Chapter Text
She had been in the bathroom way too long. And she knew it. Sitting on the toilet, jeans on her ankles, staring at the betrayal in her underwear like it personally offended her.
Her period had started. Early. And, of course, this was the exact moment that she realized four things: No pads. No tampons. No toilet paper. Not even a single sad tissue in whole damn bathroom.
Perfect. Amazing. Incredible. Fuck.
She dropped her face in her hands. After five minutes on panicking and cursing the universe, she grabbed the walkie-talkie she kept in the bathroom cabinet (because apparently her life was chaos enough to justify that). She tried to think who to call. Nancy? She didn’t own a walkie-talkie, at least to her knowledge. Robin, yes, call Robin, she thought. She took a deep breath and clicked the button.
"Robin, hello?" she started, filled with anxiety. "Are you there?"
She desperately tried to call for her atleast five times but with no use. There was no answer. She felt like she could cry, right there and right now, but she had to keep it together. Alright, someone else must know where Nancy and Robin are. She clicked the button again, trying to stay hopeful.
“Dustiiiin. Come in. This is… uh… me.”
A crackle of static, then an enthusiastic “Hey! What’s up? You sound weird. Is there a monster there? Do you need help?”
She squeezed her eyes shut. Oh god, why did i have to call a fourteen-year-old?
“No, no monsters. I just… Do you know where Nancy is? Or Robin?”
“Nancy’s filming something for the paper and Robin’s at work with Steve.”
“Of course she is,” she mumbled quietly. “Okay, uh… Thanks, nevermind. Over and out.”
She set the walkie down in disappointment. Her mom and sister were out of town for the weekend, so all the female help in her life were unavailable. There was one more person she could call — someone who’s at least older than fourteen. But calling Eddie Munson for this felt like universe’s cruelest joke. Still… she had no choice, unless she wanted to walk to a store with blood-stained pants, and the nearest store wasn’t near at all. She hesitantly picked up the walkie-talkie again, her hand shaking from embarrassment.
“Eddie. Eddie, are you there?” she asked, voice shaking just as hard as her hand.
Static. Part of her wished that he wouldn’t even answer, but then:
“Helloooo, princess of the airwaves. To what do I owe the pleasure in this fine —“
“I need your help,” she interrupted, voice stern and serious, which made Eddie’s energy calm down a little.
“Okay, now you sound serious. Are you trapped? Did you fall? Did someone kidnap you? Is there blood?”
She winced and pinched the bridge of her nose. “Well, yes, but… not the kind you think.” She tried to get the words out but they were stuck in her throat which felt extremely tight at the moment. Oh god, maybe I should just hang up and figure this out by myself, she thought and bit her lip.
“What do you mean ‘not the kind I think’?” he repeated, confused.
“I, uh…” she started again, leg starting to bounce in anxiety. They were close friends, but she wasn’t sure if they were this close friends yet. He was going to laugh, he would definitely laugh, Jesus Christ. “Are you with anyone right now?” There was no way she would continue talking if he had friends next to him and they were in middle of some D&D session.
“No, I’m alone. What’s going on? You’re starting to worry me.”
“Uh, I just…” Okay, just rip the bandage off fast. “I’m in the bathroom and I, I, um, my period started and I don’t have anything. No pads, no tampons, no toilet paper, no nothing. I… oh god.”
A long moment of absolute, defeaning silence. She wasn’t even sure if he was there anymore by how long the silence lasted, but she could still feel his presence.
“Oh…”
She hid her face again. “Mhm.”
Another beat. Then Eddie snorted. Actually snorted. Loudly.
“This is not funny!”
“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry— No I’m not, I’m not sorry at all, this is hilarious. But also terrible. Yes, very terrible. But hilarious.”
“Eddie, I swear to god, don’t make me regret calling you.”
“No, no, I got you,” he said quickly. His voice shifted to something much softer. “But you’re gonna owe me for this. I’m talking, like… lifelong blackmail material.”
She groaned. “Eddie, please.”
“Already grabbing my keys. Tell me what brand you want. And, uh, toilet paper? Double-ply? Triple? The fancy kind with the little flowers?”
“Just, anything. There’s a spare key under the flower pot.”
“Copy that. Emergency sanitary supplies incoming. This is Munson, your knight in questionable armor, signing off.”
Before she could respond, radio clicked off. And somehow… she felt a little less mortified knowing that Eddie’s laughing but also absolutely coming rescue her.
