Right Side Up (Steddie)

Yellow Is Definitely Your Color

By the time Dustin arrived, Steve's quiche was ready to eat. Steve put a plate in front of each of them then sat down at the table as well. He looked around and had to hold back a laugh. Eddie was sitting in his father's chair, he was in his mother's, and Dustin was sitting where Steve normally sat. He half expected Dustin to call him mom again. And if he did, Steve couldn't even be mad about it. It was funny, to be honest.

Dustin kept up a steady stream of chatter as they ate. He told Eddie everything that had been happening in Hawkins, then went into a detailed description of the new campaign they were playing in Hellfire. It completely bored him, but Eddie seemed interested enough. He asked questions and offered a few suggestions here and there as Dustin talked.

Steve couldn't help but notice that Eddie wasn't eating. He never took one bite. He picked and poked at it with his fork, moving it around the plate, but he never even tasted it. Steve understood, in a way. He'd been dead for more than three months. Steve was pretty sure Vecna hadn't fed him. But Eddie needed to eat. It was the only way to get his strength up.

Eddie caught Steve watching him. Steve gave a slight nod towards the plate in front of Eddie and Eddie's eyes dropped. He felt bad. He wanted to eat. But he couldn't make himself. The thought of putting anything into his stomach only made it hurt more. Steve sighed. He'd just try again later.

When Steve and Dustin were done eating, Dustin helped Steve clear the table and load the dishwasher. Eddie just sat at the table, his eyes on the table in front of him but not really seeing it. In his head he was back in The Upside Down. He tried to remember if he ever felt hungry or tired or cold. He couldn't remember ever feeling anything but pain. If he had been hungry, the thought never registered. Nor had cold or fatigue. Those were new, since he'd come back. He just wished he could feel hungry.

"You okay?" He looked at Steve's hand on his shoulder, then up into his eyes. "You spaced out for a few minutes."

"I'm good," he answered as he put a hand over Steve's and gave it a squeeze. "Just thinking about The Upside Down."

"Is that where you were," Dustin asked as he sat back down at the table with a notebook and pencil. Steve quickly moved his hand from Eddie's shoulder and Eddie just nodded. "Were you there the whole time? Was Vecna there? How did you get out?"

"Slow down," Steve said as he sat down again. "He doesn't want to talk about it again. Not right now. Let's just concentrate on his uncle right now."

"Right, okay." Dustin gave Eddie an optimistic look. "What's his full name?"

"Wayne Edward Munson." Dustin and Steve both looked to him in question. "I was named after him," he said. "But reversed. Edward Wayne."

"Age? Birthdate?"

"Fifty-one," Eddie answered. "Fifty-two in November. November seventeenth, nineteen thirty-four."

"Do you have any idea where he would have gone," Steve asked. "Do you have any family anywhere that he might have gone to?"

Eddie closed his eyes and thought about it. He remembered being a little boy and going to visit his grandparents. He spent three or four summers with them between the ages of five and ten. He could remember the farm they lived on. It was small and cozy, and they had a few horses and chickens, and four dogs. He loved going to visit them. They had been the happiest summers he could remember. His grandpa grew pecans and peaches that he sold at the market every Sunday after church. He loved going to church and singing with his grandma. And he loved peaches. His grandma used to make homemade peach ice cream and peach cobbler for him. He spent those summers eating as many peaches as his little stomach would hold, fishing with his grandpa, and running around the farm with the dogs.