TAKE A BITE

The final piece for @penny00dreadful’s amazing @steddiebang2024 fic, which is now complete!!! Read the full thing on a03 or here on tumblr

Sam has been incredible to work with and if you love some good enemies to lovers homoerotic sword fighting you’ll absolutely love her fic <3

“Wait,” Robin stops mid-stride, throwing her arms up and making Steve stop short.

“What? Did you forget something?”

Robin spins dramatically on her toes, hands still in the air like she’s about to announce a major discovery. “I figured it out."

Steve raises his eyebrows, clearly not figuring it out alongside her. "Uh… figured what out?"

“Reincarnation.” Robin points at him with an air of revelation. “We were separated at birth. You. Are. Me."

Steve blinks.”…What?"

She waves her hands in front of his face, her enthusiasm growing with each word. “Like, mind-melded, dingus! In a past life, we were siblings—or twins—or maybe even the same person! And when we got reborn, the universe was like, ‘Hey, let's stick 'em back together.’ Fate. We're destined to spend eternity circling each other."

“I’m you?” Steve squints.

Robin nods, clearly pleased with herself while Steve tilts his head, chewing on her words for a second.

"Then... why don’t I have boobies?"

Robin’s arms drop to her sides, her triumphant grin evaporating into a look of flat, almost pained disbelief. "That’s your takeaway?"

Steve shrugs, his expression unbothered. "I mean, if I’m supposed to be you, I feel like I’m missing something pretty obvious here."

Robin sighs shaking her head. "You’re hopeless," she mutters, turning on her heel and marching forward again.

Steve falls into step beside her, still glancing down at his chest every now and then, as if half-expecting something to suddenly change. "I dunno," he says thoughtfully. "I feel like I’d be a solid C-cup at least…”

Steve didn’t know how to feel. He was just...numb. He left his house as if in a daze. The lasagna his mom tried to say was homemade, but he knew was secretly from Enzo's sat funny in his stomach.

His mom.

Legally, she was still his mother. Has been since the day after he was born.

His dad, too.

Legally, Steve was a Harrington.

He drove the Beemer aimlessly, until he came to a familiar trailer.

He knocked on the rickety door, silently kicking himself for not calling ahead to make sure he didn't disturb Wayne's sleep.

It was too late for that, though. Eddie opened the door. "Stevie! I thought you had that thing with your parents! I wasn't expecting..." The exuberant words of his friend trailed off and melted into a concerned silence. The man open the door widely and wedged his way through the doorway to put his arm around Steve's shoulders. He guided him to the couch, and sat both of them down in a clump.

"Steve, what happened?"

And Steve, so unsure how to feel about this situation, burst out an awkward laugh, even as tears gathered at the corners of his eyes.

"I'm apparently adopted? My biological mother is my mom's dead sister."

Eddie's eyes grew nearly to the size of dinner plates. "What?"

Steve turned to him, wild eyes and bitchy. "Yes! See? They acted like it was no big deal! 'Oh, Steven. It's time you knew that your father couldn't have children. We decided to adopt you when my sister died in that car accident. Please pass the peas.' Like, what the fuck do I do with that?!"

Eddie nodded to himself. "She died, and then they adopted you?"

The tears welled in his eyes. "She died while she was still pregnant! I was a premie. Since I was a boy, dad-Richard decided this was a 'prime opportunity' to have the Harrington name live on', or some shit."

Eddie held his friend close, then offered to get him a beer. They silently sipped from the bottles. Eddie could tell something else was weighing on Steve's mind, and knew he needed to give the guy a few moments to find the right words.

He wasn't disappointed.

"You know, Eds. That isn't even the worst of it?"

Not disappointed, but certainly surprised. "It gets worse that your parents never told you that you were adopted, and your birth mother is actually your deceased aunt?"

Steve nodded before taking a large pull. "Uh, yeah. Apparently, I'm also a twin."

Eddie nearly dropped his bottle. "A-a twin? A twin! There's two of you out there?"

