Chapter Text
It’s the first show Corroded Coffin has performed since they all defeated Vecna a month before. Everyone in town is just trying to get back to normal after so much death, but no one’s more desperate for a taste of normalcy than the people who fought the battle themselves. Over the weeks since, they’d checked in with each other almost daily, stopping by each other’s houses, places of work, or simply picking up the phone.
Some, like Robin and Nancy, stay at Steve’s to keep an eye on him and his injuries as they heal. Chrissy has a similar routine with Eddie, sharing the responsibility with Max who’s just across the street, only they go home alone at the end of every day.
Chrissy wishes she had the luxury of choosing where to lay her head at night.
That desire couldn’t be more fervent than the first evening her mother lashes out at her since everything happened. The town never found out the truth or just wouldn’t see it, but either way, they’re all just people with workaday jobs and kids who go to school once again–not heroes who are walking miracles.
It’s all these melancholic thoughts that nag and float through Chrissy’s mind as the boys finish their set, Eddie ending on a power chord that makes the drunk denizens of the bar cheer. She thinks there might be a few more than usual as she looks around the room, smiling while she claps herself. She hears a wolf whistle and looks over to see Steve by the bar, shaking his fists in the air as Nancy and Robin clap eagerly.
But as they turn, she hides her face.
She doesn’t know why since she loves them dearly, but maybe it’s to do with the fact that being seen once again feels like a dangerous endeavor, the bruise on her arm in the shape of her mother’s hand serving as unassailable proof.
“Hey, Chrissy!”
She immediately acts like she was coughing so they don’t suspect, giving them the brightest smile she can manage as all three walk over to her table. “Hey, guys! Like the show?”
“Hell yeah,” Robin exclaims, throwing up devil horns with both hands that make the other two shake their heads in amusement. Chrissy glances to the stage, her stomach flipping as she watches Eddie disappear. She always feels uneasy when he’s out of sight–
“Chrissy?”
“Sorry, yeah?” She shakes her head to clear it, giving Steve an apologetic smile.
But he just gives her a soft grin in return, Nancy’s eye’s darting to the stage and back with a knowing smirk. “I just asked how you’re doing?”
“Oh, I’m good,” she lies, as if she isn’t having horrific nightmares almost every night.
Nancy clocks it immediately. “Chrissy…it’s us.”
The smile slides from her lips and she shrugs. “I don’t know. Better than I was, I guess.”
“That’s good, that’s good, it’s a process.” Robin says encouragingly, rubbing her arm. Her sore arm, but she doesn’t wince. She’s almost proud of that. “How’s the tutoring going?”
She gives a good-natured eye roll to Robin’s quirked eyebrow, catching the implication. For some reason, everyone in the group assumes she and Eddie are together now that Jason’s out of the picture. She wishes that were true, but their sessions are mostly actual studying, him prattling on about D&D as she listens, watching his hands as he writes notes. Those strong hands that saved her more than once in the thick of things, the same hands she thinks about late at night when she’s alone… “He’s definitely going to pass now.”
Robin scoffs. “Finally.”
“Do I hear slander against my name?” Chrissy's heart seizes a little when Eddie appears between Robin and Steve’s shoulders, and the three greet him with enthusiastic but gentle hugs. He dramatically pretends that Nancy’s hug hurt his side, to which she lightly slaps him on the arm as he chuckles. “Chrissy, baby.”
Oh, yeah. That’s why they think they’re together.
She smiles wider to cover the momentary panic as he envelops her in a firm hug, groaning into her neck. “Missed you all day.”
She likes to pretend, in these moments when they’re so close, that they really are together, letting herself get lost in the feel of his arms around her. He leaves one draped across her shoulders as he turns to talk to the others again, and she can’t focus on what they’re talking about, smiling off into the middle-distance as they jabber on.
His fingers fiddle with the edge of her t-shirt sleeve as she finishes her drink in one gulp, but his arm pulls away too soon, making her focus back in on what’s going on. Her heart falls as he walks away. “See you guys later.” He jogs a little through the cleared out room, slipping through the door that leads backstage.
“Bye,” Steve calls sarcastically. “Well, that was short and sweet.”
“’S probably that quiz we’ve all got tomorrow,” Nancy breathes. “I know I’m losing my mind.”
“Yeah, we should probably get home to study,” Robin groans, walking over to rest her forehead on Nancy’s shoulder. “Wanna study with us, Chrissy?”
