that's crazy, man.

some people call me the space cowboy

                       some call me the gangster of love

  [ meet : rick lipton ]

.

the last thing he had been expecting from this interaction was to end up kissing rick lipton on his couch. spencer tried not to think about the consequences of this kiss - mostly because his mind was too busy thinking about how this felt right. why did this feel right? he would have never expected for this to happen, especially not with rick - a guy that he had made sure to keep arrested for so long and now he was kissing him. and he didn’t plan on stopping anytime soon, his hand moving behind the other’s neck as he pulled him closer to the kiss, deepening the kiss by the second.

what happened next was also unexpected, when rick pulled him into his lap, where he sat comfortably. he pulled away from the kiss to take a breath, but didn’t waste another second as he pulled the man into a kiss again, until they finally pulled away and stared at each other for a couple of more moments. spencer could feel his cheeks flushed, his hair was probably a mess right now and he wondered what someone would think if they were to walk in on them right now, spencer on the other’s lap and their lips puffy from the kissing. spencer felt like he was a teenager again, he didn’t know what else to think anymore. he just focused on the two of them.

at the other’s suggestion of going to his room, spencer nodded his head slowly as he let his hand rest on rick’s shoulder. he felt like he needed this, like the two of them needed this. “don’t leave…” he said quietly. for the first time in probably forever, spencer didn’t want rick to leave. in fact, he wanted him to stay, like he had never wanted anyone to say. “the bedroom… yeah…” he said before pressing another kiss into rick’s lips, then standing up from the other’s lap and holding out a hand. “let’s go.” he told the other quietly.

+++

rays of sun peeked through the blinds and tickled his nose until rick stirred and finally woke up, groggy, exhausted , with a smile on his face. the usual initial panic of waking up in another bed wondering where you are now replaced by the panic that set in as soon as you realised whose bed you were currently occupying, he dragged a hand down his face, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes before he turned to his side, to make sure - and sure enough, there lay spencer, face mushed into the pillow. an almost serene expression on his face, and rick though he'd rarely if ever seen spencer this relaxed.

he scrunched his nose up, sniffled, tried to resist the urge to let his fingertips trail over spencer's cheek but ultimately failed, going as faf as brushing some of his hair off his forehead and tucking it behind his ear. a glance at the alarm clock, it was still the early hours of the morning - just as rick had suspected . there was something about the air, the light, the way the sun softly hit spencer's skin. a dead giveaway. everything felt at peace, serene, and rick was struck with the beautiful yet heart wrenching thought that he could see himself getting used to waking up like this.

but despite what most people thought of him, rick wasn't delusional. well aware that, after everything, they were still the felon and the mayor, and last night could very well have simply been a of judgment on spencer's part. he'd been upset, vulnerable, perhaps rick had been there at the right time for things to fall into place and -

with a sofr grunt, he got out of bed - as quiet as possible so as to not wake spencer - thus nipping that strain of thought in the bud. no, no space for negative thoughts, no negative vibes. rule one of the lipton doctrine. rick allowed himself a few minutes to look around, take in the small details of spencer's room. another sniffle, rick then went over to fish a small, pre-rolled joint, half of which he'd smoked the day before, out of the pocket of his shirt that laid abandoned on the floor. slipping into a dressing gown he snuck out of spencer's closet and onto the back porch.

having completed his morning ritual of, well, having a joint, rick soon got to work making breakfast - half of the hour he spent on it went into wondering what breakfast might be spencer's favorite, before he settled on the classic :eggs, toast, coffee, a cup of whatever fruit he found laying around.

humming softly in tune to 'la bamba', currently playing on ricks favorite independent radio station, he didn't even notice spencer until he turned around to plate the eggs. he immediately broke out into a wide grin. "morning sleepyhead. you, uh, you sleep ok? sometimes i snore, i hope I didn't - yeah." giving into his intrusive thoughts, rick quickly crossed the distance between them to press a cautious kiss to spencer's lips. "i made eggs and stuff. i hope that was, like, cool."

