#Jeff Henderson

[thedalatribune]

Paolo’s Podcast Recommendation: Silent Nights

Passion City Church Podcast Passion City Church December 2024

Speaker: Jeff Henderson Verses: The Book of Malachi Date: 16 December 2024 Location: Passion City Church, Atlanta, Georgia

[morganbritton132]

Eddie does believe Dustin when he says that he knows Steve. He’s sure the kid ran into him at Wheeler’s house when Steve was dating his sister.

He doesn’t believe that they’re friends. He believes even less that Steve ‘The Hair’ Harrington thinks of Dustin like ‘a brother.’

But then one day, he’s roaming the racks at the music shop looking for any new heavy metal albums. Dustin’s not even there. Eddie is talking to Jeff when he mentions that Henderson said something about a new pet.

“A pet?” Steve asks, appearing out of nowhere like he’d been summoned. “Dustin Henderson said he got a new pet? Dustin? Loud kid with curly hair? That Dustin?”

“Um…?”

“Does he still have his old pet?” Steve asks. “Tews is still alive?”

“You know the name of his cat?”

“Jesus,” Steve‘s not even talking to him anymore. He calls over to a girl clearly being interviewed by the manager, “Hey, Robin! I got to go. Dustin’s tryin’ to start the apocalypse again. Can you do my interview for me?”

“Yeah,” She calls back. “No problem!”

Steve turns back to Eddie with his big eyes and intense eye contact, covers his hand with one of his for the briefest of seconds and says, “Thank you.”

Then he’s gone, and Eddie’s heart is pounding, and he’s just… “All that because Dustin got another cat?”

[7spaceace7]

“So I’m supposed to hit the thing now, right?” Steve says with a furrowing brow as he scans down his character sheet. He was usually better at math than English back in school, but now even the numbers on this page are doing little flips around.

“Yes, Steve, that is the object of this fight: to win.” Dustin’s eye roll is almost more pronounced than his attitude.

Steve jabs his pencil toward him and is about to remind him to watch his tone, again, but Eddie’s voice starts before he does.

“Give him a break, alright? It’s his first time,” His voice is firm, but not unkind, and Dustin surprisingly listens. Steve reminds himself that this is Eddie’s domain, and the dungeon master himself flashes him an encouraging smile. “Go ahead, dude, what’re are you thinkin’?”

“You didn’t give us a break our first time,” Lucas grumbles.

“You little gremlins have years of experience on our esteemed guest here, didn’t think I needed to.”

Mike huffs loudly, “Don’t tell me you’re going easy on him just because you’re dating now, because that’s cheating!”

Eddie’s head snaps toward Mike. The sass from his face drops into fear.

“Wheeler.” He slowly raises a crooked finger, “You dare accuse your,” A hand goes over his heart, “beloved game master of such a heinous crime as cheating?”

Gareth groans. “Now you’ve done it.”

“The integrity of this table—my integrity!—at stake here and judged by a child,” The dramatics are in full swing, as are his arms that wildly slam against his chest as if he’s been shot. His head drops and his expression sneers at Mike. “I didn’t realize you’d so quickly forgotten who exactly caused the last near-TPK of this group.”

Steve doesn’t know what the hell a tee-pee-kay is, but judging by the boos now resounding around the table, it seemed very serious. Even Dustin is giving Mike the stink eye.

“I’ll still never forgive what you did to Bastian.”

“Oh come on, he was remembered as a hero!”

“You FED him to the ENEMY!”

“That wasn’t my fault, the soldiers tricked me and the dragon’s AC was—!”

“SILENCE!”

The room stiffens. Dustin and Mike shamefully retreat into their seats once more as Eddie narrows his eyes in their direction.

Steve blinks. Blinks harder. Looks anywhere he can that isn’t directly at his boyfriend. He shifts in his seat as memories of a certain moment in Reefer Rick’s boat shack flood his mind.

No, no, he will not be thinking about that in front of the kids.

“Good. Now, if I recall correctly…” Eddie turns to Steve with the sweetest smile reserved only for him, like he didn’t just command the entire room into shutting the hell up, “Steve’s initiative is higher than both of yours and it is still his turn. Go ahead, sweetheart.”

The jock’s face burns bright red all the way to his ears. His brain racks itself to try and think of something—does he attack? Does he roll? What’s his weapon again?

“Well um. I guess—”

But all he can do is stare right back at Eddie’s brown doe eyes that are still trained on his own.

“Uh…”

Jeff shakes his head. “Great job, man, you broke him.”

[kennahjune]

No Upside Down steddie AU where Steve gradually meets the members of Hellfire (-Eddie) in and out of school and they all come to befriending him really fast because “Steve Harrington is actually a good dude”

But Eddie fucking hates it.

And this only spurs Hellfire on because they think him getting mad over Steve Harrington is fucking hilarious.

Jeff who takes a foods class in third period and Steve does to and then the teacher pairs them for a baking project and Jeff gets to go to Casa Harrington. And he realizes rather quickly that Steve really likes baking and cooking and actually knows what he’s doing and that he’s not just taking the class for an easy A.

Brian (I’ve named him Brian, yes), meets Steve in Art class. Like Jeff, he thought Steve was taking it for an easy A but when seats are changed and they sit together he realizes that, no, Steve’s actually kind of good at drawing (particularly scenery). They get to talking about one of Steve’s sketches and the rest is history.

Gareth doesn’t officially meet Steve until later, but he does see him out with the kids at the arcade. Gareth works at the arcade and there’s this particular group of kids that just irks him— turns out they’re Steve’s gaggle. He watches in begrudging amusement while Steve rounds them up like a pro.

Then Gareth officially meets him after Hellfire one day. It’s fucking windy and he’s just leaving to school to go home when the papers and sheets he was holding are fucking torn from his hands. Steve grabs the papers— there after some kind of sports practice— and makes sure Gareth has them secured in his bad before leaving with a dorky finger-waggle wave.

And Eddie just downright refuses.

And then the school year ends and Steve graduates. And he’s convinced he doesn’t have to see Steve again.

Until, of course, Mike Dustin and Lucas join.

Jeff, Gareth, and Brian are all ecstatic to share their own run-ins of Steve Harrington to the three boys who so clearly idolize him. Gareth happily recalls how Steve “tamed” them in the arcade every time he came in.

Eddie sits in brooding silence.

And then Lucas joins the basketball team. And sure— Jeff’s on the volleyball team— but basketball jocks are so much worse than volleyball jocks.

Mike and Dustin, however thrown out of orbit they were at first, seem to settle in eventually and learn to plan around it. They think that anything that makes Lucas happy is a good thing (even if it did take a bit of a talk with Will for them to realize).

But Eddie? Eddie can’t stand it.

Which is why he refuses to move the date for the final campaign.

But Eddie doesn’t even get to introduce Vecna before Steve Harrington himself is all but breaking down the fucking door.

Eddie has this whole argument in his head that quickly dwindles when he sees the pure anger in Steve’s eyes (and also because Steve is really fucking pretty holy shit).

Steve tells Dustin Mike and Erica to pack up and get to the game before he drags them and you know what?

They listen.

Including hard ass Erica Sinclair.

And then idk Steve and Eddie get into a whole fight about.

But Steve makes it very clear that he doesn’t appreciate Eddie making Lucas feel like he can’t be happy doing DnD and basketball because that poor boy deserves nice things dammit.

And Eddie sleeps on it over the weekend before hunting Lucas down first thing Monday morning to apologize.

Lucas forgive Eddie (against Eddie’s protest because let the man grovel) but makes Eddie also apologize to Steve.

Which Eddie does by showing up to the Harrington Estate.

Eddie apologizes and they get high together and the rest is history.

.

I might actually make this into something, it’s already pretty fleshed out but eh

[litualiamortuaria]

Pretty smiles :)

[dwobbitfromtheshire]

Eddie decided to pull out all the stops to ask Steve out. He borrowed heavily from the Labyrinth, including making himself an outfit and affectionately 'kidnapping' Dustin with a scavenger hunt for Steve to follow. . .

"I'm not doing it, Robin," Steve said, slouching back against his couch and crossing his arms. "I'm not playing his games. If he wants to ask me out, he can come to me."

"Yeah, sure, but what about Dustin?" Robin asked.

"Eddie's not going to hurt him," Steve rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, but he might pump him full of sugar," Robin pointed out.

"Goddamnit. . .okay, show me the first clue," Steve said, and Robin handed it to him.

"Green, green envelopes the man and hugs him tight as much as I wish I can. Given to him by the pox ridden sloth who despises him unjustly, this is the place with the boxes full of visions and where the man made of stars is wrongfully imprisoned. . .a prison I fight every day to free him from. . .my next note lies where the sloth never looks. . .," Robin read. "He's certainly theatrical."

"I know," Steve said, smiling and biting his lip. "Family Video!"

"I'm sure that Keith would appreciate being called a pox ridden sloth," Robin said. "Alright, let's go."

"You're coming with?" He asked.

"Vickie's out of town. There's nothing on TV. . .entertain me, peasant!" Robin exclaimed.

"You and Eddie. . .both theatrical," Steve said.

"Says the drama queen himself," Robin replied. "After you, your bitchiness."

Steve and Robin went to Family Video. They went in, brushing by a disgruntled looking Keith arguing with a customer, and went straight for their hidden candy stash in the storage closet. Tucked under the box was another clue. They took the clue and walked out, quickly moving past Keith getting put in a headlock by a small elderly woman. They opened the clue in the car.

"This is the spot where I turned you away. Regretfully, I did, not knowing of the magic you buried deep inside. Sent by the enemy, I thought you were. . .oh, if I could turn back the hands of time and awaken the fool that I was, trapped in the grave of my own making. . .if I had said yes, then. . .awaiting in the stacks is my eternal regret and the very next clue. . .," Robin read. "Okay, what the hell is he talking about?"

"Hawkins' Public Library," Steve muttered, blushing.

"I feel like I'm missing some critical information here, Steven," Robin said.

"Uh, freshman year, I wanted to do something different. . .you know, in addition to basketball and the swim team. I thought Hellfire sounded like fun, but when I approached Eddie in the library. . .," he trailed off.

"He thought you were fucking with him," she realized.

"Yeah, he said that me and my stupid hair have better things to do than to fuck with him, like beg Daddy for money," Steve said.

"Jesus," Robin said and paused. "I'm starting to think that maybe it's not just asshole jocks who are judgemental. I mean, now that I'm thinking about it. . .how could you possibly know everyone in the school. . .how can I call you asshole for that, especially when I made myself unapproachable? I made a snap judgment."

"Everyone does, Robin," Steve said. "You decided not to stick to it. Some people aren't smart enough to do that."

Robin beamed at him and squished his cheeks before placing a kiss on his nose.

"My dingus," she whispered.

"My Robin," he smiled.

"Let's go get your fool of a man," Robin said.

Steve and Robin went to the library and walked in, awkwardly waving at the librarian who had a one night stand with Hopper. They quickly scurried past.

"We don't know for sure that actually happened, Robin," Steve whispered.

"According to Erica, Hopper was a bit of. . .," Robin whispered.

"Making snap judgments again, Robin," Steve teased.

"So, I don't suppose you remember which aisle he rejected you in, do you?" Robin asked.

"I actually do," he blushed. "It's right over here. . ."

"Oh my god! The romance section?!" Robin giggled. "Oh, it was definitely meant to be."

"Look, here it is," Steve said and grabbed it before handing it to Robin.

They quickly moved out of the library and back into Steve’s car.

"Beauty within and beauty without, he makes this games appealing to me. A warrior, glistening and shining like the stars he's made of. . .the cloth he wears hides almost nothing. . .this place he fights and plays to win but also for the love of the people. . .my heart, it's him, the gladiator that he is, and this is his arena, where the next clue awaits. . . Does my dear sweet gladiator fight his fate?" Robin read.

"The basketball court," Steve said, snapping his fingers.

When they showed up to the entrance to the gym, it was blocked by Jeff and Doug. They were sitting in chairs, reading. When they caught sight of Steve, they tossed their books aside and quickly stood up.

"Finally!" Doug exclaimed.

"Well, I wasn't going to play along, but I got curious," Steve said.

"I told you," Doug said to Jeff, who rolled his eyes. "Why isn't Gareth doing this?"

"Because he's hanging out with Will again," Jeff said and nudged him in the side. "Come on, man, play along."

"Fine."

"Oh, sweet Steve, you have arrived, and now you have a choice to make, this door of mine or this door of his?" Jeff asked.

"One door leads to your utter doom," Doug said.

"And the other leads to your destiny," Jeff said.

"Trick question," Steve said before they could finish, his hands on his hips. "Both doors. He's both my destiny and my doom."

Jeff and Doug bowed low before stepping aside. As Steve and Robin went inside, they heard them whisper.

"Dustin wasn't kidding. Steve really is a genius at figuring out Eddie's next move," Doug said.

"Yeah," Jeff said. "It just means it's true love. . .that's also why Steve doesn't play D&D. He tends to call Eddie out on it."

Steve and Robin moved further into the gym. In the middle, there was a long plastic table. On it was a pink dress, much like Sarah's dress from Labyrinth except that it wasn't quite so big. It looked handmade, so whoever made it worked with what they had, and Steve thought they did a wonderful job. Anyone else would look down on it, but Steve could see the love and the care that went into it. To Steve, it was perfect. Pink, Steve thought, one of his favorite colors.

"Ooh, there's a note. . .oh, thank God, I don't have to put it on," Robin said and pressed it into Steve’s hand.

"My dear sweet gladiator, in order to prepare for battle, one must wear armor. You are in your arena. . .meet me in mine," Steve said, and he smiled. "Oh my god, what a fucking dork."

"There's a bag under the table," Robin said.

Steve pulled it out and unzipped it. Inside was a pair of heals, makeup. . . And his bat!

"Hey! I was wondering where that went," Steve said.

"You know you don't have to wear any of this," she said in amusement.

"Please, Robin," Steve scoffed. "You know I'm going to."

He stripped down in the middle of the gym, replacing his clothes with the other garments. He eagerly put on the makeup Eddie provided and then slid on the heals. He didn't need any help walking in them.

"This isn't your first time wearing a dress or heals is it?" Robin asked.

"Of course not," Steve said.

"Like I should automatically know this about you when you haven't told me?" Robin asked.

"I have a couple in my closet," he said.

"I thought those were trophies," she said.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Steve asked. "I just like dressing up sometimes. . .my dad never let me join theater."

"Do you feel like a woman sometimes?" She asked.

"Sometimes. . .but other times, I feel like a man like even when I'm wearing pants or dresses," Steve said, and then his eyes widened. "Hold on. . .are you saying like I'm bisexual. . .I could be bi. . .gender?"

"Yeah, I guess, if that's what feels right to you," Robin grinned.

"Awesome," Steve beamed, and she grabbed the bat from Robin.

"Nothing like a pretty girl who could also kill you. . .and I still mean that platonically," Robin said. "By the way, that's faster than when you realized you're bisexual."

"I'm learning," she replied.

"So, not only was this a road to love, it was also a road to self-discovery while I, Robin Buckley, also continue to learn more about my platonic soulmate - ,"

"Robin, stop narrating, and let's get to the drama room!" Steve yelled.

As they moved down the hallway, they ran into Jonathan and Nancy.

"What are you doing here?" Nancy, Jonathan, Steve, and Robin asked at the same time.

"I asked you first," they said again.

"They found my favorite sweater in the journalism classroom," Nancy said.

"And then we can say we're done with this school for good," Jonathan said. "More importantly, what are you doing?"

"Oh, Eddie kidnapped Dustin. I'm rescuing him," Steve replied.

"I have more questions," Jonathan said. "Why are you wearing a dress?"

"You've never seen him in a dress?" Nancy asked.

"No, have you?" Jonathan asked.

"Yeah, tons of times," Nancy said and then turned to Steve. "Your boobs look fantastic in that dress."

"Don't they?" Steve agreed, scrunching up her nose. "Eddie made the dress. . .Robin!"

Steve gasped as her hands disappeared into the dress.

"What?" Robin asked.

"They have pockets!" Steve squealed and twirled around.

"We'll let you get back to it, I guess. Good luck rescuing Dustin," Jonathan said.

"Thanks," Steve beamed.

Steve ran past them, pulling up the dress of her skirt so she could run better.

"Jesus, you can run in those heels?!" Robin shrieked. "How?!"

Steve ignored her and continued on to the drama room. She burst into the room, her heart pounding with adrenaline. It was completely dark. Steve jumped when music started playing, and a spotlight flickered on. The light was over Eddie's old throne, the throne that now belonged to Dustin. Eddie was sprawled out on it, one leg over the arm of the chair. He was wearing skin-tight leather black pants and a gray vest. His hair was even wilder than usual, and he wore eyeliner that made his eyes pop. Steve bit her lip. God, she wanted to fuck him right there in the chair. If only Robin and Dustin weren't there. Oh, right, Dustin. He was sitting in a plastic chair, reading, and drinking Yoo-hoo. He was also wearing stripped pajamas, almost similar to the ones the baby wore in the movie. Boy, Eddie really was going all out with this.

"My dear sweet gladiator, you made it to the final act," Eddie said, standing. "Are you ready to face your final test?"

"Depends on what the test is, my little hairy butt," Steve said, her hands on her hip.

"It's supposed to be a cute nickname!" Eddie shrieked.

"Wait, does Eddie really have a hairy - "

"You're supposed to be kidnapped, Henderson!"

"Right."

Eddie grinned and moved closer to Steve. He held out his hand.

"A fight. . .to the death," Eddie said.

Steve grinned and took his hand. Eddie pulled him into his arms, his other arm wrapping around her waist. Steve heard the music stop and then someone changing the tapes. As the World Falls Down by David Bowie started playing.

"This feels a lot like dancing," Steve teased, and Eddie shushed her.

"There's such a sad love. . .Deep in your eyes a kind of pale jewel. . .Open and closed. . .Within your eyes. . .I'll place the sky. . .Within your eyes. . .There's such a fooled heart. . .Beatin' so fast. . .In search of new dreams. . .A love that will last. . .Within your heart. . .I'll place the moon. . .Within your heart," Eddie sang.

"This is nice," Steve whispered and pressed her cheek to his as they slow danced.

"Do you feel properly seduced?" Eddie asked.

"Absolutely taken," Steve giggled. "So why Labyrinth. . .I know how much you love it, but. . .I feel like there's more to it."

"When we went to go see it together, it was just us. . .no kids, no Robin, no exes. . .," Eddie said and paused. "I realized that it felt like a date, and I wanted it to be, I wished so badly that it was."

"So. . .you want things to change?" Steve asked.

"Yeah," he said.

"No more casual sex?"

"No more casual sex. . .I just wanted to prove to you how much you mean to me," Eddie said. ". . .how much I want you."

"Proven," Steve said and paused. "How much would it mean to you if I told you that sometimes I'm a woman?"

"What?" Eddie asked.

"I like wearing dresses and make up, I feel like a woman, but even when I'm wearing what's considered man clothes, I feel like a woman, just like sometimes when I wear skirts or dresses, I feel like a man who likes go wear dresses. . .so it's not the clothes that make me feel this way but it's an added bonus," Steve said. "With Robin's help and yours with the dress, I realized that I might be, I don't know if that's the word, but. . bigender?"

"I never knew you liked dresses," he said softly.

"Skirts, too, I never told Robin either," Steve said.

"Just when I thought you couldn't make me more in awe of you. . .you did it, babe. So fucking metal," Eddie whispered and she laughed.

"So, would you gladly call me your girlfriend right now?" Steve asked.

"Fuck yeah," Eddie sighed.

Eddie spun Steve around in and dipped her before kissing her deeply. Steve sighed against his lips, her fingers curling into his hair. They broke apart when Robin cleared her throat, and they turned around. She was flipping through Dustin's book as she sat next to him while Dustin snoozed on her shoulder.

"The baby's finished his bottle, and now he's down for a nap. . .if you want any more of my services, I charge by the minute," Robin said. "I add on extra if you want me to get him out of here so he doesn't have to hear mummy and daddy fornicate."

