'Strange Love' Eddie Munson x Fem Reader

Chapter 36

Eddie spins you around in his arms before placing you down again, biting his bottom lip as he smiles.
"What'd you guys get up to, hm?" He asks as he peers behind you where Dustin stood all smiley.
"Shields!" Dustin exclaims, "The nails are a bit crooked but they're in there pretty sturdy."
Eddie picks up the shield you've been working on, being the more preferable choice of shield between the two. After all, Dustins was pretty roughed up after having struggled with the hammer, sometimes he'd even completely miss the nail and it left dents in the surface and nails overly crooked. All while yours, was pristine.

You got pretty good at weapon making after all these years. Those nails on Steve's baseball bat? Yeah, that was all you, baby.

Eddie squints at Dustin.
"Uhhh, Henderson? You sure that's not gonna fall apart mid battle?" Eddie asks, "If you're gonna be fighting alongside me, you better make sure shit sticks cause I don't want to have to carry your ass."
"Oh, you mean this beauty?" Dustin picks up his shield now, thrusting it towards the sky and almost perfectly on cue, fell a loose nail or two.
You and Eddie each raise an eyebrow at the boy, causing him to rock back and forth on his heels.
"...I'll- uh, I'll just hop back to it then!" Dustin mutters before awkwardly taking his leave back to the make-do work table.

You laugh at Dustins walk of shame, and Eddie smiles too. Not so much because of Dustin but rather at the chime of your laugh.
It carried him away from these dark times; making him forget the bad that resided below his very feet and only reminded him of the warm summer nights that he missed so much, spending them laughing his troubles away at Hellfire Club.
Since then, barely anything made him smile like you did.

"So, you think they'll do the trick?"
"Hm?"
"The shields, Eddie." You smile sweetly.
"Oh-ho~ yeah." He nods, "Absolutely."
Eddie flips the shield between his hands, energetically prancing around the long grass as he flexed his nerdy moves on you, but it warmed your heart to see such a soft side of him.
"Do a little of this! And a little of that! And boom! Bat kabob." He says, "Thanks, babe."

Your heart glows.

"Sorry," He laughs shyly, "That was a bit sudden, wasn't it?"
"No! No- not at all..."
Eddie begins to nervously tap the shield against his leg as he curtains the bottom half of his face with his hair. Too shy now to meet your eyes, he stares down at your sneakers where he notices you nervously tapping the rubber tip of your converses into the dirt, kicking up the gravel. In it, he finds a chance to redeem the moment, clearing his throat and placing the shield down.
"...How's your ankle holding up?" He asks as he kneels down in front of you.
"Heh...actually, i forgot all about it."
"You don't think you're...in shock? Do you?"
"It's not that bad, Eddie." You tease but you wince immediately after as you feel Eddie try to check the wound.
"Sorry." He says, softly.

"Woah! You guys are moving fast!"
Looking up, you see Dustin standing beside you with a cheeky grin on his face.
"Grow up, Henderson." Eddie says with a shake of his head.
"Steve wants to know if you guys are ready." Dustin says as he points over his shoulder.
Eddie only sighs as he looks up at Dustin from his kneeling position, now crouching over his knees like a sort of goblin. His eyes look disheartened, like his dark eyes were now somehow darker.
"You fix your shield?" Is all he manages to say.
"Yes, Eddie, I did indeed fix my shield." Dustin sighs, "Now, are you ready to rock and roll?! Eh?!"
Expecting Eddie to jump up and magically match his level of psyched, Dustin keeps his pearly smile up while Eddie only looks down, spiritless.
You crouch down in front of him when he finally locks eyes with you.
"You okay?" You ask, some of the first words that Eddie ever said to you, now he only dreads them becoming some of the last.
"Let's go, people!"
In an attempt to bring himself back to his senses, Eddie roughly rubs his hands up and down his face before taking a stand.
"Alright, let's get this show on the road." He says and Dustin cheers.
Draping an arm around you, Eddie walks off towards the van as Steve and Robin stand outside it, waiting on you. Dustin follows closely behind, lugging the weapons on his own as he sulks to himself.
"Thanks for the help! Sheesh..."

Your peace and togetherness was coming to an end as the van proceeds as planned and heads towards the abandoned house.

The drive was a quiet one.
You couldn't tell what was going through the minds if your friends. You couldn't even tell if their minds were racing with a million possibilities or if they were simply empty. Likely, they were all going over the plan in the heads or trying to come to terms with whatever was to come next if the worse was to happen.

"Alright, stick to the plan, capiche?" Steve asks as he faces you, in particular.
You didn't even realise but you were there already. An ominous, old house awaited just outside the van.
"Nobody move onto the next phase of the plan unless everybody checks in, you understand? Even if things go south, you stick to the plan."
As if you weren't already petrified, seeing Max's expression, just as bad as yours, made you feel hopeless. At least she would have Lucas.
"Does she really have to do this? Like, come on..." Eddie pleads, sadly. His voice starting to break as you begin to make your way past him.
"If we want a real shot at defeating Vecna, yeah." Robin responds, pitifully observing Eddies hands violently tighten into fists as you leave him. He stands up, catching your hand in his, last minute.
"Eddie-"
"Just! Just- be careful...here." Eddie pulls the chain off of his neck, placing it around yours. "A reminder to be strong, so that one day...it'll find me again."
"Eddie."
"Yeah?"
"Why does this sound like a goodbye?"
You look direly into his eyes, the light of the streetlights just outside made them glisten, as tears also become known. You cup his face, and he instantly leans his forehead against yours with a sniffle.
"This isn't goodbye, silly." You laugh, weakly.
"Yeah, I know." He says, "Sorry."

"Ahem."
You glance over at Steve as he gestures towards the broken house, "They're waiting for you, inside."
"Dude, seriously?" Robin hisses as she nudges him in the side.