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littlechivalry · 11 days ago

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You Won't Regret You Got Up

littlechivalry

Stranger Things modern AU, no Upsde Down

Pre relationship Steddie, established Eddie & Chrissy and Robin & Steve bestie-ism

---

"I'm dying," Eddie said, coughing. "I cant go any further." He collapsed to the curb and pressed his forehead into his denim clad knees.

"Don't say that, Eddie," Chrissy said, her voice soft and pleading. "We're so close."

"Go on without me, you have to. They won't wait for us." His chest ached, his quads burned, his feet really hurt. The new boots had been a bad decision.

Chrissy planted her feet, hands set firmly on her hips. Eddie felt the darkness rise around him and wondered if she planned to cheer him back to life.

"Edward Munson if you do not get up right now I'm gonna order those cinnamon roll pancakes you like and just throw them away."

Eddie was jolted to his feet. "You wouldn't."

Chrissy smirked. "I absolutely would."

---

The diner was pretty big and very busy but Eddie and Chrissy knew their path by heart, nodding to the cashier on the way past.

Gareth waved them over from their booth in the corner. "What took you guys so long?"

Eddie laughed awkwardly, "Uh, you know how girls ar-" he was cut off by a quick elbow to the side that left him gasping as Chrissy moved past him to slide into the bench.

"The bus stalled out a few stops away. Eddie didn't want to wait for the next one so we decided to walk it," she said, shoving the guys further down the curved seat.

Freak grinned. "How far?"

Eddie opened his mouth but before he could answer, Chrissy cut in. "A mile, if that."

"Okay," Eddie said. "It was way more than that. I can walk a mile, no problem. Hell, five miles. No big deal."

Gareth grinned, slow and mean, before looking from Eddie to Chrissy.

Eddie turned to face Chrissy and saw a matching grin on her face. Maybe slightly less mean. "That sounds like a challenge."

Eddie felt his stomach crash inside him. He and Chrissy had been friends since middle school when he dared her to join him on stage at the talent show and she immediately stole his jacket and a tambourine from the band room.

Corroded Coffin featuring Chrissy Cunningham placed second and Eddie learned never to underestimate the petite blonde.

---

An hour later after ordering food and being harangued by his friends, having brunch while being harangued by his friends, driving to the gym in Jeff's Chrysler being harangued by his friends, insisting he needed a break to digest so he wouldn't cramp and still being harangued by his friends Eddie found himself doing something he never thought he would, somewhere he hoped he would never see... walking into Gareth's gym, and after a few perfunctory stretches onto a treadmill.

Chrissy and the rest of the band were standing by with paper cups of water and a towel Chrissy had snagged from the receptionist at the front desk. Gareth had charmed the woman out of a handful of guest passes, an empty manila folder, and the use of her sharpie and was standing in front of the treadmill with a sign that said, "WE R THE CHAMPUONS."

Eddie would be laughing at them if he could catch his breath.

In a fit of hubris he had set the machine, with Chrissy's guidance - and despite her warnings - for intervals so the speed would rise and lower at what felt like random moments while the incline shifted madly under his feet.

Eddie hadn't even changed clothes and his leather jacket felt like an anchor on his back.

Twenty minutes in and Eddie was only upright from sheer force of will and stubbornness.

A mile? He had four more of these to do?

He thought about taking off his jacket for another five minutes before finally doing it. His belts, hastily unwound from their strangling denim loops followed and Eddie got a second wind from the relief.

In retrospect he should have taken Jeff's sneakers when they were offered. They were a size too big but they would have been better than his boots.

Chrissy had cheered him on for the first two miles but as he got closer to the halfway point of the trudge from hell what little he could see of her through his curtain of sweat soaked hair looked concerned.

Seriously concerned.

Eddie forced himself upright.

He could at least finish this. He was feeling the weight of his own braggadocio but he wasn't a quitter.

Eddie tossed his hair back and if he'd had the breath he would have laughed at the way his friends flinched away from the flying sweat.

Another half mile went better and he felt refreshed, his confidence had taken a knock but he was back in it now.

Then he had one mile left to go and the treadmill slanted upwards, the steepest angle so far. Simultaneously the speed went up. Chrissy had controlled it so it wouldn't go too fast but the combination of speed and angle meant Eddie was half jogging uphill and he could feel his legs begin to tremble.

