#soft wayne munson

[italiansteebie]

Secret relationship steddie getting through vecna without suspicions from the others until steve hasn’t left eddie’s bedside for a week and he somehow knows wayne munson's phone number from memory and even gets a hug from the man when he enters the room. And he gets to stay when the others are kicked out.

It’s only when eddie wakes up that everything comes out.

He cracks open his eyes, meeting the gazes of dustin, wayne, and robin, but no steve.

“Where’s my baby?” he murmurs, and from the outside it sounds like “where mah beebee.” He watches the faces in front of him turn into something of confusion. “My baby, my baby. I want him.” It comes out clearer, and unfortunately for them wayne understands immediately and unknowingly outs them. “Steve’s off gettin’ some food, he’ll be back in just a minute,” Wayne pats eddie’s hand gently, watching as the kid smiles, eyes drooping once again.

Dustin and robin share a look but they choose to ignore it, maybe wayne heard wrong or eddie is just on too many painkillers.

Until steve walks in, seeing eddie’s eyes, tired, but open. He drops the coffee he’d brought back for wayne and bolts to eddie’s side.

Eddie raises a hand and cups steve’s face, “hey baby.” and for the first time, dustin and robin see steve harrington cry. “I told you-” he pauses to sniffle, “I told you not to be a hero,” his voice cracks, holding back tears. Eddie grabs his hand “‘M still here, baby.” and the dam breaks. Steve is sobbing into eddies chest, while the metalhead runs a weak hand through his hair.

Wayne would deny it with all his heart if anyone asked, but he shed a tear at the display in front of him, he wasn’t sure about steve harrington the first time eddie brought him home, but damn, the kid weaseled his way into his heart. And as touching as the moment was, dustin and robin where still highly confused.

Steve’s tears slowed, and he lifted his head from eddies chest, placing a soft kiss on his lips.

“Uh. Excuse me?” robin broke the silence, and the little world steve had found himself in shattered.

Eddie smiled though, ever the brave. “Me nd stevie are datin’. He’s mah baby.” he ended the sentence by placing a sloppy kiss on steve’s cheek. Dustin was, surprisingly, satisfied with that answer, but robin was not.

“YOU MADE FUN OF ME OVER TAMMY WHEN YOU’RE HERE WITH… HIM?”

Steve blushed, “We had just met when i started at scoops okay! It was really new, i- i didn’t know how to tell you so…. I just decided to be overly supportive by bashing your taste in women.”

This set robin off, and she didn’t stop until a nurse came in and threatened to have her removed from the premises.

[strangersteddierthings]

Good People - Final Part

Part One🦇Part Two🦇Final Part

It is not often that Wayne is happy with the monotony of work. Tonight is one of those nights, if only because it allows him to think about where he went wrong speaking to Eddie. He had never meant to imply he thought Eddie was like Al; he'd meant the apple and tree comment to for Richard and Steve. However, he does acknowledge why Eddie drew the conclusion that Wayne might have thought Eddie would follow in Al's footsteps.

Wayne's being a hypocrite, applying the logic to one boy, but not the other. And even though he never, not once, thought that Eddie would become Al, he'll never be able to take that thought from Eddie's mind that he had. He can apologize until he's blue in the face, Eddie might even forgive him, but he's not sure Eddie will ever believe him. Not truly.

And how could Wayne expect him to?

No. That's a shame Wayne will take to the grave.

Next strike to Wayne's conscious; the misjudgment of Steve Harrington, and how it ties into the fact Eddie accused him of not trusting his judgement, and, moreover, Eddie being right. Wayne hadn't trusted in Eddie's trust of Steve.

He should have. It's been years since Eddie came home crying about a boy, but what father doesn't see their kid crying over their first heartbreak and doesn't grow protective? And with Eddie, it's even more terrifying. Getting mixed up with the wrong boy could mean bruised ribs, black eyes, or worse.

In a town like Hawkins, a boy would just have to claim Eddie made a sexual advance and his murder could (would) be justified.

Now add the manhunt and being suspected of murderer to that. Well, Wayne's scared for Eddie's life almost every minute of his day.

But it's no excuse. Or if it is, it's a poor one.

Wayne doesn't know the full story but he does know that Steve was with the group of people on Eddie's side; that he was there with the Henderson kid, the Buckley girl, and Nancy Wheeler, digging Eddie out of the rubble from the earthquake, getting him to the hospital as fast as they could.

Steve Harrington was part of the group that saved Eddie's life, and that should have meant more to begin with. Instead, Wayne's been waiting for a shoe to drop that very well isn't coming.

He's going to fix this.

He'll give Eddie his space to be angry with him, and he'll try again in a few days.

When Wayne gets home, around 6:30am, Eddie's van is gone. He's not surprised. He probably left shortly after Wayne did, not leaving sooner just to avoid him.

There is a note on Wayne's bed when he makes it there. Says he's at Steve, and instead of letting Wayne know when he'll return it just says the words 'be back' followed by a bunch of questions marks. He ends it with 'call if worried' and leaves a phone number that must be for the Harrington residence.

Another hurt Wayne can't blame on anyone but himself.

Wednesday passes. Wayne eats breakfast, goes grocery shopping, pretends to care about his shows before sleeping the afternoon away to prepare for another graveyard. Eddie has not returned when he wakes, and two short hours later, he's off to work.

Eddie's van remains gone.

Returns from work Thursday morning and repeats Wednesday. He replaces grocery shopping with laundry and cleaning out the leftovers for trash day tomorrow morning. Goes to work.

Friday morning he returns home. No Eddie. He waits for it to be a more appropriate time, a little before 10:00am to call the number Eddie left.

It rings, rings, rings, then, a voice he hasn't heard in years. Richard Harrington's voice sounds as cold as it always was as the answering machine recites, "You've reached the Harrington's. We are not available. Leave a message."

"This is Wayne Munson. I just wanted to make sure Eddie's- that's he's alright. Let him know that I called. Checked on him. He doesn't need to call back but I'd appreciate it."

He hangs up the phone, lump in his throat. He misses his boy, and he wants to make his right, but he can't force that. Eddie has to always want to make it okay between them.

He's usually off Fridays, but he asked to pick up a shift. He can't face Linda without having fixed this. He spends the morning and afternoon doing all the small fixes he'd been putting off. Anything to keep him busy. He goes to sleep at his usual time, and wakes up two hours before his shift like normal.

Check's his answering machine but if anyone called while he was asleep, they didn't leave a message. There's still no van when he heads to work.

The plant tells him to leave an hour early. He tries to argue to stay but he's just waved off, told to go get some sleep because he's been looking a little worse for the wear.

He gets back to Forest Hills around 5:40am and finds there is another car parked at his home. Not Eddie's van, but the sleek maroon BMW that belongs to Steve Harrington parked where the van usually is.

When he pulls into his spot, the headlights of his truck light up Steve, sitting on his steps, wrapped in a coat. It can't be more than 50℉ outside right now.

Steve stands as Wayne cuts the engine and climbs from his truck. He gets to the front of his truck and Steve speaks.

"Eddie's okay," Steve says, hands shoving deep into his pockets, "I tried to get him to call you back yesterday but, well, you know Eddie."

Wayne nods, because he does know Eddie. "I appreciate you tellin' me. But you coulda just called."

"I could have."

They look at each other for a moment, and just as Steve opens his mouth, probably to tell Wayne he's going to go, Wayne speaks first, "you wanna come inside and have a cup of coffee to warm up?"

Steve tilts his head slightly to the left before he says, "are you sure?"

"I'm sure."

"Alright," and then Steve steps away from the stairs so Wayne can climb them and let them into the trailer. Steve follows behind silently but with familiarity. He's spent so much of his time here since spring break- the shame crawls through Wayne again. He'd assumed, once upon a time, that Eddie and Steve spent more time here than at Steve's because why would Steve want the trailer park boy in his big fancy house? Now, though, he wonders if it's because this place felt more like a home, even with Wayne's cold shoulder.

Steve sits at their little kitchen table, a luxury they didn't have before because there was no room in the single wide, one bedroom they'd had before. The new double wide (with three bedrooms) offered them a bit more space for a dining area.

Wayne's still suspicious of the government's offer to replace their destroyed home, but he wasn't foolish enough to deny the offer when it was made to him by Jim Hopper (newly returned from the dead back then).

"How do you take your coffee?" Wayne asks, once the machine finishes filling the carafe.

"Oh, I can fix it-"

"Nonsense," Wayne waves him back to sitting, "just tell me."

"I like it with just enough milk to take the scalding heat out of it," Steve says, and while Wayne's not sure just how much that it, he tries anyway.

He sets a cup in front of Steve before taking a seat across from him. "I really do appreciate that you came to tell me Eddie's okay. I want to give him his space but...."

Steve sips his coffee before shooting his cup a small smile. Wayne must have got the ratio right. Then, he looks to Wayne and the smile drops, a more serious expression taking its place and he says, "Eddie wouldn't really tell me what your fight was about, other than, uh, me and that you... overheard some of what I said last time I was here. I don't, like, want to come between you and Eddie, but I'm not, I'm not going to let you scare me away. So, just tell me what I have to do to get Eddie to believe we're cool, and I'll do it. Anything, except for getting out of Eddie's life. 'Cause I won't."

"I would never ask you to do that," Wayne says. Steve squints at him, a look of suspicion now. Completely warranted, given what Steve has known of Wayne thus far. "I owe you an apology, Steve. For how I've been treatin' you."

Steve's eyes go wide, "Oh. What? Why?"

"You've been nothin' but good to Eddie. For Eddie. And I refused to see that. I made a judgment about you without knowin' anything but your name." Steve let's out a soft 'oh' at that, but Wayne plows on, "And that weren't fair, and it weren't right. I can't undo it, but I want you to know I regret it. I'm sorry."

"Okay," Steve says, after a moment. "I forgive you."

It's Wayne's turn to be surprised. He's a bit speechless. So much so, he takes a page right out of Eddie's book and asks, "are you sure?" which is a question he's never asked after having an apology accepted before, but one Eddie had asked a lot when he first came to live with Wayne, and they were learning to co-exist.

"Yeah. I get it."

He doesn't like that answer. Doesn't like the he contributed to the mind set that gave Steve that answer. "You're allowed to be mad at me for it."

"I think Eddie's mad enough for both of us."

It doesn't feel like closure. It doesn't feel like forgiveness, but Wayne doesn't know what to say. He can't just start sprouting all the bad things he thought about Steve; there's no reason Steve should have to listen to that. But without hearing it, Steve doesn't even know what he's forgiving Wayne for. "I'll be honest with ya, Steve. It feels like you shouldn't."

Steve frowns at him. "Why?"

Why? Why? For all the reasons Eddie yelled at him, and all the things Linda said, and all the agony he's felt these last few days. The guilt and the shame that still eat at him, even as Steve Harrington says he forgives him. "It's too easy."

Those three words have Steve leaning back against the chair. His eyes dance around Wayne's face before taking in the whole of him. Or, what Steve can see of him with from across the table. When Steve meets his eye again, Wayne sees recognition there. "If you can't forgive yourself, I get that. I do. I-I've spent most of my life as one big apology. And I'm not saying that I, like, don't still feel like- what I mean to say, is that, I forgive you. I'm not, like, gonna hold it against you that you were just trying to look out for Eddie, man. Like, two years ago your fears would have been justified, so."

"Don't make it right," Wayne argues, but he doesn't know why.

"No," Steve agrees, "but I'm forgiving you anyway. You think you're the first person to hear the name Steve Harrington and assume you know everything you need to know about me already?"

Steve's words sound like they could be confrontational, but his tone is light. Teasing? Wayne says, "no. Suppose I'm not."

"Every person I love has done that," Steve says, and the ease of which he says that has Wayne feeling some sort of way. Eddie's words echo in his mind 'you made me help him feel that way'. How many other people have made him feel like he's a bad person? "Even- even Eddie. He made a point, during spring break, to, uh, well, he didn't apologize for anything because there was nothing to apologize about, but he made a point to tell me I was very 'metal' and a 'cool dude' so.... I know my name comes with, like, a shadow or a curse or whatever. I think it will for as long as I live in Hawkins, but that's," Steve flaps his hand in the air, as if that fills in for the word he can't find, and it's a move so reminiscent of Eddie. "Anyway, if you aren't actually, like, ready to accept an apology, you shouldn't be making one."

Wayne sits in that for a moment. There's a lot more to Steve Harrington than he'd ever thought. So much he doesn't know, actually, but he thinks he's okay with learning more. This boy told Eddie he was half-way in love with him earlier this week, and while Wayne never heard Eddie say it back, he knew anyway. It's why he was so protective. "You're pretty wise for your age."

Steve grins and shakes his head. "Nah, that last part was all Robin. She says it all the time to me."

"Well, then you best stop apologizing when you ain't ready to accept the forgiveness," Wayne parrots back the words.

Steve throws his head back and laughs.

They finish their coffee with silence and small talk. Steve tells him about how he never thought he'd miss his job at the video store but working at Melvald's is making him long for the days when the biggest complaint was late fees. Apparently, there's so many more things to complain about in retail.

Wayne talks about working at the plant and how the tasks are repetitive and a bit labor intensive, but the graveyard pay is worth it. Steve asks him a few more questions about working at the plant that Wayne's happy to answer and the more Steve asks, the more Wayne becomes aware that Steve might be looking for a change of occupation. He makes a mental note to put in a good word to Floyd, just in case.

Steve leaves with the promise of returning with Eddie, as soon as possible. As he was heading to the door, Wayne asked why he showed up so early.

"Eddie can't stop me if he's not awake," was Steve's answer, a mischievous grin on his face.

Wayne watches from the porch as Steve backs out. Steve shoots him one last little wave with his fingers before heading away.

He goes back inside and washes the dishes. Even dries and puts them away, a feat usually done once a week; he and Eddie have no qualms with using dishes directly from the dish drainer. His only other chore for the day is leaving for work a bit early so he has time to stop at the gas station and fill up the truck.

Grabbing the remote from its spot on the coffee table, Wayne plops onto the couch to spend his day as mindlessly as possible with some TV.

