#but scoops uniform my beloved...

[ofalltheginjoints]

insp.

#steve harrington #steveharringtonedit #stranger things #strangerthingsedit #dailystrangerthings #strangersource #userkam #tuserblake #icedbrilatte #userrichie #userspacey #we can objectify men for a second. as a treat. #i couldn't decide which shot i wanted to use for the last one like. #the s4 shot is better #but scoops uniform my beloved... #steven #st #brainrot

[ramblers-lets-get-ramblin]

Waffles and Cigarettes- Javier Peña x f!reader

Main Masterlist | Javier Peña Masterlist

Rating: E for EXPLICIT MDNI 18+

Summary: After you are attacked during a night out, your ex boyfriend comes to your rescue

Word Count: 4871

Warnings: Attempted sexual assault (not Javi), violence, descriptions of blood and injuries, fingering, spit as lube, unprotected PIV, kinda rough sex, creampie, angst. absolutely feral, protective ex boyfriend Javi

Author's Note: this is the first thing i've written in like a month so please forgive me if its...blah. i'm just trying to shake the cobwebs off. Also this was supposed to be PWOP just to get back in the groove of things but it true Angela fashion, I was unable to shut the fuck up. thank you to my beloved @catchallfangirl for being my ever faithful beta.

Your heart beats in time to the steady thump thump thump of the music. The vibrations from the bass travel up your legs and straight to your core. Through the haze of tequila you can almost fool yourself that the man grinding on you is him. That those are his arms wrapping around you from behind. His fingers trailing up your thigh, dipping under the hem of your barely there skirt. 

“Damn, baby” He groans in your ear, pressing his erection against your ass. There's no mistaking that he isn't, couldn't ever be, him. He doesn’t sound like him, doesn’t smell like him and he sure as hell doesn’t feel like him. “I bet you feel so good.”

You smack the man’s hand away and try to wriggle from his grasp. That only causes him to hold you tighter against him. With one hand splayed across your middle and the other groping your arm tightly, he begins swaying to the music but  the movement is off beat, disjointed. That’s because he’s slowly walking you backwards. The hallway that leads to the club’s bathrooms is only illuminated by the glowing LED lights of the EXIT sign above the emergency door. Your vision blurs as tears prick your eyes and the dancing strobes on the ceiling become distant. 

His foot catches something and he stumbles, briefly loosening his hold on you. Within seconds he rights himself and attempts to regain control of you but it’s just long enough for you to slip away. The terrifying realization of what almost happened to you sobers you up a little. Enough to reach into your bag and grab your phone. 

You place your thumb on the fingerprint sensor on the screen and his face greets your bleary eyes. It’s been six months but you haven’t been able to bring yourself to change the picture that graces your wallpaper. You have to scroll through your contacts to find his name because it no longer resides in your recent call log. Just before you hit the green phone icon, your phone is knocked from your hand and lands with a crack on the hardwood floor. 

You whirl around to face the man just as he reaches out to grab hold of you once more. You summon every ounce of strength in your body and your arm flies towards his face. The heel of your hand connects with his nose and you push up as hard as you can. Just the way he taught you. The music is loud so you don’t hear the satisfying crunch of cartilage when you break his nose but your nerves begin to calm when he crumples to the floor. Blood drips through his fingers and to the floor. You’ve gathered the attention of the people closest to you. You catch the eye of a group of women seated at a nearby table. They all give you knowing looks and a few slight nods of the head. 

You seize the moment when a couple of men kneel down to help your assailant. You scoop your phone from the floor and spin on your heel and make for the door. You’ve only taken a few steps when you are once again seized from behind. This time it’s one of the club’s security officers. The man twists your arm behind your back and leads you towards the front of the club. He says something into the walkie attached to the shoulder of his uniform but you can’t hear it over the noise. 

The tinted glass of the club’s door blocks all light from the outside and it almost blinds you when the door opens and you are pushed out onto the street. The humid air of the warm Texas night hits your face and when the door swings closed the pounding bass is muffled and your mind finally starts to clear. You lift your unrestrained arm to see the smashed screen of your phone. Fuck.

The phone slips from your grasp once more when the security officer pulls your other arm behind you. The cool metal off the handcuffs stings your skin as they click shut around them. He guides you to a bench at the front of the building, wedged between two shrubs, and plops you down on it. 

“Stay here,” he gruffs out at you and once more speaks into his walkie. 

“What is happening?” You shout. “That fucker attacked me!” He dismisses you with a wave of his hand as the door to the club opens again. A group of three men walk out and stare daggers at you, one of them holding a wad of red soaked paper towels against his face, 

“Crazy bitch,” one of his buddies grumbles in your direction. You attempt to stand up to defend yourself but the security officer places his hand on your shoulder and shoves you back down. The men walk into the parking lot and around the corner, just as two sheriff’s deputies walk up. One breaks off to speak with them while the other approaches you. The security officer meets him halfway and a hushed conversation ensues. They look over at you a few times and the security officer gestures with his hands as he speaks. 

