Work Text:
"Hi Eddie. You look great - beard suits you."
Eddie would know that voice anywhere, even after 20 years. He turned slowly and took in the salt and pepper hair, the glasses perched on the nose, the leather jacket over the white t-shirt.
"Steve." Eddie almost stumbled over his name. "What are you doing here?"
Here being a bar in LA. A notoriously gay bar.
"Is that your roundabout way of asking me if I come here often?" Steve replied with a smile.
"No, general curiosity."
"Friday night, I'm here to start the weekend," Steve said. "You?"
"Had a meeting with my label earlier today and needed to not be the lead singer of Corroded Coffin for a few hours." Eddie took a sip of beer, watching Steve curiously.
"Heard there's talks of you and Metallica doing a big dual headline tour," Steve said. "Must be exciting."
"And a little terrifying," Eddie admitted. "Wait - do you live in LA?"
"Yeah," Steve replied. "After …well, after, when it was clear it was all done, the town calmed down and everyone kind of moved on. Not in a bad way, but everyone found their path. Mine was here - I own a little bakery in Burbank on Magnolia."
"No shit!"
"No shit." Steve laughed and sipped his own beer. "Also sorry if I'm staring at your lips - it's a little loud in here so I have my aids turned down."
It was then that Eddie noticed the small hearing aid in Steve's left ear.
'Wanna switch to ASL?' Eddie signed.
'You know it?'
'My fave roadie lost his hearing, so I made everyone learn sign.' Eddie paused to sip his beer. 'What happened?'
'Too many concussions, mixed with stuff from '86 took a lot of it.'
'I'm sorry.' And Eddie was - they'd all suffered a lot during that last battle and came out of it with the scars to prove it.
'Where did you go?' Steve asked. 'You - you just up and left after you recovered. We got random postcards and then there you were in the music store on the cover of a vinyl.'
Eddie was quiet for a few minutes, processing his thoughts.
'I'm not proud of this, but I got scared. That the dust would settle and everyone would just go back to putting me in the role of outcast and miscreant. So I ran before it could happen.'
'Eddie.'
'I started mending fences about five years ago.' Eddie felt his hand shake as he took another sip of beer. 'Finally felt like I was removed enough from it all.'
'Bet Robin gave you shit.' Steve took a sip of his own beer.
'So much - but not nearly as much as Dustin.'
'Yeah, he was despondent for a while.' Steve paused. 'Why didn't you reach out to me? Was I not worth -'
'No.' Eddie reached out and put a hand on Steve's and shook his head. 'Wanna go someplace a little quieter?' He gave a sigh of relief when Steve nodded, and herded him from the loud bar out to his private car waiting by the back door.
'Perks of being a rockstar,' Steve teased as he climbed into the car after Eddie. "This is definitely quieter."
"And more private," Eddie murmured. "I didn't think a gay bar was right place for this -" Eddie froze for a moment as that realization sunk in. "Figured some things out, huh?"
"Yeah, turns out some crazy metalhead with wild curls and doe eyes calling me 'big boy' sent me on a journey of self discovery," Steve said.
"No fucking way," Eddie said. "I didn't - you didn't say -"
"I didn't know how to," Steve whispered. "And then you up and disappeared and I just kept hoping."
"And then I didn't contact you and … fuck, I'm so sorry." Eddie reached for Steve's hand. "You were the one I was most scared of reaching out to."
"Scared of me?"
"No, scared that you'd reject me," Eddie replied. "That I wouldn't be able to get my foot back in the door and have at least a friendship with you." He gave a bit of a watery laugh.
"You are such an idiot."
Before Eddie could agree, Steve was across the car and in Eddie's lap, lips pressed to Eddie's in a kiss.
A kiss that was filled with twenty years of want and yearning.
Eddie groaned and slid his hands under the jacket and t-shirt, running his hands up and down Steve's back, feeling the scars under his hands from Steve's fight with the demobats in the Upside Down. He felt Steve's hands under his shirt and groaned against Steve's lips, gasping when Steve's fingers found his nipple and tweaked it.
"What do you tell people about the missing nipple?" Steve asked against Eddie's lips.
"Got bitten off by a shark," Eddie breathed, grinning when Steve laughed. "More believable than the truth."
"Yeah."
Eddie hummed when Steve tucked his head on Eddie's shoulder, moving his hands to gently stroke Steve's hair.
"Knew you'd be a silver fox," Eddie teased.
"Look at you," Steve murmured. "Beautiful black curls with these subtle streaks of grey."
"F- fuck!" Eddie gave a sharp gasp as Steve ground himself against Eddie's cock. "What … what's your pain level like today?"
"So low," Steve whispered. "So kind of you to ask."
"Well, we've both been through the ringer and not getting any younger." Eddie yelped and laughed when Steve gave his hair a sharp pull. "But still totally hot, Steve. Epically hot."
"You, too," Steve said. "So, how long are you in LA for?"
"Was only supposed to be here for a few days," Eddie replied. "But I didn't have any solid plans after …"
"Would you be willing to stay in town a bit longer?" Steve asked. "I think I'd like to spend some more time with you."
"I can definitely make that happen," Eddie murmured. "I can talk to the hotel and extend my stay."
"What hotel are you staying at?"
"The Beverly Hills Hotel," Eddie said. "High end shit."
"I've driven by that place before, but never been inside."
"Well, we could change that," Eddie replied. "No pressure, just the two of us … talking."
"And maybe more than talking," Steve whispered, leaning in to give Eddie a kiss. "We could drink champagne in the bathtub."
"Brilliant idea," Eddie said. "But what ever would we toast to?"
"New beginnings."