Stranger Therapy
Eddie Munson x Steve Harrington
Summary: Based on this text post, Steve and Eddie match on Tinder and decide to go to couple's counseling on a first date to see how long it takes the therapist (Murray) to figure them out. Link to Ao3
Word Count: 3K, check out part 2 part 3 part 4 and epilogue!
Warnings: Nothing too serious, Steve/Eddie went to high school together but don't know each other, modern day AU, aged up, brief Robin cameo, Matchmaker Murray, and my fav tag of all - gay scheming!
A/N: I'm a counselor in training currently but I don't specialize in couple's counseling so this may or may not be accurate? Idk man it's just fun and silly I love our stupid boys sm. Original post by @hxneyfarms
It’s a match!
“Robin, it worked!” Steve shouted from the couch. She ran from the kitchen and joined him, peering over to stare at his screen.
“I told you it would! It’s funny!” she insisted. Steve rolled his eyes and anxiously pulled up the profile of his new match.
“Oh, shit,” Steve said. “I remember swiping right on this guy. Didn’t think I had a shot.” He looked through the pictures. They were all candids, slightly blurry, or shots of him with his friends, but due to his distinguished look it was easy to pick him out even in a crowd.
“Show me his bio,” Robin ordered. Steve closed out the pictures and scrolled until the bio was in full view.
Eddie, 25. Shit at bios.
“Well that’s kind of boring,” Steve said.
“Yeah. You think he’s a bot?” Robin asked.
“Or a catfish, maybe,” Steve mused. “Either way, I still think I should take your joke down. I don’t talk like that in real life, and people might get confused.”
Robin had convinced him earlier to change his bio and replace it with - let’s go to couple’s counseling and see how long it takes the therapist to realize we don’t know each other. Steve had been a little tipsy when he agreed, and he assumed nothing would come of it. But then, Eddie matched with him.
“You’re thinking way too hard about this, Dingus,” Robin replied. “People write weird shit in their Tinder bios all the time.”
“Eddie didn’t,” Steve countered.
“Yeah, but look at him,” Robin responded. “He’s distinctive. It’s attention-grabbing in itself.”
“And I’m not?” Steve asked. Robin chuckled.
“You’re the kind of pretty where if you don’t have something witty in the bio, people will think you’re just some ignorant surface-level airhead who’s never worked a day in his life, and that’s not cute.”
“Okay, ouch,” Steve said.
“It’s a compliment!” she insisted. “Like, you need to show that you’re witty and funny and able to poke fun at yourself, otherwise you’re going to attract the wrong kind of people.”
“And this guy’s the right kind, huh?” Steve opened one of the pictures back up - one where Eddie was passed out on the couch with a beer still in his hand. As they looked at the screen, a notification popped up. Eddie sent you a message.
“Let’s find out,” Robin said.
-
Eddie: If your bio is serious, I’m in
Steve: Wait, really?
Eddie: Yeah xD sounds fun
Eddie: You got a therapist in mind?
Steve: Honestly didn’t think I’d get this far
Eddie: Boo.
Eddie: You’re lucky I know just the guy
Steve: Okay…
Steve: So how do we do this?
Eddie: Dude, it was YOUR idea
Steve: Ok but I’ve never done it before!
Eddie: Steve! I’m your first? <3
Steve: Yeah, yeah. I’ve never pranked a therapist before.
Eddie: I hope you’re either rich or have really good insurance. Otherwise this is gonna be an expensive first date.
Steve: I got it covered.
Eddie: I figured you did. I’ll call the guy in the morning and get back to you with the appointment time.
Steve: Okay. How’s your night going by the way?
Eddie: Nope!
Eddie: That’s not part of the deal, Steve. We go into this blind or not at all.
Steve: This is insane.
Eddie: Once again, your idea. I’m excited. Are you excited?
Steve: Thrilled.
Steve: I’m still concerned about how you know the perfect guy for this.
Eddie: 😛
Eddie: Don’t worry about it.
-
“I don’t even think he’s serious,” Steve said after he recounted the entire interaction to Robin.
“I don’t know, Steve. Sounds serious to me.”
“What if he’s like - not right in the head?” Steve wondered, reading the interaction over and over again. “Like, who is this therapist and why does he know him? Is he actually going to make an appointment? What if this whole thing crashes and burns?”
