Stranger Things - Imagines

Eddie Munson X Reader - This Is Why

A/N - This chapter was somewhat inspired by the song This Is Why by Paramore. For this one, Eddie has started making it big with Corroded Coffin and Reader is his high school sweetheart turned wife. I honestly just love super protective Eddie, so here he is! I hope you all enjoy it. 

You let out a soft breath as Eddie linked his fingers through yours, squeezing them lightly until you glanced up at him, brows furrowed in confusion.

"Are you ready, Baby?" he hummed, observing as you nodded your answer, applying a little more pressure on his hand as if to prove how ready you really were. "Okay," he uttered, surging forwards to press a quick kiss to your temple before straightening out. "We'll just try and make it to the car as quickly as possible, alright? Just keep hold of my hand; I don't want to lose you out there."

You swallowed the lump in your throat, forcing a small smile. "Aye aye captain," you teased gently, causing him to raise an eyebrow at your inability to take anything seriously. 

And then, Eddie was opening the door of the restaurant and walking out into the street with you hot on his heel, the cameras immediately flashing as they started taking photos. You pressed a little closer behind Eddie, your free hand gripping the back of his jacket as he began to lead you through the crowd. 

You were almost certain that you'd finally had a completely uneventful interaction with the paparazzi who had been following Eddie around for what felt like months at this point. One good night where you could go without hearing some sort of shitty comment from them or a slightly over-invasive photo taken of your cleavage or ass or something. 

And then, you'd felt someone barge your shoulder and you'd gone sprawling, losing your grip on Eddie before you could even realise what was happening. You'd landed flat on your ass on the concrete sidewalk, feeling the ache already settling in and knowing that you'd probably have a deep purple bruise by the time you woke up in the morning. You glanced down at your hands, finding them scraped from your awkward landing and wincing at the sight of the blood starting to bloom on the surface of your palms. 

"What the fuck?" Eddie bit out, forcing his way back through the wall of people that had immediately ebbed into the space between you when you'd been separated. He finally made it close enough to you that he was hovering protectively above you, face to face with the pap who'd shoved into you. He placed his hand over the camera lens, shoving it out of his face as the guy tried to take another photo. "Do you get off on pushing women around or something?" he pressed on, jaw set in an angry line.

"It was an accident-"

Eddie silenced him without even saying a word, his face set like stone in a scowl so deep that if it had been aimed at you, you likely would've withered from the force alone. He finally risked a glance down at you, his expression softening when he spotted the way you were cradling your hands in your lap. "Up we get, Sweetheart," he hummed, shifting to help you stand, making sure to hold your elbows to avoid causing your hands any more pain. "Let me see," he pressed on, delicately holding your hands as people continued to snap photos of the two of you, huddled close together amongst the crowd. 

"Babe, people are looking-"

"You're bleeding," he murmured, looking so damn heartbroken that it shocked you slightly. And then he was rounding on the cameraman again, glaring at him. "Touch my wife again and see what fucking happens," he bit out.

"Eddie," you started again, touching his arm lightly. "It was an accident."

Eddie hesitated for a moment. "Well, if these fucking vultures would quit following us around, it wouldn't have happened," he muttered. He turned his attention back to the man one final time. "Learn some fucking manners before I have to teach you a lesson." 

He wrapped his arm around your shoulder after that, keeping you tucked tightly into his side as he weaved through the crowd, making sure that no one could put a hand on you. When you finally reached the car, Eddie opened your door for you, ushering you inside and shutting it behind you before running around to the other side to join you. His grip on the steering wheel was tight, so tight that his knuckles were turning white with effort. 

"Ed, I'm fine," you murmured, reaching out to touch his knee, squeezing it lightly to get his attention as he finally pulled out of the parking spot. "Baby," you pressed on. "It's okay."

"No it isn't," he interrupted, shaking his head in frustration. "Sure, it might just be a bruise today, but what if you'd hit your head or broken a bone or something? What if you were pregnant? What if we have a kid? We can't just let those assholes push you around like that-"

"Ed," you uttered again. "Take a deep breath for me, Baby," you added softly. 

He let out a disgruntled sigh. "I'm not overreacting," he uttered without you ever having to say the words. "That guy could've done some serious damage. He could've really hurt you."

"I know," you reminded him gently. "But it happened and getting all mad about it won't make it not happen, okay? So just take a deep breath before you pass out at the wheel."

Eddie hesitated for a moment, looking at you out of the corner of his eye before doing as he was told, taking in a long, deep breath and then releasing it slowly. "That guy was an asshole," he murmured, drawing a snort of laughter out of you.

"Yep," you agreed softly. "Pretty sure he knows that now, though, huh?"

"You think I made it clear enough?"

You couldn't help the smile pulling at your lips. Sure, Eddie had always been a little protective when it came to you, but since he'd started gaining a bit of media attention, it had only grown. He'd basically gone mad the first time he'd seen an article in a magazine criticising how you looked, and then, he'd gone about writing a formal letter of complaint to the editor that had been published in the next issue, making it very clear that whilst he was fair game, his wife was off limits. 

"You made it plenty clear," you agreed, squeezing his knee again. "Doubt we'll be seeing him again for a little while," you added softly. 

"You think I scared him off?" he asked, a small smile pulling at his lips.

You hummed out an agreement. "Think my big bad husband scared the living daylights out of him. "Getting all protective over me," you added, your nose wrinkling up slightly when he turned his attention to you for just a second. 

"Yeah, well, you're worth protecting, Sweetheart."

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