#w/ayne m/unson

[softsnzstuff]

thinking about Wayne picking up a small cold at work and not thinking much of it cuz it only lasts a couple days until Eddie (in his true dramatic fashion) gets is 10 times worse (like total feverish sneezy mess) and he doesn’t want to bother Wayne but also all he wants is to be taken care of

First of all I Love this prompt! I’m so weak for the Munsons and this is such a them thing. Have some CanonVerse Munson action. ~KB

*****

Sunday

You could say Wayne Munson was old school. Growing up in the early 40’s, he was accustomed to a hard days’ work, even on the bad days.

In his lifetime, he’d had to work through snowstorms, heat waves, strained wrists, and so much more. So it comes as no surprise to Eddie that his uncle is still go go go when he wakes up one morning with a cold.

The 20 year old had been living with his uncle for the last 12 years. They sometimes joked that they knew each other better than they knew themselves.

One thing Eddie knew was that Wayne was always awake by noon. His uncle worked nights at the plant, would come home around 5am and sleep until twelve. He’d get up, have his coffee, and usually they’d work on fixing up parts of the car if Eddie wasn’t in school.

So when 12:30pm rolled around and Wayne was just starting to wake up, Eddie knew something was up. It was Sunday, so he was at home making himself some lunch. Apart from the sizzling of the grilled cheese in the pan, the only other noise came from the older man on the pullout.

“H’RUSSHew!”

Eddie looked over his shoulder, “Bless you!”

Wayne groaned, the mattress squeaking as he sat up and cleared his throat. “Thanks.”

Eddie tried not to let the concern be heard in his voice as he spoke, “I’m making grilled cheese. You want one?”

The man shook his head as he headed towards the shared bathroom to brush his teeth. Eddie frowned slightly, plating his grilled cheese and turning off the burner.

He was leaned against the counter, eating his sandwich when his uncle emerged from the bathroom, looking slightly more awake. He was pouring his coffee when Eddie decided to address the elephant in the room.

“Feeling alright?”

Wayne sighed, of course Eddie could tell, “Feeling a bit under the weather, Ed.”

“I’ll live, son.” He added for good measure, chuckling at the panic on Eddie’s face. “Probably gonna rest before my shift tonight.”

Eddie didn’t think he should have to be at work, but he was glad his uncle was taking the day to rest instead of working on the car. “I uh rented a new movie the other day. Wanna watch together?”

“Sure, put it on.” Wayne smiled as he took the coffee and sat back down on the pullout in the living room.

Eddie was fiddling with the tv before he made himself comfortable on the couch.

***

Tuesday Night

Eddie’s alone at the trailer after Wayne leaves for his shift at the plant. He’d just performed a small gig at the Hideout and had just gotten home. The last few days were filled with his uncle resting or watching tv.

The 20 year old has been trying to keep things in order while Wayne was down - dishes, attempting laundry and other things like that. The living room was pretty messy now, so he took it upon himself to clean the clutter - picking up tissues and binning them, putting the medicine back on the shelf, making Wayne’s bed look nice.

By the time he’d finished, he was exhausted. He went to lie down on his bed and fell asleep.

***

Thursday Morning

The alarm came way too early. How was it only Thursday? The long haired man peeled himself out of bed and shivered slightly as the air hit him. He pulled on jeans, socks and his leather jacket before he went to brush his teeth and tame his hair.

Wayne knocked on the open door and poked his head in.

“What’re you doing awake?” Eddie asked.

“Just wanted to say thanks for being a help the last week. I took tonight off. Wanted to see if you want to work on the car after school?”

“Yeah sure!” Eddie smiled.

Wayne nodded and padded off to go back to sleep. Eddie’s nose was buzzing. He scrunched it up and rubbed at it to try and quell the tickle. Not wanting to wake up Wayne, he slipped on his shoes, grabbed his backpack and keys and hurried off to the van.

He sat in the drivers seat and allowed the tickle to bloom now that he was alone. His elbow hovered in front of his face as he squinted, nostrils flaring slightly.

“H’yisSSHuhew! T’CHiew! …hh - H’eKSHTT!”

He groaned as he pulled back, mess clinging to the crook of his leather jacket sleeve. He reached over to grab some tissues from the glove compartment, first wiping off his arm, then blowing his nose. He could feel the congestion settle and swore under his breath.

He definitely caught Wayne’s cold.

***

Thursday Afternoon

Today sucked. Eddie was already the “freak” of Hawkins High and hated drawing unwanted attention to himself. So of course his cold had decided that it would turn him into a sneezy, germy mess.

The first couple classes he could get away with asking to go to the bathroom to cough or blow his nose in private, but by the end half of the day, his nose was running so much, he couldn’t ask to go every couple of minutes.

He sank into his chair in the back of Ms.O’Donnell’s class, silently wiping his nose on his bandana every few minutes, sniffling. Robin had the desk next to him and kept glancing over at him and shooting him a glance of concern. He wanted to reassure her, but he was too busy fighting off the tickle buzzing in his left nostril.

He managed to fight it off for about 25 minutes, but towards the end of class it was too strong. He brought the bandana up to his nose and tried his best to be quiet.

“H’xxT! ii’xtch! X’T’chew!”

“Bless you.” Robin whispered.

He nodded and rolled his eyes, trying to blow his nose discreetly, blowing his cover when a thick gurgle came out instead. Fuck.

A few of the popular kids turned around and stared at him with a look of disgust, his cheeks crimson with embarrassment. Once the bell rang signaling school was over, he all but bolted from the classroom.

Robin grabbed her notebook and bag and jogged after him, walking towards the parking lot. “Are you okay Eddie?”

“Yeah Robin, I’b fucki’g peachy.” He coughed to himself before stopping and turning to her. “Sorry. That was m’bean. I have the whhh worst - Heh!”

He brought the crumpled, damp bandana back up to his face.

“H’ixxTCHU! N’Gshuh! … H’aKSHT’iew! Ughhhh I have the worst fucki’g cold.”

Robin bit her lip, not sure how to fix it. She dug around in her backpack and pulled out a travel pack of tissues.

“Well sneezing into the same wet bandana probably isn’t helping. You can take these. I usually hang onto them for Steve but I have loads at the house.”

Eddie pocketed the bandana and took the tissues from Robin, “Thanks Birdie.”

She nodded before turning towards her ride home, “Feel better!”

Eddie smiled before turning on his heels and muttering “I hope so…”

***

He’d all but spaced out on the drive home, mentally taking note on how shitty he felt. Headache? Yes. Sore throat? Yep. Sneezing his head off? 100%. He could not wait to get back to the trailer, shower and climb into be-

Shit.

As he pulled up to the trailer, Wayne smiled and waved. He was outside, hood of the car open and he was wiping his hands off on a dirty rag. Fuck he totally forgot they were going to work on the car today. That could take hours.

As he turned the van off, Eddie took a deep breath and put on his best ‘everything’s fine’ act, finally stepping out of the vehicle.

“Hey kid, how was school?”

Eddie’s brain quickly scanned for a response that didn’t involve M’s or N’s.

“It was uh… it was good. Snfff”

Wayne noted the boy’s posture. His usually full-of-energy nephew looked like he could about collapse, and his nose was tinged pink, as were his cheeks.

He knew immediately that Eddie was sick and that he would try to deny it so he could hang out with him. He quirked an eyebrow. Two could play this game. He’d been doing it for 12 years.

“Great! Why don’t you put your bag down and we can work on fixing up the engine?”

This was a test. Eddie seemed stumped for a minute, trying to come up with an excuse to go inside first because he had to sneeze again.

“Yeah, let m’be just uhh phhh put this hh away?”

“You can just set it on the porch for now. I got the car all set up for your magic touch.” Wayne clapped a hand on Eddie’s shoulder.

