Again

Chapter 13

Somewhere on the drive home, in which they had been behaving themselves very well, just a set of held hands between them containing a playful communication of squeezes. But then Eddie lurches forward in his seat and says to the driver, "Hey, You got any problem with gay people?" Steve feels the smile drop from his face, and panic starts to stir within him. The taxi driver makes a thoughtful noise, which Steve thinks is a positive rather than the expected slamming on the brakes.

"As long as it's not in my face, I don't care." He said with a shrug. Eddie looks over his shoulder at Steve and gives him that smile. He knows Eddie is about to do something that could result in something extraordinary, or Steve better have his running shoes on. Too many times Steve has seen this face when they were younger, and though this version has more fine lines, it still exudes that playful mischief that, until now, had made his heart pound in his chest not just with adrenaline but with a secret attached to it. But it wasn't a secret anymore and never would be again.

"How much would it cost for you to not look in your rearview mirror for the rest of the journey?" Eddie's fingers wiggle between Steve's, like an outlaw bracing himself to quick draw.

"I dunno, twenty?" He says with a shrug. Steve frowns in confused surprise. He's suddenly not so principled when a value is attached to it.

"Here's fifty. Just keep your eyes on the road," Eddie said excitedly, passing the note through the partition and giving him a wink. Steve didn't even have time to be shocked or discuss that homophobia had no place in the modern world because Eddie had already grabbed Steve's face in his hands.

"Hey! Keep it north of the equator, alright, buddy?" The cab driver shouts back before adjusting his centre rearview mirror.

"I am a gentleman, sir!" Eddie says, smiling, eyes tracing Steve's face and shaking his head like he still can't believe it. He then kisses Steve with so much force that he hits his head off the door window, causing a flurry of giggles and the taxi driver to tut like he already regretted this.

The taxi drops them off at the roadside. Steve is only alerted to this because the taxi driver coughs very loudly and breaks Eddie's attention, hands and kisses away from Steve.

Eddie pays the driver and rushes out his side of the cab to Steve's side to open the door, extending a hand to help him out with a low bow. They stroll along, their hands linked together, swinging between them until they get to Eddie's RV. Steve can't seem to stop looking at Eddie's megawatt grin-plastered face. Then he has an idea, something he's wanted to do for over a decade, and he wonders if it would totally ruin the mood? Would it be completely uncool now? He's bolstered by something, maybe Eddie, maybe his adrenaline, or perhaps the tequila.

"Soooo, I guess this is goodnight, then?" Steve asks, a minuscule smirk on his face, "I mean, I have walked you to your door after all."

Eddie turns to look at his motorhome door and pretends to jump in fright at it, ending up in the safety of Steve's arms, "Sorry, they creep up on you sometimes, don't they?" He says with as much an innocent look as possible, making Steve shake his head with amusement.

"Doors?" Steve chuckles, squeezing Eddie a little closer to him.

"Well, yes, I mean, look at it, terrifying, right, but I was more referencing the fact that the end of the evening has crept up on us." Eddie gestures at the door before looking back up at Steve and walking his fingers up the buttons of Steve's shirt before booping him on the nose. "I mean, I haven't got school tomorrow, and I don't have a curfew" he bats his eyelashes a few times, and Steve wishes that it didn't have as much an effect on him as it did. This could only spell trouble.

"Me neither", Steve smiles back, "But you know if it's not goodnight, then I can't give you a proper goodnight kiss" Eddie's eyes widen, and his chin dips towards his chest, but his eyes do not move from Steve's.