Disaster Preparedness (Eddie Munson x Store Manager!Reader)
Pairing: Eddie Munson x Fem!Reader
Summary: Maybe it's time to put a name to whatever it is you and Eddie are...but not without some misunderstandings first.
Previous Part: Peak Sales Hours
Warnings/Themes: AU where the Upside Down doesn't terrorize Hawkins. Reader works at the Claire's at StarCourt. Eddie works at TapeWorld. Angst, Jealousy, Fluff, and a series of unfortunate misunderstandings with a sweet ending.
Note: A day late, but what can you do. This was sort of always a pre-planned part of the Store Manager Verse (and actually set at Christmas Time at StarCourt) but a very special prompt made me switch it up. So without further ado @allthingsjoeq and @bettyfrommars please consider this collection of Holiday shenanigans inspired by I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus my take on Prompt 14 from your Holiday Prompt Party:
You can tell that the mall Santa is a babe under that beard, and you decide to get closer to investigate.
With a little twist...
You can find my masterlist here for more featuring our resident Store Manager and all of my other writing.
Please do not interact if you are not 18+.
Enjoy!
---
The holiday season wasn't Eddie's favorite, per se.
Just like Thanksgiving, it was a time to make do. Couldn't really celebrate when you were reminded of the things you'd lost or didn't have in the first place.
Still it had its high points. Cookies were great, having a little extra cash between Wayne's holiday pay and bonus and the handful of parties he'd be able to deal at, and let it be known that...Eddie Munson was a sucker for snow and always wished for a White Christmas.
And for his friends? Eddie would always muster up the Holiday Spirit and Christmas Cheer. A special one-off campaign for Hellfire, a potluck dinner with Corroded Coffin, and handmade gifts that he spent way too much time on.
This year...working at StarCourt brought its own spin on Holiday cheer and it was a little annoying.
If he hadn't worked the closing shift on the 30th, and seen all of the overnight workers and maintenance vehicles that rolled out of the service corridors as he walked out, Eddie would have thought that it was magic that transformed StarCourt Mall into a true Winter Wonderland come December 1st.
Because it was night and day.
Lights were strung around every store entrance, wreaths and garland hung every 50 feet from the ceiling, soap snow fell down from special blowers in the vents onto the food court, and the space in front of Montgomery Ward suddenly contained a special gift-wrapping destination.
And suddenly the mall muzak had a festive flair to it.
It was honestly kind of sickening.
He wasn't a scrooge or anything, it was just overwhelming and appeared all at once. And after how overwhelming Black Friday had been, how was anyone supposed to cope with the bright lights, large crowds, and repetitive music? He intentionally started turning the shop radio to a higher volume to drown out the bells jingling and carols mingling for the next few shifts after the decorations appeared.
"It's Holidazzle," you told him as he leaned against the entryway to your store--"the conversion Eddie, for God's sake!"--and watched you hang a special banner in the window, featuring the Gift of Piercing and cartoon bears ice skating around a tree.
"It's overkill," he argued.
"It's Mall Life." You climbed down from your ladder and surveyed your work with a critical eye. "You get used to the big everything that is Christmas and just deal with it, and then, come January, it all dies. We're decorating today, and next week we start wearing reindeer antlers on the sales floor. It just is what it is. Gotta get the customers into the festive spirit so they buy more before it all tapers out.
"Surprised Kyle isn't already wearing like...a Santa hat and a cheesy sweater with ornaments hanging off it or something."
And Eddie wasn't sure if you were somehow clairvoyant or just knew his boss well enough, but that's exactly what Kyle wore to his next shift and, indeed, every shift for the remainder of December.
Santa hats in every color--and he'd bought hats for everyone else in the store--and if there wasn't a Santa hat, there was tinsel in his hair. A piece of glittery garland strung around his neck and a mug full of cocoa constantly present in his hand, even when he was on the sales floor. And, somehow, a different cheesy holiday sweater on every single shift he had.
Where did he even get them?
"Listen," he clapped a hand on Eddie's shoulder and shoved a candy cane in his hand. "I know you're Mr. Non-Conformity, but in this instance, you just gotta go with the flow. No one wants to give their money to the Grinch. But Jolly Old Saint Kyle? He's who they're trusting for their Christmas Gifts. You catch me?"
---
So Eddie tried.
He did. He tried.
For all of 3 days.
He wore the hat, he played the game, he did his spiel about gift certificates and BOGO, and he didn't even get a treat at the end of his shifts because you worked the opposite schedule from him. With school and all it was hard...
He just wanted to kiss you. Was that too much to ask for? It wouldn't be the most romantic place but he figured that he could set out some mistletoe by the baler and trick you into a festive smooch when you took the cardboard out. He could do that now, except he couldn't.
...but Wednesday night you'd both be closing. You'd swapped shifts with Mindy two weeks in a row so you could go to his show last week and she could go to her kids' Christmas Recital at the elementary school this week.
He definitely planned to make his move and get his reward. And give you a little reward of your own, seeing how hard you'd been working too. He wondered if this might be the chance to officially ask you to be his girl. Everyone had already made the assumption the two of you had been dating for months...why not put a name to it? And then he could take you out on a real date.
