#amalthea munson

[i-used-to-wear-the-fedora]

Amalthea "Thea" Munson

"So, have you thought of any names yet?" Steve asked as he pushed the cart down the Walmart aisle. The baby in Eddie's arms looked around the store with wide eyes. Eagerly taking in her new surroundings with the quiet joy, only a child could have.

"A few. You think Amalthea is a mouthful?"

"Amalthea? What kind of name is that?"

"You know, The Last Unicorn?"

"Oh! Yeah, I've seen that movie." Steve had taken Julie Wilson to see it sophomore year, but he barely remembered anything about it. They were busy doing...other things. "I mean, she's your kid. You can name her whatever you want. But you could call her Thea for short." The kid looked like a Thea.

"Thea...yeah." Eddie smiled as he ran a hand through the girl's hair. She let out a content gurgle in response. Thea really was a cute baby. Steve didn't say anything, but he had a sneaking suspicion that he knew who the mom was. He remembered going to Nancy's house and Mrs. Wheeler bringing out the family photo album, much to his ex-girlfriend's dismay. The many, many baby photos of her as a baby with similar light brown hair and chubby cheeks.

Steve couldn't blame Eddie for having a crush on Nancy. She was strong, smart, and beautiful. He hadn't dated her in almost a year now and he still couldn't stop thinking about her. Honestly, he was surprised he wasn't the one who ended up with a wish baby. But that wasn't any of his business. Snapping out of his thoughts, Steve turned to see Eddie looking at the cans of formula that lined the metal shelves.

"Similac, Enfamil, Fred Meyer...Jesus there's so many brands. How do I know which one to choose?" The metalhead asked exasperated. "They're all so expensive."

"Don't get Enfamil." Steve reached over and grabbed two containers of Similac before tossing them in the cart. "Nancy showed me this news story about the messed up stuff Nestlé does to babies in Africa." Steve watched Eddie for a reaction to Nancy's name but there was nothing.

"Hey, you know more about this stuff than I do." Eddie admitted. Steve saw the way his eyes lingered on the items' price tags. Baby stuff was expensive. Steve could afford it, but he couldn't imagine trying to raise a kid alone on his salary from Family Video in a cramped trailer without anyone to help take care of the kid. Sure, he had his uncle, but Eddie said he worked all the time. Steve doubted he would be able to do much. At least he could help him get started.

Diapers, baby wipes, assorted onesies, and a car seat were near the top of the list. They were about to turn into the next aisle when a voice called out.

"Holy shit, Harrington, is that you?" Steve froze at the familiar voice calling out. Turning around only confirmed Steve's fears as he came face to face with Tommy Hagan.

"Damn it." Steve muttered under his breath loud enough to make Eddie turn. "Hey, Tommy." Steve managed to grit out as his former friend sauntered over to the duo. "What do you want?"

"What? I can't say hi to an old friend?" Not when they hadn't talked to each other in over three years because Tommy was a total dickhead. The last time they even said anything to each other was back when hus former best friend attached himself to Billy Hargrove to mock him about Nancy Wheeler. Steve watched as his eyes drifted over to Eddie. "Jesus Steve, are you seriously hanging out with Munson?" Steve saw the way Eddie visibly stiffened at the use of his last name. Steve watched his former friend's eyes widen when he finally registered the baby in Eddie's arms. Tommy looked between him, the baby, and Eddie before letting out a loud laugh. "Oh, I get it now."

"Get what?" Eddie snapped but he visibly tensed up as he spoke. Thea noticed her father's reaction, squirming in the blankets as she started to whine.

"You knocked some chick up and came begging to Steve for some cash." Tommy rolled his eyes as he turned to Steve. "Seriously, dude? I know you tried to impress Wheeler with whole "nice guy" act, but wow. You know he probably killed people, right?" Steve frowned as Tommy smirked at him. People around them stopped moving to listen in on the group. Eddie glared at the other jock but bit his lip. At this point, Thea was full-on crying as Eddie tried to comfort her. It made Steve angry as he let go of the cart and walked over to Tommy until they were almost nose to nose. Steve barely stopped himself from grabbing the guy and instead settled for jabbing a finger in his chest.

