in regards to the latest ep (SPOILERS. MANY SPOILERS. IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER)
Bro I’m so confused
There were only a few tidbits that (to me) really felt important in this ep but it was still an entertaining one nonetheless
The person who recognised Lyca
Rui’s comment in the last chapter had me thinking some thoughts
Zenji’s concerns over what Haku’s doing
mc’s freaky ass dream???????????
Leo finding something in the library regarding Subaru
So the episode ended with the lead up to the scene where Alan and Tohma both went to see Jin—but why did Tohma call MC?
Some noteworthy points
Awwwwwwwwww Ritsu x Ren fans must be eating so well
Everyone’s hatred of Moby just skyrocketed up
I wish we coulda seen Kaito’s reaction to finding out Mc was a host but REN’S reaction was golden
Ed as a host was so entertaining oh my gawd but also like. Was it just me or is he acting. Differently towards mc. Still kinda perving on her but. I can’t put my finger on it
JO SHOWED UP AND LOOKED STUNNING AS ALWAYS I LOVE JO SO MUCH THE SUITS WERE ALL SO PERFECTLY CHOSEN
Lyca’s reaction to Jo was so cute
Leo’s reaction to finding out MC was a host was priceless
Haru still being so so worried about Shion that he’s upping security measures :(
I love Rui so so much
Leo and Lyca’s entire interaction. Leo why are u like this leaVE MY BABY ALONE
Sho u are the goat. Absolutely the goat
THE STORIES??? WERE ACTUALLY KINDA REALLY GOOD????? fight me on this I’m happy to actually have the gore back
Haku actually came up so much good for him and we learned a little more about what he does which is cool
THE NEXT EP THUMBNAIL???? HAKU AND SUBA ARE THOSE SWORDS IN Y’ALL’S’ HANDS. Zenji lookin real cute in the back there too hehe
Jiro apparently helps Rui put together tea blends?????
Aww lol at that peepaw knows about Rui’s hobbies and garden troubles
Tamoya u weren’t here for long but I hope you are able to take care of your sister
MC. AS A HOST. AND WINNING TOP SPOT. HELLO???????????
even if he was just experimenting or whatever Leo stepping up to help boost the club’s rep by having them do a dance was surprising
lyca always being the goodest boi and trying so hard and idk what the deal was with Aimi but she treated Lyca well so she’s fine in my books
There may not have been really any *significant* things plot-wise but it was still an interesting episode, I think. Ending a bit rushed, sure, but a good ep, nonetheless. Seeing the guys act as hosts was so funny I’m sorry of course Ed and Rui were popular and Ed lost that popularity by texting like That™️ lmao
Also another thing I was just reminded of. JO SUPPORTING MC???? ACTUALLY MADE ME PUT MY PHONE DOWN AND WANNA CRY JO I LOVE YOU SM I WILL SMITE ANYOME WHO EVER MADE U FEEL U DIDNT FIT IT OR BELONG
ANOTHER THING PROTECTIVE RUI LITERALLY YANKING ED OFF OF MC IN THE BAR???? RUI I LOVE U
-
EDIT: THE MAN WHO RECOGNISED LYCA WAS THE HEAD BUTLER FROM THE MANSION EPISODE IM SOBBING—
written for @last-stop-hawkins
Prompt: The Pollywog (S.2 Ep. 3)
Rating: M
Relationship: Steve/Eddie
TW: FtM Steve, pregnancy, seahorse dad, dead name, body issues, Steve Harrington has bad parents, Wayne is the best uncle
Words: 2325
Steve holds the ultrasound in his trembling hands.
A pollywog.
His baby is the size of a pollywog, nesting safely inside his body.
Steve looks quickly at himself in the bathroom mirror while washing his hands. There are no visible signs of pregnancy yet, but soon his stomach will start to swell, showing the world how far love can go; what kind of beautiful things it can do.
The medical file he’s holding has his name on it. His name. Not the one his parents gave him at birth.
