#and then nancy would get all like sheepish and just leave and steve would end up with like an edible arrangement and shit a few days later

[theshippirate22]

every now and then i get hit with the idea of what might happen if Joyce found out about the sins of s1&2 jonathan

[berrymoos]

this acc is so sweet and pretty and WKDJDHGG(>▽<) and i know i jus did one last night but i can’t help it it’s too cute i just had the idea of little jonny in the same room with little robin and eddie when everyone’s over:>

i just love chaos🤭

like imagine jonny just trying to color and eddie who has no clue about personal space and he’s all up on jonny but he doesn’t know how to say he wants him off so it’s jus like:

“ l really like your coloring, i can never get in the lines:)”

he doesn’t respond because he’s uncomfortable and he wants max

“stevie says it’s rude not to say thank you”

he gets annoyed and calls for robin who annoys poor jonny even more

“why do you have that in your mouth?” “robin he’s bein mean(;_;)” “ why are you bein mean? did you do something?” “ no! why would you say that!?”

*the two start fighting, mind you jonny is right next to them*

he has enough and just starts screaming so they’ll stop and they look at him like he has five heads until steve and nancy come to see what all the fuss is about:>

or robin and eddie scheming and making him be the bait so they can get the candy without the caregivers noticing and he just breaks down because he

(♡´▽`♡) U ARE SUCH A SWEETHEART WAHSNRJWJDKE THANK YOUUUU U ,, u can do as many as u would like hotline, i do not mind <33 (also the rest of ur ask didn't send on my end 💔)

CHAOS YEAAAA >:~] nance & steve come racing in bc they think something bad has happened — like jonny got hurt or he saw a spider — bc jonny NEVER raises his voice when he's small, max is usually his loud voice ... only to find him glaring at the ground while rob & ed look at him like ಠ_ರೃ

n steve is like "whats all the commotion about?" half-jokingly & eddie is SO quick to point at rob: "she started it!!"

>:0 "no i didn't, you made jonny upset!"

>:00 "you made him upseter!!"

so now steve's gotta tell those two to chill out, take a breath, & explain from the beginning ... meanwhile jonny has crawled away from his drawing to nancy's lap, curled in her arms, pouting at the floor & explaining everything he can with irritated mumbles

"ooohhh, so eddie was making you feel a little uncomfy?"

nod nod. "n wobbie n him got woud 3:<"

"they got loud, so you screamed?"

nod nod. "cant say so sceam 33:<"

"ahh, you didn't know how to say it so you screamed, yeah?"

nod nod. "n wan maxie 333:<"

"hm ... we can try calling her"

they just leave the room to go call max while steve is just now getting to the root of the problem w rascals robin & eddie JSOSJESK ,, so when he turns to where nancy was sitting to explain to her, she's already down the hall listening to jonny talk to his friend & he sighs

❝or robin and eddie scheming and making him be the bait so they can get the candy without the caregivers noticing and he just breaks down because he...❞

im gonna assume he breaks down bc he doesn't wanna get in trouble :(( he doesnt wanna do this!! he doesnt even really want candy, he just had a snack!!!

so robin & eddie r rushing to calm him down — "waitwaitwait no!!! don't cry JJ it's okay it's fine!! looklooklook you don't gotta really get the candy, [robbie/eddie] can!!" — but they can't get him to stop. it's like the equivalent of rough-housing too hard w ur younger sibling & now u gotta get them to stop crying before mom comes ,, the mom in question being steve & nancy HSVSHSHD

cue a stern talking to from nancy about trying to use baby jonny to get candy from the jar even after the cgs said no, rob & ed looking very sheepish, & steve scooping jonny up on his hip to soothe him

(and if max is there ... cue her wrath for using her buddy as a way to sneak candy 😰)

[crossroadsserpent]

Colors.

Eddie Munson x GN!Reader.

This is based on the whole you can't see color until you meet your soul mate thing :3

(This fic oneshot was also posted on wattpad with some of my other Eddie oneshots.

