( this is truly the most horrific thing Steve has ever heard, Edward. and literally you two have talked about being eaten alive by bats before. ) Jesus, Munson, are you being serious right now? ( Steve wriggles uncomfortably, and he's just thinking about being poked by an inky needle "over and over". nope. NOPE! that's a hard nope. )
You've got balls of steel, dude. Fucking hate needles. And that's before a Russian interrogator stuck a two inch needle in my neck. No way, man. No way.
( well, so much for Steve ever getting himself a tattoo. even if one in a parlor wouldn't be quite as macabre as a stick and poke (which suddenly sounds way less horny, by the way), the mental image is definitely working against him now. )
I'll try the guitar but you're gonna have to take point on ink, Eddie. I'll just look at yours instead of ... sticking and poking, thanks.
as a heart attack, harrington relax, it's not that bad you barely feel it after the first couple minutes
[ at least he doesn't, but he also tends to get kinda high whenever he's getting inked, so maybe that's not so true. maybe he does feel it the entire time, and the weed just helps to make it more tolerable. who knows. ]
anyway, don't get all worked up about it i'm not gonna force you to get any tattoos you don't want, big buy the guitar'll do enough as it is
[ for steve's... image. not that steve needs anything to help improve it, because he's hot as shit as is, but. whatever. whatever, it's fine. eddie's got enough tattoos for the both of them. unless... ]
could always get a sheet of temporaries slap 'em on, see how you feel
[ wait. wait wait. ]
hold on hold on hold on russian interrogator? you got like, what kgb'd and i somehow don't know about this? like, you guys mentioned the russians at the mall but i didn't know they got your ass
So, that doesn't make me feel even remotely better.
( it hurts so bad you stop feeling it?? that's so fucked, oh man. this is activating his fight or flight response. Steve isn't scared of pain, not really, he'll handle it when he has to.
but continuous poking with a needle until he goes numb? yea, that's not a has to. )
I know, I know. I'm cool. ( totally chill. he's fine! thanks for asking. ) Right, I'll get one of those winky faces and big butterflies, see if I can rock it.
( SARCASM. BTW. how rude to suggest he try baby tattoos just cuz he doesn't want to be impaled by a needle over and over!! 😤 )
Oh yeah. We ended up in their... secret headquarters, or whatever. Managed to knock out one guard but then we were pinned down, and Robin and I couldn't get to the conveniently tiny people sized escape hatch, so, we got tied to chairs and interrogated. Who do you work for, and shit, like a spy movie. Only I didn't have a cool James Bond answer, because I worked at Scoops Ahoy. Yup. And then the big pointy truth serum needle, yeah. That's how that went down.
( it doesn't seem like a real thing that could happen, sounds like total bullshit! it did, though!!! there is a lie of exclusion here, leaving out the part where he spitballed giving Russians free ice cream in hopes they'd stop hitting him. what good would it do Eddie to know he got his shit kicked in by a KGB agent? it wouldn't. so, he'll just. not. mention. )
you gotta let me put it on you though get as close to the real experience as possible
[ just. not gonna mention that it's totally possible for someone to tattoo themselves. not gonna mention that he did half of his on his own. no hidden agenda here. ]
none of that shit sounds real, steve you know that right? like, i believe you 100% absolutely would not though if i hadn't seen all the shit that i've seen but jesus christ man
this is what i mean though, like everyone knows about the mall fire sorry, "mall fire" but nobody knows about the secret evil russian lair just hanging out, what below the food court?
[ whatever. of course no one would notice!! he's like - this close to giving up on the entire population of hawkins. blind, all of them. ... granted, he didn't know about it either, but he also was never a mall rat. shame, really, since he missed out on steve in a dumb little sailor outfit. all that blackmail potential, gone. ]
whatever. but hey, at least there weren't any big secrets for them to needle out of you, right? god forbid the russians got their hands on scoops's rocky road secret recipe
( ugh. Eddie is. just the worst!! Steve was literally mad at him, two seconds ago. something something baby tattoo! 😤 remember? only apparently no, no he does not, because now the guy is bullshitting about smacking wet paper on Steve's skin, as if he could not possibly do it himself. all about the authenticity of the experience, obviously! )
You better be good, then. I'm not blowing ten cents on a shitty application. You think they've got temporary bats? Because I want a bat. Yeah.