.

spencer didn’t remember when this conversation had gotten to this point, but if there was something he was sure about was that it had taken a turn. at this very moment, spencer couldn’t tell if it was good or bad, but he decided not to overthink about it like he did with everything. “well, you can ask that to the rest of the town, because i’m pretty sure you’re the only one who actually compliments me.” he said, looking over at rick’s face for a couple of moments, before speaking up again and shaking his head. “don’t actually ask them that. i have some pretty good reasons on why they don’t like me.” he said with a firm nod. he knew that even if he did try to change people’s minds now, even if he wanted to, it probably wouldn’t work. he decided to shut off his thoughts for once in a life as he looked over at rick.

“nature’s syrup? you really like orange juice, it’s… surprising to say the least. but noted, i’ll keep it in my pantry.” spencer told the other, flashing him a smile for a few seconds before looking away from rick. he didn’t know why he was being nice to him, why he was talking to him like this. he felt his cheeks turning hot and he wondered if the other could tell that at all. he wasn’t sure what to do next, but he was enjoying rick’s company maybe a little too much for his liking. he let his thoughts overcome him as he thought about what people would think about if they knew about this. about his reputation and about his campaign. but then again, he forgot about all of it when their shoulders brushed together, looking over at rick again.

spencer didn’t remember the last time he had been this close to anyone, but it felt nice. he wasn’t sure if it was just because he had been so lonely this whole time or if it was because rick was actually a good person (despite the business he was in), maybe even too good for him. he watched the other’s movements carefully as they sat in silence after spencer had asked him to kiss him. was that the right thing to do in that very moment? he didn’t know, but he knew that he didn’t care. it wasn’t like anyone was there to see it.

“i’m…” he said, a moment of silence in between as he thought if he should back away from this and walk to the kitchen and wait until rick inevitably left. he had the chance to do that. they were close now, closer than they had ever been and spencer couldn’t help but to let his eyes wander to rick’s lips, licking his own as he watched the other talk. “i’m sure.” he said, giving the other a firm nod as he leaned forward slowly as the other kept talking. he talked too much, spencer thought to himself as he let his hand rest on the other’s cheek for a few moments.

“just… shut up.” he said, as he pulled the other into a kiss, their lips crashing as they kissed. this hadn’t been the way that he was expecting for his night to end, but here they were. the mayor kissing the felon on the mayor’s couch. and spencer was okay with it. he didn’t care about what people would think now, he didn’t even care if people were to walk in that very moment, he just wanted to kiss rick and that’s what he had done. he let out a big breath as he kissed him, never breaking the kiss as he brought the other closer, his hand still on rick’s cheek as he deepened the kiss. he wondered if this was all some game that rick was playing, but he had been so hesitant in kissing him that he thought he wouldn’t be cruel to him. he just couldn’t be. and he wouldn’t be, spencer thought to himself. at least he hoped he wouldn’t.

+++

when spencer flashed him a smile, a small yet genuine one, gone before he could quite register it, rick felt his mouth suddenly go awfully dry. he could hear his blood rushing in his ears, felt his heart skip a couple of beats, as if to was tripping up - and he hadn't even smoked that much today, not that he remembered it, anyhow. and rick couldn't help but mirror that smile, though it was more of a lopsided grin on his part.

he shivered under spencers touch, eyes darting down to where a strong yet soft hand rested on his cheek. sending shocks through his entire body. the air between them was static, practically crackling with electricity, heavily charged. rick gulped, his eyes found spencer's again. a breathy exhale as he muttered the last confirmation rick needed - 'im sure' - and the grin that was tugging at his lips - because what a spencer thing to say right before they kissed, telling him to shut up - was quickly interrupted by the soft press of spencers lips on his own.

and, man - if he could go back in time and tell little richard lipton that one day, he'd be here locking lips with 'mr. spencer' from summer camp.... well, he probably wouldn't do that, so as to not spoil the surprise.

rick sighed into the kiss as his hands came up to wrap around spencer's waist, effectively pulling him into his lap. part of him still believed that this was too good to be true, just another drug induced hallucination, maybe a dream. part of him followed the lipton doctrine of living in the moment, simply enjoying whatever came next.

another pleased sigh, rick pulled back, cheeks flushed, a glossy look in his eyes. "should we.... do you want to, uh, move this to, like, the bedroom, or - like, I can leave, man, if you want me to. whatever you want, man. like, anything for you."

