Come Crawling Faster, Obey Your Master.

mental wounds not healing

          life’s a bitter shame

                 i’m going off the rails on a crazy train  [meet: eddie munson]

who’s that? oh it’s (EDWARD) EDDIE MUNSON. i hear they’re TWENTY-TWO and are known as THE FREAK around CHICAGO/HAWKINS TRAILER PARK. they’re also a EMPLOYEE/ (ASPIRING MUSICIAN) at ‘SHADY RECORDS’,. they’re known to be ENGAGING+HUMOROUS and MOODY+OVERBEARING. some people say they remind them of :

the smell of smoke, cologne and vanilla

browsing through a stack of vinyls and cassettes for half an hour until ou find the right one

the overwhelming expectations that come with being a ocietal outcast

a bandana in your back pocket, no matter what outfit you’re wearing

tw drug mention, death mention

what’s left to say about eddie ‘the freak’ munson - props to jason carver for the most inventive of nicknames - that hasn’t already been speculated aobut? the list goes as follows: freak, metalhead, trailer park trash, dungeon master, outcast, drug dealer, murder suspect, runaway, satan worshipper. miss anything?

after the dust settles, after that whacky fucking week, after chrissy's incident happened and he was on the run and in the ‘upside down’, fighting vecna - after all that has passed, after he’s cleared of all charges, he actually manages to army crawl his way towards that D in miss o’donnell’s and he graduates. two years late but hey, he got there. it’s like he predicted - eddie walks on stage, flips the principal the bird, snatches his diploma and runs like hell. the week after graduation his van leaves hawkins trailer park for the last time in a long time - eddie’s wasted no time.

;he drives around for a bit, settles in chicago. college is just ... not gonna be an option, but he’s got his music and a new band and he knows they’re going to take off, he just knows it. they play small venues but the crowd is bigger than in hawkins - fucking everything is bigger than hawkins, he thinks to himself - and even though he’s still labeled ‘weird’ and ‘freaky’ in chicago, there are just...a lot more weird, freaky people here than in hicksville indiana. so he’s not complaining. the opposite, actually.

still, they make a decent amount of money from their gigs but not enough to support themselves so eddie finally caves, takes that job at ‘shady records’. pay’s awful but his boss and co-workers are fucking angels and the people coming are never looking for belina carlisle or eddy huntington, no, they’re asking for the smiths and van halen and eddie’s face lights up everytime someone asks for his metal recommendations.

so, chicago is not what he expected but he’s making it work for him. he’s got a decent amount of friends there but ... eddie can’t deny he misses his hawkins friends. the hellfire club, the upside down gang. so he comes back every few weeks, checks in with his uncle and may mayfield, catches up with his friends. eddie’s not ‘officially’ the head of hellfire club anymore, in his absence he has passed his dungeon master duties on to the only worthy candidate, one will byers. but eddie still takes his time in chicago to plan some epic campaigns for when he pays hawkins a longer visit.

his boss has closed the store for the summer, taking the time to take a road tripe around the states, but he’s payed eddie in advance and hey, he’s not complaining, he’s packed his bags and drove back to hawkins to move back into his old room for the summer. a little apprehensive - staying in hawkins that long, that town always meant trouble. but mybe this time would be different.

he’s been back a couple of weeks now - and he’s still adjusting, because there are some things that one could do and say in chicago but....not in smalltown indiana. he’s back to being looked at funny and being called a ‘freak ‘ -though he has to say he sort of likes the attention, he doesn’t really stand out that much anymore in chicago - and no one’s asked him if he’s ‘flagging’ yet, which is a question he hears regularly but hey, he still keeps that bandana in his back pocket, just in case.

walkie talks || steddie

steve: i wasn't, it's just hard

steve: i didn't say that...

steve: do you want me to come over?

steve: i'm...

eddie: but you thought it, didn't you

eddie: my uncle's out till late so if you want to talk then come over. i don't know what you'd want to talk about but... if you do then by all means.

