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garciaasfluffypen · 4 days ago

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southern charm (chapter 7)

olivia never knew what steady meant. she never knew what it meant to feel secure with another person, always looking for exit routes before things caught up to her. olivia never knew real love, and she certainly didn't expect to find it deep in new orleans on the search for her birth parents. pairings: olivia barlow x william lamontagne jr. warnings: will haters dni. oc x character.

"you can't not do anythin'," will commented, walking back over to the kitchen with the two coffee mugs. "i sure as hell ain't not gonna do anythin' for it. y'kidding me, barlow?"

the dreaded day was quickly approaching the horizon; olivia's birthday. there wasn't a single good thing about the day and for as long as she could remember, this day had always been a cause of disappointment. what was good about getting older and feeling more and more disconnected from your family every day?

olivia sighed, pulling her knees up to her chest on the couch. "you can do something. just don't expect me to play ball."

will looked up from the sink, making eye contact with olivia, before rolling his eyes.

"what?!" she asked, hooking her arms around her knees. the sound of the television hummed in the background, some news reporter commenting on the latest football scores which caught will's attention only for a moment, before he looked back down to the dishes in the sink.

"nothin'."

olivia stood, walking over to the kitchen island in her apartment and leaning her forearms against it.

"it's not "nothin'" when you roll your eyes like that."

running the tap, will raised each dish to wash it off, before stacking them in the drying rack. "you're miserable. can't even enjoy your damn birthday."

olivia's jaw dropped. "excuse you? i'm not miserable just because i want to save myself disappointment."

"you are, though." will stated, washing his hands before turning the tap off. "just assumin' it's gonna be a bad day. we could do somethin' fun, doesn't need to be a thing. he shrugged, grabbing a hand towel and drying his hands.

he knew, in his heart of hearts, he would be making this a thing.

"fine. we can order in a takeaway." olivia answered, disgruntled, eventually giving into his nagging.

"hell no," will rested against the opposite side of the kitchen island. "we do that every time we hang out. needs to be somethin' different." he stated, drumming his fingers against the surface. "like... hell, i don't know what you have in virginia."

"you've pretty much seen it all."

"for real?" will asked, a soft whine to his voice. "damn. virginia is more dead than a dodo."

olivia cracked a smile and shook her head. "tell me about it. don't think i'd want to raise kids here. they'd end up committing crimes just for something to do, and i'd have to lock them up."

will chuckled. "we could totally do somethin' illegal just for fun." judging by the expression on olivia's face, he could tell she was against that idea and he grinned. "leave it to me. i'll find somethin'. all legal, i swear. 'm gonna take a shower."

will walked around the counter to leave the room, giving olivia's arm a soft squeeze as he passed. for two people that definitely weren't dating and were definitely just friends, they were very touchy, but they both found comfort in that. some would say the lines were blurred, but they'd say it was just friendly banter.

"what about mini golf?" will called from the spare room, gathering his clothes.

"you'd beat me. hardly a good birthday," olivia teased, her voice slightly raised as will switched on the shower.

"uhhhh...." she heard his brain moving a thousand miles per minute from the kitchen, and it made her laugh. "hey! i'm tryin' here! what if we just got away for the weekend?"

her head turned in the direction of the bathroom. "got away?" she asked, somewhat cautiously.

"yeah, went to the beach or somethin'."

oh. a weekend away. olivia's eyes flittered around the room, trying to come up with a response. it was one thing travelling hundreds of miles every few weeks to see each other but a weekend away together? that seemed like a step in a very scary direction.

but was it really that frightening to consider taking the next step with will? the man who made her smile and laugh until her stomach cramped, or who bailed her out of a cringe situation at the bar, or who made her feel so safe she stopped her incessant habit of checking the door was locked twenty times before bed.

the man who, in every sense of the expression, was her better half. friends or more, it felt as though they had grown accustomed to each other's needs and habits and had adapted as if they had known each other their whole lives.

olivia knew she only found it scary because there had never been anyone before will she felt this way about. no person had ever made her feel as safe as he did, or make her laugh as he did - though her adopted brother did come close. having that stability after spending more than twenty years feeling dreadfully alone was something that would always freak her out, she was sure.

maybe, upon reflection in those dire thirty seconds between will mentioning a weekend away and her actually responding, it was okay to consider the fact she'd never feel secure enough within herself to even think about offering will more than a friendship.

