Chapter Text
November 16th 1986
"Dad?"
Eddie looked up from the pile of mail that had been building up and they had been ignoring for as long as possible. Max was standing by the opposite end of the table, her skateboard in hand.
"Yes, honey?" He asked, putting the letter he had been reading down. Those were two too many zeros for something as simple as braces. But Dustin needed them so he'd have to call Claudia to split the cost somehow.
"My, uh, one of my wheels broke off?" She said unsure, biting her lower lip. A tick she picked up from him specifically. "Do we have the money to replace it? If not, it's totally ok! I can borrow a spare bike from-"
"Of course we do, sweetheart!" They didn't, but they would do anything for the little brats. Eddie sometimes wondered how he deserved to be able to help raise such amazing kids, considered when other kids would just take and ask for more.
The smile he got in return was worth all the money in the world.
"Now, where do we get those wheels?"
…
November 27th 1986
Steve came home late that night, utterly exhausted and ready to flop down to the nearest sleepable place and sleep for two days straight. Working two part-time jobs was fucking hard and nobody prepared him for the amount of bullshit he had to deal with on a daily basis.
Like, seriously, how many brain cells does it take to understand the coffee shop does not have vegan ice cream? And it's always the same few people asking!
As he took off his shoes and shed himself off his coat, he heard hurried footsteps coming towards him. He barely had time to brace himself when two smaller bodies collided with his own.
"MOM!"
"You're late!" Dustin scolded, pulling back a little to glare at him. "You were supposed to be here two hours ago!"
"Sorry kiddo, got held up," Steve sighed, ruffling his hair, then Max's. "More importantly, what are you still doing up? You gremlins have school tomorrow."
"We were waiting for you," Max said as if it was obvious. She grabbed the sleeve of his hoodie and led him to the kitchen.
"Why?" He asked because he never had that growing up. People at home waiting for his return, staying up past their bedtime. His chest swelled with emotions he pushed down to uncover later in the safety of his and Eddie's bedroom.
"Because we wanted to say goodnight," Dustin answered, but couldn't look him in the face. Steve had the sneaking suspicion there was more to that. "Also, we made you a cake and wanted to be there when you tasted it! Dad said it was ok!"
They...baked him a cake? Like for him? Right, ok the emotions are back now, stronger than ever. If he didn't get a hold of himself soon he was going to start crying in front of the kids, something he would like to avoid.
"Did he now?"
Eddie was also in the kitchen and turned around when they entered. He at least had the decency to look sheepish when Steve raised an eyebrow at him.
"Sorry, love, they were quite persistent about this."
Steve rolled his eyes but kissed him anyway. Because that's what he always does when he gets home and that's also what Eddie does. It was their thing. Hello and goodbye kisses, that is. They both smiled into the kiss at the sound of fake-gagging behind them.
"Ew, gross!"
"Get a room!"
"Oh, shut up," Steve rolled his eyes as he pulled away and turned to them. "You said something about a cake?"
Max's eyes instantly lit up and she zoomed past him to get to the far corner of the counter where Steve guessed the cake to be under a plastic cover. She skipped back to him a few seconds later with a slice in hand, not bothered to at least use a napkin as a substitute for a plate. Steve took it from her, his left hand hovering underneath.
It was squishy and a bit raw in the middle and it smelled like citrus, so he guessed it was lemon cake. He took a bite under the intense critical gazes of his children and the amused one from his boyfriend.
It tasted like shit. The lemon was too strong and there was barely any sugar. The consistency made him want to spit it out and throw up. He swallowed anyway.
"...Was this your first time baking cake?" He asked.
Dustin's face fell. "It tastes like shit doesn't it?"
"Didn't you try it?" Steve raised an eyebrow at them.
"No, we wanted you to be the first," Max said, crossing her arms in front of her chest.
Steve stared at them for a moment, awe and fondness washing over him in equal measures. He chuckled, putting the piece on the counter. He then brought the two of them into a hug. "Yes, it tastes like shit, but waaayy better than my first cake. That one was a catastrophe, burned black on the outside, raw on the inside."
"Wow, really?" Max chuckled.
"A very dark day indeed," Steve nodded. "Tell you what, I have a day off this Saturday. How about we spent that day teaching you brats how to bake?"
Dustin and Max beamed at him.
.
After he tucked them both to sleep, Steve let that exhaustion from earlier wash over him again as he collapsed onto his bed, Eddie already in his pyjama pants. His boyfriend gently rubbed his back and Steve let out a content sigh.
"Rough day?"
"Fucking yes," Steve groaned into the comforter. "All I wanted to do the moment I stepped into the house was sleep for all eternity, but no. The kids had to be awake and demand my attention!"
Eddie smiled at him. "You love them."
"I do, unfortunately," Steve said, turning his head.
They smiled at each other for a moment before Eddie got up and threw his night clothes at him. "Let's get you changed, sweetheart, and then you can get your beauty sleep."
…
August 15th 1986
"I literally just said that." Max frowned.
"So what? Am I not allowed to have the same opinion?" Will frowned right back, crossing his arms in front of his chest.