—
She was still sitting there, waiting, mortified but surviving. Every tiny sound in the house made her jump. She was rehearsing how she’d cover herself with a towel, since she couldn’t reach the door from her spot, grab the bag from Eddie, thank him quickly and pretend this day never happened.
So when she suddenly heard thump somewhere in living room, her whole body froze. Another thump, then muffled curse.
Oh God, was this how she was going to die? Half-dressed, bleeding, toilet-paper-less? Then nothing, until a floorboard creaked. Her heart was pounding, until three sharp knocks landed on the bathroom door which was slightly ajar. She got startled so badly she almost fell off the toilet.
“Jesus Christ! Eddie?!”
There was tiny beat before very smug voice said: “In the flesh, sweetheart.”
She clutched her chest. “You, why, how are you inside my house?! I thought you were going to use the front door!”
“Oh yeah, that’d be normal thing to do. Unfortunately,” he said and rattled the bag in his hand, “I didn’t want your neighbors see me walking up with a giant bag of period supplies like some sort of crimson knight.”
She covered her face for the thousandth time. “Eddie…”
“So I used your window.”
“Which window?!”
“The one with the loose latch.”
She groaned loudly. Of course he knew about the loose latch. Great, apparently it’s easy to broke into her house — she definitely would have to fix that.
“I don’t care about some damn neighbors, you could have come in normally,” she sighed.
“I could’ve. But then you wouldn’t be having the time of your life right now,” he smirked.
“I hate you.”
“Oh, no you don’t. You love me so much right now. Here, take the goodies.” He put his hand through the gap in the doorway, not opening the door fully, and held the plastic bag in the air, waiting for her to grab it but she didn’t move from her spot, feeling blood dripping down her thigh. “Well?”
“Can you just, open the door and bring it to me?” she asked, face red and heated before he had even taken a single look at her.
“You sure?”
“Mhm.” She put the towel tighter on her bare thighs to cover herself.
He slowly opened the door and moved his gaze on her, taking in the sight of her embarrassment. He tried to keep his face straight and serious, he really tried, but then it cracked and he burst out laughing, making her feel even more humiliated. When he looked at her again, trying to swallow the laughter back down his throat, she looked very pissed off.
“Eddie,” she gritted between her teeth.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” he quickly apologized and cleared his throat, giving the bag to her.
When Eddie had stepped outside, she looked inside what he had bought. Pads, tampons, wipes, fresh roll of toilet paper and even chocolate. She felt warmth gather in her chest despite the humiliation.
“You bought chocolate?” she asked, eyebrows raised up in surprise.
“Listen, if I’m gonna be the period paladin, I’m gonna do it right.”
She let out a laugh, small but real. It felt better than she expected.
“I’ll wait out here unless you want me to crawl back out of window again. Which I will. Gracefully,” he said, then paused for a few seconds. “Well. I’ll try.”
She rolled her eyes. “Just… stay.”
His voice softened immediately. “Yeah. Okay. I’ll be right here.”
—
She took a few minutes to get herself cleaned up, then finally opened the door again. Eddie jerked up from the floor he had sitting on, cross-legged, like he’d been caught doing something illegal.
“There she is,” he smirked. “The heroic survivor of the Great Bathroom Catastrophe.”
She gave him a tired, but amused glare. “You’re never going to let me live this down.”
“Absolutely not.”
Her cheeks were still pink, and she was ready to make some half-nervous joke about the whole ordeal, but suddenly a sharp, twisting cramp teared through her stomach. The pain hit hard and fast. She almost choked on her own breath and folded forward instinctively, one hand grabbing doorframe, other clutched her abdomen. A low, involuntary whine forced its way out of her throat.
Eddie’s smile dropped instantly. He took a step closer, hands half-reaching out but stopping like he’s afraid to touch her without permission. “Hey, hey, woah— what, what’s wrong?”
She could barely stand straight, the cramp only tightening. “Just… cramps. Bad ones. Sorry, just give me a sec—“
“Sorry? What— No, no, don’t apologize.” He shook his head and placed a hand on her elbow, guiding her toward couch. “Sit down. Here. Sit.”
She was too busy going through the pain wave to argue. Her knees felt shaky, so she let him help her down. Once she was seated, she leaned forward, elbows on her knees, head lowered. Another pained sound slipped out before she could stop it. Eddie was already moving. He was quick and frantic, but somehow careful too, trying to figure out what to do.
“Okay, uh — heating pad? Warm towel? I can boil water, or — no, that sounds like I’m making tea out of you, forget that. Ice? Are you supposed to add hot or cold on it? Probably no ice, that sounds dumb—“
“Eddie… breathe.” She cracked a small, pained smile.