eddie: you're.... what, harrington?

stevehharringtcns·:

.

it was funny to think that steve used to think that he would never make his way inside of eddie’s trailer when he was younger. the two were apparently incompatible back then, but now, steve would gladly spend his days with eddie if he could. it was better than spending time at his place, especially when his parents were around. steve also wasn’t sure when eddie’s opinion became so important to him, but it was definitely important now. that’s why he was sort of nervous to show him his new haircut. who could tell what his reaction was going to be? maybe he liked his hair the way it used to be, and he had to admit that the other’s face scared him a bit once he first saw it.

smiling once the other approached him and kissed him, steve smiled as he wrapped both of his arms around the other’s waist and brought him closer to him. “do you really love it or are you just saying that because i’m your boyfriend? because you have to tell me if you don’t.” steve said with a small chuckle escaping from his lips, before he kissed the other’s cheek. steve could feel his knee starting to hurt, mostly because he had probably been standing for too long now. he knew that they both needed to sit down, especially since eddie had messed up his ankle pretty bad. he looked down to check out the other’s ankle and frowned when he noticed that it was wrapped in bandages.

“what are you doing up? i thought we both agreed that we’re supposed to… you know, get some rest and all of that. you’re hurt.” steve said as he shook his head slightly. he could feel his face turning hot, but he thought that might have just been from being in eddie’s presence. who could blame him after all? “c’mon, let’s sit down.” steve said as he let go of the other and sat down on the couch carefully enough not to hurt himself. that area was a sensitive one, but he wouldn’t admit it out loud, even if eddie wouldn’t make fun of him. 

steve smiled up at the other as he watched him, feeling himself relax on the couch. he was used to this couch now, but who could blame him? he spent a lot of time there. he ran a hand through his hair, a little shocked when he felt it so short. it was hard getting used to it, but he knew that he could probably still rock it. “it’s weird getting used to have short hair…” he said, nodding his head. “you know, i think you would look pretty good with short hair too. maybe you should try it out.” he said, a teasing tone in his voice as he looked over at eddie. he knew how much the other liked his hair, and who could blame him? he looked good.

+++

eddie was glad for the support that steve's arms around his waist proved to be, relaxing ever so slightly, he wrapped one hand around the back of steve's neck, the other resting on his biceps. it allowed to him to shift his weight, relieving his injured ankle of the burden of fully supporting him. still, eddie tried his best to keep his reaction under control - no need for steve to worry, after the man himself had only recently gotten out of hospital. this was a minor injury at best, fat more benign than the wounds steve had suffered. so he put on a brave face, gave his boyfriend a smile.

"oh, so you think you have me totally at your mercy, huh? that you've wooed me into being a dishonest man? why, i detest your accusation!" said with all the theatrics and bravado he could muster up - lacking in execution but not passion. eddie gave a slight chuckle." no, steve, princess, I assure you that i love it. totally honestly. cross my heart, and all that. "

a sharp pang of guilt in his chest, he grimaced as steve took note of his injury. eddie waved his hand, but stopped himself shirt of saying 'it's nothing'. instead he sighed, rolled his eyes and plopped down on the couch next to steve, swinging his legs over his boyfriends lap. "yeah, yeah, sorry. ill rest. im resting now, aren't i?" then, snuggling closer, he took hold of steve's arm and added : "not that id be opposed to not-resting. cause that new hair of yours is really making me want to not rest, babe." and eddie wiggled his brows suggestively, added a wink for good measure.

soon replaced by a frown, he fervently shook his head. "me with short hair? no man, i definitely can't pull that off. besides - that's sort of my whole thing here. ever seen a metalhead without long, luscious locks?"

stevehharringtcns​:

“you could have gotten my attention without almost getting yourself killed… we survived all of that stuff two years ago, don’t take it for granted by throwing yourself in front of a car…” he said, shrugging his shoulders as he looked over at eddie - he was pretty sure he would have never run over eddie, even on accident, he was confident that he was a pretty good driver - he was sure of it, actually. but he couldn’t do much if someone had jumped in front of his car. “so, you haven’t been back for long, i’m assuming? it’s like you forgot how good hawkins really is.” he said, teasingly, letting out a small chuckle as he started driving again, this time actually paying attention to the road and not letting himself get distracted by his thoughts - at least he had eddie to talk to while he drove to the wheelers’ house - he wasn’t sure how people would react to him bringing eddie, but people around seemed to like him.

at the question about him and nancy, steve sighed and shrugged his shoulders slightly. he should have expected for him to ask this, it was all people did when they saw him and he couldn’t blame them, but it was still uncomfortable to talk about it. “huh… there’s not really any trouble.” he lied, he wasn’t even sure how nancy felt after they split, but in his head everything seemed to be alright. “we just broke up… not that long ago. but we’re fine. i think, i really can’t be sure… if we haven’t talked since, you know, we broke up.” he said, as he kept his eyes locked on the road, not daring to look at eddie while he spoke about it.

his lips curled into a smile as he heard eddie talk, letting out a small chuckle as he heard that the other was still wreaking havoc. it didn’t surprise him that he was still doing that. “you know what, it is kind of weird not having you around, so i did kind of miss you, dude. it’s good to have you back, even if it’s just for the summer.” he said with a nod, now looking at eddie for a couple of moments and then back on the road. “well, you know, i’ve just been… working at the video store still. taking a few classes at the community college… not that much fun, as you can see, but that’s hawkins for you.” he said with a shrug.

+++

a wicked glint in his eyes, eddie grinned. “oh, but harrington - ‘to die by your side, is such a heavenly way to die’ “, he half-sung half-spoke the infamous smiths lyrics, watching steve with his brows raised in anticipation, to see if he’d get the reference. “you know? like the song?”

he rolled down the window, jesus it was hot outside, and put one arm behind his headrest, absent-mindedly drumming his fingers in the tune of the before mentioned smiths song. he shut his eyes for a moment, relishing in the feeling of the soft breeze lightly grazing across his heated face, locks of dark brown, curly hair - all frizzy due to the humidity - flying about. eddie nodded, eyes still closed. “yeah, man. just got back yesterday,” and he scrunched up his nose at steve’s comment. “if anything i forgot how much hawkins smells like cow shit.” though there was some truth to steve’s words - eddie had, actually, missed hawkins. not the place itself, but the people still inhabiting that strange little town.

no way. he opened his eyes.“oh shit, man. i’m sorry.”, eddie said,his delivery a little awkward because...well, he sure as shit hadn’t seen that coming. after all that stuff with vecna, wheeler and harrington both risking their lives for one another without a second thought, well, eddie had thought they were bound to stay together, forever, or something along those lines. he shited in his seat, looked over at steve with a frown. “i didn’t know..” of course he hadn’t, eddie silently cursed himself. awkward social situations, not his forte. “do you wanna, like, uh...talk, or something- ?”, he trailed off, grimaced. “i mean, we don’t have to, i usualyl don’t - i’m not realyl good with - “, more wild gesturing before ddie dropped his hands in his lap with shrug. “yeah. whatever. i just mean that i got an ear to lend, steve. just so you know.”

a wide grin spread on his lips, a twinkle in his eyes, eddie dramatically clutched at his heart. “oh, harrington, you big old softie! how those words warm this cold, cynical heart with affection! i missed ya too.” with a laugh he stretched his arms over the seat again, both hands now behind his headrest. he caught steve’s eye, his thoughts momentarily trailed off because holy hell, why did harrington always have to look this pretty?

