The Dark End of the Street
By Crystal Moore
Rating: NC-17, Eddie/Cade
Category: PWP, first time
Warnings: Explicit m/m hot stuff. Look out!
Summary: Cade gets a little too cute on the phone...
Big, BIG thanks to Tiriel for the idea, the exhaustive beta, the pics, the encouragement, and, well, writing all that awesome fic in the first place. You rock!
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The Dark End of the Street
by Crystal Moore
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Cade smiled nervously at the waitress. She had been eyeing him like she thought he was today's special ever since he'd come into the diner, and he was pretty sure she was deliberately delaying his order. He shifted uncomfortably on his stool. Usually when people watched him so closely he was worried that they might be matching him up with the most wanted list; after all, "I just have one of those faces" wasn't going to work forever. He could see where this one was coming from a mile away, though - it was as obvious as the smeary pink lipstick she wore.
*Dammit,* Cade thought. *Why'd I let Eddie talk me into getting breakfast today? I hate getting the once-over from lonely waitresses.*
Today's lonely waitress sashayed over to the counter where Cade sat, snapping her gum in what she seemed to think was a terribly cute way. "I'm sorry it's taking so long to get your breakfast together, hon." She leaned in closer, lowering her voice and displaying a nearly terrifying amount of cleavage. "You know how it is - new help and all." Pleased with the shared confidence, she batted her eyes and smiled coyly. "So, are you new in town? I don't think I've seen you around before..."
Cade was grasping for something noncommittal to reply with when his phone rang. Struck with sudden inspiration, he grinned triumphantly at the waitress. "Oh, that's probably my girlfriend - I'm sure she's wondering what's taking so long." Fumbling, he thumbed the phone on and crooned, "Hi honey... I was just thinking of you..."
There was a long pause at the other end before Eddie replied. "Yeah, hello to you too, darling. Where the hell is breakfast?"
Cade smiled broadly. "Aww... I miss you too. Don't worry, I'll be home soon."
"...Foster? You feeling okay?"
Cade went blithely on, smiling innocuously at the waitress as if he were sharing a confidence of his own with her. "Yes, I know, dear - every moment _does_ seem like forever - but I'll be back with breakfast soon, and then I'm gonna cover you with kisses." At this, the waitress visibly lost interest and left the counter, going to the kitchen. Cade breathed a sigh of relief to himself, tuning in to Eddie just in time to catch the last of what he was saying.
"...just bet you are, Foster. Did someone slip you a mickey?"
Before Cade could explain, he saw the waitress coming back toward him with his order. He blurted "Love you, honey - be back soon!" and hung up.
Back at the trailer, Eddie shook his head slowly and hung up the phone.
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One interminable drive later, Cade had finally returned with breakfast. Standing at the door of the trailer, hands full of carryout containers, he kicked the door rhythmically and waited for Eddie to open it. *Jesus, is he in the shower or what?* Cade kicked the door again, shouting, "Eddie! Open the door!" When that produced no response, he sighed and carefully balanced the containers on one arm long enough to grab the handle and yank the door open. Redistributing his load before he could drop it, he nudged the door open the rest of the way with his elbow and strode in. He stopped short, seeing Eddie sitting at his computer. Cade shook his head and walked to the table and spread the containers out. He turned to tell Eddie breakfast was served, but Eddie started speaking before he could, never lifting his eyes from the glowing monitor.
"Where are my kisses, Foster?"
"Your... kisses?" Cade queried, having already forgotten the phone call.
"My kisses," Eddie repeated, rising from the desk. "The ones you're gonna cover me with, remember? Honey?" he said, with exaggerated emphasis.
Cade chuckled weakly. "Oh yeah... Listen, the waitress was making eyes at me - I was just trying to discourage her. I wasn't serious."
Eddie crossed the trailer, coming to stand in front of Cade. "I was." With a silky smile, he slid his hand along the back of Cade's neck, up into his hair. As their eyes locked, his smile faltered. Eddie took a deep breath and closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, Cade saw a renewed resolve there. Eddie tilted his head, and gently pressed their mouths together.
