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“And you’ve got everything packed up?” Wayne’s anxious voice follows Eddie from his bedroom to the living room, and Eddie rolls his eyes, since his uncle can’t see him anyway.

“Yes, Wayne. I’ve got all six of my shirts and all two pairs of my jeans. I’ve even got my cassettes shoved somewhere in there. I’m pretty sure I’m set,” Eddie says lightly, going to look through the cabinets for a snack. He’s got a little bit before he has to leave, so he figures he might as well kill the time a little.

“You know you don’t have to leave, Eddie,” Wayne says.

Eddie sighs. They’ve had this conversation several times since he came back home with the good news on Thursday. He turns to offer Wayne a smile. “I do, though. You can’t support both of us forever, Wayne, and it’s not fair for me to expect that. I’m twenty-six, man. I need to do this.”

Wayne looks near-devastated. “I hate to see you go. I’m sorry I can’t…” He trails off, and Eddie feels awful. He knows his uncle has tried his best to be a parent to Eddie over the years, taking care of him to the best of his ability, but he knows, deep down, that it really will be a relief for him to have Eddie gone. He won’t have to work such late hours anymore, and maybe one day he can really retire.

“It’s alright, Wayne,” Eddie says gently. “This is the way it’s supposed to be, right? Gotta leave the nest at some point,” he jokes, nudging Wayne’s arm with his elbow.

Apparently that’s the wrong thing to say, Wayne’s eyes going wide like he just realized something. “Your nest! What are you going to do about heats, Ed? This strange man could take advantage of you! You don’t-”

Eddie cuts him off, feeling his face heat in embarrassment. He definitely hasn’t thought about Steve in association with his heat. Nope. Not at all. And he isn’t about to start now, either. “It’s fine. I’m on suppressants, remember? And if I were to have one, then… Well, I’ll have days off, and I’m sure he’ll give me medical leave for that, so I can check into an omega facility.”

Wayne looks disbelieving, but nods. “Fine. What’s this guy’s name, again? I need to write it down so I can have Hopper look into him,” Wayne says, glancing around for something to write with.

Eddie rolls his eyes, but humors him. “Steve Harrington. I seriously doubt Hop’s gonna find anything. He’s some big-wig in Indianapolis, he’d have to have a clean record to do what he does.”

The look Wayne gives him makes him feel sort of stupid. “That’s naivety, Edward. You never know someone until you do. And being a big-wig is exactly the excuse he’d need to do shady shit. I wouldn’t be surprised if-”

“Right,” Eddie interrupts, resisting the urge to roll his eyes a third time. “Well, I’m sure I’ll get to know him soon. Living with someone does that for you, believe it or not.”

Wayne gives him a look. “Just… be careful, okay, Eddie? He might be a good guy, and I hope for your sake he is. But don’t just assume that to be the truth, okay?”

Eddie nods. He knows Wayne’s just concerned, the closest to a worried father that Eddie has really ever had. Still, he wants to assuage that uncertainty a little bit. “I will. And I’ll check in every week, let you know if anything weird happens. I promise.” He claps Wayne on the back, then glances at the time. “I should get going,” he says, his voice tinted with an apology.

“Right,” Wayne nods. “Let me help you carry your things out.”

Eddie’s only got the one duffel bag, but he doesn’t bother correcting Wayne. It’s the least he could do, let his old man have this little send-off.

They walk out to the van, and Eddie sighs a little as he opens the passenger door, jerking the handle hard when it sticks. He lets Wayne toss his bag into the seat, then steps back, an awkward air filling the silence around them. The Munsons really aren’t much for feelings, but Wayne looks like he might cry.

Eddie pulls him into a hug. “I’ll be alright, Wayne,” he says quietly, patting his back. “I can take care of myself. You don’t have to worry about me.”

Wayne pulls away, and Eddie pretends he doesn’t notice how he wipes at his eye. “I know you can. I just can’t help thinking… that you’re running away.”

That startles Eddie a little bit. He knows Wayne knows more than he typically lets on, but that epiphany, coming from him, sends Eddie’s head for a spin. “I… I’m not running away. I don’t… there’s just nothing here for me anymore. Without the band, I’m just… I’m just in the way.”

For once, Wayne doesn’t argue his self-deprecation. Instead, he says, “I just think you ought to be running to something, son. Not away.”

Eddie gives him a half-hearted smile, and shrugs, stuffing his hands into the pockets of his jeans. “Maybe I am. Maybe this will be my year.”

