HIII i love eddie so much i have this scenario bouncing around my poor little brain about like him sitting out in the rain because he doesn’t want to be in the house and the reader who’s the neighbor that moved in after eddie went to jail and they like invite him inside and give him some soup and tea :-) give that man a nice cozy time. he deserves it
HI SORRY THIS TOOK SO LONG I HAVE BEEN A BUSY LITTLE BOY!
I really liked the idea, I've done a little spin on how I thought Eddie deserved at least one friend who tried to help him. Am I exploring the concept of him being gay and leaving his wife for me? That's for me to know. I'm hoping this reaches the right audience, because I love men and men should love me too.
Also if you have more ideas you should send them. For chatacter ai bots or fics.
Synopsis: bringing an old friend in for a cuppa after seeing him get caught in the rain. Pre established friendship and !???
Cw: some language, mention of beer, but overall its tame
You'd never really had a significant reputation in Chadder. You drifted outside the community, maybe it was your age, but you never really felt close with the village.
Aside from Eddie that is.
You used to work next door to his garage, in the little shop. Passing each other each frosty morning turned into combining your routes. Your radiating presence most certainly a stark contrast from the long and dull day he had alone. So walking to work with each other soon turned into going for a pint together to celebrate the day.
You'd exchange stories, little artifacts from each others day. Sometimes there'd be gossip, things You'd over heard in the shop with the things his loose lipped customers would mumble as he worked on their cars. Other times he'd tell you about his kids, what they'd been up to at school and how proud he was of his growing girls. You two made it work.
That was, until he disappeared.
His incarceration was much to your surprise and it seemed you were the only one who had your doubts. You chalked that up to why the residents went a little quiet when you walked by.
Things became a lot slower without Eddie. Your routine had suddenly been lost, your source of the news gone- it seemed as though you were well and truly alone.
By whatever sick twist of luck though, five years had passed and Eddie was out.
Your stomach churned when you first lay eyes on him, your body unsure of how to react- so you did the one logical thing. You stayed away from him.
You avoided him like the plague, worried about all the stewing feelings that had blossomed in his absence. It ate up at you quickly though, the way his face dropped when you turned around and marched off made you wish you could choke up your insides and never dream again.
It went on like this for a couple weeks. Now that spring was approaching, the rainy season was in full swing. You hid in your house most of the time anyway, but hearing the sudden large rain drops on the windows made your expression drop. You bolted outside to grab your drying washing off the line that'd been put up in your front garden. As you cursed yourself, something out the corner of your eye stuck out.
You bit your lip and brought your things inside, tossing them carelessly into a basket by the washing machine. The rain wasn't slowing down, its aggressive downpour had you praying Eddie had left that spot and rushed home.
When you checked out the window though, he was still slumped against one of the black metal fences- trying his best to smoke a drooping cigarette.
Your stomach did another backflip as you decided what to do. You couldn't just leave him there to freeze, could you? You got a few more curses out of your system before kicking off some shoes and marching into the rain.
"Eddie?" You called out as you approached him, the look of panic across his face told you all you needed to hear.
"(Name)- I didn't know you uh- it's raining why are you out 'ere?" He scrambled up off the floor, feeling sorry for himself as he came to his full height.
"Could ask you the same, what's going on? Shouldn't you be with the wife?"
He winced, "ah- its just a bit right now"
You nodded, watching him slowly get more soaked, "you should come back for a cuppa yknow, you're gonna catch your death out here like that"
He wanted to fight you, wanted you to know he belonged to be out here, fighting for warmth like the animal he is.
But also he wanted a warm cup of tea.
So he picked himself off the ground and looked down at you, expecting you to lead. You sigh once more and gesture for him to follow you back inside your house.
He kicks his boots off at the door and let his eyes wander the walls. It's almost like he'd left his troubles outside, the way a childlike wonder filled him. You hadn't changed much since he'd left, and he liked that.
You'd already made it to the kitchen, working on tea, "Eddie? I might have a few things of yours in my wardrobe soon if you want something a hit warmer to slip into?" His gaze left the walls and met yours, nodding softly, "Yeah that'd uhm-" "Where they usually are, help yourself," You gestured for him for him head upstairs.
A light must have turned on, maybe this was the first sense of familiarity he'd been allowed to chase
. Gentle footsteps made their way down the floor and the hulking man now standing before you in some grey joggers and tee.
"Thank you- you don't know how much it-" "I heard about what happened, I didn't know how to approach it," you blurted, your body clearly wanting to rid the words from it's festering wound.
He furrowed his brows a little, "is that why you've you've avoiding me like everyone else?"
"It's not like everyone else, you know it never has been-"
"Eddie your tea is going cold-" you tried to shrug him off.
That wasn't the answer he was looking for, you saw it in the way his expression slowly sunk, "do you think I'm a monster too?"
"No! It's just- fucking hell Eddie, I just haven't been well without you." He slowly sat down onnthe couch at that.
Silence choked the room as you took the note to sit beside him. He pulled you close, fingertips caressing your side as he grabbed you. His head rested on yours and for a moment you felt... at peace? You're not sure what it was, but you sighed and got closer.
"You know I didn't uhm-" he tried to break the silence, an attempt to reassure you.
"Yeah I do, tried to get you proven innocent."
He didn't seem to surprised by the notion, "thank you."
