#the riddle of strider | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

forever-rogue · 2 years

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Hey I was thinking maybe a request. Where Eddie survived but is self conscious about his wounds. Takes the reader sometime to convince Eddie that she doesn't see him differently.

AN | Set in the world in which Eddie is alive because he is! Or else! Anyways, this is soft, soft, soft, and broke and fixed my heart at the same time 🥰

Warnings | Language, Non-graphic description of scarring

Pairing | Eddie x Fem!Reader

Word Count | 2.9k

Masterlist | Main, Eddie

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Your back was killing you from sitting in the uncomfortable, stiff hospital chair for hours on end, hunched over as you read your book. You could have left, probably should have left, but you found yourself unable and unwilling. The rhythmic and continuous beeping of the various monitors that he was hooked up to were slowly lulling you to sleep but you refused to give in to them. You knew the moment you fell asleep was the moment he would wake up. You wanted to be there when he did, present and alert.

Peeling your eyes from your book, you found him still in his deep slumber, his hair even curlier and messier than normal, skin pale and covered in various bandages. His lips were chapped and parted slightly as his chest rose and fell in a steady pattern. But he was here; he was here and alive and that was all that mattered right now. An idea suddenly struck - one that would hopefully keep you awake and maybe he’d hear it too. You turned back to the weathered and well worn pages of your copy of The Fellowship of the Ring, quietly reading the passage you had stopped on:

All that is gold does not glitter,

Not all those who wander are lost;

The old that is strong does not wither,

Deep roots are not reached by the frost.

From the ashes a fire shall be woken,

A light from the shadows shall spring;

Renewed shall be blade that was broken,

The crownless again shall be king.

You were about to continue when you heard a soft sound coming from next to you before something brushed against your leg. You had been so invested in the pages that the touch caught you off guard and you almost jumped out of your chair, quietly squealing in surprise. It was the sound of his soft, weak laughter that brought you back into reality as you found that familiar pair of soft brown eyes watched you intently. He was awake.

“The Riddle of Strider,” his voice was hoarse and scratchy but distinctively him, “haven’t read that in a while. I guess it’s fitting since we made it through Mordor.”

“Eddie,” his name fell from your lips, soft and delicate, and before you could help it, tears had welled up and run down your cheeks, “y-you’re awake.”

“But at what cost?” despite the pain you were sure he was in, he still managed to make a joke. You laughed lightly before dropping to your knees at his side, brushing a few errant, rogue curls out of his face, “hi.”

“Hi,” you echoed, gently taking his hand in yours, “never thought I would be so happy to see you, Munson.”

“Mhmm,” you could tell that he was still tired, still worn and run down but fuck. At least he was okay, “what happened? I’m here…I thought I…I thought I was gonna die.”

“You really think we would let that happen?” you whispered, trying to keep the horrible images of when you were sure that he was going to die in your arms out of your mind, “never.”

“She saved you,” you turned around and found Dustin standing in the doorway, along with Steve and Robin. Before Dustin could stop himself he ran over and gave Eddie the best hug he could without hurting him, “you wouldn’t be here without her.”

“You saved me huh?” his tired grin was stretching across his face as he gave your hand a gentle squeeze, “I guess I owe you a life-debt.”

“You really think I was going to let a horde of demobats get you?” you teased, “if you’re going down by anyone’s hand, it’s going to be mine. You dumb, foolish, brave man.”

“Dumb and foolish yes,” he said, causing Robin and Steve to laugh quietly, “I don’t know about brave.”

“I - we do,” you insisted, “you, Eddie Munson, are a hero. And now everyone knows that too.”

“A hero, huh?”

“Don’t let it get to your head, Munson,” Steve reached down and gave his shoulder a gentle squeeze, “don’t want you getting too cocky.”

“Me? Never,” you snorted at him as he weakly stuck out his tongue, “what a warm welcome. Glad I came back for this.”

“I’m going to go and let them know you’re awake,” you stood up and yawned, “be back in a few.”

Once you were out of the room, Robin took the seat you had been occupying and gave him a serious look. She was glad that her new found friend was alive and well, and even more concerned about the fact that her friends continued to be seemingly oblivious, “she’s been here the entire time you have, you know. She barely even left to go shower or eat. She’s read you about a thousand books. She wanted to be here right when you woke up.”

“I…that sounds like her,” he agreed, a warm flush rising up on his pale skin, “she does too much for me. I owe her everything.”

“You really do,” Dustin agreed, shooting a wink at Robin, “maybe sometimes all it takes is a near death experience to see how things really are. Like the fact that you’re in l-”

Before he could finish his sentence, you walked back in with a nurse, chatting animatedly and looking better than you had in weeks. You caught Eddie’s eye and gave him a small wink as the nurse chittered over him, immediately asking him a million questions as she made some notes on her clipboard. Normally he might have been bothered by all the attention, but right now it all felt…right.