“Oh, I already studied,” Chrissy admits, fiddling with her hands. “I mean, it’s not that I don’t wanna hang out, it’s just…uh–”
“It’s okay, Chrissy,” Steve soothes, running a hand over where his best friend’s had been, only gentler. “We understand.” His face becomes stoic and her brow furrows. “We’re not cool enough.”
She scoffs hard at the ridiculous joke. “Yeah, that’s it.” She catches Robin’s eye out of the corner of her own, the younger girl looking as if she’s attempting a calculation in her head. But Nancy’s flat-out staring at Chrissy’s face, as if gauging for a reaction, but to what, she doesn’t know. This was part of the reason Chrissy was sometimes skittish around them; since she was the newest and obviously keeping secrets, they were always watching her.
Her nerves are almost frayed by the time Steve lets go, his hands shoving down into his pockets. “So, see ya around.”
“Yeah, bye, guys,” Chrissy says, waving as Robin and Nancy wave back. Steve looks back briefly before walking out the door, but she’s already gathering her things off the table. She returns her empty cup to the bar, thanking the bartender and plunking down some quarters before heading down the hall to the green room.
Being so distracted, she’d forgotten to ask him earlier if he’d studied for the quiz tomorrow already. If not, maybe they can study together, even though she really already has. She’s rehearsing what to say as she reaches the closed door, about to knock when she hears a yelp, followed by a moan. Her hands shake instantly, heart hammering against her ribs at the prospect of danger lurking ahead. Vecna’s dead, he’s dead, he’s dead, he’s–
She opens the door soundlessly, just a fraction to peek through, looking toward the floor and expecting to see someone injured, maybe even a dead body. What she doesn’t expect to see when her eyes dart up is Eddie standing behind a girl who’s bent over a table, thrusting into her as he holds her waist.
It takes Chrissy a moment to realize what she’s witnessing, but their breathy words make it all too clear.
“Yeah, you like that?”
“Harder, Eddie, fuck.”
“Best groupie ever, you know that?” He pulls her up off the table by her hair, clamping a hand over her mouth when she cries out. “Shh.”
Chrissy knows she should shut the door, but she can’t. She’s frozen to the spot, watching as his arms flex against the strain of holding the girl, as his jeans fall a little lower and she sees the bandage on his thigh. She changed it just before the show, and now the back of a stranger’s thigh is pressed against and she absently hopes it doesn't hurt–
“Hey, Chrissy, what’s up?”
She jerks around to see Gareth walk up to her, followed by Jeff and Trent, and her voice is suddenly gone.
They notice her flushed face and wide eyes, and Trent chuckles. “Already flying high, eh, Cunningham?”
She wants to shush them, but instead of even trying to speak she runs past them and into the bar room. Gareth raises an eyebrow at the other two, trying not to laugh. “I don’t think I want whatever she’s having.”
They’re snickering when Eddie appears at the door. “Who was that? Why is this door open?!”
“Hey, don’t look at us, man, it was Chrissy,” Jeff says defensively.
“What?!”
“It was Chrissy!”
“She was just here?!”
“Yeah!”
“With the door open?!” His voice gets comically high, but he’s so obviously terrified that they don’t laugh.
“Yeah, man, chill–oh, shit!” Gareth leans forward enough to see the girl in the green room with him as the other two glean the enormity of the situation.
“Eddie, what’s going on?” she asks in annoyance, buttoning her pants.
“Oh, God, uh…raincheck, I’m so sorry,” he pleads before shutting the door, running down the hall and calling Chrissy’s name.
The guys look at each other, Gareth shaking his head. “How many times have we told him to lock that door?”
“He doesn’t fucking listen,” Trent simply sighs as they head to the van.
Eddie runs out to the parking lot in time to see Chrissy’s car peel away down the road. He can’t even go after her because they haven’t loaded up the equipment yet, and his lungs burn as he struggles for oxygen while the fear of losing her sets in. He kicks at the ground, hands laced behind his head as he curses into the night air.
He sees her briefly the next day at school, but she keeps her eyes to the ground as he brushes by and he feels sick. He makes good on his raincheck later that night.
The next day he learns he barely scraped by on that quiz, which is a relief but not enough of one to make up for losing her. He’s blaring Def Leppard in his empty trailer later that night, and he just decided to get completely stoned and shit-faced when he barely hears the phone ring. Prepared for a crank call, he answers. “Yeah?”
“Can I come over?”
Recognizing Chrissy’s angelic voice, he scrambles to turn down the volume on the stereo, running back into the living room to pick up the receiver again. “Can you come over? Uh, yeah…um, Chrissy–”
But the dial tone sounds in his ear, and he places the phone on the hook, softly thudding his forehead against the wall.