"it's - yeah - i mean, maybe! we... could." olivia answered, walking over to the fridge to grab herself a bottle of water, hastily sipping at it until her stomach felt a little calmer. was it the coffee making her feel queasy, or the man in her shower?

sensing her hesitance, will called back immediately. "but that doesn't give us much time to plan, so maybe not."

if olivia wasn't jumping at the idea, will wouldn't pressure her to live up to it. he couldn't blame her - he was still letting her believe he was content being just her friend. but he knew her, sometimes better than she knew herself, and the last thing he wanted to do was scare her away. if he had to play the long game to win her over, he would. he'd dedicate every living, breathing moment to making her feel happy and loved. he just hoped, one day, she'd be able to accept she deserved to feel that way.

nothing more was said; will finishing up in the shower and towel drying his hair before swapping with olivia and allowing her to get ready.

"do you think we could stop at target?" will asked, putting his watch on. "i need'a get somethin' for later."

"yeah, no problem!" olivia called from the bedroom, before plugging in her hair dryer and drying her hair.

will spent the next few minutes humming a tune to himself as he walked around the apartment he had spent more time in than his own recently, his eyes once again dropping to the very few photos olivia had scattered around her living room. although he knew it pained her to not know her birth family, no one could deny the love she had for the family that took her in.

he had offered, as before, to give her a helping hand in tracking down anyone that could know about her family, but she declined. whether that was because she truly no longer felt like she needed to know, or because she didn't want to accept his help, will refused to push it further. she knew he was there for her and that was all olivia needed.

hearing her footsteps approaching, will turned back around.

"ready to go?"

olivia emerged from the bedroom, her hands working the nimble earrings into her ears.

"nevermind. should'a known you were still gettin' ready."

"what?" olivia furrowed her brows, smoothing out her jacket as she picked up her mobile.

"well, y'know..." he gestured to her, only furthering her confusion. "what they say about women gettin' ready. takes a village."

will said the expression with such conviction, olivia almost didn't have the heart to correct him, though a chuckle slipped out.

"what's so funny, huh?" he teased, walking over.

"nothing."

will chuckled now. "no, come on. what?"

olivia shook her head with a small smile. "that's not the saying. the expression that ends with "takes a village" is about children. raising kids takes a village."

will's face fell, but the laughter it caused olivia brought it right back. "yeah, okay, so i don't have the expression-dictionary in my head. but my point still stands. takes you forever to get ready."

"well i'm ready now and you don't even have your shoes on."

will looked down to his socks and sighed, rolling his eyes. "shut up." he muttered playfully, walking over to the couch to put on his shoes and tie them up.

"why are you buying so much junk foo- you don't even eat this!" olivia picked up a bag of chips from the basket and will quickly snatched it out of her hands, putting it back in.

"leave my chips alone. besides, it's for us. can't have you not havin' snacks on your birthday."

"it's not for another week," olivia pointed out, scanning the shelves.

will nodded and then shrugged. "so? i've gotta go back to new orleans tomorrow and i don't wanna be shoppin' when i get back in on friday."

it was sweet that will wanted to travel back within the same week, but olivia didn't see the need.

"you really don't have to worry about it, you know. we can just do something when i next see you."

will shook his head adamantly, all but picking up every packaged item on the shelf. "no, i'm comin' back. you'd do the same for me."

she couldn't argue with that. she would. and so, with that, she took out one of the snacks. "do you like these?" will shook his head and olivia put it back on the shelf. "me neither. not wasting money on that."

"you're on an fbi salary and you're worried about buyin' some cheap chips from target?" will laughed a little.

"it's the principle of it. it'd just go to waste." olivia shrugged, instead replacing it with something the both of them liked.

they didn't spend too long shopping before heading back to her apartment. though, after dinner, will was uncharacteristically quiet, opting to scroll on his laptop instead of nagging olivia to watch a film. she didn't mind, it meant she had some time to get on with some chores.

"what're you typing about so angrily over there?"

will looked up and over to olivia, shutting his laptop down. "huh? nothin'. just, uh, work. emails. y' know." he placed his laptop on the coffee table and stood, smoothing out his pants and walking over to olivia in the kitchen, midway through cleaning.

"did you wanna watch a movie before bed?" he asked, almost looking like a lost puppy. it dawned on him that they had spent most of the evening in silence and he was heading back to new orleans tomorrow. new orleans. home. yet it hadn't felt like home in a long time.

"sure. let me just finish up here, yeah?" olivia offered a smile, watching as he approached with a nod.

