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ethephoenix · 2 years

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The Sword of Kas: A Stranger Things Story

A season 5, Eddie Munson + reader POV fanfic

By Evin Phoenix (share with attribution/ give credit)

If you’re wondering if the title is a double entendre/ innuendo. Do you really need to ask?

🖤🤘

Content warning: this story is NSFW and contains mature themes.

Ages 18+

Smutty scenes in part 2

Best viewed on wattpad

https://www.wattpad.com/1246974836-stranger-things-season-5-the-sword-of-kas-eddie

Chapter 1: New Scars

Eddie Munson woke up in an ice cold sweat, sticking to his leather jacket. Disoriented in the bright room, he pawed at his abdomen — blood. Dustin, he thought. Where's Dustin?

His vision began to clear into focus, and he panicked. He tore at his shredded Hellfire Club t-shirt, bracing himself for the vicious wounds to his guts where demobats feasted. A piece of his flesh fell into his fingers from his jacket, and he screamed a lonely scream of a boyin terror. Determined to take stock of his injuries, he bit into his bleeding tongue, his tearful doe-eyes wincing.

Nothing.

There was no wound. His tattooed stomach was perfectly healed, though his ink was now adorned with a few nasty scars.

"What?" he said incredulously. His shaking hands were frantic. He had to be sure. His hands and his stomach were covered in dried blood underneath his shredded clothes. There was no wound. Only scars.

A car horn startled him out of himself. He realized he was in his own bedroom. There was Elektra, his beloved B.C. Rich Warlock guitar. Fuck, he thought. I'm dead. I've died. Is this—

The car horn startled him again. He jumped out of his bed to look through the broken bathroom blinds in a paranoid frenzy. It was his uncle. "Eddie, we're gonna be late!" he yelled.

Eddie looked in the mirror. He still had strange ash in his hair from the upside-down, and crystallized purple demo bat blood. His eyes were different. He looked like a ghost.

"Eddie, let's go!" His uncle yelled again.

His muscle memory carried him through a quick shower and he pulled on jeans and a t-shirt from a rumpled ball on the floor. Confused, he hopped into the passenger seat of his van.

"I'm happy to keep driving you until you're fully recovered. You're not doing special K again, are you? You need your health, Eddie." His uncle put the shift in gear and popped the clutch.

"No, not that I'm aware," said Eddie.

"Well, you don't look so good. Here—" his uncle pulled out two crumpled dollars from his back pocket. "When you get to school, get a second breakfast and eat as much as you can. That'll fix you right up."

"Thanks," Eddie replied.

"And Eddie —" his uncle paused, steering them out of their weedy cul- de-sac in the early light. "I'm glad you're okay. I really thought you were gone."

"Yeah—" Eddie replied, "me too."

Eddie was in a daze all morning, unable to eat from either of his plastic breakfast trays.

The Hellfire boys laughed and horsed around at the table, plotting new campaigns and fighting over who would be the next dungeon master when Eddie graduated. The basketball team wrestled each other on the other side of the cafeteria, but he didn't spot Lucas, Patrick, or Jason. Eddie's mind wandered wildly, as if he was disconnected from his limp body. He stared off a thousand yards away, searching a distant darkness for understanding. There was so much he didn't remember. But worse still, no one else remembered. No one remembered anything. It was like nothing ever happened.

"Good morning—" Eddie jumped, intensely startled. "Eddie—" it was a teacher he hadn't met before. "I came to check in. We were supposed to meet at 8:45. Why don't we walk over to my office together? I'm Linda, the new guidance counselor. Come on."

He nodded passively to his friends, wondering where Dustin was. The whole school seemed freakishly... normal. No one seemed to notice how many people were missing. No one seemed to notice that he was supposed to be dead. Or that everyone was supposed to believe he murdered those kids.

"Ms. Johnson said you've missed several days this week," Ms. Linda began. "I know it's been hard since the earthquake, but what's going to really help is getting yourself back into a normal routine. You can't dwell on what happened. You're safe now."

"What about.. the murders?" Eddie asked.

"Murders?" Asked Linda. "Was this another of your dreams?"

A knock on the door startled him again. "Here's Eddie's file." The door closed.

"That reminds me. You're going to have a new peer facilitator. We have so many kids coming in after the quake that we had to bring in some volunteers who are getting their counseling degree. She graduated from Hawkins High last year, getting her psychology degree now. Since she's only a year older than you, we thought we could pair you to talk a little bit more since my schedule is so tight. Why don't you two grab lunch and get acquainted later?"

Eddie shrugs, and his rings clink against the steel armrests.

"What was that you were saying about murders?" Linda asked.

"Yeah," Eddie sighed. "Just more bad dreams." He scratched at his stomach at his new scars.

You tuck a file into Linda's inbox, close the door behind you, and go back to your temporary desk. You'd missed this school, but always felt creeped out in Hawkins. Too many urban legends spooked you away hundreds of miles to the University of Chicago.

That poor kid looked disturbed. You groaned. You didn't know what you were doing or how you were possibly going to be able to help him.

What made you think you had a clue about how to do this? Coming back after the quake was a mistake. You just wanted to help, but you were in way over your head.

The school bell rang, and your first appointment of the day walked in. Here we go, you thought. Just five hours today, and then I can be one day closer to going back home.

Home. Such a funny thing. Hawkins used to be your home. But not anymore. Everyone was so traumatized here. And you were so afraid you didn't know how to help them. One by one for hours, they all talked about how afraid they were after the quake, seeing Hawkins in crisis and disaster.

But a strange phenomenon began to appear: many of the kids had issues with memory. They couldn't remember the quake itself, or very much in the days leading up to it. Linda said it was a symptom of PTSD. But it was peculiar. You listened to her carefully, taking notes in your journals during the appointments, until the lunch bell rang.

You took a quick look at the kid's file. He was way too old to be in school still. Held back twice. For the same reason you were — fucking math. You chuckled to yourself.

Apparently he was involved in some kind of group of troubled boys. You remembered something about them from last year — they listened to some of the same music as you, so you assumed they were just struggling to fit in. You knew a thing or two about being an outcast.

Wait a second — Munson. Eddie Munson. This was the guy who played guitar in Corroded Coffin, the dungeon master from Hellfire Club? He was unrecognizable. You had only caught a quick glimpse of him in Linda's office, but he was a mess. The Eddie you remembered was so alive, passionate, and always smiling. What happened to him?

You took a seat back in your office, and waited to see if he would show. To your surprise, there was a knock at the door. "Right on time," you said.

"Hi. Ms. Linda told me I could find you here," Eddie said. He was hunched over in pain.

"Yeah, please have a seat. Do you want a water or a soda?" You asked him. He perked up a little.

"Shit, yeah I didn't even realize it but I can't remember the last time I ate or drank anything," he said. His big eyes met yours, and caught the light. You realized you'd never spoken before, even though you knew of him last year.

"Here, then you better drink this," you said, handing him a coke.

"So how does this work? I feel like it's kinda weird, to be talking to someone my age like this. Is this supposed to be like a shrink?" Eddie asked.

"It's whatever you want it to be," you said. "I mean," you blushed. "It's not exactly counseling, it's just a space that's supposed to be safe and comfortable. Hopefully you feel like you can trust me and feel like you can open up here. I'm not a counselor, no, but I care."

