#fae!eddie

They crunched through the crust of snow together, hand in hand. A handsome young couple, well-matched: the man was tall and broad, with a pleasing face despite the harsh clench of his jaw, and the woman had warm hazel eyes that glowed nearly golden in the late afternoon light. They stopped short at the sight of him, and the woman gasped out loud.

"So many gifts; you must have a request in mind. What would you ask of me, mortals?"

The man stepped forward boldly, meeting his eyes without hesitation. "I want riches and success to rival my father."

Money and power. Yawn.

"And what do you offer me in return?"

"My firstborn child," the man said, unflinching.

That was more interesting. There were plenty stories of Fae dealing for human children, but in reality, he’d never been offered such a price – not in all his long years. He looked to the woman, who only lowered her eyes and nodded.

He had been alone for a long time, wandering as a raven or a wolf, watching the changing world from its outskirts. It was perhaps a reckless deal to agree to - but he was a reckless creature. "I accept. On the last day of the child's 18th year, it will become mine."

Bargain made; he could have disappeared until the appointed time. But the notion struck him that it might be interesting to stay close, in a form that would let him interact as well as observe.

He didn't have to go far to find what he needed - another mortal, a woman longing for a child that her body couldn't give. Evelyn Munson was overjoyed by her little foundling baby – so happy she didn’t bother to ask too many questions.

He expected the human to feed him and shelter him. He didn’t expect her to have a passion for music that rivalled his own, or for her to name him Eddie, after her favorite song - which she sang to him every night while combing her fingers through his wild, dark curls. He didn’t expect her stories or games or her gentle hands guiding his small fingers over the strings of a guitar.

Most of all, he never could have expected the way she loved him – fierce and gentle at the same time, enduring in a way that was unfamiliar. The emotions of the Fae were flicker-quick, flashing like lightning – here and gone. Evelyn taught him a softer kind of love, enduring and constant as the stars.

If she ever guessed that her odd, eccentric child wasn't human, it never changed her feelings for him. When she died ten years later, he was devastated. He might have abandoned the mortal realm in his grief, if not for Wayne - who took him in and loved him just as well as Evelyn had.

And Steve, of course. Firstborn son of Richard and Margaret Harrington, the couple he'd bargained with in 1965. The boy was difficult to keep track of for the first few years - they lived very different lives, separated by more than just the distance of a town between them. Eddie hadn’t anticipated that when he embarked on his plan.

When he found Steve again, in the halls of Hawkins Middle School, Eddie was captivated. Steve was beautiful, with the best qualities of both parents: the promise of his father's broad shoulders and square jaw, his mother's warm hazel eyes. And he had a mischievous smile that was all his own. Unfortunately, he was in the grade below Eddie's, and there wasn't much opportunity to become friends.

It was worse in high school. Steve quickly climbed the ranks of popularity (unsurprising, since he'd inherited a portion of the charm given to his father as part of the bargain with Eddie). The handsome boy was surrounded by sycophants and flatterers, befriended by bullies.  Eddie was bitterly disappointed to see Steve's indifference to the cruel antics of his so-called 'friends'. He started to worry he'd made a mistake. Richard Harrington was a hard man, callous and cruel - was it really any wonder his son was turning out the same way?

Then Steve fell in love with Nancy Wheeler, and things started to change. The obnoxious friends disappeared, and Steve seemed to be making a real effort to be kinder. Even his smile was different – brighter and sweeter, unfettered.

Eddie wasn't jealous (he was a little jealous). Steve could dabble with human girls all he liked, but it was Eddie's name - his true name - that was stamped on the boy's heart like a brand.

*******

When Eddie failed senior year, he wasn’t concerned. Repeating a year of high school meant staying close to Steve; with the added benefit of being able to stay in Hellfire Club, where he could keep playing Dungeons & Dragons (one of his favorite discoveries in the mortal world, second only to heavy metal music).

Three months after the start of Eddie's second senior year (two months after Steve's 18th birthday), Nancy and Steve broke up. A week after that, Steve and Eddie finally spoke to one another for the first time, at a house party thrown by Vicki Carmichael.

Eddie was surprised when he spotted Steve at the party, considering Vicki was friends with Carol and Tommy H. He was even more surprised when he got a clear view of Steve’s face – battered and mottled with bruises and cuts. Concerned, Eddie trailed after him as he snagged a solo cup full of spiked punch and slipped out the back door.