.

spencer watched as rick opened his mouth to say something. he looked at him for a couple of moments, waiting for him to speak up, but when the other said nothing, spencer looked away from him, trying to focus on something else in the living room. he looked at his walls, thinking on how he should probably get a new wallpaper. he didn’t know why he had invited rick into his house, but he didn’t regret it. at least he wasn’t putting all of the blames on him like everyone seemed to be doing. maybe he had been too harsh on judging without knowing him that well – not since camp anyway. not that they had been close, but they were kids and they knew each other. better than they know each other now, anyway.

his eyes drifted towards the other’s direction when he said he admired him, feeling his cheeks suddenly turning red. he felt like a stupid kid – only kids got flustered like that when someone complimented him, but maybe it was because he wasn’t used to it. it had been a while, after all. when the other was done complimenting him, spencer nodded his head slowly. “thank… thank you, rick. that’s… really nice of you. “ he told the other, nodding his head again. he wasn’t expecting for his night to end up like this, but there they were. “it’s good to hear some compliments every once in a while… you know, after only listening to harsh insults.” he told the other, shrugging his shoulders slightly. he watched the other as he took a big gulp of his orange juice, shaking his head as he let out a chuckle at it.

“no problem… i didn’t know you were such a fan of orange juice.” he said. he didn’t know anything about rick if he was being honest. it’s not like he had made sure that he knew stuff about him. maybe that was something he regretted, but he knew that their lives were different. what would people think if they knew that rick was at his house in that very moment? it wouldn’t look good for the campaign. but at the same time, it felt good to have some company. real company. other than peter, spencer didn’t have a ton of friends in hawkins. sure, he was partially to blame for that, but he took his job seriously. maybe a little too bit serious. “i have a carton in the pantry if you want to take some… i don’t drink it that much.” he told him.

spencer pursed his lips when rick mentioned that trouble used to find him. he wasn’t sure if that was completely true, but he decided to let it slide just that one time. “thanks… gets pretty lonely around here, but it’s a nice place. i can’t complain.” he said, as he leaned back on the couch, his shoulder brushing against rick’s for a couple of moments. he felt his face turning red at the touch. he wasn’t sure what he felt about this, but he couldn’t think of a time where he had been this close to rick. he was good looking, he thought to himself. “you didn’t do anything… i think we both need a break from… everything. even if you don’t know what’s going on.” he said to the other, looking at him and then down at his lips. he let a couple of moments of silence pass. he felt his mouth getting dry by the second and that’s when he spoke again. “kiss me.” he said, almost in a whisper.

+++

"i don't see how anyone could like, talk to you and not compliment you, man." and he stared at spencer for a second too long, lost in multiple coexisting strings of thought, until he realised he'd just said it out loud. a sheepish smile on his face, he shrugged his shoulders, giving him an  'ah, well, what can you do?' sort of look. it was whatever.

rick wasn't even flirting per se, well, at least not intentionally. at least not initially. he'd started the conversation off with perfectly innocent intentions - despite the fact that spencer had been his first ever crush, a feeling that hadn't subsided over the years, rick felt he'd always carry a torch for the older man.

