(the monster and the superhero)

｡･:*˚:✧｡"THAT WAS PROBABLY your best one so far, mate."

Eddie chuckles and tosses the plates into the sink. "Thanks. I try to keep you entertained."

"It's kinda working."

Cracking jokes isn't exactly Eddie's specialty, but in a situation like this, when they're washing the dishes used for breakfast and every serious conversation leads to Vecna, it's their best option.

It's honestly overwhelming. All of it. Thinking about it. Talking about it. So they try not to. It's their third day in this house together and it's a taboo. Raymond hopes it stays that way because talking about Vecna leads to talking about the supernatural and talking about the supernatural leads to talking about Barbara Holland and the mall fire and he can't have that. Not now.

There's nothing interesting to watch on TV. No exotic ingredients in the fridge to experiment with recipes. Not even Ava is willing to keep them entertained. She's warmed up to Eddie at some point, as much as it's possible. She doesn't hiss at him. That's a start.

"Do you think he had, like, a reason he attacked her?"

Fuck.

"What?"

Eddie shrugs from his spot on the floor beside Raymond. "I mean, why Chrissy? Does he, like, attack teens? Maybe only girls? Only cheerleaders?"

"Now you're just throwing shit at me without context." Raymond sighs, rests his back against the armchair behind him. "Can we not do this? I mean, I know you're bored. I'm bored, too, but can you find us something else to do instead of talking... about him?"

"There's not really-" Eddie pauses. Raymond turns to look at him, sees the way he frowns. "Ray, do you have a camera?"

"Yeah, it's pretty shitty, but it works. Why?"

Suddenly, Eddie turns fully towards him, hands on Raymond's wrists. He's got his Serious Face on and Raymond doesn't dare break their eye contact, just in case.

"Can you do me a favour?"

He furrows his eyebrows. "Uh, sure?"

Eddie sighs and puts on his best pair of puppy eyes. "Would it be okay if we... filmed a message for our loved ones?" Raymond frowns and he shakes his head. "I mean, it's just- we don't know what can happen. I was thinking and I could be arrested any moment now. Vecna could attack. I might... not get the chance to see, like, uncle Wayne or Garrett or... or just anyone, so having it on tape wouldn't suck."

"Sure thing."

Raymond accepts it. Goes along with it. Still, when Eddie sets up the camera and sits in front of it with a grin, he realises it's a fucking mistake.

It's just the bizarreness of it. Eddie speculating about what could possibly happen to them, about how fast the police could be at the door, saying little things about his friends that only he knows and making Raymond sentimental for no reason. He needs an excuse to get the fuck out of here.

"...And to Ray, finally, I gotta take you to see Metallica one day, man." Raymond groans the moment Eddie says it, covering his face with his hands. He ignores the maniacal laughter that spills through the room and stands up. He's out the door and back in his own room within moments, leaving Eddie to laugh to himself.

He doesn't even know why he leaves Eddie alone out there. It just serves to prove his point, to show his annoyance, but truly, there's no reason.

As tough as it is to admit after only a couple of days, Eddie isn't the worst company ever. He finds himself, more often than he's happy to acknowledge, seeking him out. Preferring his presence to being alone in the room. His noise to the numbing quiet. His chaos to the dead peace.

It's nice. Having someone like that.

He is back in the living room minutes later with his favourite book prepared to (re)read, for the sake of having a reason to casually walk back in, but he knows he won't do it anyway when he realises he left his reading glasses somewhere, probably even lost them.

Eddie is on the floor, sitting completely still, looking out the window. The smile isn't on his face anymore and Raymond frowns.

"Mate, you good?"

This seems to bring Eddie back to reality. He flinches at the question and blinks away the thoughts, nodding. Raymond can see it. He's thinking and maybe he's in that dark mindset of his again.

As Eddie stands up and hands him the camera, Raymond lets out a sigh. "You done?"

Eddie nods. Raymond glances down at the book in his hand and offers it. Frowning, Eddie looks down at the book that's now in his hands, runs his thumb over the dark green cover. His gaze is soft when he looks back up and Raymond realises he understands.

"It's my favourite," he mutters casually, dropping down into the nearest armchair. "Maybe it'll keep you entertained while you're here."

The furrow of Munson's brows is gone within seconds and the smile that he offers Raymond is warm. Warming.

