Sit on it

by IG-KorrasamiShipper

The moment he bent down, his eyes shot open. His ass cheeks did not touch the bench. Immediately, he stood back up looking down and making eye contact with a MAN. A beefcake that was probably around his age. He was ripped with those bulky arms peeking out of that tank top and those thick thighs slipping out of his shorts. Oh fuck. His brain was finally catching up on his predicam

AN: Check out the AO3 version for fun surprises :3

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Slamming the door shut to his beat-up pickup truck, Eddie sighed, rolling his neck. He grumbled to himself, dreading the moment he laid eyes on the gym before him, 24-Hour Fitness, looking at his phone. "It's too damn early for this…"

It was one fucking am.

He groaned again, dreading the inevitable, he shook it off and slapped his cheeks to psych himself up. "Come on Eddie! You went out of your way to pay for this fucking membership. We're trying to get some stamina here, your dumbass almost passed out during the last concert!"

He slapped his cheeks again and let out a shout of excitement.

"Let's get it!"

Finally, he pulled his long curls into a tight bun to keep his hair out of his face, and took out his phone and earbuds, popping them in his ears and cranking up the music. His fingers rose halfway up so that he could air strum along to the baseline that was blasting into his eardrums, nodding his head to the beat. Nothing could knock down his world and he was certain about it.

He had a feeling that today was the day. A day for what though, one may ask? Well, if someone were to ask him that, he wouldn't know the answer either but whatever it was, it wasn't going to stop his groove. Finally, he was through the doors, greeted by that poor lonesome soul working this horrid shift.

They made eye contact.

Well, that was a mistake. He couldn't help but think, simply nodding awkwardly and briskly walking past the reception desk. He made his way to the treadmills, and once there, he started with a light jog. By the time his body was warmed up, he finished it off with some light stretching. When that was over, he went over to the rowing machine. Several sets later, he began working up a sweat before ending his last rep with a huff. Now that his shoulders and upper body were fired up, he made it over to the hip abductor machine.

Given this wasn't exactly the best leg workout machine, but, this was his guilty pleasure, it always gave him a good burn so for the hips it was. By the time he was done with the god-forsaken machine, he was sorer than waking up after a concert running on nothing but booze. Perhaps this machine was a mistake or perhaps he overdid it but as they say, no pain, no gain. He ended up cooling down in the corner for a hot second, drinking some much-needed water.

Once he was done with hydrating, he stretched briefly again, walking over to the bench press. Albeit, his routine may have not been the best or most effective but hey, it was the most his body was willing to give. With that in mind, he picked up a weight disc, backing up to sit on the bench press; however, the moment he bent down, his eyes shot open.

His ass cheeks did not touch the bench.

Immediately, he stood back up looking down and making eye contact with a MAN. A beefcake that was probably around his age. He was ripped! with those bulky arms peeking out of that tank top and those thick thighs slipping out of his shorts. Oh fuck. His brain was finally catching up on his predicament. Oh hell no… He dropped the weight before swiftly turning around and cupping his mouth. I did not just fucking sit on his…

The victim of his bum sat up with a dumbfounded look. Thankfully for Eddie, his legs had a mind of their own and were already carrying him out to the door in a matter of seconds.

"Wha— hey wait!"

Forget what he was saying. Embarrassment wasn't even a topic of discussion. One can toss the apologies and forgiveness out the window because there was no way in fucking hell he was ever coming back to this gym!

"I just wanna—"

His voice was distant and the moment Eddie's shoes hit the pavement of the parking lot, he was already running to his truck. There was no way in hell he was about to strike up a conversation with a guy whose face he just sat on. It was honestly a miracle that his beat-up car handle didn't break off from how aggressively he swung the door open.

Seatbelts? Forget about safety, he jammed his keys into the ignition, his truck practically croaked to life. Once it was running, he immediately slammed the accelerator, the tires squealing on the pavement, leaving four black skid marks in tow as he sped off into the city.

