#seth writes

They argued sometimes. A lot of times. It was harder for Wayne as Eddie got into his teens and started to look and act more and more like his father’s son.

The bad attitude, the disregard for the law, the disrespect of the trailer’s basic house rules like clean the mud off your damn shoes before you come in onto the carpet. All of it made Wayne feel like well, there goes another Munson boy, destined for nothing but a jail cell.

Their biggest argument came two days after Wayne came home early from work and found Eddie and another boy on the couch.

Wayne didn’t get it, you see. He was old school. Live and let live and all that, but this was something he couldn’t understand.

‘Keep that shit out of my house!’ he yelled.

The door was already slammed shut as Eddie ran from yet another fight, leaving Wayne alone with nothing but an elevated heartbeat and the sound of his nephew’s van wheel spinning out of the trailer park.

Eddie came back the next day to shove some of his belongings into a duffle bag.

‘You’ll have your house back soon enough, old man’ Eddie muttered when Wayne poked his head into the room.

Wayne retreated to his recliner and didn’t look away from the tv when Eddie stormed out once more.

There was a rerun of the Twilight Zone on. ‘Dead Run’ was the episode name.

The character was in hell to deliver souls. Wayne watched with a clenched jaw as one was sent there for being gay.

He turned the station to the news and watched a report on some guy called Fauci who reckoned a million Americans had a virus that would kill them. Activists begged for treatment.

The report rolled on and Wayne rubbed a hand over his face. He’d talk to Eddie when he came back. Sit down and try to understand it all. Eddie had no where else to go, and that guitar of his was still on the wall. He’d never leave for good without it. Wayne knew he’d be back.

It was another day before Chrissy Cunningham died and Eddie was on the run.

People said all sorts of things but Wayne knew not one of them was true. Eddie damn near fainted at the sight of a cat with a broken leg wandering nearby, he’d never have the stomach to kill her.

And as for the people saying he assaulted her? Wayne bit his tongue and told anyone who’d listen to keep their mouths shut. They didn’t know his boy like he did. They were wrong about him. As soon as Eddie was found, it’d all be smoothed out and the truth would come to the front.

The ‘earthquake’ hit soon after, and Wayne was left with nothing of his nephew but a guitar pick on a necklace. Wayne had been the one to show Eddie how to put a hole in it to string the chain through. Eddie was only 12 at the time, barely big enough to hold on of Wayne’s old guitars.

A knock at the door a few weeks later shook Wayne out of a stupor. Soaked in whiskey and pickled in cigarette smoke, he struggled to focus on Jim Hopper, standing tall at the door of the government issued highway-side motel room.

‘Thought you were dead’ Wayne said.

‘Yeah me too, come on’

Hopper helped Wayne into some shoes and out to a car. A few cups of the blackest coffee they could find later and Wayne was sober enough to understand what was being said to him.

‘He’s dead, Jim. I don’t know what kind of game this is but-‘

‘So was I, remember?’

Wayne was brought out to the lab on the edge of town and made to swear up and down that he’d never breath a word of what he saw in there to anyone.

‘Nice of y’all to think I got friends’ Wayne said gruffly, earning a smirk from Hopper.

A doctor named Owens led them down a hall.

Locked door after locked door finally opened up into a dim hospital room.

‘Eddie?’

Wayne couldn’t move. He couldn’t breath. He couldn’t-

‘Jesus christ. Is- Is it you?’

Wayne blinked hard and fast expecting to wake up any moment.

And then…

‘It’s me’

Wayne walked forward on shaky legs.

Eddie was talking to him. Promising he never killed anyone and apologising for not coming back after their fight. He even apologised for what Wayne saw that day.

Wayne just stared at him with wide eyes and an open mouth.

‘Wayne?’ Eddie asked with a crack in his voice. ‘Say something, please’

‘You’re alive’ was all Wayne could say before he flung himself forward and gathered his nephew up in a tight hug.

He cried into the side of Eddie’s head, petting his hair and thanking god for bringing him back to him.

Wayne pulled back to look at Eddie’s own tear stained face.

‘I never believed what they said about you, I never did, you’re a good kid, I told ‘em all, I said my boy would never do all that’

‘I’m sorry Wayne, I swear’

‘You ain’t got nothing to apologise for, you hear me? Not a damn thing’

They embraced again for a long time. Eddie knew what Wayne was saying and he was grateful that his uncle was here with him.

It was another couple of months before Eddie was able to leave the hospital. Wayne had been given a new trailer by the government as a way to buy his silence on everything

Wayne would never have blabbed anyway, but a second bedroom was nothing to turn your nose up at.

While everyone fussed around getting Eddie ready to be discharged, Wayne watched the strange little group that gathered around his nephew closely. They all seemed nice, very close knit. Some more-so.

