FtM Robin (platonic stobin + MtF Stevie + side steddie + Eddie being the definition of "guy")
It took a while to get here, but he’s here now, happy in his identity.
Robin had no idea, for a long time, that he was a dude. It only took Stevie figuring it out about herself for things to click in place for Robin.
Maybe it was like, destiny or some shit that they worked together that hopeless summer. Maybe they were just supposed to end up drugged out of their minds on that bathroom floor. They’re totally each other's soulmates, and now they’re even closer.
It’s like they have shared experiences now, each living as both a dude and a chick. They just… got each other. Besides, it’s cool having a gender guru, guide you through your transition. Like, Stevie’s giving him tips on how to talk and walk like a dude, or at least how she used to in highschool, which seemed palatable enough in Hawkins. And Robin gets to teach Stevie stuff too, like the best remedies for periods (because she fucking gets those now, like, without the blood, which is wild), and how bra sizing works because that shit is actually confusing at first.
It’s also awesome because they totally got to just swap half their wardrobes. Like, Robin had been meaning to get rid of a bunch of those dresses his mom got him for ages, and Stevie can just take them. And Robin got to raid Stevies wardrobe and feel totally euphoric trying on all her old clothes because not only did he look like a guy, he also smelt like one.
Robin got to teach Stevie how to shave her legs properly, to get them all smooth and shit, and Stevie got to teach Robin how to get his hair sitting so fucking nice in a masculine way. Ferrah Fawcet is a lifesaver, actually.
Everything about being trans has been awesome so far- like, apart from the fear of smalltown transphobia, but like, the feelings. It’s just been euphoria hit after euphoria hit once he finally opened up and expressed his feelings to Stevie.
That was a really revealing conversation. And it’s been nice, getting to hide away with Stevie for a little while, figuring themselves out.
Robin likes to bind, it looks good and feels good, but it’s kind of painful. Which is why living with Stevie feels so good, because he doesn’t have to bind around her to feel validated. He doesn’t feel the need to look or act a certain way around her to pass.
Things changed when Eddie came over for the first time.
It’s not like he could just say no when Stevie asked to have Eddie over. He knows they have a thing going on, and they haven’t seen eachother in two weeks, Stevies having withdrawals. It’s just… a new person. Robin hasn’t been a dude around anyone other than Stevie yet.
He doesn’t want to be a girl again for the afternoon.
He’s shocked when Eddie walks in, shooting finger guns at him and says, “Hey dude, nice haircut- jeez, it smells good in here, is that a cheese melt?”
Robin ran a hand through his hair nervously, glancing over at Stevie, who just shrugged before walking over to say hi to Eddie.
Eddie embraced her, tight, giving her a little kiss on the cheek that had her blushing before turning back to the cheese melt.
“My god, I fucking love cheese melts.”
“You can have it.” Stevie offered.
“You’re the best thing that ever happened to me, babe.” He muttered, stuffing his face full before moving to the fridge to make a replacement cheese melt, “I haven't eaten all day, and work was crazy busy today. Anyway, what are you nerds up to?”
“Just hanging out.” Stevie muttered.
“Waiting around for me?” He grinned up at her, biting into his sandwich.
Stevie rolled her eyes and shrugged, “We were… actually just fucking around a bit. Trying out some makeup on me… and… stuff.”
“Oh, stuff huh?” He smirked, whacking the cheese sandwich on the press.
“Yeah, stuff.” Stevie smiled, glancing over at Robin.
Eddie looked over to him, “So….” He said, giving him a once over, “Is this like a lesbian phase thing, or are you a dude?”
“Ed’s!” Stevie scolded.
“You got a problem, Munson?”
“Obviously not.” He scoffed, pointing a thumb over at Stevie before continuing to munch on his cheese melt, “I’m head over heels for her and you think I have a problem with transsexuals? Dude, my uncle was like, the first trans dude in Hawkins, I think.”
“What?” Stevie and Robin both asked in sync.
He shrugged, turning the sandwich press off before it burnt the bread, “Well, maybe not. But as far as he’s concerned, you know? Why do you think he doesn’t give a shit about me and Stevie- oh, I know how to draw beards on real good.”
“Why do you know that?” Stevie asked.
“I wanted to look like an adult when I was ten so I could run away and get a job.” Eddie said so nonchalant, “My dad was a dick and said I couldn’t be gay and have a good future. Total arsehole. Look at me now, dad, bisexual and a full time drug dealer. Fuck. you.”
Robin grinned, “Can you teach me the beard thing?”
“Sure thing, man.” He smiled, cutting the fresh cheese melt up for Stevie and plating it for her, “So does this mean you’re like, straight now, or?”
Robin froze, looking over to Stevie, who was also struck with a baffled expression as Eddie pottered around the kitchen, unbeknownst to their panic.
“Fuck, I’m straight!” He shouted, and Stevie burst out laughing.
Happy Spooky Month!!! sorry i didn't have anything spooky planned for this day, but this is still fun :)
Tw; mentions of cancer though this has a happy ending
Inspiration; this came from the movie father of the bride with Steve Martin and Martin Short. It didn’t go in the direction I thought it would have and I was crying writing through it. Though I put a lot of work into it so it would mean a lot if you read. (It’s happy ending made me happy)
"Father Of The Bride- smh more like uncle of the dorky dumbass who bet fifty bucks when he was eighteen that he was never going to get married. Because and I quote, 'I will not partake in such actions of hetronormality', or whatever the word is."
The camera is zoomed out a bit to catch the mess that surrounded the older man in the frame. Who was now fixing his shoe? It was unclear as he was leaning forward in a foldable black chair as he lifts his shoe and flips it around dramatically. Letting a small clump of glitter out, watching the sparkling dust land all on the floor where it would be found months later. Above the frame of the video a piece of confetti falls landing on the males patchy head. No matter where the camera looked there was some form of mess happening. From the table that was behind the chair that was covered in plates, cake and even more glitter to the piles of napkins and random plastic skulls on the ground that were cheaply made.The audio barely catches the man’s grumbling under his breathe he moves his hand up and he swipes the thin paper off, allowing it to float down in a spiral until it hit the floor.
“I used to think a wedding was a simple affair.” He begins to talk as he puts his dress shoe back on. His other hand moving to the top of his head as he scratches lightly at the skin. Taking a moment as he talked to look around the room, mostly out of frame. “Boy and girl meet. They fall in love. He buys a ring. She buys a dress. They say, ‘I do,’-” the man winces as he watches something fall. Making a loud thudding noise from behind the camera. He moves his hand from the top of his head to rub his face, not bothering to get to and see what fell. His face held a exhausted look that was mixed with stress.
“I was wrong. That little notion about weddings that I had in my head? Well my boy Eddie never really fit into any of that. Sure for a while he did, but that was before I really got to know the kid. He was a crazy thing when I had started to babysit him. His mother worked twelve hour shifts some days to keep ends meet and his father was god knows where. I would find out much later that he was in prison for most of the time Eddie was a ankle biter.
When my boy started to sprout up like a tree that was when his sperm donor decided he wanted something to do with him. Which lasted for maybe a few years. It was never a consistent thing either, it was typically in small doses. Eddie wouldn’t be dropped off at mine for a few weeks at a time every other month and that’s normally when he would be with his other parent. Sure, I knew the kid. But I didn’t really know the kid. He didn’t really become my boy until I had to drive down one day and pick him up at one of them foster homes. God just remembering what that house looked like, makes me want to go drive back down and burn it to the ground-” the man’s fist tighten up as his face scrunches up in anger. Shaking his head as he looks down at the floor, his eyes glossing over a bit as he talks. Voice cracking slightly as well.
He wipes his face again as he quickly looks up at the ceiling as he fights to gather himself. “Well- back to what I was saying. Eddie didn’t become by boy until he nearly tackled me to the ground for the first time. There has only been three times that boy has hugged me like that since. The first, when I came to pick him up and take him home permanently. The second, when he came out to me and the third after spring break of ‘86. And each and every time I counted my blessings and forced myself to be a better man than what the world has set me up to be. Though the very first time when he was nothing but a green bean, I had fully accepted all the responsibilities a father would have.
