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#steve x reader friendship
munsster · 11 months
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best friends kiss
A/N: i LOVE oblivious pining/ yearning trope, see me running it into the ground for the next month give or take
Pairings: Best Friend!Steve Harrington x Fem!Reader
Summary: What’s a heartfelt makeout sesh between good friends? 1.0k words
Warnings: best friends to? lovers, established friendship, fluff, kissing!, denial of romance, obliviousness to the point of frustration, insecurity surrounding relationships, reader uses she/her pronouns otherwise character descriptions are gender neutral, reference to canon
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“So… are you two dating?”
Perched side by side, legs intertwined, fingers locked, foreheads nearly touching as giggles pass through the limited space. You’ve got your hand wound into the hair at the back of his head, and his fingertips are digging into your soft and denim-clad thigh like he knows you that well. That intimately.
It’s movie night, and Mike Wheeler doesn’t understand how distinct the line between friends and lovers should be.
You look at each other like the question was outrageously offensive. Like even the thought is abhorrent. Yuck and gross and more laughter as you both vehemently deny any sentiment of the sort.
“Not even close, Wheeler.” His hand is on your thigh.
“It’s too hard to explain best-friendship to youngins these days.” He looks at you with a glimmer in his eye, and you push your fingers through his hair to his neck.
Just an hour before, chocolate fudge had melted down the side of your sundae bowl, coating your fingers in sticky-sweet sludge. Steve had noticed almost immediately—the two of you had been sharing a serving—and seized the cup from your hands, lifting your fingers to his mouth so he could lick the topping from your hot skin.
Everyone was ogling at the two of you. This again.
“Thanks, stud,” you had teased.
“Anything for my darling sweetums.”
A loud snort and a half-cackle later and you two were back to silently sharing a spoon and inching closer beneath your sherpa blanket.
And it wouldn’t be half as weird or awkward in your head if, back at your shared apartment, it wasn’t all silence and shy glances. Back at your shared apartment, there’s no sharing spoons or blankets or handholding or giggling. There is space between your seating arrangements, and your schedules are offset to avoid unwarranted eye contact. It’s awkwardly domestic like there’s something to be nervous about. Something unconfronted and unconfrontable.
Not like it’s ever been uncomfortable. No, the snack bowl is a safe divider for solo movie nights and there’s a diner down the road where the two of you opt to eat in silence and split the check. The silence is welcomed, of course, but different. Different from the hustle and bustle of the high school rascals and Family Video and house parties. Different and, at times, swell.
“Stevie…”
You coo it, and he glances over at you with a mouth full of popcorn, drunk on the gentle way you manage to command his attention like that. The light of the TV drenches your cheek blue and white, and he smiles when you wriggle beneath your blanket.
“Mhm?” There’s popcorn grease painted across his mouth, and it makes you laugh. He rolls his eyes. “Well, would’ya mind helping me out a little?”
“If you insist,” you huff, pushing onto your knees, abandoning the large bowl to the side, one hand firm on his shoulder, the other gripping his jaw. You lean in, and his heart stops when your tongue pokes out against his cupid’s bow. His eyes go wide when you pull back enough to realize what you’ve done.
But he’s already got his fist in the collar of your tee, tugging you into his space once more, mouths open and clobbering for a long-awaited kiss. Or kisses with the way your bodies hold each other closer.
Well, not as long-awaited as legend would have it; the two of you have kissed many times before. On the cheek, on the hand, on the forehead, Hell, even on the mouth. But this time, it’s more than a ‘hello’ or a new year’s eve, it’s without reason and without rhyme in your shared living room on your shared couch with the lights low and nobody but the two of you to bear witness. To breathlessness and close-contact that goes no further than a few needy kisses on a Thursday night.
The half heart necklace that dangles around your neck magnetizes to the matching one he wears. It’s from a theme park gift shop about two hours out of the way of Hawkins and it’ll crumble if you tug it hard enough, but you both convince yourselves it’s better that way. The kids don’t understand your interactions, and they’re in a constantly inconsistent state of ‘why’ and ‘ew’ and curiosity and waiting for something normal to happen. Something less platonic and more tangible, maybe.
Because Steve is treating you like a girlfriend. Not only that, but he’s doing a damn good job at it. He surprises you with hand-picked dandelions and buys drinks for you and gives you discounts and drives you everywhere.
But he’ll deny it.
“Nah, I’d be no good at it”—the whole ‘boyfriend’ thing—“I’ve tried it. I think I was made for the friendzone.”
And as delightful it may be to imagine, you’ll find it unnecessary.
“We’re just good friends. We already do most of the couply stuff, so why try and put a label on it?”
Dustin felt so out of the loop at one point, he decided to conduct his own mock-interview. Set up a stolen borrowed camera from the audio-visual room and hung a sheet up behind his desk chair to act as a backdrop. You had laughed when he called Mr. Steven Harrington into the studio.
“Do I love her?” Steve had laughed and gone a little pink at Dustin’s third question, the first and second being on the subject of favorite colors and ideal first dates. “‘Course, I do. We’re best friends, aren’t we?”
“Aw, c’mon, do I love him? What is this, preschool?” It had made your heart flutter in a moment of unexpected vulnerability. “We’re mature adults, we obviously ove each other.”
Would you ever date each other?
“…”
“…”
“Hadn’t thought about it.”
“Hmm, that’s a hard question.”
But Steve still thinks about the way you pressed your tongue to his upper lip, and you still think about the way he looked at you when you pulled away.
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dezznuggz · 2 months
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Friendship Test |Joe keery × reader
~ Rumors spread about you and Joe keery dating based on the little clips they see behind the scenes and when you guys are out together in public. While y'all film a video about friendship testing, you guys seem as if you're both head over heels for each other.
Warning: readers pronouns are she/her, usage of y/n, brief mentions of stranger things
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"I feel like I'm pretty close to him, I mean I think he knows me pretty well and I know him pretty well." You say to the camera as you describe your and Joe's friendship and what your perspective of it is. The people behind the camera laugh, since they heard something completely different from Joe.
"she bullies me, she's mean to me and she calls me names" Joe says to the camera with a straight and concerned face which causes the people behind the camera to go quiet, "I'm joking, none of that's true" Joe says as he cracks a smile to calm down the people behind the camera.
"when I first met him, I had so much fun with him on set, he might look scary and serious but once you get to know him or talk to him, he's like a black cat, if that makes sense..." You describe how you see Joe and how it was like when you first met him. The people behind the camera laugh again as they notice how you and Joe seem to be the same people but different fonts. (No wonder people ship y'all).
"I first met her and I was super scared. I mean she looked intimidating and she kinda looked like she knew what she was doing, which made me a little insecure until she talked to me and ever since then, she's been like a little golden retriever if that makes sense." Joe describes you as if you were something precious and valuable.
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You and Joe finally get back in a room together and you both can't stop smiling. It's like you're both much more happier to just be in each other's presence. The people behind the camera then ask y'all to write 3 things that you like about each other.
"Jesus I gotta think about this one, there's really nothing good to you" Joe says in a joking way and acts as if he's thinking real hard, "ha ha very funny, you know you're not the most interesting person either" you say back in a sarcastic tone as you notice Joe already writing stuff down real fast. "Woah you're writing a lot", you say while looking from your paper to Joe writing a whole essay, "yes Im practically writing a novel over here" Joe replies back without looking up which causes you to laugh at his comment.
Once you and Joe finish, Joe then says "ladies first" and has you read your paper. "Joe, I think that you're one of the most calmest person I know when it comes to any situation" You finish reading the first part of your paper with a bright smile that makes Joe's heart melt. "Y/n...you are like a big ball of sunshine that can light up a dark room" Joe says as he looks up from his paper to see your reaction, "aww wait that's actually sweet I wanna redo mine" you say with a cute puppy face that Joe adores seeing every time. "Joe, I think your sarcastic humor can make any situation feel comfortable" you look up at Joe with a bit of a sour face not knowing if that's a compliment or not but Joe seems to relieve your unsure feeling, "well that's what I'm here for" Joes comment makes you let out a small scoff.
"Y/n, although you have a child mindset, you are very responsible when it comes to situations" Joe then looks up from his paper again only see you have a faint smile on your lips, "that's actually really nice". "Thank you" you and Joe say to eachother. "Joe I think you have a heart of gold, you have a super kind personality that everyone loves" you say as you look into Joe's eyes since they're staring deeply into yours, "thank you very much" "you welcome" you and Joe say to eachother again with bright smiles, "y/n, you are a very welcoming and trustworthy person, I feel like you're very open to everyone and you make people feel comfortable very easily" joe says while moving his hands around to explain how he sees you, "thank you thats really sweet" you reply to Joe's compliment with a warm smile.
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"I actually like getting compliments, they make me feel better" you say while looking at the camera with a bright smile. "That was actually really nice, you know it's not every day that you look someone in the eyes and give them a compliment" Joe says as he looks in your eyes again, "yea usually it's brief short and simple but doing this made me feel better, did it make you feel better" you add onto to Joe's statement then ask him a question which he answers pretty fast, "yes honestly i enjoyed all this" joe moves his arms around his area to show that he's enjoying the whole 'interview' thing while purposely hitting you gently, this caused you to swat his arm away from your face and push his shoulder as joe laughs with the camera people.
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Next the camera people had you and Joe stand Infront of each other and stare into each other's eyes for 4 minutes straight. You and Joe then look up to make eye contact but then you burst out laughing when Joe says that it's going to be awkward, "no no don't smile cause you're going to make me laugh" you say while trying to hold in your laugh. You then cool down from your laugh and now it's you and Joe staring into eachother eyes in complete silence, now that you're actually looking at him close up, he's actually really handsome and when did he get so many moles? (they still look cute). Joe admires your eyes that are big and sparkly, he notices how Everytime you blink, you look at his other eye. Joe then sees how your lips always have a little curve at the end, and how your eyes look almost identical to fox's eyes but that just makes your eyes look even more beautiful.
"You know it's not every day that you stare into your best friends eyes for 4 minutes" Joe break the silence with a statement which causes you to laugh, "yea I don't really do this often, I have trouble making eye contact with people" you say with a faint smile on your lips, "I know you do, that's why you keep looking from one eye to the other" Joe then points back and forth from his left eye to his right eye, "okay okay sorry I'll look at the right one", you say as you try your best to stay focus to one eye, "it's okay, it's fine" Joe says in a quiet tone for only you to hear.
"Your pupils are really small" you tell Joe, "I haven't even been looking at your pupils, I didn't even know they were there" Joe says with realization that he's been focused on you instead of your eyes, this causes you to laugh and almost break eye contact which Joe then puts his hands on both sides your shoulders to hold you still from moving around from laughter. "Don't make me laugh then I can't concentrate" you say while trying to hold back your smile
"And time" a person from behind the camera says which doesn't cause you and Joe to break eye contact, "okay stop stop" you say as you look away while covering your face, "I can't look away, I don't want to look away", Joe says while looking at you turn away from him, "no look away" you reply back to joe as you fan your face to stop it from turning red.
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"That was great honestly" you say as you sway from side to side and bumping shoulders with Joe. "That's definitely something new to her" Joe says while pointing a finger towards your direction, "yes completely new but it was honestly relaxing for some reason" you nod your head after adding on to Steve's statement, "it was kinda crazy how our bodies would connect like how you would laugh which would make me laugh but once you stopped laughing then my body suddenly stopped laughing too", Joe says as he tries to explain how his experience was while still not looking away from you (you were making brief eye contact towards him). Joe then wraps his arm around your shoulder with a smile and almost out of instinct, you wrap your arm around his waist and pose as if it was a family (or a couples) picture.
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You and Joe then were told to do a trust fall with eachother. It sounded more exciting than it actually was.
"Okay promise to catch me, don't play a stupid joke" you say as you finally look deep into Joe's eyes, "okay I won't drop you" Joe says but then side eyes the camera which you notice then makes you hesitant, "no joe dont do that, promise not to drop me" you say as you playfully hit Joe's shoulder to tell him to cut it out but then you stick you pinky out for joe to intertwine. "Okay okay I won't drop you for a stupid joke" Joe intertwines his pinky with your but not before rolling his eyes playfully.
You then have your back faced towards Joe with both your arms crossed over your chest, "okay ready?". "Yes I'm ready go" after Joe says that he's ready you let your whole body go and fall backwards, Joe catches you with ease and then he pushes you back up in a playful but forceful way which caused you to almost fall forward, you then turn around and smack him on his chest as he tries to block himself from your hits, "okay okay I'm sorry, we'll do it again" Joe says as he still tries to block and defend himself from being "abused", "okay but this time done do anything stupid, I mean it Joe" you say as you point a finger in his face, trying your best to scare him but he just found you cute.
Your back is facing Joe again but this time you're putting all you're trust into him, I mean it is called 'trust fall' for a reason, you then fall backwards and Joe catches you with ease again but then he squats down while still holding your weight which makes you lean back further, "okay Joe STOP!" You almost scream out as you reach your hands Infront of you in hopes of grabbing something to prevent you from falling backwards.
Joe pushes you back up while laughing at your reaction, you on the other hand was not a fan of it as you kept smacking him on his back or wherever you can hit him as he kept moving and blocking your hits. Your hits were nothing to Joe, it almost felt like he was getting hit by a baby, your punches were weak even if you were putting all of your strength to get back at him for almost making you fall twice. You and Joe then get everything together and have Joe take his turn. Now Joe's back was facing towards you and as a joke, Joe threatened to put all his weight and jump on you hoping that you catch him.
Joe waits for your signal to let him know that you're ready but behind his back you're mentally and physically preparing yourself for the amount of weight you're about to catch. You were stretching and shaking your arms as the camera crew laughed at your actions which caused Joe to look back confused with all the laughter. Joe then sees you warming up which caused him to roll his eyes playfully at your antics. "Okay I'm finally ready go" you say as you have your arms extended out waiting for joe to fall backwards.
"Okay I go?". "Yea go". "Now?". "Yea dude I'm ready". "Alright..." You and Joe went back and forth as joe was a little scared that you were gonna sabotage him as he did to you and you were scared that you were gonna drop him and you'll both go down together. As you wait for joe to fall backwards he continued acting foolish, "okay I go now right?" Joe says as now he's acting silly just to hear your laugh as it was music to his ears. "YES JOE GO!" You say loudly while laughing at his actions then unexpectedly, he fell backwards and you caught him successfully but not without you struggling a little.
Joe laughed at your little grunts that he could hear behind him as your struggle to push him up. Once you pushed him up, you let out a loud breath, "okay again?" Joe says as he prepared to fall backwards on you again, "no no no no" you say frantically as you speed walk away from him to avoid from getting squished by him. This caused Joe and the camera people to laugh.
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You and Joe then decide to close out the video by saying your goodbyes. "Yayyy we're done, now we're the bestest of friends" you say in a sarcastic joyful tone as you hug Joe's arm, which caused him to touch your arm with his left arm (the arm that you're not holding), "yea I'm pretty hungry, you down for sum pizza later?" Joe asks you which you respond with your face lighting up, "I don't know if I should eat pizza right now, it might make me lose my muscles" you say while releasing your hold on Joe's arm and flexing your arm to show your non existent muscles. Joe chuckles but then plays along with you, "yea sure, matter a fact I think I have bruises on my back cause of you" Joe says as he starts to turn around and prepare to lift his shirt to show his back but then he gets interrupted by you, "nu uh alright guys that's all for today byeee" you say with a bright smile and standing with your arms open Infront of Joe to block out anything that the camera could catch of Joe's toned back.
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palmtreesx3 · 9 months
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GET OFF - The V-Card
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The V-Card
<- Prologue || Next ->
Series Masterlist
Get in the mood for this installment:
Series Playlist
The V-Card Mood Board
Summary: (3.7k) Everyone is nervous for their first time, right? Steve and Robin are busy tackling a lot of their firsts - first day in the shop, first week in the city, first friends (or something) in the city. It’s all a little intimidating and both quickly find that old habits die hard - particularly for Steve. It’s going to take more than just a new city to really give these two a new life. Be sure to read the Prologue before reading! 
Warnings: it's a sex shop, guys - so it's generally just NSFW 18+. In this AU Hawkins is weird and cannon events happen to some extent, but not to all familiar characters. If they are present in Chicago for this AU, they have no ties to Hawkins. Absent parents, excessive drinking, poor coping mechanisms, M/F hookups and implied/light smut, mentions of female oral, our boy on his King Steve shit, one night stands, careless hookups, and a coming out. 
Shout out to @loveshotzz for the blatant Whatta Man nod in this chapter. IYKYK. 
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Chicago: That Saturday, 1993
The sun was beating in through the front apartment window as Steve sat on the couch with a can of High Life, taking a breather from all of the unpacking. He has been hyper-focused all weekend on getting settled and unpacked - a complete 180° from Robin's settling in approach, which looked more like making sure her sheets were on her bed and simply ignoring the rest of the boxes stacked up inside her doorway than anything else. 
For a split second Steve considered picking up the phone and calling home just to check in, let his parents know they've got their bearings and are all safe in the city, but as that thought settled, he realized how absolutely ridiculous it was. They never cared where he was and what he was doing before, so there's no reason for them to actually start caring now that he's finally gone. Worming it's way deep in his brain another thought occurs to him - if he just would have packed up and left, it probably would have taken them months to even realize it. 
Plus, the second he talks to either one of them he knows they're going to ask about a job, and he's not quite ready for how that conversation might go. Yeah Dad, we're all set, start at the sex shop 10am on Monday!  He shakes his head and laughs to himself at the thought before throwing his head back letting the beer, just starting to warm and lose its crispness, run down his throat. It's tasting a bit bitter now…and Steve can relate. 
Pulling him from his self-deprecating thoughts, Robin swings open the door with the sound of jangling key chains being shaken like maracas, the soundtrack to her grand entrance. 
"Got your keeeeys, Dingus! It's officially official now!" She tosses the key ring over to Steve, who has his eyebrows raised as they land about 5 ft to his left on the other side of the couch. 
"Nice one, Robs. Maybe one day we'll find you some aim."
"Long shot, buddy. Better chance of me confidently shooting my shot with Stevie Nicks than that ever happening. But good on you for thinking I have any potential whatsoever."
"S'wat friends are for, Robbie." He grins at her sideways before leaning over to pick up his new set of keys. "The hell is this?" He asks, dangling the keys up in the air. 
Hopping up and down with incredibly youthful glee, Robin beams at the boy and exclaims "A TAMAGOTCHI. I got one too. Orange for you. Blue for me. Pretty sure even if we could have a pet in this building it wouldn't end well, so I got us these!" 
"This is ridiculous. I can't believe you got us a toy." Robin slips on the couch nestled up close to Steve, pressing the button on both to initiate their hatching as she presses her shoulder into his side. A beat of silence goes by before he throws his arm over her shoulders and says, "Show me how to do it, Robs. Can't wait for mine to outlive yours." He smiles down at her. 
"Eat shit. Whoever kills theirs first buys the other a drink."
The twinkling sound signaling the hatching of each of their eggs echoes through the apartment as they eye up their pets and glare back at one another.
"Oh, it's on. Never been more confident about a deal before in my life."
"Speaking of drinks … " Robin muses. " Whaddya wanna do tonight? "
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Steve's not quite sure how long it's going to take for him to get used to the sheer quantity of people here in Chicago. He's pretty sure there's as many people in this club right now than there is in the whole of Hawkins. 