“I honestly think he plans on it crashing and burning,” Robin replied. “And then after, the both of you either hit it off and laugh about it forever, or you have an amazing failed date story to tell your friends until the end of time.”
“That’s…actually genius.”
“I know.”
Steve read the messages one last time, focusing on the bits where Eddie was mildly flirtatious. Steve! I’m your first? He could tell if Eddie was being condescending, or what vibe he was going to bring to this absolute insane first date. But, as Robin said, it would be a story no matter what.
He tried to focus on that and not the anxiety that started brewing in his veins.
-
The appointment was set for two weeks later. Eddie still refused to talk to Steve other than for details on where to go and at what time, so for the whole fourteen days, Steve assumed he was being pranked right back. Eddie was messing with him, or he’d cancel, or Dr. Bauman didn’t actually exist, or he’d be murdered, or, or, or -
None of that happened. Instead, on a Tuesday afternoon, Steve pulled up to an office building about fifteen minutes from his apartment. He’d passed by it several times and never once wondered what went on inside.
Apparently, really weird first dates.
They had decided to meet up in the parking lot and walk in together. The whole thing was crazy, but having one of them pick the other up so they could drive in together was way over what was needed to commit to the bit.
Steve got there first. They needed to be fifteen minutes early to fill out paperwork. It was twenty minutes prior to their appointment time.
This was weird. It felt a lot different than all the times he’d met someone for coffee. In another world, that’s how he and Eddie would have met. But no. He had to agree to this stupid thing, and now he was too far into it to back out. Jesus Christ.
Eddie’s car pulled in a few spaces down. Steve knew it was him from the hair alone - unmistakable. He got out of his car and walked towards his date, his palms sweaty. Eddie got out of his car a moment later, eyeing Steve as he approached him and smirking.
“What gave me away?” Eddie asked.
“You think I wouldn’t recognize my boyfriend?” Steve snapped back, pleased at the way he was able to take Eddie off guard.
“Touche. Well, come on, then. Let’s do this.”
-
Before they knew it, they were sitting in a cramped waiting room, alone, filling out paperwork. It consisted of insurance information first, followed by names and some quick background questions about the “couple.” Steve began filling it out, thankful that he was still on his dad’s fancy rich-person insurance. It covered basically everything, even fucked-up couples fraud with Dr. Bauman.
“Are you not worried I’m gonna, like, steal your information or something?” Eddie asked as Steve wrote down his policy number.
“I mean…should I be?” Steve responded.
“No,” Eddie answered with a shrug. “I gotta say, though, you’re way more trusting than I am. It’s ballsy. I like it.”
“Uhh…” Steve was trying to concentrate on the paperwork, but the compliment was throwing him off. “Thank you, I think.” He continued filling out the paperwork.
“You’re from Hawkins?” he asked. Steve nodded, absentmindedly. “I’m from Hawkins.” This caught Steve’s attention.
“No shit.”
“Yeah, seriously.”
“Small world,” Steve replied before turning his attention back to the form.
“You have a cute middle name,” Eddie teased.
“Shut up,” Steve responded. He wanted to find Eddie’s pestering annoying, but instead he found himself smirking, even giggling a little bit. This whole thing was so ridiculous. He shoved the clipboard onto Eddie’s lap. “Your turn, lover.”
“Euch,” Eddie groaned. “That is not one of our pet names, no way.”
“Noted,” Steve chuckled. He was…kind of enjoying this way more than he expected, as weird as it was. He’d grown accustomed to a lot of even stranger things in his life, so this didn’t feel as shocking as he’d initially thought.
“Don’t look,” Eddie said as he covered the paper.
“What? Why not?” Steve asked, confused.
“Because not all of us are as blindly trusting, Steven,” Eddie responded. Steve shook his head and looked away.
“Good thing we’re in therapy to work that shit out, Edward Munson.”
“You looked!” Eddie exclaimed.
“It was right in front of me!” Steve pointed out.
“Fair enough,” Eddie sighed. “Okay, now we gotta put down a reason for doing this.”
-
Fast forward ten minutes, Eddie and Steve were seated next to each other on a relatively small but cozy burnt orange couch. The color was ugly, but the seats were comfortable. Steve noticed the cushions had a natural dip that kept inching him closer to the person sitting on the opposite side. He figured this was certainly intentional.
The doctor sat in front of them, reviewing the papers the pair had just filled out.