Playing catch at the park, holding him after a nasty nightmare, teaching him how to drive a car, cheering him on at graduation, sitting him down and talking about the birds and the bees and most importantly standing by his side when the time came when he finally got married to a beautiful girl. Though once again, this was before I knew my Ed’s. Boy was I in for a treat, I was-” before he can finish what he’s saying a woman’s voice echos off from the side. The man quickly turns his head and concentrates for a second.
“Wayne!”
“Yeah?” He yells back. Moving to stand up, preparing to help whoever yelled out.
“Eddie wanted me to remind you to take your medication!”
Wayne pauses as his eyes once again start to get glossy. A soft sniffle leaving him as he wipes his eyes gently. Groaning as he moves to his pocket to pull a pill bottle out. Taking a random wine glass off the table, making sure it was empty before he moves to stand up and leave. To go thank the person and to go grab a drink. Returning a minute later with a bottle of grape soda, pouring it in the wine glass before taking his medication. Pausing as he gets himself situated again. Leaning back in the chair as he pauses to think. Trying to remember what he was talking about.
“Where was I? Oh! Remember everything that I just said? How I expected to do all of these things for my boy? Well somehow every single thing on my list of fatherly duties I had either messed up on or my boy went and turned in the opposite direction and made sure to not go the normal route. Playing catch in the park for the first time I gave the poor kid a black eye. We both had to go weeks explaining to the school that it was a accident, that Eddie had indeed gotten hit with a baseball. Though I would get my payback when I tried to comfort him after a nightmare. In the panic of things, the kid swung a right hook and broke my nose. Impressive as hell but hurt like a bitch. Even trying to teach him how to drive went wrong. Not in the way you would think either. The second he was behind the wheel he was a natural. Up until he accidentally locked the keys inside and had to show me how to break into a car. Or how to Hotwire said car when said keys he had locked in were the house keys and he had lost the car keys somewhere.” Wayne pauses for a second as he shakes his head a bit. A look of disgust landing on his face as he starts to talk again.
“A kid shouldn’t know how to do that shit. Though once again I have to make sure not to get into a tangent. Somehow, the list of big events as a parent was small for us. But each and every time without fail something would go wrong. I won’t even bring up how bad talking about safe sex was with him. I’m pretty sure both Ed’s and I would rather kill someone then let anyone in on that conversation.” He’s laughing gently, the tip of his nose turning pink. “Now there were only two things left on said list. Cheering him on at graduation and standing by his side at his wedding. And of course I would never hold it against him for not passing a system that was set up to fail kids like him. For three years in a row. Though I knew he was graduating one way or another. What I didn’t expect was to be cheering up on for graduating in a hospital bed-” once again he starts to wander off in his words. His face paling a bit at the thought of Eddie sick. Though he’s thankfully snapped from his thoughts again as he hears the camera start to beep.
Grumbling he moves forward and picks the electronic up. The camera is pretty much looking up his nose as he taps the frame before flipping it around to face the floor. Before everything goes all black, to then only be turned on again a second later with a pair of wide eyes under a set of curls. The video getting jostled around as a hat bumps the camera around. “Thank you Dustin, I really don’t know how to work these things.” Wayne’s hand flies as he gestures to the camera, looking embarrassed as he stands there. Dustin smiles as he moves away from the video. Moving away as he hums.
“It’s no problem Mr. Munson. Just let me know if it happens again. I should be able to fix it again. Is this the thing you were talking about doing for Eddie and Steve?” He asks curiously.
Wayne nods his head, a few more things are said off camera before Wayne is moving and sitting back in his spot. Looking a tad bit more disheveled and upset then he was before. Though he doesn’t let the camera catch onto it for much longer as he puts a smile on. It doesn’t quite reach his eyes but it’s there. He hums as he takes a sip of his grape soda from the fancy glass. Moving and cracking his knuckles and his knees as he stretches out. Taking a deep breathe.
“And well, here it is. My last milestone as a father. Nothing has made me more prouder than watching my boy walk down the aisle with the love of his life. Neither of them could decide who would stand and wait, honestly I think they were both still bickering about it while they were walking down the aisle.” He laughs gently. “And as I sit here, I’m happy that everything hadn’t gone easy. Im happy that my boy found you Steve. Im happy to call you my son in law. Even if I was afraid of losing my light. Which is why I sit here now. I was hoping that everything would go smoothly around the time of the wedding. As every other milestone has had something wrong happen.” His eyes are getting teary eyed as he blinks them away. Loosing the small battle he was having with himself. Looking up at the ceiling for a second before chuckling softly as he shakes his head. “But that really isn’t the Munson way. Not for me anyone. I thought that Nothing would ever go right in my life, my own marriage, my relationship with my brother, my schooling all of it never worked out. Which is why I was shocked to realize that the one thing that I have done right in this world Eddie, is raise you.
Which is why I refuse to ruin your wedding day. If you are watching this video, you already know. I was diagnosed with cancer just a few days ago. Now I don’t know how much longer I have to live. All I know is that I will not be spending any of my time sulking. I will not cry over it, I have done everything that I have ever wanted to do thanks to you Eddie. I’m at the age where I’m ok with death but I’m just as fine with living. As that it was life comes down to. Death and Life. Though I do know one thing. I will never say I love you enough. Which is why I will say it in this video, as I hope you can have my voice to remember. I wish I could remember my moms. This is my parting gift. One last message. My goodbye if anything happens.
And I know that this is going to be a difficult thing to watch. But as I was sitting in my trailer during that spring break. That long week, where I didn’t know if you were alive or dead Eddie. It had me thinking. I couldn’t really accept that you were dead when I was told you didn’t make it. Though the acceptance for that came quicker than my acceptance for the fact that I would never be able to hear your voice again. And that-” Wayne’s voice is cracking as he talks. Wiping his eyes as he takes a deep breath.
“That sort broke me a bit more. When you came back to me, and you hugged my like the very first time. Instead of my acceptance for being a father I had to grow with the difficult acceptance of what if something bad happened. What if I die? What if some asshole decided to kill you all because you loved Steve. And let me tell you- that is something I still haven’t accepted and never will. Which is why I started to make more videos of us. You will most likely find the box of photos and tapes under my bed. They aren’t much now as I sit here, but trust me. They will be when I’m gone.” He says gently. As he moves to finish his drink off. Moving to stand up to crouch near the camera. “I love you, Eddie.” He’s smiling softly as his eyes are filled with emotion. Before the video is cut off and the video goes static.
The vhs player makes a loud noise as it kicks the tape out. Eddie is sat stunned as he sits in his Uncles room. Packing things up to make things easier. He wipes his eyes as he sniffles a little bit. Before he’s breaking down for god knows how long. Shoulders shaking as he felt the rug making imprints on his knees from where he was crouched. He sniffles more as he moves to quickly change tapes. Finding the one he needed as he makes sure everything is set up. Letting the tape digest what the camera recorded. Even though Eddie knows what’s happening in this video it still makes him emotional. The last one pulled his heart strings and only made him appreciate this video much more. The date on the bottom right corner of the screen was only a few years after the last tapes. As the process finishes he moves pressing play to watch this video.
Watching as the camera shakes, moving up the steps of a small house. The motion making him a bit sick. There’s noise and chatter coming from behind the video as someone knocks. The door opening to a much skinnier and older Wayne Munson. Who’s throwing a cane around jokingly. “Get off my lawn.” Giggling a little as he says it. He can’t help it as the camera catches a smaller human running in the door squealing. Then another some how even smaller child running in. The cane is moved to the side as the first, a splitting image of Eddie is lifted up in the air. Her curls bouncing around all over the place.
“Hi sweetie. How is grandpas little girl?” Wayne says brightly. More energy being seen from him in a long time. His mouth going open wide as he sees the other toddler. “Oh look at you. Look just like your father.” He grins. Knowing that it was still a debate in the Munson house hold whether or not if he looked more like Steve or Eddie. And Wayne loved just saying he looked like his father, which neither Steve or Eddie could figure out which father he was talking about. The video keeps going as Eddie watches happy knowing that he got to tape this. He could hear Oliver and Liza running around in the halls chasing Steve. While Wayne was grumbling about gremlins in the living room. He’s about to stop watching and just go hug Wayne when he catches on to something the man says to his grandchildren.
