we were supposed to be just friends
an introduction to Abigail Lenox and Matt Martin's tumble from friendship into something more.
series masterlist | title inspo | word count: 2.6k
a/n: it's a double drop day! told you all I still loved Marty. this story is courtesy of all of you who planted this idea of friends to lovers Matt Martin in my head and that's where it stayed. this is one of the many reasons why I love you guys.
warnings: none!
Disclaimer: Reading/creating content for married players isn’t for everyone. Please don’t read if you don’t vibe with it, but don’t attack me or others!
The rumble of the train beneath Abigail Lenox was a welcome sensation after a grueling rehearsal, the muscles in her legs still tight after the hours spent balancing on her toes.
Many of her co-workers thought that she was crazy to make the commute from Greenwich to New York City every day, adding an hour-long commute to her already hectic schedule. But she didn’t mind it. The travel gave her time to relax and decompress. It also reminded her how far she had come; the only daughter of a single mom who clawed her way up the pyramid to become one of the principal dancers of the American Ballet Theater.
She snaps herself back to the present before she gets lost in the memories of her mom’s sacrifice, this train route, and the feeling of excitement bubbling up at the opportunity presented to her all those years ago. With a sigh, Abigail sinks down onto one of the unoccupied seats, removing her phone from her duffel bag and quickly swipes to her contact list. She doesn’t have to scroll far down the list of names before her best friend’s number is pulled up and the call button is pressed.
As she holds up the cell phone to her ear, she listens to the line ring one, twice, three times before a cheerful voice falls through the speaker.
“Hey Abby,” Matt Martin speaks and Abigail can’t help the grin that breaks out her face at the sound of his deep timbre along with the chatter of others in the background.
“Hey Matt. Are you still at practice?”
“It’s over but I’m still in the locker room with a few of the guys. Hey, say ‘hi’ to Abby.”
The grin on Abigail’s face widens as she hears a chorus of other male voices call through the phone to her. She cheerfully replies back although she is pretty sure they can’t hear her, a thought that is only confirmed when she hears Matt chuckle reverberating through the speaker.
“How was rehearsal?”
“Exhausting like always, but everyone is really excited considering opening night is only a few days away,” she replies. And, much like it always did, her mind instinctually jumps through whatever choreography was tripping her up. It was an exhausting role for more than one reason and Abigail knew the nerves would not be settled until she was out on that stage, performing in front of an audience. “Speaking of which, I wanted to check that you got your tickets. If you forgot, I still have one from the family and friends’ allowance that the company gives us.”
“Abby, I got my ticket as soon as I knew I could make it. Like I always do.”
“Oh, always?” she asks, her voice taking on a teasing tone. “So that one time I had to scrounge up a ticket last minute for you to see Giselle doesn’t count?”
“I can’t believe you still bring that up,” Matt sighs, his own words matching her tone to indicate that it was in jest rather than actual exasperation.
“Like I’m going to forget the time you almost forgot to see my American Ballet debut.”
“That was back when I was a twenty-something-year-old who couldn’t keep track of a schedule. I am much more mature now.”
“Sure, if you say so,” she sing-songs in reply, her eyes darting outside the window as she watches the suburbs of New York pass her by.
“If you keep being mean to me, I’m going to tell the boys to return their tickets.”
The off-handed threat Matt attached to the ending of his teasing sentence has Abigail eyes darting away from the window, her body perking up in the leather train seat.
“What do you mean ‘the boys’?” she asks, the rhythm of her heart increasing in excitement and anticipation of his next words.
“I convinced a few of the guys to come along with me to see you opening night,” Matt explains, his voice ever so casual but Abigail can hear the smile coming through his voice.
“Really?”
“Yeah, you’re going to have five hockey boys cheering you on from the audience. Plus two wives.”
“How’d you manage that?” Abigail asks, a light-laugh falling from her lips. “Don’t you always tell me the boys make fun of you for going to the ballet?”
“Eh, I can be convincing when I need to be.”
“Matt.”
“Okay, so I might have bribed them a little but I know they’ll love it. Anyways, you always say that seeing a performance changes people’s opinions about dance and so, I’m making them see a performance.”
“Yeah, I don’t want it them to be dragged to it,” Abigail whines. What Matt said was true: she loved her job and wanted everyone to understand the hours of work and dedication that went into this craft instead of just seeing it as a career filled with sparkles and hoity-toity people who thought themselves too good for anyone else. But she also knew forcing those people to sit down in a theatre for three hours would not be the way to change their opinion.