"Why?" He asked.

This caught you off guard. No one else had asked that. Why wouldn't someone care? "Because what happened here was scary. People died. Homes are gone. Earthquakes aren't a part of life here. But it's a creepy place. Some say it's cursed here." You looked back up at him. His face is shadowed by a dark wavy mane. "What do you think?"

"Do I think it's cursed?" Eddie asked. You nodded. "Oh yes," he said.

"Can you tell me more about that?" You asked him. He opened his mouth, but the fire alarm went off. "Oh no, let me go see if it's a drill. I'll be right back."

Eddie watched you go into the hall, his leg bouncing anxiously. Suddenly, the fire alarm stopped. The hall fell quiet. He didn't hear anything. Not even any footsteps in the hall. Eddie stopped bouncing his leg.

"I don't like this," he muttered, and stood up. He came into the hall. It was empty. "Ms. Linda?" He called out. "Dustin?" Dustin, are you there? Yourname? Lucas? Hello?"

The hall was silent. A clock on the wall ticked discordantly. The second hand was stuck. Every tick, it tried to move forward. But it was pulled back into place on the same second mark. 1:37.

"Hello?" Eddie called. "Anybody?"

The corridor light down the hall shut off. One by one, the lights shut down, the shadow moving closer to Eddie. "Oh fuck this," Eddie said, and ran outside. But he stopped in his tracks.

The sun was gone behind a blanket of thick grey clouds. The shadows on the grass shuddered, an unnatural silvery green. And then he saw them — everyone had gone outside.

"Hey, what's going on?" No one moved. Everyone was standing still, facing away from him. He came around the nearest person. Her eyes were rolled in the back of her head, her arms at her sides. "Hey!" Eddie said. "Hey!"

Eddie ran from person to person, trying to wake them up from the spell. All of them stood up straight, their arms at their sides, eyes white and unresponsive. Suddenly Eddie remembered — just a feeling at first. And then her name. "Just like Chrissy," he said out loud. "No—"

He heard a scream from inside the school.

"Shit. Hold on!" Eddie yelled. He ran in the direction of the scream. "I'm coming. Just hold on!" The lights flickered, and a grandfather clock chimed deeply. "I'm coming!" The screaming continued, and as Eddie turned a corner, he tripped on his shoelaces. The lights cut back on, and people came around the corner, laughing and chewing gum. "It's not due until Friday. Let's sneak out anyway," someone said.

"What's happening? Are you okay?" Eddie stammered. The girls looked at him oddly, popping their gum, and ignored him. People surrounded him on their way to their next class. He leaned against the lockers in frustration, and suspiciously eyed a flickering corridor light.

"Eddie?" You called out. "Are you still here? Shit. He was just here." You looked at your watch. 1:37. "He was literally just here." He couldn't have gone far, you thought. You go out to look for him, and come back to your desk empty-handed.

"Guess I'll finish his coke," you said. It smelled like his cologne. Woodsy, and a hint of rose.

Eddie hopped out of his van, and grabbed his guitar from his uncle's trailer. He threw some cassettes into a duffel bag, some clothes, and another of his leather jackets. He paused in the bathroom, looking at his bloody, shredded clothes on the floor by the shower. He stuffed them in the bag too. There was no way in hell he was gonna stay in that trailer of death.

Eddie turned down his Dio cassette as he slammed on the brakes in front of Dustin Henderson's house. He desperately needed to talk to him. Maybe Dustin had some idea about what was happening to Hawkins — and to him. He knew he had died. It felt so real. So how did he end up back in his bed? And what the fuck happened with the earthquake?

Eddie got out of his van and saw the for sale sign in the yard. "What the hell? Oh please, fuck no—" he ran up to the door and fruitlessly banged on it. No one answered.

"Lookin for somebody?" A voice called out behind him. A neighbor stood in a nearby yard with a rake.

"Yeah, uh, Dustin Henderson. He lives here."

"I'm sorry, they moved out a few days ago. His mom took him out of town right after the quake."

"Do you know where they went?" Eddie asked.

"Out west. Think maybe Salt Lake."

Eddie thanked him and went back to his car. With his uncle out of town for awhile, there were only a couple places left to go. And the light was already fading.

Eddie shuddered, thinking about being out on the roads as night fell in Hawkins. He turned up his mixtape as Guns N Roses' Welcome to the Jungle clicked on. Eddie sighed with some small relief as he heard a familiar favorite tune. He was about to turn it back up when he noticed Dustin's neighbor pause in the street. He dropped his rake, and his arms dropped to his sides.

Eddie leaned forward in his seat.

The neighbor stood still for a moment, while some of the other folks across the street stood up on their patios, facing the same direction. A black cloud passed over the sun.

Eyes wild, Eddie whipped around and saw the street behind his van full of dozens of neighbors, standing still, eyes rolled back in their heads.

"Fuck this," Eddie said, and slammed his foot on the gas.

While Guns N'Roses blared, he weaved his way at top speed through the streets, avoiding some of the people who stood under a spell and overcast skies.

People were in the street all the way back to school, and as he pulled into the parking lot, he heard the clock tome. The skies were dark as twilight, and he had to have his headlights on.

"Yourname! Yourname! Lucas! Harrington! Wheeler!" No one answered. The corridor lights flickered again, as Eddie was chased by a voice that was right behind him.

Edward...

"Leave me alone! What the hell do you want with us? They're just kids! Get the hell away from here!"

Eddie grabbed a mop and broke off the handle into a spear. He drew a serrated fixed blade from his boot. "Show yourself!"

The lights clicked back on, and he hid his knife as students walked past him down the hall, completely unfazed by him or what had apparently just happened.

Chapter 2: A Dark Fog

Eddie found his way back to the theater backstage area where the Hellfire club met for their campaigns. He slumped into an old chair and put his head in his hands.

"Eddie?" He jumped. "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," you said.

"God, you really crept up on me there, yourname. It's okay. Are you alright?" He asked you.

"Yeah," you said, confused. "Are you?"

Eddie laughed. "I do not think so, no. Do you know what's going on around here? Did you feel anything weird just now?"

You paused. "Well," you began. "Now that you mention it, yeah."

His dark curls fell into his eyes as he leaned in closer to you. "Please go on." His hair smelled like the woods after the rain.

"I guess just now, in the bathroom, I remember I was washing my hands, and then I blinked... and then all of a sudden, the water was all over the floor. It was flooding the bathroom. That's why my clothes are all wet."

"Oh man, I didn't even notice," he laughed. You realized you really liked it when he smiled. You wanted to make him laugh.

"What else do you remember?" He asked.

You paused. "I think that's it. I was just weirded out. I never noticed it overflowing. It was fine and then I blinked, and it was just everywhere."

"Listen, something is going on here. It doesn't seem like anyone else knows what's going on. But I'm worried. You told me people were having trouble with their memory. And now so are you."

"Until you said that, I didn't realize it, but you're absolutely right. Has this been happening to you?" You asked him.

"No," Eddie starts. "Listen, there's some people we should call. I think they'll know what's going on. Can we use your office phone?"

You opened your mouth to say okay, but something fell down behind you. Eddie jumped up, thrusting out his knife in front of him. "Get behind me," he said to you.