The two men shake hands and the security guard returns to his post inside the club. The deputy stands before you, looking down at you in a disappointed dad sort of way. “Care to explain what happened?” he asks. 

As you begin to tell him how that man, that pig , put his hands on you, he reaches for the keyring on his belt and unlocks the handcuffs. You rub your sore wrists and continue giving your statement. He scribbles in a notepad that he pulled from the front pocket of his shirt. He asks a few more questions and asks you to “hold tight” while he confers with his partner. He returns after a few moments and the man who attacked you walks to the parking lot with his friends. 

“Lucky for you he doesn’t want to press charges,” he says in a tone that makes you believe that was a strong suggestion from himself. You open your mouth to protest but he holds his hand up. “I know,” he says dejectedly. “But witnesses only saw you assault him . Unfortunately, this is going to boil down to a he-said-she-said scenario.” 

You can help the burning tears that spill down your cheeks. You know he’s right. All they have is your tequila fueled account. That coupled with your short skirt, the best you could hope for is a “she was asking for it.” 

“You’re free to go but you need to find someone to come pick you up. You are in no condition to drive.” You point to where your broken phone lays on the sidewalk and the officer picks it up and hands it to you. Your voice is still caught in your throat where it chokes back your sobs. You shake your head and stare at your knees. “If you can’t find someone to take you home, I'll have to toss you in the drunk tank.” 

“Martinez!” his partner calls to him and he retreats to speak with him once more. When he returns he tells you that they have found you a safe ride home. The alcohol and adrenaline have clouded your head so you aren't even really listening anymore. You sigh and lean back against the bench and let your head fall back. The sky is clear tonight and even with all of the light pollution the stars are shining bright. 

You aren’t sure how long you sit like that, breathing in through your nose and out through your mouth, but it can’t have been more than ten minutes. You hear the click of boots on the concrete and then the all too familiar smell of cigarettes and Wild Country cologne waft on the hot air. You’d know that smell anywhere. You can just see the brown glass bottle, shaped like a cowboy boot that sat on the dresser of your shared room for years. He’s here.

“Staying out of trouble, I see,” you jolt upright at the soft sound of his deep voice. 

“What are you doing here?”

“I went to high school with Diaz,” Javi says, nodding his head toward the uniformed officers behind him. “You met him at my cousin’s wedding.” 

“Why did he call you?” Given the time of night you know he was sleeping, or getting ready for bed when he got the call. He shoved his feet hastily into his boots as his jeans rumpled around the tops. His white, short-sleeve pearl snap is wrinkled and he missed a spot when he tucked it in. His hair was obviously raked through with his fingers on his way out the door. After everything that happened, he still showed up for you. He probably didn’t even hesitate. 

Javi sits on the bench and wraps his arm around your shoulder. You lean into him instinctively and all the tension and adrenaline from the night flees your body. He holds you steady, just as he always has, while you let all of the emotion from the night out onto his shoulder, soaking his shirt with your tears. He holds you closely, gently whispering words of comfort into your hair, until your steady sobs slow to stuttered whimpers. He places a soft kiss to the crown of your head and rubs his hands up and down your arms. 

He helps you stand and places his hand on the small of your back and it feels like it always had, like it had never left. “C’mon. Let’s get you home.” He walks you to his truck, waving goodnight to the police officers. He opens the door and helps you up into the cab of his new pickup. The cool leather sticks to your thighs and the familiar smell of stale Marlboro reds wraps around you like a warm hug. 

Javi pulls onto the main road but instead of turning left, towards your house, he takes a right. “I thought you were taking me home?”

“I am, but not before I get some food in you.” His eyes flick towards you and his mouth turns up a little at one corner. “I think we both know you’ll be a monster in the morning without it.” 

“Yeah, well good thing that isn’t your problem anymore, right?” Javi snorts and shakes his head but he keeps quiet and his eyes remain on the road. George Strait promising to cross his heart and give all he’s got to give fills the silence in the cab. It doesn’t take long to reach the Waffle House the two of you always seemed to end up at after a night out. Javi scoffs and rolls his eyes when you yank the door open and hop out. You’ve offended his gentlemanly sensibilities by not allowing him to open the door for you, to offer his hand to help you out while he runs the other hand up your torso or down to cup your ass like he used to. Well, he’s the one who gave up that right when he broke up with you. 

Javi orders, pecan waffle with hashbrowns and bacon for you, black coffee for himself. The waitress puts in your order and brings over the coffee pot. A crumpled pack of Marlboros and a tarnished Zippo lighter sit on the table between you. Waffle House is pretty much the only restaurant that still allows smoking indoors in Texas, which is the main reason you always ended up here. You make small talk while you eat and he smokes. You ask about his dad and he asks about your job. Safe topics, ones that won’t bring up the barely scabbed over wounds of your breakup. 

You reach for your bag when the check comes but Javi waves you off. “Thanks for breakfast.”

“No problem.” 