“Hello, my name is Dr. Bauman, and one day I may let you call me Murray,” he began, his eyes fixed on the papers in front of him. “I see here on your sheet that you’ve been feeling distant from each other, and that you’re looking to feel more connected, right? Can you tell me more about that?”
“We’re just launching right into it, huh?” Eddie asked.
“Well, we are on a time crunch here. Your decision how you spend it,” Dr. Bauman answered.
The man was immediately intimidating.
“Ooookay,” Steve said, taking a deep breath. “Yeah, I guess it just feels like - like he and I don’t even know each other anymore.” Eddie stifled a laugh, covering his mouth with his hand to make it seem like he was maybe getting emotional or perhaps trying not to sneeze.
“I see,” Dr. Bauman said, eyeing them both suspiciously. “Let’s begin with how you two met and we’ll go from there, okay?”
“We were high school sweethearts,” Eddie replied with a grin.
“Wow,” Dr. Bauman commented. “Well, it’s common for a lot of development to happen from then to now. How did you two get together?” Eddie looked to Steve, as if to say, you’re up.
“It just kinda…happened, I guess,” Steve began. “We were assigned as partners for a project and really clicked.”
“Yeah, and then we snuck around for a while. Sneaking kisses in janitor's closets and empty classrooms, you know the drill.” Steve tried not to blush at the thought of sneaking around with high school Eddie. If they were both from Hawkins, did they actually go to high school together?
“Snuck around for the thrill?” Dr. Bauman asked.
“No,” Steve responded. “I wasn’t out yet.” Eddie looked at him curiously, as if he wasn’t expecting Steve to say something so serious. He wondered if it was actually true.
“Well, that and -” Eddie added. “- he was a popular jock and I was kind of a freak.” This time, Steve looked at Eddie curiously. Steve was a popular jock. Eddie could have assumed that, or made a lucky guess, but something told him that wasn’t the case.
Eddie Munson. Munson.
Oh.
Oh!
It took Steve a minute to recover from that information. They did in fact go to school together, they just had never interacted. Eddie obviously remembered, and he obviously knew that Steve didn’t. So what was the goal here? Was Steve being punked or something just so Eddie could get free therapy?
“Steve, you look a little pale there,” Dr. Bauman noticed. “Did that trigger something?”
“Yeah -” Steve croaked, now unable to look at Eddie. If he had, he would have noticed Eddie didn’t look as smug as Steve assumed he was. “Yeah, I just don’t think about high school that much anymore.”
“Why not?” the doctor asked.
“Because, I - I’ve changed so much since then. I’m not that guy anymore, and I don’t want to be that guy.”
“Ah, I see,” he hummed. “So, Eddie fell for someone who no longer exists. I think I’m understanding the problem here. Eddie, do you feel that you’ve changed?”
Damn. This guy’s kinda good.
“Uhhh -” Eddie began. Neither of them expected this to get so serious so quickly. It didn’t even feel like it was about their imagined relationship anymore. “N-no, I don’t think I have.”
“And Steve, do you think Eddie has changed?”
Steve thought about the limited memories he had of Eddie in high school. Cocky, slightly unhinged, just as he was now. But there was something different, he just couldn’t really pinpoint what. Maybe if he’d talked to Eddie for longer than like ten minutes total in his life, he’d have a better idea.
Then, he realized the point of this wasn’t to be serious. It was to make shit up. Steve pivoted back to the original plan.
“Yeah, I mean -” He shifted in his seat, finding himself now thigh to thigh with Eddie, despite not meaning to be. “He’s, uh - it just feels like we don’t have anything in common anymore?” It was something he’d heard lots of couples say.
“Do you want to make this work?” Dr. Bauman asked.
“Why else would we be here?” Eddie answered. Dr. Bauman narrowed his eyes.
“You tell me.”
Eddie and Steve were kind of not good at this. Their story was based in truth and not very exciting. They both seemed to realize this at the same time.
“Steve slept with the dogwalker,” Eddie proclaimed. Steve scoffed, half-amused, half-offended.
“Yeah, well you sold drugs to my mom!” he shot back. The two guys looked at each other, pretending to look angry while simultaneously wanting to laugh.
“Woooah, there,” Dr. Bauman responded. “Now we’re getting somewhere. Do we want to begin with Steve’s infidelity or Eddie’s illegal activity?”
