#i love how he was up front and worried while eddie was relaxed and happy

[buddiedaydreamer911]

idk who had the thought that gave us eddie during the last two minutes of this episode. but whoever it was, i hope both sides of your pillow is cold forever and ever. i’ll never be able to thank you enough for that scene. i’ll be thinking about pantless eddie for eternity.

[megalony]

A Burden On You

This is an Evan Buckley imagine, based on an anon request. I hope you will all like it, any feedback is always lovely.

Taglist: @lunaticspoem@sj-thefanthefan@hellsdragon@im-an-adult-ish@crazylittlethingg@allauraleigh@onceuponadetectivedemigod@ceres27@avyannadawn@sleepylunarwolf@coverupps@justagirlthatlovedtoread @musicistheway @avada-kedavra-bitch-187 @luula @missdreamofendless @bradleybeachbabe @woderfulkawaii  @amberpanda99 @daggersquadphantom @marvel-and-chicago-fan @angryknightstatesmantrash @minjix @lyjen @kmc1989 @itsmytimetoodream @noonenuts @hiireadstuff @ashie-babie @classyunknownlover @jayyeahthatsme

911 Masterlist

Summary: (Y/n) has a chronic illness and begins to worry that she may be relying on Evan too much. When she has an accident at home, she's too nervous to tell him or ask for help.

Enjoy.

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"Happy birthday," A soft grin lit up (Y/n)'s face and she held out the navy blue and silver striped bag in her hand towards Eddie.

She could feel Evan's arms curve around her waist and a shiver flooded down her spine when he tilted his head to the side and kissed her temple. His fingertips ran up and down her hips and his chest pressed down into her back and shoulders, keeping her pinned against his front.

They both watched Eddie spin on his heels and a glimmer of shock fluttered in his eyes while he formed a bright smile. He happily took the present and leaned to the left to place it down on the table before he reached out for them both. He was careful. He always was when he was around (Y/n), just like the rest of the team. Eddie wanted to hug her but he never knew if he might hurt her or cause her some discomfort.

(Y/n) looped her arms around his shoulders, grinning wider when she became wedged in between them both like they were sardines squashed into a tin.

"You made it. How are you?"

"Good, we're good. I've missed you all, and Chris." (Y/n) patted his shoulder before she sank back into Evan's chest and reached down to hold his wrists that were around her waist.

She hadn't seen anyone from the station in weeks and it always made (Y/n) feel bad when she didn't get to see them or have a catch up.

"He's missed you too."

(Y/n) didn't always like socialising. It wasn't easy to be around people whenever she was in the middle of a flare up. She had fibromyalgia. Chronic pains that affected her in hundreds of different ways; little pains that Evan would barely bat an eyelid at, crippled (Y/n) down in agony. Illnesses flared up her pains and made her feel faint. Cold weather sank into her bones and made her stiff muscles even worse. Headaches felt like hammers tapping away at her head until she was sure her skull was caved in.

When her condition flared, it worsened (Y/n)'s sleep and she had a lot of trouble sleeping. She couldn't usually stay asleep for too long which led her to be tired during the days and if she slept for too long, her muscles seized up and it made walking or bending or any general movement almost impossible.

She had been all ready and lined up to attend the station Christmas party until she has a fall. She had been dosed up on painkillers and on the day of the party, (Y/n) could barely walk. Her leg had shooting pains radiating from her hip to her foot and her leg had seized up for days.

"Where is he?" Evan glanced his eyes around the station while he rested his chin on top of (Y/n)'s head and began swaying them from side to side.

He wanted to see Chris but he couldn't spot him anywhere in the station so far.

They had all decided that since Hen and Bobby were on shift today, they would throw Eddie a big party here at the station. Then at least everyone could be here to celebrate and it was a relaxed atmosphere and there was much more space to party.

"Helping Bobby put the candles on the cake. Which reminds me, I've got a bone to pick with you." Eddie pointed his finger at Evan who was trying his best not to grin.

He squeezed (Y/n)'s hip lightly when she leaned her cheek against his neck. He didn't have to look down to know she was grinning because she knew exactly what Evan had done to wind Eddie up. He couldn't simply turn up to the party and give Eddie a present, Evan had to play some sort of trick on him or mess him about in some way. He had had a quiet word with Chris yesterday ready to wind Eddie up.

"Oh?"

"Thanks for telling him I've just turned forty- which I haven't and you know it. He's been running round telling everyone he can't fit enough candles on my cake."

Eddie hadn't been best pleased this morning when Chris woke him up to wish him a happy birthday and suddenly exclaimed that he was forty. It didn't take long for Eddie to work out where Chris had learned that from. But once they arrived here, Chris gave a handful of candles to Bobby and began telling people he didn't have enough candles for how old his dad was. Eddie wasn't near forty yet, he had a decade to go before he would be forty.

"You're welcome old man."

"Buck we're the same age." The smile slipped from Eddie's face as he planted his hands down on his hips and shook his head.

"I'll go grab us some drinks," Evan kept his voice quiet and hovered his lips over the shell of (Y/n)'s ear. He grinned, brushing his nose against her skin as his grin morphed into a smirk when he knew he had riled Eddie up. He let his lips wander down to (Y/n)'s cheek where he pressed another kiss before he unravelled himself from around her and moved towards the stairs.

"He's just trying to wind you up, don't listen to him." (Y/n) patted Eddie's shoulder before she left him to look through his presents that were steadily piling up on the table.

(Y/n) fluttered around the station floor for a little while and had a quick chat with Hen before she moved towards the stairs. She knew Chris would be up there somewhere and she wanted to see and talk to him. It had been two weeks since Chris had been round to stay with her and Evan and (Y/n) was starting to miss him. He was like their nephew, they were his main babysitters and he regarded them as his aunt and uncle.

It took a while to get herself up the stairs. It didn't matter that her pain was on a very good level today, she still felt stiff today and her legs were barely under her control.

Exercise was one of the main things that helped her condition.

And with Evan being hooked on his training and exercise to help with his job, it was something they did together. Evan would go on runs and do hard training in the morning, but when he wasn't at work, he would train in the afternoon with (Y/n) for a while. They went on a lot of walks as well.

(Y/n) needed to keep moving, if she sat or laid down for too long, her muscles would start to seize up and her pain scale would increase. She was usually on the go from the moment she got up until the moment she went to bed. It didn't matter how slow (Y/n) moved or how little she managed to get done in a day, she was always up and about.

Her eyes found Evan before they scouted round and found Chris. While Chris was trying to fit as many candles on the chocolate cake Bobby made as possible, Evan was stood over near the pool table close by the fire pole.

He had two drinks in hand and his hips were slouched back against the pool table that wasn't being used.

A smile pulled at (Y/n)'s lips as she advanced towards him, she could draw Evan into a game of pool while Chris was busy in the kitchen. He loved a game and whenever he lost, especially to (Y/n), he would get fired up and they would keep going until he won at least one round. And (Y/n) was feeling good tonight, she was having a good day and felt able to try and beat Evan in a game or two.

She advanced towards him and tried to see who he was with. (Y/n) didn't recognise her. She was probably one of the new recruits, Evan said they'd had quite a few new recruits in and out of the station in the last week or so.

Evan tried to force himself to smile as he leaned his hips a little further back into the pool table until he was almost sitting on it.

This was the part of parties he didn't like; getting dragged into conversations with people he'd rather not talk to. And Evan was programmed to be kind and polite, it was in his nature so he didn't find it easy to walk away or find excuses to leave.

He didn't want to be talking to Lucy.

She wasn't someone Evan was very fond of, she was very full of herself and she didn't fit well with the team. She seemed to want to do things her own way and work on her own rather than work with them all as a team. And the last time they had all been out to a club after work, Lucy had tried to kiss him.

That night had been forgotten. Evan had politely declined and hurried away as fast as he could, and from then onwards, Evan did his best to avoid Lucy. They both tried to be polite and pretend it didn't happen but he didn't want to be around her when she always tried to get a bit too close to him and she didn't understand he didn't want to be around her like this.

"So, you've brought you're girlfriend this time?" Lucy took a long sip of her beer and leaned her right arm out on the balcony rail. The way she tilted her head to the side and smiled made Evan shiver uneasily.

"(Y/n) always comes with me to the station parties." Evan's lips quirked into a dazed, slightly confused smile.

Why was she so surprised? This was a party and families and partners were always invited to tag along. And this party was for Eddie. He was Evan's best friend and therefore he was close to (Y/n). Of course she would be here to see Eddie and celebrate with everyone.

"You didn't bring her to the Christmas party, did you?"

"No, she wasn't very well."

Evan bit the corner of his lip and looked down at his feet. Why was she doing this? Where was she going with this conversation?

Christmas had been difficult for everyone. They had numerous emergencies, all of them had been called in for extra shifts at one point or another. Chris hadn't been very well, he had a bad chest infection which meant Eddie was stressed. And then (Y/n)'s condition had flared up and she could barely walk so Evan had been anxious and desperate to stay home with her to look after her.

He turned up for an hour at the Christmas party, then he went home to stay with (Y/n). It felt better to be at home than trying to party and have a good time when he wasn't feeling the festive mood.

"Oh, Hen mentioned she has fibromyalgia. Isn't that a bit, annoying, for you?"

"I beg your pardon?"

Something dangerous burned in Evan's eyes and his smile turned into a broken grimace as he looked down at her. Whatever she was thinking, she best not say it to Evan because he wasn't going to hold his tongue or mince his words here if she went down this road. He wasn't in the mood for someone to start disrespecting his partner.

And the way Lucy leaned back and shrugged her shoulders gave off such a casual vibe that made Evan feel worse. She was openly being rude and stood so normal as if she wasn't doing anything wrong.

"I just mean that you're always looking after her, you're not meant to be her carer Buck, you have a life. It makes her quite a burden on you."

A tremor rattled through (Y/n) and she turned around quickly before Evan realised she had been close enough to hear. Tears burned in her eyes but she pushed them away and coiled her arms around her waist. She needed to move; quickly. Before Evan turned or looked over his shoulder and noticed she was here. (Y/n) couldn't deal with the conversation that would follow if he knew she had just heard that.

Her eyes locked on Chris who had finished adding all the candles he had onto the chocolate cake. She made a beeline towards the kitchen and stood next to him and Bobby, leaning down to kiss his temple when he looked up at her with a grin that made her heart swell.

A single tear traced down her cheek but (Y/n) quickly swiped it away and tried to take a steady breath to control herself.

"Dad's cake."

"He's gonna love it… although I don't know how long it will take him to blow out all those candles." Her voice came out oddly steady considering how uneasy and wobbly she felt.

Was she truly a burden on Evan? (Y/n) did her best not to call him if he was at work and she wasn't well or had a problem. She always told him to go out with the guys from work or his friends even if she didn't feel well enough to join. (Y/n) pushed Evan to do things and live his life and not stop or hang around for her.

At least, that's what she thought she did.

Did she hold Evan back? Did she burden him and make him care for her too much? Was he becoming her carer instead of her partner?

Evan was a busy man, he had a very demanding job and (Y/n) would hate to be a demanding girlfriend who stole his attention and all of his free time. Maybe she needed to try and make sure she didn't rely on him as much. Maybe, if she had another flare up, it would be best to keep it from Evan and try to look after herself. He couldn't always be there to help her and do things for her or look after her; (Y/n) needed to look after herself and put less strain on Evan.

"Listen to me," Evan pushed himself up off the pool table and took a step closer until he was towering over Lucy with a menacing look and a fire burning deep within his eyes. "I don't know who gave you the right to judge, but you need to stop. Now. I'm her partner, so whether or not I look after her- which is something I have every right to do- that's none of your business."

How could she stand there and talk to him like that when she didn't know anything about him and (Y/n)?

If Evan wanted to look after (Y/n) and help her when she was ill, he had every reason and right to do that. (Y/n) never asked, Evan didn't even offer, he just looked after her because he loved her and he wanted to. Evan had a deep rooted sense of wanting to be needed and if he felt needed, he would do everything he could to look out for his family and do anything for them.

He loved (Y/n), he loved looking after her and making sure she was alright and Evan would never want (Y/n) to think she had to cope alone when he was right here.

"Don't talk about my girlfriend like that again."

Evan glared down at Lucy until she held her hands up in surrender and looked down at his chest to avoid his furious gaze.

He turned around and left her standing there before he ripped into her even further and caused a scene. The fire burning in his chest simmered down when he looked across at the kitchen and caught sight of (Y/n). She was stood with one arm around Chris in front of a cake with the most amount of candles on that Evan had ever seen.

Evan leaned over and placed the two cups down on the counter beside the cake before he wrapped an arm around (Y/n)'s waist. His arm curved around her middle so his hand could curl over her hip and he tucked his face into her neck.

He felt the way she shivered when he kissed her neck but when he looked down, his brows furrowed. She was tapping her fingers against the counter and he could see her biting down on her lower lip so much she was almost drawing blood. She was anxious about something.

His head tilted up and he pecked her jaw, nuzzling his nose against her cheek.

"Everything okay?"

"Hmm. I'm gonna record you all, Chris wants you to help him give Eddie the cake."

He muttered a quiet 'sounds good' against her jaw and began smoothing his thumb over her hip. He wasn't entirely satisfied that she was alright, it was almost as if Evan could feel the unease radiating off of her and through to him and Evan hated not knowing if something was wrong or upsetting her.

But if she told him everything was alright, Evan wouldn't push the matter. He would take her word for it.

***

Tears streaked down (Y/n)'s face as she raked her hands up and down her thighs and down over her knees. Her eyes were starting to become puffy and sore and it only made her feel worse when she couldn't seem to stop herself from sniffing and letting herself wallow and weep.

Today wasn't a good day.

She had been tired enough to oversleep this morning and while the extra sleep had done her some good, it didn't help her legs. She had woken with knees so stiff they started to throb when she tried to walk about. Pins and needles had raked up and down her left leg from her hip to her knee and had lasted until mid-afternoon.

Everything hurt. (Y/n) didn't know why today she was having a flare up, but everything ached and burned and felt like she was being cut to pieces. Banging her shin on the corner of the couch had left her a crying mess even though it was a light bash. Small pains felt like the end of the world when her fibromyalgia was playing up.

Every hour, (Y/n) had forced herself to get up and move about, just to walk around the apartment and get some movement back. She didn't go on her usual walk outside because she didn't feel up to doing it alone.

Evan was at work until lunchtime tomorrow and when he was at work, (Y/n) usually skipped her daily walk because she hated to go out alone. She knew she wasn't burdening Evan by their daily walk because he loved his exercise so it benefited both of them.

Reaching up, (Y/n) dragged her hands down her face and wiped away the tears as she tried to take a deep breath. She had been laid in bed for just over an hour and she needed to move about. She would be going to sleep soon and sleeping made her stiffness worse so she had to do another lap around the apartment before she settled for the night. (Y/n) already knew she wouldn't be sleeping well tonight, both because she was in too much pain and because Evan wouldn't be here with her.

A silent string of curse words muttered beneath her breath when she started to walk away from the bed.

Her legs were barely moving.

Her left leg had gone back to being numb and useless and her right thigh was shaking when she tried to walk. She was going to have to keep moving for a while now to reduce the pain as much as she could before she went to sleep.

(Y/n)'s left hand grabbed the handrail and her right hand glided down the wall to help ease herself down the stairs.

Sometimes she felt like a little old woman when her legs barely moved and her fingers didn't want to curl or bend or move the right way. She felt like she needed to go up and down the stairs on her bum or her hands and knees. It was utterly humiliating if she was ever at someone else's house during a flare up. Walking and hobbling around like this was bad enough when she had to do this in front of Evan.

It had taken (Y/n) a while to let Evan see her like this, she didn't want him to pity her or look at her any differently.

And he didn't. If she wasn't feeling well, he would walk behind her and hold her hands or her hips and help her up and down the stairs. He would carry her if she asked or if she just gave him that certain look. He loved carrying her around, it was his favourite thing to do.

"No-"

A gasp burned in the back of (Y/n)'s throat when her foot slipped. She barely felt her heel scrape against the lower step but she couldn't hold onto the bannister and hold her weight up to stop her from falling. The pain of her back hitting the stairs blinded her and stopped her breathing but when she slid down to the left and smashed the left side of her chest against three steps, a scream tumbled past her lips.

Her body turned into a trembling, shaking mess on the floor when she finally stopped falling and landed with a horrid slap at the bottom of the stairs.

Her arms shakily coiled into her chest but her breaths burned into another scream and she stretched her arms back out.

Her chest was on fire. It felt like she was laid on hot coals. The pain was horrendous, like a knife stabbing into her ribs. Tingling sensations shot down the base of her spine. She could barely feel her legs except for the spiking pins and needles tearing through her muscles that went right down to her heels which were thudding and felt like pins were prodding at her heels.

Tears began to pour down her face and her wet lips wobbled and bubbled as she tried to breathe but ended up gasping and crying out loudly.

Her fingers were curled into her palms and (Y/n) didn't have enough control or will power to straighten them out. She shuffled her trembling hand around to the right side of her chest beneath her bra strap.

She had broken her ribs.

(Y/n) knew they were broken without having to touch them. She had broken a few bones in her life and she knew her pain levels. Her pain was more concentrated and a lot worse than what other people experienced. Small things were amplified and things like broken bones or torn muscles felt like she had been shredded to pieces.

Inching forwards, (Y/n) tried to slide until her back was no longer wedged against the bottom step.

Moving wasn't going to be easy. She doubted it was even going to be an option right now.

(Y/n) didn't have the energy to drag herself back up the stairs that had now become her enemy.

She wasn't going to crawl into the bathroom around the corner because she couldn't be bothered to dwell in there and cry. There was no energy to try and bandage herself up and patch herself back together.

The sofa was too far away to crawl to and her phone was upstairs on the bed so she couldn't call for help.

No!

No. (Y/n) was not going to call anyone for help. She didn't want paramedics coming round to take her to hospital. She wasn't waiting all through the night in A&E only to have an X-ray and be told she could be bandaged up and sent home with stupid painkillers that never worked to take the edge off. And (Y/n) wasn't calling Maddie and having her friend and sister see her like this. It wouldn't be fair to ruin her night like that.

She couldn't call Evan.

No way could (Y/n) call Evan when he was at work. She wasn't going to panic him and drag him home and make him care for her. He would have to help her back up the stairs and patch her up and console her and (Y/n) was not going to be the burden everyone seemed to think she was. She had to look after herself, Evan wasn't here and he couldn't always come home to look after her.

It didn't matter how much she wanted Evan to come home and hug her right now, she was on her own and that was how things had to stay.

A groan tumbled past her lips when she flopped onto her right ride and heaved herself to lay facing the stairs. Her arms stretched out in front of her so they weren't cocooned to her chest and causing her anymore unnecessary pain. She did what she could to straighten her legs out and stop them from throbbing and aching as much.

Her chin tucked down into her chest and she closed her eyes, despite the tears pouring down her face that would surely flood the apartment soon.

No, (Y/n) would stay here until she felt recovered enough to get herself back upstairs into bed.

***

It took (Y/n) well over fifteen minutes to heave herself up the stairs. It seemed pointless and futile to try getting up during the night when she was throbbing and aching and still drenched in tears. (Y/n) spent the night on the floor. She knew either way she wouldn't be sleeping and she had no effort to climb up the stairs just to lay and cry in bed.

Staying on the floor was easier and let her recover her energy. It was well into the morning by the time she managed to find the will power to start her ascent up the stairs. Her knees bashed and twanged against the steps and it made her whole body shudder each time. Her fingers dug into the steps and she leaned her weight onto the wall as she sat and shuffled up.

When she was up the stairs, She crawled over to the bed and spent another five minutes trying to heave herself up.

It was surprising how quickly sleep overtook (Y/n) once she flopped onto her stomach on the bed. Her body was exhausted. Her chest was in immense agony. Her brain was on last reserves. She had spent the night laid on the floor, unable to sleep and unable to move.