"yeah. can do that..." will agreed softly, his eyes never leaving her face even as she gets back to cleaning. "you want some help?"

olivia looked back up to will and chuckled. "no, that's fine. i'm almost done. you wanna set a movie up? make it good."

with a smile, will nodded, one of his hands instinctively reaching up to move some of her hair off her face. despite tying it back to clean, it was still getting in her way. but - god - if she didn't look insanely beautiful doing something so mundane.

before she could make a comment, will walked back to the couch and sat down, picking out a film. he may have walked away, but that didn't stop olivia's face from heating up as much as it would in a sauna. will had mastered making her blush by now and she was sure he did it just to make himself laugh.

seeing will off at the airport never got easier, but knowing he would be back in five days made the adjustment a little smoother this time around. he had said this would save her flying to new orleans in a few weeks, but she refused. not only was she starting to appreciate the time off, but she found herself wanting to see will as often as she could. if she had it her way, they'd be hanging out every night.

and just as he had promised before heading through security, those five days flew by. it helped that work had been busy - aaron had spent the whole week on her back about paperwork for the latest case. being distracted hadn't helped but olivia couldn't lie, paperwork always made her want to be lazy. and in no time at all, she was picking will up from the airport with a big smile on her face, their arms wrapping around each other as if the five days apart had nearly killed them.

after dropping his bag off at her apartment, they went out for dinner. though tomorrow was her actual birthday, will knew olivia didn't want a fuss and instead had planned for them to have a movie marathon with all the junk food he purchased last week. tonight, though, was a different story. they had gone to a restaurant they had been to so many times before, but it was as if the air surrounding them was different; full of words unspoken that both of them wished they could shout from the rooftops. it was the first dinner they had that felt like an actual... date.

they often asked for a window seat so they could sit and people watch, laughing at horrific style choices or creating fake lives for people that passed. they turned down champagne, candles, the lot. they were just two friends hanging out.

but tonight was different. they were sat at one of the more quieter tables that will had reserved - which was already odd. they never reserved. the candle had already been lit and a waiter frequently checked in on them, pouring them champagne without even asking. and will was acting like this wasn't totally different and took it all in his stride.

they caught up on their week, as they did every time, and joked about the latest football score. neither of them even watched the games, but it had become a weird inside joke for them - as if they could do any better.

eventually, will leaned forward on his arms, a small smile on his face. "don't kill me, but they know it's your birthday. well, they think it's today and i wasn't gonna correct them. so when they make a big deal about it, act happy."

olivia was about to interject when the staff came around the corner holding a cake with candles, and will's face lit up as he relaxed back in his chair.

bastard.

but, like the good sport she was, olivia took it on the chin and thanked the staff, allowing them to keep most of the cake as they took their slices to go.

their walk back to her apartment had been nice - the sky was dark but stars littered the canvas, and the minor wind created a nice distraction from the heat as they laughed about anything and everything, the champagne beginning to get to their heads. it didn't help that will had gotten a chocolate flake from his cake slice stuck between his teeth and sent the pair into absolute hysterics.

as much fun as it was, she was glad when they returned home, eagerly unlocking the apartment door.

"but it was sooo much worse when she-"

"surprise!" everyone yelled out, jumping out from behind furniture. olivia's eyes widened in surprise as she noticed all the faces, but also absolute horror.

she and will had just been talking about jj flirting with a detective on a recent case and here she was stood with a party popper, cheering away. she hadn't heard through the walls, had she?

before she could speak, she noticed her adopted mother making a beeline for her, throwing her arms around her daughter and wishing her a happy birthday. peering out from behind her was her adopted brother, isaac, with a beer in his hand and a grin on his face.

"happy birthday, sis." he muttered, giving her a hug. "please say you brought some cake back for us?"

olivia chuckled and pulled away from the hug. "uh, no. sorry."

isaac waved her off, shaking his head. "it's fine, will put one in the kitchen. mind if i cut some?"

olivia raised her eyebrows and looked to will, who told isaac it was fine to cut a slice for him and olivia's mother. he looked to her with a smile. "what is it?" he questioned, stuffing his hands into his pockets.

"no, nothing. just... you did all this?" she asked, closing the door behind them and he nodded.

"yeah. i know you ain't a fan of surprises but i wanted to make this birthday a good one. you deserve it."

olivia couldn't help the smile that spread across her cheeks as she began to speak, but was cut off by her friends from work coming over and speaking to her and will. for them, it was just a fun catch up, but olivia was silently cursing them. she had spent all night with the admission of her feelings on the tip of her tongue and just as she was about to admit all, they came over.

but she played nice, thanking them for coming and for the gifts. even aaron, who she never saw smile, offered her a smile and gave her a hug, before she was dragged away by the girls to play a drinking game.

over the course of the night, olivia would look over at will, and he'd be sat with her family, or the boys from the bau, and he'd give her the biggest grin before turning his attention back to them. it was a site she enjoyed, though she was careful not to smile too much with emily around. emily could, and certainly would, say something and make olivia blush terribly.

eventually, she was able to peel herself away from penelope when will made his way over to the fridge. she walked up behind him, carefully jabbing her fingers into his sides, and he jumped a little but laughed it off.

