#robin buckley x chrissy cunningham

[xstevex-world]

Steve Harrington’s favourite musician has been the same since he was 17.

He distinctly remembers hearing Chrissy Cunningham play in his car radio during his senior year, subsequently listening to nothing but her breakout EP for a week straight - and that was just the beginning.

He followed all of work for over the past 7 years: bought physical and digital copies of all her albums, watched every music video multiple times, read every interview, saved up enough while working weekend shifts at scoops to get tickets to her sold out shows in Indiana - he had so much merch that Jonathan Byers once joked that Steve could probably make a shrine to his idol.

He had even kept up during her hitatus, almost two full years of radio silence from the star, like she had disappeared off the face of the earth. It wasn’t the worst thing that had ever happened, but it didn’t help that it overlapped with him dropping out of business school to pursue a career in cosmetology and that final falling out he had with his father over his choice in education.

The day she came back felt like Christmas.

Her comeback announcement dropped on June 13th - and it wasn’t just a new post on social media or a candid shot online someone managed to snap.

It was a whole EP drop, 4 entire songs (and a music video) that he knew he was going to play on repeat after 716 days of radio silence.

That opened the floodgates for everything to start again: she went back on social media, thanked her fans for their wholehearted response to her new releases. She started doing interviews again: discussing her mental health and the impact of her mothers control in her life; her reunion with her best friend (and apparent ex) from high school; her label dropping her after it was found that her “momager” had embezzled a huge amount of money from said company, releasing her from her contract early and allowing her to find new partners, new producers, new projects.

She talks about how she’s never been happier, and Steve can’t help but beam at it. He can hear it in her music, how it’s going more against the grain of what’s popular, opting instead for etherial synths mixed with heavy guitars. She sings about heartbreak and moving on and being better than then the people who brought her down for long, now that she’s starting fresh.

Steve loves it, thinks some of the changes have something to with Eddie Munson’s name appearing in the credits of all her new material.

Truthfully, he got curious after someone on Twitter posted a screengrab of cameos made by Munson and his own bandmates in all of her new music videos. He thankful someone else made the connection, and although he’s not the biggest fan of Corroded Coffin’s music (apart from the collaboration EP they did with Chrissy: “CCxCC presents Satanic Slumber Party”, that was incredible), he would lying if he didn’t say he was totally enamoured by Eddie goddamn Munson.

Let alone the fact that he’s totally Steve’s type (big hair, bigger eyes, a complete dork with a heart of gold but who also looks like he would bite someone in both a feral dog and a “please take me to your bedroom right now” kind of way), the guy is a genius when it comes to music, spending interviews talking about the process of artistry and the importance of storytelling - even when they’re discussing songs about him, written by Chrissy about their break up, he’s still so passionate and witty, the two of them spending interviews bouncing off each other in a way that would rival his relationship Robin.

He’s fine, really, he knows logically this is just a celebrity crush that will pass if he stops thinking about it for long enough, but he’s certain that this could develop into one of those all encompassing obsessions if he doesn’t curb it now- and that’s exact what he does. He tries to put that energy into school, excelling more than he ever did in an academic setting. He meets up more often with Nancy, Jonathan, Argyle and Barb, inviting them over more often for dinner or drinks, sometimes even just because he wants to make a breakfast feast and need someone else to eat it.

It’s at times like this that he misses Robin, who only has about 6 weeks left of her internship in Paris - he hasn’t seen her in person since he went to visit her a few months ago during spring break. He wishes she was her to openly judge him over this, before rambling on about her own current hyperfixation or moaning about her lack of romantic adventures since she and Vickie broke up.

They still talk on the phone every afternoon (nighttime for her), ranting to each other about their perspective day and sharing any worthwhile gossip.

Tonight’s no different, he’s telling her about the current drama happening in his classes when Robin says:

“I met someone today.”

He’s ecstatic - in his opinion robin deserves the world and the fact she’s met someone on her own in a city where she has been finding it hard interacting with people outside of her placement is a miracle in itself.

She tells him more: how she met this girl that morning at café, acting as a knight in shining armour (Robin’s words, not Steve’s) when the girl got flustered trying to order her coffee in broken French; how she spent the day showing this girl around to her favourite shops and parks and museums; how they spent hours talking about everything and nothing; how Robin hasn’t felt this way about someone since Vickie.

“So then we had dinner at that Italian place, the one I took you to, and, Steve, oh my goddess, she has the cutest little laugh-“

“Did you get her name?”

“Oh, sorry” he can hear her move the phone from one ear to the other. “Yeah it’s Chrissy.”

Steve stops his pacing. That would be one hell of a coincidence, if it was Chrissy Cunningham. She is playing in Paris the following night, the penultimate stop of her current tour. (The very show that he had been tempted to go to, since he could stay with Robin. It absolutely wasn’t because Corroded Coffin was joining her for the European leg of the tour - acting as her band, as well as performing songs from their collaboration as the encore - something that did not happen at any of the American shows). It couldn’t be the same Chrissy that Robin had fallen head over heels for in the space of a few hours, right?

“Did you get any of her socials?” He asks, cautiously.

“Nope,” she answers, popping the p for emphasis. “I didn’t think to ask, because I’m an idiot and all that-“

“Robs,” he interrupts, trying to keep his voice steady. “You’re not an idiot.”

Her hears her laugh on the other end of the line, the same kind of self-deprecating giggle she uses when she’s nervous. He wishes he was there with her so she could see him roll his eyes at her, their main way of communicating their love.

“What did she look like?”

“Oh!” She exclaims as he hears her tumbling over something (knowing Robin, probably herself). “We took a picture together, hold on, I’ll send it over.”

His phone vibrates against his ear, so he brings it in front of him, putting Robin on speaker so he can see the photo.

And.

Holy fuck.

“Robin,” he says slowly, because he actually can’t believe it himself. “Do you know who that is?”

((Part 2))

#stranger things #stranger things au #steve harrington #eddie munson #robin buckley #chrissy cunningham #Steddie #steve x eddie #steve harrington x eddie munson #Buckingham #bandcheer #robin x chrissy #robin buckley x chrissy cunningham #Luci’s ST thoughts

[spicysix]

“I'm a Pisces, y'know?” Robin babbles.

Chrissy turns to look at her. They're sitting in Steve's bimmer’s hood, waiting for him to get their snacks at the gas station. Nancy is sleeping in the front seat, and they can distantly hear Eddie's van coming closer every second, reaching them, metal blasting through the speakers, carrying the rest of the gang.

“Yeah?” she asks. Robin nods, still not looking back. Checking her nails. “What's that mean?”

“Uh. I saw the horoscope, from Nancy's magazine. The one you were reading earlier.” She glances at Chrissy, sideways, her lips quivering just a bit. “You're a cancer, right?”

“That I am.”

“Like Steve.”

“Like Steve,” she confirms. She might know where this is going. “This magazine's horoscope talked about, uh. Couples.”

“Yeah, that.” Robin looks at her, then. Finally. Her eyes are so pretty, Chrissy thinks. “Romantic ones.”

“Cancer and Pisces. It said-”

“Match made in heaven.” they say together.

Chrissy giggles. Yeah, she knows where this is going.

“You and Steve are a good pair.”

“NO, but!” Robin startles, going all read and her hands seem prepared to gesticulate all around. Chrissy loves it when she does that. Finds it charming. “Me and Steve, we could. Like. Never.” She fakes a gag. “Literally. Gives me the heebie-jeebies only thinking about it, honestly.”

There's a beat of silence. Chrissy hasn't looked away, and neither has Robin even though she's redder than a tomato. It makes her freckles pop. It's so cute, Chrissy thinks.

“So, you and me then?”

Robin purses her lips and for a second Chrissy's afraid she's got it wrong. But then there comes that huge, blinding smile of hers. Chrissy thinks she might be in love, or something.

“Yeah, exactly what I was thinking.”

#buckingham #chrissy cunningham x robin buckley #buchingham drabble #buckingham fanfic #robin buckley x chrissy cunningham #stranger things #stranger thingd drabble #stranger things fanfic #lui writes #stwgdailyprompt #prompt: Pisces ♓

[just-my-latest-hyperfixation]

Just another manic Monday

Written for the @steddieholidaydrabbles, day 17

Prompt: Platonic Stobin

Rated: G

CW: monsters

Tags: Urban fantasy AU; Magic AU; Creature AU; background Steddie; background Buckingham

Notes: Based on an idea and the gorgeous art by @house-of-the-moving-image - so happy I got to throw a little something together for it. 🥰

“I don't understand this,” Steve yells, jumping over another garbage bag like a hurdle sprinter. “That thing is fucking huge, where was it even hiding?”

“Gee, I dunno, Steve!” Robin skids to a halt beside him and impatiently hops from foot to foot while he pulls out their scooter from  between two dumpsters. “I didn't ask, you think we should wait up?” 

Somewhere behind them, something lets out a loud, gargling roar. A giant body scrapes against the walls of the alley. 

Steve gulps. 

“Nah, I'm good,” he says and tosses her the egg. It's larger than his own head, and Robin sags briefly under its weight. “Get in!”

Sometimes, Steve really, really wishes he was normal. 

In a world where ninety-seven percent of the population are either magic users, non-human, or hybrids, people like Robin and him tend to get the short end of the stick. Take the job market, for example. What's a guy to do if most entry-level positions require basic flight skills, or rudimentary knowledge of summoning spells, or two years minimum of experience in applied runology? 

The job at Fleetfoot Delivery is actually okay, all things considered. The pay is decent, the uniform isn't completely humiliating, and his coworker is his best friend and platonic soulmate who happens to be just as lamely human and completely unmagical as himself. 

It's easy work. Customers trade items via the app, Steve and Robin deliver the goods from the pickup location right to the lucky new owner. 

Basic stuff. 

Simple. 

Boring.

Except for the days you get chased by giant fucking monsters. 

“Who even sells a phoenix egg online?” he asks while he waits for Robin to clamber into the side car. “I mean, shouldn't we be calling child protection services or something?” 

“Phoenixes are extinct, Steve, everyone knows that!” 

He hums vaguely. He does know that, of course, but the question has its desired effect - namely to send her off on a tangent and get her mind off things. 

“The eggs that are left are infertile, but they're highly coveted in certain circles. Rumor has it that consuming one will boost your magic like nothing else. Chrissy says there's a sea witch living off the coast who's been looking for one for-”

“Chrissy, huh?” Steve grins and swings a leg over the saddle. The scooter stutters to life. “The cute little mermaid with the milkshake order from last week? You two on first-name terms now?” 

“Oh, fuck off!” Robin jabs him in the ribs, but quickly clutches the egg again as he needs to swerve around a stack of old, soggy cardboard boxes. They're picking up speed, but not nearly enough in the crammed, narrow alley. Behind them, the roaring and scraping are getting louder. “You don't get to berate me for flirting with clients. If I see you do that ass-wiggle in your stupid shorts in front of that dragon dude one more time-” 

“His name is Eddie,” Steve snaps, neck erupting in heat. “And I don't think he has any idea what my first name is. Or my last name.”

“Yes, Steve, of course,” Robin deadpans. “That is why he calls you big boy and honey and sweetheart. That is the actual reason.” 

Steve lets this statement simmer for a few seconds. 

“Shut up and tell me where to deliver this thing,” he then says. 

Out of the corner of his eye, he sees Robin smirk while she fishes her phone from her pocket and tells him the address.

“Oh, freaking great,” Steve grouses. “That's only on the other side of town. Won't take forever at all at this-” 

“Steve?” says Robin. Her hand is tugging at the sleeve of his uniform jacket, like she's been trying to get his attention for a while. “Steve, you may wanna go faster.” 