She didn't know what time she managed to get into bed, just that it was late into the morning. And she didn't know how long she slept for, just that it had to of been for a while because she managed to hear the front door opening.

If (Y/n) was more herself and less drained, she would of tried to get up and meet Evan at the door or at the very least, meet him at the top of the stairs. She wanted to get up and move about and stop him from realising something had happened for her to now be in bed at lunchtime. But she was aching and broken and felt too defeated to care.

Her arms curled around Evan's shirt that had been left on the bed and she burrowed her face into his pillow, breathing in his scent to try and stay calm and drowsy. She shuffled down a little until the cover was over her shoulder and mostly hiding her whole body and head from view.

Why couldn't she just disappear?

Why was Evan with her? Why did he love her when she truly was a burden? She was to much effort. Too much hassle. Demanding. In pain. Needy. Everything was wrong with her-

"Babe… baby, where are you?" Evan's sing-song voice rang out through the apartment as he dumped his bag down by the front door and moved towards the living room.

His lips pulled into a frown when he realised the tv wasn't on and (Y/n) wasn't downstairs. He knew her shoes and keys were still by the door along with her bag so she hadn't gone out anywhere. He knew the bathroom and kitchen were empty so he headed up the stairs.

He could feel his heart racing in his chest when he looked around the bedroom. The curtains were still closed; (Y/n) always opened them as soon as she woke up. She loved to look out at the view in the morning, especially on a sunny day like this. The tv was on but it was showing the news. (Y/n) didn't watch the news; she hated it. There was a glass on the floor and juice soaked into the carpet. Clothes and pillows were thrown onto the floor.

What had she been doing?

"Sweetheart, what are you doing? What's up?" Shockwaves rattled through Evan as he moved to kneel down in front of the bed.

He laid his arms out on the bed and carefully peeled back the cover while his chin propped up on his exposed arm. He brushed his finger across (Y/n)'s cheek and swiped his thumb across her lower lip, pulling it gently until she finally opened her eyes to blearily look over at him.

Evan knew her like the back of his hand. Her sleep pattern was always troubled because like Evan struggled to switch off or stay asleep due to his hyperactiveness and his job, (Y/n) struggled due to her fibromyalgia. They had routines to stop her from being in so much pain. She never slept in, especially not this late. She was always up and moving about to keep her muscles loose and working and from seizing up.

"Tired," (Y/n) tilted her head and kissed the palm of Evan's hand which she knew tickled him because his finger twitched against her cheek.

"Couldn't you sleep?" When she shook her head, Evan moved his hand and slowly carded his fingers through her hair. "Well, do you want to get up with me? Maybe a walk will make you feel better?"

They usually had a walk after dinner. Evan knew if (Y/n) stayed in bed for much longer she would feel worse when she eventually tried to get up and he hated to see her in pain. They could have lunch and go for a walk and try to stay busy for the afternoon so she could feel better and sleep well tonight. Evan would be here tonight anyway and she slept better when he was with her, he always knew that.

"Hm."

"Well I'll go grab a shower then we can head out, sound good?" He leaned across to kiss her before he got up and started to rummage around for some fresh clothes.

(Y/n) didn't dare look at her chest when she tried to get changed. Her fingers felt a little less tense than earlier so it was easier to change her shirt but lifting her arms high had her wincing and gasping in pain. She dragged her fingers through her hair and put it up into a loose ponytail but when she dragged her numb feet towards the stairs, shudders ran through her.

What if she fell again? What if she couldn't walk down properly?

(Y/n) didn't want to go downstairs. She didn't want to take the risk and hurt herself again. She didn't want Evan to see her be so stupid and silly and fall like she did last night.

Shivers rolled through her aching muscles and her chest twinged in agony when she looked at the stairs again. Tears welled in her eyes and she suddenly moved to sit down at the top of the stairs. Shuffling down would have to do for now.

She shuffled down one step before she cried out and leaned nearer to the wall. The thumping vibration made her chest jolt and stole the air from her lungs. Her forehead slumped onto the wall and her nails dug into her knees until she was sure she was drawing blood beneath her leggings.

"Baby, you alright up there?" Evan leaned against the bottom of the bannister but his smile faded again when he realised (Y/n) was in tears.

He joggd up the stairs until he was close enough to kneel down in front of her with her knees pressed up into his chest. He smoothed his hands up and down her thighs and kissed her thigh.

"You're really having a bad day, hm? Come on, let's get you down."

(Y/n) didn't want him to help. She didn't want to ask Evan for help, but she wasn't truly asking and he wasn't being put out. The last thing she wanted was to be a burden, but was she being a burden if Evan was only offering to help her down the stairs? He helped her all the time, did that count as being annoying to him?

And she didn't want to go down the stairs on her own. Not after last night. Her body was shaking just at the thought.

(Y/n) momentairely forgot about her damaged ribs until Evan tried to slip his arms around her waist. When he helped her he usually lifted her up and sat her on his hips so he could carry her on his front. He would squeeze her thighs and kiss her neck and tell her he wasn't putting her down until she had kissed him at least a hundred times.

The moment Evan pressed his arms into her sides and placed his hands down on her back, (Y/n) cried out. It was hard not to scream and she choked on a gurgling cry when Evan tensed and froze in front of her.

"What? What did I do?" Panic surged through Evan's voice and he tried to pull back to look down at her but she wouldn't let him.

Her face tucked into his neck and her trembling arms curled around his neck to stop him from trying to move away from her. Evan gulped when he felt (Y/n) begin to whimper into his neck and her shaking broke through into him and made him rock back and forth on the stairs.

"Baby, you're scaring me."

"J-just a bad day… my chest hurts t-that's all."

He didn't believe that, but Evan wasn't going to push the subject here on the stairs. He tried to think how to get her down without touching or hurting her chest.

"Let's try get you down, tell me to stop if you need to." He moved his hands down beneath her bum and cupped the top of her thighs. He leaned his weight backwards and very slowly straightened up to keep his balance so he didn't topple them both backwards down the stairs. Once he was stood up, Evan kept his hands on her bum and turned around to start walking down.

He could still feel the way she was shaking against him and her breaths were fast and shallow against his neck. She wasn't well today and it was worrying him to no end.

(Y/n) braced her hands on his shoulders and slowly uncurled her legs from Evan's hips until she was stood on her feet again.

Her head started to spin and her breaths started to run away without her. Each breath was starting to hurt. It was like taking a proper breath made her ribs splinter and break all over again and the thought had more tears rushing down her face. But she wiped them away and turned towards the door. She needed to put her shoes on and grab her jacket.

A walk would do her some good and hopefully take some of the pain away and make it more bearable. She would grab some painkillers when they came back and dose up so she could breathe and speak and move without worrying Evan. She wasn't going to panic him any more than this.

"We're not going if you're in this much pain. What did you do, bump into the door or something, baby?"

Evan braced his hands on his hips and cocked a hip to the side when (Y/n) looked down at his arm. He knew she tended to focus on his tattoos to distract herself when she couldn't look him in the eye.

"I'm okay. I need to keep moving, let's go on a walk." (Y/n) swiped the remaining tears from her face and tried to take proper breaths to calm herself down.

Anger tore through Evan when he watched (Y/n) turn her back on him and move towards the door. She wasn't well, he could see it. He could see the way she was still breathing fast and shallow and she was shuffling rather than walking. Her legs must be stiff and him touching her chest made her cry. Something wasn't right and she wasn't telling him.

When (Y/n) leaned down to pick up her shoe, Evan saw the way she winced and moved a hand to cradle her side but even her light touch seemed to burn her and make her whimper.

He wasn't playing this game.

Evan kept his steps light and agile and the moment he stood behind (Y/n), he didn't give her chance to argue or try and ward him away.

"Evan-"

A shriek tore past (Y/n)'s lips and she leaned forward to brace her hand on the wall when she felt Evan behind her. He grabbed the hem of her shirt and yanked it up before she could stop him. He pulled it up to her shoulders and let the hem of her shirt fold over her shoulders and neck so he could see what she was trying to hide from him.

"Evan, I- I-"

"What the fuck happened to you?!" His hands hovered over her sides but he didn't dare touch her. He let her turn around in front of him and it let him see the damage more clearly. Bruising had bloomed all along her back and around the left side of her chest. Various colours ranging from black to purple to splotches of red and brown. She was a canvas that had been splattered with paint.

What had she done? What happened while he had been at work? Why on Earth didn't she call him?

A small knock to any part of (Y/n)'s body caused her immense pain so Evan couldn't imagine the agony she was going through with these kinds of bruises.

"What. Happened?" Evan held (Y/n)'s chin between his thumb and finger and tilted her head up so she had no choice but to look him in the eye. He could feel his resolve crumbling when tears started to drench down her face but he wasn't budging until she told him what had gone on here.

"I fell."

"You fell? Fell into what, baby? This is bad… Christ baby girl this is real bad." Evan crouched down in front of her and moved his hands to hold her hips. He kissed her stomach and felt a shiver tear through her abdomen before he looked around her chest. He tried to dance his fingertips along her chest as delicately as he could. Evan knew she was sensitive at the best of times but even more so when she was hurt.

He didn't want to touch her and add any more pain, but he wanted to see the extent of her damage. The way she cringed and cried out and grabbed his shoulders made Evan feel tears welling up in his own eyes.

"I think you've definitely broken a few… come on, talk to me."

(Y/n) stayed silent, rolling her lips together as she moved one hand to point towards the stairs.

"What… oh- fuck no. You fell down the stairs?" Evan pulled back up and dragged his fingers through his hair. "Why the Hell didn't you call me? Baby you've broken your ribs, you could have broken your neck why wouldn't you call me to come home? Why didn't you tell me when I came in?"

Tears traced down (Y/n)'s face before she could stop herself and her hands moved up to cover her face. She could feel each shallow breath panting into the palm of her hands and her tears soaked into her fingers. She didn't want to be doing this. She didn't want to be crying her eyes out in front of Evan like this, but she couldn't stop herself.

She couldn't seem to do anything right. All she did seemed to go wrong or make things worse and now she had panicked and upset Evan when that was the last thing she wanted to do.

"Baby why didn't you call me-"

"Because I'm not being a burden to you!"

(Y/n) dropped her hands back down before she smoothed them up and down her thighs to try and stop them from shaking and sweating. She could feel herself hiccupping through her words and her chest felt like it was shredded to pieces with each fast breath she panted.

But it was the look in Evan's eyes that made her heart drop down to the pit of her stomach.

His blue eyes seemed to turn five shades darker until they were navy blue, bordering on black. Redness swelled beneath his eyes and a sheet of crimson burned along his neck and flushed his face.

His brows furrowed and he seemed to straighten up and become taller at the same time as he took a step back.

Evan didn't understand. What had he done to give her that impression? What did he say to her out of context or in passing or without thinking that made (Y/n) wonder if she had become a burden to him? Whatever he had done, he didn't mean it. Evan never wanted her to have that kind of impression and he thought he had done everything right so she wouldn't ever think like that.

"Why would you say that?" The utter defeat in Evan's voice made a sob burn at the back of (Y/n)'s throat and she tilted her head back as if it would somehow push all the tears to the back of her head.

"Because I am."

"What did I do?" His question left her stumped. Their conversations had shifted, he was on a different track completely. "What did I say to make you think that?"

(Y/n) moved her hands and tangled her trembling fingers together, shaking her hands out to try and release some nervous energy but it only made her fingers ache. Why was Evan on that track? He had never done anything that made her feel like she was a burden to him and she had never said something like this to him before. (Y/n) would never want Evan to think that way because there was nothing he could do that would make her think bad of him. Ever.

"Evan…" Her wrist swiped beneath her eye and collected a fresh stream of tears. "Everyone sees it. T-they see how I burden you… I can't rely on you for everything and keep doing this to you."

"Who the fuck told you that?"

Her teeth clamped down on her lower lip deep enough to draw specks of blood that pooled around her tongue and made her cringe. She could barely see Evan due to the tears cascading down her face and she wasn't sure she wanted to see his reaction either.

Her head tilted back to look up at the high ceiling above them when she whispered "Eddie's party."

A gasp tumbled past her swollen lips when Evan's hands suddenly cupped her face. She didn't hear or see him move. He stood directly in front of her, close enough that (Y/n) could feel each turbulent breath that fanned past his lips and mingled with her own. She could feel his rough chest rising and falling less than a centimetre away from her own and she couldn't look anywhere but at his eyes when he tilted her head back.

His thumbs glided across her burning face just beneath her eyes and he brushed the tip of his nose against hers until her breathing hitched and her nose twitched and tickled.

"That was one person who knows nothing about us. Baby, no one else thinks like that, no one else is that warped and stupid. What she came out with doesn't matter-"

"It does! Evan you… you shouldn't have to be my carer-"

"The only thing that matters here is us. If I tell you I wanna look after you then I will and no one can say shit about it. You're not making me do anything. If I wanna carry you up and down those stairs for the rest of my life, I'll do it. If I wanna stay home and help you when you're having a rough day, that's my choice. No one is forcing me to do anything, I look after my girl because I love you."

There was nothing anyone could say that would make Evan feel differently about this or make him see things differently.

Lucy had no right to say what she did and he wished to God that (Y/n) hadn't heard, or that she had at least listened to what he said in retaliation.

It didn't matter what anyone said because they weren't in this relationship. Evan wanted to look after (Y/n) when she was ill, he wanted to stay home and make sure she was resting and had her meds and he wanted to help her go on walks and exercise to feel better. He wanted to pick her up when she couldn't climb the stairs herself. Evan wanted to stay home with her rather than go out alone and have a boring time he would regret.

Evan was never going to regret staying home with (Y/n) or helping her or looking after her because he loved her and he saw caring for her as a sign of his love. It wasn't a habit or a ritual or a job he had to do.

Nothing would make him see this situation any differently.

"You should have called me."

"And say what? Evan you're a fireman, I c- I can't make you come home when you're at work and your job is important-"

"(Y/n) you're important too!" His tone and pitch took (Y/n) by surprise and she shuddered when his thumbs pressed into her cheekbones so he could get her to look at him again. "If you have a fall and you're hurt, then I expect you to call me. I don't want you hiding things like this from me. My job is just that, it's a job and it doesn't mean more to me than my family."

If she got hurt, Evan wanted to know. He wanted her to call him whether she was crying or screaming or half passed out on the floor. Evan wanted her to ring him and tell him she was injured and she needed help. He wanted to be the one to help her and if he couldn't come home right away, he would make sure someone was there with her.

He didn't want to sit at work being none the wiser that she was hurt. It ground Evan down and made him angry beyond reason that he had been thinking everything was fine when (Y/n) had clearly been in agony, home alone.

She should have called him.

"Promise me you won't try and hide things like this from me."

"I promise," Her voice was quiet, barely more than a whisper carried away on the wind, but it was enough for Evan. It was enough to calm the storm raging through his soul and make him finally take a proper, deep breath.

He leaned down and closed the distance between them. Tasting her lips, stealing her breath, swiping his tongue across the little flecks of blood welling up on her lower lip. He let his fingers slide down to curl across the side of her neck while his nose brushed hers and his lips stayed hovering over hers even after they pulled back.

"Now please, let me take you to get checked out."

[leighbaylee]

— BEN’S BUNKER

written by mina leigh 𝜗᭪ , losers club 𝔁 f! reader | wc 2300

summary. spending time the your bestest friends in the world, in ben’s surprise hideout for the losers club. a stronger bond flourishing inside!

labels. feminine reader, happy go lucky girl, shy cute girly girl reader, no definite description of reader, she/her pronouns used, reader is closer to richie toizer & eddie kaspbrak.

‧₊˚ ୨୧ mina speaks. hey everyone! i was rewatching it 2019 and me being the self indulgent person i am, i started fantasizing about us (readers) being with the losers! lots of love.

summer days in derry had a special kind of magic, one that was even stronger when you spent them with the losers club. today, ben had promised a surprise, and you couldn’t wait to see what he had in store. the air was thick with excitement as you all made your way through the woods, your heart fluttering with anticipation.

❝ are we there yet? ❞ richie’s voice rang out, filled with mock impatience. you were walking beside him, as usual, and his playful energy was contagious. you couldn’t help but smile.

❝ yeah, ben, how much further? ❞ eddie added, swatting away a mosquito with a grimace. you could tell eddie was getting antsy, but his curiosity kept him moving forward. you gave him a reassuring smile, hoping to ease his nerves. richie noticed and nudged you with his elbow, his grin wide.

❝ you know, eds, (y/n) here could probably carry you if you get too tired, ❞ richie teased, earning a light smack on the arm from eddie.

❝ shut up, richie, ❞ eddie muttered, but you could see the corners of his mouth twitching as he tried to hide a smile. you laughed softly, loving the way they always managed to make you feel at ease, even when they were bickering.

finally, ben stopped in front of a large thicket, and your curiosity peaked. he pushed aside some branches, revealing a hidden entrance. ❝ here it is, ❞ your eyes widened as you stepped through the opening. inside was a large, cozy space, bigger than you’d expected. there were shelves full of books, soft blankets, and a huge hammock strung up in one corner, large enough for several people. the place felt like a secret clubhouse, one that was just for you and your friends.

❝ ben, this is amazing! ❞ you exclaimed, your voice filled with awe. you turned to look at him, and he blushed slightly, clearly pleased with your reaction.

❝ yeah, ben, this is awesome, ❞ mike added, already exploring the different corners of the hideout. ❝ you really outdid yourself. ❞

❝ i thought it would be nice to have a place just for us, ❞ ben said, his voice warm with affection. ❝ a place where we can hang out and just be ourselves. ❞

richie immediately made a beeline for the hammock, his eyes lighting up with excitement. ❝ dibs on the hammock! ❞ he shouted, flopping down onto it with a dramatic sigh of contentment. you laughed and followed him over, sitting down on the edge of the hammock.

❝ you’re such an ass, ❞ eddie grumbled, but he couldn’t resist joining you both. he climbed onto the hammock, settling in beside you with a huff. you found yourself sandwiched between richie and eddie, feeling the gentle sway of the hammock as they playfully jostled each other.

❝ careful, you’re gonna tip us over, ❞ you warned, your voice filled with laughter. richie just grinned at you, his arm draping casually around your shoulders.

❝ don’t worry, (y/n), i’ve got you, ❞ he said, his tone teasing but affectionate. you leaned into him, feeling the warmth of his body against yours. on your other side, eddie was muttering under his breath about how richie was being annoying, but you could tell he was just as happy to be there.

as you lay there, the three of you fell into a comfortable rhythm. richie and eddie kept up their usual banter, tossing playful insults back and forth while you relaxed between them. their voices became a soothing background noise, and you found your eyelids growing heavy as the hammock rocked gently beneath you.

❝ hey, richie, do you ever shut up? ❞ eddie grumbled, though there was no real bite to his words. he was more focused on making sure you were comfortable, adjusting a blanket around you with a careful hand.

❝ only when i’m asleep, eds, ❞ richie shot back, his grin widening as he caught your eye. ❝ and even then, i’m sure i’m the most entertaining sleeper around. ❞

❝ if you say so, ❞ eddie muttered, but you could see the fondness in his eyes as he looked at you. ❝ (y/n), how do you put up with him? ❞ with an exaggerated sigh.

you just smiled, feeling the warmth of their friendship surrounding you like a protective shield. ❝ i guess i’m just lucky, ❞ you replied softly, your voice filled with contentment.

eventually, the steady rhythm of their voices and the gentle sway of the hammock lulled you into a peaceful nap. richie’s arm was still draped over your shoulders, and eddie’s presence beside you was a comforting anchor. as you drifted off to sleep, you felt completely safe, knowing that your best friends were right there with you.

when you woke up, the sun had shifted, casting a warm, golden light through the small windows of the hideout. you blinked sleepily, realizing that richie and eddie had fallen asleep too, their heads resting against yours. the hammock was still gently swaying, and for a moment, you just enjoyed the quiet peace of the moment.

after a while, you carefully extricated yourself from the hammock, trying not to wake richie and eddie. they both stirred slightly but didn’t wake up, so you quietly tiptoed away, leaving them to their nap. as you looked around the hideout, you noticed bill, stan, and mike sitting together on a pile of blankets, engrossed in their books.