( bat wounds and bat tattoos, they'll just be twins in every way, apparently. only Steve's will wash off eventually. )
I know. It doesn't sound real to me, either, and I was the guy tied to a chair. Sometimes I think it didn't all happen, it was just... you know, a bad trip. From the Russian truth drugs. If Robin didn't remember it too, I think I'd go nuts. Which... I don't know. Is that fucked up? Maybe I should wish she didn't remember, that it was just me, or something. But I don't. It'd be so much worse if it was just me.
( did that make sense? did... did he just make that too heavy? shit. luckily Eddie is already being stupid. does the work for him. )
Whoa, respect the secret formula, man. It was our best seller. You ever go to Scoops? Obviously the Russians wanted in on that Rocky Road.
oh, i'm the best, baby i use distilled water and everything as professional as they come
[ this is so stupid. this is so stupid, and yet, eddie's smiling to himself like a goddamn idiot over temporary tattoos. stupid. ]
"how do you decide what to get, eddie? i don't know what i would even want!" you, two minutes ago and now you're telling me you want a bat see, it's not that hard
[ a bat though. he had to pick a bat. is it weird that he feels kinda flattered, even though it probably has like. nothing to do with him and everything to do with the fact that he got chewed up by a couple and then went ozzy on one in return? probably. it's probably weird. he's gotta stop thinking about steve with bat tattoos immediately. ]
i don't think that's fucked up i mean maybe it would be if you had actually been alone and wished that shit on someone else but i don't think it's weird to like... be grateful that you weren't alone you've got someone who can understand what it was like and she's got that too
[ eddie pauses for a second, chews on the inside of his cheek in contemplation, pull some of his hair across his mouth as he thinks and stares down at his phone. ]
is it fucked up that i'm kinda glad i'm not the only one who got like bat filleted (fillet'd? idk what the fuck the past tense of that is, you know what i mean) like obviously i'm not thrilled that you got attacked too but it's like. no one else gets it
[ this is... also stupid, and not the fun kind like when they were talking about temporary tattoos. ]
nevermind, i don't really know what i'm saying
also no i passed by once on the way out didn't go inside though counter was kind of crowded, line was basically out the door must have been the rocky road feel like i missed out though tell me you know the recipe, harrington
All right, yeah, I trust you. First time and everything, glad to be in good hands.
( his first time getting (temporary) tattooed, Eddie, get your mind out of the gutter!! )
It's different when it'll rub off with mineral oil, man. I know, I know, you can cover it, yeah yeah. Just saying it's easier to commit to something that comes off.
( they both are... painfully aware how much it sucks to be stuck with a mark you decide you don't like, after all!! )
Plus no goddamn stick and poke. I feel like that deserves emphasis. No sticking. No poking.
( it's a safe place to stay. pointless talk about temporary tattoos, sticking and poking. rocky road ice cream. it is in Steve's nature to want to stay there, not dwell. not think. still, the confession feels bare enough that he can't just veer around it. )
If it's fucked up, I already said that I was grateful for Robin was with me when I got tortured by Russians, so... So I guess we're both fucked up. I get it. Not just... the bat thing. Being glad it isn't just me.
( because he's done that too. like when Billy Hargrove nearly sent him to kingdom come, and when it was all over he only had his concussion and regrets to keep him company. )
Nah, man. I didn't get to mix it, just scoop it. But honestly it all tastes about the same, just imagine the stupid sailor outfits when you eat it. Same difference.
( they have come full circle. once again, out of context, if you squint... this just sounds so horny! at least Steve was in the loop this time, you know? he knows it's not!! right? right. it's not. )
Tattoos are like Pringles, huh? I'm guessing it's not quite like that with the temporary ones. Maybe you're right, though, and I'll be back. Gotta say, a mark that doesn't have to do with how something tried to murder me would be an exciting change at this point.
( as the one that had to wear the scoops uniform, Steve has no clue they're still in the gutter. mostly because working at Scoops Ahoy was the most undesirable he has ever felt. )
You didn't miss anything, I think the Hawkins High gym uniform covered more. ( which is saying something, because those were some remarkably tiny green shorts!! )
The hat was the worst part. Completely fucked with my hair. If you're really dying for the full scoops experience, though, you could always borrow the uniform. Sailors have tattoos and shit, right? I bet you could pull it off.
$5. i'm telling you. you got more than just bat bites?