now that spencer was chuckling to himself, relaxing visibly, rick wished he'd started the conversation off with a flirtatious comment here and there. it was still wishful thinking, though, and he mightve lost a couple of braincells over the years but he wasn't as delusional as to think he actually stood a chance with mayor spencer st. james. "orange juice is like, nature's syrup, my guy. keep it in your pantry, always good to keep some on hand." a wide grin, he smacked his lips. "like, when the local shady guy pops round for a visit." and he pointed his thumbs at himself, mouthing a silent 'it's me!' as he wiggled his brows suggestively.

spencer pursed his lips and rick's gaze immediately stuck to them for a moment, hands dropping to lay lazily at his sides as he resisted the urge to fold them over his stomach because only really old people did that (rick thought he might have seen ted wheeler sitting just like that in his la-z-boy at the bbq recently, but his memory wasn't as spot on as it used to be).

their shoulders brushed and rick was suddenly acutely aware of the fact that he hadn't taken off his jacket when he'd stepped into the st. james residence. had spencer turned up the ac when they'd walked in? he couldn't remember, but he thought he might have. with how hot it was getting all of a sudden. absentmindedly one hand pulled at his collar to expose a bit of skin, cool down. it didn't help, of course.

time seemed to slow down for a second and all rick could do was stare and gape at spencer as he leaned forward, watch as his eyes fell to ricks lips, listen with blown pupils as he voiced his - question? no, more of a demand, really. as to be expected from a figure of authority. rick gulped.

"are-are you like, sure, man?" voice even quieter than spencer's, if that was even possible, he cleared his throat, wet his lips. why was he even voicing his concerns? shouldn't he just go ahead and grab this once chance to release years of unresolved and possibly until this moment unrequited tension? before it slipped away again, before they went back to being nothing more than the felon and the mayor to one another.

his breath had hitched in the back of his throat, rick realised, and he exhaled shakily, moved a little closer, side pressed into spencer's. another beat passed, he nodded weakly. when he spoke his voice was low and soft, velvety, still hushed and quiet. "if you really wanna then... then yes, ill kiss you, spence. i really want to."

.

sometimes he wondered if rick was a real person. sometimes he wondered if the other actually thought about the things he said before actually saying them, because he was pretty sure that he didn’t. “then… just buy the newspaper. there’s also news on the television, which you know, play other stuff than… whatever it is that you’re watching.” he said, shaking his head slightly at rick. but part of him had kind of wished that he hadn’t brought this up to table. maybe if he hadn’t said anything, then they wouldn’t have to talk about the explosion and everything that had happened at the carnival. it had been awful, the aftermath and still now, with everything being blamed on him. at least rick didn’t seem to be doing that, which he could appreciate. “it was an actual disaster. a real disaster, not like when… your tie doesn’t match with your shirt kind of disaster. a real one.” spencer said, shaking his head for a couple of moments.

he watched rick’s reaction to the explosion, and spencer let out a sigh and nodded. at least rick wasn’t putting the blame on him, which was the bare minimum, but spencer was pleased that he hadn’t. “people like to think that i did, but no, i didn’t do it. i’m trying to figure out who actually is to blame, but it’s not easy when you can’t even leave your house and have some concerned dad talking about how her daughter was hospitalized or worse… it hasn’t been easy.” spencer said with a shrug.

spencer wasn’t used to having people at his house and now that rick was there, it felt weird. but still, he decided not to say anything about it as he watched him carefully. “orange juice? yeah, i have some.” he said with a nod. he quickly went to the kitchen, opened the fridge and got the orange juice, pouring it in a glass before going back to the living room and handing it to rick. “go crazy.” he said with a nod, before taking a seat on his couch and rubbing his eyes yet again, taking off his watch then placing it on top of the coffee table. “you can sit down, rick, i’m not going to bite you. i know i’m not the nicest, but if anything, i’m a good host.” he said with a small nod. “you staying out of trouble?” he asked. he didn’t know why he was being so nice to rick, but it felt nice to have someone to talk to.