What could possibly go wrong?
Famous last words.
With a few minutes until his fifteen, anticipation building...Mike and Dustin ran into Tape World, looking out of breath and nervous.
Eddie was finishing up a special order for a customer when he saw them out of the corner of his eye. Little assholes, lurking by the door. Mitch had tried to walk up to them and give them the spiel but they waved him off.
"We're here for Eddie."
Great. This better not be about one of them missing Hellfire on Friday.
"What do you want?" he huffed, trying to be a little patient with them since it was the holidays after all. He picked on them enough at school. "It’s busy tonight."
"Well," Dustin shifted. "We were coming to see the new Ewoks movie--" Eddie snorted and grinned at them fondly. "--and we were just killing some time, when we passed by Mom's store."
Eddie couldn't help the bark of laughter he let out with that one. He told the guys to cut it out, this...continuation of calling you Mom since Halloween.
"You guys gotta stop calling her that," he scoffed. "Steve Harrington's your Mom. Get that straight."
"Well then Mom is upstairs right now flirting with not Mom," Mike sassed, hands on his hips.
Now that gave Eddie pause. Harrington? Upstairs with you?
Flirting?
“Kissing.”
Kissing?!
"What?" Eddie's voice broke a little as he reacted. He chuckled to try and alleviate some of his own nerves. "Isn't Harrington dating someone? Pretty sure I've seen him running around with that cashier from KB Toys."
"Well it was Wicks'n'Sticks."
"But we think they broke up!" Mike piped up. "Because Steve quit Scoops last week."
"Which means we need to pay full price for movie tickets again," Dustin nodded.
"But Nancy said that Robin told her…that he got a job at Santa's Workshop," Mike thumbed over his shoulder. "And we just saw Santa upstairs with Mom and she was wiping strawberry lipgloss out of his beard."
The first thought in Eddie’s head was that you didn’t wear strawberry lipgloss.
The next was that you didn’t wear strawberry lipgloss when you kissed him. What if you wore it for Steve?
No, that was ridiculous.
But unless Santa’s Workshop was operating as a functioning kissing booth and Harrington was looking for a quick and easy fix for a bunch of housewives smooching him after their kids asked for a new bike or Hot Wheels racetrack or Tina the Talking Tabby doll…there was no explanation.
Which, alright, Eddie wouldn’t normally consider himself a jealous person. An envious person. Yeah, he might have seen a little green at the edges of his vision when the kids fawned over Steve Harrington time and again, but ever since he was brought down a few pegs—humbled—he didn’t seem like the same old douchebag from Hawkins High that he used to be.
Eddie might even say Steve was kind of alright.
But you were his girlfriend…or something…
And the jealousy and possessiveness he often mocked others for over the years, as he watched meathead jocks tighten their arms around their girlfriends shoulders as he simply walked past, suddenly overcame him.
“Mitch I’m taking my fifteen!” He called towards the back of the store and strutted out of Tape World, all while Mike and Dustin called after him, fully intending to get to the bottom of this obvious misunderstanding.
---
He planned to ask you about Harrington the moment you opened the door to the loading dock, hauling the dolly of cardboard boxes behind you.
A simple "hey sweetheart, how was your day, anyone named Kris Kringle come to bother you?" and he would have had his answer and all of his doubt would have been alleviated once and for all.
Except that as soon as you appeared--with your disheveled hair and makeup, your slumped shoulders, and your groan of weariness--your eyes got brighter and you melted at the sight of him. So happy to see him, so relieved.
Then he melted.
"God, what a night," you groaned and let the dock door slam behind you. You abandoned your cardboard and walked right into his arms where he was standing by the baler; your arms wrapped around his waist and your face nuzzled into his flannel, just the way he constantly craved. "Some lady wanted an individual gift receipt for every single item she bought. Then Chrissy almost messed up this kid's piercing. Thank God I stopped her as soon as I saw."
"Oh yeah?"
"And then I swear I'm like...I just have one of those faces where everyone comes and complains to me as they're shopping. I have to hear about everyone's life story or their relationship issues, especially this one guy..."
Eddie's ears practically perked up at that.
"This one guy?" he urged you to continue, on the edge of his proverbial seat.
"I dunno," you sighed tiredly. "Not the first time he's come to me for advice. He's a nice guy and he means well, but it just seems I'm always the one. And I'm happy to help just...not during Q4, you know? He needs to figure out how to talk to his ex on his own. And not just...come in looking for extra glossy strawberry lip gloss thinking he's gonna kiss his way back into their good graces."
Extra glossy strawberry lip gloss.
Eddie wondered if he was pushing his luck if he were to ask if this nice guy was dressed in a Santa suit.
Still his heart soared nonetheless. He should have known that it was nothing to worry about, that those little shits just put two and two together to make five, and that mom wasn't actually kissing Santa Claus.
It was just a misunderstanding.
"How was your night?" you backed away from him slightly to look into his eyes. "I feel like I haven't seen you in days."
It was like a weight on his chest had been lifted, as he stared into your sparkling eyes.
"Same old, same old," he chuckled away the doubt. "Probably worse because no one knows what they want to give as gifts for Christmas and they're not listening to me."
