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bmodiwrites · 2 years ago

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Lost Boys Life

Hi friends! This is my dave five contribution to @steddie-week! The prompts I used were together and established relationship. I hope you see both of those reflected in this little beauty. You can read it down below or head over to AO3! Let me know what you think, I'm loving all the freedom of these prompts.

For their twentieth anniversary, Steve takes Eddie to Disneyland.

Of course, Steve wraps up the idea in their 10 year old daughter who is both young enough to be terribly excited yet already treading the line of being too cool to hangout with her fathers for shits and grins much longer. For that reason alone, Steve believes the idea is perfect. There is no better time to spend with Charlie than now. Every passing second is fleeting and Steve isn’t ready to lose his little girl quite yet.

Unsurprisingly, both Eddie and their rambunctious daughter are on board without any necessary convincing. The excitement written across both of their faces makes Steve grateful he listened to Robin and chose to make a family continue to work with Eddie each and every single day. Charlie takes after her surrogate mother so much it’s hard to truly parent her, though. She’s the best pieces of both personalities Steve loves the most.

After getting everyone on board, the plan is pretty perfect from start to finish, if Steve says so himself. He invites Robin and Nancy and their two children. Darren and Laura are thankfully old enough to hold their own and will make for a perfect distraction for Charlie. Of course, Robin is in on the plan, ready and armed to take the group of hooligans in exchange for endless date nights when they get back to their Flagstaff homes.

See, disguised in the child focused trip is Steve’s true gift to Eddie.

More than two decades before becoming who they are now, Steve found out a secret of Eddie’s that changed Steve’s opinion of him forever.

Back in the days when Steve’s entire focus is his popularity, Eddie is just a face in the crowd. He’s Steve’s dealer who makes him come out to the trailer park at the most inconvenient times. To Steve in that moment, Eddie is a scatterbrain who forgets who’s sitting across from him waiting to make a deal. It takes Steve a long time to realize that perspective changes things, that Eddie will one day make a world of difference. That wisdom is yet to come.

Instead, Steve sits impatiently, eager and ready to get the fuck out of there. He’s on a couch that looks twice his age, alone in a place he’s never been. Though Steve gives off confidence in droves, his anxiety spikes in such a foreign environment. Nervously, his hands reach for something to occupy themselves.

Lucky for the both of them, Steve scoops up a well loved copy of Peter Pan. There’s a nice bookmark halfway through the novel; it’s obvious to Steve that though the book is old, the person reading it is interested in taking care of its pages. For some reason, the idea of Eddie in Steve’s head changes then. He’s not just a drug dealer but a person with a little more depth than Steve thought him to have before. Though he’s sure Eddie wouldn’t be a fan of Steve knowing his secret appreciation, Steve is happy for the knowledge.

It’s the memory of that moment that takes Steve’s breathe away as Eddie pushes him up against the wall of a rundown boat house a few months later. He forgets the broken bottle at his throat and is instead taken by the fact that the man before him is just like Peter himself, lost and forcefully bitter from the narrative being written about him. It’s both absurd and changing, Steve thinks in the tense moments later when his heart throbs with want instead of fear for Eddie and his perilous situation.

Thankfully, Eddie doesn’t take after Peter in the sense that he never grows up. They get to him just in time and after months in and out of hospitals and courtrooms, Eddie gets his freedom; the ability to actually live his life the way Eddie wants. With that new ability, Eddie walks straight into Steve’s arms, bringing with him magic and adventure in ways Steve’s never known.

After making it out of the Upside Down alive, Steve’s well aware that’s saying something. They’re lucky to be breathing, let alone have each other.

Throughout the years, Steve learns that Lost Boys never truly grow up – the time simply passes them by, instead. It’s easy to see that Steve himself doesn’t really change. He’s not the most successful guy with a career that makes him known by the masses. After college, Steve thinks getting by from day to day is quite the achievement. He still likes his summer vacations and time away from perpetual babysitting duty. Instead of growing into mean, bitter people like his parents after so many years together, Steve and Eddie twist and mold around each other in a relationship that’s perfect for two people just happy to have someone to share a life with.

Soon, ten years passes them by measured in fights fought and romantic moments both men happened to luck into. It’s years of finding what works best for them and trying to blend in without breaking themselves or each other apart. They move out of Indiana and then the east coast completely. Robin comes with them and Wayne eventually joins them, too. When they settle in Arizona, the world changes again.

The Lost Boys, it seems, are going to be dads.

Steve almost walks out the first time Eddie mentions it, the idea of parenting. He’s happy as a clam just the two of them. The mere thought of adding someone else to the mix makes Steve’s skin crawl. He deals with kids every day. One in their house, getting between them, causing waves – Steve can’t even pretend to be interested.

