Stephew Oneshots.

Knock Knock

This is set during the time when Matthew and Stephanie were living in New York. Stephanie is working at a pharmaceutical company and Matthew is struggling between acting and regular jobs. They are not married. Game Theory has just begun.

Was it a knock that had awoken her?

Stephanie's eyes opened into the blackness of their bedroom, the glowing red light emanating from the alarm clock reading 5:45 am. She had to get up for work in an hour. Matthew didn't have to get up at all, so what was that noise? The apartment was silent. Occasionally, floorboards would creak and the pipes would groan but she ignored them. These noises had become a part of daily life; she had learned to ignore them in favour of getting more sleep. With the amount of work she needed to complete every evening after she got back from her full-time job, her sleep had begun to suffer. Matthew encouraged her to rest more, believing in her ability to juggle all her priorities. However, they both knew that what kept them from falling into true poverty and debt was her salary.

Sighing, she tried to push those thoughts out of her mind. There was no point worrying about what had already happened. That dark cloud hung over her every day, constantly reminding her of what could happen if she failed. Rolling over in the bed, she felt the duvet tangle within her feet, warming her cold body. A frown crossed her face, why was she cold? Stretching out blindly into the dark, she searched for her boyfriend's warmth. Her fingers scraped across the bedsheets, finding only cold cotton.

"Matthew?"

Her voice timidly broke the silence, the concern and longing clear in her tone. She hated sleeping without Matthew by her side, the bed felt too big without him in it. There had been many sleepless nights whilst he performed productions in late night theatres. She always tried to go to the opening night of each show, to support her boyfriend but work was always getting in the way of their quality time. Cooking dinner and occasionally watching a bit of television was most of the time they spent together since she needed to finish presentations and he needed to learn scripts. Swinging her feet off of the bed, she placed them onto the chilled floorboards, feeling her toes curl away from the cold surface. Padding away from the bed, she noticed that the bedroom door was ajar – allowing a small draft to blow through and cause goosebumps to rise on her exposed arms.

Moving down the narrow hallway that led to their makeshift living room, Stephanie noticed that the bathroom door was exactly as she had left it last night. So he wasn't in there. Maybe he was watching television, she thought. So she moved quietly towards the sofa, her feet gliding across the ageing floorboards without making any real sound. Occasionally, one would creak and she would flinch but the fear of not knowing where Matthew was had a stronger influence on her, so she picked up her feet and kept going.

"Matthew? Are you working on another Game Theory? I told you, you need to take a day off. You can't spend every second of the day moving pixels across a screen."

Rounding the corner into the living room, Stephanie squinted at the light emanating from the television. The sound was turned down to an extremely low level to the point that she had to strain to hear it. Some cartoon flickered in front of her eyes but it wasn't anything she recognised. Fumbling for the remote, Stephanie managed to turn off the television and turned to move towards their box of a kitchen. Their dishes sat in the sink, neither of them had bothered to clean up after their pitiful pasta and pea's concoction of a main meal. Some days she really missed her mum's cooking and last night had been one of those nights. Nobody tells you how hard it is surviving in the world on your own, especially when you have a partner to support.

Scanning around the remaining nooks and crannies of the apartment, Stephanie finally spotted her boyfriend. He was curled up in the corner, his face lit by the glowing screen of his laptop. Wedged into the corner between the front door and the pile of coats that had stacked in the corner, he had clearly been there for some time – several cups of water and tea surrounding him. The laptop wheezed as it tried to stay active, even when its user was inactive. Walking forward cautiously, a soft smile crossed her face as she saw that her boyfriend was fast asleep. His long hair hung down in front of his eyes, shielding his face from the bright light of the laptop.

Peaceful was how he looked. As a couple, they always tried to make it through every day without going to bed angry or upset. Whether that was at each other or at their situation. Yet, Matthew always placed the burden onto his own shoulders. The few times that they would bicker about their living conditions, she would constantly remind him that it could be so much worse and that they were lucky to have their apartment to share with one another. However, Matthew blamed himself – stating constantly that if it wasn't for his relentless passion for pursuing acting, maybe Stephanie could be living somewhere better. The kind man that he was always wanted the best for her. Despite his best wishes though, Stephanie was constantly by his side because that was the only place in the world that she wanted to be. She hoped he never forgot that, even in his darker days.

Crouching down, Stephanie sat down next to her boyfriend and closed the laptop lid, gently moving it off of his lap. Occasionally he would stir at the change in pressure but he quickly settled again, his chest rising and falling in its calming rhythm. He was her anchor. His notes, his kindness, his love, his humour and his determination were what kept her going every day. Even when she didn't believe in herself, he did. Sometimes that was all she needed. On days where she couldn't take it anymore, where she wanted to throw all their hard work out of the window and start again, he would be there. He would hold her in his arms and let her cry. He would pick up her notes and work through the problems with her, constantly supporting and encouraging her – practically carrying her on his shoulders through the tidal wave of doubt that she dealt with on a daily basis.

Yet she knew he had his off days. He couldn't be strong all the time and the constant rejection from acting and regular jobs alike was weighing on him. Even Olive Garden had rejected him. Olive Garden! She knew that Matthew was capable of incredible things if someone just gave him a chance but nobody was willing to. Every day, she would come home and ask him how his day was, watching his facial expression to see how much pain flickered through his eyes. Rejection, failure, doubt, fear and concern were just as big a part of him as love and joy were. Whenever she could, she tried to do little things for him as a way of thanking him for the unconditional love and support she provided him. Whether it was a can of Diet Coke that had fallen out of the vending machine or a bad joke that she had been told at work, she always aimed to make him smile. He deserved to be happy.

Sure, they were happy together. Without one another, neither of them would have survived in New York but they had so many hopes for the future together. A proper house, a cat, maybe even kids one day. Who knows what they could achieve together if the universe just gave them a chance? Sighing, Stephanie rested her head on her boyfriend's shoulder and closed her eyes – allowing the warmth of Matthew's sleeping form and rhythmic breathing to lull her into a light sleep. Their feet automatically intertwined, the close contact bringing calm and peace to both of them. Who knew what the future could bring?

They could dream.

A/N

Sorry that this is so short, I'm in the middle of exam season! I finish on this coming Friday so expect lots of updates over the summer break (plus some fun projects ;) )

Please give this some love, you all have been amazing in supporting me in everything I do and I cannot thank you enough <3

Much Love,

Caitlin x