just another day. || eddie munson || COMPLETE

o40 || steve

"Yeah I have, I think," He said, not dwelling too much on the issue since it wasn't something he really wanted to think about on their long drive, "But if you love her so much, why are you letting her go like this?" He asked, tilting his head to face him as they sat in traffic.

"What's that stupid, corny, saying about if you love something set it free or some shit?" He asked, unsure of the quote he was trying to reference.

Steve snorted before shaking his head, "Yeah I've heard that one before," He said, shaking his head, "I don't know if I really believe that though." Steve spoke solemnly.

"Why not?" Eddie asked, quirking his head towards him.

"Because I think if you love something, you have to be willing to do anything for them. Not just like take a bullet for them, which I think needless to say, you've accomplished, but like . . . ." He stopped for a moment, trying to gather his thoughts and hope that they make sense, "I'm tired of letting things go. I want to hold onto them like I can never let them go."

"Well you're not wanted by every police officer in the INdiana range," He said, scoffing and propping his feet up on the dashboard.

"Really man?" Steve asked, knocking his feet down off of his dashboard. "And fair enough I just . . . . I can't imagine what she must be going through right now." Steve said, saddened by the idea of Delilah Henderson drinking herself to sleep and locking herself away from the world, thinking her Eddie Munson was dead. If anything like that ever happened to Nancy, he assumed he would be doing the same.

"Don't remind me, please," Eddie said, gripping onto the shoulders of his leather jacket tightly, looking out the window.

Steve couldn't help but feel somewhat guilty. He had reiterated a hundred times not to try and be a hero. And Eddie had done just that. Then again, even if he hadn't, would he still be driving him out of state? Eddie was in fact still wanted for the murders that Vecna had committed. It wasn't fair, but Steve knew there was no real way to prove his innocence. Especially with everything they were saying on the tv and the radio. That kid Jason Carver had spread enough rumors to fuel the town on a witch hunt for years. He assumed the ghost of Eddie Munson would become a ghost tale. The boy that worshipped Satan with his friends in the drama room at Hawkins High. It disgusted him to think like that, but he couldn't help but envision how people would receive Eddie Munson after all of this. They already drew pentagrams and devil horns on every missing poster Steve ever saw of him.

"How's my uncle doing?" He asked, breaking the silence between him and Steve that had grown again while Steve got lost in his own thoughts.

"He's still looking for you. He still says you're an innocent man," He said, smiling over at the rocker beside him in the passenger seat.

"Good ol' Wayne Munson," He said with a snicker, "Who would have guessed? The old man has my back even in death," He said with a smile. "I'm gonna really miss him to."

"I think you've got a lot of people that are really going to miss you to," Steve added, Delilah popping back into his mind after his uncle and Dustin.

"Dustin is carrying around your guitar pick necklace by the way," Steve smirked before looking over at Eddie, "It's kinda cute, ya know?"

"I'm surprised he didn't give it to Delilah," He said, looking out the window once again at the flat lands on either sides of them.

'He tried' is what Steve wanted to say, but he didn't want Eddie to know about that argument that had gone down.

"Delilah wears your jacket just about every day," He tried to recover from the necklace thing, "The one you gave her for Chiristmas? At least that's what Henderson told me," He said, referring to Dustin.

"I'm sure she still looks bad ass in it," He spoke, forlorn and staring out the window.

"Yeah, I'm sure," Steve reassured him.

The drive went on for hours upon hours before the two pulled up to an old, dingy, apartment complex. The two had driven all the way to Cincinnati, all 147 miles worth. Steve got out of his car and headed back to the trunk before popping it open. Eddie had one bag in the trunk, filled with basic t-shirts and jeans, having had left everything else behind. He was wearing the t-shirt Delilah had gotten him for Christmas which he had managed to save after the earthquake.

"Well Munson, let's go see your new digs," Steve said, patting his friend on the shoulder as the two walked up the stairwell. Apartment number 226 was his as they looked over every number on the doors that they passed after they got to the second floor.

As the two passed door number 222, and door 224, they finally arrived to 226. Eddie fidgeted with the key in the lock for a minute before popping it open and letting the door swing open. It was nothing to brag about. Nothing like he had pictured based off of all the photographs. There was already a couple of pieces of furniture, but not many. An armchair and a loveseat, which he assumed Eddie would be sleeping on for the first bit he was here. It stung Steve that Dustin had mentioned that Delilah and Eddie had planned to get a place of their own. He had to imagine their first place in Hawkins would be a hell of a lot better than the cracked walls of the apartment he stood in now.

The walls were painted a basic beige and Steve could have sworn he saw a bug crawl across one of the far walls. "You sure you wanna do this man?" Steve asked, eyeing the place carefully.

"Are you kidding? This place is gonna be great after some TLC," He said with a small smile.

Steve knew he was lying, oir at least he thought he was. The two continued to poke around the apartment, investigating the troublesome bathroom with a rank odor. The bedroom seemed the most tolerable but there were no windows and just a creaking overhead fan light. Steve raked a hand through his chocolate brown hair before shaking his head at Eddie. He felt almost as guilty about not telling Delilah that Eddie was alive as he felt about leaving Eddie in this dingy apartment in Cincinnati.

"Well man," Steve exhaled dramatically as they re-entered the living room, "I guess this is it. You uh," He set his hands on his hips as he looked back at Eddie, "You got my number right? In case shit goes down, right?" He reiterated the importance of having his number.

"Yeah! I got it!" Eddie dug through the back pocket of his jeans before removing the slip of paper with Steve's number written on it, "Hey man . . . thanks for . . . everything. Dustin was right, you really are a hero Steve Harrington." Eddie slapped Steve on the shoulder before pulling him into a tight hug.

At first Steve felt uncomfortable, but thinking back on what they had been through together, the human connection was actually kind of nice. It was humbling even. The idea that almost dying had brought together an unlikely group of people together. He slow wrapped his arms around Eddie and patted him on the back.

"Steve, do me a favor?" Eddie said, pulling apart from the hug far enough for the two to be able to look each other in the eyes.

"Another fuckin' favor man? Don't you think you're running low on those?" Steve asked, hating how much he sounded like a parent, even to a boy his age, "Yes, of course, go ahead." He said, waving him on as the two separated.

"Keep an eye on Delilah," Eddie's voice quivered lightly and Steve swore he saw his eyes glaze over with tears for a moment, "That Vecna fucker almost had her. I can't stand to think about . . . about anything happening to her, so please . . . Just don't let him take her."

Steve wanted to say something more reassuring, but instead just nodded his head, hoping he could keep Eddie's promise. Sometimes Steve felt helpless when it came to this sort of thing. Sure he was pretty strong but without the others, he wouldn't be able to accomplish anything. Eddie had become a good part of that group. Everyone who really knew Eddie would mourn him and Steve would have to grieve with them because even though he wasn't technically dead, he was dead to Hawkins.