When they arrived, Steve was feeling a lot. It was overwhelming and nothing in Hawkins flashed so bright and shook so loud… except maybe the 4th of July Carnival and their fireworks on the outskirts of town, but that was nothing compared to this. 
One drink in and finding a place to hunker down near the bar at a table, he felt more comfortable. He was enjoying Robin's running commentary while she spent the better part of an hour people-watching, still passively feeling the heat radiating off of the dance floor, when he decided to switch over from the lukewarm beers to a sweet and sharp whiskey and soda. 
Three drinks in and sufficiently loose, Robin is fluttering around the edges of the bar and the dance floor - now making friends with some of the people she's been eying up all night with her inhibitions down as far as Steve has ever seen them. He's drunkenly grinning at his friend, happy to see a kind of social side of her that feels new, even though he knows the roots of it have been buried deep inside her for her whole life, interwoven through her heart and her brain stem, just waiting for permission to come out and untangle itself. 
"Steve! STEVE!" She shouts over the thumping bass of the music, wildly gesturing for him to come over to where she now stands, in the center of a group of people who look friendly enough for him to oblige. 
Four drinks in and now the group is laughing, hollering and leaning in hard to catch an ounce of what the others are saying. Steve's eyes are squinting trying hard to read their new friends lips as they try and converse over shots and the loud music in the dark. Turns out Robin found a whole group of people that live in the same building as they do and, as one does when they're absolutely shit faced, they all immediately began talking about how they're all new best friends, curling arms around one another's necks and slurring "I love you guys" over drinks number five and six. 
Steve is feeling a familiar twinge. It's not his fault that he has no idea that there are ways to make friends other than people pleasing or trauma bonding. Now relishing in the ease of finding city-friends over an open drink and the immediacy of acceptance that comes with puffing out his peacock feathers and playing the delicate social hierarchy game he mastered in his teens, he barely even notices that he's dusting off his King Steve party tricks. The stress of the last few years that have him wound up tighter than a watch melt away as the coy and flirty remarks start flowing like a waterfall and the locker room talk comes back like riding a bike. 
Six drinks down the hatch and Robin can't find Steve. Any other time, and Robin would be absolutely losing all the marbles in her basket worrying over Steve. Especially in this new city. She'd assume he was dead. That someone finally came to whisk him away and lock him up for all the things that he's not supposed to know. Sure, Steve can handle things. He's definitely the most capable person she knows and he quite literally raised himself, and saved himself more than once, but none of that even matters right now because she's just swaying to the beat of Janet Jackson pumping through the club speakers with her new soulmates who live on the top floor. 
Instead Steve is at the bar, queuing up drink number seven for him and drink number who-knows-what for the absolutely smoking girl at his side named Melissa, who apparently lives just up the staircase, too. She's reminded him three times so far that he can just call her Missy, but not without leaning in close, just next to his ear to make sure he hears just how sweet she sounds. And boy does he want to know more about how sweet she sounds. 
Steve's eager hands are hooked in her belt loops, the girl's bright red tube top riding up her stomach as she pushes herself into him. Her fingers are tangling through his sweaty hair and his are ghosting over her collarbone and down her arm. His lips are on hers before drink seven is even delivered, so he caps off his night with her tongue down his throat instead. 
He has no clue what time it is as they tumble through the apartment door, Melissa Missy still giggling at his orange Tamagotchi keychain as his lips chase hers once again and the door slams shut. Perfect. Robin's not home, he thinks. Completely forgetting he was there at the club with her in the first place, he tugs at the girls long blond hair at the roots, runs his hands over her glistening and glittered shoulders and shoves her down into his plush comforter the second they reach his bedroom. 
He's so caught up in this big-city hottie he managed to get into his bed on his first weekend in town, he doesn't hear Robin come in the door, nor does he notice her clanging around the kitchen to chug down a few huge glasses of water in hopes of being at least a little conscious tomorrow morning. Robin, however, does notice Steve clanging around the bedroom, especially after she hears a deep and throaty moan that is unmistakably female. 
"Ha. Fuck yeah, Stevie. Losing that Windy City V-Card." She says quietly while wobbling to her room. Meanwhile, Steve's got his head buried deep under the sheets, blindly grasping at the girl's perky tits while he lavishes at the thought of this being the kind of opportunities that present themselves here in Chicago. His first time in this big sprawling city made him feel like he was on top of the world. 
The confident bubble he found himself in all night popped when he later woke to feel the warm summer breeze from the open window tickling his now exposed back, comforter slipping down and exposing his hips along with a peek of his ass to the girl who was accidentally pulling it off as she stood up from the bed. Unabashedly naked, she stretches her arms in a yawn, Steve rolls to peek at the clock. 4:36am. "Where are you off to?" his raspy, sleep laden voice cuts the silence as she finds herself caught gathering her things. "Are you try'n't sneak out on me?" He mumbles with a smile, thinking he's being flirty and cute. 
"That's exactly what I'm doing, hon." She winks, as she snags her cheeky hot pink thong off the back of his desk chair and shoves it in her pocket on the way out the bedroom door. "I'll be quiet on my way out. Don't worry. Maybe I'll see ya around. Maybe I won't. It was fun though. You were a KING with that tongue so I wouldn't be opposed…but it's honestly unlikely." 
And Steve is there, left tangled and alone and feeling stone cold sober after that dose of honesty from Melissa, left wondering if this is how all the girls back in Hawkins felt after he dipped out on them. Having his fun but knowing it wouldn't go any further than that. Getting off under Skull Rock, in the back of his BMW, atop their pink frilly pillows with their parents in the room next door - all hanging on to the hope of just a little more - the potential of being needed and wanted and good enough for the likes of King Steve, but waking up empty and disposable instead. If he didn't already hate himself before, he definitely does now. 
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"Sooooo." Robin sings out, while twirling her spoon through her milky cereal. "We gonna talk about that little Bedroom Rodeo last night or what?" 
"Robin. Please. It's too early for this." He presses his palms into his eyes, trying to stave off the pulsing just beyond his sinuses. "and did you just say Bedroom Rodeo? The fuck?"
"Well, yeah. Bedroom Rodeo… ya know. Crushing the buns? Two person pushups? Horizontal Tango? Please tell me with all that racket you at least got off?" 
"Ew Rob, where the fuck are you coming up with these?" He looks at her as she shrugs, slurping the last of her sweet cereal milk straight from the bowl as she did it. "This may be shocking, but… probably the most annoying thing you've ever said. Crushing the buns? Are you serious?" he says as he walks over and face plants dramatically onto the couch. 
Rolling over to his back and sliding on the wire rims of the glasses he never lets anyone but Robin see him in, the apartment comes into focus and so does his best friend, sitting at the counter grinning from ear to ear while tugging up her eyebrows to him in a taunt, chomping on her cereal and looking far to comfortable in his own goddamn yellow sweatshirt. His hand jutting out abruptly and gesturing to her morning attire with a furrowed brow and a questioning look, she says absolutely nothing in response. "Are you serious? Get your own clothes!"
"Eh, yours was already unpacked and my box of cozy stuff is on the bottom. I didn't get to it yet." She says casually. 
“Yeah okay. The box pile huh? Well don’t think we’re going to be sharing everything around here.” 
To which he watches her lips curl up in a Cheshire cat grin as she responds “Aw man, not even the ladies?” 
He hates this already. 
"Need some coffee, tiger? Probably a little sluggish after testing out that mattress."
His groan was loud at that one. "ROBIN! "
"Fine, I'll leave you alone…for now. But we're gonna talk about some rules for when we're Jamming the Clam later over a smoke, ya got me? Roommate ground rules at all." She winked as she sauntered down the hallway to her room. 
"Sure Robbie. Whatever you want. But do me a favor… if you're so goddamn chipper this morning maybe you can unpack a freaking box from that mega-pile. Won't be bringing back some hot piece to your room to Jam the Clam in that fuckin' disaster zone!" He shouts at her back. 
Throwing up a peace sign and swaying her hips a little more (albeit awkwardly) she makes a show of acknowledging her friends request before shutting her bedroom door behind her. 
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"Robin, right? And… " Murray looks at him up and down.
"Steve" the boy scowls. 
"Wow. Okay then. Cheer up Rico Suave. Robin! You didn't tell me your friend had this much charisma when you stopped by last week."
Murray Bauman is the manager of The Hideout. Maybe he owns the place, it's not entirely clear, but what is immediately crystal is that Murray is always ready to dish it out. "Alright then, welcome to The Hideout. I wanted to name it Murray's Pleasure Emporium but that got shot down pretty fuckin fast by my partner, so it is what it is."
With his salt-and-pepper hair, neatly groomed yet slightly disheveled, and a well-maintained beard framing his jawline, Murray's appearance hints at a man who has seen his fair share of adventures. Despite his brash exterior it's quickly clear that Murray effortlessly creates a comfortable atmosphere, so it's no wonder he finds himself successful in an environment where he can push boundaries and help others to explore their fantasies and fulfill their desires.
"So here's how this is gonna work. You two are gonna work retail. You'll need to run the register, oversee the displays, manage the inventory and help the customers. Peace-a cake, right?" He spurts off while simultaneously counting the money in the register for the day. 
Robin and Steve spit out a garbled acknowledgement while Murray looks back and forth between the two. "Red, did you say you two were... roommates?"
"Uh, yeah. Why?"
Eyes knocking back and forth to look between the two friends, Steve can already see where this is going. Been there a thousand times. So he cuts off Murray's silent analysis and offers up the information needed to satisfy his curiosity. "No, we aren't dating. And .. ah ah. Wait." He cuts him off as Murray starts to open his mouth, ready to counter back "...and NO, before you go there, we aren't fucking either. Didn't happen. Won't happen. Platonic."
"With a capital P." Robin finishes the end of Steve's sentence. "We can't promise we won't be weird, but we can one hundred percent promise there will not be any lovers quarreling with us."
"Well alright then. Loud and clear." Murray says in response. He claps his hands loudly and rubs them together before continuing on with his sex shop monologue. 
"Back to business, then. Covered the retail bits - Ah, yeah here we go. As you can see, the shop offers an extensive selection of adult toys, lingerie for the ladies…or the men, sensual massage oils - a personal favorite - and other products that cater to a wide range of tastes and sexual preferences. I like the good stuff, because I have taste. So that's what I sell. I also like to have all the latest shit because I'm progressive. Call me sexually innovative, if you will. If it's new, we're gonna have it."
Steve and Robin follow dutifully behind him taking it all in. Robin's eyes are as wide as saucers and she's distracted by all of the things she does not yet understand as Murray continues to spout out information on products, business and his own personal sexual philosophies. Steve poked her shoulder and she grimaces, and returns to planet earth to hear the rest of Murray's great new hire speech. 
"The people who come in here are not sex freaks. You got that? They're normal people. Don't gotta be some pervert to want to get off and feel good, so if you can't be open-minded and nonjudgmental then you might as well not even clock in after this. Got it?"
Both nod in agreement and the edges of Murray's lips curl up in a smirk. "Perfect. Come." He directs as he walks to the register and it's adjoining display case where a wide array of colorful dildos stand spread out for selection. 
"Not that it's a job requirement or anything but, I'm assuming if you're wanting to work here and my pleasure palace your… ahem.. sufficiently experienced. Cause you're gonna need to sell the product if you get my drift. People have way more questions than you could imagine. Just yesterday I had to tell a kid that Anal Beads are, in fact, for your anus..."
Robin's mouth is aghast. Steve looks around again taking it all in and he finally laughs at Murray, who is looking them over as if he can't believe these two kids standing here in front of him know anything about the kind of sex he sells. "Listen, Murray. I didn't set out to move here to this city and work in a shop full of dildos. Surprisingly, my incredibly inexperienced friend here signed me up against my will to hawk condoms like morning coffee. Robin doesn't know shit - sorry Robs, but you don't." She shrugs her shoulders, looking at Murray and nods in agreement at her friends words. "And while I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that I'm not what you might consider all that adventurous, I've got more notches than I'm proud of and unlike most guys I can find a girl's clit. SO… I'd appreciate it if you stopped talking to me like this is 6th grade health class and let us get to work."
"I have very little to add." Robin says, "and after what I heard the other night, I'll attest to what Steve says. He sure can make 'em moan." 
Murray stands behind the counter looking Steve up and down. He lets out a loud, boisterous laugh into the still air of the shop before he starts again "Well then, Steve. I can respect that. I think you both are going to be a mess, but I can work with it... So let's hop to it."
Beyond the merchandise, the pair learn that Murray hosts educational workshops and events at The Hideout for its patrons and the community and often has specials and promos going inside for shoppers. After the first half of their day, it's clear that Murray runs a business that he is proud of and his customers are loyal. Steve decides that when people ask, he's just going to tell them he works retail. Because he in fact… does. 
As their training winds down, Murray comes out of his back office carrying a giant tray and welding some embarrassing dance moves as he delivers it delicately to the counter. "Hey, hey, hey assholes! Before we head out, we have to set up this display for tomorrow. Let's rock and roll my friends!" Robin scans the contents of the tray curiously, not so sure how all of the items fit together to make anything that resembles a display. "Uh, okay but like… what is it?" She says. 
Steve snickers as he takes in the tray full of cupcakes, bananas and condoms. "Well Robbie, despite what it looks like I don't think Murray is letting us set up snack time. I'm not sure what the cupcakes are for, but these here look like they're to practice getting the condoms on the banana."
"Bingo! Rico Suave gets the points! We're doing a condom demo tomorrow, so he's right on that. What he's wrong about though, is that the cupcakes ARE for a snack." Murray fist bumps Steve and turns to see Robin's gears turning at maximum speed. 
“What’s the matter, first time, Red?” Murray spits out, through a wide gleaming smile that Steve swears sparkles in the light, like some goddamn cartoon. 
"Actually.. ." She draws out "while I don't have the clit-finding prowess of my friend Steve here, I only strive to one day be able to eat pussy as well as he apparently can. So yes, this is my first time sliding on a condom, thank you very much." 
Murray nods and his grin never ceases, although now there's a bit more approval and admiration than taunt behind it. "C'mon then, lemme show you how to slide these on like a fuckin pro." 
Steve is beaming watching his friend speak so casually about it. Murray really is good at what he does and making people feel comfortable, or this city really is just what Robin needs, either way, the way Murray doesn't skip a beat and starts teaching Robin the art of rolling on a condom like it's just any old day makes Steve think about how many wild things they're going to get into here. And honestly it's all fine, because there’s a first time for everything.
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harrywavycurly · 8 months
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Life with Steve and Eddie: Random Convos
Masterlist: Here
A/N: Because sometimes you just need to ask your two guy besties some questions…some maybe be a little more random than others✨
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“Why do boys not shower everyday?” “Uh do I look like a guy who doesn’t shower?…She’s totally talking to you Munson.” “Get fucked Harrington I shower everyday and sometimes twice a day…who’s the smelly dude in question?” “Yeah who’s stinking up your personal space with their lack of hygiene?” “No one I was just wondering…after a while you all just…get this smell…it’s weird.” “It’s just man.” “Pardon me? It’s just what?” “Yeah Eddie…it’s what?” “It’s just man smell…you know like when your after shave and shit wears off? And you’re just left with…your…scent…” “you call that…just man smell?” “Yes?…what? You’re gonna try to tell me it doesn’t make sense?” “No that’s the thing…it actually does…” “Munson making sense? That’s terrifying…” “you’re both a bunch of assholes.”
“Would you sleep with me?” “What the fu-” “I’m sorry what did you just ask us?” “I’m just curious…am I cute?” “Totally…adorable.” “She doesn’t wanna hear she’s adorable Harrington she wants to know if she’s fuckable you dick.” “Oh uh well yeah…yeah..you…are.” “Smooth Steve…really fucking smooth…and to think you were once upon a time such a ladies man…” “fuck off Munson I just wasn’t prepared to be asked if I’d fuck my bestfriend while trying to enjoy a day at the lake.” “I don’t want to know if you’d personally sleep with me Steve I’m just curious if I’m…attractive in general.” “Yes..you are a thousand percent attractive…to anyone that has decent eye site.” “Thanks Eddie.” “Steve?” “Yes I agree you’re very attractive.” “Dude relax she’s not gonna jump your bones Jesus go take a dip…” “sorry sorry I’m just…is there a reason you’re asking? Did someone say something to you?” “Yeah do we need to add a name to the ass kicking list?” “No…no it’s not that I was just curious that’s all.” “Promise?” “Yes Steve I promise…now let’s go swimming.”
“Can you feel your feet?” “Oh fuck.” “What’s wrong?” “Steve! Can you feel your feet?…mine are off.” “Oh fuck.” “My thoughts exactly…she’s a goner.” “We’ve been at this party what? An hour?…how is she already gone? It was your turn to watch her Munson.” “Watch her? I’m not a babysitter Steve that’s literally your job.” “I was gonna take over for the next hour you asshole we agreed!” “Oh look someone gave me a sho-” “no more shots for you missy…give that to Harrington he needs to loosen up.” “Let’s just…put her on the couch and get her some snacks and she’ll be fine for like an hour or so…” “Steven Andrew Harrington we are not going to force feed our drunk bestfriend snacks so we can party for an extra hour…Jesus man it’s just a house party you dickwad.” “You’re right…we take her home and tuck her in then come back.” “Exactly…gotta make sure she’s safe and sound then we can come back.” “You’re…you’re…gonna party without…me?” “Not the shaky lip…Steve she’s doing the shaky lip.” “Listen…we just want to reach your level that’s all but it takes us a little longer and you’re…well your feet are turned off right?” “Oh god you’re right! They are!” “So we need to get you home so they can recharge.” “Yes exactly what Eddie said…gotta get you home so your feet can get ready for tomorrow.” “Okay! My bed can fit all our feet.” “Fuck me…I knew she was gonna say that.” “Give it to me straight Harrington…We aren’t coming back are we?” “You know her bed is like quicksand…once we lay in it there’s no getting out till tomorrow morning..” “damn her and her magical fucking bed…I just wanted to get drunk…” “sorry Munson…grab her left arm I’ll get her right.” “She fucking owes us…” “oh she doesn’t owe us shit this is what friends are for.” “God I just love you guys.” “We love you too.”
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Reader visits Family Video practically every day, and tries to get service only from Robin, ignoring Steve 🥰
Hoooooo boy went a little overboard with this one but I really really really love it so much- maybe not exactly what you asked for but I hope you like it!
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This Week at Family Video
Robin Buckley & Steve Harrington friendship (and character study) Robin Buckley x a girl who I guess is technically an oc
summary: A cute girl keeps coming into Family Video and Steve is determined to wingman his best friend Robin into a date with her, which turns into a deeper bonding moment when Steve realizes he's grown a lot but there's still room to go and Robin realizes that she's not as alone as she feels.
Content/warnings: Robin talks about how it feels to be closeted in the 80s so there are allusions to period typical homophobia and a quote from Steve from season one which is uncool. It's just like....an analysis of the friendship between the lesbian and the straight himbo and how there's a lot more to it than bonding over hot girls.
(Also I mention a couple movies in here and I have seen none of them so don't @ me)
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9k words
Monday 
    It was an average day at the Family Video. People filtered in and out, a few of whom garnered some appraising, and, admittedly kind of objectifying glances from the two clerks that sat behind the central desk, who’s eyes would flash up as the bell ring, look at each other and make a subtle face to indicate whether or not the thought the girl that just came in was cute. 
