Chapter Text
His family didn’t get it.
Jonathan would have to be blind if he didn’t see their…confusion about his relationship with Argyle. As far as any of them were aware he was nothing more than an overly anxious dropout still getting over his messy and complicated breakup with Nancy and he’d be lying if he wasn’t that too- he was. But, there was more to it than that.
It started with a date.
“You're doing it again.”
Shared space, whispered jokes, breathy laughs. Jonathan sighs tiredly, a habit he’s always had yet uses more nowadays. “No, I’m not.”
“It’ll be fine,” Argyle comforts looking at him through the rear view mirror. “And if it isn’t then we’ll fuck that kid up!”
“Jesus,” Jonathan doesn’t stop the wheeze he lets out. “that’s more brutal than your usual methods.”
“Yeah well,” Argyle doesn’t dispute him only shrugs. “Will’s worth it.”
He can’t stop the spread of affection and adoration that fills his chest but he’s careful not to show it, couldn't afford distractions now.
Chaperoning Will’s first date with a boy was always going to be something Jonathon did, it was an inevitable right of passage for every big brother to give the shovel talk to whoever thought they were worthy enough for their younger sibling. Argyle had heard his little plan and after an embarrassingly drawn out back and forth of where are you going? Why? Why are you taking a baseball bat? Do you still not have a car? He gave in quickly.
Jonathan didn’t know why he bothered hiding it anyway, He was going to tell him eventually (probably after making a fool of himself in a diner and having to get awkwardly picked up by the man because the buses stop running after twelve) and it wasn’t like he was worried Argyle would be weird about Will going on a date with a guy but…you have to be careful. Always. And if the sweet lovable guy he knew turned out to be some sort of anti-gay activist who he brought to his brother's first date then he would never forgive himself.
“His cars pretty groovy,” Argyle comments tailing behind a bright blue Ford with only a slight bump in the side door.
“It’s probably his dad's.”Jonathan needed to push down the persistent thought that he doesn’t know what he’s doing and he’s going to end up disappointing his little brother- pushing him further and further away from him.
Argyle sighs and Jonathan is startled as he feels a warm hand rest on his shoulder.
“He’s gonna have a blast Johnny don’t worry,” As if an afterthought he adds. “and if he gets bored of the guy that's okay too! I’ll make us all pizza and we can rent a movie.”
“A movie?” Sounds nice, nicer than he’ll let himself admit.
A dopey smile makes its way to Argyle's face. “We could do one of those classic black and white movies or do a horror night thing! Hell Ricky was talking about that Back to the Future movie yesterday we could do that too!”
“Didn’t take you for a black and white movie type of guy.” He says sardonically.
“Nah, but you love ‘em.”
He blinks. “You remembered me saying that?”
Argyle coughs a little (too little to be smoke-related) and maybe he took a hit without him seeing cause Jonathon could swear his cheeks flushed warmer too.
“So ah- movie date sounds good? Can make popcorn and beers, and you know we’ll have the pizza!”
“That sounds…” like a dream. “Good. Will actually wanted to watch Back to the Future so it works out.”
For some reason Argyle's dopey smile dims a bit but before he could even blink it was back even brighter than before. “Of course Will yes- I’m sure Will’s gonna love it! Wasn't rated the number one movie of the year for nothing!”
Argyle removes his hand putting it back on the wheel, Jonathon pretends he doesn’t feel a little colder for it. “I think they're going into Buddy’s Diner.”
Jonathan’s eyebrows shoot up. Buddy’s diner was kind of the social hub of the city populace. Outside of the arcade, high school sweethearts and old married couples alike tend to gravitate to buddy’s diner with its homegrown American meals and dim lighting, if you wanted to impress someone you took them to buddy’s diner. This kid must be serious.
Argyle shared his surprise. “This kid rich or something?”
The car slows to a stop and he can spot his brother's nervous face peering up at the boy through his fringe, they walk in and after Argyle parks their car they wait a couple of minutes before following them.
“So, your brother knows we’re stalking them?”
“Yep.”
“…and he’s ok with it?”
Jonathon struggles to think of a cohesive answer to that. “He…understands it like- he gets why we do it.”
“Do what?”
“You know,” Jonathan Byers was a lot of things but blind wasn’t one of them. “You’d have to have noticed how we treat Will a little- differently, a little more protective than most families, I’ve heard it all dude it’s fine.”
“You’ve heard-“
“That I’m a freak obsessed with their brother being a normal teenager because he kinda died once and I can’t let it go, or maybe that I’m a weirdo who is so stuck in the past and uses drugs to pretend my life isn’t complete shit, trust me I know.”
The car descends into an uncomfortable silence as Argyle digests everything he just sprung onto him. ‘Good one Byers proved your own point.’ He thinks to himself bleakly.
“We could probably go in now, it looks like they found a seat.” He says quietly, desperately wanting to leave the horrible silence he himself caused.
The diner is playing slow jazz and in keeping as discreet as possible they find themselves in a back booth not too close to his brother but close enough to eavesdrop.
“What you said before.” Argyle tries to say, opening a dialogue he really didn’t want to have infront of cold half drunk beers and his brother across the room.
“You hungry? This place has great burgers.” He hopes maybe he’ll get the hint but knowing his friend he’d still bulldoze through it anyway.
“What you said before,” he repeats non deterred. “There was a lot to unpack there.”
“I haven’t been great lately, you knew that,” Jonathan mutters half-heartedly.
