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the-archxr · 5 years

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Kiss the Girl || S.H.

steve harrington x henderson!reader

(second part to “Can You Feel the Love Tonight?”)

Summary: Timing is tough, especially when you aren’t good with words. Steve can whole-heartedly second to that. Dustin, Steve and Robin have a talk about this and Robin calls for an intervention... Of sorts...

A/N: y’all already know. This was requested by @addictwithaheavydirtycheetah - I honestly wasn’t even thinking of making Can You Feel the Love Tonight a two-parter, but I credit you for giving me that inspiration do so. This two-part series is kind of O.C. in the sense that there isn’t really any mention of the Upside Down at all, everybody’s happy, everybody’s alive: just let me pretend. The name of the roller skating rink in this is an actual place, I’m just using the name though. Enjoy, y’all!

Warnings: possibly super duper cheesy? Swearing?? (But like it’s me, it’s expected by now)

Song Inspo: Kiss the Girl (The Little Mermaid Soundtrack) and True (Spandau Ballet)

•••••

“Okay, Max. Truth or dare?”

“Neither! I’m not falling for that shit!” Max laughs, shoving you playfully to the side.

With a gentle laugh you sit back in your original spot on your bedroom floor. Crossing your legs, you force yourself to sit upright more so you can look the redhead in the eye. “It’s part of the game Maxine.” You enunciate her name slowly in a sing-song voice. A voice that makes the two young girls chortle with laughter. Max giggles with her knees pulled to her chest and El full on snorts as she rolls around haphazardly on the ground. Her brightly patterned romper a stark difference compared to the dull taupe carpeted floor. You smile at the young girl; happy that she’s having fun.

You had only met El last week when Dustin brought you along to the movies with the party. They hadn’t known you were returning home, and so when they did see you none of them could control themselves. Afterall, you were the cool older sibling. (Dustin prided himself on this fact.) Especially since (according to Mike) Nancy wasn’t cool anymore and Jonathan was more reserved and didn’t make much conversation with them. But you, on the other hand, were a bright, bounding ball of energy; constantly having to be moving or talking.

The party had the most fun when you were around. You joined and encouraged them with their campaigns, but you also were able to get the young boys outside of the house once in a while (thus making you Mrs. Wheelers favourite).

Everyone was elated to see you again. They were all smiles and long warm hugs, and hushed sentences saying they were happy you were home. You were pretty sure Lucas even started tearing up, but he had quickly (and suspiciously) denied your claim when you approached him about it. You were ecstatic to see all of the familiar faces that were quickly getting way too old for your liking. However, the only faces that weren’t familiar were the two girls that hung closely to Lucas and Mike. The redhead you learned to be Max; a young girl who ran on loads of energy and sass primarily shot at Lucas (which you later learned they were dating). And the other girl, the one tightly holding Mike’s hand and the one who hadn’t said anything to you that whole night aside from hello was El.

Although you could tell she had a hard time warming up to you (and most likely people in general), you treated her with the most kindness and made multiple attempts to slowly initiate your relationship with her.

Over time though you two became really good friends through your mutual taste in clothing.

If you asked El, she’d say you were her favourite. She looked up to you (although she was too shy to tell you that). You were funny, caring and free-spirited. She had also come to the conclusion that you were attentive and you were really good with people.

Oh, yeah...

You were definitely her favourite.

You look back to the redhead with the big blue eyes; eyes that were darker in the partial dimness of your room (screw you terrible lighting) but still just as large.

Max is up against the edge of your bed attempting to fix her breathing and to calm herself down. You decide to seize the moment as you quickly reach over to the girl and begin tickling her. Max moves around violently, her laughter only increasing the more she shakes. El looks at the two you inquisitively. Her head is cocked to the side and her eyebrows are raised. You glance at El and nod your head to Max. El hesitantly crawls up beside you and reaches her hand out to Max’s side where you have her pinned down. You’re laughing and so is Max, so El figures you aren’t hurting her. But the act is...weird.

She’s self-conscious. She’s not completely sure what to do, but she doesn’t want to seem like that in front of you, so she looks over at your hands. She then begins to copy your ministrations; her eyes intently switching from her hand to yours.

Max hiccups and convulses, grabbing her stomach with a loud cackle. El sits back stunned, but soon, begins laughing along with her two friends. And soon, all three of you are rolling around on the floor like the giggly, energized messes you are.

Max is able to push you and El away as she inhales deeply and coughs. “Do I seriously have to pick?”

“Yes!” You and El shout in unison; erupting in another bout of laughter.

Max shakes her head and hops up off the ground to sit on your bed. She tucks her hair behind her ears and huffs. Her cheeks are almost as red as her hair and you assume she knows cause she tries to slink away, hiding beneath the curtain of wavy strands. After composing herself, Max shows the fact that she’s contemplating her answer by making animated features and biting her lip. You and El shift closer to her; both of you sitting below and in front of Max. “I guess...” she hums loudly. You smack her leg as she continues to do the annoying act. Max chuckles and places her hands behind her body as she leans back on your pale pink comforter. “...Maybe...” She’s dragging it on. You find it to be slightly humourous—the way she’s doing it.

You roll your eyes anyway because Max’s antics are proof that she’s still a young teenager, and you suddenly finding those antics to be annoying means you are getting old.

You wait patiently for Max to stop her teasing and just pick either truth or dare, but El seems to be sitting on the edge of anticipation. She’s curious, but you can also tell she’s getting antsy because her friend simply won’t talk.

“Okay. I got it! I choose Truth.”

You direct your gaze to the smiling brunette beside you. “El, would you like to ask?”

She nods eagerly with a smile and shuffles closer to you. She thinks to herself for a moment before she perks up.