The Harrington boy, Harrington man now, god he was a lot taller than his daddy ever was wasn’t he, was always within touching distance of Eddie. He was always there when Wayne was brought in to visit, never so far away that he couldn’t reach out to steady him if he wobbled on his feet.

It was obvious, really.

They were hiding it from everyone else, that much was obvious too, except for that red headed girl. They tried to never look at each other too long but whenever it was just Wayne with them they seemed to forget he had eyes too.

He’d stare at the paper long after finishing a crossword to give them some extra time to hold hands over top of Eddie’s bedsheets when they thought he wasn’t paying attention, and acted dumb when Steve didn’t hesitate on helping Eddie get dressed on his last day before leaving the lab’s medical wing

Steve drove behind them on the way back to Forest Hills. There was some equipment Eddie needed to help the last stages of his recovery and he’d jumped at the excuse to volunteer to go back to the trailer with them.

Wayne eyed him in the rearview mirror while they idled at a red light.

‘So, it’s Harrington?’

Wayne could see the way Eddie’s posture stiffened in the corner of his eye.

‘He’s leaving as soon as he drops my stuff off’ Eddie said quickly and quietly. ‘And he won’t ever be around. I’ll stay with him a couple of times a week and-‘

‘He’s welcome in our home whenever you want him there’ Wayne said smoothly, taking off again when the light turned green.

‘What?’

‘Whenever you want, you hear?’

‘But you said-‘

‘I’m a jackass’ Wayne said sharply. ‘Shouldn’t have taken you damn near dying for me to not give a damn about anything’

Eddie didn’t speak. Wayne heard him sniffle lightly.

‘You called me your boy’ Eddie whispered. ‘When you first saw me’

‘You are my boy. You are my boy and nothings gonna change it. I’ve spent months fighting anyone who says anything sour about you and I’ll spend the rest of my life doing it too’

‘And I’ll spend as long as I need to making sure you and your boy back there don’t get no hassle from any small town or big city bastard who wants to say anything against you, you hear?’

Eddie sniffled again. ‘I hear’

The trailer park was gripped by winter when Eddie approached Wayne shyly one night. He and Steve had kept low key until now, trying to not be around too long whenever Wayne was home and leaving no trace behind of Steve’s visits.

‘Spit it out’ Wayne said as Eddie shuffled around uncomfortably.

‘Steve’s dad, he, um…’

‘He what?’

‘He kicked Steve out. He caught us and um…’

Wayne felt rage boil through him. ‘He hurt you?’ Eddie shook his head. ‘He hurt Steve?’ Eddie looked at his feet.

‘Where is he? Come on’

Wayne grabbed his keys and dragged Eddie out to the truck.

Wayne knew where the Harringtons lived, everyone did, and got to their driveway in record time.

‘They’re home’ Eddie muttered, seeing Steve’s dads car.

Wayne opened his door and pulled a shotgun out from under his seat.

‘Wayne, jesus’ Eddie said with wide eyes.

‘You go get him and his stuff, I’ll keep his folks talking’

Wayne didn’t knock on the door, pushing it open and announcing that they wouldn’t be long, they were just collecting something belonging to them before leaving quietly.

Eddie scrambled upstairs towards Steve’s room.

Sylvia and Richard screamed about breaking the law and how they would call the cops on him for having a weapon in their home

Wayne cocked the gun. ‘Go ‘head, ain’t registered, cops’ll never find it’

Wayne didn’t mention Jim Hopper himself helping to file the inside of the barrel the week before.

They’d become good buddies, drinking and smoking and laughing about ‘to hell with the army what do they know anyway’ at least once a week.

Wayne liked the company of it all and he particularly enjoyed having his old misdemeanours mysteriously scrubbed from the Hawkins PD’s filing cabinets.

Eddie came back down the stairs clutching a bag of Steve’s belongings under one arm and Steve himself under the other. Steve had a black eye and a pale complexion. Wayne felt that rage build up again. He swung his gun up over his shoulder and nodded towards the door. Eddie and Steve went quickly.

‘Don’t y’all come lookin’ for him, now’ Wayne warned before following them out to the truck.

Steve took four or five days to stop moving like a twitching cat. Every noise outside had him jumping to the window to make sure neither of his parents had tried to come get him.

‘Calm down’ Wayne told him one night when Eddie had gone to the store to pick up dinner and some beers.

‘Sorry’ Steve said. ‘I’ll be out of your hair as soon as I save the money for my own place’

Wayne sighed. ‘You and Ed, same as each other, never feeling welcome here. You even unpacked yet?’

Steve shook his head lightly.

Wayne sighed again. ‘This is just as much your place as Eddie’s, and its his just as much as it’s mine, for as long as you want’

‘Thats… Thank you, Mr Munson’

‘Told you to call me Wayne. Go take your stuff out of that damn backpack in there’

Steve smiled and ambled back to the room he and Eddie had been sharing to do just that.

