Summary: Chrissy looks for a birthday gift for Eddie.
Author’s note: I wrote this while high lol. Set in November 1987. I made Eddie a sagittarius bc I'm a sagittarius and I so.
November 20, 1987
Chrissy marched through the crisp New York cold, ponytail swishing as she did.
The record store was one she had never been to before, being more of a cassette person herself.
When she walked in, she was immediately hit with the smell of dust and plastic. It was unpleasant to the senses but she shook it off. Chrissy was on a mission after all.
She walked up the counter and placed her painted nails on the dark mahogany counter.
“Excuse me?”
A man with long blonde hair tucked into a black beanie and wearing a nose ring looked up from alphabetizing his records.
“Phone’s for customers only.”
Chrissy frowned, her freshly plucked eyebrows punching together.
“I’m here to buy a record for my boyfriend. It’s his birthday next week.”
“Oh.”
The guy put the milk crate of records on the counter and slid off his stool.
“Who’re you looking for?”
Chrissy gasped softly in the realization that she hadn’t written it down. She should know, Eddie talks about them all the time…
“Black something. Um… the guy who ate the bat. Black mammoth?”
The worker blinked at her. His lips thinned out as if trying to suppress a smile.
“Black Sabbath?”
Chrissy snapped her fingers.
“That’s the one! I’ll take one Black Sabbath record, please...” Chrissy squinted at the hand-written name tag safety pinned to his shirt. “Dylan”
Dylan walked over to the back and reached up for a freshly wrapped vinyl, The the motion causing his dragon tattoo move on his arm.
He carried it over to the counter and placed it in front of chrissy.
“Alright, comes out to… $57.21”
Chrissys eyes widened as she held out her credit card.
“What?!”
Dylan shrugged.
“This is their brand new album, just dropped this week.“
“But I called three days ago and the guy I spoke to said it would only be $30.”
Dylan shrugged non-commitedly.
“Inflation, you know?".”
Chrissy ‘hmphed’ but handed her card over anyway.
Dylan smirked as he took her card.
“Would you like this gift wrapped for an extra 25¢?”
Chrissy frowned. She wasn’t good at wrapping presents, never has been. But this is Eddie’s birthday. Chrissy wants it to be fun for him and to show him how much he means to her.
But, she stands her ground and decides to do it herself.
It’s mangled; ripped in a bunch of places, and a small section of the back was missing because she didn’t measure out enough wrapping paper, but it’s done.
“And now for the finishing touch.” Chrissy whispered to herself, uncapping her pink Sharpie and sticking her tongue as she worked.
“To Eddie…happy birthday, baby… love… Chrissy”
It's not the prettiest by any means but when Chrissy surprises Eddie with it the moment he opens his eyes on November 26, 1987, he's elated.
He brings Chrissy in for a crushing hug and kisses all over her face.
He's delighted to have the record but Chrissy is the reason his birthday was so special.
She's the one who made him waffles in the morning while he blasted his new Black Sabbath record.
She was the one who arranged for the Hellfire to come over and have a D&D themed party.
She was the one who took him to the Hideout to listen to music and have a few drinks. It was pretty empty because of the cold weather and close proximity to Thanksgiving but that just gave him and Chrissy an excuse to make out in a corner without feeling any inkling of shame.
It was the perfect day, save for when he found out Chrissy got ripped off.
Can I request a fluffy Eddie x Chrissy long oneshot where Chrissy wakes up and hears laughter and finds Eddie playing dolls with their 2 year old daughter and Chrissy just melts at the sight and how much of a daddy’s girl their daughter is and how great of a father Eddie is and their daughter is a spitting image of Eddie? Also, later that night, after Eddie reads their daughter a bedtime story and him and Chrissy kiss her goodnight, Chrissy surprises Eddie with the news they’re having another baby by giving him a present?