As it turns out, Robin is in on that plan, too. She explains Eddie’s motivations and the desperate plea he made to her to finally make his family complete. Robin tells Steve of Eddie’s vision of the two of them happily creating a beautiful human society is lucky to have and made better because of, together and united all the way. It’s nice and totally tangible, but still Steve balks. He’s not ready for them to grow up, for their world to change so drastically.

Robin says she’s already said yes, that she’s willing and happy to play a small part in Steve’s never ending happiness. Though, she’s clear when she tells him that she’s not going to sit by and let him ruin the best years to come. She’s a manipulative little shit, clinging to logic like that, but she’s right. Steve can’t deny her or the best thing to happen to him nine months later.

Unlike his worst fears, parenting is just another Lost Boys’ adventure. They exchange their freedom for diapers and late night feedings and the type of joy that’s unprecedented. Eddie’s Peter Pan book resurfaces and quickly becomes part of a routine that Steve is happy to be a part of. Like her father, Charlie wants to be Peter Pan and never grow up while she flys free and unhindered amongst the joys of Neverland.

As it turns out, taking part in the successful growth of a daughter is much more fun than either could fathom. Charlie is a handful, the perfect mix of Eddie’s curiosity with Steve’s ability to play it cool. And though she looks like Robin, Charlie is her fathers’ daughter. Her mannerisms read Steve while her love of fantasy and all things mystical play to Eddie’s side of the table. Reading books is a common occurrence that luckily doesn’t change as Charlie gets older. D&D reference handbooks replace picture books sooner rather than later but Peter Pan always stays. Neither Charlie nor her dads are ready for that story to hit the shelves.

Long story short, this trip with Eddie and their girl is long overdue.

Steve chooses Disneyland because it’s easiest to convince Robin to stuff her family into the car for a six hour drive instead of a torturous flight to Florida at the airport. Robin went to college in LA, so the turf is well known to her and is always an easy bartering chip for Steve to use.

Never mind the fact that the coastal state is progressive to boot. Steve and Eddie spent enough time in Los Angeles and it’s surrounding cities to know the limits to push. It’s been such a long time since Steve got to simply hold Eddie’s hand in public, even for a brief second. He’s looking forward to the small amount of wiggle room the liberal seeming place always affords. Parents like them won’t be one in a million. Their love won’t be, either.

Splurging on all the good stuff is the right decision, everyone knows that right away. Steve’s teacher salary isn’t nearly enough to live on and luckily, Eddie makes great money with more than enough manuscripts to go around. The times that Steve can contribute meaningfully are far between but exciting and heart warming when they do happen. This time around, the whole trip is on Steve and it’s the best feeling ever. Smiles are abundant all around.

They’re at the resort where every breakfast is filled with yummy food and so many characters that even the adults’ heads spin. Steve is enamored by the looks of pure joy on Eddie and Charlie’s faces. All that happiness makes the grueling heat and resultant complaining worth it. Thankfully, Charlie is just tall enough to ride everything and more brave than anyone can give her credit for. She rides all the coasters and little kids’ rides… anything Charlie can get her hands on, she’s ready to step up to without batting an eye. Aside from the inevitable sunstroke and impatient fit Steve’s forever trying to stop, the benefits far outweigh the cons.

Especially the morning that Steve’s been waiting for. The whole trip is planned around the short encounter that he knows is going to be worth all the time, effort, and heartache putting this trip together actually was.

Robin exclaims that it’s a pool day long before Steve needs to convince Charlie to go hangout with her cousins. It’s so easy to dress her up in her Belle swimsuit and send her on her way. They don’t even need to con her. Eddie looks a little tired but is happy to see her go. They share a sigh of relief and lean an extra minute against each other in celebration.

Though forty isn’t old and withered like Steve always thought, the years are catching up.

Not fast enough to ruin his plans, however. Steve perks up when the alarm he sets goes off. His smile is so wide that Eddie squints at him in visible confusion. It takes a lot of effort not to question the situation, Steve sees that as Eddie gets up off the bed they tumbled onto and slips into the third all black Disney getup he insisted on. While Steve’s wearing a pair of traditional Mickey ears, Eddie’s are black and leather, dark and thick like all things Eddie stands for. It’s unusual and perfectly imperfect for the man who rocks leather 300 days out of the year. They’re all celebrating in their own way.

Steve keeps it together until they enter the small theater his surprise is taking place in. It takes a walk through Main Street that never fails to ramp up the excitement of anything about to happen in the park. Knowing what he does, Steve has to bite his lip to stop himself from spilling all the beans. He refuses to let his own excitement be this surprise’s downfall.

