Uncle Wayne being secretly in love with Eddie's mom, they had a few late night flings whenever she'd have a break-up with Eddie's dad. Which often happened, sometimes in the form of short 'breaks'.
The guilt of what he was secretly doing behind his brother's back eventually became too much, and Wayne puts an end to it.
But then, some time after their last intimate night together, Eddie's Mom is pregnant. It's within the time frame of her fooling around with Wayne, but his brother doesn't know that.
His brother thinks the kid is his, and he has no reason to suspect anything. Eddie's born, and he looks just like his mother. Wayne sits quietly watching the couple from a short distance.
When he is finally offered to hold baby Eddie, the newborn is crying up a storm. But Wayne's heart is instantly filled with love for him, he knows he is his kid as Baby Eddie opens his eyes and peers into Wayne's gaze.
Baby Eddie stops crying as he watches Wayne's face and listens to the sound of his voice. Wayne speaks softly to his new "nephew" and welcomes him into the world, vowing to always watch over him.
However, when Eddie's Mom marries Wayne's brother, it hurts a little too much. While Wayne tries to stay around, eventually he takes a trucking job. He is still able to visit Eddie, his brother and the woman he still loves deeply, but no longer has to face the hurt every day.
His brother is still oblivious, but Eddie's Mom does all she can to talk Wayne into staying. Her new husband isn't the fatherly sort and more than anything.... she's realized too late that she was in love with Wayne as well.
Now she feels trapped in marriage to a man who is nothing more than a friend.
Wayne leaves, he often visits and always sends Eddie and his mom hats and mugs from his travels across the states. He writes letters for Eddie to read when he gets older, and calls on the phone to chat once Eddie is old enough to listen and reply.
This continues for years until Eddie's mother falls ill. She can't be saved, and Wayne rushed back home after getting a letter from her. The letter held her love confession and all her regrets.
Wayne arrives back in Hawkins too late, he wanders the hospital to find a nine-year-old Eddie alone in the waiting room. Eddie is glad to see is "uncle" and hugs him. He's scared, and he doesn't understand why no one is telling him things.
Eventually, Wayne's Brother exits the room, he looks as if he's in another world and glares knives at Wayne. Wayne's heart feels painful, he knows she's gone. And he knows even though the relationship had become rocky, his brother did love her.
What Wayne didn't know was that she'd told him about the flings and had DNA testing done. She'd given the results to Wayne's brother. He held them clenched in one fist now.
Wayne attempts to comfort his brother and gets pushed back by the angry, broken man. His brother rages and swears as he hits at Wayne.
The nurses threaten to call security, but Wayne calmly talks them down.
Then he reaches out and draws his brother into a hug. Arms latched on as if to never let go. Wayne's brother begins to weep over his shoulder, clinging to his big brother.
Wayne doesn't say anything and lets him sob.
It doesn't last long, Wayne's brother gives him a shove that nearly knocks him to the ground and pushes the paper into his chest.
Wayne looks to Eddie, who is still waiting in quiet confusion.
"What about Eddie?" Wayne calls.
His brother says nothing and leaves through the doors.
Wayne tucks the paper away, he can look at it later, right now he had to tell Eddie the horrific news. And as the boy denies it and exclaims over and over that it's a lie, demanding to see his mom. Wayne stays to remain his pillar and just as he had for his brother, Wayne envelopes Eddie into a hug and carries his tears.
Eventually, when all matters are settled and the funeral is done, Wayne reads the paper, the DNA results. He's Eddie's dad. But he's not the father Eddie knew, even if they were close enough.
Wayne talks with his brother and the two comes to a rocky agreement to raise Eddie together. However, Wayne is not to tell Eddie the truth.
The death of his wife caused Wayne's brother to spiral in darkness, and eventually it leads to incarceration. Wayne would have to raise the 13yo Eddie alone.
But it goes better than either could ever imagine, and Wayne looks after Eddie like the father he is.