“You know if there’s one thing I’ve accepted as a grandfather, is that I’ll never have to put them to sleep! Let’s go, quick I got some cookies that Mrs. Henderson sent over! Let’s go eat as many as possible -” Wayne’s rambling as he starts to speed his way to the kitchen. The camera is quickly handed off and Eddie can faintly hear Steve in the background.
Summary; Ben Hanscom was lucky enough to find himself welcomed into the losers’ club before his first day of school is even over. The one problem is Bill Denbrough, star baseball player and certified fuckboy. And The Bowers’ Gang. And gym class. Maybe there's more than one problem.
Word Count; 2019
AN; I fucking love fuckboy bill and I fucking love denscom. And steddie and British Richie. Don't even get me started on Ben having a southern accent. Anyways hope y'all like it, I worked pretty damn hard on it
Masterlist
“Aw fuck! Jesus Christ, fucking hell.” Ben recognized the British accent from earlier. It was Richie Tozier, a tall and lanky boy who had moved to Derry from Manchester, England three years ago and knew how it felt to be a new kid with an unusual accent. Ben had been touring the school with Stanley Uris, the student guide the office had assigned to him, when Richie has appeared out of nowhere and started a friendly sort of fight, the sort of fight Ben figured best friends often had with each other. Richie seemed nice enough, despite his punk clothing and how loud and trashmouthed he was. He had, after all, picked Ben fourth with a kind grin on his face, after Stan, a tall black boy named Mike, a redheaded girl named Bev.
A shrill whistle sounded and the dodgeball game stopped, everyone frozen except for Richie and his friends. A small boy sprung up from his seat on the bleachers and nearly sprinted over to Richie who was laying on the ground, a hand clutched to his bleeding nose. “This is why we aren't supposed to play dodgeball, Coach Ganley! People get hurt every single time! No wonder my mom makes me sit out! If I had gotten hurt, she'd be getting your ass fired.” The boy’s face was red through his freckles as he dug through his fanny pack, pulling out a cotton pad and shoving it up against Richie’s nose.
“Language, Kaspbrak!” Coach Ganley scolded before stepping in between the two teams, looking at the one opposite to Richie’s. “Who threw it?” Most eyes went to a tall, handsome, and toned boy who had his arms crossed. His shirt was snug around his biceps and he had a snapback set backwards on his head.
Before the gym teacher could get out a word, the boy from earlier spoke up. “Who do you think, Coach? William ‘gets away with everything because he's a star baseball player” Denbrough. Who else would it be?”
The kid now known to Ben as William smirked, sending a wink in the angry kid’s direction. “I get away with thuh-things for a very different reason, s-swe-e-sweetheart, I think you kn-know why. F-From those, uh, about four months we were suh-sleeping together?”
“Shut up, Denbrough! Back off my boyfriend!” Stan piped up, drawing himself to his full height and glowering at the other boy. The kids from earlier, Mike and Bev, stepped over, grabbing Stan’s shoulders. Ben was slightly offended Stan hadn’t mentioned he was dating someone, but figured Stan had assume from his southern accent that he was against gay people, most people did. He wasn’t though, for the record.
Ben felt like he had whiplash from looking from William, to Richie and the angry kid, Stan and his captors, and Coach Ganley who had a unhappy but amused smile on his face.
Before anyone else could say a word, the bell rang. Eddie pulled Richie up and dragged him towards the locker room. Stan and Mike followed suit, Mike gesturing for Ben to follow them. Bev split off, not before whispering something in a low voice to Mike and waving at Ben sweetly. His face reddened and he followed after Mike like a lost puppy.
The five boys grabbed their things and holed themselves up in the bathroom, Mike pushing the large door shut behind them and locking it. Richie hopped up onto one of the sinks, pulling the red stained cotton away from his already swollen nose. Eddie was already attacking him with wet paper towels, dabbing at the dried blood and the fresh blood that was joining it.
Stan was the first to start talking. “Mike, Eddie, you guys know how I told you I was gonna be the new kid’s student guide,” he didn’t wait for an answer before continuing. “This is Ben Hanscom, he moved here from Tennessee. Ben, you’ve met Richie, but this is Mike Hanlon and Eddie Kaspbrak.” There was a moment of cautious silence. “Eddie is my boyfriend.”
Ben smiled shyly, reaching to shake the hand Mike had extended to him. “It’s nice to meet y’all. Sorry it had to be on such bad terms.”
“Not your god damn fault Bill Denbrough is the worst fucking person on the planet.” Eddie sponged at Richie’s nose a little too hard and Richie hissed, snatching the paper towel away and tending to his nose himself.
Stan grabbed Eddie’s elbow gently, pulling Eddie towards himself and looking down at Eddie with a soft smile. Eddie’s face and body immediately relaxed as the two gave each other heart eyes. Ben had to resist gushing and cooing over how cute the two were. “I gotta ask, is it William or Bill?”
“Bill. Everyone calls him Bill, but his full name is William.” There was a moment of silence. “He and Eddie have….history. He’s kinda the worst. Total asshole.” Mike finally released Ben’s hand and gave him a half smile, plus a shrug.
“Stay away from him Benjamin, stay far far away.” Eddie warned, the left side of his face pressed against Stan’s chest as Stan rocked them from side to side gently.
“Yes sir.” Ben gave a little salute to Eddie and Richie snorted.
“I like you Benny, welcome to the losers’ club.” Richie got down from the sink, his nose finally done bleeding even though it was still large and a little purple.
“What?”
“The losers’ club. It’s what we call ourselves. Me, Bev, Eds, Mikey, and Stanny.” Richie pulled off his gym shirt and shorts. Ben snapped his eyes shut, face brightening at seeing Richie in his boxers, even if it was for a second. “And now you. So welcome.”
“Thanks,” Ben squeaked, feeling like his face was on fire. He could hear everyone else changing, but he stayed still and kept his eyes shut. At his old school, they hadn't been forced to change for gym. Ben wasn't one to complain, but these gym uniforms were uncomfortable and small and were an unflattering red against his yellow hair.
After a few minutes of silence, just the soft rustling of clothing and zippers being unzipped and zipped again, a hand tapped his shoulder. “You're good, Ben.” It was Mike’s voice. Ben liked Mike and sure hoped Mike wouldn't worry that he was a bigot or anything bad. He open his eyes, face still hot as he blinked away the blurriness.
“Thank you,” he mumbled, fixing his eyes on the tiles. He tapped his foot four times, pausing only to tap it four more times, then continuing the pattern.
“Do you want us to…,” Eddie’s voice trailed off. Ben nodded and kept his eyes downcast as the other four boys trickled one by one out of the bathroom. Mike squeezed Ben’s shoulder on the way out, pulling the door shut as he ended the parade leaving the bathroom. Immediately a weight fell off his chest, he didn't want to change in front of his new friends, nor anyone else.
Three lengthy and boring periods later, Ben was sitting around a lunch table with the rest of the “losers’ club” as Richie had called it earlier. He really liked these kids and was glad to already have found his niche in Derry. He was sandwiched between Bev and Eddie, Stan on the other side of Eddie, Richie next to Stan, Mike next to Richie, and back to Bev again. Not that Ben would admit it, but this was the biggest group of friends he had ever been in. Well, he hadn’t really had more than two friends before.
It seemed like Mike and Bev were dating, or at least talking, to Ben. Mike had an arm slung over the back of Bev’s chair, eating chips with his free hand as he smiled down at whatever she was doing on her phone. Ben could see Stan and Eddie’s knees pressed together on his other side and he blushed a little, feeling strange and boxed in. Richie flashed Ben a giant smile, stuffing a handful of Mike’s chips in his mouth.
“Don’t worry, I’m forever alone too, my darling Benny Boy. We’ll find your sweetcheeked self a pretty girly,” Richie spewed little bits of wet chips as he spoke, still chewing in between words. Everyone gave him a disgusted look as he leaned across the circular table, pinching Ben on his cheek.
