Soft
Pairing: Eddie Munson x female!oc Word Count: 2513
Eddie had heard about Charlie for months.
Actually, if he was being completely honest, he had heard about Charlie so much that he felt like he already knew her.
Every time he talked to Rhiannon, somehow, some way, Charlie came up.
"Charlie did the funniest thing today."
"Charlie hates when I vacuum."
"Charlie was sitting on my chest this morning and refused to let me get up."
"Charlie stole my blanket again."
"Charlie likes this one song, but only if it's played quietly."
And Eddie always smiled.
Because it was Rhiannon.
Everything about her made him smile.
The way she talked with her hands when she got excited. The way she laughed at her own jokes before anyone else could. The way she somehow managed to make even the most boring stories sound like the greatest adventure in the world.
So, naturally, Eddie had become invested in Charlie.
The only problem?
He had never actually met Charlie.
Which, in Eddie's mind, was weird.
Rhiannon was one of his best friends. One of the only people who actually understood him. The kind of person who would sit on the floor of his trailer at midnight listening to him rant about some new song idea or a D&D campaign he wanted to create.
She knew his favorite snacks. She knew when he was pretending to be okay. She knew exactly when he needed someone to distract him from his own thoughts.
And yet somehow, Eddie Munson had never met the mysterious Charlie.
Naturally, he had formed an image.
A dog.
Obviously.
Everything Rhiannon said pointed toward a dog.
Charlie stole blankets? Dog behavior.
Charlie followed her around? Dog behavior.
Charlie hated the vacuum? Extremely dog behavior.
Charlie sat on her chest and refused to let her move?
Okay, maybe a slightly strange dog, but still.
Eddie had pictured some kind of fluffy mutt. Maybe a golden retriever mix. Something with big eyes and a ridiculous amount of energy.
Honestly, he was looking forward to meeting her.
So when Rhiannon finally invited him over after school one afternoon, Eddie practically jumped at the chance.
“Finally,” he announced dramatically as he walked up her driveway. “The mysterious Charlie will be revealed. I’ve been waiting months for this moment.”
Rhiannon opened the door, laughing.
“You’re ridiculous.”
“I am many things, sweetheart, but ridiculous is not one of them.”
She raised an eyebrow.
“Eddie.”
“Okay, fine. I’m a little ridiculous.”
“A little?”
“Okay, okay, don’t hurt me.”
She rolled her eyes but smiled, stepping aside to let him in.
And Eddie immediately noticed something.
The house was quiet.
No barking.
No excited paws running across the floor.
No dog jumping up to greet him.
“Huh,” he said.
Rhiannon glanced over. “What?”
“Nothing.”
But he looked around suspiciously.
She noticed.
And the little smirk that appeared on her face should have been his first warning.
It was the same smirk she got when she knew something he didn’t.
“Rhiannon,” Eddie said slowly. “Where’s Charlie?”
Her smile widened.
“In the living room.”
“Okay.”
He walked toward the living room.
Still no barking.
Still no dog.
Eddie turned back toward her.
“You sure Charlie is here?”
Rhiannon crossed her arms, trying desperately not to laugh.
“Yes.”
“And Charlie is…?”
“Right there.”
She pointed.
Eddie followed her finger.
And froze.
Sitting comfortably on a blanket in a little pen was the tiniest, fluffiest creature Eddie had ever seen.
A little brown-and-white bunny.
A baby bunny.
A ridiculously adorable baby bunny.
For a solid five seconds, Eddie just stared.
Then he slowly turned his head toward Rhiannon.
“...I thought Charlie was a dog.”
Rhiannon immediately burst into laughter.
Not a polite laugh.
Not a small giggle.
A full-on, cannot-breathe, holding-her-stomach laugh.
Eddie looked offended.
“I’m glad my confusion is so entertaining to you.”
She wiped a tear from her eye.
“Eddie.”
“What?”
“I never said she was a dog.”
He opened his mouth.
Then closed it.
Then pointed at the bunny.
“But everything you said!”
“I said she steals blankets.”
“Yeah!”
“Bunnies steal blankets.”
“I said she follows you around!”
“She does.”
“She hates the vacuum!”
“She runs away from it.”
“She sits on your chest!”
“She likes being close to me.”
Eddie stared.
Rhiannon tilted her head, smiling mischievously.
“You just assumed, Eds.”
He narrowed his eyes.
“You tricked me.”
“No, I didn’t.”
“Yes, you did.”
“Nope.”
“Absolutely did.”
She walked over to Charlie’s pen and picked her up carefully.
“You wanna hold her?”
And just like that, all of Eddie’s arguments disappeared.
Because Rhiannon was standing there holding the tiniest bunny in the world, and Eddie had no defense against that.
“Wait,” he said.
“What?”
“You’re just going to hand me a tiny animal after emotionally betraying me?”
Rhiannon laughed.
“Yes.”
“Wow.”
“Eddie.”
He sighed dramatically.
“Fine.”
She carefully placed Charlie into his arms.
And Eddie Munson, the guy who wore a leather jacket covered in patches, played heavy metal music, and had absolutely no problem intimidating people who deserved it, immediately became the softest person alive.
