Chapter Text
Eddie Munson is dying.
He's been well aware that he's been dying for a while now. It's been almost two years of doctors’ appointments, hospital stays, chemo, and experimental drug trials - "Experimental drugs, sounds fun!" he had quipped with a laugh when the doctor had suggested them - but the cancer slowly consuming his body is unrelenting.
Eddie Munson is dying. He's been dying for almost two years and has spent all that time running as fast as he can away from death. And he is so tired of running.
So when he finds Brightcliffe Hospice - a hospice just for dying teens and young adults and away from all of the cold, sterile white and poking and prodding needles of the hospital - with photos of an old mansion tucked away in beautiful woods, it feels like something of a relief. When he makes the silent drive with his Uncle Wayne, when he finally sits in Dr. Joyce Byers's office and she tells him that it's okay to stop fighting - stop running - and just live, Eddie feels himself truly relax for the first time since that first doctor sat him down and uttered the words thyroid cancer.
“When we talk about terminal illnesses,” she says, “we talk about fighting, about battle, about all of the weapons we have to use. And then we say, ‘they lost the battle.’” Brightcliffe isn’t about battles. It’s about permission to leave the battlefield; to focus on living instead of fighting. We aren’t about a fight and it certainly isn’t losing a battle. Every living day here is a win.”
Her eyes are welcoming and her smile is warm, and Eddie can’t help but think of the few good memories he has of his own mother before the drugs and the abuse got bad. Dr. Byers smiles at him, gives him permission to just live, and Eddie already feels like this place might be the best decision he’s made in his very short life.
"Why don't I get one of the others to give you the grand tour and your uncle and I can chat a bit more?"
"Yeah. Yeah I'm cool with that. That sound good?" Eddie looks to Wayne who just gives him a brusque nod in response.
Dr. Byers leads him down a few winding hallways and up a flight of stairs away from her office before she pauses to knock on a door.
"Mr. Henderson?" she calls. A moment later, the door is opened by a kid with curly hair and a big toothy grin.
"Dustin, this is Eddie, can you give him the grand tour?"
"Sure, Dr. Byers. But I definitely gave the tour last time so let's not make this a habit."
"Of course, Dustin. I'll leave you two to it then!"
Dr. Byers disappears around the corner and this kid - Dustin Henderson, apparently - sizes Eddie up with more squinting scrutiny than Eddie had ever seen in his life, then turned and started leading Eddie down another hallway.
"So, Eddie, what's your deal?"
"Uh, my deal? I mean, thyroid cancer, I guess."
"Hmm. Lung cancer for me. Thought I just had asthma, but my lungs had other ideas. But what's your actual deal man? Like you look…you look cool."
Eddie looked down at himself. He was wearing a standard outfit for himself - old jeans and a t-shirt under his leather jacket and battle vest - and while he liked it, he definitely didn’t feel cool. He pulled down on his beanie - a new habit to fill the void of fidgeting once his hair had started falling out - and fiddled with one of the chains hanging from his jeans.
"Well, then, aside from the cancer, metal is my whole deal. Doesn't look like that's really your style though, Henderson."
"Nah."
They came upon an old-fashioned elevator and Dustin pulled aside the metal grating and pressed a button to bring them down to the first floor. The button panel was simple itself with an intricate and swirling pattern surrounding it.
"You do anything else cool?" Dustin asked as the gears and wires grated and slowly lowered them down to the first floor.
"Depends on your definition of 'cool.' I'm the local freak as far as anyone is concerned back home. Metal and Dungeons and Dragons, and that's all anyone really needed to know."
"Wait," Dustin whirled to face Eddie. "You play D&D?"
"Yup." Eddie shoved his hands in his pockets and looked up at the ceiling before forcing himself to look Dustin in the eye. "You got something funny to say about that?"
