#subeddieweek

He gets jump-scared immediately by the quiet figure of Jonathan standing behind the door. 

"Jesus, Jon!" He clutches at his chest. "You scared me."

"Ten minutes is up," the kid points out unapologetically, briefly glancing at the clock. "It's snack break."

"Yeah, okay, sheesh. I'll get you your snacks."

From the fridge, he pulls out a whole pack of juice boxes and hands them over to the small group gathered around his desk. 

"Can I have two?" asks Chrissy, a blonde girl in a princess tiara. Steve raises his eyebrow.

"And where's Eddie?" he asks.

"Reading," she shrugs. 

"Eddie should know by now that a snack break means a break from reading too," Steve says, handing her one juice box before standing up. "I'll go get him, you can sit with the others."

Chrissy frowns but nods, joining the group around the eating table where bowls full of fruits are waiting for them. Meanwhile, Steve walks over to the corner by the window, with bean bags and pillows and shelves full of books. Eddie is sitting there, fully immersed in one of the comics. Next to him is a book with fairies on the cover, a fluffy bookmark sticking out of it—probably Chrissy's pick for the day.

He stops for a while, smiling at the sight the kid made. With his tattoos, wild hair, torn jeans and chains, sitting among fluffy pillows and colorful designs of the kindergarten, he stands out even more than the others. Definitely way more than his best friend Chrissy, who likes to put on tutus, fairy wings and tiaras when in the daycare.

Steve knocks on the window frame, attracting Eddie's attention. His big brown eyes look up from the book reluctantly. 

"We're having a snack break, come sit with us."

"Can I finish my comic first?" Eddie asks with a pout to his lips. But Steve can see he's only halfway through. 

"If you join us now, you can finish it during nap time," he bargains. 

The boy's eyes widen, but then squint suspiciously. 

"Really?"

"I promise." Steve places a hand on his heart. He knows how much Eddie hates the naps. By the time he winds down enough to actually rest, the others are usually getting up, ready to leave. 

"Hmmm, okay," Eddie graciously agrees, bookmarking his comic with a crooked paper dragon he's made a week ago, and places it on top of Chrissy's book. When Steve holds out his hand, he eyes it for a moment before accepting it.

"Atta boy!" Steve smiles, pulling him up. "Let's get some sugar in you." He walks him to the eating table holding his hand and grabs an orange juice box on the way. There's a space next to Chrissy waiting for him, but he scoots more so Steve can fit too. 

"Here." Steve hands him the juice and sits next to them, grabbing a banana for himself. 

"Thanks, dad," Eddie answers reflexively and freezes, eyes wide. 

Steve just pats his shoulder, ignoring the ache in his chest.

"Don't worry, it happens. I call you my kids all the time."

"Really?" Eddie throws him a distrustful glance, his ears red. 

"Really. I take care of you here, so it feels natural."

None of the other kids react to Eddie's slip up, except for Chrissy, who grins wide and kicks him under the table. Eddie kicks back. 

"No kicking!"

* 

Steve knows he shouldn't let his kids continue activities during nap time. They don't have to sleep, but this time should be spent winding down and resting, getting ready to transition back into the adult world outside. There's the waiting area for that, too, but what would be a kindergarten without nap time anyway? And once that is done, everyone is hurrying to their families, jobs, and responsibilities. Though they do stop sometimes to exchange contacts or simply continue chatting about their favorite dinosaurs over coffee.

But, true to his promise, he lets Eddie set his blanket next to Steve's bean bag and open his comic. In an act of solidarity, he grabs his own book too, making Eddie smile. 

Steve doesn't wake up his attendees as a rule unless he needs to close up or has been asked beforehand. So he watches a few people stir up and quietly leave after half an hour, others switching to quiet meditation for the next 15 minutes, and when those start to leave, whoever's left usually blinks their eyes open. 

Almost an hour passes when the last person, Chrissy, leaves, waving to them both. Steve looks down at Eddie, who sluggishly waves back, rubbing his eye.

"You should have taken a nap."

"Dun' wanna."

"Uh huh. I can see that."

