A/N - This chapter was inspired by the song Platonic Love Song #1 by Lauren Bird. This is set just before the start of Season 4. I hope you all enjoy it.
It had all started with a throwaway comment from Dustin. Some stupid little muttering about how you spent so much time mothering the entire group, even though half of them were basically the same age as you. Sure, Steve was Mom, but you were Mom x 1000. You spent most of your time keeping them all out of trouble, driving them where they needed to go, picking them up when they got stranded, and keeping them fed and hydrated and safe. It was practically a full-time job and as the group grew, so did the amount of time you spent looking out for them. You'd even put aside a weekend to take a first aid course, knowing full well that you would definitely end up needing it eventually.
And sure, the kids knew how much you did for them. Hell, even Steve and Robin and Jonathon and Nancy realised that you had started treating them like one of your little hoard of children. But that didn't mean that they saw the toll it could take on you.
You'd worked a full shift that Friday, opening the coffee shop you managed at 5 am and not getting off until you closed at 5 pm. Of course, that mothering instinct seemed to go into overdrive there too. One girl had mentioned having a cold and you'd immediately okay'd her time off request, leaving you to close alone, again. So you were already exhausted as it was.
All you wanted to do was go home and take a nice relaxing bath before you had to do the exact same thing tomorrow. But Friday was Hellfire night. And you always picked the kids up and drove them home on Hellfire night. You'd never missed a damn week. Never.
When the kids had come skipping out to your car, with Eddie curiously following along behind them, having heard many mentions of their 'honourary mom' throughout their DnD sessions, they'd been shocked to find you curled up in the back seat, completely passed out.
Dustin knocked lightly on the window, face pressed up against the glass to look at you.
"Y/N?" he called out, watching you sit up rather suddenly, looking a little confused. "Hi," he pressed on, grinning at you.
You quickly shuffled forward, unlocking the car. "Sorry," you murmured, pushing past them to get back in the driver's seat.
"You look really tired," Lucas murmured, brow furrowed slightly as he watched you fumble with your keys, almost dropping them.
"Yeah," Mike chimed in. "Did you not sleep last night?"
You forced a smile onto your lips, shaking your head slightly. "Long day at work," you explained softly.
"You didn't have to come and get us-"
"Nonsense," you interrupted, waving away his comment. "Wouldn't miss hearing how this week's session went for the world," you pressed on, finally getting a good hold on your keys and twisting them in the ignition. "Come on; get in."
The kids reluctantly did as they were told, with Dustin scrambling to get the front seat, and whilst you were distracted, Eddie leant down by your window. "I can drop them home next week," he hummed, offering you a sweet smile. "Let you have an evening to yourself?"
You let out a soft chuckle. Eddie couldn't say he had been surprised to see you as their driver/mom figure. You'd always been someone who tended to attract the odd ducks and the two of you had even hung out a couple of times. But he'd never seen you look so mom-ish before. You did look exhausted, worn down by work and everything else that you took on.
"I like driving them," you told him. "Besides, they'll all be driving themselves in a couple of years and then they'll never spend any time with me. Gotta make the most of it whilst I still can," you chuckled, reaching out to ruffle Dustin's hair slightly.
Eddie held up his hands in surrender. "Alright, but if you ever change your mind, just let me know. I'm always here anyway."
You nodded, keeping your false smile plastered to your lips. "Thank you," you murmured, putting the car into gear. "I'll see you around, Eddie."
You'd thought that the second you were out of the parking lot, the kids would launch into a detailed move-by-move retelling of tonight's session like they always did, but all you could hear was whispering from the backseat.
"So, how'd it go tonight?"
"It was fine," Lucas chirped, sending you a little half-smile through the mirror. "How was work?"
You scoffed slightly. "You don't want to hear about my work-"
"You said it was a long day," Mike interrupted, looking less enthusiastic about having to question you.
"Yeah, it was-"
"Why was it long?"
You hesitated for a moment, your grip on the steering wheel tightening slightly. "No reason. I just started early and finished late."
"Why?"
"Because one of the other girls is sick-"
"Don't you guys have other staff members to cover?"
"God, what is this? The Spanish inquisition?" The car fell silent. "Sometimes, work is just long, okay? And from time to time, you have to do more than you should because other people can't be there. It's no big deal."
Dustin was frowning when you pulled up in front of the first stop on your journey, dropping off Mike at his house.
"What's up, Dusty?" you murmured as you stopped for a second time, only a minute or two later, letting Lucas out at his house.
"Nothing," he hummed, still frowning slightly.
"Nothing at all?"
He glanced over at you as you kept your eyes fixed on the road, headed for your final stop. "You should let Eddie drive us home next week," he muttered.
Your brow furrowed slightly, the false smile slipping from your features. "Oh," you breathed out. "Yeah, if you want Eddie to drive you-"
"We like you driving us, but you do it every week. You should take a break."
