bad days are meant to be shared - st fic
Written for Day 10 of @steddieangstyaugust - prompt: "Where were you?" - word count: 3.7k - cw: some cussing, mentions of nausea but no vomiting (Steve Harrington centric, but Eddie saves the day)
enjoy! š
Working at Family Video isĀ fine.Ā It really is. It can be mindless but Steve doesnāt mind it, or at least he doesnāt mind when he wakes up feeling refreshed. Instead he got to wake up feeling groggy, a heaviness settling in his head that he knows can turn into a migraine if he isnāt careful. His heartbeat is already pulsing through his body but he figures the medicine he took this morning with his coffee should hold off the worst of it until Robin comes in. Sheāll be able to talk to the customers and he can just focus on restocking the shelves andĀ rewinding tapes. Heās just got to make it until 2. Only one hour to go until she walks in and so far itās been pretty quiet for a Friday. Only one more hour and then he wonāt have to answer the phone when it rings or-
Speaking of the phone, it starts to ring and he sighs. He wishes he didnāt have to answer, but would rather answer than listen to it continue to ring ā acting likeĀ an ice pick to his brain.
āThank you for calling Family Video, how can I help you?āĀ
āSteve! Hey!ā Robinās out of breath on the other end of the line and Steve canĀ pictureĀ her wrestling jeans on whileĀ talkingĀ on the phone. āCan you do me a huuuuge favor? Can youĀ please pleaseĀ cover for me today? Chrissy invited me out to the lake for a picnic!ā
He knows heās going to regret it, especially with how his head already feels, but he also knows sheās covered for him before. Plus, heās been dying to tell herĀ āI told you soāĀ about the whole Chrissy Situation (TM), since Robin refuses to believe the other girl likes her. Steveās seen cheerleaders flirt, he knows what it means that Chrissy always finds a way to touch Robin in some way. Examples include bumping shoulders while they walk all the way to brushing Robinās hair behind her ears ā Steve swears sheās hopeless. The girl can figure out Russian in no time, but a girl flirting with her? Might as well be the nuclear codes. Though he thinks Robin could figure that out faster.
āYeah, Robs. āCourse I can.ā His voice comes out more gruff than he intended, but the light from the front window is just hitting his eyes worse than it was before. The echo of his pounding heartbeat intensifies. Thereās a small pause on the other end of the phone, damn Robin and her ability to read him. āSomeoneās about to walk in ā talk later?āĀ
āSure, but Ste-āĀ He hangs up. No oneās walking up to the store but Steve stands behind the register for a moment regardless. He crosses his arms on the counter in front of him and leans against themĀ for a couple breaths.Ā Now heās got four hours to go before he can leave and no one to cover for him if this headache does become a migraine.Ā Hopefully Hawkins will decideĀ to goĀ to the actual movie theater in town rather than coming in for a rental.Ā FourĀ hours until he getsĀ to goĀ home. Where he planned on cooking dinner for Eddie tonight,Ā shit.Ā His head throbs at the idea.Ā No, itāll be fine.Ā Heāll make it through his shift, make dinner for Eddie, call Robin to ask about her date, clean up dinner, and then go to bed. Imagining his and Eddieās bed, soft sheets and fluffy pillows gives him some hope; imagining Eddieās arms around him when he falls asleep brings a small smile to his face.Ā
The bell attached to the front door rings and he sighs before standing straight, his customer service smile already painted on his face when he realizes itās Dustin thatās walked through the door. As always, his curls are wild under his cap, and heās wearing his green āCamp Know Whereā shirt.Ā
āSteve! Get this! So was messing around withĀ my momāsĀ radioĀ to see what parts I could use toĀ make my own phonographĀ -ā And the pulsing is back. Steve knows as long as he keeps on nodding every so often and places a couple āoh really?ās in there Dustin will carry this whole conversation on his own.Ā Dustinās momĀ is a saint, but Steve knows that sometimes her suggestions for āDustyā to get some air is to give her some time alone in the house. Which usually leads him to wherever Steve is or the rest of the Party ā Steve seems to be the lucky winner today.