Eddie panicked, trying to turn to keep his uncle out of the spray zone. He brought the collar of his shirt up to his face just in time.

“Okay holdonIgotta.. H’eKSHTiew! T’shew! iigSHUh! … H’eSHiyue!”

Wayne sighed, “Bless you, Ed.”

“Sorry those uh SNF sn’duck up on m’be…” Eddie lied, wiping his nose on the back of his wrist and sniffling thickly.

“Mmhmm.” Wayne nodded sarcastically, not buying his nephews act for one second, “Eddie, go march you and that terrible cold of yours into bed.”

Eddie nodded and sniffled again against his wrist as he headed up the porch steps to the front door.

“And blow your nose!” Wayne called after him, as he closed the hood of the car.

“Yes sir! Ah’yeSHuhew! Ughhhhh”

***

After a nice shower and changing into pajamas and a sweatshirt, Eddie retreated to his bed, a box of tissues in clutch, one pressed to his nose.

Wayne popped in shortly after with a bowl of soup on a tray, “Brought you dinner! Don’t want you at school tomorrow, so just try and rest okay?”

Eddie nodded taking the tray.

“Didn’t mean for you to get sick too. Sorry kid.”

“It’s okay Wayne, this is’t the first time and it wo’t be the last.”

The two of them laughed, knowing Eddie was referencing the time two years ago that he gave Wayne bronchitis.

“Get some rest Eddie. Drink all that broth.”

The 20 year old nodded, setting aside his Hellfire binder so he could eat the soup. Being sick sucked but it definitely sucked less having Wayne to take care of him.

[softsnzstuff]

🎅🏻🦠🤧

For canon-verse steddie?

🎅🏻 Holiday Shopping / 🦠 Sniffles / 🤧 Sick for the Holidays

Ahhh this got away from me. So much fun to write!! Thanks for sending this in, Anon!! ~KB

*****

Holiday shopping was not usually Steve Harrington’s strong point. He always got the wrong thing or the wrong color. At this point it was a running joke. This year though, he’s had his eye on Eddie’s gift for a few months. He’d saved his last couple of Family Video paychecks to get Eddie a brand new set of dice for Hellfire.

Despite his parents almost never being home, Steve’s presence was demanded and expected at his aunt’s house over the next few days. That being said, his only day to deliver Eddie’s gift was today.

He’d paid extra for the dice to be gift wrapped, and now here he was, standing on the doorstep of the Munson trailer. He turned the wrapped box over in his hands after he knocked, suddenly worried Eddie might not like them.

“Steve! How are ya?” Wayne opened the door, greeting him.

“Hey Mr.Munson, merry Christmas! This is for you!” He handed Wayne a small gift bag. “It’s not much…”

The man opened the bag and pulled out a set of bandanas.

“For the grease when you work on the cars.” Steve explained.

“Thank you Steve.” He gave the boy a hug before eyeing the second wrapped gift in his hands. “That for Eddie?”

“Yeah! I Um… I didn’t tell him I was coming to drop it off.”

Wayne made an expression that Steve couldn’t quite place, “You might wanna come back another day. Ed’s got himself a pretty bad cold. I told him to stay in his room.”

“Crap…” Steve’s smile faded, “I’m going out of town tomorrow. Todays really the last day I can give it to him.”

Wayne seemed to be caught up in thought, mentally weighing the options in his head. As if on cue, slightly muffled sneezes rang out from the bedroom down the hall.

“HMPTCH! iiGSHUU! N’gisSHiew!”

“Alright, you can come give it to him, but you’ve been warned. He’s been-”

“G’isSHuhew!”

Wayne signed and rubbed the back of his neck, “He’s been sneezing like that all day.”

He stepped aside, letting Steve in. “Thanks Mr.Munson.”

Wayne grabbed a fresh box of tissues off the counter and tore it open, handing it to Steve. “Can you bring him these?”

“Of course!”

The brunette ran a hand through his hair. Tissues in one hand and gift in the other. He knocked gently on the bedroom door and waited for a response from the other side.

“SNF come hh come in- iiKSHtiew!”

Steve opened the door and peeked in, waving at Eddie from the doorway. He stepped in and closed the door behind him.

The older man was propped up in bed, wearing pajama pants and a sweatshirt. His rings were sitting on his bedside table, and his Hellfire campaign binder was open next to him. The bed and floor were littered with bunched up tissues, and there was an empty box on the floor.

“Steve!” A smile spread across his face. He pointed at the box of tissues in Steve’s hand and teased, “Are those for m’be? You shouldn’t have.”

“Yeah. Sounds like you need them!” Steve handed the box over and sat on the edge of Eddie’s bed.

Eddie sighed. Finally he had company to complain to.

“You do’t even k’dow Stevie. It’s just this thhh tickle won’t go hhh away…”

He pulled the first few tissues from the box and pressed them against his face, breath hitching uncontrollably.

“Hhh Heh- HIH! N’giSSSHew! etSCHuh! iiKSHT!”

He blew his nose and tossed the tissues aside before another round snuck up on him. He quickly pulled the neck of his hoodie up over his nose and mouth.

“h’IKSHiew! TSZiew! HEH’isSHuhew!”

Eddie gave a soupy sniffle, the accumulated mess retreating back into his nose before he lowered the collar of the hoodie.

“Jesus, Munson. Bless you!” Steve rubbed a hand up and down Eddie’s back, making contact with his big brown eyes.

“Tha’gks. Snlorff! Sorry you had to see that.”

“It’s okay Eds, you’re sick. I actually came to give you this.” Steve held out the small, delicately wrapped present.

Eddie looked at the present and then back at Steve before taking it. “What is it?”

Steve laughed, rolling his eyes, “You gotta open it and find out, killer!”

Eddie scrubbed at the underside of his nose with his jacket sleeve before untying the bow on the top of the box and opening it.

“Steve!! You got me new Hellfire Dice??”

The younger man blushed pinker than Eddie’s nose. “Yeah. I umm if you don’t like them I could…I kept the receipt…”

Eddie out a gentle hand on Steve’s chest to stop his rambling, “Hey, no I love them! Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

The two leaned in and gave each other a long hug, before Eddie pulled back, looking at Steve’s eyes, then his lips, and back to his eyes. He leaned forward and planted a gentle kiss on the younger man’s lips.

When he pulled back again, Steve was bright red. Eddie immediately panicked.

“Oh my god I’m so sorry!! I shouldn’t have done that I don’t know what I was thinking??? And you probably didn’t even want me to and.. and - H’iiKSHtew! Hr’TZziew! eKSHuhew!”

“Hey Eddie, calm down!”

Steve grabbed his shoulders and smiled at him, the older man’s nostrils slightly damp.

“I did want you to.” He handed a few tissues to Eddie, “Here.”

Eddie gurgled into the tissues and tossed them aside, looking back at Steve with puppy eyes. “But you’ll catch my cold.”

Steve smirked, “Good! I didn’t want to go to my aunt’s house anyways. Now move over!”

Eddie shuffled to the other side of the bed, making room for Steve to sit next to him. He sniffled again, leaning his head on Steve’s shoulder.

“Merry Christmas Steve.”

[softsnzstuff]

@sicktember 2022 - Day 1

Prompt: “Do You Know How To Take Care of a Sick Person?”

Fandom: Stranger Things

Word Count: 2.5k (oops)

Summary: Wayne Munson has always been there for his nephew. What happens when Eddie gets sick while Wayne is at work?

Comments: I’ve had this written out for WEEKS and I’m so excited about it. Hope you guys enjoy. I could continue with a part two but like ONLY IF YOU WANT IT!!

CW: None

*******************************************************

It was 8:30am on a Friday. Wayne Munson knotted up his boots before grabbing his car keys off the counter. A handful of guys at the plant were down with the flu and he’d offered to pick up an extra shift. It’s not like they couldn’t use the money.

