(open) guess who's back (back again)

[thefreak]

Who: Eddie Munson & OTA!
When: November
Where: Around the ship, mostly the library and Playback.
What: The existential dread of waking back up on a ship after all that time trapped in the Nothing
Warnings: Nothing as of yet. Probably just some coping with his past trauma.


i. boys don't cry (cabin 103)

( Eddie's eyes fly open with a start. Anyone near cabin 103 will hear yelling as the realization sinks in that he's back on the Serena Eterna. For the next five minutes, the metalhead is properly catatonic until he realizes that he's not in his old cabin. Or, at least, he doesn't recognize the place because all of the little touches between his decorations and Klaus's are nowhere to be found, and of course, he immediately looks around for his guitar. )

Jesus fucking Christ. You have got to be kidding me.

( Time for some exploring! Because maybe Friday made a mistake. Maybe he was revived and brought to the wrong room. Or maybe...

He quickly realizes he's been out of it much longer than he thought. Sure, some things are the same, but there are new things that keep cropping up. New places. It would be thrilling if it weren't for the fact that it means he's still trapped here, and if he's been relocated from his old room, then who knows what else is different. Who else is different.

Who knows who else disappeared?

Eddie shoves his hands into the pockets of his jeans, picks a direction, and starts walking. )

ii. me and my brain (library)

( At first glance, all that can be seen of Eddie is his hair, which, quite frankly, makes sense since he still has so much. If one were to approach the armchair that Eddie has claimed, they would notice the large stack of books by his side.

He's been at this for a while.

There doesn't seem to be a running theme to the selection. It's almost as if Eddie just ransacked the stacks at random. Is he even reading the books? Or maybe he's just staring at the pages, trying as hard as he can to focus on the words instead of the chaotic thoughts surrounding his head. Considering his current distraction, it is probably effortless to sneak up on him, though that might not be wise as he is prone to shrieking, and this is a library.

On the other hand, maybe he could use someone to talk to, especially if that person is a familiar face amidst all this madness. )

iii. don't let it bring you down (playback)

( The arcade brings up some fond memories, so that's the next place that Eddie visits. He brushes his fingers across the surface of the air hockey table and considers wailing a puck across the table as hard as he can. At one point, that had been a perfectly acceptable form of channeling his emotions, though truthfully, it would be more fun with someone to play against.

The appearance of the Build-a-Bear machine catches his eye. Huh, that's new. At first, he just stares at it, as if maybe it'll come to life and make a bear for him (stranger things have happened...). When willing a bear into existence doesn't seem to work, Eddie lets out a huff and starts getting to work.

Ultimately, he ends up with a new friend who looks like a lion with some of the most meticulously styled hair ever. It's too bad the Hawaiian print clothes are the best he could do; with a polo, it might resemble another Hawkins resident if one squints for long enough.

For the rest of his time spent in Playback, Eddie clutches that stuffed animal like it's a lifeline. He's totally well-adjusted. )

iv. wildcard

( Want to run into Eddie elsewhere? Feel free to toss up a starter or hit me up via pm or metalheads if you would like a tailored starter! I will match prose if preferred. )

Comments

sobs that face

[thefreak]

( Eddie has no idea that there had been a period between his disappearance and Steve's. He has no idea how many painful days Steve spent assuming he would never see Eddie again, that separating them might have been just another way for him to unleash hell on these two particular passengers.

And to Eddie's credit, he had been terrified to ask around if Steve was still here. He has no idea how much time has passed. For all he knows, if Steve had remained here all this time, he could have moved on.

The emotional anguish would have damn near killed him, so he didn't exactly make any effort to track him down.

At first, he thinks he's imagining Steve's voice. It wouldn't be the first time he's wanted something so much he's tricked himself into thinking he manifested it. He almost doesn't turn around, though he shows signs of freezing in how his shoulders tense.

He does give in to his curiosity eventually, turning to see if it really could be Steve he hears. )

Please tell me you're real, ( he whispers, his eyes glistening with tears threatening to pill over. ) Please tell me I'm not imagining you right now, I don't think I could handle that right now, lie to me if you have to.