“I promise, it’ll be fine. They’re cool with it. I really only managed to convince the guys who were already at least a little interested anyway.”
“Oh, so you’re not as convincing as you think you are.”
“Just let me have my moment,” Matt playfully scoffs, pulling a giggle from Abigail’s lips at his voice.
“Alright, you win,” she concedes with a sigh. “So, who’s coming?”
“Well, me – obviously – and then Casey, Brock, Anders and Grace, and finally Cal and Cassie. But they might have to bow out if they can’t find a babysitter. Although I think his girls would love to go to the ballet.”
“Um,” Abigail hums, extending the tone. “Maybe don’t have Cal bring his daughters to this ballet.”
“Wait” Matt says and Abigail can hear a door closing, the voices from the locker room silencing, indicating Matt’s departure from the rink. She doesn’t have a lot of time to focus on his movements when his voice sounds again. “What do you mean?”
“Well,” she replies, once again lengthening the syllables as she undoes her hair, the long brunette strands falling over her shoulders. “It’s not exactly a, um… a PG rated show.”
“Abigail, what the fuck are you dancing in?”
“I swear I’ve told you about the show.”
“Maybe but you definitely didn’t elaborate that it wasn’t family-friendly.”
“Well, considering I didn’t know that any families were attending, it didn’t seem relevant until now,” she playfully quips back and she can hear the sigh and closing car door echo through the other end of the line. There is a small moment before Matt speaks again.
“Fine, fair point, but can you tell me now?”
“Okay. But I’m not going to spoil the plot for you. And I swear, if you look it up, I’m going to murder you. You’ve seen me prep my pointe shoes before. I can use the same methods on you.”
“I promise,” Matt replies, the hint of laughter in his voice at her threat, knowing full well the stark difference between her slight frame and his bulking figure.
“Okay, so the ballet is titled Mayerling and it follows the Crown Prince of Austria-Hungary, Prince Rudolph, and certain events in his life. And … let’s just say… Rudolph is not someone to be admired and the ballet really shows that.”
“I am both intrigued and terrified,” Matt says. “So, who do you play in all of this? His wife? His mother?”
“I’m his mistress,” she confesses, her out of context declaration earning a questioning glance from a passenger sitting across the aisle. Abigial thinks about adding the context but Matt’s incredulous tone pulls her back to the original conversation.
“What?”
“I told you, it’s not a family-friendly show. If Cal can’t make it and wants to bring his kids next time, I’ll get him tickets for The Nutcracker or something.”
“I’m never going to look at ballet the same way after this, am I?”
“Probably not. But hey, it’s a great story and a fantastic show for some of the other guys to see. Maybe then they’ll realize ballet isn’t all silk ribbons and sparkly tutus.”
“I think I’d prefer you in silk ribbons and sparkly tutus,” Abigal hear Matt mutter and she lets out a laugh at his grumble, sounding so much like all the brothers she encountered in her upbringing; the ones that were clearly dragged to their sister’s recitals when they’d much rather be doing anything else.
“Well, I think you’re going to end up liking this one anyway,” she remarks. “Just please don’t be scandalized by the pas de deux at the end of Act II.”
“Okay, what the fuck aren’t you telling me?”
Matt’s outburst only causes another raucous laugh to escape Abigail, her joy echoing through the train car and down the end of the line. Her heart sings, not only in delight at the banter she can share with her best friend but at the knowledge that she can count on him for so many things.
One: that he will always be there to support her.
Two: that he is one of the few people who can make her laugh so freely.
*~*~*~*~*
Matt Martin was in big trouble.
He had always commended himself on being level-headed, on only acting out of emotion when necessary. It was a good skill to have – applicable both on and off the ice. It stopped himself from getting into messy complicated situations that could lead to plenty of negative outcomes: a penalty kill, a game suspension, injury, hurt feelings, and bruised hearts.
But now, sitting in a luxurious theater that always made him feel a little out of place and listening to the refrains of an orchestra, Matt knew his composure was dissolving. Because he was watching Abigail, the girl he had known for 10 years and one of his closest friends, dance.
And yes, while he had seen her dance plenty of times before, he had never seen her dance like this.
She had warned him as much a week ago when she advised against Cal bringing his daughters to watch the show. But no warning in the world could have prepared Matt for some of the scenes that had already unfolded and no warning could’ve prepared him for this, the final scene of Act II.
