’t use to lord over us at all...” he said sarcastically.
She just grinned bigger.
Steve started by handing out assignments. Lucas was on garbage duty, Will and El were on dishes (the only two Steve trusted not to break anything), Dustin was on vacuum duty, and Mike was wiping down counters.
Mike rolled his eyes. “This isn’t a sport, Steve. Just tell us to clean up and we’ll do it.”
Eddie paused from where he was putting away the food in the fridge. “No you won’t.”
Dustin frowned. “What? Yes we will.”
Eddie scoffed harder. “No, you won’t. As evidenced by how you guys clean up after D&D.”
Lucas stopped picking up the garbage. “We help.”
“You do,” Eddie agreed. “Will, too. But Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum here,” he pointed to Dustin and Mike, “will sit on their asses and chat about the campaign, while the rest of us clean up.”
Dustin and Mike opened their mouths to argue, but Eddie leveled a glare at them and they closed them again.
“Besides,” Will said, “there’s nothing wrong with everyone being assigned a task. It gets everything done quicker so we can all go home.”
Steve smirked. “And order isn’t just about sports. Even you guys have an order in your game, right? Initiative, right?”
“But that’s different,” Mike whined.
Eddie grinned. “You remembered!”
The boys paused and then turned to Steve with open mouths.
“I told you guys it was about interest,” Eddie said. “Right, Steve?”
Steve grinned. “Right, Eds.”
“I still can’t believe he missed the fact that you paid attention to his interests,” Max said, rolling her eyes.
Eddie shrugged. “I think he was impressed, but didn’t want to get his hopes up.”
“I mean Steve gives as good as he gets most of the time,” Max said, “but even I didn’t realize what a number they’ve done on his self-esteem until you started calling it out.”
Eddie shrugged. “I don’t think anyone realized it was affecting him. Because like you said, he can bitch with the best of them.”
“It’s some times the questions are dumb,” she said, a bit defensively.
“You talking about the vampire/Vecna comment?” Eddie asked.
She blushed. “That’s one of them, yeah.”
“Is it really that outrageous that the Upside Down might have vampires?”
She paused and thought about it. She huffed a laugh. “No I suppose not.”
Getting your jock alone. Depending on their friend group this can either be very easy (offering to do something together that the rest of the friends don’t want to do) or very difficult (having friends that are willing to go outside their comfort zone to spend time with them).
“Steve must have been a hard one to get alone,” Max said.
“Very,” Eddie agreed. “And it wasn’t just people wanting to hang out with him, it was someone or several someones wanting rides. So I had to get get creative.”
Steve showed up the government funded house with Robin in tow.
“Buckley,” he greeted warmly. “I didn’t realize you were coming, too. I only got stuff for two of us.”
Steve blushed. “We looked up the movie at work and she thought it sounded interesting. I guess I should have called before we came over.”
Robin on the other hand looked unapologetic. “It’s fine, I brought my own goodies!” She held up a bag of Twizzlers and a bottle of soda.
Eddie sighed and let them both in. He put in the movie and sat in the middle of the sofa, forcing Robin and Steve to sit on either side.
“Why do you get the middle?” Robin asked.
“My house, therefore I get the best seat,” Eddie said smugly.
Steve looked around him to look at Robin in the eye. “He’s got a point, Robs. Plus, we did surprise him with your presence.”
Robin rolled her eyes and settled into watch the movie.
Eddie had seen it before so there weren’t even anything so much as a thrill, but Robin had her hands in front of her face, fingers spread so that she close them in a hurry if she needed to.
What Eddie loved was when Steve jumped twice. Because each time he jumped, he got closer to Eddie. By the time the ominous warning came at the end he was practically glued to Eddie’s side.
“Nope, nope, nope...” Robin said. “Never again. I don’t even like old horror, I’ve decided.”
Eddie shrugged. “I mean I was assuming that Steve and I were going to watch it together and he was going to preview it for you. Like he usually does.”
Robin’s jaw dropped as she looked at a smug Eddie and a Steve that had “I told you so” written all over his face. It wasn’t mocking or cruel.
She crumpled. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have crashed your movie night. It was mean and apparently stupid. I won’t be doing that again, that’s for sure.”
“How the hell did Steve not recognize his own moves when thrown directly in his face?” Max asked, rolling her eyes.
“Obliviousness is their best trait after all,” Eddie teased. But the smile slid from his face. “With Steve?”
“Yes,” she said, realizing he was about to drop something deep about the boy she considered her brother.
“I think it’s because in all the time he’s dated, he’s never once been the one that got taken care of,” he murmured. “He’s had to shoulder all the emotional burden. So cuddling up on the sofa watching a scary movie didn’t register because he’s always watched those kind of movies alone first and never had someone to lean on when he got frightened.”
“That sucks,” she deadpanned. “I’m glad he has you, Eddie.”
“Me too,” he said softly. “Me too.”  
Now that you’ve established that there won’t be any further interference from the best friend, set up a regular time to do the activity. That way it becomes a routine that when asked if they’re doing something at that time, they’ll say they have plans.
“Come on, Steve,” Dustin said. “We want to go to the arcade today, they’re having a two-for-one special on pizza when you buy a game pass.”
Steve rolled his eyes. “I told you have plans. Ask someone else.”
Dustin let out an exasperated sigh. “We did. We asked Eddie, but he has plans, too!”
Steve raised an eyebrow.
“You know, we call our jocks oblivious,” Max said, “but their friends can certainly be dense fuckers too.”
Eddie laughed. “I know, right?”
She shook her head. “Who did they think you had plans with?”
Eddie shrugged. “My bandmates would be my guess.”
“But then you would have said that,” she said exasperated. “Who did they think Steve had plans with?”
Eddie laughed.
“Robin will be fine if you don’t spend every waking moment with her,” Dustin continued, rolling his eyes. “When was the last time you went to the arcade with us?”
Steve’s other eyebrow shot up. “Last week, dude. And the week before that. I have plans. Both Mike and Will have siblings that drive. Hell, now that Argyle is back in town, I bet he would love to try out the arcade, he’s never been.”
Dustin looked leery. Steve threw his arms in the air and stormed over to the phone. He pulled the rolodex of party numbers that he kept on the counter closer to him and hit “A”. It went to Argyle’s number and he dialed it.
“Bro!” Argyle greeted.
“Hey, it’s Steve,” he said with a smile.
“My dude,” Argyle said cheerfully. “How can I help you on this fine fine day?”
“Hey, the kids wanted to go to the arcade today,” Steve explained, “But Eddie and I have plans, so I was wondering if you wanted to go. They have a special on pizza today and they wanted in on that.”
“You said the magic word, my dude!” Argyle said. “Pizza is my middle name. I just don’t know where the nugs live.”
“You know where I live, though, right?” Steve asked.
“Of course, man,” Argyle said with a grin. “Biiiig house. Hard to forget.”
Steve laughed. “You can pick Dustin up here and then he can direct you to the other ‘nugs’ houses.”
“Sounds totally awesome, my man!” Argyle said happily. “I’ll there in fifteen.”
Steve hung up and turned to Dustin with a raised eyebrow. “Now was that so difficult?”
Dustin sighed. “No...”
“I remember that!” Max said. “Argyle brought Jonathan and they were way more fun then with Steve because they didn’t try and mother hen us.”
Eddie laughed. “He just gets worried because he’s seen you guys in way too many situations that were literally life or death. It kinda skews things.”
Max clicked her tongue. “That’s fair.” She paused for a moment. “So we’ve established a routine, what’s next?”
Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6
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kiirotoao · 7 months
Text
I think my mind is stuck on the Rink O Mania fight right now and I can’t get it to stop so-
A deep dive on the line: “We’re friends. We’re friends.”
Said by none other than Mike “In the closet” Wheeler.
And in order to do this, let’s talk about:
The context
Mike’s tone
The urgency of the reply
The backing track
What could have been Mike’s reply
So first, context.
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The moment that Will regrabs Mike’s attention with his “well, what about us?” Mike is hit with more and more thoughts of exactly that: “us.” Him and Will. And Will doesn’t stop. He accuses Mike of being mad, dismissive, uncaring, lacking, all towards Will.
The pressure is on. And look at Mike. He’s upset about it.
But then comes-
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The last straw. And what is the last straw? Well, this brings me to my next and most crucial points…
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Notice Mike’s tone. You can even see it in the gif alone.
Will just posed the tiniest question “and us?” with the biggest implication: what are we to you? And Mike immediately feels the need to repeat his friendship assertion twice. “We’re friends. We’re friends.”
Mike tends to repeat himself when he’s upset. He’s affected by this. Which, duh, right? But think about it.
Why might Mike be upset by this? Is it just because Will is upset and they’re feeding off of each other? Is it because Mike is annoyed that Will brought up El and compared himself to her? Or could it be something more?
Is Mike perhaps threatened by the fear of the idea of actually being something else to Will? Perhaps he’s worried that Will got the wrong idea? Perhaps it’s something internal to Mike himself that he doesn’t want to breach?
Mike is the one who set that boundary, after all, in making such a strong reply.
So once again, Mike is upset here. That’s pretty clear to see. And throughout the entire time Will brings up their relationship outside of El, he also looks so uncomfortable, if you ask me. Like he doesn’t want to talk about it. Like he doesn’t want to fight with Will lest things hit a little too close to home. Mike seems defensive.
Like his upset repetition, he does back out of the conversation twice, after all.
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I think that he’s hiding his true heart. Running away from something. Running away from something because of Will.
Hm.
Next, let’s talk about the urgency. This is not a slow fight. There is barely a moment of pause from the entire fight, start to finish. In fact! It’s after this line that we get a pause to breathe. It’s only after Will retorts, “well, we used to be best friends!” that Mike stops.
As of “We’re friends. We’re friends.” Mike is steamrolling through this without need to stop. Mike doesn’t even need to think of his reply to Will’s, “and us?”
Does Mike just always and readily consider the distinction of Will as a friend as opposed to… something else?
Hm.
And now, briefly, because goddamn this should tell all, I want to bring up the backing track!
The fact is that “In the closet (at Rink O Mania)” starts playing right before Mike successfully backs out of the conversation!! And this needs to be talked about more!
Yeah. That song didn’t start playing while Will was speaking. It started playing while Mike was speaking.
And as the song plays, coupled with his upsetness, Mike deflects blame (“why is this on me?”), something that shows that he… doesn’t want to accept the blame nor the truth.
Once again: hm.
Now, lastly, I wouldn’t be me without at least one good ol’ counter argument, what could have been. I mean, this isn’t really a proper counterpoint as I still am believing that Mike is so gay to try and declare his friendship to his fellow male bestie with urgent and defensive fervency backed by a literal “In the closet” soundtrack but.
Maybe I should just call this an imaginative perspective.
Because seriously, Mike could have reacted in so many other ways than how he did.
Where’s the “what do you mean, ‘us?’” Where’s the simple “what?” for that matter? What about a “you know that’s not the same thing.”
Mike could have defended himself. Backed up. Questioned Will and gotten to the bottom of the emotion right then and there. But he didn’t.
Y’know why?
Because despite the variety of choices, if Mike didn’t spell clearly that they were just “friends,” he’d be so much more vulnerable to getting outed. Will could have easily parried by repeating himself and flustering Mike. Or Mike could have risked the potential continued questions from Will about what if they could be more? So logically, Mike took the safest route he could.
Angrily. And defensively. Not confusedly. He knew what he was saying and not saying.
Yeah, I just can’t not see Mike as someone trying to hide himself, here.
I find it so upsettingly fascinating overall how neither of the two seem to stop and question what each other actually means. They never ask for certain clarification or hesitate. Well, Mike does, once -
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- but then things keep spiraling and they don’t get to stop and think twice again. Everything else seemingly comes out in quick anger and frustration. And it’s so easy for them to miss things when they’re also so rushed by the need to find El. Truly, did you leave this Rink O Mania fight feeling like it was satisfying and that Mike and Will said all that they wanted to towards each other? I know that I didn’t.
The only way I can see people thinking that Mike is genuinely and completely and utterly straight is if they think he’s arguing at face value and plainly had nothing else to say to Will. So really, it’s up to how you as a viewer see him.
But if Mike is actually just friends with Will, why do these same types of intimate one-on-one fights often happen between established couples? Why is Mike’s story interwoven with Will’s so deeply like this, enough to hit on the tension of romance versus friendship? Why is Mike even a main character if he’s supposed to only be taken at face value? How come Mike is able to smile again the moment that Will brings up them and only them two again a day later - even though this all happens before Mike apologizes for the Rink O Mania fight and their relationship hasn’t been fully mended yet??
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“We’re friends. We’re friends.” is a cry to me across the screen that Mike is trying to state the facts and keep his head on straight (haha) despite everything that Will meant and continued to mean to him. It’s been half a year since Mike and Will spoke, and so they’d also had plenty of time to internalize their ideas of each other and ignore a number of thoughts without the other around. We know that Will kept his feelings at bay by painting them.
What do we certainly and canonically know about Mike and what he personally did away from Will specifically? That’s right!
Nothing.
But I choose to believe that he surely thought about Will while he was gone, right? And missed him during at least one Hellfire game? And potentially considered who Will was to him? And maybe told himself to stop if he imagined anything too deep because they were just friends? Or is that too much to assume?
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oftenwantedafton · 4 months
Text
Night Shift - Steve Raglan/William Afton x Mike Schmidt x Female Reader
Chapter 3
Rating - Explicit
Warning for sexual content, dub con, bisexual characters
Also available on AO3
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Seated in the quiet dark of Mike Schmidt’s sedan outside of your apartment, you can still feel Steve Raglan.
The scent of him clings to you and your boyfriend’s bodies. You can taste yourself because he’d placed that flavor there with his incessant tongue and ardent fingers.
Your hands are balled into fists on your lap to conceal the violent tremor of desire that still wracks through you. You feel like an addict that’s gotten another hit, finding it dangerously insufficient; your brain chemistry already altered so you need a higher dosage of depravity.
“Just tell me one thing.”
You glance at the young man seated beside you, resisting the urge to seize his mouth and search for more of the older man’s essence that he’s left behind.
“We’re doing this because we have to, right? For Abby?”
“Of course.” The lie slips between you, a fragile bit of sound.
***
Another evening, you’ve burned dinner in your distraction and Mike waves your apologies away, ordering pizza and rummaging through a stack of DVD’s while you watch his sister color, selecting a bright shade of yellow to fill in the anthropomorphic rabbit she’s just drawn.
“Who’s that?”
Abby shrugs, her soft brown curls swinging slightly with the movement. “I don’t know his name. My friends tell me about him. He’s really nice. He likes pizza, too.”
You smile, remembering Mike had mentioned his sibling’s imaginary friends previously.
“He does look friendly. I like his purple bow tie.”
The young girl finishes coloring in the last of the rabbit’s long limbs and slides the picture across the kitchen table to you.
“You can have it if you want. I have plenty more.”
“Thanks, Abby. I’m going to put this on the fridge when I get home.”
