#what do you mean eddie doesn't celebrate his birthday?

[dwobbitfromtheshire]

They get together on Eddie's birthday. Of course, Eddie didn't mean to let it slip. He was content in not saying anything at all. Steve had thrown him a party at his house and had everyone, including his friends, along with his uncle. Now, the party was over, and it was just the two of them. Wayne pushed him into staying to help clean up, but Eddie knew what he was doing. Eddie walked into the kitchen and cleared his throat. Steve turned around.

"Can I have you?"

WHAT THE FUCK? Did he seriously just say that? Eddie did NOT just say that. Oh, fuck. What he wanted to ask was if he could help him and instead . . . Oh, he was a complete idiot.

"Can you have me? Do you want me for your birthday, Eds?" Steve asked with a grin.

Of course, when asked, Eddie had a hard time with keeping the truth in. He knew it was all over his face. Steve stepped into his space. He was so close that Eddie could feel his breath against his lips. Steve brushed his nose with his.

"Well?"

"Fuck it. Yeah, I want you," Eddie said.

Steve closed the gap between them, kissing his lips softly as he grabbed onto Eddie's hips. Eddie quickly deepened the kiss. He kissed him harshly, wrapping his arms around his neck as he used his body to slam Steve up against the fridge. He licked into Steve’s mouth eagerly. They broke the kiss, panting, and both laughed.

"Dude, you really do want me," Steve said.

"Please, don't call me dude when I just had my tongue in your throat," Eddie said.

"Hmm, what about baby?" Steve asked.

"Better," Eddie said with a pause. "You should know that when I came into the kitchen, I meant to ask if I could help you. It came out something else instead. Just to clarify, I still want you today and every other day."

Steve leaned his forehead against Eddie's and laughed.

"Oh, Eddie. . . Baby, can I keep you?" He asked.

"It's going to be forever. . . Mostly because I don't think Uncle Wayne has a return policy," Eddie said. "So, you're stuck with me, big boy."

"Good."

"Best birthday ever!"

[stevieschrodinger]

Part One

Baker Steve and Rock Star Eddie wrong number AU

Part two

"Steve! You have no idea!" Eddie's laughing, and that always makes Steve laugh, too. He's clearly a little tipsy. "Everyone went mad for the cake! It's was just, gone! Here, I'll send you some pictures!"

"I know what it looked like Eds," but Steve's grinning, knowing he's talking to empty air, can hear Eddie very vaguely mumbling to himself as he looks through his camera roll. Next to Steve' ear, his phone vibrates several times.

"Anyway, Stevie, I was thinking," Eddie's back now, still clearly tipsy but sounding uncharacteristically sheepish, "it's Christmas kind of soon right? Going to need a cake or two there. New year. Easter. Birthdays and bar mitzvahs and...and... independence day...so I was thinking I should get my orders in now, you know? Avoid disappointment."

"Eddie," Steve starts, finds himself turning shy himself, "you don't have to have a cake on order just to talk to me."

"I, ah, don't?"

"No, I mean, pretty sure we're friends, right?"

"Friends," Eddie starts slowly, "there's, like, lots of different kinds of friends."

"Sure, sure," Steve agrees easily, butterflies running rampant in his stomach, "there's even, kind of, more than friends, really."

"That sounds really really great-"

"Eddie!" There's a cacophony in the background, people shouting, "man, you're missing your own party-"

The line goes dead, and Steve's left standing in the dim light of the evening, just staring at tomorrow's cake order where it's cooling on the racks. A minute later, his phone buzzes in his hand, "so sorry baby, talk tomorrow."

Steve smiles at his phone. He had gone a little quiet after finding out who Eddie really is. It had kind of surprised him. But then Eddie had text him, "did I do something? 😞" and Steve realised Eddie's entitled to his privacy, the same as anyone.

"Hey Stevie, how's your day?"

Steve has Eddie on speaker phone as he mixes batter, "pretty good so far, you? You hungover?"

"No, no, didn't get that wasted, too old for that nonsense now, you know?"

Steve laughs, "aren't you like, 25?"

"I mean, maybe. Definitely old enough to, like, think about settling down, you know?"

Steve's breath catches in his throat, excitement and nerves after their interrupted conversation last night, "yeah, you, thinking about that? With, uhm, someone?"

"Yeah, I am, it's just..." Steve's heart sinks in his chest," my job, you know, I travel a lot, and that would be a sacrifice for anyone, and I couldn't ask someone to live with that, you know?"

"Well...what if it wasn't? What if they just...went with you?"

"What if...this person...had a job they loved? Their own business they worked hard for?"

"Yeah," Steve agrees slowly, "but what if...well, take me for example. I love to bake, but I don't love my business. That's just a means to an end, you know? I don't always love the orders, I'd choose to make something else if I was doing it for fun. So if it were me, i'd give it up in a heartbeat as long as I can keep baking."

"Yeah? You mean it?"

"Yeah. Yeah Eddie, I mean it."

"I, I mean, sure. Good. Thanks. I mean, not thanks, I mean, good, that's great."

Steve grins at Eddie's ramblings.

"I'll be away though, soon, for a couple of months, like four months, so, maybe, we could keep talking and when, I mean, if you want, what I get back..."

"I'd like that." Steve fist pumps, silently celebrating. "You never actually told me what you do for work?". Steve's teasing him, but Eddie doesn't know that Steve knows so, Steve grins to himself and keeps his voice even.

"I ah, music?"

"Yeah, you have mentioned that before, but what about it?" Steve knows he's being a dick, he just can't help it though.

"I ah, travel, with the band," Eddie starts slowly, and that is technically not a lie, Steve thinks, "and I kind of, look after some of the instruments and...have a lot to do with the sound checks? Like I'm definitely always there, for every sound check, like, I have to be."

All of that is probably true, Steve thinks, and god bless Eddie for not wanting to actually lie to Steve.

"Oh right, and what's the band called?"

"Oh, they're like, heavy metal, you've definitely never heard of them."

After they get off the call, Steve laughs all afternoon.

[stevesbipanic]

Steve's only 25 when it all catches up to him.

It starts off small, things people wouldn't even be able to tell is an early sign of something wrong. Misplacing keys, forgetting which day he has his shifts, what time he's supposed to get Robin. Robin notices though.

Robin knows Steve always keeps his keys on the hook next to Eddie's by the front door, that's where he always finds them, he's not misplacing the keys, he's forgetting the hook exists.

Robin knows Steve has the same shifts every week, they never change because they line up with Eddie's at the record store nearby. Robin knows Steve isn't forgetting what time he's supposed to pick Robin up, he's forgetting Robin moved away a few months ago after she graduated college.

Robin keeps noticing when the kids start calling her because the little things are becoming big things.

Robin notices when Dustin calls and tells her Steve thought he and Suzie were back together, "Like how crazy is that we broke up two years ago, I don't think I've even mentioned her lately."

Robin notices when Lucas calls and tells her Steve asked when his next game was, "The season ended months ago, he came to the finals."

Robin notices when Max calls and whispers softly, "He asked to take me to the skatepark, Robin, I told him I had to help mum. He's forgotten I'm blind Robin."

Robin wished she'd noticed sooner, maybe years ago when Steve was getting knocked around a lot. She wished she'd screamed in the face of those Russians to take her instead. She wished a lot of things when Eddie called her.

"He's in hospital, Birdie, he collapsed at work."

Robin is back in Chicago for the first time since she graduated. She wished she'd visited sooner.

"Do you think the feds are gonna let me go soon, Robbie? I mean it usually doesn't take this long for them to bring me the NDAs."

Robin hopes Steve doesn't notice her eyes going glossy as she runs her fingers through his hair, "Don't worry Stevie, I'm sure they'll be in soon, Dusty is probs just arguing over something in his."

"At least he isn't having to explain he raised a demodog. Did I ever tell you about that Robbie?"

Robin smiles softly, "Yeah but tell me again, don't want to forget any of it."

Eddie gives Robin the gist of what the doctors said, Eddie didn't understand much, a lot of technical words and shit. Too many concussions, more than they knew about most likely. They say it'll probably get worse with no timeframe of how quickly it'll happen, there might be good days, there will be a lot of bad days.

The first bad day comes a week later. Steve barely remembers Eddie, trapped in a time when Eddie was just the kids DM. Eddie sobs in the corridor in Robin's arms. The next day it's like nothing happened and Steve gets discharged. They tell Steve, this time Eddie is the one to comfort him.

"I don't want to forget you Eds."

"It's okay if you do, sweetheart, I'll still be here."

It's Robins idea to start writing everything down. Eddie, Nancy and the kids all help. Filling journals upon journals of stories and pictures of Steve's life to help on the bad days. Steve has to quit his job, Robin moves back to Chicago, they make it work.

On bad days depending on how far back Steve is Dustin or Robin or Eddie will read through the books with him, filling in the gaps of what he needs. On the worst days, Eddie leaves the pile of journals on the bed with a note and waits downstairs to see if Steve will join him later.

They make it work for a few years. Steve celebrates his 30th birthday with perfect clarity. He writes himself an entry in the journal next to a big group picture with Steve and Eddie's matching rings showing.

That July, over a decade since Starcourt, Steve is in hospital again. He'd collapsed at breakfast. Eddie had thought it was going to be one of their good days, Steve had woken up fine, all his memories in tact if a little fuzzy. He'd made them coffee and giggled at Eddie's singing while he made them eggs and just like that it all came crashing down.

Steve's brain is shutting down. They don't know if he'll make it past Christmas. There's more bad days after that. More days with books left on the bed. Most days Steve doesn't even come downstairs. On the good days, Eddie always calls off work. He'd rather be fired than miss a single second of Steve smiling at him like he does, so full of love.

They have Christmas, the whole family comes, they have to bring every chair from around the house and squish in around the table just to fit but it's perfect. Steve sits between Robin and Eddie, face bright and full of love and life. Everyone gives him the tightest hug as the night closes, all lingering, afraid of letting go.

"I love you, dingus."

"I love you too, Robbie."

Later, upstairs in their room, Steve and Eddie go through all the journals, laughing softly at each little note the kids have left. Steve writes his little journal entry, a tradition of good days, and curls into Eddie's arm whispering soft loving words to each other before falling asleep.

Steve never wakes up.

The funeral happens shortly after, all of the family is still in town. Robin holds Eddie afterwards as they go through the journals together. When they get to the last page, they struggle not to smudge the ink with their tears.

Dear Eds and Robbie,

I don't know how many more good days I'm going to get so I'm leaving this here for you now. I love you both so much, you're equally my soulmates and I want you two to look after each other while I'm gone.

Robs, go travelling with Nancy, ok? Thank you for looking after me all these years but it's time for you to go look after yourself. Go see the world for me, tell me all about it wherever I am when you get back.

Eddie, I'm sorry we didn't get as much time as we hoped, I hope you know that even just a day with you has been worth a lifetime with anyone else. Go follow your dreams, write music, perform, show the world how amazing I know you are. I give you full permission to fall in love with whoever you meet along the way, I don't want either of you guys to be alone.

Thank you for giving me a life worth remembering.

Your Dingus,

Stevie

[catherinnn]

Drunk and Flirty

Summary: Eddie gets drunk on your birthday and won't stop flirting with you

Eddie Munson x fem!reader

Warnings: so much fluff, cursing, alcohol and drinking, not proofread :)

It was your 20th birthday and that deserved a celebration. Or that's what your friends had convinced you to do. A party.

Well, most of your friends. Because with Eddie it was the other way around, you had to convince him to come. He's not a party person but he said that for you, he'd make an exception.

However, now it didn't seem like he was making much of a sacrifice, he looks like he's having more fun than anyone!

He did a few shots with you, --and with Steve, and with Robin, and with Nancy-- he had one too many beers as well.

"Hey, birthday girl!" He calls you as soon as he finds you talking to some of your friends. "Come with me, let's do another shot!"

"Are you sure you can handle it?" you check.

"Are you challenging me?"

"No, I'm making sure you won't end up puking"

"Please princess, I'm fiiine. I'm not as lightweight as you are" he jokes.

"Funny, are we?" you say as you grab two shots and give him one. "Ready?"

"One... two... three!" Eddie counts and you take the shots.

Your face cringes thanks to the strong taste of the alcohol and Eddie laughs at you.

"That's cute" he mocks.

"Shut up"

"No, really. You make a cute face after drinking the shot" he says seriously.

"That's cause it's so fucking strong, I don't know how you took so many"

"oww, so that means you're not gonna take more with me?" he asks disappointed.

"No, but I think that's gonna be good for you too, you've had too many"

"Come onnn, it's your birthday! you should be the one who's drunk"

"I am a little tipsy" you confess.

"That's what I'm talking about" he smirks. "Take another one so we're both drunk and I can see that cute scrunch again"

"You're a bad influence, Edward"

"You know, normally I would hate when people call me by my full name. But when you say it, it doesn't sound so bad, I actually like it when you say it" Eddie tells you.