You don’t argue when he walks you to your side of the truck. Not your side, you remind yourself. You don’t protest when he opens the door or offers you his arm to steady yourself with. He slams it shut and walks over to his side. Once again, when he pulls out of the parking lot, he drives in the opposite direction of your apartment. “Where are you taking me now, Javier?” you ask with a heavy sigh.

“Just one more stop, bab-” he cuts the pet name off before he can get it all the way out. He covers, poorly, by clearing his throat. You wonder what he’s up to but don’t ask again. You’re tired and irritated and the waffles in your stomach have you itching for the comfort and safety of your bed. You want to crawl in and stay for a few days, forget any of this ever happened 

The roads are empty at this time of night so it doesn’t take long for him to pull up to the curb in a residential neighborhood. He cuts the headlights but not the engine and opens his door. “Stay here,” he orders before he gets out and slams the door. He walks up the driveway and when he gets to the door, he pounds on it with a balled up hand so loudly that you can hear it from inside the cab. The porch light flicks on and a man opens the door. He’s shirtless and was obviously sleeping but there is no mistaking who the two black eyes and bruised nose belong to. 

Javi steps back and the man steps out onto the porch, puffing out his chest. That’s not gonna work out well for him, you think. Javier is not one to be intimidated. Not after the shit he’s seen. The shit he’s done. You can’t hear what they are saying but you can tell that their voices are raised. Javi points at the truck and the man’s gaze follows. You shrink down in your seat before you realize that he probably can’t see you. The man pushes his pointed finger into Javi’s chest and you flinch because you know what’s coming next. This is exactly what Javi was waiting for. 

You open the door just as Javi’s fist connects with the man’s jaw. “Javi!” you shout, but he doesn’t appear to hear you. He brings his fist back and you call out his name once more. “Javier!” Javi’s eyes snap towards you and there’s a darkness there that he doesn’t let out very often. You might not be his anymore, but he’ll always be yours. He’ll always be there to protect you. He’ll always save you. That’s why your first instinct was to call him when that asshole put his hands on you. 

“Get back in the truck!” he shouts. The man recovers quickly for someone with a broken nose and attempts a swing but Javi catches his fist and throws another right hook. The man falls to the floor for the second time in one night but that doesn’t stop Javi. He sits on the man’s abdomen, pinning his arms to his sides. He lands blow after blow against the man’s mangled face.

“Keep. Your. Hands. To. Your. Fucking. Self!” Each word is punctuated with a wet, crunching smack. Finally, your brain catches up and you are pulling Javi off. He relents and allows you to help him to his feet. His hair has fallen into his face and he pushes it back with his fingers. 

“Let’s go. Javi, please. Take me home.” Something about the pleading in your voice seems to make reason come back to him. He straightens up and adjusts his jeans. He looks down at the pitiful sight of your attacker curled in on himself on his own front porch. 

“You ever touch her again, I’ll fuckin’ kill you.” He spits on the man and wraps his arm around your shoulder. He walks you back to the truck and even with his split, bloody knuckles still doesn’t allow you to open your own door. You rifle through the glovebox and find a few fast food napkins, as you expected. This might be a new truck, but he’s still the same man. You turn on the dome light in the cab and begin dabbing at his hands. 

“I’m fine, bab-” he cuts himself off again. He sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose, leaning back in his seat.

“You’re not fine, Javier. You’re probably going to jail. You can’t just kick the shit out of people, ya know?” 

“Who do you think gave me his name and address?” 

“You are a menace to society.” 

“ Ya sabes, mamita,” you’ve missed that playful look in his eyes these past six months. You’ve missed the way he looks at you like you hung the moon. He runs his knuckle across your cheek and you lean into his hand. You share a moment like the ones in the romcoms right before the couple reconciles and gets their happily ever after. Javi leans in slightly but you pull back, not much, but enough that he notices. The hurt that flashes in his eyes breaks your heart all over again. 

Fuck it. You lean over the center console and curl your fingers in the hair at the nape of his neck. You pull his head closer and crash your lips into his. His lips slot between yours perfectly. Like they belong there. You know they do. You both know it. He grips your arm and pulls you over the console and settles you into his lap. His hands find familiar purchase in the meat of your hips and his denim covered bulge presses into the apex of your thighs. He pulls you close, holds you tightly as if he’s trying to press your body into his so he never has to be without you again. 

You grind down on him, lips never leaving his. His tongue dances across yours and his hands fist the fabric of your raised skirt. Neither of you care or even notice that the dome light of the cab is still on. Let them see. Let him see. When his hands snake around the front of your thighs and his thumbs settle into the creases there you moan into his mouth. It's been a long time since you’ve been touched this way. Six months to be exact. He swallows your sounds, drinks them down like a man who’s been wandering the desert. His hips buck up into yours and can feel his strained zipper rub against your covered pussy and you know that in this moment you will give him anything he wants.

His fingers wiggle their way under your panties, shoving them to the side and holding them there with his palm. He dips the tip of his middle finger inside your warm center and swirls it around. He slips it back out and up to your clit. Once his finger connects with the eight thousand nerve endings there you are already cresting the edge of a long awaited orgasm. 

