Paring I Eddie Munson × reader.
Summary | A year later and you continue to shift realities to see Eddie. But, this time you tell him he doesn’t exist. And admitting that out loud causes your heart to break.
Warnings/Tags | Sad AF. The reader shifts reality, yet as the writer I’ve yet to do that, so please forgive my lack of knowledge on how it works but I keep it vague in the hope you can enjoy this sad fic. I’m sorry I’m advanced.
Eddie stares at your hand resting beside his on the dock. He wonders how his hand can feel so real when it looks and moves just like yours. He can feel the wood beneath his fingertips. He can hear the water brush against the dock. He can see the moon casting a light on your face. It’s all so real, but he’s not. Suddenly, he is acutely aware of his body and the self-awareness causes him to feel uneasy.
Breaking free from his thoughts, you ask Eddie what he does when you’re not around. His voice trails off as he searches for an answer, realizing that his memories revolve solely around you. He musters the words, “I don't know…maybe I only exist when you’re around.”
The weight of your gaze intensifies the ache in his chest, as he grapples with the paradox of your presence while feeling his own absence. You exist and he doesn’t. How can he make sense of that when you're staring right at him, making him feel so alive?
“Do you think of me when we're not together?” He asks softly, feeling cracked open by his vulnerability. If he were to ask you what his lungs looked like, he'd swear you could simply peer down and tell him.
That eases the ache and he smiles. The cool night breeze envelops both of you as Eddie tentatively lifts his hand, feeling the air flow through his fingers. However, a tremor runs through him, and you reach out to steady his hand with a gentle touch.
“Don’t get lost in it. Just stay with me.” You say.
Eddie tightens his grip on your hand, but his chest rises and falls quickly. He does not meet your eyes, because he is getting lost in it. The panic starts to set in. But then he feels your thumb brush gently over his hand. He hears his name on your lips, and it's as if you pulled him out of the hole he was falling into.
With his brown doe eyes fixed on yours, Eddie’s hand rises to touch your cheek. His fingers trace your face delicately, committing every curve and line to memory. He hesitates before asking, “Is this okay?”
You affirm with a single word, “Yes.”
Noticing a change in your expression and your attempt to control your breathing, Eddie’s thumb caresses your cheek as he asks, “What’s wrong?”
A small smile appears on your face before you admit, “I think about this all the time. You have no idea.”
Curious, Eddie asks, “Think about what?”
“You. And how your touch would feel…” Your voice trails off, cheeks flushing.
Eddie gently tilts your chin up. “How does it feel?”
Your eyes meet and he waits for your response, captivated by each of your breaths. But then, a tear falls from your eyes.
“Better than I could imagine, which is silly because this is all in my imagination,” you confess, your voice breaking as you look away.
Eddie wipes away your tears, his face filled with sorrow. “I’m sorry,” he murmurs.
Suddenly, you envelop Eddie in a tight hug, surprising him but easing his tension. He reciprocates, pulling you closer. Holding you tight.
“I miss you,” You whisper.
The words fall from your lips. Eddie is filled with confusion because he doesn’t know the pain you’ve endured because of his story. He doesn’t know how his fate ended, because this version of him lives on within your mind—suspended in time. You met him in the middle, where his story was still happy and he was filled with promise of it being his year.
He lets his unanswered question dissolve, softly assuring you, “I’m right here.”
And he is, yet he isn’t. Time has passed, and the world has moved on from him, unbeknownst to Eddie. So, you securely hold him in your heart and mind, ensuring his existence continues. He becomes a reminder that he’ll always be there for you when you need him. In some ways, his words do ring true, and you cling to those just as he clings to you.
“You know,” he starts, stroking your hair, “If I exist only because of you, then that’s a life worth living.”
The lake stills, the wind ceases, and just before Eddie can comprehend you're gone, he smiles. The world darkens, freezing him in an eternal moment.
Eddie Munson ceases to exist, residing only in the mind of a shifter, between the pages of the writer, and through the words of those who admire him.
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