#and then stobin spent the next three days looking up 'how to flip a house' videos on YouTube

[purplepri]

It's been running around my head the idea of Eddie and Wayne inheriting a house from like, a distant aunt or something, and then they move to a distant small town

It's nothing fancy, actually pretty much the opposite, what with it being abandoned for some time. The lawn is overgrown, the roof is falling, the plumbing is shit, but it's theirs and nobody can take it away from them.

They start working pronto, with Wayne assessing what they'd need to make it somewhat liveable until they could make it a true home. He sends Eddie on his way to the hardware store, where two bored employees were behind the counter.

Eddie nods at them, and grabs everything Wayne put on the list that he can find, then goes to the cashier to pay.

He smiles at the guy, who's looking at him a little wide eyed. Maybe he's never seen a metalhead before. He eyes the name tag pinned to his (very form fitting, very flattering) shirt.

"So, Steve. There's some stuff I couldn't find in store, where could I buy them?"

The guy clears his throat.

"Can I see what you're missing?" Eddie gives him the list, some of it crossed out. "Yeah, we can order it for you, but it may be a while until it's here ."

"Eh, I don't mind. My uncle and I just moved in, we're fixing up a great-great aunt's house, just down the street. I think it's okay for now, with what I have. I'll just order in and pay for what I already got."

Steve rings him up, throwing some discreet looks at him, then turning away and blushing lightly. Eddie finds him adorable.

"So, that house looks a lot run down, do you guys need a hand?" Steve says while giving Eddie his receipt. Eddie smiles.

"We certainly wouldn't mind a little help. Look, here's my number." He pulls Steve's hand closer to his, snatches a pen from the holder and scribbles down his number. "Bye, Stevie."

Eddie winks before walking to the door. He doesn't hear Steve answering a trembling bye, nor Robin's (his co-worker and best friend) slapping his shoulder.

"Steve."

"I know, Robin."

"Steve!"

"I know, Robin!"

"You're a disaster with any type of construction work!"

"I fucking know, Robin!"

She looks at him.

"You're a lost cause, doofus."

"... I know, Robin..."

[apuckishwit]

platonic stobin and/or any flavor of steddie prompt: Robin might be nosy, but at least she isn't getting caught staring with binoculars around her neck, [insert child's name in italics here].

(Dustin was my first thought but I can see any of them. Except maybe Will; I doubt he'd get caught >:)! )

It's a damn near perfect day.

The sun is shining, warm enough to swim without it being too hot. No one is dying, no one's injured, there are no nightmarish beasts bursting out of the Upside Down (there never will be again and isn't that something Robin feared she'd die before she saw?). No, they're actually having a pleasant day at the quarry, just her, Steve, Eddie, Nancy, Jonathan, and Argyle.

"Grownups only, shitheads," Steve had announced when Nancy brought up the idea last week at the Hellfire game night being hosted at his house.

"You're not inviting Hopper and Joyce!" Mike had protested.

"I said grownups, not parents. There's a difference," Steve had fired back smoothly.

"I am at least twice as mature as Argyle," Dustin had squawked.

"Cancelled out by the fact that you annoy me at least three times as much," Steve had said, accepting a somewhat off-target fist bump from Argyle and a mumbled, 'righteous, thanks dude.'

Even Max had been unable to wheedle anything more than a promise to host a pool party at his house before the summer weather broke for good. Eventually, the kids had subsided and the six of them spent the next week planning the perfect day out.

Just a chance to really sit back and revel in the fact that they have their lives back. That they made it through the horrors lurking underneath Hawkins, that they've really beaten it. That Vecna/Henry Creel/One is fucking dead and despite his best efforts, he didn't take any of them with him. A chance to celebrate the fact that they can be stupid kids again for a little while before the ordinary, everyday problems of adulthood start creeping in again.

It's been perfect, so far. The quarry is surprisingly deserted, only a few other groups staked out on the thin strip of beach and all of them far enough apart not to bother each other. There's good food, courtesy of Steve, good beer, courtesy of Jonathan, and though Eddie and Argyle haven't said anything, she fully expects there to be good weed later. They've been crashing in and out of the water for a few hours, and now she and Steve are stretched out on the beach blankets they've spread out, shooting the shit about customers they've had to deal with in Family Video lately and sort of idly discussing what they're going to do when Keith inevitably gets tired of them and Robin's parents start making noises about her going to college after her year off to "process the tragedy of the earthquakes."

