You’re Home. (via Pinterest)

colemontgomeryx·:

XX.

Cole felt bad, but he laughed at Eddie’s inability to accept what he was told. It was a defense mechanism, he assumed, after many years of having to keep this part of him secret. For a moment, Cole was grateful for Adam– grateful he had someone to share it with; in a way, it made this whole ordeal easier. More natural.

“He was my boyfriend-boyfriend,” Cole explained. “As in, we fucked,” he took a drag of his cigarette, granting Eddie time to take in what he said. “Sorry to be so explicit, but wasn’t sure what else to say,” Cole explained, though he wasn’t really sorry. Part of him liked seeing Eddie squirm. He liked the effect his words had on the other.

Cole smirked, letting his eyes linger on Eddie’s lips. He figured it would never happen, but he was open to all possibilities. Especially possibilities that looked like Eddie. “Well, I’m a gentleman. I’d take you out to dinner first,” he winked, taking another drag of his cigarette.

+++

“oh.” eddie just continued to stare, stupidly, until his eyes widened, brain finally catching onto what cole had just admitted here. shit. so hawkins wasn’t as prim, proper and heterosexual as he’d been made to believe all this time. eddie licked his lips, blinked. wracking his brain on what to say next. nearly choking on his own breath when he said ‘we fucked’ and oh, his cheeks immediately lit up, stained a deep red colour. he nodded.

“so you’re....”, he trailed off, browd furrowed, giving cole a meaningful look before he dropped because shit, what else did he need, here? cole had just said he used to have a boyfriend, whom he quote unquote ‘fucked’ - or the other way around? he tried not to think about it, it was getting hard trying to concentrate as is -  what other confirmation could he possibly need to know that cole was into guys?

he didn’t miss how cole’s eyes slipped to his lips and his tongue darted out to swipe over his bottom lip. shit, why was he this flustered? getting hit on in chicago eddie usually wasn’t this squirming and blushing mess of a man. but hawkins? whole ‘nother story. not that he was totally suave in chicago, either, but at least a little more in control. here, he felt powerless. 

however, he straightened his back, took another drag. however, he thought, it didn’t need to be that way. if he pulled himself together. “oh yeah?”, he questioned, brow raised, a grin forming on his lips. “yeah? well, what if i -” and he actually couldn’t believe he was going to use a line this corny but here went nothing - “ well, what if i wanted to skip straight to dessert?”

eddie munson + being a lil spider monkey

stevehharringtcns·:

.

listening to eddie talk about him like that made steve blush slightly. he wasn’t sure where he had become a hero, but the truth was that he had always thought of himself as one. it didn’t help with his ego, but it was the truth. steve had always been in the front line to defend his friends and the people he cared about, and that was something it wasn’t going to change anytime soon. even if it ended up with him getting beaten up by russians. he just hoped that part of his life was over or else he could end up with permanent scars on his face. the ones on his body were enough, he thought to himself. “thanks, eddie… that’s really nice to hear.” he said with a nod.

he felt himself blush even harder when eddie asked him he saw something that he liked, making him turn his head away after staring for too long. “i just think… your tattoos are pretty cool.” he said, nodding his head. it wasn’t a complete lie, but steve was doing much more than checking out the other’s tattoos. he didn’t know what else to say, so he just stared up at the ceiling as he waited for eddie to finish getting dressed, and once he knew it was okay, he looked back at him and smiled, nodding his head slowly.

he watched eddie carefully as he joined him in bed. this was weird. he had never slept with a guy in his bed before, and now eddie was there, lying down next to him. he didn’t know what to do with himself, but he didn’t know where to look at either. he looked into the other’s eyes for a few moments. he felt like he was back in high school again, like he was just a teenager, but somehow, this felt right. better than it ever did before. and steve was enjoying every moment of it. “that’s fine.” he said, nodding his head as he kept staring at him.

steve could fall asleep by just looking at eddie’s face. he was sure that the other was going to fall asleep anytime soon, and then steve would be left alone to wonder what the hell was he doing with eddie munson in his bed. listening to him talk about the night terrors, steve let out a small sigh as he nodded his head. “oh, don’t worry about that, it’s totally okay, eddie… i mean, it’s kind of hard not to have those after everything we’ve been through… it’s weird to think about that we’ve both been attacked by those demo-bats.” he said with a small chuckle escaping from his lips, his heart almost breaking when he heard eddie calling himself a freak.