“you still working with buckley, i assume?” another person he definitely needed to pay a visit to sooner than later. “oh, community college, huh? you know, academic scholars are like, super hot.”, he said with a teasing grin. “what classes?”

where: the munson trailer, living room

what: date night <3

who: @stevehharringtcns​ + eddie

eddie didn’t know how long they’d been in this exact position, both of them on the couch, eddie’s legs lazily draped over steve’s, the record he’d put on had long since faded into a static crackling noise. it felt unreal, having steve over. like this. with eddie’s arms around steve’s neck, bringing him down every so often for the occasional kiss. it felt unreal, it felt better than every dream eddie had ever had about a similar scenario. better than the little daydreams that helped him go to sleep.

it was the real thing and eddie wondered if the butterflies in his stomach woiuld forever be there. clutching at steve’s shoulders, he pulled him into another kiss, a shorter one this time, hands tangled into the other’s hair. ready to deepen the kiss, eddie suddenly cursed and quickly pulled back, trying to untangle a lock of steve’s hair from one of his rings. “oh, shit, sorry, princess”, he gave him a sheepish smile, shook off a strand of hair that he’d accidentally pulled out. “sorry, my bad. should’ve taken ‘em off.”

dissatisfied with not being as close as humanly possible to steve anymore, he quickly grabbed his hand, intertwining their fingers. gazing up at him in a way that could only be classified as ‘lovingly’. big, stupid grin on his face. eddie let his head loll to the side so it rested against the backrest. as much as he tried to actually get a conversation going - well, it was hard when steve had the audacity to look this pretty.

“you wanna watch a movie, hot shot? i - i don’t have a lot here, can’t promise they’re any good, wayne taped over a lot of them.”

Season 4: Chapter Six — The Dive

dvstybuns·:

Dustin wasn’t even remotely phased by having woken Eddie up. He’d woken him up at weirder times before back when Eddie was in Chicago and Dustin had something he had to tell him right that second. It was a wonder Eddie put up with him still, but Dustin wasn’t one to question when people grew a soft spot for him. “I’m talking about the Upside Down! Probably,” He amended. Dustin didn’t know for sure that that was what was behind all of this, but considering it always was, it was a fair guess. 

“I’m injured, I have to elevate it!” Dustin complained when he was called a heathen. Rolling up the leg of his jeans, Dustin showed off Max’s poor bandaging skills to prove that he wasn’t making it up. But, he did move his feet off the coffee table and onto the couch beside him. “What? Come on…” Dustin whined, not fighting the lack of beer too hard. It was noon, after all. And really, he could steal one from Steve’s fridge if he really wanted one. 

With a deep sigh, Dustin began his retelling of their night in the woods. “Okay, so Joyce, Murray, Max, Will, Mike and I were in Joyce’s car going to check something out at the town border. But then I saw something out the window. It was like… human but not? Some kind of mix with a demogorgon?” He shrugged, still not really knowing what to call the thing. “It hit the car, so we all got out to look for it. Then, we kind of got separated. Someone went missing, or something. Anyway, it came back and hit Joyce’s car again and I fell, fucked up leg and took Max down too. We were lucky to get away.” In truth, some of the details were already becoming fuzzy for Dustin. Maybe a side effect of the adrenaline wearing off, or maybe he’d hit his head or something. He wasn’t entirely sure. 

+++

the upside down. if there were any two words that drew a visceral, gutteral reaction out of him it would be those two. a shiver ran down his spine - or was it up, actually? -, goosebumps on his arms, he nearly choked on his coffee. didn't even need the damn thing anymore, seeing as he was suddenly wide awake. still he held onto it, took a cautious sip, for comfort more than anything else.

dustin's mention of his injury had a similarly effect, sobering him up completely, eddie rubbed the last remnants of sleep Form his eyes, cranked his neck to get a better look at his very poorly bandaged injury. "who the fuck stitched you up? max with her eyes closed?"

still, he listened intently to dustin's storytelling, taking the occasional sip of coffee, his tiredness all but forgotten. replaced by an eerie feeling of dread. because dustin's story, combined with eddie's own experiences at benny's, it became undoubtedly clear - the supernatural had somehow wormed its way back into hawkins. and, presumably, it was out to get them.

