#eddie has wayne as a father figure and steve could have wayne as well or hopper | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

m0llygunn · 11 months

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Strat and Jag (Eddie Munson x fem!reader)

Summary: an unfortunate bout of eavesdropping rocks the boat of friendship between you and eddie, and ex-sailor steve helps steer you right...

Warnings: 18+ for mature content (not too explicit yet) and eventual smut, mature language, mentions of eddie trauma (parents/alluding to drug issues). Authors note: howdy this is part 2. also i take back the prologue being a prologue, thats just part one idk what im doing. This part and the 3rd part will be the main chunk of this series, then I have bonus chapters coming after! ty! wc: 6.7k+

01/02

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The Fire of All Hells

“I can’t fucking do this anymore, holy shit. She’s killing me.”

“Killing you? I don’t think it’s that serious, man.” Gareth laughs.

“No.” Eddie says harshly. “If you heard what she was saying yesterday… holy fuck, you’d understand. She is killing me.” He groans.

“Well, dude, you know what you could do?” Jeff replies sarcastically.

Eddie, Jeff, and Gareth were all setting up in the drama room and you figured you’d show up a little early with the cookies you made after Eddie left you yesterday.

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While you didn’t play DnD, you were an odd sort of an ‘unofficial’ member. You and Eddie have been friends forever so it was kind of pushed into your lap when he wanted to start his little club. And since it was a group of dimwit boys, you unwarrantedly became the founding mother of the club… alongside the founding father, Eddie— who, have it be noted, has zero organizational capabilities, not an ounce of time management skills, and absolutely no faith entrusted in him by any school faculty members. And for all of those reasons, that is why you were roped into this weird little club.

Eddie practically begged for you to be the one to ask the teachers to start the group. His far from perfect rep with them would have made the teachers obviously turn him down… but you on the other hand… you're liked enough, get good enough grades, and although have been tied to Eddie in numerous ways (including physically that one time when Eddie bought industrial level handcuffs, brought them to school to show off, cuffed you and him together to demonstrate, realized he lost the keys, and then you both spend the day cuffed together until Wayne got home to saw you free), you keep out of trouble for the most part.

After a week of Eddie groveling and a few deals set between you too, you gave in. At the time, you were in your freshman year, and Eddie was promised Wayne’s old van once he got his license, so he set the deal that he would drive you to school and home everyday (which now that you're both in your senior year, it’s a promise that he has mostly held up overtime). He also promised his eternal friendship, which was already a given so that barely sweetened the deal. It’s kind of foggy at this point, being so long ago, but you’re sure he also bought you some other shit, probably stole you some beer too, because god knows you two were fiends for any alcohol back then.

Since you had to ask to start up the club, it was your name under the club registry so it was always the drama teacher up your ass about making sure everything was cleaned properly, put away, no food left behind because of the mice… blah blah blah. So yeah… you’re practically the sole standing reason hellfire exists at Hawkins High but you don’t like to think about that… if you think too hard about it, you can’t help but cringe internally. You don’t mind their little group but you’d rather not be known as their leader— that’s all Eddie.

You knew Eddie because his dad and your dad were friends back in high school. The only difference between the two men was when your mom got pregnant with you, your dad cleaned up his life. Eddie’s dad on the other hand was the first to get a girl pregnant out of the two of them— which coincidentally happened in the same year; however, Eddie’s dad couldn’t quite give up his lifestyle. He tried for a bit, he really did, especially after Eddie’s mom skipped town, but it was just hard for him. It didn’t help when he got an injury doing some kind of labor job either. The doctors prescribed him some heavy pain medicine and that’s kind of when everything went to shit.

As a kid you never noticed. At 8 years old, you were oblivious to the havoc being dragged through the lives of everyone around you. You thought it was all fun and games. Eddie had come and stayed with your family for a few weeks and you thought it was the best. It was like a giant sleepover, probably the closest thing you’ve ever had to a sibling.

Then Wayne came into the picture. He was living down south, working as a truck driver. Once his brother got his sentence, he moved up, got the trailer, got a job at the plant, and started taking care of Eddie. He was a saint in the body of a mean-looking, tough talking trucker. Not really mean though, he’s a big ole softy, he just doesn’t let most people know that.

───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

You take a step further into the drama room, not purposefully trying to eavesdrop, you just didn’t mean to interrupt their conversation so abruptly.

“I can’t do that.” Eddie says flatly.

“You can dude. There’s no way she doesn’t know already. Everyone already thinks you’re together since you touch her nonstop. Seriously. You’re like, attached to her at all times.” Gareth says.

───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

Eddie’s always been touchy. Always. Gareth’s not wrong, he always has some part of himself connected to you, whether it’s a knee under the table or an arm around your shoulder, that’s just how he’s always been. He’s never shied away from physical touch and that’s normal for you two after all these years. He was your first hug with a boy, first hand hold with a boy, first kiss, second kiss. It’s always been innocent enough though, he’s your best friend after all, it just so happens to be that he’s a boy. Not a boy boy. Just a boy.

At 7 years old that’s when you two had first kissed. Then again at 10.

The first time, he was making you play some stupid game where he was a knight and you were a princess and according to him, obviously the knight had to kiss the princess. The second time he wanted to ‘practice’ playing spin the bottle. It was only the two of you so you had thought it was a dumb idea but it was Summer and you had been banished from the trailer after spending the weekend blasting the TV and probably stopping Wayne from getting any rest.

───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

Summer of 1978

Eddie had spun the bottle 27 times before it finally landed on you. 27 times. You still remember counting each failed spin, laughter getting rowdier and rowdier at your best friend's terrible luck. The 27th time, he lit up like a damn Christmas tree when the neck of the bottle finally slowed, landing point blank in your direction. You couldn’t help the laughing fit that overcame you and you had thrown yourself backwards, clenching your aching stomach, head softly hitting the dirt floor of the forest clearing you two frequented. That’s when Eddie snuck up and stole the kiss.

You would have let him kiss you, cause that was all part of the game after all. You both had agreed on the rules before starting, but that didn’t stop your surprise when his scrawny little 11 year old body fell over yours.

You still remember distinctly the way he had grabbed your hands to pull them away from where you were holding your stomach. He pinned them both beside your head, similar to when you’d wrestle, and he looked at you with the biggest signature Eddie Munson smirk known to man. At this point, you were stronger than him still and could have easily tossed him off but it shocked you having him so close and so quickly. It took you by surprise so much so that it knocked all the giggles from you. You just laid there, in Eddie’s hold. His smirk fell and after a moment, he dipped his face to yours, and he kissed you for the second time.

“Gross Eddie!” You shrieked when you felt his slimy tongue harshly poking past your lower lip and into your mouth. He started to get up off you but you were embarrassed, so you pushed him making him land harshly on his butt.

“It’s called a French kiss.” Eddie stated matter of factly, face scrunched, hands rubbing over his lower back that stung from the impact of his landing.

“It’s disgusting and you smell like cheezies.” You say pushing yourself up from the ground and wiping his spit off your mouth.

“It’s practice.” He huffed. “And you taste like cheezies. It’s not just me.”

“I do not!” You shrieked before hauling yourself up into a standing position ready to stomp away from him. You were already embarrassed by Eddie shocking you into silence, then him telling you that you tasted like cheezies… even at 10 years old you knew that’s not what a boy would want to taste during a kiss.

“We ate cheezies, Strat.” Eddie said, rolling his eyes at you.

‘Strat’ was a nickname that your dad started. He was the guitar guy, and spent a lot of time teaching you and Eddie about music since you were toddlers. Once you got old enough to actually hold a guitar, he had two that he’d let you both mess around with; a Fender Stratocaster and a Fender Jaguar. The strat was a pretty baby blue colour that you adored, so naturally, you always called dibs on it, and Eddie got the red Jag. Your dad would call you both ‘Strat’ and ‘Jag’ and unfortunately the nickname stuck for you and you only— probably because you would whine and cry about the strat if Eddie tried to steal it from you.

At the roll of Eddie's eyes, that really set you off. You turned, stomping your feet back to the trailer park.

“Hey, I like cheezies, Strat! Don’t go!” Eddie called after you. “We’re not done playing, you still have to spin!”

“I’m telling Wayne!” You screamed, running faster to the trailer once you heard Eddie’s clumsy steps behind you.

“No! Please, don’t!” He yelled back pleadingly, making you smile to yourself revengefully. You heard his steps quicken behind you so you sprinted, making it to the door of the trailer in record speed.

You threw open the door, startling Wayne who was sat on the couch, and just as you were about to speak you felt Eddie’s hand clamp around your mouth from behind.

“Edward Munson. You take your hands off that girl.” Wayne warned sternly.

“B-but-”, Eddie began before you interrupted him by elbowing him in the stomach.

“Yeah. Hands off.” You said turning to face Eddie as he held onto his stomach. You smirked at him and he sent you pleading eyes not to tell. You weren’t going to. That never was your plan, you just wanted to see him squirm as payback for him embarrassing you.

“Ohhhhh Wayne.” You sang. Eddie’s eyes widening, his features turning increasingly pleading for you not to tell on him.

“What in god's name happened to you, you’re covered in dirt, missy.” Wayne said ignoring you. He stood from the couch, making his way over to you before his hands were patting at your back trying to get the dirt off. Your face fell and you couldn’t think of a response.

“She-she… we were playing a game and-” Eddie’s pleading look stopped and his gaze dropped to the floor. You could tell he was about to rat himself out. This boy couldn’t keep one secret from Wayne…

“I fell and Eddie helped me up.” You interject. Eddie’s gaze locked into yours, eyes wide before relaxing, sending you a small smile when he realized what you were doing.

“Her mom’s gonna kill us both, boy. You better go find her some clothes so I can throw these ones in the wash.” Wayne huffed.

Eddie ran into the trailer to his room.

“Clean clothes too, boy! Don’t give her dirty stuff!” Wayne yelled when Eddie was taking too long.

“I know Wayne.” Eddie yelled back, voice full of attitude.

After a few moments, he emerged, with his favourite Black Sabbath shirt that your dad bought for him for his birthday last year and a pair of plaid pajama bottoms.

“Go change, missy.” Wayne gruffed, patting you on the back.

Back in Eddie’s room you both sat on his floor reading his comics.

“You look pretty in that shirt.” Eddie said, interrupting the silence.

“Shut up Edward. I still don’t forgive you for trying to french kiss me.” You say, cheeks turning hot in anger, prompting you to pick up the closest discarded piece of clothing from his messy floor to throw at him.

“I'm sorry! It was just for practice.” Eddie groaned dramatically.

───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

Before you both reached puberty it was all hugs, holding hands, sharing seats, sharing beds, just being innocently close to each other. After puberty his touchness did simmer a bit. Albeit not much though. Eddie still barely knows what personal space is, but he’s not grabbing at your hand every second like he did when you were kids.

“I don’t always touch her! Besides, it’s always been like that since we were kids, it’s normal.” Eddie says, focusing his attention on setting up.

“There’s nothing normal about the way you act around her.” Gareth says with a laugh.

“Yeah. You love her.” Jeff teases.

“And that’s the fucking problem. Thanks for really rubbing it in guys.” Eddie says exasperatedly, throwing his bag of dice onto the table carelessly.

“Just ask her out.” Jeff says, patting Eddie on the back as he slouches down onto the table.

“Oh great idea! Strat, I fucking love you. Please, go out on a date with me and potentionally fuck up our lifelong friendship. Great idea guys. Thank you so much.” Eddie says sarcastically.

During Eddie’s spiel he had picked up his bag of dice again. Finishing his scornful remark, he had thrown it down on the table, this time the dice falling out and skidding across the floor, most of them landing at your feet.

All three boys turn at once, moving to pick up the dice before they spotted you.

“Shit.” Gareth says, filling the silence of the room.

You look at Eddie and he’s gone pale, his whole face null of expression.

“I- Hey.” You stutter, clearing your throat. “I was just gonna drop these off.” You continue, stepping forward to place the container of cookies on the table.

“Hey Strat.” Jeff says nervously, being the first to snap out of his surprise. “You gonna stay today?” He asks.

“No, no… gotta help my mom with.. something.” You lie. You were gonna stay. You told the little twerps you’d stay today, but you really have to go now.

“I swore you told Dustin at lunch that you’d stay?” Gareth says, eyes narrowing in on you.

“No, I-”

“Hey guys! What’s up?” Grant greets excitedly as he enters the drama room.

“Hey Grant.” You smile before taking steps towards the door.

“Strat? You’re going?” He questions, brows furrowing at you. “Dustin said you were staying and that you had something for us?”

“No, I have to go. Bye guys.” You say, turning quickly before exiting the room.

“What’s up with her?” You hear Grant say to the guys from the hall.

“Strat! Where you going?” Lucas calls from the other end of the hall. You turn briefly, still walking backwards towards the school exit.

“Gotta go home! I left cookies for you guys in there.” You say, putting on your best cheery voice before turning and walking as fast as you can out of the school.

Shit. Eddie was right. He can’t just ask you out. That would be ruining a lifelong friendship. He can’t do that. He can’t like you. You guys are best friends. He can’t do that to you.

───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

At home you flop yourself on your bed. What the fuck are you gonna do?

Nothing.

You’re going to do nothing.

You’re going to pretend you didn’t hear that. Eddie doesn’t like you. He doesn’t love you. He’s not ruining your friendship— you won’t let him.

───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

You spend the weekend convincing yourself you made up the entire conversation you overheard. Eddie called 6 times since Friday evening, but you needed the time to erase whatever you overheard in the drama room from your memory.

You spend Sunday evening contemplating if you should even take the ride from Eddie in the morning. He barely shows up Monday mornings so, who knows, maybe you’ll get lucky and won’t have to see him anyways.

You were wrong though. You decided to start your walk, and halfway there, you heard the familiar rumbling of his van approaching before slowing at your side.

The van halts and you look over to see a fairly normal looking Eddie smiling at you. You try to muster a smile but you know it must look weird because he retracts into himself before motioning for you to get in.

You stop, contemplating if it’s a good idea before you hear a car coming up the road that makes the decision for you. You quickly hop into the van, buckling yourself in as Eddie starts driving before the car behind him has time to honk.

“Hey.” Eddie says.

“Hey.” You reply.

For a moment all that’s heard is the rumbling of the van engine.

“Haven’t heard from you in a while.” He says cautiously.

“Yeah. Sorry. Was busy.” You lie. You spent the whole weekend in bed doing fuck all but thinking about the situation at large.

“Busy?” Eddie asks. He knew you weren’t busy. You told him a few days that you had no plans. You were supposed to go over to his, but obviously that didn’t happen.

“Yeah. Busy. My mom needed help with something.” You say, sticking with the same lie from Friday.

“Something?” He questions. Without looking at him, you can tell he's smiling.

“You’re just full of questions, aren’t you?” You say flatly, copying his same avoidant statement from Thursday night when he claimed to be helping Wayne with ‘something’. He huffs a breath out of his nose in what sounds like amusement, but you don’t think this is funny.

You don’t say more and neither does he for the rest of the ride. When you pull into the lot, you both get out before walking into the school. It’s mostly normal, except for the fact that it’s dead silent between the two of you. You don’t think it’s ever been this quiet between you.

When you see Robin, you use her as your escape.

“Robin!” You call. She turns to you and you wave at her. You start walking towards her and out of your periphery, you can see Eddie still trailing beside you.

“Bye Eddie.” You say, stopping to turn toward him. You can’t look at him though, not in the eyes. You haven’t yet, apart from through the window of the van.

“Bye Strat.” He says quietly.

You quickly push your way through the halls, leaving Eddie behind until you get to Robin.

“What was that?” She asks as soon as you’re close enough to hear her.

“What was what?” You question.

“What did you say to him, he looked like he was gonna cry?” Robin says furrowing her eyebrows at you.

“I just said bye?” You say.

“Just bye?” She says skeptically. You nod your head at her.

She grabs a book out of her locker, eyes still on you, clearly not believing you.

“Steve said that those little twerps said something happened.” She says flatly.

“Like what?” You ask hoping she has some drama that’ll take your mind off of all this.

“Something with you and Eddie.”

“Why’d they say that?” You roll your eyes.

“Cause something did happen?” She says, waiting for you to fill her in but you don’t.

She stares at you, waiting for you to spill but truly, there’s nothing to spill. You let your eyes roam the hall, feeling awkward under her scrutinizing look before the slamming of her locker startles you.

“You heard them talking didn’t you?” She asks.

“Heard who?” You ask and you physically feel Robin's annoyance rising.

“Strat. Stop playing dumb.” She scolds.

“Robin. I’m not playing dumb.” You reply, sticking to your guns. It didn’t happen. You didn’t hear anything. Nothing happened.

“Strat-” Robin starts, getting interrupted by the first bell.

“Gotta go Robs! Good talk.” You say before bolting to home room.

You usually sit next to Eddie, but it’s fine. Nothing happened, right? Don’t need to be weird around him, right?

You cross the class to your seat at the back of the room, the spot next to you still empty. Little by little the class fills and by the time the second bell goes, you’re still left sitting alone at the back of the class.

Halfway through the class, you’re still sitting alone.

You try to focus on taking notes— especially now since you know you’re gonna have to teach this shit to Eddie who’s currently skipping, but you’re having a hard time focusing.

When the teacher steps out of the class to get her forgotten worksheets from her office you lean forward in your chair, poking Jeff in the back.

“Where is he?” You ask, when he turns.

“Seriously?” He laughs. You frown, not appreciating being laughed at right in your face.

“Yeah. Seriously.” You reply sharply.

“I think you know the answer to that.” Jeff says before turning forward again.

Okay. Ouch. You always thought of Jeff as being the nicest out of the three older hellfire guys, but that was cold.

You didn’t see Eddie for the rest of the day. Matter of fact, you didn’t see him until the next morning when he did the same thing. You had started walking and he drove up behind you, slowing, and you got in. The ride was in complete silence. Not a word or a glance.

When you got to school, you parted ways immediately, without as much as a goodbye. Eddie didn’t show up to homeroom and Jeff didn’t look your way, not that you would have started a conversation with him after yesterday.

You had seen Gareth and Grant walking in the hall and you waved. You know they both saw you but they kept walking, not reciprocating your wave, and it really fucking stung.

That evening you walked home again. Alone.

The next morning, you walked the whole way to school. Alone. No Eddie in homeroom.

You were miserable. And to make matters worse, that morning, the drama teacher called you to his office over the intercom and proceeded to tear you a new one about how things were left in the drama room last Friday. You lied and said you weren’t feeling good and left things a bit of a mess, and that you were very sorry. By the end of the conversation, he was less so scolding you and more so giving you a pitiful look. Maybe you appeared as shitty as you felt, who knows, but you didn’t get detention so at least you got that win. He let you off with a warning instead but made sure to add that if it happens again this Friday, that’s it for your club.

Before lunch you set out to find the only hellfire members that you were certain would not give you the cold shoulder.

“Dustin! Mike!” You called, stopping them before they could enter the cafeteria. You really didn’t want to go in there, knowing Eddie would be there for sure.

You jogged to catch up with them, both of them stopped right at the door.

“Hey, do you mind doing me a favor?” You ask, trying to not seem like the shell of a person that you feel like.

“Yeah? What’s up?” Mike replies.

“Mr. Joels called me to his office and said if you guys leave the drama room like that again he’s gonna cancel hellfire permanently. Can you tell Eddie?”

“Can’t you tell him?” Mike says before Dustin hits him on the arm.

Dustin turns slightly, peering into the caf and your eyes follow, narrowing in on the person you’re always first to look for in a room. You feel whatever shards of a heart you have left dissolve when you see how miserable he looks too.

“S-so can you tell him?” You stutter, trying to pull your attention away from Eddie.

“Strat? Why didn’t you stay on Friday?” Dustin asks quietly.

“B-because.” You stutter again, feeling far too terrible to put up with any more interrogating and far too tired to keep up your lies.

“You heard him didn’t you?” He asks. Yeah. You heard him. You can’t lie to yourself anymore. You can’t pretend you didn’t. It’s not helping anyone. It’s not saving any friendship, because look at this. This isn’t preservation.

All you can do is nod your head, eyes glued to your shoes.

“He likes you, Strat.” Dustin says. You shake your head, disagreeing.

“He does.” Mike adds. You shake your head harder.

“No. He said he loves me.” You say, voice coming out croaky, lowering lip jetting out like you're about to cry.

You bring the palms of your hands to your eyes, pushing until all you can see is black. You’re not about to cry in front of these freshies. You’re not.

You hear the scuffing of their shoes on the floor before you feel a hand on your arm.

“Hey. It’s okay. Strat. Seriously, we can tell him. Don’t cry.” Dustin coos nervously, obviously not having the intent of making you teary eyed.

“I’m not crying.” You huff, pulling your hands from your damp eyes.

“No-yeah! You’re not crying. Don’t worry, we'll tell the guys.” Dustin says genuinely, his demeanor remaining soft yet incredibly nervous. Mike continues looking back into the caf, obviously looking for help from anybody. “So you’re not gonna sit with us?” He asks tentatively.

You shake your head, not trusting yourself to speak.

“Well, if you want to come back eventually, uh- we miss you.” He says. You laugh and both boys look taken aback.

“Gareth and Grant pretended I didn’t exist when I saw them in the hall. Jeff laughed in my face when I asked about Eddie and then proceeded to give me the cold shoulder. They don’t miss me, trust me.” You say, exhaling deeply before standing up straighter, ready to end this conversation.

“We do miss you! Seriously.” Mike adds, looking nervous like it might not be the right thing to say.

“Thanks guys.” You say, accepting their sentiments. “Tell Lucas I said hey and sorry for running off on him on Friday. And sorry to you guys too, I did say I was going to stay and then I didn’t.” You add before turning on your heels, heading off to the library without waiting for their reply.

