#steve harrington flufff

[ro-is-struggling]

Stay || Steve Harrington x Henderson!Reader

Summary: After discovering the truth about the Upside Down, Y/N Henderson joins his little brother in the final battle to close the portal and save Hawkins. In doing so, she finds herself teaming up with none other than Steve Harrington of all people and discovers a side of him she didn't know he had. In the chaos of the battle he brings her comfort and makes her feel safe. That's why when everything ends she doesn't want to leave his side. So she does what everyone would do in her situation: invite him to spend the night at her place even though they are not friends. 

Warnings: nothing I think, it's just fluff, like really really fluffy. Steve is a sweetheart and comforts Y/N when she's scared after everything she went through. They share a bed, do I need to say more?

English is not my first language

Word count: 4700+

Notes: I wrote this to calm my Steve feels while I finished watching season 4. So enjoy this little thing based on season 2 and don't hesitate to send me some requests because I love this man and I'm obsessed

I hope you like it! Likes, comments and reblogs are very much appreciated!

Saying that you were in shock was an understatement. On the same day you had lost your cat, you also discovered it had been eaten by a creature from another dimension –one that your younger brother had brought to the house– and had helped Dustin and his friends close a portal to said other dimension by going into a strange tunnel full of threats with no one other than Steve Harrington. It had been the strangest day of your life and you still weren't sure you fully understood the situation, but your brother had assured you that Eleven had taken care of everything so you had no choice but to believe his words, trusting in the powers of a girl you had never seen before.

When the battle was over and the portal closed, Steve offered to drive you and Dustin home. Thanks to Billy Hargrove, he had a bruised and bloody face, with a black eye that was swelling with each passing second, but he was still in better condition than you were. Apparently this wasn't the first time he had dealt with such things so the shock hadn't affected him the same way it had affected you. So you chose to momentarily forget the fact that this was one of the few times you had interacted with Steve and accepted his proposal, grateful for his good treatment. 

You did nothing but stare out the car window in silence for the entire drive, trying to process everything that had happened in the last few hours. You had so many questions about the Upside Down and everything that had happened before, but you were surprised to realize that one of the things that stood out to you the most was Steve Harrington's friendliness and the good relationship he seemed to have with your brother. It was surreal to be in King Steve's car while he and Dustin chatted casually. You had never been friends with Steve in high school, you were too weird and awkward to cross paths with the most popular guy in school. 

You had an image of him in your mind that wasn't reflected in the way he acted in the last few hours. You used to think he was arrogant and shallow, that he would never even bother to look at someone like you. But to you surprise he had not only taken it upon himself to protect you and your younger brother, but he had also made sure to ask you if you were okay at every chance he got. 

You felt strange because when you finally arrived at your house you found that you didn't want to get out of the car. You felt safe being with Steve and the thought of being alone in the house –where one of those creatures that had attacked you had been hiding without you realizing it– terrified you .

"Are you okay?" Steve asked you when he noticed that Dustin had gotten out of the car but you weren't moving a muscle. It took you a few seconds to realize that the mumbling yo heard in the distance was in fact Steve's voice asking you a question.

"What?"

"I asked you if you were okay" he repeated softly, looking at you with concern in his eyes.

"Oh, yeah yeah I'm fine" you lied, clearing your throat in an effort to sound more convincing."It's just that I'm still processing everything that happened."

"It takes a while," Steve assured you, letting out a chuckle as he remembered how scared and confused he had been when he found out everything. You nodded your head slowly, considering his words as you struggled to calm your nerves. You remained silent for a few seconds, lowering your gaze to your fingers fiddling with the hem of your t-shirt. Steve opened his mouth to speak once more, searching his mind for words of encouragement that might help you at that moment. But before he could say anything, you looked up and locked your eyes on his.

"Hey, Steve" yo muttered, biting your lower lip nervously. "I know this might sound crazy but, humm, I was wondering if you, humm, if you could maybe stay with me... With us, tonight."

You felt stupid saying that, especially to someone like Steve. But you were scared and didn't want to spend the night alone. No matter how many times you were reassured that the danger was over, you still felt unsafe. And for some strange reason Steve was the only person at the moment who could make you feel safe and calm. So you asked him to stay with you even though you were not friends, trying hard to ignore the embarrassment you felt. 

"I know it's over, but I don't know, it doesn't feel like it's over to me yet. And I don't like the idea of being alone with Dustin in the house. I..."

"It's okay, I can stay" Steve interrupted your nervous rambling, giving you a reassuring smile.

"Thank you" you sighed in relief. "And I'm sorry, I'm still on edge I guess."

"You don't have to apologize. After my first encounter with all this I couldn't sleep for a week. It happens."

Steve's words made you feel a little better and knowing that he would be staying with you tonight helped calm your nerves. You gave him a small smile before getting out of the car, digging in your purse for the keys to the house. You stepped forward, handing  the keys to Dustin to open the door since he was closer as Steve pulled out a bag of extra clothes he always carried in the trunk just in case.

"What is Steve doing here?" Dustin asked you with confusion as he walked into the house and turned on the lights.

"He's gonna stay with us tonight. It's late and we're all tired" you lied. You didn't want to admit to your little brother that you were terrified and that Steve's presence made you feel better. Dustin looked at you with narrowed eyes, examining your face suspiciously. You struggled to maintain a neutral expression until the boy finally took his eyes off you.