"Listen Thomas," Steve knew damn well, no one except for Tommy by his full name except for his mom when she got angry, "I don't care what you think. And I know you're probably not up to date on current events, but they proved Eddie didn't kill those people. Even if he did, I'd rather hang out with him than you because at least he talks about things that aren't himself or the girls he fucked. So how about you do us all a favor and leave before you make any more babies cry with that sad excuse you call a face."

"I, what the hell-?" Tommy sputtered for a moment as he went red in the face. He looked ready to fight, but with everyone staring at him, he started to back away. Muttering something under his breath as he stalked off. Steve internally winced, memories of the way he acted in high school, especially towards people like Eddie, came rushing back. He was only brought back to reality by a hand on his shoulder.

"Damn Stevie." He turned back to see Eddie grinning at him. Thea had calmed down and was now far more interested in the length of Eddie's hair she was currently playing with. "Thanks for the save, not gonna lie, I was just gonna punch the guy...probably not a great example for Thea. Who knew you could use school bully tactics for good."

"Hey, I learned from the best. You should see my mom and aunts passive aggressively fighting each other at our Christmas parties."

"No thanks, one Harrington is more than enough for me." Steve didn't notice the way Eddie stared at Thea when he said that.

[i-used-to-wear-the-fedora]

Hush, Baby Girl

"Okay, first things first, you can't smoke around the baby." Steve was holding Thea as Eddie sat on his bedroom floor. The metalhead was currently trying to assemble the crib they bought, but he struggled to find the specific piece used to connect the railing to the bed.

"I know," Steve rolled his eyes, "believe it or not, I actually passed health class last year."

"Just making sure." Steve looked around the messy room. Clothes and DnD books were scattered everywhere, making it almost impossible to see the carpeted floor. It was crowded but also very Eddie. Steve was almost jealous. If his room looked any less than picture perfect when his parents got home, they'd probably have an aneurysm. Eddie pulled away from the crib with a triumphant look. Giving it a few hard thwacks and grinning.

"Not half bad for someone who failed shop, if I do say so myself."

"You failed shop?"

"Not gonna lie, I almost exclusively took the class for access to the fancy wood glue they use." Eddie admitted as he tore the plastic off ths crib mattress. Setting it in the cot, Eddie took Thea from Steve's arms. Gently cradling her in his arms, Steve was struck by how weird it was to see Eddie Munson of all people with a baby. Scary drug dealer, supposed murderer...cute dad. Wait. Cute wasn't a good word. Steve shook his head. Dudes didn't call other dudes cute. Well, some dudes did. But Steve was not one of those dudes. At least, he was pretty sure he wasn't....yeah pretty sure.

"What's with the look, Harrington?" Eddie asked with a raised eyebrow. Steve realized he must have looked weird just staring straight ahead at the other teen and he shook his head.

"Ugh, nothing. Just thinking."

"Huh. I thought I smelled something burning." Eddie joked as he laid Thea down on the mattress. He stared at her, expecting something. But she did nothing save stare up at them with her big brown eyes. The metalhead let out a sigh of relief as he fell back on the bed next to Steve. Letting out an exhausted groan as he stretched his body out. "God, who knew babies were so much work."

"Everybody." Steve deadpanned. Eddie playfully slapped him on the shoulder before his eyes turned back to Thea.

"....I don't want to fuck her up."

"Huh?" Steve asked as Eddie sat up.

"I don't want to fuck her up like my parents fucked me up." The older boy clarified. "Look at me. I haven't graduated, I sell drugs, I still live with my uncle...I shouldn't be raising kids. What if she ends up like me? A druggie deadbeat..." Eddie trailed off as his voice hitched. Steve frowned, turning to face Eddie.

