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moonlightsolo · 2 years

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eddie the bloody-handed

summary: your boyfriend, eddie, sacrifices himself in the upside down to keep you and dustin safe- but when you finally go back for him, something else has taken his place.

pairing: vampire!eddie x female reader

warnings: graphic depictions of blood, death, angst, mourning of a character, major spoilers for vol. 2, kinda villain!eddie at the end but with good morals

note: said i was gonna take a long break, but i couldn't help myself when this idea came up. also thinkin about a part 2???

all you feel is pain. pain as your heart wrings in your chest, as if it will burst at any moment. pain from your lungs not allowing you to take a full breath. pain as your bones ache with grief while you scream out for your dying boyfriend, watching him choke out his last breath.

eddie's body sits limp and heavy in your arms, erratic pleas tumbling from your lips. your hands cup his bloodied face as sobs roll out one after another, searching his still face for any sign of life.

“no, eddie! please! wake up!” your voice echoes in the alternate dimension, coughing hoarsely from the phlegm building in your throat.

“we have to go. right now. nancy's plan didn't work." steve’s worried eyes come into view in front of you, wide and full of fear.

"why didn't you just run?" you cry out to eddie, fists desperately grasping at his leather jacket.

harrington stands up after you ignore him, taking a step behind you. his arms swoop under your arms to pull you up to your feet unwillingly, “what?! no!” your voice shrieks in protest. your legs kicking as you fight against his efforts, “steve, please!” you suck in a wheezy breath, your chest shaking and bottom lip quivering. with a grunt, you press a kiss against eddie’s still warm forehead.

before you’re overtaken by steve’s strength, you yank an arm away from his hold to run your fingers through eddie’s unruly hair you’ve grown to love, “i love you, my sweet eds.” your watery eyes blink out numerous tears above him. the liquid slides off your face and onto eddie’s cheeks, carving tracks through the blood and dirt dormant on his skin. your body goes slack, succumbing to the battle.

“i’m so sorry.” his voice cracks, the thunder rumbles above you two as your feet drag against the pavement. steve sniffles as he helps you up the stairs of the munson’s trailer, towards the gate in the living room. steve's emotions are getting the best of him. he would never want to do this to one of his best friends, if it wasn't a life or death situation.

the rest of the group has already climbed through with a new rope they found. the discarded one sits beneath the gate, causing the memory of eddie slicing it to save you and dustin to flash in your mind.

another hiccup tumbles from your lips. a wet sniffle honks from your nose in attempt to suck up the mucus leaking from your nostrils.

steve aids in helping you climb, his hands sitting respectfully on your waist. “steve… i can’t leave him.” you whimper quietly under your breath, pausing your climbing to glance down.

“i know, honey. i know, just- get through this part and we’ll come back for him. it’s not safe for us to be down here right now.” his thumb rubs your sides in attempt to comfort you, urging you to keep moving.

your head nods, taking a deep shuttering breath before continuing your climb. small puffs of strained breath fall past your lips until you’re flipped right side up, back hitting the mattress that’s laid out on the ground.

robin’s hand reaches out for you, helping you up to your feet to allow steve to fall through. the floor rumbles beneath your feet, making you second guess if you’re still in the upside down.

the things around eddie’s trailer begin to tremble, glass clatters and the objects on the wall swing. your eyes dart around at the people around you, their face mimicking your panic-stricken one.

“steve! hurry up!” nancy shouts at him through the portal, making him quicken in pace, “i’ll be right back!” you announce as you turn on your heel.

“no! y/n! shit- what is she doing? there’s an actual natural disaster happening right now!” robin rants, loud voice slightly cracking as she follows. your legs quickly carry you back to eddie’s room, but not without tumbling into the walls from the force of the ground shaking beneath you.

the modular home whines and cracks around you as your body frantically pushes through his door.

the smell of his familiar cologne, weed and tobacco instantly smacks you in the face. tears instantaneously fall down your face, you stumble up to his electric guitar sitting pretty on the wall.

“come on! we need to go!” dustin screams at you and robin from the other room. the urgency makes you reach out for the instrument, slipping the strap over your head.

the dresser falls forward, drawers clattering as they fall out onto the floor of his room. you lunge forward to catch it before it could hit the ground, robin runs up to your side to help you keep it steady.

“i think we really, really need to go. like right now, right now!” her voice is strained with panic.

“i can’t leave without some of his stuff.” you huff out, dropping to your knees to vigorously search through his pile of clothes on the floor.

you find two of your favorite band tees before standing up swiftly, snatching his cologne that has fallen to the ground on the way up. robin stands back to let the wardrobe fall, stumbling backwards to clutch your upper arm.

she starts to lead you down the hallway, but a fallen polaroid catches your eye. you reach down as you run out of the room, snatching the flimsy photo. your eyes glance over it, a teary smile coming to your face when you realized what it is.

eddie is laying down in his bed with you, arm around your shoulders as you hide your face in his chest. he’s playfully sticking his tongue out at the camera, his hand on your shoulder in a rocker gesture. your poor boy, oh how you wish he would have just ran.

“holy shit! holy shit!” robin screams, her hectic pace quickens even faster. her scared voice makes you follow her eyes to peer at the ceiling, seeing that the gate has spread down the hallway.

“come. on! come on!” harrington waves you down from the front doorway, screaming at you both to hurry up. robin practically flies past steve, hopping past the steps instead of using them.

your arm is tugged along with her, so you have no choice but to follow her movements. you slide into the middle seat of nancy’s car. eyes watching as the gate burns a hole right through the top of the beloved trailer.

once steve hops into the passenger seat, wheeler screeches out of the grass, punching the gas as she speeds out of the trailer park.

all three of you in the back turn around to watch the gate crack the home in half, spreading to the ground outside. your heart aches as all the memories you shared with eddie are destroyed- just like that. you sorrowfully turn back around, sinking in your seat as tears silently run down your warm cheeks.

“everything… is just gone…” you whisper out, fingernails digging into your knees caps through your jeans. dustin tackles your side with a hug, holding onto you desperately as he cries against your shoulder.

he didn’t even have to talk for you to wrap your arms around the boy, the silence in the car is deafening as you comfort each other.

the ride home is dreadful. the rest of the party was informed that max was taken to the hospital, and the town is completely destroyed from all the gates merging.

the next few days are even worse. half of hawkins population has been relocated to the high school. where you were involuntarily volunteered to help out, since it’ll be ‘good for you’ to get out.

you’re busy slumming out peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for the people of hawkins, working in a machine-like routine. robin is occupied with vicki, and steve is somewhere folding clean donated clothes.

how is this supposed to help? it’s making you feel worse. you’d rather be absentmindedly strumming chords on the guitar instead of-

your running thoughts pause when you notice a crowd forming around the large windows.

the knife in your hand clatters to the table below you before you run past robin to push through the crowd. your heartbeat pounds against your ears, ignoring the clamor of the people you’re pushing out of the way.

you come to a clearing, noticing steve staring out the window in the front. you reach out to grip his shoulder to pull yourself to him, stumbling forward out of the packed crowd. his hand instinctively grabs yours to bring you closer to him, holding onto you protectively.

when you’re close enough, you finally realize why everyone has gathered. to other people, it seems like it’s snowing, but to you and your friends, the familiar upside down dust is floating freely in the air.

“steve…” you breathe out, hand gripping his just as harshly, “what’s going on?”

he turns his head, giving you a look that makes fear travel down your spine, “i think.. it’s merging with our world. another gate must’ve opened.”

the sound of another gate opening makes you perk up, mind cranking with millions of thoughts. steve realizes what just clicked in your mind, but he’s too slow to react. you’ve already pulled your hand away from him, and started pushing back through the crowd.

you need to find this gate in hawkins, you need to find eddie.

steve calls out your name repeatedly, not having the best luck weaving and bobbing through the crowds as he chases after you.

your feet take off in a sprint, dodging numerous children and people as you make your way through the maze of corridors in the high school. the area is heavily guarded by military personnel; which means you need to find a way past them.

you burst through the front doors of the school, trotting quickly down the steps. the door behind you bangs open, a panting steve emerging as he weakly screams your name.

you stop in your tracks, turning around to look at him with a stern glare.

“steven, you can either you help me, or you can ignore what i’m doing and go back to folding clothes.” you breathe out heavily, giving him an ultimatum.

he marches up to you, face twisted with frustration, “i don’t think you realize how dangerous it’s going to be to go back! i mean- seriously? there’s militia everywhere, they will shoot-!”

“you can lecture me all you want, harrington, but you will not change my goddamn mind.”

steve groans in annoyance, looking up at the darkened sky, “you obviously know i’m not going to let you do this by yourself, right?” he mutters, stressfully running his hand through his hair as he drops his head to stare at his feet.

a small grin curls up on one side of your mouth, your hands rest proudly on your hips, “i seriously love you, steve. now let’s go.” you slap your hand into his to pull him to your car but he doesn’t budge.

“we can’t do this alone.”

steve corrals robin and dustin from inside the school, gives nancy a call, but she refuses to help anyone go back into that hell. (that’s her exact words)

dustin knows exactly where eleven’s hideout is, so steve drives there with the help of dustin’s directions. the car rolls up to a very old, almost destroyed cabin.

the inter-dimensional dust seems to be thicker around this part, and there’s nobody to be found. “come on.” you usher, hopping out of the backseat to run towards the house. you knuckles rap against the wooden door, but to no avail.

you hop down the steps, ignoring the rest of them to run around back. you notice a trail that leads through the forest, so you opt to follow it; even with steve’s fatherly protests.

it seems like you’re going the right way since the dust is growing thicker, almost as if a gate is nearby. you come across a clearing, a grassy hill scattered with wildflowers. the scene behind it catches your eye, dark smoke billows into the sky from the cracked open earth.

it resembles a scene out of a fantasy book, like lava is spewing from the depths of the planet. the group is standing farther down the hill, surrounding something on the ground.

you run up to them, chest constricting with anxiety as you grow closer. there it is- the gate.

the people around you call your name in surprise from your arrival, but it falls upon deaf ears. every form of self-preservation is screaming at you to not jump through, but your heart aches for eddie; to find him and put his body to rest.

as you’re about to step through the gate, your body is held captive by someone gripping the back of your metallica t-shirt, “what do you think you’re doing?”

your head spins around to the person holding you back, seeing hopper, alive and well. “oh my god!” you shriek, throwing yourself at the man who quickly hugs you back with a hearty laugh.

“hey kid. how you doing?” his deep voice rumbles. this doesn’t seem real.

the floodgates let loose, tears soaking into his shirt. “i’m terrible.” you sniffle, wiping your nose with your hand, “my boyfriend… he- he died in there.” you point back at the gate with your lip quivering.

“i want to get him. bring him back to give him a proper burial. i just- i left him in there.” you sob, digging your face into his chest.

“hey, hey. i don’t think going back there is the best idea right now. we need a plan.”

you pull away from him, eyebrows furrowed in frustration, “i do have a plan. i’ve been thinking about it for days. i know what i need to do.” you pull away from him, turning on your heel to stare down directly into the gate.

it seems as if everything slows down around you. before you could decide if you want to jump into it, a tentacle from the gate whips out at your foot. the slimy extremity spirals up your leg to grip your body, pulling you harshly to the ground.

a scream leaves your mouth as you’re tugged towards the mouth of it, “no!” you yelp, scratching at the ground, dirt building up under your nails. you wanted to make this decision yourself, not to be forcefully taken in.

flashes of your friends running after your helpless body are seen between your head being hit repeatedly against the ground. your body is lashed around by the violent force of the creature as you fight against its efforts.

your strength is nothing compared to it, unable to keep yourself in your own world. the tentacle tightens it’s grip on your ankle as it pulls your body into the alternate dimension.

the thing detaches from you, throwing your body into the air as you scream into the oblivion. gravity takes over and you’re sent hurling towards the ground. your side slams into the solid terrain, your lungs left unable to work.

all the air is punched out of your body, instantly struggling to breathe as you army crawl away from the insistent tentacle. “augh- fuck.” you wheeze, unable to take a fully deep breath from the air being knocked out of you.

you roll onto your back, looking over at the gate that’s sealing up in the ground. the once colorful flowers around you seem to have molded and withered away, the sky is dark and menacing, lightning flashing red.

your consciousness seems to fade in and out, head twirling dizzily. you blink in attempt to clear your fuzzy eyesight, lungs finally regaining some strength.

your hand rests on your chest as you breathe in all the upside down grime. you close your eyes for a moment to try and relax, taking in deep and slow yet painful breaths.

something above you blasts air in your face, making you gasp and whip your eyes open. the dark silhouette of a large bat-like creature in the sky is shown by the flashing lightning.

adrenaline kicks in your nervous system, activating your fight or flight response. your legs scramble beneath you as the bat nose dives, and barrels down right towards you.

“shit shit shit shit!” you screech when you notice it growing closer, hands coming up to hide your face. it’s cold grasp embraces your body, trapping your arms by your sides and lifting you up into the sky.

the freezing air whips through your hair, your eyes hesitantly squint open to look around you. red flashes in the clouds you’re flying through, making your body tremble with fear. even with the cold temperature of the sky, sweat pools on the back of your neck.

the monster soars through the air, it’s fur slightly tickling your nose. since you’re pressed into it’s chest, you didn’t dare to look up at its face. you’re not dead… yet, so you decide to glance at your attacker.

it seems almost human like- it’s skin is soft, yet deathly pale, almost grey. it’s wearing a bloodied white shirt, it’s scarred sides in full view from the torn holes. you realize that it’s not fur, it’s curly hair that adorns it’s head.

oh my god.

the jawline, the hair, the ripped up hellfire club shirt…

“eddie?” you scream out over the loud wind in your ears. instantly, tears spring to your eyes as you wiggle in his grasp to bring one of your hands out. his tight grasp doesn’t budge, not letting you move as he traps you against his chest.

eddie drops beneath the clouds, making you squeal from the feeling in your abdomen. his arms tighten protectively around you before his wings widen, stopping the airflow to gently lower you both to the ground.

once your feet touch the grass, you stumble backwards to fully look at him. it’s eddie, but he doesn’t look like your eddie. his skin is much paler, clothes torn where he was bitten by the demo-bats, wings folded fingertips black with long dark nails, and leather jacket scuffed and ripped from his protruding wings.

“eds?” you call out his name again, stepping forward with your hand out. his head hangs, frizzy hair covering his face as he shakes and grips the roots at the top of his head.

“baby, please. look at me.” your voice whimpers out desperately, tears running down your cheeks.

“stay away!” he raises his voice, making you stop in your tracks. his shoulders quiver as he silently cries into his hands, “i’m a monster. i don’t want you to see me like this. why did you come back?”

you take another careful step towards him, waiting for him to tell you no before you take another one, “my love. you’re not a monster.” you mutter with a breathy laugh.

his head lifts up, looking at you with bright glossy red eyes instead of the dark brown ones you’ve grown so fond of. you stop to stare at him, looking over his slightly sunken cheeks. his perfect lips are still plump, and slightly pink.

“but i am.” he talks, flashing his pearly fangs in his mouth. the sight makes your blood run cold, but you refuse to let him know that it terrifies you.

“no, eds. you’re not.” you shake your head with a watery smile, reaching both your hands out for him. his bright eyes dart towards you, then to your hands then back down to his.

shakily, he lifts his arms so his hands were hovering above yours, fingertips grazing against each other’s. you slightly raise your hands, fingers wrapping around his slender wrists. the temperature of his skin is a great contrast to yours. it feels as if he’s been outside in the snow all day.

“i don’t wanna hurt you, sweetheart.” his voice is timid, quiet and scared.

“you won’t. i know you won’t.” you let your hands travel up his familiar arms, feeling the muscles and once full veins under his skin. you let your hands travel to his waist, pulling yourself towards him to embrace his rigid body.

at first, he’s tense when your body presses into his, but he soon softens against your touch. he nuzzles his nose into your hair, letting out a relieved shaky breath. “god, i missed you so much.”

“eds, you died in my arms. i thought i was never going to see you again.” you mumble into his dirty shirt, voice muffled.

“i did, but i woke up once you left. i turned into... whatever this is,” he motions to his body, “think i’m part demo-bat, or somethin’.” he chuckles, fluttering his wings behind him.

“like kas the bloody-handed, from d and d.”

“kas?” he tilts his head back to look at you with a sly smirk, “hearing you say that was so sexy.”

“only learned from the best.” you bring your pointer finger up to poke his nose, making his face scrunch up.

“can i kiss you or will you bite me?”

“maybe i will… maybe i won’t.” he shrugs playfully, gripping your hips to pull you closer. his infamous smirk makes your stomach flutter with butterflies.

you stand slightly on the tips of your toes, craning your neck up to peck a wary kiss against his cool lips. he chuckles against you, dipping down to catch his lips with yours again.

the temperature sends a shock down your spine, goosebumps rising on the surface of your skin. his nails slowly drag up the back of your arm, making another shiver wrack through your body.

the sharpness of his fangs press into your bottom lip as he deepens the kiss, wiggling his tongue past your lips to press against yours.

eddie’s hands glide down your sides to rest on the swell of your ass, squeezing the plushy flesh there. his wings flap happily behind him, curling in around your bodies to shield you both from the surroundings.

you pull back from the kiss, eyes fluttering open to look around, noticing the fleshy wings circled around you. “eds, you’re so beautiful.” you stare up into his crimson irises, bringing a hand up to cup his cheek.

the boy nuzzles his cheek into your palm like a puppy, happy to be here with you in this moment. touching you, feeling your warm skin under his icy fingertips.

the crunch of footsteps behind you makes him tug you against his chest possessively, wings tightening around your body to hide you as he whips around towards the sound.

eddie lets out a loud hiss, showing his fangs at the aggressors in front of him. his eyes are intimidating, baring his teeth as he tries to ward off the intruders.

“hey, hey, hey!” someone attempts to calm him down, their voice deep and muffled by something. “we don't want to hurt you. we’re looking for someone! a girl. she came in here, did you see her?”

his eyes flicker between the people, muscles softening against you. his wings slowly unravel, letting you in view. when you turn on your heel, you don’t exactly recognize them at first.

two men are standing in front of you, clothed in protective gear, flashlights and weapons in hand and bandanas over their nose and mouth. “steve? hopper?” you breathe out, squinting to get a better look.

“hey, yeah- it’s us.” steve’s eyes flicker to eddie, looking fearful of the winged man. “harrington?” eddie calls out with a shocked tone, hands on his hips as he leans forward to stare at him for a moment.

“should’ve known by the hair.” he gestures with a twirl on top of his own head, “sorry, buddy.” he chuckles, “didn’t mean to scare ya.”

“what happened?” harrington asks, eyes raking over munson’s silhouette with a frightened look.

“long story short… those uh bats? turned me into a vampire, kind of thing.” he nods his head once he thinks he explained it good enough, pursing his lips awkwardly.

“y/n. we have to go. you can’t stay here, come on.” hopper waves his hand as he moves toward you.

your eyebrows furrow, taking a step towards eddie. “i’m not leaving him. i just got him back.” you wrap your arms around his side.

eddie pulls you in protectively as hopper sighs and takes another slow step towards you both, “i don’t want to fight with you, let’s just go. it’s not safe.”

“excuse me. i don’t know who you are, but she says she doesn’t want to go, and frankly, i don’t want her to either.” eddie grows more and more protective by the moment, upper lip slightly twitching as he yearns to snarl.

the man completely disregards eddie, “did you not hear me correctly? it’s. not. safe. you can’t be breathing in all this shit for a long period of time.” hopper grows impatient, his broad shoulders huffing.

steve is behind him, eyes darting nervously between everyone as he stays quiet. “you gonna help me, or what, kid?” hopper shouts back at steve who clears his throat and steps forward.

“yeah, uh. you should probably listen to him.”

“or what?” you snap back, chest rising and falling quicker as anger brews deeply inside of you.

“or i’m going to drag your ass out of here.” jim states, obviously loosing his cool.

“over my dead body.” eddie steps forward, almost chest to chest with the taller man. his fangs slightly show as he finally snarls at him.

hopper let’s out a chuckle, but not one that��s sounds like you just told him a joke. “huh, okay.” his hand rests on the weapon in the holster of his waist.

“eddie. get us out of here.” you whisper up to your boyfriend, in fear for both of your safety. “hold on tight.” his arms wrap around your waist as he launches himself from the ground and into the air.

“hey?! hey!” hopper and steve yell at you both, watching from the ground as eddie disappears into the clouds.

your body shivers from the below freezing temperatures of the high altitude, gripping his body for some sort of solace.

“hold on, baby. tryna find your house.” he dips beneath the clouds, eyes looking over the area until he finds your home. he drops to the ground, leading you up to your doorstep.

eddie pushes open the front door, letting you walk inside first before following behind. he locks the door behind you both, letting you look around at your home.

“it’s like mine… but different.” you breathe out, walking up the steps to find your room. eddie folds his wings behind his back as he follows you up the staircase.

the door to your bedroom is already cracked open, letting you slip inside easily. the bed is messy and thankfully not covered in vines, “i’ve been staying here. since mine got destroyed by the giant gate.” he clears his throat awkwardly, watching you as you peer at all your familiar things.

“can you sleep?” you ask, turning to look at him leaning against the doorway.

“nope, i tried.” he huffs, rolling his eyes, “doesn’t mean i can’t cuddle with you while you do.” his eyes perk up, awaiting for your answer with a little smile.

“of course, darling. you can always cuddle me.” you plop on the bed, patting the empty space beside you.

eddie sulks up to you, sinking into the soft mattress. “you know, i tried to leave through a gate and it burned me. i mean, i healed quickly, but it hurt like a mother-fucker.”

your worried eyes flash to him, “wait- you can’t leave?”

he shrugs in response, gulping when he notices your emotions growing stronger, “don’t worry ‘bout it right now, babe. we’ll get henderson down here and that nerd will figure something out.” he wraps an arm around your shoulders, guiding you down into the bed.

“but for now, get some rest, okay? i can tell you’re tired.” he tucks you in under the blankets along with himself beside you.

he stares down into your eyes as he slightly hovers above you, “everything will be okay.” he pecks your lips with a reassuring smile.

“you’re right, we’ll figure something out.” you give him one last kiss before succumbing into his side, nuzzling against him to get comfortable enough to be able to fall asleep.

one of his wings sneaks underneath you, wrapping around the side of your body like a canopy. he absentmindedly presses soft kisses to your face, enjoying watching you sleep.

“i love you.” he whispers to your sleeping self, before he begins to press kisses down to your jaw, making his way to your neck.

eddie let’s his cold tongue poke over your jugular vein, feeling the heartbeat pumping blood through your body. his mouth salivates at the feeling, knowing you’ll be so tasty. you’re his girl, everything about you is tasty.

he’s careful not to wake you up while he drags his fangs across your soft skin. every bone in his body aches to feed, to sink his teeth into you.

the animalistic urges take over, eyes tearing up from being unable to control himself. a hoarse hiss emits from his mouth, making you jolt awake. he presses his nose into your skin as you wake up, “eddie?” your pretty voice whispers out to him, pushing against his chest but he doesn’t budge.

he trembles in your arms, lips opening to mouth at your skin, “eddie, you’re scaring me, baby. get off.” you whimper, pushing more aggressively against him.

“i’m so sorry. i just- i can’t be without you... please forgive me. i love you.” he weeps softly in your ear.

his words makes you go still, eyes going wide when you realize his fangs are pressing into your skin. “eddie!” you yelp once the pain grows hot on your neck, pushing your hands roughly at his chest.

a cry tumbles past your lips, his wings curl around you to hold you steady. his strength is no match against you as he slurps at your delicious blood.

the thick warm liquid hits his tongue, an almost orgasmic moan gurgles out against your neck, “eddie, please!“ your cries grow softer as more blood is drained from you.

the hits against his chest slowly fade to nothing as you go limp in his arms. he pulls back instinctively with a gasp, wiping his wet mouth on the back of his hand.

he cups your face once he realizes what he’s done, “i’m so sorry, baby. i’m so sorry.” he wails above you, wiping at the seeping blood on your neck with his hand. his thumbs swipe under your eyes to dry up your tears.

“you’ll wake up soon, sweetheart. everything will be okay.”

tags: @authorlovers @powerfultenderness

#eddie munson #eddie munson x reader #eddie munson x you #eddie munson fluff #eddie munson angst #vampire eddie munson #vampire au #eddie munson smut #stranger things #stranger things spoilers #joseph quinn #joseph quinn x reader #eddie munson fic #vampire eddie au #kas the bloody handed #dungeons and dragons #eddie the bloody handed

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rottenaero · 1 year

Text

AO3

Part 1

Part 3

Part 5

Part four of roommates idea

The officer clicked his pen again, signaling he took to long to answer. Steve faced him again, “Sorry I- Shit. Eddie he wasn't- he wouldn't do this shit. He's afraid of fucking dogs. Not even the real big ones either, he definitely wouldn't kill someone. He cries when he watches Bambi and gore freaks him out.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes! I'm absolutely-fucking-positive! He looks all tough and shit but he's not, he's just scared. Fuck that sounds- so bad but- God why don't you believe me and Wayne?”

The officer sighs, ”Eddie sold drugs, did drugs, it's entirely possible he had to many and did something…Not entirely in his regular character.”

Steve bit his lip, “He wouldn’t.”

Steve sat in the family video, he's been distant since the shift started and Robin couldn’t understand why.

That was, until the TV showed the news of a Hawkins student dying. Did he somehow know?

Not much later, Max and Dustin came in yelling about phones, and were quick to start using them.

Steve didn’t even seem shocked when they talked about Eddie being accused. When they finally got a lead about a ‘Reefer Rick’, his eyes lit up.

“I know where he is.”

“Hello?”

Steve looked around the boathouse, “What a dump.”

His eyes landed on tarp covering a boat, “Eddie?"

“Eddie, are you here?"

Now, Steve wasn't an expert, but that tarp looked a lot like it just moved, and if it wasn’t Eddie then-

He grabbed an oar that was leaning against the wall, and began poking it.

“What are you doing?”

“It moved.”

“So take the tarp off!”

Steve gave Dustin an incredulous look.

“If you're so brave, why don’t you take the tarp off!”

It was silent for a moment, then-

“…Steve?”

The man in question let out a relieved sigh, and smiled. “Eds!”

Steve drops the oar, a resounding clatter banging off the walls as he flings the tarp off the boat.

And there he is, Eddie Munson in all his glory, sitting in a fetal position and clutching a broken bottle to his chest like a lifeline.

As soon as he seemed to see Steve, he quickly threw the bottle to the side and stands up to step out the boat.

“Steve, thank fuck.”

Eddie engulfs him in a hug, pressing his face into his neck.

Steve bites his lip, “Hey, hey its okay.”

Steve slid them down carefully, positioning his back against a column. It was a bit awkward, with them being similar height, but he made it work.

“She- I didn’t kill her! I don’t, she started fucking floating. Then her limbs snapped, god Stevie, please you gotta believe me.”

He looked over to the party, Robin’s eyebrows were pinched, Max was darting her eyes between the two, and Dustin looked like he was about to say something.

Finally, he gathered the courage. “ Eddie, we believe you. What you saw, it’s been happening for years. Well, not this particularly but the supernatural.”

Eddie peeked his head out, “ What do you mean?”

Dustin crouches down awkwardly, hands together. “Theres another world. Its kind of like this one, but its terrifying. There are things there. Its called the upside down. We’ve been fighting it since 1983 when Will went missing.“

Steve feels him tense. “ ‘We?’ ‘Fighting?’, How do you fight an invisible force?”

“Demogorgons, demodogs, government people, russians. We’ve had to face them for years. Steve and I were there in 1983, Max in 1984, and Robin just joined in last year with the Russians and the mall.”

Eddie’s eyes widened, and he turned his head slightly to face Steve. “ Is that why you were so beat up last year?”

Steve shrugged, “ Yeah. Pretty much.”

Eddie burrowed his head into his neck again. “ Jesus H. Christ.”

“Look, we’re here to help you Eds, that murder in the trailer? They were asking me questions, they think its you. Wouldn’t let up on the idea no matter how much I insisted it wasn’t.”

Eddie looked at Steve with a mix of fear and gratitude, “What do we do? Can’t exactly waltz up and tell them it’s supernatural.”

Steve hummed, “We need to figure out what happened to that Chrissy, and clear your name.”

Max stepped forward, “We’ll help you, Eddie. We’ve faced worse than this.”

Eddie nodded, “Okay. Shit, we’re really doing this..”