"How dare they not take the advice of the great God of Music!" you feigned outrage.
"Gonna give me an inflated ego, sweetheart."
"You mean you don't already have one?" you teased.
Whatever fleeting bits of doubt remained disappeared as his fingers found your sides and he tickled you as punishment for the jab. Even more so as you grabbed his face and kissed him to get him to stop.
---
You'd spent the remainder of your break on Wednesday night softly kissing on the loading dock. You held hands as he walked you back to your store. Then once the mall was closed, you continued the kissing against the side of his van in the employee lot as the rest of the cars disappeared one by one.
With one last kiss goodbye, you agreed to Christmas movies and cocoa at his place on Sunday.
But as he sauntered into the mall on Sunday morning, twirling his lanyard on his finger as he headed to Tape World, Eddie swore that the universe was mocking him--
Or it was just that trademark Munson Bad Luck.
--because with a quick glance up towards your store, he saw you, holding the gate up with one arm, talking and laughing with someone conspicuously dressed in a Santa suit.
Well, he couldn't really see the holly jolly bastard that was up there making you smile, but just a quick glimpse of red velvet and white fur and all of his doubt was back.
The two of you still hadn't put a label on your relationship yet. He'd wondered the other night as he drove home if it was a little juvenile to want to call you his girlfriend. Was it too high school? What did a real life, grown up boyfriend do? He only had TV shows to go by and he figured you'd laugh if he tried to give you his '84 class ring that was stashed in his sock drawer. In fact, he was sure of it.
But how was he supposed to get past the visceral need to be your boyfriend when you were up there being wooed into potentially becoming the new Mrs. Claus yourself?
By Santa Harrington no less.
The doubt was back with a vengeance.
Kyle--decked in red onesie pajamas, butt flap and all--clocked his woes as soon as he walked into the store.
"Don't tell me she broke up with you," he guessed as he counted up the registers for the day. "I know it's not the end of the world, but you guys barely got started. What the hell did you do?"
"I didn't do anything!" Eddie answered honestly as he restocked the front display.
"Hmmm, actually come to think of it, that might be exactly the point."
"I don't think we were ever together, if I'm being honest."
"Dumbass," Kyle chuckled under his breath. Eddie, exasperated and just needing someone to commiserate with, explained the whole thing to his boss, who simply ate it up like a gossiping housewife and then laughed louder. "No seriously, you're a dumbass. This is the Mall at Christmas, dude. You're gonna start going cross eyed if you're looking around every corner for a suspicious Santa Claus flirting with your girl.
"Why don't you save yourself some heartache and just talk to her. You know, like you should have been doing this whole time? So, one time only because you're my buddy, I'm letting you take an extra break so you can go up there and talk to her."
And Eddie knew Kyle was right: it was all about communication.
Communication, or the lack thereof, was how the two of you had gotten this far, right? You'd known each other since May? June? And had only figured out that there was some mutual attraction in...what? September if Eddie was going to be honest with himself. Two weeks ago if he wasn't.
Lack of communication, caused by self doubt and fear, cost him...months...of getting to kiss you and hold your hand. And while he cherished the time spent being your friend, he was always gonna wish he had all that time being more.
So no, he shouldn't let it draw out much longer.
---
Unfortunately, he really was a dumbass.
So instead of taking advantage of it being so early in the day that there were practically no customers in the mall to go upstairs and clear things up with you and maybe ask you out on a real date...
Eddie booked it across the mall to Santa's Workshop.
There he stood, wasting his extra break in line with the handful of proactive parents coming in early to get their family pictures with the Big Man himself.
"What's on your wish list this year?" A little boy in a tiny navy suit tugged on the leg of his jeans and asked him.
"Uh..." He was at a loss when it came to kids and his hands wrung around his lanyard. But he couldn't just leave the little guy hanging. "A new amp...and maybe a Skeletor action figure."
The boy's eyes got wide and blabbered on about his desired Castle Greyskull while his mom ran a comb through his hair.
"Eddie?"
Eddie froze and his attention shifted from the kid, up and up green velvet clad legs then torso, to a familiar cherubic face and tousled curls covered by a pointy hat.
"Gareth?" he chuckled, staring incredulously at his friend dressed as one of Santa's Helpers. "...what is this? I didn't know you..." his eyes slid down to the little boy, then back to his friend. "...were an elf."
"I was trying to keep it under the radar," he shrugged and gestured down to his costume. "Especially since they have me dressed like this. Uh....anyway, why are you in line for Santa?"
"Uhh..." Eddie scratched the back of his neck then folded his arms across his chest. "Gotta get my wishlist in before all the good gifts are taken."
Gareth narrowed his eyes in suspicion and Eddie hoped that he would just chalk it up as another one of the million things he'd seen Eddie do over the years of their friendship.
"Can I keep the picture?" Gareth finally asked mischievously. "Or was Wayne planning on sending out a special card this year?"
"Nah man," Eddie nodded, grateful not to have to answer any more...invasive questions. "It's all yours."
"Nice." Gareth held his fist out for Eddie to bump and then let the family ahead of Eddie in to see Santa.
