Keep Me In Your Dreams (Steddie)

I Wanna Be Your Backdoor Man (Whole Lotta Love-Led Zeppelin)

Monday night in Dayton, Steve stood outside Eddie's dressing room door and waited. It had been a lot easier to get backstage tonight because he knew the security guard that was blocking the way. He was the younger brother of a girl he'd briefly dated when he first moved to Indianapolis. She was the last girl he'd dated before he'd decided that he was miserable pretending to be something he wasn't. He'd told her the truth, that he was gay, and that he wished her nothing but the best. She had been extremely understanding about it and they parted ways affably. Since then, Steve had exclusively dated men.

Steve heard footsteps and looked up to see Eddie's bodyguard coming down the hall. He saw Steve and rolled his eyes. Steve just smiled and raised a hand in greeting. Vic shook his head and went into Eddie's dressing room. He left the door open so Steve stepped to the side to watch him as he examined the room, checking the beer and food to make sure everything Eddie needed was there. He then checked the bathroom and closet and when he was satisfied that no stalkers were hiding out, and that Eddie's stuff had all been delivered, he came back out and shut the door behind him.

"Does Eddie know you're here again," Vic asked.

"Probably not," Steve answered. "But he told me if I..." He paused. He didn't know how much Eddie told his bodyguard. "He gave me an assignment with the understanding that if I completed it, he'd let me see him again tonight."

"Uh-huh," Vic said skeptically. "I'll be bringing him back in a few minutes. One word from him and you're out of here. Capisce?"

"Understood," Steve answered.

He watched Vic walk away and a minute later the rest of Corroded Coffin came down the hall and went into the dressing room on the other side of Eddie's. They each smiled at him and said hi as they passed. They recognized him from school and Gareth and Grant just assumed he was a fan, possibly an old friend of Eddie's. But Jeff gave him a curious look. He'd seen Steve backstage at both of the other shows, though they hadn't spoken. And now here he was again, this time waiting at Eddie's dressing room door. Jeff didn't get that, but he knew Vic would protect Eddie and if Eddie didn't want to see Steve, he'd have Vic get rid of him.

Ten minutes later, Vic was coming back down the hall with Eddie next to and slightly ahead of him. Eddie had his head down, lighting a cigarette as he walked, and Vic leaned closer and said something to him. Eddie's head came up and his eyes met Steve's. For a split second he smiled, but then his face settled into something more neutral as Vic ushered him past Steve and into the dressing room. The door closed behind them and Steve just leaned against the wall and waited. Several more minutes passed and finally Vic emerged, pulled the door almost closed behind him, but not completely.

"He wants to know if you did what he asked," Vic said. "Whatever that's supposed to mean."

"I did," Steve said. "Can I go in?" Vic stepped to one side and pushed the door open so Steve could go in. Eddie was sitting on the couch, a beer in his hand, and he still had that disinterested look on his face. Steve heard the door close behind him and he waited for Eddie to say something.

"You're just not going to give up, are you," Eddie asked sarcastically.

"No," Steve answered. "I'm not."

"What do you want from me?" Eddie took a drink of his beer and reached for a joint that was on the table.

"I don't want anything from you," Steve answered as Eddie lit the joint. "Except for you to let me make you feel good."

"You've done that." Eddie held the joint out to Steve. Steve went and knelt by the couch, took the joint, and took a hit before handing it back to Eddie. "How many more blow jobs do you want to give me?"