At the door, Steve gives their names as the Harrington-Munson’s. Neither of them can take the name legally, but all of Steve’s life is wrapped up in that silly little hyphen. It doesn’t hurt either that Eddie does this giddy little wiggle every time Steve uses it. Now is no exception, especially because an excited Eddie is extra affectionate. His hand slides into Steve’s for a brief second, squeezing their fingers together tightly. It’s gone sooner than either want but both men revel in the happiness of such a simple gesture.

They are early and first in line, which turns out to be the best thing. Steve isn’t distracted by Eddie’s listlessness as the crowd gets bigger. They are front and center for the main attraction’s arrival. Steve gets to see it all and Eddie’s reaction is worth memorizing.

Eddie’s eyes widen as a small actor in green tights enters the room. It’s easy to get lost in the spell of fantasy as Wendy joins Peter on the small stage. The backdrop is that of the bedroom where Peter and the kids first meet. The whole thing feels like a direct interpretation of the scene Steve now knows by heart. Eddie and Charlie both love the magic of Peter’s first moments.

A gasp follows Eddie’s hand sinking back into Steve’s. Eddie clings to him, vibrating there against Steve’s side like a spring ready to slap back and bounce off the walls. Eddie’s lips are moving but no sound leaves them. Overwhelm sits in his expression, though excitement thankfully trumps Eddie’s usual social anxiety. In that moment, Steve thanks his lucky stars – Eddie will be able to enjoy this to its full capacity.

And man does he. Steve watches the love of his life fanboy during their brief moments with the characters. Each actor brings a small part of their favorite story to life. Eddie is star struck and the kids playing Peter and Wendy are kind about it. They get him talking after a minute and Eddie finally unfurls from his shell enough to truly open up. Soon, the young man and woman playing out this fantasy know about Steve and Charlie and their trip to the happiest place on earth. Steve does his best to stay to the side so Eddie can thoroughly enjoy, but he’s not immune to Eddie’s contagious charisma that oozes from him.

A smile graces Steve’s lips each time Eddie gestures affectionately in his direction. By the end of the interaction, no one is immune to that level of happiness.

When the time to take pictures comes around, Steve tries to stay where he’s been, lingering off to the side, but neither Eddie nor Peter and Wendy are having it. He’s being called over and Steve is helpless to do anything but listen to Eddie’s gentle prodding. The words “we do this together” ring in Steve’s ears as the flash goes off over and over. With each click, Eddie holds him closer.

“I can’t believe that just happened,” Eddie says as they’re herded back towards the exit a minute or two later. Steve holds the prints of their interaction in his hand, each prepaid dollar absolutely worth it. The tone of Eddie’s voice says he too agrees with that assessment. So does the happily uttered “to Neverland, indeed.”

Smiling at the perfect opening, Steve stops them just outside the bulk of the crowd.

“Speaking of,” Steve mutters, his voice dipping as he digs in his pocket. The small box is easy to fish out, fitting in Steve’s palm nicely. “I gave Charlie her’s last night.” He opens the box then, showing off two rings on chains, intimately nestled together. “Life with you and our girl is a trip to Neverland every moment of every day, Eddie. You two bring magic to life just by existing but I got us these reminders, just in case. I’ll always adventure anywhere with you.”

Eddie’s fingers shake as he pulls at one of the rings. He traces the edge of it before turning it the way Steve’s been waiting for him to do. The inscription “to Neverland, always” takes up the circumference of white gold and will sit nicely over both their hearts. Steve can’t help but laugh at the perfect way it fits around Eddie’s neck.

Steve isn’t prepared for the awestruck look in Eddie’s eyes as he wraps Steve’s necklace around his neck, too. Eddie takes his time doing up the clasp, his fingertips brushing teasingly along Steve’s skin. When Eddie pulls back, he looks satisfied by the gooseflesh overtaking all of the tanned flesh making up Steve’s neck and shoulder. That’s probably why he doesn’t even blink an eye in surprise when Eddie leans in close, when his usually shy significant other presses their lips together. Steve’s expecting it, for once happy to be on the other end receiving it, too.

The kiss is quick but the intimacy of the moment remains. Eddie rests their foreheads together, their breaths shared. It’s kind of perfect.

“I love you,” Eddie says, like the words are easy now, twenty years and one child later. Maybe they are. Or maybe they’re a little different. Their love most certainly is.

Steve smiles at the thought and returns the words, the truth of them lingering.

tag list (message if you’d like to be added): @infinite-orangepeel, @thefreakandthehair, @corrodedcoughin, @prettyboisteveharrington,

#steddie #steddie week #steddieweek2023 #stranger things #steve harrington #eddie munson #steve harrington/eddie munson #steve harrington x eddie munson #steddie fic #steddie au #disneyland #bobbie writes #lost boys life

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