"What's wrong?" You asked. "It's probably just some kids staying late and making out. No one is ever back here except your club this late. Why do you have a knife ... that big?"

Eddie creeps towards the sound. Nothing is there.

He turns around to face you. "I have to show you something."

Eddie threw a pile of bloody rags onto the table. "These were my clothes last night. I'm not supposed to be here, man. Look what happened... to me. I was wearing these. I was attacked."

"Attacked? By who? Last night?" You ask.

"Yes," Eddie continued. "Or at least, I think it was last night. My memory isn't so good right now. It feels like something is living in my brain. A dark fog."

"Yeah," you continued. "For me too. And I think for a lot of the kids who've come to talk to me." You lean in closer to the clothes. "You must have gotten really hurt—" your mouth hung open as Eddie threw off his jacket and ripped off his Black Sabbath shirt.

Stunned, you observed Eddie Munson standing there in front of you half-naked. The sweat on his tattoos caught the backstage color lights. And then you saw the scars. "Ouch! These are insane! But this was from... last night? I don't understand."

"I don't either, man." He replied. "How could I have healed like this? Look at this one on my neck. And I haven't been able to eat anything. And I keep seeing people do things. I really don't even have the words. It's like people are frozen for a minute. And the sky gets all dark,"

"Eddie, whatever you've been through, you've been traumatized. Deeply. It's normal for people to feel... disoriented. Like reality doesn't even make sense anymore."

"No, that's not what this is. Look—" He held up the leather jacket under the rag pile of his shredded clothes. He took your hand and pressed your fingertips to the lining.

"It's wet." You said. "What is that?" You pull your hand away to look, and your fingers are red with blood. "What the hell?"

"The blood isn't even dried," Eddie said. "This was from last night. Not even twenty-four hours ago.

"Eddie, whose blood is this? What did you do?" You said, feeling your heart race with fear.

"It's mine. Listen to what I'm trying to tell you, please. I need your help."

You turn and run. "Eddie, you definitely need help!"

"Please, just listen!" He yelled after you. "You're in danger! Hawkins isn't safe!"

"Sinclair! Man, am I glad to reach you. Do you know how to reach Dustin? I'm sorry, I've been having some weird, foggy memory issues. I can't find his new number." Eddie rubs his eyes, holding the phone with his cheek against his shoulder. His skull rings still have bits of dried blood on them in the grooves of their embossed teeth.

"Yeah Eddie, I'll give it to you. And hey, can you swing by the hospital? Can you bring me some of your DnD dice? I left all mine at the house and have been getting kinda bored reading," Lucas said.

"Are you hurt? Why are you at the hospital? What happened?" Eddie asked.

"Eddie, sorry I thought you knew. It's Max. She's really sick. She's been asleep a long time," Lucas replied.

Eddie's eyes brightened with realization. "How long has she been there?" He asked.

"A couple of weeks," Lucas said.

Eddie leaned against the wall in relieved understanding. He finally had a clue. "Lucas, what happened that night— I didn't come back with Dustin. Something happened to me in the fuckin, weird other side place."

"What other side place?" Asked Lucas. "What happened?"

Eddie lowered the phone. Lucas had no memory of the upside-down. Which meant he didn't know what really happened to Max. Or Eddie. Or Hawkins. Eddie struggled to remember himself. But he was getting closer. And he knew something was terribly wrong.

Randy's place was just as Eddie had left it. A ribbon of police tape fluttered in the wind, still tied to a tree in front. He snuck in to the house from out back, by the boathouse, which had become his home away from home. Whatever home meant anymore.

Hawkins hadn't felt like home in a very long time.

He called Dustin's new number. It made some weird sound he'd never heard. He tried again with the same result, and hung up. He grabbed the white pages and looked up Steve Harrington. Busy. Next he flipped back to the W section. There were several Wheelers. But all of their addresses were way out of town. The address for Ted Wheeler wasn't far. He called it.

"Hello?" It was Nancy.

"Oh my god, Nancy. I need to talk to you. It's Eddie. Can you help me get ahold of Steve or Dustin? Do you know what's going on in Hawkins? I'm having some trouble remembering things. I know we were, we were working on a... a project. Robin and Steve, Dustin, Max, Lucas. Do you remember?"

"Hey Eddie. I'm sorry, I'm struggling to remember some things too. I think it's just all the stress after the earthquake—"

"Nancy, no, just trust me, please." Eddie sat down on the floor, the telephone cord wrapping around him. "I have to talk to you. Can you come out to Randy's boathouse again? Something is happening and we gotta figure it out. Hawkins is in danger. I've been seeing people do things that don't make any sense. I remember being with Dustin after we were all together, and I remember getting really hurt, and I —" he trailed off.

"It's okay, Eddie. I think we were together when the quake happened. That night. I can come out there. Can I bring someone we can trust?"

"Yeah. I mean, yeah, of course, Wheeler, totally fine. We gotta figure this out. I'll — " The line cut off.

"Wheeler?" Eddie asked into the phone. "Wheeler?"

The TV clicked on and off, and started to flash the ant race static.

"Oh please fucking no—" he said. He tried to call Nancy back, but the line was dead. The lights in the house flickered for a moment, and then fully died with a bang.

He looked outside, and it was pitch black except for some distant flickering across the lake in another house. All the street lights and other homes were dark.

Eddie was breathing fast. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up, and something came back to him. A flashing image of the lake, dry as a bone, covered in wet tentacles, and at the center, a gaping red hole.

His eyes adjusted to the light of the full moon, and he saw some of the neighbors standing in their yards. They were all facing the center of the lake. Their arms hung at their sides, and the same grandfather clock tolled.

Terrified, he glanced at the kitchen clock, its second hand struggling against itself, frozen in a loop.

He looked back outside, and everyone was gone. The lights across the lake cut back on, one by one, until the TV and kitchen lights cut back on, and Johnny Carson's voice murmured from the living room.

The phone rang again. Eddie grabbed it. "Nancy?"

"Yeah, it's me. Sorry, we got cut off—"

"Wheeler, you gotta get over here right now. Something is going on in Hawkins. What do you remember happening just now?"

"Um, the phone cut out and then I called you right back."

"That's all you remember? No lights flickering? The power didn't cut off?"

"No, we didn't lose power over here. It's okay, though, Eddie. I can come over. I'll bring someone. See you soon. It's gonna be okay." Click.

Eddie hung up and slumped over, reaching into a box of honey comb cereal. He brought it up to his mouth, and tried to open it. He just couldn't do it, no matter how hard he tried. And he could barely make himself drink water. The only thing he wanted... in fact, he desperately craved a very rare, bloody piece of steak.

Chapter 3: An Impossible Choice

"Hey. It's you," Eddie said. He stood in the doorway with the lake behind, the aroma of spaghetti wafting. "I didn't know you knew Nance."

"Hi again," you said shyly.

"Yeah, we were friends before she graduated. She always used to drive me home from school if my Mom had to pick up Mike from Will's house."

"Cool," Eddie said. The kitchen was warm and inviting compared to the misty night.

Eddie smelled like pasta and his signature woodsy scent. Nancy hugged him hello. "I'm worried about you, Eddie." She said.

Eddie let go and turned to you. For a moment, you thought about hugging him too, but remembered the last thing you said to him, and the strange behavior from backstage at the theater.