Requests are open | prompt lists for inspiration | Stranger Things Masterlist
Pairing: Eddie Munson x Chrissy Cunningham
Word count: ~1905
Warning/Tags: fluff, pregnancy, married Eddie & Chrissy, domesticity (let me know if I missed anything
Author’s note: This didn't end up being so long in the end, so I hope that's okay as well. Just a happily married couple expanding their family 💚
Life had turned out pretty great for Chrissy Cunningham, just in a different way than she’d thought years ago. But she was happy with the man she loved, had taken his name three years ago, the happiest day of her life. Or at least one of the happiest days of her life, because there had also been the birth of her daughter Janis - of course, Eddie had chosen the name, naming her after Janis Joplin, so that Chrissy was the one to name their second child. That was actually closer than she would have thought, she just hadn’t told her husband that yet. While they’d always said that they wanted more than one kid, they hadn’t talked about when, so Chrissy was unsure how Eddie would react due to the timing. She’d just started working again, and they needed the money, but still… her heart had swelled when she’d seen the positive pregnancy mere hours ago.
She hadn’t been feeling well for a couple of days now, thought she’d come down with the flu or something, but her gut feeling had told her something else. The test had just shown her that her gut had been right all along. Still, she needed to figure out how to tell Eddie, and she’d rather do it soon, because she hated keeping secrets from him. After all, they’d agreed that they wouldn’t keep secrets from each other, that honesty was important to both of them. Only when it came to birthday or Christmas surprises, they strayed from this promise, but that was okay. With important things like a pregnancy, that rule still applied. She hated keeping stuff from him anyway, and she wasn’t a good liar on top of it. Keeping birthday presents secret was really hard for her.
Once she’d come home from a run to the drugstore, she’d taken the test, and then she’d taken a nap because she’d felt so exhausted - and had needed a little moment to collect her thoughts and rest before she faced Eddie. Eddie, who had been worried sick about her these last couple of days.
When she came downstairs, though, Janis was asleep and Eddie was strumming quietly on his guitar. Her heart squeezed at the sight of him, and he must have heard her, because his head whipped up immediately.
“Feeling better, darling?” Eddie started to put the guitar away, but Chrissy stopped him.
“Yeah, just gotta head out for a moment.”
“Again? Don’t you want me to do it, so you can get some more rest? Just tell me what you need.”
“It’s alright. I think some fresh air will be good for me, so I’ll take a walk and get what we need for dinner.”
“Okay.” Eddie eyes her for a moment, before he got up and took a step towards her. Before he could ask her, what was going on, though, Chrissy gave him a smile and opened her mouth.
“I’m really okay, no need to worry, Eds,” she said, leaning over for a chaste kiss, before she turned around and got ready to leave the house. Eddie was still not completely convinced, but he knew that further questions right now wouldn’t lead anywhere, so he let her leave and got back to his guitar.
Not for long, though, because Janis woke up from her nap only a couple of minutes after her mother had left the house. Time for Eddie to put his guitar away for good, but he’d always do that for the two most important women in his life.
“Did you sleep well, princess?” Eddie asked as he picked her up. Janis nodded, but still rubbed her eyes. “Wanna cuddle a little with Daddy?” The way she pressed her head against his chest, dark curls framing her face, was answer enough for him. She was the female mini version of him, everyone said so, and Eddie saw it as well. Wayne had shown him all the pictures he had of Eddie when he’d still been a child, and there was no denying it, only that his parents had cut his hair off whenever they hadn’t been able to tame his locks. Eddie would never do that to his kids, only if they decided that they wanted to cut their hair off. Especially because Janis looked absolutely adorable with the dark curls and her big brown eyes that would get her everything she wanted.
Eddie carried her over to the big sofa in the living room and lay down with her, Janis splayed out over his chest, her face nuzzling into his chest. Soon enough, her even breathing filled the room, and Eddie couldn’t stop watching her. He was so proud of his little girl, and he always would be, because he loved her unconditionally. In her two years on this earth, she’d already filled his life with so much joy, making up for the time he’d had to spend in school as the freak.
Janis stayed asleep for maybe twenty more minutes, but then she was awake and needed to be entertained. Right now, there was nothing better than her dolls, so Eddie found himself cross-legged on the floor, playing with Janis and her dolls, letting her babble and tell him about what her dolls had done all day, what kind of great adventures they’d experienced, and how much one of them wanted to make music just like her Daddy.
