Archive of Our Own ^beta

“The lecture starts at six so I was thinking we leave here at three thirty? That should give us just enough time to grab something to eat before we have to sit still for two hours and concentrate.” Brett stated, leaning on the door frame at the entrance to Steve’s office, a mug of tea in his left hand. He’d asked Steve on his way past a few minutes ago if he wanted anything from the staff lounge, which Steve thought was a surprisingly considerate gesture, even if he hadn’t taken Brett up on the offer.

“Yeah man, sounds good. What is it like two hours from here?” Steve responded, looking up with a friendly smile from the paper he had been grading.

“Something like that. I’ll whack it into Maps and check the traffic in a bit, just in case we need to leave earlier. Is that okay?” Brett returned Steve’s smile easily and flashed neat rows of teeth, brows pinching together slightly with the question.

“Sure, I can leave whenever. Looking forward to it.” Steve wasn’t actively trying to get rid of his co-worker, but he was very much aware of the pile of unmarked essays that had been clogging his desk for the last few days. Essays that he’d promised his class he’d have back to them by Wednesday.

“Sweet dude, I’ll meet you in the parking lot at three thirty. If anything changes, I’ll let you know!”

With that, Brett pushed off the door frame and threw a casual wave in Steve’s direction before wandering back down the corridor to his own office. Steve was about half way down the first page of a fresh paper, leaning his forehead on his palm and trying to make the words sit still for just a second so he could read them, when he felt the desk shivering from his phone’s vibrations. Thankful for the distraction, he let go of his biro and reached to grab his cell from its little spot to his right. It was Robin. Steve barely got out a “Hey Robs” before her voice flew through the screen into his ear.

“Hey Steve! How’s it going? Good!? Glad to hear it! So about this afternoon I am so so sorry but I can’t get the girls from school because Nancy decided to be a dumbass and tried to paint the front porch while I was at work and she was standing on that old ladder we borrowed from Hopper and it slipped and she fell and I’m like 99% sure she’s broken her arm she said it doesn’t hurt that much but I’m pretty certain arms aren’t supposed to have dents in them so I’m going to drive her to the hospital and I don’t know how long we’ll be there for but it’ll probably be a while you know what hospitals are like and I’m really sorry because I know how important tonight is for you and how this has been booked for weeks-“

“Robin! Slow down! Jesus Christ. Nancy did what?” Steve was still trying to catch up with the thread that Robin had been anxiously unravelling down the phone at him and was just now focusing on the fact that Nancy may have seriously injured herself. “Is she okay?” It was a stupid question, because of course Nancy was okay. Working as an investigative journalist for the past ten years had instilled in her a determination and resilience that had her brushing herself off and arming herself with a steely grin in the face of any and all hardships.

And hey, Steve thought, you don’t fire a shotgun at an interdimensional hell-beast at nineteen years old and not be okay with falling off a ladder.

“Yeah, yeah, she’s fine,” Robin responded somewhat breathlessly, “I just really think she needs it looked at. It’s all swollen and frankly kind of gross to look at.”

“No problem, just send her my love and tell her to take it easy, okay? And about this afternoon, it’s cool. You don’t happen to know any other babysitters around Hawkins I could call on such short notice, do you?” Steve was beginning to wrack his brain for adequate alternatives to look after Cassie and Ally this evening while he was at a Child Language Acquisition lecture outside of town. His first thought was Dustin – he had always been a reliable backup if ever Robin was unable to babysit the girls while Steve was at work – but Dustin was in Boston working on his PhD, so that was strike one. Max and Lucas had moved out of Hawkins pretty much as soon as they graduated high school, heading to the capital, glad to have the town very firmly in their rear-view mirror. Strike two.

“Uhh, you could try Will? I don’t know if him and Mike are back from Canada yet, but it might be worth a shot? If not, you could always ask Eddie…” Robin trailed off, the stickiness of a knowing, teasing smile evident in her voice.

Without dwelling on the mention of Eddie long enough to even fire back a reproach at Robin’s tone, Steve latched onto Robin’s first suggestion and thanked her, sending his love again to both of them and promising to catch up properly soon. They said their goodbyes and Steve brought his phone down from his ear, huffing quietly. Will and Mike had only babysat Steve’s daughters once before, and that was as a team effort with the supervision of Dustin, whose presence had allayed Steve’s worries somewhat. Obviously, it had been fine. Steve felt he’d raised his girls well, even though it had been particularly tough in the last three years since he’d become a single parent, so it wasn’t Cassie and Ally’s behaviour that he had reservations about. However, at such late notice, Steve couldn’t really afford to be picky when it came to babysitters.

Steve scrolled down the little distance to the last text conversation he had with Mike the week before last and clicked on his little contact photo. He tapped the phone icon and raised his cell to his ear again. Steve slumped back in his desk chair slightly, head tipping back, and slowly rotated himself, pushing his heels into the floor as he heard the dull ringing, and waited. And waited. Eventually, the ringing stopped. Steve thought for a second that it was because Mike had picked up, but no. He looked at his phone screen to see his own screensaver – his daughters, faces upside down and teeth bared in easy grins as they both hung their little mousy-haired heads back off Cassie’s bed – and realised that Mike didn’t even have an option to leave a voicemail. Damn kid. Steve scoffed and found Will’s number instead, desperation creeping slowly in at the eventuality that Will didn’t pick up either.

“Steve? Is everything alright?” Will’s voice was full of concern; Steve rarely called the kids, it was always text conversations with them, so it was understandable that a call out of the blue would worry him.

“Hey kid, yeah don’t panic everything’s alright. Are you with Mike?” Steve asked, keeping his tone light.

“Yeah, I am. We’re just about to head out for lunch.” Will responded slowly, questioning without asking anything in particular.

“Can you tell him to answer his god damn phone? Wheeler! I know you can hear me, little shit.” Steve raised his voice slightly in mock anger (and a little bit of real frustration), before chuckling dryly and asking whether Will and Mike were still on vacation. It was somewhat of a gut-punch when Will replied that yes, they were, and they wouldn’t be getting back until next Tuesday. Steve somehow managed to keep the groan out of his voice when he wished them a lovely rest of their trip and that he was looking forward to hearing all about it when they got home. Hanging up and dropping his phone on top of a pile of ungraded papers on his desk, Steve sighed heavily.

So that was strike three.

Which meant there was only one option left. It wasn’t that Steve didn’t like Eddie; of course he liked him. Eddie was one of Steve’s oldest friends, they shared a bond forged in the crucible of saving the world, and maintained over the years with surprising ease, just like he had with Nancy and Jonathan (Robin was different, obviously. She was his Person with a capital P). Over the years, Steve had learned that Eddie wasn’t the kind of person with whom he needed to be in constant contact in order to remain close, and Steve was grateful for that. Though they still both lived in the Hawkins area, Steve only saw Eddie every few months or so – mostly at birthdays, anniversaries or film nights organised by Robin and Nancy. However, whenever they did cross paths, it was easy. Like nothing had changed. Like Steve was still working at Family Video and not as a lecturer at a local college. Like Eddie still ran Hellfire and didn’t have a reasonably successful career as a musician and songwriter. Despite all he’d been through, Eddie still possessed that vitality and energy that had drawn Steve so fiercely to him over a decade ago, still had that long mane of dark curls that framed his soft pale face in such a striking manner. He still had those eyes. Steve tried not to dwell too much on Eddie’s eyes, because it always stirred something up in the very depths of himself that he preferred not to think about because it would only serve to make his life just a bit more difficult. So yeah, Steve liked Eddie. Did he trust him with his kids? Of course – the man had saved his life more than once, and he trusted him to do the same with Cassie and Ally if it came to it. Was he going to lay out VERY firm ground rules? Absolutely. That was, obviously, if Eddie agreed to do it. This was his last shot before he’d have to go find Brett and cancel on him, which would be a waste of the $40 he’d spent on a ticket, as well as a vital missed opportunity for professional development.