+++

he opened his mouth, ready to go on a rant about howthe television had been invented to keep the masses under control and willing and manipulated and so on and so forth, but upon taking in spencer’s state again he decided against it. rick could go on that rant another day, right now spencer looked like he felt like crap - and rick, well, he sometimes rather thought he didn’t have an un-empathetic bone in his body. so he shut up, just nodded idly to himself as he let his fingertips trace across the edge of a table, taking it all in.

“y’know, i always sorta admire you, spence.”, rick mused, more to himself, still letting his gaze wander around the room. “ever since back at camp. you were always - i don’t know, man. so sure of yourself? being mayor, that’s, like, that’s gotta be hard, right? and i mean you’re still the mayor so i guess you’re not doing half bad.” and with that he had turned back around to face spencer, finished with mentally mapping every last detail of the room. a smile playing on his lips. “i think you’re doing a pretty good job, man. don’t be so hard on yourself. people suck. and they need scapegoats, people to blame bad stuff on. you just happened to be there.”

and his thoughts briefly drifted off to eddie munson, how he’d sought refuge in his boat shed some two years ago. if rick hadn’t been in prison he’d have offered him the guest room. back then, people had tried to pin all sorts of stuff on eddie. how the tables had turned. 

rick gladly took the orange juice, downing it in one big gulp, a proud grin on his face as he plopped down on the couch next to spencer. “thanks, man. i needed that.” juice was great. rick made a note to go out and get some more orange juice at the store tomorrow. he also made a note that, for whatever reason, the image of spencer taking off his watch after a hard day’s work and putting it on the table caused a funny, fuzzy feeling in rick’s stomach. he shrugged, put the glass down next to the watch. his face felt a little hot. 

“trouble always seems to find me somehow, man. but it’s been quiet ‘round here lately.” meaning rick hadn’t gotten many customers lately, seeing as exam season was over and most people chose to spend their holidays anywhere but hawkins. “you got a nice pad, spencer.” rick hummed, letting himself sink further into the couch. it really was a very comfortable couch. “and you’re being nice today. why are you being nice to me today? did i do something incriminating?”

.

spencer thought that he would never see his bed. this day had been dragging along for too long for now, he just needed some rest. tomorrow would be another day and he could try again. but right now, with everything that he was dealing with, he just needed to rest. and rick clearly wasn’t letting him do that. he thought about closing the door on the other’s face and make his way inside, but something stopped him from doing it. he wasn’t sure what it was and he wasn’t even sure why he found that the other bringing his sign thinking it belonged to him was funny, but there was, standing in front of rick - the famous reefer rick who was known for being the drug dealer in the town that he had sworn to protect and make better.

“do you not read the news or do you just not care?” he asked at rick’s question, shaking his head slowly. he wasn’t sure how there was anyone who didn’t know about the explosion, but there was rick without knowing anything about it. it baffled him. “did you not know about the… explosion? and the people that were injured or killed? so, no, it wasn’t that much fun.” he finished off, shaking his head. he was embarrassed to have been the one behind the carnival only for it to end in tragedy, but then again, it wasn’t like he could have controlled it. at rick’s offer, spencer thought about it for a while. talking to rick on the outside could risk someone seeing them, but did he really want him inside his place. letting out a sigh, he moved out of the way to let the other inside of his house. would he regret this? probably. “just get in. but you don’t tell this to anyone.” he said, closing the door behind him once rick was inside. “can i get you anything?” he said, as he started walking towards the living room with rick.

+++

that was a good question, actually. rick tilted his head to the side, lips pursed as he thought about it. “hm....i mean, like, the paper guys never come up to the door, sometimes they don’t deliver my paper at all. so that makes it sorta hard to keep up.”, he mused with a shrug. “but, like, i read a headline that some fucking, uh, disaster happened? that can mean a lot of things.” and sometimes these headlines were meaningless, all flashy and explicit to capture people’s attention. yeah, rick knew all about the media’s dirty tricks. still, he subscribed to the paper. he liked to keep up with what was going on around town, if there was a big yard sale anywhere, or a showing of a nice movie at the drive in. 