My requests on here and wattpad are open!)

~~~~~~~

19 years you've spent not seeing color, you wondered if the whole 'you'll start to see color when you meet your soul mate' thing was just told to hide the fact that there was really no color in the world and it was just a really depressing reality that no one wanted to accept. Not that it really bothered you anyways, you never minded the lack of color or the teasing from other people your age who'd supposedly met their soul mates, you just thought of them as liars just wanting to be cool for 'seeing color'.

When your parents told you that they were planning on moving you thought is was a great idea, a change of scenery is always great right? And Hawkins Indiana sounded like a neat place to live so you were excited for the move.

Your first day at the new high-school came quicker than expected and it was.... interesting to say the least. You met a boy named Dustin in the library, bonding over some of the fantasy books you were checking out. Then at lunch you met the school's pretty boy Steve Harrington, he seemed nice but that might be because you're new. Steve introduced you to Nancy and a few other people, and all of them seemed nice but also seemed a bit wary of you, probably because you didn't dress like they did or try to look your best like they do.

At the end of your third school day Dustin rushes up to you excitedly "Y/N! I've got someone I want you to meet!" He didn't give you time to answer before grabbing your wrist, pulling you out of the school and towards the woods behind the school. Now freaked out you wrench your wrist out of his grasp "woah, woah! What the fuck Henderson?! Why are you dragging me into the woods like a serial killer?"

Dustin rolls his eyes "Just come on! I can't help that he hangs out in the woods!"

You give him a cautious look before reluctantly letting him continue to lead you into the woods.

After a minute or two you could see some people standing around talking

"Great, he's taking me to a group of bullies." You thought as you to approached them.

Dustin called out to them excitedly "Hey Eddie!" Loud enough to scare both of the people and cause one to scurry off quickly, almost like she didn't want to be seen there.

That left who you assumed to be Eddie. He looked at Dustin "Jesus, don't yell like that out here, you're gunna get me caught."

"Sorry Eddie, I forgot Chrissy was buying from you today... but I brought a new friend!" He gestured to you "they love a lot of the same fantasy books we do!"

You gave Eddie a sheepish wave "um... Hi, I'm Y/N."

Eddie smiled and held a hand out to you "Eddie Munson! Good to meet ya! Love the band shirt"

You chuckled softly, shaking his hand "Oh yeah, I love Bon Jovi"

It happened in an instant, one second it was all black and white, but as soon as you shook Eddie's hand the whole world was like an explosion of color. You fought hard to keep your cool, worried how your new friend would react. Eddie's demeanor changed slightly after the handshake, he began stumbling over his words, stuttering slightly as he tells Dustin to leave them alone to talk. Dustin happily obliged, running off to catch up with his friends, leaving you and Eddie alone in the woods.

"Hey um... c-can you see color now?" Eddie asked nervously.

You gave him a small nod "Yeah.... I guess that means-"

"We're soul mates, yeah..." Eddie cut you off "But that doesn't mean we have to date!" He assured, worried he might weird you out.

You give him a small smile "What if I want to?" This shocked Eddie but he  returned your smile, happy you were feeling the same way he was. "Then from now on I'm not calling you Y/N, I'm calling you nothing but nicknames" this made you giggle "Sounds good to me baby"

He let out a happy giggle, taking your hand in his "Ah, sweetheart, you're already perfect and I've only just met you."

[instasiswetrust]

"Guys! Oh, I'm so glad you're here!" Dustin risks bowling over Mike, Lucas, and Will with the exuberance of his hug but there's no way he can keep quiet about this. Not after what he had done the night before. "I have a secret and I'm dying to tell somebody else."

They all seem confused for a moment before Lucas' eyes widen.

"You got Suzie pregnant?"

"What? No!" He makes a face, jokingly punching his friend on the shoulder. "Jesus, Lucas, why would you even think that?"

"If it's not that then what?" Mike sounded annoyed but then again, he kind of always sounded like that.

Dustin wasted no time in pulling out the leatherbound journal he had found the night before, leading his friends to an outcrop near the docks, shadowed by trees. He opened it to the first page, where Steve had scrawled his name in neat calligraphy.

"Is that Steve's diary? Dustin, what the hell?"

"It's from the summer of '85 guys! You know what that means?"

"Uh, that you shouldn't be reading your older brother's teenage thoughts?" Lucas fixed Dustin with a light glare, which he ignored.

"No, idiot. Summer of '85 was the last time Steve ever dated someone! You know, the same year he moved here? When mom took him in?"

"I'm not following. What does this have to do with your wedding?" Mike crossed his arms over his chest, Will peeking over Dustin's shoulder to scan the pages.

"Well, wouldn't it be nice if Steve got to be happy too? He's been taking care of me since my mom died. He's the only family I have and if Suzie and I leave the Villa, who will help him?"

Lucas and Mike don't seem convinced with Dustin's reasoning but at least they stop glaring accusingly at him. In the end, is Will who breaks the staring contest between the three of them.

"So what did you find?"

"Uh, okay so listen to this." Dustin flipped some pages from the journal stopping at a page and grinning.

I keep being surprised when Mama doesn't show up to the important events in my life but I guess I should be used to it now. Robin insists I forget her, Nancy asked if I was planning to go back, and that's when I told them about my plans. Both of them are sad to see me go, we're the Dynamos after all, but they were supportive and saw me off at the airport.

My flight did a stop in France. I met Tommy there when he confused me for one of the staff workers. He's kind of a dick but in a charming way, and he's got this adorable smattering of freckles covering his face. He told me about growing up in London and how his dad was a banker, how his mom had his whole life planned out for him as soon as he graduated from college.

We went out for a few drinks and friendly banter turned into drunk 21 questions. Tommy told me how he's always wanted to but he's never been with another guy before. And look, I'm never like this! But we were pretty drunk, and I was curious if those freckles went all the way down! So one thing led to another and we ...

"I'm not sure if I wanna keep listening to this," Lucas said, making a face.

Mike, on the other hand, took a seat next to Dustin trying to see what was written on the journal. "Well, I do."

"What's dot dot dot?" Will asked, eyebrows furrowed.

"Oh, that's just a euphemism for having sex," Dustin said waving a dismissive hand as he flipped through more pages. "Okay, okay, now listen to this."

After almost missing the ferry, I finally reached Scopello this afternoon. The turqouise waters and the approaching sunset must have been one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen in my life. I think, that maybe I could stay here. Forever. Oh, but I'm not sure, it would mean rarely seeing Robin and Nancy, dropping all dreams of singing in the big stages, all those dreams...

I don't want to worry about this now. This place is too beautiful and I want to make the most of it.

There was a storm the other night. I've been staying on a rundown farm at the edges of town and during the storm heard a loud sound downstairs. There was a horse there, probably scared from the thunder but the ceiling collapsed and I couldn't get to it. I wasn't really thinking when I decided it would be a good idea to try and run back into town to get help. Luckily, this guy had been out driving (who rides out a Camaro in a thunderstorm??) and he helped me get to the horse and calm him down.

His name is William, Billy for short (the guy, not the horse), and I've never met a guy more infuriating than him. Or as hot, either. Good gods, he looks like he walked straight out of an art museum or something.

We’ve spent this whole month together, going out to swim at the beach (he tried teaching me to surf and I almost twisted my ankle on some rocks), then to a local bar (I actually got a new job singing there, who would've thought?), some picnics. It's been awfully romantic despite Billy’s brazenness and cocksure attitude.

And I think that I... I think that I might love him.

"But if they were so into each other, what happened?" Will pipes up again, a frown on his face as he tried to read over Dustin's shoulder with little results.

"I still think you shouldn't be doing this, dude. What if Steve finds out? He's going to be so mad at you!" Lucas interjects, picking another rock from the sand and making it skip over the surface of the water.

"He would kill me for sure," Dustin shrugs, offering a toothy grin. "But only if he finds out."

"Dustin, c'mon! What happened next?" At this point Will looks like he's about to rip the journal out of his friend's hands and read it himself.

"Jesus, you're pushy. Okay, so-"

Billy's engaged. Didn't even tell me, I had to find out for myself while I was making him breakfast and accidentally stumbled over some documents he had left laying around. My chest hurts, and I haven't stopped crying since he left this morning but I'm just so angry!

Fuck, I feel so dumb. This is all my fault. All because I was being a stupid reckless little slut.

Ugh. I sound like my mom. At least Robin and Nancy called to say they would arrive this week. I've truly missed them, can't wait to see them.

The girls came to see me during one of my shifts at the bar where I was singing. Robin couldn't stop laughing at Nancy's surprised face. She thinks I've changed a lot since I left but in a good way. I don't really believe her and I think she knows that. With them here, at least the ache from Billy's departure barely makes itself present.

Oh! Before I forget to write this again, today I saw Jonathan again. He was this nice photographer who slowed the ferry's departure so I wouldn't miss it. We talked a lot on our way and he's such a nice guy. He came to the bar today and we got talking again, he asked if I would be okay with modeling for him tomorrow. Nancy and Robin insisted that I tell him yes, as a chance to try and forget Billy by "getting some".

I told them it's an awful idea but I accepted Jonathan's offer either way. He's quiet but caring, and I really enjoy talking with him. We talked about his family back in America, his mom and his little brother. Honestly, if something were to happen tomorrow, I wouldn't be opposed to it...

"Wait." Will leans back, a confused expression on his face that slowly morphs into astonishment. "Dustin, does Steve ever say the last name of this Jonathan guy?"

"Uh," Dustin frowns, flipping through the pages. "Yeah, they are here somewhere. Let me look for them."

"Will, you don't think-" Mike starts, having caught onto his best friend's train of thought.

"Jonathan took a trip to Italy when I was fifteen." He says simply, biting on the pad of his thumb.

"Oh shit." All eyes turn to Dustin who's got his eyes fixated on the journal in his lap. "Byers. The guys last name is Byers."

"Holy shit Will, your brother hooked up with Dustin's brother." Lucas tries to tamper down his laughter but it's a futile endeavor, his lips curling up before he can control them. "I can't believe this."

"But wait," Mike turns to Dustin who's expression has turned troubled. His eyes narrow. "You still haven't explained what this has to do with your wedding. What did you do?"

Dustin stays quiet for a minute or two before he lifts his gaze to his friend's, a sheepish smile on his lips. "I uh, I invited all three of them to the wedding but made it look like Steve sent the invites. And they uh... they all said yes?"

This time Lucas doesn't even bother hiding his laugh, doubling over as he nearly cackles at the stupidness of this whole situation.

"Dude, you're so fucked when Steve finds out."

[magniloquent-raven]

so, uh, this fic is inspired by this post. cuz @bambixxblue tagged it as billy/steve and the idea lodged itself in my brain. so here y’all go, pls enjoy

----

Valentine’s Day was a month ago. Steve had, on a whim, bought a box of chocolates. The heart-shaped box kind. It was a deep shade of red, and, because he wasn’t drunk when he bought it, the least frilly one he could find. 

It was a completely normal thing to do in early February. Especially for a guy like Steve. He might have been dethroned and dumped for the school creep but he was still rich and good-looking, people expected him to be putting himself out there. It had been months since he and Nancy broke up, enough time for him to have moved on. 

And he had. Moved on. Hence the Valentine’s Day gift. 

He was sweaty and anxious the whole time he was in the store, worried that someone might look at him and just know. Know who the chocolates were for. 

No one did, because it was a dumb thing to worry about, but he still left with his heart in his throat and his palms sweating through his gloves. 

He drove home a little faster than normal that day, and his hands shook as he unlocked the front door. 

Once Steve got inside he stared at the bag in his hand. Stared at it, and...god, this was such a stupid idea. This was the kind of shit he did for girls he liked, back before Nancy. He could just walk up to them in the cafeteria and their friends would giggle and blush and it was all so easy, but this...

He couldn’t do that with Billy. Nothing about this situation was easy. 

The chocolates ended up shoved in Steve’s sock drawer, and he spent the next month trying to forget the whole thing. 

Which is hard because he and Billy are friends now. At first it was a silent truce. A shared cig here and there while they were waiting for the kids. Then there was Billy’s muttered apology, and Steve’s tentative forgiveness. 

Then suddenly Billy was everywhere, and Steve...well, Steve apparently hadn’t learned much from getting his heart broken before because he fell hard. Again. 

So now they’re hanging out in Steve’s back yard sharing a blunt and he’s trying really hard not to think about how his mouth is touching something that Billy’s mouth also touched because he’s apparently been transformed into a twelve-year-old who’s never been kissed and gets worked up about shit like that. 

It’s, frankly, very embarrassing. 

“—and I told her, it wasn’t happening, but—” Billy’s rambling about something, smoke trailing from his lips, and Steve isn’t hearing a single word. “—Harrington?” Steve blinks a couple times. Refocuses. “You with me, man?”

“Um.”

Billy snorts, “Yeah, didn’t think so.” He’s grinning though, slow and lazy. He only smiles like that when he’s high, like he’s shed a couple layers of whatever keeps him wound so tight when he’s sober. “S’cool.”

“So, uh, what were you...?” Steve rubs the back of his neck, sheepish, and looks away. It’s easier to listen to Billy when he isn’t looking at him. His face is...distracting. His everything is distracting, actually.

“Ugh, fuckin’ Amy. Chick won’t leave me alone. It’s annoying.”

Right. Billy’s endless line of suitors. Steve’s favourite thing to talk about. He shrugs in a way he hopes is noncommittal. “She’s cute though.” He glances at Billy, who’s wrinkling his nose. 

“Why don’t you date her then,” he grumbles. 

“I did. Sort of. Sophomore year I bought her flowers for Valentine’s Day and then we hooked up a couple times.” He immediately regrets bringing it up. It reminds him of the aborted Valentine’s Day gesture stuffed in his dresser. Thinking about it ever is awkward, but doubly so when Billy’s sitting right next to him.

“Right, forgot you used to do that stuff.”

“What stuff?”

“Girls.”

Steve chokes on his spit. “You’re an asshole,” he coughs, while Billy cackles at him and pats his shoulder. 

“Yeah,” Billy hums. His expression settles into something more pensive. “You didn’t do anything this year though. You’re not still hung up on Wheeler are you?”

“No!” he says it too quickly, too vehemently. Billy raises his eyebrows. “I mean—I—I’m not. I was gonna do something but—” Steve’s whole face feels like it’s on fire and he bites his tongue. Literally. He clenches his jaw to keep any more words from coming out. Billy’s hand is still on his shoulder and it feels like a lead weight. 

“Oh yeah?” His voice is light but Steve can feel Billy’s fingers tighten on his sleeve, clutching at his shoulder. Steve’s brain goes a little fuzzy. “Why didn’t you?”

He cannot have this conversation. He can’t. It shouldn’t happen. He repeats it, in his head, panicking and anxious, guts in a knot, but the words slip out anyway. “No point. It...wouldn’t have gone over well.”

“Come on, King Steve’s afraid of a little rejection now?” 

Yes. Terrified. 

Maybe it’s the weed making him stupid. Or maybe he just wasn’t that bright to begin with. Or maybe monster hunting has made him reckless even in the face of fear, because he stands then, tells Billy to wait and walks into the house.

His body feels numb. There’s nothing but the roar of his heartbeat and a sick, anxious twist in his stomach.

The box is a little squashed. There’s a crease in the cardboard lid, a jagged line across the length of it. 

It feels like he’s barely had time to blink before he’s in his back yard again, looking down at Billy. He’s sitting on one of the lounge chairs, blinking at Steve. His button-up is askew, hanging off to one side and half unbuttoned, his eyes are a little bloodshot, his hair is tangled from the breeze, and Steve’s never seen anyone more beautiful. 

He drops the box in Billy’s lap.

“There’s no note or anything. I...didn’t think I’d actually...It’s been sitting in my sock drawer for a month because I was too chickenshit to tell you that I—anyway, that’s for you. It’s for you, ok? And that’s why I didn’t do anything for Valentine’s Day, because I’ve liked you for months and I knew it was stupid to do anything about it, but, well, no one’s ever accused me of being smart.” Steve lets out shaky breath that’s half sigh, half self-deprecating laugh. He feels like he’s about to shake apart, he’s trembling so hard. 

Billy hasn’t said anything. He’s staring at the box in his lap, putting his hands around it real careful like he’s afraid to break it. Or afraid it’s going to explode. Honestly, Steve can’t read how he’s feeling about the whole thing but he’s bracing himself for the worst when Billy finally looks at him, wide-eyed. “You...I...” he trails off, then shakes his head, laughing. 

And...it’s not the worst thing that could have happened. But it still hurts. Steve’s getting ready to bail so he can cry himself to sleep when Billy stands up, a weird look in his eye. “Wait here,” he says, and walks off. Which. What.

Forty-five excruciatingly long seconds later Steve—who hasn’t moved, can’t, he’s panicked and frozen—feels a hand on his shoulder.

Billy’s back, and...

He shoves something crumpled and pink into Steve’s hands. 

“That’s been in the glove box of my car for a month.” It shows. The edges are bent and there’s a split up one side of the lid. There’s a bow on it, squished beyond saving, with a little card hanging off it that says pretty boy in smudged ink. “Couldn’t keep in in the house ‘cause I got drunk and fuckin’ wrote on it, like an idiot,” Billy’s fidgeting with his hands, not looking at Steve.

He looks nervous, even though Steve was the one who brought this shit up in the first place, even though Billy already knows Steve has feelings for him. Even though Billy Hargrove never gets nervous. 

Steve’s heart is so full it hurts. “I kind of love you,” he blurts, too loud and extremely unsmooth. He can’t feel embarrassed about it though, because Billy finally looks at him and the look on his face takes Steve’s breath away. 

He’s got this tiny little smile tugging at the corners of his mouth, and his eyes are wide and wet and hopeful, and who gave him the right to have eyes that blue, and his freckles—

Billy’s standing a lot closer than he was before, and Steve’s pretty sure he’s forgotten how to breathe entirely by this point. Which is fine, because he can feel Billy’s hand sliding across the back of his neck, threading through his hair, and if this is how he dies then so be it. 

And then Billy presses a kiss to Steve’s cheek, to his nose, his forehead, so softly, cradling his face like it’s something precious and Steve is so happy he could cry. 

“Oh,” he breathes, quiet, afraid to break the moment. 

Steve can feel Billy’s smile again his cheek, “Yeah,” he says, breath hot in Steve’s ear.

He doesn’t say anything else. Doesn’t need to. Steve pulls him close and kisses him soundly and he knows he’s loved too.

[heart-eye-harrington]

frozen hearts don’t thaw overnight

(gif credits to @harringtown​, thank you!)

Summary:  After the break-up with Nancy, Steve isn’t sure how to spend his Sunday mornings. He finds himself in the diner you work at week after week

Word Count: 1.7k

Warnings: mentions of loneliness

⋆★⋆★⋆★⋆★⋆★⋆★⋆★⋆★⋆★⋆★⋆★⋆★

Steve found himself in a never-ending battle with the cold. He hated the goosebumps and stiffness that it brought. Regardless of how many layers he wore, the wind found its way to his skin, frozen fingers running down his spine. No matter how many people he surrounded himself with, he always felt the coldness in their hollow laughs. He could turn on every light in his house, but, the shadows of simpler times lingered in the corners. His house was too big, any warmth dissipated in its sheer volume. 

Nancy was a candle, a small and steady flame that provided warmth and light. She was a comfort, someone who listened and paid attention. She invited him over for family meals that took place in a house full of life. The Wheeler house never felt empty, filled with Mrs. Wheeler’s homemade meals and genuine questions, sibling banter and occasional laughter, Holly’s wide eye gaze, and Mr. Wheeler’s unsolicited advice. As dysfunctional as the whirl-wind was, it the warmest Steve felt. 

The small flame burned for a while, long enough for Steve to get used to it. With a single breath, it was blown out. 

A single word, bullshit. 

It had been months, but the frost she left behind could not be shaken. Steve woke up to an empty house. The January morning air waited for him outside of his comforter, pouncing into his bones after he shrugged off the thick blanket. Sleep did its best to linger, clouding his vision and trapping warmth under his skin so he wouldn’t freeze. Steve would pull whatever sweatshirt he threw on closer to him as he walked down the stairs, footsteps echoing with each step. 

If this were months ago, he’d be rushing out the door, speeding off to Nancy’s house for Sunday brunch. He’d be glaring at Mike and trying whatever new breakfast casserole Mrs. Wheeler would subject him to. Nancy would give polite tight-lipped smiles, her hand would brush his bicep. 

Now, all that waits for him is an empty kitchen and a barely stocked fridge. As much as he’d gotten used to being alone, to cooking half-way decent meals for himself, to silent lonely meals, he couldn’t take it anymore. He had to get out. So like a moth to a flame, he sought out warmth. 

Steve grabs his keys off the hook and drives to the local diner.

 It was perfect. He could sit at a stool, no need to awkwardly ask for a table for one, order some hot food, and people watch. Sunday mornings brought all walks of life to the eatery; older couples share sticky buns and black coffee, parents groan as their children spill maple syrup on freshly pressed church clothes, hungover teenagers laugh as they piece together the night before. 

“Morning! What can I getcha?” A question plucks Steve from his wandering daze. He looks up to find your soft eyes. A white waitress hat, the one that resembles a paper boat, sits crookedly atop your head. He’s instantly entranced by your comforting energy, but realizes he can’t just soak it in, he needs to say something. 

“Um, can I get…” Steve quickly tries to scan the menu, hoping something jumps out to him in the next few milliseconds, “uh, a coffee with cream and sugar?” He looks up to you with a sheepish expression, as if his request was somehow odd and unreasonable. 

“Sure thing. Let me grab that, it’ll give you a bit more time with the menu.” you turn, off to get his coffee and a dish of cream cups and sugar. You’re gone just long enough to let Steve breathe and pick out his breakfast. You try not to over-analyze the somber energy that lingers around him as you set down the dishes and take his order. 

You and Steve didn’t really run in the same circles. Of course you knew of him, he was the king of Hawkins High himself, but you hadn’t known this Steve. This Steve had sunken shoulders and anxious eyes. As his trips to your diner became more frequent, you’d hope the puzzle pieces would fall into place, but it seemed like the opposite was happening. 

It was like watching a masterpiece flake away before your eyes. Every week more chips of paint would fall, the facade crumbling to reveal what was underneath, a sad and confused boy. 

