brutally soft | st agere one shots

. boys don't cry.

little!eddie
cg!reefer rick...
requested by: parker's idea that gave me brain rot so it's based off of that so like this entire idea n plot credit goes to parker

eddie munson didn't cry. he never cried over silly things, never cried at the sad scenes in movies. yet, he found himself crying his eyes out 3:00 am on a random wednesday night.
wayne worked nights now, meaning eddie was alone while it was dark outside. he wasn't scared of the dark, he just seen what was lurking in it after he discovered the upside down.
with the thought of the disgusting dimension flooding his brain, a throaty cry escapes his lips. he cries out. he cries out desperately for a time in which he could believe the monsters under his bed weren't real.
he stands up shakily, steadying himself against his bedside as he blindly searches for the lamp on his bedside table.
he turns the light on, wailing at the sound of rain pattering against his thin tin roof. the sounds of bats tearing him apart, the lightning. all of it.
all of it lived inside of his head, and he had no way out. he let out a frustrated cry, wringing his hands as he walked back and forth. a sudden crack of lightning had him falling to the floor, snatching the raggedy stuffed cat off his bed.
he stumbled greatly, clutching the soft item to his chest as he slowly brought his fingers to his mouth. chewing on them nervously, he toddled out to the kitchen and peeked out the window above the sink.
the sound of rain banging against tin, wind resulting through the trees, every single sound shook deep into eddie's bones.
he grabs for the phone on the wall, a pathetic whimper escaping his lips as he thinks. he tries very hard to remember the number to the plant, clumsily slamming the phone onto the hook.
the power flickers, and he's done.
he knows max is at el and will's house and wayne is at work. those are the only people who know about it and the only people at the trailer park he knew besides-
rick lipton. the man was no angel, not even by a long shot, but he cared about eddie. wayne cared about him in his adolescence when he had no one else, and rick occasionally would help eddie out with things wayne couldn't do anymore.
wayne was getting older, and some things eddie just couldn't do alone.
rick hated most of his buyers. they'd pay him, he'd give them what they wanted, then kick them out. so, when a 16 year old eddie munson walked into his boathouse with a rusty metal lunchbox, he knew he had to be careful with the kid. careful with wayne's kid.
he didn't expect eddie to be so shy and reserved, so nervous and hyper aware of everything. he was completely unlike rick in that way, and he hated to admit he'd grown to enjoy eddie's presence a good deal.
so, eddie clumsily pulls his converse on, not bothering to tie them as he opens the screen door. a gust of wind blows harshly, causing eddie to whimper and clutch the stuffed animal back to his chest.
he shook his head, a sniffle making its way past a hiccup.
"can't.." he half whines, half mumbles to himself as thunder booms loudly throughout the trailer park. the tree smacking against his trailer from the harsh winds were enough to send him clumsily sprinting to rick's trailer at the very end of the park.
he sniffled, gasping slightly from the lack of air mixed from crying and running. he knocked on the door loud and desperate, unable to hold back his loud crying any longer when rick didn't immediately come to the door.
he knocked again, hard and clumsy as he sobbed in the most infantile way he probably ever has.
rick always kept his tv turned up, but he could continuous crying and knocking. his first thought was to ignore it, until he heard the visitor whine and realized it was eddie.
the man was quick to get up, slinging the door open to reveal eddie standing on the porch, wet from the rain and snotty. he pulled the boy inside, locking the door behind him as he studied eddie for a moment.
untied shoes, the stuffed animal, the wailing. rick knew exactly what was going on, but he never brought it up to eddie. when eddie got like this, he needed extra help sometimes.
he needed extra guidance and care, and rick had grown somewhat used to having a crying eddie on the couch.
rick sighed, leading eddie through the small trailer slowly. "what's wrong, kid?" he asks softly, noticing the way eddie's face scrunches up pitifully as he blubbers and babbles about the scary storm.
and rick nods along the entire time, patting eddie's shoulders. "truth be told, i don't like storms very much either." the older man shrugs, leading eddie into the dingy bathroom.
he grabs a towel and wash cloth for eddie, leaving and returning a moment later with some of eddie's pajamas he'd left there a previous night it happened.
eddie stared up at rick owlishly for a moment, before mumbling the softest 'thank you' rick had ever heard from eddie.
rick chuckled, nodding. "anytime, bud. i'm gonna make you something to eat, since i know you sure ain't gonna feed yourself." he shakes his head with a sigh, gently closing the door as he turns to walk away.
eddie clumsily and slowly undressed himself, fiddling with the temperature of the water for a second before stepping in.
he carelessly washed himself and his hair, spending as little time alone as he can.
he emerges from the shower after 10 minutes of trying to get himself dressed, two fingers lodged in his mouth as he sheepishly sits down on the couch.