“Abs, we need to clear the table,” Mike calls over his shoulder as he moves to answer the doorbell.
You help the child slot the tubes of paper wrapped wax back inside their container while she unwinds some paper towels from their spool.
“Not too much. Save some for another day,” Mike reprimands gently, setting the pizza box on the counter. He rests a hand on the small of your back as you reach for a stack of plates in the cabinet, all three pieces of dinnerware mismatched, orphans from various sets. “You’re so good with her,” he murmurs.
“She’s a great kid.”
He presses his lips against your hair in a gentle kiss.
“Ew, gross.”
You smile, moving to lift the lid of the corrugated cardboard box and challenge Abby to select her first slice on the count of three, laughing when she chooses the largest piece, dripping bits of cheese and toppings before her selection reaches the plate.
By the time the comedy movie Mike’s selected reaches the halfway point, Abby loses interest and retreats to her room, leaving the two of you alone. He draws small circles with his thumb on your shoulder, cradling you against him. He lifts the opposite wrist and curses when he sees the sequence of numbers on the digital display.
“I’ve got to get ready for work soon.”
“It’s ok.” You straighten up in your seat. “This was fun.”
“I appreciate you staying the night to babysit. I don’t know what happened to Max. She won’t answer the phone,” he says, referring to the young woman that usually watches his sister when he’s away.
“It’s no problem, really.”
“You’re the best.” He kisses your forehead.
“You can kiss me on the lips you know. I’m okay,” you assure him. Ever since the night at the movie theater, Mike had seemed to be reluctant to do so.
“Yeah, I…I’m trying. I don’t want everything tainted by Raglan.”
You’d been very purposefully keeping yourself distracted from thinking about Steve, but here he was, intruding into your lives again with just the mere mention of his name.
“It’s okay.”
“It’s not. It’s so fucked up.” He scrubs at his hair, mussing the chocolate curls. “I should never have had you come to work with me. All of this is my fault.”
“Hey. I don’t blame you for anything, okay?” You reach for his hand and squeeze it.
“The shit he makes us do…”
You firmly resolve not to think about it. “We’re going to get through this.”
“I don’t deserve you.”
He rests his forehead on yours, hesitating before his lips tentatively brush against your mouth in a chaste gesture of affection. You respond with a firmer one of your own, hearing his inhale of desire.
“Ugh, you’re doing that again?”
You both jump, startled to see Abby standing in the doorway leading to the living room. Mike frowns, releasing you and standing up.
“I’m going to go get ready. You need to go brush your teeth,” he reminds his sibling as he walks past her.
“I’ll do it in a minute.” She bounces on the vacated seat next to you. “You really like my brother, huh?”
“I do.” You nod, lifting the remote and aiming it at the television set, the lit screen extinguished.
“He likes you a lot. I can tell.”
“You think so?” You comb your fingers through her curls affectionately.
“Mmm-hmm. My friends told me.”
You blink, surprised. “They did?”
“Yeah. They said the yellow rabbit likes you, too.”
Frowning, your hand stills. “I don’t understand. I’ve never seen him before you drew me the picture tonight.”
She shrugs. “That’s what they said. I’m gonna go brush my teeth now.” She slides off the couch, leaving you to ponder the strange conversation.
It’s just her imagination, you think. Perfectly normal for someone her age.
Mike reappears, shrugging into an oversized ink colored vest with a bright SECURITY logo decorating the right shoulder.
“I just got her tucked in. I’ll see you in the morning. I’ll make us breakfast. Probably safer for everyone, you know?”
“Hey! I can cook. That was an accident.” You slap his arm playfully.
“Sure. I’ve gotta get going.” He wraps his arms around you, his mouth more confident on yours this time.
“Have a good shift. Be careful,” you add, thinking of the many staring eyes of the cameras mounted throughout the abandoned pizzeria, their gaze reflected back to the cramped security office with its clusters of monitors that keep their dark secrets.
You tidy up the kitchen before bed, your fingers hesitating over the crayon illustration Abby had created for you earlier.
The yellow rabbit likes you, too.
***
Mike comes home the next morning looking exhausted, carrying a box of donuts and a tray with a pair of paper cups.
You fold your arms, scowling. “I thought you were making breakfast. That’s cheating.”
“Yeah, sorry, I’m not up for cooking today. Another day for sure.” He sets everything down on the counter.
“I’m only teasing. How bad was it?”
He shrugs, yawning. “It was okay. Abs up yet?”
“Yes she’s dressed, I just helped her with her hair.”
“Thanks, babe.” He turns his face, his voice louder as he calls for his sister. “Abby! We’ve got to leave in twenty minutes!” He removes a gallon of orange juice from the refrigerator, shaking it before he pulls the top off and fills a glass for his sibling.
“I could take her to school. I’m sure you want to crash.”
“Nah, it’s okay. You do too much as it is. Abs! Donuts!”
His sister seems to materialize out of thin air, bounding into the kitchen.
“Yeah I thought that would get your attention.”
“Did you get sprinkles?”
“Have a look.”
She tears the sticker sealing the box shut and lifts the lid, squealing in delight and grabbing a glazed donut drizzled in pink icing and covered in colored confetti sugar strands.
“Hot chocolate okay?” He hands you one of the cups and you nod gratefully.
“That’s perfect, thank you.” You remove the lid and blow on the steaming liquid, studying the array of pastries before selecting one dipped in chocolate.
Abby’s donut disappears alarmingly fast and she takes a few sips of her juice, declaring she’s ready to leave.
“She’s going to have a sugar rush now. Her poor teacher,” Mike mumbles, snatching his keys off the counter. “I’ll be back soon.”
You watch the pair leave, sipping on the warm beverage for a few minutes before deciding to get started on cleaning.
You’d noticed last night that Mike had more dirty clothes on the floor in the bedroom again; using a laundry hamper just didn’t seem to be a priority for him. You shake your head in mock disgust, collecting the random scattered garments, adding them one by one to a growing pile in the basket, pausing when you notice something shoved under the bed, one corner of a dress shirt barely sticking out. Mike had probably kicked it by mistake in his hurry to get ready, you figure, snatching at the fabric, about to toss it into the bin when you freeze.
It’s the shirt he had worn on your date at the movie theater.
It positively reeks of Raglan’s cologne and you inhale sharply, your pussy instantly throbbing. You’d been doing so well barricading the older man from your thoughts, enjoying the domestic moments with your boyfriend, but here he was tearing back through that blockade like it was made of tissue paper.
There’s a suspicious stain near the hem of the charcoal button front shirt and you hate that no matter which man the jizz belongs to, you find it horribly erotic.
Your hand lifts the shirt to your lips, Steve’s scent heaviest by the collar, and it’s all you can do to refrain from shoving your hand inside your panties right then and there.
“Hey babe, I’m back! Where’d you—” Mike is about to enter the room when he jerks to a halt just outside the doorway, staring at you rapturously inhaling his shirt, the words dying on his lips.
The security guard’s mouth parts, his breathing suddenly harsh, shoulders rising and falling in rapid succession as his lungs struggle to find more air.
He crosses the room faster than you’d thought possible given his short stature, fingers curling over the shirt but not tugging, keeping the fabric trapped between you as he pushes you against the wall.
The renewed handling of the material releases more of the career counselor’s scent into the air around the pair of you, cruelly teasing you, challenging you to imagine his presence beside you. Mike grabs your free hand and presses it to his crotch and fuck, he’s so hard already, straining against his fly. You’ve never seen him aggressive like this, so out of control, pupils blown with desire, the rough chafe of the hair lining his jaw scraping you when his mouth finds your throat, the shirt trapped just beneath, as if he’s kissing both you and Steve at the same time.