That actually earned him a rueful smile. "I have a twin *sister*, dumbass."

Eddie nodded in what he pretended to in a sage way. "Yes, that makes sense. The world could not survive the charm and hair of two Steve's. That's like having two suns. We would not survive!"

Tension lifting for just a second, Steve playfully shoved his secret crush, blushing just a little.

"Ha ha. But speaking of the charm...what if I'm like Luke Skywalker?"

Eddie furrowed his brows. "How'd you mean?"

Steve flexed his hand in his lamp, staring at the other boy with fear. "I've dated a lot of girls, Eddie. What if...what if I've kissed my sister?!"

Eddie reared back. "Oh! Eww! Steve, why?!"

Steve flailed. "It's a valid concern!"

Grasping at straws to wipe *that* thought from the boy he love's face, he blurted out, "Maybe your secret twin is a lesbian?"

x

✨Birds of a Feather✨

#best platonic duo at it again

she knows

the besties (new pfp)

“Eddie,” Steve whines. “Eddie, please. I’ve been abandoned.”

“Robin’s only been gone for like two hours, babe,” Eddie says and almost rolls his eyes, but Steve looks too pathetic laying there on the couch for him to be annoyed.

“But she’s gonna be gone for a whole week. I’m dying here,” Steve says, looking over at him with puppy dog eyes.

Dammit.

Steve knows he can’t deny him when those come out.

Eddie sighs and walks over to Steve and lays down on top of him.

Steve wraps his arms around him and sighs happily.

“Love you,” he says softly.

Keeping this a secret from Steve has been almost impossible given the way he and Robin are together.

He almost spills the beans at the wedding, when Steve gets misty eyed at the thought of Robin leaving him for the honeymoon.

And then again when they get home that night and Steve is drunk and sad and wanting to call Robin even though it’s her wedding night.

And then again at the airport watching the two of them hug like they’re never going to see each other again.

The tears almost do it, but he holds strong—he doesn't know how Vickie is going to manage to keep a lid on things on her end, but he trusts that Robin will at least attempt to put Steve out of her mind since she’ll be on her literal honeymoon.

Eddie's the one stuck with solo Steve who looks lost once Robin disappears from his sight.

Back at home, Steve sulks, but Eddie doesn't break.

At least not until later that night.

He sees Steve sitting by the phone, looking at it like it’s offending him by not ringing.

“What are you doing?” he asks.

Steve looks up at him and almost looks embarrassed. He says, “Robin said she’d call as soon as they got to the hotel. The flight should have landed by now, so I’m just waiting.”

“Baby, she’s on her honeymoon. She—“

He’s cut off by the phone ringing. He can't believe he was about to say she might have forgotten she promised that. Of course she wouldn't forget.

He leaves Steve be as he talks to Robin on the phone and starts prepping for dinner.

When Steve comes into the kitchen, he has red rimmed eyes.

“Oh, sweetheart,” Eddie says, opening his arms up. “Come here.”

Steve comes easily.

Eddie wraps him up in his arms and squeezes.

“I know I’m being a baby about this, but she’s my person, you know?” he says, and Eddie feels the wetness of his tears seeping into his shirt.

“You’re not being a baby. I know it’s hard. This is the first time you’ve been apart since you met basically.”

Eddie feels his heart breaking and he can't keep it in any longer, so when they pull away, he pulls the envelope out of his back pocket and hands it to Steve.

“What’s this?” he asks, voice thick.

“Open it and see,” Eddie says.

Steve sniffs and opens the envelope, taking the tickets out.

Eddie can see the moment he registers that he’s looking at two tickets to Athens to meet Robin and Vickie there in a couple days.

“You—really?” he asks, tears springing to his eyes again.

“You think Vickie or I wanna deal with the two of you sulking for a full week?” he asks, his lips curling up into a smile.

He has to steady himself as Steve full on tackles him into another hug, holding him tight.

“Thank you,” Steve breathes into his neck. “Thank you.”