"I gotta cancel my membership."

His hand automatically went to his phone. Sadly enough, his stupid butterfingers sent his phone falling onto the passenger side floor.

"Fuck!"

He groaned out loud, checking his rearview mirror to check if he was being followed. Thankfully, he was not. Once he was a few blocks away from the gym, he pulled over to some curb, coming to a dead stop. His body jerked from the abrupt break with a face of horror.

"That did not just fucking happen."

His fingers tugged at his hair in frustration, pulling it out of his bun as he replayed that sensation between his butt cheeks, his face inflamed.

"No. No no no! That did not happen. I did not come here today. Nothing. Happened."

He reached over to grab his phone off the floor, actually buckling himself in this time once he was up. He checked the side mirror before pulling back onto the street.

"Yeah… nothing happened." He said out loud, trying to convince himself. "I wasn't here today. I didn't go to the gym and I will never set foot in there again…"

His eyes shot down to the time on his dashboard.

"He's probably still there…" his eyebrows furrowed in disappointment, snatching up his phone and awkwardly dialing the gym's number. It rang twice before being picked up.

"Hello, thanks for calling 24-Hour Fitness, how can I help you?"

"Yes, hello. I wanted to cancel my membership."

"Okay, no worries. If you come on down, I can help you with that."

His eyebrows twitched. 'Come on down?' The guy said. He cleared his throat awkwardly. "Oh… so I can't cancel over the phone?"

"Yes, that is correct. Unfortunately due to our policies, it has to be done in person. Just be sure to bring your ID and we'll take care of you."

Eddie's lips curled into a spiteful smile. "I see…" Well, he is one thousand percent still there. "Okay, I understand. Thanks for the help anyways."

"No problem. Have a wonderful day."

He couldn't keep up his human decency anymore as he deadpanned. "You too. Thanks."

"Bye-bye."

"You piece of shit—" Eddie shouted in distress, tossing his phone aside. "Fuck!" He slammed the brakes, just barely noticing a red light. "Okay… calm down…," he told himself if only to placate his still-racing heart. "I'll just go later in the day and he won't be there. He probably works out in the mornings, right? … It'll be fine. I'll go in a night, cancel it, and then split."

He resumed driving when the light turned green, mumbling to himself.

"Yeah… that's a good plan…"

A creepy laugh escaped his lips as a wicked grin cover his face.

"Today didn't happen… it didn't…"

xXx

Having cut his gym time short, Steve sighed, sticking the key to his door. He rattled it side to side, opening it with his foot. Once inside, he tossed his gym bag onto the ground, aimlessly making his way to the couch. He flopped onto the decorative pillow that was sitting there, letting out a long, muffled scream into it. He kept his face buried in the cushion. When his roommate came, she gave him a curious look.

"The heck is up with you, dingus?"

Steve barely turned his head to speak, mumbling. "The heck is up with me?"

Robin shifted her weight to one side. "Yeah, you said you couldn't sleep so you were gonna hit up the gym. That was exactly…" she turned to look at the clock, "about thirty minutes ago. You always work out for like two hours minimum."

He grumbled again, turning his face into the pillow and mumbling.

Annoyed, Robin rolled her eyes, "What was that?" she asked.

A long groan left his mouth. He turned to face her again. "Well, you see… something crazy just happened."

"Uh-huh…" she urged, nudging him to continue.

"So I was at the bench press…"

"Uh-huh."

"And then I laid down to bench press some dumbbells."

"And…?"

"And then this guy… this beautiful man just," Steve stated almost breathlessly. "He sat on my face!"

"Pfft—" Unable to help herself, Robin burst out laughing.

Her reaction made Steve's face go crimson hot. He sat upright quickly. "Hey, it's not funny!" He groaned.

