Chapter Text
Evan heard the telltale ring of the bell above the bar’s front door, marking the entrance of a new patron. He looked up from the drink he was pouring to see the most beautiful man he’d ever laid eyes upon.
He was tall, as tall as Evan himself, with dark hair and warm brown eyes, broad shoulders, and pretty, pink lips— looking maybe a year or two older than Evan, at most. His skin was glowing with a summer’s tan, emphasized by the dark blue button-up he wore and the small silver chain around his neck, and Evan could tell that his thighs were well-muscled by the way they flexed against his blue jeans with each step he took.
“Shit,” he swore under his breath, whipping his head down to the glass in his hand, realizing he’d overfilled it in his distraction. He flung his tequila-soaked hand out to the side, flicking off as much of the liquor as he could before handing the too-full glass to the regular he’d been serving. Looking over again, he saw the man sitting at the bar, alone, expression tense in a way he’d grown familiar with since he’d started bartending.
Sidling over to the man, Evan took a moment to collect himself in hopes that he wouldn’t embarrass himself again. The man met Evan’s gaze upon his approach, sending butterflies flitting around wildly in his stomach.
“Hi, what can I get you?” he asked coolly, raising his brows with a small smile.
“Jack and Coke?” the man replied, and Evan felt himself becoming more smitten by the second. His voice was low and velvety, soft with a hint of an accent, words dripping like honey.
“I.D.?” He silently pulled out his wallet, handing his I.D. over to Evan.
Edmundo Diaz. 21 years old.
Evan nodded wordlessly, handing the card back to him and serving him quickly before moving on to another customer at the opposite end of the bar, continuing to watch the man out of the corner of his eye.
He wanted to talk to him, strike up a conversation, but the bar was just full enough to keep him too busy to talk to any one customer for longer than a moment or two. Still, he watched him. The man sighed at least twice between each sip of his drink, brows furrowed, lost in thought. He waved Evan down occasionally for another drink, nodding his thanks each time.
Slowly, as the night wore on, all of his other customers began to head home, until only four remained. Gerald, the drunk old regular, slumped against the bar while he waited for his wife Marcy to pick him up— a couple making out drunkenly in the far corner of the room, having arrived separately but clearly planning on leaving together— and Edmundo, on his third drink, still frowning.
Evan was wiping down the bar with a rag, making his way over to the man in what he hoped appeared to be a casual manner.
“So,” he began conversationally, drawing the man’s attention, “You from around here? I don’t think I’ve seen you before.” Evan knew he hadn’t seen him before— he would’ve remembered.
“Close,” Edmundo replied, softly slurring, “Other side of El Paso.”
“What’s the occasion?”
He sighed. “I‘m being deployed in a few days.”
That shocked him a little. It wasn’t uncommon to get soldiers in the bar due to its proximity to the base, but they usually weren’t so young. He was curious as to why someone his age would enlist.
“Oh. Are you, like, super patriotic? Love America?” It was probably not the right response, but he couldn’t help asking.
Edmundo snorted. “Fuck, no,” he chuckled mirthlessly, “I only enlisted because I had to.” He blinked up at Evan, eyes slightly unfocused from the alcohol in his system. “I have a 3-year-old with a medical condition. Gotta support him.” And, oh, if that wasn’t sort of heartbreaking.
“I’m sorry,” Evan replied earnestly, “That sounds awful.”
“It is,” he sighed. “Leaving for my first tour killed me and now I’m doing it again. It’s hard to say goodbye.”
First tour? When did this guy enlist?
Evan frowned at the mental image of this man being sent to an active war zone straight out of high school, and somehow worse— the image of this man and a sick, little 3-year-old being torn apart by their circumstances.
“You said you don’t leave for a few days still,” he couldn’t resist prying. Call it his Bartender Spirit. “Why’d you say goodbye already?” His reaction made him feel slightly guilty for asking— his shoulders slumped, face falling and lips pouting sadly.