Letting out a long sigh of relief, you locked the door before taking off your jacket. You were thankful your mother wasn't in the house as you noticed the mess that had been left after your brother tried to catch Dart. You didn't feel like tidying it up at the moment, so you would have to pray you woke up early so you could fix everything before your mother returned. It was either that or come up with a really good excuse. 

 "Dustin, please take a shower before going to bed. We were inside a tunnel connected to another dimension, is the least you can do" you exclaimed as you watched your brother disappear behind the door of his room. You dropped onto the couch, letting out a sigh of exhaustion. Your body ached from all the tension your muscles had endured in the last few hours. You tried to stretch your arms and move your shoulders a bit in an effort to improve your condition, but you only felt more pain so you stopped immediately.

"Are you okay?" Steve asked, sitting down next to you.

"Yeah I'm just tired and sore for some reason" you replied with a half-smile.

"Yeah, tell me about it," he said, gesturing to his injured face.

"I'm sorry. I can get you something for the pain and clean your wounds properly now that we're safe" you offered, remembering the chaos that had followed the fight with Billy. You hadn't had much time to waste, so you had to get an unconscious Steve into the car as best you could and tasked the boys with tending to his wounds while you drove. You hadn't had time to take the necessary products to disinfect his wounds –and the kids had done it in a speeding car–, so Steve ended up with his face covered in cartoon band-aids. It was an amusing sight to see and kind of adorable. "I can give you less childish band aids."

Those words seemed to convince Steve, who nodded his head slightly. You ran to the bathroom, grabbing the first aid kit from the cabinet before hurrying Dustin to take a shower. You returned to the living room once you heard the water running behind the closed bathroom door, indicating that your brother had listened to you. Then you approached Steve, sitting down next to him on the couch while resting the open medical kit on the coffee table.

"This might sting a little bit, but I'll try to be careful" you warned him before you began to work. Steve nodded, giving you permission to continue, and you started by removing the badly stick band-aids from his face. You tried to be as gentle as possible so as not to irritate the poor injured skin even more. And when his wounds were exposed to your curious eyes once again, you proceeded to clean them by taking a cotton pad from the first aid kit and soaking it in disinfectant. You concentrated first on the cut on his temple, patting the wound with the cotton in a firm but gentle manner so that you could remove the dried blood without causing him further discomfort. Steve hissed in pain and your eyes locked on his, analyzing his expression to see if you should stop.

"I'm sorry" you murmured, suddenly realizing how close you were. You could see details in his eyes that you had never seen before, a sparkle that awakened a strange feeling inside you .

"It's okay" he assured you and  you continued working. You tried to avoid making eye contact as you moved down his face with the cotton pad, confused by the tingle that ran through your body when your gazes met. You concentrated on wiping away the dried blood under his nose and on part of his upper lip, gently taking him by the chin to tilt his face towards you. But as you worked you found yourself admiring his lips for a little longer than necessary. 

You would be lying if you said you had never been attracted to Steve in the past. You used to think he was a superficial asshole, but a very attractive one. When you saw him walking down the halls of the school holding hands with a girl you wondered what it would be like to be her. You couldn't help but be curious about how it would feel to be so close to Steve or to have his lips on yours. But you knew those were questions that would never get answers. In fact you weren't sure you really wanted to know the answers. You two belonged to different worlds and you was aware that you were incompatible. A relationship between you would not last. Your questions came from fanciful curiosity rather than real desire.

But now that you knew another side of Steve, one you liked, you weren't sure your feelings were only platonic. Standing just inches away from him, you couldn't stop thinking about how soft his skin felt beneath your fingers, or the tingle that his gaze awakened in you. You could admire every detail of his lips and count every tiny freckle that adorned his skin. The dim, warm light provided by the floor lamp next to the sofa framed his face in a special way, somehow highlighting all the features you found attractive in him. You didn't care that he had a black and somewhat swollen eye, as your gazes met you felt the strange urge to close the little distance that separated you.

Steve felt the electricity in the air as well, but didn't know if it was appropriate to act on his desires or not. You had been through a traumatic situation and the look of hunger in your eyes could well be a product of the swirl of emotions you were probably feeling. He had just saved you from a risky situation so maybe that's why you seemed to be seeking his touch. Maybe you just wanted to feel safe and kissing you wasn't really appropriate if that was the case. So when your eyes lowered to his lips again Steve closed his eyes, hoping that would be enough to stop his urges. He could feel your breath crashing against his skin and mingling with his own. He could swear it had slightly quickened, but it could very well be his mind playing tricks on him. He wanted to kiss you, but chose to leave it up to you to make the first move.

It took you all your willpower not to crash your lips against Steve's the moment you saw him close his eyes. You almost did, but at the last second you were able to come to your senses and pulled away from him, keeping a safe distance while you looked for some band-aids to cover the cut on his temple. When you returned your attention to his face you discovered that Steve had reopened his eyes and was watching you carefully. You tried hard not to show how nervous his gaze made you, praying that he didn't notice the slight blush on your cheeks. You held eye contact for a few seconds, just long enough so it wouldn't be obvious that you were escaping his gaze, and then returned your focus to the wound. You could still feel his eyes on you as you applied the bandage, but you tried to disregard it.

"You're all done!" you exclaimed with a smile.

"You are really good at this, it didn't hurt, like at all" he praised you. And it was true, it had hardly hurt at all, though he wasn't sure if it was because of the delicate touch of your hands or because he had been too distracted admiring you in silence to register the pain.

