He was sitting on the back fire escape, cherry of his cigarette burned down nearly to the filter, when Chrissy found him.
It was weird how they'd stumbled into each other again, both apparently running in the same circles now that they'd left Hawkins behind. Weird how they kept gravitating toward one another with nothing but glances and smiles. Recognition obvious in their shared gazes but unsure how to approach the bridge that connected them.
Two wayward souls, stuck on either side of a rickety railing, waiting to see who might take a chance and cross first.
Chrissy had tried to do everything right. Well, right by her mother's standards, anyway. She'd enrolled in Indiana State, following Jason's allegedly promising baseball scholarships and setting her own dreams aside, never allowing herself to wonder if they'd come to pass. If she'd even be given the tools necessary to realize them in the first place. If she was allowed such freedom.
But Jason hadn't done well in college. Without his dad standing over his shoulder, telling Jason he needed to be better every day, the freedom to simply be had overtaken his life. He'd rushed a fraternity, discovered the party lifestyle, and had dumped Chrissy halfway through second semester because dating his high school sweetheart was apparently a bad look among his frat brothers.
Chrissy hadn't told her mother, of course. Even the potential of Laura's ire, in knowing that Chrissy was found so lacking she couldn't keep Jason Carver entertained, was more than enough to keep her mouth shut during her rare visits home. She'd instead silently licked her wounds, finishing out her freshman year at IU, then put in a transfer request to Philadelphia.
As far as she knew, Laura still didn't know where she was.
It was better that way.
She'd made quick friends with a girl in her economics class, Abby, who'd offered her a place to stay when the semester finished out and Chrissy mentioned, less casually than she would have liked, that she had nowhere to go for the holidays. Abby lived with another girl Chrissy had befriended named Felicia, and was also dating-but-denying-it a really nice boy named Gareth. Who happened to be living with a guy Chrissy knew immediately.
Eddie Munson.
She'd been so shocked the first time she saw him, she hadn't said anything. Had simply turned around and left the apartment. Which was inconvenient, considering she was supposed to be staying there for the holidays.
Now, nearly two months later and though they'd still hardly exchanged more than a handful of words, Chrissy climbed through the back window and out onto the fire escape to share space with him. Willingly sitting beside the alleged mean and scary drug dealer from her high school.
It all seemed so silly now. So trivial.
"Cunningham," he greeted, taking a final puff from his dying cigarette before flicking the butt into the wet alleyway below. It was cold. February in Philadelphia could be bitter, though, so that this cold existed in a stillness uninterrupted by a breeze made it seem almost balmy.
"Eddie," she said in turn, letting her legs dangle over the metal railing. Watching the trajectory of his cigarette as it flew into the alley. "Were you heading in?"
He looked at her, a curious quirk to his brow. She looked right back, curling a little further into her sweater.
"Nah, not yet," he answered after a moment. Looking up toward the overcast sky as though he could pierce the clouds with his gaze and find the stars beneath. "Could use with a little break from the noise."
"Yeah, me too." She hummed, resting her arms against the bar that protected people from toppling down the fire escape and setting her chin atop them. "I'm surprised you need a break, though."
Eddie snorted. "Yeah? What's that supposed to mean, Cheer Queen?"
"I'm not a cheerleader anymore, Eddie."
"So?" She could feel his eyes on her, his gaze was so intense. It was no wonder she had such a hard time looking at him in high school. How was she meant to survive being caught in his eye when there were so few distractions in their small town peers? "You'll always be a cheer queen to me, Chrissy." Pausing, he grunted. "Also, I believe that's called answer avoidment or something."
Chrissy giggled. "I don't think avoidment is a word."
"And yet you understand my meaning! Ergo, it's close enough to a word that the lack of official definition is irrelevant."
Rolling her face until she was meeting his eye, Chrissy couldn't help but smile. Her lips splitting apart with a grin that only accentuated his own. As she did, something in his eyes softened, just a little. He mirrored her position, resting his head on his arms and kicking his legs back and forth for effect. Making her giggle again.
"C'mon, Cunningham. If you're gonna insult me, at least be upfront about it."
"It wasn't an insult!" she insisted with a laugh. "I just meant that, um. I mean, you were always, you know, somewhat boisterous, back in the day. I'm surprised noise bothers you, is all."