"How much sugar did you give him, Eddie?" Steve asked, frowning.

"Not much," Eddie shrugged.

"He's in a sugar coma, Edward," Robin said.

"You love me, right?" Eddie asked Steve as he smiled innocently.

"Yeah. . .as long as you explain this to Claudia," Steve scoffed, and her face softened. "This was amazing, Eddie. I loved it. I love you. . .I fucking love the dress. . .God, I want to blow you so hard for adding the pockets."

"Gah! Take me home!" Robin yelled and then smiled softly at them. "Happy for you two dinguses but I don't want to witness anything."

"We should get the kid to Claudia, anyway," Eddie grinned.

Steve smiled as she walked out of the school with her best friend, the boy she thought of like a brother, and her new boyfriend. This was the best day ever, and she was glad that she had decided to do this. . .she also loved how many people were willing to help out. . .hold on, were Jonathan and Nancy here for her sweater?

"Oh, hey, look! It's Hop!" Dustin exclaimed.

Sure enough, Hopper's police car was in the parking lot. . .curious, they met him halfway.

"Well, we got reports that Dustin was kidnapped," Hopper said, squinting his eyes at them. "I'm guessing that's not the case."

"Nope!" Dustin exclaimed.

"Goddamnit. . ."

Steve shared a grin with Eddie. They were definitely having a better do than he was. Steve gripped the bat in her hand, ready to face whatever came their way.

"Shit," Eddie muttered. "I knew I forgot to tell someone about the plan. . ."

[wynnyfryd]

Trailer Park Steve AU part 5

part 1 | part 4

“…Henderson? Oh, holy shit, Henderson!!”

Eddie sounds like a kid on Christmas morning as he comes bounding across the street, movements like a great dane tripping over gangly limbs. He barrels into Dustin and tackles him in a great big hug, swings him off the ground in a circle and puts him back down so they can do some elaborate handshake with slaps and switchbacks and an ending tap-tap of their ankle bones.

What the fuck?

Steve watches this whole thing go down with his hands on his hips and his face doing something horribly sour because seriously what the actual fuck? Stupid handshakes with Henderson are his thing.

“What are you doing here, man?” Munson asks Dustin with a jovial pat on the back. Dustin’s squeezing him around the middle, tucked into his side like a little kid hugging a giant teddy bear, face just lit the fuck up with excitement over this. Steve feels his nostrils flare in a brief flash of petty rage.

“Steve!” he shouts happily. “Why didn’t you tell me you’re neighbors with Eddie?”

Eddie’s face falls when he looks up and sees Steve. Feeling’s mutual, dickwad.

“You’re here to see Harrington?” He asks in a voice like flat soda, all the earlier enthusiasm sucked out into the void. He takes a tiny step away from Dustin — just the smallest bit of distance, a subtle lightening of his touch against his shoulder — but Steve doesn’t miss the flicker of hurt that passes between Dustin’s brows. As if he needed another reason to hate this guy.

“Uh, yeah?” Dustin asks, confusion coloring his tone. “He’s my brother.”

“He’s your what?”

Steve’s chest swells with pride. “He said I’m his brother.”

“Not my blood brother,” Dustin clarifies, and Eddie makes a little noise. “But yeah. He’s fucking awesome. And you’re fucking awesome—”

“Language?” Steve tries for Claudia’s sake, but Dustin’s on a roll now, getting louder and more exuberant as he starts talking with his hands.

“—And oh, holy shit, this is the best! Wait ‘til I tell Mike and Lucas about this. With you guys living so close, we can hang out all the time! And we won’t even have to make two bike rides!”

Dustin leans in to squeeze Eddie in another hug, so stoked he’s bouncing on his toes a little (so stoked he doesn’t even bother to ask Eddie if it’s cool if the whole party shows up at his door, but that’s Dusty for you). His face is turned into the front of Eddie’s shirt, and over the top of his baseball cap Eddie gives Steve this look that Steve’s pretty sure he returns. Serious. Somber. Resigned. A fucking gallows stare, because…

Because fuck. Fucking- goddammit.

They’re gonna have to pretend to tolerate each other now. For Dustin.

Steve’s left eye starts to twitch.

—

“Are you selling him drugs?”

“Excuse the fuck outta you??”

Okay. Yeah. Bad start. Backtrack. Steve knows this is not the right way to approach a conversation, especially not when it’s Saturday night and you just interrupted your neighbor’s house party to be an accusatory dick to him. The Munson trailer door is wide open behind Eddie, and Steve can see a couple guys he vaguely recognizes from school sitting in the living room — a chubby white dude, a nerdy black guy, and a baby-faced kid with a scowl to rival Mike’s. They’re eating pizza and smoking cigarettes and sipping some cheap-ass brand of beer, and Steve is clearly interrupting.

“Sorry,” he tries again.

“Wow,” Eddie smirks. “Didn’t know you knew that word.”

“Shut up, man- just— ugh.” He takes a deep breath, wills himself to stop rolling his eyes at the guy he needs to ask a favor. “I’m sorry, okay? Can I just talk to you for a second?”

Eddie considers him for a moment; chin tilted up, lips pursed; and then he steps onto the porch and shuts the door behind him. “I’m listening,” he murmurs around a fresh cigarette, hand cupped around the end to light it.

He holds the pack out to Steve. “You want one?”

“Do I- what?”

Eddie shakes the box for emphasis. “Do you want one?”

“No, I heard you, I just…” The weird ceasefire between them is tripping him the hell up. He doesn’t think it’ll go too well if he says that out loud, though. “…Yeah. Fuck it. Thanks.”

“Sure.”

They smoke in silence for a moment, shoulder to shoulder, looking out into the dark of the woods that kind of freak Steve out if he lets himself look too long. Something about the branches like long, spindly fingers in the dark; like jittering spider legs; like a Mindflayer made of—

“You wanted to ask me something?”

Steve rubs his brow with his thumb, lets the panic out on a slow breath. “Yeah, I just… Look, I’m not trying to— I mean, I shouldn’t accuse you of anything, man. I just spent the afternoon getting myself all worked up thinking about it after he left, and- and Claudia needs me to look out for the kid, so—”

“Who the hell is Claudia?”

Steve tilts his head at him. “Dustin’s mom?”

“Oh.”

“I thought you two were close.”

Eddie shakes his head, curls bouncing around his shoulders, “Nah, man, not yet really. I mean, don’t get me wrong, the little guy’s cool and all — smart as shit, too—”

“Isn’t he?”

“Fucking genius. He’s gonna cure cancer or some shit, I swear.”

Steve catches himself smiling; hides it behind another quick puff of smoke.

“Anyway,” Eddie says, “I don’t really, like, know the dude. We just met because I run Hellfire.”

Oh. “The DnD club?” No wonder Dusty’s obsessed.

Eddie shoots him a look, a quick blink of pleasant surprise. “Yeah, exactly.”

“Cool. He loves that game.” Steve pulls in more smoke, takes his time on the exhale; lets the nicotine buzz swim in his veins. He forgot how nice it feels. “So yeah, Claudia— his mom—asked me to look out for him, y’know? And I just, I know you used to supply the weed for my house parties and shit— and it was good quality shit and all but I don’t—”

“Hold on,” Eddie says, snorting a little in disbelief. “You think I’m gonna sell weed to Dustin?”

Huh. “You wouldn’t?”

“Hell no! One, he’s way too young; that shit’s, like, bad for young minds or something, allegedly.”

Steve frowns to himself, thinking back to him and Tommy smoking weed in Tommy’s basement in middle school; the brain damage they probably gave themselves doing it. Whoops.

“Secondly, can he even smoke? I thought he was sick or something.”

“What? Why would you think he’s sick?” Oh, shit, is he sick? Does Steve not know about it because he missed all those family dinners?

“Dude, take a breath.” Eddie waves a dismissive hand, wafting smoke in pretty tendrils under the trailer’s flood light. “I just meant, like, chronically. ‘Cause of his bones and shit?”

“Oh,” Steve breathes, relieved. “Oh, yeah, no, he’s fine, he’s just like missing collarbones and stuff; he can bend like Gumby.”

Eddie laughs at that, dimple popping out, and Steve can’t help but laugh a little, too, remembering the last time he told someone that. “Don’t tell him I said that, though, he’ll get pissed.”

“Scout’s honor,” Eddie salutes.

“You a boy scout, Munson?”

“Nah, Harrington. Just figured you were.” His eyes are bright and playful, sort of magnetic as he drops the last of his cigarette and stubs it out with the toe of his boot. “Anyway, I gotta get back to the boys. You wanna stick around for a beer, or are you satisfied with my answer, Nanny Steve?”

“Okay, do not fuckin’ call me that,” Steve laughs, sharp and short. Tries to season the words with a glare, but Eddie’s face is too impish and pleased to hold on to any real anger. “And I appreciate the offer, but I think your friends would try to kill me.”

“Mm, yeah,” Eddie agrees, wiggling his fingers as he waves a hand to gesture at the whole of Steve. “Gareth is not exactly a fan of your kind.”

Aaand he’s pissed again. Jesus Christ. “My kind?”

“Yeah. Jocks? Rich assholes?” His lips tip up in a crooked smirk, “Or, well—”

“Don’t.”

Steve’s just done with his stupid jokes suddenly, and Eddie must hear how much he means it because he raises his palms in surrender and steps back. Always stepping back and away, this guy. Fucking coward.

Steve doesn’t know why he reacts like this, but the shame is turning to fiery fury in his gut, curdling his blood like sour milk, pricking hot at his lash line. Damn it; he’s not about to let Eddie Munson of all people see him cry.

He scoffs at himself, shoves his hands into his pockets. “Whatever, man,” he sniffs as he turns his back on him, “Enjoy your party. Screw you.”

—

The most pathetic part, Steve thinks to himself as he writhes and twists in his tangled, sweaty sheets; 2am and he’s up again after a nightmare because of fucking course he is; is that somewhere between the insomnia and guilt over the way their conversation imploded earlier, his staring-blindly-at-the-ceiling-until-his-eyeballs-start-to-burn morphs into, like, daydreaming about how it could have gone.

He keeps repeating the scene in his mind, rewinding the tape to let it play out in richer detail.

It goes like this:

1. Eddie comes over.

2. Eddie comes over and apologizes.

3. Eddie comes over in the middle of the night to apologize because he’s so, so sorry that he just can’t wait until morning, even though it wasn’t really his fault; no, Steve’s the sorry one; no, Eddie is; no, they’ll both agree to do better, for the kids.

4. It’s two in the morning, after the cars are all gone and the party’s died down, and Eddie comes quietly across the yard; taps gently on Steve’s window so he doesn’t wake his mom.

Steve leans out and snaps, “What?” because he’s still a little pissed, and Eddie makes big, contrite eyes and plays with his own hands; fingers dancing in nervous circles; spinning rings.

“Listen, I, uh—” Eddie begins, “I might have… Shit, man, I might’ve been a bit of a massive dick earlier, and seeing as we have to play nice on account of the kiddos, I— do you- I mean— come have another smoke with me? Please.”

Please.

Please.

Please.

It’s a pleasant dream. Steve rewinds again, lets it play out in his head for a few more loops. Falls asleep just as he’s getting the dialogue right.

When he wakes up, Munson’s van is gone.

They don’t talk again for weeks.

—

part 6

tag list got absolutely outta hand lmao and i can’t tag some of y’all bc of your privacy settings, so sorry if i didn’t tag you but here ya go i did my best 🩷 follow the tag #trailer park steve au for future parts. @steves-strapcollection @discorporatedmess @questionablequeeries @nburkhardt @disrespectedgoatman @a-little-unsteddie @thedragonsaunt @ledleaf @perseus-notjackson @devondespresso @loop-deloo @annabanannabeth @thewyvernkore @callas-shitshow @sentry-nest @aliea82 @anne-bennett-cosplayer @steddie-as-they-go @insominaticthoughts @lofaewrites @crazyhatlady86 @gothwifehotchner @potent-idiocy @discount-izukumidoriya @hbyrde36 @goldensnitchbcs @mightbeasleep @lawrencebshoggoth @beckkthewreck @silversnaffles @dawners @hellion-child @stray-bi-kids @iswearitsjustme @ilovecupcakesandtea @slowandsteddie @gaysonthefloor @pennyplainknits

[thisapplepielife]

Written for the @corrodedcoffinfest Where the Wild Things Are pop-up event.

Not In His Nature

Where the Wild Things Are Pop-Up | Word Count: 3000 | Rating: T | CW: Language, Recovering From Injuries | POV: Eddie | Relationship(s): Steddie, Eddie & Corroded Coffin, Steve & Dustin | Tags: Bigfoot Eddie, Steve "I've Got Latent Monsterfucker Tendencies" Harrington, Mix and Match and Made Up Lore, Hawkins is Fucking Weird, We All Know That, Canon Divergence, Set Between S3 & S4

Also on ao3.

Note: Hopper didn't end up in Russia at the end of S3. Is this important to the story? Absolutely not. But I wrote him into this and then thought, well, shit. He shouldn't even be in Hawkins. So, canon divergence it is, lol.

Eddie hurts. It feels like he's been hit by a Mack Truck. He tries to focus, open his eyes, because he thinks he's in the road, yellow lines under his face. Goddamn. He was hit by a truck. He tries to take stock of how hurt he is. 

It's pretty bad, he thinks. He feels heavy. Too heavy to move.

He can't get up. Instead, he focuses on whatever's going on around him. He can hear voices, and he tries to hone in on them. He's pretty sure it's Steve Harrington fighting with Dustin Henderson, getting more shrill by the minute. Harrington shouldn't be picking on one of his new sheepies.

Eddie tries to say something, but it comes out in a warbled yowl.

Shit. Fuck.

He's changed. Turned. This isn't good. This isn't good at all.

Harrington and Henderson turn their attention towards him, Dustin shouting, "See! I told you it wasn't dead!"

"How was I supposed to know? It looked dead. It looked like a dead bear!" Harrington screams, clearly annoyed. Eddie blinks, and Steve leans down, meeting his eye.

"Have you ever seen a bear? That's not a bear!" 

"Excuse me, I'm not the one that thought a fucking demogorgon was a tadpole!"

"Just keep bringing that up, why don't you? And Dart was a demodog. Not a demogorgon. Do you even know the difference?"

"Of course I know the difference! I'm the one that's fought off both to save you little shitheads. In case you've forgotten. You're welcome, by the way. I never get any credit for—"

Eddie groans again.

"—shut up, Steve! You're pissing it off!"

Eddie isn't pissed off, but they aren't making sense. He's definitely brain damaged from getting hit by that stupid BMW. He groans, opens an eye, and finds Steve looking back at him.

"It's a monster. Look at it! This is not a goddamn bear," Steve snaps, and they're holding eye contact. Steve's looking right at him.

"I never said it was a bear — you did!"

"It's looking at me like it understands what I'm saying. Hello? Do you know what I'm saying?!" Steve asks, voice getting louder.

"It doesn't know what you're saying, Steve," Henderson snarks, "It's a wild animal, not a monster from the Upside Down. Do you see a face full of teeth? I don't see that, do you, Steve? But whatever it is, you should get away from it. It looks like it might try to kill you, and I've seen you fight."

"Should we shoot it? Call Nancy? Have her shoot it? Put it out of its misery?" Steve questions, and he has a nail-studded bat in his hand. Eddie doesn't want to get shot or beaten to death by Steve Harrington wielding a baseball bat. He tries to get up, tries to run away. But he can't move.

Steve reaches out and touches his face, and Eddie leans into it.

Then, the spell is broken. Eddie hears the car before he sees it, tires squealing as it stops, not far from him, doors creaking open, and then slamming shut.

Steve stands, leaving him.

"Hey! Asshole! Back off!"

Gareth. Jesus H. Christ, thank you. 

Eddie sees his furious hand reach out, all temper, and no concern that Steve Harrington is bigger and older, as he wacks the bat out of Steve's hand, sending it clattering to the asphalt.

"Leave it alone!"

"What the hell, Gareth?" Henderson asks. "What is that thing?"

"A bear," Goodie answers, close to Eddie's face. He's trying to lift him off the pavement with Jeff's assistance, but they aren't making much progress. Eddie tries to sit up, but he's not much help.

"Our pet bear," Jeff says.

Gareth says, "We're raising it to sell to a circus…"

Just as Goodie says, "...it's our 4-H project."

Both of them seem hellbent on digging this hole deeper and deeper, one stupid lie at a time. Eddie groans. Selling him to a circus? 4-H? Bear? Why don't they just tell them it's him, if they're gonna be so goddamn obvious.

"That's not a bear," Harrington argues, "it's a…Bigfoot. It's a Bigfoot! Right?!" he shouts, sounding more confident the further he gets into his thought. 

"It's not a Bigfoot," Jeff answers. Calm. Cool. Collected. The only one that isn't acting crazy and making the situation worse.

"Whatever it is, it fucked up my car!" Steve Harrington yells, waving towards the front end, which is definitely dented in. Eddie can't feel too bad about it, it was him that got hit by these two nitwits.

"Well, fucking help us and we'll get out of your hair!" Gareth snaps.

Between the five of them, they get him loaded into the back of the El Camino, and Eddie feels it groan and sink lower under his weight.

Jeff climbs in the back, Gareth and Goodie getting back up front, pulling away.

Gareth steps on it, and Jeff thumps the glass, "Slow down!"

He does, and they ease along the highway, the wind ruffling his fur.

"How hurt are you?" Jeff asks, hand on his shoulder.

Hurt, but not dying he doesn't think. He has no way to answer, but he grunts and shifts, laying his head in Jeff's lap. He strokes Eddie's forehead, "It's okay. You're alright. You just can't run off like that."

Eddie knows. He does.

It takes a while, but they make it out to Reefer Rick's, and they pull right up to the boathouse. Eddie supposes this is a good enough place to hideout until he shifts back, hopefully by morning.

When Eddie wakes up, he's sore, and naked on the filthy floor of the boathouse. But he's himself again.

"You alive?" Gareth asks, and Eddie nods. At least he thinks he is.

"Sore," Eddie croaks, throat dry. 

Jeff hands over a canteen of water, and Eddie drains it.

"Can you get up?" Jeff asks, and Eddie isn't sure.

He steadies his hand on Goodie's shoulder, and steps into his boxers, then his jeans. He can't lift his arms high enough to put on a t-shirt, so Gareth sheds his outer plaid shirt, and Eddie is buttoned into it. 

"Do you remember what happened last night?" Jeff asks.

Bits and pieces, maybe. He shakes his head.

"You escaped like an asshole. Got hit by a car," Goodie snarks.

Henderson. Steve Harrington. He remembers.

"Steve Harrington hit me with his car," Eddie says, and Jeff's nodding. 

"Do you think you have internal bleeding? We can take you to the hospital now that you're not all hairy. We couldn't last night, unless you wanted to go to the vet. And I don't think Doc Walden would know what to do with Sasquatch," Gareth rambles, and Eddie shakes his head. "Neuter you, maybe."

He laughs. He's okay. He thinks.

The drama room is being used for the school play, and that means Hellfire needs to be moved. Ending up on Cornwallis street, at Dustin Henderson's house wasn't what Eddie had planned for the night. 

And he really didn't expect Steve Harrington to answer the door, and look him up and down, suspiciously.

"What the hell happened to you, Munson?" Steve asks, arms pulled tight across his chest.

"Fight," Eddie lies.

"You can barely walk," Steve argues, watching him struggle to step into the house, "that's a helluva a fight. And I've been beaten the fuck up."

Eddie doesn't know what to say: You hit me with your car, asshole?

He's sure that'd go over well.

So, he just shrugs and settles into the seat at the head of the Henderson's dining room table. His head is throbbing, they should have postponed this. But that's not in his nature. The show must go on.

He tries to get comfortable, shifting in the wooden chair, and tries to be entertaining. Tries to keep them invested in his new campaign, The Cult of Vecna, as it's just getting underway. He worked hard on this one, but he can't concentrate tonight. 

