Opening their eyes they were quick to squeeze them shut as the blinding white light beamed down on them.

"Steve, he's awake!" A voice rang out followed by the sound of shuffling feet, once his eyes had finally adjusted to the light he opened them only to be met with the plain white ceiling which blended in with the bright fluorescent light. Eventually, a face appeared above him, holding a mix of deep concern and a hint of relief.

"Harrington?" Eddie asked, trying his best to prop himself up into a seated position only to be stopped by Steve. "Woah, woah, take it easy there man. You had it pretty rough, just relax a bit, Robin went to notify the doctors." Steve explains gently laying a hand on Eddie's shoulder and leading him onto the pillow, which was surprisingly stiff but after everything Eddie had been through he was just glad to be on a bed at all. Then it hit him, Steve and Robin were here but Steve never mentioned his brother.

"Hey, Steve," Eddie starts off his eyes trailing over to Steve, who just hums in response. "Where's (Y/n)?" He asked watching as Steve's demeanor slowly changed, Steve became tense and his eyes wandered around the room as if everything around them suddenly became 10 times more interesting than their current conversation. Eddie could feel a sense of dread fill up his stomach the longer Steve stayed in his own thoughts.

"Eddie, I-" Steve begins finally setting his gaze back on the brunette, his eyes filled with remorse, guilt, and maybe just a bit of grief. "I'm so sorry..." Suddenly he was cut off by Eddie who held his hand up motioning for him to stop, Eddie had already heard that phrase one too many times, it was the same phrase (Y/n) used when their mother died, it was the same phrase Wayne used when his father was arrested, and it was the same phrase (Y/n) used whenever he had to go work over time and couldn't hang out as he had promised.

That phrase was never a good sign and quite frankly Eddie wasn't in the headspace to hear, hell he barely even remembered what had happened or how he managed to get here, if Harrigton ever finished that sentence he might just break.

And yet he needed to know, he needed the confirmation before he gave himself false hope, or maybe he thought it would be easier to hear it from Steve than Wayne himself. That is if Wayne was even okay, considering Eddie had no idea how long he had been out it wouldn't surprise him if the world was ending as they spoke.

"He's gone, isn't he..." Though the last part was not phrased as a question but more as a statement, because Eddie already had his suspicions. Watching as Steve chewed on the bottom of his lip, trying to find the proper words, though the answer would stay the same whether Steve used his words or not.

In fact, Steve didn't know which was better, he knew Eddie would get the message either way, but he could also tell the silence was killing him. The longer he stayed silent the bigger the pit in Eddie's stomach grew, he was right, his brother was gone.

"I'm sorry..." There it was that God damn phrase, had it suddenly become everyone's favorite sentence? "He just couldn't hold on." Steve finished looking back down at the ground, Eddie's vision began to blur after the last statement and if it wasn't for the single tear that had fallen on its own Eddie wouldn't have realized he was crying.

"I'll, um, I'll just give you some time alone." Steve says, making his way back over to the door taking one last glance at Eddie, "I'll see if I can find Robin and the doctor, you know try and get them to wait for a little before checking up on you." He adds before disappearing behind the door, closing it behind him.

Now Eddie was alone. His hands balled into a fist causing wrinkles in the white sheets as he grasped onto them, while those same sheets began to soak up his tears.

(Y/n) was gone, he was never coming back, just like his mother and his father. The man who helped raise him, no scratch that (Y/n) did more than just help, he did raise Eddie for longer than he could even remember. This was the same man who got him into music and DnD, the same man who sacrificed his own dreams so that Eddie could accomplish his, this man sacrificed himself for Eddie.

And now he was nothing but a mere memory.

But Eddie didn't want him to be a memory, he wanted him to be here with him, he wanted (Y/n) to walk through the door and tell him that everything was okay, that they had won the fight. But (Y/n) wouldn't be able to do that, he couldn't, he would never see Eddie again and Eddie would never be able to see him. Because (Y/n) was dead.

Lifting his head Eddie drifted into his thoughts, his blank eyes burning holes into the wall as he racked his brain for any memory he had of (Y/n). It was all he could do, no actually it was all he had left of his brother. The latest he could remember was in 1971.

1971

It was a Sunday morning and Eddie had just woken up from his sleep, mostly due to the light that shined through the curtains, climbing off the bed he heads for the living room rubbing the sleep from his eyes. By now it had been almost a year since their mother had died and their father wasn't taking it well, so it was no surprise when Eddie went to the living room to find his father sprawled out on the couch, most likely drunk as well. It was pretty much a daily occurrence at this point and the boys didn't mind it anymore, if anything it was good news because he couldn't hurt them if he was out cold.

