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steddieas-shegoes · 2 months

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this place is such great motivation for anyone trying to move the fuck away from hibernation

chapter 8: i'm homesick also on ao3 all chapters masterpost rated e

🧰🧰🧰🧰🧰🧰🧰🧰🧰🧰🧰🧰🧰🧰🧰🧰

Eddie woke up to drool.

Which should probably be more concerning, but considering he had a teething baby, he was used to a little drool.

The part that was confusing was that his baby was asleep in her crib in the bedroom next to him.

The drool on his chest was Steve’s.

Oh, he would never live this down.

Eddie let his fingers ghost through the strands of Steve’s hair, glancing at the clock to see that it was nearly seven in the morning. They were supposed to call the realtor at eight.

Eddie needed to be on the road by lunch so that Mia would nap for most of the ride back to Hawkins.

The urge to ignore all of that was strong, but they couldn’t ignore their future. Not now that it seemed like they might have a chance.

“Stevie, it appears there’s a leak in the apartment,” Eddie said softly, not wanting to startle him.

Steve’s head shifted, his nose rubbing against the drool on Eddie’s chest followed by a groan.

“Disgusting,” Steve said. “Sorry about that.”

“It’s fine. You sleep okay?” Eddie tightened his arms around Steve, not wanting to lose this moment quite yet.

“Yeah. Loved this,” Steve poked his side and kissed his chest. “Could definitely get used to this.”

“Well, if we don’t get to the showing, we may not have it anytime soon.” Eddie nudged Steve off of him so he could get up. “Mia must still be asleep so I’m gonna take a quick shower before she decides to bless us with her presence.”

“No rush, baby. I got her if she wakes up.”

Eddie kissed Steve’s forehead. “Thanks, sweetheart.”

When Eddie walked into the kitchen, fully dressed and halfway packed already, Robin was sitting at the table holding Mia while Steve cut up fruit at the counter.

“My goodness, Mia, it looks like you’ve made a new best friend,” Eddie said as he kissed the top of her head.

“Dada!”

Steve dropped the knife in his hand and turned to them. Robin’s eyes nearly bugged out of her head as she looked between Mia and Eddie.

Eddie was pretty sure his heart was on the floor.

“Did she just-“ Robin started to ask, only to be interrupted by Mia kicking and yelling it again.

“Dadadadadada!” Mia squealed out.

“Yeah, I’m dada,” Eddie said, scooping her into his arms and spinning her around.

“Mama! Dada!” She exclaimed. He could feel Steve come up behind him and watched his hand go to her back, covering his own.

“Someone’s so talkative this morning,” Steve said. “You were so excited to see your dada, weren’t you?”

“Dada! Dada!”

Eddie was crying, Steve was crying, even Robin was trying to hide a tear that slipped out as Mia kept repeating her new word.

Steve kissed his cheek, then Mia’s, before going back to what he was doing.

"So what time are you going to the house?” Robin asked them.

Eddie looked away from Mia to look at the clock. “Hopefully within the next hour. We gotta try to get on the road.”

Robin nodded once. “I’m off to work. I’m glad you came to visit, Eddie. And I’m glad I got to get to know Mia. She’s probably my favorite future roommate.”

“Yeah, right. Until she cries all night from a fever,” Eddie rolled his eyes. “Or until she takes up all of Steve’s attention.”

“Oh, I’ve been begging for someone to take up some of his attention. He’s very needy, ya know.” She gave Eddie a quick side hug and touched Mia’s shoulder. “You guys be safe going back and make sure you call when you get home so I don’t have to watch Steve pace a hole into the carpet.”

“I wouldn’t do that!” Steve said as he moved fruit he’d been cutting up onto the high chair tray.

“Uh huh.” Robin grabbed her small purse from the hook by the doorway out of the kitchen. “See you guys!”

“See ya!” Steve and Eddie called at the same time.

“Buh!” Mia yelled out.

“I cannot believe you finally said it,” Eddie said to Mia in awe as he set her in the high chair. “I’ve been waiting for you to finally say Dada for two months and you decide to do it here.”

Steve set a plate of toast in front of Eddie and kissed the top of his head. “I’m gonna go shower so we can head out. Eat.”

“Sir, yes, sir.” Eddie saluted. Mia let out a laugh as Steve rolled his eyes and walked out of the kitchen. “Alright, princess. We’ve gotta eat up so we can be big and strong and walk around this house that we might move into.”

“Mama?” Mia turned her head to look for Steve, then looked back at Eddie with a frown. “Mama.”

“Mama’s in the bath. He’ll be right back. You eat your bananas and grapes.”

When Steve was done, Eddie went to finish packing up the last of their things, looking around at the place he’d hoped would be their new home. He couldn’t help feeling a sense of loss still, even knowing that they were working on finding a new home for all of them. He’d wanted this to work so badly.

“You ready, baby?” Steve asked from the door, holding Mia in one arm, diaper bag slung over the other shoulder.

“Yeah. Are you?”

“Sure am.”

******

The house was perfect.

Eddie felt like crying the moment he stepped onto the front porch. Even with the broken parts, even with the chipped paint along one side of the house, even with the slightly overgrown front yard, it was perfect.

The inside was even better, already mostly done in the ways he’d always imagined a house with Mia to be. The bathroom that needed work was still better than the one he currently had in the trailer.

The backyard needed to be fenced in, but he knew they could work on that over the next year before Mia was big enough to outrun them.

He kept sharing looks with Steve, going room to room as the realtor spoke about the natural lighting in the bedrooms and double sink in the master bathroom. They hadn’t made it obvious they were together— they weren’t stupid —but it was pretty clear the realtor caught on to them being together.

“You mentioned another person moving in?” she asked when they got to the last bedroom.

“Yes, my best friend would be moving in for a bit to help with the bills,” Steve offered. “Is that a problem?”

“Not at all. Quite a few homes surrounding the city are mixed family homes just due to the cost of living. My only suggestion is to keep all utilities in your name so that if they move out, it doesn’t become a hassle of removing them from everything.” She opened the door to the final bedroom. “I assume this would probably be their room. It looks out at the backyard and the street behind you, which is still a part of this neighborhood and isn’t a very busy road.”

“Yeah, she’ll like this room.” Steve smiled. “And you mentioned the current owners are already moving out next week?”

“Yes, they’ve already bought another home in the city. As you can imagine, that’s quite a financial strain and they’re very willing to get a deal done as soon as possible, even if it means a lower offer.”

“Could we have a minute?” Steve asked. The realtor nodded and left the room, closing the door behind her. Steve turned to Eddie, who was setting Mia down on the floor to explore. “So?”

“It’s perfect, Stevie.”

Steve closed the distance between them, wrapped his arms around Eddie’s waist, and kissed him softly. “It is, isn’t it?”

Eddie nodded, brushing the hair away from Steve’s face. “I can picture everything here. I see you setting up a sprinkler in the backyard and running through it with Mia. I see us having family game night at the kitchen table. I see us sitting on the porch while Mia draws on the driveway with chalk. I see it all.”

“Me too. I want all that with you. Here. Can we?”

“We should. Do you think we can make an offer today?” Eddie turned to see Mia trying to pull herself up by the window ledge. “Maybe by the time I get back to Hawkins, we’ll have an answer.”

“Yeah, Eds. I’ll go tell her.”

“We’re really doing this?” Eddie was hesitant to truly believe this was happening, especially after how quickly the weekend had turned into an unknown future. “We’re buying a house?”

“We’re buying this house.”

“Wayne’s gonna be insufferable. I’m gonna have to listen to him talk about the foundation’s integrity for the next three months.”