You did pick up little things about what was underneath. You saw how he took his coffee, drowned in cream and sugar, a tower of empty cream cups assembled during his every visit. He held his mug with two hands when it rested on the counter, as if trying to warm up frozen fingertips. Loud noises and dogs barking made him stiff, his grip tightening on whatever was in his hand. He always took his eggs with hot sauce and dipped his potatoes in whatever was left. 

It seemed to be an especially harsh winter, not a week went by without flakes falling. Hawkins was covered in a thick blanket, the snow muffling and quieting the already sleepy town. Steve warmed despite the weather.  After weeks of sitting silently, observing others from his own little world, he tried to bring you into it. 

“Here is your ‘coffee’-” you laugh at the word, seeing as there was barely a drop of coffee amongst the cream and sugar, “and the number one. Need anything else?” You take your rehearsed pause you’ve learned to do after working here for so long. It was just enough time for patrons to look over what you delivered, or think of something they’ve needed since you last helped them. 

“Some warmer weather.” Steve gives a small chuckle to hide some of the seriousness behind his words. It seemed to be an endless winter, but the diner was always warm. You’re used to sarcastic answers like that from patrons, but this was the first time Steve’s joked around with you. 

“Well, l can call the weatherman, see if he can swing anything for ya.” If felt good to see a twinkle in his eyes, and not the distant grey that’s been plaguing them. He picks up his forks, pushing around some of his eggs. He shifts, taking a breath, contemplating his next moment.

“Has this seemed like an especially cold winter to you, too?” His gaze says on the plate, eyebrows knitted together, a small shake to his head. The lure was out, now to see if you’d humor him and bite. 

“Hm, maybe. To be honest, I don’t quite mind it. You know how hot it gets in here by now,” you draw another laugh from him. It feels like the two of you practically live amongst the checkered floor and coffee rings on the counter. “But when I’m not rocking this killer uniform, I usually have on one of the sweaters I knit.” 

A lopsided smirk pulls on Steve’s face, mischief flashing in his eyes. “You knit sweaters?” Steve’s smirk only widens as he notices you shift a bit, ready for your defensive words before they come.

“Ye-yeah. I do. What? It gives me something to do, and they’re warm.” You suddenly don’t know what to do with your arms, opting to cross them in front of your chest. In mere minutes the power dynamic has changed. Steve’s the one with witty comments while you’re left speechless. The sudden flip leaves you disoriented, and off to help other patrons.  

Weeks continued to pass, but winter held Hawkins with a firm grip. Spring wouldn’t be coming soon, but the diner was 24/7. It was always warm, not just from the grills but from the people. You and Steve had warmed up to one another. Long gone were the days of observing, now you couldn’t get him to shut up. You often got in trouble for talking to him too often, your manager joking that he was getting special treatment. 

The cold morning air still waited for Steve, but it didn’t seem to have the same edge. He was back to driving somewhere full of life and noise. Steve had found a place with smiling faces and people who cared about him again. He had a designated place to sit, where he’s expected and even anticipated. 

“Moring!” his voice especially chipper this Sunday. 

“Morning Steve!” you call from across the diner, scribbling his usual order on a ticket and handing it to the kitchen, not even needing to ask him what he wants. Before making your way behind the counter, you grab something from your bag. 

“Here” you place the brown paper package on the counter, along with his ‘coffee’ and fixings. 

“What’s this?” Steve raises his hands and eyebrows, eyes dancing from the string to your blushing cheeks. 

“Just open in” you insist, both for his sake and your own. His fingers make quick work of untying the twine you used and tearing through the paper. Underneath is something forest green and soft. He unfolds it to find a hand-made sweater. It takes a few moments to process, a few passes of his fingers against the stitches for him to realize what this means. 

“Did you make this, for me?” his question is soft as the snow outside the window. 

“No, it’s for Donna,” you giggle, nearly blinded by the light in his eyes when he looks at you. They’re wider than you’ve ever seen them, yet somehow harder to read than ever. A million emotions are welling behind them. The ice on his heart has melted, thawed by a new candle. 

“Thank you” is all he can say. It’s all-encompassing. Thank you for taking the time to make him a sweater, for helping him, for listening, for the food, for the laughs, for noticing him, for welcoming him, and for caring. He may be stuck in a never-ending battle with the cold, but now he had someone else on his team, and he was confident that they would be staying for a while.

⋆★⋆★⋆★⋆★⋆★⋆★⋆★⋆★⋆★⋆★⋆★⋆★

taglist: @kurtsbuckethat @harrington-ofhawkins @nxncywheeler @cececroft​

[dragon-kazansky]

Not so bad - Billy Hargrove x Reader

Summery: Due to a last minute change of plans, Billy ends up coming on the group trip. The problem? You have to share a room with him.

A long fic ahead. Enjoy!

This trip had been long since planned. It was something the kids had wanted to do all summer, and thanks to you and Steve, it was able to became a reality.

Originally Nancy and Jonathon were supposed to tag along, but because of Nancy and Steve's breakup, and the fact she turned to Jonathan, they dropped out.

You didn't mind too much about having your room to yourself anymore, and Steve was pretty excited about not sharing his either, so at the time there didn't seem to be a problem.

At least not until the pick up.

Mike and El were waiting with Will at Hopper's place, who gave you and Steve a stern talking to about El. You promised she would be safe and you would call him of anything did happen. He trusted you.

Dustin and Lucas met up outside of Max's place. You and Steve parked up in your respected cars.

Dustin of course climbed into Steve's car with Will and Mike. Lucas wanted to climb in yours with Max, but she had told him off saying this was the girls car. He rolled his eyes and climbed in Steve's car.

Max stood by the open door, El waiting for her best friend to get in, but she hesitated.

"You good, Max? Forgot something?" You checked, making sure all was well.

"No, uh... there's a slight change of plan, that's all." She gave you a sheepish smile and looked back towards her house.

"Are you not coming?" El asked, not wanting Max to change her mind.

"I am... but, so is Billy..."

"What?" You looked towards the house where her brother was coming down the porch. He didn't look all that pleased and you could their dad in the doorway, making sure Billy did as he was told.

"He's making Billy come with me to be 'the good big brother' he's supposed to be." Max climbed into the car awkwardly.

"Shit." You muttered.

Billy stood on the side of the road with a bag in one hand and the other in his pocket. He was looking between the cars.

Through the radio that El had been given so she could talk to Mike, you heard Dustin and Steve talking.

"He is not riding with us!" You heard Steve yell.

"That means he's riding with the girls." Dustin piped in.

"Why can't he being his own car?"

"Because he's not allowed." Max rolled her eyes.

You saw Dustin and Lucas simultaneously close the doors on the car, straight out telling Billy he wasn't welcome in their car.

Billy turned his head to your car, your passenger door was open.

You sighed and kept it open.

Billy took that as his sign and strutted over, shoving his bag in the back with the girls and climbing in.

"Tell Steve we're ready." You looked in the mirror back at El.

"We're ready."

You watched Steve pull away from the curb and then followed him closely.

The girls in the back decided to ignore Billy's presence for now and began to talk between themselves, hoping the boys would accidentally press the radio and say something they could gossip about.

You kept your eyes mainly on the road, but after about ten minutes you saw Billy in the corner of your eye playing with his cigarette box.

You rolled down the window on his side.

Billy glanced your way.

"Thanks."

You gave an awkward smile, but otherwise continued driving quietly.

About twenty minutes later, while the girls were in the back giggling at whatever the boys were saying to them through the radio, you decided you had had enough of the silence up front. 

Billy had so far just kept to himself, but even you could tell he was beyond irritated with his situation.

“Sorry your dad made you come...” You kept your eyes on the road, hoping he would at least entertain the idea of talking to you.

Billy had rarely looked your way since he arrived to Hawkins, but you would be lying if you said you didn’t notice him. Considering there was so much talk at school about him, it was kind of hard to out right ignore him.

He didn’t say anything.

At first, anyway.

“It’s not your fault I’m here.”

“For what it’s worth, you don’t have to come with us to do all the activities the kids want to do. I won’t say anything to your dad when you get back.” You knew it was rough at home for him, so the least you could do was have his back for coming on this trip.

“Sure, whatever.” Billy cast his bright blue gaze at you and you gave him a small smile. “Max said you guys have been planning this for a while.”

“Yeah, the party wanted to spend sometime away from home, but obviously need chaperones. Nancy and Jonathan were supposed to come, but uh... things changed.”

“Yeah, I heard.” You could see the slight grin on his face.

Max leaned forwards in her seat.

“Do we have any snacks?”

You glance back at your backpack by El’s feet, “in the front pocket.” 

Max immediately snatched it up and grabbed the first thing her hand touched.

Billy shuffled in his seat to glance back over his shoulder at his sister.

“Don’t eat too many.” He lightly scolded. You could tell he was trying to keep up his ‘bad boy’ persona, but you could hear the care on those words as he spoke to Max. He had gone soft on her.

Max threw a chocolate bar at Billy.

“There, we saved you one.” Max stuck out her tongue.

Billy glared at her, but took the chocolate regardless, facing forwards again. He opened it up and broke a bit off.

“Want some?”

You looked at him to check if he was being serious. He was.

“Sure.”

You took the chocolate and popped in your mouth, focusing back on the road.

Not long after, you arrived at the hotel you guys were staying at. You pulled up behind Steve’s car and simultaneously everyone climbed out of the cars, eager to stretch their legs.

Once everyone had their things, you grouped them up outside reception. 

“Boys one room, girls another. Nancy isn’t here so I’m alone in my room....” You looked between Steve and Billy. “That means you two are sharing...”

The boys looked at each other.

If looks could kill.

“I am not sharing a room with Hargrove.” Steve crossed his arms across his chest and looked at you with the most serious expression on his face.

“I don’t want to share a room with you either Harrington.”

“Our only options here are, one of you shares with the boys, or.... one of you sleeps in my room.” You offered.

The kids looked up at you.

“No offence, but we were hoping to have the room to ourselves... sorry Steve.” Dustin shrugged.

“We’ll share.” Steve offered. “It’s fine, Billy can have the room.” Steve made a move to come over to you, but Billy placed a hand on his shoulder and pulled him back to where he had been standing, coming forwards instead.

“I don’t mind sharing with you.” His lips curled upwards, liking this plan better.

“Dude...” Steve rolled his eyes. “You’re not going to let him, are you, Y/N? It’s Billy Hargrove we’re talking about.” Steve waved his hands about rather dramatically, trying to make a point.

“You know what, decide between you, I’m going to get the keys for the rooms and then I’m taking the party out for food.” You rolled your eyes at boys and headed over to the check in.

Steve and Billy glared at one another.

When you the keys, you handed them out, giving the last one to Steve so he could decide what to do with it and then headed to your room to put your stuff away. You met up with the teens downstairs, ready to get food.

“Where’s Steve and you brother, Max?” You didn’t see either of them.

“I don’t know, probably fighting in their room or something.” 

Just as Max had said that, the boys made their appearance. Not a bruise or bloody nose in sight. Billy still had his bag in hand.

“We came to an agreement just for the weekend... Billy will be sharing your room.” Steve said, less than happy with those words.

“Oh right, alright then.” You took Billy’s bag. “I’ll put this in our room then.”

The guys waited until you got back and then, as promised, you went out for food. Billy sat beside you and spent most of the time ignoring Steve and talking to you,joining in when Max asked him something.

For once there was no arguing or fights. Just chatter and laughter. Everyone was having a great time.

“If this trip goes well ,can we do it again next year?” El asked sweetly.

“Uh, I suppose.” You looked at Steve who shrugged in return.

When the teens had finished their meals, Dustin checked with you and Steve to see if it was alright for them to go play on the arcade machine on the other side of the room.

“Sure, go on, we’ll be here.” You chuckled, knowing you would have sit there and wait. No way were you going to leave them here alone.

“We don’t all have to be here and wait, do we?” Steve piped up, not overly eager to wait an hour for the kids to finish having fun on the arcade games.

“I’ll stay, you guys can go back to the hotel if you want.” You slid the room key over to Billy.

Steve stood up, thanking you.

Billy pushed the key back towards you. “I’ll stay.”

You took the key back and watched Steve leave, sipping what was left of your drink.

“You don’t have to sit and wait with me.” You turned to Hargrove, hoping you weren’t boring him with making him wait too.

“I don’t mind.... You’re good company.”

“Am I? So far we’ve shared an otherwise quiet drive up here, argued slightly over room arrangements and now we’re here waiting.” You smiled softly. “Nothing all that exciting.”

“Doesn’t mean you’re bad company. Rather you than Harrington, any day of the week.” He chuckled.

“Leave Steve alone. He’s not that bad.” You defending lightly.

“Alright.”

“Huh?”

“I said, alright. I’ll leave him alone.”

You looked into those bright blue eyes wondering if he was being serious.

“You’ll leave him alone because I told you to?”

“Yeah.”

Not entirely sure what was happening you shook your head with a smile and turned your attention over to the cheering of the teens. Clearly they were winning whatever they were playing.

“We share some classes, right?”

You played mindlessly with your now empty glass.

“Yeah, a few.”

“Thought so. I’m surprised we haven’t talked before today.”

“I’ve seen you around. Then again, everyone knows who you are, doesn’t mean you know everyone else. You have a reputation to uphold.” You cast your gaze to him.

“Screw that, we should be friends.” He was watching you, waiting for a reaction.

“You want me to be your friend? Am I dreaming?”

Billy chuckled, his pearly white teeth on display. Everything about him was perfect.... well almost everything. He was still an ass to people at school.

“You’re not dreaming. You’re cool.” He offhandedly complimented you.

Before you could say anything else, the group had returned to the table. They had obviously spent all their money on that game, you could tell by their faces.

“Time to go?”

“Yeah.”

You stood up with Billy and walked beside him back to the hotel. The group walking on ahead, chatting to themselves.

When you got back to the hotel you saw Steve flirting with some girls at the desk, making you roll your eyes and giggle as they walked away. He ran a hand though his hair and came over to you.

“I don’t know what else to do! Girls just walk away.” He complained.

“Can’t help you, Steve.” You tried not to laugh in front of him.

The three of you made sure all the kids got to their rooms and then parted ways to get to your own, Billy following you inside the room.

It was only at this point you really let the situation sink in.

You had no issue sharing a bed with Nancy, you had slept in her bed with her when you stayed at her house, but now you were sharing a room with Billy and needed to come up with a plan.

“Do you want the bed? I can make a makeshift bed on the floor.” You offered.

“Don’t be silly, I’ll sleep on the floor.” He grabbed a pillow off the bed.

“No, that’s not fair. You didn’t even want to be here in the first place, the least I can do is let you have the bed.” You took the pillow from him and held it to your chest.

“It’s your room. Look, the bed is big enough for two, we can just share it. We’re just going to keep arguing over it if we don’t.” Billy looked amused by the situation and closed the gap between you both. He reached for the pillow and tossed it on the bed without breaking his gaze from you.

“Fine, but you stay on your side and I won’t push you on the floor.” You gave a sarcastic grin and grabbed your nightwear out of your bag.

Billy sat on the end of the bed and removed his boots, watching you disappear into the bathroom to change.

It would be a lie for Billy to say he hadn’t noticed you. He had seen you plenty of times around school. When he saw you driving the second car, he thought this trip wasn’t as bad as he originally thought. He liked you. He could put up with Steve with you present.

Billy removed his jacket and tossed it to the side, laying back on the bed and staring up at the ceiling.

He liked you a lot, but he knew his reputation proceeded him. If he had approached you back in school he would most likely just received a backhanded comment as you walked away from him. He could respect that.

Despite the condition of which why he was here, he wondered if this was just an opportunity. Maybe some higher power than him, not that he believed much in such, was giving him his chance to prove himself to you.

Lost in the depths of his thoughts, he didn’t hear the bathroom door open and you come out.

You looked down at him laying on the bed and nudged his leg a little bit. Billy sat up and looked at you in your pyjamas. You grew a little shy from his gaze and stepped back a little.

“Bathroom is yours.”

Billy looked towards the door. “Right...”

You watched him get up, grab his things and disappear behind the door. You awkwardly shuffled around the bed and climbed in, putting the pillow in a better position and sliding down under the covers.

You were really starting to feel awkward about the bed sharing.

A few minutes passed before Billy came out into the room. He had swapped his jeans for something more comfortable and wore white top. He barely looked your way as he climbed into the other side of the bed.

“Lights on or off?”

Billy had his back to you as he asked, so his voice was a little muffled.

“Off.” You spoke with a small voice, unsure how to make this situation feel better.

Billy shut off the lights and the bed bounced a little as he pushed himself further down the bed, his head hitting the pillows.

Silence settled in the room, but you still felt extremely awkward.

You turned over so your back was facing his. You didn’t feel as tired as you thought and settled for just laying there awake.You were unaware that Billy was also just staring at the wall, his thoughts a bit of a mess.

He wondered if you were trying to sleep, or if would be OK for him to say something. He decided the latter.

“You awake?” He asked softly in case you weren’t.

“Yeah. Guess I’m not all that tired.”

“Me either.”

Billy felt the bed move as you turned over. You would rather look at the bad boy of Hawkins than a wall.

Billy waited a moment before also turning over, his blue eyes meeting your own.

“So far this trip hasn’t been all that bad.” He confessed quietly. You weren’t used to him being so mellow.

“We haven’t really done anything yet. The fun starts tomorrow.” You chuckled softly, wondering what the teens had decided to do.

“It’s been a good first day then.” Billy smiled.

“The food was good.” You smiled back.

“You should try the food at this place in California, everything on the menu is good.” Billy felt proud of himself for just having a conversation with you. He wanted to talk to you until either one of you felt too tired to stay up any more.

“I’ve never been to California, you grew up there right?”

“Yeah. That’s where we moved from.”

“Do you miss it?” You asked softly, your gaze flickering between his beautiful blue eyes.

“Yeah.”

“Are you hoping to go back one day?”

“Yeah. I’ll be damned if I don’t.” You had never heard him speak so seriously and determined before.

“I hope you go back. No point staying in Hawkins all your life when there are golden beaches to see and a sun that doesn't stop shining.” You chuckled softly.

“Would you ever want to go?”

“To California? Yeah, maybe. I’d like to see it for myself.”

“Maybe I could take you? Show you around.” He moved his head a little closer to the edge of the pillow, placing his hand on the end of yours.

“We hang out for the first time and already you want to take me somewhere? Tempting offer.”

“Yeah, why not? I like you. You’re cool.”

“Cool? Billy, you don’t know me.” You chuckled softly.

“I could get to know you. We’re already sharing a bed.” His lips quirked up into a smirk.

You, amused by his words, moved a little closer to where his hand rested on your pillow, reaching up and taking into your own.

“I suppose that’s not a terrible idea. I mean, you’re the cool one here and it would be awesome to be friends with you. Even if you are an ass.” You looked at him seriously, your hand playing mindlessly with his fingers. 

“You think I’m an ass too?”

“Yeah, everyone does. You used to treat Max like crap and you pushed people around. You fought with Steve.”

“I heard he was an ass once.” Billy tried to defend himself a little bit.

“He was, then he wasn’t. There’s no joy in being an ass-hole to people.” You turned your gaze up at the ceiling, his hand still in yours. Your smile was gone and Billy was beginning to miss it.

“I’m sorry.” He muttered, liking how your hand felt in his. “Will being less of an ass score me a date with you?”

“A date?” You turned your gaze back to him. “You want to go on a date with me?”

“Yeah.”

“Like a proper date? Not just sex at you place and then you never speak to me again?”

“Yeah, a proper date.”

You let his words sink for a while. There was nothing in his face or voice telling you this was a wind up and he was just messing with you. He sounded sincere. Slowly you let go of his hands and sat up a little bit, gazing down at him. Billy also hoisted his upper half up, resting against his arm.

“I suppose, if you mean it, then a date would be fine. I mean it though, I don’t wanted to be treated like crap afterwards even if things don’t work out.” You told him, hoping he would keep true to his word.

“Cross my heart.” He did the motion over his chest.

Your smile returned and suddenly sharing the bed with him wasn’t awkward any more. You were starting to like his company, his smile, his voice... his eyes!

Slowly, you reached up and played with the curls by the side of his face.

“It’s a date.”

Billy took your hand in his and placed a kiss to your wrist. The pair of you lay back down and continued to face each other.

“Steve won’t be happy.” You chuckled softly.

“Who cares? I’m happy.” He gloated.

You took your hand back and glared at him playfully. Billy could only chuckle as he closed the space between you.

You didn’t know what came over you, but you rested your head on his chest as his arm came around you. This felt much nicer than sleeping as far apart from one another as possible.

Billy went to sleep with a smile on his face because he felt complete. Before he had hardly spoken to you, but something about having a date with you and cuddling with you like this made his heart leap with joy. He’d hate himself if he screwed this up.

When morning came around you woke facing away from Billy, but you could feel him sleeping close behind you, his arm draped over you. You blinked the sleep away and smiled, liking how this felt.

You felt silly having become so comfortable in this situation already. You hadn’t even been on a date yet, but it felt right and you couldn’t deny it.

Feeling you move, Billy began to wake up. He buried his nose into your air and used his arm to pull you closer to him.

“Do we have to get up?” His voice laced heavy with sleep.

“The guys will want breakfast, so yes.” You chuckled. “We have a big day ahead of us, come one.” You shoved his arm off of you gently, smiling down at the tired blond.

Billy gazed up at you, his eyes as beautiful as ever.

Steve was waiting down at the front desk with the party. They were trying to keep themselves occupied while they  waited for you and Billy. Steve was close to coming up to your room to make sure Billy hadn’t done anything to you, but when he turned around he saw the pair of you walking over. 

Billy had his arm around your shoulders.

“I was about to come looking for you. What took so long?” Steve looked between you both.

