To Hell and Back Again

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Steve sat silently on the roof outside his parent's window. He let the breeze chill through his hair and clothes, the smell of faint chlorine from the pool burning his nostrils. He watched as leaves fell softly from the trees, landing in the pool below. His hands ran across the shingles on the roof. A soft cough came from behind him, causing his head to turn. Eddie climbed through the window, sitting next to Steve. They didn't speak to each other, they just took in the soft breeze. Eddie's hand resisted the urge to touch Steve's thigh. He wanted to give Steve some space. He knew he had been stupid for not talking to Steve about the possibility of... the worst happening. He refused to talk about it. He was the one that was supposed to die, not Steve. Now it just felt like a count down, waiting for the clock to strike. Eddie was mesmerized by the soft glow of the sunset on Steve's face. The light illuminated his cheekbones and chiseled jaw, leaving dark contour lines across his face. The light on his hair shown through, making it a light honey brown instead of the usual dark brown it was. He admired the colors of Steve's skin and hair. Pinks and browns complemented themselves on his freckled pink cheeks, making it hard for Eddie to look away from his beautiful boy. Steve's hand fell perfectly into Eddie's, their fingers locking into the others. The weather chilled Steve, causing him to shiver a bit as the wind blew against him. "Here..." Eddie broke the silence, taking off his jacket and draping it over Steve's shoulders. Steve pushed his arms through the sleeves, wearing Eddie's jacket fully, letting the wind send the smell of Eddie's cologne up to his nose. Steve scooted closer to Eddie, leaving virtually no room between them. Steve's eyes were fixated on Eddie now. He admired Eddie's soft stubble sprinkled around his chin and lips. "What are we doing, Steve?" His eyes meeting Eddie's that were already looking at him. Steve's face fell flush from the sudden eye contact. Something about Eddie in the cool early fall breeze made him feel all bubbly inside. Steve didn't answer the question. Instead, he kept his eyes focused on Eddie's lips. They were chapped but not too bad, just slightly. Steve reached up a hand, running his thumb against Eddie's jaw. His thumb reached Eddie's lips, brushing against them softly. Eddie smiled under Steve's thumb, his lips kissing it softly.
"You're so pretty." Steve whispered as a strong gust of wind hit them, causing Eddie's hair to fly behind him. Eddie's smile grew, his eyes fell on Steve's perfect build hidden under his leather jacket. Eddie resisted every urge to ask Steve why they were here, why they were on the roof, sitting in silence. Instead, he just wanted to enjoy this moment with Steve. "We should take a trip. Get away for a couple days, maybe take Dustin and Robin." Steve's voice was soft and calm. Eddie's eyes were focused on Steve's expression. He couldn't decipher if it was sad or not.
"We shouldn't." Eddie's hand rubbed Steve's lower back. His fingers grazed over Steve's spine ever so slightly. Steve's eyes looked to the trees behind his house, the ones where he often played when he was little. The woods that held so many memories. Steve's eyes started to cloud with tears. He squeezed Eddie's hand, reminding himself that Eddie was still there.
"We've been trough so much." Steve looked to Eddie who hadn't taken his eyes off Steve. "Getting you back, almost losing you, the decline in your health, the decline in my mental health..." Steve was of course referencing the pills. The pills that made him feel so good yet so horrible at the same time. Steve's mind wandered every single day back to that moment where he contemplated taking the entire bottle. What would have happened? "Almost losing you again, getting you back again, our breakup, even though it was only a week I still felt like I lost a piece of you." Steve's fingers squeezed down on Eddie's hand. His eyes were still on Steve, they didn't leave once. He just watched as the love of his life explained everything wrong with them and their relationship but all he could think about was how beautiful Steve was. He lifted Steve's hand to his mouth to place a kiss on the back of his cold hand.