She’s knocking on his door fifteen minutes later, and he’s got his apology loaded and ready, but the words stick in his throat once he sees her face. It’s almost completely blank of emotion, but her eyes are bright and wild, like a small animal being made to feel cornered. He almost lurches out of the doorway as she enters, trying to get his tongue to work again but she beats him to it.
“Ready to study?”
He’s almost taken aback, since it’s just shy of ten o’clock at night, but he’s not about to question her. “Sure.” The one word cracks, and he sounds fucking prepubescent again. Goddamn it.
She just nods before plopping down at the kitchen counter, her pink bookbag landing with a dull thud as she removes papers and writing utensils. He swallows a painful lump before sitting down beside her, willing himself not to look at her perfect pale legs highlighted by a white pleated skirt.
They study for what feels like hours to her, but it's really only about fifteen minutes. The quiet drones on, he’s losing his own personal challenge not to stare and, eventually, he can't stand it anymore.
"Listen, Chrissy, um…" He hesitates, continuing when she doesn't look up. "I'm so sorry for…whatever you saw at the bar. I, uh…well, I don't have any excuses. Do you want any water I'm gonna get some water." He almost knocks the stool over in his frenzy, but she doesn't seem to notice.
"Sure." It's almost a whisper but he hears it.
He talks as he fills two glasses with tap water, hands shaking a little. "So if you wanna yell at me or something, that's fine. It's better than silence."
That makes her look up, confused. "Why would I yell at you?"
"Because I'm a fucking perv who has sex with women behind unlocked doors, I don't know." He can physically feel his inability to shut up kicking in. "I mean, I don't feel like I actually did anything wrong. It was the first time I'd had sex in months, actually. And obviously the first time since…everything that happened. Going through a bit of a dry spell, you know how it is."
"Yeah." She says absently, realizing it's a lie too late. She almost sticks with it but decides on the truth, her cheeks burning. "Actually…I don't."
He stops halfway back to the counter, comprehending what she said mid-stride. "Oh." He sits the glasses down gently, but stays on the opposite side from her, doing his best not to look at the skin her low-cut top reveals. More low-cut than usual, he notes. "Uh…then I'm really, really sorry."
"Why?"
"Because you're all…innocent and shit." She rolls her eyes and shakes her head, and though it's adorable, he still backtracks. "Not that there's anything wrong with that, it's just…if you wind up in therapy I'm gonna feel personally responsible." She laughs a little through her nose, taking a drink. "So…you're not mad at me?"
Her eyebrows raise. "I thought you didn't care how other people feel about you."
He looks off to one side briefly, gulps. "I care when it's you."
"Why?" She's starting to feel like a broken record.
He takes a deep breath. "Well…this hasn't ever actually been just studying, has it?"
She draws her hands down to her lap and stares at them. He thinks he's said too much until her next question. "Am I that obvious?"
She doesn't see it, but his eyes grow wide for a moment. "N-No. I thought I was."
Chrissy meets his gaze, his eyes falling to her lips. "You like me?" Her heart leaps as he nods, only to sink low, impaled by a spike of panic. "Oh, God. This was a mistake."
"What?" She's up from her seat, throwing her papers into her bag as he rounds the counter.
"I should go. I-I shouldn't be here." Her hand's on the doorknob before his desperation sets in, his arm keeping the door closed.
"Chrissy, wait, please." He doesn't realize how close he is to her but she's keenly aware, looking up his chest to his terrified face. "Please, don't go. I don't expect anything from you, that's not why I told you. I just needed you to know, because I didn't think you felt the same and that's why I…did what I did. I didn't think there was any chance you'd ever like me back. I mean, you're you and I'm me, and we're so different. You're gorgeous and amazing and resilient and…such a badass, and I'm the dumbass who almost gets killed by a bunch of ba–"
He doesn't get any farther before her lips are pressed to his, his heart hammering as her cool hands wrap around the back of his neck, pulling him down to her level. He's glad he's got the doorframe in his grasp or else he'd be sprawled on the floor from shock, just from the feel of her tongue sliding against his.
She lets go too quickly and he chases her, blinking slowly to see that she's obviously anxious. "I'm sorry, because…I came here wanting something from you."
"Name it. It's yours." He says it so quickly that she scoffs. "I'm serious."
There's something about the awestruck look in his eye that travels down between her legs, her thighs clenching as she confesses. "I…I want you to do what you did to her…to me."
Eddie's forehead wrinkles as he stands up straight. "That's why you're here?"