"Dude, we love D&D. Will - you're gonna meet Will soon - he's like this crazy wizard, he comes up with such fun ideas." They reached the first floor and Dustin slid the grate open for them to step out. "We only run one-shots or like a maximum of three sessions, though. No campaigns 'cause - well - you know. It would suck to have to grieve a person and their character. It just makes it easier."
"Well if this Will the Wizard wants to take a break, I'm used to being stuck as the dungeon master 24/7/365. We could switch out."
Dustin whirled around and grabbed Eddie by the shoulders.
"Dude, you're perfect.”
Eddie smiled. He had known Dustin Henderson for less than 10 minutes and already Eddie knew he'd throw himself in front of a moving train for this weird little kid.
"I should probably start telling you actual tour stuff. So we just got off the elevator. It’s original to the house so it’s old as shit. It also may be haunted - it has a mind of its own sometimes. Floor three is Dr. Byers’s apartment, so don’t go up there, and don’t go down to the basement.”
Eddie laughed. “What’s in the basement? More elevator ghosts?”
“Um, no. The basement is the morgue. So, yeah I’d stay up here.”
“Oh.”
“Yeah. Well, let’s go find something fun for me to show you.”
There were voices coming from down the hallway, and Dustin led Eddie to a small gaming room with a large card table and a few arcade machines. There was a boy playing at one with a girl on either side of him. The one on his left with short, nearly buzzed, brown hair seemed to be gleefully cheering him on while the one on his right, a redhead with a pixie cut and dark glasses, seemed to be trying to mess him up.
"Left! Go left, Lucas!! Now right! Down! Come on!"
"Max!" the boy yelled, "Stop it! You’re gonna make me lose!"
"I don't know what you're talking about! I'm a fucking expert at this game. Go left!"
"There isn't even a left to go to right now!"
The other girl giggled and murmured, "You're really good at this, Lucas."
"That's El," Dustin pointed to the quiet girl with brown hair, "her name is Jane Eleanor, so you might hear Dr. Byers or Hopper call her Jane, but we mostly call her El.”
“Uh, who’s Hopper?” Eddie asked.
“Oh, you haven’t met him yet? He’s a nurse. Him and Dr. Byers are kind of the main staff, and then Murray works the overnight shift. He’s really nice, can be kinda intimidating, but he’s nice. So is Murray, but he’s way less intimidating, mostly just a sarcastic ass, but in a fun way. Anyway, El has leukemia, and then Lucas, lymphoma, and Max, sarcoma. The sarcoma pretty much took out Max’s eyesight. She can see some shapes but she's blind for all intents and purposes."
"Just 'cause I'm blind doesn't mean I can't hear you, dingus," Max called over the noise of the arcade machine.
"I know, Max. I'm giving Eddie here the tour."
"Nice to meet you, Eddie." Max waved vaguely in the direction of the doorway.
"Hi Eddie," El said just loud enough to be heard over the machine.
They waited a moment in the noise of the machine.
"Hey, Lucas," Dustin called.
When he didn't respond, Max swiped her arm out and connected with Lucas's shoulder. "Dingus, you're supposed to say hi."
"Hey, uh, Eddie. Sorry. Intense game."
Eddie laughed. "No problem, dude. Have fun. Nice to meet you all."
"Lucas is really nice," Dustin said as he led Eddie farther away from the elevator. "He's my roommate and he plays D&D with Mike, Will, and me. Mike is Will’s roommate. Anyway, over here is the library. The collection was donated by some library that was closing down so it's legit. It has a card catalog and everything."
Dustin pulled open the huge double doors to reveal a two-story room packed to bursting with shelves of books.
"Now this is my kind of place."
"Isn't it just amazing?" a cheery voice called from the shelves and Eddie heard the sound of creaking wheels.
A tiny girl in a wheelchair rolled herself around the corner. She had blonde hair that looked like it just recently grew long enough for it to stay up in the ponytail that it was now in, and long skirt that fell where it should have been propped up by a second leg, and an absolutely radiant smile.
