#sensoryissues!eddie

[corrodedcoffinkid]

joyce throwing a dinner party and eddie having texture problems with some of the food!!

Joyce watches happily as everyone eats the food she had spent all day preparing. The younger ones were deep in a conversation about the arcade’s new game, while the older ones were focused more on the food than conversation…

Well, all except one.

Joyce frowns. Eddie is staring at his plate, eyebrows knit together in worry. Joyce had fixed everybody’s plate the same- pork chops, mashed potatoes, green beans, and dinner rolls. She’d asked beforehand about dietary restrictions, hadn’t she?

“Eddie, honey, could you help me with something in the kitchen?”

Eddie looks worriedly at her, then at Steve, then back at her. “Oh- um, sure.”

Eddie follows Joyce into the kitchen. She looks at him, her face worried. “Is everything okay? Why aren’t you eating?”

His face goes bright red. God, why couldn’t he have just choked down a dinner roll? “I-I’m sure the food’s great, I just can’t eat any of it.” Joyce goes to speak, but Eddie beats her there. “Will told you I have autism, didn’t he?”

“What? No, he never even mentioned it.”

“Oh… I have problems with most foods. The textures of them, the tastes, the smells. I can’t eat much of anything.” Eddie sighs sadly, “I’m sorry, Joyce. I know you worked so hard.”

“Honey,” Joyce says, “It’s okay. Hopper will eat your plate- we need to fatten him back up anyway. What do you eat, hun? Is there anything here that would work?”

Sheepishly, Eddie shakes his head. “No… don’t- don’t cook something extra for me.”

“I’m not sitting back down until you tell me what you want to eat.”

A few moments later, Eddie and Joyce come back into the dining room- Eddie with a plate in hand. He returns to his seat next to Steve before he passes his old plate over to Hopper. Steve smiles a little, noticing Eddie’s new dinner. “Peanut butter sandwich?”

“With the crusts cut off,” Eddie says.

From then on, there is always a crust-free peanut butter sandwich waiting for Eddie at his spot at the dinner table.

[corrodedcoffinkid]

steve makes eddie flashcards for when he's non verbal

It started at the grocery store.

Per usual, Eddie is upset, overstimulated, and nonverbal.

Steve’s usually good at understanding what Eddie needs when he’s nonverbal, but he couldn’t be more confused today. He kept throwing comfort foods in the cart while hitting his chest. One minute, he’s teary eyed, the next, he’s back to hitting.

Steve stops Eddie from throwing another pack of Oreos into the cart. “Eddie, baby, go out to the car. I can finish in here.” Eddie lets out a grumbly whine, but he doesn’t fight Steve on this. Steve presses a kiss to his cheek. “Try to recharge a little. I’ll be out in a minute.”

At home, Eddie had explained that he had been overstimulated from the lights and the beeping at the register, and all he really had needed was a tight hug to calm him down.

So, that’s why Steve is in the break room at the video store writing feverishly on flashcards. Robin walks into the break room, it’s a slow day, after all. “Aren’t you done with school, Harrington?”

“They’re not for me,” Steve responds, not looking up, “They’re for Eds.”

“Oh.” Robin looks through the cards. “You know, I can help, if you want. I know what it’s like to go nonverbal.”

“What kind of cards should I write?” Steve pushes the growing pile towards her. “I have emotions, stim toys, response cards…”

“You need some for food and drink. Nancy can never tell what I want to eat when I go nonverbal. I’d keep it limited to comfort foods.”

So, that’s what Steve does.

“Eddie, I have a surprise.”

Eddie looks up from his desk. “Oh, yeah?”

A six inch tall stack of notecards in placed beside him. “What am I looking at? I know my chemistry grades are slipping, but my God, I don’t think I need to do this much studying-”

“They’re communication cards.”

Eddie pauses.

“Oh.”

He flips through them carefully.

“They’re organized by food, needs, wants, stim toys, emotions, responses…”

Eddie smiles. He flips through all the way to the response section of the notecards. He thumbs through them, until pulling out a card that reads two simple words-

Thank you.

[corrodedcoffinkid]

you said you hc he chews on steve and robin and tried to chew on nancy, maybe smthn abt that?

