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Chapter Text

When sunlight slowly peeked in through Robin's curtains, Steve couldn't help but realize he wasn't sure if he actually slept. At some point in the night he'd stopped crying - sure. But had he fallen asleep? 

Maybe?

His eyes would close and his body would relax back into the warmth of Robin laying behind him. But he certainly didn't feel well rested.

He felt raw and wrung out.

"Are you awake?" Robin mumbled against his back.

Steve sighed softly, "Unfortunately."

He shifted ever so slightly when Robin's arms began to retract from him. Once they were gone he fully rolled over onto his back to stare up at the ceiling. He could hear Robin shuffling around, actually getting out of bed. Good for her. Because Steve wasn't sure if he would ever want to leave the safety of Robin's bed ever again.

"Do you want to talk over coffee on the couch or at the table?" Robin asked, her voice further away than he expected, "Because as much as I commiserate in your wallowing, coffee is not allowed in my bed."

"Not after the midnight coffee bar incident of freshman year finals," Steve groaned, finally pushing himself up to a sitting position. 

Robin nodded sagely from where she stood by the door, "Not after the midnight coffee bar incident of freshman year finals."

Steve cracked a half hearted smile as he pushed a sleepy hand through the mess of his hair. Leave it to Rob to find a way to get him out of bed at least. "Can I have a blanket cocoon on the couch?" He asked, pouting just a bit. 

Instead of using her words, Robin grabbed something from her desk chair and tossed it at Steve. He just barely caught it before it collided with his head, which wouldn't have been that bad seeing as it was a very soft black throw blanket featuring a truly troubling number of varying types of mushrooms. When Steve looked up from the blanket he only saw Robin's back as she left the room. 

He begrudgingly got up from the bed and shuffled over to the dresser along the wall. Robin stole enough of his clothes that he knew she had to have a pair of his sweatpants somewhere. He pulled a few drawers open, rifled through them, and finally found a pair of gray sweatpants buried under her own lounge clothes.

After a few clumsy attempts, Steve managed to pull the pants on. He draped the blanket Robin had tossed at him around his shoulders and tread across the floor towards the living room. The scent of coffee hit his senses first, followed by the tinking of a spoon in a mug.

In the living room Steve clambered up onto the couch, tucking into himself with his knees to his chest. Once he was comfortable in his little cocoon, he noticed Robin approaching with two mugs in her hands.

"Here is Benito," she said, holding out a too tall mug with an uneven rim and a strange ombre glaze. 

Steve felt himself wince looking at the mug. It was the second mug he had made in his ceramics class, and he gifted it to Robin so that they could each have a shitty little mug at each other's apartment; Named after two of the ceramic professors who were adamant that anyone could make great things if they tried. But now he just pictured a shirtless, sleep rumpled Eddie leaning against the kitchen counter and sipping out of the one at his place. It hurt his heart.

Robin paused where she stood, watching him with scrutinizing eyes.

She switched her hands to hold out a simple black mug with gold filigree wrapped around it. Steve exhaled in relief, happily taking the coffee from her. He clasped the mug between both of his hands and took a slow sip, watching over the lip as Robin took a seat at the other end of the couch.

"Whenever you're ready," she said almost too casually, pulling her legs up to tuck them underneath her.

Honestly, Steve wasn't sure if he was ready.

He wasn't ready to recount the stupid mistakes he'd made. 

He wasn't ready to tell Robin how he had hidden things from her, or made Nancy promise to also hide things.

He definitely wasn't ready to see the disappointment and pity on Robin's face.

Though, he didn't know which would hurt worse.

So, he stalled for time by taking the most painstakingly slow sip of coffee he'd ever had in his life. He cradled the mug to his chest, fingers absently tapping against the ceramic, and kept his eyes on the caramel colored liquid inside. He didn't want to look at Robin while he talked.

"I haven't been honest with you," Steve admitted, sighing heavily, "I've been spending time with Eddie. We made out - a lot. So much so that Nancy saw us and I made her swear not to tell you. But, in my defense, my stupid vow said nothing about kissing."

As quickly as he could, Steve glanced up to try and gauge Robin's reaction. Though her face was infuriatingly impassive.

"He came by my place one night and I gave him a blowjob. And under better circumstances I'd happily tell you how bi- nevermind. Um, the other night when you asked if I wanted company, Eddie was at my place. We were making out in my bed when you called. But when I lied and said he wasn't, and mentioned my promise, he got upset and left."

Steve lifted his mug to take another long sip of coffee, hoping it would somehow make all of this easier. He lowered the drink again and licked his lips with a quick, nervous swipe of his tongue.

Closing his eyes, Steve hung his head slightly, "The next night, the night before last, I apologized to him and invited him back over. We had sex. But… Last night at work I stepped in the kitchen and heard all the cooks laughing and joking and heard Eddie saying that I was such a slut."

Robin made a high pitched, almost choking sound in the back of her throat. Steve's eyes shot open and he lifted his head to look back at her, concerned. She had a hand against her chest as she held her coffee out away from her. Her face was slowly turning red.

"Less than 24 hours after you had sex and he did what?" 

Steve groaned softly and slumped against the back of the couch, letting his head tip to the side to rest on it. Part of him didn't like that, that was the part she was focused on. He'd rather she be mad that he lied to her than be mad at Eddie. As stupid as that sounded. And he was well aware that it sounded stupid. 

He just didn't want to think about Eddie any more if he could help it. 

"I lied to you, broke my promise, and that's what you're worked up about?" He scoffed incredulously.

Robin exhaled a quick stream of air, dropping her hand and balancing her mug on her knee. "Look, am I jazzed that you lied to me? No, not really. But you're also a grown man who is going to do what you want to do. A drunken promise wasn't actually going to stop you from sleeping with whoever you wanted." Robin shrugged one of her shoulders and took a sip out of her terrible coffee mug. "I do wish you told me the truth from the beginning, though."

"I'm sorry," he mumbled sadly. He worried his lower lip between his teeth for a few seconds before letting out a long sigh. "I guess I wanted to prove you wrong. Like, Eddie was so sweet. He made me extra food, and drove me home when I was too tipsy to drive. Hell, he stayed to make sure I was okay and even made me disgustingly good hangover food. And he stood up to this shitty customer who made me cry!"

