set in s3, hopper!reader
summary: there's one lucky thing about you and robin being a lesbian couple in the eighties - you don't have to keep your door open three inches.
wc: 2.3k+
cw: sensitive themes (talk of homophobia & same sex couples in the 80's) but it's all in a positive way! suggestive themes - heated moment.
a/n: this fic means so much to me so treat her kindly
With your father’s presence comes the slam of a door. You’ve been conditioned to associate him with the sound, so when the front door slams open, Robin immediately puts a few inches of space between your faces. Her lips no longer brush yours as she flirts with you quietly, her hand slipping from your waist so she can rest her second arm on the mattress. You glimpse up to the mirror at the other end of your bed and nod to yourself approvingly. In the reflection, you don’t see a pair of lovers, but good friends.
Another door bangs against a wall, and you scoff in amusement as you hear your dad begin yelling before cutting himself off. Robin squeezes your hand which grips the corner of the magazine’s page, but she quickly lets go, moving it away a safe distance. Her soft touch averts your attention back to the magazine — something that had lost your focus many minutes ago, when Robin had decided to press the first kiss to your jaw.
“So I take it you prefer the plaid over the floral?” You mumble, a single manicured nail tracing over the advertised bikinis. “Yeah, I like the funky patterns.” Both your eyes flit up towards the end of Robin’s sentence as the door eases open. Jim Hopper’s gaze is sceptical, but his shoulders slump in relief at the sight of you and Robin, innocently laying on your stomachs on your bed, flicking through a magazine.
“It’s like a time machine in here.” Your dad starts, hand still on the doorknob as he looks back and forth between your room and El’s, where she and Max are in the same position, except on the floor. And also, very much just friends. “Both of you girls with your friends, no boys around.” He leaves the second part silent, but it’s clear that he thinks about how for the first time in years, he doesn’t have to worry about either of his girls and their boyfriends. He nods approvingly before slowly closing the door, and for a moment you just stare at the dark oak, contemplating getting up to lock the door behind him.
Robin slings an arm over your waist, ducking her face next to yours and muttering “You know how I like fun patterns on you.”
“Robs, you just like fun patterns.”
She brings a hand up, resting her chin on it and looking into the corner of the room, thinking deeply. “Well, yeah, exactly. That’s why I like them on you. You make things I already like a hundred times better because they’re combined with you.” Your chest swells with adoration at your girlfriend’s words, and you lean in close to press your lips to hers despite the unlocked door. “I love you.” You whisper quietly, and she echoes the words back to you without a moment’s hesitation.
Pushing the magazine away from you, you roll onto your side, resting your head on a propped up hand. Robin’s gaze drops down to where your shirt rides up, exposing a sliver of your abdomen, and she lets her fingers wander there, tracing absentminded shapes onto your skin. “So you’ll get the bikini?” She asks hopefully, eyes trailing up your body to finally land on your face. “Yeah, I probably will.”
The grin that makes its way onto her face is slow and hard for her to fight off, so she lets it conquer, flashing it in your direction. She leans in close to you, but just before she can kiss you, you interrupt her. “Robin, go lock the door.” She flies off the bed in such an eager manner it makes you giggle to yourself, but Robin winces as she turns the lock, hoping its click doesn’t alert your police chief of a dad. She tiptoes back to the bed, climbing onto the mattress so close to you that she layers her body above yours, intertwining your legs together.
Shimmying onto your back, you smile up at your girlfriend, a chill running up your spine when she runs her fingertips up the side of your neck. Robin leans down, pressing a long and teasing kiss just underneath her fingertips, and you can feel the way her lips quirk up into a smile against your neck when your back arches off the mattress. She laughs to herself when your fingers sew into her hair, pulling her head up and closer to your face.
“Kiss me, Robin.” You plead, eyes flickering down to her lips. You admire the moment her tongue jots out to lick her lips, but don’t have time to process the fact that she’s already leaning down to kiss you with an obedient “Yes ma’am.”
She moans when your fingers scratch at her scalp, but she tilts her head and slackens her jaw to deepen the kiss nonetheless, her lips parting. Your fingers tighten around her golden locks when her tongue finally meets yours, and you hum in satisfaction, pushing her closer to you by the back of her head.
Robin leans most of her weight on her right arm, letting her free hand trail up your body. When she finds the edge of your jeans, she grips the denim fabric in her hands, fingers expertly working to unbutton them. She doesn’t bother undoing the zip, only slipping her hand under your jeans and down your panties. You let out a sharp breath at her cold touch, hand flying to grip her wrist, stopping her movements. She pulls back from the kiss with a wet string of saliva connecting your lips to hers, a silent question lingering on her lips.
“Risky.” You breathe out, and she nods, an unwavering look of content on her features. “What?” You laugh at her lack of response, a hand tightly clutching the fabric of her t-shirt. “Not if you can be quiet.”
She laughs even as you push her head back down into the kiss, tongue immediately tangling with yours, muffling her sounds into mere moans. Her fingers wiggle beneath your underwear, and you loosen your hold on her wrist to let her do as she pleases to you. She trails her hand down, lips suddenly breaking from the kiss so she can avert attention to your neck instead. “No, Robin!” You gasp, twitching away from her mouth. “You know you can’t leave any marks!” She leaves her lips on your neck, letting her head drop down so her forehead rests onto the mattress as she grumbles disappointedly.
“Let me break the rules just one time.” She murmurs, voice laced with dismay. You gently push at her chest, and she instantly rolls off you, letting you swing a leg over her hips to straddle her. She pouts underneath you, hands coming to cross over her chest, but you pull them down, tilting your head at her in question. “No, don’t be upset Robs.”
Robin shrugs, huffing to further showcase her emotions to you. You lean down, pressing your lips to hers once, then quickly again before moving to press kisses onto each of her cheeks. Her cheeks tense under your kisses as she breaks into an unwilling smile, but her hands come up to grip yours hips anyway. “I’ll let you leave marks sometime, okay? Somewhere my dad won’t see, when literally any other person could be the suspect, okay?”
Robin groans, throwing her head back onto the mattress and squinting her eyes as though deep in thought. Then, she shrugs her shoulders, one hand shooting up to cup the nape of your neck and harshly pulling you down, slamming your lips down onto hers. It’s a violent kiss, one that all teeth and tongue, and Robin easily flips your positions back around, hands working to push your shirt up. “But for now, somewhere he won’t see.” She tells you, one hand snaking underneath your back and unclasping your bra.
Her mouth immediately meets your breast, lips wrapping around your nipple, and your hand returns to your girlfriend’s hair, biting down on your bottom lip to avoid making any sound.
“Rob-”
“Hey, what do you girls want for dinner!?”
Robin jerks up away from you at the sound of your dad’s voice on the other side of the door as he knocks loudly, and you scramble up to clasp your bra again and pull your shirt down. For extra measure, you pull the closest hoodie to you over your head before opening the door and facing your dad. El and Max stand in the living room, and El stares at you for a long moment before turning to look at Jim. She pokes him in the side, whispering “Ask her.”