The phone rings, startling both of you. Mike jerks back, looking surprised to find himself in this situation, struggling to regain his composure, answering the phone somewhat breathlessly while you let the shirt drop back to the floor, your heart thudding in your chest, an echoing heartbeat in the crease between your thighs.
“Hello? What? No, I was…out running.” He sinks onto the bed. “What? No, I’m sure I locked the doors. Yes, the gate too. Fuck.” He drags a hand through his hair.
“Mike, who is it? What happened?” You sit beside him.
He mouths the name Steve and your stomach flutters.
“Yeah, yeah I’ll come down right now.” He slots the phone back on the receiver and turns to face you. “Someone broke into Freddy’s. They trashed it.”
“What?!” You gasp, covering your mouth.
“The owner wants to report it to the police. Raglan’s trying to talk him out of it.”
He stares at you, the implication of what that meant very transparent.
“We have to go.”
He drags a hand against his thigh nervously, as if just touching the phone that he’d used to communicate with the older man had sullied him.
“There’s never going to be an end to this at this rate. He’s just going to keep blackmailing us.”
“Maybe he made it up? What if it’s just a trick to get us to go there?”
He shakes his head. “No, it’s legit. He sounded furious. And I swear I locked up. I know I’m tired but I wouldn’t have forgotten that.”
“I believe you.”
He sighs shakily. “I wish I’d never met him. You have no idea how much I regret going to that office.”
“I know,” you say, your eyes finding the crumpled dress shirt on the floor and you wonder if he truly regrets it as much as he says.
***
From the outside of the building, you don’t see any destruction that’s immediately obvious.
The interior tells a far different story.
Mike holds out an arm to bar your path, cautioning you about the broken glass littering the floor. The sunlight that struggles to filter through the glass front doors falls on scattered tokens from the tipped over change machines, making the gold coins glint on the confetti printed carpet.
“Christ,” the security guard swears, head swiveling to assess the damage. The cases for the pinball machines are shattered, the prize counter reduced to pulverized shards of glass. Chairs are knocked down and tables overturned, the long forgotten salt and pepper shakers and laminated menus now decorating the dining room floor.
The door slams behind you and you turn to see Steve standing there, crossing the room swiftly with several long legged strides, ignoring the glass that crunches beneath his feet.
“Hello, sweetheart.” He tosses the greeting to you without so much as glancing at you, his pale eyes glaring at the man standing beside you. “Look at this mess.”
“I promise I locked the doors,” he protests.
“Well they clearly found another way in. And I doubt they broke inside during broad daylight. So what were you doing this time instead of watching the monitors?”
“I swear I was watching. I didn’t see anything.”
“The damage in this room alone is going to cost a lot to repair. There are a lot of unique items that are vintage. Irreplaceable.” He gestures towards the destruction and chaos.
Mike gulps. “I’m sure we could work something out. I mean, it’s not like anyone’s even been using this stuff. It’s just sitting here collecting dust…”
Raglan takes a threatening step towards Mike, each word he issues clipped, his ire barely held in check. “This is someone’s personal property. It doesn’t belong to you. It’s not up to you to decide its value. You’re being paid to prevent things like this from happening.”
“I’m sorry,” your boyfriend says helplessly.
“That apology doesn’t sound very sincere, Mike. I think we’d better see how bad the damage is elsewhere.” He brushes past you, shoving at the Employees Only door.
You trail after him, Mike’s hand clammy and cold in yours as he escorts you through the same passage illuminated by the emergency lights.
The career counselor veers to the right, bringing you into a large kitchen area. A fan built into the wall across from you turns lazily, making a soft whirring noise. There are pans and dishes and pizza boxes scattered everywhere, steel shelving knocked to the black and white checkered linoleum flooring. Steve kicks at a stray pot with disgust. “Absolutely ruined.”
“I’ll clean it all up,” Mike says hurriedly.
“Of course you will. That’s part of your job description after all. You’re supposed to be keeping the place tidy. Which still doesn’t cancel out the damages or count as an apology, might I add.” He removes his glasses, setting them down on a free space amid the clutter on the counter. “Come here, beautiful.”
“I’ll help him,” you blurt out.
“No. This is his mistake. He’s got to learn his lesson. Actions have consequences. Come here,” he says again, more firmly this time, and you feel your feet moving, unable to resist the command. “Have you missed me, honey?” he murmurs, wrapping one arm around your waist and dragging you against him. He’s always so warm, borderline feverish beneath his clothing; you can feel it sizzling just beneath the surface.
Mike glowers but begins picking things up when Steve’s eyes snap back to him warningly.
The older man tucks his fingers underneath your chin and lifts your face up. Without the glasses he looks so different, those wide eyes even more intimidating without the lenses to shield them. You could drown in those pools of ice.
His mouth covers yours and your hand reflexively clasps the back of his neck. For a moment you forget about Mike completely, forget there is anything in the world other than the hungry lips moving against yours, the muscle thrust between them stroking your tongue, the arousal that had begun earlier reignited with a fury.
“You did miss me,” he whispers when you part for air, and you don’t deny it. “I didn’t say you could stop,” his voice hardens, directed at your boyfriend.
Mike slams a tray further down on the steel counter and Steve abruptly releases you, lunging for him instead. His fingers grab a fistful of the shorter man’s shirt, shoving him against the hard surface, sending more cookware scattering. “What’s the matter, Mike? Upset your girlfriend is getting some action? Or maybe you’re jealous that you’re not getting any of that attention. You’ve had a hard on ever since I walked into the restaurant.”
“Fuck you.” He spits, saliva landing on the corner of Steve’s mouth.
You gasp, thinking Raglan will strike your boyfriend for sure, the sound evolving to something needier when you see Steve drag his fingers through the fluid, grinning darkly before he clutches a fistful of brown curls and jerks Mike’s head back. He licks his way inside his mouth and you hear the younger man moan.
“Wouldn’t you just love to?” Steve muses, reaching for the fly of Mike’s work pants.
Another groan escapes when those deft fingers work their way inside the younger man’s boxers, stroking Mike’s leaking cock briefly before he releases him, stepping back.
“Let’s clear a space for your girlfriend. Over here, sweetheart.” You move forward as the career counselor sweeps an arm over the steel surface, sending the remaining items to the floor with a loud clatter. He unfastens your jeans and shoves them down at the same time as your panties, then lifts you up so you’re seated on the edge of the counter, dragging the rest of your clothing free.
“This too,” he murmurs by your ear, tugging on the hem of your shirt, indicating for you to pull it over your head, the bra soon following. You’re completely nude now, exposed before Steve’s ravenous gaze, shivering from the metallic surface touching your skin and the anticipation of the older man’s next move.
“Lay back, honey.” You lower your torso, fingers clutching the edges of the counter for balance, Raglan’s broad hand snaking around to support the movement so you land gently. He drags a calloused hand over one breast, trailing down to your navel, stroking small circles around the divoted space before he bends to kiss you, his mouth following all the places his hand had just been.
He hovers just above your mound, his breath tickling your skin before he gently wedges a hand between your clamped thighs, prying them apart, the tensed limbs falling slack. He hisses appreciatively, kneels down and slides his tongue between your lips in a brief teasing lick and your back arches off the counter.
“You’re completely soaked, sweetheart. You’ve been looking forward to this, haven’t you?” He plants a kiss on the inside of one thigh, turning his face slightly to address the man standing behind him. “Are you going to just stand and watch, or are you going to help your girlfriend out? Not that I’d mind keeping you all to myself.” His lips hum by the fork of your legs and you shiver, squirming restlessly, eager for more contact.
