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the-wild-wolves-around-you · 2 years

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even as a shadow, even as a dream pt.5

Pairing: Vamp!Eddie Munson/Fem Reader; Vamp!Eddie Munson/You

Summary: You go to check on Wayne, but things don't go as planned. (Reader’s POV)

Rating: M(ature)

WC: 17k (i know, i know, im sorry lol)

Warnings: vague mentions of suicidal thoughts (nothing graphic, wayne's just going through it for a hot minute, but its a happy ending, i swear,) adult language, brief violence

A/N: sorry for the delay (and once again the length lmao) i just want all the eddie/wayne interactions because the duffer bros ROBBED us of their relationship :'( but i know i went really, overly self indulgent with this chap lol. i might be obsessed with eddie munson. you might say that. (i say that, since im currently posting this on my birthday instead of going to idk brunch like a normal person lmaooo)

anyway, thank you to everyone who's read, commented, and/or reblogged! ❤️ it really means a lot to me. hope you enjoy this next installment! and stay tuned for the smutty finale of this series ;)

Taglist: @sushihousebread @localdepressedvampire @alienthewolf @frozenhuntress67 @honeycovered-bandaids @sashaphantomhive

Reblogs and comments greatly appreciated!

It took you a little over fifteen minutes to reach the high school where it should have taken you five, but you’d been forced to weave through back roads due to the gates bisecting most of Hawkins. By the time you parked your car, your good mood and the lingering sensation of Eddie’s kiss had dissipated, and you sat staring out your windshield with the steering wheel gripped in white-knuckled fists.

The parking lot was chaos. You’d found one of the only open spots between the dozens of other cars, the government Jeeps, and the tents for handing out supplies like food and water. The people who could leave Hawkins were already gone, so this was what was left. Some were here because their houses were destroyed, and they had nowhere else to go. Others still had their homes but resided in parts of Hawkins where the power or water was out.

And spaced out between all the people of your hometown were relief aid workers and soldiers.

The sight of the soldiers made you nervous. You had this irrational fear that one would look at your face and just see all your secrets. Like Eddie. Like Eleven. You knew it was unlikely, improbable, but seeing as you had several impossibilities hanging out back in your living room, you couldn’t discount your unease entirely.

You would just have to be quick. Get in, find Wayne, talk to him for a minute, and leave. You could do that. It was simple enough. Absently, you wished you had a cigarette for your nerves, but since you didn’t, you took a deep breath, wiped your sweaty fingers on your shirt, and picked up the plate you’d set on the passenger seat. It was lukewarm now, but you knew there were microwaves in the school, so hopefully Wayne could still have a hot breakfast.

As you got out of your car, you kept your head down and tried to blend into the crowd. No one spared you a second glance as you made your way to the gym, but your body still tensed up every time you passed the soldiers in their green uniforms.

Thankfully, you made it to the gymnasium without incident, and you breathed a sigh in relief when you saw there were no soldiers here. Just downtrodden townsfolk and aid workers.

A tendril of guilt snaked through you since you only had one plate to give, but you reminded yourself that there was only so much you could do. You couldn’t give people back their homes, their livelihoods… their loved ones. You couldn’t feed the whole town. But you could do a small kindness for Wayne Munson, and though it seemed inconsequential in the grand scheme of things, you hoped it would at least give Eddie’s uncle some comfort to know people were thinking about him.

It was the very least you could do.

Still, guilt was thick in the back of your throat as you slowly started winding your way through the rows of cots that now took up the gymnasium floor. Most people barely seemed to notice you, their eyes sliding away like rain on glass, but a few frowned in your direction. You wondered if it was something about your appearance— your clothes, your cast, the scabs on your knees— or if some of the people knew who you were. It had been five days since the gate opened, four days since you spoke to the police and pinned Vecna’s murders on Jason. You knew rumors had to be flying around by now, and although you didn’t think you’d been specifically named in any reports, Hawkins was small. Information leaked out faster than the Titanic took on water.

And the angry mob Jason riled up never got their “justice.”

You really didn’t want to be the target of the town’s next inquisition, so you ducked your head and continued searching for Wayne out of the corner of your eyes.

But after doing several laps around the gym, you came to the realization that he wasn’t here. He should have been. It was a little past ten in the morning, and you knew the older Munson had continued working night shifts at the plant since the town still needed power. He always got off at dawn, and should have returned to the high school since the trailer was gone.

So, where was he?

A prickle of unease made the hair on the back of your neck stand on end, but you refused to let it bloom into panic. Wayne was fine. If something happened to him at the plant— Oh, fuck, would you even know? With Eddie “gone,” the older Munson didn’t have any next of kin that you knew of. If something else crawled out of the gates and got him, the police were under no obligation to notify anyone.

Now, your breathing became a little shallow, more rapid, and you couldn’t help casting one last frantic glance around the gym.

“Lookin’ for someone?”

The deep, male voice made you jump, and you nearly dropped the plate you were holding as you whirled around, sneakers squealing against the gymnasium floor.

“Careful now,” the man said. He was middle-aged, with graying blond hair and a thick mustache. You didn’t recognize him, but the way he dragged his pale eyes down your body made you uncomfortable.

You didn’t know what his gaze lingered on longer: the Judas Priest shirt you were wearing and the breasts underneath, or your cotton shorts and bare legs.

“Sorry, you, uh, startled me,” you muttered, setting the plate of food down on a table beside you so the man couldn’t see how you were trembling.

“Didn’t mean to,” the man grunted before he cocked his head at you. “Just seemed like you were looking for someone. Are ya?”

You reflexively opened your mouth to say no, but then paused. It had already been more than twenty minutes since you left the house. Eddie and the others would expect you back soon. But you didn’t want to tell them Wayne was missing, and you didn’t have a lot of time to search before you would have to call them and let them know why you were running late. Best case scenario, Wayne was maybe in the bathroom or something, and this blond man saw him walk out a few minutes ago. Worst case scenario, something had happened to Wayne at the plant, but with the way gossip spread through Hawkins, this man might have heard something.

Either way, a single question couldn’t hurt. Right?

The man was starting to stare at you strangely, so you decided to bite the bullet.

“Um, yes, actually,” you said, clearing your throat. “I’m looking for Wayne Munson. Have you seen him?”

Instantly, the man’s face changed. Where he had been curious and slightly lecherous before, now he was angry. His blue eyes turned into chips of glass, and you could hear how he gritted his teeth, the line of his mouth twisting into a snarl.

“Munson?” He practically spat the name. “What’s a girl like you looking for—”

The blond cut himself off, his gaze falling to your chest again, but this time you knew he was reading the faded Judas Priest logo instead of just staring at your tits.

“Wait a minute,” he said. “Ain’t that one of them Satanic bands? What, you part of Munson’s little cult?”

Rage immediately ignited in your gut, spreading molten through your veins, and you bit down on your tongue to stop yourself from spewing lava. You couldn’t afford to lose your temper.

But you also couldn’t bear to hear Eddie’s name dragged through the mud.

“There was no cult,” you gritted out as you clenched and unclenched your right fist. “The police cleared Eddie Munson. Jason Carver was the one who—”

“Jason Carver was a good kid,” the man cut you off, narrowing his cold blue eyes into a glare. “The police don’t know what the hell they’re talking about. That freak Munson boy murdered the Cunningham girl, and I bet he made ole’ Wayne watch. Sick bastards, the both of them. At least one of them is dead. Woulda been two if the cops weren’t such pussies.”

The blood was roaring through your ears now, the heat in your gut filling the rest of your body until it felt like the top of your head was going to pop off from the pressure. But then the man’s last words finally filtered through your boiling thoughts, and you felt the breath catch in your lungs.

“Where is Wayne?” you demanded, taking a step forward until you were nearly toe to toe with the blond man. “What the fuck did you do to him?”

The man seemed surprised by the strength behind your words, behind your glare, but he pulled himself up to his full height, which was more than a head taller than you. He also puffed out his chest as he stared down at you, like he was waiting for you to back down, to cower.

But you had faced evils beyond this pea-brained fucker’s limited imagination. He would have to do more than that to intimidate you.

“So I was right,” the blond sneered down at you. “You must have been the Munson boy’s whore before hell swallowed him up, and with him gone, you’ve turned to wrinkled Wayne to help with that ache between your slutty legs. Well, Jezebel, he ain’t here no more. This morning, some of the boys and I gave him the righteous punishment the Lord demanded. And now you also need to repent for your sinful ways, witch.”

He reached out and grabbed your left arm, right above your elbow, twisting until it hurt.

That small flare of pain burned away the last strand of your self-restraint, and you saw red.

Reacting on instinct, you hauled back you right fist and then drove it into the man’s fleshy throat. He choked and staggered, blue eyes bulging out of his face in surprise, but you were already moving, pressing forward, wrenching your arm out of his grasp and tripping him at the same time. He crashed to the gym floor, toppling a cot, and you dove forward, landing on his soft gut and driving the air from his lungs.

Before he could even catch his breath, you slammed your knee into his balls so hard that he let out an involuntary shout and immediately gagged, turning his head as saliva dribbled from his lips.

But you were not done, flames still licking through your veins, turning all your good sense to ash.

You dug the fingers of your right hand into his chin, jerking his head around to face you, and then you slammed the cast on your left wrist against his gaping, gasping mouth. The blond man cried out again, gurgling on blood as his lip split right down the middle, and when he turned his head again, red-tinged saliva and a tooth splattered across the gym floor.

Without thinking, you snatched up the tooth in your left hand, forcing the man’s glassy blue eyes to look at it as you held it up between your faces.

“If you ever,” you snarled, “try to touch me or anyone named Munson ever again, I will use this tooth to curse you and your whole fucking family until kingdom come. Because you’re right, I am a witch. The worst fucking kind. Satan knows my name personally, and I fuck him every full moon. So if you try me again, the cops will find your entrails scattered across Hawkins, and not even your pitiful God will recognize you when I’m done. Do you fucking understand me?”

The man whimpered and gurgled, fear stark on his bloody face, but he managed a weak nod.

The blood was still pounding through your ears, but you could hear a distant murmur beneath it, and when you look up, you saw a small crowd of people staring at you with wide eyes. Suddenly, you were all too aware of the blood of your hands, the way you were straddling the blond man pinned beneath you, his whimpering moans.

Oh, fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

You shoved yourself to your feet, and the crowd of spectators stumbled back, pale and fearful. You meet none of their eyes, instead glancing back down at the man still moaning on the ground. For the first time, you noticed his knuckles were bruised and scabbed over, and you suddenly remembered what the bastard had said.