[ considering all the shit he's heard about the past couple years, he wouldn't be surprised. but also that's a little sad. dude deserves a break from getting his ass kicked.
and eddie deserves a break from inappropriate thoughts about steve. at the mention of the gym uniform (one he never wore because he mostly ditched gym, he'd rather eat glass than play basketball for a grade), eddie immediately pictures it, and because he's talking to steve - well, obviusly he's gotta picture it one someone (he's a very visual person, it's not his fault), and like. it's fine? it's fine. t-shirt and stupid green shorts. it's fine.
except it's not fine because the gym uniform was mentioned as reference for scoops' little get-up, and now he's thinking about that, even though he doesn't really know what it looks like, but he has an imagination for a reason. he's good at. visualizing.
christ. eddie wishes he had a pool right about now, because he'd dive in head first, clothes on and everything. fuck, even just a stupid little kiddie pool, and he'd dunk his head right in just to shock his brain into thinking about literally anything else. ]
( honestly Steve gets hit in the face so goddamn much it's astonishing it hasn't been reduced to some kinda putty. but there's a weird cut here, a strange scar there. all relatively easy to ignore, compared to bat eaten sides. nobody would think twice looking at them, Steve is sporty and a little airheaded, makes total sense he'd be a little marked up.
if only Steve had the option to not think about them, too. )
I mean, yeah. The place exploded, hard to return the uniform?
( maybe he should have burned it or something, just for the sense of catharsis. but he got to be Robin's schmuck in that uniform. Steve is too sentimental to get rid of a memento of meeting his lesbian wife. )
[ more than just bat bites. like steve, eddie's also had his share of ass-kickings, though probably for very different reasons. it was worse when he was younger, before people went from pushing him around to steering clear of him in hallways and hiding whispers behind their hands, but he's also got a handful of marks from... stupid shit. reckless teenager bullshit, but none of it compares to his most recent set of scars. ]
i mean yeah, i get it, the store is gone i just thought maybe you'd have like thrown it away, donated it
either way, couldn't pay me to put it on you got any pictures of it though? be warned that if you say no that i'm not above asking buckley
[ well. that's one way to rip the gutter right off the house. not that - not that eddie isn't into "chicks" or anything, because he is, but. you know. sobering reminder that steve is, in fact, as straight as they come. ]
right maybe that's it.
[ ha ha. ]
i don't know, maybe stay puft marshmallow man? endless opportunities
[ the kids dressed up as ghostbusters for halloween once, maybe one of them would figure out what to do with it!! not that eddie was around for that costume, but still. ]
i don't buy that you can't have grown that much in a year
( that's him, so straight. thanks for noticing, Eddie. frankly, Steve doesn't entirely know what he is, and straight isn't entirely wrong, either. he's... mostly straight. but Robin likes girls, and he's okay with that. used to be even the concept of a guy being into another guy was something he'd instantly reject, it's just. he's not. that person anymore.
and he's... he's thought things. wondered. things that don't feel entirely straight. but being maybe bisexual in small town midwest is pretty goddamn difficult, actually. everyone assumes you are straight, and you assume everyone else is straight, too. how the hell are you supposed to know a guy might be interested?
surely they won't stroll up to you and call you big boy. )
What the hell is a Stay Puft Marshmallow Man? ( how does Steve literally work at a video rental place and not know these things?? ) Nevermind, the marshmallow part alone tells me all I really need to know.
I'm serious, Munson. It's been a year since then. And after the whole... russian interrogation thing? Kinda made a point not to be so shrimpy next time the world decided to nearly end.
( and he's definitely not. bigger in the arms, the thighs, and the shoulders. would it get on his body still? yes. would it fit the same? absolutely not. )
Fine. Goddamn it.
( a photograph is included under extreme duress here, Eddie!! but if he kept his uniform as a memento of his lesbian wife, of course he has pictures of him in it with said wife. of course he does. )
[ surely not that. big boy is for straight dudes to say to other straight dudes in a completely platonic and not gay way. obviously. ]
no no not nevermind ghostbusters?? how do you not know ghostbusters? i swear to christ, steve i will get some culture in you if it kills me
[ wHat'S mOrDoR, wHo'S oZzY, wHaT tHe HeLl Is a StAy PuFfkdjhfg. jesus christ. anyway. there's a picture, apparently. eddie doesn't know why he's so surprised, when he was practically begging for one, but he doesn't expect it. and it's cute??? it's a really cute picture, even if robin is kinda mean muggin' it a little bit, and steve's... doing whatever the hell he's doing. and holy shit that uniform. eddie was picturing white, and - and not shorts, for some reason. blue's a good color on harrington, he's gotta admit (although he knew this before looking at this photograph). and the shorts - the shorts are. something. ]
wow i guess you weren't lying you're definitely bigger now not like in a bad way, just beefier?