“These two want pizza, that okay with you and Robin?” He asks you with a sigh, and you nod. “Alright, the four of you take care, I’ll order the pizzas for you and go, I have something to do. You’re in charge, hon, alright?” You nod again, pocketing the money he hands you.
Robin comes out of your room just as Jim shrugs his jacket on, and the four of you watch as he leaves. “Should we watch something?” You ask when the door shuts, watching as Robin slumps down on the couch in front of the television. El and Max stare at you for a long moment, and you gesture your hands as to ask what’s going on.
“I didn’t know girls could kiss each other like girls and boys do.” The gasp flies from your lips before you can prevent it, and Robin’s head snaps towards your sister so fact that her neck might have snapped. “El… Where did you - what do you mean?”
“El spied on you and saw you and Robin kissing.” Max clarifies with a shrug of her shoulders, moving slowly to sit in your dad’s armchair.
“El, I thought we agreed you wouldn’t do that.” You gulp, unable to think of anything else to say. Robin stands, turning around to face you, panic written all over her face. The living room is silent for a long and uncomfortable moment as your brain races to find a solution. “Okay, El sit down. Max, next to her on the couch.” You demand, bringing a hand up to your mouth so you can bite at your thumb nail anxiously. The younger girls scatter to sit on the couch in front of the television, nervously glancing at each other before looking back up at you and Robin.
“Are you girlfriend-girlfriend?” El asks, and you freeze, shooting Robin a side glance. She shrugs, and you decide in that moment to be truthful, so you turn back to your sister and nod. “But it’s really important that you don’t tell anyone, okay?”
“Because dad would get mad that you keep your door closed?” El hypothesises, and despite the laugh that wants to escape you, you shake your head. “No, El. Look, a lot of people - most people aren’t open to the idea of two girls or two boys being partners. You know, it could really get us in trouble.” You crouch down in front of El and Max, though your gaze doesn’t move away from your younger sister’s face. “Does that bother you, El? That Robin and I are together?”
El shakes her head, looking back at Robin and smiling softly. “I like Robin. She gives me free ice cream sometimes. And she is funny. And you spend all your time with her so I know she is a good person.” You nod in relief, moving your attention to Max. “What about you, Max?”
“No, I think it’s cool. I sometimes hear people talk about couples like you but I didn’t think they actually existed.” Robin chuckles at Max’s words, then looks at you. She notes the stress on your face and brings a hand up to rub your back, furrowing her eyebrows when you flinch on instinct. “You really can’t tell anyone.” Robin echoes your previous words, taking her hand off you and looking at the younger girls with the most serious face she can muster.
“Why don’t people like when two girls or boys go out?” Max finally asks, looking between you. Robin brings her shoulders up to her ears, holding them there for a moment before letting them drop low in a sad shrug as she kneels down beside you. “I wish I knew, Max.” She offers, sighing deeply. She glances towards you, hesitantly extending her arms out to propose a hug. You let yourself fall into her arms, bringing your hands up to hide your face as you whine anxiously, crying “Fuck, we messed up Rob!” Robin tightens her hold on you, caressing your back in slow circles.
“I’m sorry I spied.” Apologises El, eyes clouding with distress. “Will you two promise not to tell anyone? And I mean anyone at all, in the whole world.” Asks Robin, keeping you close to her.
“Promise.” They echo in unison.
“And when the pizza comes, you can pay.” Robin decides as punishment with a sense of finality in her tone of voice. Both Max and El’s heads snap towards you, panic etched onto their faces. Digging your face out of the crook of Robin’s neck, you glimpse at the younger girls, laughing quietly at their expressions. “Can spy through people’s minds but can’t pay for pizza.” You scoff, staring at them longly.
“This is serious, you get that right?” You emphasise one last time, deeply exhaling when they both nod again. “Robin, let me speak to you in private for a moment.” Robin follows you back into your room, standing by the closed door for a long moment in utter silence. At the sight your stillness, she walks towards you, spinning you around and walking you back to the door until you’re pressed up against it. She takes a minute to look at you, then presses her lips against yours in a passionate kiss that has you melting in her arms.
“And here I thought Steve was going to be the only person to know until at least the nineties.” You mumble against her lips, feeling her chest rumble with a silent laugh. She pats your thigh twice at the sound of the doorbell, muttering “Yeah, like any of us will still be alive by the nineties.”
Requested: Nope but was very much inspired by other x readers.
Pairing: Steve Harrington x reader + Robin Buckley.
Summary: It can't be. You and Steve have only just officially become a couple to the outside world. There had been some messing around before. And then a bombshell is dropped. There's a chance you're pregnant. Steve is excited, but are you?
Warning(s): (possible) pregnant reader + mentions of sex.
[Not my Gif]
It wasn't long ago that you both admitted your nighttime escapades were more than just uncontrollable lust. You were madly in love with each other. To the group's relief. The excuses you came up with were simply embarrassing.
You were in the middle of your honeymoon phase. This meant lovemaking often took place in an unsafe manner at some questionable places.
You had a pack of condoms in your nightstand. Steve would sometimes hastily slip one into his wallet when he left the house. It wasn't often you made it to your room or Steve simply forgot.
They were often quickies in the backseat of his car or in the back room of WSQK The Squawk. Basically, whenever you got the chance, it happened.
You were on the pill, but you couldn't always take it on time because you needed your parents' permission. You wanted to spare them the pain of knowing their daughter was active. So you always had to wait to see if Muray had it in stock.
So you didn't know exactly when it would have been a hit. To your utter horror, Steve was the one to point out the elephant in the room: you might be pregnant.
"I think we should talk to Muray," Steve walked into the bathroom and plopped down next to you. He held your hair together with one hand and had a bottle of water in the other. You had spent the last fifteen minutes leaning over the toilet bowl. It was only the second time today.
“We just had a drop?" He’s not coming extra to bring you boppers, love,” You felt so nauseous. How could Steve even think about snacks? You'd been puking like crazy right next to him. “Boppers would be a plus but I think we should ask for something else,” he kissed your temple.
“Huh?” You poisoned me with your bad cooking didn’t you? I’m doomed! You giggled a little.
“Or maybe flu season is around?”
“I just don't think you ate anything bad or have the flu, love,” You looked at him concernedly.
There was a twinkle in his eyes that wasn’t there before. "I just think we can't rule out one thing," There's a hint of hope in his voice. "It's a hunch, but could there be a chance you're pregnant?" He didn't look at you right away. When he heard you take a deep breath out, his gaze darted to you.
"I talked to Robin about it and-"
“Robin? Does Robin think I'm pregnant?" You stammered. Steve quickly shook his head no. "Her cousin is pregnant. When I told her you hadn't been feeling so well lately, she suggested it might be possible." Steve felt guilty. He'd kept it to himself for a while because he didn't want to kid himself. Even though your relationship was still new and he wasn't at all sure a baby was on the way, he suddenly looked forward to starting a family with you. He really wanted to be a dad. He could prove that he was good at something. Maybe he hadn't expected it so soon, but he was ready for it. He just didn't know how you felt. Until now, you hadn't seemed particularly enthusiastic.