He inhaled sharply, steadying himself. “Right, right. Breathing. I can do that.” He crouched in front of her, eyes soft and worried. “What do you need? Tell me, I’ll do it.”
His sincerity hit her harder than the cramp. She swallowed. “Warm… something warm. And maybe some pain meds. They’re in the kitchen cabinet, top shelf.”
“Warm and drugs. Got it.” He nodded and rushed to the kitchen a little too fast. She heard cupboards banging, him muttering to himself, the microwave turning on as he warmed up heating pad he found in the same cabinet, and finally sound of pill bottle rattling.
Sooner than she expected, he came back and knelt beside her again, offering her meds on his palm like they were precious gems.
“Here. And I brought water too.”
She took them gratefully and swallowed. Then Eddie placed the warm heating pad on her lower stomach with gentleness she didn’t expect from someone who normally handles everything like chaos. She exhaled, slowly, as the heat sinked in. Eddie sat beside her on the couch, close enough to help but not invading her personal space.
“Does it hurt a lot?”
She nodded, cheeks warming again. “Yeah. Sometimes it gets bad.”
He bit his lip, looking at her like he was trying to understand type of pain he physically couldn't. Then, he opened his mouth again and said, “Just tell me what you need. I’ll stay as long as you want.”
There was something warm and careful in the air between them right at that moment. And for the first time in the entire day, she didn’t feel embarrassed, only cared for.
—
She eventually let Eddie insist her laying down on her bed, mostly because sitting up kept making the cramps become worse. He propped a pillow under her back, pulled blanket over her, and sat on the edge of mattress like he was afraid it’d break under him. When she gave him a tired glance, he finally stretched out beside her, cautiously, like she was fragile glass he might accidentally break if touched accidentally.
They were both laying down on their sides facing each other, a comfortable few inches apart. His hand rested on her side, thumb tracing slow, rythmic movements meant to soothe. For a moment, it worked. Until another wave of pain slammed in her like a brick. She curled inward with a sharp gasp, one hand clutching the blanket, the other pressing uselessly on her stomach. A pained sound escaped her, half-groan, half-whimper.
Eddie bolted upright on an elbow. “Jesus, okay, that sounded like you were possessed. Or stabbed. Or both.”
She squeezed her eyes shut, breathing hard through the pain. When she could finally talk again, she muttered, “I hate everything.”
Eddie rubbed her arm, clearly trying his best not panic. Then, because he’s Eddie Munson, legendary idiot and sweetheart, he said: “Not to be dramatic, but are you sure this is your period and not, like… a baby about to blast its way out you? Should I be boiling towels? Calling someone more experienced? Fainting?”
She let out a sound between laugh and pained exhale. “Eddie, I’m not pregnant.”
“Okay, but the noise you made was very ‘a head is coming down my vagina’,” Eddie stated. “I’m just saying.”
“Eddie, oh my God, shut up,” she spat and hit his arm, though not hard enough to hurt, but Eddie flinched anyway.
He grinned, noticing her lips curve in small smile anyway, no matter how hard she tried to resist it. He was relieved she was smiling at least a little.
“I’m being supportive, okay! Emotionally! And medically concerned! That one sounded like a contraction! A demon baby contraction, even!” His eyes widened and his hand grabbed her arm. “Do you think we should call Steve and tell him to come with his baseball bat? Just in case a demon does come out of you?”
“Now you’re being ridiculous,” she mumbled, with raised eyebrows, but a laugh did escape her throat.
“But I made you laugh, didn’t I?” he smiled.
“It’s just cramps, don’t worry,” she promised and rolled her eyes.
Eddie collapsed back on the pillow next to her, dramatically wiped his forehead. “Thank God. I was about to deliver this imaginary child with no training whatsoever. And all I have is warm towel and blind optimism.”
She snorted. He watched her face carefully, checking if the pain was fading. When her breathing had evened out again, he relaxed, scooting little closer. He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, thumb brushing her cheekbone in the softest touch ever.
“I’m staying right here. If you have another demon contraction, you can cling to me and scream on my face, I’ll allow it.”
She laughed again, genuinely this time, and reached for his other hand under the blanket. He let her take it without hesitation, threading his fingers through hers. God, how much he loved to hear her laugh, that sound alone managed to make his heart flutter every damn time, and she didn’t even realize what kind of effect her laugh had on him.