His nephew, Eddie, was already at school with the van. He could be a handful sometimes, sure, but god dammit he loved that kid with all his heart. He locked up the trailer and jumped in the car, a quick glance in the rear view mirror letting him know he looked work-ready. He shifted the car into reverse and headed off to start his 20 hour day.

Across town, Eddie was struggling through second period. Math was never his strong suit, but something else was distracting him.

He’d gone to bed last night after Hellfire with a sore throat and a headache - something he chalked up to getting a little too enthused about last night’s campaign. This morning, however, his throat felt raw, his head was pounding, and the tickle in his nose wouldn’t leave him alone.

He rubbed at the bridge of his nose with two fingers, trying to relieve the itch, but the attempt was futile.

“H’Nxxt! NxxxT! Heh.. H’NXXT!”

The metalhead curled in on himself, stifling into a closed fist. He was already the school freak and didn’t want to draw anymore unnecessary attention towards himself.

He rested his elbow on the desk and lay his head in his palm, massaging his temple with his fingers. He winced as the bell rang, unsure how he made it through the next two classes in his zombie-like state.

Though he usually looked forward to the chaotic ramblings at lunch, today was just too much. Wheeler was debating about which superheroes would win in a fight and Henderson’s yelling was making his head throb.

He was too nauseous to eat, so instead he sat with head in his hands trying to will away the sick feeling.

“Can you guys shut up for once!?” He even caught himself off guard with the outburst, everyone at his table suddenly going silent.

“Geez, don’t be such a dick.” Mike quipped.

Eddie paused for a beat, “Sorry. Sorry you’re right. I’m just gonna go.” He grabbed his bag and quickly walked off to his next class, leaving the boys confused.

“Hey Eddie wait!” Dustin started as he stood up, but Jeff put a hand on his shoulder to stop him.

He’d seen his friend get like this every so often, “Just let him go, man. He’ll be okay eventually.”

Eddie, who was never early, found his seat towards the back of the room. There were already a few students since there were only a couple minutes left of lunch. The room would fill up soon. He folded his arms on the desk and put his face in the crook.

He must’ve fallen asleep because next thing he knows, a hand is on his shoulder and someone’s whispering his name.

“Eddie!” Robin hissed from her desk to his right.

He jumped slightly at the sound, which unfortunately also awakened the tickle in the back of his sinuses. Forehead still resting on his folded arms, he sneezed openly down towards his lap.

“H’IGTSSCHEW! Ah-GKTsschiew! snF HMP’tissh!!”

He brought the back of his wrist up to his nose, trying to stem the flow as he looked up. Robin was staring at him with intense concern, mouthing the words “bless you”.

A soupy sniffle and cough got him a few disgusted glares from some jocks. He flipped them the bird and squeezed his eyes closed, pressing his thumb and forefinger against his eyes.

“You do’t happe’d to have som’b tissues, do you Buckley?” He asked under his breath.

This seemed to snap Robin out of her concerned trance as she fumbled around in her backpack, pulling out a couple tissues from a travel pack and handing them to Eddie.

“Tha’gks.” He mumbled as he quietly blew his nose.

“Sorry, I didn’t know waking you would you know… do that.” Robin whispered, “Ms.O’Donnell just said we were gonna do independent work for the last ten minutes of class.” She offered a shy smile and held up a worksheet.

Eddie just sighed and put his head back on the table, this time his head turned towards Robin.

“Are you okay? You seem… like really sick.”

“You m’bust be a trained detective.” He mumbled opening one eye at her, “Feel like shit…”

Robin just wanted to help. She wanted to take away her friend’s pain. Her brain started going a million miles an hour. “You should go home and make some soup! And umm last time I got sick, Nancy told me starve a cold and feed a fever… or was it the other way around? Feed a cold, starve a fever! THATS IT! That’s definitely what she said… whatever that means.”

Eddie just stared at her weakly and nodded. In the last hour, his limbs must’ve gained ten pounds because they felt weighed down. His head was foggy and he just felt exhausted. All he wanted to do was lie down.

The final bell rang and he used all his energy to stand up from the desk, Robin at a ready stance in case he fell over or something. She walked with him to his van, telling him about her plans for the weekend (mostly trying to lighten the mood), while Eddie stifled his way through a small sneezing fit.

“Nancy wants to take me to this coffee shop tomorrow but - bless you - but it’s got a dress code? Nothing too fancy - bless you - but like. I probably need to wear a blouse. Isn’t that crazy?? Bless you! A blouse to a coffee shop? What kind of person wears a blouse to a - bless you!”

“Ughh” Eddie groaned from the throbbing sinus headache brought on by the stifled fit, unhappy with how gravelly his voice was sounding.

Robin picked up on how crappy he was feeling and stopped talking to frown sympathetically. She rubbed a hand up and down his arm, “Go get some rest okay?” She offered another smile as Eddie nodded again and climbed into his van, throwing his backpack in the passenger seat.

The drive home was a blur, he probably shouldn’t have even been driving, but all he wanted was to get in bed and ask Wayne what to do. He always knew what to do.

He pulled up to the trailer, seeing his uncle’s car wasn’t there. Shit. He mentioned taking another shift the other day. He wouldn’t be back until the early hours of the morning. Eddie was on his own for the night.

He unlocked the trailer and dumped his bag in his room. A chill ran down his spine, sending a shiver through his body. He switched out his jeans for some pajama pants and pulled on an old Iron Maiden hoodie. It was a size too big but he didn’t care.

“HI’GKchew! H’MPTCH! TSCHIEW!!”

Eddie sneezed into the sleeved crook of his elbow, grimacing as he pulled away. Tissues. He needed tissues. He scanned his room but didn’t find anything, so he went to the bathroom and grabbed a spare roll of toilet paper. He cradled it with his left arm as he snuffled into pieces of it with his right.

The long haired 20 year old padded through the trailer to the kitchen. ‘Soup. Robin said soup was good for sick people.’ He thought to himself as he breathed through parted lips.

He looked in a couple cabinets but didn’t find anything especially soup-like. He settled on a can of Spaghetti-O’s, dumping the contents into a small pot. He turned on the stove and sat on the counter while he stirred the food. He only had to stop twice to duck into his hood so that he wouldn’t sneeze in his dinner.

Once it seemed warm, he spooned some into a bowl. It was certainly thicker than the soup he’d imagined. “You’ll do…” he muttered, grabbing a spoon to sit at the table.

“Ah’GKTsschiew!”

He’d barely sat down when a rogue sneeze had him coughing. He grabbed some toilet roll and spit into it, blowing his nose as well. He could already tell this bug was going to end up going straight to his chest.

Just then, he remembered that he had some Robitussin by his bed! He’d almost forgotten since it was mainly used for a slight buzz.

He got up and grabbed it, abandoning his meal for a moment. He stared at the green bottle for a solid minute, unsure how much to take. He’d thrown away the stupid plastic cup and was cursing himself for it now. He opted for the next best thing, pulling a shot glass off his desk. He poured some of the medicine in it and knocked it back as if it were cheap vodka.

He left the bottle on the counter and went back towards his food. He felt like he was forgetting something though. He remembered what Robin had told him, “Feed a cold, starve a fever.” Well he didn’t know if he had a fever.

He brought a hand to his forehead. He’d seen people do that before. It all felt the same to him though, so he went back to the kitchen. He rummaged through a few cabinets and drawers until he found what he was looking for - a meat thermometer. I mean, technically he was meat right? Same difference.

He held the metal device with both hands, blinking and staring at it, looking at it from all angles. Eventually he shrugged and slipped the end of it into his mouth. He’d faked sick enough times at the nurses office to at least know how a thermometer worked.