Robin admits openly to feeling bad about this ritual, and Steve agreed that it was pretty sexist and they shouldn’t be collectively checking out chicks that came in and consulting on their hotness but at this point it was almost involuntary and hard to avoid when Steve all but lept over counters when a pretty girl walked in. Robin told him that she only did it now so she knew if she’d have to be working the sales desk for the next 2-8 minutes until he’d get rejected and come back to help but he didn’t buy it for a second.
The bell over the door rang and they glanced up to see a cute girl with intentionally messy hair, some oversized layers, and a bucket hat walk in casually. Steve and Robin both looked at each other with raised eyebrows just before Steve walked around the counter.
“Welcome to Family Video- anything I can help you find today?” Steve said, turning on his charm, regardless of how overzealous he was with it at times. “I’m Steve, and you are?” He said, sticking out a hand. The girl looked a little overwhelmed at the attention and laughed awkwardly.
“Uh, yeah I’m Leslie.  I’m just looking for a movie that nobody else seems to have.” She said with a laugh and a furtive glance at Robin, who prepared herself to step in quickly.
“Well, obviously we have a wide, wide selection of movies, what kind of things are you into? Tell me about yourself.” He said, leaning seductively against a shelf and knocking a few of the empty cases to the ground and picking them up while attempting to look like he hadn’t missed a beat. Robin couldn’t help but widen her eyes in mild horror at how poorly he was doing. Then her eye caught the girl’s, who met it with the same look that said holy shit, are you seeing this? Robin nodded and silently laughed as she watched the girl turn back to Steve’s attempted flirtation with an overly exaggerated interest and nodding that Robin delighted in seeing was entirely sarcastic.
“I’m actually looking for something pretty specific that I’ve been having a hard time finding.” She interrupted after the humor of the situation had worn off.
“Of course, yeah- what do you need?”
“A film called Hour of the Wolf?” she said nervously, and Robin’s ear perked up.
“OH, yeah I love that one- Michael J Fox as a basketball playing werewolf- who thinks of this stuff? I used to play basketball, you know. Didn’t need the wolf powers, though-”
“That's Teen Wolf, Steve.” Robin corrected from the counter, earning a grateful glance from the girl, who walked over to her quickly, and Steve threw his hands up and sighed.
“We don’t actually have Hour of the Wolf which is a shame because it really is a masterpiece.” Robin chimed in, pulling a thoughtful face
“I’ve been trying to get stupid Keith to get it but he says there isn’t enough demand. Shows what he knows.” Robin said, making Leslie smile and her own heart flutter at the sight. 
“Whoever Keith is sounds like he’s got quite the expert on his hands…” She said cheerfully.
“If you're into arthouse horror stuff though you should check out Eraserhead.” Robin suggested, and Leslie shrugged.
“Arthouse? Is that like a place, or..?” Steve asked, trying to stay in the conversation, but was largely ignored. 
“Sure. If you recommend it I’m sure it’s a winner...” She said, a little cheeky, glancing down at her nametag so obviously that for a second Robin thought this girl was checking out her rack in the middle of the store.”Robin.” She finished, saying her name clearly. 
 Robin thought that maybe for a second there she died and was resurrected, but it turned out to just be butterflies. She stuttered for a moment, telling her about the cinematography as she got her the movie and finished lending it. As she walked out Robin sighed, glancing at Steve.
“Once again, you blew it, Steve.. I really wish I still had the you suck board.” She said with a wry smile.
“Yeah…I know you do, Robin. I know you do.”
Tuesday
The next day at Family Video, Steve was peppering her with questions to Robin’s ire.
“Okay, explain one more time what an arthouse movie is?” He asked, and she rolled her eyes.
“Why do you want to know? You already blew your shot.” She criticized while put away the tapes.
“Alright, you don’t know that. And she’s not the only arty chick in the world. Maybe that’s why I haven’t had any luck lately.” He guessed lamely and Robin gave him a dead stare.
“You are telling me that the reason you can’t get a second date is because you haven’t met a girl that is artistic enough? You, Steve Harrington, want a girlfriend who’s primary interests are in arthouse cinema? Is that really what you’re saying to me?” Robin asked incredulously, stopping herself from laughing at the idea of Steve on a date with a moody poet who wanted his opinions on verse. Maybe she should help him if she’d get to hear about that. 
“Just give me another movie like that to recommend her if she comes back in.”
“I don’t know- Dr. Strangelove.” Robin pulled out of thin air. He was definitely about to ask more questions but at that moment the bell rang and there was the girl from yesterday.
She gave Robin a big smile and waved the tape in her hand as she walked over.
“Holy shit, Robin. Holy shit.” She said, putting both hands on the counter. She remembered my name, Robin thought giddily.
“Is that a good holy shit or a bad holy shit?”
“It’s a holy shit holy shit.” Leslie said, still a little bit stunned. “I mean, the last scene? With the bandages? I mean what the fuck? I mean it’s a…bold recommendation to make to a stranger that’s for sure but it was a good one.” She said, giddy, and all of a sudden Robin’s worst fears came true: she opened her mouth and couldn’t shut it.
Fun facts about the movie, her favorite things about cinematography, favorite movies in order, all of it came pouring out involuntarily. Steve sensed her panic and stepped in front of her.
“I think what Robin meant to say was that you should check out uh, Doctor, uh,” he glanced at Robin quickly, who tried to mouth the words subtly even though Leslie was standing a foot away. Steve read her lips and confidently looked to the customer and said: “Doctor Trained Dove. It's great. Arthouse.” 
Leslie tilted her head and pulled her lips between her teeth like she was trying as hard as she could not to laugh, Robin put her face in her hands and Steve grimaced, reading the room correctly and guessing he hadn’t gotten the title right.
“I haven’t heard about that one. What’s…it about?”
Steve opened his mouth and looked at Robin helplessly.
“It’s a musical about a surgeon that becomes a magician. It’s a lesser known sequel to Doctor Strangelove.” Robin said dryly, glaring at Steve when she said the real title and Leslie laughed and bit her lip.
“Didn’t know Kubrick did sequels.” She said teasingly.
“No, this one is John Hughes, actually.” Robin said, sarcasm not coming through as much as a hopeful punchline that she was obviously shocked to see land.
“Well, Unofficial Kubrick sequels aside, do you have another recommendation for me?” Leslie asked, now leaning on the counter.
“Are you sure you don’t want to hear about 2002?” Robin said, her voice now fully transitioned to that of a person daydreaming and unaware they were talking aloud.
“I preferred 2003, actually.” Leslie played along, and Robin knew she was laughing too hard as it was happening.
“Or 2004, right?” Steve cut in , and they both looked at him awkwardly as he ran a hand through his hair. “Seems like it’s a long time from now but it’s not that far, huh? Weird. End of the century."
Two two women just stared at him blankly and just like that the magic was broken. Robin was no longer in the nonexistent John Hughes movie where she was the one that got to kiss Molly Ringwald over a birthday cake and the three of them were just standing in a video store again.
“Have you seen Holy Mountain?” Robin suggested, and Leslie left with it in hand.
Robin and Steve sort of just stood there in shock at just how badly that interaction had just gone.
“Maybe you’re my bad luck charm. I feel like the last time I was cool was before I met you.” He said contemplatively.
“I’m not going to dignify that with a response besides the fact that I didn’t put you in that sailor outfit. If you want to get her attention tomorrow you’re gonna have to study up, man.” Robin said with a laugh, and Steve frowned at her and cocked his head.
“Me?” He asked, and Robin looked at him with confusion.
“Yeah? I thought you liked her.” 
“I mean she’s cute but I was kinda getting a…. Hm?” He said with a vocalization and a hand gesture that Robin didn’t understand.
“C’mon man, you know I have a hard enough time reading people as it is.” She complained.
“What vibe?” She asked incredulously.
“A vibe, Robin, there was a vibe.”
Steve looked around to make sure nobody was around so he could remind Robin that she was a lesbian and he was pretty sure that girl was flirting with her. 
“She was totally flirting with you.” He said quietly, and Robin looked at him far more aghast than she had any reason to be.
“What? No! No, of course she wasn’t flir- what would even make you think? I mean that’s just-” Robin stammered and Steve’s eyebrows got higher and higher.
“Alright, alright, alright, don’t start spiraling. You seemed into her, though, right? I’m not about to violate bro code and ask out the girl you like just because you’re a chick.” He said in what she assumed was a tone that bros used to talk to each other with a shrug and Robin just set her jaw in disbelief and well meaning annoyance.
    Not for the first time since she met him she imagined getting into a time machine and traveling to Ms. Clicks class and leaning over to whisper to herself See those two right there? See sweet, beautiful Tammy Thompson staring at that dick Steve Harrington? In a couple of years one of those people will be the single person on the planet earth that you have ever told that you’re gay and the best friend you’ve ever had in your life.  I’ll give you one guess to who it is, and if you guess right I’ll give you a billion US dollars. Also you’ll be tortured by evil Russians together. 
    “Whatever- look, whether or not I think she’s cute she’s not a- y’know-” she said, grimacing instead of saying lesbian in such a casul setting without a self pep talk to convince herself it wouldn’t be weird.
    “Returning Fast Times at 53 minutes and 12 seconds?” He offered, and her shoulders relaxed and she loosely pointed at him.
“Right. Sure. She’s not pausing fast times and she’s cool- why shouldn’t you go for it?” She said, now surprisingly adamant in a way that Steve didn’t understand in the slightest as Robin was almost always apathetic towards his love life.
“Because I blew my shot? It’s fine, it happens. A lot, according to the You Suck board.” He justified it, but Robin had a determined look on her face.
“I could coach you! Yeah, she’s gonna watch Holy Mountain tonight, why don’t we watch it too and you can talk to her about it.” She suggested, and Steve emphasized the confusion on his face.
“Robin, it's fine if you like her. You know I don’t have any problem with-” he started, and she cut him off on the spiel. 
He did that sometimes when she was upset and he couldn’t figure out why- always jumpeing to defend himself and assumed he had said something wrong by mistake. It happened on occasion, Steve, as much as she knew his heart was in the right place, was still a white, straight male former highschool bully from Hawkins Indiana with parents that voted for Reagan, he was always honest that he was still unlearning a lot of shit and it was inevitable that something would slip out every once in a while. The first time it had happened, about a month after they started working at the video store she heard him talking to an old team mate and casually dropped the word fairy as a descriptor. She told herself he didn’t mean it but she had still let it fester until he was following her around while she restocked movies asking what’s wrong what’s wrong what’s wrong over and over again like a petulant child. She confessed loudly and angrily before looking around in fear that there was a customer. He swore at himself and apologized profusely and in that moment she was really reminded of that night in the Starcourt bathroom and how, despite how annoying he was, Steve Harrington had a heart even bigger than his hair.
It had been a nice moment, the next time he said something a little off-color he caught it himself, but still apologized a lot. It only got annoying when he started doing it every time he (unfortunately, usually correctly) identified that she was in a bad mood because of a problem that stemmed from her sexuality and assumed that problem was that he said something offensive by accident. The truth was that there were just always going to be some things that she would go through that he would never be able to understand and would be hard for her to explain. Half the time she hadn’t even taken the time to figure out what exactly it was that was bothering her besides the baseline level of worry that came with the small town closeted lesbian territory.
“I know you’re not homophobic, Steve.” She said and he stopped, nodding in relief, but then doubling down on his confusion.
“So then why are you getting all weird about this?” he asked genuinely, and Robin shook her head exaggeratedly, like if she did it super obviously he would believe it more.
“Fine, I’ll watch the movie.” He conceded, as they started to gather their stuff for the end of the day. Robin shook a triumphant fist with a silent yes as she grabbed her bag and  headed out the door to his car.
“I’m not being weird at all. I just think you have a shot and she seems cool. Also I haven’t seen Holy Mountain in a while and it rules.” She said all too casually, and Steve stared at her suspiciously. Robin wasn’t budging, mostly because she didn’t really know why she suddenly had the urge to push them together either besides the odd sensation of trying to make something go away on its own. 
“Is this gonna be a movie that I have to think about a lot while we’re watching?” He asked apprehensively, and did not care for the mischievous and possibly sadistic smile she gave him
Wednesday
    Robin and Steve sat on stools behind the checkout counter, Steve looked shell shocked, to say the very least. More so than he looked after last year's Russian Invasion. Robin was alternating between laughing at him and trying her best to be comforting and apologetic.
    “Steve, I told you you could close your eyes if it got too scary.” She said in a voice she hoped sounded genuine and that he couldn’t hear it shaking a little. He didn’t say anything, just leaned back against the counter staring downwards, unresponsive. “Okay, you’ve been doing this for like a day and a half the movie wasn’t that weird.” she said, and he turned to glare at her.
    “You know that’s not true, Robin. You know that.” He said emphatically, and they glanced towards the door as it rang.
    It was Leslie, walking in with a grin on her face and the movie in hand and Steve was pretty sure that this girl might actually be a serial killer. Robin liked it, too, though, so maybe they were on a crime spree together and they were definitely going to take him outside and skin him alive and hang it up and- ugh, Steve stopped and put his palms over his eyes to get the image out of his head.
    “Is…he okay?” Leslie asked, leaning past Robin to look at the unresponsive Steve.
    “He’s fine- we actually watched Holy Mountain too last night and he's contemplating it.” Robin said, glancing at Steve and pumping the eyebrows of a wingwoman, and scowled when he didn’t see her because his head was now resting against the counter.
    From his vulnerable state, Steve braced himself to hear them babble on about the perfect ratio of that shot of that lady banging that mechanical horse without legs but instead only heard Leslie respond with a disingenuously excited “Oh!”
    Robin was expecting the same as Steve, and she couldn’t quite decipher the way that Leslie’s eyes flitted between the two of them.
    “I’m guessing Steve wasn’t a fan?” She asked, and Robin laughed at him to which he responded with a dry ha ha ha said from under his arms laying on the counter.
    “Well, that’s commitment for you. Takes quite a guy to sit through a movie like that just because he wants to hang out with you.” She said with a tight smile.  The way she said it made Robin wish she was better at social cues because she knew for damn sure she was missing something. 
    “Yeah, he’s alright.” Robin said affectionately. 
    Steve was torn between warm fuzzies at the closest thing his best friend can ever come to a compliment and smacking her on the back of the head for not realizing that this girl now thinks that they’re dating. It never ceased to fascinate him that the person that can decipher Russian without knowing Russian couldn’t hear that telltale sound of jealousy and disappointment in the goodbye of a person who just discovered that their crush was dating sebody already. Then again, he could do that but couldn’t decipher the Russian, so maybe it was just a different skill set. 
    “Wow, I’m sorry dude I really thought that she’d want to talk to you about the movie.”
    Leslie let out a fake laugh and put the tape and some cash on the counter before walking away with an awkward wave and disappeared with the bell. 
    Steve pulled himself up off the counter, his forehead red from pressing against the surface and his hair messed up, and his look was one of utter frustration and disbelief.
    “Holy shit, Robin of course she didn’t. She wanted to talk to you about the movie. She left because she thinks we’re dating and it bummed her out.” He said, almost in a yell at the fact that he knew she wasn’t going to listen to him.
    “Ooooh, that makes more sense. See, I was right, her being jealous is proof that she likes you.” Robin declared and Steve dropped his head back onto the counter with a smack that hurt enough to drive that weird ass flick out of his brain. “I’m sorry you watched Holy Mountain for nothing though. She’s right, it is a rough one if you don’t enjoy it.” She said casually, almost certainly smiling maliciously. He began to smack his head against the counter and he was pretty sure he heard her laughing.
Thursday
    Family Video opened at 11 AM, so almost every morning after he dropped Robin off he’d go and try to figure out more ways to not talk to Keith for an entire shift. Today he had decided to take the stack of returns into the back room and rewind the ones returned by the “unkind” that he secretly wanted to kiss on the mouth for giving him a really easy and time consuming thing to do every morning until his break, where he’d go get Robin, listen to her rant about school, get some drive thru for the both of them, and then finish off the day with his best friend. 
    All in all, it was an alright gig.
    Except for Thursdays. Steve hated Thursdays.
    Because on Thursdays Robin’s band practice goes late and she doesn’t work a shift, and Keith takes off for long periods at random intervals and would leave him alone to mind the store on a pretty busy day of the week.
    Today was slow, both in passage of time and number of customers, so they canceled each other out and made the day suck exactly as much as last Thursday. 
    He continued to rewind movies, noting a few titles for later that seemed interesting. He took out the next tape and pushed it in. The movie turned on and Steve nearly fell off his chair when his screen was very suddenly two very naked women. He didn’t rewind yet as the two of them kissed and Steve glanced down at the tape. Desert Hearts. He quickly checked to see who returned it and it was, unsurprisingly, a long list of male names, a few of whom he recognized from various sports teams and parties throughout high school, and strangely Karen Wheeler of all people, but he wasn’t going to unpack that. 
As Steve scanned the back of the VHS box he read about the plot of the lesbian love affair that blossoms between the two women out west and a plan formed in his mind, and that plan would help him honor his Duty as a Man with a Heart a Soul and The Critical Social Skills Robin Buckley Lacks: He was going to get his best friend laid. Because that's what friends do.
-
Later that day Steve had an okay plan that could potentially pan out and now was just waiting for the opportunity, he just had to wait for Leslie to come in like she had every day this week. He leaned against the counter and idly watched the screens and glanced out the display glass as people passed by.
    That was when he glanced up to see somebody slowing down and peeking inside. It was Leslie. Whatever she saw, she looked away and kept walking. Steve tilted his head in confusion, but pushed the VHS tape into the player and waited. There wasn’t much business today and as the movie played he did find himself a bit enraptured in the drama between the two women. 
 The only time when his attention was torn from the weighty glances between Vivian and Kay was when he saw somebody pause outside the window. It was Leslie again, peeking in. When Steve met her eye and waved a little she looked like she had been caught red handed and awkwardly walked in and waved.
“Uh, hey Sam.” She said a little stiffly.
“It’s- it’s Steve.” He corrected, and she quietly apologized and wandered into the stacks.
Now that Leslie was actually in the store, Steve realized that his so-called ‘plan’ was actually just the idea to put the movie about lesbians on the tv and wait to see if she reacted. He wished that wingmanning for Robin didn’t have to be so subtle. 
She put the box on the counter and Steve began to slowly start checking out the movie to give her time for her to either look at the tv and say…something. This was a stupid plan, he realized, and he made a quick move to salvage it.
Using his stealth skills gained from years of monster hunting and high-stakes babysitting, he tried to secretly watch Leslie around the store and noticed that she seemed to not be looking at the movies, but at the staff break room and around the store for other clues about the whereabouts of a certain missing front desk associate. When her eyes caught the TV screen and saw the actresses that Steve hoped looked familiar her head snapped back in front of her and she stood very still, examining a box without really seeing it for what she deemed long enough to take it to the counter to make a quick escape.
“Do you like this movie?” He asked, pointing at the screen and unable to stop himself from visibly cringing.
She looked up at him incredibly awkwardly. “I’m…not sure what movie that is, honestly.” She said, and he was like 50% sure she was lying.
“Robin likes this movie.” What had happened after breaking up with Nancy that left him so much worse at talking to other people? Was it Dustin’s influence? Was it just that he didn’t know how to be charming without being a total dick? He knew it was probably that one.