That evening, instead of moping in your room again, you decided to walk to family video. Making matters worse, your dad bought a new distortion pedal for his guitar and he’s been bugging you about getting Eddie to come over to check it out since Sunday. You're clean out of excuses and can’t handle him asking you again tonight, so getting out of the house seems like your best option. Robin usually doesn’t work Wednesday, which leaves Steve closing by himself. You’re not mad at Robin, you just can’t handle the interrogation.

Steve wouldn’t push you for answers like Robin would. He wouldn’t give you the cold shoulder like the other guys. He wouldn’t be the first person you’d hang out with, that of course would be Eddie but… yeah. Steve is a good friend though.

As soon as you walk into the video store you hear Steve calling your name from the register.

“Hey! Long time no see!” He says happily.

“Yeah. How are you!” You ask, trying to return his chipper attitude but it comes out meek.

“Eh, living the dream.” He says, smiling. He rounds the counter, leaning against it, beside where you’re standing. “And what about you?” He asks, quirking a brow.

“I’ve been better.” You say honestly. “Mind if I chill with you for a bit?” You ask, looking around the empty store.

“Not at all, in fact, I welcome it.” He laughs, his own eyes grazing the desolate isles.

You take a seat behind the counter with him, just talking about nothing. You can tell Steve’s waiting for you to bring something up though, he keeps giving you knowing looks whenever there’s a lull in conversation.

When he turns away to help some customers you mentally give yourself a pep talk to talk about it. You’re not going to cry.

“So… I assume the children and Robin filled you in?” You say, once Steve joins you again after the customers have left.

“That they did.” He says, smiling at you with a nod of his head.

“And?” You say, waiting for him to bombard you like Robin did.

“And what? What do I think?” He asks. You sit back, surprised by his response.

“I guess.” You say shrugging.

“Well… you and Munson are close. Obviously. Totally and completely close. I can see why you’re like… y’know… freaked out or whatever. In denial, like Robin said.” Steve says, shrugging his shoulders, mirroring your action.

You look up at Steve in total shock from his extremely validating answer and he just smiles back at you.

“Don’t you think… Am I not.. in the wrong? I mean, it feels like everybody's mad at me… but like, I don’t know what to do?” You say quietly, stumbling through your thoughts.

“I don’t think you’re in the wrong. Feelings are complicated, there’s not really a right or a wrong.” Steve says genuinely, surprising you.

“Wise.” You laugh.

“Well, you know. I’ve had my fair share of feelings.” Steve laughs.

“How did you know when you- uh…” You trail off. Steve waits patiently for you to speak and you’re beyond thankful for it. “With Nancy, how’d you know?” You say, mustering you all of your courage.

“I think that’s a little different because we weren’t close friends first, but… it’s hard to say. I guess I just really wanted to be with her, even if it was just hanging out. Thought about her like 24/7. All of that corny shit, like butterflies and blushing and feeling like you can’t breathe.” Steve says, grabbing a tape off the counter and fidgeting with it in his hands.

“Sorry for asking about Nancy.” You say, picking up his discomfort as soon as he starts playing with his hair, pushing it back over and over again.

“Don’t worry about it, seriously.” He says, reaching a hand across and patting your knee in a friendly manner.

“I guess, I’m just confused cause… I’ve never thought of Eddie that way, but… maybe I have?” You say, questioning yourself.

“Hmm.” Steve hums, thinking to himself.

“Like, I feel like Eddie’s my person. He’s the only one that I want to hang out with all the time, and I always think about him… but the butterflies and all that other stuff you said, I don’t know. I feel like Eddie's just Eddie, he doesn’t make me nervous like that.

“Well that could be because you’ve known him your whole life?” Steve gathers. “And I’m not trying to fuck with your head or anything, but you can’t say you don’t blush at stuff he does. I’ve seen it before.” Steve smiles at you genuinely.

“What?” You scrunch your face. You so do not blush because of Eddie. “When?”

“Halloween. Jonathon was taking all those photos and Eddie kissed you on the cheek for one of them. You seriously went bright as a tomato and there’s photo evidence.” Steve laughs.

You remember that night. You did blush, but you blamed it on the alcohol consumed… even though you only had half a beer at that point. You literally went hot all over and then you blamed it on not eating enough before drinking.

“Oh my god.” You say, mostly for yourself. Eddie had made you blush. He made you blush hard.

“Am I right?” Steve says smugly. You reach across, hitting Steve on the shoulder but he swats you away with a laugh.

“I hate to say it Steve, but maybe you’re onto something.” You smile in disbelief.

“You people have no faith in me.” Steve says, faking hurt.

All you can do is smile at him because things are finally starting to make a little more sense.

“Well, want to keep going or are you tapping out of feelings?” Steve says, quirking his brow at you, making you laugh.

“What are you? Dr. Harrington? PhD in love?” You joke, grabbing your own tape off the counter to fiddle with.

“Oh yeah. Took a lot of heartbreak to get my PhD but hey, if it helps at least one person, maybe it was all worth it.” He laughs.

The conversation lulls for a moment but you quickly break it, deciding you’re not tapping out of your feelings, how could you when you’re so close to understanding?

“Do you think it’ll ruin our friendship? Like what if it doesn’t work out?” You spit out your worst fear, but it doesn’t even phase Steve.

“Well, from what I heard from Robs, how’s your friendship going right now?” Steve says cautiously with a softness to his voice.

“Horrible. I’m miserable. He looks miserable, but I haven’t really talked to him since last Thursday and even then he was acting weird.” You frown thinking about how Eddie looked in the cafeteria, slouched in his seat at the table, eyes all sad, not even talking to the guys— and Eddie is a talker, it’s not fucking normal for him not to be talking.

“Right. And you’re still confused about if you have feelings for him?” Steve asks genuinely, curious but not prying.

“I mean yeah. Like, I pictured Eddie in my life forever, but I never even considered it in that way or really any way at all. I never put much thought into it, ever.” You say honestly.

“You don’t… you know.. think about him sexually.” Steve asks, grinning. You look down into your lap, shyly and you feel your cheeks heat but it’s an easy question you know the answer to.

“Truthfully? I always blamed it on him being so close to me. Like proximity planted all that shit in my head. And like… obviously I trust him and stuff so, like… if I thought about him like that, I always told myself it’s because I could trust him and that’s it.” You say, hiding in your hands. Steve grabs at your hands, before shooting you an amused smile. He’s so stupid, but this is fucking working, he’s actually making everything make sense.

“So you’re attracted to him?” Steve says once your blush cools.

“Eddie’s fucking beautiful. I’ve never been shy to say that. Well, except when he was, like, going through puberty, that was scary.” You say widening your eyes, remembering how gangly and extra clumsy he was right after his growth spurt, and the awkward squeaky voice he had for an entire summer before his voice dropped. Steve laughs at you, clearly enjoying the terror that flashes over your face when you remember the first time you found his porn stash that somehow moved in right along with puberty.

“And… correct me if I’m wrong but you’ve never had a boyfriend, right?” Steve says.

“You are correct.” You say sheepishly.

“And why’s that?” He asks. You shrug, starting to feel nervous.

“You don’t have to tell me. I’m not judging you for your choices, just might be helpful to think about?” Steve says softly, leaving it as an optional question with a way out if you so please.

“Yeah. I think, just… dunno. Whenever I’d think about going on a date, I’d always think about Eddie and that would kind of cut the idea short, if that makes sense? Not that I’d think about going on dates with him, just like, if I thought about going on a date it was more so, like… ‘well I usually hang out with Eddie so there’s no time’.” You ramble, nerves getting to you.

“Makes total sense. But you don’t think you associated Eddie with dating because…” Steve leads, leaving open space in his point for you to conclude.

“Because I want to date Eddie?” You say out loud, trying to piece together the puzzle that you’ve been recklessly throwing the pieces around to for far too long.

“Once again, I’m not trying to make you think any particular way. Just helping you get to your own conclusions. Think of me as an impartial mediator.” Steve says, standing up from his spot, starting to pile some tapes back into a cart. You stand too, starting to help him since you’ve stolen so much of his time.

“You really should consider getting a PhD or something, cause damn. Much to think about.” You laugh. “When did you get so wise.” You joke, pushing at his shoulder.

“Yeah. Definitely would never qualify for a PhD, but thanks.” Steve laughs, placing the final VHS from the counter into the basket. “Now, want to do returns with me? Either that or we leave them for Robin tomorrow and when she chews me out I'll totally blame it on you so…” Steve says, tilting his face at you, raising his brows waiting for your response.

“Already had Robin chew me out enough.” You smile, grabbing the return bin for Steve.

You ended up staying with Steve until close. After he dropped you off at home, you spent the whole night thinking about everything you talked through with Dr. Harrington.

Even after a night of contemplation, you kept thinking about it into the next day. You thought about it as you walked by yourself to school, sat through home room alone, ate lunch alone, walked home alone, and spent the evening alone.

You like Eddie.

It’s so fucking clear now.

I mean, every time you’ve ever pictured your future? It’s always been with Eddie. Every dirty thought, every wet dream, every time you touched yourself, it’s always been about Eddie. You don’t go on dates and you’ve never cared to, because you have Eddie. Eddie is your person though and through.

You don’t just like Eddie. You love him.

And when that thought crosses your mind, you feel sick. Feels like someone is both tickling you and also absolutely bludgeoning you from the inside out. Is this what butterflies are? Holy fuck.

When you think about Eddie spilling his guts to Jeff and Gareth in the drama room, you get that feeling and, god, is it horrible. But also… it makes you giddy?

You think about Eddie and suddenly you can’t wipe the stupid grin off your face. You think about his eyes, his nose, his stupid jokes, his laugh, and you get that fluttery feeling.

Deeper into the night you think about Eddie’s lips. You think about his hands, his arms, the way he always is touching you, the ways he could touch you, and you get a different feeling. Like a heat brewing in you. A desire, a neediness. Sure, you’ve thought things about Eddie, but never this purposefully. It makes you squirm in your bed until you get up and go grab water to cool yourself down.

You wake up befuddled with feelings. Like Steve was a fucking train conductor and you just got run over.

It doesn’t help that you remembered that you kind of fucked this up already. It’s Friday. It’s been a whole week since you overheard him.

It’s barely been 24 hours of you feeling so full of feelings. If Eddie was sure enough to admit he loved you to the guys, how long has he been feeling like this? If he’s felt anywhere near the way you feel now, he must have been drowning. And you were just letting him. And now, you’ve made him go a week, knowing that you know that he loves you, and you just went awol.

Your mind goes to what he said in the drama room.

“She’s killing me.”

You’ve been killing him. It didn’t make sense at first, but now it does. It makes perfect sense and it took you until 5PM on Friday night to understand it after a long day of skipping school, laying in bed, and stress baking. And you need to stop it.

───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

ty <3

#eddie munson #eddie munson x reader #eddie x fem!reader #eddie x you #eddie munson x you #eddie munson fanfic #eddie munson fanfiction

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sortagaysortahigh · 2 years

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Trailer Park Pretty | Eddie Munson

A/N: I had so many concept ideas for this specific fic, but i present to you hurt/comfort friends to lovers with our nerd king. Also as usual my reader is coded, and in this specific fic she leans towards being black coded w big curly hair, and one last thing, before anyone tries to pull the ‘well its obv ab a white reader bc white ppl live in trailer parks’, i just KNOW you’ve never been to the south bc there’s hella black/brown trailer parks down there...like bitch don’t play w me. ALSO this is fanon...so for the sake of this spcific fic dustin and susie arent together lmao

Summary: “A girl like that? She’s what you call trailer park pretty, she gets it from her mama, she’s gonna have a guy from every corner of the park and beyond after her-you just gotta be the one to get her attention and treat her right cause there’s gonna be a lot of them that won’t.”

Warnings: angst, mentions of domestic abuse/parent in an abusive relationship (brief, not graphic), mentions of a deceased father (i give my y/n’s trauma im sorry), mentions of insecurity, eldest sister who takes care of her family instead of herself, mentions of cornography (dirty magazines, sci-fi based corn, Eddie’s Heavy metal magazines), spelling and grammar errors, brief mentions of sex, mentions of mary jane, mentions of absent parental figures, mentions of trauma, violence (broken bottles, cuts/scrapes, and a cast iron skillet, broken/shattered hands) - nothing happens to the main characters

Word Count: 11.5k

Eddie Munson x Fem!Reader

(so totally very much in love)

Eddie Munson had quite the crush on one of his neighbors-Y/n y/l/n to be specific or as he called her ‘Curly’-courtesy of her big curly hair that she’d been sporting since they were kids.

Her family had been living in their red and white trailer for as long as he could remember. They lived on the lot to the left of his, her family consisted of Y/n, her mother, and her little sister who was nearly finished with her freshman year at Hawkins High and based on the way guys were constantly dropping the girl off-he knew she had the same charm as her meaner older sister.

Y/n Y/l/n was the definition of pretty, growing up his crush on Y/n came and went depending on the status of their friendship. But one thing he knew for sure was that she’d gotten prettier and prettier as they grew up, and anytime he asked his uncle for advice about her-especially when the two attended Hawkins at the same time-Wayne always told him the same thing.

“A girl like that? She’s what you call trailer park pretty, she gets it from her mama, she’s gonna have a guy from every corner of the park and beyond after her-you just gotta be the one to get her attention and treat her right cause there’s gonna be a lot of them that won’t.”

Wayne was right about one thing, the older she got, the more male attention she got. When the two went to school together he remembered seeing her in the hallways, constantly rolling her eyes as some guy offered to hold her books and walk her to class, or they’d try to talk to her at her locker, not to mention the way they’d always ask her to sports games, some even offering her their jersey-trying to make some ‘big’ statement-she rejected them all. The only person she hadn’t completely rejected was Steve Harrington, but after one date she let him down as softly as she could.

It was after he’d been dumped by Wheeler-Eddie remembered hearing about it through the grapevine, he almost felt bad for Steve. Getting cheated on, then dumped, then he actually thinks he gets the girl but she has to let him down because apparently Y/n knew that he was still in love with his ex. However, now they were friends-to the point that he’d seen Steve pick her up several times.

She was always so close, yet so far out of reach. He’d never even been able to make a move, anytime he tried to speak to her he’d get nervous and completely move past it, opting to talk about music, his band, what she’d been up to-hell he knew a lot about flower maintenance because he’d always see her outside the trailer, taking care of the potted plants lining the front of it.

It wasn’t like she was a bitch to him, she’d actually always been nice to Eddie, probably because they’d been neighbors and as kids the two were friends, but they drifted apart due to their different interests. Eddie loved music and Y/n loved nature. So while he was inside learning how to play the guitar, she was outside tending to her mother’s plants, or she’d ride her bike to the forest and trudge her way around it-granted an unsupervised twelve year old alone in the forest wasn’t a great reflection of her mother’s parenting-however Y/n easily roped her sister into going with her.

As long as the girl had her backpack full of drinks, snacks, and supplies, alongside her trusty compass, and the crowbar her mother spray painted pink and told her to use if anyone ever came into the house when she wasn’t home-then the two were perfectly fine. Some days Eddie would see Y/n on her bike with her sister in tow, the two riding off towards the forest, and other days she’d hear the sounds of him strumming chords when she’d walk past his trailer-that’s just how it was.

But that didn’t mean Y/n was nice to everyone. She’d grown up poor-he knew that-hell anyone who lived in Forest Hills knew that-because they all lived it. She’d been chastised and bullied as a kid, growing a thick skin by the ripe age of ten-and by then she was fighting boys on the playground. Of course the classism didn’t end in elementary school, kids were mean-and those same kids grew into spoiled rotten teenagers. She had no issue in socking guys twice her size in the face-and she had a mean right hook.

So it’s safe to say Y/n had quite the reputation in Hawkins, even after she’d graduated last year people still spoke about her when they spoke about her younger sister. To the point that even Eddie had heard the older jocks warning their younger teammates about even trying to date Mia Y/l/n, saying if she was anything like her older sister they’d need God’s good graces. Not to mention the fact that they’d have to actually go through with meeting her sister, the girl still had that pink crowbar.

She was perfect, at least he thought so.

When he stepped outside he hadn’t expected to see her outside, the only people he expected to see were his neighbors who worked at one of the plants or factories-either coming home or leaving for a long shift. But there she was, her wild frizzy hair blowing slightly in the morning breeze, an oversized flannel over her body-and he couldn’t help but crack a smile at the way it was clearly buttoned unevenly, and from what he could see she had on her bunny slippers.

He watched for a few seconds as she pulled the clean laundry from the clothesline, holding a white basket to her hip as she pulled the articles off with her free hand. Then she spotted him, raising a brow.

“Hey Munson!” she had to yell a little bit so he’d hear her completely,”hey Curly!” he lifted a hand, waving it at her, trying not to blush as he noticed the smile on her face as she rolled her eyes. Then she grabbed the final few pieces of clothes before turning around and heading back inside. The entire time he stood there he was blushing and smiling, he looked like a lovesick puppy-then he finally snapped out of it, fishing his van keys out of his pocket as he walked up it, unlocking the back doors and rummaging through-looking for a specific tape of his band’s new songs.

However, no less than ten minutes later, when he finally found the tape, he heard the front door of her trailer slam open, followed by her mother’s boyfriend clearly being shoved out, stumbling slightly with a long cut along his cheekbone, blood clearly dripping along his face-not to mention the cast iron skillet that clanked loudly as it hit one of the wooden steps then the gravel below. Then he spotted Y/n walk out, her mother tried to chase after her-but Mia held her mom back. Meanwhile Y/n held a broken beer bottle-probably the reason he was bleeding in her hand.

He watched as she ran behind him, kicking him in the back of one of his knees-then in his moment of imbalance she shoved him to the ground, one foot against his back, the other stepping on one of his hands-the cry of pain from him unmistakable as she gripped him by the hair, pulling his head back-ignoring his shouts of pain as she pointed the broken bottle to his face as she spoke.

“You think you can put your fuckin hands on my mama like that? You come around here again-I’ll drag you by your fuckin hair to Monroe’s and feed you to the pigs alive.” she stepped harder onto his hand-clearly shattering part of it “you understand me you old fuck?” he winced as she pressed one of the broken ends of the bottle into his cheek. “I said, do you fuckin understand me?”

“Yes-y-yes” she smiled, dropping his head-and it immediately fell flat against the cobblestone and grass below. “Good. Now get the fuck outta here before I get my dad’s gun, I’ve got jack shit to lose” with that she kept one foot on his back, the other off his broken hand as she stepped over him. Her mother stared with tears running down her cheeks while Mia looked both impressed and terrified.

All Eddie could do was stare, his eyes wide and jaw dropped. This wasn’t the first time he’d seen something like that living in Forest Hills, it was no secret that a good portion of the men that were brought around here weren’t good guys. But he’d never witnessed Y/n like that-at least not with a grown man. Sure he’d seen her sock a few guys in the face here and there, but his heart was racing as he watched her single handedly take down her mother’s now ex-boyfriend. He shouldn’t have found that as attractive as he did-but he couldn’t help it.

What Eddie didn’t know was that Y/n hadn’t even meant for that to happen. As soon as she walked into the trailer she placed the clean laundry basket on the floral patterned couch, she wanted to make breakfast for her mom and sister, then fold clothes, and once the two were headed to school and work, she planned on cleaning the trailer then she was planning on taking the lot rent check in. However that quickly changed the second she heard her mother fighting with one of her shitty boyfriends-this ones named paul.

She watched as the two of them walked through the trailer, her mother followed behind him, berating him about his whereabouts yesterday-it was clear things had escalated fast-but the second she noticed him grab her mother’s shoulder the way he did alongside the pained look on her face-Y/n easily connected the dots especially after spotting a bruise on her mother’s back a few days ago. So she did what any rational almost-twenty year old would do, she grabbed an empty beer bottle off the counter.

The next few moments were a blur, it felt almost like an episode of Looney Tunes-she grabbed his shoulder as hard as she could-and she immediately hit him with the bottle-glass breaking and slicing his cheek right open. Then as he stumbled slightly she grabbed the cast iron skillet from the counter and didn’t hesitate to smack him with it, watching as he fell backwards into the door-falling right through it, stumbling outside.

Meanwhile her mother was shouting for her to stop, while Mia came running from their shared room-immediately grabbing her mother the second they stepped outside-watching as her older sister did what she did best-took care of them.

The icing on the cake however was Y/n walking past her mother and sister-handing Mia the bottle and mumbling “just incase” then she rushed inside, emptying the laundry basket onto the couch before rushing to her mother’s room, gather all of her boyfriends random things-followed by his car keys and rushing back out, heading to his beat up sedan, unlocking it and throwing all of his shit inside of it. Then she walked the few steps back towards him, threw the keys on the ground next to him.

“Get the fuck up and go!” she stared down at him, watching as he struggled to get off the floor. The entire time she didn’t move, she watched as he made his way to his car and got in-her eyes held on him until he was speeding off.

That’s when she noticed Eddie staring, she didn’t even acknowledge it, simply turning back around and making her way towards her mother and sister “are you two okay?” the concern in her voice evident as she paused in front of them-her hands on her sisters face first-making sure she was alright, then she pulled her crying mother into a hug-she’d always been a little taller than her mom so it made it easier to gently massage her scalp as she hugged her.

The entire reason Y/n always rejected guys was simple, she didn’t have time for a relationship-not when she was the glue that kept her family together. Sure she had crushes here and there, but she didn’t think too deeply into them, she’d grown up taking care of Mia while her mom worked long hours to keep a roof over their heads, but now as an adult she found herself taking care of her mother and Mia. She never gave herself the opportunity to be mad about it-knowing that dwelling wouldn’t change things.

She did the best she could with the minimal free time she had, of course the girl had a few one night stands in high school-but now she avoided them, opting to spend those nights sitting on top of the trailer stargazing, or she’d be reading-lately she’d been into the lord of the rings saga, Eddie recommended it a while ago and she’d never gotten around to it, other times she’d focus on cleaning, keeping things nice and tidy.