“I know!” he groans. “Need to beat rush hour, or we won't be home until-”

“That's not what I meant!” Robin shouts. Her voice goes all shrill and grating towards the end, and he almost crashes them into the wall in his impulse to cover his ears. 

“Well, what do you-” he starts to say, but doesn't get any further.

There's a loud crashing sound as the dumpsters are mowed over. He glances over his shoulder, just long enough to see a slimy, clawed something that's roughly the size of his house erupt from the alley behind them. It shrieks. The rush of hot, stinking breath sends garbage flying in all directions. A fist-sized glob of spit hits the back of Steve's head with a wet splotch. 

“Ugh, what the fuck? I just washed my hair this mor-”

“Drive!” Robin slaps his arm. “Oh my God, drive, drive, drive!” 

Steve does. 

They shoot out of the alley and onto the main road, just narrowly avoiding a collision with a flock of banshees. As their scandalized shrieks and the roar of the monster fade behind them, Robin's wristwatch buzzes. 

“Oh,” she says. “Today's your lucky day. A certain dragon just ordered an entire crate of aventurine, express delivery.”

Steve groans and takes a right, reaching up to disentangle half a banana skin from his drool-coated hair.

The day is shaping up to be a real Monday. 

All my holiday drabbles

#platonic stobin #platonic soulmates stobin #Steve Harrington #Robin Buckley #steddie #steve harrington x eddie munson #steve x eddie #buckingham #robin buckley x chrissy cunningham #robin x chrissy #steddie holiday drabbles #steddieholidaydrabbles #hype's holiday drabbles

[veil-of-lament]

autumn days

#buckingham #stranger things #stranger things buckingham #robin buckley x chrissy cunningham #robin x chrissy #bandqueen #the girls!! #this has been sitting in wips for at least a year now lmao #i figured i should stop letting it rot there at some point #(and then i spend at least 4 days on it but. besides the point)

[hilarychuff]

Robin says Chrissy’s the one with the magic, but Chrissy’s pretty sure it’s the other way around. Something about wearing Robin’s blazer yesterday had made her feel brave, safe, like she could talk about exactly the sort of things she’d practiced avoiding with Miss Kelly last week. Today, Robin’s jacket is black denim instead of a blazer, scattered pins and patches decorating the material, but when she loans it to Chrissy, it feels just the same. They’re in the theater again, the same row, same seats even maybe, though this time Chrissy had arrived first. As soon as her free period ended, she’d left Jason outside of the gym and made a beeline straight here, not even bothering to stop at her locker. The lunch her mother packed didn’t have much in it anyway. She’d figured she was better off with the two granola bars in her backpack. She’s nibbling on one of them now, stalling while she gathers her courage. Robin’s been a little quieter today, not asking as many questions as she has during their last few lunches, but it’s given Chrissy time to carefully choose her words. “Robin?” she starts. “Can I ask you a question?” Robin looks up from slurping some sort of cold sesame noodle out of a tupperware, swallowing her bite and setting her lunch down in the row behind them. “Sure,” she says. “What’s up?” Chrissy sucks in a breath, bracing herself for whatever the response will be. “Are you and Steve really just friends?”

all the best people see you (all the best people know), chapter 8, a season 4 buckingham au

#buckingham #chrissy cunningham #robin buckley #robin x chrissy #chrissy x robin #robin buckley x chrissy cunningham #stranger things #stranger things fic #st fic #inadvertent desert hearts movie date au #my writing #my graphics

[allthemarrowoflife]

okay listen i know we're all ronance bitches (me definitely included) but also may i present to you: chrissy doesn't die, finds out about the supernatural shit along with eddie, joins the teen group and becomes robin's new crush

i mean it's canon to me that eddie and chrissy are besties (it's cool if you ship them btw i think it's cute too i just personally hc eddie as gay) so just IMAGINE

chrissy didn't die at the trailer but shit happened anyway and eddie's still wanted

jason finds out chrissy was hanging out with eddie and goes on his whole "he's the vessel to the devil and a satanic cult leader" rant, makes her parents lock her at home and convinces everyone eddie brainwashed her and that's the only reason she claims he's innocent and a good person

she runs away in the middle of the night, goes to dustin cause she knows eddie's close with him, finds about the whole upside down thing and volunteers to help them

the fruity four are now the fruity five

everything else is basically the same except with someone else cursed by vecna in the hawkins gang along with max

the fav song queued up on her walkman for emergency purposes is Don't You (Forget About Me) by simple minds because i feel like the breakfast club would be her favourite movie

robin giving chrissy her jacket to wear cause she ran away in her thin pajamas and looks cold

eddie fussing over her and freaking out about how she should have staid home and everyone is hunting him down and her boyfriend's crazy and she can't be seen with them and it's dangerous but she just smiles and says "see, you do worry. not mean and scary at all."

robin going on her pretty girl panic ramble and chrissy giggles instead of thinking she's weird

the two of them would be the ultimate "she wears short skirts, i wear t-shirts, she's cheer captain and i'm on the bleachers" trope except with the sapphic twist of said nerd and cheerleader falling in love with each other instead of the guy from the lyrics

once the fight's won and life's back to normal she officially dumps jason's sorry ass and starts hanging out with people she actually likes

she's still cheer captain and The Queen of Hawkins High, just with a nerdy and socially awkward girlfriend and a metalhead bestfriend

steve starts driving her to school too (since eddie already drives himself and max)

her and eddie go bother steve and robin at work on the weekends

they go on quadruple dates all the time: steve+eddie, robin+chrissy, nancy+jonathan, argyle+his van (or his pot or eden, depends on who's available)

JUST GIVE ME MORE CHRISSY CONTENT SHE WAS WAY TOO CUTE TO LAST ONLY ONE EPISODE

AND GIVE ROBIN A SWEET GIRLFRIEND WHILE YOU'RE AT IT PLEASE

#steve harrington #eddie munson #robin buckley #nancy wheeler #jonathan byers #chrissy cunningham #steddie #steveddie #steve x eddie #ronance #robin x chrissy #robin buckley x chrissy cunningham #vesties #vest boyfriends #stranger things 4 #stranger things season 4 #st4 #stranger things #stranger things headcanons #fruity four

[starryeyedjanai]

hypnotized in your cherry thrill

kinktober prompt: virginity | buckingham | explicit | 4k inspired entirely by @stobinesque's microfic about this concept

read on ao3

"Wait, what?" Robin asks, voice incredulous because there's no way she heard her right.

Chrissy blushes, cheeks going such a deep pink - the kind of flush she might get during-

She's getting ahead of herself.

Chrissy stammers for a couple seconds before she asks, "I mean, is it really that surprising?"

Robin blinks at her. "Okay, yeah, the whole 'raised Christian' thing. So not having sex I totally get, but you never-?"

Chrissy squirms a little, twisting her mouth. "That's also the 'raised Christian' thing. It was just something no one ever talked about. And I always felt guilty even thinking about trying."

Robin takes a minute to digest that.

She had an inkling about her being a virgin - she's talked before about her upbringing, but to be fair, she's also talked about how much she's wanted to get away from that.

So the virginity thing, she can get. What she's absolutely floored to hear about is that Chrissy's never even had an orgasm by her own hand.

That shit was something Robin figured out in her early teenage years. Her mom sat her down and gave her the Talk and handed her a hand-held mirror and some printed out diagrams and told her that it was important for her to get to know her body.

So Robin knows her body, has gotten herself off an incomprehensible number of times, knows how to get herself off quick and fast if she needs to - which comes in handy living in a shared room for the first time.

The thought of one of her friends not only not knowing anything about her body, but not ever even having explored it is such a foreign concept to Robin that it throws her off.

When Chrissy came to her with a secret, she thought she was going to get the deets of how she actually did hook up with her high school boyfriend despite previously saying that she hadn't. Because seriously, even good Christian girls have secrets like that, right?

But that is not what she told her.

She sat on the bed next to Robin and wrung her hands looking nervous to even be talking about it, but then she'd whispered that she hated not knowing anything about her body and wanted to know if Robin would be willing to teach her about it because Robin's not shy about sending Chrissy a text saying not to come back to the room for a little while so she "must know about orgasms," - the word whispered like it's a bad word.

Which is honestly sending Robin into a bit of a spiral.

Because she's been crushing on Chrissy since the first time she saw her laughing at one of Robin's stupid jokes.

It took time, is the thing. Chrissy was so reserved when they first moved into their dorm room, barely speaking to Robin unless she had to.

Robin quickly learned about her through some digging and she thought that maybe Chrissy was just super judgmental or something, but it turned out that she was just nervous being away from home for the first time, in a city nothing like her hometown, with a much more diverse group of people than she knew back home.

But when she finally opened up and talked to her, Robin immediately knew she was in trouble. Because Chrissy is gorgeous and kind and funny and-

Now she wants her to help her learn her body.

Robin's face is hot as she says, "So you- just so I'm not misunderstanding. You want me to show you, like, how to touch yourself. Like-?"

"It's weird, it- I shouldn't have asked. We can, we can forget I said anything. It's stupid," Chrissy says quickly, moving to get off the bed.

Robin puts a hand on her arm and says, "We are not forgetting this, Chris. I want to help you."

"You do?" Chrissy asks, her eyes wide as she looks at Robin.

Robin nods. "How do you want this to go? Like, we can watch something and I can tell you what to do?"

Chrissy shakes her head. "Not porn," she whispers. "Like, you could-" She cuts herself off and bites her lip. She puts her hand in her lap and looks at Robin like she's supposed to read her mind.

Somehow, it clicks in her brain and she gapes at Chrissy. "You want me to- demonstrate? Like- touching myself?"

There's no fucking way she got that right, no way that that's what Chrissy meant, but she's nodding her head, looking relived that Robin understands.

She can't say no.

Chrissy is sitting on her bed, looking nervous and Robin can't say no.

She doesn't want to. Maybe it's selfish, maybe she's going to hate herself after, but she's not saying no. The thought of being the person who, maybe inadvertently, is the reason behind Chrissy's first orgasm is overwhelming and fills Robin's entire being with this persistent buzzing.

"Okay," she says, breathing out heavily. "Now?"

It's the middle of the day. She didn't have anything planned for the rest of the afternoon, but Chrissy seems more the type to want to turn the lights off at night and not look at whoever she's with, but maybe Robin was wrong to think that. Everything about this is surprising her, so she should really stop expecting anything to go the way she thinks it will.

Chrissy nods shyly. "If that's okay," she says.

"Yeah, that's-" more than okay. Robin takes a deep breath in and says, "I'm gonna take off my clothes if that's okay. And you can too if you want to, like, practice after I show you."

Chrissy nods and they both get up from the bed.

This is so fucking insane.

Chrissy lifts her shirt over her head and Robin is used to having to look away when Chrissy gets changed because she doesn't want to creep on her or make her feel weird. But she watches as Chrissy pulls her top off and realizes she's way in over her head.

She snaps out of it and takes her own shirt off, feeling a little self conscious because she's not wearing a bra and Chrissy is openly staring at her tits as she unhooks her own bra.

Robin feels like she's going to pass out when Chrissy drops her bra on the floor. Her tits are fucking perfect. If Robin was hooking up with Chrissy and not just showing her how to touch herself, she'd be swooping in immediately to get her mouth on one of her nipples.

Her tits look like they'd fit perfectly in Robin's hands. She wants to touch her, wants to put her mouth on her.

This was such a stupid idea. There's no way she's going to walk away from this without falling in love with her.

Chrissy pushes down her skirt and Robin gets with the program and takes her jeans off.

They're left standing in their underwear, looking at each other, and Robin feels nervous.