He was so preoccupied with what they were doing that he didn’t even realise that Chrissy had come home. Only when he looked up did he find her standing in the doorway, a smile on her lips, because she was so happy with the picture in front of her. She’d always known that Eddie would be a great Dad, especially because he wanted nothing more than NOT to end up like his father, but the way he’d always been taking care of her and Janis, still made her heart swell.
“Mummy!” Janis squeaked and got up to give her Mum a hug, but went back to Eddie immediately afterwards, getting back to her dolls, because she still had a lot to tell him. Eddie couldn’t help but smile.
“Definitely a Daddy’s girl,” Chrissy said, shaking her head with a smile.
“Can’t help it. I’m rather lovable!”
“True.” She couldn’t argue with that, and to be honest, Chrissy was really happy that the two of them were so close. “I’ll get dinner ready, you two keep playing, alright?”
“Call me if you need help, m’kay?” Eddie looked up at his wife, before his attention was drawn back to Janis right in front of him.
Chrissy quickly brought the little bag she’d gotten upstairs and put it next to her side of the bed, before she got busy in the kitchen.
The rest of the evening went by in a blur. Dinner was lovely, and Janis told her what she’d done with her father. Eddie’s eyes were on Chrissy pretty much all the time. He knew that something was going on, that there was something on her mind that she wasn’t telling him. He’d try again once Janis was in bed.
Only that Janis needed his attention for a little more time before Eddie said that it was time for bed. He helped her brush her teeth, before he tucked her in and read her a bedtime story. He couldn’t wait until he could read her The Hobbit, since it was technically a children’s book. Everything else would have to wait and he wouldn’t read her Alice in Wonderland for some time, because that had terrified him.
Chrissy walked in when Janis was already half asleep, leaned down and kissed her temple. Her fingertips danced over Eddie’s shoulders when she left the room again. Eddie stayed with Janis until she was fully asleep, turned on the night light, and then left to find his wife.
Chrissy was standing in the bedroom, holding the contents of the little bag to her chest, which Eddie couldn’t see. He stepped up behind her, wrapped his arms around her and pulled her against his chest. He pressed his nose against the side of her neck, breathing in deeply, his hands both splayed out over her stomach.
“You gonna tell me what’s going on now?” he asked in a low voice, thumbs rubbing over her stomach, slipping beneath the shirt she was wearing. “I know something’s up, sweetheart and you have me worried.” And they’d promised not to keep secrets from each other, so he’d been even more worried about her.
“I just wanted Janis to be in bed first, and I had to… kind of think about a way to tell you.” Of course, she could have just come right out with the news of being pregnant again, but she’d wanted to do something special.
Chrissy turned around in his arms and quickly kissed his lips to reassure him that it wasn’t anything bad. Quite the contrary, at least she hoped so. Slowly she stepped out of his embrace and brought the gift she’d gotten for him up for him to see.
“I saw this a couple of weeks ago and thought it was cute, and so I had to head out and get it today.” She had gotten a black romper with Metallica in silver on the front. Nothing too fancy, but just the right thing for Eddie. She’d fallen in love with it the minute she’d seen it, but thought it bad luck to get something like this when she wasn’t expecting - and Janis was way too big by now to fit into this.
“That looks awesome, but it won’t fit Janis.” Eddie spoke out loud what she’d been thinking about.
“It’s not for Janis.” With a smile on her lips, Chrissy took his hand and placed it on her stomach. “I know we have never talked about when we’d extend out´r family, but we always wanted to have more than one kid, so…”
“What?” Eddie blinked a couple of times, trying to make sense of her words, and when it finally clicked, his fingers wrapped around the romper. “Are you serious?” He had to make sure, but when she nodded, Eddie pulled her against his chest again, held her tight, before his lips sought hers. He put all the love he had for her into that kiss, and when they parted again, they were both breathless.
“I take it… you’re happy?” Chrissy asked, giggling to herself, her hands resting on Eddie’s shoulders.
“YES! I mean, you’re right, we never talked about when we wanted to do this, but it doesn’t matter, because I can’t wait to welcome this little human being.” His right hand gently stroked over her stomach, a fond smile on his lips. “God, I love you, Chrissy!”