The air is sticky-hot as he weaves through a mass of tangled bodies. Tries to tamp down on the beat of his anxious heart as it threatens to bubble over with each door he open-closes. Each time his shouts go unanswered. 

Feels the knot loosen, fall slack when he finally finds her. Curled up in a tub of all things. Eyes wet, glazed from too much alcohol, mascara dripping. Closes and locks the door behind him, steels himself for whatever this is.

“Robin.”

Her head lolls to the side, squints her vibrant blue eyes. She grins. “-evie, you found me!”

“Yeah, you, uh- what’s going on? I saw Vickie leave.”

He watches as her lips tremble and oh no.

He’s dropping to his knees before he can blink. Leaning over the tub. She’s gripping a bottle of something, like it's the only thing holding her afloat. Steve reaches, pushes her sweaty bangs from her face.

“Hey it's okay, you're okay.” He folds his arms over the rim of the tub, settles in. “What happened?”

“Nothin’. Just lemme be drunk in the, uh, bathtub. ‘s cozy.”

“It doesn't look very cozy. If I'm being honest.” Steve sits with her, the music outside muffled by the closed door. He waits, watches as she cradles the bottle tightly to her chest, the way her lip continues to tremble.

“‘s just not fair.” She picks at the bracelets on her arm. Steve reaches for her hand, grip loose but there, lest she start chewing on the leather bands he bought her. A habit formed after Starcourt.

“What's not fair?”

“Vickie, she- she got back with Dan.”

Oh.

“And she said, like, She was like-” Steve feels the wetness of her tears drip, drip, drip onto their intertwined hands. “She was so happy Steve!”

“She said I was such a good friend.” Robin sniffs. “I'm the worst!”

“Robin, hey you're not-”

“I am! I'm a terrible friend.” She's sobbing now, body shaking with it. Steve's never seen her this upset before. It breaks his heart. 

“I wanted it to be me.” Her voice sounds so small, so quiet as she says, “It's never gonna be me.”

“Oh Robbie.” Steve pulls the bottle from her. Thinks of a different bathroom floor and molotov cocktails and fire. “You're a good friend.” He hands her some tissue, finds a washcloth, wets it, helps her clean up. 

“So, no Vicki then. So what.” Robin lets out a pained sound. 

“Listen, somewhere out there, there is a girl who's gonna choose you. Who's gonna laugh at your terrible jokes and-

“Not terrible.”

“-listen to you blab on about Latin.”

“Pig Latin.”

“Uh, sure, exactly. Listen to you talk about Latin pigs.”

Robin snorts. Finally cracks a grin. Eyes still shining with unshed tears.

“And she's gonna love you, Robbie. She's gonna love you so much, okay? You'll find her. Or, maybe, she'll find you.”

“You really think so?”

“I promise.” He holds up a pinky for her to take. “Pinky swear it.” And she finally laughs, the sound of it loud and bright.

“Anoth- Another one for the books.”

“What?”

“Bathroom crisis.” 

Steve knocks his head to hers and laughs. “Is that what we're calling it now?”

“Yup, and while we're at it we could add, a, uh, ‘nother one to it.” She's grinning a little too sharply now and Steve is already making exit plans of how to get her downstairs to drink some water. His head is starting to pound.

“Can we not?”

“I've heard some, hmm, rumors. From some very rep- reputable sources.”

“Uh-huh.”

“I heard that you're getting awfully chummy with a certain metalhead.”

“Nope, we're not doing this.”

Hah! Erica says you've been reading him The Hobbit. Stevie! The Hobbit. And!” She jabs a finger into his chest, “That you offered to take him to physical therapy.”

Steve feels his cheeks heat as he pulls her from the tub. Knows she notices from the way she clings and shrieks in his good ear. “Let's keep the crises to one a day please. Or rather once a month. A year even.”

“Tomorrow then?” Robin's grin lights up the dark corners of the bathroom, radiant as the sun. 

“Tomorrow.”