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Ed woke to the sounds of screaming. 10 years ago, that would have terrified him, he would have bolted from bed and rushed to investigate, head over flailing feet, to inspect whatever horrible scenario awoke him. Now, it just brought a sleepy smile to his face. The screams melted into laughter in moments, and warmth crept through him as he roused from the depths of his dreams. Well, the depths of his sleep at least; he was living his dreams now, waking to a house full of laughter and love and warmth as he’d always wished. “Kids r’ up,” he mumbled into the messy blonde hair that was connected to the body intertwined with his own. Fuck, he never thought he would ever have this. A family, a fucking family that he loved and that loved him and that he couldn’t wait to love for the rest of his life. Even on tough days, he still loved them so much his heart ached. When their screaming wasn’t followed by laughter, but tears, and toys got thrown and hair got pulled, when their actions were as harsh as their words, he still loved those tiny demons more than his own life.
“Mmmphf ” was the response that came from under the blankets, and Ed softly tilted his husband's head back towards him and carefully lifted the blue eye mask to find scrunched brows and hazel eyes full of dreams; dreams that reflected his own. A smile brighter than the rising sun spread across his face as he kissed rosy cheeks. “I’ll get ‘em, you sleep a few more minutes…” And he slipped on cozy gray pants and a worn tee shirt and headed for the sensory onslaught that was their children’s bedroom. Opening the door he was expecting to find one of two things, either exceptionally creative playtime or horrendously devious anarchy. Thankfully this morning it looked like they awoke with their creative feet forward, as Alma had somehow crafted a sturdy rope ladder of bedsheets that led from the top of their bunk bed to the bottom, and they were taking turns swinging from it and leaping into their pile of Squishmallows that had been accumulating for the past year and a half. Peals of laughter rang out as Ed walked in just as Louis had lept from the makeshift rope swing and overshot his target of the soft pile of stuffies by a bit and thunked his head on the wall. Fuck , Ed thought, it didn’t even accidentally slip out anymore, his child-friendly language censor second nature by now.
Ed was over by Louis’ side in seconds, just as huge sobs wracked his tiny chest, a nice lump already forming on his forehead. “Aw, buddy, come’ere” and Ed hauled him onto his lap and tucked him under his chin, careful to avoid any pressure to the knot on his head. “Man, that sounded painful, huh?” Ed felt a small nod against his chest and a whimpered, “It hurts, Papa…” and his rocking only stuttered for a moment with that small, significant remark. Ed’s heart still fluttered whenever either of the kids called him that, even though he’d been in their lives for years at this point. It still tugged at his heartstrings every single time, the acknowledgment of their view of him. Alma looked on quietly and began undoing the tangles of the swing, hoping that if it was gone then Ed wouldn’t remember how the whole mess began. Ed whispered soft sympathies into pint-sized blonde curls, wanting desperately to provide the comfort he never received growing up.
Stede padded into the room, seeing Ed on the floor with a sniffling Louis in his arms and a guilty-looking Alma shoving something behind the bed. “I didn’t do anything!” her guard immediately up, and Stede knew that even if that wasn’t completely true, there would be some talking-to that needed to happen. “Well, well. What happened here?” Neither of the kids spoke up, and Stede looked towards Ed, who shrugged lightly as the boy in his arms let out a shuddering sigh, though the tears had dried. “Louis smacked his head on the wall… Gonna go grab an ice pack from downstairs, yeah?” Stede’s eyes flashed with a mixture of love and inquiry, as he took Louis’ hand and leaned down. “What happened, bud?” Ed heard Stede ask as he jogged down the stairs to grab the many ice packs they kept in their freezer. It was a given with how often the kids were here, always getting into some kind of mischief that ended with a scrapped knee or a bruised forehead. Ed picked the T-Rex one, knowing Louis would appreciate it the most, and made his way back up the stairs. He couldn’t have imagined this would be his life, falling in love with a man who already had two children, and then loving them as his own, but fuck he was so glad it was. He couldn’t have dreamt of this life, never knew this kind of happiness existed. He got back to the room just as Stede was finishing a firm but gentle reprimand of the morning’s activities, Louis’ eyes lighting up when he saw the dino ice pack Ed had brought. “That’s my favorite one!”