“holy shit, man. an explosion?” so ‘carnival disaster’ really hit the nail on the head, apparently. his shoulders slumped, brows dran together, he ran a hand through his hair. “but, like ... you weren’t the one doing the exploding, right? so it’s not your fault, man.” not that he felt like that would reassure or help spencer much. but you never knew.

next thing he knew he was inside, a wide grin on his face. “my lips are sealed, man. don’t worry.” and who would believe him, anyway? what business did he have telling people he payed mayor st. james a visit? it was a nice pad, rick thought to himself, nodding appreciatively as he looked around. not as homey and familiar as his own house, of couse, which was filled with trinkets and posters and plants. but still nice. it was spencer, which rick liked. “uh...yeah, man, do you have like, orange juice or something? like, any juice is fine.”

finally getting home, spencer thought he was going to get the well deserved rest he needed. the day at work had been terrible, he was still being bombarded with questions about what had happened at the carnival and he just didn’t know what to do anymore. he was sure that it would look terrible in his upcoming election, the thought of losing and leaving hawkins in someone else’s hands made him terrified. what would happen to the town if he wasn’t in charge? if bad things happened even when he tried to avoid it, who was to say that worse things wouldn’t happen if he wasn’t mayor. he tried not thinking about it as he rested on his couch, his eyes closed as the tv went on in the background. and then he heard a knock on his door.

he had no idea who could be bothering him at this hour. he was hoping that they would go away but when he heard the ringbell a second time, he knew that he couldn’t ignore it. getting up from the couch and storming towards the front door, spencer swung it open, only to find rick on the other side. “what the hell are you doing here at this hour?” was the first thing that came out of his mouth, looking down at what the man was carrying one of his signs. he frowned and rubbed his eyes with his figners as he looked at him. “what are you doing with one of my signs? they’re supposed to be in front yards, rick. it isn’t mine.” he said, shaking his head.

he was about to close the door on the other’s face when he heard him talk again, he let out a sigh. “thank you, that’s what i really wanted to hear rick. that i look terrible.” he said, rolling his eyes yet again. spencer was in a worse mode than usual, but who could blame him after everything that had happened at the carnival. “listen, rick, i appreciate that you were trying to do a good action or whatever, but… if you’re just going to stand there, you can leave the sign and go.” he said, shaking his head. “no hard feelings.” he finished off.

+++

he watched with furrowed brows as spencer reached up to rub his eyes, eyes underlined with dark circles no less, and today’s headline rung in his ears. ‘carnival disaster’. of course, who else was there to blame tragic events in town on than the mayor? quickly, the sign was discarded on the ground, all thoughts about it and its unclear and confusing ownership, too, rick ignored spencer’s comments about it altogether.

“hey, don’t be a stranger, now, man. what’s going on? are they giving you a hard time about the fun fair thing or whatever? was it not so fun of a fair?” albeit hard to believe, rick’s words were genuine and meant entirely serious. hands resting on his hips, he tilted his head to the side, gave spencer a both inquisitive and concerned look. “okay, i know you, like, hate me and everything but do you want to talk about it? i can come in. or we could talk about it out here. whatever.” a couple of beats passed in which rick thought about whether or not he needed to add something else. satisfied with things as they wee, he nodded. “no hard feelings.”

.

It always filled Argyle with a bit of pride and joy when he saw someone else appreciate his van, a look in the other’s eyes that he recognized immediately. This was gonna be a cool dude. “Thanks, man, surfer boy really hooked it up for me,” Argyle replied to the compliment, giving the van a gentle, loving pat on the side of its doors.

“Right, dude? Appreciate the feedback,” he smiled. “Unfortunately, Surfer Boy’s strictly stuck in the west coast right now, but I believe the day will come when they finally expand.” He nodded slowly a few times.

“— Luckily, the pizza dude’s have given me some pretty solid training though, so if you’re really wanting a pizza right now … I can probably make that happen. Not a Surfer Boy classic, but just close enough to where you won’t know the difference.”