“Billy spent ages in the bathroom getting ready.” You glared up at said boy, a smile plastered on your face.

“Have to look good for you, sweetheart.” He winked.

You chuckled and shook your head, turning to the group.

“Who wants breakfast?”

All of them called out at once and you led the way, leaving Steve to look at Billy with a confused expression. He was totally sure he had missed out on something, but didn’t want to ask.

There would be no question that Steve would fight Billy if he did something to you, but judging by the way Billy was looking at you as you led the group, he knew deep down he had nothing to worry about.

You cast a smile over to the boys and giggled when Billy sent another wink your way.

This trip turned out better than either one of you expected.

Tags:

@weapinggwillowss  @awyr @fandombeehive

[thehelleniclunarwitch]

Second Chance (Steve Harrington)

Steve Harrington x Reader

Prompts: “Hey, let me in, I’m outside with your favorite pizza.” & “I gave you your chance, and you just used it to stab me in the back.”

Requested by: Anonymous 

                                     -----------------------------------------

“Y/n! Y/n! Wait!” Steve shouted as he chased after you. 

The only reason Steve even caught up with you was that in your haste to leave you dropped your keys. Steve swooped in and grabbed your car keys before you could grab them yourself. Steve was quick to shove the keys into his pocket. Your lip trembled in anger. 

“Give them back to me,” You demanded. 

“Listen to me first, please,” Steve pleaded. 

“Why should I? You told me that there was nothing going on between the two of you,” You said. 

“There isn’t!” Steve insisted. 

“Then why, Steve? Why were you with her?” You asked him. 

“She took me by surprise. Y/n, she’s still pissed that I chose you over her. She wanted me to get caught,” Steve exclaimed. 

You shook your head with a small sigh. You held your hand out towards him. You didn’t know what to believe. Steve has never lied to you before, but you were too hurt to listen to anything he had to say. 

“Give me my keys,” You said. 

“No,” Steve said. 

“You know my friends told me not to go out with you. To not trust you, but I saw something in you. You changed after dating Nancy. You were almost like a different person. But after today? You went back to being the same asshole you were in high school,” You snarled. 

Steve just stared at you blankly. 

“Y/n,” Steve said. “Please give me another chance,”

“I gave you your chance, and you just used it to stab in the back,” You hissed. 

Steve’s face fell. He dug the keys out of his pocket and held them out to you. You snatched the keys from him. You turned away from him and unlocked your car. You looked back at Steve. 

“You know what sucks the most?” You said. 

Steve looked away to hide his tears. 

“I was falling in love with you,” You whispered. 

Steve whipped his head back around to look at you, but you turned your back on him, climbed in your car, and then drove away. Steve swore and punched the car next to him. Shaking his fist, he headed towards his own car. Steve wasn’t going to let your relationship end. Not now. He was set up and he was going to do everything possible to get you back.

The first step, he had to see Nancy. Maybe Nancy could talk some sense into you. After dropping by the paper and talking with Nancy, Steve was off on his next mission once Nancy agreed to give you a call. He had a bunch of children that he needed to rope in helping. 

Max and Lucas were off to the flower shop. Mike and El were off to the store to get you armfuls of chocolate. Dustin went off with Erica and Robin to create the perfect mixtape. Steve gave Will a new box of crayons and set him up with making the best looking apology card out there. 

Steve was working on a speech. He knew you. Steve was only going to get one chance to give everything off his chest. He just needed you to listen to him long enough for you to understand just how much he really loved you. 

A few hours later, Steve was armed with everything he needed to hopefully win you back. The kiddos wished you luck and Robin gave him a teasing jab that if he messed this up, she’d be more than happy to swoop in and be your shoulder to cry on. Steve shot her a look before heading towards the pizza place to pick up his order. 

Sighing, you hung up the phone. Nancy just wouldn’t give up. She kept you on the phone until you finally opened up to her and talked to her about what was going on with Steve. Jonathon was there on the other end trying to interject his take so it wasn’t just one-sided opinion. The phone call with Nancy and Jonathon helped ease your worries some but you were still upset with Steve. You were just climbing up the stairs when there was a knock on the front door. Turning back around you headed down the stairs and you looked out the peephole to see Steve standing there. 

You said nothing. You turned on your heels and headed back up the stairs completely ignoring him. 

“Hey, let me in, I’m outside with your favorite pizza!” Steve exclaimed. 

You rolled your eyes and stormed down the stairs. You yanked open the door. 

“Pizza isn’t going to fix everything you jack-” Your words trailed off when you looked past Steve. 

On his fancy car, his prized baby was a blanket laid out on the hood of his car. Your favorite flowers sat next to a pile of candy, a boombox, and a white envelope. 

“I messed up, okay? But I never cheated. I should have made her leave. I should have come right out to you about the truth and I’m sorry. Y/n, you’ve made me believe in love again. And I know you hate it, but you are perfect. At least to me. I’m sorry for hurting you. I never wanted to do that. I will do whatever it takes to get you to forgive me. I’ll apologize a million times. I’ll even grovel if I have to because I love you,” Steve blurted out. 

You crossed your arms over your chest. 

“I’m sorry,” You said. 

“Wait, what?” Steve said in confusion. 

“I reacted too quickly. I was just so shocked that I was afraid you were going to break my heart,” You said. 

Steve set the pizza down on the bench outside your door. He pulled your arms away from your chest so he could hold your hands. 

“I’m an idiot, but I’m your idiot who is madly in love with you,” Steve said. 

You laughed. 

“Will you please forgive me?” Steve asked. 

You rolled your eyes. “Always,”

“Good, now let me in before this pizza gets cold,” Steve said. 

You eyed his car. 

“Did you rope your children into helping you? Along with Nancy?” You asked. 

Steve gave you a sheepish grin. “I had to pull out all the stops,” 

You shook your head and then took the pizza from him. Steve gave you a look. 

“I’ll get the plates while you bring all of that stuff inside. I’d like a closer look at what your kiddos picked out,” You said. 

“Alright,” Steve said and jumped off the porch. 

You were in the dining room setting out the plates when Steve came in slamming the door and his arms full of all of the goodies. 

“Oh, and Steve,” You said as he set everything down. 

“Hmm?” He hummed. 

“Mess up again and I’ll be more than happy to give Robin a call,” You teased. 

Steve’s face fell. 

“I knew having my girlfriend and my best friend becomes friends would bite me in the ass,” He muttered. 

And you laughed as you walked around the table to join him. You kissed him softly.

“I want to say you have nothing to worry about but, Robin is such a babe,” You teased once again. 

“Oh, I’m going to make you pay for that,” Steve growled before picking you up. 

You screamed and hit at his back as he carried you up the stairs. 

“Steve!” You shouted. “My pizza,”

“It can be reheated. I have some making up to do,” Steve commented before slamming your bedroom door leaving your giggles to echo through the house. 

[unfortunate-stranger-losers]

Right-Side Up AU, Part Three: It’s the End of the World {AO3} {tumblr} {Part One} {Part Two}

Chapter Seven → The Assassin

Robin was sitting on the counter, headphones attached to the tape player, muttering to herself. Steve had taken Dustin to go look around the mall for something, and that Will kid was in the backroom, whoever the hell he was. Honestly, at this point, Robin wasn’t sure she should find anything odd. Steve “The Hair” Harrington had custody of at least two fourteen-year-olds, possibly more, two of the kids had brought in a secret Russian message that meant nothing that was somehow recorded in the mall, and one of those boys liked to sketch dead bodies. 

There was a knock on the window behind her. Robin groaned, pulled off her headphones, and slid it open. Will stood on the other side, staring at the ground and looking a bit sheepish. 

“Um, there’s a guy?” he muttered. “With packages.” 

Robin groaned and slid into the backroom, handing the boy the tape recorder and headphones. She went to the backdoor, giving an awkward smile to the man waiting there. “Sorry, co-worker’s little brother needed a place to do homework.” Robin explained, taking the delivery man’s clipboard and signing something. 

Will opened his mouth, probably to correct her, but she just shot him a glare. She handed him the package and said, “Put this on the table, okay?” She turned back with the clipboard, and then found herself freezing. 

The delivery man’s uniform had the company label on it, spelling LYNX. As did his hat. 

He took back the clipboard, and said, “Have a nice day.” 

“Yeah, you, too.” Robin said blankly, and he turned to go. 

Will came back, and then saw what she did; the logo of LYNX transportation; a white cat head. 

No, not white… 

“Silver cat.” Robin muttered. 

Will’s eyes widened. 

“Silver cat.” Robin repeated. 

She turned and ran, and Will quickly followed, sticking close at her heels. Robin threw open the door, rushing out of the swinging doors, breaking past a returning Steve and Dustin, who were arguing about something. “Hey, Robin?” Steve called, turning, just as Will raced to follow her. “Wait, Will!” 

“Will!” Dustin ran after him, and Will slid to a stop beside the food court, where Robin had leapt on a table, spinning around at the different stores. 

“A trip to China sounds nice…” she muttered, and then she pointed up, at an Imperial Panda. “A trip to China sounds nice!” 

Will ran towards her, stopping underneath her table, as she continued to spin, looking at everything she pointed to. She tossed him the notepad of what they’d translated, and she pointed at the Chinese food booth. “A trip to China!” 

“Sounds nice.” Will nodded, staring down at the paper. He read the next line, “If you tread lightly.” 

“If you tread lightly…” Robin repeated, and she spun again, before gesturing up, to Kaufman Shoes. She shut her eyes, hitting her leg, “When… when blue and yellow…” 

“Meet in the west.” Will said with her, watching her continue to whip around, staring across the mall. Finally, she stopped, and pointed at a large clock, underneath a window; the minute hand, a bright yellow, and the hour hand, a dark blue. 

“In the west.” Robin repeated. 

Will dropped the notepad, his mouth opening in shock. 

“Robin! Will!” 

They turned, to see Steve and Dustin finally catch up, looking confused as hell. “What are you doing?” Steve asked, while Dustin quickly ran to Will and threw his arms around him in a quick hug, concerned with how shocked he looked. 

Robin, meanwhile, just smiled, her mind buzzing. “I cracked it.” 

“Cracked what?” 

Robin jumped off the table, her face bright. “I cracked the code.” 

The Lab was just as empty as Nancy and Jonathan had assumed, but that didn’t calm their nerves one bit. 

She’d managed to get herself out of work two hours early- it was easy. They were mocking her again, calling her Nancy Drew for trying to bring up the rat story again. Asking her for more coffee. So she simply dropped a coffee mug on Bruce’s stupid lap, grabbed her stomach and said, “I’m so sorry, I’ve been trying to work through the cramps!” And then she had the rest of the day off, like that. She’d gathered their tools, and then met Jonathan in the Hawkins Post parking lot. 

She strode up to the locked gate, peering at it a little in the rain, and then grabbed the metalcutters. As soon as the chain was broken, she and Jonathan pushed their way in; he had his camera tucked tight into the bottom of his bag to keep it from getting wet, in case they needed photographic evidence. Nancy wanted to hope they wouldn’t, but part of her kind of hoped they did. 

She managed to get into the front room, flicking on a flashlight. “Hello, bitches?” she called, stepping across the room, a fury in her chest as she shone her light. Only nine months ago, she’d gone in there with Mike and a gun, and he’d… 

He was never going here again. 

She strode across the room, looking around. “Heard you were doing some bullshit with our magnets!” she shouted. 

No response, but she probably shouldn’t have expected one. She turned, opening her mouth to say something, only to see Jonathan standing in the middle of the room, staring at a spot. She walked over, about to ask what it was, and then she remembered. 

A demodog leaping. Jonathan pushing El out of the way. It almost hit him. It would have, if Lucas hadn’t thrown up his shield. 

She remembered the deer carcass they’d found, while searching for Mike and Lucas in the woods that first year. She tried not to picture what Jonathan would have looked like had the demodog reached its target. She’d seen that enough in nightmares, with Jonathan and Mike and everyone else. She didn’t need to think about it here. 

She put a hand on his arm, and then he relaxed. “Are you okay?” 

“I’m fine.” 

She felt a pang. “Do you want to wait in the car?” 

“I said I’m fine.” 

She hesitated, waiting until he turned to move on, and then they pressed on together. 

They wandered through the halls for what felt like hours, inspecting blinking security cameras and shattered windows. There were still bloodstains on some floors, and claw marks on some walls. Some doors were even halfway off their hinges, probably ripped in the demodog attack and nobody bothered to fix them before abandoning the place. 

Finally, they went down to the place they really, really didn’t want to be. The basement, which once held a sprawling, horrifying gate, was now cold and dirty, with creaky stairs. Nancy went up to the wall, images flashing of Demodogs behind her, and Mike beside her, floating, arms stretched out, blood on his face, fire surrounding them. 

Jonathan stepped next to her, and knocked on the wall. Nothing behind it. 

“Okay, it’s empty.” he sighed, stepping back. “Nothing here, Nance. Let’s go.” 

Nancy kept her palm to the wall, as if expecting it to melt under her fingers. She almost did. Slowly, she turned towards Jonathan, who was watching her, eyes downcast. 

“It’s over.” Jonathan said. 

“It’s…” Nancy tried to say, but she just couldn’t believe it. 

She finally dropped her hand from the wall, turning back to it as if it might change now that she wasn’t touching it. Then she stumbled back, trying to steady her breathing. 

“It’s over.” she repeated, and then she stumbled her way over to a bench, sitting down and gripping the edges until her knuckles went white. “I… God, I’m crazy.” 

“No, no you’re not.” Jonathan said, and he moved over, sitting next to her. “I’m crazier than you are.” 

“No, no you’re not.” Nancy said. “No, you’re not…” she shook her head. “I am. I am… I’m seeing things, aren’t I? The magnets… it’s dumb.” 

Jonathan sighed. “I know I said it was dumb before, but… it’s not. It’s not, not after what happened here. I mean, shit. Nancy, you’re basically raising your little brother. And after the shit that happened before then-”

“I just… I just… it’s not that.” Nancy shook her head. She was feeling strange, like she couldn’t breathe. “It’s not that. I… I almost wanted it to be! I almost wanted shit to be happening, and I’m nuts!” Jonathan was silent. “I… I just… I wanted to be right. To be right and be able to find something, find something so that I… I don’t feel like…” 

“Like what our bosses tell you you are?” 

Nancy shut her eyes tight and nodded. 

Jonathan carefully put a hand over hers, and he said, “You’re not crazy, Nance.” 

“I am. I would rather have all that happen to us again, than be wrong.” 

Jonathan took a deep breath. “You think that’s crazy? Nancy, I… I snuck a lighter into the darkroom.” 

Nancy jumped, turning to him. “That could-” 

“Set all my shit on fire? I know.” Jonathan let out a pained smile. “I know. And I bet our bosses would not like that. But one day I just… I just realized that if one of those things got into the office, I’d be trapped in a small, dark room. And… if it’s a choice between leaving Mom and Will alone after all that, or maybe getting rid of one of those little shits…” he shut his eyes. “You just want to make sure we’re prepared if that all happens again.” 

“So do you.” Nancy took a deep breath. “And if we’re prepared… you don’t have a reason to leave.” 

Jonathan fell completely silent, for what felt like hours, but was likely just about a minute. Then, he whispered, “How’d you find out?” 

“My Mom’s gossip over dinner.” Nancy sighed. “Overheard your Mom talking to a realtor. Does Will know?” 

“No. I only found out because…” he sighed. “She asked if Mike would be able to stay with us if we moved, or if he’d have to go to your parents. She knows he doesn’t want to meet them until he’s ready.” 

Nancy bit her lip. “Yeah. Would… would you leave?” 

“I… I don’t know.” Jonathan squeezed her hand. “I don’t want to leave you, or anyone else. I’ve only ever known this town, and after everything we’ve all been through together… nobody else gets it. But-” 

“I understand.” Nancy shut her eyes. “You don’t feel safe here.” 

“You don’t, either.” he observed. 

They sat in silence for a bit, and then Nancy said, “Maybe we could all move to a farm.”

Jonathan froze, and then laughed. “A what?” 

Nancy cracked a smile. “A farm. We just take everyone who knows about the Upside Down and shove them in a farm, and we don’t have to deal with small-town shit or other dimensions. We just raise horses and sheep.” 

Jonathan laughed some more. “Oh, because you’d be happy on a farm.” 

“Maybe I would.” Nancy said. 

“Nance, you can’t keep your nose out of trouble. What kind of story could you dig up at a farm?” 

“I’m sure with six kids running around, four of which have superpowers,” Nancy said, “We could come up with something.” 

“You know what? Only if we get a panic room. In case the world blows up cause we’re not in Hawkins to stop it.” 

“Okay, but the only food there is eggos. Only thing Mike’ll eat.” 

They laughed at that for a little bit, and then Nancy stood and held out her hand for her boyfriend. “Come on, let’s go get the kids. They’ll need to get up bright and early to feed the pigs.” 

“I thought we were raising sheep.”

“We can raise whatever we want.”

Still laughing, Jonathan stood, and they made their way to the ground floor, walking slowly, shining their lights around as they still giggled a bit to each other. 

Then Nancy heard some kind of smash, and she stopped. 

“Hold on.” she said, and turned and started to walk. 

“Nancy!” Jonathan called, but then she started to run. 

There was something. She heard something. 

“Nancy!” 

She ran into a hall, and reached into her bag, whipping out one of the tools she’d managed to grab- a small gun, one she’d gotten from Hopper. 

Her parents didn’t know she had it, kept tucked away in a drawer when it wasn’t in her bag. Pretty much nobody knew she had it. But she’d told Hopper she wasn’t about to take any chances, and he understood. 

She kicked open the door to a room at the far end of the building, with tall, glass walls, showing the pouring rain outside. She stepped in, holding out the gun, and calling, “Alright, which son of a bitch is here this time?” 

There seemed to be no one there, but she’d heard something. She knew it. She wasn’t crazy, she wasn’t… 

“Lab worker?” she called. “Unethical science shit? Or is it some bastard from the other dimension? Cause we shut your Gate before, and we’ll sure as shit do it again!” 

“Nancy!” she could hear Jonathan call from a hallway or so away. “Nancy, wait-” 

At that moment, she felt a rough hand grab her arm- far more rough than Jonathan would ever be- and yank her back. She let out a frustrated shout and whipped the gun around, only to feel it knocked from her hand as she was thrown to the floor. 

She felt a gun barrel pressed to her head, and a low voice whisper, in a thick accent of some kind- she couldn’t identify it right now, her ears were ringing with the sudden hit- “What was that about the other dimension, little miss?” 

Nancy felt a shiver, and tried to send out a kick. Come on, Nancy, you can throw a guy off of you… 

There was a gunshot, and for a second, Nancy feared that her attacker had shot her; but, no, she didn’t feel any pain in the head- in fact, the gun barrel had flung up, as another shot rang out. Nancy heard a gasp, and looked up, shocked, to see that Jonathan had run in and grabbed her gun from wherever this man had tossed it. 

“Nancy!” Jonathan shouted, and Nancy managed to look up, seeing her attacker- some towering, square-faced man- pointing a gun directly at her boyfriend. “Nancy, go-” 

Nancy sent out another kick, distracting the attacker enough that he missed Jonathan, who started running forwards. The attacker simply got up, lifted Nancy, and threw her into a wall. Her ears rang again, and she felt some kind of punch to the back, before another gunshot and a thud. 

No… 

She finally managed to turn, to see Jonathan knocked to the floor- thankfully no blood around him, but the gun had skidded again. Nancy stumbled forwards, only for the man to grab her arm, twisting it around and throwing her to the wall again. 

“Stay away, little girl.” he hissed. “If you know what’s good for you.” 

And he threw her to the wall again, and the world went black. 

[the-canary]

Too Damn Proud - S.R (4/5)

Summary: The man was born with two left feet, but damn could he steal a heart. (Modern/Dancing AU! Reader/Steve Rogers)

Prompt:  “Is now a good time to confess my love or should I come back in a week?”

Masterlist

A/N: This is for @whiskeybucky‘s writing challenge. i wonder if you guys can catch what i am working on next through this. 

Feedback is always appreciated.

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 

“You know, I heard Steve asked Sharon out on a date?” Sam brings in smoothly, as the two of you watch Manchester City against Liverpool.

You weren’t sure where the tradition began, but Sam had a tendency to watch football games when he was stressed about something, namely school and now Natasha. It had seemed that he had become a fan of one of them, though you didn’t know which one as he tended to yell at both teams. You were a fan since joining him, though you were never going to tell him of which team -- that would just escalate things. And like whenever he is trying to godge you, you just take a sip of your beer and hum out a tone of acknowledgement.     

“You gonna keep denying, sweets,” brown eyes turn to look at you, “I saw you look at him with those doe eyes before dancing with Bucky.”

“Pleading the 5th,” is all you say, as he groans in frustration, “Especially, if he has a girlfriend now.”

“What about Bucky then?” he asks in desperation, as you give him a tight smile. You knew that Sam just wanted you to be happy with someone like he was with Natasha, but after failed dates and relationships for your age, you were happy with the friendships and successful business you had worked on.

“Little Nancy Barnes is starting her ballet classes this fall,” you smile, thinking about your lunch date with Bucky and his sister, Rebecca, a few days back asking about what classes you had for elementary school children since his niece was going through an Angelina Ballerina phase.

“So no date?” he questions, still despairing but with a glimmer in his eyes that almost makes you laugh. Sam only thought of the best for you, and that’s why you loved him so dearly as one of your longest and closest friends.

“No, I’m sorry,” you laugh, as he shakes his head before going back to the game at hand, only getting up to yell at the missed goal. However, a little black spider was already working her magic elsewhere.

 “So, how was your date? With the dance instructor, right?” Natasha grins at Bucky who simply shakes his head. He knew the redhead well enough, even when on a date with her once, to know when she was up to no good. However, Bucky was also aware of his best friend being close enough to listen and he knew the punk to well not to notice the way he was looking her a couple of days ago.

Steve Rogers was smitten all right, and not by Sharon Carter.

“Just lunch, no biggie,” Bucky shrugs like it’s nothing while double checking his medical equipment, “She was really pretty, wearing a summer dress and all.”

Bucky can only shake his head at the sound of crashing in the small changing room not far away from them. Natasha’s grins turns wicked, as she asks one question -- going in for the kill.

“Are you gonna see her again?” green eyes are sparkling, as Bucky grins.

“How knows? We’ll see where it goes,” he answers vaguely.

Cursing can be heard in the back now, as both friends share a laugh at the expense of their Captain and while they will pay for their actions ten-fold during drills. Both Bucky and Natasha decide it’s worth when  they see Steve lost in thought for the next couple of days.