“We’ll leave you guys to it,” Steve pointedly looked at Robin and Dustin as they siddled over to him, “we’ll call Wayne. Maybe see you tonight at the Wheelers’?”

“We’ll see,” you promised, “depending on when he can leave and how he’s feeling. Thank you guys.”

You gave them each a hug, something that had come to have so much more meaning and power than you’d ever thought they would. Something that you could be deprived of in an instant, something you vowed to never take for granted again. You couldn’t wait to give him one again, one that would hopefully tell him all he ever needed to know.

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“Eds! I’m here!” you let yourself in his trailer with the key you’d had for years, arms filled with a few grocery bags of snacks and treats you knew he loved. You set everything down in the kitchen, frowning when you didn’t hear a response, “Eddie?”

“Bathroom,” you heard him call out softly. A wave of relief washed over you when you realized he was okay, but his tone suggested otherwise. You padded silently down the hall and stopped in front of the door before gently rapping your knuckles against it.

“Eds,” you kept your voice gentle, not wanting to scare him despite your knocking. He’d been more sensitive and easily overwhelmed the past few weeks since he’d been out of the hospital - not that you could blame him in the slightest over that, “I brought some snacks and rented a few movies. Maybe we just have a movie marathon today. Or we can do whatever you want - maybe go for a walk or go to the lake?”

He remained silent for a few moments, but you could hear him moving around in there. You tried to hold back your sigh, but doing so only made your eyes sting with tears. You knew he was hurting, but nothing you did seemed to make it better. You just wanted to make it all better for him; if you could have taken the burden from him you would have in a heartbeat, “Eddie…”

“Can you please just go?” the fact that his voice shook with each word caused you to exhale sharply. You wanted to just barge in there and wrap him up in your arms but you knew that would just make things worse right now, “please. I-I’m sorry.”

“Okay,” you whispered as you put your palm lightly against the door, wishing he could feel your touch, “okay, Eds. Whatever you need. I’ll put away the food and go. Please call me if you need anything. We’re having game night later, at the Byers’ this time. If you want to come over…or I can give you a ride. Just…call me if you need anything. Please, Eddie.”

You heard his shuffling and pacing stop before he sighed lightly. It was a few seconds before you heard him quickly murmur a gentle, “okay.”

You let a few beats of silence pass between the two of you before walking back down the small hallway and into the kitchen. You slowly put everything away and left the movies on the counter where he would easily find them. It was with a heavy heart that you walked out and locked the door behind you. Part of you wanted to go back in there and refuse to leave, but you knew he just needed time. He knew you were always there for him, just as he had always been for you. Right now it just felt all wrong - terrible - and you wanted your Eddie back.

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The phone in your room rang, the sound shrill and loud in the stillness of the night. You almost jumped at the sound, opening your eyes in surprise before you turned on your bedside lamp. It was almost three in the morning according to the bright red numbers displayed on the alarm clock - who on earth would be calling at this time?

Oh. You blinked away the bleariness in your eyes before grabbing the handset and pressing it closely to your ear, “hello?”

“H-hi,” the fact that it was his voice on the other end of the line made you feel a million times better and you let out a small sigh of relief, “I’m sorry for calling so late. Fuck, I shouldn’t have woken you up.”

“You are the only person I will allow to wake me up,” you promised softly, “is everything okay, Eds?”

“Can you come over?” his voice was low and quiet, “please? I…I-”

“I’ll be there in fifteen,” you were already crawling out of bed in search of your converse, deciding to forgo getting dressed. Eddie had seen you a million different ways over the years, he could handle you in ratty old pajama bottoms and one of his shirts you’d stolen at some point, “okay? Just hang tight.”

“Thank you.”

─── ･｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

By the time you were at Eddie’s and letting yourself inside, it had been just about ten minutes since he’d called. You’d sneaked out of the house quickly and probably broke more than a few speed limits. But none of that mattered right now, only he did.

“Eddie?” you called softly as you walked towards his bedroom, where you could see some soft light spilling out of the slightly cracked door. You knocked softly before stepping inside, “Eddie?”

“‘s okay,” he promised as the door opened and you found himself standing in front of you. This was the first time you’d properly seen him in weeks. It took every bit of strength not to tackle him in a giant hug, “thank you for coming.”

“There’s nothing to thank me for,” you hesitantly reached over, wanting to see if he’d allow you to touch him. When he didn’t flinch out of your touch, you put your hand on his face and gently brushed your thumb over his cheek, “what’s wrong, Eds?”

