#gloomweed writes

[gloomweed]

I was thinking about how Eddie seems like the type to randomly put one of his rings on you and I came up with this itty bitty little blurb.

wc: 313

Eddie gently holds your hand as he slips one of his rings onto your fingers. The ring is a little too big, but you enjoy the weight of it on your hand. It’s still warm from being on his hand all day. You smile at the gesture before you hold your hand out to admire the way it looks on you. The way you wiggle your fingers makes the light dance across the silver. You look at Eddie. “What do you think? Does it look good?”

He has a lazy smirk on his face as he takes in the scene before him. You’re dressed in pajamas on a cozy Saturday evening, illuminated by the warm light of the bedside lamp, wearing one of his rings. Eddie never thought he would be one of those boyfriends that like the idea of his partner wearing something of his, but here he was. Just something about you embracing a little piece of him made him feel fuzzy inside. “Of course it looks good. Everything looks good on you.” When you scoff at his corny words, he chuckles. “I’m serious. You could wear a trash bag to the Grammys, and still be the most beautiful one there.”

You can feel the heat rise to your cheeks from his compliment. You return your attention to the ring on your hand, spinning it around your finger as you glance at him from the corner of your eye. “You’re such a sap, you know that?”

Seeing the shy smile on your face, Eddie knows you don’t actually dislike what he’s saying. He leans closer to speak softly in your ear as he wraps his arms around you in a tight hug. “And luckily, I’m all yours, baby.” He punctuates his words with a kiss to your cheek. Hearing you giggle in his arms, he smiles wider.

“So lucky,” you agree.

[gloomweed]

Metal as Fuck

a/n: was having a bad period last month and my only cure was to fantasize about Eddie taking care of me. here's this little blurb I came up with so all of us with a period can cope.

warning: discussions of menstruation and blood, but nothing graphic wc: 1500~

It was that time of the month again, and it was positively aggressive this time around. Despite wearing a pad to bed, you wake in the early hours of the morning to a wet feeling in your nether regions. You pull your comforter back in a panic to see you’ve bled through your pajama pants and onto your sheets. “Goddamn it,” you swore under your breath at the sight of the mess. After cleaning up, soiled sheets and clothes in the wash and body freshly showered, you began to feel that familiar ache between your hips. Not only was it the muscles in your back at the base of your spine, but also just below your stomach. Kneading the flesh of your lower back with a grimace, you make your way to the medicine cabinet for some pain killers. 

It’s only when you notice it’s missing that you remember that you used the last of it last month. Pills clatter as you search for any alternative you might have, but ultimately you find none. Giving up with a huff, head thrown back towards the ceiling, your brows furrow in annoyance as you run through your options. You really didn’t feel like going to the store right now, not when you feel like absolute shit. At the same time, if you don’t go you’re only going to continue to feel like shit for the rest of the evening. The pain in your abdomen is distracting you to the point you struggle to make a decision. Waking up so much earlier than usual was also not helping your thought process. Instead of choosing either choice, you curl up on the couch, laying under a throw blanket telling yourself you’ll go to the store later. 

An hour later, you’re awoken by the sound of the front door opening. Eddie makes his way in with the clatter of keys and heavy steps in his work boots. He toes them off at the door before turning to see you laying on the couch instead of sleeping soundly in your bed. Seeing your messy hair and sleepy squinted eyes, Eddie frowns apologetically. “Sorry, baby. I didn’t mean to wake you up.” He keeps his voice soft, not wanting to wake you up any further. After hanging his jacket on the coat hook, he strides over to place a kiss on the crown of your head as he snuggles up next to you. He puts his arms around you in a loose hug, simply holding you, as he huffs out a quiet yawn. “What are you doing out here?” 

Picking the crust out from the corner of your eye, you sigh with frustration. “I’m just having a shitty day.”

Eddie eyebrows pinch together, a small smirk on his face as he sits up. “It’s only,” he pauses to take a look at his watch, “6am. How is your day already shitty?” 

You mindlessly pick at a loose thread on your shirt as you recall your morning. “I bled through my pants and onto the bed, so I had to clean all that up, and even though I threw it all in the wash as soon as possible, I'm still worried that my underwear is gonna be stained.” You sigh, “And I just bought that pair.”

The nonchalance with which you shrug it off makes Eddie feel crazy. He knows that if he were in your shoes, he'd be unfathomably pissed if not terrified of the impromptu blood loss, but to you it's just another day. “Anyways, then I started having these horrible cramps. Like in my stomach and in my back at the same time. I would’ve taken some pain meds but we’re all out and I felt too shitty to go and get some more, so I just curled up on the couch hoping it would go away on its own which I know is not really productive, but-“ Eddie cuts off your tired rambling with another kiss to your head before pushing off of his knees with a groan, standing from the couch. “Wait- Where are you going?” 

He begins to slip his shoes on, not even bothering to look up at you as he answers. “Going to the store.”

You feel a sharp pang of fear that Eddie interpreted your venting as you demanding he fix it. “Oh, baby you don’t have to do that. You just got home from work, let me go and get it later. It’s not an emergency or anything.”  

Eddie smiles as he puts his jacket on. “You act like I’m gonna be pushing a rock up a mountain or something.” He faces you and shrugs, hands in his pockets. “I’ll be back in like 15 minutes, tops.” 

“Well I just… I don’t want to annoy you with it.” You shyly fiddle with the blanket in your lap. The little pout on your lips has Eddie smiling.

“Why not? You annoy me with plenty of other stuff.” His playful smirk brightens at the sight of your offended face. Eddie flinches away from the decorative pillow you lob at him from the couch. “I'm kidding, obviously,” he laughs. “Besides, you can't annoy me, sweetheart. As someone who actually is annoying, I pretty much have built up a tolerance for it. I’m unannoyable.” He rolls his shoulders back, boasting his self described title.

You smile at the sentiment. “I just mean, I don't want you to feel like you have to fix things for me. I was only venting, you know? I've dealt with a bad period before and I know I'll deal with a bad period again.” You shrug, “I'm used to it.”

Eddie's arms fall to his sides with a thump, looking at you in disbelief and partly sorrow. “Just because you're used to it doesn't mean I can't make it better.” 

His words leave you feeling a little stunned. “Oh.” Eddie makes it sound so simple, and really you knew that, but it was as if you never applied the concept to this situation before. When you think about bettering your life, it's usually things that are more tangible. Like reorganizing the closet, or giving that old dresser a fresh coat of paint, or sewing up a rip in a hoodie. Letting yourself be taken care of wasn’t something you had in mind.

From the beginning of first dealing with the burden of having a period, you were always told to just suck it up and accept it. After all, it was something nearly half of the Earth's population has to deal with. It wasn't like you were different and deserving of special treatment. There was also the matter of feeling like it was something you couldn’t bring up, not to mention the embarrassment of having an uncontrollable bodily function. Periods were something to be ashamed of and never openly discussed. At least, that’s how you were raised. It felt like a forbidden topic, so how were you ever meant to seek any kind of help for it? Seeing people take care of their loved ones who are on their period is something you didn't grow up seeing, so it never even occurred to you.

Eddie takes a step closer to hold your hands. When your spaced out expression focuses on his intense button eyes, he tilts his head to his shoulder with a closed lip smile. “I want to take care of you, sweetheart. Even if you think you don't need it because you're super fuckin’ metal.” Despite the scoff that brushes passed your lips, you're still smiling. “I'm serious!” Eddie insists. “You woke up in a puddle of blood and you brushed it off like it was nothing. That's metal as fuck.” 

