Chapter Text
“Steve!” Francine called from the kitchen.
Steve shifted in his seat, controller clamped tightly in his hands as his fingers rapidly pressed each button. He bit his lip in intense focus as his character on screen jumped several feet up, sword above head and spun around in the air, before slamming the sword down into the enemy. The enemies HP dropped down nearly half its points.
“Nice move,” Snot encouraged him. Steve grinned wide and glanced to the upper corner of the screen. He spotted Snot's character with his user name, “SnotterstheMuggle69”, above his head. As Snot’s female character sprinted around, shooting arrows at one of the enemies, another was getting ready to rush him, well, “her”, from behind. Steve sprung into action and made his character sprint forward, sword already swinging. His blade crashed against the foes back, knocking their health down 20 points. Snot thanked him for the assistance and joined in to slay the enemy.
Toshi, who was sitting at the right end of the couch cursed aloud in Japanese as he ran out of health supplies. Barry’s character glitched through a wall over to him, and dropped an unnecessarily large amount of supplies by Toshi’s feet. Toshi gladly took the supplies and began to heal his character. It was always nice to have Barry playing, because he didn't have enough common sense when it came to giving out supplies. Steve’s body curved to the left along with his character, unconsciously following the game's movements, and leaning onto Snot. Snot didn’t care in the least. He slung his leg off the left arm of the couch, pushing slightly into Steve as the two of them sat side by side, as their characters fought side by side.
“Steven Enita!”
Steve immediately spun his head around at the sound of his father's voice. His dad stood in the living room doorway. Arms crossed with an all too familiar scowl on his face. Steve already knew he was in trouble. He unintentionally stopped playing, allowing an enemy to slaughter his character quickly. Snot exclaimed a pained “no” as he was trying to fend off the foes for Steve.
“Your mother has been calling you for the past two minutes. It’s annoying.”
“Oh, sorry I was just-”
“I know what you were doing. God, how could I not.” Stan faceplamed at his son. “It’s 11:40, time for your loser friends to go home.”
Steve looked to the window, and sure enough it was dark out. How had the time flown by so fast? Last he knew it was 3:30 pm. Looking back to his dad, he opened his mouth to speak but his dad interrupted.
“Friends. Go. Home. Now. Understand me?”
With a disappointed sigh, and an adjustment of his glasses, Steve nodded and gave a drawn out “yeah”.
Each of the boys respectively ended the game and gathered their things. Stan had left the room and proceeded to head upstairs, most likely heading to his study. Toshi was the first to leave, followed by Barry. Steve was always a little surprised at the fact Barry doesn't have to suck in his belly fat to fit through the front door. He has gotten much fatter since they were kids, almost too fat for his own good. Snot had hung back, pretending to not know where his wallet was. Truth be told, he just wanted to spend a little longer with Steve. His wallet was actually in his back pocket, but as soon as the other two boys left, he turned to Steve.
“Think your mom will let me stay the night?”
“I hope,” Steve said. “I’ll go ask.”
Steve walked into the kitchen where his mom sat, speaking with Klaus, with a cup of coffee in her hands. Steve thought it was weird that she was drinking coffee so late in the day, but he shrugged it off and walked up to her and gave her a childish grin. He sat beside her and put on a soft, higher pitched voice.
“Mommy?”
“Yes sweety?” She asked, a joyful smile on her face at the fact he called her Mommy.
“Can Snot spend the night?”
Her face went blank for a second before turning to a confused, yet happy expression. “Jeez. Again? He spent the night two nights ago.”
“Please mom?” He urged, flashing her a large set of puppy eyes. Within seconds she gave in and said “Okay okay. He can spend the night. But don’t tell your father.”
“Awesome!” He lept from his seat. “Thanks mom!”
“You’re welco-'' but Steve was already out the door. He swung around the corner and was back in the living room, where Snot was finger brushing his hair into place. He turned his face to look at Steve, who nodded his head towards the stairs, giving Snot the signal. Snot’s face lit up like stars and the two boys quickly, yet quietly ran up the stairs and up into Steve's room. Steve shut the door behind them, and smiled back at Snot.
Snot sat on Steve's bed, removing his military uncles boots and setting them beside the nightstand. Steve plopped down on the bed beside him, and wrapped an arm around his shoulders. Snot leaned into Steve's arm, and leaned back, pushing them both into a lying position on the bed. Steve bent his arm up so his hand could play with the brown curls of Snots hair. He twirled his hair and gently rubbed his fingers against his scalp. Snot gave a content and happy hum. His eyes rested shut as a smile grew on his lips. His smile emphasized the facial hair that still hasn’t fully grown in, and has instead left an awkward almost mustache on his upper lip, that Steve found so cute.