“Go finish getting ready, I’ll drive you to school today Mia.”

Once her mother and sister went back inside, she stood outside for a few more minutes, then she went inside, grabbing the pack of marlboro reds from her mother’s jacket hanging by the door alongside a lighter, then she walked back outside, sitting on the wooden steps, placing one between her lips and lighting it. She’d never been a strong cigarette smoker-but when she was stressed and had things to do and weed wasn’t an option, it was the next best thing. It set in that it wasn’t even seven thirty yet as she smoked, her gaze held on the skyline past the Mayfield’s trailer-it always looked the prettiest looking that way.

Eddie shoved the tape into his pocket and made his way over there, she didn’t say anything-but he knew she saw him. Then he sat next to her on the steps, watching as she absentmindedly handed him the pack of cigarettes and the lighter, which he accepted.

“You think life ever gets better Eddie?” he shrugged as he lit the cigarette, taking a quick puff before speaking “for people like you? Yeah definitely” her brows knit together as she exhaled smoke, gaze now held on him “people like me?” he nodded his head “yeah, protective, rough shell-soft heart, good person-yeah, life’ll get better for you” she slowly nodded “I dunno if almost murdering a forty year old man makes me a good person” he laughed at that, nodding his head as he turned to look at her.

“Looks like he deserved it to me” she cracked a small smile, nodding her head “I hit him with a pan” he laughed at that, shaking his head “that’s one way to get your point across” she rolled her eyes as she lightly shoved him.

Moments like these always reminded Eddie of why he’d fallen for her in the first place, regardless of if they were talking every single day or once every other month it was as if nothing had changed. She was always so warm around him, her wide smile almost always made its way to her face as they spoke, and she was so comfortable around him. He was practically her childhood best friend-sure they weren’t extremely close anymore but they’d still been around for one another if need be.

She leaned her head against his shoulder “be honest with me Munson-did I look like a psycho?” he laughed at that, shaking his head “looked pretty badass to me, gotta say, I’ve never seen someone in bunny slippers take down a grown man” she rolled her eyes, the same smile on her face as she put the cigarette out on the steps below. “Someones gotta protect them y’know” he slowly nodded, his brows knit together as he processed her words.

“So who’s gonna protect you?” she sat back up, shrugging with a confused look on her face “I’ve never really thought of that-guess I am? I mean i’ve been doing it pretty well for years” he nodded again, looking at her, he then took a second to gently tuck one of her curls out of her face behind her ear. “Remember when we were kids and you made me promise I’d always be there for you if you needed someone” she smiled, grasping his hand that had been ghosting her face and moving it away.

“That’s cause you pushed me off of the jungle gym and I broke my arm” he laughed “Hey! That’s just semantics! What I’m trying to say is-if you ever need someone y’know where to find me” she nodded her head at that “thank you Eddie” “course Curly, that’s what friends are for-and neighbors I guess?” she shoved him again, laughing now “you’re so lame Munson” she heard the door behind her creak open-the two of them turning their gazes towards it-spotting Mia looking down at them.

“Oh uh-hey Eddie. Uhm, are you ready to go?” she raised a brow at her sister “what time is it” Mia shrugged “almost seven thirty-like five off” she nodded her head “yeah just gotta change my shoes” with that she stood up, and Eddie followed suit. “Uh, I’m gonna head back but like I said Curly, you know where to find me” she smiled, watching as he stepped down, nodding her head.

Then she went inside and opted to change into her vans, she kept on the flannel because she knew she wasn’t going anywhere after dropping off her sister. The two sisters walked out first, then as they were getting into the old beat up Camry, their mother followed suit, only in her work clothes-the diner uniform having a few unwashable stains on it. “Y/n where’s my cigarettes?” she reached into her jacket’s pocket, tossing them to her mother, then she followed suit with the lighter. “I’ll be home late tonight okay, working a double” the two nodded their heads.

Then they were headed their separate ways.

However less than five minutes into the drive Mia turned the radio down, staring at her sister.

“What’s up with you and Munson?” her brows knit together at the question as she quickly glanced at her sister-then back at the road. It was clear that Mia was serious, however Y/n didn’t get where the question came from. “Uh nothing? We’re friends” she slowly nodded “so why don’t you hang out with him then-if you’re friends”

“Because I don’t have time and he probably has too much time” Mia laughed at that, nodding her head. It was no secret that Eddie was repeating his senior year for the third time-however from what she’d gathered he was finally on the way to graduate. “That's total bull! You spend your time reading those nerdy books and stargazing! You definitely have time!” she shushed her sister, reaching to turn the radio back on-however Mia immediately turned it back down.

“Come to think of it, the only people you hang out with are your co-workers, and sure Robin and Steve are technically your friends-you don’t even hang with them off the clock! But you also don’t look at them the way you look at Eddie!” she scoffed “now I know you’re bullshiting me Mia! I do not look at Eddie any different than anyone else.”

“Yes you do! You have like this little sparkle in your eye! And you’re all smiley and giggly! You’re never like that!” her brows knit together again as she shook her head “I am not all smiley and giggly! I don’t giggle you little shit!” she nodded her head “yes you do! I’ve only ever heard you giggle around Eddie! Even when we were younger and you’d show him some weird bug you found!”

She rolled her eyes “Hey! You liked the weird bugs too!” her sister scoffed “stop changing the subject! What's going on between you and him! Are you two gonna date!” her eyes practically popped out of her head at the question-granted she used to have a crush on him-but she hadn’t thought about that in years. “No! What the hell!” Mia slightly squinted, skepticism evident on her features “so why’d he say you know where to find him huh?! Don’t you think it’s time you go on a date and get a boyfriend! He’s cute too!” she scoffed again “Mia! I am not going on any dates! Quit it! Me and him are just friends!”

As Y/n pulled into the Hawkins High parking lot she sighed, parking the car and staring at her sister “now cut it out! Besides, don't you have your own love life to worry about!” Mia shook her head “actually, no. I don’t. I enjoy being single, besides the guys here are tools. I just like getting rides home-but today I’m going to Tina’s so you don’t have to get me.” she nodded her head at Mia, digging in the pocket of her shorts and pulling out a ten dollar bill, handing it to her.

“I know you’ve been saving the money mom gives you and mooching off of other people you little shit” her sister laughed “hey! I know you did it too! Free food from dumb guys is worth it!” she raised a brow “you’re something else Mia, now go before you’re late!” with that Mia got out of the car, slutting the door “bye! Love ya!” to which Y/n responded with “love ya more!”

A few hours had passed, and while Y/n was home cleaning, Eddie was currently sitting in the cafeteria listening to Henderson ramble on about the really pretty girl in his math class. Something about how smart she was, and the way she always smelled so good-which he defended himself in saying it wasn’t creepy because he sat behind her.

“Eddie, are you even listening?” he blinked a few times, nodding his head “uh yeah, something about a girl in your math class Henderson?” Everyone stared at him with confused expressions, he almost never zoned out mid conversation-usually he was the one to further the conversation with his commentary or advice to his younger friends.

Gareth cleared his throat “he’s talking about Mia” Eddie’s eyes widened “as in Mia Y/l/n?” the brunette nodded, then Eddie was looking at Dustin “you’re into Curly’s sister?” the freshman looked confused “who’s curly? I know she has an older sister-didn’t know you two were friends though” Eddie nodded his head “yeah we’re neighbors, we’ve been friends since I was like six and she was five”

“So what’s the big deal exactly? Mias really nice-sure she clearly takes advantage of meatheads-but I’m not a meathead and I’m a gentleman!” Dustin spoke with his hands, glancing between Jeff, Gareth, then Eddie. Earning a slight grimace from Jeff “Mia might be nice-but her sister’s definitely not. She wasn’t a bully but she definitely isn’t the friendliest-and she threw a literal encyclopedia at Jason Carver last year” Gareth nodded his head before adding “Not to mention she broke the star runningback’s nose because he tried to touch her ass-mind you the guy was like six four and she just went for it”

Eddie nodded his head, but unlike his two friends, he had a large dopey smile on his face while he thought about it, leading to Mike furrowing his brows and staring at him “why do you look like you’re in love with her?” Gareth laughed “because he is, he’s been into her for years-completely refuses to make a move!” Eddie scoffed “ignore the drummer, Curly and I are just friends-totally fine with being just friends. Besides she’s not the relationship type”

Jeff raised a brow “are you saying that as an excuse to not make a move?” he scoffed “No! Have you ever seen her in a relationship? The only guy who’s ever gotten a date with her was Harrington-and even she let him down!” Dustin and Mike glanced at one another before they both made the realization. “Wait Y/n that works at the Family Video?!” the three older guys nodded at Dustin.

“Wait so Robin was serious about her being scary sometimes? She’s only ever been really nice to me” Eddie laughed “because she’s not an asshole-tell you what Henderson, I’ll talk to her about her sister and see where her heads at” Dustin’s eyes widened, brows raising as he shook his head “no-no don’t do that-cause then she’s gonna figure out I told you-and she knows who I am-what if she doesn’t like me? No-that’s completely gonna ruin my chances!”

However before the conversation could continue Gareth quickly shushed Dustin, then turned his gaze to Mia who was now standing on the opposite end of the lunch table, a textbook in one of her hands and the other held a can of soda as she stared directly at Eddie and cleared her throat.

“Munson, are you into my sister?” he scoffed “wha? Me? No-nope-never she’s just a friend” Mia blinked a few times “you’re lying this morning you two were awfully close, don’t make me steal your car battery, empty your oil, and steal your spark plugs” his jaw slightly dropped “how the hell do you know how to do any of that” she shrugged “your girlfriend is how, so it’s true that you’re in love with her?”

Gareth and Jeff tried to hold in their laugh-but they did a terrible job at it and the second she looked at them the two of them nodded their heads rapidly. “Case and point. Now here’s the deal Munson, you’re gonna ask her on a date and make her feel special and sweet because she’s been through a lot lately and you’re the only person that makes her all smiley and giggly. If you don’t ask her out soon I’m popping your tires”

His jaw dropped, face now tinted a bright red as he stared at the fifteen year old girl across from him, he couldn’t tell if he was embarrassed or intimidated-or embarrassed that a fifteen year old wearing a madonna t-shirt was intimidating him. “You’re way too much like your sister, especially when you make demands” she raised a brow “She raised me you dufus, now do we have a deal or not?” he knit his brows together “how is that a deal?”

“You get to date my sister-which we all know you’re dying to do, in return I don’t pop your tires, I thought it was pretty simple. But honestly I think this is the only way to actually get you to act on your feelings” Dustin stared at Mia mesmerized, his lips slightly pouted and brows slightly raised as he watched the entire interaction. Meanwhile Mike was glancing between everyone as if he was on the sidelines of a sports game, Jeff and Gareth were both snickering at Eddie’s embarrassment, and Eddie was staring in shock.

“Uh? I- she’s not even into me like that” she rolled her eyes “yes she is, she had the biggest crush on you her sophomore year and never shut up about you. I guarantee it’s still there underneath her layers of bitchiness.” he blinked a few times “wait are you serious-” she cut him off “you’ll do it! Great!-” then she glanced at Dustin, a small smile on her face “Hi Dustin, see you next period” with that she left, leaving both Eddie and Dustin dumbfounded as they processed what just happened.

In true Eddie Munson fashion he decided to skip the rest of the day, instead opting to drive home before this evening’s Hellfire session and grab a few things-he also hopped into the shower because for some reason in his head he needed to shower before walking next door and talking to the girl of his dreams. However, when he’d barely finished pulling on his jeans he heard someone knocking on his door-leading to him answering it while drying his wet hair with a towel and being completely shirtless.

“Uh-Hi Eddie” his eyes widened as he registered that it was her, stepping to the side slightly “Hey-uh hi-come in Curly” she nodded her head, walking past him-trying to ignore the way he smelled like green apples, not to mention his lack of shirt-her gaze slipping to his somewhat toned chest-then she easily snapped out of it as she made her way to his room. She knew the layout of his trailer like the back of her hand, not much had changed in terms of the living room decor. Wayne’s hats and mug collections only increased over the years, and while it wasn’t one hundred percent clean, it was pretty tidy given the fact that it was Eddie and his uncle.

He watched from the doorway as she grabbed a few stray clothing items from the floor and his bed, tossing them into his closet. “Can I ask why you’re cleaning my shit up?” she shrugged “I clean when I’m stressed-besides you’re the one with shit everywhere” she raised a brow as she glanced at him. He slowly nodded, watching as she got to his bed, grabbing his large comforter and shaking it off-then she laid it across the sheet clad mattress and situated herself on top of it, grabbing one of his pillows and holding it over her lap.

“Are you gonna finish getting dressed?” he blinked a few times, nodding his head as he grabbed a Motley Crue shirt, throwing it on then he tossed the wet towel over the door-hanging it to dry. In the process she’d gotten off his bed, now standing in front of his rickety bookshelf, manicured fingers tracing along the spines of his books, things ranging from Tolkien to Dungeons and Dragons Dungeon Master’s Guides to Stephen King to Alexander Dumas.

“Do you ever feel like your life is just constantly falling apart?” her voice caught him off guard, he’d been sitting in his bed-gaze held on her while he watched her delicately admire his things. She pulled out a copy of The Hobbit-gently opening the worn book-tracing her fingers along the pages as she spoke “Like it’s like one second things are going really, really good, and the next everything is just falling to shit”

He nodded his head “I think that’s part of life-y’know you have to go through the good to get to the bad, it’s like the scales don’t ever really balance out” she let out a choked laugh, it was at this point he realized she was crying-and that’s probably why she kept her gaze on the book in front of her-rather than him.

Even as kids she never cried in front of him, only when she’d broken her arm and was in too much pain to stop the tears. He immediately jumped up from his bed, and as he stood behind her he was slightly nervous-but he went for it, grasping her arm gently-spinning her around and carefully prying the book from her hold-tossing it onto his messy dresser before pulling her into a hug.

He wrapped his arms around her, rubbing soft circles into her back as she gripped the sides of his shirt-her soft sniffles were the only sound heard for a few minutes as he gently swayed, doing his best to comfort her. “I’m getting your shirt all dirty” he laughed “doesn’t matter to me sweetheart” she sniffled again, feeling the damp spot formed on his chest from her tears against her cheek.

“You don’t always have to be the strong one y’know, it’s okay to cry every now and then” she laughed slightly, pulling away from him as she wiped her tears with the backs of her thumbs “it’s not that easy Eddie” he raised a brow, grasping her hand and pulling her towards his bed-then he sat down first, motioning for her to join him.

She giggled slightly, rolling her teary eyes as she sat back in his bed, however he pulled her closer to him, opting to pull her between his legs, wrapping his arms around her waist as she leaned into his chest. The two hadn’t sat together like this since her sophomore year, but it still felt the same-as if nothing had changed.

One of his hands gently rested against her exposed thigh, tracing small circles into her skin “it’s like if I’m not there for them-then no one is. And I know it’s stupid to want to take care of my mom when she’s barely fifteen years older than me but it’s like what am I supposed to do? She just constantly brings home pieces of shit and she lets them treat her like shit. Then Mia-God I had to raise Mia, when my dad died I was only five, and that was the year we moved here, she was a baby and I had to figure out how to change diapers, make bottles, and keep us fed because otherwise what the hell were we supposed to do?”

She sniffed as she spoke, wiping her tears away occasionally. “But now it’s like Mia’s fifteen, and I love her to pieces but I just don’t want her to end up with guys like the ones my mom ends up with-she needs a kid like Henderson or something, someone who’s sweet and kind and a nerd, and just genuinely cares about her for her.” Eddie laughed at that, a small smile on his face. “Y’know Henderson has a crush on her? Talked about it today” she smiled.

“Good. Because the assholes she lets drive her home? She just craves male validation because she’s never had it-but refuses to admit that. She’s gonna end up doing the same stupid shit I did and losing her virginity to some asshole who’s gonna treat her like shit” he tensed up slightly, however he had to remind himself that it was all a thing of the past-he couldn’t change the past.

“And now it’s like, I work to help pay bills, to help do everything that I shouldn’t have to fucking do! I was working at Benny’s for like three years before he passed, I didn’t even get to have the shitty teenage experience because I was too worried about our rent, or our electricity, or the water, and all the shit that teenagers shouldn’t have to fucking care about” he shifted one of his hands, moving it from her waist to her hand, intertwining their fingers and giving her hand a small squeeze as she spoke. He knew she just needed someone to listen, and that’s exactly what he was doing.

“It’s just so fucking unfair. I’m barely gonna be twenty and here I am, taking care of my thirty five year old mother and my fifteen year old sister-constantly having to wonder about their well being because of the assholes ma brings around, and worrying about how Mia’s doing in school-I could’ve gone to fucking college. I graduated in the top ten of my class, but instead I’m stuck in Hawkins and everytime something feels like it’s going well-everything has to fall apart. Like today-jesus christ I had a whole meltdown after I dropped Mia off because that shit’s traumatic-and I can’t even fully acknowledge that it’s traumatic because it feels so normal”

She paused for a second, shaking her head, gaze held on the ceiling as tears welled in her eyes. “I learned how to fight because I was bullied-and now I'm fighting forty year old men? On what feels like a fucking weekly basis. And like you said-who’s gonna protect me? Who’s gonna take care of me? I’ve been taking care of everyone else my entire life and never for a second has anyone really truly taken care of me-and I won’t even let them if they try because I’m so scared they’re gonna leave or end up like one of my mom’s boyfriends, or just treat me like shit-or what if I get too attached to them”

“I probably sound so pathetic right now” he shook his head, leaning his chin against her shoulder “no you sound like someone who’s been through a lot and hasn’t had time to actually think about it. You just bottle shit up-always have” she scoffed “says who?” He raised a brow, placing a gentle kiss against her cheek-he didn’t even know what motivated him to do so but he did anyway.

“Says me-you’ve been doing it since we were kids. You didn’t even tell me your dad died until you were eight because you refused to acknowledge it, then you ran back home and didn’t come outside for a week.” she rolled her eyes “that’s different!” he shook his head “mmm no it’s not, you don’t like to think about the bad shit that happens to you so you occupy yourself until you have no choice but to address things because something makes it all spill out-this morning is a prime example of that”

She blinked a few times “when did you become mister psychologist” he shrugged “dunno, life experience helps you figure shit out” she now shifted, turning around to face him, her legs crossed as she sat between his, before she could say anything he wiped her tears away gently with his thumbs “stop being so soft Munson, it takes away from the rockstar thing” he rolled his eyes “I can still be a rockstar and be soft with the girl I’ve known my entire life”

“Uh huh, sure you can.” he raised a brow “are you deflecting? You are! Keep talking princess, y’know you have a lot to get off your chest” she scoffed “no I don’t” he raised a brow “you found out your mother was in a shitty relationship and literally kicked her boyfriends ass this morning, and based on what you just said-this isn’t the first time something like that has happened with her”

“You’re good at reading people and I hate you for it” he smiled at her joke, nodding his head “I’m here for you, all ears, ready to listen and follow you to the ends of the earth.” she raised a brow “even into Mordor?” his eyes widened “wait! You read it?!” she cracked a smile, rolling her eyes “maybe” he nodded his head “yeah I’d follow you into Mordor”

“There’s one other thing that’s been bothering me since this morning-and it’s gonna sound stupid-so don’t laugh at it. We can unpack my mommy issues on a different day-trust me that’s gonna take hours and I’d rather not focus on that” he slowly nodded his head “so what’s the other pressing matter?”

“Y’know how I said, I've never gotten to like have that teenage experience?” he hummed in acknowledgement “this morning Mia was talking to me about someone, anyways he’s not important-but it had me thinking that I’ve never even been on a real date, and like yeah I’ve had sex-I mean it was probably because I needed validation and felt like shit at the time-but it’s also like I wouldn’t even give anyone the time of day. I didn’t even make it to the actual date with Steve-but thank God I didn't. He was so in love with Nancy it wasn’t even funny-but like is there something wrong with me?”

He had to hold in his laugh, an upside down smile on his face as he tried to hold it back “you’re gonna laugh! You said you wouldn’t!” he shook his head, letting the laugh slip out “it’s just that I never really thought you’d be into that stuff” she rolled her eyes “what girl doesn’t want to be whisked away by her prince charming? Just because I’m a bitch doesn’t mean I don’t want to be loved you ass!” she leaned forward, shoving him slightly.

He raised his brows “who would’ve thought, mean ol Curly who’s smashed more windshields in her life than I can imagine wants to be wined and dined” she scoffed “shut up!” he smirked, wiggling his eyebrows up and down “oh c’mon you know it’s true! Miss ' I reject every guy who’s ever tried’ wants to find her prince charming!” she grabbed his pillow and didn’t hesitate to smack him with it.

“Seriously? A pillow fight? Are you ten?” she scoffed, squinting her eyes slightly, now standing on her knees as she tried to take the pillow back from him “maybe I am! Let me live you ass! Give it back” he tugged it a little too hard and it sent her falling into him, Eddie landing flat on his back while Y/n landed on top of the pillow-above his chest.

It was silent for a few seconds before the room erupted with laughter, however when she tried to get up and grab the pillow from him he easily tugged it from under her-however that lead to her letting out a small ‘yelp’ as her shirt was slightly rolled up and she fell into his chest, mumbling “you moron” but then she looked up at him, placing her palms on his chest, then resting her chin atop them. “Thank you Eddie” he looked down at her-the angle definitely awkward but worth it because she looked beautiful “for what?” she smiled “for listening”

“I’ll always be here to listen” she smiled, then she moved, now sitting up while he still laid in place-gaze on the ceiling, a dopey smile on his face.

