[But see, hereās the thing. The day is won. The psychotic psychic man-child is defeated. Theyāve all lived. And Eddie? Eddie could finish one last year and then leave and never look back. As she should. Find a place where sheāll be appreciated.]
I really donāt know what telling you this means at all. Iām not El. I canāt get into peopleās minds.
[Heās also not Henry but thatās a whole other thing heās not evoking. Instead heās focused on eating the primavera and critiquing it in his head. Not enough zucchini he thinks.]
[ By that metric, Steve could leave right now. He could pack up his fancy car and drive off into the sunset and do literally anything he'd like somewhere where his name didn't feel like an albatross strapped around his neck.
But he won't, because of the kids. And Eddie won't, because of Wayne.
She sets her chin in her palm again and smiles, tilting her head to take him in fully. ]
You're going to have to make me breakfast one day.
[ She winks at him, then takes a bite of her food like she's punctuating a sentence. As her mouth registers what she's just put in it, she can't help making an involuntary noise, her eyes closing. ] Oh my god.
[Leave Robin? Leave Dustin? Leave Max? Thatās so completely not happening itās ridiculous. Plus he doesnāt have a lot saved up right now, what with the quietly helping Susan with the medical bills while the feds go through their stupid process of arguing with Hopper and Joyce and El. Sooner or later those three are going to earn quiet little settlements for them all. Then and only then (and when Robinās graduated) will Steve be able to leave.
Not that any of that can be expressed. The question isnāt raised, the conversation isnāt happening, and Steve is smiling in pride at the reaction to his cooking.
Until he processes the other thing.
Youāre going to have to make me breakfast one day.
There are implications to saying a thing like that. The reason youād make a girl you were dating breakfast would be that she had stayed over. The idea makes him blush, just a little.]
[ There we go. For a minute, Eddie had been starting to worry that Steve wasn't really interested in her; for all that he clearly made an effort to cook for her, which is far more of an effort than any of her other trysts had done for her, things had felt a little stiff at first and she'd been struggling with not letting herself get too into her own head.
Slipping into flirtier waters makes her feel a lot more even-keeled.
Reaching out around the side of the island, she pokes his shin with her toes, not quite a kick, not quite a caress. ]
It's really fucking good, dude. I was right about getting spoiled.
[ She rolls her eyes at him. ] Just take the compliment, Steve.
[ Also, wow, they really do exist in different social strata, don't they? To her, this is special-occasion food. There's vegetables in here she'd never buy on her own, ones she knows the names of but can't remember if she's ever eaten. Most vegetables she ingests come out of a can, more often than not, things that are cheap and shelf-stable and don't require refrigeration until opened. Steve eats like this all the time, by his own admission.
It's strange to think that if they were dating, like actually for-real dating, maybe he'd cook like this for her all the time, too. ]
So you're saying delicious home-cooked meals are a predictable perk of the Dating Steve experience?
[Maybe there is social strata going on here. Steve wouldnāt know it actually. He doesnāt get to eat food made by other people outside of restaurants often. With the Hagans, the Wheelers, the Hendersons, the Sinclairs and the Hollands only, and most of the were at least upper middle class.]
I mean, yeah I guess? But wouldnāt you prefer something fancy? Like a restaurant or something?
[Clearly he hasnāt cooked for other people nearly as much as he could have. There had been a bit of nerves there, and saving it for special occasions. Heād cooked for Tommy and Carol here once and heād gotten teased that heād make someone a very good wife someday. So it had been uncomfortable.]
Steve. Baby. I live in a trailer. For two years of my childhood, I was in foster care living in a group home. Going to a restaurant for me has always been going to Benny's and splitting a meal with my uncle and paying with mostly coins.
[ She doesn't sound upset by this listing of facts, more amused that Steve doesn't seem to get where she's coming from. It makes sense, probably, considering his upbringing. All the houses in Loch Nora cost more than she thinks Wayne has ever made cumulatively in his entire life, let alone what he can afford to pay right now. Steve's always been surrounded by people of the same class as him. He grew up thinking it was normal.
Normal to Eddie, at least before she washed up on Wayne's doorstep, was going to bed early so she wouldn't feel hungry after having to skip dinner because there was no food in the fridge. Normal was walking to school in the winter with her dad's sweatshirt on instead of a coat because coats cost money and she'd just outgrow it anyway. Normal was using duct tape to fix holes in her shoes because she was lucky if she got a new pair every two years.
