#bri is genuinely smiling 🥲 ))

[prvtocol]

˚ ⚘᠂ bri & san'tos᠂ ⚘ ˚ [commission by @malotte00 ; san'tos belongs to @badtrigger]

[familyvideostevie]

you genuinely make my day every time we interact ive never had a true mutual this is so fun <3

wanted to try requesting bc i’ve never done it before i don’t think ?? and you write the best fluff mwah mwah

could i get an x steve/eddie (you can pick which!!) where the reader is just really homesick? i’m about to head off to college and i’m already feeling all the sadness ab leaving my fam and dogs behind 🥲 would love someone to comfort me right about now

darling bri! thank you for requesting this, i am honored to write for you! this is a really relatable feeling and i know you will be okay, and i hope this fic emphasizes that! so here's eddie for you <3 | 1k, fluff, fem!reader

You've only been at college for a month and it has been fun. So many new experiences at once have kept you busy, but now that you're settled and have some friends and are used to your classes, you find that most nights you feel a pit in your stomach. You're homesick. But you look around in lecture, in the dining hall, and you tell yourself that no one else is feeling this way. It doesn't seem like it, anyway, so you're a bit embarrassed and don't bring it up to anyone. Your life is a new adventure but you miss home.

Your dorm wall is already almost covered with postcards from the kids and your friends and family, but every night you look at them and just want to be somewhere else. Even though you call your parents and write letters every week, the feeling rolls over everything like a dark cloud and you know you need to figure this out so you don't spend the next few years like this.

So, you're standing in front of the dorm phone debating whether or not to call Eddie. It's Wednesday night, so you know he'll be at home planning Hellfire. But you don't want to bother him because part of you feels pathetic, feels juvenile. Part of you doesn't want to admit that this feeling is even real. But Eddie has never made you feel any of those things, never made you feel small or like your emotions were insignificant. So you pick up the phone and dial the number you know by heart.

The line rings and rings and rings and you feel a warm pressure behind your eyes and you think oh god, oh no, it's okay, I'm fine, don't cry don't cry don't cry. But you hear a click and Eddie's voice is in your ear.

"Hello?" He sounds out of breath. The tension melts from your frame and your mouth stretches into a smile automatically.

"Hi, Eddie. It's me."

"It's you!" he cries, so loud that you have to pull the receiver away as you laugh. "Sorry I almost missed you, sweet thing. I was having a cig."

"S'okay."

"You okay? Don't get me wrong, it's a fucking gift to hear your voice, but usually you call on Friday after class." Eddie knows you better than anyone and the question might have felt patronizing from someone else, but you've always loved how he sees you even when you're hundreds of miles away. You close your eyes and feel braver talking to him, brave enough to tell the truth on the first try.

"Everything is fine. I'm just feeling homesick." There's some shuffling like he's moving the receiver from ear to ear as he walks around his trailer. You know he's a pacer on the phone -- he can never sit still. You picture him in your mind: cheeks flushed from sitting outside, hair a mess where he runs his hands through it, shuffling around in sweatpants and a wrinkled t-shirt with holes in the collar. Always looking like something right out of your wildest dreams, always looking like Eddie. God, how you love him.

"Tell me about it," he coos. "If you want to." You curl your fingers into the hem of the sweatshirt you're wearing. It's his, of course, one of the things he gave you when he helped you pack. Your other favorite, one of his rings, is heavy and cool on your thumb.

"Not much to tell," you reply. "Just feel like I'm the only one who misses home. Makes me feel like a little kid and not like a college student."

"I bet you are not the only one," he says right away. "Actually, I know you aren't. Wheeler calls Jonathan all the time and says the same thing. He's told me himself!"

"Really?" Eddie wouldn't lie to you, and it makes you feel a little better to know Nancy Wheeler also misses your kind of fucked up town and all the wonderful people in it.

"Yeah, honest. It's totally normal to miss it. I bet if you asked anyone they'd say they feel it too." You sniffle, but the roiling pit is already turning to the warm fondness he always causes in your chest.

"I mean, I'll be home for Thanksgiving before we know it."

"Exactly!" he cries. "Bet I could convince your mom to let me pick you up. Eight hours in the car, no problem. We'll have a road trip!"

"Don't know if the van will make it that far, baby," you joke. You can almost hear him smiling through the line.

"I'll make Harrington let me borrow his car. GIve him free weed for a year, or something." He's done what you had hoped he'd do and cheered you up, taking your mind off of the self consciousness and making you feel settled, making you feel hopeful that you'll figure it out.

"Listen, sweetheart," he says, voice raspy and quieter and you can almost pretend he's right next to you, breath warm on your cheek. "You're always going to miss home. Sometimes a lot, sometimes a little, but it's going to be here for you when you come back. I'm going to be here for you when you come back."

"I do miss you, too" you tell him. "You're my home as much as Hawkins and my family are." He hums, a pleased, bright sound.

"Wish I could hug you right now, baby. I miss you so much." He sighs. "But I'm gonna be here to hold you and kiss you and see your face light up when you tell me all about college, yeah?"

"I love you, Eddie." You say it like a prayer, like a wish, like a promise.

"Call me anytime you feel like this. Because I love you, too." He makes a sound that must be a yawn. It travels through the phone to you, and you yawn, too. "Now go do your homework or something academic. You're the smart one!"

You laugh and say goodnight, walking back to your room a little lighter, a little more sure. Eddie's reassurance echoes in your ears. You'll be alright, just like he said. And when you go home again he'll be waiting.

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