Chapter Text
The human was back. Eddie could sense her gaze on him even from their spot in the VIP lounge. He didn’t understand. Most patron eyes were on Volt. That’s what the man was there for. To take eyes off Eddie. The face of the Breaker Box, if you would. And what a face it was. Smiling easily, his white shock hair was unruly in a way that only Volt could pull off. Eyes tracked Volt as the man made his rounds around the lounge, delivering drinks and chatting up customers- it was as if everyone was waiting their turn. She was one of them, but Eddie knew her gaze kept turning back to him. As if expecting something. Which didn’t make sense because they’d already gotten their drinks. And a quick look up told Eddie they didn’t need another.
By chance, their eyes locked and the human waved. Eddie frowned, but the smile never faltered. Satisfied that Volt had the place well in hand, and happy to disappear, he returned to checking the bar’s stock with a grunt. If he had to order more, he’d have to place it with Freddy early to get the shipment with enough time to put it away before the next opening.
The tension that’d been holding his shoulders for so long left as the last of the stragglers got up or were dragged away by friends. Eddie let out a relieved sigh and stretched before coming out of the backroom completely. Volt made fun of him for ‘hiding in his own bar’, but Eddie didn’t mind. Anything to avoid interacting with people was worth how odd it made him seem. And then a most unwelcome voice sounded beside him.
“Eddie, how are you?” Oh for fucks sake . At the human’s raised eyebrow, Eddie shook his head; he must’ve spoken out loud on accident…
“What do you want?” While his tone may have been more aggressive than he intended, that didn’t seem to faze her.
“Is it just you here closing up?” Like her, he avoided answering the question directly until they stated she was looking for him. That something was wrong with the club. A chill rippled down his spine. Keeping his tone casual, he hoped, he asked.
“What kind of ‘weird things’?” The lights. Letting out an internal sigh of relief, Eddie shook his head. At least it’s nothing new . But it was a blow to The Breaker Box that someone noticed and bothered to say something about it. Volt wouldn’t be pleased if he found out. I’ll double check the lightbulbs first then. See if any need changing. But even after saying her piece, she didn’t leave. “So you came here to… what?”
“To help.” It couldn’t be stopped. Eddie snorted. Volt barely accepted help from him, the other man certainly wouldn’t accept it from the human. When he informed them of that, she frowned. “Eddie,” the way she said his name. “come on. Please?” It made him feel like the bad guy. Which was ridiculous.
“What the hell do you expect me to do about it? Volt’s the one who runs the power here. If there’s a problem, let him handle it.” At that, she raised an eyebrow.
“With how much pride Volt takes in the place, if he could handle it he would. He’s in over his head.” Eddie blinked at her, taken off guard for a moment. They were… surprisingly sharp. Scratching the back of his head, he turned away from her. If he was going to make a choice, he couldn’t be looking at them. Couldn’t let their wide, pleading eyes influence him. Before he could stop himself, he asked.
“How good are you with tools?” At that, they hesitated and he wondered if they were second guessing themselves now. At the prospect of having to do actual work.
“I know which one is the philips head and which one is the flat head?”
“Good enough.” Already, he was making a mental list of what would be simple enough for her to handle. I’m going to regret this… “Come back after today ready to work.” Despite dismissing them, the human lingered.
“Well I mean, if we’re going to be working together, I’d like to know more about you…” Certain he rolled his eyes, Eddie groaned.
“I’m regretting this already,” he sighed. “You’re not going to go away unless I do a formal introduction, is that it?” While her eyes were still that soft pleading, there was a slight smile on her lips. An expectant air around her. “Eddie,” he growled. “My name’s Eddie. Which you already know because we’ve met.”
“Not really,” she shook her head. “More like, we’ve both been near Volt at the same time.” The way she said Volt’s name… It wasn’t like others. When other people spoke of or called for Volt, it was with a certain admiration. But with her, it was just in passing. As if Volt wasn’t all that different from any of the others in the house.
“ Eddison . Eddison Watts. You want my barcode too?” That smile brightened.
“I mean, if you’re offering…” A warmth flushed Eddie’s face, an uncomfortable sensation since he hadn’t had the chance to have his drink yet.