Eddie stepped forward like he was going to hug you, but put out his hand instead. "Are we cool?" You hesitated.

"Yeah," you said, holding out your hand. "We're cool." His hand was soft to the touch, and incredibly hot. Eddie smiled again, putting his other hand on yours warmly. Your hand lingered in his.

"Oh, sorry," you said. Fucking blushing. Again. But Eddie saw, and you liked that he saw.

"It's okay." Eddie smirked. His tension softened. "Help yourself to some pasta, ladies."

"I'm starving. Come have some of this, hon." Nancy gave you a plate, and handed one to Eddie.

"No thanks," he said. "I had a few bites of the meat earlier."

"Anyway, I brought her because I think she might be able to help us. She's a great listener. And she told me you had a little... thing earlier. When you called me, she was already with me. So here we are. Now, can you just tell me everything? I'm going to just stuff my face and listen, and then I'll tell you everything I know, and maybe we can figure some of this out," Nancy said, sitting down to eat.

Eddie takes a deep breath. "I know we were working on something. Together. Us, and Dustin, Harrington, Lucas, Max, Robin, Erica. I just can't figure out what it is. I've been getting these headaches — and these cravings—"

You and Nancy glance at each other.

"And I showed her earlier, but look... apparently I got these wounds two weeks ago, but to me, it was just last night. Why don't we remember anything? Something is putting us under like a trance, or a spell. I know it sounds crazy, but man, you wouldn't believe what I've been seeing. The whole town. This bell rings, like a grandfather clock, and then everyone just freezes in the street. And—"

Eddie continues pacing around the room. "The lights flicker like crazy —"

A band starts playing on Johnny Carson in the other room, and Nancy stares at the table, someplace far away.

"Nance?" You ask. "Nancy?"

The singer continues the chorus, highway to the danger zone... take you right into the danger zone...

You put your hand on her shoulder, and she jumps, snapping out of it. "What was that? Were you like, in a trance or something?" You ask.

"Yes. No. I was—- I remember. I remember now. The song. I remembered listening to it over and over before spring break. Before the earthquake. And then it all came back. Everything —"

A tear fell from Nancy's eye. "Do you remember what happened, Eddie? Do you remember what happened to you?"

"Whatever that song did, it jarred your memory or broke you out of the fog or something. But —" Nancy cut Eddie off.

"The song. It brought me back out. You need a song! It's coming back to me now. It's what we did for Max. Quick— whats your favorite song?" Nancy ran over to the record player. "Do you have tapes?"

Eddie went over to the door. "Hey you should come with me. Maybe there's a tape for you in the van. It will help clear your head and free your memories. You probably don't like my taste in music tho."

You laughed. "What makes you say that?"

Eddie scrounged up a few handfuls of tapes. "Here, uh, one sex. Sec. one sec."

It was dark in the van, but he was blushing now. You stifled a laugh. He was so sweet behind that edgy exterior.

You wanted to see what was underneath.

"Here we go. We've got, uh, Metallica, of course, Dio, Sabbath, Iron Maiden..."

You spot your favorite album and grab it. Eddie clawed through his bins. "Nancy said it had to be my favorite song. God, that's hard. How do I choose only one? And the stakes are so high! Shit, man." Eddie became frantic. "I fucking had it. It was right here."

"Oh no. What is it?" You ask. "I can help you look. I'm sure it's here."

"It's, uh," Eddie became coy. "It's Guns N'Roses. Sweet Child O'Mine. I know, it's like, so cheesy, but it's just a really beautiful song. Don't judge me. You probably thought I was gonna say like Judas Priest or something, huh?"

I smiled, and threw my head back in laughter. "Seriously, man? You're laughing at me? Like, really hard, too. Wow. Just totally roasting me right now. Ouch."

"No," you collect yourself. "No, no no--" you try to explain.

"I get it. It's cool. Whatever. Laugh at me. Hey, I'll bet your favorite song is Madonna or something. No, Blondie." Eddie looked smug. He was hurt.

"No, Jesus, Eddie, I already grabbed my favorite." You open your hand and show him, and he pulls your palm up to his face so he can see in the dim light.

His eyes widen and he laughs with you. "Wow. Nice. We have the same favorite song."

"Yeah," you laugh. "We do."

He smiled. "You like Guns N'Roses? Aren't they a little... hard for you?"

"I like it hard," you flirt. "What makes you think I wouldn't like them?"

"I guess I just didn't see that coming. It's not like I have the luxury of having a file on you," Eddie said. His brown eyes, wide as saucers, sparkled in the low light. He carried such a fire in him. Every time you saw him, it burned hotter. Brighter.

The sparks between you crackled.

"Well, you're right about one thing. You don't know me, Eddie Munson."

"I'd like to," he said. He leaned in towards you.

"I'm not supposed to be hanging out with the folks I work with at school," you said.

"Well, I get the feeling that given you're sitting here with me, right now, you're something of a rebel," he said.

"Yeah. Something like that," you said.

"Well now I really wanna know more," Eddie said. "Why'd you get into becoming a shrink, anyway?"

"I went through some shit when I was a kid. I'd like to maybe one day help other kids that are going through stuff too." You said.

"What kind of shit?" He asked. "It's okay, you know, if you don't wanna talk about it. I was just wondering, because I've seen some shit too. And I think that's why, like, I never really fit in."

"Yeah," you reply. "It was the same for me. For me, it was my mom. She wasn't well. And she was high a lot. I was always trying to fix the problems that created. I got her job back for her once. I was nine, begging her boss. Used to clean up her throwup. Pulled her and carried her out of the car. Stuff like that. How about you?"

"Oof. Wow. Yeah, with my Dad, it was drinking. Always. Every single day. My mom, I don't even know what happened. I think she died when I was little. Might have been drugs. My uncle has kept an eye on me, best he can. But I haven't seen my dad in years."

"God, I'm sorry." You said.

"Me too," said Eddie. "I dunno why I'm telling you all this. I haven't told anybody that, like, ever." He bit his pillow lips, and his boyish grin took over his face.

"I'm glad you are," you said. "I have a feeling we have a lot more in common." Your feet were touching his leg, and he put his hand on your calf in a familiar way, like he'd done it many times.

It was so easy to be with him. You left Hawkins because you had always felt like such an outcast, and you still were at your new college in Chicago. But something in you just felt so free, and relaxed, even with everything going on.

"We should probably go back inside," he said. "We need to listen to our favorite song."

Nancy was staring at the table. Kenny Loggins was on repeat on the console. She hadn't touched her food.

"I remember now. I saw him," she said. "When we went through the gate. At your trailer. Where Chrissy died. I remember... what he showed me. Hawkins was on fire. Dead soldiers. A creature with a gaping mouth. And so many monsters. And my mom, and Holly, and Mike. They were all dead. And four gates to Hell, right here in our Hawkins. Our home."

"Jesus," you said.

"Doesn't seem like it," Eddie quipped. "Time for a new song." He popped the tape in the deck "Are you ready?"

You took a deep breath. "I don't know. I'm freaking out."

"It's alright, babe. Here—" Eddie took your hands in his, and the bright guitar riff began to play. "I've got you."

He looked into your eyes, and you felt safe for the first time in days. Maybe longer. Maybe ever.