"You have a pretty name" you assure him.

"Yours is even prettier" he flirts.

"Oh, stop it"

"Pretty name for a pretty girl" he keeps going.

You laugh at his attempt of complement. He loves to make you laugh.

"I'm serious! You're the prettiest girl in here... actually, you're the prettiest girl everywhere"

"Stop flirting with me or I'm gonna start thinking you actually like me" you say playfully.

"Oh, but I do sweetheart" he says without thinking twice.

"Eds, you're too drunk" you try not to believe him when he's at this state.

But he keeps going, all night. He wants you to believe him, he wants to finally let you know, to finally stop hiding it.

So when you're talking with Steve and Robin, he would come up to you and hug you from behind, putting his hand around your waist and act as if it's nothing. But he feels you tense for a second. Doubting if you should enjoy it as much as you do, especially when he's not thinking straight. But you let him, it's just a friendly touch...

As the conversation continues, he starts stroking your waist, but it's probably nothing, just friendly. Then, he pulls you closer to him, still, it's nothing. He lays his chin on your shoulder, just friendly. You feel kisses on said shoulder, fuck.

"He's getting friendly" Robin comments.

"He gets extra flirty when he's drunk" Steve explains.

"No, I don't" Eddie quickly answers to then keep kissing your skin.

"Sure you don't, buddy" Steve says sarcastically.

"Or are you just jealous that I'm not flirty with you?" Eddie says with a smirk. "Sorry big boy, tonight it's all about her" he turns to you, he's really close.

"You'll get that treatment on your birthday, Stevie" Robin says but Eddie quickly denies it.

"Not if she gives me a chance"

He's still looking straight at you, still very close to your face, still holding you by your waist. It starts to make you dizzy.

Steve and Robin look at you two surprised after what Eddie said.

"Eds..." you whisper warning him.

"What, princess?" he challenges you.

"You're drunk" you say, but it feels more like you're just saying it to convince yourself, to control yourself.

"You can keep using that excuse but it won't make what I said false"

You take his hands off of you.

"We'll see how you feel tomorrow" you finally say and then walk away.

You go outside to get some air but Robin follows you.

"Dude, what was that?!" she asks amused.

"I don't know, he's been like that all night" you tell her.

"You think he means it?"

"I don't know about that, all I know is that he's gonna regret it tomorrow and take it back"

"Are you sure? He seemed pretty confident there. Tipsy, yeah, but confident" she adds.

The night comes to an end after a few hours, everybody starts to say goodbye to you and leave.

Finally, your closest friends have to go too. They help you clean a little bit but then you assure them you'll finish tomorrow. Steve, Robin and Eddie come up to say goodnight.

"I'm gonna take these two home, Eddie will come tomorrow to pick up his van since he clearly can't drive right now" Steve explains. "Anyway, I had fun tonight, happy birthday sweetheart"

"Wow, that's means a lot coming from the king himself" you hug him goodbye. "Thanks, Stevie"

"Careful you two, I'm starting to get jealous" Eddie comments.

"You go home and sober up" you tell him.

"Will do princess, I'll dream of you" he winks and you roll your eyes.

"Goodnight Eddie" you go to give him a quick hug but he puts his arms around you strongly to keep you a little longer. You accept it, arms around his neck containing yourself from start playing with his curls.

You move away to let them get going, but before letting him go completely, he gives you a kiss on your neck. "Goodnight gorgeous" and then moves from you with a smirk.

Steve and Robin wait amused for him to get to the car, having witnessed yet another little number from you two.

The next day you finish cleaning up with help from your parents. It wasn't much of a mess, so they had no problem.

There's a knock on the door and you go to open it.

Eddie’s outside.

"Hey" he greets you. His hair a little damped from the shower, his usual clothes, except that instead of jeans, he's wearing sweatpants. He doesn't look hangovered, just a little tired.

"Hey" You're surprised to see him, but then remember he's here to pick up the van. After last night you didn't really know if he regrets everything he said, or even if he remembers it.

"Can I come in?" he asks since you're frozen at the door.

"Yeah- sorry, sure" you let him in and follow him to the couch. "You don't look so hangovered"

"Thanks to the aspirin and a shower" he jokes. "You look good too"

"I didn't drink as much as you did" you laugh.

"Can't believe I was more drunk than the birthday girl"

"Mmmh no, not much" he answers.

"Don't worry, I'll make it even on your next birthday"

"Um so, do you remember anything... from last night?" you dare to ask and you see a little smirk forming on his face.

"Oh- well, I figured you wouldn't"

"Yeah, everything it's just a big blur after my fouth shot" he laughs and you give him a little snort so he doesn't catch on your disappointment. "I remember when we sang you happy birthday, that cake was amazing by the way. I remember dancing with Nancy which is random"

"Nothing else?" you ask.

"No, nothing more than that and flirting with you nonstop" he says as if it's nothing but failing to hide his growing smirk. He was mocking you.

"Motherfucker" you sigh in relief, covering your face with your hands. He laughs at your reaction.

"Language Missy!" He jokes. "I remember everything, sweetheart"

"Do you regret it?"

"Not a chance" he assures you. "I do feel that way, I meant everything I said. I am sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable though"

"I just thought you wouldn't remember it, or would regret everything today"

"I don't, princess. So my offer still stands"

"What offer?" you ask confused.

"To give me a chance" he says with a smile.

"You're offering me to give you a chance?" you laugh because it saunds a little silly, but you love it.

"I should've thought about that better. Um- Can you give me a chance?" he rephrases.

"No" you say and he tenses. "I liked the offer better" your turn to joke now.

"Oh, we're felling funny today, fuck princess" He sighs in relief now.

"Karma"

"Alright, fair" he tries again. "So what's the real answer?"

"Yes, I'd love to give you a chance Edward" you say confidently and he smiles.

He comes closer and grabs your face in his hands to finally kiss you.

It's sweet, romantic, everything you needed.

"I've been wanting to do that for so long" Eddie confesses.

"Me too" you kiss him again.

"And, by the way, I do remember saying I liked how my full name sounds when you say it, but I still prefer Eddie" he says and you complain.

"What about baby? Or handsome? Or pretty-" you start saying giving him kisses after each question until he stops you.

"Oh, look who's the flirty one now?"

"Shut up and keep kissing me"

"Of course" he does as you said.

[rogueddie]

Make A Wish T | 654 words Prompt for @steddielovemonth: Love is making a birthday extra special

For as long as Steve can remember, Valentines has always been emphasized to him as a special day. A day full of love, and joy, and connection. A day where he could tell anyone that he loves them, even Tommy, and no one would give him so much as a glance.

It's been a while since he's been able to properly celebrate the day though. With the Upside Down, the constant fear that it would come back, that people would get hurt again, always buzzing in the back of his head...

Well, it never felt right.

But, now that it's finally and truly over? He's excited to celebrate. He has his soulmate, the best friend that he could ever wish for and loves with all his heart... and he might have a boyfriend.

"You will have a boyfriend," Robin corrects. "He's been flirting with you for months. If he doesn't make a move first, he'll be stumbling over himself to say yes."

She's right.

He rushes to agree to the date when Steve asks, stuttering in his hurry. But, instead of asking Steve what he has planned, he asks if he can surprise Steve.

"I was thinking about asking you, but... I don't know, I got too nervous, I guess. But it's a good idea, so..."

"Sure, yeah. It'll be nice to be on this end for once."

When Eddie picks him up, he insists that Steve sit in the back of the van so he can't see anything before they arrive.

He climbs over the seats when they do arrive, blindfolding him.

"This way, mind your step, just a little further..." Eddie mumbles, gently leading Steve. "Ok. You ready?"

"Yeah."

When he pulls the blindfold off, there's a burst of noise and color.

They're at the Byers new place. It's covered in decorations, confetti in the air, and everyone stood around cheering.

The banner has a bubbly, colorful, "happy birthday!" drawn on.

"Happy birthday," El says, the first to step up. She holds up a present. "I am very happy to know you."

"Oh. Thanks, El. But, uh..." He glances around, until finally finding Eddie tucked in a corner. "How did you know that today is my birthday?"

"Overheard some old flame of yours one time," Eddie explains. "She was convinced that you two were meant to be, entirely because you were born on valentine's day."

"Seriously?"

"Right?"

"Steve!" Dustin calls, waving him towards the kitchen. "Nevermind that! Come on, we made a cake! And there's presents, but we should do cake first!"

The kids, as it turns out, really did make the kids themselves. It's not bad either, especially after melted chocolate and whip cream is poured over it, almost drowning it.

The gifts from the kids are all homemade.

Steve is sure that they're the best gifts he's ever received.

"Happy birthday," Robin whispers, as she hugs him goodbye. "And good luck, yeah?"

"Won't need it," he whispers back. "This night is too perfect for it to fail now."

He decides to wait until they pull up outside his house. Then, if it works out? They can go inside. If it fails? Easy exit.

But, as soon as they pull up, Eddie beats him to the punch.

"Hey," he starts, nervous. "I hope you enjoyed today and-"

"I did. Really, it was amazing. Thanks, Ed. It means a lot, more than you can imagine."

"It was nothing. It's... I don't want to ruin that if you don't- I won't take it bad, is what I mean. I just think you should know, uh... you're so loved. By, uh, me."

"You love me?"

"Yeah, Steve. I really do, so much."

"I love you too."

"Really?"

"Yeah, dumbass. I asked you on a date."

"... oh, fuck, you did."

Steve laughs, reaching over to grab his collar and drag him into a kiss.

It really is the perfect end to the perfect day.

[thisapplepielife]

Written for the @steddieholidaydrabbles December challenge.

Dirty Thirty

Prompt Day 24: Birthday | Word Count: 1000 | Rating: T | CW: Childhood Trauma, Language | Tags: Established Relationship, Future Fic, Steve & Gareth, Eddie Turns 30, Birthday Blues, Hurt/Comfort, Steve POV

"It's his dirty thirty," Steve says, tucking the phone between his shoulder and his ear, "We have to do something."

Gareth laughs through the receiver.

"Well, you can dig your own grave if you want to, but I'm definitely not crawling in it with you," Gareth says, and Steve squeezes his eyes shut. 

Eddie usually loves his birthday, but several weeks ago the decree came down that he wanted nothing for his birthday. He wanted to pretend it didn't exist. But is Steve really supposed to do nothing to celebrate Eddie's thirtieth birthday? That's a milestone. 

Eddie almost didn't make it to twenty-one. But he did, and that birthday party was so fucking wild that Steve still doesn't remember everything that happened. All he knows is he woke up with a tattoo on his arm that looks suspiciously like Eddie's handiwork, though Eddie still denies it. 

So, Eddie turning thirty should be celebrated. Maybe not a kegger that ends in beloved, if unplanned, tattoos. But still. Something special. 

"What if-" 

"No," Gareth says, "whatever you're thinking. No." 

Steve sighs, in disappointment. 

Gareth's right, is the thing. Eddie isn't one to say he doesn't want something, but secretly does. He said he didn't want anything, so he really doesn't want anything this year.

Steve knows Eddie isn't the type to dwell on getting older. He usually loves that shit. Loves that he lived, and has kept on living. So, this is out of character, and hard for Steve to swallow.

"I know," Steve finally says, "you're right." 

"What was that? Say it again, a little louder. You know my hearing is shitty from years of drumming."

Steve laughs, "Gareth, you're right. Even if I loathe to admit it." 

Gareth cackles, but then turns serious.

"I know you mean well, Steve-o. But let's just do what he wants, okay? Not what we want. Of course, I'll want you to throw me a huge dirty thirty. Strippers coming out of the cake, the whole nine yards," Gareth says. 

"I think your wife might have something to say about that," Steve says, dryly. 

Gareth just laughs. 

Steve finally relents, "Okay, I won't plan anything." 

"Smart man," Gareth says, and hangs up the phone. 

Gareth is Eddie's best friend, but maybe Steve should float this situation past Jeff and Goodie, too. Just in case. Get a second and third opinion. Gareth isn't the be-all and end-all. 

So, Steve gives them each a call.

Jeff is kind, but firm, with his hard no vote. 

Goodie is a hard yes, but it's a trap, and Steve knows better than to fall for it. 

It doesn't take long for Gareth to call back. 

"Steven." 

Steve hangs his head, "I just had to ask them, okay?!" 

"No means no!" Gareth shouts.

"I won't do shit, I promise," Steve says. 

"You better not," Gareth says, and hangs up on him for the second time today.

And Steve doesn't plan anything. 

Eddie turns thirty, and nothing happens. Steve hates it. 

He takes Eddie out to eat, but Eddie wouldn't even pick somewhere nice. No, he just wanted to grab food from the taco truck that always sits in the parking lot of the hardware store.

So, they eat messy tacos, standing up, outdoors, in January, while people carry lumber to their waiting trucks. 