Especially not with Steve Harrington hovering in the doorway, looking judgmental. Or concerned. Constipated? Something unpleasant, that's for sure.

The nausea hits him, hard and fast, and he pushes back from the table, no time to even make excuses.

Getting down on the floor to throw up hurts like fucking hell, and he's not exactly sure how he'll get back up again. Eventually one of them will come looking for him, he supposes.

He's pretty positive he'd dozed off, draped over the toilet, head resting on his arm on the seat, when the bathroom door opens and closes. Maybe they should have taken him to the hospital.

He expects it to be Gareth. Jeff. Goodie. Hell, even Henderson.

But it's Steve Harrington.

He squats down, and pushes Eddie's hair out of his face, "I hit you with my car, didn't I?"

Eddie nods. He's too sick to argue.

"Shit. Shit, sorry. I'm sorry."

"You didn't mean to, I was the one in the road," Eddie says, closing his eyes. If he'd just stayed put in Gareth's basement like he was supposed to, none of this would have happened. "You're not gonna tell anyone, are you?"

"No," Steve says, "I hit a deer."

Eddie reaches out and squeezes Steve's arm in thanks.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah," Eddie answers, "I'm always sick, after. I'm just sore on top of it tonight."

"Have you always been…this way?" Steve asks.

"Have I always been a freak?" Eddie asks, but smiles slightly, "Yeah. Just not this kind of freak. I think I got cursed."

Eddie expects Steve to argue, to not believe him, but he's nodding.

"It started happening last summer. After the Fourth of July. We played with a Ouija board, just messing around. And the mall burned down, and I ended up like this. It's not funny now."

"This town is so fucked," Steve says, and Eddie can't argue. "You didn't burn down the mall. Trust me. In fact, I'd bet that what happened out there that night somehow caused this, in some way."

That makes no sense.

"Why do I think you know more than you're letting on?" Eddie asks.

"I don't know anything. Not about your thing. But this town? It's got problems. Deep, dark problems. Trust me."

Eddie has a thousand questions he wants to ask, but Steve doesn't seem willing to give them right now.

He confirms that when he changes the subject, stating, "Take as long as you need, and then I'll get you out of here."

It takes twenty more minutes of sitting there, Steve Harrington just hanging out next to him, before he can be pulled to his feet.

Passing through the dining room, Steve stops, just briefly.

"I'm taking Eddie home, he has the flu," Steve announces, like that's a normal thing for him to say or do. Everybody sitting at the table is just staring, unblinking.

Steve doesn't take him home, at least not to Eddie's home, but to Steve's own. Steve had insisted a warm bath with Epsom salt would make him less sore. Eddie doesn't exactly think it'll help, but he's willing to try anything.

"Why are you doing this?" Eddie asks, leaning back against the tub, head resting against the tile. 

"I hit you with my car," Steve says, then looks Eddie's way, "and because when I was hurt like this, I wish someone would have taken care of me, would have made sure I was okay. I wasn't okay," he admits, low and almost too soft to hear.

"Thanks, Harrington," Eddie says, and maybe he's been wrong about King Steve. Maybe he's a good dude with a bad rep. Eddie knows a little bit about that himself.

"And I kind of feel responsible. The mall thing? I was there for that."

Eddie nods, not fully understanding, but getting it all the same.

The next month, his friends are dragging him up to the front of Harrington's house, like he's some unruly pet dog that's about to pee on the carpet. He can't help that he's gonna turn, if he had a choice, he wouldn't do it.

"Can we put him in one of your seventeen garages? Before he changes?" Gareth asks. 

Steve rolls his eyes, but opens the double doors, as if they're getting the grand welcome. 

They lock themselves in, barricade the exits, the windows, and Eddie sits on the ground to wait.

It's happened, but he never remembers changing. Which is probably good, surely it's not pretty.

Tonight, Steve Harrington is peering down at him as he sits on the ground. Eddie looks up at him and smiles wide. 

Steve laughs, and reaches out and pats Eddie on the head. 

"What now?" Steve asks the room, as Eddie's friends just sit there.

"We wait? He's gonna be like this for about twenty-four hours," Jeff answers. 

Eddie nudges his big fist into Steve's thigh, getting him to turn and look at him again. He does, and Eddie gives him another toothy grin.

"Stop flirting with Steve Harrington," Goodie says, and Eddie turns and gives him a dirty look, "I don't think your ugly ass is his type."

Steve laughs, and touches Eddie on the forehead, "Don't listen to him," Steve says, leaning close, "you're very cute."

Eddie makes a happy noise, and settles back against the wall. He doesn't even feel the urge to run away tonight. Not with Steve right here.

Another month gone, and the group of people who know about him has grown. Eddie just hopes letting them in on his secret will help him fix it for good. It took them all month to scheme up a plan, but now here they are, standing out behind the church at the witching hour, Nancy Wheeler holding a flashlight.

Changing doesn't happen during a full moon, he's not a werewolf. No, he turns every month on the same day they'd messed around with that damn thing in the first place.

"Okay. Now. Seven pieces," Nancy instructs and Eddie cuts the board while Steve holds it. How can something made by Hasbro actually hold any powers? It makes no sense. 

Once they have their pieces, Robin holds out a vial of holy water. This all seems like a little much, but he does it, and then digs a deep hole in the consecrated ground, burying the pieces.

He hopes this works.

"Is this gonna work?" Wayne asks, as if he's reading Eddie's mind. When the trailer hadn't been enough to hold him, Gareth's basement had become the place. Which was hard, Mama Jones is cool, but Eddie wasn't sure she was Bigfoot in the basement cool.

He's not dangerous, he's never tried to hurt anybody, at least. But he's fucking mischievous, and the last time he went out roaming he got hit by Steve's car. He prefers not to repeat that process if he can help it.

So, they need to cage him tonight. To see if it worked.

The bad news: Steve's parents are home. So, this time he's willingly stepping into a solitary confinement cell at the jail, Jim Hopper holding the keys. Hopper said the less people that knew about him, the better, and Eddie knows that's true. He can't go around getting hit by cars. The next one might not be Harrington and Henderson, who incidentally, already had some deep experience with weird shit.

"I'll stay with him," Steve says, following Eddie through the door.

"Harrington," Hopper says, a warning.

"Eddie won't hurt him," Jeff says.

"Definitely not," Wayne agrees, "he's not violent. It's not in his nature."

"He didn't hurt me last time," Steve reassures.

Hopper shakes his head, but hands Steve a deck of cards, "If you get bored. If he tries to eat you, holler."

"Gee, thanks," Steve says, but takes the cards and sits on the plastic mattress on the ground in the corner.

When the door clangs shut, there are no bars, only a bean hole in the door for passing trays of food. 

"How long until we know?" Steve asks.

"By morning," Eddie answers, "that first time, Wayne nearly took my head off with his shotgun. But he said he could tell it was me, by my eyes.

"I get that," Steve says, and Eddie feels the blush crawling up his neck, making him feel warm.

Steve looks at his watch, "The sun has to be up. It worked," he tells Eddie.

Eddie thinks it did, too. 

Steve frowns.

"Well, don't look so sad about it," Eddie laughs, and Steve smiles over at him. 

"I was just thinking, you were awfully cute and flirty. As a Bigfoot."

Eddie laughs, the sound echoing off the bare walls, "If you want me to flirt with you, Harrington, all you gotta do is ask."

Steve scoots closer, hoisting himself up onto his knees, hovering over Eddie. It feels familiar, but different, and Eddie grins up at him. Steve pats his head, just like he did when Eddie was much larger, and much hairier. 

Then he leans down, and kisses Eddie. 

Holy shit. 

Eddie won the goddamn lottery. He'd get hit by Steve Harrington's car any day of the week if this is the end result.

They kiss, and kiss, until they hear the heavy key turning the lock.

Hopper swings the door open, looks at Steve, then Eddie, shaking his head, turning on heel, stomping away. Eddie can see what Steve looks like with his swollen, red lips and assumes he looks the same. 

"Should we be scared?" Eddie asks, looking at the open door, then back at Steve.

"Of Hop? Nope. No way," he says, climbing to his feet, and then leaning down to pull Eddie up, too. "All bark, no bite, just like you."

Eddie looks at him, and then presses their lips together one more time, before grinning, up close and in Steve's face.

"Sorry I'm no longer a monster. You seemed into that," Eddie teases.

Steve laughs, head thrown back, "I imagine I'll survive. Somehow."

And if you want to write your own, or see more entries in this pop-up, check out @corrodedcoffinfest to see other entries for the Where the Wild Things Are prompt!

Notes: I was editing my other fic for this challenge, and got to where I'd made a Harry and the Hendersons reference and thought, ha, Dustin is a Henderson...what if? Of course, it didn't fully go in that direction once I started writing. But that was the the reason this got written, for sure.

If you haven't seen it, the Bigfoot in the header is indeed Harry from that film. It was my childhood. Made you laugh, made you cry, and it's a relic from back when kids still cussed in PG films, haha. They all walked so Dustin Henderson could (goddamn) run.

Thanks for reading this silliness. 🤣

[pastej]

Still in my Stranger Things era! 📺💭

[forestmossling]

okay. oh my fucking god. oh god, okay.

this is INSANE. this is absolutely fucking crazy. what i’m about to recommend you is absolutely fucking mind-bogglingly pants-shittingly bonkers in its brilliance, so y’all better read closely.

it’s always the fics with the shortest, least descriptive summaries ever, the ones you absent-mindedly stashed in your “marked for later” and forgot about them, isn’t it?

anyway, this is a masterpiece. in every definition and understanding of the word. there are too many great points about what’s going on in this fic and why you absolutely have to read it, so forgive me if i’m gonna be pretty incomprehensible and incoherent rn, okay?

first of all, the way this fic just ties the whole of the st universe together, the way eddie munson doesn’t just spawn out of nowhere in the beginning of s4, but actually exists in hawkins all this time. the way he witnesses all the crazy going-ons in town from the sidelines, and still has his own opinions and thoughts on them, even if he didn’t actively take part in them. just, love to see it.

second of all, different “first” meeting. oh my god, but how i love thee. obviously it wasn’t really the first meeting here, but steve and eddie coming together before the original timeline is something i will never get enough of, and it was done brilliantly here. the way their first conscious interaction happens when steve comes to apologize for being a piece of shit, and the way the narrative, from eddie’s pov, never lets you downplay and just forget that steve was, in fact, a douchebag in high school, is also something i love to see. yes, he’s forgiven, but not because he wasn’t that bad in the first place, as a lot of fics love to make it out to be (which, i don’t blame them, that’s also fine), but because he actively works to become a better person. we see him, time and time again, actively holding himself back from sliding into the “king steve” persona, owning up to the shit he did and proving that he has changed, and it’s beautiful. and it’s also nice to see here, because eddie doesn’t even find out about all the upside down shenanigans in this fic, so for him, steve isn’t a better person now because he saw him in his heroic martyr era and was impressed. he’s better because he doesn’t just let these objectively heroic and admirable actions automatically absolve him of all his sins, but actively works to repair the damage he did before he committed them. which also happens in canon, i guess, but i really love how it was shown here.

third, eddie. characterization in general, but eddie’s in particular, because oh my fucking god. he’s absolutely insane in the most humane and captivating way possible. the way he has so much history that made him the way he is, the way we see this past overlap with the present and realize how it affects the decisions he makes, the interactions he has with other people. and the way his past was written in general, the way it flashes him out so deeply as a person is absolutely brilliant. and the way he sees the world around him, the way his perceptions of the moments we catch him in is so deep and full of volume, dimension. it’s like one second you’re with him, listening to the conversation he has with another person, and another - in a wave of sound and music he taps on his leg with his fingers, in the songs he hears reverberating through every feeling he has. and the author is so masterful with throwing you around from one plane of reality to another, the way eddie is in his brain, and it’s so much it’s almost overwhelming, but they catch you just on the edge in the last second and keep your brain from being torn apart from trying to comprehend the absolute insanity going on in eddie’s head.

it really felt like this fic was repeatedly slapping me across the face and all i could do was deliriously ask for more.

and, while we’re on the topic of characterization, literally every character and every interaction between them are so real and so fitting for who they are in this universe. the way even through eddie’s warped perspective of him, steve’s actions and views fall into a perfectly functioning justified mechanism for the reader, not a screw out of place. the way through simple, and, on the surface, absolutely mundane conversations about the horror and romance genres, about the characters in the book eddie’s writing (he is, btw, and it’s also brilliant), we see the whole of who these characters are, how they see the world and themselves in it, their deepest fears and desires. and even aside from steddie, a personal stand-out for me was jeff, because he has a whole life outside of eddie’s narrative, and still manages to contribute to the plot and give insights into eddie and himself while not being a cardboard cut-out, only existing for the benefit of pushing eddie’s story forward. and the rest of hellfire - past and present - while mostly serving the purpose of showing how precious steve’s attention and care for things they didn’t get about eddie is, are still their own people.

whatever the next number is, i’m losing count, - the language the fic is written in. it’s just so fucking clever. the dialogues are witty and captivating without stinking of made-up-ness, the metaphors are so deep and colorful and voluminous without being pretentious and over the top. the words of this fic are something you have to chew on before you swallow, let the author immerse you in the picture they’re painting without breezing from one predictable trope point to another (which, they aren’t really predictable and expected here, which is another huge pro) in the everlasting greed for cheap escapism, as i am prone to doing. and that’s another thing i’m really grateful to this author for - making me sit with the words i’m reading for a second, instead of just gorging on them in my haste to get to the end and start another story, frantic to keep my brain occupied.

also, this fic genuinely had me endlessly invested in the fate of the characters, scared shitless or elated for them. it yanked me right out of the usual safety of predictable plot tropes which usually makes fanfiction so attractive for me, but i really wasn’t complaining. on one of the most stressful and deciding scenes of the fic (no spoilers tho), i genuinely started crying. i felt eddie’s resignation and anguish so deeply and personally, i couldn’t hold back if i wanted to. and that’s another thing i’m extremely grateful for - the absolute rollercoaster of emotions i went through before i got the reward of the happy ending.

i would also like to say that i was floored with how period-typical homophobia and other social issues were presented in this work. obviously, i can’t really vouch for it being realistic or not, because i’m not american and wasn’t even alive during that time, but i can say that it did feel very very real. in a lot of other works that talk about these issues the homophobia and societal judgement seem like such nebulous, far-away concepts, that are obviously real and have a tangible impact on the characters, but it’s like their still escapable, still out of reach (which, again, is not a bad thing). but here i felt like the repercussions for being who you are were physically breathing down my neck, incapacitating me with horror. and, on that note, just, the author’s overall attention to detail and period-fitting pop-culture and other little things that painted such a larger picture of living in that time period, tying the fictional story so tightly down to it. it felt so grounded in reality, that i felt like a person could tell me their older relative had gone through this in the eighties and i would believe them. but, as i said, i’m obviously not an authority on that topic for aforementioned reasons.

and also, aside from the reader’s perspective on the work, as a person who tries to write myself, i realize that this is the level of writing skill i’m aspiring towards. this is what i want my works to feel like to a reader, and i’m really not there yet, but seeing works like these inspires me so much to grow.

also, i would’ve absolutely loved to see a little bit more of robin there, to find out how this change in the canon narrative would affect the events of the s4, to see how steddie’s relationship would develop and transform with the upside down thrown into the mix. and that’s definitely not a slight against the fic for not including this things, but more of a testament to how greatly invested the author made me in their version of the story and how hard it is for me to let go of it. this fic is perfectly complete without those things, but, once i got a taste, i couldn’t help but want more and more, even though this story definitely isn’t in any way lacking or in need of those to feel whole. but that’s mostly my selfish desires speaking, don’t mind me.

and, here, have a couple of snippets with no particular reasoning behind them, just because they made me giggle:

i’m getting real rambly and i’m genuinely afraid this whole post is absolutely unreadable with how frantic and jittery i am in trying to get this off my chest, but when i’m telling you i was buzzing with this word-vomit, almost frothing at the mouth with the need to express the absolute glorious hellscape this fic left me in after i finished it, i’m probably underselling it.

so, in conclusion, please read this fic. please please please read this fic. if not for my sake or the @fabelds-blog’s (who got criminally little recognition for this masterpiece), then for your own, because i can guarantee you that not one second of reading this work will feel like a waste of time or a disappointment. *me, pointing a gun at you with shaking hands while tears stream down my face* please, PLEASE read this fic, because it’s absolutely worth it.

so, yeah. i don’t think a number large enough to rate this work even exists, but my closest approximation is 999999836526272910018172654244536384847635526728190199986553781010018654463892010197654272458499900909261379/10, am recommending. and, obviously, it’s up to you if you’re going to actually read the fic, but if after this madman’s rant you still opted not to, i regret to inform you that that is, in fact, the wrong choice, and i’m strongly urging you to reconsider.

[morganski-19]

Chills Right to the Marrow Part 14

part 1, prev part

Dustin walks down the halls of the school. Just trying to get to his next class without anyone noticing. Watching as the eyes of his classmates follow him, waiting for him to do something. It was the same for the other Hellfire members, the same for Mike and Lucas. For Will and El as they were transferred back into the school.

Everyone wanted to know what they did, but no one really wanted them there. They were freaks. outcasts. Blind followers of the devil or whatever shit they believed. None of it was true, but they didn’t care. No one could tell them what was true even if they wanted to.

All he could do was take it and act like it didn’t bother him. He was an outcast before all this started. That was obvious. But he could still pretend that there were other people out there that might want to be his friend. Might actually like him.

Now he’s left with the fact that the only people that do are sitting at this lunch table with him. Shoved in the corner so no one has to think about them. While the insults are thrown around as words or balls of paper. Eddie’s wanted signs still plastered around the school. A new one taped to his locker each morning.

Didn’t matter that he was innocent. Didn’t matter that Hopper held a fucking press conference to make sure the town knew it. Once an opinion is formed, it’s not so easily broken. Eddie’s had opinions made about him his whole life. He couldn’t even catch a break in almost death.

In his nightmare, Dustin pictures Eddie’s name carved into a gravestone. Overshadowed with words sprayed over the engraving. Branding his final resting place with his burned legacy.

Forever a freak, never a hero.

“How’s Eddie doing?” Jeff asks across the table. They haven’t gone to see Eddie since the first week.

Dustin said it didn’t bother him, but it did. They gave him up, put Eddie in danger. Now their stuck in a puddle of their own guilt that they can’t find a way out of. Eddie was struggling to live, and they couldn’t even try to come and visit him more than once. And they were his best friends.

“He’s doing better,” Lucas supplies. Making Dustin bite his tongue.

They don’t deserve to know it.

“That’s good,” Gareth says while stabbing his food. The guilt still ripe in his eyes. He can’t even look at Dustin. Knowing that he didn’t just give Eddie up, he gave Dustin up too. “The band hasn’t been the same without him.”

“You’ve been practicing without him,” Dustin spits.

The table freezes. Everyone looking at Dustin. Either with surprise or pleas to let it go. Lucas especially.

None of them understand. None of them were there. It was just Dustin and Eddie on that trailer. It was Dustin that Eddie chose to risk his life for. They aren’t burdened by that. None of them know what it’s like to be burdened by that.

“Yeah, we have,” Jeff slowly answers. “We have a gig coming up, can’t just cancel it.”

“So, you’re just going to play it without Eddie then?” Dustin can hear the anger in his voice. Watches as it makes them flinch.

“It’s not like we want to,” Grant adds. Not helping. “He just . . . wouldn’t want us to cancel it.”

Dustin bites his cheek so hard it’s threatening to break skin. “But he would want you to betray him?”

Gareth stumbles to find his words. “You weren’t there. Jason wasn’t going to let up if we didn’t tell him-.”

“You could have lied,” Dustin yells. Noticing how the cafeteria quiets for a moment before rumble of voices resume. “You didn’t have to single me out. Tell me Eddie would have wanted that.”