The house was silent as usual and Eddie reasoned (Y/n) was most likely in his room or the kitchen, which was only confirmed by the banging of the pans that (Y/n) was shifting through. With a small grin, Eddie stepped out of the living room and walked towards the kitchen, when his brother came into view Eddie walked faster.

Upon entering the kitchen Eddie could hear the faint song which was playing through the radio, (Y/n) had always been obsessed with music much to their father's dismay, so it was only natural that the (H/c) would be listening to it while he cooked. Eddie walked closer standing at (Y/n) side before tugging on his shirt to gain the other's attention.

(Y/n) paused placing the wooden spoon down on the counter before looking down at the source, a smile grazed his face as he noticed Eddie. By now Eddie could see the purple and blue bruise around (Y/n)'s eye, which Eddie knew was most likely caused by their father, his smile faded as he pointed to his eye.

"Huh? Oh, no it's okay Eddie, I'm fine." (Y/n) reassured but Eddie's smile didn't return making (Y/n) sigh, "It's alright Eddie, I promise, it doesn't hurt." (Y/n) adds but Eddie didn't seem all too convinced, he may be young but that didn't mean he didn't somewhat understand the situation they were in.

He was old enough to know that it wasn't normal, that it was some drastic change that happened because their mother had passed and the only way their father could cope was through alcohol and drugs, he knew that (Y/n) was always on the receiving end because he wanted to protect him. He knew that hide-and-seek wasn't a fun game for children but a secret code (Y/n) used to signal that their father was home and they needed to hide if they wanted to avoid any new bruises. Eddie knew but he always wondered if (Y/n) knew that he knew.

"Your hair's a mess," Eddie mutters as he looked up at his brother's (H/c) hair, which had been sticking up in all different directions, as he tried to change the subject seeing as (Y/n) wouldn't give in. "Yeah, well I was busy making breakfast, I thought you'd still be asleep but I guess I was wrong." (Y/n) explains as he turns back to face the stove, picking up the spoon to move the eggs around.

"Now run along and take a seat, do you want eggs, pancakes, or maybe both?" (Y/n) asked moving the eggs from the pan onto an empty plate. "Just pancakes, please," Eddie says climbing onto the chair that was off to the right.

"Alright, Do you want three pancakes like usual?" (Y/n) asked once more, this time he walked over to the cabinet and pulled out a large bowl and a box of pancake mix before heading back to the counter. "Can I have four instead?" Eddie asked, smiling when he noticed his brother nod, it was quiet after that the only sounds that were heard were mostly from (Y/n) as he quietly hummed along to the song on the radio.

"What are you listening to?" Eddie asked as his interest was finally peaked, there was a small pause as (Y/n) placed the mix onto the buttered pan making it sizzle. "Hm? Oh, just something on the radio." (Y/n) answered staring down at the pan lightly bobbing his head to the music.

"What kind of music?" Eddie asked once more, by now the smell of pancakes wafted through the room, making Eddie hold his stomach as it began to growl. "Curious today aren't we? It's metal music, though I don't think you would like it too much, it's very loud." (Y/n) says grabbing a spatula and flipping the pancake to the other side revealing the golden brown top.

"It doesn't sound very loud," Eddie comments making (Y/n) chuckle before adding, "Well yeah, we don't want the old man to wake up now, do we?" (Y/n) asked, though it was obvious that it was rhetorical, though Eddie still shook his head effectively ending the conversation. As his brother continued to make him breakfast he found himself fixated on (Y/n)'s outfit, his brother always wore dark or bold colors and his outfit was usually accompanied by a denim vest, which use to be a jacket but he had cut the sleeves off, or a leather jacket both were littered with pins and patches which never failed to capture Eddie's attention.

He wasn't sure why or how but something about his brother's sense of fashion always fascinated him, maybe it was just because it was so different from all the other teens he had seen or maybe it was because his brother always looked so cool and confident in them that Eddie wanted to be just like him, or maybe it was just a classic case of a young sibling holding their older sibling as a hero who could do no wrong and therefore it became his dream to be just like him. If anyone were to ask (Y/n) he'd probably say the latter, that Eddie was just going through the phase all kids went through where they felt the need to copy everything their older sibling did, and that Eddie would grow out of it the older he got.