“Can I borrow your copy of the Hobbit?” he sat up, now staring at her with a singular brow raised-giving himself a mental pep talk “only if you let me take you on a date” her brows knit together, lips slightly parted as she stared at him, unsure what to say “hear me out Curly, you’ve never gotten that first date, and I think I know you pretty well-so instead of sitting on top of your place and star gazing-let me take you on a date”

“Why?” he shrugged “because you deserve it” she smiled at that, looking down at her hands as she fidgeted with the singular gold ring she wore all the time-it was her father’s. “So do we have a deal?” she bit her bottom lip, a small laugh leaving her lips before she glanced at him again “yeah, we have a deal” he nodded “tonight or tomorrow at seven?” “Are you picking me up?” he laughed “course, my chariot awaits” then she raised a brow “don’t you have Hellfire tonight?”

“Aw Curly, you remembered?” she rolled her eyes “it’s almost like you’ve been talking about Hellfire nonstop for the past five years-course I remembered. Just because we don’t talk all the time doesn’t mean I just randomly up and forgot you dweeb”

She laughed again as she stood up from his bed, walking over and grabbing the book before she spotted something from the corner of her eye-he stared at her confused as she squatted down-then she grabbed the black magazine, her eyes widening at the Heavy Metal magazine-specifically the cover art. Then she flipped through the pages.

“Holy shit-” his eyes widened as he realized what she was looking at, meanwhile she was turning the magazine slightly, angling her head to get a better look at the image “so you’re into like sci fi porn? What the fuck is that?” she squinted slightly “Oh she’s like a cyborg? Wait is she getting fucked-oh no nevermind I don’t think that’s that-” she tilted the magazine again “actually wait is she getting fucked? I can’t tell if that’s a robo dick” he was stunned-he expected her to judge him, instead she was flipping through the pages and examining the artwork.

It’s safe to say he was falling even deeper into his ‘I’m in love with Y/n Y/l/n’ hole.

“Aren’t you like weirded out?” she shrugged then shook her head-still looking at the magazine, now holding it at a ninety degree angle as she examined a long image that looked like a raunchy star wars knock off. “No, you’re a guy-figured, you'd have something to y’know help with the job, plus the artistry is actually kinda interesting-and I’m gonna wash my hands anyway” Then she turned the page “oh wait! It has like stories! i thought it was just porn honestly-this makes more sense it’s like sci fi and fantasy but with tits?”

He nodded his head slowly “so do you have more of these? Or is this the fan favorite?” he rolled his eyes “are you really asking me about my spank bank?” she giggled, and he was trying to ignore the way he was blushing while she glanced back towards where she found it-spotting another one but deciding to leave it be. Then she shut the magazine and placed it on his dresser, she acted nonchalant but in all reality her mind was racing and for the first time in forever she thought of Eddie in that way. “So tomorrow? Seven” he nodded his head, watching as she grabbed the book once again.

“It’s a date Sweetheart” she rolled her eyes at the pet name-but her smile was still evident and as she turned to leave he wanted to stop her but he didn’t want to overstep. So he just let her go, but little did he know her smile had widened the second she opened the door and walked outside, a skip in her step as she made her way back to her place-holding the book closely to her chest.

She’d never felt this way before, maybe it was because her crush on Eddie had never really gone away-she just didn’t think about it because it wasn’t a pressing matter. Hell she’d never really thought of herself over the past few years, making sacrifices for her family at her own expense. She didn’t want to regret anything, and based on Eddie’s subtle input-she shouldn’t regret it, rather she needed to learn how to let people in and to talk about her feelings.

Maybe he’d be the one to help her with that. She hoped he would be.

For the rest of the day she had a wide smile on her face, as she folded and sorted the clothes, vacuumed the floors, swept up any broken glass,took the trash out, washed the dishes, and made dinner for herself while putting everything else away in the fridge sorted into two foil wrapped plates-she had the same smile on her face. Even as she showered she was giddy, singing a tune the entire time.

She’d even opted to listen to Dolly Parton’s Jolene album-granted she’d never been big on country music but she had a soft spot for the Blonde.

What she didn’t know was that as she cleaned her and her sister’s shared room and made both beds over again with the music playing loudly through her stereo, her singing was even louder-and as Eddie parked the van after coming home from Hellfire he could hear her singing ‘Randy’-only knowing the song because she used to hum it often. He liked to imagine that she thought of him when she sang the song.

In truth, her mind did drift to him and she simply smiled and rolled her eyes while tossing the pillows back onto the beds on opposite sides of the room. She’d been so caught up in singing ‘Jolene’ that she hadn’t heard the front door open-nor did she notice her sister standing in the doorway with a wide smile on her face as she watched Y/n sing and sway her hips and for the first time in a long time-she looked happy.

“Someones in a good mood” she screamed as she turned around, instinctively throwing the book in her hand at her sister-who easily dodged it. “Don’t scare me like that!” Mia laughed, nodding her head as she walked in and turned the music down “Dolly? You haven’t listened to Dolly in forever-oh my god” her eyes widened and she jumped in excitement “did he ask you?!” she blinked a few times, taking a step back from her younger sister.

“Did who ask me?” Mia smiled “Munson! Did he finally grow a pair and ask you out!” she scoffed “did you really put him up to this?” it was evident how easily her mood changed, of course he only did it because her sister put him up to it. “Woah! Woah relax! I just told him to go for it because he’s clearly into you!” she scoffed, rolling her eyes, then she shoved past Mia, the usual attitude and anger surfacing again as she took off her slippers, opting to slide into her vans again then rush out of their home and towards the Munson residence.

She banged her fist against the front door several times, and as Eddie answered it he could practically see the heat leaving her ears-and he knew the fact that Chrissy Cunningham was over because she’d been buying weed from him for the past few months would be an issue. But Y/n didn’t know that the blonde was just another one of his customers-so the second she noticed the blonde she scoffed.

“Are you fucking kidding me? You fucking asshole!” his eyes widened as he tried to calm her down “woah! Woah-relax sweetheart-Jesus Christ come inside before someone thinks you’re gonna kick my ass next” she scoffed as he grasped her hand and pulled her inside, then he shut the door behind her. He took a second to give her a once over, noticing the baggy Up In Smoke t-shirt she wore alongside either no pants or the shortest shorts in existence-most likely the latter.

“Uh Curly this is Chrissy-Chrissy this is Curly-” she scoffed “It’s Y/n.” Chrissy nodded her head, a sweet smile on her face “yeah, I know who you are! You totally kicked Derek’s ass last year-he so deserved that, you’re kind of a Hawkins legend” she blinked a few times, and she knew that the girl was being genuine, which only made it harder for her to be upset. She honestly wanted to cry, a smidge of heartbreak sneaking through her.

“Oh uh-thanks?” Chrissy laughed, the same smile on her face “of course! I didn’t know you and Eddie were together? You must be the girl he’s been telling me about for months!” she glanced at Eddie who’s eyes were wide and the familiar red flush overtook his features “we’re not-we’re not together” he mumbled it as he ran a hand over his face and she looked surprised “oh! Shit my bad! Uhm don’t worry Eddie’s said a lot of good stuff about you!”

“We’re not-me and him aren’t doing anything if that’s what you thought! He’s just my dealer! We’re friends! Promise! I have a boyfriend too” she slowly nodded her head at Chrissy’s panicked demeanor. Eddie groaned, quickly rushing over to the kitchen counter where he had Chrissy’s weed ready then he handed it to her, taking the twenty dollar bill from her hand.

“I’m gonna go, uh it was nice meeting you Y/n! Once again-totally not doing anything with him-he talks about you all the time! We’re uh friends-platonic friends!” she slowly nodded, watching as Chrissy rushed past her then she went outside, the sound of a car starting signaled that the blonde was leaving.

“Can you please explain to me why you rushed over here ready to go to war?!” she scoffed “did you only ask me out because my sister told you to” he looked taken aback as he rapidly shook his head “no-I mean she gave me the push I needed but no-I’ve been into you forever you’re just-you’re you and you’re amazing”

She rolled her eyes “you’re full of shit Munson” he craned his neck slightly “are you kidding me! This is the shit we talked about earlier! You always put up walls and you bottle everything up because you’re so afraid of letting someone in! I could sit here and tell you that I’m in love with you and you’d tell me to fuck off!”

She shrugged “because you’re a fucking liar” he shook his head “I’m not a liar, you’re just too afraid of your own feelings to have any ounce of trust in anyone else!” she scoffed, stepping towards him, a cynical smile on her face as she stared at him “yeah I’m just supposed to wanna jump into your fucking arms and trust every single word you’ve said to me right? As if you didn’t have Chrissy Cunningham in here less than five minutes ago!”

“Because I’m a dealer, you know this, everyone knows this! People want weed, I sell them weed! It’s simple” she scoffed, nodding her head, running her tongue along her top row of teeth “yeah so fuckin simple huh? I’m just supposed to believe that pretty girls from rich families like Chrissy Cunningham smoke weed? Yeah-great fucking story there.” he shook his head, letting out a deep breath.

“Y/n it’s 1986-everyone smokes weed! It’s weed!” she rolled her eyes again “you’re so full of shit Munson. You just fucking play the part so fucking well huh?” he raised a brow “what fucking part?!” she shook her head, feeling her eyes water “fuck you” he stared at her, noticing the way her eyes glossed over as she stared at him “you think you’re so unloveable and you push everyone away because you’re scared of getting hurt. You hate the idea of people hurting you so you don’t let them even like you.”

As he spoke she stared at him, ignoring the singular tear that slid down her face “You’ve been taking care of everyone else for years and haven’t given a shit about yourself. You’re so used to neglecting yourself that you don’t even see it when people want to be there for you, and when people wanna take care of you!” she rolled her eyes “yeah cause you clearly wanna take care of me huh?” her sardonic tone had him clenching his jaw.

Eddie Munson rarely got angry, sure he had a lot of reasons to be angry in life, ranging from his absent parents, the Munson family name, being labeled as a freak, being looked down upon, to being considered ‘trailer trash’ since the ripe age of ten. But he didn’t care, he hated being angry, he’d promised himself that he’d let the anger go after his dad stopped calling, after he’d been left in the dust and picked up by Wayne.

For the first time in a long time, he was getting angry. She was pissing him off because she couldn’t see herself the way he saw her-because she was so insecure without even realizing it that she couldn’t accept that Chrissy Cunningham was just a friend and a customer.

“Is it so wrong to say I do? That I do wanna take care of you-that I’ve wanted to take care of you for years! That maybe every now and then I wanna give you a hug without you fighting it-or that I wanna hold your hand and take you on long drives, or just be there for you on a regular basis and not whenever your facade falls apart and crashes to shit!”

She took a step back, he’d never yelled at her before-to be fair he wasn’t even yelling his voice was slightly louder than usual but it still felt different. She hadn’t been spoken to like this in years, sure she had people yell at her-but they weren’t people who mattered. Eddie shattered her entire reserve, her tears now slipping down her cheeks faster-but she tried to hold her composure-still staring at him.

“Jesus Y/n I’m sorry-I didn’t mean to get loud but you just-you’re so frustrating.” she shook her head, tears still flowing “yeah? Guess I am huh?” she was shutting him out, and it was as if he could see her walls building back up. “Curly, I care about you in a way i’ve never cared about anyone else-I want you to be happy, I want to make you happy, I want you to see yourself the way I see you because you’re so fucking beautiful inside and out but you refuse to see yourself that way”

She shook her head “because all I’m ever gonna be is trailer park pretty. I’m gonna end up like my mom with shitty boyfriends back to back to back, living in a run down trailer park having men offer me stupid shitty things just for a chance to sleep with me. You said life gets better for people like me-but it doesn’t. I’m stuck-and if I drag anyone else down with me-I just-I dunno” she sniffled as she spoke, and it took everything in him to not start crying.

He took a few steps forward, then placed a gentle hand along her cheek “none of that is true Curly. None of it-not for a single second” the two held eye contact for a few seconds before he leaned in and connected their lips. The kiss was so soft as he poured his heart into it, he wanted her to know he cared and that he was in it for the long run-as friends or as more.

It wasn’t long before she was kissing him back, one hand gripping the edge of his denim vest, the other on his jaw, pulling him closer as their lips melted together, perfectly molding against one another, then she slid her tongue along his bottom lip and he was spreading them. Her tongue swiping against his as she kissed him, the motion made him groan, but he kept up with her-taking control of the kiss as he sucked on her tongue-then slid his against hers.

Once they pulled apart for air he slid his thumbs along her cheeks-wiping away her tears. “You’re worth so much more than you think” his words were so loving and tender-she didn’t even know how to react. No one had ever spoken to her like that, sure she had her few friends but this was different.

“For the last time, I didn’t ask you out because your sister put me up to it, I asked you out because you deserve to be wined and dined and taken care of. You deserve to be loved” she nodded her head, sniffling again “I’m sorry” he shushed her “don’t apologize to me, I know how it is, I know that it’s gonna take time for you to see yourself the way I see you”

“But what if that doesn’t happen Eddie?” he laughed, rolling his eyes while placing a kiss on her temple “it will, i’m gonna make sure of it-if it’s the last thing I do, now do you wanna stay the night here? Or you wanna go back home?” she raised a brow “are you trying to get into my pants?” he laughed at that, shaking his head.

“No but I think you’d benefit from being held a little longer” she rolled her eyes “are you saying I’m touch starved?” he nodded his head “yeah basically” she scoffed, shoving him back, but instead of making a beeline to her door, she went to his room and flipped him off in the process. Once she was inside she kicked off her shoes, tucking her socks into them as well before going through the things on his dresser-looking for a hair tie.

“Top drawer princess” she rolled her eyes at the pet name, opening the drawer and spotting the practically unused pack of hair ties, then she spotted something else, the light reflecting off of the shiny paper. She grabbed it, her jaw dropping as she stared at the most explicit magazine she’d ever seen-immediately screaming and shoving it back in the dresser. His eyes widened as he noticed what she grabbed-then he had to hold back a laugh as she slammed the dresser shut.

“Jesus Christ Munson! Keep your porn in one place!” He shrugged “I told you where the hair ties were-I didn’t tell you to snoop. Curiosity killed the cat” she rolled her eyes “but satisfaction brought it back” what she hadn’t realized is that he’d moved from his doorway to behind her, his hands now resting on her hips as he leaned closer to her “are you satisfied?” his voice was lower than usual but then he cracked the act and laughed, letting go of her hips.

She shoved him back as she made her way to the bathroom, now taking time to braid her hair. Meanwhile he shrugged off his jacket, then his shirt and his shoes-leaving his jeans unbuttoned because he didn’t want to make her uncomfortable-he’d wait until they were actually going to sleep to take them off.

She hadn’t expected him to follow her in, but he stood behind her, admiring her work through their shared reflection. “How do you do that?” she furrowed her brows, glancing at him “braid my hair?” he nodded his head “I can’t really explain it well, but I dunno, just watch my fingers” he scooted closer to her, now standing slightly to her right as she braided the other half of her hair back, grasping each section by section until she was finished.

“I’m gonna learn how to do that” she raised a brow “really? You wanna braid my hair Munson?” he nodded “I’ll do anything you want me to do sweetheart-but yeah I do” she laughed, rolling her eyes. “It’s harder than it looks y’know” he raised a brow “and you’re softer than you look-your point is?” she scoffed, but didn’t say anything. The sound of knocking caught them both off guard, he left the bathroom to go answer the door.

Mia stood outside, holding a satin scarf in her hand. Her eyes practically popped out of her head at the sight of Eddie “jesus christ you two hornballs! Here this is for her hair-figure: she wasn’t coming home tonight. I didn’t think she’d already jumped your bones” his jaw dropped as he shook his head. “It’s not what it looks like-jesus christ-uh” she shook her head “you don’t have to lie to me Munson, but at least make sure her hair is wrapped.” she shoved the scarf in his direction and as he took it she cleared her throat.

“And uh-can you do me a personal favor?” he raised a brow “I don’t sell weed to freshmen” she scoffed, rolling her eyes “that’s not it, can you ask Henderson what he thinks of me?” he smirked “so baby y/l/n likes Henderson hmm? It’s your lucky day-he’s into you, talks about how pretty you are all the time. Just ask him out, you two nerds can watch star wars together” her jaw dropped “how’d you know!” he raised a brow “your sister talks, and I just happened to listen, now go home-it’s late” she rolled her eyes and turned-walking off. Eddie stood outside, making sure she made it back inside before he closed and locked the door.

He expected her to still be in the bathroom, however she was in his room, flipping through one of his copies of Heavy Metal while she sat in his bed, her legs extended in front of her as she tilted her head slightly, eyes wandering across the page-she was clearly reading something.

“Are you serious right now?” she glanced up at him “shush the interesting parts coming up! I need to see if they fuck it out-this shit’s actually interesting once you get past the alien porn” he blinked a few times “Curly please put that away” she shook her head, gaze still focused on the pages-he watched the way her eyes widened as she flipped the page “Oh my god-Jesus Christ!” she dropped the magazine for a second-and he noticed the exact panel she was on.

“Uh yeah-tentacles are kinda some peoples thing” she slowly nodded “i can tell” she looked slightly disgusted as she picked the magazine back up, grimacing as she read through that page, then she let out a sigh of relief. “You’re seriously gonna keep reading it?”

“Yeah, is that a problem? Did you wanna take it and go jerk off or something? Use the other porn you have stashed everywhere, i’m reading” her sarcastic tone was unmistakable as her gaze didn’t shift from the magazine in front of her.

He raised a brow “really? You’re reading?” she nodded her head, turning the page again-eyes widening at the next graphic scene-more specifically the clear knock off of Princess Leia’s slave outfit falling off of a woman’s body “you would get off to shit like this, you pervy nerd” he bit his bottom lip, slipping into the bed next to her, peaking over at what she was looking at-his cheeks immediately reddened at the sight, and he couldn’t help the way that his cock stirred.

He then blinked a few times, handing her the scarf. “Mia brought it over-she uh thinks we uh y’know” she raised a brow, taking the scarf and handing him the magazine in return. Then she folded it into a triangular shape, angling her head down as she tied it around once-then again atop her head. “Of course she does” he bit his bottom lip, nodding his head. Then she moved, laying down and looking up at him, raising a brow “lay down Munson” he blinked a few times before nodding his head-except he glanced down at his pants.

“You can take them off if that’s how you sleep” she turned away from him, and the sound of shifting alongside his pants hitting the ground made her giggle, then he turned off the light before she felt the bed dip beside her.

He carefully wrapped his arm around her waist, slightly pulling her against him as he spooned her, however she shoved his arm off, turning around again and resting her head against his chest, one of her legs resting against his-her thigh right on his waist and the warmth from her skin made him dizzy. She traced small patterns into his chest with her fingers.

“Thank you” he clicked his tongue “stop thanking me” she glanced up at him, and he met her stare “I can’t help it” he raised a brow “yes you can, stop thanking me for caring about the girl I love” she blinked a few times, somewhat shocked at his confession “you don’t gotta feel the same way-but just know as long as I love you I’m not giving up on you”

“I-I think I love you too” he smiled at that “you think so?” she giggled, rolling her eyes before nodding her head. “Yea I think so you dweeb.”

taglist: @anxietyandtacos @walkietalkiesteve @r0s3mm @babeyglo @darylssluttt @k-k0129 @postresdevainilla @val-writesstuff @sexytholland @eudximoniakr @extratragic @chloepricerk800 @tesslahey @freeshavocadoooo @gloryekaterina @mayvinnie @mayyvh @touchdeprivedwh0re @lostinwonderland314 @oneeggontoast @br3ak1ngmyh3artbaby @chxosunbound @thatswacklol @urmomashleyyy @nennuit @melsreads @seaveysinn @makeadealwithdean @harringtonsbtch

#eddie munson x reader #eddie munson x black!reader #eddie munson fanfic #eddie munson angst #eddie munson fluff #eddie munson x y/n #eddie munson fanfiction #eddie munson x you #eddie munson one shot #eddie munson imagine

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formosusiniquis · 1 year

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facts and pearls (both sensitive)

also on AO3 for ease of reading

Personally, Steve thinks it's a little suspicious that the supposedly shut down local child experimentation lab was able to be sanitized and reopened in less than 48 hours. But then nobody has really asked for his opinion on anything other than, 'does he have a pulse' and 'can you carry him back through the gate.'

But then by the time the conversation about taking Eddie to the suddenly reopened lab turned 'specialized treatment facility' the focus had shifted pretty hard to a comatose Max. Not that Steve has a problem with that, Max is the strongest of them all and he's also very concerned about her sight less eyes, her broken bones, and her sleeping brain, he just thinks some concern could be spared for the guy who got dragged into this mess kicking and screaming and almost died because of it.

Nobody asked his opinion though, and he threw all of his Harrington weight around just to get Eddie admitted. Now that all the adults in the know have miraculously appeared after all the shit has hit the fan everyone -- other than Nancy -- has been relegated back to the kids table where they can be seen and not heard. The adults in the know have focused their attention on Max, and he doesn't think anyone has even called Eddie's uncle to let him know he's alive -- Steve doesn't know much about father figures, so he doesn't know if it's a good or bad thing that Wayne Munson stays in the dark while Eddie is still so touch and go -- so when a man in a white coat tells the folks at Hawkins General that he's an animal attack specialist come to transfer Mr. Munson to a specialized facility no one cares.

No one but Steve, who has no parents to notice he's missing and no one to back him up because of it. No one but Steve, who isn't about to go to the Chief or Mrs. Byers, neither of whom like or even really trust him and he can't say there's a lot of love lost between him and Hopper either. No one but Steve, who doesn't really trust the staff at Hawkins General to not do something to Eddie anyway doesn't really trust them at all; how many times can a boy break his arm climbing a tree, how many times can his mother bump her head on an open kitchen cabinet before you start to ask a few questions? No one but Steve, who damn well isn't going to let him go alone just to get disappeared by a government trying to make the worst of their mistakes go away.