He didn’t give them the chance to. He slings his backpack onto his back so hard it slams into him. Picking up his lunch tray and dumping what’s left in the trash. Slamming it into the pile before walking out into the empty hall. Not caring if he gets detention.

The door opens again behind him.

“Dustin,” Lucas calls out to him. Jogging slightly to catch up.

“I’m don’t need this right now.” Dustin continues walking down the hall.

Lucas gets in front of him, making him stop. “I get that you’re angry,” he tries to reason, “but that doesn’t mean you can just lash out at anyone you feel like.”

“So you think what they did was ok? I don’t have a right to be mad at them for stabbing both Eddie and me in the back?”

Dustin got over being angry at Lucas fast. Knowing that with his lie, he saved them all some time. Was only with the guys on the basketball team because of pressure. The rest didn’t have that excuse.

“No, I don’t think it was ok. But you weren’t there when Jason jumped them. He had Gareth on the ground with his fists ready. What was he supposed to do?”

The anger inside him is rising again. “Not put a target on my back,” he echoes through the hallway. “He put all of us in danger just because he couldn’t think of a lie. I’ve thought of a thousand lies in the middle of danger. It’s not that hard.”

“And Gareth’s not you. He’s not used to this stuff like we are.”

Maybe he’s not. But still, if Dustin was completely new to this, pinned down by someone much larger than him and given a choice, he would never choose to betray his friend. Without a doubt in his mind.

“Are you really that mad they’re still practicing,” Lucas asks when Dusting stops talking. “Life doesn’t stop just because people we love are in the hospital.”

Lucas finally found the right nerve.

“He almost died, Lucas. Life almost stopped for him.”

“I know. But that doesn’t mean-.”

Dustin cuts him off. “He died right in front of me. Do you know what that feels like? Holding someone as they die, being helpless to it.”

“I do,” Lucas cries. A thin line of tears forming in his eyes. “Max died for a few seconds before waking up again. The only reason she’s here is because El restarted her heart.”

Dustin suddenly feels horrible. “You didn’t tell me that.”

“Of course, I didn’t.” Lucas crosses his arms. “You were so focused on Eddie, and I knew it was killing you inside. I thought it would have been easier for you if you didn’t know the full story.”

“I’m sorry,” Dusting whispers. “I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you. You just seemed to be taking it better than I was.”

Lucas takes a deep breath. “Max is blind. She’ll never see me again, not in the way she used to. I miss the color if her eyes.” He blinks away tears with another breath. “One of my friends is still in a coma, my sister is terrified, and I had a gun held to my head. Does that sound like I’m ok?”

Dustin shakes his head, feeling sheepish. “No, it doesn’t.”

“We’re all going through something, Dustin. It’s better if we stay together than force each other apart.”

He can’t find any reason to disagree with him. Dustin takes a few steps towards Lucas, the anger completely dissipated. “You’re right. I’m sorry.”

Lucas nods, smacking Dustin’s shoulder. “I am too.”

Next Part

tag list, let me know if you want to be added or removed: @the-they-who-nerded, @insteviewetrust, @croatoan-like-its-hot, @jettestar,

@tinyplanet95, @steddie-as-they-go, @slv-333, @littlecelestialmoth, @thatonebadideapanda,

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@morgannotlefay, @a-little-unsteddie, @dolphincliffs, @maskofmirrors, @me-and-my-sloth,

[milo-needs-help]

Merman Adrift

A Stranger Things, Mermaid and Pirate AU

Chapter 1

“Captain!” Eddie heard Dustin yell from the bird's nest. “Aye!” he yelled back as he stood from his seat, grumbling as he did. Was it too much to ask for one minute of peace so he could rest his feet? With Dustin around it might as well be.

The kid took any chance he could get to mess with Eddie, well everyone really but sometimes it felt like Eddie got the worst of it. Which really shouldn’t be the case, with him being the captain. Eddie swore that the only reason he let him get away with the disrespect was because of the boy's age but they all knew that to be a lie. If Mike tried the same shit Dustin did, he would be scraping barnacles when they next docked. The real reason Dustin got away with all that he did was because he had been Gareth's favorite.

“There’s a man in the water!” Dustin yelled, his lisp more pronounced than normal due to the volume he was using. Eddie looked up to see what direction Dustin was looking, and following his gaze Eddie soon saw it too. He couldn’t make out the details but not too far in the distance was the district figure of a man floating in the water. There wasn’t much else Eddie could make out without his telescope, pulling the needed item off his belt Eddie took a closer look.

The top half of the man was the only visible part he could see, everything else was hidden below the water. They were still too far to make out the details of his face, but Eddie could see short brown hair. The man wasn’t wearing a shirt, which was what probably saved him from being dragged underwater. Seeing as he was unconscious and unable to tread water himself. Besides the clear muscle the man had built Eddie couldn’t tell anything more about him. “Will! Change of course! Sail west, towards that man!” Will gave a thumbs up as he shifted course to Eddies orders.

By now all of Hellfire was watching the body in the water, some hoping he was still alive others sure that he wasn’t; All curious to know what had happened. Eddie, being the only one with the sense to have pulled out his telescope, knew that the man was alive. He could see it in the way his chest rose and fell with the wave as if he breathed with the water.

With the boat fast approaching the man, the wind always on their side, what Eddie thought he knew about the man changed. What he had thought to be short hair was now longer somehow. Eddie told himself that it must have been stuck to the man's face or hidden under the water. But hair was not the only thing different about his appearance. What used to be the build of a swimmer, lean and compact was now broader and bulky.

That should have been Eddie’s cue to leave. He’s read far too many stories of sailors being lured in by some helpless-looking person before tragedy; They were the tales he told to spook the kids on long nights. But the only creature Eddie knew of that could change their appearance in such a way couldn’t affect him. It was the only reason he was the Captain of Hellfire and not someone more capable like Jeff. Granted Eddie grew into the role, but he didn’t always have what it took to make the right calls.

Take now for example; Eddie should tell Will to take them as far away as possible. Whoever was in the water would surely die but it would keep Hellfire safe. ‘When was a pirate's life ever safe?’ Gareth's echoed in his head; it never failed to force Eddie to live on the edge, if only by a little. Now that this was something he wanted... he couldn’t find it in himself to argue because that was Gareth in the water.

The love he had thought was long gone. Should be long gone but against all odds it was him. Eddie would know him anywhere. He would know every crevasse of his lover's body, even in the dark and he could only touch. “Get the ropes ready!” Eddie yelled as they were almost at a point where they could hoist him aboard. It took some time but once they fenagled the ropes to around Gareth's middle they were able to start pulling.

Eddie had intended to watch as Gareth was pulled from the water but a yell from Mike had him thoroughly distracted, “Blimey! How much does this man weigh?” Eddie furrowed his eyebrows, watching Mike with confusion. ‘This man’ Mike should have recognized Gareth, so why use unfamiliar terms? Eddie decided to put away his thoughts for later when Gareth was safely aboard the ship, and by the looks of it, they were struggling to do just that.

“Never took you for the giving up type,” Eddie said as he took ahold of the rope when he saw Mike’s grip falter. “Big talk for the man sitting by as we do all the work,” Mike snarked back, shifting his feet for a better grip. “Does this look like sitting by Michael?” He asked with one brow raised. “Does this look like sitting by?” Mike mimicked with an annoying high-pitched voice. “I would flip you off, but my hands are a little busy right now,” a pause before an evil, evil, smile formed on his face. “But Dustin's aren’t. OHHHHH DUSTIN!” and without missing a beat, Dustin stuck his hand out from the crow's nest edge and gave Eddie the middle finger. “Ha ha ha- get back to work!” Eddie exclaimed, silently wishing he had a hand free to return the gesture.

It took way too long to pull Gareth to the deck, but Eddie would gladly wait those few minutes to see his love again than the lifetime he thought it would take. Now they had him laying on a blanket from storage, as they tended to his wounds. Wounds Eddie didn’t remember Gareth getting in that battle, but he had no idea how he was brought back to them. He had no idea what happened between that battle and now, besides these cuts look to be new.

Lucas was hard at work, cleaning the wounds and sewing the wounds the best he could with what they had on hand. Eddie made a mental note to restock their supplies sometime soon. They were already running low but now with Gareth back it would be gone faster than they planned. While Lucas worked Eddie crawled forward to be closer to Gareth. With one hand Eddie cupped Gareth’s face as gently as he could. Eddie could see his eyes flutter as he slowly gained consciousness.

“Gareth? Can you hear me?” he asked as he ran his thumb over Gareth's cheek. All around him, the Hellfire crew froze where they stood. Lucas’ hands were in the air as if they were stuck there and he looked at Eddie with wide, shocked eyes. “Gareth? Eddie, are you okay?” Jeff asked as he pushed himself off the rails he had been leaning on.

Eddie didn’t have time to question why everyone was behaving so weirdly because at that moment Gareth awoke with a start. A loud gasp escaped his lungs and his hands gripped the one Eddie had been holding him with. Gripping him with an inhuman strength, Eddie noted. “Who are you? Where am I?” There was panic in Gareth's eyes, panic that Eddie had never seen directed at him. It broke his heart a little, but what broke it more was the question he had asked. ‘Who are you?’ It may have been said in a moment of blind panic, but the idea of Gareth not remembering him was... well it was unthinkable.

“Gareth, baby. Do you not recognize Hellfire?” Eddie pleaded, not bothering to try and retake his arm from his lover's grip. “What the fuck is Hellfire and who is Gareth?” ‘Amnesia’ was the first thought that popped into Eddie's head. It had to be the reason for this behavior. “You baby, you’re Gareth,” Eddie said slowly, treating him the same as he would a spooked ally cat.

He might as well be, with the way he was eyeing the deck rail, clearly contemplating jumping off for escape. But Eddie's words must have caught his attention long enough to halt that thought. “My name is Steve,” Eddie ripped his hand away faster than he thought possible. But then again, a lot of impossible things are happening today. A male mermaid was on his ship.

Chapter 2 link

[mugloversonly]

Freak King of the Seven Seas

For @stmonstercalendar mermay bingo event. Prompts “Pirates”, “Ship”, “Storm”, “Cecelia” and the weekly prompt “Cecelia” | rating: G

Summary: Captain Munson of the pirate ship Hellfire, is the most feared pirate on the 7 seas. A storm traps them with the Navy vessel on their tail, unfortunately for General Carver, Eddie has a trick up his sleeve.

AO3

The sea crashed against the side of the Hellfire as a heavy downpour flooded the deck. As if the storm wasn't enough, Lucas called down from the mast.

“It's the Navy! Their closing in!” Captain Munson turned toward the bow and groaned. It wasn't just any ship, it was the USS Hawkins. General Carver captained that vessel and he’s been out for Eddie’s blood since Steve Harrington, the governor’s son he was in charge of protecting, turned coat and joined the pirates.

As if he’d summoned him, Steve came up behind the Captain and wrapped his arms around his waist.

“Do you think we should tell him the truth?” Steve asked as he pressed a kiss to Eddie’s temple. With a snort, Eddie turned his back on the Navy and gave his husband a proper kiss.

“What, that when you captured me at sword point I charmed you so thoroughly you abandoned your post? He’ll just say I brainwashed you with a devil’s spell.” Rumors like that followed behind the Hellfire like a stiff breeze. Every member of Eddie’s crew was once considered an upstanding citizen, until they ran into the Freak King of the Seven Seas.

Chrissy appeared by their side, a determined set to her brow. This would be the first time they’ve encountered Carver since the woman ended their engagement by joying the crew.

“If he tries to take me back on board, put an arrow in my heart before he can.” She requested. It’s only been a few months, but already Eddie knew he’d protect her with his life.

“I’d sooner put one through his.” The Captain snarled. “Gareth, head for the eye of the storm!” He called to the helmsman.

“Aye, aye!” He called back as he turned the wheel. Poseidon must have been angry with them because they couldn't outrun the storm or the Navy. The ship pulled up next to their own with General Carver standing triumphantly on the edge.

“This is Captain Carver of the USS Hawkins. I’m placing this vessel and it's occupants under arrest.” The man shouted over the high winds.

“Not on your life Carver!” Eddie screamed back and flashed a pair of devil horns, sticking his tongue out for flair.

Suddenly, a body grabbed the rope from the sail and swung over the edge of both ships, slamming into Chrissy, knocking them both to the deck. Eddie's drew his sword but Steve’s hand pressed into his chest in reassurance.

“Robbie?” He asked with a cute tilt to his head. A woman scrambled to her feet, apologizing profusely to Chrissy before launching herself into Steve’s embrace.

“Dingus! Don't ever run off and join a pirate crew without me again!” She cried. Steve laughed joyously and swung the woman around by her waist.

With a pointed clearing of his throat, Eddie glared at the newcomer.

“You may know my husband, but that doesn't make you welcome on my ship.” The tip of his sword rose to Robin’s neck.

“She's my sister.” Steve snorted. “Trust me, captain she’s fine.” Eddie eyed the pair for a moment longer before nodding his head and turning back to the Navy.

“Anyone else want to defect from your shackles of conformity?” Eddie called. The only answer he received was a cannon ball slamming into the side of the ship. “Guess not,” he mumbled. “Return fire!”

Dustin and Max loaded the nearby cannon and aimed straight for the Navy’s mast. Though it missed, it put a sizable dent into their deck. Nancy, Jonathan, and Argyle took a stand at the other two cannons, aiming and firing them at the Navy in rapid succession, giving them little time to react. Shot after shot rang out over the tremulous waves; until, the Dragon figurehead crashed into the sea. Eddie's eyes narrowed.

“Jeff the shell!” The man in question brought Eddie a large white conch shell. A tiny tremor of fear shook his hands. The Navy-men were setting planks, ready to board the Hellfire. Mike, Will, and Bear drew their swords in preparation.

“I met your family, you ready to meet mine, sweetheart?” Eddie grinned at Steve as he lifted the shell to his lips. A deep blare burst from the shell and at first there was no change. Then, the sea waves thrashed and the boat rocked harder than before.

“You think I’m the Freak King of the Seven Seas? You’re about to find out why they call me that.” Eddie shouted across the water.

“Get ready.” Eddie grinned at Steve. Eight long tentacles burst from the sea, each longer than the parallel ships and nearly as wide. With a feral snarl, Eddie turned back to face Carver.

“I’d like you to meet the Cecelia who raised me.” A giant torso broke free of the water’s surface as the tentacles wrapped around the Hawkins.

“This guy bothering you, Ed?” The deep voice of the Cecelia called. It was obvious he tried to keep his volume low but with as big of a creature as he was, his breath nearly knocked the men on to their asses.

“Just a little Uncle Wayne. You hungry?”

Wayne nodded, picked the ship up in his big hands, and swallowed the ship whole, like a pill. The screams of the men on board were lost to the wind as Wayne smacked his lips, with a hearty burp, the ship hit the creature’s stomach.

“Thanks for calling me, son.” Wayne poked him as gently as he was able, given his finger was the size of Eddie’s whole body.

“Thanks for coming, Pops.” Eddie replied with a maniac cackle. Wayne stretched his arms above his head before he carried the Hellfire to the nearest island.

“Y’all get some rest here so you can fix your ship in the morning. I’ll keep an eye out for any more of those pesky patrols.” He lowered his elbows down to the beach, leaning back as if he didn’t have a care in the world.

“This guy raised you?” Steve exclaimed.

“Yeah, my birth parents decided I wasn’t worth the effort and threw me overboard; Wayne found me floating on a piece of drift wood. He took me to a hidden cave and protected me from predators. He made sure I was fed and loved and he put his life on hold for me. It was dangerous for him to stay in one spot but he wouldn't leave me even after I was old enough to take care of myself. I became a pirate to travel with him and take in lost strays like he took me in.” Eddie hugged Wayne's pinky finger in thanks.

“Hello, Mr. Munson.” Steve said, his voice strong even as his shoulders trembled a bit.

“Name’s Wayne kid. Nice to meet ya. Treat my boy right or else.” The creature glared at him. Steve gulped with wide eyes but Eddie only slapped his uncle’s hand in admonishment. A big bellowing laugh blew sand into the air made Wayne’s mirth known. “Sorry, couldn't help myself . You keep my boy safe and we won’t have any problems.”

“I’ll protect him sir, I promise.” Steve said with a small smile. He kissed his husband softly on the cheek and dashed away to go find Robin.

“He’s a real keeper. Do right by him, alright.” Wayne said Eddie as quietly as he was able.

“I will.” Eddie’s whispered words were a prayer as well as a promise. The ocean crashed on the shore, Eddie’s gaze locked on to the horizon. The seas could be unforgiving; but sitting here at his uncle’s side as his crew set up camp for the night, Eddie knew it was a promise he’d keep until he joined Davy Jones.

The wind finally died down and the storm headed away from them. The stars began to shine brightly, the moon was high in the sky. It was a beautiful night, one of celebration. With a pat to Wayne’s arm, Eddie went to find his love.

The crew sat around a fire with Jeff playing an upbeat tune on his lute as Nancy sang along. Mike, Will, Jonathon, and Argyle cooked the fish Wayne snagged when he carried the ship over. Everyone else talked in pairs or small groups; everyone except Steve, Robin, and Chrissy. Those three danced barefoot in the sand near the fire and Eddie joined them. He pulled Steve into his arms and began swaying back and forth to the music.

“Thank you for saving me.” Steve whispered into his ear. With a flourish, Eddie dipped Steve in the sand and sighed.

“You saved me too, darling. You saved me too.”

tags

@katyawriteswhump

[ultimatelytired]

Parasite

word count: 17,334

Fandom: Stranger Things Pairing: Eddie Munson + Wayne Munson x Male!Experiment!Reader Pronouns: He/Him Relationship: Familial Occupation: High School Student Ability: Venom

This ability was forced upon the character by the scientists within the laboratory similar to that within Hawkins, fascinated by the creatures within the Upside Down, they managed to merge some of it within the character and he was bestowed with being the host of a lesser version of the Mind Flayer. This part of the Mind Flayer was so insignificant that it wasn’t able to properly take over its host body, instead it relied on its hosts body to keep itself alive. In return this part of the Mind Flayer was able to to reinforce their body beyond its natural human capabilities. This granted the character superhuman abilities but the character was burdened with needing to keep the Mind Flayer fed, giving them an enormous appetite and crave anything to keep it satisfied. They are also, like that of many residents within the Upside Down, gifted the ability to open gates to and from the Upside Down and the real world, but it takes a lot of energy out of them.

Keys:

[M/N]: Male Name [L/N]: Last Name [H/C]: Hair Color [E/C]: Eye Color [D/F]: Drink Flavor

Warnings: child abuse, alcohol consumption, drug use, vulgar language, violence, eating disorder/anorexia/bulimia, cannibalism.

I have no idea how the american high school system shit works so I’m bullshitting my way through most of it.

I wrote this ages ago before and this was much longer but decided to cut this into different parts.

that is all.

They made me this.

They made me a killer.

A cannibal.

A monster.

Number Five, formerly known as [M/N] who was picked up off the lonely streets and experimented on because no one would look for a nameless kid with nothing to him but his name and the clothes on his back. They told him that he should be grateful that he wasn’t living out on the streets, that he was out of the cold and the rain and the possibility that he could be murdered, but honestly? He would take that over being in this hellhole they called his home, sure he had nothing, but he rather have nothing than to be tortured all because these scientists needed a test subject for their stupid experiment. He was told that he wasn’t the first one they tried this experiment on, and he honestly wished that he wasn’t the last, as selfish as that was. He wished whatever they did to him killed him like the rest, but instead that got the results they wanted and he was perfectly bonded with this… thing.

They called it a symbiote.

He called it a parasite.

It now lived within him.

He honestly wished it killed him.

It living inside him was torture, it had an insatiable hunger for just about anything; blood and flesh seemed to be one of the biggest factors that could quell it, and so the scientists had something else to obsess over. They had him eat things from something small to something unreasonable, nothing cooked or prepared, straight up raw or grotesque. The worst had to be when one of their soldiers died to one of the monsters from that alternate world, he still remembered the way the dead soldier’s bones crushed against the incredible bite force of his jaw, or how his blood and shredded clothes was all that was left within his trembling hands. He was sick, he was going to throw up everything he had just scarfed down and they were going to punish him for something he couldn’t exactly control.

