Chapter Text
Will Byers was a sensitive, sweet, reserved kid; as much as Eddie loved Henderson, and he damn loved Henderson like the little brother he’d never had, something about Will made Eddie go soft and protective and made him ache a little. Maybe he saw himself in Will– timid, shy, fighting things that no one else seemed to notice.
As they’d picked up playing D&D once more, Eddie got to know Will through the weeks as he joined their campaign, especially now that the weekly meetings of the new and improved Hellfire Club were being held at the Byers/Hopper residence due to the Wheelers refusing to let Eddie in their home (and, really, now… Eddie’s name had been fully cleared, dammit). There had apparently been a pretty epic screaming match between the older Wheeler kids and their mother, but house rules had won out in the end and Eddie wasn’t allowed there.
It was sort of impossible to miss the forlorn and broken looks the poor kid was sending his best friend, most obvious when Mike was giving his undivided attention to El. Every week, Eddie promised himself he’d stay late, after everyone had packed up and left, just to have a chat with Will about what he once suspicioned, but now fully expected, that the boy was going through. The thing was, though, Will seemed a little wary of Eddie; Dustin assured him time and time again that Will was just always shy around strangers, especially after all of the Mind Flayer crap the kid had gone through. Which, like– okay, fair. But it still made Eddie feel a little helpless to know that Will could gain a lot from a friendship with Eddie, if he’d just relax around him a bit.
This week, though, Eddie was going to do it, okay? Just last week he’d not-so-accidentally left his keys laying in front of Will before they started playing, the same set of keys that had a small rainbow crochet flag attached and a metal dog tag with the male symbol, a little circle with an arrow coming out at a jaunty angle, crushed into the thin tin. He was trying to drop hints a lot the last few weeks, none of which Will seemed to catch, but the keys seemed to have done it. Will had stared at the keychains until Eddie snatched them off the board with a laugh, playing it off that silly Eddie, forgot his keys on the marshes, can’t have those there; but Will had stared at Eddie with wide, curious eyes long after they’d started playing.
All this to say, today was the day. He was going to open the door and let Will walk through it if he was ready, of course, but still… today was the day.
They ended the campaign a bit earlier than expected, but the party had blown through the first few objectives for the night and they called it quits right as they came to the entrance to an ancient cave humming with dark magic. Eddie made his notes as everyone packed up, bidding all the kids goodbye and cackling when Henderson cursed under his breath at Steve honking obnoxiously in the driveway, just as Dustin was trying to pry Eddie for information about the future of the campaign.
“Son of a bitch,” Dustin huffed a breath as he tugged his backpack onto his shoulders, looking meaningfully at Eddie, “This isn’t over, Munson.”
Will was smiling softly as he started gathering up some of the cups left behind, avoiding Eddie’s gaze even as the older man laughed and gestured disbelievingly after Dustin.
“You used to run campaigns for the party, right? You used to be the DM?”
Will seemed surprised to be addressed directly, looking up at Eddie with wide eyes and a nod.
“Uh, yeah,” he admitted with a bashful smile, “but Dustin ruined every campaign by sneaking my notes and making me tell him what would happen.”
“Goddammit, I keep telling him it’s more fun if you just let it happen, if he wants to control the board so badly–”
“He should just be the DM,” Will finished Eddie’s words along with him, gesturing to him with a laugh. “Exactly!” Eddie can visibly see the boy loosen up at this shared sentiment.
“So, uh, how long have you known him, again? It’s Mike you’ve known the longest, right?”
“Um, yeah, Mike and I have been best friends for– for a long time,” Will said with another shy smile, but he did take a seat at the table with Eddie and thumb at the edge of the cup in his hands.
“You’re a good kid, Byers– no, I mean it,” Eddie insisted when Will playfully rolled his eyes, probably used to hearing such things. “I know your buddies usually get a lot of attention because they’re so damn loud and demanding, but– if there’s ever anything you want to talk to me about, you can, you know?”