Cade started, his head jerking back. Eddie, insistent, gently guided it back into place and deepened the kiss. As Eddie's tongue brushed against his, something in Cade's mind and body let go with a small twinge. He wrapped his arms around Eddie's waist and began to kiss back, his eyes sliding shut.
As Cade lost himself in the play of tongue on tongue, a soothing fog washed over his mind. The stress of the last few harried months finally began to slip away. He tightened his grip on Eddie's waist and felt his friend's mouth curve into a smile. Eddie slid his other hand up under Cade's shirt and began to stroke his back. Shivering at the touch, Cade moved forward until he had Eddie backed up against the table and broke off the kiss. Breathing hard, the men pressed their foreheads together and gazed into each other's eyes. Eddie sighed softly, grinning like an idiot.
Cade smiled. "What?"
Eddie chuckled weakly. "My brain just caught up, Foster - I was still on five minutes ago, waiting for you to deck me."
"Don't be silly," Cade replied with a sly smile. "After all, a promise... is a promise."
Cade reached up with one hand and gently turned Eddie's head to the side. With one fingertip, he traced the tiny folds of Eddie's ear. As he followed the path his finger had taken with his tongue, Cade felt Eddie tremble against him and go limp, leaning on the table for support.
"Oh god, Cade..." he muttered, his hands clutching the edge of the table. Cade shifted one arm behind Eddie to support him and trailed kisses down to his long, pale neck. "Finally... you don't know how long I've wanted this..." Eddie brought his hands up to Cade's shoulders and kissed him feverishly, savoring the touch.
Cade ran his hands up through Eddie's hair, tangling his fingers in the short, dark curls. Smiling gently against Eddie's mouth, he murmured, "Me too... I was afraid to say anything - didn't want you to freak out on me."
Eddie laughed. "C'mon, Cade - am I the type of guy that freaks out?"
Cade snorted. Eyes dancing with laughter, they embraced. It seemed like the purest gift, finding a feeling like this in the midst of the danger of their lives. Cade squeezed Eddie a little more tightly, suddenly determined to enjoy this gift for all it was worth. He slid a hand down to Eddie's collar and, with a wicked smile, undid the first and second buttons. Sliding his fingers inside the opened neckline, he teased the sensitive skin there, reveling in the look on Eddie's face. Bending to Eddie's neck, he nibbled the flesh there as his nimble fingers undid the rest of the buttons, and pushed Eddie's shirt off his shoulders. Eddie tugged at the hem of Cade's t-shirt, nudging him back far enough to pull it off over his head.
They embraced again, gasping at the feeling of flesh on flesh. Eddie melted into Cade's arms, nestling his head on Cade's shoulder.
"I've wanted to tell you for so long, Cade," he murmured. "It was living hell, all the times you nearly didn't make it back, and my mind would scream, 'Now, tell him now, this could be your last chance!' And then you'd make it back and I'd chicken out again."
Cade made a small, incoherent sound and squeezed Eddie tighter.
"But the way you were talking on the phone... I knew you weren't serious, but it hit me - what if it could be like that? What if maybe, just maybe, you felt something for me too and never said anything, and one of us bit the big one in the next go-round with the Gua without ever knowing? I had to suck up all my nerve and say it once, just once..."
Eddie lifted his head and looked into Cade's eyes. He took a deep breath. "I love you, Cade." Having finally said it, he shut his eyes tight and waited for the world to end.
Cade gazed at Eddie, saying nothing. Eddie hesitantly opened first one eye and then the other, peering out at his friend.
Cade smiled softly. "I love you, too."
Eddie let out the breath he'd been holding in a huge sigh and kissed Cade again. "Buddy, you don't know how glad I am to hear that."
"I'm glad to hear it from you," Cade said. "You don't know how long I've been thinking about this, trying to figure out if you'd feel the same way, or scream like a girl and jump out the window."
Eddie gasped in mock offense. "Foster! I do not scream like a girl!"
Cade smiled teasingly.
Laughing, Eddie amended, "Well, maybe a little bit. But not much."
Cade chuckled. "Yeah, that's what I thought." His eyes suddenly turned serious. "Listen, Eddie... There's another reason I didn't say anything."