His protest only made her laugh harder. She doubled over, holding her stomach, feeling tears roll down her cheeks. Robin only calmed down after a long minute of uninterrupted cackles. She finally wiped away her tears, giving him a shit-eating grin, "You're kidding me? That's gold!" Some residual giggles escaped her lips as she mused. "Some guy turned King Steve's face into his throne?" She clapped her hands in celebration. "What a day to remember! I gotta mark that on my calendar."

Steve rolled his eyes rolling off the couch. "Yeah yeah, laugh all you want." His face still blazed in heat. "Just wait, whenever some chick sits on your face, I'll be the one with the last laugh."

Robin just gave him a smug look.

Blinking once, Steve gasped. "No!" His best friend's smile only grew. "Who? Why didn't you tell me? We tell each other everything!"

She just shrugged. "You never asked."

Scoffing, Steven threw his hand outward. "Well, what was I supposed to ask? Hey, has a girl been sitting on your face recently?"

"Why not?"

He rolled his eyes, grumbling, "You're impossible."

She just threw him a wink. "That's what my mom said to her womb but here I am!" She fanned out her arms to gesture at herself with a small laugh.

Steve grumbled again, grabbing his stuff. "I'm going to bed." He took a step into his room, shutting the door behind himself.

"Good luck with that!"

"'You never asked!' She said. Pftshh… whatever." He mocked, flopping down onto his bed before pulling out his phone and dialing a number. Thankfully, the receiver picked up on the second ring.

"Hey, Henderson!" he spoke into the phone. "You're never gonna believe what happened to me at the gym…"

xXx

"Uh-huh…" Dustin mumbled, raising an eyebrow. "So what you're saying is that you accidentally made some guy toss your salad at the gym Eddie?"

Fireworks were beginning to spark.

"Freaking send me to the upside down now Dusty! I'm such an idiot! Like how in the hell did I not notice him!? He was right there! Hard to miss even! His forearm muscles had to have been thicker than my stick-thin thighs!"

Laughing at that comment, Dustin's brain began cranking out its magic. "You're totally chill man, relax. Who hasn't sat on someone's face ya know?"

"What? Have you?"

"Well, no, of course not, but that's not the point!" He quickly cut Eddie off before he could comment. "What's the worst that could happen? You run into him at some diner? You don't even know the guy? What are your chances of running into him? Slim to none!"

"Yeah…You're right." He sighs into the phone. "For the time being, I've been avoiding that gym like the plague. I seriously need to stop procrastinating and cancel my membership already."

"Sounds like a plan my dude! Anyways," Dustin changed the subject, "about that concert you got coming up."

"Oh yeah! Do you think you'll be able to make it? I'll save a few tickets for you."

Dustin gave him a thumbs-up even though he couldn't see it. "Oh of course I'll make it, buddy! Winter break is around the corner so I'll be able to travel wherever."

"Now that's wassup! You need help with a place to crash?"

"Nah, it's all good, I've got a place to stay."

xXx

Still clutching the steering wheel with a vice grip, Eddie breathed in through his nose, huffing out from his mouth. He repeated that a few times bracing himself for the inevitable.

"Alright. You got this."

Begrudgingly grabbing his keys, he stepped outside his truck slamming the door shut. He dragged his feet over to the gym. He couldn't help but frown nervously. By the time he miraculously made it to the door, his hand hovered at the door handle for quite some time.

"You're fine Eddie… he's definitely not here right now. Just go in, cancel your membership, and get out. Simple as that…"

He took a few steading breaths. However, right when he was about to pull the door open, someone else beat him to it, making him jump slightly.

"Oh shit— my bad."

Eddie had to force a thin smile. "You're good."

They gave each other a quick awkward smile before carrying on their ways. When they exited the building, Eddie sighed finally opening the door. He took a step inside and right when he was about to speak up to the staff, his eyes wandered off to the left, catching a familiar face. His eyes widened as his mouth parted. He pivoted on the heels of his feet without a second thought.