Ed chuckled and held the pack to the little bump, “I know it is, bud. Gotta be more careful though, you need that brain of yours for all your school smarts! This isn’t the proper place to rope swing…” Louis nodded solemnly, and Alma sighed but nodded along with him. “Ya know, there is that big tree in the back. What if we put up a rope swing there? No walls to knock into then.” Alma’s eyes lit up and Louis nodded so hard that the ice pack slipped out of his hands. “Really?!” Louis exclaimed, eyes big and round like Stede’s, “But ONLY if you all cut out the rope swinging in here. If we see it again, the swing in the back goes away.” More enthusiastic nodding followed small voices pinky promising as a now fully-healed Louis and Alma talked about the cool tricks they would do jumping from their real-life rope swing. Stede rolled his eyes affectionately as they all mozied into the bathroom to get ready for their day. Another typical, chaotic, ridiculously perfect morning.
They got the kids off to school with a bit more effort than usual, both of them were bouncing off the interior of the car, “What’s got you lot so worked up this morning, huh?” Ed asked with a grin as he peered into the rearview mirror to see two smiling faces looking back at him. If he didn’t know better, he’d think he saw a bit of mischief in Alma’s eyes. But he didn’t press. “We just had far too much cereal this morning, you know that’s just full of sugar!” God, she sounded more like Stede every day, and Ed laughed at her retort, “Uh, yea, that’s why it’s so great!” And then Louis was making crunching, noshing sounds mimicking them eating breakfast, and the car was filled with laughter again. The kid’s drop-off was successful, Stede up next, and as Ed rolled into his office, Stede pulled him into a bruising kiss across the center console. “I love you so so much.” Stede’s eyes shone with everything unsaid, gratitude and adoration abundant. “I love you too, husband of mine,” Ed whispered to his beloved, placing another small kiss on those lips he had the pleasure of knowing so well. Stede’s eyes shone with something else, but Ed didn’t question it, they told each other everything, always. He’d know eventually. Ed went in to work for a half-day before running to the home goods store to pick up supplies for the rope swing.
The project went faster than he anticipated, the sturdy tree in their sprawling backyard perfect for a swing. He of course watched many YouTube videos and made sure it could hold his own weight before he was satisfied with a job well done. He’d even made sure the seat was wide enough to hold both Louis and Alma, though he also resigned himself to the knowledge that soon they wouldn’t want to swing together. Whatever, he’d just make another one. And another one. He’d make a million rope swings if that’s what the kids wanted. He didn’t realize the time until he heard the telltale signs of raucousness inside the house, realizing Stede’s ex, their close friend Mary had picked the kids up from school today. Sweaty but proud of the project accomplished, he made his way inside to tell the kids the good news. Surprised to see Stede standing there chatting with Mary, Ed was immediately confused. He wasn’t supposed to be off work for another few hours. Had he messed up the schedule? “Hey Mar! Love, I’m so sorry, did I forget you were off early today?” Stede smiled as he took in the sweaty mess in front of him, “No no, I just left a bit early and Mary swung by to get me after picking up the kids!” Ed’s confusion didn’t lessen but he shrugged as he greeted them both with a hug. “Ah well, sorry I’m a bit sticky, just finished up with the s-w-i-n-g outback…!” He said with a wink toward the kids. “Ed you KNOW we can both spell, can we go out and play on it?! Please PLEASE?!” A chorus of little voices pleaded. Ed was tempted to oblige, but homework came first. “Ah ah ah! No swings until school is done. Alma, what do you have today?” She grumbled like this wasn’t their routine, “I’ve got a geometry worksheet…” Ed smirked in satisfaction, “And Louis, what it looking like for you today?” Louis looked even more annoyed than Alma. “Fractions…” he moaned, as they both pulled out their packs as Ed settled them at the dining room table. “I’m gonna hop in the shower, and I bet by the time I’m done, you’ll be done too! Then we can go check out the swing, yeah?” And even though they were not enthusiastic about their schoolwork, the promise of their new swing was enough motivation for them to get right to work on their respective worksheets, Stede and Mary chattering in the other room.