The way he stares with so much genuine love and admiration makes you blush. As is your way, you try to downplay the compliment anyways. “I don't think that counts as metal, Eds.”

“Well it does to me.” Still holding your hands, he swings them from side to side with a childlike smirk before dipping down for a kiss. Eddie hums contentedly against your lips as you snake your arms around each other. When your hands reach up to tangle at the hairs on the nape of his neck, his hands cradle your face, the rough pads of his thumbs brushing over the apples of your cheeks. Eventually, you separate with a quiet smack, Eddie walking backwards towards the door once again. He nearly trips on the pillow you threw earlier as he keeps his eyes intently on you. “I'll be back with some pain reliever and some of that candy you like. Okay?” 

Your face feels hot as you reply in a small voice. “Okay. Thank you, Eddie.” It's only when he's got a foot out the door that you find the courage to shout after him, “I love you!” Eddie is quick to turn around and shout back, “loveyoumore!” his urgency stringing his words into one. He tucks his chin in to give you a pointed look, as if shutting down all arguments about it before closing the door. All you can do is stare after him, your knight in dull black leather, and grin, hopelessly in love.

[gloomweed]

Aggressive Compliments

(Eddie Munson x Insecure!Reader)

Summary: After you confess to Eddie that you don't like the way you look, he is quick to assure you of how beautiful you are.

wc: ~2k

This was it. You were down to your last quarter and you’ve spent too much to give up now. The silver coin rolls into the slot and the light flashes on the ‘go’ button. With one last focusing exhale, you hit the green button and narrow your eyes at the purple bat plushie. The beeps and music fade out as you gain your center. You move the joystick with precision, finally getting the hang of its movements, until it hangs directly above your target. Eyes flicking downward, you see the red timer counting down from the 15 seconds you have left. You move around the transparent box the best you can to see the other angles, ensuring you were in the right position.

Seeing no mistakes, you glance over your shoulder to Eddie who is covering his mouth with his hands, per your request. He breaks focus from the claw machine to nod his approval silently. With a smirk, you hit the drop button with only 3 seconds to spare. You and Eddie press your faces against the glass, praying that this is the one. The claw falls, at an agonizingly slow rate, until it is resting perfectly on the center of the bat’s head. Then it clamps down, caging the plush toy carefully. You both held your breath with anticipation. This was the pivotal moment. Would it make it off the ground?

The claw lifts the bat upwards oh so very slowly and much too shakily. As the claw carries the toy closer and closer to the exit your excitement builds exponentially. Until, finally above the box, the claw releases and the bat falls into the exit unceremoniously. You both shout with joy, laughing hysterically at the fact that your obsessive repetition finally paid off. “You did it! You finally did it!” Eddie shouted excitedly. You grab the toy and hold it above your head victoriously. The other arcade patrons look your way disapprovingly, disturbed by your volume. Neither of you cared, too invested in finally winning at the claw game. 

Eddie is so excited he scoops you up in a hug and lifts you off your feet momentarily. You’re almost too happy to realize or care, until you feel his arms on your back and your stomach against his chest. Immediately you clam up, your smile faltering as you are once again reminded of your imperfect body. You do your best not to make a big deal out of it, but Eddie already notices your drop in energy and stops to put you down. 

His face is still plastered with a wide smile, but his brow pinches together, worried he did something wrong. “You okay? Did I squeeze you too hard?”

You fake a smile and shake your head. “No, I'm fine. Just a little dizzy is all,” you lied. Before Eddie could press further, you change the subject. “Anyways,” you hold the toy out to him. “Here is your prize, Eddie.”

Confused brown eyes hold your stare as he takes the toy from your hands with a lopsided grin. His attention is then on the soft toy as he holds it close to his chest in a protective hug, humming in content. When Eddie holds it out again for a moment to admire it, he shakes his head before handing it back to you. “You should have it. I mean, you did all the work to get it, not to mention the quarters you put into it.”

You tilt your head, confused, as you take the plush from his hands. “But you spent all your quarters trying to win it.”

He chuckles, stuffing his hands in his pockets. “Honestly, I only wanted to win it for you.” Eddie shrugs. “Wanted to give you a souvenir. Something to remember this awesome date we had.” His head snaps up in realization. “This was a good date, right? Or was I the only one feeling that?”

Smiling, you cup his face and press a quick kiss to his cheek. When you pull away, you see him flush red. “It was a great date. I loved it. But you didn’t have to win me a souvenir.”

Eddie gestures to the purple bat in your hands. “Yeah, clearly you win them yourself.”

You roll your eyes with a grin. “I meant, to remember this date. I’m not forgetting this anytime soon.”

“Alright well,” Eddie takes a step closer, playfully flapping the wings of the bat in your arms, “either way, I’m sure Ozzy will much rather live at your house than mine, and if seeing him happens to remind you of me, that’s just a bonus.” His grin looks mischievous with the way his head tilts to his shoulder.

You look at the plush toy in your hands. “‘Ozzy,’ huh? That’s a cute name.”

“As in the guy who bit off the head of a bat on stage.”

“Right,” you smile. Eddie had told you that story many times. “Well, seeing as we are both out of quarters, I suppose that means this arcade date is officially over. Care to walk me and Ozzy here home?” 

Eddie flourishes his arm out with a little bow, encouraging you to lead the way. “Why, it would be my pleasure.” He follows closely beside you, arm at the small of your back as you make your way through the crowd of people. Despite the enticing warmth of his hand, your insecurities can't stand the idea of being forgotten. You curl away from his touch just to silence the destructive thoughts.

Once you make it outside, you both squint at the sudden brightness. Even though the sun was setting, it was still much brighter than the darkness of the arcade you had grown accustomed to over the course of the afternoon. After blinking away the discomfort, you two begin to make your way down the sidewalk towards your house. The walk is mostly quiet, but it’s a comfortable silence. Eddie is the first to break it. His hands are in his jacket pocket and he seems more willing to look towards the sidewalk than at you. “I'm sorry about before. I didn't mean to make you upset or anything.” His soft tone of voice perks your ears.

The apology completely catches you off guard. “Huh? What do you mean? I'm not upset.”

His dark eyes find yours and he shrugs. “You just seemed…weird after I hugged you. Which, I get it. I should have asked before lifting you up like that. I was just so happy for you, you know? Guess I got caught up in all the excitement.”

You frown, feeling guilty that you got Eddie all in his head about it. “No, no. It had nothing to do with you. I just-” You huff, struggling to find the words. Worried that being honest with him would ruin the nice vibe you had going. Seeing as Eddie noticed your odd behavior already, it’s safe to say that ship has sailed. You think that if it were the other way around, you would want Eddie to be completely honest with you. Gathering your courage with a deep breath, you do your best to put your feelings into words. “Sometimes when I’m reminded of the way my body looks or feels, I get all…stupid. I'm scared you’ll notice all the bad parts of me. The ugly parts. Then you’ll realize you want nothing to do with me.”

There is a silent pause as Eddie mulls over your words. His shoes scuff on the sidewalk as he suddenly stops walking. The noise of it puts you on edge. As you stop a second after him, your mind starts racing through what you said looking for the thing that might have upset him. “Okay, first of all, you’re not stupid.” His tone is firm, but it isn’t angry. It brings you a sliver of relief as you turn to face him. 

How he spoke made it sound less like a compliment and more like an obvious unrefuted fact. Like you were an idiot for calling yourself stupid, which is very confusing. “Thank you?” is your meek reply. 