"Ah… nope. It's fine." He sobered to himself. "They can take my money."

He quickly pushed open the door, exiting the building without further fuss, and ignored the staff's judging looks.

"Hah! Who needs forty bucks a month…"

xXx

Sitting upside down on the couch, Steve repeatedly tossed a ball in his hand up and down. One catch after another sighing and groaning to himself.

"What's got your panties in a bunch this time, Harrington?" Robin asked, flipping a pancake for their breakfast.

Steve sighed again, tossing the ball up high, hitting the ceiling, and easily catching it again. "Nothing…"

"You sure about that?" Robin asked again with a slight tease in her voice. "Let me guess…" she hummed dramatically, plating the freshly cooked pancake on a plate and pouring more batter onto the pan. "It's that guy isn't it?"

"What guy?" He mumbled before tossing the ball up in the air again.

"The beautiful man with asscheeks that fit perfectly on your face. Who else would I be talking about?"

Sighing, Steve caught the ball, hugging it close to his chest like a comforting plush. "And why would I be doing that?"

"He's been plaguing your mind since he took a seat!"

"No he hasn't!" Steven exclaimed, finally turning to look at Robin. "Why would you think that?" He asked, feeling appalled.

"Cause it's been weeks since you got a facial with ass cheeks and you're still looking for him though he hasn't come since."

His jaw dropped, and scoffed, not knowing how to respond. "Wha— h-how dare you?!"

"Spill!" She cocked an eyebrow. Robin noticed Steve's face go all twisted in discomfort. "Mhmm, yeah yeah, I know I know. I am a sinful gay bitch so sue me why don't you?" She served another pancake, giving him a knowing look. "You go to the gym like three times every day. Three times Harrington. Three."

"Pshht—" Steve finally rolled over to sit up normally. "I am not chasing after some guy!"

Resting her hand on her hip, Robin just gave him a look. "Mmhmm."

"I'm just getting gains that's all! I swear!"

She rolled her eyes slightly. "That's what they all say, honey. Now then, let's have some brekkie before it gets cold—"

They were interrupted by a knock on the door, getting them both to turn that way. They looked back at each other again before asking:

"You expecting someone?" Robin asked.

Steve shook his head, "You?"

"Nope."

With a hum, Steven got up from the couch walking over to the door. He opened it slowly and once he saw who it was, a huge grin grew on his face as he swung it open.

"Henderson!"

"Harrington!"

With a bright laugh, Steve pulled Dustin in under his arm before giving him a wrestling hug. "What the heck are you doing here?"

Dustin laughed happily before playfully bumping his chest. "It's winter break so I decided to swing by! And damn, nice pecs, by the way. Have you been working out?"

Robin snickered under her breath.

Steve finally let go of him after a nuggie, ignoring his roommate. "You little shit, you could've said something." He at least had the decency to blush, rubbing at his chest, "I mean I've been going to the gym a little more frequently, but it's not a big deal."

Dustin just shrugged, smirking a little to himself. "That'd ruin the surprise." He then looked over at the kitchen. "Hey Robin!"

Robin gave him a crooked grin, beckoning him over. "Hey Dusty, you're just in time, we're about to have some pancakes. Want some?"

"Pancakes? Heck yeah!" He dropped his stuff down, welcoming himself inside as if he owned the place. His shoes came flying off and in a matter of seconds, quickly he was seated at the dinner table with a plate of warm pancakes in front of him.

Robin joined him and they both gave Steve a look. "You not eating or something?"

"Yeah, it's gonna get cold," Dustin added while pouring maple syrup over his fresh and steamy stack.

Flabbergasted, Steve didn't even know where to react. "I—" letting out a breath, he sighed. "I'm coming I'm coming…"

Breakfast was just as chaotic as it began and once they were all fed and settled, Steve grunted as he walked over to the pull-out couch. "Alright, here you go Henderson. Be glad I bought a pull-out couch, I just knew you were gonna crash at my place out of the blue someday."