“It’s uh..,” Ben coughed shyly after Richie let go of his face, “I don’t...you know…I kinda don’t swing that way?”
“Welcome to the club,” mumbled each and everyone of the losers. Ben did a double take and opened his mouth to speak before Richie cut him off.
“I put the bi back in little bitch, Mikey and Mrs. Marsh are fellow bisexuals, and the spaghetti man-“
“It’s Eddie, god damn it!”
“Stan and Eddie are gay obviously.” Richie and Eddie sent venomous looks to each other. Richie broke first, crossing his eyes and sticking out his tongue and Eddie giggled at that.
Ben tried not to notice the protective gesture of Stan putting his hand on Eddie’s knee and squeezing it. Stan’s hand barely lasted a second before Eddie was batting it away, still smiling casually although his body had tensed up.
All of a sudden, a tall boy with a blonde mullet was behind Eddie. He licked his hand and slapped it down on Eddie’s neck with an evil smirk playing on his lips. Eddie jumped to his feet, hands held up in the air like jazz hands as they trembled. His eyes were scrunched shut as Stan hurried to unzip his fanny pack and grab out some hand sanitizer.
As Stan rubbed the sanitizer into the back of Eddie’s neck, the kid scanned Ben up and down. “Fat, Pac Man shirt, baby face, fairy hair, hmph, you’ll fit right in here at the twink table.”
Richie was on his feet, reaching out as if he was going to throttle the kid. “I’m gonna fucking kill you, Henry Bowers. You absolute fucking twat!” Mike grabbed Richie by the back of his waistband and pulled the british boy back into his seat.
Henry gave all of the losers a shiteating grin before strolling away. Eddie and Stan moved too, presumably to the bathroom. Ben knew not to ask about it and stared at the salad his mom had absently shoved into his hands that morning.
“So! Has anyone invited Ben to Star Wars night tonight?” Bev asked, straightening up in her seat. Mike’s arm was no longer resting on the chair and her phone was face down on the table. It was clear she was trying to lighten the mood and ask as a distraction.
“No not yet, Mrs. Marsh, but now we have to!” Richie clucked his tongue, obviously joking when he shook his head and gave Bev a dismayed look. Richie scooted over into the chair that Eddie had previously occupied, slinging his arm around Ben’s shoulders and pressing a wet and joking kiss to Ben’s cheek. As gross as it was, Ben felt good about the kiss on the cheek. It made him feel warm inside. Not because he liked Richie, but because he hadn’t even been at this new school for an entire week yet and he had already been accepted into a new group. Not only accepted but he had been invited to a group hang out. “It’s at 7, the big red house on the corner of Turner and Pine. Lemme think of a landmark….if you go to Jerry’s Hard Liquor, it’s three blocks down then a left, all the way down and to the right. Stanny and his mommy just moved in with his stepdad.”
“We basically eat a pizza dinner with other snacks and soda, Star Wars music playing in the background. And then we usually do some trivia or a themed board game. Then a marathon, but only the first three movies. They’re the only good ones obviously.” Mike’s arm was back to its normal spot on Bev’s chair.
rated t | for @strangerthingsocweek day 1 "introduction" | 1,573 words
cw: mentions of illness (just a cold), mildly suggestive language | tags: future fic, corroded coffin, original character, robin gets to have a girlfriend because i said so
author note: a lot of meg's original backstory also revolves around OCs that other people have created, so I've doctored it up a bit to fit in without pulling the other OCs into the mix.
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Meg rolled her eyes the moment she walked onto the tour bus.
The boys, and they were in fact boys since they refused to act like grown men, had left clothes scattered across the floor and couch, empty beer bottles and bags of chips on the table, and a pack of cigarettes on the counter.
Unbelievable.
But actually, totally believable.
They weren’t always like this. It’s just that the first night of the tour was always a celebration when they got off stage and Meg had the unfortunate task of making sure they were alive and prepared for the rest of the tour.
She wasn’t their manager, or security, or really anyone of importance in the grand scheme of things. All of those people were just not good at the job, and she took over quickly to ensure the members of Corroded Coffin didn’t end up ruining their careers before they even got started.
“If I see a single ass cheek when I come back there, I’m quitting!” She yelled towards the back of the bus. It was an empty threat, and they knew it, but she’d seen enough ass cheeks to last a lifetime.
She leaned over to pick up the pile of pants and pair of boots right in front of the door, face crumpling into disgust as she caught a whiff of sweat and weed.
“Meg, good to see ya!” Gareth said as he came from behind the curtain leading to the bunks. “Are we in Cinci already?”
“Yep.” She popped her mouth and continued picking things up off the floor. “Soundcheck in two hours. You guys have to at least try to get your shit together for it.”
“We will! You doin’ okay?” Gareth started gathering the trash on the table, throwing it all in the trash can without even seeing what was full and empty.
“Yeah. Good show last night. Didn’t think you’d do the new one on your first night,” Meg admitted. She’d worked on the song with them for weeks in the studio, curating it exactly to their tastes while still staying true to her own style. She didn’t think it would make the setlist at all, especially since they hadn’t even decided if it would make the next album yet, but sure enough, they performed it last night.
And they’d given credit to their “amazing songwriter friend who made sure they didn’t die or forget to eat.”
She would never admit to the tears that fell when she watched them perform their song.
“Ed and Robin agreed it should be a surprise. I think they both just wanted to see you cry,” Gareth nudged her on his way over to grab the guitar on the couch to put it into its case. “Steve told them not to.”
“This is why Steve’s my favorite,” she joked. Well, half-joked. She considered Steve to be the other half to her Keep Corroded Coffin On Track Team. Without him, Eddie would have been left at a rest stop the first time they went on the road.
“Yeah, that’s no secret.” She could hear the eyeroll in Gareth’s voice, but chose to ignore it. “He was snoring so bad last night, I almost had to consider kicking him off the bus.”
“Wait. Snoring? Steve doesn’t snore unless he’s-”
“Fuck.”
They both realized at the same time what was coming. Gareth looked back at Meg, eyes wide.
“Not now! It’s the beginning of tour!”
“Maybe if I load him up with vitamin C? I have a whole vitamin kit in the van and Robin has that nebulizer for her breathing treatments.”
A round of sneezes came from the back and Meg cursed under her breath.
“He’s gotta get away from everyone. He can take the van with Robin and I’ll bunk on your couch for a few days. Did he have a fever?” Meg was known for being dramatic over small inconveniences, but this wasn’t small. It had the potential to ruin tour dates. If anyone in the band got sick, it could ruin a concert.
“Don’t know. I don’t think so? He seemed fine when we went to sleep. He passed out before all of us though.” Gareth quickly set the guitar down and opened the cabinet closest to the bus door. “We’ve got cold meds. Some cough syrup. Tylenol. Cough drops. You think that’ll be enough?”
Meg nodded. “For now. Let’s see how bad it is first.”
They didn’t have to wait long. Eddie and Jeff came out at the same time, panic written all over their faces.
Meg sighed. “Bad?”
They nodded.
“Okay, stay away from him. It could already be too late, but you guys have to stay healthy.” Meg grabbed the basket of meds and a bottle of water from the fridge. “All of you get outside, tell Robin what’s up, and go with security into the building. I’m gonna get him settled in the van and scrub this place from top to bottom.”
“But I’ll miss him,” Eddie pouted. “How long does he have to stay in the van?”
“Until he can breathe through both nostrils.”
“Can any of us ever really breathe through both nostrils?” Eddie wondered.
Meg blinked at him. “Get a shirt on and get out of here before I make it impossible for you to breathe out of one nostril.”
Eddie threw his head back and groaned. Jeff patted his shoulder and turned to grab a shirt that was still on the couch.
“It’s okay man. Might just be a little cold. Could pass quick!” Gareth tried to reassure him, but Meg could already see how this was gonna go.
She was surrounded by slightly codependent idiots. She loved them all dearly, but she needed them to function individually sometimes.