“If we’re able to duplicate this experiment, sir, we could have an entire army of super soldiers.” one of the many scientists informed, looking down at his clipboard while the man he was speaking to watched through the two way window to observe Subject No. Five. It was fascinating to see the way the symbiote they connected with the child was able to manifest itself a liquid like body and hover around the boy as if it were a shadow, they shared a psychic link with each other and were able to hear each other’s voices to communicate. This was unlike anything they’ve ever managed to do, the children that were able to move things with their minds was one thing, but connecting a monster with a human was just something else entirely.

“I am more surprised the boy managed to survive the connection, I would have thought he’d die in the process.” he murmured softly, watching as the thing moved from shoulder to shoulder to watch what the boy did to keep himself somewhat entertained.

“Well, that’s the thing, sir. Though I am not entirely sure what made them compatible, it seems like the symbiote has somewhat of a preference to what host it wants. When we tried on an adult man, both the parasite and host went feral until the body couldn’t handle it anymore and it killed the host from the inside out.” the scientist looked back towards No. Five and saw the way the same liquid made from the monster formed over his arm and created a claw of sorts, they back up a little when it extended and shot over to where they were standing and nearly shattered the glass “When it bonded with that child, it seemed like they had a similar hatred towards us humans.”

“Human in general?” he shook his head, watching as the pressure against the glass grew and formed a crack.

“No, just us. Since they share a mind, they seem to know which amongst us are friends and foe. Like with the other children, he doesn’t seem to lash out, but with the helpers and fellow scientists, well…” he didn’t need to finish that sentence, already knowing how that boy was able to rip some of the other scientists apart with his barehands alone.

“Do you believe he’ll ever come to obey us?” he shakes his head.

“Highly unlikely, sir. We grabbed him when he was older than the other children, where they were nurtured from birth. He already has a personality developed along with a mind of his own. Getting him to cooperate with us willingly is going to be more of a challenge.” he explained, the other hummed softly as the liquified arm gave up its attempts at smashing through the glass and returned to the boy, who stared at his hand then went back to what he was doing previously.

“Well, how hard is it to break a child?” he asked, the scientist opened his mouth the answer but paused when he noticed that it was a rhetorical question. He couldn’t help but swallow thickly at the gaze the man had in his eyes the longer he stared at the child, that boy was very resilient and he couldn’t help but marvel at how long that boy could forego the experiments without passing out. Well, maybe that was because he had help from the symbiote, healing any and all injuries inflicted onto him; his body could heal faster than a blade piercing through his skin “I want him prepped and ready for the next tests.”

“A-And that would be what, sir?” a cruel smirk graced his lips.

“What sort of weakness they have.”

The bond between the boy and the parasite gifted them with great endurance and strength, but like every hero and villain, they were bound to stumble upon a weakness. Fire seemed to be one, from a little flame to something bigger, the symbiote didn’t hesitate to retreat back into [M/N]’s body to hide from the smouldering flames that could melt him away. But what could be worse than the common flame? Well, sounds with high enough frequency’s is able to make the host lose control and the symbiote struggle to retain its physical form. The first time they trapped the boy within a room and blasted a pitch that gradually grew louder until neither one could handle it, the symbiote actually managed to separate himself from the host. However, the separation didn’t last long because neither could survive without the other. [M/N]’s body had unfortunately grown accustomed to the parasite that even his body weakened.

Of course the scientists found this discovery fascinating, so they found new ways of torture to gather more research for their stupid experiments. [M/N] couldn’t help but be impressed with himself with how long he’s been holding out, from being cut open from having his bones broken and feeling everything while being awake. They weren’t even kind enough to do it while he was unconscious or with anesthesia, not like it would work, drugs and alcohol seemed ineffective against him because of this son of a bitch. His body found comfort in his cold prison, the monster inside of him quelling from the cool air within their dark and confined room. Moments like these after endless hours of torture was where the two of them could really bond properly.

“I want to die.”

“I do not.”

“It doesn’t matter what you want.”

“It does when it is I keeping us alive.”

“I’d rather you didn’t.”

…

…

“I am hungry.”

“I’m hungry for actual food.”

“Like what?”

“A cheeseburger.”

“What is a cheeseburger?”

…

…

“What are we, parasite?”

“What do you mean, human?”

“Are we friends, or simply partners?”

“Well, you are merely my ride.”

“Oh.”

…

…

“Would you like to be “friends” human?”

“Well, it’s not like I have any.”

“You did not.”

“Thanks for rubbing it in.”

“You are welcome.”

The longer the two spent together, whether it be in the confinements of their room or in the lab being tortured and experimented on, their bond grew stronger and so did their power. [M/N] was growing a better control over the parasite and even trust to the point he would let him out of his body willingly, however, the more the two of them spent doing just about anything, the larger their hunger grew. This was [M/N]’s least favourite part of being bonded with this thing, that no matter how much he was fed his craving for more could not be satisfied. The lingering taste of human flesh and blood on his tongue often left him feeling sick, and though the parasite apologised for his need for human consumption, there wasn’t much he could do if he didn’t want his kidney’s to be next on the menu.

“No. Five’s progress has been developing smoothly, sir. He isn’t quite cooperative with us just yet, but at least he isn’t biting people’s heads off whenever they get too close.”

“That is good. Do you think he’ll be able to stand a chance against someone like those monsters?”

“I am confident he can take on no more than three at the time, sir. Within that body of his when they’re synchronised, he is able to withstand rounds from a shotgun. There isn’t much that can take them down, that body of theirs is durable despite its liquified state; also capable of shaping any piece of their body into whatever they want and extending in length.”

“Perfect, we’re getting closer and closer to the results we want.”

“And if we don’t reach them, sir?” the man let out a hum, eyes narrowing down on the boy that was seemingly talking to thin air but was actually sharing a conversation with the voice in his head.

“Then it’d be a shame to have to find another host to bond with the parasite.” the scientist couldn’t help but shake his head.

“That would be near impossible, sir! Those two have formed a perfect bond that finding a new host to match the compatibility of that child would take forever; the symbiote would die by the time we did find a host close enough for it to inhabit.”

“Well then we best hope things turn out the way we want, right?” the scientist couldn’t help but swallow thickly, not liking the way his words didn’t match the way his eyes were glaring at him, so he just hung his head and nodded.

Both [M/N] and the parasite noticed that the experiments were a lot more harsher, they looked like they were really aiming to kill him at this point. One time he remembered he was on the operating table and then next thing he knows he’s back in his room, the parasite told him how they stopped his heart and he was proclaimed dead for a couple seconds, it would have stayed like that if it weren’t for him interfering. They did shit like that before, but they never outright played with the concept of life and death like that before when they were undergoing experiments on him. He knew he was valuable, he knew they couldn’t afford to lose him, so what the fuck do they think they’re doing? Are they so desperate to get him to bend over to their every whim? How long could he push their patience before they did outright kill him and replace him with someone new.

“They are going to kill you, [M/N].” the parasite’s words couldn’t help but send a shiver down his spine, his fingers taping against his knee, his eyes staring at the wall from across him intensely.

“T-They— they wouldn’t. You’ll die without me.”

“They know that, but their patience runs thin.” [M/N]’s eyes tore away from the wall when he made himself manifest and float around him, that sharp toothed grin making him more nervous “It is only a matter of time before they run out of that patience.” he shakes his head once more.

“True, but even if they did manage to find you a new host, how will they know you’ll be a perfect match for them? All those tests and experiments will be for naught if we both die.” he brings his thumb to his lips, his teeth gnawing at his thumbnail “I didn’t hold out for this long just to be tossed out because I won’t listen to them.” he let out a soft grunt when he felt a soft knock against his head, looking over at the parasite, he saw that he bumped his own forehead against his to gain his attention.

“Then why are we still here?” those words caused a different sort of shiver to run down his spine.

“W-What do you mean?” that grin grew wider as he hovered a few inches from his face.

“We can leave.” [M/N] furrowed his brows before shaking his head, looking away from the parasite, pulling his knees to his chest and hugging them tightly.

“But where will we go? We have nowhere to go, and they’ll find us easily. We’re not exactly the most inconspicuous lot out there.” he sat in silence for a couple minutes until he felt the soft knocking on his head again, he didn’t turn his head but let out a soft hum to let him know that he was listening.

“Then, would you rather stay here and await your end like an animal in a slaughterhouse?” the parasite felt [M/N]’s anxiety rise so he draped himself along his back to comfort him, it almost felt like he was hugging him “We might not have somewhere to call home, but we will be free.”

“I’ll be all alone again…”

“But you are not alone, for you have me.” that alone caused [M/N]’s lip to tremble as he shed a couple tears, the parasite was kind enough to wipe away his tears as he wept. Later that night, the alarms were blaring and sounding off because [M/N] did, in fact, manage to escape. [M/N] and the parasite were having a hard time keeping together because of all the noise going on around them but they managed to make do, hell, [M/N] was even letting the parasite eat the soldiers that were trying to take them down as they made their escape. He let out a gasp when he busted down the door from inside the facility to the outside world, he nearly collapsed when he could finally smell the fresh air while the moonlight sky shun down on him. He almost basked underneath the rays of the moon but turned his head around when he saw the soldiers honing in, he didn’t hesitate to turn on his heels and speed off.

“Stop him!”

“Don’t let him get away!” [M/N] couldn’t afford to stop, because he knew the moment he was within their clutches again he wasn’t going to get another chance to escape. He knew that the moment he fell back into their hands, they were actually going to kill him this time.

“Pa— Parasite!” he called out, eyes widening he saw that the only thing standing in the way of his freedom was a barbed fence.

“Don’t call me that!” the voice shouted and took control of their body, crouching down and launching them in the air and over the fence. [M/N] let out a grunt as he landed before running off down the path of uncertainty, but he knew now that he was free, but he wasn’t off the hook just yet. The soldiers that were sent after him were brought to a panic when they lost sight of him within the forest he fled through, shouting out where he could have gone and how they could have lost him. The boy himself was hiding up at the very top of a tree, hugging it close to his chest as he panted out breaths of exhaustion. He didn’t dare look down nor move in fear that they could hear him and spot him, so he stayed as still as he could until he could no longer hear their voices. When it was absolutely silent he finally let his body relax, his head looked up at the starry night sky and he couldn’t help but laugh weakly as the twinkling stars greeted him.

“I never thought… I’d see this again.” he spoke softly, his face gleaming with hope.

“What are those lights in the sky, human?”

“Those are stars, parasite.”

“I told you not to call me that, human.” this caused him to roll his eyes.

“Well, you haven’t exactly given me a name to call you, now have you? I’ve been calling you parasite because that’s what you’ve been to me ever since we’ve been stuck together.” he shook his head when the parasite appeared before him “Well, what do you want to be called? We’re free now, so maybe a new name for you can be a fresh start.”

“Yes, I would very much like a name.” [M/N] raised a brow when he saw him look up in thought, thinking of any possible name “I have chosen a name most suited for me. I am Venom, and you are mine.” the para— no, Venom said with absolute pride. [M/N] stared at him before bursting out into laughter he didn’t know he was capable of producing.

“Venom? Is the best you can think of?”

“What is wrong with Venom? I believe it suits us very well. I called us Venom because of our shared bitter hatred towards the men in white, who have tortured us for a number of years for their twisted version of science.” this reason behind the name caused [M/N] to hum softly.

“Hmm, then it is a very cool name. I like it very much, Venom.” this caused Venom’s already permanent smile to grow bigger.

“I am pleased, [M/N].”

Now their next problem was the fact that since they have nowhere to go, had nowhere to retreat to and they couldn’t afford to stop moving, they had to make do on what to eat. [M/N] was forced to eat anything they set their eyes on, Venom was an even pickier eater now that their only source of food was no longer available. The unfortunate times he did have to eat an unsuspecting hiker, Venom would apologize when [M/N] would throw up the contents because he couldn’t never get used to the taste of flesh and blood on his tongue each time Venom feasted because he too had to eat. But this was something he would prefer then being stuck in that white room to be torn apart over and over and over again, he would rather develop a sort of eating disorder then to be stuck in that cycle of torture any day. He didn’t know how long he was on the run for, how far he had walked to put some distance between himself and that lab, but he knew he had crossed over several states to get where he was.

He let out an exhausted sigh when he found a clearing through the thick forest he traveled through, a road separating him from the forest on the other side. The darkness would be the only thing to cover him from any prying eyes that could possibly be lingering this late in the night, but would we be out this late anyways. He let out a huff and left his hiding spot between the trees and crossed the road to get to the other side, he must have been too exhausted to hear the noise coming from the right side of him because it didn’t dawn on him that he got hit until he was on the ground. Perhaps it was Venom that shielded him from the full impact from the vehicle that hit him but it still knocked the wind out of him and sent him flying a few meters away from the truck and landing on the ground with a thud, maybe it was the hunger and craving of food that caused his lack of reaction and why he didn’t bother to move, he just let his worn out body lay there.

Said owner of the truck didn’t even see the young boy until it was too late, he slammed his foot on the breaks the moment he laid eyes on the figure the darkness hid until his lights revealed him. He sat inside his running truck for a couple seconds before slowing it started settling in that he had actually hit someone, he quickly threw open his car door and rushed over to the person that laid motionless on the road. He felt guilt wash over him when he saw that it was a child, dirty and malnourished, looking as if he went through hell before he was hit by his truck. The state of this child made him think of his own kid so he didn’t think twice about picking him up as gently as he could, trying not to add any more pain to this already broken child, and hightailed it to the hospital. He did his best to keep his eyes on the road while occasionally sneaking quick glances at the unconscious boy in his passenger seat, grimacing every now and then whenever the boy would wince and whimper from just the smallest amount of movement.

“I’m sorry, boy. I’ll get you help, I promise. You’ll get the help you need.” to say the hospital workers were startled was an understatement, this was a town where everybody knew everyone so when they saw Wayne Munson burst through they doors with a bloodied child cradled in his arms “Please, you’ve got to help him.” a couple nurses took [M/N] from his arms and brought him to a room so they could see what exactly was wrong with him while a doctor spoke with Wayne.

“Where did you find him?” he gave the doctor a guilty look.

“I-I— I was on my way to work and he— he came out of nowhere. I didn’t see him out in the middle of the road and I accidentally hit him. Oh, god. He looked so bad, it was horrible. I don’t know if all that damage was from me or from whatever he went through for him to be out there this late at night.” the doctor let out a soft sigh, understanding what he went from the quick glance he got on the young boy “He looked so… small.”

“It was a good thing you brought him here, Wayne. I think if he was out there for a couple more days he might have died from starvation. He looked thin.” Wayne nodded his head.

“Yeah, I could feel his ribs.” a couple hours past, the doctor advising Wayne to get going since he still had a job to get too, he reluctantly left but promised to be back right after his shift to see if the boy will be alright. The few doctors and nurses who were getting [M/N]’s diagnosis were astonished to see that where they thought were open wounds and cuts were already healed over, as if they weren’t there to begin with, even places where scars should have formed weren’t visible.

“I’ve got to say, this has got to be the luckiest kid in the world.” the doctor, who was previously speaking with Wayne, raised a brow as he entered the room.

“What do you mean by that?” she let out a scoff, going back over to the unconscious child and pointing at his legs.

“If what Mister Munson told us is true, from how fast he was driving and with what little time he had to break, the force the kid should have had to face would have been enough to break his legs. But his legs are perfectly fine, as if there was nothing wrong with them. He’s maybe got a few scarps and bruises, and also the fact he’s malnourished and suffering a possible concussion, he’s perfectly fine.” he hummed at the brief analysis.

“Did you get anything else from Mister Munson? Maybe a name and origin? Maybe even his parent’s names?” a different nurse asked, the doctor shook his head.

“Nothing. We’re just going to have to wait until this young man wakes up.” and thanks to Venom it didn’t take all too long for [M/N] to wake up, it was when Wayne returned in the morning hours later did he come to find [M/N] awake. He noticed the few staff in the hospital rushing in and out of the room, panicked looks on their faces as they shared brief and rushed conversations with each other before leaving.

“W-What’s going on?” he asked a passing nurse.

“Y-You’re back, Mister Munson! Great.” she grabs him and starts leading him to the room where [M/N] was being held, he goes to question her but was caught off guard at the screaming. He peeks into the room and his eyes widened when he saw the young boy on the floor, curled up into a ball as he backed himself into a corner while screaming at the nurses that tried approaching him to get away from him “He’s been like this ever since he woke up, sir. We don’t know what’s causing this erratic behaviour.” [M/N] was having a panic attack, the moment he woke up and saw the white ceiling above him his mind immediately kicked into survival mode. His mind thought he was back in the lab, he thought they caught him last night and they dragged him right back to continuing testing on him. He couldn’t register that the people approaching him were only meant to help him, he couldn’t stop his body from falling off the bed and getting as far away from these strangers.

“P-Please, don’t hurt me! I don’t want you to hurt me, please!” he cried out, his head curling in on himself when he saw someone reach for his head. Watching this scene play out broke Wayne’s heart, watching this trembling child cry that he didn’t want to be hurt anymore, it really reminded him of the child he had back home. He’s seen this type of play may times so he knew how to help, he knew how to bring this child back down to reality. [M/N] was covering his head with his arms as he let his fear overwhelm him, he hadn’t realised the nurses backed off to make some space for someone else “P-Please, just leave me alone…!”

“It’s alright, young man.” the new voice started him, causing him to lower his arms briefly to get a look at the man who spoke those soft words. After years of torment, manipulation and pain, [M/N] learned how to get a good read on people and could tell the difference between nasty and vile people from the genuine and good people. This man, despite his rather gruff and slightly brusque expressions, get could tell he was a sincere kind of man and he relaxed a little “Do you… perhaps remember me?” Wayne felt foolish for asking that kind of question.

“Oh, he is the man who hit you with his truck. Should we eat him? He is the cause of your pain, he is the one that brought you here.” [M/N] lowered his arms a little more so they were now hugging his legs, his knees pressed against his chest. Wayne waited patiently for a response and when [M/N] shook his head, indicating that he didn’t know who he was, he gave him a soft expression.

“I am the one who, well, um— ahem, hit you last night.”

“Told you.” Wayne noticed [M/N]’s eyes glare off to the side, muttering something under his breath, before hesitantly looking back up at Wayne but his eyes evidently looked past him as he avoided eye contact.

“What were you doing out there so late into the night?” as if all the memories of last came crashing back down onto [M/N], the look of fear struck his face.

“I-I— I was— I was just…” he bottom lip started to tremble, tears beginning to form in his eyes “I was just—“ he shook his head, burying his face into his legs. He didn’t know what to say, he couldn’t put his thoughts into rational words, and even if he could, why’s it any of his business? Why didn’t he just leave him out in the middle of the road right where he found him? He wouldn’t be in this predicament if this old man just minded his damn business.

“It’s okay, take your time. There’s no need to rush.” he couldn’t help but tense up at that, he wasn’t allowed to take his time. He was constantly rushed to get tasks done, they never gave him time to go at his pace and he’d be punished when he didn’t finish things at the allotted time that was given.

“Do you have a name?” [M/N]’s head perked up at the question, his hand instinctively moving to his wrist where the number 005 was inked into his skin “My name is Wayne, and you are…?” he greets, placing his hand on his chest then gesturing to him.

“I-I’m…” he’s risking a lot by saying his name, well, it’s not like those scientist ever took the time to learn his name and he didn’t know if he had any records on who he was so… “[M/N].” his body started to become less tense when Wayne’s face softened, it almost felt welcoming.

Almost.

“Well, it’s very nice to meet you, [M/N].” the other occupants in the room take their leave when they see that Wayne had everything under control, seeing as how the child wasn’t screaming anymore and though he was giving short answers to Wayne’s questions, at least he was talking “I’ve got to ask again, but why were you out there?” [M/N] swallowed thickly.