Oh, it's a Ghostbusters thing. I know Ghostbusters. I mean, I know the song. Everybody knows the song.
( it's catchy!! Steve's favorite sort of music is the catchy kind, songs that stick in your head. and probably he has seen Ghostbusters, Steve just pays so little attention to a movie, it's remarkable he remembers enough about Return of the Jedi to refer to it as the "one with the teddy bears". )
Thanks for making me sound like a piece of jerky, that's nice. And yeah, I told you, didn't I? Feels like that happened a lifetime ago.
( and it's barely been a year. wow. time is fucked up, isn't it? staring at that picture, he can almost remember the guy he was then. almost. before the Russians, striking out with every girl that came in for the scoop of the day, a dead end guy at a dead end job. he's at least slightly better off than the Steve in that picture. if only because he's got a better job, and isn't quite as string-bean-y. though, looking at that picture, and the goddamn uniform...
well that's more thigh than he remembered flashing, is all. )
Oh, and, the shorts were... Uh. Longer. Longer than that. Usually. It was worse when I sat down.
( DO STRAIGHT GUYS ALSO INSIST ABOUT THE APPROPRIATE LENGTH OF THEIR SHORTS??? FUCK. at least Eddie being a (charming, unfortunately funny) asshole is a distraction from his own upper thigh. )
You're the goddamn worst, you know that? Just for that, now it's only two days to convince me I need to learn guitar.
you know now that i think about it you're... the ghostbusters "when there's something strange in your neighborhood, who you gonna call" you, probably. i mean, no one calls you because everyone in this town is clueless but it's been you guys like the last four times shit's gotten weird in hawkins
[ apparently eddie does not include himself in the little ghostbusters crew. one attempt at saving the world is not enough to qualify, apparently! ]
at least jerky's good? people wouldn't pay so much for it if they didn't like it
[ god, he needs to shut the hell up. what does that even mean? ]
you don't have to justify your little shorts to me, harrington i'm not gonna judge you for showing a little skin gotta make those tips somehow :)
[ this is the worst. ]
hold on, is that supposed to be a threat? two days is plenty of time hell, all i need is two hours
[ maybe not to teach steve anything impressive, but two hours is enough time to get him hooked on it. eddie's convinced he could pull it off. somehow. ]
If we're the Ghostbusters, who is Bill Murray? He's the only one I remember.
( is it Dustin? oh, god. he'd be so insufferable, if he got to be Bill Murray. and yep, Steve did not even know the half of how worst Eddie could be. first he's dried out meat, and now he chose barely-there shorts for financial compensation?? )
I didn't pick the goddamn shorts, man! And we never even got many tips. We had three dollars to split, tops, and it blew up too. God, that job sucked. Thanks a lot, Dad. Learned so much from that one.
( probably hitting on every girl that walked into the place actively worked against the tip jar, but, shh )
Two hours isn't enough time to learn anything, are you crazy? Not enough time for me, anyway.
[ eddie almost says that steve can be stay puft, but he's teased him about the scoops uniform enough as it is. definitely still changing steve's contact pic in his phone though, that's non-negotiable. ]
two hours is enough time to convince you that you want more
We'll see. Considering how well I played drums, pretty sure the temporary tattoos are as close to metal as I'm gonna get.
Oh yeah. Guess I should get back to it, huh? ( swimming isn't gonna reclaim itself, now is it? so, back to the grind, if he wants to make good on that summer job idea. )
Let me know when you want to do this guitar thing, I'll show up.
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no subject
Date: 2022-08-03 12:13 am (UTC)You've got balls of steel, dude. Fucking hate needles. And that's before a Russian interrogator stuck a two inch needle in my neck. No way, man. No way.
( well, so much for Steve ever getting himself a tattoo. even if one in a parlor wouldn't be quite as macabre as a stick and poke (which suddenly sounds way less horny, by the way), the mental image is definitely working against him now. )
I'll try the guitar but you're gonna have to take point on ink, Eddie.
