"Never?" Eddie asked softly, his brow knit. "But ... they're your friends, aren't they?" So help him, if the people Connor hung around were cruel to him, Eddie might just lose his mind. He could already feel a flash of indignation sparking to life inside him, that ever-present, knee-jerk desire to defend people coming to life. It was almost laughably easy to convince Eddie of anything simply by playing to his empathy.
Not that he was thinking about any of that when Connor told him what he'd been forced—made to do back home. His whole face twisted. "Jesus Christ," he gasped, horrified. It really hadn't occurred to Eddie that Connor might be lying. Sure, Ben's favorite Space Odyssey had freaked him out, but he'd felt for Hal, too, and he was absolutely feeling something now, a sharp tug on his heart that he absolutely couldn't fight. If he'd been weary before, he wasn't any longer. That was rapidly being replaced by ferocious protective instincts. "What kind of insane Blade Runner shit—fuck, we can't do this here. Come on." Without thinking, Eddie grasped Connor's hand and led him to the bedroom he'd claimed with a few others just down the hall.
It was vacant, like he'd expected with everyone combing the house for clues during the day. The room was as clean as it could possibly be with how often Eddie tried to keep all the old medical supplies neat and organized. Useless, really. But it helped focus his energy. "Sit," he said, then seemed to realize a moment too late that he was being rude. "Uh. If you want."
Setting the candy cane harpoon aside so he could cross his arms, Eddie took a breath. It meant the lecture was coming. "I won't ask if you're okay. That'd be stupid. But you don't have to do any of that shit here, alright? I swear to God if anyone asks you to lift a fucking finger to fight, you tell me and I'll speak to them. Nobody is going to make you do anything here, Connor. I mean that." Maybe it seemed unnecessary to articulate all of these things, but Eddie came from trauma, and sometimes, validation was all he'd ever needed. Bev's easy, Your mom sucks, between puffs of smoke had unraveled something sharp lodged in his chest, and if he could lend any of that relief to Connor now, he wanted to.
Or, you know, he'd just end up looking silly. That was fine. Eddie didn't mind taking one for the team. Connor might have already made peace with what happened to him, but Eddie was ready to throw the fuck down with the people who wronged him at home. All 5'7" of him.