backtowheeler·:
— ✎ —
“Thad,” Nancy confirmed, glancing over at Eddie. “Laugh all you want, but he’s a good guy,” meaning he’s really not, but it’s not like they had to get into that tonight, and for the most part? Nancy did like her boyfriend, he could just be a bit… much at times. “He’s into cars, so he doesn’t understand what it means to drive something just because it gets you from one place to another.”
Matching scars are metal as hell, though. “Are you saying I’m metal?” She asked, her face turning up into a grin. Nancy Wheeler was not metal, she wouldn’t even consider herself a badass, but hey maybe scars were metal. “No, no, this is my first rodeo with committing arson against the best diner in town,” she glanced down at her hands. “Jonathan. First time we ever dealt with… anything like this and Demogorgons? They like blood,” then she looked back at Eddie, and said, “remember that,” just in case this was what they were dealing with. “So we had the bright idea to cut our hands to lure it to his house. God, that feels like forever ago.” Probably because it was five years ago.
It wasn’t often that she was able to tell people about her memories of dealing with the Upside Down. Either they were there or she just couldn’t say anything. “And Steve. Oh my god, he was such an asshole back then,” then a laugh. “Get this, I held a gun at him. Like, ready to shoot him and all. I would have never shot him but…” realizing she was rambling, she settled back in the seat. “Anyways, that’s how I got the scar.”
+++
eddie nodded to himself, steered the car onto through hawkins residential area onto the main roads leading up to the trailer park. "think i mightve run into him a couple days ago.",he mused with a shrug. deciding it was better not to go into much detail about that particular encounter. "he seemed alright." meaning he really did not but who was eddie to judge, at the end of the day.
he broke into a grin at her question, nodded eagerly. "yeah, man. wheeler, you're like, one of the most metal people alive. ozzy's gnawing at another bat as we speak, just so he can keep up with you.", eddie laughed, fingers drumming against the steering wheel to the melody of black sabbath's 'paranoid'.
remember that. he shifted uncomfortably in his shit, oh, yeah, he definitely would. there was that queasy feeling spreading in the pit of his stomach again as the night's events started replaying in his head. "noted.", he muttered, more to himself.
the mention of steve, however, had a grin tugging at eddie's his lips, he glanced at her from the corner of his eye, a low chuckle bubbling up in his chest. "king steve? an asshole? why, that is shocking news to me!"
Season 4: Chapter 7 — The Massacre At Hawkins Lab
dvstybuns·:
Dustin was just glad to see that Eddie was safe, for now. He’d been pulled into this shit so unfairly two years ago, and it was bullshit that he was back to being a suspect for yet another thing he hadn’t done. If anyone deserved to catch a fucking break, it was Eddie Munson. All of them did, honestly, but Eddie somehow always seemed to get blamed for everything. It wasn’t fair that it kept happening, just because Eddie was different than the usual suburban, cookie cutter stereotype most of Hawkins fit into. Dustin wished that they’d been able to do something to keep him from getting arrested, but what were their options? Without Hopper in charge of the police force, it seemed like they were pretty fucking powerless here. “I’m fine,” Dustin assured Eddie, knowing that he’d scared him. Fuck, Dustin had been scared. But Suzie was there, ready and willing to disarm the bomb, so he’d been beside her to support her the entire time. “I couldn’t just let her go through that alone, though. What would you have done if it had been Steve?” Dustin pointed out, raising an eyebrow at Eddie. Thank god it hadn’t been, though. Dustin couldn’t imagine what would have happened if either Steve or Eddie had had to deal with one more terrifying thing that night.
Dustin followed Eddie easily, sitting down and turning to face him. He let out a deep breath as Eddie explained the situation, frowning at how unfair it all was. “This is such bullshit,” Dustin scoffed, hands balling into fists. “You weren’t holding the fucking lighter, you weren’t even that close to the fireworks! If anything, Billy should take the fall.” That might not be entirely fair, but neither was Eddie being blamed for it. He’d had nothing to do with any of this, and Dustin was sick of seeing Hawkins make him into a villain. “I am worried about you, though.” He frowned, hating feeling so helpless. This entire mess was such a shit show, and it pissed Dustin off. He just wished there was something he could do about it.