“Oh.”
Rhiannon smiled.
Because she knew.
She knew exactly what would happen.
Eddie looked down at Charlie, who was comfortably settled against him, tiny nose twitching as she explored his jacket.
“Oh, she’s tiny.”
“She is.”
“She’s so tiny.”
“Eddie, you’ve said that two times.”
“Because she’s so tiny.”
Rhiannon laughed again.
And Eddie looked up at her.
For a moment, neither of them said anything.
Because this was the problem.
This was always the problem.
Rhiannon made everything feel easy.
She made Eddie feel like he wasn’t too loud or too weird or too much.
With her, he didn’t have to perform.
He didn’t have to be the metalhead freak everyone expected him to be.
He could just be Eddie.
And apparently, Eddie was a guy who melted over baby bunnies.
“Don’t tell anyone about this,” he said quietly.
Rhiannon blinked.
“About what?”
“That I’m holding a bunny.”
She smiled.
“Why?”
“Because I have a reputation.”
“You mean the reputation where you pretend to be scary but you’re actually a huge softie?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Eddie.”
“I’m terrifying.”
“You cried when you watched that movie with the dog.”
“That was a deeply emotional experience.”
“You said the dog was your favorite character.”
“Because he was the best written.”
Rhiannon laughed.
Then her eyes suddenly lit up.
“Oh, wait.”
Eddie narrowed his eyes.
“What?”
Before he could react, Rhiannon reached toward the side table and grabbed something.
A Polaroid camera.
“Rhiannon.”
She grinned.
“Don’t.”
“Absolutely.”
“Put that down.”
“No.”
“Rhiannon, I swear-”
Click.
The flash went off.
Eddie froze.
Charlie blinked.
Rhiannon smiled proudly as the photo slowly slid out.
“Oh my God.”
“You took a picture.”
“I did.”
“Of me.”
“With Charlie.”
“Exactly.”
“I trusted you. And this is how you repay me?”
She waved the developing photo slightly.
“This is evidence.”
“Evidence of what?”
“That Eddie Munson is secretly the biggest sweetheart alive.”
“I am not.”
“You’re holding a bunny.”
“She’s tiny.”
Rhiannon laughed.
“You’re never living this down.”
Eddie looked at her, trying to stay annoyed.
He failed.
Because she looked so happy.
And because, despite himself…
He kind of wanted that picture to exist.
Even if he would never admit it.
“Fine,” he muttered.
“Fine?”
“Fine. Keep the picture.”
Rhiannon smiled.
“I knew you’d come around.”
“Don’t get used to it.”
“Too late.”
And Eddie knew, right then, that he was completely doomed.
Because somehow, against all odds, Rhiannon had managed to make him fall even harder.
And he was starting to think Charlie might not be the only one who liked being close to her.
Rhiannon placed the Polaroid carefully on the table, letting it develop while Eddie continued holding Charlie.
For a moment, neither of them said anything.
And Eddie was okay with that.
Actually, he liked it.
Silence with most people felt awkward. Like he had to fill it with some stupid joke or dramatic comment before someone decided he was too much.
But with Rhiannon?
Silence was easy.
Comfortable.
Like he didn’t have to prove anything.
Charlie shifted in his arms, and Eddie looked down at her.
“She really does like me.”
Rhiannon smiled.
“She does.”
“Obviously.”
She raised an eyebrow.
“Obviously?”
“Come on, look at me.”
She laughed softly.
“What about you makes you think a bunny would automatically like you?”
Eddie looked genuinely offended.
“I’m charming.”
“You’re chaotic.”
“Same thing.”
“Not even close.”
He grinned.
“You like me.”
The words slipped out before he could stop them.
And suddenly, the room went quiet.
Eddie froze.
Because he hadn’t meant to say it like that.
Not out loud.
Not when he was holding her bunny in her living room and she was looking at him with that soft expression that always made him forget how to breathe.
Rhiannon blinked.
Then she smiled.
Not a teasing smile.
Not the one she used when she was making fun of him.
A real one.
A soft one.
“I do like you, Eddie.”
His heart stopped.
For once in his life, Eddie Munson had absolutely nothing to say.
“You do?”
Rhiannon tilted her head.
“Yeah.”
“Like…”
He looked down at Charlie.
Then back at her.
“Like, you like me?”
She laughed quietly.
“Yeah, Eddie.”
He stared at her.
“You’re sure?”
“Pretty sure.”
“Because I have spent the last year thinking you were way too cool for me.”
Rhiannon’s expression softened.
“Eddie.”
“What?”
“You’re Eddie Munson.”
“That is unfortunately true.”
“And you’re one of the sweetest people I know.”
He opened his mouth.
Nothing came out.
Because nobody ever said things like that about him.
Not seriously.
Not when they weren’t trying to make fun of him.
Rhiannon stepped a little closer.
“You’re always there for people. You act like you don’t care, but you care more than anyone.”
Eddie looked away, suddenly feeling a little too exposed.
“Careful,” he joked quietly. “You keep saying nice things like that, I might start believing you.”
“I mean it.”
That made him look back at her.