Wayne nods, but Eddie can’t help but think that he doesn’t look convinced. “Be safe, Eddie. Keep in touch.”

And then Eddie’s climbing behind the wheel, waving goodbye to the only home, the only family he’s ever known, turning his decrepit van toward the city.

He takes a deep breath. This is going to be good for him. He’s sure of it.

~~~

The address Robin had given him, and her precisely-written directions to said address, lead Eddie to a tall, brown-brick building full of lots of windows. It’s the kind of building he would probably never pay much attention to otherwise, the aura of expensive reeking from the spotless windows and evenly-laid bricks. Definitely not the kind of place he would have ever imagined being called his home.

He parks the van on the street across from the building, a little embarrassed to even be that close, considering all the cars he’d seen so far had been luxury ones. He tries not to look as out of place as he feels as he grabs his duffel bag from the passenger seat, crossing the road with his head ducked, leaving his van unlocked. If someone around here wants it, they can have it, as far as he’s concerned.

The gleaming double doors open to a tastefully-decorated, opulent lobby. There’s a large, expensive looking rug that he takes great care not to step on, and some vaguely boring-sounding instrumental music is coming from somewhere above his head. The ceilings are tall, taller than he thinks really makes sense, and his boots echo over the wood floor as he makes his way to the receptionist desk.

A young girl is sat behind a computer screen, clicking away at something with a bored look on her face. When Eddie clears his throat, she looks up, her expression flickering from a customer-service smile to something like suspicion.

“Hi, can I help you?” She asks, her voice generic enough to make Eddie feel on edge. He curses himself mentally, wishing he’d worn something a little more professional-looking than his leather jacket thrown over a black t-shirt. He wasn’t expecting all this, though.

“Yeah, hi. Um, I’m looking for Steve Harrington’s apartment, if you could just point me in the right direction?” Eddie says, his voice a little more meek than he’d like it to be. God, get it together, dude. If you’re going to be living here, you’ve gotta get used to the weird looks.

At the name, she perks up, but her eyes narrow suspiciously. “You’re looking for Mr. Harrington’s apartment?” She asks, as if she hadn’t heard him the first time.

Eddie grits his teeth and nods. “Yes,” he says, trying for politeness.

The girl looks down at her desk, shuffling some papers around before picking up a sticky note. “Are you a Mr. Munson, by chance?”

Eddie relaxes. Okay, he’s definitely in the right place, and Steve had even left word with the front desk that he was coming. He feels a lot less like a criminal, or imposter, now. “Yes, that’s me.”

The girl looks him up and down, and Eddie tries not to flush. God, is he seriously going to have to invest in a nicer wardrobe just to live here? “Do you have your ID?” she asks, sounding bored once again.

Eddie wants to be offended by that, but then he remembers himself. He nods, taking out his license and handing it out to her. She glances at the name, then up at him, a brief flickering of the gaze, then hands the little plastic rectangle back. Her smile seems slightly more genuine now. “Welcome, Mr. Munson. Mr. Harrington asked me to make sure we help you with any luggage you have, and get you your keys right away.”

She stands, going behind a partition Eddie hadn’t noticed before, and he hears some rattling before she returns, a set of keys in her hand, a card dangling from the same keyring. “Oh, um…” Eddie starts, a little confused.

The girl doesn’t even let him fumble through a question. “This is the gate key for the parking garage in the basement. This is the key to the mailbox, and this is the key to the apartment itself,” she explains, holding each one up as she goes through them. She hands them over, and remains standing, glancing down at Eddie’s appearance once more. “I can help with your bags, if you have anything else to bring in?” She offers.

Eddie feels his face flush, but tries to hide it. “Oh, this is all,” he says, holding up the duffel bag lamely. She nods, but looks a bit confused, so he adds, “I’m a light traveler,” as if that’ll make it any better.

“Right,” she says, giving him what he assumes is a pity-smile. “You’ll just go down this hallway, the elevator is on the right. Mr. Harrington is on the eleventh floor, unit 11D.”

“Oh… okay,” Eddie says, trying to get all of that straight in his head. “Thank you…” He tries to remember her name, then realizes she never told him.

She seems to take pity on him. “I’m Alice. If you ever need anything, don’t hesitate to reach out to the front desk, and someone will be happy to assist you.”

