Work Text:
November 24th, 1973
“Wake up, kiddo! It’s turkey day.”
One thing was for sure, Eddie was not a morning person. Wayne watched his nephew with an amused smirk from where he sat on the bed. Eddie slowly sat up and stretched with a loud yawn.
“Mornin’ Uncle Wayne,” he grumbled in a sleepy voice, rubbing at his face. “Happy Thanksgiving.”
“Happy Thanksgiving, sleepyhead,” Wayne ruffled his nephew’s short hair and stood up with a grunt. “I made you some waffles.”
Eddie waddled into the kitchen about five minutes later. He was still in his pajamas, with a hoodie thrown on for additional warmth. His still healing arm was now snug in it’s sling.
He flopped down at the kitchen counter, yawning into his free hand.
The boy was still considerably underweight for his age, but damn if Wayne hadn’t been trying to feed him well. Wayne placed the loaded plate of waffles, whipped cream, and syrup in front of his nephew along with a glass of OJ.
Eddie’s bruised face was mostly healed by now, his hollow cheeks had started to fill out, and he wasn’t quite so jumpy anymore. It was the little things that mattered.
“Thank you Uncle Wayne,” Eddie picked up his fork and gave his Uncle a soft smile. The boy never forgot his manners, even if he was half asleep first thing in the morning. Wayne nodded back at him while sipping his coffee.
Wayne had precut the waffles so the kid wouldn’t have to struggle to cut them up one handed. He was a damn softie for Eddie, he really was.
Eddie hummed as he ate, it was a Black Sabbath song he listened to on repeat. The kid adored metal music, would listen to it for hours sometimes. Wayne thought it was kinda cute, but if he told his nephew that he would surely get a scrunched up nose in protest.
Eddie had some dramatic facial expressions Wayne had come to find out over the past few weeks.
Wayne had caught him playing air guitar a few times too. It gave him an idea he’d been meaning to bring up and only just now remembered.
“Once that arm of yours is healed up, how about I teach you a few songs on my old guitar?”
Eddie paused mid bite, his face all lit up. “Really?”
Wayne was no rockstar or metal head, but he learned how to play the guitar when he was a teenager and he wasn’t half bad.
Wayne smiled at the boy with a nod. “Yep.”
Eddie was helping peel potatoes at the counter, his sling off to the side so he could work. Wayne pulled the turkey out of the oven and checked it with a small hum. It was coming along nicely.
Wayne had been in the Vietnam war, something he didn’t like to talk about. But he’d been a cook in the war, and he was a great one at that. He knew how lucky he was to be here with his nephew today, cooking and celebrating the holidays.
That’s what he was thankful for most of all.
“How’s those taters comin’, Ed’s?”
Eddie flashed him a mischievous grin, dimples popping out. He chucked a potato peel at Wayne, which slapped him right on the cheek. Eddie giggled and it was Wayne’s favorite sound.
“Hey!” Wayne launched a tickle attack on Eddie’s ribs, and soon the boy was wheezing with laughter.
“Have mercy- please Uncle Wayne!” Eddie screeched, pushing away at his Uncle’s hands.
Wayne laughed and let him go. After he was freed from his Uncle’s tickles and had a few minutes to catch his breath, Eddie gasped abruptly and jumped out of his seat.
“How could I forget? I have something for you!”
Wayne watched his nephew practically fly out of the room with an amused chuckle.
Eddie returned a few minutes later. He seemed almost hesitant, holding his hands behind his back. Wayne smiled patiently at him.
“Whatcha got there, kiddo?”
Eddie held out a handmade turkey to Wayne, made from the outline of his hand.
“We made these at school before break, we were asked to write down what we were most thankful for.”
‘My Uncle Wayne’ was scrawled in Eddie’s messy handwriting in the middle of the turkey. Wayne felt himself tearing up.
Things hadn’t been easy, but they worked through it together. He loved his Eddie so much, his nephew who was like the son he never had. He was so so thankful for him.
“Shucks kiddo, c’mere,” he pulled Eddie into a tight hug and didn’t let go for a long while.
“I’m the most thankful for you, Ed’s.”