satanicpanics | Open Post/Overflow

Yeah, it does, actually. It means there’s a whole lot less wrong with me than you seem to think.

[ He manages another Cheshire grin, but it’s a little fainter and it’s clear that he’s not feeling his best as he inhales sharply, clenching his teeth and wincing through the string of the water on his hand. He avoids looking at the damage, but instead shifts his gaze to Steve, trying to work out if the look on his face means he’s angry, worried, or just kind of anxious. It is quite a bit of blood, and Eddie does feel a nagging curl of guilt in his stomach for insisting on dragging him into it.

But he doesn’t say anything. He’s already here, and Steve has already accepted the job, so Eddie waits. Waits for the water to stop, and as he promised, it’s not as bad as it looks. When the blood is cleaned away, what’s left is a deep gash across his palm—not deep enough to see through to bone, but deep enough that it’s pretty clear why he’s had such a hard time stopping the bleeding. ]

How does it look? Is it a hospital job or are we fine with keeping it a Harrington job?

I don't think that...

[Which is kind of a weirdly genuine thing to say at a time like this. Especially since there is clearly something very wrong with Eddie since he avoided the hospital and chose to come here instead. If Steve is being honest though, he can't entirely blame him. He also tends to avoid hospitals these days. After spending enough time in a government run one, they aren't really his favorite place.

He sighs, assessing the damage as the water rinses most of the blood away. Now that he's actually seeing it, it's not too bad. Probably could use some stitches, but that's not really his call.]

You're still a dumbass for coming here, but I can wrap it for you. I don't really think we should attach my name to it or anything. It's not going to look pretty.

I came here, sure, but you’re the one who let me come here. So, uh…I could be wrong, but I kind of think that makes us both dumbasses.

[ He tilts his head and smiles in a way that could almost be described as mischievous if he weren’t so obviously running low on blood and energy. It doesn't last long. With a deep sigh, he finally gives into his exhaustion and leans back, watching Steve through half-lidded eyes. ]

Seriously, though—thanks, man. I appreciate it. I don’t think my uncle’s paycheck could handle a hospital visit, so...I’m not gonna critique your work. It doesn’t have to look pretty as long as it does the job.

Yeah, well...that's probably true.

[Steve tilts his head slightly, agreeing, unfortunately, that they are both probably acting stupid right now. He imagines that if literally anyone else from the Party was here, they would be telling both of them to stop being idiots and go to a hospital.

Lucky for Eddie though, it's just Steve. So he gets to deal with dumb decisions.]

Don't mention it. [After a few more minutes of rinsing Eddie's hand, Steve seems satisfied with it's cleanliness and grabs a hand towel. There is no way the blood won't stain, but he doesn't seem bothered as he wraps it around Eddie's hand. He uses one hand to shut the water off and then presses both against Eddie's wound, as gently as he can while still applying pressure.

He finally gets a good look at Eddie's face, no longer preoccupied with the cleaning. He can't help but notice how pale the man in front of him is.] Uh, you doing okay, man?

[ Maybe that’s partly why he came here. Any of his bandmates would have pushed him to go to the hospital, and there was never any reason to burden any of the kids with this. That left Wayne (not really an option) and Steve. The blood loss might have played a role, but he choice seemed concrete from the beginning.

Sure, he’s feeling a little guilty about it now, but he’s already here and has already admitted he’s a dumbass. ]

Jesus fuck—

[ He hisses between clenched teeth as Steve applies pressure to the wound, and as much as he wants to, he doesn’t try to pull away. It’s a necessary pain. ]

Yeah…probably dehydrated or something? But I’m cool, dude. Just slap a bandage on it and I’ll get out of your hair.

[It's not that Steve wants to hurt Eddie, and he's been on the receiving side of this kind of pain far too many times than he'd care to admit. So that might be why, while he still holds pressure to the wound with one hand, his other slides down to grip Eddie's wrist, squeezing for a moment, almost apologetically.

It is necessary, but that doesn't mean it doesn't suck.]

Even though we already decided you're an idiot, you're even more of an idiot if you think I'm just going to let you leave looking like that. You can chill on my couch or something.

[Steve shrugs like he didn't just invite Eddie to stay and hang out. Not that it's weird, they are friends, but it's not really something they've done yet. Hang out solo.]

Henderson will kill me if you leave and crash your car because you passed out from blood loss.

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