And there it was.
That was the thing about Rhiannon.
She never just said things.
She meant them.
Eddie swallowed.
“I really like you, you know.”
“I know.”
He blinked.
“You know?”
She smiled.
“Eddie, you are the least subtle person I’ve ever met.”
He gasped.
“Excuse you.”
“You literally wrote my name on your D&D notebook with little hearts around it.”
“That was a design choice.”
“It was pink.”
“It was a very metal pink.”
Rhiannon laughed.
And Eddie smiled because he could listen to that laugh forever.
“You saw that?”
“Eddie.”
“What?”
“You left it open on the table.”
“Oh.”
“Yeah.”
“Okay, first of all, invasion of privacy.”
“You left it open.”
“Second of all, those hearts were not hearts.”
“They were absolutely hearts.”
“They were artistic symbols.”
“Of what?”
“Love.”
The second the word left his mouth, Eddie froze.
Rhiannon froze.
And then they both laughed.
Because of course Eddie Munson would accidentally confess while trying to defend doodles.
Charlie yawned in his arms.
Eddie looked down.
“Do you think she approves?”
Rhiannon leaned closer.
“She’s been sitting there for five minutes.”
“Exactly.”
“That doesn’t answer anything.”
“It means she’s witnessed greatness.”
“You’re impossible.”
“And yet…”
“And yet?”
He smiled.
“And yet you like me.”
Rhiannon shook her head, but she was smiling.
“Yeah, Eddie.”
She reached over and gently scratched Charlie’s head.
“And I think Charlie does too.”
Eddie looked at the bunny.
Then at Rhiannon.
And for a moment, he wondered how he got so lucky.
The girl he had been secretly falling for liked him back.
The girl who made him laugh and made him feel like he belonged.
The girl who had just tricked him into meeting a bunny instead of a dog.
“Can I tell you something?” he asked.
“Yeah.”
“I actually like that you took the picture.”
Rhiannon looked surprised.
“You do?”
“Don’t make a big deal out of it.”
“I’m absolutely making a big deal out of it.”
“Rhiannon.”
“Eddie Munson admitting he likes a picture of himself being soft?”
“I was holding a bunny.”
“Exactly.”
He rolled his eyes.
But he was smiling.
She picked up the Polaroid and looked at it.
The picture was finally clear.
Eddie, sitting there in his leather jacket, hair messy, looking completely serious while holding the tiniest bunny in existence.
But the thing Rhiannon noticed wasn’t Charlie.
It was Eddie’s face.
Because he wasn’t doing his usual dramatic Eddie Munson expression.
He wasn’t pretending.
He looked happy.
Really happy.
“You know,” she said quietly, “I think this might be my favorite picture of you.”
Eddie looked at her.
“Why?”
“Because you’re not trying to be anyone else.”
That hit him harder than he expected.
Rhiannon had always seen through him.
And maybe that was why he loved her.
Loved.
The word scared him a little.
But it also felt right.
He set Charlie back down carefully in her pen, making sure she was comfortable.
Then he stood.
And suddenly, all the confidence he usually had disappeared.
Because fighting monsters in the Upside Down?
Easy.
Playing guitar in front of a crowd?
Easy.
Telling Rhiannon how he felt?
Terrifying.
“Rhiannon?”
“Yeah?”
He took a breath.
“I know I joke around a lot.”
She smiled.
“Yeah, you do.”
“And I know sometimes I say things just because I don’t know what else to say.”
“I know.”
“But I’m serious about this.”
Her smile softened.
“I know.”
“I really like you.”
“I really like you too.”
And that should have been enough.
It was.
But then Rhiannon reached up and gently touched his cheek.
And Eddie forgot every clever thing he had ever said.
“Can I kiss you?” he asked quietly.
The question made her smile.
Because somehow, Eddie Munson - the guy who pretended he wasn’t afraid of anything - was standing in front of her looking more nervous than she had ever seen him.
“Yeah,” she whispered.
So he did.
Slowly.
Carefully.
Like he was afraid she might disappear if he moved too fast.
It wasn’t some dramatic movie kiss.
There was no music playing.
No perfect moment.
Just Eddie and Rhiannon in her living room, with a bunny named Charlie watching from her pen.
And somehow, it was perfect.
When they pulled away, Eddie kept his forehead resting against hers.
“Wow.”
Rhiannon laughed softly.
“Wow?”
“I had a whole speech planned.”
“You did?”
“Yeah.”
“What happened to it?”
“You kissed me and my brain stopped working.”
She smiled.
“That sounds about right.”
Eddie grinned.
Then he glanced toward Charlie.
“Do you think she’s going to tell everyone?”
Rhiannon looked at the bunny.
“Probably.”
“Great.”
“She’s a gossip.”
“She’s a bunny.”
“Exactly.”
Eddie laughed.
And Rhiannon realized something.
Maybe Charlie wasn’t the only one who had been waiting to meet someone new.
Because Eddie had spent months thinking he was finally going to meet the pet he’d heard so much about.
Instead, he found something even better.
A tiny bunny.
A Polaroid he would treasure forever.
And the girl he’d been hoping would choose him all along.