The two had been going back and forth between celebrities they personally found hot and nearly threw hands when it came to Harrison Ford. One thing they both agreed on was Tom Cruise, but apparently there were rules to the game and they were not allowed to name a celebrity twice.
"You do, but you have to admit that your taste in men is shit," Max shrugged.
"Shut up!"
"Ooh, what is going on here?" A voice cut into the 'argument' and they turned to see Robin walking in. She had a key to the house that was originally meant for emergencies but abused regularly.
"Comparing notes on hot celebrities," Max replied, scooting over so Robin could squeeze in between them. "What about you?"
"Hm," Robin tabbed a finger on her chin, her bracelets clicking together. "Well, I gotta go with Whitney Houston. She's pretty hot."
Max nodded, satisfied. "Agreed."
Will just shrugged, looking just a bit lost. "If you say so?"
Max turned to him puzzled. "Why? Don't you think she's hot?"
"I'm gay, Max, I generally don't find women hot," He said amused, raising an eyebrow.
"He's got you there!" Robin snorted, shifting to sit cross legged.
Her frown deepened. "But, you don't have to be attracted to women to think that they are hot, right?"
"I mean, I can tell when one is objectively attractive," Will said. "But I don't find them hot."
Just a little wide eyed, Max leaned back. Oh. This…is concerning. She always thought that everyone thought that men and women were equally attractive, like it was just a thing they collectively agreed on.
"Max?" Robin gently laid a hand on her knee, bringing her out of her thoughts. She smiled at her. "I don't mean to startle you, but I recognise a sexuality crisis when I see one. And believe me, I've seen my fair share."
"I just-" She didn't know what to say, how to word it. What she was feeling. "I guess I thought that everyone found women hot and that was just a general thing. Seems like it's not…"
"Hey, hey, it's ok," Both Robin and Will smiled at her and the knot in her chest loosened a little. She was safe here, she knew that. "I thought the same thing when I was your age, though I later realised I wasn't interested in men at all. Luckily for you, you have your favourite lesbian Auntie to help you!"
Max chuckled and hugged her. Will then made it a group hug. "Sure you want to be an Auntie? You just graduated high school."
Robin laughed. "Hey, if Steve and Eddie get to play parents, I get to play Auntie!"
"They're not my parents!"
…
July 1st 1986
Eleven was sitting in the living room with Eddie, watching some TV while they both ate ice scream when the doorbell rang. They looked at each other, but neither bothered to move. The bell rang again and Steve walked downstairs.
He stared at them for a moment before shaking his head. "Thank you for getting the door guys, really."
"No problem!" They said and grinned at each other.
Steve sighed and answered it. He was met with a head of red hair that immediately pushed past him. “I’m staying here tonight.”
“Hello to you too, Max!” He called over his shoulder and closed the door.
Max ran into the living room and threw herself at El, both of them giggling. Eddie smiled at them and greeted Max. “M’lady, nice of you to join us!”
“Hi, Eddie,” She smiled back and looked around. “Is Will not here?”
“Nah, he’s staying at Dustin’s tonight,” Steve said. He put his hands on his hips. “Also, how come he gets a greeting and I don’t?”
Max ignored him. She took El’s hand and started dragging her upstairs. “We’re gonna have a girls night tonight, so don’t fucking disturb us!”
“Language!”
.
“So this is your room?” El asked, looking around stunned. “I didn’t realize you had one here.”
Max shrugged, putting her bag down near the bed. “Yeah, well, I spent a lot of time here since the two moved in. Claimed a guest room and decorated it, they helped.”
“That’s nice of them!” El smiled, knowing how her home life looked like. Steve and Eddie were good people and everyone trusted them, so El trusted them too. Steve she knew from before, but it had taken some time and a lot of stories of Eddie for her to somewhat start to trust him with her friends. Meeting him in person made her see that her friends were not exasperating.
“Anyway, enough of that! Tell me about Lenora!”
.
“Oh, that’s just awful!” Max said, disgusted. “If I ever see her before me she’s about to go down.”
“Please don’t,” El chuckled, patting her knee. They were sitting cross legged on Max’s bed, facing each other. “I mean, she’s bad, but she hasn’t tried anything since I hit her with a roller skate. Well, she’s still not nice, but ignoring my existence is better than the comments she used to make.”
“Still!” She was about to go on but a look from El had her drop the subject. She sighed. “Anyway, wanna listen to some music and paint our nails or something? Eddie should have enough of both that we can borrow.”
El smiled. “I’d love to!”
“Alright, let’s go get them.”
The two left the room and walked down the hall. The couple’s bedroom was a few doors down and even though it was getting dark outside, they knew that it was empty since they could hear a low conversation happening along the sound of the TV in the living room.
“Is it ok to just go in?” El asked unsure. “Shouldn’t we ask first?”
Max brushed her off and stepped inside. “Nah, it’s ok. I’ve done this a million times and nobody gave me shit. Eddie likes it when someone listens to his music and Steve does too, so we can pick whatever as long as we give it back later.”