"You're already more than enough to keep me entertained, Park." He nods. "But thanks."

Raymond offers a small smile back as Eddie sits beside him.

🖇️ 🎬 🕷️ 🕸️ 🎸

｡･:*˚:✧｡WHEN RAYMOND OPENS his eyes, he's surprised to hear noise from the kitchen. Pan sizzling, knife against wood, quiet curses. He chuckles and stretches his limbs.

It's only now that he realises his feet are perched up on another armchair. There's a soft blanket enveloping him, the one he'd given Eddie.

Walking into the kitchen has never been funnier, with him deepening his already deep voice on purpose, muttering an, "Eddie, your time has come" and Eddie shrieking in fear and dropping the knife onto the tiled floor, cursing and splashing Raymond with water.

"You're easy to scare," Raymond notes, sitting down onto the counter.

"Not really. I mean, I wasn't until I was accused of murder and forced into hiding." He shakes his head and retrieves the knife, dipping it under the sink to wash it. "Now I live in the forest banished by the society and it's only natural that I jump at the smallest sound."

Raymond scrunches up his face as Eddie gets some vegetables from the fridge. "Something tells me that's not the case. You've always been a little... scared of everything."

"I mean, kinda. It's just the way I was raised, I guess. My dad had this habit of... slamming doors, breaking things."

He falls silent and Raymond's smile falls along with him. There's the shine in his eyes once again, not the carefree sparkle, the glimmer of youth that Raymond's always loved seeing in their depths, but something far more vulnerable. Breaths away from breaking, blinks away from tears.

Raymond sighs and examines the way Eddie's fingers tremble around the knife. Carefully, he wraps a hand around Eddie's and takes the knife, puts it away. He doesn't need him cutting himself.

"Fair," he replies, trying not to let Eddie think about it too much. "I was sort of in a similar situation. Not really, my parents never fought or screamed or... anything like that, but they had this passive aggressiveness that was scary as fuck. They were always quiet, always smiling and then they would just... break out of nowhere and go back to that façade all over again."

"Dude, that's terrifying."

He jumps off the counter and starts cutting up vegetables. "It is." Then to break the tension, "What are you even doing in here? I mean, you're not really a master chef."

"I'm trying, okay?" He's back. Back to his bright, chaotic self whose presence Raymond's grown to appreciate. A sheepish smile, hair hiding his face, eyes averted from Raymond. "You made food for me yesterday and shared that burger with me the day I showed up. It's only fair to return the favour."

"It would be," Raymond corrects, quick to brush off the kind words before he thinks about them too deeply, "if you were actually any good at it."

Eddie pauses his actions, lowering the saltshaker to the surface of the counter to turn and glare at Raymond.

"First of all, we have no ingredients! You bought enough for, like, a day. It's been a day. We're running out." He lifts a random spatula threateningly. "Second of all, I actually-"

They both freeze at the sound of voices coming from outside the house. Raymond keeps eye contact with Eddie, hand still holding the knife he's just used for vegetables. He lifts a finger to his lips before stepping into the living room area. He can hear Eddie follow him, along with a confused Ava who shuffles after them curiously.

He reaches the nearest window and attempts to see through it and spot the people outside, but as soon as he leans close enough, there's a hand on his shoulder pulling him backwards.

Back pressed against Eddie's chest, he turns his head, attempting to get a look at his face, eyebrows raised in question. Eddie only glares at the floor, the shadow of a person standing right in front of the window. The close proximity forces Raymond's eyes to the stray eyelash on Eddie's cheek, to the scar beneath his bottom lip. Blinking away the image, Raymond backs off, keeping his distance.

The shadow is gone and he passes the window quickly, aiming for the front door as the voices grow louder. There's a knock.

He turns to see Eddie a few feet away, ready to run back to the kitchen and hide himself there if necessary. His smile is encouraging, forcefully so, and Raymond clears his throat.

"Who is it?"

"Delivery service!"

The moment the voice is clear enough, Raymond feels relief spread through him like it does when he wakes up a little too late on a Saturday.

"Henderson!" Eddie cries out, practically running towards the door to open it, not bothering to wait for Raymond to do it.

