Heaven Is A Place On Earth [StevexEddiexBilly]✔️

Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Young And Beautiful

"Have you ever tried to leave?" Steve asked one warm Saturday. They were laying in the grass, listening to the birds in the trees. The cabin was in a large field, surrounded by thick woods. A stream ran through the field, and that was where they got their water. Eddie had a little garden behind the cabin, and Billy was in the midst of building a second house near the first. Steve had helped him cut down a tree once, but they bickered the whole time, so he never asked again. "No. The woods are dark and difficult, and it's too easy to get lost." "You're telling me." Steve sat up. "The whole time you've been here, you've never tried to leave?" Eddie sighed, looking at his hands. "He did." He nodded his head towards Billy, who was working on chopping wood, and wasn't paying them any mind. "There's things out there, Steve. Monsters. Worse than I've ever heard of. He showed me the scars, all over his back and arms. He tried so many times, but they always got to him first, grabbing him and dragging him back here." He swallowed, and Steve looked at Billy with a new respect. "This may look like heaven, but it's not. It's hell."

After that conversation, Steve stopped seeing their little cabin as a home, and more like a really comfortable prison. He tried his best to accept that he would never leave, but he just couldn't believe that this was it. This was their eternity. It wasn't a bad future, he just had a deep longing for a purpose in his life. He grew restless, spending his days lounging around. It felt like he was waiting, but what he was waiting for never came. He soon lost track of time, falling into a peaceful routine. Every morning, he would wake up with the sun, then shower in the stream and bring a bucket of the water to boil so they could make their morning tea. Then he would wake Eddie up with a sweet kiss to the head. After that, he would help Eddie weed and plant in his garden, and pick apples in the orchard. They didn't have to eat, but they fed the apples to the herd of deer that often drank at the stream. Steve always wondered where the wildlife came from, given that the woods were full of monsters, but he appreciated the company. Then, after that, they would wake Billy up and help him chop firewood. Then they would work on the little house together, and when that was finished, they started working on building a fence around the cabin and garden, leaving an opening for the deer to travel through. Billy would never admit it, but he had a soft spot for the gentle creatures, and Steve sometimes saw him talking to them sweetly and stroking them when he thought no one was watching. When the sun began to set, they would head inside to have more tea and play board games and relax, eventually making their way to bed one by one, and then it would start all over again the next day. 

Though to some, this life may seem boring, Steve found a certain beauty in it all. He still longed for more, but he was grateful for what he had. Even though it was supposed to be hell, he was ok with this being his forever.

After they finished the fence, they built a water mill so they no longer had to collect water themselves, and Billy finished the second house and moved into it. Steve and Eddie didn't question this, knowing he preferred to spend his time alone. One day, a few summers after he arrived, Steve was planting a new tree when cold specks of snow began to fall, covering the earth in a light coating of white. The weather has been dropping recently, and the apples were becoming scarce, so he wasn't surprised. He finished planting the apple tree and walked towards the house, shivering. He stepped into the house. Shutting the door. The house was significantly warmer than outside, Eddie working hard to keep the fire going. "It's going to be a hard winter." The long-haired boy sighed, standing. "We've seen worse," Steve shrugged. "We'll just have to start collecting rainwater when the river freezes over." Steve sat on the couch, and Eddie curled into his lap, covering them with a blanket. "Also, It's almost Christmas." Steve grinned, kissing Eddie gently as they warmed themselves by the fire light.

A few days later, Steve noticed something strange. He never really looked in the mirror much, assuming nothing would change. Except today, he took a good look, and fear settled in his heart. He looked a lot older than he remembered. His jaw had become sharper, he had rough stubble on his chin, and his hair was much longer than it had ever been, even though he cut it often. His gangly limbs had filled out with muscle, and his hands were rough from all the hard work. He looked like a grown man, instead of the young one he had left behind. This scared him, because he had never considered that he could age in death. Sometime since he'd died he had turned 22, then 23, and now he was 24, but he looked much older then that. He hadn't noticed the other guys change much, but then again, he hadn't noticed it in himself either.

He walked into the living room, where Eddie was watching the snowfall out the window, sitting down on the couch. He stared into space, shaken by this new discovery. Eddie noticed, sitting beside him. "What's wrong Stevie?" "He asked quietly. "Even when we grow old, will you still love me?" He asked. "Oh, you figured it out. Of course I will love you. And we age differently here, slower." He reassured his lover. As Steve studied Eddie's face, he finally noticed the ways Eddie had changed too. His eyebrows were thicker, his hair was lighter brown then it used to be, and he had little wrinkles at the corners of his eyes when he smiled. But it didn't bother him, he loved him the same, and he felt relief knowing Eddie had probably gone through the same thing he was right now. Eddie pressed a gentle kiss to his forehead, and they went outside and played in the snow together, Billy eventually coming out and pelting them with snowballs. Billy had moments like this, when he would come out of his tough shell and laugh and joke with them, and both Eddie and Steve cherished these moments like gold. 

Have a great day :)