it hurt him that there were people who called him that - they clearly didn’t know eddie that well. getting to know him seemed to be the only good thing that steve could think of that vecna had brought him. the rest had been misery, but at least eddie was part of his life. without thinking, steve wrapped his arm around eddie’s body, careful enough so he didn’t get his hand near the bruise he had seen earlier and looked at him. “is this okay?” he asked, blushing as he did so. “i don’t think you’re a freak, eddie.” he said in a quiet tone, as he looked into the other’s eyes again and gave him a small smile, before his eyes wandered off to eddie’s lips for a few moments.

+++

he nodded, relieved and found that he agreed. steve was right, really, it was hard to imagine for anyone who’d been to the upside down not to wake up occasionally, drenched in cold sweat and shaking all over, consumed by an all-powerful feeling of dread and doom. said feeling probably heightened for steve and himself, seeing as both had very nearly met their end down there. and in eerily similar ways, too. “shit, you’re right, i forgot about that.”, he said with a lopsided grin. “but now we’ve got matching scars. and that’s, like, way more metal than matching tats.”

gripped with a sudden urge to let his fingers trail over steve’s demobat scars, he flexed his hands in a desperate attempt to keep himself from doing so. to not make it weird. the fact that steve was friends with robin assured eddie in the fact that, should he find out that eddie was similarly inclined, he wouldn’t, like, bash his brains out or anything. however, eddie didn’t want to push his luck and bring either of them into an uncomfortable situation either. 

so, the fact that he suddenly found steve’s arm wrapped around his middle caught him even more off-guard. his eyes widened, flicking between steve’s, trying to make out the expression that lay behind them - failing to make out much of anything in the dark. hs heart skipped a beat at the touch, maybe a couple of them, actually, and his skin suddenly felt like it was on fire. blood burning in his veins, boiling, his breath hitched in his throat. 

eddie really couldn’t speak, he nodded weakly, a strangled sound in the back of his throat. ‘is this okay’. steve could’ve just as well asked him if he liked to breathe. or if he listened to dio. it was okay, it was more than okay, exceptional, really. and eddie couldn’t help but feel pathetic that something as simple as a friendly, comforting touch could make him react that way.

“i - you don’t ?” it wasn’t much of a question, more of a startled observation. his lips gave a weak twitch though he was too taken aback, too riled up to give him a proper smile. he watched, carefully, eyes growing impossibly wide, as steve’s eyes dropped to his lips. all the bells inside his head were ringing, all alarms going off. some screaming ‘go for it’ others alerting him ‘danger - this is a trap, beware!’. 

he skillfully ignored all of them, swallowed, his lips suddenly felt awfully dry and eddie was sure he could hear his heart beating, could feel it in his throat, too. he must’ve shuffled closer without realising, seeing as steve’s face was suddenly so close, impossibly close. his own gaze darted down to steve’s mouth, lingering there for a touch too long. eddie licked his lips.

“steve, man,”, he suddenly heard himself saying, the words spilling out on their own accord, before eddie had time to stop himself.”i feel like i wanna kiss you.” he swallowed, god, when had his throat become so parched? “you don’t...you don’t have to kiss me back if you don’t want.”

zccming·:

WHO: max mayfield && open.

WHERE: outside of melvald’s general store.

this wasn’t max’s most…well-thought-out plan, but she had ransacked the trailer for anything she could bring to the wheeler’s barbecue. and she was pretty sure cereal or swanson’s tv dinners wouldn’t cut it.  as she skated her way downtown in hopes of a miracle, she brainstormed what she could bring that wouldn’t be too complicated. she came up with the likes of doritos or boxed pasta salad. of course, when max pulled up to melvald’s and tugged at the doors, they were locked. melvald’s, like the hawk, and every other godforsaken business in this town just had to be closed. “shit…” she breathed out, scanning her surroundings. not a car in sight…not a person … but there was a rock. maybe if she just…she could get away with it…

max scooped it up from the ground and raised her arm to chuck it through the window, but she felt these eyes on her.  turning around, max initially jumped at the sight of another person. hadn’t she checked for people? in a swift recovery, max rolled her eyes and frowned, “asshole. you can’t just sneak up on people like that.” as if to explain herself, she stepped forward and gripped the handles once more, “it’s locked.”  after chucking the rock out into the road, max placed her hands on her hips, then eyed the other, “i need in, like now.” then as a hint to help or get lost she asked, “got any better ideas?” 