“That’s not gonna, like, go on record or anything, right?” Steve asked, suddenly anxious. “Like, the cops aren’t gonna show up at Eddie’s door?”
“Our door, babe,” Eddie clarified, not the least bit nervous.
“Depends on how long ago this happened, I suppose,” Dr. Bauman answered.
“Long time ago,” Eddie said.
“Are you still currently dealing?”
“No, I don’t even do drugs anymore. Well, like, except pot - but that’s legal now so it doesn’t really count, I think.”
“Dude,” Steve whispered.
“You brought it up,” Eddie replied just as softly.
“Right,” Dr. Bauman responded, taking it all in. “No report needed, then. Let’s move onto the dogwalker.”
They continued to add to their lore as the appointment went on. At one point, Eddie even faked tears. His acting was…decent enough to avoid suspicion, thankfully. When the clock hit 1:45, their time was up, and they’d successfully managed to fool Dr. Bauman. Mission accomplished, date over. Right?
“Well, thank you so much, Dr. Bauman,” Eddie said. “I think you’ve really helped us out today.”
“Yeah, seriously,” Steve said, smiling. “We feel so much better.”
“Now hold on a minute,” Dr. Bauman said with his hands up. “There’s still a lot of work to be done, in my professional opinion.”
“There is?” Eddie asked, confused.
“Oh, definitely. Most couples go to a minimum of four sessions, and that’s still a low average. Plus, this was only intake. I mean, unless you guys weren’t happy with the counseling I gave you today…”
It felt like a challenge, and Eddie loved challenges. Meanwhile, Steve was too awkward to come clean or tell the doctor they weren’t interested.
They made another appointment.
-
“Well, that went pretty well, I think,” Eddie said as they left the building.
“You knew me already?” Steve asked once they were a safe enough distance from the office and Dr. Bauman. “Why didn’t you say anything?”
“I just knew your name and face, man. And, like, your vibe,” Eddie answered. “Back in high school, anyway.”
“You should have told me,” Steve said.
“You should have remembered,” Eddie shot back. “Whatever, it was fun. Right?”
“Eddie, I have no idea what that was,” Steve replied. “We have to cancel that appointment.”
“Why? You don’t want to see me again?” Eddie grinned. Steve rolled his eyes.
“No, I - I mean, I don’t want to waste his time. That spot should go to other couples who need it. Meanwhile, we could go get coffee like normal adults.”
“I dunno,” Eddie said, kicking a pebble in the road as they walked. “I kinda liked it. You can’t tell me you didn’t.”
It was true. Steve couldn’t say that he didn’t.
“Doesn’t matter.” Steve unlocked his car and made his way to the door. “We’re canceling.”
“He’s the one that wanted to see us again, Steve,” Eddie reminded him.
“Yeah, because he thought we were an actual couple.” Steve was getting frustrated at Eddie’s antics, and the way he refused to back down. “I don’t know if this is gonna work, man. This has been, uh - well, it’s been weird, but I think -”
“We have to go, otherwise you’ll be charged a cancellation fee,” Eddie blurted out. It was a lie, a bold-faced lie, and yet -
“So, I’ll pay the fee. Can’t be more than the cost of a full session,” Steve figured.
“Ugh!” Eddie groaned in frustration. “Okay, fine. Look - I’m annoying as hell, I’m a mess, I’m broke, and I could never afford someone like Dr. Bauman. I don’t know about you, but some of the things he said actually made me think and I kind of want to ask him about, like, real shit.”
Steve stared at him blankly for a minute.
“You - you want me to keep going to fake couple’s counseling with you so you can get actual therapy?” Steve asked, stunned.
“I mean, you could work your shit out, too,” Eddie suggested.
“What shit? I don’t have shit,” Steve insisted.
“Of course you do! Everyone does!” Eddie yelled.
“You’re insane,” Steve muttered. The thing was, he wasn’t saying it out of anger. He was saying it in understanding.
Because the thing was, Eddie had a point. Dr. Bauman was good at what he did, and Steve knew he’d never sign up for individual counseling. He already had the appointment. Eddie smirked.
“You’re with me, aren’t you?”
Fuck.
“Fine,” Steve agreed.
