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“You know, there’s supposed to be some nice stars out tonight,’ Eddie says, turning to sit on his chair backwards to look at Steve. “And I’ve got an idea.”
“Do tell,” Steve says, leaning forward slightly. “My plan for tonight was to watch the Shining and proceed to fall asleep halfway through, so I’m all ears.”
“You. Me. Your pickup truck. And a shit ton of blankets and pillows. Out in the field, stargazing. I hear the sky’s supposed to be real pretty tonight. Sound good?” Eddie spouts, grinning.
“So what you’re saying is you want to make a giant portable pillow fort and watch the stars? And you thought in any sense I’d say no?” Steve says in mock indignation. “I am so down for that, Munson.”
“Sweet. Meet at yours in say, 20 minutes?”
“And ditch class? Hell yes, see you there.” Steve grins widely and turns to his locker to put his things away. Eddie takes that opportunity to ditch the school entirely, his tires screeching to race home and grab his blankets.
20 minutes later, as promised, Steve opens his front door to the welcome sight of Eddie. Immediately he bursts into giggles, supporting himself on the doorframe.
“Help me out here Harrington, I’m drowning in fabric over here,” Eddie says, muffled from the piles of blankets he struggles to hold in his arms.
“Hey, at least give me sufficient time to laugh at you,” Steve musters between bursts of giggles. He gets off the doorframe, taking at least 15 pounds of blankets out of his arms. “Damn, Munson, your house host an old ladie’s sewing club or something?”
“No, I’m just chronically cold,” Eddie mutters, stepping inside and dropping the pile of blankets on the floor. “Sure, sure,” Steve replies, going to gather his own collection of blankets, pillows, and overly large teddy bears (he has two of them, for whatever reason.)
“What was the point of carrying these all the way into the house and dropping them off just to pick them right back up?” Eddie groans, gathering his collection into his arms again and waddling out of the door towards Steve’s truck.
He throws them over the side and into the truck bed, with Steve following suit with his collection of blankets and pillows. Eddie helps him throw the cover over the truck bed and takes one of the giant teddy bears from Steve’s arms.
Steve takes the other and tosses it in the backseat of his truck.
“Wow, Harrington, you’re really going to abandon your buddy like that?” Eddie says with mock hurt in his voice. “This big boy is my life partner,” He says, climbing into the passenger seat with the oversized bear still in his arms.
“You,” Steve replies, “Don’t have to drive.” He boots up the engine and backs out of the driveway, doing that oddly attractive thing that men do when they back out of driveways. Eddie notices and his face starts going red, but thankfully his gigantic buddy is large enough to hide not only his face but the entire rest of his body.
A few minutes later, they pull in at the field and Steve parks the car. “Ready, Munson?” He says, taking the keys out of the ignition and stepping out of the car.
“Uhh, I would be, but it appears I’ve had a momentary lapse in judgment,” Eddie replies, struggling to get out of the car with his overlarge friend. “A little help, big boy?” Eddie asks, smiling awkwardly at Steve.
“You, Eddie, are a complete mess,” Steve replies, taking the bear and trying to ignore his cheeks going warm. “Now can you get out on your own.”
“Oh, I don’t know,” Eddie whines dramatically, draping over the seat. “I may need additional assistance,” he says, smirking at Steve.
“You’re the worst,” Steve whispers, pulling him up and out of the car successfully. With Eddie firmly attached to one hand and the other arm occupied by a giant bear, Steve kicks the door closed and pulls Eddie around to the back of the truck. “Now is the point where you get to hold your own friend, Munson,” Steve says, letting go of Eddie and handing him the bear. “I’m going to open the truck bed and get my own big bear out.”
He does just that, then proceeds to climb into the truck bed one-handed and starts to arrange the blankets and pillows. “Mind helping, man? It’s your idea after all,” Steve calls down from the truck.
“Yeah, yeah, half a second Harrington,” Eddie mutters, throwing his bear over into the truck and then throwing himself into the truck bed. He takes his pick of blankets and pillows, cuddling into them like a cocoon.
“Real proud of yourself, huh?” Steve remarks as he makes his own cocoon and shifts right up next to Eddie. They stare at the sky in silence for a few minutes,
Slowly, Eddie turns his face away and creeps his hand towards Steve’s under the blankets. Their hands find each other, and they silently smile at each other, no longer focused on the stars.
After a few moments, Steve scoots closer. “This good?” He whispers, turning his head back to the stars and attempting to hide his now-red face.
“It’s great, Harrington.” Eddie whispers back, curling closer. “I was right, you know. The stars are beautiful tonight.”
Steve pauses, thinking his next sentence through very carefully. “You know..” he starts nervously, trailing off.
“What, Harrington? What do I know?” Eddie whispers playfully.
“The stars aren’t the only thing that’s beautiful tonight,” Steve mumbles, burying his burning face in the blankets.
Eddie double takes, his breath hitching. “Say that again for me?” He whispers, grinning like an idiot and moving closer to Steve.
“I said I think you’re beautiful,” Steve repeats, his face going redder. Before he could calm down, Eddie pulls the blankets off of Steve’s face.
“I could say the same to you,” Eddie whispers, leaning in and resting his head on Steve’s chest. He can feel Harrington’s heartbeat speed up, sounding like the galloping of a horse. “This okay with you?” He asks, glancing up at Steve’s face.
“Uh, yeah,” he replies, blushing harder, “Perfect.”
“Good, because now I’m comfortable. There’s not a chance I’m moving now,” Eddie murmurs, snaking his arms around Steve’s waist and wrapping him in a hug.
“Damn, man, really moving slow huh,” Steve says, smiling and wrapping his hand over Eddie’s. They lay in comfortable silence for a few more minutes, before Steve pipes up and murmurs, “Could I kiss you?”
Eddie’s breath hitches and he turns to look at Steve, only to find him looking back at him with a gentle smile. He nods silently, smiling back. Steve moves towards him, gently cupping his face and planting a soft kiss on his lips.
“Thank you, Munson, for a great idea,” he whispers, leaning back and going back to their original cuddle position.
“Thank you, Harrington, for going along with it.” Eddie whispers back, laying his head on Steve’s chest again and curling into him.
Hours later, they wake up, somehow back in Steve’s driveway. On the steering wheel, a note from Max reads, “you losers fell asleep. Steve, before you kill me, I didn’t run anyone over or break that many road safety laws.”
fin <3