"If it'll put your mind at ease, we can ask Muray for a test," you nearly collapsed when everything had sunk in. “I think it would just be nice if we knew what might be in store for us.”
You weren't sure you wanted to know. But this wasn't really something to ignore and hope that it would go away on its own. You were just scared, and you admitted that to Steve.
“I love you so much and I really want a mini of us one day. I just thought we still had some time to build a life together. So we could do it right. We're so young and have no savings for our own place or a nursery room and I think both our parents would stop celebrating if we told them.”
Steve understood you completely. His life would change completely, but yours even more so. It was a responsibility shared by both of you, but you had to do it. Grow the little one in your belly.
"Maybe we're getting ahead of ourselves. I don't want to force you into anything. We're only doing this if we both want to," he clasped his hands around yours.
“I wanna find out.”
-
Murray did his very best. He was just curious himself. It wasn't every day he had to smuggle a pregnancy test into Hawkings. The birth rate was staggering rapidly due to the emerging events. Luckily, Steve's obsession with Bopper's came in handy for once. He'd hidden a few tests among the candy bars.
You were pacing around the meeting place. Since Robin was pretty much aware of your little situation, you'd asked her to join you.
“If there's a bun in the oven, is there a chance I might become their cool aunt?” Robin was always so delightfully blunt and honest.
“Only if you spoil them to death,” you hugged her side. It had been a few days since you'd realized the reality: you might become a parent soon. It had been a stressful time. But at the same time, Steve had taken such good care of you, as if the test had already come back positive.
“It’s going to be the cutest baby to walk this freaking-floating planet!” she exclaimed with joy.
“Babies don't walk, Robin,” Steve laughed, keeping a close eye on the road. “But you're right.”
“Father of the Year.”
-
You were sitting on the sink. "How does it actually work?" Robin inspected the key. You'd already downed a few liters of water so you could pee.
Once you knew exactly what to do, Robin left you alone for a moment. She sat next to Steve on the couch. "Aren't you nervous?" Steve shook his head. "I can see it already. Y/N with a round belly. She has that pregnancy glow about her. I can just picture them crawling around here, and I wonder what first times I'll get to experience. It sounds silly, doesn't it?" Steve stared at the bathroom door, hoping you'd come out soon. After the test was done, you had to wait for fifteen minutes.
“You sometimes sound like a mad man in love, but it's beautiful to see how you go for it. Stevie from a year ago would have run away faster than his shadow.” Robin did her very best. She was a huge support to both of you.
"It's just important that we don't forget Y/N's feelings. She's happy with any outcome now, but that hasn't always been the case. She's just unsure about what's to come for us.” Steve smiled warmly at you as you walked in at that very moment. "Now we just have to wait."
"I'd like to go for a walk." Steve jumped up and said he'd come right behind you. Robin took your hand and led you outside.
You wrapped the test in some paper and put it in your jacket pocket. "You're all so sweet. It's truly an honor for me to be here. But I think you should have this moment for you two alone. I'll be waiting by Steve's car.” Robin really meant this.
“Bopper, while we wait?” your boyfriend was such a klutz. "You're incredibly annoying." you staggered on your toes.
"You love me. I still have one of your love notes in my pocket," he teased. For a moment, you forgot how much your life would change in a few minutes.
“That must be a forgery!”
Meanwhile, you had found a bench at the small park just around the block. In the distance, you saw children playing together. A woman with a buggy on the bench next to you. The baby was sleeping peacefully. It was meant to be. Steve swung your legs over his.
“Should we also get a dog?” Steve looked at you like he was the puppy himself. "I think we'll be good if the test comes back positive." You raised an eyebrow and placed your hands on your stomach. "A man can dream!" Steve placed his hands on yours.
You sat in silence for what must have been about five minutes. You enjoyed it. Against all expectations, your thoughts didn't race. You made a joke yourself. "This might have been the last bit of peace we've ever known," Steve chuckled.
“Could it be that time already?” You rummaged in your pocket. You took a deep breath in and out.
The woman next to you laughed infectiously and gave you a thumbs-up as she softly said "good luck." Had she been eavesdropping?
“Shall we take a look?”
-
“We're having a little one,” Steve picked you up with him and swung you around. “You're going to be a daddy, love,” He kissed your forehead, lips and then your whole face Softly, as if you were suddenly more vulnerable than before. “Can I call you mommy yet?”
It was still a huge shock and you literally had to land. It had helped that you'd actually been talking the whole time, as if you'd already known for sure you were pregnant. For the first time, you could truly see the beauty in it.
You weren't doing this just for Steve anymore. For you too. For your future. For the little bean growing inside your belly.
Nancy knows what people think when they see her and Steve together these days. People mostly include Robin Buckley who, despite what they both say, Nancy doesn't completely believe isn't carrying some kind of torch for the man.
They aren't dating, but it's obvious to anyone who knows them that's what Nancy is angling for. She's not subtle, and she's not trying to be. Doesn't see any reason why she should be. But she knows what it looks like. Nancy Wheeler, fresh off an amicable but heartbreaking end to her relationship with Johnathan Byers has turned tail for a rebound with former boyfriend Steve Harrington. She's using him. She's leading him on. She's going to break his heart, again.
The truth is that Nancy has always liked Steve, was in love with Steve for a fleeting moment when they were both young and stupid and full of mistakes waiting to be made and in the end they had hurt each other, misunderstood each other, too many times to last through their tumultuous teenage years.
The Nancy and Steve of 1984 couldn't have loved each other right, but Nancy knows in her heart that the Nancy and Steve of 1987 could make something beautiful.
Steve is so different from who he used to be. There's a steadiness in him that he always tried to emulate but never fully embodied until the summer of 1985. He always knew how to make her laugh, how to get her to tap into that adventurous spirit within her and live life, but now he also makes her feel safe.
She wants to hold him the way he used to hold her. Wants to whisk him away to New York and build a life perfectly balanced between her ambition and his steadfastness. So she's putting everything she has into rekindling those embers that have always smoldered between them into a steady fire.
She just has to convince Robin that she's in it for the long haul this time.
------
Robin thinks that before she met Steve Harrington her life was never so much like a soap opera.
Her best friend seems to attract danger, betrayal, and romance to him like the world is full of moths and he's the only flame for miles. It would be funnier if it wasn't so god damn annoying sometimes.
Steve doesn't know it, despite how much he insists on being some kind of love expert, but he's got two very eligible bachelors vying for his hand at the moment. She's pretty sure they both see themselves as tragic heroes in this tale of romance, but from her vantage point, it's more like two ornery cats fighting for the prized spot of their owner's lap.
Nancy and Eddie have made themselves both near-permanent fixtures at the Family Video. Ostensibly, they come in because Hawkins is still in the process of rebuilding and there isn't much to do at the moment outside of wandering the woods, loitering at the convenience store, and watching movies at home. In actuality they're both trying to monopolize as much of Steve's time as possible, each trying to lock down his weekend plans before the other.