She's nervous that she's going to screw this up. She's nervous that she's suddenly going to forget how to touch herself with Chrissy looking at her. She's nervous that Chrissy isn't going to feel good touching herself, that she's going to be left disappointed.

She tries to push through the anxiety that's suddenly gripping her and pushes her underwear down.

Chrissy does the same and Robin is gifted with the view of Chrissy's bush, trimmed and neat and-

She has to look away. She's going to combust if she keeps looking. There's so much to look at.

Robin realizes the only thing they're both still wearing are the tacky friendship bracelets they bought at the mall early in the semester and has to steady herself. She doesn't know why that of all things is what is tripping her up so bad.

"I'm- uh, we can. On the bed?" Robin stammers, but Chrissy nods, so they both climb back onto Robin's bed.

She has no idea where to start. She's normally laying down when she masturbates, but she isn't sure what would be the best view for Chrissy to see everything.

They're both kneeling on their knees and Robin realizes that Chrissy looks just as nervous as Robin feels and that helps melt away some of her nerves of getting everything wrong. She's going to be helping, even if Chrissy doesn't come, even if it's a little weird or awkward. She wants Chrissy to know how to make herself feel good.

"So, you've never tried touching yourself?" she asks to confirm.

Chrissy says, "Never. I, okay, I tried touching myself a little one time, but I didn't know what to do or, or what felt good. And it all kind of felt like I was doing something I wasn't supposed to be so I just stopped and didn't try again."

"Okay," Robin says. "I normally lay down when I- uh. So we can lay down next to each other maybe."

Chrissy nods and Robin moves her pillows side by side so they both have one to lay their head on.

Robin's left arm brushes against Chrissy's as they both lay down. Twin beds really aren't built for two people and that fact has never felt more obvious than right now.

"So, uh. I, I normally only really touch my clit when I masturbate. So I can show you what I do and then you can do it," Robin says, not sure how this is really going to work. Is she going to make herself come in front of Chrissy or is she just going to do a little demo and let Chrissy have the room to herself to explore a little? She has no idea what's about to happen.

"Okay," Chrissy says, sitting up on her elbows to be able to see better.

"Do you, uh, know where your clit is?" Robin asks, because she isn't sure how much 'I have no idea how anything on my body works' covers.

"I think so?" Chrissy says, sounding unsure.

"Okay, so. Uh, if you look, my clit is right here," she says, spreading her thighs a little and spreading her labia with two fingers to point at it with her other hand.

Chrissy leans up and then leans in and Robin sucks in a deep breath, feeling more than a little overwhelmed all of a sudden.

Chrissy sits up further and says, "I think I maybe need to be closer to see. This angle isn't working. Could you spread your legs? I can sit between them."

The thought of spreading her legs for Chrissy makes her pussy throb, the want lighting her up from the inside.

She does as Chrissy asked, spreads her legs and Chrissy slides onto her knees between them. Since there's more room on the bed now, she scooches a little closer to the center and Chrissy repositions herself between her spread thighs, looking at where Robin still has her fingers in a vee on either side of her clit.

Robin's thigh is touching Chrissy's knee, they're so close. She spreads her legs wider because if she's touching Chrissy while she touches herself, she's actually going to go insane.

Robin feels dizzy and hot. She's never really been one for exhibitionism, but being looked at like this is - it sure is something.

Chrissy's looking at her like she's a marvel, like she's something worth looking at, and it's kind of fucking Robin up a little.

She was sure an hour ago that Chrissy was a straight girl that she was doomed to crush on - not from afar since they literally share the same room, but just. She thought-

But now, with Chrissy looking at her pussy like this, looking hungry almost, it's hard to tell.

She takes in another deep breath and says, "This is my clit," tapping it with her middle finger.

Chrissy's looking intently still, watching her fingers, and Robin knows she has to be able to see the slick dripping out of her by now because her hole feels soft and open the way it gets after she comes with how wet she is.

She's got a beautiful girl between her thighs, so she thinks it was only ever inevitable that she was going to get fucking soaked.

Chrissy's attentive as Robin shows her what she normally does, as she talks her through how she normally touches herself.

"There isn't really much finesse to it. I just kind of," she trails off as she rubs circles around her clit.

"And that feels good?" Chrissy asks, licking her lips. God.

"Yeah. Well, if I'm not turned on, it's just kind of meh, but when I'm horny, it feels really good. I'm super impatient most of the time, so I kind of jump in and go kind of fast until I come like this."

She moves her middle finger over her clit quickly and feels the orgasm building with the faster movement. She switches to circling her clit with her index and middle finger on either side of her clit and keeps the pace fast, a moan falling from her mouth as she does.

She stops after another minute and closes her eyes because if she doesn't, she's going to come under Chrissy's watchful gaze.

When she collects herself, she opens her eyes and looks at Chrissy. She says, "So that is basically all there is to it. It's different for different people though, so what works for me might not work for you. But you can try it out and see if it gets you off and if not-"

Chrissy cuts her off and asks, "You don't ever, like, slow down and savor it?"

That kind of throws Robin off a little. That wasn't what she was expecting.

"I mean, when I'm with someone else, I do. But if I'm by myself and not, like, watching or reading anything spicy, it's mostly just the orgasm that I'm after, you know?" She cringes as the last words fall out of her mouth because of course Chrissy doesn't fucking know.

"I... can kind of understand that, I think. So if you were with someone, you'd let her take her time with you?" She's looking at Robin's face as she asks this and Robin shivers a little.

"Yeah," Robin whispers and the tension in the room thickens. She clears her throat and says, "But this is supposed to be about you. So I can go and leave you to try it out on your own if you want?"

"I don't want that," Chrissy says, shifting back from where she's kneeling between Robin's legs. She spreads her knees and they both bump up against Robin's spread thighs.

She leans back and with a shaky hand, she covers her pussy with it, cupping it.

Robin opens her mouth to say that they can switch positions if she wants, but the words get caught in her throat when Chrissy copies what Robin showed her and spreads her labia with her fingers.

With her thighs spread and her fingers holding herself open, Robin can see how wet she is, her slick clinging to the hairs there.

Her mouth is suddenly incredibly dry, and she desperately wants to taste the wetness between Chrissy's thighs. She wants to bury her face between Chrissy's thighs and suck the slick right out of her, drink her juices as she clenches her thighs around Robin's ears. This is so bad - she's got it so bad.

"So like," Chrissy starts to say, but cuts herself off when she strokes her finger over her clit.

She's so fucking pretty, it's actually unfair.

Robin's breathing harder now than when she was touching herself, watching Chrissy tentatively move her fingers over herself. How the hell is she supposed to be normal when Chrissy gasps so pretty when she does something that feels good?

"Is that right?" Chrissy asks, still touching herself, her fingers deftly rubbing circles on her clit.

Robin's nods and says, "That's, yeah. That's how I do it at least."

Chrissy slows her fingers down to a stop and looks Robin in the eye.

"Maybe um - I don't know if I'm doing it right. Maybe you could, you could show me. Like a hands on demonstration, just to make sure I know how it's supposed to feel," Chrissy says, once again shattering Robin's perception of reality because there's no way this isn't a dream, right? The pretty girl she's been admiring for months now is not only in her bed touching herself, she's asking if Robin wants to touch her. That definitely feels like a dream she's had before.

"You. You want me to- touch you?" she asks, ready for Chrissy to laugh in her face because this has to be a joke.

But Chrissy just nods, looking self-conscious like she isn't the most beautiful thing Robin's ever seen, like Robin is going to say anything but a resounding and enthusiastic yes.

Robin has no idea how she pulls together the brain power, but she says, "Okay, you should lay down then," and holds her breath as Chrissy complies, moving to lay back down. They shuffle around like before and get settled next to each other again.

Chrissy's laying next to her, and Robin rolls onto her left side.

With Chrissy so close, Robin can see that her skin is so smooth and her tits are so pretty and her cunt is hairy and wet and gorgeous and Robin is so fucking overwhelmed right now. She's going to touch her. She's going to get to touch her, to put her hands on her, and she's so overwhelmed.

Dear god, she doesn't know how she's going to survive this.

She puts her hand over Chrissy's, dragging it down to her cunt, and positions her fingers the way that she normally does when she touches herself - the way she'd shown her.

She keeps her hand on Chrissy's and moves it for her, starting up a slow, steady motions, rubbing at her clit slowly the way she would if she was making out with someone and getting them worked up.

"Oh," Chrissy whispers, sighing. "That feels different from when I did it. Kind of."

Robin keeps moving Chrissy's fingers for her, letting her get a feel for it.

She says to her, "I find that it's more intense when someone else is touching you. You can't anticipate their movements so it makes it kind of exciting. When it's your own hand, you know what to expect. Not that that's a bad thing."

"Oh, okay. That makes sense," Chrissy says. She lets go of the tension in her body that's been there thus far, lets her legs fall open a little more.

"I sometimes get my fingers a little wet so there's less friction, uh-" she cuts herself off, trying to think of a way to show her how she uses just her middle finger on herself. She can't think of a way so she says, "I can show you, like, not with your hand. With my hand. My fingers."

She cringes at herself.

Chrissy sighs so pretty and says, "Yeah, okay, you can."

So Robin lets go of Chrissy's hand and watches as Chrissy lets it fall to the side. Fuck. It's been difficult to contain herself and up until now, it's still been by proxy, but this? Putting her hands on Chrissy, letting her fingertips drag through the slick mess between her legs? She's actually feeling faint at the idea.

But Chrissy is trusting her, is opening up her legs for her, and Robin can't let her down.

She lets her hand drift between Chrissy's legs, lets her middle finger touch the slickness at her hole.

She says, "God, you're so wet," in awe. Chrissy's fucking dripping with it.

"Sorry," Chrissy gasps.

"Don't apologize," Robin says with a laugh, bringing her middle finger back up.

She touches Chrissy the way she would touch herself if she was trying to get off quickly, flicking at her clit with her middle finger rapidly.

Chrissy moans so sweet in her ear and it just encourages her to go faster, to try and make her come.

She rubs circles around her clit again, faster than before, and Chrissy's hips buck up.

"I- oh god, that feels good," she says, bringing her thighs closer together instinctively.

"You know," Robin says, rubbing tight circles around her clit. "Depending on how you feel about virginity, this could count as- you know. This could count, someone else getting you off." The thought makes Robin flush red. Being the first person to get her off is one thing, but the person taking her virginity? She didn't know that was a thing for her.

Chrissy's gasp is loud in the quiet of their room. "That's - holy shit."

The noise Chrissy lets out as it hits her, as she starts to come - for the first time - is something Robin's never going to forget.

She fucking wails as Robin's keeps the pace of her fingers steady, as she rubs larger circles, feeling Chrissy's cunt pulse and clench as she comes.

This is Robin's favorite part of being with someone, watching someone fall apart - the way Chrissy's legs shake, the sounds she makes, the way her hand comes up to grasp at Robin's wrist as she slows her fingers down and drags her through the last waves of it.

Her fingers stop moving when Chrissy's hand on her wrist goes lax, when she's melted back into the bed, looking dazed.

There's a flush high on her cheeks and Robin feels a fierce sense of accomplishment for being the one to put it there.

It's quiet in the room as Robin dips her fingers lower again to gather more of Chrissy's slick juices on her fingertips.

She brings her hand up and doesn't have to say anything as Chrissy watches her every movement like a hawk. When her hand is close enough, Chrissy just opens her mouth for a taste, so Robin presses the tips of her fingers against her tongue.

Chrissy hums, her lips closing around Robin's fingers as she sucks lightly.