Robin glanced around, “Not to interrupt or anything, but maybe we should do the whole story? Like, you guys didn’t even mention the super power girl, and shes like major isn’t she?”

The long haired metalhead nodded, giving Steve a squeeze before letting go and standing.

He turned to face Robin a grimace on his face, “ Right, yeah, full story. Super power girl, sure.”

Steve patted his shoulder, when did he even get up, and after a second, bumped him with his hip.

“Buckle up, Eds. This is gonna take a while.”

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@bxlthazar @i-have-three-feelings

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luveline · 2 years

Text

𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐝 | 𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐯𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐭𝐨𝐧 𝐱 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫

summary steve likes you, eddie munson's best friend, to the point of heart palpitations. you feel the same way about him [6k]

warnings fluff, getting together, mutual pining, first kiss, first date, eddie munson is a good friend, steve is hopeless, fem!reader, reader is hellfire club adjacent, reader is an overthinker and steve is a softie, pre-s4 post-s3, no s4 spoilers besides eddie + hellfire club existing

𓆩❤︎𓆪

The first time Steve sees you he's smitten.

You're sitting on the stoop of Eddie Munson's trailer. Coolest girl he's ever seen – and Steve doesn't go for the edgy type. Crazy cool clothes, hair all messy pretty and your eyes edged in dark makeup, you're fiddling with the cassette player in your lap, brows pinched in frustration.

Steve can't look long. He's dropping the lunch club off for some impromptu Hellfire gathering. The kids pile out, eager to see their new (no, Steve isn't bitter) friend with a chorus of rushed, half-hearted thank you's.

You push the headphones off of your ears as his kids approach.

"Hey, Y/N," they say, one by one as they enter the trailer and disappear from sight.

Steve is two seconds from leaving, swears, when he hears Lucas ask how you are.

"You know," you say, voice quiet and immediately intoxicating. Steve watches as you slowly push two fingers between your shiny lips and pretend to blow your brains out. You drop on your back and lie there for a moment, chest rising with easy, breezy laughter. The sound draws heat to his cheeks, worse the sight of your naked thighs.

He's hooked. He has to leave quickly, before you sit back up and indoctrinate him with your looks alone.

The next time he sees you is similar and not. You're sitting on the ground outside the movie theatre. Again, Steve is playing taxi cab for his doofuses, though this time the thank you's are slightly kinder, louder - he'd blown off a girl he didn't stand much chance with in the first place to bring them.

"Love you!" Dustin calls, slamming the passenger door.

You drop the cassette player in your hands and lean your head back against Eddie's thigh. Steve takes a few seconds to realise you're looking at him, head tilting this way and that to catch a glance at him through people's legs.

"Who's your friend?" he hears you ask Mike.

Mike doesn't even look. "Who? Steve? He's my sister's ex-boyfriend."

You smile at him. Steve, hating to be caught but not stupid enough to blush, nods at you through the window before turning the key. It's the suavest thing he's ever done and he's still applauding himself when you approach his window. He hadn't noticed you get up, distracted by triumph.

You knock the window. He rolls it down.

"Hi," you say.

"Hey," he says back. Then, cautiously, "You need something?"

You smell like a lot of things as you duck your head into his car. Mica and perfume and, softer, talc. Hairspray. Something else, wet like ink. He can't help looking at your make up, the rhinestones under your lower lashes, the shiny sticky pink on your lips.

"Steve," you say. He likes the way you say his name, confident, like you've always known it. You smile softly, at ends with your Joan Jett-esque levels of cool. "Do you wanna come see the movie?" Then, in what marks the beginning of the end, "With me?"

He knows he should play it out. Plus, he's startled. "I don't know, I'm just here to drop them off."

"It's okay if you have plans," you say. He catches a sneak of your tongue pressed behind - what he perhaps insanely thinks of as - cute teeth. You're talking to him in this lilting cadence that has him pinned. "But you drove all the way here, so if you're not busy…"

He pretends to consider.

"What movie?" he asks.

You bring a hand to your neck and secure a small silver pendant between your neatly lacquered nails. "Uh, it's called Day of the Dead. S'about zombies," you tell him. The way you say zombies - your voice goes high and airy, your lips move slow like they're catching up to the word, your eyebrows raised up. Eyes wide. He wants to play it back.

"Please?" you ask when he fails to reply.

He thinks he has to be dreaming. Or drugged again. Definitely drugged.

"Sure," he hears himself say, though he can't remember thinking about it.

You don't smile like he expects. You make a sound, a happy inhale, your eyes light up but your lips stay straight.

Steve thinks you might be nervous.

And sure, he can be a jerk but he's not a total douchebag. He gives you what he hopes is a reassuring smile and gets out of his car, locking the doors to follow you to the ticket stand. Closer now, Steve can't work you out: half dreamy, half fidgeting.

Your boots thud up carpeted stairs into the auditorium, the lights already down, previews blaring.

There's two empty seats next to Eddie. In the dark you catch the hem of his jacket between your fingers and pull him behind you.

His heart skips.

Eddie, in what Steve thinks of as his most mature greeting to date, nods at him and then turns to you curiously. "You okay?" he asks seriously.

"I'm perfect, Eds. Did we miss any good previews?" you ask, sitting heavily beside your friend and stealing a big handful of popcorn out of his lap.

Eddie only chuckles. "Nothing you'd like."

You nod and then turn to Steve shyly. "Sorry we didn't get snacks," you whisper. You offer your hand to him, full of popcorn.

He shakes his head. You look embarrassed but not surprised, tipping your head back to polish off your handful.

"You went to Hawkins High?" you ask with your hand over your mouth.

"I did. You didn't?"

"I did," you correct gently, wiping your hand on your thigh. "I graduated two years ago. When Eddie should have."

That makes more sense, though Steve's sorry he doesn't remember you. He was a little obsessed with Nance at the time.

"Do you work?" he asks.

You smile like you're about tell him a big secret, edging forward. Your arms brushes his arm on the rest between chairs. "You can't tell anyone."

"On my honour," he says, eyes wide, terrified you're a mercenary or worse, a cold caller.

"I desk at the library," you say.

He blinks. You giggle and Eddie shushes you, already sounding defeated. Chastened, you drop your voice to a barely perceptible level.

"I know, I don't look the type."

"No," he says, too loud, receiving several disgruntled glares. "No, you- Well, maybe you don't. But I don't look like I worked at Scoops Ahoy all summer, so…"

You slap a ring-laden hand over your shiny pout and try to smother a laugh. Bracelets slide down your wrist. "You do! You do look like you worked there," you say joyfully.

He can't find it in him to be offended.

You're milder as you settle back into your seat. A preview passes. You clear your throat.

"I'm sorry," you say, sounding worried, "if that was cruel. I get mixed up. I know- I mean, I don't know, but the Starcourt thing. That must've been awful."

Your words stick together like taffy. He releases you as quickly as he can.

"Hey, don't be sorry," he says, scoffing lighty. He readjusted where he's sitting, crossing his arms over his chest. "Doesn't matter." It's not like you'd meant anything by it.

You look less peaky but still hesitant.

"Would you believe me if I told you the worst part of my job was the uniform?" he jokes, wanting to put you at ease again.

"Was it really so bad?" you murmur, your lips slowly curving up into a smile.

"There was a mandated hat."

You laugh. People shush you aggressively. Steve feels something close to magnetism at the sound, and wants to make you do it again.

"Where do you work now?" you whisper as the movie begins.

"Video store by the arcade."

"Family Video?" you ask. He nods, looking down at your hands in your lap, your fingers. Your legs are shaking, minute trembling. You twist one of your rings around your fingers and he wonders what's making you nervous.

"That's the one."

You bend in close, so close he thinks he can smell your shampoo. Dusky, rosewater. Sweet.

"Maybe I can come see you. You can recommend me something."

"Sure," he says, too loud. Somebody coughs, though the cough sounds suspiciously like dickwad.

You watch Day of the Dead, stealing popcorn all the while. You pop the lid off of Eddie's drink and take sneaky sips, and your friend flicks your upper arm when you get greedy. In response, your bashful, peeling laughter.

"Fine, I'll get my own drink. You want one?" you ask Steve, standing with your back bent, necklace dipping down in the space between you. He follows it, looks accidentally straight at your chest and then back up, guilty and blushing. "Steve?" you ask.

"I'll come with you," he says, desperate to escape the dark, the warmth.

Steve follows you down the red, trodden carpet and back into the main body of the theatre, an atrium with high glass windows and wooden beams. It smells old, like dust. The sky is dark now, night eating up every bit of natural light. White cat eyes beam from the movie theatre's floors to guide you to the snack station, a brighter, well stocked haven of greasy foods and cold drinks.

You stand in front of the popcorn machine. It paints your skin with a golden yellow shine, like the sun. You're very quiet as you open your clutch, pulling out hair pins and chapstick and a lone cotton pad before you find your purse, a battered leather pouch embossed with hearts. He tries not to fill the silence, digging for his wallet in his pocket. He gets a too big coke and you deliberate over slurpee flavours, eventually asking for a mix.

"It's so quiet out here," you murmur around your straw.

"Like Family Video on a Friday," he agrees.

"Isn't Friday, like, one of your busiest nights?"

"Yep."

A burst of surprised giggles. Steve hides his smile with a cough, 'cos he's cool.

You pull the straw from your cup and lick it clean, digging for a certain flavour though he's not sure which, still laughing to yourself. Steve takes the initiative and leads you back up the stairs and to your seat, catching your jacket in his hand before you can walk down the wrong row.

You smile gratefully, your lips stained blue and red.

You're sitting on the pavement outside of Family Video. Steve can see your back, your hair.

He wonders why you're here, if it's to see him, and then if you're okay, and feels bad for thinking in that order.

"Robin," he says loudly, reluctant to tear his eyes from you lest you disappear like a shoddy apparition.

"Steven."

"Not correct."

"What, idiot?" Robin asks, picking her head up from the book stretched open in her lap. She sits up and her back clicks loudly.

Steve sighs in disgust. "That's gross, you know? You'll get, like, arthritis."

"You think arthritis is gross? Not cool, Steven."

"No, I meant them as two separate things. Gross to hear you click, and that the clicking will give you arthritis," he explains, exasperated. He runs a hand through his hair.

"That's a myth."

A long pause where Steve watches your back moving, how you're leaning forward towards the sun bleached tarmac.

"What?" he asks suddenly, turning from you finally to stare in disbelief at his best friend.

Robin is more than prepared to fight her cause, the leaves of her book closed around her hand like she'd been waiting for him to ask. She probably had been.

"It's a myth. Clicking your bones doesn't give you arthritis. The clicking sound is fluid moving- Are you even listening to me?"

Steve has dropped his head into his hands. He spreads his fingers wide so Robin can see his eyes. "Robin, we have more important things at hand."

"Like what? Keith's laundry?"

"Like Y/N is sitting outside right now!" he shouts, and then cringes. You don't show any sign of having heard him. He continues in a strangled whisper, "She's been out there for like, five minutes!"

Robin kicks up off of her stool to stand at Steve's side, up on tiptoes to see over the vinyl on the windows. She's listened to his inane rambling and insecure, badly disguised yearning all week, but hasn't had a face to a name until now. She makes a sound of approval like she can understand why Steve has been so wound up about you.

"Why's she on the floor?"

"She does that."

"Oh," Robin says, chin jutting up. "Are you gonna go talk to her?"

He wants to. Dreadfully. Intensely wants to.

"Or I could go talk to her," Robin offers, wrists touching. She rubs them together. Steve ignores her mischievous, shit-eating grin.

"Sure, Robs, you talk to her. Stun her with your stellar people skills."

Robin's lips push, as close as she's ever come to pouting. "Cruel."

"Yet accurate."

"If you're so amazing, why don't you go talk to her, hot shot? Woo her! Chop-chop."

Steve steels his nerves because even if he is about to make a huge fool of himself he's slightly worried about your on-the-ground position. Not unusual for you, but still.

"Are you okay?" he asks as he emerges.

You turn to Steve like you're unsurprised that he's there and offer your headphones to him. "Put these on?"

"Are you okay?" he asks again, voice not dissimilar to when he's bossing around the kids.

You hold the headphones to your chest and dip your chin. "Steve, I'm fine. Please?" you ask, offering them to him.

He puts on the headphones, bent at the waist for the wire to reach your cassette player. He quickly discovers the source of your unhappiness – the tape sounds bloated. Distorted.

"The tapes messed up," he says.

You shake your head with patience, though he can tell from your expression this isn't the first time you've explained it. "It's not the tape, it's the player."

Steve's back gives a twinge. I'm an old man, he thinks in horror, standing up straight with your headphones back in his hands.

"You drop it?" he asks expectantly.

You only frown more, looking generally put out. "No, I took great care of her. Scout's honor."

Steve sighs and decides to take the leap, sitting down beside you on the sidewalk. There's a small dip where the parking lot starts and he stretches one leg out across it, hand on his knee, the other across his abdomen.

"Can't one of your nerd club fix it?" he asks.

"I'm not actually in Hellfire Club, you know."

He didn't. "You can't ask? Eddie must've learned something at school after this many years. By accident. Like… osmosis."

"Eddie's on his third try for a reason," you say, picking at a small ladder in your tights on the side of your calf. You're wearing socks, too, peeking up just over the edge of your thick bottomed boots.

"You know Dustin?" he asks after a patch of silence he would find awkward with anyone who wasn't you. You make it peaceful, in a way. "He could take a look. He went to science camp and built, like, the world's strongest radio."

He can't tell if you're listening. Your eyes are trained on the sidewalk, its crack, and the weeds growing between them. There's a wet snapping sound.

You hold a small yellow flower between your fingers.

"A creeping buttercup," you tell him. You push your palm flat in the space between you both and lean towards him. "Do you like butter?"

"Do I- Yeah, sure, I like butter. Who doesn't?"

You lick your lips. "Mind if I check?" you ask him.

"Is that a trick question?"

"Steve," you say, chiding. You tilt your head to your shoulder and the breeze kisses your hair, ruffling soft strands as you hold the flower under his chin intently. He feels frozen.

"You love butter," you say, nodding like what you just said makes sense.

"Are you sure you're okay? Didn't hit your head on the way here?"

"Here. Hold it under my chin," you tell him, offering him the flower. You twirl its stem, though you stop when he moves to take it.

Steve feels like an idiot as he holds it by your neck.

"Closer," you say softly, lifting your head.

Steve raises his eyebrows but keeps his skepticism to himself. To his surprise, when the flower is close enough to your skin, a small patch of yellow light appears, gauzy around the edges.

"What the fuck…"

You lower your chin, your faces closer than Steve had realised. You look straight into his eyes. "It's a reflection of the light. 'Cos it's clear out."

He feels out of his element no matter how captivating he finds you – he can't get to grips with it. His silence quickly deters you; you look away from his face and your lips pull into a pout as you bite your bottom lip. You bend at the waist and mess with your shoelaces.

"Did you wanna come inside?" he asks, trying to fix whatever it is he did. Girls are complicated.

You cheer up a bit.

"Do you have anything like Day of the Dead?"

He has no clue.

"Sure we do," he says confidently.

He stands up fast and offers his hand. You take it, your palm smooth and cool in his, admittedly warmer and slightly calloused. He hopes the ease with which he pulls you up is impressive, then feels stupid for thinking that. You squeeze his fingers before you let go and follow him into Family Video.

"So, what? You like him?" Eddie asks you from above, cross-legged on his bed. Denim jacket nowhere to be seen, he sits in a t-shirt with the sleeves hacked off, tattoos on clear display, stark against his pale skin.

"Don't be jealous, Eds," you say mildly.

He crawls to the edge of the bed to look down at you where you lie on his floor. His hair tickles your nose and you hold in a sneeze.

"Nice face," he says.

"I think he likes me."

"Why wouldn't he? You're cool."

You stare at your best friend's earnest face. "You know why."

"No, I don't."

You close your eyes, head dipping to your shoulder. You can't hide from him, though you've tried. Your arms cross over your tummy in a self-hug.

The ground is cold. His uncle's trailer is always cold, frigid in the winter. Minimal insulation and no A/C. You rub your face into the scratchy rug beneath you and sigh morosely, suddenly overcome with a pinching misery.

"There's nothing wrong with you," Eddie says seriously.

"I don't think I can do it." It hurts to say, though you know Eddie won't judge you.

"What? Have a boyfriend?"

You nod. The mattress creaks as he moves. You're expecting his touch, though his cold finger flicking you square in the forehead startles you anyway. Your eyes jump open. You flinch up into a sitting position and rub your head.

"Shithead."

"Stop doubting yourself."

"I get so messed up. I'm a bad friend, I wouldn't- I wouldn't be a good girlfriend," you mutter, bringing your knees to your chest. You hide in them.

"You don't get messed up," he says.

"I'm stupid."

"Y/N," he says, dragging your name out sternly. "Here, come sit with me. I won't flick you again, promise."

You rub your eyes, smudging your makeup and stand reluctantly to flop onto his bed, his rumpled sheets a lump under your back. Eddie pulls your necklace from where it has ridden up your neck and drops it down the valley of your chest absent-mindedly.

"You're not stupid," he says gently. "And you don't get 'messed up'. You're overthinking things."

"I'm not," you argue. "I'm an idiot, and I say the wrong things, and maybe he does like me but it won't last long."

You didn't have an easy time in school. Eddie knows this, lived it with you, and he's blamed it a thousand times for your low self-esteem. Ever understanding, he hums to himself skeptically and grabs your shoulder, giving you a good shake. He doesn't stop until you're laughing.

"I'm trying to shake some sense into you," he confides. "You're really fucking cool. And I'm not just saying that because you've been copying me since middle school, you're really cool."

"Cool," you repeat.

"Awesome."

You run the chain of your necklace through your fingers and feel the links skip over your skin, frowning.

"I thought for sure he'd ask me out by now."

"Maybe you should ask him."

"He probably thinks I'm, like, a creepy stalker."

"Creepy, maybe. Stalker? For what? Visiting him at work? That's friendly." You're overthinking things, he doesn't say.

"I left him my phone number," you admit, whispering. "But he hasn't called me."

"Babe, you're always fucking here. Did you check your machine?"

Obsessively. "Yeah."

Eddie throws himself down and kicks his legs over your tummy, to your annoyance. He ponders and you sulk, the rough sounds of Black Sabbath playing in the background.

"You've only met him a few times, right?"

Right. The movies, the video store, once when you'd bumped into him at the arcade and a couple of times when he'd checked out books at the library.

Eddie smiles as you tell him. "The library?"

"Yeah."

"He's visiting you at work?"

You think back to the last time you'd seen him, all of ten minutes across the desk with your clean library uniform and your neat hair. You finally cracked and asked him if he thought it suited you better.

"You look great," Steve had said, smiling lopsided, "but I miss your pretty gems. Oh, we have Friday the 13th back in. I kept it for you..."

"No, he's visiting the library," you say.

Eddie chuckles, his deep, teasing laugh. "And before you met, you saw him in there a lot, huh?"

"Well, no."

"So it's a coincidence that he found out where you work and he's suddenly an academic?"

"Shut up, Eddie," you plead, covering your face with your hands.

"Fine, whatever, we'll stop talking about it. Wanna paint my nails?"

"No."

You get up and paint his nails. You've done one hand pretty well when there's the sound of a car parking outside. Eddie turns down the stereo and you stare at each other curiously, listening for clues.

"Your uncle?"

"No. Probably for someone else."

Instantly disproved, there's a knock at the door, breaking up the silence. Eddie sighs dramatically and climbs over your legs to answer, his footsteps clumsy. "Yeah, coming," he calls. You stand and peer around the doorway, waiting to see who it is.

Eddie opens the door. "Harrington," he says, surprised, vaguely disgusted. "The munchkins aren't here."

"No, I know. I'm looking for Y/N."

You feel a stab of excitement right to your heart and scramble for Eddie's mirror, looking over your face and outfit with something close to terror looming – you're in an old band t-shirt covered in hair-dye from Eddie's red and pink phase and a skirt that's too short. You pull it down to make sure everything is properly covered.

"Yeah, she's here," Eddie says, though the door creaks as he closes it slightly, his voice a fraction from intimidating as he asks, "Who's asking?"

"Me?" Steve asks.

Your socks slide over linoleum in your rush to stop Eddie from being a total dick, edging him out of the way with your hip. He doesn't budge. You shove him with a huff and smile at Steve, trying to calm your pounding heart.

"Steve, hi."

"Hey," he looks over your shoulder. You turn, see Eddie standing there looking unimpressed. He waves. You glare at him fiercely and step over the threshold, shutting the door behind you.

You don't second guess as you take Steve's wrist into your hand, pulling him down the steps and into the short grass to make sure Eddie can't eavesdrop. It's damp under your socks.

Steve looks hot. You're a simple girl, you won't deny that. His hair looks more windblown than usual, lazy strands falling into his face. His eyes are serious, light brown and edged in straight lashes you would count if he let you, brows slightly lifted. You realise he's taking you in as you do the same and feel self conscious, shifting from foot to foot.

"Sorry, I look weird. I didn't-" you bite your tongue. I didn't know you were coming, you'd almost said, but of course you didn't, and telling him you would've dressed up if he was coming might scare him off.

Any anxiety you'd had is soothed as he takes your hand, still loosely clasped around his wrist, and squeezes the centre of your palm with his thumb.

"Are you kidding?" he asks, hand moving down, thumb rubbing over your pulse point. "You look beautiful. Don't worry about it."

His nonchalance trips you up. You can feel your heart in your mouth, like a hummingbird on your tongue.

"What did… what did you wanna ask me?" you stammer.

Steve drops your hand. "I tried calling, but I figured you'd be here. Uh, so-" he laughs, pulling a hand through his hair before dipping into the pocket of his jacket. You watch his arms then his hands.

"I got these," he says, pulling two tickets from his pocket. White and a third red, he offers them to you. You take them, enough adrenaline running through you that your hands are shaking and you struggle to read what they say.

Steve jumps in. "I know you really liked Day of the Dead. They're doing a showing in Indianapolis, one of those fancy theatre's where everyone dresses up as zombies, and like, they throw fake guts on you. Or something."

"Oh," you murmur. Awesome, you think. Oh my god. "That's sick."

"Right?"

"And you…"

"I want you to go with me. I want to take you," he says firmly. "On a date."

"A date."

"It's Friday. I'll pick you up, we'll drive there in the morning. Hang around, we can go wherever you want for dinner, see the sights."

"This is before or after we dress up like zombies?" you ask, hiding a huge smile.

Steve blushes, let it be written, his cheeks red. He sounds frustrated as he says, "Right, not my best idea. Before? We can get ready in the car," his voice fades before he finishes. "That's not a good idea."

He starts on a self deprecating waffle that you can't allow. You press the tickets to your chest, way too happy. "This is pretty cool."

"You think so?" he asks quickly, strung out.

"Yeah," you say fondly.

"Oh."

You almost step on his toes as you kiss his hot cheek. He smells nice. You set back on your heels and linger, trying to work out what his cologne smells like. Something fresh, not quite lemony.

You get a bit dizzy and carried away, stroking the curve of his arm with the back of your hand. Steve makes a sound like a hiccup and you remember yourself, stepping away bashfully, afraid to meet his eyes.

"So," Steve says, sounding relieved. Excited. "You'll go?"

"Yeah. It sounds awesome."

"It's a date," he says.

You tell him your address and he promises to call you to smooth out all the details but he really has to go to work. You climb back up the stairs and close the door almost all the way, watching as Steve gets in his car through the crack. He sits motionless for a bit before he fist pumps the air, says, "Yes! Ugh, yes. Still got it. Still got it, Hawkins."

You close the door.

"Ew, you look happy. Harrington cop a feel?" Eddie says.

"Something like that."

You're running down a dark alleyway with Steve's hand in yours. He's almost dragging you. Dude runs fast.

"I ran track!" he tells you helpfully.

You can't help the breathless laughing as you go, nervous and humming with energy. You'd both been having a great time at dinner and lost track of time, and now it's twenty minutes until doors open for Day of the Dead and neither of you look particularly lifeless.

You almost slam into the back door of his BMW, scrambling inside. Steve is quick behind you, upending the bag with your change of clothes onto the back seat. Your makeup and fake blood tumble out after it. He reaches up to turn on the overhead light.

"Fuck," Steve says, face carved in shadow. "Fuck. We don't have time."

"Sure we do," you say, tugging your shirt off quickly. Steve looks pointedly away once he notices your predicament. You chuckle. "Steve, just get changed. I don't care if you look."

"I'm a gentleman," he insists, rushing, the two of you folding and bumping into each other in a hurry to get dressed into your old clothes.

You catch flashes of his bare chest as he buttons down then buttons up, his legs, his thighs. You feel heat lick every stretch of skin you have at the sight. Oh, he's hairy, you think, and then have to slam your eyes shut to stop from thinking sick (completely normal, dirty) thoughts.

You pull your tights off of your ankles, blush at the idea of being sequestered in a car with him in your underwear, and leap to replace them with a pair of tight, pinstriped trousers, shrugging into them with great difficulty. Your chest is rising and falling rapidly as you pull on your blouse, white for the best fake blood effect, buttoning up just enough to hide your bra.

Make up next. You want to look scary and, importantly, believable. You fish for the make up you'd brought and have managed to suitably brush up your dark eyes with purples to look bruised and sickly by the time Steve has finished redressing. He tightens the tie around his neck.

"You next," you say.

Steve hesitates. "I've never done any makeup before."

You don't blink. "That's okay. I'll do it for you, if you want me to."

Steve climbs closer over your discarded clothes, close enough to hear his breathing, still fast. You brush the hair out of his eyes and they find yours, the two of you sharing a private smile, though there's no one else around.

"Will you ruin my good looks?"

"You'll be a very handsome zombie," you promise.

You reach for his face.

"You need to get closer," you tell him, fingers hooked under his ear. You tilt his head to the light.

"I can't," he says.

You steel your nerves and grab onto his shoulder gently, anchoring yourself as you climb up into his lap. If he's surprised he doesn't show it, his big hands coming up to your waist. You can feel the heat of each finger clearly on your skin where he grips you and the heat of his thighs like a furnace underneath yours. You try not to brush against him, standing up on your knees.

You use your fingers, rubbing them gently in the powder shadows and then over his silky skin. Big stripes of purple, a wash of yellow around his pretty eyes. He closes them as you dab a dark red under his eyelashes. You grow closer still, your breath fanning over his face. His hand skips respectably over your back and down to your thigh, holding you up. It's helpful. It's torture. You try not to breathe too loudly.

"You have really soft skin," you say, using your thumb to spread dark contour under his cheekbone, one side of his face gaunt.

You cover your work with your hand as his eyes open.

"Yeah?" he asks.

This closeness. Suddenly, abruptly, the feelings you're trying to push down rear their heads, and the heat becomes hard to ignore.

"Yeah," you murmur, thumb under his eye. He looks ridiculous. You know you look the same.

"Am I done?" he asks. His hand squeezes your thigh as he adjusts his hold.

"Not quite," you say.

You finish his makeup in silence. Time slows. You forget that you're late, content to feel his features under your hands, to learn the planes and dips of his face for the first time like this. You tuck his hair behind his ears carefully, smoothing back his hairline.

He's looking up at you. You sit down in his lap and he moves his hands to behind your back, his head following you down intently. He looks serious.

You draw your hand from his face and drop it onto his thigh, your rings brushing over starchy slacks.

It's his turn to touch you. Steve's hand comes to your face, his broad palm over the entirety of your cheek. You wait for something though you're not sure what, frozen with apprehension, simply watching him take you in.

"Do I look scary?" you ask, eyes on his lips.

They part before he answers, like he knows what he's going to say before he says it. "Horrifying," he murmurs wryly, hand gently pulling your face towards his.

You lift your chin to meet his lips, the muscles of his forearms shifting against your chest as he cups your face in both hands, guiding you to him. Your lips touch, tentative at first, one small kiss that feels more than warm, a homely, perfect fit. He pulls back and you don't, tapping the tip of his nose with yours until he opens his mouth.

You sneak in as his hand runs down your neck, your arm, slow and sleek. He makes a small sound as he takes the lead, opening you up, and it tickles your lips with its vibrations. He sounds content. You're feeling similarly happy, grabbing at his hand where it holds your face, squeezing his wrist to hold it in place as you push yourself into his arms. He takes you eagerly, pulling you chest to chest.

His head bumps the window. You pull apart, panting and happy and giggling, your lips damp and tingling. Steve rubs the back of his head, looking at you with an expression you can't describe.

"What?" you ask, wiping at his bottom lip with your thumb where your lipstick has stained him.

"How come you're so pretty, even like this?"