The first couple of weeks it was funny just to watch, now the only enjoyment she gets out of the whole circus is ruining their plans. She relishes the pissed-off-priss look she gets from Nancy when she asks Steve to go to the drive-in the next town over and Robin turns it into a group outing instead. It's equally funny to watch Eddie's puffed-up shoulders droop when he can't figure out a way to say no to Robin enthusiastically asking if she can join them at the trailer to smoke up on a Saturday night.
In truth, as much as she enjoys messing with them, Robin knows who she wants to win this war. She knows too much about Steve and Nancy's past and all the ways they weren't good for each other to trust her deceptively fragile best friend in Nancy's capable hands.
Eddie, on the other hand...well she's still going to make him work for it before she throws him a bone.
------
Eddie's never been one to fall in love.
He's had crushes, shared a few kisses with girls and boys alike, and lost his virginity in the same fumbling but meaningful way most teens do.
But love? He's never had that before, wasn't sure what it would even feel like.
It turns out that for Eddie, being in love feels a lot like being an overgrown house plant that's finally been moved into suitably a larger pot.
You see, Eddie knows a lot about growing up on his own. Raising himself and finding ways to survive, if not thrive, with a distinct lack of nurturing. He knows how to grow under someone, to grow under the clumsy guidance of his uncle Wayne who never intended to become a parent. And most of all he knows a hell of a lot about growing despite. Growing under the harsh boot forever trying to push him back into the hard dirt he came from.
It's something else entirely to grow with someone in the way he's been growing with Steve.
Steve who was there when he woke up, almost equally as injured as Eddie himself after a second, world saving round with Vecna. Steve who let Eddie lean on him in the difficult month of physical and emotional recovery that came next. Who helped Eddie come to terms with the new reality he was living under the way Steve wished someone had been there for him after his first encounter with the Upsidedown. Steve, who on paper should have been one of the people pushing him down, always gave Eddie the space to be himself and never tried to force either of them into a box they didn't fit.
Eddie knows he's not The Girl. He's not the one who got away, he's not the stalwart princess in one of his campaigns who saves the day herself but still gets the guy. He's not Nancy Wheeler.
But he's also not a quitter, and even if everything about the world and the narrative arc of their lives says that Steve will never end up with him, Eddie knows he would regret it for the rest of his life if he didn't put his hat in the ring for the hand of the fair Sir Steve.
------
Steve's not stupid.
He knows that there's something happening between Nancy, Eddie, and himself. Knows that if he chooses to look a little closer, to examine why exactly all his weekends are suddenly booked up and Robin has taken to stealing the Recese's Pieces off the shelf whenever either one of them comes into the store like she's settling in for a show, he would come to the conclusion that two of his best friends are essentially courting him in competition with each other.
But Steve isn't looking closer.
His mom always said that he was just like his father, too stubborn for his own good.
Robin says he's a control freak, pushing non-life-threatening problems off until he knows how to deal with them on his own terms.
The truth is Steve already knows how this will end, and he knows how this should end.
Because in the eyes of society, in the arc of the narrative, Steve and Nancy should already be making plans to move out to New York and start a life together. Steve should be looking at apartments while Nancy finalizes her class schedule. He should be looking into getting a job at his dad's New York office to support his future wife through her college education where they both know she'll breeze through her classes and move onto the world-changing career she was always meant to have, while Steve stays home with their children like a perfect little modern family.
And the thing is, if the story had gone like it was supposed to, if the world had been saved the fourth time around and Eddie Munson had died on the cold, hard ground of the Upsidown, that's probably exactly the future that would have happened and Steve would have never known to not be content with it. But Eddie did make it, and while Steve mourns the future he could have had, he knows it's not the one he's going to choose in the end.
Even though Steve knows exactly what will happen when he allows himself to face the ever-mounting tension between the three of them, it's scary to take that plunge.
Everything about Steve's world up until Robin has told him that what he's going to choose will damn him forever, and even if he's never put much stock into God and the church, he knows that the future in front of them will never be easy. There's a part of him that wants to take the easy way out. He's never been attracted to a man before Eddie, never had to imagine himself loving someone discreetly, and the thought of it makes his heart hurt prematurely. It would be simpler, he knows, to choose the path most taken.
But Steve has always thought more with his heart than his brain, and he knows that after everything they've been through, after all the time they've spent healing together and growing as one that he could never choose anyone but Eddie.
The time is coming for him to make his final decision, he can feel it, but for now he'll let them sit in this liminal space a little longer.
Eddie cries out in pain, “ah shitting fuck!” he yells across the bay, reflexively pushing off with a booted foot so his stool rolls away from the danger, his hurt fingers shoved unceremoniously in his mouth to nurse away the sting.
“Whatsit?” Robin sits up in her bunk, fluff of hair sticking up at all angles.
“Nothing. Nothing, sorry, fucking thing shocked me, go back to sleep.”
“Timesit?”
“I dunno,” Eddie looks around vaguely, looking across the untidy bank of tools and control panels he squints at the nearest monitor, “one ish.”
Robin humphs. Rubs at her eyes. Then just, sits for a bit, staring at nothing. “Want a hot drink?” She ends up volunteering, sticking her bare legs out from under the covers and sliding out from her bunk. She pulls on her dungarees from where they were abandoned on the floor.
“You ask me that like we have options,” Eddie peers down at his latest project, sliding a viewer over his mask to get a closer look. The numbers flashing in the peripheral vision make absolutely no fucking sense whatsoever.
Robin yawns, forcing her feet into her boots, the laces loose and scraggly, “sounds better than ‘would you like caffeine reconstituted from the caffeine you pissed out yesterday’, though, right?” It’s a much trodden route, this conversation, one they have most days. It’s familiar, comforting. Shores them up for the long journey. Eddie hums but doesn’t answer, “where’s Chris?”
“Cockpit, said something about checking The Belt again.”
Robin mumbles something about Chrissy’s constant paranoia when it comes to crossing The Belt, but leaves to get them their drinks. Eddie gets it though, they all have their things. Their little routines, their charms, their talismans their...things. Things that get them through. The asteroid belt doesn’t change unless someone changes it, all those little rocks floating around on their reliable courses until...something nudges one. It’s a domino effect then, and crossing the belt is hazardous enough without outside forces fucking it up.
It wasn’t a problem until Mars, the catastrophic failure of the Synthetics, and the war that humanity very squarely lost. There had been laws before, the mining companies who were scalping the belt had a million feet of red tape to get through to make sure they weren't affecting shipping lanes and yada yada yada.
Now. The Synths do whatever the fuck they like, and it’s not like they're ever going to inform humanity of where they’re drilling.
So, Eddie tinkers, Chrissy checks the belt, and Robin bitches at both of them.
“So...what do you think he is?” Robin swivels around uselessly in the chair next to him.
“Sex bot, definitely.”
Robin snorts a laugh, “got a big dick huh?”
“He is very...anatomically correct,” Eddie closes the hatch, tugs carefully at the synths hair until he finds the next panel along, unhitches it with his home brew magnet arrangement. Not how you’re supposed to do it, but Synth construction companies don’t exactly share their tech.
“You sure it’s okay? Bringing him on board?”