❝ h-hey, (y/n), want to j-j-join us? ❞ bill asked, glancing up from his book with a welcoming smile. you nodded, making your way over to them. you sat down beside stan, who gave you a small, shy smile as he handed you one of the books from the shelf.

❝ thank you, stan, ❞ you said softly, returning his smile. he nodded, his eyes already back on his book.

you opened the book and quickly became absorbed in the story, losing yourself in the world of words. the four of you read in companionable silence, the only sounds being the rustle of pages turning and the occasional soft murmur as one of you reacted to something in the story.

after a while, you felt a gentle tap on your shoulder. looking up, you saw beverly smiling down at you. ❝ hey, (y/n), can i steal you for a bit? ❞ she asked, her voice warm.

❝ okay, ❞ you replied, closing your book and setting it aside. you stood up and followed bev over to where ben was working on some project with a hammer and nails.

❝ we could use some extra hands, ❞ bev said, handing you a hammer. ❝ ben’s been teaching me how to build stuff, and i thought you might want to join in. ❞

you smiled, feeling a surge of gratitude for beverly’s thoughtfulness. ❝ i’d love to help, ❞ you said, taking the hammer and kneeling down beside ben.

❝ thanks, (y/n), ❞ ben said, giving you a grateful smile. ❝ we’re just reinforcing some of the shelves and adding a few more. it’s a lot of work, but it’s worth it. ❞

❝ definitely, ❞ you agreed, already feeling a sense of accomplishment as you began hammering nails into place. as you worked, bev chatted with you about all sorts of things��clothes, movies, and boys. it was nice to have some girl time, and you found yourself opening up to her in a way you hadn’t before.

❝ you know, (y/n), ❞ bev said, her voice turning a bit more serious, ❝ i’m really glad you’re part of the losers club. you bring something special to the group, and i just want you to know that you’re really important to all of us. ❞

you felt your cheeks flush with warmth at her words, and you looked down at the hammer in your hands, suddenly feeling a bit shy. ❝ thanks, beverly, you said softly. ❝ that means a lot. ❞

she smiled at you, her eyes filled with kindness. ❝ it’s true. don’t ever doubt it, okay? ❞

you nodded, feeling a swell of affection for your friend. as the two of you continued working, you couldn’t help but feel grateful for the bond you shared with the losers club. they were more than just friends—they were family, and you knew that no matter what, you’d always have each other’s backs.

after finishing up with the shelves, you and bev stepped back to admire your work. ❝ not bad, ❞ ben said, clearly pleased with the results. ❝ this place is really coming together. ❞

❝ it really is, ❞ you agreed, feeling a sense of pride in what you’d accomplished. ❝ i’m glad i could help. ❞

❝ you did great, ❞ bev said, giving you a friendly nudge. ❝ now, how about we take a break? i think we’ve earned it. ❞

you nodded, feeling a bit tired but happy. as you made your way back to the main area of the hideout, you noticed that richie and eddie had finally woken up and were now bickering playfully as usual.

❝ hey, sleepyheads, ❞ you called out, giggling as you approached them. ❝ have a nice nap? ❞

❝ the best, ❞ richie replied with a wink, stretching his arms above his head. ❝ but we missed you, (y/n). it’s not the same without our favorite girl around. ❞

❝ yeah, we woke up and you were gone, ❞ eddie added, his voice mock-petulant. ❝ don’t do that again. ❞

you laughed, feeling the warmth of their affection wrap around you like a cozy blanket. ❝ don’t worry, i’m not going anywhere. ❞

the rest of the day passed in a blur of laughter, stories, and moments that you knew you’d treasure forever. by the time the sun began to set, casting a warm golden light over the hideout, you felt completely at peace.

as you all gathered together in the hideout, huddled close on the blankets and bean bags, you couldn’t help but marvel at how lucky you were. the losers club wasn’t just a group of friends—they were your home, your family, your safe haven in a world that could be so full of darkness.

and as you sat there, surrounded by the people who meant the most to you, you knew that no matter what the future held, you’d always stick by their side as much as they stuck to yours.

© MINA LEIGH 2023 - 2024

[matchingbatbites]

Love Grows - Part 4

This one is a little shorter than the last, because I liked what I had and didn't want to drag it out. The next part will be a little different, so keep an eye out for it sometime next week!

Ao3 | Part 1 | Part 3 | Part 5

July '85

Something is wrong when Steve drops off Rosemary. Eddie takes the ten-month-old baby with a cheery "Hiya, Rosie!" earning him a delighted giggle from the girl, but Steve seems out of it as he sets down the diaper bag. 

"Everything okay, Stevie?" Eddie asks as he settles Rosie on his hip. She reaches out and wraps a hand around his guitar pick necklace but he barely notices, his attention focused on Steve. The younger nods and pushes a hand through his hair, and Eddie silently clocks the nervous habit. 

"Yeah, just- just tired. I, uh, might be late picking Rosie up tonight. I'm closing, and it could take a while." 

Eddie tips his head to the side, he knows there's something Steve isn't saying, but he lets it slide. "That's okay. If you want me to keep her overnight, just give me a call, okay? It's not a problem." 

Steve gives him a tired smile and says "Thanks, Eddie. I really- I really appreciate you. What you do for Rosie. It means a lot to me." 

Yeah, something is definitely wrong. As much as Eddie wants to dig, he doesn't. If Steve doesn't want to talk about it, then he'll leave it alone, but it doesn't erase the worry that settles in his stomach.

"Well, I care about you guys. You and Rosie. I just want to make sure you're both okay."

A soft blush settles across Steve's face and he takes a step back. "Thanks, Eddie. I'll see you tonight, yeah?"

"Yeah. Um, stay safe, Steve."

Steve nods and gives a soft “I will," before heading out of the trailer.

That was July 2nd, and it's now the 5th, and Eddie hasn’t heard from Steve at all. He's had Rosemary for three days, and he would be angry at Steve for abandoning his baby if he wasn't absolutely wracked with worry, the initial low-grade panic only increasing with each passing day.

The only time he can even start to relax is when Rosie gets fussy, and he carries her around the trailer singing 'Love Grows' into her hair, needing to be calm so she can be calm. He can tell that she misses Steve, that she knows something is off, and it breaks Eddie’s heart that he can't do anything about it.

Wayne has taken over Rosie's care this morning, is on the couch with the baby sat up against the cushions as he feeds her bits of plain cereal, and Eddie has only just stopped pacing long enough to eat his own breakfast (the same plain cereal, because he doesn't think he could stomach anything else).

They both freeze when the news cuts to a story about Starcourt, and Eddie's ears start ringing as the news anchor describes the sudden destruction of the mall late last night. 

He feels a heavy hand on his shoulder and looks up to see Wayne suddenly in front of him. "Calm down now, son. You got that little girl over there who needs you to keep it together until we can find out what happened to her dad, got that?" 

Eddie nods, just now realizing how tight his chest feels, and he takes a few deep breaths until the panic evens out. "Yeah. Okay, yeah."

So Eddie puts on a brave face and pretends like nothing is wrong. When Wayne leaves to run some errands, he works to keep Rosie distracted and happy and for the most part succeeds, until naptime.

Rosie is being extra fussy and Eddie is doing his best, carrying her around and singing softly, but just before she falls asleep she jerks herself back awake and starts crying again, and the cycle repeats a few times. 

Eddie rubs soothing circles into her back, tries to get her calm enough to go down, but he freezes completely when she starts to babble sadly, and the soft “Dada dada…” coming from her little mouth is enough to send silent tears streaking down his face.

His breathing is shaky as he continues to sing, and eventually, finally, Rosie falls asleep. Eddie lays her on the bed and tucks a pillow in next to her so she doesn’t roll off in her sleep, and he barely makes it out of the room before he collapses to the floor. 

He's gasping for breath, panic wracking his frame as he thinks about Steve. Did the guy just cut and run on Rosie? No, there’s no way that’s possible, Steve loves her far too much to just abandon her.  Maybe he was caught up in the shit at the mall? Oh god, what happens to Rosie if Steve is… If he’s…

A knock sounds on the trailer door and it takes Eddie a long moment to pull himself together and get up off the floor, and he scrubs his hands over his face before he goes to answer it. He almost starts crying again when he sees Steve on the other side, still wearing that fucking uniform, his face beaten and bruised. 

“Hi Eddie,” he says softly, and fuck, he sounds wrecked. “Sorry I didn’t call.”

"Fuck the phone call, Steve, your face!" Eddie grabs him, one hand clenching in that stupid sailor shirt as the other hovers over Steve's swollen cheek. "What the fuck happened to you?" 

"Got beat up by some Russians," Steve replies, and Eddie can’t believe he’s cracking jokes while Eddie is trying his best to not have a breakdown. "I'm okay, though. I'm fine." 

His hands come up to grab Eddie's wrists and, oh, Eddie is shaking. He pulls out of Steve's grip and throws his arms around the younger man, pulling him into a tight hug. "Fuck, when we heard about what happened at the mall, we were so fucking worried." 

Steve hugs Eddie back, arms wrapping around him and holding him close, and Eddie relishes in the fact that Steve is here, that he’s safe. “I’m okay, Eddie. Doc said I’ll be worse for wear for the next week or so, but nothing serious.” 

Eddie hums in disbelief and they just stay there, wrapped around each other, and Eddie isn’t quite sure who is comforting who at the moment. They break apart after a few minutes and Eddie pulls Steve inside the trailer.

"Where's Rosie?" Steve asks as he glances around, and Eddie nods towards the bedroom. "She's taking a nap, and I think you should do the same. No offense, Steve, but you look dead on your feet." 

The younger chuckles softly and pushes a hand through his hair, and Eddie vaguely registers the bandages covering a few of his fingertips. “I feel like it. I think we’ve overstayed our welcome, though, so I’ll just get Rosie and go-” 

Eddie shakes his head and starts pushing Steve towards the bedroom. “Nope, no, absolutely not. She literally just went down like ten minutes ago, and it took me half an hour because she was crying for you, and you’re not going to ruin my hard work. I’m gonna get you something to change into and you’re gonna take a fucking nap, okay?”

There’s a mutter of resignation, and when they enter the bedroom Steve melts when he sees Rosie on the bed, tears fill his eyes and he takes a shaky breath. “Fuck, I thought I’d never get to see her again.”

He steps over and brushes his fingers over her little hand, and Eddie looks away from the tender scene to dig through his dresser. He pulls out a pair of sweatpants and an oversized band shirt that he passes to the younger, who gives him a soft "Thanks."

While Steve is changing, Eddie grabs a spare blanket and pillow and drops them onto the floor by the bed. It won't be the most comfortable, but he doesn't want to risk accidentally waking Rosie from her nap, not when Steve needs some time to just crash.

He sits down on the pillow with his back propped against the bed, and then drags Steve onto the floor with him. The younger moves easily, lets Eddie bully him into laying down with his head in Eddie's lap, and Eddie drapes the blanket over him before brushing his fingers over soft but dirty hair.

"You don't have to baby me," Steve says, voice soft from exhaustion, and Eddie hums as he gently scratches at his scalp. 

"I'm not babying you, Steve. You're hurt, and I just… Just let me take care of you, okay?"

Steve makes a soft noise in response, and everything is quiet for a while. It’s just long enough that Eddie thinks Steve has fallen asleep, when the younger speaks again, voice quiet. 

“I watched Billy Hargrove die last night.” 

Eddie feels like he’s been drenched in ice water, his gaze snaps down to the boy in his lap. “What?” 

“He was there last night, when everything went to shit. It was… fucking awful, Eddie.” His hand grabs at Eddie’s pant leg, and he can feel that Steve is trembling a little. “What’s terrible is that I can’t even feel bad about it. Like, I feel bad that someone died, but not that it was him, if that makes sense.”

Eddie feels a little shell shocked at Steve’s admission, and he takes a deep breath. “Billy Hargrove was a piece of shit, Steve. It’s okay to feel empathetic that a life was lost, but that life did a lot of shitty things.”

He’s glad that Steve isn’t looking at him, that he can’t see the way that tears one again well up in Eddie's eyes. “But it’s still really fucked up that you had to go through that. Like, really fucked up. There’s no way I can understand what you’re feeling, but if you want someone to just talk to, I’m here for you, yeah?”

Steve nods a little, and there’s a brief pause before he says “Thank you, Eddie. This- Just being here, being with you helps a lot.”

And that. That creates a whole new wave of emotions that Eddie is severely unprepared to deal with at the moment. He cards his fingers through Steve’s hair again and does his best to keep his hand from shaking. “Glad I could help somehow. Just- get some sleep, Stevie.”

Tag list:

@luciana-rowan @bidisastersworld @little-gae-shit @thehumblefigtree @lifeisnotsobadonceyoustopcaring @estrellami-1 @shrimply-a-menace @anaibis @livelaughlexa @vampireinthesun @zerokrox-blog @mackdaddyofheimlichcountyy @idea-less-author @thegingerrapunzel @fantasyfr3ak @stevesbipanic @electrick-marionnett @tuesdaycats @seths-rogens @flustratedcas @qomrades @artiststarme @death-the-elf @itsanarrum @linkydinky06 @jaywhohasthegay @aboredowl @maya-custodios-dionach t @eerielake @smolbasilboy @freyaforestafay @gleek4twd @gayngerthings @newtstabber @lucasrightarm @huskysarelife @i-must-potato @thegingervulcan @novelnovella @ryebread375 @stardustonpages @trensu @otaku-bell-livemotto @thev01dd @demolvr @hellfireloserclub @beenovel @anzelsilver @f1ct1onwh0re

[unhingedoveractivemuse]

A Blessing

Tags: Bobby Nash & Evan "Buck" Buckley. Evan "Buck" Buckley/Eddie Diaz, Established Evan "Buck" Buckley/Eddie Diaz, Bobby Nash Acting as Evan "Buck" Buckley's Parental Figure

Notes: Flufftober #22 Heirloom

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Bobby Nash knows that no matter what universe he resides in, he will always love his family, welcoming them with open arms whenever they need him knowing they'll do the same in return. 

It does not mean he isn't filled with worry every time one of his family shows up on his doorstep unannounced. 

Especially when it's Buck. 

It also doesn't help that Buck exudes anxious energy, practically vibrating out of his skin. 

“I want to ask Eddie to marry me,” the younger man says when they finally sit down and Bobby gently asks what's wrong. 

Bobby isn't surprised. At least not about Buck wanting to ask Eddie for his hand in marriage because he's seen Buck glancing at Eddie's hand a lot and not-so-subtle browsing wedding pictures recently. 

He is also surprised, though, which is a pretty uncommon feeling when it comes to Buck and Eddie. The only time he was truly surprised by anything that has to do with them is when Eddie first joined the 118. One, he hadn't expected Buck to be so hostile. Two, while he scouted Eddie to be partners with Buck and knew they'd complement each other, he didn't expect them to get along so well to the point that everyone knew it was only a matter of time before they grew into something more.

It's one of those moments when he was reminded that, as is with everything, God always has a plan.

It took a while between repression and their needing to realize the part of themselves that loves each other exists, but when Buck and Eddie finally got their act together and saw what was right in front of them, they've been so, so happy. He honestly can't say if he's seen them happier than when they've been together.

So, he is surprised Buck came in such a panic. 

There's only one reason he can think of. 

“He'll say yes,” Bobby reassures. 

He's seen these two grow as best friends and as individuals. Buck has become calmer and more settled thanks in no small part to Eddie, and Eddie has been more relaxed and more willing to lean on others because of Buck. He’s seen them with different partners - all nowhere near compatible with them (not that Bobby ever told them that directly) than they are with each other - until they were ready to come together to be something more, and he can say for sure he's never seen Eddie look at anyone with so much love other than Buck. 

There's no doubt in his mind how unshakable Buck's place in Eddie's life is.

Eddie will say yes. 

(He ignores the part of him that says “Or else.”)

“But what if he doesn't want marriage? What if he only says yes because he feels obligated to? I mean, after what happened to his last one, I wouldn't be surprised if he doesn't want to get married again and I can't force it on him… and I can't exactly ask without giving it away.”

He's a good kid, he thinks for the nth time since he's met Buck. Even in the face of not having what he wants, he will always think of others first. 

Bobby is glad nothing that's happened in the past couple of years has changed that, and it makes him feel all the more confident about the decision he's made.  

“I have something for you, Buck. Sit tight, alright?”

He returns minutes later, sliding a little velvet drawstring bag across the table to Buck, who looks very curious about it but doesn't move. 

“It's for you, kid,” Bobby clarifies. “It might need resizing but it's yours to use if you want.”

Blue eyes widen at the implication, and Buck reaches out towards the bag, opening it cautiously before his mouth falls open. 

“You're giving me a ring?!”

“Yes. It's tradition to pass it down when your son is ready to propose, so, just like my mom gave it to me and my grandmother gave it to my dad, I'm giving it to you.”

He honestly doesn't know in which generation the ring originated from, but he knows the tradition of passing it on from mother to son when he's ready to start another chapter in his life has been going on for at least four generations. His brother should have gotten it as the older one but Charlie didn't want it, so his mom had given it to him when he was ready to propose to Marcy. 

He had asked her how she had known he was planning on proposing, and all she said was “I just knew. And I'm sure Marcy will know one day, too, when your future children are ready.”

Bobby might not be Marcy and Buck might not be Robert Jr. but he knew. 

Buck looks teary-eyed but manages to stutter out, “I-I… Bobby, I can't. T-that means this w-was Marcy's. And even…what about Harry or May?”

He had thought for a long time about whether he wanted to do this. The ring was one of the only things he had left of Marcy, saved from the deadly fire that had taken his family from him by chance of being at the jeweler for annual maintenance. Naturally, he had kept it but never thought he would continue the family tradition. 

Until Buck came into his life and wiggled his way into his heart, making a home for himself next to where Robert Jr. and Brook still live. 

The question was if he was willing to give up the little he still had of Marcy. 

But when he brought it up to Athena, she had given him a look and said, “I think you know what you want to do.”

“Marcy would give her blessing,” he tells the man that he sees as his own kid. “And Harry and May won't mind.”

“Y-you're sure? They won't get mad?”

“You know what May told me once?”

Buck shakes his head. 

“She said that Athena brought two kids into the marriage and I brought one. You're her brother, and I'm sure Harry feels the same.”

He watches as Buck swallows, taking out the ring and staring at it. “Is this your way of giving me your blessing and saying it'll go well?”

“You're ready, kid. You both are.”

=========================

Two weeks later, when Buck turns up unannounced at the door again, this time with Eddie adorning the engagement ring that Bobby gave Buck, worry floods him again especially seeing the nerves on Buck's face.

But the soft smile on Eddie's face should have assured him it wasn't anything terrible. 

In fact, it's…

“Will you walk me down the aisle?”

…it's a blessing.

[paperbackribs]

The Gift (15 of 15)

previous: Chapter 14 The Boy Next Door Ao3 Link

Last chapter, the boys finally hashed out their feelings with Eddie revealing that he had been in love with Steve from the very beginning. This chapter, Robin just wants to watch their film in peace but a vision from the ethereal finally reveals the missing pieces about the mysterious origin of the connection.

Chapter 15 La Vie En Rose (Final Chapter)

“It’s black and white,” Steve explains, worried that Eddie won’t want to watch the film if it’s not in colour.

“I get it, like The Twilight Zone,” Eddie catches the M&M that Robin throws at him with his wide mouth, his teeth chomping shut in a way that is disturbingly attractive to Steve.

Robin cheers from Steve’s living room armchair and then throws a tan-coloured M&M in the air to herself, only for it to bounce off her cheek and fall into the crease between the cushions. She frowns while digging it out.

Steve pushes his hair back before pushing the VHS into the player. “No, it’s a romance. But a classic,” he quickly adds.

Eddie eyes him from the right side of the couch, “I like romance. Why else do you think Sam followed Frodo all the way to Mordor?”