There was a less than gentle feeling building inside of his chest. It felt as though a tiny marble of disbelief had been rolled down a snowy mountaintop. It gained speed and covered itself with layers of sadness, and then anger until it was too big to be contained by Steve's rib cage. The sharp, cold shards pressed insistently through the gaps of his ribs leaving him a little breathless.

His eyes were once again filling with tears but he did nothing to try to stop it.

"If he was just going to be an asshole why did he have to spend the night or offer to make breakfast? Why did he have to be so cuddly and sweet in the morning?" Steve mumbled, mostly to himself.

There was the vague sound of a mug being set down on a table, and then Steve felt his own coffee being gingerly taken from his hands. He let it go easily. Robin's hands softly moved Steve's legs to unfurl them away from his chest. And then she was there, pressing against him.

Her arms went around Steve's middle while she laid her head down against his shoulder.

It was silent for a while. The only sounds in the apartment were their breathing and the gentle ticking of the clock on the wall.

Finally, Robin broke the silence.

"Was the sex any good, at least?"

Steve let out a very ugly, very wet bark of laughter, "So good."

"You want me to kill him?"

Unfortunately, having a proper wallow would have to wait. 

Steve and Robin had to go to work, they were both scheduled for the Sunday brunch shift. Which was the single last thing that Steve needed right about now. He could only hope that Eddie wasn't working until dinner, if he was scheduled today at all.

So, Steve showered at Robin's and put on his work uniform that he'd worn over the night before. It was less than ideal but if he drove home to get ready he would be late. He didn't really need to give Keith any more reasons to not like him.

At least he was only scheduled to work for brunch.

Which is what he had to keep reminding himself while standing behind the bar with Nancy. He just had to make it to the end of brunch and then he could go home to languish away in his apartment alone.

"Let me guess," Steve mumbled as Nancy picked up the tickets that just got printed.

She rolled her eyes with a slight grin, "Mimosa, mimosa, mimosa, and, wait for it, a double mimosa."

Steve heaved a sigh as he turned to grab the champagne flutes. "We're going to need a restock on glasses soon," he said as he walked over to Nancy. He set the glasses down on the bartop and ducked down to grab the orange juice from the chiller underneath.

"If we wait for someone to bring them, we'll be serving mimosas out of highballs," Nancy said, grunting softly as she uncorked a new bottle of champagne.

Steve shrugged, "I'd still drink 'em."

"But it's not the aesthetic, Steven," Nancy laughed.

"Don't call me my government name."

"Go get our glasses from the dishwashers," she said, giving him a very pointed look.

Steve grimaced. He absolutely did not want to go to the kitchen. He would rather die. He'd spotted Eddie's stupid little bun through the window earlier and he wanted to crawl into a hole to wait for the sweet release of death. Nancy paused, blinking slowly as she watched Steve suspiciously. "You're not jumping at the opportunity to go flounce around the kitchen?" She asked, raising a single brow.

Steve scoffed, "I have never flounced in my entire life."

That was a lie. 

He'd been known to flounce, he just didn't need Nancy unknowingly prodding an open wound.

She stared unblinking at him.

"Look, I just don't wanna see Eddie, okay?" He stressed, hoping that she would realize something was wrong but wouldn't push.

Nancy's face softened before visibly creasing when the printer began to spit out new tickets. "Okay, I'll go check on glasses and you start on that," she said, waving a hand at the printer in disgust.

Steve's shoulders slumped in relief, "Deal."

Nancy swiveled on her heel and marched off towards the kitchen, leaving Steve by himself. A waiter came by and took the drinks that they'd just made, so Steve grabbed the tickets to read through them. Shocker of shockers, it was almost all mimosas. Though, there was a grey goose screwdriver on the last ticket.

"Variety," Steve mumbled under his breath in faux celebration. 

He cranked out the mimosas, having just enough glasses until Nancy returned from her rescue mission. He liked when things were busy, sometimes. It gave him an opportunity to just shut off his brain while his hands worked. That was how he'd gotten into art in the first place. His therapist just handed him a sketchbook and pencil and let him do as he pleased while they talked.

Busy hands settled his busy mind.

As if he were operating on autopilot, Steve grabbed a highball glass and set it on the bar. He then turned to find the vodka but paused. There wasn't an open bottle of grey goose anywhere. However, he spotted a sealed bottle hiding behind some other vodkas.

Great.

Steve grumbled softly under his breath as he set to work to remove the foil from the top of the bottle. The soft tinkling of glasses caught his attention and then he felta hot, sharp pain tear through the space between his thumb and forefinger on his left hand. He sucked in a harsh breath, teeth clamping together to stifle a slew of vulgarity.

Glancing down, Steve saw a rather lengthy cut that was blossoming deep red. 

"Shit, are you okay?" Nancy asked, setting down the washer tray of glasses she just returned with.

Part of Steve wanted to brush her off, say he was fine. But he could easily see the beads of blood working to the surface and the searing pain wasn't going away.

He swallowed thickly, and nodded his head slowly, "Um… yeah. I'm just… gonna take the first aid kit. And… go wash up in the bathroom."

Steve grabbed a clean rag, wrapped it tight around his hand. He looked for a moment but quickly found the box of first aid supplies before he stumbled off towards the bathroom. He turned so that he could push the door open with his back, not wanting to touch it with his hurt hand. Thankfully, the restroom appeared to be unoccupied.

He lurched forward towards the countertop. He set the first aid kit down, and carefully unwound the rag from his hand. He flexed his fingers and grimaced at the trail of blood on his skin. With a loud exhale, Steve turned the faucet on before he stuck his hand under the running water.

"Ah, shit," he whispered, nose scrunching up.

The sound of the door behind him being thrown open startled Steve enough that he jolted, causing his elbow to knock into the first aid kit and sending it clattering to the floor. The top popped open upon impact which made several sealed bandages, gauze rolls, ointments, and alcohol wipes spill out onto the floor.

Steve groaned softly at the sight. He shut off the sink with his right hand and glanced over his shoulder to see Eddie standing beside the door with a confused wrinkle between his brows.