When Robin's brain starts working again, she doesn't have any idea why she thought putter her fucking fingers in Chrissy's mouth was a good idea. Well, it's probably better than putting them in her own mouth, at least. Tasting Chrissy, god - she doesn't know how she could resist immediately shoving her head between her thighs if she did that.

Her fingers slip from Chrissy's mouth and she tries to gather her wits again, because she needs to go shower, needs to go get herself off immediately.

She asks, "Was that okay?" because she has to know, has to know if nothing else, that Chrissy felt good doing that.

Chrissy nods, still looking relaxed and flush. "That was- I can get why you rush it if you're alone now. It was-" She clears her throat. "It was good, really good."

"I'm glad," Robin says. "I should clean up, though. Take a shower."

Chrissy nods again and says, "Okay. Um, thank you. That was really nice."

Robin smiles, feeling a little bashful. "You should try to get yourself off now. The wonders of multiple orgasms and all that." Robin sits up and rises from the bed, going to grab her towel. She wraps it around herself.

When she looks back over, Chrissy's flush, which had been receding, comes back with full force. "You- I. Will it feel good, the second one?"

"Oh yeah," Robin says. "And the third and the fourth. They all feel good. Some are maybe less intense, but in my experience, the longer you go, the more sensitive you get, so. It's something to play around with, how much is too much for you."

"Oh. I'll try that then. Not all at once, I don't think. But I'll try the second one now," Chrissy says, blinking up at Robin with an expression she can't really read.

Robin grins at her and says, "I don't think you'll have any trouble, but I'll take an extra long shower, just in case."

Chrissy smiles at her, but it doesn't really reach her eyes.

Robin grabs her shower caddy and waves at her before she leaves, unable to shake the feeling that she's missing something.

She's so caught up in thinking about it in her shower that she forgets to get herself off.

The room smells like sex, like pussy and orgasms, when she returns. Chrissy's gone, likely taking a shower of her own.

Robin's still thinking about it when Chrissy gets back from her shower, but Chrissy is totally back to normal, smiling over at her like everything is fine.

#robin buckley x chrissy cunningham #stranger things #stranger things fic #robin buckley #chrissy cunningham #buckingham fic #buckingham #stranger things fanfic #robin x chrissy #chrissy x robin #chrissy cunningham x robin buckley #janai.doc

[dwobbitfromtheshire]

Robin Buckley has two platonic soulmates: Steve and Eddie. She hangs out with them constantly. Sometimes, when Steve is busy, she hangs out with Eddie, and when Eddie is busy. . .well, you know. When Eddie and Steve wanna go out, they bring Robin with them. They have fun making people guess which one she's dating. (People have bets.) When she starts dating Chrissy, they all start double dating in public. People think Chrissy is dating Steve, and Robin is dating Eddie. There are some people who think it's the other way around. They're all wrong. Never once do they think it's the same sex. High schoolers, they love to gossip, but they're kind of dense. Meanwhile, Eddie makes jokes with Robin about how they're both dating preps. Steve turns the table and makes jokes with Chrissy about how they're both dating nerds.

#stranger things #robin buckley #maya hawke #chrissy cunningham #chrissy cunningham lives #grace van dien #robin buckley x chrissy cunningham #robin x chrissy #steddie #steve x eddie #steve harrington x eddie munson #steve harrington #eddie munson #joseph quinn #stranger things s4 #eddie stranger things #eddie munson lives #platonic soulmates #romantic soulmates #buckingham #it's a great ship name

[avi17]

Ok but also on the topic of Robin/Chrissy, think of the double date possibilities they could get away with. They can't be as open about their relationships as they'd like in Hawkins, but so many people already think Steve and Robin are together, and Eddie and Chrissy are so close and he's so physically affectionate that people think they're together too after she publicly dumped Jason, so it's easy to just...go with it and let them think that. Eddie sits across from Chrissy and Steve across from Robin and they lean in and talk and laugh like good dates would (and because they're genuinely having fun with their platonic besties) and nobody is going to look under the table to see anyone's hand on the knee of the person next to them. They get to go out in public and do the kind of fun date things that Eddie and Robin at least never thought were in their future, and maybe they still have to hide a little but not nearly as much as you'd think because everyone who sees them already thinks they know exactly what's going on.

And if the girls disappear to the bathroom for a while together, obviously that's just what girls do while they powder their noses and complain about their boyfriends or whatever. Totally non suspicious. And if the boys disappear out back for a cigarette, it's just because they don't want to breathe smoke all over their delicate ladies. You know, like gentlemen.

(The main gang know the truth though. Mostly because Steve could not live with Dustin's gloating that he was totally right about him and Robin all along.)

#steddie #steve harrington x eddie munson #robin buckley x chrissy cunningham #eddie munson #steve harrington #robin buckley #chrissy cunningham #robin x chrissy #buckingham #yes obviously this sort of could also work with ronance but eddie and nancy fake dating wouldn't be convincing at all xD #someone please write this i will cry

[pleaseimgonnavomit]

The first 2 months of robin and chrissy dating is so awkard it's painful. They just get so nervous around each other and neither is sure the other is as into them as they are. And then then one day it just clicks for chrissy that their relationship is just as serious to robin as it is her.

And she goes full jock.

She's always got her arm around robins waist (like that one picture of zendaya and tom holland) or her hand in robins back pocket when their walking together. She's doing that thing where they compare hand sizes as an excuse to hold her hand. ("I think my hands grew. Let me see them against yours" and then she locks their fingers together typa energy.)

Begin like a full head shorter than her isn't stopping her from wrapping her arm around robins shoulders (she definitely does the yawn thing cause they both find it funny.)

And robin is an absolute mess because of it.

#buckingham #chrissy x robin #robin buckley x chrissy cunningham #i was so nervous about posting this #cool bitches ship buckingham and i just want to impress you

[maxineholtzmann]

just fall in love with me (this Christmas) - complete on ao3

Rating: M, Word Count: 7,102, Tags: Alternate Universe - Hallmark AU, Misunderstandings, Healthy Communication, Hawkins is a Christmas Town, Christmas Store Owner Chrissy Cunningham, Robin Buckley's Parents Are Dead, Mild Angst, Happy Ending, Christmas Parade, Background Steddie

Excerpt:

The sign over the door of the store read “Chrissy’s Christmas Collectibles” in red script, the trim around the storefront windows and door painted a dark green. In each window stood a beautifully decorated Christmas tree, covered in glass ornaments and lights that shone year-round. And above it, in her apartment, furiously cleaning before her best friend arrived to introduce her to his boyfriend, was Chrissy herself.

Chrissy, who couldn’t believe that she had had a one night stand with a gorgeous woman literally the night before she was supposed to host breakfast for Eddie and his boyfriend Steve and Steve’s best friend. Eddie had told Chrissy her name but she hadn’t written it down. It was something to do with a bird–maybe Lark? Chrissy had been so nervous about making a good impression that she’d gone to the local bar for one drink to calm her nerves. But then she met Robin and one drink had turned to several and one kiss had turned to several orgasms and here she was trying to figure out what she was supposed to do with a stranger’s underwear that she had found in her bed.

She looked at herself in the mirror, finally noticing the hickeys that covered her neck. She was going to need to bust out the big guns in terms of concealer if she wanted to cover those. The last thing she wanted to do was make herself the centre of attention. After all, Eddie had told her he wanted to propose to Steve this Christmas. Her job as his best friend was to make sure this proposal went off without a hitch.

She couldn’t think of anything more romantic than a Christmas engagement–Chrissy had always loved Christmas. It was one of the reasons she had moved to Hawkins a few years ago to open her all-year Christmas store. Hawkins was known for being the Christmas capital of Indiana with their famed parade and tree-lighting ceremony.

Chrissy continued to flit around her apartment, still feeling a bit guilty for not inviting Robin to stay for breakfast. She wasn’t usually the kind of person who kicked someone out the morning after–though she wasn’t usually the kind of person who brought someone she had just met home. But Robin had said she had to go meet someone too so she wasn’t going to dwell on it. She finished up her cleaning and worked on making herself presentable. Good thing she had prepped for breakfast the day before, she thought as she hopped in the shower.

read the rest here

#stranger things #stranger things fanfic #buckingham #robin buckley #robin x chrissy #chrissy x robin #wlw #my fic #hallmark au #chrissy cunningham #robin buckley x chrissy cunningham #chrissy cunningham x robin buckley #spicysixwinterfanworkschallenge #steddie #steve harrington #eddie munson

[nburkhardt]

Street Fair Dates.

Welcome to my first attempt at writing Buckingham! @i-less-than-three-you picked a prompt from a prompt list I reblogged a while ago (“Did I just say that out loud?!”) and had her give me the set up too. Went with buckingham, still set in the 80s, post-Vecna Chrissy lives with just barely established steddie as a bonus. It got outta hand and it’s mostly due to Robin rambling lol. ENJOY!

She’s being a third wheel, she realizes pretty quickly. It was completely by accident, but it was an invitation! Just, not technically an actual one, it was a “hey, you’re here too!” kinda invite. She won’t blame Eddie for it, not his fault she doesn’t think the same as other people.

She will however, totally blame him for them ditching her.

They’re at the street fair, she didn’t realize it’s supposed to be Steve and Eddie’s third date. Didn’t know until Steve stepped away to use the bathroom and Eddie finally admitted that she misunderstood when he asked Steve out last weekend. That he didn’t actually mean for her to join them.

“I was going to clarify it for you. But then Stevie told me you’ve been having a hard time since the worst spring break ever.”

Groaning, she shakes her head and places both hands on his shoulders to shake him. “Why didn’t you tell me?! I would’ve said no!”

“I just did!”

She shook him again before dropping her head against his chest, “you idiot! Does Steve know this?”

“Does Steve know what?” Speak of the Dingus and he’ll appear, “what are you guys doing?”

She knows they look weird, so she drops her arms to pull Steve close and loop their arms together, completely ignoring his questions and dragging him along to another booth. They stay like this for another few booths before she lets go to buy this cute little homemade frog plushie, when she goes to show them, they’re gone.

“Oh you jerks! Leaving a girl all by herself just to be cheesy dinguses!” She yells out and pouts.

She walks around by herself with her new plushie on her shoulder for a bit before settling on a bench with food and a drink, thinking “wish I could find someone who’ll go on a cute fair date with me”

There’s a giggle that brings her attention back to her surroundings and finds Chrissy standing in front of her, a basket of fruit with a duck plushie. She looks gorgeous and adorable, her outfit is perfect for the fair. A pale green sundress with sunflowers all over it, her shoes just simple sandals to match. Her hair is in a loose braid resting on her shoulder.

“God you’re so pretty”

The blush on Chrissy’s face makes her eyes go wide, slapping both hands over her mouth, “Did I just say that out loud?!”

Chrissy nods, “you did, you also talked about a cute fair date. Isn’t- I thought I saw you with Eddie earlier.”

Even the vague idea of being on a date with Eddie makes her scrunch her face up. Because gross, a date with a boy? Just, no.

She shakes her head before focusing back on Chrissy.

“Oh gross, no. I was with him earlier, but not as a date. Just as a friend, he and I are just friends! Plus he’s too much of a nerd for me, too dramatic too! Like could you imagine living with that guy? No thank you. Eddie and I are just friends.” She’s rambling, she knows this and can’t stop. Chrissy is just so damn pretty and her blush is a lovely shade of pink now, she’s smiling and god, Robin is gone. She’s so gone on her.

“Gone? What does that mean?”

Robin wants to die, she definitely needs to shut up. “I’m, I’m gonna go now. I think, oh! I see Steve and Eddie, I’m just-“

Not even waiting for a response back, she takes off and nearly runs to hide behind the two that ditched her. She doesn’t even care about that anymore, too focused on getting away from Chrissy so she doesn’t say anything else out loud.