So, he picked up his phone again, stalling for a second to fawn over his home screen again, before finding Eddie’s name (saved simply as ‘Munson’) and hitting the call button. Steve tapped his left index finger idly on the edge of the desk, knee bouncing inexplicably as the phone rang once, twice-

“Munson’s XL Condoms; you fap it, we’ll wrap it! This is Eddie speaking, how can I help?”

“What the – fuck – is wrong with you, man?” Steve huffed through the sudden scoff of incredulous laughter that was yanked from his throat at the sheer absurdity of Eddie’s greeting. He frequently answered the phone with some variation of this spiel, replacing the imaginary company name and tag line each time. Steve wondered whether he made them up on the spot or if he had a pre-conceived list of them always waiting to be whipped out. He wondered whether Eddie answered the phone like this to anyone else.

“Ah, Mr Harrington, my favourite customer, what can I do for you big boy?” Eddie asked, and just like every other time he called him that, Steve found himself back in the RV, standing behind the driver’s seat as Eddie turned his face towards him, hands deftly working a tangle of wires between his knees. He found himself blinking into those impossibly large doe-like eyes, dark and rich like chocolate. He felt the zing up his chest, through his shoulders, seeing Eddie, inches from his face, baring his teeth in a crooked grin. He felt himself looking away, but wishing he hadn’t.

“Eddie, I am actually having a genuine crisis here and I need you to be serious for like one millisecond before I hang up and pretend I never even called.” The exasperation in Steve’s voice was palpable, and while he enjoyed the chaos of Eddie Munson usually, one quick glance at the clock on his wall indicated that he had an hour and a half until his daughters would be left seemingly abandoned unless he could secure a babysitter.

“I must say, I always knew this day was coming. I just figured you’d come to me when you were good and ready.” Eddie’s voice had sobered. There was a softness to it that Steve had only heard when he was speaking to Will or Nancy. Steve was so desperate to simply ask the question and move on that he didn’t really register what it was that Eddie was hinting at.

“I need to ask you a huge favour if you’re free this afternoon and this evening actually I need someone to look after Cas and Ally because I’ve got a lecture to go to and– wait what?” As it did with Robin’s ramble earlier, it took Steve a few seconds for all the words to fall into place in the right order in his head. Steve blinked. The silence was huge between them; neither breathed.

“That is a pretty big favour, dude,” Eddie sighed dramatically, brushing over the awkwardness of the previous moment with ease, “but of course, I’ll hang out with your little nuggets-”

“Don’t call them that.”

“Sorry.” Eddie responded instinctively but the momentary pause and the absence of taunting in his voice when he continued suggested genuine sympathy for all that word represented. “What time d’you want me to come over?”

Pushing through the tightness in his chest to which Steve couldn’t quite put a cause, Steve went through the details with Eddie. He would call Hawkins Elementary and let them know that Eddie would be picking the girls up, if Eddie could walk them home and then perhaps do some drawing with them, that would be great? Or they could watch TV? Something appropriate for a five and a seven year old, please. He’d be back by ten at the latest, there’s leftover chilli in the fridge, Eddie just needs to heat it up in the microwave – he does know how to use a microwave, right?

“Of course I know how to use a fucking microwave, Harrington, what kind of cave creature do you think I am?!” Eddie barked back at him, mock hysteria dripping through the phone.

“Okay, okay, I’m sorry, I’m just a bit strung out okay dude, I can’t get my brain to stay still.” Steve sighed. All this uncertainty was really taking it out of him. “Ally’s bedtime is seven and Cassie’s is eight. Ally will try to get you to read her a bedtime story but feel free to tell her no. They have school in the morning so please don’t let them stay up until I get home. I’m serious. If they are still awake when I get back, you’re all in trouble.”

“Okay Dad.” Eddie drawled, but Steve knew that he would have the girls in bed asleep before he got home. As much as Eddie was a whirlwind of a human, he was good with kids, and was a genuinely decent guy.

“Sorry for snapping at you, man. I really appreciate you giving up your time to do this. I owe you, whatever you want.”

“Don’t tempt me.” The mischievous grin was back in his voice, and that unknown tightness gripped around Steve’s lungs again for just a moment. He sighed heavily and shook his head, hoping to rattle his thoughts into some kind of coherency, glasses slipping slightly down the bridge of his nose.

“Great, so I’ll see you later. Thanks again, Munson.”

“My pleasure, friend o’ mine. I’m gonna babysit the shit out of these kids.”

With Eddie’s final words not exactly breathing confidence into him, Steve hung up the phone and threw it back on the desk. Mostly, he was just grateful that he had someone to look after his girls tonight. It was only slightly nerve-wracking that that someone was Eddie.

-----------------

The next two hours passed in fits and starts, dragging in moments and flying by in others, as he managed to grade another four of his class’s papers.

Just before 3:30 Steve was anxiously gathering his things ready to leave the office, and nearly cheered with relief when he saw a message flash up on his locked screen that showed Eddie had sent him a picture. It was a selfie of Eddie glancing to his left at Cassie, an exaggerated look of confusion knitting his eyebrows together and scrunching his lips. He was sat on Steve’s couch between the two brunette girls, Ally kneeling on the left sticking her tongue out and Cassie holding up little devil horns with her index fingers. Underneath the image, a second message came through which read,

Kids acquired. Have arrived at secondary location. Send confirmation that these are the correct children.

Steve chuckled to himself at his friend’s frankly weird sense of humour and fired back:

Um…NO? I’ve never seen them before.

The text was accompanied by a winking emoji to (hopefully unnecessarily) convey that Steve was in fact joking. He locked his phone and shoved it in his pants pocket before heading out to meet Brett in the parking lot.

The journey went quickly. Steve was driving and the route was thankfully simple, which allowed him to relax a little and attempt to shake off the stress of the day. Brett was good company, shifting between work talk and friendly conversation with ease. Steve didn’t know why he didn’t spend more time with Brett outside of work to be honest. Maybe he’d suggest they went out for a drink after work next week. Steve did however struggle slightly to remain present, mentally squashing down the little waves of irrational concern that swelled every so often in his chest.

Once at the venue, having grabbed a quick bite at a nearby restaurant, Steve found himself and Brett two seats on the end of a row about a third of the way up the bleachers in the large lecture hall. He set himself up with his laptop balanced on his knees and prepared to note down useful ideas, ready to Google anything he didn’t understand. He’d also set up his phone on the step next to his seat, recording the lecture as a Voice Note that he could listen back to in segments. It would help him to comprehend the masses of information far better than he ever could just listening. The words got all jumbled and bumped into each other as they hit his ears, and Steve spent so long deciphering them and reordering them that the speaker had often moved on by the time he understood what was being said. So, the Voice Note technique was a lifesaver for him in situations like this.

As the lecture drew on, he found himself only mostly focusing on the intricacies of children’s comprehension of language and communication, and instead his mind wandered to all the possible things that could be going wrong back at his home. He hoped Eddie hadn’t taught them how to set things on fire or what the ‘F’ word actually was (Steve had told them once that it was ‘Fascist’). He hoped Cassie hadn’t asked him any inappropriate or prying questions (she had the propensity to be nosy). He wondered whether the girls would actually feel comfortable with Eddie for such an extended period of time. Sure, they’d met him before whenever the whole gang got together, and at a few Sunday dinners, but they didn’t know him. Not like they knew Robin or Nancy or Dustin. He would call Eddie as soon as the lecture ended and check in before he headed home. It would be too late to catch Ally before her bedtime, but he would be able to say goodnight to Cassie.