Just what he needed.

Keeping his cut hand slightly elevated, crouched down to begin picking things up. He staunchly ignored Eddie because if he looked at him for too long he'd either want to hit him or cry. Neither of which were things that he wanted to do in the middle of the busy brunch shift.

"Steve, wha- oh, shit. Your hand."

Before he could process what Eddie was saying, the other man was across the room and crouched down beside him, picking up the scattered supplies. Steve bit his lip to keep himself from saying something mean like telling Eddie to fuck off. So, he stood upright with a sigh at just about the same time as Eddie finished cleaning up.

Steve expected him to put everything back on the counter and leave, but of course that wouldn't happen. That would be too easy.

"What happened?" Eddie asked, rifling through the supplies he had just picked up off the floor.

Rolling his eyes, Steve looked away from him to stare at his hand. "I was opening a bottle of grey goose. The foil on those fuckers is sharper than a knife for some stupid reason," he griped. He turned back to the sink, turned on the water, and started another attempt to delicately clean the cut.

As much as he wished he could just ignore the fact that Eddie was there, he could practically feel his presence even if he wasn't looking at him.

"Let me see."

Steve balked openly, head snapping in Eddie's direction. He had laid out what looked to be some gauze, medical tape, as well as an antibacterial cream on a paper towel. Steve pursed his lips. He didn't want this; he didn't want to be near Eddie let alone have him touch him. Though, it seemed it didn't really matter what he wanted.

Eddie reached out and gently took hold of Steve's injured hand, pulling it closer. He didn't speak, he just did. Steve watched with rapt attention as Eddie folded a gauze pad, covering one side in the ointment, and gently laid it over the cut on Steve's hand. It stretched from the side of his hand, over the cut, and onto his palm. He then secured it with a piece of medical tape across the length of it.

Steve couldn't help but stare at Eddie's hands as he worked. He had long fingers, a fact Steve knew a little too intimately, but looking closer Steve could see a bunch of white, barely visible scars scattered across his fingers. There were what seemed to be callouses on the pads of his fingers and some in places that Steve could only imagine came from holding a knife.

There were a few seconds where Steve became utterly lost in his own thoughts just looking at Eddie's hands. The way they moved delicately, as if afraid to hurt Steve any further. He had the briefest flash of how they felt grabbing at his waist, or his thighs.

He still had fading pinprick bruises on the backs of his thighs from the way Eddie had held him down when they had sex.

Steve very steadfastly had to look away from his hands to stare at the bathroom tile under their feet.

Eddie easily plucked a roll of gauze from the counter and delicately wrapped Steve's hand, all the way across his palm then under his thumb, around his wrist and back to where it started. It wasn't too tight but it definitely did the job of keeping his cut covered and secured.

Without a word, Eddie started to clean up the supplies he used.

"Thanks," Steve muttered softly, the sound more of a grunt.

Eddie glanced up at him, pausing what he was doing. His mouth opened ever so slightly, closed again, and then repeated. He obviously wanted to say something.

"I, um, I just-"

Whatever Eddie was going to say was cut off by the door being kicked open. "Steve, are you okay? Nance said you-" Robin's voice carried into the bathroom but stopped abruptly. Steve whipped around to look at her with wide eyes. She was in the open doorway, a hand on the door to hold it open, and the other resting on the frame.

He saw how her eyes skirted away from him to Eddie. He watched, in mild horror, the way that her eyes narrowed and her face hardened.

"You," she said coldly.

Oh. Oh, no.

Steve glanced over his shoulder to see Eddie staring at Robin in wide eyed surprise. Maybe fear. Scrambling, Steve grabbed the first aid kit from Eddie and rushed to the door. He placed a hand on Robin's arm and tried to ease her out of the way. She, thankfully, went with him.

"I'll kill him," Robin mumbled as Steve maneuvered her around the corner, "Say the word and his ass is grass."

Steve couldn't help but roll his eyes affectionately, "Yeah, because you're so scary."

The gentle ribbing seemed to melt the iciness of her features. She took a deep breath and settled again. "Right, what happened? Are you okay?" She asked, looking him over.

He held his bandaged hand up with a sigh, "The goose tried to take me out."

"You just can't win this weekend, huh?"

Steve scrunched his nose as his face twisted with a wave of self pity. Robin let out a soft coo as she reached out to gently brush some of his hair back off of his forehead. While he appreciated the concern and care, it felt almost a little infantilizing. After all, the guy he hooked up with called him a slut to a kitchen full of their co-workers, he hadn't dropped his ice cream cone or lost his balloon to a gust of wind.

But he knew that Robin meant well.

"I have to get back to the bar," Steve sighed, shaking his head in defeat, "Nance is probably drowning in mimosas."

All things considered, Steve's wallowing wasn't as bad as he expected it to be. He still went to work, and class. Everything seemed to be the way it was before, so long as he absolutely did not for even one second think about Eddie Munson.

And he may or may not be going to extremes in order to achieve that specific goal. 

"That sounds perfect. I will see you Thursday evening," Steve said happily into his phone, though his face was a full grimace at the overly friendly customer service voice he was using.

He murmured his goodbyes as he crested the stairs in the tutoring center, and ended the call before stuffing his phone back into his pocket. Robin was going to kill him for even considering a new job without talking to her about it. Especially since he was doing so when he was, as she often put it, using low IQ feelings to solve high IQ problems.

Which was rude, in his opinion. 

Besides, it wasn't like Steve hadn't considered a different gig before the whole Eddie situation blew up in his face. He knew that he could make more hourly, and better tips, at a different location. And with the ever increasing price of art supplies coupled with the sheer expense of being alive Steve figured that moving jobs would be a good option.

It would also remove him from a restaurant of people he's hooked up with.

That was a major plus.

So, he had a job interview in two days. He could almost taste sweet freedom. Though it was quickly replaced with the terribly sour taste of being confronted with one's bad choices.

Eddie was standing rather awkwardly outside of Chrissy's work space.

Where Steve was meant to meet with her in less than five minutes. His feet faltered as he reached the top of the steps making him have to grab hold of the railing to keep from toppling forward and smashing his face on the floor. Thankfully, Eddie was too engrossed in his phone to notice.