Dustin gave him an innocent grin. "Awww, you're the best Stevie!"

Steve just rolled his eyes. "You're welcome to crash here as long as you'd like. Just let me know if you need help getting around, I can give you a ride when I'm not busy."

"Will do, thanks mommm~" he teased while batting his eyelashes innocently.

"Urgh…" Steve just groaned with a disgusted face. "Don't do that."

Purposely puckering his lips, Dustin batted his lashes again. "Do what?"

"That." He pushed away his face, "Now… we don't really have many strict house rules. Just be courteous, like knocking on the door before entering the room, cleaning up after yourself, letting us know where you're at, and etcetera etcetera…"

"Understood!" He playfully saluted, getting a slight shake of the head from Steve in the process. After a moment, Dustin pouted his lips before asking. "Say… there's actually this concert I wanna go to. It's a few days from now.

Steve took a seat at the dinner table again. "Yeah?"

"Yeah, so I was kinda hoping you could give me a ride there… and maybe join me for some food afterward? Just like the good old times."

"Sure," Steve gave him a smile. "Just like the good old times."

"You wanna go by chance? I happen to have an extra ticket."

Humming in thought, Steve shrugged. "What type of concert?"

"Heavy metal. Corroded Coffin."

An eyebrow on Steve's face twitched.

"Now, I know it's not really your cup of tea but I'm friends with someone in the band. He's really chill, the one who invited me out actually, and I wanted to go to show some support!"

Humming softly, Steve grabbed his chin, pretending to think about it. Corroded Coffins wasn't one of his favorite bands. It seemed as if his luck was making a turn for the good.

"Come on, it'll be fun! They always throw the best shows out there and I got front row seats~" Dustin ends up singing in a playful tune.

Front row seats?! "Hmm… I guess it could be fun." Steve finally agreed, as if he wasn't going to agree in the first place, "Besides, I can't really have you going to a concert alone. Your parents would kill me if they knew I let you go to some crowded show by yourself in a different city…" He then swiped Dustin's head, rustling his hair.

"Hey!"

Steve just laughed it off. "So, when's the show?"

xXx

A hush grew over the crowd as the lights dimmed and a light fog covered the stage. The concert hall went dark for a moment as a sick baseline thundered to life. Spotlights shone, illuminating the band and making the crowd go wild! It only took a moment for Dustin to spot Eddie over to stage left. He screamed his support, smiling widely at the energy he felt.

"WOOOOOH! YEAH!"

The music shook the stage, rumbling the depths of Dustin's chest. The drumbeat matched in time with the beats of his heart. Eddie's guitar came in and the crowd's cheers practically roared with excitement, almost threatening to overtake the sounds of the band's instruments. Maybe if it was any other band, but not Corroded Coffin. Finally, the lead singer came in letting out a deep, guttural growl into the microphone. The entire pit shook as the crowd jumped and danced around. The first song came to end, and the lead singer greeted the attendees.

"HOW THE FUCK IS EVERYONE?!"

The crowd cheered loudly.

"ARE YOU READY TO HAVE YOUR WORLD ROCKED!"

They cheered even louder again.

"WE'RE CORRODED COFFIN AND THIS ONE IS CALLED HELLFIRE!"

The crowd roared to life as the next song started. During that second song, Dustin was able to make eye contact with Eddie, giving him a quick, exciting wave.

Scanning the audience, Eddie caught a glimpse of his friend from the stage. He grinned at him and gave him a small head, not in acknowledgment. When his eyes wandered slightly to the right, he froze up, quickly turning away. Dustin's grin turned into a smirk, knowing exactly what, or who Eddie had seen. He peeked over at Steve. He looked dumbfounded, in a daze really, his mouth hung slightly open. His eyes were fixated on Eddie, which made Dustin snicker.