He goes to sleep at his usual time and wakes up at 7:43pm according to his alarm clock; a little over two hours before his shift is to start. It's time for more coffee, he thinks as he dresses for work before heading to the kitchen.

He jerks to a stop when he sees Eddie and Steve sitting on the couch, leaned close and talking softly. He's not about to repeat a past mistake, so he makes his presence known. "Evenin' boys."

Eddie pops up from the couch quick as lightning, taking a few steps towards Wayne before stopping. "I don't like being mad at you."

Wayne nods, "I don't much like you bein' mad at me, either. For what it's worth, I am sorry."

Eddie closes the distance between them, then, and pulls Wayne into a tight hug. Wayne returns it instantly, how can he not? He hears Eddie say, softly, "it's worth an awful lot, you terrible old man."

They part, and Eddie speaks first, "but if you ever pull shit like this again, I won't be so quick to forgive."

"I won't," Wayne says, at the same time Steve says, "he won't."

Both Munsons look at Steve, who grins back at them.

"You think you know my uncle that well already, from one shared cup of coffee?" Eddie asks, sounding amused.

Steve shrugs, "no. I just, uh, plan to stick around, y'know. Kinda hoping there's no dude after me for him to be an angry dad about. I would appreciate it, though, Mr. Munson, if you'd skip the shovel talk bit of all this?"

Eddie sucks in a breath and Wayne's a bit shocked by what Steve's implied. What Steve's admitted, really, out loud in front of another person. Wayne wonders if any boy Eddie's ever liked before would have done that.

"What good's a shove talk when you've already told me you ain't goin' anywhere?" Wayne says, hoping his tone is as light and teasing as he wants it to be.

"Glad we're on the same page," Steve agrees, "but, uhh, do you want me to go? So you can have a real talk?"

"No," says Eddie.

"No," says Wayne, at the same time.

"Oh. Okay. Uh, in that case, you got anything to drink here besides coffee?"

Wayne nods and they all pile into the kitchen to get a beverage before settling in the living room. There will be time to talk later, Wayne realizes. He's going to apologize properly.

Later, though, when he'll really be ready to accept Eddie's forgiveness, because there's no doubt Eddie'll forgive him. So, he's going to sit in the living room and chat with his boys until he has to go to work.

By the time Friday comes around again, he'll be able to tell Linda she was right, everything's going to be okay one day, and maybe ask her on a date he's been putting off asking for since high school.

Done!! I hope the ending is sufficiently cheesy.

I'm so sorry if I missed you! There were a lot of people asking to be tagged haha

@i-less-than-three-you @nburkhardt @afewproblems @skepsiss @unclewaynemunson @kaij-basil-lionelli88 @swimmingbirdrunningrock @mugloversonly @limpingpenguin @krazyperson @acrolius @salisbury-at-the-stake @littlebookworm86 @savedbytheirmusic @wxrmland @myownworstenemyyy @thelittleclare @awkotaco24 @djohawke @wrenisflying @croatoan-like-its-hot @actualwakingnightmare @krowepoison @jamieweasley13 @yourmom-isgay @irregular-child @oldwitcheshat @abstractnaturaldisaster @wishiwasacasualfan @vinteraltus @zerokrox-blog @warlordess @stevesbipanic @steveshairspray @slowandsteddie @samsoble @waelkyring @just-a-tiny-void @saramelaniemoon @halfadoginatank @nightmareglitter @scarletyeager @hellfireone @rovia2312 @munsonslure @a-little-unsteddie @soaringornithopter @eddiethehunted @starlight-archer @dryptid @inkjette

[sp0o0kylights]

12:45 pm on a lazy Saturday, Steve dropped one of the shirts he was folding. With an eye roll at himself at his own clumsiness, he bent down to pick it up and refold it. 

 Of course, just grabbing one shirt wasn’t possible-this was Eddie's room after all, even if Steve had practically moved in. Instead he somehow managed to snag three--and something else, along with them. 

For a second Steve thought it was one of Eddie’s chains, the ones he attached to his belt for reasons Steve was positive had to do with the noise they made and that it gave Eddie something to play with.

Except it was stuck. 

Quickly abandoning the shirts, Steve followed the chain to one end, clothes and random items erupting like miniature volcanoes until he found the end looped around the leg of one dresser. 

Steve blinked.

Turning carefully on his heel, he proceeded to chase the other end of the chain, disrupting more piles until he unearthed a spiral notebook with a small lock attaching the chain to the metal rings. 

Steve gave it a few experimental tugs before he looked at the open bedroom door. 

"Hey Eds!” He called, one hand falling automatically to his hip. “Why do you have a notebook chained to the dresser?"

“What?” Answers him, followed by an immediate; “Oh!” Then; “Hang on!” all of which is punctuated by a series of bangs and shuffles. 

Eddie trots through the door a moment later, eyes narrowing as they land on the notebook in question. 

His face abruptly flushed red as recognition hits, face rearing up and--

oh.

His boyfriend was embarrassed. 

"Is this thee secret D&D planner the kids talk about?" Steve teased playfully, raising the book above his head right as Eddie darted forward to make a grab for it. 

“Steve!” Eddie yelled, launching himself upwards in an effort to grab it.

 Unfortunately for him Steve was prepared, and simply dropped his arm back down and behind his back with a grin. 

“Give it!” 

"Not until you tell me why it’s chained up." Steve replied with a waggle of his eyebrows. “Are monster’s gonna jump out of it?” 

 Eddie cursed, arms reaching and wiggling as he tried to snatch the notebook back.  “

“Oh fuck you-!” He growled, trying to fake-out Steve with a feint. 

Once a jock, always a jock, as Eddie loved to say. Which meant Steve saw right through his boyfriend and simply leaned away, the taller man stumbling into his chest.  

“Dammit!” Eddie howled.

With a laugh, Steve offered the notebook to him, grinning when Eddie snatched it out of his hands and clutched it dramatically to his chest. 

See, he’d kept ahold of the chain, and tugged at it teasingly as a pointed reminder that holding the notebook wouldn’t do Eddie any good. Not with the  lengths he’d taken to securing the thing. 

Eddie glared at the chain for a moment and Steve waited patiently for his boyfriend to realize he’d been out maneuvered--until Ed’s eyes caught his. 

The look he wore wasn’t playful, or even frustrated. 

It was fearful, and even though he tried to hide the emotion a moment later by shaking his hair into his face, Steve dropped the chain immediately. 

“Hey.” He said, humor falling into seriousness with a quickness the Upside Down had drilled into him. “I didn’t open it, I promise.” 

“It’s not--that isn’t--” Eddie clutched the book to his chest tightly with one hand as he reached up to grip his hair hard with the other, a behavior Steve knew instantly meant that he was upset. 

Shit. 

“I’m sorry.” Steve apologized, unsure of where this all went sideways but aware he’d overstepped. 

Eddie shook his head, using the motion to put more hair between his face and Steve. 

“S’not your fault. M’not mad.” He responded, voice small and quiet, the Wayne-like twang he got when he was truly upset coming out. 

Steve’s hands had come up automatically, hovering over Eddie’s shoulders. He didn’t know if touch was wanted just then, and so they stayed frozen in the air. 

Waiting. 

Eddie’s shoulders had hunched, but with a breath that kicked out a section of curly hair, he straightened back up and took a step forward. 

"You can open it." He said, practically throwing the book at Steve. It smacked the younger on the chest, and while Steve peered down at it, he didn't take the bait. 

"Not if you don’t want me to." He replied firmly, refusing to hold the book.  

Secrets had a tendency to make their entire extended group edgy, and with good reason--but people also need their space. 

Steve knew that better than anyone, given that he and Eddie weren’t fully out to the whole group yet. 

That time would come, and along with it would be things like this. Secrets that were shared over time, or boundaries set that a good boyfriend wouldn’t cross. 

If Steve Harrington prided himself on anything, it was being a damn good boyfriend. 

"I want you to. Just--don’t laugh.” Eddie muttered. 

Steve leaned in, reaching up a hand to caress Eddie's arm before pressing a kiss to his forehead, over all the hair. 

“I won’t.” He promised.  

A small, sweet smile bloomed on his boyfriend's face, visible even through the curls. Eddie's body swayed towards Steve, a bird angling for its home, looking to find the shelter it craved.

Steve opened his arms, welcoming, and Eddie stepped right into him, finally moving his hair out of his face. 

"It's okay." He said softly, pushing at the notebook Steve now held.  "Read it, handsome." 

After one last look to assure himself this really was what Eddie wanted, Steve moved so they could both see the book as he went through it. 

He flipped it open to a random page, positive he was about to read Eddie’s journal or even a story he’d been writing.

Or song lyrics. 

Steve winced internally, knowing instantly he’d feel horrible if this was full of Eddie's personal songs. The ones Steve knows aren’t ready to be seen. 

Thankfully, the words lining the page have nothing to do with music at all. 

"Stevie’s favorite things." He read aloud, trying to make sense of what he was seeing. 

Looked at the next page, and found it just as puzzling. 

"What to do when Steve has migraines?" It wasn’t supposed to be a question but Steve asked it like one. 

Turned to face his boyfriend for an answer and is halted by Eddie hiding his face again.

This time, in Steve’s neck. 

"Are these instructions?" He hazarded, trying to make sense of the words laid out before him. 

"They're lists." Eddie responded, voice muffled. 

Steve grinned. "Yeah, I figured that part out.” He teased gently, tilting his head to lean it atop the metalheads. 

Eddie let out an embarrassed whine, but stopped hiding so he could talk. 

“It was Nancy’s suggestion. I was upset I couldn’t remember shit about you. About us. Important shit.” 

Steve stoked his thumb over Eddie’s hip, a soothing gesture for both of them, while he tried to turn the page of the notebook with his other hand.

“She suggested I start making lists.” Eddie continued, reaching out to help Steve. “Write down the stuff I wanted to remember.” 

“You were worried about losing it.” Steve said, suddenly realizing  what the chain was for. 

Eddie tipped his head in a small nod, jostling Steve’s chin. 

“Yeah.” He admitted quietly. “That uh, that was Robin’s idea.”

Steve chuckled at that. “Sounds like Robbie.” 

Quiet descended for a brief moment, as they successfully turned the page. Steve’s eyes took in the writing, this time under the title of ‘Brain Help.”

‘Confuses left and right sometimes, pointing helps.’ 

‘Encourage cooking--Nancy says helps w/ memory.’ 

‘’Don’t point out mispronounced words, he gets upset.’ 

‘Kiss lot’s when frustrated w/ math or spelling, no teasing.’ 

“Are you crying?” Eddie asked suddenly, twisting in Steve’s grasp when the first, choked noise escaped Steve. “Why are you crying?” 

Steve hummed in answer, before carefully setting the notebook down on the bed and wiping at his face with his freed hand. 

“You’re amazing, you know that?” He said, half choked, smiling at Eddie through his tears. 

Eddie just stared back at him. “I’m amazing for constantly forgetting things?” 

Steve shook his head. 

“You’re amazing for wanting to remember.” He corrected. “I’m so lucky to have you, Eds.” 

Turned fully, to envelope Eddie in a crushing hug. 

“I think it’s the other way around but,” Eddie smiled, a soft private thing meant only for Steve, “just this once I’ll agree  

Steve snorted, a wet ugly sound, gripping his boyfriend harder. 

“Asshole.” He grumbled fondly, before he pulled him into a deep kiss. 

(A handful of minutes later and both are startled out of their impromptu makeout session by Wayne, who spoke so loudly he might as well have been shouting.

 “I realize their cars are in the driveway, Dustin, but I’m sorry ta’ tell ya I dunno where they went. Why don’ you n’ your buddy there go visit Max? Ya’ll can come back in a few minutes.”

“Fucking kids.” Steve muttered angrily into Eddie’s lips, prompting the other to cackle. 

“Hey you had them first man. I’m just their step-dad.” He teased, and nearly gave the both of them away with a shriek when Steve pinched him.

“Nice try Munson.” Steve responded with a low growl in Eddie’s ear. “They’re just as much your kids as they are mine.”

“If you say so, oh’ wife of mine.” 

And if that little nickname prompted another heated makeout session, then that was between them and God as far as Steve was concerned.) 

***I base all of my Eddie has ADHD ficlets on my own behaviors but this time I also gave Steve a traumatic brain injury as well. Cause I am 99.9% sure that boy has one, and as someone with a TBI from a kinda sorta similar car crash alongside having more than my fair share of concussions and various injuries, the migraines are like ⅓ of the worst things about ‘em. Thankfully I have never got into a fight or gone toe to toe with supernatural creatures, but I have been lawn darted a few times by my baby horse so I figure Steve and I are even on that front lmao

[hairmetal666]

cw// cancer mentioned, no character death

Eddie's moving to Chicago with his boyfriend and their best friend.

Eddie's moving to Chicago and it feels like everything is finally coming together.

Eddie's moving to Chicago, Steve Harrington is his boyfriend, and his life is starting.

Eddie's moving to Chicago, but then Wayne gets sick.

He tells Steve that he can't leave, not yet, needs to take care of his uncle.

And Steve, his Steve, perfect Steve, says with no hesitation, "I'll stay. Eddie, I'll stay with you. We'll go in six months. Together, that's the plan."

But Eddie can't let Steve do that; Steve who is everything bright and good and right in the world. Steve needs to get out, even if Eddie can't.

He insists Steve go, insists so hard that Steve can only agree, though Eddie can tell it's killing him.

Before they leave, Steve and Eddie cling to each other.

"Six months, baby. Just six months and then I'll be with you."

"I'll stay, Eds. Let me stay for you?"

"Not in a million years. What's six months in a lifetime together?"

"You mean that?" Steve whispers, the words tickling against Eddie's neck.

"Of course, sweetheart. Never meant anything more in my life."

They cling harder, crying against each other, despite it being goodbye for now and not forever.

They haven't said "I love you" yet, and the words hang on his tongue as the embrace ends, but he can't say it now; not when six months of time and 200-plus miles will separate them.

Except Wayne isn't better in six months. He's not worse, but the cancer's still there, he's still sick. And Eddie can't leave.