Some of the boys and I gave him the righteous punishment the Lord demanded.

The realization that they had hurt Wayne rekindled the dying inferno inside you, and you didn’t even think about it as you hauled back your foot and kicked the blond fucker straight in the nuts with all your strength.

This time, he rolled completely onto his side and vomited, curling into a fetal position to ward off any more blows.

But you didn’t have time to kick him again. You heard the gym doors bang open, and when you glanced up, a pair of soldiers were talking to someone who was pointing in your direction.

Time to go.

Your brain was working on auto pilot as you snatched up your forgotten plate of cold breakfast, and then you were whirling around, hoping over cots and darting through tables. Thankfully, everyone parted for you like the Red Sea, and you hit the gym’s side door just as someone shouted for you to stop.

You burst outside and started sprinting around the building. The chaos worked in your favor this time, because everyone was shouting about everything, so no one heard the soldiers yelling after you. Skidding up to the door of your car, you wretched it open and collapsed onto the driver’s seat, throwing the plate into the passenger’s side as you cranked the engine. Within seconds, you were squealing out of the parking lot sans seatbelt, and by some miracle, you didn’t crash the car or run anyone over.

“Shit, shit, shit,” you muttered over and over as you drove down the road, glancing in the rearview for any pursuers.

But no other cars or Jeeps turned out of the school, and soon you were winding your way through residential Hawkins. You took several overlapping turns in case someone tried to follow you, but after five minutes, there was nothing, so you were pretty sure you were in the clear.

Besides, the cops and soldiers definitely had more pressing matters than a brawl between townsfolk. Hopefully.

A sudden sting of pain in your left palm made you wince, bringing your hand up from where it was curled in your lap. You couldn’t close your fist fully because of the cast, but you fingers were clenched around something, and when you extended them, you realized you were still clutching that man’s bloody tooth.

“Ugh.” You made a face and dropped the tooth into your cup holder, not knowing what else to do with it. The adrenaline was starting to fade now, letting the aches in your body take center stage. Your knees were sore since you’d slammed them into the gym floor, and your wrist ached beneath the cast. You were also splattered in a fine mist of blood, and you winced again when you realized you would have to return to Eddie like this.

Like your thoughts summoned him, the walkie on the floorboard of your passenger seat suddenly crackled to life.

“Come in, Mrs. Munson,” Dustin’s voice snickered. “Come in— ow!”

There was the sound of a scuffle, followed by more static, and then Eddie’s voice filled the car.

“Ignore him, Obi. We just wanted to check in and see where you are. Over.”

You sighed as you pulled over to the side of the road. You were far enough from the school now that pausing a moment shouldn’t hurt, so you leaned over the center console, hissing at the strain in your ribs. Finally, your fingers brushed the walkie, and you reeled it back into your lap with a gasp.

“I’m here,” you said, trying not to sound pained and breathless.

“Hey, sweetheart,” Eddie replied, and you could hear the smile in his voice. “You on your way home?”

“Uhhh…” You flinched, mind scrambling for an excuse. “A-Actually, I just got to the high school. A lot of the, um, roads were blocked off, so it was a bitch and a half to get here. And don’t even get me started on parking.”

You absolutely hated lying to Eddie, but you didn’t want to worry him just yet. You needed to find Wayne first, figure out how hurt he was. When you had that info, you would apologize profusely and tell Eddie the truth, but not a moment sooner.

“Oh,” Eddie said, and he couldn’t hide the disappointment in his tone. “So you’ll be, what, another thirty, forty-five minutes?”

“A-Around there,” you replied, clearing your throat and willing your voice to stop shaking. But then a thought occurred to you, and you frowned as you pressed the button on the walkie again. “Why? Are you… hungry? Should I come home now?”

It had been a few hours since Eddie fed, and with so many people at the house, he might be struggling.

Before you could start to panic, Eddie’s voice cut through the static again.

“No, no,” he hurried out. “I’m fine. I just… miss you.”

He said the last part quietly, but you suddenly hear Dustin, Mike, and Lucas “ooooohhhh” in unison.

“Shut up, you damn brats,” Eddie huffed before their voices were replaced with static.

The admission and light hearted teasing made you smile faintly, but it faded when your eyes fell to the blood speckled across your cast. You took a deep breath before you clicked the walkie again.

“I’m sorry to keep you waiting, but I’ll just be a little while longer,” you said, hoping that you weren’t lying.

“Okay,” Eddie responded easily. “Harrington and Buckley are gonna go break into the Family Video—”

“It’s not a break-in if we have the key!” Robin interjected.

“Right,” Eddie snorted before he addressed you again. “So, any requests, Obi?”

“I’m fine with whatever,” you muttered a little distractedly, tensing up as you saw a car approaching in your rearview, but it passed you a moment later without incident, so you focused on Eddie again. “You know I’m not picky.”

“You say that now, but have you seen Harrington’s movie tastes?”

“Hey—” Steve began to protest before he was cut off by static.

You couldn’t help but chuckle, even if your whole body was still tense and achy. “Can’t be any worse than that animated Lord of the Rings movie you made me watch.”

“The execution was flawed, but the vision, sweetheart, the vision!” Eddie argued like he always did, and you could tell he was about to launch into a familiar rant, but you didn’t have the time right now.

“As much as I would like to talk about ‘the vision,’ people are starting to stare at me funny, so I gotta go. I’ll, uh, call you when I’m on my way home.”

“Finnnne,” Eddie sighed dramatically, but then he grew serious again. “But, um, stay safe, alright?”

You could hear the thinly veiled concern in his words, and it twisted your heart.

“I promise,” you murmured into the walkie, and even though you knew it would only cause more heckling, you added, “Love you, Munson.”

Sure enough, when Eddie responded, the laughter and cooing in the background almost drowned him out.

“Love you, too, Obi,” he said before you heard what sounded like his wings flapping. “Alright, you annoying gremlins, back! Get back, I say!”

The chaos faded into static as Eddie clicked off the walkie, and you shook your head as you tossed the device into your passenger seat. It clinked off the plate of cold breakfast, and you frowned down at the foil, your temporary good mood fading with Eddie’s voice.

“Fuck,” you sighed as you dragged a hand down your face.

You needed to find Wayne, and fast. From what that blond fucker back at the school had said, you were pretty sure the older Munson was injured. How badly, you didn’t know. But he’d been run out of the school, so you tried to figure out where he would most likely be hiding.

The hospital was your first thought, but after some consideration, you didn’t think Wayne would go there unless he was really hurt. God, you hoped that wasn’t the case. But if he didn’t go to the hospital, where else could he possibly go?

You could only think of one place.

“Shit,” you cursed under your breath as you tugged your seatbelt on and put the car in drive.

As you pulled back onto the road, you hoped your hunch panned out. If it didn’t, then you would haul ass to the hospital, and if Wayne wasn’t there either, you would go home and tell Eddie. Dustin could stay with him while you and Harrington combed Hawkins, but fuck, you really hoped it didn’t come to that.

The drive to your destination was relatively fast, and before you knew it, you were approaching Forest Hills trailer park.

Since it was one of the origin points for the gates, you expected to encounter more trouble, like having to sneak past some guards and a few Jeeps. But only a few wooden barricades barred the entrance to the park, and there wasn’t a guard or patrol in sight. You guessed that with the gates now taking up several square miles, it just wasn’t feasible for them to be guarded at all hours of the day, but the fact that there was no one made you uneasy.

If Eddie had so easily crawled out of the gate, what else could do the same when no one was watching?

You glanced in your rearview, at the machete that was just lying in the backseat, a leftover gift from your trip to the WarZone. Then you tried to calm yourself down, reminded yourself that Will or Eleven would have said something if they felt Vecna making a move again. Things from the Upside Down also abhorred light and heat, and it was almost eleven in the morning, the sun bright and warm overhead. You should be fine. You would just drive up real quick, and if you didn’t see Wayne or his truck, you would turn right back around and head for the hospital.

With this plan in mind, you carefully maneuvered around the barricades, wincing as your car, and therefore your body, jolted over grass and then gravel while you made your way deeper into the park.

You didn’t know if you actually wanted to find Wayne here or not, but unfortunately it didn’t matter, because you immediately spotted Wayne’s truck.

“Fuck,” you muttered under your breath, slowing your speed as you approached the Munson trailer.

Or what was left of it.

The gate had torn it to pieces, and your stomach churned when you caught sight of the bloody-looking gash that was carved into the ground. Last night, Eddie had told you that this was where he came back through, and you wondered if the membrane was still ripped.

Shit. You couldn’t stay here.

But you couldn’t leave, either, so you pulled up beside Wayne’s truck and killed the engine. Your heart was in your throat as your eyes darted around, looking for Demogorgons, dogs, bats, vines, whatever, but the trailer park was still and empty around you.

Except for Wayne. Who was kneeling in the dead grass before the ruined trailer, about twenty feet from where you were parked in your car.

The sight of him instantly made your heart skip a beat. He was upright at least, but hunched over, and there seemed to be a cut or wound on the back of his head, like he’d been struck from behind.

Again, anger bubbled up inside you, volatile and strong. You hoped you had popped that blond bastard’s scrotum.

But you couldn’t think about that fucker anymore. You needed to check on Wayne, make sure he was okay. With this in mind, you fumbled with your seatbelt and then the door handle, wincing when your shoes made a loud crunch against the gravel.

Wayne seemed to hear it, too, and he curled further into himself, like he was bracing for a blow.

Something in the cowed line of his shoulders made you think of Eddie cowering in your bathtub, and you started speaking before you even knew what you were going to say.

“M-Mr. Munson,” you started as you tentatively stepped forward, which just made Wayne flinch again. “No, no, it’s okay. I’m not— I’m not here to hurt you. I don’t um, know if you remember me, but I’m E-Eddie’s friend.”

You told him your name as you slowly approached him, but Wayne gave no reaction, and you suddenly couldn’t remember if you’d ever properly introduced yourself to him.

“Eddie, he, uhh— you might know me as Obi,” you added with a faint blush.

Now, you were only a few feet behind the older Munson, and he finally seemed to relax a fraction, the line of his shoulders not so taut and trembling. You took this as a good sign and fully closed the distance, but once you were standing directly behind him and could see over his shoulder, an involuntary gasp ejected out of your throat.

“S-Shit,” you breathed, and everything in you froze.