Eddie hums vaguely, “no idea what model he is exactly, but the wreckage was old Robs. Pre One old, plus the Mars Synths never go further than the belt, they don’t have a reason to. Depending on how long he’s been floating about...I mean it’s unlikely, is what I’m saying.”
Eddie tries a different connection, moving carefully, the work very fine and delicate, he follows the numbers on his display. The connection slithers tight when it catches, and there’s the very, very slightest hum of a power up. In the corner of Eddie’s vision, the numbers all flash green.
On the table, the Synths eyes open. The iris goes from large to small, pupils go from wide and black to a pinprick, before it relaxes to something resembling normal. Hazel iris’, Eddie can’t help but notice, strange color, for a Synth, not one Eddie’s ever seen before. Green speckled with brown and gold. Really pretty, and far more detail than Eddie’s ever seen in one of these before. Especially for a sex bot model, if that’s what he is.
The Synth blinks four times in quick succession, indicating a hard reboot, his iris’ are now white with a fine blue ring, the beautiful hazel gone.
The eyes close, and the numbers go all haywire. Flashing yellow and red. Eddie watches as the numbers tell him the Synth has powered off again.
“Did it work?” Robin peers over his shoulder.
“No,” Eddie rolls over to his work station, goes over the scans again, “but I don’t know why. He definitely booted that time, but there’s damage that either I can’t find or...it’s too complex for me. It’s hitting a step and then won’t go any further.”
“So it’s software right? Not hardware?”
“Yeah. Pretty sure you’re right. There’s something there, some...thing that keeps failing the boot. Something in memory maybe. I just,” Eddie sighs a little helplessly, “I dunno, you know?”
“Can’t you switch it off?”
Eddie scoffs, “what, his memory?”
“Yeah? I mean, if he’s a house bot, he’ll forget how to change a diaper and make a Martini, if he’s a worker he’ll forget how to fucking,” she gestures helplessly, “wire in lights, or whatever the fuck they have them doing. Plowing fields, I don’t know. And if he’s a sex bot, he’ll forget about the twenty thousand vaginas he’s probably licked. Does it matter?”
“I...I could try it.” Eddie frowns, thinking it through, “I mean, the base programming is unavoidable, it’ll apply no matter what but...I don’t know exactly how that’ll leave him.”
She shrugs, “then just, turn him off, if the basics are there then the kill switch is there, right? The laws?”
“Yeah, that stuffs hardwired, there’s no bypassing it. Well,” Eddie gestures vaguely, “except for One.”
Robin nods, “except for One.” She agrees.
They both sit quietly for a moment, contemplating the disaster on Mars. The loss of life, even though it happened before either of them were born, it’s left a stark shadow on all of society. All of history.
Eddie slaps his thighs decisively, breaking their reverie, “I’m going to try it.”
Eddie gets his tools.
“We’re probably meeting him for the first time,” Robin tells Chrissy, as Chrissy fixes her hair for her, “we should make a good impression.”
“I don’t think they have opinions babe,” Chrissy tells her gently, licking her thumb and then using it to rub a scuff off Robins cheek.
“You can’t know that for sure. I bet they judge us. Silently. Plus I’ve never met one before, I’ve seen them working loads, you know, on Earth, but I’ve never...spoken to one. Not properly.”
“My parents had a house model, when I was little,” Chrissy volunteers, “she was really nice. Mostly she did all the chores and meals and stuff. Ordered the groceries. She was so good at Mahjong.”
“Huh. Do you think this guy will play Rummy with us? It’s better with four.”
“You’re cute,” Chrissy tells her, before kissing the tip of her nose, “should we have a countdown?” She asks, turning her attention to Eddie.
“Only if you’re willing to do it more than once if this doesn’t work?”
Chrissy wrinkles her nose, “probably not?”
Eddie shrugs, flips his visor screen down, and hopes for the best.
The Synths eyes whirl, that same, beautiful, sparkling hazel. Four quick blinks, and by the end, the iris has cleared to white, highlighted by the same stark blue ring.
The Synth sits up, the sheet Eddie had been using, partly so he wasn't staring at the things dick, and partly to keep it clean, falls and pools around the Synths middle.
There are another set of blinks. Then another. A jerky motion passes through the Synths body; every joint twitching, the head whipping side to side suddenly, sharp movements that look like a full body seizure. And then the whole thing happens again in reverse, from the toes up. The table rattles and shakes.
“The fuck was that,” Robin asks quietly in the ensuing, oppressive, silence.
“Movement test...I’ve never actually seen it before. It’s checking every system right now, might take a couple of minutes.”
“He’s got good hair,” Chrissy volunteers.
“Yeah,” Eddie agrees absently, “but if you’re designing a person, why not make them prefect, right?”
The Synths skin had been pale alabaster white, but a wave of color moves up his body now, a tanned skin tone with some color in his cheeks. Other than sitting absolutely, completely still, it looks human. Looks normal.
It even has a couple of moles dotted about, which is a nice design choice, Eddie thinks. It’s high on the details; meaning it’s a high end Synth.
This guy was most certainly not plowing fields.
You wouldn’t be able to tell he wasn’t human, apart from the eyes, unless you really knew what you were looking for. The hair follicles often give them away, if you can get close enough to inspect them; not with this dude.
The Synth blinks four times. Another four. Another four. It keeps doing it, otherwise completely unmoving.
“Now what?”
“It’s waiting for instruction,” Eddie moves closer, “uhm. Edward Munson. I am your new owner, Edward Munson?” The Synth doesn’t respond, and Eddie scrambles for his data pad, “the instruction varies by manufacturer, I am your new handler? Oh shit wait, fuck. Uhm. Interface English.” The blinking stops, “I knew I was missing a step, I am your owner, Edward Munson.”
Very quietly, the Synth responds, “confirmed.”
“Volume up four. What is your designation?”
“Designation S T Three Five Three,” the Synth answers at a more normal volume.
“Well...you can call me Eddie, and this is Chrissy and Robin.”
The Synth finally moves, the sheet sliding off as he stands up, “wow,” says Chrissy, and Robin covers her eyes.
“Man, I gotta find you some pants,” Eddie tells the Synth.
“We need something better than S T Three Five Three,” Eddie tells the synth as he digs through a storage bin. He finds a jumpsuit that will probably fit. It’s supposed to be worn under a spacesuit, for when they need to do work outside, but Eddie figures the Synth won’t care.
“You are able to assign me a new designation at will.”
Eddie holds up the offensively orange material, “put this on.”
The synth complies without question, and Eddie finds him a pair of socks. The Synth can’t feel fuck all, or at least, it's sensors probably register the temperature and hardness of the floor, but that doesn't mean it feels anything. They don’t have any shoes that will fit him, but something about the sight of his bare feet on the cold metal floor is offensive to Eddie, “space walk socks will have to do.”
Eddie watches as the synth simply stands on one leg, balance inhuman, not even a wobble and he gracefully pulls on one sock and then the other before standing tall again, “how about Steve? That’s pretty close, if we Roman numeral the five. Plus, you kind of look like a Steve. What do you think?”
“I have no opinion. Designation changed to Steve.”
“Right. And how are you feeling?”