He sat at the table, eyes closed, while he held the thermometer in place with a finger. After a minute or two he pulled it out and turned it around, trying to get a read in the circular part at the end. The needle was hovering around the “100” mark.

Eddie set the meat thermometer down and frowned, looking to his Spaghetti-O’s and then back to the thermometer, and then to the phone.

Before he could stop himself, he was dialing Wayne’s work number. He held the receiver up to his ear with both hands and waited. The phone rang three times before that familiar voice answered.

“Y’ello?”

“U’cle Way’de?” Eddie asked.

“Eddie? That you? What’s wrong kid?”

“Ubb, I did‘t want to bother you at work but Robin’d said feed a cold a’d starve a fever - I m’bade some soup a’d I wadda eat it. But the m’beat thermobeter said a hu’dred a’d I don’t know if I’b allowed to eat the soup.”

Wayne squinted on the other end of the line, trying to make out what his nephew was saying.

“Eddie slow down -”

“I wadda eat m’by soup but I’b sick. Can I eat the soup U’cle Way’de?” He sounded like he was going to cry.

Wayne covered the microphone of the phone and turned around, “Hey boss, I gotta go. My kid’s real sick.” He turned back to the phone, “I’m on my way home Eddie, just lay down until I get back okay?”

It was just barely the end of his first of two shifts when he left work to speed home. He stopped at the drug store on his way back, picking up tissues, daytime and nighttime medicine, a thermometer, chicken soup, and popsicles - the blue ones.

When he arrived back at the trailer, it was quiet. There was an uneaten bowl of Spaghetti-O’s on the table and a handful of used tissues scattered about the floor. He also noted the sticky shot glass and bottle of cough syrup on the kitchen counter. He shook his head and breathed a laugh.

He creeped slowly towards his nephews bedroom, where there were more tissues all over the bed he was curled up in.

Eddie’s face was flushed with a thin layer of sweat on his forehead. He was in a ball, wrapped tightly around a roll of toilet paper. Wayne had never seen his nephew look so small.

“Ed?” He placed a gentle hand on Eddie’s forehead. He was burning up. “Eddie can you wake up for me?”

Eddie’s fever glazed eyes suddenly fluttered open. It took him a few seconds to register that Wayne was in front of him. The young man sat up hurriedly until Wayne eased him back down against the pillows with a gentle hand on the chest.

“Hey kiddo. You feel really warm. I picked this up at the store because I swear I thought I heard you say -” Wayne locked eyes with the bedside table, “…meat thermometer.”

Eddie looked down at the meat thermometer on his bedside table and then back up at Wayne.

“Do you know how to take care of a sick person??” Wayne asked, laughing. He knew the answer - in all 12 years he’d been Eddie’s guardian, the kid rarely ever caught more than a sniffle. Of course he didn’t know how to take care of himself if he got sick.

“I m’bade soup and uhh I checked for a fever…” Eddie blushed, now from embarrassment.

“Listen kid, Spaghetti-O’s? That ain’t soup. This is soup.” He held up a can of Campbells chicken noodle. Wayne’s calloused hands started to tear open the packaging of the new thermometer. “Here, sit up. Open.” He gave it a once over and then slipped it in Eddie’s mouth.

“Checking for a fever with my Thanksgiving roast thermometer isn’t right either. Or sanitary.” He laughed again, shaking his head more.

“Sorry U’cle Way’de.” Eddie mumbled, the thermometer moving with his lips, tracing his words.

“Don’t talk with that in, son.”

The older man reached back into his plastic bag and pulled out DayQuil and NyQuil, placing them on the nightstand.

Eddie’s fidgeting caught his attention. He looked over to see the boy’s nostrils flaring. Wayne swiped the thermometer as Eddie turned to the side, “Tsschiew! HEH-GKCHEW!”

“Bless you. Good thing I got these too.” Wayne pulled the box of tissues out of his never ending drug store bag and handed it to his nephew, turning his attention to the reading on the thermometer.

“Tha’gks.” Eddie plucked a few and turned away again, burying his face in them, “MPTSSCH! HMM’TSCH’eww!” Eddie coughed productively, bringing a hand up to his chest.

“102°…” Wayne whistled, “Well kid, I think it’s safe to say you’ve caught that nasty flu going around.”

Eddie nodded and flopped back against his pillows, tossing his crumpled tissue towards the foot of his bed and grabbing a fresh one to sniffle into.

“I’m gonna make you some proper soup okay? And I got popsicles to help bring your temp down.”

The popsicles piqued the young man’s interest, “What color?”

“Blue, of course - No school Monday, I want you to rest.” He raised an authoritative eyebrow at his nephew as he left the room.

“U’cle Way’de?”

He poked his head back in the room, “Yeah Ed?”

“Tha’gks for taki’g care of m’be.”

<< TBC??? >>

[softsnzstuff]

Kinda really wanna write Eddie and Wayne holed up with the flu but am also still just in the brainstorming phase

[softsnzstuff]

Maybe for Wayne and Eddie, Eddie gets sick and spikes a fever in the middle of the night. He really feels terrible so he wakes Wayne up for some comfort?

At first he isn’t quite sure what wakes him. After a few seconds of laying in the dark, Eddie realizes he feels like shit. His body feels like lead. He’s sweating but he’s freezing. His head is throbbing.

Instinctively, he gets up and quietly opens his bedroom door, padding down the hallway and into the living room. He stands over the pullout bed that Wayne is asleep in.

For a minute, he just stands there. Like a child at 3am telling their mom that they threw up in their bed. Except he’s 20 years old and he just feels gross. He isn’t even sure what he even expects to happen, but he reaches out to gently shake Wayne’s shoulder.

It takes a second to rouse him, but he blinks his eyes open and squints, “Ed? What’s wrong son?”

Now it’s Eddie’s turn to feel confused. “I uh… I don’t feel good.”

He knows that’s not specific enough, but nevertheless, his uncle stands up and takes in Eddie’s pale complexion and the rings under his eyes. He looks just as sick as he feels. The man presses his palm to his nephew’s forehead, trying not to cringe at how clammy it was.

The 20 year old didn’t need wayne to tell him that he had a fever. He already knew. Wayne just huffed a sigh and looked him up and down one more time. “How about a popsicle?”

Eddie seems confused but nods. The older man pulls a blue popsicle out of the freezer and removes the plastic, walking it to Eddie, who’d taken a seat on the couch.

Wayne sat next to him and Eddie flopped onto his shoulder, resting his head while he ate the popsicle. Ten minutes ago he wasn’t sure what he wanted from Wayne when he came to wake him up. Now, though, he realizes he just wanted some comfort.

[softsnzstuff]

Home Remedy

@sicktember Day 9 - Home Remedy

Fandom: Stranger Things

Summary: Continuation of my Day 1 Fic; Eddie is sick and Uncle Wayne is taking care of him with some of his good old fashioned Munson Home Remedies™️

Word Count: 1.4k

CW: None

The pullout bed in the living room creaked as Wayne turned over. A glance at his watch told him it was just barely 8 am, but Eddie had been coughing in his room for the last five minutes or so.

Poor kid had managed to pick up the flu that was making its way through Hawkins, and being someone who didn’t get sick that often, it had knocked him on his ass. Wayne swung his legs over the edge of the bed and stretched his back before making his way to the kitchen.

Though it wasn’t a fully stocked kitchen, he was certain he had what he needed. He grabbed a bowl and mixed together some flour, mustard powder, and water until it made a thick paste. He had some old fabric squares in the cupboard that he used mainly for clean up after working on cars, but he decided to use them for a different purpose today.

He spread the paste on the fabric squares and brought them into Eddie’s room on a plate. The young man was sat up in his bed, hacking into the crook of his elbow. He was still wearing the Iron Maiden hoodie from the night before.