"I had a lot of practice. Dustin used to fall off his bike and hurt himself all the time while learning how to ride" you explained as you gathered the items from the first aid kit to put them away and threw away the used cotton pads. "Mom was usually working so I was the one tending to his wounds."

"That's really sweet."

You talked about your lives for a while and discovered you had some things in common –much more than you imagined whenever you saw King Steve Harrington walking the halls of Hawkins High School. When Dustin came out of the bathroom, you took his place. You stood under the shower with your eyes glued to the floor, watching as the hot water ran down your body removing all traces of dirt and blood that might still be left on you. When you stopped seeing brownish water on the shower floor you proceeded to clean yourself with a generous amount of soap. 

A couple of tears escaped your eyes in the process, the solitude of the bathroom giving you the privacy you needed to let out all the emotions you had been repressing since you learned the truth. You were terrified, but you didn't let that interrupt your cleansing ritual. You scrubbed every inch of skin with desperation until you were convinced that it was impossible for any particle of dirt –or from the Upside Down– to remain ingrained in your body. Then you shampooed your hair, washing it just as rigorously before turning off the faucet and wrapping a towel around yourself. 

When you emerged from the bathroom –already changed into clean, comfortable pajamas– you found Dustin and Steve chatting in the living room. They were muttering things to each other that you didn't quite understand, and fell silent as soon as they saw you enter the room. You looked at them with a mixture of confusion and suspicion, but didn't mention anything. You simply asked Dustin to go to bed before telling Steve where the bathroom was so he could take a shower too. 

Once alone, you set up the couch so that your guest could sleep on it. You took a couple of blankets from the closet and pulled one of the pillows from your own bed, arranging it on one end of the couch while you pulled the sheets over the other. When Steve came out of the bathroom he thanked you for the trouble. You couldn't do more than give him a small smile, your brain was too busy admiring the way his wet hair framed his face to form a coherent thought. So you ran to your room to avoid doing something stupid and hid under the covers, hoping sleep would restore your sanity.

But when you turned off the light all you managed to do was relive the previous traumatic events. Images of the demogorgons and the tunnels beneath Hawkins played before your eyes, keeping you awake in a constant state of anxiety. You tried to ignore it, focusing on how tired you were. You repeated to yourself over and over again that the danger was over, that the portal was closed and that you would never have to face such danger again. But nothing worked. 

You tossed and turned in bed, hyper-aware of every noise or flash of light coming through the window. You flinched at the sound of the wind or the creaking of the wooden floors, imagining that some new monster was coming to attack you. Until you got tired of spinning around, of feeling your heart pounding against your chest every time a tree branch crashed against the window. So, with slight embarrassment, you got out of bed and walked to the living room.

“Steve... Steve, are you awake?” you whispered in the darkness, watching the figure resting on the couch.

“Hmmm, yeah yeah what’s going on?” he replied in a husky, slow voice, indicating that if he wasn't already asleep, he was close to it.

“I’m scared and I don’t want to be alone… Could you…humm, could you maybe stay in my room with me tonight?”

You were biting your lip so hard you were surprised you didn't draw blood. Steve was silent for a moment and your nerves increased with every second. You were about to take back your words, to ask him to forget what you had said and run to hide in your room, when he jumped up from the couch.

“Sure, let’s go” he mumbled, wrapping an arm around you to make you move.

It was a strange situation to have Steve in your room and even stranger to see him lying on your bed, but you were grateful for his presence. You settled in next to him, making sure to leave as much space between you as you could. You didn't want to make him uncomfortable or have him think it was all part of a plan to get him to sleep with you. You were truly terrified and his presence was the only thing that seemed to calm you down.

“Thank you for everything” you whispered, breaking the awkward silence that had formed between you. 

“Don’t mention it,” he replied, not knowing what to say.

“No, you saved my life and my brother's life and I never thanked you for it” you insisted, turning over in bed so you could look at him.“So thank you for everything, Steve.” He nodded his head slightly, giving you a smile before returning his gaze to the ceiling. You remained on your side, watching his profile in the darkness of the room, your mind lost in thought.

"Things are never gonna be the same, aren't they?"

"Not really, no. But it gets better. Besides, the portal is closed, we're safe."

"Yeah well it was closed before and look what happened."

"Then let's hope I'm around to save you next time."

Steve smiled. But it wasn't just any smile, no. It was one of those smiles you always saw him give to the girls he dated. It was his charming smile, the one that all the girls in high school –and a couple of guys too– were desperate for. It was the smile they all fantasized about. 

Was Steve flirting with you? No, it couldn't be. 

You rolled your eyes and let out a sarcastic comment in response as you bumped him on the arm lightly with your elbow. You thanked the little light coming in from the window for hiding the blush on your cheeks.

"Can I ask you something?" you said in an effort to change the subject. Steve nodded, leaning towards you once again to get a better look at your face in the dark. "How can you be so good at fighting monsters from another dimension but can't kick Billy Hargrove's ass?"

"Oh so this how it's gonna be with us, huh? I thought you were grateful for all I did" he said, pretending to be offended. You let out a small laugh and Steve couldn't help but smile with you.

"And I am! I'm just curious. I mean, you were king Steve after all. What happened to all that?"

"Yeah I was, but Hargrove is insane."

"Maybe I should ask him to protect me then."

"Yeah like he's gonna do that after what happened." You laughed because Steve was probably right. Billy was an asshole to you and probably hated you for getting in the middle of his fight with Steve. "I can't believe you. I get a black eye trying to protect everybody and you pay me back by criticizing my fighting skills."