+++

well, wasn’t this one hell of a way to say ‘welcome back’? eddie raised his brows, sighed heavily and over-dramatically as he buried his hands in his pockets, lazily crossing the road to make his way over to max. “’hello’.”, he said, pursed his lips. “’welcome’. ‘hi’. ‘how’s it going, man’. ‘sup’ . even ‘good day’”, said with a bow of sorts. he came to a halt before her, brows pulled together to a frown. “out of all the phrases and greetings to choose from she settles on ‘asshole’. classic max mayfield.”

his stern expression quickly fades into a wide smile, eddie’s face practically lit up, as he surged forward, scooping max up into a tight hug. he’d only just gotten back into town yesterday, hadn’t had a chance to say hello yet, and out of all the people he wanted to check in with - which didn’t consist of a lot of people, seeing as he was still shunned by most of the population of hawkins - her name was at the top of his list. “so, what’s up, you little shit?”, he asked once he’s set her down again. “getting yourself into trouble again, same old, same old. what ever could be so pressing you need to break into melvald’s for ?”

zccming·:

.

max squinted in eddie’s direction, communicating all she didn’t say. the main take away being, are you stupid? “i do do this for myself, like most nights out of the week.” her mom worked the night shift most days, it had been that way for years, max had learned how to fend for herself. sure, it wasn’t always a hot homecooked meal, but she did know how to feed herself, and she definitely knew how to use a knife without nearly losing a finger. “but you have a point.” max sighed, carefully avoiding the words you’re and right. “next time i’ll cook for us.”

at the end of the night, it didn’t matter whether or not eddie had made a five star meal or the inedible mush on their plates. the principal of sit down dinners was never about the food served, or each participants etiquette. they were about spending quality time with one another, and making an effort to connect. 

she hadn’t grown up with the most functional family and max never had a halting revelation that she wasn’t miss american pie and they weren’t the brady bunch. it was known in the same way she learned to walk or talk. she was born into chaos, from her parents divorce, to having billy hargrove and his insufferable dad as her new family members, then moving to hawkins. max seemed destined to walk a rocky path, but with eddie around, the idea of family stopped feeling so painful. it wasn’t how she always pictured it to be, but it felt nice when there were nights like these. 

unsolved mysteries prompted max to wonder if all of them were real, but that wasn’t of concern right now. she dismissed eddie’s thanks man with a, “shh! … you’re welcome.” as her eyes glued to the screen. it was going to be a long wait for their food if she couldn’t immerse herself into the show. at eddie’s assessment of incompetent law enforcement, max gave him a look, “if it seems that way then it definitely is that way.” she rolled her eyes, “we’d know living in hawkins… did you know they tried to give me a traffic violation for skateboarding on the side of the road?” groaning, max had to admit, “i’m so jealous that you don’t live here anymore. and you know, it’s only getting worse the older i get.”

+++

eddie rolled his eyes, over-dramatically but hummed in agreement, carerful not to let his pleased grin show because thats what he’d hoped max would suggest. not that he wouldn’t help her prepare the mayfield-munson-found-family-tv-dinners, he’d definitely help! just not...do them all by himself. because, as it turned out, he sucked at it. 

he settled further into the couch, idly sipping on his beer, dragging his upper lip mindlessly across the rim of the can as he let himself be engulfed by the storyline. eddie was a bit of a restless spirit, always fidgeting, never quite able to direct his attention on one sole thing for more than a few minutes. always looking for another distraction. it had been like that for as long as he could remember, though it had worsened significantly after their trip to the upside down.

as if on cue, he felt a phantom burn where his scars were located. a constant reminder that he’d been through hell and survived. “huh?”, he frowned, tore his eyes away from the screen to look at max. “for skateboarding? jeez, man. whats next, tickets for walking down the street? breathin?” eddie threw his hands up in theatrical mock outrage. “alas, we keep being oppressed by the man! sickening.”

he took a pointed gulp of his beer, wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “you know, you can always get outta here, max.”, he said, mood a little sobered now. “offer still stands, kiddo. come back to chicago with me. i mean, yeah, my apartment’s like half the size of this trailer and a fucking shithole but we’ll make do. we can figure something out.”