Eddie arrived home soon after, and when Steve came to greet him there was a small baseball figurine in his hand. Wayne saw his chance.

‘Got some room right there, if you want’

He gestured to a spot on top of the tv, between a mug filled with fishing lures and a carriage clock.

Steve smiled again and held the figurine tightly in two hands as he gingerly made his way towards the tv, placing it as gently as he could in the place Wayne had pointed out.

‘Fits great’ Steve muttered.

‘Course it does, now lets eat’ Wayne said, moving on quickly before anyone could dwell on the moment too long.

Later that night, Steve snoozed on the couch while Eddie floated around the trailer in the background of whatever gameshow Wayne was half paying attention to.

What had his full attention, was all the small trinkets that were appearing in each of the nooks and crannies around the place.

After one was put down and adjusted just so, Eddie would look quickly over his shoulder to check if Wayne was reacting to it.

When it was ignored, Eddie would rush back to his room before reappearing with something else, and doing it all over again.

It took maybe two to three hours before Eddie had fully decorated the trailer with various things that Wayne couldn’t name but knew had the hallmark of his nephew’s taste.

Eddie sat gently next to Steve, who was still snoring lightly, and was clearly trying his best to ‘look natural’. He was sitting straight up, tapping his fingers on his knees, eyes darting between the things he’d put up.

Steve shuffled in his sleep and curled towards Eddie.

Wayne looked over to the boys, his boys, and wondered how he could ever have thought it was wrong.

He was a fool, and he wasn’t afraid to admit it.

From the way Steve had cared for Eddie in the hospital to the way Eddie was watching Steve now to make sure he wasn’t having a nightmare, Wayne knew there was nothing more pure and more right than the love they shared.

‘Looks great Ed’ Wayne said, watching the tv instead of Eddie. ‘Feels more like home’

Eddie relaxed into his seat. ‘Yeah, its home’

Wayne smiled into the top of his beer can, allowing himself a long breath of relief.

Finally.

Everyone came together more than ever before. People called and checked on each other, they made efforts for family video calls, had socially distanced parties in front yards and on balconies. Obviously he would never complain about the covid numbers going down, but still.

Steve liked how… tightly knitted everyone felt.

Everyone went right back to being rude to each other when things got back to normal. Worse, in fact. He thought he’d like being able to go to the movies again but it turned out people forgot how to act in public spaces.

Once or twice since the world started turning again, Steve went on dating apps and tried to explain to people that he wanted someone who understood that sort of bond.

He didn’t need hours of conversation or noise. What he discovered was that he wanted someone to be with.

Steve wanted someone he could sit across the room from while they read a book and he watched his favourite quiz show. He wanted to turn his head once in a while and say ‘you good?’ and for them to smile and nod and check back in an hour.

That’s what he’d learned in lockdown.

It was connection he craved, not company. He didn’t want to sit in a bar with fifteen people who he sort of knew and listen to them talk about things he didn’t know or care about.

He wanted one person who he truly enjoyed being with and the lack of pressure that came from it.

Finding something like that felt like too much of a risk these days for Steve. People would say ‘oh yeah totally I’m so on the same page’ and then by morning decide that him needing to putter around his place in silence was some sort of personality failure.

It was easier to stop trying to find it than it was to deal with the shame of being vulnerable and being mocked for it.

Steve found that being alone without anyone checking in was much the same as being with someone who never did, and he found he was truly fine with that.

Steve brought Charcoal to the park to play fetch and got lost in thought about all of this on a windy Saturday.

So lost, in fact, that he didn’t realise that the frisbee was sailing further than his last throw intended, and straight into the side of some poor man’s head.

Charcoal got there before he did, jumping around the man, who hadn’t quite fallen but decided knelling down was a safer option while he figured out if there were any more airborne missiles coming his way, expecting him to throw the toy for her.

“I am so sorry!” Steve huffed.

The man was laughing and petting Charcoal. Thank god, Steve thought.

“No problem,” he said. “My fault anyway, I wasn’t paying attention,”

“Neither was I,” Steve reasoned, helping him stand. “I’m Steve, by the way, I can bring you to the doctor if you want?”

The man smiled.

“Eddie,” he said, throwing the frisbee. “And she is?”

“Charcoal. She’s great in the car so we can go straight to the ER,”

“Nah” said Eddie, knocking a knuckle on his temple. “I’m tough enough, but thanks,”

Steve wrung his hands lightly. Eddie was watching Charcoal run back.

Steve however, was watching Eddie. The dimples that popped when he smiled, the five o clock shadow, the curly hair that was probably in a much neater ponytail until he got thunked on the head with a piece of hard plastic.

“Great name,” Eddie chuckled, as if he just got the joke.