“...Who was your...most recent kiss?”

“Ooh! That’s a good one!” You reassure her. She smiles proudly and the two of you look at Max expectantly.

She smiles shyly. “Well, obviously Lucas. We were reenacting a scene from the Karate Kid and before I left I kissed him.” She looks away, her smile still there.

“Awe!” You squeal teasingly. “That’s so cute!” She grabs one of your small throw pillows and whacks you with it. You laugh and turn to El. “What about you El? Who was your most recent kiss?”

“Mike.” She says quickly and assuredly. Your eyebrows raise with surprise at her quick confession. But then again, you note, she’s obviously been dating the kid for a bit now.

“And you?” El asks slowly.

Your mouth opens in surprise. “And me?”

“Yeah!” Max cuts you off and moves closer to the edge, your bed creaking with each motion. “Who was your most recent kiss, Y/N?”

You laugh nervously. The two girls are looking at you obviously expecting something a lot more exciting than their confessions. You assume it’s because since you’re older, they think you have more...interesting kissing stories.

“Well...I haven’t had a most recent kiss. My last kiss was with Kevin Miller in the twelfth grade. That was prom night though, nothing exciting happened with him after that.”

“What?” Max asked in shock. “Come on, you must’ve had a recent kiss. You know, with a certain fluffy haired dork who works with your friend at a certain video store downtown...” she smirks knowingly.

You snort and hop up off your floor. You stride over to your stereo in the corner of your room, leaning down a bit to properly see the switches and buttons. “No, nothing exciting like that girls. Steve and I haven’t kissed yet.”

“At all?!” The two girls shout in tandem.

You look to the both of them. They’re in pure disbelief and you can’t help but roll your eyes. “Yeah. At all. I don’t know, just hasn’t happened yet.”

“H—how? I mean, don’t you want to kiss him?” Max inquires.

“Yeah, don’t you want to?” El parrots.

You simply shrug your shoulders and flick the switch. “Well...yeah. I—I do. Of course I do. It’s just...it’s a matter of whether or not he wants to kiss me.”

Max looks at El with a shake of her head.

The pair shrug at the same time, both sharing the same exact thought.

How has Steve not kissed you yet?

The two girls knew Steve well. Or at least, well enough to know that he really liked you, and he sure as hell wanted to kiss you. So why hasn’t he? Max makes a mental note to give the boy shit later. But right now it’s hard to stay confused when you’re happily cranking up the sound on your small white stereo.

“Who’s this?” El questions immediately after hearing the unfamiliar beat. “Who’s...singing?”

“Uh...only one of the greatest female singers of all time!” Max and El stare at you awkwardly. You scoff in surprise. How they don’t know who Whitney Houston completely baffles you.

“You two girls spend way too much time with those boys.”

You start dancing. Max giggles at how awkward your movements are, and even though she notes that you can’t dance for shit, you’re still having fun.

The happy feeling in the room increases as you pull the two girls to their feet. You, Max and El bounce around your room, the swell of How Will I Know only encouraging you more. You grab your hairbrush off your dresser and throw it in front of your mouth as you fist pump the air. “How will I know if he really loves me! I say a prayer with every heartbeat!”

The girls are stunned at your knowledge of the lyrics. Clearly, you really like this song. Watching you twirl in the centre of your room (tripping over yourself a little because it’s hard to twirl with socks on a carpeted floor) Max attempts to sing along with you—she definitely has heard this song before but it was always turned off before it could finish (thanks to Billy). El on the other hand didn’t know any of the words, but she just smiles in response to your singing and dances harder and sloppier than you and Max.

•••••

“I still can’t believe you did that, man.” Steve shakes his head with a groan, remembering the earlier event with some girl he vaguely recognized from school and Dustin.

“She was flirting with you!” Dustin yells attempting to throw his hands up to advertise his annoyance. Granted, throwing your hands up in a car with a roof is quite difficult.

“I wasn’t flirting back!”

“Still! She was flirting with you and she had to be removed from the situation.”

“She was a customer!” Steve’s voice grew louder with each syllable. “Customers bring in money for the company, meaning I get money!”

“You’re dating my sister, dude!”

Steve’s head snaps to the passenger seat. His eyes wide and his hair flying all over the place. “I need money to take your sister—my girlfriend—on dates, Henderson!” Dustin stares blankly at his screaming friend.

Steve’s hands were gripped around the steering wheel; knuckles turning paler in colour gradually.

It was true.

The girl Steve vaguely remembered from high school had walked in to Family Video and immediately struck up a conversation. He could tell she was flirting right away. How could he not? She was extremely open about it as she stayed in the store for more than half an hour (which no one ever did), and she always called on him to help her find a movie even though Robin was more available than him most of those times. However the situation had remained decently calm. She’s wasn’t touching him and he didn’t flirt back, so he wasn’t entirely bothered by it. Not enough to piss him off existentially.

Afterall, she was still a customer.

It was only when Dustin Henderson walked in that the situation had escalated.

Dustin had seen the girl shuffling ever so slightly closer to his best friend and even though Steve wasn’t paying any attention to her, Dustin felt like he had to do what a good friend, and brother of his friends girlfriend would do.

The girl was holding Sixteen Candles and had asked Steve if the movie was any good. Steve couldn’t help but roll his eyes at the sight of it. It’s not like it wasn’t a good movie, it was, but he couldn’t count how many times Y/N convinced him to watch it with her. The poor boy had seen it so many times he could recite the first 45 minutes of it perfectly.