stevehharringtcns·:

who: steve harrington & @eddiemcnson·

where: eddie’s place / the trailer park

what: steve gets a haircut (looks like this)

his hair had always been a part of steve and he took it very seriously. after all, it had given him his reputation for all of those years, he couldn’t deny it. he was still steve ‘the hair’ harrington, even if he had been slightly slacking ever since he graduated from high school. after being a couple of days in the hospital, he thought it was for the best if he got it arranged, or at least, a few trims so it could go back to the way it looked when he was in high school. he always thought that it had looked the best back then. what he didn’t expect was for the hairdresser that he would usually go to cut it a little bit too much. it wasn’t terrible to say the least, in fact, steve enjoyed it more than he thought he would. maybe he would keep it like this for quite some time, even though he was sure that people would comment on it, but it wasn’t like he was concerned about people’s opinions on him anymore.

he knew that one of the people that would probably notice it the most would be his boyfriend. steve wanted him to be the first one to see, so he didn’t waste his time in driving down to the trailer park once he was out of the hairdresser. steve knew that eddie would probably be there. he parked his car and quickly got out of it, making his way towards the door, opening it and walking inside. he had been doing this for a couple of weeks now and he knew that eddie wouldn’t mind. wayne was probably working too. “eddie?” he asked out loud. “okay, i know that you love my hair a lot, but… you know, i needed to do something different or i might have just gone crazy with my hair looking like that.” he said right off the bat, only to realize that the other wasn’t anywhere to be seen. “are you here?” he asked, raising an eyebrow as he looked around for a bit.

+++

eddie hadn’t gone out much since what he had dubbed the ‘junkyard incident’. partly due to the fact that he, quite literally, couldn’t go out, seeing as his ankle was wrapped in bandages and he’d been advised by the doctor to let it rest as much as possible. the antibiotics he was on - because doppelganger or not, rabies was still a thing - made him drowsy, too, and so eddie had spent most of his time lounging on the couch in the two or three positions he could comfortably rest in. until, inevitably, his foot would fall asleep and he’d have to get up and move around a bit. 

wayne was at work and so eddie couldn’t whine and ask him to do all the tedious stuff, like making snacks or refilling the electric kettle so he could keep himself from sleeping through the day by drinking copious amounts of coffee. so here he was, shuffling into the bathroom since the tap in the kitchen didn’t have a water filter - it had broken and wayne had promised to pick one up after his shift - to refill the kettle. rubbing at his eyes as he let the water run, wobbly on his feet. 

eddie turned off the tap, startled by a sudden noise coming from the living room - wondering if there was really someone there or if he was that out of it. sure enough the voice persisted, and a voice he knew all too well, and so, with a stupid wide toothy grin, eddie walked back - and nearly dropped the kettle. in his right mind to put it onto the kitchen counter, all he could do was stare, gape, really, chin dropped, eyes wide.

no, yeah, that was steve, undoubtedly. but ... unlike eddie had ever seen him. not sporting his signature, gravity defying hairdo. eddie never thought he’d live to see the day. he brushed a lock of hair behind his ears and came closer to inspect it, running a hand through steve’s hair, ruffling it. an incredulous chuckle fell from his lips, he softly shook his head in disbelief. “my, my.... well, it’s my pleasure to welcome you back, steve ‘the hair’ harrington.” he gave him a nod, then took his face in his hands, pressing a kiss to the space between steve’s brows. “i love it.”

walkie talks || steddie

steve: i didn't think anything

steve: fine, i'll be there soon

steve: nothing

steve: just forget it, we'll talk when i'm there

eddie: nothing?

eddie: ... alright then. suit yourself.

eddie: see you later, king steve.

eddie: over.

scribblcs·:

WHO: gabe diaz & @eddiemcnson· WHAT: gabe spots a familiar face WHERE: downtown hawkins

gabe was settling into hawkins nicely. sure, it was vastly different from chicago, but this small town quiet was something he might be able to get used to. he’d seen a few patients already, but he still had a lot of downtime. on an ideal day, he walked to downtown in the morning, tried some coffee, read the paper, then went to work. following sessions, he liked to walk the town again, try some more coffee, then return home. gabe was really making an effort to immerse himself with the civilians. he’d gotten tangled up in a deep conversation with an elderly gentleman inside of melvald’s late in the afternoon, and they strolled about town together for a while before they parted ways, leaving gabe to finish out his walk alone at dusk. 

