"I love you."
Steve looked up from the plate of cookies he was arranging to stare at Eddie in surprise. Eddie's eyes widened in surprise at his words, too, cheeks flooding with color. Before Steve could respond, the front door banged open, and six very hungry teenagers assaulted them. Even so, Steve could barely hear their excited chatter over Eddie's words echoing in his head.
"I love you."
Before he could think about it, he grabbed Eddie's hand and dragged him from the kitchen, ignoring everyone's protests. Outside by the pool, Steve stopped but didn't let go of Eddie's hand. "How long?" He asked, heart pounding, mind racing in trepidation of the answer.
Eddie's face was still flushed, and his eyes darted around restlessly, never landing on Steve. "Um, shit, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have-"
"Eddie," Steve said soothingly, stepping closer to pull him into a hug. Eddie initially went stiff but quickly wrapped his arms around Steve, clutching his shirt tightly. "You love me?"
"I always have." The words were muffled against his shoulder where Eddie was hiding.
"How long?"
"Since middle school."
Steve felt giddy, and he couldn't stop the wondrous laugh that left him. Eddie pulled back, finally looking at him to gauge his reaction. "I've been crushing on you since my junior year when you smacked Tommy in the face with that basketball. He was so pissed off, but I couldn't stop laughing."
"Huh, I was aiming for Jason."
Doing what he should have done back in the kitchen, Steve kissed Eddie. His lips were just as warm and soft as he had hoped, little electrical shocks shooting down his spine. They were interrupted again by a door slamming open, this time wrapped up in a giant hug with the kids screaming everything from "Finally!" to "I told you so!"
Eddie caught Steve's eyes and gave him a helpless sort of smile. Steve just smiled and mouthed, 'I love you too.'
