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"Spread your legs."
"Uh, I think they're plenty spread already." Steve shot back, voice only slightly strained and sounding thoroughly unimpressed. "Why the hell would you need me-"
Twisting into an only slightly more uncomfortable position, Eddie slotted his left leg between both of Steve's and grinned when the other man cut off with a sharp inhale.
"See? That wasn't so bad, was it?" His mean grin was lost on Steve's back, but the condescending tone clearly wasn't.
"'Not so bad'? I guess, if only because you're doing this so wrong we've shot right past bad and gone to terrible." Steve's bitchy tone had Eddie choking back a snort of laughter. He muffled it with effort, but he couldn't help the way he curled in as he fought it down, which meant Steve could definitely feel the way he shook with it as he pressed up against his back.
It earned him a gusty sigh.
"If I'm doing it so wrong," Eddie pulled back to run teasing fingers up Steve's spine (because how was he supposed to ignore the curve of it when they were this close?) only to change directions when he felt him shiver, nails scraping lightly against Steve's shirt before Eddie tore himself away. Swallowing, he finished his thought after a telling pause. "Why don't you show me how it's done?"
Leaning more weight onto one hand, Steve looked back at Eddie who tried not to flush and failed miserably if the heat crawling up his cheeks was any indication.
"I can't." The negative would be more disappointing if Steve wasn't giving him a heated look, though if it was anger or something else might be up for debate. "Because if we were doing this right, we'd be doing it together."
God, if that didn't make Eddie think of half a dozen other things he wanted to do together with Steve.
Unfortunately for him, that wasn't the kind of game they were playing. Using that hand which was still tingling a little from touching Steve so confidently Eddie spun the wheel, rolling his eyes as he forced himself back on topic.
"That is not how you play." He argued for what must be the hundredth time as he waited for the spinner to stop. "It can't be. It just doesn't make any sense."
"What do you mean 'it doesn't make sense'? It makes perfect sense. It's all right there in the rules!" Steve looked two seconds from turning around to grab the stupid rule book again and Eddie kind of wished he would because Eddie's arm was getting tired. Much more of this and he might fall for Steve in the least impressive way possible - slumping right on top of him. Especially bad after he boasted about his strength not ten minutes ago.
Alas, Steve was just as competitive as Eddie and he didn't do more than shift his weight as the spinner stopped.
"I am, like, ninety-five percent certain that Dustin swapped the real rules out, Stevie." Probably not even to mess with Steve specifically and more to catch the other kids in that sick - heh, twisted - version of the game described there. "Right hand red."
Groaning in a way that made Eddie's mind go a bit hazy, Steve dipped further into his lunge.
"What is with you and getting red?" Pulling one hand from the blue dot it was pressed against with a sharp sticky rip, Steve wiped it against his shirt before putting it back down between his other hand and his foot. "Are these the actual spins or are you just fucking with me?"
Staring at how the deep stretch pulled Steve's sweatpants tight across his thighs and ass, Eddie swallowed.
Damn, he wished.
Steve wobbled as his head turned so he could stare at Eddie. "What?"
Eddie who just realized he said that out loud.
"You wish!" He lied, a little too loud. Locking his eyes on the spinner, he gave it another whirl.
"If I was fucking with you, you'd know it." That was literally no better. In fact it might be worse. Fuck. "Because I'd have the easiest moves and you'd be tying yourself up in knots!"
His too quick words were almost tripping over themselves. Both true and also too telling while also somehow sounding so so stupid oh god he needed to talk about anything else.
The spinner stopped.
"Left hand red - see? It's not just you." Eddie was so relieved to have something to distract him that it took a whole five seconds for him to realize the much worse problem he was facing.
Steve was covering all three of the closest red dots on the Twister pad. To reach one Eddie was going to need to lean across him, over him. Hell he was going to be practically wrapped around him as his foot was still pressed to a dot between both of Steve's.
Both the move that put his leg there and the suggestion of this game in the first place were just ways to get close to Steve, to see how he reacted to Eddie being in his space, (to give Eddie just one more excuse to be there) but this was probably going too far.
(What if he got a boner while wrapped around Steve? There was no good explanation for that. Not friendly ones at least.)
"Eddie?" Looking away from the red dot on that white background, Eddie met Steve's concerned look. Steve opened his mouth as if to say more only to hesitate.
Shit, Eddie made it weird before he even did anything. Setting his jaw, Eddie looked at the red dot once again and narrowed his eyes. If it was already weird, then going for it wouldn't hurt anything.
Probably.
Grabbing his competitive nature with both hands, Eddie stretched over fingers barely managing to reach the new color while keeping his other hand in place. He waited another breath to make sure he wasn't going to tip over then grinned.
"Ha!" He exclaimed, turning to look at Steve only to find him close enough that Eddie's hair was tickling Steve's nose. Unfortunately, his small jolt of surprise at this realization was all that was needed to throw him off balance.
"Oh, shi-" was all Eddie managed to get out as his knee hit the floor between Steve's and he dragged them both down in the most ignoble method possible, somehow surpassing his every fear with how bad it was. One leg trapped under Steve's while Steve was being crushed under the rest of his weight, Eddie scrambled to try and back away only to nearly knee Steve in the balls. His overcompensation from that minor disaster had him slipping on the plastic mat, face planting between Steve's shoulder blades.
Eddie didn't manage to smother his embarrassed groan. He already knew he had no chance with Steve before, but now even that looked better than whatever he was at now.
Under his cheek, Steve's shoulders shook.