Because while you still couldn’t see Wayne’s face, you could see that his hands were cradled, palm up, in his lap. And lying across those hands was a revolver made of silver metal and wood. The older Munson wasn’t even gripping it, his finger nowhere near the trigger, but your body broke out in a cold sweat as your heart started tripping over itself.

“M-Mr. Munson,” you said, your voice hitched and cracking while your eyes stayed glued to the pistol. “What are… what are you doing?”

For a long moment, Wayne didn’t respond. The trailer park was quiet and still around you save the wind in the trees, and you started to inch your way to the side as slowly and quietly as possible until the older man’s profile came into view. His face was covered in fresh bruises, his right eye nearly swollen shut. He seemed to be staring at the gun in his lap, or maybe just the dirt beneath him. He wasn’t blinking.

After another silent moment, you opened your mouth to prompt him again, but he finally spoke.

“Can’t find any bullets,” he muttered, so softly you had to lean forward to hear him, and you still weren’t sure you heard him correctly.

“What?” you asked, keeping your tone quiet and soothing, like you were speaking to a skittish animal.

Wayne’s fingers twitched around the revolver, but he still didn’t grip it.

“Bullets,” he repeated, a little more strongly this time. “Found the gun, but couldn’t find the bullets. Ain’t that funny?”

Your throat tightened, like it was wrapped in a fist, a vise. Heart pounding, you struggled to think of a response, but apparently Wayne didn’t need one, because he kept going.

“I just… wanted to see if there was anything left,” he said as he finally lifted his head, staring at where his trailer used to reside. “You know, I don’t even have any pictures of Ed. Was never any extra money lying around for film and cameras. I had to use his yearbook pictures for the… for the posters. I just wanted one picture. One of them notebooks he was always scribbling in. Maybe one of his tapes. But there’s just… nothing left.”

One hand lifted halfheartedly to gesture at the ruined trailer, the gaping gash in the earth that was mere feet away. Wayne took a deep, shuddering breath, and his voice was thick with tears when he continued.

“I got nothin’ left,” he choked out, tears trickling out of his swollen eye and down his battered cheek. “Brother’s in prison probably until he dies. I never married. And Ed— he wasn’t my son, but he was my boy, and h-he’s gone. And everyone says the world’s better off, but that’s not true. Ed was a good kid. He was kind. No one understood him, but he wasn’t the monster they’re painting him as on the news. He was… he was a good boy.”

The older Munson broke off into sobs, and tears immediately blurred your vision, burning down your cheeks.

“I know,” you murmured as you slowly and carefully dropped to your knees beside Wayne. Your fingers itched to yank the gun out of his hands, but you refrained for now, instead clutching at your knees. “I know, Mr. Munson. I see— saw the good in Eddie. He was the kindest, brightest person I ever met. The room seemed to always light up when he walked in. Probably because he flicked the switch on for a dramatic entrance.”

Wayne choked out the ghost of a laugh, sniffling as he turned to fully look at you. Head-on, his face looked much worse. His right eye was swollen and purple, and his left cheekbone bore the distinct impression of several knuckles. His lips were cracked and split, and blood had soaked into the collar of the white undershirt he was wearing beneath his flannel.

Your heart ached for the older man, and a part of you wanted to go back to the high school and stomp on that guy’s nuts yet again. But you tamped down your anger, making sure it wasn’t visible on your face as Wayne continued to look at you.

The two of you stared at each other for a long, silent moment before Wayne finally broke it.

“Ed was always talkin’ bout you, ya know?” he rasped as he studied your face. “Always going on about ‘Obi this,’ and ‘Obi that.’ I think… I think you were the first person to ever really see him. He was always happy when he talked about you, couldn’t wait to see you again even if you’d just left. He… god, he really loved you. So thank you. For seeing the good in him. For makin’ my boy happy.”

You could barely see the older man through your tears now, and you drew in a great, gasping breath. The grief rolling off Wayne was suffocating, clogging your throat, but guilt built up like a rising tide inside you, threatening to drag you out to sea.

“I… I loved him, too,” you said, hating that you were using the past tense. “And… and he made me just as happy. But he loved you, too, Mr. Munson. He told me so many times how grateful he was that you took him. That you were the only reason he turned out to be such a good guy.”

“Nah,” Wayne scoffed and dropped his eyes to his lap— and the gun— again. “All I did was put a roof over Ed’s head, and a shitty one at that. No, he… he was always good, ever since he was a baby. He wasn’t like the rest of us Munson men. He was… better. He deserved better. Better than I or the rest of this godforsaken town ever gave him.”

His last words took on an edge of anger, and suddenly he was tightly clutching the revolver, making your heart leap into your throat.

“You deserve better, too,” you blurted out desperately, your eyes never leaving the pistol. If Wayne so much as twitched, you were tackling him into the dirt. “I-I know what happened at the high school this morning. I had my own altercation with that blond bastard, the one with the mustache. He was gloating about what he did to you until I knocked his damn teeth out.”

Wayne looked up with a frown then, his anger momentarily displaced by confusion. “Why? They were right. I shoulda left this town years ago. Taken Ed with me. But I was a damn coward. Didn’t want to start somewhere new. And look what happened. Ed’s… dead. Because of me and my cowardice. Larry and the other fellas were right. The world would be a better place without me in it.”

He glanced down at the pistol again, fingers tightening around the metal, and even though he said he hadn’t found any bullets, you panicked.

“Eddie’s alive,” you blurted out, and then cursed yourself in a million different ways.

But what were you supposed to do? Even if you talked Wayne off the proverbial ledge now with some empty platitudes, you were then supposed to… what? Send the older Munson on his way thinking he was to blame for his nephew’s death? By Wayne’s tone, you knew he wouldn’t even make it out of Hawkins. The cops would probably find his truck flipped over on the side of the road in the morning. He wouldn’t see another sunrise if you did nothing.

And you refused— refused— to let Eddie lose the only family he had left.

Your words echoed around the trailer park like a gunshot, and you heard Wayne inhale sharply before he glanced back up at you. At first, his eyes were wide with surprise, but as the seconds ticked by, they narrowed with suspicion, then anger.

“Young lady, Ed might have loved you, but don’t you lie--”

“I’m not lying,” you said, your mind putting together sentences as you went. “I’m not… saying this out of pity or to hurt you. It’s the truth. A very crazy, impossible, miraculous truth, but it’s still the truth. I swear it on… on my love for Eddie.”

Some of the anger faded from Wayne’s blue eyes, but not the skepticism, and it was soon joined by a hint of concern.

“Sweetheart,” the older Munson said, sounding so much like Eddie that it almost hurt. His eyes skipped over you, taking in your cast, your skinned knees, the clothes that you wore to bed. “When was the last time you slept?”

“Last night,” you responded truthfully. “Nearly eight hours. And I ate a full breakfast not even an hour ago. I’m not sleep deprived, Mr. Munson. I’m not hallucinating or crazy or delirious from hunger. Eddie is alive. He’s currently at my house with some friends. Do you remember Dustin Henderson? Curly-haired boy who approached you in the gym a few days ago?”

“Yes…” Wayne said with a frown.

“Well, he’s one of the people with Eddie right now.”

Wayne’s frown only deepened. “No, that boy— he said Ed was…”

“I know,” you cut in, wincing. “Dustin wasn’t lying. At the time. He— we all thought Eddie was… gone. But then he came back. He was injured and… different, but alive. I— he’s the reason I came looking for you. He wanted me to check in on you.”

That part wasn’t entirely true— you were the one to suggest bringing Wayne breakfast— but it sounded plausible, and you hoped it would be enough to convince the older man of your sincerity.

Wayne continued to stare at you for what felt like an endless stretch of time. He didn’t blink, barely seemed to breathe, and as the seconds dragged by, the skepticism in his battered face began to fade. Finally, he dragged his tongue over his split and cracked lips and sucked in a deep breath.

“Ed…” Wayne started, paused, took another deep breath. “Ed is… alive? You’re saying he’s actually alive?”

“Yes.” You nodded and braced yourself as the older Munson began to breathe more heavily, until he was almost panting.

“No,” he muttered as he shook his head. “No, no, he’s— if he’s alive, why wouldn’t he come find me? Why— why wouldn’t he tell me?”

“Well,” you said with another wince, “it’s complicated. Very complicated actually. But the short version is… he was scared. There are some things we don’t understand yet, about how he… came back, and Eddie didn’t want to put you in any danger. Besides, the townsfolk obviously haven’t moved on yet, so Eddie can’t just go walking through Hawkins.”

For a lot of reasons, but Eddie being a wanted man was an easier pill to swallow than him being some kind of vampire/demo-bat hybrid. You were going to have to drop that bomb gently. If that was even possible.

Wayne continued to stare at you as his breathing devolved into gasping, and before you could try and calm him down, the older man was rocketing to his feet.

“Take— take me to him,” he gasped, still clutching the pistol in white-knuckled fists. “I-If Ed is alive, you need to take me to him. Right now. I need— need to see him. I—”

Wayne suddenly swayed and went a little cross-eyed, and you leapt up just in time to catch him. He sagged against your shoulder, barely able to keep upright, and you inhaled sharply and held it when you felt the cold barrel of the revolver press into your belly.

“Whoa there, it’s okay, take a deep breath,” you muttered as you tried to hold the older man up while arching your lower half away from him. “I’ll… I’ll take you to him. Alright, Mr. Munson? I’ll take you to see Eddie. But first, you have to give me the gun. Okay?”

Wayne panted raggedly into your shoulder, but he took some of his weight off you, and when you stepped back half a step, he remained standing on his own. He was staring down at the pistol he was still clutching in his shaking hands, and you angled your body away from the barrel. When he didn’t say anything, you hesitantly reached for the gun, and Wayne didn’t stop you as you gently extracted it from his suddenly lax fingers.

Once you had the gun in your possession, relief nearly made your knees buckle, but you still took a moment to pop open the cylinder and double check that the revolver was in fact not loaded. It wasn’t, and you sent out a prayer of gratitude to the universe.

“Okay,” you breathed, snapping the cylinder back into place and then shoving the gun into the waistband of your shorts, the metal cold against the small of your back.

Then you looked up to find Wayne staring at you with an achingly familiar lost expression. He and Eddie might not share the same color eyes, but something in the set of them— or the pain in their depths— was similar. You tried for a reassuring smile, but now that the immediate danger had faded, your heart began to race for a different reason altogether.

Because, fuck, what were you supposed to do now?