He replaces his fingers with his thumb and slides his middle and ring fingers inside of you. Your walls hug his thick fingers, molding to them. You are fluttering around him already and cock twitches against your thigh. “C’mon, baby. Give it to me, mamita . I know you want to,” he whispers into your neck. Your body shudders and your cunt convulses around him. You collapse against his chest with a stuttering breath and your chest heaves against his. He slips his fingers from you and wipes them on his jeans. He cups your face with both hands and presses a kiss to your forehead. 

“Let’s get you home.” You try to reach for his zipper but he grabs your wrist and shakes his head. “Later, baby,” he’s stopped trying to correct himself. You crawl back over the console and into your seat. You use the fast food napkins still in your hand to clean the wetness from between your thighs and when you pull the napkin away, it's smeared bright red with blood. Panic floods through your body for the third time this evening until you realize that it didn’t come from you, it’s from the split skin of Javi’s knuckles. 

“Javi, your hand!” you reach for it but he just turns off the dome light and hits the button for the headlights. He shifts the truck into gear and pulls away from the curb. “I think you might need stitches.” 

“Don’t need stitches. I’ve had worse than this, mamita. ” You know there’s no point in arguing with him so you sit back in your seat and try to relax. An almost impossible task because your body is abuzz from all of the night’s happenings. The excitement and greasy diner meal have stolen your tequila buzz from hours earlier, so you now have to deal with all the evening’s events regrettably sober. 

Javi turns into your apartment complex and stops at the curb outside of your building. He rests his foot on the break and doesn’t even put the truck in park. “You’re not coming up?” you ask him with a slight tilt of your head.

“Said I was getting you home, not taking you home.” He keeps his gaze straight ahead, like if he looks at you he won’t be able to turn you down. You unbuckle your seatbelt and throw it from your chest. The clip hits the window and the noise makes Javi finally turn his attention to you. “Hey! This truck is new, ya know!” 

“Yeah, I know,” you grumble. “Thanks for getting me home.” You slam the door shut behind you and walk to your door without looking back. You dig in your bag for your keys and his truck roars away. You are trying as hard as you can to hold the tears back until you can get inside and get in the shower. All you want to do is wash the night off of you. You can still feel Javi’s fingers in your cunt, but you can also still feel those hands on your body. The ones that didn’t belong there. 

Once you’ve closed the apartment door behind you, you lean your back up against it. You close your eyes and let out a deep sigh  and sink to the floor as tears stream down your cheeks. You work your shoes off and toss them, one at a time, across the room. You don’t see where they land but they clatter loudly against the tile. The sound echoes off the bare walls of your nearly empty apartment. You’ve lived here for months but haven’t bothered to unpack anything more than the essentials. 

Three sharp raps on the door startle you, the vibrations rattle through your head. You scrub your face with the palms of your hands and stand, taking a deep breath before you open the door. “What, Javier?” 

He doesn’t say anything, just steps through the door and closes it behind him. “Wha-” he grabs you by your shoulders and backs you up against the door. His body crowds yours and his hands move your face. He cups both of your cheeks and looks into your eyes. He looks like he’s waiting for you to tell him to stop or push him away. One beat. Two. Three. That’s all he waits before he angles his face and brings his mouth to yours. 

His tongue tangles with your own, stroking it hungrily. His hands roam your body greedily and yours are already at the collar of his shirt. You grab and pull, snapping the buttons open and shoving the cotton down his bare, broad shoulders. Before you know it, the backs of your thighs hit the arm of your couch. Your clothes and his snake a trail across the floor. You sit on the arm of the couch and detach your mouth from Javi’s to catch your breath. 

You drink in the sight of his naked form, your eyes having been starved of the vision for far too long. His chest is wide and heaving with each breath he takes. It tapers down to a trim waist. He’s gone a little softer around the middle since his retirement. There’s a trail of hair that starts above his navel and leads down to a darker patch of thick curls. His cock, the tip already glistening, bobs heavily. 

“I can’t wait anymore,” Javi pants. He pulls you up by your arms and spins you around and you brace yourself, palms down, on the arm of the couch. “I need to be inside you��now .” he uses his thumbs to spread your asscheeks apart and a warm glob of split lands directly on your asshole. He uses his thumb to spread it around, briefly pressing against the tight muscles there. He slaps the length of his cock against your pussy and then nudges the tip inside of you. 

You arch your back with a moan and inch your hips back, desperate to take more of him but Javi grabs your hips and holds you, as always, steady. “Patience, mamita ,” he rasps. You know then, that just like you, he hasn’t been with anyone else either. He takes a moment to slow his breath and then, without warning, buries himself completely within your walls. You cry out with the stretch, no matter how many times he fucked you there was always a stretch, and Javi leans down, chest against your back. “You can take it, baby,” he murmurs in your ear. “I know you can.” 

