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"They look lonely, don't they?"
Volt's voice drew Eddie's attention away from the glass he was cleaning and up to his face. Hyperaware of your presence as he always was, Eddie knew very well who he was talking about, but followed Volt's prompting nod to look at you.
Alone at your usual VIP table, you did seem to be begging for company, even though there were no outward signs of such behavior. Call it a gut feeling, but there was just something...wistful in your posture as you watched Keyes' performance. Even so, there wasn't anything Eddie could do about it. Not at the moment, anyway. He had to work.
Lowering his eyes back down to the glass in his hands, he replied, "So go keep them company." Seemed the most obvious solution to him.
But Volt sucked in a melodramatically regretful breath through his teeth. "Ah. Sorry, Eddie; I'm helping at the bar."
Again, Eddie shot a look Volt's way, only to find him innocently wiping down the bartop. There had been no explanation to his joining Eddie behind the bar that evening. He'd just suddenly been there, coat abandoned on one end of the counter and glowing hair tied back away from his face, sleeves rolled up and ready to work. Which was appreciated and all, but...
"I didn't ask for your help, Volt," Eddie insisted stubbornly. He finished cleaning the glass and returned it to the shelf holding all the others.
While he was looking away, Volt moved closer to his side. "No, but you have it." He leaned in to breathe his next words into Eddie's ear. "You should take advantage of it."
Eddie turned his head to meet his eyes, but the contact only lasted a moment. Volt flicked his eyes to pointedly look towards someone behind him. It was obvious who. It was equally obvious what Volt was suggesting.
Tempting as the suggestion was, Eddie resolutely kept his eyes trained on Volt. "What about the show?"
"Keyes is more than capable of commanding the stage without any interference from me," Volt assured him without a trace of hesitation, "You, on the other hand, could use a little bit of interference." Gently, he lifted a hand to Eddie's chin and angled his head in your direction, holding him there even after it was clear that he was doing as Volt asked. "Look at them. Our live wire. Only able to watch the show and listen. Listen to such soft, slow music and feel all the emotion it inspires, with no way to express any of it. Not alone."
Frowning, Eddie curled his fingers into loose fists against the bar. He had nothing at all to prove Volt wrong. Especially with his eyes on you the whole time, he had to admit that your body language was acting as a compelling argument to support Volt's words. Something in his chest constricted to think that you might be suffering, even in such a mild way. Maybe...if all you needed was some company...
"I bet they'd like to dance."
And those were the words that reminded Eddie why he stayed safely behind the bar while they were open.
Pushing off the bar with an exasperated grunt, he ripped his eyes away from you and hurried out of Volt's grasp to find something to do. Lucky for him, he was just in time to catch a pair of customers approaching for drinks. The perfect thing to distract himself from the way his mind lingered on you. Unwittingly, his eyes flicked to you for a split second before he refocused and asked for the drink orders.
As he got to work, Eddie's mind drifted right back to you. Your slumped shoulders, the ponderous way you fidgeted with the drink in your hand—the whiskey sour that you'd barely touched. Like your mind was just as distracted as his.
While shaking up a Cosmopolitan, Eddie caught himself looking your way yet again. He forced his eyes away, back to the task at hand.
If it would have been just a matter of sitting with you, he could have done that—he would have in a heartbeat. But Volt was right. The music Keyes was playing...It wasn't meant to be just listened to. It was music for dancing. Hell, a few pairs already were. And...yeah, it was at least slow. Wouldn't be hard to keep pace with.
He slid the glass to Gaia, glanced over at you again, then started on the Old Fashioned.
It was easy for Volt to suggest that Eddie dance with you. Volt didn't mind the limelight, being in the middle of the action. In fact, he thrived off it sometimes. Eddie wasn't like him. He didn't want attention, content to sink into the background. And you...Walking out there to dance with you would definitely draw attention. Not that...you didn't deserve to have all eyes on you. Anyone would be lucky to show you off.