They laid there for an unknown amount of time before Snot turned to look at his best friend. Steve continued to pet him as their eyes met. Steve had his mother's eyes, a gorgeous blue like the sky and it’s cotton candy clouds. Snot’s stomach fluttered every time he looked into them. When he met Steve as a child, he found a large sense of comfort in those eyes, and that has never changed. In his preteen years, he found confusion and fiery feelings in his chest. Strong feelings that both made him want to scream and cry, but now as a 17 year old, he knows what it all meant. He closed his eyes again, and leaned forward, pressing his slightly chapped lips against Steve's, who happily kissed him back.
Pulling back, Snot looked back into Steve's wonderful eyes, memorizing the way his eyelashes effortlessly accentuated all the things that make Snot’s knees weak. Steve grinned and pressed his forehead against the other boys.
“If you wanted to ‘practice’ you should’ve let me put on chap stick first,” he giggled. Snot shook his head and cupped his hand on Steve's face.
“It’s fine,” he said before kissing him again. Funny. It all started with “practice kissing”. They had claimed it was practicing for all the girls they’d kiss. They wanted to be pros, so practice makes perfect as they say. It may have started as practice, but over the years it became clear it became less about girls and more about… well. Snot and Steve knew. However, their fear kept them from calling it anything but practice. They didn’t fear bullies anymore, they didn’t fear their friends or teachers, or even the government or their home town. No. What they feared was Stan.
Stan, Mr. Republican, Mr. God's messenger, Mr. Do It My Way Or I'll Break Your Fucking Knee's. If he knew that for the past four years Steve and Snot would kiss and snuggle, he would’ve shipped Steve off to a camp years ago. Or at the very least never let Steve see Snot again. Hell, if Steve ever ran up to his dad saying “I’m gay” Stan would probably pull out his pistol and kill himself right then and there. He would rather die than let the world know of his gay son. Although, if Steve were to say he was gay, it would be a lie. He isn’t gay. He loves women, especially boobs. Big ones, small ones, any boobs accept Barry’s boobs are good in his book. Asses were nice, but boobs are where it’s at for Steve. So he would never identify as a gay man, due to his pure love of women and their stunning bodies. However, he’s unsure if he’s straight either.
After all, here he is, laying in bed with his best friend, kissing him and feeling his cheeks turn rosy. Snot is the only guy he’d ever be fine with kissing. Period. Well. Captain America is actually pretty nice looking. But hey, who wouldn’t wanna kiss Captain America? Steve considered he may be bi, like Snot is, but he wasn’t sure if he qualified. A lifetime of crushing on women, and kissing one guy, would that really make him bi? Or is that more of 98% straight with a dash of gay? He wished he was more certain in his sexuality like Snot. When Snot was 13 he came out to Steve and only Steve. He did it so nonchalantly too.
“Hey Steve?” Snot had said. Steve responded with a plain, “Yeah?”
“Are you a tits guy or an ass guy?” He asked.
“Tits”
“Ah.” Snot nodded.
“You?”
“I like both,” Snot shrugged. Steve nodded. “Yeah, can’t go wrong there.”
“I think that’s why I like both.” Snot absently said. Steve looked at him confused. “Boobs or butts?”
"Well, yeah. But I was meaning like, girls and guys."
Steve rolled onto Snot in bed, breaking the kiss for only a second before continuing it. His knees rested on either side of Snots hips, and Snot brought his hands down to hold onto Steve's petite hip bones. Steve was still brushing Snots hair with his fingers as their lips continued pressing against each other. A few more kisses left Snot pink faced and breathing a little heavy.
“You okay?” Steve asked. Snot’s eyes fluttered open, and he cleared his throat. He shot a quick glance down to his jeans and looked back up to Steve’s face.
“Um… yeah. Yeah. Just.”
Steve looked at Snot, a small smile on his face with a raised brow. He took the hint and got off of him, rolling over to lay his head onto the pillows. Snot sat up, looking between his legs and facing slightly away from Steve. He reached out and grabbed a pillow and scooched back to the end of the bed, and placed the soft pillow in his lap. He flashed a smile over to Steve who was casually laying down. The two had a moment of quiet grins, and some may find the silence awkward, they’ve been through this enough to not find it awkward.
“So uh,” Snot started.
“Hmm?”
“That test today sucked.”
Steve laughed aloud and agreed. The two of them sat, making fun of assignments, with their respective teachers, complaining about some of the cooler kids and doing impressions of Principal Luis. Snot eventually shed the pillow from his lap and laid beside Steve, arms pressed against each other. They laughed some more at school, reflecting that in only a few months they’ll graduate.
“Man, that’s crazy,” Steve said, a smile still present. “Think, soon we can start college. We could even get jobs. Man, someday we’re totally gonna get rich, you and me.”
Snot laughed along. “Yeah man. We’ll be filthy rich. We could wipe our butts with $100 and not even care!”