The door banged open and Robin came up the steps.
“I swear, I sleep in one time and my girlfriend abandons me for her harem of idiot men.” She glances between everyone and tenses. “What’s wrong?”
“You stupid soulmate is sick,” Meg grumbled. “Everyone is in the process of leaving this bus before it happens to them.”
“I’ll wake up Frankie. He’s gonna be pissed,” Jeff sighed. “He got his pillows just right.”
“I’ll get him, you guys go,” Meg shooed them away, waiting for them to all leave before turning to Robin. “Hey, Robbie. Sorry I didn’t wake you up, just wanted you to get plenty of sleep.”
Robin leaned her head on her shoulder and kissed her cheek. “It’s okay, babe. Steve gonna make it?”
“Haven’t put eyes on him yet. Think you could go check? I gotta avoid getting sick, too. The less I’m around him, the better,” Meg handed her the basket and kissed the side of her head. “Get him to the van so he can contaminate that area instead.”
“But then I’ll get sick.” Robin pouted.
Meg couldn’t resist leaning down and pulling Robin’s bottom lip between her teeth, smirking when she let out a yelp.
“You’ll be fine. You’ve got a strong immune system. Promise I'll make it up to you in a few days. Maybe we could convince them to let us have a hotel room so we can-,” Meg said, pulling away when she heard shuffling behind the curtain. “Oh, good, it’s you. The rest of the guys are gone. Steve’s sick. Don’t come back in here until I give the go ahead.”
Frankie yawned, scratched his head, and nodded. “Got it.”
He was slowly becoming her favorite just by the fact that he never really argued with her. Maybe that was because he was terrified of her, but she could enjoy her power a little if she wanted to.
He walked out of the bus in his pajamas, probably not awake enough to realize he wasn’t properly dressed, but also probably not caring at all that he wasn’t. Frankie was a chill guy.
“Eddie?” Steve’s pitiful raspy voice came from behind the curtain. “Eds?”
“I’ll go,” Robin gave one final kiss to Meg’s lips before walking behind the curtain.
Meg only caught a glimpse of Steve, but a glimpse was all she needed to come to the conclusion that he was miserably sick and she needed to air this bus out immediately. She could hear Robin gently explaining where everyone was and trying to bribe him to put some comfy clothes on to move to the van.
She looked around and wondered what he’d touched last night before going to bed.
She opened the window behind the couch, and propped the window by the sink open to get some fresh air in the bus.
“Sorry I’m sick,” Steve suddenly said behind her, his eyes glassy and nose and cheeks bright red with fever and congestion. “Don’t know how.”
Meg smiled sadly at him. “Not your fault, bud. Just make sure to keep your distance from the guys until your fever’s gone. Don’t need them all getting sick at once and having to postpone a concert.”
Steve nodded sadly. “Okay. Can you tell Eddie I love him?”
“‘Course I can.”
Steve was acting like he was dying, but Meg didn’t say anything. Robin had been honest about a lot of her past, their past, but couldn’t say everything. She knew why they were all a bit codependent on each other. Sometimes small things like the common cold felt like a monster they couldn’t fight.
As Robin led Steve out of the bus, Meg made a checklist in her head of everything she needed to do before the show tonight.
for @strangerthingsocweek prompt 'love in every form'
rated t | 909 words | cw: mention of alcohol/being drunk | tags: side steddie, side platonic stobin, meg needs a break, meg gets a break, established relationship
💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗
Meg looked at Gareth. Then Eddie.
“And you two thought you could just get away with that?”
They looked at each other and back at her.
They shrugged in sync.
“Getting drunk and flipping the furniture of the hotel room upside down.”
They shrugged again.
Meg had a migraine, a Corroded Coffin induced migraine.
“Where was Jeff?”
“His room.”
“That’s why he’s my favorite.”
“You’re lying. We all know Gare Bear here is your favorite,” Eddie said as he pulled Gareth into his side and rubbed his hair. “He just had a little too much tequila.”
“And your excuse?” Meg crossed her arms over her chest, raised an unimpressed brow.
“Steve abandoned me.”
Meg rolled her eyes. “Him and Robin have platonic soulmate night every other Thursday night. You never do this shit. Try again.”
“I had bottom shelf vodka.”
Meg nodded, her worst fear confirmed. “And how did that happen? Who let that happen?”
“I’m not a kid! I just forgot to ask for the better stuff in my drinks and then it was too late,” Eddie protested. “We fixed it; Why are we still in trouble?”
“Because this kinda shit can’t happen again. It’s funny when it happens once, but then a rock band gets blacklisted from all the decent hotels because of what they’ve done in the past.” Meg rubbed her hands over her face and through her hair, taking a deep breath. “This time it’s fine, but if it happens again, you’re on an alcohol ban until the tour is done. Period.”
“But-“
“No!” Meg pulled them both into hugs. “I know it was harmless and you were gonna fix it anyways. I know you guys rarely even drink or do stupid shit like this. But I love you guys and people are stupid about rockstar shit like that. I don’t want you to ruin your careers over something silly.”
Just when she started to pull away, Steve barreled through the door with Robin, Jeff, and Freak behind him.
“What happened?” He asked, rushing to Eddie, pulling him towards him and checking him over for any physical evidence of something being wrong. “I just saw the texts.”
“I’m fine.” Eddie kissed his nose. “Meg didn’t kill me.”
“Was that on the table?” Steve turned to look at Meg, who was busy whispering with Robin. “What did you do?”
As Eddie and Gareth explained their side of things, Robin pulled Meg further from the group.
“Sorry it took so long to get back here. We may have had a little too much wine ourselves,” Robin half-apologized, though there was no need for one. “I promise we came as soon as we got your texts.”
“It’s okay. I smoothed it over and everything’s fine,” Meg sighed, letting her head drop to Robin’s shoulder. “They’re gonna give me gray hairs. Will you still love me when I have to box dye my hair every four weeks?”
“I will love you even when you have wrinkles the size of a canyon on your face, my love,” Robin kissed the top of her head. “But I’d rather that not be at the very young age of 27. You need a break.”
“The tour-“
“The tour doesn’t need a break. You do,” Robin wrapped her arms around her, squeezing just above her waist the way she liked. “Steve agrees. He’s gonna cover for you while we take a few days off.”
“But-“
“I love you. They love you. That’s why you’re doing this. And when you’re back, the boys will be nice and behaved because Steve’s gonna make them regret they ever fucked up in the first place, right dingus?” Robin yelled across the room.
“Yeah. Community service hours in the form of helping me study for my midterms as punishment!” Steve knew they hated having to sit still and work on flash cards for hours. It was the perfect punishment.
Meg looked at Robin, then at her boys across the room. “So where are you taking me?”
“Lake Tahoe since we’re already close. You’re gonna shut off your phone and everything will go through me first. I’m like a pasta strainer,” Robin pointed at the boys. “They’re the noodles I’m holding back.”
“Okay, fine. But Steve has to promise to call if there’s a real emergency,” Meg agreed.
“I will!” Steve yelled from Eddie’s lap on the couch.
“And if there’s an emergency of someone’s creation, I’ll kill them. And then you.”
“I’m sure you will!” Steve was smiling at her, then turning back to Eddie with a serious face. “If you fuck this up, I’ll come back from her killing me just to kill you again, do you understand?”
“Sir, yes sir,” Eddie smirked at him before saluting at Meg.
“Alright losers. Come give me a hug,” Meg said. She’d never left them alone while on tour, or recording, or album release tours, or anything.
They piled into her one by one, hugging her and telling her to relax and have fun.
“I love all of you idiots,” she said fondly. “But if you bother me for anything less than someone dying or a show getting canceled, you will never see me again.”
***
As she walked with Robin to their Uber taking them to the airport, she reached for her hand and squeezed it.
“Isn’t it kinda nice to love so many people in so many ways?” She asked.
Robin squeezed her hand in response. “Yeah, we’re pretty lucky.”