“I just…” he broke down in tears before he could even get a full sentence out, wrapping his arms around you and pulling you into his body. You were surprised at the reaction, the sudden shift in his temperament but gently hugged him back, letting him take what he needed, “I feel so broken.”

“Eddie,” you whispered his name and pulled back so you could look at him. You cradled his face in your hands and tenderly wiped away his tears, “you are not broken. So far from it. What you went through what we all did in varying degrees was a lot. Honestly, I’d be more surprised if you said you felt completely fine. I don’t think any of us are fine right now, but we’ve got each other and we’ll get better in time. You have me - us, all of us, Henderson, Harrington, Robin, the Wheelers, the Byers, the Sinclairs, the Hoppers. All of us are probably way more fucked up anyone should be, but at least we’re fucked up together.”

He made a small sound, something adjacent to a laugh as he lightly nodded. You leaned in and pressed your forehead against his, trying to get to him to understand just how deeply loved and cared for he was, “I haven’t been able to sleep well, eat, and I…I can’t stand to look at myself anymore.”

“Well, I can try to help however I can, even if it’s just being here while you take a nap. I’ll keep you safe, Eddie. I’ll always protect you,” you whispered, “just tell me what you need and I will do it.”

“I keep thinking about that night,” he sighed, “how they tore up my skin and…I know eventually it’ll be better, but my body…I look like a freak. More than I normally do.”

“Eddie,” you took a step back and squeezed his hand, your heart feeling like it had been torn into pieces at his words, “you are beautiful, so beautiful, just as you always have been. You have always been my favorite thing in this world to look at. Then, now, and always. Scars don’t matter, if anything they tell a story. And these tell a story that you, Eddie Munson, are a hero. That everyone in this stupid town, in this world has to thank for keeping them safe. Eddie, you are a hero, you’ve always been my hero. You've always kept me safe and made me feel protected and loved. This time it’s my turn to give you all of that back.”

“I don’t think I could ever deserve you,” he gave you a teary-eyed smile.

“That’s what best friends are for,” you replied with a small smile. You wished it was more, you wished you could tell me the extent of how deep your love for him was. But now was not the time to push or make him feel pressured to respond in a certain way, “you’re stuck with me for life, Munson. We pinky promised when we were twelve, and we can’t ever break that.”

“No,” he whispered, “we can’t.”

A silence filled the air between the two of you, comfortable and easy just like it always had. You took his hand and gently pulled him towards the bathroom, and he followed without hesitation. Once you stepped into the small space, you touched the hem of his shirt and looked at him with gentle eyes, “may I?”

“Yes,” he swallowed thickly but nodded, “I trust you.”

Your touch was gentle and delicate as you pulled his shirt up and he held up his arms to let you take it off of him. The soft fabric of his well worn shirt was almost silent as it fell to the floor and you looked him over. You could see the trepidation in his eyes as he tried to gauge your reaction. You touched his cheek before giving him a sweet smile that caused a sense of relief to flood his veins, “just as I thought. Beautiful as always.”

He remained silent and you traced your fingers over one of the scars near his collarbone. It was a sobering reminder that you’d almost lost him. You were happy for the scar because it meant he was here, he was alive. You don’t know if you could have faced a future without him. He inhaled shakily as you ghosted the tips of your fingers gently over his body.

“Come on,” after a few minutes of quietness during which he’d pulled you back into his arms, you pulled back, “let’s get you a warm shower and then you can try to get some sleep.”

“I don’t know if I can…s-sleep.”

“Will you try?” he gnawed on his bottom lip as he nodded slowly, “I’ll stay with you and make sure you’re okay. I promise.”

“What about you?”

“I can sleep later,” you insisted, “once you’ve rested a bit. Eddie…let me take care of you…please. You’re not in this alone and I’ll always be here for you.”

You turned on the shower and went to grab a clean towel and set of pajamas for him, before ushering him towards the warm stream of water.

“I…I love you,” he whispered as you looked at him with that sweet, innocent expression he adored more than anything.

“I know,” you smiled lightly, “I love you too.”

“No…like…I love you,” he repeated and your whole face felt like it was on fire, “n-not just as my best friend.”

“I know,” you insisted again, your heart feeling better - lighter - than it had in weeks, “I love you.”

“Yeah?” he asked shyly as you offered him a shy smile, “will you…get in? With me?”

“Yeah,” there wasn’t a moment of hesitation in your response, “you have me, whatever and however you need. Forever.”

“Forever,” Eddie touched your face this time, his heart beating rapidly but for the first time in what seemed like ages, it wasn’t due to anxiety or nerves, “I can do forever.”

“Me too, Eddie Munson. Me too.”

#eddie munson #eddie munson x reader #eddie munson x you #eddie munson x fem!reader #joseph quinn #joseph quinn x you #joseph quinn x reader #st

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