Spin The Bottle Verse (RPS)
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Title: Spin The Bottle Verse (8/8)
Author: mands_angelfox
Pairing/Characters: Chris/Steve
Genre: RPS, Romance, Angst
Word Count: 1, 209
Rating: PG
Feedback: Feedback? Is love. No. Seriously, it is.
Summary: One drunken night of fun turns things on their head and all Chris and Steve can do is hang on.
Links: The Verse Prologue-to-Epilogue
Author's Note: I just want to say a couple thanks. First of all to estel_willow for being my muse and holding my hand throughout the entirety of this 'verse, I wouldn't have been able to do it without her. And secondly to charlies_dragon for beta'ing this monster and for being an encouraging voice via email. And last but not at all least to my girl dea_liberty for my new gorgeous banner.
Disclaimer: Isn't real, I know that and you know that, we just wish that it was.
Spin The Bottle (8/8)
It’s been a week since Steve saw Chris at the party and he’s pretty sure that Chris has called him a couple times but Chris has always chickened out at the last second so Steve’s never been able to get out hello.
Suzie’s out of town, some family thing and Steve takes the time to reconnect with the music he’s not been able to play because he’s barely had any time to himself. Suzie, as great as she is, doesn’t seem to understand what it means to be dating Steve Carlson.
Picking up a guitar and fine-tuning it until every string sounds just right and every chord is perfect feels like coming home and for a while the world just falls away. Nothing else exists and it’s everything life should be but isn’t. This is the only time other than when he’s with Chris that Steve feels complete. Music is his everything and it’s been that way longer than he can remember. He’s doesn’t know how long he spends bleeding himself into the chords but it seems like an eternity, only broken by the unfamiliar and almost alien sound of somebody knocking on his door.
“Be right there,” he hollers and gets to his feet, making sure he rests his guitar down somewhere safe. He’s isn’t sure what or who he’s expecting but when he opens the door and sees Chris stood there looking for all the world like somebody just stole his favourite cowboy hat Steve’s breath stutters and stops halfway up his throat.
It’s taken Chris a week to pluck up the courage to go to Steve’s, and another hour to actually have the guts to knock. Briefly he wonders when something that had once been so easy had suddenly become the hardest thing.
“Hey,” he greets quietly enough, coaching himself to breathe and drag his eyes away from Steve’s bare feet already. Can’t exactly make conversation - meaningful conversation - if he’s staring at Steve’s feet. Chris finally looks at Steve and God, he looks so good, Chris had almost forgotten. “Can I… uh… talk to you?”
Steve briefly contemplates closing the door and shutting Chris out, the same way he did after everything. But Steve can’t. This is Chris, and no matter what, Steve cares about him, maybe even loves him.
“Sure,” he agrees, allowing Chris to come into his home but not into his heart, not quite just yet. He doesn’t know why Chris is here but he’s hoping that Chris has finally come to some sense of mind and has something to say.
Chris shuffles in and takes a quick look around and Steve, damn him, calls him on it.
“She’s not here.”
He tries for absolute ignorance but one look at Steve’s face tells Chris he’s rumbled so he just gives a sheepish smile and rubs at the back of his neck.
“Uh, yeah. Would kinda make this even more awkward than it is already huh?”
Steve rolls his eyes. “Cut the bullshit, Christian. Why are you here?”
Chris could have kissed Steve right there and then for just being Steve and knowing exactly what to say and how to act around him, it’s not like anybody else knows and if they think they’ve got it figured out they’re sorely mistaken.
“I wanted to apologise,” he finally blurts out after an agonising silence and it would seem that once that dam opens then there’s no stopping him. “It was messed up of me to say what I did and I only did it ‘cause I was scared. I mean, I don’t do relationships and then you and me…” He trails off, licking his lips. “I guess it was the first time I thought I could and I went and fucked it all up.” Chris breathes out a self-deprecating laugh and shakes his head. “I ain’t been a very good friend either and I keep trying to tell myself I’m happy for you and Suzie but truth is I’m not.” He looks up and tightens his jaw as he forces himself to hold Steve’s eye contact so he can see how much this is taking and how rare it is for Chris to offer his heart on a plate to anyone. “You’re my best friend, Steve. Ain’t anybody in this world that gets me like you do.”
Well of all the things he’d been expecting an apology and an explanation wasn’t one of them. Steve’s struck dumb and he’s just left standing there, completely blown away. He eventually takes a steadying breath. “And what does that mean, Chris?” Because he heard a lot but he doesn’t want to hope because hope is what got him into this mess to begin with.
Chris figures he can say a lot more but actions have always been his stronger point so he takes a leap of faith. He walks up to Steve and fists a hand in his shirt but it lacks the aggression from their earlier kisses, it’s almost as if he’s asking for permission before just pulling Steve down and kissing him slow.
Steve makes a small sound, completely surprised and swept under by the softness in that kiss and the way Chris’ mouth is caressing his own. He’s unwilling to give in just yet but then Chris is reaching up and tangling his fingers in his hair and Steve’s can’t hold back anymore. His arm wraps around Chris’ waist, tugging him close enough to feel the shape of his hips and the beat of his heart.
The kiss isn’t any less intense but it’s softer, the time apart has dulled the sharp and brittle edges that had caught and tripped them up. There’s no alcohol and nothing to use as an excuse. It’s just them and it’s better than either of them can remember. Chris can taste all of Steve, Steve can feel all of Chris including the loss of weight and the rough jaw line from days of not shaving, and suddenly he wants to hide Chris away and take care of him. It scares Chris, the way Steve feels about him but he’s not running away this time, instead he’s leaning into Steve’s strong arms and letting them ease every doubt in his mind that he’s not doing the right thing.
Chris only pulls away when air becomes an issue and he realises that no he can’t actually breathe Steve and Steve only. “It means I wanna try. For you.”
And God bless those words, Steve feels like every bit of tension he’s been carrying with him like a heavy weight is just melting away under Chris’ warmth and his familiar presence. “I’m not asking you to change. I fuckin’ love you just the way you are but you ever say what you did to me again? I’ll fuckin’ kill you.”
Chris’ eyes widen a little as the words ‘love you’ slip from Steve’s lips but he doesn’t allow himself to panic and just leans up to kiss Steve again, hoping it’s enough to tell the other man he feels the same and he might not know how to do the relationship thing but he wants to try. He just hopes and prays it’ll be enough - that he’ll be enough for Steve.
Epilogue to follow
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