#eddie should just laugh at him until he shaves it | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

munsonluhvr · 4 months

Text

CRUSH

pairing: eddie munson x fem!reader word count: 3.7k warnings: fluff, nervous Eddie, bullying, mentions of a fight, light cussing, alluding to eating disorder, probs misspellings lol

next chapter: part 2

You take a deep breath as you open the door to exit your classroom; feeling relief that you were finished with your least favorite class – chemistry.

Sneakers squeak all around you, your fellow schoolmates excited to be out of class and going to lunch, as you made your way down the hallway. You get to your locker, twisting the lock that held the door closed until it popped open. To your surprise, Chrissy Cunningham, your closest friend, slides up next to you, leaning against the set of lockers that neighbor yours.

“Look who survived chemistry another day,” she exclaims, nudging your shoulder. Chrissy knew how much you hated chemistry.

“Somehow; I zone out by the first twenty minutes,” You say, shaking your head. “I’m not looking forward to the final.”

Chrissy giggles, crossing her arms in front of her chest. “That’s me with Mr. Khan’s class. He makes history so boring.”

Before you could respond, Jason Carver, Chrissy’s boyfriend, sneaks up to hugs Chrissy from behind. She squeals with surprise, and you roll your eyes, annoyed by how in love your friends were. They had been dating for some time now, always having their hands on each other. Since then, you’ve been a third wheel, nonetheless, still very included. You put your books away, re-locking the door.

“You survived chemistry again, y/n!” Jason says, catching your eye.

Chrissy giggles, “That’s exactly what I said.”

You laugh, leaning back on your locker, joining Chrissy and Jason who watch fellow school-mates walk by. Several guys from the basketball team came up to Jason, patting him on the back and saying hello. Their girlfriends, who were friends of yours and Chrissy from the cheerleading squad, came up to you and Chrissy. Your group is bigger, having accumulated boys and girls from the basketball team and cheerleading squad. You chat together, laughing as your friends make jokes. Your eyes are pulled away from your friends when Eddie Munson, leader of the 'Hellfire' club walks by with his friends.

Your breath hitches as you watch Eddie walk by who is in deep in conversation with Dustin Henderson, laughing about something someone in their group said. Just as he passes by, Eddie looks up, making eye contact with you. Your stomach twists, already blushing under his gaze. His eyes go wide, noticing your gaze on him, and he pauses in his steps.

You take in his appearance, as you usually do every day, and your fingers dig into the fabric on your skirt. Today, he wears Hellfire's club t-shirt, a jean jacket, black jeans (hugging him in all the right places), and his typical dirty white sneakers. His face was beautiful, as always, freshly shaved and a smile planted on his mouth.

You're pulled out of your gaze when Jason claps his hands, also pulling Eddie out of his trance. “Keep moving, freak.”

Eddie's eyes automatically drop to the floor and he picks his pace to catch up with his group of friends that moved forward with out him. You blink, turning back to Chrissy who shoved Jason lightly. "That's not nice, Jason." Chrissy muttered, shaking her head. "Don't say that."

You feel guilty, associating with people that make fun of others, calling them names to make them feel inferior. You turn your head slightly to watch Eddie walk away, heading into the cafeteria. Jason and his friends laugh, amusing themselves.

You look back at Chrissy, "Should we head into lunch? I'm starving."

She shrugs, and then nods. "Sure."

You and Chrissy make your way into the cafeteria, weaving through the large crowd that is doing the same thing; Jason and his friends trail behind. The table you and your friends sit at every day waits for you completely empty, the perks of being on the cheerleader team. You hate to admit it, but you enjoy being popular. Being elevated in the high school social system adds an extra layer of ease and carefree-ness. Or does it?

Your eyes flick to find where Eddie and the Hellfire club sit, always on the right side of the cafeteria. You spot them sitting down with trays already in hand.

"I'll get your food for you, y/n" Alex, a friend of Jason, says as he pulls out one of the chairs for you to sit down. You smile, putting on your pleased face. Alex is sweet to you, but that's about it. Of course, Jason would disagree. Alex plays rough on the court, usually targeting the skinniest kids on the opposing team to knock over. He laughs when they fall, high-fiving other players. It makes your stomach twist to watch from the sidelines.

You sit with the some of the girls who wait for their boyfriends to bring them their food that the cafeteria is serving today. After only a minute, Alex places your tray of food down in front of you and you thank him. He smiles at you, pleased with himself, and you try your hardest not to roll your eyes. Jason had told Chrissy, who told you, that Alex had a major crush on you, spilling his intentions to ask you to prom. You had pretended to be excited, but in reality you would rather skip prom than go with him.

Jason sits next to Chrissy, who sat with no tray in front of her. You frown, "Chrissy, aren't you going to eat?"

Chrissy shakes her head, looking down at her lap. "Not hungry," she says simply.

Jason leans forward to look over at you, snickering "I think she's on a diet or something."

You turn back to your tray, picking up your fork. You bite your lip, thinking about all the times you've noticed Chrissy skip a meal lately. You didn't know if you should say something but you decided it was best to not bring up questions in front of everyone.

Conversation flowed across the table, the loud hum of everyone else chattering in the cafeteria. Chrissy whispers to you about how Alex was staring at you from the other end of the table but you couldn't get yourself to look over. Conversation came to a halt when a performance from another table occurrs.

"As long as you're into band, or science, or parties.." A voice, who you identified as Eddie, says as he stood up on one of the cafeteria tables. Everyone's attention turns to where he stands, elevated over the rest of the cafeteria. Jason and his friends snicker, watching him.

"-Or a game where you toss balls into laundry baskets," Eddie says, aiming his gaze to the table where you and your friends sit.

Jason stood up quickly, his chair knocking over behind him. "You want something, freak?" Jason yells back to Eddie. Chrissy covers her face with her hand, embarrassed by her partners outburst. You shrink in your chair, arms crossing in front of your chest, although you can't help but continue to watch Eddie and Jason's interaction.

In response, Eddie makes horns with his fingers, sticking his tongue out accordingly. For a brief second, Eddie and Jason have a moment of exchanging intense gazes and your breath hitches in fear of what will happen next. Surely, Jason could easily beat Eddie to a pulp in a fight.

"Prick," you hear Jason mutter, turning to pick his chair up and sit back down.

You breathe out, feeling relief that the intense moment between the two boys is over. Jason, however, is still annoyed.

"What is Munson's problem? It's like he wants to get his ass beaten." Jason says, shaking his head.

You zone out, letting the other boys conspire together. Chrissy leans over, nudging your shoulder. "Boys are so stupid, right?" She says, smiling big enough to show her two front teeth that overlapped. You smiled, agreeing, "So stupid."

The bell rang loudly across the cafeteria sending everyone to disperse from where they sat. Jason leans to kiss Chrissy on the cheek and followed his friends out of the room. Your eyes catch Eddie walking out, and again, he looks over and catches your eye. You smile, and his face expresses surprise that a girl in a cheerleader outfit would lend him such a gesture. You feel embarrassed for a moment until Eddie lifts his hand slightly, offering you a small, almost unnoticeable wave. You return the wave, and he smiles too, continuing to walk out the cafeteria doors.

Your stomach flips at the littlest interaction with Eddie, although this was the most you and Eddie had ever interacted before. You had noticed him look at you sometimes, and vice versa. Eddie had caught you looking at him too. But of course, your friend groups and social status kept you apart although you knew you wouldn't care what either would have to say about being seen with Eddie.

The rest of the school day went by quickly, you only had two classes left. The first one, English, went by fast without much excitement. History was your last class of the day and what occurs upends the rest of your day.

The previous week, Mr. Kepner had assigned a paper on a historical moment that was similar to the historical events the class had covered already. You had chosen to write about Egyptian civilization and you hoped you had done a decent job as you underestimated the complexity and denseness of the topic.

At the beginning of class, Mr. Kepner places graded papers on everyones desk. You take a deep breath before flipping the paper over to see a '100%' placed at the corner of your paper. Written next to the grade was 'see me after class.' You frown wondering how you could be in trouble by getting a perfect grade.

Your stomach was in knots for the rest of the class, afraid to hear what Mr. Kepner had to say to you. When class concluded, you walked up to your teachers desk.

"Y/n, I must say well done on your paper." Mr. Kepner says, taking his glasses off.

"Thank you, Mr. Kepner."

"I was thinking that you should submit the paper for the school's annual scholarship contest." Mr. Kepner says, crossing his arms in front of his chest. "I dare say you'd have a good chance at winning."

You're flattered, feeling stupid for worrying so much about the paper and not having confidence in your work. "I'd love to; do I have to fill out a form?"

Mr. Kepner begins to explain how to submit the paper and your mind went to the fact that you were cutting it close to missing your bus. Normally you peel out of class to miss the first bus instead of waiting twenty more minutes for the next one.

"-and that should be enough. I'll sign off on your submission of course." Mr. Kepner says, handing you the form to fill out.

You nod, taking the paper and side stepping away from his desk to head towards the door.

"Miss y/n, I still have more to discuss with you." Mr. Kepner says, watching you head towards the door. "I think you should take AP History next year. Your work is far more advanced than your classmates and I think you'd be better suited there."

You nod, still inching towards the door. "That would be great, Mr. Kepner. That would help with college admissions too. I'm really sorry but I have to catch my bus."

Mr. Kepner nods, standing up. "So sorry to keep you, y/n. I hope I didn't make you miss the bus. See you tomorrow."

You peel out of the room, listening to the door slam behind you. You jog to the end of the door at the hallway, ignoring the stares from the people you run pass. Once you reach the end of the hallway to the parking lot, you push open the door. Your eyes scan the parking lot to see the back end of your bus driving away from you.

"Fuck," you whisper to yourself.

"Let me guess, that was your bus." A voice says beside to you. You turn your head to see Eddie standing next to you.

You turn quickly back to look ahead of you, "That was my bus. Freakin' Mr. Kepner made me miss it. "

Eddie hums, "Ohh yeah. Mr. Kepner is a chatterbox. You're y/n, right?" Eddie leans against the brick wall of the school, his leg propping him up.

You nod, "That's me."

"I'm Eddie Munson." Eddie says, pushing himself off the wall to stand next to you. He has a curious smile on his face, as he puts his hand out for you to shake.

You match his smile, amused by his hand placed in front of you. You take his hand, shaking it. "I know who you are."

Eddie stares at you for a minute, analyzing your face. His eyes move from yours to your lips. You feel nervous under his gaze and you cough to break the moment. "So, what are you still doing at school? I'd assume you be out the minute the bell rings to go play that game you and your friends play."

Eddie places a hand on his chest. "It's Dungeons and Dragons; it's not just a game, it's a lifestyle. I'm waiting to make some extra cash." Eddie says, pulling a small bag with green lumps in it. You had previously heard some of the basketball players talk about Eddie's quality of products. You raise your eyebrows and nod, "I see."

Eddie tucks the bag away and clasps his hands in front of him. "When does the next bus come?"

You sigh, "Twenty minutes or something like that."

Eddie coos, "That won't do. I can take you home after my client comes."

You laugh, "Your client? Pretty fancy for a drug dealer."

"I'm not a drug dealer, it's just a side hustle."

"Sure," You say, a teasing tone lacing your words. You don't want to come off excited to spend time alone with Eddie. "If it's not any trouble, I would appreciate a ride home."

Eddie nods and before he could speak, Alex turns around the corner. "Y/n?" Alex says, looking between you and Eddie. "Is this freak bothering you?"

You shake your head, "No, Alex. I just missed by bus and I'm waiting."

"Are we going to do this or not? Twenty bucks, brother." Eddie says, displaying the bag of weed to Alex. Alex scoffs, "I'm not your brother and here." Alex places a paper bill in Eddie's hand.

Eddie takes the bill, tucking it into his pocket. "Thanks for doing business."

Alex ignores Eddie, turning towards you. "Y/n, I'll drive you home so you don't have to wait."

You grimace, but catch yourself and put a fake smile on. "It's okay, Alex. Eddie already offered."

Alex turns to Eddie who offers him a simple smile. Alex shakes his head, "I'm sure Eddie has a club of freaks to attend to. Just get in my car."

You turn away from both boys, stuffing your hands into the pockets of your puffer jacket. You want to signal to Alex to get the hint and leave you alone. You wanted to spend time with Eddie, certainly not Alex. "You have practice anyway, Alex. You couldn't drop me off and get back in time."

"Run along," Eddie says, snickering. "You heard the lady."

Alex glares at Eddie and mutters an expletive at him. Alex saunters away, taking one last chance to look between you and Eddie. Once Alex is gone, Eddie turns to you. "Shall we?"

You nod, following Eddie across the parking lot. The brisk Indiana wind cut through your jacket, sending shivers to your skin. Eddie guided you to his car which wasn't far from where you started near the school. His car was a large, maroon colored van, most certainly bought used, with a white stripe in the middle. Eddie walks over to the passenger side, opening the door quickly. He leans in, swiping objects of the seat.

Eddie backs up, helping you into the van. "Sorry for the mess, I didn't expect a co-pilot today." You smile, glancing at him. You could tell he was nervous by the way his eyes shifted.

You sit down in the passenger seat, taking a look around. In the middle of the two front seats there's a pile of cassette tapes. You lean over, picking two up; Iron Maiden and Metallica. Sometimes, late at night, you wondered what music Eddie might be listening to in his room at the same moment. Now you knew.

Eddie climbs into the van, sticking the key into the ignition.

"Nice music," You say, hoping he didn't ask what songs you liked. You had never listened to Iron Maiden or Metallica but you wanted to come off as cool to Eddie.

Eddie takes the cassettes from you, looking at which ones you picked up. "You like Iron Maiden? And Metallica?"

You nod, folding your hands in your lap. "Yeah."

Eddie raises his eyebrows, glancing at you. "I didn't expect that." Eddie puts the car in reverse, barely looking to make sure there was nobody walking or driving behind him.

"What do you mean?" You ask, cocking your head at him.

Eddie shrugs, "You're just a cheerleader, you know. I definitely didn't expect for you to be in my car ever."

You laugh, "Why not? I'm still a person even though I'm a cheerleader."

Eddie pulls out of the school's parking lot, starting to drive towards the street. "You hang out with Jason and all his friends. They don't like me at all."

You bite your lip. "Jason doesn't speak for all of us."

Eddie coughs, nervous at the sound of you alluding to the fact that you don't find him weird. "Where do you live again?" Eddie asks, before he pulls on to the street. You tell him your address, and he brings the car to a start again.

You sit in silence as Eddie drives. Your body flushes, the reality that you're alone with Eddie starting to settle in. You notice Eddie taking glances at you and clearing his throat. "Which songs from Iron Maiden do you like the most?"

You stomach clenches at the question. "Oh you know. They're all so good, how can you pick just one?" You roll your eyes at your response, and you look out the window.

Eddie laughs, "You're never listened to Iron Maiden before, right?"

You sigh, glancing at Eddie. "No, I just said that to sound cool to you."

Eddie raises his eyebrows again, turning his eyes back to the road. "Why would you need to act cool? You're already the cool one; in fact, you being in my car would get you kicked out of being popular."

You turn towards Eddie now. "Why do you think I care so much about being popular?"

"Don't you?"

You sit back in your seat. "No. It's lonely; you seem to have more genuine friendships with the Hellfire club."

"So you're watching me and my friends?" Eddie says, a smirk playing on his lips.

You are embarrassed at your choice of words and you quickly search your mind for a comeback. "It's kind of hard not to when you stand on a cafeteria table and publicly launch insults at the people I'm sitting at the table with."

Eddie laughs, shaking his head. "That was pretty good, wasn't it? God, I didn't think you'd be like this at all."

"You keep saying that, what do you mean?"

"I just- I don't know. I just always imagined you'd be-" Eddie stumbles over his words, causing you to look over at him. "The truth is I've had like a major crush on you since sophomore year and I always assumed you'd be a certain type of way because you're a cheerleader but you're..."

Your heart thumped at Eddie's confession but you tried to play it off. "But I'm kinda nice, right? You out of all people shouldn't judge how another may be."

Eddie glances at you, "Fair enough."

"So you've had a crush on me?"

Eddie nervously laughs, "I was hoping you wouldn't come back to that."

You cross one leg under your other, turning towards Eddie. "How could I? That's quite the confession."

"I shouldn't have said anything."

You shake your head, glad to finally get this secret off your chest. "I'm glad you did because the crush is reciprocal."

Eddie jams on the breaks, sending you forward until the seatbelt caught you. He turns towards you, cars honking behind him. "Really?"

You look in the side mirrors, watching cars dodge around you. You flinch watching a car almost slam into the back of Eddie's van. "Eddie you should probably drive," you say, afraid of what will happen if his car continues to sit in the middle of the road.

Eddie listens to you, pressing the gas. He turns the car onto your street, leaning forward to look for your house number on the mailbox. "It's the white one," You say.

Eddie parks the car in front of your house. "You really like me too?"

You smile at him, sad that your social status makes it seem impossible for you to be with Eddie. "Yes," you say simply.

Eddie's nervousness appears again, his words beginning to jumble and his voice high-pitched. "I-I, wow that's cool, I mean."

You laugh, opening the car door. You lean over, deciding to be bold, and you place a kiss on his cheek. You inhale, embracing the strong cologne he has on. You pull away, moving to grab your backpack and hop out of the car. "Thanks for the ride, Eddie."

You look back at him from outside the car. He offers you a small wave, startled by your move. You turn around but then turn back again. "Would you ever want to go out sometime?"

Eddie's jaw slacks, "Y-Yeah, I'd love to."

You smile, glad that he agreed to go out with you. You drop your backpack on the ground, pulling a sheet of of notebook paper out and finding a pen at the bottom of your bag. You write your home's phone number on the paper and hand it to Eddie. "Call me sometime." Eddie folds the piece of paper, putting it into his jacket.

You turn around, leaving Eddie behind you. You feel his eyes trailing you and you smile to yourself, proud of your boldness.

#eddie munson #stranger things x you #stranger things fanfiction #stranger things x reader #eddie munson fan fiction #eddie munson x reader #eddie munson imagine #Eddie munson x reader #eddie munson stranger things #Eddie Munson

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dwobbitfromtheshire · 5 months

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Stuck Between a Jock and a Metalhead

Summary: Nancy, on a whim, decides to visit Steve at Scoops Ahoy, which leads to her overhearing confessions from Steve that leads her to think about the decisions she's made. A few days later, she decides to come back. She finds him being hit on by the town freak. What's a girl to do? Oh, get stuck in a freezer with the both of them.

Chapter One - Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Nancy was nervous about hanging out with both Eddie and Steve. There was clearly something between the two of them, and Nancy didn't want to get in the way, but she wanted to be a part of Steve’s life again. She didn't realize how much she had missed him until now. She did want to get to know Eddie, though, like she told him she would. She approached Steve’s house cautiously and knocked on the door, trying not to think about the last time she was here. Steve had cooked her dinner, and Nancy had let him vent about his parents. She remembered them falling into bed afterward, and she remembered how gentle he was. . . She smiled, thinking about how, as always, he liked to hold her hand during the act of making love. For him, it was always making love. She regretted thinking about that before knocking because her face suddenly heated up at the sight of him.

"Hey, Nance, come in. It must be warm out there," Steve said and stepped aside to let her in.

"Yeah, that's it," Nancy said.

"Eddie called earlier to let us know that he'd be late," Steve said. "He kind of sounded like he had just woken up."

"Probably stayed up late, worrying about what we're going to do to him to get him back for the freezer incident," Nancy said with a grin.

"Well, I still have those robes your brother made us wear to that Star Trek convention," Steve said. "We can totally fuck with him."

"Star Wars," she corrected. "I know that you know the difference."

Before she could say anything else, there was a knocking on the door. Nancy and Steve both went to answer it. When they opened the door, Eddie stood there, grinning.

"Oh my god!" Nancy exclaimed.

"Your face is bleeding!" Steve exclaimed.

"Ah, so, funny story," Eddie said as he stepped inside.

Steve sighed, rolled his eyes, and dragged Eddie to the bathroom with Nancy following. He pulled out the first aid kit and started tending to the scratches on his face.

"What happened?" Nancy asked.

"I'm really bad at shaving my face," Eddie replied, and Nancy rolled her eyes. "A little girl's cat was stuck in this hole, and I had to get the poor thing out. Of course, the cat thanked me by giving my face a nice, scratchy hug."

"You're a hazard, you know that," Steve said fondly.

"That's what I was telling you," Eddie said.

"We should wrap him in bubble wrap," Nancy said.

"Yeah, that's what my uncle keeps telling me, and I swear, I think he's going to do it one of these days," Eddie said.

"Then again, we should also wrap you in bubble wrap, Steve," Nancy teased.

"Ha ha," Steve said. "So, what makes you think that I do know the difference between Star Trek and Star Wars, Nancy?"

"Nice segway," Eddie nodded.

"Because one night when you thought that I was still asleep on the couch, you changed the channel to Star Trek where you proceeded to mutter about how Kirk and Spock are totally gay for one another," Nancy said. "Which, by the way, was another clue."

"Yes! You believe in them, too!" Eddie said excitedly.

"Come on, that episode where Spock and Kirk basically rutted against each other in the dirt wasn't fooling anyone. That wasn't fight to the death music, that was fuck to the death music," Steve said.

"Yes!" Eddie clapped gleefully. "Plus, when Spock realized that Kirk was alive and pure joy came shining through. . . Come on!"

"Yes!" Steve exclaimed.

"You're both nerds," Nancy laughed.

"Everyone is a little nerdy about something, Nancy," Steve blushed.

"Well, there was no reason to hide it from me. I like Star Trek, too. Although, not nearly as much as you two," Nancy said with a snort. "And you two are both right."

Once Steve was done, he pulled out another first aid kit. It was much smaller than the other one.

"Carry this with you always," Steve said.

"Aww, it's a little baby first aid kit," Eddie said. "Thanks, man. I shall name you. . . Nigel? Yes, Princess Nigel."

"Princess Nigel?" Nancy laughed.

"A boy can be a princess, isn't that right, Stevie?" Eddie cooed at him.

"Shut up," Steve said, biting his lip and blushing.

Suddenly, they all heard the sound of the front door opening and the loud clattering of heels.

"Steven?" A female's voice called out.

"Your mother?" Nancy asked with wide eyes. "I didn't know your mother was coming back into town."

"Shit, I didn't either," Steve cursed.

"I don't hear your father," Nancy muttered with wide eyes.

"Steven!" Margaret Harrington yelled.

Steve sighed and stepped out of the bathroom to greet his mother. Nancy and Eddie followed tentatively.

"I'm here, mother. This is a pleasant surprise. I thought you wouldn't be back until next week," Steve said stiffly.

"Oh, well, the conference ended early. Your father had to take a later flight," Margaret said, and her eyes lit up when she spotted Nancy. "Oh, Nancy. It's so lovely to see you again. It's wonderful to see you two back together."

"You get younger and younger every time I see you, Mrs. Harrington," Nancy said gritting her teeth.

The truth was far from it. She was made of so much plastic that it was hard to tell what her features used to look like. She used to look like Steve. Nancy knew how much Steve hated what his mother had done to herself, which was why he only used products that accentuated what was already there. She knew why Margaret did it. She did it to keep her husband around for as long as possible. It honestly just made her look scary.

"Oh, such a lovely girl," Margaret said and pinched her cheeks. "You could teach my son a thing or two. Lord knows he needs it."

"Mother, Nancy, and I aren't together. We're just friends," Steve said.

"Oh, well, that's a shame," Margaret said in disappointment, and her eyes dimmed further when she caught sight of Eddie. "And who is this?"

"This is Eddie Munson. He's my - " but he was cut off before he could finish.

"We've talked about this, Steven," she snapped. "We've accepted that you're. . .different, but we've asked you not to bring your. . .boys around here. I don't have to tell your father about this, do I?"

"No!" Steve exclaimed, his face red. "Of course not, mother. We'll get out of your hair and let you get some rest."

"You're a sweet boy, Steven," Margaret said and patted his cheek. "I should warn you that when your father does come home, he's going to want to talk to you about you coming to work for him again."

"I told him that I don't want to do that. I told you guys what I want - " Steve said.

"And we told you that you could do so much better. Why waste your talents when you have potential elsewhere?" She asked.

"It wasn't wasted potential when Grandpa Otis had his own salon," Steve said.

"Well, your grandpa was. . . different," she sighed.

"Like me, you mean?" Steve scoffed. "Well, that's certainly something that I didn't know about Grandpa."

"I don't like this attitude, Steven. Do I have to tell your father?" Margaret asked.

"I'm sorry, Mother. It won't happen again. We were just leaving," Steve said.

"And please cut your hair, dear! You're starting to look like a girl!" His mother yelled out.

He gave his mother kisses on the cheek before dragging Nancy and Eddie out of the house. He had grabbed his keys on their way out. Once they were outside, Steve sucked in some air and exhaled heavily.

"Steve - ," Nancy started to say.

"So, where do you guys want to hang out?" Steve asked overly cheerful with his hands on his hips.

"Quarry. This time of day. It's gorgeous," Eddie said. "We'll pick up some food. Come on, Nancy, let's cheer up our boy."

Nancy certainly liked the way he said "our boy," and judging by Steve’s real smile, he liked it too. When they got to the quarry, they sat near the water with van doors propped open as they ate. Once they finished, they all stared at the water in silence for a while.

"So, was that the monster you guys were talking about? Because holy fuck was she scary," Eddie blurted out.

Nancy and Steve stared at him. Steve burst into laughter.

"That was my mother. She's great, isn't she?" Steve asked, scoffing. "You think she's bad, you haven't met my father."

"What were you telling her that you wanted to do?" Nancy asked.

"Promise me that you guys won't laugh?" Steve asked.

"Promise," they said in unison.

"I want to go to Cosmetology school and become a like a barber or something," Steve said.

"That's not funny at all. That's great, man," Eddie said.

"That's something you'd be really good at Steve," Nancy said.

"Either that or become a basketball coach," Steve said.

"You can always do both," Eddie pointed out.

"That's true," Steve grinned.

"What about you, Nancy?" Eddie asked. "What are your career aspirations?"

"Investigative Reporter, I want to help people find the truth," Nancy said.

"That's a worthy goal," Eddie said.