He frowns.”Well sure, but I thought it was cause of that girl of yours and not the whole ‘my brother has the habit of almost dying.’”
He tenses and Argyle realises he probably took it a step too far. “Sorry.”
“It’s,” Jonathon lets out a huff, frustrated more than anything.” whatever, let's drop it.”
These silences are starting to become a pattern, Will lets out a belly laugh and lightly touches the boy's hand on the table. Jonathon's frame relaxes at the sound.
“You want anything?” Argyle asks breaking the silence.
He tries making eye contact with him to at least seem polite before throwing out. “I’m trying to save up.”
Argyle shakes his head grabbing something out of his bag. “My treat.”
He raises an eyebrow. “Really? Mr ‘bread and ketchup is a valid meal’ guy wants to pay?”
The tension has finally broken Argyle's smile grows. “Of course! I always wine and dine my dates! Other than being the stoner guy I can still romance the fuck outta anybody!”
Jonathans brain short circuits from one word specifically. “Sorry date?”
Argyle determinedly doesn’t break character. “If we wanna be in a real stake out mission we need alibis why we’re here together. It’s like the movies- espionage man!”
Another wheeze of a laugh bubbles up. “So a date was your first choice?”
“What else would it be?”
‘We could just be two friends getting dinner, we don't need to make it something weird.’ He wants to say just to save face but he can’t make his mouth form the words, he didn’t mind at all being thought of as gay, it wouldn’t be completely off the mark and being gay wasn’t a damning thing some people seem to think it is. The problem really was if Argyle would be ok with the town thinking he was dating the world's first anxious pothead. Given that he suggested the cover he has to assume no but in his experience assuming can get you into very bad situations.
“An alibi right, for when Will’s date randomly turns to our table and starts questioning why we’re eating at a popular restaurant.” Classic Byers deflection.
“Exactly.” He says far too seriously.
Might as well rip it off like a band-aide. “You okay with people thinking we’re a gay couple?”
“Why wouldn’t I be?”
“Because,” He wants to frame this in a nicer way than ‘because this town is full of ignorant hicks and I’m not hundred percent sure your not one also’. “It’s kind of weird right? A couple of straight guys pretending to be not so straight.”
In all the time he’s known Argyle he’s never seen him quite so tense. “...Who said I wasn’t ‘not so straight’.”
Oh.
Oh.
Words vomited out in quick succession. ‘I’m sorry for assuming you know I’m just stupid like that' to ‘me too, not the straight guys part the not so straight part’ even ‘it must have taken a lot to tell me I’m sorry for being weird’ to a point it probably sounded like nonsense with phrases morphing into each other. Luckily it seems like Argyle could pick out enough of the words to tell he wasn’t being even more of a dick and was actually being supportive.
“I don’t talk about it much cause, obviously but delicious pizza can look like a sexy pepperoni to a hot and spicy cheese sausage yknow what I mean?”
Only he would phrase his sexual orientation to that of pizza topping but the notion was strangely comforting to Jonathon, it was a surreal situation in general but with the new revelation some hidden feelings start churning up underneath.
“Yeah of course man, totally. I was always ah- yeah, you know me I was always up for any- any kind of pizza…” He words carefully.
Does he have a shot? Surely he doesn’t have a shot. It’s Argyle, confident, charming, goofy-
“What would you do then,” His voice cracks like a teenager but the words flow out before his brain catches up with the situation and stops him. “For a- for a date what would you…If we- If we were”
“Please, date with you? That’s an easy one.”
A smile blooms fast. “Oh?”
He taps his chin in mock thought. “First I’d ask what your favourite type of movies are.”
“Naturally.”
“Then I’d chicken out on actually taking you to said favourite movies and instead we’d just get high and your laugh would just be flying around my head the rest of the day.”
His cheeks are definitely red right now. “I-I see.”
But Argyle has no signs of stopping still stubbornly not looking him eye to eye. “Then outta nowhere, you’ll start acting crazy bout your brother getting on a date and so I’ll say all cool and suave ‘Why don’t we follow them around to make sure the little mans not doing anything too frisky too quick’ as an excuse to hang out with you.”
What a ridiculous game they’re playing with each other, a nonsensical skittish dance neither willing to actually take lead and turn their teasing into the genuine article, which would have been frustrating if it wasn’t the most fun he’s ever had. “Chaperoning? That’s your best date idea? What happens after?”
“Will gets swept off his feet and then I’d be like ‘hey this feels kinda like a movie, why don’t we follow this choo choo train and catch a couple movies ourselves yknow, just you and me…alone’.”
“That would’ve worked.”
“It,” Argyle flusters. “It would have worked?”
He nods. “Definitely, you should’ve said that.”
Argyle raises his hands up dramatically flailing around. “God Dammit!”
The loud obnoxious laugh he lets out doesn’t only surprise him but Will too and he realises maybe they were making more noise then they thought they were. Thankfully Will only seems bemused by him and Argyle acting like fools and shakes his head fondly before standing up to leave, the date reaching its conclusion.
Feeling suddenly bold he decides to push his nerves once again placing his hand over Argyles (hoping his clammy hands isn’t too notecable), and before he pulls away embarrassed the other holds his hand still. Looking up they finally make direct eye contact and the level of mirth he spies in the others eyes was a little dizzying.
“S-so…this kinda feels like a movie huh? Wanna-”
Jonathon doesn’t let him finish already dragging him out the door laughter trailing behind them as they climb into the car feeling euphorically high despite being completely sober.