Steve’s ready to catch her immediately. Eddie on the other hand looks bewildered because she didn’t say a word, Steve wasn’t even looking at her. They were even facing the other direction, but her platonic soulmate just knew to catch her. Her arms automatically going around him and her head hiding between his shoulders and neck.

“What the fuck, do you have like a radar built in on if Robin’s coming or are you really telepathic like Henderson keeps saying?” She can’t see Eddie’s face but she can imagine the confusion and impressed. If she wasn’t freaking out, she’d be laughing at him.

Steve has a tight grip on her, swaying slightly with a hum. Knowing that she’s freaking out without even asking, “I don’t understand what happened but whatever it is, I’m here Robs.”

After listening to the boys talk quietly, her adrenaline from the freak out dies down and she loosens her grip on Steve before getting down. Only to latch onto his hand to keep the connection, “So, I’m not sorry for again crashing your date. I mean, at this point I get to do this since you ditched me earlier and! And I completely rambled in front of Chrissy, made a complete fool of myself!”

Eddie snorts and Steve doesn’t but there’s a knowing smile playing on his lips, she can already tell where his head is going. Maybe they really are telepathic. She’ll try that out later, for now-

“Don’t even sta-!”

“You got a crush on Chrissy, Robs?”

Groaning she drops his hand like it’s burning her and crosses her arms across her chest. A blush working it’s way up her face, that doesn’t help. Eddie’s laughing again and Steve has a goddamn twinkle in his eyes. She doesn’t like that.

“Even if I did! Which- I don’t” she lies through her teeth, not wanting to give them the satisfaction of being right. “I already fucked up my chances with her. AND! We don’t even know if she likes girls. No matter how sweet she is, or how much she cares for any of us- I won’t ask her anything!”

The boys share a look, which is more mischievous than concerned now. It’s a little odd seeing that look on her platonic soulmate’s face aimed at someone else. After a silent conversation between them, which is also weird. This is their third date, how are they already on silent conversations part of the relationship?

Steve clears his throat before placing his hands on her cheeks, she hates this part. He squeezes her face, making her make the stupid fish look. Then he places a kiss on her forehead, loosens his grip before resting his forehead against hers. Both of them going near cross eyed, she moves her own hands up to match him.

This is one of their things. It’s a routine for when either of them wants to be completely serious and focus. It looks weird, feels weird and makes everyone uncomfortable. This is also why Dustin believes they are telepathic.

“Robin Buckley, you are an amazing person. A beautiful and wonderful woman, but you’re also the dumbest person I know right now.” Steve starts off in a whisper, “we don’t know if she is or isn’t, but! You didn’t ruin any chance with her, she would be an idiot not to give you a chance. Okay?”

She can’t nod but she hums back, “Stevie, i love you but this isn’t like with Vickie where you can figure out if she likes girls or not from a movie”



“No. But, I can see when someone has a crush on you.”

There is no fucking way Chrissy Cunningham, ex-cheer captain and absolutely the most gorgeous woman there is, has a goddamn crush on her, Robin Buckley. A band geek with a rambling problem.

“I see that doubt, Buckley. I am correct, just you watch!”

They separate after that one, she rolls her eyes and pushes him towards Eddie. “Are you two lovebirds done here? I’d like to go home”

——————

She lost her frog plushie.

It didn’t hit her until she was sitting at home staring at her desk where her notebook sat with her drawing of a little frog.

Groaning she falls back onto her bed, “it was so cute too!”

“Robin! Door for you!”

Shooting up to sit, confused. Her mom usually just sends Steve up when he comes over and the kids don’t show up to her house. Nancy and her aren’t close enough to show up randomly yet. And Eddie would just climb through her window, being the weirdo he is.

So, with all the other options out of the way she makes her way to the door and finds her mom still there. “Mom, if you’re trying to get Steve and i to date I’m telling you-“

Her mom waves a hand at her, “of course honey, it’s not Steve. You know I’d just send him up, that boy whether you date or not is family”

She smiles at that but it nearly falls when her mom finally moves and there stood Chrissy.

Not only is Chrissy standing there in yet another cute dress, but she has her frog plushie. What?!

“Sorry for not calling first. But you weren’t at work I checked there and Steve sent me here.” Chrissy explained with a smile, “I wanted to bring this back, you dropped him!”

The him in question,sitting in Chrissy’s hand is of course the little frog plushie she dropped at her fair.

“How-“

Chrissy shrugged a little with a smile, “he fell off your shoulder when you ran away from me.”

She can already feel her cheeks heating up in embarrassment. “Sorry about that, really. I didn’t mean to run away like that. I swear! Just. I kept rambling and I said things out loud that were meant to stay in my head, didn’t really want you to hear them. Sometimes I just can’t shut up, it’s like my brain to mouth filter doesn’t work right so I just had to like get away before I said something really stupid. Like-” She slapped her mouth shut, her eyes going wide.

There goes ever showing her face again to Chrissy and just when she didn’t think it could get any worse. That is until she realizes Chrissy is giggling, looking way too adorable with her own blush.

“I’m really so-“

“Don’t be! I think it’s cute, rambling and all.” Chrissy admits quietly, not meeting her eyes.

Robin doesn’t find it cute, rambling is what landed her in many awkward situations and always caused someone to be annoyed with her. It’s an annoyance more than anything, really.

“Chrissy you really don’t have to say that, rambling it’s- it’s annoying”

Chrissy shook her head, a pout on her face. “Can, can I come in?”

It finally registered that they’re still standing in her doorway. Her blush comes back full force and she quickly moves out of the way to let Chrissy in before closing the door and leading her back to her bedroom.

It’s a good mix of comfy with her normal grunge-ish, androgynous style. The walls are painted a dark forest green, there’s posters from bands and singers she likes covering it. A few movie posters she stole from work, polaroids of her and Steve and then some of her with her band friends and the Party. But most are her and Steve. In the corner of the room opposite of her messy bed, is a beanbag with a tiny little shelf with her own personal library. It’s full of books from musical theory to queer literature. Signs pointing to her sexuality is clear, a pink triangle painted above the shelf.

Hopefully it doesn’t scare Chrissy away.

Chrissy is looking around before squealing and dropping onto the beanbag, “I’ve always wanted one!”

It’s making her blush seeing Chrissy in her space like this, she doesn’t know what to do besides drop down on her bed. “They are really a better alternative to chairs. I wanted comfort, a space where I could curl up with a book and a blanket but not my bed. Ya know? Then one day I was out with my mom and she pointed out that beanbag saying it would match my walls. So, it ended up being a birthday present and well now it’s here!” She’s rambling again and looking everywhere but at Chrissy’s face, “I’d really recommend you get one for yourself, it’s worth it”

Chrissy’s giggling and well, Robin’s weak, she finally lands her gaze back on the blonde only to see her sitting up as best as one can on a beanbag. Her cheeks a pretty red and a smile on her lips, overall she’s just so pretty.

“Until I get my own, can I just use yours?” Chrissy asks and if this was anyone else, Robin would normally immediately say no. It’s her beanbag, the only other person who sits there usually besides her is Steve and that normally leads to both of them sitting on it with a tangle of limbs.

She doesn’t any of that, instead just nods because if she open her mouth it’d all fall out and she’s already rambled enough.

Chrissy beams at her and it melts her heart.

They fall into a comfortable silence, it’s so nice and quiet she swore Chrissy was asleep. Until she looked over and found her leaning back again but this time with a book. She can see her eyes follow the words, she flips the page and she looks so at peace right now.

It makes her heart beat a little faster and her blush rise back to her cheeks again. There’s a tiny voice in the back of her head to stop being a chicken. It’s annoying that it sounds like her Dingus. She’s not a chicken, she’s just…scared. Afraid that if she does make a move, Chrissy will be disgusted by her and never talk to her again.

This is nothing like what happened with Steve, he got lucky that the guy he liked was stupidly open with having the black bandanna in his pocket. Chrissy has no tells. She’s never said anything that would even remotely suggest she likes girls. It’s only ever been boys for Chrissy and Robin is very much not a boy.

“-bin? Hey, you okay?”

She jerks backwards, flailing a little, shocked back into reality. Her eyes widen before she sits back up again and instead of Chrissy sitting on the beanbag, they’re now face to face.

Chrissy must notice panic on her face, moving back so there’s more space between them. She’s frowning, a concern crossing onto her face. “You zoned out on me, Robin. Everything okay?”

She nodded her head, words failing her suddenly and that’s a wonder.

“Are you sure? Because I asked you a question a few minutes ago and you didn’t answer me, or um, did you ignore it because it’d be weird?” Chrissy had a blush on her face but it looked different than before somehow, like she was embarrassed and Robin couldn’t figure out why.

She shook her head to get the swirling doubt out, “I’m fine, really. I just got lost in my head. Wasn’t ignoring you I swear, it would be hard to ignore you, actually. Sometimes I’m like, hyper aware of you. It’s weird and I probably shouldn’t say that because it sounds creepy and honestly I don’t want to sound creepy but I can’t help it.” Her cheeks are burning and she can’t stop, “whatever it is you asked it’s probably not weird, nothing you ask me can be weird actually, I mean unless you asked me if I was ready to like have kids or something now that would be weird. Oh my god, I need to shut up, but I’m nervous around you all the time” She forces herself to stop talking by covering her mouth with a hand while waving at Chrissy to talk now.

Chrissy laughs before sitting next to her and Robin follows, hand still against her mouth. Chrissy smooths out her dress and fiddles with the edge, Robin’s eyes following. “Well, I was thinking maybe, if you wanted to. If you’d go with me to this street fair for art coming up. Just, um, the two of us. Maybe, if- if you wanted to go”

“Like, um, like a date?” She doesn’t know why, but it comes out as a whisper. Probably because she’s afraid that she read this wrong, girls ask their friends to hang out all the time. But with the way it was said, it didn’t sound like a friend asking their friend.

Instead of a vocal response, Robin watches with wide eyes as Chrissy nods her head before looking up and meeting her gaze.

“Am- am I dreaming? Like, are you real right now?” She blurts out, before slapping her mouth, “oh my god, Chrissy.”

“If you’re worried I’m using you as like, a test? I’m not, I swear. I really like you, and I noticed the symbols and how many queer literature you have.” Chrissy explains to her, “and um, I overheard you and Steve one day talking about who was hotter Michelle Pfeiffer or Molly Ringwald”

She’s going to both punch her best friend and then squeeze him in the tightest hug ever for convincing her to play who’s hotter in public.

Taking a moment to breathe, she closes her eyes before opening them again and placing her hand on Chrissy’s slightly shaky one, “Chrissy, I believe you and I would love to go on a date with you”

Chrissy smile is bright and she matches it. She tugs Chrissy’s hand to hold it properly, squeezing it, in a way to prove to herself that this is real. Which it is and she’s going to be on a high for the rest of the day.

They stay like that for another hour, figuring out the plans for the date. Only stopping when her mom yells up that dinner was finished. Chrissy doesn’t stay for dinner, but she does kiss her cheek before she leaves. Because of that, she doesn’t even mind that her mom bugs her about Chrissy.

Nothing can ruin Robin’s good mood, she got her frog plushie back and now she has a date with Chrissy Cunningham at a street fair coming up.

~~

Sorry I didn’t get to writing out their actual date, Robin rambled too much 😅 maybe I’ll write their date out at some point. Also if the formatting looks weird, sorry about that the tumblr app is pissing me off and not letting me fix it. I’m also not using drafts because it deletes things. ANYWAY!! I hope you enjoyed this and that it’s pretty close to being accurate to the characters, this was one of my first times writing out Robin and Chrissy.