“Good, because I love you, too!” She kissed him once more, before she stepped back again. “You think Janis will be alright?”
“Considering she’d been asking me about a little brother or sister the last couple of days… I’m pretty sure she’ll be just as happy as I am right now.”
That was Chrissy’s biggest concern, because she didn’t want Janis to feel like they were replacing her, like anything would change for her, but if the little one had been talking about this already, she would definitely be looking forward to becoming a big sister.
Hidden between his notes on Act II and Act III, a piece of paper with her favorite cheerleading stunt written in Eddie's handwriting. She tugs it free of the pile. It's more worn and folded than the other papers. And written on it. . .
FAVORITE BLANKET: red one, flannel
FAVORITE STUNT: twisting release. try to convince her to wear a helmet
FAVORITE TIME OF DAY: dusk. bring bug spray and blanket
-
Eddie's memory sucks, so he writes down the really important things.
Max survives an attack, just barely making it out with the help of Kate Bush. Dustin says that she falls to the ground and it sounds just like what happened to Chrissy, only none of her limbs were snapped. She told them all what she saw, and it sounds eerily similar to what Nancy reported Chrissy describing to her.
It feels like only a matter of time, somehow. It feels like Chrissy isn’t safe no matter where she is, but especially in the house that haunted her visions of Vecna as he tried to curse her. It can’t be a good idea to let her go back there, right? Couldn’t he use that as a weakness somehow? If he’s in the Upside Down, couldn’t he find her in that version of their dimension and curse her again?
For some reason, everyone agrees with him. He really didn’t see that coming.
It’s like a sting operation. At first they tell him that he shouldn’t come, but he very forcefully and almost violently insists, and for some reason, they agree again, more reluctantly this time.
He’s still kind of a fugitive so he hides in the back of Steve Harrington’s car, shoved against the seat and covered with a blanket, and wishes that he hadn’t ditched his van. It’s much roomier.
He wishes more than anything that he could be the one to climb to her window once the light goes on, but it makes sense for Max to do it. Along with her Kate Bush tape, she lithely climbs to the roof beneath Chrissy’s bedroom window and knocks, somehow convincing her to come to the car with a bag of clothes in far less time than he expected.
He can’t really see much of her, the blanket obscuring his vision, but still, he can see the giant, heavy plaster covering her arm from her knuckles up to her underarm. It’s held close to her with a black sling which he assumes assists in keeping her shattered arm immobile and safe.
She lets out a tiny giggle, one that he wouldn’t expect from her after everything she’s been through, and he can feel her leaning forward towards him, the dainty fingers of her right hand lifting the blanket from over his head and exposing his eyes. Her smile beams down at him, and although it’s smaller and sadder than it has been, it’s genuine.
“Hi,” she whispers, her fingers playing with the hem of the blanket just by his chin. “Max said you were gonna be down there.”
“Hey,” he laughs breathlessly. “I, uh, yeah. Hiding.”
“Smooth,” he hears from the front seat, and if he could reach Robin with his elbow, he’d send it into her ribs.
“Thanks for coming to get me,” she says softly, voice sweet and tender in a way that makes him want to pull her into his arms and hold her there for as long as he can.
“Of course,” he whispers back, and in a moment of boldness, he moves his hidden hand and brushes her fingers with his. He wants to tell her, I'll always be here for you, or maybe, I'll never leave you again, but they both feel too… intimate, he supposes. At least for the full car. So he settles again for, “Of course.”
Reefer Rick’s been in jail for a couple months, and he’s expected to stay there for a few months more, so his place is empty. At first, he was too nervous to break into the house, settling for the boathouse, but then he spent the night throwing up in there, and Steve shoved an oar into his ribs a couple of times, after he witnessed the almost-death of his… friend… and he decided that he could use a little comfort. He deserves to sleep on a couch instead of a damp, smelly dock.
So when they get to the main house, he lets himself take a deep breath, lets himself settle just a bit as he searches through the kitchen for something to eat. “You like Spaghettios?” he calls into the living room where Chrissy stands stiffly, staring at Rick’s bookshelf with her right hand extended towards the spines.