Until 86.
Wayne refurbished the ruined trailer, keeping Eddie's room the way he would have liked it, and Wayne would wait every day in front of the home with a nice cold beer for his son when he'd find his way home.
He worked extra shifts to buy back his old trucking rig, which he'd sold to a family friend to provide for Eddie. Wayne would need that truck so he could stay on the move with Eddie until the boy's name was cleared.
He had everything planned because he was coming home.
But months turned into years, and eventually Wayne surrenders. He can't stand the sight of Hawkins anymore and with a shattered heart he takes up trucking again.
Wayne lives in his truck, working nonstop because if he slows down he can feel all the pain. All the broken pieces.
And then, one hopelessly rainy night, Wayne comes across a hitchhiker. He looks homeless and dons a head of curly brown hair cut short, it's uneven everywhere as if he'd chopped it himself, and it was slowly growing out wonky.
His clothing is tattered by many rips, and he is soaked to the core.
The man asks for a ride, Wayne's hardly afraid and lets the young man climb in.
His voice shocks Wayne first as he goes to thank him, and as Wayne turns to look at who he'd let in his truck, the man speaks in an exhausted tone.
"Thanks man, you know my uncle was a trucker, Had a truck just like this, I'm trying to get bac-"
As the man looks into Wayne stunned face, his mouth snaps shut and his lips quiver.
"Well, I'll be da-" Wayne's works don't finish either as he arms lung out.
Eddie reaches towards the hug and just as he had many years ago, Wayne carried all his tears.
Wayne stops at a diner and gets Eddie fed, he rents a room at a motel, so Eddie can wash up and have a good night's sleep.
Eddie often wakes up and peers around to make sure Wayne's really there. When he sees his face through the dark, he settles back to sleep.
Wayne can see Eddie is clearly traumatized, and the two continue trucking around the states until Eddie is ready and confident about going home.
This day comes when the case of The Bone Snapper is closed and, thanks to Nancy Wheeler, Eddie's name is cleared.
Once back in Hawkins and given an official apology as well as an honorary, be it official, diploma, Eddie slowly falls into the swing of things again. Just happy to be among his friends.
Wayne tries to make better memories in their home. Eddie's got a job at the auto shop. Wayne's still at the plant. They're back to bowling every Wednesday, and Eddie's still kind of awful at it.
One day, Corroded Coffin gets their big break.
Eddie's going on tour and for a long time.
So Wayne sits him down and in his hand the slightly crumpled paper. Wayne shows the old DNA results to Eddie and explains everything. Wayne braces himself for Eddie's ire. Surely he'd be furious that this kind of secret had been kept from him.
Though Eddie simply chuckles and goes to his room, he opens a shoebox, pulls out an envelope and returns to Wayne.
You'd see his mother wrote Eddie a letter aswell, in fact she wrote him two. One explained how much she loved him, that one day she wouldn't be around physically but still in his heart, she told him her hopes and dreams for him, and she told him to promise:
"You won't open the second letter until you're 18"
However, Eddie hadn't thought about the second letter until he was 19. Even then, he only remembered after coming across it while doing some spring-cleaning and changing his room around.
That letter told him everything.
He'd known all this time.
"You were kinda my dad before I knew you were." Eddie says.
"Not just in the biological part, but just in normal everyday shit." He adds with a smile.
Eddie holds up the paper Wayne had given him, a grin on his face.
"This just means I can call you Pops from now on," he chuckles.
Meanwhile, Wayne's in an eternal battle not to cry. He gives Eddie's shoulder a pat, "well, you have fun out there." His says as Eddie gathers his things, heading out the door.
Wayne walks him to the van and watches him climb inside.
Eddie shuts the door when Wayne calls out to him.
Silence lingers for a beat as Wayne watches the boy he raised.
Then with a smile, he lifts his hand in a lazy wave, "proud of you, son."
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