Be My Escape

Epilogue

(Thank you for coming along for the Mungrove brainrot journey with me! The kind comments mean the world to me.)

Weeks turned to months, months turned to a year passing. Eddie was still performing every Thursday night, crowds of people flock to catch his performance alone. The song he wrote for Billy was a staple in the set, as per the crowd's request. People had figured out it was about Billy, and Eddie stopped hiding it, saying each time, "This song is for the beautiful bartender back there, Billy. Sweetheart, I love you." Turns out, the customers didn't care; they actually loved seeing the two's relationship blossoming. They encouraged it. Their tips didn't falter, either, if anything, they increased. They were still in their apartment, still working at the bar, still in love. Wayne comes to visit every few months, but calls regularly, twice a week.

Billy hears from Max every other night, her sleep schedule slowly getting back on track. She's doing better, the casts coming off, her mental health was like night and day. She laughs more, she jokes around more. Every so often, she has Dustin and Lucas over so they can talk to Eddie. Dustin said that everyone thinks he died, due to Dustin putting on the best performance of his life a few days after they left, running around and screaming, saying he saw Eddie fall into one of the fissures. Nobody was looking for him anymore, and it made Eddie feel relief, the last shred of uncertainty gone. He was one hundred percent safe from Hawkins.

One night, a year into their relationship, Eddie was in the middle of his set, this one was especially special because both Max and Wayne visited them, Max figuring out where Billy and Eddie were a long time ago, convincing her mom to take a trip to 'see her friend who moved away there'. They were sitting at the bar, Wayne nodding his head, and Max dancing in front of her chair, making Billy laugh. It came the time that Eddie was about to perform the song he wrote for his boyfriend, but Heather interrupted.

"Actually, we're adding in a song last minute. Special request. Eddie, this is for you," she said, starting the music. It was I Do I Do I Do, by ABBA.

Billy, with permission from Cherry, left the bar, walking up the stage. "Sorry to interrupt, my love, but I'm singing this one." He took the mic, and Eddie stood there, confused. He grabbed Eddie's waist, holding him close, microphone in the other hand as he danced with the man, singing the song. "Love me or leave me. Make your choice, but believe me. I love you! I do, I do, I do, I do, I do..." he crooned, grin on his face while they danced.

Eddie laughed quietly, not sure what was happening, but he allowed it, a look of love on his face as he got spun and dipped by his boyfriend. He smiled, listening to Billy sing to him. Near the end of the song, as he was done singing, he spun, letting go of Eddie's hand, before dropping to one knee. His hands were shaky as he pulled out a small black box, opening it to reveal a beautiful gold band; Eddie froze, it was a replica of the One Ring from Lord of the Rings, his favorite book series.

Billy sucked in a deep breath, looking over at the bar, where Max had Eddie's polaroid camera ready, pointed to them, taking pictures of the moment. Cherry was bouncing in excitement, Jules grinned, Wayne raised his glass. "Eddie, baby, I am so deeply in love with you. When you first came into my life, I felt like I had no purpose. You found me when I was at the lowest point of my life. I know you say I saved you, but that day, you saved me, too. You saved me from myself. You showed me love, you showed me just how good love is supposed to feel. You are the best thing to ever happen to me, and every day is the best day of my life because I wake up next to you. I have no idea what's going to happen in the future, but one thing's for certain; I want to be by your side, figuring it out with you. I would be honored to call you my husband, to continue waking up next to you, continue being the one to give you kisses before each shift. My heart goes into freefall when you look at me. That's how I know you're the one for me. You're the one I want, Eddie. I'm yours, forever. So," a tear slid down his cheek, not bothering to wipe it away, "Eddie, will you marry me?"

Eddie breathed out a surprised laugh, knees buckling. He was crying now; he wasn't expecting this at all. He had joked about it a few times, but he didn't expect Billy to actually take him seriously. "Yes!"

The crowd roared, louder than they've been before. Max was snapping pictures of every moment, taking the perfect ones of Billy sliding the ring on Eddie's finger, then kissing him. Cherry was crying, leaning against the counter. Jules and Wayne were clapping and cheering. Spencer sulked in the corner.

Billy hugged Eddie as tight as he could, whispering, "Thank you for being my soulmate," into his hair. He let the tears flow, soaking the man's shirt.

"Thank you for finding me," Eddie replied, sniffling, "Thank you for being mine." He pulled away from the hug, kissing Billy again.

Billy kissed back, then went to the microphone. "Okay, back to the show! I love you, baby!" He jumped off the stage then, hugging Max tight once he returned to the bar.

Eddie just stood there, grinning. "Well, I can say I had no idea that was going to happen," he said, the audience laughing, "That asshole, interrupting my show." He laughed, using the palm of his hand to wipe the tears. "I have to sing now, Billy! I can't do that as well when I'm crying! Oh, well. This next song is for my bo-- My fiancee! Billy, I love you!" He launched into the song, pointing to Billy as he played it. He finished the show, getting loud cheers from everybody as he jumped off the stage, running to Billy.

Billy hugged Eddie tight, lifting him off the ground as he kissed his fiancee. "Great show, princess," he said.

"Yeah? What was your favorite part?" Eddie smirked.

Billy laughed. "Oh, shut up, asshole." He kissed Eddie deeply, his hand reaching up to cup his jawline.

Eddie kissed back, before pulling away. "Get back to work."

Cherry grinned, hugging Eddie tightly. "Congratulations, Eddie baby!"

"Thank you! Did you know he was going to do that?" Eddie asked.

Cherry nodded. "He asked Heather and I a few days ago. He showed us the ring and said he wanted to do it on stage. We were so overjoyed that he was finally going to pop the question, we let him!"

"Yeah, he was so excited to ask!" Heather added, hugging Eddie quickly, "We thought it would be a beautiful moment to do it in front of everybody."

Eddie smiled, nodding. "Yeah, it was. I wouldn't change it for the world."

"Eddie?" It was Max, getting up from her stool at the bar. "I guess you're going to be my brother-in-law now."

Eddie laughed. "Don't sound so excited, Red."

Max just smiled and hugged Eddie. "I'm excited, but I'm going to warn you now, when I get back, you're going to get a phone call, and Dustin will be pestering you nonstop about it." She looked up at the man. "Congrats, really."

"Thanks, Max," Eddie replied, hugging back, before pulling away. "You took pictures?" He looked at them, grinning as he noticed how nervous Billy was in them. It was adorable. He would never get rid of these pictures.

"Yeah, they're yours. Billy wanted me to capture the moment." Max walked over to Billy, hugging him.

Wayne patted Eddie on the back. "Congrats, kid. Looks like I have two sons now," he said, putting his drink down on the counter, "I told you it would happen, that he was going to marry you someday. He's a good kid."

Eddie smiled. "Yeah, he's alright." He sat down next to Wayne. "Bartender! I need a drink."

Billy just grinned. "Coming right up, princess."