“It’s already been inspected. I promise, it passed.”

“It may have passed with a professional. It has not passed with Wayne.”

Steve snorted. “Well, he can come inspect anytime. He can have a copy of the key, even.”

“Don’t offer that. He has the worst timing in the world.” Eddie glanced over to Mia, who was now standing at the window, banging the ledge as she used it to hold her weight. “Mia seems to like it here.”

Steve looked over and smiled. “Yeah, she looks happy. Do you think you’d be happy here? With me?”

“I know I would be, sweetheart.”

“We’re buying this house?”

“We’re buying this house.”

“Mia, you like your new castle?” Eddie asked Mia, who looked over at them and quickly lost her balance, falling on her butt with a grunt.

“Dada! Mama!” She started to crawl back to them with a big smile.

They both sat down on the carpet and waited for her to get to them. Mia climbed into Steve’s lap, tugging his shirt until she was situated comfortably on his thigh.

“You like this place, little one?” Steve asked her, kissing the top of her forehead.

Eddie watched as Mia clapped her hands together and smiled up at Steve.

“I think that’s a yes,” he said quietly.

“I think so too,” Steve stole a quick kiss from Eddie before lifting Mia into his arms and standing up. “Let’s go buy this house.”

It seemed kind of crazy to Eddie how simple this turned out to be. He half expected them to find flaws in the house, or disagree on the cost, or the realtor deciding she didn’t want to work with queers.

But maybe he finally deserved something simple. Maybe they all did.

******

The goodbyes weren’t as difficult now, the certainty of this being temporary enough to keep the tears from falling, at least until Mia was in her carseat in the van and Eddie was backing out of the driveway of their future home.

Steve was sticking around to discuss the boring part of it all with the realtor, and hopefully, by the time Eddie and Mia made it back to Hawkins, they’d have an accepted offer and paperwork to sign.

Eddie would have to come back to sign everything once it was drafted up at the bank and with the insurance company, but he would make it work.

Mia babbled a bit in the backseat while Eddie sang along quietly to his Iron Maiden tape. She eventually got quiet, and Eddie glanced at the mirror he had facing her to see that she was asleep.

He let his mind wander to the future, to everything he and Steve would be able to do in their own place. He thought about Mia having her own room, a backyard that she could run around in, easy access to a city that she could be herself in, whatever that may be. He wondered if Robin would live with them for a while or just while they figured everything out.

He even pictured a day where they could have more kids, give Mia a brother or sister or both, and take family pictures to hang up in frames on the walls of their house.

It wasn’t easy for him to picture his life like this before; He’d never had any reason to believe he’d have the picket fence version of life that so many people seemed to have. He’d always been okay with it, at least until Mia came into his life. Even then, he figured as long as she was fed, clothed, and had a roof over her head, he’d be happy.

But now that he had a taste of this kind of life, now that he saw the house he’d get to raise Mia in, he knew this was what he’d always wanted.

“Can’t believe Steve Harrington got to me like this,” he shook his head fondly.

*******

Wayne greeted him at the door, immediately taking Mia’s carseat from his hands and going inside.

“Nice to see you, too,” Eddie grumbled, walking back to the van to grab their bags.

“Oh, hush. You know I’m happy to see ya, too,” Wayne said over his shoulder.

Eddie smiled. “Steve call?”

“He may have.” The screen door closed before he could get more information.

“Dammit,” Eddie rushed to grab the bags and get inside.

“What did he say?” Eddie dropped the bags on the floor unceremoniously, going to the kitchen to call him back.

Mia was babbling in Wayne’s arms as he joined Eddie in the kitchen.

“Dada!”

Wayne’s jaw dropped.

“Oh! She learned a new word. Said it this morning and I cried and decided to give her anything she wants for the rest of my life.” Eddie smiled at Mia. “What did Steve say?”

“Well, first of all, he said to call him when you get back.” Wayne reached out for the rice snacks on the counter to hand one to Mia. “And then he said your offer was accepted by the owners.”

Eddie felt tears welling up in his eyes. “Really? Already?”

Wayne walked over to him, tears already gathering up in his eyes, too. “Yeah, son. Looks like you’re gonna be a homeowner.”

“Holy shit.”

“Sh! Sh!” Mia couldn’t quite make the right ‘sh’ noise, but it was close enough for Wayne and Eddie’s eyes to widen.

“Looks like ya might have to start watchin’ your mouth around the princess. Seems she’s reached her mimic stage a bit early,” Wayne laughed. “Your dada’s been sayin’ bad words since he was eight. Don’t let him fool ya.”

“Alright, alright. I’m gonna call Steve back and then it’s time for Mia to have some dinner and a bath and a bedtime story.”

“Mama!” Mia turned her head around at Steve’s name, clearly searching for him.

“Mama’s not here, baby. Sorry. But I’m gonna call him and you can say hi, okay?” Eddie picked up the phone and dialed Steve’s number from memory. He took Mia in his arms and sat down at the table as he waited for Steve to answer.

“Hello?”

“Mama! Mama! Dada!” Mia started clapping the moment she heard Steve’s voice through the phone.

Steve laughed. “Hi there princess. I miss you already. Are you being good?”

“Mama. Ma. Mamamamama!”

“I’ll take that as a yes,” Steve snorted. “Did Wayne tell you the good news?”

“He did.” Eddie smiled into the phone even though Steve couldn’t see it. “What do we do now?”

“The next part is kinda out of our hands. The realtor has to work with the bank to get the papers done properly and then when they’ve gotten that done, we’ll both have to sign everything.”

“When do they think that’ll be?” Eddie let Mia sit in front of him on the table, one hand holding her side so she wouldn’t fall. “I don’t know if I could get back there before next weekend.”

“Yeah, I mentioned that to them. They said it would probably take at least 14 days to have the closing paperwork done. And they also said we didn’t have to go together, so I could go sign when it’s ready and then you can go sign the first chance you get.”

“I wanna do it with you, though. It’s a big deal. Our first house.” Eddie’s eyes widened. “Holy shit, our first house. We’re buying a house.”

“Sh!” Mia copied, grinning up at her dad.

“No, Mia, not that. God, Mia’s trying to say bad words before she even says Papa or anything. Okay.” He sighed. “So I can just make sure my boss knows in about two weeks I’ll probably have to take a day off to drive there and sign.”

“He won’t fire you or anything, right?” It sounded like Steve was in his kitchen, cooking dinner for him and Robin. “If he finds out you’re moving?”

“No. I already mentioned to him it was a possibility and that I’d be grateful for any recommendation he could give me on a job search.”

“Good. Just don’t want you to be without a job.”

Mia started playing with a strand of Eddie’s hair, tugging on it lightly. He knew it would get rougher if he didn’t distract her, though. He held up the cord of the phone in front of her and showed her how it coiled.

“I won’t be.” Eddie sighed. “I miss you already.”

“Oh for heaven’s sake,” Wayne grumbled before leaving the room.

“I miss you too. You okay?” Steve sounded genuinely concerned, almost like he’d be willing to drive to Hawkins if Eddie’s answer was no.

“I’m alright. I’m actually-“ Eddie laughed. “I think this is maybe the best I’ve ever been. Other than the missing you part, but that’s just for now. Like, within the next month or two, I’ll be with you all the time. And Mia can have us both all the time.”

“Yeah,” he could hear the grin in Steve’s voice. “I can’t wait to share a home with you. Did you tell Wayne about it yet?”

“No, called you almost as soon as I got in the door. He can hear all about it later.” Mia tapped Eddie’s cheek. “Mia’s gonna love having her own kingdom to rule over.”