"I can't stop thinking about it. About you." Her hands travel slowly down his chest, his breath catching as her arms wrap around his waist. "You're almost all I think about. I can't get you out of my head, Eddie." He swears softly, her eyes dazed as his hands brush and smooth the hair around her face, fingertips ghosting over her cheekbone. "But if we really like each other, maybe this is too fast."
"No, no, it's not. Not unless you think it is." His voice is shaky but he can't seem to care, her eyes fluttering against his touch. "So, just to be clear…you want me to take your virginity?" Her lower lip trembles as she gives him a pleading look and the fire in his chest only grows, threatening to consume them both. "Why me, sweetheart?"
His words are so low they rumble against her body. "Because I want you. When we almost lost you, I…I realized I might be falling for you. It's only gotten worse."
He leans down to brush his lips against hers, plush pink and insanely soft. "Not from my perspective."
"Please, Eddie." Her whimper sets something off in him, a string wound so taut that it snaps, and she gasps as her feet leave the ground.
With one arm under her ass and a hand already in her hair, he softly smirks. "You may wanna get comfortable with that phrase, beautiful."
They devour each other as he moves down the hallway, stopping to pin her to the wall, nipping at her bottom lip as she whines. He kisses down to her cleavage, his hand slipping between her legs. She gasps so hard that he almost pulls away, but her hands in his hair hold his mouth to her chest, her little body already shaking.
"Jesus, you're already wet," he breathes, kissing over the tops of her breasts as she moans loudly.
"Is that bad?" she groans.
"No, baby, it's good, it's so good." He's in danger of babbling again so he pulls her lips back down to his, continuing toward his room.
He lays her down gently on the bed, sitting up to peel off his shirt as she watches with hungry eyes. “Tell me to slow down if you need to,” he says, already leaning in again to claim her mouth, her hands caressing his side. She pants as his lips trail sparks down her neck, her chest, until he’s kissing over her clothes. He kisses each ankle as he removes her shoes and socks, nails tickling the soles of her feet before he kisses further up her leg.
Her face burns as she leans back on her forearms, the assumption that this was going to be quick slowly fading away as he finally reaches her thigh, moaning against her skin before nosing at the swell of her mound. She almost screams, covering her mouth just in time, his fingers hooking in the waistband of her panties. “Is this okay?” She nods quickly. “I need words.”
“Y-Yes.”
“Good girl.” Her eyes slam shut at the praise, want coursing through her as he pulls her underwear off one leg, letting it dangle while he presses his lips to her opening. She does scream then, her head falling back to the bed as he licks and sucks along her folds, his hands curling around her thighs. Small spots of her skin cool under his rings as she writhes against his tongue, his groans vibrating against her sensitive skin.
And he doesn’t take his eyes off her once.
After a few minutes of slowly but fully unraveling her, the taste of her sweet and earthy on his tongue, he places the hand over her mouth in his hair before closing his lips around her clit. He’s already decided to tell the neighbor with the inevitable noise complaint tomorrow to fuck off, her hips bucking as she cries his name, the familiar feeling building in her gut.
Except, God help her, it’s so much more intense than when she’s alone. “Eddie, I’m gonna come!”
It spurs him on, his fingers digging into her soft flesh, his lips sucking harder as the tip of his tongue flicks until she’s wailing. The spasms wrack her body as he licks her clean, groaning. “You taste so good, princess.”
She whines again as he moves her up the bed, clinging to his arms until he dips his head to kiss her, making her taste herself. His hands slide under her shirt as her breathing slows and his lips move to her neck, licking and sucking there, too. They remove her skirt and top together, and he looks her in the eye as he lowers her bra straps, the pads of his fingers smoothing over her shoulders as she pulls her arms free.
That's when he sees the bruise on her arm. He looks her in the eye briefly before leaning over to pay special attention to the injury, kissing all along the tender skin. To her relief, he doesn't ask about it, but she thinks she could cry from how gentle he's being. Once he's done, he takes in the sight of her hazy eyes, her rosy cheeks, reminding him of the pressure building in his jeans.
He leans in, the tips of their noses touching while he palms her breast, her eyes closing as she sighs. “No one’s ever touched you like this?”
“No one,” she chokes.
“Poor, neglected little thing,” he coos, her breath shallow. “How does it feel?”
“F-Feels amazing,” she stutters, his thumb circling her nipple. “Oh, God, don’t stop.” Her head rolls to the side, and he quite suddenly takes her in his mouth, making her repeat her words with a higher moan. He lifts her torso off the mattress, arms wrapped tight around her as he switches between her nipples, sucking them to hard points, lost for a moment in the feeling and sound of her.