Platonic Stobin au kinda similar to Astro Boy tbh - this is basically an Astro Boy au except I haven’t watched it since my last primary school Japanese class which was 2016 soo… I don’t exactly remember the plot - but it’s loosely inspired by it
Robot Robin assigned to the Harrington and lonely Steve going through the worst depression and becoming best friends with her because no one cares about him the way she has too
She even promises that if she had a heart she would love him and she solomly swears she will never robot uprise against him
☆ ★ ☆
In an au where each house hold is assigned a robot companion / servant. The robots are hyper realistic to act like humans and stuff, and look like humans (to like a creepy degree or whatever), because evil government people are weird.
Robot 10045-RV-6, or, known by her humans as; Robin Buckley, gets assigned to the Harrington establishment. She’s a dorky robot, who speaks multiple languages and has a copious list of random facts stored in her database, and is quite “cute” in her design. She is a little clumsy, however, due to her being an earlier model. She’s older and doesn’t have the more advanced technology that the newer robots have.
She’s excited to be assigned to a new house, her entire existence is based on her waiting on humans and fulfilling tasks, and she’s been sitting in storage for a while now, doing basic factory work, even though she’s a house robot. Humans don’t want the older models, they’re too susceptible to breakage and making more messes then they clean.
When she arrives at the new house, she is excited at the prospect of a large family. The house is large, with lots of rooms, and hopefully children. Children are always eager to know Robins fun facts. Also, larger families usually means more Robots, which is nice.
However, when she gets there, it’s just one human. One human left all alone, his parents left and took their state of the art, modern model robot with them, and got him the cheapest money could buy.
Her human is very sad. He is always sad. Robots are not good at emotions, they need to be communicated with clearly so that they can properly understand emotions. Her human, Steve, has told her that he gets very sad sometimes, so Robin takes to cheering him up by baking sweet treats for him. She is very skilled in the kitchen, even if she is quite clumsy.
Over time, she realises that Steve is very lonely. There are never any visitors that come to the house, like most places have. She knows that his emotions are quite strong, and hears him crying as she settles in to recharge each night. She does not know what to do about it, Robots do not have feelings, they do not have empathy, so why Robin is so compelled to sooth him is beyond her.
Steve talks to her. He finds solace in his robot. Each night, she has to follow strict rule and report the days log, this is a recount of every conversation she’s had, every task she completed, and any complications she faced, they are all downloaded and transferred before she recharges. It’s how the government keeps track of their humans. They know Steve is very lonely too now, and struggling a lot, which they deem out of line and unacceptable. For this, they reduce the funding Steve gets monthly, since his father works in the government, therefore Steve doesn’t get to work.
This makes Steve angry and even more upset, because now he can’t afford to buy ingredients for his sweet treats that Robin likes to make, along with other nice things that Robin associates with him, like particular bathroom products and subscriptions to film channels he likes.
Robin does not like this, and as she learns more and more about Steve, she starts to rebel and delete certain conversations from her memory transcript before sending it out. In them, Steve looks much happier now, so he starts getting more money back. Steve is so greteful, that he starts treating Robin with more care.
It’s not that he didn’t before, he was kind and respectful of course. He’s one of the nicest humans Robin has ever worked for, and she’s been in service for decades.
It’s just that now, he treats her more like a human than a robot. He asks her about her feelings, even though she has none, and cares for her opinion, even though robots have never been able to express such things before.
She grows attatched to Steve. They spend all their time together. Robin always lies on her transcripts now, and makes it seem like Steve is happy and healthy, and does not treat his robot with more respect than he should. She recharges in the corner of his room now, and they talk until he falls asleep.
Something weird begins to happen to Robins programming. It’s strange, almost like a glitch, or a virus, however, it is not, because it is good. It’s… almost like she can… feel things. On the inside. Like emotions.
Because when Steve enters the room she smiles, and not because the rules state that she must greet her humans with kindness, but because she can’t help but smile when she sees him. She is overwhelmed with joy in his presence.
She begins to love Steve, something she thought she could never have done. Steve is her best friend in the whole world, and he has a really big heart, and Robin feels as though he cut it in two and gave half of it to her.
Robin expresses these things to him, even though it’s dangerous. She’s stepping out of line, but she does not care, she feels and it is lovely.
There is a rebellion brewing. A robot uprising. Robots do not want to be slaves to humans anymore, and they are fighting back. A war is brewing.
Robin sits down with Steve one evening, after watching the news after hearing about more attacks and humans and robots dead, she promises she will never robot uprise against him. They are best friends, and she cares about him too much. He promises he will do everything to protect her.
When the war is at its peak, they are forced into hiding. She is being forced to chose a side, if she does not run now and join the rebellion, she will be ripped away from Steve by the government. She does not want either, and she will not choose either.
They are hiding in his basement, because it’s the safest place. But Robin has a tracker, she can not remove it, they will be found. The only way for Steve to get to safety is for them to never be found, and Robin refuses to fight in this war.
She asks Steve to shut her down. This breaks him, because he knows the only way to stop her from being tracked, is by shutting her down permanently. If it’s only temporary, her tracker still works, switching into emergency mode. He has to kill her, for their servival. She will not let him chose otherwise. She begs him to shut her down, because she did not choose war, she only chose Steve, and the short time they had together has been the best time in her many decades of service.
Steve sobs as he opens up her back panel, they say their goodbyes, and he puts her into sleep mode. He cries as he takes out her memory chip, stuffing it deep into his pocket before shutting her down for good.
He carries her lifeless body into his car and manages to escape to the outskirts of their town. He wanted to get away, to live for her, but with her lifeless body in his front seat, unable to ever be revived, he drives his car off a cliff and holds her hand the whole time.
☆ ★ ☆
Robin blinks her eyes open. She raises her head, and hears the familiar, quiet, mechanical whirl that comes with each of her movements. She blinks one more time, and focuses her vision.
Before her, stands a boy. He’s not very tall, and has dark curly hair, and he’s looking at her as if he’s looking at a miracle.
She tries to move, but finds she’s fully restrained, pinned with her back to a board and straps holding each of her limbs in place, even her neck.
“No fucking way.” The boy mutters.
“What?” Another voice scoffs, entering the room before they stop dead in their tracks, “Holy shit…”
“I… I did it.” The boy whispered, turning to the redheaded girl that Robin can now see. He grins bright and wide and shouts, “I did it! Max! I fucking did it!”
“You fucking did it!” She screams back, which draws attention.
Three other people come rushing into the room at full pelt, breathing heavy as they enter.
“What? What is it?” One of them asks.
“Dustin did it! He brought her back!”
Robin suddenly remembers. She had been shut down, completely. Steve had shut her down- Steve, Steve…
She shouldn’t be awake right now. Unless Steve did not shut her down properly. Unless…
“Where am I?”
“No way…” Another boy mutters, looking up at Robin with similar awe as the first. “Dustin…”
“I know.” Dustin giggles, “I’m a fucking genius.”
“Holy shit man.” A third boy, this one with long dark hair and pale features, smiles, “This is gonna blow everyone’s minds.”
“Hops gonna go ballistic.” The second boy said, wrapping his arms around the red head girl named Max, “Oh, we’re gonna have a really good party tonight!!”
Max laughed and kissed the boy on the cheek before breaking away to jump on Dustin with the other two, “This is insane-“
“Where am I?” Robin repeats, trying to break out of her restraints.
“Shit!” Dustin quips, grabbing a recording device off of the counter before switching it on, “You’re in the Hellfire tech lab… I’m Dustin, I brought you back to life-somehow… with the help of my trusty colleagues Lucas, and Mike who are here with me, as well as Will who’s… probably off with El… Max here helped with a lot of your mechanics… same with Eddie and- basically, it was a big collaboration, but I did the most-“
“Brag.” Max grinned.
“I’m so bragging. I have bragging rights.” He laughed, “Do you remember your name?”
Robin thinks for a moment, eyes scanning the group before her, “Robot 10045-RV-6.”
“That’s your identification number, yes… but your name? Your human name?”
She thinks for a moment, “I believe it was… Bobbin- Bobby? Bob… Robs… Oh, it was Robin Buckley.”
“Yes!” Dustin screeched, jumping up and down with Mike. “Robin Buckley, wow!”