“I’m sure she will. I already stopped by the store to look at paint samples for her room,” Steve admitted. “I didn’t think pink fit her, but there was a nice lavender that might look nice on one wall.”

“I’ll let you handle that stuff. Maybe she can pick from a few options. Would you like that, Mia?” Eddie poked her nose and smiled when she giggled. “I bet you’d pick something so colorful it hurts our eyes.”

“Dada.” Eddie waited to see if she did anything, but she didn’t.

“Okay, I’m gonna go get some dinner into Mia’s system. You want me to call you when she goes to bed?” Eddie asked.

“How about I call you after I talk to Robin?” Steve offered.

“Sure, just not too late. Wayne’ll be going to bed soon, too.”

“Should be by nine, baby,” Steve’s voice changed to something softer. “You know I love you more than anything, right? I’m so fuckin’ happy I get to do this with you.”

“I know, sweetheart. I love you so much. This is more than I could’ve ever dreamed of for us,” Eddie said quietly, watching as Mia grabbed his hair again. “I’ll talk to you later.”

“Later.”

Eddie hung up the phone and started to get Mia’s dinner ready. Wayne had already been making something for them before they got home, some chicken and green beans that could easily be cut up for Mia. He set her in the high chair and started passing some of the cooled off and cut up green beans.

“Are they yummy, Mia?” He asked as she shoved a piece into her mouth.

“Me.”

“Yummy!” Eddie nodded. “We love when Wayne makes green beans, don’t we?”

“Suckin’ up to your old man, now?” Wayne asked he walked in. He stood next to Eddie and started shredding a piece of chicken for Mia. “I already gave my blessing to move. Not sure why ya feel like bein’ so nice.”

Eddie nudged his shoulder. “Maybe I’m just appreciating you before I don’t have you helpin’ me out all the time.”

Wayne froze for a moment, just enough to make Eddie pause in his movements, too.

“Steve’s gonna make sure you have a key to the house. You’re welcome anytime,” Eddie continued. “And we could definitely use some help fixing up some things if you’re willing to.”

“Always here to help ya, son. You know movin’ away won’t get rid of me.”

Eddie bit back a complicated set of emotions, most of which would result in tears, possibly for both of them.

“We’ll visit you here, too.”

“Well…’bout that.” Wayne walked over to the high chair and put a few of the pieces of chicken down. “I been talkin’ to my buddy in Ohio. You remember Benny?”

“Uh-huh.”

“He’s been thinkin’ about movin’ to Illinois to be closer to his sister’s family. Her husband died last year and she could use the help with her kids, but he didn’t wanna move in with them. He’s lookin’ for someone to share rent with and I kinda offered to go.” Wayne rubbed the back of his head. “Be closer to ya at your new place, too. Figured I can probably get a job anywhere with my mechanic skills.”

“Wayne, that’s great. Seriously, can’t believe you’re gonna leave this place!” Eddie got more excited the more he realized this was all working out perfectly.

“Yeah, well. Don’t think this town’s got much more for me in it if you two ain’t here.”

“I’ll drink to that. We are the best parts of this place.”

*******

Two weeks flew by, but the paperwork wasn’t quite finished when they’d hoped.

“It’s normal for delays to happen,” Steve reminded Eddie over the phone when he was starting to worry that something would fall through.

“I just don’t want there to be any problems. Like, what if the bank decides they don’t wanna provide a loan to us? What if they figure out we’re romantically involved and decide they don’t wanna do business with us?”

“Baby, that’s not gonna happen at this point. It’s our house, okay? We just have to be patient.”

*******

Another week passed, and Eddie was starting to worry that the house would never be theirs.

Steve reassured him it was fine, that he’d been in contact with everyone nearly every day and everyone remained positive that this would be closed soon.

Eddie was on edge at work, on edge at home, on edge when he visited with the Hendersons.

He knew it, wanted to be able to brush it off, but couldn’t. The stress was eating away at him until he was barely sleeping.

But finally, on day 26, Steve called him at work.

“Baby.” He could hear the tears in Steve’s voice, instantly making him choke up. “It’s done. You just have to come sign everything.”

“It’s done?” Eddie turned away from the secretary at the desk for even the smallest amount of privacy. “It’s ours?”

“It is.”

Eddie turned and yelled to the entire lobby: “I’m a homeowner!”

He could hear Steve laughing on the other end, giddy with the news.

“Shit, we’re homeowners. Please tell me you know how to clean gutters,” Eddie said into the phone.

“I can figure it out,” Steve snorted. “You think you can come up tomorrow to sign everything?”

“Wayne works tomorrow so he wouldn’t be able to watch Mia,” Eddie groaned.

“Bring Mia. We can do this as a family,” Steve said.

“She might get fussy if she gets bored,” Eddie said. She’d been itching to try to walk for the last week or so, and any time anyone held her for longer than a couple minutes, she would whine and push away from them. “And I don’t think they’d be cool with her crawling around their office and getting into things.”

“We can take turns handling it. That’s why we have each other, baby. I’m here for both of you now.”

“I-“ Eddie was doing his best not to cry in the lobby of his workplace. “I know, Stevie. I can be there tomorrow. We can be there tomorrow.”

“If you can get here before lunch, maybe I can take you both over to see Maryann and Charlie. They’d love to see you again.”

“Oh, I know. They call once a week asking for updates from me because they don’t trust you to tell him if anything bad happens.” Eddie looked over his shoulder at the shop, sighing. “I gotta get back to work. Two cars just pulled in and we’re already running on one less employee this week. I’ll call you tonight to let you know when to expect us tomorrow.”

“Sounds good, love. Love you.”

“Love you.”

He hung up the phone and went back to work.

Tomorrow, he’d officially own a home with Steve.

Tomorrow, he’d get to start living a future he’d only ever dreamed of having.

Tomorrow, he’d make another step in making sure Mia had a family to love her and care for her.

Tomorrow, he’d get to leave the home he never thought he would.

Tomorrow was a fresh start and tomorrow couldn’t come fast enough.

#steddie #steve harrington #eddie munson #stranger things #ao3 fic #chaptered fic #mechanic eddie munson #single parent eddie munson #robin buckley #wayne munson #such a sappy ending #the epilogue will probably be a whole lot of fuckin #if im being realistic

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thegoblinboy · 1 year

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Stevie’s Daycare

Rating; everyone can read.

Word count; 1833

Ships; Steve Harrington x Eddie Munson

Major Tags; #babysittersteve #singledadEddie (most tags are below post but this is a very light oneshot)

Summary; Steve Harrington works at the Store daycare where mothers can leave their children. It’s always the same and consistent mothers. That is until a father comes by to drop off his daughter.

Bingo prompt: single parent au under C1

Mentions @steveharringtonbingo

Note; I don’t write oneshots often and this isn’t my proudest work but it’s mostly focused on the concept of Steve being a daycare person more then Steddie as that’s what the bingo is going for (more steve harrington lmao) that and I just wanted something small to write

Hawkins grocery store used to be every Mothers nightmare. With their husbands being at work most of the day, and not wanting to spend the money they needed for food on a babysitter they were forced to bring their kids to the store. They loved their children dearly, but they were too fidgety, would touch everything, not listen to their mothers and start to cry very loudly in the aisle. As the adult and guardian of said kid, it was very embarrassing to receive judgmental looks from complete strangers. There were so many problems with bringing kids to the store.

