#peach thinks

⭐️ but then you and Steve have the oldest boy, and decide that even though it’s a day with really tough memories, you want to create new traditions and happier moments with the little (big) family that you’re creating

⭐️ I’m thinking it’s a day where you and Steve wake up extra early for some time alone. Like creeping down the stairs, quietly making coffee, and slipping outside onto the back porch

⭐️ I imagine there’s outdoor furniture and that the whole porch/ backyard is just decorated and decked out bc the Harringtons have the house that’s the hang out spot (like your kids friends want to spend time there, parties and get togethers happen often in your backyard, etc)

⭐️ anyways, you and Steve sit next to each other on the couch. You’ve got your legs swung over his thighs, sitting sideways so it’s easier to look at him. Steve’s got one hand wrapped around his coffee mug and the other is grazing your knees softly

⭐️ for a while you’re both silent, watching the sun rise and listening to the birds chirp

⭐️ “do you still think about it? Besides today?” Steve asks quietly, referring to the summer of 1985. you nod, “often”

⭐️ steve sets his cup down on the table in front of the couch, hands fully wrapping around your legs now. “You’ve never told me that,” He replies, a little crestfallen at this revelation

⭐️ You reach up to curl a messy strand of hair back behind his ear, “because our life’s beautiful. yeah it crosses my mind, but I’ve healed since then. You have too. They helped us heal and move on,” you’re referring to your children.

⭐️ you set your own mug down now, reaching out to cup his face with your fingers splaying out along his neck, “and the ugly memories only make me more thankful for the wonderful ones that you’ve given me. That they’ve given me”

⭐️ Steve closes his eyes, rests his forehead against yours and murmurs, “they are pretty perfect, aren’t they?” And you hum in agreement, because while nobody is really perfect, you and Steve can’t help but think that your babes are

⭐️ but then one of them starts screaming from inside “Mom! Dad! Come here!” Making the two of you break apart

⭐️ Steve sighs and playfully says, “except when they’re interrupting my time with you”

⭐️ the screaming for you was coming from your middle boy because of a fall his twin took while running down the stairs, “how many times have I said no running on the stairs?” Steve asks your middle girl who’s holding a hand over her elbow from smacking it hard against a step, and she’s now bawling her eyes out. Steve’s not angry, he’s just concerned someone’s really gonna get hurt on the stairs.

⭐️ He wraps her in a hug, calming her down, but the crying and yelling for you has woken everyone else up, and it leads to a very chaotic rest of the morning before breakfast even gets started

⭐️ I’m thinking a typical 4th of July after that starts with going to the local Hawkins parade! I imagine that there’s a little parade that goes throughout downtown and Steve’s determined to make it there on time

⭐️ He’s right by the front door and has your toddler propped up in his arms with the youngest boy hanging off his back, and he’s calling for the teenagers to get downstairs (oldest boy is the on the phone with his girlfriend making plans to visit her later, and eldest girl is also on the phone making plans to meet her friends later which is going to just break Steve’s heart because it’ll be the first year his teenagers don’t stay with him the whole day) “C’mon you two! You know uncle Dustin is going to try to steal our usual spot if we don’t leave this house in t-minus 5 minutes. I need you hustling!”

⭐️ I imagine oldest boy says goodbye to his girl and yells back “okay, sorry dad!” And eldest girl rolls her eyes and yells back “stop being so dramatic dad!” Which makes Steve grumpily grumble under his breath “I’m not dramatic”

⭐️ Meanwhile you’re in the kitchen mediating a fight the twins just had about who’s the smartest. and normally they get into silly fights, but this one has caused actual tears

⭐️ Steve’s heard the whole thing from the hallway and he walks into the kitchen, seeing you soothing them, but he adds his two cents in anyways, “both of you are equally smart in your own ways. your brains are great, trust me - your mom and I literally made you, so let’s stop arguing over it. I love you all, but we need to get a move on please.“

⭐️ it makes the twins lose their focus, and they both give you a questioning look like why is dad acting like a drill sergeant over parade seats and none of you can take him seriously with the littles dangling from his arms and neck

⭐️ the twins crack and start to giggle, “dads losing it” and Steve narrows his eyes “I heard that!” But finally they get over their little ridiculous quarrel, and finally the teenagers get downstairs.