"If I only I can get past these misogynistic assholes at the Post. I have an internship their and they think that the only thing that I'm good for is answering the phone and making sandwiches," Nancy rolled her eyes.

"Decided to fight for the job, huh?" Steve asked.

"Yes, I think it's worth fighting for," Nancy said, gazing at him.

"You know, Wheeler, you handle their food. You can do whatever you want to it," Eddie suggested, grinning wickedly at her.

Nancy giggled and bit her lip. She threw her empty wrapper at him.

"Maybe you could," she said. "What about you? What do you want to becoome?"

"I don't know. I used to have dreams of becoming a rockstar but I kind of fucked that up," Eddie shrugged. "I'm stuck here in this town so I don't think it matters whether I figure it out or not."

"That's not true. You still have time to figure it out," Nancy said. "Not everyone knows exactly what they want out of life. Despite the fact that I seem to have a problem with learning it, it's alright not to have all the answers."

"But knowing that, you're never going to stop searching for them all, are you?" Eddie asked.

"Probably not," Nancy said with a grin.

"You'll find your calling, I'm sure of it," Steve said, and then he paused. "Maybe my mother is right. Maybe I should cut my hair. Do you think I should?"

"No!" Eddie and Nancy said.

"Your mother is never right," Nancy scoffed.

Eddie and Nancy reached forward at the same time to stroke the end of his hair. Steve sighed and closed his eyes, leaning into their touch.

"Do you want to cut your hair?" Nancy asked.

"No," Steve said.

"Then don't," Eddie said.

"What do you think she meant when she said my grandpa was different?" Steve asked. "Do you think he could have been like me and Eddie?"

"I don't know. Is there a way to find out. Maybe look through his stuff?" Eddie asked.

"They keep all his stuff locked up in his old salon," Steve said.

"This sounds a lot like someone could use her sleuthing skills to good use," Nancy said.

"And this sounds very much like a quest," Eddie said.

"You guys want to look through my grandfather's things with me?" Steve asked.

"If that's okay with you," Nancy said.

"Yeah, okay, sounds fun," Steve said. "I'm working all week, but Saturday is when I'm off next."

"Great, it's a date," Eddie grinned.

With Eddie and Nancy's hands still in his hair, the three off watched the sun start to begin its descent. They talked about the future well until the sun fell and the stars twinkled down upon them.

Chapter Four

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storiesbyrhi · 2 years

Text

Angel of the First Degree - Chapter 4: Starcourt

Eddie Munson x Chubby & Inexperienced!Reader 4322 words A sneak peek at what to expect from this fic here

Previous Chapters: 1 - Valium; 2 - Carrie; 3: Honey

Warnings: Anxiety; fatphobia including internalised; drug use; bullying; body issues; discussion of body function and fluids; period shame/stigma; disclosure of sexual assault (chapter 2); disordered eating and thoughts of food; shitty/abusive/critical parents; no beta; warnings updated each chapter

Synopsis: When Eddie Munson finds you in the midst of a panic attack, it is the beginning of something. A fic featuring body and sex positivity, Eddie in a dress, soft small moments, scary big truths, and all the usual special feelings you’d expect from one of my stories.

Chapter Summary: Quality time. Acts of service. Words of affirmation. Gift giving. Physical Touch. All the languages of love are here and accounted for.

When you were in Eddie’s room, it was like there was no line between where your body ended and the universe began. You were at peace, not monitoring yourself and your body for a million and one inconsequential things.

How do the rolls of my belly look like this? Was that a dumb thing to say? Is there snot in my nose? How much space am I taking up? Is my armpit hair peaking out? Did that laugh sound weird? Should I have shaved my legs?

You just existed in the moment, and the moment was always, completely… Eddie.

Eddie learning to play Metallica songs while you drew pictures of monsters the lyrics made you think of; he stuck them all on his wall with push pins, a collage of your creations growing. Eddie getting high while you watched, instructing him to put his head in your lap, close his eyes, and let you braid his hair. Eddie practicing for the new Hellfire campaign, bouncing around the room doing voices and movements different from his own. Eddie holding out grabby hands to you, begging for cuddles while you watched horror movies until curfew.

It was easy to lose whole days in that room, and you let it happen regularly and happily. It was significantly better than being at your house, where your parents were growing angrier at your distance from them, which they wrongly assumed also meant your grades were slipping.

“That is… Drumroll, please,” Eddie said in his best game show host voice. You drummed your pencils on the kitchen bench of his trailer. “CORRRRRECT! She’s done it again, ladies and gentlemen. The perfect test score!”

Eddie made every practice test like that. Fun. Engaging. Memorable. It anchored your learning to semantic memory. The more time you spent with Eddie, your already good grades were getting even better.

He read your essays, adding tips from when he’d been in that class. Just because he had failed didn’t mean he was dumb. He knew what the teachers wanted; he just lacked the motivation to give it to them. He got you from an A- to an A+ in English, his creative flair helping to give all your pieces that extra special thing teachers loved.

Your parents didn’t want to hear about it though. They barely tolerated hearing Eddie’s name at all. Any evidence that disproved their preconceived idea of him was banned from conversation. Things were becoming tenser with them, which meant you spent more time at Eddie’s, which continued the cycle of shitty parenting and avoidant behaviour.

None of it mattered when you were alone with Eddie.

When you walked side by side, he would lace his fingers between yours or wrap an arm around your shoulder. At the cafeteria table, Eddie’s leg would hook around your ankle. Sometimes he’d reach out and tap on your fingernails like he was playing the piano. Best though, was always going to be being together in that bedroom.

Sitting on his bed, he’d pull your legs over his and hold them. When you sat at his dresser doing school work, he’d sit at your feet and lean against the chair just to be close. The melodies he played then were always soft and always came from his acoustic guitar.

When you got sleepy, he’d tell you to nap, then hold you close as a big spoon should. He was careful where he placed his hands, knowing it would take one wrong move to make your self-consciousness snap back in an instant. So, he’d often just hold his arms off you a little bit and twinkle his fingers, his mute way of telling you to put him where you wanted him.

Eddie kept an eye on the time, never letting you be late for curfew because he knew the wrath it would result in. Even when you protested, even when he had to wake you up, and even when you tried to hide tears, he would usher you out to his van and take you home, feeling like shit the entire way.

Eddie wanted you to fall asleep in his bed and not have to wake until morning.

He wanted you to look in the mirror and see what he saw.

The thing he couldn’t stop thinking about though, the thing he couldn’t help picturing all fucking day, was kissing you.

When your focus was elsewhere, he’d study your lips. The cupid bow. The way you sucked your bottom lip in when you were anxious or concentrating. The lip balm you used that was meant to be unscented but he swore was vanillary.

He was a man possessed by a singular thought and it was getting ridiculously distracting. He wanted you to be ready but he wouldn’t know when that was unless he asked you. So, that’s what he’d do. Eddie decided on a course of action and plotted it out in his mind, all while watching you politely listen to Dustin and Mike try to convince you that their respective girlfriends were better than the other’s.

“Um… They both sound really cool,” you offered.

“No, but El is like, a superhero,” Mike repeated for the sixth time.

“Nobody knows what that means,” Gareth said from across the table.

“Suzie has long curly hair, huh? Huh?” Dustin said, elbowing you like you’d know what that was code for. You just shrugged at him. “You love people with long curly hair!” Dustin clarified, annoyed that he had to spell it out. He pointed at Eddie, who was lost in his own ‘I’m gonna kiss her so much’ plans.

You looked over your shoulder at Eddie, smiled at the far-off expression on his face, then turned back to the freshmen. “I just… don’t really… want to compare girls like that. Can’t they both just be the best?”

Dustin groaned and Mike pushed his lunch tray away dramatically.

“They’re probably not the best,” Gareth said, making the freshmen freeze and glare. “I mean, what kind of girls would date you losers?”

A trail mix and potato-tot fight ensued.

…

Starcourt Mall 2.0 was not the destination you expected to arrive at. Looking over at Eddie, you cocked your head in confusion.

“Trust me,” he said.

“You literally were going on about how you’re glad it burnt down the other day,” you reminded him. There was a speech about how all the shops in the mall were part of the man’s plan to make everyone look the same. Dress the same. Eat the same. While Eddie didn’t walk on tables to make his point, it was all very dramatic.

“Yeah, yeah, I know, but it got me thinking. They rebuilt, so maybe, you know, different stores,”

“Okay, that’s… fair…”

“I know what you’re thinking,” Eddie said. “I promised a special date and now we’re at the mall. But-”

“Trust you?” you finished for him.

Eddie grinned and nodded. He jumped from the van and came to open your door, something he did religiously. Sometimes he’d say an accompanying ‘my lady,’ or just bow at your service.

As you walked through the mall hand-in-hand with Eddie, you took stock of how the mall had changed. Before the fire, you’d go there all the time. When you were with other cheerleaders, the group of you were a force to be reckoned with. People would scatter out of the way, afraid of being targeted by way too cool teenage girls. It was more about being there and being seen, rather than the act of consumerism. Although, new lipstick and dresses were often purchased, and often at the command of Hayley.

You didn’t miss that, but as you walked by the book store, you remembered quiet Sunday afternoons with Chrissy. Picking out romance novels and giggling over pages when they got steamy. Sometimes you missed her, but required to pick between you and the rest of the cheer squad, Chrissy chose the path of least resistance.

“So, I don’t think you were listening, had your head buried in Pet Sematary-”

“It’s really good!” you chimed in.

Eddie smiled. “I thought you’d like it. But the other day, when Wheeler was talking about his kid sister, you weren’t paying attention?” He waited for you to confirm, which you did. “Good, so, he said his mum made him take her here. I know it’s like, for kids, but it’s kind of fucked up when you think about it. And it’s cute. So I thought it was, I don’t know, representative… Of us,”

“We’re… cute and fucked up?” you asked, trying to figure out what the hell he could be talking about.

“Yeah. Basically. Um, and I checked, you know, that we could do it. That it wasn’t literally only for children,”

“That we could do what?”

Your question was timed perfectly as you walked around a corner and arrived at a brightly lit store with rainbow colours painted on the walls.

“Build a bear!” Eddie announced.

The shop was more of a one-room workshop. To the right was a wall of soft toys, teddies and cats and puppies and some creatures you didn’t recognise. Below them were bins full of, well, the skins of the soft toys. You watched a kid pick one up and take it over to a girl sitting at a big machine full of fluffy teddy stuffing. The stuffing was rolling around in the machine, warm and alive.

“I’m gonna name mine Angel,” Eddie said, pulling you into the store.

“You’re right… This is kind of fucked up,” you mused, holding the skin of a brown highland cow teddy in your hands.

Eddie nodded, making a half giggle half snort sound as he pulled a baby pink and horrifically hollow cat out of a bin.

“Hi! Welcome to Build-a-Bear. My name is Kasey and I’ll be your bear builder today. Have you chosen a pawsome friend to join your family?!”

Kasey was full of pep on the outside but you figured she was probably dying on the inside. Maybe that’s why she was at your sides so quickly – any chance to serve someone other than a screaming six-year-old.

“You don’t have to… like… do the whole thing,” you said to her.

Kasey shrugged. “It’s honestly easier than trying to have a genuine conversation every time. I used to work at McDonalds. This is way better,”

“But no free fries,” Eddie joked.

Kasey looked at him with the dead-eyed vacant expression of a retail worker. “There were no free fries. Anyway, that your pick?” she asked him, pointing to the pink cat. Eddie nodded. “And you’ve got Longhorn?”

“That’s his name?” you asked, looking at the dead cow in your hands.

“They’re all Longhorn, until you know, you name it,” she answered, leading you to the stuffing machine. “We’ll fill them up then you can put whatever you want in there.”

Eddie had his cat filled firmly, so she would sit in a cute pose on one of his guitar amps. Yours was much more soft, floppy and cuddly in your arms.

“These are their hearts,” Kasey said, handing you each a small red pillowed heart. “Next, we do the Build-a-Bear heart ceremony. Shake it up in your palms to bring them to life. Rub their hearts on your forehead so the bears will be smart.”

You weren’t sure if she was serious, but Eddie was already smooshing the heart into his head, so you copied him.

“Rub your cheeks, so the bears will be cheeky. And on your back, so they'll always have your back. Lastly, over your hearts, so they’ll be full of love. Now they’re ready. Put them inside,”

“Wait. Here. Have mine,” Eddie said, pushing his heart into the open stitching of your cow.

“Then here,” you replied, gifting his cat your heart.

Kasey pulled at the threading of the teddies and sewed them close. She directed you to where you could pick an outfit for them.

“Holy shit. These bears have better career options than me,”

“I don’t see a rockstar outfit though,” you said looking at the uniforms and clothing on offer. You walked away from Eddie to where you spotted a tiny leather jacket.

When you reconvened at the counter, Eddie’s cat was dressed in a denim jacket, much like the one you were wearing. He grinned at your own choice, taking it and making it kiss the cat.

“Oh my god,” you squealed, snatching the toys from Eddie.

You put the bears on the counter, and let Eddie pay for them.

“You get a birth certificate,” the woman at the counter said. She pulled two pre-printed pieces of paper out and handed you both a pen.

You watched Eddie write ‘Angel’ in his best handwriting in the blank space on his certificate.

Looking down at your own, you thought. Obviously, you had chosen the highland cow for his messy mop of hair and big brown eyes, but you didn’t really want to name him Eddie. With no other nicknames, you had to brainstorm quickly. ‘Hellfire’ seemed fitting, and when you glanced at Eddie, the smile on his face was all the reassurance you needed.

Eddie thanked the bear builders and handed you Hellfire while putting Angel under his arm. “I’m hungry,” he said, taking your free hand and walking from the store.

Eddie had learned not to politely ask ‘are you hungry’ or ‘do you want something to eat’ because you would always say no. If he hid his care for you under a cloak of his own needs, you’d usually follow his lead. His second trick was dubbed sharing is caring.

“Do you wanna share some nachos?”

“Yeah, ‘kay,” you replied, sitting at the food court table Eddie had placed Angel on.

“You look after the children,” he said with a shameless smile.

Alone in the middle of a place that used to mean something so different to you, you felt strange. Kind of spacey. By the time Eddie returned, the biggest plate of nachos you had ever seen put on the table, you were zoned out.

“I got extra guacamole. ‘Cause you love avocado,” he told you. Eddie hated avocado, so he rotated the plate so the green was closer to you. “Hey. You okay?” he asked, his eyes scanning your expression, then the food court.

“Yeah. Just thinking,”

“Good stuff?”

Nodding, you replied, “Yeah.”

You used the plastic fork to eat a solid portion of the food. Eddie used his hands and went through a pile of napkins. You accepted his offer to share his milkshake, and you let him down half your Dr Pepper in return.

“You’re quiet,” he said as you made your way back through Starcourt to the parking lot.

“I know… I'm okay though,”

“What’s happening? Up here?” Eddie motioned to his own head, kind of circling it like he was drawing a halo.

“Uh… I don’t really… know. It’s weird. I’m like… A bit spaced out. But in a good way? I’m not really thinking anything.”

Eddie thought for a second. “I don’t wanna alarm you, but could you possibly be just… you know, happy?”

“Eddie. I’m happy a lot,” you said defensively enough that he knew he was on to something.

“Yeah, I know, but like, maybe you’re just... really here. Right now. In this minute.”

Eddie stopped at your side of the van and held your hand as you stepped up into the passenger seat. You took Angel from him, hugging her and Hellfire to you.

Your nose tingled and tears pricked at the sides of your eyes. Eddie stepped closer, the height difference between you removed by your seated position. You sat back a little and watched him look at you carefully. He was waiting for you to say something, but you couldn’t. Words would get stuck behind the lump in your throat.

A small nod was all you could offer, but for Eddie, it was poetry in motion.

“Can I kiss you?” he whispered.

The food in your stomach flipped and your teeth clenched together with anxiety. You were entirely freaked out, but you had never wanted something so desperately before. Again, all you could do was nod. He asked if you were sure. Somehow, you managed to squeak out, “Yes.”

Eddie carefully closed the gap between you, pushing his forehead against yours. Your eyes closed immediately and you took a sharp breath in. Eddie ran his nose along yours, waited for you to breathe out, then gently pressed his lips to yours. Before you could think to move, his lips were gone, but he hadn’t moved away.

Eddie’s hands came to cup your face. He kissed you again, lingering a little longer to let you catch up. You kissed back. It was awkward and sweet and you didn’t know what to do because the only other time you’d been that close to someone was a drunk Andy, who mostly just mashed his teeth to yours and tried to make you swallow his tongue.

This was nothing like that.

“You good?” Eddie asked, not moving away from you.

“Yeah,” you replied, staying still in his hands.

Eddie kissed you, letting you grow a tiny bit bolder, parting your lips against his and waiting for him to do the same. Although you were still a burning ball of nerves, there was something almost second nature about kissing Eddie. It wasn’t that you knew exactly what to do, but you knew whatever you did, it would be right. You couldn’t fuck it up.

“Can we go home?” you asked after the fourth and fifth kiss.

“Yeah, Angel. Let’s go home.”

Letting go of you and stepping back made Eddie ache in a way he’d never felt. He knew it was a love-adjacent feeling, so he didn’t fight it.

On the ride home, you held Angel and Hellfire and tried to not giggle madly.

…

“I’m serious, Ed, this is not bad at all,” Wayne said, looking in disbelief at the bowl of butterscotch pudding in front of him.

“It’s just sugar and flour,” Eddie dismissed.

10:00 pm was fast approaching and Wayne was due to leave for his night shift at work. Eddie, bored and caught up on homework, found an old recipe book shoved in the back of a kitchen cabinet when he was looking for something sweet. He followed the instructions and produced a more than decent pudding while Wayne woke and got ready.

They ate the dessert together, then Wayne bid his nephew goodnight.

It was a Wednesday night, the week after Build-a-Bear Saturday. You’d spent the rest of the day together in Eddie’s room, figuring out how to kiss each other in a way that would make your knees wobbly and Eddie’s entire body go rigid.

Every moment without you since then was torture. Monday’s classes sucked. Tuesday’s classes sucked. That day’s classes, yep, sucked. Making the pudding was really a welcomed distraction.

“Alright,” Eddie said to himself after ten minutes had gone by and he was still sitting at the kitchen bench staring off into space. He got up and moved the dishes into the sink. He looked at them and they looked back.

The phone rang. Eddie was thrilled. He could pretend the call made him forget to do the dishes.

“Greetings and salutations. You have reached the Munson residence. How may I direct your call?” he answered. Eddie knew the sound of your crying too well. The small sniffles on the other end of the line made all the joy evaporate from him. “Angel? Baby, what’s wrong?”

Standing in a phone booth a couple of blocks from your house, you started to really cry. Of course, he’d know it’s you without you even having to speak.

Eddie let you cry for less than a minute before coaching you through some deep breaths. He said your name a couple of times, then asked where you were. He told you to walk another block over, to where there was an all-night liquor place, and wait for him there.

The guy behind the counter at Hot Shot Liquor watched you sit on the curb outside the store and curl up into yourself. He was going to go out and ask if you needed help, but decided it was none of his business.

As soon as you saw Eddie’s van come around the corner, you were up. He tore out of the driver’s seat and held you tightly when you threw yourself into his arms.

“You’re okay. S’alright. I got you,” he whispered, repeating himself with small changes to sentence structure and word order.

When he felt like you could stand on your own two feet, Eddie pulled away from you just enough to see your face. He put his hands in the sleeves of the Anthrax hoodie he was wearing and wiped your face free from tears, snot, and spit.

“Let’s go home, yeah?”

You nodded, looking at him through clumped-together eyelashes.

Eddie held your sad face in his hands and studied you for a second before leaning in and kissing you gently. Immediately, you kissed him back, deepening the kiss and adding a needy intensity that Eddie embraced in full.

You had thought kissing was a nice thing. It was about romance and fluffy feelings. But standing under a flickering neon 24/7 Liquor sign, cold and scared, you found out that kissing was now a necessity. You needed it. You needed to feel Eddie’s mouth against yours. You needed to feel like he wanted you like you wanted him. It was about romance, sure, but a feral kind of romance.

“Come on,” Eddie whispered when you both came up for air, his hands still holding you. You nodded into him but made no attempt to move.

He held you for a few more moments, then walked you around the van and helped you up. For the entire drive, he let you keep one of his hands between yours, not letting go to turn corners or park.

Eddie was back at your door to lead you inside. The trailer was warm and smelt good, that was all you really registered. Eddie pulled you along into his room, where you sat on the edge of his bed. He knelt in front of you.

“What do-” Eddie stopped mid-sentence to change his approach. “Do you know what you need? Or what you’d like?”

You looked at him, your eyes still filled with tears. Although you tried to think, tried to help him help you, your mind was all static and emotion. The best you could do was shrug, which you felt dumb and useless for but it was truly all you could do.

“That’s okay. Um, how ‘bout…” Eddie was thinking, his eyes darting around his room for inspiration. He remembered then; he had a surprise for you. Something special in his stockpile of gifts. “Do you want to change into something more comfy?”

Eddie stood and made his way over to where clothes were shoved haphazardly into a set of drawers. You watched him, hoping he wasn’t going to try to offer you any of his own wardrobe. Your cup size alone meant none of Eddie’s t-shirts would fit. If you thought of the size of his thighs compared to yours, you’d vomit.

“Because it just so happens that I got something for you,” Eddie said, his back still to you. “Has to be a secret though. The guys are so fuckin’ precious about the goddamn shirts, if they know I’ve given you one, they’ll lose it.”

Eddie turned around and held up a Hellfire shirt, the same as his, but in your size. Actually, maybe two sizes bigger.

“Figured you’d just wear it here, maybe for when we have our Saturday siestas, or whatever. Whatever you want,” he explained as he handed it to you. “I got it made bigger so it would be extra comfy.”

Your brain was short-circuiting.

Your silence was terrifying Eddie. Wayne had warned him that getting clothes for you would be risky. It involved guessing your size, which Eddie knew was a particular insecurity you had. Had he fucked up?

Eddie crossed his arms across his chest as he waited. Still, silence. He moved one of his hands to his face so he could chew on his fingernails.

“If it’s stupid-”

“It’s not stupid!” you almost yelled, cutting off Eddie. As you spoke you stood, too excited to be self-conscious. You moved to be in front of Eddie’s mirror, threw off the jacket and t-shirt you were wearing, quickly replacing it with the Hellfire shirt.

It fit exactly how you’d want it to and it smelled like Eddie. How long had he been keeping it hidden away in those drawers?

You felt different. It’s like the shirt was magic. Somehow, you didn’t fucking hate your reflection, even with the puffy eyes and messy hair. You kicked off your shoes and decided to go all in, unzipping and pulling off your jeans before you could think about it too much.

Eddie watched all of this in awe. He watched you look at yourself and smile. It was a proper smile. You looked at him then and he swore to god he was going to love you forever. He was going to fucking burst if he didn’t tell you.

“I love you,” he said, the words falling quickly from his mouth.

“I love you too,” you replied. It’s the easiest thing you’d ever said.

After warmed up butterscotch pudding and a debrief about how your parents had crossed the line between controlling and cruel, you cuddled up in Eddie’s bed. The radio was on in the background, turned down enough to be ambient more than clearly audible.

“This okay?” he whispered, his fingers ghosting down your back and along your bare thighs. You nod into him, pressed a kiss to his collarbone. It was more than okay.

Next Chapter - 5: Buzzkill

End Note: Build-a-Bear didn’t open until the late 90s, but I am pretending it was founded in like, 1985-ish, because how perfect was it?

As always, reblogs are king on Tumblr, and the only way content gets seen and shared. Comments and feedback make my entire fucking week.

Fic Taglist: @ajeff855 @b-barnes04 @eddie-munson-is-a-sweetheart @nerd-squad-headquarters @word-wytch @harrys-tittie

All Eddie x Reader By Me Taglist: @solomons-finest-rum @ruinedbythehobbit @munsonlives @sweetpeapod @depressooexxpressoo @thorfemmes @hawkins-high @corrodedhawkins @grungegrrrl

#Mine #Eddie Munson #Eddie Munson Fanfic #Eddie Munson Fanfiction #Eddie Munson/Reader #Eddie Munson/You #Eddie Munson x Reader #Eddie Munson x You

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missingexaltation · 2 years

Text

Another AU Fic idea:

Some time after season 4 (where everyone's alive and whole, damn it), Eddie finally gets his own place. Nothing wrong with staying with Wayne but he's finally outta school and loves the independence. Wayne also gets to have a bedroom again, so good for him.

Only he's gotta pay for everything now. (AND a whole shitload of one off purchases that he never thought about, like forks and pots and pans, what the FUCK, capitalism??).

So naturally, during his first month as an actual grown up, in his grown up house, amongst other things his razor breaks. And money is kinda tight for a guy on minimum wage and barely any furniture, so he thinks 'fuck it'. It can wait until next payday. He can cope.

Only a couple of days later, his face itches so bad, and in all honesty he looks like a bum. The guys at work find it hilarious, he's the baby there after all, and they think he's trying to grow it on purpose to look older. He doesn't want to admit that he's fucking broke, and even considers asking Rick to let him deal again for a bit, for some easy cash. (He doesn't because he promised Wayne, but it's really fucking tempting).

His scruff is growing in patchy, some bits quicker than others and it's looks a lot of a mess. He's got a knife that's vaguely sharp so he tries that, but no. Ouch. Despite his skilled guitarist's fingers he's still a bit of a klutz and nearly slices his cheek open. Still, it's less than a week till payday. He can cope.

A couple of days later, and while the itching has subsided, he's still weirded out each time he see himself in the mirror. It's not a metal look at all, he looks WAY older than he actually is. It's less patchy though, so there's that. Once he trims it a bit, it looks a lot better. Passable. Only a few days to go.

Wayne swings by that night, bringing take out for them both. He offers to chip in some cash, after he's stopped laughing his ass off. Eddie refuses it on principle, but sulks his way through his food until Wayne apologises for bruising his ego. He doesn't mention that he looks fucking amazing compared to a couple of days ago, mollified by Wayne's apologies nonetheless.

He still has zero cash, and skips breakfast, annihilating a couple of cupcakes that his boss brought in for the team, skips dinner, and gets second helpings of Mrs Jones' pecan pie at band practise (Gawd bless Gareth's mom). He's not sure how he's gonna get through the final day as he's already a hungry hungry hippo, but then when he wakes up the greatest thing happens.