"you havin' a good night?" he asked, passing her a beer before opening his own. "penelope seems... drunk."

olivia laughed a little. "i've never seen her like this. i don't think she remembers where she is." olivia admits. "but... you really are a sneak, aren't you, lamontagne? setting all this up, getting my family here... full of surprises."

will chuckled, casting his gaze down in a moment of embarrassment.

"i tried gettin' your dad here too - your mom said he's at a funeral?" he asked, confused, but olivia nodded.

"oh, yeah. someone he went school with. it's in... chicago? i can't remember." she shrugged. "but he'd love this too."

will smiled and nodded, sipping his beer.

"he'd love that you did this for me, actually. he'd be very impressed with you."

will couldn't deny the effect olivia's words had on him. knowing that he would approve of him as much as her mother and brother seemingly did made his stomach flip.

"yeah, well..." he shrugged. "next time."

"yeah, next time." olivia agreed with a smile. "hey, is that what you were doing on your laptop last week?"

olivia questioned, gesturing over to the couch her mother and brother were currently sat on. will smiled, leaning against the counter. his non-verbal answer caused her to laugh a little and she nodded, clicking her tongue.

"you're good. real good. but you know i'm gonna get you back for this, right?" she stepped closer, tilting her head slightly as she peered up at him.

with a smile, the man nodded, his hands itching at his sides to reach out and hold her. god, it was all he had wanted for so long. he had lost count of the number of times his eyes had dropped to her lips as she spoke about the most gruesome of cases she had worked on, or reciting something spencer had told her earlier that day. to will, olivia never had a bad moment. even when she was crying - either seriously or over a dog kennel commercial - she was still the most beautiful thing god had created, and will liked to think the man above made olivia for him.

"you won't even see it coming." she muses, placing her beer bottle down on the counter.

will, breaking out of his thoughts, quirked an eyebrow. "see what comin'?"

olivia chuckled, taking his beer from his hand and placing it beside her own. "i think you've had enough to drink. my revenge," she clarified. "you won't see it coming."

will nodded, pursing his lips and sparing a look over to the team and olivia's family in the living room. they were all clueless as to the rhythm of his heart and the temperature of his palms.

"maybe i am a little drunk," will chuckled almost shyly, running a hand down his face. he tried to ignore the way olivia looked up at him - her eyes shining as if he were the moon. he knew it was the alcohol rather than her genuinely seeing something as beautiful as the moon in him.

but a man could dream, right?

for the second time that night, olivia's near admission was thrown out the window as the team called over to say goodbye. olivia offered will a smile before she walked over to the living room to give them a proper goodbye.

soon after, her mother and brother left and it was just will and olivia in an apartment that suddenly felt too big. the pair sat on the couch, watching some dumb chick flick that will olivia wanted to watch, though it was more for background noise than anything else.

"did you enjoy tonight?" will asked softly, his arm shifting to rest against the back of the couch.

olivia looked up to him at her side, a soft smile lacing her lips as she nodded eagerly. "best birthday ever."

will chuckled. "and it ain't even your birthday yet," he commented, shifting his gaze to the clock for just a moment, before his blue eyes found hers. his hand on the back of the couch shifted slightly so his thumb could brush against her hair, already feeling like a weight had been lifted off his chest from the mere feel of her.

"i really appreciate it, you know. doing this for me. it means a lot that you care enough to just... try and make the day better than the average day." olivia admitted gently. in her eyes, words would never express how much this meant to her, but why not give it a shot anyway?

will smiled, his hand now making contact with the back of her head, his fingers running down her hair.

"i wish you didn't have to leave again."

eight words that shattered his heart. the painful reminder that tomorrow night, he'd be catching a red-eye back to new orleans.

"i wish i didn't have to leave, too. don't like bein' away from you for all that time." will admitted, a soft sigh echoing around the room. "but tomorrow is gonna be a fun day. you, me, snacks and movies. we don't gotta dwell on what comes after, yeah?"

olivia nodded in response, saying nothing more. will's hand rested on the back of her head as he leaned forward and pressed a kiss to her forehead, whispering a goodnight before he headed for the guest room, disappearing without a trace.

with a sigh, olivia switched off the now finished movie and pushed herself to stand. her eyes ran over the counters, scattered with a few beer bottles and empty cans. they could wait until morning, she determined, as she headed for her own room.

she stopped, though, and looked in the direction of her guest bedroom. he was right there, yet he felt so far away.

just as she considered taking a step in that direction, the door swung open and will stepped out, a little surprised to see her awkwardly facing the bedroom. he smiled, though, finding the look on her face amusing; as if she had been caught doing something she shouldn't be doing.

"you good?" he asked, being met with a quick and single nod.

"yup. you?"

will chuckled a little and nodded himself. "yeah, just wanted to make sure you turned the tv off this time."

rolling her eyes, olivia cracked a smile. "that was one time, will."