He presses soft kisses to the space between your shoulder blades while he pulls back, almost all the way out of you, and shoves himself back in. The breath is punched out of your lunch when he reaches the very end of you. “Javi, please, ” your plea echoes around the room, and Javi traces his fingers up your spine. He wraps his hand around the base of your neck and shoves your head forward. Your hands slip from the arm of the couch to the cushion. 

His fucks into you with vigor, giving you everything he has, pouring himself into you. His fingers dig into your neck as your hands scrabble for purchase on the cool leather. The new angle lights your nerves on fire. Nobody has ever been able to touch you in the places he can. Not even you. You’ve spent the last six months searching for that spot that his cock is knocking against, to no avail. 

The tension in your body builds and your belly burns. Javis hips snap against your ass, each thrust punctuated by a low grunt. You reach your hand between your thighs, down past the damp patch of hair and rest the heel of your palm against your clit. Your fingers trail lower and wrap gently around Javi’s balls. “ Fuck!” he shouts, pace faltering just for a moment, before he pounds into your cunt with abandon. 

Your walls clamp down around him, sucking him in even further and holding him there while you shatter into a thousand little pieces.Your arm is pinned between your body when Javi presses you further into the couch, until your cheek touches the leather and with one, two, three sharp thrusts he spills inside of you. He holds you both steady until his cock has stopped twitching and your orgasm has abated and then he collapses against your back. His breath is hot and heavy against your neck and his chest, slick with sweat, sticks to your back. 

Your fingers begin to tingle, numb from being wedged beneath both of your bodies and you push back against him. “Javi, my hand,” you groan. He huffs out a laugh and kisses you once more before standing and bringing you with him. You turn in his arms and rest your head against his chest. His pounding heart thumps in your ear and you close your eyes, reveling in the warmth of his body, his touch, his smell. Every sensation you’ve been deprived of for months. 

“Take me to bed,” you tell him quietly and he leads you down the hall to your bedroom. He pulls back the sheet and gestures for you to get in. He settles in behind you, his cock soft and still sticky when it settles against your ass. His arm curls around you and pulls you back to his chest. He rests his head on the top of your head and you hear him take in a deep breath. “Goodnight, Jav.”

“Goodnight, mamita. ” 

Your head is pounding and your body aches when your eyes flutter open. The alarm clock on your nightstand lets you know that you’ve slept well into the afternoon. You can already tell before you roll over that the other side of the bed is empty. The cold sheets let you know it’s been that way for hours. There’s still a slight indentation on the pillow where his head was resting. You hug it to your chest and breathe in the scent of him. Your relationship might be over, but each of you still belongs to the other. 

taglist: @planet-marz1 @rhoorl @nerdieforpedro @hyzer34 @littlegrungegirlaf @joeldjarinff @harriedandharassed @casa-boiardi @disassociation-daydreams @inept-the-magnificent @elegantduckturtle @magpiepills @cherubispunk @milly-louise @party-hearses @megamindsecretlair @survivingandenduring @mysterious-moonstruck-musings @callmecath1 @pedge-page @justagalwhowrites @morallyinept @heareball @yorksgirl @clawdee @fluffygoffpanda @poodlebae @readingiskeepingmegoing @amanitacowboy @casuallyfancydonut @for-a-longlongtime @hiddenbabynyc @missladym1981 @noxturnalpascal @joelsflannel @rosi3ba3z @professionalpromqueen @anoverwhelmingdin @heavennumber2 @pascalpvnk @joels-shitty-puns @weho2kcmo @uncassettodiricordi @noisynightmarepoetry @spookyxsam @apesarecuul @maried01 @tammythr @violinchick @thepetitemandalorian

#javier peña #javier pena fanfiction #javier pena x reader #javier pena x you #narcos #narcos fic

[girlbossnezuko]

Some scenes from the Stevie Harrington au I’ve been rotating in my mind for months

Details & IDs under the cut:

[ID 1: Stephanie Harrington speaking into a walkie-talkie, her text bubble reads:

“Sound off, shitheads.”

She has long brown hair with big waves, and is wearing a white tank top and blue jeans. She looks vaguely annoyed or exasperated. End ID 1]

[ID 2: Steph lying stomach-down on the end of a bed, propped up on her elbows so she can hold hands with Chrissy Cunningham, who’s speaking. Chrissy’s text bubbles read:

“Jason just doesn’t get it. I wanna hang out, and shop, and cheer, and beat the shit out of interdimensional man-eating monsters. You know, I wanna do girly stuff!”

Steph looks indulgently down at Chrissy, who’s smiling and sitting on the floor. Steph’s wearing a red crop top and blue jeans, and Chrissy has on a yellow and white striped headband, a white and pink floral print button-up shirt, and sunny yellow overalls, which have multicoloured flowers embroidered around the hips and ankles. End ID 2]

Chrissy’s dialogue here is inspired by a similar quote from Buffy the Vampire Slayer, because I thought it would be a fun & cute thing for her to say, and her outfit is inspired by one of princess Diana’s bc she’s a fashion icon.