"Like this, a zombie?" Steve nods slowly. "Let me know when you find out, Harrington."

He pulls you back in with a smirk that sets your tummy aflame. "You think I'm pretty?" he asks, lips a millimetre from yours.

"Super pretty," you say, and kiss him. He loves on your top lip like you've got all the time in the world, kisses warm and slick. "Almost as pretty as me," you say between them.

He slows your kisses, gives you one last peck over your burning mouth. "No one's as pretty as you," he says agreeably.

You beam. Steve beams back though it quickly fades as he brings his arm up to check his watch.

"We're so late," he says, manhandling you off of his lap with an apologetic grimace. "C'mon, we still gotta cover you in blood."

You both get out and Steve sprays you down with fake blood. You laugh as he does, the cold liquid tickling your skin as it trickles down your face and your chest and your tummy.

Steve takes his own bloodying with far less laughter though he smiles at your glee. He's so handsome you can't help it, stepping into his space for another kiss. There's blood on your lips, evidently, as it transfers to his.

"We need to go," you say, like it's his fault.

"Wait. I have something for you."

Steve opens the driver's side and takes a small object from under the seat. He hands it to you.

"I called in a favour. Dustin and Lucas fixed it up, I checked, like, ten tapes. It works."

In your hands the bane of your existence, your faulty Walkman. There's a fake blood mark in the shape of his thumbprint on the side and you decide you're going to leave it there forever, looking to him with a completely uncool amount of affection.

"Steve," you say happily, a heat behind your eyes.

"I got sick of seeing you pouting, that's all," he says hotly, crossing his arm over his chest. "Now you can stop sulking."

You throw your hands around his neck to hug him tightly, the Walkman pressed to his neck. He oomphs, hands flying to your sides. Your face against his shoulder, you curl a strand of his brown hair around one of your fingers. "Thank you." You dot a corn syrup kiss against his throat. "You're the coolest," you say as you pull away.

His hands move from around your back to your shoulders, holding you at arms length. "People have said that about me."

"I bet."

𓆩❤︎𓆪

thanks for reading! | my masterlist

#steve harrington x y/n #steve harrington imagine #steve harrington x reader #steve harrington #steve harrington x you #steve harrington x reader fluff #steve harrington x reader blurb #steve harrington x reader fanfic #steve harrington fanfic #stranger things fic #stranger things x reader #stranger things 4 #stranger things #steve harrington one shot #eddie munson x reader platonic

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steddielations · 1 year

Text

It’s the stupid Garfield mug that does it.

Eddie tries to hide it because he doesn’t want to seem ungrateful to Steve, but he gets lonely sometimes.

He’s still in hiding, mostly healed up from the bats, staying with Steve while they wait for Hopper to sweep it all under the rug. No one would ever expect Eddie Munson to be at Steve Harrington’s house, it’s the perfect cover.

Not only was Steve surprisingly nice enough to let Eddie stay there, he also took care of him through the worst of it. He didn’t seem to mind having to stay home every night and every weekend, definitely not what Eddie was expecting from the party boy he used to hate from afar.

Now Steve’s the nice guy who spoon-fed Eddie soup and gave him orange juice through a damn straw and even helped him to the bathroom when he could barely move.

He’s too nice and sweet and funny sometimes. He even has a beat up copy of Lord of the Rings from Dustin that he squints at until Eddie gets tired of watching him strain, then let’s Eddie read to him. Eddie knows Steve does it more for him than for himself. Hell, Steve even comes home right after work most days, just to keep Eddie company.

Eddie can’t have many visitors, they don’t want to raise suspicion with too much traffic at Steve’s house, so it’s mostly just him and Steve. Eddie doesn’t mind, he’s halfway in love with him and gets closer to falling head over heels every day. He loves being here with Steve but sometimes… Steve reminds him of Wayne.

Every morning, Steve watches the news. Eddie teased him about it, saying he has the soul of a middle aged Dad. It’s stupid, but watching Steve mosey around the living room before work, drinking coffee and getting absorbed in the TV when an interesting story comes on, it makes Eddie miss Wayne, who does the exact same thing.

It’s so stupid how it’s simple things that make Eddie feel 2 seconds away from breaking. Not having to be quiet during the day because Wayne’s not there sleeping after his night shift. Looking at the wall and not seeing Wayne’s endless collection of hats and mugs. Not hearing the squeak of the old couch when Wayne sits down to take his boots off.

It’s so stupid but it all makes Eddie’s chest feel so tight and empty he can hardly breathe.

But he’s grateful to Steve for letting him be here, so he doesn’t dare complain about what’s missing when Steve’s already given him so much.

One morning, Eddie’s sitting on the counter and Steve gives him his coffee. It’s just how Eddie likes it, sweet and creamy, but he can’t drink it.

Steve used a different mug than usual, and Eddie can’t stop staring at it, orange and round. Wayne has one like it. It reminds Eddie of the Garfield mug that hangs by the door in their trailer. That tight feeling gnaws at his chest, and he sits there staring at it so long his coffee goes cold.

“Everything okay, Eds? Did I not put enough sugar or something? Do you need a straw again today?”

Steve’s voice startles him out of his thoughts, he flinches and the mug slips out of his hand, falling to the kitchen tile, shattered.

Eddie curses while Steve rushes to clean it up, telling him to stay put when he tries to get down and help.

That, too, reminds Eddie of Wayne.

He can’t help it then, he just laughs. It feels tight in his throat, sounds almost painful, but he laughs so hard he feels tears prickling the corner of his eyes.

Steve just stares at him, leaving the broken mug in his concern for Eddie, asking carefully, “Hey, what’s so funny? You alright?”

Eddie shakes his head, laughs dying down. “You know those mugs on the wall at my trailer?”

Steve looks confused, nodding.

“They’re Wayne’s, he collects them. I used to tell him it was lame and he should invest in something cool like hanging guitars or records,” Eddie goes on, grinning, reminiscing, “He’d always just laugh and tell me that cliche line, one man’s trash is another man’s treasure, boy. I never understood you buying all them amps either, paying money to make noise.”

Steve smiles but he’s still watching Eddie carefully.

“Those damn mugs,” Eddie laughs again, rubbing his eyes, “There’s a Garfield one that leaks from how many times I knocked it over running out the door trying not to be late to school, and Wayne had to superglue it back together. He’d never even get mad about it, just snap at me to be careful because he didn’t want me getting hurt.”

Eddie laughs even harder, his chest twisting and writhing but it feels good, like he’s finally letting himself breathe, gasping for air. He doesn’t know when his laughs turn into sobs, but he assumes it’s around the time when Steve steps forward and gently wraps him in a hug.

They’ve never hugged before. Eddie doesn’t know how he could miss something he’s never had but that’s what hugging Steve feels like. He’s missing his Uncle, he’s missing a piece of himself but he feels close to complete somehow right there in Steve’s arms. He holds on tight, smearing tears into Steve’s t-shirt.

“I miss him, Steve,” he sniffs, bottom lip wobbling, “I miss those damn mugs.”

“I know,” Steve rubs his back, soothing, “I promise you'll see him again, Eds. And those damn mugs.”

Eddie laughs wetly and squeezes him tighter.

Within the next week, Steve keeps his promise.

Eddie almost drops to his knees when he sees it, has to rub his eyes to make sure he’s not imagining it, but it’s there.

Right there on the wall in the Harrington living room, there’s three mugs hanging up. Not just any mugs, Eddie recognizes all three. A green one that used to hang next to Wayne’s coat, an Indiana State one that went above the couch, and the cracked up Garfield one that leaks next to the trailer door.

“Steve, what—”

“I tried to get more, but Wayne was already suspicious by my third visit this week,” Steve shrugs innocently, “It’s just like home, right?”

Eddie’s torn between bursting into tears or laughter at the thought of Steve sneaking out of his trailer with coffee mugs in his pocket one by one, “You stole my Uncles mugs, Harrington?”

“I figured he’ll forgive me when I bring his nephew back safe and sound soon,” Steve smiles, charming as ever, “And if he presses charges, well, it’ll be worth it just seeing the look on your face right now.”

Eddie's chest spreads with warmth, his heart so full it could almost burst.

“Get over here, you little thief.”

Steve's grinning as he strolls right over to Eddie and wraps his arms around him. They've hugged a lot since that first time, but they've never kissed before, not even in Eddie's wildest dreams has he kissed Steve Harrington, but it's happening.

Eddie can't describe it, feeling Steve's lips on his, safe in his arms, warm in his embrace, but it feels a little bit like home.

#here's some free eddie angst with a dash of comfort from steve yum #steddie #steddie ficlet #steddie fanfiction #steddie headcanon #steddie fluff #eddie munson #rueswriting #my fic #mp #steve harrington #steveddie #stranger things 4 #eddie x steve #steddie fic rec #wayne munson #my fics

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fastcardotmp3 · 7 months

Text

future!steddie; long haul trucker Eddie; firefighter Steve ~1k words

It makes sense to Eddie, an obvious out when his world's gone to shit and he has to get away, that his escape route from Indiana is the same job his uncle left to settle down there and raise a kid with nowhere else to go.

Driving long haul means there's no one looking that close at a face that made it to the national news during his week on the run. It means living on the move, never stopping long enough to get stuck anywhere.

It means freedom.

It means loneliness.

He calls Wayne twice a week, coins in pay phones at rest stops while he's waiting for his hair to dry post-public shower, and that's enough for him.

Wayne has always been enough for him, and it would be hurtful to suggest otherwise; it would be disrespectful to the life Wayne helped him build, keeps helping him build with all that faith that had him never doubting an innocence questioned by everyone else in that God-forsaken town.

Twice a week. It's the only phone number he knows by heart.

Twice a week for weeks and then months and then years, driving cross-country and back again, it's freedom. He keeps telling himself it's freedom, that it's good, that he doesn't need anything more than that.

But driving long haul means there's a lot of time for thinking.

It means a lot of time for collecting thoughts up together and creating new meaning entirely.

It means that by the time he's twenty-one and twenty-five and thirty that he has tape after tape after tape where he's collected those thoughts aloud in the rumbling loud silence of an overnight drive.

Thoughts like who would I be if I'd stuck around? and thoughts like will they understand that this time running saved my life? and thoughts like I miss them, am I allowed to miss them, am I allowed to love them without ever really knowing them?

It means that when he stops for all but the first time in ten years, coming home to Wayne to find that Forest Hills is home to a couple more familiar faces than he expected, there's space for his words. His endless, looping thoughts.

Steve's got his own trailer these days, brings in Wayne's mail for him on the mornings he comes home from the night shift at the fire station and stays for coffee.

Steve's there across the way when Eddie drives up in a new-used flatbed truck he'd bought with his final paycheck on the day he hung up his hat and decided he'd been gone long enough.

Steve's there in stories Wayne only begins telling now that Eddie is home, endless retellings of a brand-new man who became a friend during a time when the name Munson was still a dangerous thing to carry.

Steve's there when Eddie starts transcribing all his dictated notes into something resembling narrative and character and prose and Eddie doesn't know the guy who jumped headfirst into another dimension, hasn't spoken to him since that week that forced Eddie to flee in the first place, but maybe he doesn't need to have those years under his belt.

Maybe it doesn't matter if Eddie knows a nineteen-year-old Steve Harrington, because he knows the twenty-nine-year-old one starting a matter of hours after he comes crawling back home, knows this grown and steady one who looked after Wayne when Eddie had to leave.

This Steve isn't stuck despite still living in the town that tried to kill him. He doesn't seem lost or without purpose.

He lives a simple life, working at the Hawkins FD and feeding stray dogs with the bowls he leaves out beside his porch. Robin comes and goes, seemingly dating her way through the Midwest's entire sapphic population and sleeping on Steve's couch in between live-in girlfriends.

There are old friends on the phone at near constant intervals in Steve's home, and there's that phone being pressed to Eddie's ear without giving him the chance to be terrified about what Erica or Dustin or Max might say to the guy who hasn't allowed anyone but Wayne access to him for a decade, what he might say back after so many years without proper human socialization.

Eddie has been moving for so long, stayed moving through the bulk of his acceptance of everything that happened to him, but there's a different sort of quiet here than what he found on the road, stillness, amongst the casual chaos.

There's similarities to life on his rig, sure, a certain routine to the comings and goings, only Eddie isn't hiding anymore and he's not thumbing through the same staticky stations anymore and he's not lonely anymore.

He doesn't know how to sit still yet, not really, but he stays up all night handwriting poetry on paper he once spoke onto tape on the porch of his uncle's trailer and sometimes when Steve gets home after dark, he'll sit with him.

He'll eat his dinner still in uniform and listen to the scratch of Eddie's pen and Eddie doesn't know him, Steve Harrington, but he's getting to know his neighbor Steve.

Ten years down the line and he's becoming solid right there in front of Eddie's eyes, becoming real, becoming something that can't possibly fit onto the tapes filled with nonsense and insights alike.

"You're never what I think you're going to be," Eddie admits to him one morning over coffee before Wayne or Robin have risen, before the phone has begun to ring, before the world wakes up and brings Eddie's life along with it, ready or not.

Steve smiles at him, amused and curious and cocky in the way he responds, "you're exactly who Wayne said you are."

It's an admission all its own, that Steve has thought about Eddie, spoken about him, in the time they've spent apart, even if it was only because he'd dared to keep Wayne Munson's company.

It's still an admission though, that in his absence, in his loneliness out on the road, Eddie wasn't forgotten by the watercolor skies over Hawkins, Indiana.

"Yeah?" Eddie breathes in those very skies, "and what did Wayne say I'd be?"

Ten years down the line and suddenly it makes sense to Eddie.

It makes sense in the morning dew on the lawn; it makes sense in the too-strong Harrington-brewed coffee; it makes sense in the wheels of his truck on a road that does end, eventually, and it makes sense in the collected thoughts and feelings, fears and dreams that he had to go away to decipher.

The freedom was in leaving, sure, but this? The coming home to Wayne and this porch and the man who lives across the way?

"Stick around, Munson," Steve Harrington dares on a morning like any other, "and maybe I'll just tell you."

Well. As it turns out, this might be the thing that saves him.

#dot post #dot fic #steddie #eddie munson #steve harrington #went looking for an incomplete draft to work the 'ole writing brain again and found a much shorter version of this #and now it's finished and yours!

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keerysfreckles · 5 months

Text

reunions — steve harrington

pairing: steve x hopper!fem!reader

summary: during spring break of 86, y/n hopper flies back to hawkins indiana (dustin's request) and isn't surprised when dustin tells her the world might end again.

warnings: bit of angst (ends with fluff), use of y/n and she/her pronouns, a couple curse words

a/n: for my love :) @keerysbrowneyes

｡ﾟ•┈୨♡୧┈• ｡ﾟ

getting a call from dustin henderson was probably the last thing that y/n thought would persaude her to go back to hawkins after her father died.

after a pretty normal sounding phone call, dustin told y/n that a curse was back in hawkins. y/n knew that could only mean one thing, which explains why she was quick to find a taxi in the busy indiana airport.

the ride to the henderson household was quick, maybe twenty minutes, and y/n knocked harshly on the faded door.

the freshman with a curly head of hair and a baseball cap was the one to open the door, and y/n's worries subsided slightly as dustin smiled up at the girl.

"y/n!" dustin exclaims, before pulling her in for a hug, which y/n gladly agrees to. "i can't believe you're here!"

y/n chuckles, "well yeah, you called, why wouldn't i be here?"

after saying hi to claudia henderson, and petting the new cat of the household, y/n was sat on dustin's bed as he explained to her everything eddie munson told him the previous night.

"so what are we doing about it now?" y/n asks, once she takes in all the new information.

"steve's going to pick us up in," dustin pauses to look at his watch, "four minutes."

y/n's voice is softer than before and her heart beats faster in her chest, "steve's still helping?"

"yeah he is, why?" dustin's oblivious as he's packing multiple things in his backpack.

y/n and steve didn't leave each other on a bad note after the mind flayer situation from the fourth of july the year prior. the pair just haven't talked much since the byer'd moved to california.

dustin and max were really the only two to call the older hopper from time to time.

just as dustin said, four and a half minutes pass and steve's horn could be heard from outside the henderson house. y/n and dustin head to his bedroom door, but dustin stands in front of the girl.

"maybe you should stay here," dustin suggested.

y/n tilted her head in confusion, "weren't you the one who called me and asked me to fly out here to help you again?"

dustin nodded, "well uh- yes, but no one else knows your here. plus we're getting food for eddie right now. i promise after we can pick you up."

y/n thinks for a moment, and dustin's puppy dog eyes aren't helping her situation.

with an eye roll from the girl, she agrees, "fine, but you better come back after you deal with eddie."

with a quick goodbye, dustin's fast to neet steve, lucas, max and robin by the familiar red bmw. steve asks dustin what took him so long, and he just brushed it off by asking which store they were getting food at.

｡ﾟ•┈୨♡୧┈• ｡ﾟ

an hour and thirteen minutes pass, and y/n couldn't be more bored out of her mind. she was able to help claudia bake cookies, clean dustin's very crowded desk, and halfway solve a rubix cube. dustin barged back into his room, making y/n jump from the sudden noise.

"come on y/n! we don't have any time to lose!" dustin practically yelled. "i had to beg steve to come back here since the others are back at the trailer park."

y/n was quick to grab her jacket off dustin's bed and followed him out the door.

steve looked to his passenger side door once he heard it open, but was slightly confused once dustin wasn't the one in the front seat.

"y/n?" steve questions, his eyes as wide as they could be while y/n and dustin were fastening their seat belts.

"hi steve," y/n smiles and catches her breath from the previous running.

dustin pipes up from the backseat, "lovebirds, we don't have time to chat right now. drive steve!"

steve and y/n both ignore dustin's remark as steve pulls out of the henderson's driveway. the drive to back to the trailer park is silent besides the tears for fears song playing on the radio.

the only thought going on in steve's mind is why the hell y/n hopper is in his car. he took notice of the familiar flannel he's seen jonathan wear many times from the past three years, and the faded ac/dc shirt steve recognized from his own closet. how y/n stole it in the first place? steve couldn't question that right now.

after steve parks besides the table with the four other familiar faces y/n missed, steve pulls dustin aside.

"what is y/n doing here?" steve asks.

dustin shrugs, "we need all the help we can get steve, and she's joyce's favorite so of course she was able to come back here in such last minute."

steve's demeaner changes once he turns and sees y/n in a group hug with lucas, max, robin and nancy.

"i can tell you don't totally hate her being here," dustin smirks up at steve.

"hey, no!" steve's quick to dismiss dustin's idea, "okay it's not like that henderson."

dustin laughs and shrugs, "like what?"

steve just watches dustin walk over to the table, and after a moment the harrington boy follows suit.

as everyone sat at the table tries to figure out what's going on in hawkins, steve can't help but look at y/n. of course he's missed her, how can he not? he's kicked himself in the ass everyday for not calling her like he promised. as dustin's in the middle of explaining something to max, steve stands and grabs y/n's wrist.

"can we talk?" he whispers, and is grateful once y/n nods in response. the two walks over to his car and y/n leans against the side while steve paces back and forth.

"why do you seem so worked up?" y/n asks him.

"oh i don't know, maybe because it's another year with this stupid upside down shit. maybe it's because this year's even more stressful than the last. maybe it's because my parents haven't been home in six months. or maybe it's because you're here, and i can't see you getting hurt again from all of this."

steve finishes his rant and runs his fingers thorugh his hair. y/n's gaze softens at the state of the boy in front of her. y/n knew what steve meant by the last statement. steve was the only one able to keep her grounded once she found out hopper was dead, and that she was moving to california.

"steve," y/n voice is soft, in comparison to steve's quick rant. "are you okay?"

the boy's quick to shake his head, "no- no shit i'm not okay." he holds his head in his hands as he leans besides y/n against his car. y/n moves her arm to his shoulder as she stands in front of him.

"the only reason i'm glad you're here is because you're the only one who knows how to deal with me like this," steve gestures to himself. y/n also knew what he meant by this.

after every incident with the upside down, y/n and steve were always in y/n's room as they both calmed down from the events that happened.

"do you want a hug?" y/n asks, while holding her arms open.

steve nods before wiping any tears that could've fallen from his rambling and heavy breathing, and his shoulders instantly relaxed at the feeling of y/n in his arms again.

y/n took in the all too familiar scent of steve. she's missed him, everything about him. his smile, his kindness towards the kids, his hair, his jokes, did she mention his smile?

the two slightly pulled away, but didn't let go of each other.

"i'm sorry i didn't call you a lot since you moved," steve talked softly.

y/n shook her head, "steve you don't have to be sorry about that."

"no, i do have to be sorry y/n. i've been a complete dick to you since you left. i- i didn't call you like i promised. i wasn't able to comfort you when you probably needed it. i've basically ign-"

steve's words were cut off by y/n leaning up and kissing him. once she noticed he wasn't kissing back, she pulled away with a hint of concern filling her eyes.

"you kissed me," steve points out.

y/n nods, her hands not leaving steve's arms, "i uh- i did."

"why?"

"i know it um- calmed you down before. so i thought maybe to try it again. god, i'm sorry. i don't even know if you wanted it," y/n pulls away from steve, as a million thoughts fill her mind, "you could have a girlfriend. you might not even like me anymore like that. shit, i'm sorry."

y/n stops her rambling once she feels steve grab both of her arms, making her face him again after she started pacing back and forth.

"who says i didn't want it?" steve says softly, before pulling y/n back towards him as he's the one to kiss her on the lips.

y/n immediately melts into steve's arms. the pair couldn't care less about the stares and whistles they were getting from the others still sat at the wooden picnic table. steve only flashed his middle finger towards the group before running his hand through y/n's hair.

"as much as i don't want to pull away, we kind of need air," steve chuckles. he lips over his lightly swolen lips as y/n fixes her hair.

"are you guys done sucking face? we have an actual interdimensional being we have to fight," dustin has his hands on his hips, making y/n and steve laugh from their place besides steve's car.

"guess we should get back to them now?" y/n questions.

"mm, just one more," steve pulls y/n in for another kiss, to which the girl happily obliges to.

#steve harrington #steve harrington imagine #steve harrington x reader #steve harrington x you #steve harrington stranger things #stranger things #joe keery #joe keery imagine #joe keery x you #joe keery x reader #joe keery x y/n #steve harrington x y/n #stranger things imagine

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bellaramseysgf · 2 years

Text

New tattoos (E.M)

Warning(s); Dom!Eddie,Daddy kink,casual dominance,ddlg undertones?,size kink,adhd/overly energetic reader.

Pairing(s); Eddie Munson X girlfriend! Reader

Summary; after coming back home from vacation you discover your boyfriend has a new tattoo.

A/n; don’t- I know I said no eddie fics for while but this has been stuck on my brain for WEEKS.

You nodded as your parents rambled on about being safe and to have fun,grabbing your bag from the car you left them to walk into the school. You were gonna spend the next few nights with Eddie since you’d just spent the whole summer in New York with your aunt. 3 months spent where your only communication was late night phone calls you were sure you cousins listened in on and letters. You were overly excited because Eddie said he had a surprise for you,one he thought you’d really enjoy.

He had hellfire first though so you figured you’d just meet him at the school to avoid the rather awkward conversation with your dad. You knocked on the drama club door and stepped inside. “Look, y’all’s lucky charm is back” Gareth commented and Eddie stood up rushing over to you. You squealed when he lifted you up with just one of his arms holding you close to his chest as he buried his head into your neck.

You giggled and held onto his neck waving at the other members who you oddly missed just as much. “Your back!” Dustin was up not long after Eddie and huffed prying you from Eddie’s grip. “Dude, you need to learn to share your girlfriend” dustin commented and Eddie scoffed. “with you? No way” regardless dustin hugged you and you hugged him right back smiling at how fond you really were over him.

“How was New York?” Mike asked as you sat your bag down to join Eddie on his throne. “It was alright. Nothing I hadn’t seen before” you slid between him and the table his hands reached out and held your waist before sitting back on his lap. You truly didn’t think there was a happier place for Eddie to be then right here. He went on with instructing the campaign and everyone once and a while you’d feel him squeeze your hips to stop the bouncing of your leg.

Eddie’s hands were one of your favorite things while they practically engulfed your own they just looked pretty. Pale and nimble you’d happily have them touching you in anyway all day you loved them. You especially liked his rings they really made his fingers look that much longer and made you think of dirty things. You subconsciously twisted his rings around his fingers helping keep yourself distracted to stop from constantly moving. You think he enjoys letting you do it just as much as you enjoy doing it.

However hellfire did come to a close and dustin was already going on about the next campaign. You helped Eddie clean up slipping his dice into there separate pouches and noticing a few new ones he got that had Tiny skulls painted on them. Eddie kept all his dnd dice separated by design and highest numbers he was very ocd about it but you managed to get it right every time.

You handed him the velvet bag of dice and he kissed your forehead finishing up. You bent down to pick your bag back up “AYE!” You jumped when you heard eddie yell “no ma’am I carry that, thank you!” He proudly picked you bag up and you smiled as he walked you to his van. He put the things Into the back while you slid into the passenger seat “how was Hawkins without me?” You asked as he climbed inside.

“Fucking unbearable. Well, me and Steve became sorta friends so not that bad” yes,Steve Harrington one of your best friends and ex co workers. “Soooo” you said and Eddie glanced up at you before focusing back on the road “so, what? If you want something you need to ask clearly baby” you rolled your eyes and huffed. “You said you had a surprise for me” Eddie nodded “impatient little thing, I’ll show you once we get back to the trailer” you pouted and crossed your arm.

“Hey.” Eddie’s voice turned more stern like how it does right after you break rules. “Don’t pout or I won’t let you see anything.” The added pressure to the word anything quickly made you stop your little pout.

Eddie finally pulled into his trailer park and came to a stop outside his own. You quickly slid out and helped him unlock the door since his hands were full. “Where’s Wayne?” You asked and Eddie shrugged “I’ve no clue but he’s off so maybe he’s just out” you nodded and made a b-line for his room. It smelled of cheep cologne,weed and oddly old metal. You wasted no time and tugged your shirt over your head swapping it for one of his Metallica ones that engulfed you.

“Always stealing my shit. You’re such a little thief” he teased and you smiled “admit it, you like that I steal your shit” he gasped dramatically “such bad language. You outta wash your mouth out with soap little girl” you smiled up at him working your doe eyes to look innocent like you always did. “Will daddy do it for me?” You asked tone soft and brimming with faux innocence “just want my fingers down your throat, naughty thing” you giggled and he placed a wet kiss to your lips.

“What’s my surprise?” You asked and Eddie sighed “Jesus, fine.” He hooked his arms under his shirt and tugged it over his head. Your eyes scanned over the tattoos that littered his chest a mischievous grin settling over your lips. You wanted to trace everyone one of them with your tongue. “I missed your tattoos” you went to wrap your arms around his neck but he stopped you “excuse me, there’s a new one.” You furrowed your brows and scanned over his chest once more.

Suddenly your eyes landed on the black ink settled on the right side of his lower abdomen. The tattoo read off the name ‘daddy’ in your handwriting “holy fuck.” You said and Eddie chuckled “you like it?” You nodded fingers tracing over the ink. It was still slightly red meaning it wasn’t completely done healing. You giggled and Eddie watched as you looked back up at him “what’re you gonna do when we start going to the pool and people ask why you have ‘daddy’ tattooed on you?” He shrugged ringed fingers coming to hold the sides of your face.

“I’ll look at them dead on and say I’ve got a little girl at home that just loves calling me that.” You felt blush rise on your cheeks “then, I’ll go in to tell them just how cute you sound when your whining it because I won’t let you cum” “Eddie!” You huffed and hit his chest. “So violent, thought I trained you better then that” the whimper you let out was muffled by his lips pressing to yours heatedly.

Eddie pushed you back until your fell back onto his squeaky mattress grinning from above you. “My shy little baby.” He cooed dropping down onto his mattress above you,caging you in like you were a animal. He dipped his head down and you both heard the front door close with a slam. Eddie sighed and drooped his head his curls tickling your face as you giggled at his uncles bad timing. “Eddie! Did you get y/n yet?” He yelled towards the bedroom, his door was open but recently before you left Eddie changed his room around so you couldn’t see the pair of you on his bed. He sat back on his knees “yeah! She’s with me! We will be there in a sec!” He grumbled and got up slipping his shirt back on.