Eddie really, really hates the upside down.

Steve and Robin are working for the day, so Nancy had decided to carry Eddie and herself to visit them. Usually, Eddie doesn’t have a problem with Nancy, but right now, she won’t stop talking about the upside down. Nancy isn’t picking up on Eddie’s distress- she’s more focused on driving.

Nancy, oblivious to Eddie, continues, “The whole thing… I still get nightmares about it. I mean, we all could’ve died. Me, you, Robin, Steve…”

Gnawing on his fingers now, Eddie tries to block her out. He wants to tell her to stop talking, but isn’t that rude? He’s not sure. The more she talks, the more aggressively he’s biting.

Steve had told him to carry his chewie around with him, but Eddie didn’t today. Nancy had seen Eddie’s chewie once, and immediately launched into a tangent about how unsanitary it was.

Nancy doesn’t realize until they’re in the parking lot of the video store. Eddie’s fingers are dripping blood all over his jeans. “Woah, Eddie, what the hell?”

“I-I don’t-I don’t know-”

“How can I help?”

“I- um- Steve lets me chew on his hands when I get like this.”

Nancy’s face scrunches up in disgust. “Ew,” she says, “Let’s go get Steve then, because I’m not doing that. That’s so gross. It’s flu season, Eddie.”

Eddie wants to tell her that he’s well aware how gross and unsanitary it is, that she should just shut up because she could never understand what it’s like.

Instead, he leaves the car and runs to find Steve.

Steve is busy rewinding a tape when he hears the door loudly swing open. He looks up, expecting another obnoxious pre teen trying to sneak an X rated movie, but it’s only Eddie. “Hey, baby, give me one second-“ His eyes widen. “Is that blood?” He abandons the tape, then runs over to tidy Eddie’s hands. “What did I tell you about this? I said to keep your chew necklace on you.”

Then, Nancy walks in, and Steve puts two and two together. “Oh… Let’s go to the back, Eds. I’ll get you cleaned up.”

Steve grabs the first aid kit that the shop keeps for the employees, and rummages through it. Bandaids, gauze, disinfectant… that should work. Quickly, he washes his hands before starting. He examines Eddie’s hands- it’s mostly his fingers that he had torn up.

“Am I gross?” Eddie asks quietly.

“What?”

“Am I gross?”

Steve sighs as he begins wrapping Eddie’s fingers. “Did Nancy say something? I’m sorry, you know she’s still getting used to all of this.” The look on Eddie’s face tells him what he needs to know. “You’re not gross, Eddie. Your brain is different, and sometimes you cope differently because of it. No big deal.”

Eddie doesn’t really believe him, but he nods anyway. “She was talking about the Upside Down, and I got upset.”

“You’re safe now, Eddie,” Steve says, offering his hand to Eddie. “Do you need to chew?”

“I need to chew.”

Steve is proud of Eddie for recognizing the need, so he smiles a little. “Okay.” He puts his hand to Eddie’s lips. “Gentle.”

Eddie softly chews on Steve’s fingers. It calms him- makes the bad thoughts melt away. No more Upside Down, no more fear- he’s safe.

He’s safe.

[corrodedcoffinkid]

little!eddie munson x cg!steve hurt/comfort?

let me start off this fic by saying

1) this is non sexual age regression

2) it is a therapy approved coping mechanism

3) if you don’t like it, leave.

Sometimes Eddie is… different.

Sure, Eddie has his quirks every day, but some nights, there were different things Steve picked up on.

When Eddie felt any big emotions, he’d begin to suck on his fingers. It usually ended with him falling asleep in Steve’s lap. Even if he did manage to stay awake, he doesn’t talk much. His speech would become mostly babbling or one sentence replies.

But… the thing that stuck out the most is his teddy bear.

If they were alone and Eddie felt overwhelmed, upset, or anything too strong for him to handle, he’d carry around his teddy bear.

Teddy’s an old, raggedy stuffed animal. His fur is missing in patches, his eyes are scratched too. Eddie slept with him most nights, but he only carried it around with him around the house if something was particularly bothering him.

And tonight, something wasn’t right.