Eddie’s eyes are wide and unblinking. “Second, in what world, in what reality, are you within even an atom’s width of ‘bad’ or ‘ugly’?” He pinches his fingers in front of his eyes trying to emphasize how small an interval he’s talking about.

Your face was warm with the weird worded compliment. The logical part of your brain wanted to point out examples to him. Maybe you wanted to prove the cynical part of yourself right; that you are bad and ugly. Maybe you just wanted to hear him refute them, boost your ego all the more. “Well, what about when you lifted me up? Didn’t you feel how heavy I am? How my stomach pressed against you?” Talking about it only makes you want to make yourself smaller, so you hug the stuffie against yourself as a kind of shield.

Running his hands through his hair, Eddie looked like he was close to ripping it out. “Are you fucking kidding me?! When I held you against me and I could feel all your sexy little dips and curves? Looking at the most beautiful fucking smile in the goddamn world? I loved every second of it!” His arms drop heavily from his head, hands slapping against his jeans. Suddenly his gaze is softer as he realizes his yelling is putting you off. Eddie gently takes one of your hands in his, ducking his head hoping to catch your eyes. “I would hold you every day if you’d let me.” When you finally look him in the eyes, they crinkle at the corners as he smiles lovingly at you. “Just because you aren’t the magazine cover conventionally attractive type, doesn’t make you any less attractive. I mean, look at me,” he steps back and waves a hand presenting himself to you. “Does any of this scream conventional to you?”

Your eyes scan Eddie up and down, catching on his long frizzy hair, jean vest atop his leather jacket covered in patches and buttons, his wallet chain connected to his black ripped jeans. In relation to your small town of Hawkins, Indiana, Eddie was far from average. “I guess not.” Your voice was small as you were beginning to realize his point.

“Aaand…? Do you think I’m pretty?” He uses his extra whiney voice as he holds both his hands beneath his chin in a silly pose, fluttering his eyelashes exaggeratedly.

It’s enough to make you laugh and you can see Eddie’s smile brighten at the sound of it. “Of course I do!”

He holds you by the elbows excitedly. “Exactly! I feel the same way about you!” The passion in his voice makes you blush. “You are the most beautiful girl I’ve ever had the pleasure to lay eyes on.” Eddie’s voice is softer now, given the close proximity that you don’t seem to mind as much as you did 5 minutes ago. “You are not bad or ugly or stupid. And I’ll tell you everyday if I have to. Hell, I’ll have it tattooed onto my forehead if that’s what it takes.” The corners of his lips quirk up when he sees you smile.

Suddenly you feel a little embarrassed that you ever doubted Eddie’s affections for you. You can’t help but stare into his deep chocolate eyes, feeling so genuinely loved. When you reach up to caress his face, your thumb grows warm from the blush blooming across the apples of his cheeks. Your eyes slip closed as you kiss him. His hand lands on your waist to hold you closer, and this time you don’t shy away. As you break apart and stare up at him through your lashes, your voice rings out softly. “Thank you, Eddie.” 

“Anytime, Sweetheart.”

[gloomweed]

Not Alone

(Eddie Munson/Reader Comfort One-Shot)

Summary: After a traumatic incident, you seek out the comfort of your crush best friend Eddie in the late evening.

Author's Note: I wrote this as a means to cope with my own recent traumatic experience involving my alcoholic father, so this is pretty self-indulgent comfort fic; however, I left the details pretty vague so hopefully it can relate to most others. Pretty much anyone with a shitty home life. Also, reader is referred to as a girl, but no pronouns are used for the reader and physical characteristics aren't mentioned. wc: ~2.8k tw: reader has an alcoholic father (implied), otherwise this a fluffy comfort one-shot.

Eddie’s dreamless sleep was interrupted by the sound of gentle rapping at the door. At first he thought he was hearing things, but when the sound repeated he rolled out of bed with a groan. He glances at the clock on his night stand that reads 12:23 am in bright red lights. Not bothering to put on a shirt, he rubbed the crust from his eyes as he stumbled towards the living room. Who the hell is knocking at this time of night? Peeking through the peep-hole, his eyes widen at the sight of you. Your hair was disheveled, like you had been running your hands through it, and the way you held your arms made you seem so small and fragile. Completely unlike yourself on any normal day.

The old screen door squeaks as he opens it, but underneath that sound, Eddie could hear you sniffling. Without the filter of the dirty glass covering the peep-hole, he could see that your eyes were red and puffy. The light from the porch lamp caught on the tear streaks running down your cheeks, making it look like gold. “Sorry, Eddie. I know you were probably sleeping, but-”

From the moment he spots you, it's clear to Eddie that you're in some kind of trouble. It puts him on edge, becoming hyper vigilant for your sake. He cuts you off as he ushers you inside with a gentle hand on your shoulder. “Don’t worry about that, just get in here.” He's been around the block before, so he knows to make sure you aren't being followed by some lurking creep looking to prey on a vulnerable girl. He keeps an eye out as you enter, looking for any signs of immediate danger. From what he can tell, the rest of the trailer park is asleep. With no cars or people passing by, he follows you indoors, locking the deadbolt behind him. 

Inside, you stand in the entryway for a moment, unsure what to do with yourself now that you're here. After locking the door, Eddie sees you standing there frozen. With a faraway look in your glassy eyes, you looked like you were lost in thought. His gaze doesn't leave your sad face as he gently takes hold of your hand, swiping his calloused thumb over your knuckles in an attempt to bring you back to the present moment. When you finally look him in the eyes, he smiles in what he hopes is in a comforting way. It’s okay. You’re here now. I’m here for you. You manage a tight lip smile of your own, grateful you have such a good friend.

He jerks his head in the direction of the couch, and you accept with a nod. Eddie leaves for a moment to grab the roll of toilet paper from the bathroom. When he holds it out to you, he explains. “We don’t have any real tissues, so this is the best I can offer.” As you take it from him, he cringes with embarrassment. “Sorry.”

You shake your head. “Don’t be. Thank you.” Taking a few squares off the roll, you wipe your face and blow your nose. 

Eddie takes a seat beside you, looking worried. He runs his sweaty hands over his pant legs, feeling unsure of how he should help you. “So, uh… Do you want to talk about it, or is this more like a ‘no questions asked’ situation?”

There is a silent pause as you gather your thoughts, unsure yourself of what you want. You take a deep breath and release it slowly, refocusing yourself on the reason you decided to make an impromptu visit to your friend so late at night. “It’s my dad.” Eddie nods, aware that you have what some might call a ‘complicated relationship’ with your dad. Personally, he prefers to call it ‘your dad is an asshole, but you don’t have the means to move out of your parent’s place just yet, so you’re forced to just grin and bear it until you can.’ You fiddle with the crumpled toilet paper in your lap, frowning. “It got bad. He was yelling and screaming and breaking things.” The furrow of your brow made it seem like you were about to cry again. 

“You don’t have to get into it if you don’t want to. I mean, look who you’re talking to. If there’s anyone who understands having a shitty dad, it’s me.” Eddie smirks as he confidently puts his hand on his chest. It’s enough to make you smile in appreciation of his understanding. “So what I’m hearing is you need to stay here for a few days?”