“Do not tell him. He will not believe us. He will think we are crazy.” [M/N] knew that, he wasn’t that gullible to tell this stranger everything.

“They… hurt me. I couldn’t take it anymore…” that was more than enough, maybe then he’ll stop asking that question.

“Who hurt you?” [M/N] grits his teeth, why won’t he just drop it already?

“… the men in white.” that sentence caused Wayne to look back at the doctors, he spared [M/N] a look and noticed the way fear spiraled in his eyes as he kept them trained in on the doctor. Was that the reason why he was freaking out at the sight of all the doctors in the room? Because men dressed in white hurt him? “P-Please stop asking questions.” Wayne gave him an understanding look.

”Okay, alright. But I’ve just got one more.” [M/N] couldn’t help but groan “I know, but this one is important. Do you have a home to return too?” the questioned momentarily caused him to freeze up, his expression now saddened.

“… no.” with that he stopped talking completely, his face blank but he could just see the sadness lingering in the air surrounding him. [M/N] allowed Wayne to pick him up, despite how long it took him to allow him to touch him, and place him back in the hospital bed where he spent the rest of the day laying in silence.

Well…

“That old man needs to know how to stop asking unnecessary questions. Did he not notice how he was making us uncomfortable?” [M/N] swallowed thickly, raising his hand to caress his wrist once more “We can’t stay here for too long, [M/N]. We don’t know how much distance we put between us and that lab. They could be here since the moment you were unconscious. I can get us out of here.” this caused [M/N] to look over at the open window, he didn’t know what floor they were on but he knew they were up pretty high.

“It’s broad daylight, Venom. You can’t be out when the sun is up. We’ll get caught.”

“It’s not like we have a lot of options, [M/N]. Do you want to waste your time here and risk getting caught or trust me and get us out of here?” Venom growled softly when he felt [M/N] hesitate, his mind thinking back to the kind man.

“I-I…” Venom let out a sigh when [M/N] chose to stay and see where this option would take them, if things started to go south then Venom had full control of the situation, and if things looked better… lets not get their hopes up just yet. Venom and [M/N] shared the same questioning expressions whenever Wayne stopped by and visited [M/N], they didn’t question it when he came by to drop off food and share a few words with [M/N]. The young child would eat as much as he could but he’d eventually throw everything back up, [M/N] grimaced when he realised that his body had gotten used to the consistent diet of human flesh and blood that he couldn’t handle actual food. Now he couldn’t even enjoy the simplest things in life, like eating. And it’s not like he could tell them what he ate previously that got him to get this sort of a reaction, that would really get him in trouble.

“You know, I have a nephew.” [M/N] hummed at the news, Wayne and him playing a card game, one that he couldn’t seem to remember the name of but he could remember how to play. He thinks he’s winning, telling how Wayne was getting frustrated a little.

“Oh? Where is he now?” he asked, placing another card down on the deck then rearranging his hand. He was also talking a bit more since Wayne keeps visiting him, [M/N] becoming more relaxed but he still had his guard up in case something bad happened “With how often you come to see me, and with the only time you ever leave is to go to work, I’d think you have no one waiting for you at home.”

“Well, he’s usually at school about this time and he’s been busy as of lately. He’s got this band, um, Corroded Coffin, if I remember correctly. He’s really into heavy metal and stuff, all that loud and energetic music.” [M/N] nods at that.

“Loud? I would not like that at all, it would hurt us.”

“And, if I’m being honest, he reminds me an awful lot like you.” this comment made [M/N] pause, he slowly looked up at the older man and held back a soft laugh, seeing how he was sticking his tongue out in concentration as he thought out how to play his next card.

“You don’t know anything about me.” he nod his head.

“True, but I do know you need help.”

“And what makes you think you can help me?” Wayne shrugs and plays his card, it was only then did [M/N] realise Wayne’s hand was empty, meaning that he had won this card game.

“I don’t know, but with time I’m sure you’ll get better.” [M/N] furrows his brows.

“I still don’t get how your nephew and I are similar.” Wayne hums.

“When I first met him, he was quiet and standoffish. Kept to himself and never really spoke, only speaking when spoken too.” this caused [M/N] to flinch, wrapping his arms around his body “I can’t share much about that boy, but it took him a long time to fully open up and trust me, but I was patient with him. It was definitely worth the wait because the day I got to see who that boy truly was, it was a magical moment.”

“… you wouldn’t want to know who I truly was.”

“I beg to differ.”

“We can’t trust that he’ll accept us, [M/N].” he knows that, it sounds too good to be true. Hours later [M/N]’s room was blanketed in darkness with the light of the hallway being the only illumination that peeked through the cracks of the door, he was trying to sleep but struggling to do so, his body curled up on the bed with his arms wrapped around the pillow he was laying on. The silence was peaceful, the only noise being his breathing and a heart monitor of another patient residing in the room, other than that it was absolutely quiet. He let out a huff and turned himself over so that he was laying on his back, his eyes now staring up at the bleak white ceiling, quickly closing his eyes when his mind went back to that damned room.

“You struggle to sleep, why?” [M/N]’s lip quivered.

“I’m scared.” he whispered softly “I don’t know what to do.”

“We can always run away.”

“I don’t want to run, I want to live. Running is not living.”

“We don’t have much of a choice, [M/N].” his eyes opened, glaring up at the ceiling in disdain.

“We don’t.” his tensed up when he heard voices in the hallway, briefly making out a few of them as the doctors that treated him and Wayne. He had come to like Wayne’s company, even Venom was relaxing under the presence of the old man and spoke less about wanting to eat him, it was a start at least.

“Mister Munson, since [M/N] is now physically well enough, I think it would be best to try and find out where he came from.” this statement had [M/N] wide awake, his body shooting up from where he was laying and his head whipping around and staring at the door with wide eyes “His parents don’t seem to be in the picture, and we don’t even know which state he is from. He doesn’t seem to be from Hawkins because he didn’t recognise which state he was in when asked.” Wayne nods his head.

“I understand that, but what are you going to do now that he won’t be under your care?”

“The best option would to leave him in the care of a social worker, perhaps even ask the police to investigate the child’s origin.” this made him panic, police? He didn’t need the police digging into anything involving his past, he didn’t need them spreading out news that he was there in “Hawkins” and bring those men right to him. He was quick to throw the covers off and head towards the window, being ever so quiet as to not draw attention that he was awake.

“If we aren’t able to find any sort of living relative or guardian, I’m sorry, but we’re going to have to hand him over to the authorities. We can’t continue to shelter him, we’re a hospital, not homeless shelter.” this was more then enough to break his resolve, already climbing out the window and getting ready to jump out but paused when Wayne spoke up.

“Well, what if I took him in?” what? [M/N] sat on the windowsill as he looked back towards the door, what did he just say? “I’ll take him in.” the doctor sigh.

“You’ll take in this child that you barely know? Mister Munson, as much as I respect that thought, do you think it’s wise to bring a child to a trailer that can barely house yourself and your nephew. You’ll be bringing a lot onto your plate by including another child under your roof. Why burden yourself with that?”

“That boy already looked like he’s been through a lot, why make things worse for him? Besides, it took him so long to open up just a little bit to me, how long do you think it’ll take for him to talk to whoever else is supposed to look after him.” he sighed himself, wiping a hand down his face “I understand the concern, but I can’t stand to watch that child shut down. The foster care system is flawed, I’ve seen it and it ain’t pretty, I wouldn’t want to see that boy suffer more than he already has. The look in his eyes is like that of a war veteran diagnosed with PTSD.” the doctor gave Wayne a look.

“But you understand the troubles you’ll face with taking this child in.?” he nods.

“I do.” Venom made himself appear to look at [M/N], he noted the way his lip was trembling as the tears he held back for so long started falling down his face as he let out a choked by quiet sob. After a couple minutes talking with the doctor, Wayne peeked into the room and there he saw [M/N] sleeping in his bed with his back facing the door. He was quiet as he approached his sleeping figure and taking a seat at the edge of his bed, raising his hand so it could rest on his side “I’m not sure what you went through, [M/N], but I’ll make sure you won’t have to suffer anymore.” he pats him softly before standing up and taking his leave, not noticing the way [M/N]’s body trembled as he cried silently.

[later]

To say Eddie Munson, the so called nephew of Wayne Munson, was surprised would be an understatement. He was completely floored at the sight of the young boy clinging to his uncle, clutching onto his jacket as he hid behind him and peeked out to look up at him. There wasn’t that big of a height difference between the two of them but he was still having to look up at him, not that it mattered, what mattered was the fact that his uncle brought some kid home that he had no idea about. Wait, no, he did know about him. Maybe it was a dick move of him to not remember, but a couple weeks ago he remembered his uncle distraught about something. Upon asking, he was shocked to hear how his uncle accidentally hit some kid and took him to the hospital, he did remember his uncle mention how he would visit him with any chance he got but— did he mention about bringing him home?

“Hey, Eddie. Do you remember about that kid I hit awhile ago?”

“Yeah, why?” he replied, not paying to much attention to his uncles words in favor of tuning his guitar.

“Well, he doesn’t really have a home to return too. If it isn’t too big of a deal, I was thinking of bringing him home to live with us. I understand that it’s a big— a huge deal for us, and I’ll also understand that you’ll be against it. I just— I won’t rest easy if he’s not somewhere safe.”

“Y-Yeah, yeah, nah. It’s all good, it’s fine.” he answered, sticking his tongue out in concentration as he twisted a knob and gently strummed the string, grinning to himself when he got the correct tune from it.

“Really, Eddie? You don’t mind at all?” he waved his hand to dismiss his uncle.

“Yeah, it’s fine, it’s fine! Don’t worry about it.” he grimaced to himself. Damn, he really did bring it up with him, he was just too much of a dumbass to listen to him properly.

“Eddie, this is the young boy I always talked about, his name is [M/N] and he’ll be living with us. [M/N], this is my nephew that I’ve been taking care of since he was a child, his name is Eddie.” his hand reaches back to gently pat his back, [M/N] and Eddie stared at each other before [M/N] turned his head so that he was hiding his face in Wayne’s back.

“H-Hello…” he spoke out weakly, Eddie awkwardly raised his hand and waved.

“Hi.” that was good enough for Wayne, at least [M/N] was speaking. Since that night Wayne had noticed the way [M/N] now brightened, even if it was small, whenever he entered the room. He was more open and didn’t speak in a monotone voice, going so far as to initiating their conversations and carrying most of them. It made Wayne happy that he opened up more to him, he was so happy.

“I know that this is sudden for the both of you, but I really do hope that you two can get along.” [M/N] swallowed thickly as he looked back up at Eddie, yeah, this was going to take awhile to get used to. [M/N] now found himself sat in their living room(?) as they two spoke outside, he took this as his chance to get a look around the room, he snorted softly at the shelf that held a large collection of different mugs.

“How cozy.” [M/N] nodded his head.

“It’s nice. I like it better than the open space of the lab and hospital; I like the mess and clutter of everything.” he turned his head and saw Venom appear at his side.

“The plan to flee is still on the table, [M/N]. If anything bad happens, we’re out of here. As much as I have come to like this human, we can’t trust that things will go our way for long.” he nods his head, a sad look now appearing on his face at the thought of this being ripped away from him “I understand the sadness, but we can’t take any chances.”

“I know, I know.” he pats his shoulder where he feels the sludge of Venom’s body “I trust your intuition, Venom. But we should trust Wayne as well.” Venom lets out a sigh.

“I suppose you’re right, but that doesn’t solve our food problem.” this caused a bead of sweat to trickle down the side of his face, that’s right. Venom still needed to eat humans, or, something that had a lot of meat or else he’d resort to eating [M/N]’s organs and shit, that definitely won’t be fun. He could already tell that Wayne didn’t seem to have a lot of money on hand and it’ll be even tighter with another mouth to feed, he couldn’t burden Wayne with Venom’s appetite. He’ll figure something out.

“Eddie— Dammit.” his head shoots up at the shout, Venom was quick to retreat back into [M/N]’s body when the door was thrown open and in stormed Eddie who looked mad. [M/N] flinched when Eddie’s wild eyes glared at him before storming off into down the hall and supposedly into his room, slamming it shut and blasting loud music. He winced softly at how loud it was despite it being muffled, Wayne then walked back into the room and sighed softly “Well that didn’t go as well as I hoped.

“Is he angry at me?” [M/N] spoke, Wayne dragged his hand down his face.

“Yes and no. He doesn’t like the thought of sharing a room with a stranger.”

“Well, it’s understandable. We are strangers, and having to share a room so suddenly with someone you don’t even know…” he trailed off, rubbing his arm “M-Maybe this was a bad idea, Wayne. Maybe I should—“

“Shush now, don’t talk like that.” Wayne was suddenly in front of him, kneeling down from where [M/N] was sitting on the sofa and placed his hands on top of his shoulders “I decided to take responsibility of you—“

“To which I still don’t understand.” he quickly looked away when Wayne gave him a stern look, he let out a sigh when the older man waited for [M/N] to look at him again and when he did he gave him a soft but stern expression.

“This is going to take a lot of time to get used to, for the three of us. Eddie had just recently gotten used to having his own space and living with me, with the sudden change of adding someone else to our bubble, I can see where his anger is coming from. It was wrong of me to suggest the two of you sharing, not taking into consideration of the both of you. I apologize for that, I will be saying the same thing to Eddie as well when he calm down. You’ve suffered enough, young man, allow me to help relieve that suffering.” tears started gathering in his eyes, his lips trembling as he started averting his eyes.

“I-I— I don’t understand why though. Why me? You could have just left me there.”

“I already told you. You remind me an awful lot like my nephew.” he sniffles at that, wiping under his nose and a few tears that managed to leak from out of his eyes “I couldn’t stand to leave you there when you needed help, and you trusted me more than the people that helped you.”

“I don’t trust doctors.” he murmurs, he really didn’t like doctors.

“But you trust me? You very well could have declined my offer to house you as well, [M/N], but you didn’t.” he could see where he was coming from, he could have said no but despite being twelve years old, he already knew how flawed the foster system was. I mean, he was homeless at the age of nine because he couldn’t stand being in a house where he was nothing more than the outcast. He was afraid that it was going to happen again, he was so scared he was going to have to relive another nightmare, but the gentleness from Wayne’s voice calmed him “Eddie will come around, I swear.”

“A-And if he doesn’t?”

“He… well, it’s his loss.” [M/N] frowned softly.

“He’s your nephew, Wayne. I’ll understand if you choose him over me.”

“I’d rather not be given that choice. I haven’t known you long enough, but with the time we had, I can already tell you’ll do great in life. You are both destined for great things.” this managed to crack a smile, though smile but definitely a smile, on his face that caused Wayne to chuckle “Now there’s that smile.” he wipes away a few more tears that managed to stray from his eyes with his thumb. Eddie peeked his head from out of his room and in his eyes a memory of when he was in the same position as [M/N] flashed in his head, he could see the same hurt and pain in [M/N]’s eyes that once belonged to him. He could see himself in that boy and he could understand why Wayne took him in, maybe it was to feel better about himself for hitting him with his truck or because he felt bad that he hit him with his truck… [M/N]’s eyes looked over when he heard a soft creek and saw Eddie’s door open for a brief second before it was closed.

The following days went by quickly, [M/N] politely refused to share a room with Eddie but adamantly refused to take the pull out bed that Wayne used to sleep on. He was stubborn about it too and said that he didn’t mind sleeping on the couch, though uncomfortable, he would feel less bad if he took Wayne’s bed. Though the two of them avoided each other, they were cordial and civil when they did have to interact but they were mostly quiet. Eddie found it easy to avoid the young boy since he had school and other extracurricular activities to attend to so he made sure to come home later so he didn’t have to interact with him as often, [M/N] didn’t take that to heart because at least he was left in the silence of the trailer where Eddie blasts hard rock 24/7. Him shredding his guitar was the worst for both himself and Venom, the high pitch shrieking of his fingers gliding along the strings of his guitar were sharp enough to cause Venom to react badly and nearly take control on their body but [M/N] was quick enough to grab a walkman and tape to shut out all the unnecessary noises. The first time Wayne noticed how sensitive [M/N] was to sounds he dismissed the worry and concern with saying he just couldn’t handle loud noises and this was Eddie’s home, he couldn’t possibly tell him to knock it off when it was what gave Eddie comfort. The next day [M/N] woke up with a walkman on the coffee table and a couple tapes with calming and soft sounding music, that brought another rare smile to his face.

Another problem [M/N] struggling with was Venom’s hunger, that problem was easy to solve, though. He was lucky that Wayne worked the night shifts for his job at the plant and Eddie was a heavy sleeper, wouldn’t wake up even if a tornado was going off in his room. Venom was strictly told not to eat any humans and instead to feast on the farm animals that resided in Hawkins, the occasional raccoons and possums but to never eat any pets or even strays. Venom didn’t see the difference between a pet with a cow, they were both animals in his eyes, but [M/N] couldn’t possibly live with the guilt of eating an animal like a dog or cat. Animals like cows, though despite how cruel, were already up for slaughter since being bred into this cruel reality, so he didn’t have that much guilt over eating them. But no matter what he ate, it still made him sick to his stomach to eat animals, there was nothing else in that town that could satisfy Venom’s stomach and he couldn’t stomach the thought of eating another human being again.

It was a school night and Eddie found himself struggling to complete his chemistry homework, frustrated with the complicated wording of the work he stormed out of the trailer to take a short smoke break to clear his mind. He didn’t know how long he was sitting out there when he heard soft weak whimpering, he blows out the smoke he inhaled from his cigarette before evidently snuffing it out and investigating where the noise was coming from. He’s peeking over fences for a sign of life but found nothing, he’s walking towards the woods and the noise was louder, he’s not too far from the trailer park when he enters the woods when he found the source of the whimpers. He recoils back in disgust at the sight of a half eaten deer that was still alive, it looked like a bear had mauled it but the bite marks on its neck didn’t look right, even more so one of its legs was torn off while its stomach was ripped open and eaten.

“Jesus…” he muttered under his breath, turning away and pressing the palm of his hand to his mouth to stop himself from throwing up at the grotesque sight. How the hell was this thing still alive? He felt so guilty that he had no way of putting it out of its misery so he fled the scene back to the trailer, he doesn’t realise that there was someone inside until he opened the door and there he saw [M/N] sitting up on the pull out sofa, that Wayne had bought to replace the sofa because he felt bad for allowing [M/N] to sleep on a sofa. He saw the young boy trembling as he hugged his knees close to his chest, tears running down his face as he bit rather violently on his thumbnail. He didn’t know how deep [M/N] was in but he still had to register that Eddie was there, he slowly approached him as to not alarm him so suddenly of his presence before kneeling down so that he wasn’t standing over him “Hey…” he spoke softly, it still wasn’t enough because [M/N]’s head shot up with a gasp, head whipping around to look up at Eddie in fear. The older boy raised his hands and held them out in front of him, whispering softly words to calm him down but whatever had [M/N] freaked out overcame his senses.

“W-Wha— Eddie? What a-are you—“ Eddie brings his finger to his lips to shush him softly, his lips trembled as a few noises manage to escape his mouth but no words so he just closed his mouth. Eddie frowned softly at the image in front of him, [M/N] looked like a sad puppy as he looked up at Eddie with those beady little eyes.

“Did you also see…” he didn’t need to finish his sentence for [M/N] to know what he was talking about because fear struck his eyes, what he didn’t expect was for how harsh [M/N]’s reaction to it. He slapped a hand over his mouth as his stomach gurgled, whatever he had eaten previously travelling up his throat and threatening to puke it back out. Eddie probably would have picked [M/N] up to move him to the bathroom but he was advised not to touch him when he was having an episode so he quickly looked for a bucket and held it out for him. [M/N] all but snatched it out of his hands and puked his guts out, Eddie grimaced at how violently he was emptying his stomach, he stood to his feet and let [M/N] do his busy while he got a glass of water for him. He sat the glass on the coffee table and waited for [M/N] to finish and when he did the bucket was nearly full, he felt a little sick to his stomach but he shouldn’t let it show “Are you… okay?” he raised his eyes to look at the older boy before bursting out into tears, wiping away the saliva and puke on his chin while his other hands wiped at his tears.