The rear patio was deserted, despite the cheerful strings of fairy lights illuminating the space. The night was young – none of the other partygoers were drunk enough yet to brave the chill November night air.

Eddie settled silently near Steve, sitting on the concrete retaining wall and ignoring the immediate cold seeping through the worn denim of his jeans. He flipped open his black lunchbox and pulled out a joint, nudging Steve’s arm before holding it out.

Steve shook his head. “I don’t have any cash on me.”

“On the house,” Eddie said. “Consider it medicinal. Your face is, uh… pretty messed up.”

Steve snorted with laughter and then winced, pressing his fingers to his temple. “Yeah, no kidding.” He accepted the joint and tucked it behind his ear, and then took a long sip from his drink.

“What happened?” Eddie asked.

Tell me who did this to you, his heart screamed. Tell me who I have to kill. I will turn them into stone, into sand, into a vapor so fine it won’t even settle into dust. Steve was his, and he hated seeing him hurt.

Steve just sighed. “It’s a long story.”

“Well I’ve got all night Harrington.”

Steve gave him the bare bones of a story which felt mostly true, except for all the empty spaces. Eddie wondered at those gaps – what was Steve hiding? The actual name of his attacker for one, although Eddie could guess who it was well enough. (Going forward, Billy Hargrove wouldn’t be able to get within 10 feet of Steve without experiencing a sense of debilitating nausea.)

After that, they started meeting on a somewhat regular basis. Hanging together on the fringes of parties, late night encounters at the quarry - Steve even came to the trailer a few times. Always with the excuse of smoking together, but the real goal was conversation and the easy companionship slowly growing between them. The more Eddie learned about Steve, the more he wanted to know. He was fascinating - like a puddle that appeared shallow until you stepped in and sank to your neck.

On one such night, sitting bundled in the back of Eddie's van, Steve told him about the implosion of his relationship with Nancy.

"She said it was all bullshit. I thought we were really in love, ya know? I was really in love."

Eddie did know. He could feel it - Steve's honesty. Just like he could sense the discordance of a lie when he used to pass the two of them in the hallway at school. It wasn't Nancy lying to Steve, not on purpose. It was Nancy lying to herself.

Steve talked about his relationship with his parents too. "They're so distant sometimes. Or uh, all the time, I guess. They're hardly ever home anymore."

Eddie felt a pang of remorse. He had nothing to do with the failure of Steve's relationship with Nancy (tempted though he may have been), but this hurt was one Eddie had some part in.  

He'd made the bargain on a whim, a passing fancy. The Harrington's were an attractive couple, so it stood to reason their child would also be attractive. And he enjoyed the company of lovely mortals. The Fae were creatures of desire - hungry and passionate, often self-absorbed, distant from the concerns of mortals.

He hadn't thought beyond his desire for a companion. Never considered the child, or how his parents would treat him. Why grow attached to a baby with an expiration date? A son they had already given away; traded in exchange for wealth and fortune.

Maybe it didn’t matter. The sort of humans that would barter a child probably weren’t capable of real love. Not the kind of love he’d learned from Evelyn and Wayne.

His feelings for Steve were becoming all tangled up. There was desire, and a territorial sense of possessiveness, but there was also a growing sense of fondness and affection – and maybe something deeper. A feeling he had no concept of before he took a human form, and a human name.

*******

The school year ended. Steve graduated; Eddie did not. It stung a little the second time around - even though Eddie knew school had been the very last thing on his mind all year. Steve's father made a fuss about his son’s failure to get into college, even though Eddie knew the man didn't actually care. As a result, Steve ended up getting a job at the new mall (and Eddie developed a sudden, frequent craving for ice cream).

He wasn’t expecting anything out of the ordinary to happen that summer; or he never would have driven two days out of state to see Accept play at the Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Colorado. He was on his way home, still five hours out from Hawkins, when he sensed it. A darkness – something inhuman and strange, from a dimension outside both the mortal realm and the Otherworld of the Fae. It filled him with dread.

He could see the red glow of flames against the night clouds as soon as he reached Hawkins town limits, the acrid scent of smoke seeping in through the vents of his van. When he realized it was coming from Starcourt, he broke every speed limit, screeching into the parking lot to a scene of chaos – emergency vehicles and flashing lights everywhere, the fire department making a valiant attempt to contain the flames consuming the mall.