"one time too many. damn near gave me a heart attack comin' out for water to a murder scene."

it was ironic that he had been startled by that, given his job, but in his defence, it had been four in the morning at the time.

olivia chuckled, shifting her weight from one foot to the other. "yeah, i remember."

then, a moment of silence washed over them. neither one of them wanted to be the one to end this impromptu conversation but ultimately, one of them would have to.

"i'm really glad you had a good time tonight. was worried you'd hate the attention."

"i did," olivia agreed with a nod. the pair chuckled before she continued, walking over to him still stood in the doorway. "but it just reminded me i have a lot to be grateful for. i have a great family, great friends... you."

"me..." will smiled softly. "yeah. you've got me. i'd throw you a hundred parties if it kept that smile on your face."

olivia came to stand in front of him now and his hand instinctively brushed some of her hair out of her face again.

"hell, i'd open a vein in my arm if it meant i could see you smile."

that was it, olivia thought to herself. there was no clearer sign that she had fallen head over heels for will lamontagne than the thumping of her heart as she processed his romantically disturbing words. and with that, she knew there was nothing more she could say or do that would change how she felt. no insecurity could force her to hide, no doubt could sway her.

it really was now or never, and olivia was sick and tired of 'never' winning in her life.

without a second thought - without judgement from the devil on her shoulder - olivia raised herself onto her tiptoes, cutting the distance between them. her hands found his cheeks, just as his instinctively moved to her waist as if to balance her. and then...

sweet salvation.

will had prayed for times like this. to feel olivia's lips against his own as their hands clasped onto each other's skin for dear life. their lips moved like the tides; gentle, loving, but with a fierce defiance.

whether it was an act of god, the universe clearing all obstacles or the work of two imperfect people, will knew this would be his last first kiss, and olivia knew she was truly screwed.

💌 forgot about this fic tbh but I did this specifically for ruth and mel. shoutout to yall.

#MY FAVORITE WILL FIC IS BACK #criminal minds #will lamontagne

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garciaasfluffypen · 7 days ago

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Steddie | 3.4k | ao3

five times people don't believe Steve and Eddie are dating + one time they have to

Made the silly post, decided to actually write it

Eddie stops his van in front of Dustin’s house. His was the last stop of the drop off after the dnd session at Gareth’s house. Dustin turns towards Eddie. He is drumming his fingers on the wheel to the beat of the DIO song playing, never still. When Dustin doesn’t move, he turns to look at him with his eyebrows raised.

“Anything wrong, Henderson?”

He is looking at him with his big eyes and Dustin gulps. Even after everything they have been through, Dustin can’t help but feel nervous. There is still this feeling that tells him he has to try to impress Eddie, to be cool enough to be his friend.

“Will you teach me how to play guitar?” Dustin blurts before he chickens out.

Eddie looks at him with surprise, blinking a few times. He was clearly not expecting that question.

“Sure.”

“Wait- really?” Dustin is genuinely surprised. A part of him knew that Eddie wouldn’t say no, but he fully expected some teasing, some ‘what, Henderson, you wanna be like me?’ which. Yes. But he didn’t want Eddie to say it.

“Yeah dude, why not?”

Dustin lets out a delighted laugh and slaps the dashboard. “Yes! Thank you! When are we starting? Any time is good for me-“

“Calm down,” Eddie says with a chuckle.

“What about tomorrow? I can do tomorrow. I will bike to your house after school and you can teach me the basics or-“

“Calm down Henderson,” Eddie repeats louder. Dustin shuts up. “I can’t do tomorrow.”

Dustin’s heart breaks a little. “Why?”

“Because this humble bard has a date with Steve Harrington.” He has a stupid smile on his face when he says it.

There are a couple of seconds of silence and Dustin knows that he is pulling a face.

“Dude, don’t say it like that.”

“Like what?” Eddie looks baffled, almost offended, but there is a shiver going down Dustin’s spine.

“Like that! A date? Just say you are hanging out like a normal person.”

He is used to Eddie’s way of saying things, rarely in a normal way, but that was weird. Don’t get him wrong, he is very happy that Steve and Eddie have stopped acting like idiots every time Dustin mentioned the other and that they are hanging out now. But it’s still strange, seeing them actually getting along so well.

“If I’m going to have the King all to myself I am calling it a date.”

“STOOOP! It’s weird.”

“What is it Henderson?” Eddie says in a teasing tone as he leans towards Dustin. “Jealous that me and Steve are giving each other a bit of love?”

“Stop saying it like that!” Dustin screams. This would be so much weirder if Dustin didn’t know he is just teasing him. Maybe it was better when they were not friends.