“Thanks,” Will said breathlessly, looking back down to his hands with a sigh. It was quiet for so long that Eddie, who was pretending to flip through his notes, was sure that Will was giving the signal that he wasn’t ready to talk about it. “I just– I noticed that you have– a keychain on your keyring.” His words were awkward, stunted, and his cheeks were tinted pink when Eddie glanced back up.
“Yeah, I have a keychain on my keyring, a few actually. My guess is that you’re probably not asking about the Metallica bottle opener though?” he smiled wryly when Will choked a surprised laugh.
“No, I don’t– I don’t think I am,” Will finally looked back up to Eddie and his eyes were wider yet, swimming with fear and uncertainty. “I didn’t know that– I don’t know anyone else like me besides Robin, and that’s–” he seemed to struggle for the words.
“It’s the same, but not the same,” Eddie offered with a sad smile, heart clenching when Will seemed to deflate at the words, eyes filling with tears.
“When did you– how did you–”
“I knew I was gay by the time I was thirteen,” Eddie admitted easily, not missing the way that Will looked up in surprise. Saying the word was important, for Eddie and for Will. Not playing this game of avoiding actually saying it was the first step to making sure Will knew that nothing was wrong with him. Side stepping the words would only make it harder, in the end. Eddie knew this too well. “I was just– different, from my friends, and other guys my age, I guess. I just– I want you to hear all the shit I wish I’d heard, when I was your age. Mostly that, just– there’s nothing wrong with you, Will. And this feels terrifying to you right now, I know it does, but it does get easier. And everyone who matters is going to love you no matter fucking what, kid.” Will was crying fully, nodding along to Eddie’s words as he stared down at the figurines and fiddled mindlessly with one of them, something to do with his hands to avoid Eddie’s warm gaze.
“Steve said the same thing, I just– it’s so hard,” Will admittedly quietly, closing his eyes and forcing more tears down his cheeks. And, wait a minute…
“Steve? Like– Steve Harrington?” Eddie tried not to sound as shocked as he felt, but Will’s cautious gaze meeting his was proof he hadn’t succeeded.
“Uh, yeah, he–” he wiped roughly at his cheeks, laughing in embarrassment at himself. “He and Robin are the only other people that know. He was– really, really cool about it,” Will admitted with a small smile. “Kind of talked me down from a panic attack when Robin straight up asked me about it in the middle of Family Video.”
“Of course she did,” Eddie rolled his eyes, but Will’s words were said affectionately so he could only be so upset on the boy’s behalf. “Well, you can talk to me, you know? Anytime. And no one else has to know unless you’re fully ready for them to know, that’s always on your own time. I won’t tell anyone else, neither will Steve or Robin,” the words felt weird in his mouth. Steve. “And, no pressure, but you have an incredibly sweet mom that has literally torn apart the town to ensure your safety, so I have a feeling she’s going to love you just the same.”
After leaving the Byers’, Eddie was lost in thought as he drove his van, music completely off for once. Steve Harrington was an enigma to him. They’d gotten closer since the party a few weeks before, rarely spending time alone and usually always in a group, but they were much closer. He’d even go as far to call them friends, which was a strange turn for his life; just another bizarre thing that the Vecna debacle had brought about. They bantered, mostly, with the occasional serious discussion thrown in when the kids were especially unbearable, but it was still pretty surface level. Steve was still overly friendly as ever, though Eddie was slowly realizing that perhaps Robin had really been right; he never seemed quite as thrilled to see Jonathan or Nancy when they were around. There was, shocking to Eddie, no awkwardness there, but he was definitely less enthusiastic about their presence than he was about Robin’s or especially Eddie’s.
But this– Steve enthusiastically supporting one of the kids going through a gay crisis was almost too much for Eddie to handle. He could almost picture it, was the thing. Steve getting all soft and quiet with Will, talking him down and giving him patient reassurance.