Eddie glowers at him, but with the childish petulance and being wrapped in a star blanket on the floor, it doesn't do much damage. 

Needless to say, Eddie seems reluctant to leave the child headspace, and Steve has a soft spot for him, so he's going to let him stay in it for a little longer. 

"Do you want to help me clean up?"

"No," Eddie says, but gets up with a yawn, and starts to fold his blanket anyway. Steve shakes his head fondly. 

Together they put away the discarded toys, fold the blankets and put them in the designated cubicles. Without being asked for one, Steve puts a bright yellow star on Eddie's shirt. 

"For helping out." He smiles.

"Thanks!" Eddie grins. "I'm gonna win soon!"

"This isn't a competition," Steve reminds him with a tilt of his head. Eddie scrunches his nose at him.

"Maybe to you. I'm trying to beat Robin. She has too many stars."

Oops. Maybe Steve has been favorizing her more than he thought.

"Does Robin even know about it?" he asks with a small smile. 

"Of course!" Eddie huffs, following Steve as he checks the windows and files away the attendance list. "She says it's because you like her more."

Steve looks Eddie in the eye.

"You know that's not true, I like all of you the same." He needs to have a talk with her about stirring Eddie up.

"Yeah, but you live with Robin!" the boy points out. 

"Well, yeah, but—"

"But she said I can marry you if I win!"

"She said that?" Steve blinks at him, aghast. The talk with Robin will be a long one. 

"She said I need the best friend's blessing," Eddie recalls. "And then I'll be your wife and you'll like me more!" he explains his logic.

Steve can't help his amused smile. 

"Not my husband?" 

Eddie's cheeks turn slightly pink. 

"No."

"No? Why not?" 

"Because!" Eddie stomps his foot and turns around, on his way to the waiting area. 

"Because what?" Steve calls after him, barely containing his laughter. He quickly gathers his things to follow him out.

"Because!!!" he repeats, slamming the door behind him. Steve chuckles to himself. There's a pleasant flutter in his stomach, the already familiar need to protect. With a hint of very unprofessional possessiveness. 

When he enters the waiting room, he can see Eddie struggling to lace his shoes. 

"Need help with that?"

"No!" Eddie answers, still grumpy. 

"Alright." Steve shrugs, nonplussed. "Want your adult juice?"

He's silent for a moment, before muttering a quiet, "Yes, please."

"And there I thought you completely forgot the magic words existed," Steve teases, turning to fix them both coffee. As the express comes to life, he leans on the counter to observe the man. He's stubbornly trying to lace his shoes while sitting, which isn't the best or most comfortable angle. But as he's not asking for help, Steve won't offer it again, no matter how much his fingers itch. 

Only Robin knows how much he wants to lace Eddie's shoes for him, wrap him in a jacket, and send him to work with a kiss to his temple. How much he wants to buy him toys and prepare snacks for when he's too busy to remember about eating.

When he was starting up the daycare, he hoped it would satiate this need most of his dates didn't understand. And it did, to some extent. Until Eddie signed up. 

His friend, Chrissy, dragged him here, all sharp edges and scoffs that tried and failed to hide his shyness and embarrassment. But once he opened up, it was hard to pull him out of it. Both the playroom and the headspace. 

"You have a tattoo project to finish," Chrissy would remind him five minutes after official closing time, already in the waiting room, since adult topics weren't allowed in the playroom. 

"Bleh, adult stuff," Eddie would stick a tongue at her, already brown from his coffee. (Which they would soon start calling adult juice to make it sound more appealing and magical—a potion turning Eddie back into a grown-up.)

The first time Eddie ran up to him in his mismatched socks and a huge grin, showing off the lopsided braids in his hair, telling him, "Look! I'm an elf!" Steve felt all the professional distance leave his body with a piercing shot through his heart.

"You sure do," he choked out. "Let's see if I have a bow and arrow somewhere."

The excited squeal Eddie let out made a shadow of embarrassment pass through him, but Steve quickly squashed it with a warm smile. With a mental note to order a green cape for a proper elven immersion, he realized he's in trouble.