Leslie gave him a tight smile. “That’s sweet that you’re watching her favorite movies. She’s a nice girl. I'm glad she’s got someone that cares.” 
“Yes! Robin is a nice girl!” He said energetically, even if that wasn’t necessarily a word he’d use for her. “She’s super cool and smart too. She speaks four languages and can translate Russian by ear.” he said, hyping her up, realizing now that Leslie had meant it’s sweet that you watch your girlfriend’s favorite movies.
“I…didn’t know that. Very impressive. You two make a cute couple.” She said, and it was audibly strained.
“We’re not dating. We’re just friends. Best friends.” He added at the end, a little embarrassed of himself. “But I do watch her favorite movies and thank you for seeing the value in that because Holy Mountain has literally been haunting me for two days and I just think that friends should get credit for doing that shit too.” He added in annoyance at nobody in particular.
“Oh!” She said, and he could hear the audible relief, and saw her glance back at the tv and swallow. Steve could see the gears grinding in her head and he could not believe that his terrible plan might be working. “That’s- I mean- I guess I just assumed.”
“Nope, not dating, she’s totally single. I asked her out a little after we first met because of all the cool hot smart stuff I said earlier but she was not interested and now we’re just friends.” He explained, trying to put emphasis on the not. 
“Best friends.” Leslie said gently with a smile, her awkwardness gone and replaced with a very cautious beginning of a theory he was trying to confirm without saying anything.
“Yes! Best friends. Because she’s the best.” He said, nodding, and then Leslie nodded too. They stood there in silence for a second before Steve remembered he was checking out her movie.
He went to write down the number and furrowed his brow when he saw the title.
“National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation? This doesn’t seem like your kind of flick.” Steve said oddly, and her cheeks got a little red.
“I was kinda waiting for Robin to give me another recommendation.” She said with an awkward laugh.
Steve saw his opening, and was closing in on his plan quickly and efficiently. “Well, Robin really likes this movie.” He said, stepping aside so she had a full view of the tv and the lengthy stares between the two actresses. “Do you want to rent it?” he asked, suddenly kind of hoping she said no because he wanted to finish watching it.
“Uh, sure?” She said, and he reluctantly turned around to eject it and making it a full spin when he came up with an alternative.
“Oooh no!” He said in a dramatic fake tone akin to a child's television star that didn’t see you come in but wants to show you some puppets anyway. “This is actually Robin’s copy of Desert Hearts, and not the stores. So I can’t lend it to you.” He said in an exaggerated voice.
Leslie furrowed her brow. “Then why is it playing?”
“Becaaaaaause….she thought I’d like it and she knew it would be a slow day and she wasn’t working.” He pulled out of nowhere.  “But- you should come back tomorrow, when she is here and ask her to borrow it. Oh! Maybe you could watch it together and talk about cinema! Now that’s an idea!” He said, knowing he was overplaying it while he was talking and as Leslie stared at him incredulously.
“You…want me. To come in tomorrow. And ask your friend Robin if I can watch her copy of Desert Hearts with her?” Leslie asked, and Steve nodded profusely at the secret code the two of them had developed. 
“Yes. That’s exactly what I think you should do. If you want to.” He said encouragingly, and he could tell that Leslie was running some serious cost-risk analysis gymnastics in her head trying to decide if this really weird situation was actually trustworthy. Steve knew that if he said anything else he could blow his cover, so he just kept his mouth shut.
A little smile came on Leslie’s face and she nodded.
“ I guess I’ll be back tomorrow, then.” She said, and Steve thought it was adorable how she was trying to hide her excitement.
She left with a little spring in her step and, unsurprisingly, National Lampoon’s stayed on the counter with him. Steve grinned, imagining how excited Robin was going to be, and started to rewind the movie because he was sure that he’d missed something important while he was talking to Leslie.
Friday
It was Friday at Family Video and Steve was acting….weird. 
“Dude, tell me what’s wrong you know I can’t read body language.” She scolded and he shrugged energetically.
“Nothings wrong. Everything’s great!” He said, and reached out to pick a piece of fluff out of her hair so she would look her best when Leslie arrived but she smacked his hand away.
“Don’t touch my hair-Is it the Russians again?” Robin asked seriously.
“What? No. Why do you always assume it’s Russian?”
“Because of the time that it was Russians.” 
“Yeah but it was only once.” He said calmly.
“That’s already too many times, Steve.” She said dryly. “Okay, fine, nothing’s wrong but something is up. What is it?”
He sighed. “Okay, but I’m only keeping it a secret because I don’t want you to freak out and get in your head about it.” He explained, and Robin’s eyes went wide.
“Oh no. What did you do?” she asked in horror. 
“Not oh no! This is good!”
“Tell me now or I’m going to punch you in the throat Steve Harrington I took a self defense class after last summer.” She said sternly. Robin didn’t like surprises. Especially after the Russian thing.
Steve leaned in conspiratorially, looking around the store to double check that no customers had snuck in. “Leslie’s gonna ask you out today.”
“What?” Robin squeaked, her eyes going wide and her chest filling up with that extra special anxiety that was cooked up for her specifically by Sappho two thousand years ago and Ronald Reagan now.
“Yeah! It’s gonna be great- I had a whole plan to figure out if she was, y’know, pausing Fast Times and it worked and she’s gonna come in later and ask if she can come over and watch your copy of Desert Hearts.” He explained cheerfully, hoping that his enthusiasm would break through what he really hoped was happy stunned silence.
“What? How did you..? Did you tell her I was- I mean what the fuck, Dude- and what is Desert Hearts?” She stammered, trying to gather her thoughts.
“You haven’t seen it?” He asked in shock. “Oh my god it’s amazing the chemistry between Helen Shaver and Patricia Charbonneau is electric and-”
“Steve!” She said, snapping him out of his review.
“Right, sorry. I didn’t tell her anything, I just put on the movie and said that you liked it and she said she also liked it and I said that she should ask if you want to watch it.” He said calmly. “More or less.” he added, but Robin didn’t look any less freaked out. “What’s wrong? I thought you liked her.” He asked, truly confused.
That happened sometimes. Steve would assume he  said something wrong but that’s just because he doesn’t like seeing her upset. If he had just accidentally said something shitty at least he could just apologize but more often than not it was just something that she didn’t believe she could explain to him. He had asked her to try, he was her friend and he knew that he was the only one that knew she liked girls- He wanted her to be able to talk to somebody- he hated that his best friend ever felt alone.
“It’s not about that you just- you shouldn’t have done that.” She said angrily and walked towards the counter away from him.
“Why not? You’re always helping me get dates- why can’t I help you too?” He asked, hoping she could tell he was confused and not just being difficult.
“Because it’s different!” She snaped.
“You always say that but maybe it isn’t! Maybe I would understand. We’re friends, Robin. Just because we don’t have the same experiences doesn’t mean that I won’t be able to listen and help you. You told me about how much you liked Tammy- I thought you wanted to meet somebody.” He said, and Robin glanced at him, her hard gaze softening to something more awkward and nervous and familiar.
“It’s just…” she started, screwing up her face and trying to figure out how to explain something that frustrated her about herself endlessly. “It’s- fuck- okay,” she took a deep breath and tried to start, quickly scrubbing her face with her hand. 
“I knew Tammy didn’t like me back. It wasn’t real it was just a stupid crush and it hurt like hell but it was still safe.” She tried, words spilling out of her.
“Robin, Leslie’s a nice girl. She’s not going to hurt you.” He said, pained at the fact that he got to ask out and get rejected by 20 girls a week and Robin could just watch from afar.
“That’s not what I mean. I mean, it kind of is, you never really know it’s just- fuck.” she groaned in frustration, pacing for a moment before finally finding her words.
 “I don’t know what I’m doing, okay?” She said in a furious rush. “I’ve never done this before. It’s not like when you were ten and you got to walk up to a little girl on the playground and ask to hold her hand. I never got to learn how to flirt or ask my friends if the girl I like mentioned me or figure out when you’re allowed to put your arm around a date at the movies. 
“Robin…” Steve said softly, but she wasn’t done and he wasn’t going to stop her. She took another unsteady breath
“I didn’t get a first date, or a first kiss or a dance with my crush at the Snow Ball or-or ever get to ask my mom for dating advice or gotten to hear my dad sternly talk to my date before giving a nod of approval.” Robin sniffed hard, her eyes watering up as she valiantly fought away the tears.
“I didn’t get any of that. And I’m never going to.” She said, her voice now rough with emotion and a little quieter. She wiped away a stray bit of wetness from her eye and twisted her mouth up. “Nobody’s going to be pulling up in a limo to take me to prom.”
“I’m always going to be different, and it’s hard and it hurts that all of that is just gone now and I missed all of it and I can’t ever get it back. I’m never gonna be a kid at the Snow Ball looking at Kelsey Landin sitting by the punch and not understanding what was so wrong about wanting to ask her to dance. I couldn’t even doodle our names in a heart in my notebooks.” She took a gasping breath and wiped away a tear that finally fell. 
“It shouldn’t be like that.” She was almost talking to herself now, taking an angry breath and shaking her head. “I was just a kid. It wasn’t fair that for my entire life every person that has ever claimed to love me might have hated a piece of me so much that if I was sitting on the swing sets at recess holding hands with Jenny Becker instead of you then I would be utterly ostracized by everybody. Not just bullies. Friends, family, students, teachers, strangers. Grown-ass adults that would hate a child for the crime feeling the same way as every other kid but about the wrong kind of person.” Her voice was sad and proud and angry and valiantly holding down the waterworks that were going to come bursting through any second now. 
“I mean, Jesus, Steve, you’re the only person I ever told and I did it totally on a whim fueled by adrenaline and truth serum- you have no idea what it’s like not knowing if anybody else I care about might turn on me and ruin my life if they actually knew me. I still don’t even know if my parents would still fucking love me if they knew I wanted to watch a stupid movie with a pretty girl and put my head on her shoulder.” Robin was humiliated that she was fully crying now, sitting down behind the desk on the floor and unable to stop. She had kept all of this in for so long and now it was pouring out of her involuntarily. Steve walked away for a moment and she felt an irrational panic that he was going to leave and not wantt to be her friend anymore because she couldn't keep the ugly parts of it to herself and left any discussion of her sexuality at vague looks of hot or not when a girl came into the store. She watched him go to the door and her heart froze until he just reached out flipped the sign to closed before coming back and sitting next to her on the floor. 
Relief flooded her followed quickly by more misery that after all they’d been through her instincts still told her that she shouldn’t expect him to be okay with her saying any of this out loud and the tears came back in full force.
 Steve put his arm around her and pulled her close so she could cry into his shoulder and patted her back as comfortingly as he could as his heart just fucking shattered. He remembered when they were in the Starcourt bathroom and she said that if he really knew her then he wouldn’t even want to be her friend. The two of them had just been kidnapped and tortured by evil invading Russians armed with bone saws and floor eating acid and Robin was afraid to tell him that she had a crush on Tammy Thompson. Even worse is that she had watched him be King Dickhead Steve for years and he had almost certainly given her a reason to think he wouldn’t be okay with it at some point.
You know what, Byers? I’m actually kind of impressed because I always took you for a queer but turns out you’re just a screwup like your father. Was what he had said to Jonathan after telling Nancy to go to hell. He felt bad as soon as he said it, but that didn’t stop him. Back then he didn’t know how to be hurt he just knew how to be angry. He had been heartbroken, in love, and an absolute piece of shit about it. About thirty seconds after saying it Jonathan was beating the ever loving shit out of him and each punch really hit home the fact that he absolutely deserved it. 
He had actually thanked Jonathan later for very literally knocking some sense into him, and to his surprise, he forgave him. And it felt good. He hated who he used to be. He really did, so he had made a few phone calls and a few drop ins to make some heartfelt apologies to some surprised people that were genuinely shocked that he would ever have come around. The worst part is that he would never really know everybody that he hurt, never know who was out there overhearing him say something hateful and taking it to heart.
Robin was his favorite person. He wasn’t sure when it had happened but despite all his complaining she was somehow the only person he knew that really got him. She exploited that knowledge constantly and used it against him, sure, but she got him. He wished he could make her feel as understood as she did. But there would always be things like this that he never would’ve considered that she had gone through her whole life. 
Eventually her breathing calmed down and she sat up, her breathing a bit unsteady and her face red and puffy. She gave him a watery smile when she saw their matching tear tracks and she patted him gratefully on the shoulder.
“I’m sorry about that- that was-”
“You don’t need to apologize, Robin. I’m serious.” He said, looking at her so she knew he meant it. “If I’m the only one you have to talk to about this then I want to hear it all, even when it’s sad and it sucks. Especially when it’s sad and it sucks.” He said, and took a deep breath. “You’re not alone anymore. Anybody tries to mess with you or make you feel like shit just come and get me and I know that I’m not enough to make up for the entire world’s garbage but if there’s anything I can do to make all of that even a fraction less shitty for you then I’ll do it.”
He looked at his hands for a moment, feeling a confession of his own coming on.
“You’re the best friend I’ve ever had, you know.” Steve said honestly, and Robin quirked an eyebrow. “Like, even though I was super popular and knew everybody I still only really hung out with Tommy and Carol and they were just the worst.” he sighed, not knowing how to say this without making it seem like he was trying to get out of responsibility for being a shithead. 
“I have never met two people so good at making somebody feel like a fucking loser like Tommy and Carol and there is nobody better at making you terrified of being that loser like they could. I’m not saying that they forced me to shove nerds against lockers or anything but any time I tried to do the right thing they’d just shut me down and taunt me until it felt like if I didn’t do whatever bullshit they wanted me to then everybody would think I wasn’t a real man or some shit and they’d drop me and then I wouldn’t be fucking King Steve anymore.” He shook his head, his hair wobbling as he swore and looked at Robin, unsure if he was getting across what he was trying to and he saw that she was listening, even if her thing had been bigger and more painful she still cared.
“And that’s exactly what happened. For the first time in my life I stood up to them instead of for them and Tommy punched me in the face and drove away. Never even tried to talk to me again. Then at school they started all kinds of rumors and talked shit about me all the time and then I wasn’t King Steve anymore and…” he trailed off and had a little smile “and then I was happy.” He said, in a little disbelief.
“I was thinking about that the other day, pointing at you and Tammy in Ms Clicks class and asking young Robin one day, one of those two people will be the only person you trust enough to tell that you’re not into dudes.” She said, a little mystically, and Steve burst out laughing, and Robin quickly followed. Their laughter calmed down and they knew that the storm had passed and they came out better on the other side of it. They grabbed each others hands to hoist each other back to a standing position and looked at  each other grinning.
“I didn’t fucking hate myself anymore, I got to follow my own instincts and do the right thing. Sure, Nancy dumped my ass and broke my heart and it actually felt so good to just…be sad. Without Tommy and Carol taunting and yelling at me until I felt so angry and pathetic that we’d spray paint her name on the movie theater again and I would’ve felt like absolute shit about it for the rest of my life. I was totally heartbroken but for the first time in my life I actually got to feel it and it. Then Dustin Henderson of all people comes sprinting at me one day and says that everybody else is busy and he needs my help.” He grinned. “It’s just stupid, right? All that time I only cared about being popular and if I could tell my younger self that someday I’d be working in at the video store for minimum and I’d spend all my time hanging out with a 15 year old egomaniac and a band geek that I was briefly a little bit in love with until she rejected me and the entire male population on the floor of a mall bathroom I’d do it and let him know up front that they’re honestly the reason that I’ve never been happier. Really rub his nose in it too.” He said, and Robin laughed aloud in that special way he recognized because it always preceded I was just about to say that.
“Is my face red?” She asked, touching it and being a bit satisfied at how healthy her skin felt after crying.
“Yeah but just give it a couple minutes.” He said, and she nodded. “Hey, when Leslie does get here you can go hide in the back or something if you really don’t want to talk to her, I know I overstepped, but if you need any advice on stuff you didn’t get a chance to learn let me know, no judgment- guaranteed.”
Robin furrowed her brow. “Wait- how exactly did your conversation with Leslie go yesterday? Did you just point at the screen and ask if she liked the movie?” She asked incredulously, and Steve slowly began to nod.
“Uhhh…yeah. That’s exactly what I did.” He said, and she started to laugh again. Steve grinned when he heard a laugh that seemed a little lighter now.
About an hour later the bell rang and Leslie came in. Steve nodded at her and went into the shelves to give quiet support and maybe some advice via arm gestures from behind Leslie, and Robin took a deep breath.
Both girls were extremely nervous, both giggling when their eyes met in a way that reminded Steve a bit of middle school. He smiled to himself and resented the tears pricking at the corners of his eyes when he thought about her getting a chance at simple, blushy, giggly, inexperienced romance for the first time. She deserved it, more than anybody.
“So, um, this is kind of a weird question but I stopped by yesterday to see if you have a copy of um…Desert Hearts?” Leslie said tentatively like she was giving a secret password at a speakeasy and hoping it was the right one.
Robin had a determined look on her face that didn’t necessarily give off a romantic vibe but he could feel her relentless bravery from where he stood.
“I’ve heard of it.” Robin tried to say mysteriously, waiting for the next part.
“And your friend with the hair- He said that, um, that you didn’t have it at the store but he said that you had a copy and that maybe…..you…might…want to watch it with me?” She said, finishing with a smile that was also a grimace. Steve was delighted at how awkward the girl who had seemed so cool all week had gotten.
“I…would like that very much.” Robin said, holding in all her excitement to seem casual when inside she was exploding.
“Cool.” Leslie said, and she and Robin stared at each other in gleeful silence until they made a plan to meet after her shift and Leslie left, waving awkwardly while walking out the door. The bell rang as the door shut and Robin turned around so she could catch her weight against the counter, but Steve’s eyes followed Leslie out the door first and saw her get into a car parked out front with a driver that was currently giving her a high five and obviously congratulating her. Steve waved subtly to the silhouette of the other wingman and he waved back before they drove  away.
Steve then walked up to Robin to see her smiling dreamily and starry eyed.
“Cool.” She said softly, and smiled again. She wasn’t much help around the store for the rest of the day, but every glance he got of the wistful Robin putting tapes back in the wrong places and saying cool in a whisper every few moments and giggling made it worth it. 
Saturday
    Steve waited anxiously outside Robin’s house before work and was annoying himself more and more every time his brain made the comparison of a parent waiting for their kid after their first day of school to ask how it went when they’ve spent the whole day worrying. It wasn’t like that, but he was still anxious for her to come outside.
    Robin opened the door and waved goodbye to her family and started towards the car. He could see the size of her grin from the moment she was in sight. 
    When she got into the car she was silent for a moment, and he refused to drive, only stared at her expectantly
    “So? How’d it go?”
    Robin was trying to play it cool despite the fact that she was bouncing in her chair. 
    “You know that whole list of things I thought I had missed out on and it was too late for? Let’s just say I…checked a couple things off.” She said coyly, and Steve grinned at her proudly and gave her a victorious shoulder pat. That’s when she exploded into squeals and all that sandy hair shaking around her as she bounced up and down.
    “Oh my god, Steve, it was amazing. She was so cool and pretty and funny and we had so much in common and we, um” She stopped and her cheeks turned red, and Steve’s eyebrows shot up.
    “I knew it. I knew that you had it in you to be a total chick magnet.” He said proudly, and she grinned at him, shrugging in concession.