The boy on the other side is wearing a bright smile, almost covered by the pile he carries. Robin is behind him, wiggling her fingers in an awkward wave with Max beside her, nodding casually.

Not wasting a second, Eddie throws himself at Dustin. Raymond thinks that Eddie will hug him. It does look like that, until Eddie's hands are full of various bags and boxes and Dustin is all but forgotten at the door.

"Come on, dude, I'm holding heavy shit!" Raymond immediately rolls his eyes at the voice as Dustin and the girls move aside to let Steve Harrington walk into the house like he fucking owns it.

He sends a little nod Eddie's way before turning to look at Raymond. His eyebrows are raised and Raymond eyes the bags he's carrying. He instructs, "The counter."

Sighing, Harrington passes the TV and disappears into the kitchen area. Raymond notices how Eddie watches him, eyebrows furrowed. The confusion quickly turns into delight as Dustin waves a bag in front of his face. Eddie's face all but lights up at the sight and Raymond has to admit he's never seen him like this before.

"You didn't, Henderson, tell me you didn't!"

"I did, my lord," Dustin replies smoothly. He places the bag onto the coffee table and sits down on the floor (because that's his thing, apparently). Raymond watches as he pulls out numerous boxes, all of them equally colourful. "Monopoly, classic, am I right?"

"Classic," Eddie whispers, eyeing the box in Dustin's hands. He dramatically drops to his knees to accept the gift. Max watches them with disgust and Raymond can't help but relate. It's a strange thing to be passionate about, he has to admit. "What else, what else?"

"Uh, some dominoes, uno," Dustin's voice fades out as he digs through the bag. "Oh, also chess! You can both play chess, right?"

Eddie waves him off. "Oh, he'll learn, don't worry about him."

Raymond scoffs. "Excuse me? I am in the fucking room, too, I know how to play chess."

"Cool," Dustin replies, grinning. He's buzzing with energy, just too fucking excited for this occasion. And then, Raymond realises why.

Eddie neglects all the boxes he's received, puts them on the floor by Dustin's legs with raised eyebrows. His eyes are wild, hungry and Raymond thinks he knows exactly what he's after. When Eddie speaks, his voice is tense, wavering with excitement. "Did you bring it?"

Steve takes up one armchair as Robin slowly settles down on the floor to rest her back against his knees, both of them joining in as Raymond watches the exchange with utter fascination. Max isn't so impressed.

Dustin smirks. Raymond sees him pull one final box out of his bag. "Of course I did."

The scream Eddie lets out isn't human at all. He jumps, kisses the top of Henderson's head and snatches the box away from him.

"You're a genius, Dustin Henderson," he says, hugging the box tightly. "Now all I have to do is teach Park how to play."

Steve is the first to scoff. "Right."

"As if I'd ever play D&D with you," Raymond mutters, reluctant to show his agreement with Steve. "I'm not a kid."

"It's not like I'm your age or anything." Eddie's eyes narrow. "I'm secretly a middle schooler, Park."

"You certainly act like it."

"He does," Robin adds subtly. Subtlety isn't her strongest suit, so Eddie does shoot a betrayed glare her way. If she notices it, she doesn't show it.

"Just you wait, Raymond... Just you wait."

"Take your time, babe. No rush," Raymond brushes him off before turning to look at Max. "Did you guys bring any actual food or only toys?"

"There's, uh, food in the kitchen."

Raymond glances Steve's way at the instruction, noticing the awkwardness in the air, the flickering eyes and one confused little Ava who seems to just have found a new cuddling buddy in Steve -she hides in the space between his leg and the armrest, with her head resting on his thigh. So Raymond just goes to get some food nonetheless. Soon enough, Eddie is munching on a box of Honeycomb cereal while Raymond goes for a bag of chips.

"So," he starts out, having swallowed a handful of extremely salty chips. "Any news on the situation? Or was it really just delivery service?"

"Yeah..." Dustin clears his throat. "We got, uh... some good news and some bad news. How do you prefer it?"

"Bad news first," Eddie replies, "always."

"All right, bad news. We tapped into the Hawkins PD dispatch with our Cerebro, and they're definitely looking for you." Dustin sighs. "Also, they're, uh, pretty convinced you killed Chrissy."

Max is quick to add, "Like, a hundred percent kind of convinced."

