#Good parent!John

[flowers-in-your-basement]

Tw: john Winchester

I completely understand where people are coming from when they say that John is a horrible, abusive father who saw emotions as weaknesses, but! Most of the time that we see john he's crying, it would make for (in my opinion) a much sadder story if he was actually an okay parent at times, just neglectful. He cries every night, about his wife, about everything he's lost, what he's turning his children into in an attempt to keep them safe. He gives up his motel bed and sleeps in the car, can't afford another room but still wants to prevent the dangerous closeness he sees in his sons. Sometimes Sam will beg to stay in a town, for the end of the semester, to do the final show of his play, john always "suddenly finds" another hunt to do.

He is gone for long, long weeks, his children miss him and he misses them too. He always regrets dragging them into this life, he must be doing the right thing, this must be what god intended. If it isn't then all this heartache is for nothing.

[stars-obsession-pit]

After finding out about Danny’s half-ghost nature and that ghosts aren’t inherently evil, Jack and Maddie start to look into why lots of people had been saying ghosts were like that.

And they find out it was due to a mix-up in the identification of death-related entities. The actually evil ones were demons!

So they decide to shift their focus a bit. Sure, they’re still absolutely going to research ghosts (though now in a nonviolent way), but they’re not gonna just throw away years of experience making weapons to hunt supernatural entities!

Thus begins the exploits of the newly refocused FentonWorks Demon Hunters.

…and a growing headache in the minds of every other magic user.

Especially John Constantine. Why the hell did he accept the job of looking into the new tech entering the market?

[nelkcats]

Found Family

John Constantine fucked it up, Clockwork is happy with the result.

It's no secret that John Constantine sells his soul a lot, and that he's made dubious deals, it's his specialty after all. So it was no surprise when he offered his first born child to multiple entities as part of various deals, in his opinion there was no risk, it was impossible for a baby to be born because of him.

So when Clockwork witnessed a drunken Constantine offer up a newborn as payment for breaking the rules of time travel he just shrugged, he knew the British wouldn't even remember that specific deal and his job was to find the better timelines, the Flash Family sure is going to be his future headache.

Clockwork was pretty sure a child wouldn't be born anyways, the chances were too small; For once, Clockwork was wrong, he didn't know how to feel when little Daniel was born to one of Constantine's many exes, the woman seemed honestly devastated, she wanted to give the child a good life but didn't know how.

It seemed that she was about to call John, her hands trembling as she tried to remember the number, but before she could break the news the baby disappeared from her arms, vanished as multiple laughs were heard in the hospital room. The woman immediately understood and started cursing the bastard of her ex for being so stupid as multiple contracts with the idiot signature materialized in her hands.

Clockwork began to consider his options as he stood in the center of a room with all the contractors, he could fight for the baby, he was an Ancient, but what was the point? He looked at the baby, waiting for a signal to tell him what to do; the baby stopped crying and looked at his multiple watches, laughing with joy.

And then he saw it, the possibilities that before were almost zero began to show themselves, the multiple futures of the boy: celebrations, tears, laught, the painful part? Clockwork was in all of them.

Even when he didn't directly raise him he was always there, he could see that the boy loved him and he loved him back. Time made a mistake and fall in love with the concept: permanence, family, home, that baby was everything so he made his decision.

Without much trouble he fought against all the entities, many could call him a cheater but he didn't care, time was his domain.

With Daniel in his arms he carried him to his haunt, avoiding the gaze of the observants, the baby laughed as his core purred "Welcome home, Danny" he whispered watching as the blue eyes fixed on him.

It didn't take a couple of days for Clockwork to decide to break his contract, he couldn't care less about Constantine and he hated the idea that Daniel belonged to him like an object of some kind, however he couldn't destroy the damn thing until he was sure that all the other contracts were burned (and he made sure of it)

At the end of the week his baby officially belonged to him, Constantine was really an idiot for giving the precious boy in his arms to the worst people. Frostbite and Pandora approved but they were worried.

"He is a human child Clockwork, you know we don't doubt you, but he can't grow up in the realms, you can't run away from the observants and steal human food forever" Frostbite told him.

"He is officially yours, but you need to let him go until the right time" Pandora said, she knew she might be sounding harsh, but she needed to make him understand.