Not that it mattered.

Once Steve righted himself, he blew a stream of air upwards to move some of his hair that had flopped forward across his forehead. He adjusted the straps of his backpack and attempted to walk with his head held high. He just needed Chrissy to look over a short analysis he'd written the night before while he couldn't sleep. He could just brush past Eddie and everything would be just fine.

The universe had other plans it seemed. As Steve approached the door, Eddie glanced up at his phone. His head snapped up in surprise as he struggled to push his phone into his pocket, almost sending the device careening to the ground in the process.

"Steve," Eddie breathed out, sliding to the side to essentially block his way into the room.

Great.

Steve let out an annoyed sigh. He was so tired and he just wanted to finish this meeting with Chrissy so he could go home. He needed to finish some sketches for his Drawing III class so that he could spend his time in class actually working and not brainstorming a bunch of useless nonsense. He didn't need to be barred from seeing his tutor by a jerk he'd stupidly hooked up with.

"What do you want? You wanna make sure I actually see a tutor so you can tell everyone I'm dumb as well as a slut?"

Maybe his tone was a little harsh.

But Eddie deserved it.

Eddie winced before dropping his eyes to the floor for a moment. He actually kind of looked remorseful. Sort of. He lifted a hand to rub at the back of his neck. The toe of his boot scuffed the tile under them.

"You have to let m-"

Steve raised a hand, effectively silencing Eddie, "I don't have to do anything other than get in that room and see Chrissy. I especially don't have to let you do anything. You've done enough."

"Come on, man, I'm sorry. I am so sorry, Steve, but it wasn't what it sounded like," Eddie tried to reason.

What a crock of bull. Steve scoffed, crossing his arms over his chest. "That's what you're going with? Let me remind you that we had sex and the next night you told a kitchen full of people, and I quote, Steve is such a slut. Which, by the way, they knew. You wanna tell anyone else I've fucked that I'm a slut? How about Chrissy? Maybe she forgot."

Steve was seeing red. 

He was breathing heavily. He didn't like being patronized or condescended to. Sure, he wasn't the best at academics but he wasn't stupid. He didn't appreciate being treated as if he were.

Reaching around Eddie's stunned form, Steve grabbed the door handle and threw open the door. Chrissy was sitting at the table, her head shot up at the sudden movement, and her face immediately crumpled in confusion.

"Hey, Chris," Steve called, not taking his eyes off Eddie's face, "Just wanted to check in. You know that I'm such a slut, right? You don't need Eddie here to remind you now that he's also had sex with me, do you?"

He could hear Chrissy make a very bewildered sound from within the room but he didn't bother to look. He was too busy watching the way Eddie blanched at his outburst. He saw the Adam's apple in Eddie's throat bob harshly up and down as he swallowed thickly. Steve couldn't help but sneer, finally turning to look back at Chrissy.

"I'm gonna have to cancel our appointment. Not really in the right headspace. I'll just turn in my analysis as is. No worries," he said, giving Chrissy a shrug. He looked back at Eddie to see that he was once again looking to the ground. Good. Maybe he'd leave him alone now.

"You wanna have a sleepover?" Robin asked as they walked out of the restaurant. 

It was late; it'd taken far too long to get everything shut down for the night. And even though she could have left, Robin stayed behind while Steve finished up. It was sweet. She was always a little softer with him when he was going through it.

Steve sighed, mostly to himself, "I'd love to say yes but I have workouts in the morning and class right after. I know how you feel when my alarm wakes you up before the sun."

"It's inhumane," Robin laughed. She swayed to the side to bump her shoulder against his own, making him smile too.

They walked past the open alley behind the restaurant and Steve could see several of the cooks, as well as some of the waitstaff congregating there. His eyes immediately landed on Eddie, who straightened up at the sight of him. They held each other's gaze for a moment too long and Steve felt a painful twinge in his gut.

Then he felt a hand grabbing his own, fingers lacing with his. He looked over to see Robin giving him a soft, sympathetic smile before she tugged him away.

"So no sleepover tonight. How about this weekend?"

Steve nodded, clearing his throat, "That sounds perfect."

The job interview went better than Steve honestly expected. It was at a queer club more towards the downtown area on the other side of campus. The base pay was better than he was currently making, he could wear whatever he wanted, and the schedule would make planning classes and practices so much easier.

Plus, as far as he knew, he hadn't fucked anybody who worked there.

The middle-aged couple, Melissa and Juniper, who owned the place together were really nice. They pretty quickly extended an offer, which Steve was ecstatic about. He'd be starting in a week. He didn't want to leave Nancy and Robin in the lurch by being down a bartender with no warning.

Afterwards, he headed home.

He changed into some sweats and intended to do some work for his Gothic art history class. He curled up on his couch with his glasses perched on his nose and his textbook in his lap. What he hadn't planned on happening was dozing off halfway through the chapter. He didn't realize he'd done it until there was a heavy knocking at his door.

The sound shocked him awake, making the textbook topple to the floor.

Groggily, Steve got to his feet and almost tripped over the textbook in question. He hissed a curse under his breath as he attempted to reorient himself. The knocking hadn't stopped. It just got louder. "Jesus Christ. I'm coming!" He shouted, trudging towards the door. He flicked the lock, twisted the knob, and yanked the door open with an exasperated sigh.

"What do you w- Eddie?" The sight of the long haired man made his brain take a detour. He looked tired. His hair was fully down for once which, if he weren't so mad at him, Steve really would like to pull on. He blinked slowly, shaking his head from side to side, bringing himself back. "What are you doing here?"

"We need to talk."

Steve rolled his eyes, "Yeah, no. We don't."

He took a small step backwards and made a move to close the door in Eddie's face. However, Eddie slapped a hand against the center of the door to hold it open. His eyes were narrowed and had some kind of fire behind them that made Steve shift nervously. He, however, didn't say anything.

Steve groaned, "Fine. You have ten minutes."

Without saying anything further, Steve shuffled backwards to open the door wider. He waved a less than enthusiastic hand through the air to silently beckon Eddie inside. Once he crossed the threshold, Steve closed and locked the door before heading back towards his living room.