“Alright. Thank you, again.”

Alice nods, sending him right on his way.

The elevator doors open almost immediately, and Eddie feels even more out of place stepping into it, the walls made up of sparkling mirrors that seem to mock his appearance. He very purposefully does not make eye contact with himself in the mirrored doors, but swipes at his loose curls nervously. He deliberates, and when the elevator hits the eighth floor, he caves, dropping his duffel bag for a moment to pull his hair into a low bun, securing it with the loose hair tie on his wrist. There. Much better.

When the doors slide open on the eleventh floor, Eddie feels like he might pass out. It doesn’t even benefit him to still be nervous, he thinks vaguely as he starts off down the hall. He’s already gotten the job, and it’s not like Steve is scary.

Well. Okay, maybe scary isn’t the right word, but he’s definitely something.

He stops in front of the door to 11D, the dark wood beckoning him forward. He takes a deep breath, lifts his shaky fist, and knocks.

It’s probably just because he’s listening so carefully, but the sound of stampeding feet makes him jump, and he rushes to compose himself as the door flies open. He holds his hand out to shake Steve’s, only to find-

“Hi!” An excited voice calls.

Eddie drops his gaze. Two little girls stand before him, each of them with wild blonde curls and big, curious, brown eyes. They’re adorable. It takes everything in Eddie not to melt as he looks at them. He crouches down, holding his hand out.

“Hello there,” he says, grinning. “I’m Eddie, the new nanny. And you two must be Ivy and Jasmine, right?” There’s a spark of recognition on both their faces when Eddie says his name, and he relaxes a little, reassured that they’ve obviously already been informed of his arrival.

The one on the right is wearing a pink overall dress over a white t-shirt, her blonde curls piled into some sort of messy bun on top of her head. She takes his hand first, shaking it with big movements, giggling the whole time. “I’m Ivy,” she says. “I like your hair,” she adds, pointing at her own head, then his.

Eddie’s heart melts. “Thank you,” he says politely. “I like yours too. You guys have beautiful curls,” he says, glancing at the other one, offering his hand to her next.

She seems a bit shyer, taking his hand with a looser grip, shaking it in a much more normal fashion. “Thanks,” she says quietly. She lets go of his hand, both of hers going behind her back as she studies him. They’re not wearing the same outfit, he notices, which surprises him for twins. Instead of a dress to match her sister’s, Jasmine is wearing light wash jeans and a yellow sweatshirt. They both look adorable.

He glances between the two of them a couple times, trying to pick out any noticeable differences. Ivy smiles with her teeth, while Jasmine has a closed-lip, neutral sort of look on her face. Jasmine’s face is a bit longer, and her eyebrows are a bit darker. Ivy’s mouth and eyes have a bit of a different shape, but Eddie can’t quite put his finger on the specific difference. Within a couple of minutes, though, he thinks he’s got it.

“Alright,” he says, smiling. “I think I can tell you apart, but don’t hold me to that, okay?” They both nod, and he grins, leaning in and dropping his voice to a whisper. “You promise you’ll forgive me if I mess up a few times? I’m sorta new at this.”

Ivy laughs. “Daddy gets us confused all the time!” She announces, her voice proud. “Sometimes we trick him though. I tell him I’m Jasmine sometimes,” she admits, a sheepish grin pulling at her mouth.

Eddie grins. Kids with a fun sense of humor - now that he can get on board with. “Oh, that’s funny. But you guys won’t trick me right away, will you?”

Jasmine smiles, shakes her head no. “No, we won’t.”

Eddie isn’t entirely sure he can take their word, since he only just met them, but he grins nonetheless. He’s about to ask another question when the door opens wider, an exasperated voice coming from much further up.

“Girls, what have I told you about opening the door when you don’t know- oh, Eddie. Hi.” Steve’s rambling comes to a stop when he spots Eddie, and he runs a hand through his hair like he’s - what, nervous? No, it can’t be that.

Eddie stands up, his thighs screaming at him from the minor stretch, and he smiles sheepishly at Steve. “Er, sorry. They opened the door, and we got to chatting. How are you?”

Steve glances down at his daughters suspiciously, his eyes darting back up to Eddie’s quickly. “What did they tell you?” he asks, crossing his arms as he peers down at the girls. “Were we being kind, or telling stories?”

Ivy smiles up at him sweetly. “We were good, Daddy. We just told Eddie that we like to play pranks on you, sometimes. And we promised him we wouldn’t pull any pranks on him yet.”