It was after the third kid knocked over a stand of food that Steve got the idea. Wearing his work uniform and bending over picking up the mess. Separating the now damaged food away from the other boxes. He groans running a hand through his hair brushing it off to the side as he hears Robin giving a customer directions to the cereal before she is walking over to help him. He's tossing the idea around in his head. The store did have an empty office that has been vacant for months now. That's how the rest of his shift goes, just tossing ideas around his head. He could spend personal time getting the room set up, they could use toys that came from the store in the room to advertise and it would make the amount of damaged goods go down.

Everything goes by so fast, giving the idea to Robin who scrunched her nose up at the idea of babysitting goblins but she did enjoy the thought of having less messes. The idea spreads through all of their coworkers who were equally enthusiastic about less lost kids in the store up to the boss. That's how Steve now finds himself as the guy who gets to have the whole thing set up. It was such a small idea that was now spreading around to Mothers all over Hawkins who fought to bring their kids with them. Again this was something so small, had so much pressure behind it. Originally it was supposed to take a month to get it set up but with everyone wanting it desperately the boss pulled some strings and the room was ready in a week.

That's how Steve Harrington found himself in a colorful vest with even more pins on it than Robins. Who was still warming up to the idea of possibly babysitting, but for now she was still doing stock. The first week was chaotic, he ended up doing overtime so that the daycare was open. He was still learning and he decided to set up some rules. He wasn't able to babysit babies, that was going to be a no. The Daycare was only going to be open for certain hours, he had even done a survey amongst the women to figure out times that worked. Now four months in he was fully trained at boogers, loose teeth and tears. He was hoping to get a few of his own kids hired, Lucas was his main target. But that has yet to happen.

Today was like any other, he got the room ready and already got a few toddlers. With working in the daycare so much he started to recognize the regulars and other kids. Picking up on what each one liked and figuring out who they would get along with. It had been a long time since hes encountered someone knew, and not once has he met a single father. Which is why hes confused as hell when he watches a little girl wearing a bright pink coat on, a queen band t shirt, lady bug leggings and two blonde pigtails up on her head walking with a man that looked to be the complete opposite of her. Wearing all black, a pair of sunglasses matching with a 'Quiet Riot' shirt on, with so many chains on the man didn't look like he would be the father.

The two walk up to Steve calmly and he can't help but smile down at the girl who gets very shy. Moving to hide behind the man. He turns looking up kindly, and he can now smell peppermint. Probably from the gum the other was chewing. "Is this the daycare?" The voice is rough and was already Steve's type. He makes an attempt at being cool, and not come off as weird.

"Yep," Steve says with a soft smile. "If you're thinking about leaving her while shopping I just need you to fill out a paper." He says softly. Watching the way the other hesitates for a second, glancing down at his little girl as he nods his head. Gesturing for the other to hand him the clip board. Steve hums gently as he bends down ignoring the way his back and knees creak. Taking in the way the young girl gets more shy. He's hoping that she knows who the band is on her shirt as he starts.

"Hi, I'm Steve. I noticed you were wearing a Queen shirt, If you want I can let you borrow my walkman? I have a few Queen tapes that you can borrow if you don't want to play with the other kids. I know it can get a tad overwhelming." He says softly not raising his voice once her doing that horrible baby tone. Which seems to be exactly what the young girl needed as she looks up at her Dad who was looking down at Steve like he was the sun. He had stopped writing for a second for some unknown reason. Though hes quick to look down at the young girl and smiles softly.

"See, I told you you would like it here."He says softly before quickly scribbling out the form and handing it to Steve. Who takes it and looks down as he smiles softly. He reads that the mans name is Eddie Munson and it sounds so familiar but he doesn't think to much about it as he reads the young girls.

"Well Leia, I have a lot you can work with in there. I have books, movies, music, crayons, legos, you name it I got it or I will get it." He smiles as he watches the young girl move from the others leg and Eddie hesitantly moves down to his knees. Pulling her towards him as he looks at her with a smile that showed his dimples.

"Don't worry, I'll get those princess goldfish you like." He hums out. "I should be back in a bit ok?" He hums as she nods her head moving to hug him. There's something soft said between the two of them before she moves over to Steve looking up curiously as he smiles offering to take her hand. She doesn't waste a second to grip onto his hand tightly and hide into his side as she looks into the room.

"I shouldn't be long, you are a life saver thank you so much." The man says looking slightly stressed now that Leia wasn't looking or paying attention to him. Steve smiles gently.

"No problem, take your time. The daycare does close at five so be aware of that." He hums as Eddie nods. Waving goodbye to his daughter before moving to go shopping.

After that the interactions start to become more frequent. At first Leia would only be in for a hour or two but now a few months in Eddie would drop her off when the doors open and pick her up when they closed. Steve had caught onto what he was doing, but he didn't mind. The two had gotten along with each other for a while now and Steve was being paid to babysit not to investigate parents. That and he really did like Leia. She was sweet.

Today had gone by like any other, all the kids came in and Steve found himself sitting in a bean bag chair watching the rugrats with all of the kids. It was a quiet day, most of the children were starting to doze off and he would have to pick them up and give them to their Mothers. Leia had passed out a while ago and it was getting very close to five. Ten minutes after he had bundled her up and lifted her up letting her sleep on his shoulder. Moving through the store checking for Eddie before going outside. He was a tad worried. He holds her and stands outside looking at the mostly empty parking lot.

He watches a car pull in a bit fast. His eyebrows shoot up when he watches Eddie jump out of the car. His right hand was in a brace, something that wasn't a thing this morning. He moves and hes quick to try and go into the store. Steve whistles loudly catching his attention. Relief fills his eyes as he moves closer seeing his baby curled up into Steve. The anxiety leaves him as guilt takes over.

"I am so sorry. Let me pay you, I accidentally hurt my wrist on the job and the hospital took forever getting me out." he rambles out before his face goes red from admitting that he hadn't been shopping. "Oh shit-"

Steve waves it off, "No don't worry, I caught on to you weeks ago." he whispers gently. Gesturing to the others car offering to carry her to the car. "here I can take her to the car." He says softly. Trying to move her a bit but she was making a strangled noise in her sleep. Eddie's face softens as he watches the man start to walk.

"Oh my god, she let you hold her?" He asks softly. No one had been allowed to hold leia like that for a long time.

"Yeah, shes very tired." Steve says gently. Moving to the door and letting the other open it before getting her in her seat. Though she wakes up and starts to whine and cry in complaint as she clings onto Steves neck. Eddie watches the whole thing and his heart breaks a bit. Before pausing, he felt like he owed Steve.

"Hey, why don't you come to ours? I think I owe you a dinner for staying this late." Eddie says gently.

"Yes! Please Stevie," Leia begs with her best pair of puppy dog eyes. Steve hesitates as he finally pulls away. Looking conflicted.

"I don't know-" He says gently looking from the young girls puppy dog eyes to only be met by another pair. His throat nearly closes in on itself when he sees Eddie looking at him so softly. He stutters over himself as his face goes a soft pink.

"Um, yeah sure if you don't mind." He decides to land on. Watching the way Eddie's face lights up and hears the way Leia squeals kicking her feet out of excitement. Oh no, Steve was defiantly falling in love with this tiny family.

And there was nothing he could do to stop it.

#Steve Harrington Bingo #Steve harrington #babysitter steve #daycare au #single parent Eddie munson #Eddie #eddiemunson #Eddie munson #Steveharrington #bxb #I haven’t done a one shot like this before 😭 so it may be a bit rough #steddie #steve x eddie #stranger things #strangerthings #soft and light

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runninriot · 5 months

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...✍️

The lake is crowded with families and couples and he’s a 26 year old single male, babysitting a 14 year old that doesn’t need him at all.