Steve is back from his awful family vacation and calls him up, desperate to be around ANYONE that he's not related to.

He promises to bring food and gossip galore with him, and Eddie's day just got a million times better. He's whistling at work, begs a couple of candy bars from his coworkers, and by the time Steve arrives at his new abode that night, Eddie's climbing the walls ready for a full meal.

He's forgotten about the razor.

When he opens the door, Steve just gapes at him, before turning bright red and blinking really hard. It takes longer than it should for Eddie to remember, but suddenly the last week or so has been totally worth it, because Steve Harrington is kissing him and losing his goddammed mind over the shitty beard.

Holy fuck.

It's not until Steve pulls back that he seems to register who he's kissing, but he just shrugs it off and hands over the food. Eddie gets fed, gets the Harrington family gossip, and...gets the Steve staying the next few nights.

(He still shaves it off at the first opportunity because holy fuck it's annoying to keep it looking decent).

#tw: unhealthy eating #So i saw an edit of Eddie with a scruffy beard and lawd i don't know what to do with myself...and i don't think Steve would either #eddie munson #steddie #steve harrington #Eddie in this scenario is torn because holy fuck Stevie boy...but also he's so fucking hungry and the take out smells so good..#i can see Eddie being broke but just going without essentials 'for a while' and turning on the 🥺 eyes to anyone that will feed him #'anyone' meaning Wayne and Steve and Dustin's mom to name a few #he definitely wasn't expecting his 'shitty beard' to be the final nail in Steve's heterosexuality but he'll accept it!#stranger things fic ideas

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infitsovermisfits · 2 years

Text

Lady in the House of Love - Eddie Munson x (GN!) Reader

info: sometimes you get drunk in a park, walk all the way home, curl up and write fucking angst. Want to also mention that my already slow updates will slow even more :0 i start uni again on Monday and will be busy w work :p enjoy feeling!

WARNINGS: gender neutral reader, reader uses they/them, artist reader, season 4 happened, eddie lives, reader had abusive parents, talk of dead parents/ wishing ill of the dead, parental abuse, underage drinking, drinking, alcohol abuse, smoking, angst, hurt comfort, depressive thoughts, suicidal thoughts (hinted), saying things out of anger, ten-year time skip, Eddie lives, Eddie is friends with Max, Eddie is friends with the Fruity Four, dropping out of college/uni, falling out with friends, alludes to smut towards the end, unedited towards the end because i got lazy and tired

word count: 9895

MASTERLIST

"Hey!!" The lead of your pencil snaps when you flinch, startled by the sudden noise in the otherwise relatively silent room. You look up to see Eddie walking in proudly, wielding his guitar in his outstretched arms as he enters the room, walking towards you. Casting him a glare, you glance at your pencil and frown at the mark it left behind on your paper, grabbing your sharpener, "Why're you hiding in here?" He gestures to the empty classroom you were hidden away in,

"I have to focus on my work," You mutter with annoyance, sharpening your pencil again and letting the shavings drop onto the desk beside you. You were barely passing your math final and wanted to get as much prep done for your afternoon exam as you could. You were still mad at him from the night before: when your closest friend Eddie Munson had invited you over to his trailer to 'study' for said final, you accepted without a second thought. You should have expected that he'd try to distract you with a few new riffs he had written, and ask you about the new campaign ideas. At any other time, you wouldn't mind but now? With your future at Hawkins and in Indianapolis College on the line, you really didn't want ti risk it, "I didn't know you were allowed to bring your guitar here anymore," You say, casting him a glance as the table creaks near you, indicating he had sat on it. With a frown, you look at his grip on the instrument, then to him smirking down at you,

"I'm not," He winks, and you look back to your work, brushing the shavings off the table and onto the floor, "Hey, I'm talking to you," He says, and you ignore him until he slams a hand over your work. You jump again and he laughs, easily sliding off the table, "Why're you so jumpy today?"

"I'm not talking to you because I'm trying to focus, Munson," You hiss, watching as he takes a few slow steps around you, rolling his eyes, "Because I actually want to pass this final-"

"God, you used to be fun," He grumbles, sitting on the table behind you and plucking a few of the strings, then reaching to tune them,

"Can you not do that here?" You ask lowly, and he glances up at you. He smirks again,

"No. It's quiet here," He says, and with an annoyed huff you turn around. It's infinatly more difficult focusing when he's there, plucking the same notes and fine tuning them behind you by ear, even if you try blocking them out, "You weren't in the lunch hall; I came looking for you," He says as he moves on the E chord,

"I can tell," You mutter,

"What was that?" He stops playing,

"I can tell," You repeat louder,

"What?" He asks, prompting you to cast him a glance over your shoulder, "Why're you mad- what did I do?"

"I just told you I left because I wanted to be somewhere quiet so I could focus," Your whole body feels like it's tingling with the first embers of anger, glowing bright in your heart and rapidly spreading through your bones, "You're making a lot of noise and it's bothering me,"

"You've never been bothered before," He states,

"Yeah, well, maybe I'm super stressed because I know my future is based on this final and I really want to do well," You say, turning back to your work with a grimace, glancing over the algebra equation you moved on to. He chuckles behind you,

"It is not that serious," He says, beginning to play a tune you recognise- one of your favourite songs,

"It is that serious Eddie, that's why I need to focus," You tell him, "So can you please stop bothering me for five seconds?" The longer he stayed there, the more angry you got. And the fact that he wasn't seeing it made you even angrier,

"Or what?" He asks, though playful, you sense a hint of venom sliding beneath his words. Something weird had been happening between you and Eddie lately. Though you'd known Eddie since middle school and had been his closest friend, he'd never been like... This. Sure at times he could get annoying, especially when you'd neglect to show him the attention he so craved in the moment and chose to focus on your studies, but he was never this persistant.

Passive aggressive comments would seemingly come out of nowhere, and they always made you uneasy and confused. Perhaps you were misunderstanding what was going on but recently it had seemed like he was annoyed at you over anything you did,

"What do you think of this?" He asks loudly, breaking your focus yet again and making you forget the formula you were memorising as he plays a riff on his guitar, "Sound good?" He hums along to the riff until you groan and violently stand, tipping the chair you were seated on back and sending it cluttering to the floor, "Woah, what's-"

"Could you just leave me alone!?" You find yourself yelling, glaring at Eddie as he stands too, almost sheepishly, setting his guitar on the table he was sitting on before,

"You just weren't at lunch and-" He tries to say, but truthfully; you've had it. The lunch period is coming to a close as you could see from the clock in the room and you felt like you could barely remember anything you had studied for all night yesterday. Your heart was beating a million miles a minute. You felt ill,

"Yeah! Because I needed to get away from you to focus!" You don't mean to be so harsh but your brain is working too fast for you to even try and be more gentle. He looks hurt by your words, brows furrowing,

"Away from me?" he asks in disbelief, "You've never-"

"Fucking Christ, Eddie- I couldn't focus all of yesterday because you kept asking me about the songs you were playing and you're doing it again!" You're so angry there are tears prickling at your eyes, " I thought we were going to study and you made it about yourself, like you always do!"

"I said we should study because you wouldn't have come over if I didn't!" He says, finally raising his voice to try and meet yours, "I haven't seen you since the party and I just wanted to spend time with-"

"Oh my god- Eddie, we have finals!" You yell at him, "We're not Freshmen anymore with heaps of free time to waste! I'm sorry if I want to prioritise my future over you," You hurt him now. More deeply than you ever wanted. You can see from the way he flinches and turns his head away, the way his face almost crumples and the way he inhales. He can't meet your eyes; and neither can you,

"Well don't hold back," He laughs cruelly, "Go on, let it all out," He mocks,

"What!?" You ask bitterly, "Let what-"

"How much you hate me! How much you don't want to be around me! You've been avoiding me for weeks without a word of 'I want to focus' or 'I want to study'!" He says exasperated, "I mean, why'd you ask me to come along if you didn't even want to hang out with me!?" He asks,

"I didn't!" You remind, voice full of aggression and face furious, "You just came along- like you always fucking do! Don't you have other people to bother?" You huff, turning and slamming your book shut and making an effort to shove it deep into your bag,

"Wh- What's that supposed to mean?" He asks, voice trembling, but you ignore him. That is until you finish packing your things and he comes to stand in your way, sending you into another rage. He says your name so calmly- and that angers you more,

"I honestly can't deal with you acting like pure trailer trash," The words are venom in your mouth and appear to have a similar effect on Eddie, recoiling back at your harsh tone. You can't take this look on his face you easily slip past him. He doesn't make an effort to slow you anymore, "I can't be around you anymore," You spit as you hurry out, tears stinging your eyes and warming your cheeks as you leave.

It feels like a lifetime ago since that evening; a lifetime of living with the deepest pain of regret you've ever experienced. That day, spiked vines grew around your racing heart and pierced it anytime you remembered the name: Eddie Munson.

You passed that final in the end. In fact, you miraculously passed all your finals. Though you had no one to celebrate, you got into an art college far away from this town in Indianapolis, and you lost your best friend all in the same week- a double-edged sword. That summer was the bleakest, having no one to spend it with and instead wasting your days with a shitty day job and getting drunk every night just to sleep because when you had nothing to do, your mind always went to him.

When summer had ended, you said goodbye to your father, filled your car with clothes and other necessities, and left Hawkins for good. You hoped the memories wouldn't track you down like a pack of wolves hunting prey; to your displeasure, they did.

Though a decade had passed since, every day felt like you were still reaping what you had sown. If only you could take back those words, born from built-up stress and blossoming into misplaced anger, you would. Just to have him here with you; just for the pain you felt to go away. He had been the only person you could trust- hell, the only one you ever loved. And he was gone. No matter how many partners you'd have, how many friends you attempted to replace him with, those vines tightened around your heart to remind you of the pain you had caused Eddie, not letting you live a moment's peace without him.

At times, you'd sit and contemplate what you'd want to tell him. Or how he'd react. Perhaps he wouldn't forgive you, and showing up at some point would only rub salt in that wound. Maybe he'd scream and yell that you're a horrible person and he never wanted to see you again. And he wishes you never tracked him down.

There'd be a small chance he would forgive you but for what? What reason did he have? Maybe he was just better off. Maybe you should deal with the hurt and accept that it'll be like this forever.

That hurt soon morphed into numbness. Your body simply just got used to it and didn't feel it anymore- figures, considering it had been ten years. You had a job now, and you rented an apartment as far away from home as you could get in California. You took long walks on the beach and swam in the ice-cold ocean to clear your mind. You had a few friends, not many, but people to talk to and go out for drinks with on a regular basis. You could listen to your favourite bands again, your favourite songs without them being tainted. But you weren't happy.

You'd grown to accept the fact that you'd just live a meaningless life and die a meaningless death- maybe you'd drink so much you forgot about the emptiness that hollowed out your chest for a few hours. If it meant you could sleep at night and be alright for the moment, it felt like an alright price to pay.

You didn't expect a single night out at the bar to change that.

You blamed your friend. He dragged you out to get a few drinks and maybe score that night to your usual place, but when it got too boring, you diverted your path further into the city. It was a cold November afternoon- that's the only reason you found yourself taking shots of the strongest vodka on tap and listening to the local band playing, hardly paying attention to the laughter surrounding you. Maybe you could sneak out and head home,

"And now presenting The Wynerns!" What a fucky name. Perhaps another group of tryhards trying to make it big in Cali. You made a tapped your friend on the shoulder, grabbing your bag and jacket and mumbling that you had to go to the bathroom, missing the first few moments of the song.

Then it all came back. The familiar hurt in your heart, a clenching, tight feeling in your chest at the sound of his voice. He always joked he couldn't sing too well, but since, he'd greatly improved. You recognised the notes being strummed on his guitar, the rings glittering as he played. Even with your half-tipsy, dizzy, distorted vision, you instantly recognised the mess of black curls and bats adorning his arm. Of course, Eddie fucking Munson would cover a Black Sabbath song as the first in his set. It felt like you were the only one looking; staring at him and his bandmates perform. Oh, and there was Jeff! You'd have to catch up with him at some point... After... If...

The pain only strengthened the longer you watched him perform- it was like seeing a ghost. Truthfully, you wanted to sit and listen to him play for hours if you weren't busy trying to sneak away. Glancing behind you at your friends, no one seemed to notice your absence. Good. You kept to the darker corners, picking up a drink at the bar and sitting to listen.

"You called him trailer trash," You wince, downing the rest of the drink in one and letting the glass click against the wood, nodding to the bartender and paying for the drink. Breathing felt difficult. You felt sick at yourself, remembering how much your words had hurt him. You couldn't be here.

You disappeared outside, finding the smoking area mostly empty. The cold air bit your cheeks and filled your lungs, swirling around you. You pulled the large jacket tighter around your shoulders, sticking your hands in your pockets and pulling out your cigarettes and lighter. Remorse flooded your thoughts, along with a decade of words unsaid to your old best friend.

Maybe if you hadn't fought, you would have opened up to him about the blooming feelings towards him. Whenever he'd smile, your chest would warm. Your cheeks would hurt from smiling so much around him and your chest would hurt from laughing. You thought, so innocently, that being in love with your best friend would be the most difficult thing you'd have to deal with. Having to bury those feelings when you fell apart proved to be far worse-

"I really didn't expect to see you out here," His voice. It cut through the chilled air. It felt like every nerve in your body got set on fire in your body all at once. A shiver ran through your spine, tightening your throat and making your mouth dry. Turning, you found he was already walking closer to you, pulling a cigarette from a pack along with a lighter. He was wearing a long sleeve shirt before; now he wore an oversized Leather jacket. The same as always. And the thing that brought tears back to your eyes was how casual he was acting, as if he had forgotten all the bad things that happened. He held your gaze for a moment, brown eyes scanning yours for any signs of remembrance, before he leaned back against the wall beside you. He raised his brows briefly, smiling, and pulling out his own pack of cigarettes. You watched as he clicked a faulty lighter, brows furrowing when sparks emitted from the flint and muttering a 'fuck' under his breath. Against all the negative thoughts running through your head, against all the thoughts telling you to run as far as your legs would take you, you smiled softly. It wouldn't be Eddie if he didn't have a fucked up lighter. Though he stood a foot away, you made an effort to move over and hold your own lighter out to him,

"Here, Munson," God, all the memories that continued flooded back into your brain sent melancholy mixing with your crimson blood. You averted your gaze from his, undeserving of meeting his eyes,

"Thanks," It's strange hearing your last name from his lips after so long,

"You're in Cali," You comment, a hint of awkwardness threading your words together,

"Finally made it," You hear the smile in his voice as he says it,

"Congrats," You reply, bringing the cigarette up to your lips and inhaling deeply. The burning warmth filling your lungs feels good,

"Mmh," He hums, "You're here too. I had no idea," He says, "I haven't been following you or anything-" He says quickly,

"It's fine," You laugh, "Yeah, I mean... Yeah," You shrug, "I guess it's just where the wind took me. I've always wanted to go to the beach and now it's a five-minute walk from my place," You tell him,

"That's nice," He says honestly, "I'm out here touring around with my band," He explains,

"The Wyverns?" You mention as you cast him a glance. Though his features are more defined, it's still the same Eddie you knew almost a decade ago. Same long hair, same boyish face, same warm brown eyes gazing down at you. You break eye contact quickly,

"Surprised you remembered," He says amused, "They've always been my favourite creatures," You hum in acknowledgement, "I still have that uh... The painting you made me?" You know which one he's talking about. You painted it solely based on his description of the creature. A birthday gift of an overgrown lizard captured midflight with spread wings, a horned sheep tucked between its sharp talons, mouth open and showing rows of razor-sharp teeth captured in the centre of a small canvas. Painted with immaculate details- spit glistening on its canines, sunlight glittering over meticulously detailed scales, even rivulets of blood coating the tips of its claws where it pierced the wool of the sheep, tinted red. He had cherished it greatly, proudly hanging it up in his room next to his guitar, and Black Sabbath posters and little drawings of you and his characters from his campaigns,

"Huh... Wild that you kept it that long," You say,

"Bet it's worth a fortune now," He smiles as he looks down at you, "Heard you got into that art college you were losing it over? Bet you've got Bowie knocking on your door and asking you to draw up concepts for his new album," He nudges your shoulder. Playfully, you snort, almost toppling over and losing your balance thanks to the alcohol,

"Sure," You mumble disheartened, letting the conversation awkwardly fizzle out into the night air with the smoke. Your brows furrow. Why is he being so kind now when you were so cruel to him then? Does he really not remember? If not- how dare he? He deserves to yell; scream; beat you into the Earth for shattering his heart and leaving him alone for so long. Instead he-

"Do you have another cigarette?" Your eyes burn from tears unspilt as you glance over at him. Blankly, you hand him one, even passing over your lighter so he doesn't ask you again while taking a long drag of your own. You let the smoke sit in your lungs for a moment, just to feel the burn, almost choking as you exhale a thin plume of smoke. Looking back at Eddie, you notice his thumb is running over the lighter, feeling the scratches of your initials and a small 'Eddie's favourite' engraved into the plastic, "I remember this," He remarks, "You still have...?"

"Sure. It's a good light and it's cheaper just refilling it than buying new ones," You brush off, sighing, "Besides, aren't we supposed to be saving the planet?" He nods beside you and lights his cigarette, handing back your things so you can stash them away. It's on the tip of your tongue- questions about what happened, why he's not angry, if he remembers... And just when you build up the courage to ask you finish your cigarette. You have no desire to smoke more, letting the butt drop to the ground and disappear beneath your shoe, "I should go..." You start to mumble, lifting yourself off the wall,

"Stay," His voice is soft, gentle- hard to argue with. You find yourself leaning back against the wall without much convincing, glancing over at him and watching the end of his cigarette burn as he inhales, "Here- how about I drive you home?" He offers, motioning for you to follow him. Though you want to decline, your friends would hardly miss you. And this is Eddie, who you haven't seen in years. You have all your things, no need to enter the bar anymore. And there's nothing you want more than to feel the comfort of a warm home. Reluctantly, you nod and he smiles. You follow him through to the parking lot.

"So... It's been a while," Eddie says after a while of silence between you. You told him where you lived as you got into his car, and found you didn't live too far from one another. You both agreed it'd be quicker to go to his hotel,

"Ten whole years, Eds," You acknowledge, leaning back fully in the seat,

"Hmm,"

Never thought I'd spend that long without you, you want to say. So desperately. Your lips move around the words though your voicebox doesn't work, and instead, you lean your forehead to the side, pressing against the cool glass of the window,

"What was that?" He asks,

"Uhh..." You can't tell him the truth, "What have you been... Doing?" He smiles at your question,

"A few things," He starts playfully, "I dealt up until Rick got locked up. Visited him in the slammer once- told me to sell the rest of his shit, so I did. Let me keep the money and I, uh... Graduated?" You smile at that, "Yeah, thanks. I'm proud of me too... I hung out with Robin and Steve for a bit after and-"

"Steve?" You catch on to what he's saying, "As in-"

"Harrington," Your eyes widen, "I know-"

"Fucking Harrington!?" He nods again, grinning,

"He's a cool guy, y'know," He smiles fondly, "He's nice," You snort at that, "I understand you're weird about him but trust me... He's cool,"

"Uhuh?" You glance over at him with a look of disbelief,

"Uhuh," He mimics you. It doesn't feel like it's been ten years. It feels like it's been a few days since you last hung out with him in his van, driving you across town back home and helping you mellow down from being blackout drunk so your father doesn't beat you half to death, "We all kinda became friends- Steve, Robin, Nancy and I. Then Jonathan and Argyle once they came to Hawkins..." A shudder runs through you,

"That's still on the map?" You heard tales of the earthquake that quite literally split the ground in two years after you left, though you were never brave enough to drive back. Ask around if everyone made it out okay,

"I mean, it's decimated," He sighs, "Earthquake did a number on it. Tore straight through the trailer park," A haunted look crosses his face and he swallows,

"Holy shit," You breathe, filled with regret for not checking in on him sooner. You really were a shitty friend,

"Yeah, holy shit," He sighs, "Wayne and I had to uh... We got relocated out to central Indiana,"

"Oh, shit," You can only say. Who knew you were that close at some point and didn't know,

"Yeah. Government funding is cool and all... Couldn't find you anywhere though,"

"Yeah..." You mumble, "I left Indiana in... 87'?" You say,

"Yeah. Guess we just missed each other," He says, and you think you catch a hint of sadness in his tone, "I just kinda... Y'know... Did my thing. Learned to survive in a new place like I always do- worked odd jobs where I could till I got enough money to move out. Fixing cars with Wayne mostly,"

"Living up to the Munson name," He grimaces at your comment,

"Meh. More like trying to clear the name," He sighs, "I was lucky Jeff got into the University of Indianapolis so I mostly hung out with him and his college friends- that's how I met my band," He explains, sighing as he stops at a red light. His gaze turns to you; you can see it through the overhead, "What about you? I tried to find you after... But... I never got lucky, I guess," You straighten uncomfortably,

"I dropped out," He straightens at that too, clearly surprised, "Realised college wasn't 'the thing' for me. Realised I wasn't as smart or talented as these other kids so uh... I left," You say,

"That... Doesn't sound like you," He says slowly, hesitantly. And when you let out a sharp laugh, he flinches,

"Yeah, well I guess I changed," You say, looking up as the light turns green, though the car doesn't move on the empty road. The silence hurts and you almost reach for your seatbelt to unbuckle it and walk the rest of the way home,

"It's just... You know, you were usually the studious and the academic one. You liked learning," He says softly, not trying to start another fight. You aren't looking to pick one either, and you relax your tensed shoulders,

"Yeah. Liked," You mutter, picking at the skin around your nails. He's quiet, leaving space for you to elaborate, "I don't know, Eddie. College is just... It's very lonely," You frown, "I mean, you watch all these movies with huge college parties happening all the time and big friend groups doing stuff... I thought I'd have something like that too and then, what do you know, I'm drinking myself to sleep on my bathroom floor every night and skipping classes because I feel too stupid to be there," You say truthfully, "So what's the use of sticking around?"

"Damn," He frowns, "If I had known then maybe we could have... I don't know, gone together," He says quietly,

"Yeah, well..." You shrug him off, frowning, "We uh... Stopped talking," It goes quiet again, and you start feeling uneasy. Maybe he is angry at you still, holding a grudge against you all these years but not wanting to hurt your feelings by not voicing his thoughts,

"So you decided to move to Cali?" He asks

"I went backpacking. Anywhere but home, y'know?" He nods, "I'm glad I'm out of there," You breathe,

"Hear anything about your old man?"

"Dead,"

"Oh, shit I'm-"

"I'm glad he's dead," You say honestly, "Fucker deserved it. Heart attack in '89, I heard. A couple months after I dropped out," You heave a sigh, "Sometimes... I know it's bad- but sometimes I lay awake and hope and pray he did die because of me," You say truthfully. Though you want to look at him, the light turns green and he makes a turn,

"Good riddance," Eddie murmurs, and you can't help but smile to yourself and hum,

"Remember all those times he threatened us?" He snorts,

"Yeah. He thought you were super innocent and didn't want you 'messin' with the devil worshipper?'," He makes his voice deeper, still as animated as always. You laugh, though it doesn't last long, sighing in remembrance,

"Look where that got me..." You mumble, disheartened,

"Where?" he asks, and you shrug,

"Around. I stayed in Arizona for a bit but... Cali seemed most fitting for me," You say, "It's just very... Chill. Compared to Indiana," You say and he hums in agreement, "People are more interesting here. Not huge judgemental assholes," You say, and he nods again. Growing up different in a town that wanted everything to be normal was rough- you were honestly glad you had Eddie by your side growing up. Though it was always just you, you were never lonely. You always had one another to fall back on- after an argument with your dad, or a night spent sprinting away from assholes and hiding out in Hawkins Forest, you were always with him. Being alone with no one hurt more,

"Do you still draw?"

"Hmm?" You'd zoned out, barely registering his question,

"Do you still draw?" He repeats, not in the condescending way your friends sometimes do, chastising you for getting in your head. Simply... Repeats himself,

"Uhh... Yeah. Sometimes. I mean, I work in CVS right now," You say as he parks outside an apartment complex you don't recognise, "When I get the time to, I guess I do,"

"Nice," He smiles, turning the engine off and unbuckling his seatbelt. You missed it as he drove into the parking lot, "I need to commission a new tattoo from you," He tells you, climbing out and closing the door behind him so you have to get out and join him to continue talking,

"What'd you want? Another dragon?" You ask playfully, "How is 'the Beast'?" You ask as he motions for you to follow, and watch as he sheds the sleeve of his large leather jacket, showing you the wyvern on his arm. You want to reach out and run your fingers over the ink faintly showing on his skin, fading from how long it's been there. But you still recognise your handiwork and smile in recognition. You recall how you'd both experimented with stick and pokes, brandishing matching wrist tattoos and fuck-off little pieces on your ankles and hips where no one could see them. This wyvern you had drawn up initially for a campaign he was planning, but he had loved her so much he said he wanted her inked on his body forever. A few weeks later, you found yourself heading to his trailer under the cover of darkness as you escaped home yet again, taking swigs from a bottle of wine you swiped from a picnic in a nearby park. When you entered, he had grinned and introduced you to a 'Friend of Ricks' who was setting up tattoo equipment in Eddie's small kitchenette. You sat beside him as he gripped your hand, squeezing occasionally, but other than that not making a noise and staring blankly at the movie he asked you to put on as the ink pierced his skin. You, on the other hand, stared at the man as he did the tattoo in awe, asking a million questions about the process,

"She fair's well," Eddie teases, "Probably missed you too," He says as he puts his jacket back on and pushes the front door open and waves to the receptionist. This looks like a fancy hotel, but you don't care to pay attention to anything other than the way her eyes linger on him as he casually leads you over to the elevators,

"I'm sure she did," Your voice drips with sarcasm and your brain catches up to what he was saying. 'Missed you too'? Does that mean he-

"So- I was thinking something very symbolic," He says, leaning on the wall next to the elevator as you wait for it to arrive, "Y'know- with like... The lore behind it!"