Eddie stopped smiling. "What?"
"We do dangerous stuff, and it's important that we're focused on it, right? In the first place, what if I get in trouble and you put yourself in greater danger because of this? Or you could end up like Hannah - dead because I love you..." Cade trailed off and dropped his head.
"Foster, that's just bullshit. We put our necks on the line for each other nearly every damn day, don't we? This isn't a business arrangement, you know. Even before - " Eddie waved his hand at both of them " - this, we were friends, right? And we both know how important this fight is - we're not gonna fuck it up."
Cade frowned. "Eddie, you can't know that. And you're right about the mission, I hadn't even thought it out that far - this fight, this goddamn _crusade_, is bigger than either of us. How can we _really_ know that having this won't destroy that?"
"Dammit, Foster! How can you _really_ know that a plane isn't gonna fall out of the sky right now and turn us into tater tots?" He pushed past Cade and stood with his back to him. His voice caught as he went on.
"We're always gonna be hiding in shadows where we don't belong - livin' a real secret agent man kind of life, y'know? Worst case scenario - they're gonna find us someday and bam! that's the end. I don't want to die thinking about what could have been. Maybe it's selfish, wanting something just for me in the midst of all this saving-humanity-and-kicking-evil-alien-butt, but I don't care." He chuckled a little bitterly. "Hell, like I could possibly worry any more, care any more. I lay my life on the line for you big time."
Eddie turned back towards Cade, his arms folded and standing tears in his eyes. "I've been living at the dark end of the street for so long. You're the one thing that makes me think there's a reason for it, this underground life. It's your life, too, now - are you gonna hide from me as well?"
Cade watched a single tear trickle from the corner of Eddie's eye and glide down his cheek. He listened to the voice in his head that was screaming half a dozen different things about risk, duty, and fear. Weighing that voice carefully against Eddie's, he realized which one he liked the sound of more. Cade understood then that no matter how much he rationalized things, this was a feeling that wasn't going to go away for the sake of the mission. Eddie was right - there was pain in this hidden life, this living at the dark end of the street, no matter how he looked at it. If taking this chance changed the shape of things to come, so be it - Eddie was the best thing by far to come out of this whole mess, and what would he say about this? "If you've got a good thing, go with it..." he whispered.
"What?" Eddie asked, a note of hope in his voice.
Cade caught Eddie's chin in his hand and looked into his eyes. "No more hiding," he murmured. "Not from you." His eyes misting up as well, he kissed Eddie.
When they stopped to breathe, Eddie wrapped his arms around Cade with a sigh. "It'll be all right. I'm sure I'm already on the Gua hit list - It doesn't get any more dangerous from here." He pulled back a little and smiled. "Absolutely nothing to worry about," he said reassuringly, but a glimmer of disquiet in his eyes belied the light tone of his voice.
Cade squeezed him tight. "Well, if _you_ say there's nothing to worry about..."
Eddie shrugged. "Hey, you're the reckless one around here..."
A devilish glint entered Cade's eyes. "I'll show you reckless!" He draped an arm over Eddie's shoulder, and then in one quick movement scooped him up, turned, and tossed him on the bed. Before Eddie could move, Cade had pounced astride him, pinning his arms above his head.
"How's that for reckless?" Cade asked with a grin, grinding his erection against Eddie's crotch.
Eddie gasped, then looked at him challengingly. "Is that the best a big, bad alien hunter like you can come up with?"
Cade raised an eyebrow. "Hmm... sounds like a dare to me." Holding Eddie's arms with one hand, Cade deftly undid Eddie's slacks with the other and eased them down off his hips. He brought his hand back up to Eddie's cheek, then bowed his head to kiss him sweetly. As he traced the outline of Eddie's lips with his tongue, he skimmed his hand down Eddie's chest, barely touching the smooth, pale skin. It came to rest on Eddie's cock and he gave it a firm squeeze. Eddie's eyes flew open in shock, and a low moan slipped out of his mouth.