Steve's answers are getting slower and slower to come, a full belly, the warm sun, and a run of late shifts this week so he could be free in the mornings to take Max to physical therapy all conspiring against him. She's unsurprised when his voice eventually fades to a soft snore, and she glances over at him fondly, reaching over to ruffle one hand through his hair and laughing when he makes a grumpy, discontented noise before settling again.

She's about to dig around in her bag for the book she's been reading when Eddie comes bounding up out of the water, flipping the bird at Jonathan and Argyle, who are laughing hysterically while Nancy watches on, perched on one of the anchored platforms the city had built around the quarry a couple years ago.

Robin tries very hard (and fails very hard) not to notice how good the other girl looks in her purple and green two-piece.

Eddie opens his mouth as if he's going to call out to them, but snaps it shut abruptly when he catches sight of Steve. It's become one of their unspoken rules--you announce yourself loudly when you're coming up behind Nancy; no sudden, quick movements around Eddie; absolutely nothing resembling a clock chime around Max and Lucas. And if Steve's feeling relaxed enough to fall asleep, you do not wake him up unless it's an emergency.

Eddie slows his steps as he approaches, a quiet look of adoration flashing across his expressive face before he seems to remember she's there and quickly schools his features. It's getting harder and harder to pretend she doesn't notice them, doesn't notice the answering way Steve's eyes just follow Eddie whenever he's not looking. She's promised herself she's not going to say anything until Steve does...Eddie had come out to the group soon after they defeated Vecna, but she knows better than anyone that this is something Steve has to figure out for himself. She has a whole stack of pamphlets and articles about bisexuality on standby, but that's as far as she's letting herself go until Steve broaches the topic.

Although, if they don't get their heads out of their asses by Christmas, she may have to reevaluate. She'd be lying if she said she wasn't getting a little impatient.

"Hey," Eddie says softly, dropping down onto the blanket on Steve's other side, far enough away that he won't drip any of the icy quarry water onto Steve's skin.

"Hey yourself," she answers. "Get tired of being drowned every thirty seconds?"

"Argyle's a dirty cheater," Eddie declares hotly. "That chill, super cool vibe is a front I'm telling you, but no one believes me."

"Mmhmm," she says with a smirk, that softens into an affectionate smile when Steve stirs and turns over at the sound of Eddie's voice, curling onto his side facing Eddie, all without ever waking up.

Eddie's face goes soft and adoring again, almost gooey, and Robin is biting her tongue so hard she's tasting blood. She flicks her sunglasses down over her eyes and pretends to be finding the bushes and trees just off to their side very fascinating so she doesn't have to watch the sickening, ridiculous pining going on two feet away from her. Jesus Christ, at this rate she won't even be mad if Steve gets a boyfriend before she gets a girlfriend.

it is as she's pointedly scanning the treeline that she catches a flicker of movement--too obvious and large to be an animal. She freezes for a split-second, adrenaline flooding her system, and she is opening her mouth to yell out a warning, getting ready to leap to her feet, when a flash of color registers and resolves itself into Dustin Henderson's familiar trucker cap.

The little shit ducks further behind a large bush, and Robin narrows her eyes. He's facing her, Eddie, and Steve, and who knows how long he's been there. She turns to face the water again, taking advantage of the sunglasses to keep her eyes on the spot where Henderson's hiding. Sure enough, after a few seconds, his head pops back up cautiously, something raised to his face.

Oh for pity's sake.

"Hey, I'm gonna run up to the cars and grab some more sunscreen," she says, and jumps to her feet without waiting for an answer.

It's takes her several minutes to work her way out of Henderson's sight and then double back around, and her outfit (a bathing suit, a pair of cutoffs she's pretty sure belong to Steve, and flipflops) isn't really the best for tramping around in trees and brush, but it's worth it when she's able to sneak around behind Henderson and clap a hand down on his shoulder.

He jumps about a foot in the air.

He screams like a girl.

And really?

Robin might be nosy, but at least she's not getting caught staring with binoculars around her neck.

"Robin! Hi! Wow, fancy, uh, fancy meeting you here," Dustin says, one hand pressed dramatically to his chest. God, he really might as well be Eddie's child.