"Uhuh?" You're not following,

"See this guy?" Your cheeks grow warmer as he pulls at the shirt he's wearing, revealing a black widow inked on his shoulder, "Remember drawing it?" He asks smugly,

"I was probably too high, Eds," He smiles at the nickname as you glance away sheepishly,

"I loved it so much I got it tattooed too," He tells you as you walk into the elevator. He presses a button and leans against the wall next to the keypad, casting a glance at the large mirror and giving himself a once over, "It's because in my last campaign as leader of Hellfire, the kids had to fight 'The Widow'," He says dramatically, "A hybrid syren, cursed as half spider half woman, who can never find love because she keeps eating her husbands," He says,

"Right," You say, smiling as you fix your hair in the mirror and turn to look at him,

"She was cool," He glances away from you quickly, "Kids liked her. I expected them to uh... Hate her- see her as nothing but a monster because, well, she had eight legs," You laugh at that, "But they sympathised for her. I thought they'd try to kill her; cut off her head and take it back to the terrified townsfolk but no... I had to rewrite like... The entire campaign because they became so hellbent on saving this woman from her curse and finding her someone to love," He sighs with a proud smile, "And even though it was a bitch to rewrite, so many sleepless nights... I realised that I'd be leaving them as better people," He said proudly,

"You're saying you were a positive influence on them?" You ask,

"It's possible I had that effect," He winks and pulls his keys out of his pockets as you laugh, glancing over as the elevator doors open,

"I think that's really cool, Eds," You say as he follows after you,

"Yeah. Now I want another," He says, "A symbol of hope and freedom, or something. Still need to read up on-"

"I'll tattoo you," You blurt out, "Do a stick and poke? We'll get matching ones," You say, though he raises his brows,

"I think that's...." A great idea, you want to agree with him, "drunk you talking. You are going to sleep," He smirks, stopping in front of a door,

"What? No! Eddie," You whine as he laughs, "I'm not tired yet," You say. The door unlocks and you look inside, taking a moment to admire the decorated inside when he flicks on the lights. The room is fairly large, though the bed and kitchen are in one space. There are two doors- one likely leads to the bathroom, the other could be a closet,

"Soak it up," He mumbles, making you glance up at him. He nods for you to enter and you do, making slow movements as he enters behind you, locking the door, "Yeah, I'm not used to seeing fancy places like this either but," He shrugs, "Oh, and about the tattoo? You don't have to do it. I mean, I'd appreciate you drawing it up and everything but there are so many tattoo parlours I can just go to," He says, watching you. When you feel like you've surveyed the area enough, you turn to see he's removed the jacket and he's watching you expectantly. You remove yours and hand it over, "Besides, I've got enough 'experimental' tats from you on my legs that I look like a doodled piece of paper," You laugh at that,

"You're pale as hell too. Fitting, really, paper boy," You tease. He grimaces playfully, making you laugh more as he walks to the kitchen,

"I forgot how confusing you are when you're drunk- one minute we're having a normal conversation and then you say shit like paper boy and-" He smiles as you laugh behind him. He shakes his head pouring you a glass of water, "-See what I mean?" He hands you the water,

"It's funny when you say it," You say between laughs,

"What, paper boy?" You laugh so hard your stomach hurts and you grip the counter. Some of the water spills from your glass, "Aww, come on. I don't see you for a decade and you compare me to a piece of paper and make my floor wet?"

"I'm sorry," You laugh, slowly calming as you lift the glass to your lips,

"The disrespect!" He says in an exaggerated tone as he reaches for another glass for himself, "Unbelievable," He mutters. Though you laugh, casually leaning against the counter, your eyes can't help but travel down to where his shirt slightly rises, exposing his lower stomach and hips. There's a patch of hair leading down beneath his jeans, and next to it is a small 'x' tattoo you remember doing on him one night. Next to it, his skin is a completely different texture: pinker and wavey, in similar appearance to mountains scarring a map of the world. Then his shirt covers his skin again and your eyes flick up to meet his. Briefly, you catch some pain behind them, but he covers it up with a smirk, "Here I thought all my high school tormenters kicked rocks," He raises his brows,

"I didn't bully you," You point out,

"I'm making a joke," He says,

"Wasn't funny," You say as you drink the rest of the glass. He glances up at the slight frown on your lips and hir brows crease. He thinks for a moment,

"Mmh," He hums, "You run into anyone from Hawkins after you left?" He asks,

"A few people came from Hawkins but uh... No one here in Cali," You say,

"Hmm. One of my friends used to live in Cali. I think you would have liked her," He says fondly,

"Another child adopted by you, huh Eds?" You tease, though he snorts,

"'Mad Max' and Hellfire? Nah, that wasn't her thing. She'd skate around the trailer park and we'd hang out. Things got lonely once you were gone for college," He sighs sadly, and you can't meet his eyes, "We'd go watch the new horror movies together... You seen Chucky?"

"Childs Play?" He nods eagerly, "Dude, I watched that high and it freaked me the fuck out," He laughs hard, "Stop laughing! I got so scared, I thought that little shit would show up in the night and kill me!"

"I loved that movie so much," He says fondly, then his expression darkens and he takes a long sip, "So did Max," He says quietly,

"Did she... Uh-"

"No! Oh, God, no she's fine! Just... I don't know how to explain without sounding completely insane," He elaborates, and you frown in confusion, "I guess I realised I haven't seen her or the others in a while," He says,

"Oh yeah, you've been on tour, right?" He nods,

"I'm surprised you remembered," He says, "Yeah, we-"

"When'd you plan on finishing and going back home?" You don't mean to interrupt,

"In Cali? We're here till Friday next week. Then we're taking a flight back to Indiana," He explains. His time with you here is limited. Shit, "Kinda glad I ran into you now- no pressure with the tattoo stuff though, you're probably busy," He says, taking your empty glass and refilling it,

"I can work on something while I work, it's not hard," You promice, "I can start now?" You offer,

"You wanna go sit down?" You nod, "Inside or outside?"

"Inside. It's too cold to be out there," You say as he leads you to the large bed,

"Hold on-" He says, momentarily leaving. He returns with his cigarettes and an ashtray, setting them on the bed and moving to the closet in the room. When looking down, you see he brought your lighter instead of his, "Put this on," He's standing next to you now, holding out a zip-up hoodie which you gladly accept. It smells like him, "You want me to get you paper and a pen? Or, well, I don't think there's paper here- napkin?" You frown in confusion and he stops looking around, "For the tattoo?" Right. Because this is about that. This isn't a worried friend taking you home from the bar when you've likely drank too much. This isn't reconnecting with an old friend after a decade. This is about a stupid tattoo,

"Yeah," You breathe, reaching for your lighter and going to place it in your pocket but halt. You should go, "Maybe-"

"Here!" He looks excited as he hands you a bunch of napkins and a sharpie, sitting down on the bed so eagerly, it bounces with the force. It doesn't matter that time has changed you both- Eddie will apparently always act like the blissfully ignorant teenager you knew him as, "I was thinking something like a jackrabbit- but just its skull!"

"Why choose a skull as a symbol of freedom...?" You ask curiously, gathering the napkins into a flimsy pile. Glancing back at Eddie, you see he's thinking. His eyes dart to the napkins and he hums, unceremoniously flopping back on the bed and reaching for a hardcover book tucked into the shelf

"Cause you're like... Free from blood and muscle?" You laugh at that,

"But you're not. The rabbit is but you're not... Free. Skulls mostly symbolise death so if you want to look at death as a form of freedom then-"

"Nah, too dark for me," He says, sitting back up with a sigh. There's an unlit cigarette clamped between his teeth as he hands you the book to lean on, "Besides, the world has yet to see Eddie Munson in his full glory," You snort and he gives you an offended look, pulling the cigarette from his lip, "What?"

"Eddie 'The Freak' Munson?" You ask amused. He looks away at the nickname, expression fading as you glance at the blank napkin, eyes tracing over the engraved designs,

"I haven't heard that in years," He hums, tilting his head up, "Might keep it. Has a cool ring to it," He tilts his head to look back down at you with that same smirk that makes your heart race- you hate yourself for it. You make yourself busy with testing how the ink spreads through the thin tissue in the corner, pressing harder and softer and watching it spread, "The Freak..." He hums,

"I don't think you should," You murmur, focusing on the sketch,

"Why not?"

"I mean, isn't that like giving power back to those who tormented us through high school?"

"Not really," He shrugs, looking at the still unlit cigarette and glancing behind him to where the ashtray had moved, "It's taking the power back from them and embracing... I guess who I've always been," He says proudly, "See, after some time, words just don't really hurt the same anymore," He moves to put the cigarette back up to his lips, but stops, gesturing with the hand instead, "But... Well, one or two still do..."

"Really?" You ask, "Which ones?" He hisses, shaking his head and setting the glass down on the floor. When had he brought it,

"Trailer trash," He sighs sadly. Your eyes grow wide and the sharpie shifts in your grip, creating a large blot of black ink in the middle of your sketch. But why does that matter when he fucking remembers all the things you said and is only now bringing it up. And he doesn't... Look angry. If you didn't know any better, you'd say that was a look of heartbreak,

"Oh- fucking shit- Eddie y-" You truly can't get the words out, wanting to say a million things but not making any sense,

"It's okay- I didn't expect you to r-"

"No! Just... Give me a second," You place a hand on your head and take a deep breath. Honesty. Honesty, "I'm so sorry. I know that doesn't fix anything, or take back what I said. But for the last ten years, I have not been able to live with myself knowing I... Hurt you. And that I couldn't take it back," You go quiet, afraid that the burning tears will leak down your cheeks. You always hated him seeing you cry. You didn't want the pity- and you certainly didn't deserve it now, "Know you... Seeing how hurt you were by me. Knowing you... I- ugh," You slap his hand away as he tries reaching out to you and turn so your legs are unfolded and planted on the floor. You can run away from him if you need to, "I never wanted to hurt you. I really don't... Know why I called you that. It was so out of place and just awful. And for... For ten years. I lived ten whole fucking years of my life. And not a moment went by where I wasn't regretting not spending a moment with you," It's too late to stop the tears flowing down your cheeks, and when you turn to him, his warm brown eyes find yours easily. From your peripheral, you can see he wants to reach out and dry your face but you beat him to it, roughly rubbing the back of your hand against your skip and causing it to burn with the force, "It's... I shouldn't have left you, Munson. I was a huge asshole to you," You flinch as you feel the warmth and gentle pressure of his hand on your shoulder, your own hands wrapping around your middle because your head is spinning and you feel sick and you really don't want to be drunk-crying and spilling all your feelings out to Eddie Munson of all people,

"Would... Can you turn to look at me? I'm scared you'll run away," He chuckles, but you both know there's truth to those words. Though you suffered at the hands of your father, you never spoke about it to Eddie. At the beginning of your friendship, it was easy to hide and much more embarrassing to explain bruises and cuts and frequent black eyes. How many times is the 'I fell down the stairs' excuse going to work before someone refers you to a fucking optometrist?

Eddie would ask if it was him. Seeing right through you and, more often than not, catching tail-ends of arguments booming from inside your home, you leaving your house shrieking, slamming the door then sprinting out of the drive and grabbing his arm with your father following you, giving up the chase at the driveway. And though you appreciated that Eddie was always there to... Rescue you, you didn't want to talk about it so fresh in your mind. You ran away, camping out in the woods. Will Byers found you shuddering in his 'castle' one night and would periodically bring you food, lying that it was the family dog, until his mother found you playing with him.

Eddie saying your name brings you back to the present. You'd zoned out again, fallen far too deep in your brain to clamber out. Usually, it would take a few attempts to get you out, but Eddie just grabbed your hand and you were suddenly very aware of how bright his eyes were,

"Are you okay?" Eddie's voice is too gentle,

"Why aren't you mad?" You whisper in confusion,

"Mad? Why would I be mad?" He looks equally confused,

"Because of... Me! And what I said and did- you should be screaming, yelling, throwing things!" You say desperately, "Here- here!" You reach down to pick up the hardcover book that had fallen from your lap and press it into his hands, "Hit me with that," He stares at you for a long moment, searching your desperate face, before setting the book on the bed slowly, "Wh-"

"I am not going to hit you," He says firmly, yet still maintains his soft tone,

"But aren't you mad?" You pester him. He blinks slowly, and you watch his shoulders drop, tilting his head,

"Right now?" You nod, "Not really,"

"Why!?" You ask, "Because- ha! - I don't know- if my only friend fucking left me one day and disappeared for ten years with no contact, I would be fucking pissed! I would... I would never want to see them again! Especially not if they were an asshole to me right before and insulted me!" You glare at him, "Nothing?" He looks too calm, just watching you.

His face is unreadable, mostly blank but he's smiling slightly as he watches you. You study it, brows furrowed as you stare and try to will your brain to stop spinning so much so you can focus it. That is Eddie. The thing is, he doesn't look smug, cocky, uncomfortable, or condescending he looks... Content. And happy. Slowly, one of his hands moves to rest just gently on top of yours, in fear you'll take off again or brush him off. And you really want to but you don't, feeling frozen. Your name brings your attention back to him, and he lets out a small sigh. Like he's relieved,

"How can I be angry when I got you back...?" His words floor you. The gentleness in his tone; the way he gently squeezes your hand to solidify his statement. He's speaking the truth, "If it matters to you, I accept your apology. I've missed you like crazy- not just because of the tattoo I missed... You. I grew up with you, lived with you for so long that when you left, things were just fucking weird. Everything felt off," You still can't speak, "Damn-" He chuckles lightly, "I just realised if we had just talked to each other instead of being petty idiots, we would have still been friends all these years," He sighs and he's right. He leans back on the bed, staring at the ceiling with arms outstretched, cigarette abandoned on the floor as he contemplates the statement. He glances back at you and worry flashes across his face, "Shit- are-"

"You..." You hardly recognise your voice from how much it's shaking, how broken you sound because you're fully sobbing, covering your face with your hands in a futile attempt to make the tears slow and emotions stop, "You never hated me?"

"No- hey, come here," He says, and you feel his arms enveloping you and it's all too much. Suddenly you're weeping and clinging to him like he's about to vanish and disappear from your life all over again, hands clutching at the fabric of his shirt. His hold on you tightens as you sob into his shoulder and he just lets you. No words he just allows you to cry over him and how stupid of a person you are, "Can you look at me?" He says softly next to your ear when your crying gets quieter. One of his hands moves to your chin, swiping any tears that had collected there off and gently cupping your cheek. Your eyes hardly open from how puffy they are from crying, and you hardly need to blink with how wet they still are. Yet even in this fractured, tear-stained vision, Eddie is still one of the most beautiful creatures to have ever walked this planet, "How could I ever hate you, hmm?"

"I left-"

"You had a life to live. College to go to-"

"I dropped out-"

"Plenty of people drop out. Hell, I never went-"

"I didn't talk-"

"I didn't give you my number," You gasp in his hold, and he carefully reaches out to place his hands on your cheeks. They're warm, dry against your wet skin. His thumbs smoothing over the skin under your eyes helps you calm down, "We're okay. You need to stop blaming yourself for the bad things that happened- they're in the past,"

"But-"

"We all make mistakes right? No one's perfect?" He looks at you expectantly and you nod. He smiles softly at that, "I forgive you," He says, taking his hands off your face only to touch his fingers against your hand. Instantly you intertwine your fingers, rubbing at your stinging face with your sleeves and sighing. A headache is forming across your forehead but you smile. And soon your sobs fade to quiet breaths and you laugh to yourself. Relieved, "It's nice hearing that again," He says softly, causing you to glance at him, "You laughing,"

"It's... I'm happy," His smile widens at that. He glances away, thinking,

"You honestly thought I'd still be mad and hold a grudge against you after ten years?" He asks, quirking a brow. When he puts it like that, it does sound stupid. Eddie's not the type,

"Not grudge, I just thought that you'd still... Be mad,"

"That my closest friend called me trailer trash?"

"The way I said it though," You grimace, "It was-"

"Hella dramatic," You laugh again, "What?"

"Never say 'hella' again, Eddie, what the fuck?"

"What? I'm in Cali! That's what they say here!" He grins as you move to lay down next to him. He reaches a hand to mess with your hair,

"Doesn't mean you have to," You tease as he sticks his tongue out at you. You still have the lighter in your pocket, and slowly you bring it up to his face. He takes it, clicking it on and focusing on the flame, "That job of yours at CVS..."

"I hate it," You sigh, "Lady tried returning a used make-up palette to me and started screaming when I wouldn't give her the money back because she 'didn't like the colours'," You sigh as the lighter clicks off, "Some of these people are fucking insane," He hums, "Why'd you wanna know?"

"Wanna quit and move back to Indiana?" He asks, looking down at you. You sit up at the proposition, blinking in confusion, "I mean, you can stay here. It's just that you'll be so far away after I go back," He says, dropping his hand to lay on his chest,

"Why do... You want me back there?"

"Because I miss you? I thought I made that clear: I miss you, I like you, I-"

"You like me?" He glances over at you shocked, as if not registering what he said, and then rolls his eyes and scoffs,

"Uh- of course, I like you? I wouldn't be here if not... For you?"

"Here with me now in this room or here in Cali?" You ask,

"Both...?" He gives you a slight smile, "I heard that you moved here from some people in your class- figured you'd go for something artistic. I wasn't stalking you though, or anything. The tour's real. We just ended up in the same bar," He lights his cigarette,

"What about here now?"

"Hmm?" He hums confused, letting the smoke rise into the air,

"You're here for me now?" He smiles softly and nods,

"For you," He says softly, "I missed you," He repeats, watching you smile softly at him. Stealing his cigarette and placing it between your lips, you miss when his eyes dart to look at them, then back to your eyes. You lean back and copy him, inhaling deeply and letting the smoke rise,

"I like and missed you too Eddie," You tell him honestly. And glancing over, he's already leaning on his side, head propped on his arm and looking down at you. He's staring at you for a long time, unspeaking and almost unmoving, studying your face. You let yourself do the same, exploring how time has changed him when you were apart.

He looks just a little older. His hair might be a little longer, less messy and tangled. His jaw's more defined and you can see more prominent freckles on his face now that he's closer. His eyes are the same brown, wide and peering down at you. Then he sighs dramatically and leans down next to you, face landing next to yours and nose touching your cheek. You laugh as you hear him breathing gently into your ear,

"Do... You..." He speaks slowly, so loud in your ear, you can't focus on anything other than his voice, "Remember Andy's party?" Your brows furrow and he lifts his head to observe your reaction,

"Eds, you should know by now I don't remember any party we went to- I get too stoned to function or too drunk to remember," He smiles, nodding,

"Mhm- I only got invited because you kept complaining how bored you were so I thought I'll give him a discount when he buys if he lets us go too," He says, "Think he was turning eighteen? One of his older brothers or something got beer and vodka-"

"Oh my god, I do remember!" You smile at him when he grins, "Yeah! This was the one where we all got so drunk and I threw up into the pool?" He nods,

"Yeah, we both did," You laugh, "It was because of the chlorine,"

"Damn shit nearly burned my eyes," You complain, taking a drag and making sure you don't exhale into his face, realising just how close he was to you,

"Yeah. Well, he got so mad he chased us out of there and down the street and I dragged you back to Forest Hills,"

"Dragged?"

"You couldn't stop whining about how much your feet hurt," You groan,

"It was a long walk-"

"I don't drink and drive," He says,

"Well, you might as well be considering how awfully you drive," His mouth opens in shock, "What did you get your driving licence out of a cereal box?" You grin as he maintains a shocked expression. Smirking, you place the cigarette between his lips and he shakes his head after taking a drag,

"Says the one who can't drive at all,"

"Touche," You hum, glancing back at him, "Why'd you bring that up? Feels out of place," You comment,

"Cause I think that's when it started for me," He says, pulling the ashtray close to him so he can let the ash fall there instead of the sheets he'd be sleeping on, "Made me realise how I really didn't need anyone else in the world other than you by my side," Though he doesn't look at you when he says it, you can tell he's being genuine, "I don't want you gone again," He says, dropping his head slightly with a frown,

"I'll... See what I can do," You say slowly, "About my job. I'd have to find places to rent and get an aeroplane ticket-"

"Here's where we're lucky. One of my bandmates recently broke up with his girl so we already have a ticket. It's yours if you want it," He says,

"I'll let you know, Eds," He smiles,

"Good. I want to keep you around," He says so softly it sends your heart fluttering. You blink slowly at the ceiling, then look back at him. He's impossibly close, consuming your whole vision, the smell of cigarette smoke still thick in the air though absent from his lips. Then he's moving a hand to your face and touching your cheek and brushing hair behind your ear and trailing his fingers down your face, easily sliding them to tilt your head towards him, "Please...?" He breathes, breath tickling the buzzing skin on your face,

"Okay," You say softly, his lips at first brushing, then pressing against yours. This was one way to mend your aching heart, setting it into a rapid frenzy as he pulls back for just a moment. You waited too long without him- you link an arm around his neck and lift your head so your lips meet again, earning a pleasant hum from him as he quickly reciprocates with the same urgency as you, teeth nipping at your bottom lip until you part them and the kisses quickly grow hot.

"Hey, Eddie?" You say quietly into the darkness, likely hours later. You don't know. You stopped paying attention to time, letting the evening mellow you down. Even in the dim light, with your head sinking into the pillow beside his, his hair splayed out under him and limbs entangled under the warmth of the covers, his eyes find yours. There's a sparkle of pure joy in them- a look you missed for so long, and feel your heart almost beat out of your chest as he meets your gaze,

"Yeah?" He asks just as quietly, watching you expectantly,

"I always loved your songs..." And he beams with such pride nothing else matters anymore. Only him and only you.

#eddie x reader #eddie munson #eddie stranger things #eddie #eddie munson x reader #stranger things #stranger things season four #stranger things season 4 #stranger things 4 spoilers #stranger things spoilers #st4 #stranger things 4 #eddie munson stranger things #eddie x y/n #eddie my beloved #eddie my love #joe quinn #joesph quinn #joseph quinn

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stranger-marauders · 2 years

Text

shattered

twenty-seven: the aftermath

chapter summary: Kate and Steve do their best to help the town of Hawkins after the devastating attack upon the town.

chapter warnings: language, major character death (i'm sorry), canon-typical violence, canon-typical everything, cliffhanger (i'm so sorry)

word count: 4.2k

series masterlist | masterlist

MOST EVERYONE WAS leaving Hawkins at least for the time being, and Kate couldn't blame them.

Even less than forty-eight hours after the gates had opened across town, black smoke still billowed all over Hawkins. The government had already come in, telling everyone that it was an earthquake: a seven-point-four magnitude one, just to sell it home. As of right now, the official death toll was twenty-two, even though Kate knew it was twenty-three, and that wasn't even counting the people that hadn't been found yet.

Eddie Munson had died that night, too. The bats had gotten inside of the trailer, and Eddie had sacrificed himself so they wouldn't get through the gate so that they wouldn't attack Dustin. He had saved his life, and by that extension, Steve's, Kate's, Robin's, and Nancy's, too. Eddie Munson had died a hero, and they were the only ones who would ever know.

Kate didn't know exactly how to feel about that. Not even an hour before he'd died, they'd been joking around on the Winnebago, even though things were serious. She didn't like to think that Eddie had died for nothing, so she tried not to think about it that way. If Eddie wouldn't have sacrificed himself, they wouldn't even have had a chance at killing Vecna, and they wouldn't waste the second life they'd been given by him.

Kate wouldn't waste that opportunity.

Hundreds of people were injured now, filling every Roane County hospital there was. People were still missing, presumably swallowed by the massive cracks that now almost section Hawkins into quadrants. They had already said that the number of people dead was going to get bigger, the statistics even worse. This tragedy somehow made the Starcourt Mall nightmare look like child's play. So far, Kate had been exactly right in what she'd seen: mass mayhem and destruction had torn Hawkins to pieces, now for the entire town to see.

No one was safe anymore.

Currently, Steve, Kate, Robin, Dustin, and Nancy were sorting through boxes to take to the high school, loading Steve's car up with things to take. The city had canceled school for time being and repurposed it as a shelter until further notice for people who had lost their homes.

"Hey, Nance!" Karen, Nancy's mom, said, walking to her with a box of toys. "I found some more of your old stuff in the attic."

Nancy took one look inside the box, gasping at one of the stuffed animals inside. "Mr. Rabbit."

"It's okay if you wanna save him, you know."

She put the stuffed animal back inside the box, taking it in her hands. "No, he'll be more loved in a new home."

As the kids continued loading the car, Karen took a step closer to them. "Someone order a pizza?"

"Pizza?" Dustin asked.

Everyone turned to look at the pizza van at the end of the driveway, which honked at them before parking. From inside the van stepped Jonathan, Will, Mike, Argyle, and Eleven, who all should have been in California.

Kate couldn't believe it. There all of them were standing in front of them, completely unharmed. Of course, Joyce wasn't there, but she could only assume she was still on her business trip or something. They were here. Even Argyle had somehow found himself wrapped up in all of this. The only thing she cared about, though, was the girl with a shaved head in front of her.

Kate immediately ran to her sister, taking her tight in her grasp. "Holy shit, Ellie, I thought something terrible happened to you."

"I am okay," she said, letting her older sister squeeze her tight. "I'm sorry you didn't get to come to California."

She stifled a laugh, tears swelling in her eyes. "You're sorry? Jesus Christ, you didn't do anything." Kate ran her hand over the back of her freshly shaved head. "What the hell'd they do to you?"

"Papa," she said softly. It almost seemed as if Kate were more upset about her hair right now than she was.

"I'm going to kill that son of a bitch—"

"He's... already dead," El said, taking her sister into a hug. "But thank you. I... I missed you."

Kate squeezed her tighter, finally letting out a sigh of relief. "You're never leaving my sight again, dammit, you hear me?"

"What about school?" El asked, tilting her head.

She shook her head as they walked toward Steve's car. "That is the only exception. Got it?"

El nodded in response. Whenever she went to go hug Dustin and catch up with him, Kate leaned up against the trunk of Steve's car.

Steve moved to stand beside her, wrapping an arm around her back and putting his hand on her waist. "I have never seen you mom out on her so hard."

Kate scoffed. "You are not allowed to say anything about 'mom-ing out' on people. Ever. Also, I was 'older-sistering' out. There's a difference."