But still, he faintly smiles at the memory of Y/N being completely lost in the events of screen. The look of pure excitement on her face and the way it affected her whole body was something he had actually memorized. In fact, he was very fond of that memory. The curl of your lips, your eyes wide and bright as they took everything in, your hand that always, always found it’s way in his or gently grasping at his shirt. Even the way your head would find its place on his shoulder; the scent of your favourite shampoo—a wonderful concoction of coconut and jasmine—wafting in front of him as your hair would rub softly against his cheek. These were all things that were (most likely) forever ingrained in Steve’s memory.

Which was the exact reason why he could never say no to you (in a good way, of course).

But...if Steve were to be honest with himself, how could he say no to you?

The second you’d look at him with doe eyes and a shy smile—your hair always seemingly bouncing lightly in your face as you called out Stevie—he knew he was a goner. Steve was convinced that you could honestly persuade him to do anything.

In that empty moment however, Dustin took the opportunity and bounded up between them and with a slightly aggressive tone said to the girl, “it’s his girlfriends favourite.”

Her face had turned red instantaneously as she meekly slid the movie back in its place. Muttering something about how she wasn’t going to rent anything she had skittered out of the store leaving a highly annoyed Harrington and a happy Henderson.

The two boys were now sitting in silence in Steve’s car. The tension from their little exchange long gone as Steve followed the familiar roads to the Henderson home. “Is Y/N home?” Steve asks out loud.

Dustin nods his head although Steve isn’t paying attention to him. “Yeah she is, but she’s hangin’ out with Max and El. Something about a girls night?”

Steve nods and turns onto your street.

The red BMW silently pulls up in front yours and Dustin’s house. The street is relatively dark, save the two porch lights that are on and the faint glow from the streetlight at the corner behind them. Steve turns off the car, a silent signal to Dustin he intends on joining him inside mainly to see you one last time today.

Dustin leaves the car first; slowly making his way up the driveway. He does find it sweet, that every time Steve drops him off he always takes time to say hi to you. At first it seemed stupid (it began a little after he had warmed up to the idea of you and Steve), but after Steve had pointed out that if Suzie were in Hawkins he’d do the same, Dustin had shut up about the subject.

Steve’s long legs allowed him to join his friend on the porch in just a few strides. Opening the door, Dustin was about to announce his arrival until he heard the all-too familiar pop-y sound of your Madonna album. And he knew exactly which album it was because you played it...

All. The. Time.

Ever since you bought it for yourself with your well-earned babysitting money last month, that’s all Dustin had heard.

And what’s worse? His least favourite song just had to be playing as he walked through the door.

With a groan he turns to Steve who’s silently laughing because he is also completely aware of your Madonna obsession. “You can handle that.” Dustin walks off through the living room and opens the door to his room. “See ya’ tomorrow, Steve.”

“‘Night, Henderson.” Steve counters as the door to Dustin’s room shuts.

Steve pops off his shoes quickly—fully aware that your mom is not a fan of shoes in the house. He skips through the house and down the hallway. Your door is at the very end and it’s decorated with mini posters of your favourite albums.

Steve smiles at the sight because although he’s seen it before, everything about your room is always changing, and it’s just so reflective of your personality. In fact the first time he saw your room he instantly felt jealous because your room was just so cool. It was so cool, and he was so envious because his parents would never in a million years let him decorate his room that way. Or, at all.

Twisting the door handle slightly, he peeked in through the open space and came face-to-face with a sight that made his heart jump into his throat excitedly.

You, Max and El were jumping around, dancing and singing very poorly to Like a Virgin bleeding through the speaker of your record player.

“Gonna’ give you all my love boy!” You sing loudly, bouncing with your legs still and your hand up in the air.

“My fear is fading fast!” El and Max yell shaking their heads.

The imagery before him is a mess of colourful clothes, hair and Madonna; it seems so fun and free and almost...psychedelic. In a way... And seeing you in the centre of it all dancing like a complete idiot elicits a loopy smile out of Steve as though he is on psychedelics.

He nods to himself slowly and shuts the door. You, Max and El are clearly enjoying yourselves and although he really wants to talk to you for the sake of seeing you smile adorably at him (a smile that he’s willing to do anything to see), he leaves you three to it.

•••••

The bell above the door rings suddenly, prompting Robin to lift her eyes out of the magazine she’s skimming through. But upon seeing who the individual is she smirks, puts the magazine down and leans across the counter.

“And what can I do for you on this fine morning, Henderson?”

“Is he here?” Dustin questions with a loud voice; his eyes wide and serious. Robin frowns slightly. Usually Dustin jokes around and actually competes with her antics. But this? This was new.

“He’s out back. Why? What did he do this time?”

Dustin rests his palms on the counter and stares Robin dead in the eyes. “Get. Him.”

Robin nods slowly, twists around and angles her body. “Hey, dingus! You’re in trouble! Better get your ass here real quick!”

Almost instantly Steve trips to the front holding a huge box with the words, “NEW RENTALS” largely printed on its side. His eyes dart rapidly around the room, hands slightly shaking in fear that he screwed up once again.

But then he sees Dustin and his shoulders fall as he places the box on the counter. Patting his hands on his jeans a few times he looks up at his friend. “Hey, man. What’s up?”

“Is it true that you haven’t kissed Y/N yet?”

Robin coughs, hand slapping against the counter. Her eyes direct themselves to Steve. He sees her stare and he shrivels up beneath it. Robin looks at him with crazy disbelief and wild curiosity. Steve looks to his younger friend, which isn’t much better or safer than Robin’s gaze because Dustin’s glare is far more menacing and accusing.

The room is silent, aside from Steve’s rapid heartbeat—which he hopes is only something he can hear. “Who—who told you that? Was it Y/N?”

“Max and El.” Dustin replies blankly.