“Okay,” you said again in an effort to kick start your brain into thinking of solutions, of your next course of action. Wayne was still staring at you, but your eyes clicked over his bruises, the blood on his shirt, and you just started thinking out loud. “W-Well, first thing’s first, we need to clean you up a little bit. I, um, have a first aid kit and a new shirt in the car.”

“I-I don’t need a new shirt.” Wayne frowned. “I need to see Ed.”

“I know,” you sighed as you dragged a hand through your hair. “I know, and I promise to take you to him. But I need to clean you up first. You can’t see him while you’re actively bleeding. And this isn’t just for your own good. It’s for Eddie’s, too.”

“What the hell does that mean?” Wayne asked, and you could see he was getting frustrated with you now, but also what could you say?

Oh, sorry, your nephew is a blood thirsty vampire now.

“It’s… complicated,” you said instead, repeating your earlier words. “And I know that word seems meaningless, but to explain the whole story, I’d need about an hour and a bottle of whiskey. Since neither of us want to be here that long, give me five minutes to clean you up, and I’ll give you the abridged version on the drive back to my house. Deal?”

Wayne pursed his lips and glanced at the car like he was considering just hopping in the driver’s seat, but after a moment, he turned back to you.

“Whatever gets me to Ed faster,” he grunted.

“Thank you.” You smiled gratefully before leading him back to your car and popping the trunk.

Given all the shit that routinely went down in Hawkins, you’d taken to keeping a ‘go-bag’ in the trunk of your car. It contained several outfits, a first aid kit, a flare gun, a water canteen, compass, and a rather large hunting knife. Wayne didn’t say anything as you dug around for the first aid kit, and he obediently sat on your bumper as you quickly wiped alcohol pads across his face and the back of his head. The older man winced in pain but didn’t make any noises while you bandaged him to the best of your abilities, and when you were done, he silently accepted the pullover sweatshirt you handed to him.

“I think my friend Steve is around your size, so this should fit,” you told Wayne as he inspected the baby-blue colored sweater.

“It’s fine… thank you,” he muttered before he stood, turned his back to you, and stripped off his blood-stained flannel and undershirt. He tossed them into the trunk and then slowly pulled the sweater on, but he suddenly hissed in pain.

“Are you okay?” you asked, starting to walk around him, but he spun to face you and tugged the sweater down in the same movement.

“Fine,” Wayne said through gritted teeth, but you saw the way he was favoring his right side. You’d adopted the same hunched posture when Jason Carver kicked your ribs in, and you narrowed your eyes at the older man.

“Mr. Munson—”

“I’m fine,” he repeated, his tone sharper, but then regret immediately flickered across his face. “I’m sorry, I… I just need to see Ed. I’m fine, honest to god. It’s just some bruises. No blood.”

You pursed your lips, biting back the urge to make him lift the sweater again. But desperation was clear under the bruises on Wayne’s face, and you knew if he didn’t see Eddie soon, he was going to have an aneurysm or heart attack.

“Alright,” you relented as you reached up to shut the trunk, wincing at the twinge in your own ribs. “I’ll, um, drive you. We can come back for your truck later, if that’s okay.”

Wayne nodded mutely before he turned and made his way to the passenger side of your vehicle, and you took a deep breath as you looked up at the midday sky, praying for strength.

When you finally slid into the driver’s seat, Wayne was sitting awkwardly to your right, staring down at the foil covered plate he’d set in his lap.

“Oh, that’s, uh, your breakfast,” you said lamely. “It’s cold now, but we can, um, warm it up when we get to my house.”

“After I see Ed.” Wayne cut a sharp glance at you, and you could see the doubt in his eyes, see that he still didn’t truly believe you. But he was desperate and grieving, and a flicker of false hope was better than no hope at all.

“After you see Eddie.” You nodded, reaching for the ignition to restart the car. As the engine rumbled to life, an idea occurred to you. It would hopefully erase any of Wayne’s doubts and also give some forewarning to the people hanging out in your living room. Gathering your courage, you cleared your throat and pointed to the walkie on the floorboards between Wayne’s feet. “Actually, could you hand me that?”

Wayne hissed again as he bent over and picked the device up, and you frowned in sympathy as he handed it to you.

“Thanks,” you murmured before you took a deep breath and clicked the talk button. “Hey, guys. Just wanted to let you know I’m on my way back. Leaving Forest Hills now. We should be there in about five minutes.”

Static was your only response for a moment, then…

“Roger that, sweetheart,” Eddie’s chipper voice said, ripping a ragged gasp from Wayne, but Eddie was speaking again before his uncle could catch his breath. “Can’t wait to see you, these goblins are driving me up the damn wall, I— wait. Why were you at the trailer park? And… did you say, ‘we?’”

The minor spike of fear in his tone made you flinch, but then Wayne was suddenly lunging toward you.

“Ed!” he gasped and tried to rip the walkie from your hands, but you leaned back against your window, switching the device off and shoving it into the pocket on the driver’s side door.

“Wait, Mr. Munson—”

“That was Ed!” the older man cut you off, his eyes wild, and he looked like he was going to climb over you regardless to reach the walkie. “T-That was him, he—”

“I know,” you interjected, raising your hands to halfheartedly ward him off. “I know, but he… like I said, it’s complicated. Eddie is going to be upset that I told you the truth, and I don’t want him freaking out and trying to run before we get there.”

“Run?” Wayne echoed incredulously. “Why would he run from me? And why would Ed be upset that you told me he’s alive? Isn’t that why you came to find me?”

You flinched guiltily and averted your eyes. “Not… exactly. Look, I’ll really explain everything, I promise, but let’s get back to the house first. Okay?”

Wayne gritted his teeth, his desire for answers raging war with his desire to see his nephew. In the end, his nephew won.

“Fine, start drivin’,” the older Munson grunted, yanking on his seatbelt.

You nodded shakily, taking the steering wheel in your sweaty palms and putting the car in reverse. Silence enveloped the vehicle as you backed up and slowly drove out of the trailer park, but Wayne’s leg started bouncing, making the foil-covered plate crinkle in his lap.

As you pulled out on the main road, you knew you only had a few minutes to get the older man prepared for what he was about to witness, so you took a deep breath before you began.

“Okay, there are a few important things we need to discuss before we get there,” you said as you stared resolutely out the windshield. “I— by now, I’m sure you noticed Hawkins is not like any other small towns. There’s something different here, something—”

“Cursed,” Wayne cut in, and when you glanced at him, you saw his expression was dark.

“Yes, cursed is a good way to put it,” you agreed. “There’s a lot of backstory that goes into this, and I know how crazy it sounds, but basically, there is a shadow world that exists adjacent to Hawkins. It looks like a dark reflection of our town. Dilapidated buildings, cracked roads, never-ending night. That kind of thing.”

“Sounds like one of Ed’s make believe games,” Wayne said with a furrowed brow and a heavy dose of skepticism.

“Yeah, it does,” you laughed, the sound edged with hysteria. “It’s fucking bonkers, if you’ll pardon the language. But it’s true. The shadow world exists. We’ve been calling it the Upside Down. And while the place itself is mildly terrifying, the monsters that live there are far worse.”

“Monsters?” Wayne echoed, and in your peripherals, you could see him turn to look at you. “Wait… is that what’s been killing kids the last few years?”

“Yes.” You nodded, tightening your grip on the steering wheel as you thought of the Mind Flayer and all the demo-creatures you’d faced. “My friends and I… we’ve managed to stop them before, but they keep coming back. When things got really bad this time, we decided to go into the Upside Down, try to take out the monsters before they could swallow Hawkins. We only partially succeeded, as you can see.”

As you made a turn, you gestured out the window to the jagged gash bisecting the road you’d just turned off of.

“The… lead monster,” you went on, “he was stronger than we anticipated. We weren’t able to fully stop him. He opened gates between our world and the Upside Down— that’s what all the sinkholes are. He also… nearly killed one of our friends. She hasn’t woken up yet.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Wayne said, and while he did sound sorry, there was a hint of impatience to his words. “But what’s any of this got to do with Ed?”

“A lot, actually,” you sighed as you propped your left hand against the window and rubbed at your temple. “He… he was with us when we were trying to stop the bad guy. The head monster was the one who killed that Cunningham girl in your trailer. Eddie saw it happen, so he wanted to help us get justice. But he got… hurt in the Upside Down. I wasn’t with him, but he was attacked by monsters, and Dustin said he saw Eddie… die.”

“But he didn’t,” Wayne corrected, flinging out an arm and pointing at your door. “I-I heard him on the walkie. He’s alive.”

“Yes,” you confirmed and felt your heartrate increase as you turned into your neighborhood. “He showed up at my house last night, and I thought I was dreaming at first, but I wasn’t. Eddie is alive, but he looks… different. I-It might scare you at first.”

“Ed doesn’t have a scary bone in his body,” Wayne said and frowned at you in your peripherals. “But… what? You’re trying to tell me he’s a monster? Town’s been saying that for days. Nothing new.”

“I agree the town’s full of shit. Eddie’s not a monster… but he does look a little like the creatures that attacked him in the Upside Down. He’s got… wings. And claws. And sharpened teeth. But he’s still Eddie! I promise, he might not look the same, but he is on the inside. He’s the same kind, golden-hearted boy I fell in love with, the same boy you raised.”

Wayne was silent for so long after your declaration that you couldn’t help but look over at him. He was staring out the windshield with a furrowed brow, the plate of food clutched in his lap. All this information was definitely a lot to process, but you were quickly approaching your street, so you needed to say one last thing.

“It’ll be a shock at first,” you began tentatively, “but… I need you to try and be as calm as possible when you see Eddie. Don’t rush him, or yell at him, or try and hurt him—”

“I would never hurt Ed,” Wayne cut you off, his words sharp and strong. “I… I could never raise a hand against him.”

Something in his tone made you dart another glance in his direction. The guilt in his expression surprised you, but then you suddenly remembered Eddie’s dad had not been a good guy. You were still shocked by the revelation that Eddie was the boy from your favorite childhood memory, but you could still recall in startling clarity the shiner marring his young, pale face that day in the woods.

But Wayne wasn’t his brother. Of that, you were sure of.

“I know,” you murmured reassuringly, absently flicking on your blinker as you turned onto your street. “And thank you, Mr. Munson.”

The older man was quiet as you slowly coasted up to the curb in front of your house, but when you put the car in park, he spoke up again.

“Wayne. You can… you can call me Wayne.”