+++

“well, you gotta get right on that, expand to the midwest. now that benny’s is no more i don’t know where to go when i don’t want to cook.”, rick pouted, but mirrored the other’s slow nods as he let his gaze travel along the exterior of the van again. it really was a very nice van. and the other guy really was wearing a very nice outfit. “that’s a very nice outfit, man.” again, he nodded, hands on his hips. “so you’re from the west coast, huh? what brings you to this dreary little town, my guy?”

at his suggestion, rick’s ( still somewhat red and puffy ) eyes suddenly lit up, the elaborate meal he’d planned and shopped for suddenly long forgotten as he closed the trunk of his car. his casserola could wait another day. “hell yeah, man. totally, i’m down. i - you can use my kitchen, if you want? promise i’m not some creepy, like, serial killer dude. i mean, the people ‘round here wouldn’t consider me super trustworthy but that’s due to.... other things.” and rick gave him a look, briefly pulling a joint out of his shirt pocket, fingers tapping it as if to say ‘these are the aforementioned other things’. “oh - i’m rick, by the way.”

what: st lipton- rick comes to return what is rightfully spencer’s

who: @mayorstjames + rick.​

stepping out onto the front porch for his morning coffee and joint wth a lake view, rick had noticed two peculiar things. one - the flashy headlines of his paper, as always tossed carelessly onto his lawn instead of being brought up to the mailbox of the house. ‘carnival disaster!’ there had been a carnival? secondly - and more importantly, the sign that someone had apparently, over night, erected on a bush next to his mailbox. upon further inspection, rick came to know that the sign read ‘ st. james ‘88 ‘. 

1988 - that sure was the year they were in, confirmed by a quick glance at the paper. however, he only knew one person in town by the name of st. james. was this some sort of message from spencer? or had someone stolen the sign from him and dumped it in rick’s yard on their getaway? it had to be that, or something along the lines, rick thought to himself as he idly sipped his coffee, putting the rolled up issue of the hawkins post into the pocket of his dressing gown. why else would someone put a sign with spencer’s last name and their current date in his yard?

about an hour and a half, one coffee, one chamomile tea, a stale croissant and a shower later, rick found himself at spencer’s house, sign tucked underneath his arm. it only made sense to return what he supposed to be rightfully spencer’s - besides, he didn’t need a charge for theft, his record was long enough as was. and despite not being opposed to stealing from the rich he’d never steal a sign he could so easily make himself.

ringing the doorbell once, twice, rick broke into a wide, involuntary smile as spencer opened the door, dimples on display. “hey man! is this yours? i found it in my yard this morning.”, he nodded down towards the sign, then looked back up at the other. “uh ... i don’t mean to be rude, man, but i’m gonna be blunt. you look, like, super bad. are you okay, man?”

spencer found himself leaving work late yet again, but that was the life of a mayor, he supposed. he seemed to be busy at all times and with meetings, it was easy to get carried away with time. nevertheless, he walked out of the city hall and started making his way to his car when he heard a voice calling for him. he looked around for a couple of moments, trying to find the source of the sound when his eyes landed on rick. he felt his eyes roll to the back of his head. there was no way that he was actually parked there, yelling out his name to him. it just seemed surreal that someone would actually do that, but there he was. he wondered if he could call the police just for that, but it was most likely that they wouldn’t do anything about it. there was incompetence written all over hawkins’ police department.

“it’s mayor st. james for you.” he said dryly, as he looked over at rick, narrowing his eyes. he decided not to approach the car, keeping a distance from the other as he stared at him. he was thankful that the other was a felon and couldn’t vote, or else that would have just been a wasted vote, but spencer kept staring at the other as he cheered him on for some reason. “right, thanks.” he said, shaking his head as he looked over at the parked car. “you can’t be parked here, rick. you better get out of here before you get in trouble.” he said, nodding his head. he couldn’t believe he was talking to him. “and it’s mayor st. james.” he repeated yet again, hoping that it would stick, although he doubted that he would actually follow through with it.

