And then one day they accidentally go on a date when they walk into the diner at the same time and decide to sit together. They're both there to wait for their kids. Hours early because when their kids aren't with them they don't know what to do with themselves anymore.
Eddie's kid just had a weekend fishing trip with Uncle Wayne and they'll be meeting at the diner for dinner. It's lunch.
Robin is supposed to be bringing Steve's kid back to him after a long weekend at her house in Chicago. His kid had been suspended from school for throwing a dodgeball at Eddie's kid's head in gym class. It broke their nose and gave them a concussion. Robin is a behavioral therapist, Steve thought maybe she could get through to his kid since they love their Aunt Robin, and Steve doesn't know where he's going wrong, his kid had never really been violent before.
They sit together, order burgers and shakes, and talk about everything and nothing for 6 hours. Easy- like they're old friends. (They're not. Though they do remember each other from high school, they just "didn't run in the same circles" as Steve tried to politely intimate, and Eddie bantered back, "Yeah, kinda hard for the King and the Court Jester to connect." Steve reached across the table and started outlining the Joker card tattooed on the inside of Eddie's forearm, a gentle apology.)
When their kids finally show up, they also show up at the same time- almost like they'd planned it, 2 hours late. (Not like Steve or Eddie had noticed.)
Steve and Eddie reluctantly got up from their booth, plates and cups scattered all across the table because the waitress had been too busy eavesdropping and cooing at the cuteness overload of what was clearly a first date. (One that would end in marriage if their waitress, Chrissy, had anything to do with it.) The kids ran up and hugged their respective parents.
"OMG FINALLY! We thought y'all would never get together." Steve's kid yelled as they hugged him around the middle, squeezing hard and turning to high five Eddie's kid, who was also hanging off of Eddie.
"We did it!" Eddie's kid smiled at Steve's kid with a look of complete triumph, fist pumping excitedely.
"What's this all about?" Steve pushed his kid back by their shoulders to get their attention.
"They Parent-Trapped you. Sort of." Robin snickered as she sat down at the table next to their booth, pulling the next table over to conjoin it with hers. They were going to need more seats.
Wayne was helping, laughing at the looks of bewilderment on Steve and Eddie's faces.
"These two have been on the phone with each other all weekend plotting new ways to force y'all to meet each other. Apparently y'all are meant to be together, according to your kids." Wayne chipped in.
"Yeah Dad, we've been friends since they moved back to Hawkins and we realized we're, like, platonic soulmates," they looked to Robin to check they'd said that right, she gave them a wink, "which means we should have been born twins." Steve's kid piped up.
"Yeah, and when we were talking about you guys, we realized y'all must be actually Soulmates, because it all just makes sense. So we have been trying to get y'all to meet!" Eddie's kid butt in, sitting in the seat next to their best friend and soon to be real sibling.
"So all those fights at school?" Steve asked, appalled.
"We faked it!" They said together.
"You can't really fake a broken nose and a concussion." Eddie squinted down at them.
"Oh, well actually, that one was because I forgot to tie my shoes." Eddie's s kid said sheepishly, rubbing the back of their head.
"Yeah, and when they fell face first into the wall I ran over to check on them, and I was kinda laughing at them because it was funny, and they were mostly okay. But the coach thought it was my fault since we'd been in so many "fights" lately." Steve's kid explained with exaggerated air quotes, still laughing at the memory. "But it turned out okay because I got a vacation to Aunt Robin's." Steve's kid high fived Robin, who was smiling just as big, like this wasn't problematic at all.
"You couldn't have just asked for a sleepover like normal kids?" Steve pinched the bridge of his nose, exasperated, but also kind of relieved that his kid wasn't going through some sort of early onset existential crisis brought on by a latent attachment disorder due to the absence of their mother since birth. (Robin was a good therapist but was prone to hysterical theorizing.)
"Well okay then, can we have a sleepover tonight? Their dad can come too!" Steve's kid begged and suddenly he had three sets of puppy dog eyes begging him for a sleepover.
Steve said yes of course. Once he looked up into Eddie's jokingly pouty face and wide, wet eyes he knew he was cooked.
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