To Hell and Back Again

Chapter Thirty-Seven

Steve stood at the bathroom sink. His hand moved the toothbrush back and forth against his teeth. He hated the taste of mint. Especially strong mint like toothpaste and chewing gum. The taste of mint chocolate chip ice cream was the worst. The flavor is for toothpaste and gum only, not desert. It reminded him of his childhood though. His mom would always chew on a stick of mint gum after smoking a cigarette that way when she gave Steve a kiss goodbye, before she left for work, he wouldn't smell or taste the cigarette on her breath. Sometimes when he kissed Eddie after he brushes his teeth it freaks him out a bit. It makes him feel like he's kissing his mom which is the worst. Worse than the taste of mint all together. Steve spit the toothpaste into the sink, letting the water from the tap wash it away. He looked down at the ratty toothbrush. I desperately need to buy a new one. He looked in the mirror, Eddie fiddled with something at his desk. "What are you doing?" Steve spoke through the mouth full of toothpaste, spitting a bit.
"Making my Halloween costume." Eddie said through his focus. His fingers pressed down on black felt he had gotten from the store earlier that day. Steve furrowed his eyebrows and continued to rinse out his mouth.
"You're a little too old to trick or treat." Steve turned to see Eddie, in nothing but his black jeans and socks, hunched over the desk.
"No peaking!" Eddie glanced up, making the door slam in Steve's face.
"You can't use your magic on me! We agreed to that!" Steve rattled the door knob for a couple minutes before realizing he was trapped inside the bathroom. He let out a long sigh. "Eddie, you've got five seconds to open this door before I bust it down." Steve pressed his ear against the door, listening for Eddie.
"Give me a minute to finish it!" It was definitely at least ten minutes before Eddie opened the door. Steve stood by the door waiting patiently but as soon as it reached minute five he assumed Eddie had forgotten about him. "I'm done!" Eddie shouted through the door. He swung it open. He was wearing a full black long sleeve shirt with black jeans to match. Felt bat wings were secured to his back with glue, small black ears attached to a headband poked through his hair, and small white fangs hung out from under his top lip. Steve's eyes got huge.
"You look cute!" Steve grabbed Eddie's shoulders and spun him around, admiring the handmade bat wings.
"It's not supposed-ta be cute. It's supposed to be badass." Eddie turned back around, a sad expression on his face.
"My boyfriends a bat." Steve squeezed his cheeks together, making the false teeth fall out of his mouth a bit.
"I'm not a bat! I'm a vampire!" Eddie swatted away Steve's hands. "Shut up or I'll bite you." Eddie bared his fangs.
"I'd like to see you try." Steve laughed as Eddie pounced on him, shoving the fake teeth into the side of his neck. Steve pulled his face away. "You're so cute." He held the sides of his face.
"I'm not cute. I'm badass." Eddie took the fake teeth out of his mouth, causing spit to drip out. Steve made a grossed out face at the false teeth. He shoved them into pocket as he leaned forward and kissed Steve. "You taste like toothpaste."
"Shut up." Steve poked at the ears on top of Eddie's head. "So why a bat?"
"Dustin said something about DnD and how I should be a vampire because of everything that happened so I made a costume." Eddie adjusted the headband. "I'm not a bat." He corrected once again.
"Vampires don't have little pointy ears and bat wings." Steve kid as he grabbed Eddie by the waist.
"Yes they do. You're just thinking of the wrong kind of vampire." Eddie put his hands on top of Steve's, their rings clinking together. "Technically speaking-" Steve cut him off by lifting him and practically throwing him over his shoulder. "HEY!"
"Come on, bat boy." Steve carried Eddie on his shoulder to the door. "Why would you dress up? I'm not taking you trick or treating and you can't go alone." He paused before going downstairs and looked over to Eddie.
"I made you a costume too." Eddie wiggled off of Steve's shoulder and fell to the ground. He scrambled his way over to the desk. He picked up a string of garlic cloves out of a paper bag that rested on top. "Your garlic."
"That makes no sense. Vampires can't have garlic." Steve looked disappointed. Not because vampires can't have garlic, but because this meant he was going to have to go trick or treating with Eddie.
"Well... that's why it's funny. Because we're an unlikely pairing." Eddie raised his eyebrows and opened his mouth, expecting a laugh from Steve. When Steve didn't laugh, he let out a soft laugh to himself. "Don't worry, I'm not going to make you go trick or treating. We're going with the kids." Eddie glanced over to Steve to see his reaction. Just as he expected, he was unamused.
"Fine," was not the answer he was expecting. Eddie jumped up excitedly and ran to the closet.
"Okay! You'll need this." Eddie tossed a white shirt to Steve. He caught it in his hands and looked down at it confused. Eddie looked back over to him. "Put it on." He demanded as he rifled through the drawers where Steve's pants resided. He pulled a pair of beige slacks out of Steve's drawer.
"No. No. No!" He waved his hand through the air. "Those are my church pants!" He gestured towards the pants that Eddie gripped tightly in his hands.
"And when was the last time you went to church?" Eddie raised an eyebrow, hoping Steve would say he hadn't been to church recently.