Eddie’s offer makes your heart skip and the moment it's out there, you're shaking your head. “Just for the night would be plenty. You don’t have to let me stay at all if you’re busy-” 

He shakes his head with a smile, amused by the thought of him being too busy for you. “Nah, it’s no trouble. You know I like having you around.” He winks playfully knowing it would make you laugh. And it does, albeit just barely. It’s really more a snuff of breath exhaled out of your nose, but Eddie will take what he can get. “Besides, makes Wayne happy seeing I have actual friends instead of, you know, buyers.” After you nod in understanding, he points towards the back where his bedroom is. “You can take my room, while I take the ol’ reliable here.” He pats the cushion he's sitting on with a lopsided smile.

Knowing you, Eddie is already expecting an argument about it's his bed, he should be the one to sleep on it, but he could never have that, especially with his uncle's midwestern ideals. Eddie knows Wayne would chew him out if he lets a guest sleep on the couch. When you stay at the Munson's, you sleep on the one and only bed in the house. That's how Wayne was raised, and what was consequently drilled into Eddie's skull when he moved in. While he prepared this rebuttal in his head, your protest never came. 

Eddie looks to see you biting your lip as you look at your feet. He watches you patiently as you work up the nerve to say what you want to say. “Would it be okay if we share the bed?” Eddie almost can't stop himself from grinning, but he manages to keep in his screaming thoughts at the prospect of sharing his bed with a pretty girl like you. On the outside, Eddie does his best to play it cool, but you must have seen his eyes go wide in excitement and took it the wrong way. Waving your hands dismissively, you do your best to remedy the awkward silence. “You don’t have to! I know it’s a weird request, it's just…” Your eyes dim again as you feel the embarrassment creep up your neck. “I don’t want to sleep alone tonight.”

Seeing you so emotionally beaten down and afraid makes Eddie feel a kind of sadness he hasn’t felt since he was a kid. Before he became more cynical and realized most people deserve what they have coming for them. But he knows you; your kindness and generosity. There’s a feeling of something heavy sitting in the pit of his stomach and Eddie knows for certain you don’t deserve to feel like this, no matter what the situation could possibly be. The sadness quickly evolves into rage when he remembers this is something your own father did. He may not know all the details, but he knows fathers aren't supposed to leave their children feeling like this. Like a burden. 

Seeing as being around an angry person is probably the last thing you need, Eddie pushes his feelings to the back of his mind for when he might need it. Like the next time he sees your dad’s car sitting in the liquor store parking lot, for example. A crudely spray-painted penis on that dirtbag’s car might be the thing to put a real smile on your face. Even the thought that Eddie would go to jail if he got caught wasn’t enough to deter him. If it’s in the name of giving you the justice you undoubtedly deserve, he’d do it. This town already sees him as a criminal, so it wouldn’t make a difference to him either way. Why not do something bad for someone so good?

He says your name softly to get you to look at him through tear-heavy lashes. Eddie’s unwavering intense gaze is enough to make your hair stand up on end and your throat tighten. He subconsciously tilts his head at the sight of your sad face. “Whatever you need, I’ll do it. Alright?” All you can manage is a nod in response, not trusting your own voice. You only hope he can feel your gratitude through it. “Welp,” he stands up from the couch pushing off of his knees. “Come on. Let’s go to bed.”

You follow Eddie to his room where he begins to shake out the blanket he left resting haphazardly on his bed. He motions for you to lie down while he does so. Once you’ve settled on the side closest to the wall, the blanket flutters out one last time to lay mostly flat over you. Eddie quickly settles in bed next to you, doing his best to leave a respectable distance between you both. “Is this okay?” he asks once you’re both settled.

Clutching the blanket that smells overwhelmingly like Eddie, you bury yourself deeper into the pillow under your head. There is a small smile adorning your face as you get comfortable. “Yes. Thank you.” 

Eddie quickly sits up to turn off the lights and for a moment the warm glow from his bedside lamp casts a fitting halo around his mop of messy dark curls. There is a quiet ‘click’ as the room becomes dark and you can hear him shuffle back down under the covers. Eventually, he lets out one last sigh saying, “Sweet dreams,” before relaxing next to you.

His gentle breathing is not enough to get you to fall asleep. Hours after Eddie began his soft snoring, you're still running through the night's events. Where did you go wrong? What could you have done differently? What's wrong with you?

These questions circle through your head to the point you begin to feel a pressing headache at the front of your mind. It was like a brewing storm, with dark clouds and impending rain. No matter how you think of it, you still feel in the wrong somehow. It was something you did to set your dad off. You deserve to be screamed at. The tight prickly feeling creeps up your neck as you do your best to cry quietly. You don't want to wake Eddie up. He's already helped you so much, you don't want to bother him again. You face away from him, towards the wall, foolishly hoping that little distance would protect him from your breakdown.

Unfortunately, the need to breathe and a runny nose is a noisy combination. Eddie blinks once, twice, before realizing that it's you making that pitiful sound. It's a lot of sniffling and quiet whimpers. When he turns and sees you curled up into yourself with shaking breaths, he feels a little panicked. He sits up and places a hand on your shoulder, rubbing gentle circles there. “Hey, hey, hey,” he coos. “It's okay. You're gonna be okay.” Eddie keeps his voice soft, trying to calm you down, but as the words leave his mouth he can't help but frown at them. Telling someone that they are going to be fine later is not really going to help them now, but it's all Eddie has to offer. 

Voice too broken to respond, all you can do is shake your head. Being seen so vulnerable by the boy you like makes you all the more upset. A few stray tears is one thing, but being damn near hysterical with leaking snot is another. If you thought leaving his room would do any good, you might have tried to make a break for it. Instead, you shut your eyes tight, hoping he wouldn’t push you into talking about it, or worse, push you to look at him. 

Seeing as his words of encouragement are falling on ears too sad to believe him, Eddie feels useless. He hates seeing you like this. He wishes he could take it all away and bear it himself. With his last attempt to console you, Eddie steadies his mind in case of your impending rejection. 

The gentle hands on your sides make your breath catch in surprise. They pull you by the waist to rest a little closer before holding you in a loose hug. Is Eddie Munson cuddling you right now? His body heat radiates off of him in a comforting aura, soothing your tensed shoulders. The genuine surprise is enough to make you forget why you were crying, if only for a moment. The origin of his quiet voice makes you realize that pressure on your shoulder is where he is resting his head. He speaks into your shoulder blade, hiding his blushing face there. “I know I can’t make it better, but that’s not gonna stop me from trying.”

The sorrow in his voice is unmistakable, as if he was the one to make you cry. You feel a distant pang of guilt that Eddie feels the need to fix it for you. You don’t want him to worry about you, despite the little voice in your head telling you otherwise. You can’t deny that a part of you enjoys the way you feel loved when he shows his care for you, but you don’t want it at the expense of becoming a burden he feels obligated to bear. However, seeing as you can't form the words to tell him so, you're forced to let it go and just enjoy the feeling of Eddie enveloping you while you release the rest of your pent-up emotions.

Eddie is somewhat perplexed that you aren’t telling him off or pushing him away, but relishes the feeling of you in his arms nonetheless. He breathes in the scent of your laundry detergent, the one that he only associates with you. The little brushing of arms makes him realize how soft you are. It’s the kind of softness that reminds him of his childhood teddy bear. Something precious and sweet. 

He holds you for a while, being there for you as you cry. There are times he feels like he’s about to doze off, but Eddie wills himself to stay awake. Until he’s sure you’re alright, he can't sleep. When your shaking eventually lessens and your breathing has steadied to the same rhythm of his own, he feels you begin to shuffle in his arms. Eddie takes a small movement away, trying his best to give you your space back should you want it. You turn to face him, tears now dried, and stare into his glittering dark brown eyes. You aren’t sure what words you can say that will convey the gratitude you hold for him. The appreciation. The wholehearted love.