Eddie's eyes trailed back to the top of (Y/n) head this time settling on the bright orange bandana that was tied around his head, most likely (Y/n)'s attempt to keep his hair away from his eyes, it wasn't working all that well but (Y/n) didn't seem to mind as long as it kept most of his hair back.

Eddie liked to refer to it as the cone bandana because its orange color reminded him of the traffic cones they would see at construction sights. (Y/n) always seemed to have it on him at all times whether it was tied to his forehead or in the right pocket of his jeans, it was always there without fail.

Eddie's eyes moved again staring at (Y/n) outfit once more, it was pretty plain but that was probably because (Y/n) had no real plans to go out today, come to think of it Eddie couldn't even remember a time when (Y/n) did go out other than to shop for the essentials. But either way (Y/n) was sporting a (F/c) tanktop and some black jeans which were ripped around the knees though (Y/n) hadn't bought them like that.

The rips were most likely from his adventures with Eddie in the park or from being thrown around by their father, and judging from the blood that stained the edges it was most definitely the latter. (Y/n) had most likely tried to wash the blood off, but the dried blood made the edges of the cloth stiff and gave it a dark red hue instead.

"Alright, breakfast is served!" (Y/n) says, setting a plate in front of Eddie and then sitting in the seat across from him with his own plate, successfully bringing Eddie out of his thoughts. "You good Eddie? You seemed to have dozed off." (Y/n) says with a smile as he picked up his fork digging into the eggs.

"I'm fine... Just thinking." Eddie replied grabbing the syrup that (Y/n) had also brought over and spreading them over the pancakes. (Y/n) raised his eyebrow but choose not to push the subject, Eddie was a very talkative kid if it was anything important Eddie would let him know. "Woah, might wanna slow down on the syrup there bud, your pancakes are crying for help." (Y/n) joked making Eddie smile.

"No there not! Pancakes aren't alive and even if they were they would be happy because the syrup makes it sweet!" Eddie argues finally grabbing his fork and picking it up, syrup oozing from the side which landed back on the plate. "Alright if you say so, but try not to get syrup all over the table, it's a pain to wipe you clean so imagine how it's like wiping the table down." (Y/n) mutters taking another bite of his eggs.

The rest of the time the two brothers ate their food in silence, Eddie occasionally speaking up to babble on about something he had seen in a cartoon or at school and (Y/n) simply nodding along even though he had no idea what Eddie was even talking about. After they had both finished (Y/n) picked up the plates and placed them in the sink planning to wash them once he took care of his hair.

"Alright, now that we have that done, I'm going to go fix this." (Y/n) says pointing to his head before making his way to the bathroom, Eddie following not too far behind him climbing the toilet to be at his brother's level. "What you wanna watch?" (Y/n) asked taking off his bandana and folding it before slipping it into his right pocket, then opening the cabinet and pulling out a couple of products setting them down on the sink, Eddie just nods.

"Alright fine, but don't touch anything." (Y/n) says before getting to work on his hair, Eddie simply watched becoming fixated on the long (H/c) locks that became pretty smooth after (Y/n) had put in the product and then combed through it. "When is my hair going to be long?" Eddie asked with curiosity in his eyes, as (Y/n) turned to him with a smile placing the comb back on the sink.

"You want it to be long?" (Y/n) asked turning back to the mirror, where he could see Eddie's reflection nodding. "Well, bud that's gonna take some time and it means no more haircuts." (Y/n) explains, grabbing his bandana, but this only seemed to encourage Eddie more.

"No more haircuts? Yay! No more hair cuts, no more hair cuts!" He chanted as (Y/n) chuckled tying the bandana to his forehead making Eddie pause to stare some more. "And when it grows, will I get one too?" He asks, grinning when his brother nods his head.

"Yep, I'll even let you have one of mine." The teen says smiling at Eddie who seemed to be in a cheerful mood as he jumps down from the seat. "Where the fuck is my food!" A voice yells out, startling the two, (Y/n) looked back over at Eddie with a pointer finger to his lips signaling for Eddie to keep quiet as he steps out of the bathroom closing the door behind him.

"It's on the kitchen counter." (Y/n) says, he could see his father standing up from the couch stumbling to catch his balance as he dragged his feet to the kitchen. "Ah, so you finally did make yourself useful, good I was wondering when you would pick up the slack, fucking fairy." His father says with a chuckle, muttering the last part under his breath as he grabbed the plate off the counter. (Y/n) stood still in the hallway biting his tongue as he resists the urge to snap at the man, it would only enrage his father making him go on a rampage that could put Eddie in danger.