Normal for Eddie is eating stale tortilla chips out of the bag, a can of reheated soup hunched over the sink, and a forgotten Twizzler fished out of her jacket pocket and calling it a balanced meal. ]
[Strange how something like that never even occurred to him. Like, even with Maxās mom moving her into the trailer park, even having been in Eddieās place a few times, none of that had really sort of percolated down into his brain. Even Robinās family, who had a hard time making ends meet, had always seemed strange to him. And the Byers. That was clearly Joyceās property, regardless of whether or not she had always been able to make the rest of the ends meet.]
Iām sorry. Iā¦ guess I donāt get it. Mark another point down for Steve not understanding other people.
[Good at people sometimes, completely clueless like this.]
How would you get it? [ She seems honestly baffled as she looks at him, her eyes wide and her expression guileless. ] Your childhood wasn't like that, so it makes perfect sense that you wouldn't assume other people's was.
He's also not a big reader, which means he probably didn't spend all of his childhood, escaping into other peoples pearls and lives like edited. Maybe that something that will change if you ever actually listen to the tapes, she got him, or maybe it won't. Either way he's changing now and that's the important part.
Her smile grows fond. ]
Yeah. At least I had Wayne. Way better dad to me than my own ever actually was.
[Yeah, his childhood was something else entirely.]
I think Hawkins might be a, like, magnet for bad fathers. You canāt escape them here.
[Lonnie Byers was apparently shit. Ted Wheeler was uninvolved in his childrensā lives. Max had mentioned a lot of shit about Neil. Dustinās father had never really been in the picture. And Steveās fatherā¦]
Weāre all sort of doomed to bad fathers I guess. They just donāt care.
I'm at work now so I'm doing phone tags, I'm sorry for all the typos š
You know what, that doesn't surprise me at all. [ She shakes her head, chuckling a little. ] That butthead wouldn't understand boundaries if they smacked him in the face.
[ A part of her wonders what Steve would be like without them, if he'd be just as obnoxiously aloof as he was in school, but she finds that the Steve she knows is too strong to override even in just her mind. ]
I dunno, man. The way I hear it, you've saved everyone's lives more than once. Myself included. We'd all be royally fucked without you.
I had to bribe him with promises for other activities this week to make sure he didnāt drop in unexpected tonight. Heās done that before, on date nights. Itās been awkward.
[And he didnāt need to mention that Dustin would absolutely flip if he found out his ābabysitterā and his DM were on a date together. It would be a betrayal. The specific reasons for which would no doubt be decided on the spot and quite numerous.]
Thatās probably overstating things. I do my best, but Iām not the be all, end all. There are people way more important than me. I just put myself between them and harm however I can.
[And he got hurt a lot because of it. Because he knew his body and a strong arm was all he had to offer beyond transportation and money.]
Oh, god. Yeah. I love that kid, but I do not want to see him tonight. [ Especially not if things go well. She's not sure that things are going to go so well that they'll hook up tonight — Steve seems to be trying to break out of pre-established patterns — but even so. Dustin can stay home and Eddie can enjoy having Steve all to herself. ]
Steve. [ She kicks him for real this time. ] You carried me out of hell when I was bleeding to death. Without you, I would absolutely not be here. You absolutely are the be all, end all as far as I'm concerned.
[ Uhh, Eddie would totally hook up with someone even if there is ice cream cake. She'd want to have some first, obviously, but then after there'd be lots of time for playtime. Even if she would be absolutely stuffed full of dairy and would feel a little bit like a beached whale. ]
No, I'm serious. I know you would have done it for anyone, but that doesn't take away from what you did. I'm not trying to pay you back or anything, that's not something that can be paid back. I just want you to know that we all think you're invaluable and you should realize that too.
[Standards, Eddie. You deserve a guy who will give you more than just ice cream cake to get you into bed.
Still, heās looking at her like he doesnāt quite get her. Like maybe there was something about Eddie Munson that he missed over the years and heās trying to understand it now.]
You know, Iām starting to wish I met Robin and you when I was young, before I got close to Tommy and dealt with all of that bullshit.
