Chapter Text
Volt’s transition to sole owner of The Breaker Box came easier and sooner than he would have liked. More often than not now, Eddie was naught but a lurking shadow, slipping either behind the bar or behind the scenes for maintenance. Volt treasured his company and wry wit, often joining Eddie to mix drinks or simply linger when at all possible, but maintenance was Eddie’s priority now.
So it wasn’t unusual for Volt to spend much of his nights alone.
It was fine.
Volt swirled his whiskey sour, staring as the ice began to melt and water down his booze. His lips pulled into half a grimace, half a sneer— not that it really mattered, he wasn’t quite in the mood for a drink at the moment.
Miranda’s final song of the night came to an end, and in the breath between the last note and the applause of the audience, Volt swore he could almost hear Eddie holed up in the back room, desperately wiring and rewiring himself to try and keep the whole place running. He could see it now, those beautiful, calloused, (now, more often than not) bruised and burned hands buried into the wiring of his own inanimate self as though he planned to throttle the damned thing.
The lights overhead flickered. Volt cringed minutely as it sent a wave of vertigo through his mind.
Something was going to give. Sooner than later, that final, fraying wire would snap and the whole house would be plunged into darkness.
But not yet. Not tonight.
He popped the maraschino cherry from his drink into his mouth, crushing the little treat between his molars with a burst of syrupy sweetness before making his way to the stage.
“Absolutely delightful as usual, darlings.” He purred as Miranda stepped aside with a breathless grin, allowing him access to the mic. “Give it up one last time for Miranda and the Migos, everyone!”
The crowd whooped their approval, the band waving to their fans and giving a bow as Volt gestured for them to make their way off stage.
“Now, that may be the last of the live music for tonight, folks—“ The club echoed with a collective sound of disappointment. “—But! We’ve still a bit of time before close. Don’t you worry, you poor, rollicking rabble. The drinks are still flowing.” He leaned into the mic, cherry stem still pinned between sharpened teeth. “Do come visit me over at the bar if you’d like to take advantage~ A wonderful evening to you all!”
A few scattered whistles and hollers followed him as he slipped away from the microphone, but that was to be expected by now. Volt just chuckled to himself, hopping off the edge of the stage (never taking the stairs, of course) and returning to the bar. He knocked the toe of his shoe against the floor twice, and the stage speakers came to life, filling the club with prerecorded tunes. It seemed the human was on a bit of a jazz kick these days, which was fine enough for Volt. Anything but that damned "Caramel Dance" they had ended up looping for about a week on end would be acceptable in his mind, frankly.
Speaking of Volt‘s mind, he began to let it wander now that the acts for the evening had come and gone, falling into the familiar fuzz of routine as he worked.
Maintenance had been rough in recent memory. An old, fraying wire acting up, Eddie had said. That shouldn’t be taking so long to repair, though… a simple patch would be fine, then he’d probably be out for his usual Whiskey Sour before the night was through.
Volt chatted mindlessly with patrons as he mixed their drinks, the cocktail shakers flying between his hands as easy as breathing. He kept a bottle of whiskey at the ready for Eddie’s inevitable exit from the back room, but he never came.
Volt cycled through the information he already knew, again, reasoning with himself for his other half’s absence. Repairs were needed more and more frequently as of late. More frays in Eddie’s wiring. Always fraying wires. He never let Volt get too good of a look, to be honest. Always alluded to his faults, his failing, but never wanted Volt to see it first hand, not if he could help it. Something in Volt wished the human would see it, even if he never got to. Wished they’d notice something was wrong and bring in an electrician or something to finally give Eddie the proper care. They could only hold it together on their end for so long, after all.
He was setting down another drink as the lights began to subtly brighten, and Volt had just enough time to take a bracing breath at the tell tale sign of a power fluctuation as—
—With a tremendous, almost heaving sigh, the house‘s power went down and everything went black.
Just for a moment.
Volt jerked back to consciousness like a dead man rising from the grave: with a similarly heaving gasp as he lurched upright from his spot on the floor. Someone in the club shrieked.
“Volt! Are you alright?!” The floor was awash with concerned murmurs, Farya in particular leaning over the bar as though she planned to vault over and check on him. “Did the power just go out? Should we get Eddie? Stay there, let me check your pulse and-“
“A-Absolutely not, Fayra.” Volt managed through grit teeth. “I’m just fine.”