Eddie never mentions it's his birthday, and nobody else does either. 

It's weird. 

That night they lay in bed, and Steve feels like he's missed something big here. It's a gnawing sensation in his gut, and he hates it. Eddie doesn't even seem in the mood for birthday sex. Not that he needs a reason to get Steve into bed, but he usually likes to pretend it's a special gift, just for him, and Steve always goes along with it. 

Not tonight.

Tonight, they lay in the quiet, and Steve feels like this whole day, this whole week, has been off. He's running through every damn thing that could have led up to this, when Eddie finally speaks.

"I'm older than my mom ever was, now," Eddie says in the dark. 

And there it is. The piece Steve was missing. Of course. 

Steve rolls onto his side, wrapping his arm around Eddie. Hugging him tight. 

"I'm sorry, honey, that must be weird." 

Eddie nods, and then tucks his head into his own chest, and cries. Steve can feel his back shaking with the movement.

Steve presses his face into Eddie's back, holding him. There's no fixing this kind of hurt. Steve knows. Eddie has to feel it. But Steve holds him tight, and Eddie lets him, leaning back against Steve's chest, seeking comfort. They've been that comfort for each other for years, a decade now, even if Steve gets it wrong sometimes. Still can't read Eddie's mind, as much as he'd like to, especially in times like these.

"I'm sorry I've been so weird," Eddie says, his voice thick.

"I love you," Steve tells him.

Eddie suddenly rolls in his arms, pressing his face into Steve's neck. Steve just hugs him tighter, rubbing his back. 

"I feel like I'm a little kid again, crying like this," Eddie says, and Steve presses his face into Eddie's hair.

"It's okay to cry," Steve tells him, because it is. It took Steve a long time to realize that, because crying wasn't okay growing up in the Harrington household. 

But as an adult? If he wants to cry. He'll fucking cry. Steve finds he always feels better after he's let it all out. 

"I know," Eddie says, "but it hurts today like it's fresh, and not decades old. I hate it."

Steve rubs his back, then pulls back, "Put on your shoes."

"What? Why?" Eddie asks, and Steve touches his arm, urging him on.

Twenty minutes later, Wayne is holding Eddie as he cries, and this is definitely what Eddie needed. Steve's absolutely sure. 

Eddie can't have his mom, but he still has Wayne. His dad, in all the ways that matter.

If you want to write your own, or see more entries for this challenge, pop on over to @steddieholidaydrabbles and follow along with the fun!

If you want to see more of my entries into this month-long challenge, you can check them out in my Steddie Holiday Drabbles tag, right here!

[steddieas-shegoes]

it's a celebration

for @corrodedcoffinfest prompt 'celebrate good times, c'mon'

rated m | 922 words | cw: alcohol | tags: bisexual gareth, friendly teasing, birthday party, famous corroded coffin

🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳

They joked for years about going all out for Gareth's 21st birthday, but he always brushed them off. He wasn't big into huge parties, would much rather just have some fun with the guys, drink, smoke, whatever.

His boyfriend, Sam, couldn't make it for his birthday, so he definitely didn't feel like celebrating much.

"C'mon! One stripper! I'm sure we could find a dude if that's what you want," Jeff nudged his shoulder as they settled on the bus after the show.

"Don't want a dude," Gareth sighed.

"A woman then! Even better for me and Frankie." Jeff poked his arm. "Sam won't mind. It doesn't mean anything."

"Not worried about Sam." He wasn't. He'd tell Sam all about it and Sam would laugh and ask if he tipped in ones or fives, he'd ask about their show, he'd tell him he loved him and missed him. "Just not interested."

"You're such a bummer lately," Frankie groaned. "Just because you have a boyfriend doesn't mean you have to be lame. Look at Eddie."

Frankie gestured to the empty spot at the table where Eddie had been when they first walked on the bus.

"You mean the Eddie who's hiding in his bunk so Steve can get him off over the phone before his adrenaline wears off?" Gareth snorted, leaning his head back against the couch. "He seems super interested in hiring a stripper."

"Why would you turn down seeing some boobies on your birthday? You used to love boobies." Jeff sounded genuinely disheartened.

"Or a dick! It's fine if you just wanna see a dick, man. Jeff and I are super cool with it. It's your birthday. A stripper is a stripper is a stripper," Frankie said with a smile.

Gareth couldn't help laughing. "You guys sound ridiculous, you know that right?"

They both stared at him until he finally stood up and started walking towards his bunk. Eddie was just gonna have to be extra quiet.

"You can't go to bed now! It's your birthday!" Jeff yelled.

Gareth waved him off, coughing as he got close to the bunks so Eddie wouldn't be as surprised by him.

But it sounded like Eddie was asleep. He could hear his breathing, and a soft voice on the phone, but nothing else.

He climbed into his bunk above him as quietly as he could and fished his cell phone out of his pocket.

"Happy birthday, baby," Sam's voice immediately brought a smile to his face.

"Thanks, love. Whatcha up to?" Gareth sighed as he settled in bed, fully dressed and still sweaty from their show.

"Nothin' much. Just fielding texts about a potential job offer," he said casually.

It was nearly one in the morning for him, and his jobs weren't exactly middle of the night type of opportunities.

"This late?" Gareth asked, hoping he sounded more curious than suspicious.

"Normally, I wouldn't bother replying to this type of thing, but it's hard to say no when the offer's so good."

"What is it?"

"Involves hopping on a flight pretty early in the morning and staying in a hotel tomorrow night," Sam was smiling, but Gareth couldn't tell why.

"Does it pay a lot?"

"Nah. Not in money, at least."

"The fuck does that even mean?" Gareth was past confused and landing on frustrated at this point. "You can't do something like that for no pay."

"The payment would be seeing my boyfriend for the first time in a month and hopefully getting fucked into every surface of the hotel room," Sam continued.

Gareth sat up so fast, his head hit the ceiling. "What."

"Jeff texted me saying he was in need of a stripper for your birthday. Can't turn down a free trip to strip for you. He even offered to tip me."

Gareth jumped down from his bunk, not caring if he woke Eddie up. He walked out to Jeff, who was talking calmly with Frankie about something else.

"You asked Sam to be my birthday stripper?!" Gareth exclaimed.

"You won't celebrate properly if I don't, so yeah. I did."

Gareth could hear Sam laughing through the speaker. "You're really gonna be with me tomorrow?" He asked, still a bit afraid to get his hopes up. He wouldn't put it past any of them to pull a prank on him for his birthday.

"There's one condition," Jeff continued. "We go out for drinks first so we can all buy you your first legal drinks."

"And then I get Sam all to myself?"

"None of us wanna fuck him, so yeah."

Gareth felt tears stinging his eyes. "I can't believe you did that behind my back and still wanted to hire a stripper tonight."

"To be fair, they did ask if it was okay if they did that first," Sam got his attention. "I said I didn't care, but then they decided to just have me come visit."

Gareth hugged Jeff and Frankie before making his way back to his bunk, listening to Sam talk while he packed his bag. Eddie somehow managed to sleep through all of it.

🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳

When he finally got to be alone with Sam the next night, he was pushed to the edge of the bed and told to sit still.

Sam stripped for him, showy and dramatic, both of them laughing the entire time.

Gareth stuck a $20 bill in his underwear before he was finally given permission to take them off of him.

His 21st birthday celebration turned out much better than he could've hoped, after all.

[inklessletter]

Is it chill that you're in my head ('cause I know that it's delicate)

Read it on Ao3

Steve Harrington has a lot to be thankful for, and he owes his friends almost everything he is at the age of nineteen. He has learnt about humility, self-criticism, tolerance and kindness. He's the best version of himself so far. He has rebuilt himself a few times now thanks to his friends, and there's nothing he can do to express his gratitude but to be as attentive as humanly possible. He doesn't wait for Dustin to ask him to take him to whatever nerdy camp he's going that summer when he's offering to take him across the state; he doesn't expect Lucas to give him a ticket for his next game because he's already bought one; he's front row at any gig of Robin's band; he's at The Hideout on Tuesdays to see Eddie; he shows up to Max's almost daily to help her with her recovery exercises; he offers his place to whatever event, doesn't matter if it's a Hellfire occasional session or Erica's unicorn theme birthday party. It. Doesn't. Matter. Whatever they want, if it's in Steve's power, he'll provide.

And he's happy. He's content with that.

Glad to be of service.

It doesn't really sting that Dustin does not hug him after leaving for three full weeks, or that he doesn't send the postcard he said he'd send. Steve's sure he must have been really busy.

If Lucas glances at him after the game and waves, but doesn't stop to say hello, it's okay. He's been that age, he wants to be with his friends to celebrate.

If after every band concert Robin has this chance to go with Vickie and the others (but especially Vickie) to have a milkshake, he's not going to be upset because good for her. You rock, Robin. She'll tell him all about it later, probably.

If Eddie's bandmates don't like Steve enough to actually spend more than half a beer with him after every concert until Steve makes up an excuse to flee, I mean, maybe he was a jerk to them back in high school. He doesn't remember them, though, but he didn't remember Robin either, so.

If Max only grunts and gets half mad at Steve for forcing her to do her recovery exercises, that's fine, because she's been through so much, she deserves to be cranky. It's not personal.

And if it is not personal the kids not thanking him after the rides, or the parties, or the Hellfire sessions at Steve's (to which he had bought snacks and soft drinks), it makes no sense for Steve to be a little bit hurt. It is not personal, it is not intentional, and Steve owes them so much. They deserve to be spoilt.

It is okay.

It really is.

So, when after one of Eddie's concerts, the metalhead offers Steve to bail and go somewhere else, it's new. Yeah, Steve can do new.

"Are your bandmates going to join us?" Steve asks, beer can in hand, sitting on a bench.

"Nah, I doubt so. We kinda, uh, had a disagreement."

"Yeah? What happened?" Steve jumped in helpful mode way too quickly.

"They were being assholes."

Steve looked away. "Is that so? Were they mean to you?"

"Nop. They were mean to you. So I told them to go fuck themselves."

Steve froze. "You didn't have to do that. I know they don't like me, it's okay. They're not exactly subtle."

"Yeah, Gareth's a bitch when he wants to. And that is, uh, most of the time. And yes, I did have to do that. You've been real supportive showing up to every gig, y'know? I appreciate that. And stayin' after."

And there it was. Steve gulped and the hidden smile faltered when he felt the heavy knot in his throat.

"And so, I realized that we don't spend enough time together. I know it's not ideal I got this conclusion because my friends are absolute jerks, but, yeah. Let's do whatever you want, Steve."

Whatever he wanted?

"Whatever I want?" What the fuck.

"Yeah. What do you do? I mean, apart from being a good friend and stroll around being painfully handsome and shit, what do you do? Do you play a ball game? Read books? Chess? Bowling? If it's any sports, please, remember I wear leather, and I have a reputation to—Steve? You okay, man?"

Steve was far from okay. Steve was listening to Eddie rambling about possible hobbies and Steve was sitting there noticing he almost answered the first question with "I drive the kids around." He was realizing at that moment that he couldn't recall when it was the last time he did something for him. And what was it? He used to have hobbies, didn't he?

He loved swimming, but he hasn't swum in ages. He had intended to take Lucas to play basketball some other time, but Lucas wasn't available. He—well, he liked movies. But he was easygoing, and Robin usually told him that he had to educate him, so he hasn't picked a movie to watch in a very long time.

And those thoughts must have been leaked through Steve's expression, because Eddie was now in front of him looking at him directly.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm—I'm fine. It's just—"

The knot in his throat made it difficult to talk. He was faltering.

"To be fair, I don't have any hobbies."

"Uh-huh."

"I really don't." Steve looked at Eddie, who was gazing back at him with a deeply dramatic expression of incredulity.

"So, you're telling me that all you do is be a good friend and be handsome. I don't buy it."

Steve laughed a bit, and the knot seemed to ease a little, but now his hands were slightly shaking.

"I mean, I used to have hobbies when I was a kid, but not anymore."

"Why?"

"What do you mean 'why'? I'm an adult now, I don't have time!"

"I'm an adult now. I'm literally older than you and I run a D&D club and play in a metal band."

"Well, maybe you organize your schedule better, I don't know."

"Ok, let's say it's a matter of organization. What would you like to do?"

"Are  you serious right now?"

"Yes!"

"Come on—"

"Steve—"

"I don't know! I don't know, okay? I have no clue what I'm into, I—I can't really—I'm just—it's fine if we do whatever you want, Eddie, really."

It wasn't fine. There were a few seconds of silence, but they fell after that in an easy conversation about music, and then they talked about the brats, and then they took another beer. It wasn't bad or awkward, Eddie had the superpower of making interesting any place he was in, but Steve felt uneasy after that conversation.

When he came back home at almost two in the morning, he realized that he didn't know basic stuff about himself, such as what he did like. He didn't recognise himself in the mirror. He got lost somewhere in rebuilding himself; he couldn't even remember who he was, beyond the lingering feeling of shame of his past self.

