Chapter Text
It seems like for the first time ever, life was breathed into his big empty house. He could wax poetically about something like the way the tile seemed to reverberate with laughter and the sheets muffled the sound of heels running down the hall, how you could hear yelling upstairs of arguments that were never really arguments but were rather for the sake of talking, how his fridge was stocked with food for people he loved and could provide for. The way his bed was warm from excess heat and Dustin dragging Max into his bedroom and laying on top of their blankets like a toddler lays in bed in between their parents. He could say that suddenly the bathrooms were being messed up and there would be laundry for days and a deep clean of the entire kitchen and front entrance where everyone’s boots and shoes had been discarded and ice was melting. He could say something about the way they had a pile of coats near the stairs, no real order or method to their madness. He could, but he wouldn’t. It was 9 am and he was laying in bed with his boyfriend and his basically two kids were giggling about something stupid.
He popped one of his eyes open, finding Max closest to him with Dustin next then Eddie. They seemed happy, they weren’t anxious about one thing or another and it was refreshing. Steve broke the silence, “You know your elbow is digging into my rib.”
Max laughed, that was a sound he didn’t think he’d ever get used to. “Suffer.” Still, she moved her elbow a little farther forward to ease him, she was always silently caring like that. He finally made eye contact with Eddie and he couldn’t help it, it took his breath away. He had his hair down and his eyelids were a little low from waking up a few minutes ago, but they still consumed Steve whole. They always did.
Eddie reached across the bed over where the other two’s heads were, meeting Steve’s hair and gently playing with it. And then Steve was sighing a deep sigh and melting impossibly further into his warm comfy bed. Max seemed to also settle in next to them, finally moving to get her and Dustin under the mountain of blankets.
“Mom, Dad, I’m in a cult.” Dustin was giggling to himself as he said it, Max following soon after him.
Eddie was smiling, a glint in his eye, “Finally, I was wondering when you kids would end up like your father. All rebellious and worshiping the devil.”
“That’s lovely, I’m happy you have after school activities.” Steve paused for a moment, “Does this cult happen to include dragons?”
It was Max who spoke up this time, “Oh lots.”
“And dungeons?”
“Like you wouldn’t believe.”
“Well Eds, I dare say you have wonderfully corrupted our children to be just like you, I couldn’t be more proud. Me and the mini-Munson's.” He booped Dustin on the nose, laughing to himself. He knew his eyes were too fond, he could feel the bed shaking with everyone giggling but when he met Eddie’s eyes all he could find there was this deep sense of overwhelming love.
Of course he knew that Eddie deep down wanted a family just as much as he did, that it moved him the idea that Steve would take his last name. To Steve it was never in question though, what connection does he have to the Harrington name? Why should he live with the familial ties of poison that were his parents, his so-called family. So of course he would be a Munson. He’s already got Wayne and Eddie and they’re the best people he’s ever met. What’s a few more? What’s a small gaggle of children, of Munsons, if not a family, his family.
He could hear footsteps down the hall, padding towards his room, the door opened and there stood Robin, hair all out of place and a gasp on her lips, “You are having a cuddle session?! WITH ONLY THE FOUR OF YOU?! Treasonous, I’ve never been more offended. Nancy, get in here!”
And just like that, Nancy’s head was through the door, she gasped loudly. “Rob, how could they? There’s only one way to fix this.”
“You thinkin’ what I’m thinking?”
“Oh absolutely.” Her smile was borderline maniacal and it lit up her face beautifully. As quickly as they arrived they disappeared.
Just as Steve was starting to get a feeling of comfort once again, more footsteps could be heard, this time up the stairs and down the hall. Lucas was first, opening the door and dramatically laying over everyone’s feet with a flourish and a sigh about how he shouldn’t be awake at this hour. Will, Mike, and El were next, sitting at the edges and forcing everyone else to get closer, practically hanging off the bed. Robin appeared with Erica by her side. She decided her perfect spot would be lying horizontally with her head on Steve’s legs, her torso on the kids, and her legs on Eddie.
There was some more movement downstairs, Steve couldn’t quite hear it over the soft voices surrounding him, it was comforting, so soft and smooth. Soon after he was met with Jonathan and Nancy who piled in on the bed as best they could with the limited space, everyone basically on top of each other. There was still some shuffling heard down the hall and in walked Chrissy Cunningham, the only person dressed in jeans in a 3-mile radius.
“Wait, you guys are seriously having a cuddle party and you didn’t tell me? So not cool.” She’s grinning as she says it, she’s just as fond of them as they are of her and she knows it.
Eddie waves his hand, finally escaping where it was cramped between Mike’s back, “Get in here, dork.” She laughs at that, going to sit on the bed with everyone else. Leaving the door open, another figure walks by, Wayne, with a coffee and a sweatshirt. He pauses for a moment, seemingly laughing to himself as his eyes widen.