He pushed himself to his feet with a grunt, forcing his wobbling legs beneath him despite their (and Farya’s) protests. The crowd continued to whisper and chatter until Volt cleared his throat for attention.
“Well, now,” he heaved, clutching at the bar like a lifeline. “I think, on that note, it’s best I call it for the night. If you would kindly show yourselves out, it would be much appreciated.” He brushed Fayra’s concerned hand from his shoulder, already having made his way around the bar to address everyone properly. “Don’t worry about your tabs, my loves. Consider it on the house for a…lapse in showmanship this evening. We’ll have everything right as rain by tomorrow's show, I promise you! Don’t you worry!”
A few more worried mutterings floated about, but the promise of free drinks and Volt’s steely gaze paired with his charming smile were enough to shoo the last of the patrons out for the evening.
He didn’t even bother locking the door, staggering towards the back room as quickly as he could. It had just been a moment, but even still, his limbs felt leaden. Had it been any longer… well…
He’d rather not think about that right now.
“Eddie,” Volt rasped as he finally threw open the door to their maintenance room. He was clinging to the doorframe hard enough he wouldn’t be surprised if they found gouges in the wood later. “Eddie, what happened? Are you alright?”
Eddie’s head whipped around from where he was frantically working at the breaker, startled steel and copper eyes meeting hazy, electric silver.
“Volt-!” He drew his hands back, quickly wiping them on his trousers and rushing to where Volt was starting to slump down against the wall. “Shit, I’m-- fuck, I’ve been trying to keep us from an outage all night but the damn thing just—“
“‘S okay, love. ‘M fine.” Volt hushed him, raising a hand for silence. “You’re alright?”
Eddie gave a noncommittal shrug, helping Volt forward to sit down on one of the spare couches they kept in case.. something happened to one of the ones in the club (because honestly, who knew what could happen in a house like this?).
“Amp, you’re freezing…” Eddie tugged Volt’s coat around his shoulders more properly, as though fixing a child’s before sending them out into the snow. “I’m fine. H-Hurts, but you’re still controlling the power so—“
Volt made a noise in the back of his throat, something more characteristic of Eddie’s growling than his own, usually smooth as silk vocalizations.
“Fuck. Shouldn’t be hurting you if I’m managing the power. Damn it.”
Eddie huffed a small laugh through his nose.
“I’ll be fine. Worry about yourself right now, dumbass.” He gave Volt’s leg a pat before returning to the breaker. Volt didn’t like how hard Eddie’s hands were shaking as he tried to rewire himself.
“Can I help?”
“Volt, you just went down out there, didn’t you?” Volt sniffed, but refused to answer. “And I’m worried we’re about to black out again. Just- just hang in there, let me get it.”
Another snarling protest from Volt, though when he tried to push himself to his feet, the world began to swirl into a kaleidoscopic mess of color and sound and fuck, too much.
He sunk back into the couch with a groan. Eddie’s eyes flicked to his splayed out form, at the hand coming up to rub at temples between pinched fingers. Volt could feel his concern, though in his mind, it was truly focused on the wrong place.
“Eddie, love.“ Volt managed, sounding haggard. “Talk me through it. We’ll figure it out together. What have you tried?”
Eddie groaned, but relented in letting Volt assist.
“Damn near everything, it’s just this fucking wire—“
“What would it take to truly fix that wire, then?”
Eddie hesitated just long enough. Volt’s eyes narrowed.
“I—“
“Eddie.”
“It’s not that— it’s not that simple, V.”
“Bullshit. You could fix or rewire half the damn house with your eyes closed. What do you need? Why is this wire any different?”
Eddie grit his teeth, pressing on his brow for a moment. Volt waited, gaze unwavering as Eddie tried to gather his words.
“It’s— it’s different because…” Eddie gave a rough exhale. “To fix this one, we’d need to… fuck, probably at least a patch and then a full reset. Totally switch everything off.”
“… and? Spark, you’ve done a million patches by now, and while I have to assume you’re unwell when the power goes out, you’re still here, so you should be able to—“
“That’s just it, though, Volt.” Eddie cut him off with a ragged, horribly pained laugh. “I’d still be here as the wiring, but what about you?”