���I-I’m sorry…! I’m sorry—“ he started getting choked up, trying to take deep breaths to calm himself but he was struggling to do so. He was so caught up in his tears that he didn’t notice Eddie get up until he felt something over his ears, he looked up and saw that Eddie had put headphones over his ears and hooked it up to his walkman, the song “Moon River” by Audrey Hepburn playing. He sniffled softly and looked up at Eddie to see him mouthing something that his overwhelmed brain couldn’t understand, he just sat in silence as the song played, watching Eddie closely as he cleaned up his mess before returning and gesturing to the glass of water that was still sitting on the table.

“Are you okay?” Eddie asks once more, though a different song was playing this time [M/N] understood what he said and meekly nodded his head. Wayne had already informed Eddie that [M/N] had a weak stomach, telling him how the doctors said that whatever he ate in the past, his body had gotten used to whatever diet it was and he wasn’t able to properly stomach food and would end up throwing up whatever he ate. He’s heard the few instances [M/N] did have to empty his guts out into the toilet late at night, but this was the first and most violent one he’s witnessed.

“Thank you…” he muttered under his breath but Eddie managed to catch it, Eddie cracked a small smile but looked away, raising a hand to rub at the back of his neck. [M/N]’s eyes adverted to the side as he thought back to why he reacted like that, Venom was hungry and took over [M/N]’s body while he was asleep, he woke up while Venom was in the middle of his meal and quickly changed back and leave that poor deer in its half eaten state. He could remember feeling its slimy intestines in his mouth as he chewed, it was similar to gum, and the crunch of its flesh being torn right off the bone— god, he quickly brought his closed fist to his mouth to hold back another wave of nausea.

“H-Hey, are you gonna—“ he shook his head, raising his hand to stop Eddie. He threw his head back and swallowed the chunks of left over flesh, his lips trembled and a new wave of tears started flowing down his cheeks. He gasped softly when Eddie stood up from where he was and sat down on the pullout sofa beside him, he hesitantly raised his hand before placing it on [M/N]’s, comforting him gently “It’s alright, you’ll be okay. Whatever is out there, it won’t hurt you like it did with that deer.” the longer the two of them sat there Eddie hadn’t noticed the way [M/N] started to smile, rolling his eyes when he heard Venom gag. Wayne returned in the morning at a time that Eddie would usually have left for school but when he entered the trailer, though he should be mad, he was treated with the cutest sight of Eddie and [M/N] leaning against each other on the pullout and fast asleep. Eddie had his arm wrapped around [M/N]’s shoulder while the he in return let his body rest against his chest, maybe he’ll let Eddie sleeping in go just this once.

From then on the two of them have been getting along for the better, [M/N] acted like Eddie’s shadow but Wayne thought it looked more like a baby duckling following its mama. Eddie was constantly looking over his shoulder to see if [M/N] was still following him or [M/N] would be holding the end of his shirt, jacket or even his chains wherever they went. Wayne was happy that he didn’t have to worry about the two anymore, watching from the corner of his eye where Eddie and [M/N] were sitting on the couch and the older boy was teaching him all about his D&D game. He noticed that the young boy wasn’t by all means stupid, he was quite smart by the times he’s caught him easily answering Eddie’s homework questions on various subjects, but he was having quite a hard time understanding the concept of D&D. He didn’t seem to take that much of an interest of the make belief world of knights and monsters but he did enjoy observing and Eddie’s narrating, much to Eddie’s dismay that he couldn’t enjoy playing his favourite game with [M/N], he’ll take what he can get.

“[M/N],” said boy raised his head at the sound of his name, Eddie doing the same from beside him as they both ate a sandwich that was served for lunch “how would you like to attend school like Eddie?” both boys, who were mid bite, pause and sit in silence as Wayne’s words slowly processed in their minds.

“School?” [M/N] mumbled, crumbs from the sandwich falling from his lips “Why?”

“I’ve noticed how smart you are, and you must be bored being home all day with nothing to do.” he shook his head.

“Not really. I have the few nice neighbours to talk to, and some of the older ladies teach me their cooking recipes.” both Wayne and Eddie made a face, so that’s how he’s been able to make dinner the past few nights “Is going to school only because I’m a little smart your only reason?”

“Well, how about making friends your own age? Don’t you think it’s a little odd the only social activity you get is with old bums like myself?” he shrugs his shoulders, now setting his sandwich on his plate.

“You’re easier to talk to.” Eddie then raised a hand.

“Also, kids our age are savages.” he quickly looked away when Wayne gave him a sharp glare, [M/N] lowered his head and pouted softly.

“Will me going to school make you happy?” the older man let out a soft huff, a bead of sweat on his cheek as he rubbed the back of his neck.

“As much as I’d like to deny it, it would. I think a better education would be good for you, and you clearly have an advantage if you’re able to answer questions with ease from Eddie’s level, who’s in high school.” Eddie made a face.

“Way to tell me I’m dumber than a middle schooler.” [M/N] shook his head.

“Chemistry just isn’t your forte. You’re amazing at creative writing, very imaginative.” they both ignore the way Eddie turned a little bashful, [M/N] frowned softly and messed with his hair.

“I think going to school will be great. More options on the menu for us.” Wayne noticed once again the way [M/N]’s eyes lingered to the side, a small glare on his face as he muttered something before adverting his eyes back to his lap.

“Do I really have to school?”

“I really think it’ll be good for you.”

And that’s where [M/N] found himself being registered into Hawkins Middle School under the name of [M/N] Munson, this didn’t fail to bring a smile to his face. The woman at the desk gave off a bad reaction at the news of another Munson attending the school, he already knew from both Eddie and Wayne that the older boy was a bit of a problem child, but like Eddie said, kids were savages and thought less of Eddie because of his origin. Eddie gave him a thumbs up before retreating to the high school that was across from the middle school while Wayne tended to [M/N], who looked more and more nervous at the thought of having to be surrounded by children; yuck.

“I-I’m having second thoughts, Wayne.” the older man let out a laugh, patting him on the shoulder and giving him a confident smile.

“You’ll do great, [M/N]. You’ll do just fine, I mean, how bad could it be?” [M/N] grimaced badly “Oh, don’t be overdramatic. You don’t have to make friends on the first day, but try not to keep in your own bubble for too long.” he stood there for a couple seconds before nodding his head.

“I’ll try.” this time Wayne pats his head.

“There you go.” he messes with his hair then backs away “I’ll see you later in the afternoon, have a good day.” [M/N] watches Wayne leave, waving his hand to bid the older man goodbye until he disappeared into his truck.

“… this is going to end horribly.”

“Shut up.” and he wasn’t wrong, the moment he stepped into the classroom, the teacher announcing that he was a new student enrolling in the middle of the school year, people already saw him as an outcast. Not only was he new to a town where everybody knew everyone, along with the fact that these kids have already known each other for half the year, there was nobody there that wanted to be associated with him. The stares he got only worsened when they learnt that he was a Munson, nothing more than trailer trash or the new Eddie “the freak” Munson to replace him because he left. By the end of the day [M/N] was worn out from the lack of interaction and the constant teasing the other middle schoolers gave him, Eddie came over with a giant grin on his face and before he could make any words out [M/N] was already on him.

“[M-M/N]?” he stuttered out, looking down at the younger boy, who had wrapped his arms around his torso and was hiding his face into his chest.

“I-I wanna go home.” he mumbled softly, lip quivering as his body trembled. Eddie’s hands were hovering over his body before they slowly wrapped around his body, soothing the crying boy.

“It’s alright. Thing’s will get better, I promise.”

“Really?” Eddie gave a scoff.

“Yeah, you don’t think people treated me badly either? You just gotta stand your ground. They’re relentless, sure, but you gotta prove you’re someone not to be messed with.” Venom let out an impressed noise.

“That’s something I can agree on. We are someone not to be messed with.”

It took a bad incident for it to get better for [M/N]. The bullies were people that strived off the reactions they got out of people, the anger, the sadness, anything, that’s why it pissed them that [M/N] gave them none of that. From tearing up his stuff, to dumping their food on him to even getting him in trouble, though the teachers never really gave him shit because he didn’t seem like the type of person to do that kind of bad behaviour, it paid off being the quiet kid that kept to himself. [M/N] suffered three years of torture being torn apart by adults that viewed him as nothing more than a guinea pig, he found it nearly adorable that this was these kids version of torture. Perhaps he should show them what true torment is, goodness, now he’s starting to sound like Venom.

But now, it wasn’t sounding so bad.

“I heard he’s sensitive to food.”

“What? What does that mean?”

“He throws up anything he eats.”

“Ew, that’s gross.”

“I wanna see it though. I wanna see if it’s true.” and that’s where he found himself being held down as the ringleader of this group of assholes was forcing food into his mouth, he could easily throw these punks off but his mind was in a different place. His mind was thinking back to the time he was trapped in that goddamn white room, his mind was thinking back to the time when those scientists were forcing him to eat raw meat when he refused to eat to feed Venom. He was started to get his disorder in check, he no longer scarfed down food like a starved man or threw up the food he consumed, but all that progress went down the drain right that instance. The kid on top of him was thrown off him and he turned onto his stomach, pushing himself onto his knees to throw up the food that was forced into his stomach and anything else he consumed that day.

“Wow, it was true!”

“That’s gross, hahaha!”

“Do it again!” he was heaving as he stared down at the puddle of his vomit, sweat forming all over his body as his mind continued to believe that he was still in the laboratory. He saw blood mix with his vomit, he saw chunks of human remains and torn clothes swim in his vomit, he felt disgusting. He could hear Venom speaking to him but he couldn’t process the words properly, he could feel the boy from before approaching him once more and the moment he felt a hand on his shoulder was when he snapped.

Eddie let out a sigh, placing his hands on his hips as he looked side to side in search for [M/N]. School had ended a couple minutes ago and he still saw no sign of the young boy, he was never late, either arriving on time or he was the one waiting for Eddie to appear. He was going to give [M/N] a couple minutes but when it turned into a half an hour was when he decided to give up waiting for him and went searching for him on his own, and since he attended the middle school as the little delinquent he still is, he knew all the little hidey holes [M/N] could possibly be in. He didn’t think he’d find him at the back of the school but before he did he saw the massacre that was left of the rally of bullies, he grimaced at the sight crying and groveling middle schoolers covered in blood and bruises, he saw a puddle of vomit on the floor and he couldn’t tell if it was from the children crying bloody murder or… oh, god. He quickly looked for [M/N] in the pile of bruises children but saw no sign of the young boy so he turned a corner and there he found him, curled up in a ball trembling as he rocked back and toward with his knuckles dyed in blood with some splattered over his face.

“[M-M/N]…” he spoke out softly, his hand reaching out before it was violently smacked away.

“D-Don’t touch me!” Eddie flinched at the amount of animosity coming from him, holding his hand by the wrist that was slightly stinging from how hard [M/N] slapped his hand away. God, [M/N] looked worse than he did on that night he had his panic attack. Weak sounds of whimpers escaped his lips while his bloodshot eyes looked around in alarm, it was as if he was searching for someone to pop out of nowhere. Eddie’s shoulders drooped when he saw that [M/N] wasn’t going to calm down any time soon so he pressed his back against the wall he was leaning against and dropped to the floor but kept his distance in case he lashed out again, he eyes would occasionally looked down at him before closing.

“So… wanna talk about it?” Eddie swallowed thickly when he didn’t earn a response, a weak sob just left his lips “No, no, that’s cool. We don’t gotta talk about it, it’s just the fact that I left a bunch of middle schoolers crying back there and I’m afraid if someone sees me they’re gonna pin the blame on me, so…” he takes a sharp inhale as he shrugs his shoulders, he peeks back down at [M/N] and saw his bottom lip was trembling as he pouted.

“I-I didn’t mean too…” he spoke so softly that he almost didn’t catch it, his eyes looked down at his hands and he gasped softly at the sight of blood so he quickly hid his hands “T-They were just— I-I was just—“ he gave up and just buried his face into his knees, Eddie could guess what happened… kind of, but he didn’t expect [M/N] to be capable of such a feat. Whatever this kid went through before his uncle picked him up off the side of the road, he must have went through something horrible.

“Can I touch you?” he waits for [M/N] to respond and when he gets that short nod his hand all but rests gently on top of his head, it’s almost a ghost like touch since he isn’t putting to much weight into it but [M/N] can just feel warmth from his hand as they sat side by side each other “Do you wanna talk about it later?”

“… I’d rather not talk about it, honestly.” Eddie nods.

“That’s fine too, but like Wayne says, you shouldn’t keep everything all locked up. You’ll feel much better when you let it all out.”

“He is correct. Didn’t you feel better when you let us out? It was refreshing, yes?” Eddie’s chuckling softly so he misses the way [M/N] grits his teeth, because he did feel better. He felt great because it was fucking exhilarating beating the shit out of those fucking bastards like the punching bags they were, he felt immense joy shudder throughout his body when he felt the crunch of their bones under the pressure of his fists, he knew he had a giant grin spread across his lips when their blood splattered onto his face.

He felt disgusting.

It was like nothing changed.

He was still a monster.

A wolf in sheep’s clothing.

It was hours after that incident and Wayne was given the night off because the plant was needing repairs, the people in charge didn’t want to have to pay a hefty check to anyone that got hurt so they just let them take the night off to save a couple thousand dollars. Eddie was off with his hand so he let [M/N] crash in his room after what happened earlier that day, of course he told Wayne what happened, he wasn’t going to keep that to himself when he knows his uncle can help the young boy better than he could. They both knew [M/N] found more comfort in Wayne and trusted him more, Eddie took no offence to that and was happy his uncle could be trusted, so he left the trailer without a worry in mind.

“[M/N]?” he called out softly, standing right outside of Eddie’s room and knocking softly on the door “Hey buddy, it’s me. Eddie told me what happened at school and, well, though I don’t really condone the attacks you took, I can understand why you did what you did.” he waited for a response but sighed softly when he was met with silence, goodness, it was reminding him of the days when Eddie was still in middle school “I won’t force you to talk it out with me, but I want you to know there isn’t a need to hide. You can tell me anything, and I promise I won’t reaction negatively.” he calls out his name one more time as he pushed gently on the door, leaning back when the door opened and he had failed to realise that door wasn’t completely closed. He entered the room and felt a shudder go down his spine as the cool autumn air enveloped the room, he looked around and noticed that [M/N] was nowhere to be seen, not even on the bed, but instead Eddie’s window was wide open, letting in a draft. He cursed under his breath when he realised that this whole time [M/N] wasn’t even in the room so he quickly rushed out of the trailer, grabbing his coat on the way out, and went searching for the young boy.

It wasn’t too late into the night but the sun was already down and it was dark out so he couldn’t really shout out for his name and risk an angry neighbour coming up to his doorstep all because of his shouting so he just resorted into whisper shouting out his name, his already bad vision wasn’t helping him in this predicament either. He was especially worried because he’s heard from the neighbours and Eddie alike that there was some wild animal out there eating raccoons and possums alike, even the occasional deer or the common house pet. Whatever was eating them never finished its meal and left its unfortunate carcass barely alive somewhere in the woods, wishing someone could put it out of its misery. He was so worried because even though there have been no reports about it hurting a person, doesn’t mean it’s entirely impossible. His heart dropped into his stomach when he heard soft whimpering, it didn’t sound like [M/N]’s but instead a dog’s whining, no wonder the night was a little too quiet. He quickly but quietly rushed over to the woods and tried to be mindful of his steps as to not alert whatever could be lurking in the dark, when the sounds got louder he was greeted with the sight of a fellow trailer owner their pet labrador nearly in pieces and was still alive.

He recoiled back at the sight of the dog, his foot stepping right on top of a twig and it snapping under his weight. The sound was enough to alert the other thing that Wayne failed to notice while his gaze was on the whimpering animal, the figure that was tearing into the dogs hind leg froze when they realised they weren’t alone. Despite the dark hindering his vision and despite the initial fear that was starting to overwhelm his sense, his eyes were already adjusting to the darkness of the woods and the small amount of moon light that was shining down through the leaves and branches he was able to see what exactly has been leaving half eaten animals all over the woods. There, in his disbelief, was [M/N] with blood dripping from his hands and mouth as his teeth were still digging into the flesh on the doors leg.

“[M-M/N]…” he looked like a wild animal as he stared up at the older man but when he realised just who exactly was in front of him he saw the realisation settle in his eyes as he dropped the leg to the ground, slowly standing up and backing away.

“Wayne…” he breathed out, fear was struck in [M/N]’s eyes the longer he stared at the man who refused to move. He didn’t know if he was afraid of moving that the small boy would jump at him or flee, he didn’t know which option was worse. Tears soon started to glisten in his eyes before finally running down his face and mixing with the blood still dripping down his chin and onto his neck, [M/N] let out a gasp and took another step back when Wayne raised his hands slowly.

“[M/N], I need you to calm down.” he spoke softly in that same tone that could calm [M/N], it nearly worked but he was so overwhelmed with fear that he couldn’t comprehend what was being said to him.

“Way— Wayne, I-I—“

“We’ve been caught, [M/N]. We have got to go.” [M/N] nods his head.

“Yes, yes… we must go.” he mutters under his breath and takes another step back to get away, he turns around and goes to break out into a sprint when Wayne spoke again.

“Was it the men in white?” his words caused [M/N] to pause, he slowly turned back around to look back at Wayne “Is it because of them that you’ve… you’re sensitive to food?” he nervously peeked down at the groveling dog, sweating a little when [M/N] just stared at him.

“… yes.” he spoke softly, he takes another step back when Wayne took a step forward.

“What does he know, [M/N]? He knows nothing. Let us leave before it is too late. We have nothing here now.” he was beginning to cry at the thought of losing everything all because he was careless, all because he couldn’t control his anger and Venom’s hunger. He backed up into a tree but instead of running away he instead slowly fell to the ground and started to cry, his hands were trying to wipe them away but some of the blood was mixing in with the tears and so he was smearing it all over his face. He only started crying harder as he thought back to the lab all over again, every time they forced him to eat something and when it was over they wouldn’t even let him clean himself up and so he’d continue with the experiments and training with blood all over him. He just continued to cry and cry and Wayne just sat across from him, not taking his eyes off the weeping child that just couldn’t get himself to calm down for the longest time. He didn’t know how much time had past but it was long enough for [M/N] to soften his cries into soft sobbing, hiccupping every few seconds while sniffling “You are acting like a child. You are a loser.”

“I am a child…” he didn’t seem to care that he was talking out loud, Wayne would properly think he’s ever crazier to be talking to himself but what the hell, he already saw him eating a dog that was still alive and just twitching at this point “I just wanted a normal life…!” he wailed out.

“I…” he flinched when Wayne spoke, his eyes darting over to where the older man sat “I really don’t know anything about you.”

“You don’t.” he then opened his arms and gestured to himself “This… is me. A cannibal. A monster.”

“A lost child.” [M/N] flinched, looking down at the ground as his arms dropped to his side, the tears freely falling from his eyes and onto his legs and feet “You’ve been hiding so much.”

“You think? I-It’s not the first thing I’d bring up in a conversation.” he said rather bitterly “Well, you know now. What are you gonna do? Hand me over to the police?” Wayne shook his head.

“No.”

“No? Why? You just saw what I’m capable of doing. Eddie must have told you what I did to those middle school kids! I’m a freak! A monster! I can hurt you; I can kill you and your nephew! You should just throw me away before I get out of hand!” he gasped when he felt Wayne put his hand on his head, he curled in on himself and trembled violently, waiting for what has to come and yet… there was nothing.

“What you need is not me throwing you away, I believe it would make you worse. As bad as it sounds, I think you need someone by your side than isolating and hiding yourself away. You were getting better with time, [M/N], and I still think that that is possible.” he warily looked down at the dog then back up at him “We can work around this eating condition of yours, I promise.”