"I'm Chrissy. Bone cancer. This library is the best part of this place. I've been here a couple months and I still haven't found the time to even just look at all the titles they have. Probably because I get side tracked reading so much though." She ended with a giggle and the sound matched perfectly with her bright smile.
"I'll have to make some time to tackle the catalog with you then. I'm Eddie. Thyroid cancer. Nice to meet you, Chrissy."
"Eddie, nice to meet you too. Dustin here giving you the tour?"
"Yes he is."
"Have you met Robin yet?"
"Um, no I haven't yet."
"Oh thank god," Chrissy laughed, "then I have time to warn you because I doubt Dustin here did. He thinks it's hilarious."
"Come on, Chrissy," Dustin whined, "it would have been so funny."
"What is it?" Eddie laughed uncomfortably.
"Robin, my roommate, had breast cancer. She had a double mastectomy but it had already metastasized to her lungs-"
"Woo, lung cancer gang," Dustin cut in.
"-so now she thinks it's funny to flash people randomly, especially the new people, or just walk around without a top on. So, just a warning, she'll probably flash you, but she doesn't actually have anything to flash."
"Can't blame her, I would too if I was her," Eddie laughed. "Thanks for the warning, though, Chrissy."
"Yeah, no problem." She gave him that winning smile again. "I'm looking forward to getting to know you, Eddie."
He grinned, looked down and messed with his beanie like he used to mess with his hair. "Likewise, Chrissy."
Dustin led him down another hallway until they came upon a wide open room with paneled windows on the far wall and tables and chairs stacked at the edges. A young boy with a bowl cut sat in a chair with his back to the windows, a sketchpad in his hand. Another kid with unkept black hair sat on the floor and read a comic book while leaning against the legs of the other's chair.
"Sketchpad is Will, juvenile Huntington’s, comic book is Mike, thyroid cancer, like you. Will is super nice, but Mike is a bit of an acquired taste, just as a warning," Dustin whispered to Eddie before calling the two boys over.
"Will, Mike, this is Eddie. He plays D&D too, and he even runs campaigns!"
"Sweet, finally someone else to keep you all entertained. Nice to meet you, Eddie." His laugh was warm and his grip was firm when he reached out to shake Eddie's hand.
"Fat chance that you'll come up with anything better than Will." Mike folded his arms across his chest and stared Eddie down.
"Jesus, Mike, you just met the guy." Will jabbed his elbow into Mike's side. "Ignore him. Once you get settled you should run a one-shot for us, if you want to."
"Yeah, sounds fun man. Though Henderson started off the tour by singing your praises, so I'm definitely gonna have to get the Will the Wizard Dungeon Master experience."
"Oh, he did? Well, then, yeah - yeah, definitely." Will beamed at Eddie while Mike continued to scowl, looking between the two of them.
"Have fun with your tour," Will said before grabbing Mike's arm and dragging him back to their spot by the windows.
"Like I said," Dustin muttered as they left, "an acquired taste.”
“And this,” Dustin said, turning a corner and motioning out at the long hallway in front of them, “is affectionately known as the Hall of Ghosts. The guy who showed me around actually called this whole thing 'The Ghost Tour.' Anyway, Dr. Byers keeps photos and likes to memorialize everyone, so know that this is where you'll live for all eternity - or at least as long as this place is open."
Eddie looked around at the framed photos of smiling kids, some in groups or pairs and some on their own. The frames were packed into the hallway to maximize how many there could be, with large sections at the end that were taken up by large landscapes, which Eddie assumed to be placeholders. The photos went all the way back to the 60’s when Brightcliffe first opened and Eddie couldn’t help the sadness that gripped at his heart when he saw how many kids like him had gone through this place.
“Let’s head back up to the dormitory. You okay with taking the stairs?”
“Yeah. Yeah, that’s fine,” Eddie replied and forced himself to turn away from the faces staring out at him from the walls.