It was Volt’s turn to pause. His fingers traced quietly over one of the seams of the couch, digging at the occasional loose thread with his nail. When he did eventually speak, it was quieter, almost hesitant.
“… I’d… well, I’d… simply return when the power comes back on. Like usual, I assume.”
Eddie snapped his fingers, pointing at Volt. Volt winced.
“That. That, right there. You assume. We both know how regular blackouts go for you, so…” Eddie ran a hand through his wired hair, pushing it from his eyes despite the smudges of grease on his hands. “This is… it’s the wire I pulled your current out of in the first place, Volt. I’m not taking the chance that when the lights come back on… maybe you won’t, okay?”
For once in his existence, Volt found himself completely at a loss for words. He opened his mouth. Closed it. Leaned forward, taking his head in his hands and running his fingers through his hair to try and ground himself, to smooth the arcing.
Fuck.
He might go out… he might actually go out for real… but this was killing Eddie.
“Eddie… you can’t…” Volt’s voice was desperate enough that Eddie quickly made his way back to Volt’s side, taking a knee beside the couch. “I can’t ask you to live like this— you— you’re killing yourself for me.”
Eddie grabbed one of Volt’s hands by the wrist, gently tugging it from his hair. Volt raised his head, meeting Eddie’s eyes as the latter pressed a soft kiss to his knuckles. His scruffy upper lip was rough against the back of Volt’s hand.
“You didn’t ask me to, Volt. And you don’t have to.” He spoke softly, but firmly, as though trying to soothe a wild animal. “It’s my choice. I choose to do this for you.”
Volt looked desperately across Eddie’s face, his eyes searching, searching for something… Something that… just wasn’t there. He gave a long, suffering sigh and squeezed Eddie’s hand, leaning forward to press his forehead against the other man’s.
“… Alright. Yes, it is.” Volt murmured. He drew back, reaching a hand up to cup Eddie’s jaw in his palm. Eddie pressed into the touch without hesitation. “Promise me you’ll rest where you can. For me, if you must.”
Eddie’s brow furrowed slightly, but he nodded.
“I… yeah.” Promise.”
“Thank you.”
Eddie nodded, then pushed himself to his feet. He dusted off his slacks, then returned to tinkering with the wiring. Volt’s tired eyes trailed after him.
“Alright. Let me see if I can keep us up and running for the rest of the evening.”
“Club’s empty, darling. Just do what you can.”
A glance over Eddie’s shoulder. A nod.
“I’ve gotcha, sweetheart. You rest up.”
Volt gave a bemused exhale through his nose, though he did finally seem to begin to relax.
“Should be telling you that.”
“Maybe.” The sound of Eddie’s work rewiring again filled the back room. “Tell me something else?”
A pause as Volt thought.
“… Farya tried to take my pulse out there.”
“Hah! Did she really?”
“Mmh… That she did.”
“Do you even have a pulse?”
Volt snorted.
“Now that’s the question.”
Eddie continued to work. The lights flickered with a power fluctuation, and Volt hissed out through his teeth as another wave of vertigo and nausea washed over him. Eddie remained silent, stock straight and still but Volt knew from experience how he was biting his tongue.
“…. Was it. Uh. A good night otherwise?” Eddie managed, attempting to fill the silence, to distract them both as he quite literally played with their hearts.
“It was fine.” Volt smiled despite himself. “Better, now, I think. I must admit, I don’t like ending the night without you.”
“Ah… well… I’m nearly done. Then we can call it a night.”
“Wonderful…” Volt trailed off momentarily. “Now, I don’t want to rush you, but if you take too long I may just doze right here.”
“Oh yeah? You’ll sleep on the couch for once?”
A small huff.
“…. Not if you phrase it like that, no.”
It was Eddie’s turn to snort out a laugh.
“I’m kidding. I’ll- we can share the bed, but if you want to sleep now... I’ll wake you when I’m done, okay?
That answer seemed to satisfy Volt. He shifted slightly, arms crossed over his chest as he settled in to rest.
“… you better, or I’ll—“ a yawn. “I’ll sic Farya on you next.”
“Right. ‘Course you will. Good night, Volt.”
“‘Night, Eddie.”