Chapter Text
Ten Months Later
The June sun and the lingering spring breeze made for a perfect day.
Steve watched from the porch, the old bench that Eddie had let him refurbish solid under his weight. The old thing had been scruffed to hell, and the foam of the seat moth eaten and worn, but Steve would never entertain the thought of getting rid of it. Some of his favorite moments had happened on that bench. It just needed a little love to shine again.
Robin sat next to him, lemonade in hand and a big, obnoxious sun hat taking up half their space, their sunscreen sticky arms brushing from time to time, sharing subtle scents.
They watched their pack, finally all together for the first time in years, run around the property. Eddie had Pike and Guacho out, leading the pups, who were full grown adults at this point, through most of their first horse rides.
Steve had called them, one by one, a week after he had recovered from his bond withdrawal. There had been a lot of tears, and yelling, and even the silent treatment from Mike, but they were pack, and they made it work. The kids all found their own time to come out not long after, taking turns with the guest room Wayne had helped him put together for that exact purpose.
Dustin had been first, of course. The little twerp didn’t even let him know he was coming. Steve just called, and three days later, there was a very huffy kid standing on his porch talking about stranger danger and "vetting" his alpha like those ships hadn’t already sailed. It was almost annoying how fast Eddie won the pup over. So much for loyalty.
Next came Max and Lucas, each taking to the farm as well as he had. Max especially had a knack for riding, taking Pickles out for long evening rides as the sun set. Lucas enjoyed the silence of the mornings, joining Steve in his rounds in companionable silence, happily taking a hammer or a can of paint into his hands.
And so it went, in little spurts, until they were all finally able to be together. Wayne and Benny were grilling away, big cowboy steaks that made Mike's eyes almost fall out of his head, grilled watermelon, and charred corn, almost ready to be served up to hungry mouths.
The omega tore his eyes away from his alpha, watching Jane and Will, each bent over a sketchbook of their own on a blanket they’d pulled out of the back of Eddie’s truck.
Everyone, absolutely everyone, he loved was right here with him. He wished it would never end.
Robin’s head landed on his shoulder, her sun hat flopping off her head, but she didn’t seem to mind. Her lavender scent was soothing, an endearing contrast to her hyper personality.
“Hey, Steve?” She asked, both of them pausing to laugh as Erica tried to discreetly braid a pink ribbon into Guacho’s mane
“Yeah?” He asked, leaning his head on top of hers.
Robin grabbed his hand, rubbing fingers over his calloused skin. “I got the job I was telling you about,” she said.
Steve sat up, grabbing her shoulders and smiling, giving her a little shake in his excitement for her. “You did? Shit, that’s amazing, Rob. You worked your ass off on that application!” He exclaimed.
Robin smiled too, space splitting in a giddy smile. “I know! It’s crazy, I can’t believe it because in the first interview I went on and on and on about my thesis and all the research and eventually they had to cut me off because I was doing exactly what I’m doing right now but they called me and asked me to be in the second round and I got it! I got it!” Steve pulled her up, spinning her around the porch, jumping up and down like little kids.
They collapsed back on the bench, both breathing hard and giggling. “Hey, Steve? There’s one thing I didn’t tell you about the job.” She didn’t sound anxious, exactly, but it still made him nervous. What wouldn’t she tell him earlier?
“What is it?” He asked
“It’s in Charleston,” she said, smiling even wider than before.
“Charleston, but that's–” He cut himself off, too scared to be wrong.
“Less than an hour away? I know,” she said, infuriatingly smug, but Steve couldn’t care.
“You’re moving?” He asked, just to be sure.
Robin pulled him into her arms, squeezing tight. “Yeah, Steve. I’m moving. Me and Vicky are looking at places, we should be settled by the end of August.”
Steve couldn’t stop the few tears that fell if he wanted to, but Robin just wiped them away for him. She was coming home to him. How lucky could he possibly be?
Steve felt that familiar weight of eyes on him, the mark that Eddie had left on his neck two months ago tingling pleasantly with the knowledge that his alpha’s protective gaze was on him. Eddie’s eyes met his immediately, open concern on his face at Steve’s wet eyes and red cheeks.
“Okay?” The alpha mouthed. Steve just smiled and nodded his head. Everything was perfect. Eddie’s face cleared, and a loud call from Mike called his attention back to the farm of young adults that had taken up residence in their front yard.
Tonight, everyone would eat until they were full. They would converge around the fire pit Benny had installed just for this visit, eating marshmallows and trading stories of their lives, planning for the next time they could all come out and be together again.
Steve would sit on a log next to Eddie, thinking about how, less than a year ago, he had been a scared omega on the run from a home that was never really his. He would think of that man he used to be and thank him for making the hard choice, for leading them here, for choosing himself.
His alpha, who was so kind and so good, would pick up on the slightest change in his scent and mood and kiss his neck, right where he’d placed his bite. He would wrap his arm around his omega, hand splayed wide over the little life just starting to grow in the omega’s belly.
“I love you,” Eddie would say.
“I love you, too,” Steve would reply.
And so it would be, all through the long, winding roads of their lives.