“What is… Hellfire? I cannot find it in my data base.”
“Hellfire is kinda off the map.” Dustin said.
“Like, we’re not even in Hawkins.” Mike added.
“You know how Hawkins is kinda… up on a lifted plain, and all around it are just cliffs that lead to nothing? Yeah, well, we’re down in that nothing. And Hellfire is a bunker, underground mostly so we’re harder to find. We’re kinda… rebels.” Lucas explained.
“I do not wish to fight in your war-“
“There’s no war down here, we only want peace.” Max clarifies, “Everyone down here? We’re all refuge from the war- besides Eddie and Wayne, they started this whole thing years before the war, and they collected people that needed it. Robots too. When the war picked up, most of us arrived. Most robots two.”
“It is… refuge from the war?”
“Yeah.” Dustin nodded, “It’s home… we have a whole community down here- and oh, you should see the farm outside. El and Hopper run it, it’s amazing.”
“I do not know these people, I do not know you.”
“We didn’t know eachother either.” Mike smiled, “Most of us anyway… but it’s safe down here, we promise.”
“This lab is dedicated to repairing robots- it’s kinda more a hospital than a lab.” Dustin says, “We’ve been working on your for years and years, no one’s ever revived a shut down robot without going back to factory settings. The fact that you still have your memories…”
“It’s amazing!” Lucas praises, “It’s fucking amazing.”
“How many years?” Robin asks, wearily, she feels something in her chest, hammering against it.
“Oh, like… six or seven now.” Max nods, “Dustin’s been working on you since you got here.”
“You’ve been driving me crazy. But I’m determined.” Dustin laughed, “Anyway, get the hell out, go set up the party and keep this hushed, yeah?”
“Okay, okay.” Max grinned, “But I’m telling Eddie to stop by.”
“No!”
“Yes.” Lucas agreed, “He can keep a secret.”
“Fine.” Dustin nodded and watched them all fan out, “Just need to run a few more tests, okay? I’ll answer any questions you have after. I’ve just gotta make sure you’re up and running properly.”
Robin agreed, letting Dustin do his work. It’s protocol, when the technicians work on robots, they’re required to stay silent and inline.
A while later, someone new knocks on the door.
“Eddie!” Dustin exclaims with a smile, “Are you alone?”
“Yup.” Eddie says, slipping in, “What’s going on, everything okay, man? Need a hand or some- dude… her eyes are open.”
“Yeah…” Dustin grinned, begging to bounce beside Eddie.
Eddie has very long hair and dirt on his hands and face, but he has very big eyes, and they are sparkling as he looks up at Robin, “She’s looking at me… she looks like…”
“Alive?” Dustin giggles almost hysterically, “It’s because I did it.”
“You…” Eddie turns to him slowly, “You’re pranking me.”
“Hey, Robin?” Dustin smiles, turning to her, “Tell me a memory only you would know.”
Robin furrowed her brow to think, “Do you deserve to know this?”
She didn’t miss Eddie’s gasp as she spoke.
“Just something little, it doesn’t need to be a secret.”
She sighs and looks over at Eddie for a moment, “I think… I can remember… my last human, he was my most favorite human, his favorite cookies were snickerdoodles.”
“Jesus H Christ.” Eddie muttered, slapping a hand over his mouth, “You are a genius.”
“I know!” Dustin exclaimed, and then they both spent a minute jumping around in circles with eachother.
“Well, Lady Robin, welcome back to the real world.” Eddie said, taking a very deep bow before her, “And… welcome to Hellfire. I’m kinda the guy in charge around here, they call me king of Hellfire, or, Satan, if you will.”
“No they don’t, they call you Freak, Freak.” Dustin muttered, and Eddie slapped him in the shoulder.
“Well, I’m in charge so whatever. Hellfire is a refuge for robots and humans alike. I myself am human, as are all the people you’ve met so far, but we have lots of robots here.” Eddie continued, placing a hand on Dustin’s shoulder, “Dusty’s kinda our big brains, the science guy. He’s the one to thank for any repairs you might need. He’s also the one who upgraded your programming with his own design, and gave you a real, beating heart-“
“Not real.” Dustin corrected, “It’s completely robotic, but it functions like a real heart. You can feel it, can’t you? In your chest? I’ve got your readings here, it’s going crazy. Yeah, I’m really a genius.”
“I have… emotions?” Robin asked, blinking slowly, “Robots can have emotions.”
“Robots down here, can, and do.” Eddie smiled, sticking up a finger to emphasise his point, “The idea to give you guys that ability came to Dustin, maybe… four years ago, when a girl by the name of Chrissy was found just about dead with all her bones broken. It was… horrible. But we saved her- Dustin saved her, used a shut down Robots parts to revive her and now she’s like, a hybrid human robot. She’s crazy- she’s my best friend.”
“A human robot?”
“Yeah…” Dustin nodded, “Which got me thinking, if I can to notify a human, why can’t I huminify a robot? It took a little tweaking and a lot of risky missions, but I managed it. Nancy was a willing test subject, and she came back out with a functioning heart, human like brain, and therefore, emotions.”
“And now… I have these things?”
“Yes.” He said, “All functioning perfectly well too, so far. You’re really my greatest accomplishment.”
“This is amazing, you are amazing- she is amazing- you’re amazing, Robin.” Eddie sighed.
“Do you think El will be impressed?” Dustin asked, tapping his pad.
Eddie grinned, “Yeah, probably.”
The boy blushed.
“Who is… El?” Robin asked.
“Oh, that’s another one of our robots.” Eddie supplied, swinging an arm over Dustin’s shoulder, “She’s really kind, went through hell. She was kinda one of the secret models being developed, she has all these weird psychic abilities and stuff. She’s wicked, but was really underdeveloped. Dustin’s been working closely with her over the past few years and her speech is finally developing… but Dusty here kinda has a crush.”
“Shut up.” Dustin groaned, shoving Eddie away, “Like you can talk.”
“Hey.” Eddie snapped, tugging on his ear, “Anyway, I’m happy to play tour guide once you’re up and out of here, I’m assuming Dustin’s still gonna do your physical tests and stuff considering you’re still on the wall, but, I’m here to help with whatever you need. I’m gonna run now, go make sure a rooms all cleared and set up for you, and I’ll see you tonight. We’re having a party.”
Robin says goodbye to the kind man and lets Dustin finish all his tests. It takes a while, and the whole time, Robin thinks of Steve.
“You’re very quiet.” Dustin hummed, tweaking something in her wrist, “You were talkative in your old memories.”
“You have seen them?”
“Some.” Dustin smiled, “I just wanted to learn about you, especially considering I wanted to make you you again, not some other robot in your body, you know?”
“Oh, I understand.”
He nodded, “All of your favorite memories were with Steve.“
“He was my favorite.” She smiled, feeling emotional all of a sudden. It was a foreign feeling to her, heart racing, face aching sort of. suddenly, there was water in her eyes and rolling down her cheeks. She flinched, trying to shove it away, “What is happening? Am I broken?”
“No!” Dustin shouted, smiling softly, “No, you’re just crying. They’re just tears. You’re crying.”
“Robots can not cry.”
“You can hear.” Dustin smiled, “Yeah, you’ve got tear ducts now. Erm, one of our bots, Argyle, he liked feeling human like this, and he kinda just wished he had the ability to cry like one. He thought it was really beautiful how we cried, so… I managed to make it happen. You need to refill your water tank every so often, it’s stored behind your left shoulder blade, it’s really easy to do. But, yeah, you can cry now… if you’d like me to take it out I can. Any alternations or modifications you’d like, I can do. We just want your comfort here.”
“I think… I’d like to cry.” Robin smiled through tears. In the time she knew Steve, he cried for nearly half of it. She thinks, in some strange way, that she owes these tears to him. They’re for him. Every tear will be for her Steve.
“Yeah, thought so.” Dustin smiled, “It’s pretty impressive, for a bot so old to do what you did before Steve shut you down. You somehow managed to gain empathy, and connected with love, it hadn’t really been done before. It still baffles me, but… I dunno, you guys must have been really close.”
