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1. You don't have to be broken to be loved. by TheAnonymousOneIsHere

   Fandoms: Stranger Things (TV 2016)  

   • Mature
   • Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
   • M/M
   • Work in Progress

   21 Feb 2026

   Tags

   • Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
   • Billy Hargrove/Eddie Munson
   • Billy Hargrove
   • Eddie Munson
   • Wayne Munson
   • Slow Burn
   • Eddie Munson Lives
   • Gay Eddie Munson
   • Mixed universe baby we make this shit up as we go
   • Child Abuse
   • Implied/Referenced Child Abuse
   • Past Child Abuse
   • Billy gets his ass beaten by Neil
   • Eddie is okay now mostly
   • Slow burn eddie munson/billy hargrove
   • Eddie Munson Has a Crush on Billy Hargrove
   • Billy Hargrove Needs a Hug
   • Billy Hargrove Has a Crush on Eddie Munson
   • Eddie Munson is a Little Shit
   • Protective Billy Hargrove
   • Billy Hargrove Tries to Be a Better Person
   • Hurt Billy Hargrove
   • Soft Eddie Munson
   • Pre-Relationship
   • Slow Build
   • High School
   • Young billy and eddie
   • Billy is 16 and Eddie is 15
   • Hurt/Comfort
   • Emotional Hurt/Comfort
   • Trauma
   • but it gets better
   • Somewhat cannon but not super
   • It's kinda good i promise im just horrible at tags

   Summary

   Billy had spent his life learning one hard truth: you either held the leash or you took the kick. It was hunter or prey, and there wasn’t any room in between.

   But Eddie didn't fit that. He was just Eddie.

   His eyes were these dark pools Billy could just float in for a while when the world got too loud. The way his hair framed his face was perfect in a way that made Billy’s palms ache, a constant itch to just reach out and tangle his fingers in those curls. And God—that laugh. It was the only thing that made the heavy Indiana air feel thin enough for Billy to actually breathe.

   They were just two boys with nicotine stained fingers and messy hair, tethered by the desperate hope of eighteen and a rearview mirror.

   Sure, it didn’t start out soft- but this is how it happened.

   Language:

   English

   Words:

   31,306

   Chapters:

   11/?

   Comments:

   4

   Kudos:

   20

   Bookmarks:

   2

   Hits:

   264