He cried himself to sleep.

Eddie started showing up unannounced, and Steve found himself enjoying his company. Eddie suggested different shit to do every day. "Let's go to the movies, you pick", "hey, some friends play tonight at a pub, it's not metal, I swear", "I brought these board games, maybe you like them", "wanna go play pool?", and stuff like that. Steve agreed easily to anything Eddie proposed.

He liked Eddie before, but after Steve realized that Eddie was actively trying to find whatever Steve loved, a warm swarm of butterflies settled in Steve's stomach with no intention to leave. It's not like Steve hasn't questioned his sexuality before, especially after knowing Robin's, but this new dynamic with Eddie made it really easy for him to acknowledge that he wasn't fully straight. Eddie made him feel warm, and safe, and cradled, every single time. And that was also absolutely frightening.

That day, Eddie had suggested staying home and baking a chocolate cake. It was the first time Steve actually asked if it was okay to leave the TV on, he wanted to watch the basketball game. While baking, Steve cheerfully told Eddie about the rules, and the strategies, and the teams, and that this was a final. Eddie actively listened, asking for some demonstrations of some things Steve explained, like a dunk, and Steve would use some dough and Eddie's arms in a circle position to actually demonstrate. The kitchen was so messy, it never stood a chance, but Eddie had never seen Steve laugh so freely, so sincerely.

The cake was in the oven, the kitchen smelled so good, and Steve and Eddie were cleaning the absolute disaster they've made. Steve's cheeks were a little pink.

"I'm gonna remember this", Eddie said.

"Hm?"

"This, as in baking and basketball. We should do it again."

Steve bit his smile, and focused on cleaning the countertop. The butterflies in his stomach were rioting.

"There's a game every week, you know."

"It works for me."

The week went agonizingly slow until the next game night. He had considered telling Robin about his feelings, but he wanted to keep it in a little bit longer, a little bit before speaking it out and it becoming real. A thing to deal with.

Just one more date.

The knock in Steve's front door stirred up the butterflies. Eddie was here already, it was game night.

When Steve opened the door there was not only Eddie, but the whole gang.

"Steve! We're baking carrot cake and cheesecake today!" Dustin shouted, lifting a bag with groceries. The kids said hi coming into Steve's house. Some went to the kitchen, some others were looking for the game on the TV. Still in the front door, Eddie smiled at Steve.

"What's going on?"

"See, I was hanging out with the gremlins at Hellfire a few nights ago and I might have told them you were into game night and baking, and they all wanted to come."

Steve was speechless.

"But why?"

Eddie grinned, full heartedly.

"I have the impression that the brats want to be part of your life, too. I might even dare to say they—we love you, Steve", Eddie's voice was low, and his gaze was fully pinned to Steve's eyes.

Steve smiled, shaky.

"Really?"

"Yeah, really," Eddie said.

There were a few seconds of silence, leaning faces, full of smiles and flustered cheeks.

"Come on, Stevie. The game is starting and there are unsupervised kids in a room where they can easily make a fire," Eddie said, closing the door, and taking Steve by the hand towards the kitchen.

Oh, butterflies, have mercy on him.

[steviesbicrisis]

@unclewaynemunson Happy birthdaaaaay!! I saw your post about asking for Uncle Wayne related content for your bday and it inspired me to write this little thing! I didn't have a lot of time to work on it, please forgive any mistakes and I hope you like it!!

It's April of 1978 and, for the first time in his life, Wayne has to organize a birthday celebration for a kid.

Or better, "A teenager, I'm not a kid anymore" as Eddie would correct him every time.

It's been two months since he came knocking on his door, accompanied by social services, and things are... awkward at best.

The truth is, Wayne was never meant to be a father. He had come to accept it as he went through life and realized that the best way to not become like his old man was to not repeat the same mistakes he made. One being to have children when you can barely afford to feed them or have any love to give them.

Wayne had plenty of the latter, but lacked a stable relationship and a job that would pay him something bigger than his trailer.

So, being a father was not in his plans, but once he had realized Eddie couldn't have anything better than him, than his trailer park life, he welcomed him with open arms.

But Eddie had some trouble getting used to it.

He would talk to him only if Wayne talked to him first and Wayne, being a quiet old man, didn't do much of the talking himself. He would eat by himself when Wayne wasn't around, go to school by himself, and never left anything of his around (Wayne caught him putting his clean clothes back in the bag he came home with, once).

Sometimes, Wayne would even forget that Eddie was living with him.

So, when Eddie's birthday comes around, Wayne has no clue what he's supposed to do.

He has been giving him food, clothes, a bed, and school supplies, but Eddie doesn't ask for anything else and Wayne doesn't know what he needs.

Does he have friends he would celebrate with? does he expect a birthday party? how much would that cost? is it supposed to be a surprise?

He tries to get some sort of explanation out of Eddie, by staring at him quietly during breakfast, but he only gets a furrowed brow before the kid jumps off of his chair and rushes out of the trailer.

The frustration leads him, a few days later, to Melvald's General Store in the party supplies section.

Melvald’s isn’t a big store by any means but the selections of party hats and cake toppers is enough to confuse him even more and give him an headache.

His salvation comes in the form of none other than Joyce Byers. She must’ve noticed his pained look and decided to save him from his misery.

“I don’t know your boy very well, but I see him when I go get my kids from school” she admits, “he reminds me of my youngest, you know? He has some troubles expressing what he wants but… usually he’s happy with the simplest things. Just ask Eddie what he wants, I’m sure you’ll be fine.

Maybe get a cake, just in case. Kids love cake!”

——

“What is that?” It’s the first thing Eddie says when he gets home, staring at the cake on the table.

Kids love cake my ass Wayne curses Joyce, mentally.

They stare at each other until Wayne grunts a “it’s your birthday”, looking everywhere in the room but Eddie.

It’s a small “oh” that makes him focus on his nephew’s face.

Eddie is staring at the cake, a mix of emotions in his face that Wayne isn’t able to read.

“I haven’t had a birthday cake in a while. Dad never remembered my birthday."

It's not only what he says, but also the way he says it, with no emotions, like it's a thing he shouldn't be upset about, that breaks Wayne's heart.

Eddie approaches the table, in a way that funnily resembles a wary cat, and sits down in front of the cake. He doesn't say anything but stares at Wayne expectantly until he understands he's supposed to light up the candle on top of the cake.

"Do I have to sing you the song?" Wayne wonders, out loud.

"Please don't" Eddie is horrified.

Wayne gives him one mischevulous look before he starts to sing "Happy birthday to youuu" while Eddie covers up his hears and pleads him to stop.

Wayne was never meant to be a father, but he became a great one nonetheless.

[griefabyss69]

Come Back To Life

written for ‘Cake’ wc: 311 | rated: G | cw: Little bit of vampire sadness

This is a prompt from @steddiemicrofic

I posted this on ao3, too!

This is from my Vampire Eddie AU but you don't need to have read that, it just gives addition context!

( I know I just wrote one of these but I had two ideas, then didn't write either of them, and so. Turns out I had three ideas. You know how it goes! )

-----

Eddie hadn't told Steve.

Because why bring another person into it, when he's confused?

The status of his birthday weighs heavy in the back of his mind as the day creeps closer, as he considers what it means to be born, to die, and to be reborn.

Should he be celebrating a re-birthday instead?

He doesn't even know what day that would be, he'd have to be okay with just picking one out of blurry memories, maybe sometime in April. He doesn't remember if he started living in Steve's basement back then, or if it had been May already.

Every time he tries thinking about it, he gives up, deciding to just be happy to be a definition of alive.

--

There's a crash from upstairs and Eddie's bolting out of bed before he even really wakes up.

The sun is down, which is great because he's dressed in nothing but his boxers - that'd be a lot of blistering to endure as he fights whatever foul mouthed creature is attacking Steve in the kitchen.

His claws are long and sharp and ready.

"Fuck!" Steve's whisper-shouting, and all Eddie can smell is burnt wax, Steve's panic, and a newly extinguished candle.

It's clearly not what Eddie was expecting with all of the commotion, but the way Steve sucks his finger into his mouth to sooth the burn he'd gotten makes him want to fight something anyway.

"Steve?" He asks, stepping into the room.

Steve's head snaps up and he looks guilty, wincing as he tries to hide a jar full of blood, and it all clicks in Eddie's head.

"What in the seven circles of hell are you doing?" He asks again, a smile tugging at him.

He keeps his voice soft because he knows he looks like a real monster right now, his eyes fully black.

"Uh, making a cake for vampires?"

[sapphic-bats]

It all started on Eddie's birthday.

Dustin had adamantly insisted that they host a party, to which Eddie relented, amused. After all, he had never really had a party before. They bought cake, invited everyone to Steve's, and decorated the house in colors that Eddie was baffled to see. I mean, who decorated for something as insignificant as a birthday celebration?

The gifts started out reasonably cheap for last-minute presents. It was more than Eddie had ever gotten, lest Wayne would buy him a very important gift every year, having saved up money since Eddie's last birthday. Dustin bought him more D&D books and a few sets of multi-colored dice. Mike handed him a small, cardboard necklace box that previously held a pendant of Nancy's, and now held all sorts of shiny, iridescent guitar picks. Will blushed, unused to praise, at the gratitude he received for a beautiful portrait of the Hellfire Club mascot in all its glory. Erica and Lucas gifted him a Mettalica t-shirt, one that wasn't currently sitting in Eddie's collection. So on, so on.

Until it reached Steve.

He laughed as everyone cheered at him, egging him on persistently until he gave in and placed the small box in front of Eddie.

The man grinned and cracked open the case, staring down at a beautiful onyx ring, embossed with a bat-shaped gem embedded into the center. His eyes widened, gaping at the object before a wolfish smile broke upon his face.

He looked up at Steve. "So soon? You haven't even asked me out to dinner yet."

Steve laughed, a twinge of sheepishness glinting through, though melting away with Eddie's jest. "You wish. No," He smiled. "I saw it in a store and... I thought of you."

The other man inspected it suspiciously. "How much did this even cost?" He scoffed aloud.

Steve said nothing.

Eddie now peered back up at the man scrutinizingly. "Steve. How much did this cost?"

"Ah, um," The brunette sucked on his bottom lip stubbornly. "Yeah, no. Robs, you're up."

As Robin went on to endow her present, Eddie snuck sneering glares of inquiry at Steve. Eventually, he acquiesced, but he never forgot the gift and its donor.

[]

One last "Vecna" scare.

Vines has seeped into the Right Side Up, thrashing around like their beastly counterparts, both bats and dogs together. One last mission before Vecna had died, one that they had not forgotten in their months in the opposing realm, waiting for an opportunity to carry out their orders of their deceased master.

Eddie took a drag from his cigarette before handing it to Steve. They were on night watch duty while the others gathered materials. Steve exhaled shakily, then inhaled from the cigarette.

"So, this is it."

Steve frowned, glancing over to rest his eyes on Eddie. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, this could be our last battle, and we know it." The man laughed humorlessly. "Everyone knows it, I see it weighing down the kids, and... eh, I dunno. It sucks, man."

Steve nodded, eyebrows lowering in empathy. "Yeah, I feel it too." He shuddered. "As long as we stick together this time, everything will be fine."

There was a pause for a moment, before Eddie took the cigarette from Steve and gripped the man's hands.

"Hey, promise me that if anything goes south, take the kids and run. I can fend for myself."

Steve recoiled, something akin to anger flashing on his face. "Can you? Because the last time you played hero, you died."

But Eddie wasn't perturbed. "I know. But it's a lot better than risking a casualty among the kids." He gazed down sadly, almost regrettably.

"Listen, Eddie. Our party doesn't just abandon our members when things look rough. We're not gonna let you get hurt, not this time." He glared at him, directly in the eyes. "But you have to do your part, and not try to do hero shit. You just completely disregarded my instructions!"

Eddie still wouldn't meet Steve's eyes. "So what do you want me to tell you?" Frustration laced his voice gingerly.

"I don't know, but you can do a lot better than just, 'Make him pay.'"

A silence hung in the air, and Eddie sighed.

"That's not what I was going to say."

Steve looked over.

"'Make him pay'? That wasn't what I really wanted to say." Eddie reiterated.

A pause. "What... were you going to say?"

Eddie inhaled deeply, meditatively, as if preparing to reveal something he wished to have kept buried, however it killed him.

"I was going to tell you I loved you."

Another hesitation.

"You... love me?"

Eddie nodded, finally meeting Steve's gaze. "And I can't die without telling you first."

He could swear his heartbeat raised about twenty percent, breathing hastened, hands shaking. Steve knew it was now or never.

All of his life, he had taken risks for other people. It was time he took one for himself.