At least he can be a little proud of not having forgotten how to skate. He hasn’t done that probably in over 10 years but he’s surprised to find that he’s actually able to keep himself upright and balanced on his feet. Good enough to challenge Dustin for a race.

“Okay, butthead. On the count of three. One. Two.”

“Hey! That’s not fair!”

Steve doesn’t need to look back to see Dustin’s mad face when he goes off with a head start. He laughs when he hears Dustin close behind, obviously struggling to catch up to him.

They’re not alone on the ice, so they have to occasionally dodge other people to not crash into them. They have almost reached their imaginary finish line and Steve is already celebrating his victory when he makes the mistake of turning his head back to look for Dustin and BAM! rams into someone and topples them both to the ground.

“Hey asshole! What the fuck is wrong with you? You could’ve hit a kid!”

“I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to-“

Steve collects himself, makes sure everything’s still intact before scrambling back to his feet and looking for the guy he crashed into, to see if he’s hurt. He’s about to apologize when he realises who he collided with.

“Oh my god, Eddie! I’m- here, let me help you. Are you okay? Are you hurt?”

Eddie’s expression softens when he recognizes him but Steve can see that he’s still angry. As he should be. Because what Steve did was irresponsible. He could’ve seriously hurt someone.

“Nah, man. I’m good. Just- what the hell were you doing, Steve?”

He takes Steve’s offered hand to help him back up. Beside them, Sally comes into view at the same time Dustin arrives behind him.

“Wow, Steve. First you cheat and then you run someone over,” he snickers and Steve throws him a look over his shoulder.

“Not helping, Dustin.”

Eddie laughs at their interaction and it’s only then Steve realises they haven’t let go of each other’s hands. He drops it like he’s been burned, feels heat spreading in his cheeks while Eddie looks at him with crinkled eyes and a lovely smile. Always so kind even if Steve keeps fucking things up.

“See, dad! I told you you shouldn’t have gone the wrong way.” Sally is looking at Eddie with her arms crossed and a very disappointed, very stern look on her face. Like a mother scolding her misbehaving son.

Steve can’t help but laugh and despite still feeling a little bad, he also feels so light hearted and at ease like he hasn’t for quite some time.

Eddie and Dustin join him with their own laughter and after a while, even Sally rolls her eyes and steps close to her dad to pull him into a side hug.

“Guess we both fucked up a little, huh?”

Eddie smiles and Steve ignores the tiny jump his heart makes when Eddie looks at him with these big, dark eyes; so deep Steve nearly loses himself in them, barley saved by Dustin’s voice that cuts through the crackling in his ears.

“I’m Dustin. Hey, I really like that patch on your Jacket. DnD, right?”

“You play?”

Steve has absolutely zero idea what they’re talking about but the fact that Eddie’s face lights up even more at Dustin’s words makes him happy too.

While Eddie and Dustin fall into a quick back and forth conversation, nearly screaming at each other in excitement, Sally glides over to his side.

“Dad loves that game. They’re gonna be a while. D’you want to do a lap with me? I’m still learning but I’m not too bad on my skates.”

Steve doesn’t even think about it, just offers his hand for her to take. Her first few steps are still cautious but soon she gets the hang of it and Steve dares to twirl her around carefully. As he watches Sally giggle and smile, he’s suddenly hit with the memory of a girl – strawberry blonde hair up in a pony tail, glistening blue eyes and a smile brighter than the sun.

They stop, maybe because Sally noticed his changing demeanour, and Steve can’t force the urge down to take both her hands and squeeze them tightly.

“You look so much like her.” He didn’t want to say it out loud, knows he’s overstepping.

“You knew my mom?” Sally's smile grows wider.

“I did, yeah. Not very good but we’ve been to the same school.”

Sally nods, thinks for a moment, and then her brows furrow.

“You must’ve known my father too, then.”

Steve nearly chokes on air. That-

He doesn’t know why he’s so surprised but somehow he thought-

He didn’t think Sally knew that Eddie wasn’t her real dad. She does call him dad so, Steve assumed that maybe they’ve made her believe that he was. But apparently, not all families hide behind a web of lies.

“I- I did. But he...”

Steve doesn’t know what to say, doesn’t want to make her feel bad by pushing a finger into an open wound.

“He could’ve never compared to Eddie. You’ve got the best dad there. Even if he’s shit at skating.” Steve winks at her, hopes it’s enough to take away some of the heaviness.

“Yeah. He’s alright," she answers through a giggle.

They both turn to look at where Eddie and Dustin are still gesturing excitedly at each other.

Sally and Steve are still holding hands and when Eddie catches sight of them, Steve can see the way his body eases, can see the love shining in his eyes even from the distance.

Eddie really is a good guy. A great dad. A nice person.

It makes Steve sad to think that in another life, they maybe could’ve been friends. Because despite their very different characters and the very different situations they are in, he feels like they’re not so different when it comes to their values and dreams.

Comfort, love, a place to call home.

There isn’t much else you need to be happy.

Maybe Steve, too, will find that some day.

#steve harrington #eddie munson #dustin henderson #steddie fic #wip #single parent eddie munson

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lavenderstobins · 1 month

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Eddie, trying to teach Josie body positivity from a young age: You know, women can be any shape they want to be

Josie, face lighting up: REALLY?

Eddie: Yeah! Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise!

[later]

Robin: You’ve got some explaining to do, Munson

Eddie: What?

Robin: This whole… shape thing

Eddie: What, you don’t want her being body positive? I’m surprised, Robin, I thought you’d—

Robin: Huh? No, I mean explaining why my daughter’s insisting on being an octagon

Eddie, realising his words may have been misconstrued: … Ah

#inspired by that scene from outnumbered #josie would truly be inspired #eddie munson #robin buckley #stranger things #robeddie #josie buckley #josieverse #lavenderstobins josieverse #st single parent au #steddie #stobin #steve isn’t mentioned in this one but it’s present in the narrative

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imfinereallyy · 1 year

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single parent steddie au where Steve is working really hard to keep his kid away from her mom (she’s his old professor, the relationship was very toxic and Steve was only 18) because she’s terrible for her daughter. He works hard and has a good friend support group but he’s overworked and disowned from his family. Enter Eddie Munson, Social Worker with Steve’s case, there to help him keep custody and maybe….fall and love.

And maybe big time lawyer Murray Bauman is convinced by his college intern Erica Sinclair to take on the case.

#steddie #modern au #this is really stupid I know but it seemed fun #its 1 am and I’m fighting my sleep demons for real #so bare with me #stranger things #writing prompts #steddie headcanon #single parent Steve Harrington #Steve Harrington #eddie Munson #murray bauman #erica sinclair

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formosusiniquis · 10 months

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stevie just hit the wall

aka the multi chapter bowling for soup inspired Stevie fic where i give her a midlife crisis and a second chance at dating a rockstar.

transfem!Steve Harrington; Steve Harrington/Eddie Munson; Minor Robin Buckley/Chrissy Cunningham; Steve Harrington & Robin Buckley; Steve Harrington & Chrissy Cunningham

“Maybe I should have just stayed with him, Robs. I mean I'm not getting any younger. “Okay 1. Tommy was using you to cheat on his wife of 10 years, remember, Carol?” “They were on a break. Basically separated.” She keeps going like Stevie hadn’t spoken, “2. He called you dude every time you went out with him cause he was a total chaser. And most importantly 3. He was a fucking CPA Evie, what a snore.”