Sage Harrington is long gone.
“Everything okay, Mr. Munson?”
Steve Munson. That’s the name on the manila folder.
“Everything’s fine, Sarah. Thank you.”
The first time he called the OB-GYN office, still holding a positive pregnancy test in his trembling hands, he was scared out of his mind that they would make a huge deal about his pregnancy, but Sarah was kind and understanding. She explained that he needed to start taking prenatal pills and gave him all the information he needed while booking his first appointment.
Now, a couple of weeks after that first call, Sarah is smiling at him, booking his next appointment.
“Don’t be scared, Steve. You’ll be a wonderful dad.”
Dad.
He’s going to be a dad.
He looks at the black circle tattooed on his ring finger. He can’t wait to show Eddie the little white blob on his ultrasound. Eddie will be so excited! He had been so disappointed when the doctor moved their appointment a day earlier; Eddie was working on a statement piece for a girl traveling from Minnesota just to be tattooed by him, and he couldn’t move her appointment.
It makes Steve sentimental, thinking about how their relationship started: with an appointment in a tiny tattoo shop Robin saw when they first moved to Indianapolis.
They both got a little ice cream cone on the inside of their arms, and Eddie made a joke about having the same tattoo as their partner. Robin was quick to clarify they weren’t a thing, and Eddie smirked before asking, “Are you free for a drink?”
Steve’s phone buzzes as he gets into the car.
“Hey, sweetheart. You okay? How did it go? I feel so bad I couldn’t be with you! Was the doctor weird about the pregnancy thing? Because if he was, I promise I’ll punch him in the face and-”
“Oh no. Dr. Owens was very kind. Everything looks good. I have a few blood tests to do in the next few days, and I’ll go back in a month for a follow-up. But the little pollywog looks fine.”
“I’m so excited! I can’t wait to meet them! Do you think they’ll like tattoos?”
“Eddie!”
“Don’t worry, love! I’ll be one of those strict parents who won’t allow a tattoo or a piercing before they’re eighteen. And I definitely won’t tell them about the stick-and-poke I made on my inner arm when I was ten to win a test of courage.”
“Eddie!” Steve snorts, putting the medical file on the passenger seat while he grabs the seatbelt, the phone nestled between his neck and shoulder.
“I’m telling you I won’t!” Eddie chuckles, then gets serious. “You okay?”
“A little bit of nausea, but the doc said it’s normal.”
“Are you going to give the news to your parents?”
Steve hasn’t seen them since he moved to Indianapolis, but a baby seems like the kind of news you should give in person.
“Do you think I should visit them?”
“It’s up to you, sweetheart,” Eddie replies softly. “You don’t have to if you don’t want to. However, if you want to see them, you’re free to do so. You know that, right?”
Steve sighs, combing his hair with his fingers, “I don’t know… I’m scared they will make me feel like shit and I feel too emotional to deal with them as well.”
Rosemary Harrington always made Steve self-conscious about his body. Since he was a little girl, his mother had put him on every diet she read about in those stupid magazines she found at her hairdresser’s. Steve isn’t naïve, He knows his body is going to change during the pregnancy, and he doesn’t want to deal with his mother’s snarky comments.
HIs mother.
The one who keeps calling him by his dead name, saying it’s just out of habit and that she doesn’t mean to offend him.
The one who never misses a chance to inform him how well his old classmates, Tommy Hagan and Billy Hargrove, are doing in life. Not like Steve, who flew from New York to Indianapolis with that awkward girl to do whatever she’s doing in Indianapolis.
She.
Fuck.
“Am I a bad person if I say that I don’t want them near our kid?”
Eddie chuckles. “You’re not a bad person, Steve. And being pissed at your shitty parents for not supporting you isn’t something you should be ashamed of.”
Steve sighs, bumping his head on the car headrest. “It’s just… they don’t understand, or they don’t want to, and I can already see what my mom is going to say. How she’s going to belittle me, saying I spent my adult life playing pretend only to end up with a bun in the oven.”
