Steve has never actually kissed anyone on New Year’s Eve before. After he and Nancy reconciled post-Demogorgon showdown in 83 they’d gotten close, but Mike had interrupted them on the Wheeler’s front porch, the little shit. And after Nancy, well, he’d been alone in 84. In 85, he and Robin built a blanket fort in his living room and drank themselves sick on root beer until the ball dropped, and he’d held her hand while they drifted asleep, kissing out of the question; he loved her in a different, deeper way.
And now…now it’s 86, about to be 87, and Eddie is alive, miraculously, and all of them are gathered in the new Hopper-Byers house, and Eddie has been flirting with him ever since Steve manhandled his mangled body to the hospital, Steve’s an idiot but he’s not stupid, and here’s Eddie looking at him like Steve is alive, too. Eddie looks at him and something awakens. There’s an electricity in the air, the kind he told Dustin about once upon a time in the woods.
So when he knows no one is watching, he looks Eddie deep in the eye and says “share a smoke?” And they leave the room together for the quiet cold of the backyard, still mostly weeds and the dark of winter and Steve can see Eddie’s breath. Can see how alive he is. He’s been worried about him all year, intrigued by him, pulled toward. And now here they are. The dim patio bulb flickers and before Steve can get out a cig, can say another word, before he can say “happy new year Eddie I can’t stop thinking about you and I know you’ve been flirting with me for months and I want you I want you just as bad will you kiss me?” Eddie is already kissing him.
And it’s soft. It’s so soft, because Eddie is smiling against his mouth in a kiss, his left hand coming up to hold Steve’s chin. And then it’s hotter, their breath mixing as they both open their mouths wider, kissing deeper, feeling their lips move together and Steve can’t believe it can’t think can’t hear the screen door open can’t stop kissing Eddie until he feels Eddie pull away, removing his hands from his hair, hears Robin say “uh, earth to dingus one and two, hello!?”
Steve just stares at Eddie, blushing and smiling. He doesn’t turn to her, can’t look away when he says “hi Rob.” Eddie won’t look away either. Eddie won’t look away from him, does the opposite, grabs Steve’s hand. Steve feels like he’s floating.
“Oh my god, lover boys. It’s only” Steve sees her lift her wrist in his peripheral vision, “ten thirty. It’s only ten thirty and you’re already kissing!” He can hear her exasperation, but beneath he knows, he can feel her approval. He can’t help it, he’s relieved. He’s happy. He starts to giggle.
Eddie starts to laugh too, pulling Steve closer. Steve finally looks over to see Robin rolling her eyes, but she’s also beaming, her face lit by the single bulb, and they pull her down to them, hug her, kiss her on the cheeks. “Ah, my freckled friend. You won’t spill the beans, will you?” Eddie asks.
Robin pinches Eddie’s cheek. “Your secret’s safe with me, hotshot.” Steve knows down to his bones it’s true. Knows she’ll cover for them. This makes him feel even giddier. “I’ll, uh. Let you two get back to it” she says, and then she’s gone, and it’s just Eddie looking at him again, staring at Steve like he’s a second moon, a pretty thing.
They kiss and kiss and kiss, until they slide out of the grass and out the back gate and kiss their way back to Steve’s car, into his house and bed and heart and it’s already a good year.
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Time buddies mayhaps
AU where Hatchling managed to take Gabbro out of their hammock ::) I love imagining them having all kinds of silly adventures through the solar system
Reminder that my requests are open!! I got a ko-fi too if you'd like to support me ::]
-> More Outer Wilds Art!
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Like a Dog
You kneel. It's all you can do, what with the heavy chains, connected to the floor, wrapping around your neck, the cold steel weighing you down, almost suffocating you. You can't stretch, can barely move, the metal cuffs digging into your wrists and ankles make sure of it. The way the chains and cuffs are positioned, you can barely even raise your head. Cowering, kneeling, like a dog.
He loves it.
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okay, this may be either the most genius or the dumbest idea i've had so far but.
what if JGY and SJ swapped their men?
i mean, LXC with his pristine reputation could actually make for a pretty good defender for the victim of an intentional smear campaign as long as LXC himself is willing to defend the man. and i kinda feel that LXC wouldn't be all that appalled by SJ's crimes? he had sympathetic reasons for the qiu family massacre and running away with WYZ and he didn't - as far as we know - kill anyone after joining the sect. we'll have to assume, of course, that in this scenario he's willing to actually talk and explain himself instead of being the world's most uncooperative defendant.
(some of y'all may ask, "what about his abuse of LBH, the one crime he actually committed with no sympathetic reason behind it?". and i'll say, what about it? let's be real here, no one in that setting including LXC would send a respectable sect master to jail over accusations of child abuse alone.)
and as for JGY. well. what JGY needs is a man with a huge ass sword who'll hear out the accusations against him and will, without a hint of hesitation, say that he doesn't actually care and he's taking his shidi back to his sect right this instance, thank you.
and like YQY would do it even if he believed JGY to be a cold-hearted murderer, but given that JGY is much more open to the idea of defending himself, YQY wouldn't even have to silently suffer in doubt! thank you for clearly explaining your actions and motivation behind them, i'm so glad i know exactly what you did and didn't do, and why you had to kill the people you killed! i'm so happy you can actually talk and explain yourself to me. i would've defended you regardless, but it's nice not to feel like i'm betraying my own conscience by staying at your side.
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