Steve’s off work late tonight. Eddie’s at home- most likely planning a campaign or listening to music. Steve hopes he’d be asleep by now, but it was wishful thinking at this point. Eddie isn’t sleeping well, especially when he’s alone.

Sighing, Steve opens the door to the trailer. He almost jumps out of his skin at what he finds.

Eddie’s standing in the middle of the living room, Teddy clutched to his chest. Tears fall from those big brown eyes that are staring at the ceiling in terror. He’s trembling.

“Eddie?” Steve asks softly. “Baby, what’s the matter?” He’s not even sure why he asks- he knows what the problem is. Eddie would get fixated on the ceiling where the portal to the upside down had been.

Eddie shakes his head rapidly. He can’t talk about it, he can’t. He can’t even think about it. He opens his mouth, trying to say something- anything. He wants Steve to hold him, he wants to stop hearing the sound of Chrissy’s bones cracking, he wants to go to sleep.

Instead, he cries.

Bursting into tears, Eddie crumples into a ball on the floor. Hands covering his ears, he almost doesn’t hear Steve calling his name.

Thankfully, Steve is pretty strong. He lifts Eddie up and over his shoulder. He gently pats his back as he walks to their room. He hates that Eddie still has to live at the site of his trauma, but they can’t afford anything else.

“Alright,” Steve says softly, setting Eddie down on the bed. “I’m going to change into some pajamas, but I’m not leaving, okay?”

“No!” Eddie cries, grabbing onto Steve’s work uniform. “Stay! Stay!”

“Eddie, I’m just going across the room.” Steve walks off to Eddie’s dresser. Unsurprisingly, Eddie follows him. “Eds, I want you to lay down. You’re worked up enough as it is.”

“No.”

Steve sighs sympathetically. He pulls on his pajamas, then guides Eddie back to his bed. He tucks them both in, careful not to let Eddie’s bear fall into the floor. He leaves a lamp on. Eddie doesn’t like the dark- not anymore.

“Bad night?”

Eddie shakes his head rapidly. “No talking about it, please.”

“Okay.”

Steve needs to find a way to make this better. He untucks Eddie, and places him into his lap instead. Maybe, just maybe, Eddie needs something more tender.

Slowly, Steve begins to rock them back and forth. He hums a soft lullaby, stroking Eddie’s cheek with his thumb as he does so. Eddie’s thumb finds it’s way up to his mouth. Suckling on his fingers now, he seems more peaceful.

Teddy in lap, Eddie is happy. He drifts off to sleep in Steve’s arms, but that didn’t mean Steve was going to stop.

He rocks him for hours. He could do this forever. Watching Eddie sleep so peacefully is his own way of winding down. He doesn’t stop humming the lullaby until his throat gets sore. Gently, he takes Eddie’s fingers from out of his mouth. He pulls the blankets over the both of them- and Teddy.

Bad nights don’t always have to stay bad, Steve decides.

[corrodedcoffinkid]

could you write eddie biting his lips up really bad cause someone made him feel bad for chewing on something? (totally not projecting... hahaha), but then fluff after please? thx for all ur content!

Don’t bite, don’t bite, don’t bite.

Eddie nibbles on his bottom lip. The urge to chew on his shirt is strong, but he has to fight it. He can’t bite at school. Everyone will make fun of him again. It’s only third period, and he’s already exhausted.

A little chewing couldn’t hurt.

Quietly, Eddie begins to chew on his shirt collar. His stresses melt away- just a little. His whole body relaxes slightly.

Then, it all tenses up again.

“Looks like the freak couldn’t afford breakfast and needs to eat his shirt,” sneers a jock from the back. The class laughs, causing Eddie to drop his shirt collar from his mouth. He’s bright red now.

“Mr. Munson,” the teacher says, clearly irritated. “Please don’t interrupt my class with this nonsense again.”

“But I didn’t even say any-”

“You best pay attention. It’s obvious you don’t most days.”

Eddie’s eyes fill with tears. He slumps further into his desk. He is paying attention. He is trying. He can’t concentrate if he can’t fidget, and he can’t fidget without getting picked on.

So, he’s back to his lips.