“So, we’re back at the bedrooms,” Dustin announced once they had climbed the stairs and turned down yet another winding hallway. “Robin is probably in her and Chrissy's room." He paused in front of a door and knocked hard on it. "Robin! New guy! I'm giving him a tour."
"Coming!" a voice called back from the other side of the door.
A few moments later, the door swung open to reveal a girl with shaggy strawberry blonde hair, wearing only a pair of loose fitting boxer shorts and a long robe, hanging completely open to reveal two long scars on her chest and a distinct lack of nipples.
"Hey new guy, how's the tour going?"
She had a shit eating grin on her face that faltered only for a moment when Eddie didn't react to her opening the door half naked.
"Pretty good. Nice to meet you. Robin, is it?"
She looked at Dustin in confusion when Eddie held his hand out to shake hers.
"Chrissy told him," Dustin supplied.
"Damn it, Chrissy! Can't a girl have any fun around here?" Robin stamped her foot once and crossed her arms. "Sorry, but the look on people's faces when they don't see it coming -"
"Priceless?" Eddie asked.
"Priceless," Robin confirmed. "What's your name, new guy?"
"Eddie."
Robin shook Eddie’s outstretched hand, robe still falling open. "Nice to meet you, Eddie."
He grinned wide and chuckled a bit as he shook Robin's hand. He had a similar gut feeling with her as he had with Dustin, though less protective and more just a feeling of fast friendship on the horizon.
"And this is your room," Dustin said as he led Eddie a few doors away from Robin and Chrissy's. "I don't know if Steve is in right now, he's your roommate."
Dustin knocked gently on the door before opening it. "Steve? Looks like he's not here, so feel free to start getting comfortable. Dinner is downstairs at 7 in the conservatory - the room with all the windows."
Eddie ruffled the kid's hair gently. "Thanks for the tour, Henderson."
Dustin beamed up at him before retreating down the hallway.
Eddie walked over to the large bay window that made up the majority of the far wall. The land that the Hospice was on was a sight to behold. Dense forest surrounded the property and only gave way to a lake that Eddie could see shimmering in the afternoon sun. He wondered if there were any clearings in the woods, any fun spots that he could transfer to a battle location for one of his campaigns.
A while later, the door creaked open behind him and Eddie turned to see Wayne staring at him from the doorway.
"This place sure is something," he mumbled, stepping into the room to run his hand along a post of the canopy bed closest to the door - Eddie's bed.
"Yeah, it really is."
Wayne paused and the silence hung thick in the air.
"Guess you wanna stay here then? Made up your mind?"
"Yeah," Eddie sighed. "Yeah, Uncle Wayne, I do."
Wayne nodded and looked around the room for a long while, pointedly avoiding eye contact with Eddie.
"I just - it's my job to take care of you, Eddie. And leaving you here, it don't - it just don't feel right. I should be taking care of you at home."
Eddie thought back on the last two years. He thought of long nights on his own, throwing up from nausea from the chemo while Wayne worked the graveyard shift at the factory. An exhausted Wayne driving him to doctors appointments during the day when he should have been sleeping. Days in an empty hospital room while Wayne picked up extra shifts to make ends meet. Wayne, gripping Eddie's hand tight and rubbing his other hand on Eddie's back while he sobbed and sobbed and sobbed.
"You have - you are taking care of me, Wayne. I just - I can't do the hospitals any more. I'm so tired of all of that and I'm not a freak here and I'm not the dying kid here, just a dying kid. And the insurance, they're covering it, and I - I just feel good about this place, Wayne."
Wayne nodded and Eddie heard him sniffle a few times.
"It's just -" Wayne's voice cracked, "you're my boy, Eddie. You're my boy."
"I know. I know. You're my family, Wayne, and you take such good care of me, but this is what I need now. And me being here - you're still my family, my whole family, and I'm still your boy. This doesn't change any of that, yeah?"