The room was quiet now, except for their breathing. The silences were always comfortable between them, never awkward, and she loved that about spending time with him.
They were still laying on the bed, her curled on her side, holding Eddie’s hand for comfort. Eddie was brushing slow circles along her shoulder, looking like he wanted to say something but couldn’t form the words correctly to make them make sense. She didn’t have any words either, so they simply laid there together, cherishing the closeness together. She had just started to relax, when —
BZZZT.
The walkie-talkie on her nightstand crackled violently to life. She jumped, and Eddie nearly did too. Then, Dustin’s voice blasted through the static: “Hello? Are you alive? Do you still need Nancy or Robin? Robin’s here now with Steve. Oh, have you heard from Eddie? He’s not answering, we’re supposed to have a campaign tonight and —“
She squeezed her eyes shut in mortification. Oh no, God damn it, she had definitely ruined his night with her own problems.
Eddie lifted his head, mouth already twisting into a smirk.
“No,” she muttered and shook her head. “No, no, no —“
Dustin continued. “— I’ve called him several times and he’s not answering and Steve says he hasn’t seen him all day and Gareth thinks maybe he got kidnapped which, honestly, isn’t that far fetched and —“
Eddie leaned over her on the bed just as she was about to grab the walkie-talkie and managed to take it before she could stop him. He clicked the button.
“Henderson. I have not been kidnapped, i'm here on my own free will.”
A moment of stunned silence, until Dustin properly reacted.
“Eddie?! Where have you been?!” Dustin shouted.
Eddie glanced at her with the most unhelpful, mischievous smile.
“Eddie, don’t you dare,” she whispered, trying to reach the walkie away from his hand but he only pushed her back to lay on the mattress, keeping her down with part of his weight like trapping a wild animal.
“Oh, you know. Just doing heroic, selfless things. Being a good friend,” Eddie listed, looking down at her whose eyes were wide and full of terror and humiliation. The look on her face told him exactly that if he was going to say another word, she was going to rip him into pieces when she’d manage to slip free from his hold. “Running extremely important errands.”
Her mortification reached a completely new level when she realized Eddie wasn’t going to hold back. She buried her face in a pillow with a groan, and Eddie’s grin only widened.
“What kind of errands?” Dustin asked, offended that it was more important than their planned night together. “You missed the whole pre-campaign ritual!”
Eddie didn’t miss a beat. “I was buying menstrual supplies.”
Dead silence. She died inside, fully ascending to heaven in pure humiliation. Definitely not wanting to know how many people were around him at that moment to listen this whole ordeal.
“Eddie, I swear I’m going to kill you if you say one more word,” she muffled into a pillow, but it didn’t make Eddie’s grin fade one bit.
“Menstrual?” Dustin whispered, horrified tone in his voice like Eddie was about to tell a horror story.
Eddie nodded at the walkie even though Dustin couldn’t see him. “Menstrual. Pads. Tampons. Wipes. The full hellish shopping quest.”
“Eddie—“ She tried to wriggle free under him but he pushed her too hard into the mattress. She tried to reach her hand to snatch the walkie from him but with no use.
“Oh my god. Did you ask Eddie Munson to buy you period stuff?!” Dustin shouted even louder, and then realization hit him. “Ohh, so that’s why you needed Nancy or Robin. Got it. Is she okay? Is she dying? Is this medical emer—“
“Hey, ease up, Henderson. She’s fine, just cramps,” Eddie interrupted.
“Are you there now…?” Dustin asked, voice now quieter. She kept the pillow on her face again, considering self-suffocation to get herself out of this misery.
“Yeah, I’m here. You guys can survive one session without me,” Eddie said. “Communicate with your imaginations. Roll some dice. Cry about it.”
“But—“
“Henderson.”
“…fine. But she owes me details tomorrow.”
“No she does NOT!” she yelled.
Dustin laughed, and the walkie clicked off. Eddie put the walkie back on the nightstand and turned to look at her, murderous look in her eyes. A look that could seriously kill.
“I’m going to end you,” she whispered, anger dripping in her voice but he only grinned.
“Come on, I don’t lie to my friends,” he stated, but the smile didn’t fade anywhere.
She gritted her teeth and pushed him off of her just when he had loosened his hold on her enough. He landed on his back, genuinely surprised, and she was suddenly straddling his waist.
“You still could have kept the details to yourself!” she snapped.
“Now where’s the fun in that,” he pouted.
“I hate you.”
“Nah, I know you love me, so much,” he smirked, neither of them realizing just how close they were, until she felt his breath hit her face.