Which meant he was next.
Now, Eddie wasn't big on confrontation, so unless he was actively thwarting bullies and deterring them from picking on his friends, he wasn't the type to pick a fight. He also wasn't the type to have a calm and rational discussion and get to the bottom of a problem either.
So this was new territory for him.
What would he say?
What could he say?
"Now listen here Harrington," he muttered. "You...she...I..."
He ran a hand over his face and shook his head.
"I heard you're having some relationship issues," he tried again. "But you can't keep sniffing around my girl. My girl? Ugh...but what if she isn't."
There were a few flashes of a camera and by that time, Gareth was back to lead him to his execution.
"Alright, young man," he snickered. "Are you ready to meet Santa?"
"Shut up," Eddie shoved him and stalked along the carpet into the little photo area.
He was too preoccupied with the task at hand, too consumed with thoughts of you laughing with Steve Harrington and exactly what he was gonna say, that he didn't notice that it wasn't Steve under the beard and hat until he plopped himself directly on Santa's lap.
Santa groaned as Eddie settled himself and threw an arm over his shoulders.
"Aren't you a little too old for this Munson?" Santa deadpanned. "Or is this one of your little Hellfire pranks."
Eddie froze at the familiar voice, as years of hearing that grumbling gritty tone at Benny's and the police station and around town flashed through his memory.
"Hop?" he whispered in horror.
"Who were you expecting?" Hopper grunted.
"Why are you Santa?"
"...don't tell me you thought Santa Claus was real, kid?"
"No, I just--" Eddie stammered, looking for the right words. "I...Why?"
"I'm doing this to surprise Jane," he explained in exasperation. "Buddy of mine runs Santa's workshop and Joyce said she'd bring the kids to the mall today, maybe get a picture. So I pulled some strings. I don't know what to get her for Christmas; she's keeping her wish list under wraps."
It all started making sense for Eddie. Jane was friends with Dustin and the others so he'd seen her around Hawkins High, even though she wasn't interested in DnD. She was a good kid, if a little shy. Of course Hop was doing this for his adopted daughter, wanting to give her a perfect Christmas.
"But you...were up at Claire's earlier?" Eddie narrowed his eyes, the reason for him being there still eluding explanation.
"Because that's Jane's favorite store. I swear I'm single handedly keeping them in business with the number of earrings and scrunchies I buy every week. The manager promised she'd keep an eye out if Jane and Joyce popped in today, let me know everything Janie was looking at if this ended up being a bust."
Hopper shot Eddie a pointed glare and Eddie, correctly, looked ashamed of himself.
"Alright, less talking," the elf at the camera rolled their eyes and waved for Hop and Eddie to scoot closer. "More smiling. Say jingle!"
There was a flash and a polaroid was shoved into Eddie's hand as Hopper shooed him away.
---
"What is this?" you pulled away from Eddie's soft, warm lips as your hands felt something foreign in his back pocket.
The Year Without Santa Claus wasn't the most romantic Christmas movie, but Eddie was feeling a certain type of resentment when he had chosen the movies at Family Video, and it was mostly going ignored in favor of cuddling and kissing and sweet words.
Until your hands worked their way downward to pull Eddie's weight further into you, and you found--
"Did you go take a picture with Santa?" you giggled as you inspected the Polaroid. Eddie groaned and rested his head on your shoulder. "Can I keep this?"
"Believe it or not," he sighed, "Gareth already has dibs."
"May I ask why?"
"Because he likes to ruin my life. Pretty sure he's gonna take it to Fox Photos and get it made into t-shirts."
"No, why did you go take a picture with Santa silly," you shoved him. "It's really sweet."
He turned to look up into your eyes, to get the courage to just...tell you how silly he was being...to ask you out for fuck's sake...but the way you looked at him, the softness of your gaze, the way you reached out and pushed his bangs out of his eyes...he didn't want to ruin it all.
"I promised I was getting into the holiday spirit didn't I?" he shrugged pathetically. "Couldn't let the opportunity pass without getting photo evidence."
You stared fondly at the picture for another moment and then pressed a kiss to his forehead.
"It's perfect."
---
After Eddie had chickened out, you planned your get-togethers for the rest of December.
Or rather, the lack of them.
With finals coming up and the semester coming, and then mall hours getting later and later the closer to Christmas it got, the opportunities to hang out became sparse.
The best the two of you could unfortunately--or fortunately, depending on how you looked at it--come up with was Christmas Eve.
You'd fight off those final last-minute holiday shoppers, and come 6pm when the mall closed, you'd both be off to Benny's for the special pot roast dinner that he put up for anyone who didn't have family to go to, or didn't want to go see the family they had.
With Rick out making the rounds, and Wayne scheduled for that sweet time-and-a-half holiday double most years, Eddie usually ended up at Benny's anyway.
This year, with you, it would be perfect.
He just had to get through the next few weeks without a hiccup.
The universe, once again, decided to test him.
Mock him.
It was almost comedic at this point.
Santa was everywhere.
Of course, he would be, it was Christmastime but...everywhere in relation to you.
Thankfully, it wasn't Harrington he needed to worry about.