Steve rolls his eyes. “Yeah, pranks,” he says, sarcastic. He offers Eddie a tired smile. “There won’t be any pranks, I assure you. They’ll be on their very best behavior, right?” he glances between the two of them, but Eddie doesn’t miss the way his eyes linger on Ivy. Ah, she must be the troublemaker, then. Who would’ve thought?

“Eh, best behavior is overrated, I think,” Eddie says, winking when the twins look up at him. He glances back up at Steve. “But, whatever you say, Mr. Harrington.”

“You can call me Steve,” he says with a shake of his head. “Come in, come in. Girls, give him some room, he’s not gonna be living out in the hallway, you know.”

The twins obey immediately, skittering out of the way but stopping to gesture Eddie forward. “Can we give him the tour, Daddy? Please?”

Steve shakes his head. “No, I need you two to go clean up your room. It better be spotless when I get in there, capiche?”

Jasmine nods, but her lips are twitching. Eddie is smiling from behind Steve, giving the twins a little overexaggerated finger-wag. He grins when the twins giggle. “Okay, Daddy,” Jasmine says, reaching for her sister’s hand. “We’ll capiche.”

“It’s not a verb, it’s -” Steve stops himself, shaking his head. “Nevermind. Room, spotless, okay?”

Ivy waves at him, following her sister down the hall and repeating their fun new vocabulary word in various accents. Eddie can’t imagine them being any cuter.

When Steve turns to look at him, Eddie tries to force his smile into something more neutral. “They’re sweet,” he offers, gesturing off after them. “And funny, too.”

Steve shakes his head, but Eddie can tell he’s proud. “Thanks. They definitely keep me on my toes.” He glances down at the singular bag in Eddie’s hand. “Oh, did Alice not offer to bring your other things up?” He asks, his eyebrows furrowing adorably.

Eddie frowns, feeling awkward. “Oh, um… Yeah, she did. This is, uh… This is all I’ve got.”

Steve stares at him, bewildered. “Oh…” He says, glancing down at the bag with another perplexed look. “Alright, then.” He seems a little bothered, but Eddie can’t imagine why. Isn’t it easier like this? The less baggage the better, surely. “Well, um. Follow me, I’ll show you where everything is.”

Nodding, Eddie follows behind him, listening as Steve points things out to him. They pass a short corridor on the right, and Steve explains that Eddie’s room is down that way, but they’ll end the tour there. Instead, he leads him through to the kitchen first. It’s nice and spacious, leading to an open-plan lounge, huge floor-to-ceiling windows on the far side of the room. It makes the whole space feel nice and homey, and more welcoming than most places Eddie’s had the displeasure of living in.

“So, this is the kitchen,” Steve continues, gesturing around the space. “I wish it was a bit bigger, but the island takes up most of the space. On the plus side, though, it works as our kitchen table too, so that’s a bonus, I guess.” Steve shrugs, then gestures to the cabinets. “The pantry’s always stocked, and we put in an order for groceries to be delivered every Saturday, so anything you need, just add it to the list.” As he says that, he gestures to the massive blackboard hanging on the wall next to the refrigerator.

“It’s beautiful,” Eddie manages, feeling small and dirty in a room this extravagant.

Steve smiles, but it doesn’t reach his eyes. “Thanks. So, as far as cooking goes, you can do whatever you want, the girls aren’t very picky. I’ve got a recipe box of their favorite things, and that’ll probably be a task that you and I split.”

Eddie’s quick to jump in to correct him. “Oh, no, sir, I can do that. I’ve been cooking for myself and my uncle since I was probably fourteen.”

Steve actually looks impressed by that, but Eddie can’t imagine why. Is it impressive to have to do things for yourself because you know no one else will? “Oh, well, I like to cook so I promise I don’t mind. And I assure you, there will be plenty for you to do without having to stress over that every single night, too.”

Eddie nods. Something about the fact that he will be busy with work settles his nerves a little bit. There’s no better distraction than work, especially housework. “Alright,” he says, nodding.

He follows Steve as he continues through to the lounge. A sofa is positioned in front of the big windows, an armchair to one side and a tv on the opposite wall of that. A sleek, low coffee table sits in the middle of it, and it’s impeccably decorated. Of course. “The girls know this, but I’ll go ahead and say it in case they try to pull one over on you,” Steve starts, gesturing to the living room. “They can bring any of their soft toys in here, anything that doesn’t make a mess really, but they have to put them up by themselves if they do. That applies to any part of the house. Their toys can be strewn in their room, and there might be days where you need to assist them in cleaning that, but if their toys come out of their bedroom, they are responsible for putting them back.”