By the time he’s driving to Steve’s house, his lips are bleeding and raw. Still, he doesn’t stop. “Freak,” he whispers to himself. The taste of blood is fresh on his tongue. Has he ever bled this much before?

He parks in Steve’s driveway, then looks at himself in the rearview mirror. “Holy shit,” he whispers. He’d torn his lips so bad that the blood was dripping down his chin, and onto his shirt and jacket. Steve’s going to freak.

He cleans himself up as best as he can before heading inside. Not surprisingly, Steve is lounged out on the couch, watching some shitty comedy he had “borrowed” from work. Eddie laughs softly at the thought. He really had been rubbing off on his boyfriend.

“I’m here,” Eddie says quietly. He almost doesn’t want Steve to turn around and see him. He’s just going to upset him.

“Hey,, how was sch- Eddie!” Steve jumps off the couch and runs over to wipe the blood off of Eddie’s bottom lip. “What happened?”

Eddie tries to tell him that he was overwhelmed- that it had been a terrible day, that he’s been ridiculed and laughed at, but all that comes out is a weak cry.

But, it’s okay.

Steve understands.

“Bad day, huh?” Steve asks softly, wiping Eddie’s tears. “What do you want, Eds? We can go home if you want, or we can stay here.”

Eddie nods tearily. “I want to go home,” he murmurs. His eyes meet Steve’s. “Can I take a bath here first? Please?”

Steve nods, and leads Eddie to the master bathroom. Steve’s parents aren’t poor by any means, and that was a major difference from Eddie’s everyday life. Their master bathroom has a giant bathtub in it, and Eddie loved taking bubblebaths in it. At the trailer, all he had was a little tub with a drain that didn’t work properly.

Eddie strips his clothes- including the bloody shirt, and sinks into the hot water. His lips are still bleeding and cracking, causing him to wince whenever he tries to speak.

Steve kneels next to the bathtub with a damp rag. “Can I clean your lips and chin up?” Eddie gives him the go ahead, and Steve gently begins wiping away the blood. Eddie’s bottom lip was the worst- it’s clear it would need a few days to scab. He looks at Eddie, who almost looks… ashamed? “Eddie?”

“Hm?”

“What’s on your mind?”

Eddie shrugs, halfheartedly popping a few bubbles from his bubblebath. “I’m just exhausted, Stevie,” he whispers. “I’m not on track to graduate, and nobody at that damn school is even attempting to help me.” He pauses and takes a shaky breath. “I was stressed, so I chewed on my shirt. I was okay, I was listening, and I felt like I could maybe understand what the teacher was talking about…” He sighs. “Then some asshole pointed me out to everyone and the teacher got mad at me for causing a distraction.”

Steve pushes down his own negative feelings about the situation, instead choosing to continue wiping Eddie’s chin. “I’m sorry, baby,” he says, “I wish I could help.”

“No,” Eddie shakes his head, “You’re helping. This? This is helping.”

Steve offers a sympathetic smile. “Okay.” He sets the rag down. “It’s stopped bleeding for now, and I got all the blood off.”

“Thank you.”

Steve helps Eddie shampoo his hair. Eddie looks so… different with his hair wet. Eddie’s hair is the majority of his tough guy, oddball persona. With it being wet and less messy? He looked vulnerable. It sparks something in Steve- something maternal- like he wants to hold Eddie and never let go. “Can I get in with you?”

“Please,” Eddie says, smiling.

So, Steve joins Eddie in his bubblebath. He carefully pulls Eddie onto his lap. “Still warm enough for you in here?”

“Mmhm,” Eddie hums. He rests his head on Steve’s chest. He feels his eyes begin to get heavy. Had he slept last night? Come to think of it, he hasn’t really slept well in a few days.

“Somebody sleepy?” Steve teases. “Go to sleep, baby. We’ll go home once you’re done with your bath.”

Eddie tries to nod, tries to hum in agreement, but he’s far too deep in sleep before he manages to do either. The days events forgotten, Eddie sleeps.

He finally sleeps.

[corrodedcoffinkid]

autistic!eddie cant wait until wayne comes home and calls his work crying because hes having a bad sensory day and is too overwhelmed?

It’s been a shitty day already, Wayne thinks.