“I’m not even gonna ask.” And just like that he’s gone, like a phantom in the night.
They were all practically piled on top of each other, barely enough space to breathe.
Without a doubt in Steve’s mind, it was beautiful, this is what heaven must be like. A weird amalgamation of people piled together in a warm huddle, this is what humanity was created for; to love one another. To sit in each other’s presence and eat each other’s food and annoy each other and pile into a bed that shouldn’t have fit all of them but it didn’t matter because they were going to make it work.
From the beginning of time humans were social creatures, needing to be around each other just to be happy. It wasn’t really like that in his big house, because his house was never really a home. Until yesterday. Steve didn’t know if it would stay a home when they left, but he knew he had a home in the people around him. He entirely forgot of the storm that was hitting the windows, not bothering the people in the room. These people, his family, they were all here, at his home, in his bed. With the exception of Joyce and Hopper every important person in his life was practically lying on top of him and he couldn’t be happier about it. Life just made sense. The way there was a knee pressed to his back was comforting. The way he could feel Robin tapping his legs with her fingers to some band song she was playing at school that week. The way Eddie was looking at him like he’d hung the moon and stars. The way Erica and Max both acted like they were better than these feelings but Steve could feel Max burrowing into his side and Erica was leaning on Will more than strictly necessary. The way Chrissy was happily having a silent conversation with just her eyes with Nancy. The way Lucas and Jonathan were playing rock paper scissors and Jonathan was getting absolutely decimated to the point where Steve felt a little bad for him.
It was quiet besides the beating of the wind against the windows. It was a comforting silence, one that wrapped you in a warm hug and told you it was alright, honey, you can rest now. It should have been uncomfortable, limbs falling asleep and at weird angles, but it wasn’t. At least, not at the moment it wasn’t.
Goddammit, they were a family
“Did you know Ben Franklin was in a sex cult.”
“What the fuck, Robin,”
“What!? He was!! It was called the Hellfire Club.”
He could hear Eddie practically cackling, nearly pushing Mike off the bed by accident in his full body movements. It was the most beautiful sound he’d ever heard, and it didn’t take long till everyone else joined in soon after. It’s hard not to laugh when you’ve got Eddie nearly wheezing next to you.
“You’re telling me that I have something in common with THE Ben Franklin and it’s being in a cult?” Eddie was still giggling as he said it. Steve could tell he was finding the utmost delight from this new knowledge.
“Sex cult, might I add.”
“Ewwww, gross Ben Franklin fucked? While an old man? Why?” Dustin was fake gagging as though the knowledge was that horrifying, swinging his hands out in front of him in faux distress.
Smirking, Max spoke into the giggling room, “Well Dustin, when a man and a woman love each other very much-” She was cut off by Dustin shoving her face lightly, giggling to himself.
“I know the whole birds and bees talk, Einstein.”
“Wait, like why is it called the birds and the bees, I don’t get that.” Honestly, Steve didn’t know, Robin brought up a good point, why the fuck was it called the birds and the bees.
He shrugged, “Wait… have you all had breakfast?” There was a chorus of no’s through the big room and Steve laughed, “Alright you stupid little shits, and Chrissy, time to heat up some soup.”
__________
It took a large portion of the morning but they were all fed. There was a lull in the storm, the wind stopping mostly and the snow all but ceasing for a little bit.
“ Come on! It’s not that bad outside! Are you telling me playing in the snow isn’t even a little fun to you?” It was a good enough fight Dustin was putting up, but Steve wasn’t going to hear it.
“I don’t want to freeze to death out there, it's already cold in the house, and you expect me to choose to go outside? In the snow?”
Dustin groaned loudly, “You’re never even cold, and Chrissy literally walked here, so it can’t be that cold!”
Out of the corner of his eye he could see Eddie nodding, like he wouldn’t freeze to his bones in seconds if he went outside. Erica was also supporting Dustin’s decision, arguing like the best of them.
“It’s not like you’ll get hypothermia in that weather, if that kills you the flu could.”
“Erica!”
“Just the facts!”
Chrissy paused before speaking, “it wasn’t that bad. The wind was definitely the worst part.”
Steve sighed, “Does everyone else want to go outside?” A few hands raised in the air, a silent agreement between them. “Fine-”
“Yes!”
Steve interrupted Dustin again, “But! You each need to be wearing at least three layers and thick pants, I will not be having all of you complaining about how cold it is the second we get outside. Do you understand?”
“Yes mom.”
“Good.”