I'll just look at yours instead of ... sticking and poking, thanks.
no subject
Date: 2022-08-03 12:25 am (UTC)relax, it's not that bad
you barely feel it after the first couple minutes
[ at least he doesn't, but he also tends to get kinda high whenever he's getting inked, so maybe that's not so true. maybe he does feel it the entire time, and the weed just helps to make it more tolerable. who knows. ]
anyway, don't get all worked up about it
i'm not gonna force you to get any tattoos you don't want, big buy
the guitar'll do enough as it is
[ for steve's... image. not that steve needs anything to help improve it, because he's hot as shit as is, but. whatever. whatever, it's fine. eddie's got enough tattoos for the both of them. unless... ]
could always get a sheet of temporaries
slap 'em on, see how you feel
[ wait. wait wait. ]
hold on
hold on hold on
russian interrogator?
you got like, what
kgb'd and i somehow don't know about this?
like, you guys mentioned the russians at the mall
but i didn't know they got your ass
no subject
Date: 2022-08-03 12:56 am (UTC)( it hurts so bad you stop feeling it?? that's so fucked, oh man. this is activating his fight or flight response. Steve isn't scared of pain, not really, he'll handle it when he has to.
but continuous poking with a needle until he goes numb? yea, that's not a has to. )
I know, I know. I'm cool. ( totally chill. he's fine! thanks for asking. ) Right, I'll get one of those winky faces and big butterflies, see if I can rock it.
( SARCASM. BTW. how rude to suggest he try baby tattoos just cuz he doesn't want to be impaled by a needle over and over!! 😤 )
Oh yeah. We ended up in their... secret headquarters, or whatever.
Managed to knock out one guard but then we were pinned down, and Robin and I couldn't get to the conveniently tiny people sized escape hatch, so, we got tied to chairs and interrogated.
Who do you work for, and shit, like a spy movie.
Only I didn't have a cool James Bond answer, because I worked at Scoops Ahoy.
Yup.
And then the big pointy truth serum needle, yeah.
That's how that went down.
( it doesn't seem like a real thing that could happen, sounds like total bullshit! it did, though!!! there is a lie of exclusion here, leaving out the part where he spitballed giving Russians free ice cream in hopes they'd stop hitting him. what good would it do Eddie to know he got his shit kicked in by a KGB agent? it wouldn't. so, he'll just. not. mention. )
i just noticed my typo, how dumb i hate everything asdaslk
Date: 2022-08-03 01:18 am (UTC)get as close to the real experience as possible
[ just. not gonna mention that it's totally possible for someone to tattoo themselves. not gonna mention that he did half of his on his own. no hidden agenda here. ]
none of that shit sounds real, steve
you know that right?
like, i believe you 100%
absolutely would not though if i hadn't seen all the shit that i've seen
but jesus christ man
this is what i mean though, like
everyone knows about the mall fire
sorry, "mall fire"
but nobody knows about the secret evil russian lair just hanging out, what
below the food court?
[ whatever. of course no one would notice!! he's like - this close to giving up on the entire population of hawkins. blind, all of them. ... granted, he didn't know about it either, but he also was never a mall rat. shame, really, since he missed out on steve in a dumb little sailor outfit. all that blackmail potential, gone. ]
whatever.
but hey, at least there weren't any big secrets for them to needle out of you, right?
god forbid the russians got their hands on scoops's rocky road secret recipe
it is ok i could feel the big boy i just knew
Date: 2022-08-03 01:47 am (UTC)You better be good, then. I'm not blowing ten cents on a shitty application.
You think they've got temporary bats? Because I want a bat. Yeah.
( bat wounds and bat tattoos, they'll just be twins in every way, apparently. only Steve's will wash off eventually. )
I know. It doesn't sound real to me, either, and I was the guy tied to a chair.
Sometimes I think it didn't all happen, it was just... you know, a bad trip. From the Russian truth drugs.
If Robin didn't remember it too, I think I'd go nuts.
Which... I don't know. Is that fucked up? Maybe I should wish she didn't remember, that it was just me, or something.
But I don't. It'd be so much worse if it was just me.
( did that make sense? did... did he just make that too heavy? shit. luckily Eddie is already being stupid. does the work for him. )
Whoa, respect the secret formula, man. It was our best seller.