Clockwork was very aware, every time he pointed out a star to Danny from his screens, every time he wrapped his cape around him, every time he kissed his forehead, he knew he had to let the baby go, that the Fentons had lost a baby and would be willing to take care of him.

Hell, he knew he could take care of the child and infiltrate the damn house but how long would it be until he could hold his baby again? hug him? it was undoubtedly painful to know the future but to live in the present, having to do the things that hurt most.

So he did, leaving Daniel (Danny, he'd like to be called Danny in the future) with his star blanket wrapped around him, he kissed the boy's forehead, and placed a bright green note in his basket "His name is Daniel, take good care of him please, and take him to the moon since i couldn't do it -C.W", with one last look he sighed as he returned to the Zone

"Everything is as it should be" he said, watching Daniel with his time screens.

He didn't leave it like that, the Fentons were honestly very distracted, pretty bad parents if he was being honest but for some reason he knew Danny would love them.

So he took it upon himself to fill in the missing details: an anonymous birthday present, a hot meal, a recipe book, glowing stars, little aids that only the children noticed. Jasmine was quite grateful to him for that.

What if there were nights where Danny fell asleep with a voice singing to him? Or if the sound of the clocks calmed him down? It was his business at the end of the day.

The years passed, inevitable things happened that the master of time himself refrained from preventing (His baby had to die, fate was very cruel to return the boy to him in that way).

Clockwork congratulated himself for not speaking to the boy until he overheard the Observants talking about killing his son and panicked, eventually introducing himself and trying to stay calm while helping with "The Dark Dan Incident"

It was a tough trip, filled with many cardiac attacks and the desire to choke ghosts (but he had to remember that Danny needed those experiences, it was for the best), there were also threats towards Frostbite when he saw the rural paintings, at least both the Yeti and the Goddess kept quiet about the adoption.

He really didn't want to scare Danny by saying "Hey, your biological dad sold you to me and I owned your soul until I decided to adopt you but couldn't talk to you until now, surprise"

So he maintained his cryptic attitude towards the boy until much later (he also enjoyed being cryptic), when he nearly fainted upon realizing that Danny's core had adopted him as a mentor and father. The guy himself was embarrassed to admit it confessing asking Frostbite about it.

To explain it better he advised Danny to ask his parents about his adoption, the boy seemed confused but agreed. Clockwork wasn't surprised when the boy appeared in the tower a few hours later, teary-eyed and a familiar green note in hand.

You see, contrary to popular belief Danny was aware that he was adopted, his parents didn't try to hide it, quite proud of that fact, but whenever he asked about his biological parents they shrugged without knowing what to say.

Clockwork's request was strange so he decided to ask one more time, his parents told him again about the night they found him, when they took out a green note claiming it came with his basket; he took it in hand, the color, the letters and the writer of the note were obvious, but his parents affirmed they had no idea who C.W was.

With a thank you and a farewell he returned to the realms, the note trembling in his hand as he asked for answers. And he received them, Clocky looked heartbroken by his distrust, but he explained everything that happened from his birth to the present.

Suddenly everything made sense to Danny: the watches, the food, the gifts his parents claimed they hadn't bought, the singing; Clockwork had taken care of him the best he could, but he couldn't do much trapped under the observants control, he frowned at the last part but ended up hugging his father.

Ironically, that was also the day Danny decided to hate his biological father, John Constantine was a bastard who would only give him paperwork, and he had sold him! To multiple entities! If it wasn't for Clocky he'd be even more dead!

When Danny finally turned 18 and was officially declared Ghost King, his life became a thousand times easier and a thousand times more difficult.

On one hand he had managed to remove the observants who now worked for Walker, and he had managed to free Clocky, on the other hand, he had a thousand responsibilities fallen on his shoulders and he felt tired just thinking about it.

Declaring Clockwork his adviser was a good idea, although he always ended up pouting when he asked him if he wouldn't wish to be king in his place, Clocky was the king's father, shouldn't he be king instead? The master of time just laughed and shook his head, telling him to go back to his paperwork.

The days locked in his office with the thousands of papers in the name of John Constantine only increased his resentment towards his biological father, months in which he had to request a time out just to review a specific section.