They both cracked up into laughter, and soon their knuckles brushed against each other. That for some reason quickly ended their laughter. The two looked at each other, and Steve timidly turned his hand, letting his palm face the ceiling. Snot flushed a pale pink, and let his hand overlap Steve's. Their fingers interlocked, and they could feel each other's heartbeat through their skin. Snot’s heart thumped against his chest, and his mouth felt suddenly dry. Steve rubbed his thumb against Snots hand in a petting motion. Before long they leaned in and kissed each other again, but this one was much softer than normal. It was very delicate, lips hardly touching.
Suddenly Snot felt a strong feeling in his heart. It pierced him like a blade, stabbing him. His stomach dropped and he suddenly sat up, swinging his legs off the bed and standing in the center of the room. Steve sat up confused. He watched as Snots arms crossed and he brought a hand up to his face, rubbing an eye. Steve's eyes widened and he called out.
“Snot… are you… crying?”
“I-” Snot began, but his voice broke and cracked, giving away his lie, before it even left his lips. “Yes.”
Steve jumped up and put a hand on Snots shoulder, who choked out a quiet sob. Steve gripped his friend's shoulder and pulled him to face him. Snot’s chocolate brown eyes had gotten pink and puffy with tears. He rubbed the tear from his eye and looked away from Steve, telling him he’s fine. Steve furrowed his brows.
“Obviously not. What's the matter?”
Snot sat on the bed again, hands in his lap, eyes glued to the floor with his head hung low. Steve stood in front of him, waiting for his friend's answer.
“I just… I dunno.”
“Snot, you don’t cry for no reason.”
“I just...” he tried to speak, but the words refused to come out. They buried themselves into his throat. Steve waited there, staring at his friend with concern. He chose not to speak, and to let Snot get the words out at his own pace. Snot wiped the tears from his eyes again and hung his head lower. He scooped up the pillow from before and hugged it to his chest.
“I… God. I’m so dumb,” he began. Steve remained silent, knowing it’s better to listen and let Snot say what he has to say. “God I hate your dad.”
Steve was slightly surprised by the sudden dad-bash, and with the scowl on Snot's face made him sit down on the floor, looking up to Snot.
“Why can’t your dad just leave,” he gave a heavy cry breath. “If he left… I wouldn’t… we… he...”
“We?” Steve repeated. Snot pressed his face into the pillow, hiding his face away.
“Yush Shteve.” He mumbled into the pillow. “Fwe.”
“Snot, I can’t understand you,” Steve half joked, trying to lighten the mood. Snot slowly lifted his head from the pillow, eyes immensely sad, but a light smile on his face. It quickly fell when he saw Steve looking up at him. He tore his eyes away, gripping the pillow harder. A tear dripped down his cheek, making Steve's heart feel heavy.
“Listen… I know you don’t wanna hear this… but,” Snot began. “I… I like it when… when we kiss. I love it. I love it so much. I look forward to it. And… we practice so much that sometimes at night when I can’t sleep, it’s because of you. I just lay awake in bed, and all I can think about is your stupid… stupid face… and your stupid laugh… and your stupid…”
Snot trailed off, eyebrows furrowed, seemingly angry. He hadn’t looked back at Steve once. He didn’t want to see Steve’s expression. He didn’t want to see the look in his eyes. In his peripheral he could see Steve stand up and rub his eyes under his glasses. There was a lot of tension in the air, so much so that it nearly was suffocating. Steve opened his mouth to speak, but just like Snot the words wouldn’t come out. He opened his mouth again, but the words refused. A third try did it.
“That’s why you want my dad gone?”
“I don’t want him gone… I just wish he’d… ”
“Be okay with it… us?” Steve finished, gaining a nod from Snot. Steve sighed and sat beside his best friend leaning his head on Snots shoulder, who tensed for a second, before relaxing. Steve moved his arm and slipped it between Snots, linking their arms together. He didn’t know what to say, he knew what his heart said, but his brain couldn’t figure out the correct equation to express it. He just rested his head on Snot for a few moments before looking up to his lanky best friend.
“Snot?”
“Hmm?”
“Look at me.”
Snot listened and turned his head. Steve pushed forward and kissed him. He let go of Snots arm and wrapped his arms around his torso instead. He felt Snot cup his head in his large hands, before slowly easing Steve into a lying position, pillow between the two of them. The two kissed over and over, Steve’s upper lip getting tickled by Snot’s scruffy facial hair. When the kiss finally ended, Snot’s eyes looked a little happier, but he shook his head and spoke.
“No… we shouldn’t do this anymore. I-” Before he could finish, Steve grabbed a handful of Snot's shirt in hand. He had a strong look in his eyes.
“I like kissing you too. A lot.”