+++
eddie scoffed, a small smile playing at his lips, he nodded, raised his hand to give dustin a loving pat on the back. “yeah, yeah, i know you had to go after her. you’re made of real hero material, henderson.”, he mused, nodded again. the smile didn’t waver, but there was a sad glint over his eyes. it seemedto him that, as similar as the two of him were, dustin never seemed to run from danger, but rather towards its open arms. and eddie? well, it was as if it didn’t matter whether he ran or not, he was doomed either way. “but you gotta start taking better care of yourself, man. or you’re bound to give me a heart attack sometime soon.”
a stern, scolding look on his face, soon broken by what could almost be called a ‘laugh’. then promptly replaced by a frown again, oh, today really was a rollercoaster of emotions, huh? “well, now, can’t say i’m particularly fond of the guy but from what i’ve seen he wasn’t responsible either. or, well, not, like, fully responsible. he might’ve done something, i don’t know.”, eddie shrugged, sunk further into the couch cushions behind him, wondering if, provided he lean back far enough, they would swallow him entirely, pull him in. a deep almost frustrated sigh was drawn from his lips. “but that wouldn’t be exactly fair on him, either. i don’t know. that police department is a fucking joke.”
stating the obvious here, eddie began playing with the rings on his fingers, nervously fidgeting to calm himself down. moving them from one finger to another. hearing that dustin was worried about him made him quirk a brow, a fond smile tugging at his lips, he looked up to meed his eye. “yeah, kid, me too.” me too in the sense that eddie was worried about dustin, too - but he was similarly worried about himself. it was a mess. “you know, i can’t do this without you, henderson.” a more serious tone to his voice now. ‘this’ in the sense of ‘whatever the hell is going on in this godforsaken town again’ - but also in the sense of ‘everything, ever’. ‘life in general’. “how’s suzie doing? she okay?”
“Living after midnight, rockin’ to the dawn. Lovin’ ‘til the morning, then I’m gone. I’m gone.”
stevehharringtcns·:
steve smiled at eddie, nodding his head slowly. he let out yet another chuckle as he watched his now boyfriend, taking him all in and staring at him lovingly. “you really were trying to steal my title for best hair… back in high school, right?” he teased with a chuckle. it was still weird to think about how different they were in high school and how they were both still so different from each other, but still had managed to find each other and be together. steve wouldn’t let that change anytime soon. he closed his eyes for a couple of moments when he felt eddie run a hand through his hair, smiling at the touch. he didn’t even want to think about how his hair looked right now. he had been in that hospital for long enough time for it to become a mess and only he knew how much time it took him to get it ready. “right… probably looks like a mess right now…” he said quietly, before letting out a sigh. “i’ve been thinking about cutting it anyway.” he said with a small nod of his head.
at the other’s question about joining hellfire club, steve couldn’t help but to smile and shrug his shoulders slightly. “listen, i wouldn’t join for… the game. or whatever it is. i would join so i could look at you.” he said, a smile on his face, a charming one for that fact. if there was something that time or that explosion didn’t take away from him was his natural charm, or at least he thought so. but that was only focused on eddie now. he didn’t want anyone else. “i mean it, ed… i would join just for you. even if… i’m pretty sure i wouldn’t know what’s going on… most of the time.” he said, pausing for a bit to take a breath, nodding his head slowly.
while steve had been pretty jealous that dustin had been hanging out with eddie more and more when they had first met, steve was glad that dustin had eddie as well. dustin needed them, or at least that’s what he liked to tell himself. he was glad that eddie cared so much for him that he would keep an eye out for him. it was clear that the two were worried about him, especially with everything that had happened. he pursed his lips together, as he let out a sigh. “i’m glad… he’s okay. he goes through too much…” he said, shaking his head slowly. he thought that all of the kids went through too much for their age, but yet again, they were at the age where steve had burned down those tunnels. hawkins definitely wasn’t a good place to live in. “i know you will, but take care of him… okay? he needs someone there for him.” he said with a smile, knowing that eddie wouldn’t fail him.
he was touched when eddie had offered wayne to stop by with some food. steve was glad that he had someone from his family that cared for him like this. he nodded his head. “okay… that sounds nice.” he said simply, as he looked at his boyfriend. they sat there in silence for a couple of moments, steve smiling at him the whole time until he finally spoke. he let out a small chuckle that only hurt his ribs slightly, but he didn’t show it. “i’m… i’m real. we’re real, eddie. we’re… dating, you know?” he said, smiling at eddie. even with everything, steve was glad that he still had that. he wouldn’t let it go. “kiss me again? i like kissing you.” he said with a nod.