7:30 rolled around and Steve felt his brain positively throbbing with new information. It had been tough to concentrate and tougher to take it all down on his laptop, but he felt that it was definitely worthwhile him going. As Brett was milling around and mingling with other attendees, Steve took the opportunity to call Eddie. He answered after only one ring.

“Stevethankgodyoucalledohmygod-“ Eddie’s voice was breathless and manic. Steve’s stomach dropped through the soles of his shoes.

“What’s wrong?! Eddie what happened?!” Steve demanded, trying to remain calm. He was too panicked for a second to notice the two distinct giggles on the other end of the phone.

“We were just having such a great time and we couldn’t wait any more to tell you all about it!” Cassie’s voice came through the speaker, barely getting through her sentence before another fit of giggles took over. Steve felt his skin prickling at the wildly contradictory tones of voice between his friend and his daughter. He couldn’t slow his brain down enough to realise the prank the two of them had played.

“Cas, sweetie are you okay? Is Al okay? What’s going on?”

“Daddy I’m fi-i-ine!” Cassie giggled out, sounding adorably out of breath as if she was being tickled. “Eddie said it would be funny to mess with you! And it wa—a-as!”

“Cassie,” Steve gritted his teeth, “would you put Eddie on the phone for me real quick?” There was a shuffling as Eddie’s cell was evidently passed from Cassie’s little hands to Eddie’s large ones.

“Harrington?” Eddie cooed, as though butter wouldn’t melt on his tongue.

“You’re a fucking asshole you know that?” Steve hissed, trying to keep his voice down so as not to draw attention to his minor freak-out.

“Oh come on, it was pretty funny, as least we thought it was, didn’t we sweetheart? I just wish I’d seen the look on your face!” Eddie chuckled, before apologising half-heartedly and assuring him that everything was in fact fine, Ally had gone to bed about twenty minutes ago and that Cassie would be following suit before long. Eddie passed the phone back to Cassie as if Steve needed to hear it from her in order to believe it, and his daughter’s relaxed, happy tone and enthusiasm about the film they’d watched earlier in the evening did indeed calm his frayed nerves. Satisfied that the house was still intact, that both his girls were safe and happy, and that they’d both eaten, brushed their teeth and got into their pyjamas without complaint, Steve said goodnight to his daughter and thanked Eddie for looking after them.

“Dude, they’ve been no trouble at all. They’re pretty cool, as gremlins go.”

“Not sure I’m a huge fan of you calling my children ‘gremlins’ Munson, but thanks. I’ll see you in about an hour and a half.”

-----------------

It was 9:56 when Steve finally pulled into the driveway and killed the engine. He sat for a second, taking in the subtle light stealing through a tiny gap in the kitchen window’s curtains. The rest of the house, including the girls’ room he noted, was in darkness. Opening the car door, Steve slung his leg to the left and heaved his tired body out of the driver’s seat. He hastily grabbed his backpack and folder of half-graded papers from the backseat, then headed towards the front door.

Steve attempted to enter the house as quietly as possible so as not to disturb the girls, and Eddie, if he’d fallen asleep on the couch or something. He toed off his shoes without unlacing them, palmed his keys down onto the side table by the door and dropped his belongings onto the floor by his bedroom door. He’d tidy them up later. As he rounded the corner to the kitchen, he was met with a mess of dark curls, thrown up into a lazy bun that exposed the chain around Eddie’s neck. Eddie had his back to Steve and was humming quietly, evidently listening to music through headphones. He swayed slightly, a small bounce in his step as he moved methodically alongside the counter, wiping down the side where apparently, a pizza had exploded in Steve’s kitchen. There was flour on the counter, on the floor, on the oven? Tomato sauce streaked the tile and there were shavings of grated cheese scattered everywhere. Steve was rooted to the spot, taking in the carnage splayed out in front of him, as well as, he couldn’t help but notice, Eddie’s easy demeanour as he cleaned enthusiastically. Seemingly satisfied with his clean-up of this part of the kitchen, Eddie turned with a characteristic flourish to start on the opposite kitchen island and-

“FUCK!” Eddie dropped the cloth on the floor and leapt backwards, arms coming up in front of him, ripping the headphones out of his ears and letting them fall to dangle out of his back pocket, fingers balling into fists to protect his face. Eddie’s reaction had made Steve jump, though much less extravagantly, and he found his hands were lifted in front of his torso, palms facing towards Eddie as if to show that he meant him no harm.

“Ssshhh! Don’t wake the kids!” Steve whisper-shouted as he took a hesitant step into the kitchen, “sorry, dude, I didn’t realise you had headphones in.”

Eddie quickly relaxed at seeing his friend rather than a violent intruder, and gathered his headphones into his pocket, retrieving the cloth from the floor before half-turning to the island countertop where he began wiping down the mess that remained there.

“How long were you standing there for, creep?” Eddie jested, flashing a disingenuously bashful smile.

“Not long enough to see any of your sweet moves, unfortunately,” Steve joked back, grabbing a beer from the fridge. He offered it to Eddie, who simply shook his head. “What happened to having chilli?”

“The girls wanted pizza.” Eddie responded with a shrug, as if that was enough to end the line of enquiry.

“So you…made pizza?” Steve asked, thinking back to his earlier comment on whether Eddie knew how to use a microwave let alone make a pizza from scratch. Embarrassment flushed his cheeks as he realised how patronising he had been towards his friend.

“We sure did, had a great time! We even saved you some – that was Cassie’s idea, I told her we should just eat it all.” Eddie explained with his trademark devilish grin, finishing up wiping the island countertop before moving towards the oven brandishing the dishcloth in front of him like a matador. Steve stepped aside and lowered himself onto the stool at the island, propping his sleep-heavy head up with an elbow on the counter.

“Geez, thanks man, you’re a real friend you know that?” replied Steve sarcastically, though he was very grateful to be presented with a plate of cold pepperoni pizza.

There was something dangerously domestic in sitting at the counter with a beer and Eddie’s homemade food filling his aching stomach. Steve couldn’t help but think back to the last time someone had made him food and let him sit while they tidied up. It had been three years since he and Tammy had split up; she wanted to pursue her music career full time and having a long-term boyfriend and two young children didn’t quite fit with her idea of success. Tammy found out she was pregnant after the two of them had hooked up upon bumping into each other at a bar outside of town. Steve knew the decent thing to do would be to be with Tammy and support her. So that’s what he did. He was a good boyfriend and an even better dad, and he and Tammy were happy enough. Steve would even go so far as to say that he’d loved her. How could he not when she’d given him the only thing he’d ever been certain he wanted.

When the possibility arose of having another kid, Steve almost didn’t dread it. And of course, he loved both his girls more than anything in the god damn universe. He would die for them without a second thought. But he and Tammy just weren’t right for each other. They never had been. So, when Tammy voiced those same feelings, he was relieved. The girls went to stay with her in Nashville once a month or so, and the rest of the time he made it work as a single parent. Most of the time, it worked out fine; the girls had Auntie Robin and Auntie Nancy (yes, that was still weird) to look after them when Steve was working late, Uncle Dustin when he was home from college, and a wider network of the old world-savers that took just that little bit of the pressure off. But most of the time wasn’t tonight, where Eddie Munson was cleaning his kitchen. Eddie Munson, who had stirred feelings in him a decade ago that he didn’t know he could, or was allowed to feel. Eddie Munson, with whom he’d missed his moment all those years before, and so was doomed to move on or live in constant regret. Eddie, who always spoke too loud and got too close, but who he wouldn’t change for a moment. The same Eddie who was trying to get his attention.

