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Eddie puts down his book and sighs. He's not in the mood to read. He's not in the mood to read, or plan, or practice, or write. He came up here to nap, but no. Apparently he's too tired to sleep. His brain won't focus on anything; thoughts come and go, crashing together and spiraling away before he can really focus on them.
With a groan he swings his legs over the side of the bed and gets up, popping his shoulders as he stretches. If he can't entertain himself, his boyfriends will have to do it. And it's the end of a rainy day, both jocks are probably at each other's throats right about now. Usually, if they get tense with one another, they'll break peace over a ball. They'll shoot some hoops, or toss the old ‘pig skin’ around. If it gets bad enough one of them will leave - Steve will do some laps, Billy goes for a run. But today it's raining, and Eddie's been upstairs for at least two hours, so they've been without a mediator for too long.
Eddie prances down the stairs and jumps to a stop, listening. Huh, no arguments are currently happening. Maybe he did manage to nod off and he missed it. It's hard to miss Billy's angry energy no matter where you are in the house.
Eddie wanders into the kitchen, looking for the aftermath - sulking hunks in the kitchen, his hot guys pouting in the living room. But there's nobody. The pool is empty, looking like it's bubbling with the raindrops disturbing the surface.
Okay, did they go out and not say goodbye? Nope, garage has both Beamer and Camero, safe and dry (Eddie draws the short straw in bad weather, apparently his beautiful beast of a van can withstand rain and snow, but precious new cars cannot. Which is funny, when Billy and Steve can physically withstand any weather while Eddie wilts in slightly too much heat or cold).
He eventually stumbles upon his loves in the den, and he's about to declare how hard it was to find them and how very worried he was, when he stops.
Steve is on the couch, book in one hand (The Mists of Avalon. God can he get any hotter??), the other hand toying idly with blonde curls. Billy is lying down, head on Steve's lap, watching TV all soft and content. The one lamp in the room is bathing them both in golden light, the dim daylight outside and the noise of the rain amplifying the coziness.
What the fuck, his boyfriends are so fucking cute.
The domestic moments between them are rare, and Eddie wonders if they fight more when he's around. If they know they can be petty and argue, because Eddie will swoop in and broker peace. But without him around, they might put their differences aside. They might get along more than he realizes. Maybe they like it when he breaks it up. He babies them, coddles their egos, and will fuck them about it (a well timed hand job or eiffel tower can work wonders).
“Oh, you bastards.”
Steve and Billy both look up; Billy annoyed at the interruption of what seems to be Dukes of Hazard reruns, Steve looking like a clueless puppy.
“How was your nap?” Steve smiles.
“Couldn't sleep.” Eddie comes over to them, fully intending to lie all over Billy until the younger man stops him, socked foot against Eddie's abdomen.
“The fuck you calling us names for?”
“You two are being all cute when I'm not around to see it.” Eddie holds Billy's ankle, enjoying the fact Billy lets Eddie take the weight of his leg (small trusts with Billy are a big thing). “You're usually all pissy when you're left alone too long.”
“Well… we're actually not.” Steve shuts his book, middle finger keeping his place. “Mostly it's like this, you just don't see it.”
Eddie cocks his head to the side. "Then how come I'm always breaking you two up?"
Steve looks down at the head in his lap for help, but Billy is back to being invested in the Dukes. Steve's mouth tightens in an unhappy line, blush creeping into his cheeks.
"...thought you liked to." Steve shrugs all shy, and Eddie may just actually bite him.
Eddie smiles and throws Billy's leg back onto the couch, the blonde not being quick enough to stop him from laying on him this time. Billy grunts and tuts and Eddie gets comfortable between his legs, lacing his fingers across Billy's chest to rest his chin on (knowing Billy will bitch and moan about how boney Eddie's chin is if he doesn't).
"Don't get me wrong, I love corraling you two. Just figured you needed it. Left over competitive energy, jock shit."
"It can be. But... it's, I don't know, fun?" Steve avoids looking at them. Billy's still pretending to not pay attention to them, but his hand does come up to rest on Eddie's back.
"Like," Steve's shoulder nearly meets his ears as he shrugs again. "It's a safe kind of fight."
"Now."
"Huh?"
"I mean, now it is. Because it sure wasn't when we started. You two were like a cat and dog in the beginning." Both of them look at him quizzically for that. "You know what I mean. Just - riling each other up."
"Foreplay." Billy looks back at the TV.
Steve rolls his eyes. "When it was actually serious we'd stop ourselves, and yeah it was fun it a fucked up way, but it was not foreplay."
"Can't police what gets me going, pretty boy." Billy rolls his eyes back.
"Maybe you should have just said you wanted hate sex!"
Billy looks up at Steve, craning his neck back to do so. "Not hate sex if I... don't hate you."
Billy doesn't like to say The L Word. The big, scary, four letter word that Billy's confessed to only saying to one person since his mom left him, and that's Max. Steve recognizes what he's trying to say and softens.
Eddie didn't doubt a multiple person relationship could work, but there were times it seemed like it wouldn't work for the three of them. Back when they were sorting their own shit out - they all had insecurities about being abandoned, left behind by those close to them. They'd fight for real, take off and not tell the others. But they've come so far, it fills him with so much hope. It might not be forever, but the foreseeable future is good enough for Eddie.
"I'm so proud of you boys." He says, interrupting whatever little silent communication they were having. "Both of you."
"Shucks, thanks dad." Billy rolls his eyes, pinching Eddie's side. But they're both a bit pink in the cheeks, and Eddie thinks it's high time he made them pink all over again.