"I don't need a break."
"Well, you should take one anyway," he murmured as you pulled up outside his house. "See you later."
"Bye, Dusty," you called after him, waiting until he was safely inside the house before driving back to your place.
You'd barely made it into your apartment when your telephone started ringing, causing you to drop your bag by the door as you hurried into your kitchen to answer it.
"Hello?"
"Hey, Y/N," Max started on the other line. "Can you take me to the store? I've got to get some stuff-"
You hesitated for a moment. It would be so easy to tell her no. To tell her that you'd had a long day and all you wanted to was to reheat some leftovers and chill for the rest of the evening. But, saying no had never really been in your nature.
"Sure, I'll be there in 10," you told her, handing up and gathering your bag back out before heading out to your car.
*Time Skip*
The trip to the store had taken longer than expected. Max had lingered in the aisles, taking forever to make a simple decision, and shooting you odd glances as you trailed behind her with the cart.
You were halfway back to her trailer when she suddenly perked up, glancing over at you.
"Can we go to yours quickly? I think I left my hoodie there last week and my mom's going to lose it if she realises I lost another one."
You nodded, biting back a frustrated sigh. "Sure," you hummed out, turning down your own street and parking up out front.
If you hadn't been so tired, you probably would've recognised Nancy and Steve's cars parked on your street. You probably would've realised that this had all been some big ruse to keep you out of your own apartment for a while.
But you hadn't actually realised that anything was amiss until you got to your door and found it already unlocked. Sure, there was a chance that maybe in your sleep-addled hurry to get to Max's place, you forgot to lock it, but there was also a chance that someone could've broken in.
"Stay here," you murmured to Max, opening the door as quietly as possible and following the chatter until you reached the kitchen door. "What the fuck?" you bit out, watching as 6 people turned to look at you, all wide-eyed and surprised by your appearance. "I gave you a key for emergencies, Nancy. What are you all doing here?"
Dustin held up a wooden spoon stained red with sauce, sending you his sweetest smile. "Making dinner," he answered simply.
"You always do so much for us," Lucas pressed on, shrugging slightly. "We thought we could do something nice for you, too."
God, your heart clenched at the comment, tears brimming in your eyes. "You don't have to do that-"
"Well, we wanted to," Nancy interrupted you. "Steve rented a couple of movies. Robin is a surprisingly good cook. The kids are doing the dishes later. Just enjoy it."
You nodded, moving to open the fridge.
"What are you doing?" Steve uttered, brow furrowing.
"I-" You glanced over at him, confused. "I was just getting a drink-"
Steve clapped. "Mike; Mom wants a drink," he called out, and you couldn't help the giggle that slipped out of you as Mike reluctantly moved between you and the fridge, pulling out a can of soda for you to inspect.
"A wonderful choice, sir," you teased, watching as he grabbed a glass from the counter and poured your drink for you. "Thank you," you hummed as he handed it to you.
"Now, go sit down. Dinner is almost ready."
Nancy trailed behind you into the living room, perching beside you on the couch. "The boys said you had a bad day-"
You let out a soft sigh. "It wasn't that bad-"
"Tell me about it," she interrupted. "What happened?"
You hesitated for a moment, considering the options. Sure, you could keep lying and telling them that it had been fine, but they would probably keep badgering you until you caved anyway. They were some of the most unyielding people you had ever met and you doubted they would let this slide easily. Or you could just get it over with and tell the truth, even if vulnerable honesty didn't always come so easily to you.
"We're already understaffed and then one of the girls called out sick and it ended up being just me and one other girl the entire shift," you paused for a moment. "And that would be fine if she actually pulled her weight, but of course, she didn't. And then I had to open on my own and close on my own and I'm just exhausted, you know?"
Nancy nodded slightly. "You need a break-"
"You sound like Dustin," you teased.
"Yeah, because he's right. You're always doing everything for everyone else. You just need to let people take care of you for once." You were frowning softly at her, and she simply pressed on. "Let Eddie drive the boys home next week. I'll take Max to the grocery store. Steve's already promised to take Dustin to his doctor's appointment on Wednesday. We can cope with you taking a week off, alright?" She paused for a moment. "And, clearly we're pretty good in the kitchen. Let us cook for you from time to time. Let us look out for you."
You nodded slightly, clearing your throat. "Okay," you murmured. "But promise you won't all stop needing me, alright? I like doing stuff for you guys."
Nancy chuckled. "Of course, we'll all still need you. God, you take better care of us than our real parents. You're like super-mom."
You dragged her into a hug, letting out a soft sigh as the others came in from the kitchen carrying bowls of food and cutlery.
"Dinner's ready," Robin called out, handing you one of the bowls as Steve offered you a fork.
"If it kills you; it was all Robin's idea," he told you, grinning when you snorted with laughter.
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