"I'm not criticizing, I'm just…” you paused, looking for the right words.”Pointing out how strange it is, that's all."

"Yeah right."

The two teenagers continued chatting late into the night. The cheerful and relaxed tone of the conversation helped you forget your fears for a while. You were surprised to find that talking to Steve was easy. All this time you had thought he was the typical arrogant, rude, popular guy, but it turned out he was one of the dokiest men you had ever met. And you liked that.

You lost track of time as you laughed in the darkness of your room. The tension you had previously felt in the air disappeared somewhere between the second or third laugh you shared. You lost your fear of accidentally touching each other under the sheets around the same time too, and when you finally fell asleep you ended up being much closer than you expected to be. You weren't cuddling, but if either of you stretched out your arm you would find the other's warm body resting next to you.

You realized that when your hand collided with Steve's firm chest as you awoke from a nightmare. Dazed and frightened, you reached out in search of something to hold on to, something to help you reconnect with reality. And that something ended up being Steve, who woke up to the movement in the bed.

"What happened? Are you okay?" he whispered with concern, confused by the situation.

"Yeah I'm sorry. I had a nightmare that's all" you apologized as you tried to calm the rapid beating of your frightened heart.

"Come here."

Before you could process his words you felt a pair of arms close around your waist. Steve pulled you to his body, pressing you against his chest. You stayed still, surprised by Steve's action. You opened her mouth to ask him what he was doing, but then one of his hands began to gently caress your back. His fingers moved gently over your pajama top, sending a comforting tingle through you. And just like that, the tension in your shoulders disappeared. Your whole body relaxed and before you knew it you were asleep again. Steve's hoarse voice murmuring "everything is gonna be okay" against your hair was the last thing you heard before you fell into the arms of Morpheus.

*Bonus scene*

Waking up in the arms of Steve Harrington the next morning was less awkward than you expected. At least that was until you emerged from your room to find Dustin and your mother eating breakfast in the kitchen. You had hoped to get him out of the house before your mother returned to save yourself the excuses, but staying up until 2 AM laughing with him had backfired on you.

"Look who decided to join us! Good morning, honey" your mother exclaimed from the kitchen when she saw you walk by. You cursed under your breath and stepped back to greet her.

"Hi mom! I didn't know you were home already" you said, glaring at Dustin for not waking you up sooner. Your brother gave you a smile, faking innocence, and continued eating his breakfast.

"Who is this handsome young man?" Mrs. Henderson asked, ignoring your comment and focusing all her attention on the man standing next to you.

"Oh, this is Steve. He's… a friend from school." Steve smiled awkwardly and shook Mrs. Henderson's hand politely. "We were working on a biology project last night and we got carried away. It was late so I invited him to stay for the night. I hope you don't mind, mom" you lied, hoping your mother wouldn't ask too many questions.

"Of course not, honey! Would you like some breakfast, Steve?"

He wanted to say no. He wanted to make up some excuse to escape from that uncomfortable situation. But your mother seemed to be such a kind woman that he simply could not refuse.

"Breakfast sounds great, if it's not too much trouble."

You gave him a murderous look which he answered with a simple shrug. He sat down at the table next to Dustin to eat his breakfast with great joy. He hadn't realized how hungry he was until Mrs. Henderson put the plate of food in front of him.

"It's so nice to meet one of Y/N's friends. She doesn't bring many to the house."

"Mom!" you exclaimed with embarrassment, accepting your fate and sitting in the free chair next to Steve.

"What? It's true. You barely leave the house and you never bring friends over. At least your brother goes to those play dates that he has with his friends." Dustin laughed and you tried to kick him under the table to shut him up. "But it's nice to know that you do have friends. Why were you hiding this handsome young man from us, honey?"

"Yeah, why were you hiding him, Y/N?" Dustin joined in, taking advantage of the situation to embarrass his older sister even more. "Is he more than just a friend?"

Steve almost choked on the juice he was drinking and this time it was two different feet kicking the boy under the table.

"Shut up, Dustin!" you said trying to fight the blush that was beginning to creep up your neck.

"You're getting all red, Y/N. That's a little suspicious," Dustin continued to mock you. Steve looked at you, instantly noticing the red color in your cheeks. He was used to women blushing in his presence. Most of the girls at school turned the color of a tomato when he smiled at them. But for some reason none of them looked as adorable as you at that moment.

"That's enough, Dusty" Mrs. Henderson interjected. "Leave them alone. We don't want to scare Steve."

After having the most awkward breakfast of your life, you walked Steve to the door to say goodbye. As you left the kitchen you were able to hear your mother and brother whispering to each other and made sure to make a mental note to remember to murder Dustin as soon as you got the chance. 

"I'm sorry about all that. I didn't think my mom would be home."

"It's okay. Your mom is lovely and your brother is a likable little shit."

"That he is," you agreed with a laugh. "Thank you for everything, Steve."

"Don't mention it" he shrugged it off. "Oh and if you ever find yourself in trouble again don't hesitate to call and I promise you I'll come to rescue you" he added, handing you a piece of paper with his phone number scribbled on it.

"Will do."

[darling-i-read-it]

Arcade Lovers

Steve Harrington x fem!Henderson!reader

Word Count: 3.5k 

Warnings: talks of shotgunning a beer, references to Mews death :(, flufff

Author’s Note: This is a rewrite of a fic with the same name from ages ago. Steven <3 I cannot WAIT to do a billy one you guys aren’t ready lol. Enjoy! 