With how long you stare, Eddie struggles to read your expression, and can’t help but smile nervously. Is this the part where you tell him to never do that again? “You always make it better.” Your quiet voice is a little hoarse from your crying, but he manages to hear it anyway. It makes his face go warm with pride and his smile all the more genuine. Your eyes trail over Eddie as you do your best to commit the image to memory. As you appreciate every freckle and crease and dimple, your chest swells with adoration for the lovable boy before you. The feeling is all consuming and before you realize it, you lean into the little space separating you from him and press a kiss to the corner of his mouth.

When you pull away, you see the shock on Eddie's face. His eyes are wide, his lips parted in awe. The seconds feel like minutes when he doesn't make any kind of response. Blood rushes to your face from embarrassment. You must have overstepped his boundaries! What were you thinking?!  “Sorry. I shouldn't ha-” 

Eddie cuts you off with a kiss of his own, his lips pushing into yours with a touch more force. Heart hammering in your chest, your eyes slip closed as you kiss him back. When he feels you begin to move your lips against his, Eddie can't help but smile into it. His breath fans across your cupid's bow as he sighs in satisfaction. Arms reaching for each other beneath the blanket, your hands slide over his bare chest before settling on his shoulders. One of his hands rests on your waist while the other delicately cups your face. Mouths separating with a click, both of you panting, you wonder if Eddie can tell you're blushing as you stare. His grin is all teeth and dimples as he gazes back with adoration in his eyes. “Don't be. You have no idea how long I wanted to do that.”

[gloomweed]

Need to Feed

BestFriend! Vampire! Eddie Munson x Reader

Summary: Eddie begs the reader to let him feed from them.

Warnings: contains mentions of blood, biting, but is mostly just fluff.

Word Count: 2,344

You sat next to each other on your worn out sofa as Eddie pleaded with you. “Please? I never ask you for anything. Can’t you do this one thing for me?” One of his arms rested along the back of the couch behind you, allowing him to invade your space easily.

You roll your eyes in annoyance. “What are you talking about? You are always asking me for something. Case and point,” You held up one of the beers from the six-pack you bought. He glances from your raised brow to the beer sitting in his own hand. He takes a noisy sip before continuing.

“Yeah, but this is something serious. I need to feed.” His chin dipped downward as he stared into your soul with big, shiny button eyes.

You shrug off his dramatics as best you can under the scrutiny of his intense gaze. “Can’t you eat animal blood? Go to the grocery store and buy some ground beef or something.” 

Eddie slumps forward with an exhausted sigh, a hand propping his head up on his knees. “It’s not the same. It’s like eating popsicles for every meal. It’s not satisfying. I want something warm. Something fresh.” As he speaks he begins to walk his other hand towards you. When his fingers reach your thigh, he gently swirls it in tiny circles there. The way he looks up at you through his lashes, looking as pitiful as he possibly can be, finally does you in.

You groan, leaning your head back against the cushions. “You know I hate when you give me that look.”

Eddie gives you a cocky smirk, knowing he’s won. “Yeah right. I know you love it.”

Huffing a long sigh, silently hoping you won’t regret this, you relent. “Fine. You can drink my blood.”

Eddie hops upright with an excited clap. “Yes! You’re the best! I promise I won’t take too much.” He grins as he begins to move closer towards you.

Eyes widening in surprise, you hold your hand against his chest. “Whoa, whoa, whoa!” Your eyes scan his puzzled expression. “Right now?”

His head swivels as he looks at the room around him. The living room coffee table is holding a few beer cans from your casual Friday night hang out, along with an ashtray filled with snuffed out cigarette butts. Red digits on the VCR clock reads 10:48. The movie you both agreed upon earlier that evening is quietly running through the credits, completely forgotten among your discussion. When he finally looks back to you, he raises a brow. “Is now not a good time?”

You scoff a short laugh. “Well, I was hoping I might be able to mentally prepare myself before you start lunging for my jugular.”  

Eddie immediately backs off, hands up in understanding. “Sorry. You’re right. We should probably set up some ground rules anyways. For example; what’s our safe word gonna be?”

“Safe word?”

“Yeah you know. What are you gonna say when you need me to stop?”

Tapping your finger on your chin, you hum in sarcastic thought. “Hmm, how about ‘stop’.”

He nods emphatically. “Perfect. Short, sweet, and to the point.” Eddie then steeples his hands under his chin as he considers his next line of questioning. “And when it comes to where I will be biting you?”

You roll your eyes, already tired of his drawn out antics. “I don’t know. How about my wrist? That seems like easy access.” You offer your arm out to him with your palm up.

Eddie eyes your delicate and soft skin of the flesh you offer him before looking into your eyes. He becomes serious then, asking you in all sincerity, “Are you sure you want to do this? You really don’t have to. You know that, right? We can drop the whole thing and never discuss it again if that’s what you want.”

Your head tilts at the sweetness of his concern. “Of course I know that, but you’re my best friend. I trust you and I want to do this for you.”

After his gaze flits between your eyes, gauging your truthfulness, he smiles. “Thanks. This is really cool of you.”

Wanting to keep this casual and less scary than you felt it was, you raise your eyebrows in false annoyance. “I know!” You shake the arm you stretched out to him. “Now eat up before supper gets cold.”

Eddie chuckles nervously before wiping his sweaty hands on his jeans. With one last glance your way, he grabs your arm gently. With the skill of a licensed nurse, Eddie uses his fingers to prod at your forearm in search of a vein. The calluses on his hands scratch your skin lightly. After scooching closer to you on the couch, he hunches over your offering bringing your skin to his lips and places a gentle kiss there. Looking up at you with deep brown eyes, he searches your eyes in the hopes you might see what this means to him. Eddie could sense this was a bigger deal for you than you were letting on. Seeing as you were doing a huge favor for him, the least he could do is try and make you comfortable. “I’ll try to be gentle.”

While his dark eyes sent a chill down your spine, his whispered words made your face bloom with heat. You released your held breath out through your nose and nodded encouragement for him to continue. Eddie holds your stare for a moment longer before he turns his attention back to the flesh in his grasp. The humid warmth of his breath fanned across your skin as he opened his mouth. The soft light of the living room lamp caught on his pair of fangs making you nervous once again. Before you knew it, Eddie was already taking a bite.

The puncture hurts for only a moment and you even manage to ignore your urge to wince in pain. The hurt then dulls to a throbbing ache a second later as he begins to slurp the blood directly from your veins. Your fingers twitch as your tendons are pushed and prodded by his mouth. The sound of his heavy breathing and sloppy slurping is drowning out the pounding of your heart. In Eddie’s excitement, his mouth seemed to have slipped from the puncture wound at some point because you begin to feel the mixture of your blood and his spit cooling against the air. 

As time goes on you begin to feel a subtle warmth settle over your body as your extremities fall numb. The warmth is comforting enough that your eyelids begin to droop like you might fall asleep at any moment. “Okay, Eddie. You can stop now.” Your gentle and tired call goes unnoticed by the vampire before you. “Eddie,” you try again as you kick at his foot next to yours.

