#heavily based on me cleaning my own rabbits cage every week

[steddie-there]

Eddie has never been one for household chores, preferring to put them off until the last minute or just skip doing them entirely if he can get away with it. But helping Steve clean their rabbit's cage? That has quickly, surprisingly, become one of his favorite activities.

And of course it's because of Steve. Because every single Monday evening, Steve turns the light on in their bedroom and announces gravely, "The time has come, my friend," to the tiny black fluffball who has hopped up to the edge of the cage, curious. And, without fail, he stands with his hands on his hips for just a few moments, staring between that innocent little gaze and this week's carnage of hay and toys spread across the cage floor.

"Why do you have hay spread to kingdom come in here?" he asks Paul in such a disappointed tone that Eddie can't help but giggle.

"Because he's a bastard, you know that," Eddie tells him as he readies a trash bag and pulls on some gloves. He hands another pair to Steve.

Steve laughs. Takes the gloves. Coaxes Paul into the kennel attached to the hutch with a treat and closes the door. Drops another treat inside. "That's all you get today, you know," Steve warns the rabbit and Eddie thinks he deserves some credit for not laughing when they all know full well there will be at least one more before bed.

Steve sings as he sweeps the cage clean. Snippets of songs from the radio, snatches of Corroded Coffin's latest. Eddie sometimes sings along and sometimes just listens, listens and feels like he could make a home in Steve's voice.

And then he takes the trash out while Steve readies a new litter box. Comes back just in time to see Steve sitting by the cage, Paul flopped in his lap. Leans in the open doorway and watches.

Laughs when Steve sternly tells Paul, "Now, this time, let's not dump our hay box over again, okay?"

"You're such a dad," he teases and Steve rolls his eyes at him, but he's laughing, too. And Eddie's heart feels so full at that moment that he can't help but sit down next to Steve and lean his head on his shoulder as he reaches over to pet the tiny white mark on Paul's soft forehead.

"You're gonna be such a good parent someday. You know that, right, Stevie?" he whispers.

And Steve is quiet, not responding, and Eddie knows his eyes have filled with tears and he knows exactly why, knows Steve is thinking about his dreams of a family and his parents and how desperately he doesn't want to be like them, and so he just turns and softly kisses the tears away until they're gone. Presses a gentle kiss to Steve's forehead.

"C'mon, let's go be boring parents and watch dumb TV until we fall asleep," he tells Steve, gets a little laugh in return. They put Paul back in his cage, go cuddle on the couch. Enjoy being in their home, just them and the quiet noise from the TV and the sound of Paul hopping around his newly clean space.

Twenty minutes later, they hear the unmistakable sound of the hay box being turned over and Steve calls out, "Paul, what did I tell you?" so indignantly that Eddie just has to laugh and pull him closer and kiss that disgruntled look off his face until he settles in again, warm and heavy against Eddie's side.

Yeah, this is definitely his favorite chore.

Part 1, Part 2, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7

ao3: And Rabbit Makes Three