Eddie’d been mad at him at dinner over leaving to go to work when he had promised to help him paint more figurines. He’d tried to explain that he didn’t have any control over when he was called into work, but Eddie wasn’t hearing him. The boy had pushed away his plate and stomped off to his room in a huff.

So, yeah, Wayne felt pretty shitty.

He’d been working for a few hours when he got the call. Everyone else in his contact list on silent, except for Eddie. He hears the ringer, and he knows it’s him. Eddie knows not to call unless he really needs to.

“Eddie? Son, listen-”

“You-You gotta come home!”

Wayne furrows his eyebrows. Is his nephew crying? “Slow down-”

“I spilled my paint and it got on the carpet and it got on my favorite knight and then I started hitting and now my head hurts really bad and you gotta come home!”

“I’ll be there in 10.”

Eddie had inherited his driving skills from his uncle. Flying down the backroads, Wayne was there in 8.

He shoves his key into the door, and pushes it open. “Eddie? Son, I’m home.” He follows the sound of crying into Eddie’s room, where the boy sat on the floor, sobbing his eyes out and covered in paint and blood. “Oh, Eddie…”

“Uncle Wayne! I’m sorry! I’m sorry!” Eddie’s sobbing now, his head in his hands. “I ruined the carpet, I ruined everything!”

“Every paint comes off with something.” Wayne shrugs. “I’m not worried about the carpet, I’m worried about my nephew. Let’s get you cleaned up.”

Eddie isn’t having it. “No! I ruined everything! I ruined everything! I’m a freak! A freak!” He’s hyperventilating now as he hits at his chest. “A freak, a freak, a freak!”

Wayne grabs him. He grabs him, holds him tight to his body. “Eddie, stop. Breathe.”

Crying into his uncle’s shirt, Eddie shakes his head. “M’ a freak, a freak,” he murmurs. He tries to hit himself again, but Wayne stops him. “I’m not letting go until you’ve calmed yourself down.”

While holding Eddie, Wayne takes the opportunity to look at his self inflicted injuries. His forehead is definitely busted open. His knuckles are scarred from years of mindless hitting, so it’s hard to tell if they’re hurt. There’s no blood coming out of them, so he figures he’s fine.

Cautiously, he peeks down at Eddie. His eyes are closed now, his breathing is much better. “There we go, boy,” he says softly. “Why don’t you get a shower while I clean up?”

Eddie nods.

Wayne’s not sure where to begin. Eddie had managed to spill black paint all over the carpet, and all over his new toys- figurines, he means. The paint hasn’t dried all the way, so he quickly washes the figures in the sink. They’re almost all the way clean after a bit of scrubbing, and Wayne smiles at that.

At his age, Wayne had been around the block a few times. He knows how to get carpet stains up, especially after years of living with Eddie, who left stains everywhere he went.

Eddie walks into his room where Wayne is sitting on his bed. He pulls on a sleep shirt and boxers, while admiring the now clean carpet. He sniffles, and smiles sadly. “You’re like a carpet wizard, old man.”

“Had to be when I agreed to adopt you, boy,” Wayne says softly. He points to the figures on Eddie’s bed. “Cleaned ‘em up pretty well, if i do say so myself.”

Eddie sighs in relief as he examines the figurines. “Wow… thank you.” He turns to put them away, but Wayne stops him. “We need to assess that head of your’s.”

“Oh… yeah, I guess.”

Eddie lets Wayne touch it and clean it, even if it does hurt. “It shouldn’t need stitches,” Wayne says, carefully cleaning it. “You really did bust the hell out of it, though.” Eddie winces a few times, but he doesn’t fight it.

“I think you’re good to go. Does your head still hurt?”

Eddie nods. “Hurts pretty bad.”

“We may need to get you checked for a concussion.”

Eddie’s eyes go wide, and he shakes his head wildly. “No! No hospital!”

Wayne sighs, but hesitantly agrees. “Okay, but go and take some Ibuprofen. I’m not letting you go to sleep until the headache eases up, understand?”

“Got it.”

Eddie and Wayne watch TV for a little while. The light hurts Eddie’s head, but it’s keeping him awake. A few hours pass before his head stops pounding. “I think I’m okay now.”