Eddie poked his side and leaned more of his weight against him in retaliation. If he couldn't be cool or suave enough for half a chance with Steve, at least he could still be his second best friend. Dustin might hate him for it when the little shit realized that he was ousted from his place again not even a year after Robin took the top spot, but he would just have to deal with it. Eddie wasn't giving this laughter, this closeness up even if it wasn't exactly the kind he yearned for.
"Laugh it up, big boy." Eddie wasn't quite fast enough to hide his tired smile when Steve turned to his side to look up at him, too busy holding himself up so he didn't get pulled back to the floor with the motion. "Not all of us have perfect balance."
"See? You were doing it wrong." Steve pointed out.
Rolling his eyes, Eddie pushed back to get to his knees and then stand up only for Steve to tug him back down. Eyes wide, Eddie tried to ignore the way that warm hand felt around his wrist, the drag of fabric against his inseam as Steve rolled onto his back with one leg still slotted between Eddie's as the other finally straightened from where it had been pinned under them both, in favor of that fond smile and the way it held just a touch of exasperation.
"Ten minutes is way too long." Steve groused, free hand reaching up to tuck some of Eddie's hair behind one ear as if it was natural, as if he did it every day, as if helping Eddie see clearer was just a fact of life and not earth shattering. Eddie's fingers wrinkled the thin plastic next to Steve's head as he suppressed the need to touch him back. His legs shook when Steve did it instead, hand not even dropping away before it curled around the back of Eddie's neck. "If we were both doing the same moves at the same time, we could have gotten here in like three minutes. Tops."
Here? One knee slipping further, the drag of denim against plastic loud through the faint ringing of his ears, Eddie sat down heavily, awkwardly on Steve's leg. He didn't seem to mind, the only change was that he let go of Eddie's wrist to tug teasingly at a different lock of hair that was nearly brushing Steve's face.
"What?"
Eddie's choked question brought an uncertain frown to Steve's face and he let his hands slip away, not quite touching Eddie's where they were still braced on either side of him.
"Unless you weren't actually flirting." Steve closed his eyes, turning his face away before Eddie could process what he said and consequently missing the shocked hope Eddie could feel flooding his expression. "Shit, sorry. I guess I was just proj-"
"I was!" Eddie interrupted, voice pitched a little higher in his panic. Because Steve finally noticed. Because that was Steve flirting back! Eddie wasn't going to let this opportunity slip away. "I was absolutely flirting because I'm always flirting with you."
One corner of Steve's lips kicked up as he met Eddie's wide eyed look with one of his own.
"Always?" One of Steve's hands shifted, brushing lightly against Eddie's and he was quick to shift his weight just to take that hand in his, lacing their fingers together in a way that made them both smile.
"Every single day of my life." Eddie assured him. "Every minute of every hour. Are you only just noticing now?"
Eddie didn't think he was very subtle.
"No." Holding his hand a little tighter, Steve reached up again with the other this time skating his fingers along Eddie's cheek. "No, but I thought..."
When he trailed off Eddie held on and pressed his face against those hesitant fingers, leaned in a bit closer as if to hide them both behind the hair that was still messily curtaining one side of his face.
"You thought?" He prompted because he always wanted to know Steve's thoughts.
He watched as Steve glanced at his lips, his thumb shifting until it was brushing the corner of Eddie's mouth. Feeling brave, Eddie turned his head without looking away to press a dry kiss to the pad of Steve's thumb. The grip on his hand tightened again and Steve looked up at him as if entranced.
"I thought it was wishful thinking." He admitted in a hoarse whisper.
"Oh," Eddie assured him, lips moving carelessly against Steve's thumb. "It definitely wasn't just that."
He leaned in even closer, closing the distance and shivering a little as Steve let his thumb slip off Eddie's lips, his hand barely moving as it slid back to thread through Eddie's hair.
"Not 'just' that?" Laughter shook them both this time as Steve tried to help Eddie close the last gap between them, smiling wide. "But some of it was?"
"Stevie," Eddie paused halting the motion, head tilting as he gave him a pitying look that didn't hide his amusement in the least. "Those rose colored glasses might be hiding it, but I'm a bit of a disaster. I might be flirting 24/7, but it shouldn't be working every time."
Steve's face scrunched up with laughter, his hand dropping from Eddie's hair as he fell back to lay on the wrinkled plastic again while Eddie tutted down at him at him, grinning.
"This should not have worked, Steve." He chided, pressing his knee to Steve's inner thigh and enjoying the little gasp he got as Steve's laughter hitched in response. "I almost kneed your goods, man. That isn't good technique as far as I'm aware."
"Oh no, Twister is a classic flirting technique." Steve corrected him, levering himself back up and running a hand through his own hair to somehow tousle it into an even more handsome mess. "Getting up close and personal and almost always ending up tangled together. It's the perfect excuse."
"Is it?" Eddie asked like that wasn't exactly why he picked it.
"Yeah, obviously." He leaned back in, eyes flicking down obviously to Eddie's mouth and Eddie had to angle his head to keep their noses from bumping. "Sometimes you can even get a kiss."
Eddie's lips tingled at the prospect.
"Is that so?" He asked, because he couldn't miss an opportunity to tease. "That in the rule book too?"
He saw Steve's eyes crinkle in a smile and felt a warm puff of laughter against his lips.
"No," he admitted. "But we weren't really following those anyway, were we?"
"Um, actually, we really were. You just have-" his argument was muffled by a kiss as Steve closed the final distance between them, still laughing enough that Eddie could feel the smile curving against his lips. Eddie kissed him back, laughing a little himself as they both couldn't help smiling wide enough to ruin it more than once, except it was never ruined.
How could it be when they were doing it together?