You ever go to Scoops? Obviously the Russians wanted in on that Rocky Road.
no subject
Date: 2022-08-03 02:11 am (UTC)i use distilled water and everything
as professional as they come
[ this is so stupid. this is so stupid, and yet, eddie's smiling to himself like a goddamn idiot over temporary tattoos. stupid. ]
"how do you decide what to get, eddie? i don't know what i would even want!"
you, two minutes ago
and now you're telling me you want a bat
see, it's not that hard
[ a bat though. he had to pick a bat. is it weird that he feels kinda flattered, even though it probably has like. nothing to do with him and everything to do with the fact that he got chewed up by a couple and then went ozzy on one in return? probably. it's probably weird. he's gotta stop thinking about steve with bat tattoos immediately. ]
i don't think that's fucked up
i mean maybe it would be if you had actually been alone and wished that shit on someone else
but i don't think it's weird to like... be grateful that you weren't alone
you've got someone who can understand what it was like
and she's got that too
[ eddie pauses for a second, chews on the inside of his cheek in contemplation, pull some of his hair across his mouth as he thinks and stares down at his phone. ]
is it fucked up that i'm kinda glad i'm not the only one who got like
bat filleted (fillet'd? idk what the fuck the past tense of that is, you know what i mean)
like obviously i'm not thrilled that you got attacked too
but it's like. no one else gets it
[ this is... also stupid, and not the fun kind like when they were talking about temporary tattoos. ]
nevermind, i don't really know what i'm saying
also no
i passed by once on the way out
didn't go inside though
counter was kind of crowded, line was basically out the door
must have been the rocky road
feel like i missed out though
tell me you know the recipe, harrington
no subject
Date: 2022-08-03 03:52 am (UTC)( his first time getting (temporary) tattooed, Eddie, get your mind out of the gutter!! )
It's different when it'll rub off with mineral oil, man.
I know, I know, you can cover it, yeah yeah.
Just saying it's easier to commit to something that comes off.
( they both are... painfully aware how much it sucks to be stuck with a mark you decide you don't like, after all!! )
Plus no goddamn stick and poke. I feel like that deserves emphasis. No sticking. No poking.
( it's a safe place to stay. pointless talk about temporary tattoos, sticking and poking. rocky road ice cream. it is in Steve's nature to want to stay there, not dwell. not think. still, the confession feels bare enough that he can't just veer around it. )
If it's fucked up, I already said that I was grateful for Robin was with me when I got tortured by Russians, so...
So I guess we're both fucked up.
I get it. Not just... the bat thing.
Being glad it isn't just me.
( because he's done that too. like when Billy Hargrove nearly sent him to kingdom come, and when it was all over he only had his concussion and regrets to keep him company. )
Nah, man. I didn't get to mix it, just scoop it.
But honestly it all tastes about the same, just imagine the stupid sailor outfits when you eat it. Same difference.
no subject
Date: 2022-08-03 09:08 pm (UTC)it's a slippery slope
no one stops at just one
[ yeah, yeah. they're talking about temporary tattoos, but still. it's fun to tease steve, if only a little. ]
i'll bet $5 as soon as it starts to fade you're gonna miss it
and you'll come crawling to me for another and another
[ are they... talking about. tattoos? where did this gutter come from? shit. okay, keep moving, munson. ]
i'm not sure i ever really got a good look at that little uniform
[ wHY is the gUTTER still hERE??? ]
no subject
Date: 2022-08-04 12:08 am (UTC)Tattoos are like Pringles, huh? I'm guessing it's not quite like that with the temporary ones.
Maybe you're right, though, and I'll be back.
Gotta say, a mark that doesn't have to do with how something tried to murder me would be an exciting change at this point.
( as the one that had to wear the scoops uniform, Steve has no clue they're still in the gutter. mostly because working at Scoops Ahoy was the most undesirable he has ever felt. )
You didn't miss anything, I think the Hawkins High gym uniform covered more. ( which is saying something, because those were some remarkably tiny green shorts!! )
The hat was the worst part. Completely fucked with my hair.
If you're really dying for the full scoops experience, though, you could always borrow the uniform.
Sailors have tattoos and shit, right? I bet you could pull it off.
no subject
Date: 2022-08-04 12:22 am (UTC)you got more than just bat bites?