NOW COMPLETE ON AO3

#transfem steve harrington #steddie #steddie fic #platonic stobin #minor buckingham #steve and chrissy are cousins #mentioned stommy #future fic #stevie harrington #rockstar eddie munson #single parent steve harrington #steve adopts dustin and max #who are still teenagers in this fic #also some mentioned steve/nancy/jonathan #whose ship name i dont know but do support original stranger things ot3 in the way back s1 #this is self indulgent anyway go stream 1985 by bowling for soup #my fic

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copingmechanizm · 1 year

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Rockstar Eddie and single parent Steve AU (steddie)

Steve who got married soon after high school to some girl his parents chose. It was a marriage of convenience to join two big companies and for Steve "to finally be useful to the family". They separated just after the birth of their son, both having enough of this forced relationship. So that's how Steve became a single dad, raising his son while his ex wife percues her career. Now, his barely teaneged kid entered some kind of "rebel era" listening to music with lots of guitars and screaming and Steve not wanting to be like his own parents, tries to support him in it even if he doesn't understand it. So when Harrington junior asks if he can go to some concert in their city not only he agrees but also buys vip tickets with meet and greet. Obviously he can't go alone at the age of twelve, so Steve goes with him. They wait at the venue for the band to come up for meet and greet before the show and soon he sees familiar dark curls and somewhat maniac grin. There, with the rest of the band stands Eddie Munson, the school freak who was on his mind constantly back in the days, way before he even new what that meant. And now, looking as good as ever, he was apparently a part of his son's favorite band. He must heve stared too long because Eddie looked at him and his eyes met. A flash of recognition passed through his eyes but he quickly turned his head back to a fan in front of him. He wanted to stay at the back, out of the sight of Eddie but his kid dragged him to the front to take a photo of him and the frontman. He tried to keep his eyes only on his son, already feeling awkward by the whole situation, but soon their eyes met again and this time Eddie waived and winked leaving Steve red faced and very much flustered. Soon the meeting came to an end and they waited for the show to begin, and Steve knew he won't be able to take his eyes off the frontman.

After the concert as they were waiting in the line for merch, security approached them stating that Eddie wants to meet with him. Weirdly nervous Steve and very much exited twelve-years-old followed the security guy backstage to once again today see the rock star.

...

Eddie wasn't expecting anything new on this last show on tour. The usual meet with the fans with taking photos and sighing stuff and then an hour of giving his best on the stage. He walked into the venue and just as he started the usual activities, he got a feeling of someone drilling holes into his head with his gaze. He looked up only to meet his eyes with his high school crush Steve Harrington. Quicky turning his head his mind already worked on high speed. What the hell is the Harrington doing here?! He looked as much out of the place as you could be on a rock concert wearing a polo shirt. He was standing at the back of the group with his arms on his chest looking like he came through the wrong door. Still wondering what he's doing here, he got his answer as he saw Harrington getting almost literally dragged by some kid toward the band. Amused, he watched as the past king of Hawkins High takes a photo of him and his(?) kid looking like he'd rather be doing anything else. He couldn't refuse himself giving a little hand wave his way and a wink as their eyes met to mess with him, delighted how it affected Steve. Soon the meeting ended but he knew he didn't want to leave this lovely interaction with king at this point. So at the spur of the moment he made arrangements to get the Harringtons backstage after the show. He didn't know what he'll do then but that's the problem for future Eddie, right?

#eddie munson #steve harrington #steddie #stranger things #single parent steve #rockstar eddie munson

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steddieas-shegoes · 2 months

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this place is such great motivation for anyone trying to move the fuck away from hibernation

chapter 9: after also on ao3 Rated E

🧰🧰🧰🧰🧰🧰🧰🧰🧰🧰🧰🧰🧰🧰🧰🧰

“It’s not broken at least,” Wayne said as he turned Steve’s finger under the bathroom light. “Eddie’s gonna be pissed.”

“It was an accident! You saw how careful I was,” Steve argued as he held the ice pack on his already-swelling index finger. “The hammer slipped.”

“And you know damn well he’s already stressed tryin’ to throw together Mia’s birthday party. This’ll be the thing to set him off.”

Wayne left the room to finish fixing the railing on the porch stairs, a project that Steve had been adamant he could help with for weeks. He’d been plenty of help with finding the right supplies and handing things to Wayne, but the moment he tried prepping a nail in one of the 2x4s, he misjudged his grip on the hammer. He missed the nail entirely.

Luckily, he didn’t have much force behind the hit, so he’d just have to deal with it swelling up and possibly bruising a bit.

But the timing wasn’t great.

Eddie had been working his ass off all week preparing for Mia’s first birthday. He invited everyone to their house, despite the fact they were still in the middle of some pretty major renovations. If Wayne hadn’t agreed to come a few days early to help finish up the porch and fence, Steve was pretty sure they would’ve had to cancel the party.

And Eddie would have lost it.

Steve had never seen him so strung out.

He snapped at the smallest things, including one instance where Mia had pulled her dinner plate off the table while trying to stand. He didn’t yell at Mia. He yelled at Steve. Mia had started crying all the same. Eddie started crying because he felt terrible. Steve started crying because he didn’t know how to help Eddie feel better about everything.

It was a hell of a week so far.

This injury would just be icing on the cake.

Shit, I hope he remembered to get the cupcakes with chocolate icing for Dustin, Steve thought to himself as he made his way back towards the kitchen to get a glass of water.

Mia was with Robin at the park while Eddie finished all of his shopping for food and decorations. Even though he’d insisted she could go with him, Robin insisted on her not seeing anything until the party.

“She won’t even remember it!” Eddie had exclaimed.

“But it’ll be more fun if she doesn’t see it!” Robin yelled.

Steve let them argue about it while he played with Mia on the carpet a few weeks ago. Robin won. Eddie pouted.

Eddie’s been nonstop ever since, making sure everything was absolutely perfect for their princess. He even ordered her a special dress with a matching plastic tiara. He had a checklist on the fridge that seemed neverending; One thing would be scratched off only for something else to be added. He insisted on doing it himself, making things even worse for all of them.

Wayne made a joke on Wednesday about this being worse than a pregnant woman nesting and the look Eddie shot him nearly killed him.

He’d barely slept; Steve would sometimes wake up in the early hours of the morning and see Eddie sitting at the table, head in his hands, dark circles under his eyes, staring at a notepad full of notes and numbers. He was very cautious of the budget, spent hours searching secondhand stores for decorations so he wouldn’t have to buy them new at the store for five times the price. Steve had offered a million times to use his tip money for it, but Eddie insisted on doing it himself.

They were still working on the whole teamwork thing when it came to finances.

“The princess is here!” Robin called from the front door, and Steve’s head turned to the clock on the wall.

“The princess is early!” He called back, quickly hiding the pack of balloons and streamers on the counter.

“The princess needs a nap!” Robin said from the doorway.

One look at her told Steve everything he needed to know about why they came back early.

Robin loved Mia, way more than any of them expected her to, and Mia loved her right back. Any time Robin got home from work, Mia waddled over to her or smacked at whoever was holding her until she could be in Robin��s arms instead.

But the current state of her hair, clothes, and face made Steve rush over to grab a very clearly grumpy Mia from her arms.

“Hi princess. What did you do to Auntie Robbie?” Steve watched as Robin went over to the fridge, grabbed a can of Coke, and chugged it. “You broke her.”

“Rara no,” Mia said as she nuzzled against Steve’s shoulder. “No no mama.”

Steve wasn’t quite sure what she was trying to say, but he could always play along. “Mama was busy helping Papa with something, honey. But you had fun with Rara, right?”

Mia didn’t answer, but Robin gave a thumbs up from where she was leaning against the counter.