[ID 3: Steph and Robin Buckley, both in their Scoops Ahoy uniforms, complete with the hats. Robin’s holding up a whiteboard divided into ‘hit’ and ‘miss’ sections. ‘Miss’ has twelve tally marks, and ‘hit’ has a single tally with a small question mark beside it. Their dialogue reads:

Robin: Board’s getting full, Harrington. You’re a real heartbreaker today.

Steph: Told you I could make this outfit work.

Steph is smiling, holding an ice cream scoop, and her hair’s braided over her shoulder with a red scrunchie. Robin looks amused, like she’s teasing. End ID 3]

[ID 4: Steph and Dustin Henderson in the scene from season 2 where they’re leaving a trail of meat for Dart on the railroad tracks. They both have yellow gloves and are holding buckets of meat, and Steph has her bat over her shoulder. Their dialogue reads:

Steph: I’ll bring you some of my Farrah Fawcett spray.

Dustin: Isn’t that for girls?

Steph: It’s for hair.

The word ‘hair’ is underlined. Steph is wearing a light blue and purple jacket over a red turtleneck and blue jeans, and her hair is in a ponytail with a red scrunchie. Dustin is wearing his canon outfit, complete with the baseball cap and headset. He looks skeptical. End ID 4]

Bonus transcript of me explaining the single tally + question mark in dms:

🍓[me]: Snappy dialogue to indicate that the board is abt men failing to flirt with her and not the other way around 👍

🍇[beloved]: who's the hit?

🍓: Eddie lmfao

🍓: The question mark is there bc Robin was so baffled by Eddie’s complete lack of rizz that she’s not sure she even interpreted that correctly

🍇: KNEW it

🍇: robin watching the entire time: 🤨

🍓: He wasn’t even trying to flirt is the thing he just got up there and lost his mind and his friends were standing behind him clearly being like “we don’t know this guy” and somehow steph got like… giggly??

🍓: Robin, afterwards: what the hell was that

🍓: Steph, clueless: what was what? 😀❓

🍓: Eddie crouching down behind one of those large decorative plants for ten straight minutes desperately holding his head in his hands shinji-style to stave off the cringe

🍓: His ice cream melts btw

🍇: his friends are standing a full meter away from him, pointedly not looking

🍓: Yeah they’re on the other end of the food court sitting at a table facing him but very carefully avoiding actually looking at him. They’d put their backs to him but the last time they did that (different mall, long story, they aren’t allowed in anymore) Eddie got kicked out by mall security and it took them like three hours to find him

🍓: This was before Gareth’s time and no one’s ever actually explained the full situation to him bc 1) they keep embellishing it and 2) eddie gets screechy when they try

#god I love her so much!!! wife 💞 #the single mark under hit is for eddie #the question mark is there bc robin was so baffled by his complete lack of rizz (he wasn’t trying to hit on her) #and also by how well it was working on her. steph was like fully charmed blushing twirling her hair while he stumbled over his words #big fan of this au. love to write it someday #envy draws #fanart #stranger things #stranger things fanart #steve harrington #robin buckley #chrissy cunningham #dustin henderson #genderbend #female steve harrington #stevie harrington

[bigskyandthecoldgun]

electricity

very loosely based off that one exchange from episode 6 of the dhmis show

words: 4,444

ao3

“Closing shift again, Harrington?”

Eddie watches as Steve’s face shifts from muted disinterest to something like annoyance. “Unfortunately for both of us, yeah,” he mutters, a little red in the face as he rips that stupid little sailor hat off his head and tosses it over his shoulder into the Scoops Ahoy break room. Eddie snorts as it misses the table. Steve runs a hand through his hair and cocks a hip so that he’s leaning against the doorframe. “So, what’ve you got for me?”

Patting the massive tubs of ice cream beside him, Eddie gives Steve as wolfish of a grin as he can muster. “For your beloved freezer,” he says with a low bow, and he glances up just in time to watch Steve roll his eyes. Eddie kicks up the dolly the tubs are stacked on and nods at Steve, to the doorway behind him. “Lemme roll these in.”

“You got it?” Steve asks, stepping aside but hovering at the side of the dolly as Eddie wheels it into the back of Scoops. A couple of the tubs wobble—the ones at the top, because Eddie’s stacked it ten high. He’s not making multiple trips. Steve hisses out a curse under his breath and outstretches his hands by the ice cream, as if he’ll be able to save all of them as long as they fall in his general vicinity. “Careful, careful! Jesus, Munson, these are gonna fall on top of you if you’re not careful, ruin that fantastic hair of yours.”

Eddie huffs out a laugh at the definite sarcasm as he wheels the ice cream into the freezer and sighs contentedly at the feeling of cold air on his skin. He started working at Starcourt a little over a month ago, and the summer’s only gotten hotter. It’s ridiculously hard work, carting around shit to different stores and helping out when security’s short-staffed, and Eddie’s not exactly the most fit person around. Years of smoking and skipping gym class will do that to a guy.