"Whatever happens, I'm here," he said. "And we're gonna figure this out together. I promise." His rings were cold. Long curls fell about his face, framing a goofy smile. You were scared, but Eddie made you feel strong.

"Whatever happens, I'll be glad I met you here," you said, becoming bolder. "I'm glad you survived all this shit. And if things go sideways, I will fucking kick some ass. Because there is a lot you don't know about me yet, Eddie Munson." You smiled at him.

He couldn't have looked more thrilled. Every time you looked at him, he looked brighter, like something chased the shadows away.

And then it hit you.

Eddie's hands clamped down on yours, and you were sent into a frenzied blur of memory. You could feel him there, but you were lost in a storm of remembering. Hawkins. The news of the quake. The drive from Chicago. The military checkpoints. The destruction. The caravans of cars and cars leaving town.

Eddie was lost in his own torrents of darkness. A hold on his mind broke free, and he saw everything.

The last Dungeons and Dragons game. Feeling so proud of Dustin and Erica. The excitement to see Chrissy after the game. The anxiety that something would happen to this new connection. The longing for a girlfriend, and the butterflies in his stomach over Chrissy Cunningham, the queen of Hawkins High, entrusting herself to his guidance in taking a risk, breaking a law, doing something rebellious.

Then, the terror. The unspeakable horror. The snapping of so many bones. The frantic drive back to the boathouse. Hiding for days, alone in the uncertain, terrifying darkness. The planning with Dustin and the gang. The Watergate. The upside-down. The plan. The RV, going on the run. Resolving to protect Dustin and the gang at all costs. The most metal guitar solo in history. And then...

I died, he thought. I died, right there with Dustin. I remember it. I remember my fear. I was so cold. I wasn't ready. But I didn't want to scare Dustin. I had to make him think it was okay. I had to comfort Dustin, in my own death. Because he's just a kid. And it wasn't fair. And I loved that kid. Loved. Love. I died. Right?

The thrumming, discordant chime of a grandfather clock shattered through your separate visions.

Both you and Eddie were thrown from memory, back into each other's arms. "Where do we go, now?" Echoed the chorus from the song. Over and over... "Where do we go?"

A gulf appeared between you, a volcanic chasm that grew, pushing you both apart as the world around you collapsed into ruin and fire.

"Eddie! Eddie!" You screamed.

"Yourname! Just hold on! Hold on!" He yelled back to you. Nancy clung to the couch, now far away, shredded corners of the lake house falling apart.

Mountains of jagged rock grew between and under you both. You dug your fingers into the shards for balance as the distance to the ground grew, and the two of you rose on stone mountains high into the air.

Crimson lightning crackled, illuminating a blood-red hurricane sky.

"Edward," reverberated a booming voice from all directions. "It's time to say goodbye to your friends. To Hawkins." The voice cackled. "It's time for this war to begin, and to end. It's time for you to become who you were meant to be."

"Vecna!" Eddie yelled. "Kiss my ass, you sticky piece of shit!"

The voice growled. Vecna approached from a towering fortress high above, a stone mountain suspended high in the air.

Nancy screamed from below. You couldn't hear her, but hoped she could somehow reach the rest of their friends. For dear life, you held on to the rock as you flew higher into the air.

"I have a deal for you, Edward," Vecna boomed. "You have something I need. Your friends were too late. You and your friends lost. But I can give you more than you ever dreamed of. Come with me and live forever in a paradise of unimaginable power."

Eddie struggled against the forces of the lightning storm. You could just barely hear him, but he made himself heard.

"I will never join you, asshole. You're a fucking joke. Burn in hell, skin bag." Eddie turned and flung an enormous stone in his direction, which Vecna deftly turned his hand to deflect with his telekinetic powers.

"Then you have a choice," Vecna continued. "Come with me into the shadow lands of night, where I will make you a King. Refuse, and I burn Hawkins into scorched Hell on Earth, with your friends left to burn alive. With their parents, and their little brothers and sisters, and everyone you've ever known."

Vecna flung our stone pillars together, and held us together but just out of reach. Slithering tentacles squeezed life from us.

"Eddie, don't do it," you yelled. "We can beat him. Nancy can get everyone here to help. You said there was someone with powers who can hurt him. Who hurt him before. Don't do this. There's another way. There is another way," you begged. "Listen to me!"

Eddie fought the black vines that held him. "You know I don't really have a choice, right, babe? I don't wanna do it. I have to. I can't let him do this to you and Hawkins. My uncle. Dustin and the kids. Who am I kidding? I won't be that missed, anyway."

"Eddie," tears stung your face in the heat of the storm. "You're wrong. That isn't true—"

"Yes it is. It's okay. I accepted it a long time ago. I'll be okay. Don't you worry about me." Eddie slumped against the stone pillar.

Lightning like dragon scale flashed and burned behind him across the crimson skies.

"You have one day to make your choice," Vecna said. "Or I will bring death to Hawkins, and soon, to the world. I will make war, and terror will reign, until I burn down the walls between realms, and this world is forever transformed into the dark power of my dreams."

Back in each other's arms, in the lake house living room, listening to "Sweet Child O'Mine," you're all thrown from the vision and back into yourselves.

"I'm calling Eleven," Nancy said. "And everyone else."

Chapter 4: Tick, Tock

"The songs are the key," Nancy said into the dirty yellow kitchen phone. "You have to listen to your favorite song to break the hold he has on us. It's some kind of spell, over the whole town! Just trust me. Listen to the songs. And then you all need to get over here ASAP. And Mike — be careful."

Nancy reached over Eddie to hang up the phone, and he collapsed onto the floor, coughing blood.

"Ow, shit!" You said. Something cut your thigh below your cutoffs.

"Oh my god, are you okay? Nancy, what the hell is happening? When will they be here? They have to help us. We can't let Vecna do this."

"I know, sweetie, I know, but listen, we're gonna be okay. We've been through some things and we're gonna be okay."

Eddie's body began to convulse. "Eddie, can you hear me? Eddie?"

"Killed... me," Eddie whispered through his bloody teeth. "Bats... killed me."

He went limp, asleep.

"What the hell was he talking about? Bats? Did this happen last time?" You asked Nancy. "You know, before?"

"No," she said. "It definitely did not. The bats he's talking about... Right before the quake, Dustin said Eddie was hurt really bad by the demobats. They bit him a lot, and, Eddie actually died there. Dustin came back and told his uncle about it. The whole town thought Eddie had done some horrible things. Killed some kids. But he didn't. And no one would ever know. And I don't remember what happened after that, it gets kinda foggy. But somehow, even though Dustin saw him die, he's come back here. I don't understand it."

"Wait, did you say some kind of bats attacked him?" You ask Nancy.

"Yeah," she said. "Why? Oh! Oh, my god. Do you think..."

"It has to be. What else? Do you remember what he said about meat? And not being able to eat? And what would Vecna want with him? You said Vecna had been basically killed, but his body disappeared. What if Vecna needs something Eddie has, like some kind of power after having been bit by the bats? Like... what if he's sort of a vampire now?"

Nancy turned back to Eddie. "It's definitely possible. Which means he may be turning into one little by little. Who knows how much time he may have. And we only have less than a day to stop Vecna. What happened to your thigh?"