The front door to his house opens, and Dustin scrambles to get out of the van before his mother can come and embarrass him more. The last thing he hears is Eddie’s crackling laugh.

“Okay, what is happening?” Robin asks as soon as the door closes after the girl that had just rented Back to the Future.

“Something’s happening?” Steve sends a brief look around with a confused frown on his face before he looks at Robin.

“That girl.” Robin gestures to the door for emphasis.

Steve snorts, “yeah. Back to the Future? That’s funny.” He says as he crosses his arms in front of himself.

“That is not what this is about.”

“It’s not?”

“No! She was a babe!”

“Was she?” Steve looks at the door again, like he had not even seen the girl, like it had not even occurred to him to look at the girl. Robin could kill him.

“Yes! She was!”

“Did you want me to set you up with her? Because I will, you know that. Maybe we can have a code for that, you say- I don’t know- ‘have you watched Fast Times?’ and I will put my best wingman skills to use. I will get you a date in no time.”

Steve is the best friend Robin could ask for. He is also incredibly dumb and she is going to strangle him.

“I didn’t want you to set me up with her.”

“What’s the problem then?”

“The problem is that you are Steve Harrington and you didn’t even try to flirt with her! You should have been all over her, trying to get a date or her number. You haven’t been on a date in weeks! And it’s not even that you are striking out like in scoops, you are not even trying Steve. What is wrong with you?”

“What do you mean I haven’t been on a date in weeks, I was with Eddie just yesterday, I told you.” He has this confused frown on his face, like he seriously doesn’t understand where Robin is coming from.

“Steve, hanging out with Eddie doesn’t count as a date. Also, ew, don’t put that image in my head, I know he is our friend now or whatever and that you like hanging out with him but I would hope for you to have better taste than that.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means that Eddie? Seriously? Did you see the stains on his mattress?”

Steve pulls a face, like had not thought about it before. “We’ll buy a new mattress.”

Robin looks at him, trying her best to communicate how gross she finds Eddie with her mind. Steve looks back at her with his eyebrows raised, daring her to say something else about Eddie.

The bell at the door interrupts them. It’s not a babe this time, just a normal guy, returning a tape. They act like the professionals they are until he is out of the door again.

“Aren’t you going to ask me why I didn’t flirt with him?” Steve asks, his hand gesturing to the door in that annoying way of his.

“No,” Robin says, but Steve doesn’t really wait for her answer before he continues talking.

“I didn’t because I am dating Eddie!”

“No you are not,” Robin answers with a snort.

“Yes I am.” Steve looks completely betrayed. “I am with him almost every day.”

“Oh, I know what is happening.” It’s so clear, so easy to understand now that Steve has said that. She puts her hands on Steve’s shoulders. He looks at her with a frown, a tilt of his head as he uncrosses his arms in confusion. “Steve.” She tries to convey as much seriousness as she can, just so Steve understands what is happening too. “Just because you have realised you like boys and he is gay and you two are hanging out, it doesn’t mean you two are dating.”

“Oh fu-“ he tries to move away from her but she clutches his shoulders tightly.

“You have to learn how to have friends your age, Steve. Remember when you though you liked me? I got away because I don’t like boys, and Eddie does! But that doesn’t mean he is into you!”

Steve rolls her eyes at her. The audacity. He bats her arms away with more easiness than Robin would like to admit. “Whatever.” He just says.

“Steve”

“Mike” Steve answers in the same serious tone. If not a bit confused. Mike had followed him inside when he had come to get some drinks. He can still hear the others in the pool outside.

“I saw you speaking with Nancy.” Mike states. They had been speaking, close, too close. “And Dustin told me you were making eyes at her during the Vecna thing.”

“What?” Steve whispers as he shakes his head while he takes the drinks out of the fridge.

“Anything to say to defend yourself?” Mike asks him. He crosses his arms, tries to put on a serious pose. Intimidating, as much as he can.

“Listen,” Steve starts, he turns towards Mike him and leans back on the counter. He crosses his arms, and it makes Mike shift, conscious of his own crossed arms. He doesn’t like his tone, as if he is talking to a kid. “I know you are still pissy about me dating your sister, for some reason,” he uncrosses one of his arms to say it. “But she is with Jonathan now and I am totally over her.” Mike just squints at him. He doesn’t believe him. Everyone knows that Steve is not over Nancy. “Totally! I mean it. I’m dating Eddie now.” He says it like it’s a question.

Mike snorts. That is the stupidest lie Steve could have come up with to try to get out of this. “As if.”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“Eddie is too cool to date you.”

“He is too- I’ve saved your life,” he points to Mike.

“Eddie is still cooler.”

Steve takes a deep breath and Mike doesn’t really want to hear what Steve is going to say to defend himself. Thankfully he doesn’t say anything, his mouth closing as his eyes drift someplace behind Mike.