 Steve Rogers has a lot to think about in between his last two weeks of dance classes. He thought about the small changes he had from carrying a sketchbook where he went now to taking time to listen more closely to a song that played and he didn’t know. He went to the Guggenheim, but he found it wasn’t enough and slowly he put one and two together, as he observed the couples and children together on a lazy Saturday afternoon.

So, he gathered all his imaginary courage and asked Sharon on a date, but he soon comes to realize that it was a mistake. As much as a wonderful gal as she was, she was extremely professional and her tight-lipped smile didn’t set his heart fluttering like it should’ve, like it had done so earlier. After the failed date, thinking in the middle of the night, his mind wandered to a certain dance instructor -- how she smiled and laughed, how her soothing and witty comments always eased his frustration during their time together.

“Okay, Mr. Rogers, no fumbling this time.”

“Oh well, that why quite the growth spurt, huh?”

“And when is there gonna be a Mrs. Rogers?”

Steve Rogers had finally stopped fighting his heart, but what was he supposed to do when she was already taken by his best friend. Thus, Steve does one of the things he has always been good that, he pushes his emotions down, though that is easier said than done.

 On the final week of those dance sessions, Steve can’t handle it -- he can’t bare the thought of looking at her smiling and laughing while thinking that his best friend might be a reason for it. Yeah, he loved Bucky like a brother, but the way he had seen her laugh back in the bar was something he had never seen before, something he was sure he could never achieve, especially not now. He had been such a fool and now he was paying the price for it, so he had ran for just bit of reprieve and to lengthen just for a short while the way you were in his life -- that cute dance instructor, instead of Bucky’s possible new girlfriend.

So, he cancelled Monday’s class, but it was useless.

As it got closer to his time to leave, he kept staring at the clock. His hands wriggled in annoyance and anxiety, unsure of what he was going to do once his shift ended. Steve knew what he usually did --go home, shower, nap-- but after going to the same place for such a long time, Steve wasn’t sure what to do. He was a creature of habit after all.

“Hey, aren’t you gonna head to class?” Bucky questions, coming out of the changing room, wearing a black jacket, white v-neck and dark jeans -- his usual dating outfit.

“Nah, not today,” Steve shakes his head, blue meeting blue, as he questions, “Where are you heading?”

“A date...with my neighbor,” Bucky says shyly, which catches Steve off guard. He had never in all his life seen Bucky being sheepish about a date before, clearly Steve would have to ask him about it later , but for now there was something more important thumping in his head.

“What about--” Steve is ready to get up and ask about her, but Bucky stops him beforehand -- clearly not wanting to get into any trouble before his big date.

“I never went on a date with her,” Bucky confesses, as Steve lets out a relieved sigh, “Simply an info session with Becca and Nance, but Stevie…”

“What?”

“If you’re head over heels about this gal like I think ya are,” Bucky sighs out, like he knows from experience, “Don’t waste anymore time.”

Bucky says those magic words, the ones that Steve had always told himself as a younger man and he’s off, taking his bag and running towards the exit as his best friend chuckles before getting ready for his own big night.

 He is twenty minutes earlier than his usual start and he knows that you won’t give him a lesson after he had cancelled, you were strict about that sort of thing. Steve can tell that when Maria gives him a frown as he enters, but he stops her scolding by simply stating that he wants to see one of your other classes as its happening. She raises on single eyebrow at him before telling him to follow her.

Down the opposite side of the hall, a completely different type of music is playing and that’s when Maria stops, only motioning him to walk towards the door. Steve does so, as she leaves shaking her head, and he is floored by the sight. You stretching with a group of young, possibly older elementary aged girls, giggling as class comes to an end.  

“Eyes up,” you clap together with the young girls, as they follow suit, “Stay sharp.”  

Some of the girls get up and look at Steve leaning on the doorway, but you are too busy talking to some of the other girls surrounding you, asking questions as you give them pointers mixed with praises here and there. You laugh with them for a moment, as Steve can hear parents calling for their children down the hallway and that’s when you turn up to look at him with the girls.

“Who’s that, miss?” one of the girls behind you asks.

“Is that your boyfriend?” another one pipes in and Steve couldn’t help but wish that were true. Instead, you reprimand them lightly and push them past the blond and running into the hallway. You turn to look at him and frown.

“I hope you’re not here for a lesson,” you cross your hands over your chest and even if you’re scolding him, Steve loves that look burning in your eyes, “You cancelled, ‘member?”

“I know,” he states bashfully while rubbing the back of his neck, “But, I was hoping to ask ya for something else.”

“What?” you question, but if he heard closely enough Steve could hear the little uptick in your voice full of excitement and suspense.

“If I could take you out to dinner.”

Part 5 

[hairringtonsteve]

repeat.

(steve harrington x reader)

summary: it’s like groundhog’s day. but december 23. and with steve. who’s like, super close to panicking and crying but honestly, things could be worse.

request: Steve Harrington x Reader where you’re Dustin’s older sister and Dustin has Steve over to babysit him bc Reader is supposed to be out on a date but she comes home like halfway through with like super ready eyes and tells them she found out he’s cheating on her because he stood her up to go with the other girl or something

word count: 4, 487

a/n: okay, so i know that this was requested, but i wanted to combine this with an idea i had earlier bc i was watching 12 dates of christmas and i’m a sucker okay enjoy this thing pls. i wrote this late and i’m running late i’m not checking this for errors ALSO HAPPY 2,000 FOLLOWERS TO ME WHAT 

“Okay, so I already told her that we're doing movie night just the three of us, which means that the hard part is done. You know what to do, right?”

“You leave early because you forgot about some homework, and that's when I make my move.”

“Exactly, Da- Steve. You've got this. You're gonna slay her dead.”

Steve bit back the grin that was just dying to make itself known. It had been happening a lot recently, Dustin almost calling him dad. Sure, he teased the kid about it, but deep down, it made his heart warm. The kid needed someone in his life like that. Steve might have not been the best choice for that role, but he’d do his damndest to fill it.

“Just like you at the dance, son.” Steve’s smile couldn’t be held back at that point, and the corners of his mouth stretched wide as he started to laugh.

“Don’t make fun of me. My hair was killing it that night.”

Thinking about Dustin and his little adventure into using Farah Fawcett spray was entertaining. And it was definitely a hell of a lot easier to think about than the fact that he was going to make a move on the little shit’s sister that night.

It was kind of sad, really. Steve might have been off of his game a little after the whole Nancy fiasco, but when it came to you, it was like his game had decided to just fuck off entirely. He’d been getting better, but in tiny little increments. At least now he could hold a decent conversation with you. Before, he’d just stare at you and stutter. But he was over that, thank God.

“Whoa, Y/N. You’re looking nice for movie night,” Dustin said, not so subtly nudging Steve’s arm. Steve turned towards the doorway, eyes widening when he saw you. He wasn’t sure if he’d ever seen you look so pretty, a thought that he would’ve scoffed at a year ago. Your hair was falling in just the right way, your makeup simple but perfect. And the dress you were wearing… All he could do was stare.

“You - uh - you look - good. Nice. Yeah, good,” Steve stuttered out, ignoring the way the little dick sitting beside him snorted. Even that didn’t diminish the hope that was rising in his chest, though. Because you’d dressed up for him - or Dustin, but odds were looking into the older boy’s favor.

“Oh, thanks guys. But what do you mean movie night?” It was written across your face, confusion in its purest form. For a second, Steve’s heart dropped.

“Movie night, Y/N. You, me, and Steve? I told you about it a week ago,” he pushed, giving you a frown. You shook your head, staring at him blankly. Steve looked from you to Dustin, trying his hardest to not glare at the younger Henderson. But the longer he watched, the more Dustin’s face fell into a sheepish grin. “Or I might’ve told Mom that a week ago, and forgot to tell you.”

“Yeah, that’s probably it,” Steve muttered, rolling his eyes. He glanced over to you, a new train of thought running through his mind. “So, uh, you got a date or something tonight, Henderson?”

“Uh, yeah, I do.” A grin appeared on your lips almost instantly. “You know Dylan Marrow? He’s in your Bio class, I think.”

“You mean the football player?” He realized after he’d said it, how he’d practically sneered as he’d talked.

“Yes, the football player. Not everyone can be a basketball god like you, Harrington.” Normally, a compliment like that from you would’ve made Steve blush in an instant. Instead, he just nodded his head, his heart sinking with every passing second.

“I thought you weren’t dating anyone, though,” Dustin piped up.

“Well, nothing is official yet. But I think he’s going to ask me tonight.” A light flush was coloring your cheeks, and Steve wasn’t sure if the knife could sink any deeper into his chest. “Maybe we could do movie night tomorrow night? The three of us?” You smiled faintly at Steve. The knife twisted.

He must’ve given some affirmation, because the next thing he knew, you were grinning and saying goodbye, and running out the door. The second it slammed shut, Dustin turned to Steve.

“What a fucking loser. Who the hell even plays football?” The younger Henderson asked, frowning at Steve.

“Insult him all you want. You’re still not off the hook for that, dickhead.”

“Will I be off the hook if I use my allowance and buy you KFC?”

There was a pause.

“It’ll be a start.”

It wasn’t that Dylan Marrow was in the wrong. Like, yeah, you guys had gone out on a couple of dates and made out some and he’d meet you by your locker in between classes. But you hadn’t been official. He hadn’t come right out and asked you to be his girlfriend, so you couldn’t be that mad at him just because he’d shown up to the movies with another girl on his arm. And then proceeded to make out with that girl in front of you.

And then wink at you behind her back because he’s a fucking prick.

Okay, yeah, you definitely deserved to hate Dylan Marrow.

And Dylan Marrow deserved a swift kick to the groin.

You swung open the front door, letting out a frustrated sigh as a couple of tears slipped down your cheeks. You bit down on your lip, scowling. You weren’t going to cry over him. It was pathetic. You slammed the door behind you, staring at it for a moment before turning around.

Steve and Dustin stared at you, jaws open as their faces were illuminated by the blinking lights on the TV.

“What’re you guys watching?” Your voice came out scratchy, rough from yelling for about ten minutes, roughly the time it took you to drive from the movie theater to your house.

“Star Wars, Empire Strikes Back. You want to watch?” Dustin asked, his voice much more gentle than it usually was.

“Yeah, gimme a minute.” Dustin hopped up to the VHS player, jamming his finger onto the pause button as he glanced to Steve. You ignored the look and headed back to your room. Comfy pajamas and some hot chocolate wouldn’t automatically fix how you felt, but it was something. And by that point, something was better than nothing.

Within a couple of minutes, you were padding back into the living room, clad in your comfiest pajamas while the milk was heating up on the stove. Dustin patted the spot in the middle and you fell onto the couch easily.

“You alright?” Steve asked, his voice soft enough that Dustin wouldn’t overhear - too occupied with Luke’s Dagobah dream sequence happening.

“No.” You’d been expecting Steve to pester you about why your eyes were red or why you looked similar to when Mews had disappeared. But instead, he just reached over and tapped this thumb against your hand. It wasn’t much, but for whatever reason, it was comforting. Nice, even.

The three of you sat there for awhile, watching as the young Skywalker struggled with his choices. It was hard for you to focus on your favorite movie, and it seemed like Steve was having the same issues. You glanced down at Dustin, who was snoring softly on your shoulder. You glanced over to Steve, who was watching the two of you with a faint smile on his face.

“Thanks for looking out for him. He really looks up to you,” you said, mustering up a weak smile of your own.

“He’s a cool kid.” His smile continued on for a moment before he winced.

“You alright?”

“Yeah, just hit my head at practice.”

“How the hell do you still have practice? We’re on Christmas break.”

“Coach is a hard ass and Billy got the entire team in trouble because he wouldn’t stop running his mouth.”

“How does that translate to everyone getting in trouble? Aren’t you like the golden boy? You should be immune to Hargrove’s stupidity.” Steve laughed at that, and the sound made your chest lighten up a little. Not by much, but it was something.

“You’ve never played on a team sport, have you?” The way he said it was as though he knew something that you didn’t. His eyes were crinkling a little at the corners, his grin bright and happy.

“No, I never needed other people to do my work for me. I could make baskets on my own, thank you very much,” you chuckled, noting the way his lips stretched even wider (if that was possible). For a moment, you wondered what it would be like, for you and Steve to be more than friends. But Steve is Steve and you are you, which meant that the two of you were firmly stuck in wonderful, meaningful, platonic friendship.

That didn’t stop you from wondering about it, though.

As the night went on, you found yourself leaning a little more on Steve, relishing in the warmth and comfort. By the end of Return of the Jedi, the three of you were fast asleep on the couch in a giant huddle, safe and sound from the problems of the galaxy.

When Steve woke up, however, the problems of the galaxy were staring down at him.

“Get the fuck up, Harrington. I don’t wanna have to be here any longer,” Billy spat, scowling down at him. Steve’s eyes blinked languid, up and down, almost lazy as he tried to comprehend just what the fuck was going on.

They wouldn’t have had practice two days in a row on Christmas break. And he’d just had practice yesterday. And it was Christmas Eve, anyway. So there definitely wouldn’t have been practice. But Billy was staring down at him still, face twisted into a snarl as he waited for Steve to move.

Slowly, he got up, rubbing his hand over the spot on his head that was throbbing.

“What happened?” He mumbled, wincing at the pain. The guys crowded around him, all craning their heads to see if there was any blood.

“You didn’t plant your feet, dumbass,” Billy said. His voice was low enough so that their coach wouldn’t hear him, but something in his tone struck Steve as familiar. Almost too familiar, like he’d heard it before.

(His brain kept supplying the phrase yesterday, but he refused to accept it.)

The rest of the day didn’t get any better. The clothes he’d worn yesterday were the same. The time that he got out of practice was the exact same. Dustin answered the door in the same clothes as yesterday, babbling on about their plan. The. Same. As. Yesterday.

It was when you came out in the same clothes as yesterday that he finally snapped.

“Haven’t you worn that recently?” He asked, an edge to his voice. You stared at him, your jaw ticking just a little.

“What, are you suddenly the fashion police? I’m pretty sure that I’m allowed to wear the same dress within a month, Steve.”

“Yeah, well, where are you going?” His volume was getting a little louder, but he wasn’t paying too much attention. He wasn’t paying too much attention to Dustin either, who was gaping at him and jabbing his finger into the older teen’s side, or the way that you were glaring at him like you wanted to hit him.

“On a date. With Dylan Marrow.”

“Jesus, are you serious? Didn’t you come back last night from your date with him crying?”

“What the fuck are you talking about?”

“You! Last night was movie night here and you went out on a date with him dressed like that and then you come back crying, most likely because of him. You can’t be seriously going out with him again.” You just stared at him, tilting your head the same way a dog does when it can’t understand what it’s being told. But there was something else there too, something that was making your nostrils flare and your eyes narrow.

“Look, I don’t know what your problem is, but I have no idea what you’re talking about, okay, Steve? Maybe you hit your head too hard, hm?”

“Maybe I - or maybe you’re not thinking clearly, hm?” Deep down, Steve knew that it was really him that wasn’t thinking clearly. His heart was pounding and his brain was firing off too many thoughts for him to handle all at once. “We all know that Dylan Marrow is a fucker who can’t think beyond the end of his dick, and who it’s pointing at.”

“Just fuck off, Harrington.” With that, you slammed the door behind you, making the picture frames that were hanging on the wall shake.

“When did you hit your head?” Steve stared at him, not even comprehending what he was saying.

“What? Earlier, man. Just… At basketball practice. It doesn’t - fuck,” Steve eventually burst out, letting his head fall back against the couch. He let out a groan at the moment of impact, his head still sore from earlier. Or yesterday.

He really didn’t fucking know at that point.

“So are we going to talk about you losing your sanity, or should I pretend that it didn’t happen?”

“Just start the fucking movie, Dustin.”

You were crying when you got home, tears leaving wet tracks down your cheeks. Once you were inside, your gaze settled on Steve, something in your chest tightening up.

“Congratulations, Harrington. You were fucking right.” The words were brittle and hard, and only became harder when you slammed your bedroom door shut for the night.

Steve wished that things would get better from then on out.

They didn’t.

He lost track of how many times the day repeated itself. His headache was growing worse with each repetition, and no matter what he tried, nothing would get him out of the loop. One day, he punched Hargrove right in the mouth upon waking up. That had launched a series of events where he’d ended up stuck in Hopper’s office, handcuffed to the desk. Another time, he’d cancelled on Dustin and stayed home, hiding in his bedroom.

Most days, though, he’d end up at your house, sitting on your couch with your little brother. He’d tried talking you out of your date a hundred different times, but nothing seemed to work. You were always determined to go on that date of yours, despite Steve’s almost desperate attempts. He’d tried just about anything he could think of, but you still went on your date.

He and Dustin still watched Star Wars.

You came back crying.

And repeat.

Over and over again, Steve was stuck in the loop, always December 23, never Christmas fucking Eve. At around day fifty-seven (he’d still been counting then), he’d started to feel this overwhelming sense of loneliness. Everyone else believed that it was December 23, just a normal day in Hawkins. But he was stuck, alone even when surrounded by other people. His chest had started to hurt that day. Around day seventy-four, the pain in his chest faded into a numbness.

After day seventy-seven, he decided to stop counting. There wasn’t really a point when nothing was changing.

Until something did change.

Steve found himself once more stuck on the couch, head lolled against the back as he waited for the inevitable. Dustin was going on about the plan, the one that they’d been planning for over a week - to Dustin, anyway.

“Exactly, Da- Steve. You've got this. You're gonna slay her dead.”

Steve mustered up a small grin at that. That was his favorite part of the loop. For a moment, he could focus on Dustin and how he felt instead of the crushing loneliness that had made its home in his chest.

“Slay who dead?”

“No one!” Dustin said, tripping over the two words as he dug his elbow into Steve’s side. Steve reached over for the VHS box, gaze flipping over the text. He didn’t need to look over to you. He’d had your outfit memorized from day four.

“Right, okay,” you paused for a moment. “So what movies are we watching?”

The six words made Steve’s entire being stop. His breath caught in his throat as his heart began to pound hard and fast. He looked over to you, slow and almost scared at what awaited him. But there you stood, clad in a pair of jeans and a sweater, your lips pressed together into a grin as you watched him.

“Uh, Star Wars marathon. I got all the tapes as an early Christmas gift from my parents,” Steve said. His voice sounded far away, but that was most likely due to the way his pulse was roaring in his ears.

“Oh, nice. Are we starting with A New Hope?”

“Is there any other way?” Dustin asked, rolling his eyes at the obviously stupid question. You motioned for Steve to scoot over so there was room. His heart was still pounding in his chest, amplifying when you sat down next to him.

“You alright there, Harrington?” You asked. There was something to your voice, something a little off that pricked at the back of his mind.

“Uh, yeah. I’m dandy, Y/N.”

Steve remained dandy all throughout the first movie. His composure cracked, however, the second it ended.

“Y/N, you wanna make some hot chocolate with me?” His voice was shaking just a little as he asked, hands doing the same. You looked between him and Dustin before nodding.

“Sure, Steve.” You glanced over to Dustin, quirking a brow at him, but he just shrugged his shoulders and grinned. Steve watched as you headed out into the kitchen, looking to Dustin only when he grabbed onto his arm.

“Dude! You were supposed to wait until I went to bed!”

“Then go to bed, man. I’ve got to ask her something - not like that, you little shit. Stop looking at me like that.”

“You treat her right, Harrington. I’m not fucking around. Just because you’re my dad, that doesn’t mean I won’t kill you if you hurt her.”

“Dustin, I promise you, as a symbolic father to my symbolic son, I am not going to hurt her. I swear it to you, okay?”

“Geas.”

“What?”

“Geas. DnD, what we were talking about last week? Where you get damage every day that you don’t follow whatever quest you’re supposed to be on? You hurt her, and I will damage you every day.” Steve just stared at him. A part of him was enjoying this side of Dustin, one that was stepping up and protecting his sister. Another part of him wanted the kid to stop so he could talk to you.

“Fine, Geas, I agree. Now go to bed.” Without waiting another minute, Steve strode into the kitchen, stopping at the sight of you making hot chocolate. “Uh, so, uh…”

“How many days?” Your words came out quiet and wobbly. It reminded Steve of when he’d had to tell you that Mews had disappeared. Dustin had been adamant about protecting you from the truth, but apparently couldn’t have been the one to lie straight to your face.

“What?”

“Just answer the question.” You weren’t looking at him then, instead focused on the milk that was starting to bubble.

“I don’t know. I stopped after seventy-seven.” He watched as your shoulders relaxed, although he would have described them as deflating.

“One hundred and thirty-three days.” Your words were wobbly and choked off. It caused something in Steve to break, and he made it across the kitchen in three steps, resting a hand on your shoulder. “I didn’t - I didn’t know what was going on. Every single time I came out into that living room, you were just there.”

“I said different stuff, though.”

“Yeah, but I’d do one thing different in the morning, and it’d have a giant ripple effect for the rest of the day. I just… I assumed that you were apart of that.”

“So what changed?” His hand felt warm against your shoulder, and his breath caught again that night as you leaned into his touch.

“When you looked at me. You looked surprised that I wasn’t dressed up.” Steve let out a low laugh, shaking his head as he watched you.

“You mind me asking why you kept going?”

“At first, I thought that I was supposed to change it somehow, that I was supposed to stop him and win him back or whatever bullshit. And then, when that never changed, I tried calling him out on it. And that didn’t change, so I started just going out by myself, like maybe I was supposed to learn how to be by myself. But tonight, I honestly just wanted to hang out with you guys,” you said, shrugging.