That’s all it took for their kissing to continue. Snot tossed the pillow to the floor, letting his chest meet with Steve's. Their legs interlocked. Only God knew how long exactly they stayed like that, bodies pressed against each other, tied against each other like a knotted headphone wire. The heat in the room increased as their lips continued their little dance. Steve rubbed his hands up and down the sides of Snot's back, and he brought one hand up between his shoulder blades, and scratched its way all the way down, causing Snot’s spine to arch and him to break off the kiss and gave a heavy sigh.
Steve gave a muffled laugh and stated “thanks. You fogged up my glasses.”
“Did you really have to do that?” Snot whined. Steve took his glasses off and brought them to his shirt to clean them off. He looked to Snot’s fuzzy looking face and responded “My glasses?”
“No.” Snot flopped his head onto Steve's chest, pinning Steve’s arm down. “The back thing.”
Steve laughed, and pet Snot's hair with his free hand. “Didn’t like it?”
“Shtevve,” Snot groaned before lifting his head up. “You know.”
Steve giggled and pulled his glasses back up to his face. Now seeing the non-fuzzy expression of Snot's pink cheeked face, he smiled even more.
“Yeah,” he laughed. “I know.”
“I already got… hard earlier…” Snot pouted. Steve pulled him in for another kiss and scrapped his nails down Snot's spine again, causing Snot’s body to roll into Steve's once again.
“Yeah I know.”
Snot kissed Steve hard then, knowing that Steve is purposely playing dirty now. He stole the glasses off Steve's face and put them on the nightstand. He grabbed Steve's jawline and made him tip his head back. Snot then broke off the kiss to plant a firm kiss on Steve's Adams apple, causing Steve’s breathing to hitch in his throat. Snot continued his attack, and moved to the side of Steve’s neck and began to smother him with kisses before clamping down and sucking on his warm skin. Steve covered his mouth with one hand and gently pulled on Snot’s hair with the other. His body was so hot and those lips on his neck weren’t making it any colder.
“Snot,” Steve gasped. He forced himself to whimper out the rest of his sentence. “Stop. You’re… You’re gonna leave a hickey.”
Snot listened and pulled back. He looked at Steve’s neck. Thankfully it was only pink, which meant it wouldn’t bruise. The pinkness may stay for a few minutes to an hour, but no longer. He assured Steve it wouldn’t leave a mark. Steve sighed and gave a playful scowl.
“Schmuely, you know what’s not fair.”
Snot’s heart fluttered at the sound of Steve calling him by his full first name.
“Well my back isn’t fair either.”
Steve stuck out his tongue at his friend. Snot had half the mind to bite it, but decided against it. Steve reached and grabbed his glasses. Putting them on he glanced down to their pants. After a few seconds he looked up and stated simply, “I think we should calm down.”
They both blushed and Snot got off of Steve. Steve sat up, rubbing his neck where Snot had attacked. There was a few seconds of silence before Steve spoke up.
“Snot?”
“Yeah?”
“Someday, when we graduate… and when we’re living together… away from here… ”
“Yeah?” Snot repeated, growing more intrigued.
“Wanna do things like this… all the time? Because… I really… really like it.”
Snot beamed from ear to ear. Without hesitation he nodded. Steve grinned like a madman and let his head fall back onto the pillows. Snot gazed at his best friend for a long while. In just a few months to a year, all of his hopes and dreams can possibly come true and when Steve moves out, there is nothing that Stan the jackass can do about it. Snot stood up and stretched, letting his back crack. He walked over to the door and pressed an ear against it.
“What are you doing?” Steve asked.
“Listening for your dad. I gotta go pee but I don’t want him to know I’m still here.”
“Good plan,” Steve agreed and watched his friend sneak out of his room, leaving the bedroom door cracked ajar. Once the bathroom door shut, Steve gave a happy sigh. Suddenly the closet door swung open and Roger fell out to the floor. Steve sat up at insane speeds and looked at the alien with giant eyes.
“ROGER!?” Steve yelled, cheeks turning a fiery shade of red. “What the hell!?”
“Yeah, yeah I know,” Roger said as he brushed himself off. “I had a feeling you guys made out in here so I just wanted to make sure if I was right. And boy-hoihoi was I right!”
“Get out!” Steve squealed.
“Jeez alright! Alright!” Roger huffed as he waddled over to the bedroom door. He looked back at Steve. “Oh and Steven?”
“What.” Steve snapped.
“Next time you wanna fool around with your little boyfriend, keep your voice down. Wouldn’t be surprised if Greg and Terry got turned on from next door.”
“Get the FUCK out!” Steve yelled in embarrassment, grabbing the last pillow from his bed and chucking it at the door. Roger gave his signature scream before hobbling out the room. Moments later Snot came in the room, glancing at the pillow on the floor before looking back at Steve.
“What happened?”
“I hate my uncle Roger.” Steve whined.