That seems to shake him enough out of his trance to take notice of your weakening condition. He flips his head up, dark, wild curls falling behind him, and blood running down his chin. Eddie was out of breath, breathing deeply as he tried to settle down. You could swear you saw the pupils of his eyes were glowing red before quickly returning to their original color. “Sorry,” he breathed. “Didn’t mean to go so far. You just- ” he wipes the blood from his chin before licking it from his finger with a satisfied hum, “you taste so good.”

He glances down at your arm that was smeared with blood and spit and currently still bleeding from the two puncture wounds. “Shit,” he cursed. “Let me clean you up.” Eddie ran to the next room and returned with a damp washcloth. He wiped up the mess before holding it tight against your arm. You were so dazed from losing so much blood that you struggled to keep up with what was happening. Eddie dipped down to catch your tired gaze, “Alright I’m gonna need you to hold this in place while I grab a bandage.” You manage a nod before doing as he says with a loose hand atop the cloth.

It’s only a moment before he’s back with the first aid kit from your bathroom. He opens it on the couch next to him and begins to unwrap the bandage while sneaking a glance at your slow blinking eyes. You see him frown with concern as he gently removes your hand and begins to wrap your arm. Eddie is focused intensely on the task at hand, and you can’t help but stare. The whole thing feels intimate. His careful touches and gentle caresses are a far cry from his usual loud and animated demeanor.

Once he’s finished, he runs a thumb over his work, making sure it’s secure against you. “There. All done.” Eddie glances at you again, concern evident from his furrowed brows. “You gonna be okay?”

You nod, eyes lazily closed. “Mhm. I’ll be fine. Just need to sleep it off.”

Eddie is unconvinced. He purses his lips to the side as he evaluates your faint features and how you are barely able to stay awake. “I’m gonna get you something to drink,” he says as he stands from the couch. “Something sugary.” You can only manage to hum back in acknowledgement.

From the kitchen comes the quiet clattering sounds of Eddie grabbing a glass from the cabinet and opening and closing the fridge. Soon he is next to you once again and tapping your shoulder. When you manage to open your eyes, you see a glass outstretched in front of you accompanied with one of your novelty silly straws. Its brightly colored plastic curls out from the glass with several unnecessary loops. “Apple juice,” he explains simply.

You smile at the gesture. “Thanks.” When you dip your head in to drink, your incoordination causes you to miss the straw several times before managing to get a hold of it. It takes Eddie everything in him not to laugh. He bites his lip as he holds back his smile. This is his best friend. A person so trusting of him that they were willing to wholly give themself to him. A person Eddie trusts just as deeply. And they are the only one of his friends that can make clumsily drinking apple juice from a silly straw look endearing. He can feel his face burn red as he admires you like the lovesick dork he is. Luckily, you are too out of it to notice.

After finishing your juice, you are beginning to feel a little better. More alert, atleast. The empty glass meets the coffee table with a little clink as you set it down. When you look back at Eddie, he’s still staring. The attention makes you shy and you can feel your face go warm with it. “What? Is there something on my face?” You instinctively go to wipe at the corner of your mouth.

The question shakes Eddie out of his stupor. “Huh? Oh, uh. Nothing. It’s nothing.” He waves his hand dismissively. “How you feelin’? Any better?” 

“Yeah. I feel okay.” You fail to suppress the yawn that spills from your mouth, but manage to hide the sight of it with your hand. “So?”

“‘So’ what?”

You prop your head up on your fist as you lounge back against the couch. “So, how was it? Better than ground beef?”

Realizing you aren’t going to pass out from blood loss, Eddie feels himself relax. He smirks at the question, amused you would want to know something like that. “Oh absolutely. Hands down, way better.” He flings a hand aside, like it’s not even a contest of which blood he would prefer.

For some reason, you find yourself smiling at what feels like a compliment. “Really? Do I…?” The question dies on your tongue as you bite your lip.

Eddie tilts his head quizzically. “Do you…what?” Seeing the way you clam up with embarrassment only makes him want to hear it more.

You slump back, feeling flustered. “You’re gonna take it the wrong way. And make fun of me for asking.”

He throws his head back to bark out a laugh. “Ha! Well now I have to hear this. Come on, spill it.”

Eddie’s small pokes to your side is enough to convince you to ask your stupid question. You blow air out of your mouth in a huff, mentally preparing yourself for the worst. “What I was gonna ask is… ‘do I taste good?’” You’re looking up at him through your lashes, face still warm with chagrin.

There is only a split second of silence before Eddie is laughing loudly. “Oh my god! I can see why you held out on me. Holy shit that is funny.” He wipes a tear of joy from his eye. His laughing is interrupted when you punch him in the shoulder. “Ow! I’m kidding! Relax!”

“See? This is why I didn’t want to ask!”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry!” Once he’s settled again, he smiles. “Okay to answer your question, you tasted incredible.” You feel relief when you realize Eddie is actually taking your question seriously. He stares off into space as he recalls the taste of you and you watch him comfortably as his expressions change with each detail he remembers. “Very sweet. And warm. It was like drinking hot chocolate. But not that powder and hot water crap. I’m talking about the stuff you get at a cafe, you know? The good stuff. It’s rich and has a little thickness to it that makes you feel full even though it’s mostly sugar.” He looks back at you to see if you’re satisfied with his answer.

“Wow. You make it sound so good. I kind of wish I was a vampire so I could find out what you taste like.” Eddie smirks mischievously.

“You don’t need to be a vampire to do that, sweetheart. Just tell me a time and place.” He chuckles when you hide behind your hands in embarrassment.

[gloomweed]

Freak Accident

Pairings: Eddie Munson x Reader

Warnings: None! Just pure fluff.

Summary: After the reader trips and hurts their ankle, Eddie offers to drive them home and ends up taking care of them.

Word Count: 3.4k

Autumn leaves crunch underfoot as you make your way through the woods behind Hawkins High School. You were tired of waiting for your ride to show up, and with the sky only getting darker, you decided it was best to just bite the bullet and start walking home. It wasn’t a long walk to your house, but it wasn’t exactly comfortable having to trek through the wilderness in the dark. With no other options, this was where you found yourself. You held your arms around yourself tightly as a cold breeze swept around you. The knitted sweater you wore did little to protect you against the dropping temperatures. You pulled the sleeves to cover your hands as you walked. The full moon hung in the sky above you and you couldn’t help but feel a little grateful you weren’t walking in total darkness.

As you continued your journey, you could hear distant leaf crunching and felt like there was someone following you. Turning back, you squint into the low light to try and spot anything, but seeing nothing, you shrug and continue on your way. Once you hear a twig snap somewhere closer, you don’t bother looking back and just decide to run for it. Your lungs burn as you run, your legs feeling shaky. You spare a look over your shoulder only to trip on a tree root and fall to the ground. Wincing at the pain in your twisted ankle, you bring your knee to your chest to try and get a better look at the injury. The crunching returns and you whip your head up at the source of the sound.

“Whoa! Are you okay?” Eddie approaches you with his hands up, ready to jump in and help you. The many rings on his hands caught your eye as they glistened in the moonlight.

You sigh in relief. “Oh, it’s you.” Annoyance quickly replaced your relief. “And no, I’m not okay. I twisted my ankle, thanks to you. Why were you following me?”

He makes a sympathetic face, “Sorry about that.” He holds his hand out for you to take and helps you stand up. You lean against a nearby tree for support as he explains himself. He hucks a thumb over his shoulder towards the school. “I came out here to smoke when I saw you walking into the woods by yourself.” The edge of his lips twitch upward. “Thought you were possessed or cursed or something.” When you don’t laugh, he puts his hands in the pockets of his leather jacket with an innocent shrug. “Just curious why you were out here shivering in the dark.” You and Eddie weren’t exactly friends, but you were more than strangers. You’ve talked in passing a couple times and even did a social studies project together once when you were the last two students without partners. Everyone called him a freak, but you didn’t really see him like that. Really, he was just an outcast, like you. 