“Hey son, this is gonna help some with that congestion in your chest. I need you to take your shirt off okay?”

“Okay.” Eddie mumbled, pulling off the sweatshirt and the tee underneath, between coughs. “What is that?”

Wayne adjusted Eddie’s pillows so that he could lay back but still be Propped up. “It’s a mustard plaster. This is what my Ma used to do for me back in the day.”

He gently applied the fabric strips to his nephew’s chest, Eddie tensing slightly at the coldness of the plaster.

The effect of the mustard spice was almost instantaneous. Eddie’s nose twitched and he rubbed a knuckle under it. “Can you pahhh- pass me a thehh tissue?”

“Hep’tchEW! NGT’chUH! snnFF T’SSCHEW!”

Wayne passed Eddie the box of tissues from his bedside table, chuckling, “It can have that effect sometimes. We’ll leave this on for about 10-15 minutes and then we’ll take it off.”

Eddie nodded, already winding up for his next fit. “NG’chiew! H’tchiEW! T’SSchEW!”

Wayne let himself out and ran inventory on their kitchen cabinets, making a mental list of some things he’d need to pick up after this. The only thing breaking the silence was Eddie sneezing every minute or two like clockwork.

When the time was up, Wayne went back into his nephew’s room to remove the plaster. It had definitely done its job, Eddie had a handful of tissues pressed firmly against his streaming nose.

“Why don’t you take a shower to rinse all that off, Ed.” Wayne suggested.

Eddie stood up, just wearing his pajama bottoms. He grabbed his shirt off the bed and made his way to the bathroom.

The young man turned on the hot water and let it spray on his face and body, a mix of the mustard plaster and hot water loosening the congestion in his chest as well.

While Eddie was showering, Wayne took it upon himself to make breakfast. Nothing fancy - just eggs and toast. He was setting the plates down on the table when Eddie emerged from the bathroom, back in his pajamas and toweling off his hair.

“Perfect timing.” Wayne gestured to the plates as Eddie joined him at the table.

After a couple of minutes of quiet eating, Wayne broke the silence, “You gonna be okay for an hour or two while I go to the store?”

Eddie nodded, pushing the eggs around his plate with a fork. “I’ll be okay. Think m’gonna go back to bed.”

“Rest’ll be good for ya.” He stood up, taking his plate and hovering over Eddie’s. “Not hungry?”

Eddie looked up and frowned, “Not really… sorry.”

“You don’t gotta apologize for being sick Eddie.” He placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder and cleared his plate.

Eddie got up and lay on the couch, one arm draped over his eyes. He was vaguely aware of a thin blanket being draped over him. In the background, he could hear Wayne tying up his boots and heading out the door. He slipped in and out of sleep for about 30 minutes before there was a knock at the door.

At first he thought he was dreaming, but the knock sounded again. Eddie groaned slightly and stood up, the blanket wrapped around his shoulders as he padded to the door. He opened it cautiously only to be met with Robin smiling awkwardly, Nancy behind her.

“Hi Eddie.” Robin smiled cautiously as he opened the door all the way.

“Hi Robin. Nancy.”

“Hey Eddie. Robin said you’re sick. How are you feeling?” Nancy asked.

“I’m uh… I’ve been better I guess.” He turned to the side to cough into the blanket and then turned back to the girls. He looked Robin up and down. “Why are you wearing that?”

He smiled slightly at the image. Robin was in jeans and a nice blouse, looking more than uncomfortable in it. Nancy also was dressed up a little more than normal.

“Nancy took me on a date to this fancy-”

“Coffee shop.” Eddie and Robin said at the same time. “I remember now.”

“Do you? You seemed pretty out of it yesterday.”

“Yeah uh, bits and pieces but I remember.” There was a pause before Eddie realized, “Sorry! I would invite you in but um, I don’t wanna get you sick…”

“No it’s okay!” Nancy chimed in, holding up a paper cup with a lid. “We actually just wanted to bring you some tea! We’re on our way home anyways.”

Nancy passed the cup to Robin who held it out for Eddie. He smiled and took it, holding it with both hands. “Thanks! Can’t wait to try it.”

“Well we’ll let you rest, we just wanted to drop the tea off.” The girls turned on their heels and headed back towards the car, “Feel better Eddie!”

He smiled and waved, closing the door. Blanket cape trailing behind him, he sipped the tea and resumed his place on the couch, face down hugging a pillow. He was still like that when Wayne arrived back home, several grocery bags in tow.

Eddie was sound asleep on the couch so Wayne moved closer and placed the back of his fingers to his forehead. He frowned slightly at the heat still radiating off his nephew. He unpacked what he bought at the store and started quietly making a concoction in the kitchen.

After brewing some echinacea tea, he added a plethora of other ingredients. Eventually, Eddie stirred from his sleep and sat up, blinking himself awake.

“H’tchiEW! TsssiEWW!”

“Bless you! How you feeling kid? You still feel warm.” Wayne had grabbed the thermometer from the bathroom and brought it to the sofa, holding it out for Eddie.

He snuffled, placing it in his mouth and resting his head against the cushions, coughing with his mouth closed. While they waited, Wayne brought over the glass of his concoction and set it on the coffee table.

He took the thermometer from Eddie, who was rubbing at his eyes, staring at the cup. “What’s that?”

“That is Wayne Munson’s cure-all tea. Turmeric, ginger, apple cider vinegar, garlic, lemon, honey, and echinacea. Also got enough cayenne pepper to open up your sinuses. It’ll have you feeling better in no time.”

Eddie scrunched his nose and coughed productively. “It sounds gross.”

“So do you,” Wayne quipped back, “And you still got that fever, so drink up.”

He handed Eddie the glass. The young man bringing it up to his lips, but turning away with his eyes closed right before. He went back in and took an actual sip this time, grimacing and sticking his tongue out.

Eddie coughed again, “Oh m’by god, this is awful.”

“Can’t be worse than bein’ sick, that’s for sure. I’m gonna make you this twice a day till you’re feeling better n’ I expect you to drink it, hmm?”

Eddie was too tired and felt too sick to protest, “Yes U’cle Wayne.” He took another sip, the older man laughing at the face he pulled as he swallowed.

“Let’s get you back in bed okay?” He helped Eddie stand up and walked him back to his bedroom where he all but collapsed onto the bed. Wayne set the cure-all tea on his nightstand, “Finish this and you can have a popsicle alright?”

“Mmhmm” Eddie mumbled into the mattress.

“Get some rest. Let me know if you need anything. Love you, kid.”

The reply was mumbled through mattress and sheets but Wayne could hear it clear enough, “Love you too Uncle Wayne.”

[softsnzstuff]

OH MY GOD I HAD A THOUGHT!!!! I love your stuff about Wayne and sick Eddie but hear me out… Wayne and sick steve!!! Steve’s got an awful cold and he feels like shit and he wants his boyfriend so he goes over to the trailer on instinct, but of course eddie is at school. But when the Harrington boy knocks on the door looking like he’s about to fall asleep where he stands and sneezing and sniffling up a storm it’s not like Wayne Munson is letting him drive home like that. So when eddie gets back from school that day he finds a sick steve wrapped in a blanket talking to Wayne on the couch, drinking tea that wayne made him.

Whoops, I hope you like fondue because this is CHEESY. Hope you enjoy anyways. 🤍

*******************************************************

Wayne Munson was ducked down under the hood of his car when the crunch of tires on gravel told him he had company. Too early for Eddie to be back from school, he looked up, but he heard the boy before he saw him.

“AESSH! ISSSSH! H’ESSSH!”

“Bless you!” The man straightened up, wiping the oil off his hands with an old rag.

“Ahh! M’bister M’bunsond. You scared m’be, sorry.”