[ considering all the shit he's heard about the past couple years, he wouldn't be surprised. but also that's a little sad. dude deserves a break from getting his ass kicked.
and eddie deserves a break from inappropriate thoughts about steve. at the mention of the gym uniform (one he never wore because he mostly ditched gym, he'd rather eat glass than play basketball for a grade), eddie immediately pictures it, and because he's talking to steve - well, obviusly he's gotta picture it one someone (he's a very visual person, it's not his fault), and like. it's fine? it's fine. t-shirt and stupid green shorts. it's fine.
except it's not fine because the gym uniform was mentioned as reference for scoops' little get-up, and now he's thinking about that, even though he doesn't really know what it looks like, but he has an imagination for a reason. he's good at. visualizing.
christ. eddie wishes he had a pool right about now, because he'd dive in head first, clothes on and everything. fuck, even just a stupid little kiddie pool, and he'd dunk his head right in just to shock his brain into thinking about literally anything else. ]
hold on. you still have it?
[ no. stoP IT. ]
no subject
Date: 2022-08-04 12:36 am (UTC)( honestly Steve gets hit in the face so goddamn much it's astonishing it hasn't been reduced to some kinda putty. but there's a weird cut here, a strange scar there. all relatively easy to ignore, compared to bat eaten sides. nobody would think twice looking at them, Steve is sporty and a little airheaded, makes total sense he'd be a little marked up.
if only Steve had the option to not think about them, too. )
I mean, yeah. The place exploded, hard to return the uniform?
( maybe he should have burned it or something, just for the sense of catharsis. but he got to be Robin's schmuck in that uniform. Steve is too sentimental to get rid of a memento of meeting his lesbian wife. )
no subject
Date: 2022-08-04 12:48 am (UTC)me too
[ more than just bat bites. like steve, eddie's also had his share of ass-kickings, though probably for very different reasons. it was worse when he was younger, before people went from pushing him around to steering clear of him in hallways and hiding whispers behind their hands, but he's also got a handful of marks from... stupid shit. reckless teenager bullshit, but none of it compares to his most recent set of scars. ]
i mean
yeah, i get it, the store is gone
i just thought maybe you'd have like
thrown it away, donated it
either way, couldn't pay me to put it on
you got any pictures of it though?
be warned that if you say no that i'm not above asking buckley
no subject
Date: 2022-08-04 01:19 am (UTC)( she would....... really have to be into scars. at this point. BUT MAYBE THAT CHICK IS OUT THERE SOMEWHERE. )
Who would want it? Donald Duck, when he decides to give pants a try?
( he's joking, but also seriously what would be the point in donating it. who would want a scoops uniform. see, even Eddie wouldn't wear it! )
No pictures.
And don't get any ideas, it wouldn't fit me anymore, anyway.
no subject
Date: 2022-08-04 02:22 am (UTC)right
maybe that's it.
[ ha ha. ]
i don't know, maybe
stay puft marshmallow man?
endless opportunities
[ the kids dressed up as ghostbusters for halloween once, maybe one of them would figure out what to do with it!! not that eddie was around for that costume, but still. ]
i don't buy that
you can't have grown that much in a year
texting robin
as we speak
no subject
Date: 2022-08-04 02:53 am (UTC)and he's... he's thought things. wondered. things that don't feel entirely straight. but being maybe bisexual in small town midwest is pretty goddamn difficult, actually. everyone assumes you are straight, and you assume everyone else is straight, too. how the hell are you supposed to know a guy might be interested?
surely they won't stroll up to you and call you big boy. )
What the hell is a Stay Puft Marshmallow Man? ( how does Steve literally work at a video rental place and not know these things?? ) Nevermind, the marshmallow part alone tells me all I really need to know.
I'm serious, Munson. It's been a year since then.
And after the whole... russian interrogation thing?
Kinda made a point not to be so shrimpy next time the world decided to nearly end.
( and he's definitely not. bigger in the arms, the thighs, and the shoulders. would it get on his body still? yes. would it fit the same? absolutely not. )
Fine. Goddamn it.
( a photograph is included under extreme duress here, Eddie!! but if he kept his uniform as a memento of his lesbian wife, of course he has pictures of him in it with said wife. of course he does. )
no subject
Date: 2022-08-04 03:16 am (UTC)no no
not nevermind
ghostbusters?? how do you not know ghostbusters?
i swear to christ, steve
i will get some culture in you if it kills me
[ wHat'S mOrDoR, wHo'S oZzY, wHaT tHe HeLl Is a StAy PuFfkdjhfg. jesus christ. anyway. there's a picture, apparently. eddie doesn't know why he's so surprised, when he was practically begging for one, but he doesn't expect it. and it's cute??? it's a really cute picture, even if robin is kinda mean muggin' it a little bit, and steve's... doing whatever the hell he's doing. and holy shit that uniform. eddie was picturing white, and - and not shorts, for some reason. blue's a good color on harrington, he's gotta admit (although he knew this before looking at this photograph). and the shorts - the shorts are. something. ]
wow
i guess you weren't lying
you're definitely
bigger now
not like in a bad way, just
beefier?