He stifled a laugh, readjusting his hand on her waist. "You don't have to come with us if you wanna stay with her. I get it."

She shook her head. "No, I... I'm still coming. El, she's... she's gonna wanna see her, you know? I–I don't think I can do it again right now. Not when we just got back."

"Okay, yeah, that's fine," Steve said, nodding his head, pulling her in tighter to him. "That's... I get it. You don't have to. We can go together tonight if you want, okay?"

Kate nodded, turning to face him again. "Okay."

Max had died the night that the gates had opened across Hawkins, too. Her heart had stopped for about a minute before it started again, as Lucas had told them, giving her the faintest ounce of life before the ambulance came. The doctors had said it was a miracle that she was even alive. Her limbs had been snapped, and her eyes had started bleeding, but somehow, Max hadn't died yet. She had now only been reduced to a coma, unsure of when or if she would ever wake up again.

Kate had given Lucas some book recommendations so he could read Max something while she was in her coma. It broke her heart that he had sat at Max's beside every waking moment since she'd been admitted, waiting for her just in case she did wake up. Lucas didn't want to leave her alone, and for that, she was grateful.

Whenever Kate had first heard the news, she'd blamed herself for letting them go alone. She'd known that one of them should have stayed with Max, Lucas, and Erica just in case something happened. Maybe one of them should've stayed with Dustin and Eddie, too. Maybe if she had been the one to do it, they wouldn't have lost Eddie, wouldn't have lost Max. Now, though, Kate knew that it wasn't her fault. It wasn't any of their fault. They were strong, but the Upside Down had been stronger. Vecna had been stronger.

Once the kids, Argyle, Jonathan, and Nancy had left to go to the hospital to visit Lucas, Max, and Erica, the remaining group had gone to the high school, bringing in their boxes of supplies. Steve and Kate had already agreed to go with Robin and Dustin for a couple of hours to help volunteer, then meet everyone else at the old cabin later in the day.

It had been Robin's idea to help out at the high school. She figured since she, Steve, and Kate had gotten away with manageable damage (things that Kate had been able to fix in what she called L'Hôpital de la Kate whenever they'd gotten back to his house that night), they could at least come and help out where it was needed. Dustin, even though he had messed up his leg, still wanted to come with them to help. How could they turn him away?

As they walked through the school's gym, it had been somewhat overwhelming. They had set up all types of donation centers, as well as a medical area and a living area with cots and such for those who lost their homes. They all tried not to let their eyes wander too far, mostly because they didn't know how much they would find.

Whenever they got to the donation desk, Robin had been the one to greet the lady first. "Hi, uh, so these are blankets and sheets. And some... some clothes and... and some kids' toys."

"Wow. It's already so organized," the woman said, looking at the box Robin had carried inside. "We appreciate that. Do you want a tax receipt for it?"

"Um..." Robin looked at Steve and Kate for help—they were definitely the adults in this situation. Whenever they both shook their heads, she continued. "No. I don't think that we need one. Thank you, though." Robin looked behind her. "But... is there anything else that we can do to help?"

Steve and Kate had been brought to another table with clothes on it, being put in charge of sorting things that came from boxes.

"And then we sort by age," a woman named Maude told them, bringing them to the table. "We've got infants, girls, boys, men, women—Oh, if anything is in too bad shape, we really don't want that. Other than that, if you guys have any questions, I'll just be down there."

"Thank you," Steve said, nodding once at her as she walked away. "All right, ready?"

"Yeah," Kate said, moving a box to sit in between them so they could start sorting clothes.

Even though she was busy sorting, she, for the first time seemingly in days, had time to think.

She and Steve had still yet to talk about the conversation that they'd had in the Upside Down. Realistically, there hadn't been any time for a follow-up conversation yet. Of course, that hadn't stopped the hand-holding, the arms around her shoulder, the sneaky kisses that always seemed to end too quickly. At this point, Kate almost thought that they didn't even need to talk about it. She had made a stupid, stupid mistake to break things off with him, and he felt the same way. Kate, however, knew that in order for things to work between them, she had to actually communicate her thoughts to him, even if she felt like they were obvious.

"Hey," she finally said, trying to grab his attention. Whenever he looked at her, folding a men's sweater over his shoulder, she scrunched her face for half a second. "So, we're... we're good, right?"

"Oh, yeah," he said, nodding as he put another kid's sweatshirt in its correct place. "Yeah, I hope so."

"So you don't, uh... I mean, you're sure you don't care about the long-distance or anything?"

"If that's what's holding you back, I will move to New York right now, okay?"

She chuckled. "No, no, that's not what I meant, I just mean... I mean, I'm just asking if you, uh... you know, if you—"

"You're asking if I wanna get back together with you?" Steve asked, watching her as she hid herself in folding kids' clothes.

She hesitated, taking a deep breath. "Yes."

He nodded, smiling slightly. "Yeah. I'd love that."

"You would?"

"Yeah."

She smiled as she continued to fold some more clothes, looking out across to Robin, who was currently making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches with Vickie. Not only that, but Vickie was smiling. Maybe Robin had a chance, too. "Hey, look."

Steve smiled, stifling a laugh. "Knew it. Absolutely no one pauses Fast Times there on accident, okay? Literally no one."

Kate stifled a laugh as she gave him a questionable look, but she decided not to ask any more questions for now, only sorting through clothes for those currently in need.

Steve and Kate left the high school and went to the cabin in the early afternoon.

She didn't know how to feel about going back there. The last time she had come back, it had not been too long after her father died. She, Steve, El, and Joyce had packed up anything that could have been saved, putting it in boxes to sort through later. Back then, all Kate had cared about was getting in and out of there as soon as possible. It hurt far too much to be in the place without him.

Now, though, it almost felt bittersweet being back at the cabin. Everyone had decided to help fix up the place so El could stay there for the time being. Kate didn't exactly know how this plan was supposed to work, particularly because she was supposed to go back to school in two days, but she figured Nancy and Jonathan had already worked something out. Maybe the Byers were coming back to Hawkins—Kate would have liked that outcome a lot more than anything else.

Steve and Kate had been assigned to fixing her own room up, just enough where it was livable. They hadn't had much on their to-do list but to clear out the room of any trash or leaves, board up the broken window, and start repairing the salvageable furniture.

Whenever they walked into the room, Steve closed the door behind them, grabbing Kate by the waist and flipping her around toward him. He put a hand on her jaw, rubbing his thumb across her cheek as he kissed her. He could feel her smile against his lips as she put her arm just below the base of his neck, careful not to touch where his bruises were.

She finally broke away, and he pressed their foreheads together, wrapping his arms around her. "We're not gonna get anything done if you keep doing that."

"I'm sorry," he said softly, pushing her hair behind her ear. "I like kissing you."

She stifled a laugh, her eyebrows furrowing together. "Yeah, well, there will be plenty of opportunities for that, so chill out."

He shrugged. "Fine."

Kate sighed. "This is gonna be so expensive to fix. I mean, the floors need to be redone, all the furniture needs to be replaced, I mean, this is... I'm gonna have to pay for the roof—"

"Hey, hey, hey," Steve said, putting his hands on her arms. "Baby steps, Kathy, baby steps."

She pressed her lips together, sighing again as she started putting salvageable items into a cardboard box. "It's weird, but I kinda missed this place."

"I kinda did, too," Steve said. "This place... it always felt like home more than my place ever has. I missed it."

Kate gave a tight-lipped smile. "I didn't know that."

"I mean, it's not like I ever said anything about it. Besides, I needed an excuse to get you at my house from time to time."

"You're so gross." She stifled a laugh. "Whatever. I don't know, I just... I don't know."

"What?"

She sighed. "I don't want to leave you again."

He shrugged. "You're not leaving me, you're just... going to school. It's like, what, six weeks? You'll be back home before you know it."

"Yeah, I know, I just... I want to be with you." She emphasized the last word, hoping she got her point. He gave her a confused look. "I don't know, maybe next fall, would you... I know we talked about it last year and we couldn't make it work, but..." She stopped, taking a deep breath. "I don't know, would you want to go to New York with me? We could be like... I don't know, act like a real couple for once or something?"

He smiled, his eyes almost seeming to lighten. "Really?"

"Yeah, really."

Steve tried to stop himself from smiling like an idiot. "Yeah, I mean... I mean, yeah, I'd really... I'd really like that."

"Yeah?" she said softly, pressing her lips together. "Until then, you know, maybe... maybe you could live here for a while. That way you wouldn't have to live with your parents anymore."

"Oh yeah, live with your scary sister with superpowers and shit?" he asked sarcastically, chuckling slightly. "Sounds like a great idea."

"Hey, it's something," she replied. "I mean, I'd be back before the summer, right? And besides, they... your parents treat you like absolute shit. Isn't this better than being with them?"

"I don't know, I've kinda... gotten used to it, I guess. My mom's okay."

"No, she's not either," Kate said bitterly, dumping her dustpan out of the broken window. "She lets your dad treat you like that. And you know what? Neither of them have called you a single time to make sure you're okay, and they still haven't come home. They're assholes, and I'm tired of them treating you that way."

He shrugged. "Kathy, I don't... really care anymore." Whenever he saw her pointed facial expression, he put his hands up in surrender, dropping the broom in his hands. "I know it sounds bad, okay, but I... they're not my family anymore. I'm tired of acting like I care about 'em when they don't act like they care about me. We're just civil, that's it."

"So who's your family?" she asked, somewhat worriedly.

He picked the broom back up off the ground, leaning it up against the wall. "You, Robin. The kids, even though they hate me half the time."

Her eyebrows furrowed together. "El doesn't hate you."

"Yeah, well, that's because I'm scared of her."

Kate stifled a laugh. "Does she really scare you that bad?"

"Yes!" Whenever she started laughing loudly, he threw his hands up in response. "All I'm saying is your family is horrifying. All of you."

"Yeah, we're a pretty, uh... frightening bunch, occasionally." Kate flopped back down on her bed, starting to go through some of the things she now had to sort from her desk that had seemed important.

Whenever a car seemed to drive into the driveway, Steve and Kate exchanged glances. "Hey, stay here, okay? I'll go check it out."

She nodded, letting him walk out the door and close it behind him. As she continued to sort through the random knickknacks and items on her bed that she'd left behind, she heard footsteps come through the cabin again—it must've been Steve coming back inside. She looked up whenever she heard the door swing open, only staring whenever she saw who stood in the doorframe.

Whenever she'd seen her father, her eyes instantly brimmed with tears. Not now, please not now. This was the first time that he'd looked different in an episode. He'd lost a lot of weight, and his head had noticeably been shaved, as well as the mustache he'd had when he died, even if he had been wearing a baseball cap to cover it. She squeezed her eyes shut and open again, only to find him still standing there, smiling at her fondly. "Hey, kid."

She shook her head, standing up out of bed as she looked at him. "You're not real."

"I'm here, kid," Hopper said, taking a step deeper into the room.

"Get out of my head."

"Katie, it's me. I promise it's me."

"Tell me something I wouldn't know that you'd know."

"Katie—"

"Please."

He sighed. "I, uh... I know you taught El and Sara both every curse word ever, even though you tried to lie about it. Both times."

Kate racked a sob, taking a deep breath. "Oh my God."

Her father finally walked to stand in front of her, pulling her into a hug as she began to sob more. She couldn't believe this was happening. She didn't know how it was happening, but she didn't care. Right now, she didn't care about anything leading up to this moment: she had her father back.

"How... How are you here?"

"I'll tell you later, kid. It's a hell of a story."

"I didn't forget about you," she said through her sobs. "I did everything you asked, I promise..."

"I know," he said, pulling back to look at her face. "Jesus, kid, I don't think I've ever seen you cry this much."

"Everyone told me you were dead."

"It seemed that way for a while, didn't it?"

"I mean, I just... I never stopped believing you were still here," Kate said, shaking her head. "I could feel it, Dad, I could... I knew you were still alive. Deep down, I knew."

Hopper chuckled softly. "Oh, I know. It's okay."

She nodded through her sobs.

"It's okay. I'm here. I'm here."

Kate couldn't stop sobbing. She still hadn't stopped crying whenever she and her father had gone to tell her sister of his resurrection in her own room. After El had a quite similar reaction, all three Hoppers now sat on Eleven's bed, just enjoying the fact that all three of them were here.

She didn't think she'd ever get this again. Her dad, El, and her all together like this. Kate couldn't have even imagined this in an excellent dream, one of those ones that felt so real that you got déjà vu from it.

Hopper had finally taken his hat off, revealing the shaved head that he now had.

"You look..." Kate stopped to sniffle.

"Not fat?" Hopper asked softly, making both girls chuckle.

"And your hair!" El said, rubbing her hand over his shaved head.

"My hair?" Hopper asked, his eyes swelling with tears. "Look at your hair. Katie's got more than the both of us combined."

Eleven chuckled as he rubbed his hand over her head. Kate couldn't help but smile. And to think she thought that shorter-length haircut she'd given herself a few months back was bad.

"Yeah," Hopper said, shaking his head. "I kinda stole your look, kid."

Kate chuckled, wiping her eyes again. She still couldn't believe he was here. Her father was alive.

She still hadn't been able to conceptualize how this had happened. Joyce had told her that he'd blown up inside of that bunker last July, but now he was standing right in front of her.

"So what d'you think?"

"Badass," Kate said softly, pressing her lips together.

"Bitchin'," El said, chuckling.

"Hm," Hopper said, smiling. Both of his girls had used some of their favorite expressions to describe him, and that was enough for him. He took his two daughters in for a hug, not even caring if he was slightly squishing them.

Kate pulled away whenever she heard talking outside, making El and her father pull away too. El and Kate had been the first two out the door, Hopper following closely behind them. Whenever they laid their eyes on Jonathan and Will hugging Joyce, and Mike, Nancy, and Steve standing next to them, Hopper put a hand on each one of his kids' shoulders. "You aren't the only ones that didn't stop believing."

When Joyce saw both Kate and El, Kate gave a soft smile, and El gave a small wave. They both ran down to hug her, pulling her into a big hug.

"Oh!" Joyce said softly whenever the two girls started crying again, tears swelling in her eyes. Her two girls were safe, too.

El pulled away, making Kate and Joyce do so, too. "I'm happy you went to your... conference."

"Yeah, that was one hell of a conference you went on," Kate said, looking back at her dad again.

"That was quite the experience," Joyce replied before pulling them both into a hug again. She was glad that her two girls were okay.

Hopper took his hat off, tipping it toward the government agent that had driven both Hopper and Joyce to the cabin. He put his hat back on as the agent drove away.

Steve had been the first person to approach Hopper.

"Hey," he said, smiling as he walked up to him.

"Hey, kid."

He took a look at the boy in front of him. He couldn't believe it, but somehow, he looked much more grown up than he had the last time he had seen him. He wasn't a boy anymore. He actually looked like a man, which surprised him more than anything. He thought that it might have been because of the lack of a sailor outfit as a work uniform, but it also could've been by just the way he carried himself, maybe the slight dusting of facial hair that he couldn't decide if he just hadn't shaved in a while or not, which was likely considering the past week they'd had. All of it showed him what he needed to know: Steve had grown up, too.

"You've grown."

"Not really," Steve said, shrugging slightly. "I just... I wanted to tell you that I kept my promise."

Hopper looked over to his oldest daughter, who was currently completely absorbed talking to Joyce and El. He chuckled. "Yeah, kid. You... You did it, somehow. Thank you."

Before Steve could respond, Hopper pulled him in for a hug, making him chuckle slightly. Maybe Kate had been right about Hopper always liking him.

A dark cloud seemed to come over Hawkins, and everyone turned around to look at it. Kate had watched as Will felt his neck—he must've felt something again. They watched as thunder rumbled, and particles began to fall out of the sky, almost like snow.

This, however, wasn't snow.

Kate followed her father as they walked through the woods, making their way to a meadow as Steve, Joyce, Mike, El, Jonathan, and Nancy followed behind them. The meadow in question had always been filled with flowers, but now, half of the field seemed to be dead, graying out almost as the particles flew around. Kate watched in horror as El picked up a decaying flower, one that seemed to begin to wither in her hand.

Out of the four cracks that now split Hawkins, funnels seemed to tunnel down into the earth, lifting into the dark clouds of the sky. Thunder rumbled as red lightning struck among the clouds.

As darkness came into Hawkins, Kate only grabbed Steve's hand for comfort.

Part of what Vecna had shown her was coming to fruition, and she knew the worst was yet to come.

author's note

taglist:

@thatsonezesty13 @cece5298 @thepowerstoner @alovelytardis @coolchick333 @stand-tall-pineapple @littlet-holmes @guichu @cinderellacauseshebroke @blackbirddaredevil23 @mads-weasley @ilovemarauders @pearlstiare @liableperfections @khaylin27 @girlwiththerubyslippers @cyarikaaa

#steve harrington #steve harrington x reader #steve harrington x hopper!reader #stranger things 4 #steve harrington headcanon #steve harrington x oc #steve harrington series #steve harrington stranger things

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doubtingthomasin · 2 years

Text

kinktober: hellcheer edition

prompt 4: sensation play

word count: 2k

MINORS DNI

@viharker

-------

In this moment, Eddie feels nothing but entirely privileged.

Chrissy’s parents were away for the weekend and her little brother was staying with a friend until they came back, which is what they thought Chrissy was doing, too. Instead, she’d promised her best friend three packs of cigarettes to cover for her and snuck Eddie into the empty house.

She hadn’t been completely lying when she said she was staying with a friend anyway. Eddie is a friend, but no basic-level friendship allows one friend to tie the other’s wrists to their headboard and blindfold them with their handkerchief. So they’ll just have to come up with a word for it later.

But right now, his dick’s throbbing just looking at her, laying there naked and rubbing her legs together to create any friction possible. He’s completely clothed still but she can’t tell, and he’s keenly aware of the level of trust this takes on her part.

He’d rather die than disappoint her.

“One more time, what’s the safe word?” he asks.

She huffs. “Don’t make me say it.”

“Come on, I gotta make sure you know it, sweetheart.”

“You know I can spell it. Isn’t that enough?” When she hears nothing from in front of her, she sighs in defeat. “‘Tigers.’ It’s ‘tigers.’”

“Good girl.”

“Eddie, please.” She’s already squirming and he hasn’t even started.

He parts her legs suddenly and she gasps softly, but he’s only spreading them to sit in between. “You sure you want me to pick?” Laid out beside them is a large feather, one of her fuzzy sweaters, and a metal bowl of ice cubes. They were the only objects he could find around the house that fit her only stipulation: no pain. Admittedly, he personally wanted the exact opposite, but to each their own.

“If it’s not gonna be painful, why do we even need a safeword?” she asked, truly curious.

“It’s insurance,” he explains, already picking up the sweater. “Plus, it’s not just for you. Now–” He grabs her chin firmly and she whimpers, making him bite his lip. “Answer my question, sweetness.”

His voice like smoldering embers already has Chrissy running like a faucet. “Y-You pick.”

Eddie smiles, catching her lips in a loving kiss before he leans up. He starts at her wrist, letting the soft sherpa material run slowly down the length of her arm and she hums, content. It passes over her underarm and she flinches.

He circles the fabric slowly there, proudly notices her thighs clench. He’s never gotten to do this to someone before, only reading about it in Playboy once years ago. The fact that it seems to be working is nothing short of a relief.

He switches to the other side, and she struggles a bit against the belt binding her wrists. "Eddie." She draws it out, voice curling up on the end, and he can tell she's getting worked up.

"You said you didn't want pain, princess," he reminds her, continuing to her chest and over her nipples. He has to forcibly resist the urge to take one between his fingers, but the payoff's extraordinary as she arches up into the sensation. "You know the word."

He spreads her legs wider, opens her up and trails the sweater down her ribs, her stomach, down to where she shaved just for this experiment. She lets out a low moan as it caresses her mound, the sound getting higher as he moves it to the sensitive skin on the inside of her thighs.

"Touch me, please," she begs.

"You know I can't yet." She pouts so he grabs the feather, continuing with the sweater but running the new object over her cheek, tickling her under the chin. Chrissy giggles, breathes out slowly, then shudders when she feels the feather’s soft tip circle her nipple.

It’s absolute torture for Eddie, not being able to make her come yet. All in good time.

He puts the sweater down to unzip his uncomfortably tight jeans, and the sound makes her open her legs even wider. He laughs low in his throat. “Can’t do that yet, either. Fuck, I want to, though. You should see what I’m seeing right now.”

He taunts the other nipple with the feather and she’s squirming again, thrusting a little into the air. His mouth’s watering just looking at her pussy, which reminds him of the third item. He drapes the sweater more fully over her stomach to warm the skin there, and her forehead wrinkles in confusion. He lets it lay for a few minutes, meanwhile moving the feather to her thighs.

“Eddie, I need more,” she says, trying to sound more commanding, but he ignores her. The flat of the feather runs over her mound and she groans in frustration, trying to move her crotch. She gasps when she feels his hand close over her thigh to still her movement.

He stops for a moment to lean close to her ear, and she can sense his body hovering over her, strands of his hair tickling her face. She can’t see him, but the scent of Old Spice and cigarette smoke is enough to picture him by. She feels his breath on her neck, wants to wrap her legs around him and pull him in but he’s gently pinning both of them now. “Be a good girl, and you’ll get more.”

He hazards a sloppy kiss to her neck, his self-control straining at the seams. She tries to nuzzle him but he’s already pulling away, and her head falls back on the pillow, exasperated. There are a few minutes where nothing happens and she’s concerned that he somehow silently left. She hears something clinking like glass in a bowl, swallows and tries to brace herself.

She feels him crouch over her again, lower this time, and actually yells when he breathes warm air over her nipples. He pushes her down into the mattress before she can arch up, continuing until they’re both warm enough to soften. It doesn’t draw much more of a reaction from her, but that wasn’t the point of it anyway.

He reaches for an ice cube, holds it for a few seconds as he moves the sweater up to her chest to keep it warm. “What are you even doing?” she asks with a small laugh.

“You’ll feel it soon,” Eddie assures her, grinning to himself as he lets the first drops of ice water fall on her warm stomach.

“Oh, God, what is that?” she asks, sounding sincerely concerned.

“Relax, baby, it’s just water.” She’d forgotten about the ice, what with all the other stimulation he’d applied. But he pulls his hand to the side, dripping on the sheets instead. “You don’t like it?”

She honestly wasn’t sure. “Do it again.” He drips a little more down her abdomen, loving her assertiveness. She sighs, relaxing back into the pillows. “That does feel nice, actually.”

“Good.” He removes the sweater entirely, dragging it slowly across her breasts as he does. “How about this?” he asks, letting the drops fall onto her nipple.

She shrieks.

“Shit, did that hurt?” he asks, almost panicked.

“No,” she whines, “but Jesus Christ, Eddie!”

He laughs heartily at that before taunting her. “Careful, He’ll hear you.”

“Oh, shut up–” She ends the word on a grunt as more water hits the other breast, gentle sobs leaving her pretty mouth. He warms her tits again, repeating the process until she’s crying his name.

He leans up, running his wet hand down her thigh, snakes his dry hand under her ass to feel that, yes, there is some of her arousal on the sheets already. He then proceeds to pin her wandering leg down to the mattress, her groan of disappointment stopping cold as he breathes on the inside of her thigh. “Yes, yes, yes–”

But it’s not what she thinks it’ll be. He debates for a moment, holding a fresh ice cube in his hand, worried that using the ice itself might be too much. Then the idea hits him and, holy shit, why didn’t he think of it sooner?! He places the knuckles of his left hand in the ice, his rings submerged as he picks up the feather again, lazily stroking the edge up and down over her chest and stomach.

He goes to warm the area again, deciding to move even closer to her soaked cunt. She yelps in surprise, not knowing he was down there again, wishing she could see him. The smell of her drives him closer to insanity but he somehow stays focused, removing his hand from the bowl and drying the rings on the sheet.

Then, gently but suddenly, he presses them into the soft, warmed skin.

Her reaction is instant and intense, moaning loudly and grabbing at the belt around her wrists to tug, trying to pull away. “You know the word,” he repeats.

But she doesn’t say it, so he dips his ringed knuckles back into the ice, which is starting to melt from the warmth of his hand. That’s fine. They’re almost done.

One more pass of the feather up and down her body, then it’s over her clit, brushing lightly but feverishly. He lets her thrust up into it, changes to brushing the edge over her, which has her biting her lip so she’s not so loud.

“Uh-uh,” he chides. “Let me hear you.”

She opens her mouth as he continues, moaning wantonly and even louder when she feels his icy rings on the other side of her opening. “Fuck, please!”

“Not until you come, princess,” he growls, desperate to be inside her.

She’s bucking wildly, trying for any kind of friction, but there isn’t any with such a wispy object. Eddie can tell and he throws the feather to the side, reaches up and unties her. Chrissy’s up off the mattress with an enthusiastic squeal, and he laughs as he places her to straddle one of his thighs.

He kisses her wildly as she snaps her hips against his denim-clad leg, moving his lips to her neck to suck there. “Oh, God, yeah,” she whines through gritted teeth, her tender clit catching repeatedly on the rough fabric, and she’s so close.

He sucks hard enough to leave a bruise, groaning into her neck as she moves faster against him, his hands on her hips to keep her thrusts straight. And she’s grunting on every single movement when she finally comes with a strangled cry, Eddie throwing her quickly back to the mattress.

He grabs the condom he slipped in his pocket earlier, rips open the package, and frees his length from his boxers. She’s got the handkerchief off her eyes as he’s rolling the condom on.

“Seriously?” she pants, scandalized. “You’ve been dressed this whole time?”

“Oh, bite me,” he laughs as he lunges for her, making her squeak before laughing herself and wrapping her legs around him. He sinks all the way in on the first thrust and her head jerks back with a gasp. He fucks her into the mattress, the zipper of his jeans scraping against her inflamed skin.

She lets the sounds fall from her mouth, eyes closed in pleasure as he folds her in half. Looking down at her like this, he’s so grateful he didn’t come in his boxers like he thought he might. He fucks a little slower to let her feel how full she is, his breath knocked out of him as her pussy grips around his cock. He leans into her mouth, kissing her as he moves faster, punishing thrusts that make her whine into his lips.

He breaks the kiss, needing the air as he reaches the edge, and she cranes her neck up to bite his neck. Hard.