“I was supposed to leave tonight so I said goodbye this morning, but when I got to base they said there was a change of plans. Not leaving until Friday. They said we could go home for the five days or stay on base, but it was hard enough on him when I left this morning. My almost-ex-wife and I thought it was best we didn’t put him through that again.” He lifted his glass to his frowning lips, taking a long, slow sip.
Ex-Wife? At 21?
“Shit…” Evan muttered, and Edmundo shook his head to himself.
“Sorry for depressing you,” he chuckled. “You should pour yourself a drink.” He gestured clumsily to the bottles behind Evan.
He really wasn’t supposed to be drinking at work, but the bar was nearly empty, and closing time was sneaking up on them. His eyes swept across the room to Gerald’s sleeping form and the couple in the corner— fully engrossed in what seemed to be a competition for who could get their tongue further down the others’ throat.
Nodding, he poured himself a Jack and Coke to match Edmundo’s, holding the glass out to cheers him before taking a swig.
“‘M Eddie. What’s your name?”
Huh. Eddie.
“Evan.”
“Well, thanks for listening to me complain, Evan.” Eddie polished off his drink and gestured for Evan to pour him another, to which he obliged.
“What’s the old saying? Bartenders are just therapists with alcohol?”
Eddie chuckled, grabbing his new drink.
“Yeah, well, I think I’ve probably shared enough for this session,” he muttered to himself before changing the subject. “Tell me about you. Why are you a bartender?”
Evan downed the rest of his drink and began pouring himself another. “I started traveling when I dropped out of college a couple of years ago. Been all over the place, working odd jobs wherever I could find them. Bars are everywhere so learning to bartend worked out well for me,” he joked.
Eddie seemed more than content to listen to him wax on about his travels, taking in every word with rapt attention despite his drunken state, marveling at everything he’s done and interjecting with questions born from genuine curiosity.
In the blink of an eye, two hours had passed, and the only two people left in the bar were Eddie and Evan— the couple having slipped out at some point to get in an Uber and Marcy coming in to collect Gerald with an apologetic smile aimed Evan’s way. He only shook his head kindly and wished her a goodnight and safe drive home on her way out the door.
“Your life is like that movie— Eat, Pray, Love— but without the divorce or falling in love with Javier Bardem.” Eddie sipped from a near-empty glass. Evan lost track of exactly how many the man had by this point, having drunk more than a couple himself.
“I’ve never seen it,” he replied with a shrug, to which Eddie looked appalled.
“What— It’s a classic! ‘S not very good, but I’m a sucker for romance.” Evan’s eyes squeezed shut with a laugh, charmed as ever by the gorgeous, drunken man sitting at his bar. Of course, he was a cute drunk, and a romantic.
“Next you’re gonna tell me how much you love the Twilight series,” Evan teased with a grin, letting Eddie know he wasn’t actually making fun of him. Eddie’s expression settled into something stern, pointing a finger scoldingly at Evan.
“Those movies got a bad rap!” he started defensively and another laugh burst from Evan’s mouth. “Okay? My sisters made me watch them and they’re— Hey! Stop laughing!” His drunken demand only made Evan laugh harder, to which Eddie shook his head and grumbled to himself, though the corner of his mouth was pulled up in an unmistakable grin, eyes sparkling with amusement.
“Fine, see if I compliment you again,” Eddie said with faux indignation once Evan’s laughter subsided.
“What’re you talking about? I think I’d notice if you complimented me,” Evan jutted his chin out and ended off with a cheeky wink aimed at the other man.
“The Eat, Pray, Love thing,” Eddie borderline whined in response, eyes rolling, and Evan felt his heart warm fondly.
“That was a compliment?” His brows furrowed together, the alcohol making it a bit hard to remember exactly what Eddie had said about it. Eddie nodded emphatically.
“Yeah, it’s just— It’s amazing,” Eddie slurred, thoroughly intoxicated, “How much you’ve accomplished and seen. I’d never even left my hometown before enlisting.”
“Yeah, well, it’s not always as glamorous as it sounds,” Evan mused, swirling his drink around in its glass, ice clinking against the sides. “I’ve spent a lot of time living in my Jeep. ‘S not exactly sexy.”
Eddie hummed. “Sexier than a boring life where everything you know is contained to the city you were born in.”