As he walked back to the spot he vacated on the sofa, he grabbed his book off of the floor to toss onto his coffee table. He settled down on the couch and finally looked back at Eddie, who was standing awkwardly beside the other end of the sofa, with his eyebrows raised.

Eddie's fingers wrapped a strand of hair around themselves and pulled it closer to his face in some sort of self soothing motion. "This is going to sound like such bullshit and like I'm just trying to cover my ass but I need you to understand. You walked into the kitchen at the worst possible moment. The guys were… talking their usual shit about different people at the restaurant and one of them mentioned your name," Eddie spoke softly, twisting his hair.

He sighed softly and sat down at the other end of the couch.

"Tommy started saying all of this garbage and, like, it didn't make sense to me. Because, look, I don't care who you've slept with or anything. You're an adult, do what and who you want," Eddie said the last bit in a rush, hands moving a bit erratically as he spoke. It was almost cute. Almost. "Some of the other guys threw in their two cents as Tommy called you a slut. I was trying to tell them that I didn't understand why they kept saying you're such a slut… You're more than your sex life."

Steve's head tipped to the side in perplexity. He could feel his eyes slowly narrow as his brow furrowed. He didn't understand what was happening.

Eddie shifted on his end of the couch so that his back was against the arm, and he pulled one leg up to bend in front of him while still keeping his boot off of the furniture. Had he been in a better state of mind, Steve probably would have found the move endearing.

"I don't care who you've slept with. I care that you are funny, and kind, and sweet. And that you work way too hard between a job, school, and being on the swim team. You're not Slutty Steve. You're a guy who likes to have fun, so what? You also like to paint and draw and you make the cutest, shittiest mugs I've ever seen."

A surprised snort of laughter escaped Steve, making his eyes widened as he all but slapped his palm over his mouth and nose in an attempt to stifle the sound.

Eddie's eyes crinkled as he smiled warmly at him, "I am sorry that you heard what you did. You had every right to be pissed off. You've dealt with those idiots talking shit for so long, it must have been awful to also hear me say something like that."

There was a stretch of silence between the two of them. Steve wasn't entirely sure what to say or do. He felt a twinge of embarrassment. Especially considering how he had gone nuclear at the tutoring center Tuesday afternoon. He went full scorched earth. And for what?

A misunderstanding.

Clearing his throat, Eddie gently patted at his own thighs with open palms, "Um, that's all I wanted to say. If you still don't want to talk to me or be around me, I get it. I just… I really like spending time with you and think you're really cool and I didn't want you to think I was trying to hurt you. I'll just… I can go."

He pushed himself up from the couch to stand on his feet. Something urgent thrashed in Steve's chest and he scrambled to stand as well. He reached out to grab at Eddie's wrist as the man made a move to turn away. Maybe it was the sudden touch or maybe Steve grabbed him a bit too harshly, he didn't know, but Eddie immediately looked back at him with a curious expression.

Steve took a deep breath, letting it out slowly.

What was he supposed to say? He had just sort of acted but now he was holding Eddie's wrist in a tight grip and couldn't look away from his eyes.

"You… you don't have to go," Steve murmured. That was the most important thing. He didn't want Eddie to leave, which was a major 180 from his thought process from the past week. "Thank you, for apologizing; for trying to stand up for me. And I'm sorry for being so mean. I was just… really hurt. And felt kind of stupid. Like, Robin had this whole truth time with me about how I get attached and break my own heart and I was sure she was wrong about you and then… it felt like she was fully right and I was an idiot."

Eddie's eyes softened around the edges as a barely there, almost sad, smile spread across his lips. He turned to fully face Steve and took a few tentative steps closer. He lifted his free hand up to gingerly adjust the frames of Steve's glasses before tucking a rogue strand of hair back behind his ear.

His fingers gently brushed the shell of Steve's ear before falling away. "You're not stupid, or an idiot, Steve," Eddie said in a low voice. It made Steve's heart squeeze inside his chest. "You absolutely should have been angry based on the information you had."

Steve nodded absently, and Eddie tilted his head slightly as he watched him with careful eyes.

"Are we okay?"

Chuckling softly, Steve finally let go of Eddie's wrist, "Yeah, we're okay."

"Good. Because let me tell you, seeing Henderson sitting on an empty keg in the back eating the food I made because you didn't want it was awful," Eddie laughed, his dimples popping into place on his cheeks.

Steve grinned, "Well, I guess you'll have to try again."

"Yeah?"

"How about breakfast?" Steve asked, voice dropping slightly as he stepped even closer to Eddie.

The smirk that tugged at the corner of Eddie's lips had Steve's heart pounding and his knees feeling less than sturdy. One of Eddie's arms snaked around Steve's waist and pulled him closer until they were pressed flush against one another. Steve went easily, a soft breathy giggle falling past his lips.

Steve's arms lifted up so that he was able to push his fingers into Eddie's hair, savoring the feeling since his hair had always been up whenever they were together before. He saw the faintest flash of white teeth before he felt the press of lips against his own. Steve groaned lowly, deep from within his chest, as his eyes fluttered shut.

He could feel Eddie's other hand cradling his jaw, moving his head just so. And then he was kissing him deeper. Eddie's tongue licked over the seam of his lips, which he immediately pulled open to grant entry. The touch of their tongues together had Steve shivering in Eddie's hold while a fire seemed to ignite under his skin.

It had been less than a week, but Steve had missed the way that Eddie kissed him.

Passionate, all consuming, and on just this side of dirty.

Shivers wrecked his body with each press of tongue and lips.

Slowly, almost reluctantly, Steve peeled his lips away from Eddie's and allowed his eyelids to flicker open again. In front of him, Eddie's face was pink, his eyes were hooded, and his lips were plush and kissed red. He was so fucking gorgeous. It really wasn't fair.

Steve pressed close, using Eddie's frame as a pivot point and started to walk backwards away from him. His hands slid down from Eddie's hair, over his arms, until one looped a single finger around one of Eddie's. Steve couldn't help but smirk as Eddie followed him almost like a lost little puppy.