He returns her to the bed, her hands pulling at his hair, making him whine low in his throat as he positions himself between her legs. “Still wanna go all the way, babygirl?”
“Uh-huh,” she mewls, and he can tell he’s got her strung just as tight as he was.
“Relax, relax,” he whispers against her lips, willing himself to do the same. “Want your muscles nice and loose when I fuck you.”
She groans at the expletive, her hands meeting his over his belt buckle. He lets her unfasten it, giving her the choice, but she continues with the button and the zipper on his jeans. “Want me to blow you?”
“I don’t think I’d make it to your pussy if you did.”
“God, Eddie.” She looks up at him, his eyes almost black from lust-blown pupils. He looks like he wants to eat her alive, and it quiets her. “Are you sure?”
“Your only job is to relax,” he croons, hands pressing her shoulders back down. “Let someone else take care of you for once.” He licks into her mouth as she sighs, his fingers stroking briefly at her opening before one curls inside. He swallows her short gasp as he adds another digit, stroking along her walls and drawing a grunt from her. “Does that hurt?”
“No,” she says shakily, his thumb finding her clit again and making her jerk.
“Easy, easy,” he murmurs, his free hand grabbing a condom from the nightstand as he builds her up again, her sweet face contorted around a whine. He pulls his hand away, and she pouts at the loss before she notices he’s removing his jeans and boxers.
The sight of him makes her face burn hotter and her pussy throb, her delicate hand moving down between their bodies to gently grasp his length. “Oh, Chrissy.”
She pumps him slowly a few times, her thumb smearing the precome over the tip. “I know how to do this, at least.”
“Yeah, you do,” he growls as she squeezes a little more firmly. “Fuck.” Against his own wishes, he gently removes her hand. “Unless that’s how you want me to come.”
She shakes her head, her hands tugging at his hips. “Please.”
He smiles down at her, leaning forward to press his forehead to hers. “Needy little baby.”
She winces at that, only knowing the word as something negative. “I’m sorry.”
“No, no,” he soothes, nuzzling his nose against her cheek. “I love it.” He presses his lips next to her ear, says the next part surprisingly easy. “And I love you.”
She shudders against him, her hands spreading over his shoulder blades. “I love you, too.”
Chrissy turns her head to capture his lips again, kissing feverishly as he slides in the first inch. She whimpers as he pulls out, pressing back in the same amount, holding her hips still to repeat the process. He sinks a little deeper and she inhales sharply before moaning, his hands pushing her legs up as he leans forward, giving her another inch. Then another.
She mewls again and he stops. “You okay?” She nods, panting out a yeah, and he kisses her on the cheek before he continues. He breathes hard through his nose, trying to hold himself together as he penetrates deeper, drawing out a little to fuck her slowly as she whines his name. A couple more inches and she feels his hips against hers as he sighs, his thick cock stretching her pleasantly. He presses tightly against her and she whines at the sensation, and he starts to move.
“Fuck, Chrissy, you feel like Heaven.” He rolls his hips, sliding against her as she groans in time to his thrusts.
She wishes she could speak, but all she can do is see and feel what he’s doing to her, her body fully relaxed as he picks up the pace ever-so-slightly. He catches her gaze, a hand caressing her cheek, thumb playing with her lower lip. His hair curtains both sides of her face as he leans his forehead on hers, his fingers lacing with hers, gently pinning her hands above her head. She’s so focused on his movements that she almost doesn’t notice another climax building, and she whimpers.
“That’s it, sweetheart,” he sighs, eyes closed, feeling her walls flutter around him. “Just let it flow through you.”
She does, and it’s glorious. Her body arches into him as she clenches down on him, and she finds her voice with a scream. “Eddie!”
“That’s right, say my name, sweet girl,” he pants, biting into his lower lip to last a little bit longer. But it’s no use as everything about her finally overwhelms him, shouting into her neck as he comes with a few more shallow thrusts.
He’s about to apologize, tell her he can make up for it however she wants, when she pushes his hair out of the way, taking his face in her hands to kiss him deeply. She giggles a little as he chuckles, pulling out to roll them over while they keep making out. Breaking to finally catch their breath, she lays her head on his shoulder, his cheek pressed against her hair as he exhales heavily, content.
They lay still for a moment, and it suddenly occurs to him that he should say something when she asks. “Is it always like that?”
He swallows, hesitant. “Like what?”
“Magic.”
He smiles as he kisses the crown of her head, their arms wrapping around each other. “I’ll make sure it is.”