Eddie figured something like this would happen. Knew in the back of his mind that Steve and Robin and Chicago were never anything but a pipe dream.

When he calls Steve, he thinks he's ready.

"Okay, so Hopper's letting us borrow his truck, but he needs to know our timeline. You think next Saturday--"

"Steve." He says. His stomach clenches.

"What's wrong?" Because Steve knows, like he always does.

"Wayne's not better."

Steve is silent for a beat. "Okay...that's okay. I'll come back. Right now. Tonight. We'll do this tog--"

"You know I can't let you do that."

"Eddie--"

"No, Steve, don't. Okay? Let's just. It's time, you know?"

"It's not. Eddie, it isn't. Don't do this. Please, please," Steve cries.

"It's for the best. I know you can't see it now, but it is. You need to live your life, Stevie. Get that degree. Be someone."

"Eddie," Steve sobs. "Please. You have to know that I lo--"

"Don't," Eddie snarls. Doesn't mean to but can't hear those words, the three that will break him in two. "This is for the best, Steve. A clean break, yeah?"

"No." And Eddie hears Steve shuffling on the other end, like he's getting up. "I'm not letting you do this. I'm coming back, and we're doing this together. A lifetime, remember?"

Eddie's crying now, can't help it. "Please, don't. Steve, just--it's over, okay? I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I can't do this anymore."

He hangs up the phone before Steve can argue, cries himself to sleep.

5 Years Later

Eddie never gets over Steve Harrington. His golden boy, the brave, perfect, kind, bratty man who has his whole heart.

Wayne is okay. Will never not have cancer, but he's doing good. And Eddie runs a record store in the town over. Visits some bars in Indy when he feels a certain kind of lonely. He's settled, finally, is the thing. He's settled and happy enough, so of course, that's when it happens.

He's at the grocery store, stopped in produce. There's a little girl, maybe 3 or 4--bright pink shirt, chestnut hair, little overalls--sitting in a cart by the tomatoes.

The sight of her sparks something in Eddie's chest, but he doesn't understand what or why, and then she's pointing at him, smiling and wiggling. "Daddy!" She shrieks.

That's when Steve Harrington swoops around the corner, reaching for the girl, his daughter, and Eddie takes a step away, ready to run from this.

The girls says, "That's the boy in all your pictures." She giggles and points at Eddie more. Steve blushes, and Eddie's assaulted by so many things all at once he thinks he may pass out.

"Stevie," he hears himself saying.

Steve freezes, looks at Eddie, so much knowing in those hazel eyes it makes him a little sick. But it still surprises him when Steve pulls him into a hug. Being in those arms again, It's like everything keeping him together falls apart. He sinks into the hold, breathes in deep, feels like home.

It shouldn't, though. Steve's got a kid. Probably a wife. Can't have his ex-boyfriend falling apart in his arms in the grocery store. Eddie disengages, steps back a little. Steve blinks, eyelashes fluttering, and Eddie is still so in love with him it hurts.

"I should--I should go," he mumbles, gripping at the back of his neck like it's a lifeline. The little girl giggles more, bouncing in her seat, and he's overcome with fondness. Can't help but give her an exaggerated bow as he goes.

He makes himself walk to the end of the aisle, but once he's left Steve behind, he runs.

That night, when a knock comes at his door, nothing prepares him for a sheepish Steve Harrington standing on the other side.

"Sorry to drop by unannounced," Steve says, manners still impeccable. "Wayne gave me your address. I'm glad--I'm glad he's doing okay, Eddie."

Eddie's too astonished to respond, nods for a few seconds before, "Th-thanks. Uhh, you wanna come in?"

Steve does and then they're in Eddie's little living room together and what the fuck is he supposed to do?

"Where's the kid?" he asks. He gestures Steve to the couch.

Steve smiles, a soft thing that's a knife to Eddie's heart. "Oh, I left her with Robin. They'll be fine for a few hours. Her name's Ellie, by the way. Ellie Jane Harrington."

"She knows who I am?" Eddie asks.

"Course. I told her about everyone. Showed her pictures. I hoped she could meet you one day."

"Yeah?" Eddie can't stand the thing that unfurls in his chest, blooming with love, so much care it aches in his teeth. "I swear next time I won't run away."

Steve laughs, hazel eyes fond in a way that Eddie can't look at for too long. "You didn't run away, Eds. It was a weird--reunion."

Eddie chuckles, pulls hair over his face. "A little bit. Not every day you run into your ex and his daughter scoping out tomatoes."

"I was hoping to give you a call, ask you out to dinner, or something. Not my kid recognizing you at Bradley's Big Buy."

"You wanna take me out to dinner, Stevie?" He asks before he can think better of it. Steve blushes red, and god Eddie missed him.

"Thought it might be nice, yeah. Get to know each other again."

It's Eddie turn to blush. "Why are you here?" He asks, good of a segue as any.

"Here, like, in your apartment, or here in Hawkins?"

"Both."

"I'm--uh--the new counselor at Hawkins High. Might coach the basketball team."

"But--Chicago," is all Eddie can say.

Steve laughs. "It was fun for a while, but--I don't know, man, it got hard with a kid. Joyce told me about the job opening and I decided to try."

"And Ellie's mom?" Eddie doesn't want to ask, can't stand not knowing.

Steve's eyes fall. "Ah," his hands squeeze into fists. "She's not in the picture. Never really was. After--" he takes a deep breath. "After we broke up, I sort of. Lost myself for awhile. Slept around. One night, I got this call saying that a baby had been surrendered at a fire station, my name listed as the father."

"Oh, sweetheart. I bet you didn't hesitate."

Steve stares at his hands, smiles. "Not for a second. I cried when I saw her, Eds. Just fucking sobbed. She was so beautiful. Then I had to figure out how to raise a kid and finish school."

"But you did it." Eddie can't hide that he's crying anymore.

Steve nods, is crying too.

"I'm really proud of you, sweetheart," Eddie whispers.

They look at each other, tear stained and sad but somehow so happy, and Steve leans forward, presses his mouth to Eddie's. He freezes, shocked to stillness, overwhelmed with the thing he never thought he'd have again.

Steve pulls back, face red and eyes wide. "I'm so sorry. I got it in my head--" he stands, fumbling for his keys. "I should have never--you told me we were done and I know you meant it. But I saw you in the grocery store and I thought, you know, I'm never getting over him. I'm so stup--"

"Steve, wait" Eddie snaps out of it all at once, hurrying to where the man he's never stopped loving is shoving his feet inexpertly into his shoes.

"Don't leave," he says, almost whispering. "Please don't leave. Steve, I'm so, so sorry for how I ended things. I was so young and stupid, and--I didn't want you to lose your dreams for me."

Steve turns then, tears trickling down his cheeks. "You were my dream, Eds. You still are. I should have come back, made you let me stay. But I thought--maybe your feelings had changed. That you didn't--that you weren't--"

Eddie can't help it, pulls Steve into his arms. "I was. I am. You're all I've ever wanted." He presses his face to Steve's hair, breathes in deep. "I loved you then. I love you now. I've loved you every day in between."

"I love you," Steve sobs. "I love you so much."

They kiss, lips slotting together like they never stopped. It's salty with tears, but it's perfect. It's them.

Their mouths part, but they stay in each other's orbit; need the proximity after years apart.

"I have a kid now, Eddie," Steve says into the silence between them.

"Yeah," Eddie nods. "She's beautiful. Looks like her dad."

Steve smiles, flushes again. "She needs stability in her life, you know? She's my priority. Always will be. And if I--if this--"

Eddie knows. Understands his boy just as well now as he did back then. "We'll take it as slow as you need, baby. I want to be there for both of you. When you're ready. And until then, I'll be wherever you need me."

More tears escape Steve's eyes, but Eddie brushes them away. "We have a lifetime to figure it out."

[navnae]

Steve and Eddie being that couple that were destined to be together but they never knew it. When they’re looking through Eddie’s family photo album and Steve notices in the background was him in the exact same photo. Both of them were on this playground with their families and had no idea that they would end up together in the end. When Wayne finds out about this he tells them that it’s common in the Munson family for coincidences like that to happen, it’s the cutest thing that they talk about for hours and they wonder if there’s any photo with both of them in it like the one they’ve just discovered.

[imthursdaysyme]

Latino Wayne and Eddie

[sebbianas]

whatever you do dont think about wayne having dinner with steve and eddie. dont think about them sitting in the living room because they dont really have a dining table. dont think about eddie and steve sharing a plate because why would we have extra plates when its just the two of us here steve. dont think about wayne smiling softy at the two boys because he knows they went thru something more than they let on and he’s so happy to see his son nephew so happy and carefree with a boy who looks at him like he’s the most wonderful thing in the world. dont think about wayne buying a new plate, glass, mug, spoon and fork because he just know steve would be joining their meals more and more. dont think about that one time wayne catches steve in the kitchen cooking breakfast for the munsons and how wayne said thanks for cooking son and steve almost cried because that felt so warm and he never thought he’ll be called son without a certain tone of disappointment. dont imagine wayne inviting steve to all their holidays because he just knows that the big house gets too quiet and its not much but you’re always welcome here its not gonna be a fancy celebration— and steve discreetly wipes away his tears feeling so overwhelmed because no uncle wayne its perfect thank you so much i would love to spend the holidays with you and eddie. dont think about wayne adopting this other boy who’s so busy taking care of everybody that he sometimes forget to take care of himself and if thats a job he and eddie can do then he would gladly do it.

[flowercrowngods]

in which i have the steddie&clarkson (wayne/mr clarke) brain worms and decided that teacher student steve should get some help from mr clarke. everyone is soft

🤍 also on ao3

Eddie grabs the massive mug Wayne just filled with coffee and leans against the counter beside him. 

“Have they made any progress at all?” 

Wayne just grunts and takes a sip of his coffee, neither of them taking their eyes off Steve and Scott at the dinner table. “Your boy’s stopped groaning. Guess that counts as progress.” 

Eddie snorts and smiles into his mug. “Oh, that’s definitely progress.” 

They watch as Steve despairs over turning the vague plan of his lesson into a detailed, fleshed out, all things considered version. He gets frequently gets lost in all the possible ways that things could go wrong that he loses track of the golden thread that Mr Clarke keeps reminding him is the most important thing.

“I’m an idiot,” Steve mumbles where he has face planted into the papers and books laid out on the table in front of him. 

“You’re not an idiot, Steve, and you never were. Being overwhelmed is the most natural thing, it happens to the best of us.” Mr Clarke has a hand on Steve’s back and talks in that kind, patient voice that everyone in this house loves so much. “Do you wanna play it through?” 

Steve perks up at that, lifting his head from the paper just barely to look at Mr Clarke. “How do you mean?” 

“Well, you seem to worry that nobody will understand the task. Or be able to follow you. So what do we do then?” 

A frown appears between Steve’s brows and he sits up straighter, looking down at the plan he’s already made. “Try again with different wording?” 

“Exactly!” Mr Clarke says. “Or we look at the way your task is phrased and see if we can already find alternatives, how ‘bout that? Baby steps, sure, but everything stands and falls with your questions and tasks. And when you have the right question, you also know what exactly it is that you want them to find out and tell you. So, for now, why don’t we start with that?” He smiles at Steve and reaches for one of the sheets of paper. “You’ll be an amazing teacher because you already care whether they’ll get it. Believe me, you’ve absolutely got this.” 

Seeing Mr Clarke be so supportive of Steve and never once making him feel stupid or ridiculous for getting overwhelmed warms Eddie’s heart time and time again. He even jokes with Steve that he only ever comes over to spend time with his uncle’s boyfriend instead of Eddie — and the other day he’s overheard the same jab from Wayne directed at Scott. 

“They’re kind of adorable, aren’t they?” Eddie mutters so only Wayne can hear him. When his uncle doesn’t answer, Eddie looks over to find the softest of smiles on his lips, and he can’t help but join. 

****

Two hours later, Steve finally has his lesson planned properly and he comes over to Eddie, burying himself in that warm embrace. 

“Hi, professor,” Eddie mumbles and Steve just pokes him in the side with a light chuckle. 

“Asshole.” Burying deeper into Eddie, he lets a beat pass before, “Hi.” 

“You all done?” He brushes kisses to Steve’s head and just holds him. 

“Really fucking done, yeah,” he sighs. “At this point I’m gonna owe Mr Clarke my entire teaching career.” 

“Not your dashing boyfriend and his sanity-saving hugs?” 

“Sure,” Steve laughs lightly. “That, too.” 

They stay there for another while, holding onto each other, an exhausted Steve recharging before he’s ready to resurface. 

****

In the living room area, Wayne places a mug of steaming coffee in front of Scott. “For your troubles.” 

Scott’s laugh is like music to his ears and his smile lights up the whole room as he gratefully reaches for the mug. It’s one of the greatest gifts, Wayne thinks, the way Scott reacts to his remarks. Delight where there should be wariness, gratitude where there should be offence. It’s a gift, really, the way he just lets Wayne be himself and learned to understand, to appreciate, to… to love. Maybe. 

“You’re an angel,” Scott says before taking a long sip of his coffee. “Though you probably shouldn’t support my caffeine addiction that much.” 

“Probably,” he shrugs, before pointedly finishing the rest of his own coffee. “But that’d make me a hypocrite.” 

“Oh, we don’t want that,” Scott nods sagely, smiling into his mug. Wayne can’t look away. His hair is a little rumpled from working with Eddie’s boy for hours, his bow-tie has come off and the first button on his white button-up shirt is undone. His eyes are closed, the mug of coffee right under his nose so he can inhale greedily. He looks like he’s right at home. 

It does something with Wayne that he never really expected to be feeling. But he does. What does one do with such emotions? 

He carefully places his hand in Scott’s hair and combs it into the right direction so it won’t stick out anymore. If Wayne’s breath hitches when Scott leans into his touch, then that’s his business alone. 

“You need anything else?” he asks quietly, because that’s one thing he can do. Words were never his playing field — it’s, quite frankly, a miracle that he and Eddie are related. But bringing Scott coffee, combing his hair, massaging his shoulders where they’re tense from sitting in the same position all evening? That he can do. Acts of service, Eddie calls it. 