It shocks him, but fuck it feels good and he’s spilling into her with an anguished yell. She bears down on him with a moan, making him whine into her neck. He rests there for a moment on top of her, catching his breath as their bodies relax.

After a while he looks up at her, stunned but proud. “You actually bit me.”

“What?” she giggled innocently, taking his face in her hands and brushing his hair back. “You asked for it.”

#by god she's done it......she's written something short #eddissy #hellcheer #hellcheer kinktober #eddie x chrissy #chrissy x eddie #evan's writing

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eddywoww · 1 year

Note

20. you’re in a car with a beautiful boy and you're trying not to tell him that you love him. - see? i won't send any more. i controlled myself. aren't you proud of me?

the way you're about to hate me afhidhgeiohgoeh

I was listening to my favorite fall out boy song The Kids Aren't Alright and came up with this. I'm deeply sorry.

(tw for death mention)

"I think you're my best friend."

Eddie stared out at the green grass, eyes going a little distant as Steve sat next to him in a suit. Pressed lines and clean skin, freshly shaved from the morning.

Eddie loved him so much it hurt.

But you know, sometimes it isn't the right time. It wasn't the right time to say anything. Not with the scent of flowers still fresh in their noses. Not with the haunting imprint of dirt and friends and cloudy, drifting skies moving above them. As they buried him.

Eddie wanted to cry but it wasn't happening. He kind of figured Wayne would tell him to shut the fuck up right now if he could. Stop thinking so much, stop worrying so much. Take Steve on a date. Yes, I think he likes you. Stop asking dumb questions, Eddie.

If he thought hard enough, he could still hear Wayne's voice. His accent. He could still smell the scent of tobacco on him.

"What about Robin?" Eddie asked, something like a joke.

"Yeah, you're right. You're just below Robin. Sorry, buddy. Gotta keep the quota going." Steve said. It felt off.

Eddie wanted to reach out, pull him in for a hug. Steve was weird about hugs these days. His body hurt all the time and he liked his personal space. But he liked when Eddie touched him. Would come to Eddie for a cuddle, time and time again. Letting him in where he wouldn't let anyone else.

They were always on the precipice of something. Always on the edge of touching and existing, breathing in the essence of each other. A lot like codependency. A lot like something they should probably talk about eventually.

But not today.

"I think he would have hated the suit, right?" Eddie asked, voice falling flat. He was right, though. Wayne would have fucking hated being buried in a suit.

Steve looked at Eddie with these eyes. These big encompassing eyes, like he could see right through him. Into the depths of his aching heart, as full of dirt and maggots and disgusting, painful hope as it was.

Steve could always see every little piece of Eddie. He just never said anything.

"Hey, at least you got one of his hats on him. He'd have loved that." Steve said, a smile quirking his lips. He and Wayne had gotten so much closer, only for him to be ripped way from them just as quickly.

Eddie missed him. He missed Wayne telling Steve war stories, making him laugh in their tiny trailer.

He missed Wayne.

And he wanted to turn to Steve and tell him how much he appreciated him. How much he fucking loved every single part of him. The words felt stuck in his throat.

He looked over at Steve, taking in the bags under his eyes. The absolute pain in his eyes.

"I'm so sorry." Eddie said, without explanation. What was he sorry for? Sorry he fell in love with Steve. Sorry that Wayne got swept up with cancer and bad health. Sorry that time seemed to be passing too fast.

"You don't have to be," Steve said, as if he understood every single implication. "Let's go home. I'll make some dinner and we can watch a movie and- and if you don't wanna cry, I'll cry for the both of us. A river. I'll cry a river until you get sick of me. Sound good?"

Eddie felt tears prick at his eyes and he let out a strained, relieved laugh.

"Yeah, that sounds good."

#i am sorrrrrrrryyyyyy #prompts #blurbs

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alba8688 · 5 months

Text

Chapter 4

The next morning I woke up super early to call in sick to work to go see Eddie at the hospital.

I got in my car and turn on the Radio Metallica master of puppets was playing I tried to change the station but everytime I did it would

Go back metallica.

"Eddie ." I said softly looking through my rear view mirror to see if he was in the back

Seat but he wasn't .

"I like that song." He suddenly appears in the passenger seat looking at me .

"Where are we going ?" He ask

"I'm going to see you ." I said almost as a whisper

Eddie tilts his head to the side and smiles .

"Little ole me?" He blushes

"Yup ." I say popping the p

"Ok let's go see me ,wait I'll be back ." He says and disappears.

Im starting to hate him doing that .

But it's ,whatever .

I started driving to the hospital which wasn't that far away from where I live that's why I like the apartment so much because it was so close to everything.On my way to the hospital I kept looking to the seat next to me to see if Eddie would appear but he never came back not until I parked the car and scared the shit out of Me.

"Jesus Christ!!" I shouted

"Sorry sweetheart, I had to make sure I looked decent when you got here ."

He winks at me .

"You came to the hospital ?"

"Yeah duh ,I've been here since last night my uncle was here ,he didn't see me though I don't understand how you can see me .Well anyway Harrington was there so I decided to try something and I went inside him."

'What do You mean inside him?'

"You know how in the ghost movie you go into someone that's alive and control them ,we'll I went inside of him and made him brush my hair and shave me ,you know make me look good for when you got there ,it was a weird experience never tell him I did that ." He shivers

"That was the weirdest conversation I ever had with someone ." I chuckled while getting out of the car .

"So ,you and Jason huh?" eddie startles me

"Jesus Christ Eddie, you need to stop scaring me like that ."

"I love scaring you ." He smirks

"I can tell ."

"So what did you see in Jason?" He asked

"You can't get over that, can you ?".

"Nope never will Jason lover "he cackles

Thinking he is the funniest metalhead around town.

"Well because of Jasón I move here,,4 years ago he asked me to move him With him And I did, I moved here to Hawkins and got myself a job as a high school teacher because of him you met me so thank him for that ." I must have looked like An idiot talking to myself walking inside the hospital .

"Damn ,if I had a teacher like you back in high school I would have never skipped class." He flirted

"Eddie." I blushed like a

School girl covering my face with my hands .

"What is the true ." He walk in front of me backwards not looking where he was going .

"Be careful!!"I said thinking he was going to

Bump into someone but he just went through the person and I shook my head at his cocky smirk.

"I'm sorry ." I told the man who almost bumped into Eddie giving me a weird look .

"You're such a dork ." I giggled and stopped when we reached the front desk where a grumpy looking nurse was sitting .

"Umm hello ." I say softly

"How can I help you?" She asked not even bother looking at me ,she was watching videos on her phone .

"I was wondering in what room is Eddie Munson in ?" I asked

She didn't say anything but just started typing on her computer .

"Edward Al Munson is in room 204 Thats upstairs in the third floor ." She tells me

"Thank you." I tell

Her and start walking to the elevators .

As soon as I walked in Eddie appeared next to me "Hello Edward Al Munson." I giggle

"Oh shut up !!" He pretended to slightly punched my arm

"Ouch!!" I fake making him laugh

"You can't even feel it ."

I feel something alright but I don't know how

To describe it to him I don't know if I should even tell him.

The elevator door opens to the third floor .

And Eddie and I stepped out, this hall is really quiet, super quiet. We walked around passing rooms with people attached to wires to there bodies and machines around them keeping them alive .

Was Eddie going to be like this?

I stopped when I saw room 204 .

The room wasn't not like the rest of the other rooms that had glass walls .Eddie's room is actually a regular room.he had a Private room just for him.

I reached for the doorknob and open the door slowly walking in .

When I entered the room it was decorated with posters of bands like Metallica,Dio Black Sabbath and I could hear music playing in the background.

It was Metallica's "Master of puppets."

I turned back to see Eddie but he wasn't behind me anymore .

I kept walking until I reached the curtain that was covering Eddie's bed from the view of the entrance .

I stopped feeling my heart starting to beat faster. I extended my arm to move the curtain to the side slowly and saw Eddie unconscious in bed with tubes on his nose that helped him breathe and a big tube going down his throat.

On the side was a screen that kept checking his blood pressure and his heartbeat .

I approached slowly towards him.

It was the same Eddie that I would talk too but now here he was unconscious.

He looks Exactly the same.

I reached for his hand, rubbing small circles on the back of it .

"I-I can feel that ?" Eddie suddenly appears next to me .

This time I wasn't scared .

It's like I was expecting him to appear .

I kept my hand right where it was looking at Eddie in the bed .

"I can feel you touching my hand ." Eddie tells me ..

"How is that possible ?" I asked him

"I don't know ."

I stayed in that hospital room for a few hours with Eddie and talked about random stuff he used to do when he was alive or awake .

It was so weird watching him sitting down next to me but at the same time being in that bed attached to all those wires .

I hadn't realized I've been quiet for so long until Eddie told me .

"What's wrong ?" He asked, "Are you crying ?"

"No." It came with a small squeal and more tears fell down my cheek "I'm sorry Eddie ." I managed to say

"For what ?" He asked

"For thinking that your not worth it Eddie you decided to take your life because you thought you weren't love ."I cried

"Aria ." He said softly

"Hello." I heard someone say ,

I wiped my tears and saw Eddie had left.

"Hello there ." Dustin walked in

"You came to visit him ."

"Yeah ,I wanted to tell him that I'm taking good care of his apartment until He wakes up ." I smiled at him..

No one's pov

But what Aria didn't know was that Dustin had heard what she was talking to Eddie the whole time.

Aria had forgotten to close the door and Dustin walked in and heard her talking to Eddie. He thought she was talking to Eddie, who was lying unconscious on the bed, not with the ghost of Eddie .

"Well I have to leave ." Aria got up from the chair and took one more glance at Eddie and she could swear she saw his finger moving.

She gasped and looked at Dustin"He does that a lot ,the doctors say it's a good sign."Dustin sits on the chair Aria was just sitting not that long ago.

Aria steps out of the room with a big knot on her throat. The metalhead she talked to was not dead; he was actually alive by those machines.

Aria’s pov

I walked a little faster trying to get to my car and cried .

"Aria?" I heard Eddie's voice from a distance but I didn't turn around. I couldn't see him right now.

I wanted to cry.

I needed to cry. It hurt me seeing Eddie attached to all Those wires .

I wish I could have met him before he decided to take his life .

But I didn't .

Without realizing I was outside the hospital in the parking lot walking to my car .

I got the keys out and open the door and got in fast locking at the door behind me .

And that's where I couldn't hold it anymore

The tears started falling down without permission. I was cryin for someone that I never met in person .

Well I met his ghost or his soul. I don't know how it works .

When Claire told me to go out there and find someone I never saw me falling for someone was in a coma.

Next chapter

#eddie munson #stranger things #love #lovers #ghost love story #ghost story #ghost

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dragonmuse · 2 years

Note

Smutty suggestion: Stede and Eddy first time after the Kraken reveal 👀

Alternatively, Lucius and Izzy breakthrough moment during sex, could be that first time but doesn’t have to be 👀

YOURE the best and I love this au 🥰

(listen, it just felt wrong NOT to do Eddy and Stede too. Thank you all for your encouragement and kindness in this matter. The window has closed, but it was quite a good window, I think.)

They stepped back into the apartment in street clothes, but both their faces still caked with makeup. Stede waited as Eddy unlaced her boots then leaned down to kiss her so thoroughly and completely that Eddy started judging the mechanics and wisdom of doing it right here on the fragile spindly bench by the door.

“Shower with me?” Stede asked like they might say no.

“Yeah,” Eddy got to their feet eagerly.

It was decadent to stand beneath the streaming water with him, letting him delicately wipe away every trace of foundation and lipstick.

“You were amazing,” he said again as if they might’ve forgotten how he felt about it in the hour since they’d been on stage. “I can’t believe you did all of that.”

“Neither can I,” Eddy admitted, sagging against the tile when he released them at last, satisfied that they were cleansed. “What a rush.”

“It is quite a high,” Stede said, exactly like a man who had probably never done coke and punched a person twice their size. For the best.

“I really fucking love you,” Eddy told him because it was very worth repeating.

“I love you so much,” Stede almost groaned and stepped in closer, one hand landing just by her ear. He leaned in and then unexpectedly pressed his cheek to theirs, then kissed their jaw. “I did like the beard, but this is...you have an amazing face.”

It was still sensitive from the close shave, but Stede’s lips were soft and tender, sending shivers down their back.

“Thanks,” they titled their head against the tile, giving him room to explore the newly revealed territory. “Grew it myself.”

“You’re horrible,” Stede laughed. He stepped in closer and took the invitation.

It was a slow, languid entanglement until the thick steam left Eddy a little light-headed. Her hair would be an absolute disaster in the morning if she didn’t do something with it, but she was too blissed out to care.

“Fuck me,” she all, but ordered and Stede groaned.

“I will, but we should probably lay down.”

Distantly, Eddy was aware that her feet and legs were aching with the unfamiliar time in high heels, and she had to sigh in agreement. They stumbled out of the bathroom and all, but tripped into bed, unwilling to unhand each other to make a more graceful landing.

“You should always be in silk,” Stede murmured as he moved down their body.

“Yeah all right,” she stroked every inch of him she could reach, his shoulder, his neck. Her fingers brushed through damp hair. “Drown me in it.”

“I will.”

When he reached her cock, he stopped a moment to take it in. He always did that and at first it had made Eddy squirm. Now she arched her back a little, splayed her legs and encouraged him on. When he took her in at last, it was like the completion of a thought, the extension of his admiration. One of his hands curved around her hipbone, thumb tracing circles.

It was a brief interlude, getting her warmed through before he got his hands underneath her. She threw her legs over his shoulders for leverage, giving him the space to part the globes of her ass and dive in to devour her.

It had surprised her how much Stede enjoyed rimming. It wasn’t something they’d done much of before, except as a sort of dirty experiment. For Stede it seemed to come standard as foreplay and he clearly enjoyed the hell out of it. It was sexy as fuck, the point of his tongue so clever, hot and quick that fingers were never really the did it for her the same way again.

“How do you want it?” He asked, breathless as he drew away.

Eddy considered, then rolled over, grabbing a pillow to jam under her hips. “Like this.”

“You’re ridiculously beautiful,” Stede stroked a hand down her back. “How am I supposed to resist you?”

“You’re not,” she pointed out. “I think I literally demanded that you didn’t.”

“So you did,” Stede laughed and leaned over her to grab the lube. He paused to kiss her shoulder, swept her hair aside to kiss the back of her neck too. The glass bottle would be warming in his hand, a courtesy that he took as law and she had never encountered before him.

When he sank into them at last, Eddy loosened a moan that seemed to come from her bones. As she’d hoped he would, he settled most of his weight against her, pressing them together, his forehead resting ever so lightly on her shoulder.

It was less a thrust and more an intent gentle rocking as they moved together in a timeless slow dance. As he got more worked up, Stede kissed her back, tongue mapping the lines of fading tattoos. Pleasure, liquid and divine, spread through Eddy.

“Can you get on your knees?” she asked him and he did without question, pulling her up with him as she’d hoped he would.

They resettled, both inhaling sharply as the angle changed. Stede wrapped a hand around Eddy’s cock, stroking slowly in time with her thrusts. That freed her up to reach upwards, cupping the back of his head and twisting for a messy kiss.

All grace flew out the window in those final moments. He thrust into her, rhythm gone to shit and she chased her own bliss, heedless of his ragged motion. She came first, with a punched out groan and barely held herself up long enough for him to finish.

Eddy sank back down onto the bed, rolling up onto her side to catch her breath. Stede stayed where he was, reaching to stroke her thigh, the closest bit in reach. Eventually, he laid down beside her, resting his head on her chest.

“Your heart is pounding,” he mumbled. Eddy made a soft sound of agreement. “Were you nervous tonight?”

“It’s pounding because you just fucked me silly.”

“Oh, well yes I...” Stede trailed off. “You know what I meant, impossible creature.”

“A little,” she admitted. “But then I just got swept up into it.”

“Would you perform with me someday? It’s a fantastic act on your own. I just think it’d be fun.”

“I’d like that a lot,” they smiled to themselves. “You can show me all Leda’s dance moves.”

“I think it’d be more interesting if the Kraken brought her own. You’re definitely going to stick with the name?”

“Yeah,” they idly plucked their fingers through his hair, detangling it as they went. “Was this thing with teeth and claws for so long. Seems right to put a wig and some lipstick on it. Make it something beautiful and campy, you know?”

“Yes,” he shifted closer, their feet touching. “I can’t imagine a better use for it.”

“Wanted to tell you I loved you for awhile,” if her voice dropped to a whisper, well then he was close enough to hear regardless. “For weeks.”

“It’s been on the tip of the tongue for some time for me too, honey,” he huffed a self-deprecating laugh. “There was this morning...oh, you’ll think I’m ridiculous.”

“Too late for that,” Eddy teased. “Tell me.”

“You were still in bed, we’d been up late. I went out to get breakfast and when I got back you were on the couch. And your skin glows against the velvet, you know that?”

“I didn’t,” she said thickly.

“It does. And you looked so at peace there, comfortable and just in my robe like the decadent thief that you are. When I came in, you looked up and smiled at me... I just...I wanted you to be there always. You were so right in that space. I knew right then for sure.”

Eddy went silent for a long moment, trying to absorb that, “Stede....”

“I told you it was ridiculous.”

“It’s not,” she tugged at a lock of his hair. “It’s not at all. I wish I had a moment I could tell you about, but I don’t. It was a lot of small things all piling up until it got big enough to need a name.”

They’d woken up in this bed already lovers not fourteen hours ago. Nothing had really changed. Their feelings were the same really, but Eddy still felt a cosmic shift. In herself, in him. In what they made together.

They fell asleep, sticky and hair in shambles. It was fine. He'd help her fix it in the morning.

#leda house and the kraken verse

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domsaysstuff · 10 months

Note

gareth from stranger things for the character ask game?? :D

Shshshsh okay, so this will be mostly my headcanons and whatever fanon things abt him that i liked bc let's be real our boy literally got like three minutes of screentime and also you gave me one of the hardest ones anon because I don't really think that much abt corroded coffin outside their relationship with the rest of the party but!

Give me a character and I will give you my thoughts on:

one aspect about them i love: i love, love, love when people make Gareth a petty little shit? Like yes, hold that grudge and yes, tease your friend on his pathetic gay crush, i believe in a little shit Gareth supremacy™

one aspect i wish more people understood about them: I think a lot of people are making fun things with his character but i have a slight problem with a miniscule part of the fandom. When he broke and told Jason where he could find Eddie I wish people understood that he is also just a child and he at first was all sarcastic abt and it wasn't until Jason got fucking violent that he spilled and it's so understandable that he did? Like you are just a child (16-18 IS still a child), you've looked at a guy who was always just a bark and no bite and suddenly you are on the ground and you don't know what he will do, it might end with a few broken bones it might end with your life, the boy who was just no bite is suddenly a crazed man sniffing for blood and you are terrified. You are just a child. It doesn't make you a coward, it doesn't make you want to stop being someone's friend, it just makes you a terrified child and people who hold it against him just kind of piss me off.

one (or more) headcanon(s) i have about this character: oh, oh, oh OKAY SO

I'm in love with child of a single mother with an older sister Gareth, idk he just screams to me like a guy who would have a sister, also just something about him and Dustin just kind of getting eachother in that way. Also I think Gareth was the baby of the group before Dustin, Mike and Lucas with Jeff and The Freak both being a year older than him and Eddie ofc being the oldest of them.

one character i love seeing them interact with: obviously Eddie, but second best is Steve. Idk, i just think their dynamic in fics is nice and I wish we would have more Gareth and Steve becoming friends fics

one character i wish they would interact with/interact with more: like i said, steve but also! i would love more takes on how he would take on interacting with Nancy Wheeler sjdjdjs

one (or more) headcanon(s) i have that involve them and one other character:

I have this little headcanon that him and Eddie met first when they were just children when Gareth was being bullied and Eddie steped in and then got beaten up instead of Gareth. Like he's eight and there are kids bigger than him and they are looking for an easy target which he is and he think it's the end of the world and then suddenly there is this kid, older than him, one which he has never seen before, which is strange because here everybody knows everyone. At least that's what his sister always says, she always complains about it, his mother calls it teenage angst but you can't help but agree. So he should know him but he's never seen anyone this strange around here before, he would surely remember but he's here. He's scrawny and he moves all funny, like his limbs are moving before he thinks where they're going, he has a big black shirt with some scary print on it on, one that covers almost all of him, his head is shaved and he has the biggest eyes Gareth has seen. He's also yelling. Yelling at the kids to get a better target, one maybe more their age. And so they do. Afterwards when they leave, the boy turns to him and grins, his teeth are bloody, there is a split on his lip and dirt on his face and clothes but his eyes are still shining and the smile is genuine and big. "Had worse" he says and makes it sounds like a joke. He laughs and the boy somehow smiles even bigger. He's taller than Gareth and his back is illuminated by the sun. There is a slight breeze making his big shirt flutter behind him, a little like a cape would. Gareth doesn't know this boy, he must be from somewhere else, he must be a hero, like the one from the comics his sister reads.

"I'm Eddie." He says.

"It's a lame superhero name" Gareth says and Eddie laughs.

"I'm not a hero kid" He says kid in the same way all the adults say it.

Gareth looks at his big easy smile and the bruising forming on his face and the shirt that almost looks like a cape and doesn't believe him.

Years later he wishes he wasn't right.

So, that's it! Thank you anon for this!!! 💗💖

Find out my opinion about a character!

#have a lil drabble at the end to recompensate for me having almost no solid good opinions abt our boy sjsjsn #stranger things #corroded coffin #gareth stranger things #gareth emerson #eddie munson #ask game #domanwsersstuff

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caitlesshea · 3 years

Text

begging for footnotes in the story of your life

Ana learns a lot about Buck while she’s dating Eddie, like how Buck’s the one who should be dating him.

Ana learns about Buck in stages.

First from Christopher, when she was his teacher, and he would mention his Buck or draw Buck in family pictures.

The second from the school nurse telling her that Christopher is being signed out to go home and she sees his name on Chris’ school forms.

The third is from Eddie, when he brings him up as a work colleague even though she suspects it’s more than that.

She just doesn’t realize how much more until the first time she sees the inside of Eddie’s house.

His house is homey, much cozier than she’d expect for a single dad who’s a first responder. She says as much and he chuckles.

“Some of this I did, but most was my Abuela.”

Ana nods and walks over to the mantle to look at the photos.

She sees a picture of a younger Christopher sitting in a high chair between Eddie and a woman who she assumes is Shannon.

“Shannon?” She asks quietly.

“Yeah. Chris, uhh, wanted to put some up.”

Ana nods and continues looking. There’s some more of Eddie and Chris, people she assumes are Eddie’s parents and his Abuela, and then there’s Buck.

Or well, she thinks it’s Buck, with how Chris has always described him. She notices one photo in particular that causes her to pause.

“Is that?”

Eddie reaches up and grabs the back of his neck, almost like he’s nervous.

“Uh, yeah. Buck built him a skateboard, we tried it out at the park.”

So, Buck built Chris a skateboard after Ana wrongly said that Chris should know his limitations.

“I’m sorry for saying what I said.”

“It’s fine, Ana.”

“It’s not.”

Eddie shrugs and Ana considers bringing it up again but she chooses not to, instead focusing on a Christmas photo that was taken at the station; Eddie, Chris, and Buck in the back smiling.

Eddie follows her eye movement and he smiles. “Buck and Athena set that up. We were on shift on Christmas and he surprised us with our families and dinner.”

“That was sweet.” Ana feels a little out of her depth here. She doesn’t think she’s ever seen this soft look on Eddie’s face before but she doesn’t want to ruin the moment.

“It was, yeah.”

They finish going through the photos, as Ana learns more about Eddie’s life.

He makes them dinner, although he sticks a pan of lasagna in the oven so she doesn’t know how much he actually cooked.

They’re about to sit on the couch, when he stops and says he’s going to grab something from his room. She follows him and notices for the first time that his room is a different sort of style than the rest of the house.

It’s all dark blues and grays with some stylish lamps and photographs on the walls.

She almost wishes she didn’t know about Buck now.

“I like your room,” She comments while he grabs a blanket from the bed. It’s a soft black velvet.

“Oh, thanks. This was mostly Buck. My room apparently looked like a boring hotel room so he’s been giving me some of his stuff.”

“That’s?”

“Nice, right?”

No. She was going to say weird. But she nods instead.

“The photo?” Ana asks as she walks closer to the print on the wall. It’s the typical California style photo, the palm tree lined street, but it’s in black and white, tasteful, where they’re usually cheesy.

“Oh, uh, Buck took that. Had it framed for my birthday last year. Said it can remind me of why I moved us here, for a fresh start.”

“Huh.” Ana can tell it’s important to him, can tell that he loves the photo and the sentiment behind it. What she can’t tell is if he loves the photo more or the person who took it.