Evan let his eyes trail over Eddie’s body appreciatively. “Pretty sexy from where I’m standing.” Eddie snorted, bringing a grin to Evan’s face.
“You keep doing that.”
“Doing what?”
“Looking at me like that, saying stuff. ‘S like you're flirting with me.” A silent giggle escaped Evan at his response.
“I am flirting with you,” he said lightheartedly, his tone making it clear that he thought it was obvious.
“Oh,” Eddie replied, looking confused. Evan couldn’t hold in his laugh, and soon enough Eddie was laughing, too. Evan thought he might be blushing, but it was hard to tell with the already rosy flush of alcohol in his cheeks.
From the corner of his eye, he spotted the clock on the wall showing that it was past closing time. He’d gotten carried away drinking and laughing with Eddie and hadn’t even noticed.
“Shit,” he muttered, seeing Eddie’s brows furrow in response.
“What?”
“I was supposed to close up an hour ago,” he groaned, Eddie’s eyes widening at his words.
“Fuck, I should’ve been back at base forever ago.” His head fell back, eyes squeezing shut. “I’m way too drunk for this.”
Evan chuckled as he raced around, drunkenly clearing up. “‘S okay, you can crash at my place. I live down the block.”
“Are you sure? I don’t wanna put you out or anything…” Eddie trailed off worriedly.
“‘S cool, I promise. We can walk there in like five minutes.” Evan passed him a bottle of water to sip on while he finished closing up.
Just a couple of minutes later, the two of them were walking out, Evan taking a little longer than usual to lock the door behind them as they left. They were both a little too drunk to walk straight, stumbling and swaying, leaning against each other for support and giggling at their own lack of balance and clumsy steps.
“See? ‘S right here!” Evan announced as they approached a small two-story building just down the street from the bar. The bottom floor was being rented out by someone Evan had never seen before, despite his weeks of living here, but the top floor was all his. The men carefully ascended the cement staircase to his front door, holding cautiously to the old, splitting wood of the stair rail to avoid tumbling down into the grass below.
Evan clumsily jammed his key into the lock and, after a couple of failed attempts, opened the door, stepping in and ceremoniously waving his arms around in a big welcome gesture to Eddie. He giggled at the near-performance Evan was putting on as he entered, and Evan watched as he took in the cozy feel of his small apartment.
There was a small entryway leading to a cluttered living room, most of the space taken up by a beaten-up floral couch that looked like it belonged in a grandmother’s house rather than that of a man in his early 20s, a similarly grandmotherly quilt thrown haphazardly over the back, across from which was a small wooden shelf holding up a little TV.
Attached to the living room was a cramped little kitchen, and a short hallway with one door— the bedroom. Situated between the living room and kitchen were tall, ornate, glass double doors leading to a small balcony.
The place was comfortably lived-in and undeniably charming, despite its size.
“So,” he said, leading Eddie further into the cluttered living room, “This is it. Home sweet home!”
“‘S nice,” Eddie replied sincerely. Evan smiled proudly, turning to face him.
“Thanks,” he said, blue eyes catching on Eddie’s gorgeous brown. He was somehow even more beautiful in the low, warm lighting of the apartment— tan skin glowing, the sharp planes of his face soft, and the shadows of his long, dark lashes fanning across his cheeks. “I— Uh,” he faltered, “Spare pillow, and, um—" He swallowed dryly, continuing weakly, “Blanket—" The air between them suddenly felt thick, requiring extra effort to breathe in fully, chest heavy.
Eddie’s eyes dropped to Evan’s lips for the briefest moment— if he blinked, he would’ve missed it— but that was all it took.
In an instant, they stepped into the space that had previously existed between them, Evan’s hands tangling in Eddie’s soft brown hair, Eddie pulling at Evan’s waist, lips slamming together in a long, hot press.
Evan pulled back just far enough to look into Eddie’s eyes, searching, breathing heavily into the small space between them, asking silently if he wanted to continue.