“No, thank you, love,” Scott says quietly before plucking Wayne’s hand from his hair and pulling it to his lips. “I’m perfectly content.” 

@unclewaynemunson it aint much but it's honest work 🤍

[ghosttownwherenoonegoes]

Weather the storm // e.m x gn!reader ft. Uncle Wayne

Summary: You need some help to help yourself but Eddie needs help to help you because he's never seen you like this before. Luckily, Uncle Wayne has a wealth of life experiences which he uses to aid Eddie, who can then help you. Eddie just wants you safe, healthy and happy.

Tw; comfort, fluff, I've written so many fics like this already but oh well have another one because we all need a hug from our Uncle Wayne, reader has trouble communicating and uses the weather system to describe their mood, reader stops eating and sleeping as much (poor self-care due to low mood; vicious cycle which they're aware of but lack the want to change it), reader cries, Eddie & Uncle Wayne worry, Uncle Wayne is a hand-holding sweetheart, Eddie and Uncle Wayne refer to each other FREQUENTLY as son & dad respectively because that's the canonical truth and I won't listen to anything else, I only refer to him as Uncle Wayne because calling him 'Wayne' with no precursor feels rude as all hell. Not sure why!

Dedicated to @stevesmunsons, who is going through something incredibly difficult but is still doing her best and kicking ass. Eddie would tell you that it's okay to feel, it's okay to cry, you're still the most metal ever in his eyes, he loves you and he'll always be there, 'kay? 'Kay. I love you lots, Sarah, and I'm sending you lots of love and hugs!💖💖💖 I also dedicate this wholeheartedly to you for always being so sweet and giving with the Eddie edits!!!! You have no idea how light and happy your creations make me feel and how tightly I grip my phone just to feel him closer.🥺Thank you, thank you, thank you.💖I hope you enjoy, Sarah!🌸

Fic specific tags: @neewtmas @maladaptive-day-dreams @sadbitchfangirl @tayhar811 @captainonaboat @chloe-6123 @desicroft02 @anotherdayinchuckletown @skyline4446 @cherrycolas-things @relocatedheads @madaboutmunson2 @rebelcthulhu @fluffysteampunkd @babyloutattoo89 @indiefawna @thefreak0fhawkinshigh @tinfoilhat86

Eddie tags: @eddiebunson @hersweetrevenge @sweetpeapod @sabbathsworld @hawkinsroyaloutcast @seidenbros @bakerstreethound @eddiemunsonshoney @potatos-library @gemstone-roses @hellfire1986baby @jslittlebirdie @comfortcharactercraze @heydreamchild @mywinterivy @corrodedcoffeen @m00nlight101 @3ddi3-daydreamer @pleasantlycrazyworld @samlealea @indouloureux @basicallybats @niceboyeds @manyfandomsfanvergent @becca-alexa @singularattitudeofasafetypin @knifeskiss @loving-and-dreaming @hiscrimsonangel

Word count: 3, 877.

To begin with, your mental and physical self-care had only slipped a tiny bit. It was barely enough for anyone other than you to notice. You slept an hour less than usual, you snacked a bit less, you gave yourself less time in the shower and watched television for half an hour less every night or watched everything other than what you actually wanted to watch. All that 'saved' time was used to work a bit more, a bit harder, to love yourself a bit less.

To begin with, only you noticed.

Until you didn't. Until you lost sight of yourself.

You stopped noticing the darkening bags under your eyes, the way you occasionally stumbled from exhaustion through the trailer door late at night, the way you stopped smiling when your favourite song came on the radio in Eddie's van or the way the sight of Uncle Wayne at the end of a long hard day (the start of his day spelled the end of yours; you were ships in the night) made you grin so hard you teared up, now caused you to just stare at him with glassy eyes and a barely perceptible smile. You stopped noticing that it had become easier for you to skip a meal than it was for you to actually sit down and eat something.

But Eddie didn't.

Eddie noticed everything, from the very first day you started to display signs that you weren't okay. He saw it all, kept mental notes on behaviours which cropped up which concerned him, and almost nightly relayed them back to Uncle Wayne when they were alone - what is spoken in the Munson trailer stays in the Munson trailer. It's in the Munson Doctrine and so it is a rule never broken, on pain of receiving a cold shoulder for a day or two.

The Munsons had icy shoulders when wronged.

Uncle Wayne had told Eddie to keep an eye on you, to let you come to him in your own time, and Eddie had done that. But then days had turned to weeks, weeks to a month, and Eddie couldn't take it anymore.

He had to step in.

In all honesty, if he hadn't stepped in when he did, Uncle Wayne's advice that night would have been just that:

Clearly, you needed help to help yourself.

You needed Eddie.

Eddie would deny you nothing during the best of times, but during the worst of times? He'd give you all he had and then some.

"Hey, do you think you can swing it with your boss to come home early tonight? Clouds are real dark overhead and I don't know what to do." Eddie turned and looked over his shoulder, to see what had been constant for the last half an hour; you, with a blanket thrown over your lap, staring through the television as you passively watched the images of your favourite film flicker across the screen. There was nothing on your face besides vague recognition. It sent chills down Eddie's spine to realise that even your most beloved film wasn't connecting with you and lowered his voice, "something's wrong, man."

It was the way Eddie stopped speaking in metaphors which grabbed Uncle Wayne's attention, as well as the fact that Eddie was usually the quiet supporter of the graveyard shifts and long, long hours. He was the one to cook three lots of dinner so Uncle Wayne could eat when he got home, he was the one who set the shower up so all that needed to be done was for it to be turned on, he was the one who got the pull out bed ready so all his beloved dad had to do was reheat dinner, eat, shower, then sleep.

Eddie never asked for Uncle Wayne to come home early unless it was real dark overhead. A code for 'family emergency' and one long established: ever since the Munsons had realised that you didn't always have it in you to ask for help, but you were happy to use the weather in place of a mood. No forecast had been given this morning and no forecast had been given this afternoon, either, even though it was obvious that the sun wasn't coming out for you, but this evening, Eddie had had enough of not being able to see what the weather was even when he was sat right next to you, and so he called in the one weatherman who always knew what to do.

All his life, Eddie had never once been in a situation which his dad hadn't been able to resolve or make better somehow, and this was no exception. He was sure of it.

In the end, Uncle Wayne faked a family emergency (it was more an elaboration of the truth, really, because you not feeling okay was an emergency) so that he could get out of work, on account of having no sick time available until the next quarter. He had been working at the plant long enough now that if he wanted to leave early, little about it was said and few eyebrows were raised at the daring. It was known that Wayne Munson would make up the time at a later date; his boy was probably in trouble again.

Uncle Wayne got home as quickly as he could. No traffic laws were broken, a decision made through a clenching jaw and fingers which white-knuckled the steering wheel. If he had his way, he would fly home. Hell, he would never have gone to work at all if he really wanted to get his way, but the world hadn't ever been kind to him and Uncle Wayne had sworn to himself over a decade ago that he would shield his boy from it as best as he could. Full of anger, he always chose kindness where he could, and he was nice where he couldn't be kind. It wasn't easy, but he wanted to be better than the people who had taught him how to hate. He wanted to do right by his boy. Even when his boy wasn't around to watch.

That had to count for something, right?

Uncle Wayne thought it did, and to hell with anyone else who didn't.

He had Eddie and they didn't, so who was the real winner in this situation?

On that high thought, which made Uncle Wayne's heart ache in his chest, he was home, and in no time at all did he push open the front door to the trailer with a world weary sigh. The world couldn't touch him or his boy when they were home together. It was their sanctuary from a world which sought to devour anyone born into it, turn them into just another nameless, faceless cog in the machine. A number on a spreadsheet. A statistic. But here, in this trailer? Why, it was a place of love and acceptance, tough love when required, pride always, understanding and tenderness and no judgement. Ever. For anything.

Home is where the heart is and that's why the trailer was the trailer when one or both Munsons weren't in it, but home when they were together under the same metal roof.

"Hey, kiddos!" He kept his voice level; it came out sounding gruffer than it was intended, but you and Eddie both heard the relief in his voice to be home, and the slight strain of tension in his voice when his tender blues fell upon you. He wasn't even fully in the door and already you were one of his priorities. Eddie had taken a few steps closer, like a moth to a flame when it came to his dad, but you had stayed exactly where you were, gazing absently at the television. Your usual excited greeting, the way you bounced up like a puppy when a Munson came home, was nowhere to be heard or seen and it caused similar looks of worry to cross the Munsons' faces.

"Oh, thank fuck! Dad!" Eddie was a blur of black and denim as he launched himself at Uncle Wayne, who only chuckled fondly and brought Eddie into his chest easily. It was a part of his come-home routine to catch his boy, literally; Eddie had always been fond of throwing himself out of trees, off benches, at his dad to say hello... "Thanks for coming home early," Eddie whispered, his voice a bit louder than a whisper was supposed to be, but you were still mindlessly watching television and paying little attention to your surroundings.

That was two strikes in both Eddie and Uncle Wayne's books; barely watching your favourite film, and you hadn't hugged the elder Munson within a millisecond of Eddie letting him go.

"'Course," Uncle Wayne smiled and ruffled Eddie's curls, his hand almost swallowing the crown of his son's head, fingers hot and grip firm. Eddie's ultimate comfort was his dad's touch, physical or otherwise. His dad's cooking, words, music, hugs, hell, even all the times he still crawled into his dad's bed after a nightmare (the most recent of those times was just last week), his music, all reached Eddie deep within, further than even your own touch sometimes. "I'd never tell my boy no." Not for something like this, especially.

Eddie playfully winced. "Ehh, once or twice."

Uncle Wayne nodded his head in agreement, crow's feet deepening as he smiled. He loved the banter just as much as Eddie did, found it invigorating to know that Eddie was now able to give as good as he got. He had never quite managed it as a kid or even as a teenager, but now at twenty, he could run circles around Uncle Wayne when he wanted to. And he did. Often. "Gotta keep ya' on your toes, son."

Eddie inched in for another hug from his dad, squeezing, and took the opportunity to say, "this is really bad, man. I don't know how to help." He let go and Uncle Wayne rolled his shoulders, kicked off his boots, and cast his blues over you again. Not in greeting, this time, but in searching. Figuring you out.

Uncle Wayne stepped away from the front door and toed off his boots, nudging them into line against the sideboard with his socked feet, shed his coat and hung that up. He was left in that flannel you loved so much and wore often, a dark blue shirt underneath, and some jeans which had seen better days and had obviously undergone several repairs.

"You all right there, Y/N?"

You gave Uncle Wayne a tight smile. "Yeah, m'fine. How was work?"

Eddie visibly winced for real. Rule number one with his dad: never brush him off or tell him you're okay if you're not. He had had to drill that into Eddie's head from day one and it had taken Eddie years to trust Uncle Wayne enough to be fully honest with him. Every sliver of truth he gave Uncle Wayne, even now when Eddie was living his fullest life, was very appreciated and reciprocated equally. Uncle Wayne tolerated many things, but his loved ones lying to him was not something he ever tolerated, not even a little bit and not for any reason.

Uncle Wayne inhaled deeply, shook his head just once, and then exhaled. Got down in front of you on his knees and took both of your hands in his. Eddie took the cue and sat down to the side of you which was closest to the door, and wrapped a strong arm around your shoulders, his fingers splayed across your upper arm to touch as much of you as he could in that one moment.

"Work was fine, sweetpea," Uncle Wayne's voice was gruff but again, you and Eddie heard all the kindness in the world. "But I ain't interested in talkin' to you about that, no offense," he chuckled wryly, "I asked you how you are, darlin', an' I want a proper answer. You got my kid all worked up an' that gets me worked up and m'too old and too tired."

"Dad!" Eddie hissed, but Uncle Wayne barely glanced at him. One kid at a time. Eddie had had his time and so now it was your time.

"Talk to us, Y/N. We ain't gonna' judge you here. Y'know that by now."

"Yeah," Eddie agreed easily, leaning his head on your shoulder, squeezing you into his side. You closed your eyes and let yourself sink into Eddie's warmth, "you're safe here, I promise. What's said in this trailer stays in this trailer, 'kay?"

"Mm-hm." You nodded, a stinging at the backs of your eyes and nose telling you that you were going to cry if they carried on. The weight of Eddie pressed against you, the sight of Uncle Wayne on his knees before you, eyes level with yours, tender blues and chocolate buttons giving you equally weighted gazes, Uncle Wayne's hands holding yours tightly, calloused and warm, Eddie's hand rubbing up and down your arm slowly... it was all too much and you almost felt the urge to run away, and yet... this was all you had been wanting.

Uncle Wayne and Eddie.

Eddie and Uncle Wayne.

The Munsons.

The most amazing package deal you had ever received and would ever receive in your life.

"Let's try again." Uncle Wayne squeezed your hands in encouragement. He really wanted to help you, to do the best for you that he could. He loved you like you were one of his kids, and though Eddie would always be his number one, his absolute top priority, Uncle Wayne had a heart bigger than the size of Hawkins and he had room for any kid and every kid who wanted in on his heart. You just had to be open and honest and kind, and you were a part of the family. It was just how Uncle Wayne was, and it was the way Eddie had been raised to be, too. One look at Hellfire Club and Corroded Coffin and anyone could see that Eddie took after his Uncle, his dad, beautifully. He had been raised so magnificently given the circumstances but only the most important people got lucky enough, close enough to see that.

Seamlessly, Eddie picked up his dad's sentence, "you okay?" They knew you needed both of them, and without any foreplanning between them, they were giving you everything you needed and more.

"No," your voice cracked, "No, Eddie. I'm not okay." You risked a glance at Uncle Wayne and that was when you broke. "I'm not okay at all," You hiccuped and then immediately burst into tears. It scared you, your sudden intense display of negative emotion, and that made you cry harder. All those days, weeks, of suffering in silence, trying to do your best while destroying yourself in the process, all that effort and work to keep yourself together when you barely realised that you were falling apart, and all it took in the end to bring you down was the sight of Uncle Wayne looking at you with those eyes you loved so much.