“What happened?”

“She decided to be very adventurous and try to climb the jungle gym with the bigger kids. I tried to help and she was not having it. Tried to distract her and she looked at me like she was trying to kill me.” Robin stared off into space. “One kid laughed at me when she told me no.”

Steve resisted the urge to laugh.

Mia was in a “no” phase, one that was very normal for her age, but caused Eddie incredible amounts of stress. Steve liked to remind him that it could always be worse: she could be a biter.

Steve rubbed her back and felt her sigh. She’d probably fall asleep in his arms within the next 20 seconds.

“So you came home after that?” Steve asked quietly.

“No,” Robin shook her head. “I respected her need for independence. And then she realized how high she was and panicked and cried and yelled for me and I looked like a terrible parent and I had to explain to the other moms there that I am just her aunt and also that their judgment isn’t needed considering she’s a baby and their kids were all being assholes about letting her try to climb something.”

“So we can’t go back to that park?” Steve smirked.

“Give it a week.”

Steve snorted as he looked down at Mia, fast asleep on his shoulder, hand gripping his shirt loosely. He smiled fondly down at her before looking back up at the clock.

“I’m gonna go put her in her crib. Eds will be home soon if you wanna hide.”

“Gonna shower and take a nap. She wore me out.”

“I can see that. Thanks for taking her, Robs.”

“Anytime. You know I love riling up stuck up parents.” Robin winked at him before heading to her room to grab her clothes for a shower.

Steve was careful taking Mia to her bedroom, didn’t want to wake her up and ruin any chance of her having a nice nap.

Once she was settled in her crib, Steve went back out to check on Wayne.

Eddie was standing there, hands full of bags from various stores, evaluating the hard work they’d done. When he caught sight of Steve, his eyes immediately went down to his hand.

“Should we make sure it’s not broken at the hospital?” His voice shook with concern and Steve was quick to go to him, embrace him, not caring if any neighbors happened to be there to see.

“No, it’s fine, baby. How’d shopping go?”

“I went over budget.”

Steve nodded. “That’s okay. I kinda knew it would happen.”

“But I tried so hard!” Eddie groaned in frustration. “The lady at the bakery even gave me a discount when I explained everything. She said she remembered when she went crazy planning all five of her kids’ first birthdays. I haven’t even gotten the sandwich stuff!”

“Baby.” Steve kissed his cheek. “Charlie and Maryann agreed to bring sandwiches.”

“What? When? I didn’t ask them to.”

“When I asked them to because I knew you’d go over budget. It’s their gift for Mia. Well, we know they’ll probably also bring her a real gift, but that’s what they told me when I talked to them yesterday,” Steve shrugged. “Need help with anything?”

“The cupcakes are in the front seat.”

Wayne remained silent, but Steve shot him a look as Eddie made his way inside the house.

“Thought we weren’t telling him,” Steve huffed.

Wayne failed at trying to hide a laugh. “He saw me workin’ alone and asked if you hurt yourself. I said I wouldn’t tell him, I didn’t say I would lie if he asked.”

“Loopholes in the contract,” Steve sighed.

He opened the passenger side door of Eddie’s van to grab the cupcakes. The box was discreet, but he could see through the small window on the top that they were purple with sprinkles, just as he’d planned. The cake would be in the shape of a tiara that matched the one he bought for her to wear. It was extremely coordinated.

As he picked up the box, an envelope fell off the seat and to the ground.

Knowing Eddie’s organization system— mostly just keeping things in spots that don’t make sense until he needs them —Steve was quick to pick it up and put it back.

The front of the envelope said Steve.

His brows crinkled in confusion.

Why would there be an envelope with his name on it in Eddie’s van?

His birthday wasn’t for a month, so it couldn’t be that. Plus, they’d agreed on not doing gifts for either of their birthdays so they could make sure Mia’s first birthday was perfect.

He set the envelope back in the seat, even though it killed him. He could ask about it when Eddie’s stress level was no longer well above what was safe for his health.

Except he kept thinking about it constantly as he worked through his to-do list, as he made dinner, as he gave Mia a bath so Eddie could decorate the living room and kitchen for her party tomorrow, as he talked to Robin about her keeping Mia busy until everyone arrived for the party.

When Wayne went to bed on the cot in Mia’s room, and Robin went to bed so she could mentally prepare for the day tomorrow, Steve made his way to the kitchen to help Eddie.

Eddie was standing on a chair, hanging streamers from the cabinets, cursing when one fell as he managed to tape another one next to it.

“Need some help?” Steve asked as he leaned his hip against the counter.

“What I need is to never do this again. Next year, we’re going to a park and ordering pizza,” Eddie grunted as he tried to tape the fallen streamer back into place.

“We probably could’ve done that this year, baby,” Steve walked over, resting his hand on the back of Eddie’s thigh. “She isn’t gonna remember it.”

“I just don’t want her to look back and wonder why she doesn’t have pictures from birthday parties,” Eddie said without stopping what he was doing. “It sucks not knowing if your parents even bothered to care.”

It suddenly all made sense to Steve.

If anyone could understand parents who didn’t care, it was him. But it was also Eddie.

Sometimes, he forgot that Eddie didn’t always have Wayne around to make sure he was loved. He forgot that the first nine years of Eddie’s life were spent with parents who pretty much made sure they didn’t draw the attention of the law, making sure he got to school and looked fed and mostly clean. It would make sense that he didn’t really get birthday parties.

It broke Steve’s heart. Even his own shitty parents had spoiled him for the first decade of his life, before he became more of a hindrance than a gift.

“Eds, honey, take a break,” Steve tugged on his pants, ignoring Eddie’s groan. “C’mon. Haven’t hugged you all day.”

That seemed to win him over.

Eddie got off the chair and let out a sigh. “I’ve been overdoing it, haven’t I?”

Steve wrapped his arms around Eddie’s waist, tugging him closer so their faces were only a couple inches apart. “No, you’ve been doing everything just right. But you could ask for more help so you don’t feel so stressed about it.”

“I just don’t want anyone else stressed. She’s my daughter, so it should be my stress.”

Steve tightened his grip. “She’s our daughter, and she’s Wayne’s granddaughter, and she’s Robin’s niece, and everyone loves her and you. This doesn’t have to fall on you.”

Eddie leaned his head forward, kissed Steve’s lips once. “Sorry for being a little crazy lately.”

“Eh, I kinda like you a little crazy.” Steve nudged Eddie’s nose with his own. “We should go to bed. We have time in the morning to finish this.”

“You just want me to fuck you.”

“No! I want you to get some rest. And maybe I thought about getting my mouth on you while you relax, but that’s just a passing thought.”

“I’ve barely even touched you all week and you wanna take care of me?” Eddie shook his head. “How’d I get so lucky?”

“It’s not so much luck as I know I can’t be quiet enough for Wayne not to hear so you get the special treatment until he’s gone.”

“Fair enough,” Eddie laughed. “Oh! When you got the cupcakes out of my van, you didn’t happen to see the envelope with your name on it, did you?”

Steve was busted. He turned bright red as Eddie’s grin widened.

“Uh, I mean I noticed an envelope. Did it have my name on it?”

Eddie reached in his pocket and pulled out the envelope, folded in half. “You think just because I’m stressed and busy I didn’t notice you completely spaced out all afternoon? Give me a little more credit than that, sweetheart.”

“I didn’t mean to see it! It fell on the floor when I grabbed the cupcakes and I saw my name when I put it back. I swear I wasn’t gonna look.”