He closed his eyes for a moment and felt himself miss a step. He lurched to the side and heard Chrissy gasp.

Eddie opened his eyes to see a thin arm reach across him to the controls of the machine and slowly the angle went back down and it got slower. Eddie kept going, waving Chrissy away from the controls, and made his way through the last mile half hanging off of the grab bars.

Eventually the machine came to a juddering halt and Eddie let himself collapse forward, his forearms resting on the console at the front.

"Told you," he panted. "Told you I could do it. And with a handicap too." Eddie raised a foot, waving his thick soled boot at his friends for a moment before dropping it back down.

He felt like he might vomit himself inside out but Eddie was fairly confident that could wait until he got home. Steeling himself he moved to step off of the treadmill only to have his knees collapse underneath him.

"Whoa there, man," Gareth said, holding Eddie upright.

"I'm cool," Eddie said, feebly batting at Gareth's hands. "Jus' gotta catch my breath."

Eddie staggered over to the bench against the wall and let himself sink into the seat.

He was too tired to raise his head but he watched his friends move back and forth around him until Jeff and Gareth walked away and only Chrissy's pristine white Van's were in his field of view.

She moved to sit next to him and Eddie shifted down the bench, groaning a bit at the motion.

"You did it," she said softly.

"Did I," Eddie muttered, leaning back against the wall, his chin pressed to his chest. "Doesn't feel like much of a victory."

"Seven years ago we thought you were never gonna walk again. Now every step is a victory," she said, her voice soft but steely.

Eddie clenched his eyes closed. So much time had passed but there was a part of him that would forever exist in that moment. His overturned van filling with smoke, the pressure of his seat belt the only thing holding him in place. And Chrissy's voice, harder than he had ever heard it, ordering him to stay with her, to stay awake.

He had done it. He had stayed for her, and for his friends and for Wayne. Fought through the accident and the recovery, another lifetime of physical and occupational therapy learning how to do things again.

It took him months to walk again, even longer to run. The manual dexterity to play guitar took a year and he still needs a capo for some songs.

Over time Eddie had stopped the therapy, stopped the exercise. He went back to his life as usual. And it was okay. He would never be the man he had been before the accident but he was doing better, doing well enough not to think about it anymore.

Except at moments like this.

They sat together in silence as the gym's playlist transitioned from the 00's boyband playlist to a 90's r&b playlist.

As the last notes of Boyz II Men's End of the Road faded out Eddie pushed himself to his feet.

"You know how you've been trying to get me to work out more," he said.

Chrissy stood as well. "Of course."

Eddie took a deep breath. "Let's do it."

Chrissy offered her hand for a high five. Eddie feebly slapped at it before letting himself lean on her shoulder and start the slow walk out of the gym.

---

Two days after the brunch debacle that Eddie refused to think about he found himself following Chrissy into a gym. Unlike Gareth's, all chrome and glass, this one was smaller, warmer.

The floors in the main hallway were covered in linoleum tile and Eddie could see small studios branching off where hardwood gleamed softly in the sunlight pouring through windows.

"It used to be a community center," Chrissy said as they walked up to the receptionn desk.

"It still is," the girl at the counter said, smiling. "The community has changed a little bit but the feeling never goes away."

The name tag pinned to her shirt pocket said Robin in rainbow colors and Eddie looked from her smiling face to Chrissy's beside him.

Chrissy Cunningham Patented Pining - Level 3? Already?

Oh, this could be bad.

The girl, Robin, talked them through the community gym's rules and set up. Most of it went over both Eddie and Chrissy's heads but for different reasons.

Though given Eddie had caught how many times Robin stumbled over her words things might not be as hopeless as he feared.

Eddie caught something about schedules and trainers and specialty classes but the rest was a blur mostly aimed at Chrissy who seemed to be lapping it up.

Finally Robin clapped. "Okay. Tour time." She looked over Eddie's shoulder and snapped her fingers.

Before Eddie had the chance a guy walked around them to join Robin in front of the desk.

"Hey dingus, I'm going to give Chrissy a tour of the facilities. Can you take Eddie around?"

The man turned to say something but before he could she cut him off. "Eddie? This is Steve. Steve, Eddie."

And then Robin was gone. Chrissy threw back a look and all Eddie could do was shrug before she hurried off in the other woman's wake.

"Wow," the guy - Steve, according to the girl and his own rainbow nametag - said. "That was way too smooth."