"Oh," you waved your hand in the air. "I think Eddie's bracelet sliced open my thigh."

"Ouch! Yeah, you're bleeding pretty bad. Let me go see if I can find a first aid kit. You stay here with him. Steve and Dustin and the others should be here soon."

You sat down on the carpet in the living room, and put Eddie's head onto your lap, taking care to keep his long hair away from your blood dripping down your knee. He was so beautiful like that. So peaceful. It was nice to see him that way. But your heart jolted, thinking about such a horrible choice he was facing. How were a bunch of kids from Hawkins going to stop a demon-god?

"I've got a bad feeling about this, Eddie," you said to him as he slept.

You sighed, exhausted. It was so late it was early. You closed your eyes, and leaned against the couch. You didn't even remember falling asleep.

Something startles you awake. Another grandfather clock discordant chime. The lights flicker.

"Mmmm, yeah, I'll take fries with that..." Eddie said in his sleep.

"Eddie wake up. Eddie. Wake up, something's happening," you said.

His dark eyelashes reveal sleepy earth-colored eyes. "Oh no," he sighed, rubbing his face. "Not again."

"This happened before? Please tell me what the hell this is." You ask.

The lights cut off, and Eddie sits up instantly.

"Shit," he said, and peeked out the blinds towards the lake. "Just stay there. Don't move or anything."

You run over to the window beside him and look. "I don't see anything."

A tense moment passes in the darkness.

"I dunno. It's different this time. This has been happening a few times since I woke up this morning. Which was the last thing I remember before I... Before I thought I died. It's like this with the lights. Flashing, and then they go off. This morning at school, you went to check the fire alarm and it started happening. And the chiming of a clock. And then everyone was just standing, outside, and the sky was all dark."

"Nancy said something about that earlier, about how Vecna taunted his victims. How he did this when he put people into that death trance," you said.

The lights clanged back on, and Eddie closed the curtains. He turned to face you.

"You know, you don't need to be involved in all this. You should go back home in the morning, get the hell out of Hawkins, as far away as you can," he said.

You laugh. "You think I wouldn't love to do that?"

"So why don't you?" His voice was kind. Wavy lengths of his hair brushed your shoulder.

"Because I don't wanna be that person," you replied. "I was raised by that person. I believe in doing the right thing, especially when it's hard, because I know from experience that if something is hard, probably no one is coming to help you. That's how it was my whole life. And that's not how it should be for anybody."

"Yeah. I think I know what you mean. You don't wanna run away," he replied.

"I mean, I do, but I won't. At least, I hope not. I did once."

"Did what?" He asked. He took his jacket off and sank into the couch, motioning for you to sit beside him.

"I ran away," you sat down and looked at the floor. Eddie was quiet. You thought he must have been judging you now. Maybe he was disappointed.

"We've all done things we regret," he said. He took your hand, and you met his gaze. "Things that ...haunt us."

You both left it there for a moment, though you wanted to know more about him, you didn't really want him to know more about you.

Eddie grabbed something from the fridge, and went to the bathroom.

While he was gone, you spotted a guitar in the corner. A nice little Martin. You checked the strings. They were mostly in tune, but the high E was flat. Using the low E string, you turned the peg and brought the guitar into tune, and hit the harmonics on the twelfth fret.

"Sounds like bells," you said. You began to twiddle around, and sat on the floor. It had a capo on the headstock, so you started to play one of your favorite originals. A long instrumental interlude leading into a melody in six-eight time.

"What album is that?" Eddie asked from the hallway.

"Mine," you said, still fingerpicking. You felt him stop behind you. "Wow, I had no idea. You sound amazing. You wrote this?" He asked.

"Few years ago," you said. "Just a little folk song. Know this one?" You started to play another.

"Fuckin' get outta here!" Eddie smiled. "Course I know it. Eddie grabbed the twelve string beside him on the floor and started playing along. "Zeppelin's best. One of the first songs I learned how to play. I'll take the lead. I mean, unless you—"

"No, please go ahead. I only really play rhythm." You kept up with the rhythm part and Eddie started on the beautiful melody bassline. It sounded amazing. And for the first time in awhile, you were actually having fun.

You went into a plucky little medley of Ramble On, Going to California, and ended with Over the Hills and Far Away. Before you knew it, you'd spent hours plucking away, trading original music and even starting to write a song together. Laughing and forgetting everything that needed to be forgotten, even if just for this moment in the grey dark of morning.

You laid down next to your guitars. Your hands found each other's, and he pulled a blanket up onto your legs.

Dawn was breaking.

"Can I lay like that again?" He asked.

"Oh. Yeah. Sure." You smiled, and got cozy in the blankets while he laid his head on your lap.

"You don't have to do this," you sighed. "Just buy us time to help you and win. Nancy said she has a friend named Elven who can help us, right? She should be here soon. Listen to me, Eddie. Sometimes things feel so hopeless and we don't see any way out. But there is always another way. We'll figure it out. Can you just try to buy us some time?"

Eddie was staring at the ceiling. His eyes were tender.

You let yourself touch his face, and he looked at you. "I'll try," he said. He lifted his head from your thighs and rolled over so his head was on your chest.

"You're pretty wild, guitar girl," he said in his warm, melodic voice. His necklace pendants tumbled onto you.

"Here I was thinking I was finally on the straight and narrow," you said, sighing.

"Well, I like every version of you I've seen so far," he said.

Eddie smelled the brass on you from the guitar strings, and kissed your fingertips.

"Nothing like a bit of metal dust on the fingertips from shredding to make a girl really, really, really attractive," he said.

"And something else... Tonight. Thank you for this. Just hangin' out. Jamming a bit with me. It let me almost forget everything for a minute. And since this might be my last night on earth, or at least anything I ever knew, I'm glad it was like this. Just sharing some music with a pretty girl. Sharing some stories. I didn't realize how much I just wanted to have that in life, you know, until now. I guess, like, what it might feel like to have a girlfriend. So, thank you. I mean—" he stammered. "Not that you're my girlfriend. I mean, you're my friend, who's a girl, but I guess what I meant was what it would feel like to have a girlfriend, but like, I know you're not my—"

"I love how you like me," you said. "It's okay. I understand what you mean. I guess I kinda thought this is what it would feel like to have a boyfriend too. You know, aside from the vampires and demon gods and stuff." Eddie flashed his megawatt smile, and your heart jumped. "It just feels so easy to hang out with you. Like I've known you a long time."

"Yeah, it does for me too." Eddie leaned over you, and you felt his hair like curtains around both your faces.

His pillow lips found yours. Something tasted primal, like the bite of a feral animal. Metallic, but sweet.

Eddie's body flooded with warm relief, and forgetting, and passion. Something like happiness, or maybe peace.

Eddie reached out to put his arms around you, but the front door flung open.

"Eddie?!" Steve Harrington stood in the doorway, incredulous.

"Harrington!" Eddie jumped up and embraced Steve in a generous hug.

"Wow, thanks! I just can't believe you're alive. Dustin told us you were dead.

"Yeah, I don't really know what happened. It gets kinda blurry after that. Apparently two weeks later, I woke up in my old bed. Yesterday morning. And then started seeing some crazy shit happening like before Vecna murdered his victims. Whole town, this time though," Eddie said.