Steve gulps. “I—uh...I just, um... I just haven’t...yet.” Dustin stands up straighter and Steve feels his shoulders shrink. His throat goes dry and he drags his hand through his hair. He’s already embarrassed from being a complete chicken-shit and seemingly never having enough confidence to go for it when your around him. But he knows it’s not his fault. And it’s not yours either! Steve simply thinks it’s just you being you and it’s completely unintentional, but god do you do things to him. However, now that Dustin is confronting him about it, and now Robin (of all people) knows about his nerves, he can feel himself rapidly unravel.

“But I—I’m going to alright! I am. I really, really am, dude. It’s just—“

“Awe, somebody’s nervous.” Robin purrs. Her lips are curled thinly into a smirk. A facial expression that Steve knows very well and hates very much.

“I’m not nervous.” He quickly counters his friend.

Robin shrugs her shoulders and leans back against the wall. “Whatever you say, Popeye.”

Steve’s jaw clenches with a roll of his eyes. He hates that nickname but he chooses to ignore his friend. He lifts his hands up—almost like in mock surrender—as he moves closer to Dustin. “Look dude, I’m going to do it. I want to! Believe I really, really want to. I just can’t find the proper timing.”

“Timing? What the hell does timing have to do with any of this?”

“Everything, dickwad.” Steve adds.

“Okay, okay.” Robin has suddenly moved from behind the counter to between her two idiot friends. “Relax you two, okay? It’s not the end of the world.” She turns to Dustin. “Also dude, timing is a thing.”

“Ha! Eat that, Henderson!”

“But!” Robin shouts back, turning her head to the taller boy behind her. “There are some cases where you just have to take timing into your own goddamn hands, okay, dingus?”

“It’s the not easiest fucking thing, Buckley!” Robin raises a ring-clad hand in front of Steve’s face while she breathes in slowly and deeply. The act imitates meditation which Steve finds pointless but he refuses to say anything. He simply just huffs passively; eyes boring into Dustin’s.

“I have an idea...” Robin begins. Dustin’s face quirks into a confused state. As does Steve’s. The two boys look at their friend expectantly. “But you two,” she sharply presses a single finger in the middle of Steve’s chest. “And especially you...need to listen to me and everything I have to say. Got it?”

Steve nods slowly although he’s not quite sure what he’s even agreeing to. All he knows is that the green in Robin’s vest brings out the specks of green in her eyes which, accompanied with her pointed stare, makes her look slightly devious; sending chills down Steve’s spine.

Dustin on the other hand seems to care less about Robin’s calculated glare and pipes up. “Now exactly what is this plan of yours? And what is it for?”

Robin groans audibly and strolls over to the counter. Reaching underneath it on the opposite side she pulls out a piece of paper. She plucks a pen from the pencil holder to the right of the chipped, sloppily painted counter and puts it down to the paper. “It’s a plan, shitbird. We’ll call it...” she hums. “I don’t know, “Operation Kiss the Girl”.”

“That sounds like a dumb name for an operation of this magnitude.” Steve slaps Dustin on the shoulder, earning a high-pitched, ragged “ow” from the young boy.

“Anyways,” Robin’s voice is sharp as she continues. “The plan is to get him,” She lazily points the pen to Steve. “To finally kiss your sister.” With as much annoyance as before, she points the ball pen to Dustin.

Steve’s jaw drops comically as he shakes his wild head of hair. “No, no. N—no way. That’s—that’s not happening. No!”

Robin crosses her arms across her chest and looks up at Steve in tandem with Dustin. “What’s wrong, Harrington?”

“I don’t need your help to kiss a girl, okay? I’ve had plenty of practice. I know what I’m doing.”

“Then how come you haven’t done it yet?” Dustin interjects. It’s a sudden, sharp stab in Steve’s ego but he doesn’t let it faze him as he walks back to the box and places it on his shoulder.

“Because, my strange little childfriend, there are such things in this world called nerves. And we tend to get them when we really like someone... Especially when we really want to make out with them. Which,” Robin smirks. “Is what Stevie-boy here, wants to do with your sister.”

“Ew! You want to make out with Y/N? Do you even know what that leads to?”

Steve glared at Dustin. “Where are you learning this stuff?!”

“I’m fourteen not an idiot, dumbass!”

Robin laughs snarkily and pulls herself up on the countertop. Tucking both legs beneath her, she begins writing.

“Okay! Okay! Regardless of the fact that yes, I have thought numerous times about making out with your sister, this plan of yours Buckley, is absolute shit.” Dustin pauses suddenly and Steve internally freaks out. Because if he’s learned anything in the past two years he’s known Dustin Henderson, it’s that when he pauses, he thinks. And when Dustin thinks, the whole world is at stake.

“Not entirely.”

Steve frowns and opens his mouth to ask. “Not entirely what?”

“Uh, the plan?” Dustin looks at Steve like he just said the earth was flat.

“This plan?”

“Yes! Operation Kiss the Girl!”

“Operation Kiss the Girl is not entirely what?”

“Bullshit!” Dustin shouts, taking off his baseball hat like it’ll alleviate his stress.

“The Operation’s bullshit?” Steve says the words slowly while he looks at Dustin with an equal amount of confusion.

“No, Steve! I mean the plan isn’t entirely bullshit! Meaning the operation name is absolutely shit but the actual plan might be good!”

“Thank you, Dustin!” Robin says from her seat. She’s scribbling quickly, her gaze fixated on the paper.

She’s actually serious, Steve thinks. She can’t be this serious.

Steve lets out a guttural groan. “What’s the point of this plan, anyway? Aside from me “gaining the confidence” to kiss my girlfriend?”

“Because, dingus, Y/N wants to kiss you; and you are dying to kiss her. But she hasn’t said anything and she won’t ever say anything until you just...kiss the girl!”