“Okay, Wayne,” you said and turned to him with a faint smile. He looked a little nauseous, his leg bouncing anxiously once again, and you could sympathize. Your whole body was slick with a cold sweat, and it felt like your heart was going to crawl up your throat. “Are you ready?”

The question was for both yourself and the older Munson.

Wayne took a deep breath and nodded. “Take me to Ed.”

You nodded in return, and then the two of you exited the vehicle. Wayne was still carrying the plate of food like he didn’t know what to do with it, so you gently took it before gesturing for him to follow you up the sidewalk.

“Please don’t hate me, Eddie,” you whispered under your breath, knowing he could hear you from inside the house. “I had no choice. But it’ll be okay. I promise.”

As if in response, the front door opened just as you reached the bottom of the porch steps, and then Nancy was staring down at you with wide, wild eyes, Jonathan hovering nervously behind her shoulder.

“Heyyyy,” Nancy said with a plastic smile, and her gaze bounced from you to Wayne and back at again. “We were, um, just starting to wonder where you were. Is… everything okay?”

“Hopefully.” Your own smile was shaky as you gestured to Wayne behind you. “Nancy, this is Eddie’s uncle. Wayne, this is one of my friends, Nancy Wheeler.”

“Nice to see you again, Mr. Munson,” Nancy muttered, but she was still staring at you with that forced, happy expression. “Will he be, um… joining us?”

You opened your mouth to respond, but Wayne beat you to it.

“I’m here to see Ed,” he said as he stepped up beside you. “I’ve been told he’s alive, and I wanna see him. So if you would kindly move aside, young lady, I’d appreciate it.”

“Oh,” Nancy breathed, glancing at you with a panicked glint in her eyes. “I don’t—”

“Nancy, it’s okay,” you interrupted and hoped you weren’t lying. “I already… explained some things to Wayne. He knows the situation.”

That did nothing to lessen the panicked look on Nancy’s face. In fact, now she was staring at you with an expression that silently demanded to know why Wayne knew the situation, but you didn’t have the time or patience for this right now. You knew Eddie was probably freaking out, most likely hiding in the bathroom, and the urge to go to him was so great it almost hurt. You weren’t about to spend the next ten minutes arguing with Nancy Wheeler on your porch.

So, you climbed up the few steps, and when you reached the front door and gave Nancy a pointed look, she sighed and shifted back into the house.

You stepped into the living room with Wayne close on your heels, and the kids all flashed wide, forced grins from where they were seated on the couch. Nancy quietly shut the door behind Wayne before she went to stand next to Jonathan near the kitchen, and for a moment, the house was deafeningly silent.

“Heyyy, Obi!” Dustin was the first to speak, his voice high-pitched and overly excited, but his face was pale, and his eyes kept darting toward the hallway.

Mike, El, Lucas, and Will all muttered their own greetings, still with those creepy smiles affixed to their faces, but they were also very blatantly staring at Wayne over your shoulder.

“Hey, guys,” you sighed, walking forward to set the plate of cold food on the coffee table. “So… where is he? The bedroom?”

“He who?” Dustin squeaked. “You mean S-Steve? He and Robin went to get some movies—”

“I’m not talking about Steve. I’m talking about Eddie.”

Everyone in the room tensed in unison, and Dustin shot another quick glance at the hallway before he turned back to you and barked out a noise that was half laugh, half gasp.

“E-Eddie?” he echoed as he stared at you with a bewildered, pleading expression. “Obi, you know he’s—”

“I don’t have time for this,” Wayne grunted and stepped forward. He pinned the kids on the couch with a hard stare, and Dustin gulped as they all leaned back into the cushions. “Where is Ed?”

“I think I know,” you murmured, gently placing your hand on Wayne’s arm and making him look at you. “I’ll, um, go get him. Could you just… stay here for a moment?”

Wayne frowned, the livid bruises on his face shifting like mercury, and you knew he was going to argue.

“Please,” you added with a hint of desperation. “Just one minute. I swear to you this is not a joke or a trick. You’ll see Eddie. I just need a minute to talk with him. Alone.”

It felt like the whole room held its breath as Wayne stared at you unblinkingly, but finally, he pursed his lips and jerked his chin down in a singular nod.

“One minute,” he repeated as his pale eyes bored into yours.

“One minute.” You nodded shakily, moving toward the hallway, but you only made it several feet from the living room before footsteps pounded after you.

“Obi!” Dustin hissed, latched onto your arm, and jerked you to a stop, forcing you to face him. “What the hell are you doing?”

“I would also like to know the answer to this,” Nancy added in an undertone as she came up behind Dustin.

Over her shoulder, you could see Jonathan smiling painfully at Wayne— who you couldn’t see from this angle— and you knew the other kids were probably doing the same from the couch.

“Look, my minute’s running out, I don’t have time to explain,” you muttered as you reached behind your back. “You just have to trust me. Also, Wheeler, I need you to hide this somewhere. Don’t worry, it’s not loaded.”

Nancy blinked as you slapped the empty pistol into her hands. “I— what?”

“What the shittttt?” Dustin gaped at the gun, but you had already wasted enough time, so you pivoted on heel and strode the rest of the way down the hall.

Your own bedroom door was open, which meant Eddie was in the master. You paused momentarily to knock but didn’t wait for a response before slipping into the room.

“Eddie?” you murmured, but unlike last time, you didn’t have to go looking for him.

A looming shadow stood at the foot of the bed, and black eyes glinted in the light that crept in from the hallway. Eddie was standing there stiff as a board, his breathing ragged, his wings flared out. His expression was confused and hurt and scared, and he made a quiet whimpering sound as you closed the door behind you.

“Obi,” he choked out. “What’re doing? He can’t—”

“I know, I know,” you said as you rushed forward without thinking.

When you were only a few feet away from him, he flinched, his nostrils flaring, and the veins around his eyes became a little more prominent.

“Shit, sorry,” you gasped and skidded to a stop. Eddie was staring at you with a mixture of hunger and betrayal, and you wanted to throw yourself at his feet and beg for forgiveness, but there was no time. “I’m sorry, Eddie, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean for this to happen, but I-I had to tell him the truth. I had to.”

Eddie blinked and furrowed his brow like he was having trouble concentrating on what you were saying. His wings trembled behind him, and when he took his next breath, it was through his mouth.

“Why…” he started and then had to swallow thickly, his eyes darkening further in the shadowed bedroom. “Why the hell do you smell like blood, Obi? W-Why can I smell Uncle Wayne’s?”

“A lot of things happened, but I’ll explain them later, because Wayne’s going to come barging in here any second,” you said quickly, nearly panting from the adrenaline pumping through your veins. “Do you need to e-eat before you see him?”

You offered out your arm thoughtlessly, but now Eddie took a step back, shaking his head as he glanced from you to the bedroom door. The hunger in his face was quickly giving way to fear, and his wings curled around him like a shield.

“N-No,” he muttered, still shaking his head. “No, I can’t see him. I-It’s not like with Dustin, Wayne won’t understand. Obi, you have to make him leave—”

“I can’t,” you said desperately, and tears welled up in your eyes. “He’s… he’s in bad shape, and he needs to see you. I explained the important parts to him: that you look different but are still you. It’ll be okay. He just wants to see you, Eddie. Please.”

Eddie stared at you as he continued to pant for breath, but then he flinched, eyes darting to the bedroom door again. You could hear the low murmur of voices from the living room, knew Nancy and the others were trying to keep Wayne back, and the panicked look on Eddie’s face only confirmed it.

“Fuck!” he cursed, then with more feeling as his wide, terrified eyes snapped back to yours. “Fuck. S-Shit, I need—”

“Take whatever you need,” you said as you shoved your arm at him again.

Eddie looked conflicted for a split second, but then he dove forward, clawed fingers wrapping around your bicep and wrist as he brought your forearm to his mouth. His cool breath washed over your skin, followed by the hot press of his fangs, and you hissed as the initial burn lanced up your arm. It faded just as quickly as it appeared, and Eddie groaned before he started to pull your blood into his mouth. Your brain went a little fuzzy, a dull, throbbing pleasure pulsing up your arm and through your body, and Eddie seemed to be in a similar trance, sighing and whimpering and slurping against you.

You were both so enthralled that neither of you heard the shouts coming down the hallway until the bedroom door slammed open behind you.

“Ed!” Wayne’s voice ricocheted around the small room like a bullet, and Eddie ripped himself away from you, whirling around and flaring out his wings to hide.

“Wayne!” you gasped and spun to face him, keeping your right arm tucked behind you and smearing Eddie’s saliva into the back of your shirt. “I told you to—”

“Jesus,” the older man cut you off, the word no louder than a breath. He wasn’t even looking at you. His wide eyes were trained over your shoulder, locked on Eddie, and he looked a little green beneath his bruises. “Is… is that you, Ed?”

You stood protectively between the two Munsons, glancing from the older to the younger. Eddie’s back was to you as he tried to press himself into the corner, and you could tell by the way his wings were trembling that he was holding back tears.

“Y-You shouldn’t be here, Uncle Wayne,” Eddie choked out from within the shroud of his wings. “You don’t… don’t want to see me like this.”

At the sound of Eddie’s voice, Wayne made a strangled sound, tears immediately coursing down his cheeks. He took a stumbling step forward, then another, but you slid into his path, making him stop at the foot of the bed. The older man looked angry for a brief moment, but you made a placating gesture, motioning to where Eddie was still cowering in the corner. Wayne seemed to recompose himself then, taking a deep breath as he swiped at the tears dripping through his scruffy beard.

“Ed,” he rasped, but when his nephew just flinched and ducked more under his wings, Wayne raised his voice. “Ed, look at me.”

Still, nothing, but through a gap in his wings, you could see Eddie shake his head.

Wayne’s face hardened slightly. “Edward Munson, I saw you the minute you slid out of your mama, God rest her soul. And I… I’ve loved you like you were my own every minute since. I don’t give a rat’s ass what you look like. Just… let me see ya. Please.”

Silence enveloped the bedroom for a moment. Over Wayne’s shoulder, you could see Nancy, Jonathan, and the kids hovering in the hallway, their anxious expressions mirror images of each other. Dustin caught your eye with a desperate look, asking you what to do without words, but you didn’t have an answer for him.

Instead, you glanced back at Eddie, and you held your breath as you watched his wings slowly start to lower. First, his mane of hair was revealed, then his shoulders, and finally his arms as the leathery appendages collapsed against his spine. He seemed to take a deep breath before he turned around, but it still took him another moment to lift his head. Thankfully, he’d wiped your blood from his lips, but his fangs were put on display as his jaw fell open in shock.