“Earth to Harrington? I said I should probably get going.” Eddie was waving a hand playfully in front of his face, standing a few feet away.

“Sorry, I’m fucking exhausted dude. You sure you don’t mind leaving this late? You could always crash on the couch. It’s pretty comfy…” Steve’s voice tailed off as he realised, he didn’t really know why he was inviting Eddie to stay. He didn’t live far from here.

“While I appreciate your generous offer, I would not inconvenience my good friend like that, so I will take my leave. Also, I could really do with a smoke and I don’t have anything here.” Eddie added with a chuckle, before heading towards the door, throwing his arms through the heavy sleeves of his jacket and pulling his sneakers on. Steve simply watched him move, still mulling over the feelings that had been inexplicably dredged to the surface tonight. Remembering himself, Steve cracked his beer down on the counter a little harder than he intended, and strode towards the front door, opening it in an attempt to appear at least a little put together.

At this proximity, Steve noticed a small yellow shape nestled in Eddie’s hair just above his ear. He instinctively reached out to grab it, but hesitated when Eddie flinched in surprise.

“You uh, I think you have a bit of cheese in your hair..?” Steve explained dumbly. His hand was still hovering by the side of Eddie’s head.

“Oh, ha, yeah if you could do the honours.” Eddie inclined his head slightly towards Steve, allowing him to pick the shaving of mozzarella from where it had found a home amongst the thick curls. Steve could feel Eddie’s eyes on him, wide and curious, as he concentrated almost too hard on pinching the shred of cheese before throwing it out the door onto the paved driveway. Steve swallowed, noting their current closeness.

“Uh there you go. Cheese-free. Thank you so much again, man. You really saved my ass tonight.”

“Honestly, Steve. They are little angels. I don’t know how they share any DNA with you,” Eddie bumped his shoulder into Steve’s playfully, the corners of his mouth pulling into a smirk, “but I had a great time. Hey, if your regular babysitter cancels on you again, you know who to call.” Eddie’s smirk had faded into a genuine, almost wistful smile. He clapped a hand on Steve’s shoulder before hopping down the front step and disappearing into the driver’s seat of his car.

“You know who to call, Harrington.” Eddie repeated through the now-open passenger side window. Steve smiled glassy-eyed and waved goodbye to his friend, who shot off into the night with an obnoxious screech of tyres.

-----------------

It had been almost two weeks since Steve had last seen Eddie. Two weeks since he’d trusted him to look after his girls, two weeks since he’d come home to his kitchen in ruins, and two weeks since he had lived a life where his daughters were not obsessed with Eddie Munson. They would not stop going on about him. Steve didn’t understand what he could have possibly done or said that made him such a hit with the two of them, but at his core, he was thrilled that there was another person in their lives that made them feel safe. Steve wished he’d had that for himself when he was their age.

“Dad?” Cassie had piped up on Monday morning before school. Steve was in the midst of cutting Ally’s ham and cheese sandwich in half (diagonally, she had to have it diagonally), and recognised the quiet apprehension in his older daughter’s voice. He looked up from the cutting board and laid the knife down, giving her his full attention.

“Yeah, cutie? What’s up?”

“Well, so you know how the other day, yeah, when you went to your lesson after school and Auntie Robin couldn’t come over because Auntie Nancy wasn’t very well, and how Eddie- Eddie, he came over…” She was stalling. Steve could tell she didn’t know quite how to convey what she wanted to say. Steve just gave her an encouraging nod and smiled softly, allowing her the time to formulate the words.

“I wanted to ask if maybe Eddie could, um, he – if he could come play with us again?” Bless her. Steve chuckled at the sincerity in his daughter’s eyes and reached a hand across the counter top to take hers.

“Yeah! Eddie can come play with us? After school? I wanna show him Dinosaurus!” Ally chimed in, having finished her mouthful of cereal, a little dribble of milk running down her chin. Both girls looked at each other before nodding enthusiastically and giggling.

“Oookay girls I see how it is, you wanna spend time with Eddie instead of with your old man? I understand!” Steve hammed up the betrayal and threw a hand up to his forehead, pretending to swoon. There came a chorus of “Nooo!” as the girls scrambled from their chairs and ran to hug Steve around his waist and his thigh.

“You think Eddie’s so much cooler than me huh? Is that it?” Ally was attempting to climb her way up Steve’s torso and he bent down, wrapping an arm around her legs and lifting her from the ground. He extended his right arm to encircle Cassie’s shoulders as she looked up at him with a new, yet familiar playful twinkle in her hazel eyes. She couldn’t have learned that from him already could she?

“Eddie is cooler than you, Dad.” Cassie replied, matter-of-factly. Ouch. Steve knew it was true but it stung a little to have his own kid say it to him. Steve sighed and dropped his head, chin almost resting on his chest.

“You’re right, Cas. Eddie is pretty freakin’ cool. You want him to come over? I’ll see what I can do. But he is really busy because he’s a big famous musician so he might not have time.” Steve kept his tone cheery, but he needed to prevent the two of them from getting their hopes up in case Eddie didn’t actually want to come over again.

“But Eddie said so, Dad! He said he would ‘always make time for us’!” Cassie was confident in her statement, as if quoting Eddie verbatim. Something tugged at Steve’s heart then, and his smile suddenly felt sad, not playful as it had been moments before. The tug of something that never was. Of something that would never be. He hoped Eddie had meant it, if he had even said it at all.

The girls were going to finish school this coming Friday for Spring Break, and Steve had a full day of tutorials with students before they had to submit their final papers after the break, so he wouldn’t be able to pick them up when they were let out at three pm. Out of habit, he texted Robin, only to find that she and Nancy were away for the whole weekend. This time, he didn’t cycle through the list of alternatives before finding Eddie’s number. This time, he went straight from ‘Buckley’ to ‘Munson’ in his messages. He’d promised the girls he would at least try. Steve didn’t text, but called him instead. He didn’t question why.

“Eddie’s Crime Scene Cleaners; you chop it, we mop it! You’ve got Eddie, how may I be of service?”

“Do you ever get tired of being such a huge, gigantic dork, Munson?” Steve sighed happily. He’d forgotten about Eddie’s phone call quirk and felt a strange sense of comfort hearing yet another of his friend’s stupid one-liners.

“I thought you loved how much of a huge, gigantic dork I am, Harrington?” His words were muffled slightly, as if he had something in his mouth. Steve instinctively asked what he was doing.

“I’m setting up my guitar, not enough hands to hold everything. You gonna ask me what I’m wearing next?” Eddie added more clearly, voice lowered and rough, that sticky sweetness of a grin seeping into Steve’s ear through the speaker. Steve felt heat rush to his cheeks and the palms of his hands prickled.

“In your dreams, buddy.” He managed to say, though he missed the mark somewhat on sounding nonchalant.

“To what do I owe the pleasure?”

“I uh, so it turns out I have two daughters who are big fans of dorky guitar players with stupid hair. And they need looking after on Friday afternoon just until I finish some meetings with my other kids at work-“

“I’ll do it.” Came Eddie’s reply before Steve had even formally asked him. It dawned on Steve that Eddie had one of the loudest smiles he’d ever known. He could hear it even now.

“Are you sure? It’s a Friday and I’m sure you have a shitload of stuff going on so it’s totally cool if you can’t…” Steve found himself trailing off, as if the more he said, the higher the likelihood that Eddie would change his mind.