————————

It was a normal day after a routine visit from Jazz and Dani when Danny was summoned, his pleasant evening with Clocky (and yes, he could call him dad many times but the nickname just stuck) was interrupted when he felt the summon, he gave a sigh of suffering asking his father if he would come along, he just shrugged as Danny disappeared.

On the other hand, the Justice League was tense, someone had warned about the release of Kronos in the world and Diana couldn't be more worried, they contacted Justice League Dark and they confirmed the presence of multiple gods of time being released.

It was Constantine who offered the solution to summon the Ghost king, if many of those entities were "dead" he should have control over them; And since it was rumored that he was a new king, they might have a chance to strike a deal.

The problem was that the result of the summon was a boy with Lazarus green eyes who stepped out of the circle, directing his hateful eyes towards Constantine, Danny would recognize the bastard anywhere, he had asked his dad to show him.

At first Batman assumed that the color of his eyes meant that the boy was induced by the same anger as Jason, this seemed to be reaffirmed when he spoke trying to remain calm "Why did you summon me, father?" was the boy's cold question.

Constantine seemed to be going through eight stages of duel in seconds as the League came to a standstill, Zatanna shot an incredulous look at her partner as a crown of ice and a white ring materialized on the boy, who crossed his arms.

The objects at least affirmed that this was the king they were looking for. Danny sighed and managed to calm down, this really was an unpleasant revelation, out of pettiness he cast his icy gaze at Constantine, freezing his feet to the ground.

It was then that Wonder Woman stepped forward, Batman was evaluating the entity next to her, even though he was calm his eyes remained the same, he had to reconsider his initial observations "Your Highness, we are here for a request"

"And what would that request be?" Danny questioned with boredom, once he had decided to ignore the Constantine in the room he simply put his mind in treat this as a business meeting.

"We have heard rumors about the release of Kronos along with multiple time entities, we fear that he is planning something against you or us" spoke the princess "We wanted you to confirm those suspicions and if they are true, help us stop them"

Danny frowned "His release doesn't concern you, even less if it's in my domain" he spoke seriously, he remembered that Clocky had told him that his lack of "management" by the observants could be read badly for the other realms, he knew that could include being confused for different entities, his father had many names at the end of the day.

"Your Highness, excuse the rudeness but I don't think you understand the seriousness of the matter" Diana said annoyed by the lack of reaction.

Danny just sneered "I think I totally get it, your sources are wrong, if they are free or not, they are not planning anything"

"I don't think it's your place to make such statements." Superman frowned.

"Oh really? I think it's my place to know if my dad is planning something" he let that revelation stay in the minds of the heroes, he wondered how many times they would be surprised in a day

"Sorry, I thought Constantine was your father?" Flash asked, sounding concerned.

"Constantine is my biological father, yes, however Kronos or whatever you call him is my adoptive father, he taked care of me since I was a baby" the halfa rolled his eyes.

"That's not possible, Kronos has been dead for a long time" Zatanna was worried by that new information.

"You have a God on your team and you wonder if it's possible to totally kill them? Because most of the time the answer is no" Danny shrugged.

"But he was trapped" Diana was sure of that.

"Yes, he was" Danny spoke, resentment ringing in his voice "I released him"

"Are you out of your mind!?" Green Lantern yelled, forgetting he was in front of a King "He obviously planned that, he probably plans to conquer the world!"

"Have you considered that he might be manipulating you?" questioned Batman with a soft voice.

"He's not manipulating me and he couldn't care less about the world, if he really wanted it he'd have it in seconds" Danny bristled at the calming victim tone and the sad eyes around him, honestly they were stupid, If Clocky wanted to rule the world, he would let it be instead of looking for a better future for everyone.

"Okay, everyone calm down, it's obvious that if he've been with him since he was a baby his influence has reached far, we should try to separate them and connect him with his biological father, everything will be fine son" Superman nodded.

"My son isn't going with some idiot wizard with no appreciation for his own soul" the topic of conversation in question appeared next to Danny, at the most dramatic moment possible.

Danny was about to yell at the heroes to stop treating him like a victim or a child when his dad put a hand on his shoulders, clearly trying to calm him down. He sighed and lunged at Clocky, hiding inside his cloak.