El nodded and looked around as Max sorted through a, rather large, collection of tapes and vinyls. She doesn’t think even Jonathan has that many. The room itself was really messy, but there wasn’t a lot of trash laying around. The floor was covered in clothes El was pretty sure were Eddie’s and papers. She picked one up.
Ooh, just imagine
just how good I would could look on your shoulder
ooh, what a vision
how your hand on my neck drags pulls me closer
She quickly scanned the rest. It was obviously a love song Eddie wrote, but from what she gathered it spoke of one-sided love. Their love obviously wasn’t, so maybe this was written before they got together? Then again, if this was old, why was it on the floor?
“I think these should do,” Max said, bringing her back from her musings. Her arms were full of tapes and in one hand she held four bottles of nail polish. El quickly took them and led the way back to Max’s room, the love song still on her mind.
…
December 25th 1986
“MERRY CHRISTMAS!”
Both Steve and Eddie were forcefully startled awake by two teenagers throwing themselves onto their bed way too early in the morning. Seriously, Steve was going to kill them in their sleep at some point if they continued like that.
“WAKE UP!” Dustin practically screamed into his ear.
“Whyyyy?” Steve let out an all suffering groan, refusing to turn his head to look at either of them. He would practically feel the same disdain radiating off his boyfriend beside him. He reached for his hand under the covers and gave it a squeeze. Eddie squeezed back.
“Because it’s Christmas,” Max said matter-of-factly. “And like any normal family, we should celebrate. Starting with gifts!”
“But we are not a ‘normal family’” Eddie frowned, shifting them so Max was sitting between them and Dustin made himself comfortable on Steve’s legs. “Like, we’re as far away from that as we could get.”
“Semantics,” Dustin huffed. “We’re not even expecting gifts from you, we know we don’t have that much money to spare, but Max and I have some things for you!”
Steve and Eddie shared a look.
“You do?”
Dustin and Max grinned brightly at them and nodded. Eddie shrugged, looking as helpless as Steve felt.
"Alright, but let me go to the bathroom first."
"We'll meet you downstairs," Eddie smiled.
When the two left the room, the couple looked at each other.
"Those shitheads are going to run me to an early grave," Steve chuckled breathlessly, dragging his hands over his face.
"They're the best aren't they?" Eddie grinned and hopped out of bed.
"They are."
.
They were greeted by the smell of pancakes and bacon in the kitchen, coupled with a mess of flour, milk and eggs. The kids were weaving around each other, getting everything ready.
"What's all this?" Steve asked.
Dustin turned to them with a smile. "Breakfast!"
"I can see that," Steve snorted, moving to pick up the milk carton from the floor.
"Nope!" Dustin stepped in front of him, successfully blocking the milk. "You two are not going to do anything today. Max and I will clean up and take care of you!"
Steve was about to protest, but Max turned to him and waved her spatula around threateningly. He sighed and grabbed Eddie’s hand, leading him to the dinner table. There was no arguing with them when they were like that.
“You think it’s gonna be edible?” Eddie asked once they sat down.
Steve shot him an offended glare. “Excuse you? I’m an excellent teacher! It’s going to be fine…hopefully.”
Eddie laughed and the kids emerged from the kitchen, holding many plates and Steve was impressed that none of it fell. At least they let them help take the plates off their arms and onto the table. Once that was done, Dustin bolted again and came back with two mugs of coffee and glasses for juice.
Breakfast…honestly wasn’t that bad. Sure, the pancakes were kind of flat and the bacon was a second away from burning, but other than that it was good. He told the kids as such and their beaming faces made it all the better.
After they finished and Eddie had his second cup of coffee, the kids dragged them to the living room and forcefully sat them down. Steve and Eddie let them move the pair around amused and so incredibly fond, it almost hurt.
“Close your eyes,” Dustin instructed.
“Aye aye, captain!” Eddie chuckled, doing as said, Steve following suit.
There was some rustling and the sound of a cupboard opening and closing. Then, the footsteps came closer to them again and Max told them to open their eyes. Steve blinked up at them. They were both grinning eagerly and Dustin was bouncing on his toes, their arms behind their backs.
Simultaneously, they brought their hands up front and presented two small jewellery boxes. The couple took them cautiously, sharing a look. They didn’t actually buy them something expensive, did they?
Steve opened his and gasped, quickly looking over at his boyfriend and his present. Matching silver rings. His hand was shaking slightly as he took it out of the box and turned it around. Eddie was written in pretty cursive on the inside and tears welled up in his eyes. He slipped the ring to his ring finger and jumped up to hug the kids. His kids. Their kids.
“Thank you so much, gremlins,” He whispered into Max’s hair, feeling her giggle. Eddie joined them, looping his arms around all three.
“You really shouldn’t have brats,” He said fondly. “How did you even afford them? They look expensive.”
“It’s a gift from all of us,” Dustin explained. “It took us two months of odd jobs around the town to gather the money and Mike even put a small amount of his personal savings.”
What did they do to deserve such amazing kids?
(Of course, Steve and Eddie did have presents for them. Dustin got a brand new set of black and red D&D dice and Max a Walkman with five new tapes, albums from bands she started liking since she moved in.)