"Nancy told us everything," Steve said. "We all did our songs in the car on the way over. Everyone's recovering their memories now. The whole town is in a trance. You're Nancy's friend? I'm Steve." Steve motions at you.

"Yeah, we had a few classes together before I graduated and moved. It's nice to meet you," you said.

"Okay, well, we've got uh, Erica, Robin, Jonathan, Will, Mike. Lucas wanted to stay with Max at the hospital once he realized what's going on. Hopper's there too, with Eleven. Joyce is getting some supplies. Everybody's listened to their songs. Sometimes it's a bit foggy, but we're coming back."

"Eleven said she wasn't affected by the trance. But she said she felt something new. Something... dark," said Mike. "She said this was different from Vecna."

"What the hell happened to you, Eddie?" Erica asked.

Everyone looked at him.

He put his jacket back on, and sat down next to you.

"Like Dustin said. The bats got me. I was gone. And the next thing I knew, I woke up yesterday morning in my bed, and two weeks had passed."

"Two weeks," Nancy said to herself, thinking and pacing.

"You have no idea what happened, literally that entire time? Not even bits or pieces?" Asked Robin.

"That's not the worst part," you said.

"What the hell's the worst part?" Jonathan asked.

"Vecna wants me this time. But not to kill me. At least, I don't think. He said... come with me me into the shadow lands of night, where I will make you a King. Refuse, and I burn Hawkins into..." he trailed off.

"Scorched Hell on Earth, with your friends left to burn alive," you complete the sentence. "With their parents, and their little brothers and sisters, and everyone you've ever known.

"Whoa. What the hell?" Erica asked. "Why does he want you to be his King?"

"Something about those two weeks in the upside-down must have given him some kind of power," Nancy said. "Something that Vecna wants. Something Vecna doesn't have."

"Like what?" Asked Mike.

"What's happening to your nose, Eddie?" You asked.

Eddie looked up. It was bleeding. "Shit, oh shit, oh shit, uh, one sec," he said, running for a tissue.

"Call Eleven," Steve said. "And Dustin," Mike said.

"Okay, I think I have this figured out. We have two lines, and three phones in this house. There's two phone jacks in this room. We can have one of each lines in here," Mike said, "And we'll just leave them turned like this," he flips one of the phones and nests it across from the other, "so they can hear each other and our conversation in the room."

"Jesus," Steve said.

"Jesus," Robin repeated.

"I hope this works," you said. Eddie was quiet. Mike dialed the numbers.

"Wait, you're telling me that you think this guy is a vampire?" Asks Hopper. "But he's like, the key to saving everybody, because we can use him to get at Vecna somehow. Hey, don't you think we need to call Eleven's people and get them involved in this? This needs the military or something."

"It won't work," Eleven said. "Vecna is weak, but we can't trust anyone. It has to be us. And Eddie is the ... thing I've been feeling. Whatever bit him, created something ... evil. I think Vecna wants to use him to turn everyone in Hawkins into a vampire, under his trance. He showed Nancy and I his plan before. He's raising an army."

"And he wants me to lead it," Eddie said. "You guys think if I buy you some time, you can kill this thing? Like, for real this time?" Eddie was slumped over. Demoralized.

"We have to," Dustin said. "We don't have a choice. We can't let you be taken by this asshole, and turned into a freak!"

"Oh, I'm already a freak," Eddie said, fishing in his pocket for a lighter.

"Eddie, that's not what I meant. You have some kind of supernatural strength right now. Vecna is weakened. He wants you to be his general because he is too weak to do it. You can buy us time and figure out if you have some kind of powers. Can you move things with your mind like Eleven?" Dustin asked.

"Uh, I don't... think so. Hold on, lemme try," Eddie said.

Everyone stood still, and the phones were quiet. He squinted his eyes and looked at the television. The volume was low.

"Is he..." Robin started.

"Shh," Nancy said.

"Sorry," Robin replied.

Eddie continued to focus intently. The channel blipped once. Then again. It blipped a few times.

"Ohmygod, I did that! I did that!" Eddie said. "Holy shit. Holy shit!"

"Holy shit!" Dustin said on the phone.

"Wait, you did what?" Hopper asked.

"He made it blip." Eleven said.

"He made it... blip," Steve said.

"Am I the only person who thinks making a tv blip is not enough of a superpower to defeat the evil dark world demon god?" Robin asked.

"Okay, okay, look, it's a start. I dunno what he wants with me. I'm gonna try to hold him off to avert anything, you know, apocalyptic. In the meantime, you guys take your superpowers friend Eleven and figure it out!" Eddie stormed out of the house, lighting a cigarette on the porch.

"I think that went well," said Hopper.

"Crap, did he leave?" Asked Dustin.

"Yes," everyone said.

Eddie takes a long drag from his cigarette when you come out onto the porch. The lake is a crystalline, sparkling aquamarine. He wipes his nose.

"I feel like I'm falling apart," he said, his voice cracking.

"Eddie, I'm so sorry," you hug him and he embraces you deeply, falling into your arms. He cries softly. "I'm gonna hold him off. I don't know how. But I'm not gonna let go. I'm gonna hold on. You're right. There's gotta be another way. I trust you guys."

You took a deep breath and turned your mouth to his ear. "I know I only just met you and your friends, but I think it's gonna be okay. It has to be. And you have such a fire in you. I saw it before. Before all this. Years ago, when we were freshmen. I don't think you remember. But I do. We were in art class together. You used to draw all these amazing dragons. I loved watching you draw. You made everyone laugh. I saw the fire in you then. You were just... so alive. And free. Don't let go of that. You have to hold onto it. Don't let go of who you are, Eddie Munson. Promise me."

"I promise," Eddie said, pulling away to look at you. "I promise to hold on. No one has ever said things like that to me before. I want to believe you're right about me. So I'm gonna try. I promise. I'll hold o—"

Eddie started into a coughing fit, interrupting his thoughts. He stumbled backwards, out of your reach, and collapsed.

Chapter 5 coming soon...

#eddie munson #eddie my beloved #eddie munson fanfic #fanfic #fanfiction #stranger things #stranger things 4 #stranger things fanfiction #eddie munson imagine #eddie munson x reader #eddie munson x female reader #eddie munson x fem!reader smut #eddie munson smut #smut #smutty #SoundCloud #Spotify

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autistic-stedebonnet · 4 years

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Mako’s Journey in Learning to Love Theater Kids

Chapter 1/?

In which Mako does in fact, go to plays.

notes- this fic is abandoned, don’t read if you don’t like being disappointed

-----

Mako didn’t go to plays. He went to his baseball games because well… they were his games, so that’s a given. He went to Korra’s swim meets, Bolin’s soccer games (before he quit to pursue his dreams of something or other. Mako had stopped paying attention after the 7th insane ambition) and occasionally those mind-numbing competitions for Asami’s robotics club. Ok, they weren’t really mind-numbing, everyone there was just like, really smart and kinda made him feel like an idiot. Not to mention, Varrick is the chaperone for the robotics club, and they don’t exactly get on too well. Varrick is also the theater teacher, as well as a chemistry teacher, Mako isn’t exactly sure how. Before you ask, no it’s not Mr. Varrick. Varrick insists on being called by just his last name (or maybe it’s his first name, Mako’s never really bothered to ask. Bolin probably knows) But that’s off topic.

