#i am not immune to the charm of a sweet grumpy old man

[strangerstilinski]

had a thought... like,, eddie gets out of hawkins. not far, probably, maybe indianapolis or chicago. but one day he gets a call that shatters his world- because wayne has passed unexpectedly (semi-unexpectedly, as he was a chain smoker and lived on a relatively poor diet of freezer meals for most of his life). eddie comes back to hawkins to settle things (selling the trailer, funeral arrangements, money transfer, outstanding bills, etc) only to find out that wayne changed his will somewhat recently to split his estate equally between eddie and.... wayne's girlfriend? who eddie has never met? and why the fuck would wayne not introduce eddie to his girlfriend if he loved her enough to change his goddamn will-?

eddie get's into town and turns out, it's pretty obvious why, when he pulls up to the trailer to find you. you're eddie's age. there was at least a thirty-year age gap between you and wayne. right off the bat eddie doesn't trust you. but you make it so hard to hate you because you're so sweet and gentle, and you offer to wash eddie's laundry while he's in town, and you're cooking him three square meals, and sending him off to visit his old friends with a casserole dish and tupperware full of goodies for dessert.

you're both mourning what a kind, beautiful soul wayne was. you're both heartbroken at the loss of him. and in that heartbreak you bond. neither one of you is willing to break the delicate balance, the sense of comfort and safety you've found in one another. it's wrong but it feels so right together-

something something- pining and angst, and hurt, and inevitable miscommunications abound. happy ending though! always.