[ Checkmate: Steve made her a delicious home-cooked meal and got her an ice cream cake. Her standards are fine.
What he missed was how undeniably awesome and cool she is. It's okay, he can figure it out now. ]
I woulda got you into a lot of trouble, [ she points out with a wry little laugh, swallowing down the protestation that his parents would never have let Steve hang around with someone like her. ]
Yeah, but it's not like Tommy and Carol and all of them didn't get me in trouble in entirely different ways. Maybe I needed different trouble than for throwing parties or for bad grades or things like that.
[ Honestly, she has no real idea. Eddie can't play chess either. ]
Well. I can still get you into a lot of trouble now. [ She briefly considers, then decides against, trying to play footsie with him to make it obvious she's teasing him and not giving him some dire warning against hanging out with her. She knows footsie is a thing people do, but she's never done it herself, and the odds of her fucking it up somehow are high.
Too risky. Instead, she just smirks at him and winks showily. That'll be enough to get her point across. ]
[ That is not what she meant and she's pretty sure he knows it, but she decides not to say anything, too baffled by his proclamation that he needs to get another knife. ]
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I really donāt know what telling you this means at all. Iām not El. I canāt get into peopleās minds.
[Heās also not Henry but thatās a whole other thing heās not evoking. Instead heās focused on eating the primavera and critiquing it in his head. Not enough zucchini he thinks.]
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But he won't, because of the kids. And Eddie won't, because of Wayne.
She sets her chin in her palm again and smiles, tilting her head to take him in fully. ]
You're going to have to make me breakfast one day.
[ She winks at him, then takes a bite of her food like she's punctuating a sentence. As her mouth registers what she's just put in it, she can't help making an involuntary noise, her eyes closing. ] Oh my god.
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Not that any of that can be expressed. The question isnāt raised, the conversation isnāt happening, and Steve is smiling in pride at the reaction to his cooking.
Until he processes the other thing.
Youāre going to have to make me breakfast one day.
There are implications to saying a thing like that. The reason youād make a girl you were dating breakfast would be that she had stayed over. The idea makes him blush, just a little.]
So, uh, you like it then?
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Slipping into flirtier waters makes her feel a lot more even-keeled.
Reaching out around the side of the island, she pokes his shin with her toes, not quite a kick, not quite a caress. ]
It's really fucking good, dude. I was right about getting spoiled.
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[He does like his own cooking after all.]
A guyās got to eat, you know? It doesnāt take much difference in time and effort to cook for two.
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[ Also, wow, they really do exist in different social strata, don't they? To her, this is special-occasion food. There's vegetables in here she'd never buy on her own, ones she knows the names of but can't remember if she's ever eaten. Most vegetables she ingests come out of a can, more often than not, things that are cheap and shelf-stable and don't require refrigeration until opened. Steve eats like this all the time, by his own admission.
It's strange to think that if they were dating, like actually for-real dating, maybe he'd cook like this for her all the time, too. ]
So you're saying delicious home-cooked meals are a predictable perk of the Dating Steve experience?
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I mean, yeah I guess? But wouldnāt you prefer something fancy? Like a restaurant or something?
[Clearly he hasnāt cooked for other people nearly as much as he could have. There had been a bit of nerves there, and saving it for special occasions. Heād cooked for Tommy and Carol here once and heād gotten teased that heād make someone a very good wife someday. So it had been uncomfortable.]
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[ She doesn't sound upset by this listing of facts, more amused that Steve doesn't seem to get where she's coming from. It makes sense, probably, considering his upbringing. All the houses in Loch Nora cost more than she thinks Wayne has ever made cumulatively in his entire life, let alone what he can afford to pay right now. Steve's always been surrounded by people of the same class as him. He grew up thinking it was normal.
Normal to Eddie, at least before she washed up on Wayne's doorstep, was going to bed early so she wouldn't feel hungry after having to skip dinner because there was no food in the fridge. Normal was walking to school in the winter with her dad's sweatshirt on instead of a coat because coats cost money and she'd just outgrow it anyway. Normal was using duct tape to fix holes in her shoes because she was lucky if she got a new pair every two years.
Normal for Eddie is eating stale tortilla chips out of the bag, a can of reheated soup hunched over the sink, and a forgotten Twizzler fished out of her jacket pocket and calling it a balanced meal. ]
This is fancy.