“C’mon, let’s go watch the movie.” Eddie grabs her hand and she forgets about the room and Buck, at least for the night.

~~~

Ana meets Buck in stages.

She thought she’d meet him at school, when he came to pick up Christopher, or at the school play, where Christopher was the main character, or at the science fair, or bake sale. All events she knows Buck was there for.

But, she never does. Whether it’s by luck or design, she doesn’t know. But she wishes she had, because she meets Buck, awkwardly, while on a date with Eddie.

The one night Buck isn’t babysitting Christopher, Eddie’s Abuela watching him after Chris and Eddie’s talk, they run into Buck.

So, she meets Buck outside of an ice cream shop.

“Buck.” Eddie freezes beside her and she sees a tall man, taller than she thought with the pictures, with a cone halfway to his mouth. Buck lets out a sheepish smile and shrugs.

That’s when Ana notices the woman next to Buck, she’s pretty, her red hair is gorgeous, and Ana thinks she looks familiar.

“Taylor,” Eddie says clipped, in a voice she hasn’t heard from him since the skateboard incident.

“Eddie,” The woman, Taylor, says just as clipped.

Ana wonders what she missed.

“What are you two doing here?” Buck asks and then he holds out his non sticky hand. “Sorry, Eddie’s rude, I’m Buck. You must be Ana.”

She nods and looks between Buck and Eddie who are giving each other eyes. “Yes, hi, it’s nice to finally meet you.”

“You, too.” Buck looks at Eddie and realizes no one is going to say anything else so he looks back to Ana.

“Would you two like to join us?” Ana asks out of desperation and Eddie looks at her incredulously.

Buck looks at Taylor and she nudges him back. “We’d love to, but I have to get back to the station, I’m on nights right now. Next time? Buck and Eddie can schedule something.”

“Sure, bye Eddie. Ana.” Buck nods his head and she smiles at him. As they leave she can hear Taylor and Buck whispering to each other.

“That was awkward Buckley.”

“It’s not my fault he didn’t say anything…” Buck trails off and then they’re too far away to hear anything else.

Ana turns back to Eddie. “They seem like a cute couple.”

“Huh?”

“Buck and Taylor? You didn’t tell me he has a girlfriend.”

“He doesn’t,” Eddie says sharply. “They’re friends.”

“Oh, could’ve fooled me.”

“Why do you say that?” Eddie asks, looking at her for the first time since they ran into Buck.

“They seem close.” Ana shrugs. She doesn’t know why she has to explain anything, or why it would matter if Buck’s dating someone.

“They, uhh, dated a couple years ago, but I think they’re friends now.” Eddie finally manages.

“Ohh. Okay. Friends with benefits. I get it.”

Eddie chokes on nothing and he looks a little green.

“Edmundo, are you okay?”

“Yeah, lets get that ice cream.”

She nods and follows him into the ice cream shop, not surprised in the slightest when he orders the same flavor Buck was eating.

~~~

The second time she meets Buck is at a party in his loft. Everyone is vaccinated and Buck wanted to have everyone over before his sister, Maddie, has her baby.

Eddie introduces her to everyone; Bobby and Athena, Hen and Karen, Michael and David, Chimney and Maddie, Albert, and then Taylor.

“It’s good to see you again,” Ana says kindly as Eddie goes into the kitchen to grab them drinks. The loft is nice, modern, and looking suspiciously like Eddie’s bedroom, but she keeps that to herself.

“Hey, not until after dinner. You’re worse than Christopher!”

Ana looks over as Buck smacks Eddie’s hand with a towel as he tries to sneak cookies and Ana laughs at their antics, although no one else even so much as blinks their way.

Taylor follows her line of sight and smiles. “Oh, they’re like that. You’ll get used to it.”

Before Ana can respond she sees Taylor slide up to Buck and helps him with setting up the rest of the food.

Eddie comes back over to her with a glass of wine and Ana smiles even as she notices Eddie’s face is pinched.

Before Ana can grab it she spills some on her dress and Eddie curses.

“Shit, sorry Ana.”

“It’s okay. I’ll just grab a towel.”

“Buck, I’m taking her upstairs,” Eddie shouts to Buck and he looks over and nods.

Eddie guides her up the stairs and when she sees Buck’s bedroom, she pauses. It’s almost identical to Eddie’s in style and color. He even has the same photo hanging up on the wall. She says as much and Eddie smiles.

“Oh yeah, he came to LA for similar reasons so he had one made for his place.”

“Huh.”

“There should be Shout Wipes in the bathroom. Medicine cabinet.” Eddie points to the bathroom as he sits down on Buck’s bed like he has every right to. He probably does.

“Thanks. I’ll be just a minute.”

Ana closes the door and finds a towel, wetting the stain first and then finding the wipes. As she cleans, she notices the meds in the bathroom.

She knows she shouldn’t snoop but seeing Chris’ name on one of the bottles surprises her. It looks like Buck keeps extra medicine here for backup. She notices painkillers and Eddie’s favorite brand of shaving cream.

Feeling like she’s crossed some sort of boundary she closes the medicine cabinet and is about to head back out when she hears voices from the room.

“You spill on yourself, too?” Eddie jokes and Buck groans.

“Albert ran right into me with the dip.”

“Sucks.”

“Seriously. I can’t wait til he leaves.”

“He could go back home, you know,” Eddie says gently as Ana hears what is likely a shirt being thrown in a hamper.

“I’m not gonna do that to Maddie.” Buck moves around and then asks. “Which one? Red or blue?”

“Blue, definitely,” Eddie responds and Ana can’t see them but she has to agree, whatever blue shirt Buck puts on will bring out his eyes.

“Good, I think this red shirt is actually yours.”

Eddie laughs and Ana pauses a moment because she’s never heard that laugh before. Part fond, part exasperated. She wonders why he laughs like that with Buck.

“Makes sense.”

“Okay, come down when you’re done, I can’t have Albert setting my kitchen on fire.”

Ana can hear Buck heading down the stairs so she leaves the bathroom. Eddie stands to come closer and she accidentally blurts out what she’s thinking.

“You have clothes here?”

“Huh? Oh, well I did live here for a couple of months, but with the firehouse and everything we all probably have each other’s clothes.”

Eddie says it so nonchalantly that Ana can’t even respond as he heads towards the stairs. He turns to look at her.

“Coming?”

“Yeah, sorry.” She doesn’t think it’s nonchalant at all.

~~~

Ana meets Evan all at once.

It’s her first night staying over at Eddie’s, with Christopher at Hen’s house for a sleepover of his own.

She isn’t sure what wakes her up until she hears Eddie’s sleep rough voice.

“Evan?”

Who’s Evan?

“Yeah, no, we’ll be there.” Eddie pauses as he sits up. “Don’t worry about it, I wouldn’t miss it.”

Eddie hangs up and looks at her sheepishly.

“Is everything okay?” She asks as she sits up as well.

“Yeah, Maddie’s gone into labor, so I was gonna head to the hospital.”

Huh? Eddie isn’t family, why is he going to the hospital?

“Okay. Let’s go,” Ana says instead of asking that question.

“Are you sure? I can drop you off first.”

“No, it’s fine, we can go.”

Plus this is a way for her to assert herself as an important person in Eddie’s life.

“Thanks,” Eddie say, relieved, as he starts getting dressed.

Ana follows suit and when they finally head to the hospital Eddie’s a bundle of nerves.

“She’ll be okay,” Ana says quietly as she places a hand on his leg. He nods but he doesn’t relax.

He doesn’t relax, that is, until he sees Buck in the waiting room.

“Evan,” Eddie breathes out as they hug. Ana’s momentarily shocked, because Eddie isn’t overly affectionate with anyone other than Christopher, but he hugs Buck like it’s a normal thing.

Both of them calm down when they hug and then it hits her that Eddie called Buck ‘Evan’. She’s never heard someone call him that, but it must be his first name.

She wonders when Eddie got that privilege.

She feels like she’s intruding so she taps Eddie’s shoulder and he turns toward her.

“I’m gonna grab coffee, you two want anything?”

Buck smiles at her but Eddie answers her.

“Black with cream for me, sugar and cream for Buck.”

“Okay.” Ana walks away and turns around just to see Eddie and Buck sitting down and bringing their foreheads together, almost unconsciously.

“Oh, Ana, hey.”

Ana turns and sees Chimney.

“Chimney, hi. How’s Maddie?”

“She’s good. I’m grabbing her water. And waiting for Albert to get here. I take it you came with Eddie?”

“Yeah. Is the whole station coming?” Ana asks even though she thinks she knows the answer.

“No. Only family. Hen and Bobby said they’d stop by after she’s born,” Chimney responds and then he’s quickly turning back towards the rooms. “Tell Albert when you see him that he comes in second since he’s late.”

“Sure,” Ana says quietly as she takes the coffee back to Buck and Eddie. After they grab theirs she sits next to Eddie and sees what they’re looking at on Eddie’s phone.

“Is that Christopher?” She asks and Eddie nods.

“Yeah, I got so many photos of him when he was this age,” Eddie speaks quietly and Ana realizes that he got sent photos of Christopher because this must’ve been when he was deployed with the Army. He doesn’t talk about it much but she can tell Buck knows because Buck squeezes Eddie’s knee in support.

The biggest shocker, though, is when Eddie grabs Buck’s hand and squeezes back.

She once again feels like she’s intruding on something private, something theirs, and she doesn’t know what to do.

Luckily she doesn’t have to think too much because Albert comes running in and he and Buck start arguing over who’s going to go in first, who’s going to be the better uncle.

“Should we?” Ana gestures to them and Eddie shakes his head.

“Nah, they’re fine. This is fun for them.”

Ana nods and sits back to drink her coffee. Before she knows it, Chimney’s back in the waiting room telling them that Maddie and baby are fine and that they can all come meet her.

Buck and Eddie jump up and Ana trails behind with Albert.

“You don’t want to run in there?” She asks Albert.

“Oh I do, but I don’t want to overwhelm Maddie.”

Ana nods and keeps walking towards the room. When she gets there what she sees stops her in her tracks.

Buck is holding his niece and Eddie, well, Eddie is staring at him with so much love, adoration, and abject want that Ana feels like she’s intruding.

Eddie turns to her and holds out his phone. “Can you take a picture? I promised Chis I would show him before he meets her.”

“Sure,” Ana says like she’s underwater. Eddie’s lockscreen, a picture of Buck and Chris, barely registers.

She hears the baby's name, Kylee Danielle, after her uncles, and watches as Buck tears up, and Eddie grabs the back of his neck.

She then watches Buck pass Kylee to Eddie, and if she wasn’t so shocked she would notice the way Buck was watching him, the way Maddie was watching her, and the way Albert was videotaping everything.

She would notice that Eddie looked damn good holding a baby.

If she didn’t feel like she was intruding on a private family moment.

She doesn’t belong here. She doesn’t belong with Eddie.

She looks toward Maddie and Chimney, Maddie has kind but sad eyes looking at her and Ana knows now that she’s not who Eddie is meant to be with.

“Congratulations,” Ana says quietly. “Eddie, I’m gonna go.”

“You don’t have to go,” Eddie says as he hands Kylee to Albert.

“I do. It’s okay, I’ll call you.”

It shouldn’t surprise her when he nods and turns back to the others but it does.

She nods to Maddie and Chimney and then to Buck, who’s looking at her with an odd expression on his face.

“It was nice to see you again, Evan,” Ana says and she hears his breath catch.

She calls an Uber, waits outside for it, and when she finally gets home, she realizes she took some photos on her phone, too.

Ana looks at them, sees Eddie and Buck, looking like they belong together, and sends them to Eddie with the text ‘you have a beautiful family.’

~~~

Ana learns about Edmundo and Evan Buckley-Diaz when she gets a change of name form for one Christopher Buckley-Diaz.