__________
“One, two, three, okay- wait where is your hat, go get one from the box. I don’t care if it’s too big, you’re not going outside without a hat on.” Sure, he was being the best mom he possibly could be, which meant having everyone annoyed with him for actually checking the layers they had on. He didn’t stop with the kids either, forcing Robin and Nancy to open their jackets and show him exactly how many layers they had on. Even Jonathan wasn’t excused from this trial, having to put on a scarf at the insistence of the other man. Finally, once Steve had decided that everyone was suitably dressed, he opened the door. Dustin running out, followed close behind by Lucas and Max who were likely racing based on the tumble Lucas took into the snow.
Steve was the last person to step outside, gazing at the landscape around him as the others adjusted to the cold. The neighborhood was like something from a movie, every other lawn was perfectly smooth, not having been touched by muddy feet. However, he liked his house’s yard much better, he loved the way it was lived in. Steve’s house never really looked lived in, not like Eddie’s trailer or Nancy’s room. Not like Robin’s chaotic multiple child household, with half used candles everywhere and laundry that hasn’t been put back in their drawers in days. That was the difference, that was a home, not a house. It was the half empty cups, messy linen closets, and a collection of the ugliest mugs you’ve ever seen that you can’t help but laugh at. That didn’t stop you from grabbing another one at the store to add to the growing collection, or learning how to build a shelf just to have a place to display them. That is what made it a home, not the size of the house or the walls or anything material. It was the people that made a house a home, no amount of eggshell white walls and popcorn ceilings. No amount of decorated hand towels you weren’t allowed to use and big ugly vases that had no purpose but to be in the way. No amount of photos that meant nothing, with fake smiles and pretending life was alright. None of that made it a home, it made it a house. It was hardly one at that, sure it was big and lofty and had large windows, but doesn’t a house have to have regular occupants? Ever since he started dating Eddie he was hardly ever there unless Eddie was over, and lord knows his parents definitely weren’t there. Ultimately, there wasn’t much reason to remind himself of his childhood when he could sit in the comfort of Eddie’s room. Eddie’s room with too many posters and blankets and a surprising amount of stuffed animals for a metalhead and pictures of him and Wayne and Dustin and Steve. He had pictures of Steve in his room . When he realized that it felt like the world simultaneously collapsed on itself and screamed in triumph, because oh my god someone loved him so much they wanted to be reminded of his face.
Steve was glad that his people were around him, but more importantly he was glad Eddie wasn’t hitting him with snow. He was currently throwing snowballs at the kids with Erica. Well, Erica was the one who was doing most of the throwing, Eddie was just packing the snow and handing it to her like a cartoonish assembly line. Lucas, Dustin, Max, and Mike were putting up a reasonable fight, but it was mostly Max that was getting all of the hits. Softball has really helped with her aim. Though when Lucas’s throws actually hit they were almost always headshots that made Eddie freeze for a second before going back to packing snow.
Across the way, Will and Chrissy were making a family of snowmen. They knew they couldn’t put any clothes on them but Jonathan had found them a little bit of sticks from the street so that helped their journey. Will was making the heads of them and the bases for the little baby snowmen, and Chrissy was making the bodies of the bigger snowmen. She had a little bit of trouble lugging around the piles of snow but she soon got it to a good enough size to roll it. Sitting next to them, watching the whole thing take place, was Nancy and Jonathan. They were holding hands in Nancy’s jacket pocket through their gloves and Nancy would comment here or there on the snowmen or suggestions to Chrissy on how to make it look better.
Robin was the last one he found, directly in front of the steps, he looked down at her. She was laying backwards on the snow, likely soaking the outer layers of her outfit. “Whatcha doin’ there bud?”
Robin laughed loudly, something that always made his heart just a little happier. She started to speak, purposefully changing her voice to sound like a midwestern mom, “Oh, sure, just makin’ snow angels, yea.”
Steve couldn’t help but imitate her back, “Well, dear, you’re not movin’ around at all, yeah? Your arms look like a corpse, you’re like a candle young lady. You’re a snow candle, oh sure.”
“Snow candle? Well I’ll have you know I am an angel of the highest heavens, in fact I am the angel, Gabriel? Who needs him, it’s me motherfucker.” The motherfucker in a midwestern accent had Steve dropping down to his knees in laughter. He soon joined her in the snow, spreading out his arms to make his own snow angel.
“Ya know,”
“Yeah?” He could hear the smile in her voice.
“I like when all of you are here.”
“Awww, you’re going soft on us Stevie boy, don’t worry I won’t tell the others.” She was looking up at the sky, the clouds were thick and looming, but they weren’t frightening, at least not to Steve. He closed his eyes for a moment, basking in the rambling of his best friend beside him, something about how personal pan pizzas don’t make sense because all pizza’s are personal.
Before he could completely tune back into what Robin was saying, a snowball hit his leg, quite forcefully might he add. He didn’t bother opening his eyes, “If that’s you aiming, you suck at it.”
There was a chuckle a ways away that was getting closer, he immediately knew it was Eddie, “Would you rather I aim for your head?”
