thinking about the way ramon said “fit and pac you should know” instead of anything else and i’m probably thinking way too hard into it but
either cucurucho knows or doesn’t know and either way ramon “wins” the conversation . some of the other eggs might have been outwardly hostile to cucurucho, but ramon is the only one who did not actually answer a single question with anything substantial except for when he said “you should know”, which could be seen as a very subtle challenge to the federation especially combined with what else he said
if cucurucho knows, this is nothing other than ramon being snarky . if cucurucho doesn’t know he can’t just say that, because isn’t the fed supposed to know everything about the islanders ? which honestly, i think that’s what ramon was going for, because he’s a smart boy and knows that according to the federation, his only parent is fit . maybe spreen if they’re being technical .
ramon doesn’t lose anything by including pac if cucurucho doesn’t know because everyone else does and honestly it’s a matter of time for pac signing the adoption papers . he’s not divulging anything that’s not common knowledge
and it’s not like cucurucho could tell ramon that pac wasn’t one of his parents because that’s not true . ask anyone on the island and they would all agree that he is . hell, i think there’s a good chance ramon has called pac pai more than he’s called fit dad . cucurucho really should know, shouldn’t he ?
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have a little father's day blurb about complicated father-son relationships. 1k. cross posted to ao3
steve's relationship with his parents has been complicated at best his entire life but it's only after he and eddie have an apartment together in chicago that his perception of of the father-son relationship shifts.
for the past decade or so, he's watched eddie's relationship with wayne and ached a little bit. because that's the kind of father-son relationship he wishes he could have had with his dad.
it wasn't always great, especially after his dad realized steve could mostly fend for himself and started leaving him alone more and more often for longer stretches of time. but it wasn't all bad either. his dad used to take him to ball games and he taught him how to ride a bike without the training wheels. he taught him how to change the oil in his beamer and how to bullshit his way through a book report.
mostly, though, he taught steve how to be lonely.
over the past couple of years, steve has slowly been trying to repair that stilted relationship with his old man. the guy isn't going to be around forever, and if nothing else he owes it to steve to leave him with some good memories after he's gone.
father's day has always been a bit of a weird day for steve, because his dad has always kept his feelings close to the vest, so steve's never had any idea how to navigate the day around him.
he thinks about the year he was thirteen; they'd gone to a cubs game together at wrigley and his dad let him have a cup of beer with his hotdog. he thinks of the year he was sixteen, before hawkins turned itself upside down; his dad was out of town at the condo in indy for some work conference the following week and he'd sighed when steve called him to wish him well, thinking there'd been something wrong at home.
this year is going to be different, steve tells himself.
he and eddie have invited both his dad and wayne to their apartment in chicago for dinner, and his dad is going to be here. steve's already bought a card for his dad, and his mom sent him her lasagna recipe, and he splurged for a good bottle of red wine.
hopefully this year will begin to repair the distance between steve and his dad.
steve finds himself hovering over the coffee maker at the kitchen counter, staring off into space while it brews, and eddie startles him a little when he comes up behind him to wrap an arm around his waist and kiss his cheek.
'you good?'
"yeah. little nervous.'
'it'll be fine. i made him laugh at christmas last year. remember?'
steve does remember. it was a good christmas.
it took steve's parents some time to accept steve and eddie as steve and eddie, but it's been so long now that it's not something that the harringtons can just ignore. if they want to be a part of their son's life, they need to get used to eddie. and this past christmas felt like a win - the harringtons had gifted them concert tickets and a fancy toaster oven for their apartment.
that night, after the sunday chores have been done and the laundry has been folded and put away, richard and wayne show up within moments of each other. steve and eddie's beagle mix, ozzy, greets them at the door, his tail thumping against the floor as he resists jumping up to beg their visitors for pets.
dinner goes really well; richard doesn't say anything offensive about their little apartment and eddie doesn't goad him into a discussion about politics. together, the four of them reminisce about steve and eddie's childhoods around the table, their plates overflowing with noodles and red sauce. wayne tells them stories about eddie that steve's never heard before, and richard tells stories that steve had completely forgotten about.
it's giving steve hope, this father's day dinner with his dad and his boyfriend and his boyfriend's uncle-dad.
until steve and richard are at the sink washing up the dinner dishes together, and everything crashes down around them.
'you're still young,' richard says. 'there's still time.'
'for what?'
'for you to come to your senses.'
'dad...'
'no, i mean it. there's always a job waiting for you at my firm. plenty of pretty girls in administrative roles there, too.'
'dad...' steve says again.
'i'm just saying, steven. it's time to stop playing house like this and settle down.'
'i am settled. we have a good life here. i love my job at the school. i love my life. i love eddie.'
'don't you want kids of your own? he can't give you that.'
steve scoffs.
'why would i want kids of my own? i didn't exactly have the best parental role models growing up. i'd fuck a kid up, just like you and mom fucked me up. besides, i have my students. that's plenty for me.'
'we gave you everything, steven.'
'everything except your presence. i needed you guys, especially as a teenager. and you guys just... didn't give a shit. why would i want to keep that cycle going?'
the silence in the kitchen is so loud.
'it's late. you should get going. eddie's got work in the morning.'
richard sighs.
'the offer stands. the firm is always there when you're ready.'
'just go. happy father's day.'
it comes out bitter. snappy. steve doesn't apologize.
richard goes. steve stays in the kitchen and tries not to think about it. he pops open a second bottle of wine - cheap, sweet, white, the kind of wine his father would mock him for drinking if he gave him half a chance.
he feels stupid for thinking his father could change, for thinking it could ever be different. people his dad's age are so stuck in their ways that there's no getting through to them. it's not easy but it's reality.
after wayne leaves, eddie comes into the kitchen to join steve and pour himself a glass of that cheap riesling steve's been working his way through. he doesn't say anything because he doesn't have to. ozzy curls up at steve's feet and the three of them sit together in a comfortable silence. eddie holds steve's hand atop the table.
at least steve isn't lonely anymore.
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