He led Eddie into his bedroom, pulled him close enough to trade positions and gently pushed at the center of his chest until Eddie flopped down onto the end of his bed with a breathless laugh. Steve grinned before he grabbed the hem of his own t-shirt and yanked it up over his head, casually dropping it to the floor. The movement skewed his glasses on his nose so he raised a hand to take them off.

"Don't," Eddie blurted out. He heaved a breath and shook his head once. "Leave them on."

Steve raised his eyebrows in surprise but chuckled lowly, "Someone has a thing for glasses, okay."

"You look hot in them. Steve Harrington is a cute little painter who wears glasses. Who knew?" Eddie teased with a shrug.

"I could probably squat you on my back and you're calling me cute and little," Steve huffed as he shimmied out of his sweatpants, leaving him completely bare. He kept his head ducked slightly in an attempt to hide the soft burning blush in his cheeks.

He heard what sounded like boots thunking to the floor, forcing him to look up to see that Eddie had removed his shoes and was actively working on taking his shirt off too.

"You like it," he said simply, tossing his shirt aside, "Now, get your cute little ass in this bed."

Steve bit back a smirk but did as he was told; he crawled up the bed and turned over to drop himself down with his head on a pillow. He watched Eddie stand from where he had been seated, turn around to face him, and begin to pull open his belt. Steve felt his mouth water at the way Eddie so easily undid the leather from the buckle and smoothly pulled it from around his waist.

He popped open the button of his jeans, sliding them and his boxers down his legs before stepping out of them. And then he was also crawling up the bed, up Steve's body, until they were face to face again.

Steve was sure that his face was beet red, based solely on how warm it felt.

"You are… so pretty," Eddie crooned, smiling sweetly down at him.

Eddie's face bent down into his in slow motion, like a dream, blurred, and then disappeared as he felt his hot mouth close over his own. And Steve nearly melted into the mattress. His hands sunk into Eddie's hair, tangling it around his fingers while one of Eddie's hands stayed pressed into the bed and the other gripped Steve at his waist. 

As they kissed Steve became acutely aware of the weight of Eddie's body pressing so deliciously onto him. Eddie was slowly lowering himself down and laying their bodies together, lined up perfectly. He felt the hard, hot line of Eddie's cock nestle so tightly against his own when their hips met that he gasped into their kiss. Eddie took the opportunity to lick into his mouth, the tip of his tongue flicking over the backs of his teeth and over his hard palate.

Like a chef sampling delectable treats as he worked on them.

His hips rolled unintentionally up against Eddie's, their dicks sliding against one another in a way that made Steve tremble. "Mmf, please, Eddie," Steve whined, nipping at his lower lip.

There was a strange mix of disappointment and excitement when Eddie pulled away from him to sit up on his knees. Disappointment because he could get drunk on Eddie's kisses alone; he craved the feeling now that he let himself have it. Excitement because of the dark, hooded look Eddie gave him.

"You want me to fuck you?" Eddie asked in a tone that made it sound as if he thought it was funny.

Steve considered kicking him. But if Eddie wanted to play, Steve was more than prepared to join in. He softened his eyes and fluttered his lashes as he raked his teeth over his kiss-swollen lower lip. "Please, Eddie," he breathed out softly, pouting ever so slightly, "Want to feel your big cock stretch me out."

Eddie stared down at him moon-eyed with mouth slightly agape. He breathed out an almost silent 'fuck' before he snapped out of it with a shake of his head. He quickly began pulling the chunky metal rings off of his fingers, and then leaned over Steve's body to drop them onto his bedside table. 

He pulled open the drawer to grab a condom and a bottle of lube. Normally, Steve would have something to say about the presumptuous way he just went through his belongings but there was honestly something very hot about the confidence with which he moved. 

Though he figured that there was something just so indescribably hot about Eddie in general.

Eddie dropped the supplies he'd gathered onto the bed beside Steve's prone body before he surged forward to seal his lips around the fading hickey he had left at the juncture where Steve's neck and shoulder met. Steve gasped at the feeling of teeth dragging over the sensitive skin, sharp points of pressure digging into already bruised flesh.

He didn't have time to really adjust or relish in the sensation before Eddie moved on. Steve tossed his head back into his pillow as Eddie wrapped his mouth around his nipple and his tongue worked over the tenuous bud until it pebbled and hardened.

Steve could only breathe out a soft moan of Eddie's name at the feeling.

Eddie continued his slow, sensual journey down Steve's body while Steve was helpless to just lay there and feel it. He was a little lost in all of the sensations until the warm, wet flat of Eddie's tongue ran up the underside of his cock, pausing only to press hotly at the sensitive glans under the head.

"O-Oh, fuck," Steve groaned, his back arching off of the mattress. 

When his back slumped back to the bed, Steve felt Eddie's hands grab hold of his hips and suddenly Steve was being flipped over. He let out a soft 'hmpf' as he settled on his stomach, though there was a sharp shock of pleasure that ran through his body at how easily Eddie was able to move him around. A second wave of arousal shot through him as Eddie maneuvered his lower half so that he was settled on his knees.

He had to take a moment to adjust his glasses to not only stay on his face, but not press harshly against him as he laid there.

His arms grabbed a pillow and clutched it closer to his chest while Eddie ran his big, warm hands over the swell of his ass. The movement was firm and calculated, almost reverent. Steve shifted around and grinned against his pillow. He could almost hear Eddie's internal monologue as he ran his hands over his ass.

"You can do it," Steve chuckled, swaying his hips, "I know what you're thinking."

And he did.

Steve was well aware of what his ass looked like. Eddie was hardly the first person so stop and stare and touch while silently figuring out how to ask if they could -

A heavy hand came down hard on Steve's right cheek, making him hiss. He moaned lowly and arched his back just a bit more, wordlessly encouraging Eddie to do it again. He heard a laugh of his belief from behind him before he felt another hard crack against his ass, jolting Steve forward from the force of it.

"That's so good," Steve mumbled so lowly that he wasn't sure if Eddie even heard or understood him.

Another rough spank hit him in the same spot and he couldn't help but wonder how red it looked. If there was a red imprint of Eddie's hand on his skin. Steve shivered at the thought.