He popped one eye open to look at the man now sitting on his heels next to him, “If you could even land it, sure.”
“Oh yeah?” he said, raising his voice to a higher pitch, “If you could even land it mehmeh, that’s what you sound like.”
“Well then I sound great.” He was grinning as he said it but was quickly hit with a snowball to the face. Soon Eddie collapsed onto his chest, choosing to crush him under his weight instead of recognize the fact he still had snow on his eyelashes and cheeks.
Steve laughed, loud and sweet, “I can literally feel you shaking.”
“No you can’t.”
“Damn, guess you’re not on the verge of chattering teeth, excuse me for being so rude. I apologize.”
“Apology accepted.” He curled into him a bit more, which could only make him colder with the snow beneath him, but Eddie didn’t seem to mind as much.
“Steveeeeeeeee.”
And there was Dustin again, of course, and he knew exactly what he wanted.
“I’m cold!”
Bullseye. He’s gotta be a fucking prophet at this rate. “Well, Dustin, it is in the 10’s temperature wise, it’s gonna be cold outside.”
“But I’m cold.”
“And what do you want me to do about it?”
“I don’t know!”
He sighed, softly pulling Eddie to the side of him. In his movement Eddie tumbled onto Robin who hissed at the contact.
“Well then let's go inside.” Everyone seemed to think this was a reasonable idea as the wind was picking up again and it had started to snow. They all scrambled inside, trying to close the door as quickly as possible. As everyone got out of their shoes and hats and scarves, Steve took a headcount. Twelve people, all accounted for. Everyone piled around the newly kindled fireplace (Thanks Eddie!) to warm up once all of their many layers were discarded on the floor. They were like snails leaving a trail of warm winter apparel in their wake. He surveyed the room, most of the kids were next to the fireplace, not touching the brick. They were learning it seems. Jonathan and Nancy were once again together on the floor and Robin was curled up under the blankets Lucas and Max left there that night. Chrissy was laying on the couch while Eddie sat next to her, talking about something he couldn’t quite hear.
He decided to sit on the couch with Eddie, plopping down in his lap.
“Oh lovely, my personal space heater.”
“All yours.” Chrissy was laughing at them as he said it, but he didn’t mind.
__________
It was night time again and Steve was looking for Eddie. He wasn’t in Steve’s room, or near the fireplace like he normally was. It could mean he was anywhere in this big empty house, he had no clue if he was even interrupting something but it was getting late. He finally found him sitting at the dining room table. He hated disrupting the silence, but he broke it anyway, “Eddie, come to bed.” It was so soft he was worried Eddie hadn’t heard him.
“Hmm?”
“Come to bed,” he repeated, standing beside him in that next second, kissing him on the temple. Eddie seemed tired, about as tired as he could be. He was working on something, likely a D&D campaign for the time they were stuck here. He always got like this when he was focused on something, no real concept of time or patterns that weren’t important to him in that moment.
“What time is it?”
“11 pm.”
Nodding, he closed his book, “Alright sweetheart, come on.”
“There we go,” Steve helps him up by his arm, working with him to gather his things to put in their room. He was still practically attached to Eddie at the hip, but he didn’t really care. There was no one here to judge him. And he didn’t even realize he’d said their room. Well, if he was going to have a room anywhere it would be Eddie’s trailer, but this was their home till the cold went away for a bit, and that was okay. They were like those rich people who went south during the winter.
Eddie’s voice broke through his thoughts, “You stayed up late tonight, what were you doin’?” It was so soft the way he said it, it made his head spin in the funniest way. He felt the ground move just slightly underneath him as they walked up the stairs, not enough to throw him off his balance, but enough to lean into his boyfriend a bit more.
“Cleaning mostly, making sure the kids were asleep, ‘m happy to go to bed though, was waiting for you.”
He hummed back, opening the door to Steve’s room. Luckily they were both already in comfortable clothing, so all Steve had to do was take his shirt off, Eddie following close after him. When they finally crawled into bed, Eddie faced Steve, his hands barricading the sides of his face to keep him up.
“You’re a funny little man.”
“That’s mean.”
“You know I didn’t mean it like that.”
“I know, I love you.”
“I know,” he smiled down at him, it was the warmest thing in an 80 foot radius and they were literally under nine blankets. “I love you too.” He rested his forehead against Steve’s for a moment before leaning down further and kissing his chest, then his collarbones, then his cheeks, and his eyelids. There was no heat behind his movements, nothing to suggest anything more than I would love to kiss you, so I will. He finally paused his movements after making Steve giggle, leaning down for one more forehead kiss before wrapping himself around him like a koala.
“Your personal space heater, huh?”
“Yep, nobody else's, I’m lucky as a clam. I got a two-for-one special, one boyfriend, one space heater.”