⭐️ Dustin still beats you there anyways

⭐️ after the parade, it’s time for an early lunch and the tradition is to eat at Mel’s Diner, which is where you and Steve hung out all the time while dating and now bring your kids. It’s there that your teenagers break the news and ask if they can hang out with their friends for the remainder of the day

⭐️ Steve plasters on a fake smile, “yeah, that’s fine, sounds like fun” but you catch the way his smile wobbles, the way his shoulders slump, the way he avoids eye contact with you because he knows he’ll break if he sees you analyzing his real feelings over it

⭐️ the teenagers head off to hang out with their friends, while the rest of the crew relaxes for a little bit at home before it’s time for the party to come over to hang out and have a bbq. Littles are down for naps and twins are watching tv.

⭐️ Steve changes into his swim shorts, leaving his chest bare, and a twinge of want runs through you - aching to make him feel better because you can tell he’s really affected by the oldest two not being home

⭐️ you sneak up behind him in your bathroom (I picture Steve and reader have their own bathroom that’s inside of their bedroom) and wrap your arms around his middle - holding him snugly. You rest your cheek against his upper back, “That’s fine?” You prompt, referring to what he said earlier, knowing it’s not really fine.

⭐️ he melts against you, “what was I supposed to say? You’re crushing my heart, and please stop growing up?”

⭐️ you press a few kisses along the moles and freckles that line his skin, “no, you did the right thing by letting them go. and we both knew this day was coming. I just want to make sure you’re okay, baby”

⭐️ Steve sighs, “I’m okay. I just hate that time goes by so fast”

⭐️ you hold onto him tightly for a little while longer, before showing your appreciation for him by sinking down onto your knees if you know what I mean 🙈

⭐️ it’s late afternoon when Max and Lucas come over with their kids along with Erica (who maybe has a boyfriend… but I don’t picture her with kids just yet)

⭐️ I’m thinking Max and Lucas have three kids (girl who’s 6, boy who’s 3, and boy who’s a little over 1)

⭐️ Dustin and his wife are also over with their two kids (girl who’s 5, and girl who’s maybe only like 9 months old and he’s carrying her around constantly) also, do we think Suzi is his wife or someone else? Like miss girl where did you go? And I know we don’t necessarily need an explanation for each side character, but she helped save the world twice and then boom disappeared which makes sense I guess bc Dustin was so sad in season 5, poor bby 😭

⭐️ also, not purposefully trying to leave the rest of the party out, but I don’t imagine Mike staying around Hawkins without El… (sorry y’all, I don’t think she makes it in this au but even if she does… they still live in a place far away with waterfalls 🥲) and the Byers all moved to NY, and Robin is definitely still in MA and I picture Nancy is probably there too, and they’re not making it back for a quick weekend trip

⭐️ anyways, Steve throws himself into having fun with the kids along with Lucas and Dustin. He’s canon balling into the pool, participating in water balloon fights, jumping on the trampoline, and so on while you lounge in the pool with Max, Erica and Dustin’s wife, chatting and watching closely over the really young kids

⭐️ eventually it’s time to start grilling and get ready for dinner. Lucas insists on doing it because one year Steve got so distracted by you in your swimsuit while pregnant that he burned the food

⭐️ I think it went like this…..

⭐️ Steve’s all over you, hands on your growing belly and kissing along your exposed skin and Dustin yells at the two of you, “hey lovebirds, there’s kids around. Let’s keep it PG”

⭐️ which only makes Steve flip Dustin the bird and keep kissing you bc it’s his house dammit, and he’ll kiss you if he wants to, and the kids are too busy playing around to even care

⭐️ but no one’s paying attention to the grill because Steve’s supposed to be taking care of it. suddenly it’s smoking real bad and Lucas panics, gets it under control, but now the food is BURNT and inedible

⭐️ Dustin sends Steve a pointed look, and you bite your lip in amusement when Steve shrugs and sheepishly says “ordering pizza sounds good too”

⭐️ back to present day….

⭐️ tummy’s are full and goodbyes are being held because i picture Lucas and Erica’s parents still live in Hawkins and they’re gonna head over to spend the rest of the night with them. Same thing with Dustin, his family plans to spend the rest of the evening with Claudia

⭐️ it’s getting late, and your kids are getting sleepy, but there’s no way anyone is missing out on the fireworks show. so once the party has headed out, and you’ve gotten the troops freshened up just a little, you head over to wherever they shoot the fireworks off (maybe that field area from season 3 🤔)

⭐️ you’re spreading out picnic blankets for the kids to snuggle up on, and when you and Steve sit down you’re being attacked and fought over by your babes

⭐️ Eventually they settle with your youngest boy curled up in your lap with your middle girl leaning against you. Your middle boy is laying down with his head on Steve’s legs while your toddler cuddles up under his arm.