“Uh, because the world was going to end?” Steve answers, confused. Did they watch the same movie?

Robin snorts, “Even I got the undertones, Steve. How’d you miss it. Following your ‘friend’ to the ends of the earth; that practically screams gay yearning.”

Steve throws himself onto the couch, bouncing against Eddie. Feeling happy to press the length of his arm and hips against Eddie in a way he hadn't dared to only weeks ago. “I just figured they were best friends.” He points at her, “I even thought that I would be your Sam.” Eddie shifts his arm to drape across Steve's shoulders, pulling him into his embrace.

Robin screws her nose up, “No, thank you. Though,” she says, showing her hivemind loyalty. “It is easier to read the subtext in the books rather than in a kid’s film with weird voices.” Steve claps his hands in appreciation and she points back at him in acknowledgement.

“Stevie,” Eddie interrupts, fond exasperation evident in his tone. “Yes, I love The Lord of the Rings, but I kept trying to get you to watch films about friends who could be lovers.”

He nods at Robin as she sings out, “Ben Hur and his former bestie.” She catches the M&M this time.

“Or,” Eddie adds clearly thinking of Conan and Rocky, “About hot, shirtless men to see what your type might be. I was trying to feel you out.”

Steve mentally compares his reaction between the two movie nights, wondering whether his interpretation of Frodo and Sam may have been different if he had watched it after he realised his feelings for Eddie.

It’s not like he’s any more queer now that he’s with Eddie than he was before, but perhaps his pushing back on the idea of romance at their own end of the world had skewed his willingness to see the clues in front of him. For sure what that’s happened, he reflects, considering that he hadn’t seen the dance he was doing around Eddie until the visions had started connecting them.

Steve and Eddie had had enough conversations since their confessions that he no longer felt so stupid about his cluelessness. Eddie had been wary of pushing for more and Steve hadn't realised how much more he had really wanted. But that was in the past, so Steve accepts how unaware he'd been about Frodo and his buddy slash potential lover with a relaxed shrug before deciding to turn this to his favour.

He shuffles into Eddie's side, nudging Eddie's long hair out of the way with his nose to murmur lowly into his ear; the delicate curve reddens under his hot breath, “I told you exactly how I wanted to ‘feel you out’ during Rocky Horror.”

Eddie licks his lips and Steve feels his gaze draw down heavily, as if weighted by gravity to focus and lock onto that slicked pout. Eddie notices his distraction and his eyes slowly heat; he sways a hairs-breath into Steve's space as if to pull him down into that gravity and draw him into a sweet, heavy kiss.

Steve considers, just for a moment, cancelling movie night. That is, until a candy covered chocolate beans him at the back of his head, snapping him out of the charged moment he was sharing with his tempting boyfriend.

“Hey!” He whips his head around to scowl at Robin who smiles blandly at him and says, “No Horny Olympics; you promised.”

“Where’s Vickie,” Steve asks in retaliation, sneakily reminding her of the embarrassing incident when he’d walked in on her and her girlfriend in the breakroom two days ago.

She scowls back at him, “She’s coming next week.”

Steve is considering the value in pointing out the slight blush covering Robin's cheeks when Eddie calmly interjects, “Remind me about the plot.”

Steve turns back to Eddie. “Okay, Audrey Hepburn is this beautiful girl who falls for, like, the worst shit rag all because she’s got this narrow vision of what she’s allowed to have, right?”

Eddie hums in agreement, eyes crinkled in amusement.

“But then she gets to experience the world and comes back as this sophisticated woman. And she was already lovely because, come on, it’s Audrey Hepburn, but she comes back and she’s breathtaking, right? And the shit rag gets all caught up in chasing her, even though he has a fiancé.”

“Like a cheating horndog,” Robin interrupts.

Steve points to her in agreement before returning to Eddie, excited to share about the film that he’s come to love. “But it’s all getting in the way of the family business, which is when Bogart gets involved.”

“I like Humphrey Bogart, he's handsome,” Eddie says mildly, a hint of fondness etched at the sides of his indulgent smile.

“He’s okay,” Steve agrees. “But the romance is in watching him fall hopelessly in love while he doesn’t even realise he’s doing it. I won’t give away how it happens, but it’s satisfying to see him fall all over himself for her.”

Eddie tugs a lock of Steve’s hair before gently smoothing it behind his ear. “Sounds nice, let’s watch it, shall we?”

They press play, but in an eerie echo of weeks past Eddie abruptly points to the screen as Sabrina moves to close the French-style windows of her Paris apartment, “What is that song?”

Steve and Robin’s heads fly to look at each other, mouths open in shock.

“Why,” Robin asks, slowly.

Eddie watches them like he knows that something is wrong. “I’ve had this song at the back of my head for ages. And I haven’t been able to work it out. I mean, listen to it, it’s not exactly metal, right?” He pauses to listen further, “It is nice, though.”

“It’s Le Vie En Rose,” Steve shares. “I’ve been hearing it in the ethereal ever since I brought you back.”

Eddie frowns, “Is this about the connection?” Steve had explained his experiences with Eddie’s vision, which had resulted in some delightful experimentations. But he hadn’t bothered to talk about the music, other than to mention the humming, as he figured it was a matter between him and the ethereal, not anything to truly do with Eddie and their shared sight.

Steve flops back into his seat, staring blankly at the television. “It must be.” But he doesn’t know how or why. “It’s not dangerous,” he says with a conviction that comes with Knowing, “It just...”

He holds his hand up to them to give him a minute and allows his eyes to become further unfocused, sinking deeper into a muted world that opens up before him.

The music that no longer plays on the paused tape rises from the screen, transforming from what was once tinny and small to a collection of notes and melodies that feel physical as they weave around his body. The sun is warm on his back and the smell of herbs hang reassuringly in the air.

“You did well, Stevie.”

He looks down as Nana releases his hands from the box-step they are practising, her head only reaching his shoulders. She is wearing a peasant dress that hangs to her knees with wide prints of carnations and daisies stretched across it. Her feet are bare. Nana reaches up to pinch his cheek gently, but firmly.

“Ouch, Nana!” He says reflexively, rubbing at his face even though it doesn’t sting.

“It took you long enough. Look at you, big enough to fill a room but not yet smart enough to look into the ethereal and just ask.” Steve is uncannily reminded of his mother’s tone when she had grilled him about making The Sacrifice.

“I looked at the tapestries,” he protests.

“Hmph,” Nana moves over to the old wireless, turning the knob to lower the sound of Le Vie En Rose as it starts to play again.

“Where are we?” Steve asks.

“Where we were,” she responds simply.

“I told you, a long time ago, Stevie. That you could make your own steps, but I Saw you waffling on so badly that I made sure you would have me to guide you when the time came. You were very slow,” she continues to scold, getting further into her huff, Steve thinks.

She points a wooden spoon in his face that wasn’t in her hands a moment ago. “I do not huff,” she grumbles.

“Your Nonno used to say something similar, but that does not mean he was right. You two, so stubborn. No matter how many times I told him not to eat all the ricotta before the ravioli was made, he would still get sick.”

“I don’t get it,” he objects, “What am I so slow about?”

Nana eyes him with a loving exasperation unique to family, “To accept the path of love, you silly boy. How long did you spend staring at your eye wondering about how handsome you are or what kind of person you will be with your powers before you moved forward and embraced that nice boy.”

Steve’s mouth makes a small ‘oh’ as what Nana is saying seeps into his brain. “It wasn’t like it was years,” he tries, smiling winsomely at her.

“It could have been. If at all,” she scolds, unimpressed.

The realisation of what she is saying feels like a bucket of cold water has been thrown over him, sobering in the chilling understanding of what he has now avoided. Steve steps forward, gratefully holding onto her small hand, “Oh. In that case, thank you, Nana.”

The cloud over her expression clears and Nana smiles in satisfaction before squeezing his hand back, “There you are. That is the nice boy I raised. Good, you know what I did then.”

“Is the connection going to last?” He asks, determinedly not thinking about the way he and Eddie have been using it recently.

“That is up to the two of you. I tweaked your path myself, back at this point in time, but this is the extent of my meddling.” She lets go to place her spoon gently on the island full of cut and dried greenery. “You did well in taking action and now it is up to the two of you on how you will continue.”

He hasn't even had the full moment to worry before Nana is abruptly next to him as she raises a gentle hand to his cheek. She cradles his face like he is a newborn babe in her arms again, “Do not look so concerned, you have done well so far, have you not?” Her tone is as clear and efficient as ever and, as ever, he can hear the love beneath her brisk manner.

Steve nods, thinking at how he has been trying to be better at thinking and acting on what he wants in life. And Eddie’s getting better at speaking his mind. Eddie always has, he reflects, just not about Steve to Steve. Not until he thought he was allowed to.

“You’re right,” Steve leans into the warmth of her hand, cherishing this final comfort from her. “It could have taken years. Or maybe never.”

She hums in agreement. “I usually am. Now, tell your mother that I love her very much.”

“I will,” Steve promises, knowing that even his earth-bound, stoic mother will be moved by a message from her long departed mama. Even slyly looking forward to blowing her mind a little at their usual Sunday phone call.

“And I love you to the moon and back, my boy.” The skirt of her dress waves around her knees in a non-existant wind, the swaying movement echoed in an uncanny billowing of the day's light and the solarium's walls. The background behind her wavers as does her face and body, becoming fainter in every moment.

Nonetheless, he steadfastly reaches out to fold both her hands into his own clasp, “I know. I love you too, Nana.” Steve's heart is full of gratitude. To his Nana for her intervention. To the ethereal for allowing him to see her this one last time.

Her expression is as compassionate as her tone as she frankly says, “You never know what will happen, Stevie. Now go back and give your boy a kiss from me so he knows that he has my blessing.”

Steve folds her small, round body in his, taking a moment to take a deep breath and take in her powdery scent once more, to feel the weight of her full body in his arms. She rests her cheek on his chest and Steve feels a steady sense of family and purpose behind her touch.

He is loved and he is cared for; family, whether alive or not looks out for him so that he is not only safe but happy, cherished as a beloved son. He presses a kiss down at her faded, silver hair, imbuing the gesture with every sense of affection that he can. He can't see it, but he feels her answering smile.

His sense of touch and smell fades until his arms are empty and he is sitting down as he looks out onto his mundane living area, the film still paused, and the two most important people in his life staring trepidatiously back at him.

“It’s okay,” Steve smiles. “It was a gift.”

He leans over and presses a soft kiss to Eddie's cheek, “That’s from my Nana, she says you have her blessing.”

“Okay?” Eddie says uncertainly.

Steve looks over at Robin, his expression serene. “I was right, The Sacrifice was never supposed to create a mixing of the senses.” He grabs Eddie’s hand in his, squeezing. “Not our eyes or even sound.”

“It was Nana,” he continues, feeling a sense of contentment and a deep relief at the road not taken. “There was a good chance that we never would have talked about our feelings,” he adds to Eddie.

Steve reaches out to stroke a gentle thumb across Eddie's cheek, grateful that he chose a life where he can show the tender feelings he has for the beautiful, creative man across from him.

He smiles at Eddie's wavering expression, “You would have kept feeling confused and uncertain, unwilling to break the peace, and I would have continued to be a dumb asshole who thought my feelings were the natural platonic extension of a guy I’m clearly obsessed with.”

Eddie’s lips quirk up, “And Nana did what? Beaned you from the other side?”

Steve nods wryly, “Sort of. In a mystical type of way. She chose a moment in time to guide me and made sure it would activate at the moment that I took action to save you back in the Upside Down. I, uh,” he rubs at the back of his neck abashedly, “Maybe just didn’t ask the right questions when I looked at the patterns."

Embarrassed at having failed at such a basic lesson that his Nana had taught him years ago, Steve looks away from the both of them to concentrate on a speck on the wall as he explains himself, “I think I was too caught up in freaking out about being the guy who creeps on his friend that I didn’t think to just ask the ethereal.”

Robin’s head is in her hands and her shoulders are shaking. Steve doesn’t even bother to think she’s upset, not for one second. There she is, he thinks, rolling his eyes as she raises her head to reveal tears of laughter streaming down her face.

“You absolute idiot,” she crows. “You had the power to ask all along and you forgot? Because you were pining for Eddie so hard you couldn’t get your head out of your ass?” Her laughter peels brightly across the room.

Steve’s cheeks flush and he doesn’t want to see the judgement that must be on Eddie’s face too, but he risks peeking at him.

Eddie looks pensive as he gestures a finger between them, “We wouldn’t have…?”

“Maybe, maybe not.” Steve grimaces. “Nana said possibly years, but she hinted at never too.”

Eddie’s hand squeezes him tightly and he brings a hand up to draw Steve into a soft kiss, resting his forehead to Steve’s. “Thank Christ for Nana,” he breathes with conviction.

“Yeah,” Steve agrees, voice thick with the faith of a love sincerely found and followed. “She’s pretty smart. I, apparently, am a knucklehead.”

Eddie's eyes are bright with tenderness, “She must have loved you very much.”

“She does. She did? I’m not sure where she is right now, but she was good at Knowing, at looking into the tapestry of destiny as well. I know she would have wanted me to have the best version of my life. And that must be with you.”

Eddie lights up and Steve silently thanks Nana again, for helping to add another brick that shores up the wall convincing Eddie that he is worthy, that he is deserving of sincerity and compassion.

Eddie had told him, ever since that conversation in the kitchen when Steve had been so convinced about the terrible impact of Eddie’s death, that he had been working on believing in it. In allowing himself to have faith when people tell them that they love him.

Eddie demonstrates his resolution to keep trying too when he chews on his lip for a moment before saying, “Let’s make sure it’s a life well lived then. You try thinking a little deeper, yes; but I’ll speak up more and make sure that I say what needs to be said.”

Steve nods and presses a kiss to Eddie's forehead, not too alarmed but nevertheless warmed by his determination.

They’ve both been working on being more open in their communication since they had uncovered a pattern of misunderstandings following their confessions. Tangled threads that had been small at first but becoming stronger knots; enough to distract them from the happier life open to them, if they only chose it.

Like the radiant path that Steve had Seen available to Eddie in the grassy clearing, before they had gone on to battle Vecna. An option he could have Seen for himself if he had not been blinded to it, Steve suddenly comprehends.

The first prediction he'd had of a bright life where Eddie loved deeply and was loved passionately in return - it had been Steve’s path too. But he'd been unable to look past the devastating impact the darker path would have on Dustin and hadn't thought to look further. He hadn't Seen beyond the darkness to realise that Eddie's path was also Steve's.

Steve, never suspecting that his own fate could be so throrougly intertwined into a tapestry of devotion with a boy that he had just started to have a deeper bond with and tentative feelings for. Yet, through his powerful intervention and by the grace of his Nana's gift, Eddie is alive here and now, his arms wrapped around the man he will love forever.

He lets his head fall onto Eddie's shoulder, the warmth of his cologne and the heat of his body grounding Steve in the present. Chuckling into Steve's embrace, Eddie continues to watch Bogie chase after Sabrina.

Robin fondly rolls her eyes at them, even as she sends a quick wink Steve's way. He feels her support to the very marrow of his bones: Robin never lies to him and Steve will rely on that gift in the future when he inevitably, as any human does, messes up. Just as he will return the favour to her.

Eddie pressses a kiss to Steve's hair and in the gesture he feels a promise. They will both work hard, for themselves and the other. And, in doing so, they will continue to weave their own destiny, creating a life full of joy and love, an unwavering light that will shine brilliantly and fiercely in their hearts.

Together.

If you liked anything, please consider leaving a comment over on Ao3 :-) It would make my day!

Thank you so much for reading along with my story, it means a lot to me. And if you shuffled a comment my way then you need to know how much you moved me and made me feel seen. Thank you, all. I love you.

💜💙💚💛🧡❤️

Taglist

Thank you to my own little community of people who wanted to be tagged and often shared my little fic with their own friends. MVPs, all of you.

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@whackyrach

[munson-blurbs]

When man plans and God laughs. Can we get some Eddie and reader finally introducing the kids and letting Eddie spend some quality time with them?

Combining with this ask: Eddie officially asks reader to be his girlfriend and they tell the kids together and they think the kids would be happy about it because they love Eddie but maybe they start crying and realize that mommy and daddy will never get back together. Reader panics and think this will scare Eddie off just like the time Jake told him to back off but he steps up and explains it to the kids and they come around afterwards.

Warnings: just a lot of fluff, mentions of divorce

WC: 932

A/N: I will be writing Eddie x Single Mom!Reader based on your requests, so please send in what you want to read!

--

If there’s one thing you’re good at, it’s picturing any possible worst-case scenario.

That’s exactly what you’re doing as you stir the pot of marinara sauce, as you check on the loaf of garlic bread toasting in the oven, and as you pour the spaghetti into the colander. You’re doing it up until the doorbell rings, snapping you out of your anxious thoughts.

Hurrying to the door before either of your kids could get there first–they were deceptively fast for people with little legs–you swing it open. Eddie stands at the other side, a bottle of red wine in one hand and a package of chocolate-frosted cupcakes in the other.

“Hi, gorgeous,” he smiles as he steps through the doorway, pressing a chaste kiss to your forehead. “Y’ready for this?”

You point to the Pinot Noir. “Might need some of that first,” you admit. “I’m just worried about how they’re gonna react, especially Gracie…”

“That’s why I brought these,” he says with a laugh, holding up the cupcakes. “If I can’t win her over with my wonderful personality, maybe sugar will do the trick.”

You feel yourself relax, taking the items from his hand and kissing his lips. “You’re the best, you know that?”

“I do what I can.”

It’s been six months with Eddie, and things were definitely serious. You’ve been putting off telling the kids about him being your boyfriend, but it was getting too difficult to hide. Especially since Matthew insisted on going to Storytime Sing-a-long every week, where you and Eddie had to actively try not to make heart eyes at each other the whole time.

“Grace! Matthew!” you call out. “Dinner time!” The pitter patter of small footsteps signals their arrival.

“Eddie!” Matthew squeals, flinging himself into the man’s arms for a bear hug. “Where guitar?” he asks quizzically, furrowing his tiny brows.

Eddie chuckles. “No guitar tonight, buddy,” he tells him, “but I did bring cupcakes for dessert!”

Now it’s Grace’s turn to light up. “What kind of cupcakes?” Her eyes are glimmering with wonder.

“Vanilla cake with chocolate icing…and some sprinkles!” Eddie whispers the last part like it’s a grand secret, making both of the kids shriek with excitement.

You place Matthew in his high chair; Grace clambors onto her seat, waiting patiently for food. Eddie starts to dish out the food, remembering that Grace loves to eat from her Wonder Woman plate, while Matthew has been particular to Spider-Man as of late.

“Thanks, baby,” you murmur as he sets the dishes down in front of them. You slice the garlic bread, careful not to cut your trembling fingers.

“So,” you say finally, trying to push through your nerves “Eddie and I want to tell you both something!”

“What?” Grace asks through a mouthful of pasta.

“Well,” Eddie starts, placing his hand over yours and beaming, “your mommy and I decided to be boyfriend and girlfriend!”

Matthew claps his chubby hands gleefully, spraying marinara sauce all over himself, but you can’t be bothered to attend to the mess. Your eyes are immediately drawn to Grace’s quivering lower lip.

“Gracie, what’s wrong?” you ask, heart sinking as she bursts into tears.

“I-if you and Eddie are boyfriend and g-girlfriend,” she heaves, “then you can’t be married to Daddy anymore!” She wipes at her tears, smearing them along her cheeks. 

You jump up to her side, lifting her from her chair and plunking her on her hip. You know you need to choose your words carefully. Eddie just looks at the two of you, forehead creased with concern.

“Gracie,” you say softly, choking back your own tears, “remember what I told you when we first moved to Grandma’s? About Mommy and Daddy needing time apart?” 

She nods, resting her head on your shoulder. “B-but I didn’t think it was gonna be forever!” she whines, spurring on a fresh batch of tears.