“Absolutely. I already told you, Harrington, they’re angels. And they’re your kids so it’s not like I’m ever gonna say no.” Steve imagined the genuineness of Eddie’s smile as he spoke, found himself lingering on the emphasis Eddie had put on ‘your’, and didn’t know why it struck him so.

“Dude, you’re the best. Could you get them from school again? It’ll only be for a couple of hours – I’ll be home at like five.”

“Sure thing Stevie, anything for the gremlins.” This time, Steve smiled at the nickname, rather than grimaced. It was so unwaveringly Eddie that there could never be any actual malice in it, so he rolled with it. They said goodbye and Steve thanked Eddie again, probably one time too many, before planning a rough outline for a seminar discussion he was leading the following day.

-----------------

Before Steve could blink, it was Friday. His day was packed with back-to-back student meetings, going over their final essays and working through suggestions for improvement. The day passed in a flash and though he felt entirely exhausted by the end of it, he noticed a surge of excitement at the thought of going home to find Eddie there.

When Steve rolled into the driveway just after five pm, he steeled himself in preparation for a repeat of the pizza explosion to which he had returned home last time Eddie babysat his kids. He found himself taking a deep, meditative breath before he turned the key in the lock and pushed the door open.

Steve heard quiet giggling and the soft murmur of the TV, and headed in the direction of the sound. Instead of the carnage of last time, Steve found Eddie sitting cross-legged on the floor in the living room, his back against the couch. Ally was knelt in his lap, holding a little eyeshadow palette in one hand and a purple make-up brush in the other. The tip of her tongue was squeezed between her lips as she concentrated on sweeping sparkly pigment over Eddie’s eyelids. His eyes were closed dutifully and an easy smile shaped his lips. Cassie was sitting on the couch behind him, legs bent over his shoulders, twisting little braids into his wild hair. From the looks of it, she had attempted one larger braid with the left half of his hair, and had advanced to more intricate ones on the right-hand side. Steve couldn’t contain the laughter that bubbled up from his chest at the sight. He felt that familiar tug in his stomach too, watching Eddie with his girls, but swiftly forced that back down. Not today, he thought.

“Mock not, Harrington! You are witnessing the very heights of glamour.” Eddie announced cheerfully, his eyes still closed. Though the girls had sung out a chorus of ‘Hi Dad!” when Steve’s laugh had alerted them to his arrival, neither had made any attempt to leave their positions and greet him physically. Instead, Steve crossed the distance toward the couch and squatted into a crouch beside Eddie, dropping a quick kiss and a hand to Ally’s hair.

“Is that what this is?” Steve asked playfully, absentmindedly raising his fingers to pick up the messy braid that tangled the left side of Eddie’s hair. Eddie’s eyes fluttered open and met Steve’s gaze. The gold sparkles on his eyelids only served to highlight the already ever-present glint in Eddie’s molten-cocoa eyes, and Steve found himself struck by the sight before him. Pretty.

“What do you think?” Eddie asked quietly, genuinely, eyes focused on Steve in that way they always were. Saying so much - if only Steve knew the language they were speaking. Ally, satisfied with her work, climbed clumsily off Eddie’s lap and joined her sister on the couch, where Cassie began showing her how to braid and twist the wavy dark strands before them.

“I-yeah. You’ve looked worse.” Steve breathed, huffing out a small laugh in an attempt to brush off the twist of want he felt deep within himself. He noticed the slight glisten of glitter on Eddie’s lips as he glanced downwards, “Is that lipgloss?”

“Sure is, you want some?” Before Steve could recoil, Eddie swiped a thumb across his own lips, then pressed it to Steve’s, drawing it across his bow-shaped top lip and curving under to drag slowly along the pink flesh of his bottom one. Eddie’s left hand had come up to grab Steve’s face, playfully preventing him from moving out of reach, and Steve suddenly felt held in a way he’d long thought impossible. For one breathless moment, the two men just looked at each other.

“Pretty, Daddy!” Ally cooed from over Eddie’s shoulder, yanking Steve from the grasp of whatever was being shared between him and his friend. Chuckling self-consciously, Steve dragged the back of his hand across his mouth, wiping away the gloss that had previously found a home on Eddie’s lips.

“I’m not pretty, I’m manly.” Steve growled, furrowing his brows and setting his mouth. He stretched his legs to draw himself upright, then kissed his fingertips and placed them firmly on Cassie’s cheek – a gesture she barely acknowledged as her focus was entirely on styling Eddie’s hair. As he passed towards the kitchen, Steve grabbed Ally’s sides briefly with tickling fingers, simply to hear the squeal it garnered from her as it always did.

“You can be pretty and manly, Stevie!” Eddie sang from his spot on the floor, “Just look at me!” It was exactly what Steve was trying not to do.

“Whatever you say, Munson. Wanna beer?” Steve was desperate to move on from this conversation, and offering alcohol seemed like a pretty good distraction.

“Yeah, sure. Thanks.”

Steve cracked the bottle open and handed it down to Eddie, definitely not noticing the sizzle that skittered across his skin as their fingers brushed when Eddie took the bottle from him.

“Okay little cuties, we gotta get you fed!” Steve announced, glancing at his watch. “Why don’t you leave Eddie alone for a bit, huh, go do some colouring? Dinner in 20!”

“Can Eddie stay for dinner?” Cassie asked, blinking her round, hazel eyes sweetly up at him.

“Uh, I’m sure Eddie has his own plans tonight, love-“

“Why don’t we ask Eddie?” Came a rough, mischievous voice from the floor in front of the couch. Eddie turned his head to look expectantly at Cassie. Steve felt winded.

“Eddie, would you like to pretty please stay for dinner?”

“I thought you’d never ask, sweetheart. I’d love to, if that’s okay with your dad?” He replied softly, tapping her tiny pink nose with the tip of his pointer finger.

“It’s okay with him.” Cassie replied with the confidence of someone who already knew the answer. Geez, this kid was going to cause him problems.

“I was only going to cook pasta, it’s not exactly gourmet…” Steve was suddenly acutely aware of his enthusiastic but overall, pretty basic culinary abilities. What was fine for a five and a seven-year-old was hardly dinner for a grown man.

“Dude, you’ve seen me eat baked beans straight from a can, by choice. Pasta would be great.”

So Eddie stayed for dinner. Ally insisted on sitting on his lap while they ate, and he regaled them with stories of particularly enthralling D&D campaigns he’d led in years gone by. Steve couldn’t help but be drawn in just as easily as the girls, even though he knew very little about any of the creatures Eddie mentioned, and flinched minutely at the mention of a Demogorgon. It was easy, just as all things were with Eddie it seemed. All things except that one thing.

When it came time to put the girls to bed (Ally had stayed up a little later as it was the weekend), Steve asked if Eddie wanted to hang out for a while, and that he could pick a movie for them to watch while he was saying goodnight. Cassie threw her arms round Eddie’s neck and planted a tiny kiss on his cheek by way of a ‘thank you’ for spending time with them. Steve saw Eddie’s eyes crinkle in a smile as he squeezed Cassie back. Ally, suddenly shy, hid behind Steve, only leaning round to wave her tiny hand, a small smile lighting up her round face. Eddie blew a little kiss back to her and clasped his hand open and closed a few times in a simple wave.

After passing Eddie the TV remote, Steve took both girls’ hands and led them to their bedroom. Ally crawled under the covers immediately, and barely murmured “G’night Daddy” before her lids dropped shut and her breathing slowed. All the excitement had really worn her out, it seemed.

Cassie sat upright in her bed, covers over her lap, looking questioningly at Steve.