Original request: by @yumyumbicth, Hey! I read Sparks Fly and I loved it! Could you possibly do a one shot where Steve is pining after Dustin's sister and Dustin says the "Don't worry, she likes your butt and fancy hair. I read it in her diary" Thing from Lilo and Stitch? I think it would be really cute and funny 

Song: lips like sugar by echo and the bunnymen

(not my gif)

Steve and Dustin were unlikely duos. They never would’ve been caught up in the same area if you hadn’t been out of town for one week when the Upside Down decided to come back to life. When you left Hawkins El was dead and when you came back she was alive. Dustin caught you up the second you got home but half way through his explanation there was a knock on the front door.

Steve Harrington was on the other side. 

“Steve?” you said, a glimmer of suspiciousness in your eyes. You knew of Steve. You had maybe spoken to him once but you had never been friends. You were in different crowds. 

“She came back!” Steve exclaimed to Dustin who was behind you.

“Just an hour ago!” your brother explained. “I was just telling her everything that happened while she was gone.” 

“She knows?” 

“She helped with the whole thing at the beginning. You don’t remember her and Nancy were friends?” Steve shook his head, though there was a deeper emotional problem with that time.

“But I was there at the end,” Steve argued. “I hit the demogorgon with the baseball bat.” Your eyes went wide. You hadn’t heard about that. Granted, no one really talked about that time. Nancy only spoke on it when she was feeling particularly sad about Barb. She did not miss what she had with Steve. She always missed what she had with Barb. 

“She was with us at the school,” Dustin explained. 

“With El and Hopper and Joyce. Etc,” you said.

“I hadn’t gotten to your part in the recent story,” Dustin said. 

“I thought I was taking you to the arcade?” Steve said, confused. You raised an eyebrow. Steve was taking Dustin to the arcade now? 

“That was the plan but I didn’t know she was coming home today.” 

“Pretty sure it’s on the calendar,” you suggested but Dustin ignored you. You pressed on. “What happened between the two of you?”

Steve let out a sigh of exhaustion. You could tell he wanted to explain it all to you though. Steve struck you as the kind of guy who liked to brag about his experiences, though at this particular moment you actually wanted to listen.

“We have chips,” Dustin said, as an offering to his older friend. Steve shrugged.

“I don’t have anything else planned.”

He walked into the home and sat down on the couch where you and Dustin had been talking. 

“Where was I?” Dustin questioned, using his D&D voice. You went into the kitchen, grabbing some pop and different bags of chips. “So Dart had just taken out Mews,” Dustin started as you threw Steve some soda. He caught it with ease. You tried not to be attracted to the small act. 

“Still can’t believe it,” you grumbled. You were trying not to think about Mews. “This is why mom says you can’t have any pets. They’ll kill the cats.” Steve nodded, opening up the soda can. He looked at your unopened one. 

“Can you shotgun that?” It was a coke. You raised an eyebrow. Dustin didn’t stop talking. 

“Maybe,” you trailed off. 

“Literally catching up on life changing events here!” Dustin said, waving his hand in front of you. 

“It’s a soda, Steve.” He nodded once. You could tell he swallowed hard. You smiled a bit, confused but not deterred Steve’s eyes remained on you. 

“You’re starring,” Dustin deadpanned. Steve hit your shoulder, much to your surprise. 

“There was a bug.” Dustin tried not to laugh. He was a really bad liar. You turned back to Dustin. 

“Rest in Peace Mews. Go on Dusty.” 

-

You appreciated Steve. You liked that you didn’t have to drive your little brother everywhere because now Steve would do it. You liked that it seemed like Nancy breaking his heart had softened him. He knew what he had done wrong and he was looking to fix it.

You liked that he could always be an unpaid babysitter.

You liked that he had protected the kids when you couldn’t. 

You vowed never to leave that long again. 

“There are too many bikes,” Steve admitted. You nodded, looking at the bikes that were strewed along the front lawn of your house. A few were propped up properly but two were just dropped. You recognized Max’s and Mike’s on the ground. 

“You can come back here and they can get their bikes,” you offered. 

“It’ll be cold and dark by the time we get back.”

Steve was taking the kids out to the arcade. Billy usually took Max but she had wiggled away today.  This meant there were now six children he had to take. His car held five and only two bikes. You had your moms van she had bought when Dustin was born. It was soccer mom large. 

“I didn’t offer to give up my afternoon Steve.” 

“I know you didn’t.” His words seemed forgiving but his voice betrayed him. He wanted you to take them. Did he want help wrangling them together? Did he want you to just take all of them? 

Did he want to hang out with you?

You pursed your lips. 

“Fine. But you’re buying.” You ignored the charming smile that reached his lips and turned around. “I’ll go get them.” 

You walked up the stairs, opening up Dustin’s bedroom door without knocking. Mike was sitting on the bed beside Will and Max and El were on the ground. Lucas stood in front of the girl, holding one of Dustin’s figures. 

“Let’s go. Where’s Dustin?” It was like you had frozen them all with magic. Their voices trailed off. “Where’s Dustin?” There was movement coming from the room next door. Your room. You cursed under your breath and opened up the door with aggression. Dustin was sitting on your bed, your diary open wide in front of him. His eyes went wide when he saw you and he quickly tried to shove it back into your dresser drawer. “You little shit.” 