    “Turns out I’m a natural Cassanova.” She said with only a hint of irony, and turned her head to look at him. “Thank you, Steve. I mean it.” she said with a tone so genuine that it almost sounded strange in her voice.
    Steve nodded and smiled back. “No worries. I’m your wingman, it’s what friends do. And I like seeing you happy.” 
            The End.
    “Well then…you did what you came to do, because I’m really really happy right now. You’re a good friend.” She said with a sweet finality. Things would stop being mushy and go back to normal but they’d never be the same.
As they began their drive to work they glanced at each other and smiled one more time. Robin had never been so grateful to have a friend like Steve, and Steve had never been so proud to have a friend like her. 
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biggestsimponhere · 1 year
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Guys i got rejected by my crush 😵‍💫😵‍💫😵‍💫 But it’s okay now i’m gonna pour my heart and soul into angst fics so 🤗🤗🤗
Send in Angst requests!!!!!! 😵‍💫🔫
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makethiscanon · 1 year
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SnowFall: Krel x Fem!Reader [Part 2]
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Word Count: 820
Rating: G
Tags: First Meetings, Winter, Skiing, Adventure, Third-Person
Read Part 1: [HERE]
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At the base of the mountain, once everyone had their skiing equipment, they huddled together with a map to decide which course to try first.
“Ooo, we should do this one.” Aja said, pointing at a course that started at the top of the mountain, marked by two black diamonds. Steve quickly wrestled the map away from her, pitching her a loving but ‘are you nuts’ expression.
“You can’t start on a double black diamond piste.”
“Why not?” She scowled at him, then smiled after a second thought. “Aw. Are you worried about me?”
“A-doy. Double-blacks are expert level. Aja, people die on double-blacks. How about we start on a green course?”
“Imminent death?” Varvatos chortled with glee. “Glorious! Only the most dangerous courses are worthy of Varvatos’s footfall. If today is to be our day, may we crash and burn in snow-blazon glory!”
Passers-by picked up their speed, hoping to get away from the seemingly senile old geezer.
“No, no,” said Steve, his voice noticeably higher at the thought of what horrors could face him should he go along with Aja and Varvatos’s plan. “I think I’m gonna stick to the green course.”
“Fair enough, my Palchuk. Safe travels, and may we meet again in one piece.”
Everyone noticed, but no one commented on Steve’s sigh of relief.
Noticing his lack of input, Aja cocked a curious eyebrow at Krel.
“What about you, little brother? Are you coming?”
Krel was rather aware of his mortality after the attack on his parents. Without Mother functioning at full capacity, it would be hard for her to repair the damages to anyone other than the king and queen. And given that Krel was stuck in his squishy human body whilst on the slopes, he didn’t think risking his fragile neck for a thrill ride was a smart choice.
That being said, he refused to be as cowardly as the lumbering oaf.
“I will do that one,” he said, pointing to a blue course that mostly swerved through the woodlands. Aja shrugged, already plucking her ski poles from the snow.
“Suit yourself.” She pointed to where they were standing. “Meet here in an hour. And be careful on the slopes.”
“I should say the same to you.” Krel huffed, but smiled when he saw Aja’s face light up at the thought of the day ahead.
*
They each went their separate ways, using different ski-lifts to ascend the mountains.
Krel wondered, now that he was alone, whether it was too late to sneak back to his room for a while. But by the time he thought it, the ski-lift had pulled him off the ground. The drop was too steep for his feeble, human legs to manage.
“What did I agree to?” He lamented, feeling the cold breeze on the one part of his face not covered by thermals. Humans were an evolutionary nightmare, he decided. They should have whittled out their thermoreceptors long ago.
But as he ascended the mountain, he could at least appreciate the great view. The mountain-range stretched on for miles, and the sky was so blue it left him with a reminiscent feeling of Akiridion-5. He had to wonder how the resistance was doing, feeling guilty for taking a break while they were still fighting.
There was a muddled congregation of people as Krel left the ski-lift. A sort of ‘I need to go that way but you’re coming this way’ as skiers shuffled towards their preferred pistes. Thankfully, the courses were sign-posted so once Krel knew where he was headed, he did his best to push through the crowds.
Once he was through, he stood to one side to watch the other skiers moving on the slopes. It seemed… easy. Surprisingly easy. Physics seemed to do most of the work.
He watched until he understood the general footwork, then got himself into position.
Admittedly, he wobbled as he set off. Until he learned where to put his weight, it was a lot of heaving and pushing. But soon he was off down the mountainside.
The firs lining the course were tall. With overgrown branches, they gave the course a sense of seclusion. Krel enjoyed the privacy. He picked up speed, using his precise knowledge of aerodynamics and kinetic energy to gleefully bypass the other skiers.
By the time he reached the bottom of the course, daresay it, he was actually enjoying himself. Skiing came with a thrill. It had a sense of victory. One that was much greater, given that he had not fallen over during the many twists and turns of his descent.
Figuring he still had some time before the meet-up, Krel decided to try another course. He headed back up the mountain, but chose a single black diamond piste instead of blue. Aja might have been on to something with choosing a tougher track, but he still wasn’t willing to risk 100% of his neck. 
A single black diamond would be plenty.
------
Part 3: [COMING SOON]
[WRITING MASTERLIST]
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darsynia · 1 year
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MCU Masterlist
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Asks and questions are OPEN BUT SLOW for the moment (I have a bunch of things to write on a time crunch! If you want to send on in, just be aware it'be combined with a bingo challenge/fest story most likely!) Please comment if you'd like to be on a taglist! If you'd like to instead follow the account @darsywrites and turn on those notifications, that's my archive. Only my stories will be posted there.
I write primarily for Tony Stark and Steve Rogers, but I have a Bruce story, some Stephen Strange, and a couple of Steve/Natasha smut fics to post here someday. I'm open to suggestions (though, I can't promise I'll be able to fill your request quickly, as I'm a mom of 3 who are all as extra as I am. I will do my best!)
Tony Stark Masterlist
Steve Rogers Masterlist
Back to the Masterlist...
I have quite a few stories already on AO3 if you don't want to wait!
{ Fave: 💚 }{ Romance: ♥️ }{ Angst: 🖤 }{ All Audiences: 🤍 }{ Smut: 🔥 }
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TRUST FALL (masterlist) (Tony/OC, MCU rewrite from IM1+) ♥️🔥
Current Chapter: Ch 26b | TBC
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IRON HELIX MASTERLIST
(Tony/OC fan in the world, possible series) 💚♥️🔥 | Chapter Two
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MODERN MYTHOLOGY (Tony/OC soulmate AU) 💚♥️🤍
Ch 1 | Ch 2 | Ch 3 (complete)
IN SEARCH OF A FAIRY TALE (Tony/OC smut) ♥️🔥
Part I | Part II | (Complete)
PRESENT IMPERFECT MASTERLIST
Tony/Natasha fake relationship amnesia (complete in 8 parts) ♥️🔥 DAY ONE | DAY TWO | DAY TWO.WOAH | DAY THREE - MORNING | DAY THREE - MOURNING | DAY FOUR-SHADOWING | (A GOOD) DAY FOUR (BEING A HERO) | DAY SIXTY- FIVE
((See Steve for 'Nearer, My God, to Thee' a Stony Titanic AU))
I KNOW NO OTHER WAY THAN THIS ♥️🤍
(Tony & Bruce friendship, Bruce/OFC) Ch 1 | Ch 2 | Ch 3 | Ch 4 | Ch 5 | TBC
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PLUS ONE (Tony Stark/Partyguest!Reader kiss fic) ♥️ Oneshot
BUILD ME A COCOON SO I CAN CRAWL INSIDE YOUR LOVE (Tony/GN!Reader Hurt/Comfort) ♥️🖤 Oneshot
UNTIL MY STEPS RETURN (Tony/OC established relationship) ♥️🔥 Oneshot
THE SACRIFICE PLAY (Steve/Tony mid-Ultron) ♥️🖤 Oneshot
GOODNIGHT, FAREWELL, & AMEN (IronStrange angst) 🖤 Oneshot
LIQUIDITY (OR, WELL DESERVED) (Tony/f!Reader) ♥️🔥 Oneshot
REPEAT AFTER ME (Tony/f!Reader Soulmate AU Canon Divergence 'mob AU') Oneshot 🖤
5 TIMES TONY ALMOST PUSHED BRUCE TOO FAR, AND 1 TIME HE DEFINITELY DID (Tony Stark & Bruce Banner Friendship) 💚🤍 Oneshot
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THEY SHOW THEIR TRUTH (Steve/Natasha smut) 💚🖤🔥 Oneshot
EQUALS (Steve Rogers/Natasha Romanoff fluff) ♥️🤍 Oneshot
EPHEMERA (Steve Rogers/Artist!Reader angst smut) ♥️🖤🔥 Oneshot
HAPPY VAL (Steve Rogers/Barista!Reader fluff) ♥️🤍 Oneshot
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JUST RIGHT MASTERLIST
Steve Rogers/Armorer!Reader pining w/happy ending 💚♥️ Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7 | Chapter 8 - COMPLETE
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NEARER, MY GOD, TO THEE
Tony/Steve Titanic AU (not Jack/Rose, no death) Complete in 4 parts 💚♥️🔥 Chapter One | Chapter Two | Chapter Three | Chapter Four
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SAFE IN MY (OUR) ARMS series 💚♥️🔥 (Eventual Steve x Bucky x lounge singer!Reader Sex Pollen)
Part I: HAND(S) OFF MASTERLIST -complete 4/6 Part II: SHIPPING AND HANDLING
Ch 1: Vicinity | Ch 2: Urgency | Ch 3: Gravity -new! 10/23
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ANIMATE OBJECTS SERIES(Stephen/OC, 'suspicion to lovers')
DAY EIGHT (first meeting, relic imprint) 💚♥️🤍
Part I | Part II | Complete
DIMINISHED SEVENTH (training to first kiss) 💚♥️🤍 Ch 1 | Ch 2 | Ch 3 | Ch 4 | Ch 5 | Ch 6 | Ch 7 - COMPLETE
SIXTH SENSE (coming someday)
RUIN YOUR DAY (Stephen Strange/Reader fluff) 💚♥️🤍 Oneshot
UPSIDE DOWN AND BACKWARDS (Stephen/Reader) 💚🤍 Oneshot
THE LIGHT OF HIDDEN FLOWERS (Stephen/OFC) 🤍🖤 Oneshot
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OATH OF THE BETRAYED ONE (Bucky/OFC smut) 🖤🔥 Oneshot
A BANNER SPEECH (Toby Ziegler & Bruce Banner preslash?) 🤍 Oneshot
BET YOUR ASS (Peter Quill/f!Reader hatekiss fic) ♥️ Oneshot
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These stories are on tap for posting to Tumblr someday. If you'd like to see one of them posted soon, send me an ask! Until then, you can find them on my AO3.
EXILE ALL THE LONGER (Tony/OC soulmate Endgame fix-it)
I KNOW NO OTHER WAY THAN THIS (Bruce/OC soulmate 'Sleepless in Seattle' vibes)
CLIMBING VINES ON MELANCHOLY WALLS (Steve/Nat FWB)
SOMETHING JUST LIKE THIS (Tony/Steve, Howard/Darcy Lewis as Maria epic time travel angst romp (I said what I said))
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81 notes · View notes
steddisgirl · 1 year
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fruity four reaction of you getting an abortion *ੈ✩‧₊˚
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steve ੈ✩‧₊˚
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this man will support you through everything
if it was his he would pay (even though his parents would try to force you to keep it and get married)
he wants to marry you someday but not because of his parents rules
chocolate and kisses!!
when you found out you were pregnant you told him immediately and he cried
he made sure the choice was 100% yours
after the operation you went to his house and watched movies with him
he would do your hair to make you feel better
nancy ੈ✩‧₊
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the moment you told her you were pregnant and didn’t want to keep it she was researching where to go and what to do
she would let you vent all your emotions
she would give you food and snacks with a nutritional value to help you recover
nonstop hugs!!
she would invite you and robin for a girls night to cheer you up
she would always support you no matter what
eddie ੈ✩‧₊˚
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at first he thought it was a joke
he freaked out and tried to run
would be wary at first, but would eventually calm down and join your side
would read you lord of the rings
if it was his he would break up with you, he loves children
would play you guitar
robin ੈ✩‧₊˚
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she thought it was a joke at first too but instantly realised it wasn’t and made sure you were okay
she would ask nancy for advice on how to take care of you
she would read you your favourite books
so many hugs… so many!! this girl smothers you with love always
she would probably insult you because she doesn’t understand social cues
she would gossip about the father with you and nancy
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eternal-sunflowers · 1 year
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not me getting upset in the middle of the night that i don't have a friendship like Steve and Robin. where's my himbo golden retriever bff? where's my platonic soulmate to hit up happy hour and get plastered on the weekly with?
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chatvengers · 1 year
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Steve: Can we finally finish the party?
Steve: Now that we’ve spent a week in Bora Boring and found no sign of Peter Wanda Or Y/N only to find out we were tricked because they used Strange’s portal to go to THAILAND AND THEN ITALY at which point MJ proceeded to conspire with STRANGE to get us to spend an entire POINTLESS WEEK IN THE BAHAMAS with SAND IN MY ASS and then COME BACK TO THE HOUSE FOVERED IN WEBS FORKS IN THE CEILINGS WANDA PETER AND Y/N LOCKED IN THWIR ROOMS BECAYSE THE DEMONS ANSWETED THEIR CALLS
Tony: Are you done?
Pietro: The demons didn’t answer their calls…they detoured to New Orleans for some ayahuasca
Steve:
Steve:
Steve: WHATBDKBLB I GO N IN BUF HDJ THNKITUBFIVMIK IKLKOLLPLLL
Tony: Did you have to do that?
Pietro: I was craving some hell
Pietro: It was way too pacific out there in Bora Bora
Clint: Are you telling me they went to Thailand, Italy and Ayahuasca?
Bucky: Is that a place?
Bucky: I thought it was cough syrup
Sam: That’s Ayurvedic, you moron
Nat: Don’t forget New Orleans…
Clint: Just ‘cause you fucked those vampire bitch boys over there doesn’t mean the rest of us need to remember…
Pepper: Guys, what the fuck
Pietro: Excuse you!
Clint: I didn’t know she could curse…
Clint: Did you, Tony?
Tony: I didn’t program her to, no
Tony: Friday, what’s up with model 63479?
Pietro: I hope that’s not the number of existing Peppers…
Pepper: Ignore him, he’s bullshitting
Pepper: Is anyone going to tell me why the house is covered in knives webs and blood?
Clint: Y/N Peter and Wanda had a little party
Tony: And now’s our turn to finish ours, so you can go
Pietro: #uninvited
Sam: #ohshit
Tony: No, he’s right, she is uninvited
Bucky: #whatthefuck
Clint: Is there a breakup happening in front of my very eyes?
Pietro:
Pietro: Are you gonna cry?
Scott: Is there something in your eye?
Thor: Tears, perhaps?
Steve: Will you all ever stop milking that?
Sam: FUCK NO, it’s one of our hits
Y/N: It’s so not
Steve: Y/N! YOU’RE ALIVE!
Pietro: Cue the rib breaking
Peter: WGO’s BREAKING Y/N’S RIBS?!
Wanda: The rib breaking HUGS
Pietro: Buzzkill
Pietro: NOOOOoooo Wanda not the Bbbeeeeez
Pietro: bvveeeeezx hmvhdbnk gikop
Strange: Nicely done
Wanda: Thank you 😈
Bucky: Someone just broke Sam’s ego…I will be forever grateful.
Steve: Will there ever come a time when they don’t fight?
Tony: That’ll be the end of times
Steve: That’s depressing
Tony: Is it?
Nat: Some of us find it quite amusing.
Steve: That’s even more depressing.
Y/N: Barnes, you’re making Steve cry
Wanda: Evil Y/N
Y/N: I prefer Neutrally Chaotic
Clint: WHAT is that rachet?
Pietro: Don’t you mean ratchet?
Wanda: Or wretched!
Vision: I’m fairly certain he means racket, for I too can hear it.
Tony: Oh come on, Barton. How come you’re the only one allowed to play theme songs really loudly?
Clint: Don’t go calling the Star Wars song theme…it’s my lifesong.
Nat: Is it now?
Clint: What Y/N is playing is a deathsong.
Peter: Whose death?
Peter:
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Tony:
Tony: Does anyone know what’s wrong with Peter?
Steve: Did you forget to pay his therapist?
Tony: Is there anything I forget to pay?
Sam: My allowance
Bucky: And mine
Pietro: Mine as well
Tony: Shut up.
Pepper: Let them unwind. Death music is healing.
Tony:
Tony: Friday, find out which Pepdroid is malfunctioning.
Nat: Pep-what?
Tony:
Tony: Nothing
Clint: That’s it…I’m going to Y/N’s room.
Wanda: Take another step and I’ll kill you in your sleep.
Clint: That’s still a few hours away, I’ll be fin
Clint: gdeteuh huswgok Co oljf
Tony:
Steve:
Tony: That didn’t sound good.
Steve: It didn’t sound bad, either.
Tony:
Tony: Yeah…we should just go for some ice cream.
Steve: Good idea...death ratchet or racket, it is deafening.
Tony: When the favorite bands tour again, I’ll buy them tickets for the whole of it…crime solving will increase nationwide and our eardrums will get a reprieve…win-win.
Steve: Hell yeah. Wanna race me to the car?
Tony:
Tony: No?
Steve: Too bad.
Tony:
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Bucky: WAIT! I WANNA RACE!
Tony: Too bad.
Bucky:
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Sam:
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Bucky: IM GONNA KILL YOU!
Sam: Gotta catch me first
Bucky: RAAAAAAH!
Y/N: This is too fucking good.
Peter: I know.
MJ: Are you all okay?
Ned: We should take them back to Bora-Bora…clearly they didn’t stay long enough.
MJ: Yeah…I’ll hit up Strange. Bring them around in an hour?
Ned: Yup.
MJ: Alright, I’ll pack my scuba gear and see you there.
Ned: Guy in the chair out.
Wanda: We’re highjacking, right?
Pietro: If we don’t, I’ll die.
Wanda: Wouldn’t be the first time
Pietro: Thanks, sis.
Wanda: I’ll get Vis to wipe our tracks.
Pietro: Will you ever let him come with us?
Wanda: no
Wanda: I don’t want to end up kidnapping a village and reenacting a sitcom…I’d much rather highjack portals and be single as a Pringle
Pietro: If you’re single, I’m dead.
Wanda: You will be 💀
Pietro: 🙄
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Steve: Why’s everything so quiet?
Tony: Maybe they went to bed
Steve: What, at 11pm? Higher chance of them being dead.
Tony: Friday, where are the kids?
Pepper: They left with MJ to pay Stephen a visit.
Tony: I thought I said Friday
Pepper: Fuck off.
Tony: Right back at you.
Clint: That’s what you get for making Pepdroids.
Steve: I think they’re gone again.
Tony: Where?
Steve: Vision.
Vision: If I tell, Wanda will never marry me.
Tony: I won’t let her marry you if you don’t tell.
Steve: Ha!
Tony: Not helping, Cap.
Vision: They said they were going back to Bora-Bora, that Peter and Y/N hadn’t stayed there long enough.
Steve: Do we really have to go, Tony? For all we know, by the time we get there they’ll be in Oslo or Ibiza
Tony: Would you let your cat go unchaperoned to Norway?