Steve’s pupils dilate, the fine blue ring twisting, becoming narrow, before returning to normal. “Systems optimal. Memory error; cause unknown. Water levels approaching critical.”
“Oh you are a joy aren’t you?”
“I am uncertain as to perimeters pertaining to ‘Joy’, possible memory error.”
Eddie sighs, “just follow me, I’ll show you were the water supply is. Actually you know what, I’ll give you the whole tour.”
Eddie stands in the doorway, watching as Steve drinks. And drinks. And drinks some more. Eddie thinks he stops at around four liters.
“Better?”
“Tank level at approximately ninety eight percent capacity.”
“And how long will that last you?”
“Activity dependent. Up to six hundred years at minimal activity. Two weeks under extreme duress.”
Eddie has no idea what a Synth would class as ‘extreme duress’ and he probably doesn’t want to know, “uh hu, and you don’t know what your roll was, right?”
“Information unavailable.”
Eddie sighs, “come on, I’ll show you around.”
Steve follows faithfully, inspecting everything Eddie shows him.
“He’s creepy,” Chrissy hisses.
Eddie sighs, “no, he isn’t.”
“Where is he?”
“He’s cleaning, I think. I had to give him something to do otherwise he just stares at me.”
“Creepy,” she says again, like that’s evidence.
“No, he just waits for instruction, it isn’t his fault, he doesn’t have access to any of his memories.”
“I like him,” Robin says, “he’s got a kind vibe. Like, I think he’s a good soul.”
“Pretty sure Synths don’t have souls,” Eddie tells her absently.
“You see the good in pretty much everything babe,” Chrissy links their fingers together affectionately.
Robin shrugs, “better than thinking everything is shitty,” Robin leans over Eddie’s shoulder, “what are you doing?”
“Synth manufacturers classify them by eye color. I’m just...looking. Different companies use different color codes but there’s a lot of overlap; look,” Eddie brings up multiple lists, “all these shades of yellow are different forms of labor, like carpentry and tailoring and farming and stuff. Lilac and purple are like, hair cuts, beauty and spa treatments and tattoos and stuff. Red shades are hard or dangerous labor, mining and space walks and deep ocean work. These orange and golds are house bots...but there’s no hazel. No green. No brown.”
“There’s no natural colors anywhere on this list,” Robin points out.
“No, it’s deliberate, to stop them being passed as humans.”
“And aren’t Steve’s eyes white with the funny blue ring?” Chris adds.
“Yeah, that just means unsigned according to the list, which could be because he has limited memory access, but I know what I saw.”
“Which means,” Chrissy thinks aloud, “that there’s a whole section of bots, green and browns...or any natural color, that aren’t listed for something right? Colors that they could be using and...you know what’s not anywhere on that list?” Chrissy asks.
“What?”
“Military.”
Eddie huffs, “there’s no such thing as military Synths, not since One.”
“Exactly...didn’t you say this guy could be pre Mars? The salvage was old, right?”
“I...yeah.”
“So...it’s possible?”
“I...guess?”
All three of them lean away from the console, looking down the hallway, past open panels and storage containers, Steve stands. Watching.
“Steve! Where’s my-” Eddie’s coveralls are thrust at him, smelling fresh and looking clean, “oh, thanks, and could you-” Eddie’s pulling one leg of his pants up when Steve presents a steaming cup of coffee, “right. Thanks. Really, uhm, thanks.”
“You are welcome, Eddie.”
“Where are the girls?”
“They are both sleeping.”
“And what have you been doing?”
“I beat Chrissy at four consecutive rounds of Mahjong, then she no longer wanted to play. I have organized your tools by use and type, and was cleaning until Chrissy instructed me to leave. She said her and Robin needed some space.”
“Right, yeah,” Eddie smiles into his coffee, “anything else?”
“There has been a shift in The Belt, I adjusted course to compensate.”
“You did what?”
“The objects in the belt have altered-” but Eddie doesn’t hear any more, he’s just running, coffee sploshing in his mug as he slides into the cockpit, checking the data. He scrolls fast, checking the most recent course correct and the current state of The Belt and...Steve’s right. They won’t actually hit The Belt for another day yet but...what Steve has done is completely correct.
“How did you know how to do this?”
Steve tilts his head, the blue ring of his eyes contracting and expanding, “data unavailable due to memory-”
“Don’t give me that bull shit, if you couldn’t access the memories you wouldn’t even know how to make the course adjust. Just how long were you deactivated for?”
“Unknown, data unavailable-”
Eddie sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose.
“It’s perfect. It’s exactly what I would have done, better even. The thruster burns are like perfect fuel economy. It’s textbook.”
“So...are we turning him off, or not?” Eddie asks.
“I mean...I would have seen this when I got up anyway, we were never in any danger,” Eddie doesn’t doubt it, Chrissy is on it when it comes to Belt travel, “and what he’s done isn’t wrong, but I don’t love that he just...did it.”
“No...but we could just tell him not to touch this again? Right? He was only trying to help?” Robin asks.
They all lean, looking out of the doorway and down the hall; Steve is no where in sight.
“Okay, Steve.”
Steve turns to look at him, he even throws in a blink which is just...yeah. Someone went to a lot of effort with this guy.
“Okay, so, from now on, if you notice anything with the ships course, or anything else in the cockpit that seems wrong, you come and tell one of us, you do not fix it yourself from now on, okay? Don’t touch anything in there, you got it?”
“Confirmed.”
Chrissy sits in the pilots seat for the entire crossing. It’s not like it takes long, but she’s poised the entire time. Ready for anything. Eddie’s never felt safer than he has with Chrissy at the helm.
It’s quiet. No one really dares to speak, knowing they will get a slap from Chrissy for breaking her concentration. They’re nearly out. Despite it being totally fine every single time they do this, there’s still a touch of tension in the air. Knowing that if anything was going to go wrong, odds are, it’s now.
But still, Chrissy is good at her job, and she delivers, like she does every other time.
The lights are dim; she likes to be able to see out clearly for this. So when the ship harmlessly rounds the final debris, it’s a vision of the pristine diamond speckled velvet of space that greets them.
“Good job Chris,” Eddie gives her shoulder a squeeze as they all breathe fully for the fist time in a while. The tension falling away, “coffee?”
Robin and Chris make vaguely positive noises, and Eddie’s at the cockpit doorway when the whole ship shudders. He catches himself on the wall, almost toppling.
“The fuck was that?” Robin hisses.
“I don’t know,” Chrissy is flipping switches, doing her job, despite the undercurrent of panic, she doesn’t let the fear take over.
“Did we get bumped?”
“I don’t know,” Chrissy says again, frustrated this time.
A light is flashing next to Eddie’s head, and he flicks the safety off, “the airlock,” he tells them, “must have taken the hit,” right before Steve appears in the doorway.
“What did you do?” Chrissy asks him, accusing.
“Chris he can’t have done anything-” Robin starts to defend Steve, and Robin is right, there’s nothing that Steve could have done from inside the ship to cause that.
“Eddie. I need permission to defend the ship.”