“Then let’s hang out. You wanna start Empire?”

You’d honestly thought that things would change after that, that the two of you would wake up the next morning, cuddled on the couch and it would all be over. But it wasn’t. Instead, it just kept going and going and going.

This time around, though, you had each other.

You learned some things, too. That you woke up in your bed, but Steve woke up at basketball practice, which was five hours after you woke up. No matter how hard you tried, you could never find Steve before then.

You also learned that Steve was a cuddler. With every day that passed, the more comfortable the two of you got. He’d lean against your shoulder, rest a hand on the small of your back, tug on your hair until you’d lean into his side. He’d tell you stupid jokes, repeating the punchline over and over and over again until you’d break down and laugh. When you’d fall asleep against his shoulder - which had turned into an every night kind of thing - he’d press kisses against your hair when he thought you were sleeping.

You’d learned that your heart beat a little faster every time you saw him. That you couldn’t help but grin when he did, and that his laugh was one of your new favorite things. You learned that your fingers itched to hold his hand or to rake through his hair. You learned that home was quickly becoming anywhere that he was. You learned that you liked him.

You’d learned a lot over the past thirty-two days. You’d started a new count, as well.

“Exactly, Da- Steve. You've got this. You're gonna slay her dead.”

“Slay who dead?” Your voice brought a grin to Steve’s lips, and the sight of it made your heart swell.

“No one!” Dustin yelped, eyes wide as he dug his elbow into Steve’s side. You couldn’t help but smile.

The night passed as it usually did, with Dustin making his exit after Episode V. You and Steve settled against each other after he put in a new movie, something other than Star Wars. You watched it in silence for awhile, letting Indiana Jones and Short Round distract you for a bit. It was difficult, though, when Steve kept rubbing random shapes onto your palm.

“So when are you going to kiss me?”

The words came out, casual and slow. You turned your head to Steve, swallowing as you watched him. He was still facing the TV, but you could see him looking at you out of the corner of his eye. A smirk had perched itself on his lips, making itself right at home.

“What?”

“You heard me.”

“I - You - We - What?” You just gaped at him like a fish out of water.

“If you kiss me and it sucks, it’ll be fine. Everything resets, anyway.”

“You and I don’t, though.” His smirk slid away as he turned to face you properly. A serious look settled onto his features, one that made your heart stop.

“Yeah, you and I don’t.” He repeated your words, watching you for what felt like an eternity before moving forward. It was odd. In the brief moment before his lips were on yours, it was simultaneously a millenia and a millisecond. But those thoughts slid away once he was actually kissing you.

His hands were cupping your cheeks, careful, as though you were made of glass. You inched closer to him, knees bumping against his as you let a hand rest against his chest. It felt like he was breathing the life back into you. With every move of his lips, every breath and every pant, he was awakening the parts of you that had been asleep, that had fallen asleep long before you’d realized that you weren’t alone in whatever this was.

Before long, the both of you had maneuvered to a more horizontal position on the couch. You were taking your time with these kisses, soft and lazy and tired. You pressed a kiss against his jaw, sighing as you tucked your head beneath his chin.

“What are we going to do? If we’re stuck like this?” Your words rang out in the quiet of the room. Indiana Jones was still going through the motions of being the hero, but neither of you were paying that much attention.

“I don’t know.” Steve paused for a moment. “I mean, I guess there are worse people to be stuck with for eternity, you know?” You let out a soft laugh, nuzzling your face into his neck. “Whatever happens, though, we’ll face it together.”

You were colder than you usually were whenever you were waking up. In your sleep addled mind, you chalked it up to kicking your blanket off of you at sometime during the night. But whenever you reached for it, your hand immediately hit something hard, eyes opening in a flash.

“Watch it, babe,” Steve mumbled, pressing his face deeper into the couch cushion. You froze at the sound, your fingers gripping his arm tight. It took him a couple of seconds longer, but his eyes flung open.

Neither of you could breathe, it was so hard to wrap your minds around it.

“Jesus, are you two… doing things on the couch? I’m going to have to bleach those cushions for hours! Or powerwash them! Or both!” Dustin said, grabbing a pillow off of the recliner and tossing it at the two of you.

“Dustin, knock it off!” You said, but the annoyance that would’ve painted your tone was gone. Instead, it was all you could do from sounding downright giddy. You tilted your head up to get a better look at Steve. He grinned down at you, his whole expression radiating joy. “We made it. We did it.”

“We did it,” he echoed, pressing a kiss to your forehead. “We really did it.”

taglist: @harringtonhuddle @nicospaten @selenedarkbloom @samuel-maurice455 @lilo-1398 @thevortexclubposse @laurennicole1313 @allfandomxreader @myblackwings5 @morgandakotaq @rivedale @laterg8r @buckybass @alwaysmebeforeyou @istanuriss @smittyjaws

[joaquinwhorres]

Good Kid (Steve Harrington x Reader)

Alternatively titled, Good Deeds - Part 2

< Read Part 1 | Read Part 3 >

Summary: Steve drops you off at home after a somewhat disastrous holiday party. Over a cup of hot chocolate, you come to the realization that he may be different from when you’d last known him.

Pairing: Steve Harrington x Reader

Word Count: 1534

Author’s Note: Part 2 of Good Deeds is out and it kind of went in a different direction than I expected. Kind of like a transition chapter? Anyway, I have the next two parts planned and they are both cute and fluffy and exciting and will be out later this week!

Warnings: Language. 

So, Steve Harrington was in your house now.

That was a turn of events. Then again, your expectations for the night also hadn't included all of your friends ditching you, Billy Hargrove hitting on you, and you running panicked from the party. So, all in all, this was one of the better surprises of tonight.

Still, you were finding it hard to think straight as you stirred the hot cocoa. You wanted to blame the cups of cheer that were really starting to catch up with you now, but if you were honest, the fact that Steve Harrington was currently sitting a few feet behind you at your kitchen table probably had something to do with it.

Which was stupid.

Because it wasn't as if this was the first time he'd ever been in your house. Becky had brought him over plenty when they were "dating," given that your house was the official hangout spot for your friends.

When they had made the determination in middle school that your house was the place to be, you had thought it was because you had a nice finished basement that your parents let you take over. It wasn't until high school that you realized it was because you were an only child with cool parents. Not the kind of cool that let you and your friends drink in the house because "it's better you do it here where we can keep an eye on you." No, they were the type that always made sure to keep a fully stocked fridge and let you have sleepovers on a moment's notice. They let boys come over and hang out with you in the basement, unsupervised, as long as they left by 8 pm on school nights– 10 on the weekend.

Not only that, but your mom took it upon herself to mom all of your friends, keeping up with Amy's plight to pass history and Tiffany's longtime crush on Jeff. For someone like Tiffany, whose mother died when she was young, and Becky, who didn't get along with her actual mother, your mother was the perfect surrogate. Especially because she lived at your house and didn't bother them about things like chores, homework, and waking up for church on Sundays. She just was around and made them feel welcome. She made everyone feel welcome.

But your mom wasn't here now, and neither were her easy conversation topics or casual warmth. She was dancing the night away at your father's Christmas party and wouldn't be getting back until late. Or early, depending however you looked at it. Which meant that you were left absolutely alone with Steve Harrington for the first time in your life. And it was 11:35 pm.

You dipped a ladle into the hot cocoa and sipped it. Deeming it good enough, you turned off the stove and pulled down two mugs, pouring just a little more hot cocoa into Steve's. As if two extra sips could possibly make up for everything that had happened tonight. Geeze, this was such a disaster.

You placed Steve's mug in front of him before sinking into the chair across from him. "Thanks," he said, offering a small grin as he pulled the drink towards him. You watched as he lifted the drink to his lips, taking a sip. "It's delicious," he commented, going back for a second.

"Good," you breathed out, relieved. You sat in silence together for a second more before you burst. "I can't believe I punched you in the face and then forced you to take me home and then didn't talk to you at all in the car. I'm so sorry." You sunk your forehead into your hand. "This is why I hate parties."

Steve chuckled. "It's fine," he said, setting his mug down. "I can't believe you were going to punch Billy in the face."

You shook your head into your hand, and you could feel your cheeks heating up.  The further away you got from the incident, the more ridiculous it seemed. How could you have possibly believed that you could physically fend off Billy Hargrove of all people? Still, you sort of had. "I can't believe I kicked him in the balls," you muttered. Steve barked out a laugh.

"No, shit?"

You nodded, lifting up your head to see Steve almost beaming.

"That's fantastic. Now I'm glad you only aimed for my face."

You snorted, regarding his face. For the most part, you hadn't done any significant damage. No embarrassing stories that would follow you throughout winter break.

"How bad is it?" Steve asked, catching you staring.

You bit the inside of your lip. "There's just a small mark, right here," you gestured to your cheekbone.

He nodded, as if contemplating something before taking a sip from his hot cocoa. You followed suit. A small thought had worked its way into the back of your mind. How could you have possibly mistaken Steve's voice for Billy's? And from that thought, another emerged: why did Steve reach out to grab you in the first place?

"You ok?" Steve asked, his brow furrowing in concern. Your friends always said that your face was an open book, but you'd never realized just how easy you were to read.

"Yeah," you said, shaking your head. "Yeah, I was just lost in thought, sorry."

"What were you thinking about?" Steve asked, catching you off guard. It seemed dumb to ask the question out loud, but it would be even dumber to lie about it.

"Why'd you grab my arm?" you asked.

"Huh?" Steve tilted his head slightly.

"You know, before I punched you. Why did you grab me?" You clarified, feeling your stomach churn. This was uncomfortable. This was weird. It seemed almost like you were asking him something else. But you were barely friends. Just acquaintances who used to hang out.

Steve was quiet for a second. "I noticed you looked upset, and I wanted to see if you were ok."

You nodded. That made sense. Sort of. Because on the one hand, you were good enough friends to talk in the halls, but at the same time, checking in to see if someone was ok, wasn't really Steve's thing. He didn't really do feelings. At least, he didn't pre-Nancy. You'd heard he'd changed, but this felt like the first time you'd actually been able to see it up close.

"Thanks," you said, softly. He nodded.

"Anytime," he answered. And it was something about the look on his face. How he was looking right in your eyes, and he wasn't smiling, but he wasn't brushing you off either. Your stomach flipped, and this was not good. Because Steve Harrington was Steve Harrington. He had run through two of your friends, and sure you had had a crush on him–who didn't at one point or the other–but stomach flipping was for potentially datable boys only, and while Steve had proved himself as many things tonight, he was still the guy who slept with Becky two weeks after breaking up with Amy and wrecked that friendship.

"Are you doing anything fun over break?" you asked, filling the empty air because if you didn't say something it would be just like the car ride all over again. Or worse. You’d act on that weird feeling that was growing inside of your chest.

He shrugged. "Christmas with my parents. Maybe babysitting Dustin Henderson."

"You babysit?" you asked. It was like you didn't know him at all anymore.

He nodded. "Yeah, kind of. It's more like a big brother, mentor kind of thing, but he's a good kid." He scratched the back of his neck.

"You're mentoring a kid?" you repeated back.

"I know. I'm not exactly the obvious choice given my shitty history," he gave a sheepish smile. Fuck, he was cute. And you were drunk–ish. And he was here with you. And it was late. Before you could say anything, he broke eye contact, looking up at the clock on your kitchen wall.

"I should go," he said.

You inwardly cursed yourself for being such an idiot and not speaking up sooner. No, wait. No. You cursed yourself for even thinking of saying anything at all. Fuck.

Steve stood, holding his mug. "Should I put this in the sink or…?" he trailed off.

"Here," you said, offering to take it, and his fingers brushed yours. You picked up your mug and placed them both on top of the dishwasher.

Steve hesitated behind you as you did this before letting you lead him, quietly, awkwardly to the door. He walked outside before turning around. "Thanks for the hot chocolate."

"It was seriously the least I could do," you shook your head.

"Maybe I'll, uh, see you around over break?" Steve asked.

"If you're not too busy babysitting," you smiled. He smiled back, and your heartbeat quickened. Fuck.

"Sounds good," he said, nodding. The smile was still on his face as he turned around and walked to his car. He gave a small wave before he pulled out and took off into the night, leaving you alone in your house with your thoughts.

Tonight was weird.

Because however you had expected it to end up, you had never imagined that you'd go to bed crushing on Steve Harrington.

< Read Part 1 | Read Part 3 >

Tags: @oomylifeiseternalsufferingoo @katethemandrake @coolyoungbouquetdestinylove @stay-wokke @morgandakotaq @breathhe @stressedoutkylo

[v-writings]

I want you to show me

Word Count: 9.8K+ Pairing: Steve Harrington x Female Reader Summary: Steve finds you in your secret place after dropping Dustin off at the Snow Ball, and talking about how he’s feeling leads you to do something neither of you could have expected. Rating: MA Warnings: Explicit sex scenes. A/N: The title of this fic it’s not an accident, and I do recomment listening to I Want To Know What Love Is after/while reading, because when I was close to finishing this I realized that song fits the story perfectly.

Hawkins is a small town, small enough that it’s not easy to find good places where you can relax and be completely by yourself, especially when the weather is warm and everyone wants to be outside.

When you were a kid, there was a campsite that you and your family frequented during summers; a beautiful place with picnic tables right in front of the lake. Everyone knew there was no other like it to spend some time enjoying the wonders of nature– even if it was definitely going to be surrounded by a dozen other families who all had the same idea.

You never minded sharing this place when you were camping, but when you got old enough you learned that if you came here when it was cold, it would be desolated.

In the summer this place belongs to everyone– but during winter, it’s yours.

When it’s as cold out as tonight, everyone prefers to stay warm inside their homes instead of being out in the open– which is precisely what makes this so perfect. Once again you get this beautiful place all to yourself, without anyone else bothering you.

And if anyone were to bother you, you know how to use your pocket knife.

You take a long sip of your coffee and close your eyes, enjoying how the warmth spreads all over your chest as it goes down. It’s definitely not the coldest night of the year but it’s enough to make you wrap your warm blanket a little tighter around your shoulders, and you’re enjoying every second of it.

It’s incredibly relaxing to come here at night and sit on one of the picnic tables while you watch the stars, drinking the coffee you brought on your thermos with only the sounds of the breeze and the insects and the engine of a car–

Wait.

You turn around abruptly, trying to find who dared to come here and interrupt your peaceful alone time. You squint your eyes at the bright light of the car coming directly towards you, but it isn’t until the person inside turns the engine off that you realize who is behind the wheel.

“Steve?“ You murmur to yourself, eyebrows arched in surprise. You definitely don’t think of him as the kind of guy who’d enjoy coming to a place like this at night to be by himself.

It takes him a moment to get out of the car, and when he finally does he looks... sheepish?

What is going on with him?

“Hi.” He says from his place right next to his car, unmoving.

“Uh, hi.” You greet back, knowing very well that confusion is written on your face. 

“Can I– uh– do you mind if I... sit with you?” He scratches the back of his neck self-consciously and you wonder if you’re looking at an alien who looks like Steve instead of the real him, because this is the first time you’ve seen him act like this.

Even if you haven’t actually talked in years and you know that Billy dethroned him as the “king” of the school, this is not the kind of behavior you would ever associate with Steve Harrington. It just isn’t.

“Uhh, yeah.” You say, grabbing your thermos and moving a little to the side to make room for him. You follow his movements until he sits next to you, and once he’s settled the situation turns incredibly awkward in a matter of seconds. He looks tense and nervous and you have no idea what’s happening, so there isn’t a lot you can do to change the uncomfortable atmosphere he created. “You want some coffee?“ You finally ask, desperate to break the silence. He looks surprised when he turns to you, and you show him the thermos as if to explain what you just offered to him.

Why did he have to come here?

“Sure, thanks.“ He says with a small smile, taking the empty cup from your hand. You pour him the last of your coffee and leave the empty thermos on the seat of the table, by your feet. “It’s really good.“ He says after the first sip, and you only manage to give him a strained smile and nod in response.

“So...“ You say as he continues drinking the coffee. “What brings you here?“ 

"I don’t know… I guess I just needed a place to think.“ He traces his thumb over the edge of the cup absentmindedly, looking like his mind is miles away.

"Really? Do you come here often?” You ask, surprised that someone besides you considered this place a good spot to unplug from the rest of the world during a night like this.

“This is the first time I come, actually.” He says, looking at you only a second before finishing his coffee. “I just dropped Dustin off at the Snow Ball and I needed to get away and I–” He lets out a noise that sounds like something between a scoff and a laugh. “I actually was remembering about that Snow Ball when you were my date and I remembered that you had told me that sometimes you came here with your family and that it was quiet this time of the year and–” He runs his fingers through his hair and then lets out a deep breath, handing you the cup back. “I don’t even know why I remembered it.”

“I did?” You ask, wracking your brain trying to find the memory of you telling someone about this place who was supposed to be your secret, but you come up empty.

If you told him about that, you probably liked him a lot more than you remember– and you remember you liked him a lot.

“Yeah…” You see a small smile lifting up the corners of his mouth. “Not too long before you kissed me.” He looks at you, and you’re pretty sure the reddening of his cheeks has nothing to do with the crisp air. “It was my first kiss, you know.” You smile and roll your eyes, nodding.

“I do. It was mine, too.” You bump his shoulder with yours. “It was a good first kiss, Harrington.”

“It was a great first kiss.” He corrects, and you shake your head playfully when he smiles.

“So…” You begin, waiting for a moment to see if he wants to say something. He doesn’t. “Do you wanna talk or–”

“No… no–” He laughs nervously, shaking his head in denial. “I don’t–” He stays silent for long enough that you start considering leaving him alone here, but before you can decide to do anything he speaks again. “Do you think Nancy and I made a good couple?” He blurts out, looking at you questioningly.

“Uhhh, what?” You respond, trying to understand where the hell that came from.

“We were together for over a year and you’ve known us since we were kids so… do you think we were good together?”

“I–”

“Because I thought we were great together.” He interrupts, not even paying attention to you anymore. “I thought I actually had a future with her.” He runs his fingers through his hair in frustration. “But it turns out, she was only pretending to be in love with me.” He sighs and shakes his head. “For a year. A year of pretending to be in love with me while I actually fell more and more in love with her.”

“Well, I–”

“But I’ve been thinking about this since the Halloween party, you know? And now I feel like I don’t know anything and that I’m alone and if Nancy pretended to love me for so long and I actually believed it, how can I tell if someone really loves me? What if everyone’s been pretending and I just– I just believed them? What if I can’t be loved?” He turns to look at you with eyes shining with unshed tears, and you try not to panic.

Sure, you’ve known Steve since you were in kindergarten and he was your first love, but after he was your date for the Snow Ball when you were like 13 years old and he completely ignored you afterwards, you stopped wasting your time on him.

“Steve, it’s going to be okay.” You say in the most soothing voice you can muster at the moment. He looks at you expectantly, like he wants you to say more, but you were kind of expecting that to be enough. Apparently not. “Is this the first time a girl breaks your heart?” He looks surprised at the question, and swallows visibly before blushing.

“It’s not the first time, but this time it feels more… real. It feels bigger.” You nod, trying to find something to say that will actually help him.

“You know a year ago, when I was dating–”

“That dumbass?” Steve interrupts, smiling softly before sniffling.

“He was not a dumbass, Steve, goddammit.” You say through gritted teeth, shaking your head.

“I’m just saying, after what he did–” You scoff and glare at him, and he shuts up, lifting his hands up in surrender.

“He broke up with me because he was going to college and he didn’t feel the same way about me as he did when we first started dating. And he was completely honest about it.”

“That’s what I’m saying– he’s a dumba–”

“Steve, Jesus!” You scream, already stressed out because of him. “He’s not a dumbass. He didn’t feel the same way about me anymore and he told me and he broke up with me and yes, it fucking broke my heart because I still loved him, but I got over it.” You take a deep breath. “The point is that it might seem like the world just ended but I promise it gets better. You will heal. It’s life– sometimes you’re lucky enough that the people you like like you back, and sometimes you’re not. I know this is hard for you to understand, but sometimes there will be girls who won’t like you.” He smiles at that, and you smile back.

“I know that, I learned it a long time ago.” You frown and look at him with a questioning expression. “With you. You were the first girl that broke my heart.”

There are a couple of things Steve learned when he was young from his father that he’s never forgotten– advice that he still uses today in his day to day life. One of them is to always have condoms with you, and the other is that to get a girl, you always have to pretend that you don’t care about what she does. In the end, she will come to you, desperate for attention.

His father told him the latter the night he dropped him off at the first Snow Ball he attended– around five years ago– and it’s something he’s never forgotten. Sure, there are exceptions like Nancy who actually needed him to show her he cared or else she would’ve never realized he was interested– but other than her it’s always worked like a charm.

Well, except for the first time he tried to put it to use.

He remembers thinking you were the most beautiful girl he’d ever seen, and how he told you so. You had looked bashful but pleased at his words, and for the rest of the night he’d forgotten about what his dad had said. You even kissed him on the lips during a slow song and it was the greatest first kiss ever– so he didn’t have to think about anything else for the rest of the night.