“Sure?”

“M’ sure.”

“Alright. Go to sleep, son.” Wayne rests the boy’s head on his chest, and begins patting his back in circles. Eddie sighs contentedly. “Thank you for coming home.”

“I always will, Eddie, I always will.”

[corrodedcoffinkid]

eddie being terrified of needles + steve having to comfort him

“Eddie, look at me,” Steve whispers. He can’t be too loud- the nurse thinks they’re strange enough as it is.

Eddie had walked into the doctor’s office in tears. Being the town freak makes him stick out like a sore thumb, so his quiet sobs into his boyfriend’s chest had the entire office staring at him.

Now, even in the exam room, Eddie is still sobbing and trembling as the nurse readies his flu shot. His face is pressed into Steve’s chest, mostly to stop him from looking at the needle. Sure, Eddie had tattoos, but a needle buzzing against his skin was a lot different than a vial of liquid being pushed into his muscle.

“Eddie, I said look at me.”

Eddie whimpers and shakes his head.

“Eddie.”

Finally, teary brown eyes meet Steve’s.

“Keep your eyes on me, Munson. You’re being really brave, you know.”

“Please don’t make me do this!”

God, Steve can’t handle it. Eddie’s face is scrunched up with fear. His entire body is trembling. Steve takes a deep breath in an attempt to stop his own tears from falling. He’d only ever seen Eddie this hysterical once before; the time he actually got the flu.

“Babe, we’re not doing a repeat of last year. You were so weak you could barely move. You vomited for days! You have to do this.”

The nurse attempts to pull up Eddie’s sleeve, but he isn’t having it. Eddie cries out, and pulls away from her. “Get off of me! Steve! Help!”

Steve grabs Eddie, holding him down into his lap. “Do it, now!”

One quick alcohol wipe, and one quick pinch.

Eddie whimpers the entire ride home. Head against the window, tears dripping down his cheeks. Steve reaches over and places a hand on his thigh, but Eddie doesn’t respond.

Complete silence fills the room as Eddie curls into his bed, his knees pressed up against his chest.

“Baby, I’m sorry. You know I didn’t have a choice.”

“I was scared.” Eddie wipes his tears. “You held me down!”

“I know, I know. I’m sorry,” Steve says softly. “For what it’s worth, you were really brave.”

“No I wasn’t.”

Steve slips into bed next to Eddie. “Yeah, you were! You faced your fear and got it over with.”

“Whatever,” Eddie mumbles. Embarrassed, he rests his head on Steve’s shoulder. “Can we at least get pizza for dinner because I was so brave?”

Steve laughs softly. “Always.”

[corrodedcoffinkid]

Eddie digging his head into Steve’s chest and playing with his hair when he’s overwhelmed and Steve comforting him? Sorry if this is too vague of a promt

Eddie burrows his face into Steve’s chest. Oh, God, he felt terrible- physically and mentally. He hadn’t stopped throwing up since last night. His throat is raw, his nose is clogged, and he can barely keep his eyes open.

“I’m sorry, baby,” Steve says softly, running his fingers through Eddie’s hair. “I know you don’t feel good.”

Crying, Eddie nods. He tries to tell Steve how overwhelming all of it is. He tries to tell him that his throat is hurting and his head is hurting and all he wants to do is go to sleep, but all he manages is a loud whimper.

“I know, baby,” Steve picks Eddie off of the bathroom floor, and carries him to the bedroom. “You must be so sleepy.”

Eddie nuzzles against Steve’s chest. He’s tucked in, and held close. “M’ sick,” Eddie whines.

“You’re definitely sick,” Steve agrees. “I think someone needs a nap.”

Eyes heavy, Eddie nods. “Do I get to play with your hair until I’m asleep?”

Steve smiles, “Of course.”

Eddie sleepily begins playing with his boyfriend’s hair. He makes a few poor attempts at a braid. It keeps his mind off of his aching head long enough to close his eyes.

Mouth open, eyes closed, Steve admires Eddie as he begins to snore. Quietly enough not to wake him, Steve puts him back on his chest- the place Eddie loves the most.