Steve sniffled against his shirt sleeve. He’d felt this cold coming on for a few days now, but today was definitely the worst. Tired of being cooped up in his empty house, he had decided he’d rather be with Eddie.

“Sorry, kid, I have that effect on people sometimes.” He joked. The man squinted at his watch, “If you’re looking for Eddie, you’re about an hour and a half early.”

Shit that’s right. Today was Friday, not Saturday…

“Oh crap. snFF he’s at school. I’b sorry, I guess I forgot what day it is- H’IGKtchew! AeetschEW! HAESSSSH!!”

Steve had turned to get back in the car when Wayne stopped him with a hand on the shoulder. “Hey now, where do you think you’re going?”

“Umm… home?”

“You take me for a fool, Steve Harrington? I ain’t letting you drive home with a cold like that. Come on in, lemme fix you up some of Wayne Munson’s cure-all tea.”

Steve didn’t really know what to say, but followed Wayne into the trailer. The older man got busy in the kitchen, pulling various spices off the rack.

“You can go ‘head and relax on the couch. There should still be some tissues over there…you know Eddie and his allergies.”

Steve laughed and sat on the couch, “You do’t have to do all this M’bister M’bunsond.”

“Don’t have to what? Take care of my nephew’s partner? Of course I do. And you’ve been around this trailer enough times, you can call me Wayne.”

A few minutes later, a mason jar of an orange liquid was being pressed into Steve’s hand. “Is this the cure-all?” He asked pathetically.

“Sure bet!” Wayne grabbed a folded blanket off the top of his recliner and draped it around Steve’s shoulders.

“Thank you.”

---

A while later, Eddie pulled up from school, arriving at the trailer. He opened the door and saw his boyfriend wrapped in a blanket, next to his uncle looking at a book.

“Do my eyes deceive me?” He scoffed, “What the hell did I miss!?”

“Hi Eds. Wayne was just making me some of that snF sick tea.”

“Aww my poor guy.” Eddie dropped his bag and sat next to Steve, putting an arm around him. He knew Steve’s own parents wouldn’t take care of him like this, even if they were home, and it made Eddie’s heart gush thinking about it.

“He was actually just showing me pictures from your talent show. Nice buzz cut.” The younger man teased.

Eddie looked down and realized they’d been looking at scrapbooks Wayne made dating back to when he first became primary guardian.

“Oh my god what did I say about showing this book to people?” Eddie freaked out, ears burning with embarrassment.

“Only to family. I know.” Wayne put a hand on Steve’s shoulder and looked into his nephews eyes, “If you love him, son, Steve is family.”

[softsnzstuff]

Wayne Munson said what now??

This is so cursed ☠️ Joel why?

[softsnzstuff]

I love the eddie and wayne fics!!! how about eddie comes home after school and wayne notices he’s got a fever and takes care of him??????

Hi Anon! I love them too! Feel free to send me Eddie and Wayne prompts anytime!! (#TheMunsons ?)

Anyways enjoy this lil drabble with Eddie being a grump 🥺

*******************************************************

Eddie’s van came to a halt outside of the Munson trailer. Wayne could hear the door shut and the too-heavy sound of his nephew’s steps coming up the porch.

The door handle jiggled a couple of times before he heard an exasperated, “FUCK!” as the door opened. Clearly Eddie was having trouble with the lock today.

“Hey son, how was school?” Wayne asked from the recliner where he was reading a mechanic handbook.

Eddie didn’t answer, only throwing his bag onto the floor.

“Hey I’m talking to you, Eddie!”

“It was shit, okay?” The young man stormed off to his bedroom, slamming the door. Wayne swears he could almost see the steam coming out of his ears.

He closed his book and slapped it on the table getting up and walking to his nephews room, opening the door. Eddie was plugging the amp into one of his electric guitars, getting ready to angrily play music it seemed.

“Eddie! I understand havin’ a bad day sometimes, but what have I said about slamming doors in this trailer?” His voice was calm, but the tone was stern.

“D’ndo’it” Eddie mumbled.

“What?”

Eddie whipped around, giving Wayne a death glare, “Jesus Christ I said ‘Don’t do it’!!!”

The kid was so upset he was sweating, small beads forming on his forehead. “Now listen here Ed, I may not be your father but you don’t use that tone with me.”

Eddie pretended not to hear him and went to reach for the neck of his guitar, Wayne intercepting midway and grabbing Eddie by the wrist - his wrist that felt warm.

With one hand still holding Eddie’s wrist, Wayne brought the other up to graze his nephew’s forehead - Eddie pouting the whole time.

“No wonder you got your panties all in a twist. You’re running a fever Eddie!”

“Don’t care.” He mumbled again.

“I know you, son, and I know that’s bullshit.” Wayne looked him up and down, making sure it was a good time before he pulled Eddie into a gentle hug. “Why don’t you tell me how you really feel.”

Eddie pulled back, still pouting, eyes glazed with what might have been tears. “I feel like shit. I’m sorry I yelled at you.”

“I’ll let it slide just this once because you ain’t feeling well. But you gotta let me help you okay?”

Eddie nodded and sat on his bed as Wayne left the room for a minute, returning with a glass of ice water and two pills.

“Take these: Tylenol and cold water. Should bring your temp down a little.”

Eddie tipped his head, knocking back the pills before taking the glass of water and sipping on it.

“Thanks Uncle Wayne.”

“Anytime, kid. Now get in bed and sleep off that diva attitude of yours.”

[softsnzstuff]

Yes I want Eddie to come back. But do you know what I want more?

Still torn up from bay bites, Eddie somehow managed to crawl - fighting tooth and nail - back out of the gate. Clutching his side, he stumbles his way through the ruins of Hawkins, Indiana. Everything looks post-apocalyptic and he doesn’t know why. The town looks abandoned.

He lays eyes on the one familiar thing. The Munson trailer, or what was left of it. Half of it was torn apart and covered in thick vines resembling the Upside Down. But despite it all, there was a faint light coming from inside.

Eddie limps up to the opening torn in the side of the trailer.

“Uncle Wayne?” He asks hesitantly.

There’s some shuffling inside before the man appears. He looks defensive, brows furrowed. As soon as he takes in the sight, his face softens as he bursts into tears.

“Eddie!” He chokes out between sobs.

The guitarist all but falls into Wayne’s arms as they hugged for what felt like the first time in years. Wayne holds the boy at arms length and really looks him up and down.

“I thought I lost you!”

Eddie’s heart feels a pang of guilt as he catches a glimpse of red on his uncles neck. His old guitar pick.

“Where did you get that?” Eddie asks, feeling it’s absence on his own chest, not quite remembering.

Wayne undid the clasp in the back and removed it, putting it back on Eddie.

“From that boy. Dustin?”

Eddie’s eyes widen, “Henderson… is he??”

“He’s okay! They’re all okay. He said you saved them - you saved us.”

Eddie blinked in disbelief, still confused about the events that transpired.

“Where…is everyone?”

“They all had to evacuate. Hawkins wasn’t safe anymore. I uh… I couldn’t bring myself to leave. I still always felt like you might come home someday.”

Wayne looked at his feet, feeling embarrassed at how soft that sounded aloud. A silent tear rolled off his cheek and landed on his boot.

Eddie smiled for the first time, “I’m so glad you waited.”

Wayne’s face suddenly shifted as he seemed to remember something long forgotten. He felt around in his pants pockets before pulling out a crumpled piece of paper. He had been holding onto it for so long.

“Mr.Munson? I saw you talking to Dustin earlier. We um.. we were friends. Eddie and I. Im so sorry we couldn’t-” The brunette’s words trailed off as he started tearing up.

Steve Harrington pinched at his nose to try and stop himself from crying.