Steve looks at Robin dumbfounded. The box is long forgotten as Steve grew tired of it on his shoulder and left it on the floor. Robin sighs and tucks a strand of blond hair behind her ear. Steve stares at Robin and Dustin; his two friends who are too emotionally invested in this plan. But then again, Steve knows intuitively that they’re both right.

He is dying to kiss you.

He had been since your first date.

Seemingly however, his confidence had long since been lost. And now he’s here. Stuck between two options. The one, taking his own time to kiss you (which he doesn’t have a clue when he’d man up) and possibly not kissing you for a while; or the second option. One that involves him following the plan Robin is formulating, which will result in him finally being able to feel the intoxicating feeling of you fitting perfectly against him and for to him to find out if you’re lips do really taste like the strawberry lipgloss he always smells on you.

The entire room is silent. The tension is laced with jittery expectancy. So much so, that Robin continues to click her pen. She hates the quiet. Despises it. She looks down at her paper as Steve rubs his temples in concentration. Dustin just stands there; hushed and still as he stares blankly at the two teenagers.

Steve inhales sharply and spins around. “Okay! What the hell.”

Robin smiles. “Holy shit, this is gonna’ be the most fun I’ve had in weeks.” She hops off the counter, grabs the pen and paper and slips past the shelves of movies and out through the dirty brown door at the very back.

A moment passes and she pokes her head out; thin golden strands of hair frame her features rather messily. “Are you two gonna’ help me out, or what?”

•••••

“Hello! Welcome to the SkateDaze roller skating park! How many in your party?”

Steve turns his head sheepishly at the large group behind him. He was originally embarrassed for the practical entirety of the friend group to accompany you and him tonight, afterall this was supposed to be a date for the two of you, but Robin and Dustin’s reasoning was that they had to be there in case he fucked up. (Dustin’s exact words.) He just wasn’t expecting the rest of the party to also be there when he parked.

You however didn’t seem to mind; completely oblivious to the plan shared amongst all of your friends. So, Steve just kept quiet and let it happen.

“Nine.” Robin perked up. Steve shot her a sly glare. “There’s nine of us.”

The young woman—Jennifer, from looking at her nametag—smiled awkwardly at the group. “Al...righty then. Follow me.”

Jennifer glided over the shiny hard floors to a booth in the back and smiled (once again quite awkwardly) at the group. “There you are! Once everyone’s ready just go to that counter to get your skates!”

The young woman seemingly flew away as fast as she had came. Everyone hadn’t bothered to pay attention to her departure but El had. With wide eyes, she watched the waiters and waitresses dodge and swerve seamlessly around the large groups of people along with the tables and chairs placed randomly.

The neon and disco-oriented lights shone brightly as they moved around the rink dizzyingly. El hadn’t seen anything quite like it before, but she wishes she had.

“You excited?” You appeared to her right. She looked up at you and smiled softly. Your hair was twisted into loose, delicate curls that shone pink and yellow from the lights behind you.

“Pretty.” El mumbled.

“Yeah, she is.” Steve hugged Y/N from behind; arms wrapping around her waist as his chin rests on top of her head.

El looked at the couple for a moment, completely enamoured with the romance of it all then turned to Mike suddenly.

“Why don’t you do that with me?”

Max erupted into laughter.

Mike stood there, eyes and mouth wide open in shock. “I do! I’m always affectionate to you, El!”

El shakes her head and points to a laughing Y/N and Steve. “Not like that.”

“W—what? N—no, no. El...”

“Come on kiddos lets get our skates already. It’s why we’re here.” Robin chimed in, leading the group to the counter.

Soon after the group had sputtered out all their skate sizes, they slowly made their way to the rink; albeit, a few falls from the inexperienced members of the party.

Max and Robin seemed to get a hang of it rather quickly. They said they hadn’t roller skated before but you knew, deep down, they probably had. But surprisingly, you and the rest of the group had actually started out pretty well.

Granted, you were going slower due to the fact that you’d only ever roller skated once in your life and that was when you were visiting your cousins in Montana two summers ago.

The only ones, however, who were having an especially difficult time skating around the rink were Lucas, Steve and El.

El you understood; she seemed to be extremely sheltered, confused with quite a lot of things. You had actually expected her to have a hard time with it, so you told her on the way to the rink that you’d help. Your promising words caused her to smile widely and her eyes to sparkle.

No one really offered to help her do things with the promise of her being able to one day do them on her own, so for you to ask her if she’d like your help was definitely something she cherished. You found it sweet how she was surprised with the simplest things.

Although, Lucas and Steve on the other hand were a bit of a shock.

You had assumed the two boys knew what they were doing; afterall, they were quite confident earlier in their skating skills (Steve had told you he was going to show you how to “skate like a pro”). But watching the two of them fall repeatedly on their asses was a hilariously funny sight to witness.

This time though Lucas’ hand was gripped around Max’s—much to her chagrin—as he attempted to follow the moves you showed him to keep himself up on both legs.

Except the boy got so caught up in trying to copy his form that he didn’t see Will in the blue pot-light emanating from above them until he had bumped into him, sending Will down to the ground.

The boy fell right in front of Max and Lucas with a thundering clap of his skates and a subdued thud from the ground coming into contact with his side. Max instantly turned her feet to the side in attempt to stop herself—already foreseeing how this would go. But Lucas hadn’t payed attention and tripped over Will, causing him to keel over, dragging Max aggressively down with him.

The group was silent as they looked in partial shock at their fallen friends. But of course you and El had to start giggling, prompting Robin to follow suit. Soon everyone was cackling at the three earning multiple glares directed by Lucas. Will had gotten up off the ground, dusting himself off with his hands as he stood there, looking down on his friends. And Max has immediately whacked Lucas on the arm as she asked, “What is wrong with you?”