A family makes their way into the store,Ā Mrs. Dawson and her two boys. Steve doesnāt remember their names but he eyes them as they race off to the cartoon section of the shelves. Mrs. Dawson sets down a couple movies in front of him on the counter, a grimace on her face. Her lipstick is a bright pink that almost hurts to look at.Ā
āLet me just pull up your account to get this squared away. Did you need help finding anything today?ā His voice sounds plastic even to him, and distantly he can hear Dustin still talking about the pieces of the camcorder.Ā What the hell is a beam splitter?Ā Anyway ā Amelia Dawsonās record shows the two movies on the counter, sheās turning them in on the last day before late fees but thatās fine. He checks that sheās returned them and goes to grab the cases (Robin HoodĀ andĀ Peteās DragonĀ smile up at him from their plastic covers); now that he has his hands on them ā are very sticky. Like dipped in caramel sticky. Luckily Mrs. Dawsonās attention is back on her boys who have decided to try and play tag in the aisles, uncaring of their elbows catching on movies at the end of shelves and leaving them to clatter on the floor. Steve fights a gag at the feeling and scoots the movies to the side of the counter, he can rewind them later.Ā
āSo as I was saying,Ā now I just have to get a couple of parts from Radio Shack and I should be able to record my own waves and see what they look like. If I can do that, then-ā Steve tunes him out again, nodding along like he has any idea about what Dustin is talking about.Ā Why does he need to see how words sound?
āBoys, come on now, we donāt want to keep daddy waiting ā letās go. Time for a late lunch.ā Luckily, the twins āĀ who he finally remembers areĀ Michael and Matthew ā take off towards the door at their momās words. Pushing at each other to see whoās going to get there first. The cardboard cut out for the month, Sigourney Weaverās character from Aliens, falls to the floor in their wake but at least the store is noticeably quieter without them. Dustin asks to use the bathroom and Steve just nods as he rounds the counter. The movies that fell earlier get placed on the shelf and he makes a mental note to move them to the right places before he leaves today.Ā Heās standing the cutout back up when he gets hit with a wave of nausea. He closes his eyes and slowly inhales, knows if he pukes now the rest of his shift will be absolute hell. With his eyes closed itās a lot easier to hone in on the sounds of the fluorescent lights. Normally itās a gentle buzz in the background, but today the lights seem to be doing their best impression of a drum line that just wonāt quit. The nausea lessens and Steve glances at his watch.Ā JustĀ three hoursĀ left to go.
~
āSteve, what do you think?ā Hazel eyes blink and Dustin comes into focus again, his eyes expectant. Steve knows heās waiting for an answer to something but he genuinely has no idea what was just asked of him.Ā Dustinās eyebrows furrow slightly as the silence continues. Steveās head is still throbbing and he can feel his heartbeat all the way down to his fingers.Ā
āWhat did you say?āĀ
Dustin huffs, rolling his eyes before repeating(?) his question. āIĀ said, do you think that we can record the sound of silence as a sound wave? Because when itās quiet your ears can make that ringing noise, do you think itās quantifiable? And if it is, do you think thereās some kind of link to that sound to the part of the ear thatĀ is affected by deafness?ā
Steve knows all of those words individually, but thinking of them in a sequence that makes sense to him right now is not happening. He even knows what Dustin means by the ringing noise, but he didnāt realize other people heard that too ā thought that was just a him thing. Dustin must be able to tell he doesnāt have an answer because he crosses his arms.Ā
āDo you even listen to me when Iām talking?ā Steve shouldnāt, especially with how riled up Dustin already appears to be, but he tunes him out again. ChoosingĀ insteadĀ to focus on the man walking through the door behind his friend.Ā
āWelcome to Family Video!āĀ
Distantly Steve wonders if Robin and Chrissy are having a good time at the lake, itās been a sunny day.Ā Probably hot enough to swim honestly.Ā He feels bad for thinking it, but he hopes that Eddieās bandmates are gone by the time he gets home. Normally heād be fine with them at the apartment since they help bring out the best in Eddie, but he knows that they can also get pretty loud, especially if theyāre messing with their instruments. He still needs to reorganize the shelves and rewind a couple films before the end of his shift. The thought of dinner makes his stomach turn and he wishes he could just go to bed once he gets home. But tonightās his turn to cook, him and Eddie switching off days to make sure no oneās cooking all of the time.Ā
āExcuse me?ā A hand snaps in front of his face, bringing his attention to Mr. Jamesonās annoyed face. āCan you check me out or not? I donāt see anyone else here.ā His words bite and Steve silently nods. Glancing at the title before looking up his name in the system. The screen is blurry and all the words look like one long dark line across the screen.Ā
āSorry, sir. Your total is-ā before Steve could finish a five dollar bill was placed on the counter. āOkay, your change is $3.50. Here you-ā
āNo, you owe me four dollars back. Not $3.50. This is why I normally have that girl check me out. Youād think youād know how much to charge by now.āĀ
āNo sir, itās 50 cents per day, and typical rental time is three days. So thatās $1.50 which makes your change $3.50.ā The change sits in Steveās hand, two quarters pinched between his index finger and thumb. Mr. Jameson stares him down, eyes filled with anger, and Steveās over it. Whatever, heās got 5o cents in his car that he can put in the drawer to make it balanced later. He pops open the drawer and pulls out another dollar, dropping the quarters back into their slot. Four dollar bills are snatched from his hand and Mr. Jameson grunts before stomping out the door.Ā
āSteve? What the hell? Youāre just going to let him talk to you like that?ā Dustinās voice is shrill when he talks, getting higher near the end, and Steve justĀ breaks.
