THE RECORD SHOP ⋆ 𝗱𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝗵𝗹

thirty eight

JANUARY 9, 1992. NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK.

Dressed to brave the New York winter, Evie moves swiftly through the hotel she's been in for the last few days, the same one she's stayed at each time she's been in the city, nice and close to Rolling Stone HQ. She steps out onto the street and despite her many layers she feels the chill right down to her bones. Crossing her arms, she stares out at the cars navigating the traffic, eyeing each yellow cab carefully, waiting for Dave to emerge from one.

She is back in the city for another couple of weeks with Rolling Stone, and by the grace of higher beings, Dave is in New York too. In a couple of days Nirvana are playing SNL, which Evie is still struggling to wrap her head around. Despite the songs from Nevermind constantly playing on the radio and on MTV, the success that the boys have achieved still is difficult for her to grasp. Especially since she hasn't seen Dave, Kurt, or Krist all that much while it's been happening. She's mostly been hearing about it second hand through people at Rolling Stone or through Dave briefly through the telephone.

Evie and Dave haven't been with each other since before Christmas, and while Evie once believed that the more time they spent apart the easier the distance would become, she's learning that isn't true. It's been hard to feel so far away from Dave when all she wants is to be able to hold him and listen to him talk about the craziness that his life has become. The distance that has wedged itself between them is taking a strain on her relationship which she felt strongly for the first time on New Year's Eve. Realising the stark difference in her life compared to where she was a year ago hasn't been the easiest thing to deal with. And not having Dave to talk to about these things has only made it harder.

Finally, Dave appears further down the sidewalk, wheeling a suitcase at his side. He sees Evie before she sees him, so he's already got a smile on his face when she turns to see him. She doesn't wait for him to reach her, she runs for him and pulls him into her arms, immediately sinking into the feeling of being held by him. When she pulls back to look at Dave his eyes are brimming with tears.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Evie asks, concerned with Dave's emotional response.

"Sorry, I'm just so happy to see you," he says as he leans in to kiss her.

"I'm happy to see you too," Evie smiles as she gets to take a good look at him.

"You look exhausted," she says, brows furrowed in concern as she takes in his tired eyes and the bags underneath them.

"I'm alright," he says yawning mid-way through the two words.

"Dave," Evie sighs.

"Come on, let's go inside, it's freezing out here," he suggests, and Evie nods, promptly guiding him inside the hotel.

In the privacy of the elevator, Evie can't help herself, she pulls Dave close and kisses him with complete devotion and affection.

"I've really missed you this time," she says, resting her head on Dave's shoulder.

"I know," Dave says understandingly.

Back in Evie's hotel room, Dave falls into the comfortable freshly made bed sheets as Evie takes the liberty of putting away his suitcase for him. It's completely obvious how tired he is no matter how much he wants to deny it.

"How was home?" Evie asks as she lays down next to Dave in bed, resting her head on his chest. The boys had a week-long break between their last show and their shows this week in New York, and Dave had spent it visiting his mom back at his childhood home in D.C. This caused a little fight between them as he has informed Evie he would come and spend the time with her in New York, then changed his mind a few days before he was supposed to fly out. Now that he's here though, Evie can't be mad. She's just happy to have him lying next to her