You sigh. “My ride never showed up, so I was walking home.” You test your ankle by trying to put your weight on it, only to jump back with a pained wince. "Looks like it’s going to be a longer walk than I thought,” you think, dryly.

Eddie nods in understanding before looking you up and down with a frown. “I mean, if you want, I can drive you home since, you know, walking doesn’t seem like much of an option for you now.” When you don’t respond he rolls his eyes with a lopsided grin. “Come on, let me make it up to you for accidentally freaking you out and making you twist your ankle in the first place.”

You bite your lip as you weigh your options. Ultimately you decide that your house is too far for you to continue walking like this, and you don't want to injure yourself further by continuing to walk on it. You nod a few times reluctantly. “Alright.”

Eddie approaches you with a scoff. “Jeez, don’t sound too excited.”

He reaches towards you, but you lean away from him suspiciously. “What are you doing?”

His brows furrowed in confusion. “You can’t seriously expect me to let you hobble all the way to the parking lot, do you? Now, come on. Give me your bag.” He doesn’t wait for a response and instead puts his hands on your shoulders and gently turns you around, making you shrug off your bookbag. He puts your bag on his back, fiddling with the straps until it lays secure against him. Eddie groans and squats a few times trying to get used to the weight. “Christ! What do you keep in here? Bricks?” The sight makes you roll your eyes with a smile. “I guess this is what a smart kid’s backpack feels like. I should count myself lucky that I’m an idiot.”

You’re about to contradict him when he takes your arm and slings it over his shoulders. His other hand rests on your waist to support you and you feel a warmth spread across your face from his closeness. You can’t help but breathe in his scent of cologne and cigarettes and even a hint of his shampoo. Instinctually, you attempt to keep some distance between you two as a way of trying to be polite. Eddie can feel you pull away from him. “Uh, the point of this is to lean on me so you’re off your ankle.” He pulls you a little closer as he says this and it makes your heart rate jump. You lean on him like he says, your side fully pressed against his, and suddenly it’s not as cold as it was moments ago.

The way his fingers splay against your side is all you can think about as you make your way towards the school parking lot together. Eddie attempts to fill the awkwards silence between you. “So what brings you to Hawkins High this late?”

“I was tutoring someone after school to make a little extra cash.” You look up at him next to you. “What about you?” Your eyes squint as you try to remember what he told you in passing. “Is it that ‘D and D’ club?”

The way you pronounced it makes him smile. The fact that you cared to remember his club at all brings a warm feeling to his chest. “It’s ‘DnD’, and yes. We call it Hellfire, actually.”

You nod as you remember the posters you’ve seen in the hallways. “That’s right. Hellfire. What is it exactly? Some kind of board game?”

Eddie looks down at you. “More like a role-playing game. It’s all fantasy and imagination.”

“Well, if it’s all imagination, how do you win?”

Seeing you’re actually interested in the game, his heart soars with excitement. Not wanting to scare you away, he remained nonchalant with a shrug. “It’s complicated. There are different campaigns with different stories and different objectives. A lot of times it’s just killing the baddest guy to bring freedom to the land.” He speaks the last part in a deep theatrical narration.

You smile as you think about it. “Huh. Sounds kinda cool.” 

Eddie wishes he could do some kind of victory dance in celebration of keeping you interested in DnD. Instead, he looks down at you and smirks. “Well, hey. If you’re into it, I can bring you to a meeting sometime and show you the ropes. You can make a character and join our campaign.” When you don’t answer immediately he playfully bumps your side with his hip and adds on, “No pressure, though.”

You look up at him with a grin. “No, that sounds nice. I think I’ll take you up on that offer sometime.”

He grins wider at that. “Sweet.” His demeanor changes suddenly as he looks at you more seriously. “I have to warn you though, there are a lot of freshmen in that club that struggle with their personal hygiene.” Eddie smirks when a laugh bubbles out of you. “Seriously,” he laughs, “It’s not great. We got to keep the windows open just so we all don’t suffocate from the stink.” You laugh again, and Eddie can’t help but feel pride in being the one responsible for it. When you finally make it to the parking lot, he jerks his head in the direction of his van. “Our chariot awaits.”

You give a low whistle at the sight of the old, beaten up van. “She is a beaut’.”

Eddie sighs longingly. “She sure is.” 

While still holding you at his side, he opens the passenger door for you. He offers you his hand as you tentatively climb into the seat. You take it with a polite smile that he easily returns. The warmth that was once at your side is gone now and you can’t help but miss it already. “Thanks,” you speak softly.

His dark eyes flick to you intently. “Don’t mention it,” he says just as softly. 

Once he’s sure you’re securely in the van, he walks around to the driver’s side. From the rearview mirror, you notice him stop half way and put both of his hands on his lower back and arch it forwards with a pained expression on his face. You realize that with your difference in height, he was stooping pretty much the whole time, not to mention carrying your bookbag, so no doubt there was some pain in his back. When Eddie gets into the driver’s seat, he puts your bag behind your seat. It’s only when he turns back does he notice your frown. “What’s the matter?”

You bite the inside of your cheek. “Well, I saw you stretching and I just feel bad you were hurting your back to help me.”

There was disappointment in his tone. “Oh. You saw that, huh?” He turns around to look out the van’s back windows as he speaks under his breath. “I really thought you wouldn’t be able to see me from there.” The thought that he attempted to hide his stretching from you so you wouldn’t feel bad brings a flutter to your chest. He turns back with a dismissive wave of his hand. “Look, you don’t have to worry about me, alright? I’m doing this because I want to, not because I have to.”

 Staring into his eyes, you can see his sincerity. You reluctantly nod. “Alright. Thanks, Eddie.” In your head, you were already trying to figure out a way to pay him back for this.

“Like I said,'' he turns the keys in the ignition and gives you a wink that brings a heat to your face. “Don’t mention it.” Eddie puts the vehicle in reverse and begins to back out. He isn’t even out of the parking spot yet when he suddenly hits the brakes as he realizes he doesn’t know where he’s going. “Wait, where do you live?”

Eddie parks the van in the empty driveway of your house. “My parents aren’t home. They both work late,” you explained.

He wipes his hands on his thighs with a sigh of relief. “Oh good. I was worried I was gonna have to scold them for not picking you up from school.”

His sarcasm makes you blush with embarrassment. “Oh right. I guess that would have been obvious, huh?”

“Relax. I’m kidding. I am seriously relieved though. Most parents find all this,” he gestures to himself vaguely, “alarming. I mean, I’m not exactly a ‘good influence’.”

The way his eyes dim as he speaks about himself makes you want to pull him into a hug. Instead, you shrug. “I think a person willing to drive someone they barely know home after they twisted their ankle is pretty good to me.”

He gives a dismissive shrug. “Sure, but I also was the one to make you fall in the first place.”

“Yeah, but that was an accident, and you were willing to make it right. I think that’s pretty noble of you.”

Your reassuring smile makes his insides twist in a good way and a heat rise to his cheeks. The moment is quiet as he isn’t sure how to respond. His voice is soft and he shrugs with a smile. “Yeah maybe.” With the van being off, the cold had slowly started to seep in as you two were talking. It finally got to a point that Eddie saw you give a little shake and wrap your arms around yourself. He reaches behind your seat and grabs your bag as he speaks. “Let’s just get you inside before we freeze to death.” You move to get out, a hand already on the door handle, when Eddie stops you with frantic hand motions. “Wait, wait, wait!”