“I was promised beer,” Eddie’s voice comes from behind Mike.

“You’d have it if Mike here hadn’t decided to give me shit,” Steve answers as he moves to open a can of beer and hands it to Eddie when he gets to him.

“Just-“ Mike huffs. “Don’t get any ideas with my sister.” He says it as he points to Steve while he walks back outside.

Mike doesn’t stay to see Steve’s reaction, but he hears Eddie say “anything I should be worried about?” before the noise of the others drowns everything else.

Max and Eleven giggle as the stand outside of the window to Eddie’s room. He is inside, they can see the lump inside the sheets and the mess of curls on the pillow. They look at each other and nod with a grin before they start banging on the window and shouting his name.

Eddie starts on the bed, Max could swear he lifts a few centimetres from the bed she can hear him scream ‘jesus christ’ through the window before he turns towards them with a squint. He sits up on the bed and reaches across to open the window, he is not wearing a shirt, so they have a full view of all his tattoos. It’s not like Max ever wants to see them so close, but she knows El likes them.

“What the FUCK Mayfield,” he asks, but it doesn’t sound like a question. Then, after a second of him squinting and them more. “Mini Hopper.”

Max doesn’t answer, because behind Eddie another lump is raising from the bed and looking at them with a squint. “Max? Is anything wrong?” Steve asks as he rubs his face and hair with the hand that is not currently propping him up.

“I…” Max starts, but she doesn’t continue. Sure, she had seen Steve shirtless at the boat that one time when they were going after Vecna, but it was nighttime and she had to look through some shitty binoculars.

Eddie reaches a hand back to try to push Steve back down, but it doesn’t really work. He just pushes his face, and Steve lets himself be pushed, just for a bit, before he is straightening again.

“Hey, hey,” Eddie says as he snaps his fingers in front of Max. It works on bringing her attention back to him. “Anything wrong?”

Max shakes her head.

“Are you having a sleepover? I also sleep with Max when we have a sleepover,” El asks.

Eddie looks between them for a couple of seconds before he says, “sure we are.”

It just sounds like he just wants to get rid of them.

“You boys are gross, can’t you put a shirt on?” Max asks. Billy was always walking around shirtless too.

“Keep telling yourself that,” Eddie just replies.

“Did anything happen?” Steve insists.

“We had a sleepover,” El says.

“Yeah, gathered that,” Eddie deadpans.

“We came so you will take us out for pancakes.”

Eddie groans as he lets himself fall back on the bed and looks up at Steve.

“I totally blame you for this being my life now, just so you know.”

Steve just laughs and pushes his face to the side. Max pulls a face, their friendship must be one of the weirdest things that has come out of the whole Vecna thing. Steve turns towards them with a stupid smile on his face.

“Go get your things, we will be out in ten minutes.”

“Ten minutes?!” Eddie protests, but Max and El don’t pay attention to him, already celebrating and running back to Max’s.

The last thing she sees is Steve leaning down towards Eddie with a hand on his face out of the corner of her eye, but she doesn’t really put much thought to it.

Lucas loves having Steve to play with. After all the Vecna stuff, he didn’t really want to hang out with the guys from basketball all that much, so Steve had stepped up. He had bought a hoop for his big driveway for them to practise and everything.

The day is hot, and they have been going at it for hours, so they are both sweaty and tired. They are at Steve’s driveway. It’s just them, sweaty under the sun, and Eddie sitting on a folding chair on the side, for some reason. He was already here when Lucas had arrived, and he had refused to leave. He is on the shade, reading a book, looking way more comfortable than them.

“Pause for drinks?” Steve asks, and Lucas is very happy to agree with him. “Hey!” he yells towards Eddie, he jumps as he looks up. “Don’t think I don’t see you looking at me like a creep. You should be getting us drinks.”

“Sorry sweetheart.” Eddie shouts back as he waves his book.

“Drinks, now.” Steve says with a jerk of his head towards the house.

Eddie drops the book in his haste to stand up and follow Steve inside. They are weird, they act so weird all the time. They should get girlfriends, that way they would maybe stop being weird with each other.

“You want anything, Lucas?” Steve asks as he walks away.

“Just a soda!” Lucas calls out after them.

Steve gives him a thumbs up as he goes through the door.

It’s ten minutes later that Lucas starts to wonder what’s taking them so long. He got tired of practising shoots, and also of sitting down on the grass waiting for them.

The house is blessedly chilly and dark when he comes in.

“Steve?” he calls out.

He walks towards the kitchen. There is sound coming from it, shuffling. When he gets close enough to the kitchen he hears Eddie speak quietly.

“Were you afraid your neighbours might see, big boy?”