⭐️ toddler has been bugging Steve ALL DAY about fireworks. “Daddy, fireworks now?” “Daddy, when’s fireworks time?” “Daddy, want fireworks right now” because she doesn’t grasp the concept just yet that they only go off at night. So she says it one final time, “daddy, fireworks now?” And Steve laughs, “yeah babe, fireworks now”

⭐️ just as the show is about to start, your teenagers startle you - coming out of nowhere and taking up the last spaces on the blankets

⭐️ “I thought you had plans with your friends?” Steve asks them. “Yeah it was fun, but we wanted to watch the fireworks with you guys. It’s a Harrington tradition after all” oldest boy answers and eldest girl nods in agreement

⭐️ Steve acts like it doesn’t get to him, but he’s actually tearing up because even though his kids are teenagers, they’re still his babies, and he’s just so lucky they still want to be around the two of you and the littles

⭐️ you reach over to grab Steve’s hand, giving it a gentle squeeze to show him he’s not alone in the feeling

⭐️ he turns to look at you, expression of content on his face because he’s living out his dream with his girl and his children

⭐️ he leans towards you as the first fireworks start, can’t help but litter your jaw with sweet kisses that the kids don’t notice because they’re all too busy staring in awe at the fireworks 🎆

⭐️ “Steve you’re missing the show,” you whisper

⭐️ he captures your lips in a greedy kiss and mumbles against your mouth “I’ve already got the best view right in front of me, honey”

now if there was a fresh 2 month old in the mix…

⭐️ tiny 4th of July outfit omg. Steve picked it out and is so proud of it

⭐️ Steve’s fretting over you and baby the whole day. You’d think with it being your 7th kid he’s relaxed but he’s not

- “You feeling okay, honey?”

- “You aren’t too hot, are you, honey?”

- “You need anything, honey?”

- “What can I get you, honey?”

- “Tell me how to help, honey”

- “Here, let me do it, honey”

- “stop, honey, sit down, I’ll take care of it”

⭐️ when you get overwhelmed or overstimulated from baby crying, Steve scoops babe up in his arms and immediately starts consoling or figuring out the problem

⭐️ baby’s a little too young to to go in the pool with everyone, so Steve’s constantly checking that baby is safe from the sun, that their temperature is regulated, that you’re doing okay and taking breaks with babe inside the house to cool down

⭐️ your children are obsessed with the new baby. they want to take turns to help you throughout the day when they can because you and Steve raised little angels that love each other and love you

⭐️ tiny sound blocking earmuffs for baby during the fireworks. You take precautions and don’t sit as close up as you normally might, and Steve’s constantly checking how baby is doing, but little thing is sleeping perfectly through the show 😴

Oldest boy - looks exactly like reader. he’s got her facial features, eye color and hair color, but maybe he’s got Steve’s hair texture (always hears, “wow you look just like your Mom!”)

Eldest girl - she’s got readers hair color and texture. I think her facial features are mostly a mix of the two, but her eyes are just like Steve’s (always hears, “you’re just the perfect mix of your parents”)

Middle boy - carbon copy of Steve. Like that’s his twin. Same color hair and texture, same eye color, strikingly similar facial features. Maybe looks like reader if you squint (always hears, “you look just like your Dad!”)

Middle girl - She’s got traits from Steve’s eyes, and I feel like she’s got a mix of their features… I feel like she’d be the one where some people tell her she looks just like her dad, and then other people tell her she looks just like her mom… but they don’t tell her she looks like a mix of them if that makes sense (she’s me, bc why do I get told by some people I’m my mom’s twin and by other people I look just like my dad?? 🤷🏼‍♀️)

Youngest boy - another clone of Steve (always hears people tell his daddy, “Steve, he’s a mini you!”

Youngest girl - she’s got Steve’s hair color and texture, but her facial features and eyes are mostly from reader! (Always hears people telling you, “oh my, she could almost be your twin!”)

Baby - don’t know yet about baby… but if you’re reading this and haven’t checked the votes from the fic the question was on, then you get a sneak peek that baby #7 will be a girl 😁