“You guys fucking suck!” Dustin shouted at them over his ragged, broken laughs.

“Language!” Everyone yelled at Dustin simultaneously.

Well, everyone except your boyfriend who was currently clinging to the wall on the opposite end of the rink; daring not to move. With a laugh you take El’s hand and pull her with you through the crowds of brightly dressed people towards Steve.

“You havin’ trouble over there, Harrington?” You taunt. A knowing smirk on your face with your arms crossed over your chest.

El looked at you for a quick second before copying your actions. “Yeah!” She piped up, letting a pesky piece of brown hair fall in front of her face. “Are you having trouble, Harrington?”

Steve looked at El and pointed a finger at her. “You... Be quiet.”

You laughed loudly, although over the loud music it sounded like nothing. The way he was pointing a finger at her really made him look like a parental figure and you couldn’t help but make a mental note of mocking him about it later when all was said and done. You turned your head to El and bent down so you were closer to her to ensure that she could hear you. “Why don’t you go with Mike and them; I’ll handle this dork.”

She nodded enthusiastically and slid over the multi-coloured floor with ease.

“How come she’s so good at this all of a sudden?” Steve pouted, blowing his hair out his face. His hands were gripped around the railing on either side of him as he kept his feet in the same awkward position. Even through his white and red-striped wind breaker (which he wore a lot more often when you made a comment about it being your favourite jacket of his) you could see his arms were taut and strained.

Steve looked genuinely nervous... And you were genuinely excited because this moment was too good to pass up. You honestly wish you had your Polaroid on you for the sake of never letting Steve live this down.

Steve on the other hand was very glad you didn’t bring your Polaroid.

You shake your head lightly and propel yourself a little towards him. Your hands rest on top of his as your fingers gently curl around them. You smile up at him sweetly as your eyes, subconsciously trace over every curve, every dip, every freckle and every mole that paints his face with love and adoration.

He’s gorgeous.

It’s like a constellation lives on his face; weaving every piece together intricately to create him.

And, if that was the case—if that was what whatever higher power intended when they came across Steve’s creation, then that constellation will forever be your favourite.

In fact, it already is.

His hands are lifted off the railing with ease as yours begin to guide and direct him. Your skating backwards and your hardly trying. How? Steve couldn’t say.

Part of him was nervous about who you were to inevitability bump into or trip over as you weren’t looking behind you at all. But the rest of him—the part that was so focused and trained on your inquisitive eyes, your curious stare and your gleeful smile weren’t at all thinking of who’d you bump into. Instead, he was happy every inch of you was directed to him.

How someone like you could even ever consider looking at someone like him with that much affection and fondness was beyond his comprehension.

Steve used to think he wasn’t deserving of much—to the point where he actually believed it. But somehow, in someway that completely baffles him to this day, you showed Steve that he was deserving of everything that life had to offer him.

Sometimes he still thinks he isn’t worthy of anything, but ultimately he knows that just his dad talking. Because somehow the boy who wasn’t deserving of anything, deserved you. He found you.

Now how could he pass up that opportunity?

You had stopped gliding over the freshly polished rink, pulling Steve with you as well. The two of you standing perfectly still in the centre of the floor, directly beneath the disco ball and in front of the DJ.

The kids and Robin were still skating; enjoying as much of this night as they could. Their laughs a decipherable echo in contrast with the music so loud you felt the bass in your chest. Both of your hands (still intertwined with Steve’s) fell to your sides; lazily but in the most comforting way possible.

The loud blaring of Duran Duran had seemingly come to a crashing halt. People slowed down or stoped in tandem with the quiet air. But then the DJ bent over and adjusted the microphone standing on the corner of his setup.

“This next requested song is for all the couples here tonight, so, all of y’all have fun. But not too much fun.” He winked at the crowd eliciting a blush from you at the knowledge of his innuendo. It took Steve a minute, but when he got it, he began to snicker. You shot him a playful glare when suddenly the first few familiar soft, electric notes played through the speakers.

Instantly you knew what it was. With a gasp, you jump up a bit and squeeze Steve’s hand as you look up at him. “It’s the song from Sixteen Candles! You know when they’re in the school gym at the dance?”

Steve nods his head slowly with a chuckle. “Yup, I remember.”

You flash him a grin and pull him along the line of people you quickly decided to join. Steve turns his head away from the back of yours to across the rink where he sees Robin and the party at their table. Except Dustin. The young boy is looking at him intently from behind the railing as he’s...mouthing something? Is he talking? Steve can’t quite tell.

As the line turns sharply to the area where Dustin is standing, Steve lets go of Y/N’s hand and effortlessly slides over to his young friend. A bright lime green light is shining directly onto Dustin, whereas a contradictory pink light in small circular shapes placates itself on Steve. “What?” Steve asks, earning a loud groan from Dustin.

“Now’s your moment!” Dustin tilts his head over to Y/N spinning around slowly in the centre of the rink as she laughs. It’s in that moment where Steve’s theory that his girlfriend is the cutest thing on the face of the earth is confirmed.

But soon Dustin’s hands are on Steve’s collar and he’s looking him directly in the eye. “You better do it now, Harrington! There’s no better time!”

Steve shakes his head at the young boy. “No, Dustin, n—not...not right now. Okay? Not right now.”

“Steven!” Robin thunders up beside Dustin, kneels down to Steve’s eye level and breathes deeply.

“Look, dingus you want her. I mean look at her, you know you do.” Steve gulps visibly as his eyes travel nervously all around him. Somehow...even with all of Robin and Dustin’s pep talks, he’s genuinely not ready. He’s scared. And Steve hates being scared.