[inhairently]

( Words fail him, and he thinks it's because he understands exactly how Eddie feels right now. It's so easy to suspect any shred of goodness this place has to offer is just a trap, like there's always something cruel and insidious waiting to yank the rug out from under them the moment they dare let themselves feel happy. There's nothing really to be said; nothing can scrub away that feeling anymore.

Instead of hollow promises (yes I'm here, and so are you, but for how long?), he steps forward, closing the distance between them until he's dropping to his knees at Eddie's chair. The ache in his throat is so much that he still doesn't try to speak — but it's more than that, really. He still doesn't know what to say. When Eddie had disappeared all those months ago, Steve had felt a profound sense of grief like nothing he'd ever known before. He'd been ready to fight the Captain to the death to bring Eddie back if he had to.

And then Steve disappeared, too, and with him the chance to bargain Eddie back into existence.

Waking up on the ship again, finding out Eddie had never come back, had left him feeling strange in a way he can't exactly describe. Like the grief he never really had a chance to deal with before had carved out every other feeling inside him but never bothered filling that emptiness back up.

He throws his arms around Eddie's middle, burying his face in the other man's lap with a strangled noise that sounds an awful like like, )

I'm sorry.

( Because, if Steve is really honest with himself, he does feel like he'd failed Eddie. He should've done better. )

[thefreak]

( The moment Steve steps forward, kneeling at his chair and folding into Eddie as if they could meld together, Eddie feels an involuntary noise slip off his tongue. There are just too many emotions boiling up to the surface, ready to explode at any second that there's no hope of containing it. And then Steve apologizes, like any of this could be his fault.

Though truthfully, he can't exactly blame Steve for feeling like he could have done more. That's exactly the kind of guilt that probably made him prime for this shithole. )

It's not -- Steve, it's not your fault.

( He brings a hand to Steve's hair and gently brushes his fingers through, hoping it might calm him the way Steve's presence, the warm, comforting head in his lap, is doing the same for Eddie. )

For what it's worth...I'm glad you're here. Even if here is the last fucking place I wanted to wake up in again.

( The only solace he has right now is knowing that he won't be alone. Nor will Steve be alone. They can lean on each other, like before. At this point, that feels like the only thing Eddie has left to be thankful for. )

[inhairently]

( Eddie's touch is so comforting it's almost unbearable after so long in a place feeling nothing at all. Words stick in the back of Steve's throat, but he doesn't cry. He can cry when he's alone, but not in front of Eddie — call it Richard Harrington's influence, apparently capable of reaching across dimensions to keep hold of his son. Still, when Steve finally lifts his head from Eddie's lap his nose is red and his eyes shine. )

I missed you so much, ( he chokes out in a voice thick with those unshed tears. ) I thought I could make him bring you back. I tried, but I — ( He shakes his head. He doesn't want to admit that he'd gone, too. He doesn't want to risk Eddie blaming himself for it. ) I couldn't do it.

( Steve doesn't give two shits if the Captain is actually directly responsible for sending people away or not. He created this place, and that's good enough. )

[thefreak]

( Those words sting. Not because Eddie could have possibly done anything to change things, to force himself out of the Nothing to reunite with Steve, but because he hates this. All of this. Most of all, he hates that, despite everything, this is somehow the happiest anyone has made him feel in a long damn time.

The only person who could have come close to giving him this feeling is his uncle Wayne. For now, he will just have to cling to the notion that if he had survived and made it back to Steve after Vecna was obliterated to hell, maybe they could have had this.

Not that there was ever any hope of that when Eddie made up his mind that he would sacrifice himself to protect Dustin, to protect Steve, Nancy, and Robin. It was the least he could do after everything. )

I missed you, too, Stevie. I don't know what's gonna happen now or why we're back all of a sudden, but I'm not letting you go, not ever again.

( He reaches for one of Steve's hands, wrapping both of his hands around Steve's and gives it a gentle squeeze. )

[inhairently]

( Steve's heart aches at Eddie's words. As much as he wants it to be true, and as much as he wants to promise the same, he knows they can't say those things and really mean them. It's not up to either of them whether they stay or go, and right now the wound is still too raw for genuine hope.

But he can pretend. )

You and me, for the rest of our shitty existence, right?

( Eddie had said that once, a long time ago. It does feel right to repeat it now. He brings lifts Eddie's hand to his lips and presses a kiss to the back of it for emphasis. )