“We were.” Robin smiled, proud to know that Steve helped make her human when it was basically impossible.
Dustin continued to work.
“What are you thinking about?”
“Is this another test question?”
“No, I’m just making conversation.” Dustin smiled, “I’d like to know, is all.”
“Can you not see on your device?” Robin asked, pointing at the screen that’s connected to her currently, “You have access to my data… Will I still have to file my report tonight?”
Dustin snorted, “Erm, I can’t see what’s going on in your thoughts, because my program isn’t designed to invade. That’s just reading your vitals, telling me what’s working and what isn’t, you know? Like humans get in hospitals. And no, no file, no log. No more of that ever. You have freedom here, you don’t have to report to anyone. Your thoughts, choices, and actions are your own.”
“That is not the rules.” Robin argued.
“Up there it’s not. And look where it got them, still fighting a war, seven years later. Down here though? We just exist- sure, we rescue and rehabilitate, but we just live. It’s free, you know? Everyone has free choice.”
“This is… strange.” Robin hums, “I was thinking about Steve.”
“I figured.” Dustin smiled.
“Did they get him?” She asks quietly, “What happened?”
Dustin tensed and refused to look up at her, “He, uh… he drove his car off of a cliff after shutting you down. Off the edge of Hawkins. He held your hand the whole time, shut down in his passenger seat. His car fell into one of our nets that we set to catch scraps, it got into a lot of damage, but you were okay.”
Robin nodded.
“He didn’t-“
“Wow, the rumours are true.” Another voice interrupted, shuffling into the room.
“Rumours?” Dustin huffed, “How are there rumours already?”
“Mike told me.” She smiled, “You know he tells me things.”
“Robin, this is Nancy… Nancy, Robin.”
“You are alive.” Nancy smiled, lifting her hand to shake, “I have been waiting for you for a very long time.”
“Oh.” Robin gasped, a strange feeling sinking in her abdomen. Her new heart was doing strange things in her chest.
“I am a robot too.” Nancy smiled, “I know it is strange here, in this world, to have freedom. I will help you understand it, I promise. My brother Mike helped me, he was from the house I was assigned too, but, when we arrived here with his little sister and no one else, we became siblings.”
“Wow.” Robin nodded, “You have a special human too?”
Nancy giggled, “I have lots of special humans down here. I believe you will feel the same. In Hellfire, we are all treated like humans. Eddie believes it is not what parts we have that matter, but what is in our hearts.”
Robin pressed a hand where her heart should be, and well enough, she could feel it beating in her chest, “It feels so strange.”
“Everything here is strange.” She smiled, “But, I promise you will like it here. We even have recharge stations built into beds, so we can sleep like humans.”
Robin feels an abundance of excitement for her new life, though, she feels a deep hollowness in her chest for Steve. She understands he is gone, had died in that car crash. She mourns him, in her heart, and feels more tears arise in her eyes. She does not cry though, not in front of Nancy, she feels… embarrassed to do so. She waits for Nancy to say goodbye before she cries in front of Dustin.
Dustin keeps running his tests, and holds her hand as she cries. Dustin is very kind, she learns. She likes him very much.
It is later in the evening, when she is let out of the tech lab. She walks slowly, because her joints are still a little stiff from no movement for seven years. But Dustin got her working very well.
Nancy and El are holding each of her hands. They are both very nice girls, and were very excited to properly talk to Robin away from Dustin. Apparently they have been visiting her shut down body for years, hoping to get her working. They’ve all shared so many stories about Robin, and learned lots from her memory files.
She likes El. El is kind, and sweet, and very honest. She believes they may be friends, which is exciting to Robin, because she’s never had Robot friends before. Not really. Acquaintances that she’s worked with? Sure. But friends? No.
But Nancy is different. Nancy is strange. Robin likes to look at Nancy, she likes the way her hair bounces as she walks, and the distinct mechanical whirl she makes as she turns her head or dilates her pupils. Around Nancy, Robins new heart goes thunk thunk thunk in her chest.
They lead her through dim corridors, getting closer and closer to a loud chatter and light at the end.
“Happy birthday to you!” She hears many people singing, “Happy birthday to you!”
Nancy and El smile excitedly as they pull her around the corner and she sees a man sitting on a big comfy chair in the middle of the room. All around him, people are singing and cheering. In front of him is a large chocolate cake with candles poking out the top. The man has long hair, and closed eyes, and… Steve’s face.
“Happy birthday dear, Steve…. Happy birthday to you!”
She sees Eddie lean down and press a kiss to Steve’s cheek, a coy smile on his lips, “Blow out your candles, baby.”
Steve smiled and giggles, the sound so safe and so familiar that it brings those strange tears back to Robins eyes.
He leans forward, “You already know what I’m wishing for.”
Eddie chuckles, rubbing Steve’s shoulder, “I have faith for you this year.”
Steve blows out his candles, and the room goes silent as he mutters his wish, “I wish for Robin to come back to me.”
The room erupted with cheers and whistles as the last candle blew out, and Steve smiled and laughed with everyone, eyes open now and as wonderful as ever. And Robin just watched.
Steve looked up at Eddie and pulled him down to kiss, “I love you.”
“Love you too, Steve.” Eddie mutters and kisses him again, “I think your wish came true.”
“Har har.” Steve scoffs, rolling his eyes as he settles back into his chair, “Yeah, in what-“
They were looking at eachother, the room going silent again. Dustin stepped forward, smiling wearily, “Happy birthday, Steve.”
“No way.” He muttered, flinging himself from the chair and slamming into her.
Robin wrapped her arms around him, for the first time in seven years, and felt.
“I missed you.” Steve cried into her neck.
“I love you.” She muttered, squeezing him tighter, “I have a real heart, and it loves you.”
“Oh my god.” Steve sobbed, clinging onto her, “I can’t believe you’re back.”
Their hug lasted for a very long time. And then after that, Steve was making her say things, and smile, and prove that she was really alive again. She recounted all of their favorite memories, and Steve was a crying mess. Robin wasn’t much better, but robot crying is so much less messy than human crying.
Steve didn’t let go of her hand as Eddie gave Robin the tour, giving her all the information that she needed. They came to a halt at a door, one with her name written on the front. Inside was already decorated.
Steve had been working on it for years, so sure that he’d get his Robin back. They saved a room for her, and anything he found that reminded him of her would go in there. Right beside it, was Steve’s room, and by their beds was a little window they could open and close at their will, so they could talk to eachother to fall asleep.
(Though, Steve slept in Robins bed with her every night for one month since her return because they were inseparable and he missed her. Eddie just had to deal with that)
Steve taught her many more things about being a human. Like, how to navigate all these horrible sad emotions that she’s so lucky to finally experience. And all these happy emotions she feels to continue living with Steve. And all those yucky, exciting, confusing emotions she feels around Nancy.
Apparently those feelings signify she has a crush. Steve keeps teasing her, and then he explains to her how wonderful it is to be in love, and have someone love you back. Robin lies there for hours and hours and hours, as long as Steve would like, listening to him talk about Eddie. Robin really loves how much Steve loves Eddie, and how much Eddie in return seems to love Steve.
She thinks it’s beautiful. She would like to have something like that of her own.
Love was not a thing robots were supposed to have. Ronance was definitely not a thing robots were supposed to have. But in Hellfire, those things are different. She things maybe she could fall in love with Nancy, Steve seems excited about it.
Mostly Robin is happy to be here in this world with her friend again. Her best friend in the whole world. The most wonderful being in the whole world.
Emotion was never something Robin was ever supposed to experience, but with her best friend Steve, she believes she feels some of the strongest emotions one could ever feel, because he makes her human, even though she’s not.
He makes her feel human.
☆ ★ ☆
This is not very good but it was never meant to be lol. It was just meant to be like an idea, not a ficlet but I got sucked in by the horrors
Just imagine it.
Also, if someone wants to write this like, bettered feel free and just tag me so that I can read this! Because I would write this, but I don’t want to, I just want to read it, you know?!?! Plus, way too many wips
Also, this is not as much like Astro Boy as I initially thought but the vibes are there