"Kronos what are you planning?" Diana spoke resentfully "manipulating a child is going too far"

"I was planning on enjoying tea at our house before some idiots decided to play being God" Clockwork rolled his eyes "And as much as it pains me to say it: Danny stopped being a child a long time ago, in case you forgot it he's a king, the king of all the dead and a god of his own"

"Is this your plan? become the King of the dead? Because you're not going to get away with it" Diana asked, suspicious.

"Do you have selective hearing? Cause I would love for dad to be king in my place but he really doesn't want to" Danny snorted "And since you're not going to treat this meeting seriously we're leaving, as much as I love the space this is really ruining it for me"

"You can not go away! You have to let us help you" Flash yelled worried.

"No, you don't have the right to decide that, so I'm going to go back home, drink my tea and make cookies with dad while you guys figure out how to thaw that bastard over there" Danny finally pointed at Constantine shivering in the cold as he looked at him in shock, Clockwork laughed at his side.

"I'd say it was nice to meet you, but it wasn't, don't expect much help from the dead, we're really not in the mood; go over tips on treating royals properly next time" Clockwork said a last goodbye and left.

Both the King and the God of time disappeared with the circle, along with the materials to perform the ritual; it seemed like they really didn't want to be contacted again

"That really didn't turn out as we expected" Billy muttered, he hadn't wanted to talk during the meeting because he didn't consider that either of the two beings was lying. They looked like father and son, just tired and fed up.

"We will have to evaluate this new threat, it is impossible that his words were completely true, Constantine, find out why that boy hates you so much" Batman ordered.

"I sold him" The hellbazer whispered.

"Sorry, what?" Zatanna stopped what she was doing.

"He hate me because I sold him" John passed his hands over his eyes "I didn't even consider this possible, I'm not supposed to have fucking kids, now it makes so much sense why she's avoiding me"

"She?" Superman asked

"Yeah, one of my exes tried to kill me, she keep yelling about me being an idiot and underestimating the consequences of my acts, I thought it was something normal, you know? I should have known better" He shrugged, the ice had melted but the cold stayed in his bones.

Batman took a deep breath, trying to calm down and not kill the man on the spot. "Who did you sell him to?"

"Many entities" Constantine bit his lip, embarrassed "could have sold him to Kronos for everything we know"

"You are a complete asshole and I understand why the boy does not want to see you" Zatanna spoke completely tired.

"So Kronos can own him for all we know? that's just awful" Diana was disgusted.

"It wasn't supposed to happen, evading contract liability is my specialty not dealing with the consequences" Constantine was stressed.

"This got much more complicated, we'll see how to break your son's contract and separate him from Kronos, maybe you can fix things after that" The dark knight spoke, he hated magic.

Billy refrained from mentioning that Kronos and the King didn't seem to be under a contract, or whatever his teammates were thinking, they looked like family, which for an orphan is pretty obvious.

But he knew that his companions wouldn't take his remarks seriously, so he just sighed in resignation. Maybe the League will remember that those two were from another dimension and royalty that they shouldn't anger, he really hopes they will remember soon.

For their part, Clockwork and Danny returned to their Tower now located next to the palace, deciding to prepare cookies for the visit of Sam & Tucker, one of the time screens was next to them, showing the League discussing the supposed problem.

Danny was quite annoyed that they were deciding things for him and calling his father bad but Clockwork brushed it off, they wouldn't get very far with the palace guards if they even managed to find a portal to the Realms, or even get to the palace itself.

"It's fine Daniel, everything is as it should be"

[laurapetrie]

The wedding, when it came, had a fairy-tale quality, in this very remote church, with no electricity, and it happened after dark. It felt quite otherworldly, very dreamlike. - John Perry Barlow

Carolyn was stunning and very stark — as if the few lights were just for her, with the rest of us in darkness and her betrothed's face leaning into her halo. When John fumbled with the ring, Carolyn gently put her hand on his shoulder and laughed. The moment that she put her hand on his shoulder to reassure him that everything was okay, that was quite a loving subtlety. But that was her. - Billy Noonan

It was an incredibly magical moment. I saw it as it was unfolding, almost in silhouette. It was virtually dark outside. John reached for the hand of Carolyn; she was caught off guard. I'm walking backwards in the light rain at dusk, and John does this amazing gesture, taking her hand and bringing it to his lips. It was lovely, the spontaneity of that gesture. - Denis Reggie

[here-am-i-sitting-in-a-tin-can]

excuse me?????? when did this happen??????

