#also the Byers moving to California SADDER

[jonathanbyersphd]

Great news, You're Gonna Go Far came on shuffle so I'm going to add the extra scene to this giant fic

[hazardworld]

Dustin's a Damn Good Ally (Original) Pt. 4

Chapter 4— Dungeons and Dragons and Dick mentors (oh my)

Ao3 Link

Originally Posted 1.1.23/Edited 9.2.23

Summary: Eddie chose this life. Now he's gotta live with the repercussions.

(Queer author saying queer is used both positive and negative here)

———

Eddie Munson was fucking awesome.

That was something all four boys could easily decide on the moment they found out what Hellfire Club was and joined their first session zero.

First of all, Will definitely had a crush, that was obvious, and they’d gossip later.

The rest of them all had gender envy, because holy shit, Eddie Munson was a badass with no qualms about himself, no shits to give when people were assholes, and by god, was he a killer DM.

So what if he had to go through senior year a few times? Being smart didn’t just mean getting good grades and doing assignments, Dustin knew Steve could tell you that one.

Eddie Munson was a fucking enigma, and Dustin Henderson wanted to know more.

It wasn’t until Dustin accidentally caught Eddie between classes, and watched him get shoved into his locker, getting called words Dustin only knew from his father, that he hesitated.

…was Eddie queer?

Of course, Dustin didn’t give two shits if he was, but…was he?

The punk and metal scenes (from what Dustin knew) were usually utilized by gays and straights alike, so while that could be a good point of reasoning, still, Eddie could just as easily be straight and be called those words for being in the scene.

He did love to flirt with Steve before and after Hellfire sessions, but Dustin couldn’t tell if it was platonic asshole friend flirting, or if Eddie had genuine interest (though Steve always seemed to get flustered, but that was a topic for later).

Right before Halloween, the Byers and El moved to California, which hurt like a bitch.

Not only did Dustin and Will lose their fun semi-weekly gossip sessions, but that meant an entire shift in the dynamic of the Super Six (Dustin had been calling them all that and it started to catch on).

First of all, Max hadn’t owned up to her bisexual polyamory dream yet. She broke up with Lucas, since even though he didn’t know, she felt like it was unfair to be able to date one and not the other.

Furthermore, Mike hated not being able to see his girlfriend every day anymore.

And lastly, they had lost their best fucking wizard ever.

Suspiciously, Eddie also looked pretty forlorn from the news, so one day a week or so later, Dustin, as he did these days, popped into the trailer to a begrudging Eddie, with an itch to ask questions.

"Eddie, why’re you upset over Will leaving?" Dustin plopped down on his couch unprompted, "You seemed so forlorn at our last session." Eddie’s brow furrowed as he closed the front door of the trailer.

"What? Henderson, you’re gonna have to be more specific."

"At our last session, you seemed a little sadder than normal with Will being gone. I don’t think anyone else noticed it, but I did." Eddie paused, and sighed, plopping down on the opposite end of the couch.

"Yeah, well…number one, I had no clue you were that good with body language Henderson, what the fuck, and two…" Eddie paused, obviously trying to think about something, "I’d become kinda…a mentor to him, so to speak." Dustin raised an eyebrow.

What could Eddie possibly be a mentor to Will about?

Obviously, of course, a DM mentor, but then why was Eddie being so secretive and specific about it?

What did Will do that was secretive and specific?

Oh!

So the assholes in the hall were, technically, right.

"You’re gay." Dustin really had to stop blurting that out at people, because Eddie’s face immediately went to shock, eyes blown wide, and a blush of embarrassment coated his cheeks.

"Henderson, how in the fuck did you know that?" Dustin shrugged.

"You could be a mentor for Will for a few things. I don’t think he’d outright go to you for painting or art advice, which meant either you helped him be a better DM, or you helped him with being gay, and you would’ve just said you were mentoring him in DM-ing, if you were." Dustin paused briefly, and Eddie only blinked, so he continued.

"Also, I heard people in the hall call you a…nasty things, and I got suspicious from there, so…" he shrugged again, indicating the end of his monologue. Eddie blinked again and shook his head, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Jesus, Henderson, now I get why Harrington calls you the little shit genius kid." Eddie looked back up at him, a frown with his eyebrows raised, "Since Will trusted you I’m assuming we can keep this under wraps?" Dustin nodded, grinning.

"Absolutely. Your secret is safe with me, Eddie." Eddie gave him a soft smile, something Dustin hadn’t entirely seen during his usual school hours.

"Thanks, kid. Means a lot." Dustin returned the soft smile.

"I know."

Eddie was still equally intimidating to Dustin, to be fair, but for him, it was nice to know Eddie was as accepting as he was, even if Dustin himself was straight.

———

Dick mentors' just means Eddie was helping out Will with liking dick. I couldn't think of anything else that funny. Please don't take it out of context.

(Though, if Mike started dressing more like Eddie, Will wouldn't complain)

Also, 3 months after July is October, and assuming they start school in mid-ish August (according to current Indiana schools), that means Will and El were at Hawkins high for at least a month or two! Eddie met them! He might not remember, but he did meet them!

Chapter 3/6———Chapter 5/6