Note: content warning - mentions of homophobia / internalized homophobia and violence. Not descriptive but worth mentioning if that is triggering for you

Chapter title from Strawberries & Cigarettes by Troye Sivan


Chapter 2: Long Nights, Day Dreams

Eddie Munson sighs heavily and leans against the wall next to the phone in his and Uncle Wayne's new house. That is not how he intended to end his conversation with Steve. He had been so excited to have an excuse to talk to Steve on the phone but hearing Steve passionately defend him had been a little too much for Eddie. He wasn't used to people caring about him so much, and now he had a whole group of people who he'd been to hell and back with who all cared about each other and sometimes Eddie just didn't know how to respond. Especially with Steve Harrington, someone he'd first noticed years previously when Steve was a freshman at Hawkins High and Eddie was a sophomore. Steve was so handsome, even when he was a total douche bag, and Eddie, even though he was known for his theatrical speeches, was very good at being a silent observer. He had noticed how Steve's cocky bravado often faded when he felt like others weren't paying attention. He had noticed that while Steve had hung out with that absolute ass hat Tommy, he often wasn't the instigator for any bullying, though it was hard to defend the times Steve had just stood by watching and laughing with the rest of the jocks. Eddie hadn't had many run ins with Steve before spring break, other than occasionally seeing him at parties, at which his freakish presence was only tolerated since he brought good weed. But Eddie had noticed changes in Steve over their years at Hawkins high together, changes that made a heck of a lot more sense once Eddie was filled in on the Big Bad lurking in an alternate dimension of Hawkins, but changes nonetheless. Eddie had chalked it up to Steve's infamous showdown with Jonathan Byers in which Steve "the Hair" Harrington had obviously gotten his ass handed to him based on the state of his face when he returned to school. That had begun King Steve's fall from grace, but Eddie had mainly noticed how Steve had stopped looking for approval from Tommy or his other shitty jock friends and mainly kept to himself. There was even one incident shortly before Eddie's first failed senior year, where he and Steve had bumped into each other in the hall and Steve had even apologized to him. Of course Steve had also been dating Nancy Wheeler at the time, and Eddie had attributed a lot of positive changes he observed in Steve to her, regardless of his misplaced jealousy. It had been embarrassing for Eddie to harbor a crush on someone like Steve Harrington, someone who was so obviously out of his league AND was extremely unlikely to ever be interested in other guys, let alone someone like Eddie. Especially when Eddie had noticed how Steve looked at Nancy, touched her, held her hand, Steve had been very much in love with Nancy Wheeler and likely still was, if Steve's nugget fantasy was anything to go on. Eddie had found Steve's family fantasy surprisingly sweet, if not a little cringe inducing. He'd had to smack Dustin to stop him from laughing out loud at Steve while they all awkwardly listened in. Eddie hadn't been able to stop himself from very briefly imagining what a road trip with Steve and the kids would be like, Steve being the mother goose he was, while Eddie told them stories and they played D&D on the road. And now here Steve was, agreeing to join his table and play with them all, Eddie couldn't believe it. He got flustered just thinking about having Steve there, watching him command the campaign, and he desperately hoped Steve would have a good time and play with them more than once. It was stupid but playing D&D with Steve Harrington had been a long standing fantasy of his, and Eddie couldn't believe his luck that it was coming true.

Before he was dragged into this whole mess Eddie had forced himself to stop fantasizing about Steve that way. Since he knew those fantasies would just lead to heartbreak, instead he'd screwed around with other gay guys, closeted and not. The self loathing closeted ones usually gave him the most trouble, especially after one incident with another Hawkins High student who punched him in the face for daring to cuddle after sex.