Robin places a warm hand on Steve’s shoulder and smiles softly at him. The act stuns Steve because it’s so unlike Robin. It’s so unlike her and yet, she’s so serious about this. “There’s only one way to ask her, Harrington. And if you don’t do it, you’re gonna miss her.”

Steve nods slowly, every memory and feeling he’s had of Y/N flashes before his eyes and all at once he feels a spike of confidence creep up on him.

He nods more aggressively now, in a way that ensures himself that he’s really going do it. He’s going to finally kiss you.

And so without a second thought he pushes himself off the railing and towards the middle of the rink where you are still dancing. He gently bumps into you which forces you to spin him around.

“What’d Dustin want?” You ask softly, giving Steve enough time to look directly into your eyes.

He sees a million galaxies and lifetimes behind them. He sees emotions and memories and colours that are so breathtaking they won’t settle for anything less than interstellar. You are so beautiful to him. Everything about you is just...perfect. Your so perfect for him, in fact, that Steve’s pretty sure you’re it for him. He feels it deep in his bones; hell, he even felt it when he first met you. But he wills himself to take it one step at a time because he’s not a big believer in higher powers or energies or karma; he doesn’t really believe in the stuff you believe in. But he’s convinced that whatever he’s feeling now—as all of those galaxies and all of those lifetimes look back at him and only him...what he’s feeling is nothing less and nothing more than pure pre-planned love. The type of love where he can feel whenever you look at him that’s he’s been searching his whole life for those eyes... And that smile...

And simply...you.

He’s feels as though he’s spent a million years looking for you and finding you. And he hopes, as he leans in and feels the soft press of your velvety lips against his, that he will spend another million more searching, and ultimately loving you.

Again. And again. And again.

For all eternity; and more.

You.

Him.

•••••

Would anyone like to be featured in my tag list? If so, just let me know!

Also heads up I won’t be writing imagines/one-shots for a while cause I’m working on something bigger right now. (Obviously it’s still Steve Harrington x reader) But yeah, I’m super stoked to have you guys see what I’m planning. I will say keep a look out for something I’m posting soon about this new “project” that’s similar to a preview for it!

Catch ya later, babes x

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paulsebert · 7 years

Text

Secret Empire #0 Thoughts (Spoilers)

Previously: The Red Skull used Korbik (a sentient cosmic cube that sometimes takes a child's form) to turn Captain America into a bad guy. Captain America is now a loyal agent of Hydra an evil organization that is sometimes Nazi affiliated and sometimes not depending on who is writing. Captain America planned a bunch of bad stuff behind everyone's back. Captain America turned on his evil master. Red Skull desperate to make Cap stop admitted that Captain America that his new history (that we saw in extensive flashbacks over many issues) was all lies he made up. Captain America doesn't care because he's EEEEVIL! He kills Red Skull and sets out to take over the world... his way! This took 15 fricking issues to get to. Meanwhile we learned that Nick Spencer should really stay off twitter.

Notes: Despite the bad reaction Spencer's Cap run has gotten I'm actually a fan of most of Nick Spencer's work. Superior Foes of Spider-Man is of one the best comics of the last decade and the The Fix is hilarious. His run on the two Captain America runs are really mixed bags. The first two arcs of “Captain America: Sam Wilson” are really good but Spencer struggled trying to deal with real life politics in the later issues. As for the eeeeeevil Captain America book well... it's better than painful fever dream of Rick Remender's Captain America book. I'm going to try to be fair and optimistic going into this one.

Our story opens with a World War II flashback in of Hydra Cap in the mountains of Japan meeting with Kraken an obscure villain from Jonathan Hickman's Secret Warriors. Hydra's secret base looks like the Legends of the Hidden Temple set. Kraken tells Captain America that the Allie will use the Cosmic Cube (not Korbik but another one) to change reality so that Hydra doesn't take over the world. He says they're going to change his memories and no matter what he must not forget he's a Hydra Agent. Of course we know all of these new World War II memories are bullshit so... they're either illusions or maybe Kraken was manipulating Steve the whole time or... uuuugh. I am three pages in and I have a headache!

We now have a flow chart of characters. I know Secret War did the same thing but... hoo-boy. That's a bad sign.

We cut to modern day. Cap is at S.H.I.E.L.D command with Sharon Carter. We learn that a Chitari (those aliens from the first Avengers movie) invasion is headed towards Earth. But the Planetary Defense shield is down. Wasn't there a whole other organization called S.W.O.R.D that handled this? Where is Abigail Brand?

We see the Guardians of the Galaxy and The Ultimates fighting aliens in space. I am wondering why most of the focus isn't on this and is instead on S.H.I.E.L.D HQ? Daniel Acuña draws pretty fight scenes. Let him do that!

Meanwhile a boatload of supervillians lead by Gravitron are attacking New York and the Defenders are fighting them. Unfortunately more of the focus is on S.H.I.E.L.D headquarters. So we’re mostly watching EVIL Cap and Sharon watching all the action.

Meanwhile Hydra has invaded the country of Sokovia the country that Ultron completely destroyed back in Kurt Busiek's run. I know it’s played a role in Specer’s run but shouldn't it just be all empty space and dead Ultron drones now?

The narrator is REALLY going out of his way to tell us what a brilliant strategist Hydra Cap is and how all of these couldn't have happened by coincidence. It's sort of like how every three pages in Avengers Arena someone says “gee Arcade is really a clever villain now. He sure thought of everything.”

Back in space Quasar is eaten by a space whale. I should be upset at the apparent death of a new superhero but like... this HAS to be a set-up for her to punch her way out of the belly of a space whale an issue or two later. Right? I mean why would you waste an opportunity for an awesome action scene?