“… w-why would you do that, Wayne? I just don’t understand you.”

“You, young man, are a child and need to be treated like so. Whoever robbed you of your childhood; whoever made you the way that you are now, they are the monster, not you. You deserve to act the age that you are now and not that of a recovering war veteran suffering from PTSD.” his hand ruffles through [M/N]’s hair and he offers and nervous but sincere smile “This may not be in the job description on raising a child, but I’ll help you every step of the way. I told you that I’ll take responsibly of you, didn’t I? I plan on sticking to it.” the tears that he managed to stop burst out of his eyes once more and he was crying again, but this time he threw himself at Wayne and hugged him as he cried.

“Thank you!” he sobbed out, burying himself into his neck as he wrapped his arms around his, a pang of guilt in his gut open realising that he was smearing the blood and his tears onto Wayne’s flannel shirt as he hugged “T-This means a lo— lot to us…!” Wayne nodded softly as he brought his arms up to embrace the young boy, a moment of silence was shared between them but a thought came to his head.

“Us…?”

“He means me.” Wayne jumped at the new voice, a gasp escaping his lips at the sight of Venom appearing from out of [M/N]’s back and grinning at the sight of the startled man “We are a packaged deal, human man. If you accept him, you accept me.” he nods his head slowly.

“Oh… okay?”

“Which also means he is eating for two. Why else do you think he eats a lot? I have a huge appetite, so if you’ll excuse me.” Venom lingered away while [M/N] kept himself attached to Wayne like a koala to a tree, his fingers digging into Wayne’s back as he heard Venom devouring the dog. He felt a sense of comfort when Wayne held him closer, going so far as to covering his ears as best as he could as Venom ate. The adrenaline finally died down and replaced itself with nausea, Wayne was patting his back as he emptied his stomach for the nth time that day while Venom licked his lips “That was delicious.”

“I… hate you.”

“You do not.” Wayne was kind enough to wipe [M/N]’s face that was covered in blood, tears and now vomit. He felt disgusting as he let him clean his face, ultimately taking his flannel off before picking [M/N] up when Venom retreated back into his body and carried the young boy back to the trailer so he could rest after such an exhausting day. Wayne let [M/N] take a bath to clean himself of the blood and dirt on his body as he waited in the living room, or rather the room where they both sleep, he was nice enough to pull out their beds and set them out so when [M/N] came out he could either tell him what he wanted to share or just crash for the night and they leave that conversation for another day. But [M/N] him a few things, only bits and pieces, not everything. He told him that he was homeless from the age of nine before he was picked up by the scientists and was experimented on for the past three years, how Venom was forced into his body and now the two of them were inseparable now and forever. He said how thankful; how grateful he was to Wayne because he basically saved his life by hitting him by his truck because he practically picked him up and gave him a place to call home despite how damaged and beyond repair he was. He was forever indebted to that man that showed him nothing but kindness from the very beginning.

[time skip: a couple months later]

Wayne’s new adjustment to [M/N]’s parasite, Venom as he called himself, took a bit of time because the thing would pop out whenever it wanted. Wayne thought it would be best not to tell Eddie about the newest head living under their roof, he believes that his nephew would take the news well but Eddie is Eddie, the last thing [M/N] needs is Eddie freaking out or blowing things out of proportion so they would tell him sometime later… hopefully. Anyways, Venom was an interesting case because he could quite literally eat anything and everything but his favorite thing to eat was brains. Whether it may be human brains, animals brains or whatever, brains seems to be very delectable to him and he managed to find a substitute so [M/N] could have a break from eating to much. Chocolate! He remembered reading something in the newspaper about how chocolate contained something called phenethylamine, a compound that positively affected [M/N]’s mood and something sweet for them both to munch on. Eddie noticed [M/N]’s positive mood the day after the shit show happened, it made him happy to see that whatever Wayne did made a good improvement on the young boy, they looked even closer than they did before and [M/N] looked brighter than before. He wasn’t flinching away when either of them touched him and he even started leaning into their gestures of affections, sometimes even initiating it, even if they were short and brief, at least he was trying now.

Now back to the matter at hand, [M/N]’s return to school the following week was quite uneventful, mainly because those bullies had quit being, well, bullies. The moment that group of morons set eyes on him they quickly averted their eyes and avoided him like the plague, it took him awhile the notice but the usual hooligans that harassed him were nowhere to be seen and he only learnt what happened was when the teacher informed them that the group had gotten into an accident and were being treated at the hospital to care for their injuries. Learning this, Eddie gave him a high five and a pat on the back. Now that he was free from the relentless bullying and his new found confidence, he was able to make a couple friends, and though they weren’t many, they were people that he could actually have a conversation with. So for the next couple of months, he was actually have the time of his life attending school because he was getting to learn new stuff while having fun with his friends. Though he excelled in many subjects, his favorite and the class he did the best in thanks to Venom, was P.E.

“You’ve got quite the arm there, Munson.” [M/N] perked up at the compliment, arm raised as he was getting ready to throw a dodgeball at the opposing team.

“O-Oh, thank you coach.” the coach whistles softly as he watched [M/N] reel his arm back, letting out a grunt as he threw the ball at great speed across the gym and hitting a student so hard that he actually winded the poor kid.

“Have you ever thought of trying out for the baseball team?” the coach was impressed once again when he noticed [M/N] look up at him, completely unaware of the fact that a ball was hurdling its way over to him until he raised his arm and caught the ball before it could hit him in the chest “With reflexes like yours, I think you’d make the team.” a soft flush spreads across his cheeks as he rolls the ball in between his hands and torso.

“Y-You think so? I don’t know if I’ll be good in a team.”

“I don’t know about that. From what I’ve heard from the other students, you’ve become quite popular and very likeable.” his already pink face turned red, a dopey grin appearing on his face.

“Really?”

“Yeah, I heard you’re a bit of a heart throb amongst the female population.” the coach missed a look of confusion flashing on [M/N]’s face, who turned away and cupped his cheek.

“Heart throb? You? Please, you’re a headache.”

“Quiet you.”

“You should think it over, I think you’ll like it very much. And unlike your cousin, you seem to enjoy sports and is actually talented in the subject.” [M/N] made a face, forgetting that under the Munson name he was Wayne’s son and technically Eddie’s cousin. He also made a face because it was a little true about Eddie’s giant disdain over anything physical, remembering the last time he and Eddie went for a run or something and the older boy was panting heavily from exhaustion, maybe he had the scientists and Venom to thank for his increased stamina and endurance, but come on now. So now he found himself on the track field watching the Hawkins Middle School Baseball Team, another student that was recommended for the team let out a breath and spared a glance at [M/N] who was standing next to him, he flinched when he noticed the panicked look on his face.

“You good there?”

“Y-Yeah, it’s just my first time joining a sport.”

“I see, there’s a first for everything, you know? But once you get used to it, there’s nothing to be nervous about it at all!” [M/N] nodded his head softly.

“I-I guess so.” the student beside him let out a laugh and slapped a hand against his back, however, he let out a grunt at how hard and broad [M/N]’s back was that his hand was stinging a little.

“Well, since the team has already been established it is sort of scary and we’re joining halfway into the season, they need to sort us into where we specialise. What made you decide to join baseball? I heard that you were good a physical activities, never thought you’d actually join a team with how shy you are.” he chuckled nervously, raising an arm to rub the back of his neck.

“Well, my P.E teacher said that I’ve got a good arm and thought I’d make a good addition to the baseball team despite how late I am from joining.” the student laughed, hands on his hips while nodding his head.

“I get it, I get it. The more the merrier.”

Exactly what [M/N] said, with how late he was in joining the team the coaches were reluctant in allowing him to join since tryouts were technically over but since he was recommended by a fellow coach of the basketball team, they accepted to see how well he’d so on the team. Much to their surprise, he surpassed many of their expectations and they greatly underestimated him because his performance was superb. Like the coach said, his arm was like a godsend because when he was asked to pitch against the opposing team he threw the ball at great speed that even the catcher was struggling to catch the ball and sometimes it’d swerve right past the catcher and sent flying behind him. The student that [M/N] was chatting to earlier whistled as he watched [M/N], sitting on the bench since he was on the opposing team and waiting his turn to pitch.

“Son of a bitch, we’ve got ourselves a new pitcher!” one of the coaches cheered “I’ve never seen a middle school pitch as fast as he can before! He’s almost as good as the professionals!”

“You’re being overdramatic.”

“Well, can you pitch as fast as him?” they all look at [M/N] once again, tipping his hat as he eyed the next batter. He took a deep breathing before turning his body and lifting his leg, he slams his foot on the ground as he sucked in a breath and threw the ball towards the batter. He swung his bat and he was one of the lucky few that managed to get his bat to connect with the ball, however, they were all brought to shock when the moment the ball came into contact with the bat it shattered and broke the bat completely.

…

…

“Holy shit.”

[later]

“So you joined the baseball team?”

“Yes.”

“Because you pitched a ball so fast and hard that the ball shattered a bat?”

“Yes.”

“… that’s pretty metal.”

Sure, Eddie was impressed by the feat [M/N] achieved, proud even, but he’s a little nervous that his little dude was turning into a jock. Unlike the jocks in high school that is constantly harassing him and his group of outcasts, he doesn’t see [M/N] as the type of person to become like them and bully people like him because he used to get bullied by people like them, but he was nervous that he might start to hang out with jocks like them and they could possibly twist his personality and he’ll turn into somebody they’ll despise and—

“You’re thinking about something unnecessary, aren’t you?”

“No.”

“Really?”

“Totally, yeah.”

“Mm. So then you won’t mind that I’ll be staying at school a little later than usual because of practice? I can find a way back home if it inconveniences you.” he waves his hand to dismiss his thoughts, a big grin emerging on his face.

“Don’t even worry about it, dude! I might be busy a couple times, maybe late because I’ve got my own shit, but I’ll try to make it on time to pick you up. Love to hear the stories how you’ll become the next star player.” Eddie smiles when he sees the way [M/N]’s face lights up.

“Then I can’t wait to see you become a rockstar.” Eddie chuckles.

“I appreciate it, little dude.” he laughs and ruffles his head then throws it back. As the sports fan he is, Wayne was more than happy to learn that [M/N] took up baseball and was happy to play a few rounds of catch, Eddie even joining in a few times but when they saw how good [M/N]’s arm was they couldn’t help but be thoroughly impressed. The distance he was able to throw the ball was almost freaky, they were sure if he put enough pressure into the ball he’d crush it completely. [M/N] taking up baseball was perfect for Eddie because now he could stay later with his club Hellfire, a Dungeons and Dragons club for him and his friends to play the various campaigns he orchestrated. Usually the two of them finished up their clubs around the same time but sometimes Eddie’s would finish a little earlier and he would find himself out on the track field sitting on the bleachers and waiting for [M/N] to finish up, these were also the times where he got to see [M/N] properly in his element. The young boy was hunched over, hands on his knees with sweat dripping from his forehead while his eyes were dead set on the ball as he stood on the outer field.

“That’s your cousin, right?” one of Eddie’s friends, Jeff, asked.

“Yeah, why?”

“I heard how the coaches are dead set on him joining the High School’s baseball team, saying how he’s going to bring it back from the dead.” another way nodded their head, snapping their fingers and pointing at them.

“Our team does suck, plus, your cousin is really good. I’ve only seen him a few times in the passing, but he’s like a genius.”

“He’s just really good at throwing a ball, don’t see how that makes you a genius.” Eddie gives them a look before clearing his throat, when he got their attention he pointed over to the field where they heard the crack of the bat hitting the ball and sending the ball flying. They watch as the players scatter to try and catch the ball, it lands on the ground and bounces a couple times but [M/N] was the first to slide down and catch it in his glove before proceeding to throw it towards first base and take out the same batter. His team immediately cheer and a few other spectators awed in surprise, how couldn’t they, with the distance he was standing at to the first base, that was quite the distance that no one else could possibly pull off.

“Still think he’s just good at throwing a ball?” Eddie asked rather cockily, snickering when he saw their mouth agape.

“Jesus, what the fuck are you guys feeding him? That was insane.”

“We really aren’t feeding him much.” which is the truth, Eddie and [M/N] basically eat the same things, but that doesn’t stop Eddie from noticing that [M/N] is building up muscles faster than him. He was much stronger than him and more physically fit, his body deflates a little of the drastic difference between him and [M/N], and sure it was understandable because they genuinely weren’t related so maybe it’s in [M/N] genetics why his body is just so crazy.

“Did you see me, Eddie?” he jolted out of his thoughts when he heard a voice, looking up, he was surprised to see [M/N] looking up at him from where he stood with a bright yet sweaty face “Did I look cool?”

“Yea— Yeah, dude! You were great.” his smile brightens.

“Thanks! Sorry for making you wait so long, coach wanted us to finish the game.” he hears someone call his name so he turned his head, face lighting up at the sight of the friend he made on his first day of baseball “See you later, dude!”

“Same! Have a good rest of your afternoon!”

“You too!” that was another thing that Eddie noticed, now that [M/N] wasn’t as shy or reserved as he was before, he was actually very charismatic and was easy to make friends with. Sure, his bashful personality still remained in tact but he was pretty outgoing and a lot of people swarmed around him, he was well liked by many of his peers “Eddie, you good?”

“Huh?”

“I’m asking if you’re alright, you look like you’re spacing out.” Eddie blinks a little but laughs it off.

“I’m all good, don’t worry about it. Let’s get going, huh? Wayne would love to hear all about your practice.” Eddie’s friends laughed softly when they saw the absolute excitement on his face, Eddie joined them when [M/N] grabbed his hand and started to tug on it to get him to his feet quickly “I’m coming, I’m coming!”

[M/N] was happy, he was really happy and he didn’t think he’d ever be this happy in a long time. Being locked away for three years and when he was free, he lived the first couple of months in fear that he would be thrown out or captured by the same people that kidnapped him when he was young. He was happy that he was found by a kind old man that brought him into his home with open arms, didn’t question his origin or force him to share his story, just let him come out of his shell on his own. He was gifted with a new home and people that he could call family, he never thought he’d be given the chance to start over and actually live a normal life. He truly felt blessed, and he was definitely not going to take this second chance for granted.

[conanssummerchild]

textposts but its just some random instagram dms with @mikewhoreler i found in my gallery (i miss u pookie come back 😔)

[thisapplepielife]

Written for @corrodedcoffinfest.

Stayin' Alive

Day #17 - "This One's For You" | Word Count: 1000 | Rating: T | CW: Language | POV: Eddie | Pairing: Steddie, Mention of Pre-Robin/Vickie | Tags: Post S4, But Eddie Lives, But Is Still Recovering, Getting Together, First Kiss, The Band Has a Surprise For Eddie at The Hideout, Steve Harrington Just Wants To Help, Henderson Too

Eddie didn't want to go, didn't want to be paraded anywhere in this town, not after the whole wrongly accused of a grizzly murder or three, saga. But the band was insistent that he come out tonight, and if he has to show his face somewhere in Hawkins, The Hideout isn't the worst place to be, he supposes. At least a few of the regulars here know him well enough to not expect him to skin them alive after the first set.

"You comfortable? Need anything? A drink?" Henderson asks in quick succession, hovering around, squirming, like it's his first time in the place. Come to think of it, it probably is.

"Henderson, just calm down. It's a bar, not Babylon," Eddie says dryly, and Dustin slumps in his chair.

"Just trying to help," Dustin says, petulant. Sullen. 

"What's the little asshole doing now?" Steve asks, sprawling himself into the seat on the other side of Eddie.

Oh, thank god. Another adult. 

"Thinks he's gonna be corrupted," Eddie answers, "Glad you made it, Harrington."

"Robin's still coming, but she's still trying to get Vickie to come with, but she's too scared to ask. So, that's not, you know, working out so well for her. Vickie's not all mind read-y, last I checked," Steve says, stretching his arm behind Eddie's chair, resting it lightly against his shoulders. 

Eddie tries not to lean into the touch. Has to remind himself that Steve's just being friendly, and has been that way, since they got out of the Upside Down. All through his stay in the hospital, and rehab, and the weeks, months, spent at home, just trying to regain his strength and sense of normalcy. 

Steve's been there, too close, too invested, and Eddie's dealt with it. 

But tonight, here they are, out in public, and Steve's acting the same way.

Eddie kind of hates it.

Kind of loves it, too.

Steve is absentmindedly running his fingertips up and down Eddie's shoulder as he talks, and Eddie's not hearing a word he's saying. His whole body dialed in on those little movements, as Steve's brushing his t-shirt, ruffling the soft cotton against his skin.

He wants to lean in. He wants to lean away.

Mainly, he wants to run. 

But that's definitely not an option, running isn't in the cards, not yet. Maybe not ever, so he's stuck here. Wedged between the nervous bundle of energy that is Dustin Henderson and the lazy relaxation of Steve Harrington. 

It's hell. Pure hell.

They sit through the first two bands that aren't very good, and by the time Corroded Coffin is set to take the stage, Eddie's already exhausted. He feels eighty instead of twenty, but he's had a hard time bouncing back. Everything feels harder, and worse, and he'd really rather just be home in his bed, or chair, left alone.

Well, except for Steve and Henderson. And Wayne. None of them give him a moment's peace. They are a tag-team of mother hens, and Eddie's certain they have an internal schedule that never leaves him alone for longer than ten minutes. When Wayne or Dustin or Steve aren't there, can't be for whatever reason, Gareth is. Or Jeff. Or Goodie. Maybe all three at once. Showing up like clockwork, some flimsy excuse for their sudden arrival. 

He's being babysat. Hardcore. 

The band is ready on stage, and it feels weird, seeing the three of them up there without him. He knows he's not out, he's just not able, not yet. Can't quite play the guitar as well as he used to, and definitely can't stand long enough to play a full set.

So he's here, in the crowd, watching. It's a special kind of torture, he thinks. Watching his own band go on without him. It's not permanent, at least Eddie hopes it's not, but still. Torture.

"This one's for you, Eddie," Jeff says, and Eddie's eyes lock on the stage. 

Gareth clicks his sticks together, counting them in, and Goodie comes in with a smokin' bass line, and Gareth's riding his cymbals, and Eddie perks up in his seat. This isn't, no way…

And it is. 

Jeff's falsetto is something, that's for damn sure. 

This is Stayin' Alive.

And Eddie laughs, really laughs, for the first time in months. Since maybe before spring break, and Steve is looking at him, like he's in awe, Eddie can feel it. But he can't look away from the stage. From his friends.

They play some of their own songs, and some more covers, but that one had been for Eddie and Eddie alone.

After, the band crowds around, and Eddie is happy to have them nearby again. He's missed them, and when it's time to go, Eddie is pawned off onto Steve to take home. 

Steve helps him into the car, putting the walker in the backseat, folded up and out of the way. Eddie hates it. Hates everything about being laid up, still hurt, still weak. 

"Everything good?" Steve asks, looking in his direction and Eddie nods. He's as comfortable as he's ever gonna be, at least, unmedicated.

"Yeah, I'm good."

"I'm glad you came out tonight," Steve says, looking in his direction, smiling, "I was worried Dustin wouldn't get you here."

"You don't have to worry about me, Harrington," Eddie says, and that just makes Steve smile harder for some reason.

"I'm always worried about you, Eddie," Steve says, and that can't possibly be true, and Eddie laughs.

Steve looks so fucking earnest, "Really. I'm happy you're here tonight. I'm happy you're anywhere tonight."

"Quit flirting with me, Harrington," Eddie teases, and it's funny for the brief second before Steve's face falls.

Shit. 

No fucking way.

Eddie reaches out, leans over, snagging Steve's hand, "You're flirting with me?"

Steve kind of shrugs his shoulders, in the most non-committal way, but his face tells all his secrets.

"Steve?"

"A little. If you're not interested, if I'm-"

Eddie cuts him off, crushing their lips together.

If you want to write your own, or see more entries for this challenge, pop on over to @corrodedcoffinfest and follow along with the fun! 🦇