“Why doesn’t Eddie come over more, Dad?” Her voice was small and quiet; this could have been to avoid disturbing her younger sister, but Steve’s instincts told him otherwise. The question was loaded, far more charged than he would have ever expected coming from a seven-year-old.

Steve’s throat constricted as he realised, he didn’t really know how to answer. There was no answer that he could provide that Cassie would be able to understand. But she was a smart kid, far smarter than he had been at her age - hell, smarter than he was as a teen - so, he was as honest with her as he could be.

“I don’t know.” He replied simply.

“Do you want him to come over?”

“I do.” Steve found himself saying before he’d registered the meaning behind his words.

“Do you like him?”

“I do. Do you?”

“Lots. He should come over more.” Cassie’s voice was certain and her jaw was set in concentration, as if she couldn’t synergise her father’s responses with the reality of the situation.

“Yeah, maybe he should.” Steve smiled to himself. Noting how Cassie’s eyelids were dropping, he carefully gathered her in his arms and laid her head down on the pillow, hair fanning out behind her in soft loose waves. Steve pressed a kiss to her temple and stroked a stray strand off her face. Steve was so lost in admiration for the small human he had somehow played a part in creating that he almost missed her quiet voice barely cutting through the silence.

“He likes you too, Dad.” Cassie whispered as she drifted off.

He likes you too.

Closing the door slowly so as not to knock the wood against the doorframe, Steve attempted to shake away the bubbling in his chest. He took a few calming breaths before rounding the corner to the living room, where he was confronted with Eddie sat almost in the centre of the couch, one knee up against his chest and an arm slung along the back of the sofa. He was scrolling through his phone with the other hand, seemingly content at keeping himself occupied.

“Beer?” Steve asked lightly as he moved through the room to the kitchen. Eddie didn’t look up from his phone as he responded “Please and thank you very much.”

“Did you decide on a movie?” Steve called quietly as he twisted the caps off two bottles.

“I did.” Eddie coyly replied.

“Are you gonna tell me what it is?” Steve asked as he made his way towards the couch. Eddie made no attempt to move from his spot towards the middle of the left-hand cushion, so Steve found himself dropping down to the man’s right, spine tingling at the proximity of Eddie’s forearm behind his neck.

“Wait and see, my friend. Wait and see.”

The movie, Steve realised after a few minutes, was Labyrinth. He knew it was one of Eddie’s favourites, but had never actually sat down and watched it himself. It wasn’t for lack of attempts on Eddie’s part though; every Foursome Film Night was punctuated with Eddie’s cries of ‘Labyrinth! It has to be Labyrinth! Saying no would be an actual hate crime!’ And every time, Robin would shoot him down, saying that the puppets scared the shit out of her and that if they were at her house, they would be watching something that she wanted. And so, it became a kind of running joke that no one would let Eddie watch Labyrinth, regardless of how many times they were deemed ‘actually homophobic’ for denying him. While Steve found it a bit trippy and downright weird at times, he was genuinely enjoying it. They spoke very little, only breaking the silence when Steve saw a goblin creature that looked particularly like Eddie, and told him so. He was met with a grumbled “Fuck you dude, we both know I’m Bowie in this movie.” They both giggled, despite themselves, and Steve rolled his eyes dramatically, feigning exasperation. He did see a bit of Bowie in Eddie’s lithe movements and wild eyes. He wondered whether it was intentional, or if they simply just shared that something. As the film progressed, it became increasingly difficult to focus fully on the story, and Steve found himself fixating more and more on the hand that had casually moved from its original spot on the back of the sofa. It was slow, almost unnoticeable at first, but when Eddie’s fingertips ghosted over the outer tip of his collarbone, Steve practically seized up. It seemed almost mindless on Eddie’s part; when Steve dared to throw a glance to his periphery, he found Eddie’s eyes focused joyfully on the TV set, silently mouthing along every now and then.

The movie ended and the credits rolled. Eddie’s arm had slipped off the back of the couch and was now draped comfortably around Steve’s shoulders. Steve felt himself subconsciously leaning his head back ever so slightly to rest on the other man’s arm, to make the contact more substantial. Steve turned his head towards Eddie to find him already facing him, eyes bright with anticipation.

“What did you think?”

“Y’know what, Munson, I didn’t hate it.”

“Good enough for me! Now you can say you are one step further toward being a man of culture!” Eddie laughed and dropped his voice low on the final phrase, flattening his palm sincerely against Steve’s chest. His heart leapt into his mouth.

“You uh, you wanna watch something else?”

“I think that’s only fair. I showed you mine, after all.” The devilish grin that Eddie wore so well was back as he practically purred in Steve’s ear.

Steve scoffed, “Y-Yeah okay, buddy. Don’t get too excited.” Steve raised his legs to settle more casually on the couch, hesitating for a moment before leaning a little into Eddie’s thigh. When Eddie didn’t move, Steve relaxed the full weight of his left leg into him. It felt good, being this close to him. Even if it was not in the way Steve had always wondered that it would be.

Eddie babbled about how happy he was that Steve had liked the movie, and commented with little pieces of trivia about his favourite moments, as Steve flicked through Disney+ to find the movie he wanted. Hitting ‘play’, he chucked the remote onto the coffee table in front of them and settled back against Eddie’s arm, which had dropped around his waist. He didn’t notice at first how Eddie’s eyelids began fluttering after a short while, but noticed very much when he felt a soft pressure against the side of his chin and a weight on his shoulder. Eddie’s head had lolled to the side as he had evidently nodded off, mop of dark waves tickling Steve’s cheek. Steve shuffled himself down the couch cushion a little so that Eddie's head fit more comfortably in the crook of Steve’s neck. Though seemingly unconscious, Eddie emitted a low, satisfied sigh at this new position. The tug in Steve’s stomach returned in earnest as he turned his face to lean his cheek more decisively on the top of Eddie’s head. His hair smelled vaguely of cigarette smoke, mixed with a softer, spicier scent he couldn’t quite place. It was intoxicating. Steve couldn’t convince himself to move for a long while, no longer paying much attention at all to the movie playing out on the screen. In his sleep, Eddie threw a heavy arm over Steve’s stomach, grasping gently at the side of his t-shirt and bunching it in his fingers. Steve allowed his mind to wander, to entertain thoughts he’d pushed down for years, because if he couldn’t think about them while the man was wrapped around him in this quiet, beautiful way, when could he? He could play pretend for just a little bit.

Like all beautiful moments, however, this one had to end too. Before Steve could really comprehend it, the movie was over. Had he really sat like this, unmoving for fear of waking Eddie and shattering the magic, for over two hours? He couldn’t bring himself to wake the man clinging softly to him, so as slowly and gently as he could, he began to unwillingly extract himself from the embrace. He’d done this countless times when either of the girls had fallen asleep on him, so he knew which limbs to move and just how to support Eddie’s head to prevent a sudden drop from startling him awake. Steve grabbed a pillow and managed to choreograph placing it on the far end of the couch, while lowering Eddie’s sleeping form slowly onto it. Steve smiled as he noticed a little braid still twisted together behind his ear. Quietly, he grabbed a blanket from the linen closet and unfolded it, laying it over the man’s legs first before drawing it up over his shoulders. He found himself reaching to rest his hand in Eddie’s hair, but stopped himself before he made contact. No more. You’ve already allowed yourself too much. He thought to himself, drawing in one final breath of that air that smelled like Eddie, and headed toward the bathroom.

Another yank from within had him casting one last look over his shoulder and he sighed. He knew he’d let himself go too far this time.