Eddie chuckled, rolling his eyes.
"'Boisterous', huh?"
"I don't mean it to sound rude!"
"Nah, no, I know what you meant," he assured her, letting his gaze fall back over the alley. Releasing her from its confines, both to her relief and detriment. Shrugging, he let out an exasperated breath. "It's funny, y'know? I spent, what, twenty years in that hellhole? Making sure I left my goddamn mark. I was gonna make those small-minded fucks remember me, whether they wanted to or not. Being boisterous, as you so kindly say, was pretty much the only way I could do it."
They were sitting close enough that, when he swayed a little, likely moving to the rhythm of some song no one else could hear, his jacket brushed ever so slightly against her sweater.
"You definitely left a mark," she said after a moment.
"Yeah?"
"Your club? Hellfire? My brother ended up joining last year, when he got into high school. Some of your former, um, cattle or whatever, took him under their wing. It was--- I mean, it was really great for him. My mom, though, about blew a gasket." Shaking her head, Chrissy rolled her eyes. "It was the Satan club, started by known Satanist Eddie Munson. You hadn't been around for a year and your legacy lived on."
Eddie was quiet for a few seconds that stretched into entire lifetimes. A tenseness hung there, filling up the space between them, though Chrissy couldn't gauge why. All she had done was admit something that was common Hawkins knowledge, after all.
"They were sheep, Cunningham. Not cattle."
The tension snapped, and suddenly, she and Eddie were both laughing. Full-bellied delight that echoed against the brick buildings bordering the dark alley, both of them hunched over and staring at each other through eyes wet with mirth.
"Are you serious, though?" he asked between bouts of cackling. "The Satan club?"
"I swear," she assured him, still laughing. "Gosh, my mom was furious. But Matty--my brother--he refused to quit. Said it was cool. That he hated baseball, the sport he'd been playing for a good eight years, and liked Dungeons & Dragons, and she couldn't do anything about it."
"Hell yeah!" Eddie cheered, clapping his hands roughly together a few times. "Your brother is a fucking legend, Chrissy!"
"Yeah," she sighed, their shared laughter tapering off. Until the quiet again settled between them, only disrupted by the deep bass at their backs still beating through the window of the apartment they'd both vacated. "I miss him."
"Oh, shit. Is he, like--- Fuck, I mean, is he, y'know. Uh." Eddie grimaced, clenching his teeth and pulling his collar out. Chrissy blinked at him, his meaning taking a moment to click.
"Oh, no, no!" she assured him quickly, laughing despite herself. "No, he's--- I just, um, haven't gotten to talk to him in a while."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah. I haven't been home."
Something in Eddie's expression fell with understanding, and he nodded. Taking a deep, slow breath, he shifted, turning his body until he was facing her, one leg propped up to rest his arm against.
"Yeah, me either," Eddie admitted. "Probably not for, y'know, the same reasons, but I did promise myself I'd never go back to that shithole, so. Same boat, I guess, just different cabins."
Chrissy nodded, as well, giving him a small smile. At the same moment, a light breeze made itself known, caressing what little skin was exposed beneath her sweater and making her shiver.
Eddie noticed. It was surprising that he did, yet she also couldn't explain why it was surprising. Why it felt like it shouldn't have been surprising.
"Hey, let's go back in," he suggested as he shrugged his way out of his leather jacket. Laying it over her shoulders to give her a buffer against the few seconds of February air it would take them to crawl back through the window. Chrissy took in a shaky breath, pulling the jacket tighter around herself and basking in its warmth. She hadn't even asked. Wouldn't have asked. And he just did it. "Dunno about you, but, uh, I'm ready to rejoin the fray."
It took her a moment to nod. To shift her weight until she was crouched, turning back toward the window, as she was closest.
Before she could get it open, Eddie caught her hand. They both gasped, and Chrissy looked at him, finding that his own eyes were captured by the curl of his fingers around hers. As though shocked he'd touched her so casually. Like it hadn't been a conscious movement.
There had been something in that touch. Something inexplicable. Something new. Something she was certain she'd hallucinated.
"Or," he began, his voice cracking. As though, whatever it was she'd hallucinated had in fact been a shared hallucination. Stronger, more sure, yet with his eyes still on their hands, he tried again. "Or."