Mike’s face appears and you crane your neck in time to see him flick his tongue over your clit.
Your head snaps back and you whimper, the sound overly loud in the spacious kitchen. You feel a finger at your entrance and instantly recognize it as Steve’s, the long digit slipping inside and curling expertly, tearing another sound of pleasure from you.
“I don’t know how you stand having this around you all the time, Mike. My face would be permanently buried between these thighs,” the career counselor mutters, working the finger in and out while your boyfriend’s tongue strokes over your pussy.
You could cum right then, but you refuse to let yourself get off so easily, wanting to prolong the feeling. A second finger joins the first, scissoring within your tunnel, Mike’s mouth sucking at the sensitive bundle of nerves swollen and erect against his tongue.
You hear your boyfriend moan and think Steve must be touching him again with his free hand. His head lifts, smeared with your juices, the hand that had been curled supportively around one thigh abandoning you in favor of winding Raglan’s tie around his fist and dragging his mouth to his. The fingers working inside of you move more insistently, bringing you closer to release. The sight of the two men kissing so heatedly sends you careening over the edge, your hips rocking wildly against the older man’s hand.
Steve breaks the kiss so he can reward your dripping cunt with one instead. “You’re so fucking delicious. Such a good girl.” The praise sends a spear of warmth through you.
He stands up, using the table for balance, immediately reaching once more for Mike’s cock, squeezing the base. “Not yet,” he cautions, his other hand jerking the younger man’s face up. “You don’t get to cum just yet.” His next kiss is rough, sucking loudly, teeth pulling Mike’s bottom lip until they release the flesh with a loud pop. He glances at your form still lying on the edge of the counter. “You haven’t fucked her yet, have you?”
You can see Mike’s jaw tighten, a blend of anger and frustration. “No,” he says quietly.
“Didn’t think so. Well, let’s change that, shall we?” He pushes Mike between your legs, one hand still firmly clenching the base of his cock, holding him just shy of your opening. Your boyfriend’s hands clutch your hips as Steve moves to the side and guides him forward, helping him fuck into you.
Mike grunts at the feeling of your wet pussy greeting him, hips automatically snapping forward to bury himself deeper inside, halted by the frustrating barrier Steve’s hand provides.
“Gently, Mike. She’s still recovering. Feels like heaven though, doesn’t it?” He reaches for your breast, fondling the nipple. Every time your boyfriend moves it brings Raglan’s hand with it, the contact between the three of you heightened. You thread your fingers through those still caressing your breast, your eyes meeting his.
“What do you want, sweetheart?” Raglan’s voice is so tender, so at odds with the hard snap of Mike’s pelvis against your body, his pace quickening. You don’t even know how to phrase it; if the vocabulary for it has been invented yet. Your entire body feels magma hot, senseless liquid around Mike’s impatiently driving prick. Steven lifts your fingers to his face and kisses the inside of your wrist, his tongue tracing circles along your pulse point and you feel yourself shatter. He releases his hold of Mike’s cock and thrusts the fingers between the younger man’s lips, letting him lap at the taste of both of you.
“Oh, fuck, I’m gonna cum,” Mike announces, his movements more frantic now that he has better access, your still spasming canal massaging him, wringing out his orgasm.
Steve shoves the younger man out of the way, kneeling down, his mouth back at your entrance, sucking and licking Mike’s cum back out of you.
You watch him bring that mouthful back to its owner, jerking his head back roughly and spearing his mouth open, seed spilling back onto Mike’s tongue. He moans when your boyfriend tears at the zipper of his trousers, shoving his fingers over his dripping cock, sending the older man over the edge.
***
“You can start cleaning up tonight,” Steve says, the first words spoken since the three of you had hastily cleaned up in the restroom before exiting the building. He tugs on the handle of the driver’s side door, his gaze alternating between Mike and then you.
“You’re going to convince the owner not to file a police report, right?”
The career counselor’s lips twitch slightly as he reaches for the glasses tucked into his shirt pocket. “Sure, sweetheart.” His eyes flick back to the security guard. “You should go home and get some sleep. You have a long, busy night ahead of you.”
Mike nods, sliding behind the wheel and slamming the door. You hesitate, fingers running absently over a spot of rust on the frame of your boyfriend’s sedan, unable to look away from the prison of Raglan’s stare.
The small, secret smile returns, making something flutter inside of you.
118 notes · View notes
hellfirenacht · 8 months
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Wingman Part 2
No beta, we die like men and edit in post.
Summary: Steve ‘the Hair’ Harrington is your best friend, and is constantly striking out. Sick of this, you two make a deal; you’ll wing man for each other. Hooking Steve up with dates is easy, but he finds himself struggling to find you a date. At least, until Dustin starts talking about his new cool friend Eddie. 
Part 1
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Steve learned more in the next half hour about Eddie Munson than he ever wanted to know. Eddie had been in a band since middle school, and he played guitar. Eddie hadn’t started the Hellfire Club, but had taken it over three years ago and had been the designated DM ever since. Eddie probably sold drugs, but wouldn’t sell to freshmen. Eddie had picked out Dustin and Mike in the lunchroom after they had been banished from every other table. Eddie knew everything about metal music and sometimes skipped class to sleep in his van. Eddie lived in a trailer with his uncle Wayne and was probably going to graduate this year. Eddie was just so cool and Dustin clearly looked up to him.
Eddie also had long hair. Well, at least that was something you had been specific about.
“Do you think he’d be interested in going on a date with her?” Steve asked after Dustin had finished gushing about Eddie.
“Maybe?” Dustin said. “He doesn’t talk about his dating life much. We mostly just talk about music and D&D.”
Steve could have strangled him. “Dustin, you just spent the past half hour talking about him, knowing that this was to help her get a date. What do you mean ‘maybe’?”
“Look, I’m just giving you the information I have.” Dustin said. “If you want you could come to a Hellfire meeting and bring her along to meet him.” Once again he had a shit-eating grin that Steve was quickly losing tolerance for.
“We don’t go there anymore, we’re not gonna be allowed on campus.” Steve said. “Can’t you just, I don’t know, help set up some sort of meeting outside of school?”
Dustin thought for a moment, then snapped his fingers. “Sidequest day!” he said.
“Side- what?”
“Sidequest day! Sometimes Hellfire Club will meet up at the arcade to play games. Eddie will sometimes give buffs or inspiration for the game if we win tickets or get a high score.” Dustin explained.
“You’re speaking an alien language, Henderson.” Steve sighed.
“Just come to the arcade next Saturday and bring her.” Dustin instructed. “We can introduce them, and you can try and play matchmaker.”
It was as good a plan as any, and more importantly it was convenient. It would probably mean skipping out on a potential date but you’d already done so much for him that he’d be willing to give up a Saturday night to help you. He just needed to get you one date, and if that happened to be with Eddie Munson of all people then so be it.
“Fine, we’ll be there.” Steve agreed.
“Good!” Dustin smiled. “Now, about the campaign he’s running-”
Steve would let Dustin ramble for the rest of the shift about the campaign until you came out to politely kick Dustin out when you and Steve closed.
Going out on a Saturday night proved to be more tricky than expected. You were the only one who could reliably work on Saturday nights, being the only one willing to do so. It had taken a lot of pushing and some bribery to have Keith agree to take your shift for the night. He owed you anyway for all the times you had covered for him.
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Steve hadn’t told you the full truth about what the plan was. He had only said that since you were a weirdo, he’d take you to the arcade where other weirdos might be. It didn’t make a whole lot of sense to you since you’d been to the arcade plenty of times and it was mostly kids there. It didn’t seem like the ideal spot to flirt with guys, but he knew more about this stuff than you did.
