Kas!Eddie: *running to Steve with his cheeks full like a chipmunk*
Steve: Eds?
Kas!Eddie: *grabs Steveās face with both hands*
Steve: EDDIE?!? What -
Kas!Eddie: *smooshes their mouths together, invades Steveās mouth with tongue and too much blood*
Steve: *choking on Eddieās /tongue/ and /holy shit is this blood/ and /what the fuck are we kissing/*
Kas!Eddie: *pulls away, blood all over his mouth and running down his chin and neck, just smirking*
Steve: *coughing and gagging and /not in the tiniest bit, no absolutely not, turned on/* WHAT THE FUCK EDS?
Kas!Eddie: We bond.
Steve: *drags hand across mouth* Couldnāt we bond over like a game of basketball?
Kas!Eddie: *makes face at /basketball/*
Steve: Or *snaps fingers and points at Eddie* a mixed tape?
Kas!Eddie: *tilts head* Bond like bats. *points to matching scar*
Steve: *sighs*
Robin: Hi. Yeah, since no one else got bit by the demobats then weāre like free for the blood spit bonding right? Cause like, that was disgustingā¦like where did the blood even come fromā¦
Steve: It is taking everything in me not to figure that out. I donāt even want to know.
Kas!Eddie: *grabbing Steve and pulling him close, arm and wing around his shoulder, smiles at Robin* We bond.
Robin: ā¦.goodā¦.?
Kas!Eddie: Mine.
Steve: Yours?
Kas!Eddie: *gasps, nuzzles into Steveās neck and starts purring*
Robin: Ohhhhhh!
Steve: *genuinely confused but not pushing Eddie off of him quite yet* What? What /ohhhhh/?
Feels it every time the older boy invades his personal space or laughs or twirls a curl on his finger or when he goes on passionate tangents about anythingā¦
But he cannot get a read on Eddie. Canāt determine if he has feelings for him or if Eddie is just naturally a flirt. Because Eddie does flirt. Makes naughty comments and touches Steve endlessly. But he also does the same thing with Robin and Argyle and Gareth and Jonathanā¦
There are too many mixed signalsā¦and so Steve tells himself to ease up on the crush. To just be friendsā¦
But itās like Steve canāt stop his crush from growing. Everything Eddie does makes the crush dig itself deeper into Steve. But itās just a crush. Soā¦
But one day while they are hanging out in Eddieās room something happens.
Eddie smirks at him and says, āI had a dream about you last night.ā
And the butterflies which woke in Steveās stomach at Eddieās smirk do somersaults at the idea of Eddie dreaming of him. āOh really? What was it about?ā
And Steve is looking up at Eddie through his lashes, runs a hand through the front of his hair, and gives him an absolutely *royal* smile.
Eddie blinks. He twirls a strand of hair around his index finger and Steve thinks his blood is going to boil from anticipation, because this is it, his dumbass is finally going to admit he has feelings for him.
Nothing could prepare Steve for what Eddie says next.
He drops his hair and readjusts himself on the bed to turn and fully look at Steve, he gestures with his hands and says, āSo it was like I knew something crazy was going on in my dream world, but I wasnāt really privy to it. But I found you in this like sewer. And -ā he pauses leans in real close to Steve, āit was insane, Dustin was growing from your stomach. AND you had a robotic eye.ā
Steve stares at the goofy grin and the excited eyes looking back at him, āIs that all that happened?ā
Eddie shrugs, āMore or less, sometimes I have a hard time remembering dreams. Itās like Iāll know I had a dream some mornings but canāt remember shit. Or I remember only the strange details. Or it can be like I just watched a life changing movie and it will haunt me the rest of my life and alter everything I do. But those kinds of dreams are very rare.ā
āHuh.ā Steve smiles.
Eddie goes into a tangent then about his dreams. Telling Steve about some of his movie like dreamsā¦
Later that night he recounts the dream to Robin. He sighs and puts his face in his hands, āAnd all it really did was make me realize that Iā¦I love him...ā
Robin is silent for so long that Steve forces himself to pull his face out of his hands and stare at her.
She has a perplexed expression on her face as if she is trying to translate something from Russian.