"Or...?" Chrissy prompted when he didn't speak again.
"We could, uh, get outta here?" he suggested. Blinking, waving his spare hand awkwardly through the air, "Not, y'know, like that, or anything, Cheer Queen, just, uh. There's this diner a few blocks away with a killer milkshake. And, uh, I guess I'm just surprised. You're, y'know, way easier to talk to than I expected, given your former status as the queen of Hawkins High."
Despite herself, Chrissy giggled. Twisting her fingers until they were laced with his, her knuckles to his palm, and she could briefly squeeze his hand.
"Yeah?" she asked, bottom lip caught between her teeth for a moment. Eddie's eyes tracked the anxious habit, something in his face making her cheeks warm. "You're done avoiding me at these parties, then?"
"Well, can you blame me?" he asked, using his free hand to wedge the window open for her. "You're Chrissy Cunningham. I thought you were gonna be mean and scary!"
"Me?" She couldn't have kept the delight out of her voice if she'd tried.
"Hell yeah, you!" He laughed, gesturing for her to enter the apartment first. Chrissy climbed through, having to let go of his hand to pull her body through the opening. After some awkward finagling, Eddie finally followed.
It was a relief, when his hand found hers again after the separation.
"And what's the consensus?" she asked as they moved through the throng of people. "Am I living up to your expectations?"
Eddie let out a bark of laughter. Pulling open the door of the apartment and allowing her out first. It made something small and excited unfurl in her chest. Something so oddly hopeful, her breath caught against it in her lungs.
"Oh, sweetness," he said, shaking his head, "jury's still way out on that one."
OK so, we know we won, but this sadist kinda left it open to interpretation as to how, right?
Cool, so here's my how:
After that embrace and after service, they embraced again, when everyone else had gone home. They were alone at the restaurant. Syd was in the office leaving Sug a Post-it on the computer for her to read first thing in the AM, when she got back to work the next day. Carmy waited for her on the doorway, leaning against the doorframe, staring, as usual.
When she finished and was about to walk out of the office, she asked him what he was looking at, and he said: the best chef I have ever met and she smiled, and they embraced again. This time, when they lingered at the end of that embrace, locking eyes, they didn't repress the urge to seal that perfect moment with a kiss. They went for it. It was sweet, slow, and it became wetter and more eager as they kept letting themselves go.
But they stopped.
They decided to take it easy. Took a deep breath and regrouped.
Then walked out together, holding hands. A few minutes later, after a romantic stroll under the stars where they locked lips often on the way to the train station, they arrived at their destination, and Syd took the train home; Carmy walked home. He actually floated 2 feet above the ground in a cloud of cigarette smoke and her particular scent that was now impregnated in his clothes.
When she got home, she texted him: "Miss you already, chef."
And so he hopped on an Uber and showed up at her place, and the whole plan of taking it easy went out the window. They were going strong and hitting it hot and heavy ever since, but they agreed to keep it under wraps for now. The morning after, they made a point of arriving at the restaurant separately to make sure no one blew their cover. That day, they had a couple of press rounds scheduled that Carmy absolutely refused to partake in. Syd took it home. He was the proudest a human being could be.
A few days later, at Eva's birthday party, they tried to stick to their plan of not going public yet, and Syd was actually pretty good at hiding it, but Carmy wasn't.
They left the party together that day, and since the next day was Carmy's interview with Sue, Syd cleared her schedule to spend the whole day with her dad, as Carmy attempted to change regimes on their first day off in a 100 years.
That didn't work out the way Carmy or even Syd expected.
Right after the interview, Carmy got rid of that necktie he found completely suffocating and went to her place; he had to see her. He texted her, but she wouldn't reply.
When Syd was on her way back home, after having had a lovely afternoon with Emmanuel, she checked her phone, and when she saw like 3 texts from Carmy, she worried.
So she called him on the spot, and he said he was waiting for her. He was impatient.
She arrived home shortly after, and Carmy was expecting her right at her stoop, smoking and reminiscing about the epiphany he had just had at the architecture firm across town.
"Hey, is everything OK, Carm?"
He threw the cigarette away and stood up, then put his arms around her, in a way that was starting to feel all too familiar for him by now, and kissed her. Then, looking deep into her big doe eyes, that had saved him from panic attacks, spirals, and existential crisis, he said, "Um, it is now, partner."