After a pause, Eddie quickly lifted a hand from Evan’s waist to cup his cheek, pulling him into another kiss— deeper than the last, more heated. Evan swiped his tongue across Eddie’s bottom lip, wasting no time to lick into his mouth when the man gasped silently, sighing as Evan’s tongue traced along his own.
Evan giggled into his mouth at the response, drawing a similar giggle from Eddie with it, and Evan began walking them clumsily through the apartment, down the hall to his bedroom door. He reached a hand out, blindly fumbling for the doorknob, only managing to find it when Eddie pulled away to press hot, open-mouthed kisses down the long line of Evan’s throat.
He pushed the door open quickly, pulling Eddie inside, leading them over to the bed as his lips found Eddie’s once more, kissing him messily, spit collecting at the corners of their mouths, breathing raggedly.
Evan fought with the buttons on Eddie’s shirt, trying to get them undone as quickly as he could, getting frustrated and ripping the shirt open about halfway through, sliding it off of Eddie’s shoulders where it fell to the floor.
As much as he wanted to take a moment to just feel Eddie’s shoulders and chest, he needed the both of them to be fully undressed— now. He grabbed at the bottom of his t-shirt, breaking their kiss to pull it up and over his head before immediately reattaching their lips. His hands ran over Eddie’s shoulders and down his hard chest, his stomach, finding the waistband of his jeans and popping the button on them, hearing him inhale sharply at the motion.
Evan grinned smugly into the kiss, satisfied to know the effect he was having on such a gorgeous man. Eddie’s hands pulled at Evan’s shoulders, tangling in his hair, softly moaning into his mouth as he slid the zipper down on Eddie’s jeans. He pushed them down with his boxers, just far enough to uncover his hard cock, grinning as he felt Eddie shudder against him. Evan pulled away, spitting into his open palm and reaching down to wrap his hand around Eddie, stroking him slowly. Eddie’s head fell forward against his shoulder, panting.
Evan tilted his own head down, lips close to Eddie’s ear, asking lowly, “You wanna fuck me?”
Eddie’s hips jolted forward, thrusting into Evan’s hand as he lifted his chin to catch his gaze. Eddie’s eyes were blown wide, black pupils almost entirely obscuring the warm brown of his irises. He nodded frantically, eyes dropping to Evan’s lips and flicking back up to his eyes.
“God, yes.”
Evan slammed their lips together again, releasing his hold on Eddie to undo the button and zipper of his jeans, undressing quickly as Eddie finished stripping off his own clothes. He tore open the top drawer of his nightstand and scrambled for a bottle of lube, not bothering to close it again in his frenzy. Evan grabbed Eddie by the waist and latched his mouth onto his neck, licking, nipping, and sucking as he gently pushed Eddie back onto the bed, straddling his lap, moaning into his mouth at the dirty press of their cocks.
“Fuck, Evan,” Eddie panted, cut off when Evan pulled him into another frantic kiss. The idea of Eddie’s long fingers pressing into him made Evan feel dizzy, but he didn’t have the patience for that right now.
Knowing he could stretch himself out faster than someone who was unfamiliar with his body, he popped open the bottle of lube and squeezed some out onto his fingers, reaching back to spread the fluid across his hole, circling the rim and slowly pushing two fingers inside with a groan.
He pumped his fingers slowly inside himself, scissoring and speeding up once he began to relax. Eddie pulled away, a long string of spit connecting them by the mouths, and looked up at Evan with wide eyes. His gaze trailed down Evan’s body, then back up to his face, swallowing roughly.
“Are you fingering yourself?” he asked breathlessly, and Evan nodded with a soft moan. “Fuck,” he mumbled, reaching out and yanking Evan back down into another messy kiss, rolling his hips up, cock sliding roughly against Evan’s.
Evan added a third finger, quickly losing any remaining semblance of patience, desperate to have Eddie inside of him. He pumped his fingers roughly, hips jerking forward against Eddie, moaning into his mouth.
As soon as the initial burn of the stretch wore off, he pulled his fingers out, squeezing more lube into his palm and wrapping his hand around Eddie. He hissed at the contact, thrusting up into Evan’s hand as he stroked him, spreading lube over his cock.