This guy was hot. Eddie knew there were gonna be hot guys, it was a gym, that was expected. A too-tight baby blue ringer tee and shorts at a length that couldn't possibly be legal only highlighted miles of mole spotted golden skin. Topped off with a head of hair that made Eddie's hands itch with want and that sweet face? Eddie was a goner.

Oh shit, he's talking to me.

"Huh," Eddie said.

"She's usually a nightmare when she tries to flirt--" Steve turned to face Eddie, a nervous look on his face. "I mean-- uh, Robin is normally shy around clients. She gets--"

Eddie waved him off. "No, no, don't worry. Chrissy is a disaster lesbian, so if Robin..."

Steve nodded. "Absolutely. Me too--" He caught himself with a laugh. "A disaster, I mean. Not a lesbian. Bisexual. Me. I mean," Steve said, pointing a thumb at his own chest before laughing. "You? If you don't mind me asking, that is? No pressure."

Eddie shook his head. "No, I-- I'm gay."

Steve sighed. "How's your disaster threshold?"

And Eddie thought oh no, he's a dork too? Eddie just shrugged. There was nothing else he could say.

Steve smiled and Eddie knew he was absolutely done for.

A half hour later found Eddie and Chrissy walking out of the gym holding hands. Their other hands were full of brochures.

"The dodgeball team looks like fun," Chrissy offered.

"Not a chance in hell," Eddie replied. "Heavy Metal Meditation?" Eddie had no idea what that meant but he had to admit he was curious. He loved metal but even he had to admit it was more mindless than mindful.

"I'll pass but if you think you'll enjoy it, have fun," Chrissy answered before pulling them both to a stop.

She turned to face him and her eyes were serious. "I'm really glad you're doing this, you know."

Eddie opened his mouth to say something, though he wasn't sure what response she wanted.

Chrissy waved him off. "No, I just. I know you don't like exercise and stuff but you're my best friend and I could have lost you and so seeing you open to try new things, to take care of yourself? That's really special."

Eddie pulled free of Chrissy's grip to wrap his arms around her, the pamphlets in his other hand crunching against her back.

He left a smacking kiss on her cheek and stepped back. "Miss Chrysanthemum Cunningham, I would do anything for you. Even," he shuddered, "exercise."

She laughed as they linked arms and kept walking down the street.

---

Eddie wasn't sure what to expect from meditation. Except for the long hair the teacher looked nothing like a metal head but Eddie had never met anyone so chilled out in his life and after the first class he was hooked.

A few months later found Eddie settled on one of the low benches that lined the wall outside of the studio after class, relaxing into the heavy thrum the music left in his bones.

"Be honest. Argyle is giving you guys edibles, isn't he?"

Eddie looked up to see Steve standing over him, a clipboard in his hands. Today's outfit was butter yellow, another in a long line of matching tee shirts and shorts Eddie was pretty sure were intended to drive him insane.

This vision in oleo joined Eddie on the bench, nudging him further down the seat.

"It's okay, you can tell me."

"What," Eddie sputtered. "High? What? No-- it's meditation? Argyle isn't getting us high."

Steve smiled. "I don't know... I've heard the music blasting, I can't imagine it's very restful."

"You should join us one day." Eddie let himself lean over and bump his shoulder into the other man.

"Not my speed," Steve laughed.

"Oh," Eddie murmured. "I'm intrigued. Where do you get your gym jollies, Stevie?"

Their awkward introduction had evolved into something Eddie was happy to call a friendship and they had spent too many days hanging around the reception fesk and watching the delicate courtship of their favorite lesbians to be strangers.

Steve knew what brand of deodorant Eddie preferred and that he was scared of spiders despite having one tattooed on his body and Eddie knew that Steve was allergic to hazelnuts and called them filberts because it 'didn't sound as cute, those stupid jerks', and that he purposefully bought his tee shirts a size too small but claimed the shorts were his actual size.

which was either absolute bullshit or if true some kind of punishment from god for me, specifically

They were friends. And Eddie was cool with that. So what if Steve was hot. And sweet. And kind of a dork. And maybe he made Eddie feel comfortable in a way he had never been before. It didn't mean anything.

If Eddie flirted a little now and then it didn't have to mean anything, did it? Steve gave as good as he got, anyway.

It was fine.

"You should check out my class one of these days, Eds," Steve said.

Steve taught a class?