“Shut up,” Steve answers. Then there are some wet sounds and when Lucas comes into the kitchen Steve is all over Eddie and-

“DUDE!” Lucas screams. Steve jumps away from Eddie. “What are you doing? What if Robin had seen you?”

Steve looks around. “What?”

“Dustin said you like Robin, what if she was here and she saw you…” he can’t even describe what they were doing, he just knows that if some girl saw that, she would never consider dating Steve.

“I don’t want to date Robin, why does everyone think I want to date Robin?” Steve says.

Lucas doesn’t answer. He just looks at Steve. If it’s not Robin, it’s Nancy, for sure. “Don’t worry, I won’t tell her, or anyone.”

Eddie laughs like a maniac, Lucas just squints at him and goes to grab his soda.

Robin is not sure how they have ended up here. At the Hideout. On a Tuesday. With all the kids and Eddie’s band helping them get ready before even the freaking owner has arrived. She doesn’t know what about Eddie he thought was reliable enough to give him the keys to the bar, but she guesses it’s ‘I don’t want to go work early because some teenagers want to set up their instruments to play their shitty music’. It works for them though, because the kids had been saying how much they wanted to see them play, but they are not allowed to come into the bar when it’s open, so they have come extra early so they can listen to a couple of songs before people start arriving.

“Hey lovebirds!” A voice shouts. It’s one of Eddie’s bandmates. Gareth, Robin thinks he is called. “Stop being disgusting and come here so we can start?”

Robin turns to look for who he could be calling out for. Nancy and Jonathan have not come today, and everyone is in the stage area, everyone except…

“Did you just call Steve and Eddie lovebirds?”

“Yeah, since they started dating they’ve been unbearable.”

“DATING?” Dustin shrieks beside them.

“Shit, sorry, was that supposed to be a secret?” Gareth asks, and he sounds genuinely scared. Robin would normally appreciate it but-

“Oh, you think they are actually dating?” Dustin asks, but it doesn’t sound like a question, more like a realisation.

“Aren’t they?” Jeff asks.

“No, no, it’s just Eddie saying weird things.” Dustin dismisses, but Robin is frozen in place, the cogs in her mind turning.

“You are not dating?” Gareth asks to the side and yep, there Eddie and Steve are, now close to them. Eddie has his arm around Steve’s shoulder and they are leaning against each other.

Shit.

“We are,” Steve says easily. “They just don’t believe us.” Eddie bumps his head against Steve’s and he moves his head slightly away with an annoyed look that looks more fond than anything else.

Robin and Dustin are gaping at them and, from the sudden quiet around them she guesses the rest are too.

“Wait you two are actually dating?!” Lucas voice comes from behind them. “But Dustin said you weren’t going out with anyone because you liked Robin?”

That shakes Robin out of it, if only to turn around and say, “Ew, no.” Doesn’t matter who he is talking to.

“And I told Mike and Robin I was dating Eddie,” Steve says. “And you saw us kissing.”

“Yeah but- I don’t know.”

Eddie’s bandmates are now dying of laughter, Robin can’t even blame them.

“How was I supposed to believe you were telling the truth!” Robin exclaims. That provokes more laughs.

“Wait,” Max intervenes. “So that day you were sleeping together without a shirt…” She trails off, but they all see in her face what she just realised. “Gross!”

“Oh shut up Mayfield,” Eddie says. “I saw you looking at my boyfriend’s tits.”

That shuts Max up.

“You really are dating Steve?” Mike asks.

“Yes, and no stupid comments or your character is dead Wheeler.” Eddie states, pointing to Mike with the arm that is not around Steve.

And that shuts Mike up with a huff and a shake of his head.

“So you two are boyfriends?” El asks. “I think that’s cute.”

“Thanks El,” Steve says.

“I can’t believe you got with a boy before I got with a girl!” Robin exclaims. “And I didn’t know!”

“You would have known if you had believed me!” Steve exclaims back.

“Well sorry for thinking about your dating record and drawing conclusions.”

“Okay, okay,” Gareth interrupts them. “As funny as this is, we need to start now if we want to play anything before the owner arrives.”

“Let’s get this party going,” Eddie exclaims. He moves away from Steve to grab his guitar, and then goes back to Steve and kisses him on the lips. Actually kisses him on the lips in front of everyone, and Steve doesn’t really react except from a smile because why would he? They have been boyfriends for weeks apparently. “Be back in a minute sweetheart.”

Robin fake gags.

Steve moves to stand next to Robin. He has this shit eating grin on his face that Robin can’t stand.

“Shut up,” she says.

Eddie is on the stage now, looking at them with a stupid smile on his face. She should have known they were dating.

“Told you so,” Steve just says.

#steddie #steve harrington #eddie munson #an i (queue) of 187

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