Chapter Text
Steve leaned against the counter at Family video, thumbing through a magazine, trying to distract himself.
He felt slightly feverish, skin going flush, sweat dripping down his forehead, despite the fact that it was still a balmy spring day, and the air conditioner was going in the store.
He pushed off the counter, stumbling for a moment with a sudden rush of dizziness, before straightening.
“Hey, Rob, I’m gonna head to the back really quick,” Steve said, pressing a hand against the demobat bites on his stomach. They still hadn’t fully healed, and they still seemed sort of infected, but he didn’t really know what to do, so he just kept wrapping them with gauze, taking painkillers, and praying.
Robin frowned but nodded. “Sure thing, I’ll cover for you while you,” She gestured vaguely towards his stomach.
Everyone tried to stay pretty vague about it, just so that no one else found out and so that the kids wouldn’t continue to worry.
He stepped into the back, sliding off his work vest and sliding off his polo.
The bandages were stained a sickly reddish brown, as he peeled them back.
The bites were still bleeding sluggishly, although the problem was more the infected, inflamed flesh around them, oozing pus.
Steve gently dabbed around them with alcohol, before getting another strip of bandages and wrapping them up, with a soft hiss as the material made contact with his wounds.
Once finished, he rose to his feet, staggering once again, leaning against one of the lockers to get his balance once again.
He tugged his shirt and vest back on before going back out front.
Robin was busy at the register with a very pretty, very female, very interested customer, so he went out into the store instead, to help stock the shelves.
“Well, she was nice! Very friendly,” Robin mused, about the girl she had been speaking to, who just left.
“Oh, friendly, huh?” Steve teased, trying to ignore the throbbing pain rising in his head. “If that’s friendly, me and Eddie should be walking down the aisle right now.”
“Ha ha, very funny, Harrington.” Robin huffed, crossing her arms, before her face melted into something more concerned, eyebrows knitting together, biting her lip. “Are you okay, dude? You aren’t looking too hot,”
“I always look hot,” Steve responded, trying to keep the teasing air up, even as he had to lean forward against the shelf to stabilize himself. “Seriously though, Rob, I’m fine.”
“Seriously though, Steve, you’re not.” Robin countered, taking a step towards him. The door swung open while Robin was walking towards him, and her head jerked towards it momentarily. “Eddie, tell Steve that he looks like death,”
“Uh, yeah, Buckley’s right, Harrington, you look like you’re about to keel over,” Eddie said, walking into the store, making a beeline for Steve.
That was the last thing Steve heard before his body stopped listening to his brain and he collapsed against the shelf, sliding onto the ground.
+++
Steve came to for only a moment, with dusk light filtering through a window next to his head.
He was laying in an unfamiliar bed, with a blanket tucked around his body.
From what he could feel, at some point his clothes had been changed, but he couldn’t really tell much else past a fuzzy feeling in his brain that usually accompanied high-grade painkillers.
The door creaked open, soft footsteps padding through.
The side of the bed dipped and a cool hand pressed against Steve’s forehead.
Steve leaned up into the touch with a soft hum.
“I know, pretty boy,” A smooth, familiar voice murmured, as the hand moved from his forehead.
Instead, Steve could feel a pill being pressed against his lips, which Steve dutifully swallowed, gratefully taking a sip from the bottle of water he was offered a moment later.
The hand returned to his face, this time stroking against his cheek in a comforting manner.
“Sleep, pretty boy,” The voice said softly, and Steve did.
+++
Steve woke up again, this time much more aware of what was happening.
He didn’t really want to be, as he’d rather just melt into the comforting scent of the pillows behind him and leave the rest of the world behind, if only for a moment.
That didn’t last long, as the door opened again, accompanied by the smell of chicken soup this time.
“Hey, awake again, Steve?” Eddie said with a worried smile pinching at his lips.
Steve moved to sit up, but Eddie rushed towards him, placing a hand against his shoulder and pushing him back against the bed.
“I’ll help you up,” Eddie explained, sitting the soup on a small table that had been brought in, with a few pill bottles and a glass of water on it.
Eddie’s hands slipped against Steve’s body, one on his chest and the other on his lower back, as Eddie helped him up.
Once Steve was sitting, Eddie tucked a few pillows behind him to help him sit comfortably.
“When I went out to get the antibiotics, I got some soup and stuff too,” Eddie rambled, fidgeting with the blanket, tucking it against Steve’s legs, then untucking, then retucking, until Steve caught Eddie’s hands between his and holding him still.
“Thank you, Eddie.” Then, he processed the sentence. “How did you get the antibiotics?”
Eddie blinked a few times, turning sheepish, as he dipped his head.
“I faked a prescription for it.” He mumbled, flipping his hands over so he could hold Steve’s hands, fiddling with Steve’s fingers, like he had to do something with his hands. “I needed to get you something to disinfect your wounds and I couldn’t take you to the hospital without having to explain what happened, so I wrote up a fake prescription for it.”
Steve didn’t question it, just nodded because yeah, this is Eddie Munson and that makes sense.
+++
Under Eddie’s gentle care, keeping Steve tucked up in bed, bringing him whatever he needed, tucking him into bed each night, Steve recovered from the infection in his wounds.
And Steve realized that he wanted it to keep happening.
He wanted Eddie to take care of him, pay attention to him, be delicate with him.
So of course, whatever was Steve’s problem, was Robin’s problem.
“I just don’t get it! How do I get him to pay attention to me again?” Steve whined, practically throwing himself over the front counter.
Robin sighed, walking up to the counter from where she had been putting the newest movies on the shelf and draped herself over it alongside Steve, so they were staring into each other’s eyes.
“I have no clue,” She sighed. “But worry not, I am just as upset over this as you are! You deserve to be pampered and spoiled like a princess! After everything you’ve been through, you deserve someone to worship you!”
Steve leaned forward so that their foreheads were pressed together, to show how much he loved Robin as affection rushed through his chest.
Robin really was a good friend, they always looked out for each other, were attached at the hip. Steve was pretty sure that they were soulmates, without all the romantic bullshit.
“What does a guy have to do around here to get a boyfriend?” Steve griped. “Because I’m not getting chomped on by demobats again.”
Robin nodded sympathetically as they, in perfect sync, sat up, resting their chins in their hands.
All of a sudden, her eyes went wide, sparkling with delight.
“Steve, that’s it!” She exclaimed, reaching out to grab his hands in her own, squeezing his hands and shaking them around.
Steve had no idea what she was going on about but he was just happy that she was happy, shaking his hands around along with her, breaking out into a grin.
“He was taking care of you and pampering you because you were sick, right?” She said, an excited giggle tinging her voice. “So, just play sick again! Get into his trailer, get him fawning all over you, then BAM! New boyfriend!”
Steve blinked once, then twice, making Robin sigh in exasperation.
"Steve," She groaned. "Fake a cold or something, when Eddie's in the store, and then, of course, he's gonna swoop in to be your knight in shining armor! I'll back you up, okay?"
Realization dawned on Steve's face.
He grabbed her face between his hands and pressed a kiss to her forehead, beaming at her when he leaned back.
"Rob, you are a genius," He breathed.
She beamed back. "I have the occasional good idea," She grew more serious, leaning closer to him. "Now here's what we're gonna do,"