She slowly comprehended the position they were in and rolled away from him to lay on her side, her back facing him.
“Aw, don’t be mad at me,” he whined, scooting closer to her behind and rubbing her shoulder. She didn’t answer, giving him silent treatment. “Is it time for chocolate now? I know it’s your favorite.”
She didn’t turn to look at him, only grabbed the blanket tighter into her fists. Slowly, she peeked over her shoulder, him still looking down at her, and mumbled, “Yes. But you’re not getting any after that stunt.”
“Noted.” He jumped off the bed to fetch the chocolate for her.
When he returned and hopped back on the bed with her, leaning against the wall, she could instantly tell that he had turned a little more serious during that short trip away for her, though he wasn’t apologetic of him sharing the details with Dustin. He sat there with her like he had always belonged there, and she started unwrapping the chocolate to break a few pieces.
For a moment, neither of them talked. She thought he was going to start teasing her again, but he didn’t. Not anymore, like his energy to bully her had finally ran out. Instead, Eddie studied her face with a softness she had never seen on him. Not full of jokes, not the Eddie he showed everyone else. Just… Eddie. A boy who cared about the girl next to him deeper than he could ever explain to her or anyone else in words.
She shifted on her pillow. “What?” she whispered.
He shrugged lightly, hands resting on his lap. “This, whole… Thing today. It just scared me a little.” She looked at her confused with furrowed brows. He hesitated, glancing down at his hands. “It reminded me how easily people can hurt and how fast it can happen. And I… I don’t like seeing you in pain.”
Her heart squeezed. “Eddie, I’m okay.”
“I know,” he replied and smiled, small and crooked. “Doesn’t stop me from wanting to fix it.”
She laughed weakly. “You can’t fix my uterus.”
“Oh, trust me, if I could fight it in single combat, I would. Battle jacket on, guitar in hand, ready to throw down with your insides.”
She laughed now harder, really laughed, and that seemed to was relief over him. His fingers brushed through her hair, slowly and gently. When she didn’t push his hand away, closing her eyes for a moment, he grew a little braver.
“Can I ask you something?”
She nodded, opening her eyes again and turning her head to make eye contact with him.
“Why didn’t you ask Robin or Nancy to come over? Or, hell, literally anyone but me?” he asked. “I mean, don’t get me wrong, I’m thrilled to be your tampon knight, but… why me?”
She blushed, realizing how it must have seemed. “I—“ she tried to find the words. “I did try to find Nancy and Robin first, but they were busy doing something else and I didn’t want to interrupt them. And I… I just couldn’t think of anyone else.”
Now he pulled away a little, making her to push herself up to lean on her elbows to get a better look at him. He looked suddenly offended.
“Oh, so that’s how it is. I’m your last choice, huh?” he scoffed, though she could tell he was only pretending to be insulted. “That’s awesome, nice to know.”
She just rolled her eyes. “Don’t start being difficult.” She looked away for a second, then mumbled, “I didn’t want to bother you either, to be honest.”
His expression softened in a way that hit her somewhere deep. He came back closer and gently put his hand on her cheek, looking deep into her eyes to make his next words sink in hard enough. “You could never bother me.”
She was unsure what to say to something so… honest. He watched her face, eyes warming further, voice dropping into something rough and sincere.
“And for the record, I’m kinda glad you called me.”
She smiled nervously. “Even for something embarrassing and gross?”
He shifts even closer, the gap between them barely an inch anymore, their knees almost touching each other under the blanket.
“Hey. Nothing about you is gross. Not to me.” Her breath hitched, and he realized what he said and looked away for a moment, cheeks coloring red too. “I just mean—“ He rubs the back of his neck with his hand. “You could have called me because your goldfish died or because you needed to borrow a fork, I don’t care. I like being someone you turn to.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. Really.”
They were close enough now that she could feel warmth of his breath against her cheek. Close enough that air shifted between them. Quieter, softer, heavier, all at once.
She whispered before she could stop herself: “I’m glad you’re here too.”
His expression flickered, surprise and then relief, then something almost tender enough to make her heart stutter. He inched just a little closer, forehead nearly brushing hers.
“Good. Then I’ll stay as long as you want.”
Outside, the world was quiet. Inside, it felt like something between them was shifting. Slow, warm, undeniable. He squeezed her hand under the blanket again, and she squeezed back. And in soft glow of her bedroom, laying barely inches apart from each other, it felt like a secret shared between two people who might be a lot more than “just friends.”