As the show progressed, Steve's eyes wouldn't leave the guitarist before him. Dustin, being the maniacal child he was, decided to mess with Steve. He nudged his arm leaning in to ask. "Everything alright?!" He exclaimed over the sound of the audience.

Steve blinked, snapping his mouth shut, swallowing back his saliva, before rebooting. "Huh?" He turned to face Dustin, "What's up?"

"Are. You. Okay!" Dustin repeated slowly, fighting back a grin. "You seemed dazed! Do you need some water or something? You seem thirsty!"

Not understanding his innuendo, Steve just tilted his head, wrinkling his nose. "Nah I'm good! Just uh…" he glanced back at Eddie before looking back at Dustin. "Enjoying the show, that's all."

"Cool!" Dustin's grin did come out then. He grabbed Steve's arm and raised it in excitement. "Let's enjoy it then! WOOOOH!" He cheered loudly again, jumping up and down, encouraging his friend to join him. It didn't take Steve long to get into the program. He joined in cheering and dancing along to the show.

As the concert came to an end, without really looking, Eddie threw a pick in Dustin's general location. And if the pretty man next to Dustin was the one to catch it, there was plausible deniability as to who it was meant for.

When the concert finally ended, encores performed and the band finally left the stage, Steve and Dustin made their way to the parking lot. As they walked back, Dustin stared at Steve the entire way, reading his obvious emotions. Steve was still distracted, running on auto-pilot, that he didn't notice Dustin texting.

Dustin: Meet me at the diner?

Eddie: Sure, see you there. I need to pack up some stuff so how about around… 9?

Dustin: Sounds good to me!

With that settled, Dustin shoved his phone into his pocket turning to Steve. "So about dinner…"

Steve snapped out of his daze and turned to look at him. "Right, where did you say you wanted to go again?"

"Well… I was hoping we could snag some ice cream before dinner!"

Steve immediately gave him a judging look. "Ice cream? Before dinner? You're kidding."

"Nope! Why not? I've been craving some Scoops Ahoy."

This time he did frown. "There? Of all places? The diner probably has better ice cream, you know that right?"

Dustin only shrugged, winking over at Steve. "Sometimes you crave bad ice cream. Nostalgia, that's all. Come on, it'll be my treat!" He topped it off with a playful elbow nudge. "Pleaseee, they don't have Scoops Ahoy in my college's city!"

Rolling his eyes slightly, Steve gave in. "Alright alright. We can go but only one scoop got it?"

"Yes sir!" Dustin stood up tall giving him a mock salute.

Steve rolled his eyes again, pulling out his keys. "This is gonna be a long night…

xXx

Dustin: Sorry I'm running a bit late. Be there in like five mins!

Eddie: Take your time, I'll just snag some coffee. I'm tired as shit

Dustin: Gotcha! :3

Dustin: Ah, I'm also bringing a friend, is that cool?

Eddie: Sure, I don't mind

Dustin: Coollllll~ cya then

Letting out a tired sigh, Eddie put away his phone and headed into the diner. He was quickly greeted by the staff.

"Welcome in, just for one?"

He raised three fingers. "For three in a bit."

"Sure," she grabbed a few menus, leading the way. "Is a booth alright?"

"Yes, thank you."

Once he was settled, the waitress asked. "Can I get you something to start with?"

He made eye contact with her giving her a small smile. "A cup of coffee please."

"Alright, I'll have that ready for you in just a moment darling."

"Thanks."

Once she was out of the way, he sighed to himself, skimming the menu. "I really need to go on a run or something…That took way too much out of me." After a second, he preemptively decided on his order, looking up when she came back to hand him his coffee.

"Thanks."

She winked, "Let me know when you're ready love."

He gave her a friendly smile. "Will do."

When she walked away, Eddie pulled out his phone to kill some time. He poured two creamers and two packs of sugar into his coffee, stirring it and taking a sip. The coffee was hot enough to burn his tongue a little.

