Work Text:
“Do you believe in soul mates?”
It was a bright Sunday. Eddie and Steve were lounging by Steve’s pool, basking in the warmth from the sun. Eddie had his hair sprawled on top of—and partially in—the rippling, crystal blue water and his feet thrown into Steve’s lap. It was an awkward angle, and a scary one, since Steve had threatened to tip him into the pool about seven times now.
“No,” Steve responds simply, turning another page of his book slowly. Eddie had bullied him into reading something, claiming it would feel refreshing and relaxing. Steve—being the annoying shit that he was—had bought a kids book. However, surprisingly, he seemed pretty engrossed in the story of The BFG, so Eddie counted it as a win.
The only downside to it was that he wasn’t getting any attention from his boyfriend.
“Why not?” Eddie ventures, tipping his head back until his forehead dipped into the pool. Steve glances at him over the top of the book.
“It doesn’t make sense.”
“It doesn’t?”
Steve shakes his head and sighs, picking up the bookmark Eddie had gifted him and slotting it neatly between the pages of the book before setting it on one of the poolside tables. He tilts his head back and closes his eyes. “No, Eddie, it doesn’t.”
“How so?” Eddie can’t help but ask. He would’ve bet real money on Steve believing in soul mates.
“The idea of soul mates—it’s the idea that there’s one person out there who is perfectly compatible and your only one, right?” Steve starts, his voice low and rough from disuse. “So when you find your one… it’s like all your other relationships were for nothing. And yeah—you’d rather forget a few, definitely, but some of them—some of them you make memories. You learn shit—and I don’t want those memories and lessons to be worth nothing if I find the one.”
Eddie nods slowly, awkwardly. He jolts slightly as Steve starts trailing his fingers up and down his legs. It’s soft—loving… slow.
“But…” Steve continues, gazing down at Eddie. His hazel eyes meet Eddie’s chocolate ones and the metal head is hit with an overwhelming feeling of love. “It’s a nice concept. I think… I think if I had to have a soul mate, Eds, it would be you.”
A beat passes.
“Stevie,” Eddie chokes out, sitting up quickly and throwing his legs off Steve’s lap. Steve’s sudden look of hurt and confusion is replaced by that soft, tender look that Eddie had fallen for.
He reaches out to Eddie, with his rough calloused hand, and runs it though Eddie’s damp hair. All Eddie can do is stare at his boyfriend in absolute awe. Steve kneels in front of him—where Eddie is now sat cross legged—and grasps the back of his neck, pulling him forward so that his forehead rests on Steve’s warm shoulder.
It’s strange, how Steve always seems to know what Eddie needs. Whether it’s a hug, a gentle kiss to the cheek or something entirely different, Steve is always there, ready with his love. And boy, Steve was so full of love.
“I told you, Eddie,” Steve murmurs, bringing his free arm to rest around Eddie’s waist. “You’re what I want. Always.”
Eddie laughs, though it’s thick and breaks partway through. He grasps the front of Steve’s vest and buries his face further into his collarbone. Steve presses a soft kiss to the top of his head, then another, then another.
Then, Steve grasps his right wrist and gently—so, so gently—lifts Eddie off his chest. He’s still holding Eddie’s neck, so he’s able to support him.
A small kiss is placed on the inside of his wrist—right where the bones meet. Another, slightly further up his arm. And another, another, another.
It’s such a familiar yet foreign feeling, but Eddie basks in it all the same. These soft gestures are what keep him alive—keep him kicking.
Don’t get him wrong—he loves bickering with Steve. He loves teasing him and making jokes, sneaking quick kisses when nobody is looking, snaking an arm around Steve’s waist at the back of a movie theatre or in a hidden booth in a restaurant. It’s one of the main reasons why Eddie fell in love with him, with his ability to have a witty comeback for anything. To have someone who can keep up with his ever-changing attention span and to not hate him for it? It was a dream come true.
But there’s something so different—so tender, so nice, so amazing about these moments. The moments where Steve tucks Eddie’s hair behind his ear before kissing him, long and slow, and so, so soft. The moments where Eddie straightens Steve’s jacket before work, and they stare into each other’s eyes for a bit longer than necessary. The moments like these—where Steve presses constant, small kisses to everywhere but Eddie’s lips.
“I love you,” Eddie whispers, eyes shining with tears, causing Steve to stop mid-kiss and smile up at him. That special smile reserved only for him.
“And I adore you,” Steve returns, before continuing with his little mission. A gentle kiss to Eddie’s forehead, one to his cheek. A peck on the nose followed by a breathy laugh. And to top it all off—the cherry on top of the cake—a slow, tender, longing kiss right on the lips.
Steve pushes forward with no real urgency, just with love, love, love and it has Eddie’s mind going entirely blank. It takes him a moment to snap out of his daze, to kiss back, and he’s worried for a moment that Steve would leave, but he only pulls away for a second to chuckle.
The sound is like music to Eddie’s ears.
They continue. Slow, languid kisses in the sunlight, in a backyard hidden from prying eyes—a safe space for them both.
Steve grasps onto Eddie’s waist tighter, and his hand moves from his neck into his hair. It becomes buried there—that’s all. No teasing pulls, nothing like that. Just pulling Eddie closer and closer and closer—keeping him safe.
Eddie cups Steve’s jaw with one hand and copies Steve with the other—burying his hand in his lover’s hair.
The birds tweet overhead in the trees and the gentle breeze rustles through the leaves. A stumble causes ripples to flow through the water, followed by laughter—not loud or teasing, but faint and muted, like the distant echo of wind chimes.
A whisper of It’s always been you floats through the busy streets, yet it’s unheard by all but two.
It’s peaceful.