“Fuck,” Eddie gasped when he caught sight of his uncle, who inhaled sharply as he finally saw his nephew in full. “W-Wayne, what the hell happened to your face?”

The older Munson barked out an incredulous laugh, his eyes wide but only slightly terrified as they skipped over Eddie’s imposing figure.

“I-I could ask you the same thing,” Wayne said, and Eddie flinched, his wings rising up again to curl over his shoulders.

“Shit, yeah, I know, i-it’s a lot,” Eddie muttered and dropped his gaze. “Sor—”

“I don’t care,” Wayne cut his nephew off, which made Eddie glance back up at him. The older man swallowed audibly, and tears started to well in his eyes again. “It doesn’t matter what you look like— it’s never mattered to me. You’re my boy, and I love you. I-I’m sorry if I never said it enough, but I do. Raising you was the best thing I ever did, and I’m just so goddamn grateful you’re al— alive.”

His voice cracked like porcelain around the last word, and he pressed a hand to his mouth like he could shove down the sobs that were rattling in the back of his throat. Then Wayne drew in a shuddering breath, which Eddie copied, and the Munsons began to lean towards each other like they were drawn by magnets.

“I’m… gonna hug you now, Ed,” Wayne said haltingly before he shot you a hesitant glance. “If you’ll call off your guard dog.”

Eddie snorted, and you smiled in what you hoped was a friendly manner, but you still shot a questioning glance at the younger Munson for confirmation.

“It’s okay, Obi,” Eddie said with a small smile of his own.

That smile snipped the last threads of tension in your body, and you sighed as you moved out of the way, heading for the door. When you reached it, you looked back just in time to see Wayne lunge at Eddie and envelop him in a tight embrace. Eddie clutched his uncle just as tightly, burying his face in the older man’s shoulder, and another crack in your heart stitched itself together as you softly closed the bedroom door to give the two men some privacy.

You turned around to see all of your friends smiling tentatively, and you returned the gesture right before your stomach gave a sudden lurch. Saliva abruptly pooled in your mouth, so you scrambled past everyone and stumbled into the hall bathroom, falling to your knees on the cold tile seconds before your stomach emptied it contents.

Not wanting to disturb the Munsons, you tried to keep quiet, and thankfully the spell seemed to pass relatively quickly. When you were done, you flushed with shaking fingers, stood up, and turned to the sink. Dustin hovered nervously in the doorway while you rinsed out your mouth, and you caught his eye in the mirror as you spat out a mixture of mouthwash and toothpaste.

“I’m okay, kiddo,” you said, trying to reassure Dustin as much as yourself. “I’ve just had an… exciting morning. Probably just need to sit down.”

“I’ll help you,” the boy offered and extended his arm. “Come on.”

Part of you wanted to refuse, say you could walk on your own, but you could see the desperation to do something in Dustin’s gaze, so you relented.

“Thank you.” You smiled tiredly, took his arm, and let him lead you back to the living room, where everyone else was already waiting.

You collapsed on the couch and closed your eyes, tilting your head back to face the ceiling, but you could feel everyone staring at you intently. After nearly a full minute, the sensation and silence grew grating, and you sighed.

“If someone could bring me a glass of water and like some toast or something, I’ll answer your questions,” you said without opening your eyes.

There was a quick whispered argument, followed by the sound of people shoving each other, and when you finally lifted your head, you saw Nancy pushing Mike to get up, even though Dustin was already halfway to the kitchen.

“I got it,” the curly-haired boy called over his shoulder, and a few moments later, he returned with the water and a sleeve of saltine crackers you didn’t even know you had.

“Thanks,” you muttered as you accepted the items. You drank the water first, draining half the glass before you set it on the coffee table and pulled out a cracker to nibble on.

But everyone was still staring at you expectantly, so you decided to just bite the bullet.

“Okay, to make things simpler, let me give you the main points first. I went to the high school to find Wayne, but some of the resident fucking assholes had… run him off.”

“Is that what happened to his…” Dustin trailed off, gesturing to his face.

You nodded, and everyone’s expression grew tight with anger, even though only Nancy and Dustin had previously met the older Munson.

“How did you get blood on your cast?” Eleven suddenly interjected, which drew everyone’s gaze to your arm. The white plaster was speckled with dried blood, but there was also a sizable red stain where you had slammed it into the blond bastard’s mouth. “Did you beat up the… resident assholes?”

You didn’t exactly feel guilty about what you’d done, but you also didn’t want to confess how satisfactory it had been to put that fucker in his place. You were probably a bad enough influence on these kids as it was.

“Yeah, I had a small… altercation with someone at the high school,” you said carefully, tucking your cast between your legs. You could see more questions building up in your friends’ faces, so you tried to preemptively answer them. “But I’m okay. I wasn’t even hurt. I actually just sucker punched the guy and then got the hell out of there. Some people did see me, though, sooo we might have a visit from the police, but I doubt it since they have enough on their plates as it is.”

“Damn,” Lucas muttered with wide eyes.

“Bitchin’.” Eleven smiled, which made Nancy frown at you.

“Anyway…” You cleared your throat. “After I left the school, I went looking for Wayne and found him at the trailer park. He was… very upset. About the trailer, about Eddie. I-I couldn’t just leave him like that. I was afraid he might do something… drastic.”

You met Nancy’s eyes and saw the understanding in them. She also saw the question in yours— was the gun safe?— and she nodded subtly.

Thank fucking Christ.

“Sooo, uh, what exactly did you tell Mr. Munson?” Mike asked, and you saw him glance nervously at El. “Like… everything?”

“Not everything.” You shook your head. “I just told him that the Upside Down exists, monsters live there, and we’ve been trying to stop them. That’s about all I had time for. And I’m sorry I sprang this on all you guys. I know we should have talked about it beforehand, about bringing someone else into all this bullshit. But…”

“There wasn’t time, we understand,” Will finished for you, and you sent him a soft, grateful smile.

“Yeah, it’s okay, Obi,” Dustin added from where he was sitting beside you on the couch. “We’re just… happy things turned out alright.”

“God, me too,” you groaned and spent a minute finishing off your water and scarfing down a couple crackers.

“You know, to his credit, Mr. Munson is handling things much better than some other people have,” Nancy abruptly said with a faint smirk.

“Do you mean Steve?” Dustin snickered. “He did yelp when he saw Eddie. He also fell on his ass.”

“Seriously?” Lucas snorted. “Mike and I at least stayed upright.”

“I do remember Steve’s voice going particularly high-pitched that night at your house,” Nancy said as she looked at Jonathan. “When we set the traps for the Demogorgon.”

“To be fair, he did stick around and help us kick its ass,” Jonathan laughed. “That definitely gives him some points.”

“It does,” Nancy said, her smile going a little fond, but that wasn’t any of your business.

“But Eddie’s not even half as scary as a Demogorgon,” Mike scoffed and rolled his eyes, to which El nodded seriously. “So Steve loses a few points there.”

“Hey, I heard that, Wheeler Junior.”

You looked up to see Eddie standing at the end of the hall, with Wayne hovering just behind him.

The younger Munson narrowed his eyes at Mike and bared his fangs, and he did look rather intimidating for a moment. But then he glanced at you, and the faux snarl melted into a familiar goofy grin that still managed to steal your breath away.

It had been about ten minutes since you’d last seen the Munsons, but already they looked much better. Eddie was smiling, and Wayne seemed happy if confused. The bruises and cuts on his face were also gone, and Dustin seemed to notice at the same time you did.

“I see Magic Spit has come to the rescue yet again,” the kid said with a grin.

Eddie rolled his eyes, but his grayish cheeks darkened slightly, and Wayne looked a little uncomfortable as he shifted from foot to foot behind his nephew.

“Shut up, Henderson,” Eddie muttered before a familiar, excited smirk tugged at his mouth. “You know, I was gonna tell you about the cool new thing I learned, but never mind now.”

“No, wait, what did you learn?” Dustin asked as he leaned forward eagerly, and Mike and Lucas seemed similarly intrigued.

Eddie tapped a single claw against his lips and narrowed his eyes in consideration, and after he dragged out the moment to his satisfaction, he finally sighed.

“Ohhh, nothing,” he said with a shrug. “Just that Magic Spit works even if I put it on a towel first.”

“Whoaaa, so transfer doesn’t weaken it?” Dustin mused. “Do you think we could bottle it? Would the healing properties be preserved?”

“That could be useful,” Mike said, his eyes gleaming excitedly. “Like a potion of healing.”

“That is something from Dungeons and Dragons, yes?” Eleven asked as she cocked her head.

“Yeah,” Will answered her since the other boys were caught up in their own discussion.

“This Magic Spit stuff seems pretty powerful,” Lucas said, and he stared at Wayne for a moment before he glanced back at Mike and Dustin. “We could stock up, each have our own jars. It could definitely come in handy.”

You wondered if he was thinking about Max but quickly shoved the thought away.

“Hmm, that’s a lot of spit.” Eddie frowned contemplatively and rolled his tongue against the inside of his cheek. “Buttttttt I think I can do it. Obi, you got any jars?”

“Uhhhh, is this stuff… normal for you kids?” Wayne spoke up from behind Eddie.

“Yes,” everyone said in unison, and the older Munson’s bewildered expression almost made you laugh.

Eddie snickered and walked over to sit beside you on the couch, the kids scootching down or shifting to the floor to make room. After a moment of hesitation, Wayne approached David’s recliner, and you nodded at him encouragingly until he sat down with a sigh. Seeing the older man relax into the plush seat made you smile, but then Eddie shifted into your line of vision with a mischievous smirk.

“So, Obi?” he asked, leaning into your personal space until his cold breath brushed your cheek. “Do you have some jars or not?”

“I’m not letting you fill all of my Tupperware with your spit, Munson,” you said with a roll of your eyes, and you pushed his face away until he was leaning back onto the sofa’s armrest, only a foot or so away from his uncle, who was staring at Eddie with a misty smile.

“Awww, come on, Obi,” Dustin cajoled from your other side. “It’s for science!”

“Yeah, sweetheart, for science.” Eddie grinned, but then he blinked and glanced at the front door.

“What?” you asked, heart stuttering with alarm.

Before Eddie could answer, Steve’s muffled voice filtered into your living room from outside.

“Robin, slow down, you’re going to drop everything!”

