#thank you Jen for enabling me again - what would I do without you??? 💜💜💜💜
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Before Wayne had Eddie, he had Herbie.
They were fairly similar; both were standoffish at first, peeking into the room to see if Wayne was there before scurrying away to hide somewhere, being found later sleeping curled up in a little ball.
The difference was that Herbie was a cat.
Herbie had taught Wayne many things, but most of all, patience. When he had first found him outside the trailer, hiding behind the trash cans, Herbie had hissed at him whenever Wayne had dared to come near him.
Wayne had tried everything. Like luring him out with food and milk and even making those ridiculous cooing noises that older women used to make with their cats. But to no avail.
Putting some leftovers on a plate and leaving it just outside the door every night had done the trick. On the third day, Herbie had sniffed at it but scurried away. The fifth day, he licked it.
He ate the leftovers on the sixth day.
Two months later, he was waiting on the porch for Wayne, meowing and demanding his food. Herbie had been his cat ever since.
When Eddie had come to live with him, it had started in a similar way. Eddie didn't exactly hiss at him, but it was close.
But Wayne had learned his lesson and had given Eddie space. He offered food, clean clothes, a warm and comfortable bed. He offered Eddie a home, but let Eddie choose what to do with the offer.
Wayne thought that was something Eddie had not been allowed to do in a long time, maybe ever.
Life went on in the Munson household and they adjusted to each other. Much like Herbie had done years before, Eddie slowly begun to trust Wayne. They got along pretty well most days. He wished he could say the same for Eddie and Herbie.
On his first day, Eddie had tried to pet the cute fluffy cat on his uncle's windowsill. It hadn't gone well and they had avoided each other ever since.
That's why the sight of little Eddie standing in the living room having a staring contest with Herbie stops Wayne dead in his tracks.
He's not sure this will end well, but patience has been his cure for most things Eddie and Herbie, so he watches silently. He did not know what he was expecting, but nothing was happening.
"'Whatcha doin' there, kid?" He asks in a gruff voice, arms crossed and bushy eyebrows raised.
Eddie's eyes never leave Herbie's as he says, "He started it."
This makes Wayne chuckle and he decides that Eddie, like himself, might need a lesson in patience. Herbie was a good teacher. He walks past them and mumbles, "I'll leave you to it then."
It is not the last staring contest he will witness.
A few months later, Eddie starts middle school and Wayne is worried. Kids can be cruel, and cruelty is something Eddie has had enough of to last him a lifetime.
He withdraws again, gets quieter and turns into himself, much like he did when he first started living in the trailer. Wayne doesn't know what to do. He wants to tell Eddie that it will get better, that sometimes these things take time, but Eddie avoids him and hides in his room.
Herbie is the one who finally gets through to him.
Wayne comes home late from his shift at the plant, grimy and exhausted. Still, the first thing he does is go over to Eddie's room and check on the kid.
What he finds overwhelms him with the sheer amount of love and relief he feels. Eddie is fast asleep on his bed, his blanket up to his hips, his arms wrapped around a tabby ball of fur that's purring like the engine of a well-loved car.
There's a smile on Eddie's face and Wayne thinks everything's going to be okay.
#Eddie Munson#Wayne Munson#stranger things ficlet#Munson family feels#stranger things#thank you Jen for enabling me again - what would I do without you??? 💜💜💜💜#everyone needs a cuddle buddy and I love the thought of Eddie having a cat one#my writing
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