He was facing you so you took the opportunity before his shirt fell all the way down you sat up quickly nipping at his new tattoo making him hiss. “That hurt you fucking brat” he gripped your jaw and you smiled proudly up at him “sorry, daddy.” He eyes you for minute before roughly dropping your chin almost shoving it from his hand. Wayne knocked before peaking around his open door “there she is! My favorite daughter-in-law” you smiled widely and got up running to hug Wayne. He was just as much of your dad as your biological one.

“I got pizza for dinner if you two are hungry” you turned in Wayne’s hold to look back at Eddie “oh I’m starving” you said smirking at your boyfriend who just gave you a death stare. “Good,let’s eat” Wayne kept his arm around your shoulders as the two of you left Eddie in his room to go eat.

#eddie munson #fem reader #eddie munson smut #eddie munson x y/n #eddie munson x female reader #eddie munson x reader #eddie munson x fem!reader #eddie munson x you #eddie stranger things #stranger things fic #stranger things smut #tw: daddy kink

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hellfirenacht · 3 months

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Wing Man Part 7

Fic Summary: Steve 'the Hair' Harrington is your best friend, and is constantly striking out. Sick of this, you two make a deal; you'll wing man for each other. Hooking Steve up with dates is easy, but he finds himself struggling to find you a date. At least, until Dustin starts talking about his new cool friend Eddie.

(1 2 3 4 5 6)

Chapter Summary: Dustin spills the beans, and Wayne gives some advice.

A/N: Happy New Year! I ran out of steam there for a while but I am bursting with new inspiration and have a billion ideas for new and old fics! Thank you for your patience and support 💜

The next night after dropping you off at home, there was a storm the likes of which Hawkins had never seen. Lightning lit up the sky through the night like a shitty rave, knocking out the power for Forest Hills Trailer Park for the better part of two days. It wasn’t until Saturday, when Eddie attempted to check in on Ronnie again, that he realized that their worn out phone had been completely fried. Shit.

Getting a new one was easier said than done, Eddie and Wayne had to pinch pennies this week after his uncle had been out of work a few days because of a cold, and having to replace a good chunk of groceries that had gone bad sitting in the dead fridge.

Sure, Bev had been nice enough to give Eddie a few extra shifts at the Hideout to help cover but that was a paycheck that wasn’t going to be in for another week. There was always his dealings, but he’d been keeping his head down after nearly having his stash blown by an over enthusiastic K-9 unit that, thankfully, was more interested in the jerky that Eddie had in his jacket.

For a week, he’d been without a phone now. Normally it wasn’t a huge loss, not many people actually bothered trying to call him anyway, and Wayne didn’t really socialize much working the night shift. But he missed Ronnie, and he really was stressing each day that went by that he didn’t call you. Eddie knew that whatever this was, he was probably already blowing it.

Tuesday rolled around again, and he hoped that you’d show back up to the Hideout. Jeff had even agreed to give most of the band a ride if Eddie agreed to haul their equipment and do all of the breakdown in case you needed another ride home. No such luck though, unbeknownst to him Keith had come down with the same cold that his Uncle Wayne had the week before, meaning you had to work a double.

It was now Friday, over a week since you’d written your name in the most stubborn permanent marker he’d ever come across. Your name still stained his skin in a faint and ugly shade of pea green. Eddie could now say your number by memory, despite never having punched in the digits once. If anyone at school had noticed that Eddie ‘the Freak’ Munson had a girl's name on his arm, they didn’t say anything.

“Whose number is that?” Mike asked in the middle of a time out while Zach and Gareth were pouring over the rule book over the legality of a move that Eddie was sure was bullshit. So much for that.

Eddie’s head snapped over to the freshman while those in Corroded Coffin snickered and suddenly lost interest in the rules for the moment. With the candles and stage lights on, it was always warm in the Hellfire room, and Eddie had stripped his jacket giving his arms a chance to breathe while he guided the party on their next adventure.

It had also meant that the faded remains of your number was still visible, which he hadn’t thought much of until Mike had pointed it out.

“Yeah, Eddie, whose number is it?” Jeff snickered, which earned a hard look from Eddie that under any other circumstances would have shut Jeff up but in this case only made him laugh harder.

For a moment he debated internally about putting his jacket on, and telling them all to shove it. It was tempting, very tempting, but Eddie wasn’t a teen anymore. Hell, he had a good two to three years on most of the members in this club. Why should he be embarrassed because a cute girl had some sort of interest in him?

Because you’re blowing it by not being able to call her. He told himself.

Eddie then told the table about how you’d given him your number right before he dropped you off. How you’d been a perfect gentleman and hadn’t taken advantage of him or made any untowards moves to him. (Even if he had thought you almost did, but he kept that part to himself).

To his surprise, the ribbing was kept to a minimal. Without Eddie fighting against it, the group became less interested. Eddie’s love life was only of interest when it meant that the sheep could finally have some fun with the shepard.

That was going to be the end of it. Jeff had conceded that the rule they were looking up had been an old house rule from his middle school group that he had never questioned as not actually being accurate, and they were ready to move on. Eddie opened his mouth to guide the party to the next encounter-

“I thought you said you weren’t interested in her.” Dustin suddenly said. Eddie had thought that the shrimp had been suspiciously quiet for the past few minutes.

“If that was him not interested then I’m quitting Hellfire to be a cheerleader.” laughed Gareth.

“No one wants to see you in a miniskirt, man.” said Mike.

“They have guy cheerleaders!” protested Gareth. “I’d wear the pants.”

“That’d be a first.” ribbed Zack.

“Don’t you have to be crazy strong to be a cheerleader? Gareth, your strength stat sucks.”

“I haul my own drumset every week!”

“Can we get back to the game?”

“Eddie,” Dustin spoke up again. His brows were furrowed and he was messing with his pencil, the same way he did when someone in the party was about to do something that didn’t make any sense. “You did say you weren’t interested.”

So much for Eddie’s love life being of no interest, he now had a herd of sheep looking at him expectantly, no longer talking about Gareth possibly changing after school activities. He should ignore it, get everyone back on track, and lead them back into the Forbidden Caves where he was not tempted to throw a mimic in for messing with the flow of the game.

He should... but Dustin’s comment bugged him for some reason.

“I never said that.” Eddie said, looking at the kid.

“What? Yeah you did!” Dustin looked as shocked as Eddie felt. When had he ever said he wasn’t interested in you?

“Oh yeah, when?” Eddie crossed his arms and leaned back in his throne, his eyes narrowing.

“At the arcade!” Dustin sounded frustrated. “You told me that you didn’t want me introducing you to anyone when we were doing Hellfire related shit, and that you weren’t interested anyway.”

The warmth from the candles and stage lights were nothing compared to the heat of everyone’s eyes on him. What the fuck was Henderson even talking about?

Oh. Oh what the fuck?!

“Excuse me?” Eddie said slowly as that thirty second conversation started to play in his mind.

“Yeah, I remember that.” Mike added, in an attempt to back up his friend. “We just assumed she wasn’t your type.”

Eddie hadn’t been looking to be anyone’s boyfriend. He was never looking to be dating anyone, the few times he’d found himself in the good graces of a girl who’d shown interest in him it had always blown up in his face.

That had never stopped him from trying though.

“Are- wait. Back up.” Eddie stood up and made his way over to the opposite end of the table where the freshmen were suddenly looking very nervous. He grabbed them by the shoulders, as he’d done so many times in the past and hauled them up while the rest of the table watched on in amusement. Normally, Eddie would never pause the game but, fuck it. This kid had something to do with you, and he was going to figure out what.

“Jesus, Eddie-” Mike said, wincing at the grip. “I don’t have anything to do with this, it was all Dustin and Steve!”

This was getting more and more confusing by the moment. Eddie shoved the two boys to face them, leaning over them. Even with Mike’s growth spurt over the past few months, somehow Eddie still seemed to tower over them.

“Steve?” Eddie’s voice was slow, trying to understand why that name was even being spoken in the private sanctuary away from jocks.

“Yes, Steve! They’re like, best friends or something! Ask Dustin!” Mike said, throwing his friend under the bus.

“What’s the big deal?!” Dustin asked, looking between Mike and Eddie with a look of bewilderment.

“Henderson, you have thirty seconds to explain what the actual Hell is going on before your character becomes Quasit food.” Eddie said, releasing his grip on both of the freshmen.

“Okay, okay!” Dustin held his hand up in surrender, looking nervous as everyone watched the scene unfold. “So, you know how her and Steve work together? Well, they had a deal going on where they’d help get each other dates.”

Eddie’s head tilted down slightly, but his eyes stayed firmly focused on Dustin. This was making less and less sense by the minute. Steve needed help getting dates? King Steve of Hawkins High who had the pick of any girl in school before he graduated? That Steve Harrington couldn’t get a date and so had recruited you into helping him?

And you, you with the everything about you couldn’t get a date either? Hadn’t you mentioned something about that before, at the Hideout?

“I help him and he uh... he helps me get out of the house.”

You’d said that, and he hadn’t thought much of it until now. All this time, Eddie had thought the arcade incident had been Dustin trying to have his two older male friends meet and be friends, but it had been you that he was supposed to meet?

“So you’re telling me that you, Dustin Henderson and Steve Harrington were trying to set me up on a date?” Eddie looked over at the rest of the table that looked just as bewildered as he did. This was a prank, right? He’d been tossed into some sort of alternate dimension where a freshman and a jock had any sort of interest in his love life, in any part of his life. He’d sooner believe that he’d run a drug deal with Chrissy Cunningham than this.

“Well, technically we were trying to set her up on a date and you seemed like a good fit?” Dustin’s answer came out as more of a question, leaving Eddie’s mind reeling. Behind him, he could hear the growing snickers of the party.

Eddie was ready for this to start making sense any time now.

“So she was helping Steve get dates and he wanted to set her up with me?” Nope, even after thinking it a half dozen times it still wasn’t clicking.

“That part was my idea actually!” Dustin said, showing off a smile filled with metal. “She’s pretty weird and Steve said she was picky-”

“Can’t be that picky if she was interested in Eddie.” muttered Gareth, earning another round of laughter at the table.

Eddie didn’t even have it in him to shoot another look at the table as he continued to try and piece together what was going on.

You and Steve had a deal to try and get each other dates. You were picky and so Dustin suggested Eddie. Steve then brought you to the arcade to force a meeting and-

“Wait, did she know that she was supposed to meet me?” Eddie asked suddenly.

“Oh yeah, she knew the whole time in the arcade.” Dustin nodded, hoping that Eddie wasn’t about to blow a fuse over this. “Well, she figured it out at least. See she was just supposed to be tagging along with Steve to find guys to flirt with but then uh... she realized she was supposed to meet you.”

“And she didn’t know who I was?” Eddie clarified, thinking back to the way you’d tried to talk to him about Hellfire, Chris Morrison, anything to try and start a conversation. How the hell was it that he could remember every time you two met so clearly, but you didn’t know who he actually was?

Because it wasn’t about you, Eddie. He had to remind himself.

Dustin shrugged. “I guess not? She’s never mentioned you before that night.”

Guess not everyone paid attention to the Freak. He hated that it bugged him that you didn’t remember him but could he blame you? He probably wouldn’t remember him either, just a Munson fuck up who everyone was waiting to end up dead in a ditch somewhere.

Eddie pushed Dustin back down into his seat, done interrogating the poor freshman. Everyone watched as he made his way back to his side of the table, behind the DM screen. He had a lot to think about, but he wasn’t about to start processing that in front of the rest of Hellfire.

“You all wander deeper into the cave, the only light coming from the torch carried by-”

“I have dark vision!”

Broke and bored, Eddie haunted the trailer for the rest of the weekend. He did have practice with Corroded Coffin for a generous two hours on Saturday, and then a long shift that night at the Hideout where one old drunk had slipped him a $10 tip for making sure he always had a cold beer in hand. But those few hours were just a minor reprieve from the information that Dustin had given him the previous day.

When he wasn’t distracted by work or practice he was practicing guitar, working on lyrics, prepping for the next Hellfire session.

He tried to think about you, but ended up feeling confused. When he was trying to think about anything else, all he could see was the way you had flirted with him at the Hideout.

Despite popular opinion, Eddie wasn’t stupid when it came to girls. He could tell when a girl was interested in him, and you had made it clear that you had at least some interest in him. You had told him point blank that you were not with Harrington, and had no interest as well. He’d seen the way you looked at him while watching them play, that excitement in your eyes. Your head had bobbed to the rhythm of their songs watching them with as much enthusiasm as if you’d been a fan for years.

Paige had watched with similar eyes, right? She’d seen something in them that no one else had before-

No. Not them. Not Corroded Coffin. Just Eddie.

It felt pathetic that he kept comparing you to Paige. He didn’t want to, he really didn’t want to. It wasn’t like he was still hung up on Paige, not really. She’d just been a turning point in who he was as a person. She’d been the first (and last) girl to really look at him as a person. If his dating prospects had been small before, they had completely dried up over the past two years.

Date the freak? Yeah, right. There had been the odd girl who’d hit on him as if daring themselves to get with him but he was done with that. A few mediocre dates that he’d agreed to out of boredom or loneliness had only added to the idea in Hawkins High that he was undesirable. Adding to that, the older he got, the younger his underclassmen became and the idea of dating someone younger was... well he didn’t need to add ‘creep’ to the long list of rumors about him. It didn’t matter to him most of the time, instead focusing on his friends, his band, his club, his business, himself. God knows he’d never be able to hold down a relationship unless he got his shit together and earned everyone’s trust again.

“Graduate and get laid, Munson.” Ronnie’s voice echoed in the back of his mind and he groaned as his face warmed. It was the middle of the week, just over two weeks since the night at the Hideout. Eddie was laying on the old couch face down, his homework on the counter half finished and the blue glow of the tv doing little to distract him.

The sound of the door opening didn’t even phase him enough to look up, even as Wayne grunted out a hello before setting something down on the counter next to his forgotten schoolbooks.

“Did you eat?” Wayne asked, which earned a shrug from Eddie. How could he think about eating when he was stuck thinking about everything else?

“Are you gonna tell me why you’ve been moping around for the past few weeks?” Wayne tried again in an attempt to be a good guardian. When that didn’t work either he sighed and said “Might as well step outside with me and have a smoke.”

It was better than doing whatever the hell else Eddie was doing now, and so he rolled off the couch less than gracefully and followed his uncle out onto the porch to sit on the outdoor couch. Wayne offered him the smoke and for a moment it was peaceful. Wayne wasn’t one to push Eddie to talk about anything, but he did have a way to make him think even if it did piss him off occasionally.

Eddie took a long drag of the cigarette and released it slowly as he stared up at the sky. It was a dark night, a million tiny dots illuminating the trailer park, even if the moon wasn’t out. He scanned the stars, looking for the three that he knew were Orion’s belt. That’s about where his astrology knowledge began and ended, but it was something to look for at least.

“I think a girl likes me.” He finally said as he spotted what he assumed was the constellation he was looking for.

“Yeah?” Wayne asked, his own eyes gazing upwards as well, giving Eddie the space to talk more.

“Yeah.”

It was silent again for a few minutes as they smoked, the only other sound for a while was that of Wayne cracking open a beer. That’s what Eddie appreciated about Wayne, he didn’t need to fill the silence like his dad did, and Eddie didn’t need to either. He could just... exist.

“I don’t know what to do about it.” Eddie finally said a while later. “She only has an interest because her and some jock are trying to get each other dates.”

“Is that right?” Coming from anyone else that question would have been dismissive, a filler phrase to show that they were paying minimal attention. Eddie knew better though, which caused a knot of frustration in his gut.

“I guess.” he shrugged.

“How many dates has she gone on?” Wayne passed the beer to Eddie, who took a grateful sip.

“Don’t know. It didn’t sound like she’d been on many. Henderson said she’s picky.”

“But she likes you.”

“Yeah.”

Another long stretch of silence as Eddie stewed over the question. He hated how Wayne could break down his problems into simple questions.

“Don’t see why you’re moping around if she likes you.” Wayne glanced over at Eddie. “Are you sweet on her?”

Eddie snorted at the term, taking another drag from the cigarette and flicking the ashes off the porch. “She’s cute.” he said, thinking about how you’d looked the last few times he’d seen you. He might have been distracted that first night at the arcade, but not so distracted that he didn’t notice that at least. “Smart too. She got the guys to listen to her last time we hung out.”

Wayne raised an eyebrow. “She got Gareth to pay attention? That’s a damn miracle.”

“They liked her too.”

“More than the California girl?”

The question caught Eddie off guard and he looked up at Wayne who was still looking off in the distance. Eddie had never explained exactly to Wayne what had happened that first senior year, most of the details going to what happened with Al when Officer Morris was shot. They never talked about how Eddie was so damn close to packing everything up and running away to California.

Thinking about everything that happened that year still stung. Eddie had tried hard not to think about what could have been if CJ and Toby had just shown up one or two days later. Would Eddie have made it to the audition? Would they have really liked him? Maybe in another life he’d be signed and he’d be working on an album or on tour and him and Paige...

It didn’t matter, that ship had long since sailed. Eddie was no rock hero, and never would be. He tried to tell himself it was better this way, if anything it meant that his relationship with Al was over and done with which was a hollow victory if he was being honest.

“Definitely more than her.” Eddie finally agreed. You weren’t asking him to ditch the band and run away with you, so that had to give you some points for them, and for him. Dustin vouched for you, and even Mike, but he wasn’t sure how much that counted for yet. After all Dustin still seemed to worship Steve, and you were friends with Steve-

But did that actually matter? If you and Steve were close enough friends to help each other like this, and Steve was willing to vouch for Eddie, despite never having any real conversation just because Dustin said something-

“She gonna ask you to run away?” Wayne was now looking at Eddie again.

Sometimes he wondered if his uncle could secretly read minds.

“Doubt it.” Eddie said, “She works at the video store. I don’t know much about her, honestly.”

“So ask her on a date.”

“What?”

“She likes you, you want to get to know her. Ask her on a date. It’s not that complicated, Eddie.” Wayne dropped the cigarette on the porch and crushed it under his boot. “You always did think too much, always sucked up in your own world. You’ll be happier in the long run if you open up a bit.”

Easier said than done for a 20 year old still in high school that the whole town considered a satanic cult leader. Then again, when was the last time he’d really opened up to anyone other than Ronnie or Wayne? Right, his dad in the weeks before the heist.

“I think I fucked this up before I could even start.” Eddie sighed, snuffing out his own half finished cigarette. “She gave me her number and I never called.”

“Could’a grabbed a quarter from the change jar and used a pay phone.”

Eddie pressed his hands against his face and dragged them down slowly. Why did good advice always come too late for him?

“Well, I guess it’s a good thing I brought back a new phone for the kitchen today.”

Eddie’s head snapped up so fast he should have snapped something, his eyes widening.

“Don’t get too excited. It’s a new used phone. Guy down the line from me offered it up and it’s better than nothing.”

Eddie didn’t care if it was a rotary phone, he’d take anything at this point if it meant that he could try to call you.

He wanted to call you.

He wanted to call you. Eddie didn’t care if you remembered that first time you met, did it even really matter? You had an interest in him, Eddie Munson, now.

“Thanks, Wayne.” Eddie stood up and hurried inside, seeing the new old phone that was sitting on the counter. It took a few minutes of making sure it wouldn’t fall off the wall before he plugged it in and heard that sweet dial tone sound.

Eddie grabbed his copy of Lord of the Rings from his bedside table and pulled out the paper flower, looking at the number scribbled in his own chicken scratch. He didn’t trust himself to punch in the number without checking, no matter how many times he read the ten digits over the past two weeks.

It rang once.

Twice.

Six times.

No response.

“It’s late, she might be asleep.” Wayne said, grabbing a box of pasta from the cabinet.

It wasn’t that late, not even 8:30 yet. Eddie sighed and hung up the phone, crossing his arms as he thought about his next move. He’d always had tunnel vision when he got an idea into his head, from Corroded Coffin, to his campaigns, to a book that he wanted to read, it was hard to shake the urge when he got one.

Grabbing the keys from the counter he called over to Wayne “I’ll be back later.” which was responded to with a confirmation that he’d save some pasta for Eddie in the fridge.

There weren’t many places he could think of where you could be tonight. You hadn’t shown back up at the Hideout, and the arcade was closed this late on a weeknight. You could be at home, but Eddie didn’t remember where you lived and showing up to your place after two weeks of radio silence would definitely get him in trouble.

So he drove to Family Video.

If you were there he’d do.. something. If you weren’t he’d call you after school tomorrow. Eddie winced internally at the thought. He’d been trudging through school and dragging his feet for the past six years to graduate, and now was the time he felt childish about it. You could legally buy him a beer, and he could illegally sneak you a drink in the Hideout.

At a stoplight he swapped out the Black Sabbath tape for W.A.S.P., remembering that you had mentioned liking them. How did he continue to remember these small details about you?

Because she’s treated you like a human each time you’ve talked. It was startling how something so basic was such a big deal to him.

The lights were still on at Family Video, and the open sign was still lit up. He could see movement inside the store, and he caught sight of someone wearing the signature green vest that the employees wore.

He’d walk in, and if you were there he’d- fuck what the hell was he supposed to do? Eddie stared at the door from inside his van for a few minutes. It was past nine now, and he could have sworn that they should be closed now but that stupid sign was still on. That had to be a good sign right? Eddie wasn’t one to believe in stuff like that but maybe he’d be stupid to ignore a literal neon sign hanging in the door.

Okay, now or never. Eddie had never really been one to hesitate before and he wasn’t about to start now.

He made his way to the entrance and opened the door before he could think about what he was actually wanting to do. Eddie could improvise, it was one of the more useful skills that came from years of running Hellfire.

“Who didn’t lock the door?!” Your voice was a welcome sound, sealing the determination inside of him. No going back now.

“It was Steve’s job to-” your co-worker said. She looked familiar, but he couldn’t place a name to the face.

“Oh, shit. Hi.” Steve was the first to actually notice Eddie as he walked in, looking as if he was expecting literally anyone else.

Turning on the Freak, Eddie smirked at Steve. “Cursing in front of customers, Harrington? Now that’s not very professional of you.”

“Well, we’re closed. You can’t be a customer if you can’t pay.” Steve said, putting his hands on his hips in a way that reminded Eddie of a mother hen. Steve did have a point, and so he decided to cut through any bullshit and looked over at you. You looked like you’d had a long shift, but the way you were looking at him... there was still the same shock that was on Steve’s face, but while his shock was laced with confusion yours was excited. As if you couldn’t believe that The Freak was here and that was a good thing.

“Do you want to get out of here?” Eddie blurted out the request before he could think. He had no idea where you two would go or what you would do but he had to do something.

Your coworker nudged you in the ribs, and your expression changed to a more professional one.

“I- uh. I have to finish closing.” you said, looking at Steve for a split second.

“Steve and I can handle the rest of closing!” Eddie made a mental note to learn this girls name and send her a fucking gift basket one day.

“Guys, I’m literally in charge of you both. I can’t leave before you.” You said, reaching down to grab something from below the counter- your bag. Eddie felt himself growing more excited, his heart pounding as you tossed your work vest and keys over to them. They were basically shoving you out the door to spend time with him.

“We can handle it!” Steve said.

“And I can handle Steve!” Robin added. “We close without you and Keith all the time, remember?”

You stepped out from behind the counter, looking up at him. The color of your eyes under the fluorescent lights reminded him of the stars he had been looking at earlier this evening. Eddie found himself smiling at you as you opened the door for him.

Someone was quick to lock the door and turn the OPEN sign off.

Eddie opens his van door for you, trying his best to make a good impression for whatever was about to happen. You hopped into the passenger seat and he thought that he might enjoy seeing you sitting next to him like this in his van more often.

---

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#Nacht fic #eddie munson x reader #wing man

175 notes · View notes

shares-a-vest · 6 months

Text

Prompt: Silent Treatment (Discord Drabble)

Dustin places one foot on the bottom step leading up to Eddie's trailer when Wayne's gruff tone stops him from ascending any further.

"I wouldn't be going in there today, kid," he says, shaking his head and taking a sip of his coffee.

"Why?" he demands and the look Mr Munson gives leaves him thinking his mother might be right about him being a bit much first thing in the morning.

"Don't know what's goin' on with those boys," he explains, sounding grim, "Don't think I wanna know, either."

Dustin frowns. Whatever is going on with Steve and Eddie, he can handle it...

At least he hopes he can.

He absolutely will not have his two older male friends fighting.

God forbid they break up. What the hell would they all do then? Pick sides? Endure Steve in break-up mode? Good god! Eddie seems like the kind of guy who would take to writing sappy, forlorn poetry.

He can just imagine the lovesick NPC's unfurling rambling letters of woe now...

Dustin snatches open the rattling fly screen door to find Steve sitting on the couch, slurping on a spoonful of cereal and inexplicably watching the morning news. Eddie meanwhile, is positioned at the dining table, back turned to the living room, hunched over and eating in silence.

Dustin spots the box of Honeycombs on the kitchen counter, dividing them almost equally across the common space of the trailer.

"Hi," he says, looking between them and offering a small wave from where his hand is secured under his backpack strap.

It goes unacknowledged, save for a grunt from Steve.

"Get bent, Henderson," Eddie sings more than snips, looking up the hallway and twirling his spoon about.

"I'm not talking to Eddie," Steve explains, standing and moving to the cereal box for his standard second helping.

Eddie's attention snaps to him and he points his spoon in warning, a drop of milk plopping onto the carpet.

"Don't touch my Honeycombs," he now snaps, spinning around in his chair to face Steve, "Besides, I'm not talking to you, either."

Steve rolls his eyes, pursing his lips as he sets his bowl down.

"Oh, so, now you wanna talk?"

"I'm merely informing you of the rightful owner of that delicious box of Honeycombs, Stevie Bear."

"Pretty sure Wayne bought them."

"Pretty sure your mommy bought your hairbrush."

"Shut up!"

"Guys!" Dustin says, raising his voice.

He pinches his nose. Sure, Eddie and Steve bicker. A lot, actually. But they are never not talking. Especially not about the rightful owner of Honeycombs and a goddamn hairbrush.

Wait.

"What!" he screeches, "You guys are giving each other the silent treatment over a fucking hairbrush!"

"He used my hairbrush!"

"I couldn't find mine!"

"Nobody touches my hair shit!"

"What's mine is yours, baby," Eddie taunts, folding his arms with a high-pitched hmmph, "Besides, you use my – "

"Stop, Eds!"

Dustin takes a step back, deciding Wayne definitely made the right choice by remaining outside.

#steddie #steve harrington #eddie munson #dustin henderson #henderfam #henderdads #steddie ficlet #lilys drabbles #stwgdailyprompt

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andvys · 11 months

Text

We'll burn the sky | part sixteen

Warnings: slight angst, mentions of drugs and alcohol, loss of a parent, mostly fluff, a few hints at steddie x reader

Pairings: Rockstar!Eddie Munson x Fem!Rockstar!Reader | slight Steve Harrington x Fem!Reader | slight Eddie Munson x Steve Harrington

Word count: 7k+

Chapter summary: Back on tour, you and Eddie spend more time with each other again and get a nice surprise on New Years Eve.

Author's note: thank you for the help as always @mysticmunson <3 & @aftermidnightwriting I will definitely use your amazing idea with Dustin in the arcade later on in the story!

Series Masterlist

You have dreaded this day ever since the article was released.

Going back on tour should fill you with joy and excitement but instead it fills you with dread and anxiety. Now that the truth about your dad is out, you can already imagine how awful the following weeks or even months will be. The paparazzis and journalists will be all over the place, throwing awful words and questions at you that you know will upset you even further. You are not ready for that, you don’t think that you will ever be.

You always did everything to keep the truth a secret but now it’s all out in the open.

You don’t even care about the things that they have said about you. They upset you, sure but you can ignore it and move on from that, you don’t let it get to you. Having made up stories about you comes with being in the music industry, especially since you’re the only woman in the band. Lies and rumors will always be created.

After three days of being stuck in Eddie’s trailer, you were now able to go back on the road, since the storm had passed. You loved those three days, you got along so well with Wayne, the man has earned a place in your heart. And Eddie, it was so nice to be around him like that, to fall asleep next to him only to wake up in his arms again.

“It’s gonna be okay, sweetheart.” He whispered to you this morning when you voiced your concern about the tour. “You have me, I won’t leave your side. We’ll get through this together, okay?”

Now you’re here, standing by the tour bus, saying goodbye to Wayne. He wraps his arms around you, pulling you into a warm hug.

“Look after yourself, alright kiddo?”

You chuckle, nodding at his words, “I will.”

“Don’t worry Wayne, she’s in good hands,” Eddie says from behind you.

Wayne squeezes your arms before you pull away, you see the stern look in his eyes as he stares at him, “she better be, Eds.”