“There’s some juicy stuff in there!” he exclaimed, getting up to back away from you into the corner. You picked up the pillow at the end of your bed and threw it at him, narrowly missing. You climbed over the sheets and picked up whatever you could get your hands on. 

“Get out of my room!” Dustin went to rush away when he ran right into Steve who was in the doorframe. Steve grabbed your brother by the shoulders, confused. Dustin ran past him, pushing him aside. With wide eyes Steve’s gaze landed on you. 

“He was going through my diary,” you seethed. 

“Isn’t that what brothers are for?”

“You’re an only child Harrington.” You threw a pillow weakly at him too. He caught it. “He’s riding with you.” 

-

Steve knocked on the door one sunny afternoon hoping you would answer. He wasn’t sure when he had started hoping it was you instead of Dustin. It was a subtle desire at first, like a smile reserved for the times you greeted him. He was always excited to talk to you. If he was being honest, despite you and Steve being in the same grade he had never noticed you around school. Now you wouldn’t leave his head. He offered taking everyone anywhere now because he knew he would get to see you.

When Dustin opened the door he let out a sigh. 

“I told you that my sister was taking me today,” he said, suspiciously. Dustin had always kind of seen what was going on between you and Steve. It was natural and it was a given. You couldn’t hang out that much and not love each other in some way. He also thought it was hilarious neither of you had made a move yet. From what Steve told him, he was pretty used to making the first move and Dustin knew he had no problem being rejected. 

This was like Dustin’s own little experiment. How long could you last without caving in or losing interest? His hypothesis was, not much longer. 

“Oh man I must have gotten my dates mixed up. Well I have nothing else going on.” Steve walked through the door uninvited. You were sitting in the living room when your eyes flicked up to him. 

“You’re not scheduled for today,” you observed. 

“Do we have a schedule I haven’t seen?” 

“I told him you were taking me,” Dustin admitted, shutting the door behind him. You and Steve stared at each other for a moment. 

“I can take him,” Steve offered, tossing his keys into the air.

“I can too.”

“Why don’t we just all go,” Dustin suggested. He grabbed Steve’s keys out of his hand. “We’ll take Steve’s and save you the gas. You can tell mom you watched me. Win win.”

“Loss for me, I’m out of gas,” Steve argued.

“Then why did you come here?” Dustin questioned, eyeing him. He was trying to be a wingman but geez, Steve didn’t ever make it easy. 

“You’re right,” Steve muttered. 

“Alright. Shotgun,” you said, getting off the couch. You walked to put on your shoes. Steve and Dustin shared a look as you walked into the other room. 

“Dude you have got to make a move,” Dustin whispered. 

“What? What are you talking about?”

“Don’t pretend you don’t know. She’ll only stay on the market for so long. Nancy was trying to set her up with a friend from school.” Steve’s eyes went wide. Well when he put it like that. 

“Does she even like me?”

“I read it in her diary. She likes your butt and your fancy hair,” Dustin said, disgust in his voice. A flash of hope went over Steve’s face. 

“She likes my hair?” 

Steve cleared his throat as you walked back in. 

“Ready?” you questioned. Steve answered enthusiastically.

“Yup!” 

-

Though you never actually spent a lot of time in Palace Arcade, you always found yourself enjoying it. The energy inside was electric and there was always someone screaming about some high score. The food was indulgent and it was cheap. You could usually buy food for the entire crew for only like 20 dollars. 

Steve shoved Dustin towards the games as you walked through the doors. You could hear Mike’s voice somewhere within the condensed crowd. Dustin turned back around. He wasn’t about to let go that easily. 

“Will you guys get food?” he asked, hopeful. Steve and you shared a look, despite the fact that you were both hungry and you would probably cave no matter what he said. 

“What do you want?” Steve asked begrudgingly.

“Nachos with extra cheese and extra meat.” 

“A large nachos. Gotcha,” Steve muttered. “Go find out what the others want.” Dustin wasted no time in escaping away. You and Steve walked through to the front where there were a couple tables. Most weren’t cleaned off yet but neither of you seemed to mind as you sat down to claim a spot.

“You didn’t have to come today,” you told him. You and Steve rarely had any time alone. You found yourself looking forward to it, despite the nerves bubbling in your chest. What if you had been reading the signs wrong? Wasn’t Steve like this with every girl who crossed his path? Hell, he pulled Nancy Wheeler. 

“Don’t tell him but I really don’t mind carting them around. It makes me feel important.” You laughed gently. 

“You are important,” you said and you meant it. You were surprised at the sincerity in your voice. “Plus, I think he likes having two older siblings he can boss around.”

“I don’t think of us as siblings.”

“Not you and me. We’re not siblings.”

“No, absolutely not,” he promised. You both laughed. You liked making him laugh. You liked the way he smiled when he laughed. 

Dustin came back through the crowd. 

“Two nachos, two hot dogs.” 

“Who's all here?” you questioned, suspiciously. You held up your finger, counting. “Mike…you..” 

“And Lucas and Will.” 

“No girls today?” 

“None.” You looked through the crowd. You pursed your lips and nodded slowly. 

“Fine. We’ll call you over.” Dustin nodded and once again, he was gone. You turned back to Steve. “We splitting this one?” 

“Yes ma’am.” 

You ordered for everyone, knowing what Steve wanted before he even knew. He watched you with care and he ended up paying for the whole thing. You gave him a gentle hard time but you were grateful despite it. 

You waited together off to the side. He leaned against the wall, facing you. You faced him, starting to feel self conscious under his gaze. 