But that was in the past, before Eddie "the Freak" Munson had become Eddie "the triple murderer" Munson. Eddie doubted anyone in Hawkins would give him the time of day anymore, and for now he was stuck in this shitty little town. He couldn't leave his Uncle Wayne, not yet, especially with the government goons still breathing down their necks, trying to ensure Eddie and the rest of the gang didn't expose their whole crazy mess with the Upside Down, as if anyone who hadn't seen the shit they'd seen would believe a single word of it. Nope, Eddie was quite content to keep his mouth shut for the time being and attempt to enjoy the nice house that the government had given him and Uncle Wayne to live in. They'd relocated Wayne after Chrissy's death had opened the gate in their trailer, set him up in this fully furnished rancher in the suburbs of Hawkins, and allowed Uncle Wayne and Eddie to live there when everything was said and done. Of course it had come with the conditions of not being able to tell anyone about what he'd seen, and tons of paperwork they'd had to sign saying they'd keep their mouths shut. Eddie had explained what had happened somewhat to Uncle Wayne but not everything. But Wayne knew enough, especially since he'd seen the damage the demobats had done to Eddie, and knew that Eddie had barely made it out alive. Eddie was still shocked he'd survived the whole ordeal, he'd lost consciousness lying in a pool of his own blood with Dustin crying over him. And had foggy memories of being lifted up and carried by a set of strong arms, his face pressed against a warm neck that smelled of sweat, blood, and lingering scents of hairspray and cologne. He'd gurgled out a laugh through the blood in his mouth at the fact that he was being carried bridal style by Steve Fucking Harrington and that he didn't even get to enjoy it. The doctors said it was a miracle he'd survived with the amount of damage done and blood he'd lost. He wondered how the government had explained away his injuries to the hospital staff, but figured that was their problem to cover up. He just had to play along with the farce they came up with. He'd almost been grateful for his recovery time in the hospital, with everyone coming to visit him, Robin and Nancy bringing him his homework, and helping him keep up with it after he was released; he had somehow managed to graduate in June, only two years late. The other condition for him and Uncle Wayne living in a nicer house than they could have ever afforded was that Eddie was not allowed to go back to selling drugs, he had to make an honest living and keep his nose clean. The government goons had made it clear that they weren't about to clear him of murder charges, even if he was falsely accused, only for him to end up arrested for possession or selling. Of course the problem was that no one in this god forsaken town would hire him even with his name cleared. He'd applied to most of the stores on Main Street, anything where he could hide out in a storage room doing inventory, he'd even applied at a couple garages though his knowledge on cars was fairly limited to how to hot wire them.

Eddie walks over to the kitchen, his footsteps soft on the plush carpet and he thinks about how stupid it is that he misses their trailer, especially when he and Wayne could hear each other no matter where they were, a serious lack of privacy that was only made bearable due to Wayne's long hours at the plant. Though Eddie doesn't love those hours as much now that they're in this strange nice house that he feels like he can't fully relax in. Eddie grabs a beer from their mostly empty fridge and he considers Wayne's offer to get him a job at the plant, but he knows that it'll just end up causing more problems for Wayne at work. Problems that he knows Wayne can handle but wishes he didn't have to, Eddie knows his uncle loves him but can't help regretting all the trouble he's caused him over the years. Ever since he showed up at Wayne's trailer when he was 14 years old and his mom had threatened him with a kitchen knife after catching him kissing his best friend. His dad had already gone to jail at that point and his mom was coping by constantly losing herself in a bottle. She had been drunk and walked in on Eddie and Jack innocently kissing while watching a movie, Eddie's first kiss. Eddie's mom had screamed profanities at them and Jack had run away, leaving Eddie to deal with his mess of a mother, he had tried to calm her down, to reason with her. She'd never been a very maternal woman but this seemed to be her last straw with Eddie, she'd grabbed a knife and waved it wildly at him, screaming that he was no son of hers and told him to get the fuck out. Eddie had wandered around aimlessly for hours, crying and trying to figure out where to go. When he'd finally made it to Uncle Wayne's trailer the man had pulled him into a tight hug and said that Eddie would always have a place with him.

Eddie sips his beer while lost in his unpleasant memories, it's 8:30 pm, Wayne will be home soon, hopefully with something to eat, thinks Eddie, his stomach growling in hunger.

He hears Wayne's noisy old truck come down their street, Eddie smiles to himself, thinking about how the noise must drive some of their prissy new neighbors bonkers, but they're all too scared of him to say anything.

Wayne comes in the door and calls out to him "Eddie, son, I'm home! And I've got pizza!"

Eddie stands up and walks towards the door, "Hey Wayne, how was your day?" He takes the pizza from Wayne's hands and walks back to the kitchen, opening the lid and grabbing himself a slice.

"Oh not bad, y'know, the usual" Wayne replies, grabbing a slice for himself. They sat and ate, drinking beers in a comfortable silence until Wayne said "I could still see if they got some work for you"

Eddie rolls his eyes "you know I don't want to cause you more trouble Uncle Wayne, don't think I didn't notice when you had bloody knuckles that time you visited me in the hospital. I know you got those defending me. You have enough trouble without me being there in the flesh."

Wayne rubs his neck awkwardly "huh, you noticed that hey, I shoulda known it wouldn't get past you even when you were bandaged from head to toe. Guy I work with just needed reminding of his manners. I haven't had trouble since."