It's been a few months now that Eddie's been coming to the day care, and a month of Steve giving in to his weakness, walking him home until their paths split. He tells himself it's because he's making sure he's coming off little space safely, that it's his responsibility—aftercare, in a way. But he knows Eddie is an adult, at the end of the day, and has Chrissy to take care of him at home. His "help" might be counterproductive, actually, making him feel like he's still in the daycare when Steve's with him. 

But he's held his hand on the crosswalk only twice, so.

Eventually, Eddie gets his laces sorted, even if the knots are a little lopsided. Steve puts lids on their travel mugs and hands Eddie his coffee. 

"Ready?"

"Mhm. Thanks, Da—" His eyes widen at almost slipping up for the second time that day. "Uh, Steve. Sorry. Thank you, Steve," he mumbles, taking a sip of the hot drink. 

Steve loves and hates when he does that. He's been called a dad by the attendees before, which always left him yearning to have someone of his own to call him that. But it seems like Eddie's been slipping up more often as the time passes. It's feeding the possessive beast in his chest.

"Don't worry about it." Steve waves his hand, knowing he'll do all the worrying needed. "I've heard it's normal to want to marry your—"

"No!"

"—parental figure," Steve finishes with a grin.

"No. No, no, no. La la la la la la la." Eddie presses one hand to his ear, since the other is occupied with the coffee mug. "I'm leaving!"

"I thought you didn't want to?" Steve points out, grabbing his things to follow. 

"I changed my mind!"

Eddie waits for him to lock the door anyway, sipping on his coffee and not looking at him. 

"Feeling bigger?" Steve asks him when the key is safely in his pocket and he's ready to go. 

"A bit," Eddie nods. 

"Great! So, any new projects you're working on?"

One of the outcomes of their walks together is learning about adult Eddie—his part time job at a tattoo studio and his passion for music. At first he had the tiniest hope that finding out he's more than a kid he could care for, would tune his feelings down, but no. He finds himself intrigued by adult Eddie as well, could see them becoming friends, and every day, the offer to hang out one-on-one, either with his big or little version, itches at the tip of his tongue. 

He's worried one day it will spill out and the reality will have nothing on the fantasy he's built up in his mind. 

He met Steve out front, who handed him two lawn bags, "Open one of these. I dump out the mower's bag twice for the front yard, so just stand here and I'll bring it to you."

Eddie nodded and worked on opening the bag, which turned out to be a little more difficult than he realized, ending up halfway inside the bag before bringing it down in front of himself.

Steve had already gotten the mower running and was two back and forth's into the yard.

And Eddie waited.

It was a nice day out, warm with a slight breeze, comfortable even in the shade of the house.

Steve finished half the yard and unhooked the bag from the mower, carrying it over to Eddie.

"Alright, open it up. I need to get this bag fully into it so nothing falls out." Eddie followed the directions, hooking the paper bag around the mower's bag. "Good. Might want to cover your mouth and nose with your shirt, the grass can go flying."

Eddie held the bag with one hand, pulling his t-shirt over his nose with his other.

"Good. Don't want your allergies acting up, baby. Alright, there we go. I'll just get the rest of the yard, then we can go to the back yard, yeah?"

Eddie nodded, standing beside his bag, holding it so it wouldn't dump.

Steve walked back to the mower, glancing back at Eddie quizzically, giving him a little wave. Eddie smiled back.

And he waited.

The wind whispered across his skin, feeling cool and refreshing. The birds chirped in the trees around him.

Steve finished the yard, pushing the mower over to Eddie, they repeated the earlier process, before heading to the backyard.

The back was technically bigger, but over the years they'd laid gravel and bricks to make a fire pit area and deck space, so there was about the same amount of grass to mow as the front.

Steve asked Eddie to open the bag and Eddie did.

Steve pointed to a shady space by their shed Eddie should stand to be out of the sun and Eddie did.

Steve mowed.

Eddie waited.

"Baby?" Hot hands slide up his jaw, cupping his face. He blinked. Steve was standing before him. "Hey, there. You back with me?"

