Sometimes They Come Back (Steddie)

Valentine's Day 1991

Steve sighed heavily. Just his luck. The damned elevator was out of order again. This was the third time in as many weeks and the apartment he shared with Eddie was on the sixth floor. He'd had a hell of a week at work and all he wanted to do was veg out on the couch and dip into Eddie's weed stash. Honestly, all he really wanted was Eddie. It was Valentine's Day and he wanted to spend it with the love of his life, but he wouldn't be home until Sunday and today was only Thursday, so smoking his weed would have to do. Steve sighed again and started the long trudge up the six flights of stairs.

By the time he got to his floor, he was even more exhausted. Climbing stairs wasn't the problem, he did the equivalent of at least forty stories three times a week on the stair climber in the school gym. This was more of a mental exhaustion. He missed Eddie. He'd been gone for three weeks. Sure, he always called every other day or so when he was away, but it drained Steve to be without him. When Eddie was on tour, Steve either had to sit home alone, which was draining in and of itself, or, to keep himself from missing Eddie so much, he'd spend time with friends and co-workers, which was also draining because he had to work so hard at pretending to have a good time when all he really wanted to do was be with Eddie.

Steve had become dependent on Eddie, the way Eddie used to be so dependent on him. After almost losing him to Alex a couple of years back, Steve did everything he could to be with Eddie as much as possible. He never wanted Eddie to feel lonely or forgotten again. He never wanted Eddie to have to seek out companionship somewhere else again. Steve and Eddie had both handled the situation with Alex badly, but in the end, it had made their relationship stronger, and they loved each other even more. So it was hard on Steve sometimes when Eddie was away.

When Corroded Coffin released their first album the previous summer, the band started getting noticed, booking shows out of town, going on short tours for weeks at a time. And Steve sometimes understood how Eddie had felt back then, why he'd turned to Alex when Steve was too busy with work and school to spend as much time with Eddie as he needed. The band's growing popularity had given Eddie a newfound confidence and independence that Steve loved in him. But at the same time, Steve missed Eddie being there waiting for him every night when he got home.

Steve missed stepping off the elevator and smelling what Eddie was cooking for dinner. He missed Eddie meeting him at the door to take his briefcase and loosen his tie and kiss him and tell him he'd missed him. He missed sitting down to dinner with Eddie and talking about their days as they ate. He missed snuggling up with Eddie to watch television, or reading a book while Eddie played guitar right next to him. He missed getting into bed at night and feeling Eddie next to him, making love to him, then falling asleep in each other's arms. He missed the weekends when they would go to the grocery store and the dry cleaners and to the park or just on a long drive holding hands and not saying much. Their lives were so simple, so domestic, and Steve loved that and he missed it when Eddie was on tour.

Steve slid his key into the lock and opened the front door of the apartment, stepped in, and deposited his briefcase under the coatrack, then shrugged off his jacket and hung it. He sighed again, feeling a little sorry for himself and hoping like hell that Eddie would remember Valentine's Day and call him tonight. He went to the kitchen and got a beer from the refrigerator then took a long drink as he loosened his tie. He went to the couch, knelt down, then felt around underneath for Eddie's stash but let out a frustrated groan when he pulled the tray out and all that was on it were a few stray seeds and an empty package of rolling papers.

Steve stood up, raked his fingers through his hair and over his face and groaned again. He almost gave up, but then remembered that there was a half empty pack of cigarettes in Eddie's sock drawer, and Eddie always had at least one joint stashed in every cigarette pack. Steve wasn't sure why the pack was there, but he'd seen it when he was putting Eddie's laundry away right after he left for this tour. He let out a sigh of relief and headed for the bedroom.