āPleaseĀ shut up.āĀ Dustinās mouth closes with a snap, a look of hurt on his face. Steve wants to say more, explain that having his eyes opensĀ hurtsĀ and that he canāt be bothered with customers who donāt know how to be decent; canāt be bothered with remembering what parts of the radio and camcorder and VCR player Dustin took apart for his personal project. He wants to explain that he really needs to put a cold compress on his head and lay down in the pitch black silence of his room for a few hours to be human again.Ā
None of this makes its way out of his tense jaw though and Dustin must decide heās done with Steve for the day because he says nothing before turning and making his way towards the door.Ā Fuck.
~
The last two hours of Steveās shift passes in a blur. Someone tries to call the phone and instead of answering he covers his ears until the ringing stops and then unhooks it from the receiver. A couple of girls try fluttering their eyes at him to see what his weekend plans are but all he can think about is how heās going to get through dinner with Eddie, and they finally leave with a disappointed glance at each other.Ā
Finally, heās able to turn the open sign around ā and then he remembers he never organized the movies from earlier. He fixes the shelves by dwindling sunlight, having shut off the overhead lights as soon as he could. It takes him about 30 minutes to fix it all, pausing every so often to just stand with his eyes closed. The words have lost their meanings and he hopes that basing his sorting off of the cover pictures is good enough.
Sitting in his car is the most relief Steveās gotten all day. Eyes closed behind sunglasses he had clipped on his visor and the engine off he takes the time to breathe; the nausea has been coming and going on its own in waves and he almost wishes he could just go to sleep in his car. Getting back to the apartment is only possible through muscle memory and the knowledge that dinner still has to be made.Ā He waits another few minutes in the car, trying to decide if any of the cars outside are of the bandās, or if heās officially got Eddie all to himself.Ā For the first time today he feels lucky when he doesnāt see Jeffās car.Ā
Living on the second floor has its benefits, like not having upstairs neighbors and getting lots of natural sunlight for the apartment. It also has its downsides, like carrying heavy groceries in the heat and getting up to their door in one piece when a migraine has him by the throat.Ā Even his key turning in the lock makes him cringe, clenching his teeth together as he steps in. Itās quiet in the apartment, a certain stillness in the air that Steve appreciates. He toes off his shoes, setting his keys in the little ceramic bowl El gifted him and Eddie when they moved, and then bends to straighten his shoes to the wall. Bending doesĀ notĀ help his nausea and he swallows down a gag.Ā
āStevie, honey? You make it home?ā Eddie rounds the corner, a grin already on his face. His hair rests on his shoulders, frizzy curls around his head like a halo. Steve musters a small smile at Eddie,Ā closing the distance between them with a few steps.Ā The shirt Eddieās wearing is well worn, old enough now that the words on the front have faded into the black around themĀ and the collar is stretched out enough that Steve can almost see the top of a spiderās leg.
āHey, hungry?ā Normally Steve matches Eddieās energy as best he can, but he can already feel his energy draining again. Shouldāve sat in the car for a little while longer. He presses a quick kiss to Eddieās cheek and continues his path to the kitchen.Ā
āYou read my mind. You okay with cooking while I finish up some stuff before dinner? I promise youāll have me all to yourself once food is ready. Just have some chords to figure out after talking with Gareth about some timing stuff.āĀ Steve hopes Eddieās looking when he nods because all of the movement from the stairs has caught up to him and he doesnāt think he has it in him to speak right now.Ā
Alone in the kitchen Steve just breathes.Ā Almost done. Just have to brown the meat, toss it into some sauce and make the noodles. Easy.Ā
~
All of the ingredients are sitting on the counter when Steve finally loses the battle with his nausea and darts to the bathroom. He keeps the lights off, more focused on kneeling on the tile and trying to breathe through his gagging. A few minutes go by and heās able to take a full breath in ā just sitting down has taken the edge off. The darkness of the bathroom is more than welcome, he just wishes he wasnāt crouched over in his jeans still. Soft footsteps sound from the hallway heading towards the kitchen,Ā guess Eddie finished his stuff.
