Teen Dad AU
Part 3!!!
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…
Steve went to school on Friday with a pleasant pep in his step. He’d be leaving early at 1:30 for work and then leaving work at 5 to go officially move into the trailer. He’d have the whole weekend off to get properly moved, to.
People still eyed him in the halls. They still whispered and they still looked. And yeah, it wasn’t with the same respect as it was before. But Steve found he didn’t care. He stopped by his locker, number 276.
Nancy and Jonathan were already there, both leaning against the lockers and talking quietly.
Steve didn’t say much to the two of them. He’d put away what he didn’t need in his locker and then simply went to first period.
.
There wasn’t ever much to say about school. Sure it was different from his home life, and yes it was different from his work life, but it wasn’t anything special.
It stopped being special when he decided to stick with Louie nearly 7 months ago now.
He left at 1:30, as he usually did. He typically got Nancy or Jonathan to stop by and grab the work he’d be missing for him so that he wasn’t absolutely failing.
At work, Steve couldn’t stop glancing at the clock. A couple of the regulars— Abby, a sweet lady in her thirties, and Mandy, a sassy black lady in her fifties— congratulated him on the new trailer and tipped extra.
Steve was positively vibrating with nerves his entire shift. Every time he went back to pick up an order from Mason and Gwen they shot him cheeky grins and gave him claps on the shoulders.
Everyone could see how excited Steve was, and his moods were usually rubbing off on everyone anyway.
When 5 finally hit, Steve hung his apron, counted his tips, and gave everyone the usual goodbye hugs and high fives. Mason held on a little tighter than usual and even gave him a little spin that had Steve leaving in high spirits.
He took his usual dinner and baby Louie out to the car, talking excitedly to the small child all the while.
“We finally have a new home, Louie! Aren’t you excited baby? You’re gonna sleep in a bed, and sit on the couch, and have floor time!”
Louie babbled back just as excitedly. Steve was giddy with joy.
The trailer park wasn’t too far from the dinner. It was a good 5-7 minute drive, tops.
But by the end of the night Steve had officially moved into number 2718 New Bird Ave.
.
The first night was as rough as expected. The previous occupants left behind most of their furniture so Steve was left with a couch, a bed, and an old dresser that was ready to topple.
Steve took the smallest bedroom, it was barely bigger than his old closet but the tight fit was comforting in a way. He moved the mattress from the left-behind bed into the room, leaving the frame. It wouldn’t fit through the door despite being just smaller than a twin.
Steve took Louie around the trailer, holding him close and happily showing him everything there was to see.
“And this, my dear baby, is the kitchen. I’m gonna get real nice curtains and a small table. I’m thinking yellow curtains. Whaddya say Lou-Lou?”
Louie babbled excitedly and gripped Steve’s hair.
“I’ll take it you like yellow. Me too.” Steve smiled brightly.
The kitchen took up the entire front of the trailer. The windows were large and nearly floor-ceiling and already had blinds set on them. They let in plenty of sunlight and gave a beautiful view to the other trailers and the woods surrounding the park. There was a pantry where he could eventually set up a washer and dryer. And a small area between the pantry and windows where he’d be able to fit in a table and maybe three chairs.
“Now—“ Steve let Louie down on the floor and crouched right behind him, holding him up. “—this is the living room. This is where we’re gonna listen to music and dance and sing.”
Louie immediately started babbling and gurgling, wiggling and bouncing in Steve’s hold. Steve laughed.
“Exactly baby! Dancing just like that. You get your moves from your daddy don’t you hunny?”
Louie gave his best belly-laugh that had Steve scooping him up and holding him close.
“You’re such a sweetheart, Lou-Lou! You’re my sweetheart aren’t you, babyboy?” Steve smothered kisses across Louie’s face and grinned when the baby laughed and pulled his hair.
.
“Alrighty, Louie. What to do now, huh?”
Steve had propped Louie carefully on the couch. The baby sat watching him closely, and vaguely tried copying Steve’s hands on his hips. Steve grinned.
“Do you wanna go to the store? We can see about getting you an actual crib.”
Louie stared blankly.
“You’re right, you’d just end up sleeping with me anyways. What about a new bed for us then, huh? Something that’d actually fit in the room?”
Louie made a squeaking sound.
“And plans have been made!” Steve declared, throwing his arms up. His hand his the ceiling but he didn’t mind the pain when Louie copied him and threw his hands up as well.
“To the store we go!”
.
Steve was pushing Louie around the store in a stroller he’d found in the baby section. Yes, he was going to buy it when they went up to pay.
Why hadn’t he bought a stroller to begin with? It was so much easier than carrying around the car seat.
Little Louie was babbling away and reaching for just about anything they passed. However, he made a particularly loud squeal when Steve passed a certain bed frame. Steve paused and looked it over with Louie.
It was a simple white twin with a high headboard and a low, almost not there bottom board. It almost looked like a wooden princess bed.
“That one?” Steve asked Louie.
Louie answered with a gargle of spit and his fingers in his mouth. Steve grinned.
“That one.”
.
Putting the bed together was the biggest pain in the ass Steve ever had the displeasure of going through.
He’d never been a strong reader. And he’d always needed visual help references in front of him for him to learn properly. The instructions provided pictures that Steve was confident he himself could’ve drawn better.
“I mean look at this sh— crap. I’m sure you could’ve drawn something better, huh bub?”
Louie gurgled and nodded sagely.
The bed was put together with much failure and cursing and input from baby Louie.
Steve stood back with his hands on his hips and snorted delightfully when Louie copied him as best he could with his baby hands. The bed was done and Steve’d finally out the mattresses on. Now he got to sleep in it.