If one look could kill, then another look could save, and between the two Munsons, you would be lifted high above the clouds so that you could see the forest for the trees and thus, find out where to go from here. But not alone. Never alone.

"Whoa, whoa, hey, hey," Eddie cooed, squeezing you tighter into his side as Uncle Wayne raised one ofyour joined hands so that he could use the back of his to dash your tears away. "It's okay, Y/N, we're here, you're safe." Eddie felt guilty about feeling relieved that you had finally shattered.

"I just don't know what to do," tears dripped sore and Uncle Wayne kept his hands in yours as he used the backs of his hands to dash them away; though they were falling faster than he could move but he persisted, kept at it. He never gave up on Eddie, he never had and he never would, and he wasn't about to give up on you either. "I can't do this anymore. M'fuckin'... treading through water, running uphill, walking on the spot... trying so hard and goin' fucking nowhere and I'm sick of it. I don't wanna do this anymore, there's no point and m'tired."

"Storm's ragin' pretty hard, ain't it?"

Your eyes focused in on Uncle Wayne, though you couldn't see him for the tears, and you squeezed your hands inside his unwavering grip. "Uncle Wayne, please." What you were asking for, you knew not, but Uncle Wayne had a wealth of life experience, he had been around and seen a lot, and even with his boy smushed against your side did Uncle Wayne manage to give you a proper hug. You were able to rest your head on his shoulder and Eddie, though he grumbled some, followed you so that he was hunched over next to you, his head on your shoulders, the both of you oneshift away from collapsing atop Uncle Wayne from where he knelt on the floor, but none of you wanted to move. You would follow the Munsons anywhere and that included the floor of the trailer, so long as they kept holding you like they were.

"You're enough, darlin', believe you me. Don't destroy yourself no more, that point you're tryna' make ain't worth it, y'hear?"

"But I - " You straightened up, your back beginning to ache, but Uncle Wayne kept his hands and yours together, his touch your grounding just as much as Eddie's touch was.

"Nope, nope," Eddie waved his hands emphatically, situating himself correctly once more as well on the sofa, "absolutely not. You've been hurting yourself for a month, not letting me in, not taking care of yourself... and for what? I can't watch anymore, Y/N. M'worried and dad is too... just, please, talk to me. I wanna help. No buts." Eddie swept his hand through his hair, his dark curls snagging on his silver rings 'til he got frustrated and yanked his hand free, wincing but paying himself no mind. Eddie was used to rough treatment. "Look, I get it. The Shire is burning, right? Ground's too hot and you can't go up in the trees because they're on fire too and everything's on fire and it feels like you're in Mordor but, sweetheart, you're not. You're here, with me and my Uncle, you're safe."

Eddie's voice was soft, his tone was quiet, his arms back around you, holding you to his side. You rested your head on Eddie's shoulder and turned it to the side, hiding your face in the part of him where leather collar became bare skin, and Uncle Wayne squeezed your hands once more before he let you go, slapping his thighs as he stood up with a suppressed groan. He was too old for this shit but did it anyway because that's who he was. Eddie shushed you when you made a quiet noise of protest at how cold and empty your palms felt without Uncle Wayne's to keep them company, but you felt that same touch on the top of your head; I'm here, Y/N.

"You ain't alone, kid. We're gonna help you, any way we can. But you gotta help us to help you. Talk. Tell us what you need. Hell, show us or write it if you can't say it. I get it," Uncle Wayne shrugged easily, the look on his face one of, what can you do? as he moved through the trailer to go and make some dinner for the three of you. Indeed, he paid neither you nor Eddie any further mind as he set about cooking something and the two of you saw the dismissal for what it was; moving into Eddie's room without any words having to be spoken.

You just knew each other.

It was only when the door was shut behind the both of you that Eddie's bravado dropped, and his hands and lips began to tremble at almost the exact same second as he looked at you, his chocolate eyes glassy with tears.

"You - you had me scared, Y/N, I thought you - " Eddie sniffled, "well, I don't know what I thought, not really, but I've been so worried, sweetheart."

"Oh, Eddie, baby," Your own eyes stung with tears anew as you grabbed Eddie and pulled him into a tight, tight hug, every planes of your bodies aligned as you held each other. One of your arms was around Eddie's waist and the other was around his broad shoulders, your fingers flexing in those dark curls you braided most nights, and both of his arms were locked around you. But his embrace felt less like a cage and more like security. Even at your worst, Eddie loved you as strongly, as fiercely, as he loved you at your best. "M'sorry, honey, really, I - I don't even know why I've been - " You sighed, no longer able to speak. You didn't know how to explain it even to yourself, so how could you explain it to someone else? "I'll try to be better, and talk to you." Eddie nodded and you noticed that your shirt was beginning to feel wet where his face rested against the material, but you didn't call him out on the way he sniffled and stepped ever closer to you, though not even a sheet of paper could have gotten between you at that point. "I love you, Eddie, so much, and I'm sorry I shut you out."

Eddie shook his head, his curls tickling you, and he sniffled. "No more, Y/N. Just promise to talk to me, 'kay? There's no shame in needing help. You're strong enough to weather any storm, I've seen you do it. Every time you thought you couldn't get to Mordor, you did, and putting out the flames in the Shire so you don't have to go anywhere won't be easy, but I can help if you let me, yeah?"

You squeezed Eddie, breathing him in, and the two of you stood there hugging each other in the centre of his messy but clean room like there was nowhere else you would rather be and no one else you would rather be with.

At least, until Uncle Wayne called the both of you through for dinner.

You loved his cooking almost as much as you loved Eddie.

Almost.

You weren't okay, you were a mess. You needed sleep, you needed food, you needed to drink properly, you needed to take better care of yourself so then you could more effectively and efficiently manage your responsibilities and take better care of your mental health by way of being significantly less stressed. It was overwhelming and you wanted to give up before you had even started, but you had the Munsons to guide you through situations you got yourself into, whether they were or were not your fault, and they would do their best to help you no matter what it took. For you were a Munson, and Munsons never quit.

Even and especially when they most wanted to.

[italiansteebie]

He heard the news, and suddenly everything was moving 1,000 miles an hour. The only thing Steve could think about was Eddie. Was he scared? Did he run? What happened? And suddenly they’re in the boat house, poking around one minute, the next, a jagged piece of glass was pressed to his jugular.

“Steve?”

And then it was over, Eddie dropped the broken bottle and slumped against his chest, heaving sobs making their way out, body wracking as he cried. “Shhh, it’s okay, Eds.” He soothed, pointedly ignoring the confused glances from the rest of the group.

They sunk to the floor together, Steve caressing Eddie’s hair. “It’s okay, babe. Breathe, just breathe with me.” Eddie’s sobs stuttered to an end, “She broke in front of me, Steve, I- I knew you said this shit bad but, damn it, Steve.” His voice came out wrecked and broken. Steve sighed, “That’s exactly why I didn’t want you getting mixed up in this shit with me, Eds. I- I can’t lose you.”

Eddie reared back, “And you think I can lose you, Steve?! I can’t.”

“Ed-”

“No! I can’t. Okay?”

Eddie cradled Steve’s face, tear tracks drying and breath returning normal, Steve reached to wipe away a stray tear, tucking Eddie’s hair behind his ear. They were lost in the moment until Dustin broke the silence, “What the fuck.”

“Language.”

“Watch it, Henderson.”

Dustin eyed them, “Okay. Now I see where you guys get it. Weird. Um. Do you want to explain?” Dustin and Robin watched as they silently communicated, eyes flicking towards each other in confusion. “We-” They started in unison, giggling at each other before Steve continued. “We’re dating.” Dustin blanches and Robin looks like she’s about to pass out.

“You’re gay?”

“Bisexual,” is the unison response, “We- Uh. How’d you meet?” Dustin splutters, watching the blush spread across Steve’s face. Eddie grinned, “Stevie here got himself locked inside the mall last summer, and it was just his luck that I was there graffitiing the side of it and heard him crying. I was his white night.”

Steve scoffed, “I was NOT crying,”

“Pfft. Stevie, you were weepin’ like a baby, sweetheart.”

Dustin gags at the pet names, and Robin is just staring at them, starry eyed.

“So there’s… I’m not,” Steve smiles softly at her, “Yeah, Robs. You aren’t alone,” She gives a soft smile back before the lightbulb goes off. “Wait! That’s why you reacted so well to Tammy!” She’s spinning around, and suddenly there’s a finger in Steve’s face, “You had the NERVE to make fun of Tammy, when you're dating HIM?”

“Hey!”

“Shut up, Eddie. Does that mean- Does he know?”

Steve shrugs, “I didn’t have anywhere to go after the russians. I hadn’t told him yet but… The truth came out when his uncle Wayne was patching me up.” Robin’s gaze on Eddie turned thankful.

They were all caught up in a soft moment when the sirens of a cop car broke the peace, “Oh, fuck, I forgot I’m running from the cops.” Eddie says, a little shell shocked.

“Don’t worry, we can go back to my place,” Steve reassures, and never the serious, Eddie waggles his eyebrows at this, to which Dustin and Robin share simultaneous gags, and Steve pushes at his shoulder.

“What? Oh, yeah. Running from cops, don’t make jokes Edison.” He’s muttering to himself as they move to Steve’s car, ducking down and dodging suspicious eyes. Once in and buckled, Dustin gives a pointed look towards the metal head in the passenger seat.

“Edison?”

And the tense atmosphere lifted ever so slightly.

[heylookliisten]

listen i know christmas is so far away but had to get this thought out of my head before i lose it

imagine dating eddie for awhile, maybe a few months almost a year. while your relationship with him is growing stronger, you struggle to find out where you stand with wayne

wayne is aware of eddies reputation. he’s aware of the stares, the whispers, and the cruelty people have shown his nephew. he has spent countless hours defending the boy, being there for eddie when it all became too much, and being one of the few people to show him love. he’s very protective of eddie and frankly would do anything for him

when you come into the picture he can’t help but be weary. he’s seen eddie get excited about people before just for them to break his heart and leave him without a moments notice. while this has caused eddie to put up an emotional barrier, wayne sees how willing he is to tear that down for you

you always feel waynes lingering stare whenever you’re at the trailer. you’re not unaware of his caution. you notice how he questions your actions, questions your character, and you do what is best and are honest with him. waynes the type of person to spot bullshit a mile away and you don’t want to risk not earning his trust by not giving him the truth. while wayne can easily read you, it’s not the same the other way around. every hmm or stare leaves you wondering more and more if you’ll earn his approval

you’ve brought this up to eddie who tries to convince you that wayne does in fact trust you. says the man just gives a rough exterior that’s common amongst the munson family. his words don’t settle the doubt in your head which leads eddie to bring it up to wayne

the two men have a tense discussion. it goes back and forth of wayne repeating how he’s just looking out for him and eddie saying how maybe it’s wayne the one more afraid of him getting hurt. eddie tells his uncle how it’s different this time, how he loves you. wayne is quiet before nodding slightly and heading to work. even eddie couldn’t read his reaction and doesn’t bring it up again

weeks pass and christmas rolls around, eddie inviting you to spend it with him and wayne. you’re hesitant because you don’t want to intrude on their time together but eddie waves it off, saying you’re always welcomed in the munson home. you show up on christmas eve with a few presents and the promise of making breakfast in the morning

eddie and wayne normally keep things calm for the holiday, opting for one or two movies and some spiked hot chocolate before calling it a night. however, you bring more festivity and light to the holiday than wayne was expecting. you brought over gingerbread scented candles, festive blankets, two tins of cookies (one with overly decorated ones to appease eddies sweet tooth and one with simple sugar cookies because you remember wayne doesn’t like them too sweet), and a good quality vodka for the hot chocolate. wayne can’t help the small smile he hides behind his mug as he watches eddie look at you with pure joy

when the time to exchange presents comes, you were hesitant to give yours to wayne. it was something small, like specialty coffee or something, because eddie had told you he wasn’t big on gifts. he says thank you but then suddenly looks a little nervous. you’re expecting him to say he actually doesn’t like it but instead he reaches down and grabs a neatly wrapped box from under the tree. he hands it to you and it takes your brain a second to recognize that wayne munson, the man who has given you nothing but the cold shoulder, got you a christmas present. what you’re not expecting even more is to open the box and find a mug that’s hand decorated. you notice some small designs were in eddies style but there a few that you figured were in waynes. the older man clears his throat and points to the wall of mugs. there was now an open spot between his and eddies favorites. “you’re part of the family now so figured you deserved a place on the shelf.”

tears form in your eyes and you gently put the mug back in its box before rushing to give wayne a hug. he’s a little taken back but chuckles before wrapping his arms around you too. when you pull away you suddenly can’t find enough words to describe how much this means to you so you settle on a heartfelt thank you. waynes eyes drift to eddie who sits there with the softest smile. he thinks about all the times he’s seen you cause eddie to have that very smile, how you made him laugh, and how you were there for him no matter what. he realized eddie was right, maybe he was the one more scared. but now, he’s realized that you were maybe one of the best things to happen to him. he’s never seen eddie more happy and more loved than he is with you

wayne simply shakes his head, gives you a pat on the back before whispering “no, thank you”

[suspiciouslackofclowns]

What had started out as a casual meetup after school every now and again turned into… whatever this is.

Billy stares up at the ceiling. Blissed out, having been rewarded for doing the bulk of Eddie’s algebra two homework with a joint that was just shy of overstuffed. He would have helped regardless — he already has, actually, on multiple occasions. But Eddie insists.

The guy is hard to argue with. Especially when he flicks his lighter open and presses the butt of the joint to Billy’s lips himself.

Smoke is always sweeter on his tongue when it’s sucked through the tips of Eddie’s fingers.

Billy takes in the view from the bed. Studies the posters tacked to the walls and admires the guitar that hangs among them — Gina, he was informed was her name — Eddie’s favorite. He wishes that Gina would come down so Eddie could play her right about now. Fill the muggy air in the trailer with some vibrancy. Maybe wake Billy up a little bit.

He turns his head, looks at where Eddie lies next to him, and studies what he can see of his sleeping face from under his bangs. Head tucked safely into the crook of Billy’s shoulder.

The blond sighs. Elects to just card his fingers into Eddie’s hair, listens to him hum a happy sound under his breath.