Steve couldn’t quite look away from Eddie, and not just out of fear he’d keel over.

“We don’t usually see people out here on bad days,” Steve said, finding himself wanting to continue a conversation for the first time in years.

“Oh, yeah, well,” shrugged Eddie. “I like being by myself, don’t get to do that on sunny days,”

Steve hummed. He avoided the park on good days for that exact reason. Too many people who thought they were the only ones who deserved to be there.

“Me too,” he said. The dog returned and sat panting at his feet.

“Mind if I stay though?” Eddie asked, petting Charcoal on her muzzle and getting his hand thoroughly licked. “I’m listening to an audiobook and,” he cut himself off, laughing. “Sorry, never mind,”

“And what?” Steve asked, who was already about to say yes anyway.

“I dunno, thought it might be nice to watch you guys play while I listen,” Eddie explained. “Sounds weird to say it out loud. I’ll leave you to your game,”

“That’s not weird,” Steve said quickly. “That’s…. That sounds great actually. She might want you to throw it too though”

Eddie smiled again. “As long as I don’t need to pause my book that’s fine by me. You’re sure thats ok though? Most people find it strange to just want to hang around without doing anything,”

Steve felt his own grin grow sheepish.

“That’s perfect for me, don’t worry,”

Eddie took a seat on a nearby bench and hit play on his book while Steve threw the frisbee with renewed vigour. Sure enough Eddie was drafted for a handful of rounds too, never saying no when Charcoal bounded up to him.

Too soon, the wind started to carry drops of rain with it.

“Thanks for that,” Eddie said, approaching Steve to say goodbye. “That was actually better than I thought it’d be,”

“Don’t mention it,” he replied, silently thinking of ways to make it stop raining.

“I better go, there’s a tv show I like starting soon,” said Eddie. “I don’t like to miss the start,”

“What show is it?” Steve asked, still not wanting to leave.

“Oh, just, some…” Eddie cleared his throat. “Some British quiz show. Its pretty dumb, actually, I just like to watch it to relax. I never get any answers, it’s crazy hard,”

Something pinged in Steve’s brain.

“Do you mean Only Connect?”

“You know it?” Eddie’s eye lit up. It was fully raining now.

“I… I love it,” Steve said. And you know what? He decided that Eddie felt like someone who taking a risk with might just pay off this time.

“My cars right down the track, and we’re getting soaked so,” Steve gave a nervous laugh. “Maybe you can come watch it at my place? I’ll put your stuff in the drier,”

A slight crease appeared between Eddie’s brows and for a split second Steve realised how that might have sounded.

“You’re not making fun of me are you?” asked Eddie. “Its just a tv show, you can’t-“

“No!” Steve cut him off. “No, I swear. I really do love it. I tried to recreate it for trivia nights back in lockdown all the time,”

Eddie laughed again suddenly.

“Oh man,” he said. “I remember those days. It’s a shame everyone gave up on game nights,”

“Yeah,” Steve said with a soft smile. “It really is,”

Eddie looked up and blinked at the raindrops landing on his face. Charcoal shook herself eagerly, happy to sit wherever Steve stood.

Eddie scratched her head. “I mean, if you don’t mind, then… yeah, that sounds good,”

“Yeah?” Steve’s heart lifted. “Yeah, great, lets, lets go my cars down this way,”

All three of them ran towards the car, the rain getting even heavier.

Steve and Eddie laughed breathlessly at each other while they brushed wet hair from their faces. Charcoal settled happily in the back, content with chewing on the frisbee.

“Let’s go,” Steve said quietly, turning the car on.

Eddie just hummed cheerfully and looked out the window.

The ride back to Steve’s place was mostly silent, but he felt no obligation to fill it.

Eddie bopped his head along with the radio and occasionally pointed out something he saw on a billboard, but other that they didn’t speak. Charcoal snored lightly behind them.

When they pulled up outside Steve’s place, he grabbed the dog leash and prepared himself to wrestle a tired, heavy dog back inside through a rainstorm.

Eddie tapped him on the elbow and raised his eyebrows at the leash, holding out his hand to take it.

Steve wordlessly handed it over, accepting the quiet offer of help. Eddie looked back to assess the dog’s sleeping position before unbuckling his seatbelt. Before he opened the car door, he caught Steve’s eye again.

“You good?” Eddie asked.

Steve smiled, and nodded.

It was over an hour before they spoke to each other again.

Clothes had been put in the drier, spare pyjama pants and a hoodie had been exchanged, coffee had even been poured.

All without a word, all with being aware of the others’ presence and how they moved.

“You good?” Steve was the one to ask it this time. The sun had long set, the drier had long finished.

“I’m great,” Eddie said quietly.

“You can stay,” Steve said before he knew it. “If you want?”

Eddie smiled. “You sure?”