Leaving off kissing him, Cade began nibbling his way down Eddie's chest, sliding between Eddie's legs as he paused to toy with each nipple. As he sucked at the firm peaks of flesh, Cade felt Eddie's cock jump beneath him. Cade moaned himself, and began to kiss Eddie's stomach.
Cade knelt and pulled off Eddie's slacks and shorts, easing them off over his bare feet. He flashed a sly grin and undid his own pants, pushing them slowly down while Eddie stared. He stood up long enough to strip, then got back on the bed. As he resettled himself between Eddie's legs, he looked up at him a little apprehensively.
"Eddie... I've never done this before..."
Eddie frowned, a concerned look on his face. "You don't have to, Cade. I mean, it would be really great and all if you did, but I don't want you to if you're not ready..."
Cade smiled, a little shyly. "No, I _want_ to. Just... bear with me."
"Don't worry. I think I saw a quatrain the other day about the twice-blessed man giving great head."
Laughing, Cade slapped Eddie on the hip. "Oh yeah? And did this quatrain happen to say anything about the paranoid genius coming so hard he passes out?"
Eddie swallowed hard and seemed to cast about for a snappy comeback, but before he could formulate one Cade snaked his tongue out and licked slowly up the side of his erection. All Eddie replied with was a strangled gasp.
Cade took the head in his mouth and swirled his tongue around it, probing gently at the slit. He tasted the salty fluid that was leaking slowly out, and decided this wasn't really such a different thing after all, making love to a man. Just different territory to cover - which reminded him...
He grasped Eddie's balls and rolled them in his hand as he continued to nibble his way around Eddie's cock. Eddie had been clutching the blanket beneath him convulsively for some time, and when Cade decided to see just how much of Eddie's erection he could fit in his mouth, he started tossing his head from side to side as well.
"Oh Jesus, Cade - fuck me. Please fuck me!"
Cade looked up in shock. "Have you done that before?"
Eddie took a deep breath and spoke, his voice strained. "Yeah, a few times. You have to kind of stretch me a little first." He glanced about. "There - there's lotion on the table. Use that."
Cade reached back and grabbed the lotion, looking from it to Eddie a little dubiously. "Okay..."
Eddie smiled. "It'll be all right. Just go slow."
Cade squirted some of the lotion onto his fingers, gave Eddie a searching look, then reached down and probed gently at Eddie's opening with one finger. He prodded hesitantly at the tight ring of muscle, encouraged when Eddie groaned and pushed against his hand. Soon Cade was stroking one finger in and out of the narrow passage, then two. When he got up to three, Eddie hissed, "Now!"
Lubing up his own erection, Cade kneeled between Eddie's legs and pushed himself slowly in. He concentrated on moving slowly, and looked up at Eddie's face once he was fully sheathed. Eddie was panting, his head thrown back so far that the muscles of his neck stood out in stark relief.
"Eddie? Are you okay? Do you need me to stop?"
The anxiety in Cade's voice seemed to pierce Eddie's haze. "No, no, it's great. Don't stop. God, don't stop."
Cade eased back as slowly as he had entered, drawing a small whine of disappointment from Eddie that was cut off when he pushed back in. He began a slow rhythm, determined to do this as well as he could, terrified of hurting the man beneath him. When Eddie began to push back against him eagerly, however, he got the message and started moving faster.
Eddie moaned softly at first, then with a steadily increasing volume as Cade buried his head in Eddie's shoulder and gave in to his body's urge to go even faster. Wrapping his arms around Cade's back, Eddie began to match his tempo, their bodies coming together harder and harder.
Cade's movements grew erratic, and just as he thought he couldn't last any longer, Eddie arched his back and came. The contractions triggered Cade's own orgasm. He thrust a few more times before dropping onto Eddie's chest, exhausted. Cade rolled to the side, pulling Eddie with him, and they held each other as the sweat cooled and the tingling died down.
Cade sighed contentedly, gazing at Eddie. Eddie looked back at him with suddenly serious eyes.
"You know, that was really fantastic, Cade. But..."
"But?"
Eddie grinned. "Well, I didn't pass out."
Cade laughed. "Just you wait."
(the end)
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Hit me with your best shot.