Wayne put a firm hand on the boy’s shoulder, meeting his teary eyes with his own, “Its silly but I still feel like he’s out there somewhere.”

Steve sniffled and nodded, “Can you just… if he ever comes back… could you just give me a call?”

He hands Wayne a folded up piece of paper with his first name and phone number scribbled on it. “There’s a lot of us who would really like to see him.” Steve explained, looking over his shoulder at Nancy and Robin.

“Absolutely.” Wayne wiped a tear with his shirt sleeve and put the paper in his pocket before turning to put up more MISSING signs.

He turns to the phone in the trailer, miraculously one of the few things that still worked in the damn place, and plugged in the number on the paper. It rang several times before a young girls voice answered.

“This is Steve Harrington’s phone, how may I assist you?”

Wayne could hear murmuring in the background: “Dammit Robin give me that!” Followed by some giggling.

“I’m so sorry about that, this is Steve. Who’s this?”

“This is uh, Wayne Munson.”

There was a pause. Steve had waved Robin back over to the phone.

“Hi Mr.Munson. Is everything okay?” His voice was shaky. He wasn’t quite sure what to expect.

“Can I swing by in a couple of hours? I’ve got someone here who would really like to see you guys.”

Wayne could hear the whispered “oh my god” on the other end of the line.

“I- I mean…what?!”

Robin yelled over Steve, “Dingus says yes!!”

“What do you mean?” Steve asked, afraid of the answer.

Eddie leaned over the receiver, “I’m back, big boy. And I think it’s finally my year….”

[softsnzstuff]

YES EDDIE AND WAYNE CONTENT PLS PLS PLS

YES THANK YOU! Stay tuned for Sicktember Day 9 👀😈

[softsnzstuff]

Ohhhh how about Eddie trying and failing to take care of Wayne when he's sick? Wayne's just like "of course you did good, Ed" (Spoiler alert: he didn't)

Wayne Munson never made a big fuss when he got sick. If it was bad enough, he’d stay home and rest, otherwise he’d power through it at work or in the garage.

On this particular evening, he’d decided to take the night off of work. The cold making the rounds had set up camp in the man’s chest and he figured it was for the better to just lie low for a day or two.

His twenty year old nephew had come back from school eager to help. Wayne didn’t really need anything but he didn’t mind indulging Eddie.

“I’m gonna make some dinner. Do you want some?” Eddie offered politely.

“Sure kid.”

He’d blindly agreed, not knowing that “dinner” meant Spaghetti O’s and slightly burnt grilled cheese sandwiches.

Eddie clanged around in the kitchen, getting the pot and pans ready for the stove - the noise not doing a lick of good for Wayne’s headache.

The long haired man brought a tv tray over towards the pullout bed and set up the soup and sandwich with some water.

“Thanks Ed.” He coughed.

“No problem. Oh!” He ran to his room and rummaged through his backpack before coming back, snapping successfully. “Got you this at the store on the way home!”

He held out a bottle of children’s bubblegum cough medicine. Probably wouldn’t work all that well on a fifty year old man.

“Well that was thoughtful of you.”

“Yeah,” Eddie smiled, “Bubblegum sounded like the best flavor anyways. Here let me open it for you.”

“You don’t have to-” Wayne started, intending to return it when he felt better.

But there was Eddie removing the plastic seal. Before he knew it, his loving nephew was holding out the small plastic cup of pink liquid to him.

“Oh..”

His calloused hands took the cup and he grimaced slightly as he knocked it back. The artificial bubblegum flavor was just as artificial as he remembered.

“That wasn’t so bad huh?” Eddie asked. “I’m really nailing this whole ‘taking care of you’ thing.”

“Yes you are, son.” Wayne gave a crooked smile as Eddie headed off to his bedroom.

With his nephews back to him, he made one last face of disgust at the taste of the medicine before tucking into the Spaghetti O’s. Eddie needed a few more lessons on the proper caretaking of a sick person, but this was certainly a fair start.

[softsnzstuff]

A Week With the Munsons

Based on my post:

Wayne gets the flu, followed very shortly by Eddie. Steve has been coming over to keep them company until he gets sick too.

Word Count: 1.6k | Canon - set in 1986

Eddie would be the first person to tell you that Wayne Munson is always on his feet working on something or helping someone. Eddie will ALSO be the first one to worry should there come a day that Wayne isn’t up and about, covered in oil or dirt.

The 21 year old shut off the kitchen sink with his forearm, tossing the towel over the shoulder of his Hellfire shirt as he carried in a plate of toast, black coffee, and some Asprin with both hands.

“How you feeling, old man?”

He phrased the question as a casual tease, but deep down, he was really worried.

“I’ll tell ya Ed,” he coughed chestily, “I haven’t had a flu this bad since 1963.”

Eddie frowned, setting the food down on the side table.

He’d noticed his uncle seemed more tired than usual since the beginning of the week - chalked it up to long hours and not enough sleep. But now Wayne was laid up on the pullout and had called out of work for the second day in a row after having been sent home early two days ago.

“That’s no good. I’m sorry.”

Wayne coughed again, “What’s no good is you spending all your time looking after me. I can take care of myself.”

There was no heat behind the words, if anything, it was sympathy.

“I know you can.” Eddie started, “But I’m here to take care of you so you’re stuck with me!”

He faked an evil laugh, and retreated to the small table by the phone. His DND binder was out and he was planning for the next campaign.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

A few hours had passed and Wayne was snoring on the pullout. The campaign was sort of coming together, but after awhile, Eddie’s brain got foggy and it was hard to think of new ways to advance the plot.

There was a light knock at the door. Someone who wanted to let their presence known but also didn’t want to disturb. Steve. He’s been coming over the past day or two to keep Eddie company and help with the campaign brainstorming.

Eddie stood up, having to pause for a moment to stabilize himself. He answered the door while rubbing at his eyes.

“Hey- are you okay?” Steve asked, voice hushed.

“Yeah, just… got up too fast.” Eddie groaned, sniffling. “Come in.”

The younger man followed his partner inside the trailer, taking note of Wayne sleeping in the living room. “Came by to see if you needed help with your campaign.”

Eddie waved a hand dismissively in the air. “Started working on it but wasn’t feeling it right now. Thanks for coming.” He smiled, kissing Steve on the lips.

The pair made their way to the metalhead’s room where Steve perched on the edge of Eddie’s bed.

“So how’s Wayne?”

“Ehh, he hasn’t gotten any worse but it’s super weird to see him down for this long.” Eddie pinched the bridge of his nose, “I mean you know him. He’s usually so…? Active n shit.. hhh H’xCHT! G’tSCH! N’xxT!”

Eddie rocked forward with each stifle, trying not to wake his uncle in the next room.

“Bless you!” Steve exclaimed.

“Ngh. Thanks.” The older man sniffled wetly against the back of his hand, a barely noticeable shiver rattling through his body. “S’cold.”

Eddie opened his small closet and grabbed a black hoodie, pulling it over his head. The newly developed tickle in his nose was not going away.

He grabbed the collar of the sweatshirt with both hands and ducked down inside, trying to muffle the sound. “Ptssch! M’ptCHh! … h’kTSCHiew!”

When he looked back up, Steve was now standing in front of him, looking concerned.

Steve gently reached a hand up, resting it on his boyfriends forehead behind the bangs. “You don’t sound too hot, Eds, are you catching this flu?”

Eddie sniffled helplessly into the sleeve of his jacket, “N’do.”

Steve cocked his head and raised a questioning eyebrow.

“Yes??” Eddie asked, looking at Steve for the verdict.

Feeling the warmth radiating off of his partner, Steve nodded, frowning.

“Fuck. I thought I was just tired.” Eddie scrubbed at his face.

“Let’s go take a nap then babe.” Steve’s voice was so soft and tempting.