Then there’s a knock at the door.

Every cell in Billy’s body lights up at once, the crackles of fireworks running up his spine as his brain starts screaming excuses. Apologies.

We were just studying, nothing happened, please don’t be mad—

The door gently cracks open and Wayne peaks his head in. He’s still clad in his work clothes, eyes tired, but offers a smile anyway. Billy remembers to breathe because he wasn’t before, and tries not to look like he just narrowly avoided a heart attack. He leaves his hand in Eddie’s hair.

“I’m gonna go out for a bit, do you want anything from the gas station?” Wayne asks quietly.

Billy feels— he melts into the mattress. Smiles.

“A pack ‘a reds,” he whispers. It almost comes out as a sigh, and he looks down at Eddie when an arm slings across his chest. A jean-clad thigh sliding between his thereafter. “And some Skittles for sleeping beauty.”

Wayne nods. Chuckles to himself as he pulls the door shut, leaving it open a handful of inches before he takes his leave.

Billy must stir too much when he rubs a hand over his face and huffs a relieved laugh, because Eddie shifts. Presses closer into Billy’s side and flattens his palm against his chest.

“Man, ruined my fuckin’ dream…” Eddie sighs.

“Sorry, critter.” Billy scratches softly at the brunet’s scalp and coaxes a pleased puff of air out of him. “Go back to sleep.”

Never in his life has Billy been so gentle with someone before. Sometimes it catches him off-guard, the way his voice is smooth and almost a coo when it comes out.

“Nah, I’m up,” Eddie yawns. “Dick.”

Billy snorts at that. Watches as Eddie sits up and stretches his arms above his head.

Maybe it’s a little white lie that he’s been telling himself, that he doesn’t know how to be soft. Billy feels something warm deep in his chest when he watches Eddie try his hardest to understand his homework, when he hears him play Gina like he was born knowing how to make her sing just right. But he’s noticed that the softness has started to trickle into other aspects of his life as well.

To other people.

Car rides with Max aren’t as tense as they used to be. She sometimes has her Walkman while Billy surfs the radio stations, and sometimes she slides one of her tapes into the stereo so they can both listen. Sometimes she steals one of his, and Metallica or Ratt blares from her headphones as she skates to class.

People in the hallways at school seem… less skittish, when he walks down the lines of lockers. Less afraid.

He’s not sure when it happened, the breach of softness, but he knows that it was somewhere between when he started joining the Hellfire table at lunch and when he quit the basketball team. Around the same time that he stopped picking on Steve Harrington and began to actually join Max at the arcade rather than just drop her off.

It all gets muddled together in his memory.

“Do you wanna stay over here for the night?” Eddie asks, pulling Billy from his thoughts.

“Thought that was implied.”

Billy smirks, and Eddie tsks at him.

“Yeah, but I just wanna skip over the part where you pretend like you wanna go home and I have to convince you to stay.” The brunet skims over the papers and notebooks scattered all over the bed, pulls a hair tie from around his wrist and ties his hair back into a bun. “My uncle thinks we oughta get a spare bed and move your shit over here as it is. He’s mentioned it more than once.”

“I can’t just… move in.”

“You’re eighteen years old, you can do whatever the hell you want.”

“That’s not what I mean.”

Eddie shoots him a look over his shoulder, eyebrows raised comically high. Then he slaps his books shut and shoves them onto the floor along with all of the papers, crawling over Billy and straddling his hips.

“Spit it out, big red,” he prods.

Silky. Sweet, like when he sells to the preppy cheerleaders and kicks the charm up to the highest notch.

Billy huffs. Crosses his arms over his chest and averts his eyes, ignoring the weight on his abdomen as Eddie shifts up. Sits right on his belt buckle and fusses with the lining of Billy’s shirt.

The closeness was hard to get used to for the longest time. Eddie has no regards for personal space, constantly finds excuses to sit too close or keep his hands busy on some part of Billy at all times. But now it’s welcomed. Appreciated, even.

A warmth rises to Billy’s cheeks as he thinks about just how much he likes when Eddie gets clingy.

His eyes flick back to the brunet when he hears a little snap. Then he scoffs.

“Quit biting your nails, Munson,” he tuts.

Eddie pauses. Brings his thumb away from his mouth and lets Billy examine his hands. Sure enough, his nails are just a hair too long, and he looks on as Billy reaches over to the night stand for the nail clippers.

“Habit,” he says.

“I know.”

It’s quiet for a little while. Billy focuses on the task of clipping his nails for him, thinking absently about how he would never have done this a few months ago. But Eddie doesn’t like to do it himself, always complains about accidentally going too short or giving himself hang nails, so… Billy doesn’t mind. Especially when it helps him keep his fingers out of his mouth.

“So, you’re spending the night?” Eddie asks.

He admires his nails once Billy finishes and dumps the clippings into the little trash can next to the bed. Playfully flips him the bird and earns a smile.

“Mm.”

“You gonna sleep in here this time?” A finger traces lightly against his exposed sternum. “I’m getting kinda tired of making up the couch like I’m your maid or something.”

Billy sighs. Rests his palms against Eddie’s thighs. Squeezes softly.

“I don’t mind setting the couch up.”

“C’mon, Hargrove, just stay. My uncle doesn’t give a shit and he works the night shift anyways, so he won’t even be here.”

He wants to say yes. He really does. But something in his mind is kicking and screaming at the thought — it’s one thing to study in another guy’s bed, to use that as an excuse for any physical contact that happens thereafter, but sleeping? That’s too vulnerable. Too intimate.

The excuses start coming in droves, flooding his mind, but he doesn’t get to use any of them because the front door opens.

Then there’s a polite knock on the doorframe.

“Can you boys fend for yourselves for dinner?” Wayne asks.

He peaks into the room, plastic bag in-hand, and Eddie merely glances over his shoulder at him. Doesn’t move from the compromising position.

“Yup.”

Wayne nods. Steps further into the room and reaches into his bag, unearthing a pack of cigarettes and a bag of skittles, which Eddie takes.

“Stay outta trouble. I’ll see you in the morning, and Edd, make sure you get that homework done before Monday.”

“Will do, pops.”

Eddie claps a hand on his arm, which earns a smile before Wayne takes his leave. The door is cracked a few inches once again and Eddie, as if making a point, slaps the pack of cigs down on Billy’s chest. Smirking maniacally.

He flattens his hand against Billy’s abdomen, pushes his fingers beneath the open folds of his shirt.

“C’mon,” he coaxes. Squeezes Billy between his thighs. “Stay with me.”

And that’s it. Billy Hargrove has officially gone soft. Whatever this is, he’s glad to have it, because the weight on his hips is one of the closest things he’s felt to home since moving to Hawkins.

Second only to the plush press of lips against his.

[estrellami-1]

Soft Touch Baby

Pt 1 | Pt 2 | Pt 3 | Pt 4 | Pt 5 | Pt 6 | Pt 7 | Pt 8 | Pt 9 | Pt 10 | Pt 11 | Pt 12 | Pt 13 | Pt 14 | Pt 15 | Pt 16 | Eddie’s POV | Song | ao3

(Ok so this one is like, twice the size of the others, so be warned 😂 but we’re finished! That is… if there’s nothing else y’all want to see. Let me know!)

Eddie is fucking insatiable. Ever since that night, he’s been all over Steve.

Steve fucking loves it.

He loves how Eddie’s first reflex is to grab his hand when they get in the car. He loves Eddie’s fingers drumming over Steve’s thigh to the beat of the song as he drives. He loves the kisses to his hands, his knuckles, his cheeks and temples and nose.

He even loves the bites.

They’re sitting on the couch the first time it happens. Steve’s all but sitting in Eddie’s lap as they watch a movie. He knows Eddie’s watching him more than the movie. He’s maybe more okay with it than he should be.

Suddenly Eddie turns, leans down, and gently bites Steve’s shoulder. Steve jumps, already laughing as he turns to ask, “The hell was that?”

Eddie just shrugs. Doesn’t look even vaguely repentant. “You’re very biteable.”

Steve blinks. “Biteable.”

“Yeah.”

Steve blinks again, then starts laughing, leaning in to rest his head on Eddie’s shoulder. “You’re so fucking weird.” It sounds like I love you.

Eddie just grins. “Says the one dating the freak.” It sounds like I love you too.

After that, Eddie bites him all the time. Never hard, never enough to leave a mark (at least, not where it would be visible), but all the time.

A small chomp on his cheek when he passes by, just because he can. A nip at Steve’s finger when he’s teasing, poking at Eddie’s face or hair. His earlobe when he comes up behind Steve as he’s cooking or doing the dishes, threading his hands around Steve’s waist. A scrape of teeth on the tip of Steve’s nose, just to make him smile.

Steve loves it. Loves him. Loves how insufferable they’ve become to their friends (and, admittedly, they do play it up a bit, but the kids deserve it).

They tell Wayne, who of course clocked it before they did. He’s nothing but supportive, especially after he hears how them sleeping together (“Just sleeping, I swear.” “Well…” “Eds, you’re not helping right now.”) helps with the nightmares.

Robin is nothing but supportive, of course, “As long as I’m still your best friend.”

“Of course you are, Robs,” Steve says.

Eddie grins. “I know I can’t fight for that position. It’s all yours, Birdie.”

Surprisingly enough, what Steve might love most are the nicknames. Eddie has nicknames for everyone, of course, but Steve gets a little thrill from hearing his.

There’s Stevie, of course. Basically a classic at this point. There’s honey, babe, baby. But the one he really likes, the one Eddie knows is his favorite, is sunshine.

It gets to the point Eddie calls him Steve one day, and they both freeze because of how wrong it feels. “Stevie,” he corrects. “Baby. Sunshine.”

“Shut up,” Steve grouses, but he’s smiling, wide and unrepentant.

Stevie is an everyday type of nickname, one that Steve answers to more than his actual name at this point. Honey is sweet, and it always gives Steve a little thrill because it sounds like the type of pet name an old married couple would use. Babe is more sarcastic, more teasing, but still loving. Baby is more serious; whispered into shoulders when one of them wakes with a start, or into hair when one of them starts to doze off on the couch.

Sunshine is special, and Steve can’t quite clock what about it is so different, but it is. It sets his heart to fluttering, and he can’t help the shy grin pulling at the corners of his mouth. His fingers twitch in Eddie’s direction every time, and damn that man, he knows what he does to Steve.

Steve fucking loves it.

There are nights they try to spend apart, because they’re at least self-aware enough to know they probably shouldn’t be so codependent. At least not yet. So they try, and sometimes it works, but never for more than a few nights. It just feels wrong, without the other there, they don’t sleep as well, and as soon as Eddie’s wrapping his arms around Steve in one of their beds after some such period, he’s sighing into the back of Steve’s neck, squeezing slightly before relaxing and humming, “Hey, Sunshine.”

Steve’s fingers dig into the back of Eddie’s hands. “Hi.” He wiggles back until they’re pressed together as tight as they can be. Knows Eddie wants it, but will never take the initiative. “Missed you.”

A laugh ghosts over the back of his neck, followed by a kiss. “Missed you too.”

The day after one such period, Wayne calls Steve and Eddie for a meeting. “I’m not one to beat around the bush, so I’m just gonna say it. And you know I’m not the best with emotion, so don’t toy with me, boy,” he threatens, pointing a finger at Eddie, who nods. “Good. You two are it for each other. I dunno if what I can’t ask about means soulmates are real or some shit, but even if not, you two are the real deal. Now, you’ll always be my boy, Eddie. But you’re growing up. Hell, you’re grown. I think it’s time you two had a serious sit-down and figured out what the hell you want from each other.”

Because Eddie’s smart, his brows furrow. “Are- are you kicking me out?”

Wayne sees Steve stiffen slightly, sees him reach over for Eddie’s hand. Sees Eddie let him. “Hell no, boy, you’ve gotta home here for as long as you want it, and I’d even invite your boy to move in if we had the room. But we don’t. Hence the conversation that you need to have.”

Steve turns to Eddie. “Remind me to never introduce him and Robin.”

“Oh God,” Eddie says, and laughs.

They talk—a lot—and come to the same conclusion Wayne had. Eddie moves in properly a few days later, walks in with the key he’d accidentally pocketed the night it all changed. They convert a bedroom into a music room for Eddie, all hard surfaces to write on and soft rugs and bean-bag chairs to collapse on.

Eddie attempts dinner that night and almost kills Steve. “Lies. Lies and slander.”

Steve’s still giggling, even as he’s leaning in for a kiss. “Death by laugher is still death, babe.”

“It’s not funny!”

“It really, really is.”

“It was supposed to be spaghetti!”

“Oh my god,” Steve says, and bursts into laughter again. “We’re ordering pizza tonight. Tomorrow we’ll cook together.”

Eddie sheepishly pulls their Important Phone Numbers Book out, flips to the name of their typical pizzeria. Hands Steve the phone, already ringing, as he turns to wash the dishes.

He pauses, hands sudsy, Steve behind him on the phone trying to fix whatever the fuck he did, light and happy and laughter-filled, and he just has to pause, has to turn around and stare at Steve until he hangs up. “What?”

He wants to say I know you. Wants to say I know how to help when you get a migraine, have a nightmare, have a bad day. I know you. And you know me, know how I think, why I act the way I do, and this is the most vulnerable I’ve ever been with anyone and it should scare me but doesn’t.

Instead he says, “Nothing,” shrugs, then smiles, and he’s sure all his love is pouring from his eyes. Sure Steve can read everything he didn’t say. “Just love you, is all. And I still can’t really believe this is real.”

Steve smiles, moves to press their foreheads together, moves to steal a quick kiss. “I love you too. And this is real. I swear.” It’s a big thing, Eddie hears. But it’s just us.

And with the unsaid echoing between them, Eddie turns back to the sink.