But what makes it all worth it, in Eddie’s humble opinion, is that he gets to spend his summer tormenting King Steve, Steve ‘The Hair’ Harrington, Steve from Scoops Ahoy. It’s a fun little dive into Eddie’s favorite pastime—enacting sweet, sweet revenge. Sure, Steve might not have done anything to him directly, more preferring to stare down his nose at people like Eddie while his lackeys—namely Hagan—did the dirty work for him. Nonetheless, Eddie hates the guy. Well, maybe hate is a bit of a strong word, but he still can’t stand Steve and his stupid hair and his dumb little sailor uniform that has shorts that are way too tight and his dashing smile and his long lashes and his sparkly laugh and—

Bottom line is that Eddie can’t stand the guy. No amount of pretty can fix past slights.

“So,” Eddie says, drawing the word out as Steve heaves the cardboard tubs onto the shelves, and he lets his eyes linger over the cord of taut muscle in Steve’s biceps. Sue him, the guy’s nice to look at. “You got any big plans tonight, Harrington?”

Steve makes a sound that’s about halfway between a scoff and a laugh, with a little bit of contrition mixed in. “Not unless you count sitting on my couch with a lukewarm beer and watching reruns of shitty sitcoms as ‘big plans,’” he says, shifting the tub in his hands to one arm so he can do some sarcastic air quotes, and Eddie blinks. Steve raises a brow at him. “Why, are you offering?”

Willing the heat that’s rushing to his cheeks to screw off, Eddie squints. “To make plans with you? Maybe when hell freezes over, Harrington,” he says, coming off a little more biting than he’d really intended, and Steve’s shoulders tense. A minute change, but a noticeable one. Eddie taps his hands on the now-empty dolly and gives Steve a shit-eating grin. “Well, see you tomorrow, sailor.”

“Can’t wait,” Steve says.

Just as Eddie turns to wheel the dolly towards the freezer door, the power goes out. Shit.

“Jesus H. Christ, can’t catch one goddamn break,” he mutters, fidgeting with the flashlight clipped to his belt until it turns on, and Steve groans beside him. Eddie waves the flashlight around the freezer until he shines it at Steve, who squints and throws his hands up in front of his face, and he snickers. “Looking good, Harrington.”

“Shut up,” Steve huffs, cheeks flushed, and he smacks Eddie’s flashlight until the beam’s directed away from his face. It’s hard to see him now that he’s not directly in the light, but Eddie can still see the way his eyes dart around the freezer, can hear the way his breathing picks up. “Shit. Shit, d’you think—it’s probably just a power outage. Right?”

Eddie snorts. “What else would it be?”

Steve levels a glare at him, and Eddie makes a face back, because he hasn’t said anything wrong, and Steve’s just being a dick. “Okay, well, let’s just…get the hell out of here so we can go home,” Steve says, and Eddie couldn’t agree more, actually. He moves past Eddie to get to the door, and Eddie half-expects him to shove past, shoulder him or something, but he doesn’t; he makes himself small, even, shrinking back and around him. Steve tugs on the handle, but the door doesn’t budge. Uh oh. Steve tugs at it some more. “Wh—oh, you gotta be shittin’ me.”

“Are we locked in here?” Eddie asks, and it comes out as an embarrassing squeak. Steve’s answering groan doesn’t exactly inspire confidence. “Why the hell didn’t you prop it open if it locks from the outside?!”

Sighing as he rattles the door some more, Steve glances back at Eddie over his shoulder. “I didn’t know the power would go out while we were in here, man,” he huffs. “Starcourt uses these fancy electronic locks for all the freezers in the building to keep the cold in them as much as possible, helps keep all the stuff in ’em from going bad, but they’re only supposed to go off after hours.”

“So we’re stuck?!” Eddie asks, and Steve gives the door one last yank before giving up.

“Just ’til the power comes back on,” he says, and Eddie can’t think of anything he’d rather avoid more than being stuck with Steve Harrington for an indeterminate amount of time.

That can’t be true. There’s gotta be a failsafe or something, right? That’s a total fire hazard if it doesn’t have one, and the mall wouldn’t cut corners, would it? Oh, who’s Eddie kidding? A corporation cutting corners is, like, a given. Shit. Shit! “For fuck’s sake,” he hisses, doing some yanking of his own on the door handle, flashlight pointed down at the floor, dangling from his belt, but it doesn’t budge. “Fuck! Shit! Son of a fuckin’ bitch, man!”

“Alright, woah,” Steve says with a nervous laugh, “calm down, man—”

“I’m not gonna calm down, we’re fuckin’ trapped!” Eddie snaps, and Steve winces.

“I mean…could be worse? We could be stuck out there, in the heat…?” he offers, and Eddie affixes him with the most supremely unamused look he can muster. “At least we’ve got each other for company, right?”

He can’t make out a lot of Steve’s face in the dark like this, but just looking in the guy’s direction is enough to annoy him. “I’d get heatstroke in a heartbeat if it meant I’d have the ability to be further than five feet from you,” Eddie tells him.

Whatever expression that garners from Steve, Eddie can’t see. “Harsh,” Steve mumbles, and Eddie barks out a laugh.