When Eddie was first adjusting to life as a human, he’d gone exploring in the woods behind the trailer park, enjoying the novelty of his new form. When Evelyn found him hours later, she was frantic, crying and cursing even as she squeezed him tight enough to bruise. He never understood the conflicting emotions – not until he finally laid eyes on Steve, sitting alone by the Beemer. The other boy looked beat to hell, squinting his one good eye as he looked up. When he recognized Eddie, his lips curled into a heart stopping smile. Eddie wanted to cry and curse like Evelyn had. He wanted to wrap the other boy in his arms and shield him from harm.

For the first time, Eddie found himself dreading the final day of Steve’s 18th year. He didn’t want a magical thrall anymore, devoid of free will or personality. He wanted Steve – wanted to love him the way humans loved.

The feeling got even worse with the start of his third senior year, when he finally got to meet some of the kids Steve was always talking about. He was adorable with them, like an overgrown puppy imprinted on by a bunch of ducklings, doing his best even when they bewildered him. He loved them selflessly, the way Evelyn once loved a baby she’d found in the woods.

When the appointed day arrived, Eddie ignored it. He went to school as usual, dutifully attending all his classes, and then Hellfire in the evening. It only required a minor nudge of magic to ensure the weather would be nice, so that the kids would ride their bikes home rather than get a ride from Steve.

He was clearing up after the game, snuffing all the candles out when the sound of a throat clearing startled him into turning around. Steve was standing, half hidden in shadow, watching him with hooded eyes.

"Jesus H. Christ, what are trying to do Harrington - give me a heart attack?" Eddie said.

Steve shrugged and moved closer, leaning against the game table. There were strange undercurrents of emotion moving around him, a crackling feeling of tension, like a storm looming over the horizon. "It's my birthday tomorrow."

Eddie's throat went dry. "If you're fishing for information on a surprise party, you're barking up the wrong tree. Henderson hasn't told me anything." He busied himself with clearing away his figures and notes, stuffing everything into his backpack without his usual meticulous care.

"My mom called."

That prompted Eddie to stop and look up. He was immediately pinned by Steve's intent gaze.

"She told me something... crazy. Apparently, my family is rich because my dad made a deal with one of the Fae?"

Eddie choked out a thin laugh. "Sounds like a fairy tale."

"Yeah, I thought so too. But she was serious about it. She told me the whole story, about how they left all kinds of gifts to summon the Fae. And one of those gifts was a ring that belonged to my grandmother."

Eddie couldn't stop himself from flinching and glancing down at his hand. At the silver ring set with onyx, which he'd held onto for twenty years.

Steve let out a long, shaky breath. "It's true, isn't it? You're the Fae."

Eddie can't lie. Not when confronted directly. "Yes."

“So how does this work? What… what happens now?”

Eddie shook his head, hands clutched into fists. “Nothing. I changed my mind.” He wasn’t expecting the hurt that flickered in those hazel eyes.

“Why?” Steve whispered.

“Because… I’m not the person I was before. And I care about you too much to trap you like that.” He pulled the silver and onyx ring off his finger and held it out. “You should have this back.”

Steve took the ring, turning it over in his fingers thoughtfully before tucking it into his pocket. Eddie thought he would go home then, but he didn’t. He stayed and helped Eddie finish cleaning up, and then followed him back to the trailer. They shared a joint, passing it back and forth while Eddie kept a subtle eye on his watch.

At the stroke of midnight, he let out a sigh as he felt the contract dissolve. “You’re free,” he said softly.

Steve leaned over Eddie in order to snuff the remains of the joint in the ash tray on the side table. When it was done, he didn’t go back to his own side of the sofa – he swung a leg over Eddie’s hips and settled in his lap while Eddie stared up at him, wide-eyed. Steve took hold of his left hand and kissed the back of it softly, before pulling the silver and onyx ring from his pocket. He slipped it back onto Eddie’s finger, right over the tan line.

“I want to make a bargain,” Steve said, holding his gaze steady.

“What would you ask of me?” Eddie whispered.

Steve ran his thumb over Eddie’s hand, still gripped between his own. “What would be the cost, to make you mine?”

Eddie drew in a sharp breath. He tilted his head back and closed his eyes, considering. It was a reckless bargain – but it seemed he was still a reckless creature.

“Love me. Love me and I will belong to you forever.”

Steve smiled slow and sweet, like wildflower honey. “Well that’s easy.”