He leaned forwards and kissed Eddie, shock rippling through the other for a mere moment before he kissed back, taking the man in his arms. They stood there for a moment, tasting skin and dark salt and cigarette smoke, and though the combination might sound repulsive, soon a citrus-sweet flavor began to bloom between it. They parted, heaving with the energy they'd sacrificed and the adrenaline they had created.

"I love you too." Steve gasped, something glistening near his waterline, shining like raindrops on the windshield of a car. It felt so good to finally be the one to say it back.

Eddie laughed victoriously, a feat of his nerves well over, rejection far behind them. Steve couldn't help but laugh too, still entwined in the other's grasp.

"Steve, I love you so much I could marry you right now." He joked, his fit of laughter still shaking him.

He didn't know what came over him, but Steve grinned. "So do it."

The laughter died in astonishment. "Wha- really?"

Steve nodded, furrowing his brows in ridicule of something almost unspeakable. "Yeah, fuck whatever laws there are. Marry me."

Maybe it was the adrenaline, but there was no unsurety or regret in any word he spoke, nor was there a trace of either in his gleaming eyes. Eddie blinked, and soon his face mirrored Steve's simper.

"Well, then. Steve Harrington," He released Steve, dropping to one knee gracefully. "Love of my life, heir to the heavens, will you make me the happiest man in the world, and marry me?"

He had slid a ring of his off of his left hand, the skull ring that had previously resided on his ring-finger, and held it up to Steve in proposal.

The man wasted no time in seizing the ring from Eddie's open palm, and slipping it onto his own engagement finger. He pulled the man to his feet and kissed him again, this time smiling widely.

When they separated, Eddie smirked. "I believe we have one more step to the process?"

Steve smiled knowingly, knitting his brows in mock annoyance. He then held out his hand. "My weapon?"

The other slid the onyx ring off of his finger adjacent to his middle, the middle finger which was adorned with an old ring that he now hastily moved to a separate finger on his right hand, along with the rest of his rings on the left. He dropped it into Steve's palm.

The man barely had any time to speak once he kneeled. "Eddie Munson, will you marry-"

He was interrupted by Eddie taking hold of his face on either side and pressing his lips to Steve's. He just about giggled. "Yes."

[]

And on October 6th, 2014, their rings, never once removed, touched together while they laced their fingers in front of the TV as it spoke the headline, "Gay Marriage Now Legalized In Indiana".

(Go follow my Ao3, Pink_October_Bones! I'm in the final stage of editing some stories, and will be posting thousands of words-worth of fan fictions soon!)

[alonetimelover]

Pairings: Joseph Quinn x Director!Reader (ex!Harry Styles)

Warnings: dilf - talk (is this worth a warning?)

Summary: Years of YN celebrating Joseph's birthday. From social media posts to their one special moment during a rather hot January.

A/N: celebrating Joseph's birthday a little something from me to you.

——————————————————————————————

2020

yourinstagram

♥️ 💬 ➤

liked by harrystyles, joekeery, florencepugh, ynupdates, hArryshoe and 5 292 294 others

yourinstagram two amazing people share today's date as their birthday, the legend - Eddie Van Halen, and another legend that you don't need to know about... just yet. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, J!

view all 391 292 comments

joekeery 🧑🏻‍🎤🎸thank you, thank you

⤷ yourinstagram you love spotlight, don't you?

⤷ joekeery you know it

⤷ harryshands WHAT DOES IT MEAN??????

ynsmybestie who is J, and since when YN listens to Eddie Van Halen????? another reason to love her

harrysmoustache yn loving another rockstar??? so true

⤷ yourinstagram who's the first one?

⤷ harrystyles thank you, my love

⤷ yourinstagram someone needs to take care of your ego

⤷ harrysmoustache please don't look at my profile, im a different person today

⤷ harrysbtch babes, your last post about harry's thighs??? yn probably agrees 🤭

——————————————————————————————

2021

yourinstagram

♥️ 💬 ➤

liked by josephquinn, tchalamet, florencepugh, taylorswift, ynupdates, ynshands and 9 103 394 others

yourinstagram this is his year. this is his day. happy birthday, you metal head!!!

view all 502 204 comments

josephquinn thank you, yn. 🩷

ynupdates happy birthday joseph!

ynsmybestie did she return to instagram to post about her bestfriends birthday?

⤷ ynsmybestie best friend that you toxic fans accuse her of cheating on harry with????

⤷ ynsmybestie i love her more each day. QUEEN.

⤷ user202 you're appreciating her for cheating on her long time boyfriend?

⤷ ynsmybestie no, im applauding her courage to post something that people would take the wrong way just to meet their agenda and beliefs

ynshands hello you sexy woman. welcome back!

florencepugh are you giving private concerts, joseph?

⤷ josephquinn only for special friends

⤷ tchalamet would you give one if yn was with us?

deleted

⤷ ynsmymama please tell me you'll saw that too!!!!

⤷ ynsmybestie I did!!!!! Joseph has a crush on yn ...

⤷ harrysbtch who doesn't?

——————————————————————————————

2022

yourinstagram

♥️ 💬 ➤

liked by josephquinn, tchalamet, joekeery, taylorswift, annetwist, jcbower and 14 292 303 others

yourinstagram wherever you are, you little human behind the screen, wish this man a happy birthday. he deserves the world and more. happy birthday, i love you, j

view all 492 294 comments

josephquinn don't make me cry, lovie. i love you and thank you, for everything.

florencepugh best man's birthday 🎂

tchalamet the one who took her away...

⤷ yourinstagram jesus, timmy... behave yourself!

⤷ ynshands i love how in love timothee is with yn and she treats him like a brother 💀

harrysmoustache and H is spending today in his and YN's favourite park in Coney Island...

⤷ ynsmybestie let's not mention him under the post about her actual boyfriend

annetwist Happy birthday, Joseph. 🎂

——————————————————————————————

2023

ynshands

♥️ 💬 ➤

liked by ynupdates, harryshoee, harryupdates, ynsmybestie and 18 294 others

ynshands WTFIWJBDKS DO YOU GUYS SEE WHAT I SEE???? yn and joe spotted near the coast celebrating his birthday. THE YAHT???? it's giving war flashbacks...

view all 2 304 comments

ynsmybestie they called me single in every language... fuck you guys. im happy for you, but like... leave something for me

ynsmymama well... they're this touchy feely couple, huh?

joeandynfann so happy they're celebrating together!

harrysmoustache harry's punching some bag after seeing it 💀 this man can't find happiness after her

——————————————————————————————

ynsmybestie

♥️ 💬 ➤

liked by ynupdates, harryshoee, harryupdates, harrysmoustache, josephmyman and 20 201 others

ynsmybestie yn and joe spotted at the resort...

i can't do this anymore, guys. i can't.

view all 5 201 comments

ynshands the backmuscles????? i didn't know this man was this packed 🤤 sorry, i drooled a little

ynshands yn's 🍑??? girl...

harrysmoustache im wondering how much joseph just wanted to untie it completely. i wouldn't have a willpower...

joemyman a very happy birthday for joe 🍑

——————————————————————————————

"I'm absolutely exhausted. I forgot how much heat is wearing me out," Joseph sighed after falling onto their hotel room bed.

"You tell me. We're too British for this climate." YN laughed, sitting next to Joseph, caressing his thigh.

"Mhmmm. What do you say about taking a nap, now? Then we'll shower, go to some nice restaurant, drink wine and see where it brings us?" He wiggled his eyebrows, smirking.

"We'll see. Gimme a minute."

YN stood up from the bed and moved towards her bag. Joseph immediately opened his tired eyes and searched for her, not liking losing her touch from his body. Call him cuddly, clingy or too feely - he didn't care. There was nothing as good as his girlfriend's loving touch. Maybe her words. Or passion. Love. There was nothing as good as her presence next to him.

YN was fishing around in her bag, trying to remember where had she put it. It was small, but not hard to find.

"What are you looking for, lovie?"

"Your present."

"My present. You mean this trip, this morning when you-"

"Joseph," she almost screeched, as if there was anyone that could hear his dilatation about their shenanigans.

"What?" Teasing smile on his sun-kissed skin. "Okay. You know you don't need to give me anything, yeah? You are my present, every single day."

"It's not a material one. And stop it, I'm going to cry. I'm too emotional today." She pouted and moved from the floor, having found what she had been looking for.

"Oh, it's a little one. Is it what I think it is?" Joseph questioned hopefully.

"What do you have in mind?"

"Maybe a new keychain. The old one's got all greasy from the last week's oil change. It just won't clean. Oh! Or maybe that crocheted book cover we saw on the Internet? It was so nice," Joe wondered aloud, putting a nervous smile on YN's face.

"Well, let's just open it."

Joseph sat straighter and put his hands out to take the box from YN's hands. It wasn't heavy. Almost feather-like. He untied the bow, perfectly made by YN, and peaked inside.

"Is it a card?"

"Open it fully, love."

He did as YN said and widened his eyes.

A card with just three stick figures. Two big ones and a smaller one.

"YN -," Joseph tried saying something, but words died in his mouth.

"Take your time," YN encouraged, stroking his left hand.

"Oh my God," Joe whispered, shocked by the message. "Is it, is it real?"

She nodded, not trusting her voice.

"Oh my God, " he repeated, just louder. "Oh God. My love, my sweet love."

Joseph put the open card on the bed and scooped YN to place her on his lap, squeezing her into a loving hug. Tears landed on her naked shoulder, making her pull away to look him in the eyes.

"Happy birthday, Joseph," she breathed, making the tears disappear by kissing them away. Her soft fingers massaging his scalp and neck.

"Couldn't ask for a better one. I love you." He kissed her lips sweetly. "And you, too," he added, placing a hand on her stomach. "I love you both so much."

"I love you."

——————————————————————————————

2024

yourinstagram

♥️ 💬 ➤

liked by josephquinn, taylorswift, florencepugh, tchalamet and 21 291 394 others

yourinstagram best dad, best friend, best husband. happy birthday to you, my love.

view all 692 493 comments

josephquinn i love you more and more with every day passing, lovie

taylorswift the haze was strong. almost lavender 💜

florencepugh happy birthday to Mae's father!

tchalamet happy birthday, man. take care of my goddaughter, i love her more than i love you

⤷ josephquinn thanks, tim. can always count on you.

ynshands little Mae!!!!!! happy birthday Joseph!

ynsmybestie happy birthday daddy!

⤷ ynsmymama girl-

⤷ ynsmybestie ups...

joemyman a true dilf. happy birthday!!

ynupdates have the best day, joseph and yn ❤️

——————————————————————————————

@hesvoid34

@tiaamberxx

[waratah-moon]

Happy birthday week!! I couldn’t decide between Eddie and cheerleader!reader or Eddie and innocent!reader so could I request something with one of them for 5. "Stay the night?" with it being the first time Eddie sneaks into their room?

5. "Stay the night?" Hopefully sweetiepie cheerleader!reader will fill your needs! 🎂 join my birthday week celebration! 🎂 masterlist / send me a message Warnings: shitty parents, trauma dump from reader, brief allusion to past bad sexual experiences, extra supportive boyfriend Eddie

"Psst." A hushed voice came from outside your window accompanied by tapping on the glass, startling your nose out of the book you were reading.

"Eddie?" Your eyes widened when you saw your boyfriend standing outside your window.

"Let me in, I'm freezing my balls off out here."

You sighed, getting off your bed to open the window. He climbed through and collapsed on your bed with a groan.

"What are you doing here?"

"You seemed off today and when I tried to catch you at the end of school you'd already left. I called but your mom basically told me to piss off."

"Yeah, she doesn't like when boys call me."

"You have lots of boys calling, do ya?" He smirked when you rolled your eyes, but your heart wasn't fully in it, something he instantly picked up on. "Are you alright?"

It was sweet how much he cared. And he was right, you were feeling a little off. It was time to send in college applications for early decisions and your parents were on your case. They had already made up their minds that you were going to Notre Dame, but you wanted to get out of Indiana.

"Just a little stressed," you down on your bed next to Eddie, and he opened his arms, beckoning you to him. You took up his offer, burying your face against his chest and breathing in the warm scent of tobacco that hung to him.

"What can I do?"

There wasn't anything he could do. Eddie couldn't fight your battles for you. But having him hold you; stroke your hair and pepper little kisses around your face comforting. You wished that you forget about college applications and stay in his arms forever. "Can you just hold me awhile?"

"'course, baby girl." The pet name made you fuzzy. It'd slipped out the first time about a week after you'd started dating. Your relationship was still fairly new, and the butterflies you got from him had yet to stop fluttering in your stomach every time he looked at you. You weren't sure if they ever would. "Do you wanna talk about it?"

As soon as you started talking, you couldn't stop. Years of pent up frustrations and worries spilled from your mouth. All your parents expectations, concerns about never being good enough for them, the constant comparisons to your siblings; you told Eddie everything. And he listened, quietly. Humming acknowledgements at the right moments so you knew he was listening, stroking your arm in comfort when your voice cracked, and kissing your forehead when the tears finally came. You'd never admitted these things before, and to Eddie's credit, he was handling your trauma dump well.