“Whatcha thinking about Harrington?”

“Do you like my hair?” You raised an eyebrow. That was random.

“I do.” You lifted an arm, brushing your fingers through it. He let you, even though he typically would’ve swatted the hand away. He shivered under the touch of your fingers against his scalp. “No one has hair like you Harrington,” you promised. It felt like it was just the two of you. You liked being alone with him. Even if you weren’t alone with him. 

You wondered what it would feel like to be in an empty house with Steve Harrington. No little brothers, no friends, no strangers. Just you and him. What would that be like? 

You were dying to find out. 

You dropped your hand. 

He grabbed it before it fell completely to your side. 

“Why do you ask?” 

“Just curious.” If that was true…

“Steve-”

“Do you wanna go out? With me.” You tried to hide your glee and forced forward your surprise. 

“Like a date?” 

“Like a date.” There was some sort of confidence in his eyes that wasn’t there a moment before. You smiled gently and leaned your back against the wall, staring away from him. You hummed, like you were thinking, even though you already had your answer on the tip of your tongue. 

“Where would we go?”

“Wherever you want.”

“The arcade?” He smiled, nodding. 

“If you want twenty bucks in quarters then I’ll hand them over,” he promised. You met his eyes. 

“Sure Steve.” He wanted to fist pump the air. He refrained but the look remained in his eye as though he had. 

“Steve!” A voice behind a counter called. The food was ready. He turned and you thought it might break him out of the moment but he grabbed the tray and looked right back at you with those same eyes. 

“We can go somewhere that isn’t the arcade.” 

“Well we already know how to get here.” 

“We could have our date right now.” You suggested. “Though I don’t know if you could cop a feel with my little brother running around.” He set the tray down on the table and before you could sit down he grabbed your hip, pulling you closer. You breathed out sharply, your face heating up. You were close now. So close. 

“Is this okay?” he asked. 

“It’s good. It’s really good,” you said through giggles. You liked being this close to him. He started to move in, breathing evenly and you would’ve kissed him like it was the last thing you could ever do if not for-

“Is that the food?” 

You dropped each other. Dustin’s voice could cut through anything. 

“Y-yeah,” Steve stammered. The confidence in his voice had not left but he remained slightly embarrassed. Dustin nodded slowly, approaching. 

“I’m gonna take this to everyone.”

“That’s mine and Steve’s,” you explained, grabbing your food off the tray. Dustin nodded.  He looked between the two of you warily. The group had made their way closer, damning the rest of the moment. You and Steve sat down anyway, dividing up sauces and drinks. 

“You got coke?” he questioned. You nodded, offering some to him. He took it, taking a drink through the straw. He had opted for sprite. 

“Can you shotgun that?” you teased. He rolled his eyes, pointing a finger at you as he swallowed. 

“I’ve yet to see you shotgun anything,” he said. “I don’t think you can do it.”

“Don’t open up the floodgates like that Harrington. You know I like to win.”

“That’s what I like about you. Nobody likes a loser.” You rolled your eyes and ate a fry, dipping it into his sauce. “Well?” 

“Hm?”

He gestured to the coke vendor to the side. They sold cans; not cups. You scoffed. 

“Here? In the middle of the children's arcade?”

“It’s not alcohol!” he said. You sat in silence for a moment, chewing and thinking. You narrowed your eyes at him. It wasn’t exactly the most attractive thing you could do in the moment but the defiance in his eyes made you want to act anyway. You got up, the chair squeaking as you pushed it back. You walked over and hit the side of the vending machine. A coke fell out. It was an arcade secret that it did that if you hit it just right. Will had taught you. You didn’t think he had it in him. 

You walked back over to Steve. You sat across from him, shoved a hole into the bottom half of the can and put your lips over it. You opened up the tab and tilted your head upwards, keenly away that some of it was spilling over your chin.

Once the coke was gone you put the can down, crushed. You wiped your mouth. 

Steve looked like you had just reignited his reasons for living. 

“You happy now?”

He leaned over the table and kissed you. You tasted of coca cola, your lips still seemingly fizzing. You gasped into his lips but didn’t bother pulling away. You wanted this. You wanted to taste him for the first time, even if he had the aftertaste of soda. He wanted you to be closer to him. He didn’t want to have to pull away to get you closer though. 

You pulled out for air. 

“That was so hot.” You laughed gently, sitting back in your chair. You wanted to tell him that he was so hot but you refrained from making the moment any more cheesy. You crossed your arms. 

“Your turn.”

“I’ll do it when we drink together. You should see me shotgun two.”

“That sounds like a sight for sore eyes, Harrington.” You wrapped your foot around his lower leg, pulling it towards you. It was weak but he didn’t need a lot of prompting to kiss you again. 

“Hey! This is a public space!” Keith called. Seeing him after kissing Steve was quite the come down. “Save it for the bedroom,” he hissed. He had cheeto dust on his mouth. Steve eyed him with a slight annoyance. 

“We’re paying customers, you can’t tell us what to do.” 

“I can,” Keith promised. “I can kick you out and your little group of children.” You rolled your eyes. 

“Relax Keith. We’re just hanging out.” Your chair had moved closer to Steve’s. You wondered if he had pulled it towards him while you were distracted. You were now right next to each other. You threw your arm over the back of his chair. “Eating our fries. You caught us.” Keith gave you a glare. 