Eddie passed over the drink to Beau's waiting hand with a quiet word of thanks and to enjoy. He wiped up the few droplets that had escaped the drinks, then set the rag aside. That done, he fell motionless with his hands splayed over the bartop, nothing left to distract him.
His eyes drifted to you yet again, and this time he let himself linger.
His mind went very still as he landed on a surprising conclusion. Would the attention really be so bad, if it made you happy?
A hollow thunk drew Eddie from that singular thought. He looked down at the bar to find Volt's hand setting a shot glass filled with amber liquid in front of him. His focus quickly shifted to meet Volt's eyes gazing at him encouragingly.
"Go on, Eddie," Volt urged in a whisper, "Let the world see how you feel. More importantly, let them see."
And those were the words that made up Eddie's mind for him. There was no other choice left for him to make.
He released a heavy sigh, sliding his hands from the bartop. "Fuck," he cursed under his breath before grabbing the shot and knocking it back. He then set the emptied glass down and strode out from behind the bar before he had the chance to think twice.
Where before he'd kept avoiding looking at you, now his eyes were locked on you at your table. As he approached, he didn't let himself look around at anyone else, or think about what he was doing. He didn't care if anyone was surprised to see him going to keep you company rather than Volt. (He convinced himself he didn't care, anyway.) The liquid courage definitely helped, letting him focus on the burn of the alcohol still traveling through his system instead of any eyes swiveling around to look in his direction.
By the time Eddie reached you, his heart (or whatever passed for a heart among the circuitry in his chest) was racing in spite of his attempts to keep a cool head. Sensing movement by your side, you looked up at him from your seat, and smiled instantly, which only made the building heat inside him even worse.
"Hi, Eddie!" you greeted him, your voice excited, but low enough that you wouldn't interrupt the performance.
"Hey," Eddie returned shortly, extending a hand to you, palm up.
You glanced down at his hand, frowning in confusion, then returned your eyes to his face in a silent question.
Though embarrassed, his face growing hot, Eddie persisted. Determinedly, he held your eye contact and he shook his waiting hand to emphasize his question. "You wanna dance or what?"
As realization finally struck, your eyes widened and your mouth dropped open. For a split second, Eddie was about to drop his hand in a fit of self-consciousness, but before he could, you grabbed it with one of your own. "Of course," you agreed, scrambling to your feet as if afraid he'd change his mind. Which...hadn't been too far from the truth, until you'd accepted. Now, the way you were looking at him with adoration practically glowing in your eyes, there was no way he could ever refuse you. There would be no turning back now.
Keeping a gentle hold on your hand, Eddie led you to a section of the floor within easy eyeshot of the bar. Even better, it was out of the way, far from any other dancing couples and curious eyes. Feeling unbearably awkward (yet also determined to see this through), Eddie turned to face you. For a second, he stopped short just to drink in the way you gazed up at him in eager expectation. His insides absolutely buzzed in response. Fuck, no wonder he could never say no to you...
He was distracted when he caught motion at the bar just past your head in his line of vision. When he shifted focus, he found Volt looking him directly in the eyes as he tried to helpfully mime the dancing position Eddie should take up with you. Back straight, shoulders back, one arm curling around an imaginary waist while the other hovered in the air at chest level. He was also completely ignoring a patron waiting to get a drink.
"Dammit, Volt," Eddie hissed, starting to head right back to the bar.
He didn't get far, as you managed to stop him, reeling him back in by the hand you were still holding. "No wait, Eddie," you implored, "Have some faith in him; he's got things handled."
"Does he?" Eddie asked, angling your bodies so you could both look over at the bar.
It seemed that the trust you had in Volt wasn't misplaced. Even from a distance, it was clear that he was expertly smoothing over his lapse in attention with the customer, positively oozing charisma as he smiled and chatted with them while mixing their drink. Like you'd said, Eddie didn't have anything to worry about. Still, he kept watching like a hawk for a few more moments, chewing his lip in confliction.
You regained his attention when you let out a fond sigh, shifting your hands to rest up on his shoulders. "Are you really that desperate to get away from me?"