“Sometimes, mommies and daddies stay together, but sometimes they don’t,” you explain. “But Mommy and Daddy not being married anymore doesn’t mean we don’t love you.”

“An’ me?” Matthew pipes up, making you and Eddie chuckle. Eddie picks him up and rubs his back.

“Of course, you, Matty!” he tickles him, making the boy giggle wildly. “Every family looks different, but there’s still so much love.” Eddie pauses before continuing. “Like me, I grew up living with my uncle, not my mommy and daddy. My uncle Wayne was like my daddy.” He looks over at you and you smile gratefully, so he presses on. “And my friend Dustin, he lived with just his mommy. And my friends Will and Jonathan lived with just their mommy for awhile, until she married a nice man who had his own daughter, and they all became a little combined family.”

Grace stares at him with red-rimmed eyes. “Are you gonna marry my mommy?” she questions, and you feel your face turn red.

Eddie, however, is unfazed. “Hopefully someday,” he answers honestly, turning up the corners of his mouth slightly. “But before that ever happens, I would have to make sure it’s okay with all of you. I won’t marry her unless you and Matty give your seal of approval.”

You brush a strand of hair from your daughter’s face and kiss her cheek. “Are you feeling a little better about this now?”

“Mhm,” she hums, and her little smile peeking through allows you to breathe a small sigh of relief. “I like that my family has a mommy, a daddy, and an Eddie.”

“Me, too, baby,” you murmur into her scalp, taking in the scent of her shampoo. “Me, too.”

--

[steddieas-shegoes]

Hiiiiiiiii hdisjxksjdj I have 2 ideas for the fic writing request! Feel free to choose whichever one you'd like to do or both! 💝💝💝 love youuu

1: Steve's parents meet his new friends and are shocked at how happy he is. + they see that Steve and his friends all wear a similar-style friendship bracelet made by the kids.

2: platonic stobin with the song lyric (brother by Kodaline: I took out the chorus bc it doesn't match here):

When we were young we were the ones

The kings and queens oh yeah, we ruled the world

We smoked cigarettes, man, no regrets

Wish I could relive every single word

We've taken different paths

And travelled different roads

I know we'll always end up on the same one when we're old

And when you're in the trenches

And you're under fire I will cover you

If I was dying on my knees

You would be the one to rescue me

And if you were drowned at sea

I'd give you my lungs so you could breathe

we'll go deeper than the ink

Beneath the skin of our tattoos

Though we don't share the same blood

You're my brother and I love you that's the truth

We're living different lives

Heaven only knows

If we'll make it back with all our fingers and our toes

Five years, twenty years, come back

It will always be the same

ANOTHA ONE (BUT ACTUALLY TWO)! This first one for some reason got me fucked up. I wrote so much, then 75% of the way through, I hated it and deleted it and started over. The second one was a lot easier, but I did get a little carried away (could have gotten MORE carried away if I didn't have a tiny bit of self control left). ANYWAYS YAY FOR FINISHING ONE OF MY CLASSES WITH A 94 AND BEING ABLE TO POST THESE! LOTS OF LOVE BABEYYYY - Mickala ❤️

------------------------------------------

PROMPT 1

“Where is it?”

Steve was panicking.

Okay, panicking might be dramatic.

It was just a bracelet.

But it wasn’t just a bracelet, actually.

El made them for everyone. They all matched, but she’d added everyone’s initials to theirs so it was still special for each of them.

When she gave Steve his, he hid in the bathroom and cried.

Despite being the King for years, he’d never had any friends like the kids and Robin.

Eddie either, but he’d already passed the line of “friends” into “love of his life”, so he didn’t count.

So when he looked down while he was cooking and realized it wasn’t wrapped around his wrist the way it had been for months, he started to worry.

When he couldn’t find it in the kitchen or the path from the kitchen to the car or the car itself or his bedroom or his bathroom, he started to feel a weight settle in his chest.

He wouldn’t give up yet though. He’d gone outside to check the chemicals in the pool this morning, maybe it had fallen off there.

Just when he was about to go look, he heard a car door slam. Then another one. Then keys at the front door.

Of all the times for his parents to decide they live here, they choose now? When he’d abandoned the casserole he was making on the counter and turned most of the place upside down in the last hour looking for his bracelet?

He took a deep breath, ready to try to brush aside the panic to make sure they didn’t find his behavior unacceptable or suspicious.

“Oh good. You’re home.”

Anne Harrington’s voice used to make Steve relax. She wasn’t ever a great mother, but she was at least here until he hit middle school. Her presence, her voice usually made his dad remain calm.

But when she started going away with his dad, her voice became a dreaded sound.

Instead of it easing the tension he held in his back and jaw, it caused the tension to arrive faster.

Richard Harrington was the root cause of all of that tension, though.

“What’s going on in here?”

Steve tried to make himself appear smaller, that’s what his dad liked from him, and that’s what kept him safe.

“You caught me as I was making dinner. I haven’t been able to clean up yet.”

“Is that a casserole?”

Anne was walking up to the counter, peering down at the casserole dish as she spoke.

“Yes. I’m having friends over later.”

He was at least. Before his parents made a surprise visit.

Just as he checked the clock to see if he had time to call everyone to cancel, he heard more car doors.

Fuck, how late was it?

6:30. Shit.

Of course the one time Eddie gets everyone here on time is the one time his parents decide to show up.

El had joined this campaign at the insistence of Eddie and Will, so he knew she’d notice his bracelet was missing.

He couldn’t let her close enough to see.

No hug hello. No sitting in the room while they played. No hugging goodbye.

He could do that.

El barged in the house first, excitement palpable before she even made it into the kitchen.

“Who the hell is this?”

The voices of the others could be heard walking through the door as El froze with wide eyes.

“Mom, Dad, this is El. She’s Chief Hopper’s daughter? I babysat her.”

They looked at him like he’d grown three heads.

“Steve! Tell Dustin that I’m supposed to be the fun parent!”

Steve’s face paled. Eddie.

Every possible reaction his parents could have ran through Steve’s mind as he actually did start to panic.

Suddenly, everyone from Hellfire was standing in his kitchen. With his parents.

And an uncooked casserole.

He reached for the bracelet on his wrist, then remembered he lost it, and then he felt the sting of tears in his eyes. He couldn’t cry in front of his parents.

He walked out of the room, ignoring the confused stares and murmurs from everyone, including his mother.

He walked up the stairs, to his bedroom, then fell on his bed.

No tears fell, but they were there, waiting. For what, he didn’t know.

He could hear footsteps outside of his room. A pause. A gentle knock.

“Steve?”

His mother.

She opened the door slowly, probably just as nervous as he suddenly was.

“Can I come in?”

“Sure,” he managed to choke out.

His mom sat on the edge of the bed, leaving enough space between them that he couldn’t feel any warmth from her, which is how it’s always been.

“We probably should have called.”

It wasn’t an apology, just a statement. More for her than him since she was feeling just as awkward about this as he was.

“Those kids are the ones you babysat?”

“Yeah.”

“They’ve gotten quite big, haven’t they?”

Steve had no idea what she was doing, but he could answer her questions.

“Yeah. Don’t really need me anymore.”

“They’re here, though.”

“I’ll send them home,” Steve started to get up, but his mom’s hand on his shoulder kept him from standing.

“Don’t. We just dropped by to grab a few things. We have a flight in a few hours.”

Ah. So they weren’t staying. If he hadn’t been home when they got here, he probably never would have even known they were here.

For some reason, that hurt. Even after all these years, all these times being left alone.

“They must really love you.”

Her voice sounded different, shaky. Like she was actually trying to show an emotion other than passiveness or disappointment.

She was holding something, he could see her rubbing her fingers along whatever it was.

And then he caught the bright pink.

His bracelet.

“Where did you find that?”

“It was on the ground by the front door. Your father didn’t see it, but I picked it up. Thought it may have belonged to a girl you brought home. Then I saw what all those kids were wearing and saw your initials on it.” She handed him the bracelet and he felt relief wash over him. “You’re lucky to have them.”

He looked at her. Her lips wobbling, her eyes watery, like she was actually happy for him, or maybe a little sad about something else.

Regret. That’s what that look was.

“I wish I had known that you had so many people who love you. I wish I had been here to see you find happiness. You didn’t have any for so long.”

She’d seen it then. She’d seen the way he had to fight loneliness despite being surrounded by people at school. She’d seen the way his face dropped every time they told him they were going on another business trip, how he started to hate that they even bothered to come home at all. She’d seen the way he filled his home with idiot teenagers who barely respected him or the house, who just wanted a place to drink away from their parent’s prying eyes.

She’d seen it and let him feel that hurt anyway.

She still didn’t say she was sorry.

But he thought about if he even wanted that now. If he could even believe it or accept it coming from her.

Probably not.

He took the bracelet from her and wrapped it around his wrist, tightening the string until it was snug.

“I didn’t have anyone for so long because you didn’t seem to think I needed anyone. I don’t know who I would be without them. They’ve done more for me than you or dad ever have, and that’s why I’m the happiest I’ve ever been,” Steve sighed. It was exhausting that he even had to say this. “You’re right, though. I am lucky to be loved by them. This bracelet is just one of the physical reminders of that. Thanks for finding it.”

A single tear fell from her eyes, but Steve wasn’t going to let himself feel bad. She could have done this years ago when he needed it most.

Now he had those kids downstairs. He had Eddie. He had Robin. Joyce and Hopper. Claudia. Even the Wheelers.

Suddenly, Eddie was standing in his door, a panicked look on his face.

“Uh, sorry to interrupt.” He wasn’t. “You may need to come downstairs. Erica’s kind of doing that thing she does with your dad.”

Steve’s eyes widened while his mom just looked confused.

Then he heard it.

He jumped up and ran down the stairs, Eddie close on his heels.

“...and another thing! This house isn’t even decorated nicely! You have all this money, right? Why don’t you spend it on things that actually look good? Or a couch that’s actually comfy. How am I supposed to sleep on a piece of plywood with itchy fabric on it? Have you ever tried to sleep on that couch? Probably not since you can’t be bothered to come home.”

Steve put his hand on Erica’s shoulder while he glanced over at his father’s red face. He obviously wasn’t going to do anything to a child, but he didn’t want to take any risks, not with the kids he loved so much.

“Alright, everyone in the dining room! Get your game setup while I put the casserole in the oven.”

Erica glared up at him, but relented when everyone started moving towards the dining room.

Eddie watched as she left too, but he remained next to Steve.

Steve turned to face his father, who was certainly going to have a lot to say to him, but would probably wait until he was alone.

“The neighbor told me you had kids coming and going from here all the time, but I thought they were losing it. Especially when they said that the Munson van was parked in the driveway most nights. I guess they aren’t losing it, after all.”

His tone was outwardly calm, but Steve was well-versed in the silent rage boiling underneath.

He was also well-versed in how his father refused to make their family look bad, even if it was just a bunch of kids.

“They needed a place to play their game. I have plenty of room. It keeps them out of trouble and happy. I get to have people in the house. It’s a win win.”

Steve wasn’t usually this bold with his father, but he knew he was fine with Eddie next to him and his family in the next room.

His dad grunted and looked down at the bracelet wrapped around Steve’s wrist, and the matching one wrapped around Eddie’s.

Steve could feel his brain trying to figure everything out. He didn’t say anything to help.

“I’m sure your mother mentioned we’re just grabbing some things and leaving,” Richard finally said.

“She did.”

“Make sure the house is clean before we get back.”

“Which will be…?”

“Within the next few weeks.”

“Sure.”

They weren’t gonna be back in a few weeks. They probably wouldn’t be back for months, if ever.

Steve noticed that they barely had any of their personal belongings left in the house. He noticed that they had been slowly moving out of the house since his senior year of high school. He noticed that they rarely got mail delivered anymore, and that they didn’t send the gardener or pool cleaner by unless they were coming home.

He knew they had another house in upstate New York, one he’d never even been to and only found out about because his dad’s secretary mentioned it the last time he’d called looking for them.

He figured if they were coming back in a few weeks, it would probably be to tell him they were selling this house and he had to leave.

Which was fine.

He looked down at his bracelet as his dad left the kitchen, tugging on the end of it to make it even tighter.

He had people who would help him if he got kicked out. He had family.

-------------------------------------------------------

PROMPT 2

In 1987, Robin Buckley leaves for college.

They knew it was coming, her gap year truly could only be a year, after all.

Steve tried to put on a brave face.

He was proud of her, of course. She got into Purdue on one of the hardest academic scholarships to get. They’d let her, even encouraged her, to take the gap year, postponing her scholarship for her new start date.

She was leaving tomorrow and Steve didn’t know how to say goodbye.

Eddie was helping with some of the last minute packing she had to do, but he was trying to stay out of their way, give them time and space to enjoy what time they had left.

Suddenly, Steve knew what he needed to do.

“Eds?”

“Hm?”

“You’ve got supplies for tattoos right?”

“Tattoos, plural? Going from none to multiple in one go may not be a great idea, sweetheart.”

Robin was watching their interaction with curious eyes, but wasn’t saying anything.

“No, just one for me. But maybe one for Robin too?” He pointed the question at her, giving her a small smile.

“What? A tattoo? Now?”

“If you want. Just something small for us to have before you go.”

Maybe it was a stupid idea.

It’s not like she was leaving the damn country. He’d probably see her once a month at least.

But he was scared that she’d get to college and find a lot of smart friends who could keep up with her and find fewer reasons to visit here, and then Steve wouldn’t be able to convince her to stick around and he’d be alone.

A tattoo would at least ensure she was thinking of him, too.

“What would we get?”

“What about an ice cream cone?”

“Or a scoop?”

Eddie laughed. “You really want me to tattoo ice cream scoops on your bodies? Forever? You know these are permanent.”

Steve and Robin giggled together and nodded.

So it was settled.

They finished what they had to, waving a quick goodbye to Robin’s parents and letting them know she’d be back late. They reminded her they were heading out early in the morning and she ignored them. When they got to Eddie’s trailer, the nerves sunk in for both of them. Not enough to avoid getting the tattoos, but enough to make them hold hands while Eddie prepped the tattoo gun and ink for Steve.

“Alright, where do you want it big boy?”

He pointed to his ankle and looked at Robin, who nodded back at him in agreement.

So Eddie began.

Steve flinched at the first few lines in his skin, but got used to it quickly.

Robin held his hand and watched, talking to him about random things that she thought of that they could do when he visited her on campus.

Eddie finished quickly, smiling up at them both.

When he cleaned up and set up the new needle and ink for Robin, Steve held her hand and talked about all the things he was excited for her to do when she left. He even joked that she’d probably find a girlfriend in her Women’s Studies course.

“I mean that class is just gonna be a bunch of queer women, you better make a move.”

“You don’t know that!” she exclaimed while rolling her eyes.

When Robin’s tattoo was done, they smiled at each other. Robin kissed Eddie’s cheek in thanks and Steve kissed his lips, whispering a quiet thanks against them.

Even if Robin moved on, they’d always have this.

—-------

In 1991, shortly after Robin managed to graduate from school, Steve and Eddie had a massive fight.

They’d never had one before, not like this.

Not one that led to Eddie walking out and staying with Wayne.

Steve’s first call was to Wayne, making sure Eddie was safe.

His second call was to Robin, begging her to come stay with him for a few days so he wouldn’t have to be alone.

He hadn’t been alone in his house since the fall of 1986 and it was suddenly bigger and quieter than ever.

She quickly drove to him, knowing he wouldn’t have asked if he wasn’t struggling.

When she arrived, Steve sobbed into her shoulder for hours, not even saying anything, not really able to. She let him, didn’t offer any words of comfort, just running her hands through his hair and making sure he kept breathing in and out.

Eventually, she asked.

“I thought you guys were doing great. What happened?”

Steve shrugged, but he knew. He knew that for a few weeks now Eddie had been working a lot more, that Steve had been working a lot more, both of them trying to save money to buy a house that wasn’t a constant reminder of everything bad in their lives. He knew that neither of them were giving each other the attention they deserved. He knew the tiny little snippy comments they both were giving each other kept adding up into a form of resentment he didn’t think either of them could’ve been capable of. He knew when he missed their date because he forgot to call when he found out about the overtime he was scheduled for, it would lead to a pissed off Eddie.

“We’re just under a lot of stress right now.”

“Worse than the literal end of the world?”

“No. Just. Real life is kind of harder sometimes. Is that crazy to think?”

“I guess not. But you guys love each other more than anything. This is just a bump, right?”

“I dunno. He’s staying with Wayne for a bit.”

“How long is a bit?”

“I don’t know, he didn’t say. Wayne said he’s barely seen him.”

“Maybe he just needs to cool off. Bet he’ll be back tomorrow.”

But he wasn’t. He wasn’t back that week at all. Robin had to go back to campus to pack before they locked her out permanently, so he was left to work and come home to an empty house.

It sucked, point blank.

But Wayne called him every night before he left for work, and Steve knew that at least Eddie was safe, still going to work, still eating.

The day Robin was supposed to be back, Eddie showed up. He let himself in, which was a good sign. He sat down next to Steve on the couch, another good sign. He sighed, not a great sign, but maybe not a bad one.

He looked at Steve with tears in his eyes.

“I wanna come home.”

Steve let out a sob and folded into Eddie’s chest, Eddie wrapping his arms around him and kissing the top of his head.

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

“Sh. I’m sorry too, Stevie.”

When Robin arrived, she saw them asleep on the couch, thankfully fully dressed, and smiled to herself. She made her way up to the guest room that was basically hers and went to sleep, content with knowing that she’d gotten Steve through.

—--------

In 1997, Robin lands her dream job offer. Things move quickly. She’s supposed to fly to Italy in three days, but she’s stuck on how to tell Steve.

Steve and Eddie moved to Boston when she did, insisting that they wanted to live a city life. Now that the kids were all gone, they had no reason to stay in Hawkins.

They sold the Harrington mansion, then their own home, and found a nice two bedroom apartment on the outskirts of the city. Steve worked in a bakery, so his hours were a bit all over the place depending on the season. Eddie worked as a sound mixer at a record label, which wasn’t his dream job, but close enough that he was happy.

Robin had been working as a tutor for years, enjoying the one on one with teenagers who needed the extra help in their high school foreign language classes. It didn’t pay much, but it was enough.

But she applied to be a teacher, part of a study abroad project for prospective Boston University students that reached 24 different countries. She didn’t really expect to get it, her experience and education level not quite where most of the other applicants were.

But she’d impressed the interviewers with her knowledge of multiple languages, not just fluency in one. They expressed immediate interest and asked her which country she’d prefer.

She told them she preferred Italy, but hadn’t expected to get her first choice.

She did.

And now she had to tell Steve she was leaving the country for at least a year.

She called Eddie first to warn him. He was excited for her, of course, but nervous about how Steve would react.

They frequently joked that she was the side chick in their relationship because Steve would cancel plans just to hang out with Robin. Even as grown adults with grown adult responsibilities, Eddie had to remind them to get some sleep during sleepovers like they were teenagers.

He thought it was adorable.

He told her to come over for dinner, she could talk to him then and he would be there as backup.

So she did.

And it went okay at first. Steve was so excited for her, he kept talking about how she could send real Italian chocolate like he got on a vacation with his parents when he was young.

But then it seemed to slowly sink in what this meant.

No more random meetups in the city for coffee or drinks, no more dinners here at their apartment, calls would have to be scheduled in advance because of the time difference. No hugs or cuddling for a year.

“Maybe we could try to come visit in a few months?” He looked at Eddie hopefully.

“Maybe, sweetheart,” Eddie responded with a small smile.

He knew their finances weren’t bad, but a trip to Italy certainly wasn’t something they were prepared for. Plus, taking that much time off of work would be difficult. They didn’t have another sound mixer right now, which meant if he missed more than a day or two, they’d pretty much have to close up shop.

“I mean, I’m sure with what they’re paying me, I could probably come visit during the Christmas break,” Robin added, though she didn’t sound so sure.

Eddie squeezed Steve’s knee, sensing the tears he was trying to hold back.