Playing pretend, as if his identity were just a game and not a hard-won truth.
“Hey!” Eddie scolds him gently. “Stop this self-deprecating shit right now. You’re not playing pretend. You never did! You needed time to discover and accept who you really are, and you’re at a point in your life where things finally clicked. Nothing wrong with that. And it doesn’t matter if they don’t get it or if they don’t want to acknowledge you and your identity. You don’t have to prove anything to anyone.”
“But they deserve to know they’ll be grandparents soon, right?”
“They have no right to demand anything from you. And to be honest, sweetie, are you sure you want someone like your mom in our child’s life?”
Steve slouches against the car seat.
No.
The answer is no.
He doesn’t want that woman anywhere close to his child.
“They’ll find out sooner or later.”
“And we’ll deal with it if needed. For the moment, I’m going to your favorite café to buy a little treat for my pregnant husband and our baby.”
“I can’t eat too much sugar or drink more than one coffee a day. And, obviously, no alcohol.”
“Shit! That sounds like hell! Okay, okay! No coffee or sugary treats. I can still buy you flowers, right?” Eddie asks, “And cook dinner?”
“Cook dinner? Eddie, you burned the pasta water! Remember?”
“It was one time! And I had a perfectly good excuse!”
“No, Eddie, trying to train the mouse you found in our walls was not a good excuse,” Steve laughs, and finally the tension seems to leave him.
“Okay, okay. No cooking. But I can still rub your feet with my magic fingers!”
“I’d love that,” Steve sighs, already dreaming of his husband’s long fingers pressing just right under the sole of his aching feet. Then he remembers that his slim ankles are going to swell, and his entire body will change, and sudden panic fills him.
“Steve, you alright?”
“Yes, yes. Just thinking… it doesn’t matter. See you at home?”
“You sure? I can come pick you up if you don’t feel well.”
“I’m good. Just overwhelmed.”
“But happy?” Eddie asks, so hopeful that Steve feels compelled to reassure him.
“Happy. Very happy,” Steve replies, a sincere smile on his lips.
***
Once home, true to his word, Eddie has a huge bouquet of yellow flowers that he definitely picked from the neighbor’s flowerbed. He helps Steve settle into their recliner before grabbing one of Steve’s feet, placing it on his knee, and reaching for their two-in-one massage oil. With expert hands, he massages Steve’s feet, drawing circles around the ankles and pressing under the sole until Steve whines in satisfaction.
“I’m going to get so big. I’ll have to buy new clothes.”
“No problem, I love shopping.”
It’s true. Eddie loves shopping. Nothing like Steve, who spent half of his life squeezed into women’s clothes two sizes too small to encourage him to lose weight, and the second half hidden behind oversized hoodies and washed-out jeans from the mall’s men’s section.
“Everyone will know.”
“That I’m the lucky man who knocked you up? Yes they will! I’ll make sure they do, honey?” Eddie winks at him.
“That I am… me.”
Eddie’s hands pause for a fraction of a second before resuming their rhythm, pressing that spot on the ball of Steve’s foot.
“You are you, and I am me.”
“You know what I mean.”
“I don’t.”
Steve sighs. “Don’t make me say it.”
“Then don’t think about it. You know I believe you should be able to name all your thoughts.”
“I’ll be a man with a pregnant belly, Eddie!”
“So?”
“People will make comments. Nasty comments! Nobody here knows that I’m… that I…”
“The people that matter know exactly who you are, Steve. Robin. Dustin. All our friends.” Eddie cradles Steve’s face between his hands, the faint smell of jasmine oil permeating the air. “Steve, do you want this kid?”
“Of course I do!”
“Then all you have to worry about is eating your greens and keeping our little pollywog safe in your womb until the time comes. Nothing else matters. Not the strangers. Not your parents. Not anyone else.”