So he leaves a note for Robin and Dustin with the hospital staff, a nurse he remembers from school who he's sure remembers him better, letting her know where he is lest he get disappeared too; and he climbs into the back of an ambulance in a pair of borrowed scrubs with an unconscious but mostly stable Eddie Munson as an agent drives them both away.

That was a week ago, and Steve still isn't sure if he made the right call.

Steve has been going to a court 'recommended' therapist since he was thirteen and got caught pawning off his father's watch and cufflinks, got caught not by the police but by a lawyer friend of his father's who of course called his dad who of course got a judge involved. No one asked why he'd done it, no one asked much of anything before deciding that Steve was troubled but fixable -- and wasn't it so in vogue to go to therapy, the better you know yourself, the better you know others, the better you are at business. So once a month his father's assistant, Debbie then Mary then Barbie then Veronica, dropped him off at an office where he was expected to tell a stranger what was wrong with him. Except obviously not really. He couldn't tell them that he'd pawned the jewelry because the money he'd been left was gone and the cabinets were empty. He couldn't tell them that the last time he'd spoken to his father it'd been a shouting match that had ended in welts and bruising -- his arms stay whole now that sports are an option. And four years later he can't tell them that he needs a nightlight again because he needs to be able to make sure all of his walls stay solid and monsterless.

He shares enough to know that trauma does weird shit to you.

He figures that's why he feels so compelled to make sure Eddie 'the Freak' Munson doesn't wake up in this nightmare of a place alone. A little bit of trauma and a little bit of guilt for letting him end up batfood in the first place. No matter what little looks Robin sends him when she comes by, no matter what little flirtations happened while they were in the middle of an apocalypse event. It's the guilt keeping him here, and a lack of anywhere else to go.

Sure, the guy was attractive but he wasn't Nancy Wheeler he wasn't going to jump into a relationship with the first half attractive guy he went through a traumatic event with. Trauma bonds weren't exactly the stablest of foundations for a relationship, just ask the flaming wreckage of whatever was going on with her relationship with Jonathan.

He may have trauma bonded with Dustin and Robin, but their relationship grew from it not because of it.

He's here because he has to be.

He still isn't sure if anyone has told Wayne Munson where his child is.

And anyway his house is ten yards from a fault line, the only person to try to get in contact with him was his parents insurance agent -- though he doesn't doubt that his mother tried. So why wouldn't he be here, taking the night shift in a place where he can sleep in a bed and rebandage his sides and his back without worrying about things being sterile.

It is so very clean in this place that wasn't supposed to exist anymore. He won't let the man who put himself between certain death and Steve's little brother wake up in some observation tank.

Sometimes he thinks he can feel Eddie's pulse in his sides and thinks it's better that they're both here anyway. The staff all know him here, let him in when he buzzes, but he knows if something happened if a slug burst through the wounds in his sides like a shitty Alien remake that they would be locked in here. The situation contained. It helps him sleep at night, curled in a hospital bed two feet away from Eddie's steady, comatose breathing.

He hopes Max sleeps as easy.

He hopes she's awake.

He wants to see her, but knows she has a vigil of people at her side. Knows that Joyce Byers and Chief Hopper are there when they can be with Lucas and El. Doesn't know if he can stand the conversation that will result, who let those children go into that fight alone. How could you let this happen.

So he gets his updates from Dustin who gets them from Mike who gets them from El, a long telephone chain that he hopes comes close to accuracy. He would post himself in the hallway between two rooms if he could, but they took Eddie away and nobody asked his opinion on whether it was even a good idea. Just has to trust and wonder if one of them will ever get better, if one of them will ever wake up.

"The doctors told Lucas that talking helps," Dustin tells him one day. It's been nine days since Vecna and everything is still in shambles. Steve and Robin help when and where they can, Robin because she cares and Steve because he has to. Has to put in an appearance. Has to be seen. Has to do something with all this goddamn useless energy because everything has gone to shit and swinging a blunt object won't fix it this time. Has to help someone since all he's done for his friends is let them get hurt.

He can only leave if someone is there. Robin or Dustin or sometimes Mike.

Night shift comes and Dustin is reading out loud from some fantasy tome because the doctors told Lucas that talking helps and they've all run out of their own words to say to an unconscious motormouth who is too fucking still.

Dustin leaves the book. Robin takes him home. Someone has to stay.

Talking helps apparently, and Steve has been blessed with the realization the only reason they haven't buzzed Eddie's head like El's and slapped all the wires they can to it is because someone is always there. The only reason Eddie isn't wearing a crown of wires recording his brain activity, looking for Vecna hidden in the spikes of awareness is because they are watching everything, ready to sound the alarm of government overstep. When Dustin's gone he'll braid it, save it, it's just hair but you don't grow your hair out to your shoulders if you don't care about it being there. When morning comes and Dustin returns, Steve will say the nurses did it and they'll all pretend to believe him.

Dustin leaves the book behind. "Talking helps," he reminds as Steve walks him to the door. He won't step out, won't go any farther from the bed, he doesn't trust the government doctors anymore than he trusts the ones from Hawkins; but he'll walk his little brother to the door, watch him climb into the Buckley's station wagon, make sure they drive away, pretend that they're both still talking about Eddie and not him.

Eddie is still there when he gets back. Still and ringless and pale in the powder blue hospital gown they keep him in so the doctor and nurses can get at whatever piece of bruised, torn, and battered skin they need to in a particular moment. Still and quiet, save for the sound of his heart monitor and his even breathing, a good sign that he's breathing on his own the same good sign they give them every time a day goes by and there are no other changes. Is Max breathing on her own, or is a machine doing it for her? He'll have to ask next time someone comes by.

Steve has never been one to talk just to hear himself. Years alone in his big empty house, he's used to silence. He doesn't talk to Eddie, knowing Eddie isn't going to talk back, they spend most of their time together sleeping when they're alone. But Dustin says talking will help.

"Apparently, I've been screwing you over letting you stew in silence, Munson." That feels wrong, if he's going to talk he should be nicer. "Guess I thought you might like a little peace and quiet whenever Robin and Henderson left, they talk enough for six."

Steve has no problem maneuvering Eddie where he needs him, careful of the stitches on his sides and his neck and his jaw, he has helped the nurses move him around that he doesn't think twice wrapping his arms around Eddie's upper body and shifting him upright so Steve has better access to those dark curls. "I feel like an idiot so I imagine this will be about the time you decide to grace us with your presence, I remember your flair for the dramatic from school." He bought a comb for Dustin, when he realized the stuff he has for his own hair isn't meant for the fluffy curls Dust has. It's in the gym bag that all of his worldly possessions have been fit inside. He doesn't think Eddie will mind sharing. Pulling a chair in as close as possible to the bed he brushes and braids one side, “Henderson left the fantasy shit he was reading you earlier, and honestly Eds,” that’s better, that’s nicer. Nice like Eddie’s hair, soft if a little tangled up and twisted, “honestly if he thinks I’m going to read that shit he’s crazy.”

He sounds mean again, can Eddie tell. Can Eddie even hear him? The abrasive sort of joking he and the kids favor doesn’t really work if you aren’t in on the joke. He’d tried to read those ring books before, they’re something Dustin cares about, if only this thing Dustin cares so much about weren’t printed in size 8 font, cramped onto the page like they were running out of paper when they started doing the printing. Even if he could see it, he can’t, he wouldn’t be able to keep the letters from flipping and flopping and dancing around the page.

He comes around the other side, pulls that chair up so it’s right against the bed. Knees rubbing against the rough cotton of the sheets they keep him on. It looks better even now, half braided and a little frizzy from being combed out but it will need to be washed before too long, grease gathering at the hairline. “You’ll just have to deal with my taste in literature until he comes back, since I don’t think either one of us wants to listen to me go on and on about the world at large.”

Eddie won’t be tossing or turning in bed to disturb either of the twin braids that Steve has made. He has to be rolled by Steve and the nurses to prevent bedsores, legs and arms worked each day to try to save the muscles from atrophy. Physical therapy will be a bitch if he wakes up soon and the longer he’s out the worse it will be. Still he manages to find some old ponytail holders in the bottom of his bag, tossed in there by Robin who can’t even use them anymore but likes to wear them on her wrist in case it gives her a chance to talk to a girl, and secures them both anyway.

He moves the Hobbit, sets it on a side table so it doesn’t get bent or lost. He’ll let that be a Henderson and Eddie thing, something for Dustin to look forward to when he comes here. It’s hard for all of them, losing people this time; but it’s been hardest for Dustin, two of his friends in sick beds, one of them briefly dying in his arms.

Steve’s personal tastes tend toward horror, ironically. Horror and romance, he enjoys a controlled build up of tension and then a satisfying release. Stephen King and bodice rippers, one doesn’t feel appropriate and the other he wouldn’t admit to under pain of death. So he settles for science fiction.

“You can’t make fun of me,” Steve says on instinct, “well, I guess that’s still true. I’m a slow reader so you’ll just have to live in each moment for a little while.” Nearly every book he has has an index card covered in Nancy Wheeler’s illegibly neat curling cursive tucked inside of it. The remnant of their relationship and of her still everywhere in his life, smudgy fingerprints on everything he has. He also just never has a bookmark, and those stupid flashcards still turn up in the dumbest places -- he didn’t even use them to study, just needed another body in the room so he could actually buckle down and focus; but try convincing Nance of anything once she had her mind set to it -- they do help a little now, blocking out the majority of the page so his brain can bring the few lines he lets be seen into focus.

“I’ll make my report as if I told a story, for I was taught as a child on my homeworld that Truth is a matter of the imagination.”

Steve stays because someone has to. Steve reads because talking is important. “The soundest fact may fail or prevail in the style of its telling,” He won’t let Eddie Munson be alone. It’s all he can do, no one’s asked his opinion.

#stranger things #stranger things fic #steddie #steddie fic #steddie drabble #steve harrington #eddie munson #this could potential turn into a long fic later #depending on reception #but i had angst in my heart and needed to get it out #my fic #steve x eddie #eddie x steve #pre slash

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snowdropluck204 · 6 months

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Honey - Steve Harrington x Single Mother! Reader - pt 2

Welcome to part two of my single mum fic! Sorry it's taken me so long to get this out, but I sort of screwed myself over, I left it at a place I couldn't figure out where to go from there. But I hope you guys like this! Xxx ____________________________

3rd Person pov

(y/n) hummed to herself as she walked through the aisles of the store, picking up products, glancing at the prices and then putting them back. She had baby Jamie in a wrap, pressed against her chest and Sam was trailing along behind her, holding on to her mama's sweater and her other hand gripping her blanket. A lot of the women in the store had already seen the little family walking around, either frowning in disdain or in absolute shock that the fabled single mother of Hawkins had such well behaved children, she seemed to be taking care of them with such ease!

(y/n) had a smile on her face as she picked up some things for dinner, still slightly humming to herself and the sleeping baby. As much as the glances and the 'quiet' comments bothered her, she was happy, she was away from her past and looking to her future with two wonderful babies!

"(y/n)?" A voice asked from behind her, turning around, she saw a head of dark, curly hair, arms covered in tattoos and a ripped shirt.

"Eddie?" She responded, keeping her voice low and even, looking him up and down, she was shocked at just how little he had changed. The two had been friends when she and her family lived just outside of town. Her father and Wayne had worked at the same car shop until Wayne and Eddie moved further into Hawkins, that was when the two of them were about thirteen.

Leaning an arm over the baby against her chest, she gave him a tight, one armed hug, "It's so good to see you again!" She smiled, already smelling the familiar scent of faint pot... Eddie smiled his signature grin, which quickly dropped when he noticed the children alongside his childhood friend.

"It's great to see you too! Who's this?" He asked, glancing at the baby and again at the toddler. (y/n) smiled shyly, introducing her kids to the metal head.

"These are my kids, this is Jamie, and this is Samantha, we recently moved back here." She told him, seeing his eyes widening in shock as he took them in. They were a family, the three of them, it was immensely obvious just how related the three of them were. They all had the same nose and Eddie could feel they were the same. (y/n) always had a certain aura about her, something that made everyone around her feel calm and soothed. He could see how baby Jamie relaxed into her chest, could see how Samantha got calmer the closer she got to her mother.

Eddie hadn't expected this, he saw her from behind and thought, 'It can't be her, no way, she left years ago...' And obviously there was the sudden show of kids... But she was here, this was the same girl he'd grown up with! And she has kids...

He couldn't wrap his head around it.

"Eddie?" (y/n) was waving a hand in front of his face, he seemed to have broken.

"Eddie?" Another voice seemed to appear from nowhere, coming up behind Eddie and clapping a hand onto his shoulder, startling him from his reverie. "Hey, I couldn't find the cereal you wanted so I just picked up-" Realising the two had company, the voice looked up and saw (y/n).

(e/c) met shocked, chocolate eyes, seeing Steve, the guy she had met the other day. "Steve!" She cheered, earning herself a smile from the young man holding the most sugary cereal she had ever seen and probably wouldn't let her little ones eat.

"Hey! It's good to see you, I wasn't expecting to see you again so soon!" He said, going to shake her hand but realised her hands were a bit full of baby Jamie, who he gave a small smile and a wave to. Turning to see Sam behind her leg, he bent down to say hi, offering her a wave and smile also. Seeing him there, Sam came out from behind her mama's leg slightly and went over to Steve, starting to clamber into his lap, seeing as how he was low to the floor.

(y/n) stuttered, "Sam, honey, Steve might not want to cuddle!" She said quietly, hoping that she would understand and climb down without bawling her eyes out. Steve chuckled and sat firmly on the floor, helping Sam get comfy in his lap.

"It's cool, I'm just glad she likes me!" He said cheerily, smiling up at the young mother, who swore she felt her heart skip a beat at how cute the two of them looked together. At this point, Eddie had finally gotten over the news.

"So... You have kids now! When did that happen? Hey, who's the father?" He asked, his rapid fire question overwhelming even him. (y/n)'s face dropped suddenly, holding Jamie closer to her chest, protectively. Her foot turning towards Sam out of reflex.

Swallowing heavily and clearing her throat, (y/n) responded in a voice Eddie had never heard from her before, "They don't have a dad." It was a sound that was cold and sharp, clearly saying to stop asking. Eddie knew better, so he dropped it, reaching over tentatively to run his finger along Jamie's chubby cheek, eyeing (y/n) cautiously, to make sure that it was okay. She simply smiled her angel smile, her demeanour and bounced the baby in her arms.

Steve and Sam were getting along like a house on fire, she hadn't said a word, happily toying with the man's fluffy hair and listening to him babble and ask questions about how she liked living in Hawkins and what her favourite foods were. (y/n) couldn't help but melt at the scene, she had never seen her little girl so comfortable with anyone other than her, especially a stranger. She worried a little at how her heart skipped a beat, she had felt this feeling before and it hadn't ended well, she didn't want to make the same mistake in men twice.

Eddie seemed to have another revelation seeing Sam and Steve together, "Wait, you two know each other?" He asked curiously, looking between the two of them. (y/n) nodded, beginning to look through the aisles for things on her shopping list again. She began picking up very sensible items, herbs and spice to clearly put in a meal, unlike the children's cereal Steve just picked up for Eddie.

It made Steve realise just how different they were, he was deemed the mom of the group, but (y/n) was literally a mom, and she was kicking ass at it! Steve thought about the amount of times he'd tried to get Eddie to eat a bit healthier, like not buying the cereal that had three times the sugar and was three times the cost of healthy cereal... Seeing how (y/n) was interacting with the kids and Eddie, Steve fully believed that using her angelic voice, her beautiful smile and pure motherly instinct she could get him eating lettuce for every meal!

Steve hadn't realised just how much he had been staring at the young mother until Sam pulled on his hair and Eddie kicked him in the ribs at the same time. "Ow!" He told the metalhead disapproving, rubbing his side. Hearing (y/n) laugh at him was not something he knew he wanted, but it was delightful, like jingle bells... Steve tried to put Sam down to follow her mom down the aisle of the store, but she wouldn't budge, so he lifted himself to his feet, heaving her into sitting on his hip as he himself followed (y/n).

"So what's your plan for dinner tonight lil mama?" He asked the woman cheekily, leading to (y/n) giggling bashfully. Sam began jumping up and down, or as much as she could in Steve's embrace.

"Spaghetti!" She cheered excited, her mom smiling at her lovingly. Steve also smiled at the young girl.

"Spaghetti huh? Your mom's spaghetti must be awesome!" He enthused, loving the look the (y/n) was now giving the both of them at the sweet interaction.

Sam nodded quickly, "It's the bestest!" Causing Steve to chuckle at the sweet error, hearing a soft correction from the young girl's mother, the two practicing the word a few times.

Eddie popped into the conversation, "What's wrong with the word bestest?" He asked, testing the word a few times around his tongue.

"Because it's not a word, Edward." (y/n) admonished gently, "Then again, unless it was vulgar or forbidden, words weren't really your forte, were they?" She teased, Eddie faking a look of offence, placing a hand over his chest.

Sam giggled at the man's antics, "Uncle Eddie's funny!" She laughed, causing (y/n) to smile, but look steadily at Eddie, who had frozen in his shocked ploy, but now the shocked face was incredibly real.

"Did she just say Uncle Eddie?" He asked cautiously, in case he had misheard her, Steve looked on in worry, hoping for both an explanation and to make sure Eddie didn't bail on the small family, instead the metalhead stepped closer to (y/n), asking a question with his eyes.

(y/n) simply smiled at him, "I wanted to have her named after someone close to me," She tried to explain, Eddie immediately interrupting.

"Her name is Samantha, that's nothing close to my name..." He pondered, (y/n) edged closer, taking his hand gently.

"Her full name is Samantha Elizabeth (l/n), I wanted to name her after your mom..." (y/n) looked off, hoping he wasn't angry at her, "I'm sorry if that wasn't okay, I just- I loved your mom and she meant a lot to you as well, so when Sammy was born, that was the first middle name I thought of when I saw her face-"

(y/n)'s rambling was cut off when Eddie pulled her into a hug, being mindful not to squash baby Jamie in the process, "Thank you." He whispered softly, pressing a teary kiss against (y/n)'s forehead in the middle of the frozen aisle.

After the hug was over, Steve watching smiling from the side, not wanting to disturb the peaceful moment between old friends, (y/n) wiped away her own tears. "Well after all that, I am hungry, so I say we get shopping done. You guys wanna come eat with us, I can make plenty?" She offered sweetly.

Steve could see Eddie getting ready to say yes and interjected, "As lovely as that would be, we have to get back to Robin, she'll be getting hangry..." Steve mentioned, causing the sweet smile on (y/n)'s face to droop slightly. Steve was concerned, was it really that hurtful to have to decline her dinner request? Or was she sad about something else? Like him mentioning a 'her'.

Eddie was still buzzing over everything, his old friend returning with two little cherubs, one named after his own mother, he kept chattering, "Robin won't mind, maybe we could invite her, you'd love her (y/n), Robin's our roommate!" He rambled, dancing around on the linoleum tiles, pulling faces to make the kids laugh, and succeeding.

(y/n) paused slightly, "Robin's your roommate? So not a girlfriend or anything?" She tried to ask as subtly as she thought she could be, it wasn't hugely subtle...

Eddie guffawed, a choked laugh, "She should be so lucky! No she's not into either of us in any way!" Eddie laughed, leading (y/n) to relax her shoulders slightly. Steve looked at (y/n), confused but slightly hopeful, maybe she was interested?

At the relaxation, she smiled again, a bright, happy smile, "Sure thing, the more the merrier!" She told the boys, who smiled in appreciation, wondering how that dinner would go... ____________________________________

Sorry this chapter took so damn long! It's been way too long and for that I cannot apologise enough... My brain has been a bit dried up recently, I'm hoping to get back into my writing slowly! I hope you enjoyed it! Xxx

#steve harrington #x reader #stranger things #steve harrington x reader #love #fanfiction #romance #single mother reader #dad steve

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abyss-sss · 2 years

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𝐀𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐚𝐛𝐲𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫

𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭: 𝐄𝐝𝐝𝐢𝐞 𝐱 𝐅𝐞𝐦!𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫, 𝐌𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐠𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐲, 𝐬𝐞𝐱, 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐒𝐭𝐞𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐡𝐢𝐬 “𝐬𝐢𝐱 𝐧𝐮𝐠𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐬” 𝐟𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐬𝐲, 𝐮𝐧𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐝, 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐧𝐲 𝐬𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐈 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐨𝐟 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫, 𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐎𝐎𝐂, 𝐛𝐚𝐝 𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫, 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬.

𝐖𝐂: 𝟏.𝟑𝐤

𝐀/𝐧: 𝐈 𝐰𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐞𝐫 𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐥𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐈 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭. 𝐈 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐚 𝐟𝐞𝐰 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐄𝐝𝐝𝐢𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐬 𝐬𝐨 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭. 𝐀𝐥𝐬𝐨 𝐢𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐥, 𝐈 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐮𝐩 𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐮𝐩/𝐰𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐭𝐰𝐨.

"EDDIE!" Dustin called, loudly outside of his trailer. It was getting closer to noon so he had no problem being noisy to get the attention of his senior dungeon master.

Steve groaned next to him, unfortunately getting snagged into driving his three brats to Munson's trailer.

"Don't scream so loud, Dustin. I don't want to look like I'm a part of this." Steve grumbled.

"It's a little late for that, y'know?" Mike snarked.

"I mean you do practically hang out with us most of the time." Lucas added.

"thank you for the insight, you guys are soooo supportive of my social life." Steve rolled his eyes. “Always the babysitter.” He muttered.

Right at that moment, Eddie's door slammed open, revealing a very drowsy looking Eddie clad in a wrinkled shirt and a pair of lopsided sweats. Behind him sat his uncle, drinking from a half empty pot of coffee and you, browsing through a magazine on the couch.

"Why do you guys always have to bang at my door?" Eddie scolded, making a face of annoyance.