“We’ve got time to figure it out.”

Nothing got planned for a while though, because Robin was busier than expected.

She worked six days a week, and on the seventh day, she was usually still grading papers or setting up meetings with the other teachers in the program.

Steve felt like he was fighting constantly for her attention, which wasn’t fair to think because she was just doing her job.

Eddie knew he was getting into a depressive episode about a month in.

He called Robin while Steve was asleep, coming up with a plan to get him out of it before it got bad.

“I’ve got enough money for the flight, but we need somewhere to stay. I think I can swing five days off for both of us if I tell his boss what’s going on. But I can’t do it for at least a month.”

“Okay, just stay with me. I have a pull out couch. My neighbor brings me so much food all the time, I’m sure she’ll wanna feed you both too. I still have to work, but you can explore while I do. Have you guys even taken a real vacation before?”

“Does visiting Dustin count?”

“No.”

“Then, no.”

The plan was in place. Steve remained sad, but Robin tried to call as often as she could.

But almost exactly one month later, Steve came home to Eddie packing luggage. His heart stopped for a moment.

“What are you doing?”

Eddie smiled at him, walking over to wrap his arms around him.

“Packing for our trip.”

“What trip?”

“To Italy.”

Steve’s heart started racing.

“What?”

“Gotta get you to see your girl, don’t I? She’s got a couch with our name on it.”

Steve cried for the next hour, leaving wet kisses on Eddie’s cheeks and lips as he helped pack.

When they arrived in Italy, Robin was at the airport holding the chocolates Steve so desperately wanted, but he didn’t care about in that moment.

He was back with his platonic soulmate.

—------

Being engaged wasn’t that important to Steve or Eddie. They couldn’t legally get married anyway, so what was the point of the whole song and dance of asking and wearing a ring?

They’d belonged to each other for so long, it wasn’t necessary.

But in 2003, Eddie changed his mind.

It happened because Robin said something about how marriage equality was looking more likely, like maybe she could actually marry her girlfriend who followed her back from Italy.

And Eddie couldn’t have Robin get engaged before him.

So he found a ring, just a simple gold band with a single diamond. He got it engraved to say “scar on my heart” which was the title of the first song Eddie wrote about Steve for Steve.

He made plans. He called the kids and made them swear not to say anything.

He called Robin and asked if she could be there.

But he should have known Robin couldn’t keep a secret.

“I’m just so excited!”

“For what? It’s just ice cream at the park,” Steve said curiously.

“It’s not just ice cream! It’s a big moment!”

And then she realized what she said. Eddie glared at her.

“What’s the big moment?”

Eddie sighed. He could just say Robin was being dramatic, but Steve wouldn’t buy it, not with the way she looked guilty of murder now.

“I have something to ask you.”

Maybe Steve would leave it.

“What is it? Why does Robin need to be there? Just ask me now.”

Guess not.

“Since I can never have plans that work, fine.” Eddie pulled the box out of his pocket, sending one more glare at Robin, who already had tears in her eyes. He started to drop to one knee but felt hands on his arms.

“Wait! Are you proposing to me?”

“Uh. Trying to, yes.”

Steve started laughing. Not really the reaction he was hoping for.

Then, he pulled a box from his pocket.

Robin clapped and cheered from the side while Eddie just stared in disbelief.

“What?”

“I called Robin to come this weekend so I could propose!”

“But. I called her to come!”

“You both are dinguses! Eddie called me an hour before Steve did if it matters, but you both are ridiculous.”

They looked at each other and laughed as Robin’s words sank in.

“I guess I know your answer then,” Eddie said.

“Ask me anyway.”

“Yeah, I came all this way to see proposals, give me a show!” Robin exclaimed loudly.

“You just need ideas for your girlfriend.”

“Shut up.”

Eddie turned to Steve, got down on one knee, and smiled up at him.

“We’re living in a time where we might be able to actually get married and there is nothing I want more than to be able to call you my husband. I’ve loved you for nearly 20 years, and I know I’ll love you more in the next 20, and the 20 after that. What do you say, big boy? Wanna marry me?”

Steve was crying and Eddie could hear Robin sniffling to the side.

“Yeah, I do.”

Eddie placed the ring on Steve’s finger and kissed him so hard, Robin groaned.

“Okay, my turn.”

Eddie stood up with a smirk as Steve got down on one knee.

“Eds, I’ve never been that great with words, but you’ve loved me anyway. Even when I may not have deserved it, even when it may have been hard, even before I was ready to love you back. I’m not going anywhere no matter what the law says, but I want you to wear this so you know I’m all in. Will you be all in too?”

Robin was crying harder now, but Eddie didn’t care.

He nodded and let Steve place the ring on his finger.

Then they both pulled Robin into a hug, all of them crying into each other’s shoulders.

It made sense that she was here for this. She was Steve’s other half, Eddie was just an addition, and he was fine with that.

[springgirlwaiting4fall]

Eddie Kingston Backstage at G1 Climax

Warning: Smut/Sex

I cried tears of joy when my husband Eddie Kingston received the call asking him if he would like to participate in the 2023 G1 Climax. It was a dream come true for him. For the first time I was happy about my injury. My arm was broken in two different places during a match with Willow, and I wouldn’t be back in the ring for at least twelve weeks. Now this was a blessing because I would be able to be right there and watch Eddie complete.

July 15, 2023. Hokkaido.

I had seen Eddie tense before, but the last two days he was in a state I had never witnessed. Since arriving in Japan all Eddie did was work out and watch former G1 matches on his phone. While all the other competitors were focused and working on perfecting their matches, they also were taking time to socialize and appreciate being at the biggest professional wrestling event in the world.

I found a little locker room away from all the hustles; then texted Eddie instructions on where to find me. It took forever for him to make his way to me.

“What did you need sweets?” Eddies eyes locked on his phone and whatever match was on YouTube.

I took the phone out of his hand, ignoring the brief anger that was shown in his eyes. “What I need is for you to enjoy being here and for you to relax.”

Eddie sat down on a bench. “Do you know how much this means to me and how important it is to me? I want to be booked to win” He sighed. “I want to relax, but my mind won’t stop racing.” I kneeled in front of him ignoring the cold cement floor. He turned his hat backwards and shrugged, it was his way of saying what do you want me to do about it without words.

“You need to just breathe and get out of your own head.” Eddie rolled his eyes at my words. I could tell he was about to walk away, so I grabbed his thighs. “Please, love.”

His eyes became darker, he sat up straightening his back. I know my husband and he loved the powerplay of seeing his normal bossy dominate wife on her knees and saying please. Eddie had been so focused on the tournament it had been more than a few days sine that last time he fucked me. Eddie’s smirked and started to play with my hair. “I think my wife should help me out.”

I could see the outline of his cock growing in his basketball shorts. This was not my original plan, but excitement coursed through me, my panties becoming wet. “I need to lock the door.”

Eddies hands tighten in my hair, “fuck that you need to help me relax now.” I moved my hands from his thighs to the top of his basketball shorts, pulling them down along with Eddies boxers. He lifted his ass up so I could pull them all the way off before he sat back down. I left little kisses along his thighs leading up to his dick. It was swollen and almost purple. My husband needed to cum, and I needed to help him.

I licked the long vein running on the under side of his cock, Eddies hand slide down with mine and held them. His left hand wasn’t as tight, making sure he wasn’t too rough with my injury. But still making it known that he wanted my mouth only. My tongue covered every inch of his member and balls before French kissing his tip. I took my own advice and relaxed my mouth, before taking him in my mouth slowly. I was eventually able to take all of him in, hollowing my cheeks. My eyes glanced at the unlocked door, but instead of being worried it made me wetter knowing anyone could walk in on us.

Eddie seen me looking at the door. “Let them walk in on us.” He began to thrust. “I want everyone to see me mouth fucking my gorgeous wife. On her knees like a whore.”

The words, Eddie’s deep voice, and his Yonkers accent making me moan. My clit was tingling, and my pussy hole wanted to be filled, but I focused on my husband.

Eddies hand were gripping mine, when he moved them both to my good arm, using his strength he pulled me off his dick and into a standing position. My lips pouted, I was just starting to taste his precum.

“Don’t fucking pout.” Eddie unbuttoned and unzipped my shorts. “I want you to ride my dick, but first I want you to turn around and pull down those shorts and show me your ass.” I did a half turn and did what I was told, kicking them off while leaving my shoes on. Then slide my thong down bending over so far that I was sure he could see my glistening pussy lips.

“Fuck Mama.” I wouldn’t be surprised if my husband could see my juices running down my thighs. After my mini show I straddled Eddies thigh, he gripped my hips and lowered me down on his cock.

Four days without him inside me was way too long. I can feel his dick throbbing even when I was all the way down. Eddie moved his hands to my bottom. We both froze after all this time; he still took my breath away with his thickness and length. I leaned over and kissed him; it was teeth clashing into each other rough. My husband pulled away first and began to thrust upwards. I met him with each thrust, and then moved my hands to his shoulders, so I could take over.

This was not a quick backstage fuck; this was to get Eddie to relax. I nipped his ear and licked his neck. “Let me do all the work, love.” Eddie frowned at my words. I leaned back so he could have a full view of me batting my eyelashes and licking my lips. “Please.” Eddie put his hands behind his hands, signaling that he knew he was going to let me do all the work.

I put my feet on the bench to give myself momentum. I worked my hips up and down, sometimes going fast, sometimes slowly rocking my hips. I pressed down and grinded on Eddies lap going around in circles. Making sure to kiss his chest though his shirt and grip his hair.

He was getting close, his hands moved down, one on my hip, The other snaked down to play with my clit. Eddies groans were getting louder. The way he was rubbing my bud in fast circles, using my own wetness as lube was putting me over. I wasn’t going to last much longer.

“Just know baby that after you fill me up, you’re going to be wrestling in the G1, with your wife sitting backstage watching you, with your cum leaking out of me.” My words made Eddie moan swear words into my ear, before saying my name. He tensed one last time and claimed my pussy as his own. I felt his hot cum go inside me and with Eddie still stroking me I wrapped both arms around him, not caring about my cast. And shook as I came.

After catching my breath, I Slowly stood up. Eddie looked down at the mix of our cum on his cock and laughed. “We didn’t think this part through.”

I smirked at him “Yes, we did.” I used my thong as a makeshift towel cleaning the inside of my thighs, then carefully cleaned the cum off Eddies dick, before sliding them back on. Eddie eyebrows rose. “I wasn’t lying about watching you with your cum all over me.”

“Fuck sweets.” The idea was turning Eddie back on again, but he knew it was time to go back to work. And actually, enjoy it now. Eddie stood up, pulled his clothes back up and embraced me in a hug. “Thank you.” He kissed my forehead “for everything.” Eddie helped me into my shorts. Then together we walked back into the G1 world.

[prettybrownelf]

Loved the idea with Eddie Munson x male reader with powers! Can you do male reader who is still getting used to the real world who lives in Hawkins instead of Nevada with el. It’s the first day of school and he meets Eddie? I’ve always thought about this and think you’d write it perfectly. Thanks!!

First Day Skipping

Non MLM/NBLM DNI

Pairings- Eddie Munson x Male! Reader

Summary- Going to school while have secret superpowers is definitely an overwhelming experience. Luckily you have a long haired metal head to help you out

Word Count- 581

Content Warnings- None

Everything is too much. 

The sound of shoes and boots on cracking cement. Voices overlapping each other. Mouths popping gum. It’s all too much. 

Your legs carry you as fast as you can inside the large brick building in front of you. 

Why you were being forced to go to school was beyond you. El got to go to Nevada and be a new person, so why can't you? 

The noises continue overlapping each other as you finally stam yourself inside of a bathroom stall. The noises outside finally become muffled as the door closes, leaving you alone in the quiet room. 

Your breathing is the only thing you can focus on as you attempt to calm your nerves. This was a stupid idea. You can move shit with your mind, why the fuck should you be in a highschool? 

Every breath inside you stills as the door to the bathroom opens. The halls seem to be quiet as you hear boots step their way into a stall. You stand as still as you possibly can as you pray the person in the stall next to you hurries up. 

Instead, you hear the faint sound of a lighter, followed with small puffs of smoke coming from the top of the stall. You roll your eyes in annoyance as you make your way to sit on the toilet, holding your head in your hand as you work out what you're going to do. 

“Are you skipping too?” The voice above you makes you nearly jump off the seat as you look up. 

A pale boy with a cigarette between his fingers looks down at you, his brown eyes immediately finding yours. “No, I'm just trying to relax.” ‘That sounds fucking stupid.’ He gives a puzzled look as he takes a small drag of his cigarette. “You new here?” You nod a bit as you look away, trying to focus on anything but him. “Yes, I am.” “Cool.” He drags, looking you up and down. 

“You wanna skip?” The question catches you off guard as you look up at him. “I don't even know who you are.” The boy reaches his hand down to you with a large smile. “I'm Eddie.” You hesitantly take his hand. “(Y/n).” 

Eddie hops down from the stall in a second. You think he's just going to leave before you hear his boots step to the outside of your door. “You coming?” ‘Why not.’ You grab your bag and open the door, following Eddie down the quiet halls and outside to the parking lot. 

‘Joyce is gonna fucking kill me.’ That's all you can think as you step into this random dudes van. Eddie however seems very happy to have you with him. “So did you just move here or something?” He asks, starting the engine as he begins to drive onto the road. “No, I'm not. I live with a friend.” He nods as he keeps his eyes on the road. “Your parents are just letting you live with a friend? That's cool.” “Yeah, my mom lives somewhere else right now. It's a bit confusing.” ‘How the hell do i explain being a telekinetic super-human whose adoptive mother lives in Nevada because the government is trying to track her down.’  “Don't worry, I've got a confusing ass family too.” His happy tone contradicts with his statement as he stares off onto the road, leaving you alone with your thoughts. ‘Ok, maybe this is gonna be ok.’

[shichey97]

Lover Of Mine

“Everyone wants something in life, Stevie.” Eddie says with a soft sound from his spot on Steve’s left as he drove them up the old quarry road. One of Corroded Coffin’s demo CDs playing over the van’s old radio. “So what do you want?”

This isn’t the first time they hung out; They started hanging out a few days after the mall fire that killed Billy and a bunch of other people almost a year ago. Steve kept having nightmares and couldn’t take it so he asked the metalhead to help. It became a weekly thing. Every Friday night they’d go up to the top of the old quarry road and smoke, talk, watch stars, and just burn off the shit of the week.

“I want to stop feeling lonely even when I’m surrounded by people. To be truly happy. To fall in love.” He says after thinking about it for a few moments.

“Have you not been in love?” he asks, glancing at him. Maybe they had more in common than he thought.

“I thought I was, but now that I think about it I don’t think so. I think what I thought was love was just an obsession with what was expected of me.” He says and Eddie laughs.

“It wouldn’t surprise me, Stevie. What does your love story look like?” He asks as he parks and goes to the back to open the doors and climb in. Steve followed and sat on the small air mattress that Eddie put back there to make their smoke sessions comfortable.

Eddie is already lighting a joint and passes it to him coughing slightly.

“I’m not high enough to answer that question.” he says and Eddie nods as Steve takes a hit, coughing at the burn in his lungs.

Eddie chuckles and reaches back up front, turning off the radio before he takes another hit from the joint between Steve’s fingers.

Steve looks at the joint then at Eddie before shrugging and taking another hit. For some reason Eddie brought Steve a sense of peace that he hadn’t found anywhere else. He feels calm and relaxed even before they smoke when he’s with the curly haired man.

“You’re staring, Harrington. What is it?” Eddi asks with a soft laugh. If Eddie was honest the way Steve was staring at him made him feel anxious, but not in a bad way.

“I like being around you, Munson.” He admits after a long while. That’s another thing he liked about Eddie. He didn’t push for an answer. He didn’t expect him to have his answers immediately. He didn’t expect…anything from Steve.

“Really now?” He asks softly as he looks at Steve. He just looks at him for a few moments. He had always found Steve beautiful. At first he thought that was a normal thing, but when he told Wayne about it Wayne explained that it wasn’t a normal thing, but it wasn’t wrong. For a man raised in the south in the 50s he was very progressive. “I like hanging out with you too, Steve. You’re one of the few that doesn’t see Eddie ‘the freak’ Munson.”

“I’m truly sorry for everything Tommy did to you…and me.” he says, sighing. “I know I didn’t do anything, but I didn’t stop him either so I’m just as guilty.” Steve says looking down.

"Don’t worry about it man. You were a dumb teenager. You've changed since then and realized how fucked up your actions were." Eddie says laughing. "Let it go. Forgive yourself man. I was never mad at you." He says leaning over to take another hit from the joint between Steve's fingers this time he had to actually touch his lips to his fingers. Eddie held his breath and went back to rolling a second joint.

Steve couldn't believe how soft his lips were or how forgiving this guy was. Steve really wanted to kiss him and the thought made him panic. So Steve finished the joint and wiped his palms on his jeans.

Eddie held out the second lit joint before he began playing around with the guitar he keeps in his van for these nights, “What’s wrong, Stevie? You’ve gotten quiet again.” he says as he strums softly.

“Why do you come out here every Friday with me? You could just give me the weed, teach me to make a joint, and let me be on my own.” Steve asks, looking at him.

“Because…every Friday I get a friend my age that doesn’t worship me or see the freak.” he says shrugging. “I’m just Eddie for a few hours and I like it.” He refused to add that Steve felt like home to him neither one high enough for the implications of those words.

“Oh.” Steve says, nodding as he takes another hit on the new one.

They’re halfway through with it when Steve gets a brilliant idea on how to get Eddie’s lips on his. “Have you ever shotgunned before?” He asks him and Eddie looks at him in shock.

“I have…once. Why do you want to shotgun, big boy?” he asks, watching him. God Eddie hopes he’ll say yes and let him kiss him.

Steve wants to say yes. He wants that more than anything, but instead he feels himself shaking his head, “I was just curious.” What a dumbass he thought as he holds the joint out to Eddie before he crawls to the cooler and grabs a soda and then the bag of doritos. He doesn’t stay sitting up long choosing to lay beside Eddie with his head towards the back doors of the van so he could see the stars.

Eddie had one of those battery operated lanterns hanging from the roof which gave off just enough light for Steve to see his face. He was handsome with the type of eyes that could convince you to do anything, but Eddie didn’t seem to understand just how beautiful he was.

If he could ever muster the courage that’s the first thing he’d tell him followed by how much he means to Steve.

“You’re staring again Harrington.” he says before looking at him with a soft smile as he puts the guitar on the wall again before laying by him on the air mattress.

Steve took another hit on the joint, holding it before he exhaled. "You're a beautiful man, Eddie Munson." He says passing the joint to him.

"You're high, Steve Harrington." He laughs before putting the joint in between his lips and filling his lungs with the smoke. He holds it for a moment before exhaling.

"Perhaps, but I think it when I'm not high as well." He says softly as he turns his head to look at him. He wasn’t surprised to see Eddie staring at the roof since he was laying on his back.

“Steve…don’t do that to me.” he says softly before holding the joint out.

“Don’t do what?” He asks softly. He was confused as to what Eddie meant. He was being genuine with his feelings and Eddie seemed…sad about it which just made the confusion worse. Had he read the signals wrong.

“Don’t give me hope that you like me when you don’t. It’s not fair to me.” He says quietly, closing his eyes as Steve takes the joint.

Steve leaned over and kissed him hesitantly; He couldn’t put his feelings into words yet, but he could put them into action. He was pleasantly surprised when Eddie kissed back a hand going to his waist to pull him closer; fingers with rings digging into a strong back

Eddie had been wanting to kiss Steve Harrington since he helped him fix a bloody nose in the bathroom after Tommy beat him up in junior year.

Steve breaks it first, but not in a rush to get away in a rush to check if Eddie was ok with it.

“You really are a dingus. Of course I’m ok with it, Harrington.” he says before pulling him back down to kiss him again.

They spent the night kissing, smoking, and finally sleeping. Eddie slept better than he had in so long. He dreamt of red skies and bats, but still woke up feeling refreshed.

