Sorry to keep posting for a none-existent fandom but I love SLC Punk sm
I wonder if Bob ever got fed up or annoyed with Stevo complaining about his well off parents who treated him nicely. I wonder how many times Bob had to listen to that only wishing that he had parents like his.
Now Bob isn’t the type to hold grudges or get upset, he wouldn’t mention it and would always hear Stevo out regardless. Stevo didn’t know the extent of his situation so it wasn’t his fault. But hearing those rants must’ve sucked knowing he didn’t have any of that to begin with.
He can't. It's too much to wake up every day feeling more and more in love with his best friend, to act like a couple for the sake of Stevo's parents, while tension grows between them. The air between them feels so heavy, their apartment stained by them and their dynamic. Sev can't keep performing like this. It's exhausting. It's killing him.
He sits on their beat up old couch and twists his wedding band around on his finger. It's a pretty ring for sure and Sev has grown fond of it, even if he's never been a fan of gem-encrusted jewellery like this, but it feels disingenuous to have it. What would Stevo's mom think if she knew the truth? She'd given them this ring with the purest of intentions and they were just… what, spitting all over that?
Ms Levvy (he hadn't really understood her keeping her ex-husband's surname, but really who was he to judge?) had always been so sweet to him. She'd welcomed him immediately when Stevo had first brought him to meet her. She'd treated him like more of a son than his own mother ever had. Mr Levvy had been kind too and Sev had enjoyed watching him and Stevo banter over dinner.
He's lying to them all. Especially Stevo.
This wasn't supposed to be serious. This wasn't supposed to be anything more than a way of getting Stevo's parents off of his back. It's not like either of them had any intention of getting into serious relationships anyway. Stevo had always been more casual in that department and Sev had never really trusted anyone enough to let them that close. Except for Stevo, which is really his entire problem.
He cannot continue this lie, he just can't. This isn't a partnership, it's not a marriage. It's a sham, a spiderweb of lies that has gotten out of hand, and Sev needs to get out before the spider returns to eat him. He needs to move on before he reaches a point of no return.
Sev hears the sound of Stevo's bedroom door opening, then the soft footsteps of socked feet on their carpeted floors. Stevo stretches as he enters the living room, tank top raising with his arms and exposing his stomach, and then he flops down on the couch next to Sev.
Sev hesitates. He could leave it. He could let today be normal, make the most of it before he drops a wrench into the well oiled machine of their routine. He doesn't need to ruin this. He doesn't need to destroy this life he's built, even if the structure of it is a crumbling mess of glue and tape and lies.
Fuck, he can't do this.
“Bob and Trish are hosting a party tonight at their new place. Like some housewarming shit but with more booze than the normies do it. So I'm thinking we go and—”
Sev cuts him off. “I can't.”
Stevo turns to him and raises an eyebrow. “Got something better going on? Can I tag along? I don't feel like watching them get all touchy with each other anyway.”
“No, it's…” Sev bites his lip. Fuck. He's really doing this isn't he? He feels like he's going to be sick. He stands up from the couch because there's no way he can continue when he can feel Stevo's warmth against his side, and smell the faint scent of smoke that still lingers on his clothes from his last cig. “I can't do this. Whatever this is. The lying, the– the acting, the marriage, everything. I can't do it.”
He doesn't look at Stevo. He doesn't want to see whatever expression his friend might be making. Sev paces around the living room, back and forth and back and forth—
“What?” Stevo says after a long stretch of silence.
Sev stills, facing away from him. Don't look, don't look, don't look. He twists the ring on his finger some more. “It's too much. We're just– I think we should tell your parents we're breaking up. They'll probably give you a grace period to like… recover or whatever before they start bugging you about settling down again. I just… I can't keep doing this."
“But this is working for us,” Stevo argues. It feels weak, like not even Stevo really believes it.
That stings. Sev feels like his heart is shattering in his chest. He's going to bleed out right here in their shitty little apartment. “I can't put my life on hold forever. You can't seriously expect that of me. And– I mean come on, you can't do that to yourself either. It's not fair for either of us.”
Silence hits again, harder this time, hanging heavy in the air. It's like smoke in a housefire, squirming its way into his lungs and choking him from the inside. He feels dizzy. His head is spinning.
“Marry me,” Stevo says.