-----------------

The following morning, Steve slept in a little. He woke up groggily, vaguely aware that any minute he would be ambushed by tiny hands and bony elbows. He was surprised he hadn’t been already. He rolled over with a small groan and picked up his phone from the bedside table to check the time. 8:23. It was almost an hour later than he usually woke up on a Saturday, and he momentarily panicked that there might be a more troubling reason as to why the girls hadn’t woken him as they always did by launching themselves onto the bed and climbing all over him. He knew he had no reason to panic, but old habits die hard when the literal end of the world had come knocking a number of times in his teenage years. The brief panic subsided when he picked up quiet whispers and giggles coming from the kitchen. Eddie was still here. The sight of him on the couch must have distracted Cassie and Ally on their way to Steve’s room, and made him the target of their early-morning barrage. Steve felt a tiny pang of guilt for unintentionally putting his friend through that kind of ambush, but this was outweighed by the entertainment he found in imagining Eddie’s face as four little knees landed on his stomach and legs.

Hauling himself out of bed, Steve threw a t-shirt on to accompany his striped pyjama pants, and opened his bedroom door just a tiny bit to see what the cause of the whispering was. The girls were sat at the island counter, eating cereal seemingly as silently as they could, movements exaggerated and slow. Eddie took a small sip of coffee, pointed animatedly at the mug, then rubbed his belly and nodded his head, eyes scrunching shut. The girls had to cover their mouths to stifle their laughter – it seemed to be of dire importance that they didn’t make any sound. Steve wasn’t so quick. The huff of laughter escaped his lips before he could trap it and three sets of eyes whipped round to stare at him.

“Morning, sleepyhead.” Eddie broke the silence, opening the floodgates for the girls to follow suit.

“Daddy! We were being so quiet! Eddie said it was a competition for who could be quietest and I was winning!” Cassie gushed excitedly, taking advantage that she was now able to make all the noise she wanted.

“Were not!” came Ally’s indignant reply.

“Was too!” Cassie retorted, turning her gaze to frown at her younger sister. Steve approached the counter and wrapped his arms around Cassie’s waist, hoisting her off her stool and into the air. She squealed at the sudden movement.

“Ooohhhh I don’t know about that, I think Eddie was the winner actually Cas, sorry.” He chuckled, spinning her around before placing her gently back on the high wooden stool, blowing a light-hearted but thankful kiss at Eddie, who mimed grabbing it out of the air and putting it in the back pocket of his jeans.

“Ha! I told you buttheads I would win, but noooo, you didn’t believe me. Never again doubt my wisdom, small ones.” Eddie cackled, taking another long, smug sip of his coffee from the ‘King Dad’ mug he was cradling in his hands. Eddie’s eyebrows shot up quizzically at Steve’s responding stare, as if to ask ‘What? What did I do?’

Moving to stand beside Eddie where he leant against the opposite counter, he turned his head slightly, eyes still on the girls who had returned happily to munching on their cereal.

“Buttheads?” He murmured, quiet enough so only Eddie would hear. “Are you trying to be a bad influence, Munson?” Eddie’s breath tickled Steve’s ear as he leant close and chuckled, “I don’t need to try, sweetheart. It comes naturally.”

Steve rolled his eyes, though a shimmer ran swiftly from the raised hairs on the base of his neck, through his arms and to his fingertips. He flexed his fingers around the countertop on either side of him, attempting not to question the reaction that Eddie’s words and breath had drawn from him, chalking it up to an instinctive biological reaction. Nothing I could have done to stop it, he thought. This calmed his nervous system enough for Steve to hazard a look at the man standing next to him. Steve’s eyes met Eddie’s, which were already waiting to catch his inevitable glare. Steve’s breath hitched in his throat and the mild scolding about how he’d rather Eddie didn’t use those kinds of words around his kids thank you very much fell back into the depths of his mind as he looked into Eddie’s eyes. Dark like cocoa and round, impossibly glistening with mischief and silent laughter, Eddie’s gaze always made Steve feel seen. As if, by meeting Steve’s gaze, Eddie was able to emit some invisible signal that said ‘I see you, I see you for who you are and I am genuinely interested in what you have to say. Truth be told, Steve had always found this look the most intimidating. The intensity of being known in the way that Eddie’s eyes suggested made his stomach drop.

It was then that Steve noticed how Eddie’s face was only inches from his; he hadn’t leaned back away after he’d whispered his response to Steve. His throat bobbed, mouth suddenly dry as dust. Eddie blinked slowly, lashes fluttering ever so slightly, the look in his eyes entirely impossible to interpret. His gaze moved between Steve’s eyes, which were wide and surely conveying a vulnerability he’d felt very few times before. He thought he’d imagined it when Eddie’s focus dipped, lightning-fast, to glance at Steve’s lips. A shaky breath escaped from deep within Steve’s chest, where his heart had suddenly set to thudding so loud, he was sure Eddie would be able to hear it.

“Daddy, what does oppress mean?” Cassie’s voice cut through the tension that hung between Steve and Eddie’s noses. Both men swung their heads around, Eddie taking a gulp of his still-steaming coffee and wincing as he swallowed it.

“Pardon, honey?” Steve choked out; certain he hadn’t heard her right.

“Eddie said that society tries to oppress people who don’t fit in and that it’s not right.” Cassie spoke the words carefully, eyes darting towards the ceiling as if she was determined to recall an exact sentence in the right order. She turned her eyes back to Steve, all hazel and soft and lovely, and his frustration dissipated like mist.

“Did he, now?” Steve asked slowly, though it was less of a question and more of an accusation to the man on his left, who was quickly shrinking away from him.

“Look, dude, I was just trying to tell them that they don’t need to worry about what anyone else thinks and that it’s okay to be whatever they want to be.” Eddie’s voice was quiet, like he knew he’d overstepped an unspoken boundary.

“I don’t wanna be oppressed!” Before Steve could respond, Ally’s sudden chant came from where she was hopping down off her stool and stomping her way over to her bemused father. The sheer absurdity of the empowering sentiment juxtaposed adorably with her sweet, cheery voice and Steve couldn’t find it in himself to be mad at Eddie. His intentions were obviously kind, as was the case with seemingly everything that the man did.

Eddie chuckled sheepishly and chanced a look up at Steve, who was picking Ally up under her arms before settling her on his hip. She raised her hands to place them on Steve’s cheeks, squeezing slightly, keeping his attention fully on her, and chanted again, “I don’t wanna be oppressed!” This time, Steve’s face softened and he planted a loud smooch on Ally’s cheek, giggling as he pulled his face back to look with admiration at his youngest.

“We’re never going to let that happen sweet girl. And Eddie’s right. You should never let what anyone else thinks get to you, you got that? As long as you’re kind and not mean to anyone, it’s okay to be whatever you want to be.” Steve gave Ally another kiss, this time on the top of her head, before gently letting her down and encouraging both girls to go get dressed so that they could go to for a walk to the park. He wanted a few moments alone with Eddie.

“Don’t forget to brush your teeth before you get dressed!” He called after them as they disappeared down the corridor.

Steve turned back to look at Eddie, shifting his whole body to face him. Eddie had put his half-empty mug on the counter and was fiddling with a loose thread on the hem of his dark t-shirt. Eddie’s eyes were focused on the tiny length and his shoulders were ever so slightly hunched inwards.

“Eddie-“

“I’m so sorry Steve, I totally overstepped there, I thought I was being like, empowering or some shit; I didn’t think they’d actually remember anything I said because we were just messing around yesterday afternoon and it was stupid but I’m not the, not the one who should have been bringing that kind of thing up with them so I’m just-“ Eddie’s eyes were still fixed on the loose thread as he worried it between his fingers.

