"I think a lot of random things when I'm alone... and when I'm with you."
Eddie breathed for a moment, collecting his wild things inward.
"Like my mother."
Steve hummed.
"She's... well, I don't know who she is. I picture her through my uncle's stories."
Eddie licked his lips nervously again and rubbed at the back of his neck with one hand.
"She just sort of pops up sometimes, like just a few minutes ago even, and I don't know why. And... and I always think about death."
The last part of his sentence trailed off at a higher, thinner pitch.
Steve finally glanced over at him again.
"Eddie..."
Faded off.
He reached out and rested his hand lightly on Eddie's cheekbone.
The small touch sent a shiver of nerves across Eddie's skin, but he liked it.
"I'll be fine," he murmured reassuringly, both for Steve's sake and his own.
"Doesn't sound like fine to me," Steve responded and then he brushed his fingers up towards Eddie's forehead.
Eddie had to blink long before he could return the other boy's gaze again.
Meanwhile, Steve stayed watching him the whole time as he brushed a piece of hair away from Eddie's face.
He was propped up on an elbow while he did so, pretty much leaning over him.
Eventually it was too much.
Eddie broke eye contact and pulled his hands to his face, covering up his eyes and mouth and nose.
"I can't do or say anything when you're looking at me like that!" He exclaimed.
Destroyed sigh.
There were shivers all over his body.
Steve laughed quietly for a moment.
"How else would you have me look at you?" he asked eventually and Eddie peeked out from between his fingers to see the mischievous smile that glowed on his face.
"I'm not too tired to say shut up now, Harrington," he warned, but just as playful.
Steve flopped back down with a half laugh, his grin obvious even from out of the corner of Eddie's eye.
They lay for a minute in complete silence, with nothing but each other's breathing and the scrape of the branches outside.
"So... death?" Steve began again shortly.
He sounded unsure.
Eddie looked back up at the ceiling as he thought of something to say back.
"Yeah, death." That was all he had.
Steve elbowed him gently.
"That all?" he teased. "We are covering light topics here, aren't we?"
Eddie allowed his own laugher to spill out.
"The very lightest," he added.
They both chuckled, until eventually the amusement shrank and they stilled again.
Eddie felt like he needed to say something, so he kept on with the subject.
"I, um, feel comforted by death. It's like an escape route."
Steve immediately grabbed his hand, though neither of them looked at each other.
"Don't go early," he said, letting his words bounce off of the ceiling and back down to Eddie.
"I don't know how many promises I can keep, Steve."
Harrington fidgeted with his hand.
"There must be something that I can do to keep you from doing that."
Eddie felt a familiar, dizzy feeling beneath his ribs.
Before he knew what he was doing, he squeezed Steve's hand twice.
"Kiss me," he whispered hoarsely.
It felt, for a brief moment, like the blood and life in Harrington's hand froze.
Then the boy propped himself up onto his elbow again and stared down at Eddie.
He looked concerned.
Maybe tempted.
"Just once, not meaning anything," Eddie continued, allowing the desperation behind his voice to pull through.
Steve opened his mouth to say something, but before he could say anything related to a 'no', Eddie blundered on.
"Stevie..." he nervously licked his lips for the hundredth time. "Please."
His voice wavered.
Steve looked like he was about to die just from that.
Eddie carefully reached up and tugged him down by the front of his shirt.
"Please," he whispered again, this time by the boy's ear.
He let his breath trace carelessly from there across his jaw.
Steve bit his lower lip.
Then finally, he exhaled.
"You know I can't say no to you, so this isn't very fair."
"I don't really care," Eddie murmured and he pulled Steve down the rest of the way.