On Christmas day, Wayne had confronted you about your relationship with his nephew while Eddie had gone to take a shower.

“What’s going on with you and my boy?” Wayne asked while you were sitting on the couch with drinks in your hands.

“What do you mean?” You asked nervously.

He only chuckled, eyes flickering with amusement, “I may be old but I’m not blind, kid,” he said, “I see the way you look at each other, there’s clearly something. But there’s also pain in your eyes,” he mumbled, pausing to take a deep breath, “he hurt you didn’t he?”

You looked down as your eyes flickered with sadness. You didn’t want to talk badly about Eddie or your relationship to someone that means everything to him.

“It’s alright, you can talk to me, if you want.”

You hesitated for a moment.

“I just– I really love him.”

His eyes softened at your admission, a small smile appearing on his face.

“But he never told me about Chrissy.”

He raised his eyebrows, eyes flickering with shock, he brought his hand up to his face, cupping his cheek as he stared at you, “oh boy..”

“We weren’t together or anything but we were with each other all the time, he told me about you and Steve and his other friends, he told me everything, he just never mentioned her,” you explained, “b-but it’s okay, we talked about it, he opened up to me about their relationship, I guess I understand why he never told me about her..”

Wayne sighed, sympathy crossed his face. With just a single glance at you, he saw the look in your eyes when you looked at Eddie, you are in love with him. He could only imagine how hurt and heartbroken you were.

But he can also see the way Eddie looks at you, he is in love with you.

“I’m so sorry.”

“It’s okay,” you smiled, “we’re okay now.”

Wayne was quiet for a moment, he stared at you deep in thought and then a smile tugged at his lips.

“I hope you know that he cares about you, a lot. I think yesterday proved it, when he stormed in like a mad man, that boy was ready to go through the storm to find you,” he paused, “you make him happy, you know? You always did. He called me a lot and all he ever talked about was you. I hope you can give him a second chance ‘cause if there’s someone who deserves it, it’s him.”

“She will always be,” Eddie smiles as he walks towards his uncle to hug him as well, “I’m gonna miss you so much, old man.”

Wayne chuckles, “you’ll see me on Saturday again.”

Eddie’s eyes light up at his words, “right, you got the VIP tickets and everything,” he chuckles, winking at you, “you can bring a date.”

Wayne scoffs, “stop that.”

You both laugh at him and his eye roll.

“I gotta go or I’ll be late for the interview,” Wayne says as he looks at his watch.

“Oh,” you say excitedly, “good luck! I just know they’re gonna hire you.”

Wayne gives you a smile and Eddie chuckles, “of course they will, I put in a good word for you. The night shifts are soon to be over.”

“Hopefully, I got my fingers crossed.”

After one more hug and one last goodbye, Wayne leaves just as Johnny, Gareth and Jeff arrive.

While the other two still look tired, Gareth is already sporting a big smile and a happy look on his face.

“Alright ladies, are we ready to rock ‘n roll again, or what?” Gareth exclaims excitedly as he walks towards the tour bus with a bag in his hand.

Jeff rolls his eyes, “how many coffees did you have this morning?”

“Just three.”

“It’s 10 am!”

“Exactly.”

You missed their banter and you missed them.

The cold morning air is crisp, much more snow is covering the ground, now it truly looks like a winter wonderland.

You put your hands in your warm pockets, looking around the empty street of Hawkins one last time, hoping to come back. The town has grown on you, something about it made you feel at home. Maybe it was just Eddie and Wayne, your new friends and the safe feeling you got from this place or maybe you just always craved a part of this, peace, safety and a family.

Eddie is watching you with a smile on his face, he knows what you are thinking. He is thinking about it too.

He never really liked this town, well, maybe it was only the people that he didn’t like but you made it more bearable, even when you only spent a few moments together in the whole week you were here. Still, the moments that you did spend together, made him happier.

Maybe one day, he can come back here with you, to stay here.

“You’re not leaving without saying goodbye, are you?”

Both you and Eddie turn around with smiles on your faces. You’ve said goodbye to everyone last night, yet most of Eddie’s and your friends are here now.

Robin is the first to approach you and wrap her arms around you.

“I’m gonna miss you so much, rockstar,” she says as she squeezes you tightly.

You smile as you hug her back, meeting Steve’s eyes, your smile widens when he waves at you.

“I’m gonna miss you too, Robin. You should come to Chicago on Saturday, Steve’s coming too.”

“Oh trust me, I’m gonna be there,” she says, grinning at you as she pulls away, “I can’t wait to see you on the big stage.”

“And what about me? Are you excited to see me?” Eddie asks her as he ruffles Dustin’s hair who slaps his hand away in annoyance.

She scrunches her face up, shrugging, “eh, not really,” she teases.

He squints his eyes at her, “you love me, Robin,” he grins.

“No, I really don’t.”

Shaking your head at them, you walk towards Steve.

“Hi,” you whisper.

“Hi,” he smiles, “you ready to go back on tour?”

You shake your head, “not really but it’s gonna be fine,” you shrug.

He nods, looking over your shoulder and at his friends, he reaches for your hand and pulls you away, leading you behind the tour bus.

He blushes as he runs his fingers through his hair, letting go of your hand, he reaches into the pocket of his coat, “I uh– I got you something.”

You raise your eyebrows, eyes flashing with curiosity.

“I got it a few days ago, before the whole thing at the trailer,” he says quietly, “I know we already exchanged presents and all but I wanted to wait with this.”

“Why?”

He shrugs as he scratches the back of his neck.

Your eyes soften as he hands you the little box, you glance into his eyes before you look down at the present, you open it to find a pretty necklace, a pendant with a bird on it, it’s wings are open. It’s beautiful. You touch it with your fingertips, a soft smile appearing on your face.

“Birds stand for freedom, you know?”

You pick the necklace out of the box and look up at him, smiling, “yeah?”

He nods. “You’re free too, just remember that you can do anything you want, you can always dream bigger, you can go wherever you want, it’s your life, you get to choose what will happen.”

Your chest warms at his words.

“You’re cute, you know that right?” You chuckle.

He shrugs, jutting his lip out as he smirks, “yeah, yeah. I know.”

You can see the blush on his cheeks, the nervous look in his eyes.

“I love it, Steve.”

“You do?” He asks as his eyes lighten up.

You nod, “it’s beautiful, thank you!”

“You’re welcome,” he smiles.

“Help me put it on?” You ask as you hold the necklace out to him. He whispers a small ‘of course’ as he takes it from your hand. You turn around, standing with your back towards him. You move your hair to the side as he moves his arms around you, placing the silver necklace around your neck.

“That better be my lucky charm now,” you joke as you look down at the necklace with a smile on your face. You turn around to face him again.

“It will be,” he winks.

“I’m gonna miss you, Steve.”

His gaze softens at your words.

“I’m gonna miss you too,” he whispers as he opens his arms for you. You step towards him, falling into his embrace, you lay your head on his chest and wrap your arms around him. He holds you tightly and closes his eyes.

He finds himself wishing that he didn’t have to say goodbye. You have grown so much on him, you became a part of his life.

“Maybe I should put you in my suitcase and take you with me,” you joke as you pull away from him.

“I don’t think I’ll fit in there, honey,” he laughs, eyes twinkling as they lock with yours, “you can still hire me as your stylist,” he jokes as he puts his hand on your back, leading you back to the others.

“Yeah, maybe I should,” you chuckle.

“You better come back to Hawkins again, y/n,” Dustin says as he walks towards you with a grin on his face, “we didn’t even get to go to the arcade together!” He frowns.

“Next time, alright?” You smile as you pull the younger boy into a hug, “I’m gonna come visit after the tour and we can go to the arcade together.”

“We better!”

You hug Lucas and Max next, squeezing both of them tightly before you press a kiss to their cheeks, almost bursting into laughter when they turn towards each other with wide eyes and excited looks on their faces. They squeal when you turn away from them, missing the amused look on Robin’s face as she stares at them.

Eddie pulls away from Steve’s hug, saying something to him that you can’t make out. His brown eyes meet yours and he smiles, “ready?”

You nod.

Eddie waits for you to get on the tour bus first but you turn towards Steve one more time. He raises his brows, a smile tugging at his lips as you approach him one more time. Reaching your hands out, you cup his cheeks and stand on your tippy toes, pulling him towards you, you kiss his cheek, leaving a lipstick mark on his skin.

Robin and Dustin chuckle in the back, their laughter only getting louder when they see Eddie’s eye roll.

Steve chuckles as well, blushing at your sweet action.

He cups your cheeks now, giving you a big kiss on the cheek too, just barely missing your lips.

“Alright,” Eddie rolls his eyes, shaking his head, “let’s go, sweetheart.”

You and Steve giggle at each other, he ruffles your hair, “take care of yourself, yeah?”

“I will.”

“I’m always one phone call away,” he whispers.

“I know,” you smile as you squeeze his hand before you step away.

“Goodbye Stevie.”

His eyes flash with bittersweet sadness, though he will see you in a week again, he knows things will be different. This is a different goodbye.

You pick out the necklace from beneath your shirt, reaching for the pendant, you give it a kiss.

“Goodbye Stevie.”

He smiles at your action, eyes following you as you step on the tour bus, his smile falls a little.

“Goodbye honey,” he whispers.

Eddie watches him closely, their conversation is still deep on his mind.

Both men look at each other, a mutual understanding flashing in their eyes.

“Take care of her.”

Eddie nods, “of course.”

“You know, I missed this.”

“Hotel rooms?”

Eddie chuckles, stealing a fry off your plate, he dips it in ketchup before eating it, “hotel rooms with you.”

You smile, watching as he licks his lips, missing the ketchup on the corner of his mouth. You reach your hand out towards his face, wiping the condiment off, you look into each other’s eyes as you bring your thumb back to your lips, licking it clean.

A blush takes over his face and he looks down with a smile on his face.

“I missed it too.”

“Yeah? You did?”

You nod, humming at his question.

Neither of you want to think of the few lonely nights you spent without each other after the night in Cincinnati. It feels wrong to even think of the moments you weren’t with each other.

Eddie can look at you with the same happiness in his eyes as before everything. You are here with him, wearing his shirt again. Your hair is still wet from the shower you took earlier, the necklace that Steve got you, hanging around your neck.

The first day back on tour was mostly spent on the tour bus and the hotel. Rob, your tour manager won’t be here until tomorrow morning.

The following days you will be busy with interviews and photoshoots before the concert on Saturday. Eddie isn’t sure if you are ready for it but he will be by your side, every step of the way.

“What’re you thinking about?” You ask as you push your half eaten plate of food away from you, reaching for your coke, you take a sip before placing it back on the tray.

“How do you know I’m thinking about something?” He asks as he eats the rest of his burger.

“You always have that look in your eyes,” you explain, eyes flashing with amusement, “and you’re a nervous eater, you always scarf down the food when you’re deep in thought, which you just did,” you chuckle.

He furrows his brows, chewing his food slowly, he tilts his head.

He steals your coke, drinking half of it which you don’t even seem to mind. You’ll share everything with him.

“Really?”

“Yeah,” you breathe.

“Huh, I never realized,” he chuckles, scratching the back of his neck, “I guess you’re right. I’m always reaching for snacks when I feel stressed but then again, I always think about food.”

“A real taurus,” you chuckle.

He laughs but nods in agreement.

“So… what were you thinking about?” You ask again.

He chews on his bottom lip for a moment, “I don’t wanna ruin the mood right now.”

Eying the concern on his face and the uncertainty in his eyes, you already know what this is about.

“It’s about the article isn’t it?” You ask.

He sighs, nodding.

“What about it?”

“I-I just, I’m worried about you,” he says as he scoots closer to you, reaching his hand out, he grabs it and places it in his, “the journalists, the press… the fucking paparazzis will be everywhere, it’s gonna be brutal, sweetheart.”

Yes, they will be but you will be fine, you have to be.

“It’s okay, Eddie,” you whisper, “I’m not gonna cry, break down or get angry at them, I won’t give them that satisfaction. They asked about my dad before, remember?”

He nods. He remembers that interview, the way you tensed up and looked like you were actually on the verge of a breakdown.

“It was just a rumor, back then no one even knew anything about it,” you shrug, “this can be treated like a rumor as well, some asshole ‘made’ that shit up about my dad. Once they see that it has no effect on me, they’ll leave me alone. There’s no proof, no one was there that night, no one except for me.”

His eyes flash with sadness at the mention of that night. You opened up more about that night, telling him about what you came home to.

“They talked shit about me before, remember that one article they wrote about me?”

He nods, rolling his eyes in anger.

He was so focused on you, he didn’t think about how it would affect him. His first priority is you. He wants to protect you, be there for you and take care of you. But he also knows that the following weeks or even months will be a challenge for him as well, he will deal with anger, too much of it. Anger for all the people that try to harm you in any way.

“Then it’s nothing new,” you shrug, trying to play it cool, “sure, it’ll be a lot and I can already hear the disrespectful questions from all those asshole journalists and paparazzis but fuck it, you either ignore them or you… take it easy.”

“Take it easy?” He scoffs, “how am I supposed to take it easy when they’ll attack you?”

“Eddie, they won’t attack me,” you sigh.

Your gaze softens, your heart flutters in his chest as you look into his eyes. He cares so much about you, it’s something you never realized before Christmas.

“Something that I learned is, you gotta act like you don’t give a fuck about anything, you gotta shrug things off, play it cool, throw sarcastic comments at them, maybe mean ones too, anything to make them leave you alone. My dad taught me that, it always worked out for him. Once they realize that they can’t use a single fucking thing against you, they will get bored.”

Eddie blinks as he stares at you.

“That’s what I’m gonna do and it’s what I want you to do. It’s about taking care of yourself, protecting yourself, Eddie.”

You are strong, so much stronger than him. You allowed yourself to grieve, you allowed yourself to break down and cry and for a moment you were broken, maybe you still are but you got up again.

“Don’t let them see how broken you are, it’s what they want. You put on a mask in front of these fuckers and you only take it off in front of people who truly care about you. You can cry and be angry but not in front of people who wanna see that.”

Eddie remembers the way you put that mask on, after you had just found out about Chrissy, your heart broke, you were angry and sad and yet you managed to hide those feelings in front of strangers. No matter how hurt you were, you were always able to hide it.

“And honestly? I’m more concerned about who spilled.”

“Who knew about your dad?” Eddie asks, furrowing his brows.

You look down, staring at his hand, you play with the new rings on his fingers, the ones that you got for him.

“Sam, Rob and my mom. That’s all, I didn’t even tell my friends,” you mumble, “it obviously wasn’t Sam or Rob, so I guess that just leaves my mom.”

There is something you are not telling him, he can see it on your face and he can hear it in your voice. The room falls silent, the candle light flickers. Eddie rubs circles into your skin, staring at you with curiosity in his eyes.

“Who else knew?”

You hesitate. Your eyes meet his again.

“Sweetheart–”

“Chrissy and Jason knew.”

He draws back a little as his eyes widen, his lips parting in shock.

“W-What?”

You take a deep breath.

“Yeah uh– that night at the hideout, Chrissy followed me out to talk, then Steve and Jason followed us out as well. She just dropped that on me, in front of Steve too, I didn’t want anyone to know, Eddie. At first, I didn’t know how they found out but I kinda figured that my mom told them.”

“What the fuck,” Eddie mumbles as his eyes flash with anger.

“She is the only one who could’ve told them,” you frown, “I called her, she was weird, weirder than usual so… and I honestly don’t think that it was Chrissy, if anything it was her sleazeball boyfriend and her bitchy mom.”

“You don’t think it was Chrissy?” Eddie asks with a confused look on his face, “she had it out for you.”

You sigh, shaking your head, “I talked to her the night before Christmas Eve, I was at the diner and she was there too..”

“Jesus,” he sighs, running his fingers through his hair, he clenches his jaw, eying you in concern. He can already imagine what kind of things she has said to you, “did she–”

“She was.. nice,” you mumble, “we talked normally. I don’t think it was her, I have a feeling that it wasn’t.”

Eddie is still suspicious but he doesn’t say anything.

“Her mom is religious, right?”

Eddie nods, “yeah, Jason too,” he rolls his eyes.

You chuckle, shaking your head, “trust me, it was them. I don’t know why they would care and I have no fucking clue how they found my mom but they must have given her a lot of money.”

“Wait what?”

“Oh, all she cares about is money, Eddie. You pay her a good amount and she’ll tell you anything you wanna know.”

Eddie raises his brows, a sigh leaving his lips as he shakes his head. He squeezes your hand, “I’m so sorry.”

“It’s okay, I-I just wanna move on from this, you know?”

He nods.

“Okay,” he whispers, “but why didn’t you tell me about Jason and Chrissy’s mom?”

“I didn’t want you to get into a fight with that asshole, it’s whatever. In the end it doesn’t even matter who sold that fucking story, it won’t be the first scandalous article, there will be many more.”

He would have definitely gotten into a fight with Jason and cuss the old Cunningham witch out, god knows how many times he had done it before when she would comment on Chrissy’s weight, not only was she horrible to her own daughter, now she also managed to find a way to hurt you, you who had absolutely nothing to do with her.

“I wanna beat his face in and put nair in her shampoo,” he grumbles as his eyes darken.

Eddie was always protective of the people he loves, of his friends and family but he had never felt this kind of protective before.

You snort at his words.

“I’m serious!”

“Okay,” you giggle, “that witch is gonna lose her hair at some point, karma will get her. Same with Jason, he’ll get what he deserves.”

“But still, I wanna hurt him.”

“You already did.”

“That punch wasn’t enough.”

“I’m sure an asshole like him will get many more punches in his lifetime.”

“He better.”

Sighing, you let go of his hand, taking the food tray, you place it on the ground before you lay down, placing your feet on the soft cushions and your hand on your stomach.

Eddie looks at you, smile tugging at his lips.

You reach for the necklace beneath your shirt and curiosity sparks inside of him.

He lays down next to you, placing his elbow on the soft pillow, he cups his cheek as he stares down at you.

“Can I ask you something?”

You turn to look at him, rolling over on your side so you can face him.

“How do you really feel about Steve?” He asks, “I-I’m not angry or jealous, just curious. I can tell that he means something to you,” he says, reaching for the necklace he got you.

You hold your finger to your lips as you think about his questions.

Eddie waits patiently.

“Why are you asking me this?”

“I just, I see the way you’re around him,” he explains, “you’re comfortable with him, it’s different than with others, even your friends.”

“I just really like him. He is kind of amazing.”

“Kind of?” He smiles.

“Very amazing,” you chuckle, rolling your eyes, “you’re still my favorite.”

His smile widens, heart skipping a beat. You put your hand on his arm, squeezing it.

“But how do you feel about him, Eddie?”

He draws his brows together as he gives you a questioning look. It makes you giggle. You were surprised about the kiss they had shared that one night, it didn’t exactly seem like it was their first kiss.

“How many times have you kissed him before?”

“Oh,” Eddie breathes, chuckling. His cheeks grow red.

“Or did you do…. more?”

He shakes his head, “no, sweetheart. It was just a few kisses.”

“A few kisses?” You chuckle.

He nods as his eyes fall on the necklace that he is still holding between his fingers, he scoots closer to you.

“Yeah, a few drunken kisses,” he snorts.

“That’s all?”

“That’s all.”

“You never wanted to go further than that?”

“I mean, back then I did,” he admits shyly.

“Oh my god,” you exclaim, your eyes flash with excitement at this new revelation, you push him back and place your hands on his chest, “tell me everything.”

He laughs at your curiosity, not wasting a moment to put his hands on your back.

“I was kinda into him but wasn’t sure if he’d be open for more than just a few kisses, you know?”

You nod.

“So I never tried,” he shrugs, “and then Chrissy asked me out so I never really thought about it again.”

“Oh,” you pout.

He chuckles, placing his hand under your chin, “what’s that pout for, sweetheart?”

“I think you and Steve would’ve been cute together,” you say, giggling.

“Shut up,” he laughs, rolling his eyes at you.

“You know who would be cute together?”

You shake your head, placing your chin on his chest, you brush your fingers through his curls, making him smile.

“You and I, we’d be cute together,” he smiles. His eyes are soft, filled with nothing but adoration and love.

Warmth rushes through your chest a smile tugs at your lips but you pretend to be skeptical, “hmm… you really think so?”

He playfully glares at you, “of course!”

“But I wouldn’t stand a chance if you were dating Steve,” you say, pretending to be jealous.

He almost laughs, shaking his head at you.

“Baby, we’re both obsessed with you,” he chuckles as he digs his fingers into your sides, tickling you.

“Eddie!” You laugh, pushing his hands away.

“If I was dating Steve and you came along, we’d both fall for you and just date you both.”

Your lips part in surprise, your eyes widen, “oh?”

He chuckles at the expression on your face.

“And what if I didn’t want to have two boyfriends?”

“But we’d treat you like a queen. You’d be the happiest girl in the world.”

You chuckle, blushing at his words.

“Hmm, maybe two boyfriends aren’t too bad,” you whisper, “should we call Steve?”

“No!”

You giggle when he wraps his arms around you and flips you over.

“No? I thought I could have two boyfriends.”

“I never said that,” he points out, giving you a stern look, “that would’ve happened if I dated Steve in the past. You are the only one that I need and I’m the only one that you need.”

Your heart flutters and so does his when you cup his cheek.

“You do have a soft spot for Steve though,” you whisper.

It’s the truth. Out of all his friends, Steve was always his closest one, even though there’s people in his life that he had known much longer. Steve was different, you found a place in his heart. Eddie hated to admit it but he did.

He was sick with jealousy when you had been with him but he always felt relieved that it wasn’t another man. It was just Steve. He always trusted him and he knew that you were safe with him.

“As do you.”

Yes.

Maybe the both of you have a bit of a soft spot for the handsome dork, he grew on you and a part of you hated the thought of him being all alone again. A part of you feels guilty, you gave him something, only to take it away again.

“I feel like an asshole.”

“What?”

His eyes are filled with guilt as he looks up at the ceiling.

“The night at the trailer, Steve and I got into a fight… kinda.”

“What? Why?”

“He admitted that he likes you. I asked him if he loves you but he didn’t say anything. He looked pretty upset about the fact that you like.. me.”

You talked about this with Steve. He told you that he has no feelings for you, that it was nothing but an attachment he had formed.

“I got angry and we started saying stuff to each other, then it all led to that moment.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah,” he sighs, “I feel bad, I-I didn’t want to accept that he may have feelings for you, I was scared that I would lose you because of it but when he gave you that necklace, I felt bad for him.”

Your eyes soften and you frown at his words, “w-why?”

“Because he didn’t want to let you go and yeah, maybe it’s just a friend not wanting to let go of someone that means the world to them and I know what it’s like to watch you leave, I know what he feels like. Losing you is the most painful thing, sweetheart.”

“I don’t ever wanna lose you,” he whispers as he presses a gentle kiss to your knuckles, “even if you decide to leave me in the end, I will never leave you, no matter what.”

Tears well up in your eyes.

Eddie doesn’t understand what weight his words hold. He doesn’t know that this small moment, these simple words might have saved you.

You know that he will stand by your side.

And as long as you have him, you know that you will be alright.

Cruel words and weird stares were expected when you left the hotel the next day, you successfully managed to ignore them though. You don’t let these things get to you. You’ve become an expert at building walls up around you, ones that no one can tear down, least of all strangers who have no relations to you.

You make it through the interview, you manage to get through the photoshooting and even the talk show that the band has been invited to.

The journalists weren’t the nicest people to deal with, they of course used the article as an excuse to ask you questions that you have felt uncomfortable to answer but as you have told Eddie, you put on a fake smile and acted as though it had absolutely no effect on you.

You noticed the concerned glances of your friends, Jeff asked you how you were doing multiple times, Gareth tried to lighten your mood while Rob and Johnny tried to distract you by talking about the upcoming concert.

Eddie held your hand through it all, comforting you with his touches and encouraging smiles.

You appreciate them but most of all him.

You tried to think of anything but the mess that you had gotten in, which was quite the challenge considering that people brought it up, constantly.

Friday rolled around and you were happy to be back on stage for rehearsals. You haven’t sung since the night at the hideout and you missed it.

You and Eddie tried to keep your touches to a minimum but it was difficult to do so, you just couldn’t stay away from him and neither could he. It was nice to hold his hand again and sing with him.

You have gotten to the venue in the morning, a few hours have passed since then and you have decided to take a break.

With a cup of coffee in your hand, you sit down on the ground and flip through the pages in your notebook.

The guys went out to eat, you didn’t feel like leaving the venue, not when you know that there’s a bunch of people waiting out there for you. Eddie had wanted to stay back but you know that he hasn’t eaten anything since last night so you had to convince him to get food with the others.

He only begrudgingly agreed, not wanting to leave you alone but eventually he caved, especially when his stomach grumbled. He promised to get you something as well before he left.

You hear heavy footsteps and a loud sigh, you don’t have to look behind you to see who it is.

“What’re you doing, kid?” Rob asks as he sits down across from you, a cup of coffee in one hand and a cigarette in his other.

“Just going through a new song text that I wrote.”

“Oh, you wrote a new one?” He asks with a smile on his face.

“Yes, started working on it a while back, do you wanna read it?”

“Sure.”

You turn your notebook around and slide it towards him. “I thought that this could be on the next album.”

He raises his brow and smiles, “next album, huh?”

You nod, “yeah, I mean I hope we can make one.”

“With the way things are going, I can’t see why not,” he shrugs before he breaks eye contact, placing his mug on the floor, he reaches for the notebook. Placing his cigarette between his lips, he squints his eyes as he starts to read.

You shake your head at the expression on his face, that man refuses to get himself some reading glasses.

You take a sip of your warm coffee and look around the empty room, the one that will be filled with thousands of people tomorrow night.

“Sounds angry,” he chuckles, “and very emotional.”

“I was very angry and emotional,” you nod, laughing.

“I can tell.”

“Whenever I’m angry or sad, I get inspired…. Is that weird?”

He smiles as he shakes his head slowly, “no, kid. It’s not weird, it’s your way of dealing with it. Which is good because at least there’s a great outcome from it. Other’s turn to other things when they are in pain.”

You swallow, nodding at his words.

“Yeah, drugs, alcohol and sex.”

His eyes widen as he nods in agreement, “that’s right. I’ve been there myself, it’s not good. It feels good in the moment but you always come back from it, you sober up and when you do, you feel like absolute shit so you drown yourself in it again and again. You don’t want to but you do, despite knowing how fucking awful it is. You want to stop but the moment you’re in it, it just seems impossible and the longer you do it, you get more and more lost.”

“Yeah,” you breathe, nodding, “you lose your way out.”

“You really do. That’s why you should never even start with it because the moment you do, all those fuckers out there,” he says, pointing into a random direction, his cigarette still between his fingers, “the ones who are waiting for your downfall, they all fucking win. Everything they said about you, becomes true and you don’t want that. You gotta do what’s best for you, you gotta be better and stronger than them.”

“But what if you realize that you are not strong?”

“Then you gotta find that strength, you look for the light and hold on to that. Don’t succumb to darkness.”

Rob’s words echo in your mind for the rest of the day, playing on repeat.

You found your light and you will hold onto that, no matter what.

“Are you ready?” Gareth grins at you, wiggling his brows.

“Yeah, I’m ready,” you chuckle, giving him a confused look, “why are you acting so suspicious?”

“Me, suspicious?” He gasps, shaking his head, “why would I act suspicious?”

“I don’t know, you tell me.”

You look behind his shoulder, smiling at Steve who looks away from Eddie, his eyes lock with yours and he smiles.

Robin is watching the opening act with a look of awe in her eyes, Wayne next to her.

The backstage crew is rushing around, preparing for your concert.

“Can you believe that all these people came here for you?”

You furrow your brows, laughing, “they came for us,” you mumble.

“No, they came for you.”

He looks behind you with a smirk on his face. You’re just about to turn around to see what he is looking at when a pair of hands cover your eyes.

“Guess who.”

You gasp at the sound of her voice, almost squealing in excitement, you grab her hands and turn around.

“Jamie?” You exclaim as you meet the eyes of your best friend.

She grins at you, happiness flashing in her eyes, she pulls you into a tight hug.

“I missed you so much.”

You close your eyes, blinking away the happy tears, you squeeze her tightly.

“I missed you too, Jaims.”

“Alright, move over, Jamie. It’s my time.”

Your eyes snap open and you just now notice the other two girls. Frankie and Wren rush towards you with excited squeals. They both wrap their arms around you, pulling you into a group hug.