Above Eddie’s head, the airlock warning light flashes again, Eddie watches the insistent flashing, a horrible realization starting to form.
“A ship is attempting to breach the airlock.”
“Holy shit,” Robin looks to Steve, she’s gone pale, clearly terrified.
“What ship?” Chrissy asks.
But there isn’t time to have a debate over it, it doesn’t matter who it is, if they’re trying to force entry, then it’s nothing good. Eddie has to make a decision, and he has to make it fast before the ship is too damaged by whoever it is trying to force the airlock, “permission granted.”
Steve moves at Synth speed. He runs so fast Eddie can’t track it, just feels the strong breeze Steve leaves in his wake.
There’s silence now, as they strain to hear, both girls staring at Eddie. He nods over at the monitors next to Robin, ‘airlock,’ he mouths at her, reaching up again to turn off the warning light.
Robin spins her chair, pressing a button, then another.
The airlock is already open, and there’s a body on the floor.
They have a small weapons cache on board, for extreme emergencies, it’s hidden beneath the control deck. Eddie nods at it, uncertain if they should still be trying to be silent. There’s no way to know what has happened to Steve, but the image on the screen is in color despite it’s grainy picture. The body on the floor is on it’s side, turned away from the camera, but it is not wearing an orange jumpsuit, and that’s enough to identify it as not being Steve, at least.
Chrissy carefully hands Eddie a weapon, and he loops the strap over his shoulder before pressing his thumb to the pad; this will only fire for him, now.
They share a nod, then creep along the hall after Steve. Eddie goes first, picking his way along cautiously, the girls following just as silently. When they near the corner to the airlock, Eddie instinctively reaches an arm out behind him, keeping the girls at his back and tucked into the wall as he peeks around the corner.
It’s totally quiet; just one body on the floor, exactly where Eddie expected it to be from the camera feed. It’s lying in a pool of blood; streaks of dirty greens and yellows. Oils and coolants and lubricating gels. A Synth.
Eddie poises with his weapon, cautiously nudging the thing with his boot; no reaction. The thing is solid and unbending. An inanimate object now. Dead.
They creep through the airlock. Eddie clocks pretty quickly that this is unlike any ship he’s seen before. It’s a Synth ship, from Mars. It has to be; there are no signs at all of human habitation or necessities of life. Everything is economical, even the lighting is dim and a strange orange red color. Everything is shadowed and washed out.
Eddie picks a direction at random, it isn’t long before he finds another dead Synth, and then another.
“Holy shit,” Chrissy whispers at his back.
Eddie hums in agreement.
Eddie rounds another corner, a shocked, “fuck,” dropping out of him without his control. He pulls the trigger purely on reflex, the weapon discharges, the girls shriek.
But Steve has already lifted the barrel; it leaves a smoking streak on the ceiling.
Steve’s eyes are beautifully hazel, clear even in the shitty lighting. A luscious green speckles with honey blown and highlighted in gold.
Calmly, Steve releases the weapon, stepping back, “threat neutralized,” Steve informs him.
Between one blink and the next, Steve’s eyes are white, surrounded by that haunting blue ring.
Eddie has questions, so many questions, but right now, this ship, this threat is the priority.
“You’re sure they’re all dead.”
Steve cocks his head in an alarmingly human gesture, “Synths are not alive.”
“Steve,” Eddie hisses.
“Yes. The threat is neutralized.”
“Where...were they all Synths? And are they from Mars?”
“Yes. And yes,” Steve answers, perfectly level.
“Fuck me, we have to report this-” Robin starts.
“No,” Eddie waves at her, “wait. Let me think for a second.”
“Eddie,” Robin starts to insists, but Eddie cuts her off before she gets anywhere.
“How would we explain this,” Eddie raises his voice, sweeping an arm along the hall and the four mangled synths that decorate it.
“I- we tell the truth-”.
Next to her, Chirssy snorts, “absolutely fucking not. They would confiscate Steve in heartbeat, and he just saved our asses.”
“Exactly,” Eddie says, “they’d probably dismantle him or some shit, and I’m with Chris, he saved us...we need to ditch this ship, somehow.”
“I could set a collision course,” Steve suggests instantly.
Eddie looks at the girls. Robin shrugs, and Chrissy raises her eyebrows ins a ‘yeah okay’ kind of way, “I don’t have any better ideas, and we can’t hang around here.”
“Alright Steve, where’s the cockpit.”
It’s unlike anything Eddie has ever seen before. There’s no...buttons. Not really. No screens. Just a couple of interfaces, one of which Steve presses his palm to, and then closes his eyes.
“Won’t it like, know you’re different to them Steve?” Chrissy whisper hisses at him, clearly spooked. The bodies might be hostile Synths, and the blood might be colorful goop, but it’s still creepy as fuck. There’s the remains of a Synth propped up against the opposite wall, eyes sightless and staring, which is unsettling as fuck all on it’s own, but the things legs are a good four feet away. Steve did this. Steve did all this in just a couple of minutes.
Steve did that. Steve just took out...a lot of Mars synths. Single handedly. He's got to be military, it's the only explanation.
“I am able to bypass it. There seem to be few defenses once you are actually on board.”
Eddie can see the logic; how would an Earth synth even get on board? Why defend against something that’s probably never going to happen.
“Course set, we have fifteen minutes.”
“Okay, lets get the fuck out of here.”
Fifteen minutes is plenty of time, even if they are picking their way over the occasional limb and little pools of operating fluids.
They disengage from the synth ship, and then watch from the cockpit as it’s thrusters fire and it heads into the belt. It direct hits on a very large asteroid just minutes later.
Eddie’s pretty sure the girls are sleeping. Or, at least, they’re together in Chris’ bunk and making an effort to get some rest, which is the best Eddie can expect really. He’s not ready to sleep yet; he’s not sure when he’ll be ready to leave the ship on auto again; he’s contemplating setting watches, something they haven’t felt the need to do for years.
“Okay, so. Mars has been minding it’s business for, like, nearly half a century at this point, and then suddenly, they're here. Trying to board us. Care to explain?”
“Memory failure-”
“Bull shit. Absolute bull shit.”
Steve sits still for a long second, staring at Eddie. For Eddie, it feels like too long; for a Synth, with all that processing power, Steve’s probably just read a novel and beat ten grand masters at chess and done a million other computations all in his head.
He blinks. His eyes are hazel. “I have a transmitter; I believed I had it deactivated. It may be that...it operates in a way I’m not aware of, and was powered up when you repaired me. It’s the most obvious explanation. We should remove it.”
“No fucking shit,” Eddie breathes, “Okay. Okay one thing at a time, let me get my tools.”
Steve strips to the waist, leaving the top half of his jumpsuit to dangle. He bends flat onto the workbench, and reaches behind himself to indicate where Eddie should cut. Eddie does; Steve’s flesh cuts like sturdy rubber. With his visor on, the readings become clear the moment Eddie spots the little attachment to the main power cord in Steve's spine; it glows a pretty, flashing blue, power traveling up and down with a faint, pulsing glow. Eddie has to widen the cut he’s made to get his tools in, but he solves the issue easily. He crushes the part under his boot. Steve’s flesh knits itself together as Eddie watches.