at least, he’d thought it would be alone. a couple feet ahead of him, an unmistakable mound of hair veered around the corner and gabe curiously squinted. that bandana certainly looked familiar…tailing the other for a while, he remained inconspicuous until he stole a glimpse of the other and got confirmation that he was in fact, eddie munson, a client from back in chicago. laughing in disbelief, gabe cupped his hands together and warmly called, “eddie!” last he’d heard from eddie, he was taking another trip back to his hometown, how was he to know that it was hawkins? despite how in depth they had gone about how horrible it was for him there, they’d never gotten on a first name basis with the place. gabe knew he made frequent visits, but typically, they weren’t this long, and when gabe left town to take up this new job, he worried about how eddie might react upon his return to find out his therapist had up and left him. luckily, those worries were quickly erased as soon as gabe saw how well eddie seemed to be faring. approaching him, beaming, gabe went in for a hug. oftentimes his heart seemed to get in the way from successfully preventing professional bleeding into personal and such was the case with eddie. he was one of many clients that gabe took a personal liking too, worried a little more about, and hoped extra harder they’d have an emotionally rich future. pulling back from the hug, gabe laughed in disbelief, “i have to admit, i’m quite surprised to see you here. i’m sure you could say the same.” 

while this was all well and good, it gave gabe second thoughts about hawkins. if this was the town that was such a source of hurt for one eddie munson, maybe it wasn’t as nice as he was starting to believe. 

+++

today was ... weird, to say the least. having previously ridden the high of managing to make steve all flustered and blushed when he’d stopped by family video, eddie’s modd had been dampened significantly by his run in with mayor spencer, leaving with a weird feeling in the pit of his stomach as he turned the corner, made his way back to his car. maybe he should park closer to family video next. re-route his evening walks to go through the woods instead of downtown hawkins. lost in thought, he’d barely even taken notice of the figure that had started to follow him, jumping slightly, hand on his heart as he ehard someone call his name.

turning around, prepared to lock eyes with someone who was definitely not fond of seeing him around town, eddie found he was pleasantly surprised as his former therapist came into view. slowly, he lowered his hand, squinted. “.... dr. diaz ? what - what are you- “ doing here, he thought as he was interrupted by gabe’s arms puilling him into a tight hug. one that eddie eagerly returned, wide smile on his face. “yeah... well, my boss is travelling the states for the summer, gave everyone an advance and closed up shop. thought i’d stop by here, pay my uncle a visit, you know.” he shrugged, non-chalantly, as if he hadn’t described hawkins as ‘hell on earth’ to gabe during therapy sessions for the last, like, three years. “and you? what brings you to hicksville, indiana?”

stevehharringtcns·:

.

steve gave eddie a small and weak smile when he saw him take off his vest and placing him over him. that was a sweet gesture, he thought to himself, and steve loved it. he loved the vest, a vest that he had worn before, more than once now and he loved it. he loved the smell of it and it made him feel closer to eddie, especially now that they couldn’t be in the same bed because of steve’s injuries. he had to keep telling himself that the pain was only temporary or he might have gone crazy by the thought of not being able to hold eddie close to him ever again. he hated thinking about that, thinking about that one day he could lose eddie or that eddie could lose him, but he was trying not to think about that right now. he wanted to focus on the man in front of him right now, a weak smile on his lips.

steve hardly cried, so this was new to him. he had cried when nancy broke up with him the first time, but now that seemed something stupid to cry about. he wasn’t sure if he was crying because he was happy that eddie was there and alive, and he could feel him. or if he was crying because he was scared of something happening to him, to them. he let out a small sigh as he felt eddie caressing his cheek, his eyes locked on the other as he watched him close. “it’s okay… crying is okay sometimes… i’m just happy that you’re okay, eddie.” he said, taking a deep breath as he looked at him again. there was nothing more than he wanted other than to kiss him right now. “kiss me?” he asked, looking over at him, hoping that he would just lean forward and kiss him.