Eddie blinked at him.

"Ok, that's ok. Let's go inside, get some water. Worked up quite a sweat out here. Come on."

Steve turned him toward the house, placing a heavy hand on his lower back to guide him to the door.

Inside, Steve sat him back at the chair he'd been writing in earlier.

Eddie watched as he stepped over to the cupboards, pulling out two glasses, then grabbed the pitcher of cold water from the fridge, setting them on the table near Eddie.

Steve sat beside him and poured the water, holding a glass up up Eddie's lips. Eddie blinked at him once before his eyes slipped closed and he drank the water Steve slowly tipped for him.

Steve set the glass aside once he finished it all and took Eddie's hands in his, rubbing the backs with his thumbs. Eddie took a deep breath.

Thoughts were flitting around his mind, too quick to grab on to. He tilted his head questioningly.

"Baby, I think you slipped into your floaty headspace while we were working."

Eddie's eyebrows pinched in confusion.

"Think it might've been the choker. I can take it off, maybe that'll help?" Eddie whined, jerking a hand from Steve's to cover the front of the choker, eyes wide with worry.

"Ok, ok, that's fine, baby. You can keep it on." Steve held his hand out, Eddie placed his back in it, Steve continued to rub the backs. "Don't worry, I'm not taking it from you. Just wanna take care of you. Why don't we take a little break from yard work? Come on, I'll put a movie on."

Steve stood, holding Eddie's hands so he'd follow with him. He sat Eddie on their couch, going over to pop a movie in, and then sitting back beside him, wrapping an arm around him.

As the movie played, Eddie's thoughts became a little firmer. He tilted his head to look at Steve, who felt the shift and met his eyes.

"Hi." His voice felt hard to push out. He rubbed his cheek on Steve's shoulder.

Steve slid his hand into Eddie's hair. "Hey there, babe. You coming back to your body a bit more?"

Eddie hummed, mmhmm.

"Good, that's good. You hungry?"

Eddie thought about it, tilting his head and pursing his lips so Steve would know he was thinking about it. He nodded and hummed out a uh huh.

"Alrighty. Let's pause this and go make something. Come on." Steve stood, holding out his hand for Eddie to take, and then pulled him up.

Accident or not, Steve used a tad too much strength and Eddie stumbled, falling into Steve's arms. He giggled, smiling up at Steve. Steve grinned back.

They walked into the kitchen hand in hand. Steve stood Eddie against the counter where he could keep touching him while he made them something to eat.

They sat back in the living room with their food and the movie playing. Little by little, Eddie felt more solid. By the time the movie ended and their empty plates sat on the coffee table, Eddie was able to think again.

He turned to Steve, speaking low, "Do you really think it was the choker?"

Steve turned sideways on the couch to face him. "Yeah, babe, I do. It's the only thing that makes sense. I was thinking about it and it is kinda like a collar collar, you know? I know we decided that a collar wasn't something we were interested in, but...maybe we should rethink that."

Eddie nodded. "Yeah. I mean, maybe not immediately, though? This seemed to work pretty well."

He touched the front of his choker gently, just his fingertips brushing against it.

Steve smiled at him. "Ok, not yet then. However, if we want one for an actual, harder scene, we're going to look at the proper collars, ok?"

"Yeah, ok, sounds fair." Eddie nodded and then hesitated, looking down as if he could see the necklace. "Can I keep this on, though? For today at least?"

Steve leaned over, smiling, and kissed him gently. "I bought it for you, it's yours. You wear it as long as you're comfortable."

Eddie smiled back, leaning in, asking for another kiss which Steve happily gave him.

"Can we watch another movie?" Eddie asked, guilelessly, knowing they still had yard work to do.

Steve laughed at his blatant attempt to get out of going back outside. "Yeah, babe, let's watch another. You pick this time."

Eddie hopped up excitedly, feeling rejuvenated after floating away for so long. He popped in a movie, swung by the chair to grab the blanket, and plopped back down against Steve.

At some point they would need to talk and reassess their dynamic and interests, but that was for another day.

Today was for yard work and movies.