Your tone was teasing, but Eddie returned all his focus to you anyway, just to make sure you weren't really upset. Sure enough, the playful look in your eyes matched your tone, helping him relax into a small smile. His hands landed on your waist as though they belonged there. It wasn't the posture Volt had been suggesting, but this casual position felt more natural for him, leading him to start swaying in place with you.
"You know that's not the case, live wire," he murmured for your ears only, "I might be a little split, but I do want to be here. With you." He softened even further as he saw the way his words made you blush, bashfully sending your uncontrolled smile down towards the floor at your feet.
Something you saw there gave you pause, making your gentle swaying rhythm stutter for a beat. Clearly trying to be surreptitious, you lifted your head again, eyes sneaking upwards to try to check something above your heads.
Unfortunately for you, it was hard to be sneaky about anything when your dance partner was inches away, watching you attentively. "What?" Eddie wondered, getting right to the point as usual.
Your eyes snapped back to his. Still blushing a little, you thought over your words for a second, then spoke. "This is...the light bulb I helped you change. Isn't it?" You nodded upwards as you clarified, "That first day I helped you with repairs?"
Right. The floorboards under your feet looked like new as well, which must have been what tipped you off. Eddie hadn't consciously meant to bring you to this exact spot, but it did feel appropriate to be there now, having a moment together. Again. Thinking back to that day and all the flirty quips the two of you had exchanged, he couldn't help but smirk. "You mean this is where you almost broke your neck," he teased dryly.
You huffed. "You mean this is where you protected me and proved that you really did care, even then," you corrected him.
And Eddie...Well, he couldn't really fight back against that, could he?
In the face of so much naked affection, he fell back on his usual deflection, scoffing and looking away as his reddening face gave away how those words actually made him feel. The look you gave him as you said them sent warmth rushing through him. There was so much he could have said in response. His head was full of words to say, his heart even fuller. He could have told you that while you were the one who had actually succumbed to the pull of gravity back then, Eddie had felt that he was the one who had truly fallen in that moment.
Instead, the words that came out of his mouth were, "Yeah, well. You grew on me."
Even so, you seemed to understand what he was saying. A happy little hum escaped from you as you surged forward against him, curling your arms around his neck.
The suddenness of your embrace drew a surprised grunt out of Eddie, but it wasn't like he was about to complain about holding you closer. Even if, being so close, there was no way you'd be able to miss that he was just about to overheat with all this...sap going on between the two of you. His arms tightened around your back, continuing to move slowly with you to the rhythm of Keyes' perfect playing.
For a time, the two of you remained silent, just enjoying the music and the comforting safety of being in each other's arms. It wasn't flashy, the dance you were engaged in, but Eddie was perfectly content with that. Just to spend the time together with you was more than enough for him.
With a sudden pang, he hoped that you felt the same way. "Sorry," he muttered abruptly. When you looked up at him from your vantage point on his shoulder with a confused look in your eyes, he clarified, "I know Volt's the better dancer."
Understanding broke across your face, and you hummed in acknowledgement. "Volt is fun to dance with," you agreed, smiling warmly as one of your hands played with the hair at the back of his head, "But I think you're perfect, too."
For a second, Eddie was sure that he was short circuiting again.
Choking on nothing but air, he quickly dragged his hand up to hold your head against his neck. Whatever reaction was showing on his face, he didn't need you to see it. The way you'd gotten him speechless was already embarrassing enough. "Don't just say stuff like that," he managed at last, his voice more strangled than he'd prefer.
You laughed quietly against him, and Eddie couldn't help but smile along, just a little.
As he kept dancing with you, resting his head against yours, his eyes drifted over to the bar. There were no customers there at the moment, which meant Volt was free to do as he pleased. And apparently what he pleased was to slouch forward over the bar with his head in one hand, watching his partners with a dreamy look about his glowing eyes. Catching Eddie watching him, Volt's smile grew even wider. "So sweet," he mouthed silently.
"Shut up," Eddie mouthed silently back. But there wasn't an ounce of heat in the sentiment. Not when contentment and love were the true sentiments written all over his face.