[dwobbitfromtheshire]

Newish headcanon for Steve’s parents: I know some people think they're old, but what if they're young parents? Like really young. John and Maggie were 15 and very confused. They assumed their next step was to get together. They ended up having Steve at 16 after their parents talked them into getting married. John and Maggie liked being married to each other even after they discovered years later that they're not sexually attracted to the opposite sex. Steve later finds out they're basically him and Robin. She later finds out as well. They're young, and they're running Maggie's father's company. They pop in unexpectedly, and when the kids see glimpses of them, they just assume that they're Steve’s brother and sister. They don't hear Steve call them mom and dad, but they do hear Robin calling them Johnny and Mags. Anyway, Dustin pops into their kitchen one time to find Steve talking to his parents. At this point, they've grown accustomed to Dustin calling them Johnny and Mags as well.

"When the hell are we going to meet your parents?" He asked.

"Are you fucking with me?" Steve asked.

"No!" Dustin yelled.

"These are my parents! You've met them several times!" Steve exclaimed.

"No! Those are your brother and sister!" He'd yell.

"The hell they are. They're my mom and dad!"

"They're too young!"

"They had me at 16!"

"No!"

"I think I know who my parents are, Dustin!"

"What's going on?" Max asked as she entered the kitchen.

"Johnny and Mags are Steve’s parents!" Dustin shrieked.

"No fucking way! They're too cool to be parents!" Max exclaimed.

John and Maggie would go on to share a look of amusement, giving each other the nod.

"We're also very gay," Maggie would say.

Anyway, if someone wants to write a full fanfiction about this, I'm okay with it.

[scintillatingshortgirl19]

i am begging one single person in this entire show to consider, for perhaps one single second, THE POSSIBILITY THAT THERE IS A REASON HOUSE HATES HIS DAD THIS MUCH

[javelinbk]

The break-up of the Beatles, as told in the Beatles Anthology (1995). Part 2/4- Paul (Part 1 - John, Part 3 - George, Part 4 - Ringo)

"But I'm really glad that most of the songs dealt with love, peace, understanding... you know, it really did, if you look back, there's hardly anyone says, "Go on, kids! Tell 'em all to sod off! Leave your parents!"... it's all very... 'All You Need Is Love', you know, John's 'Give Peace A Chance'... a very good spirit behind it all."

[s0fter-sin]

i’d love to know how much of early day's spn subtext was deliberate or just a happy accident bc the subplot of 1x08 bugs is sam and dean butting heads about how they were raised and sam hating it while dean tells him he should accept it as they protect a family; predominantly a father and son

the father and son argue bc the son is different and not who the father wants him to be while the son feels ignored and shunned (aka sam). sam spends the episode empathising with him and telling him he can look forward to going to college to get away from him just like he did while dean cuts in to say he should stick with his family

the entire episode, dean defends john and the way he raised them ("maybe he needed to raise his voice but sometimes you were out of line"), it even starts with him and sam arguing over their illegal ways of making money and how they were brought up in the life; dean adapting to and enjoying it and sam wanting to be honest and straight

they talk about sam being sure john is and always has been disappointed in him just for dean to say john used to go to stanford whenever he could to check on him and something about his expression is so bitter; like he knows john would never express that care for him

but at the climax when they're trying to get matt to convince his dad to leave, sam is the one telling him to tell the truth and make his dad listen whereas dean tells him to lie; implying he wouldn't trust his son enough to believe him

he outright scoffs at sam and asks him what he was thinking for trying to get matt to tell the truth

the entire episode, dean is advocating for the kid to work it out (almost to just take it) and stay with his family but when push comes to shove, he tells him to lie

sam who spent years resenting john and his family for how they were raised, fell back on "making him listen"; echoing all the arguments he had with john, trying to force him to understand who he is while john's too blinded by vengeance to even begin to try. the same way sam refuses to see how they were raised and why they were raised that way from john’s point of view, hinting at how similar people they are (which still isn’t an excuse but also not the point rn)