"That's just delightful," Raymond whispers as Robin sticks a hand into his bag of chips. Jesus Christ, this kid eats. He shouldn't really be surprised, she's always been like this, but it's always fascinating to see.

"And the good news?"

Robin almost chokes on her chips in an attempt to reply first. "Your name hasn't gone public yet. But if we found out about you, it's a matter of time before others do." She pauses to swallow, wiping the salt off her hands using Harrington's jeans. He slaps her hands away, but she ignores him. "And once that gets out, everyone and their shallow-minded mother is gonna be gunning for you."

"Hunt the freak, right?" The expression on Eddie's face is something Raymond doesn't like seeing. It looks like disappointment. In himself.

"Exactly."

Eddie curses. His hands are in his hair again and he stares at the floor. Raymond can't help his desire to calm him somehow. He isn't sure where that urge comes from, but it's here and he has to act upon it.

"But they can't find him here, right?" he questions. "I mean... why would they come out here?"

Of course it's Steve who answers, "They could."

Ray raises his eyebrows in challenge. Robin glances between the two and lifts her arms defensively.

"What Steve is trying to say, Ray, is that we could do it, too." She sighs. "It wasn't easy for us, so they could... take a while. But once they're here, it's done. You'll go down, too, Ray. You're an accomplice now."

He can feel all the eyes on him. "Fucking hell."

"Before any of that happens, we find Vecna, kill him, and prove your innocence," Dustin is quick to come to a solution. Raymond looks up in time to see Eddie's mocking expression.

"That's all, Dustin? That's all?"

"Yeah, no, that's pretty much it." Henderson is oblivious.

"Great," Raymond laughs. "We're screwed."

He can't believe what he's gotten himself into. His life depends on a bunch of children trying to fight off a mind-reading monster from another dimension. His future revolves around a fugitive sleeping in his living room whom the police could find any minute now. He is supposed to believe it's easy. How does one do that?

"Hey." There's a hand on his shoulder. He doesn't have to look up to see that it belongs to Steve Harrington, but he meets his eyes nonetheless.

He wants to push the hand away. To knock the teeth out of Steve's skull. To scream at him to let go, to stop talking to him because Raymond doesn't want to hear it.

But he doesn't.

There's a weight on his chest. The weight of the future he may never have, pushing against him, digging him into the ground until he can't bring himself to speak. He can only stare at the man he used to consider family and wait for words which are supposed to soothe him, but which will definitely only do the opposite.

"You don't have to worry," Steve says. "It sounds like a reach, but it's doable."

Lifting an eyebrow, Raymond waits for him to continue. Eddie and Robin frown at him, expecting something more. Dustin only sighs in disappointment.

"That's all you got?" Max finally questions.

"That's all I got."

They all collectively groan and Raymond gets the opportunity to get his behaviour back to normal, put on a façade of being completely unimpressed and unbothered.

"You're just terrible at pep talk, my dude," Eddie mutters. "I bet Ray still thinks we're all gonna die."

"I do."

"See? He does."

Robin breaks the cycle by standing up and raising her hands to draw attention to herself. Some hair gets in her face and she makes sure to move it dramatically, cursing.

"Listen, guys, I know everything Dustin is saying sounds totally delusional, but we've actually been through this before." She pauses. "I mean, they have a... a few times, and... and I have once. Mine was more human-flesh-based, theirs was more smoke-related, but bottom line is, collectively, I really feel like we got this."

Raymond and Eddie exchange a look.

He really tries to picture it -a monster made of flesh, one made of smoke. What is Vecna like? Is he a tangible creature with a body, a face, eyes to look into as he takes one's life? Or is he, perhaps, in one's head all along? Just a shadow of the world he's a part of.

All the people in this room with Raymond -despite his first impression, despite his grudges and everything he knows about them, there's no one he'd want dead.

He can't imagine Max gone. She has shown nothing but disinterest in everything they've witnessed so far. Yet, there's a sadness to her. Something he's felt before, with someone else. A specific brand of broken that makes Raymond feel like he knows her.

His dear Robin. A goofball with a heart of gold and a brain of cotton candy. Here to complicate his life when he doesn't need it and to solve a problem when he does. Someone who's been through so much for just being who she is. Someone who deserves to live.