“I know, Stevie,” Eddie kissed his forehead and unfolded the envelope. “But since you know it exists, I think you should go ahead and get to see what’s inside. It was supposed to be for your birthday, but now I’m feeling a little impatient.”

“You weren’t supposed to get me anything for my birthday,” Steve whined. “Everything was gonna be spent on Mia’s party and our family trip to Hawkins.”

“I know. But the reason I was so strict on budget for this was because I’ve been working on something for a while. And it wasn’t just me!” Eddie pulled out a sheet of paper. “Everyone contributed. This wouldn’t have happened without all the kids and their parents chipping in. Oh, and Robin and Wayne.”

Steve’s brows furrowed as he unfolded the sheet of paper Eddie handed him.

Stevie,

You put your own dreams on the backburner so that everyone else can reach theirs. That doesn’t sit right with all of us, but especially me.

You wanted to buy an RV, road trip all over the country with your family, see things you’ve never seen before with the people you love. I wanted you to have that.

So this is the paperwork for the RV that will belong to us in two months. It’s not brand new, so we’re getting new carpet put into it and having a few mechanical things worked on. It sleeps 8, and there’s probably room to add in a cot if we need to.

I love you. I wanna travel the country with our little nugget and any future ones we get to have. I wanna love you on a beach, the mountains, the desert, the city. Doesn’t matter where as long as we’re doing it together.

Love, Eddie and Mia (and everyone else)

Steve sniffed, looking up at Eddie with tears falling down his cheeks.

“You got me an RV? How was that in the budget at all?”

Eddie wiped away the first tears, kissing the top of his head. “It involved all of us, and we got lucky that the previous owners were really not looking to make any money, they just wanted to pay it off. Wayne knew a guy who could do the mechanical stuff for free as long as he could do it in his spare time, which is why we won’t have it for two months.”

“But still, that’s a lot of money. You didn’t have to-“

“It’s worth it. You’re worth it.”

“I can’t believe you bought me an RV.”

Eddie took the paper from his hand and set everything on the counter next to them. “I can’t wait to fuck you in it.”

Steve groaned. “You’re killing me.”

“I’m just giving you something to look forward to.”

“I love you so much,” Steve leaned his head on Eddie’s shoulder, kissed his neck. “I’m so fuckin’ glad my car needed an oil change in Hawkins.”

“To be fair, your car needed an oil change well before it was in Hawkins. Your lucky it made it to Hawkins,” Eddie teased.

“Yeah, yeah. Don’t ruin the moment.”

“Bedroom?”

They both laughed as Eddie dragged Steve by his hand to the bedroom, trying to stay quiet so they wouldn’t wake anyone up. Wayne had already offered taking care of Mia if she woke up since he was in her room, but they didn’t want her to be up before she was ready.

Eddie barely had the door closed before Steve was pushing him against it, dropping to his knees and mouthing at his clothed cock.

“Jesus, sweetheart. Not even gonna take my pants off first?” Eddie gasped out, watching as Steve’s eyes rolled back and he let out a muffled moan.

“Want you,” Steve begged softly.

“You can have me.” Eddie reached down to unbutton his own pants, tugging them down enough to release his leaking cock. “Won’t last long, sweet boy.”

Steve didn’t answer, just licked at the tip of Eddie’s cock and wrapped his lips around him.

True to his word, Eddie only lasted another minute, too worked up from lack of touch for the last week and the hunger in Steve’s eyes as he maintained eye contact while he bobbed his head up and down his length.

Steve moaned as Eddie came down his throat, eyes closing as he swallowed it all.

Eddie’s legs felt weak, exhaustion mixed with overwhelming pleasure finally catching up to him.

He pulled Steve to his feet and guided him to the bed, pushing him down and shoving Steve’s pants down his legs to return the favor.

Steve lasted even less time than him, always so quick to fly over the edge when he’d been on his knees with Eddie in his mouth.

They barely managed to wipe themselves off and remove their pants before they were asleep, curled up against each other for the first time all week.

******

Mia was spoiled.

Everyone brought more gifts that they really had the room for, but they wouldn’t complain.

Jonathan brought his camera to take pictures, promising to develop them and mail them as soon as he got home.

The kids had all chipped in and bought her a playset for the backyard, but conveniently had to head back to Hawkins before it could be assembled. Steve didn’t really mind, though.

Mia’s obsession with Hopper continued throughout the party as she insisted on being held by him anytime Eddie set her down, tugging on his mustache and calling him Pa. Hopper couldn’t quite hide the smile he gave her when she did.

Robin and Wayne handled most of the cleanup so that Eddie and Steve could take Mia for a walk around the neighborhood to help her settle for bed. She’d been given more sugar than she’d ever had in her life, and it was certainly showing.

While on their walk, while the sun was setting and the streetlights were turning on, Steve watched Eddie talking to Mia in her stroller.

Mia babbled back, mostly nonsense with the occasional recognizable word, her responses getting quieter and less excited every minute that passed.

Eventually, she was asleep.

Eddie smiled over at him. “Should we head back, love?”

Steve stopped walking. Eddie stopped, too, confusion on his face.

“Will you marry me?” Steve asked.

Eddie’s hands dropped from the stroller, his mouth opening in shock.

“We- you- I.” Eddie laughed. “You’re serious.”

“I am. I know we can’t technically, but, if I got you a ring, would you wear it? Could I say we’re engaged to our family?” Steve grabbed his hands, lacing their fingers together. “I mean this is everything I want: you, Mia, this life. Maybe in the future we could actually get married. But I wanna be able to say you’re mine, even if legally we’re just roommates.”

Steve gave him a hopeful look, one that Eddie had seen a handful of times before when they made big decisions together.

“I’ll marry the shit out of you, sweetheart,” Eddie grinned at him, squeezing his hands. “I’ll wear a ring from the grocery store if I have to. I’ll tattoo a ring on me. Whatever it takes to be yours.”

Steve knew it was risky to even stand like this on the sidewalk of their neighborhood. While no one was out, a car could pass at anytime, anyone could look out their window. They didn’t want to bring too much attention to themselves. They were pretty sure the next door neighbors thought Robin and Eddie were Mia’s parents and Steve was the third wheel they were being nice to.

But they were engaged. He loved this man so much. This man loved him so much. They would get married, even without legal paperwork.

They could share a kiss, just one quick one.

When they pulled apart, Steve took a step away.

Eddie turned back to the stroller and turned it around to walk back towards the house.

“Done with our walk?” Steve asked as he followed.

“You expect to propose to me and not get fucked into the mattress tonight? You know me better than that.”

It was a damn good thing Eddie shoved Steve’s face into the pillow. The last thing they needed was having to explain to Wayne or Robin why he was nearly screaming as Eddie worked him over three times before they both passed out.

Wayne still gave them a knowing look the next morning and Robin rolled her eyes on her way out the door.

It could’ve been the slight limp to Steve’s walk.

Or maybe it was the ring Eddie had moved to his ring finger this morning.

“Mama! Dada!” Mia squealed from her high chair as they both prepped breakfast for all of them.

“Yes, princess?” Eddie asked her.

“Luh!”

“Love you, too, honey,” Steve walked over to kiss the top of her head.

“Luh! Luh mama.”

“And what about me, huh?” Eddie asked as he brought her dry cereal and cut up bananas and strawberries to her.

“Luh dada!”

Eddie kissed the top of her head. “I love you most, princess.”

A house full of love was all Eddie had ever wanted for Mia, and for himself, and now he had it with Steve.

He didn’t need more than that.

#steddie #steve harrington #eddie munson #stranger things #chaptered fic #ao3 fic #mechanic eddie munson #single parent eddie munson #epilogue

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