She shakes her head and then says flatly, āUnless you were like birthing Dustin, there is no way that he would be the one conjoined with you. That would be me. Your twin flame. Your other half. Doesnāt that dingus know anything?ā
āI just told you I am in love with Eddie Munson, and you are more concerned about why you are not the one growing from my stomach in his dream?ā Steve asks.
āWell yeah. I already know you love him.ā She tilts her head, her expression soft. Then she straightens up, āYou didnāt know?!ā
āNO!ā Steve gestures wildly, āI thought it was just like a crush.ā
āOh babeā¦ā Robin gasps through her laughter, āYou realized you wereā¦in love with himā¦because he told you he had a dreamā¦where Dustin was growingā¦from your stomachā¦ā
I cannot for the life of me get this idea out of my headā¦soā¦
Like we all know Steve, the beautiful single mother of 7, can cook. Has learned to cook a variety of meals and treats. Knows everyoneās favorites.
Max loves roast with mashed potatoes and glazed carrots. Erica loves quiche. El loves French toast with fresh strawberries and lots of syrup. Mike loves tomato soup and grilled cheese made with soft buttered rolls. Dustin loves chicken nuggets with homemade honey mustard sauce, and Steve knows he prefers steamed broccoli even though he wonāt admit it. Lucas loves eggplant Parmesan with diced olives in the marinara. And Will loves homemade chicken noodle soup, for which Steve makes fat egg noodles and his own broth.
Steve even knows the older members of The Partyās favorites. Nancy loves vegetarian curry, the spicer the better. Argyle loves chicken pot pie. Jonathan loves meatloaf with buttery peas and roasted sweet potatoes. And Robin, love of his life, loves soft scrambled egg over rice.
He knows all their favorite snacks too. Learns to make potato chips, mini pizzas, pigs-in-a-blanket, popcorn. Always has fresh fruit and veggies with a variety of homemade dips. And when Hellfires starts playing at his house, he learns all of the members favorite snacks too.
He even makes an actual 7 course meal for the end of a Hellfire campaign for Willās birthday. It impresses everyone.
And none of them complain about the desserts. He learns to bake cookies, brownies, cinnamon rolls, cakes. Anything they ask for, he delivers.
And Eddie, he loves all of it. Will eat anything without fail. Tells Steve after every meal it was his favorite. And when pushed about what is *actually* his favorite food Eddie will say something like, āBabe you could serve me a phone book covered in gravy and I think it would be delicious if you made it.ā
So Steve figures Eddie just loves food or thereās something only Wayne knows how to cook a certain way and thatās Eddieās favorite.
But one night Steve is exhausted. Itās just Eddie and Steve alone for dinner. And Steve just doesnāt have it in him to actually cook. So he makes a box of Kraft mac and cheese. Does the bare minimum. Boils the noodles adds salt. Mixes in the butter, milk, cheese powder. Sprinkles in a tiny bit of nutmeg. Adds cracked pepper. Globs some hot sauce in it. Then serves it.
And Eddie loses his goddamn shit over it.
And Steve canāt comprehend it at first. All of the extravagant meals and thisā¦THIS is what Eddie flips out about.
Steve ends up making a lot of Kraft mac and cheese.
Iām at work. And I will write this at some point, but I have to vent about it now. It may even appear in my longer work. Who knows. But anywayā¦
Iād say weāre post S1. So Steve and Nancy are already kind of on the rocks. And in this version Nancy decides to try out for the school play, Romeo & Juliet.
She of course gets the role of Juliet.
But our Eddie, well he was born to play Mercutio.
And just imagine Steve going to see Nancy play Juliet but then is just captivated by Mercutio.
And like he knows who Eddie Munson is but itās the first time he sees him as not just a dealer, not just āThe Freak.ā
And after opening night, Steve goes home and he canāt sleep. He stares at his ceiling. Tries to forget about the older boy in red stage lighting, smirking before he challenges Tybalt. And only falling asleep after he gets out of bed and forces himself to do push ups until he exhausts himself.
And Steve tries to tell himself heās just being a good boyfriend when he attends every performance. Tells himself and anyone else, heās there for Nancy. (Of course, heās there for Nancy.) But he canāt ignore the way he waits in nervous anticipation for the scenes with Mercutio.