Eddie’s POV

Taglist:

@thegingervulcan @snapshotmaestro @the-redthread @tiny-enthusiast @thatonepotatochild @maya-custodios-dionach @imsociallyanxiousgetoverit @vhelt @newtstabber @huskysarelife @singmeyoursimpsong @gaysonthefloor @darkwitchoferie @vi-an-te @kato-hoeven @biatcgh @vampireinthesun @goodolefashionedloverboi @awesomeimportantfan @oreos-ate-my-balls @theotalksalot @raysreads

[muertawrites]

stop writing fics about hiding eddie from loved ones.

if eddie munson were railing me on a regular and exclusive basis and he asked to meet my family / friends i'd roll up like "what's up sluts look at this literal angel i found in the dumpster behind del taco"

i would be the will smith meme i just think he's so nice and cool

[seidenbros]

Should I Stay or Should I Go

Requests are open | prompt lists for inspiration | Stranger Things Masterlist

Summary: You grew up with Eddie Munson, you were best friends, had even become a couple at 15 years, when you had to move away from Hawkins with your family. Eddie had given you a promise with a ring, that you'd one day marry. Only that after you'd left the next day, neither of you had been able to reach out to the other one - his number had changed, but you'd left him a letter with your address. Nothing ever came in the mail. Still, now five years later, you come back to Hawkins to see him again, find out what happened and more than anything: Make your best friend a part of your life again. But does he even want that?

Pairing: Eddie Munson x fem!Reader

Word count: 5k something

Warning/Tags: fluff and angst (honestly this got angstier than I initially wanted to), reunion, D&D references, Wayne Munson being the best person on this planet, hurt/comfort (a little at least), soft and hurt Eddie (let me know if I missed anything)

Author's note: This is a follow up to Promises (I named that series Promises now as well, not very creative I know), but I don't think you need to have read that to understand this part. Everything you need to know is either in the summar or explained in the text (but if you want to read teenage/kid Eddie, that's what's described in Promises). This takes place shortly before season 4 starts and all hell breaks loose.

On AO3

Part 1: Promises | Part 2: Should I Stay or Should I Go | Part 3: Rainbow in the Dark | Part 4: Holy Diver | Part 5: Bat out of Hell | Don't You (Forget About Me)

‘86 Baby!

Setting foot into Hawkins felt… strange. In a good way. You’d missed this town, had missed everything you’d experienced here, the people you’d called your friends, your old house, just everything. But you’d built a life for yourself in NYC, not that you’d really had a different choice in the beginning. You could have left after your graduation, but you hadn’t. All these years you hadn’t heard a word from Eddie, and yes, you’d held out hope that he might eventually reach out - and you would have welcomed him back into your life straight away. But he’d never done that.

Your parents had brought up Juilliard again after your graduation and to shut them up, you’d even applied, sure that you wouldn’t get a spot, but you did. Your guitar-playing was great, but they were more impressed with your voice, and especially the kind of music you were singing. It wasn’t often that they got someone in front of them who was singing rock music instead of something more… classic.

It was a big surprise for you, and your parents were overjoyed.They didn’t need to worry about your sister, your brother had been drafted by the New York Rangers and was getting his hockey career under way, while you could make music. Only that it was bittersweet for you. While you still enjoyed listening to and making music, because you couldn’t live without it, you always connected it with Eddie. All the songs you wrote were songs that you wanted him to hear, wanted his opinion on, because you worked best together.

Nothing you’d written alone felt like anything you’d done together. It wasn’t complete. Nobody really understood what you were saying, because your songs were good, brilliant even, but you didn’t think so. Sure, you were your own biggest critic on the one hand, but music simply wasn’t the same without him, without the boy who’d once promised to marry you one day.

You still wore the ring on your hand, twisted and turned it around your finger, because you were nervous. You’d told your parents that you needed a break, that you had to get out, because you didn’t know if Juilliard really was the right thing for you. It was like you’d lost a part of yourself and you needed to find that again.

“In Hawkins?” your father had said, incredulous about your decision. But your mother had understood you. She knew what or rather who you were missing, and more than Eddie as a boyfriend, you missed him as your best friend, because in NYC you’d never opened up to anyone as much as you’d opened up to him, had kept your heart behind bars. Maybe because you were scared to be hurt and left alone again, maybe because you simply didn’t want anyone else to replace Eddie - not that that could ever happen.

You still had family in Hawkins, your great aunt for example, who’d prepared the guest house for you. That way you still had your privacy and could even play guitar without disturbing anyone. It was good to see her again, to catch up, but after the long ride, you were tired and needed some sleep. Only that you couldn’t really fall asleep, because you were thinking about so much all at once.

For a while, you paced around the living room, before you made yourself another cup of tea and sat by the window looking out over the streets illuminated by the streetlights. You knew exactly why you weren’t able to sleep, your thoughts centering around Eddie. Hell, you didn’t even know if he was still here, if he still lived in Hawkins or had left to go to university, maybe even make music somewhere with his band.

There was only one way to find out for you.

_______

The next morning, you took a long hot shower before you got dressed. You told your great-aunt Tess where you were going just so that she wouldn’t worry. Even if Eddie didn’t live here anymore, you were pretty sure that Wayne would still be living in his trailer. He’d always loved it out there, because it was his trailer. He’d made a home out of it, and you’d always felt at home there as well, welcome.

If he was still working the night shifts at the plant, he would be coming home in about half an hour, so you got in your old Camaro and drove out to the trailer park. It still looked pretty much the same - at least Wayne’s trailer did, so you got a sudden feeling of nostalgia that hit you right in the chest as you got out of your car.

Slowly, you walked up to the door. There was still that wood sign Eddie and you had made when you were eleven years old. It happened under Wayne’s supervision, because you were carving the name Munson into the wood. Beneath that were Wayne’s and Eddie’s names as well as your initials. The memory made you smile. God, that was nearly ten years ago… So much time had passed.

“Can I help you?” you heard a low voice behind you, making you turn on your heels. He hadn’t changed. Wayne still looked the same like he’d done five years ago, only a little… more worn out, tired, which was probably not surprising considering that he’d just gotten home from work.

“Yeah,” you said with a smile walking up to Wayne, whose brows were knit together, trying to figure out if he knew you or not. “I was wondering if you could teach me how to fish again. I think I’ve gotten a little rusty in the last five years.” Wayne had taken the two of you out on a fishing trip, neither of you really excited in the beginning, but you’d soon learned that it was a lot of fun to just be out there with him and listen to his stories while you tried to catch some fish.

“Y/N?” He dropped his bag and immediately wrapped you up in his arms, making you giggle.

He’d always liked you, especially since you’d taken such good care of Eddie when he’d needed it the most. He hugged you a little too tight, but you didn’t complain, because it felt good, like home. When he finally let go of you, he held you at arm’s length and studied you.

“The hair is different,” he said with a laugh. It wasn’t just the hair, but so much had changed in five years, and you both knew it.

“So is yours!”

“Yeah… Getting old does that to you. Raising a kid as well.” A laugh escaped his lips before he shook his head. “I never thought I’d see you here again.”

The mood suddenly changed. It had been so lighthearted before, but now, it became a little deeper.

“Hawkins is home…” You swallowed the lump in your throat, because you didn’t want to start crying right in front of him. Of course you would have come back sooner, would have visited, but the lack of communication had kept you away, because you had been pretty sure that Eddie hadn't wanted to see you. “I always wanted to come back, it was just…” You licked your lips, trying to find the right words but couldn’t

“Eddie’s at school,” Wayne suddenly said, figuring that you wouldn’t be able to finish your sentence. You didn’t need to, didn’t have to explain it to him.

“School?” Now, that was rather surprising. Sure, you’d taken into consideration that he might still live in Hawkins - actually, you’d hoped that he’d still be here - but that Wayne brought up school was a little surprising. “So he stayed here?”

Wayne hesitated for a moment, scratched the back of his neck before he answered. “He’s having a meeting with his Hellfire Club as far as I know.”

“He’s still running that?” A smile spread across your lips, because he’d always loved planning his campaigns, playing D&D with his friends. You’d never really played yourself, but you’d helped Eddie with his campaigns, had been the one to bounce ideas off, if there had been too much going on in his head.

“Yeah, still loves it.” The rest was up to Eddie. He’d have to tell you what he’d been up to the last couple of years. “You’ll catch him in the usual room after school.”

“Thanks, Wayne. Now, get some sleep.”

“Will do, Ma’am,” he said with a laugh, but pulled you close once more to tell you: “Glad you’re back.”

_________

You still had some time before school was finished, and since Wayne hadn’t told you where you could find Eddie before that, you went into town to get some shopping done. Right now, you didn’t know how long you’d be staying, if it was just for a couple of days or maybe even… forever. All that depended a little on your interaction with Eddie. Still, you wanted to make the guest house a little more… your own and bought a couple of things as well as groceries to stack the fridge. When it was time, you drove to the school and parked in the parking lot. A couple of people were already filing out, while you got out of the car to enter the building.

The closer you got to the door, the more nauseous you felt, excitement mixed with worry putting you on edge. Five years and you hadn’t heard a single word from him, but now, you’d finally see him again. You were a little worried how he’d react, if he’d even recognise you, but you had to try, right? After all, he was the main reason why you were here.

The people running through the halls weren’t familiar, but your surroundings were. You could already see that the door was wide open, which made you slow your steps. You didn’t know whether he was already there or not, but you had to mentally prepare yourself for finally seeing him again, talking to him. Telling yourself that you could do that, you took a deep breath and walked up to the room. There was no backing out anymore, you just wished right now, you would have come here sooner, wouldn’t have let five years pass.

Quietly, you slipped inside the room, pretty sure that whoever was here would hear your heart beating out of your chest. There was only one person, and while the long hair confused you for a moment, you knew that it was Eddie. The same posture, the rings on his hands, the clothes… and especially those deep brown eyes that suddenly looked up at you and made it hard for you to breathe.

For a moment, you both simply looked at each other, taking the other one in. You were still standing by the door, while Eddie’s movement had stopped completely, the table in front of him not completely set up for their meeting.

“Y/N?” he eventually choked out, life returning to his limbs. He dropped what he’d still been holding on the table and took a tentative step towards you. Was he dreaming? Or were you really standing there? Well, it wouldn’t be the first time - not the last as well - that you appeared in his dreams, haunting him and showing him just what he was missing in his life.

“Eddie…” You took a step towards him as well. It was a miracle that you were still standing, because you were quite sure that your heart had given in. The tension in the air was almost palpable, keeping you rooted in place, because you were still not sure whether he even wanted to see you or not.

“Fuck it,” was all you heard from him, though, before he closed the distance and engulfed you in his arms. One arm wrapped around your middle, the other hand at the back of your neck, fingers already tangling in your hair to hold you as close to his body as possible, as if he might lose you again if he didn’t hold on.

Your eyes closed on their own accord and for the second time today, you had to swallow the big lump in your throat to keep yourself from crying. You knew that you wouldn’t be alone for long, and there would be questions about you one way or another, so you wanted to dodge the questions about why you were crying.

Inhaling his scent that was different now, but still in a way the same, you felt at home. For the first time in… you didn’t know how long, you felt at home, because home had always been with him, more than it was Hawkins itself.

Eddie could feel your heart beating rapidly against your chest. His heart was doing the same. He still couldn’t believe that you were really here. After years of not hearing from you, not reading even one word, he’d pretty much given up on ever seeing you again. But here you were, melting into his arms, and his emotions were all over the place. There was pain, a bit of anger, but those were currently overpowered by joy. He was sure that they would bubble up again at a later date, but for now, he was just happy to see you again.

“I can’t believe you’re really here,” he whispered into your hair, not ready to let go of you right now. He needed to memorise this moment. His fingertips brushed the back of your neck, down your spine until they landed at the small of your back. He inhaled your scent once more, before he slowly pulled back. The smile on his lips mirrored your own, because you still couldn’t quite believe it, that you were really here, in front of him, in his arms.

“Had to make sure you haven’t married anyone else yet,” you said with a laugh, feeling more at ease right now that he’d pulled you into his arms instead of pushing you away like you’d feared he might do.

“I’d never do that.” He slowly took a step back, but let his hands run along your arms so that he could take your hands in his. “You know that my heart belongs to you, you even got that on paper.” Eddie grinned at you, expertly hiding the pain that was coursing through his heart at mentioning this. Yes, he’d given you his heart, but you’d moved on not even a year after you'd left Hawkins, hadn’t you? At least that had been his impression.

You still had your piece of paper, tucked away in your edition of Tolkien’s The Hobbit, because it was a book you’d read over and over. Eddie mentioning this made your stomach flip, which made it hard for you to fight the urge to wrap your arms around his neck and just pull him in for a kiss. Something told you, though, that this wasn’t the right time or the right moment - and a tiny voice told you that it might never happen again. So much time had passed, and you had no idea what he was doing with his life. Did he have someone he loved, and had just said these words only because you wanted to hear them? You’d been kids, so it was understandable if he’d moved on, wasn’t holding your promise as dear to his heart as you were.

“We interrupting something?”

A strangely familiar voice made you turn around and face the guys that had appeared in the doorway. For a moment you stared at them, before you realised who they were - or at least two of them.

“Gareth? Jeff?” you asked with a laugh. They were two years younger than Eddie and you, but he’d been playing in a band with them even before you’d left. It wasn’t easy to find someone in Hawkins who played the same music as Eddie (and you), so these guys had found each other. It delighted you that they were still playing D&D together, and hopefully making music as well.

“No way!” Jeff exclaimed, immediately recognising you. Eddie stepped back to let the other two hug you, your own reunion interrupted right now. There was so much to say, so much to ask, and for the first time, Eddie was really reluctant to hold that Hellfire Club meeting. He’d much rather spend his time with you and catch up.

There were three other guys still looking from you to Eddie and back, clearly curious about who you were and why you’d been so close with their Dungeon Master.

“Care to fill us in?” One of them said, crossing his arms over his chest, dark waves of hair framing his face. Two of them were wearing their club shirts, the other looked like he’d just gotten here from basketball practice.

“This is y/n!” It was Gareth who filled them in, before Eddie even had a chance to open his mouth. You saw the three guys exchange glances, before they looked back at you.

“And these are Dustin, Mike and Lucas,” Eddie introduced them now as well. “Three little lost sheep that found their place in our little group.”