Along with the name form is an official form of guardianship for Buck, declaring him Christopher’s other father.

~~~

Years later Ana learns about Ellie Buckley-Diaz when her fathers drop her off for her first day of kindergarten.

“Eddie. Buck. Hi,” Ana greets them as they come out of the front office, paperwork in hand and an excited five year old bouncing on her toes.

“Ana,” Eddie says warmly and Buck smiles. “Principal now?”

“Yeah, for a couple of years.”

“Congrats.” Eddie smiles and then turns to his daughter who pulls on his shirt sleeve.

“Daddy, I want to see my classroom.”

“I’ll take you,” Buck responds and gives Ana a smile. He squeezes Eddie’s shoulder once and then takes Ellie’s hand.

“Papa! We have to see it right now!”

“Okay, okay, little monster, we will,” Buck chuckles after her.

Ana turns back to Eddie and he smiles after them and then turns to her.

“I’m happy for you,” Ana says and Eddie looks at her curiously.

“Thank you. I am sorry about how…”

“Water under the bridge.” Ana waves her hand and points to a photo of her and her son, Milo, and Eddie smiles.

“He’s beautiful.”

“Your daughter is, too.” Ana wants to say she looks like a perfect mix between the two of them but she keeps those thoughts to herself.

They’ve never been close enough for that kind of conversation.

“Thank you. She’s certainly energetic, takes after Evan,” Eddie says this with such fondness that Ana’s thrown back to the hospital when Kylee was born, and how he looked at Buck even then.

“Nothing wrong with that.”

“Nope. Well, it was good to see you, I’m sure we’ll run into each other again.”

“Yeah, of course.” Ana smiles as he walks away, towards his family.

Ana looks at the photo of her son again.

Learning all of these things about these great people led her to her greatest joy.

She can’t be mad about that.

#buddie #911 on fox #evan buckley #eddie diaz #ana flores

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extasiswings · 3 years

Text

Good morning, fellow clowns. I had feelings about my own speculation re: the teased Buck and Christopher solo scene so...also on ao3.

When Buck first asks if he can watch Christopher when Eddie goes grocery shopping that week because he has something to discuss with him, he’s leaning against the kitchen counter while Eddie washes the dishes, his heart in his throat and hands shoved into his pockets in an attempt to project calm. For his part though, Eddie barely reacts. Or, more specifically, his brow furrows slightly as he glances over in confusion for a quick moment before turning back to his task.

“Of course,” Eddie replies. “Did you think I would say no? You spend almost as much time with him as I do—you don’t need to ask my permission to have a one-on-one conversation.”

He glances over again. “Unless you’re trying to rope him into pranking me again,” he adds. “I should probably put my foot down with that.”

Buck laughs quietly and shakes his head, feeling the knot of anxiety in his chest loosen. “No, nothing like that.”

He doesn’t offer anything more specific, but then, Eddie doesn’t ask either, just shrugs as he fits another plate into the drying rack.

“Then, yeah. Feel free. Saves me from having to ask anyone else anyway.”

And that’s it. The conversation shifts to the lighter topic of the likelihood that the man in the last call of the shift had been lying about how exactly he’d gotten stuck the way he had and it doesn’t come up again.

On Saturday, when Buck comes over again, the anxiety returns full force. And maybe it’s unreasonable because he knows that at the end of the day he’s not Christopher’s dad. He’s not Eddie. No matter what their relationship is like, Buck’s not a parent. But he feels that responsibility anyway, can still recall the crushing guilt of the lawsuit and being back in a grocery store—Do you even know how much Christopher misses you?—

He doesn’t want to repeat the same mistakes.

So, after a little while, he clears his throat and sits back in his chair across from where Chris is drawing at the kitchen table.

“Hey, buddy?”

Christopher doesn’t look up. “Yeah, Buck?”

“So, uh—you know how Maddie is having a baby?”

“Yeah.”

“Well,” Buck runs his hand through his hair, “I wanted to talk to you about that. Because babies are a lot of work and so she and Chim might need some help. And she’s my sister, so I want to be there for her if she needs it.”

The pencil stops scratching and Chris finally looks up. “When Aunt Sophia had the twins, Aunt Adri moved in with her for two months,” he says. “Like that?”

“Well, I don’t think I would move in,” Buck clarifies, some of the tension easing out of him. “But yeah. Kind of like that.”

“Okay.”

“So...so I might not be around here quite as much,” Buck adds, and then he’s pressing forward, leaning his elbows on the table as the dam breaks and words spill from his lips. “But I wanted—I just want you to know that you can call me whenever you want. And if you need me, I’ll come. I don’t—I know after the tsunami, I stopped coming around for awhile and I didn’t tell you first and that wasn’t fair. And I didn’t want to do that again, or make you think that you’ve done anything wrong or that I don’t care. Because I love you so much, okay? It’s just that Maddie might need me a little more for a few months.”

Christopher chews his lip for a minute as he considers that, and then nods.

“I can still call?”

“Every day if you want,” Buck assures. “And don’t let your dad say anything about you bothering me, because I promise it’s fine.”

“Okay.” Chris smiles. “I love you too, Buck. Can we have ice cream now?”

Buck laughs. “Yeah. Yeah, sure.”

And that’s it. Or at least, Buck thinks that’s it. Until he’s halfway through his first cup of coffee the next morning only to be interrupted by knocking on the door.

Eddie walks in the minute Buck opens the door, looking like he’s hardly slept. His hair is messy like he’s been running his hands through it and he hasn’t shaved—there’s a strange energy to him that makes Buck’s eyebrows shoot up as he slowly closes the door behind him.

“Hey,” he says, drawing the word out. “Everything okay?”

Eddie stops pacing. Opens his mouth. Closes it.

“I talked to Christopher last night,” he replies finally. “He told me what you two talked about.”

Buck’s stomach twists. “You said it was okay,” he points out. “But if I overstepped—”

“That’s not it,” Eddie interrupts. But he doesn’t elaborate, which doesn’t exactly clarify anything.

“Then…?” Buck crosses his arms over his chest. “Not that I mind you coming over unexpectedly—you know that’s fine—but I’m not sure what’s going on here.”

“Look, I—” Eddie clears his throat. “I’m careful. About who I let into Christopher’s life. Because Shannon, she wanted...a revolving door. Always open so she would have an out when things got hard but the option to walk back into his life when she felt like being his mother. And that wasn’t fair. And I never wanted to put him in that position again.”

Buck’s brow furrows. “I know. I’m trying—that’s why I wanted to talk to him. So he would know I wasn’t leaving. That if he needs me, I’ll be there. Eddie, I know I fucked up with the lawsuit, but I’m not going to again—”

“I know that,” Eddie interrupts. He blows out a breath. “I know. But I still thought—I was going to talk to Chris, you know. About everything. I just assumed...that it was a parent thing.”

“I’m confused,” Buck says slowly. “Are you...mad at me?”

“No.” Eddie looks up at the ceiling and rakes a hand through his hair, messing it up even further. The laugh that follows has an edge of disbelief. “I’m in love with you.”

Buck feels almost like he’s been hit over the head with a frying pan. He can’t seem to make his mouth work, just blinks and stares. His throat is dry, his feet glued to the floor.

“What?” He croaks out.

Eddie’s throat works as he swallows and Buck can’t quite help himself from tracking the movement.

“Chris told me what you said, and it made me think—made me realize—look, I haven’t dated,” Eddie says. “You know I haven’t. And a lot of that was because of my own shit, but it was also because of Chris, because I was worried about being able to be a partner to someone and also worried about having a partner to parent with. But Chris and I talked last night and I realized that—that I’ve put you in that place in my life without even thinking about it. And that scared me, but also didn’t because you love him that much—”

“I do,” Buck replies. “I really do, Eddie—like he was mine.”

“That’s all I’ve wanted.” Eddie looks wrecked, like every word is being dragged out of him, like he can’t help it but isn’t sure whether he should be holding back instead. And Buck’s own heart clenches as he steps forward, wanting nothing more than to make that look go away.

“All I wanted was for someone to love him like that. For someone to stay.”

“I’ll stay,” Buck says, closing the distance. Eddie’s eyes search his face. His hands reach out, then fall, aborting the motion as if he’s not sure he’s allowed.

“I’ll stay,” he repeats, and he reaches out since Eddie won’t, his hand fitting smoothly around Eddie’s waist. “For Chris. And for you. It’s not—it’s not just you, Eddie. God, I’ve been in love with you—”

Eddie cuts him off with a kiss. His hands fist in the front of Buck’s shirt, clearly past whatever paralysis had frozen him before. He kisses like he’s drowning and Buck is a life preserver, and Buck kisses back with everything in him, pressing Eddie against the wall.

“I’ve been an idiot,” Eddie breathes out when they break apart. “I should have realized—”

Buck shakes his head. “You have Chris. You’ve always put him first and you should. Whatever this is with us—there’s no rush. If you need to walk out of here and pretend this never happened—”

“I don’t,” Eddie replies. “I don’t want to forget or pretend anything—I may not know what the fuck I’m doing, but I know I want you.”

Buck surges forward and kisses him again. “Okay. Okay, then—you have me. You have me.”

When Eddie smiles, it lights Buck up like sunlight.

#chapel writes #buddie #evan buckley #eddie diaz #buddie fic #911 fic #look at that I'm not trying to rip anyone's heart out this time

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boyduroy · 3 years

Text

Shave and A Haircut

Fandom: It (2017/2019)

Characters: Bill, Richie, Eddie, Stanley

Word count: 2,044

Genre: slice of life, hurt/comfort

Warnings: language, mentions of bullying

Synopsis: Just another day of being bullied by Bowers. Luckily Richie knows what to do.

{Not beta’d/proofread, sorry for any typos}

Bill, Eddie, and Richie are all sitting at the Tozier dining room table, waiting for the fourth member of their party to arrive. Their geometry homework is spread out across the wooden table, most of it unsolved, along with an array of snacks, most of which have already been devoured. Bill looks at the old clock on the wall as Richie and Eddie bicker over who gets the last of the barbeque-flavored potato chips. Stanley should have been done with baseball practice 30 minutes ago, and it doesn’t usually take him this long to bike to Richie’s house. Bill briefly considers riding up to the baseball field to check on him when a knock comes from the front door.

“About time,” Richie mutters, quickly swiping the final few chips from Eddie’s hand as he gets up to answer the door.

“Richie, you turd!” Eddie screams as

“Y’snooze, you lose, skeddi-boy,” Richie calls back to the dining room with a mouthful of chips. He rubs his hands on the edge of his shirt as he reaches for the door handle. He doesn’t remember locking it, and Stan knows he can let himself in, but Richie figures his friend is just being his usual polite self.

“Stan the man,” he announces loudly, swinging the door open. “Where’ve you been? You know we suck at math…”

Richie trails off as he takes in the sight of Stanley on his front porch. The other boy’s head is hung, defeated, and his baseball cap covers his face completely. Still, Richie can see the faint outlines of tear tracks running from Stan’s chin. His knuckles are paper white as they clutch his gym bag, and aside from the usual dirt stains on his uniform, he doesn’t look too roughed up in any apparent way.

“Stanley?” Richie asks, tilting his head to peek up under the baseball cap. Stan’s face is red from either crying or from exercise, or possibly a combination of the two. “What’s wrong?”

Stan sniffs, his dark brown eyes refusing to meet Richie’s. “May I come in please,” he asks, his voice a bit raw.

Richie pulls him inside, taking his gym bag from him. “Go sit down on the couch, I’ll grab you a glass of water.” As Stanley quietly kicks his cleats off near the front door, Richie races to the kitchen, tosses the bag down haphazardly, and grabs a clean glass from the cupboard. Any other day he would’ve just grabbed one of the dirty ones from the sink, which would’ve earned him an earful from both Stan and Eddie about how gross that was – “I drank from it earlier, so why should it matter?” – but right now was not the time to instigate. As he fills the glass from the kitchen sink, Eddie and Bill poke their heads in.

“What’s going on, Rich?” Eddie asks. “You drop something?”

Richie hurries back to the living room, trying not to spill the glass that he accidentally filled up with too much water. “Something happened to Stan,” he calls over his shoulder. “Come on, he’s in here.”

“What h-happened?!” Bill asks worriedly, he and Eddie hot on Richie’s heels as the three of them come to gather around Stan, now sitting stiffly on the edge of the couch. Richie offers him the glass, which spills a little onto the couch cushion, but Stanley accepts it and takes a drink. Eddie perches next to him, his hand on Stan’s shoulder, and subconsciously starts checking his friend for any signs of outward injury.

“You alright, Stanley?” Eddie asks. Stan swallows the water eagerly and gasps, handing the now half-full glass back to Richie. He nods but continues to look down, his face still obscured by his baseball cap.

“What happened?” Bill asks again.

“Bowers and his gang…” Stanley answers quietly. He suddenly shrinks into himself, unwilling to reveal any further information. “I can’t, it’s embarrassing.”

Bill kneels, putting a gentle hand on Stan’s knee. “It’s okay, you can tell us. W-why don’t you take off your h-hat so we can hear you better.”

“I can’t.”

“Huh?” Bill blinks, confused.

“I can’t take it off,” Stan repeats.

Richie smirks. “Don’t worry about your hat hair, Stanley, we’ve all been ther—”

“No.” Stan sniffles and looks up finally, his brown eyes swimming with tears. “I can’t take off my hat, Richie, because Henry Bowers and his asshole friends put krazy glue in it,” he enunciates sharply. “My hat. Is glued. To my head.”

The three of them stare stunned at their friend, whose head falls back down sadly. Bill can feel his own face growing hot with anger. Fucking Bowers… It was one of the cruelest pranks you could do to someone: paint the inner brim of their hat with krazy glue and just wait for them to put it on.

Eddie is the first to break the silence. “Oh Stanley,” he whispers, his own eyes threatening to mist. “It’s okay, you’re okay.” He rubs Stanley’s shoulder and looks to the other two. “What should we do, guys?”

Bill strides towards the door. “I’m guh-gonna got kick the sh-sh-shit out of Bowers,” he says matter-of-factly. Stan is on his feet in an instant.

“Please no, Bill! Don’t, he’ll do something worse to you,” Stanley yells, grabbing Bill’s shirt. Bill tries to shake him off as he opens the front door. “Please, it’s okay—”

“It’s not okay, Stan! He hurt you!”

Stan hardens. “Fine, I know, it’s not okay. It fucking sucks. But I don’t want you to get hurt fighting my battles for me! Bowers is going to get what’s coming to him eventually, but I don’t want you or anyone else getting hurt today.” He loosens his grip and sighs, rubbing his face. “Just… leave it alone, okay? For now, at least. Please?”

Bill huffs but eventually closes the door again.

“Fine,” he says, resting a hand on the offending baseball cap on Stan’s head. “But we still need to figure out what we’re g-going to do about th-this.”

“You’re gonna have to cut it off, I guess,” Richie offers.

Stan frowns. “No, I can’t. It’ll look so stupid.” He tries gently tugging the cap, but it doesn’t budge. “There’s got to be another way.”

Eddie approaches and carefully inspects where the hat and Stan’s hair are connected. “He really did a number,” he admits. “It’s stuck to your scalp in some places.”

Stanley groans. “Great,” he sighs.

“It’s just hair, it’ll grow back,” Richie insists. “My dad has some clippers in his bathroom, we can take care of it right now.”

Stanley shakes his head. “I especially don’t want to shave my whole head, Richie!”

“Why not? It’s just hair.”

“It’s my hair!” Stan argues. “Excuse me if I don’t want to look like Sinead O’Connor the rest of the school year!”

“It’ll grow back, Stanley!”

“I don’t care!”

“Oh my god, you are so sensitive,” Richie grumbles as he marches off and slams his parents’ bedroom door. Bill is about to suggest something when they hear the telltale buzz of an electric razor. The three of them are frozen in place.

“He wouldn’t,” Eddie says, looking wide-eyed at the other two.

They stumble past one another as they race to the bedroom and Bill pounds on the bathroom door. “Richie, what are you doing?!” he yells over the loud buzz of the razor. He tries the doorknob but it’s locked.

“Hey dumbass, you proved your point,” Eddie shouts at the door. “Cut it out, you’re freaking us out!”

Finally, after a few more bangs on the wood and jiggling the doorknob, does the buzzer click off and the door swing open. Richie stands there proudly, glasses off, clippers in hand, and with a freshly (and poorly) buzzed head.

“See? I told you it’s not a big deal, you wuss,” he says, gesturing to himself. The other three just stare at him in utter shock until Stan finally sputters.

“Richie, you… you--” Stanley says, then dips his head down into his hands, his shoulders beginning to shake. Richie frowns, worried for a minute that he’s crying again, but then Stanley tosses his head back and he’s laughing so uproariously. “You idiot! What the hell is wrong with you,” he asks through gasps.

The tension broken, Bill and Eddie also begin to laugh while Richie just smiles stupidly.

“You missed like so many spots, dude,” Eddie snickers. “Geez Richie, were you even trying?”

“Hey, I had to take my glasses off,” Richie protests. He tosses the razor to Bill and points to the back of his head, where tufts of black hair remained in messy patches. “Mind cleaning me up, Bill?”

Bill smirks and gets to work shaving off the rest of Richie’s hair. He actually didn’t do too bad of a job, just missed a few places here and there. At least he put a guard on it so he wasn’t just freehanding it.

“There you go,” Bill says once he’s finished. He hands Richie back his glasses and dusts the loose hair off his shirt. Richie examines himself in the mirror, his hands running over the short buzzcut.

“Looks a hell of a lot better than Sinead, if I do say so myself,” Richie remarks, satisfied with his handiwork. He throws a look to the other boys and grabs a pair of mustache scissors, snipping them threateningly. “Your turn, Stanley.”

Stan shakes his head quickly. “Not from you, four-eyes.” He takes the scissors and hands them to Bill. “Please be gentle.”

Bill nods and carefully starts cutting away the worst of the glue/hat/hair combination until the hat is freed, along with a substantial amount of hair. Eddie throws it unceremoniously into the trashcan. Stanley shuts his eyes, not wanting to see how ridiculous he looks with half his hair missing. Then Bill methodically shaves away the rest of his golden curls and it’s over before he knows it.

“Okay, you can look, if y-you want to.”

Stanley peeks one eye open and looks in the mirror. His face looks back at him, now sporting the same crewcut as Richie. It’s… not as bad as he thought it would be.

“It’s different,” he admits, touching the short prickly hairs gingerly. His heart aches for just a moment. It sucks but Richie was right: it’s just hair, and it’ll grow back. He glances at Richie. “I think I pull it off better than you, at least.”

Richie feigns a wounded look, clutching his chest dramatically. “Hey, whoa, watch yourself there, Staniel! Don’t forget, you copied me. I started this trend.”

They all laugh at this, then Bill looks at himself in the mirror, shrugs, and buzzes a line right down the middle of his head. They watch with amazement as he gives himself a haircut to match, smiling the whole time. Afterwards he clicks the buzzer off and turns to his friends, offering another shrug.

“I wanted to f-fit in with the cool k-kids. This look is v-very in right now.”

Stanley beams and throws his arms around Bill and Richie. “You guys are so dumb, but thank you,” he says. The three of them hug, then Richie looks mischievously at Eddie, who suddenly pales.

“Eds,” he states. “Snip, snip.”

Eddie glances between the three of them who now appear to be ganging up on him. He sighs and digs into his fanny pack. “My mom’s gonna think I joined a cult,” he mutters to himself. He pulls out his inhaler, takes a big puff, and looks to Bill. “Do it.”

Soon brunette hair joins the piles of auburn, blonde and black on the floor of Maggie and Wentworth’s bathroom. The boys take turns dusting each other off and inspecting one another for any missed spots, but Bill was careful and thorough and they all look good, if not a little bit off for the current fashion. Stanley felt grateful for his friends, idiots though they may be, for always making sure he was never alone in his suffering. They return to their long-forgotten snacks and homework, enjoying the pleasant company of one another – until the cry of “RICHARD TOZIER, WHAT IN GODS NAME HAVE YOU DONE TO YOURSELF” from Richie’s mom interrupted their time together.

#it #stephen king's it #fic #fanfic #richie tozier #bill denbrough #eddie kaspbrak #stanley uris

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spiritofchaoticdreams · 4 years

Text

Gotham’s Puppet Princess, PART 3

(PART 1) (PART 2)

Manny/Mandrake belongs to @kelelamentia, thanks again for letting me borrow his character!

________________________________________________________________

After a long walk Marinette had made it back home. A.K.A Pops’ brand new hideout, which originally was an old abandoned toy factory. Honestly, it was a miracle that Batsy hadn't found them yet. But hey, if he’s not even looking for them then should she really care? Shrugging her shoulders she walked over to the secret entrance door, and knocked to the rhythm of Shave and a Haircut, Two Bits. Then it opened slightly to reveal Punch, who was waiting for her to say the password. They both knew that she didn’t have to, but Punch had a job to do.

She smiled and said, “cottontail.” That’s right the password was the name of her beloved stuffed toy that was lost to HER. She resisted the urge to growl, and tried thinking of puppies, glitter bombs, and rainbows. But all she wanted to do was smash anything that had reminded her of HER. Yes smash. Smash her head with the mallet. Make her scream. Pops can join in too! Then she can get...Cottontail. Cottontail. Cottontail. Suddenly, all her rage had dissipated and she was left feeling happy.

Cottontail always made her happy.

Pops had said that he would get her a new Cottontail, but he’s been busy so he hasn’t gotten a replacement bunny. Which is good, nothing could ever replace her beloved bunny.

Punch nodded, took a step aside and she walked in, “Hey Punch, could you take this to my room, please?”, she asked, gesturing to the bolt of fabric she was carrying. He nodded, and took it from her arms and walked away in the direction of her room. “Thanks a bunch, Punch!” She yelled over her shoulder as she walked towards Pops’ office.

Did she hear Pops yelling?

The closer she got to the door, the more she heard. Why did she hear arguing? She definitely heard Pops yelling, but she couldn’t make out the words. She recognized Pops’ voice, but there were two distinct voices that she couldn’t put her finger on. Hmm. The door was closed...Arguing...Pops’ office...Pops must be in the middle of planning something! The perfect chance for her to step into the spotlight and make her second debut into the crime world. Hopefully, they can squeeze that into whatever Pops is thinking up.

Giggling, she knocked twice on the door and waited. After a minute or so, the voices died down and she heard her Pops say “It’s open!” Smiling, she opened the door and walked in to see Pops, looking angrily at...Uncle Eddie and Uncle Harvey. Visitors! Yay! But why was Pops yelling? M-maybe they were here to help with whatever Pops was planning? Yeah! That’s it.

Squealing, she ran over to Uncle Eddie, wrapped her arms around him and placed her head on his chest, “Uncle Eddie! It’s been forever since you’ve come to visit!”, she cheered.

But he was stiff and unmoving, shouldn’t he be hugging her back by now? She stopped her hug and looked up at him, he was staring at her looking horrified. She asked, “Uncle Eddie? You okay?”

“Yeah Riddler buddy. You’re looking kinda pale. Right, Two-Face?”, Pops’ voice came from behind her, she looked over Uncle Harvey who flinched when their eyes met. He looked away and just kept looking over at Pops.

“Uncle Harvey?”, he flinched, Mari took a step back and looked at Pops, silently asking him what was going on? Why were they doing this? Why was this happening? Pops smiled at her and gave her a look that said not to worry. Okay then, she won't worry. She trusts Pops. She looked back at her Uncles and noticed that they were just staring at her. Gee, with the way they were acting you think they thought...that she was dead.

She looked over at Pops who was still smiling “Pops!”, she yelled. He turned to her and said, “Yes Dolly?”

She glared at him, “Did you forget to tell them that I didn’t kick the bucket?” Pops had a look of realization on his face, and shrugged his shoulders. He smiled like it was no big deal. Yeah no big deal, it’s just most likely her entire family thinks she bit the big one. No wonder she never got any letters! Then again she never really sent any out either.

But that’s not the point! Marinette was about to yell at him when Uncle Eddie began to do something. He walked over to her, bent down to her level, and looked her in the eyes. She recognized looks of disbelief, relief, and joy. Slowly, he reached his hand out and gently cupped her cheek. His eyes then started looking a bit watery.

“It’s you. It’s really you.”, he said, small tears now streaking down his face. Uncle Harvey snapped out of his trance and followed Eddie’s lead. He bent down to her level and smiled, his bad side’s jagged smile looking less menacing than usual.

“I missed you Princess.”, Uncle Harvey said in his good voice. His bad voice adding, “Don’t go doing that again.”

“Of course it’s me.”, Marinette smiled. Then both of her uncles wrapped her up in a hug and she welcomed the touch. When the hug finally ended, Marinette stood up. She looked to her Uncles said, “I thought Pops would’ve told you that I had lived.” She laughed nervously, “ Although that would explain why no one came to visit me.”

“It was for your own good. We couldn’t have any info spilling to Harley that you were alive.”, Pops spoke up. Marinette watched as he walked over to her, her uncles both quickly moving aside so that Pops could bend down to her level. “I mean, if Harley knew that you were alive. She probably would’ve hunted you down, and heaven forbid, finish the job.”

Marinette froze, the image of HER standing over her while holding Pops’ severed head flashed in her mind. “Hey Babygirl.”,the familiar voice rang in her ears. Marinette trembled and felt her eyes start to water. She looked at Pops, and saw him wiping a tear from his eye. She threw herself into Pops’ arms. “I’m sorry Pops! I’ll never question your reasons again! I should’ve known you were doing it for my safety.”, she sobbed into his jacket.

Pops wrapped his arms around her and said, “There, there.” His soft voice made Marinette cry harder. Then Pops gently grabbed her shoulders and pushed her away so that she could look up at him. “Chin up Dolly, or the crown slips.”

She quickly wiped away any tears she had and began trying to calm herself down. But her eyes were still watery and her breathing was still a bit labored. “How was the city? Did you have fun?”, Pops asked. His tone was weird, but whatever. It's Pops, he’s always been a little weird.

Marinette nodded, “Y-yeah!”, She smiled and when he grinned at her she continued, “I think I found a toy that could provide a good laugh! She’s making some very bold claims, and I want to see how it plays out.” Pops smiled at her and ruffled her hair.

“That sounds...fun.”, he grinned at her, “Now run along, and get ready for dinner.” Marinette nodded and made her way to the door.

But then she stopped in her tracks, spun around and Marinette smiled, “Oh! What do you think of my hair?”

Pops looked at her closely, he placed a hand to his chin, “You dyed your hair green?”

She nodded excitedly, and then pouted, “Well I tried to, but my hair is so dark, it looks more like there's a green tint to it. I wanted to match you, you know ‘cause I’m your sidekick and all.”

Pops tsked, walked a few steps closer and booped her nose with his finger, “You are my partner, not my sidekick.” Marinette’s eyes widened, partner? Partner! That means she’s equal to him! She felt giddy. She thought of her knocking Harley off her pedestal, taking her spot and then rising until she was right next to Pops. It made her so excited!

“Partners?! Hell yeah!”, She cheered. She punched the air and ran out the door, and giggled as she skipped happily up the stairs to her room. As she was passing by Bud and Lou’s beds she threw them kisses and couldn’t resist spending a few minutes playing with them. “Bud! Lou! I missed you guys!”, she cooed as she sat down with them. “It was such a long day!” They gave her kisses and she couldn’t help the smile on her face. “Oh you guys are the best brothers ever!” She rubbed her face against theirs. As much as she wanted to stay with them, she had to get ready for dinner. She stood up and her heart broke when they whined.

“I’ll be back after dinner, okay boys?”, they pouted and she frowned. “I know. I’m sorry...What if I snuck you guys some steak after dinner.” They laughed and their tails were wagging excitedly. “It’s settled then, I’ll bring you guys steak

She threw the doors open and spun around in the room that had once been her prison so long ago.She sighed contentedly, “This’ll be so much fun.”, she smiled, then her eyes landed on Harley the mallet. Harley's smile stared back at her, “You knew this day was coming. So don’t give me that look!”, she grabbed the mallet roughly by it’s handle.She growled, “This just goes to show that I’ll be the better villain than you! I’m worth more! I’m Pops’ partner! Y-you were just a henchman!”

Still Harley the mallet smiled, the sight of it was beginning to piss her off. So she chucked it out the door of her room. The crash of the mallet hitting something as it landed made her jump, huffing she plopped herself down on her vanity and pulled out her make-up and face paint. It’s true she’s so pale that she doesn’t need the white cover-up, but it helps her hide any identifying blemishes like her freckles. Plus it makes her eyes pop!

She blew a kiss at her reflection, and smiled when her movements were copied. She smiled at herself, and then she noticed it. Her smile. W-was her smile always so fake looking? M-maybe it’ll look more genuine when she and Pops hit the town, or whatever he was planning with her uncles. Yeah! That’s it.

Or she’s just overthinking it. Yeah that seems like the more reasonable option. There was nothing wrong with her smile, she’s just a bit nervous about reentering the spotlight.

Just as Marinette was about to change into something for dinner, her phone vibrated. She unlocked it and was shocked to see a text from an unknown number. It’s most likely a client. ‘Who knew I’d be so popular?’, she thought to herself. She shrugged and clicked on the text.

Unknown number: Hey, this is Lila Rossi

Unknown number: Damian Wayne’s fiance?

Unknown number: Your card said you're a dress designer, but I’m assuming you also make them. My class is going to the Wayne Gala in a few weeks. I was hoping you could make me a dress since we’re friends.

Marinette thought it over. Lila’s an obvious liar. She is on a class trip. Most likely, Lila can’t pay for the services. It would be bad for business if she made a free dress for a girl who is obviously lying. It would make Marinette D. Levi seem like a gullible fame seeking idiot. Unless...She said that it was a gift.A gift for a girl she thought was a friend. She doesn’t even have to make her a new dress, why waste such valuable fabric on her. Just find an old dress that a previous client never paid for and adjust it to Lila. Maybe the peacock dress. This will just be a long game of dress up.

Smiling, she typed her response:

Me: You assume correct!

Me: Of course! I think I have just the dress for you. All I would need to do is adjust it to your size.

Unknown number: Oh that sounds so nice! 😌 I knew it was fate for us to have met! Damiboo will be so happy!

Me: How do you feel about birds? Specifically peacocks?

Marinette grinned as she walked over to her closet. It was kept in a protective sleeve and was mostly forgotten in her clothes. She grabbed it and slipped it out of its sleeve. Finally it saw the light of day again, The Peacock Dress, one of her first commissions. It seemed like the perfect dress for Lila.

The client had been meaning to pay for it, but then they got caught up in a Superman fight while in Metropolis. Their family didn’t want it because it brought up memories, but paid for her time and services, but never paid for the dress. “Keep it”, they told her. So she did.

Why was she giving this to Lila? Such a precious dress, maybe she should send a picture and-

Her phone beeped, she unlocked it.

Unknown number: ❤️❤️❤️ I love peacocks! It’s my favorite bird! How did you know?

Marinette’s heart sank, she looked at the dress. The client would’ve wanted the dress to have been worn. But not by Lila. Was she taking this game too far? Or was she taking it too seriously?

N-no. It’s just a game with a toy. That’s all

She stroked the embroidered feathers on the shoulder, the client had been such a nice person. A light that had been taken too soon. She narrowed her eyes, those damn so called heroes. Not caring of the world they destroy in their quest for “justice”. She frowned.

She sighed and put the dress back in it’s sleeve. She put on a coat and rushed back to Pops’ office. She popped her head in and surprisingly scared her uncles. “Popsicle! I’m going back out! Meeting with a client!”, she said, and then ran out the door.

She heard him yell, “B-but Dolly! Judy made you your favorite!” as she ran back into the outside world.

___*****Line Break*****___

“Smile, darn you, smile.”, Marinette sang softly, “Everybody loves to grin. Follow my lead, recite my creed and smile!”

She skipped merrily to her destination, The Wayne Hotel, a.k.a where Lila’s class was staying. The dress she promised Lila was safely tucked away in a protective sleeve, which she carried via hanger. Honestly, the dress was too pretty and too nice for Lila, but isn’t that what you do with toys? You dress them up and pretend they're something else?..Because that’s all she is to her, a toy, something for her to play with until she’s bored! She doesn’t need another “friend” that will just leave her behind to die under a crumbling building!

Sighing, she entered the building and then she heard someone say, “Please hold the do-” Marinette spun around and saw the girl with the glowing earrings running toward her, “ Hey! You’re the girl from earlier!”

Marinette smiled, “Yup! That’s me!” Throwing a thumb pointing at herself, which flawlessly turned into her extending her hand out. “My name’s Marinette!”

The girl smiled and took her hand, “I’m Alya, it’s nice to officially meet you!” Then Alya’s eyes traveled to the dress and her eyes lit up. “Oooh what’s that?”

Marinette perked up, “It’s a dress commission for...a client.” Judging by the girl’s previous response to Lila’s lies, it was obvious she wouldn’t be pleased if she said the dress was for Lila.

“Client? Oh you’re working! What’s the name of the company? My class is going to the Wayne Gala in a few weeks so I’m kind of in the market for a dress. Our class representative didn’t bother to let us know beforehand.” Alya said, her tone becoming a little irritated towards the end.

“MDL Boutique! The DL stands for don’t keep us on the downlow! Spread the word!”, she grinned excitedly, meanwhile Alya stared at Marinette with a confused look on her face. It was so funny and so adorable, it made Marinette giggle.

“That’s what happens when you have talent and everyone can see it!”, She winked, and handed Alya her business card. “Pretty soon my name will be all over Gotham! Marinette D. Levi, dress designer, dress maker, and matchmaker!” she cheered with the biggest smile.

It was nice for Marinette D.Levi to have a dream to aspire for, even if it was unlikely for it to ever come true. Soon she’ll officially debut as Puppet Princess and she’ll be Pops’ partner! A-and that’s for the best, who needs work? All work and no play would just make her dull. Right?

Then Alya snorted, gaining Marinette’s attention, “The “D” wouldn’t happen to be for Dolly would it? I used to love that movie so much when I was younger!” Marinette beamed, Alya was now the second person to get the reference in her name.

She laughed, “My po-apa is a comedian of sorts. He loves a good joke, and since his nickname for me is “Dolly” I figured it would be a good tie in to my love for him! Ya know?”

Alya smiled, “that’s so sweet! My dad’s a zookeeper and he takes care of all the animals.” Before Marinette could respond, her phone beeped, she pulled it out.

Pants on fire: Are you here yet? My room’s on the 12th floor

Pants on fire: Text me when you get here😁

Marinette frowned, she put her phone away and looked to Alya. “Sorry, my client is expecting me.” When Alya nodded, Marinette continued, “You have my card. If you want to ask about a dress or whatever while you’re here in Gotham, feel free to give me a call.”

Alya smiled, “Of course! Thank you so much!” Marinette extended her hand for a farewell handshake and then Alya pulled her in for a hug. Marinette froze, she’s hugging her? Without her asking for one? And it felt...nice, kind of heartwarming? Slowly Marinette brought her hands up and returned the hug.

A few seconds later, Alya pulled away and grinned at her excitedly, “It was so nice to meet you. I will be sure to give you a call later!” Then she winked, her glowing earrings were so bright that they illuminated around Alya like a halo. Then Alya walked away towards a blonde boy and a bespectacled boy in a red cap, leaving a star struck Marinette behind.

“Y-yeah! I'll pick it up!”, Marinette exclaimed excitedly, maybe certain people weren’t toys. Maybe they were friends. She smiled and it felt right. Friends. She has a friend! She ignored the flashes of Manny’s face as she looked at the retreating form of Alya.

Manny wasn’t a friend, he was...he was... then memories of their time together were all that she could think about. Them laughing at something that one of them had said. Singing along to cheesy pop songs that came on the T.V. Them chasing each other around either from anger or a game of tag. The moments they shared planting little flowers in his garden. Lying around and watching cartoons. Those rare minutes he would become a human pin cushion for her growing fashion designer dream.

Then the moment they officially had become friends was brought up.

“I don’t usually play with girls, but you don’t look like you have cooties. So I guess we’ll be friends.”, He had said as he looked at her with a cautious look.

“I usually never play with anyone besides Cottontail!”, she grinned at him, she extended her hand out towards him, “Do you wanna be my friend Sir Poop head?”

He grinned back at her, “Yes Princess Dumb butt!”

Okay...Manny had been a friend, but then he left her to die under a crumbling building. Last she checked friends don’t do that! So when did he stop being her friend? And how can she keep that from happening...with Alya.

Are they even friends? Maybe acquaintances, yeah. Not friends yet, just acquaintances. She smiled and began her trek to the elevator.

Me: I’ll be there soon

Crap! She forgot to ask her why her earrings were glowing! Oh well, she could ask her next time she saw her.

___*****Line Break*****___

Here she was, Lila’s room. Was it too late to turn back? Lila still hadn’t replied, or heard her knocking. Speaking of which she's knocked three times in the last ten minutes. Was Lila here or not? Sighing, she twisted the door knob, and it was open? ‘I swear if I find a dead body in that room I will scream and sic Bud and Lou on the killer!’, she thought as she walked into the room.

“Yes of course he is, Mama!”, Lila’s voice appeared. “He wants to take me shopping to all the finest stores in Gotham! I told him that he shouldn’t feel obligated to do that, but he insisted on treating me like a princess! Luckily I managed to convince him to take me to a nice restaurant instead. The Midnight Paradise!” Lila paused to let her mom talk and Marinette took this chance to walk further into Lila’s hotel room. “Yes that restaurant! The food was to die for! Also, I think we saw the Wayne family while we were there. Adrien offered to introduce me to Bruce Wayne at the Wayne Gala.”

Marinette blinked, ‘Who the hell is Adrien? I know she's not dating Damian Wayne but...Keep your lies straight! Unless...This Adrien is a classmate of hers, which would explain why she was lying about Damian Wayne.’ Marinette was now staring at the back of Lila’s head, ‘This is going to be a messy game.’

“Oh...Okay. Okay. Goodnight Mama. I love you.”, Lila said. She gave a few air kisses and ended the call. She threw her phone on the bed and gave a loud, “UGH! She sure loves to hear herself talk.”

“That’s a bit harsh wouldn’t you say?”, Marinette spoke up.

Watching Lila jump was absolutely hilarious, she spun around and various emotions flashed in her eyes. Marinette recognized shock, fear, annoyance, anger, and fake joy. ‘Impressive. The girl can really act.’, Marinette wanted to snort.

“Marinette! Oh you’re here!”, She smiled, Marinette immediately saw through the act. “Why didn’t you text me you were here?”

“The door was open. And I did.”, Marinette smiled, “Multiple times actually.”

Lila pulled out her phone, and Marinette saw her grimace right before it turned into a look of guilt, “Oops! My bad! I’m so sorry Marinette! It’s just my mama called and I guess I was distracted.” She pouted, “Can you forgive me?”

Marinette smiled, “It’s fine. I understand completely!” Marinette waved her hand, “Anyhow, I brought the dress.” Lila’s eyes widened and the bluenette fought the urge to roll her eyes and kept smiling. She freed the dress from its sleeve and Lila lit up.

“I-I love it!”, Lila squealed. Marinette studied Lila, for the first time since she’s met this girl. This is the first time she looks genuinely happy. Is it that she’s happy to get a dress like this, or that she “fooled” me into giving it to her? Lila looked to Marinette, “Do I really get to keep this dress?” Marinette nodded. Lila smiled so wide, she looked like a child in those christmas movies. Then the smile disappeared, Lila looked a bit serious and now stared Marinette in the eye.

“What’s the catch?”, she asked with an angry look in her eye. Marinette shook her head, and handed Lila the dress. She smiled, “I wouldn’t say catch. I mean I’m just doing a friend a favor after all.”

“You want me to do you a favor as well?”, Lila asked, she laid the dress out on her bed and crossed her arms. “Well, I guess it wouldn’t hurt.” She looked back at the dress, “What do you have in mind?”

“I was hoping you could get me into the Wayne Gala. As your plus one?”, Marinette smiled sheepishly.

Lila smiled, Marinette saw the look of smug victory in her eyes. “Of course! What are friends for?” Marinette smiled and cheered!

“Oh thank you! Thank you so much Lila!”, Marinette extended her arms out and Lila pulled her in for a hug. “I should be thanking you, you’re giving me this dress for free after all!”, she responded happily.

Marinette smirked into her shoulder, then she felt her phone vibrate in her back pocket. She pulled away from Lila and unlocked her phone.

Popsicle: Almost time for curfew. Come home now!

Marinette pouted, “Sorry Lila. My dad wants me to start heading home before it gets too dark outside. Lila’s eyes held a look of annoyance, hidden away by her pouting face. “I’ll be back tomorrow with my tools, do the proper measurements and adjust it to your figure!”, Marinette waved as she walked out the door.

“Okay then! Goodnight Marinette!”, Lila cheered. “Wait! You forgot the dress!”

“I’ll be back tomorrow. Goodnight Lila!”, Marinette continued walking down the hall.

___*****Line Break*****___

It times like this she’s happy to have an alter ego. Free to walk around without the threat of someone calling the cops. Sweet little Marinette Dolly Levi was nothing like the fabulous Puppet Princess. Oh well, better go home and sneak her brothers some steak.

She walked merrily towards the entrance doors and was about to take her first step out the door. “Marinette?”, a voice said, and she froze.

She then spun around and was met with a familiar pair of emerald eyes. “Damian?”

Apparently she’s more recognizable than she thought.

________________________________________________________________

(Author’s Note) Hey guys! Thanks for reading part 3! If you want to be tagged please feel welcome to ask in the comments! And if you have any questions feel free to go and ask in my ask box!

Also Manny’s reason for becoming friends with Mari was kinda based off my brief best friendship with a boy from K-1st grade. Now that I’m thinking about it, that was the weirdest friendship I ever had. We mostly just tried to gross each other out with dumb nicknames. What even was K-1st?

Taglist: @thestressmademedoit @enchanted-nerd @brokenwordsarehard2 @tumbling-down-hills-and-stuff @mochegato

#maribat #marinette dupain cheng #miraculous au #dc x miraculous #dc x mlb

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