“M’gonna go clean up real quick, but the kids are working on their school shit, Mary, you wanna stay for dinner?” Ed asked as he strolled back into the living room where the pair were catching up. “Aw thanks, Ed, but I’ve got to run! Heard you made a whole swing for the kids? S’on you if they break an arm.” The tease was thrown at him with all the love in the world as she moved to head out the door, Mary was a wonderful mother and honestly, they all parented so well together. Ed was so grateful to have Mary as a part of their little family, she was quick and funny and fierce, the most logical and pragmatic of the trio. “Pshh I can set a bone, m’not worried about it.” Ed tossed a wink in her direction as he made his way upstairs and washed the remnants of the day’s labor away.
Refreshed and relaxed, he made his way back downstairs, where, to his surprise, everyone was in the living room, piled onto the couch together. “You finish your schoolwork already?” an eyebrow quirked as his skepticism ran deep. “Um. Yes! It’s all done. Wanna see??” Alma asked, a little too eagerly as she shot Louis a look. Ed nodded slowly, wondering what on earth they were scheming, “Uh, I didn’t come down here to not see how brilliant you are.” Louis snickered as he and Alma stood up to fetch their work, “You had to come down here anyway, you can’t only live upstairs!” Banter easy and fun, Ed always loved how literal Louis was. “Psh, watch me, I’ll turn your alls room into a kitchen and then I’ll never have to come down again!” A wild laugh and objection erupted from both kids as they ran into the dining room, returning shortly, but curiously only Alma holding her homework as Louis saddled up behind her. She walked over to where Ed had plunked himself down on the couch, and stuck the paper out wordlessly at him, Louis peeking around her shoulder. Ed raised his eyebrow, “Alright, let’s see this geometry I know you’re so good at…!” Ed looked down and his breath caught.
“PETITION FOR MINOR CHILD ADOPTION”
“ Wh..what’s this?” A billion synapses were firing as he tried to comprehend what he was reading. His vision blurred as tears threatened to spill over, and he looked up to find two little faces beaming back at him. “Well, you’re basically already our dad. You do everything Dad-dad does, and, like, everything he can’t do. So.. we just thought it was time for it to be official.” Louis nodded along, and it took Ed a moment to realize there were already two signatures on the paper, one from Stede and one from Mary. The floodgates were opened, and tears raced down his cheeks as he found Stede’s eyes. “Stede..?”, who scooted closer, wrapping his around around Ed’s waist. “The kids asked a while ago, and we thought it would be a nice surprise. You are their father, Edward, you love them more than anything in the world, we all know that. But we all thought it was the right time to make it legal, if that’s something you want.”
Ed was reeling. He’d never really minded that he wasn’t a legal guardian, though it made some aspects of their life a bit trickier. But he’d never given it much thought, he knew in his heart that regardless of legality, he would do anything and everything for those kids. His kids. Paper shaking in his hands, he buried his tears in Stede’s neck as he realized the breadth of this moment, the volumes it spoke, the implications it had for the rest of their lives. And he couldn’t fucking wait. “Of course that’s what I want, I want it more than anything in the world.” And he pulled himself from Stede’s shoulder to tug Alma and Louis into the couch for a crushing group hug, papers forgotten for the time being, falling to the floor. “I love you both more than you will ever know, I swear I’d do anything in the whole wide world for you. Thank you so much … I don’t know what else to say.” Overwhelmed and overcome with emotions, he barely noticed as Louis slipped out of the hug for the briefest moment and returned with the T-Rex ice pack. Fresh tears couldn’t be held back as the little hand outstretched to give him the cool bit of familiar comfort. Ed pulled him back into the group pile and held the little ice pack to his bursting heart. “We love you too, Papa…” Louis chimed in softly with the moniker that had been used before, but now held an entirely new meaning. Something deeper, something that would carry legal weight, that solidified a lifetime of love, of early morning shenanigans, of homework enforcing, rope swings and ice packs, laughter and hugs. A lifetime of everything Ed could ever want, and everything he now had, snuggled together on the couch in their home. Together, as a family.