“Look,” determined to get rid of them once and for all, he redirected the conversation. “you’d better rest up if you want to be useful tomorrow.” With a smirk, he paused and raised an eyebrow. “Unless you’ve changed your mind?” She giggled and shook her head, but did rise to go.
“You can’t get rid of me that easily.”
~~~
The Breaker Box was quiet. It occurred to her that she’d never visited it during the day. There wasn’t much point to it. In the day, if the power went out there was typically enough light left to see by. The sign flickered and she couldn’t help but wonder if it was a reflection of the two of them… not just Volt. It was reminiscent of those back alley neon signs in movies, but here they didn’t have to worry about getting mugged. Probably.
Inside, Eddie was nursing his usual cocktail. In the light, it was easier to tell just how tired he looked. When his eyes flickered up and he frowned, she had to resist the urge to give herself a once over. As if it mattered if there were wrinkles in her clothes or a hair out of place… He’d told them to wear something comfortable, so she’d opted for jeans and a dark T-shirt. Not the red one. Before she could ask, he spoke.
“Huh, you actually showed up. I guess that means I lose.” Lose what?
“I said I would.” A prickle of irritation touched her then. While she was, technically, unemployed, she would still show up to a job she agreed to do.
“Good to know. Little inconvenient for me, but good to know. Made a bet.” And who would Eddie be betting with? Himself? It was doubtful the man would’ve mentioned the plans to Volt since he seemed so determined to keep the struggles hidden. Both of them, actually, appeared to be avoiding talking about issues with each other. A little annoying, really. “I was pretty sure you’d back out. But I guess there’s still time. You’ll probably change your mind once you realize what you signed up for.”
Eddie downed the rest of his drink before setting the glass down on the counter. Shrugging out of his vest, her eyes couldn’t help but follow his hands as they began rolling up his sleeves. Faint scars appeared across his arms. It reminded her of the branching patterns of roots underground. Unsure how long she’d been staring for, she gave her head a quick shake before addressing him.
“I told you, I want to help.” He only shrugged.
“Still not sure why exactly, but whatever. As long as you’re here, might as well get to it. There’s a lot to do before we open. Usually I take care of all the maintenance after hours. But we’ve been so slammed lately, there just hasn’t been enough time. Things are breaking down faster than I can get to them. And trying to do anything while the club is open is essentially pointless. There’s always questions and distractions and “polite conversation”. It’s exhausting.” Her lips twitched. Volt had mentioned that Eddie’s people skills were lacking. But part of them wondered if there was more to it than that. Was now a good time to ask? She supposed there wouldn’t be a good time. Not while either of the two were still standing anyways… Best to start small.
“And that’s why the power is all weird? Because you’re behind on some handy work?”
“All things need maintenance. Nothing, no matter how well made, can function indefinitely. Eventually, we all wear down one way or another. And if something isn’t given proper maintenance, they break down even faster.”
“Are you saying Volt is wearing down?”
“In the sense that we’re all wearing down from the second we’re produced. But no, that’s not what’s causing the power fluctuations. Come on, we’re starting with the wiring backstage. Oh and grab that tool bag.” A jerk of his head indicated a ratted bag on the floor. Grabbing it, they were surprised by how heavy it was. Not that she would admit that to Eddie. Determined to help, she followed him.
Eddie was not a good teacher. He grumbled and sighed a lot. Complained a decent amount, of course. But they could hardly blame him. It wasn’t as if they were a natural handyman. Still, despite how often she asked questions Eddie answered each one, patient in his own way. And eventually he set her to tasks of her own, without his direct supervision. Once she completed them acceptably, he ordered her to change a bulb while he fetched something from the bar.
Dragging the ladder over to the bulb in question, she set it up and gave it a test wiggle. Confident it would hold, she started to ascend when Eddie’s voice rang out.
“Wait!” Startled, she turned towards him. “Be careful,” she’d never seen such an expression on his face. Any expression, really. But the one he wore now… blatant concern. “that’s not-” Before he could say anything more, she felt the ladder give way and there was nothing but air. Heart in her throat, their eyes squeezed shut as she braised for impact. It never came.
Instead, strong arms wrapped around her. Eddie’s breath sounded right by her ear. Blinking open their eyes, they stared up at him. He held her, crouched slightly to help cushion the catch. Gazing over his shoulder, it occurred to her that he must have leapt over the bar to make it. Wish I could’ve seen that. The scent of alcohol lingered on his breath, but it wasn’t unpleasant. His breathing seemed to come out in time with her heartbeat- fast and uneven.