"Baby," he finally said once you went silent. "Have you ever thought about speaking with the guidance counselor? You can talk to me, always, but maybe Ms. Kelly would be able to give you some advice."

He was right. You knew he was right. All that talk about hiding your emotions and working through your issues on your own was rubbish your parents told you to keep you under their control. "I'll see if I can talk to her tomorrow."

"That's a great idea, sweetheart," he pressed a kiss to your cheek, his thumb brushing back your hair.

"Eds?"

"Yeah?"

"Can you stay the night?"

Eddie stilled. Your body was still tucked against him, and you could hear his heart beat quicken. "You want me to stay? Are you sure?"

"Yeah. I mean, I just want to cuddle," you hadn't gone past first base with Eddie. Well, second base if you considered his hand brushing over your clothed breast while you were heavily making out in the back of his van. You wanted to do more, craved it, but you just weren't ready.

"I'll stay," he whispered, his mouth pressed against your hairline. After a moment he added, "you know I'll never pressure you in to anything, right? If all you ever want to do is cuddle I'd be happy." You had told him you'd had a few bad experiences with exes in the past, the same night you had kinda gotten to second base. He'd been more than understanding then, just like he was being now.

You took his hand, twisting the rings on his fingers. "I want to do other stuff with you... I'm just not quite there yet."

"Whenever you're ready baby girl, I'll be here. If it's a year or five, doesn't matter. I'm not going anywhere."

-

read more cheerleader!reader here

[justice4billy]

Baby, it's a secret

Fluff galore!

Chapter Nineteen

Sorry, I've been away a while. Work is kicking my ass at the moment, and I spent my weekend off with my Nephew 😀 I'm not really that pleased with this chapter, but I hope you all enjoy it 😘

Billy x fem reader

May 1985

"What do you think of this?" Cassie asked as she waved a blue romper suit in Eddie's face. The curly haired boy looked less than interested in browsing around the thrift stores in Hawkins.

"Very cute Cass" he replied with a smile.

"You're not even looking!" She protested.

"Sorry" he apologised. "I'm just wondering why your buying all the stuff, isn't that couple gonna buy anything" he asked referring to Lisa and Don.

Cassie sighed. "Probably, but I still want to get something for when the baby is born" she replied before looking at the price and putting the suit back. "I've toured their house once anyways, i want to get a good feel for the place" she stated.

"So you're meeting again?" He asked.

Cassie nodded. "Next weekend June 6th" she confirmed. "Gives me just over a whole month before the baby is due" she replied.

Eddie nodded. "Well, I propose we take this weekend to let loose and celebrate your birthday" he suggested.

Cassie groaned. "No way" she grumbled.

"Cass, its you're eighteenth" he stated.

"I know, but incase you didn't notice I am nearly eight months pregnant and I feel like a whale" she groaned.

"Doesn't have to be anything crazy" Eddie replied with a shrug as they exited the store.

"Fine" cassie huffed. "Something small then" she stated giving him a pointed look.

.....................................................................

Eddie didn't know the meaning of small she concluded as she stepped into Steve's house. The whole room was decorated with banners and balloons, an aray of sweets and fizzy drinks decorated the dining room table as they all gave her a cheeky grin.

The whole crew had shown up for her. Nancy, Steve, Jonathan and all the kids had gone above and beyond and that thought had tears brimming in her eyes.

"Happy birthday!" They all yelled in unison before stopping to give her a worried look.

"Cassie" Nancy called gently before walking over to the emotion girl.

"I'm okay" Cassie choked back a sob. "I can't believe you guys did this for me" she sniffed.

"Aww, of course we would" Nancy stated giving her a quick hug. "We've also took the liberty of renting your favourite movie and ordered your favourite pizza" she stated.

"I love you" Cassie sobbed throwing her arms around Nancy, surprising the mousey girl who let an oomph as she reciprocated the hug.

"Come on Cass" Eddie called out over her shoulder qs he beckoned her towards the table full of treats. "Let's get this party started" he stated with a cheese grin before stuffing a muffin in his mouth.

"Gross" Max muttered under her breath.

"Have some little red" Eddie encouraged with a mouthful of food.

"Eddie, chew your food dude" Steve stated giving the boy a strange look.

The girls pulled a disgusted face whilst the younger boys let out a laugh. "Let's put a film on" Nancy suggested with a light grin.

The boys cheered before running past her and launching themselves onto the sofa, as Steve shouted at them to watch his mother's finest cushions.

Cassie rolled her eyes before waddling over to the sofa and plonking herself by Max and El. Nancy slotted Nightmare on Elm Street into the VCR and pressed play.

A moment later the doorbell rang and Nancy got up to recieve the pizza. The smell wafted up Cassies nose and her stomach grumbled just as Freddie Kruger was claiming his first victim.

"Pizzas here" Nancy announced as she set a few plates on the table.

"I'll get you some" Max offered with a small smile as she scrambled off the sofa before Cassie even uttered a word.

A few seconds later the red head plonked a plate into Cassie's arms, a few slices of Hawain and a few slices of Margarita which made her stomach grumble.

"Thank you" Cassie replied with a smile.

"Me and El were wondering something" Max stated pausing to take a bite of the pizza.

"What is it?" Cassie asked curiously. She couldn't recall ever speaking much to Max or El and the only time she ever saw Max was when Billy dropped her off.

"Whats it like being pregnant?" Max asked.

"Why? You don't plan on being pregnant do you?" Cassie quiered as she raised her brows.

Max scrunched her nose up. "No way, besides I think my mom and stepdad would kill me" she stated. "And then Billy would kill the guy who got me there" she stated.

Cassie pursed at the mention of Billy, it was a tad ironic considered he knocked someone up without even knowing.

"Well, it's like carrying a big boulder on your stomach day in and day out" she explained. "You're emotions are all over the place and so is your bladder" she added.

"Doesn't sound too fun" Max muttered. "To be honest I always thought I would have a niece or nephew by now" she stated.

Cassie furrowed her brows. "What do you mean?" She asked.

"Well, Billy being the way he is I thought he would have knocked someone up by now" she replied with a shrug before taking another bite out of her pizza.

Cassie's heart hammered against her chest, her appetite suddenly diminishing. If only you knew Max, if only you knew she thought to herself as she chose not to grace the young girl with a reply. Max didn't push any further before settling down and focusing on the remainder of the movie leaving Cassies mind reeling.

A few hours later Cassie felt herself nodding off. They had played a few games during the afternoon and ate way too much, most of the boys were asleep whilst another movie played in the background. Cassie felt her eyes droop before the doorbell interrupted her slumber.

"I'll go" she stated nodding to Nancy who gave her a confused look.

Cassie managed to heave herself up and put her plate to one side, before waddling over to the door and opening it.

Her breath left her lungs as Billy stood infront of her. A grin on his face as his blue eyes drank her in, rolling up and down the expanse of her body. God, he looked really good in his leather jacket and white wife beater. She wondered how he made a simple outfit look so perfect.

"Hi" he grinned down at her as he leant against the door frame.

Cassie snapped out of her trance. "What are you doing here?" She asked.

"I'm here to pick Max up" he replied giving her an amused smile. Of course he was, duh.

"Oh well-" she began.

"Can I have an hour more?" Max voice carried through the hallway as she came to a stop beside Cassie.

Billy huffed. "No shitbird" he stated impatiently.

"Come on, at least 30 minutes more" she begged.

Billy rolled his eyes. "Twenty minutes" he stated. "I wanna talk to Cassie about a school project and when I'm done we are going home, understand?" He emphasised.

Max huffed. "Fine" she grumbled before stalking off down the hallway.

Billy huffed before turning to face Cassie. "I wanna show you something" he stated nodding towards his car.

"You're not kidnapping me are you?" Cassie asked as she gingerly followed him.

"Dont think I would need to sweetheart" he replied with a smug grin.

"You're full of yourself Hargrove" she responded meaning to sound annoyed, but to her horror she sounded flustered at his nickname.

Billy came to a stop. "Close you're eyes" he commanded.

Cassie rolled her eyes before complying with what he said, as she heard him rummage around in his boot.

"Open your eyes" he responded.

Cassie wearily opened her eyes, blinking as they adjusted to the warm spring sun beaming down on the pair. They widened when she noticed a small package in his hand.

"Billy" she stated shocked.

"Open it" he commanded as he shoved it into her arms.

Cassie took the package and removed the tissue paper. Her heart beat rapidly when she pulled out a blue romper set, the same one she had been looking at in the thrift store earlier today, tears brimmed her eyes as the guilt slowly ate away at her.

"Billy, I can't accept this" she stated as she pushed her tears back.

"I got something for you" he nodded down at the bag.

Cassie widened her eyes as she pulled out a small trinket bracelet hidden in a blue velvet box. "You shouldn't have" she whispered admiring how beautiful it was.

"I wanted too" he stated. "Its your eighteenth you gotta have something special" he replied.

"But the romper" Cassie started lost for words.

"Is also a gift" Billy finished. "Figured you would want something for when he was born" he replied nodding at her growing bump.

"I-" she choked back a sob, a tear rolling down her cheek.

"Dont cry" Billy whispered before reaching over to wipe her tear away, the smooth expanse of his skin caressing her cheek and jaw lit a fire in her belly. "Happy birthday Cass" he stated before reaching forward and landing a tender kiss on her forehead that left her tingling from head to toe.

"Thank you" she whispered back as their foreheads connected together.

"I better get Max" he huffed, his minty breath fanning her face as he slowly backed away. She watched him turn on his heel before making his way to the house, the guilt swirling in her stomach as she clutched onto the romper suit. God, she was really starting to hate herself.

[alba8688]

Love hurts

Word count :3524

This morning I woke earlier than usual leaving Eddie asleep in the bed. I left him a note saying I had some stuff to do before heading to work .

But in reality I wasn’t going to do anything work related .i was actually headed to the only bakery here in Hawkins. Hopefully they will be able to make me a cake for Eddie for tonight .I was also hoping I wasn’t too late to order him a cake .

I open the door to the bakery and I walk in crossing my fingers praying that they would be able to make it .for today.

"Good morning ." A cheerful old lady greets me

I was barely functioning right now and the lady was so cheerful so early in the morning it was 6am .

"Good Morning I needed a cake for tonight ,I needed this design." I show the picture of the kind of cake I want ,I had taken a picture of Eddie's hellfire shirt before coming over today .

I was really hoping he would like it,and not throw it in my face ,but Eddie wouldn't do that. He might look mean but he is nothing but a big teddy bear .

Plus I Wasn't gonna do anything big, just something small for him and me in my apartment .

I talk to Dustin Yesterday night before going to bed about Eddie's birthday ,Eddie was showering so I had the chance to talk to Dustin for him to give me some ideas .But instead of getting any ideas I found  out Eddie doesn't like celebrating his birthday .Dustin told me Eddie doesn't like to celebrate his birthday and know-one is allowed to give him a gift because he feels that his birth shouldn't be celebrated because of him being born his mother died and his father blame it on him all his life until his father was sent to jail for some drug related things and that's how he ended with Wayne.

Dustin also told me that Eddie told him all of this one night he got really drunk during the summer when he had first met Dustin.So Dustin trusted on me by telling me all of this and I wasn’t planning to tell Eddie but I also wanted to make him a small dinner just at home him and me nothing big I mean that wasn’t nothing bad was it ?

The nice old lady at the bakery said she was able to do the cake today mostly because she had finished all the orders for the day and it would be ready after I got out of work  .And for that I was grateful I even told her I pay her extra for doing the cake for today .She said no but I was still paying her a little bit more .

So After the bakery I headed to the guitar store that was nearby the bakery shop . They open at 7am and I decided to wait in my car till they open .

"Ding "I heard my phone ring and like I had the phone in my hand already I saw that it was Eddie .

Shit why is he awake so early ??

I open the message to write back but I was nervous so damn nervous .

E:"Sweetheart where are you ?"

What the fuck do I respond ?

D:"I had to run some errands baby see you at school okay love you ."

.......💭

E:"I miss You ,you weren't in bed when I woke up  🥲now I'm sad😔"

D:"Ed's I gave you a kiss before I left ,but you were asleep and snoring loudly jejeje ."

......💭

E:"I DON'T SNORE!!!! 😮"

D:"I should récord you one of these days, baby ."

......💭

E:"You fart when you’re asleep and I don't say anything 🤨😷"

D:" what ?!?!  Liar !!! ."

.....💭

E:"But I still love you princess stinky 😷."

D:"Goodbye Edward 😡 and I don’t fart "

.....💭

E:"ok Danielle !!!"

D:"I'm sweetheart to you, not DANIELLE !!!"

.....💭

E:"Well I'm Ed's or baby to you !!! "

D:"ahhhh I hate you !!"