"One more reason to get your own place kiddo," Wayne speaks up, still browsing through the newspaper, much to Eddie's dismay.

Eddie reached out to shake Steve's hand in their signature handshake. Mike, Dustin and Lucas called it the "dad shake." Eddie and Steve called it the "single father shake."

Eddie completely bypasses the kid's words, opting instead to talk to Steve to minimize how much time he had to spend chatting with them.

"What brings the brats to the Munson Lair, huh?'

"I'll be honest, Munson, I couldn't even figure it out. Some campaign idea or something."

Mike enthusiastically fished out a stack of paper from his backpack hanging off his shoulder.

"So we have these new characters that we want to play for the next campaign but we want your approval." Mike said.

Eddie snorted. "Say the words, kiddos."

Dustin and Lucas each rolled their eyes, Dustin already ahead of him.

"Oh master, might you grant us an audience with your majesty?" He said in a worn out tone.

It had Wayne shaking in his seat as well as you looking like you were about to burst at the seams with laughter.

"Hey! Not funny, y/n!" Dustin shouldered his way into Eddie's trailer, setting down his bag and pulling out a pencil.

"Wayne." He acknowledged.

"Dustin." He nodded back, moving the coffee pot so there was sufficient room on the table for their dnd antics. This sort of thing was becoming commonplace to the point that neither you or Wayne bothered with their presence. If anything you thought it was endearing to watch Eddie take care of the kids like they were his own.

Mike and Lucas followed Dustin in, standing around the table due to the lack of chairs. Already they were laying out plans, cocking their heads with intrigue and pointing out all the ways they could tweak their existing designs.

Steve heaved a sigh when Eddie beckoned him inside.

"Might as well stay, Harrington. Want a smoke?"

Steve shook his head. "The ladies aren't fond of it."

Mike looked up from the paper to deadpan "what ladies?" Which has Steve giving him a pointed glare and looking more than worn out.

"Hey, just saying, smoking landed me a smokin hot babe. But whatever." Eddie lit his cigarette, tossing the rest of the pack and the lighter on the table. You decided to ignore that part.

Lucas reached out for them, trying to be conspicuous before Eddie slapped him on the hand.

"Ow! What the fuck Eddie!"

"Mhm," Eddie tutted, wagging his finger in the air. "You're still fresh Sinclair, you don't need that shit anyways. You'll thank me later."

You pretended not to listen from your nose stuck in a magazine, watching the interaction go down. They were like a little family and it had your heart soaring.

Eddie leaned over to glance at the contriving roadmap of notebook paper, effortlessly pointing out a flaw in Dustin's design.

"That right there. That's gonna get you killed, dusty."

"How did I not catch that!" Dustin squealed, erasing furiously.

Soon, Dustin struck up a conversation with Mike and Lucas, rambling on about details until Eddie could barely get a word in edgewise.

He decided to join you and Steve on the couch, sitting on the middle cushion and throwing his arm about your shoulder.

"You're good with them." Steve nodded, hushed so the three boys didn't hear. He had been tangled up in babysitting them for what felt like so long, it felt good to know that someone else had their back too.

"Oh well, someone's gotta tend to the lost sheep." Eddie took a drag on his cigarette, trying to keep the smoke from reaching Steve in an act of respect. His thoughts were in the right place but he still looked guilty when Steve tried to muffle a cough.

"Yeah. And boy do those kids need some tending to." Steve said, a tone of endearment in his voice.

"Don't worry, man" Eddie suddenly pipes up."I'll take them when you got your six nuggets to take care of."

Steve flushed red, hoping to God that the kids hadn't heard that part. To no avail though as he heard Mike's guffaw from the table.

"Watch it Wheeler," Eddie started, "six is a lot of kids for one Steve to handle." You and Eddie shared a glance, both obviously trying to hold in a laugh. Poor Steve would never live down the reputation as the guy who wanted a whopping six kids. Eddie leaned in closer to Steve, whispering to him.

"Not that I doubt you, bro, you'll be a great dad."

At this point Steve looks absolutely mortified and he's hoping he can block this all out later. If he leaves though, he'll be called a coward forever. If he takes it, the kids will never stop teasing him and calling him "dad." The only option was to fight back.

"Thank you Eddie." Steve smirks wildly. "Speaking of kids, when are you and y/n going to start a family?"

You go stiff in your seat. You try to go back to reading the same page you'd been on for the last ten minutes but the words started blurring on the page.

"Uhhh" Eddie starts, looking at you for help. you just shake your head, leaving your boyfriend to search for an answer that would make all present parties happy. The boys had long forgotten their world building and stared at you and Eddie long and hard, waiting for an answer.

("5 bucks for 'after we graduate'' Dustin smiled.

"No way," Lucas said, "10 on 'after we're married'"

Mike tsked, 'nah, it's gotta be 'after we move away from hawkins'")

"Pfft." Wayne snorted at the other side of the table, breaking the heavy silence in the room. "It's a damn surprise the poor girl isn't pregnant already." He flipped the page of his newspaper.

Eddie gaped, mirroring a similar expression of shock on your face.

Wayne continued undisturbed. "I mean with the amount of condoms he's bought, it's a mystery that he doesn't have six nuggets of his own."

Steve's eyes nearly popped out their sockets, watching as the three doofuses went wild, practically lining up to give Eddie's uncle a high five.

If you and Eddie weren't still shell shocked you would hear murmurings of "brutal!' "sick' and "way to go, Mr Wayne." Wayne's frown turned up into a barely there smirk.

It took an extra minute for Steve to register before he burst out laughing, hands holding his stomach.

Steve stood up, stretching a decent amount before striding to the door. "I guess I'll be babysitting your tater tots first, Mr and Mrs Munson." He shook his head.

"I'm gonna head to the store and be back later to pick up your kids and take ‘em home. Need anything? Milk? Eggs?” He wiggled his brows, “Condoms?"

Steve threw his head back in an exaggerated laugh, slamming the door behind him and leaving the six of you to your devices.

Eddie buried his face in your shoulder, feeling you holding in your chuckles as you patted his head.

"That's what I get for teasing."

#eddie munson #eddie munson x reader #eddie munson x female reader #eddie munson x y/n #eddie x reader #eddie munson fluff #joseph quinn #joseph quinn x reader #abyss posts

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captainkirkk · 2 years

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✩ WEEKLY FIC ROUND-UP ✩

All the fics I’ve read and really enjoyed in the past week-ish. Reminder: This list features any and all ratings and themes.

BNHA

Razzmatazz by xylophones

Izuku has plans for everything.

He plans out what to say to the cashier when ordering coffee, he plans out his homework before even opening his textbook. He has a whole ten-year plan for how he’s going to get into UA’s hero course and get his hero license fully quirkless. He plans for every wild, unlikely scenario he can think of because his anxiety gets so bad if he doesn’t go through every possible outcome, every way his life could landslide into disaster–– but Izuku never planned for this.

For once, he doesn’t have a plan and he doesn’t have time to think of one. All he can see is Yagi-san’s lined, kind face looking resigned as he stares down the villain in his shop. Yagi-san, who is the closest thing to a father figure Izuku has ever had.

Izuku doesn’t think. He just moves.

(Or: Izuku saves the number one hero, gets a hero license way earlier than anyone wanted, realizes that maybe hero society isn’t as great as he thought it was, and everything just kind of falls apart from there.)

DC/Danny Phantom

Speed Dial by apotheosis_avaritia

"Please don't tell me you have the fucking King of Ghosts on speed dial."

close enough to be whole again by hailsatanacab

“If you ever find yourself in danger, go to Bruce Wayne. He will help you.” His mother had loved him, in her own way. If she hadn’t, she wouldn’t have helped him escape. If she hadn’t, she would have dragged him back to the League of Assassins, to Grandfather. If she hadn’t, he’d be dead. She loved him, but she loved the League more. Jack and Maddie Fenton loved him too, they did, but they loved their work more. They loved their work more. -- After his parents react poorly to his reveal, Danny escapes to the only person he thinks can help him - Bruce Wayne. He doesn't know what to expect when he gets there, but it has to be better than where he is, surely? He certainly doesn't expect to be reunited with his long lost twin brother Damian. It's funny how things work out that way. Danny is 16 years old, not Phantom Planet compliant

DC (Batfamily)

Warm My Heart in the Sun by SilverSkiesAtMidnight

The valet opens the door as he places a ticket under the windshield, a hot breeze lazily snaking its way into the backseat. Then, he climbs out and shuts the door behind him, and the air falls as still as a crumpled quilt. He doesn’t so much as glance at the backseat window as he walks away, leaving Tim alone to wait. And that’s… that’s probably fine! His parents did say that going to a gala with them was something for big kids to do, and he already knows big kids are supposed to be able to be able to be apart from their parents without throwing a fit, so maybe this is why. Maybe waiting like this is part of every grown-up event, and that’s why he needed to be a big boy before he could come with them. So yes. He can be a big boy. He can wait, alone. It’s even kind of exciting! He’s not sure he’s ever been completely alone, without even a nanny nearby. He just… well, he wishes they could have left the AC on while he waits.

- Day 15 - FEED A COLD, STARVE A FEVER delirium | fever dreams | bees

wrong number by adelfie

There’s a few rings, then the phone picks up. “Wayne Residence.” That’s funny, Tim thinks, Mrs. Mac doesn’t sound like herself. -- On a hot July evening while home alone, eight-year-old Tim gets a fever. He means to ask Mrs. Mac for help — but ends up accidentally calling Alfred Pennyworth. Somehow, even in sickness, he wins all the hearts of the Wayne family in one fell swoop. Stranger things

Harrington’s Upside Down Training by PrettyRacing

Welcome to Harrington's Upside Down Training!

Look, Eddie has had a crush on Steve Harrington for, like, four years. Steve Harrington is the only reason Eddie passed gym last year, because the grade was for participation and Eddie showed up every day that semester to watch Steve Harrington get all sweaty and all that glorious hair flop around. Eddie is but a man. Who is he to pass up another chance to watch Steve get all sweaty, perhaps shirtless this time? And maybe proving to his freshman pupils that Steve Harrington is truly an asshole would be the cherry on top.

Eddie is just here to ogle Steve Harrington and hopefully expose him as an asshole to his impressionable Hellfire freshmen. Things do not go according to plan.

Holding out for a Hero by ReginaNocis

“He was acting like an entitled jerk,” Will said quietly, looking at the ground. “Like he didn’t do anything wrong. Like there’s no reason you wouldn’t want to talk to him.” “Who was?” Steve pressed gently, frowning. He couldn’t really think of anyone he wouldn’t speak to. Not anyone who might be calling here. Will’s answer was too quiet to be heard. “... Who?” “Your father,” he repeated a little louder, starting to look miserable. “I’m sorry, I know I shouldn’t have hung up the phone like that, but… he really hurt you, Steve! He shouldn’t get whatever he wants just because he thinks he’s some big important person. You’re important, not him. I know I should have given you the phone, but I don’t want him to be able to hurt you anymore!” “Oh…” ~ AKA: 5 times the party defended Steve from his parents, and 1 time Steve defended himself.

Star Wars three rules (back straight, head forward) by queen_rowenas

Senator Almen continues on as though nothing is wrong. “Mand’alor, may I introduce you to Senator Organa’s brother, Jedi Master Luke Skywalker.” Leia can feel all of her hard work crumbling, whatever trust she had formed with the Mandalorians shattering before her as the Mand’alor slowly stands to his feet. Great, she thinks numbly, Another galactic war on my hands. (Leia Organa has never been one to back down from a challenge. Although advising the new Mand’alor in his introduction to the Senate and also trying to keep her Jedi brother from causing an intergalactic incident could prove to be a bigger challenge than expected.)

Clone Wars

in those quiet ways by lux_arcana

Day 1: adverse effects / wiping the others tears away

Obi-Wan, after a long moment, finally managed to strangle his vocal cords and force them back under his control. “Cody,” he said again. “Cody, I’m not - I’m fine. It’s a side effect. I really am -“ he took a breath, and sobbed on the exhale, emotions tangling up and threatening to choke him once again. “I know this does seem like I’m lying, but I really am fine.”

Cody’s eyebrows twitched.

“Sir, avoiding your emotions isn’t healthy.”

Obi-Wan just barely resisted the urge to slam his head against the wall.

#been meaning to upload this for ages now #just been so busy #so!! i hope you guys enjoy #despite the wait #weekly fic round up #my posts #my fics #stranger things recs #sw recs #dc recs #dp recs #bnha recs #reread razzmatazz in a frenzy like a week back and it was just as good as i first remember #do you ever read a fic that you want to EAT because it's so tasty

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retro-vagabond · 7 months

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So I wrote a fic for @batboysxprompts for Pumpkin. It's a #steddie Halloween fic. That became a little longer than I anticipated. Reminder I haven't wrote since high school and this was done on my phone notepad so I apologize for format being kinda meh. Anyway hope you enjoy and Happy Halloween!! 🎃:

He stands on the porch holding the horror tape he was asked to bring, fixing his glasses one more time. Almost hesitating to knock, he doesn't want to seem too eager, he told himself to ease into things with this. Eddie and him had found something in each other that clicked since the Vecna incident happened.

The kids were growing up finally free to roam without the threat of a ticking clock or whatever creature that stumbled into this dimension. They were out at a monster/horror double feature at the drive-in, Wayne out with Jim for beers and bowling, leaving him and Eddie alone for the night.

He could smell Wayne's famous chili through the door, as he raised and knocked. Eddie had invited him over for a surprise, he honestly wasn't sure what to expect, but a night in with him sure beat any Halloween rager that would be going on tonight.

It didn't take long before he was greeted with big earthy brown eyes and smile, pulling him in for a warm embrace, "I was wondering what was taking you so long out there big boy. C'mon I need your help, what we need is in the back of the van still."

"Back of the van-? What do you have planned?", he follows puzzled after letting go of him.

"Well I didn't want anyone to smash them before we had our fun with them!", opening the back doors to his van to reveal two big pumpkins. "I stopped at Merrill's Pumpkin Patch on my way home. Figured we could carve them, have some of Wayne's chili he left in the crock pot for us, and maybe watch whatever movie you picked out."

He looks at Eddie taking him in as he's nervously fidgeting with his hair, "This isn't to lame for Steve Harrington is it? This is probably lame. I mean we could do something el-"

"N-no no! This is actually perfect," he cuts him off to stop the self doubt. He rubs the back of his neck, "I've just never carved a jack-o-latern before."

"What!? How have you never done this before?!", he shrieks theatrically.

"Dad didn't like getting dirty, said mud would ruin my our clothes. Same with trick or treating, they were never home so I'd order pizza with the money they left and just watch movies until I pass out. Then high school happened, that stuff just wasn't cool anymore.", Eddie just pulls him into his side, gives him small kiss on the temple. He knows all too well what it's like to have a shit father too.

"Well we're going to change that Pumpkin make this our new tradition. Mom did this with me up until she passed, Wayne and I carried on with it after that, now I get to share it with you.", he reminiscences before pressing another kiss to my cheek and going in to grab a pumpkin to hand it to me and grab the other before closing the door.

"You're such a sweetheart, you know that? My knight in shining armor", I say as we make it into the house. "Only the best for you my liege," he smiles back, if their hands weren't full he playfully swoon into his arms.

Setting up at the kitchen table, Eddie had laid out newspaper and utensils to carve and scrape out the inwards. They come up with designs, Eddie of course meticulous with detail. When he sticks his hand to pull out the guts, it's definitely a weird experience. He has to remind himself that the Upside Down is gone that this thing won't bury its teeth in and drag him under.

He looks at Eddie, his tongue sticking out at the corner of his mouth and the look of determination is enough to push all those bad thoughts away. He's such a kid at heart, and he really loves this man for it. He settles with something that would make Laurie Stroude proud, which is fitting for the movie he brought. Eddie makes sure to save the seeds to rinse, salt, and cook for Wayne later. Tea lights are lit and put into the finished jack-o-laterns. Eddie has out done himself with a tall tower with a dragon wrapped around it. Light shines through the tower window. Eddie takes a snapshot with his Polaroid camera to preserve the memory.

They settle in with a bowl of chili that always hits the spot with this chill in the air. Steve will have to tell Wayne later this one was for the books as he sets his bowl to rub his stomach. Once Eddie finishes he picks both bowls up to set in the sink to soak and wash later. He hurries back to Steve on the couch resuming his spot cuddled up to him.

Steve laces their fingers together, bringing them to his lips to kiss Eddie's knuckles, "Thank you sweetheart, I really needed this."

"Anything for you pumpkin," he grins before pulling him closer to kiss him properly. They settle in for the night eventually dozing on the couch.

When Wayne gets home he smiles getting out of the truck. Lights dimly flickering in the pumpkins on the porch brings a warm smile to his face. Going in he's sure to be quiet, his boys asleep on the couch. Taking Steve's glasses off and putting them on a nearby table before pulling a blanket over the both of them. He's happy deep down seeing Eddie find someone who understands him, he was reluctant at first, but over time he could see Steve needed and loved him just as much. And with that he turns off the kitchen light and calls it a night knowing this house finally feels like a home.

#steddie #stranger things #steve harrington #eddie munson #wayne munson #jim hopper #halloween

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fandsart · 9 months

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This is old news, but I haven't really reported on it yet. I don't like most Nancy ships because they always seem to revolve around her. I like my ships to be mutually dynamically fulfilling, and a while ago I tried to think of any stranger things character I could see her being good with, and the only one I could think of at the time was Kali. (side note: I didn't look up an official list or anything, so Chrissy wasn't one that I'd thought of at the time, but I was very recently introduced to the idea of them being in a relationship and I kinda like it, maybe even more than kalancy, but that's irrelevant rn)

The reason I haven't really talked about it though is because the only way I'd ever be able to do anything with it is if I thought up an au for it, because I can't so easily just slide that into canon st plotlines. Especially since steddie is my main favorite ship, it's also not something I could just slide as background into there. But I'm not much of an au person so I just figured nothing would come of it, but... well I thought of one

Robin Hood!Kali Maid Marian! Nancy. And obviously Kali has an established gang, which would stand in for the merry men

Now first of all, obviously Nancy is kind of known to be the sharp shooter, but also lots of versions of Robin Hood give them a history from before he becomes an outlaw. So the idea that one of the extracurricular Nancy had to partake in is archery, and it's one of the ones that she actually likes, so she teaches her friend (Kali) to do it

A common Robin Hood plot is around a competition for this golden arrow, often accompanied by a kiss from Maid Marian, so the idea that Kali shows up just to see Nancy again, and marvels as Nancy pulls a Merida, competing herself, taking her agency back in the situation

Maid Marian often has lady in waiting and that's gotta be Barb. Yk that scene in canon where Nancy and Barb are talking about Steve and Barb kind of mocks her like "'We just made out a little.'" I'm thinking we'd get that type of dynamic a little bit, and Barb can go to Nancy as a confidant when Barb realizes Nancy's feelings for Kali. Barb admits that she's been sneaking off with Robin, who is the king's scribe's daughter (Also Robin intends on being the, like, royal translator when the current one retires, and has actually gotten work a few times when they've needed one last second). Now Nancy has a closer confidant in Barb.

Some extra background stuff I got carried away with

I think Steve has to be royalty too. I think he was the prince of a neighboring kingdom and was one of Nancy's suitors at some point, before he did something against his father and was banished. So he stays in Nancy's kingdom. If we want to throw in some background steddie we can have Eddie and Wayne take him in. I think Eddie is in Kali's gang, and maybe eases Steve into it too. I think Dustin, Max, and the Sinclairs are also in the group from pretty early

Robin and Steve meet while working at a soup kitchen, with all the financial issues going on in the kingdom, as is part of the Robin Hood plot

The Byers family work in the stables, and Nancy once had a rebellious relationship with Jonathan, and Mike (who would also be in a similar social position to Nancy, being her brother). I'm honestly not that invested in the B*ler vs m*leven rivalry (censoring because people get intense about it). I think Will doesn't deserve to go through this emotional wringer for Mike, but there's opportunity here

The sheriff in Robin Hood is obviously an antagonist so I'm not gonna be placing Hopper there, I'm going to make him Friar Tuck, even though I don't view canon Hopper as particularly religious, I think the role fits

Instead of the situation being the typical Robin Hood route of "No, royalty is good, but we gotta be loyal to those rightfully in power" where Prince John is just left in charge while his brother, the true king, is on the crusade, we're just going full anti-authority. The kind is in charge and it's Brenner. Idk how royal positions work and I've tried so hard to google. I have no idea if Maid Marian is supposed to be related to the king or not. But I could totally see them related on her dad's side. We're just going with it. The Sheriff is gonna be Mayor Kline

Now obviously the Robin Hood plot is about exploitation which fits into Kali's real motivation, but in Robin Hood it's financial exploitation, so I think El has to be just a victim of child labor through orphanage before Hopper takes her in. I think all of the experiments need to have fallen victim to child labor, and Kali and El were the only ones who actually got out of it. Kali would have probably had to have gotten stuck in it after her childhood friendship with Nancy

#Idk if anyone gives a shit about this #kalancy #nancy wheeler #kali prasad #background steddie #barbara holland #stobin #stranger things #stranger things au #alternate universe #fandsart

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steddieworks · 1 year

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finally safe for me to fall - chapter 2

hi! back again with chapter 2! stay tuned for another update next Sunday!

read on ao3

Summary: Eddie finally meets the Harrington children. He's definitely got his work cut out for him...

Warnings for this chapter: swearing

Words: 4.4k

“And you’ve got everything packed up?” Wayne’s anxious voice follows Eddie from his bedroom to the living room, and Eddie rolls his eyes, since his uncle can’t see him anyway.

“Yes, Wayne. I’ve got all six of my shirts and all two pairs of my jeans. I’ve even got my cassettes shoved somewhere in there. I’m pretty sure I’m set,” Eddie says lightly, going to look through the cabinets for a snack. He’s got a little bit before he has to leave, so he figures he might as well kill the time a little.