[ beefier? beefier. what the fuck. ]
thanks for your new contact picture, by the way
no subject
Date: 2022-08-04 03:33 am (UTC)I mean, I know the song. Everybody knows the song.
( it's catchy!! Steve's favorite sort of music is the catchy kind, songs that stick in your head. and probably he has seen Ghostbusters, Steve just pays so little attention to a movie, it's remarkable he remembers enough about Return of the Jedi to refer to it as the "one with the teddy bears". )
Thanks for making me sound like a piece of jerky, that's nice.
And yeah, I told you, didn't I? Feels like that happened a lifetime ago.
( and it's barely been a year. wow. time is fucked up, isn't it? staring at that picture, he can almost remember the guy he was then. almost. before the Russians, striking out with every girl that came in for the scoop of the day, a dead end guy at a dead end job. he's at least slightly better off than the Steve in that picture. if only because he's got a better job, and isn't quite as string-bean-y. though, looking at that picture, and the goddamn uniform...
well that's more thigh than he remembered flashing, is all. )
Oh, and, the shorts were... Uh.
Longer. Longer than that.
Usually. It was worse when I sat down.
( DO STRAIGHT GUYS ALSO INSIST ABOUT THE APPROPRIATE LENGTH OF THEIR SHORTS??? FUCK. at least Eddie being a (charming, unfortunately funny) asshole is a distraction from his own upper thigh. )
You're the goddamn worst, you know that? Just for that, now it's only two days to convince me I need to learn guitar.
no subject
Date: 2022-08-04 04:00 am (UTC)now that i think about it
you're... the ghostbusters
"when there's something strange in your neighborhood, who you gonna call"
you, probably. i mean, no one calls you because everyone in this town is clueless but
it's been you guys like the last four times shit's gotten weird in hawkins
[ apparently eddie does not include himself in the little ghostbusters crew. one attempt at saving the world is not enough to qualify, apparently! ]
at least jerky's good?
people wouldn't pay so much for it if they didn't like it
[ god, he needs to shut the hell up. what does that even mean? ]
you don't have to justify your little shorts to me, harrington
i'm not gonna judge you for showing a little skin
gotta make those tips somehow :)
[ this is the worst. ]
hold on, is that supposed to be a threat?
two days is plenty of time
hell, all i need is two hours
[ maybe not to teach steve anything impressive, but two hours is enough time to get him hooked on it. eddie's convinced he could pull it off. somehow. ]
no subject
Date: 2022-08-04 04:29 am (UTC)( is it Dustin? oh, god. he'd be so insufferable, if he got to be Bill Murray. and yep, Steve did not even know the half of how worst Eddie could be. first he's dried out meat, and now he chose barely-there shorts for financial compensation?? )
I didn't pick the goddamn shorts, man!
And we never even got many tips.
We had three dollars to split, tops, and it blew up too.
God, that job sucked. Thanks a lot, Dad. Learned so much from that one.
( probably hitting on every girl that walked into the place actively worked against the tip jar, but, shh )
Two hours isn't enough time to learn anything, are you crazy?
Not enough time for me, anyway.
no subject
Date: 2022-08-04 04:37 am (UTC)henderson. duh.
come on.
[ eddie almost says that steve can be stay puft, but he's teased him about the scoops uniform enough as it is. definitely still changing steve's contact pic in his phone though, that's non-negotiable. ]
two hours is enough time to convince you that you want more
[ time. more time to learn. how to play guitar. ]
how's the swimming going
wrap here or on yours, maybe?? 🎀
Date: 2022-08-04 05:27 am (UTC)How about we don't tell him that, his ego is bad enough.
( Steve isn't Stay Puft, he's the slightly stupid useless hot guy from the all ladies reboot, and we love that for him )
We'll see. Considering how well I played drums, pretty sure the temporary tattoos are as close to metal as I'm gonna get.
Oh yeah. Guess I should get back to it, huh? ( swimming isn't gonna reclaim itself, now is it? so, back to the grind, if he wants to make good on that summer job idea. )
Let me know when you want to do this guitar thing, I'll show up.