I just realized that Hydra Cap planning his scheme while the heavy hitters are in space is a LOT like the plot of Infinity. Also the whole novelty of an EVIL Captain America story would have been a lot more at home in Axis. Remember how Tony Stark was eeeeeevil for a year and no one cared?

Now Nitro shows up while the Defenders are fighting and Jessica Jones throws him high into the air while he triggers an explosion that looks like a homage to the opening of Civil War. This comic is turning into a greatest hits album of other comic crossovers.

The Secretary of Defense gives Captain America full control over the U.S. Military and Law Enforcement thanks to a new act of congress so everything bad from here on out is caused by an ill conceived piece of legislation... just like Civil War!

The defense shield is turned on locking aliens out and the Defenders get backup from the Uncanny Avengers. Things are looking up for the heroes.

Suddenly a heli-carrier crashes into S.H.I.E.L.D HQ and a bunch Hydra mooks show up. Only the S.H.I.E.L.D guards aren't fighting back because Dr Faustus is brainwashing everyone. I should have mentioned before this whole mess started that the Red Skull had psychic mindscrew powers and dude whose sole power was brainwashing people working for him. If you really wanted to do a Captain America is EVIL story the whole cosmic cube and prolonged elaborate false history flashbacks are kind of superfluous.

Captain America orders the Hydra Guards and the mind controlled S.H.I.E.L.D guys to take Sharon Carter prisoner. Sharon is not under Faustus' control despite the fact that if I had a drink for the number of stories where Sharon Carter was mind controlled I'd be drunk. Sharon thinks Cap is being controlled by Faustus but...

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A Hydra guy is just standing there and has this slackjawed look like “I can't believe this shit.” I'm going to pretend he's Bob from Deadpool. Bob's presence is the most entertaining thing about this book so far.

I could be reading “The Button” right now. That comic has Batman fighting Professor Zoom AND Flash fighting Samurai Robots... Samurai Robots! And it doesn't have walls and walls of exposition text...

Iron Men Riri Williams and Force Ghost Tony Stark (it's a long story) discover someone has sabotaged the planetary defense shield and Hydra guys attack them. Just as it looks like we're going to get a good fight it cuts away.

On Space Skype Captain America reveals to Captain Marvel that wave after wave of Chitari are coming and he's keeping them walled off outside with fierce alien warriors to their doom. Cue Cliffhanger #1.

Tony Stark and Riri Williams just beat up all the Hydra Guys OFF CAMERA! We've got like a bazillion action scenes going on and NONE of them are given any time to breath under these unending walls of exposition text.

Hey it's HELMUT ZEMO! Which Zemo is it... the morally complex anti-villian/anti-hero from Thunderbolts? Is it the Cobra Commander-esc idiot from Avengers Undercover? A combination of the two? I don't know because he has all of three panels in this issue.

Zemo and a guy named Blackout (not the Ghost Rider Villian) have stolen the book of Darkhold. Does anyone remember Darkhold: Pages from the Book of Sins? It was like this early 90s quasi-horror comic about this cursed book whose pages granted evil monkey paw wishes and the people who made those wishes usually turned into monsters. Plus there was an evil dwarf. Like that you should be revamping that into something so if you wanted Peter Dinklage to be a villain in a Marvel movie. Oh and there were people called The Darkhold Redeemers who were trying to stop the Dwarf and one of them was a lesbian and this was like long before LGTB representation was anywhere near common in comics. Dude I want a Darkhold Redeemers comic.

So Zemo and an obscure Avengers villian named Blackout (who looks like the poor man's Electro) use the Darkhold to banish New York City isolating it under a Dark Force dimension dome. It's like when the Hand sealed off Hell's Kitchen in Shadowland but bigger. ANOTHER crossover callback. Cliffhanger #2.

Tony deducts that the next target of attack is going to be Washington DC he calls for The Avengers (several teams worth), The Champions, and Spider-Man (who I guess wasn't in New York.) We get some big epic hero arrival poses that would look great if they weren't crammed into TINY... TINY panels.

Back in Washington an army of Hydra Helicarriers loom ominously over the White House. Hey do you remember the C-Plot from Fear Itself. When Skadi's Army attacked Washington but no-one cared because the rest of the book was about fighting monsters with Evil Thor Hammers? ANOTHER CALLBACK!

This the B-side of a Marvel Comics Crossovers Greatest Hits Album. Side A is about 70% tracks from Secret War, the Worthy stuff from Fear Itself and a trio of tracks from Civil War, Secret Invasion, and House of M. that were popular at the time but doesn't hold up.

The nicest thing I can say about this comic is that Daniel Acuña's art is really good and if anything this is one of the best looking bad comics I've ever read.

Despite the involvement of Hydra and the 40s flashback EVIL Cap doesn't really come across as a Nazi at all and just a generic “take over the world” badguy. On one hand that kind of seems to be Marvel backing away from the obvious “Cap is a Nazi” angle that was making people uncomfortable and angry and yet on the other hand it's also backing away from the “America is more messed up than we thought�� allegory that could actually make a point this time. Spencer isn't the guy to be doing that kind of project though. Not sure who I could see doing that and making such a gut punch work. Grant Morrison or Kyle Baker maybe?

If this is any indication it's going to be a loooooong six months. Maybe I should be polishing off my “Rikki Barnes: The Winter Soldier” pitch.

#Secret Empire #Marvel Comics #Captain America #HydraCap #Nick Spencer #Daniel Acuna #Every Crossover Ever #This Comic Is Bad And You Should Feel Bad #Spoilers #Wednesday Spoilers

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