Sev wants to cry. He turns around but still doesn't meet Stevo's eyes. “We're already married. That's the whole problem here, I can't—”
Stevo cuts him off. “I'm serious. We'll do it properly this time. Big wedding, invite whoever you want. We'll go all out. Whatever you wanna do.”
It's not fair. It's not fair. His stomach is twisting into knots and he wraps his arms tight around himself to try and hold it all in place. He just needs to rip the bandaid off. “You can't do this just because you're afraid to be alone,” he says. It's a mean thing to say, especially since Stevo has never verbalised that fear himself. But Sev knows. He knows. He's not stupid. “I can't play husbands with you forever.”
“I'm not afraid of being alone—”
“No?” Sev argues. He knows digging his claws even deeper into this wound can only hurt them both, but he does it anyway. “So you weren't upset when Bob told us he was proposing to Trish? You weren't upset when Sandy ended things with you? You weren't upset when—”
“I don't give a shit about being alone!” Stevo stands up then and Sev backs off slightly. “I don't! I care about not having you!”
Sev finally looks at Stevo then. He sees the way Stevo's face is dripping with emotion Sev has never seen from him before. Sev has seen Stevo express a lot of emotions. Angry, annoyed, happy, tripping on weird drug mixtures. He's seen Stevo groggy in the early morning and half asleep as he turns in for the night. He's seen the road rage and the banter with his dad and the way he softens just slightly with his mom.
He's never seen Stevo cry.
He's crying now, eyes red rimmed and soft and sad. Mouth downturned and cheeks damp. Stevo sinks down onto the floor so hard Sev hears the thud of his knees connecting with the ground. His arms wrap around himself and he sobs, a noise so like a wounded animal it feels like Sev has been shot when he hears it.
“Please, don't–” Stevo chokes out between heaving breaths. “Please. Stay, please.”
Sev feels bad. He's not heartless. Guilt squeezes tight around his chest and he really wishes he'd said nothing at all, but also… Well, he had to put his foot down eventually. Seeing Stevo like this though, it hurts. He kneels down in front of Stevo and grabs the back of his neck, tugging him in for a hug. Stevo grabs hold of him immediately as if Sev will fade away without the contact. Sev strokes a hand up and down Stevo's back.
“I'm not saying I'll leave you forever,” Sev whispers. “You're still my best friend. I'll still be here for you like that.”
“I don't want that,” Stevo says. He pulls away from the hug just enough to look at Sev properly. His hands clumsily pet down Sev's arms until he's able to grab Sev's left hand. He slips the ring off of Sev's finger. “I don't want to be your friend. I want to keep being your partner. Your husband.”
Sev's torn up heart pieces itself back together with the threads of hope Stevo's words are giving him. “...What?”
“Let me ask again,” Stevo pleads. He shuffles back and away from Sev and wobbles his way up onto one knee. “I fucked it up the first time but you said yes anyway. So maybe you'll say yes now that I'm not being so fucking stupid.”
“I–” There's no way Sev is hearing this right. There's no way this is happening.
“I know you only agreed to all this shit because you wanted to help me. I took you for granted and that was stupid of me. You're my best friend and the greatest husband anyone could ever have.” He's shaking, hand holding the ring trembling as he takes a breath and continues, “I want to be the husband you deserve. I know I don't deserve a second chance but I am begging. Please, let me try to be what you deserve.”
Oh fuck, now Sev is crying too. Shit. He's dreamed of stuff like this, even if he's tried his best to repress it. So what, he's a hopeless romantic. He deserves it.
“So will you marry me? Again, I mean. Better this time.”
He nods. “Yeah. Yes. Obviously,” he laughs, then tugs Stevo back in again.
He intends for it to be a hug but Stevo grabs his face and kisses him instead. It's clumsy and wet and neither of them can stop laughing long enough to do it properly but it's fine. It's more than fine honestly.
Stevo slips the ring back onto Sev's finger and Sev kisses him again.
“I think we're doing all of this in a pretty backwards way,” Sev jokes.
“Yeah,” Stevo says with a shrug. “But that's pretty fuckin’ punk of us.”
David X SLC Punk edit i made a year ago. Love this film. Means the world to me. Saved me during a hard time in my life. Love you Stevo & Bob forever. 🙏🏽🫶🏽🖤