However, that meant it wasn't just Santa he needed to worry about.
It was all of the mall Santas.
Hop had shown his face in the red suit and beard once or twice more and scared the life out of him. Especially when Eddie walked smack into him on the way to drop an Orange Julius for you on the night you closed.
The church's community choir had spent one Saturday afternoon caroling by the Sears, all dressed as Santa Claus. As the two of you made your rounds window-shopping and chatting on your break, one of the Santas grabbed you and spun you around in a circle during a jazzy rendition of The 12 Days of Christmas where you, apparently, were the true love bestowing the many gifts.
How Eddie let a bunch of Santas serenade you before he got a chance to, he would never know. Nor would he let himself live it down.
And then one awful day, he found you sitting at your usual table in the food court with a charismatic older man in a Santa suit--sans hat or beard. The man sat in Eddie's usual seat and leaned quite close, making you look entirely uncomfortable; he couldn't help puff up his chest to ward off the intruder by the time he reached the table.
"This is Henry," you introduced as politely as you could. "He's gonna be the manager at the new Spencer's store when it opens in January."
"Figured I would do the neighborly thing and just say hi," he chuckled and looked down at his attire. "Oh? This? Figured that this would be a great way to do something nice for the community in the mean time."
"That's great," Eddie sniffed judgmentally, getting a weird feeling about this Henry. "Nice to meet you. You're in my spot though."
"Eddie!" Your eyes went wide and you bit your lip to stifle your laughter.
"Hey, nope, totally get it," Henry held his hands up and stood from the seat. "Those lunch breaks are short, especially when you want to spend them with friends and not a stranger like me. Nice to meet you guys. See you around."
Eddie dropped into his seat and you waited until Henry was well out of earshot to scold him.
"That was not nice."
"I'm not nice," Eddie grumbled. "He was looking at you weird, like he wanted to steal your soul or something. Did you not get creepy stalker murderer from him?"
"No, I totally did," you nodded. "He was like...dead behind the eyes. I know, that's awful to say. Anyway, are you feeling soft pretzels and cheese because I--"
"Are you a Santa magnet or something?" Eddie interrupted you and you looked like a deer in the headlights.
"What?" you giggled. "What do you mean?"
"I dunno," he shrugged. "Seems like they're just always around."
"It's Christmas, Eddie," you frowned in confusion. "Even I have a little Santa dress that I'm gonna wear to work. Everyone's just in the spirit."
"Yeah well..."
"I thought you were trying to get in the spirit too," you reminded him and then reached over and plucked at the fair isle sweater Kyle had gotten the whole TapeWorld team so they could match for a group picture. "Exhibit A, Mr. Grinch."
"I am trying," he whined. "It's just hard to be extra jolly when someone's always sniffing around your girl."
"Am I your girl?" you asked. You were obviously teasing him, but still...Eddie froze. "You haven't asked me if I want to be yet."
Everything inside of him was on red alert at that moment.
Evasive maneuvers? No, that was a bad idea. All power to the forward shields, which were holding but weakened. He didn't have enough firepower for this.
"No..." he replied awkwardly. "I haven't."
The way your expression dropped broke him, and he knew he had fucked up.
---
"I'm disowning you," Kyle shook his head in disappointment by the time Eddie got back from lunch. "In fact. We all are."
"Jesus Christ," Eddie groaned.
"Mitch! Paulie! Eddie's disowned."
"You can't fire him, he's closing tonight," Paulie argued.
"Not fired," Kyle pointed across the store with authority. "Disowned. And such a shame; Edward Tapeworldington, first of his name...you shall never be king."
Eddie stewed in the laughter of his coworkers.
"Why don't you ever listen to me?" Kyle threw an arm around his shoulder. "You could have asked her out right then and there. Been like 'hey you wanna be my girlfriend?' And it would have been like...the happiest day of your life. Hell, happiest day of my life. Cuz then I wouldn't have to hear you bitch about it all the time."
"Didn't know I complained that much," Eddie muttered self-consciously.
"All the time," one of the other guys chuckled.
"It's not complaining," Kyle corrected. "It's just that...we want you to be happy. As cliche as this sounds, we're like a family right? Hey, psst, all of you? Savor it, you're only gonna hear me say it once.
"If one of us is miserable, we're all miserable," he continued. "And you've been kind of a miserable piece of shit for a while, Ed. I'm sure your buddies would tell you the same thing. Lovesick puppy act's only gonna get you so much sympathy until you're the one getting in your own way."
Eddie felt his stomach turn because getting in his own way really did hit the nail on the head.
He thought about it for an eternity--really only 30 seconds--went about asking himself what had held him up for all this time. Fear of rejection obviously but even he started to think that some of the things that had gotten him so caught up were just...excuses.
Even now that he knew you liked him just the way he liked you, they were just excuses.
"So why can't I just...say something?" he finally asked.
Kyle clapped his hand down on Eddie's shoulder twice and then turned so he could head out for his own break.
"Only you can answer that question kid."
---
"Hey do you wanna go out sometime? Ugh."
So he practiced.
"So remember how we're supposed to go to Benny's for Christmas Eve? No."
For days he practiced.