He told you to meet him outside the arcade at 6:30, and to look good. You had insisted that you always looked good, but you at least made sure to wear something that made you feel confident and followed up the same with your hair and make up. When was the last time you had an excuse to really put in effort? You looked presentable at work, but this was different. Your reflection in the mirror after you had put yourself together made you feel good. Even if tonight was a total bust on the flirting front, at least you knew you looked good.
It was 6:20 when you showed up at the arcade, and Steve showed up at 6:35. The past fifteen minutes had you watching excited kids and tired parents and disgruntled older siblings enter the building. If you were going to be completely honest, this didn’t seem very promising.
“So, I’m going to be frank with you, everyone here looks either way too young or too old for me.” you said as you both made your way inside. “The only person I’ve seen close to my age hanging around here is Keith and, Harrington, I swear if your end of the bargain is making me go on a date with him, I am firing you on the spot.”
“You can’t fire me.” Steve snorted.
“I can set you on fire.”
“I’m not setting you up with Keith!” he promised, holding his hands up. “I just think that this is a place where a lot of weirdos could hang out. And hey, if there’s no one here that’s interesting we could at least play some games or something.”
“Steve, I have a very serious question for you.” You turned to look him dead in the eyes. “This isn’t you trying to be my date, right? I know you’ve been overloading on romcoms with all the dates you’ve been going on. Please tell me this isn’t some sort of half-ass way to take me on an arcade date so you can say you got me a date.”
“What? No. You’re the one watching too many romcoms here.” Steve accused. “You turned me down, I get it, you have terrible taste. I accept this about you- ow!”
Steve winced as you smacked the back of his head. “Okay, good. I just wanted to make sure. Let’s just play some games for now, I’m really not seeing anyone our age around here.”
As the two of you made your way around the arcade, Steve kept an eye on the time. Dustin had told Steve that ‘Sidequest Day’ (whatever that meant) would be starting at 7:00. He just needed to keep you entertained for a half hour and then the club would show up.
Lucky for him, you were actually very easy to keep entertained. You bounced around from game to game, with eager enthusiasm often getting distracted by the many blinking lights and sounds from all the machines. You didn’t even notice it when a group of guys walked in all wearing the same shirt.
Steve noticed though.
“Henderson!” He called out, casually.
“Steve!” Dustin walked up to him. “What a surprise, I did not expect to see you at the arcade tonight!”
You looked up from a cabinet that you were considering playing, that was a weird tone of voice Dustin had used. One that seemed- no it was suspicious. Steve and Dustin had definitely planned on meeting here tonight. They really were not as smooth as they thought they were. But who were you to spoil a plan? You decided to roll with it.
“Hey, Dustin!” You said walking over to the pair. “Good to see you again.”
“They let you leave the Family Video?” Dustin asked. “The way Steve talked, you’d think they kept you chained to the front desk.”
“Union rules say that they have to let me leave at least once a week for mandatory enrichment time.” you joked. “Somehow I got lucky and got a Saturday off.”
You looked over Dustin, and his bright open button up on top of his Hellfire Club shirt. You had vague memories about that club in high school.
“Hellfire Club... I remember that from when I was in school.” you said after a moment. “Yeah, wasn’t it Chris Morrison that ran it?” You turned towards Steve.
“How would I know? I was popular.” Steve said.
“Yeah, I think he was the leader until he graduated and then Eddie took over.” Dustin said, looking down at his shirt. “I think he said that the club was a lot smaller back then.”
“Yeah well Chris was a dick who didn’t actually want anyone joining his super secret club.” you huffed, rolling your eyes.
“Wait, you knew him?” Dustin’s eyes widened.
“That’s a strong word, but we were in the same grade. I tried to ask him about the club once but he blew me off and told me I wasn’t smart enough to understand the game. So I got a copy of the rule book and spent the next few weeks memorizing it out of spite.” you snorted.
Steve looked at you like you had lost your mind (fair), and Dustin looked like he couldn’t believe what you’d just said (impressed).
“...Anyway, I see a lot of the same shirt running around now. I take it that Hellfire isn’t as closed off now?” you asked.
“Uh, yeah!” Dustin said. “The new leader- Eddie- he’s a lot more open to people joining. He’s the one who invited me and Mike to join.”
You looked over at where Mike was leaning over a cabinet in concentration. He didn’t come into Family Video as often as Dustin did to bother Steve, but he had come in enough for you to witness the kid shoot up about a foot in the past few months.
“It’s alarming how fast he’s growing.” you said. “Well, I’m glad that it’s more open now and that you’re having fun with it.”
“Yeah, Eddie’s great, you should meet him!” Dustin said.
You stared at him, and slowly looked over to Steve whos’ face had met his palm.
“Steve.” you said slowly. “Did you bring me to the arcade to meet a highschooler?”
“He’s twenty!” Both Dustin and Steve said in unison. You weren’t sure if that was better or worse.
You knew that the dating pool would be limited for you, but you didn’t think it would be that narrow. Still, beggars couldn’t be choosers, and if Dustin and Steve both vouched for this guy it couldn’t be that bad, right?
“Oh boy.” you sighed. “Alright, I’ll play along. Does this guy know I’m supposed to be meeting him?”
“Nope!” Dustin said. “He doesn’t have a clue.”
“Wait, did you tell Dustin about our deal, Steve?” you asked.
“I needed help and he happened to have a new older male friend that happens to be a freak.” Steve said nonchalantly. Well, this was going to be a very interesting night.
“He’s more than just a freak, you know.” frowned Dustin.
You racked your brain trying to think back to your time in high school, trying to remember if you knew any Eddie’s. In all honesty, you never were good at noticing people outside of your own circle of friends. How some people seemed to know everyone's full name and popularity rank was beyond you. Hawkins High had 2000 students, like how did people even know that much? Who had the time? Who cared?
While Dustin and Steve continued their odd squabble, you looked around the arcade for this mystery person. Nope, still nothing but not-age-appropriate high schoolers. Oh well, the Q*bert cabinet was free, and playing a round was better than standing around nervously to meet someone who had no idea they were being set up to meet you.
Damn, poor guy had no idea what he was getting himself into tonight. You felt a little bad that you were potentially crashing his club’s night out. If this went bad, you were putting Steve on backroom duty for a month.
“Where are you going?” Dustin asked as you walked off.
“I’m gonna play a game,” you said, putting your quarter in the machine. “Let me know when this guy shows up because I cannot take the suspense.”
“You know, this is why it’s hard to get you a date. You keep saying you’re interested and then the second you have a chance to meet someone you change the subject.” Steve sighs, leaning against the machine.
“Who are you, my therapist?” You asked, focusing on the game. “I know you’re right. If I’m going to be completely honest with you I am actually nervous about meeting someone. I’m sure that it’ll be fine and I have no real expectations but it’s still hard to put yourself out there.”
“I’ve been putting myself out there for months and had a two month dry streak.” he pointed out as Dustin stepped behind you and watched you play.
“You’re King Steve. People will like you no matter if they date you or not. You’re popular, as you love to keep reminding me.” You didn’t take your eyes from the screen.
“Yeah, well I was also a total dick in high school.” Steve admitted. “I fucked up a lot and pissed a lot of people off because I thought I was hot shit. If you want the honest truth, I’d probably be a better person if I hadn’t tried so hard to be popular. It took getting my ass kicked for me to realize that.”
“It’s true, he got his ass beat a lot this summer.” Dustin piped up which earned a glare from Steve.