The way his stomach somersaults every time Eddie saunters onto the stage. The way his heartbeat picks up during his scenes. How blush blooms across his cheeks and down his neck when Eddie scans the audience and locks eyes with him at least once during every show. How goosebumps rise on his arms every time Eddieās voice drops to a ravaging baritone to deliver the lines, āWhy the devil came you between us? I was hurt under your armā¦ā How he wishes he could be Romeo when Eddie cups the actorās cheek just before he exits the stageā¦
I think about how Barb and Robin were both in band. And how Barb would have definitely been friends with Robin. And how they were both lesbians. And how they bonded over sharing their crushes with each other. For Robin, it was Tammy. For Barb, it was Nancy. And likeā¦what if Robin told Nancy that Barb was in love with herā¦
TW/CW: Light internalized and external homophobia
-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-
Nancy looks back over her shoulder at Steve and Eddie, watches as Eddie leans in and Steve's answering smile at whatever Eddie says. She turns back and looks at the taller girl walking beside her. Robin keeps her eyes on the ground, searching for all the safe places to put her feet - each step hesitating in awkward balance before it touches ground.
"You know," Robin sighs, as if she can feel Nancy's eyes on her, "it doesn't help to have you glaring at me."
"I'm not glaring." Nancy argues.
Robin looks over at her briefly before looking back to her feet, "It feels like a glare."
Nancy chuckles, "It's more of a...a considerate observation."
Robin pauses and looks directly at Nancy. She tries to hide her smile while she repeats, "A considerate observation?"
Nancy continues forward, allows the distance to hide her own smile, "Exactly."
Robin closes the gap so they walk side by side again, "Well, I appreciate your considerate observation to be limited as we navigate Vecna/Henry/One's landmines."
"Yeah, no worries." Nancy looks down at the grey earth and dark vines.
Silence fills the space until Steve's laugh echoes around them. Robin giggles in response as if her and Steve are even connected to each other's joy. Nancy's heart sinks a little.
"You know, I used to be like that with Barb." Nancy says as if she can't keep it in anymore.
"Hmm?" Robin hums as she giggles again with Steve.
"That." Nancy says, keeping her eyes down. "Barb was my best friend and it was like, even if we didn't know what was happening, if one of us was happy the other felt it just as much."
"Nance - " Robin's voice is soft.
"It's really special you have that with him. And Steve, he deserves to have someone who giggles when he laughs, who feels everything for him as if it were happening to them. Steve deserves a best friend, who - "
"Nancy. Steve and I are best friends, nothing more." Robin intterupts.
"I know. I know, you've said that."
"Platonic. Completely platonic, trust me."
"Yeah, but still, it's nice he has someone who he's that close with."
They fall into silence.
But Robin isn't good with silence and suddenly she says, "I was friends with Barb you know."
"You were?" Nancy immediately regrets the statement. The guilt of not knowing Barb had been friends with Robin seeping into her blood, cold and fast. She mutters, "God, I was a shitty friend."
"No, you weren't. Nancy - " Robin cuts herself short.
Nancy looks over at her, "What?"
Robin looks up at the grey sky as it flashes red, "I promised I wouldn't say anything..."
Nancy's chest grows tight. Her mouth is dry.
"...but maybe at this point you should know." Robin looks back down at Nancy, her blue eyes wide and pleading for understanding.
"You...you don't have to tell me..." Nancy finally chokes out.
Robin sighs, "I feel like you need to know. And maybe it's this place. Maybe it's the fact that we could like all die in a matter of seconds or maybe it's because I would want to know if I were you but I'm not you so maybe you don't want to know and it's not like I have any real right to assume your feelings - "
"Robin." Nancy interjects, panic lacing itself into her tone, "Robin, just tell me."
"Ok, but...but you have to promise this won't ruin your idea of Barb." Robin lets out a shaky breath.
Nancy studies her face. The other girl looks scared, more scared then she had just been a moment ago fighting interdimensional bats. She looks terrified.
"I promise," Nancy finally says with a curt nod.
"Ok..." Robin stops and looks at the dirt, toes it a bit with her shoe, "Nancy...Barb didn't think you were a shitty friend. Barb...Barb loved you."