Steve: They’re not cats?
Tony: Are you sure about that?
Steve:
Steve: I guess I’ll pack my bags
Tony: Good.
Steve: Great.
Tony:
Steve:
Wanda: I think it’s really going to work out this time…
Pietro: The part where we make Y/N and Peter better or the part where you make Steve and Tony make out on the beach?
Wanda: Both.
Pietro:
Pietro: 😶‍🌫️
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palmtreesx3 · 6 months
Text
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Act 3 - Getting Lucky
Praise Kink (Robin's Chapter)
&lt;- Previous Chapter || Next ->
Series Masterlist
Get in the mood for this installment:
Series Playlist
Praise Kink Mood Board
Series Summary: (11.2k)  Fall is settling in in the Windy City, and Steve and Robin are swept up in their overthinking. The pair are left to their own devices at the shop while Murray is off traveling to Sex Toy conventions. Robin and Alex have grown closer and are the perfect pair, but Robin’s growing a bit of a complex because the relationship isn’t quite a s reciprocal as she’d like, so she calls in the reserves to give her the tutorial she needs to overcome her trepidation and dive right in. In order to repay Steve for his thorough tutorial, the girls start to meddle, because if they can see one thing, it’s that Steve loves a good self-sabotage. Everyone’s a little concerned over the opinions of others and seeking praise and reassurance in all the wrong places, so grab a cozy blanket, be a good girl and enjoy this chapter of Get Off. 
Warnings: it's a sex shop and generally just NSFW so 18+. Sex paraphernalia, dildos of all variety, sexual innuendo aplenty, eating pussy and explicit descriptions of said act, dirty talk and praise kink, allusions to jerking off.
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“I swear to Christ. ROB! I know you have it!” Steve shouts out as he’s pacing through the apartment corridor looking everywhere but nowhere all at once. The pacing was more of a nervous habit, looking like a mother who is trying to walk off her frustration before she loses her cool on her lovely, doe eyed child after they broke the expensive family vase. Speaking from experience as the boy who knocked over said vase…he’s probably picked up a few mannerisms from his mother, now that he thinks about it. Back when she had time for him. He shakes his head in annoyance - at Robin and his childhood - hands flailing in the air above his head “You gotta fuckin stay out of my closet!”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about, Steve.” Her head pops out of the bathroom, looking down the hall at her friend who is zipping between his room and hers. 
“You still have BOXES in there Robin. BOXES. We’ve lived here six months. SIX. We’ve gone through an entire season. It’s fall now. Please for the love of God, unpack your things. How do you find anything in there?”
“I know where my things are, thank you very much. I just happen to enjoy some of the things from your closet, so sue me.” 
Steve is exasperated with his friend. He has been dealing with Robin encouraging him to spend every last extra dollar he has after bills, beers at Benny’s and whatever else they do to fill their time to buy new clothing because his “style is like a billboard asking for abstinence in this city,” yet she is sticking her nose in there every other day stealing pieces of clothing he’s had for years. “One man’s trash is another lesbian’s treasure” she tells him every time he bitches about the double standard. 
“I fuckin told you. Hands off the yellow sweater. Off limits. That and this jacket….they’re NOT getting traded in. They are not fair game. Got it?” he’s glaring at her, one hand on his hip, the other holding up a steely gray Members Only jacket she still can’t believe hasn’t been ruined from all of the bullshit it’s been through back at home. 
“Yeah yeah, It’s a great layering piece, can you even blame me? How do you even still have that thing, anyway? Like, how wasn’t it ruined after Billy clocked you right in the nose?” 
“ROBIN. SHUT UP!” he shouts, storming off to his room to get ready for their shift. 
“Love you too, Dingus!”
Robin finishes readying herself for their afternoon at work, stepping out of the bathroom after perfectly smudging her imperfect eye pencil and adding a red lip that rivals the auburn in her hair. Fiery undertones just like the girl. Her lips, her hair, her personality - they all match her new red Doc Martin boots that she’s really just awful complaining about. She heard all about it - how hard it was to break those fuckers in. Got some tips from the Queens at The Rainbow Room that she’s gone back to now for shows numerous times since that first night. Alex asked her upwards of 10 times if she was sure she wanted them and if she was ready for the commitment to breaking them in so they don’t lay dead like a fashion sacrifice at the back of her closet. Told Steve all about how she was going to push through and how it couldn’t be that bad. 
Well…it was. It was that bad - and Robin is not built to stick it out. She’s not formulated to power through. The problem is, she wants to wear them. Needs to wear them. They look good. So she settles on the only thing she’s ever been able to do to distract her from her pain (emotional and physical) and that’s: Never shut up and complain about it non-stop but only to Steve and take her entire bad mood out on Steve. Needless to say…Steve is tired. 
Steve is in the kitchen, two brown bags perched on the counter top. “Apple or banana Robbie?” he asks, holding up one of each in the air. “Banana. Definitely.” she smirks, as he tosses it in the bag, labeled with scrawling chicken scratch Robin along the front in pen. She leans against the counter as he wraps up two sandwiches, tosses in some snacks and folds over the bag before handing it to her. 
“Thanks mom.”
Steve doesn’t grace her with a response. He just rolls his eyes as he tosses on his jacket and grabs his keys. “Let’s go, loser. And don’t drag your feet in those boots. Pick them up and fuckin walk. We got a shift to get to.” 
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The lock clanks as Steve opens up the front door and clicks on the neon sign in the window to designate the shop is open for business. Murray handed Steve the keys last week before he headed off to Las Vegas for an annual Adult Industry Product Conference. Showed Steve the brochure for Sensual Revolution '93 and told him "Maybe I'll bring ya along next year, big boy. Just take care of my baby while I'm gone and you never know! I might just upgrade you from Sex Shop Employee to Sex Shop Supervisor."
Not that Steve had aspirations to move up in the world of The Hideout and make a career out of it, but if Steve could tide off his father a little longer by being able to tell him that he's a Retail Supervisor that might buy him a little more time without hearing about how bullshit his work is. 
"We're open Rob! I'm gonna go restock the shelves in the back." 
"Yeah buddy. I got the register! I still can't believe that massive rush on massage oils last week. I still wanna know what sparked that… " she trails off. 
Everything seems fine for the rest of the morning until the loud hiss of  a massive delivery truck arrives out front, blocking up the narrow lanes of the city streets, horns honking and shouts out the passenger side windows starting immediately. Robin perks up, setting all four legs of her wooden stool back on the ground. 
“Uh, Dingus? Are we expecting a delivery?”
“No…what are you talking about Robin?” Steve shouts from his spot, crouched down in the back stocking the lower shelves. He hears the bell ding, and just as he stands up to peer out and what’s going on he sees the delivery hat of a man at the counter and the expansive vista of the biggest delivery truck he’s ever seen show up at the shop covering every inch of space their front windows have to offer. 
Robin's eyes widen as she reads the delivery slip, "Urgent: Assorted dildos for The Hideout."
She bellows out a laugh, not once looking up from the packing slip she still holds in her hands. “Steve. The man says you need to sign for these.”
“What the fuck is it Rob?” And with that, she silently extends the paper out to her friend. He snatches it quickly as she holds back her chuckling, rumbles leaving her nose that emanates in the back of her throat. His eyes scan the form until he gets to the bottom, reading the slip he does a double take. with an unexpected, jaw-dropping inventory of various dildos, more than they could ever imagine.
“I’m not…I can’t sign for this! He didn’t say a goddamn thing about any delivery let alone this! It can’t be right. Nope…. I…no.”
Steve’s still rambling a bit as he walks out the front door to the truck, along with the driver. Robin’s lips are curled up in a permanent smile as she chomps on her doublemint gum, getting the worlds biggest kick out of watching Steve pacing back and forth on the concrete, hands alternating between flailing in the air and resting on his hips in a stance that looks both like dominance and defeat all wrapped into one. 
Before long, Steve comes barreling through the front door, pushed open by force with both hands, finding them raised up by his ears in surrender and shaking his head in irritation. “They’re bringing them in Rob. It’s 10 pallets. 10 PALLETS OF DILDOS. I don’t even know where we’re gonna stick all these dicks. Jesus.”
“TEN? What the fuck? What happened?”
“Apparently Murray’s having a grand old time in Vegas. Did a little bulk ordering at the conference. Got them shipped direct and told the company Harrington’s got em.” his face scrunches up as he mocks Murray’s intonations. 
“No…it’s fine. It’s cool. We’ve got it. We’ll figure it out.”
“Steve…for two people who have never handled that much dick in their entire lives, I’m a little skeptical.” 
“No, no…if Murray were here…what stupid shit would he have us doing?”
And with that, Steve sets off. He immediately figures that Murray would be blasting off directions for him to unload the goods, so after ripping open the wrapping of the pallets himself…he instead naturally gives that job to Robin. Figuring Murray wants to offload the old inventory, Steve gets some sale information ready and decides to mark down everything on the floor - sure as shit that Murray got some new and improved models, fancier faux cocks, better colors, better…whatever bells and whistles. He doesn’t care really…he just needs to make room. 
After running off a huge stack of flyers on the copier in Murray’s office, he tells Robin he’s heading out. With a groan from the girl that echoed in the storeroom, he promised he’d return with a fresh cup of coffee and her favorite muffin if she’d just shut the fuck up about it. “But Steeeve” she groans “I can’t look at any more of these. Look at this one! It’s an actual monster cock. It’s got tentacles!”
“Aw, ew, gross.” his nose scrunches up and he turns on the balls of his feet, the new black chucks already fading a bit since they’re suddenly all he’s wearing - the red swoosh of his Nike Cortez’ tucked back a little further in his closet than they’d ever have been before. He jogs out the front door, stack of thin copy papers tucked as best he can under his arms, 
It’s a warm fall day today, sun heating up the streets in the warmth of the afternoon, as he maneuvers the busy city sidewalks, tails of his unbuttoned shirt trailing behind him, a well-worn black band t-shirt he picked up from the Goodwill downtown tucked into his denim. He almost didn’t pay any mind to the shirt as he scoured for his size in the bin laid out before him, but threw it on top of his pile anyway after reading the band scrawled across the front - Pearl Jam. 
Steve’s on a mission. He’s trying to get down the street to some of their notorious partners so he can tack up a flyer on their community board, or leave a stack of them at their bar or with the bouncer. Anywhere he knows won’t turn up their nose at a rudimentary flyer boasting discounted dildos. He makes a mental note to insist that Hopper and Joyce leave some on the bar at Benny’s even though he knows at least Hopper will bitch about it nonstop. He knows Joyce’ll look at him like a doting mama before scowling at her counterpart and telling the boy Whatever you need, honey.
He doesn’t see you until you’re right on top of him, and to be fair, you didn’t see him either. So when your chests connect in a thump and everything the both of you are carrying falls to the gritty sidewalk, both of your first instincts are to bitch about it. “What the fuck is your problem man, y’wanna watch where you’re going next time?” you scowl.
Before he could even get the snarky words out of his mouth, he says your name and you snapped out of it in an instant. “Oh God, Steve. It’s you! Sorry, I…I’m just in a fuckin’ mood today. I’m knee deep in midterms and I really just don’t want to read another essay about family dynamics and how my dads expectations really fucked me up - y’know?”
“Yeah, oh I know. I mean, not about the grading essays thing, but…about the dads expectations fucking you up. That part I can relate to. Not the smartie pants stuff.”
“Ok, well…” Your eyes roam up and down his face, seeing how scatterbrained he looks, now crumpled wads of paper crushed up against his chest. “We’ll unpack that little tidbit another time, then. Haven’t seen you in a few weeks. Maybe some coffee again? That shop by your place was nice last time we met up. Good music spinning, so - y’know they got me hooked.” 
Steve nods in agreement. After that night in the cab, you’ve seen eachother a few times. Nothing crazy, but intentionally. First you met up at the record store so you could show him some other albums he might like. The next time, you went back to the ice cream place from that ill-fated date night because for some reason, ever since then, you’ve been jonesing for a scoop of that peanut butter swirl ice cream and ended up sitting for two hours just talking. 
The last time, he invited you to their favorite coffee shop, sat at a table just adjacent to where Robin and Alex sat, scooping the foam off of one anothers cappuccinos and lattes with their fingers, ankles tangled together under the table, clearly whispering and staring at the pair of them and doing an awful job of keeping their voices low as they spend the whole time making conjecture about what exactly is going on here with the two of them. 
Robin was nice, she seemed quirky and fun and Alex seemed like some of the angsty, take-on-too-much-responsibility type girls trying to stand out in the crowd at the University you’re teaching at - which basically means you know exactly how to socialize with her if need be. But since then, you’ve been so wrapped up in the start of your semester, taking on a bigger courseload than normal and getting wrapped right up in the happenings of the fall semester to keep up with anything but teaching and grading. 
Steve finally talks after a few seconds “Yeah, it’s really…been awhile. Thought you forgot about me.”
“No. No! Well…you haven’t forgotten about me huh?” Your eyes flick down to his shirt, the typography finally catches your eye, and you point to it with a smirk. 
“What do you have here, anyway?” You snatch one of the fliers off the ground as the autumn breeze starts to swirl it around at your feet. 
“It’s nothing! No…well. Our boss got a huge shipment in - like, HUGE and we have to make room…..on the floor. So….I’m running a sale.” 
“Oh hoh hoh, this is great. Is Robin working? I kinda need a break. Show me this shop of yours? Please? I gotta see the merchandise.”
He is absolutely dreading this. He knows he can’t say no to you. He’s been doing great those few times you hung out together, but he can’t deny that just thinking about you makes him sweat, and he has continued to - over and over and over again - indulge himself to thoughts of your voice, your face, your body as he loses himself in the tense grip of his fist. So you have no idea how much of a hold you have on the guy. Blissfully ignorant of the fact that you have him wrapped around your little finger. And he’s utterly embarrassed, because he knows it. Stupid Steve getting obsessed with another girl again. Convincing himself he’s in love. Yeah…
The pair of you walk through the door of the shop not long after that. The sounds of voices from the back room ring out, cackling laughter that is irrefutably Robin echoing through the store. Steve leads you back behind the curtain to see Alex sitting, entirely amused watching Robin lose her cool at every dildo she pulls from the box. Robin is there, sitting cross-legged, holding up a gigantic transparent pink dildo, wobbling in the air, her cheeks almost the same color as the jiggling member. “People fit THIS up there? Who LIKES that? I’ll…Look at this thing!” 
You immediately burst out in laughter and Robin looks up, beaming when she sees you. Eyes darting back and forth between you and Steve. “It’s not as bad as you think, Robin.” you say. Entirely too seriously, and Steve almost gives himself whiplash looking at you as you shrug it off and move closer to inspect the wares. “Ran into Steve on the street, saw you guys were having a sale and I HAD to see all the fuss.”
“Steve…lotsa stuffin’ the muffin gonna be going on after we sell those bad boys.” 
A litany of curses rolls off of Steve's tongue in response as he yells something about setting up a sale display in the front.
They all follow Steve out to the floor as he works up the display space. Robin slides over next to him and starts to help, setting a box filled to the brim, bulbous heads sticking out over the edge. She leans over into his shoulder so she can whisper “Stevie…your face is way too serious right now. The girl you like is here while you’re tossing around fake dicks. You gotta smile about it or…lighten up or something. She’s not gonna like your sourpuss face. I think I’m the only one that puts up with that”
“Rob…she's not.. I don’t - '' but he’s cut off by the whirr and buzz of a pile of vibrating dildos Robin has accidentally activated. Moving and bouncing while making an incredible racket against the glass top of the case, the dildos start toppling over the ones Steve has meticulously stacked already and buzzing right off the side of the case and onto the floor. The vibrating dildos are chaotically bouncing and toppling everywhere. “Shut up, you two!” Robin yells back at you and Alex sitting curled up in the seating area, faces red with laughter. 
Just then, a group of the shop's regular customers start trickling in flyers in hand, intrigued by the commotion. Robin, overwhelmed with the chaotic situation she herself unfurled, immediately goes to assist the customers, leaving Steve behind to deal with the cacophony of mechanical penises. To distract from the mess, Robin begins a rambling speech about the history and uses of various dildos, sharing more information than anyone asked for and with surprising accuracy and detail. The three of you all look on in amazement and curiosity as Robin suddenly transforms from a bumbling, blushing sexual idiot to this dildo encyclopedia in no time. 
“Hey! Ladies…watch this!” Steve picks up a few of the dildos and starts juggling them in the middle of the store with particular ease. In a rare moment where Steve shakes off the uptight strings that tie him up and hold him down, his effort to make things a bit more lighthearted, pay off. 
Everyone’s hollering and smiling and laughing, however, his juggling skills are far from perfect. After a good run, he misses one - a big sparkly silicone thing that starts bouncing wildly across the counter and lands with a smack and a slap in front of the customer at the register. Robin and the customer look down at it, mouths open in disbelief. 
Steve’s bracing himself to get yelled at by one or both of them, but instead both blow out a laugh they were holding back before the whole store erupts into amused giggling and full on laughing fits.
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After the shop closes that afternoon, the four of you find yourself walking down the sidewalks, sky overcast with the October chill that creeps in at sunset to steal away the warmth and glow of the day. Standing in front of a bowling alley tucked away on a side street, Alex cocks her eyebrows at the others and says “How about we have some more fun?”
Knees knocking together as you and Steve sit shoulder to shoulder tying your ratty, overworn bowling shoes onto your feet, Robin and Alex return with drinks from the bar and plop down next to you. “Drinks on me tonight, assholes.” Robin proclaims happily - that is until Steve quips back “Good, you owed me for your stupid dead keychain pet again anyway.”
Narrowing her eyes at Steve’s, she ignores his commentary and quickly moves on. “Alright, two on two. Let’s see how bad this is gonna go!” She claps her hands and rubs them together in preparation. 
“Guess it’s you and me, huh?” You bump shoulders with Steve, “I promise, I’m not that bad, so maybe we have a shot.”
Over the next hour the group is rolling with fits of giggles and laughter after dropped bowling balls and rolls down the gutter and baskets full of bar popcorn, kernels falling at their feet as they talk. 
On one side, Robin’s begging for bumpers after four in a row has Alex taunting her to no end. Beers are refilled while Alex tugs on Robin’s belt loops to maneuver around her, palm running over the sliver of exposed skin on her back as she leans down to grab her ball. Cheers are shouted while Robin celebrates a Spare with a chaste kiss to the apple of Alex’s cheek. Comfortable silences are filled with her nervously picking at the strings jutting out on the frayed knee of Alex’s pants and filling the void by picking at the cuticles of her nails instead when Alex gets up to take her turn. 
On the other side, Steve has bumped into you twice. Once causing your ball to fall out of your hands and barely missing your feet. He’s gotten his arm tangled in his open flannel shirt as he tosses the ball, so he takes it off and hangs it over the back of the chair where you’re sitting, the sides of his fingers brushing against your shoulder as he moves away and eyes darting nervously when he hears a tiny scoff coming from Alex, whose eyes are fixated on him with amusement. You and Steve are faring well and scoring better than your counterparts, but every time you go to celebrate, the interaction falls flat - one going in for a hug while the other sticks two hands up for a high five, the next time going to the high five while the other jabs their fist in the air awkwardly. 
Alex slinks over towards Robin and whispers, “This…is fuckin painful.”
Over the crack of falling pins and music on the jukebox, Alex shouts over to you, “So how exactly do you know Steve?”