"You know how the first time we went out for pizza I mentioned it wasn't a date? Well this one is. No god, you're an idiot."
Through the rest of the semester, during band practice, he even almost flubbed the lyrics at the gig at the Hideout on the Tuesday before Christmas. There were only so many days left until your dinner together at Benny's and he really wanted it to be your first official date.
But if Eddie was gonna fix this, if he was gonna ask you out, he needed to get it right.
"Hey sweetheart." He muttered as he counted down Paulie's register at the start of his closing shift. "I know I really flubbed it last time we talked but I really like you and I want to know if you'd be my girlfriend.
"We've already kissed enough for it," he added at the end and then winced.
"How about you just lose that last bit," Paulie offered beside him and signed a few receipts. "And then it's perfect."
"Yeah?" Eddie asked hopefully. "Alright. Cool. Great."
He would do it after work tonight.
"Edddiiiiieeee!!!" a screeching voice called from inside the mall and Eddie and Paulie both watched as a Santa with flailing arms ran into TapeWorld. "Eddie man, I really need a favor. I need to use your bathroom."
"What the f--Gareth?" Eddie looked around the store to make sure he wasn't just hallucinating. Gareth was already shedding the hat and the fake beard and unbuckling the wide belt from around his waist. "What the hell are you doing here? Why are you Santa? I thought you were an elf?"
"There's no time to explain," Gareth panted. "But there's a line through the food court to use the bathroom and I couldn't wait, so you either need to let me into your back room or I'm gonna exorcise a demon right here on your sales floor man. Please."
"Ugh," Eddie wrinkled his nose and pointed towards the stockroom. "Yeah, sure whatever. Gross."
"I owe you one," Gareth tossed the fluffy jacket of his costume over the counter at Eddie and then ran into the stockroom. Hopefully just in time.
"So glad I'm cleaning the bathrooms tomorrow night," Paulie scrunched his nose in disgust. "Alright, you and Mitch need anything before I go?"
Eddie was about to say no, was about to send Paulie on his way.
But then he looked down at the coat and got an idea.
An awful idea.
Eddie Munson got a wonderful, awful idea.
"Actually, now that you mention it," Eddie grinned and shrugged the coat on, then the belt, and as he glanced up at Paulie, his coworker groaned, clearly able to read Eddie's mind.
"I thought we agreed no more gimmicks," Paulie exclaimed. "You're just gonna go up and talk to her."
"Yeah," Eddie nodded. "I, Santa Claus, am gonna go up and talk to her. I'm not even gonna take my full break, just five minutes, and then you can leave."
"This isn't gonna work man."
"None of my plans ever do," Eddie shrugged and pulled Paulie into a big hug. "But if it does, I owe you my whole life."
And off he went, across the mall, and up the escalator. He adjusted the coat and the hat and then remembered that he forgot the beard on the counter.
No matter, of course; he really didn't want to get fake beard in his mouth when he planted one on you.
There was practically a line out the door by the time he got to your store. He was able to see you through the window, on the register checking one customer out after another.
You were in the zone, but you didn't look stressed. You smiled a smile that didn't quite reach your eyes, but every so often Mindy would crack a joke beside you and it did.
"This actually might be the worst idea," he muttered to himself.
But it was too late.
It was now or never.
You were gonna kill him.
Some of the younger kids in the store started muttering in excitement when they spotted him, only for their parents to say "that's not the real Santa" and "Santa doesn't wear ripped jeans" but you were oblivious until he was standing right beside you at the counter.
"Excuse me," he took a breath and lowered his voice like he would during Hellfire. "I heard there was something special on your wish list this year, young lady."
"Sorry sir," you answered without a thought. "I'll be with you in a second."
"You can't even take a second to help jolly old Saint Nicholas?"
You turned your head, obviously about to tell him off as you schooled your features into something plastic and robotic and customer friendly, until you realized it was him. Then something visibly short-circuited in your brain and he smiled brightly.
"I'd like to apologize to all the boys and girls shopping tonight," he announced to the customers theatrically. "But I have very important Christmas business with our dear Store Manager here. It'll only take a minute."
He was surprised when a few of them started laughing and clapping.
"Alright Santa," you finally composed yourself to answer, arms crossing over your chest in annoyance. "What official Christmas business can I help you with?"
"Well, I was reading over the wishlist that you sent up to the North Pole," he explained. "I don't have it with me, you see. Had to leave it down in the workshop so the rest of the elves could work on the scrunchies and the lipgloss you wanted."
"Uh huh."
"And the new windshield wipers that you refuse to let Santa replace."
You rolled your eyes and waved your hand to get him to go on.
"But there was one thing on the list that...maybe it's these tired old eyes--"
"Old?" you giggled and reached out to tug on his curls. "Your hair isn't even white Santa."
A bunch of nearby kids boo'd.
"Clock's ticking," you whispered. "Get on with it, or I'm gonna have to kick you out Ed."
"--maybe these tired old eyes weren't able to read. See I thought it just said friend. But my trusty elves Kyle and Paulie and Mitch assure me it says boyfriend."
Mindy cooed an awww from beside you and Eddie felt his confidence grow.