Eddie barks out a laugh at that "while I appreciate you sticking up for me, I hate to see you fight my battles for me, just keep your head down. I'll find something else"

"Son c'mon now you and I both know this town ain't quick to forgive and forget, just think of it as a backup plan" responds Wayne, lighting a cigarette for himself and sliding the pack over to Eddie

"Okay, fine Uncle Wayne, if I can't find anything else I'll think about it" Eddie responds, taking a drag from his cigarette.

July 23, 1986

The following morning Eddie is awoken at 11 am by the phone ringing, he's got a layer of sweat all over him and his legs are wildly tangled in his blanket after yet another nightmare filled night. The phone stops ringing as he vaguely hears Wayne answer it. Not many people have their new number yet, so Eddie wonders who it could be. Thankfully since the number is unlisted his fan club hasn't gotten a hold of it yet. He hopes that they can avoid getting hate calls for the time being.

"Eddie, you awake? Phone's for you" Calls Wayne from the other end of the house.

"Yeah, coming!" Eddie shouts back. Untangling himself from his blanket and yawning as he gets out of bed.

Eddie pads down the hall and takes the phone from Wayne "Eddie here" he says, trying not to yawn again

"Hey kid it's Jim Hopper, listen, I know Steve said you didn't want any handouts but Joyce and I checked around with some of our old friends from school to see if anyone had anything. Joyce's ex Bob Newby had a buddy Frank Bolen, he owns a little book store on Second St called Bolen's Books. Have you heard of it?" Hopper speaks in his usual no nonsense tone.

Eddie takes a second to respond, first shocked that the police chief of all people wants to help him find work, but then also that Steve apparently went to him for help. "Uh yeah, I think I've passed it before, never been in though."

"Okay Frank is expecting you to stop by sometime this afternoon for an interview but Joyce and I have vouched for you so you pretty much have the job" says Hopper kindly.

"Wow. Yeah, I'll get ready and go down there soon. Uh, thanks Hopper." Eddie still feels a bit flustered, not sure how to take this act of kindness.

"No worries kid. Just be the nerd the kids all say you are and I'm sure you and Frank will get along fine. And listen, if anyone else is giving you trouble you let me know. We'll talk soon, Joyce wants to have you all over for dinner some time." Says Hopper

"Yeah, will do. Thanks again, sir" says Eddie

Hop laughs at being called sir, and they hang up.

Uncle Wayne is sitting drinking his coffee and having a cigarette, looking at Eddie expectantly.

"So I guess I've got a job? At that bookstore on Second? Sort of, Hopper said I had to go in today and meet the owner" says Eddie tentatively, still struggling to believe it.

"Well that's great son, you better go get yourself looking presentable" says Wayne cautiously, he knows how prickly Eddie is about forced conformity.

Eddie rolls his eyes, "yes Uncle Wayne, I'll tone down the metalhead look if it means I get to work at a bookstore instead of the plant"

"Was nice of Jim and Joyce to recommend you, Jim said that fella Steve Harrington phoned him last night asking for help. Jim felt bad he hadn't thought to help sooner but I let him know that we Munson's are too proud for our own good sometimes. Steve must be a good friend if he's so worried about you finding a job he calls the chief of police." Says Wayne, a slight teasing to his voice and a smirk on his face.

"It's not like that, Uncle Wayne, we just all went through a lot together, I'd do the same for him" huffs Eddie, he doesn't want to go down the road into thinking too hard about everything Steve does.

"Well I know son, you're a good kid and you'd do anything for your friends. But something tells me you'd do just about anything for that boy. Don't think I forgot whose name you used to doodle in your notebook with little hearts." Wayne chuckles

Eddie feels himself go bright red at that memory and doesn't bother acknowledging that embarrassing time in his life. "Whatever old man, I'm going to shower"

"Do me a favor and get some groceries after your meeting, we can't afford pizza every night" Wayne nods to a list and a stack of bills on the kitchen counter.

"No problem. I'll tell you all about it tonight, even make you dinner if I'm in a good mood!" Teases Eddie as he walks off in the direction of the bathroom, a spring in his step.


Hope you enjoyed the chapter! Next one will be up tomorrow, back to Steve's POV, I'll be alternating between them throughout the story.

Don't you just want to give baby Eddie a hug? Big love to any LGBTQ+ readers who've had rough experiences with coming out. I see you and please know that you're special and amazing no matter how people have made you feel.

There's something about a guy who reads that is just *chefs kiss* as much as I love to hate Jess from Gilmore Girls I am definitely using some of his moody, fuck authority, but loves reading attitude to inspire Eddie.