Mako did not go to plays under any circumstance whatsoever. But Mako also didn’t disappoint his younger brother who -without consulting anyone mind you- had gone and not only joined the theater program, but gotten the lead role in the next of the school’s terribly written plays. Bolin said that it was sheer, unadulterated talent. Mako preferred to call it ‘no one else auditioned, idiot.’ So, in conclusion, Mako went to plays under ONE circumstance.

--- “Kill me.”

Korra snorted as Mako slumped down in his seat, looking much too like a disgruntled Lin than he’d ever dare admit to. Asami shot a deathly glare in her direction before patting Mako’s shoulder sympathetically.

“I’m sure it won’t even be that bad.”

“Wow Asami, you’re a great liar!”

“Korra! Not helping!”

Mako sighed. “No Korra’s right-”

“As always.”

“-it’s gonna be terrible. You two don’t have to go to fucking Denny’s after with 3 dozen theater kids.”

Korra burst out laughing and Asami grimaced.

“You don’t have to go. Can’t you just drop Bolin off?” The latter suggested.

“No.” Mako snapped.

Mako had a problem with leaving Bolin alone anywhere. According to his therapist, it related to the trauma he had from spending ages 8-14 on the streets, where leaving Bolin alone meant leaving Bolin to be stabbed in an alley and left for dead. Mako thought that was stupid. He didn’t have trauma. His therapist knew nothing and the only reason he still went was because it was either that, or Lin sent him to Air Temple island for a month hoping that their sickening happy-go-lucky shit would rub off on him just enough that he’d stop thinking everyone was out to kill him.

Korra leaned over the table and stole one of Mako’s fries, not bothering to finish chewing before responding. “Boyin uh ee fine!”

“What?” Mako and Asami said in unison.

Korra swallowed with a dramatic eye roll. “Bolin’ll be fine. He’s 16, he-”

“No.”

The subject was dropped and Bolin sat down beside Mako, out of breath and grinning so wide to the point that it was almost unsettling. “Who’s excited for the play tonight!”

“Whoopee.” Mako grumbled, resisting the urge to slam his face into the table. --- “What the fuck is that costume!?” Mako cried, staring at a smiling Bolin pictured on the front of the program.

“Mako!” Asami scolded. “It’s starting.”

Right. Think before you speak Mako. Not everything that comes to your mind is socially acceptable to say out loud, don’t- Shut UP.

The lights faded and a horribly composed piano piece began playing. Mako was about 90% sure that someone was backstage letting a cat walk across the keys. Bolin waltzed out on stage followed by Korra’s gigantic polarbear dog, Naga, that she’d apparently volunteered for the play. Mako was pretty sure she was getting extra credit in Chemistry for doing it. And- oh.

Mako snapped his head over to look at Korra and Asami, the former of which was holding back laughter to the point of tears while the latter slapped her hands over her mouth, horrified.

“What the hell is he wearing? It’s even worse than the one in the picture!” Mako hissed. “Is that even allowed?!”

“Raiko’s gonna have a fit!” Korra wheezed, earning several glares from the surrounding audience.

“Isn’t this set in the South pole?” Asami asked.

Korra nodded. “Oh yeah he’d totally be dead from frost bite.”

“My brother is a moron.”

“Who was in charge of the costumes?” Asami whispered.

Korra giggled. “Probably Eska.”

Mako raised an eyebrow. “Your insane cousin?”

“That’s the one.”

10 minutes later, Korra leaned over and whispered to Mako, “If it makes you feel any better, I’m pretty sure this is satire. Remember that mover from last year that was supposedly based on Southern Water Tribe culture, but was just a whole mess of cultural appropriation?”

“The one from that weird Earth Kingdom director that dressed everyone like… well like how Bolin’s dressed, and only cast two people actually from the Southern Water Tribe?”

“Yea, I think they’re kinda mocking that. Varrick’s from the Southern Water Tribe, so it’d make sense.”

“That does explain why Bolin keeps ‘accidentally’ referring to everyone as Earth Kingdom citizens.”

“And why he’s dressed like that.”

“That too.”

“Although that might also be to distract from the terrible dialogue.”

“Distract- Korra! Please don’t make me think that everyone in here is ogling my brother.”

Korra shrugged and Asami swatted her on the arm, shushing them both.

“Spirits! Mako, Asami!” Korra whisper-shouted, breaking the silence that’d lasted all of 45 seconds. “That’s the kid that kept hitting on me a few years ago.”

“Who?” Mako turned to her, brows furrowed. “There’s like 5 people up there.”

“Wu. He transferred here the year after you and Korra came.” Asami explained.

“Yea ok, but-”

“He’s the spindly kid who looks like a 12 year old next to Bolin.”

“Korra!”

“Am I wrong? And besides, he was a jerk to me when we were 14, I’ll call him scrawny as much as I please.”

Wu. Huh, he’s kinda cute. Mako’s thoughts dared to say. Wait, what?! No he’s not! I mean, I’m straight!

“I think he’s gotten better.” Asami said, but she didn’t quite sound like she believed herself. “He hasn’t hit on me since a couple years ago.”

“It’s probably internalized homophobia.” What the fuck Mako, learn to shut up dammit.

Asami’s eyebrows shot up and she grinned all too knowingly. Korra just about broke her neck swiveling to face Mako. “Probably what?”

“In-internalized homophobia.” Mako stuttered. SHUT UP! “Y’know the whole, hitting on every girl in sight to seem like, super straight?”

“What would you know about that Mr. Heterosexual?” Korra replied.

“Nothing!” Thank the spirits it’s too dark for them to see your face, you probably look like a tomato-carrot!

“Korra,” Asami scolded, skillfully fighting back a laugh of her own.

Mako shoved his face into his scarf and muttered a slew of profanities that’d make Lin proud. A few minutes passed before he looked up, thankfully finding both Korra and Asami focused on the play. He could get through this. Only an hour to go, plus intermission. He was gonna kill Bolin after this. --- “Mako!” Bolin cried, bounding up to Mako, thankfully dressed in his normal clothes again. He threw his arm around his older brother and grinned. “How excited are you to meet everyone.”

“Oh, so excited, ” Mako deadpanned.

Bolin stuck his bottom lip out in a pout. “Mako buddy, don’t be so grumpy! You’re gonna love everyone.” He smiled earnestly and ran out to the car, waving to about 5 people along the way.

Waving. Mako knew that his brother had more friends than him, it’d always been like that. Bolin was the friendly one, the funny one. But it was still surreal seeing him close to people Mako had never spoken to. Everyone liked Bolin.

“Mako! Earth to Mako!”

Mako shook himself from his reverie and started the car with a sigh. “We’re leaving at 10 on the dot.”

“Awww, Mako!” Bolin whined, turning his polarbear dog eyes on Mako. “C’mon! That’s only two hours!”

“It’s two hours too many.”

---

I really hope you like chapter 1! I’m always open to feedback :)))

@chi-blocker-ty-lee @linbeifuckmeup

chapter 2

#I did it :D #updates will be very irregular #just a warning #lok #tlok #legend of korra #avatar legend of korra #mako #korra #asami #bolin #wu #prince wu #wuko fanfic #wuko fic #tlok fic #mako’s journey in learning to love theater kids #willow writes

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