#Buckingham #Buckingham fic #Robin x Chrissy #robin buckley x chrissy cunningham #robin buckley #chrissy cunningham #stranger things fic #steddie #platonic stobin #nburkhardt writes #Robin doesn’t know that she sometimes speaks out loud without meaning too #it’s a terrible habit

[veil-of-lament]

lost within the ocean breeze

or, mermay buckingham. because.

#robin buckley x chrissy cunningham #robin x chrissy #stranger things buckingham #buckingham #bandqueen #mermay #stranger things fanart #robin buckley #chrissy cunningham #also featuring a shirt i definitely have in my closet #and way more detail than this warranted #but- hey my girls deserve water that feasibly looks like water

[jellyfishloveletterghosts]

I dunno, I should be packing but Psych au?

Where Robin is Shawn and Steve is Gus. Or vice versa but I can see Steve bitching but ending up going along with things.

Lassiter Billy, where when he gets away from his father he goes very straight laced by the books. Robin always shove Steve in his direction because she knows he's a sucker for him. Billy has a tendency to let them get away with shit one days where Steve is wearing his tightest khakis.

Chrissy is his bubbly new partner who’s always letting Robin do shit she shouldn’t. Is it because they're flirting or because she honestly believes Robin is psychic. No one is sure but there is a betting pool on when they will get together.

Eddie is the coroner, I don't think I need to elaborate on that.

I haven't seen the show in ages I can't think of who anyone else should be. Though Juliet's roll could also be filled by Nancy. It's hard to chose.

#buckingham #harringrove #jellyhc #robin buckley x chrissy cunningham #billy hargrove x steve harrington

[hilarychuff]

Chrissy hesitates while getting dressed Thursday morning. She’s got her uniform on, her cheer cardigan too, but when she looks at herself in the mirror, she half wants to shrug the sweater off. Hang it back up in her closet. She won’t be swapping it out for Jason’s letterman after first period today. What would happen if she just… left it at home. Maybe, if she gets cold, someone else will let her borrow their jacket for the day. She wonders if Jason would offer. Would he insist? Can’t have my girl looking cold, Chris, she imagines in his voice. I know it’s game day, but here, you should take it. Maybe it wouldn’t be like that, though. Maybe it would be the opposite. Baby, how am I supposed to feel you cheering me on all day long if I don’t have my jacket? Plus, you know all the guys are wearing theirs. It’s good for team unity, and I have to set the right example as captain. I thought you girls were wearing your sweaters today. She half entertains the idea of sneaking into her father’s room to borrow one of his sport coats. What would Robin think if she showed up in a blazer of her own? Or could Chrissy maybe not pull it off the same as Robin does? Robin always looks so cool and effortless in her outfits, like putting them together comes as naturally to her as breathing. Her style is so — her own compared to most of the other girls at Hawkins High. Maybe if Chrissy tried to copy it, she’d just look exactly like she would be: a little girl playing dress up in her father’s closet. Maybe she could squeeze into one of PJ’s. His size probably isn’t so different from hers. As long as he has something that fits over her shoulders, it wouldn’t matter too much if the arms were a little short. She could roll the sleeves to her elbows the same way Robin usually does. Chrissy doesn’t typically wear anything tight, though. Her own sense of style tends to favor a looser fit, her closet full of long cardigans and pleated pants, structured jumpsuits and billowy dresses that can be belted in at the waist. Her mom would call those sorts of items forgiving. Things that can change with or hide her fluctuating weight. It also tends to mean it’s less noticeable when her mother buys her clothes a size too large or decides she’s gained another few pounds and takes it upon herself to let out all the seams. Oh. Her mother. Her mother would never let her leave the house in something like that. Not ladylike enough. Of course, it’s one thing to wear her boyfriend’s jacket at school, but it’s another to include men’s clothing as part of her regular wardrobe. And it’s not like she’d be able to hide it from her parents. Even if she managed to sneak into someone else’s closet without being discovered, she couldn’t just stuff a blazer into her backpack and pull it out later. Not if she also wanted to fit any of her books in there. She’s pretty sure there isn’t a world where her mother would be swayed by any claims that it’s some sort of new trend either. Laura Cunningham always insists that truly well-dressed women always look timeless. Classic. They don’t chase trends that will look silly in pictures they’ll be showing their children one day. There’s no use, really, in trying to prepare for a conversation she’ll just lose. She keeps the cardigan on.

all the best people see you (all the best people know), chapter 8, a season 4 buckingham au

#buckingham #chrissy cunningham #robin buckley #chrissy x robin #robin x chrissy #robin buckley x chrissy cunningham #stranger things #stranger things fic #st fic #inadvertent desert hearts movie date au #my writing #my graphics

[schrijverr]

I Found Myself a Cheerleader 1

Chapter 1 out of 28

Bumped to the lowest step on the social ladder after his fight with Billy, Steve gets roped in with the cheer team. What starts as a favor to help them out when one member breaks her leg in turn for protection from the brunt of the bullying, sets the universe on a different path.

He befriends Chrissy and grows as thick as thieves with her. Over the summer he adds Robin to his friends as well. Meanwhile Eddie seems to have taken an interest in the fallen king, but Steve can’t figure out quite yet why Eddie is talking with him. Flirting with him?

On AO3.

