[ there’s levity returning, with the portal getting further away in the rearview. further away and more and more as confirmation of their success. finally over. there’s still plenty of cause for concern - the fissure wasn’t so big before, the cracks spindling across the road as harrington navigates around the worst of them, wheel only catching on the inevitable stray bumps until that, too, clears out a bit more. eddie wants to ask, but a part of him is still scared to.
maybe — maybe he can just sit in the bliss of ignorance for a little bit more, before he goes in for the questions. maybe he’s earned that much. maybe he can later ask steve why he thought he was talking to max before, why the town looks turned upside down (did they lose?), was he still wanted for murder and why steve looks like hasn’t had a good night’s sleep in days. the guy looked haggard too, bags under the eyes.
eddie watches steve’s profile for a moment longer, catching the motion of him looking away from the road to him and back to the road. catches the defined confusion. seems to remember that he’s staring, which might be bordering on rude so he looks away.
of course, steve says, like it’s the easiest, most obvious thing in the world and eddie can’t help but wonder how everything about him seemed to come so simply. maybe that aligned with the reputation of being the unseated king. maybe it aligned with henderson’s worship, which Eddie would loathe to admit he now understood. it surprised eddie to no small degree that he too was tugged into that orbit, with how natural falling back into this seemed to feel.
at the question, eddie snorts, turning back to look at the road ahead, at the rushing trees that open up into town. the song on the radio is slow and lulling and not at all good. he twists a ring on his finger, unable to keep too still. ] Yeah, yeah I think so. [ it’s hard to answer — and maybe steve can forgive that much, given that eddie is ostensibly back from what most people don’t return from. ] I just — I remember it being cold. And Henderson, you know, getting to me? And then — kind of like nothing, man. Nothing for a really long time, until I heard some girl’s voice? [ fingers pinch the bridge of his nose, eyes close briefly and he shakes his head. is it bad that he just needs a beer? ] I don’t think I recognized it, but she just said no. Just nope! [ a wave of his hand, some fingerwag for emphasis.] And I was suddenly back there again, and I guess alive because if I was anything else this shit wouldn’t be stinging so much, you know?
So — so I guess I was something, at least, but I know I was gone. [ he laughs, and it strains enough to teeter off into a groan. ] I know that sounds insane. Or well, [ he considers it a moment, tipping a crooked little smile. ] More insane than everything else.
[ he clears his throat, rubs both hands across his face, before going for the water bottle. ] But, you know, enough about me — what the hell happened to Hawkins? Why does it look like the shit we were trying stop actually happened?
no subject
maybe — maybe he can just sit in the bliss of ignorance for a little bit more, before he goes in for the questions. maybe he’s earned that much. maybe he can later ask steve why he thought he was talking to max before, why the town looks turned upside down (did they lose?), was he still wanted for murder and why steve looks like hasn’t had a good night’s sleep in days. the guy looked haggard too, bags under the eyes.
eddie watches steve’s profile for a moment longer, catching the motion of him looking away from the road to him and back to the road. catches the defined confusion. seems to remember that he’s staring, which might be bordering on rude so he looks away.
of course, steve says, like it’s the easiest, most obvious thing in the world and eddie can’t help but wonder how everything about him seemed to come so simply. maybe that aligned with the reputation of being the unseated king. maybe it aligned with henderson’s worship, which Eddie would loathe to admit he now understood. it surprised eddie to no small degree that he too was tugged into that orbit, with how natural falling back into this seemed to feel.
at the question, eddie snorts, turning back to look at the road ahead, at the rushing trees that open up into town. the song on the radio is slow and lulling and not at all good. he twists a ring on his finger, unable to keep too still. ] Yeah, yeah I think so. [ it’s hard to answer — and maybe steve can forgive that much, given that eddie is ostensibly back from what most people don’t return from. ] I just — I remember it being cold. And Henderson, you know, getting to me? And then — kind of like nothing, man. Nothing for a really long time, until I heard some girl’s voice? [ fingers pinch the bridge of his nose, eyes close briefly and he shakes his head. is it bad that he just needs a beer? ] I don’t think I recognized it, but she just said no. Just nope! [ a wave of his hand, some fingerwag for emphasis.] And I was suddenly back there again, and I guess alive because if I was anything else this shit wouldn’t be stinging so much, you know?
So — so I guess I was something, at least, but I know I was gone. [ he laughs, and it strains enough to teeter off into a groan. ] I know that sounds insane. Or well, [ he considers it a moment, tipping a crooked little smile. ] More insane than everything else.
[ he clears his throat, rubs both hands across his face, before going for the water bottle. ] But, you know, enough about me — what the hell happened to Hawkins? Why does it look like the shit we were trying stop actually happened?