+++
eddie snorted. "back when we were in high school together, you mean? nah, man, my hair looked like shit back then, that weird growing out phase after i buzzed it." he'd sported a mohawk for a week or two, before he'd decided that that looked too punk-y for him and that he was a metalhead now. "you know", he said, moving his hand out of steve's hair as gently as possible to take a strand of his own hair between his fingers, inspecting and then twirling it, "a lot of hard work and dedication went into these locks." a lot of arguments with wayne where he refused to acknowledge his split ends, his uncle trying to talk him into getting that 'wild mop of hair of his' under control. eddie smiled to himself, pulled his hair over his face for a moment before letting it fall to the side again.
"are you for real right now? you want to cut it?" he pursed his lips, eyes squinting and his head tilted to the side as he tried to imagine steve without his signature gravity defying hairstyle. he hummed a question. "whatever you want to do, sweetheart - but the offer still stands. I'm a master of detangling hospital bed induced matting."
eddie chewed on his bottom lip, gave a weak nod but looked away, blinking to fight the oncoming tears. there'd been enough crying today. "i will. you know i will.", he paused for a moment, let out a shaky breath. "don't... don't talk like that, man." like he wasn't going to be around for much longer. like he was passing the torch of care to eddie.
how eddie had talked to dustin, when he'd had his head in the boys lap, drawing shaky, ragged breaths, the sting of his wounds slowly fading as he himself had faded into a blissful oblivion. "you're sticking around, harrington." it was a demand, if anything. "you *have* to, now. you can't ask me to be your boyfriend and then kick the bucket. nobody would believe me. id look like some pathetic loser going around telling everyone steve harrington was actually my secret boyfriend all along." cope with humor. he let out a dry chuckle.
and he nodded in confirmation, a smile playing at his lips. "yeah, we sure are." eddie thought about how he'd never dated anyone, not seriously, not as long term as this was going to be - because there was no chance in hell that eddie was ever going to break up with steve. And by the looks of it, the look that steve had in his eyes as he looked up at him, asked him for another kiss, it seemed like steve had no intention of doing so, either. the upside down was going to have to pull its biggest stunt ever if it wanted to separate the two of them. and eddie wasn't going to let it.
he grinned, all wide and toothy, and bent down to give into steve's request. connecting their lips in a sweet kiss, lips lazily moving against one another. there was no rush here. eventually, they'd have to face the fast pace of life in hawkins again, gave whatever the universe was going to throw their way next. but not now.
when eddie pulled back he placed a short peck on Steve's forehead, brushing some hair out of his face. "im getting you some ice chips, stevie. go rest a bit. that's an order." and with a wink, he detached himself from his boyfriend and walked out the room, feeling like he was floating.
THE END
steve: eddie?
steve: it's me, steve!
steve: are we alone... here?
eddie: oh. hi.
eddie: what do you want, harrington?
eddie: i see, even on the walkie line he's afraid someone might hear ...
colemontgomeryx·:
xx.
Instinctively, Cole’s hand snaked around Eddie’s neck, a desperate attempt to pull him closer. Cole sighed into Eddie’s lips, allowing his chest to rest on Eddie’s. Tilting his head, Cole brought his other hand to Eddie’s face, cupping his jawline and stroking his cheek.
It had been a while– a few months, at least– since Cole had been kissed, and the clandestine nature of their meeting didn’t help the fluttering in his stomach. He knew he and Eddie would never be together in any real sense, but right here, right now, the future didn’t matter. As far as he was concerned, the future didn’t even exist.
Cole pulled away, just for a moment to catch his breath, and ran his thumb over Eddie’s lips. Lifting his gaze to meet Eddie’s eyes, Cole’s mouth twisted into a smile. “You’re pretty good at this, Munson,” he remarked, pulling his face back to Eddie’s– daring him to lean in again.