dean winchester, the king of repression and masking (and fawning), dean who at this point is still staunchly defending john, tells a shunned kid with a harsh father to pretend in order for his father to care enough to listen to him and believe him

dean knows reasoning won't work bc he's watched it happen over and over again with sam and john

even the way matt tries to say, “but he’s my… (father)” feels like he’s coming over to dean’s point of view; that matt as a son respects his father to enough to tell the truth and no matter how much they’ve fought, that should trump everything. but dean still insists he lies. and matt tells the truth. and his father doesn’t listen

there's no way they intentionally made dean subconsciously know that a man raising his son in a mimicry of how john raised them wouldn't respect or trust his son enough to believe him about something potentially life threatening after half a season of john ignoring them about something potentially life threatening

right?

[dykedvonte]

Danse and Hancock work only after blind betrayal because it’s the equivalent of the one closeted person you kinda pity getting kicked out after being outted and you and your like 7 other faggot friends take them in and help them do a 180 on their outlook on life and personal style and get them to weed (possibly grape mentats in this case).

[angelsdean]

the contrast between john doing nothing and sitting and watching dean die and dean literally having to leave the room while his kids are suffering bc he can't bare to see them in pain and be helpless to stop it. also john telling him he might have to kill sam (his brotherchild !! and john's actual child !!!!) and dean being asked to kill his monstrous children (emma, jack, werewolf!claire) and never !!! being !! able !! to !!

[melonsharks]

more parent trap au. elizabeth james can speak french in the parent trap, but i need you all to know that aziraphale still absolutely can’t.

[manwiththemagic]

"no chick flick moments" then proceeds to have the most emotional heartbreaking conversations ever.

[fallenangelblade]

“any music made after 1979 sucks ass” is an insane thing to say to your son who was born in 1979

[chimuelo2005-blog]

Headcanon that Remus Lupin was a daddy's boy.

Remus Lupin absolutely adored his mother, like any other boy does when you have an angel like Hope Lupin as your mother, but Remus was always a daddy's boy.

That is why, when Fenrir decided to take revenge on Lyall for accusing him, he decides to go after his boy. It wasn't a secret to anyone that, despite Lyall's stoic demeanor, the man was completely in love with his woman and smitten for his sweet boy. Who could blame him? Remus was a happy, sweet, gentle kid, a bit shy but that made him even more charming in his father's eyes.

So when Remus got bitten, Lyall couldn't look at him in the eye. Not because he was disgusted, but because how could he? He was supposed to protect Remus and he got him permanently sick.

No one says anything to Lyall at his job when they find out that grayback attacked his house; the same way no one says anything when he asks for 5 minutes alone with him before grayback is sent to azkaban. If the room suddenly was too quiet, a type of quiet that only a silencing spell can create, no one noticed or cared to mention it. If anyone asks, Fenrir grayback left on time and the injuries he received were during his apprehension and arrest.

[dwobbitfromtheshire]

I'm suddenly imagining Steve’s parents as James Marsters and Charisma Carpenter.

"Have you ever played the Floor is Lava game?" Eddie asked Steve.

They were lounging at Steve's house, watching TV when Eddie suggested the game. They had flipped through the channels, but they found nothing they wanted to watch at the moment.

"No," Steve scoffed. "What's that?"

"Oh, right. You're an only child with boring parents. My mom used to play it with me when I was little. The concept of the game is that you have to avoid touching the floor because it's made of Lava," Eddie grinned. "You wanna play?"

"Sure."

An hour later, pillows were rearranged on the floor as well as the furniture. They had been hopping around on them for a while now, Eddie telling an outlandish tale of Lava Pirates. Steve had made it safely to the couch, but Eddie was still on the coffee table. The pillows in between them had been knocked aside, and now Eddie had to make it from the coffee table to the couch. There was a huge gap.

"I don't think I'm going to make it. Tell everyone that I love them," Eddie said dramatically. "Go on without me!"

"Oh, for fu - just jump, Eddie!" Steve exclaimed.

Eddie jumped, his feet barely making it to the edge of the couch, and he almost stumbled into the Lava if it hadn't been for Steve grabbing the front of his shirt. Steve pulled him onto the couch and into his arms, wrapping one arm around his waist to stable him.

"My hero!" Eddie said, batting his eyelashes.