Ships: eventual steddie & buckingham

Warnings: period typical sexism, period typical homophobia, internalized homophobia, child neglect mention, bullying, f-slur

~~~~~~~~~

Chapter 1: The Deal

Steve has quit the basketball team after winter break. Before winter break he was technically still on the team, but not allowed to play due to his concussion. Now he is healed enough to get back on the court, but Billy has turned most of the team against him, which makes playing impossible. Hence the quitting.

However, now he has a slot he needs to fill if he wants to make it into college. He can’t join some braniac team, he’s barely scraping by. Going back to swimming also isn’t an option, since the swim team is practically the same as the basketball team and he doesn’t fancy drowning.

He wishes he could just continue playing basketball. That it wasn’t that bad. That he could man up and make it through. But he can’t, he really can’t. He likes his bones in one piece and the doctor said another concussion might be the end of what his brain can take.

So, he sits longingly alongside the court and watches the team train, aching to just have an activity he is good at again. To not feel like such a failure.

A loud and frustrated sigh pulls him from his thoughts and his eyes are pulled to the cheerleaders that are also practicing in the gym. The captain of the cheer team, Molly, throws up her hands and says: “It isn’t gonna work like this.”

“No need to snap,” Heather, one of the other girls, scowls. “Mary can’t help that she’s sick. She’ll be back after the weekend and then we’ll train the whole thing properly.”

“I know that,” Molly snaps. “But it’s throwing everything off and we need to get this routine straight. We can’t afford to have anyone missing.”

“We know,” Heather rolls her eyes, still posed to fight.

Molly sighs and says: “I just need this competition to go well.”

Heather softens at that and places a hand on Molly’s shoulder and smiles: “We’re gonna kill it. Don’t worry too much, Molls. Lets just run it again, okay?”

“Yeah, okay,” Molly smiles, before loudly clapping her hands and getting everyone back into position to go from the top.

Without realizing Steve has ambled closer to the cheerleaders. He startles a little at the loud clap, before watching at the routine starts up again. He has often watched the cheerleaders, they’re at the sides of big games and the team always stared together.

However, he has never really paid any attention to their training. Right now, though, he watches in awe as they toss each other in the air and keep smiling as they tumble about.

Since he is aware of it, he can clearly see where one of the girls is missing. When some of the girls are lifted some shapes are uneven and a few stay on the ground with an annoyed look. Certain formations are also incomplete. At one point one of the girls nearly falls, because someone who is supposed to be there isn’t.

The routine comes to an end and Steve can clearly see Molly, who is on the cusp of breaking down again. In Steve’s opinion it doesn’t look that difficult, well, what seems to be missing that is. It’s just holding someone up. Not like he has to do a back flip.

He hasn’t consciously realized what he’s doing until he’s tapping Molly on the shoulder. She startles and turns, before getting big eyes and smiling softly as she greets: “Hi, Steve.”

While Steve’s popularity has gone down considerably since Billy showed up, he is still well liked under the female student body. He smiles back at her and says: “Hi, Molly. Uhm- This is really stupid.” He rubs the back of his head, suddenly aware of how much he is not allowed to do what he is about to do. “I-” he lets out a breath and decides to go for it. “I heard you talking earlier, about missing someone. Can I help?”

It’s quiet and Steve immediately regrets even looking in their direction.

A boy doesn’t do cheerleading, it’s a girls sport. Barely even a sport. Just a thing they do to look pretty. He has no business being close to it beyond asking a cheerleader out. He has already plummeted vastly in popularity, the last thing he needs is gay rumors floating around. No matter how true they’d be.

He just wants to be helpful, do something he might be able to for a change. But he didn’t think it through and now he’s done something stupid. Like he always does.

Steve is about to take it back, play it off as a joke or just walk away if nothing comes to mind in the next second, when Molly lights up. “That’s perfect!” she grins. “Mary is a base position, which should be easy to teach. Thank you so much.”

Some of the other girls send him some weird looks, but after Molly’s relieved thanks, he doesn’t have the heart to turn away. So, he awkwardly shrugs: “It’s no problem, not like I have anything better to do.”

He is ignored by Molly, who turns around and addresses the others: “Go over parts you’re struggling with for a little. Lisa, Karen, Susan, come here!”

Three girls come their way as the others devolve into doing their own thing. Molly asks him: “Are you warmed up?”

Steve doesn’t think this will be that much effort, so he nods. It’s honestly his mistake, along with staying in his jeans and shirt.

He is shown the proper way to hold up a flyer. He hadn’t even realized before now that there were multiple positions in cheerleading. However, here he is. He is filling in for a base, so he’s holding Karen, the flyer, along with Lisa, the other base. Meanwhile Susan is the back spotter, she is the first to catch Karen should it go wrong. It’s important to catch the flyer properly or one can risk hurting the flyer quite badly.

Within a few minutes Steve gains so much respect for cheerleading, something he and the other guys have always put aside as some easy girly thing.

As he lifts Karen, he can feel her muscles under his hands as she has to keep everything tense as to not loose her balance on just their hands. Lisa is also a lot stronger than she looks, holding half of Karen’s weight along with Steve. He is already sweating through his polo and he definitely can’t keep smiling as he does this.

After a while he is able to get it. Molly is satisfied with his progress and deems it enough to call everyone together again. She says: “Okay, we can’t go through the routine, because Steve doesn’t know it and he isn’t going to learn this quick. So, we’re just going through the pyramids slowly, alright?”

She gets cheers back and instructs Lisa to make sure Steve knows what to do as everyone moves back to position.

Lisa is his saving grace, because Steve can’t keep up with how easily they all shift between position, creating structures out of just their bodies, before flipping down, tumbling around and doing it again.

He hadn’t realized how much mental space it takes to keep track of everyone’s position. He is very impressed with all the cheerleaders and he is genuinely having fun.

Cheerleading is a physical activity that he’s actually quite good at, throwing Karen around with ease and watching her fly. And for once he isn’t being pushed around.

A part of him knows that he shouldn’t be having fun, that he should have never even offered to do it and play it off as trying to get a date if someone asked. But it’s hard to keep the happiness away or not reply to the high five Lisa offers when they pull off a tricky stunt.

So, it’s not until the basketball team takes a break and he is spotted that the pit in his stomach, that he felt when he first offered, returns. He’s holding one of Karen’s legs when he hears Billy sneer: “Look at that, Harrington’s turned from a king into a princess.”

He can’t risk hurting Karen, so he grits his teeth as he hears the rest of his former team snicker. The stunt still needs to be completed, so Steve tries to tune them out as they bounce so Karen gets the height she needs for a flip.

Once she is safely on the ground, Steve looks at his old teammates, who have all collected to laugh at him. His cheeks burn with shame and he looks to the ground. He just wanted to help, do something nice for a change.

A hand on his arm, makes him look up. Lisa is looking at him with a kind and concerned look. She quietly says: “You don’t have to stick around. We get it. Mary will get better and we’ll pick up training Monday again.”

Steve is quite tempted to take her offer. To just run and be a coward, because a coward is better than being tossed for the tigers. Being a coward is better than being a queer.

However, before he can, Molly is speaking up. She overheard what Lisa said and doesn’t want to stop training. She needs Steve there. She crosses her arms and says: “All of you stop laughing right now, or you’re not getting a date from a cheerleader for the rest of the year. Steve was gentleman enough to offer help when we needed it. Maybe take an example.”

That shuts the boys right up. Steve knows what they talk about in the locker room, almost all the boys there want a date with a cheerleader. A bit of fun at Steve’s expense isn’t worth blowing that chance over.

Billy’s face goes through an amusing journey of emotions. In the end he scoffs and turns away with a: “Let the ballerinas do their thing.”

Molly’s face contorts in a hateful look, before she takes a deep breath and lets it go. Steve honestly admires her ability to do so.

She turns back to Steve and puts on big eyes as she clasps her hands together and says: “Please, Steve, stay for a little. We really appreciate your help. You’re such a gentleman, I mean that, you know. A knight in shining armor. Please, stay a little more, we’d all owe you.”

If he hadn’t grown up around his mother and seen how Molly plastered on the dainty, pleading eyes, he wouldn’t have realized this was a manipulation. She is playing into his masculinity and implying he could score a date if he stays.

Luckily for Molly, Steve is having too much fun to turn down a reason to continue, so he pretends to fall for it. He puts on his best smirk and replies: “I mean, how could I refuse a lady in need of help.”

She brightens up, this time the smile is genuine and Steve feels even better about his decision to fuck what anyone thinks. He has already been kicked to the bottom of the ladder. If he has to be here, he might as well do something fun.

He discovers that cheerleaders train almost more rigorously as the basketball team. He is there for another hour, running through the drills again and again. By the time they go home, he at least knows where to stand to not be in the way, though the arm movements escape him.

As he leaves, Lisa gives him a soft smile. She isn’t the loudest, but Steve quite likes her calm and steady presence. Throwing Karen around together has created a bit of a bond. So, he smiles back and says: “Bye, Lisa.”

“Bye, Steve,” she says. “Thank you for staying. Molly has been really stressed about practice lately.”

“Oh, it was nothing,” he tells her, looking around for a second, before he admits: “It was quite fun actually. You girls are crazy strong. I never realized.”

That makes Lisa let out a laugh and she grins: “We’re full of surprises,” before they truly say goodbye and go their separate ways.

Steve has been avoiding showering at school with the basketball team out to get him, so he gets into his car in sweaty clothes. Today he’s relieved his parents are never home. Explaining why he’s sweaty in his day clothes to his father would likely be the last thing he did.

Another thing he is relieved about, is that it is weekend. He hopes that it either doesn’t go the rounds that badly with no one stuck in one building and that by the time Monday rolls around the excitement will have died down.

He gets radioed by Dustin, asking him to drive him and the rest of the nerd squad to the arcade. He agrees easily, needing the distraction.

Because what Steve hadn’t counted on, is how the cheerleading would get stuck in his head. He had expected it to be a one time thing, something nice that would keep his mind of basketball for a bit, but instead he can’t help but think back on how much fun he’d had.

Cheerleaders have a very different team dynamic from basketball. There is more yelling of good jobs and needing to work together, instead of people trying to steal the spotlight and pushing each other around. It was quite nice.

Plus, it felt great to exercise again. And it felt much more like a team sport with Karen needing to trust him and Lisa to keep her upright and to count on Lisa to do her part, while Steve did his. He can’t deny that a part of him wants to do it again.

So, he drives up to Dustin’s house, then the others and listens to them gush about the campaign Will is running, making the shy boy blush. Then they move on how Max still has the high score, but she’s gonna meet them there and Dustin will observe her strategy, then beat her.

Steve doubts that, Max is a beast in the arcade. However, he lets Dustin live in his world as he watches them go nuts, lending the group quarters when they start to come up short.

He muses that these kids have a hobby they like. He used to have that, but basketball is kind of off limits right now. Even playing just for fun is ruined, since those games are mostly the basketball team or people who are friends with the basketball team. All of whom now hate Steve.

He still shoots some hoops alone in his backyard and swims laps in the pool (albeit with less ease after Barb), but he wants to do something with other people again.

Once more his mind drifts to cheerleading, but he quickly pushes that thought away. Cheerleading is for girls, he already got enough shit as is, he doesn’t need more. Besides, Mary will return and they won’t even need an extra person.

It’s not going to happen, so he should let it go and find something new.

“For the last time, zoomer isn’t a thing,” Mike complains loudly. Lucas jumps to Max’s defense at that, something that isn’t appreciated and the group devolves into squabbling over DnD categories again.

Steve wonders if he should pick up DnD. Dustin has explained it to him a few times, but it sounded hard and the thought of having to face Eddie Munson and his crew made Steve’s stomach churn.

He knows it’s his own fault that such a group will probably not welcome him with open arms, but it still isn’t a great feeling. Now that he is paying attention to others than the basketball team more, he can’t deny that the Hellfire club seems to like each other a lot more. Something that Steve will never get to experience, because he burned those bridges before they could even form.

Maybe he could join band. His parents forced him to learn piano when he was younger, though he doubts piano is part of band. Besides, he has seen the people at the band table. He likely won’t be welcome there either.

Honestly, at this point the only place he might not get shunned is the Hawkins High school newspaper, but that will be because of Nancy and Jonathan, which will only make it all the more mortifying. No thanks.

Contemplating his position, he lets out a deep sigh. Then yelps when a voice next to him suddenly asks: “Are you okay, Steve?”

He looks down to see Will looking up at him with concerned eyes. Steve forces a smile onto his face and assures the kid: “Yeah, baby Byers, I’m okay. You doing good? Need a quarter?”

“No, it’s fine,” Will tells him. “I was just asking, because you look sad. Mom told me to keep an eye on you. She wants to make sure you know you can talk to her about what all happened. You sure nothing’s bothering you?”

Will says it with the ease of a kid, who isn’t fully aware of when they are sharing too much, but the words hit Steve right in the chest.

After the Upside Down bullshit, he hasn’t been sleeping as well and there is no one really to lean on. He is distracting himself with school and driving the kids around. His parents aren’t home to notice anything, yet here Joyce is, showing more care than any adult ever has for Steve.

He has to swallow as to not break down and ruffles Will’s hair as he clears his throat. “That’s sweet, kid, but I’m good. I promise. Just thinking about school.”

At that Will nods with understanding and it hurts that this little kid knows more about what Steve is going through at his age. No one should have to struggle with kids being mean, but Will especially doesn’t deserve it with all he has been through.

To distract from the moment, he holds up a quarter and says: “Wanna bet I can beat Dustin’s Pac-Man high score?”

Will giggles: “He’ll be so mad if you do. It’s his only pride after Max took over everywhere.”

“Lets go boil his blood,” Steve tells Will, even though he isn’t even good at Pac-Man. However, it will make Will laugh and then he can make the kid try, paying for it, because he saw how Will ran out of coins a bit ago.

The weekend passes further until it is Monday and he is parking at the school. He isn’t looking forward to walking in there, not able to predict what he’ll find. He doesn’t like being unprepared in social situations.

As he walks down the hall, he gets a few weird looks, but no one says anything about it. Maybe Molly’s threat about the dates worked and no one is daring. Steve hopes so.

His luck doesn’t hold up, sadly. During first period a note is handed to him with a crude drawing of him in a cheering costume, the word princess written above it. The door to a classroom is opened for him with the comment: “Ladies first.”

Steve honestly finds it more childish and annoying than hurtful, except that it keeps hitting home what he already knew. That he wasn’t supposed to do that and there is something wrong with him, because he actually enjoyed himself, because he even thought of doing it.