Steve on the other hand dreamt everyone had found out he liked boys and that they chased him and Eddie out of town for kissing. Which led to a very stressful night for him.

[merliaskye]

Bad Person

She was being haunted.

Since that night in the Starcourt she was being haunted every night by the same fucking memory. But she was to busy to think about take time to herself.

She needed to take care of Max, she was being affected by all of that, and El moving to Lenora didn't help.

She needed to be supportive to Jade who had just lost a brother.

And she also was responsible for stopping the infinity fights between her mom and her step dad.

Maybe she was being to harsh on herself, maybe she deserved some time to try to heal.

The thing is, to herself she didn't deserve any of that.

One night, after she made sure Max would be ok and Jade I'll be with Hunter, she went to Eddie's trailer.

She was missing him more than usually and he was worried about her.

He knew that she has this thing about taking care about everyone else but ending up forgetting to take care of herself.

They spend the afternoon together, watching some movies, eating her favorite junk food..

She asked to cuddle when they went to bed, so he imediatly pulled her to lay on his chest while he was caressing her hair.

To her, there was no better place to fell safe and loved than Eddie's arms, but how could she relax and sleep with all of that thoughts screaming on her head that she was guilty and even worse, she couldn't just tell Eddie about what really happened that night.

She couldn't tell him that if she didn't had that fight with Billy, he wouldn't had left earlier and ended up being caught by the Mind Flayer.

Everything was on her, she knew Jade will hate her if she find out and she couldn't talk to anyone about that.

At some point, she got out of the bed and sit in that little stairs in the front of the trailer.

She needed some air and she didn't want to wake him up.

She let her tears fall without a sound.

She was so into her own mind that she only noticed she wasn't alone when Eddie put his jacket on her shoulders.

- it's cold here, sweetheart.

She just nodded.

- hey, what is it? You can talk to me, babe. I'm here for you.

Like someone had just opened the faucet in her eyes she started to cry again and hide her face on his chest.

- it's ok, angel. Just let all out..I'm here for you..

- that's exactly the problem, Eds

- what do you mean?

She moved away a little.

- I'm a bad person, Eds. That's no way I deserve any kind of love or affection..

- where is this coming from? Is that something your step dad told you because if it is..

- it's not.

- tell me.

- you're not gonna love me anymore.

- Izzy - he says grabbing her face gently - there's nothing in this world that can make me stop loving you.

- it's about..Billy

- oh, babe..

- I felt..I felt..

She started hipperventilating so he put her hand on his chest and asked her to breathe with him.

Slowly, she started to calm down.

- relieved - she says in a low voice - I felt relief after his death, was almost like I was happy that he would never gonna treat me like shit again..

- princess, I get it. And that doesn't make you a bad person. Billy died trying to save your life and Max's, but that doesn't erase all the bad things he did to you. It's ok to feel like that. I felt the same when my dad was arrested and I came live with Wayne. Took me time to understand that feel like that wasn't bad. You're human sweetheart, a fucking pretty hot amazing human - she let out a laugh - it's ok to feel.

- what did I did to deserve you Eds? - she says with a little smile

- you were born, pretty girl.

- don't overreact

- I'm not, I just love you.

- love you more, Eds.

[watercoloredlie]

Eddie Saves Christmas(Edancy Week Day 1: Christmas Vacation)

Summary: When a winter storm prevents them from coming home for Christmas, Eddie finds a way to still give himself and Nancy a good Christmas.

Prompt: Edancy Week Day 1- Christmas Vacation

Warnings: Pure fluff and a sliver of bittersweetness

“Don’t go shoveling all of that snow, old man. You’re not getting any younger.” Eddie warned his uncle with a fond smile on his face.

“I’m not that old yet, son, but don’t worry. The boys seem to be handling the shoveling just fine.” Wayne chuckled assuring him.

“Good. Keep it that way. Look, once the storm passes, we’ll try to get back into town as soon as we can.” He sighed running his hand through his messy brown curls.

“There’s no rush. We’d rather you guys get back safe, first and foremost.” The elder Munson man smiled softly.

“Yeah we know. I should let you go, but I’ll check in soon, alright?” Eddie cleared his throat.

“Alright. Take care. Love you, son.” 

“Love you too, old man.” He smiled softly at that as he ended the phone call.

A brutal winter storm was currently blowing its way across Indiana covering parts of the state including Hawkins in snow. It was going to be the first time since Wayne had taken Eddie in that they wouldn’t be spending Christmas together. A sniffle pulled the metalhead out of his thoughts reminding him that he wasn’t alone though. He walked over pulling Nancy into his arms. She sighed burying her head against his chest.

“Hey, I know it sucks, but it’s going to be okay. We can still have a good Christmas.” Eddie assured her rubbing her back soothingly.

Nancy relaxed against him pouting slightly. “I’m sorry. It’s my fault. If we had just left when we were supposed to, we’d be there right now.”

“It’s not your fault, Nance. You can’t control the weather or the fact that your final got delayed by a few days.” He pressed a kiss to her head.

She smiled slightly at that. “Yeah I know. I just miss them.”

“I miss them too. We’ll see them soon though. Hey, I have an idea. Do you trust me?” His big brown eyes sparkled as he pulled back slightly and gazed down at her.

Nancy smiled curiously up at him. “More than anyone. Why? What are you thinking?”

“You’ll see.” He smiled playfully at her.

She was still curious as ever, but waited to see what he was up to now. At least they were already packed. Eddie busied himself with texting which made her even more curious. What she didn’t know was that he was texting her mother, Karen. Eddie then took Nancy to the airport anyway which confused her. She trusted him though and decided to go with the flow for once.

A few short hours later, the plane landed and they got their luggage before Eddie rented a car. Nancy wasn’t sure why they were in California. It was even farther away from their families. She was quiet as Eddie drove them away from the airport. It was only when she saw the sign for Lake Tahoe that her eyes widened. Eddie pulled up in front of a familiar house a short while later. Her breath caught in her throat at the sight.

“I know I couldn’t bring you home to your family for Christmas, but I figured that I could bring a bit of them to you.” He explained gesturing toward the Wheeler’s holiday home once they were out of the car.

Her eyes glistened with tears as she threw her arms around Eddie hugging him tightly. “Thank you! I.. how?”

“You’re welcome, sweetheart. I texted Karen. Your mom was more than happy to help me set everything up.” Eddie chuckled softly returning the hug relieved that she loved his idea.

Nancy stayed like that for a few moments then pulled back wiping her tears away. She leaned up kissing him softly. They then took their luggage inside and got settled in. Luckily the bed in her room was big enough for both of them. Eddie ordered them a pizza while Nancy put in an online grocery order. He then checked out the fireplace in the living room. He lit a fire in it then made sure there was a fluffy blanket on the couch setting the cozy mood. The two of them curled up on the couch a short while later while eating their pizza.

Nancy took a sip of her soda and smiled. “This is nice.”

“Yeah it is.” Eddie smiled pressing a kiss to her head.

Christmas arrived before they knew it and it was a bit bittersweet. They did their best to keep their spirits up though. At one point, Nancy facetimed her mother. It was nice getting to see her family even though she couldn’t be there at the moment.

“Eddie!” The little blonde shrieked out when she caught a glimpse of his face on the screen.

“Holly Jolly! How’d you make out this year?” Eddie grinned at her.

“I was a very good girl. Santa got me lots of stuff, but look!” Holly smiled holding up an art supplies case that had crayons, markers, colored pencils, paint, and oil pastels.

“Oh that’s awesome! You’ve got a little bit of everything.” He looked excited for her.

“Yeah. Mommy says I have to be careful with these though.” She pointed to the oil pastels.

“Ah yeah, I don’t blame her. I’ll show you how to use them when we get home, okay?” Eddie offered her with a smile.

“Okay! We can have cookies too.” Holly smiled at him.

“Yes we can have cookies too, but you have to eat your veggies.” He grinned softly at her.

“I will! See you soon, Eddie.” The blonde waved at him.

“See you soon, kiddo.” Eddie chuckled watching her run off.

The interaction between the two warmed Nancy’s heart. Mike then appeared on the screen showing Eddie a DnD book that he had gotten for Christmas and the two started geeking out over it. She loved the fact that he got along so well with her family. Well, most of her family. Her father still wasn’t impressed with her decision to date the handsome metalhead, but Nancy didn’t care. She loved Eddie and that was all that mattered.

After finishing up the call with her family, they facetimed Wayne and Eddie was relieved to see his uncle’s face on the screen. It made him happy to see his uncle interact with Claudia. Of course it took a little getting used to, but he was thrilled that his uncle had found love and he was honored to share Wayne as a parental figure with Dustin. Once that call was finished, Eddie and Nancy chose to relax for the rest of the day.

Eddie was used to not receiving much for Christmas aside from the necessities. Now that he had a steady income of his own, he loved to spoil his loved ones when he could. Especially Nancy who insisted that she didn’t need to be spoiled, but was always flattered when he did spoil her. This year he gifted her a first edition copy of her favorite book, a bath bomb set that she had wanted, and a photo album filled with pictures of them as well as their families. She in turn gifted him tickets to a concert he had wanted to go to, some DnD books he had wanted, and a new sketchbook. They were both absolutely thrilled with their gifts.

It was his idea to try out some winter activities the next day, but now he regrets it as he fell on the ice for the fifth time. He was like a newborn baby deer learning to move around on its legs for the first time. The giggles and laughs that fell from Nancy’s lips made it all worth it though. She was patient with him and helped him find his balance. They ice skated for a bit longer then decided it was time to warm up. Giving the skates back to the rental place, the pair pulled their boots back on then strolled away hand in hand. They stopped and ordered hot cocoa at a nearby booth.

Nancy took a careful sip of the hot drink savoring the way it warmed her body. “Thank you… for everything. I think I really needed this.”

“You’re welcome. It was the least that I could do. Besides you worked your ass off with your finals so you deserved a break.” Eddie smiled fondly at her.

Her cheeks were rosy pink as she took another sip of her drink. “I love you, Eddie.”

“I love you too, Nancy.” He grinned while taking a sip of his own hot cocoa.

[queenimmadolla]

could we have something with wayne? i love wayne 🥺 was he upset when reader first got pregnant? worried about how eddie would cope and the consequences of having a baby so young? or was he buying onesies and telling everyone in the trailer park he was gunna be a grandpa?

this was an absolute delight to write. the penny verse is an extension of another series I have (Call You Mine) and Wayne is heavily involved in later chapters. this contains a ton of spoilers for it but i don’t care all that much because I love Wayne too and I really like his relationship with reader and what I have going for his backstory with Eddie. hope you enjoy it!

𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐫 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐤 𝐓𝐚𝐥𝐤𝐬

(Father-in-law!Wayne Munson and Daughter-in-law!Reader bonding)

warnings: mentions of pregnancy and drugs (reader does not use)

a/n: reader is 19, eddie is 20 and both are married to each other. daisy edgar jones is NOT reader, she is how i imagine Eddie’s mom to look so she’s used for the aesthetic. happy reading and let me know how you like it! as always, reblogs and comments (not jerk ones) are appreciated and mistakes will be fixed later!

more of the pennyverse here

It’s late, the sun is dipping below the earth visible to your eye, the trailer park lit only by the porch lights attached to a few of the mobile homes and light slipping through window blinds, drapes and curtains.

You’re standing in front of the window next to the front door, fingers separating the blinds and fingertips pressed against the cold glass. It’s warm in the trailer, compared to outside and courtesy of the space heater that goes above and beyond in heating your humble home.

The musical sound of Eddie, singing something of Whitesnake’s in the shower can be faintly heard but you aren’t paying him any attention. Your only focus is on the tan trailer four down from Maxine’s; spread out and relaxed in one of the lawn chairs under its awning is the Munson you’re most concerned about, at the moment.

It had been almost an entire month since you’d last spoken to him, something you hadn’t been aware of until you had purposely started to avoid him. 

Your relationship with Wayne Munson was anything but complicated. Well, until recently. When you’d first met him, not only did you discover he was about as wise as he looked and not nearly as scary as you imagined him to be (reminded you a lot of Eddie, actually), but you also realized he cared for Eddie, deeply. Enough to sit you down and tell you all about how he knew of Eddie’s deep affections for you before telling you all about his relationship with Penny—Eddie’s mother—and how he hoped you two would have a much happier ending. He’d asked you to take care of Eddie then, too. If you wanted to be with him, that was. And you did, so you agreed. 

Then you’d broken up with Eddie. You’d been heartbroken the entire time and positive you’d disappointed Wayne. Only, when you made your way to the trailer to fix what you’d destroyed, you had encountered Wayne again and expected to be turned away. Instead, he told you he knew you wouldn’t break your promise to him and welcomed you back.

The thing is, while you were sure he really believed you wouldn’t break your promise to take care of Eddie, you were also sure there had to have been a moment during your break up in which Wayne Munson regretted ever trusting you with his nephew’s heart, especially since that nephew was more his son than anything. 

Now, you were disappointing him again. It didn’t have anything to do with leaving Eddie, far from. If anything, you were now permanently bound to Eddie, in some way. You’re pregnant, as in you have his baby growing inside of you. 

It had come as a shock to you because you had no inkling that you were pregnant up until a couple of weeks ago (like two) and just as you were beginning to actually enjoy and soak in the fact that you and Eddie were going to be parents (you were gonna be someone’s mom! How fucking weird!), Eddie burst your bubble, informing you he’d seen Wayne recently and mentioned it to him. 

You love Eddie. Want to spend the rest of your life with him doing stupid shit like marrying him right after your graduation ceremony and having a baby at the apparently irresponsible ages of 19 and 20, but you wanted to strangle him right then. Not just because he’d told Wayne, but also because he’d done so like he was some random person from his past who asked him how he was doing and he’d casually mentioned that he and his young wife were expecting. Wayne deserved better than that.

Which is why, after days of cowering and avoiding him (it wasn’t all that difficult, Wayne spent about 98% of his time at his girlfriend’s home—the trailer you were staring at—so you hadn’t seen him often to begin with since that romance had developed) you’re determined to talk to him. Just need a couple more minutes to work up the courage.

You aren’t stupid. Well, you are, but not that stupid. You know what most “adults” (you’re an adult, too, but you’re talking about the old ass folks) thought about you. How dumb they assume you are for marrying young and Eddie, no less (they could suck your dick, he’s a fantastic husband), and now that you’re pregnant—and not even showing all that much—you know they’d think they were right. Like having a baby with the man you loved was some giant fucking punishment. Clearly, they need to rethink who they are married to if it was such a concern for them or mind their own business.

But Wayne…god, you had no idea what to expect from him. He was one of the few people in this town whose opinion you actually respected and valued. He’d wanted you and Eddie to wait a little but still gave him his blessing to marry you because he knew nothing would stop you. Your parents had been about the same, but that’s a different, messy story. Marriage was one thing, having a baby is much larger than that.

You’d been avoiding Wayne out of fear of hearing him voice what you knew was slowly making its way around Hawkins: you’re making a mistake. 

You’d be disappointing Wayne. Again.

Still, you can’t avoid him forever.

You see the man in question rattle the beer can in his hand, something you’d seen him do plenty of times on the couch outside of this trailer before he’d take the lack of liquid in it as a sign to get up, joints creaking, and make his way inside for the night.

You hurriedly slip on your coat and crash through the front door. It’s much colder than you anticipated but you ignore it and soldier on, making your way down the road.

You stare at your shoes as you sit in the empty lawn chair next to his, the cold of it numbing your butt on contact.

You know he’s not looking at you, probably still admiring the colors of the sky and taking everything in like he always is.

He breaks the silence first.

“Bit cold out for you, ain’t it?”

You wet your lips, hands curled in the warm pockets of your coat. 

“It’s not so bad. I prefer cold weather over the heat.”

He hums, low and always all-knowing. You know that he knows why you’re here. Just like Eddie, he’s patient with you; letting you come to him, letting you tell him when you’re ready. You think maybe Eddie picked up that particular character trait from how Wayne interacted with him. 

“I wanted─” You start and don’t finish. Another moment passes before you try again.

“I didn’t─”

Fuck! Why was this so hard? You hadn’t realized how badly you wanted to make him proud of you, after everything you’d put Eddie through (who probably put Wayne through a lot, as a result), you wanted to make up for it by being good to his boy and what was supposed to be a happy thing was beginning to feel like you trapping him. You knew that wasn’t the case, Eddie wanted the little being growing inside of you just as much as you did. 

Trying to explain that to someone so much older was challenging. Trying to explain it to someone older and someone you didn’t want to ever look down on you, was practically impossible. You probably appear young and dumb. 

You figure, maybe it’s time to succumb to defeat, shoulders sagging.

“You can say it.”

It’s a whisper but Wayne hears it, finally turning his head to take you in. You still can’t meet his eyes, don’t want him to see how sad yours are.

“Say what?”

“That I’m stupid. I’m ruining my life, settling. Trapping him. Screwing him over,” you don’t even notice you’re doing it, your hand moves to rest on your stomach, as if to protect your baby from the accusation you’re about to throw out. “I’m making a mistake.”

Wayne doesn’t say anything at first, just hums again. It’s not one of agreement. His thumb runs over the aluminum of the beer can in his grasp.

“You think that?”

You brave a glance at him, willing yourself to not cower under his gaze. Wayne Munson’s stare can have any sinner confessing, just from the sheer intimidation in it. 

You can’t find your tongue all of a sudden, feeling like a child. You just shake your head, timid.

“Then why would I think that?”

“Uhm, because. Uh, because it’s what everyone thinks. It’s what they thought when we got married in June, too.”

Wayne chuckles, shaking his head fondly.

“Didn’t seem to stop you from going through with it.”

It hadn’t. Before you even got to the courthouse, word had spread and one of the cheer moms who worked there had tried to offer you some unsolicited advice: don’t do it.

You did it.

“There ain’t nothing ‘bout you two that’s been conventional. Always got me rubbing my scalp.”

You giggle, biting your lip to try to stop yourself but you know Wayne meant to make you laugh, tried to ease you with humor he rarely expressed. For some reason, the jokes about him balding greatly amused you.

“Are you mad? That I’m pregnant?”

“No,” he shakes his head, gruffly clearing his throat. Doesn’t do much, his voice is always raspy. “Takes two to get in a spot like that. I didn’t see it coming, that’s for sure. But like I said, you two ain’t ever been conventional. Glad to see you’re following the order of things, ‘least. I’ll be honest with you, it’s always been a little hard to picture where Eddie would end up, what he’d be doing in life. Other than playing that loud music and going to those damn noisy shows. Made me a little nervous with those girls I knew he brought around, didn’t ever meet none of them but I knew. If it had been then, I’d probably have been more scared. ‘Specially if he felt like he had to hide ‘em. Or if they had to hide him.”

Wayne leans further back into the chair, making the stiff thing look as comfortable as a recliner. 

“It’s different with you. We had this conversation before. You remember?” You think you know what he’s about to bring up, so you nod.

“Mhm. You’re about how old Penny was when she had Eddie. Maybe a little younger. You ain’t married to an asshole, either. For the most part.” 

You laugh again and point out, “I thought Penny never married Otis.”

Otis is Eddie’s dad. The older brother (by 10 years) of Wayne’s who swooped in and stole his best friend from him, introducing the much younger girl to a life of a hardcore drug you’d never touch and one Eddie would make sure he never had any part of: meth. 

Wayne had told you she’d gotten clean when she found out she was pregnant with Eddie and stayed that way, for him. You know that’s when he fell in love with her. Sadly, their story would never involve romance. They were kept apart by Otis, distance and themselves, neither one of them speaking up when she’d returned to Hawkins with Eddie, unwilling to have him live in a meth lab. In a cruel ironic twist, she’d ended up dying of an overdose not much longer after her return; she’d been struggling to sleep with everything going on and unknowingly mixed two over the counter sleeping pills that shut her system down. She’d stayed clean only to die because she wanted a good night's sleep so she could take care of her son. Eddie had been forced by the system to live with his father, only being allowed to return to Wayne—with a shaved head when traces of the drug were found in his hair—after his father’s lab was busted.