“That’s so boring for you though. You can go home, I’d understand.”

“And leave you and Wayne here sick? No chance. I’ll just put something on the tv with the volume real low.”

“Are you sure?”

“I’m positive.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Steve is relaxing on the couch with the living room tv on a super low volume. His arm is around Eddie, who has curled into the smallest ball on Steve’s lap with a blanket over him and a box of tissues tucked under his arm.

It’s probably about 4pm when Wayne blinks himself awake, groaning slightly as he props himself up on the pullout.

“Hey Mr.Munson.” Steve waves from the couch.

“You can call me Wayne, kiddo. What’re you watching?”

Steve grins, “Ferris Bueller. Wanna join?”

“Sure.”

Wayne sits all the way up and sips at his glass of water from the table when he really notices Eddie. His nephew’s lips are slightly parted, a familiar congested snore escaping them. He takes note of the tissue box under his arm and the fever flush dusted across his cheeks.

“Aw crap.” He sighs, feeling guilty. “Eddie too?”

Steve nods, “He went down pretty quick. How are you feeling?”

The eldest Munson shrugs, “Been better. Been worse. I feel like I should get him to bed.”

Wayne nods towards Eddie, uncle instincts kicking in. “I’m sure he’s like a personal heater over there.”

Steve chuckles and nods. His boyfriend is absolutely throwing off heat waves right now.

The brunette rubs his partner’s arm and leans down to speak softly. “Hey buddy, let’s get you into your own bed, hmm?”

Eddie shifted slightly, letting out a small groan that turned into a cough.

“Come on son, if you go lay down I’ll make you some jello water.” Wayne stood up and was now hovering over his nephew, trying to encourage some movement.

Eddie opened his eyes, only half there, slowly getting up with the blanket still draped around him. Steve guided him down the short hallway to the bedroom where he flopped onto the bed and resumed his curled position.

“I’ll be back in a second.” Steve said softly before joining Wayne at the stovetop where he was boiling some water.

“When Eddie was little,” Wayne started as he stirred the water, “I’d make him jello water when he got sick. S’basically just jello that ain’t solid yet. Tastes like candy but keeps him hydrated. Told him it would make him feel better and I think he still believes it.”

Steve smiled as Wayne coughed into his shoulder before adding the jello pack and some cold water.

“So that’s the trick then, huh?” Steve laughed. “My parents used to just stick me in a cold shower and then send me out to school.”

The man tried to hide the sadness behind his eyes. “Well next time you’re sick I’ll make you some jello water too. And you can try some now as well!”

He spooned a little into two plastic cups that had probably been there since Eddie was a child.

Steve grabbed two to head into Eddie’s room, “Thanks Wayne.”

The man nodded, retreating back to the pullout. When Steve got to the bedroom, Eddie was sat up blowing his nose.

“H’etCHuhew!! snrkk” he tossed the practically soaked tissue to the side and grabbed a fresh one. “This is awful. Is that m’by jello water?”

“Yeah,” Steve handed a cup over and Eddie downed it, lying back down.

Steve drank his too and crawled under the covers, where Eddie immediately wrapped himself around Steve. He looked up at the younger man, “I love you. Thanks for staying with m’be even though we’re all gross.”

“Lucky for you, you’re still adorable.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~

Wayne awoke the next morning to the sound of some clamoring in the kitchen and some coughing.

He peeked over at the clock - 9:47am. Despite it being late in the morning, the trailer was dark and quiet - the sure fire way to tell that the Munsons were sick.

“Alright there Ed?” Wayne sat up, ready to go take care of whatever his nephew was doing. Upon looking though, he realized it wasn’t Eddie. “Steve?”

The 20 year old looked up, he was pale with a thin layer of sweat on his forehead. Hair sticking up in every direction. He coughed again into his elbow.

“I’m sorry, I was getting some water. I didn’t mean to wake you.” He was clearly flustered.

“You okay bud? You seem out of it.” Wayne approached slowly.

“Yeah I’m fine. Umm I actually think I’m sick, I was gonna head home…”

“No no no,” now it was Steve’s turn to have his forehead felt, “You’re in no condition to drive. You’ll stay with us and I’ll take care of you boys. I’m feeling a little better today.”

“But…”

“No buts. You’re one of us. Get back in bed and I’ll make you both some jello water.”

[softsnzstuff]

Five hundred years ago I promised a fic with Eddie, Wayne and Steve in a cute lil family dynamic and I have decided that I’m gonna work on it super soon because I really miss them 😌

[softsnzstuff]

would love to see something with wayne and eddie, maybe wayne being really worried about eddie having a particularly bad allergy attack?

Ahhh yes I love this so much! Have a little snippet of Eddie doing some spring yard work while Wayne works on the car. - Canon adjacent.

Pls note that I also headcanon that when Eddie’s having an allergic fit, his sneezes get higher pitched and more desperate. That is all.

*****

Mid-May meant one thing for Eddie: cleaning. Cleaning out the fridge, cleaning up the trailer, pulling weeds out front, and sometimes tending to the flowers on the front porch. The flowers were something his mom used to do, and it made him feel more connected to her when he could.

The Munson household took spring cleaning VERY seriously, and spring had definitely sprung, alright. The pollen count was through the roof and Eddie was sniffling helplessly as he hardened.

On this particularly warm day, the metalhead had his hair up in a bun, was wearing black ripped bermuda shorts, and had traded his usual hellfire tee for a black Metallica tee with the sleeves cut off.

He was on his hands and knees, pulling out an atrocious amount of weeds while Wayne cleaned and worked on the cars around the side.

A familiar tickle made his nose twitch before he tilted his head down slightly, pitching forward towards the dirt.

“N’Gtch! H’etSCH! ii’TCHIEW!”

He sniffled wetly, pressing the back of his gloved hand to his nose. He’d been sneezing pretty much nonstop for the better part of 15 minutes since coming outside after finishing the indoor chores.

The 20 year old grabbed another handful of weeds and tossed them into the bag next to him before sitting up, perched like a gargoyle close to the ground.

His sinuses were buzzing in the most annoying way, breath catching in his throat.

“Hih.. HEH!!”

When no relief came, he groaned and pulled the sweat rag from his back pocket, wrapping it around his nose and blowing generously. He barely had time to grimace at the dampness of the rag before the itch came back with a vengeance.

“H’xxtCH! Eh’tchUHEW! ii’ktCHiyue!!”

He squeezed his eyes shut, allergic tears streaming down both cheeks. His breath scissored violently again as he leaned to the side into cupped, gloved hands.

“N’GtchUH! T’szEW! T’sschew! … heh’isshIYUE!!!!”

A firm hand landed on his shoulder before he looked up with red rimmed and watery eyes.

“You’re done, kid. I appreciate the work, but you’re gonna keel over with allergies like that. Go inside. Shower off and take your meds.”

Eddie looked down at the mess on his gardening gloves and then looked back up at Wayne, nodding.

“Okay. I’m sorry.” He stood up and entered the trailer.

Wayne could hear every desperate sneeze and sniffle down the hall until the shower turned on. What that kid needed was a nice cold shower, some antihistamines and a box of tissues.

The older man figured he probably had another fifteen minutes to work on the car before he’d go inside and make sure his nephew had the latter two items. Until then, the Munson spring cleaning would continue.

[softsnzstuff]

Really in the mood for Eddie to be sick as fuck - like worse than normal.

Wayne can kinda handle it at first but then he just can’t get Eddie’s fever down. So he calls in the only reinforcements he knows.

Joyce Fuckin Byers 🔥😎🔥 and she’s got two kids she’s prob done this a hundred times. But Eddie’s not used to it and so he’s just. Big uncomfortable the whole time until he finally starts feeling better.

Anyways that’s been in my head rent free. File it away under things I wanna write