āStevie? Whereād you go?ā As much as heād love to answer, the effort it would take to yell for Eddie isnāt worth it right now so instead Steve leans against the tub, coolness spreading across his back. Another moment passes and Eddie rounds the corner to the bathroom, confusion on his face.
āYou okay, sweetheart?āĀ
Three words and the dam holding Steve together just,Ā breaks.Ā His head pounds worse when the tears start but he canāt stop now that heās started. TodayĀ sucked.Ā And now his nightās going just as poorly.Ā Canāt even get dinner made.Ā Eddieās still looking at him but he canāt make out his expression through the tears blurring his vision.Ā
āOkay, alright, come here.ā And then Eddieās kneeling on the ground, arms outstretched for Steve to lean in to. As soon as he leans in, heās crumpling into Eddieās arms.Ā
~
Steveās not sure how long they sit there, him crying into Eddieās shirt, but the collar is nice and damp by the time he pulls away.Disgusting.
āAs much as I love this surprise cuddle session, wanna tell me whatās going on?āĀ He knows Eddie doesnāt mean to, but the sound of his boyfriendās voice almost seems to echo in the bathroom. Steve shakes his head and whines, tries to burrow further into Eddie ā done with pretending. His headĀ hurtsĀ and his whole body feelsĀ heavyĀ like concrete. Right now the best thing in the world is having his eyes shut, head tucked into Eddieās neck, and having his back rubbed. Without an answer though, Eddie leans back, staring at Steve hard like heās going to hear the answer if he thinks at Steve hard enough.Ā
āHead.ā Just one word takes a herculean effort and Steve watches as recognition lights in Eddieās eyes.Ā Finally.Ā And then Steve blinks long and slow.Ā
~
When Steve cracks his eyes open again heās greeted by the wall of his and Eddieās bedroom instead of the white of the bathroom. His head is still pounding but at least itās dark in here, the curtains are drawn and he has a feeling even if they were open only the moon would greet him. He knows Eddieās not currently in the room because the air feels still, and distantly he thinks he can hear movement in the kitchen.Ā
Shit, dinner.Ā He was supposed to cook dinner tonight.Ā He hears the small creak of the door opening and he shuts his eyes again ā heās not ready to see or talk to Eddie yet. Embarrassment heats his face remembering how much he cried earlier, not that Eddie hasnāt seen him in worse states. ButĀ Steve HarringtonĀ taken down by a simple headache?Ā Stupid. Canāt even contribute to the house like Eddie. Canāt keep up with Dustin when he talks. Canāt be happy for his best friend when she lands a date.Ā
āHey, baby. Gotta wake up, I want you to take some medicine and drink some water.ā A gentle hand is on Steveās calf, rubbing slightly to āwakeā him. He burrows deeper into the blankets instead of rolling over.
āBabyā¦ā And now Eddie just sounds disheartened, another person Steve needs to apologize to. Eddie first, for crying for no reason. Then Dustin for not listening to his rant. Then Robin for not being more excited for her. āMedicine and then water, then you can sleep some more. Come on.āĀ
āIām sorry.ā Steve rolls over, tugging the blanket with him . Heās miserable and canāt think of anything better than sleep. Tomorrow he can make it up to Eddie; make him breakfast, do the laundry, make a grocery list, ask him how handing out with the guys went, check in about -
ā-vie, I need you to focus for just a couple minutes. Where do you keep going? Get out of that head of yours, canāt imagine itās helping your migraine.ā The words are whispered and Steve blinks at Eddie. Brown eyes meet his and he manages a small smile.Ā
āSorry.ā
āNo need for all that. If youād listened the first time youād know I donāt mind. I love getting to take care of you. I love you.Ā Stop worrying about whatever it is, thereās nothing you need to make up for ā so no more apologies.ā Eddieās so earnest when he talks, a smile on his face causing small dimples to form. Heās holding a glass of water in one hand and a couple of pills in the other, but itās the damp washcloth Steve can see draped on his wrist that brings a tear to his eye. Doesnāt matter if Eddie never said those three words again,Ā his actions say them enough. Damp wash cloths when Steveās head hurts, standing up for Steve when one of the kidās decides they donāt want to explain a reference they make, or even when he flashes him a knowing smile behind Robinās head when sheās talking about Chrissy. Heās full of love, and no matter how much Steve might feel like heās messed up ā he knows Eddieās got enough love for him too.
āHey, why are we crying? Sit up and take these.ā With a small sniffle Steve nods, sits up, and takes the medicine. The washcloth is cool on his skin where Eddie rests it, letting him burrow back into the blankets ā and the last thing he feels is a gentle kiss to his cheek before sleep takes him again.Ā
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