You heard Robin laugh just before she pounded up the porch steps, flinging open the door with a triumphant smile and nearly dropping the multiple pizza boxes she was holding.

“I win!” she declared over her shoulder. “Take that for uncoordinated, Steve.”

Then she turned back to the living room and stepped inside, but she and the smile on her face immediately froze at the sight of Wayne in the recliner.

“Uhhhh,” Robin said with wide eyes, but she was interrupted as Steve came up behind her.

“Okay, yeah, yeah, you win, could you move now?” he grumbled, juggling what looked like several movies and a case of beer. He shoved into Robin’s shoulder, but when she still didn’t move, he looked up with a scowl. Then he also saw Wayne and stilled like a deer caught in headlights. “Uhhhhhh…”

“You’re letting the cold air out, guys,” you teased but made a face when you realized you sounded like your mother.

Robin blinked and then stuttered into motion again, nearly dropping the pizzas. “S-Shit, yeah, okay, let me just— I’ll, uh, just put these down right… here.”

She stumbled over to the coffee table and unceremoniously dumped the pizza onto the wooden surface. Her eyes flickered to Wayne again before she snapped upright and moved back toward Steve, who was still gaping from the doorway.

“Need a hand there, Harrington?” Eddie asked with a smirk.

Eddie’s voice seemed to snap Steve out of it, and he shook his head as he slowly kicked the door shut behind him. His gaze kept jumping from Eddie, to Wayne, then to you, and his mouth opened and closed several times as he searched for something to say.

Surprisingly, Wayne beat him to it.

“Is that beer?” the older Munson grunted from the recliner.

Steve jumped, and his wide eyes fell to the case of beer that was tucked under his arm. You thought he looked like a kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar. Which, technically, you guessed he was, because no one in the room except Wayne was over the drinking age.

“Uhh, n-no, well, yes,” Steve stuttered. “I mean, I wasn’t— we weren’t— I can… get rid of it?”

A moment of tense silence passed, but when you looked at Eddie, he just winked and settled his clawed hand over your knee. You immediately relaxed under his touch before you glanced back at his uncle, who was staring at a rapidly paling Steve.

Finally, Wayne scoffed. “Not before you give me one. It’s been a hell of a damn morning.”

Steve blinked and then fumbled to set the movies and beer down, ripping open the cardboard and pulling out a can with shaking fingers.

“Yeah, sure, um, here,” he muttered as he walked the can over to Wayne, who nodded in gratitude.

“Thank you,” he said and cracked open the beer, but he paused, squinting up at Steve before taking a sip. “Ain’t you the Harrington boy?”

“Y-Yes, sir.” Steve swallowed and shifted uncomfortably.

“And you’ve been helping Ed out with all this… shadow world shit?”

If possible, Steve’s eyes widened even further, flicking over the rest of the group. “Uh… yes?”

“Hmm,” Wayne said as he took another sip of beer. “Interesting.”

“Right?” Eddie snickered from beside you, breaking the tension in the room like a balloon being popped. “That was the most surprising thing to me, too. Evil monsters and alternate dimensions? Okay, sure. Steve Harrington being the epic hero keeping back the darkness while not being a douchebag? When pigs fucking fly, I thought. But Stevie here is full of surprises, ain’t ya, Stevie?”

“Shut the hell up, Munson,” Steve muttered as his whole face flared red, but then his wide eyes shot to Wayne. “I-I mean Eddie… Munson, sir, not, uh, you.”

“Aww, you made him blush,” Robin cooed, walking up behind Steve and pinching his cheeks until he batted her away.

“You’re all gonna make my hair go gray,” he huffed, which made everyone laugh.

With that, the remaining tension in the room— which mainly came from Steve— dissipated, and the kids dove for the pizza like you hadn’t fed them a breakfast buffet merely hours ago. As everyone settled around the coffee table, Eddie introduced Wayne to the group, and the older Munson nodded, asking questions here and there about how they all met his nephew. No one particularly wanted to talk about the Upside Down or Vecna, but Wayne had some general questions, which you and the others answered to the best of your abilities. In the end, Wayne kind of just shrugged and opened another beer, saying he didn’t care about the rest of the details as long as Eddie was alive.

From there, the conversation moved on to lighter topics, and Robin even shoved a movie into your TV to play in the background. You couldn’t for the life of you figure out what the plot was because you were paying more attention to the people gathered in your living room. The kids were all happy and smiling, tearing through the pizza, and the older teens lounged on the floor, casually chatting and occasionally making fun of Steve or Robin when they inevitably spilled something on themselves.

To your left, Eddie was half draped over the arm rest as he spoke quietly to Wayne, but the edge of his right wing was curled around you. The appendage was leathery and cool against your skin, but you didn’t mind. You just leaned further into Eddie, sighing softly, and he glanced at you with a smile, his wing curling down over your shoulder until the tip trailed across your lap like a throw blanket.

Suddenly, Wayne let out a stifled snort, which drew Eddie’s attention.

“What’s so funny?” he asked his uncle, who was now hiding half a smile behind his beer.

“Nothin’.” The older Munson shook his head, but Eddie wasn’t letting go that easily.

“Come onnnnn,” he wheedled with a grin. “Share with the class, Uncle Wayne.”

“It’s really nothin’,” the older man said, but a fondness entered his pale eyes as they trailed over you and Eddie. “I was just… do you remember when you were about eight? You found that injured bat outside the trailer. You cried at first, thinking it was dead, but when you realized it wasn’t, you were adamant about nursing it back to health. And damn if you didn’t do just that.”

“Awwww,” you and Dustin— who’d apparently been listening from your other side— chorused, which made Eddie flush and duck his head.

“Okay, maybe you didn’t have to share allll that with the class, Uncle,” he muttered. “Definitely could have left out the crying bit.”

“Sorry,” Wayne said, but his smile said he wasn’t. “The part I was laughing at, though, was the night you released that scrappy son of a bitch. You watched him fly off into the dark, chirpin’ all the while, and you smiled and said you wished you could fly like him.”

“Be careful what you wish for, huh?” Eddie scoffed.

“Well, we technically don’t even know if you can fly yet,” Dustin interjected and shot a pleading glance in your direction.

You narrowed your eyes. “No, Henderson. I already told you. No one is allowed to jump off my roof.”

“Fineeeeee,” the boy sighed before Mike called his name and drew his attention.

You turned back to Eddie to find a dangerous, contemplative look on his face, and you immediately poked your finger into his side.

“I know that look, Munson. There will be no jumping off any roofs. Not mine, not the neighbors’, and not Harrington’s. No roofs.”

A sheepish, guilty smile immediately spread across Eddie’s face, which made Wayne snort into his beer again.

“You’re obviously not gonna pull a fast one over on her, son, so I wouldn’t even try,” he warned his nephew.

“I know,” Eddie said while still smiling at you. “Obi keeps me honest.”

“Definitely a full time job,” you scoffed, turning away from him, but you didn’t think you were quick enough to hide your own smile.

The rest of the afternoon passed quickly, and by the time the sun started to set, the kids were yawning and full of pizza. It took some corralling, but eventually, Steve got Dustin and Robin loaded into his car. He hadn’t even opened any of the beer he’d bought— for some reason too nervous with Wayne sitting in the recliner— so he was sober if a little tired when he slid behind the wheel. Robin, on the other hand, was definitely drunk, and she hung out of the passenger side window waving goodbye as Steve pulled away from the curb. Nancy and Jonathan were both sober as well, so Nancy took Mike and Lucas home, while Jonathan drove Will and El back to their house.

You waved goodbye until their cars turned off your street, and then you slipped back into the living room where the Munsons were waiting. Wayne was standing in front of the recliner, looking awkward in his borrowed blue sweater as he rocked back on his heels. He glanced from his nephew— who was standing equally awkwardly in front of the couch— to you, and back again, and then he cleared his throat.

“Well… guess it’s getting late,” he grunted, shoving his hands into the pockets of his jeans.

“Oh, yeah, sorry,” you said with a wince. “If you give me five minutes, I’ll get everything ready for you.”

“You… what?” Wayne frowned, which made you frown in return.

“I’ll get everything ready for you? I just need to put some new sheets on the bed, and I can also find you something to sleep in. I, uh, hope you don’t mind staying in my room. Eddie needs the bigger bed, for his, you know, wings.”

Wayne just blinked at you for what felt like a solid thirty seconds, confusion carved into every line of his face. “You… want me to stay?”

Okay, now you were the one confused.

“Of… course?” you said, brow furrowing. “I just thought— the trailer’s gone, and I really don’t think you should return to the high school, given what those assholes did to you. Probably wouldn’t be a bad idea to take a few days off from the plant, too. But either way, I, uh, just… assumed that Eddie was going to stay here—”

“I am,” Eddie interjected immediately, easily, which made you smile at him.

“Right.” You nodded and turned back to his uncle. “So if Eddie’s staying, the offer obviously extends to you, too, Mr. Mu— Wayne.”

Despite your words, Wayne still looked bewildered. “But what— what about your folks? I’m sure they wouldn’t want us just moving in unannounced-- Oh. Uhhh, or are they, um…”

“They’re alive,” you said when he trailed off with an uncomfortable look. “But they skipped town the day after the earthquake. I… don’t know if they’ll be back, but they definitely won’t be back anytime soon, so you and Eddie are welcome to stay as long as you like. I’d actually really enjoy the company, if I’m being honest, so you’d be doing me a favor.”

That last part was true, but you also said it because you knew Wayne wouldn’t accept charity. He was too proud, a trait he passed down to Eddie, who never let you buy his food when the two of you went out. You never saw it as charity, and you didn’t see this as charity either, but the Munson men were different.

After almost a full minute, Wayne exhaled shakily, and you thought you saw the glint of tears in his eyes. Then he cleared his throat and rubbed a hand over his face.

“I don’t know what to say,” he grunted after a moment. “Other than… thank you. For everything you’ve done. I’ll— I don’t know how yet, but I’ll find some way to pay you back.”

“For what?” you asked with a soft smile. “I have an empty room, it’s really not a big deal.”

“I’m not just talkin’ about the room,” Wayne said as he met your gaze. “Ed told me some of what you did for him. And… and you gave me back my boy. I don’t think that’s a debt I can ever repay, but I sure as hell am gonna try.”