"My freshman year of highschool..." Steve said quietly so Eddie couldn't hear.
"Put them on." Eddie tossed the pants towards Steve. Steve complied and exchanged his clothes for the clothes Eddie had given him. He looked down at the outfit and looked back up at Eddie. "Now, belt." Eddie slid his hands behind Steve, securing the pants with a brown belt. As much as Steve could have done it himself, he thought it was cute when Eddie attempted to put his belt on for him. It was the same with ties. Eddie couldn't tie a tie for the hell of it but it was cute to watch.
"I look stupid." Steve looked down at his outfit, almost disgusted by the color scheme. He should have known he was a tad fruity when he thought about the color scheme of things.
"You look like garlic." Eddie grabbed the string of cloves off the desk then made his way back over to Steve. He lifted the string over Steve's head and placed them around his neck. Steve cracked a smile. "Aha! I knew it! You love it don't you!" Eddie playfully punched him in the stomach. Steve shook his head as he put his hand on the back of Eddie's neck, pulling him in for one of those kisses that feel like they last a century. He placed his other hand on the small of Eddie's back as he melted into Steve. His lips felt like they were on fire from the passion that was pouring out of Steve. "Okay," Eddie put his hand on Steve's chest to stop the make out session. "Robin and Nancy are going to be here in a couple minutes." Steve looked disappointed down at Eddie. He didn't know why, well actually he did, but something about the mention of his ex-girlfriend really killed the mood.
"One more." Steve moved his hand off the back of Eddie's neck to his jawline. After giving him another kiss he directed his lips to Eddie's neck, biting him hard enough to leave a mark but soft enough that it didn't actually hurt. Eddie let out a yelp in shock from the bite. "Garlic bites back, bitch." Steve backed away from Eddie dramatically, waiting until he was near the stairs to turn and run down them.
"That makes no sense!" Eddie followed him down, his wings bouncing behind him as he walked down the stairs.
Steve watched as kids flooded the streets. They were all dressed in different costumes. He swore he didn't see a single costume twice that night. Some wore superheroes, some wore monsters. His personal favorites were the animal costumes that just consisted of a colored shirt and ears. Steve glanced over to the clock in the living room. Any minute the kids would be here. He adjusted the belt around his waist, loosening it just a bit. A soft knock sounded at the door. It cracked open as Robin and Nancy made their way into his house. Nancy was dressed in a long white dress, lace lined the top and bottom of it. A small pipe cleaner halo was placed on top of her head. Robin was in a matching costume, her hair almost hid a set of red devil horns. She had on a red t-shirt with her jeans and boots to match the color scheme. Robin's costume required way less effort then Nancy's. "What the hell are you supposed to be?" Robin looked Steve up and down. He adjusted the string of garlic around his neck.
"He's garlic!" Eddie shouted as he appeared down the stairs.
"Aw! Cute!" Nancy eyed Eddie's costume. She rubbed the front of her dress, smoothing it out a bit as she watched Eddie hop down the stairs. "A bat... and garlic." She turned to Steve.
"I'm a VAMPIRE!" Eddie threw his hands into the air. "Do I need to lose the ears?" Robin nodded slowly at Eddie. He took the ears off and set them down on the stairs.
"What! I like the ears!" Steve ran over to the stairs, snatching the ears off the bottom step and placing them back on Eddie's head. "Don't take them off again." The door flew open once again. Mike, Dustin and Erica made their ways into the house. "No Lucas and Max?" Dustin shook his head in response to Steve's question. Dustin was dressed up like Indiana Jones, a fake whip secured to his waist and everything. He obviously spent a ton of time on his costume as his hat still had a tag attached to it. Steve grabbed the tag and ripped it off. Erica was dressed as Jerrica Benton, or better known as Jem, complete with a pink wig and everything. She held a microphone tightly in her hands, a small pink bag hanging off her shoulder to compliment the wig. Mike's costume was a bit more obscure. He wore a red hoodie and held a basket in his hands. "Little red riding hood?" Steve asked as he gestured towards Mike's costume.
"No! I'm the kid from E.T! What are you? Italian?" Mike shifted around the basket while giving Steve a dirty look.
"Touché." Steve's eyes darted down towards Mike's empty basket. "Okay, hold on." Steve ran up the stairs. Robin looked at the kids.
"Where are Lucas and Max?" She crossed her arms while staring at the three tiny ones.
"They're gonna meet us at a house that gives out full sized candy bars." Erica said before the boys could even open their mouths. "What is Steve supposed to be? He looks stupid."
"Garlic." Robin raised an eyebrow and gestured her hand forward, mocking an Italian accent. Erica and Robin laughed in unison while Mike and Nancy made angry eyes towards each other.
"What's your deal?" He asked her as she narrowed her eyes at him. She shook her head. Everyone turned to see Steve bounce down the stairs loudly. He gripped a basketball in his hands, a piece of paper tapped to the front with a badly drawn E.T. face on it. He lifted the blanket in the basket and adjusted the basketball so it looked like E.T.'s head sticking out of the basket. "Sick." Mike smiled down at the basketball head.