"Ow— fuck that's hot." He blew on the coffee a few times when a familiar voice called out to him.

"Hey Eddie! I hope you didn't wait long."

Eddie took a sip of his drink with his eyes trailing upward and once he saw who was in front of him, he gasped, inhaling deeply out of complete and utter shock and choking horribly. The hot bean juice went up his nose, spurting out violently of his nostrils in the goddamn most dramatic way ever. He coughed out his brains, turning away to hide his face using his hand. He couldn't believe he was running into him. Right now! In such a public place.

"Oh shit, are you okay Eddie?!" Dustin exclaimed, rushing over to his table.

Whoever was by his side finished off whatever life support they were giving that was keeping Eddie alive.

Meanwhile, He gasped at the same time. "Oh shit—" he exclaimed in that incredible husky voice following Dustin's lead. He walked over and grabbed the nearest paper tissue. "Here, wipe with this." He leaned into Eddie's booth, flexing that thick thigh and extending that muscular arm right in front of Eddie's face.

In front of his face.

Amidst the burning and stinging pain in his throat and nose, Eddie couldn't breathe. Quite literally thanks to the burning coffee for one, and two, thanks to his face burning up from all the wheezing. What was he supposed to do? Talk about being completely baffled. Completely mortified. This was not happening to him.

What was happening to him?

Where was he?

Who was he?

"Here, Eddie, let me get you some water?" Dustin said, flagging down the waitress. "Miss, can I get a glass of water?"

Oh no no no no no. Shut up Dustin! There was no way in hell Eddie was going to drink anything else in front of him and risk humiliating himself further. His image was already rock bottom. First, he sits on his damned perfect, beautiful face, then he fucking chokes and snorts and makes a mess of himself on diner coffee! It wasn't even good coffee.

"Hey, are you… alright?" His gentle voice asked again. "You need some um…" his voice sounded stiff as if he was holding something in. "Water by chance?"

There was no way Eddie was going to recover from this. May whatever god was out there strike him down now or maybe he'll just get lucky and some drunk will run their car into the diner striking him dead. Heck, even might as well cast him in the river of Acheron because his gay ass was burning big time. By the time regained his breath, Eddie looked up to face him, and boy, was he light-headed.

Whether it was from narrowly (sadly) escaping death, or from how gorgeous he was, Eddie was unsure.

"Here's your cup of water dude!" Dustin innocently exclaimed, setting down the glass in front of him. "Now, let's have dinner shall we?" Dustin ushers Adonis himself into the booth across from him before sitting next to his side. He gestured toward the gentleman, introducing him. "So, Eddie, this is my friend Ste—"

"Steve." He quickly interrupted with an awkward smile. "My name's Steve."

"Yeah, so this is Steve. Steve, this is Ed—"

"Eddie." He ended up finishing with a pained voice. "You can call me Eddie."

Dustin smiled, looking back and forth between the two. "Yup."

Steve cleared his throat, nervously tapping his leg beneath the table. His eyes flickered back and forth between Eddie and the coffee-stained table. Eddie, on the other hand, pulled his hair in front of his face, avoiding eye contact at all costs. It was as if he was in another world before Dustin causally wiped up the mess on the table. Once it was all wiped up, he smiled.

"So, this doesn't seem like the first time you've met."

They both twitched and a tense moment of silence hung between them before anyone spoke up again.

"How'd you two meet?"

Eddie didn't dare speak of that incident again. He just let his hair drop and picked up the glass of water to take a small sip.

At the same time, Steve had a blank look on his face when he answered the question. "Oh, he sat on my face at the gym."

Immediately choking up again, Eddie spat the water back into the cup, coughing again. Dustin was quick to pat his back in comfort.

"You okay man?"

Eddie hid his face in his hair again, attempting to speak but only gibberish came out.

"I'm sorry?" Steve blinked, leaning in trying to hear better. "What was that?"