“I don’t know,” she calls back, and he gasps dramatically.
“Chrissy Cunningham!” he shouts. “I’m about to rock your world.”
Maybe he shouldn’t have said that. But she giggles again.
~~~~
Her mother doesn’t think she should be listening to loud music that can rot her brain. She hated the Walkman when she saw it, cringing and asking what she could possibly want with something that would play the horrid music directly into her ear drums, wondering where she even got it, but Chrissy only supplied a soft smile accompanied by a shrug as she pulled the headphones onto her ears.
The tape he made her has been playing constantly for a week now. She never thought she would get sick of this song, but it is getting a bit old by this point. Still, though, as she pokes through Reefer Rick’s house while Eddie makes some kind of canned catastrophe, she comes across his small collection of things lying on the checkered couch. And she noticed his own Walkman. And she opens it up and–
QUEEN – Somebody to Love.
“Dinner!” he calls theatrically, making her jump and anxiously force the top shut again. “You okay?”
He looks her up and down as he holds two white bowls with spoons sticking out, his hen-covered apron making her smile, and it’s reminiscent of that time a few weeks ago in the woods, the first time she saw those spiders crawling out of the clock face. She kind of likes the way he approaches her so playfully and immediately shifts into this serious, concerned demeanor when he sees her startling.
“Sorry,” she says quietly, offering him a small, disingenuous smile. “I didn’t–”
“Hey, you’re okay,” he tells her, and it feels different somehow. He didn’t just tell her that it’s okay, that it’s okay that she was touching his private stuff, that it’s okay that she’s so jumpy and annoying. He tells her that she’s okay. She’s here, she’s welcome, she’s alive and in one piece, technically, she’s safe.
She’s safe. She’s safe with him.
And because she knows she’s safe, she figures it’s also safe to lighten up and seek a little clarification as she gestures down to the Walkman. “Is this a backup? In case mine gets wrecked or something?”
His wide smile falters for a second before he plasters it back on, more forced this time, and walks to the couch adjacent to the one she stands by. “Sure,” he says, his voice enthusiastic but hesitant, somehow. “Come sit? I know Spaghettios probably isn’t the gourmet you’re used to at the Cunningham estate, but it’s gotta be better than the green Jell-o the hospital was giving you.”
That’s probably true, she thinks, so she obliges and sits beside him, not too close, but close enough so that it’s safe for her to take the hot bowl with her unbroken arm and rest it on her lap. “Thanks,” she murmurs softly.
“Hang on a second,” he encourages quietly, suddenly deep in thought as he stands, removing the apron and then walking towards the bookshelf she was just near. He takes a large hardcover book off the shelf, reads the cover– “Animal Farm,” he cringes– and walks it back over to her, lifting her bowl and placing the book down on her lap. “There ya go. Your own little TV Dinner table.”
With a soft giggle, she thanks him again, reaching for the spoon with a tiny smile as she watches him do the same. The spaghetti and tiny meatballs are surprisingly good, and she finds herself scarfing the dinner down without even thinking about the calories that have to be involved with something that doesn’t taste like paper.
She jumps again when the tape runs out, moving to reset it, but Eddie’s hand stops her so she meets his eyes. They’re deep and dark, wide and curious and caring as they gaze into her own, and she can’t help but to let her lips turn up slightly, her head tilting to the side in curiosity. “Do I finally get a break?”
“I thought you liked that song?” he asks with a soft laugh as he takes the headphones from around her neck.
“It’s my favorite. But I've heard it, like, two thousand times this week alone.”
“Right,” he chuckles as he stands up. “That’s why I figured we could try something else. We don’t know if you’re allowed to listen to other songs so we won't risk that,” he explains, walking back towards the shelf and fiddling with the old looking record player that sits one shelf up from the floor. “And I’m not gonna be one of those asshole douchebags who insists that you need to listen to the music the way it was meant to be heard,” he continues, his voice changing to a cloying, annoying mimicking tone that makes her laugh. “But I feel like it’ll sound different coming from the record through the speakers.”
With a giggle, she says, “Okay, let’s try it.”