"You teach a class?"

"Yeah," Steve snorted. "What did you think I do here every day?"

"I assumed you were here for decorative purposes." Eddie flailed at Steve's... everything.

Steve only laughed and brushed Eddie's waving hands out of his face.

Steve looked up at the clock on the wall before standing. "I have to go but Thursday morning, okay? 10:30?"

"Yeah, sure," Eddie said. "Thursday. I'll be the one in all black."

Steve started walking backwards. "As long as it's spandex." He turned away and was off down the hall before Eddie could ask any follow up questions.

Spandex? What the hell have I gotten myself into?

---

"Jazzercise," Eddie squawked, letting go of the hem of his sweatshirt to reach for Chrissy's hand. He had bigger problems now than somebody getting a flash of his black spandex encased goods.

Chrissy had leapt at the chance to join Eddie and now he knew why.

"Jazzercise," Chrissy echoed with a disturbing amount of relish, swatting him away gently. "We are gonna kick ass."

"You are. There's no way I'm coordinated enough for this," he muttered, jerking to the side as another in a long line of nearly identical old ladies in matching leotard shouldered past.

"That's what I said," Robin murmured from her place next to Chrissy. "And look at me now."

Eddie did. She was wearing jeans and a tank top.

"Can you work out in that," he asked.

"Oh, absolutely not," Robin said. "I told you I'm not coordinated. I tried when we first started working here and barely made it past the warm ups. I tripped over my own legwarmers during a stretch and took out three of the granny brigade. Mrs Chavez still hasn't forgiven me."

She gestured to an iron haired woman in a goldenrod catsuit glaring daggers at them.

"Now I just man the hydration station and play Candy Crush on my phone. Plus I act as bouncer."

"Bouncer," Chrissy echoed, a giggle in her voice that Eddie could only call disgustingly besotted.

"Oh yeah," Robin said. "They're old, not dead. I'm here to protect Steve's virtue, what's left of it."

Robin threw Eddie a wink and blew a kiss to Chrissy before making her way inside.

"You two are disgusting," Eddie hissed, and Chrissy only giggled in response, her hand pressed to her chest after she caught the kiss.

"Green does not look good on you, Eddie," Chrissy muttered. "Robin said Steve is interested, that he was really excited you agreed to try his class. You know, you're taking care of your health, now maybe it's time to take care of your heart? Take a chance? I hate to be gender normative but man up, Munson. "

"Oh sure," Eddie said. "I'll just march up to him and say 'hey Steve, I would like to do you'."

Eddie kept his voice low to make sure none of the old biddies in the studio could hear him but he still had to camp it up for Chrissy.

She seemed to enjoy the show at least, her grin was contagious.

Until Eddie realized she wasn't actually looking at him.

"I mean, I'm down," Steve said, his voice coming from behind Eddie. "I'd prefer to take you to dinner first if that's okay?"

Eddie froze in place.

He could see Chrissy's eyes moving from him to somewhere over his shoulder at Steve presumably before she giggled again. "I'm going to go in and... get some water."

Eddie watched her run inside, dodging past lines of women and a few men stretching on the floor. He saw her half tackle Robin out of her folding chair.

"I'm never going to hear the end of this," Eddie muttered.

"You," Steve laughed. "Robin's been on my case to ask you out for weeks now."

"Weeks," Eddie asked. "Wow, yeah... crazy..."

He finally turned to face Steve, absolutely resplendent in a grey and pink set of his usual uniform with pink head- and wristbands to match.

Eddie imagined his own face was about the same shade.

"You know," he sputtered. "I was only taking this class for you so if we have a date then I don't have to--"

"I dont know," Steve said, planting his hands in his hips. "I didn't peg you for a quitter."

"You haven't pegged me at all," Eddie muttered between his teeth.

Steve laughed and moved past Eddie. "Come on, time for class. Afterwards we can get a coffee and see how things go."

Eddie sighed. They hadn't even been on a date yet and he was pretty sure he would follow Steve anywhere, and not just for the view.

"Hey Stevie," he called. "How do you feel about cinnamon roll pancakes?"

#fanfiction #fanfic #littlechivalry #my writing #steve harrington #steddie #eddie munson #stranger things #chrissy cunningham #robin buckley #Buckingham #eddie and chrissy are besties #steve is wearing spankies under his shorts #just to keep everything under control #jazzercise

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