You thought this over, the movement of the character on screen helping you think. “If I wasn’t enough for anyone in Hellfire when I was a junior, if I wasn’t enough for the freaks when I was a weirdo in school, why would I be now?”
“Because Chris Morrison was a dick!” Dustin yelled out, far louder than he really should have.
“Jesus, Dustin we are right here!” you said, shaking your head.
“Henderson is right.” a new voice said from behind you. “Morrison was the biggest asshole that Hellfire has ever seen. Worst DM too.”
The voice was lower in tone than Steve’s, and there was an energy to it that made everything else background noise. This new person was very sure of themselves, and you had a very bad feeling of who was going to be standing behind you as soon as you turned around.
You focused even harder on the game.
“I had one conversation with him in Junior year and promised myself to never talk to him again.” you said, trying to calm yourself. He definitely did not sound like a high schooler, which was a good sign. You risked a glance at Steve who looked like he didn’t know what to make of the newcomer. That was a bad sign. Maybe.
“Yeah well I wouldn’t have kept talking to him if I could have helped it.” This voice- you were going to just assume it was Eddie, said. “I didn’t think you were the type to hang out at the arcade, Harrington.”
“I’m not.” Steve said. “I am only here for a friend.” Steve gestured to you, smacking your hand on ‘accident’ and making you die. “Whoops.”
It was clear he had done that completely on purpose. Backroom duty for a week.
“Thanks, Steve.” you said and turned around slowly to face this new person.
Oh, you were going to murder Steve Harrington into the ground dead. The man before you- and he was definitely a man- was unfortunately for you, completely your type. Long wavy brown hair fell just past his shoulders onto a denim vest covered in buttons and patches over a leader jacket. He was also wearing a Hellfire Club t-shirt and you glanced a quick look at his ripped jeans and wallet chain.
You wished that you would have warned Steve that you were never your types’ type. This was doomed before it even started. But that was a freeing thought in a way, you weren’t going to be this guy's type so that meant you didn’t have to try. If Steve could hear your thoughts, he’d probably get pissed at you for already giving up, but that was fine.
“Oh uh, Eddie, this is Steve and his co-worker.” Dustin said, introducing you by your name and title. “They both went to Hawkins High.”
“Nice to meet you.” you reached out and offered your hand, and he took it. Eddie’s hand was warm and you got a glance at chunky silver rings on his fingers. There was an expression on his face that you couldn’t quite read; he was smiling but also seemed to be studying you.
“I know who King Steve is.” Eddie said in a way that made Steve roll his eyes. “When did you go to school?” he asked.
“I graduated in ‘83.” you said, looking at him. His eyes were very round and expressive, and he was still studying you. There was something familiar about him that you couldn’t place your finger on. Then again, he was only a little younger than you so you probably saw him in school.
That was good enough for Eddie as he dropped your hand and turned back to Dustin. “So, Henderson. Are you going to keep standing there talking, or are you going to earn that magic dice roll you’ve been talking about all week?”
You’d never seen Henderson look nervous around Steve, but there was tension in Dustin’s shoulders as Eddie talked to him. But you didn’t get the sense that it was a bad thing, Eddie seemed... intense. With Steve, Dustin was always ready to bicker with and defy. With Eddie, he was ready to hop to it, whatever it was.
Geeze, no wonder Steve was jealous.
“Yup!” Dustin said quickly. “I’m just gonna go, go over there and find something to play.” He glanced at you pointedly before hurrying off in Mike’s direction.
“So, my friend here actually had an interest in Hellfire Club back in the day.” Steve said before Eddie could turn and leave. Eddie looked at you in surprise.
No one would find Steve’s body after you were done with it.
“Really?” Eddie said. “And what about our little club was so interesting to you?”
You didn’t miss the way Eddie’s eyes glanced at Steve. That was a look you understood all too well, it was one you’d given many a popular kid back in the day. Eddie thought Steve was being a dick, and for good reason. That was the look you’d given when someone came up to you and said ‘my friend thinks you’re cute’. Except now you were the friend.
There was no going back now, you couldn’t let that tension be his first impression of you. Steve had set you up to be honest and vulnerable right off the bat. Great.
“Yeah, I asked Chris about joining back then.” you said honestly. “I’d had an interest in D&D, but never had a chance to play. But he shot me down pretty hard, so I... didn’t.”
Eddie’s shoulders relaxed as he looked down at you. “That doesn’t surprise me.” he said. “He was a bigger cynic than I am, and wouldn’t give anyone outside Hellfire the time of day. He didn’t even talk to anyone after he graduated.”
His gaze didn’t leave yours and it almost felt like there was a spotlight on you. Or maybe one of those lamps that you’d see in movies when someone was being interrogated. Eddie might have relaxed but you had a feeling that Steve being here wasn’t exactly winning you points. But Steve was also your friend, which made things a bit complicated.
Damn, why did you always have to be the one to bend over backwards to impress a guy? This is why you stopped dating in high school. Oh wait, this guy didn’t even know he was supposed to be making an impression. Looks like you were going to have to be the one to take the lead on this one.
Not that it mattered, because as previously stated, this was already dead on arrival.
The conversation immediately stagnated, as anything interesting you could have possibly said died in your throat. You could feel Steve’s gaze boring into your skull now, willing you to say something.
“Yeah, he wasn’t really social.” you managed to force out.
The sound of a game machine and hyped yelling suddenly echoed through the arcade and the three of you looked up to see the whole club huddled around a basketball game, cheering one of their friends on.
Eddie took that as his sign to remove himself from the conversation and made his way towards the game without so much as a goodbye.
“Seriously?” Steve asked when Eddie was out of earshot. “I hand you a conversation topic on a plate and you fumble it that badly?”
“I couldn’t think of anything to say!” you groaned. “Gossiping about Chris Morrison isn’t exactly the juicy conversation topic you think it is.”
“You were supposed to talk about your nerd shit, not about Chris!” he shot back.
“He thought we were making fun of him, Steve.” you said, watching as Eddie stood with his arms crossed as his club cheered over the game they were playing. Two members flanked him on each side, and even if you didn’t know that he was in charge, it was clear that he held power over these kids.
“Making fun of him? How the hell did you get that idea?” Steve was gawking at you. “I told him you were interested in his weird club!”
“Steve, I get that you were popular in high school. But you know that popular kids are dicks right? That popular kids will say things that sound nice, but are clearly making fun of whatever it is they’re talking about? That’s what he thought was happening.” You sighed.
“That’s not- I didn’t-” He was at a loss for words for a moment. “Shit. Did it really sound like that?”
“With the way he looked at me? Yeah, he thought so.”
The two of you were quiet for a moment, and you leaned against the arcade cabinet again as you contemplated what the next move would be. Maybe you’d just adopt a cat or twelve instead.
“I knew people did that.” Steve admitted after a while. “I hated it, but I went along with that shit because my shit friends told me it was fine and cool.”
“Steve, while I always appreciate that you are always learning and growing, let’s save the character development for later.” you said, cracking your knuckles. “Now, are you gonna help me talk to this guy or what?”
That snapped him out of his pity party. “You’re right, tonight isn’t about me. I’m sorry.” He looked at the club who was moving away from the hoops game and was spreading out again. You noticed that it was Lucas who they had been cheering for, Mike and Dustin were clapping him on the shoulder in congratulations. It was nice seeing the three hanging out together again.
“So you are interested in him” Steve said suddenly, looking at you with wide eyes. “That conversation was so dry I thought you weren’t actually interested.”
You glanced down at the obnoxiously colored carpet with mild embarrassment. “Steve, I’ll be frank with you-”
“Hi, Frank.”
