Work Text:
It was a slow evening shift at Family Video. It was a Tuesday in the middle of July, for Christ's sake! And Robin Buckley was the poor, unfortunate bastard stuck working a solo shift in a video rental store. Her friends were probably frolicking around somewhere, getting high in Eddie's brand new, air conditioned house. While she was here, dying. (No, she was not being dramatic.)
She was still, strangely, in a good mood. She had full control over music and no one wanted to walk in this horrible midwestern heat to rent a movie of all things. Most adults were still working, kids locked away supervised by some poor sixteen year old looking for quick money.
So Robin played her musical obsession of the week, the song that scratched the perfect itch in her skittish brain. She played it on loop, over and over again, not getting sick of it, screaming and dancing to it instead, while she did her repetitive tasks. Like fucking bleaching the toilets.
"You Shook Me All Night Long" played loudly and obscenely across the store, with Robin humming along, as the chorus. She was honestly not having that bad of a time, all things considered. She realized the bleach must've rotted her brain because she just admitted to finding stacking tapes in a cramped store in ninety five degree heat with a sex song blasting on loop appealing.
That's when Eddie Munson walked in, alone and pointedly not high. Figures. Something about watching Robin thrust her hips along to a loud dirty song that was entirely more his style than hers seemed to set off something in his mind because his eyes lit up and his jaw dropped.
"Buckley, you kinky bastard!" He gasped.
Her face went crimson.
"I've seen that bandana, Eddie!" She screamed back, defensively. Both hands pointing at him and mop falling to the floor immediately with a loud thump.
"I have no idea what you're talking about!" His voice came out strangled.
"Don't lie to me! I know what you are!" This whole exchange was probably something straight out of her nightmares.
"Is that a hickey?!" Eddie pointed out, flailing horridly.
Maybe she was being Vecna'd, maybe that was it.
"You like it kinky, don't ya Munson?!" She didn't know why she was still yelling but she was pretty sure she'd finally lost her mind. Probably the trauma. "Rough." She whispered, solemnly, knowingly.
Someone had to get her to stop talking.
"What do you mean she told you to come?!" He screeched back, sounding equally as panicked and ashamed as her. "Yeah, I've heard you sing it, Buckley!"
Maybe they were both getting Vecna'd together and this was some sort of out-of-body experience. Her bones were probably already cracking, she thought, a bit hysterically.
"Munson, you have handcuffs in your room." She hissed out, squinting her eyes angrily.
At some point she must've got her finger all up in his face because he slapped it away, leaning into her space.
"You have boobs drawn on your shoes." He shot right back, this time it was him that shoved his finger in her face. "I don't even have a sister!" He added, righteously, referencing her shoes. She couldn't believe someone actually took the time to read that shit.
"I'll go down on your mom, then!" She screamed. This conversation was escalating.
"What mom, you freak?!"
Robin gasped. "You called me the f word." She whispered, pointing a horrified finger at him, making a whole show of choking on her breath.
"I know what you are." He said, throwing her previous words back at her.
"Say it." She hissed, grabbing the tape nearest to her. It was, ironically, Rocky Horror.
"You say it!" She threw the tape at him. He narrowly avoided it. "Pitting my own people against me, Buckley."
She threw another tape at him. It was 'Grease' that time, which was kind of funny since Danny Zuko had been his gay awakening. He grabbed 'Pretty in Pink' and flinged it at her but she ducked under the counter and stuck her tongue out at him.
"I saw you kissing Steve." She screamed, from where she was hiding, pressed against the inside of the counter.
"I saw you looking at Wheeler's ass." He screamed back.
"She has a nice ass!" Robin defended.
"She does," Eddie agreed, "but that doesn't mean you have to bang her about it."
The store went quiet. AC/DC was still blasting loudly on the store's speakers. Eddie made a run towards Robin as she peeked out to check what had happened. The mop, long forgotten, lay across the tiled floor.
"You're gonna fall, dumbass!"
He did, indeed fall. On his face. It hurt. The store went quiet once more, no sound except Robin's humming and Brian Johnson's raspy vocals.
"So, you banged Stevie, huh?" She asked, picking up the mop from behind him. She made sure to smack him on the face with it.
"You banged Nancy." He shot back, he'd kind of accepted his fate by then and just lay on the floor. It was cooler than the air around them.
"I know what you are." Robin repeated once more. Apparently, the heat and bleach was affecting both of their brains. She needed to stop repeating that stupid fucking phrase.
"A homosexual." Eddie whispered gravely, his face one of terrible concentration and his eyes closed.
Robin snorted. "Same."
"So, Wheeler?" One of his eyes peeled open, he was looking at her inquisitively.
"Yeah. She's so pretty, man."
Eddie nodded, he didn't like women but he had to be blind not to see it. Nancy Wheeler was all sharp edges and long legs softened out by big, sky blue doe eyes and soft, bouncy curls that floated around her, framing her face. It was hard not to see it.
"So's Steve." He muttered, throwing an arm up to cover his eyes. Looking directly at the long, fluorescent light bulbs was kind of blinding him.
Robin hummed affirmatively. Similarly to Eddie, she saw what he meant even if she didn't personally find it appealing. Steve was soft and sculpted with pretty eyes and prettier hair, yet he somehow still managed to be big and masculine. It was hot, she guessed, if you were into that.
"Yeah, I can see why you like him, you rockin' twink." Robin made her way to the floor herself and laid down next to him, covering her eyes before she was blinded. Damn, she was smart.
Eddie snorted. "Oh, please. Like you can talk, you raging dyke."
Robin just giggled, a bit hysterically and soon Eddie joined her. Both of them were thrown into a laughing fit and Robin wondered if the bleach had some type of hallucinogen in it. It had been Keith that had given it to her after all. Maybe that's how she would go. Laughing and throwing stuff at the only other queer person in Hawkins because her asshole boss had given her unsafe cleaning products. Probably nothing about Family Video was FDA approved, she mused.
She couldn't believe AC/DC was still playing. At least she was sure she wasn't getting possessed, couldn't get Vecna'd! Ha! Take that!
"Love us queers finding each other."
"So true, best friend."
At some point in the evening, Steve and Nancy — who Robin found out were together while she was suffering, the filthy traitors — decided to pay them a visit only to find both of them dissolved in laughter, looking dopey and stupid on the floor.
They walked in, looking all hot and put together. Nancy in one of her long flowy skirts and a top way tighter and shorter than her usual stuff. She was sipping on a drink and her lips looked extra pink and pouty. Robin wanted to kiss her. Steve was wearing shorts and a tight muscle shift. He lifted his sunglasses, eyebrows shooting up his forehead. Eddie was ogling him openly. They were so judging them.
"So, is this a new thing you're trying?" Steve asked, examining the room. Tapes were thrown around and the mop was resting on the counter for some reason. He was honestly surprised nothing was broken. "Becoming one with the Earth or some shit?"
Nancy hummed, consideringly. "I'm not sure if the Family Video tiled floor would count, though."
"Well, they sure are putting effort into it."
"Just shut up and kiss us." Eddie groaned.
Robin started laughing hysterically all over again. The bleach definitely had something in it.
"I can't believe Keith tried to poison us."