“You clean?” Evan muttered against Eddie’s lips, the question somehow emerging from the depths of his drunken mind.
“What?” Eddie asked breathlessly.
“Clean— Are you clean?” He repeated himself, slowing his movement to make sure Eddie could pay attention.
“Oh. Yeah.” Evan grinned, thanking whatever God allowed him to fuck this man raw. He wondered briefly if that was blasphemous but decided he really didn’t care. If God was real, surely, he would understand.
He sat up on his knees, guiding the head of Eddie’s cock to his hole, and began slowly sinking down on him.
“Fuck,” Eddie swore breathlessly, gripping Evan’s hips bruisingly, eyes locked onto his. Evan’s eyes fluttered shut, whining as he sunk down fully, feeling almost light-headed with how full he was, how delicious the stretch felt.
Eddie was just so big.
He rolled his hips experimentally, Eddie’s own hips jerking upward in response, both men groaning at the sensation. Evan began to roll them faster, lifting halfway off Eddie’s cock and sinking back down again, head falling back in pleasure. Eddie was thrusting up to meet his movements, hands still holding painfully tight to his hips.
Eddie grabbed him by the back of the neck, pulling him down for a kiss, their wild movement preventing them from being able to fully press their lips together for more than a moment at a time, panting into each other's open mouths.
Evan sped up, angling his hips slightly, his cock trapped between their bodies and leaking generously. The new angle had Eddie’s cock dragging over his prostate with each sharp thrust, shocks of pleasure shooting up his spine, head thrown back as he moaned and whined loudly into the room.
“Fuck, Eddie— Eddie, Eddie, Eddie,” he whined, voice pitched high as pleasure quickly built inside him, the coil just below his stomach tightening dangerously.
Eddie wrapped an arm around Evan’s waist, pulling their bodies flush together, wrapping his lips around one of Evan’s nipples and sucking hard, licking and grazing his teeth over the bud.
Evan was no stranger to hook-ups, having more than his fair share in his years of traveling, but they came by less often since he arrived in El Paso. Most of the customers he served at the bar were older, more conservative. It had been weeks since he’d invited someone to his place, and much longer since the last time he hooked up with another man– especially one who was so enthusiastic.
He dug his fingernails into Eddie’s shoulders, trembling as he bounced on his cock, feeling Eddie snapping his hips up wildly against him.
The tight pressure around his cock combined with the unrelenting strokes over his prostate and the almost-too-much attention being focused on his sensitive chest had Evan quickly approaching his peak.
Eddie’s thrusts grew erratic.
“Please, p- please — Eddie— Fuck,” he whimpered, “‘M so close. Come inside me— Fuck — Come inside me.” Eddie pulled Evan down against him with a broken-off moan, body tensing as he came, cock buried almost painfully deep inside of him. Evan shuddered, coming untouched, keening, eyes rolling back, cum shooting up onto his stomach and Eddie’s chest.
His head dropped to Eddie’s shoulder, shaking in the aftermath of his orgasm, panting. He felt Eddie’s arm loosen around his waist, both hands coming to rest instead on his shaking thighs, massaging them gently. He lifted his head from Eddie’s shoulder, grabbing him by the back of the neck, and pulling him into a lazy kiss.
“That was amazing,” Eddie muttered against his lips, and Evan smiled, humming.
“Yeah, it was,” he laughed breathlessly. “We should get cleaned up, get some sleep.”
Eddie nodded, and Evan leaned unsteadily to the side, pulling off his cock and whining at the momentary overstimulation. He reached over the side of the bed and grabbed his discarded shirt, using it to wipe his cum off Eddie’s chest and his own stomach before dragging it between his legs. He threw the shirt across the room haphazardly, collapsing onto his back.
Eddie settled in next to him, the two curling into each other with tangled arms and legs, pressing a couple of sleepy kisses to each other’s lips.
“G’night.” Evan smiled with closed eyes, already feeling sleep pulling at him.
“Goodnight,” Eddie mumbled back, sighing happily.
Within moments, they were falling into a dreamless sleep, completely unaware of what the days ahead would bring.