....💭

E:"no ,you don't hahaha,you can't live without me and you know it ."

D:"Fuck you."

......💭

E:"I did last night 😉 "

Cocky bastard I'm not answering him back. He thinks I can't be without him. Well that's true I don't know what I'll do without him but I'm not telling him that because he is gonna get all cocky about it and it's gonna get all over his head .

So I will not be answering his texts anymore even when they kept coming I ignore him and just waited for the guitar store to open .Even when he started calling me I ignore it and put my phone on silence .

As soon as they opened I went in and bought some guitar picks of different colors for Eddie .Then I headed to a different store to get him one of his  birthday presents and I was hoping he would like it as much as I did .

I hurried back to school before my first period started so I could leave Eddie's gift on his desk without him knowing I put it there .

When I arrived i try my best not to stop and chit chat to any of my students who would usually stop me to say hi to me on the halls I wasn’t trying to be rude ,But I needed to be the first one in class before Eddie .So first I headed to the office to clock in and like always Mrs.Lopez the secretary in the front office always compliments my outfits she is a nice old lady,I think she is the only one that I talk to here in school I don't really talk to anyone else but her.

After clocking in I got out of the office and The halls were already full of Students and on the far end I spotted Eddie in his locker talking to Gareth. I try to blend in with the rest of the students so he wouldn't see me .

But trying to walk with these heels was hard ,I can already hear Eddie "babe why do you wear those  shoes !!!" "Wear something more comfortable." "You know you're clumsy as it is."

"Good-morning Miss.Henderson." Someone behind me says I turn around to see Jason with the biggest smile from ear to ear .

Jesus Christ what does he want?

Act polite Danielle just act polite .

I put a fake smile on my face and did my best polite voice .

"Good-morning Jasón ." I say politely 

"Hi." Was all he says and turns around and walks away

What a Weird boy.

I continued on my way to my classroom and the closer I got the faster I walked passing everyone .

"Mission accomplished." I whisper when I got to my classroom and hurry to open the door to my class before anyone else got here .I place the small gift box with the picks inside wrapped in black wrapping paper  and set it on  top of Eddie's desk with a bottle of Yoo-hoo with a small happy birthday card.

When I was satisfied with how I arranged the gift I went back to my desk to get my papers out for today's lesson. As the time went by I lost track of time writing down in the board today's lesson which was "The Great Depression ."

As soon as the tardy bell rang I put down my marker and faced the class and noticed that Eddie still wasn't here .

"Good-morning everyone " I smile at the class then the door to the classroom opens and Eddie walks in with a big toothy grin giving me a flower .

"Sorry I was late Miss.Henderson I was handpicking this flower for you from the school garden ." He says handing me the rose .

Jesus Christ he is so cheesy….

"Thank you Edward ,you can take your seat ." I smile looking down at the flower .I looked down feeling my cheeks turn red as a damn tomato.But was taken out of my trance by someone saying.”Freak ."and the whole class starts laughing like idiots.

"Hey, it is not nice calling people that." I snap at whoever said that .No matter who it was I didn’t like people bringing other people down .

"Teacher's pet freak." I heard Jason whisper.

"Jason!" I raised my voice and Jason panic.I have never raised my voice at my students before but one thing I hate is bullying "I'm sorry ." He says softly blushing slouching back in his seat.

I tried my best to control

Myself and try to calm down so I close my eyes and turn around to face the board and started with the lesson.

"Ok class today we will be talking about the Great Depression,what can anybody tell me about it ." I ask turning around to face the class and looking around to see who would answer and I notice Eddie opening the gift then he lifts up his head and looks at me giving me a smile .

Fucking smile I love that smile and those damn dimples ..

But I need to have self control and control myself because I’m supposed to be a teacher not another student here I need to act professional but with Eddie is so hard sometimes.

"So Knowone then ,ok then, "I went back to the white board where I had written some facts about the Great Depression that the class needed to write as soon as they walked in but I didn't notice anyone take out their paper and pen, only Eddie and Robin ."so I'm guessing everyone finish writing the notes." I say erasing everything from the white board I hated being a mean teacher but I hated more that they didn't take the class seriously .They tend to ignore thinking because I’m a young teacher I’m going to be nice to them and passed them but that’s not how it is .

I turned to face the class and sat on my desk and started giving them some facts about the Great Depression "The Great Depression (1929–1939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States.The economic contagion began around September and led to the Wall Street stock market crash of October 24 (Black Thursday). It was the longest, deepest, and most widespread depression of the 20th century.."

I started teaching my class but kept my eyes on Eddie whose eyes were glued to me and wouldn’t look anywhere else .Even when I wasn't looking at him I could feel him staring at me .And that’s how it went the whole class with Eddies eyes on me .It was hard not to stared at him but I try my best and survived that class.

During my lunch period I decided to go to the mall. I didn't tell Eddie because I knew he would want to come with me so instead I took Dustin with me.I convinced him by telling him that I was buying him a burger ,fries and a milkshake.

"So what are we doing here ?" He asks with his mouth full of food .

I could literally see the food he was chewing. I know he was doing it on purpose.

"I'm buying Eddie a birthday gift ,you know how he has that pick necklace ." I tell Dustin and he nods "well I saw this really nice necklace at the jewelry store for his guitar pick ."

Dustin's eyes widened when I said to the jewelry store"how much is the necklace ?" He ask

"It doesn't matter how much it is but I need you to tell me if he would like it ." I ask nervously

"Ok let's go ." He stands up throwing his trash away only bringing his milkshake with him.I look at him and hated that he was able to eat without feeling nauseous or without puking because lately that’s all I’ve been doing except for Today.

Today was the first time since I came back from New York I was able to eat something without puking it and I was proud  maybe I did have some kind of bug .

But then I felt as I was realizing that I was able to take in the food ,my stomach started to feel weird .I shouldn't have thought anything, maybe it would just go away while we walk.

Maybe I ate too much.

So I ignore that feeling and headed to the to the jewelry store to look at all of the necklaces until I found the one I had like it was a silver one. It was beautiful. It was white gold .

"HOLY SHIT!!! That's expensive !!!" Dustin shouts making a  bunch of people turn our way "Dustin language ?!" I whispered, "That's expensive Eddie is not gonna accept that ." He tells me by pointing at the necklace behind the glass counter  "why not?" I ask nervously "I mean he is gonna love it but he doesn't like expensive gifts ."

"But we won't tell him are we ?" I turn to look at Dustin "Or I won't take you on a vacation on spring break ." I leaned in closer to  him threatening him "fine I won't say anything ." He finally says slurping on his milkshake .

So I ended up buying the necklace for Eddie and headed to the food court to buy Eddie something to eat.Hopefully we make it on time before his lunch is over.

Well now that I remember he has a free period after lunch so he will be able to eat.

I decided to buy him a double cheeseburger with Fries and Dr.pepper cause I know how that man loves his Dr.pepper but not as much as he loves his Yoo-hoo.

So Right before we were gonna leave, Dustin decided that we should buy milk shakes for Lucas ,Mike and Will, which I can't deny to my little brother even though he was annoying as hell. I would do anything for him .

When we arrived at school we got just time before lunch ended and I headed to the cafeteria with Dustin to help him with the milkshakes and Eddie's food ,we ended up buying milkshakes for Gareth and Jeff as well.

So our hands were full ,when we walked in the cafeteria Eddie turned and saw us walk in and got up running our way to help with the milk shakes .

My man always the gentleman..

"Let me help you ." He says softly, taking the tray of milkshakes "Thank you Eddie ." I tell him nicely"Thank You Eddie ." My little brother says in a high voice mocking me .

"Shut up you dingus ." I smack the back of his head slightly

"Ouch!!" He winced walking away from us flipping me off.

"Hey ,Miss.Henderson "one of my students said while I passed their table.

"Hi." I wave back at them .

"Hi ,Miss.Henderson ." Jason stops in-front of me, giving me a Hershey chocolate.

"Thank you Jasón ." I smile politely

"I heard that's your favorite chocolate and I thought it would be nice to get it for you ." He says blushing ,Jesus Christ don't  tell me he has a crush on me !!!

Someone clears their throat next to me and guess who it was ? If you Guess Eddie yeah indeed it was

"Well shit someone has a crush ." Eddie lets out a sarcastic chuckle

"What?" Jason stood there standing looking like a tomato, his cheeks blushing pink .

"Just messing with you Carver ." Eddie laughs in Jason's face making him flinch.

For the first time ever Jason didn't say anything back. I was actually surprised thinking a fight was gonna start but it didn't .Eddie just walked away and headed to the Hellfire Table with the rest of the boys handing them their milkshakes .

I excuse myself from Jason and walk to the table handing Eddie the bag of Food ."Dustin made me buy you this ."I lied he didn't I was the one who bought it for Eddie cause I know how much he loves those burgers but I wasn't gonna say that in front of the whole cafeteria .

"We'll have a nice lunch guys ." I turn around to walk away but someone grabs my hand and spins me around .

"Eddie !!" I said softly, catching me off guard.

"Thank you for the guitar picks and the Yoo-hoo." He tells me giving me a smirk

"No problem,j-just a-a little "gulp" something ." I stutter with my words. I don't even know why I was stuttering if it was Eddie or it was probably the way he was looking at me right now with those brown chocolate eyes that were making me weak on my knees.

Or the fact that we were in school and he was holding my hand in the cafeteria.Which brought me back to reality janking  my hand out of his grasp .

"I'm sorry ." I mouthed and he just nodded and went back to his table .

As soon as school was over I didn't even bother staying today. I grabbed all my stuff and headed to my car to go pick up the cake for Eddie .

Before leaving I asked Dustin if he needed a ride but he said he was going to Mike's house and Nancy was giving him a ride .

So I guess that left me to go to pick up the cake and head home to decorate for when Eddie gets home .

On my way home I protected the cake with my life and even put the seatbelt on it so I wouldn't  tilt or something I know myself .

I really hope he did like the cake and hoping he didn't get mad at me for surprising him like this .

My nerves were killing me honestly .

I was prepared for the worse

When I arrived home I noticed my door was unlocked even though Eddie had told me he had locked it before leaving this morning .

Or was he here already ..

"Please don't be Here .please don't be Here "i said on my head

I grabbed the doorknob and turned it to open the door and to my surprise it wasn't Eddie but in fact Dustin and Gareth.They had decorated with red and black balloons they were everywhere in the apartment .

Everything looked so beautiful .

"Guys these is so beautiful." I tell them my eyes scanning all round the apartment .

"Well ,we wanted to surprise Eddie if that's ok with you ." Dustin tells me battling his eyelashes

"Well I don't mind, I had actually gotten him a cake for you guys to celebrate with him ." I placed the cake on the table and opened the white box to show it to them .

"Holy shit Dani!!" Dustin gasped "language Dustin." I said sternly

"That's the hellfire logo ." Gareth said

"Yup ,I had it done today ." I tell them

Looking at the cake proudly ..

“Eddie is going to love it!!” Dustin jumped up and down excitedly..

I was hoping Eddie had the same reaction well

At least for him to be as happy Dustin was .

"Thank you so much guys I really appreciate you helping out. I was in a hurry to get here on time before Eddie got here ."

"No problem sis ,but you owe me big time ." Dustin picks up his Thinking cap putting it on his head on his way out grabbing  his backpack .

"We also left some gifts for Eddie ."Gareth points to the stack of gifts in the corner

"Thank you so much guys, you guys are the best ." I went to hug Dustin goodbye and he  hugged me back "love you sis ,tell us if he gets mad ."

Jesus Christ I really was hoping he doesn't .

"Bye we leave before he gets here !!" Gareth shouted from the door and both of them left, leaving me here with nothing to do .

"I'll guess I'll order Chinese to eat ." I tell myself

After ordering our food I went to take a shower ,I still had some time. I guess Eddie usually gets here around 4 but today he said he was stopping at Wayne's after school but he didn't tell me why .

But I kind of figured out why.I didn't bother asking him, I just told him I'll wait till he got home .

....:

2hrs later

So here I was just In my towel looking through my closet I didn't know what to wear ,I didn't want to scare Eddie either dressing all fancy .

"Hmmm." I scanned around until I found one of Eddie's hellfire shirts and put it on without panties and no bra for easier access for Eddie .

I was gonna blow dry my hair but I decided to let it dry by itself.

"Baby I'm ....Holy shit !!" I heard Eddie's voice from the living room .

"Shit ,shit ,shit !!" I ran to open the door to my room and outside to the living room where Eddie was standing looking at the balloons with wide eyes .

"Happy birthday baby ." I got on my tiptoes and pecked his lips ......