Because cheerleading is for girls. It’s not for boys and the fact that Steve did it and enjoyed it means that somewhere in his brain there is something wrong with him. He already knows that there is something wrong with him, but having it spelled out for him?

It’s soul crushing.

By the time lunch period rolls around, he already knows that he doesn’t want to be in the cafeteria right now. It’s still too cold for anyone to sit outside, besides stepping out for a smoke. So, he sets up camp on a wall outside and eats his lunch. Rather cold than a target.

About halfway through lunch, he hears someone approaching. He steels himself for whatever is coming his way. He turns around, surprised to see it’s Molly and Heather, Lisa running after them as if she is trying to stop them.

She doesn’t make it in time, because Molly is already there. She is staring him down and Steve wonders what she has heard to make her look like that. Uncertain, he asks: “Can I help you with something?”

“Emma broke her leg,” Molly says in lieu of an answer.

“Okay?” Steve replies.

“We need someone to take her place in the competition two weeks from now,” Molly explains further and it starts to click what she is asking.

“No,” Steve denies immediately. He wants to say yes, he would love to do more if he were to listen to the little voice in his head, but he can’t. He has already seen what just one time helping out did to the tatters of his reputation, he can’t imagine what everyone will think or say if he took part in a competition.

Frustration creeps into Molly’s face and she protests: “But Lisa said you told her you had fun. You were good at it. Why not?”

“Molly, no.” Lisa is finally there. She looks apologetically at Steve and says: “I didn’t know she would do this when I mentioned it. I’m sorry, Steve.”

She looks genuinely distraught and Steve instantly feels bad for her. They had built up the most camaraderie together. She obviously felt the same and despite the fact that they needed someone, there was already enough solidarity between them after one practice that she would stick up for him against the cheer captain. That never happens in basketball.

“Let her try,” Heather cuts in, backing up the cheer captain. From what Steve had seen, Heather isn’t afraid to stop Molly if she thinks the other goes too far. Right now she apparently agrees with her friend, though.

Lisa sends him another apologetic look that he answers with a reassuring smile.

Molly gets the attention back on herself and says: “Look, I know why you’re saying no. Trust me, I get it. But this competition is the biggest of the season. It’s statewide and there will be college scouts there. You don’t understand, I need this competition to go well.”

She looks at him with intense eyes and Steve knows this so well. Right now she isn’t trying to manipulate him, she is talking to him as a fellow athlete, whose only chance to get into college is a sports scholarship.

And a part of Steve wants to think fuck it and say yes. He is already hanging on the bottom, might as well do whatever he wants. But he can’t be like the party, like those kids who don’t care and just have fun. He can’t be anything but a Harrington.

“It’s just two weeks,” Heather pleads. “The competition is in two weeks. We’ll train every day so you get it down, you do it once and then you can walk away. We won’t ask more than that.”

“I can’t,” Steve says, sounding apologetic. “You know, I can’t. I should have never offered to help Friday. I don’t even know why you would want to associate with me. You’d be better off trying to convince one of your own friends.”

Molly huffs: “All of our friends are already on the cheer squad.”

“And most girls aren’t able to get strong enough to do the lifts in two weeks,” Lisa adds quietly, joining her friends. She obviously also wants him to say yes, even if she feels bad for how his words were being used against him.

Heather agrees too: “And we can’t teach them how to stunt or catch either in that time. We already know you can fill in as a base. Emma is a base too.”

The more they beg, the harder it is for Steve to say no. He doesn’t want to say no, they all know it, but he has to. He will only be here for half a year more, then he’ll be off to college. He’d like to say in one piece until then and this will be counterproductive.

“Think of it as a deal,” Molly tells him.

“A deal?” he repeats.

“Yeah, the cheer squad is big,” Molly explains. “At least one of us is in all of your classes. We can offer you protection, a social barrier and you can pay us back by doing the competition.”

“I don’t need you to protect me,” Steve scoffs, though it is quite obvious to everyone in Hawkins High that Steve is a prime target without backup. Now that he stopped performing King Steve, it’s like everyone can see all that is wrong with him.

Clearly Molly thinks the same, because she raises her brow at him. She says: “I’m serious, Steve. I know it’s nonsense, but we’re the girls the guys want to get with and the other girls want to be. And cheer squad sticks together. When Tommy harassed Karen at a party, we all agreed he wouldn't get a date. And look at him. He’s with Carol now.”

Steve remembers the cheer squad turning against Tommy, neither of them had ever figured out why until now. Carol has always considered herself too cool for the cheer squad and Steve wonders if her dating Tommy is a rebellion against them.

“If you say yes, Billy won’t have another date with a cheerleader ever. You’ll sit at the cheer table surrounded by girls. If one of the basketball boys wants a date, they have to be nice to you,” Molly lays it out again. “Just think about it for a second.”

Molly is terrifying, Steve decides. If she ever decides to go into business, she’ll be unstoppable. It’s hard to find reasons to say no. He likes it and his father isn’t even home to be mad about it. His parents will be back next month, by that time everyone will have forgotten about this. They’ll never even have to know.

“Does the deal still stand after the competition?” Steve asks. He is also the son of a business man, he might not like it, but he knows the trade well.

“It sticks till the end of the year and if I make it into college and you have to repeat a year, it extends to next year too,” Molly promises. “Lisa will ensure it.”

“I don’t think that will happen,” Steve protests, but he feels quite relieved. He holds out his hand and smiles: “You got yourself a deal.”

“Yes,” she cheers, shaking his hand, before using the movement to pull him from the wall. “Come on,” she tells him. “No more moping outside. It’s way too cold.”

The four of them make their way inside. Steve is a big believer in seeing is believing, so he still braces himself when they enter the cafeteria. However, no one is willing to risk a cheerleader getting caught in the cross fire.

He gets many glares, but he has long since learned to keep his head up and ignore it as he follows the girls to their table. When he gets there, multiple faces erupt in smiles and Karen excitedly asks: “Did you agree?”

Steve is taken aback by how happy they all are with the news. All of them practically cheer when he nods and they pull him in their midst as they start explaining the competition to him. It’s overwhelming in a good way. Their excitement is infectious and it’s the best lunch period he’s had since before Halloween.

When lunch period is over, Heather hooks her arm around his and smiles: “We have History right now, right?”

“Yeah,” Steve agrees, a bit stunned how seriously she takes it without making a big deal out it. He should probably be embarrassed that he is being protected by a group of girls, but he can’t bring himself to care much when Heather rips up the note before it reaches him and he isn’t tripped up again in the hallways.

He has an escort for the entire day and after the last bell has rung, Susan walks with him to cheerleading practicing, because that is what he has agreed to.

This time, he knows better than to try and do this in his normal clothes, so he changes in a toilet stall, feeling a sense of solidarity with all the less sporty kids he’s seen doing that throughout the years.

They start with a warm up, which Steve takes very seriously after how sore he’d been all weekend, as he ignores the looks of the basketball team when they see him stretching with the cheerleaders in his gym clothes.

Those fucker probably thought he would be running far away from them and not dare to do anything they would dislike ever again. Steve feels a smug sense of defiance as he moves to touch his toes.

The others easily slide into splits and Steve honestly has no clue how they do it. Lisa makes eye contact with him from where she is relaxing in a split and quirks a brow at his confused expression, like she can’t understand what is weird about the situation.

“How do you do that?” Steve asks as an explanation. “How are your legs not killing you right now? That’s so fucking impressive.”

Understanding dawns on her face and she softly laughs: “Practice and patience. I’ve been doing cheer since middle school.”

“Wish I could do that,” Steve comments.

“Don’t let coach hear that or she’ll make it her mission to get you there and let me tell you, she is a hardass,” Lisa informs him.

Steve honestly hadn’t considered the fact that the cheer team would also have a coach and anxiety creeps up at the idea of having to face her. Before he can bolt, they’re interrupted by Ms. Miller, who teaches geography. “Everyone gather around,” she calls.

Reluctantly Steve follows after the girls, trying to stay out of sight of Ms. Miller. However, it’s for naught, because Ms. Miller asks: “Molly, have you found someone to replace Emma?”

“Yes, coach,” Molly says. “Steve is helping out.”

Ms. Miller frowns and Steve feels the heat gathering in his cheeks as everyone parts so she can see Steve. Awkwardly he smiles at her and waves. “Uhm, hi, Ms. Miller.”

“It’s coach Miller here,” she tells him. “I expect you to take this seriously. Are you able to do that, Steve?”

“Yes, coach,” the answer comes naturally.

Coach Miller smiles: “Good to hear. Do you have any clue what we’re doing?”

“Uhm, I subbed for Mary Friday, but other than that, no clue,” Steve answers honestly. “Except that it’s for a competition.”

Surprise flashes over coach Miller’s face at the confession, but it is quickly replaced by glee. She claps her hands together and blows her whistle: “Alright everyone, we’re going through the whole thing from the top. Slowly. Make sure Steve knows what’s happening next.”

Everyone immediately starts moving. For a second Steve stands there unsure of what to do, then Heather comes up to him and smiles: “You’re in my group. Come on.”

He easily follows her as she walks towards two other girls. She introduces them both. First she points to a Latina girl with a high ponytail. “This is Sofia, she’s the other base. Look to her for clues.”

Steve nods and shakes Sofia’s hand. He doesn’t have any classes with her, because he thinks she’s a junior. But he has seen her around in Nancy’s AP Honor courses when they were still dating.

“And this is Chrissy, our flyer,” Heather introduces a red hair shy looking girl.

“Hi,” she greets.

“Hello,” Steve replies with a smile he hopes is reassuring. He’s pretty sure the girl is a sophomore, who knows him only by reputation. He doesn’t want to scare her.

After the introductions, Steve is positioned into the starting position. They go through the entire routine at a snail’s pace to ensure Steve can follow along. Today they’re just focusing on being at the right place, tomorrow they’re primarily running through stunts and he’s told that the arm movements will come later.

Like Friday, Steve is having a blast. Sofia is super smart and hilarious. She makes all sorts of jokes under her breath that have all of them struggling not to crack up under the harsh gaze of coach Miller.

Chrissy is also nice and very caring and enthusiastic when she gets out of her shell a little. The only thing is how tiny she is. Steve feels like he’ll break her ankle if he holds her too tightly.

The atmosphere is also so much more fun. Coach Miller is strict much like the basketball coach is, but she still yells out encouragements too. And between the cheerleaders themselves, they’re constantly calling out: “Well done!” or “Oh my god, that was so good!”

If anyone in the basketball team were to do that, they would’ve gotten weird looks and called a fag or something. Steve doesn’t miss it, but he’s sad that all of them are told not to even encourage each other. The most they are allowed is a slap on the back. It doesn’t seem fair.

But he alone can’t change anything about that, so he finds himself in the limbo of smiling when he gets a compliment, but being too awkward to say anything himself as practice goes on.

At they end they all do their cooling down together. Molly takes a place close to Steve and grills him the entire time about how confident he is he can get it before the competition. Steve assures her that he will, though he adds that he doesn’t know if he can keep smiling. “I don’t even know how you all do that,” he tells her.

Molly laughs at that and answers: “Oh, Steve, you are such a guy, you know.”

“What?” he asks, a bit confused and unsure what could have gotten that response.

“Come back to me when you walked a day in heels,” she says instead of answering. “We’re used to smiling through the pain.”

Steve privately thinks that doesn’t sound very healthy, but he keeps his mouth shut, unsure he wants to have this discussion.

They disperse to the changing rooms. Steve contemplates going home sweaty again, but he’s in just his shorts now and it’s still way too cold outside for that. Plus, the basketball team is still going, so he hurries through his shower, hoping he’ll be done, before they get there.

However, they’re done quicker with their punishment laps than Steve expected. So, he’s in the middle of pulling his shirt on when they flood into the changing room.

For a second both Steve and the team freeze, staring at each other in some sort of stand off. Then play is pressed again and Steve is suddenly face to face with Billy, who spits: “What, hanging out with the freaks and little girls wasn’t enough for you, Harrington?”

Steve takes a deep breath, trying not to let it get to him. He replies: “I’m just helping out, Hargrove, you know, doing something nice? Ever heard of the word nice? Or did you skip that lesson in kindergarten?”

Billy bristles and steps forwards, pushing Steve back onto the bench. He gets right up into Steve’s face, who is hit in the face with the stench of teenage boy sweat. He wrinkles his nose, which is the wrong thing to do, because he is grabbed by the front of his shirt and Billy spits: “Those girls can’t help you here. I’m not done with you.”

“Well, I am done with you,” Steve answers coolly, reaching for his bag. He has tried fighting Billy before, that didn’t work out. Now he just hopes he can flee. Let him be a coward, it’s not like anyone here still respects him.

Anger flares up in Billy’s face again and he reels back, probably to hit Steve. However, he is still holding Steve’s shirt, but Steve never managed to put it on properly. So, before the hit lands, he slithers out of it and onto the floor, rolling away and snatching bag as he shoulders his way through the rest of the team, who are luckily too stunned to stop him as he breaks free.

In the hallway, he runs into Lisa, who looks at him in surprise. He looks downs, realizing he’s shirtless and gives her an awkward smile. “Uh, this is intentional?” he says.

“Harrington!” they hear Billy bellow from the changing room and Steve starts power walking away from the changing room, pulling Lisa with him and putting his sweaty shirt on again.

“Are you okay?” Lisa asks with concern.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Steve smiles at her. “Just going to change at home next time.”

“For what it’s worth, I think it really sucks that they’re treating you like that over this,” Lisa tells him genuinely.

“I get it,” Steve shrugs. “I mean, it’s not exactly conventional, you know. Everyone probably thinks it’s a little weird. Hell, I don’t even know why I offered Friday.”

“Still, you’re just doing something nice,” Lisa argues, a small frown on her forehead. She isn’t the fighting type, but she does get frustrated.

“Don’t think they care,” Steve laughs. “They already didn’t like me before this either. They just have something else to hold against me now.”

Lisa’s frown deepens, but she doesn’t say anything.

Steve honestly doesn’t feel like talking about it, so he changes the subject by asking: “You have a car, or want a ride home?”

“I mean, if you’re sure,” Lisa says.

“Of course,” Steve says. “It’s no trouble. And you can tell me more about the terms on the way. I have no clue what coach Miller is telling us 90% of the time.”

That makes Lisa laugh and they set off towards the parking lot together. Luckily, Billy doesn’t try anything with Lisa nearby. Steve tries not to question it too much. He’s tired of trying to figure out what Billy is thinking.

#rr writing #cheerleader steve harrington au #stranger things #steve harrington #chrissy cunningham #steddie #robin buckley x chrissy cunningham #buckingham #st post season 2 #the party stranger things #the party #good babysitter steve #OCs #billy hargrove #tw: bullying #tw: f slur #tw: period typical sexism #tw: period typical homophobia #tw: internalized homophobia #tw: child neglect