Eddie clapped Wayne on the shoulder and Wayne nodded, finally looking at Eddie with eyes brimming with tears. Eddie pulled Wayne into a hug and they held each other tight for longer than Eddie ever remembered them hugging before. Eddie held on to the feeling and did his best to memorize every detail: the strength of Wayne's arms, his bony hands and wrists on Eddie's back, the stiff fabric of his jacket against Eddie's cheek, the stale smell of cigarette smoke ever-present.
They pulled back an eternity later and Wayne held Eddie's head in his hands. "You be good now."
"'Course I will, Wayne."
He scanned Eddie's face and Eddie got the sense that Wayne was trying to memorize Eddie the same way Eddie had been trying to memorize him. Then he nodded once and asked Eddie for help bringing his bags up.
They hugged once more, briefly, in the front driveway, before Wayne turned to leave. Eddie fiddled with the guitar pick necklace as he waved at the car as it disappeared behind the treeline.
Eddie walked slowly back upstairs in no real hurry to get back to his room. When he opened the door, he found a figure leaning over his guitar case.
"Hey! Can I help you?"
"Hm, yeah I think you can," the figure replied. "Is this gonna be a noise problem? 'Cause I'm telling you right now, if you're planning on keeping me up with you playing guitar, we're gonna have a problem."
The figure turned and Eddie could have sworn his heart skipped a beat as he laid eyes on one of the most beautiful people that he had ever seen: bright eyes and soft face with a sharp jawline and with a full head of thick, long hair that Eddie was immediately jealous of.
"Uh, no. No, that's not gonna be an issue. I'm not a dick."
The guy chuckled a bit. "Good."
Then he turned toward the desk on the far side of the room, sat down with a huff, pulled out a deck of cards, and began dealing himself a solitaire spread.
"You're Steve then?" Eddie asked.
"That's what it'll say on the death certificate, yeah."
Eddie chuckled a bit. "Nice to meet you. I'm Eddie, uh, thyroid cancer."
"Did Dustin do your tour?" Steve paused his dealing for only a moment to look at Eddie with a troubled expression before turning back to the cards. "He always does that; introduces everyone like we don't have real last names. 'Lucas Lymphoma,' 'Max Sarcoma,' you get the gist. I keep telling that munchkin not to go parading everyone's business around like that. Some of us don't -"
"The kid didn't do that with everyone, left a few out. So, I figure it's only the people who don't have a problem with it."
Steve paused for a moment, staring at his spread of cards.
"Hm. At least the little brat is learning."
Eddie was keenly aware that Steve's main concern with Dustin's introductions was his own personal business being aired. He watched as Steve relaxed a bit to slouch lower in the chair.
"Seems like a good kid, though," Eddie commented as he started to pull clothes out of his bag and stuff them into a set of drawers.
Steve huffed out a heavy sigh and Eddie heard the *thwack* of a few more cards being pulled at put down before Steve muttered, "Yeah, he really is."
Eddie had never been good at small talk and Steve didn't seem interested in an actual conversation, so they feel into silence as Eddie set up knick knacks and taped up posters and Steve continued the *thwack* *thwack* of his card game.
After a while, Eddie was startled by Steve slamming his hands on his desk and dramatically pushing himself up and out of his chair.
"Done. I'm heading down to dinner."
He shuffled the cards back into their box and then tossed that onto his near-empty desk. He paused for a moment on Eddie's side of the room as he looked around at the items Eddie had assembled: a few band posters, a framed t-shirt with the logo of his old D&D group, a couple of photos of him and his Uncle Wayne, a stack of tapes and his walkman, and a small army of notebooks crammed full of D&D ideas. Even not fully unpacked, Eddie's side of the room looked more lived in than Steve's; his only decorations were a framed photo of what appeared to be a sports car and a small photo frame on his desk.
"Hm," Steve hummed as he inspected Eddie's things and then looked up at Eddie, his eyes boring right through him.
"See you 'round, Eddie."
Steve marched out the door and all but slammed it behind him.
Just hearing his name out of Steve's mouth made shivers run up his spine. God, Eddie was so screwed.