Nancy strains to hear the last part but she catches it and it doesn't make sense...that was what Robin was afraid to say?
"Robin, I know. Barb and I were best friends."
Robin bites her bottom lip and releases it with a sigh, "No, Nancy. Barb loved you."
"I know Rob - "
"No. You don't.ā Robinās voice is sharp, a tone Nancy has never heard from her. She opens her arms wide and drops them, her tone also dropping to something softer, āShe was in love with you. She wanted to be the one who held your hand. She wanted to be the one to sneak kisses at your locker. She wanted to be the one whose name you scribbled in your notebook. She wanted to be Steve, Nancy. She was your best friend, but she wanted to be your girlfriend." Robin has tears in her eyes as she looks at Nancy, her words coming out in a rush. "She loved you Nancy."
Nancy's heart cracks, āSheā¦ā
āShe loved you and I promised I wouldnāt say anything and Barb will probably hate me foreverā¦but I had to tell you. She could never hate you, Nancy, because she loved you.ā Robinās voice wavers like a loose string on a guitar, āYou have to forgive yourself, because she already has.ā
Nancy blinks and a few tears slip down her cheeks, āIā¦ā
āNancy if youāre about to say something badā¦please donātā¦I just know Barb would hate to see you eaten away by misplaced guilt.ā Robin mutters, her own tear filled eyes studying the ground.
āIā¦never knewā¦Iā¦ā Nancy sputters.
āWell you know, she didnāt want to ruin your friendship. Itās not like she could have walked up to you and told you and then both of you act like nothing changed. That just doesnāt happen for u- ā Robin snaps her mouth shut and looks off to the side.
āIā¦ā Nancy starts and then stops unsure of what to say. Her head is a tornado of memories mixed with shock. She can feel her heartbeat in her throat and her stomach flip flop. And all the while she is staring at Robin with pleading eyes.
Robin finally looks up, swipes the back of her hand across her cheeks, āJust tell me you donāt hate her.ā
āI could never.ā Nancy finally says, but her voice is so soft she wonders if Robin even heard her.
Robin nods her head and starts forward again. Nancy stares at the place she stood. A tiny memory of a feeling bubbles up in Nancyās chest, and she knows it can never go back under all it had been buried under now.
She follows quietly behind Robin. And allows the snapshots to filter through her.
Snap - Nancyās crying as her dad throws out her Barbies because he caught Nancy letting them kiss. Girls donāt kiss other girls. Itās wrong. Karen talk some sense into your daughter.
Snap - Nancyās staring at a make-up advertisement trying to ignore the way the modelās lips and eyelashes make her stomach feel.
Snap - Nancy imagining herself saving the princess in the fairytale books instead of a knightā¦
Snap - Nancy watching in middle school as Lindsey Bennett had egg salad dumped on her as everyone laughed and pointed. The echoing sound of dyke being chanted all because Lindsey cut her hair.
Snap - Nancy policing herself in the locker room.
Snap - Nancy and Barb giggling and holding hands under the blankets at a sleepover. How all Nancy wanted was for Barb to be her first kiss but then she remembered the Barbies and she jerked her hand away and snapped that it was time to go to sleep.
Nancy swallows.
Snap - The guilt when Barb went missing wasnāt all just guilt, it was heartbreak. And how every night Nancy had to tell herself she was just sad, nothing more.
Snap - Nancy taking down every picture and removing every gift and hiding it all away with Barbās sweater after the upside down. And Nancy telling her mom to just forget it when she noticed the change in Nancyās bedroom.
Snap - Nancy letting all of her friendships outside of The Party, especially with women, just disappearā¦
Snap.
Robin looks back over her shoulder and comes to a stop when she sees Nancyās face.
āNance are you ok?ā
Nancy looks up and gives a jerky smile, tears fall down her cheeks, āYeah, yeah. Iāll be fine. I just wish she could have told me.ā
Robin frowns and reaches out a hand towards Nancy. Nancy takes the offered hand, grateful for the grounding feeling it gives her. They walk on hand-in-hand. Robin gives her a reassuring squeeze every third step which makes Nancy smile. The sky breaks red in a jagged pattern before stitching together in dark grey, and Nancy thinks her heart must look the same way.