when eddie agreed to doing the lift with him, steve let out a weak laugh as he thought about the two of them doing it. eddie was clumsy and knowing them, they would end up on the floor. but they would get up again and they would laugh. steve smiled at the thought, of making memories with him and dustin, max, lucas and everyone. he couldn’t wait until he got out of the hospital. he was glad all of them were okay, even if it would take them all a while to recover from what they had gone through. but steve was trying to focus on the good things for now, looking at eddie with a smile. “i’m pretty sure… i can lift you easily.” he finished off, nodding his head.

he watched eddie closely as he tried to assimilate what steve had asked. steve didn’t regret asking it, in fact, he would ask it again in a heartbeat. they were young and they were clearly into each other. and after this whole thing, steve thought it was for the best if he just admitted his feelings for eddie. he had done that, but he didn’t want to hide anymore. he wanted everyone else to know, he wanted them to share their happiness too. he wanted to tell max and see her reaction. he wanted to tell dustin so he could be happy for them, because he knew he would. he was just waiting for the other’s confirmation, smiling at him. “you heard me correctly.” he said at eddie’s first hesitation, nodding his head slowly.

and then he felt his heart filling up with happiness once eddie said yes, pulling him into a soft kiss and blushing as he did. he was so happy in that moment that he almost forgot the pain he was in, wanting to wrap his arms around eddie and pull him closer to him. but he couldn’t do that without wincing, so he thought it would be for the best if he stayed still. “of course… i’m sure. i’ve never been so sure of anything, ed. i… want you to be my boyfriend. and trust me, i could be put through… russian spies super drugs or whatever, and i would still ask it. i don’t care about anything else, i just want… you. to be my boyfriend.” he said with a nod.

+++

eddie choked on a laugh, mingled with a sob he tried to cover up with said laugh, and he nodded, over-exggeratedly. “you’re....so wise, stevie, i’m... thoroughly impressed.” a weak attempt at a joke to lighten the somber mood, though eddie feared neither of them would be in high spirits anytime soon. as glad as eddie was that they had both gotten out of it ... somewhat okay, he couldn’t ignore the nagging thought at the back of his head. they’d made it out this time.they’d made it out and yet he was visiting steve in the hospital, pulling down his sleeves so he wouldn’t see the marks callahan’s handcuffs had left on his wrisst. eddie couldn’t imagine what it would be like the next time around - if there was a next time. if they survived said next time. this, whatever it was, was far from over.

“i’m happy you’re okay, too.” so happy. and eddie readily complied, leaning in to press a soft kiss to steve’s lips. don’t cry again, don’t cry, don’t cry, don’t cry. eddie did his best to try and ignore the constant rhythmic beeping of the monitors and machines around them, the acidic smell of cleaning agent that lingered in the air. it was all .. .well, for lack of a better word, incredibly and horribly depressing. and it simply wasn’t... fair. they deserved their sliver of happiness. they’d been through plenty - they deserved a break. a clean cut, even. a moment of peace, no matter how fleeting.

eddie decided that, despite the stale and creepy atmosphere of a hospital, this must be his moment of peace. a soft chuckle fell from his lips, so low it was barely audbile, yet a sound of genuine happiness, however brief. he shook his head softly, smiling. “you know, sometimes i forget you’ve been through this, like, what ? four times already ? you’re such a ... i hate to say it, you’re kind of a ... badass.” eddie had to give him that. though, the first time steve had told him about their past run-ins with hawkins’ resident supernatural creatures, eddie had had a hard time believing him. well, he’d thought that the starcourt mall incident of ‘84 and steve’s subsequent fighting with russian spy soldiers in their secret underground miliatiry base had been total bogus. but here they were and eddie had come to know that well, stranger things had happened. 

“and then, in the next minute you turn around and ask me to learn the dirty dancing lift with you. you’re - “ eddie had to stop, interrupted by genuine giggles. a couple of beats passed before he’d calmed down enough to continue, grinning down at steve with a fond look in his eyes. and god, his heart felt like it might burst. “you’re a dork, steve harrington.” shutting up any and all protest steve could’ve thrown in with another kiss. followed by a quick peck on the tip of his nose, his cheek, his forehead. yeah. eddie munson was officially whipped. fuck.

he leaned back reluctantly, eyed steve with a curious expression on his face. wondering if the topic better stay avoided but - no, he had to ask. for his own sake, too. he shifted in his seat, cleared his throat. “so, uh. where -have your parents been in yet? “