rick heard eddie's fit pattering against the wood, taking that as his signal to bring the little boy's meal to him.
eddie looked up at him, the same wide gaze he always had, just more fuzzy now. he gingerly grabs his hot pocket, nibbling at the corner as he innocently stares at rick.
the man had to hold back a laugh at his adorably innocent and sleepy stare. "what are you lookin' at?" he uttered playfully, earning a giggle from the doe eyed boy occupying his couch.
eddie handed his empty plate to rick, crawling on the couch and snatching his cup of chocolate milk off the coffee table in the floor. he's careful with it, too. as careful as he can be, so he doesn't break anything.
he drinks slowly, gently setting the cup on the table as he curls into the couch. he grabs his dog again, hugging it tightly as his fingers make their way back to his mouth.
rick is quick to emerge from his hallway closet, plenty of pillows and blankets in hand for eddie.
"okay, kid. get up for a second." he lets out a small grunt as he pulls open the pull out couch.
after many moments of struggling, he has the bed made and full of soft pillows and blankets.
eddie is staring up at him again, drool running down his chin as he sucked his fingers. he used his free hand to rub his eyes, causing rick to smile sadly.
this wasn't the same eddie that came to buy weed. this eddie was full of innocence. he was soft. this soft side of eddie has slowly become one of rick's favorite people.
his kids didn't talk to him, so babysitting eddie was a joy he didn't think he'd ever have with his own children. eddie didn't know that, of course, but he thinks wayne has realized it.
it's hard not to be attached to eddie. his puppy dog eyes, the way he just smiles up at you, his love for scary stories.
all of it is something rick would cringe at the idea of, but eddie was so different. eddie was like the son he never had.
so, rick pulled himself out of his thoughts and sat on the edge of the mattress. he motioned for eddie to join him, immediately searching for a rubber band on the cluttered end table.
finally finding one, he gently pulls eddie's hair into the most disgraceful bun he's ever seen. but hey, it keeps the boy from eating it off, so give him a break.
eddie yawns, diving into his pillows and blankets. he rolls around for a good 5 minutes, humming in content when he was finally comfortable.
he smiled up at rick, a wide and sleepy grin as he giggled softly.
"you always tell scary stories.." eddie looks expectantly at him, twisting the ears of his dog gently as he awaits an answer.
rick sighs and shakes his head, motioning to the clock on the wall.
"it's almost 5:00 am, kid. you need to go to sleep." rick grumbles tiredly as a yawn slips past his lips.
eddie looked shattered as he frowned up at the older man.
"but...story?" eddie whined, jutting out his bottom lip and fluttering his eyes. "p'ease?"
rick literally could not say no to that. he would be a monster to deny the boy after the look he'd just given him.
rick chuckles and shakes his head, crawling into the bed beside eddie. he hums in thought, watching as eddie babbles to himself in anticipation.
rick gasps to himself, smirking.
"i have the perfect scary story for you." he assures, grinning widely at eddie who nods happily.
"in hawkins, there was this scared little boy. the biggest scaredy cat in town, and everyone knew him..." he pauses, watching as eddie nods with an excited smile.
"he was so scared of thunderstorms he ran to his neighbors house.." rick says in a deadpan tone, watching as eddie's face falls.
he pouts and throws a pillow at rick's head, whining.
"you're so mean! i am not a scaredy cat!" he defends himself, arms crossing over his chest as he watches rick laugh at him.
the older man catches his composure, ruffling eddie's hair and giving him a kick and parental kiss to the head.
"i'm just messing with you, little man. you're very brave for coming out here to me, ya know?" rick smiles assuringly at eddie as he smiles sheepishly.
"story now!" eddie cheers, cutting himself off with a loud yawn.
rick sighs and shakes his head for the hundredth time that night, beginning to tell eddie a story he'd made up and told him many times. it was eddie's favorite.
rick would always change the ending each time he told it, and it absolutely excited eddie to his core.
before rick could even make it to the end, eddie was sprawled out on top of the mattress snoring softly as he clutched a pillow and his stuffed dog to his chest.
rick smiled warmly, chuckling as he shut off the lights and walked into his bedroom. he made sure to leave the door cracked, since he knew eddie would
most definitely end up in his bed.
——-
and, inevitably, rick was woken up an hour later by eddie struggling to climb into the bed.
"i scared.." he mumbled, obviously embarrassed.
rick just nodded sleepily, pulling eddie down beside him.
"it's okay, bud. please get some sleep, i'm so fucking tired." rick grumbled, eyes widening when eddie gasps.
"you told me i can't say that and you said it! you said a bad word!" eddie giggled, laughing even harder when rick whacked him with a pillow.
"sleep. now."
"but-"
"now or i'm sending you home."
"you- you would not!"
"you're right.."
"mmm, ni' ni' uncle rick."
"goodnight, bubba."

a/n
this one was definitely something and definitely a lot longer than most of my others. i've spammed this book this week but this one was one i've just finished.