You retract your hand like the handle was on fire. “What?!” you ask, worried you almost ruined something.

He shook his head with a lopsided grin like it was obvious and you were being the silly one. “Let me get the door for you,” he explained calmly as he hopped out of the van and rushed to the other side to open the door. You rolled your eyes, but couldn’t stop yourself from smiling. Eddie opened the door with a dramatic bow. “M’lady.” He holds his hand out for you to take. When you giggle and take his hand, he looks up at you with a grin.

“Are you always this weird?” you ask through a chuckle.

He nods emphatically. “Oh, definitely.”

Eddie helps you get out of the van without putting weight on your twisted ankle and once again you are pressed to his side. He notices that you don’t hesitate to lean into him this time, making him smile to himself. As he helps you through your house, you lead with the directions. “My room is down this way,” you point down the hall. As he moves to twist the doorknob, you thank your lucky stars that you made an effort to clean up your room this morning. You can’t imagine the embarrassment you would feel if a cute boy were to see your dirty laundry scattered around the floor of your bedroom. 

After he helps lower you onto your bed, he shrugs off your backpack and puts it next to your desk. He slumps into the chair there and lets out a sigh of exhaustion while you begin to slip off your shoes. His eyes flit about the room as he casually takes in all your personal touches. The pretty color of your walls, the little pen holder on your desk that’s shaped like a dog, the box of cassettes on your nightstand, the scented candles sitting on your dresser. Everything about it was soft and inviting. “Sweet digs you got here.”

You aren’t really sure if he’s being sarcastic or not. “Thanks?”

The way you tilt your head as you speak has Eddie smiling. “For real. I like it. Very… you.” He notices the way you hiss in pain while you remove your shoes. “What do you do for a twisted ankle anyway?”

The question takes you off guard. You try to think back to what they taught you about handling injuries in your ninth grade health class. “Oh, uh… I guess I would wrap it up with a bandage, elevate it with some pillows, maybe put some ice on it for the swelling…”

As you speak, Eddie leaves the room without a word. For a moment, you pessimistically think he’s gone home and just didn’t bother to say goodbye, but then you hear him rustling through the hall closet. He returns a minute later with supplies filling his arms and tongue sticking out of the corner of his mouth as he concentrates on balancing it all. Pillows from the couch, bandages from the closet, and a bag of frozen mixed vegetables are haphazardly spilled from his arms onto the foot of your bed.

Eddie claps his hands together, looking excited to get to work. “Alright. Let’s do this.” He kneels on the floor in front of you and holds out a hand expectantly. “Hand me the bandages will you, nurse?” He puts on a deeper voice trying to sound like a doctor.

The whole scene is enough to make you laugh. You play along as you hand him the bandages. “Here you are, doctor.”

“Thank you, nurse.” He looks up at you with a lopsided grin before unraveling the bandage. With a gentle hand on the heel of your foot, he begins wrapping your ankle. All you can do is watch as his slow and delicate movements weave the bandage over and under your injury. Eddie is silent as he does this, clearly wanting to do it right. Once again his tongue begins to peek out of his mouth as he goes on. You bite your lip trying to stifle a laugh at the cute display of his intense concentration. Eventually, he finishes the wrapping by securely tucking the end of the bandage behind itself at the top of your ankle. Still kneeling on the floor he looks up at you. “How’s that? Is it too tight? Too loose?”

You shake your head with a smile. “No, it’s perfect. Thank you.” You test your ankle by pointing your toe like a ballerina. It felt much better than it did, although still a little sore.

Eddie stands from the floor and begins reaching for the other things on your bed. “I got you some pillows like you said to keep your ankle up.” He holds up the bag of frozen vegetables. “And you didn't have any ice and I didn't feel like cracking ice trays, so I just grabbed this from the freezer instead.” He goes quiet and stares at it in his hands and begins to feel like maybe it's not good enough until you laugh.

“That'll work great. I was gonna do the same thing actually.”

He releases a breath he didn't realize he was holding. “Oh good. Well, here.” After stacking the pillows, he gently moves your ankle to rest on top of it and places the bag on your ankle. The vegetables fall on either side of your ankle within the bag, making for a good ice pack. Eddie holds his hands up as he steps away, as if the whole thing would collapse. When it's clear that won't happen, he puts his hands in his pockets. 

It's clear that things are beginning to wrap up, his job done. With no more reason to be here, he guesses that you probably want him to leave soon. Eddie doesn't want this to be the last time you hang out together. Actually, he hopes you will have the chance to hang out when your ankle is not sprained. The awkward silence that lingers has Eddie inching towards the door, not wanting to ruin the vibe by watching you from the corner all night. He points over his shoulder, smiling politely. “I guess, if you don't need anything else, I should get out of your hair.” 

You surprise him by standing from your bed. “Wait, before you go.” He waits as you take a few unsteady steps to your desk and begin to scribble something on a scrap of paper.

As you walk towards him, you stumble, but Eddie reaches out and catches you before you fall. “Whoa! Easy there!” 

You look up at him, flushed both from embarrassment and how close he is to you. “S-sorry. I just…” you take a step back, trying to give him his personal space back. You hand him the slip of paper. “ I wanted to give you my number.” The way you look up at him through your lashes shyly has him blushing as he takes the paper from you. “You know, so you can call me when you do your next Hellfire meeting.”

He can’t stop himself from grinning. “Right. I’ll call you.”

His grin is infectious and has you smiling just as wide. “I look forward to it.” Eddie turns to leave, but you call his name. “Oh, and Eddie?” As he turns back to face you again, you gently cup his face and kiss his cheek. His big brown eyes are wide as he stares at you surprised, his face bright red. “Thanks for everything.” You speak softly and genuinely.

Eddie feels like his heart is racing a mile a minute. He’s so surprised and flustered, he isn’t sure what to say back. “Hey, no problem. Anytime. I’ll- I’ll see you l-later.” As he leaves, he stares at the slip of paper with your digits on it, a big goofy grin on his face. His cheek still burns from the feeling of your soft lips and can’t help but touch the spot with his hand as he savors the feeling. He is definitely going to call you tomorrow.

[gloomweed]

Stranger Things Middle Name Headcanons

Steve Harrington - Steven Richard Harrington (His middle name comes from his dad, Richard Harrington, and he has come to hate it.)

Robin Buckley - Robin Marilyn Buckley

Eddie Munson - Edward James Munson

Nancy Wheeler - Nancy Claire Wheeler

Mike Wheeler - Michael Joseph Wheeler

Will Byers - William Daniel Byers

Jonathan Byers - Jonathan Jack Byers (Is called 'JJ' when he was younger. Around 6th grade, he finds he is too old to be called something 'so childish' and prefers 'Jonathan.')

Lucas Sinclair - Lucas Thomas Sinclair

Erica Sinclair - Erica Kathrine Sinclair

Max Mayfield - Maxine Elizabeth Mayfield (Finds her middle name embarrassing. She is one of those people who will fight tooth and nail to prevent someone from finding out her middle name.)

Dustin Henderson - Dustin Wilson Henderson

Jane ‘Eleven’ Hopper - Jane Evelyn Hopper (The gang offered it up seeing as she didn’t know her middle name. She has come to like it.)