"fucking - shit, man.", he hissed, dragged a hand down his face. "are you sure? like, a hundred percent - you're not fucking with me here, henderson, are you?"

where: the harrington residence

what: panik ! ( u ok ? )

who: @stevehharringtcns​ + eddie. 

see, eddie had tried really really hard to just... go home, go to bed, fall asleep after whatever the fuck had happened at benny’s diner. the night it happened had been relatively easy to sleep through, seeing as he was absolutely knackered and bruised from bumping into random objects all night. but the night afterwards... eddie was laying awake, staring holes into his bedroom ceiling. shifting in his bed, trying to find a comfortable position to sleep but well, how could he when he himself was uncomfortable all over, after what they’d seen the day before. he looked to the sight, the digits of his radio alarm clock telling him that it was nearly 12. he should just shut his eyes, think of some nice little scenario and get some fucking sleep.

but he couldn’t. so, with a whine and a groan, eddie got up. got dressed and, without thinking, really, he climbed into his van, turned the keys in the ignition and started driving. without a set destination, really. or so he’d thought - for, about a quarter of an hour later, he found himself in steve harrington’s driveway.

god fucking damn it. why had his brain subconciously lead him here? perhaps it had something to do with the fact that, in every little scenario eddie thought of to help drift off into dreamland, steve was there, occupying some sort of role.

well. he was pretty much always part of the main cast but eddie pushed the thought away, that was something to figure out another day. again, without thinking, eddie hopped out of his van and sprinted towards the front door, furiously ringing the door bell, knocking, pressing his face against the little opal glass plane. praying to god that harrington’s parents were yet again on one of their infamous work trips.

“steve? steve, are you up?” eddie started knocking, pounding rather, on the door, too. “harrington! please!”

dvstybuns·:

Dustin was glad that Eddie was out - he still for the life of him couldn’t figure out what the fuck they were even charging Eddie with. Hopefully they hadn’t, because a court case was the last fucking thing any of them needed now. He was glad that Eddie was a free man currently, and that he’d finally gone home to rest here instead of with Steve. He had to take care of himself right now too, which Dustin knew was easier said than done. After all, he was struggling with that himself - he assumed most of their group was.

When Eddie finally opened the door and pulled him into a hug, Dustin set the pizza down on the end table beside the couch to wrap both arms around him. He needed this - they both did. It was proof that they were both okay, that they’d made it back here in one piece and comfort from the shit they’d experienced. Dustin hugged him tightly, just happy that he was okay, as a few tears slipped out. He wiped them away quickly when Eddie let him go, smiling at the familiar hair ruffle. Dustin had missed this while Eddie had been in Chicago, although part of him wished now that Eddie had stayed, if only because it meant that he would be safe and not at risk of being arrested again. 

“No, I’m okay.” Dustin told him, shaking his head. “Some bruising and scrapes, but nothing major.” There was a lot happening emotionally, but he didn’t need to talk about that shit right now. Not when he was worried about how Eddie was holding up. “What about you, though? Are you okay? Do we need to find you a lawyer or something?” He asked, brow furrowed in concern for his friend. That was a terrifying prospect, but they’d handle it if they had to. 

+++

eddie pulled away from the embrace very reluctantly, tempted to draw dustin right back in again as he spotted the few wayward tears on his cheeks. why did everything about hawkins have to be so complicated? why could this town not grant them more than a year’s peace? they had no control over where they’d been born, so really, the universe was quite cruel for roping them into the curse so undeniably interwoven with hawkins’ very core. “good. ‘m glad. i  - i saw you going in the tent with suzie and - “ he stopped to take a deep breath, shook his head softly. it didn’t matter, no need to dwell on the tragedies that could’ve been. “you gotta be more careful, kid. got it?”