From behind him, Steve could heard a fair bit of rustling and then the telltale pop of a cap opening. He wiggled in anticipation. His whole body shuddered at the first touch of a single wet finger pressed against his puckered hole. Eddie pressed against the muscle firmly, trailing his finger around it, but didn't push in right away. 

Which made Steve huff impatiently against the pillow he was holding.

Then, thankfully, blessedly, Eddie began to work his finger inside of him. It slid in slowly but easily, twisting and petting over his walls. The push-pull of Eddie moving his finger in and out had Steve sighing happily as he let his eyes close. He didn't know how long it went on but eventually he could feel his body stretching around a second finger.

There was a truth to the fact that Steve slept around. He had since he was in high school. He found out what he liked and he went after it. And as much as he loved getting fucked, and God did he love it, there was just something about getting fingered that made his whole body burst and bloom with pleasure.

He'd been with too many people who saw it was a perfunctory task until they got to the main event.

But Steve could do this all night.

Especially with how delightfully Eddie twisted and scissored the fingers inside of him; stretching and pressing against his walls to not only help prepare him for his, almost too big, cock. His eyes ripped open and his hips pressed backwards when he felt Eddie's fingers press harshly against his prostate. It felt like an electrical shock went through his system.

But Eddie didn't move away at first. No, he kept his fingers there just rubbing over the sensitive bundle in tight, rough circles. Steve felt his body moving on its own, pushing back towards Eddie but also trying to pull away from the assult of too much.

Steve was openly panting, drooling, on his pillow when Eddie pulled back enough to work a third finger into him. He really gave it to him then. His free hand held his hip in a grip of steel while he fucked his fingers in and out of Steve's body.

"Ah ah ah. E-Eddie," Steve whimpered, squeezing his eyes tightly.

Eddie groaned, the sound low and gorgeous, "You look so fucking good, baby. You're taking it like a champ."

Steve wanted to reply, wanted to say something but he pressed in again and held his fingers down to insistently rub against his prostate. A shriek, thankfully muffled by pressing his face into a pillow, ripped through Steve at the treatment.

Then the feeling was gone as Eddie carefully extracted his fingers.

Before Steve could even mourn the loss, he felt the blunt head of Eddie's cock pressing against him. He sighed and widened his knees, feeling the irritating scratch of the condom wrapped at his knee when he moved. Thankfully, he couldn't focus on that for long as Eddie slowly began to press inside of him.

Of course Steve knew that Eddie had a big dick. He'd seen it. It had been down his throat and in his ass. But feeling it stretching his rim wide and forcing his insides to accommodate the girth of it was almost too much for Steve's poor brain to comprehend. He whined softly the entire time Eddie pushed inside of him.

Soft gasps of air followed by little moans filled the air until Eddie finally bottomed out and rested balls deep inside of him.

Eddie let out a low, almost animalistic groan as he pressed a thumb to Steve's no doubt pink and puffy rim. He traced along the curve where it was stretched across his cock. "No wonder you major in fine art," Eddie said gruffly, beginning to slow grind his hips, "You're a goddamn masterpiece."

Had Steve not been currently drooling and cock dumb he would have probably told Eddie he was being stupidly cheesy and to shut the fuck up. But the compliment went straight to his cock where it hung heavy between his wide spread legs.

"Oh, god. You gotta move. You gotta fuck me," Steve pleaded, pushing his hips backwards.

Eddie thankfully took pity on him. He grabbed Steve's hips in his hands and slowly pulled out, just a few inches, and then harshly pushed back in. It pushed a long, guttural moan from Steve's mouth. Then he just went for it. Eddie's hips pulled back and pressed back in repeatedly until he found a pace that had Steve's toes curling and his body trembling. 

Each slap of his hips against the meat of Steve's ass filled the room with a filthy sound that Steve just couldn't get enough of.

"Yesyesyes," Steve whined loudly, gasping for a breath, "Feels so good."

He could hear Eddie grunting and muttering soft swears under his breath from behind him. Though it was hard to hear anything over the pounding of his own heart in his ears, or the headboard slapping rhythmically against the wall. Steve hadn't gotten a complaint last time, but he was sure to get one now.

The longer Eddie fucked into him the more his knees spread across the sheets. His hip joints ached just a little but Steve also loved the feeling. Loved Eddie holding him up and open as he continually jackhammered his cock into him. He was sure to have bruises from Eddie's hip bones on his ass come morning, and he didn't mind at all.

Steve swiveled his hips and clenched around the hard length inside of him, causing Eddie to slam forcefully back in. He felt Eddie's forehead rest against his back as he let out a shuddering moan.

"You're a menace," he laughed breathlessly, nipping at Steve's back.

Steve whined, rocking backwards, "You-You love it."

Eddie pulled back and fucked in hard, jolting Steve's body forward, "Mm, I do. Love how fucking good you are for me. Take it so well."

A soft whine slipped out of Steve's lips and could practically feel his cock leaking at the praise. Eddie sat back up and began to drill in and out of Steve harshly. Fucking soft 'uhn, uhn, uhn' sounds out of him with ever push in. 

Steve could feel himself getting lost in the feeling as the fire in his belly just burned bright and hotter. But then Eddie slipped out of him with no warning and the only thing that Steve could go was let out a petulant whine. His hole fluttered and clenched around nothing. He was sure he was going to scream if Eddie didn't put his fucking cock back inside of him.

Then Eddie's hands were on his hips again and flipping him over onto his back. He wanted to complain but he was seeing Eddie for the first time in a while and fuck did he look beautiful. His face was flushed and he had a sheen of sweat all across his body. His hair was down and tossed to one shoulder, falling over it.

He didn't have much time to appreciate the view as Eddie was crowding his space again. He slipped his arms under Steve's legs, tossed them over his shoulder, and reached down to press his cock back inside of him. Steve groaned gratefully at the stretch. Then Eddie kept pushing forward, practically bending Steve in half. He could feel his glasses sliding down his sweaty nose and see them fogging up. But Eddie nosed them back up into place, his hair falling to create a dark curtain around their heads before he began to fuck Steve again. 

They were pressed too close together to fuck as hard as they had been but the angle was close and intimate. He felt deeper like this and Steve all but choked on a moan as Eddie crushed their lips together.