"So, Miss Store Manager," Eddie held his hand out to you. "Which one is it? Because I happen to have some high quality...boyfriend material that I can use to make your wish come true. Is that what you'd truly like this Christmas?"
Mindy immediately slammed a hand onto your shoulder and squealed, and although your lips were clamped shut and nose was scrunched, Eddie was sure that you were holding back a smile.
It was the longest 30 seconds of his life.
"Yes, actually," you finally responded. "That's exactly what I want for Christmas Santa."
Eddie's heart surely grew 3 sizes in that very moment as a bunch of customers clapped. And he was eagerly about to jump forward and plant a kiss right on your lips when your hand slammed against his chest to hold him back.
You laughed and your eyes sparkled with promise as you pointed to the door, a silent understanding that you'd continue this conversation later. But for now?
"Get out of my store!"
---
Eddie found you leaning against the side of his van when he clocked out. Your car was parked beside his, running idle, as you waited. The radio softly played the Nutcracker Suite and you hummed along to it.
"Alright," he began when he got close enough. "I know that what I did was a big no-no, but I think everyone was in good spirits about it."
"You're lucky they were," you glared at him in--what he hoped was-- fake annoyance. "I really would hate it if my DM got a call complaining about that. Then I'd have to break up with you before we were actually even together."
"I wouldn't blame you," he winced and then looked down at his feet. "So...do you wanna go out sometime?"
"Like a date?"
"Yeah," he glanced up at you and then back down at his feet. He shuffled them back and forth. "Dinner at Benny's on the 24th? How does that sound."
"Ugh, I dunno," you sing-songed and took a few steps to close the distance between you. You grabbed the lapels of his jacket and shook him a few times.
"Wh-what are you doing?" he questioned as you lifted his hair and turned his head back and forth.
"I'm looking to see if this was the quality boyfriend material that Santa just promised me a few hours ago."
"Hey now," he grabbed your hands in his. "I most certainly am. We've just...been friends for so long. I didn't know if..."
"I do," you answered before he could finish.
"But what if I..."
"You aren't."
"I was gonna say 'what if I fart under the blankets while we're cuddling.'" He deadpanned. "See, this is why it's important not to make assumptions."
"Alright, Fartmeister," you challenged him. "If you want to Dutch Oven your girlfriend, I guess I can't fight you. But don't be shocked when I do the same thing to you eventually."
"That's all I want from a girlfriend," he said. "A strong sense of retaliation and justice."
"Alright then."
"Alright." He shook your hand like you were making some kind of deal. "Christmas Eve at Benny's for our first date."
"Sounds perfect," you agreed.
"Good."
"Good."
You launched yourself in his arms and pressed your lips to his and he swore, probably for the first time in his life, he believed in the spirit of Christmas.
---
Next Chapter: Standard Operating Procedures 1.06
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Joey B Blurbs: Can’t Help Falling in Love
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Summary: You surprise Joe when he gets home from practice by putting on your wedding dress from your wedding back in March of 2022.
Warnings: Fluff
Pairing: Joe Burrow x reader
Imagine universe: Into The Mystic
A/N: Joe isn't injured.
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*December 30th, 2023 - 22 weeks pregnant*
(y/n’s pov)
Joe was currently away at an early morning practice, preparing for the Chief’s game tomorrow.
The team would be getting on a plane for Kansas City tonight, and Zac called an ‘emergency’ practice this morning.
Since Joe was away, I was doing some seriously needed deep cleaning in the house.
Tyson and Miles’s room would have to be last to be cleaned since they wouldn't be up for a while.
I will never take for granted the fact that the terrible twos don't seem to be a thing to the twins. They're closer to three and have remained their happy selves.
The reason I mention this is because when they do wake up, they'll happily help me clean their room without being asked.
My heart warmed when I walked into what will be our baby girl’s nursery once she's born and old enough to be moved out of Joe and I’s room.
The walls were painted a cream color with an accent wall of vintage floral wallpaper.
Joe was the one who approached me with the idea, and I loved it.
Her name had a vintage feel, so her nursery having the same vibe was perfect.
One thing about our baby girl is that she was already 100% a daddy’s girl.
She loved it when Joe talked to my stomach, as she would kick after every sentence that left his mouth.
Joe ate every bit of it up, already taking his girl-dad role very seriously. He was so involved in my pregnancy, making sure to be there for his wife and beloved baby girl.
He just loved her so much.
My thoughts made me smile to myself as I looked around her unfurnished room and absentmindedly rubbed my bump.
Soon, I snapped out of my thoughts and remembered my cleaning.
——
After getting Joe and I’s bedroom and bathroom cleaned, it was time to move onto the closet.
I saved it for last because I knew it was going to be a doozy.
With constant packages of clothing items arriving at the house for Joe’s game-day fits, there was always a huge stack of boxes in here.
Usually, after the stack reaches a certain height, Joe would take them out to the dumpster.
Lately, though, he's fallen behind on his duties, and the stack was huge.
After clearing that out, I started going through my side of the closet, knowing Joe wouldn't exactly be happy if I moved his stuff around.
I knew I'd find some gems, doing a deep clean in my closet, but I didn't expect to find my wedding dress.