The problems started the next week.

When Steve told his dad about the kiss, he had told him that he was proud of him, and Steve had felt over the moon at the praise. But then he repeated that Steve had to act like it was no big deal and like he didn’t really care about it, because that way you were going to try to get his attention by any means possible and he would be completely in control of the situation.

But that’s not what happened.

You found him in his locker and told him about how much fun you’d had at the Snow Ball, and he’d replied that sure, it had been okay.

It had been more than okay– it had been the best night of his life– but his dad told him you couldn’t know that. If you knew how much he liked you that was going to give you power over him, and that was never, ever okay.

So he just left you standing by his locker and went to class with his friends, certain that his dad’s advice was going to work wonderfully. You didn’t speak to him again for the rest of the day, which worried him a little, but the next day you sat at lunch with him and Steve just knew his dad was right. He had to keep doing what he told him.

You had tried to talk to him about different subjects, but he gave you short, uninterested answers. The next day, Steve was sure you were both ready to become boyfriend and girlfriend.

And then, you ignored him.

And the next day, you ignored him again.

And the next day after that one, and the entire week after that, you kept ignoring him.

He waited for you to come “crawling back to him” as his father had put it the first time he told him what you were doing, but that didn’t happen. And when Steve cried to his mom one night after he saw you kissing another boy, his father told him to man up and that you just weren’t worth it– but he didn’t say anything about his advice being less than perfect.

Even though Steve had figured you didn’t give a damn about him years ago it bothers him a little that you seem clueless about what he’s talking about right now.

“Uhhh… what?” You ask, looking at him like he just grew another head. “How did I– when– what?”

“You completely ignored me and then you went and kissed that– that– that shithead!” Your eyes widen and you look at him with a flabbergasted expression, looking like you’re at loss of words.

“Are you fucking serious?” You deadpan, staring at him in disbelief.

“Yes, I am. I thought you liked me after the Snow Ball and then–”

“Are you fucking serious?” You repeat, this time a little louder and in a harder tone. Steve just nods, but your reaction is making him a little bit nervous. “Wow. You are a fucking asshole.” You grab your thermos and get down from the table, pulling the blanket off of your shoulders as you walk away from him towards your car.

He just stares at your back for a moment, not knowing what’s going on. Then he does the same thing and gets down from the table, sprinting towards you to catch up.

“Hey, where are you going?” He yells, getting to you before you can get inside your car.

“I’m going home, Steve. You ruined my night.”

“Oh, so you are mad because I said you broke my heart?” He asks, letting out a dry laugh.

“I broke your heart? Seriously?” You bite your lip and shake your head, and he knows you’re furious but he doesn’t know why. “You know, I was so happy after the Snow Ball. When I got home I told my mom everything about it and I was so excited to see you the next Monday at school because I was sure you had enjoyed being with me as well.”

“I did!” Steve blurts out, not knowing where you’re going with this.

“Did you, really? Because all I can remember is how you seemed like you didn’t care at all when I talked to you. Like our kiss and our night didn’t matter at all.” You sigh and shake your head. “And I thought, it’s okay, maybe he had a bad day– but then you talked to everyone else like nothing was wrong, so I waited until the next day and sat with you at lunch and you did the exact same thing. And I knew you didn’t care about me, or our kiss, or anything. I didn’t know why you had asked me to go with you– maybe just to see what it would be like? I don’t know, but I knew I wasn’t going to waste my time with someone who didn’t care about me.”

He doesn’t know exactly how or when it happens, but all of a sudden Steve is no longer in the campsite and instead is in his father’s office and he’s seeing himself as a 13 year old, and his father is there giving him what now seems like the worst advice in the world.

“Just show her you don’t care, son.” His father says, and older Steve shakes his head vehemently.

“Don’t listen to him.” But of course, the memory of himself doesn’t hear him.

“Women are like that, if you let her know how much you like her she’ll end up doing what she wants with you, and you need to be the one control, got it? Always.”

“No, no, you don’t. That’s bullshit!” He screams at the memory of his father. “That’s fucking bullshit!”

“Steve!” He gasps when your face is suddenly in front of him, and he realizes you’re a lot closer than you were before. And not only that– your hands are on his cheeks and your thumbs are rubbing the skin underneath his eyes. “Are you okay?”

No, he’s not.

You left Steve sitting back at the table while you went back to your car to get the blanket and a bottle of water, and when you came back he was sitting just as you left him. You were mad at him for how he tried to blame you for what had happened between you two, sure, but now you’re only worried because you have no idea what happened to him.

One second you were talking and then he just went dead serious and stopped responding, and he just stood still for a moment before his eyes filled with tears and he started crying. But it wasn’t like he was sobbing– it was like the tears started to fall because his eyes just couldn’t hold them anymore.

You panicked when he remained unresponsive, so you grabbed his face and tried one more time to call his name and thankfully, he came back to himself. He’d just stared at you while you tried to dry his tears, so you’d asked if he wanted to sit down again. He only nodded so you led him there, and now you see that he hasn’t moved an inch.

“Steve?” You cautiously ask, approaching him slowly. He turns to look at you with puffy, questioning eyes so you hand him the water bottle. “Here.”

He accepts it and opens it before swallowing down almost half of it, and you just stare at him clutching the blanket in your hands, not knowing what else to do.

“I’m so stupid.” He mumbles under his breath as he closes the water bottle, before wiping his mouth with his hand. “I’m sorry, I–” He shakes his head, running his fingers through his hair in clear frustration. He’s been doing that a lot. “My dad– he gave me this, uh, solid piece of advice the night of the Snow Ball.” His tone seems sarcastic, but you’re not completely sure that’s the case. “He told me that, um, if you act like you don’t care, then girls will be even more interested in you.”

“What?” You nearly shriek, looking at him with wide eyes. “That’s the biggest load of bullshit I’ve ever heard.”

“Well it’s worked for me, alright? Not with you, clearly, but it’s worked with everyone else.”

“Oh, really? Did it work with Nancy?” You ask sarcastically, knowing very well he couldn’t have possibly used that approach with her.

“No, shut up. Nancy’s different.” He answers defensively, shaking his head.

“Is she? Because as far as I know, Nancy’s been your only solid girlfriend. So maybe when it comes to actually liking someone for real, no one wants to be with a guy who doesn’t care.” You sigh and move to sit next to him. “Tell me, how many of the other girls that you’ve been with were actually sad when it didn’t work out? And I don’t mean like that time you got called an asshole in front of everyone in the cafeteria, I mean actually sad. Like you were when Nancy told you she didn’t love you."  For a moment, Steve looks ready to answer, but then it seems like he decides against it and closes his mouth, looking thoughtful.

"I– I don’t know.” He finally answers, frowning slightly.

“Exactly.” You take a deep breath. “Look, Steve, that whole thing you did, about acting like you don’t care– sure, it got girls interested and it made them want you to pay attention to them, but that gets old really fast. That’s why you never had anything serious with them, because the most basic thing about being in a relationship with someone is them caring about you. If you can’t offer that, then why bother?” He looks at you with an unreadable expression, and you look down to the blanket in your hands.

“I– I’m sorry. For what I did when we were younger.” He finally says, and you shrug your shoulders.

“Don’t worry, it’s been a long time. It’s water under the bridge.” He nods and stares forward, at the lake in front of him.

“Fuck– Dustin.” He groans all of a sudden, burying his face on his hands.

“Huh?”

“I might have shared that advice with Dustin and convinced him that acting like you don’t care is the best thing to do.” You glare at him and he lifts his hands up apologetically. “I’m sorry! I’m realizing a lot of things tonight. I actually thought I was giving him good advice, and I was hurt and– ”

“For the love of god–” You mumble under your breath.

“– he was telling me about this girl he started to like and then it turns out his friend also likes her and she’s spending time with both of them–”

“And you told him to act like he doesn’t care? And he’s going to do as you said?” He nods. “I cannot believe you gave this piece of shit that you call advice to a child! Jesus Christ, Steve!”

“Don’t kick me while I’m down! I said I was sorry!” He yells, looking at you accusingly. “Okay? My dad isn’t around a lot and when he talked, I listened. I thought he was right, and he wasn’t. I get it.” He looks frustrated and angry, and his hair is kind of a mess from running his fingers through it so much.

“Okay, okay.” You say, letting out a sigh. “Steve?” You ask in a calm voice a moment later, barely turning to look at him.

“What?” His tone is still a little harsh, but he sighs and shakes his head. “Sorry. What?” He asks in a gentler tone.

“What happened just now? When you went still and– you know– you were crying and stuff–”

“Just– forget it. I’m fine.” He gives you the weakest reassuring smile you’ve ever seen, and you debate on whether you should press him a little or just leave him be.

You think that the fact that he joined you and already said things about his relationship with Nancy might be an indicator that he wants to talk, but maybe he just doesn’t fully know how to. It wouldn’t surprise you.

“You can talk to me if you need to, Steve. It’s okay.” He looks at you for a moment before looking back at the lake, and your attention shifts towards his fidgeting hands.

He’s nervous.

“Um… you wanna know how Nancy told me she didn’t love me?” He doesn’t give you time to answer. “It was at the Halloween party, after I made her spill her drink on her shirt. I don’t know if you noticed that–” He looks at you and you nod, but stay silent. You were there and you saw that happen, and you saw him following her and then leaving the party. “Okay so, she was upset about you know, Barb being– uh– missing and everything… and she was drunk and she just said that we we’re acting like we were in love, and that we were bullshit.” He sniffles and you notice his eyes are shining with new tears. “And these past few weeks I’ve been looking at her and I just saw her at the Snow Ball and she looks so– so happy, you know? Which is great, because I don’t want her to be sad but at the same time it’s like for her our breakup meant that she was free from pretending, but I– ” He shakes his head and quickly dries a tear that wanted to roll down his cheek. “I don’t know, I’m just being stupid.” He tries to laugh it off but more tears start falling, so he just covers his eyes and tries to control them as best as possible.

You want to hug him but you’re not sure if he would be okay with it, so you stay in your place feeling an enormous pressure building on your chest.

“Steve, you’re not being stupid. It just– this whole thing caught you by surprise, okay? What you’re feeling right now is completely understandable.”

“You think so?” He asks, looking at you with an unsure expression.

“I know so.” You smile and he smiles back, and you feel the pressure in your chest starting to disappear.

“And it’s not like– like I want us to be back together, you know? Not anymore, at least. I don’t want to be with someone who doesn’t love me, but… it still hurts, and I just– I don’t know how to make it stop.”

“You need time.” You say. “And talking about it with someone always helps.” He smiles at that. “I mean it. It might take some time but you will get over it. I promise.” You move to grab his hand and realize it’s freezing, so you gasp and let go. “Wait, are you cold?” You look at him and notice that his body is trembling slightly, and only now you realize that he only seems to be wearing a sweater. “Oh God, come here.” You unfold the blanket and throw it over both of your shoulders, wrapping you both in it in a way that forces you to be pressed shoulder to shoulder. “Why didn’t you tell me you were so cold? Give me your hands.” You grab them underneath the blanket and shove them together inside your jacket pocket, because you had your hand there until just now and you know it’s warm.

“I– um–” You turn your face towards his and realize he’s a lot closer that you thought, so close that you actually feel his warm breath on your face. “Thank you.” His eyes are locked on yours, and you become a lot more aware of him.

“Steve…” You whisper when you catch him staring at your lips before licking his own.

Oh no– he cannot be even considering kissing you, because that would be the worst thing that could happen. You might be literally two inches away from being used by Steve Harrington because he’s hurt about his ex-girlfriend breaking up with him.

“I–” He says, and you realize that really slowly, he’s closing the distance between your mouths.

No. Not like this. You’d be lying to yourself if you said you didn’t want to kiss him, but never like this. Not when all he wants is an escape from his pain, not when he decided to do this because he wants to momentarily forget the girl he loves. You want him to kiss you because he likes you.

“I’m not a band aid, Steve.” You say, turning your face forward and leaving him looking at your cheek.

“What?” He asks breathlessly, moving his head back a little. “What does that mean?”

“I’m not going to let you use me because you want to forget about Nancy for five minutes. I’m not a band aid for your broken heart.” It’s really hard to remain calm right now, considering that he was incredibly close to you and was very willing to kiss you just a moment ago.

Even though you spent most of your High School years not wanting to have anything to do with Steve because he became a huge asshole, in the past year something changed. You know that it has to do with him dating Nancy and not being friends with Carol and Tommy anymore, and even though you don’t know exactly what made him become a much better person you’re thankful for it.

But there’s also a problem with him turning into a sweet, kind, loving person: your crush came back, and stronger. This doesn’t feel like a childhood crush because you’re not kids anymore, and that only makes it worse.

Steve has always been your greatest what if, and until a year ago that didn’t bother you at all. You were happy with his status as a mere ‘what if’ in your life; you wanted him to remain like that. But then he just had to go and start being so nice and polite and so… soft, and you couldn’t help yourself; you started liking him again.

Which is why you can’t let him have what he wants, because once he’s done with you you’ll feel empty and discarded. So, the only thing you can do is say no to him– no matter how much you wish you could say yes.

After he started going steady with Nancy, Steve also started to pay less and less attention to a lot of the advice his father had given him. It didn’t make sense with her– she was just not like other girls Steve had ever been with.

But then she told him that she never loved him, and he started questioning himself and thinking that maybe if he had followed his father’s advice, things with Nancy would’ve been different. Maybe she wouldn’t have had the chance to break is heart in the way she did.

The night of the party, after making sure Jonathan was getting Nancy home safe, Steve went back to his house and locked himself in the bathroom. The memories of what happened after the party are kind of a blur, actually, and it’s not because he had too much to drink.

What he remembers most clearly is sitting on the closed toilet with his face buried in his hands, and then seeing himself in the mirror and hating how red and puffy his eyes were.

He also remembers taking his clothes off like couldn’t get them away from him fast enough, and hating his costume and everything it was going to remind him of for the rest of his life. The last thing he remembers after that is seeing the huge wet spot on his pillow right after falling asleep with his cheeks still damp from his tears.

He knows Nancy doesn’t want to be with him and he’s come to terms with it– sort of– but the one thing he can’t shake off is the fact that she pretended for a year that she loved him. At first it hurt to think about her not loving him, but now that a month has passed Steve also can’t help but resent her for not leaving him sooner if she knew she wasn’t in love with him.

Why let him fall in love with her when she knew she was never going to reciprocate those feelings?

Also, now that a few weeks have passed, Steve has been thinking nonstop about signals he could’ve seen sooner– something that would’ve let him know things weren’t what he thought.

He found a considerable amount– some bigger than others– but right at this moment he can only think of two.

One, that he and Nancy hadn’t shared a kiss that wasn’t more than a peck on the lips in weeks; and two, that he and Nancy hadn’t been intimate in months.

And not only when it came to sex, but also when it came to Nancy wanting to be around him and just be close to each other and really talk. He missed the emotional intimacy he only got a chance to experience when dating her– something he genuinely believed was lost forever when she left him.

But now you’re here next to him, asking him about how he feels and telling him he can talk to you, and when you noticed he was cold you got worried immediately, and then you grabbed his hands and shoved them in your pocket to make sure they would be warm– who does that?– and Steve feels overwhelmed by the fact that someone cares about him again but it’s not only someone– it’s you and you were his first love and he never, ever forgot about that.

“You’re not a band aid.” He whispers, voice thick with emotion. You turn to him with a confused expression and he involuntarily leans closer. “You’re not.” You glance down at his lips and Steve’s heart skips a beat when he realizes what that means.

“No, this is wrong– you’re hurting because of Nancy and– ”

“I am.” He confirms, not moving back an inch. “But that’s not why I want to kiss you right now.” He still has his hands inside your pocket and he feels them getting sweaty– and it’s definitely not just because they got warm. It’s because you just leaned a little closer to him.

“Then why?” You ask in a whisper, swallowing visibly. When Steve meets your eyes he feels like everything around you both suddenly disappeared, like everything but you two stopped existing in the universe.

It’s been a very long time since he felt that way.

“Because– ” His voice breaks a little so he coughs to try and make it sound a little steadier. “Because I really like how you make me feel.” Your eyes never look away from his, but he sees you licking your lips after he says that. “Because I haven’t felt like I feel right now in a long time and I just realized that. Because– ” Steve had a few other things to say, but the fact that your lips are on his makes it impossible to keep talking.

He doesn’t react at first– you’re simply pressing your closed lips against his while he goes completely still– but when your hand moves to his hair and grabs a fistful of it his mouth opens in a gasp, and that’s when the kiss turns into something else entirely.

You still have the blanket wrapped around you both which makes things a little harder, but somehow Steve finds a way to pull you on top of him so you’re straddling his lap without breaking the kiss, while also keeping the blanket around you both.

Steve’s mind right now feels like an explosion of colors and sensations and a lot of things he wouldn’t be able to put into words if he had to– because he’s pretty sure he’s never actually felt anything like this when kissing someone for the first time, even if it’s not really the first time you’re kissing each other. But that was definitely not like this. Your first kiss was innocent and you were both nervous, and you couldn’t stop giggling afterwards.

Now, however, Steve feels like he just can’t get enough of you– like he can try to pull you closer to him than you already are even if it’s impossible, but it will still feel like he needs you to be even closer; like you could kiss him forever and he would still want you to kiss him for longer than that.

He can’t stop the heavy moan that escapes his mouth when you grind on him and pull on his hair at the same time, and he feels you grinning against his mouth at his reaction. You pull on his hair again but this time it’s a little harder, and Steve just whimpers and throws his head back, exposing his neck to you. You start kissing him there immediately while grinding on him and moving your fingers on his hair, and Steve is almost seeing stars. His hands are gripping the fabric of your jacket so tightly that his fingers hurt, but he doesn’t have the energy to focus on that right now.

He can only focus on the fact that you’re suddenly kissing him again and he hasn’t felt so wanted in such a long time that he forgot it was even possible to feel like this, and he wants more of it– he wants more of you.

That’s why can’t stop himself, he can’t control the reaction his body has to you, and when you suddenly pull away from him and look down at his crotch and then back at him with raised eyebrows, he knows you’re very aware of that.

“Steve?” You ask, stopping your movements altogether.

“Are you mad?” He asks self-consciously, feeling incredibly bare and vulnerable in front of you. Your smile softly at him and shake your head before resting your forehead against his, and he sighs in relief.

“I’m not mad--” You say with closed eyes, scratching his scalp in an incredibly soothing manner that makes him want to hug you, so he does. He wraps his arms around your back and closes his eyes too, focusing on how nice you smell tonight. “I’m just worried.”

“About what?” He asks in a whisper, right before pressing a tiny kiss on your slightly parted lips.

“About… going further than this.” When he opens his eyes again he finds you already looking at him, and he can see the worry written all over your face. “About you not really being ready to go further than this.”

“[Y/N]…” You move your hands to his cheeks and press your forehead closer to his, and he can feel your frown on his own skin.

“Steve, you were crying about Nancy a moment ago.” You pull back, but don’t let go of his face. “I like you, Steve. I’ve liked you for a while now. That’s why I don’t want this to be a mistake.” Steve’s heartbeat speeds up at your confession, and he knows that for you to really understand that he truly wants this he’s going to bring up something he’s had buried inside of him for a very long time.

“Did you ever like someone else when you had a boyfriend?” He asks, fully knowing that he’s going to confuse the hell out of you with this question.

“What?”

“You know, like… feeling attracted to another guy who wasn’t your boyfriend but it didn’t really matter because you loved your boyfriend and you wouldn’t have gone for someone else.” He wishes he could express himself better, but he hasn’t talked to anyone about this ever, and he definitely wasn’t expecting to tell you about it tonight.

“Uhhh, yeah. Maybe. Why?”

“For me, that person was you. Every time I was seeing a girl, that was always you. And it made me angry, you know? Because until tonight, I’d always thought you never really liked me, but I just couldn’t shake you off from my life completely. I never could, no matter how much I tried.”

“Steve--” You breathe out, mouth parted in surprise. “Are you serious?”

“Yes.” Steve replies immediately, and turns his head slightly to the side so he can kiss your palm. “I even made this… promise to myself that I was never going to try to be with you again. Because you broke my heart.” He laughs humorlessly. “But as it turns out, it was all my fault.”

“Wow, I really had no idea.” You say, looking astounded.

“Of course not, you couldn’t have.” He takes a deep breath and prepares himself for the hardest part, because if he doesn’t say this right it might mean that you refuse to be with him completely. “And yes-- it really hurts that Nancy was pretending to love me for a year and was in love with her and I’m not over it yet but that doesn’t mean that I want to get back together with her, because I don’t. Not anymore. And I really want you right know, and I just--” You pull his head towards you and join your lips again, and Steve damn near melts at how sweetly you kiss him this time.