“Eddie.” Steve sighed, grasping both his shoulders and squeezing slightly in the hopes of encouraging the man to just look at him. After a few long, charged seconds, he did. He slowly raised his chin, dark eyebrows scrunched together, nose wrinkled at the bridge. Eddie blinked a couple of times, as he had earlier, lashes fluttering, and Steve couldn’t help but drink in the sight before him. He looked as vulnerable as Steve had felt minutes before. He looked young again. Looked like he had once, a long time ago, after the feral self-preservation instinct had drained from his eyes and the glass had been lowered from Steve’s throat.

“I’m not mad at you. I swear, I’m not. It was sweet. They need to learn about the world someday, right? And I know that you would never do or say anything that would upset them.” Eddie nodded almost imperceptibly, only evident as the curls that framed his face shivered ever so slightly. “So, I’m not mad. Christ, I don’t think I could ever actually be mad at you, Munson. Just maybe hold off on some of the heavier stuff until they’re a little bit older, yeah?” Steve smiled as Eddie’s brows untangled themselves and the corners of his soft mouth relaxed into a small, uncertain smirk.

“Thanks, man.” Eddie said quietly. “I really thought I’d fucked it up there, y’know? Like I’d crossed this line and you weren’t gonna let me hang out with them again. ‘cause I don’t know if you’ve gathered, but I kinda like, adore your kids, Harrington.” He chuckled to himself and shook his head, almost in disbelief.

It was then that Steve realised he was still holding on to Eddie’s biceps. He could feel the soft skin on the back of his arms where the short sleeves of his tee had become scrunched up between his fingers. Sheepishly, Steve loosened his grip on Eddie’s arms, sliding his hands down swiftly, over the crooks of his elbows, his narrow wrists, and was going to somehow find the strength to draw his hands away before they got to his hands when Eddie’s fingers closed around Steve’s. The sudden pressure surprised him, but not in a way that would have ever made him recoil. Steve’s eyes flicked up from where they had followed the movement of his hands and met Eddie’s. Again, they were waiting for him, boring into him in that way that they did. There was something new in Eddie’s eyes, however, as he manipulated Steve’s fingers until they were more comfortably clasped in his, the cool metal of his rings sparking against his palms.

“Eddie…” Steve breathed again, letting out a breath he was unaware he’d been holding. It was only one word, only the man’s name, but it was also a question. An invitation. A confession.

“Steve.” Eddie replied, equally breathless. Eddie spoke his name as if it were the answer to Steve's question, the acceptance to his invitation, and, though Steve wouldn’t quite let himself believe it, perhaps a reciprocation of his confession.

Eddie let go of Steve’s left hand and brought it slowly up to his face. Leaving plenty of time for Steve to step away, to question what he was doing, to stop him. But he didn’t. He simply allowed himself to lean into the sturdy palm that cupped his cheek, relishing the feeling of Eddie’s rough fingertips gliding into the hair behind his ear. He let his eyelids fall momentarily as Eddie’s thumb caressed slowly across his cheekbone. His grip on Eddie’s fingers tightened and, as if he knew what Steve was wordlessly trying to communicate, Eddie shuffled closer until their noses brushed one another’s as they breathed. At the contact, Steve’s eyes fluttered open again, and, as always, found Eddie’s, whose pupils were blown so wide hardly any of that delicious cocoa-brown was visible. Eddie’s eyes darted between Steve’s, who was sure that he would soon begin letting off smoke from the heat gathering in his cheeks. At a total loss for any words that could possibly explain the gravity of this moment, all Steve found himself able to say was,

“Please.”

With a shuddery exhale, Eddie’s mouth picked up at the corners in a tiny smile, and he tipped his chin forward to close the already-small distance between their lips. For a short moment, Steve couldn’t move. This was the moment he’d imagined, waited for, given up hope on after a decade. This was it. He wanted to bathe in it, to boil it down and pour it into a bottle, to tattoo it onto the inside of his brain. The softness of Eddie against him, of his lips slowly pressing further into Steve’s. That smell, all laundry detergent and lemon oil and spice; it was a heady scent. Steve raised his free hand to Eddie’s chest and grasped the fabric there, pulling him closer until there was no space at all between their bodies. Eddie pulled back, just a centimeter or so, before bringing his lips back more assuredly, as if he’d decided that’s where they now belonged. It told Steve I want you too, and in an instant, all semblance of composure was washed from his body as he extracted his right hand from Eddie’s left one and threw his arms around Eddie’s neck. Eddie stumbled backwards a few steps at the sudden movement, but his left arm wrapped firmly around Steve’s waist as he walked them the short distance back to the counter. Eddie’s lips parted at the impact against the sideboard, and Steve seized the opportunity to flick his tongue over Eddie's full, soft bottom lip. Eddie gasped, and allowed his mouth to drop further open. The kisses grew messier, the sweetness of that first one long forgotten. It was all hands in hair and tongues and teeth and bodies pressing together.

Though Steve could have spent the rest of his life in this moment, foregoing food, water, sleep to remain wrapped in this man’s arms, he remembered that they were not alone in the house. That very soon, two small humans would be emerging from their bedroom, and they certainly did not need to see this.

“Eddie,” Steve gasped against his lips, “Eddie, the girls.” Steve slowly drew away, cradling Eddie’s stubbled jaw and cheeks in his hands. Eddie’s eyes were almost black with lust, but he nodded slightly and seemed to blink some sense back into himself.

“Oh shit, where are they? Did they see anything?” Eddie rushed out between deep, aching breaths. His hands slid from Steve’s back to settle on his waist as Steve took a small step backwards. Steve already felt the distance between them and wanted to close the gap again, now that it seemed he could.

“No, no, they’re still in their room. But I figured we should stop before they came back.”

“Yeah, okay. That’s probably a good idea.” He paused. Eddie’s twinkle had returned to his eyes, “so, how long you been holdin’ out on me, Harrington?”

“Only about ten years.” Steve responded plainly. There was no point in lying to him now. Not now that he’d reached through that seemingly impenetrable divide and pulled Eddie back through with him. Eddie gawked.

“You’re telling me all this time we could have been doing that?!” Eddie was almost beside himself. Steve felt insecurity dripping down his spine. He withdrew slightly, unsure how to explain, how to react to the suggestion that Eddie had been wanting him too.

“Didn’t think you were into me, I guess,” Steve mumbled, looking at the tiled kitchen floor.

“Jesus Christ, Steve, I know they say you’re all beauty and no brains but are you blind too?!” Eddie’s voice was incredulous as he moved his hands to cup Steve’s cheeks. He leant forward to place a deliberate, simple kiss to his lips. “It’s always been you, man. I thought I made it obvious. Figured you were intentionally ignoring it, so I backed off. Idiot.” Eddie said with a laugh, no harshness behind his words, and found Steve’s lips again. Steve’s head was spinning. He needed to sit down, to take a cold shower, to contemplate the last ten years of his life.

“Better late than never, huh?” Steve replied coyly, taking hold of Eddie’s hands and squeezing them fondly before allowing them to drop back to their sides.

No sooner than they had taken a step apart so that Steve could busy himself with clearing the girls’ breakfast bowls, Cassie and Ally returned from their bedroom, dressed for the day. They grinned at both men and then at each other conspiratorially, before Cassie tugged on the hem of Steve’s shirt.

“Dad, can Eddie come to the park with us?”

Steve’s heart fluttered and faltered in its rhythm. He turned to Eddie, who had his huge eyes trained on Steve and a childish pout playing on his lips.

“I don’t know, Eddie? Would you like to come to the park with us?” Steve asked sweetly, knowingly.

“Wouldn’t miss it for the world, Stevie.”