-
Notes from Dr. Bauman - 3/18
Eddie and Steve
Together since high school
Feelings of disconnect
Steve/dogwalker
Eddie/mom/drugs
Clearly lying
Clients are faking their relationship for me, for some reason. Will continue to work with them to figure out why.
They aren’t dating…but they should be
(next chapter)
------------------------------------
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evan rosier headcanons under the cut
Twins w pandora
He has a chinchilla (its name is dusty, barty helped name it)
He's rlly good friends w remus
In a book club w lily, remus,dorcas and regulus
He's Canadian
So he kinda had a very slight American accent
Sleeps and listens to music on long car rides
Knows Canadian French
Asexual
either gay or bi
Poc
has a tattoo of "bcjr" on his neck or shoulder (barty has a matching one of "Rosie")
Would love MARINA and Florence + the Machines
Was probably more of an ABBA fan then a queen fan
lily got him into music like ABBA and Remus got him into music like David Bowie
Would also love Arctic Monkey
Would love makeup
Has those star eyeliner stamps and he absolutely rocks them
Bigender (stole this hc from someone can't remember who at that moment)
probally goes by he/they pronouns
Pandora and Evan steal each other's clothes sm that they don't know who's is who's at this point
So ppl are like " wasn't pandora wearing that the other day?" and evan will be like "idk maybe?" And vise versa
Would love Greek mythology
Has heterochromia and his eyes are blue and green so he's is looking at u like 🔵_🟢 (O_O) (pandora also has eyes like that)
"you have heterophobia in ur eyes" "...you mean heterochromia?" "no" (barty and evan)
i feel like he would be able to play like 3 instruments and would love love love music sm
Has so. Many. Ear. Piercings.
Lace and fishnet gloves
RINGS
Evan, pandora, Dorcas, regulus, and Barty all wear rings and they all js like share rings
Would love fairy tale retellings
100% read song of Achilles and sobbed
His parents are like really that mean js very strict and they don't really give him enough privacy and it's suffocating
Has sensory overloads sometimes and he will just cling to Barty or Pandora bc they both make him feel safe when it's too much
Also has panic attacks
Says things like "I wanna kms" and ppl think he's joking but he's really not
Baggy clothes
layers his clothes a lot
had like three sweatshirts/sweaters that he LOVES
eating disorder (idk which one but he definitely has one)
Constantly has a headache
Is actually rlly su!sidal but he's only told like 2 ppl (probably Pandora and reg or barty)
Either never gets sick or gets sick every month (depends on the year)
Doesn't like talking abt his problems
Will not ask for help unless he has basically given up
Is rlly smart
He's like everything smart but doesn't really care abt math or science
That one kid who's reading and not paying attention the entire class and then gets an A on every test
He's parents don't really care about grades but he does and he gets really stressed abt grades
Would 100% be that person that you wouldn't think would be a feminist and then someone makes a rude comment abt women and he would go off on them
Very pretty
Always cold. Always
Would have loved all the movies that Millie Bobby Brown is in (Enola Holmes, and Damsel mainly)
Would love ppl doing his nails (even though he's good at doing it himself)
doc martins
Would have converse and would draw on them
Has so many books (both barty and evan rant to each other abt the books they read)
Would have adhd but more of the not able to focus side
He's nail polish is almost always chipped bc they pick at it w/o even realizing he's doing it
would have so many bracelets
Hates silence but hates loud noise even more
Had earbuds in 24/7
"Look at the moon! :0" no matter what phase the moon is in (does the same thing w the sky)
Would get sooo happy when ever he was in a place where u can clearly see the stars at night bc "omg look, you can see the stars! Their so pretty!!!"
They're so energetic but also so laid back
Pretty much all or nothing for everything (emotions, activities, relationship etc.)
Really good at drawing
normally types in all lowercase so he doesn't come off as intimating
Evan and pandora probably made fun of the pure blood stereotypes so much
(I've made by point abt this hc a lot but I'mma say it again) : Evan and regulus arguing over the pronouncing of different French words bc Evan is Canadian French and Regulus is European French lol
He's an introvert you can't tell me otherwise
Was almost put into ravenclaw bc he was arguing w the sorting hat and it was like "ok valid points, ur probably a ravenclaw" and then Evan told the hat to go fuck itself and it put him in Slytherin 💀
Definition of a keyboard smash idk how to explain it
Would have loved Pinterest
wow this is really long. I'mma make one of these for Peter later :)
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