You giggle as Frankie presses her lips to your cheek, “I missed you so much, babe!”

“How?” You ask as you look at your friends in surprise.

Jeff comes up behind Wren, pulling your friend into his arms, “we thought you could use some time with your friends,” he grins at you.

“Wait,” you look at him with a smile on your face before you turn to Gareth, “you guys planned this?”

“It was Eddie’s idea,” he shrugs, “I almost blurted it out the other day though.”

Your gaze softens, heart warming. You turn around, looking at Eddie who is already staring at you with a smile on his face.

‘Thank you,’ you mouth to him.

“Of course, you can never keep your mouth shut,” Jamie snorts at him.

“Hey! I did keep my mouth shut!”

You shake your head, turning back to your friends, you stare at them for a moment. It’s been months since you had last seen them. Wren’s hair is longer than it was before, a happy smile is lingering on her face as she hugs Jeff.

“How are you guys?”

“Oh, Wren and I are fine,” Jamie says to you before she looks at Frankie who has that flicker in her eyes, “this one though, crazy in love.”

Your eyes widen, you look her up and down, not only is she blushing like crazy, there’s also something on her hand that you haven’t seen before.

“I-Is that an engagement ring?” You gape at her, reaching for her hand to stare at it.

“Yes,” she squeals.

“Wow, I– where’s this coming from?” You laugh, eying the beautiful ring, “who’s that lucky guy?”

She opens her mouth to speak but is quickly cut off by Wren, “before she rambles your ear off, his name is Thomas, he is rich and crazy obsessed with her.”

“And he has a yacht!” Frankie exclaims with a happy smile on her face.

You pull her into another hug, “congrats, you always wanted a yacht,” you giggle.

“Hi guys.”

For a moment, your friends all fall silent at the sound of Eddie’s voice, it almost makes you nervous that they know about what happened. You didn’t tell them, you didn’t want to, especially not over the phone.

Eddie places his hand on your back, waving at them awkwardly.

They all greet him after a moment, giving him small smiles. It makes you relax a little but then they lay their eyes on Steve, who stands on the other side of you.

You introduce them to him, your friends eye him in curiosity, you can already hear the questions coming the moment they get you alone again.

They share teasing grins when they notice how both men look at you. Their grins only get bigger when you call Steve ‘Stevie’.

Jeff excuses himself, pulling Wren along with him. You smirk to yourself when you see them walking into one of the backstage rooms.

Gareth walks off as well as he mumbles something under his breath, leaving you standing here with two men on both your sides and your very curious best friends.

Jamie falls into a conversation with Eddie and Steve but quickly finds something more entertaining behind you, you follow her gaze. Robin.

She is staring at Robin.

A mischievous smile appears on your face, the blush on her face deepens when Robin turns around, meeting your friend’s eyes. Jamie was the one who teased you the most when she found out about your feelings for Eddie, you will enjoy this.

“So which one of them are you dating right now?” Frankie whispers into your ear after pulling you away from the group.

“W-What?” You chuckle.

She grins, playing with her red hair as she leans closer to you, “are you dating both?” She asks, “I know you always loved those love triangle books.”

“Oh my god,” you groan.

She turns to look at them, catching the look on Steve’s face as he stares at Eddie.

“Oh uh, babes, I think he has a crush on your man.”

You follow her gaze to see Steve nodding along to Eddie’s words, smiling at him.

You almost burst into laughter.

“Wait no–” she cuts herself off, Steve looks at you for a brief moment, “wait…”

“What?” You chuckle.

Her eyes are squinted, she looks at them and then at you, eyes moving back and forth, “did you…” Her eyes widen and she gasps before she even finishes her questions, before you even say anything, “you did, didn’t you!”

“Did what?” You laugh, acting clueless but the flustered look on your face and the nervous smile gives it away.

“You know what,” she wiggles her brows.

“No…” You say in a hushed whisper, hoping that no one can hear you or see the look on your face, “we didn’t–”

“Yes you did, you naughty girl,” she smirks.

“I-It wasn’t, we didn’t.. not actually,” you stutter, rolling your eyes as you cross your arms over your chest.

“Not actually?” She asks with wide eyes, “but you did something.”

“It was just… a little something.” Not an actual threesome, you think to yourself.

“A little something, huh?” She grins.

Shaking your head, you roll your eyes playfully.

“Nothing too crazy.”

“How did that even happen?” She gasps, giggling like a schoolgirl, “I thought you and Eddie were dating all this time.”

“We weren’t– aren’t dating.”

She draws back, scrunching her face up, “you’re kidding right?”

You shake your head, “nope.”

“I’m not buying that, that man,” she points to Eddie who turns to look at you with a smile on his face, “he is head over heels for you.” And then her eyes fall on Steve, “and that one too…. maybe, I’m not sure yet.”

You shake your head, sighing.

“Who’s head over heels for who?” Wren whispers in your ear as she sneaks up behind you.

“Eddie and his boyfriend.”

Wren giggles and you roll your eyes with a smile on your face.

“Oh my god,” Wren laughs, “look at you, you became a rockstar and got yourself two boyfriends, have you adopted any kids yet?” She jokes.

You chuckle, “should I?”

“Yeah, you should make them both daddies.”

“Jesus Christ…” you groan.

“Who’s gonna be your new year’s kiss tonight? Which one is getting the first smooch?”

They both giggle at the flustered expression on your face, teasing you with their eyes when both men walk up to you again, standing on both sides of you like before.

“You ready to go on stage, sweetheart?” Eddie smiles excitedly as he reaches for your hand.

You nod, ignoring the giggles of your friends.

“Good luck, honey.”

They whisper behind your back, mimicking their pet names for you before they giggle again.

You already know, their teasing will be never ending and this night will be a long one.

@littledemondani @wroteclassicaly @corrodedcorpses @mysticmunson @aftermidnightwriting @sherrylyn628 @imjuststeddietrashatthispoint @yearwalker96 @eddiemyloveee

#eddie munson x reader #eddie munson x fem!reader #eddie munson x female reader #eddie munson x you #eddie munson x y/n #eddie munson imagines #eddie munson imagine #eddie munson angst #eddie munson fic #eddie munson fanfic #eddie munson fluff #stranger things imagine #stranger things imagines #stranger things angst #rockstar!eddie munson #rockstar!eddie

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musings-of-a-college-dork · 11 months

Note

Hear me out. HEAR ME OUT.

Some angst…but like fluff idk OKAY.

Say the reader and Eddie are in the upside down and the reader gets separated from everyone and is presumed dead, but had escaped through another way. Ya know all sad etc cause eddie thinks he’s lost his soulmate, but when the fundraiser at the end of the show happens it could be he’s placing posters up of them…then BOOM reader appears and it’s all tooth rotting fluff etc

I Thought I Lost You

Eddie Munson x GN!Reader

Word count: roughly 1.5K

Eddie lost his partner in the Upside Down and his friends convince him to put up a Missing Person flyer.

Warnings: SEASON FOUR SPOILERS, angstyyyy but fluffy at the end, mainly just spoilers, and serious divergence from canonical plotline

Author’s note: So sorry this one took me so long to write but I love a good piece of angst melted to fluff!

The past two days had felt like years. After the world had literally cracked open many citizens of Hawkins had begun evacuating but many stayed. They stayed out of hope. Hope that those they thought were lost may come back.

Eddie was one of those such people. When he had returned along with Dustin to meet up with the rest of the group, Steve was the one who had to gently break the news that Y/N…they had gotten separated and…well...

Presumed dead. Those had been the words people had been saying about them. About everyone who had been lost. Of course, Eddie knew it made sense. Most of the people missing had to be…but Y/N… He had been inconsolable. When Steve had broken the news there had been no reaction. None. None whatsoever. He hadn’t cried or yelled or broken down. He had just gone quiet which for Eddie was scarier than any of the other things combined. He knew they couldn’t go back to find them. He knew that. And so he had simply said nothing and shut himself away in what was left of the trailer without a word to another soul.

Dustin had come by the check on him a couple of times and each time Wayne said he wasn’t eating, sleeping, or speaking - he hadn’t even had any music on. Eddie truly felt like the world was crashing down. He couldn’t explain it but it was so much worse than when his mom had died. He was young then and it was a disease. There wasn’t anything he could do about it. But here. With Y/N. You could have been with them, his mind reminded him for the thousandth time, you could have stayed with them and not let them out of your sight. You could have protected them. But you didn’t. You had to go and play hero with Dustin. And now they’re dead because of you.

On top of all of that, people were still blaming him for the murders that had happened. The police had been by several times and had asked Wayne to speak to Eddie. Wayne had explained the situation and had begged for time. The department surprisingly gave him to his request and he figured it was solely because they had so many other things going on and Eddie truly hadn’t moved since the day of the split.

When Wayne told Eddie the police had been by, he hadn’t said a word. Merely nodded to Wayne and turned his focus back to the polaroids he had of Y/N, the same ones he had been flipping through for days as if looking at their photo would bring them back. And in that moment, Wayne felt fear. Fear because he realized without his soulmate, Eddie was starting to not care what happened to him. “I lost them,” He had told Dustin when the teen had finally coaxed him into speaking at Wayne’s insistence, “I lost Y/N, and now…Dustin, they were my world. What’s the point when my life has already been lost?”

After Dustin had told Steve about Eddie’s complete collapse, Steve had talked to Robin who had somehow managed to convince Eddie to come with her and Steve and Dustin to help out at the high school where everyone had basically created a shelter. Anyone who had lost their homes, or family members, or needed food, supplies, or medical attention was there. It was the bulletin board of Missing Persons Robin mentioned that was ultimately what convinced Eddie to go. Along with his friends, he had managed to create a missing poster for Y/N, convinced that maybe, maybe if he made the poster someone would find them and they'd come back to him. His friends had been silent as they helped him, knowing the chances of them coming back from the Upside Down were…well…

But he had done it anyway and it had gotten him out of bed and that in and of itself was something to be grateful for.

The nerves had boiled up in Eddie’s stomach as they had arrived at the high school. The four of them had taken Steve’s car along with a few boxes of items to donate - sheets, clothes, toys - and the flyer for Y/N. The drive had been silent and so was the walk in. Eddie tried his best to ignore the stares he received as the group passed by, holding his head up high…well as high as he could with the sinking feeling that had taken up permanent residence in his chest.

“Hey,” Robin had whispered when she watched him get caught up in his own mind. “We’re gonna put up the poster for Y/N, drop this stuff, and then we can go-”

“No,” he shook his head, “I…I want to stay. To…help.” She had gone silent after that and Steve and Dustin didn’t protest. As they walked in though, Eddie couldn’t keep his eyes from the missing person’s board. Dustin watched as his focus totally shifted, turning his attention to Robin and Steve.

“You two go on ahead,” Dustin said with a nod. The other two teens hesitated for a moment but Dustin shooed them along as Eddie continued to stare at the board.

“You wanna go put it up?” Dustin said as he looked at the flyer Eddie was clutching in his hand.

“Yeah,” Eddie nodded, his voice barely audible, “But…” Dustin watched as his gaze shifted to the police officers.

“Eddie, man,” Dustin placed a hand on his DM’s shoulder, turning Eddie to face him, “You didn’t do it. You’re just gonna go over there and put up the flyer,” He still seemed unsure leading Dustin to sigh, “Here I’ll come with you. Ok?” Eddie nodded again and took a deep breath before following Dustin’s lead and heading over to the board.

“Uh hi,” Dustin greeted the officer who looked between him and Eddie for a moment but didn’t say anything, “We have a missing person poster to put up.” The officer eyed them both once more and went to say something before clearly thinking better of it.

“When did this person go missing?” The officer asked as he held his hand out for the poster. Eddie hesitated to hand it over but with some urging from Dustin, he did.

“The day of the earthquakes,” Dustin said, not quite sure what else to call them. “They were near one of the sites so…we…yeah.” The officer let out a little hum before turning his focus to the paper. His eyes narrowed as he squinted at the photo before they went wide.

“Something the matter?” Dustin asked, “Have you…do you know anything about-” The officer cut Dustin off with a point as he gestured to one of the medical stations. Dustin and Eddie both turned at the speed of light to find a figure sitting in a chair that the cop had pointed to. They were chatting with the nurse who seemed to be checking their vitals, a soft smile on their face as they seemed to make conversation. They looked worse for wear, still in the clothes they had been wearing when they went to the Upside Down. Bruises and scrapes as well as a ton of dirt littered their skin…but they were there. Dustin could watch all the blood drain out of Eddie’s face. It was like he had seen a ghost. And in Eddie’s mind, his fear was that he had.

“Y/N,” was all he said before he began to take slow steps toward the figure. They didn’t notice him as he approached but the nurse did, looking at him with a confused gaze. Y/N must have caught her glance as they turned to look and…

They had the same dumbfounded look. They took a moment to just stare at him, mouth opening and closing as he approached, step by step. This continued for a moment before they stood up on shaky legs as if they could have been blown away by the wind.

“Eddie?” They asked in a cautious tone, their voice shaking as they spoke.

“Oh my god,” he murmured before they were in his arms, holding them with everything they had in them.

“Eddie I thought-”

“But you were-”

“We lost-”

“Y/N we thought you-”

“I know but I was-”

“Where have you-”

“How is-”

The pair couldn’t form full thoughts and the nurse simply backed away to allow the pair a moment as tears brimmed in both of their eyes.

“Y/N, we thought you were…” Eddie couldn’t finish the thought as he felt Y/N squeeze him even tighter.

“I know,” they nodded as they pulled him in, “But I’m here. I’m here and I’m not going anywhere.”

And Eddie knew they spoke the truth at that moment. He knew whatever came next was going to be a hard battle. The fight to prove his innocence wasn’t going to be easy. But with them by his side, his life and his soulmate restored, for the first time since Chrissy’s death, he thought he may have a fighting chance.

And she's done! Again so sorry this took so long but I hope it's sorta what you were looking for!!!!

#eddie munson #eddie munson x reader #stranger things 4 #stranger things x reader #eddie munson smut #st spoilers #stranger things #eddie munson angst #eddie stranger things

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talesfromthesnogbox · 11 months

Text

Wayne Knows Best

Summary: Wayne wants to make sure Eddie and his new boyfriend are being careful, but Eddie's confused... he doesn't have a boyfriend, does he?

Rating: Teen

Word Count: 3,881

AO3 Link

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Wayne Munson had always been more observant than he looked. When he first took in his nephew Eddie, the kid constantly thought he could outsmart him, and pull the wool over his eyes as he had his father. But Wayne knew better than that.

Eddie grew up to be less sneaky and more upfront about things with Wayne, but he knew his nephew still held things back from him. He wasn’t the kid’s dad, but he’d earned Eddie’s trust enough that he would come to him when he was ready to share.

So when after March break of 1986, one Steve Harrington started coming around the trailer, Wayne kept his mouth shut and let the boys be.

The thing is, Wayne always knew Eddie marched to the beat of his own drum, with everything, including who he liked. He’d never formally come out to him, or talked to him about anything regarding romance or sex, but Wayne figured that maybe he was a late bloomer or something. Easier for him, he’d never even thought about the fated “birds and the bees” conversation with Eddie until he found a glossy worn skin mag wedged between his mattress and box spring when he was seventeen. It didn’t bother Wayne, what other people did with their partners was none of his business; but he knew if Eddie did like fellas instead of ladies, he’d have an even harder time being out in the world then he already did.

Regardless, Wayne never told Eddie what he’d found, he just kept a close eye on his boy, and knew that when he was ready, he’d talk to his dear old uncle.

Of course, that was before the Harrington boy started coming over at all hours of the night.

Steve was a nice kid, nothing like his asshole of a father. The first time he’d met Wayne all those months ago in the hospital, he looked exhausted, a little beat up, and sitting by his boy’s bedside.

“You must be Wayne.” He said, getting up and offering the seat beside Eddie’s bed to him. “I would say Eddie has told me so much about you but…”

“It’s okay, kid.” Wayne told him, hearing the subtle bits of anxiety colour his tone. “You’re the Harrington boy, aren’t you?”

He stuck out his hand for Wayne to shake. “Steve, sir. I haven’t known Eddie long, but I know the kids worship him, and he’s like an older brother to them. I—I’m grateful they have him at school looking after them even though…” Steve went quiet, an apologetic look on his face.

“Super senior, yeah I know. He’s 20 and still in high school.” Wayne let out a gruff chuckle.

“We’re gonna help him graduate, I promise. He saved us, nearly died for Dustin.”

The older man nodded. “He’s a good kid, nothing like… nothing like what they’ve been sayin’ about him on the news—” The words got caught in his throat, and he felt Steve lay a hand on his shoulder.

“I know.”

From that point on, Wayne knew he was gonna like Steve, and he knew he’d become a permanent fixture in Eddie’s life. He was happy to have the boy around, someone to talk sports with, someone who had fresh baked muffins ready for when Wayne got home after his overnight shifts, someone who made Eddie smile.

He’d never seen his boy this happy around anyone. When Eddie was with Steve, he seemed freer than he’d ever been, and Wayne felt in his heart that this was Eddie’s first real crush. It broke his heart to think that his kid was falling for someone like Steve Harrington, someone who would grow up to marry a nice girl and have the standard 2 kids and a dog, but he knew that Eddie was resilient, and he’d eventually get over Steve and move on. Wayne had trusted Steve would be nice about the whole thing, let Eddie down gently, give him his space to grieve what could have been, but all those thoughts came crashing down one morning when he saw none other than Steve Harrington stumbling out of Eddie’s room to the bathroom clad only in his boxers, rubbing sleep from his eye.

Wayne glanced up at the boy curiously. He didn’t seem to see the older man in the kitchen as he closed the door, and Wayne didn’t know if he was intentionally avoiding him, or if he genuinely didn’t see him.

Huh. That was new.

Steve had slept over before, usually when his house felt too big for one person and he needed something other than the radio silence of Loch Nora to clear his mind, but he usually took the couch.

Maybe they’d gotten a little too high and he stayed with Eddie he thought, trying to find any excuse he could as to why Steve Harrington was undressed and sleepy in his nephew’s bedroom. He brushed off the occurrence, thinking nothing of it, until it happened again.

“Morning Wayne.” Steve had called this time, passing him one morning as he was just getting in from work. This time he’d been wearing his boxers and an old Iron Maiden t-shirt of Eddie’s.

“Mornin’ Steve.” He grumbled, making his way into his bedroom.

The man racked his brain, trying to think of every possible scenario of why the kid was in bed with Eddie. Had something happened between them? Wayne thought it was unlikely. They acted the same way they normally did everywhere else; sure, Eddie could be a bit too much like an octopus at times all gangly giving hugs freely, but that’s just how he was, that didn’t mean he and Steve were dating or anything. Could it?

It wasn’t until the third time it happened that Wayne accepted his nephew, Eddie Munson, was dating Steve Harrington.

In a way, Wayne felt a little giddy at the thought. Steve was a great kid, everything he could ever dream of in a son-in-law. He was polite, held shared interests with Wayne, and he made Eddie happy. The boy was a real catch! But that giddiness dissipated as he thought of the disease going around among those young boys… A cold chill ran through him as he remembered Eddie barely conscious for days on end in a hospital bed. He never wanted to see his boy like that; he didn’t want to pry, but maybe at 21 it was time to give him the talk.

Wayne had had enough uncomfortable conversations in his lifetime, but he knew this one was bound to be one for the books. Eddie could be squeamish, he ran away from the things he didn’t feel prepared to face, and Wayne felt that this was something he was not at all prepared for. Needless to say, this ambush needed something to soften the blow.

On his way home from work, he’d stopped off at Melvald’s, and then by the local coffee shop to pick up two steaming cups of coffee and half a dozen freshly glazed donuts. Eddie’s favourite. When he got home, Eddie was already awake, and Steve was once again in Wayne’s kitchen.

Today, the scene was a lot different than it normally was. Eddie sat on the kitchen counter, something Wayne had asked him countless times not to do, and Steve, clad in his Family Video vest, was at the stove frying up bacon and eggs. The two were so wrapped up in their conversation they didn’t even notice Wayne was home until he greeted them with a gruff “Mornin’ boys.”

Eddie’s head snapped forward, meeting his uncle’s eyes as he hopped off the counter. “Morning old man,” he whistled lowly seeing the box of donuts, condensation forming on the clear plastic box from the fresh heat that had risen off them, “you stopped by Lucy’s on the way? Must be a special day!”

Eddie reached for the box, but his uncle slapped his hand away. “Ah ah, Steve’s puttin’ in the work over there, not until you’ve had a proper breakfast and said a proper thank you to yer boy.” A flash of terror crossed Eddie’s expression and he nervously wrung his rings around his fingers as he went to gather three plates. Steve plated up a fried egg, some bacon, and slices of toast on each plate and helped Eddie carry them to the table. “Sorry Steve, didn’t think you’d be here or I woulda grabbed you a coffee as well.”

Steve shook his head. “No sweat, I’m not much of a coffee drinker anyways, but thank you. I’ll be out of your hair after breakfast.”

“Don’t rush kid, I’m not kicking you out.”

Steve chuckled, dunking his toast in the runny egg yolk. “Thanks Wayne, I’ve gotta run to work in a bit anyways, this one wanted to sleep in this morning.” He gestured towards Eddie.

Eddie snorted. “Oh so now it’s my fault!”

Wayne shook his head as the two boys bickered, then picked up the plates and set them in the sink when the three were done. He excused himself for a quick shower and let Eddie have his privacy to send Steve off while he collected his thoughts.

After he was clean and dry and in a pair of cozy flannel pyjama pants and sweatshirt, he pulled Eddie into the living room and finally offered him a donut. Eddie groaned, his mouth full of the sweet pastry, nodding along to an inaudible beat.

“Eddie… you know I love you, right?”

Eddie’s brow furrowed and his head tilted towards his uncle. “Of course. Wayne, you’re like a father to me.” His eyes suddenly widened, and he nearly dropped the donut. “You’re not… you’re not dying are you? Or sick?”

He chuckled and shook his head. “No son, no I’m fine. Just wanted to make sure you knew. You can tell me anythin’ Eddie, you know that, right?”

The boy scoffed. “Yeah, I know, you told me that years ago.”

Wayne nodded along. “Okay, then I hope I’m not overstepping. You’re being careful, right? You and Steve I mean?”

Eddie blinked once. Twice. Three times. “Uhhhh, yeah?” He took a sip of his now cold coffee. “I um, I know you don’t like it when I smoke in the trailer but sometimes with the bugs, and we open the window, but we’re using your ashtray. We won’t accidentally set the trailer on fire if that’s what you mean. And we don’t drive when we’ve been drinking or smoking, we mostly just hang out and listen to music or watch a movie.”

The older man let out a breathy laugh. “Not what I meant kid. Eddie I—uh you’re twenty-one, and I’m sure you know how this works by now. I’m not naive and I know you aren’t either. And Steve’s a boy, but there’s still risks. I’m sure you’ve seen those boys on the news with what’s been going around, and after last March I don’t want… look, just promise me you’ll be careful, okay?”

Wayne finally looked up to meet Eddie’s eyes, filled with total utter confusion.

He cleared his throat. “You uh, you probably already have… supplies, but just in case I um… here… I stopped in this morning to grab you some uh—protection.” Wayne tossed the paper bag at Eddie, hearing the dull thud of the foil packets inside as he caught them. “I know you can be pretty reckless, but I hope you boys have been using them already. Hawkins High isn’t a world class education but I trust they taught you how to use those things, eh? Or do I need to grab a couple’a bananas?”

Eddie’s face went white as a sheet as he looked into the bag and saw a newly purchased box of condoms.

“Um, Wayne?” His voice crack was masked by the sound of the paper bag crinkling as he folded the top and set it aside. “What exactly do you think I need these for?”

Wayne scoffed. “Come on Eds, I may be old but I’m not stupid. My eyes aren’t what they used to be, but I’m not blind.” He moved to sit beside Eddie. “I see the way you two look at each other, and I know you kids, uh, share a bed. It’s okay son. Uh, this probably isn’t how uh, how you planned on telling me, but just know that I love you, and uh, and Steve too.”

Eddie swallowed audibly. He’d gone from white to green, suddenly regretting that donut. His hands shook as he pushed his hair back from his face, exhaling heavily.

“You knew?” His voice shook, sounding watery.

Wayne nodded and took his hand. “Yeah kid, I had a feeling, but I didn’t know for sure until the boyfriend started staying over.”

Eddie nodded along, sniffing once, and wiping the stray tears from his eyes. “Okay. Okay. Cool. Okay. Wait, boyfriend?”

Wayne narrowed his eyes. “Boyfriend, partner, lover, whatever it is you kids are calling it these days.”

The younger boy laughed high and sharp. “Wayne… Wayne, please never say ‘lover’ like that again, for both our sake. So you think—you thought Steve was my boyfriend?”

This time it was Wayne’s turn to be confused. “Is… um… is he not?”

“No! Harrington is totally straight. We’re not—”

“Does he know that?”

“What the— you really are losing your mind in your old age.” He shook his head, hiding his face, his eyes totally unreadable. “Good talk, old man. Thanks for the, um…” He gestured to the bag on the couch. “I don’t have a need for them right now, nor have I ever needed them for the record, I haven’t… um… yeah, that’s enough information for you I think.”

Wayne chuckled. “Hey kid, no shame in holding out for the right one. And just my two cents, but I think maybe Steve could be the right one.”

“GAH! Okay! Ending this conversation now, go to bed, I’ll see you later, goodbye!” Eddie turned towards his room, but Wayne could see the heavy blush that covered his cheeks and ran down his neck. He was right about one thing at least, his boy was smitten for one Steve Harrington. And Wayne was sure he was right in thinking that Steve may be smitten for Eddie as well.

-------

When Wayne left for work at the end of the day, Eddie knew in his heart he’d be expecting to see Steve there in the morning as he had that day. It had become routine at this point, Wayne would leave, Eddie would call his favourite person, and ten minutes later, Steve would be at his door.

Steve had started coming over to help Eddie with his bandages, and usually ended up crashing on the Munson’s couch. But lately the nightmares had gotten bad for both of them, and they started taking comfort in each other’s touch. In the month they’d been sharing a bed, neither of them had a single nightmare, but they had to be careful.

Eddie hated sneaking around Wayne. Sure, they weren’t doing anything wrong, they were just sleeping, but it was exhilarating having something that was just for the two of them. Steve had been pretty good about leaving before Wayne was home, but there had been a few times where they’d been caught, this morning in particular being one of them.

The conversation had been uncomfortable for Wayne, sure, but more so for Eddie knowing that someone else saw what he thought he’d been imagining. He’d tried to push down his crush on Steve Harrington for years, but it only got worse once he got to know him personally. He’d acknowledged his own feelings shortly after Vecna, but lately, he was getting the feeling that maybe Steve could possibly, actually feel the same way too. It was validating, almost vindicating knowing that Wayne thought they were a couple; he’d been going crazy trying to figure out what was going on between himself and Steve, and knowing that someone else saw it felt good. But he could have done without the box of condoms.

The box of condoms Wayne threw haphazardly into his room. The box of condoms currently sitting in the middle of his bed.

Steve flopped himself down onto his side of the bed after changing into pyjamas and poked the bag. “What’s that?”

Eddie sprung to action as he picked up the bag. “Nothing!” He swiped it from Steve’s hands and deposited it on his nightstand. “Nothing, just Wayne being nosy for no reason.”

Steve grinned and tackled Eddie suddenly, throwing his leg over him straddling his hips, and pinning his wrists in one hand as the older boy squirmed below him.

“Steve! Steve god DAMNIT let me go!”

“No secrets remember? What weird thing did Wayne go and do now?”

Eddie’s heart dropped as he plead with his friend. “Dude, dude let me go, seriously, it’s embarrassing.”

Steve looked down at Eddie, his smile fading. He climbed off his lap and back into his usual spot. “Sorry man, I didn’t—”

“No, no it’s fine, it’s stupid.” He sighed. “It’s really stupid. God I don’t even know why I’m—it’s just a box of condoms.”

Steve tensed. “O-oh. Got a hot date or something coming up Munson?” His smile didn’t reach his eyes. “The pull out method doesn’t always work, trust me, the pregnancy scare is not worth—”

“Steve I’m gay.”

“O-okay.”

Eddie sighed again, pinching the bridge of his nose. “He bought me the condoms because he thought you and I… well he… look I’m sorry, okay? I told him we weren’t, I set the record straight, heh, about you anyways, he knows about me now.”

The other boy cocked his head to the side. “He thought… what he thought we were together?”