“... stable,” he muttered. “Are you alright?” He looked at her now and it felt like the normal ice in his gaze melted, if only for a second. Caught off guard, it took them a moment to respond.
“Uh y-yeah, I think so.” Setting her down, the stiff expression returned to his face as he growled.
“That was unbelievably careless. What were you trying to do exactly?”
“What you told me to do?” She pointed to the bulb above them.
“I told you to replace the one behind the bar .”
“You did?” Honestly, she couldn’t remember. The events leading up to the fall felt like a blur by now.
“The floorboard under these lights is loose, which is why I told you not to touch them yet.”
“Well maybe just say that next time instead of being so cryptic!” Bristling, she couldn’t help but feel the need to defend herself. Even if she misheard which bulb to change, it was doubtful she would have mistaken unstable floorboards. Which means he either forgot to tell her or he wasn’t specific enough. Despite that, when he sighed and rubbed his face, she had to admit she felt a little bad.
“Just pay more attention.”
“I will, I will.” Also wanting to not make the situation worse or get kicked out, she agreed with a nod. He watched them for another moment.
“You’re… you’re sure you’re not hurt?”
“I’m good, really.” To help prove the point, she smiled up at him. “Thank you for catching me.” A blush crept across his cheeks.
“You’re welcome. Let’s not make a habit of it. Now go get the ladder and put it behind the bar this time.” With a mock salute, she hurried to obey and the last phase of the work proceeded without incident.
Straightening, she stretched and felt her back crack. Oddly, it was as satisfying as being done for the night. Not like straightening after a whole day sitting at her job. Well, old job she supposed.
“Whew! You weren’t kidding about this being hard work.”
“You’ve done… surprisingly adequate work.” Uncertain if she heard him right, she stared but he refused to look at her. “Mostly.”
“Come on, I did great. Admit it!” Resisting the urge to nudge him, a smile bloomed across her face. As if pretending to think about it for a moment, he didn’t respond. Finally he looked at her, his stance still guarded but the edges of his mouth curled upwards.
“You didn’t electrocute yourself, which is mostly thanks to me. But I suppose it’s still… an accomplishment. And we got through more of the to-do list than I expected. That’s probably good enough for today if you want to… you know… head out.”
“I know you had fun today too, I can tell.”
“Oh yeah? How’s that?”
“You didn’t even try to kick me out today.” Now she did nudge him. When he didn’t seem averse and even chuckled a little, her heart fluttered happily.
“Heh, I suppose you’re right.” He rubbed the back of his neck and closed his eyes. “Maybe I’m just tired. I’m sure I’ll be better tomorrow.”
“Careful, you almost sound like you’re enjoying yourself.”
“Don’t get used to it.” The growl was back, but by now it left them unfazed. Now she was just curious.
“I still don’t understand how any of this actually helps Volt or the power issues.” He fingered the edges of a rag that seemed to appear in his hands.
“Efficiency is important in a circuit. You can lose a lot of power to weak points if you don’t maintain it. So when something around here breaks, it can drag everything else down with it. And like I said, things have been breaking faster than I can fix them. I just didn’t realize how bad it had gotten… he should have said something… Taking care of all this helps keep the power where Volt needs it, and drains less power over all.” Turning his words over in her head, she nodded slowly. It did make sense, in a way. As much sense as anything else in her life right now did.
“Thanks for letting me help. I’m sure it’s been uncomfortable having someone else in your space while you work.” Really, they weren’t expecting Eddie to say anything. Certainly not thank her for essentially forcing her help on him, but she wanted to say it anyway. But he surprised her again when he spoke.
“Sure. Don’t mention it.” His eyes flickered to her as if to emphasize the point, before they traveled away once more. “You did good work today. At least you weren’t completely useless. Get some rest. You’ll need it. A lot more to do tomorrow.” Tomorrow . Excitement bubbled in her chest as she nodded.
“Have a good night, Eddie.”
“You too…” What had Eddie just called her?
“What was that?” Unsure if she’d heard him correctly, she turned to face him. But he was already making his way into the backroom again.