Maybe Eddie actually needed to see a doctor. His mouth was tingly for some reason, numb even, and his chest felt tight. That and the fact that looking at another man's chest shouldn't be giving him a heart attack! Perhaps three cans of energy drinks before a concert were a bad idea.

"I… uh… duh I uh…"

Ah yes. Classic human error.

Dustin decided to spare his friend from further embarrassment and picked up the conversation. "It sure is a small world though!" He laughed before explaining, "To think we all grew up in the same city, little old Hawkins in Indiana!"

"Wait what?" Steve turned to face Dustin. "Seriously? No way."

"Yup!" Dustin confirmed, adding on. "You two just grew up in different circles." He shrugged nonchalantly. "That's why I never would have figured you two knew each other…" he eyed them suspiciously. "At a gym eyyy?" He wiggled his eyebrows, "A butt facial huh? Sounds peachy."

Eddie sank into the booth, hoping it would swallow him whole. Steve, on the other hand, threw his head back, almost painfully slamming it on the wall behind him.

Dustin started whistling innocently. "I did hear the story, back to back I may add, from each of you, and I thought to myself, 'It can't be. What are the odds?' Then, Robin texted me juicer details and it clicked." He snapped his fingers, "Fun huh? What a small world it is."

Steve growled at him, kicking his shin from under the table. He was going to kill Robin when he got home.

"Ow— hey!" He hunched over to rub his newly bruised leg.

Eddie rubbed his face, not believing this hell he was living through. What in the world did he do in a past life to endure this torture?! He swallowed his nerves, courageously saying, "Hey Dustin… sorry. I'm just… tired. I think I'll pass on dinner tonight."

"Oh— you sure?" Dustin said frowning, sliding out from the booth.

"Yeah, it was nice seeing you." His face was permanently glued in the opposite direction Steve was sitting at. "Thanks for coming to the concert, I uh… gotta go."

His steps were working faster than his brain's reboot, no, forget that. It was purging and redownloading simple human functionality let alone confidence.

"Wait!"

To Eddie's horror, Steve reached out and the moment his hand touched wrist skin, it sent an electrifying shock up his arm, freezing up his entire body.

"I've been looking for you." Steve suddenly confessed, breathlessly, standing from the booth. "I haven't been able to stop thinking about you! And tonight, you threw your pick at me and I took that as a sign not to give up. And now you're here. Please!" He pleaded.

The grip on his wrist tightened and a small whimper left Eddie's lips.

"You don't have to explain or apologize for… you know. I just um… was wondering if you wanted to um…" Steve cleared his throat as he nervously rubbed his neck. "Go out for um… coffee or dinner or something…?"

Eddie couldn't believe his ears. Wow. There was no way this beefcake of a man, the gym stud of his dreams, was asking him, a lanky band geek, out for coffee… no, never again, for dinner.

He started fumbling with his words again. "Uh…I um uh…" he gulped and cleared his throat. "Yeah—" he squeaked up, "That'd be uh… nice."

This time, it was Steve's turn to freeze up. "Oh— I uh… cool." At last, he finally released Eddie's wrist, freeing him from this lucid dream.

"Uh…" Eddie's eyebrow twitched, his face heating up when he realized what he said. He finally coughed awkwardly, excusing himself. "Yeah. Okay. Bye." He basically sprinted out of the diner after that.

When the door closed shut, Dustin just turned to face a blushing Steve. "So, about dinner?"

Steve scrunched his face, turning to face Dustin. "You knew about this didn't you?"

He shrugged.

"You totally played us!"

Dustin gave him a toothy grin.

"You little shit— why I ought a—"

The waitress finally cleared her throat while giving them a stern look. "So, are you two boys eating or not?" She crossed her arms. "If not, this coffee ain't paying itself." She tapped her bicep with a slightly annoyed face.

"Oh uh…" Steve cleared his throat, giving her an apologetic smile. "For two please…?"