"You never lost me." Eddie whispered as he lowered Steve's hand back down. The wind was still chasing them, chilling their skin. Steve let the wind mess up his hair, which had caught Eddie by surprise. "You'll never lose me, Steve." The words shook Steve's heart, leaving it feeling satisfied but also terrified. Steve's eyes met Eddie's perfect brown irises. Steve looked to his wrist to see the small faded heart tattoo. It was fading but there would always be trace amounts of the ink in his skin. Steve's eyes met Eddie's once again. Every time their eyes met it felt like fireworks were going off all around them. Steve looked down at the pool, leaves floating on the surface of the water.
"Do you want to do something crazy?" Steve smiled at Eddie, which was almost terrifying. Eddie had no idea what crazy meant to Steve considering he had been fighting monsters for the last four years. Steve stood up, slipping Eddie's jacket off, leaving it on the roof behind him. Eddie watched as Steve slowly removed articles of clothing from his tall slender body. Eddie's face turned flush looking at Steve's bare skin in the golden sunset light. He left only his boxers on, the rest of his clothes behind him. "Watch this." Steve knew he was going to die anyways. What's a little earlier? Steve ran right off the edge of the roof, sending himself off with a small leap.
"STEVE!" Eddie scrambled to grab Steve before he fell, missing his arm by seconds as Steve plummeted into the chilly pool water. A large splash left Eddie speechless. Steve's head bobbed up from the water.
"Come on!" Steve yelled up to the roof where Eddie stood. His heart was pounding. He didn't think he was going to make it into the pool. Though, at the moment, he couldn't tell if his heart racing or the freezing water was worse. He watched as his lover slid off his pants and shirt on the roof. His eyes couldn't help but meet the small trail of hair leading from Eddie's chest to his pelvis. Steve's face turned beet red as Eddie jumped off the roof, landing in the water in front of him. Eddie bobbed back up in the water letting out a loud belting laugh.
"You're fucking crazy, Harrington." His smile was contagious as it had spread to Steve. "Warm me up." Eddie demanded as he hooked his arm around Steve's waist, pulling him against him.
"It's cold right," Steve put his arms around Eddie's neck, trying to stay afloat.
"It's freezing!" Eddie laughed as he examined the water on Steve's cheeks. His smile quickly faded as he roughly grabbed Steve, pulling him into a kiss. Steve's eyes were wide but then slowly closed, succumbing to the kiss. It was one of those kisses where it was rough and passionate. One of the kisses you get when you're so madly in love you can't help it. One of the kisses you get when you say I love you for the first time. A kiss they hadn't shared in a long time. They exchanged breath as they pulled away from the kiss. It was only for a second, a second to see who they were kissing. Eddie's eyes shifted to Steve's lips that were slightly tinted blue from the chilled water. Eddie pulled his hand out of the water, placing it on Steve's jaw. "I'm so madly in love with you, Steve." Eddie tiredly whispered before he inhaled deeply. Steve's heart melted. He kissed Eddie again, tasting the pool on his lips, feeling the warmth of his body against his. Steve laughed through the kiss, knowing he had nothing else to say.
"We're gonna get sick." Eddie tried to resist himself from touching every part of Steve's body. "We should get out." He insisted.
"No, just another minute." Steve just took a moment to look into Eddie's eyes. They were enthralling Steve's gaze, making him feel like it was him and Eddie against the world. Although, wasn't that how it was to begin with? Steve's hand grazed over Eddie's chest. His hands cold and shaking, but firm against Eddie's chest. "We should do this more often... take risks like this." Steve smiled, his heart still racing from the adrenaline rush. There wasn't a single thing Steve couldn't do with Eddie by his side.
"We're gonna get ourselves killed." Eddie whispered into Steve's ear, keeping his lips close to Steve's face. It was almost seductive, the feeling of his warm breath on Steve's neck.
"So?" Steve responded, looking over to Eddie. Their faces inches apart. Steve beamed as he pushed past Eddie, grabbed the edge of the pool, and hoisted himself out of the pool. "Come on!" He grabbed the edges of his arms, trying to keep himself warm. Eddie followed, hoisting himself out of the pool and followed Steve as they ran to the back door. Eddie watched as Steve ran in front of him. He let a smile slip then followed him, running faster towards his lover.