Steve managed to pull Eddie closer to him, to wrap his arms around him. His fingers dragged and raked down Eddie's shoulders, arms, and back as Eddie's cock rocked against his prostate with each thrust in. His body was shaking and he was trying to ground himself but could feel the thread slipping away.

"Ed. Eddie. Fuck. Gonna come," Steve whimpered against his lips. His nails dug into Eddie's dewy skin and he nipped at his lip as he tried to roll down into the thrusts he was being given.

The closeness of their bodies had his cock trapped between them, and each movement of Eddie fucking into him sent a heady rush through his cock. He was sure he was seeing stars. He was going to black out. But god it was worth it.

Eddie pulled his lips away to attach his mouth just below Steve's ear, the spot that felt like magic when Eddie bit at it. "Come on, pretty boy," he panted against damp skin, "Come with me."

Steve was a goner at this point. Eddie fucked into him two, three more times and his head fell back with a low groan as he started to come between them. It felt like no other orgasm had. It was electric and almost painful the way his muscles seized but so fucking good. He could barely hear Eddie moaning over the blood rushing in his ears. But Eddie's slowed down thrusts seemed to draw out whatever was left in his body until he was a shivering mess, unable to unwind himself from his partner.

Eddie peppered kisses to Steve's exposed skin. His hands were gentle as he carefully pulled Steve's arms away, trailing kisses up and down the length of then. He sat up and eased Steve's legs off his shoulders, kissing the inside of each of his knees before setting them down on the bed. He very gingerly pulled out of Steve, who sighed softly and finally let his body sink into the bed as his eyes closed.

He could feel the bed shifting and hear Eddie moving around but he couldn't be bothered to investigate. A warm cloth ran over his stomach and between his legs and then he felt his glasses being removed from his face. The bed dipped beside him and he instinctively rolled over to drape himself over the warm body next to him.

Eddie chuckled softly and pet through his hair, "You still with me, babe?"

"M'fine. M'great," Steve mumbled through a yawn.

They laid there together just catching their breath as Eddie ran his fingers through Steve's hair and Steve nuzzled his cheek against Eddie's chest. After a moment or two, Steve let out a small sigh. "I'm quitting the restaurant," he said softly.

Under his head, Eddie's body tensed, "Not because of… because of what happened?"

"No. No. I just… needed a better job. I start next week. It's at that club downtown, Rendezvous. Better pay, and schedule," Steve murmured, lifting his head to look down at Eddie with a self deprecating grin, "No kitchen full of people I've fucked."

Eddie scoffed and playfully rolled his eyes, "But no one there to make you spicy rigatoni and hangover omelets."

Steve hummed lowly and ducked his head to press a gentle peck against Eddie's plush lips. "Then I guess you'll have to do that here instead," he murmured, kissing him again.

"I can so do that."

The world took its time coming back to him as Steve slowly roused from his sleep. He felt comfortable, well rested, and just a bit pleasantly sore from the waist down. A content smile spread across his face while he stretched his arms out over the mattress, though it quickly faded when he realized he was doing so unimpeded.

His right hand brushed against nothing but cool sheets.

Steve lifted his head to squint at the spot next to him, finding it to be indeed empty. He sat up slowly, blinking rapidly to try and wake himself up more.  There was a brief moment of sadness inside his chest at the thought of being left alone after last night. But before his brain could run away and spiral, he spotted a pair of boots laying on the floor as well as the rest of Eddie's clothing spread across the carpet.

Oh, good.

A wave of relief crashed over Steve. He glanced to the side and saw several heavy rings laying on his nightstand. He couldn't help the blush that crept up his neck at the sight.

With a small yawn, Steve climbed out of his bed. He went to his dresser to retrieve a pair of boxers and was about to leave the room when something on the floor caught his eye. It was Eddie's shirt he'd worn the day before. Steve picked it up to inspect the shirt. It was a black t-shirt that featured the logo of some band he'd never heard of. The material was soft, well worn, and when Steve lifted it to his face it smelled spicy and warm like some kind of cologne or aftershave.

It made Steve's head swim.

So, he pulled it on without a second thought. 

He then turned to walk out of his bedroom, ruffling his wild mess of hair, in order to look for Eddie. He didn't have to look very far as the smell of something delicious directed him towards the kitchen. Something sweet, something savory, and the distinct smell of coffee pulled him in quickly.

Eddie had his back to him as he seemed to be searching a cabinet for something. He was in just his underwear, hair pulled up in a messy ponytail. Though Steve was mostly distracted by the prominent scratch marks down the length of the other man's back. He would feel bad, should feel bad, but the sight just made a pleased grin spread across his face.

"What're you doing?" Steve asked, shuffling closer.

Glancing over his shoulder, Eddie smiled brightly, "I thought we agreed on breakfast."

He turned and picked up a mug from the counter before walking over to Steve, who happily accepted the coffee when it was offered. He didn't have time to even take a sip before Eddie pressed a light kiss to his lips and pulled away to return to the stove. 

Steve brought the mug to his face to hopefully hide the blush he felt flooding his face. "What did you make?" He asked softly before taking a sip of the hot liquid in his hands.

"Bacon pancakes, cheesy eggs, hash browns, and some toast," Eddie rattled off, turning off a burner.

Taking another sip of coffee, Steve watched as Eddie filled two plates with an array of breakfast items. He didn't know what to make of all of this. He'd fucked his fair share of cooks but none had ever been so kind, or eager, as to make him such an extravagant breakfast. It filled him with a sense of warmth that definitely wasn't just the coffee.

Eddie placed the plates on the counter, where there were bar stools on the other side and turned back to face Steve. There was a fluttering inside Steve's chest as he watched Eddie move closer. He looked so comfortable and happy. And gorgeous.

Steve reached out gingerly cup his cheek when Eddie was close enough and leaned in for a slow kiss. Their lips moved easily and perfectly together. Steve felt his knees shake when Eddie gently sucked at his lower lip. He could honestly spend the rest of the day just kissing Eddie and be content. He hummed happily as he pulled away, unable to stop the smile that spread across his face.

"Thank you."

Eddie winked, "Any time."