didntrun | (no subject)

It's Chrissy's birthday and, as with Christmas, Eddie is painfully aware he's not really sure how to do all these important things.

Christmas had gone well. It had gone really well, actually, considering where they're at now, so he's also doing his best not to overthink any of it and just go with the flow. If Chrissy hated that, she probably wouldn't want to be with him at all, so he visits her on the actual day, then promises her they're going to do something fun on Friday night.

They're doing an escape room.

Eddie had only heard about them about a week ago and, given his love of games, he'd immediately started researching and found a place in Darrow where there were some rooms meant just for two people. Date night game rooms, as they were advertised on the website, and Eddie had excitedly booked one.

First, though, he's going to her place with a big bouquet of flowers he'd helped put together himself. Soft blooms, white and pink and blue, hydrangeas and lilies and tulips, and Eddie is honestly pretty proud of himself as he knocks on Chrissy's door.

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Chrissy beams, holding up the sign and leaning against Eddie's shoulder as the employee takes their picture. Maybe it's silly, to be this excited about having essentially just won a game, but it's hard to help it. Between this being something so new, something they've done together, and a pretty thrilling way to spend her birthday, an occasion she's never particularly enjoyed, she can't really be anything but happy now. Somehow, Eddie just keeps being able to surprise her, except in the sense that it's not really surprising at all that he can do so.

"That was so cool," she agrees once they've handed the signs back. "I don't know how you found out about this, but honestly, I can't remember the last time I had this much fun on my birthday."

Eddie can't help but grin, even as the employee talks about how she'll send them the pictures to Eddie's email address. He's nodding, but he's looking at Chrissy, proud of himself for having been able to give her a good birthday.

It's all he wants. To make her smile.

"I'm glad," he says. "It's your birthday, you should be having the best time."

But he knows what she means. His own birthdays have never been anything special. Wayne had always tried, but it wasn't like there was a lot of money to go around, so mostly they got Chinese and ate together in the trailer. A couple of times there had been a small cake, too.

"We should do one of the group rooms next time," he suggests. "Get Robin and Harrington and Byers to come with us."

"That sounds awesome," Chrissy agrees with a nod, unsure why she feels something warm and tight in her chest at the suggestion. Maybe it's just the realization that they're all actually her friends — not as much so Will, but they're friendly, and Steve and Robin have become two of her closest friends here. She never had that back in Hawkins, not really.

Tonight, though, she wouldn't have wanted to spend with anyone but Eddie. She doesn't know how to explain that she's never had the best time on her birthday before — that the only good thing about it, really, was that it brought her closer and closer to being able to leave home — but she would rather just focus on how good this one is.

"And now we'll be, like, experts at it."

"Oh, hell yeah," he agrees. "We'll kick their asses, even though we're pretty much on a team and it's not remotely a competition."

Eddie is actually really good at working as part of a team. He'd rather be the leader, the Dungeon Master, the guy in charge, but he can set that all aside and just go with the flow, work with the team, when that's the thing that matters most.

"Now it's ice cream time," he says, taking Chrissy's hand as they leave the Escape Room place. "I found this really cool shop, they put whatever you want in the ice cream, then put it on this really cold thing and... okay, it's hard to explain, but it's totally cool."

"I mean, yeah," Chrissy replies, as if that ought to be obvious. "It might not be a competition, but that doesn't mean we can't win." It's ridiculous, of course, but that's sort of the point. As with so much else, it's one of the things Eddie brings out in her, his energy too infectious not to meet it with some humor of her own. Even on the worst, and last, day of her life, that was true; it's even more so now that they've spent so much more time together, her guard lower around him than it has been with anyone else.

She's still smiling, her hand still around his as they head outside. "You really went all out with plans, didn't you?" she asks. "Flowers, this, ice cream..."

"It's your birthday," Eddie replies, as if that should be enough of an answer. Honestly, he thinks it should be. When there's someone you care about, you do what you can to make a day like this special for them.

Wayne had always tried, but Eddie has never properly had it before. Not the way he thinks it's really meant to be.

"Going all out would be like, hosting a ball," he teases. "Having a catered dinner and a string quartet and dancing and all your friends in fancy dresses and suits."

"Okay, yeah, maybe," Chrissy laughs, nudging him with her shoulder. "But I don't think either of us would have liked that very much." She doesn't mind an occasional formal party — the one at Kagura was fun, for the most part — but something that fancy, centered around her, would have made her feel too much like she had to perform, had to be a certain version of herself. And Eddie, well, she's very aware that it wouldn't be his thing at all, and she's more than fine with that.

This is all she wanted from tonight, anyway. The specifics may have been a surprise, but just the two of them, relaxing, doing something fun together, not needing to worry about anyone else — that's the most she could ask for.

"For the record, I'll take flowers and an escape room over a fancy ball any day, thank you."

"You're welcome," Eddie answers, happy to have given Chrissy a birthday that she's enjoyed. "You deserve it."

They turn another corner and Eddie gestures with a flourish, saying, "I give you ice cream!"

The shop is cute, the exterior bricks painted pink, the trim white, and through the window, they can see the people inside making the ice cream rolls. It's cool to watch the way it spreads in a thin layer on the frozen plate and how they roll it up into a scroll.

"Come on," Eddie says, opening the door for Chrissy with a grin.

"Oh, my god, this is so cute," Chrissy says delightedly when the ice cream shop comes into view, all pastel pink and white, looking charmingly old-fashioned. Left to her own devices, she doesn't know that she would ever have glanced twice at the place, if only because of what it sells; she definitely wouldn't be eating ice cream. This is a special occasion of sorts, though, if only because Eddie is the one who arranged all of it, and so she's determined not to let her thoughts go in that direction, at least for the next few hours.

It's easy to get caught up in how good she feels, anyway, how much it means that he's picked things that fit so well with her taste. The aesthetic of this alone is perfectly her, and for a moment, the very fact of that distracts her from the sight in the window.

"Wait, that's the ice cream?" she asks as they step inside, nodding toward where the staff members are shaping it. "Those flat little rolls?"

"Yeah," he says. "It's cool, right? You pick your base ice cream, either chocolate or vanilla, then you can add stuff to it, like peanut butter or cookie dough or... mango. Then there's toppings and other stuff you can add, too."

Eddie feels like he's not explaining it right, so he just opens the door instead, gesturing for Chrissy to go inside ahead of him.

In the shop, the air smells sweet, but not overpowering, and Eddie finds his mouth watering a little. However they make it, it's pretty clear this is good quality stuff and he's excited to try it.