Steddie One Shots

Watching Over You

Eddie Munson had died in the Upside Down. He'd sacrificed his own life to save all of Hawkins. The poor 20 year old who was still a high school senior had watched two people die a gruesome death by the hand of Vecna and had been blamed for all the killings. Hawkins thought he was a murderer. A Freak. A Satanist. A cultist. A devil worshipper. But Eddie was far from those things. He was wild and chaotic and untamed, but in the best way. He was a flirty touchy-feely man but he was the funniest and sweetest person that Steve had ever met.

And Eddie was a true gentleman. Always opening doors for people and when they'd gotten into the boat he'd held out his hands for Nancy to help her in. He had a beautiful laugh and a charming, crooked dimpled smile that would light up his whole face. Eddie was beautiful. So utterly beautiful.

Even though Eddie had been on the run, accused of comitting murders that Vecna had actually done, he stayed true to himself. Wild and free, the most incredible person Steve had ever met. Eddie and Steve had spent that week fighting off Vecna along with Nancy, Robin, Max, Lucas, Dustin and Erica. And Eddie had died.

Ever the selfless man, he'd sacrificed his own life to save an entire town that hated him. And throughout that week of fighting Vecna, not only had Steve had a sexuality crisis and figured out he was bisexual, but he'd fallen head over heels in love with Eddie. Eddie was the complete opposite of Steve. A metalhead, a drug dealer and a man who loved D&D. But he was opposite in the best way.

Eddie Munson's death had hit Steve hard. He, Nancy and Robin had left the Upside Down's version of the Creel House and went back to Eddie's trailer only to find Dustin on the ground where a huge swarm of bats was littered all around him, dead on the ground. And Eddie's unmoving body cradled in Dustin's lap.

Dustin was only 14, a freshman in high school. And he'd seen a lot of horrifying Upside Down related things throughout his young life. But nothing could compare to the 14 year old holding his best friend Eddie in his arms while he died. Watching his best friend die in his arms.

When Steve had registered that Eddie was dead in Dustin's arms, he'd wanted to cry and scream and punch something. He'd never gotten the chance to tell Eddie he loved him. Hell, he'd never even gotten the chance to tell anyone that he was bisexual. He was still a closeted queer. But instead he remained strong for everyone else. Didn't cry. didn't show his feelings. They couldn't take Eddie's body back to the real world, so they'd left him there.

And Steve had hated that. But before they'd left, Steve had taken one of Eddie's rings to keep. He already had Eddie's denim vest because Eddie had given it to him earlier in the week to wear when Steve didn't have a shirt. He would keep the vest. But he'd wanted just one more thing of Eddie's.

After defeating Vecna and going back to the real Hawkins, Eddie had been announced on the news as still a suspect for all the killings, still a murderer, but also missing and presumed dead. There had been a small funeral for Eddie's uncle Wayne and Eddie's friends to mourn him, the people who loved Eddie and truly knew that Eddie was a beautiful and kind soul that could never hurt anyone.

And Steve had very quickly and very insistently offered to pay for the headstone and burial plot in the cemetery. He'd cried at that funeral, finally breaking down. He'd sobbed and he couldn't stop. He'd never cried that much before. He'd taken Eddie's ring and put it on a chain to wear around his neck and he would never take it off.

That was his tether to Eddie. His piece of Eddie, even though Eddie was gone. Eddie's uncle Wayne was a kind older man and he'd sobbed just as much as Steve had. Wayne had loved his nephew like his own son and Eddie's death was devastating to him. But he'd stopped crying long before Steve had. When Steve and Wayne were the only two left at Eddie's grave, Steve still sobbing and clutching tightly to that ring dangling from the chain around his neck, Wayne approached him, gently placing a hand on his shoulder.