If there's a way for Harrington to go, it's not a wizard from a dark dimension. It will be when Ray decides he's had enough. That day will come really soon, just not right now. There are things more important than lecturing someone he used to be close with. Until then, he'll tolerate Steve just like he'll tolerate Steve's annoying middle child, Henderson, who either knows more than he lets on, or pretends to know more than he actually does.

Then, there's Munson. Not even three days into living under the same roof, and he's already used to him being around. It's fascinating how fast he's adjusted to having someone snore in the living room when he wakes up in the morning, to cooking meals for two, to sharing his clothes.

There is more to Eddie than he's letting Raymond see. Beneath all of his dumb jokes, all the pompous shouting and exaggeration of every event, there lies fear. Fear of losing. Losing this battle he's involuntarily gone to. Fear of pain. Of death. And Raymond prays Eddie doesn't have to face it yet. When the surface of an average school punk cracks, all that remains is a good person who deserves to get out of this.

They're too young for such pain. Clueless children thrown into something so serious and so big, with no one to help, no one to reach out. The world is suddenly a much darker place, with less justice and more pain, and they're all alone in it, with no one but each other. Raymond might not know them all that well, for all that long, with all that many good memories, but he knows this experience, this shit they've gotten themselves into -they've gotten him into -has brought them all together.

They're so fucked.

The one to interrupt his train of thought is Eddie himself. "What the actual fuck?"

"She's right," Max insists. "We've faced this before and we can... I hope we can do it again."

"Yeah, see..." Steve pipes in, arms crossed. He's staring down at Ava, his smile contrasting what he's telling. "We usually rely on this girl who has super powers. But, uh, those went bye-bye, so..."

Robin helps him out. "So we're technically in more of the..."

"Brainstorming phase."

"Brainstorming!" Steve snaps his fingers and Ava glares at him in confusion, much like Eddie. Raymond rolls his eyes.

"There's nothing to worry about."

The moment those words of reassurance leave Dustin's lips, Raymond hears it. Police sirens.

Eyes wide, he glances down at Eddie, then at the two kids, at Robin and Steve and finally at the front door, open wide.

"Shit, shit." Robin jumps, trips on her own shoelaces on her way to the door. She kicks them shut and locks before rushing to the window. Raymond follows.

He looks out the window to see the lake as peaceful and dead as always. The trees move softly, obeying the gentle wind. The only sign of life is the patrol car driving towards Rick's house. Passing it.

"What are they doing?" Raymond mutters as more vehicles follow the first one, red and blue lights flashing down the street. They pass the cabin, too, and disappear among the trees.

He doesn't expect Eddie's voice so close, but it turns out he and the kids have gathered around Raymond and Robin at some point. "Not coming for us, that's for sure."

Raymond freezes and turns to look at him. "They're headed for the trailer park."

"Shit, shit, shit." Steve is already out the door, keys dangling from his hand. "Come on, let's go."

"I'm coming, too."

Robin turns to Raymond. "Ray, I don't think that's a good idea. They might know you're hiding him."

Raymond grabs his leather jacket and puts it on as Dustin and Max push past him to leave the house. "If they knew, they'd be here already. I just wanna see."

"Hey, Park!"

He turns around to see Eddie standing in front of him. His eyes flicker down to the leather jacket and he parts his lips before closing them again. When Raymond sighs, he finally utters, "Don't die on me out there. I need someone to make me meals, yeah?"

Groaning, he turns his back to Eddie and heads out.

He's by Steve's car with a hand on the door and Steve already shouting for him to get in when he looks back at Eddie and smirks. "Can't make any promises."

AUTHOR'S NOTE
yeah we're getting more reddie/parkson content!!

i don't know about you guys but i adore them together. especially knowing how the story develops further, i just love their dynamic so much.

writing this is tricky because all they do is sit inside all day and i gotta make it interesting somehow, so please don't hate my boring little chapters, promise it'll get interesting soon

also just wanna point out that eddie and ray have known each other before this and that they'll be kind of a quick burn because the season is pretty short, only like a week long plotline so it's impossible to just slow it down too much. they won't be like making out by the end of the next chapter but expect their relationship to develop quite quickly because of their history

thoughts? questions? ideas? basically anything you wanna say? i hope i am doing the st characters justice and writing them according to how they are in the show. hope you liked the chapter. take care <3