There was a long deafening silence as (Y/n) began to lose himself in his thoughts, but he was quickly brought back as he heard the jiggling of the bathroom doorknob, his eyes widened as he turned his attention to the door which was now cracked open. Eddie's brown eyes could be seen in the crack as he looked up at (Y/n) confused, who in turn shook his head kneeling to Eddie's height.

"Not right now Eddie, stay inside okay, he'll be done soon." (Y/n) says motioning for Eddie to close the door, Eddie frowned a bit but seemed to understand as he closed the door shut. "I am going out!" Their father shouts as he walks over to the door, the plate still in his hand, making (Y/n) scramble back onto his feet.

"Wait! Don't take the plate, you never-" He starts only to be cut off by the sound of the slamming door. "Bring them back..." (Y/n) finished as he let out a sigh staring at the door, they were down to 6 plates, and (Y/n) would have to get more before his father managed to lose all of them.

After having a brief moment to himself (Y/n) walked back over to the bathroom and opened the door letting his little brother out.

"Did he leave?" Eddie asked, earning a nod from (Y/n) who walked back over to the kitchen. "Yeah, bud, he's gone." They say as they turned off the radio picking it up in his hands and examining it, it was the one Wayne had given him when he first went to live with him, a smile grazed his face before he walked back to his room unaware of the kid that was tagging along.

Entering his room he placed the radio on one of his shelves before turning around, there Eddie stood at his doorway making (Y/n) jump as he was caught off guard.

"Jesus H. Christ! Eddie, don't do that, you almost gave me a heart attack." (Y/n) says placing a hand on his heart recovering from the mini scare. "Sorry..." Eddie mumbles as he steps inside his eyes scanning the room, sure he had been here multiple times but even then he was always left in awe by the decor.

Eddie's eyes trailed around the room looking at every single one of the posters. They were all of different bands, ones that Eddie didn't know about but still found cool, his eyes then moved to the left of the room where (Y/n) had all his records and tapes set up, each of them organized by band. Eddie knew for a fact that those tapes and records were his pride and joy, as he'd often watch his brother spend hours on end organizing them, in fact (Y/n) always made sure to lock his room whenever their father was home as a way of protecting them because unfortunately (Y/n) knew that his father hated everything he did and had no limits when it came to punishing him.

But eventually, Eddie made it to the right side of the room, and his eyes locked on the (F/c) guitar that always seemed to be on its stand, it always caught Eddie's attention because he had never seen or even heard (Y/n) use it. It always just sat there making Eddie wonder if his brother even knew how to play or if he was just keeping it because it looked cool surrounded by the posters.

"Do you need anything, Ed?" (Y/n) asked heading over to his closet, pulling out a leather jacket, and putting it on. Eddie's eyes trailed over to the radio and then to the cassette rack, curiosity was killing him, he needed to know why his brother was so obsessed with music. He wanted to know why he took as many steps to ensure their father could never get to it.

(Y/n) followed Eddie's gaze, a smile forming on his face, he knew that look it was the same look he gave Wayne when he had become fascinated by the radio which was playing Elvis or was it, Eddie Cochran? (Y/n) couldn't remember.

"Ah, you're curious about the music aren't you?" (Y/n) asked gaining his brother's attention and making him chuckle. "Alright, let's see what we got here then..." (Y/n) starts making his way over to the cassette rack and skims the titles, before grabbing one and turning it over to read the lists of songs.

"Hmmm, I think this would be a good start." (Y/n) says waving the case so that Eddie could see it before popping it into the cassette deck. "Are you sure you want me to hit play, cause you might just hear the best music to ever exist, and I can tell you there is no turning back from this?" (Y/n) states, being dramatic to add an effect which seemed to work as Eddie's eyes widened and he quickly nods his head.

"Alright don't say I didn't warn you." And with that (Y/n) hit play. There was silence for a second before a guitar riffed out, the sound a bit distorted making Eddie flinch as he wasn't prepared for the sudden entrance, (Y/n) smiles as he shakes his head, seemingly forgetting how loud the music was, and reached over to lower the volume a bit when he saw Eddie's hands go up to cover his ears.

(Y/n) had been right, it was really loud, was this the volume he always used when he listened to his music, if so then he must only play this music when he is alone. There was no doubt in Eddie's mind that both he as well as their father would have heard the music if (Y/n) had ever listened to it before. Now it all made sense why the radio was so low.

As the volume lowered Eddie finally put his hands down just as the lyrics began.