+++

rick sighed, gave the other a look that read ‘disappointed but not surprised’. since spencer didn’t approach the car he took it upon himself to exit his vehicle, leaning against the hood as he spoke to spencer, orange juice in hand. “come on, man. we spent, like, five summers together at camp. don’t be stranger, mr spencer.” rick giggled at the nickname he’d bestowed upon spencer the first summer at camp at the ripe age of ten years old. when he’d thought that the other was a full blown adult and not a fifteen year old. 

“oh, shit, for real? i’ll be gone in like a second, promise.” rick ran a hand through his hair, then, remembering he still had the orange juice in the other, he took a generous sip. thought about offering spencer some, then discarded that thought. he didn’t seem like the oj type, anyway. “thanks for keeping me out of trouble, mr mayor. i appreciate it.”, he said with a nod, screwed the lid shut again. “where are you headed? can i give you a ride? i’m not doing anything right now. so i might as well.”

what: rick is chilling in his car, hey that’s a familiar face!

who: @mayorstjames​​ + rick

sometimes, rick just liked to drive around. he was a big fan of walking, too, and if some punks hadn’t stolen his bike sometime around the time he went to prison in ‘85, he would’ve enjoyed aimless bike rides, too. but as it so happened he presently had no bike, and he wasn’t in the mood for walking, so rick had opted to take his car out, drive along the roads surrounding lover’s lake. venturing into hawkins’ residential areas, too. making note of the signs people had in their yards - this was how rick kept himself informed about the upcoming election.

his route had taken him to melvald’s for some snacks, too. and orange juice, on which he always seemed to run low. he blamed that mostly on the kids he sold to and their odd munchies. anyhow, this was how rick presently found himself in his car, parked at the side of the road, orange juice in hand, taking afew gulps as he suddenly took note of a familiar figure walking out of city hall.

putting the juice carton to the side, rick leaned forward, squinted his eyes to make out who it was. ah - right. “hey! hey, spencer !” he shouted, rolling his windows down. “how’s it hanging man? oh, fingers- like, crossed on the mayor stuff.” he grinned, bumped his fists in the air to accentuate his words. “yeah, you got this, spencer.” unfortunately.

Who: Argyle Fuentes & anyone Where: Anywhere!

“That is not cool man,” Argyle admitted with a disappointed head shake. “Just heard someone trying to dis’ the van. Homeboy doesn’t respect that I’m promoting surfer boy.” Even in Hawkins, the surfer boy van was Argyle’s pride and joy. It had been through hell and back by this point, but he still loved it like his own. “He doesn’t get that it’s a business strategy, man. The more representation they get in Hawkins, the more likely they’ll expand. I’m just trying to bring some tasty pies up here.”

+++

see, rick didn’t often venture into town, only when absolutely necessary. like when he was out of milk, or low on snacks, or if he needed to extend his rental on ‘cheech and chong’s up in smoke’. vital necessities, really. every other full moon, it seemed, all these things fell on the same day - today was one of those days. whistling to himself to the tune of melanie’s ‘brand new key’ , the melody faintly playing way too loud from his headphones that hung around his neck, he heaved his groceries into the turnk of his beaten up car. 

slamming the door shut, he’d looked up and was met with the sight of his dream car. a bright yellow van, which reminded him of the volkswagen bus auntie simone had driven them to woodstock in, and rick had taken a moment to marvel at the sight of it. eyes growing wider, a dazed smile appearing as the driver of the van in question appeared, and for a moment rick thought he was having flashbacks.

he was an explosion of colour, in stark contrast to the bleak midwestern gothic aesthetic of hawkins, indiana. “that’s the raddest car i’ve seen in a long time, man.”, rick nodded, gave the other a lopsided grin. “and hey, your business stratergy is working. i could, like, totally go for a pizza right now.”