Eddie moved a strand of hair in front of his mouth, unable to meet Steve’s eyes, and nodded. “Sorry man, I don’t know where he got that idea. You don’t have to stay if you’re—I’ll be alright on my own for a bit if it’s too weird or whatever.”

“Eddie… Eds…” Steve shifted closer. “Do you want that?”

He scoffed. “I’ve slept better in the last month than I have in the last year, of course I don’t want you to leave.”

Steve shook his head. “That’s not what I meant. No, do you want what Wayne thought to be true?”

Eddie couldn’t answer Steve, and somehow that felt more damning to him than if he’d just said yes.

“Eddie?”

“I’m sorry Steve, if you don’t want to see me anymore, just tell me okay? I’m not… just don’t tell anyone, please.”

Steve took his hand. “Wayne really thought we were together?”

“Dude—”

“Shit, guess Robin was right, I am really obvious.”

“What—?”

Steve chuckled. “Eds, dude,” he chuckled, “sweetheart, I want that too.”

Eddie’s jaw dropped as he slowly turned to meet Steve’s eyes. Steve met his glance with a sheepish shrug, his thumb now rubbing circles on the back of Eddie’s hand.

“Did… did you just call me dude? In the middle of your big romantic confession?” Eddie’s face cracked into a smile.

“I—” He scoffed, his chin meeting his chest as he hung his head. “I don’t know what I’m doing here man, you’re the first guy I’ve been into, and the Harrington charm hasn’t exactly been working on you.”

“Oh, OH it’s working for me, let me tell you that. You’ve got no problems there.”

Steve chuckled and fell forward, his forehead resting on Eddie’s shoulder. Eddie untangled their hands and draped his arm around Steve, tugging him closer until he felt his short breaths on his neck.

“So… so you really like me?”

“I thought I made that abundantly clear when I practically begged to share your bed.”

Eddie frowned. “I thought that was just for the nightmares?”

“It was, a bit, but I also wanted you close. I figured maybe I’d sort my shit out and stop thinking of you like… like I normally think of girls if we had an old fashioned sleep over.”

“And did it help?”

Steve looked up at Eddie deadpan. “Clearly it didn’t.”

Eddie threw his head back in a chuckle, hitting the wall with a loud thump. “Fuck.”

The other boy jumped to action, bringing Eddie’s head off the wall, carding his fingers through his hair to check for a bump as he winced.

“Heh, that feels kinda nice Stevie.”

Steve smiled, settling his hand on Eddie’s neck satisfied with his findings. “Oh yeah? You like having your hair played with?”

“S’all new to me, I don’t know what I like. Never even kissed a boy.” He looked down at Steve's lips.

“You know, funny you say that, because neither have I.” Steve smirked, looking up at Eddie through his lashes the way he knew drove Nancy crazy. He leaned in, eyes flicking between Eddie’s lips and eyes, until their noses almost brushed.

Eddie blinked, worrying his lip between his teeth, feeling Steve’s hot breath hit his face. “Stevie, are you sure?”

His thumb brushed a soft path along Eddie’s cheekbone, and he swallowed. “I’ve never been more sure about anything, Eds.”

Eddie’s nose clumsily brushed Steve’s, his eyes slid closed, and moments later, their lips brushed in a chaste kiss. He shuddered out a breath and smiled, going in for another as he felt his heart pound in his chest.

He knew Steve had a lot more experience than he did, but Steve was happy to let Eddie take the lead until he got his bearings. His chaste brushes of lips turned into slotting their lips together, panting hard, and eventually, when Steve couldn’t take it and just needed more, he slid his tongue against Eddie’s top lip.

Eddie felt like he was soaring. No amount of drugs could top the high he felt kissing Steve, and it only got better once Steve met his enthusiasm. Their tongues met, and Eddie’s breath got caught in his throat, a shiver rolled down his spine, and he sighed happily.

Steve pulled away first, pecking Eddie on the lips once, twice, then slotted their lips together again, guiding him backwards until his head hit the pillows.

-------

The trailer was quiet when Wayne got home that morning. He spotted Steve’s shoes by the front door and smiled knowingly.

He padded through the trailer noting gratefully that Steve had made fresh banana bread the night before, and took a slice on a paper towel, breaking off pieces and groaning quietly in pleasure as he ate it.

Something was different about that morning, it was in the air of the trailer, too still, to calm, but still electric, and Wayne noted that Eddie’s bedroom door was cracked open. He poked his head in, not wanting to disturb the boys’ sleep, but the sight before him had the man giggling like a school girl.

Eddie and Steve laid tangled together in the sheets, chests bare as they snored lightly. Lying on the bottom corner of the bed was a crumpled up foil packet, the corner torn open and empty. The box of condoms Wayne had given Eddie the night before lay open on his beside table.

“Fuckin’ knew it.”

#steddie #steve x eddie #steve harrington #eddie munson #wayne munson #wayne munson centric #stranger things fic #my writing #steddie fic

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corrodedseraphine · 1 year

Text

easy | one shot

pairing: eddie munson x fem!reader

summary: "But Eddie has a girlfriend!" Dustin said first. "He does?" Adam asked, crossing his arms over his chest. "I do?" Eddie muttered under his breath trying to understand what was going on. "Yeah, he is dating my sister y/n!" Will continued. "They're so in love with each other it's disgusting." Dustin rolled his eyes.

Everything would be fine if it weren't for the fact that neither you nor Eddie were informed in advance of the fact that you were a couple.

It promised to be a very interesting week. angst/fluff and almost smut (making out in the bathroom), friends to lovers

In this AU Joyce didn't move to California, but Argyle is there in Hawkins because he is too cool to erase him just like that.

TW: mention of injuries, blood, murder, drugs

the one shot is also avaliable on ao3

9 591 words

When I first got the idea, I thought it would be a very short and pleasant story. As standard, it turned out quite differently!

I know I said this fanfic wouldn't be related to any song, but as I was writing I was listening to one of my favorite songs about love Safari by Piotr Zioła on loop and couldn't resist adding elements of it in there.

eddie munson masterlist | general masterlist

"Here are my favorites!" Wayne said entering Eddie's room with a big cardboard box.

"Please let me tell Dustin that you called us that, this little shit will lose his mind." Robin grinned.

"He knows it. This is my uncle and sometimes he loves you guys more than he loves me." Eddie replied with a mouth full of pizza.

You were sitting in the Munsons' new apartment. After the huge compensation Eddie got from the government, they decided to give up on the trailer park and find a place where power failure and lack of hot water would not be on the agenda. You, of course, helped them with the moving out. Unfortunately, Eddie's condition was not the best so with the carrying furniture and cardboard boxes Steve, Jonathan, Argyle and Hopper helped Wayne. You, Robin, Nancy and Joyce took care of painting the rooms, but now it was time to eat to strengthen yourselves before continuing. You sat in a circle on the floor, since you hadn't yet had time to assemble the table. Suddenly there was the sound of a telephone in the apartment. Wayne went to answer it and returned after about 10 minutes with a worried expression on his face.

"If it weren't for the fact that the police chief is now sitting across from me I'd think I'd messed something up again." the younger Munson joked, to which Jim just rolled his eyes.

"We'll have visitors next week." sighed the old man.

"Who?"

"Remember aunt Theresa and her son Adam?"

"Jesus, no!" his reaction spoke for itself.

"They want to come for a week."

"So at the moment when we live in a trailer and can barely afford anything they don't want to know us, but when we suddenly get a lot of money and a new apartment they feel like suddenly renewing family ties?" he asked with disgust in his voice.

"It's only a week Son, you'll survive."

"Nope. I won't survive. Hopper you don't have a free cell for a week? I'll be much better off there than in their company."

"Don't be dramatic, kid." he replied.

"Joyce! Have mercy on the victim, store me for this time in your basement, you won't even notice I'm there," he whined. "I just got you out of the hospital, the doctor said that I am categorically forbidden to do any extreme activities!"

"How can a family visit be extreme?" Steve asked.

"When you meet them you'll understand."

You finished eating and everyone went back to their duties, but you went to help Eddie with changing the bandages. From the very beginning you were the only person he allowed in, because you handled him most delicately of all. You knew that Wayne was trying his best, however, Eddie always dramatically confirmed that everyone else wanted him to die in pain.

He sat on the edge of the tub as you cleaned each wound in turn. He hissed in pain from time to time, each time you heard it you sent him a slight smile whispering that it would be over soon and everything will be fine. When each wound was thoroughly cleaned you moved on to applying the ointment.

"Why do you dislike your family so much?" you asked while rubbing the ointment into his cheek.

"They have always considered themselves the best of the family, just because they have money. They love to brag about it, if they could they would wear badges that say 'we're fabulously rich, sucker,'" he said rolling his eyes.

"That doesn't sound too good." You sighed.

"I'll be hearing all week about how worthless I am. Too stupid to graduate from high school on the first try, too controversial looking to get a good job... The list goes on, if I were to list everything we'd have to sit here until night."

"Hey, look at me." you said grabbing his chin and turning him so that he was looking straight into your eyes. "You're not worthless. You saved the world, Eddie. You saved us all. The only worthless thing that exists is your hopeless aunt's words, do you understand?"

"You saved me, too. More than once." he whispered surprised with your words.

"I would have done it a second time without hesitation."

When you found yourselves in the Upside Down after passing through the gate at Lover's Lake the Demobats took you as their target. Without a second thought, Eddie rushed to your rescue when one of them wrapped its tail around your neck. Later, while Steve, Nancy, Jonathan and Robin dealt with Vecna together the two of you and Dustin were supposed to distract the monsters. Unfortunately, Eddie had no intention of listening to Steve and feeling a surge of courage he cut the line when you and Dustin returned to the trailer on the good side. That didn't stop you from jumping after him. You don't know if it was the adrenaline or the despair that overwhelmed you when you saw him that made you and the others able to get him back out the other side. The option of getting out of hell without Eddie simply didn't exist for you.

"I just... I don't want Wayne to be ashamed of me. I don't want him to listen to all the crap they say about me because I know he cares. He tries not to show it but I can see it. And that's the worst part of it all."

"Wayne loves you. And I know he would do anything for you. It's normal that when someone talks nonsense about people we love it upsets us. Remember when you had to pull me forcibly away from Craver who was bullying Will? I thought I was going to tear him apart then. I probably would have if it hadn't been for you."

"To be honest, you were terrifying, I was scared as hell," he laughed.

"If necessary I'm ready to defend you from your crazy family too. I just need to grow my nails so I can claw out their eyes better." you answered. When you saw the smile light up his face as well, you felt your heart skipped a beat. You meant it in all honesty. You would do anything for the people you love. He didn't need to know that you loved him in a little different way than the rest.

When the ultimate day arrived Eddie was sitting in his room with Dustin and Will working on the details of the next D&D campaign. This was to be Will's first time as Dungeon Master for the whole group so Eddie, as always, eagerly offered to help. They were fiercely discussing the final boss fight when the door to his room swung open gently and Wayne showed up in it.

"Hi Uncle Wayne." Dustin and Will said simultaneously.

"Hi boys. Eddie? Our guests have arrived." As soon as the last word left his mouth the door swung open wider allowing his aunt inside. There was a look of displeasure on Wayne's face at the fact that she had walked in there as if it were her own room, but he didn't comment. Immediately after her, her son Adam walked in.

"Hello, Edward!" she said in an overly high tone, looking around the room with a judgmental gaze. "Why don't you give an old aunt a hug as a greeting?"

"I'd love to, but unfortunately the doctor has forbidden me to have close contact with other people." Eddie replied in a flat tone causing the younger boys to snort quietly with laughter.

"Hm... I see you still haven't grown up. Adam threw away all his toys the moment he started high school."

"These are not some toys, they are needed for our campaign." He sighed and rolled his eyes.

"Are you still playing that satanic game?" interjected Adam.

"It's not- Yeah, you know what? Yes, I play the satanic game all the time. Actually, I'm the leader of the cult now, and these are its scary members Dustin and Will. Before you say anything, yes, I am bringing the Hawkins youth to the dark side of power to worship Satan with me." Their visit had so far lasted only five minutes and they had already made Eddie think about how much more fun it was to be ripped to shreds by demobats.

"Alright." Wayne interrupted his dramatic speech before things got too far. "Why don't I show you the rest of the house and the neighborhood?" Without a word they left closing the door behind them.

"Dude, they're awful." commented Dustin.

"Are you still playing this satanic game?" Will began to mock Adam.

"This is going to be the worst week of my life." The metalhead rubbed his face with his hands.

For the next few hours, Eddie didn't leave his room for a step, knowing that the enemy was sitting right behind the wall. He tried to focus on Will's campaign but anxiety and nerves didn't help him one bit. When the doorbell rang around the apartment all three of them left the room knowing it was Hopper. However, they didn't expect it was Aunt Theresa opening the door for him.

"Good evening officer!" she said. "My name is Theresa Munson, is something wrong?" A confused Hopper sent Eddie a questioning look, to which only the latter rolled his eyes.

"Nothing happened, I-"

"Did Eddie get into trouble again? I know he's been in trouble with the law several times before," she sighed. "Edward I'm sure what you did was not intentional right?" She didn't let him get a word in edgewise.

"What the fu-" Eddie didn't have time to finish when Wayne came out of the bathroom.

"Jim! How are you?" he said shaking Hopper's hand.

"Good." he replied still somewhat surprised. "I came to pick up the boys."

"Oh, so you're not here after because of Edward? What a relief!" his aunt interjected.

"Unbelievable!" Eddie exclaimed, banging his head against the wall.

"I'm just worried that you'll follow in your father's footsteps! Look at you, tattoos? torn clothes and that satanic music you listen to? That doesn't bode well, does it, officer? If you don't change something about yourself you'll never find any girlfriend or a good job."

It was a punch below the belt. Mentioning his father was crossing the line. Seeing Eddie clench his fists and the knuckles on his hands turn white Will and Dustin sent each other a communicative look.

"But Eddie has a girlfriend!" Dustin said first.

"He does?" Adam asked crossing his arms over his chest.

"I do?" Eddie muttered under his breath trying to understand what was going on.

"Yeah, he is dating my sister y/n!" Will continued.

"They're so in love with each other it's disgusting." Dustin rolled his eyes.

"Come on boys, we have to go." Hopper said, interrupting this bizarre exchange of words. "Your mother will kill me if we don't get back before dinner."

With that, the two teenagers left them all in shock, including Eddie. After they left, he quickly locked himself in his room thinking about the situation. Apparently you are a couple now. How should he behave around you now? He didn't know what to do with all this. These two little bastards had just put him in a game of pretend relationship with the girl he wrote all his love songs about. On the one hand, it was a great opportunity for him to finally make a move on you. On the other, he was paralyzed by the fear that nothing but rejection awaited him.

"You can pick the place." Hopper said as soon as they got into the car.

"What place?" asked a puzzled Will.

"Where I can bury your bodies when y/n finds out what you've done."

"Oh come on! Everyone knows very well that she has a crush on him!" Dustin exclaimed.

"They're both only have eyes for themselves, we're just helping them finally do something about it." Will tried to defend them. "Just helping!"

"Even if it's true what you're saying, they should come to it by themselves, not by your wild ideas," he sighed. "You know what? It doesn't matter. I'm not going to get involved."

And Jim was right. As soon as you found out what they had done you were furious, yelling at them that they had no right to decide for the two of you and put you in such a strange situation. However, it was too late. Locked in your room, you nervously played with your fingers while looking at the phone standing on the bedside table, not knowing whether you should dial the number to the Munson's house and explain the situation. Apologize for the behavior of these little shits and hope that your relationship will not worsen because of it. Plunged into your thoughts, you didn't even hear the knock at your door. After a moment of unresponsiveness on your part, Jonathan and El entered the room.

"Will told us what happened." began Jonathan slowly, sitting down next to you. El wordlessly followed him. "You know very well that they didn't mean a bad thing," he said.

"You can come in too." You sighed still looking at the door. After a moment, your younger brother emerged from behind the wall and, not knowing what to expect, walked slowly into the room.

"I know that a simple apology is not enough!" he began to defend himself. "But this aunt is really awful person! She started comparing him to his father, she thought Hopper had come to arrest him, or God knows what! She said he would never find a girlfriend, so we wanted to help him a-and then this idea came to our minds! At firs it didn't seem so bad. We thought...I am really sorry y/n."

"It's okay." you said quietly and you extended your hand towards him. "I forgive you." He ignored you hand and hugged you tightly with a relief.

"Eddie didn't protest, I think he liked the idea." he said quietly and you smiled.

Despite the fact, that thinking that Eddie liked the idea of being your pretended boyfrend for a week made you feel very warm you weren't able to stop thinking about what Will have just told you about his aunt's behaviour. She compared him to his father? Your blood boiled inside you. No one had the right to say such a thing, and you set as your goal to make sure it wouldn't happen again. At least not on your watch.

All Tuesday from the very morning you could not sit still. Lessons went on mercilessly, still thinking about the situation into which you were embroiled. When you told Robin about it at lunch she looked quite excited saying that finally something would happen between you two. She was the only one who knew how you truly felt about him and from the very beginning, she was trying to persuade you to finally do something more than rambling to her about your feelings. In her opinion, Eddie should be the person to actually listen to it. The longer you thought about it the more you had to admit that the excitement was getting to you as well. Yet you still didn't know what Eddie thought about it.

When the final bell rang, you quickly ran out of the school, got on your bike and headed toward Munson's apartment, stopping by a bakery on the way. Once there, you took three deep breaths and knocked on the door, which Wayne opened a moment later.

"And who do we have here?" He asked with a smile.

"Hi Uncle Wayne." You said answering with the same. "Is Eddie home?"

"I don't know where else he could be, come in." He let you in. "This is my sister Theresa and her son Adam. And this is y/n," he said as you walked deeper into the apartment. They were both sitting on the living room couch watching TV.

"It's very nice to meet you!" you said in an over-sweetened tone.

"We are also pleased to meet you." Replied a somewhat puzzled aunt.

"Did I hear my favorite Bayers?" Eddie leaned out of the room with a broad smile. Seeing his reaction you took it as permission to take it a step further.

"It's good to know that my little brother hasn't stolen that title yet." you laughed walking up to him. "Hi, Teddy." You kissed him on his healthy cheek. Not expecting it, he fossilized for a few seconds but after a moment he woke up.

"Hi baby." he said, smacking you on the forehead. "I see you've already met my wonderful family?" he added with a hint of sacrasm.

"Yes, Wayne introduced me." you confirmed. "Did you change the bandages today?" you asked wanting to change the topic.

"Not yet." he said, shrugging his shoulders.

"So here's the plan: First we'll change your bandages, then we'll take care of the school notes I brought you." you announced "Ah! I almost forgot! I was also at the bakery on the way, and I brought your favorite doughnuts."

"I told you she was the best." he said proudly looking his aunt straight in the eyes. Wayne watched you from afar with a smile on his lips. Pretend or not - it was nice to see you in such a position.

When you disappeared behind the bathroom door, free from the prying eyes of his guests, you breathed a sigh of relief.

"Thank you..." he said quietly. "For playing along."

"Will told me about what you heard from her. I thought instead of clawing her eyes out right away we'd show her how wrong she is. If you don't mind, of course."

"Of course I don't. I was afraid it would be you who would mind. Those little shitheads hadn't decided anything about it with me before."

"So since neither of us has anything against it..." you said. "You told them I was the best?"

"Of course, and it wasn't even a lie!"

It took you more than two hours to come to grips with the notes. If Eddie had dispensed with his dramatic episodes the time would have been about half as short, but you were in no hurry. Sitting behind the closed door of his room nothing changed too much, your relationship from the very beginning was very good and full of laughter that reached the eavesdropper Theresa and her son. After finishing his study, Eddie played you some new songs he had written in his spare time. Three of them were related to each other telling the adventure of fighting the worst kind of evil, which was full of throwing fireballs, manipulating thoughts and knife-sharp fangs tearing skin. The fourth had no words yet. That, at least, was the version for you. The piece of paper with its words was tucked deep in the closet along with the rest he had written thinking of you. So that it would never see the light of day.

As dinner time approached Wayne called you into the living room where you helped set the table and get a few things ready. Eddie accompanied you, watching as you casually moved around the space talking and joking with his uncle. Feeling a pleasant warmth on his heart, he thought if it could stay like this forever. The way you jokingly patted his hand when he tried to snack, or when you pretended to be a princess in distress unable to open a jar, so he as a brave knight would come to your rescue. Such behavior was not something new for you, but this time as a wonderful addition, from time to time he could steal a little kiss from you on the cheek, forehead or tip of the nose, or without hesitation hug you from behind when you were standing at the counter cutting vegetables for a salad. You then leaned gently against his frame, creating an enclosure of safety around you. You both tried desperately to remember the feeling you had then if it was about to disappear as quickly as a soap bubble.

"So how did you two meet?" Theresa asked as you all sat down at the table.

"Eddie was friends with my twin brother, Jonathan, so it was only a matter of time before we met." you replied while putting food on your plate and then doing the same only with Eddie's portion. "I must admit that from the very beginning he had something about him that caught my attention." You continued.

"Interesting." she hummed. "Edward, how's the situation at school?"

"What do you mean?"

"Are you going to finally get out of high school? You know you won't be young forever." she paused briefly. "Adam is studying in New York. He's one of the best, he's getting a scholarship."

"That's great." you commented, not wanting to drag the subject further.

"And what are your plans after graduation?" Adam turned to Eddie with a contemptous look.

"I don't know, at this point I'm just trying to get better." He shrugged his shoulders without taking his eyes off the food.

"Eddie is great with cars!" you blurted out. "Before the accident he used to work for a local mechanic, he really appreciated him." You placed your hand on his, which was lying on the table. When you squeezed it gently he looked at you and sent a slight smile showing a dimple in his cheek.

"Well, yes, but without education you can't find a good job," he said.

"I believe that if someone is good at their craft they don't need any high degree at all to succeed. And Eddie is the best, and I'm sure that as soon as he finishes high school this year he will be very successful." Your voice was still kind however this time a hint of firmness could be sensed in it.

The rest of dinner passed in silence. When you had finished eating you helped to clear the table and wash the dishes. Then it was time to go home.

"My mother and Jim are hosting an engagement party this Friday. She said to tell you that you and Adam can also feel invited. It's going to be great fun, right Eddie?" you said already standing at the door.

"Of course sweetheart." he replied with a fake smile hating the idea of them being there with all his heart.

For the last time that day you placed a gentle kiss on his cheek. Although it was gentle Eddie felt as if your lips were leaving a permanent mark there, which imprinted all the way on his heart.

The rest of the week looked similar. Except for the day of Hellfire, you came to him after school bringing notes and spending the rest of the day together. You could get used to such a course of events, unfortunately, when Friday came you felt nostalgic about the fact that this could be the last of the days like this. Theresa and Adam were going home Sunday morning which meant that these were also the last days to enjoy Eddie's closeness. Feeling a weight in your chest, you got off the bike and headed toward the apartment. You didn't expect Adam to open the door for you. He was shirtless. You immediately felt extremely uncomfortable and wanted to turn back but he stopped you.

"Wayne and Eddie went to get some groceries, you can wait for them inside." he said smiling broadly.

"Thanks." you muttered and squeezed past him in the doorway.

"I just finished doing my home workout. You know, we have a gym at the university, so I go there every day, I can't stop." He winked at you coming closer. Responding nothing with a quick step you walked to the living room and began to unpack the contents of your bag. In addition to your notes after school, you entered the store and bought the new figures for D&D that Will kept talking about that they would need for the new campaign. You carried the notes to Eddie's room, then sat down on the couch in the living room and began spreading out the figures and paints on the coffee table. Adam never took his eyes off you, watching your every move making you feel increasingly nervous.

"Do you play this stupid game too?" he asked, sitting down next to you.

"I participate in campaigns from time to time." You replied shrugging your shoulders. Not wanting to lean on the couch as his arm was stretched across the backrest, you aimlessly moved things from one place to another, making you not notice how close he was to you. It reached you when you felt his hand on your cheek. Surprised, you looked in his direction and immediately jumped away standing up on your feet.

"What the hell are you doing?" you shouted.

"Oh come on, don't you wanna mess around? It will be a while before they come back from the store." he said getting up from the couch.

"Jesus, no! Have you lost your mind? What made you even think that I might want something like that?"

Adam was wrong. Eddie and Wayne returned from shopping, but you were so preoccupied with the situation, and your voice was so loud that you didn't hear the door open. Eddie, seeing you with his half-naked cousin in the living room, felt his heart suddenly get very heavy. He was just turning to leave the apartment and not look at it when Wayne grabbed him by the arm and with a hand gesture showed him to be quiet and watch what would happen next.

"So you're saying all this talk about having a crush on him when he was just your brother's friend is true? You fell in love with a trailer trash who worships Satan? The scars are turning you on?" he smirked. "A better Munson is now standing in front of you, baby, don't waste this opportunity."

"Don't you fucking dare to say one more word!" He crossed the line. It wasn't even about how he behaved toward you. You were too concerned about what he called Eddie. "I tolerated your and your mother's snarky behavior just so I wouldn't make Wayne uncomfortable. But since he's not here now I'm happy to answer your questions. Even homeless Eddie would be much better than you. You don't measure up to him you damn asshole! I don't care about your expensive car you are so enthusiastic about, I'd rather walk everywhere my whole life than get in it. I don't give a shit about your apartment in New York. I would have had a better life homeless under a bridge. And yes, I loved Eddie when he lived in the trailer, I loved that he made me feel at home there, trailer or not I fucking love him so you have to remember that the next time you talk shit about the person I love nothing will hold me back anymore. I will make you regret it for the rest of your miserable life. I'm disgusted with you. I'm disgusted by how self-absorbed idiot you are and how your ego blows the scale. And you are right. You're damn right that these wounds are incredibly attractive. Do you know why? Because they remind me that my Eddie is a fucking hero! You don't even realize how many lives he saved back then! So yes, he and his scars are the hottest in the world and definitely much more hotter than your pathetic gym routine." The words flew out of your mouth like bullets. The shock on his face encouraged you even more but then you heard the door slam.

"Adam?" the voice of Wayne made you tighten your lips into a thin line and take a deep breath.

"Y/n! Good to see you!" he said bringing in the shopping bags.

"Hi Wayne." you said getting the nicest and the calmest tone you could afford at that moment.

"Sweetheart!" before you had time to respond Eddie with a quick step and a wide smile on his lips was already at your side. What you didn't expect, however, was what came next. He cupped your face and kissed you. Eddie was kissing you. You experienced a three-second shock and then completely surrendered to the kiss by placing your hands on his chest. His nose gently touched your cheek, you felt its tip was cold. Yet his lips were burning. Even though the kiss was brief, you felt as if your soul had left your body and had travelled to a completely different dimension. Was it a dream? If so, you didn't want to wake up.

After Eddie heard what you were saying, he felt he had to do it. Many times he saw you defending your loved ones from all kinds of attacks. You weren't afraid to cover Will with your own body when Vecna tried to get him, so verbal attacks were not a problem for you. You also handled this one very well. More than once he had the opportunity to witness this. Now you were doing it for him. This awakened completely new feelings in him. He was sincerely touched and happy. In that moment you gave him something he had not felt since Wayne took him in. He felt wanted and loved. Even if it was pretended at that moment. Nothing could take that moment away from him, so he decided to take a risk. The risk definitely paid off. He enjoyed every second of it. The satisfaction was also a bonus. He wanted to show "the better Munson" that you were his. As if what you said wasn't enough. He wanted the kiss to be a seal saying she is perfect, and she is mine. Damn, he wanted you to be his so bad.

As if nothing ever happened, you sat down on the couch with Eddie and took up painting. You didn't say a word about your exchange with Adam, and Eddie pretended he hadn't witnessed one of the best moments in his life. Painting took you a lot longer than you expected. Plus more because every now and then you glanced in his direction focusing your attention on his mouth as he told you more details of the campaign. Could you have become addicted to something you had only tasted once?

"They are being chased by a pack of wild mutant lions so they run into an old hut where the master of nightmares is waiting for them." He tells you while gesturing with his hands. You're interested in what he's saying, but damn did his lips always look this beautiful? "Earth to y/n!" he yelled clapping his hands.

"Shit, sorry, I zooned out." you woke up suddenly. "So what exactly is it about the master of nightmares?"

"He throws you into a vision that replicates your greatest fears," he said.

"And what is Eddie the Banished's greatest fear?"

Losing you. That was his first thought. "Y'know it will probably be bats." he cuckled and winked at you.

"I am so sorry Eddie, I didn't mean-"

"It's fine, clam down." he said, yawning.

"You're tired, I should go."