Eddie nods. That sounds quite sensible, to him. “Alright.” He glances at the television. “What about screen hours? Rules?”

Steve rubs his hand over the back of his neck, looking sheepish. “I try to enforce a no-television-after-nine rule, but sometimes that’s sort of hard. I like a good movie myself, and I feel like such a hypocrite for sending them off to bed so I can sit here and watch it by myself.”

Eddie can’t help but laugh at that. “I know what you mean. So, no tv after nine, except for the exceptions?”

That makes Steve grin. “Yeah, exactly.” He gestures for Eddie to follow him, and goes to open the door just off of the living room. “This is my bedroom,” he says, gesturing. “I’ll take care of this space, of course, but I’ll be honest… you’re technically sharing a bathroom with the twins, but if you ever want to have a shower without having to move about a hundred bath toys, you can just come and use mine.”

It’s an innocent enough offer, but it still makes Eddie tingle a little bit. It’s quite an intimate space for an unmated alpha and omega to share, so he’s already certain that he will not be taking him up on that offer. “Alright,” Eddie still says, to be polite. He pretends he’s not studying the pristine room, with its soft-looking heather-gray bedding and natural light.

Steve clears his throat, gesturing for Eddie to follow him out of the room. He’s glad when Steve turns his back, and he can try to wipe away the blush in semi-private. “The girls have to be at school no later than seven-fifteen, so I usually get them up at about six or so to get them bathed and fed and dressed and everything.”

Eddie nods, filing that away. He’s definitely going to have to write it down somewhere. “Okay, that’s not a problem,” he agrees.

“I’ll help, of course, since I have to be up early anyway for work, but it’ll definitely be easier with the two of us,” Steve says, smiling over his shoulder.

That makes Eddie smile. “Yeah, of course,” he says. “Do they catch a bus, walk… how do they get to school?”

Steve leads them back through the kitchen, turning down the hall they’d passed by earlier. “You can walk them there, it’s not far. I usually drive them, since I’m on my way to work anyway, but I’d like it if they could walk, get the early morning air and exercise.”

Eddie personally thinks that sounds like a nightmare, but they’re not his kids. “Alright,” he says.

Steve gestures to the first door on the left. “This is the washer and dryer. Spare closet,” he says, gesturing across the hall to the first door on the right. He pushes open the second door on the right, letting Eddie peek his head around and peer into it. “Bathroom. Like I said, bath toys galore,” he says, clearly exasperated.

Eddie giggles. “Right,” he says.

“That’s the twins’ room, and this is yours,” Steve continues, opening the last door on the left, right next to the door that stands at the very end of the hallway that he indicated belonging to the girls. He steps back, gesturing for Eddie to go into his room and take a look around.

It’s just as nice as the rest of the house. The bed frame looks similar, or maybe identical, to the one in Steve’s room, but it has black bedding on it. Eddie smiles, wondering if Steve picked that out after meeting him the other day. A dresser is situated across from the foot of the bed, a small television set on top of it. There’s a bedside table on either side of the bed, identical lamps sitting on each one. The windows are just as big in this room as they’d been in all of the others, and Eddie is relieved to spot those fancy automatic-blinds tucked up close to the top.

“Is it okay?” Steve asks from behind him, sounding nervous.

Eddie’s quick to reassure him. “It’s perfect,” he says, nodding quickly. “I… Really, thank you.”

Steve smiles, a little shy, in return. “You’ve got a nice closet, too,” he says, gesturing. “I put some empty hangers in there already for you.” He glances down at Eddie’s sad little bag again. “Are you… are you sure you don’t have anything else?”

The question makes Eddie squirm, embarrassed, but he shrugs, as if he’s completely unbothered. “Yeah, I’m sure. I don’t really need much,” he says. And it’s probably true. He’s made it this long with the bare minimum. Having a fancy new place to live and work doesn’t change that much.

“Alright,” Steve finally says. He still has that look on his face, like something is bothering him, but Eddie turns away, pretends he doesn’t notice. “Well, take a little bit, get settled, and come find me when you’re ready, okay?”

Eddie nods, and listens to the soft sound of Steve’s footsteps retreating, and then the door clicks shut softly behind him. Eddie drops his bag, and himself, onto the end of the bed, gazing out the window.