Carmy suffers from self loathing/hatred, imposter syndrome so bad and how he sees himself as worthless and Syd as the complete opposite of him he mentions it all in goodbye but the way it hurt me to see him love Syd so so much he is so proud he doesn’t understand most of what he is feeling to simply say ‘you got two’ and just memorising her face broke me . The moment means so much to Syd - it’s all her dreams coming true and the little hurt in her eyes as she says ‘you did too major’ in reply to his congrats . Gut wrenching. Imagine all your dreams coming true with the love of your life and he wants to remove the part he played in making them come true from them. Every single day i love Syd so much more man . She is the real deal as carm says gosh i would just lose it if i were her.
Chasing that 🌟 was his first act of love for Syd bc he knew it was gonna break him, he knew he wasn’t gonna survive another NY. And he didn’t actually. S4 Carmy was a new Carmy, and that’s when they won the star. He made the ultimate sacrifices out of love for her, 1 was chasing the 🌟, 2 giving up Mikey’s restaurant “putting it first”, and 3 retiring not to drag her down with him, basically to protect her from himself.
He won the 🌟 with her help, and viceversa.
He recovered the restaurant keeping it in the family, bc she’s family now and they’re together as partners in life (maybe occasionally at the restaurant too).
He 💯 unretired bc he can’t even move the cutting board away from her.
He’s soooo down bad he’s a joke.
Also, his 💔 when she didn’t immediately hug him and celebrated with him when he broke the news.
But then again, that’s confirmation of how requited that love is. She didn’t wanna go there bc she knew it was a point of no return. And she was right.
After that they were together at the party as auntie Syd and uncle Carmy, she was cutting her niece’s cake and he only had 😍 for her.
This meta is dedicated to all the Clairmy stands that I blocked throughout the years. It's my gift to you, lizards! Enjoy!
In this take, we can better appreciate the distance between Sugar and her, and that she was even a lil further back than Sugar, and there were kids between them, when we know that Sugar was standing RIGHT BEHIND Carmy, next to Pete, in the NEW BERZATTOS VIP AREA
When Carmy moved bc Syd started focusing on cutting the cake, as ONLY A MEMBER OF THE FAMILY WOULD for their "niece", in this case, which BTW Eva officialized and foreshadowed in S4 UNDER THE TABLE, calling her Antie Syd in front of the family, the C person could be seen behind Carmy trying to get his attention that at the time was focused on Eva, basking in the moment, because we know that man loves kids, since he held Sophie in his arms for the first time.
It's a matter of perspective created by camera placement, but they were not together; he was with Syd and the New Berzattos, celebrating his niece's birthday at his wife's restaurant, their restaurant, the family business. C was with her friend and her BF, third wheeling and trying to get her ex's attention when Syd was RIGHT THERE, faithful to her narcissistic style. But Sydney didn't even register her, FAMILY COMES FIRST for Syd.
Bonus track 1: He put a ring on it? Syd is clearly wearing a ring on her left hand, now bc of the camera perspective, we can't see whether it is a diamond ring or not, but it might be.
Bonus track 2: Storer used a similar method to the one used at weddings to place couples that are together, or as Hulu called it, PERFECT PAIRINGS. It stems from Classical French etiquette, and it's called "Alignement". It's also used at restaurants, for new couples or newlywed couples, or when it is desired to just optimize the closeness of any particular pairing. It's also commonly utilized at corporate events.
This can be seen in Cicero-Donna-Lee's case as well. We know Cicero wanted to ask Donna out in 5x8, and I will quote JAW directly here: "thought he wanted to retire", but then, like IMO a couple of years later, at Eva's Bday party, Donna is in the back with Lee, and Cicero is UNALIGNED, alone, more to the front of the room, third wheeling with Tiff + Frank.
Meanwhile, DD is lurking in the background with Lee:
Away from Cicero, who seems to be flying solo, actually, unless we count his "Kelly", AKA: Computer. (so it didn't work out or he didn't even ask her out, we don't know, but we know they're not together)
This proves that C being where she was represents Carmy and her didn't end up together, were never endgame, and that Storer is a sadist who wanted to make a last DICK MOVE with this POS Schrödinger's Bday party.
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