Matt watches, enraptured as his best friend moves across the stage, watches as she wraps herself around her co-star’s body, watches her facial expressions shift from teasing to pure ecstasy.
So many people would probably just say that her dancing was beautiful. And it was – it always was. But Abigail told him one night after a few too many margaritas that she hated that compliment.
‘Saying that ballet is beautiful is like saying hockey is fast. Like, duh, of course it is. But if you’re using that as a compliment, it’s superficial. It just tells me you’re only paying attention to the surface and not the substance, not the work that we put into it to make it beautiful. Think of a different adjective and then I might take it as a compliment.’
Right now, though, she was more than beautiful. The way her body moved, the strength and precision of every muscle in her body, the shapes that she could make, the positions she could twist herself into, all the while making it look like the most elegant, natural movement.
But if Matt had to attach a descriptor to what he was watching unfold on stage a few dozen feet in front of him, there was only one word echoing through his mind; Abigail’s dancing was erotic.
And that left Matt stunned. Because it was a side of his friend that he had never seen before. Or perhaps he had, but it was one that he never bothered to acknowledge.
He was being forced to acknowledge it now as he continued to watch Abigail move across the stage, being lifted, spun, and kissed by her scene partner. Watching as she plays the coy almost dangerous character with an ease that Matt still needed to wrap his head around. She was so settled into her body in a way that Matt hadn’t seen before.
It surprised him. It intrigued him.
He is snapped out of the spell-like trance that Abigial casted by the sound of the audience applauding and with a shake of his head, he shortly joined in, his eyes returning to Abigial’s frame, noticing the heave of her chest, the spark in her eyes. His eyes don’t leave her until the heavy red curtain falls, hiding her from view.
The lights turn back on for intermission but Matt’s gaze stays glued to the spot where Abigail once was before a playful nudge to his side turns his attention to Casey sitting next to him.
“You might have gotten more of the boys to come if you told them that ballet was like this,” Casey jokes, his own blue eyes glinting in amusement.
“Yeah, well, to be fair, I didn’t know that’s what this ballet was,” Matt says, trying to keep his voice light as his gaze returns to the stage.
“Really? Abigial didn’t tell you?”
“She just mentioned that it wasn’t exactly family-friendly,” Matt explains pulling a scoff of laughter from Casey.
“Well, she was right about that,” he chuckles.
There is a small pause and Matt can almost feel Casey’s eyes return to him and soon feels his friend’s gaze almost dissecting him. Eventually, the tense silence becomes too much for Matt.
“What?” he asks, his own voice doing nothing to hide his tense apprehension.
“What?”
“What do you want Casey?”
“Nothing. Just wondering how you’re doing,” his teammate elaborates and Matt hates that he can feel the weight of Casey’s stare. That, coupled with Casey’s question has Matt worried that the man sitting next to him can see the impure thoughts running through his head. Thoughts about his best friend.
“I’m fine,” he mutters out from behind gritted teeth.
“Really?”
“Casey. What do you want me to say?”
“Nothing.”
“Bullshit.”
“No, no, it’s – it’s nothing,” Casey says, his voice dismissive and Matt almost relaxes, thinking that his friends probing is finished. But then Casey speaks again. “It’s just that you had this look in your eyes while watching Abby dance. Just wondering how you’re doing – seeing her like that.”
“I’m fine. She’s just a… really good dancer.”
“Yeah, she is,” Casey trails off, finally letting the conversation go.
Matt watches out of the corner of his eye as he turns towards Cal and Cassie and it’s only then does Matt let out the deep breath he didn’t know he was holding, Casey’s piercing gaze no longer on him. Although Matt can tell from the thickness of the atmosphere that still hovered over him that there was an entirely separate tension that had no relation to his friend’s questions.
Matt tires to shake off his teammate’s words, chalking up the ‘look’ that Casey observed as nothing more than surprise and admiration for his best friend. Who he had known for years. Who always supported him. Who understood the demand of his career because hers was so similar. Who made him smile. Who was kind and talented and beautiful.
So beautiful in so many ways. An amazing woman that Matt wanted to keep in his life.
As a friend. Nothing more than that. It was just friendship. Nothing else.
Perhaps if he said it enough, it would return to being the truth.
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Argyle as Steve's bi realization, hear me out.
Steve is used to a certain amount of confusing feelings for people after a lot of close contact, high stress apocalypse stopping. There was the first time with Nancy (and wow Jonathan is actually a pretty cool dude, if he changed his hair a little, maybe stopped taking creep pictures in the woods he could be a really fun to hangout with).