Next chapter

[bookersebastien]

After the Rain (Buck x Eddie)

happy birthday to one of my favorite people and someone im so lucky to call my friend @kate-sheffield 

our conversations are always the best inspiration, ily

warnings: mention of death, mention of miscarriage

It's late afternoon when Bucks hangs up the phone, the rays of sunlight splashed over the table are slowly turning golden as they fade to make way for the coming moonlight and the meteorologist is on tv talking about possible rain hitting the LA area but he can barely hear it now. Everything had gone suddenly quiet, brought to a faint hum except the roaring of the blood pounding in his ears. His hands felt like they were numb, he could no longer feel the table beneath his palm and his fingertips were tingling.

The baby was gone.

The firefighter onesie was still upstairs in the fire truck gift bag, tucked carefully into the corner of his closet. He was waiting for the baby shower to give it to Connor and Kameron. He even got orange tissue paper to match the little flames on the side. Just a couple weeks away from finding out the sex of their baby, not that either of them cared anyway and now they would never know. 'Some kind of chromosomal anomaly,' is what Connor said it was. The gift sat upstairs now, what was supposed to be a celebration of a new family was now an adorable testament to his never-ending list of failures. He wondered why he even let himself get his hopes up.

He found himself half drunk on Eddie's doorstep a few hours later, sorrow and anger burned off already on a bottle of whiskey and a bruised hand, now he was sick of being alone. It must've been late, Buck wasn't completely sure, but Chris was already in bed so they stood in the kitchen while Buck slurred through the story of getting the call from Connor. They had decided to adopt now, it would help a child in need and relieve themselves from the pain and pressure that's built up from every failed step to becoming parents so far.

"I don't think I realized how much I wanted it, you know? Like I built it up in my head of this idea of a family and now I don't know what to do. I was going to be a father and now I have nothing." Buck sipped from the glass of water Eddie had given him and he could feel the ache in head recede a little. Eddie was now watching him through narrowed eyes, arms crossed as he leaned in the doorway while Buck sat at the counter, head laying heavy in his hand.

"Listen Buck, you have every right to your emotions. This is the kind of news any parent fears and they are your friends, and I know how badly you wanted to help them but please I hope you understand that this was not going to make you a father. That wasn't going to be your kid and it wasn't your family. It was theirs," Eddie spoke, barely managing to bite back his annoyance and something else Buck was in no state to understand, and then quickly turned to rummage through the fridge, the action not disguising the tense set to his shoulders.

"Well, I mean not technically. I know that but-"

"Do you actually know that Buck? Do you? Because in my opinion someone who knew that wouldn't even use the word father to describe themselves in this situation and would definitely not have bought an LAFD onesie for a kid that wasn't yours." He wiped at his face before turning to shut the fridge with a loud thud, his eyes staring hard at the wall behind Buck.

"I mean I thought it would be cute, it doesn't mean anything," Buck replied, his head was too fuzzy for this conversation and he was beginning to feel the anger rising in his chest again. He thought Eddie would be more understanding, or at least less hostile.

"Normally no. Could be a cute gift for the kid of a college friend, yeah that's true but I know you Buck. I heard it in your voice when you called and said you were going to be a father. You let yourself get too invested. This gift coming from you is not as innocent as you want to act like it is. It is forging a connection to something and people you have no right to try and make." Eddie's voice rose slightly and he instinctively took a glance down the hall, where they could both hear Chris turning in his sleep.

Buck watched him as he paced further into the kitchen and farther from the door, but he noticeably stayed as far from Buck as he could manage, arms coming back over his chest. Buck knew he shouldn't say anything but he's never been one to necessarily control his impulses and the words came tumbling out, "The baby is gone Eddie. I know it's their family that's affected but I lost something too okay?! I don't know if I'm ever going to have my own family, my own real family and it felt like this was my chance and now I don't know if I will ever get another one. And now it's like I'm alone again."

"Stop talking like that!" Eddie's voice came out as a hiss. His eyes were daggers, holding Buck's in place like it was against his throat. "Stop acting like you are some lone wolf kicked out of his pack. I know the stuff with your parents was shitty, I know that. But please stop acting like you are alone in this world, like you don't have a family. I can't believe you would even say that. You have Maddie back in your life and a niece for god's sake! You have all of us at the firehouse, the whole team is your family Evan!"

"It's not the same-"

"As what? Having your own child? It wasn't your kid Buck! Besides, if you think for one second Christopher doesn't think of you as family, then you are not as observant as you like to think. You may not be a father, but you have become like a dad to him over the years and imagine how he'd feel to hear you throwing him, throwing us away like that. I cannot believe you. I thought we were your family, what else has all this time together been?" His face changed then, the tension left his shoulders and he made eye contact again they were almost pleading.

"I..." He had about a million thoughts running through his head, but this conversation had gone so different than he'd imagined that he couldn't even think of how he wanted to respond.

"Listen, it's late, I think you should leave."

And that was it for that night. Buck left in an Uber and woke up the next morning with an intense hangover and an ache in his chest he didn't understand. He spent the day trying to get ahold of Eddie, calls and texts were left unanswered and he was greeted by an empty driveway after he tried for drastic measures. That was two days ago and still no sign of him, he even had his work shifts changed so he never has so much as caught a glimpse of him.

"I mean I get what Eddie is saying but I feel like he's acting like I'm not allowed to have my own feelings about this. I can feel sad right?" He meant it as a rhetorical question but it came out more desperate than he intended so for a moment it just hung in the air between them. He and Hen were sitting in his kitchen enjoying dinner from the Thai place down the street and he was suddenly very thankful she agreed to eat at his place as his voice grew louder.

"I don't think that's what Eddie is upset about," she replied like she expected him to say this, and Buck guessed his insistence they have dinner was less casual than he wanted it to sound because he really did want to talk to someone about it. Someone who wasn't Eddie, or Maddie because he knew she would agree with Eddie.

He had barely touched his food since it arrived, only picking at his noodles and taking small bites. "That's that it seemed like he was mad about Hen. I mean you should have seen how upset he was, like somehow me feeling like I was losing a family was wrong.' He sighed. His chopsticks fell back into his bowl as he leaned back in his seat, hands coming to wipe his face. "I don't know what to do. He's avoiding me and I still feel like I'm not in the wrong here."

"That's not what this is about Buck and that's probably why he's still not talking to you. You are misunderstanding his feelings. This is not about who is in the wrong or right. You are absolutely entitled to your feelings about this. You are allowed to feel loss, to feel sad, for yourself and for your friends and no one would tell you otherwise. But you acting like they were somehow going to become your family is where this gets muddy. First, that's not how these things work unless they explicitly mentioned it and second, think of everything that has happened in the last few years and please explain how you think you have no family. Maybe Eddie feels like you're just casting them aside for some weird version of a family and you're not realizing what's in front of you."

There was a silence after she spoke where he felt like everything in his life shifted, not drastically but just enough for the light to illuminate them. He thought of all the time he spends with Christopher, how he picks him up after school some days, helps him with homework, and spends the weekends playing video games or hitting the park. He thinks of the big moments he was there for in his life, not just as a spectator but having actively participated in his life. And in Eddie's. Because that's where he felt happy, where he felt safe, and most of all: complete. And something Eddie said to him the say they fought replays in his mind. "You have become like a dad to him," and the ache in his chest suddenly vanished.

All this time they were already a family, him, Eddie and Chris. He had been letting other things cloud his emotions and even at some points blatantly ignoring them because it's not how he imagined his family when he was younger. But it was them. And he could even see the rest of his life now in front of him, parent-teacher meetings, Chris going off to college, opening presents on Christmas eve, pancake breakfasts, lazy Sundays in bed with Eddie.

He had wanted to become a better Buck, but there was always something holding him back. And now he realizes it was him being afraid of being happy because Eddie makes him happy and he knows he always will because from the moment they met it's always been him.

"Uh, Hen I think I gotta go." He grabbed his jacket and keys, barely remembering his phone as he raced towards the door.

She just shook her head, carefully piling some of his noodles onto her plate before replying to herself, "About damn time."

He stumbled out of the building, legs nearly buckling as he flew down the steps, now slick with the rain he could now vaguely remember the weather person mentioning but now was not the time to think of his rain jacket sitting in his closet and the thin jacket that he haphazardly threw on while rushing outside, already soaking through to the skin.

The rain was coming down harder now and he was forced to drive at a crawl as the traffic condensed around him, the road and cars barely visible in front of him but it's not like he didn't know the way to Eddie's house by heart. He probably didn't even need to see to make it there. The drive seemed impossibly long this time though and it wasn't just the traffic. His mind kept playing through different scenarios, running away with each and every possibility until Buck's hands were nearly shaking on the wheel. Normally Eddie was the person he could talk to about anything, without anything holding him back, and now he felt himself almost at a loss for words as he continuously failed to think of any possible way to tell him how he feels. Dealing with emotions had never been Buck's strong suit and telling your best friend you're in love with him was an extreme he rarely let himself deal with much less act on.

And now he could just barely make out Eddie's truck in the driveway as he turned on his street, the sight of causing his heart to skip a beat as he thought of what he was about to do. His headlights barely illuminated the house with the rain, all the windows dark except a dim glow coming from behind the shades of the front window. It was Sunday, Buck remembered, which meant it was movie night. And it also meant Buck probably would have been inside hadn't it been for their argument. He's not even sure if Eddie will even speak to him, he could just slam the door in his face but he wouldn't know until he tries.

The walk to the door somehow seems endless and completely new, like he was seeing the space for the very first time. The rain no longer seemed to bother him as it soaked the skin beneath his jacket as he took in the sight of the door ahead of him, despite the circumstances it seemed more inviting. Hours had seemingly passed by the time his knuckles rapped against that door and even longer until he heard familiar footsteps, the creak of the door opening sending his heart into a spin until their eyes met and Buck watched as Eddie's mouth quickly turned into a hard line, his arms crossing over his chest as he leaned against the door, careful to keep it as closed as possible.

"What do you want, Buck? I'm kind of busy, I'm sure you know it's movie night." His voice was even hard, refusing to give up anything behind it.

"Yeah, I uh-remembered that," he chuckled, his nerves getting the better of him now that he was face to face with him. No amount of preparation on the way here had let any string of words sound even remotely worthy of conveying what he was feeling but he managed to mutter a beginning to something, "Listen Eddie, I wanted to say sorry about the other night. I understand that what I said wasn't right considering my circumstances, you were right."

"Do you actually understand or do you just want me to forgive you?"

At his harsh tone, Buck could feel his courage creeping back inside him, his desperate urge to get his feelings out and his desire to fight for what he wanted had the words suddenly spilling from his lips before he could think.

"I do understand. I think I let myself get caught up in the idea of a family happening because of me and not ending because of me, because I wasn't good enough. My family sucked growing up and I let myself get too involved in this one because I felt like it would prove something was right about me. But that shouldn't have meant that I lost sight of what I have because I see it now, I feel the love I have now. I do have Maddie back and now I have Jee-Yun and Chim and the rest of the crew but what you and Chris are to me is not the same. You are like my family in a way it's taken me too long to realize, maybe because I didn't think I deserved it," his voice dropped to almost a whisper at the end, the words he was so terrified to speak sitting on the tip of his tongue.

"You mean so much to me and I cannot imagine my life without you or Chris-"

"What are you saying Buck?" His voice was deeper now, but gone was the harshness that was there before and instead Buck allowed himself to imagine for a moment that it was hope, that it was desire clouding his words. And it was the look in his eyes that cemented Buck's feet to the ground, the fleeting thought of running away gone as he finally said those three words.

"I love you Eddie."

He couldn't say anymore as Eddie was now pulling him in, hands grasping at his face and lips pressing desperately to his in a moment he only allowed himself to dream of in the loneliest of nights. And now he wasted no time pulling him by the hips until their bodies were flush against each other, feet tripping over each other as Buck backed him against the wall, the rain dripping down their faces and in between their lips as the storm grew and the wind whipped around them. He could feel every breath Eddie took and shared in each one as their chests rose and fell together. His hands snaked their way to Eddie's back, a groan slipping past his lips as he felt the hot skin beneath his shirt and Eddie was all too eager to return the favor as his hands found their way into his hair, fingers pulling at the short strands hard enough to make Buck gasp.

Just as their clothes began to slip off, Buck's hands trailing the edge of Eddie's pants, Christopher's voice ran out from the living room. "Dad, is that Buck? He's just in time for movie night! I told you he'd make it!"

They broke apart with quiet laughter, and Eddie had to take a few breaths before replying, "Yeah Chris it's Buck, you were right! He wouldn't miss movie night." He said the last part while glancing up at Buck through his lashes, their faces so close their noses were touching and Buck had never felt so light in his life. Everything he wanted was right here.

They let their foreheads touch briefly once more before straightening themselves out, hands finding each other in the low light. Eddie stopped him just before they walked inside, giving him one more kiss before whispering softly against his lips, "I love you too."

"And also Chris would want me to tell you that the movie was his idea. He was very excited about it, said you were going to love it. Something about coral reefs." And that's how he entered this new, yet definitely always meant to be part of his life; surrounded by the two people he loved most in the world and that he couldn't be prouder to call his family.