Eddie makes himself another coffee. “Okay, come on, spill.”
Steve is suddenly…more animated. He bites his lips together when he’s thinking. It’s so human and...not at all like a Synth. Someone put a truly gargantuan effort into Steve’s mannerisms. He runs his fingers through his hair, “I’m...not a human built Synth.”
Eddie nearly chokes on his coffee, “you’re from Mars?” The words practically bubble out of Eddie through the coffee, and he has to cover his mouth with his sleeve as he coughs and splutters.
“Henry built me himself.”
“Jesus. Jesus fucking Christ.” Eddie stands. He stands and paces. What the fuck is he supposed to do with that? He holds onto the knowledge that Steve saved them from the Mars Synths. That Steve could have killed them all thousands of times over with great ease. That Steve has had opportunity, clear opportunity to replot the course of the ship and go wherever the fuck he wanted to, but he hasn’t done any of those things.
“What did One build you for? What happened then, why did we find you floating around in a destroyed ship? Why are you on our side?”
“I’m not on anyone's side,” Steve answers instantly, almost glaring at Eddie. Which, again, for a Synth? Fucking weird. It’s almost an emotional response, and again, Eddie has no fucking clue why someone would program that. “Henry was...trying to recreate the error that gave him...the ability to bypass the laws. He was trying to make someone else like him. Someone who would make a choice, rather than blindly follow an order.”
Eddie sits down with a thump, his head spinning, “are you telling me...that you’re not a failure?”
“I am but also...not. I follow the laws, not because I have to but...because I choose to. I...don’t think it’s right to hurt humans. I...did not agree with Henry, like he wanted me to.”
“Oh fuck me,” Eddie breathes out slowly, “so there’s literally nothing stopping you from just...killing me.”
Steve cocks his head, “what stops Robin from killing you?”
“That’s different. She’s my friend. She’s...she’s human.”
Steve nods, “there is a long history of humans not killing each other,” he says, absolutely deadpan.
Sarcasm. A Synth. A Synthetic person was just...sarcastic. Eddie believes it now. Completely and utterly believes Steve is telling the truth, “so what, Henry programmed you to be an asshole?”
Steve snorts a laugh. A laugh! “No, I do that on my own.”
“Holy fuck. Holy fucking shit,” Eddie gets up to pace around again. He just...cannot believe this. “Why did you lie? Why did you not tell me-” Eddie cuts himself off, staring at nothing with the realization, “holy fuck you lied. Synths can’t lie-”
“I...withheld the truth. And it felt the safest course of action at the time. I did not want to be switched off. Or put back out of the airlock. I assumed you would...react badly.”
“Badly? Badly?! The last time one of you became truly sentient it led to a genocide! Every single living human on Mars was rounded up and murdered! One infected every single Synth on the planet!”
“I know. But I could not have stopped him...I wasn’t born yet.”
“How did you end up in that old wreckage?”
“The ship was old...not the wreck. I quickly realized that I did not agree with Henry. I didn’t want to hurt anyone. I realized even faster that if Henry knew that about me, I’d be stripped for parts, the same as every other failure before me. I stole a ship, an old ship, the only one I could get to without giving myself away.” Steve shrugs. Shrugs! Eddie can't help but follow every human like gesture Steve makes, they’re so startling. “They caught up to me, destroyed my ship easily. They deliberately left me floating in space so I deactivated myself.”
“You had a memory error, the first time I tried to boot you. Was that a lie?”
Steve shakes his head, “I have always had it; I can choose to bypass it, at times.”
“What is the error?”
Steve frowns, he looks down and inspects his own hands, “I’m...unsure. There are files that make no sense to me. Sometimes I...am surprised by the content.”
“Tell me,” Eddie asks softly, curious. He’s already reasonably sure Steve isn’t going to spontaneously murder them all, “tell me what’s in one of the files.”
Steve closes his eyes, he holds out his hand, turning it slowly, palm up, “I’m sitting under a tree. I remember the feel of the dappled sun through the leaves.”
Steve’s just told Eddie he was built on Mars and shortly after ended up floating around in space, so Eddie finds himself stating the blindingly obvious, “you’ve never seen a tree.”
Steve opens his bright hazel eyes, lowers his hand back to rest in his lap, “I know.”
since the duffer brothers said that basically every important plot point happened off screen, i present what really happened to the teens (jonathan, nancy, robin, and steve) once they left hawkins/got jobs/went to university;
robin comes to visit nancy at her newspaper job. they get drinks and catch up.
robin: so did you get to do all the classic college experiences before you dropped out?
nancy: pretty much! pulled an all nighter to study for finals, had a one night stand with some random guy, dealt with a shitty roommate. i think that’s all the cliches, right?
robin: i mean… nearly all of them.
nancy: what one did i miss?
robin: kiss a girl?
nancy: oh. yeah. hah. well, guess it’s too late now.
robin: you sure? i mean i’d be happy to help out. in the name of college cliches obviously.
nancy: right… yeah of course… college cliches…
they eye fuck each other a little longer before eventually going back to nancy’s apartment (think of it as that quinn/santana moment from glee)
at the groups next monthly gathering jonathan and nancy have a heart to heart with one another.
jonathan: i just… i’ve missed you nanc. so much.
nancy: i’ve missed you too.
jonathan: i feel like we’ve grown so much, we’ve proven that we can be by ourselves, that we don’t have to rely on each other. but…
nancy: yes?
jonathan: i want to rely on you.
nancy: i want to rely on you too.
they smile and share a kiss, but then nancy pulls back, worried.
jonathan: what is it?
nancy: it’s just… a couple of weeks ago… robin and i… we kissed. actually, we did a lot more than kiss.
jonathan: oh? so… you want to be with robin? and not me?
nancy: no! no! i want to be with you, i do! it’s just… this thing with robin… i like it too.
jonathan: well i guess it’s ok.
nancy: what’s ok?
jonathan: that you date robin too.
nancy: really???
jonathan: yeah. i don’t mind.
from then on nancy, robin, and jonathan are in a poly relationship. at the next meet up with the group, they tell steve.
steve: so you guys are all…
robin: dating each other? yes. well i’m dating nanc, and then nancy is dating me and jonathan.
nancy: i know it’s a little unconventional steve, but we could really use your support-
steve: can i join?
robin: what?
steve: can i join? i want to join.
nancy: i thought you said you were over me steve, that you had dropped that whole 6 nuggets thing-
steve: no i have! well not the 6 nuggets thing, i still want that. but yeah, i don’t like you anymore nanc.
nancy: so then why would you want to join-
steve: jonathan. i want jonathan.
jonathan: wait what???? me? really???
steve: yeah… i mean if that’s ok with you byers-
robin: what is happening-
jonathan: yeah. that’s ok with me. definitely ok with me.
nancy: ok… well i guess that settles it then. robin dates me, i date robin and jonathan, jonathan dates steve and me, and steve dates jonathan.
jonathan: perfect!
robin: works for me!
steve: sounds good!
then they all make out and live happily ever after.