“Okay mom and dad Jesus.” You and Steve met each other’s eyes for just a moment and then his eyes were back on the road. It felt right being here. It felt like this was where it was all supposed to lead to. 

“So you guys should get married,” Dustin suggested. The car filled with laughter. Steve’s hand was on your thigh. The level of domesticity led you to believe he had been thinking about this a while. You loved his hand being there. You loved that he was touching you. 

“Don’t jinx anything Henderson,” Steve said to the rearview mirror.

“I didn’t jinx anything.” He turned to Mike and gestured to his left ring finger. He mouthed something you didn’t catch.

“No gossiping,” you snapped.

“Okay mom and dad Jesus.” You and Steve met each other’s eyes for just a moment and then his eyes were back on the road. It felt right being here. It felt like this was where it was all supposed to lead to. 

Though you didn’t want your second date to be at the arcade. 

[sunflowersteves]

Heard you're looking for Steve Harrington fluff ideas, so what about Steve going all out for the readers birthday? He plans a big surprise and it's romantic and fluffy (maybe a birthday scavenger hunt??)

author's note || yes!! i love this concept and think it's cute! i tried to do a scavenger hunt but i didn’t rlly like it so i rewrote this instead :) i hope you enjoy!

warnings || mention of illness, just flufff

masterlist

"Where are we going?"

Steve's smile brightened as you cautiously placed your hands in front of you. You were walking slowly towards your door, making sure you wouldn’t run into anything in the process. 

After he got off work from Family Video, he drove as fast as he could to your house. At first, you were a little bummed that he couldn’t be with you the whole day because of work, but you knew that Keith had been up his and Robin's ass lately. It wasn’t his fault that Keith was being a hard ass. 

When he got to your place, he immediately had you in a blindfold despite your protests. All he said was that you were going somewhere, right this second. You could not help but ask a thousand questions, only getting a cheeky smile from Steve—which you couldn’t even see. All you got out of him was, "somewhere."

Now, you were trying to walk back to his car with him, just stating that he was taking you somewhere. 

“Jus’ keep walking, I got you.” One hand wrapped around your waist as he guided you to his car. He opened the car door and gently placed you onto the seat—or so he thought.

“Ow!” Your head hit the roof of the car. “Steve!” He couldn’t help but snicker as you rubbed the top of your head. You tried to punch his shoulder because you definitely heard him, but you just barely missed. 

He chuckled, “sorry, angel,” and then gently placed his lips on your forehead. After making sure you were situated, he then ran over to the other side of the car.

“Where are we going again?”

His eyes flickered towards yours for a split second before turning back to the road. “You know, the more you ask me that, the more I won’t tell you.” Despite the teeny tiny smile on your face, you scoffed. 

You could have sworn you were in his car for at least fifteen minutes, figuring you were on the outskirts of the town. Hawkin’s wasn’t that big. You feel the car halt to a stop, and Steve opens the car door. He helps you out—ensuring that you don’t hit your head again because you definitely threatened him this time. 

“Steeevvee—” You dragged out every single syllable of his name as he continued to lead the way. You could tell that you were on grass, the crunching sound of autumn hitting your ears.  

“Watch your step, sweetheart.” He leads you downhill, and after a few seconds, he stops. He reaches up and lifts the blindfold from your eyes. You look around a bit, more confused now than you had ever been. 

“You dragged me all the way out here? The woods? What are you gonna do, murder me—” Steve rolls his eyes, “I told them to put it out here.” He thinks, for a second, before grabbing your hand and making your way into the woods.

“Ah, so you are going to murder me. I didn’t hear you say no—” your teasing dies right on your tongue as you look around. The sunset had fallen—dusk upon you as the light dwindled beneath the atmosphere. There were candles everywhere, leading a pathway to what was before you. 

Dustin, Max, Will, Lucas, El, and Mike were all standing waiting for your reaction. Their large smiles and snacks in their hands almost made you tear up. They had placed a large projector held by two trees, lots of beanbags and comfy blankets scattered around the ground, and rose petals that led to the champagne bottle in an ice chest. 

“We knew that you were super sad when the drive-in theater closed down, so Steve had the idea of recreating one for you.” Dustin smiled and pushed the flowers in your hands, “So Happy Birthday!”

When you found out that the drive-in movie was shut down, it had almost brought you to tears. You had many memories of going with your sister before she passed away. You would fling popcorn at each other, get sick on candy, and laugh until your stomach hurt. It was one of the things that distracted you from terminal cancer that took over her body.

You didn’t know what to say. You didn’t know how to react. No one had ever done something so thoughtful for you. No one but your Steve. 

“I- Steve.” You immediately hugged him, squeezing him as hard as you could. He smiled before wrapping his arms around you and planting sweet kisses on your cheeks.

“Thank you, baby. This is the best thing that I–” You almost choked on your words, the tears stinging your eyes a bit. His bright smile replicated yours. “You don’t have to thank me at all. You are the best thing that has ever happened to me, and I love you so much.” 

His head rested on your own. “Happy Birthday, angel.” He bent his head down, lips connecting with full force. Your hands went to pull on his cheeks, almost so that you could get even closer to him.

“Can you guys stop kissing so we can watch movies now?”

“Dustin!” You detached your lips from Steve’s to laugh, sprouting a pout on your boyfriend’s face. 

“What? I wanna watch Aliens.” Max hit him in the shoulder while you laughed again, shaking your head. You all plopped down and started the movie, your hands intertwined with Steve. 

You could definitely say that this was the best birthday present ever.