"Hey, don't say that." Steve argued. "Listen, just because your parents sucked, it doesn't mean you'll be a bad parent. I like to think I turned out okay for someone with shitty parents. I mean, I'm not going to medical school or whatever, but I'm doing alright." Eddie's nose scrunched up as he opened his mouth to respond when there was a loud knock on the front door of the Munson trailer. This startled Thea, causing her to start wailing.

"Whoa, hey, hey, don't cry." Eddie went over to the crib and carefully picked her up. Patting her on the back reassuringly as he inclined his head to look into the hallway.

"Expecting someone?" Steve asked as he followed the now visibly annoyed metalhead into the living room. The two navigated around the bags of unopened baby items until they were at the front door. Eddie yanked it open, ready to chew out whoever upset Thea when he paused, recognizing the gaggle of freshman on his doorstep.

"I..." Eddie trailed off, unsure what to say. The kids' eyes already honed in on the baby in his arms.

"What are you guys doing here?" Steve asked as the kids' eyes remained locked on the crying child.

"You didn't call me back this morning." Dustin explained. "We were making sure everything was okay."

"Oh-shit, sorry I forgot. We got...busy." Steve turned back to Thea as he said this.

"Yeah, I can see that-why the hell do you have a baby?" Will asked, mouth agape.

"Her name is Thea, and for Christ's sake, could you keep your voice down?' Eddis snapped as he hushed the baby in his arms. "I'll explain after we get her down for a nap."

[i-used-to-wear-the-fedora]

Can I request a fluffy Eddie X Chrissy fic where Chrissy wakes up and hears laughter and finds Eddie in the living room playing with their toddler daughter and Chrissy melts at the sight of her little family and how great of a father Eddie is and Chrissy thinks about how lucky she is and how she never would have thought she would ever end up falling in love, being married and having a child with Eddie Munson? Also, their daughter looks just like Eddie?

"-higher, higher!"

"Hey, easy there Arwen. Daddy's not an actual horse." Chrissy woke to the familiar sound of giggling. The redhead sitting up in her bed and glancing over at the bedside table's alarm clock to see it was nine in the morning. Her husband's side of the bed was empty when she got up and wondered down the hall towards the source of the noise in the living room.

"Oh my." The woman giggled at the sight. Her husband was bent over with his arms behind him supporting their their three year old as she excitedly waved her arms around.

"Onwards Brego!" The child demanded, her plastic sword hitting Eddie on the side of the head. The brunette turning to his wife with a pleading look.

"Little help here?"

"Oh no, I wouldn't want to interrupt your fun." Arwen looked over when Chrissy spoke and quickly jumped off Eddie's back to rush over to her.

"Morning mommy!" The little girl clung to her leg, showing off her large gap toothed grin.

"Morning sweetheart." Chrissy picked her up and noticed that in Arwen's dark mess of girl curls, twigs and other small debris were stuck in her hair.

"Me and daddy played Hide and Seek and I won!" The girl proudly boasted. "Now daddy has to play horsey cause he lost!"

"Well you can play horsey later. We need to get you ready for daycare."

"Awww..." The toddler huffed but allowed the woman to pick her up.

"I'll get breakfast started." Eddie placed a quick kiss on his wife's cheek. "Chocolate chip pancakes sound good?"

"That sounds great Eddie." The woman smiled as she watched her husband disappear into the kitchen of their small trailer. They'd bought it when they found out that they were expecting with the help is Eddie's uncle. Her parents had been...less than excited when they found out about her relationship with Eddie. Then they got married. She hadn't seen her mother or father since but she didn't care. Chrissy was happy. She had a living daughter and a beautiful child. Arwen was almost four now and she looked almost exactly like Eddie. Save the smattering of freckles that covered her face, Arwen was very obviously her father's child.

People in town gave them looks and whispered behind their backs.

'Isn't that the Munson boy?'

'I thought he went to prison just like his daddy.'

'She only married him after she got knocked up.'

'That poor child.'

But Chrissy didn't pay them any mind. The woman stopped caring what anyone else thought a long time ago, and she couldn't possibly love her family anymore than she did at that moment.