“You know you don’t have to leave, Eddie,” Wayne says.

Eddie sighs. They’ve had this conversation several times since he came back home with the good news on Thursday. He turns to offer Wayne a smile. “I do, though. You can’t support both of us forever, Wayne, and it’s not fair for me to expect that. I’m twenty-six, man. I need to do this.”

Wayne looks near-devastated. “I hate to see you go. I’m sorry I can’t…” He trails off, and Eddie feels awful. He knows his uncle has tried his best to be a parent to Eddie over the years, taking care of him to the best of his ability, but he knows, deep down, that it really will be a relief for him to have Eddie gone. He won’t have to work such late hours anymore, and maybe one day he can really retire.

“It’s alright, Wayne,” Eddie says gently. “This is the way it’s supposed to be, right? Gotta leave the nest at some point,” he jokes, nudging Wayne’s arm with his elbow.

Apparently that’s the wrong thing to say, Wayne’s eyes going wide like he just realized something. “Your nest! What are you going to do about heats, Ed? This strange man could take advantage of you! You don’t-”

Eddie cuts him off, feeling his face heat in embarrassment. He definitely hasn’t thought about Steve in association with his heat. Nope. Not at all. And he isn’t about to start now, either. “It’s fine. I’m on suppressants, remember? And if I were to have one, then… Well, I’ll have days off, and I’m sure he’ll give me medical leave for that, so I can check into an omega facility.”

Wayne looks disbelieving, but nods. “Fine. What’s this guy’s name, again? I need to write it down so I can have Hopper look into him,” Wayne says, glancing around for something to write with.

Eddie rolls his eyes, but humors him. “Steve Harrington. I seriously doubt Hop’s gonna find anything. He’s some big-wig in Indianapolis, he’d have to have a clean record to do what he does.”

The look Wayne gives him makes him feel sort of stupid. “That’s naivety, Edward. You never know someone until you do. And being a big-wig is exactly the excuse he’d need to do shady shit. I wouldn’t be surprised if-”

“Right,” Eddie interrupts, resisting the urge to roll his eyes a third time. “Well, I’m sure I’ll get to know him soon. Living with someone does that for you, believe it or not.”

Wayne gives him a look. “Just… be careful, okay, Eddie? He might be a good guy, and I hope for your sake he is. But don’t just assume that to be the truth, okay?”

Eddie nods. He knows Wayne’s just concerned, the closest to a worried father that Eddie has really ever had. Still, he wants to assuage that uncertainty a little bit. “I will. And I’ll check in every week, let you know if anything weird happens. I promise.” He claps Wayne on the back, then glances at the time. “I should get going,” he says, his voice tinted with an apology.

“Right,” Wayne nods. “Let me help you carry your things out.”

Eddie’s only got the one duffel bag, but he doesn’t bother correcting Wayne. It’s the least he could do, let his old man have this little send-off.

They walk out to the van, and Eddie sighs a little as he opens the passenger door, jerking the handle hard when it sticks. He lets Wayne toss his bag into the seat, then steps back, an awkward air filling the silence around them. The Munsons really aren’t much for feelings, but Wayne looks like he might cry.

Eddie pulls him into a hug. “I’ll be alright, Wayne,” he says quietly, patting his back. “I can take care of myself. You don’t have to worry about me.”

Wayne pulls away, and Eddie pretends he doesn’t notice how he wipes at his eye. “I know you can. I just can’t help thinking… that you’re running away.”

That startles Eddie a little bit. He knows Wayne knows more than he typically lets on, but that epiphany, coming from him, sends Eddie’s head for a spin. “I… I’m not running away. I don’t… there’s just nothing here for me anymore. Without the band, I’m just… I’m just in the way.”

For once, Wayne doesn’t argue his self-deprecation. Instead, he says, “I just think you ought to be running to something, son. Not away.”

Eddie gives him a half-hearted smile, and shrugs, stuffing his hands into the pockets of his jeans. “Maybe I am. Maybe this will be my year.”

Wayne nods, but Eddie can’t help but think that he doesn’t look convinced. “Be safe, Eddie. Keep in touch.”

And then Eddie’s climbing behind the wheel, waving goodbye to the only home, the only family he’s ever known, turning his decrepit van toward the city.

