Work Text:
Alright, look. Steve was already normally hotheaded and irritable, always quick to scowl at people who were setting him off one way or another. But once a month his temper spiked as he seethed at every little thing around himself, which oftentimes meant he would go eerily quiet and only make flat toned sarcastic remarks, or would be shouting at everyone, which then ended with him needing time to get his anger out. Usually that resulted in bloody knuckles or a newly fixed car engine. That was the usual, at least.
Though, he didn’t regularly cry this much.
“Shit. Shit, shit, shit, shit, SHIT! ”
Steve repeatedly swore as he saw the blood that had begun to spot the fabric of his boxer briefs, which were thankfully a red flannel pattern. He shot his head up to look around the small bathroom of the Curtis’s house as he tried to remember where Sodapop kept his emergency tampons. He groaned and reached for the small plastic blue box they kept near the extra toilet paper, and popped the lid open.
“Shit.”
The brunette breathed shakily then closed his eyes for a moment to regain his composure. They hadn’t restocked since his last period, meaning there were only pads left. He hadn’t used a pad since he was at least fourteen. He swallowed thickly and shook his head at the memory of Soda throwing them in the shopping cart ‘just in case’. God damn him for always being right.
“Stevie? You okay in there?” Speak of the devil.
Steve cleared his throat and blinked away the tears that were starting to gather in his eyes. “Y-yeah. Just gimmie a minute.” He cursed himself as his voice cracked.
There was silence for a moment then a small ‘okay’. Steve sighed and ripped open the package of the pad and stuck it to the crotch of his boxers with a wrinkled nose, then threw the trash away and stood up. He winced at the blood in the toilet then flushed and washed his hands quickly and dried them on his shirt as he exited the bathroom. Soda stood a few feet away from the door and looked at his boyfriend with a concerned expression which only worsened as he noticed the redness of his cheeks and the tears still building in his green eyes.
“Baby? What’s wrong?”
The sweetness of the blonde’s voice just broke something in the other boy as he suddenly slumped forward and held onto the other, burying his face in his chest. A muffled sob escaped Steve as he failed at trying to keep himself from crying, which then made the hitched intake of air and soft hiccups worse as he felt the disappointment in himself seep far into his bones. Sodapop could feel Steve’s mouth moving slightly as tears soaked through his shirt, so the blonde pulled him away slightly to hear him better.
“I’m a boy. I’m a boy. I’m a boy. I’m a boy.”
Soda’s face fell further as his partner continued his mantra. “Oh, honey. Steve, it’s okay, you hear me? Let’s just calm ya down then you can tell me what’s goin’ on.”
It took several minutes of more crying for Steve to be able to wipe at his face and take in stuttery breaths. By now, Sodapop had pulled the other into his room and sat them both on the bed while rubbing the brunette’s back. Steve couldn’t bring himself to look anywhere but his own lap since the shame and embarrassment he was feeling was just all too much, which made his attempts at getting his emotions together the slightest bit harder.
“Think you wanna tell me what happened now? I’m here for you, no matter what.”
Steve nodded and shut his eyes for a moment before opening them back up and looking at his boyfriend's face. “Started my period. We didn’t have any more tampons left, so I had to use a pad for the first time in at least three fuckin’ years. I dunno why, but it just made me remember that I ain’t…that I’m not…”
A hand was suddenly holding his chin and guiding him to look back up, which he hadn’t even noticed he’d looked down in the first place. “That you ain’t real?”
Steve nodded.
“Oh, my sweet boy. We’ve talked ‘bout this ‘fore. Ain’t nothin’ gonna change the fact that yer who yer meant to be. Just cause yer a lil mismatched don’t mean anythin’.”
Steve chuckled and smiled, though it was still filled with sadness. “I know, I know. It’s just a lil hard sometimes. Really though, I should’ve seen the signs. My stomach’s been killin’ me all damn day.”
Soda hummed and let go of the other’s face then pressed a chaste kiss to his cheek. “Y’know, I think you really need a break. How ‘bout I take care of you for the rest of the day, huh?” Steve opened his mouth to object, but was swiftly cut off. “Great! Lemme go get some stuff real quick. You just lay down and I’ll be right back, my prince.”
“Soda-”
“Twix or snickers?”
There was a short pause. “Snickers.”
Soda chuckled as he left the room.