Again

Chapter 19

Eddie comes home four days later.

He's called Steve several times, every day, to keep him updated with Wayne's situation, but he can hear in every phone call the relief in Eddie's voice when he answers. Almost like he can finally drop the effort and relax. It's not like he had to pretend to be anyone he isn't around Wayne, but generally, as charming as he is, Eddie is a straight talker. If something is headed towards calamity, he will acknowledge it, let you know about it and try to make the landing as soft as possible.

But this was different. This was Wayne.

A pillar of strength and stability in Eddie's life, maybe the only one for a long time, Steve guesses, and to watch him crumble under the weight of such loss must be extremely hard for Eddie.

But Eddie never complains. Not once.

He tells Steve how pretty the trees are getting now the leaves are changing. He talks about plans for Halloween. He tells him about some old trinket he found when they were sorting out Jack's things. He even tells him about Morgan going for tryouts. But the updates on Wayne are always facts, this happened today, or this is the next step we need to take. It's almost like if he speaks about how it's affecting any of them emotionally, it would break him because it would bring on an avalanche of reality.

Steve hears a loud bark, followed by the rumble of Beans' feet racing down the stairs. She presses her nose against the window. He waits for her second bark to indicate a non-Harrington, but it doesn't come. Steve quickly removes his marigold gloves and rushes to the door in a panic. Why would the kids be back now? The doorbell chimes, and Steve makes quick work of the locks to open up. There in the doorway, duffel bag in hand, is Eddie's beaming smile. He takes a deep shuddering breath but doesn't move, almost like he's frozen, unsure what to do. The smile must last for all of a few seconds before his expression crumbles, and he releases the bag to the ground. He jumps up, latching onto Steve like a Koala bear on a tree, and hides his face in the crook of Steve's neck.

Steve holds him tightly and securely, "Beans, Up bag, please," he says, pointing at Eddie's stuff. Then, still holding Eddie against him, Steve reaches for a treat from the bowl, and as she brings the bag in, he kicks the door closed and tosses it to her. "Good girl, Beans".

Finally, Steve makes his way to the sofas and sits down carefully, cradling Eddie to him, "Hey honey, Welcome home. You're ok now. I'm here," he says softly, repetitively, as he runs his hands over Eddie's curls. He feels the dampness on his neck as Eddie nods and clings to him tighter. Steve reciprocates the squeeze and soothes him until he speaks.

"I'm sorry, sweetheart. It wasn't my plan to come home like this. I was just so relieved to see your face. It was so hard to see him like that. And Jack is pretty much gone, man. Like he's not there." He speaks rapidly into Steve's neck, inter-spliced with sharp intakes of breath.

"Hey, don't worry about that, ok? You're home now. I got you." Steve reassures him softly before Eddie's tear-stained face comes into view, and his face is clasped tightly in Eddie's hands.

"Don't you forget me, ok? Don't you ever do that to me!" Eddie says almost angrily, "We're gonna get you some checks an-and scans. Go see some specialists, alright? M-mmm-make sure you're gonna be ok. I'll p-pay," he makes a noise of frustration with himself and takes a quick breath, jolting Steves head in his hands "I don't even care how much it costs, ok? You don't forget me! Right, Steve?" Eddie's voice wavers with desperation as his hands paw at Steve's face and hair, his eyes searching frantically over him, like if he doesn't, he might just disappear. Finally, his eyebrows push together again, and he erupts into another torrent of tears and crashes into Steve's chest, flinging his arms around his neck.