aren't you likely to have feelings about that

“You should see the other guy,” Steve mutters, finally retrieving the first aid kit and heaving it onto the closed lid of the toilet. “Broke his nose.”

“Yeah, but why?” Eddie asks, watching with worry in his eyes as Steve struggles to take of his shirt. “For the love of- Here, let me help.” He moves forward, and gently takes the bottom of the shirt, tugging it over Steve’s head with ease.

Steve’s shirtless now, something that usually makes Eddie want to set his hair on fire. It really is just a special form of hell to be in love with your roommate, especially if said roommate tends to walk around shirtless a lot. Now, however, all he can focus on is the huge gash in Steve’s side. There’s blood everywhere, so it’s hard to see what the real damage is, but Eddie can see enough to know it’s bad.

“Steve,” he breaths. “Steve, you have to go to the hospital.”

“Can’t,” Steve says, looking down to observe the wound himself. “It’s not that bad. Had worse.”

“Steve,” Eddie emphasizes, but Steve just shrugs and starts digging through the first aid kit.

“Can you get some towels from the box from under my bed? They’re my blood cleaning towels.” Steve says, like that’s somehow a normal thing to say.

Eddie crosses his arms. “I will, but the second I come back you’re going to start fucking explaining what’s going on.” He says, before turning and rushing out of the room to get Steve his goddamn towels.

When he returns, Steve is sitting slumped on the floor, surrounded by stuff from the first aid kit. Eddie places the towels on the edge of the sink before washing his hands and wetting one of the towels. He takes the wet towel and sits down next to Steve on the floor, who looks at him drowsily.

“What’re you doing?” He mutters, as Eddie gently starts swiping at the bloody area with the towel.

“Helping you, you goddamn idiot,” Eddie grumbles. “Now start talking.”

“I’m fine, you don’t have to help me.” Steve mumbles. Eddie just glares at him and continues what he’s doing. “Fine, but you’re not going to believe me.” Steve winches when Eddie actually touches the wound. “But sometimes at night I go out and fight crime.”

Eddie pauses, arms midair, and stares at Steve with an incredulous look on his face. “You do what?”

“Fight crime,” Steve says, with a little shrug. “Just small stuff, robberies and shit, nothing too mayor.”

Eddie just stares at him for a few seconds. “You are goddamn insane,” he eventually concludes, before going back to cleaning Steve up. “Does explain the weird moaning sounds that sometimes come from your room. I honestly thought you were just like, wanking or some shit, but you were probably fucking injured, Jesus Christ.” Eddie’s done cleaning the wound and starts drying it gently with the other towel. “You could have come to me, you know. I would’ve helped.”

Steve does that little shrug thing again and immediately winces. “Didn’t want to bother you.”

“Steve,” Eddie says, looking up, only just now noticing how close they are sitting. “You never bother me. Especially not when you’re hurt. Let me take care of you, yeah?”

Steve nods, a little breathlessly, and a silence falls over them, only broken by Steve’s occasional hisses of pain. “So, you’re not mad?” Steve asks eventually, and Eddie snorts.

“What, because my roommate turns out to be batshit insane? No, I’m pretty sure I already knew that. I did see the nail covered bat like, the first day you moved in. That kind of clued me in.” Eddie reaches for the gauze, and slowly starts wrapping up Steve’s bandaged wound. Steve has to lean forward a bit to allow Eddie to wrap it fully around his back, and somehow he ends up with his forehead on Eddie’s shoulder.

“All right,” Eddie says, after securing the gauze, gently patting Steve’s shoulder. “I think I’m done.”

Steve merely hums, but stays right where he is, with his head on Eddie’s shoulder. Eddie, realizing that this is just what Steve needs right now, carefully wraps his arms around Steve’s back and very gently pulls him in for a hug. Steve hums again, contently, and they stay there for a few seconds, before Eddie himself pulls away.

“Okay, big boy, time to get off the bathroom floor. Tomorrow, you’re going to tell me everything, but right now I think you need some sleep.”

Steve nods and with some help from Eddie gets off the floor and stumbles into the bedroom. Eddie tucks him in, because that’s just the kind of day he’s having right now, but when he turns to leave, Steve grabs his hand. “Stay?” He mumbles, and then his face reddens, clearly embarrassed by his own vulnerability. “I mean, never mind.”

“Yeah,” Eddie breathes, taking a step back towards the bed. “I’ll stay.”