It does sound a bit different, more crisp, or something, and she smiles as she sits down and notes the way that he closes his eyes passionately and dramatically, making a fist as he silently sings along into a fake microphone. “You’re crazy,” she laughs, and he looks at her with false incredulity, pretending his feelings are hurt by her claim.
“How dare you?” he asks during an instrumental break, careful not to interrupt his lip syncing.
“You’re not even singing!”
“I can hit these notes, Cunningham. I just didn’t want to make you jealous.”
With a hearty laugh, she assures him, “I wouldn’t get jealous; I'd give you a round of applause.”
As if just on time, he joins in with his own vocals, almost expertly meeting Freddie Mercury note for note with just as much charisma. He takes her bowl as he continues on with the second verse, placing it on the coffee table before them and taking her hand as he carefully lifts her into a standing position.
With laughter in her lungs and her throat and her heart, spilling from her mouth and from her eyes as happy tears poke against them, genuine joy hitting her for the first time since she can remember, she isn’t even embarrassed as she joins in with the backup vocals, accompanying his dramatic performance with ease and earning an excited grin from him.
He dances with her carefully yet playfully, still loudly singing along but missing a few notes as his laughter interrupts. He spins her, he holds her unbroken hand as he jumps up onto the couch, dropping it to mime the guitar solo. He starts jumping on the couch as the melody builds up, and she almost cries with laughter, her stomach hurting from the use of a group of muscles she hasn’t worked in such a long time. His voice squeaks out, almost hitting the highest note but missing as he cuts himself off and doubles over laughing, jumping down from the couch and taking her hand again as the melodic flow of the song settles her heart. His other hand wipes away a tear and then, before either of them know what’s happening, she’s leaning against his chest with her cast between them and her other arm around his waist, both of his arms holding her closely, his chin resting on the top of her head as they sway together.
And it's the most romantic thing she’s ever experienced.
He’s humming still, as the song starts to come to a close, his throat vibrating against her nose, and she wants to press her lips against his chest. She knows he was only kidding, making a scene to make her laugh, and even though he couldn’t hit all the notes, his voice was stunning. Her heart is calm for the first time in a long time, her fingers have stopped shaking, her eyes are closed as the song plays through.
“You’re a regular groupie, Christina Cunningham.”
She smiles wholeheartedly, letting out a soft, contented sigh. “You’re a regular rockstar, Edward Munson.”
“I’m a metalhead,” he defends, and she shrugs. With a chuckle, he says, “And my name isn’t Edward.”
“What is it?” she asks softly. Although the song has started again, she still doesn’t want to interrupt this.
“Edmund,” he tells her, almost shy.
“Edmund,” she repeats gently. “Well, Edmund, my name isn’t Christina.”
“Agh,” he curses, moving his hand from her back to snap in disappointment before placing it right back where it was, much to her satisfaction. “What is it?”
“Christine.”
“I had a 50/50 shot.”
“Maybe you shouldn’t be gambling,” she jokes, and he tickles her ribs softly and she swears she feels his lips doing something when she giggles and squirms before settling against him again.
He holds her, swaying with her as the song runs through again, and then once more. He sings quietly about wanting to get out of this prison cell and she’s never felt more understood in her life. He sings that he takes a look in the mirror and cries and she almost cries, too. And his voice is so soft and gentle and it rumbles in her ear as he sings over and over and over about finding somebody to love. And that’s all she’s ever wanted, really. Somebody who wants to love her.
Overcome with emotions that she can’t quite identify, she finds herself squeezing his waist as she whispers, “Thank you.”
His lips do that thing again– whatever it is she isn’t sure, maybe a smile or maybe even a kiss, but she doesn’t want to let herself believe that too firmly– and he whispers back, “For gracing you with my flawlessly stunning musical talent?”
She laughs again and finds herself nuzzling her nose against his collarbone. “For everything. You saved my life.”