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Iām sorry. Iā¦ guess I donāt get it. Mark another point down for Steve not understanding other people.
[Good at people sometimes, completely clueless like this.]
At least you had Wayne though.
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He's also not a big reader, which means he probably didn't spend all of his childhood, escaping into other peoples pearls and lives like edited. Maybe that something that will change if you ever actually listen to the tapes, she got him, or maybe it won't. Either way he's changing now and that's the important part.
Her smile grows fond. ]
Yeah. At least I had Wayne. Way better dad to me than my own ever actually was.
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I think Hawkins might be a, like, magnet for bad fathers. You canāt escape them here.
[Lonnie Byers was apparently shit. Ted Wheeler was uninvolved in his childrensā lives. Max had mentioned a lot of shit about Neil. Dustinās father had never really been in the picture. And Steveās fatherā¦]
Weāre all sort of doomed to bad fathers I guess. They just donāt care.
I'm at work now so I'm doing phone tags, I'm sorry for all the typos š
[ She kicks him again lightly, pushing against his leg with her toes as she smiles at him. ]
They're really lucky to have you.
Donāt worry about it i know it happens
[So he sort of just acquired them whether he wanted them or not. Which he only regretted sometimes.]
Iām more lucky to have them than they are to have me, if it comes right down to it. Without them, well, I donāt know what Iād have.
Forgetting my formatting is just š
[ A part of her wonders what Steve would be like without them, if he'd be just as obnoxiously aloof as he was in school, but she finds that the Steve she knows is too strong to override even in just her mind. ]
I dunno, man. The way I hear it, you've saved everyone's lives more than once. Myself included. We'd all be royally fucked without you.
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I had to bribe him with promises for other activities this week to make sure he didnāt drop in unexpected tonight. Heās done that before, on date nights. Itās been awkward.
[And he didnāt need to mention that Dustin would absolutely flip if he found out his ābabysitterā and his DM were on a date together. It would be a betrayal. The specific reasons for which would no doubt be decided on the spot and quite numerous.]
Thatās probably overstating things. I do my best, but Iām not the be all, end all. There are people way more important than me. I just put myself between them and harm however I can.
[And he got hurt a lot because of it. Because he knew his body and a strong arm was all he had to offer beyond transportation and money.]
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Steve. [ She kicks him for real this time. ] You carried me out of hell when I was bleeding to death. Without you, I would absolutely not be here. You absolutely are the be all, end all as far as I'm concerned.
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Iād have carried anyone out of there. And you did help save my life. So I think weāre just fair here. It doesnāt need to be bigger than it is.
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No, I'm serious. I know you would have done it for anyone, but that doesn't take away from what you did. I'm not trying to pay you back or anything, that's not something that can be paid back. I just want you to know that we all think you're invaluable and you should realize that too.
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Still, heās looking at her like he doesnāt quite get her. Like maybe there was something about Eddie Munson that he missed over the years and heās trying to understand it now.]
You know, Iām starting to wish I met Robin and you when I was young, before I got close to Tommy and dealt with all of that bullshit.
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What he missed was how undeniably awesome and cool she is. It's okay, he can figure it out now. ]
I woulda got you into a lot of trouble, [ she points out with a wry little laugh, swallowing down the protestation that his parents would never have let Steve hang around with someone like her. ]
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Yeah, but it's not like Tommy and Carol and all of them didn't get me in trouble in entirely different ways. Maybe I needed different trouble than for throwing parties or for bad grades or things like that.
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Well. I can still get you into a lot of trouble now. [ She briefly considers, then decides against, trying to play footsie with him to make it obvious she's teasing him and not giving him some dire warning against hanging out with her. She knows footsie is a thing people do, but she's never done it herself, and the odds of her fucking it up somehow are high.
Too risky. Instead, she just smirks at him and winks showily. That'll be enough to get her point across. ]
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[He smiles and only breaks it off because he's realizing he forgot to get a butter knife for the butter.]
I need to grab a butter knife. Need anything? A refill on your water?
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What's wrong with the knife you've already got?
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Bread knives are serrated for cutting, but a butter knife is smoother, better for butter spreading without tearing the bread.