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After Eddie came back from the upside down things weren't easy for him. He was still not cleared for Chrissy's murder and there were also the nightmares. Every. Single. Night.
You tried to spend as many nights with him as possible seeing it somehow helped him sleep better and those nights you stayed with him, he seemed to have less nightmares. Nevertheless, he woke up almost every night drenched in sweat at least once but you were there to sway him back to sleep.
Wayne even changed his night shifts at the plant for the morning ones because Eddie didn't want to be alone at nights the days you couldn't be there. It had become a routine, the days you had a night shift at the local dinner serving tables you would sleep in your house and come to Eddie's trailer first hour in the morning, right before Wayne leaves for work and make the both of them breakfast. On the nights you had free you would come right after work, usually around 5pm, and watch tv, listen to him play his guitar or just do whatever Eddie was feeling at the moment.
He tried to be his cheerful self, all dramatic and theatrical, but you could see deep down there were demons haunting him and he didn't know how fix it.
One morning, around two weeks in that you had set up this routine, you walked up to the trailer as usual and knocked on the door softly as to not wake up your boyfriend but loud enough so Wayne could hear it. He didn't really understand what was happening to his nephew as Eddie didn't really talk to him about the upside down but he knew Eddie had gone through some traumatic events and needed time to recover from that. A very sleepy Wayne opened the door and gave you the sweetest smile. He knew you really loved Eddie, no one would do what you do if you didn't love him.
"Morning sweetheart. Come in."
"Morning Wayne" you replied as you walked past him and let your stuff in the sofa right in front of the door.
"You don't have to knock you know? You probably spend more time here than I do, just come in". He took a sip of his coffee as he closed the door behind you. He was always so nice to you, it felt like a parental figure almost.
"It's still not my house. I just do it out of respect I guess?" you answered with a giggle. It was true that you spent more time there than Wayne but it was like second nature in yourself to be polite. After all you spent here most of the week, ate their food and used their shower. The least you could do was knock on the door before coming in.
"How is he?" You asked, pointing with your eyes at the half closed door of Eddie's room, in an attempt of changing the theme of the conversation.
"Rough night, won't lie, but at least he didn't wake up screaming. He'll be happy to see you when he wakes up" his uncle answered, checking the watch on his wrist. "Shit, I have to go now".
"You're not staying for breakfast? I'm gonna make french toast".
"Can't. Sorry sweetheart I'm already late" he rapidly answered before setting his mug in the sink and grabbing his keys and coat. He gave you a fatherly kiss on the forehead and opened the door of the trailer. "Make yourself at home, have a nice day" he said almost out the door. He was gone before you could say good bye.
You slowly walked towards Eddie's room to check on him and found him sleeping in a bundle of sheets and covers, it was the middle of June but he still slept with loads of blankets because since he came from the upside down he always seemed to be cold all the time. You walked up to him and pulled up the sheets before giving him a sweet kiss on the forehead.
Back in the kitchen you started to organize everything a little bit before making breakfast. It was still a little early and you didn't want to wake him up yet, "let him get all the sleep he can get" you thought as you washed the mug Wayne had just put down.
At around 10am you started making the french toasts that Eddie loved so much, double dipped in the egg before frying them. You set them in two plates in the kitchen counter (if you could call it that) and went back to Eddie's room to wake him up. You opened up the curtains of the little window his room had and sat slowly on the bed, sideways facing him. You truly didn't want to wake him up because he looked like an angel, finally getting some sleep; but you also knew he needed to get some food into his system and with you there he could probably take a nap later.
You began to knead your fingers into his curls, slowly waking him up to not scare him and gave him the softest of kisses on his forehead. As Eddie opened his eyes a smile formed on your face as well as his, he was more than happy to see you first thing in the morning.
"Hey" you whispered; the voice barely audible.
"Hi."
"Breakfast's on the kitchen. French toast, your favorite."
He didn't answer, he just wrapped his arms around your waist dragging you down to lay with him, using you as a pillow.
"Breakfast later, cuddles first" he explained. He was now resting his head on your chest, the sound of your heart calmed him down so you just laid there and scratched his back under the sheets.
"Rough night?" you asked. You didn't know if he wanted to talk about it but you always offered the possibility.
"Yeah. Can't take these images out of my head. Every time I close my eyes it's there" he silently answered, his grip tight on you.
"I'm sorry love. Anything I can do to help?" You kept scratching his back, drawing shapes with your index finger as your other hand caressed his hair. You were the only person allowed to even touch his hair but by God you had magical fingers. He relaxed almost immediately.
"Just being here helps. You were the only thing that kept me going down there. Knowing you would be here waiting for me kept me sane. The things I saw down there..." he began explaining but stopped mid-phrase.
"It's okay. You don't have to talk about it, I understand". You reassured him with a kiss on the top of his head. "You're safe now. Everyone is safe. I know the nightmares will stay there for a long time but you're here. I'm here. And I won't let anything happen to you."
Eddie finally looked up at you and kissed your lips with the softest motion, as if you two had to be careful about it because you could break. He wanted to say it, he had been planning to say it way before he got caught in the upside down. 'I love you'. His eyes said it way before his mouth did, with every glance he took at you. Every time he saw you laugh, smile, scream while playing DnD... the stars in his eyes said I love you every time he looked at you. And you knew that; because every time you caught him staring at you there was this... mask that fell off, that let you see the real Eddie, the Eddie no one else got to see.
You two started at each other in silence for about thirty seconds, knowing exactly what one wanted to say the other. And then you spoke at the same time.
"I love you"
"I love you"
You didn't know who said it first and honestly, you didn't care. The feeling was there and it was the only thing you needed.
"Stay here for a bit?" he asked, with those puppy eyes of him that made you melt.
You hummed and nodded in response before drifting out to sleep for another hour still holding him. Truth was that the time he spent in the upside down was the worst for you too. You didn't know if he was safe or if he was going to come back for all that matters. And you had to keep a strong façade for the rest of the kids, especially Dustin. He took it the worst. He really looked up to both Steve and Eddie and having them both down there. It was a meltdown for all of you. Luckily all of them had come back safe but the feeling was still there. You made a promise to yourself to never let Eddie go through anything like that ever again.
Breakfast was getting cold at this point but you didn't care, you had everything you needed right by your side and food could wait a little longer.