and eddie gave him a stern look that soon faded into another weak attempt at a smile. the mention of lawyers brought the ever present nausea back to the pit of his stomach and, with a sigh, he turned around and plopped down onthe couch, gestured for dustin to follow along. one hand reaching up to rub at his temples, he shrugged. “i don’t know, man, i - all i know is they released me. said i’m still a ‘prime suspect’ or whatever, that was it, that was - that was all they told me. apparently they think that hargrove and i are responsible for the explosion - or, well, they’re pinning it on us, anyway.” another shrug, he let his head fall back against the cushions. “but it’s - don’t worry ‘bout me, henderson. i’ll be fine. always am.”

stevehharringtcns·:

.

steve couldn’t believe his eyes when he spotted that the person in front of his car (and that he had almost ran over with his car) was no other than eddie. he was pretty convinced that he had walked in front of his car on purpose, but then again, he couldn’t really be surprised by that - it was eddie after all. he couldn’t help but to chuckle at the other’s reaction to seeing him. only eddie would react like that, but at least someone was glad to see him. he couldn’t imagine nancy’s reaction when she spotted him, but he didn’t want to think about that right now. “what the hell are you doing, munson? you can’t just jump in front of my car like that, i could have killed you!” he continued his protests, but this time he had a smile on his face, shaking his head slowly as he laughed.

before he knew it, eddie was making his way inside of his car and before he could say anything about it, he was being pulled into a hug by the other, which made him chuckle awkwardly as he patted his back. “alright, alright, munson, don’t get too emotional just by my presence. it’s not like i went anywhere, you’re the one that has been missing from hawkins.” he said, shaking his head slightly as he kept patting the other’s back until he finally was pulled way from the hug.

staring at eddie as he invited himself over to the barbecue, steve thought to himself: it would be better if he showed with someone else, right? it would be less awkward than just showing up on his own and having to deal with the wheeler family all by himself. right? “i don’t think she’ll mind… but it’s not like i can ask her either way, so… the wheeler barbecue it is then.” he said as he started driving again, not thinking twice as he started making his way towards the wheeler house. “what have you been up to, munson? don’t tell me you came back to hawkins, after all this time?” he asked, a smirk showing up in his features as he drove.

+++

he shrugged. “had to get your attention somehow, didn’t i?” wide beaming smile fixed on his lips, eddie settled into the seat with a sigh, lifting his hips to pull the bandana from his back pocket. perhaps the hug had been a bit much, he thought to himself as he patted away a sheen of sweat on his forehead. he gave steve a sheepish smile. “sorry, man, didn’t mean to get all...”, he gestured between them with his hands, then dropped them in his lap. “it’s just you’re, like, the first friendly face i’ve come across here, ‘cept for my uncle, of course. and that means a lot, at least in hawkins, you know.”<7small>

although steve and eddie were... well, friends - bound together by that fucking whacky shit they’d gone through two years ago - eddie’s brow still twitched in anticipation as he awaited steve’s reply. he was still afraid of rejection, even after two years of keeping in contact. platonic rejection, though - yeah, no, eddie was pretty damn sure steve was as straight as they come. he’d put the moves on him during their time fighting vecna, really, come to think of it he’d never flirted as shamelessly with anyone else. dropping hints left, right and center, to no avail. until he’d moved to chicago and, well, had been forced to give up pursuing steve, for his own good.

but whatever. eddie noticed the sudden shift in tone as steve talked about nancy and cocked an eyebrow, buckling th seatbelt as he spoke. “huh? trouble in paradise, harrington? are you and wheeler, like, doing okay, or...?” a sort of open ended question, leaving it to steve to fill him in on the details he wanted to share.

he stretched his arms above his head, slipped his bandana back into his pocket. “oh, i’ve been up to all sorts of things. y’know. wreakig general havoc here and there, same old, in true munson fashion.”, he said and gave him a grin. “god, no, i’m only back for the summer, stevie. why? did you miss me?”

“you been up to anything fun, harrington?”