“Oh, yeah…honestly, we just ran into each other a few times. All very random really. Saw him first at the record store when he was getting his first vinyls. I was there picking up my new copy of the Pearl Jam one…I guess I kind of made the suggestion he try it out himself.”
Robin flits her eyes from Steve to you, now wholly making the connection on why Steve’s probably constantly playing "Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town" late at night. Steve sees her gears turning and he tries to signal for her to drop it, but in true Robin fashion….she won't. 
“So wait, that’s how you met her?” she jabs her thumb in your direction while shouting at Steve.
“W-well, yeah I guess technically. I didn’t really even know your name until the cab thing like…a month later.” he says casually, directed at you even though it was Robin who asked the question. 
Looking at Robin’s blank stare, you fill in the blanks for her when Steve doesn’t continue. “Yeah. Well…Steve kind of knight-in-shining-armored me from a bad date one night. I recognized him from our run ins, but we still didn’t actually know each other at all, but he caught me at the tail end of probably the absolute worst date of the year. Dude made me pay for everything and left me to find a cab myself and I was just a fuckin mess standing there on the sidewalk trying to count my change after paying for dinner.”
“Oh, yes…Stevie loves to be the hero. Dontcha?” Robin pokes at his shoulder. 
“Well yeah, he really was. I definitely didn’t have enough cash for the cab so we shared one and had our first proper conversation, bitched about how awful first dates are - or dating in general, right? God it’s been the worst.” your words trail off as your brain is clearly rolodexing through all of the failures and wasted nights you’ve collected. 
Smiling at Steve as you say it, “We just kinda keep running into one another, so we’re just embracing it!” Steve nods in agreement, tight lipped smile pulling up on the left side, oddly quiet as he listens to you recount how you’ve found yourself here in his circle. 
“Hmm…cute.” Robin says, a little over exaggerated, as she unties the frayed shoelaces of her bowling shoes and walks up to the counter to return them.  
At the counter, Robin stands leaned over while Alex slips her hand in the back pocket of her wide leg denim. You and your teammate for the evening fall in line next to one another behind them, shoulder to shoulder again, looking over at one another, waiting to see who will talk first. 
“We really whooped their ass, didn’t we?” 
“Thanks for having me around today.”
You both spill out at the same time. Both agreeing with a nod and a smile, eyes locked together just as Alex and Robin turn around to face you and move out of your way. “You’re up, Romeo.” She winks as she reaches out to grab Alex’s outstretched hand and head towards the door. Steve watches as they tumble out of the entrance and the door closes behind them, the pair illuminated through the glass by the lights on the city street as his friend leans in to kiss her girlfriend, like some perfectly lit scene out of a movie. 
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This all started because Steve tied the stem of the cherry from his Old Fashioned and set it casually next to his coaster in the bar. Gasps of "How didn't I know you could do that?" from Robin. 
“Wow. Wow. Honestly. Who knew Steve was such a Cunnilinguist over here? Fluent in Mumbling in the Moss.” Robin’s teasing, but her jaw is just about on the bar and she’s fighting back the impressed look she has on her face. “Let me get my notebook out. I gotta take notes…please, please don’t stop on account of me. Continue….”  Robin gestures at Steve in a bow like he’s a fuckin member of the Royal Court of Pussyeaters, taunting him with wide sarcastic eyes and a glint of actual curiosity he can clock from a mile away. 
“Robin, YOU have even said it yourself.”
“Oh yes, how could I ever forget the sounds Melissa from upstairs made on our first weekend here? Right. Sorry. Blocked that out of my memory bank shortly after it happened.”
The thing about Robin is, this city has made her feral for new things and new information. Probably something to do with the fact that she can actually live like she wants to more openly, that there’s less judgment or even a community. Maybe it's a lot to do with the fact that the girl who used to cringe at the word boobies is hawking condoms, crotchless panties and sex toys for a living and learning about her sexuality in real-time, but Robin has turned into a sexual sponge. She’s shy about something until she’s not. Zero to sixty in ten seconds flat. She sees it once, asks a few curious and direct questions and suddenly she’s ready to rock and roll. 
Over the past few months, Steve has watched her boundaries literally crumble at her feet. The first time it happened, early in the summer when they first got the job, he found himself sweeping the same spot in the front of the store for twenty minutes straight. He was completely distracted when Robin went on and on extremely enthusiastically about Ben Wa balls to a customer. 
At first he was lingering because the girl was pretty - shiny hair grazing the tops of her shoulders, sunkissed and peeking out of her tank top, glittering gems dangling from her ears. He was admiring the girl, until he heard Robin talking about those balls like she knew what she was doing. He hadn’t thought about those since he had that stupid sandwich shop slip up, but apparently since then, Robin has become a goddamn connoisseur. He almost dropped the broom when she gave the girl some of her favorite personal tips to enjoy them as she checked her out.  
Since then, Steve can’t even count on one hand how many times he’s had to hear Robin talking people’s ears off about fuckin Ben Wa balls. She’s like a Ben Wa sales person every night at the bar, yapping anyone’s ear off about them, talking about no less casually than like it’s talking about how you take your coffee. Just rambling on about how if you slip them in before your date, it pays off at the end of the night, or how if you add a little vibration they go wild. If she didn’t already work at a Sex Shop, he’d tell her to get a job at one with how she’s acting. Steve’s no prude, God no… but he doesn’t think he’s ever going to get used to his Robin talking about what she sticks up her vagina like that. 
So now, here they all sit, at the corner of the bar at Benny’s, and she’s trying so hard not to look like she’s desperate for a lesson, but Steve knows. He knows she’s trying so hard to get information. So she can deliver. She won't ever do something unless she's sure she'll be good at it. She won’t say it out loud, but she wants to return the favor and she’s terrified she’s gonna do it wrong or be awful at it. He knows all of this just by looking at her body language and the look in her eyes. And shit, it makes him cringe thinking about it, but when Hopper leans over the bar and says “I don’t think he’s really that good if he’s not gonna spill the beans? Pretty face like that has probably never been sat on in his life.” he’s all in. He’s not one to back down from a challenge. Stubborn as ever. 
“Well…You’re not exactly wrong about that. Not for nothing, though…I tried. I swear. Hawkins, Indiana is not filled with adventurous girls that are willing to do that.”
“Wait…who did you ask to sit on your face, Harrington? Do I even wanna know?”
“Don’t worry about it Robbie.” He waves her off. “It doesn’t matter anyway. No one took the bait so I stopped asking. Plus, most of those girls didn’t even want me to do any of it in the first place - I mean, after some convincing a few of them changed their opinion afterwards but still...”
“So…wait. You didn’t spend all your years as King Steve feasting on clams? That makes no sense? How can you even self-proclaim you’re soooo great at it if you don’t have that much practice?”
“First of all, I did just fine thanks, and secondly it’s not about practice, Rob. I’m a fuckin natural” Steve grins wide like a cheshire cat around the rim of his glass as he throws back a sip, knowing his comment will send her into a tizzy.
“Oh you’re just disgusting Steve Harrington. So fucking smug about everything.” As she rambles on, Steve lets her go, barely noticing that he’s not paying any mind to her, and he asks Joyce if he can have the jar of cherries behind the bar. Joyce smiles at him and winks, before sliding the glass container down the bar to him, catching it in his hand and wiggling it in Robin’s face. 
“You wanna learn from the best, Buckley?”
He hands his friend a cherry and asks her to tie the stem and the first one took her 18 minutes. She’s awful at multitasking, so while he’s trying to fill the time with tips - about how she shouldn’t dive right in. “You gotta play around a little. Show the girls some attention, work your way up her thighs… don’t just stick your face in it. Got it?” She doesn’t. She’s got her brows furrowed and one eye squinted shut as she’s exaggeratedly moving the cherry stem around her mouth by jabbing her tongue every which way. 
He rolls his eyes and holds his hand out in front of her mouth and tells her to spit it out, like a small child who got in the candy bowl and has to give up her treat after being scolded. The next hour goes by with Steve trying so hard to be a patient teacher. 
He starts from the beginning, making sure she doesn’t skip over his first lesson: Approach but do not enter. He tells her about how no matter how bad she wants to, she can not under any circumstances make full and direct contact. "If you use your tongue like you just did with that fuckin cherry stem you're gonna scare her, okay Jabby"
In an almost reverent and detailed narrative he continues on telling tales of kisses up ankles and legs and warm breaths against their entrance. Teasing and touching and tounging through wet panties. Featherlight touches and sucking purple marks along the juncture of thighs. At this point, Hopper is leaned over his bar looking on like a little kid hearing about knights and dragons in a bedtime story. He needs a napkin to wipe up his drool after listening to the pussy poetry coming off of Steve Harrington’s lips. 
Steve dangles out Cherry #2 for Robin to snag with her lips before moving on to his second lesson: Start slow. Robin has her mouth open catching flies, cherry stem just resting between her teeth as Steve goes on to explain how she should kitten lick just around everything she has to offer, then in. Gentle strokes exploring what’s there, tongue flat, loose, gentle. Circling the clit, running it along all of the places in between. “Opening up the flower,” he says. Bonus points if you make noise while you do it, tell her she looks pretty he says and Robin nods in understanding. 
Palm extended again, Steve nods as the stem falls into it, telling Robin “Nice. You’re getting there. This’ll be important soon.”
Cherry #3. Take a break. He looks her dead in the eyes when he says “You gotta take a break here, Robbie. Don’t do that thing you do about every other thing in the world. Where you’re all in and super focused and too excited and you forget the steps. BACK OFF. Do the thigh thing again, just less is more for a minute here….You hear me? Now gimme that stem.”
Robin pulls the stem out of her mouth, holding it up to her eyeline and sees her knot is tighter this time and she's done it quicker. Much quicker than before. She grins “Got it! Got it! Am I doing good?”
Steve smiles at her, and pops a cherry into his mouth, handing one off to his friend and grinning like a devil as he hands one to Hopper, too. Both take the offering, despite Hopper acting way too cool about it, he plays along. Cherry #4. Dive in. Swirl, slide and suck. Alternate until you figure out what works for her. Listen for the sounds, the breaths. Pick up speed. "Lay that tongue flat again and lick her up from back to front, because she's gonna taste like heaven." Robin nods as he tells her to add a finger or two if she wants it but keep playing with that clit, rolling and rubbing and maybe even some flicking just like that cherry stem. 
All three of them pull their stems out, candied cherries already warm in Robin and Hoppers bellies so they could focus on the stem. Steve, however, pulls out his stem to show off the tight knot and sticks out his tongue with the cherry still there, untouched and carefully maneuvered out of the way of the action the whole time. He makes a show of swirling around the cherry, undulating his tongue with a smirk turned up on the corner of his lips before popping the red orb between his teeth and crushing it with a grin. 
“Okay, fine. You sound like you know what you’re doing Harrington…that…yeah…thanks for that.” Hopper says as he walks away, turning his stem between his fingers, a little too deep in thought and mulling over Steve’s words as he serves up the other patrons of the bar. 
Stirring the ice of her now empty glass, she eyes her friend. Still processing that he gave her such a detailed lesson so she can effectively eat out her girlfriend for the first time, not to mention the fact that listening to Steve Harrington talk about worshiping a woman like that kinda turned her on, it takes her a minute to finally break her silence.
She looks away from Steve before starting in on one of her tried and true rambles. “I gotta repay you for that weirdly effective tutorial. Just maybe one nugget of information. I mean, I may have never been the giver, but consider me a receiver? A tight end? I dunno I was trying to give you a sports analogy because you’re a jock. Were a jock…or whatever. Anyway. Girls…they don’t agree to sit on your face, man, and it's not because they don’t want it. They want it. It’s just, like, REALLY embarrassing.”
Steve looks at her confused. “What do you mean embarrassing?” 
“Like, 100% of us think we’re too big or not good enough. And being like that is a little intimidating. Even my skinny ass thinks I’ll crush a girl if I do it. “ 
“Too big? - oh.” It takes some time for Steve to understand, never having to deal with any type of insecurity like that ever before it never even crossed his mind that it has anything to do with themselves or their bodies. He always thought they just thought he was a weirdo for asking and making things complicated. He assumed they didn’t have time for any theatrics and just wanted to come and maybe sign up for a second date. 
Robin sees the wheels turning and the gears grinding in his head, and she knows this means he understands but is too engrossed in his analysis of the actual injustice of it all to speak words. “So, maybe approach it differently? Or find a chick who is just so fuckin confident she doesn’t give a fuck. But let me tell you one thing…it pains me to say this. Truly it does, but your nose…is MADE for it.”
“My nose?” his face contorts in a confused glare she knows all too well. 
“Oh baby, yeah…that nose is made for pushing a clit around.” 
“ROBIN!” Steve pushes his chair back, feet squeaking along the roughed up floor of the bar, as he walks over to the jukebox and leans over it, grumbling yet again about how she always takes it one step too far.
“You’ll thank me one day, handsome! You’re not the only one that has information to share, you know?”
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Steve has never seen Robin like this before. He’s not sure what to do with the information his eyes are transmitting to his brain in this moment, so he just stands there unmoving. “Uh hello? Dingus? What’s the deal?”
Robin has exited her room in those stupid fucking red boots that she now is insisting are comfortable and fully broken in, but the fishnet stockings that follow her skin up her legs are not the first thing that make Steve do a double take. A white baby t-shirt sits under the spaghetti straps of a lacey, silky black slip dress, a cut up to the thigh that she may have put there herself. A chunky, more masculine belt looped around her waist - wait…is that from his closet, he thinks to himself. 
“Please stop looking at me like I’m an idiot. I look dumb, don’t I? Of course I do. I gotta change.” 
The only other time Robin has found herself in anything other than pants was that one goddamn time Nancy Wheeler dressed her up like a China Doll to trick that fancy psychiatrist guy, and that’s a memory she’s tried hard to suppress.But there are no frilly socks and poofy white collars on this dress. No stuffy cardigan. And even though she never thought of herself as particularly feminine, today for the first time in her life she feels it.  
“No! No Robbie, you look … great. I - I’ve just never seen you in like…anything like that. It’s…super fuckin’ cool okay? Like magazine cool. Like not friends with Steve Harrington cool.” he shakes his head as he throws some popcorn into his mouth. “Alex is gonna fuckin’ lose it. You gonna remember what I taught you at Benny’s? Tonight is your night, my friend, because she will not say no to you in that. For sure.”
“You think I’m gonna dine on the Adult Happy Meal tonight?” She says in a sly, teasing tone, knowing just her sexual euphemism will get Steve rolling his eyes and irritated with her in no time. 
“Y’know what, I was trying to pump you up. Tell you you did good…but fine. Be that way.”
And she hated, just hated to admit it, but Steve was right. Alex loved it. She couldn’t tear her eyes away from Robin’s thighs all night. Her fingers lingered at Robin’s waist and along that belt anytime she was within reach and Robin’s skin tingled with anticipation. She felt possessed by Alex. On a short leash. And as the music thumped in her chest, she felt the dull aching throb building between her thighs at the same time. 
So it was no surprise when the two of them pummeled through Alex’s studio apartment door backwards, not taking their lips of one another with enough time to pay any attention to where they were going or what they were running into. Robin’s were slick with spit, cherry gloss and the smudges of the deep plum lipstick rubbed right off of Alex’s own plump lips. 
“This..” Alex picks at the straps of Robin’s slip dress. “This is nice.” She almost growls out, finger hooked under the thin piece of fabric, tugging Robin with her until they hit the edge of the bed. 
“I don’t think I told you how hot you looked tonight. It’s fuckin bananas.” Alex’s lips pepper kisses up the column of Robin’s neck leaving streaks of whatever pigment remained on her lips rubbed off like a trail of smoke, fanning the fire deep within both of them.
Alex’s nose is pressed up and into Robin’s temple, lips parted and breathy and tickling her ear. Tits smushed and pressed together the closest they could possibly be and Alex’s hand wastes no time slithering right into that opening left there by the makeshift slit cut into the side of the satin, up along her pelvis tugging the pesky fishnets out of the way and diving right back down into the hot wetness pooling in Robins’ underwear. 
“Oh, honey. Robin…so wet already?” Her fingers smooth back and front again, swirling around Robin’s clit and sliding right inside on the backswing. Robin chokes out a breathy moan, pouty lips gaping open, eyes rolling back and long eyelashes fluttering in the air like the wings of a butterfly. Alex slides those fingers back and forth, back and forth until Robin looks back at her, grabbing her by the shoulders and pulling her away just enough to look into her eyes. Alex doesn’t let up her motions, two fingers loudly moving through everything Robin is giving her. 
Robin reaches down towards the bed and takes Alex by surprise when she picks up one of her fluffy white pillows and pummels it at Alex’s head. “Ow, what the fuck!” Alex shouts. She looks at Robin, corners of her lips turning up into a mischievous smile, fingers curling up into the sky as she shrugs her shoulders teasingly. Alex’s face melts quickly into one of laughter - but only temporarily before she reaches for her own pillow and wails on Robin, smacking her right in the shoulder. 
Pillows are flying, both girls are laughing so much their tummies are starting to hurt. Fluff and feathers from the pillows are starting to puff out and flutter through the air. Robin lands a particularly good blow on Alex’s upper body that has her falling backwards into the bed laughing, and it’s in this moment Robin finds herself giggling, perched right on top of her girlfriend’s body.
She wanted this to happen. Really she did. That was the point. She’s come a long way but Robin is still too chickenshit to ask for what she wants in bed. She’s definitely too chickenshit to take charge. So as she lays here, leaning over Alex, pillows around them, blankets and comforters scrunched up along their sides in a sea of white linen, Robin leans down and connects her lips to Alex’s in the most possessive kiss she knows how to muster up. She spent all night feeling like she was on Alex’s leash, but for fucks sake, she wants to take a little too. 
She’s always a little frantic, but this? She’s tugging Alex’s shirt out from where it’s tucked into the pleated trousers hanging low on her hips tonight faster than she can blink. Her bumbling fingers are trying to find the confidence to be smooth about pushing her shirt up and up and up, but instead it’s just hurriedly shoved up far enough for Robin to get a little bit of access to her breasts. She slows down a bit just enough to savor how her fingers slide under the band of Alex’s bralette and brush over both of her nipples at the same time. 
God, Robin is losing her mind and she’s quickly going to get in her head if she doesn’t follow through. She knows that the second she lets her intrusive thoughts spiral, she’s going to be too worried about doing it wrong, or not being good enough that she’ll just run back home to Steve like a kicked puppy. So she takes a big breath - one that could be confused with someone diving down to the bottom of a summer swimming pool. Alex’s head pops up off the bed and is momentarily confused, but she falls right back into the mountain of pillows as she feels Robin’s hands extend, pressing her tits up and back into the mattress just as Robin’s nose starts to trail down, down towards her belly button. 
Kissing the softness of her girl's tummy, Robin tries hard to remember that this is not a test, before she keeps mouthing at the dough of her hips, dragging the waistband of her pants further and further down. Alex’s hipbone, popping out just for a peek, gets a small kiss from Robin before she swoops her finger down and into her trousers following the seam of her thighs. 
“Rob…Robin…what are you - oh fuck!” She cries out as she feels Robin’s blunt fingernails run up through her slit and back up, starting to fumble with the button. “Robin, what are you doing?”