And then there was the second time, and that hurt a little bit more cause Nancy is still just as great. Even when she's moving straight on to Jonathan, who really is just a great dude he's really come into his own and he's got kind eyes even if they are staring at Nancy all the time. It's probably just the residual heartache. Some weird things getting tied up with the only two not children that know about monsters too.
But then there's the third time with Robin. And Steve finally thinks he's figured out what's going on. It's like when you take a girl to a horror movie on the first date, only times a million. Your heart rate is up and your adrenaline is through the roof. Of course he's imprinted on any age appropriate person he's near. He probably did love Nancy, Robin is definitely the platonic love of his life, and that definitely explains all the weird feelings he still sometimes has when he's around Jon for too long. It's all just crossed wires in his traumatized, concussed brain.
By the fourth go around he's got it all figured out. Sure, Eddie is objectively, pretty attractive. Sure, he's great with kids which is like Steve's number one desirable trait he looks for. He's funny, he's got a great smile, he's constantly in Steve's space. But the swoopy feeling in his stomach, the dizzy light headedness. That's all adrenaline and blood loss. Robin isn't an option, he's already done this too many times with Nancy, his brain has found the default all that's left is Eddie Munson. But wow, big boy, that one is… something.
So when all is said and done; and Eddie has claimed to see angels and they all look like Steve Harrington -- he does giggle a little at that, feels the strange urge to kick his feet or twirl his hair. But he's just excited that he's got a new age appropriate friend and that they all made it out mostly unscathed. Any and all blush inducing thoughts and feelings can be easily explained away by the waning stress of a traumatic event and the lingering joy that fuck they really did make it out this time.
But then in the quiet, as the dust settles and they all do their best to find normal again. Jonathan has brought Argyle home to Hawkins.
Argyle who has the nicest hair Steve has ever seen. Whose first words to him are, "Dude, that is a righteous mane you're rocking, do you use oils in your routine cause I really think they'd take you to the next level." Argyle, who manages to convince Dustin 'picky eater' Henderson to try fruit on his pizza. Argyle, who made the best brownies Steve has ever eaten and helped him get high for the first time in nearly a year.
There's no adrenaline to blame this time, no lingering apocalypse.
"Robin, I need to talk to you."
He pulls her away from the rest of the older teen party as quick as he can. Nervous and confused and panicked and excited. For once in their friendship she lets herself be tugged along without complaint, understanding instinctively that this is about to be a bathroom conversation.
"You know how Vickie likes both, guys and girls."
"We do not know that, but I remember your theory."
"Well, she definitely does and I'm pretty sure I do too."
"Oh my god, Steve," she stretches his name out until it echoes, "really, I'm so proud of you. That's so great, wait , who was it? How'd you realize? Oh my gosh was it-"
"-Eddie." "Argyle." they say the names in sync.
"Argyle?" "Eddie?" In sync again even their confusion matches.
"Oh God, Eddie," and with a, mostly, clear head things do start making more sense. Eddie, who is co-parenting the kids with him. Eddie, who always makes sure Steve doesn't neglect his own needs in favor of the rest of the group. Eddie, who watched Steve and Lucas play a pickup game last weekend even though he clearly didn’t get the rules past ball in basket. Eddie, who has been reading Lord of the Rings to him over the phone when the nightmares keep them both awake and they can feel razored teeth and barbed tails clawing at their skin. Eddie, who still hasn't gotten his vest back because the thought of losing it makes something hot and tight clench in Steve's chest. "Robin, Eddie!"
Robin, for her part looks relieved, "Thank God, I did not know how to tell you that I'm pretty sure that Argyle was gonna be another partner Jonathan beat you out for."
And with that name comes another realization, "Oh my god, Robin I had a thing for Byers." He can see the laughter threatening to break through and as the giggles start he actually processes what she said, "wait, Jon and Argyle, really?"
She pushes down her laughter, "Yeah, pretty sure the two of them and Nancy are having a little ménage à trois, if you get my meaning."
"Yeah that French I do know."
Robin let's them sit on the cold tile of his bathroom floor, processing and just sharing each other's company. She let's Steve find just a moments peace before she says, "You know this means you've had a thing for everyone in that room, right?"
He lets her guide him into laughing, just like they laughed together in the Starcourt bathroom. It's easier than getting embarrassed. And anyway she's right, as always, and that feels like a crisis for after he's figured out what to do about his new Eddie problem.
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