“Your car or mine?” You ask when you pull away, barely holding back a smile.

“What?” He asks, unable to keep his hopefulness from his voice.

“Your car, or mine?” You repeat, laughing when a grin takes over his face before he can even think about answering your question.

“Whatever you want.”

He lets out a shuddering breath before kissing you briefly, and you smile before pulling away from him completely. You take the blanket off of you and climb off his lap, but Steve just remains sitting there looking at you with an awed expression. He can’t believe this is actually going to happen, right here, right now.

“Move your ass, Harrington.” You tease, grabbing his hand and pulling him with you. He just lets you lead him towards his car, nearly trembling with anticipation.

When he opens the backseat door, it surprises him a little that you push him to go inside first, and once he’s seated you manage to close the door while climbing into his lap.

“Hi.” You say, moving your hands to his hair again. He smiles and relaxes against the seat, wrapping his arms loosely around your back.

“Hi.” He says, closing his eyes involuntarily when you scratch his scalp with your nails. He loves it when girls run their fingers through his hair, but this time it feels better than any other; because it’s more intimate, perhaps.

You rest your forehead against his and he rubs your nose with his before you start kissing again, and even though this time it’s slower than before his desire and need for you haven’t diminished even a little.

When you start grinding yourself on him again, Steve feels like what runs through his veins it’s lava instead of blood, and when you start taking your jacket off he finally realizes completely that this is really happening– you’re going to have sex with him.

When Steve kisses your neck and slides his hands underneath your clothes so he can touch your skin directly you can’t help but tighten the hold you have on his hair, and once again he moans rather loudly when you do it. You love that– knowing that there’s something he enjoys so much that he will vocally show it to you every single time you do it.

Logically, you should feel like everything is perfect right now; Steve is kissing your neck and you can feel how much he wants you pressing against your ass, but you simply can’t stop the insecurities about what you’re going to do creeping up on you again.

Does he really want this? He said that he did and you believed him, but what if that’s his vulnerability talking and you end up taking advantage of his current state? What if you enjoy it but he feels empty and regrets it when you’re done?

When Steve pulls away from you and looks at you with a frown, you realize that somehow he noticed what’s going on.

“I’m sorry, I--” You say, letting out a sigh before shaking your head. “I have to ask again, are you really sure you want to do this? You know that it’s okay if we don’t do anything, right?”

“[Y/N], I don’t--” He bites his lip and looks like he’s struggling to find words. “I don’t want this to just-- to start and end tonight. I-- I really like you too and I want to keep seeing you after this.” He looks at you directly in the eyes while he speaks, and you damn near stop breathing. You hadn’t thought about what was going to happen after tonight, but you definitely want to keep this thing going in the future as well. “If you don’t want to be with me right now that’s fine, but I swear I need you so bad--” You don’t know how many times you interrupted him mid-ramble with a kiss already, but you just can’t stop yourself.

He looks adorable when he’s nervous and needy, and you’d be lying if you said you don’t want to be with him as much as he seems to want to be with you. You’re only human, and when Steve Harrington is hard and throbbing underneath you telling you that he needs you, you damn well know that there’s no turning back.

You’re going to fuck his brains out.

Steve can feel the gooseflesh on your thighs as he runs his fingers over the bare skin of your legs before finally taking a hold of your hips, but that’s not something he can focus on right now. All he can focus on is the fact that you decided that it was a good time to tease him by just rubbing yourself on him while pulling on his hair, and he has to summon all his inner strength to make sure he doesn’t come before he’s inside you.

It’s really hard not to.

“Don’t come yet.” You warn him again in a whisper, nibbling on his earlobe. He whimpers and shakes his head, burying his face on your shoulder as you continue your movements. It doesn’t help that you’re enjoying this tremendously and aren’t keeping quiet about it, because the sound of your moans in sync with his own could easily be enough to push him over the edge.

It would be one thing if you were someone else and he had to take the lead as usual, because he’s used to do that. He’s used to be the one who takes care of the person he’s with, who make sure they feel good and in return he feels good as well. But you’ve never been like that-- you’ve never been the type of person who waits for others to take the lead and then follows; no, you’ve always been the one who takes the lead herself, and that’s exactly what you’re doing right now.

Steve is very far from being a virgin, but even during his first time he’s always been put in the position of being the one who takes care of the other person, who makes sure they feel comfortable and safe during their time together. He’s just never known anything else, and if he had to experience this with someone else, he probably wouldn’t know what to do.

But this is not someone else, this is you, and he’s comfortable letting you do anything because he trusts you, and he knows you want to take care of him-- and he wants you to.

He wants you to keep overwhelming him, to keep making him feel like there’s nothing he can do and that it’s okay, because you know exactly what you both need and he can be sure that you’ll make this as enjoyable as possible.

“You okay?” You ask, kissing him sloppily before pulling back to let him reply.

“Yes.” He breathes out, nearly panting. “Just-- God, can you fuck me already?” You laugh at his words and he does too, because your laugh is contagious and he’s close to coming even though he knows he can’t, and fuck it if this isn’t already better than any other experience he’s ever had.

“Okay.” You say, reaching between your bodies to grab a hold of his hard dick, and just the feeling of your fingers around it makes him whimper and tense up. “You’re cute when you’re desperate.” You tease, and Steve only manages to narrow his eyes half-heartedly at you before you’re sinking down on him, and his face morphs completely. He has no idea what he looks like and he doesn’t care, but his eyes and mouth are open wide as a throaty groan escapes his lips. “Jesus Christ!” He moans, throwing his head back in pleasure.

“You can call me [Y/N].” You joke before taking deep breaths, and Steve grabs your hips firmly to keep you in place when he’s balls deep inside of you.

“Don’t move, please.” He begs, trying to get a hold of himself. If you start moving right now he’s going to come in seconds without a doubt, and he can’t do that to you. He just can’t.

“Okay.” You nod, moving forward to press a soft kiss on his lips. “Tell me when you’re ready.” Steve nods and wraps his arms around you to bring you closer to him, and when your chests are pressed tightly together he just buries his nose on your neck and takes deep breaths. You start scratching his scalp again, and his eyes widen in horror. “No, no, no, no--” He whimpers, shaking his head. “Don’t touch my hair right now, just--” You stop your movements and he takes a deep breath, trying to calm down. You wrap your arms around his neck instead, and a moment later he feels a kiss at the top of his head.

That’s when he knows he’s ready.

“You can move now.” He confirms with a nod, moving his head up to kiss you. “Can you just-- go slow? Please?” He’s talking without breaking the kiss, so his words come out a little muffled.

“Okay, I’ll go slow.” You say, and then move your hands to his hair again with a smirk. “Is this okay?” He grins and nods, and then you finally start moving on top of him and his mind goes completely blank save for any thought that involves you.

Keeping your word, you start riding him slowly, and Steve becomes completely unable to form coherent sentences. He can only moan into your mouth while you kiss; he can only whimper and shudder when you pull on his hair and bite his lip; he can only let you do whatever you want to him because he knows he will enjoy it– and if you doubt that he will he knows you’ll ask him beforehand.

“Shit, you feel so good–” He groans just a second before you make him whimper by tightening your inner walls around him. “Please don’t stop.”

“You’re beautiful when you beg, did you know that?” You say breathlessly, smiling before throwing your head back in pleasure.

“I guess I do no–ohh!” Steve moans, gripping your hips a little tighter at the same time you pull on his hair. “Fuck!” You give him a messy, open-mouthed kiss, and he feels like he’s soaring through the skies.

Steve knows very well how good sex can be, but he’s never experienced anything like this before. If he had to put it into words, he’d probably compare it to masturbating and having actual sex– only that right now it feels like every other time he’s had sex it was like masturbating, and being with you is the first time he’s gotten a taste of the real thing.

And what a taste this is.

“Give me your hand.” You suddenly say, grabbing it from your hip and moving it between your legs. “Here.” You say, guiding his thumb to a little nub, and he knows exactly what you want. He starts rubbing it in small circles and your moans increase in volume, which only turns him on even more.

You’re both sweating even though it’s cold outside, and Steve almost wants to pray for you to be close to coming because he really can’t hold himself back much longer– this feels too good.

“Oh, fuck, Steve– I’m so close–” You moan just seconds after, and he almost wants to yell his thanks to the heavens. You grab his cheeks and bring his face to yours, kissing him deeply while the movements of your body increase their speed.

You lower down your hands to his shoulders and use them as leverage to ride him even faster and harder, and just a moment something just snaps inside of him and he lets go completely with a scream of your name. You follow him right after, wrapping your arms around him while you ride the waves of your own orgasm.

“Fuck–” You mumble, breathing heavily. “God, that was–”

“It was fucking perfect.” He finishes, wrapping his own arms around your back and kissing your neck. “It was amazing.”

“I’m happy you enjoyed it.” You say with a pleased sigh, kissing his temple before pulling away to climb off of his lap.

Steve takes the condom off and ties the end before moving forward and leaving it in the ashtray to dispose of it later, and then sits back only to find you looking at him with a shit-eating grin.

“What?” He asks, a little unsure-- but he can’t help but smile too.

“You wanna cuddle?”

When you made your offer to cuddle Steve, this was definitely not what you had in mind. You’re curled up in the backseat of his car with him behind you trying his best to spoon you in the limited space, but it’s obviously not working. You didn’t think it was going to, but when he told you that he could spoon you if you wanted to you just didn’t have it in you to tell him that was probably the worst idea you’d ever heard.

You’re thankful that he can’t see the faces you’re making, because you know the distaste for his choice his written all over them.

“Are you comfortable?” He asks once he’s apparently decided that he shouldn’t try to get more comfortable than this, and your eyebrows nearly shoot up to your hairline.

You’re most certainly not comfortable. This is the worst thing ever and your neck already hurts from the awful position you’re trying to keep it on.

“Uhh…” You only manage to say, which is followed by some incoherent noises that offer no actual response.

“You’re not, right?” He asks, lifting his head up so he can look at you. “Oh god--” He says, bursting out laughing. “Your face-- you hate this!” He unwraps his arm from your waist and you move to sit with your back against the car door while Steve moves to the other side. “Then why did you say you wanted to cuddle?”

“Um, because I did? I just didn’t think you were going to try to spoon me in the backseat of your car.” You say accusingly, massaging your neck.

“Oh, so that was the problem?” He asks, looking at you curiously. “Did you have something else in mind?”

“Well, based on what you just did, I’m not sure you’d enjoy a good idea.” You retort defiantly before crossing your arms, which makes Steve smile.

“Come on, you’ll never know if you never try.” You stare at him for a moment before uncrossing your arms with an exaggerated sigh.

“Alright.” You say, spreading your legs. Steve’s eyebrows rise up comically at that, and you have to laugh at him. “I don’t know what you’re thinking, but it’s not that. Come here.” You open your arms for him and he looks at you questioningly for a moment. You roll your eyes. “Sit between my legs.”

“Oh.” He says, a little taken aback.

“Come on, I don’t bite.” He gives you a disbelieving look and you close your mouth to stop yourself from laughing.

“Yes, you do. And kinda hard.” He says, unconsciously touching his bottom lip. “Okay, fine.” He crawls towards you until he’s sitting between your legs, and then he slowly moves until his back is pressed against your chest. You barely resist the urge to grin, because this is what you were talking about.

The problem is that Steve is as stiff as a board, so the only way you’ll really enjoy this is if you can fix that.

“Come here.” You say, using one hand to grab his face and turn it towards you, and then you kiss him. It’s slow and tender, and his body relaxes so quickly after that that you can’t help but feel incredibly pleased at yourself.

You have your free arm wrapped around his waist and Steve is holding your hand with both of his, tightening or loosening his grip on your fingers depending on the intensity of the kiss. When you finally pull away, his cheeks are flushed deep red and his breathing is labored.

“Wow.” He says, swallowing visibly. “This is-- um-- it’s better than spooning.” You smile and kiss him again, but only for a second.

“Yeah?” You ask, wrapping your other arm around his waist too. He nods and interlocks his fingers with yours before letting his head fall back against your shoulder.

“Definitely better.” He confirms, smiling softly at you. “Thank you.” He brings one of your hands to his mouth to kiss your knuckles. “For everything. I--” He takes a deep breath. “I’ve never felt like I felt tonight before. With anyone, not even--” He stops himself shakes his head, looking apologetic. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t--”

“You can keep talking about Nancy with me, Steve.” You say honestly, kissing his forehead. “I want you to. I want to help you… help yourself.” He just stares at you with an intense look on his eyes for a moment, and then he turns his head around and hides his face in your neck. That seems to be something he really enjoys doing for some reason, and you don’t mind at all.

“Thank you.” He whispers, kissing where his mouth can reach. You free one of your hands and bring it to his head, smiling when you start running your fingers through his hair and he lets out a little whimper.

“You’re welcome.”

You know that Steve has a lot of things to figure out and most of them come from the relationship he just got out of, but if you can-- and he wants you to-- you’ll be glad to be by his side in every step of the way.

Tagged: @springstellations; @stevie-harrington; @keepcalmandeatsomefood;  @funnybunnychan;  @gotgalaxxxy; @rax-writes;  @applesnirt; @agentwhlskey; @mirkwoodmystic; @kendrasauhders

[nancykali]

Another Chance

A continuation of “Undercover” a.k.a. What really happened between Jonathan and Nancy in 2x06

ao3 link

Established polyamorous Stoncy, canon compliant

bc I know and you know what drunk!Nancy said and how Steve reacted was a misunderstanding between two poly individuals both in a relationship with Jonathan Byers. Because they were both going through a lot of shit. Also Jonathan and Steve are hiding their relationship with each other from everyone. These teens are under a lot of stress. Plus underage drinking. Plus monsters from another dimension attacking them.

-

Jonathan wordlessly picked up the dozing Will from the backseat, his brother’s warm weight in his arms the farthest thing from a burden after what they’d all been through.

Joyce climbed out of the backseat on Will’s side, unwilling to let her son out of her sight. Even though Nancy had told them how the mind flayer had disappeared into the night sky, Hopper contacting them through the walkie talkies to tell them El had closed the gate.

Jonathan couldn’t blame her. As he walked toward their house, he kept looking down to reassure himself Will was still breathing.

Nancy had her hand on his back, walking beside him, his mom immediately behind him. Hopper’s truck was already parked out front, and a car they didn’t recognize parked next to it.

“Is that Billy Hargrove’s car?” Nancy said, looking toward it in confusion.

Before any of them could answer, the front door banged open and Steve stood there, Hopper close behind him. As he stepped onto the porch, Jonathan could already hear the sound of many smaller feet running to the front door, echoes of “Will! Will! Will’s back!” becoming louder at the party’s approach.

Steve was breathing hard, as if he’d run to the door from the back of the house. “Is he…?” he said, his eyes glued to Will.

Jonathan gave a half-smile. “He just dozed off on the ride back,” he said, stepping inside.

“Steve, what happened to your face?” Nancy cried, the three of them finally seeing his cuts and bruises and bloodied face in the light of the living room. Nancy stepped up to him, her fingers hovering over one of the rainbow bandages on Steve’s forehead. He opened his mouth to answer, but his expression seemed frozen in some odd combination of surprise and relief.

Before Steve could answer, Will’s friends were upon them, clamoring around Jonathan, all speaking at once.

“All right! Everyone sit down!” Hopper yelled, his arm going around Joyce’s shoulders.

Will stirred in Jonathan’s arms at the noise, his eyes blinking open. This only made Mike, Dustin, and Lucas all begin speaking at once again. Jonathan swiftly walked to the couch and set Will down, backing away so his friends could crowd around him, all of them giving Will a group hug he gladly accepted. Mike hugged him the tightest, and Jonathan noticed the other boy’s eyes were already red from crying. Jonathan’s heart squeezed in his chest, as he remembered how Mike had been with Will in that lab, by Will’s side ever since his brother had gotten possessed.

He was dragged out of these dark thoughts by a voice behind him. “Jonathan.”

He turned and it was Steve, that look of relief now mingled with worry. He was rubbing the back of his neck, glancing at Hopper standing beside Joyce, then back to Jonathan.

“I have to show you something,” Steve said, sounding embarrassed.

Steve turned to lead him into the kitchen. Jonathan felt Nancy’s eyes on them, from where she stood near the couch, all but hovering over Mike, but she didn’t move.

Jonathan stepped into his kitchen to find it no less chaotic than it had looked before he left. The one difference being that near the back door was the unconscious form of Billy Hargrove.

“So, those tranquilizers you guys were using on Will, um,” Steve began. Jonathan looked at him to still see Steve rubbing the back of his neck, looking at Billy with a mix of sheepishness and…was that pride?

“Max, well, she stuck her step-brother with one to stop him from killing me,” Steve said, putting his hands on his hips and turning to Jonathan with a crooked smile. Jonathan found himself smiling back.

“So what do we do with him?” Jonathan said.

After a discreet conversation with Hopper and Max while Joyce got Will settled in bed, the other kids getting out blankets and pillows to stay the night, it was decided Steve and Jonathan would follow each other out to the Hargrove’s house with Billy, and Hopper would call Max’s mother.

Max, relieved to be allowed to stay the night at the Byers’, quickly went back to Will’s room.

Hopper, rubbing a hand over his mouth, looked between Jonathan and Steve, before saying, “Get back here as quick as you can, we don’t need his parents asking questions. Leave him in his car for the night if you have to.”

“No problem, Chief,” Steve said, and Jonathan nodded. After Hopper walked away, Jonathan could all but hear Steve sag with relief.

“How do we get him to his car without your mom noticing?” he said.

They ended up carrying Billy out the back door and around to the front. Jonathan helped Steve shove Billy into the backseat, and headed to his own car.

They got Billy back to his house without incident. Jonathan kept his car running while Steve played ding-dong ditch, sprinting to Jonathan’s car and jumping in the passenger seat before anyone came to the door.

During the drive, Steve filled Jonathan’s customary silence by telling him what had happened while Nancy and Jonathan had been gone. Drawing the demodogs to the junkyard, fighting Billy, leading the kids through the tunnels.  Jonathan had a feeling Steve wanted to keep talking just so there wasn’t a chance the subject of Nancy would come up.

They pulled up in front of Jonathan’s house, and Jonathan cut off the engine. He almost decided against saying anything, turning to open the driver’s side door. But he stopped himself.

“Hey, Steve,” Jonathan said, putting his hand out to touch Steve’s arm.

Steve was just about to open the car door, but stopped at Jonathan’s touch. There was a cautiousness in his face, but also a tenderness Jonathan had gotten used to. The quiet seconds passed and Jonathan thought how long it had been since they’d been able to just be together, alone without worrying about the other kids at high school, their siblings, their parents. He couldn’t even remember the specific day.

“You know Nancy, she wants to talk to you. About what happened on Halloween,” Jonathan said, finally dropping his hand from Steve’s arm.

Steve looked down, his hair hanging into his eyes. “I can’t imagine why. She knows you took her home, that I just left her there.”

Steve raised his head, but didn’t look at Jonathan, instead staring out the windshield, the droop in his shoulders an unnerving contrast with his hands, gripping his knees until his knuckles turned white.

Jonathan took a slow breath. “I didn’t tell her you left her there. I told her you asked me to take her home.”

Steve’s head whipped around to look at him, his eyes wide on Jonathan’s face. He said nothing, so Jonathan continued.

“She was upset, Steve, about a lot. She doesn’t want to leave it like this. She—” Jonathan broke himself off, wanting to say, she still loves you. But it wasn’t his place to say. Steve wouldn’t believe him anyway. He had to hear it from Nancy.

Steve was shaking his head, looking away from him again. “I told her it was okay,” he said.

Jonathan froze, wanting to think he didn’t hear right.

Steve looked at him, his eyes sad. “You know it’s okay, right, Jonathan? She chose the better guy.”

Jonathan was already shaking his head before Steve had finished speaking. “You know that’s not true. And what did I chose, Steve, huh? When we started this, I thought it was just about our feelings for Nancy. But it’s not anymore. You know it isn’t. I care about both of you.”

He couldn’t say love. He had, before, and Steve wasn’t able to say it back. Jonathan knew he wouldn’t now.

Steve was shaking his head, looking down at his lap, his hands running restlessly over his thighs. “It’s better like this, Jonathan. Me and you…it can never work.” And he gestured between them, without looking up. “And Nancy, what if she thinks that, too? Maybe that’s why she couldn’t say anything until she was shitfaced,” Steve said, a humorless laugh following his words.

Jonathan’s heart was pounding in his chest, and he couldn’t find words, only fear. So he reached out and pulled Steve to him, grasping the back of his neck and kissing him hard.

Steve gasped into his mouth, and to Jonathan’s relief, began kissing him back. Jonathan’s hand fisted in Steve’s hair, and Steve’s hand came to rest against his face. Jonathan tasted the blood already on Steve’s lips, and it only fueled his frustration.

All the fear, the guilt, the frustration Jonathan had buried, again and again for days, over Will, his mom, Nancy, Steve, he channeled all of it into the kiss. He kissed Steve until they were both struggling for breath, until Steve felt Jonathan’s tears on his hand and pulled away.

“Jonathan?” Steve whispered, his thumb running beneath his eye, almost pressing too hard. Steve’s hand was shaking.

“We’re not leaving it like this,” Jonathan said, his voice coming out a ragged whisper.

Steve looked into his eyes, the sadness still there. But he nodded.