"Whatcha doing, Henderson?" she drawls, crossing her arms over her chest.

Dustin sputters for a second before drawing himself up and planting his hands on his hips. "I...am, am birdwatching. Obviously." He sniffs, a bitchy look settling on his face and Robin has to bite the inside of her cheek not to laugh.

He might as well be Steve's child, too.

"Uh huh." She stares at him, unblinkingly.

He holds her gaze for a good thirty seconds before finally cracking. "Ugh, fine. I was just..."

"Spying?" she supplies helpfully.

"Observing."

She raised an eyebrow. "Observing what, exactly?" She's pretty sure she knows, but she's gonna make him say it, damn it.

She likes Dustin. She likes all the kids (well, okay, sometimes Mike Wheeler gets on her nerves, but he's got a good heart under all the teenage angst...and it's not like he doesn't have a shit ton of reasons to be moody. They all do.) but she'll be the first to admit that she doesn't have near the patience for them that Steve does (and he really does, despite his constant bitching about it).

Dustin's face does a weird little scrunch--one that she has frequently observed on her best friend's face when he's trying to articulate something complicated, Jesus Christ--and then his shoulders slump. "I just thought it was weird that Steve didn't want us tagging along. And then El said maybe you guys all just wanted some privacy, and like...I know Nancy and Jonathan called it quits, so Lucas and I were wondering if maybe Steve was gonna shoot one more shot with her, which, I know you know would be a terrible idea. They care about each other, sure, fine, but I mean...we all watched that shitshow in the RV, you know?" He pauses, out of breath, and Robin keeps her face utterly blank.

She and Dustin don't have a great deal in common, but one trait they do is a tendency to overshare in the face of silence.

"I just don't understand why you and Steve won't just give yourselves a chance!" he blurts out finally. "You two are, like, creepily in tune with each other! You'd be so good together!"

Yup. This again.

"You are weirdly invested in Steve's love life, little dude," she says mildly.

"I am not!" Dustin protests.

Robin levels an unimpressed look at the binculars. Dustin blushes. Finally, though, his face falls, something a little vulnerable entering his expression.

"I just want him to be happy," he mumbles, shifting awkwardly from foot to foot. "I mean, you too, obviously...and I know you don't, like, owe him anything if you're not interested. I just...don't understand why you're not interested."

And damn it, sometimes the way this kid and her best friend bicker makes it easy to forget how much they really love each other.

She's still not really ready for the group at large to know about her. She knows in her head that no one will have a problem with it--they'd all accepted Eddie. They've accepted the kind of weird 'we're just seeing what develops' vibe Jonathan and Argyle have going on. If she's not misreading things, Will is going to have something to say soon, and El and Max are already trying to subtly let him know they've got his back. She knows these people are safe. It's just...hard. She's going to tell them. Soon. She just needs a little more time.

"Look, Dustin, that's really sweet. But I need you to understand that Steve and I are just friends, okay? We are never going to be more than friends, and we're both happy with that, okay? You need to butt out."

Dustin nods, but she doesn't miss the slightly mutinous look on his face. He really can't stand not to be right. Oh for...

Oh.

Oh wait...

Steve will be pissed. But if it gets Dustin off this fixation on her and Steve dating...

And oh, it might even provide the push Steve needs without her having to break her self-imposed promise not to interfere.

Fuck it. She's gonna lose her mind if she has to watch anymore of this pining.

"Besides, Steve's got his eye on someone else," she says, like it's obvious. Like she can't believe Dustin hasn't noticed.

Dustin takes the bait. "What?! Who?! Shit, he's not shooting his shot with Nance again, is he?"

Robin laughs. "No. No, I can definitely assure you he's not looking at Nancy."

"Then who? Ugh, not another random girl from town? I thought he gave up on that."

"Sorry Henderson, best friend secret privileges. Figure it out. He is not being subtle."

And with that, she swings around and starts marching back to the path that will lead her back to the beach.

"Robin! Robin! Come on, you can't just leave me hanging! Who? Robin!"

Ah well...even if Dustin doesn't bull his way into snapping the tension that's been building between Steve and Eddie, it'll still be hilarious to watch. Serves the little shit right for spying.

"ROBIN!"