This is agonizing.
Steve had his hand under his chin, frowning and staring intently at the back of Eddie's head in their morning class. Eddie had walked right past Steve to his seat at the start of the period. No acknowledgement whatsoever beyond a friendly nod in his direction. Steve knew it was for the best, but he already absolutely hated it. Robin kept leaning over and whispering things like "you look like a stalker, moron. Look somewhere else." Steve would jerk up, look around or down at his textbook for about thirty seconds, and then return to his pouty gazing. If this were a typical relationship budding for Steve, he would have thrown at least three flirty notes at Eddie by now. But of course, the goal was to stay under the radar. However, since it seemed like Steve had experienced a lifetime between his last day at school and today, he had started to notice the gossip that innocently floated in and around Eddie. He would casually listen in on giggles and whispered speculations shared behind wide eyes and covered mouths. There was even a quiet slur uttered in Eddie's direction by one of their other classmates as he sat down this morning. Robin had had to physically restrain Steve, and he already had plans to beat the shit out of that prick as soon as possible. Regardless, it was obvious that there seemed to be frequent and numerous rumors that Eddie Munson was gay.
What will people say if we start hanging out in public?
Steve hated himself before the thought even finished escaping his mind.
It doesn't fucking matter. Fuck them all.
He had let so many friends drift away in the last few years it would hardly make a difference to his social status. There were so few people whose opinions he actually respected and cared about, and he had a growing suspicion that most of them would react exactly how he reacted when Robin confessed her sexuality to Steve. Still, his stomach was in knots. He wished he could talk to Eddie.
Just take it a day at a time.
The bell rang and everyone jumped out of their seats. The same kid who insulted Eddie earlier, a total asshole named Paul, kicked his chair on the way out. Eddie looked him in the face and blew a kiss in his direction. Steve didn't know whether to laugh or scream. Robin looked on extremely sympathetically until she suddenly hopped up and ran out of the door. Steve looked around utterly confused and distracted from his rage at Paul. Robin was long gone, so he shrugged to himself and stood up to trail behind.
"I swear I could feel you looking at me, Harrington." Eddie came up behind Steve and the knots seemed to melt away in Steve's stomach. He smiled and fell easily into their flirty repartee.
"Don't know what you're talking about," Steve walked a few feet away but looked back and winked at Eddie. Eddie jogged up to catch Steve and grabbed his arm softly.
"Hey, seriously. Is this — is this going to be okay? I know it's hard," Eddie trailed off.
"Yeah it's not fun at the moment," Steve replied "but we'll get used to it, I guess."
They were making their way through the halls when Robin burst through a door next to them, pulled both of them back through the door with her, and closed the door quickly behind her. They were in what looked to be a large unused storage closet with a single small window providing dim lighting.
"Robin, Jesus Christ. What are you doing? What is this?" Steve exclaimed, looking around at the abandoned cleaning supplies and empty shelves.
"Okay, this is operation Steddie. Through a series of events that are not important at this moment, I have become privy to the knowledge that this room is sometimes used as a secret makeout spot,"
Eddie's silently mouthed the word "Steddie" with pure amusement etched into his face.
"And NO, Steve, that knowledge is not from personal experience so shut your mouth," Robin snapped just as Steve had opened his mouth and brought a finger up to point accusingly at Robin.
"I will not be taking questions at this time. I will stand casually outside of this door for five minutes. You're welcome."
She turned on her heel and marched from the room.
The two boys looked at each other for a few seconds and then burst out laughing.
"Operation WHAT—?"
"I fucking TOLD her—"
"Like, I'm getting that on a shirt—"
"Shut the fuck up, Munson—"
"Make me, Harrington."
Eddie's eyes sparkled and his smirk was extra defiant. Steve bit his lip and took three steps forward, rapidly closing the distance between them. He snaked a hand around Eddie's waist and yanked him forward so their bodies were pressed tightly together. Their foreheads and noses touched and heartbeats accelerated. Steve gently moved both of them forward a few inches until Eddie's back was against the wall and pressed his lips firmly against Eddie's. The kiss instantly took on a new level of intensity as Steve explored Eddie's mouth with his tongue. Eddie enthusiastically reciprocated and brought his arms up and around Steve's neck to cradle his head, pulling Steve even closer. Steve once again felt the world melt away. The only thing that mattered was Eddie. Getting closer to Eddie. Kissing Eddie. Doing anything to give Eddie pleasure. Thinking about what Eddie could do to give Steve pleasure. They continued kissing for minutes or maybe hours when Steve finally pulled back slightly. They were both panting and smiling. Steve kissed the tip of Eddie's nose and Eddie blushed.
"I really like you," Steve whispered.
"Then why'd you stop kissing me?" Eddie teased.
"Well, I don't know about you, but we have to walk out of here in like two minutes and I'd rather not walk the halls with my dick hard." Steve said, glancing down at their waists and seeing that Eddie had the same issue. "See?" He pointed, laughing. Eddie laughed too and nodded.
"Okay, you have a point there." Eddie moved a few steps away and sat down on an old, scratched up table.
"Class was horrible, by the way," Steve said.
"What do you mean?"
"First of all, I'm legitimately going to kill Paul the first chance I get." Steve said, hands curling into fists at his sides.
Eddie scoffed and waved him off. "Oh, please. I'm so used to that by now."
"Well I'm not. And I don't like it. And I really don't like not being able to defend you when I want to. That's our only class together and I have to spend it like that? That's what our days are going to look like? And this, if Robin is feeling nice?" Steve gestured around him, exhaling loudly. It felt good to get that off his chest. Eddie's eyes became sad and he opened his arms. Steve walked back over to him and let Eddie hug him. Steve rested his head on Eddie's shoulder while they embraced for a moment. Being hugged by Eddie felt like home to Steve.
"We can hang out whenever we want. Between classes, at lunch." Eddie suggested.
"I hate dealing with the drama of school," Steve complained.
"Well, there is one other way we could spend time together with far less people around," Eddie started. Steve looked at him questioningly.
"You say you like me," Eddie smiled mischievously, "but the question is: how much?"
"Uh—," Steve said, well aware that Eddie hadn't said anything about if he liked Steve and feeling a bit stung by that fact.
"Well, you could always join the D&D campaign," Eddie said, full on grinning now. Steve groaned and rolled his eyes as far back into his head as they could go.
"Dude—"
Eddie shrugged, "just a suggestion. Think about it." He hopped up off the table and picked up his backpack from the ground. "It does take up a lot of my time. And I would love to spend that time with you, too." He kissed Steve on the cheek and approached the door before turning back one last time.
"Oh, and I really, really like you too, Harrington."
Steve watched him leave and shook his head, smiling despite himself.
No way. I don't care how cute that fucker is.
He could feel the longing curling in his mind and body with Eddie's absence.
Steve, no. It's so nerdy. It would be the worst!
Steve reached up and gingerly touched the spot on his cheek where Eddie kissed him goodbye. It still tingled slightly. There was no world in which Steve ever thought he would participate in Dungeons and Dragons, and yet here he was. He sighed deeply and exited the storage closet.
So worth it, though.