It looked just as beautiful as I remembered and it took my breath away.
Joe and I’s wedding back in March of 2022 was an absolute dream. We were so happy, nothing could sour our moods.
We looked back at our wedding photos all of the time, watching the videos of our vows being one of our favorite things.
I remembered a video I'd seen on TikTok last night of a wife putting on her wedding dress to surprise her husband, and I immediately decided to do it.
That is if the baby bump and growing boobs allow this dress to fit me.
It wouldn't necessarily be a prank or the usual trends that I've tried in him, so it would be a good change.
——
A few hours later, Tyson and Miles had been awake for a while, and we all got their room cleaned.
Joe would be home soon because he told me what time practice ended before he left this morning.
That being said, I was now upstairs trying to slip my wedding dress on.
Thankfully, the bodice part of the dress didn't quite reach my belly, so it was perfectly hidden under the skirt. I was a little surprised that my growing chest was able to stay contained under the fabric since I'd had to buy bigger bras since getting pregnant.
I didn't even attempt to try to zip the back of the dress up, though.
Moments later I could hear my phone ringing in the bedroom, and I had to practically waddle my way over there to get it.
It was Joe calling, probably telling me that he was on his way.
“Hey, Joey.” - you
“Hey, Mama. Just wanted to tell you that I'm leaving practice right now. I should be home in a bit.” - Joe
“Oh okay, how was practice?” - you
“As good as practice can be, I guess.” - Joe chuckled
I laughed along with him before he started talking again.
“How’s your day been? The boys and baby girl doing good?” - Joe
“We’re perfect. Just miss you. Princess has been a little restless today, probably wanting to talk to her daddy.” - you
“I miss you guys too, Imma be home soon. I promise to be with you till I have to leave tonight.” - Joe
“Okay. I love you, Joe. Be safe.” - you
“I will be. I love you too, so much. See you soon, my love.” - Joe
“See you soon. Bye.” - you
“Bye, baby.” - Joe hung up
Now I just have to wait.
——
I sat on the couch to the best of my ability, waiting for Joe to get home when I heard the garage door opening.
Tyson and Miles jumped off of the couch to go greet their dad, and soon I could hear that deep voice coming from the mud room.
“Where's your momma at?” - Joe
“Couch.” - Miles
A few moments later Joe’s heavy footsteps got louder and his tall frame was in my view.
His eyes lit up, and he stopped in his tracks when he saw me. Joe’s mouth dropped open into a taken-aback huge grin.
“Baby… woah. You look... woah.” - Joe
I stood up and walked closer to him, his eyes never once leaving me.
“y/n, you look so beautiful. I don't even know what to say.” - Joe
Standing on my tiptoes to place a kiss on his lips, Joe wrapped his arms around my waist.
“Where’d your bump go?” - Joe laughed
I turned to the side and flattened my hands around it, causing Joe to laugh and reach for it.
Joe rubbed over my bump for a second before pulling his hand back to take in everything.
“I’m not even gonna lie though, I will need your help taking this thing off.” - you
“Wouldn't be the first time.” - Joe smirked
“Joseph Lee!” - you playfully hit his arm
“I’m not lying though!” - Joe
——
Later, after Joe helped me out of my dress, he gave me something that he had brought home but forgot to give me because he got distracted by me in my dress.
It was some Mexican food that he had picked up pm his way home from practice since I had told him this morning that I was craving it.
Now, we were sitting on the couch together as I ate.
“Thank you for this.” - you took a bite of your chimichanga
“You’re so welcome, Mama.” - Joe kissed your cheek
A few seconds of silence went by as Joe stole a bite of my chimichanga.
“Did my wedding dress look good on me still? After having twins and currently being pregnant, I don't even want to know how different it looks on me.” - you
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Joe giving me a stank face, and I couldn't help but laugh when I turned my head to face him.
“What’s that look for?” - you laughed
“You’re fucking with me, right? Like you're joking?” - Joe
“No?” - you
“y/n. No matter how many changes your body has gone through you are as beautiful as the girl I dated in high school, all through college, and the girl I said I do to. Wanna know why?” - Joe
“Why?” - you
“Because you're the same girl you were before you had our babies. And to be completely honest with you, those changes make you even more gorgeous than before. To me, you don't have any imperfections because I love every part of your body. Those little stretch marks you complain about? They are a reminder of your body growing to accommodate your babies. Your belly getting bigger? That's home to our princess. I say all that to say this. y/n you are the most beautiful woman on this planet, and I love you so much.” - Joe
Joe wiped the tears that were dripping down my cheeks. They were happy tears time ten.
“I didn't mean to make you cry on your chimichanga.” - Joe
I laughed and leaned into his touch, savoring the feel of his skin against mine.
“They're happy tears, Joe, and thank you for the pep talk… I needed that.” - you
“I know you did, baby. Now finish your food, Imma talk to the baby.” - Joe leaned down and looked at you, asking for permission to lift your shirt
“Go ahead.” - you grinned
What would I do without him?
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Authors note: more of an imagine than a blurb but whatevs
Request for this fic;
Hope you enjoyed! 💕
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