Steve and Eddie One Shots

Should I Stay or Should I Go?

Author's Notes:

Eddie comes knocking on Steve's door late at night after having a nightmare.

OR

Steve and Eddie bond over trauma as they try and fall asleep, only realizing that the other might just be the key to feeling okay again.

Rating: SAD

A light knocking sound rippled through Steve's house as the jock slowly fell asleep. Steve might have never heard the light sound if it wasn't followed by banging noise a few seconds later. As a bang thumped through the walls of his room, Steve shot up in his bed, heart pumping and mind wondering.

Bang bang.

Steve quickly got up, grabbed his baseball bat with nails embedded in it, and ran down the flight of stairs at the end of the upstairs hallway.

Bang bang.

Steve swallowed his fear, gripped the bat tight within his grasp, and pulled open his front door.

"Shit, man." Steve breathed out when he noticed it wasn't an intruder or Vecna, even though the latter was dead. "What are you doing here?"

"I- uh- I didn't- I didn't know- uh-" his friend stuttered. Steve could tell the boy standing on his porch was trying to keep himself calm and collected so he wouldn't burst into tears in front of the 'cool kid' of Hawkins, Indiana.

"Eddie, it's okay. Come here." Steve spoke, grabbing ahold of his friend's arm and pulling him into a tight hug once he dropped the baseball bat.

Eddie Munson, the kid Steve would've never looked twice at if he saw him crying in high school, was now in Steve's arms, headed nestled into the jock's neck, sobbing his heart out. Steve held on as the metalhead shook, cries pouring out and wetting Steve's bed shirt.

"Can I get you anything?" Steve asked as he combed his fingers through Eddie's curls.

"Water?" Eddie squeaked out.

Steve let go of the hug and pulled Eddie into his home. Once he closed the door, he led the leather-wearing kid into his kitchen. He turned on the light once he made it, got a glass, and then filled it with water. Once Eddie had the glass in his hand, he chugged it back. Steve filled it up again, and Eddie began to sip it lightly during the second round.

"Would you like to tell me what's going on?" Steve whispered, not wanting to wake his parents, who had just gotten back from Detroit. He was surprised the earlier banging noises didn't do the trick.

"Chrissy-" Eddie began with a hiccup of fear irrupting out of him. "-she uh- she-" he tried as he flailed his right arm, the one that wasn't holding the glass of water. "I saw- I saw her up there-" Ed spoke, moving his hand to point at the ceiling.

Steve understood then what all this fuss was about. Eddie had had a nightmare of Chrissy, Vecna's first victim. Munson had unfortunately witnessed Chrissy's death due to it happening in Eddie's living room. Eddie's been having trouble sleeping since their friend group returned to Hawkins after defeating Vecna. Eddie couldn't seem to shake Chrissy's death. That's the only thing that kept him awake at night.

"I get it." Steve nodded, sighing.

Eddie sipped his drink again, trying to look at anything other than Steve.

"You don't have to be embarrassed, man," Steve spoke as he walked over to the rocker. He placed his hands on Eddie's biceps and squeezed. "Everyone has nightmares of the Upside Down and all of the horrible shit we've had to witness. You aren't alone in this, Eddie."