.
Steve entered the back door to the diner in a flurry of limbs. He was pushing the new stroller he’d gotten Louie and was desperately trying to hold open the door at the same time.
Gwen rushed to help, grabbing the stroller and baby Louie and pushing him into George’s office. Steve sighed in relief and let the baby be taken while Mason helped him with the diaper bag.
When they dropped off the bag and baby in the office Steve was surrounded by Michelle, Gwen, and Mason.
“So? How’d it go, kid?” asked Gwen with a cross of her arms.
Steve grinned at them, baring his teeth and gums in a way that showed his giddiness in full force.
“It’s a nice place. I got a bed set up and Louie likes dancing in the living room with me. Isn’t that right bubba?”
The baby in question immediately started bouncing in place on his butt. Steve laughed and picked him up. Louie continued bouncing in his grip, dancing his best baby moves.
“Just like that, lovebug!”
Mason and Gwen cooed.
“You got those moves from your daddy, huh sweet thing?” Mason teased, poking a finger into Louie’s side. Louie grabbed it and messed with the ring there.
“You are just the sweetest freakin thing ever!” Gwen cooed in a baby voice.
.
And for a month it went like that.
Steve and baby Louie got settled into the trailer nicely. They filled up the living room and bedroom with Louie’s toys and as many pillows as Steve could afford.
Back at his parents’ house, the pillows his mother bought were only for show. They were only there because they had looked good. Steve bought his pillows because he liked them. Because they were pretty or cute. Because they reminded him of people he knew. Because they simply caught his or Louie’s eyes.
They got the curtains for the kitchen— a soft yellow with white stripes. Steve hung them while Louie had floor time a few feet away in the living room.
During the month they settled in, Nancy had been watching Louie every Wednesday and Thursday after she got out of school so that Steve could take the closing shift at the diner. She’d watch him early Sunday mornings so that Steve could take the opening shift.
And they built a steady routine.
It was mid-morning on a Friday. Steve was buckling Louie into his car seat and humming Head Over Heels by Tears for Fears to himself when a loud thunk vibrated through his car.
Steve righted himself immediately, hitting his head on the roof of the car in the process. While he rubbed the back of his head to soothe the inevitable bump he turned and came face to face with 2 kids barely older than 9.
They stared up at him in silent fear. Steve saw the offending ball rolling somewhere down his driveway— they must’ve hit the ball into his car while playing.
Steve didn’t think. He simply jogged down the driveway and into the street to retrieve the ball. Then he jogged back to his car and handed the little girl the ball. She took it hesitantly.
“You two alright?” Steve asked gently.
They both nodded. Steve was starting to get a little freaked out.
“Um—“
“We’re really sorry!” the girl suddenly shouted.
Steve startled. “Oh! It’s—“
“We didn’t mean to hit your car, the ball kept bouncing and it wouldn’t stop!” the boy explained. The girl nodded.
Steve huffed and put one hand on his hip. “It’s alright, seriously. Look: no damage done, see?”
And true to Steve’s word, there was no damage done to his car, just a mark from the mud caked onto the ball.
“You’re not angry?” the boy asked hesitantly.
Steve smiled sweetly and shook his head. “No, I’m not angry. Just be careful next time, someone else is bound to be angry.”
They nodded in sync. Baby Louie spoke up at that moment with a gurgled babble.
The kids’ heads snapped to the back seat in scary unison, the girl’s blond pigtails bouncing.
“Is that your brother?” she asked, setting the ball in the grass by her feet.
Steve chuckled. “No, he’s my son. His names Louie,”
He stepped aside and let the kids peer at the car seat. The boy grinned.
“Hi, Louie! I’m Noah!”
The girl smiled sweetly and held her hand out for Louie to grab. “I’m Casey! I’m the older twin.”
Steve watched fondly. Louie didn’t get to interact with many people outside of him, Nancy, and they people at work.
“Noah, Casey! What are you two doing now?” Came a call from behind them. Steve turned with the twins to see an older lady walked over to them.
“Gran, look! He’s so cute!” cried Casey.
Noah and Casey made way for their Gran to look at Louie. Little Louie seemed to be thriving in the sudden attention, babbling nonstop and grinning his gummy little smile.
“He’s quite the charmer indeed.” Gran agreed with a nod and smile. “Now, come along you two. Let this young man leave.”
Noah and Casey turned to Steve with a simultaneous “Bye!” before running off with their ball to the trailer next door. Gran sighed.
“It’s nice to finally meet the new neighbor. I’m Margaret, Margaret Bottomette. Those two are my grandchildren, they usually come over for weekends and breaks.”
Steve smiled at the lady, Miss. Bottomette.
.
Miss. Bottomette and the twins became a new constant in Steve’s life alongside the middle schoolers he’s forced to cart around occasionally.
Noah and Casey are sweet kids, albeit feisty. They come over to the car every time Steve’s out, whether he’s with baby Louie or not.
And it’s sweet, is the thing. It brightens Steve’s day just that much more when he sees the beaming smiles on their faces while they play with Louie or while he listens to them talk about their days.
It was early October of 1984 now, Louie being officially 8 months as of October 14.
Steve wasn’t prepared for the upcoming months.
.
And that’s a wrap!!
Tag list is open always (until I reach a limit or finish the series) so feel free to ask!!!!
Edit: TAG LOST IS OFFICIALLY CLOSED!! Sorry guys, I’ve reached the limit :,)
Part 4:
Part 4!!!! Tag List: @cam-cat-writer @irregular-child @grimmfitzz @fantrash @bookworm0690 @fiddledeedee85 @hunterbow04 @strangeforest @just