Eddie pressed his hands to Steve’s chest, breathing heavily as he stared into his eyes. They were both breathing heavily. Steve pulled him closer until their bodies were pressed together. He took the opportunity to kiss Eddie, pressing his lips gently against his. He smiled when he felt Eddie kiss him back. It was brief, though, because Eddie was suddenly pulling back.

"I'm sorry," Eddie said quickly. "I'm not like that. I mean, it's okay if you are, but I'm not - I'm not like that."

"Okay," Steve said, his voice filled with emotion, and he tried not to look at Eddie, his face red from embarrassment.

Eddie stood there awkwardly, not knowing what to do as he watched his friend's eyes fill up with tears. He jumped down from the couch and started putting on his shoes.

"I'm going to go now," Eddie said, but Steve didn't say anything. "Uh, see you later."

Eddie started walking towards the door, and as he left, the last thing he heard was the sound of a sob coming from Steve. He hated that sound. Eddie's chest fluttered with this heavy weight, and he found it hard to breathe. He wasn't like that, was he? Shit, he needed to call Ronnie.

A couple of days later. . .

Steve thought he had been hiding his emotions all day at work, but apparently, he was wrong.

"What the hell's wrong with you?" Robin asked as soon as they sat down for their break.

"What are you talking about?" Steve asked with a sigh.

"I mean. You've been in a mood all day. You were even rude to the customers," Robin said. "So, rude that they gave you looks, they made complaints to me. You even snapped at me earlier."

"I did?" Steve asked in surprise.

"What's going on?" Robin asked softly.

"I, uh, kissed Eddie," Steve revealed, fiddling with his lunch.

"Okay, so it didn't go well. What happened?" She asked.

He told her all about the game they played and how Steve had saved him. He trailed off near the end.

"We were wrong about him, Robin," he said.

"What?"

"He's not like us," Steve said, shrugging. "He told me. I just need some time to move on, get over him, and then we can go back to being friends. I just want him to be a part of my life, and I'll take whatever he can give me."

"No! No! He is like us! There's no way my radar is off about this," Robin frowned.

"It's okay, Robin. I'll be okay," Steve said.

"Are you sure he didn't kiss you back?" Robin asked.

"I didn't say that he didn't," he said.

"So, he did kiss you?" She asked.

"Yeah, but I'm sure it was like a reflex," Steve said.

"Okay. What did he say exactly after that?" Robin asked.

"He said that he wasn't like that, but it was okay if I was, but he just wasn't like that," Steve replied.

"Wait, so he said it twice?" Robin asked.

"Yeah, why?"

Robin frowned thoughtfully as she tapped her chin. She placed her hands on the table in front of him.

"Okay, I don't want to give you false hope, but maybe it was us who's the problem. We kind of assumed that Eddie's the kind of guy who always knew about himself like we did," Robin said. "But maybe that's not the case."

"Are you saying that I awakened something in him?" Steve said.

"It's a possibility," Robin said softly. "Maybe he just needs time."

Steve smiled, feeling a little more hopeful than he had in days. Yeah, he could give Eddie all of the time in the world.

A few days later. . .

Steve was sitting on the couch, pouting as he stared at the blank TV screen. Every so often, he would glance at the direction of the kitchen, where the phone was, and hoped it would ring. Maggie Harrington plopped onto the coffee table in front of her son and placed his feet in her lap.

"Whatcha doing, Bebie?" Maggie asked.

"Wishing that the phone would ring," Steve said.

"Well, you know what they say about a watched pot," Maggie chuckled, but Steve didn't laugh. "Honey, you have to give him more time than this. Not everyone is like us."

"I know," Steve frowned. "I just don't want to lose him."

"No matter what happens, he'd be an idiot not to be a part of your life," Maggie said.

Thunder clapped loudly outside, and suddenly, there came the sound of hard rain beating against the roof. Steve jumped, and Maggie squeezed his feet to calm him down. A few moments later, the front door opened and closed.

"Mags, do you know anything about this wet metalhead loitering about outside? I don't think he belongs to anyone. I don't see any tags. Do you think Steve might like him?" John asked.

He and Eddie appeared in the door, a wide grin on his face. Meanwhile, Eddie's eyes were wide as he looked at Steve, his hair dripping wet.