“Nice to meet you,” you said with a big grin on your lips, happy that Eddie was still enjoying the things he’d already enjoyed before you’d left. D&D had always been such a big hobby next to playing the guitar, though you knew better than to call it a hobby in his presence.

“Oh, it’s a pleasure to meet you! We’ve heard so much about you.” Dustin took a step forward, as if he needed to take a closer look to make sure that you were real. “We were always curious about the girl who bro-”

“Shut it, Henderson!” Eddie admonished, a glint in his eye that Dustin rarely saw. Now, Eddie really didn’t want them to tell you that you’d broken his heart, that he’d never really opened it for anyone else, except these friends he’d made. He’d told them stories about you, about your friendship, how you’d pretty much saved him when he’d been so afraid in his own home, but also about the time you’d moved away and despite the promises had never given him your new address or gotten in touch with him. He’d even told them about the time he’d skipped school to travel to NYC to find you, to talk to you. Memories that weighed heavy on his heart, but that he pushed aside right now, because he didn’t want to ruin the moment.

“So…” Eddie spoke up again, scratching the back of his neck as he felt all eyes on him again. “I’d love to catch up, but this is kind of an important meeting.”

“When is it not?” you asked with a soft smile, because you knew. You knew him, you knew his passion for the game, and you were glad that nothing had changed. “I don’t want to interrupt or anything.”

“Why don’t you sit in and watch? It’s not like you don’t have a clue about what’s happening.” The look on Eddie’s face softened. While he’d rather have you all to himself - and his friends not asking any questions about you or telling you things that he didn’t want you to hear - he didn’t want to let you go right now, afraid that you’d just vanish on him again.

“If that’s alright with you?” The others nodded, excited to have someone new around, even though you weren’t playing. But Eddie had told them that you’d helped him back in the day, and he still held some of your ideas close to his heart, made them part of the game here and there.

You’d done that years ago as well, just this once, but it had been so much fun to watch them, to see their excitement, and today was no different. You pulled up a chair at the end of the table where you weren’t in the way but could see everything.

Seeing Eddie on that throne was something new, but it suited him. Like it had been made for him, and nobody else dared to touch it. Eddie was completely in his element, telling his story, wrapping the other around his finger.

It was better than watching a movie for you, because their mutual excitement even got you to pay close attention, your fingers itching to be a part of all of this. For now, you were watching, and you enjoyed every second of it.

Once they were done, you got to talk to the guys for a moment, who wanted to hear what you thought about today, whether you were playing yourself by now, which you had to deny. You could have picked it up, but it was something you’d always connect with Eddie, and if anyone were to teach you, it should probably be him. Instead of telling them that, though, you said that you hadn’t really gotten the chance in NYC. Nor did you have the time after school, because… well, Juilliard was very time-consuming.

“Will you join us again?” Dustin asked, obviously excited about you being here, which was just adorable. You could see why Eddie liked hanging out with these guys.

“Maybe. If your Dungeon Master allows me to join again?” Your eyes found Eddie’s, and you couldn’t deny the fact that your heart started racing again when you saw the corners of his lips twitch up just a tiny bit.

“I would never deny a fair maiden entry to our club.” Eddie made a grant gesture with his hands to which you chuckled.

“Great! We’ll be here next week on Monday.” Dustin nodded at you, the happiness pretty much radiating off of him, before he waved and left the room along with the others.

Now, it was just Eddie and you again, and the air in the room shifted immediately. It was one thing to be with him among the others, but a completely different one now that you were alone again.

“It’s great to see you still play with so much enthusiasm, so much joy. I didn’t think you’d continue after you graduated.” You walked up to him, your eyes fixed on the table. You were glad that he hadn’t given up on the club, because he’d always enjoyed it so much.

“Yeah, I thought so, too. Still do if I’m being honest.” Eddie was seated on the armchair of his throne, feet planted on the seat. His eyes never left you, even though right now, he’d much rather run away than tell you why he was really still here, still running the club.

“What do you mean?” You drew your brows together in confusion, not really following what he was saying. Your fingers grazed the table when you came to a halt next to his throne.

“Technically… I haven’t graduated yet.”

That made your head snap up, your eyes on him now. Was he being serious?

“What?”

“You heard me. I haven’t graduated yet. But this year… this is gonna be my year. I can feel it.” The determination in his voice made you believe him, but it still begged the question why he hadn’t been able to graduate sooner. He was a clever guy, he just had trouble focusing now and then.

“How? What happened?” You reached out your hand for him, but he got up and started pacing around, arms crossed over his chest now, making sure that you didn’t come too close right now.

His emotions were all over the place again once you were alone. Fuck, he wanted to hug you, but at the same time, he wanted to ask you so many things, wanted to hurt you just as much as you’d hurt him without really realising it. Eddie uncrossed his arms again, started fiddling with the band of his watch, before his fingers moved to the one ring he’d never taken off. The simple silver ring that had your name engraved on the inside. He’d swapped a lot of his rings now and then, even changed them up daily, but that one… that one was always on his finger, even when he went to bed.

“You left,” he eventually said, not able to look at you. It wasn’t fair to blame you, and he hadn’t really wanted to say it like that, but right now, he was just so overwhelmed with this situation, with you, that he spoke without thinking things through. 

You were at a loss for words, felt like he’d put a dagger right in your heart. He sounded more defeated than angry, but it still made you take a step back.

“I didn’t have a choice, Eddie,” you managed to say. You’d left, alright, but he couldn’t really blame that on you, could he.

“I know… But you could have come back. Guess your new guy kept you from thinking about me.” There it was, the anger that his previous words had lacked. He pretty much spat them at you, finally able to look you in the eye again. Oh, you’d seen him angry, you’d seen him sad, and this was a mixture between these two emotions. Still, you had no idea what he was talking about.

“What guy are you talking about?” This was ridiculous, there hadn’t been any guy in your life up until you’d graduated, and by then you’d been pretty sure that Eddie would never get in touch with you (except for that tiny part that had still held out hope).

“Forget it, y/n!” No, he really didn’t want to talk about it, admit to you that he’d come after you only to see you in the arms of some other guy who’d made you laugh the way he’d used to do. That deep belly laugh that not everybody got to hear. 

“Jesus Christ, I have no idea what you mean! You were the one who never sent me a letter!”

“Oh, but you wrote me one?” You were both getting louder by now, staring at each other. This was not what you’d planned, not what you wanted. You had to admit that he did kind of have a point there, but you’d been too proud to do that after not hearing anything from him. You’d written everything down, all your emotions, how much you loved him in that goddamn letter that you’d placed in front of his door, and he’d never reacted to that.

“Thought so…” he said, turning around, so that you couldn’t see the hurt in his eyes.

“Did you even read the letter I left you?” you asked his back, the pain in your heart nearly unbearable.

“What?” What were you talking about? What letter? All of that didn’t make sense to him. He’d never gotten a letter from you. The last time he’d seen or heard from you had been the night before you’d left Hawkins.

“Nothing,” you said with a sigh, figuring that he hadn’t understood what you’d said at all, because you’d been too quiet. Your reunion had started out so well, and now it was turning to complete and utter shit.

“Do you understand that I came back here because of you?” You couldn’t keep that in, though you had an inkling that he already knew that. Why else would you have come back when most of your family wasn’t living here?

“Bit late for that.” He looked down at his own hands, at the ring that connected you. Had you kept yours? Maybe, but he couldn’t imagine that you were still wearing it. Sure, he’d seen a ring on your hand, but he hadn’t paid close enough attention to figure out what kind of ring it was. “You moved on, I get it.” That realisation made him think of his time as a kid, before you’d gotten him out of his parents’ house, where he’d just been… there, where nobody had really taken care of him. Memories he always tried to push away, but that crept up on him when he least expected or needed it.

“Fine… there’s no sense in staying then.” An exasperated sigh escaped your lips as you turned around. You focused on your anger right now, because you knew that you’d start crying otherwise. You’d come back for him, to check up on him, hopefully become a part of your best friend’s life again and he was pushing you away.

“You’re staying?” He suddenly turned around to look at you, realising that he’d gone a little overboard with his reaction. Yes, he was hurt, but he’d missed you so much that he couldn’t let you go again. Not yet at least.

“That depends on you.” You stopped, crossed your arms beneath your breasts and turned to look at him once more. “Should I stay or should I go, Munson?”

The song reference made him smile to himself. There had been days where you’d thrown song titles at each other in a conversation, because they’d fit so well. Seeing you do that now made all those memories bubble up.

“Stay.” Eddie took a deep breath.

You left him hanging there for a moment, showed no emotion, no reaction at all, but then you caved and nodded.

“Alright… I’m staying at my great aunt Tess’ for now... in her guest house.”

“Okay.” Eddie raised his right hand, picked at the skin on his bottom lip, before he managed a tiny smile. “Maybe we can… grab a bite to eat and talk.”

“Sure…” You turned around again to leave, making Eddie move and catch up with you.

“Where ya going?”

“Home?” Well, as much as the guest house was your home. In reality, being close to him, being at his and Wayne’s trailer had given you a feeling of home, but right now, you needed to be alone, collect your thoughts. “I think we both could use some fresh air.” Your argument had gotten way more heated than you could have expected, leaving you raw and in need of a good cry before you were able to talk to him again.

“You got a point there.” He knew that he shouldn’t have reacted the way he had, but there was not going back and changing that now.

“You know where to find me, Eddie.” You tried to smile, but your heart was still beating painfully in your chest, making it a little harder to breathe. You needed some time alone, some time to think. After all, you’d made the first step now, had come all the way from NYC. Now, it was really up to him…

Tag list: @violetpenguinkris @tellhound @ghosttownwherenoonegoes @spideyanakin-interacts @hardysbitch @angelzone @neverending-dreamm @bellamy-barnes @mygreygreenery @hanahisawizard

Let me know if you want to be tagged for this series, or Eddie stuff in general 💚

[flawiette]

Someone special

Pairing: Eddie Munson x reader

Summary: When Christmas arrives and everything goes wrong, what’s left?

Warnings: none!

Credit to @eddieandbird for the note idea <33 I adore her page and that’s what gave me the inspiration for the little one you’ll see here! Go check her profile!!

Christmas wasn’t happening this year.

If there was one tradition the Munsons keep up is celebrating Christmas, no questions asked.

Wayne would work his ass off to be home both on the 24th and 25th, working shifts over shifts.

They didn’t have any decoration apart from some fairy lights Eddie would hang onto the livi room’s walls and a small Christmas tree him and Wayne bought the first year he was taken in him by his uncle.

But that was all it took for them, just enjoying each other presence, no amount of tiredness, lack of money or pain could access them as they’d sit on the couch close to one another drinking hot cocoa while watching a Christmas movie.

Therefore when Eddie met you, he immediately knew you were special, and as time went on he had no doubt in his heart on how your should be a permanent presence is his life.

That’s why he was so mortified.

It was you guys’s first Christmas together after meeting 6 months prior and living a real life fairytale, he needed to make you a part of it, he needed to put in that head of his that you now were a part of the family and that he wanted to cherish every year.

So imagine how he’d feel when on December 24th at 3pm he got a call from Dustin telling him he needed to get taken to the hospital because he broke his leg, he was in the living room with you, hanging those fairy lights that had more tape on them just to keep them together than a back to school section at target.

he started to sweat and shake.

You kept telling him that it was going to be okay! To go check up on dustin! That you’d take care of it!

imagine how he’d feel after he was told by the nurses that as the only adult he had to stay till they’d dismiss him in a few hours, and how heartbroken he’d sound on the phone telling you all that knowing it was now 6pm.

You kept decorating the house anyways.

It was somehow more exciting this way, you were disappointed for not being able to do it with Eddie, he couldnt stop talking about how much he was looking towards doing that with you, but the thought of surprising both him and Wayne with one of your presents made you thrilled.

Imagine how he felt when he came home at 1am to find the whole house decorated with new colourful lights, to find new ornaments onto the tree, to find a now cold freshly baked cake on the dining table along with 2 mugs of ,now absolutely not hot, cocoa with a piece of paper aside.

And imagine how he’d feel to find you sleeping on the couch, all nice and warm under a blanket, with a cup of empty hot cocoa in front of you.

He kneeled in front of the couch and started to caress your forehead, slightly wailing.

He couldn’t believe how much of a disaster that had turned into.

It was supposed to be a perfect night with his two favourite people in the entire world, a night full of laughter and happiness.

Instead, you sat there alone the whole evening, hung the lights all by yourself, decided to bake a cake for them, cutting it, put it into plates just to look at the door hoping someone would come by for the whole evening, witnessing the movies endings and the drinks getting cold.

Yes, the drinks, you had made them as-well, like that would prove you were waiting for them, like you didn’t want them to be left out.

That’s probably when you fell asleep out of exhaustion.

If there was something he promised himself after meeting you was to cherish you till his last breath. You were the gift he had prayed for his whole life. Every Christmas, birthday. Every shooting starts. He had searched for you so much.

And there you were. He had finally found you.

He knew the way to repay the universe for this gift was by giving all of himself to you, and he felt like he fucked up completely already. He could picture you vanishing from one moment to the other.

His fingers dancing on your skin had probably disturbed you in your sleep, making you wake up. You definitely didn’t know were you were for a bunch of seconds, too sleepy to understand anything, but then you saw Eddie.

Your eyes were a mirror to those fairy lights at his back, and your big eyes looked straight at him with something he definitely didn’t deserve.

Happiness.

He thought you’d be disappointed. Angry. That you’d scold him for leaving you all by yourself.

But as you slightly got up your lips curved up in a sweet smile, your eyes softened.

“You made it” you said whispering.

“I-I know I’m s-“

You pecked his lips by taking his face in between your hands and pulling him forward.

“Happy Christmas my love” was breathed agains his lips.

The decorations, the lights, the movies didn’t matter… only love did that Christmas, like it’s always supposed to be.

AN: I just probably witnessed the stupidest advertisement in human history for Chinese food that featured Christmas music and people playing tennis under the snow in JUNE but my mind said EDDIE so… That’s how we got here.

No. Its wasn’t a fever dream. Yes. I wished it was.

If any of you mention me writing about Christmas in June I will personally burn your house down ❤️❤️❤️