+++
he melted into the kiss, well, eddie had expected ole to be a good kisser but this ? this blew his expectations. so differet from the encounters he’s had in chicago, all rushed and messy, and oddly...cold and distant where it should be intimate and warm. kissing ole was a welcome change to that, the way he softly cupped his cheek, leaning into him.
eddie chased his lips when they pulled apart, a dazed, glossy look in his eyes. he blinked, lips parted and swollen, breath shallow, his heart beating so fast it was threatening to burst out of his chest any second now. a grin tugged at his lips. “yeah, well, i can only return the compliment, montgomery.” his hands found cole’s waist, drawing him in closer.
and while there was certainly a different person in the back of his head, eddie noted that kissing cole felt vastly different than how he imagined kissing steve to be. and maybe that was a good thing. maybe that would actually ground him, in a way, bring him back to the realms of what was possible and what was seemingly destined to play out in his fantasies only. this was cole, not steve, eddie repeated to himself. it was cole and it would likely never be steve. and right now, that was more than okay.
because kissing cole was maybe the best thing he’d felt in a long time. “don’t let it go to your head, though.”, he grinned, took hold of cole’s chin and drew him in closer. his lips found cole’s easily now, they moved together in a steady, comfortable rhythm.
scribblcs·:
WHO: gabe diaz & @eddiemcnson· WHAT: gabe spots a familiar face WHERE: downtown hawkins
gabe was settling into hawkins nicely. sure, it was vastly different from chicago, but this small town quiet was something he might be able to get used to. he’d seen a few patients already, but he still had a lot of downtime. on an ideal day, he walked to downtown in the morning, tried some coffee, read the paper, then went to work. following sessions, he liked to walk the town again, try some more coffee, then return home. gabe was really making an effort to immerse himself with the civilians. he’d gotten tangled up in a deep conversation with an elderly gentleman inside of melvald’s late in the afternoon, and they strolled about town together for a while before they parted ways, leaving gabe to finish out his walk alone at dusk.
at least, he’d thought it would be alone. a couple feet ahead of him, an unmistakable mound of hair veered around the corner and gabe curiously squinted. that bandana certainly looked familiar…tailing the other for a while, he remained inconspicuous until he stole a glimpse of the other and got confirmation that he was in fact, eddie munson, a client from back in chicago. laughing in disbelief, gabe cupped his hands together and warmly called, “eddie!” last he’d heard from eddie, he was taking another trip back to his hometown, how was he to know that it was hawkins? despite how in depth they had gone about how horrible it was for him there, they’d never gotten on a first name basis with the place. gabe knew he made frequent visits, but typically, they weren’t this long, and when gabe left town to take up this new job, he worried about how eddie might react upon his return to find out his therapist had up and left him. luckily, those worries were quickly erased as soon as gabe saw how well eddie seemed to be faring. approaching him, beaming, gabe went in for a hug. oftentimes his heart seemed to get in the way from successfully preventing professional bleeding into personal and such was the case with eddie. he was one of many clients that gabe took a personal liking too, worried a little more about, and hoped extra harder they’d have an emotionally rich future. pulling back from the hug, gabe laughed in disbelief, “i have to admit, i’m quite surprised to see you here. i’m sure you could say the same.”
while this was all well and good, it gave gabe second thoughts about hawkins. if this was the town that was such a source of hurt for one eddie munson, maybe it wasn’t as nice as he was starting to believe.
+++
today was ... weird, to say the least. having previously ridden the high of managing to make steve all flustered and blushed when he’d stopped by family video, eddie’s modd had been dampened significantly by his run in with mayor spencer, leaving with a weird feeling in the pit of his stomach as he turned the corner, made his way back to his car. maybe he should park closer to family video next. re-route his evening walks to go through the woods instead of downtown hawkins. lost in thought, he’d barely even taken notice of the figure that had started to follow him, jumping slightly, hand on his heart as he ehard someone call his name.
turning around, prepared to lock eyes with someone who was definitely not fond of seeing him around town, eddie found he was pleasantly surprised as his former therapist came into view. slowly, he lowered his hand, squinted. “.... dr. diaz ? what - what are you- “ doing here, he thought as he was interrupted by gabe’s arms puilling him into a tight hug. one that eddie eagerly returned, wide smile on his face. “yeah... well, my boss is travelling the states for the summer, gave everyone an advance and closed up shop. thought i’d stop by here, pay my uncle a visit, you know.” he shrugged, non-chalantly, as if he hadn’t described hawkins as ‘hell on earth’ to gabe during therapy sessions for the last, like, three years. “and you? what brings you to hicksville, indiana?”