"Dad!" Steve exclaimed, blushing.

Eddie pulled crushed, wet flowers out of his vest and held them out for Steve.

"These are for you," Eddie said, and Steve took them with a smile.

"Aw, he got him flowers," Maggie said, cooing.

"Mom, Dad, can you give us a minute?" Steve asked.

"You're right, Steve, he is cute," Maggie said, flipping up her thumbs at him.

"Mom!" Steve yelled.

"Come on, Mags," John said, pulling her out of the room.

"I'm sorry about that. I didn't even think about if your parents even know about you," Eddie blushed.

"Oh, we know, and we were so proud of Bebie when he came out to us!" Maggie yelled from the hallway. "Besides, we're both lavender married. I'm a lesbian and John's gay!"

"Mom!"

"Sorry, son, she got away from me!" John called. "Slippery little witch."

"Bebie?" Eddie asked in amusement.

"When I was little, I had this lisp, and I would pronounce my name like Stebe," Steve rolled his eyes. "Then mom kind of ran with the name."

"And it was the cutest little lisp," Maggie said, popping her head in. "You should have seen him when he was little. He was such a mama's boy. You know, I have a picture of him, trying to walk around in my heels. It's so - "

"Mom! Please!" Steve yelled, torn between laughing and crying.

"Mrs. Harrington - " Eddie started to say.

"Maggie," she corrected with a grin.

"Maggie, you know, if you wanted to talk about how cute Steve is, then we can have lunch, and you can tell me all the embarrassing stories about him then?" Eddie asked with a grin. "Okay?"

"Okay!" Maggie exclaimed and left the room.

"Sorry about them," Steve said, shaking his head.

"So, if they're, uh, lavender married, how did - " Eddie started to say.

"I'm adopted," Steve said.

"Ah," Eddie said, and suddenly, he pulled a rock out of his pocket. "I also found this because it reminded me of your eyes."

"Thanks," Steve said, grinning, clutching it to his chest.

"Look, when I said I wasn't like that, I thought that I wasn't like that, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized that I really am like that. It wasn't just because so many people assume that about me. I always scoffed at them because I'm a freak, so that must mean I must be like that too, right? You came into my life and woke me up. I've always been like that, I just didn't want to recognize it because I'm already different enough, even though I know that there's nothing wrong with being different," Eddie said. "I want to be with you, but I'm still sort of figuring things out."

"We can take things as slow as you want," Steve said.

"A little kiss wouldn't be too fast, though," Eddie grinned as he took Steve’s hands in his.

Steve leaned forward and kissed him gently, pulling him close. He broke the kiss and leaned his forehead against Eddie's.

"I think we can tell your parents to come back in now," Eddie laugh.

"Mom, Dad!" Steve called out.

Maggie came in with a pile of clothes and a towel.

"I brought you some clothes and something to dry off with," Maggie said.

"Thanks, I had completely forgotten that I was dripping on your carpet," Eddie said cheerfully.

When he came back, dressed in Steve's sweats, he plopped down next to Steve on the couch and snuggled into his arms.

"So, Steve always complained about how you guys are away a lot and how much he misses you," Eddie said. "Like an idiot, I assumed the worst. I think that's because of my own shitty dad, so I apologize because you guys are awesome."

"Well, the last few years have kind of been difficult," John replied. "We've been trying to retire my dad's insurance company for a while now so we can spend more time with Steve, but my partner of 15 years who has occasionally been my partner on and off as well, revealed to me that he's been embezzling from the company over the last few years so we have been trying to clean that mess up. We were supposed to hand over the company over to him, and now that's all fucked up. So, we have also been looking for a suitable and trustworthy replacement to take over the company that my dad built from the ground up, a company my dad built to be inclusive for everyone."

"Shit, that fucking sucks," Eddie said with wide eyes.

"It does fucking suck," John sighed. "But Steve and Mags here have been my rock. Couldn't get through this without them."

There was silence for a while and then Eddie leaned forward with a smirk.

"So, Maggie, where is this picture of Steve in your heels that you spoke of?" Eddie asked, and John laughed while Maggie shrieked.

"I'm going to get the photo album," she said and jumped up.

"You're in for it now, son," John said.

"Mom! Please!"