That cut the tension and the two of you found yourself laughing- it wasn’t even funny but it was an inside joke that you two had shared over the past four months. It reminded you that despite how different you two were, he was still your friend.
“Shut the actual fuck up, Harrington.” you laughed. “I’m serious.”
“I thought you were Frank.”
“Shut up.” you gasped out. It really was not funny and yet the two of you couldn’t stop laughing. You two must have looked like idiots to anyone who was passing by you, and you were. You were both idiots.
When the laughter finally subsided, you looked over at Steve. “Steve, I think he’s attractive.”
“I do not see the appeal, but I still accept you have weird taste- don’t hit me again!” He lifted his hands as you raised your own.
You lowered your arm and looked around the arcade until your gaze fell on Eddie again.
"It's pissing me off because I swear I should know him, but I can't put my finger on it." You said as he put a quarter in a machine to play. "I mean, yeah we went to the same school but I feel like there's something else."
"I'm surprised you two didn't know each other." Steve said. "He's the freak of Hawkins and you're weird. Shouldn't you two have crossed paths before?"
"Maybe?" You shrugged. "I was oblivious in school. I only knew your name because being called 'the hair' is objectively funny."
"Ha ha. Super funny."
You kept Steve talking as you tried to figure out your next move. Him and Dustin had gone out of their way to try and introduce you to someone, and you didn't want to have those efforts wasted.
"That'll work" you said, interrupting whatever Steve was saying. You grabbed his hand and dragging him over to the air hockey table where Mike and Dustin were in the middle of an intense game.
You put two quarters down on the edge of the table as the puck whizzed by your fingers, hurdling towards Mike's goal. There was a loud and satisfying clack as Mike pushed it towards Dustin.
"I'm playing the winner." You said firmly.
Another satisfying clack echoed as Dustin pushed the puck back.
"I'll be more than happy to play you when I kick Mike's ass." Dustin said, not looking up.
"You're two points down, there's no way you're beating me!" Mike shot back with his words and puck.
"You've never beat me at air hockey before and I'm not letting you start now!"
You pulled your hands back from the edge of the table as the two friends trash talked each other. Steve moved to Dustin's side while you drifted closer to Mike, an unspoken rivalry brewing between the four of you.
Well, unspoken til you opened your mouth.
"Kick his ass, Mike." You said, watching as the puck shot back and forth between the boys.
"That's what I'm doing!" The gangly teen responded as the clack of the game echoed through the arcade.
Steve, shook his head. "I thought you said you had a plan?"
"My idea was I wanted to play air hockey." You said. "I never said it had anything to do with anything else."
Dustin looked up from the table as the puck shot through the goal on Mike's side, with a triumphant grin.
"See? I was going easy on you, Mike!" He said.
Mike groaned "You're still a point behind and I need a point to win." He said, setting the puck back out.
"I've beat you under worse conditions. Plus El isn't here to help you." Dustin shot back.
"She doesn't help!" Mike said defensively.
"Oh, and I am supposed to believe that the pink was just sent flying like that because you're so strong last time?"
"Yes! Exactly! Now shut up!" Mike said, giving Dustin a glare that clearly told him to shut up. You looked at Steve for clarification, but he was decidedly not looking at you.
Weird.
The game continued between the two boys, with you and Steve each cheering on your respective freshmen. Mike had the reach, but Dustin had the brain.
"Just give it up, Henderson- I'm gonna win and get that advantage in the next session." Whatever this rivalry was, you were now living for it. You had spent so long in a work-home-work rut, and this was way more entertaining than hearing about Steve's love life.
"Yeah? What are you gonna use it for? Another failed summoning spell?" Dustin laughed.
"It would have worked if it wasn't for Eddie's stupid rule about-"
"Stupid? Oh, I'm sure he'd love to hear more about your idea of how he should have let you cheat. HEY, EDDIE! MIKE WANTS TO TALK TO YOU."
Both you and Mike visibly tensed as Dustin yelled out for the whole arcade to hear. You gave Steve a panicked look that mirrored Mike's so perfectly that Steve had to laugh.
Backroom duty for a month.
Eddie appeared again, standing on the opposite side of the table of you and Steve, looking at his freshmen.
"Oh really? And what could Mike Wheeler want to speak to me about?" He asked.
You didn't miss the way his eyes glanced over to you and Steve for a split second. There was an air about him that you were trying to put your finger on. The best way would be to say that he was 'on'. Right now, he was in charge of his club, and he didn't seem excited that a former popular basketball player and a background character were crashing what was supposed to be his night out.
You were starting to regret this meetcute.
“Nothing!” Mike said, his voice cracking as he barely managed to block the puck from going into the goal. It was a tense game now, and it was clear that Dustin had put Mike into a disadvantage by bringing Eddie into this.
Steve made eye contact with you and gave you a shit eating grin. Oh no, no he wasn’t going to-
“I’m going to go to the bathroom.” Steve waved and quickly made an exit.
Two months in the backrooms.Plus bathroom duty.
It was clear why he ditched you with the way Eddie’s eyes darted as he left. There was a hint of distrust, one that you couldn’t blame him for. The only way you could possibly get an in with this guy would be if Steve wasn’t there waving his popularity flag.
Eddie glanced back over to you for just a split second before turning back to Mike.
“You sure about that, Wheeler?” He asked, an amused edge in his voice. “Because Henderson over here seems to think you have something you wanna say to me.”
“I don’t have anything to say!” The panic in Mike’s voice was evident, and Dustin just barely missed getting into the goal. “Nothing! We’re all good here- shit”
The puck, which had been flying between the two teens so fast now you could hardly keep up, had been caught on Mike’s- Clacker? Paddle? (Did that thing even have a word?). It had been caught between that and the corner, sending the puck flying upwards and flying straight towards your face. By some miracle, you managed to catch it, clapping it between your hands before it made contact with your nose. It probably wouldn’t have hurt, but you still weren’t interested in finding out.
“Holy shit.” you said with a laugh as the three guys looked at you in surprise. Mike looked embarrassed, and Dustin looked impressed.
“Nice reflexes!” he laughed.
“Damn, Mike you almost killed me! I know you’re still pissed I wouldn’t let you rent an R rated movie, but assassination is a bit overkill, don’t you think?” you asked.
“Shit, sorry.” Mike said, reaching for the puck again. You pulled it back and shook your head.
“Final round, sudden death.” you said.
“Seriously?! He’s still a point behind me!” Mike protested.
“Nu-uh. Almost killing me loses you a point.”
“I think that’s gotta be up to Eddie.” Dustin pointed out. “I mean, he’s the one in charge tonight.”
Oh, right. Oops. For a second you had actually forgotten that you were the one crashing the party here and that you didn’t have the same sway over the kids when not at work or when Steve wasn’t here.
You looked up at the man in front of you, pushing away any nerves and bottling them up to deal with later or never. What the hell did you have to prove to him anyway? Nothing. God, you were so bad at this, Steve was going to have an aneurysm trying to help you kick start a love life.
“What say you, Eddie of Hellfire?” you asked, offering him the puck as an act of goodwill.
His hand reached out, taking it as he considered you. You held your ground and met his eyes, not daring to give him any reason you had anything against him.
Eddie’s eyes moved between Mike’s panicked face and Dustin’s eager one. It was so funny how the two had zero problems bullying Steve but they made damn sure not to piss Eddie off. Well, at least too much if Dustin’s shit-eating grin was anything to go by.
A large grim broke out on Eddie’s face as he held the puck over the center of the table.
“Sudden death it is.” He said, staring directly at you as the puck dropped on the table.
Next Chapter
Dividers by @strangergraphics
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