She feels him stiffen and worries that that must’ve been the wrong thing to say. Eddie hasn’t been in her life for very long at all, at least not significantly, and she was unconscious for half the time anyway. They haven’t seen each other for two weeks. This is only the third time they’ve hung out– fourth, if she counts the talent show in sixth grade. But still, something has shifted with her. Maybe having a near death, monster fueled experience with someone is a good way to form a connection with them. But every thought she has of Eddie is accompanied by a longing deep in the chambers of her heart and a fluttering deep in the pit of her stomach that has nothing to do with her need to purge her dinner. In fact, she doesn't need to purge her dinner, and she hasn’t felt like that in years.
The differences in her life can be pinpointed to Eddie Munson. His presence in the woods had to have been the thing that stopped the visions of those spiders in her head. He pulled her out of the curse she was under just by being there for her. Vecna was going to attack her anyway, whether she was at his trailer or a game or Jason’s house; Eddie’s the reason she’s still alive. She’d be gone if he wasn’t there when it happened. He’s the thing that gave her the strength to end things with Jason. He’s the reason she chose to run from her parents’ house, to flee the oppressive way that her mother would have monitored each bite she took of her dinner. And it was his idea to get her out of the house anyway, to avoid another Vecna attack.
He’s changed everything for her. And she wants him to know that she knows that, that she appreciates it. She wants him to know that, although she probably shouldn’t, she’s having feelings she’s never had before, ones that are undeniable and strong and don’t scare her even though they should.
But he stiffens, and maybe that’s not something he wants to hear from her.
“I left you,” he croaks out, his voice breaking and almost inaudible over the shredding guitar solo still blaring behind them. “I didn’t save you, Chrissy. I told you I would stay with you and I ran the second I got a chance. I’m a coward.”
“No,” she insists, shaking her head as she lifts it to look up at him. She moves her good hand from his back, using it without thinking to brush a long strand of hair back into place. “No, Eddie, if you weren’t there, I’d be–”
“Don’t,” he begs. His eyes are sadder than she’s ever seen, big and round and tearful. “Please. Don’t say it.” She doesn’t. She just stares at him, just as sadly, and nods. “I can’t– every time I think about–”
His breathing is faster, his hold on her tighter although she doesn’t mind. Tears are in his eyes and she notices the way his jaw starts trembling, panic setting in as he must recall the sight of her bones breaking and her body suspended. She can’t let him feel this way, especially not when he’s been so adamant about making her feel better, so even though she isn’t sure how he feels about her or what’s passing between them, she cups the back of his neck beneath his hair and pulls him close enough to touch her forehead to his. He hunches over to reach her, and something about it makes her smile.
“I’m here,” she tells him, recalling the way he’d done the exact thing for her. The way his words made her feel just a tiny bit better after the worst experience of her life. “I’m right here, and I'm here because of you. After you turned on Freddie,” she starts, earning a watery laugh against her lips which she mirrors, “it was like it broke through the spell, you know? And then all I saw was you. And I heard you calling out for me and I just… I just ran. I ran to you because I knew that if I could make it to your arms, I'd be safe. And I was. I still am.”
She feels him taking a deep breath, in through his mouth and out through his nose. He nods, his nose bumping against hers in a motion so intimate that her heart nearly stops. The song starts again, and even though she could be driven crazy at any moment hearing the same notes over and over, he keeps her sane. “I wish I stayed with you. I’m so sorry.”
“You couldn’t. You were right; you probably would’ve been arrested. Hawkins already started a manhunt; it’s not safe for you out there.”
“The Satanic Freak,” he muses, and she’s unable to decide if he’s being humorous or not.
“No,” she whispers. “The really nice guy who saved my life.”
That brings a small laugh from his lips, and it makes her smile. “Are you sure you don’t mean your true love saved you?” he asks, and she gives him a questioning look. “Freddie?”
Her smirk grows across her lips as his sense of humor returns. “No,” she says casually. “I’m more partial to Roger.”
“Roger?!” he balks, pulling away from her slightly but keeping his strong hands on the small of her back.
“Don’t act so surprised!”
“The drummer, Chrissy? You wound me.”
In a moment of boldness, she grins and shrugs. “I like his curls,” she says, flicking her fingers through his bangs.
For someone so cool and confident, the speed at which his eyes grow wide and his face turns beet red is surprising.