Alex has felt great during this relationship, yeah she’s more of the giver, but there’s been plenty of grinding and sucking on nipples and self pleasure that have brought her to climax while the two of them have fooled around on couches and over the paper thin walls in their apartment as Steve sleeps next door. She’s been patient and attentive to Robin, knowing she’s still learning and exploring and not expecting her to do more than she’s comfortable with. But tonight she’s getting the distinct idea that Robin wants something a little different. 
“Rob, you don’t have to …just…lemme take care of it”
“NO. Alex. Stop it. I…I wanna try something. Okay? Please?”
“Oh-okay, sure. But just stop if it’s too much for you. I promise, I don’t need you to fingerfuck me tonight if you don’t really wanna go there yet.” Alex is talking while Robin ignores her, working the pants loose and starting to wiggle them down and over her wide and pretty hips. 
“Alex. Please. Shut up. I’m usually the one talking too much, but this time it’s you.” She connects her lips to whatever places she can reach on her stomach before looking back up at Alex, eyes wide and big and doe-like “And …I don’t want ot finger fuck you.”
With absolutely no notice after that, Robin’s head ducks down and quickly finds itself between Alex’s thighs, shoving the pants legs down as far as she can go while she runs her nose up along the edge of Alex’s deep purple panties. She hums loud enough for Alex to hear her and that alone has Alex’s eyes fluttering shut in anticipation.
 Robin starts with small nips and licks along the inside of Alex’s thighs and remembers specifically that a few good, deep licks over the panties might be a nice place to go next. It’s safe for her underneath a layer of protection - mostly for her ego. It’s like the mental boundary she has still standing before she takes her first real lick. But with a deep breath and a smile she quite literally can’t hold back, Robin flattens her tongue and runs it right up the center of Alex’s panties, flicking her tongue when she gets right where she knows her clit is hiding under that cotton. 
Alex’s hands jolt towards the bedsheets at the unexpected fervor on Robin’s tongue and the girl keeps exploring all around the exposed skin before taking the front of her underwear on her tongue, wrapping her lips around it and sucking, lapping, drooling right where she knows that clit is hiding from her. Alex is moaning and groaning under Robin and the sound is music to her ears - a symphony of praises like Robin has never quite heard before. She wants more. Needs more. 
Tugging down the sides of Alex’s underwear she rips them off and throws them on the floor behind her and stares down at what lays before her. Alex, bared to her, legs splayed out to each side. She can’t help but admire the pink shades of her lips and the perfect curls of the hair adorned there. She runs her fingers along the sides of her pelvis, tickling the pads of her fingers with the roughness of where her trimmed bush is growing in just a bit. Robin is pretty sure this is how a dog with a bone behaves, but she couldn’t care less. 
Next, she does something that even surprises herself. Rolling her tongue through her mouth, she gathers a glob of spit and lets it fall right on top of Alex’s clit, holding the hood back as the coolness hits her bundle of nerves. Robin blows gently on the wet skin, a small thread of saliva still clinging to her cupid's bow and Alex can not tear her eyes away from what is happening between her legs. 
Robin dips her head down and rolls her tongue, front to back, side to side before letting her lips wrap around her clit and suck. As she continues, flicking and flitting and moaning into Alex’s cunt, she lets her fingers wander up until she can feel the heat of her girlfriends arousal on her fingertips. She looks up at her and asks “Can I…can I put these in, too? Do you want more?”
“Jesus Christ, Robin” she gasps, “You’re trying to kill me right? Holy shit. Yes. I need more.”
Sliding her middle finger into her first, then second knuckle, just to test the waters, she’s quickly overcome with how soft and warm she feels in her hands. “Oh Alex, you feel so fuckin good.” She works that finger in further before sliding it out and adding in her ring finger, too. No resistance, only the slick sounds of Alex’s arousal and Robin's fingers working her up better than she knew was possible. 
Thanking god she knows how to play a brass instrument, knowing damn well her fingers and her mouth know how to multitask and move in tandem, she starts thinking about this orchestra between her girlfriends legs. Moving those fingers, not letting up with the beat and tempo she set for herself, she bends down to connect her soft lips back on Alex’s, lapping around the place she feels her fingers slipping in and out, licking along the edge of where her lips end and Robin’s fingers begin. Feeling the plunging and sucking around them as her pussy clenches around Robin’s fingers. 
“Ohhh fuck. Robin, goo-good girl, Rob. Feels so good.”
Robin feels her own pussy clench around absolutely nothing at Alex’s raise. Pulling out her fingers, Alex cries at the loss, but she quickly moans louder than Robin’s ever heard before as she replaces that emptiness with her tongue. Shoving it inside, curing upwards and soothing that ache with the warmth of her tongue. She remembers how she rolled and sucked on that cherry, and repeats those movements until she feels a wetness, a creaminess that makes her moan out loudly herself. The vibrations from Robin’s moaning are doubling down on the orgasm crashing through Alex’s body and with a yelp and a groan and a giggle, Robin has her head laying across Alex’s sweat slicked chest, staring up at her waiting. For approval? For literally anything. 
“Jesus, Robin that was….that was some top shelf shit. Wh-what…how? I mean, I’m not complaining but I was not expecting that.”
“It was fuckin’ hot wasn’t it?” she muses with a laugh.
“Lord help me, I…think you owe some thanks to Steve for all that, actually” she says painfully through her teeth. 
“No fuckin’ shit! My man!”
A scoff comes right out of Robin’s mouth, unable to hold it back.
“Maybe if he uses some of that magic pussy eating technique on whats-her-name she’ll be just as obsessed with him as he is with her.”
“RIGHT?”
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The windows of the house are actually rattling, filled to the brim with young bodies living in downtown Chicago neighborhoods - friends and strangers alike. Robin and Steve stand outside waiting to enter, looking at Alex for the go-ahead. “I don’t really actually know the guys, it’s just….I mean it doesn’t fuckin matter. Look at this party.” she gestures up to the house, lights flashing from behind the curtains in the windows. “We just gotta wait another minute or two. I’m meeting someone else…”
“Someone else? Who else is coming?” Robin’s volume starts off loud and starts to fade into a smirk as she catches a glimpse of you approaching the group on the sidewalk. 
“Hey guys! Thanks Alex, I’m so glad I ran into you earlier!”
You clock the look Robin flashes at Steve and you almost feel slightly unwelcome if it weren’t for Alex, grabbing you by the crook of your elbow and pulling you forward into the house party, the duo still trailing behind trying to process what exactly is going on and why.
Robin jogs up to Alex’s side as they take the steps of the house two by two as they approach the door and leans in “What are you doing? When did this happen?”
Once through the threshold of the house, the loud music and shouting voices muffled their conversation with ease. “Oh whatever… listen, I ran into her at the coffee shop. Said after she went there with Steve that one time, she liked their Cappuccino so she’s been going back ever since. It was my chance to invite her out…maybe give them a nudge. I swear, I owe the guy after all that lip service last night.”
“You’re trouble, you know that? He thinks I’m trouble…but…”
“Maybe we're trouble together. Let’s go.”
Alex grabs Robin’s hand and trots off to the back of the house in search of a few drinks, trying desperately to lose both of you behind them and force you into close proximity. 
As planned, Steve can’t find the pair anywhere in a matter of seconds, searching over the heads and raised drinks of strangers on the living room, repurposed as a dance floor, it quickly becomes futile. In the loud atmosphere, The Rolling Stones Start Me Up blaring from the speakers, he turns to you, unable to get a word in and get you to move forward with him in search of a drink, he tugs at the collar of your blush pink jacket - one that makes him smirk because he recognizes the ribbed collar and button clasp of the zipper jacket. Looking just like his own matching gray one, shoved in the back of his dresser lately in an effort to try and hide it better from Robin. 
An hour or so passes and Steve still hasn’t found Robin, not without trying because his eyes are constantly scanning the crowd, like a lifeguard scanning the water keeping children safe. She’s fine. It’s not my problem to babysit her, he thinks. She’s got Alex.
He’s still with you, leaning against the wall and watching as you dance along to every song that plays for the crowd. Right now, he’s got his eyes glued to your hips as you move along to Owner of a Lonely Heart and sip your lukewarm beer. 
You occasionally speak to him, but fuck if he actually has heard a thing you said. You haven’t stopped moving along to the music. It’s warm inside, so he’s holding your jacket now, while he sees the sweat dripping down the nape of your neck. Following it as it drips down and around the column of your throat. 
He clears his before he lets himself watch it go any lower, over your clavicle and jerks his head in the direction of the kitchen. “Refill?” he asks, and you nod as the crowd chants out CAN'T TOUCH THIS, jumping in unison and making the floor shake. 
Armed with your fresh drink, you find yourself following Steve down the steps of the basement, concrete walls and dusty corners, a basement not meant to be inhabited but perfect for a late night party full of friends and strangers for whoever actually lives here. The pair of you plop down on a dingy sofa, rifling through your purse you pull out a black package and slide a slim black cigarette out if it’s case. He looks at you quizzically as you light it up, the warm and spicy smell of your Djarum Blacks filling the air around you. 
“A clove.” you exhale. “A clove cigarette? You want?” you pull one more drag off the cigarette and pass it off to Steve, who studies it before placing the filter to his lips. Pulling a drag, feeling something like cinnamon crackle through his lungs, his brain is fixated on how your lips were just right here where his are now. 
“Whoa, that's…different.” He coughs out. “I like it, though. It feels…like…cozy? Does that make sense?” 
Taking another drag and blowing out his smoke in one smooth motion this time, he hands it back over to you. Nodding and looking one another over as you pass the clove back and forth for a few minutes in comfortable silence, you’re broken out of your little bubble by the sound of cheating and squealing from the other side of the basement. A squeal that is unmistakably Robin.
The thump of the base echos against the damp and dirty cinder block walls and you and Steve turn the corner to see Robin, perched on top of an old wooden table, swaying and dancing, tank top straps falling off her shoulder as she sways to the beat 
Rhythm is a dancer. It's a soul's companion. You can feel it everywhere.
Robin is clearly shitfaced, as she falls to her knees and gyrates on top of the table, you hear Steve groan and he runs his hands through his hair before he goes to step forward. Putting your hand on his shoulder to stop him, he looks back at you confused. “She’s got it.” you gesture to Alex, who's standing there looking mildly concerned, while also letting her pretty girl have some fun. 
His protective nature is more evident than ever right now, and it warms you to see it. You’ve only ever really witnessed the snarky jabs and biting remarks that seem to be what their friendship is built on. The concern and softness on his face here is different. Maybe it’s not so much that he wants to be the hero - you remember Robin’s remark the other day at the bowling alley. Maybe he just…cares. 
The crowd around the table is cheering and egging Robin on the entire time, only shouting louder as EMF’s Unbelievable switches on, causing Robin to lose her footing. Shaken up, she reaches for Alex, a dazed look in her eye, while her girlfriend throws her arm over her shoulder and they head towards the stairs. “I’m taking her home. She’s a damn mess. A cute one, but a mess.” Alex says to Steve as she passes him on her way up the stairs. 
You and Steve trail behind, Robin’s lolling head looking like a ragdoll thrown over Alex’s back. “You sure you don’t need my help?” Steve asks. 
“I got it pretty boy. Just…do a welfare check on my girl in the morning. I swear if she wakes up in a pile of her own vomit though - that's on her.”
And just like that, you find yourself the recipient of Steve’s care and concern, as he looks at you on the corner of a quiet midnight street. “Gotta get you home safe too. C’mon.” Holding open your jacket for you - the one you almost forgot he’s been holding for you this whole time - you step inside. He wraps it gently around your shoulders, fingers lingering a bit softly just before he notices and gives you an awkward pat on them instead. 
“Are we walking, or are you gonna make me get you a cab again?” he teases. 
You roll your eyes as you start walking away. “My place isn’t far. Just this way. Y’gonna make sure I get there okay?”
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Nursing hangovers and sore bodies the next morning, the pair have their feet sprawled out across their respective couches, curtains drawn tight keeping out the golden October sunlight, hoodies tied up around their heads keeping the noise out and the light dim. Robin gnaws on a bagel, untoasted, uncut just straight from the bag like a heathen while she is mumbling about what she and Alex have been up to lately. 
Steve’s head is hurting, but he really is happy to hear how supportive Alex is of Robin and all the cool things they are doing. He wants to hear more about it even though it feels like her voice is driving one hundred screws directly into his brain stem, so he tips back his bottle of water and tries to focus in. 
“We went to this sick basement venue the other night - the music scene there was so cool. You might have liked it Steve. I hear that vinyl collection you have spinning. I have to say, I’m impressed with your blossoming musical taste.” 
Just then, he’s hit with a chunk of bagel right on his forehead. Begrudgingly he lets the hunger win out, and takes a bite, needing something to sop up the hangover but too lazy to go down to the corner store for a proper greasy breakfast sandwich. 
“Might that have anything to do with a pretty lady who teaches at the University? Hmmm?” 
He can already tell Robin wants to lecture him. He doesn’t want to hear it. He knows what she's going to say, and maybe that’s the problem. Maybe he knows what she’s going to say because it’s not really that wrong, and he just doesn’t want to admit any of it or unpack any of it. Why do that when it’s going to blow up in his face anyway? What’s the point in getting his hopes up if he can just play it cool and casual and make like he’s not phased by it when it inevitably doesn’t work out. 
Steve already had his head running through this himself. The facts are, you are not a stupid girl and you’re not rolling around the city looking to settle down with some schmuck who juggles dildos at his day job. That’s pretty clear. That date that blew up in your face? That was at a nice restaurant. It was a serious date - or at least it should have been. Steve’s a 26 year old boy running around the city like it’s a playground trying to find himself and you’re an almost 30 year old woman with a career and a personality who is just way out of his league. 
“Robin, it’s… complicated.”
“No, no. I’m not seeing what exactly is complicated about it. She’s so COOL. Steve - this is exactly what you need. I don’t know why you will constantly throw yourself like a hotdog down a hallway at anything else that looks at you for a second, but these ones that are good for you. …ACTUALLY good for you, you pretend like it’s a pipe dream?”
With that, they are both startled at the bell yelling out from the phone on the wall, neither expecting a phone call this time. They both look at one another before Robin sighs, pushing herself to stand and clicking the buttons of her Tamagotchi on her leisurely walk over to the receiver. Picking up the phone and laying the handpiece on her shoulder, she continues her focus on caring for her beeping blob, dead set on winning this round before Steve watches her face go white as a ghost. 
Her eyes are boring into his, he’s mouthing What’s wrong and he gets nothing in response. His anxiety is swirling in his chest. It’s the kids isn’t it? He can’t help but immediately think that they are in imminent danger. He’s up and walking over, mentally ready to pack a bag and start the drive home before Robin silently hands the phone out to him. 
“It’s for you.” she says, stone faced and looking at him with pitiful eyes. 
Steve answers, a serious and curt hello into the phone when a familiar voice rolls out of the earpiece that makes him freeze. 
“Son… Can you please explain to me why someone would be telling me these astronomical stories about you - a Harrington - working at a Pornographic Store?”
Shit. 
TAGLIST: @livsters @katie-tibo @johnricharddeacy @angywritesstuff @k-k0129 @tisthedamnseason69 @middle-of-the-earth @thebrazilianatheist  @mochminnie @micheledawn1975 @falling-throughthe-hourglass @rafaaoli @ash5monster01 @gabessock @onyxslayss @scoopshxrrington
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harringtonlovers · 11 months
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CRUEL SUMMER | CHAPTER 9
“ little lies “
- nancy and jonathan go on their date
- steve wonders about his confession
NOTE: i haven’t updated in so long !!! please enjoy this new chapter <3
LINK: https://archiveofourown.org/works/43629243
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MOVIE NIGHT
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Eddie munson × reader
I got this prompt idea from @just-plenty-of-prompts and i thought it would be the cutest fic for eddie munson x reader.
Prompt: i dont care of its 2am. I'm lonely. Come watch a movie .
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Hawkins gets boring at times. It's the same faces you see everyday, the same interactions, the same places to eat and the same old dramas. These days the talk of the town is the romance igniting between robin Buckley and nancy wheeler. Most of us saw it coming. Not the parents. Steve the hair harrington was betting on it for a week but why wouldn't he be? He's robins bestfriend. Totally platonic.
I'm in the hellfire club which by the way all of the town thinks is a demonic cult. So we're basically the freaks of the town. By we I mean me and Eddie munson plus the rest of the gang.
"Hey freak!" I roll my eyes and flip jason off. I don't get how chrissy puts up with his existence everyday.
Great another unbearable day at school and going home really isn't fun either. Eight hours of listening to boring lectures and watching jason practically piss everywhere to mark his territory.
The movie store. That sounds like a good idea. They have everything. Eddie didn't attend school today. He's so getting his ass kicked by me. He cannot just ditch me at school.
"Hey guys!" I say as I ring the bell "Anyone available?"
I look around for movies. The store seems empty. Robin and nance are probably making out in the back room. It won't be much of a surprise.
"Oh hey y/n" Robin stumbles over to me.
"Hey. I was just looking for movies."
"Cool. I was just..erm..well I.. did you know that monkeys ride on their mother's back?" She blabbers.
"No I didn't." I smile at her.
"Now you do" she chuckles nervously.
"Well I'll just get this."
Working part time is important. I live alone. No parents. No siblings. I have to provide for myself. The school helps out financially for my school stuff but that won't get me too college. The mall is annoying. Working there is even more annoying. Boss makes me stay extra hours to cover other shifts that don't belong to me. Eddie didn't show up to work either. I had to cover for his shift. He owes me big time.
"Im taking off now." I shout.
"Alright. See you tommorow. Make sure munson shows up too."
"Will do."
I lay in bed. Its boring here. I have no friends. Its hard to make them honestly plus everyone is intimidating except for mike and his group they're cute kids and their nerds.
"Pick up." I call him again.
"Stop. Calling. Me." He hangs up. How dare he hang up on me.
I call him again and again.
"It's 2 in the morning." He groans
"Oh is it?" Wanna watch a movie?"
He sighs, "It's 2 am y/n. No i don't."
"I don't care if its 2 am. I'm lonely. Come watch a movie."
"Ugh fine. Please await my arrival."
"Awaiting. Get your ass here quickly. You owe me."
I hang up. I move to the kitchen to make some snacks. I'm out of everything. Eddie must've fed them to the kids he brings over. Not in a creepy way. Sometimes its as if him and Steve have opened a babysitting club. A knock on the door. He better have gotten snacks.
"Please tell me you got snacks."
"I missed you too." He rolls his eyes and then holds up a bag. I hug him.
"Yes you're a life saver."
"So what are we watching. Ms. Lonely"
I stick my tongue out at him.
"Top gun or The karate kid."
"Top gun. It has better music."
"Done. You better show your ass at work and school tommorow."
"Yes ma'am. Now come on."
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Everyday i spend a minute mourning him. He better show up in s5. Anyways this was a very spontaneous one. Hope you like it. Requests are open by the way so feel free <3
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metalmonki · 1 year
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Chaos Controlling Masterlist
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Stranger Things
Eddie x Reader
I Want To Ruin Our Friendship
Part 1 / Part 2
Stranger Things Guys x Reader
The Dating Odyssey
Part 1 / Steve / Eddie / Jim
Supernatural
Dean x Reader
Supernatural, Hunting, Living and Love (Revisited)
Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3 / Part 4 / Part 5
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blodreinaghost · 2 years
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HEARTBEAT - Blodreinaghost on wattpad.
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