“She didn’t,” Wayne agrees, that far off look in his eye when he recounts his younger days to you. “But he wasn’t exactly the type of man any woman would want to marry. You got lucky with Eddie, he ain’t nothing like Otis.”

You hum in agreement, mind flooding with thoughts of soft curls and even softer brown eyes. You know Wayne loves Eddie on his own and wouldn’t ever treat him differently, but you can’t help but be thankful—for Wayne—that Eddie is an almost exact replica of his mom, appearance wise. For both of them, actually. Eddie hates his father and you know he’d hate himself if he looked in the mirror and saw any resemblance. 

“You got your head on right.” You snap out of your thoughts at the comment, surprised. 

“Huh?”

“You might be young, but you sure ain’t stupid. I may not know everything that went on with you, but I know you saved yourself from it. You and Eddie been doing an awful lot of that your whole lives, ‘least you get to do it together now. I know you love Eddie, and I know you love that baby. So don’t you dare say you made a mistake. Would I have liked for you to wait? Sure. Hell, I’m pretty sure you wouldn’t have minded waiting either. Unless—was this…?”

“No! No! It wasn’t planned at all!” You don’t mention that you and Eddie hadn’t been using protection, just blindly trusting your birth control. He doesn’t need to know that. 

Wayne sighs in relief. “See? You ain’t stupid.” Debatable. “And even if it was, I trust that you know what you’re doing. ‘S the reason I let you two live in that trailer alone.”

You smirk, happy to have the opportunity to chime in. 

“Are you sure it’s not because of Ms. Maple?” You wiggle your eyebrows, not so discreetly nodding your head to the trailer behind you and the occupant you’re sure is inside.

You laugh as Wayne raises his eyes at the awning.

“Lord,” he mutters, with fake annoyance. He’ll tell you all about Penny but he won’t say a thing about Maude Maple. You suspect it’s because he feels like he’s betraying Penny in some way, even though they were never involved. Munson men are loyal. 

“Is that what you came over here to pester me about? Or are we gonna keep this talk serious?”

“No,” You pout, curling your legs up to your chest. “I just—I didn’t know how to tell you. Kind of forgot we have to tell people actually, and when Eddie mentioned that he’d brought it up in a chat─”

You’re cut off when Wayne booms out a laugh, surprising you considering you’d rarely heard him laugh hard.

He’s almost snickering when he calms down, “Is that what he told you? That boy called me up and asked if we could talk. Figured it could only mean he’d gotten you pregnant, considering he already eloped with you. He was shaking in his shoes the entire time he was over, he didn’t just bring it up in a run-in.”

Your mouth drops open, eyes squinting as you think about how you’re gonna chastise Eddie as soon as you get back to the trailer. That jerk! He made it seem like it was just something that came up in conversation, not something that he’d set aside time to talk to Wayne about! 

Another half of you wanted to kiss him silly for taking it seriously and having a meaningful conversation with his father figure about becoming a father.

“No wonder you were so well prepared.”

“That didn’t have nothing to do with it. Like I said, I figured you were. Not just ‘cause he wanted to have a talk, it may not be obvious to the two of you since you see each other every day, but you’re filling out a little more.”

Your eyebrows shoot up, though there’s no animosity to it. You know he’s not implying you’re gaining weight, he’s saying you’re showing. 

“Winter layers can’t hide it.”

Your mouth drops open and closed, gaze darting from what you thought was your normal looking stomach to Wayne and back again.

“You’re good!” You marvel, baffled at how observant and damn near omnipresent Wayne Munson is.

Wayne looks pleased with your statement, a small smile on his face. “I know. Eddie says it’s a girl. What color clothes should I be buying my grandbaby? You got any names picked out?”

You pull your hand out of your pocket to nervously bite at your thumb. Ever since you’d accepted the fact that you were gonna be a mom (still so fucking weird), to a girl, there was only one name bouncing around in your head. You hadn’t even shared the idea with Eddie yet. 

“I really like ‘Penny’.”

[fantasticallyfruity4]

What if Neil Hargrove worked at the same plant as Wayne Munson?

Sure, Neil was higher up on the ladder, and a day shift manager man, but they knew eachother- At least of eachother in passing.

And wayne knew that that man was just dirt garbage, the day he met him. Fucker reminded him of his good for nothing brother, kinda guy who thought pushing around his wife and kid made him a man. Wayne found it pathetic, really. As he’d ranted shamelessly to Eddie about.

“Yeah, I go to school with that guys son. Billy, he’s in the class of ‘86.”

Wayne raised an eyebrow at that.

“He alright?”.

Eddie shrugged. “He’s a dick, but if you know his family- his dad, it makes a lot more sence. If you don’t, I guess you just think he’s a dick. He’s bought some pot from me a few times-“

“Edward! That shit-”

“What! I’m just saying, he’s bought from me and I feel bad for the guy, every time we’ve talked he’s kinda skittish the whole time, and paranoid about his dad finding out he’s- never mind”

“What? What’s he scared of his dad finding out?”

Eddies jaw tightened. “Nothin, don’t worry about it. It’s nothin-“

“He’s like you, isn’t he?”

It was simple enough, didn’t make Eddie say anything out loud. He knew what his uncle meant. And he knew this uncle would love him no matter what. He’d still be his boy, his son, no matter what. He’d told him before, many times, without expecting Eddie to say the words. So all Eddie had to do was nod.

“Shit. That’s a recipe for a dead kid, I’ll tell you. That man ain’t right in the head.”

One night Wayne goes into Eddie’s bedroom to ask him if he has any laundry he needs done when he goes to the Laundromat the next day. As he’s walking in, Billy’s climbing in the window.

Billy’s face is a panic when they make eye contact.

“Eddie, laundry?” Wayne repeats to the stunned, deer in headlights-esq teen.

Maybe a bit surprised at the casualty of his uncle, at the fact that he’s sneaking a boy in, Eddie just nodds handing his uncle his hamper.

“Use the damn front door next time, boy, or else one of my redneck neighbors will probably shoot you in the ass on account of thinkin your a theif” he calls calmly as he walks back out.

After that he notices Billy’s around more. Keeps his conversations with Wayne to a minimum, but he’s polite. Respectful. Clean. Seems to make his boy happy. Seems to be happy too. He looks relaxed here, like he feels safe. Good. He’s probably uncomfortable about fathers- or father figures, Wayne supposes. He doesn’t need to make some big show of ego, it’s alright with him.

He doesn’t exactly see anything between the boys, but he knows. How couldn’t he. When he walks in the room Billy always scoots away from Eddie on the couch, stops standing behind him in the kitchen, jumps across the bed. And Wayne wants to laugh, clap the boy on the back and tell him he’s about as subtle as an elephant but that wouldn’t do any good. He knows. He sees the marks on his nephews neck that he put in no effort trying to conceal. Sees the look in their eyes. Hears the sound of a car staring late at night and early in the morning.

Sometimes Billy shows up before Eddie’s home from hellfire or a gig. Those nights he has a black eye, usually. Or red marks on his neck. Or he’s got a limp. Or he’s clutching his torso. Usually more than one.

Wayne let’s him in without a word to wait for Eddie, makes him a cup of tea, something small to eat. If Billy’s afraid of parents, if he doesn’t want to talk, he’s not gonna make him. Not in this state.

One Sumer night eddie looks panicked, face white as he drops the phone in the kitchen. The sound of the receiver bouncing off the kitchen wall.

Suddenly they were distant for a while, Eddie and Billy, Wayne noticed. Billy wasn’t around too much anymore that summer.

It was maybe a month.

Eddie said Billy was acting strange- angrier than usual, more easily upset. Panic attacks. Acting Distant. He said something was up, he thought maybe Billy was doing drugs- bad shit, worse than he sold. His guess was heroin. But then eddie got that call.

“Eddie? ‘The hells going on in there?”

“Billy’s in the hospital-“

“Did that bastard father of his-“

“No, no. There was a fire, uh, at the mall or something? I have no idea his sister called me she was crying a lot I’ve gotta get to the hospital-“

“Edward you are not in any state to be driving god forbid you his something or god forbid someone let’s go I’ll take you”

“What they say?” Wayne asks, eyebrows knitted tight in concern, waiting in the hospital waiting room.

They’d let Eddie see Billy- the little sister had come or get him, convinced the nurse he was their cousin, that he lived with them too. And they’d let Eddie come into Billy’s room and see him, told him the story.

“He’s got a concussion, like a bad one. He says he’s having trouble hearing, but the doctors say it’s gonna pass, he just- he just held onto my tight and didn’t let go. Didn’t stop apologizing for like 20 minutes. Crying that it wasn’t his fault, that he didn’t have control” Eddie rambled, face knit in confusion.

“The hell does that mean?” Wayne wondered.

“I don’t know max said she’d explain it later. Just gotta worry about Billy now.”

The two munsons had barely finished their talk before Wayne watched Neil Hargrove walk in, yelling, flailing his arms, making a god damn scene.

“Don’t let him in there! Don’t fucking let him in there he’ll kill him!” Wayne watches the little red head sister scream at the sherif standing outside the boys hospital room.

It’s not just one of the deputy’s either, that’s the chief. Wayne knows the guys face. And he seems very invested in this all, assuring the girl he won’t let anything happen to her brother now, no matter what.

and Neil’s making a god damn scene, threatening hopper (which isn’t the brightest idea now, is it?)

And Wayne thinks fuck it, in for a penny in for a pound.

“Why don’t you shut the hell up and take a walk before the chief here shoots your sorry ass?” He calls across the room, everything falling silent.

“Uncle Wayne what the fuck?” Eddie whispers in a hiss.

“You talkin to me trailer trash?” Neil yells across the room, storming over to Wayne.

“The fuck are you gonna do about it, wife beater? Gonna hit me like you do your son? I don’t think that’s a good idea, I’m not some scared little boy, Hargrove, I hit back” Wayne promises.

“Neil take a step back before I have to put you in cuffs” hopper warns one last time.

But the thing about cowards like Neil, like Wayne’s brother, is they’re big men when it comes to putting their hands on women and children. But when it comes to being put in their place, they’re big cowards. Wayne knows the type all too well.

“Whatever, you and your faggot nephew aren’t worth my fucking time. I’m out of here”.

And she doesn’t know that Neil’s leaving for good, that he’s gonna get in that car leave hawkins, go to god knows where.

And max hates watching her mother chase after that piece of shit who beats her big brother, who terrorized her the last two years, it’s embarrassing. Her mom could do so much better. But At least Neil’s getting further away from Billy’s room with every heavy footstep.

And tonight when Susan and max are still stranded at the hospital both Wayne and hopper will offer them a ride home, and Susan will take Wayne up on the offer. Eddies going to stay the night in the hospital, not that Wayne doubted he would for a second.

And when they park outside the mayfield/Hargrove house susans going to ask Wayne quietly if he would keep an eye out for a vacant lot, or a trailer for sale. Because she can’t keep this place afloat on her own. Wayne knows just the spot, writes the supers number down on a napkin and hands it to her.

[thatfanficstuff]

Impossible-13

Pairing: Eric Northman x reader

Warnings: Canon typical. Feelings.

A/N: A friendly reminder that I have changed Canon. Amy and Jason weren’t a thing. Therefore they didn’t take Eddie. Which means Lafeyette is not in Eric’s basement. Amongst other things.

***

Sam had already started to come around by the time Sookie knelt over him. He returned with her to check on you and you quickly averted your gaze. There were some things you were perfectly happy not knowing. “Clothes, Sam. Then go to Sook’s and call the cops. See if you can find my phone while you’re there. It should be in the living room somewhere.

He hesitated only a moment before nodding and hurrying off to do as you asked without argument. That was a nice change.

Sookie settled onto the ground beside you and took your hand in hers. “You saved me. Thank you.”

You hummed in acknowledgment not willing to expend the energy it would take to say anything else. Suddenly, you coughed and groaned at the pain that rolled through you with the action. You may be more resilient than the average human, but a bullet in the chest was a bullet in the chest. You could only be thankful that it had apparently missed anything vital. You assumed so anyway since you were still breathing. You kept your breaths shallow to keep your chest from moving too much. God, you hurt.

Sam returned with your phone about the time you heard sirens in the distance. “Thanks,” you said as he slipped it into your hand. You almost immediately dropped it. “Fuck.” There was nothing more frustrating than a body that didn’t work the way it was supposed to. You stretched your fingers and rubbed your hand against your leg trying to wake it up.

When you fumbled with it again, Sookie gently pulled it away from you. “What are you trying to do?”

You cleared your throat and winced. “Missed calls.”

Her eyes went wide as she looked at the screen and you chuckled. You figured. “27. They all say Eric or Pop.”

Before you could tell her to call Eric, your phone rang again. “Answer it. Put it on speaker.”

“Yeah,” you greeted when Sookie had done as you asked. Your voice was tight, pained.

“Y/N?” Eric’s frantic voice washed over you. “Are you all right? What the hell is going on?”

“We’re still a couple of hours from sundown. Someone needs to drive me to you.” You managed to get the words out through the pain. You weren’t certain how long you could keep doing so. It had been a long time since you hurt this bad. Fucking Rene. Drew. Whatever the fuck his name was. Asshole.

“What is her condition, Sookie?” His voice had taken on that hard edge it got when he was worried. Or angry. Probably both at the moment.

“How’d you know I was here?” she asked.

“I can hear you breathing. Answer the question.”

“I-I’m not sure. There’s a lot of blood.” Her voice trembled and Sam wrapped an arm around her.

“And the person responsible?” If this were a different situation, you would have been turned on by that dark, protective note in his voice. No one ever said you didn’t have your issues.

Sookie swallowed and grimaced as she glanced at the asshole’s body. “Dead.”

“You are certain?”

You huffed a laugh at the disappointment that colored his words then groaned in pain. “Fuck you,” you managed to get out and Eric chuckled in response.

Two police cars and an ambulance wailed to a stop on the road in front of the cemetery. “The ambulance is here. Maybe she should just go to the hospital,” Sam piped up.

“No,” you and Eric said in unison.        

The corner of your mouth twitched. At least the two of you agreed on something.

“Company?” he asked.

The other two looked confused so you answered him. “Ballentine.”

“Give me a moment.”

The EMTs knelt beside you as the cops shouted questions. You ignored them all, the edges of your vision going fuzzy. That’s no good. Hurry up, Eric.

You no sooner had the thought then he returned. “I’ll see you soon. And I’ll call your father.” Damn, he must be really worried if he was volunteering to call Roman.

He hung up and one of the EMT’s phones started to ring. After a quick conversation, he knelt down and looked you in the eye. “You’re all taken care of. Let’s get you out of here.”

An excruciating wave of pain swamped you as they lifted you onto the gurney and everything went black.

***

Awareness came slowly. Fingers sweeping strands of hair from your face. A low voice making promises and declarations, though you only understood about half of them. Arms holding you against the chest you leaned on.

“Awaken, mitt allt. You must drink.” Eric’s voice was a comforting buzz in your ear even if you didn’t care for the pleading note it carried.

You grasped onto one of his arms as you shifted to make yourself more comfortable. A hiss accompanied the pain motion brought with it. Eric sighed in relief and some of the tension flowed from his body. He wouldn’t completely relax until you were healed.

He bit into his wrist before holding it to your mouth. You pressed your lips to his skin and sucked the healing liquid into your mouth. At first you were timid, tender but as your body began to stitch back together you held his wrist against your lips. You drank deeply then, eager to rid yourself of the agony you’d been living in since the cemetery. Eric shifted beneath you with a moan and you smirked as you pulled away.

You maintained the grip on his arm and held it against your chest as you nestled your head further into his. The fingers of his free hand ran through your hair as the two of you just relished being in each other’s presence. “Better?” he finally asked, breaking the silence.

“Better,” you agreed.

His hand shifted so his fingers trailed down your spine and back up. “No more helping the riffraff unless I accompany you.”

You sighed but didn’t say anything not really caring to get into an argument at the moment.

“Do you have any idea how close you were to death? How much blood you lost? I could feel you growing weaker with every passing second and there was nothing I could do.” He took a deep breath. “I realize that you may be willing to sacrifice yourself to do what you think is right, but are you willing to sacrifice me? Because if you die, I will as well. My fate has been tied to yours from the moment I met you. As much as I tried to deny it, that is the truth.”

“Fine,” you said after a moment’s thought. “But the same goes for you. No secrets, Eric. Let me help you. What good is having Roman for my father if I can’t use it to our advantage?”

He laughed as you’d wanted him to when you said it. You tilted your head back so you could see his face. His gaze met yours for a brief moment, then he leaned forward and kissed you. You ran your fingers through his hair and held him to you. When you finally separated, he leaned his forehead against yours. “I love you, Y/N.”

“I love you, too.” You tugged on his hair a bit and his brow furrowed. “Can I cut your hair?”

He grinned. “Pam will have my hide, but you may do as you wish.”

***

After you called your father to check in, you and Eric showered together in silence as you washed your blood from one another. Even though his blood had healed you, Eric was still taking care of you as though you needed it. He dried you off with one of the fluffy towels from his warmer before helping you dress in a pair of your sweats and one of his t-shirts. While he poured you a drink and ordered dinner, you changed the sheets on his bed so it would be ready in the morning.

“I could have done that,” he said and you looked up to find him leaning in the doorway.

You shrugged. “I’m just as capable. Get me what I need and I’ll cut your hair while we talk.”

Once the two of you were ready, you started on his hair. It was a few minutes before you started to tell the story of what happened that day. You only paused when the doorbell rang signaling the food was there. You sat it on the counter and went to finish up Eric’s hair. It was pretty good all things considered. And he hated going to a salon.

“And what did our little telepath think about you decapitating your assailant?” It was the first thing he’d said since you’d started talking.

“Pretty sure she was just glad she wasn’t dead at that point, Eric.” You ran your fingers through his hair to make sure everything was even, touching up as needed.

“Don’t be surprised if she distances herself. Humans often have difficulty accepting the necessity of our actions.”

You rolled your eyes. “Seriously? You’re going to talk to me about people distancing themselves?” You took the towel from his neck and dropped it onto the one at your feet. You could clean it up later. You were starving.

He stood and wrapped an arm around your waist to pull you to him. His lips trailed up the line of your neck. “I just don’t want you to be disappointed if it should happen.”

You shrugged. You learned long ago that friendships were fickle things, even if you did save them from psychotic serial killers. “I’ll be fine.” You patted his chest. “Now, let’s eat. I’m so hungry.”

He laughed as he released his hold and followed you to the kitchen. The two of you sat at the table with your plates and you immediately dug in. “There is something we should discuss,” he said once you’d gotten some food into your belly.

You arched a brow and motioned for him to keep talking.

“Sophie-Anne contacted me yesterday to inform me that I would be assisting her in a new money-making endeavor.” He tapped his silverware on the table but didn’t continue.

Your brow furrowed as you realized he was bothered by whatever he had discussed with his queen. What the hell was Sophie-Anne up to now? It was no secret that she was in some serious trouble with the IRS after not paying taxes for years. Even death wasn’t an escape from taxes anymore. “What is it, Eric?”

His eyes darted up from the table to meet your gaze. “I fear what I tell you may be a death sentence for her. Sophie-Anne and I have had our differences, but she’s a decent queen, all things considered.”

“If it’s that serious, you shouldn’t be involved. She’ll hide behind her title and her denials while you pay the price for her scheming.” Vampire politics were messy at the best times and deadly at the worst. If it wasn’t for you, it would be Eric’s word against Sophie’s should something happen. And odds were, they’d accuse Eric of treason for speaking against her and he’d be killed while she got off scot free. It was one of the things you and your father argued about the most.

Eric nodded in acknowledgement of your words and took a deep breath. “She wants me to find someone to deal V for her.”

Holy shit. Eric was right. Sophie-Anne was dead. And it wouldn’t be the Magister delivering the sentence. No, your father would be visiting much sooner than he’d intended.