Reflex in the sky

Warn you you're gonna die

Storm coming, you better hide

From the atomic tide

Eddie wasn't aware just how much he would relate to the song at that point but the music still caught his attention, he listened closely as the man sang dragging out the end of each word as the guitar followed in sync but with its own beat.

Flashes in the sky

Turn houses into sties

Turns people into clay

Radiation mind decay

Eddie turns over to look at his brother, his eyes were closed his head bopped to the music mouthing the words, it stayed like that for a second or two before (Y/n) felt the eyes on him opening his eyes he looked down at Eddie before flashing a quick smile, a look of mischief in his eyes.

Robot minds of robot slaves

(Y/n)'s hands went up to his head before falling limp as if he was a zombie as he continued to mouth the words. Quickly he picked up Eddie and carried him to his bed, making the boy shriek before turning into laughter, this time Eddie could hear that (Y/n) wasn't just mouthing the words he was actually singing.

Lead them to atomic graves

Eddie was placed on the bed as (Y/n) began to tickle his sides earning more laughter from the boy but the music practically swallowed all the noise.

Plastic flowers melting sun

Fading moon falls upon

After a while (Y/n) stopped letting Eddie breathe as he pulled him up off the bed and carried him in his arms.

Dying world of radiation

Victims of man's frustration

Burning globe of obscene fire

Like electric funeral pyre

(Y/n) bounced Eddie in his arms as he continued to move his head to the music, Eddie grinning from ear to ear as he wrapped his arms around (Y/n)'s neck watching as his brother's hair bounced just like his head making a couple of strains fall in his face, but (Y/n) didn't care to brush them away as he continued to sing the song which was going into another guitar rift.

The sound engulfed Eddie's ears as this time he joins in as well trying to move his head just like his older brother, (Y/n) chuckled as he stopped moving watching Eddie try to get into the music as well, (Y/n) kneeled back down placing Eddie back on the ground. Eddie pouted for a bit but (Y/n) stood up pointing to his head, signaling for him to watch before moving his head about nothing too crazy but it would be easy for Eddie.

Eddie nods after watching and then goes to mimic the same moves, getting a little bit dizzy as he holds out his hands for balance. Then the music picks up.

Buildings crashing down

To Earth's cracking ground

Rivers turn to wood

Ice melt into blood

(Y/n) laughs and so does Eddie, the two enjoying themselves and having a great time.

Earth lies in death bed

Clouds cry for the dead

Terrifying rain

Is a burning pain

By now Eddie and (Y/n) were just dancing about to the music, for once they both felt free together.

Electric funeral

Electric funeral

Electric funeral

Electric funeral

Now Eddie understood why his brother loved this music so much, besides the overall obvious which was that it was good music, it expressed things that Eddie couldn't, and the way they were moving and dancing about right now was fun. Eddie could put all his negative energy into it and just let it out, only focusing on himself and his brother, who knew this memory would become so special...

And so in the sky

Shines the electric eye

Supernatural king

Takes earth under his wing

(Y/n) picked him up once more and started bouncing around the room, a wide smile on his face as he was happy to share this moment with his brother, after all, he wouldn't want anyone else.

Heaven's golden chorus sings

Hell's angels flap their wings

Evil souls fall to Hell

Ever trapped in burning cells

The song had come to an end as (Y/n) put Eddie down and took out the cassette just as the next song began to play, he turned around and looked over at Eddie.

"So what'd you think bud?" (Y/n) asked, though he could already tell the kid liked it just from the look on his face. "That was awesome!" Eddie shouts throwing his hands up in the air pumped with energy.

"Yeah? You think so?" (Y/n) questioned as he looked down at the cassette, then at Eddie who was nodding his head. "Alright tell you what, I'll give you this one so you can start on your own collection okay, but you gotta be sure to take care of it. If the old man sees it he'll flip, got it?" (Y/n) explained grabbing its case and holding both out for Eddie to reach.

"Got it!" He says with a nod taking the cassette in his hands and then the case placing it back inside. "Alright then, welcome to the club nerd, 'cause this hellfire is hot." (Y/n) jokes cracking a quick smile, neither knew just how much this moment had shaped Eddie.

(A/n): I am so excited to finally be able to publish this story, I've had this idea with me since 2022 when I trust got into Stranger Things, and now after scraping the first draft and some light rewriting I am finally posting it here! Now it's still not perfect but I'd definitely like to think that my way have writing has improved just a little bit since the first time I tried writing. So feel free to let me know what you think in the comments! Uploading schedule will be one chapter each day and I hope you enjoy them!