He takes a deep breath. This is going to be good for him. He’s sure of it.

~~~

The address Robin had given him, and her precisely-written directions to said address, lead Eddie to a tall, brown-brick building full of lots of windows. It’s the kind of building he would probably never pay much attention to otherwise, the aura of expensive reeking from the spotless windows and evenly-laid bricks. Definitely not the kind of place he would have ever imagined being called his home.

He parks the van on the street across from the building, a little embarrassed to even be that close, considering all the cars he’d seen so far had been luxury ones. He tries not to look as out of place as he feels as he grabs his duffel bag from the passenger seat, crossing the road with his head ducked, leaving his van unlocked. If someone around here wants it, they can have it, as far as he’s concerned.

The gleaming double doors open to a tastefully-decorated, opulent lobby. There’s a large, expensive looking rug that he takes great care not to step on, and some vaguely boring-sounding instrumental music is coming from somewhere above his head. The ceilings are tall, taller than he thinks really makes sense, and his boots echo over the wood floor as he makes his way to the receptionist desk.

A young girl is sat behind a computer screen, clicking away at something with a bored look on her face. When Eddie clears his throat, she looks up, her expression flickering from a customer-service smile to something like suspicion.

“Hi, can I help you?” She asks, her voice generic enough to make Eddie feel on edge. He curses himself mentally, wishing he’d worn something a little more professional-looking than his leather jacket thrown over a black t-shirt. He wasn’t expecting all this, though.

“Yeah, hi. Um, I’m looking for Steve Harrington’s apartment, if you could just point me in the right direction?” Eddie says, his voice a little more meek than he’d like it to be. God, get it together, dude. If you’re going to be living here, you’ve gotta get used to the weird looks.

At the name, she perks up, but her eyes narrow suspiciously. “You’re looking for Mr. Harrington’s apartment?” She asks, as if she hadn’t heard him the first time.

Eddie grits his teeth and nods. “Yes,” he says, trying for politeness.

The girl looks down at her desk, shuffling some papers around before picking up a sticky note. “Are you a Mr. Munson, by chance?”

Eddie relaxes. Okay, he’s definitely in the right place, and Steve had even left word with the front desk that he was coming. He feels a lot less like a criminal, or imposter, now. “Yes, that’s me.”

The girl looks him up and down, and Eddie tries not to flush. God, is he seriously going to have to invest in a nicer wardrobe just to live here? “Do you have your ID?” she asks, sounding bored once again.

Eddie wants to be offended by that, but then he remembers himself. He nods, taking out his license and handing it out to her. She glances at the name, then up at him, a brief flickering of the gaze, then hands the little plastic rectangle back. Her smile seems slightly more genuine now. “Welcome, Mr. Munson. Mr. Harrington asked me to make sure we help you with any luggage you have, and get you your keys right away.”

She stands, going behind a partition Eddie hadn’t noticed before, and he hears some rattling before she returns, a set of keys in her hand, a card dangling from the same keyring. “Oh, um…” Eddie starts, a little confused.

The girl doesn’t even let him fumble through a question. “This is the gate key for the parking garage in the basement. This is the key to the mailbox, and this is the key to the apartment itself,” she explains, holding each one up as she goes through them. She hands them over, and remains standing, glancing down at Eddie’s appearance once more. “I can help with your bags, if you have anything else to bring in?” She offers.

Eddie feels his face flush, but tries to hide it. “Oh, this is all,” he says, holding up the duffel bag lamely. She nods, but looks a bit confused, so he adds, “I’m a light traveler,” as if that’ll make it any better.

“Right,” she says, giving him what he assumes is a pity-smile. “You’ll just go down this hallway, the elevator is on the right. Mr. Harrington is on the eleventh floor, unit 11D.”

“Oh… okay,” Eddie says, trying to get all of that straight in his head. “Thank you…” He tries to remember her name, then realizes she never told him.

She seems to take pity on him. “I’m Alice. If you ever need anything, don’t hesitate to reach out to the front desk, and someone will be happy to assist you.”

“Alright. Thank you, again.”

Alice nods, sending him right on his way.

The elevator doors open almost immediately, and Eddie feels even more out of place stepping into it, the walls made up of sparkling mirrors that seem to mock his appearance. He very purposefully does not make eye contact with himself in the mirrored doors, but swipes at his loose curls nervously. He deliberates, and when the elevator hits the eighth floor, he caves, dropping his duffel bag for a moment to pull his hair into a low bun, securing it with the loose hair tie on his wrist. There. Much better.

When the doors slide open on the eleventh floor, Eddie feels like he might pass out. It doesn’t even benefit him to still be nervous, he thinks vaguely as he starts off down the hall. He’s already gotten the job, and it’s not like Steve is scary.

Well. Okay, maybe scary isn’t the right word, but he’s definitely something.

He stops in front of the door to 11D, the dark wood beckoning him forward. He takes a deep breath, lifts his shaky fist, and knocks.

It’s probably just because he’s listening so carefully, but the sound of stampeding feet makes him jump, and he rushes to compose himself as the door flies open. He holds his hand out to shake Steve’s, only to find-

“Hi!” An excited voice calls.

Eddie drops his gaze. Two little girls stand before him, each of them with wild blonde curls and big, curious, brown eyes. They’re adorable. It takes everything in Eddie not to melt as he looks at them. He crouches down, holding his hand out.

“Hello there,” he says, grinning. “I’m Eddie, the new nanny. And you two must be Ivy and Jasmine, right?” There’s a spark of recognition on both their faces when Eddie says his name, and he relaxes a little, reassured that they’ve obviously already been informed of his arrival.

The one on the right is wearing a pink overall dress over a white t-shirt, her blonde curls piled into some sort of messy bun on top of her head. She takes his hand first, shaking it with big movements, giggling the whole time. “I’m Ivy,” she says. “I like your hair,” she adds, pointing at her own head, then his.

Eddie’s heart melts. “Thank you,” he says politely. “I like yours too. You guys have beautiful curls,” he says, glancing at the other one, offering his hand to her next.

She seems a bit shyer, taking his hand with a looser grip, shaking it in a much more normal fashion. “Thanks,” she says quietly. She lets go of his hand, both of hers going behind her back as she studies him. They’re not wearing the same outfit, he notices, which surprises him for twins. Instead of a dress to match her sister’s, Jasmine is wearing light wash jeans and a yellow sweatshirt. They both look adorable.

He glances between the two of them a couple times, trying to pick out any noticeable differences. Ivy smiles with her teeth, while Jasmine has a closed-lip, neutral sort of look on her face. Jasmine’s face is a bit longer, and her eyebrows are a bit darker. Ivy’s mouth and eyes have a bit of a different shape, but Eddie can’t quite put his finger on the specific difference. Within a couple of minutes, though, he thinks he’s got it.

“Alright,” he says, smiling. “I think I can tell you apart, but don’t hold me to that, okay?” They both nod, and he grins, leaning in and dropping his voice to a whisper. “You promise you’ll forgive me if I mess up a few times? I’m sorta new at this.”

Ivy laughs. “Daddy gets us confused all the time!” She announces, her voice proud. “Sometimes we trick him though. I tell him I’m Jasmine sometimes,” she admits, a sheepish grin pulling at her mouth.

Eddie grins. Kids with a fun sense of humor - now that he can get on board with. “Oh, that’s funny. But you guys won’t trick me right away, will you?”

Jasmine smiles, shakes her head no. “No, we won’t.”

Eddie isn’t entirely sure he can take their word, since he only just met them, but he grins nonetheless. He’s about to ask another question when the door opens wider, an exasperated voice coming from much further up.

“Girls, what have I told you about opening the door when you don’t know- oh, Eddie. Hi.” Steve’s rambling comes to a stop when he spots Eddie, and he runs a hand through his hair like he’s - what, nervous? No, it can’t be that.

Eddie stands up, his thighs screaming at him from the minor stretch, and he smiles sheepishly at Steve. “Er, sorry. They opened the door, and we got to chatting. How are you?”

Steve glances down at his daughters suspiciously, his eyes darting back up to Eddie’s quickly. “What did they tell you?” he asks, crossing his arms as he peers down at the girls. “Were we being kind, or telling stories?”

Ivy smiles up at him sweetly. “We were good, Daddy. We just told Eddie that we like to play pranks on you, sometimes. And we promised him we wouldn’t pull any pranks on him yet.”

Steve rolls his eyes. “Yeah, pranks,” he says, sarcastic. He offers Eddie a tired smile. “There won’t be any pranks, I assure you. They’ll be on their very best behavior, right?” he glances between the two of them, but Eddie doesn’t miss the way his eyes linger on Ivy. Ah, she must be the troublemaker, then. Who would’ve thought?

“Eh, best behavior is overrated, I think,” Eddie says, winking when the twins look up at him. He glances back up at Steve. “But, whatever you say, Mr. Harrington.”

“You can call me Steve,” he says with a shake of his head. “Come in, come in. Girls, give him some room, he’s not gonna be living out in the hallway, you know.”

The twins obey immediately, skittering out of the way but stopping to gesture Eddie forward. “Can we give him the tour, Daddy? Please?”

Steve shakes his head. “No, I need you two to go clean up your room. It better be spotless when I get in there, capiche?”

Jasmine nods, but her lips are twitching. Eddie is smiling from behind Steve, giving the twins a little overexaggerated finger-wag. He grins when the twins giggle. “Okay, Daddy,” Jasmine says, reaching for her sister’s hand. “We’ll capiche.”

“It’s not a verb, it’s -” Steve stops himself, shaking his head. “Nevermind. Room, spotless, okay?”

Ivy waves at him, following her sister down the hall and repeating their fun new vocabulary word in various accents. Eddie can’t imagine them being any cuter.

When Steve turns to look at him, Eddie tries to force his smile into something more neutral. “They’re sweet,” he offers, gesturing off after them. “And funny, too.”

Steve shakes his head, but Eddie can tell he’s proud. “Thanks. They definitely keep me on my toes.” He glances down at the singular bag in Eddie’s hand. “Oh, did Alice not offer to bring your other things up?” He asks, his eyebrows furrowing adorably.

Eddie frowns, feeling awkward. “Oh, um… Yeah, she did. This is, uh… This is all I’ve got.”

Steve stares at him, bewildered. “Oh…” He says, glancing down at the bag with another perplexed look. “Alright, then.” He seems a little bothered, but Eddie can’t imagine why. Isn’t it easier like this? The less baggage the better, surely. “Well, um. Follow me, I’ll show you where everything is.”

Nodding, Eddie follows behind him, listening as Steve points things out to him. They pass a short corridor on the right, and Steve explains that Eddie’s room is down that way, but they’ll end the tour there. Instead, he leads him through to the kitchen first. It’s nice and spacious, leading to an open-plan lounge, huge floor-to-ceiling windows on the far side of the room. It makes the whole space feel nice and homey, and more welcoming than most places Eddie’s had the displeasure of living in.

“So, this is the kitchen,” Steve continues, gesturing around the space. “I wish it was a bit bigger, but the island takes up most of the space. On the plus side, though, it works as our kitchen table too, so that’s a bonus, I guess.” Steve shrugs, then gestures to the cabinets. “The pantry’s always stocked, and we put in an order for groceries to be delivered every Saturday, so anything you need, just add it to the list.” As he says that, he gestures to the massive blackboard hanging on the wall next to the refrigerator.

“It’s beautiful,” Eddie manages, feeling small and dirty in a room this extravagant.

Steve smiles, but it doesn’t reach his eyes. “Thanks. So, as far as cooking goes, you can do whatever you want, the girls aren’t very picky. I’ve got a recipe box of their favorite things, and that’ll probably be a task that you and I split.”

Eddie’s quick to jump in to correct him. “Oh, no, sir, I can do that. I’ve been cooking for myself and my uncle since I was probably fourteen.”

Steve actually looks impressed by that, but Eddie can’t imagine why. Is it impressive to have to do things for yourself because you know no one else will? “Oh, well, I like to cook so I promise I don’t mind. And I assure you, there will be plenty for you to do without having to stress over that every single night, too.”

Eddie nods. Something about the fact that he will be busy with work settles his nerves a little bit. There’s no better distraction than work, especially housework. “Alright,” he says, nodding.

He follows Steve as he continues through to the lounge. A sofa is positioned in front of the big windows, an armchair to one side and a tv on the opposite wall of that. A sleek, low coffee table sits in the middle of it, and it’s impeccably decorated. Of course. “The girls know this, but I’ll go ahead and say it in case they try to pull one over on you,” Steve starts, gesturing to the living room. “They can bring any of their soft toys in here, anything that doesn’t make a mess really, but they have to put them up by themselves if they do. That applies to any part of the house. Their toys can be strewn in their room, and there might be days where you need to assist them in cleaning that, but if their toys come out of their bedroom, they are responsible for putting them back.”

Eddie nods. That sounds quite sensible, to him. “Alright.” He glances at the television. “What about screen hours? Rules?”

Steve rubs his hand over the back of his neck, looking sheepish. “I try to enforce a no-television-after-nine rule, but sometimes that’s sort of hard. I like a good movie myself, and I feel like such a hypocrite for sending them off to bed so I can sit here and watch it by myself.”

Eddie can’t help but laugh at that. “I know what you mean. So, no tv after nine, except for the exceptions?”

That makes Steve grin. “Yeah, exactly.” He gestures for Eddie to follow him, and goes to open the door just off of the living room. “This is my bedroom,” he says, gesturing. “I’ll take care of this space, of course, but I’ll be honest… you’re technically sharing a bathroom with the twins, but if you ever want to have a shower without having to move about a hundred bath toys, you can just come and use mine.”

It’s an innocent enough offer, but it still makes Eddie tingle a little bit. It’s quite an intimate space for an unmated alpha and omega to share, so he’s already certain that he will not be taking him up on that offer. “Alright,” Eddie still says, to be polite. He pretends he’s not studying the pristine room, with its soft-looking heather-gray bedding and natural light.

Steve clears his throat, gesturing for Eddie to follow him out of the room. He’s glad when Steve turns his back, and he can try to wipe away the blush in semi-private. “The girls have to be at school no later than seven-fifteen, so I usually get them up at about six or so to get them bathed and fed and dressed and everything.”

Eddie nods, filing that away. He’s definitely going to have to write it down somewhere. “Okay, that’s not a problem,” he agrees.

“I’ll help, of course, since I have to be up early anyway for work, but it’ll definitely be easier with the two of us,” Steve says, smiling over his shoulder.

That makes Eddie smile. “Yeah, of course,” he says. “Do they catch a bus, walk… how do they get to school?”

Steve leads them back through the kitchen, turning down the hall they’d passed by earlier. “You can walk them there, it’s not far. I usually drive them, since I’m on my way to work anyway, but I’d like it if they could walk, get the early morning air and exercise.”

Eddie personally thinks that sounds like a nightmare, but they’re not his kids. “Alright,” he says.

Steve gestures to the first door on the left. “This is the washer and dryer. Spare closet,” he says, gesturing across the hall to the first door on the right. He pushes open the second door on the right, letting Eddie peek his head around and peer into it. “Bathroom. Like I said, bath toys galore,” he says, clearly exasperated.

Eddie giggles. “Right,” he says.

“That’s the twins’ room, and this is yours,” Steve continues, opening the last door on the left, right next to the door that stands at the very end of the hallway that he indicated belonging to the girls. He steps back, gesturing for Eddie to go into his room and take a look around.

It’s just as nice as the rest of the house. The bed frame looks similar, or maybe identical, to the one in Steve’s room, but it has black bedding on it. Eddie smiles, wondering if Steve picked that out after meeting him the other day. A dresser is situated across from the foot of the bed, a small television set on top of it. There’s a bedside table on either side of the bed, identical lamps sitting on each one. The windows are just as big in this room as they’d been in all of the others, and Eddie is relieved to spot those fancy automatic-blinds tucked up close to the top.

“Is it okay?” Steve asks from behind him, sounding nervous.

Eddie’s quick to reassure him. “It’s perfect,” he says, nodding quickly. “I… Really, thank you.”

Steve smiles, a little shy, in return. “You’ve got a nice closet, too,” he says, gesturing. “I put some empty hangers in there already for you.” He glances down at Eddie’s sad little bag again. “Are you… are you sure you don’t have anything else?”

The question makes Eddie squirm, embarrassed, but he shrugs, as if he’s completely unbothered. “Yeah, I’m sure. I don’t really need much,” he says. And it’s probably true. He’s made it this long with the bare minimum. Having a fancy new place to live and work doesn’t change that much.

“Alright,” Steve finally says. He still has that look on his face, like something is bothering him, but Eddie turns away, pretends he doesn’t notice. “Well, take a little bit, get settled, and come find me when you’re ready, okay?”

Eddie nods, and listens to the soft sound of Steve’s footsteps retreating, and then the door clicks shut softly behind him. Eddie drops his bag, and himself, onto the end of the bed, gazing out the window.

He made it. Now for the hard part.

#steddie #steve harrington and eddie munson #steve harrington #eddie munson #alpha steve harrington #omega eddie munson #omegaverse #abo dynamics #single dad steve harrington #babysitter eddie munson #chapter 2 #finally safe for me to fall #fsfmtf

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fanficfanatic000 · 1 year

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eddie x female reader

Chapter 7 (Fred?) Story :I just moved to hawkins Warning 18 plus Spoilers ahead Goes with Story of ST kinda

The group was concerned about you having a panic attack. "Does that mean you still have powers?" Dustin asked. "I have no idea maybe but maybe not." "Steve: Well we will figure it out later but we gotta go Nancy has work me and Robin have work Dustins mom is probably looking for him and um max has…..has…" "hasss to find more things about this"

They left you and eddie Sitting on the train "Eddie?" "Yes sweetheart?" He raised an eyebrow "So i was picking up your guitar pick and i saw a name on it percy munson" He gulped his Adam's apple visibly moving "Well story time i guess… percy munson was my mom. She was in a band she was the best person of my childhood but my father was not a good person he cheated on my mom he was abusive to both me and my mom he would shave my head cause long hairs for girls he said. But I was 11 years old until one night he was driving drunk to drop my mom off at a concert and they crashed… they both died so I got left with my uncle Wayne and now here I am 18 with long hair accused of murdering a girl I was selling drugs so that's pretty wild " He looked at you his brown eyes had tears falling from them. You went closer and you hugged him tightly. His tears dried up "Im sorry you went through that… im always here to listen " Rose pink blush spread visibly across his cheeks then he sprang a sweet smile

(Maxes pov) She's at school Hmm I need to find more about this qhole thing what if there's something chrissy and patrick shared if I could find that out then I might find out the rest come on think think She went through her memories and found something. The fact that she's seen Chrissy and patrick walk out of ms Donald's office. Ms Donald was a therapist for the school she is my therapist so maybe I could ask her for the files on chrissy and patrick I mean they're dead anyway so why not. Max went through her classes and now it was time for her therapy She walks in "oh hey max take a seat get comfortable" "thanks ms donald" "Okay max what do you feel like discussing in todays session?" "Well i was wondering if i could maybe see the files of chrissy and patrick?" "Max files are completely confidential" " okay well i dont feel like talking today maybe tomorrow?" "Okay just remember the door is always open ".

(Nancy pov) Driving to eddies trailer "Stop what are you kids doing at this crime seen?" "Hi im nancy wheeler this is my colleague fred Benson" "Hm your that kid that got in that car accident murderer murderer murderer!" Fred was acting off hm it's probably nothing right? "Fred are you okay?" "Hm i-i im fine" We pulled in at the side of the road maybe we can manage to find something here Eddie's trailer Nancy walked in and saw blood from chrissy Cunningham on the carpet but there was like black mold on the ceiling hm? -hours passed it was sunset and Nancy found out literally nothing "Fred I think there's nothing- she turned and Fred wasn't there "fred?!" She walked outside he's still not there Oh maybe the cop from earlier saw where he went "um hey my freind is missing hes short glasses has a scar…" "nope havent seen him for quite sometime now" Frederick where are you?… after some time Nancy decided to leave without him Fred was smart so if he was lost he would find his way.

#fandom #eddie munson #eddie munson lives #eddie munson x reader #eddie x fem!reader #eddie x you #i just moved to hawkins #Fan fiction

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wormdebut · 2 years

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Eddie Character Development Drabbles for an AU that has been swimming in my head for months. Putting it out here so maybe someone can hold me accountable, lol.

Eddie Left home at 17 (2012), (dead beat dad, dead dead mom.) Uncle Wayne exists but Eddie never lived with him. Loved him though, with all his heart. Wayne was the one who supported him as much as he could, he had encouraged eddie to get out of his environment and gave him a nice little stack of cash (“it was supposed to be your college fund, but you’ve always been destined for better things.”)

Eddie had a penchant for the 80s metal scene, wasp, Metallica, Black Sabbath, his beloved Dio. All because Wayne had poured so much of himself into Eddie. Wayne knew how bad Richard was, he had always intended on Eddie coming to live with him but Eddie was fiercely loyal, to a fault. When his mother, Lydia had passed away due to ovarian cancer, Eddie was only 12 (2007) Richard had dove to the nearest bottle, never left any scars on Eddie, but Wayne knew. Eddie knew Wayne knew, but he couldn’t leave his dad. He loved his dad. Dick had started getting into the darker shit when Eddie was 14. (2009) Wayne had begged him to come stay with him and Eddie had begged Wayne to let him handle it. When he finally snapped to his senses in 2011, he had simply grown into the adult he didn’t have and still couldn’t inconvenience Wayne, “you have your shit, I have mine Wayne, help me by figuring out how this emancipation garbage works.” Wayne knew his nephew was just as (more so) stubborn than he was, once Eddie was able to produce his GED Wayne had helped him file. As always, supported him financially where he could. His Eddie, was always meant for bigger, for better, for more than small town Colorado

Once he left small town Colorado, he moved to Indianapolis, he always intended to end up in New York but his van (his fathers van that Eddie straight up stole from him, but Richard (dick) Munson was too high on his latest find that he hardly noticed) broke down in Indy and he just made it work, he always does.

He didn’t graduate, but got his GED. (Thanks Wayne) Very smart socially, (street smart angel) and honestly academically but had a hard time focusing on school when he’d rather draw or write.

Works at Inkwell Tattoo Studio he doesn’t own the shop but is a very well known artist and brings in a large amount of business for the shop and the owner (also the man who had let eds apprentice under him) Spike (Mike) loves him like his own son

Eddie specializes in neo traditional, however he’ll scratch whatever itch you ask him to. (Cmon capability)

But all of his work on his own body (he’s got a lot, gentleman) is black and gray

(“you are my yellow, you are the color Steve.”)

He was still fiercely loyal, but incredibly reserved about it. Dick had really fucked him up. Once he had settled in a painfully small Studio apartment in Indianapolis, he shut off anything that made him weak. He had picked up a job at a little game store “dragons den”, worked as many hours as they would allow him, that’s where he met Gareth. His best friend (only friend for quite sometime.) they had bonded over both having battle vests, (“holy shit man, you know wasp?”) Little gareth had never been more excited to meet someone like him.

Gareth had been buying a new set of dice and everything kinda formed from there. D&D once a week.

Eddie had taken on role of DM as he didn’t have school to worry about, so while gareth was sweating over finals, Eddie was enamored by a silly little fantasy game, it was through drawing the thoughts he had planned out that he had realized tattooing was something that could be in his wheelhouse.

Stick and poked himself, ultimately Gareth let Eddie give him a matching bat tattoo (it was the only tattoo Eddie hadn’t had covered with anything else once he had started getting his own body done.)

Eddie started his Apprenticeship when he was 19 (2014), He’d been at Inkwell with Spike Nelson ever since.

G and E had started their band around the same time. Eddie had convinced Gareth to move in with him as soon as G graduated. (2013) Good bye small studio from hell, hello, small one bedroom. (Eddie slept on the couch, fiercely loyal) Eddie had essentially given Gareth his job at Dragons Den, once he was too wrapped up at Inkwell. They lived modestly and rock and rolled indecently until Eddie had started blowing up on social media for his tattooing.

He blew up in 2016, he was 21, he should’ve been ecstatic but continuously found himself bitter, all he wanted was for his uncle to know that he had made it to the bigger and better. Wayne had seen quite a bit of his art, but he didn’t get to see what it brought for him. he was always overconfident, exuded it. But behind closed doors he was a mess. Gareth saw bits and pieces but Eddie knew how to shut it off around his friend, his band. Eddie moved out of the apartment Gareth and he shared when he Bought a house in 2018. 3 bedrooms, 2 bath. He was alone, and that’s how he preferred to be. His trysts were not allowed anywhere near it.

The only people that had been inside were The Corroded Coffin boys. Not Spike, not his trysts, not any one else. Gareth, James and Easton were the only ones.

Eddie had converted his basement to a practice space for CC in 2020. He had intended to convert the garage but his beloved baby (2020 Mercedes G Wagon with a gorgeous red interior) had to be protected.

Eddie was reticent, reserved with who he spoke to, always polite (you didn’t want to see him if someone struck a nerve, promise.) but quick, never spoke too long, (unless he was with the few he trusted), but he was unabashed, and unapologetically loud when it came to his style. He always had been. Uncle Wayne had told him to never back down from who he was even if others (Dick) gave him hell for it. So he never did. Eddie pushed the boundaries as dramatically as he could. Between the flowing blouses that he never fully buttoned, the clashing of patterns and prints and chains and the shoes, some heeled, some pointed, most black, most importantly the miles of leather; pants, vests, whips (cheeky), he drew attention to himself. He wanted to make you look. And look the city did.

Eddie had become somewhat of a spectacle to the city. Everyone knew Eddie Munson, and as of 2021 everyone (at least for a long stretch of Indiana, and few surrounding states) knew Corroded Coffin.

Always always has a black bandana in his back left pocket, even in his leather numbers, his favorite (only, but he was the father figure E never had) uncle Wayne had told him all about the hanky code and explained to him that was how people like he and Wayne (gay Wayne supremacy) would know they were in like minded company, broke down who was into what, made it easier so people like them could talk less and enjoy more, “life is short as it is, but it felt shorter and riskier back then.” Wayne had only cocked an eyebrow when Eddie started sporting the black bandana around the same time he left town. As long as he was safe, what his nephew got up to wasn’t his prerogative. Regardless of connotation (Cmon sadism!)

Eddie only grew more attached to proudly sharing his sexual interest because if Wayne could in 86, Eddie could is 2022. (Wayne passed in 2015, Eddie was 20 and it was the darkest place he had been for a long time. He had received a little bit of an inheritance and was shocked that his uncle loved him that much.)

Wayne hadn’t bat an eye when a 12 year old Eddie wracked with the pain of his mother passing, had told Him that he likes boys the way his uncle Wayne likes boys. “Nice work, kid, it’s more fun this way.” He would never let Eddie feel bad for who he was, regardless of Dicks commentary on it. (In reality Richard really couldn’t care less, he had grown to resent his son, gay or not, after his Lydia had passed, often times wondering why it couldn’t have been the boy to go instead of his wife.) Eddie had never looked back once he had his Uncles undivided support, he was a big old homosexual. No shame in hiding it.

#Eddie munson #Eddie munson drabbles #obviously this is a steddie deal I mean #you are my fucking yellow Steve #I have about 3000 words for Steve too #steddie #Steve harrington #stedds #worm brain #stranger things

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myshittysideblogg · 1 year

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WIP 2

Steve and Eddie both working at Family Video post UD and starting to get closer in a nice slow burn type of way. Steve's dad shows up unannounced one day to see if his son is actually pulling himself up by the boot straps to make something of himself in his fathers eyes.

John Harrington can be very charming. All his moves are calculated to constantly move up in the world. He never understood where he went wrong with Steven. John can give anyone but Steven or his wife Gwen the benefit of the doubt because his wife and son should know better. He trained them better. The Harrington name stands for perfection and hard work.

Steve goes quiet as he rounds the corner from the stack of videos he just put out, staring at his father. Eddie, not aware yet, makes a joke about Steve slacking off after only a few hours of work & notices the tension in Steve's face, then Mr Harrington staring back at them.

"Steven, figured I stop by to make sure you actually still had a job here, seeing you're not the most reliable." His father sneered. Mr Harrington takes one look at Eddie with his tattoos and long hair up in a neat bun. He doesn't approve of Eddie's.... lifestyle choices but one thing he does know is that the Munson's are hard workers. They may not have much but they know the meaning of not having anything handed to them in life.

He reached out to shake Eddie's hand. "John Harrington. Sure do hope Steven here doesn't slack off too much. I know you're Uncle Wayne. Good man & hard worker, not a doubt in my mind he raised you the same".

Steve stared blankly as Eddie shake his fathers hand and assured him Steve works just as hard if not harder between work, helping care for the kids, and studying for his community college placement tests.

"My Steven, reconsidering college? Never thought I'd see the day. Thought that shop sailed. I mean it's only community college but it's something." He turns back towards Steve. "Steven, what caused the change of heart?". Steve glanced over at Eddie and stuttered out "well Robin and Eddie will be going and they've been helping me study."

Ah yes, the Buckley girl. John didn't understand why Steven didn't nail that one down yet. Although odd and not exactly the trophy wife type, she was smart like his ex Nancy. If not smarter. John remembers the one time he met Robin she mentioned being talented in music and speaking multiple languages, although she seemed to ramble too much for his liking. But he needs to pick and choose his battles with Steven at this point and that Buckley girl could be good for him. Especially if she and Eddie are convincing him to give school a try.

"Steven, we all know you can't make a decision without anyone telling you what to do. Even if that courtesy doesn't extend to your mother and I. So it's about time you made some friends who are a good influence on you like Eddie here or the Buckley girl. All Tommy and Carol did was get you to trash my house. Nancy was okay but obviously she had too much potential to achieve and no time to have you dragging her down."

Eddie is seething at this point. How can someone be so downright cruel like this to their child. Steve is amazing and smart. He is the leader of their group when it counts. And he's so kind. He has so many positive attributes. But hearing his father talk down to him like this does explain a lot his trauma responses....

To be continued...

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recentnews18-blog · 6 years

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New Post has been published on https://shovelnews.com/hey-stupid-yeah-you-across-the-dutch-kiwi-scribe-lays-in-boot/

Hey stupid! Yeah, you across the dutch – Kiwi scribe lays in boot

Rattue goes on to list the latest salary cap scandal in the NRL – the 90th by his count, with no sign of abating.

Fair call? Chris Rattue sledged Michael Cheika, the cricket team and Nick Kyrgios among others.

Photo: Rugby.com.au, AAP, EPA

He looks at our erstwhile passions of summer: “The nation which produced legendary and respected tennis icons such as Rod Laver, Yvonne Goolagong and Margaret Court now comes up with knuckleheads like Nick Kyrgios and Bernard ‘the Tanker’ Tomic.”

Enough, already?

No, Chris had barely cleared his throat.

“As for cricket, there has never been a sadder more pathetic episode in sport than the sandpaper scandal in South Africa, the nadir for a team which had spun out of control on anger and arrogance.”

Perhaps, he might be kinder to the Wallabies?

Fault: Bernard Tomic is an enigma.

Photo: AP

“As for rugby . . . sophisticated, clever, that’s how the best of Australian rugby used to be. There were elegant leaders like John Eales and Rod Macqueen, and never-to-be-forgotten players such as David ‘Campo’ Campese, Mark Ella, Stephen Larkham and many more . . . What have we got now? Whinging Michael Cheika and a team which doesn’t know what it is about.”

He finishes: “Hey, if the once great Australian sports nation is determined to be a sporting laughing stock, it’s a free world.”

Too harsh? Too unbalanced? Too brutal?

Nuh.

Too shay.

But hey, at least we’re light years ahead of those Kiwis in politics, and are not infected by the same stupidity there.

Oh, wait!

Hopping to it

Good around the house: John Hopoate.

Photo: Fox Sports

As you will see in the quotes section, we have it on the sincere authority of Will Hopoate that his father John has another side: “If people saw him at home, they’d see mum is the real boss, she’s got him under the whip, vacuuming and doing the dishes.”

As one who’s had my fair share of goes at Hopoate Snr over the years, I am glad to hear it. In similar spirit, as one who has criticised Josh Dugan many times, and those who only go to children’s hospitals as the cameras roll, a reader sent me a story this week that showed another side.

It concerned his eleven year-old grandson Gabe Smith, who was diagnosed with a brain tumour and admitted to the Randwick Children’s Hospital, where Dugan came across him . . . and held on, going to see him many times thereafter, through all his many treatments and even into palliative care at Manly’s Bear Cottage, where he would stay for four hours at a time.

For yes, young Gabe tragically didn’t make it, and died in July. Dugan and his girlfriend attended the funeral at the Avoca Beach Surf Club and stayed for the wake.

So, there you go. Just as I struggle to put the public Hopoate I know of with the private figure described by his son, I can’t quite fathom that the Dugan described above is the troubled, swaggering bruiser we know – but accept that it is.

Still, if it turns out that Greg Norman has a humble side, that Shane Warne actually delights in Dosteovsky, and Nick Kyrgios is releasing a motivational lecture , I’ll give up!

Fat chance

Très drôle, as we say in the classics. The 53-year-old pro golfer from Michigan, Scott Parel, see, was asked at the end of the second round of the PGA senior tournament what he thought of his chances of winning.

“I think I have two chances – slim and none. And I think I just saw Slim heading out of town.”

It might be straining the metaphor a little, but Slim came back and tucked into the buffet something fierce, because he soon became Huge, and Parel shot 63 on the final round to win the whole thing.

Lunch date

As mentioned, this year’s Cauliflower Club lunch is at the Hyatt Regency on Sussex St on October 12, with special guests Wally Lewis, Michael O’Connor and Ricky Stuart on deck, and you can book at www.cauliflowerclub.org.au.

This week though, our Chair, John Fordham, secured a very interesting auction prize: a big lunch with all of Bob Dwyer, Alan Jones and Rod Macqueen.

Father’s Day

Reluctantly, I must accept that there is some chance that, for Father’s Day, some of you won’t be buying or getting my own latest book, Monash’s Masterpiece, the 93 Minutes That Changed the World. In that case (sniff), allow me to recommend Greg Growden’s The Wallabies At War, which looks at the stunning service of many Wallabies from the Boer War onwards, or Michael Visontay’s Beyond the Stereotype: A Celebration Of Jews In Australian Sport.

Both are, as you’d expect from two long-time Herald scribes, exceptionally well-written and chokka with good yarns.

In Growden’s book, my favourite is about the great Stan Bisset – a man I was proud to call a friend – who was decorated for his bravery on the Kokoda Track where, during the Battle of Isurava, his brother Butch was riddled with machine gun bullets. Stan carried Butch to a clearing, where he held his hand through the night, singing him songs from the old days, till he died just before dawn. Vale, great men.

Steve who?

Take a hike: All Blacks coach Steve Hansen.

Photo: AAP

Meantime?

Meantime, reader Michael Milgate reports that when about to head off on a hike along New Zealand’s spectacular Milford Track with his daughter last year, they were encouraged to have dinner the night before with other hikers. As dinner is being served, his daughter finds herself in the company of a group of charming strangers, one of whom is notably robust, resplendent in a black tracksuit, introduced as “Steve” but addressed by his companions as “Coach”.

“And what do you coach?”

“Rugby,” he replies.

“Oh, and is it a local team?”

“Have you heard of the All Blacks?”

Oh . . . pass the bread?

Short and sweet

The way forward for the Wallabies? Fitzphile Robert King has the answer! “In the same way T20 has rocked the cricket world,” he writes, “let’s push for a shorter version of the Bledisloe Cup. We will play the first 35 mins only, two-man lineouts and no scrums. I understand Lord Bledisloe died in 1958 so he can’t object.” That works!

What They Said

Lovely writing from Matthew Johns on the early days of Johnathan Thurston: “He first came to the Bulldogs in the mid-2000s and he looked like a rabbit trying to find a hole in a barbwire fence. He was a ducker and a darter . . .”

When ESPN commentator Brad Gilbert asked Nick Kygrios after the first round if all his carry-on was to get himself going, Kyrgios replied: “Not really. It keeps me relaxed.”

Tennis umpire Mo Lahyani to Nick Kyrgios during a break in the second round of the US Open, asks him to carry on with more purpose:

“I want to help you. I want to help you. I’ve seen your matches: you’re great for tennis. Nick, I know this is not you.” Kyrgios won nineteen of the next 25 games to win the match. There was hell to pay.

Helpng hand: Mo Lahyani and Nick Krygios. Illustration: John Shakespeare

Will Hopoate on his dad: “For most of my life I’ve seen the John Hopoate off the field, and that’s the man I respect and love as a father. The bloke you see on the field and off the field are two different blokes. If people saw him at home, they’d see mum is the real boss, she’s got him under the whip, vacuuming and doing the dishes.”

Venus Williams laughs at the prospect of playing her sister, Serena, in the American Open: “The last time we played, in Australia, it was two against one. At least this time it’s fair.” On that occasion, at the 2017 Australian Open, Serena was pregnant.

Barry Hall: “I got no income, and there’s no real light at the end of the tunnel of when that will change or when that will be. So it’s a big cock-up.”

Collingwood President Eddie McGuire on another Pies player testing positive: “The last person to find out anything to do with drugs is the club itself. It’s an AFL issue. They have control of everything that goes, as far as the testing is concerned. In fact, as the president of the club I’m not even allowed to ask about these situations.”

Carlton coach Brendon Bolton on the upside of having won two games for twenty losses this season: “In some time we’ll look back and say this time paid us back.” Sure you will, Coach.

Wayne Bennett following the Roosters game: “I could make a headline easily, but I won’t tonight. I’ll leave you with this guys, you’re all journalists here, you see what I see, why don’t you write the stories?”

Eels coach Brad Arthur on the wooden spoon, after his side lost 44-6 to the Cowboys last Friday: “At the end of the day, I’m in charge. Someone has got to claim responsibility, that’s me. I feel a sense that I’ve let people down. It’s just embarrassing. I have to face up to it, I can’t run and hide from it.” Coach? Look to the blokes laughing and joking within seconds of being on the wrong end of a 40-point drubbing – and wipe them. Start with Jarryd Hayne, who was doing precisely that.

Gus Gould: “Sunday afternoon at Jubilee Oval. One of the great pleasures of life.” Andrew Johns: “Gus, you’ve gotta get out more.”

Team of the Week

Fond farewell: Thurston waves goodbye to the Cowboys home crowd last week.

Photo: AAP

Johnathan Thurston Plays the final match of his extraordinary 17-year career tonight, against the Gold Coast Titans.

Richmond and Hawthorn How very odd. Between them they have won 24 Premiership flags and yet next Thursday, for the first time, they contest a finals match.

Argentina Pumas Snapped an 11-match losing streak in the Rugby Championship by beating South Africa.

Sunshine Coast Lightning Gone back to back to claim their second Super Netball title. So I suppose it does strike twice!

The second annual Chappell Foundation Golf Day To raise money for the homeless, it will be held on Tuesday September 11 at the spectacular NSW Golf Club, La Perouse.

Italy Has just banned all advertising for gambling, most particularly including sponsorships of sporting teams. Watch this space!

Caloundra Won their first rugby grand final since their foundation in 1982, beating Noosa.

Twitter: @Peter_Fitz

Peter FitzSimons is a Herald journalist, columnist and author, based in Sydney. He is also a former Wallabies player.