“Are you sure? People will talk and—”
“I love you, Steve Harrington. Not another person: you. Exactly as you are. And I love our baby, even if they’re just a little pollywog. Nothing scares me more than losing you, and I don’t give a fuck what people say. The only thing that matters to me is that you’re happy. You know what? Why don’t we call Wayne and give him the good news?”
“Isn’t he in Wisconsin with Rosemary?”
“Do you think he won’t answer a call from his favorite person?” Eddie grins, already calling his uncle on speaker. “Hey, Wayne! How’s the weather in Wisconsin?”
“This fucking place. It’s been raining for three days. I have a free week from the plant and it rains for three days! Unbelievable,” he grumbles.
“Don’t be so negative!” a woman adds from somewhere in the back. “We played Gin Rummy!”
“Oh shit, is that an old-people euphemism for having sex? Fuck, I don’t want to know! I’ll have to pierce my eardrums after this call.”
“We were just playing!” Wayne scoffs, and Steve can’t suppress a chuckle.
“Who’s that? Steve? Steve, my boy, please say something to that stupid man of yours.”
“I’m your nephew!” Eddie complains, frowning, while Steve keeps laughing.
“Now, is there a reason you called, or did you just want to make fun of your old man?”
“No. It’s just...” A pause. Eddie’s eyes move to Steve’s face, who quietly nods. “Steve just came back from the doctor and-“
“Oh no! Is he okay? Do we have to get back?” Rosemary asks, her voice now closer to the phone.
“Let the kids talk, Rosy! Eddie, do you need us to come back? We can be there in six hours. Less if I push the gas a little.”
“No, no! No need to come back. Or at least not so soon. Just wait, what? Nine months?”
“Nine months?” Wayne asks, confused, while Rosemary squeaks, her voice muffled by her hands.
“Oh. My. God. Congratulations!”
“For what?” Wayne asks, puzzled.
“Old man, you’re going to be a grandpa soon,” Eddie grins.
“A what? Oh. Ooooh. Is it true? Eddie, is it true?”
“Yes, Wayne,” Steve finally says. “I’m pregnant. The little pollywog is due in March.”
“Pisces. The dreamers’ sign. A father with a Scorpio sun and a Pisces son will share a deep emotional connection. There’s potential for a strong bond since they’re both water signs,” Rosemary comments. “Your Leo sun might be a little challenging, Steve, but it’s definitely an interesting combination. We’re so happy for you guys! And we can’t wait to meet them!”
In the commotion of the moment, Steve starts to silently cry.
“Oh, babe,” Eddie whispers, kissing Steve’s hair. “Do you want to talk to Wayne on your own?”
A little nod—and after saying goodbye to Wayne and Rosemary, Eddie gives Steve his phone. Steve takes it and retreats to the kitchen, closing the door behind him.
“Wayne?”
“Yes, Steve.”
“I’m… I’m going to get so big. My body will change, and I don’t know if Eddie will keep loving me.”
“Steve… Eddie loves you from the bottom of his heart. A few pounds aren’t going to change that.”
“But I… what will I be?”
“You’ll be a father. A wonderful, caring father. The best father a kid could ask for.”
“But I…”
“A seahorse dad. Isn’t that what the kids call it these days? You know what they say, seahorse dads carry the babies. That makes you one hell of a dad already.”
A seahorse dad.
“A little pollywog with a seahorse dad. It makes sense,” Steve chuckles, his voice wet with unshed tears.
“And one last thing, Steve, whatever happens, we’re here for you and your little pollywog. Okay?”
Dear old Wayne.
The man who welcomed him into the family without a single question. The man who always leaves a place on the couch for Steve during game season. The man who never got his diploma but has a bigger heart than Steve’s parents, who have multiple degrees hung on their walls.
“Okay. Okay.”
Steve doesn’t thank him, it would almost sound offensive, but he feels as if a huge rock has been lifted from his chest when he returns to the living room.
“You okay?”
“Yes,” Steve replies with a soft smile, settling beside him on their worn-out couch. For the first time in his life, the future doesn’t feel scary, it feels beautiful.