"No, stay." he grabbed your hand. "I mean... if you want to of course, I thought you'd wait until they're dry to take some home for Will."

"Oh, sure." a smile crept onto your lips on its own as you accepted the proposition. Lips. You had a feeling you never thought about that particular body part as often as you did today.

"We can chill a little in my room." he suggested. You knew perfectly well what he meant.

"You know very well that I won't agree to this kind of chilling." You crossed your arms over your chest. "Those strange doctors have made it very clear that until the traces of the Upside Down are out of your system for good, there is no question of smoking anything."

"But- please! Have mercy on my poor soul." fell to his knees in front of you making you giggle.

"Don't you dare use those puppy dog eyes on me Munson. It's for your own good." you said softly and tenderly stroked his cheek with your thumb.

"You heartless woman." he faltered, laying his head on your lap.

"Okay, I am able to bear the weight of those words." you chuckled. "There are many other ways to relax, you know? We can listen to music, or read."

"Will you read to me?" he asked raising his face toward you. Big chocolate button eyes glared at you. His face looked so innocent. Rarely did anyone get a chance to see it, since Eddie almost always wore his mask. The fact that he didn't have it with you made you feel very special.

"Come on, adventure awaits!" you helped him stand up and walked to his room. After a moment of deliberation and dithering about whether you should read The Hobbit for the millionth time, you decided that this time it would be some new fantasy book that Wayne had bought Eddie while he was still in the hospital.

"Wayne won't mind that I'm staying this long?"

"Of course not. Besides, we still have some time before they come back."

"We have plenty of time before a pack of wild lions reaches us?"

"And before one of your worst dreams hunts you down" He replied and patted the bed indicating for you to lie down next to him. With that, you began to read, but after a short time you both began to get sleepy. The dim light of the bedside lamp, the warmth that eminated from the two of you, the comfort and peace that you felt in each other's company succulently lulled you to sleep. When you heard a quiet snoring in mid-sentence you looked at its source with tenderness in your eyes. Feeling your own eyelids getting incredibly heavy you put the book aside. Just five minutes. You thought and, moving closer to the boy, allowed yourself a small nap.

It was not as small as you thought.

"Yes, Joyce, you have nothing to worry about." Wayne said. "They were already asleep when we got home, I don't want to wake them up. Yes, I'm sure. They will manage, they are adults. Yes, it won't be a problem for sure. Okay, bye. See you tomorrow." Eddie lazily opened his eyes and rubbed them with one hand. He listened to his uncle's words looking on in disbelief that you were still here. And much closer than before he fell asleep. He brushed your hair away from your face as gently as he could so as not to wake you up.

"Hey, kid." Wayne whispered. "I talked to Joyce, she can stay."

"Thanks, Wayne."

The man smiled and winked at him, closing the door behind him. Eddie took the blanket that lay at the other end of the bed and covered you. In your sleep you turned your back to him and he took the opportunity to embrace you becoming a big spoon. Feeling you move even closer and snuggle into him he thought his heart was about to explode. Your back touched his abdomen causing a slight pain in the areas of the still healing wounds, but this pain was bearable. Besides, it was nothing compared to the happiness he felt.

As the first rays of sunlight broke through the cracks in his blinds and his watch indicated the unmercifully early hour Eddie sighed unhappily. He had never been one of the early birds, and there was no promise of change in that regard. When he opened his eyes he remembered why he was actually sleeping in his clothes. You must have turned in the night because now your face was facing his. You kept one hand under the pillow and the other lay on his side. He wanted to close the gap between you and wake you up with a kiss like in one of the cheap rom-coms, but he didn't know if he could let himself do that. Kissing you in front of his cousin was justified, since you were going to pretend to be a couple, you had to be convincing, but wouldn't doing it when it was just the two of you be too much? He was weighing all the pros and cons when he noticed your eyes slowly open.

"Good morning Eddie." you said stretching.

"Good morning, panda." he replied in a whisper. You looked at him questioningly, and with his thumb he lightly rubbed the black mascara marks under your eyes that must have formed there overnight.

"Oh, shit." you said while covering your face. "'m sorry." you muttered and sat down on the bed.

"Don't be, you look cute." So cute I want to kiss you again and again and... again. His brain didn't let go recalling these visions every now and then. Instead, he simply told you that if you wanted to dress up you could borrow something from his closet. Since your top was a bit sweaty after the sleep, you agreed by taking one of the Hellfire shirts and went to quickly get yourself cleaned up in the bathroom. Then you waited for Eddie to shower and get dressed and helped him with his bandages as you always do. You had seen him shirtless countless times, but now that he was sitting in front of you on the bathtub in only loose sweatpants you were overcome by a feeling that you only allowed yourself in the privacy of your room by fantasizing about your friend. You were afraid of the fact that these fantasies were now at your fingertips, and before you could stop yourself your hand actually moved toward him. Eddie, as if in a trance, equally enchanted by the moment, watched your every move. Your fingers gently traced a path on his body. Starting with a healthy cheek, continuing on his neck, shoulder and then chest.

"Do you like what you see, sweetheart?" he said, unable to catch his breath.

"Very," you whispered biting your lower lip.

"I like what I see, too." He confirmed by pushing your hair off your shoulder. He imitated your movements. Starting by gently brushing your face, neck and arm which was slightly exposed by the fact that his shirt was too big on you. Your breathing became faster and faster as you rested your forehead against his. His hands quickly found their way to your waist pulling you as close to him as he could. And then you kissed him. No matter how close you stood to each other until your lips were joined the gap was too huge. Initially shy and tentative sparks ignited a fire. The desire that had been bubbling inside you for a long time exploded. Still kissing you, he got up from the tub pushing you toward the wall so that you were trapped between it and him. Trapped? You were not going to escape even if you were to burn in this fire. As he laid wet marks on your neck you sank your hand into his curls. The temperature was hotter than hell when you felt his hands go under the shirt you were wearing. His lips returned to yours as he pressed his body against yours and you felt how hard he was. You thought you were going crazy.

"Eddie..." You didn't control the moan that spontaneously left your mouth.

"Yes, Angel?" he asked pulling away from you. His eyes were darker than usual but on his lips was the same smile as always. The same dimple-showing smile that made your knees weaken.

"Please." That was all you could get out of yourself before you put your hands on his neck pulling him close. This time he was the one who moaned right into your mouth and started to roll up your shirt to take it off. And then a fire truck arrived. A huge bucket of icy water to extinguish the big fire between you. A big downpour called Theresa.

"Hello? I think you've already finished changing the bandages! Some people need to use the restroom!" she shouted, knocking quickly and hard on the door. Of course she was eavesdropping. Of course she was doing her best to squeeze in where she wasn't needed. Eddie moved away from you and unlocked the bathroom door. Visibly angry, he passed his aunt without a word and went to his room to get dressed. He was definitely uncomfortable with the fact that they could see his wounds. When he returned, he noticed you in the hallway putting your shoes on. Seeing his sad expression you smiled slightly.

"I have to go help my mom get everything ready for tonight's party." You explained grabbing his hand. "But don't miss too much, we'll see each other in a few hours, right?"

"Yeah." one corner of his mouth lifted

"See you later." In farewell you kissed him on the cheek and left the apartment. Leaving him alone with thoughts of what the hell just happened.

When you got home, you didn't have much of a chance or time to think about the morning's events. You and the rest of the household threw yourselves into the whirlwind of preparations. You sat with Mom and El in the kitchen while Jonathan and Will helped prepare the garden, carrying chairs and tables there. After some time, Steve and Eddie also came to help. Because of his condition, Eddie stayed close to you in the kitchen and Steve went to help set things up in the garden. There was a kind of tension between you and the metalhead, but it wasn't bad. All the time you were sending each other glances and smiles. When you handed him vegetables to cut, his fingers brushed yours. The tiny gestures created a kind of attraction between you, which was terribly hard to resist. Despite everything, you did not bring up the subject of what happened just a few hours ago in the bathroom.

The party was going on at its best, Hopper and Wayne were sipping beers while keeping an eye on the meat on the grill, and right next to them at the table sat Joyce, the Sinclairs, Mrs. Henderson, Jonathan, Will, Eddie, and Theresa with Adam, who today was being extraordinarily, suspiciously nice to Eddie. Shouts and laughter came from the other end of the garden. Together with Dustin, El, Robin, Argyle and Steve you were playing fresbee, while Lucas and Max cheered you on from the sidelines. The disc flew out of your hands almost every time though you didn't give up. Seeing your persistence Eddie couldn't hold back a smile.

"Eddie!" shouted Will. "Are you even listening to me?" he rolled his eyes.

"Of course! You were talking about the new campaign."

"Yeah! What exactly?" Silence and the Dungeon Master's reddened face was the only answer he got.

"Will give him a break, you can see that something else is on his mind." interjected Jonathan. "Or rather, someone?"

"Is that someone our sister?"

"I don't know what you're talking about." he muttered while covering his face with his hair.

"So, Theresa! How is life in New York for you, life in the city must be very interesting!" the voice of Joyce caught the attention of all three so they turned their heads towards the aunt.

"Oh, it is! It's also very hard. It's hard to maintain the role of the Munsons, who have not followed in the family footsteps." she laughed artfully. "Fortunately, we're doing great with Adam."

Eddie's leg began bouncing under the table at an incredibly fast pace.

"What does that mean?" Joyce asked a visibly confused.

"Our family doesn't have a very good reputation, as you well know. Not many of us are able to get out of a miserable life in a penny trailer or avoid owning a police cartorette." She sent Eddie a quick glance, through which he knew he was about to receive the final blow. As his aunt continued, his leg began to move even faster, which did not escape the Byers brothers' attention. They both sent each other somewhat frightened glances but did nothing, waiting for the situation to unfold. "When we found out that Eddie was wanted for murder we were immediately horrified that he had followed in his father's footsteps-" she didn't have time to finish when Eddie stood up abruptly looking at her. Father. A word that caused even more pain than the pack of demobats tearing through his body.

"Don't-" he began in a shaky voice. "Don't you dare mention him. Don't you dare call that man my father, you understand." he tried to be calm. In truth, with all his might he wanted to be self-controlled now, but it all seemed too much. All week he had bravely endured everything she said about him. But now when she did it in front of everyone he cared about, when she did it in front of your family, pulling the strongest card in the process he couldn't stand it. Wayne and Hopper became alarmed and walked closer to the table, but that didn't stop him. "This man is nobody to me. A stranger. A fucking sperm donor nothing more. He is a murderer. He killed my mother, and your sister. His last name is Davis. Not Munson." He felt something tighten in his throat. Something making it difficult for him to breathe. "My father's name is Wayne Munson. He raised me, he changed my last name, so don't you ever dare call that man my father again." Saying all this, he looked her straight in the eye. He wanted to make sure she understood every single word he said. Feeling tears come to his eyes and he quickly turned away walking into the house. He couldn't afford to cry in her presence. That's why it wasn't until he was in your room that everything he held inside gave vent. Angrily, he grabbed a pillow from the bed and threw it with all his strength onto the floor then sat on it himself while leaning against the bed. He took the pillow cuddling his face into it. As the smell of your scent filled his nostrils even more tears flowed into his eyes. Like tentacles full of venom, thoughts of Aunt Theresa being right wrapped around his mind. He thought he wasn't worthy of you. Maybe she was right that he didn't have a good future ahead of him. If he couldn't provide it for himself how could he provide it for you as well? How could a freak hated by the whole city be worthy of someone as wonderful as you? He felt like screaming. At that moment he hated himself even more than his aunt.

"I thought I'd find you here." Hopper said as he entered the room and sat down next to him.

"Yeah?" Eddie earned a smile while wiping away tears.

"Actually, I think that would be everyone's first thought."

"So obvious."

"Listen... I shouldn't say this, but your aunt is really insufferable. Don't worry, okay? Everything she said was one big bullshit."

"Looking at how many times I rode with you in the police car I wouldn't agree," his words were bitter and full of sadness.

"I know you Eddie. I admit that at some point you were not on my list of favorites, but later I got to know you from a different side as well, and I have to admit that Wayne did a great job raising you."

"Wayne is a great guy," he said.

"So are you." Seeing Eddie only nodding in the negative, he sighed heavily and continued. "I know the man your aunt was talking about. And you are nothing like him. You almost died protecting my kids. You are a hero. And you make one of my daughters damn happy, so as far as I'm concerned you're one of the best people I've met in this messed up life."

"You think I make her happy?" the wall of sadness was shot through with tiny hope.

"Very happy. That's why I don't even want to dig into why she came home in your T-shirt today."

"That- it's not what you think," he began to explain.

"I said I don't want to hear about it. Besides, she came back today very smiling. I haven't seen her like that in a long time."

"Eddie what happened? Jim?" when you noticed that Eddie had disappeared from the table you asked Will where he had gone, and he only said that towards the house, without giving you any details. Moments later you found him sitting on the floor with Hopper. His eyes were a little puffy and red, and you knew he had been crying. You were afraid that Hopper might have said something that led to this, and as if reading your mind he raised his hands in a defensive gesture.

"I didn't do anything. Your boy just felt a little worse, you know yourself how wounds can sometimes give you a hard time."

Hearing this seconds later you were on your knees next to Eddie. "Do you need painkillers? Maybe you need to rest? You can stay here and sleep." With concern in your eyes, you watched his eyes become even glassier. "What can I do to help you, Eddie?" without a word he pulled you close with a hug. You were his safe heaven. He knew that with you he could be vulnerable. "Eddie, I don't want to hurt you, I don't want your wounds to hurt you even more." You said quietly scared that such closeness could inflict more pain on him.

"I don't care 'bout them," he muttered into your hair.

"Come down to us when you're feeling better, we'll be making a fire soon to toast marshmallows." Hopper said, leaving you alone.

The two of you sat cuddled together for some more time. When you returned to the rest of the party, you didn't leave his side for a moment, making sure he was feeling fine and everything was okay. The rest of the evening passed peacefully, especially when you all sat around the campfire listening to the melody of the acoustic guitar that "slays dragons."

When the day of salvation arrived and the intruders left the Munson kingdom Eddie could breathe a sigh of relief. Even Wayne admitted that their visit was too much to bear and they deserved a rest. Still, Eddie could not rest. Staring at the ceiling, he wondered what your relationship would look like now. Will you forget everything that happened? Such as how close you were to each other? He tried everything to clear his head. Playing his guitar, writing songs, planning campaigns, drawing- nothing. Completely nothing was able to pull his thoughts off track. Countless times he approached the phone and was already almost grabbing the receiver but chickened out at the last moment. At the point when he could no longer handle himself he sat down on the couch with Wayne and they watched TV in silence. But whatever was playing on it didn't help. Then he heard a knock on the door. The thought crossed his mind that maybe it was his aunt who had returned, which in itself made him feel sick. Fortunately, it was you. Although the look on your face didn't indicate that you just came here to hang out. You were nervously biting your lips and your eyebrows crinkled together as you played with your fingers.

"Eddie, we need to talk." you said when he let you in and without a word you went to his room.

"What's wrong? I know pretending to love me for a week was hard, but I didn't think it was that hard." he tried to joke.

"Shut up!" you exclaimed. Your lower lip began to shake and tears came to your eyes. You had thought about the course of this conversation many times before coming here, but you didn't expect to be so carried away by your emotions. Seeing his surprised and then somewhat hurt look made you feel terrible for having erupted like that. He deserved an explanation. He deserved the truth. He didn't deserve yelling at him, for sure.

"I'm sick of how badly you talk about yourself. I'm sick of how you think you're not worth loving, because- because loving you is easy, Eddie! The easiest." you began, feeling like you were about to die of nerves, but you came here with a purpose and you were going to fulfill it. "I want to love you the way you deserve it. And you deserve the purest, the most honest and the strongest kind of love in the whole world. And I know that if you only let me, I will be able to give it to you. But I want you to know that I will understand if you don't feel the same way about me," the last words passed through your throat with extreme difficulty. You were ready to take the risk. A broken heart was a better option than keeping your feelings for him hidden. Especially since you had the opportunity to see what life at his side might look like. It looked like a dream. And you have to fight for dreams.

"You know I'm not the best at talking about feelings." he sighed. "So I'll use a little help," he said taking a couple of D&D figures in his hand and sat down on the bed. You sat down across from him. "If this were one of the campaigns I would say that a very important part was when Eddie the Banished and Y/n Golden Heart had a battle that lasted a week with two, extremely nasty monsters," the figurines portrayed a small fight scene. " After the monsters were gone they both met, in King Harrington's palace in the lobby, just by the door. Not feeling like feasting, they sneaked out and climbed onto the roof of a small shed that was nearby. Under the cover of night, they felt like they were the only people in the world. The night was beautiful. And the fact that evil was not lurking just around the corner gave it an added charm. The wind gently rustled between the trees, the hushed sounds of the feast could be heard in the background, and they were so immersed in a conversation they had created that they forgot about everything else. They talked about comets, about the next adventure that awaited them, about anything they wanted to talk about. The stars in the sky shone brighter than usual. They heralded the beginning. A good beginning." He grabbed your hand. It was a little sweaty because he vas nervous but you didn't care about it at all.

"How do you know it's a good one?" you asked quietly sniffing and feeling that you were calming down. You've always known that Eddie is amazing at storytelling, but this was the first time it involved something so sensitive.

"As the first shades of orange appeared in the sky and the sun gently began to illuminate his companion's face, Eddie the Banished realized a very meaningful matter."

"What kind of matter?" you waited impatiently for the continuation.

"From the very beginning as soon as y/n Golden Heart appeared in his life he couldn't stop thinking about her. He couldn't remember anything because all his thoughts were directed only toward her. At first he thought she charmed him with a bunch of curses, after all she was the most powerful witch in the kingdom. Because of this, he thought, he felt a constant need and desire to always be by her side. Having once been under the influence of the fumes created by the powerful herbalist Argyle, he wondered what kind of magic it would take to reduce him to the size of a rat, so that he could hide in a pocket in her robe to be by her side for a few moments longer." He laughed, and you dreamily listened on. "His life was like a hurricane. It rushed dangerously with unimaginable speed bringing with it a lot of destruction and dangerous changes. But despite the hurricane, he waited for a warmer front. That morning when y/n the Golden Heart closed her eyes and smiled slightly feeling the warm rays of the sun surround her face, he realized that she was the warmer front. They had survived a lot, rescued each other by pulling out of fires and getting out of rivers, defeated the scariest monsters in the kingdom. And they were together. They never left each other's side. It reached him that his feelings were not caused by curses. What he felt was stronger than a curse. It was love. Simply put, he was in love with her, and to his last breath he wanted to be with her."

"Eddie..."

"Yeah?"

"How many points do I have to roll to kiss you right now?" hearing this sentence from your mouth he knew that nothing more was needed for his happiness, so without hesitation he joined your lips together.

Eddie was right that this was the beginning. A very good beginning.

taglist: @i-me-mine

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sp0o0kylights · 1 year

Text

Steve/Eddie Soulmark AU Worth and Worthy

Warnings: Mentions of a burn scar, a prior attack via bully’s, Nancy cheating, Steve handling it ah, poorly, his TERRIBLE parents, etc. Steve was a romantic.

It had been a well known fact about him even in his king days, one of the many facets of his charms that made the ladies do their best to catch his attention. He was a roses and chocolates kind of guy, even for a woman that he just had one night stands with.

Sure, he might sleep with another girl the next night, but between the care he showed in bed and the charm he showed after, Steve didn’t catch the flak many other teenage boys did for his sexcapades. And if any was mentioned well, all it took was dropping some line about how he was trying to find his soulmate and things were right as rain.

Then he met Nancy.

Steve knew of course that she wasn’t his soulmate.

He hadn’t cared.

In a refreshing bout of sanity, neither had Nancy.

She went off on all these cute little tirades about how soulmates was an outdated concept, that the marks they all bore could mean any number of things, that the word soulmate itself might not mean it was a romantic relationship, and if it was, how you shouldn’t waste your life looking for someone who could be anywhere in the world.

Hawkins Indiana was so small, the chance of the person who represented your mark being there was slim, and wasn’t a romantic relationship something you should work at anyway? Be present for every single day?

Steve bought the whole thing, hook, line and sinker. Believed it with all his heart and soul.

Distanced himself from his asshole friends, charged back to face down a demon with a baseball bat, laid bare his soul for the fiery woman who had stolen his heart.

Loved her long after she broke it, on the floor of some stupid party, drunk words searing him like a burn.

When he found out she’d cheated on him with Jonathan Byers, on grounds that he was her soulmate…

It was the kind of crushing blow that had remade him as a person.

Throughout it, the lonely days that followed, Steve woke up and stared in the mirror every morning at the mark that sat on his hip.

Fuck Nancy.

Fuck Jonathan, fuck Tommy, fuck Billy-fuck everyone.

His parents might not love him, his friends might have been fake and his own love bullshit but at least he had one person out there who was meant for him.

A person who would accept him, for who he was (and wasn’t a sassy middle schooler using him for rides, even if Steve was secretly thankful for Dustin’s sudden presence in his life.)

Throwing his crown away was easy. Being a better person, a person who wasn’t an asshole, was hard.

It would be worth it in the end though, because he would be worthy of his soulmate's love.

xXx

Too bad life seems to be just as tired of Steve as he is of it, because he finds his soulmate in Hawkins trailer park of all places, hanging out with Eddie Munson, a person Steve found he enjoyed far more than he’d ever thought.

It had barely been two weeks since Vecna had been defeated, the Upside Down destroyed, with the group of survivors still clinging tight to each other.

He was over at Eddie’s to help him sort all his shit into boxes in preparation for his move. The older man had just been given his shiny new government alibi, cleared of all charges, but it was obvious he wasn’t comfortable walking around by himself yet.

For reasons Steve had long had his own freakout over, he wasn’t comfortable with the idea either.

It had been going fine. Eddie and Steve were trading off cassettes and mocking the others choices as they packed, things easy between them in a way only surviving a supernatural catastrophe could create in such a short amount of time.

He knew. Had known, since Eddie pulled out his guitar, that the metalhead was his.

It made sense in a way. Steve had been so easy around him once they had gotten over their mutual jealousy regarding the kids. He hadn’t thought they had much in common at first, but the more he hung out with him, the more Steve realized it wasn’t the little things they shared but the big ones.

The love for the kids. Their humor and personalities. The way they fit together, bounced off each other, looked at life in general.

Steve was happy to learn about all the things Eddie liked, had tolerated D&D and nerd shit for years long enough to have picked out various pieces he himself enjoyed.

Now it was simply a matter of when to tell him.

Then Eddie decided to change shirts.

He was moving slowly, jeans slung low on his hips. It gave Steve a nice long look at his hip (and briefly the treasure trail of dark hair that he was determined not to stare at.).

For a second Steve almost mistakes the long healed wound there for one of Eddie’s demobat bites; but those were covered in bandages still and this was too far down for where they had struck.

This wasn’t even one of the guy’s scratcher tattoos, that ink faded while this one casually pulsed with yellow against the crumpled skin surrounding it.

It takes a minute for it all to sink in. The color, the mark, the way the damaged skin was long healed in a close pattern over it.

Anger floods his face with heat.

Steve's body goes hot with it, his vision swimming and sound dropping out as his entire being pinpricks down to the soul mark on Eddie's hip.

He recognizes the cause of the destroyed skin around it. Burn scar, the kind that made your skin change color and crumble in on itself once healed.

Munson had tried to burn his soul mark off.

It would be a crazy thing to see on anyone, the most unhinged act of rejection Steve can personally think of.

It wouldn't be a big deal, not to him, not when he still didn't know Eddie that well, except the stupid image staring back at him in the midst of all the shiny, scarred skin is a fucking baseball bat with nails.

As in, Steve's weapon of choice. His baby, the bat he carried with him in the trunk of his car and carted into his house everyday, hidden in a carrying case for golf clubs.

"What the fuck?" Steve spits. He's intimate with the taste of betrayal already. His parents have a house in Burbank they stay in half the year. The word 'bullshit' still makes him wince. He has PTSD from being tortured by the Russians and likely a budding anxiety disorder from all the Upside Down nonsense and yet this-

This hurts more than anything life has put him through.

"What?" Eddie asks, confused, before following Steve's eyes down to his own hips. "Oh."

He brushes a hand almost subconsciously against the nail-bat, and they both watch it pulse a light yellow.

The tell tale sign of a soul mark, the way it could light up like a neon sign.

"You tried to burn off your soul mark?"

Steve's voice must come out far more angry than he had meant it to be, because Eddie's head whips up to him.

"You a romantic, Harrington? Think you'll run into your soulmate one day?" Eddie teases, but his own voice is taking on a defense edge.

"I already have." Steve says flatly. Part of him wants to withhold, not say, not admit that hes the one Eddie's tried to burn out of his life, but another part of him wants his soulmate (fuck) to explain why.

Why try to cut him out.

"If Nancy-"

"It's not her." Steve cut him off. "Stop dodging the question."

Eddie crosses his arms, gives him a look with those dark bambi eyes that Steve’s seen a million times. It’s a stubborn, “come hell or high water” expression, complete with a grin smug enough to make you want to hit him.

He used it primarily against jocks being assholes, which just pissed Steve off further.

“I don’t think I’m dodging enough, seeing as it’s none of your business.”

"Munson." Steve says sinking everything he has into the word. "Why did you try to burn off your mark?"

Eddie stares at him, eyes searching. He’s definitely on the defensive now, likely confused as to why Steve’s flipped from joking to furious.

Steve can’t find it in himself to care.

Eddie cocks crossed his arms over his chest. "Why the hell do you care so much? What's it to you?"

And right, right Eddie doesn't know. That it's him. Can't.

So Steve decides to explain it to him.

Untucks his polo with a few hard pulls. Yanks the fabric up. Reveals the Warlock that hangs low on his left hip, some nerdy dice making up the tip of it.

"Wow, you got some popstar, hey Harrington?" Eddie says, practically before he even sees Steve’s mark.

Definitely hasn’t had the time to really look at it.

Steve wants to strangle him. "You're an idiot, Munson."

Then; “Look closer.”

Eddie does.

A savage feeling of glee runs through him the second he sees Eddie registers the dice, the same black and red one Steve knew he used. Makes the connection that it isn’t just a guitar, not even his physical Warlock, but instead the stupid thing he draws on everything he seems to own.

Notebooks, textbooks, post it notes, his fucking pants.

All things Steve has gotten an up close and personal look at considering how much time he’s spent in Eddies trailer the last few weeks.

Saucer wide eyes jerk back up to Steve’s face.

“Shit.” Eddie says almost breathlessly, shooting to stand straight, hands frantically pulling at his hair. “Steve-”

“Give me an answer, Munson. You owe me that.” Steve interrupts him, because he is done.

With life, the universe, everything.

“Why did you try and burn my bat?”

“I-I didn’t-” Of all fucking things tears are springing up in Eddie’s eyes.

Steve kind of wants to cry himself, but can’t seem to find any emotion other than fury and a growing sense of numbness.

Eddie takes a step forward, and flinches hard when Steve jerks back.

“Steve-” He’s begging, Eddie Munson is actually begging, and he kind of wants to laugh at how much life clearly fucking hates him.

“It wasn’t me. I didn’t burn it, Steve please-!”

Tears are now openly tracking down Eddie’s face, his arms going from crossed to hugging himself. “Fuck! I had a whole story planned for this, I never thought-”He looks up at the ceiling, like he can’t bear to look at his own soulmate.

Steve is rapidly flipping through emotions, the numbness coming in to save him, making words impossible to get out.

Eddie is still speaking. “Jordan P, middle school. He eventually got expelled but before he did he and his asshole buddies caught me after school. Held me down.”

He bites his lip so hard it bleeds and that cuts through to Steve.

“I fought, I fought them so hard Steve. I tried, but there were too many,” He chokes on a breath and Steve finds himself moving forward without thinking.

“They told me I didn’t deserve you.” He whispers, finally bringing his head back down, just in time to realize Steve was wrapping him up in a hug.

Eddie freezes in his hold, but Steve just hugs him tightly, resting his cheek against Eddie’s curls.

“I'm sorry.” He says quietly. “I just reacted, Eddie. I’m sorry.”

The older boy fell into him, arms wrapping back around Steve as he tucks his face.

“I’ve got you.” Steve whispers to him, rocking them gently. “I’ve got you.”

And he did--for the rest of their lives.

#steve/eddie #soulmate aU #soulmates #soulmark #steddie #steve harrington #eddie munson #stranger things #0o0 fanfics #steves terrible parents #we stan eddie #they both need a damn hug lol #stranger things fanfiction #steddie fanfic

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