“There are no debts with family,” you said without thinking, but when Eddie snapped his head around to look at you with wide eyes, you immediately flushed. “I-I mean, we’ve all kinda become this big crazy family— us, the kids, Harrington, some others. Saving the world together creates a bond, you know, so… we all have each other’s backs. What I’m, uh, trying to say is you really don’t owe me anything, Wayne.”

Your face was still burning with embarrassment, and Eddie was still staring at you, and you suddenly couldn’t sit still anymore.

“A-Anyway…” You started to slowly inch your way around the Munsons, heading for the hallway. “I’ll, uh, go change the sheets on my bed now.”

“No, wait,” Wayne stopped you. “I don’t want to take your bed. The couch is fine with me.”

“That’s… really not necessary,” you said as you squirmed with discomfort and avoided his eyes.

“Yes, it is. You said Ed’s already taking the bigger bed, and I can’t in good conscious have you sleeping on the couch in your own home.”

Your face was fire engine red now, you were sure of it, and you shot Eddie a helpless glance. He looked similarly embarrassed, but after a moment, he cleared his throat.

“She, uh, won’t be sleeping on the couch, Uncle Wayne,” he said while also avoiding the older man’s gaze.

“What do you mean— oh.”

Was it bad luck to wish for a gate to open up directly beneath your feet and swallow you whole?

Wayne considered the two of you for a silent moment, but now Eddie was squirming, too, and he suddenly whirled to face you.

“Actually, uh, Obi, w-why don’t you go take a shower? Wayne and I can get the sheets changed, and you deserve a break after your hectic day.”

A part of you wanted to argue, but Wayne was still studying you closely, and you were a coward.

“Alright.” You flashed Eddie a bright, fake smile. “Sheets are in the hall closet, next to the bathroom. The blue ones with like a wave pattern are the ones that fit my bed. I’ll, um, only be about ten or fifteen minutes, so if you need anything else, I’ll grab it when I’m done.”

“Sounds good, sweetheart,” Eddie said with his own forced smile, but then flinched when his uncle raised an eyebrow at the pet name.

Before Wayne could add anything else, you nodded and quickly scurried around him and into the hall bathroom. Once the door was closed, you leaned against it, sighing.

Well… that was awkward. A hot shower would definitely help you unwind right about now.

First, though, you took a moment to go to the bathroom, realizing that you hadn’t peed since you ate five slices of pizza (and maybe drank one or two beers.) When you were done, you also decided to brush your teeth, hoping that once you got out of the shower, you could just tiptoe into the master bedroom, avoid seeing Wayne for tonight, and go right to sleep.

Unfortunately, as you went to start undressing, you realized there was a flaw in your plan.

You forgot a change of clothes. And you definitely didn’t want to walk out into the hall wrapped only in a thin towel.

Cursing yourself under your breath, you quietly opened the bathroom door and stepped into the hallway. Your bedroom was almost directly across from the bathroom, with its own door standing only partially ajar. You could hear what sounded like the flapping and rustling of sheets, and when you peeked through the crack in the door, Wayne and Eddie were standing on either side of your stripped bed. Wayne’s back was to you, and Eddie was half crouched over the mattress, trying to tuck the clean fitted sheet over a corner.

You were about to raise your hand and knock— even though it was your room— but Wayne’s voice stopped you.

“So… I see you finally bucked up the courage to tell that girl how you feel.”

The fitted sheet immediately slipped from Eddie’s grasp, snapping out of place, and he cursed as he chased after it. You flushed and wanted to step back, feeling like you were eavesdropping— because you were— but now you were worried Eddie might hear you if you moved.

Did he know you were there already, or was the three feet distance from the bathroom to where you were now standing not enough for him to tell the difference?

Damn it, you should have just taken the shower and come out in a towel.

“Yeah, well,” Eddie suddenly said, drawing your attention back into the room. Eddie still wasn’t looking up at his uncle, effectively hiding in his long hair as he fixed the corner he’d messed up. “Near death experiences kinda put things in perspective, you know? But, uh, truthfully, Obi’s the courageous one. She told me how she felt first.”

“And how many times did I tell you that she was just as smitten with you as you were with her?” Wayne asked, and though you couldn’t see his face, his voice was decidedly smug. “She was at the trailer more than I was, Ed. She called you every morning to make sure you got up for school.”

“Okay, okay, I get it, you told me so,” Eddie muttered as he moved down to the next corner of the bed, and through a gap in his hair you could see his flushed and embarrassed face. “I’ll be sure to listen to you the next time I fall head over heels in love.”

“You think there’s gonna be a next time? I’ve seen the way you look at her, Ed.”

The question made both Eddie and your heart pause. Eddie stuttered into motion first, followed by your racing pulse, but he still didn’t look at his uncle as they finished putting on the fitted sheet.

You didn’t know if Eddie was going to answer the question. You didn’t know if you wanted him to.

“I dunno,” the younger Munson finally said after what felt like an eternity. “I mean, it’s not like that shit’s important right now. The world’s ending, I’ve got goddamn wings…”

“From the sound of it, this ain’t your friends’ first rodeo,” Wayne pointed out. “If they’ve done half the stuff you’ve said, getting you back to normal should be a walk in the park.”

“Hopefully,” Eddie sighed as he started working on the pillow cases. He was maybe punching the pillows a little more roughly than necessary. “But even if I do get back to ‘normal,’ it’s… I mean, we’re young. Young and stupid. Well, I’m stupid, but Obi’s smart. So damn smart. She’s gonna go to college and do something amazing, I’m sure of it. And I don’t think she’ll want to be tied down to a drug dealing, ex-cult leader from a trailer park.”

Immediately, a thousand arguments jumped to your lips, and you were seconds away from shoving open the door and telling Eddie he was so wrong when Wayne suddenly grabbed one of the pillows and chucked it at Eddie’s head.

“Ow!” Eddie finally looked up with a frown, his hair a little frizzy from the pillow’s impact. “That hurt.”

“Good, maybe it’ll knock some sense into ya,” Wayne grunted, and even though you still couldn’t see his face, you could imagine his stern expression. “Because that’s about the stupidest shit I’ve ever heard, and I’ve been listening to the whole town call you an ‘evil mastermind’ for a week.”

“Okay, I could totally be an evil mastermind if I wanted, though—”

“Ed,” Wayne cut in, which made his nephew shut up. “I might not be the best person to be giving relationship advice, but that girl looks at you like you hung the moon and stars. You heard her in there. She called us— you— family. And if she didn’t run screaming at your wings and claws, I doubt she gives a crap about your past. She loves you, Ed. Anyone with eyes can see it. And you should give yourself some credit. If you can survive the damn apocalypse, I know you’ll make something of yourself one day, son. But… just know I’m already proud of you, and I always will be.”

Eddie’s face rippled, and he looked on the verge of tears for a moment before he ducked his head again and picked up the pillow Wayne had thrown at him.

“Thanks,” he whispered as he started pulling on the pillowcase.

“You’re welcome.” Wayne nodded, and it was quiet for a moment as they started straightening the comforter. Then… “So, you gonna ask her to marry you?”

The breath hitched in your lungs, and your heart skipped like a rock over water.

“Wha— shit, fuck!” Eddie gasped as he snapped upright, stumbled back into the nightstand beside your bed, and almost knocked the lamp to the floor with his flailing wings. “I… you… Uncle Wayne! You can’t just say shit like that! It’s— that’s crazy. Absolutely insane. D-Did you not hear the part where I said we’re young? And I haven’t— fuck, I haven’t even taken her out on a date yet, and I’ve been planning our first date for-goddamn-ever. It was either going to be a fancy dinner at Enzo’s— which, actually, the gate might have swallowed Enzo’s now that I think about it, so never mind that— or a very romantic picnic out by the lake… which is also a portal to hell, Jesus H. Christ! See, I can’t even take Obi on a date because it’s Dante’s Inferno outside, so… so it’s s-stupid to think about marriage at this point. Definitely not thinking about it right now. Nope.”

The silence following that rambling rant was deafening, broken only by Eddie’s jagged panting and the sound of your heart sinking into the depths inside you. Your throat was tight with disappointment— even though you knew that was stupid— and you were just about to turn around and shuffle back into the bathroom when Wayne spoke up again.

“‘Definitely not thinking about it right now,’” the older Munson repeated, again in that smug tone. “So you’ve thought about it before. And presumably will in the future?”

Eddie groaned, long and suffering, as he dragged his clawed fingers down his face. He took a deep breath while hiding behind his palms, but then he sighed, his shoulders slumping in defeat.

“Fuck, okay, yes, alright?” he grumbled. He sounded miserable. “I’ve thought about it. And despite all the crazy shit I just mentioned, I would ask her in a heartbeat if I thought she would say yes. Happy?”

You didn’t know if Wayne was happy at this knowledge, but you certainly were. It felt like your heart was moments away from taking flight, made buoyant by the elation pumping through your veins like the world’s best drug. Eddie had been semi-right before. It definitely was not logical to be thinking of marriage at a time like this, with the fate of the world tittering on the edge of a knife.

But just the very idea was enough to make you feel like you were levitating off the floor, rebelling against gravity and all the laws of physics.

Fuck, you wanted to run into the bedroom and kiss the ever-living shit out of Eddie.

But once again, before you could move, Wayne started speaking.

“I’m happy as long as you’re happy, Ed, and I know that… Obi makes you happy.”

Eddie sighed again and looked up at his uncle, but then a small smile— fond and beautiful— stretched across his lips.

“Yeah,” he murmured, making your heart soar. “She does.”

“Good.” Wayne nodded and bent over to smooth out the last wrinkles in the comforter. “But, uh, just for my own peace of mind, I hope you’re being… safe. I’m too young to be a grandpa, and a toddler with wings would definitely send me to an early grave.”

Eddie squawked with mortification as your whole body simultaneously flushed with heat, and you decided that you could just borrow some of your mom’s clothes, actually.

Pivoting on heel, you scurried over to the master bedroom, but not before you heard Eddie stutter out a response.

“You— we— I, ummm, actually haven’t done… that yet, b-but I know the rules, don’t worry. Wrap it before you tap it, no means no, only enthusiastic consent counts—”

“Alright, alright, that’s, uh, enough, Ed. Glad we had this talk.”

#eddie munson #eddie munson x you #eddie munson/you #eddie munson x reader #eddie munson/reader #eddie munson x fem!reader #eddie munson/fem!reader #vamp!eddie munson #vamp!eddie munson x you #vamp!eddie munson x reader #vampire eddie munson #vampire!eddie munson #kas!eddie munson #wayne munson #steve harrington

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