“Yeah, okay, pardon me for being pissed off that you didn’t do your job and prop the damn door open!” Eddie snaps, and Steve puts his hands up. That, Eddie can see, can make out the gestures in the way his silhouette moves.

“Dude, how was I supposed to know the power would go out?” Steve asks, clearly exasperated, and Eddie hates that that’s a fair point.

He gestures out, all flappy hands and uncoordinated limbs, and he’s pretty sure he smacks a couple of ice cream tubs in his dramatics. “Because it’s common sense! You don’t let a freezer close behind you, man, haven’t you ever worked a food service job before?!” he asks, and Steve is quiet for a while. Eddie huffs out a humorless laugh. “Of course. Of course you haven’t, because Daddy Harrington probably has enough money to—”

“I’m cut off,” Steve interrupts. “Been cut off for years. He sent me money for basic groceries when I was still in school, but he forced me to get this stupid job when I graduated. Since I didn’t get into any colleges, he wants to teach me a lesson about being too dumb for higher education or some shit. I don’t have his money.”

“Oh,” Eddie says.

“Yeah, ‘oh,’” Steve echoes. “And besides, just because I haven’t worked a job before doesn’t mean you have to be a dick about it. It’s not like the training Scoops gave me was, like, good. Even without a manager, I'm pretty sure we’re not supposed to leave the freezer open.”

That’s…pretty fair, actually. Eddie’s kinda certain he hasn’t seen a manager at Scoops Ahoy since the day the mall opened. And most of his food service job knowledge is based off of sitcoms and movies made for TV that have someone getting trapped in a freezer as a plot device anyway, so who is he to talk?

Still, though, he kind of doesn’t want to give Steve the satisfaction of being right. “Alright, there’s gotta be some way out,” he mutters, grabbing his flashlight to aim it at the doorframe, but there doesn’t seem to be anything. If there is, he certainly doesn’t know what it is. “Shit, shit!”

“Dude,” Steve says, and he sounds a little farther than he’d just been, “chill out. The power’s probably gonna come back any minute now.”

Eddie whirls around, and Steve is sitting on the floor, twirling that stupid sailor hat around his pointer finger. He squints a bit in the beam of light, and Eddie hates that it makes his nose scrunch up all cute and shit. He can’t stand the guy. “You’re infuriating,” he tells Steve, “you know that?”

Lips quirking up in what Eddie’s pretty sure is a sad little smile, Steve shrugs. “So I’ve heard,” he says, and Eddie’s eye twitches. Steve pats the empty spot next to him. “You can sit down, y’know.”

Eddie sits where he is. He doesn’t feel like getting closer to Steve Harrington than strictly necessary, thanks very much. Steve just shrugs, tossing his hat from one pointer finger to the other, and Eddie redirects his flashlight. There’s the soft thump of something hitting the ground, followed by a quiet swear. Eddie snorts. “You drop your hat?”

“Maybe,” Steve says. “You wanna lend me some light?”

“Not particularly,” Eddie says dryly.

Steve just hums. It drives Eddie a little crazy. “Wanna play twenty questions?” Steve asks him, and it’s so goddamn bizarre that Eddie busts out laughing.

“Are you—you’re not serious,” Eddie cackles. “What, like we’re at a high school party? C’mon, man, why the hell do you wanna play twenty questions with me in an ice cream freezer?”

A short pause. “To pass the time, I guess,” Steve says. “You got a better idea? ’Cuz I’m all ears, Munson, really.”

Damn.

Eddie doesn’t have a better idea.

“Okay, fine,” he sighs, “what’s your first question?”

There’s some shuffling, like Steve is sitting up properly, and it’s not endearing, it’s not. If anything, it should be pathetic that he’s so excited to play some dumb party game in the freezer of a nautical-themed ice cream parlor. “What’s your favorite hobby?” Steve asks him. “Like, not the one you do most often, or the one you’re best at, but the one you think is the most fun.”

Eddie makes a face. “You have hobbies that aren’t fun?”

He moves his flashlight over to shine at Steve, who nods. “Yeah, man. Like, I don’t hate them, but they’re not fun. Just something to do to pass the time, or something I do with my dad and his business partners, like golfing,” he says with a shrug. “Go on, answer, what’s your favorite hobby?”

Eddie’s having a hard time getting past the idea that Steve isn’t passionate about his hobbies, but only does them to have something to do for the sake of doing something. Or for the sake of someone else, someone that had apparently cut him off. “Uh,” he says eloquently, “I don’t know. I like all my hobbies.”

Steve tilts his head like a confused dog. It’s dumb. “Really? Huh. Alright, lemme change my question, then. What are your hobbies?”

“I play guitar for my band, I run Dungeons and Dragons campaigns—”

“Oh, shit, really? That’s cool, the kids I babysit play that game, too,” Steve says, and Eddie’s brain screeches to a halt. Steve’s head-tilt gets a little tiltier, and he snaps his fingers. “That’s right, you run the club at the high school, don’t you? Hotfire or something?”

“Hellfire,” Eddie corrects hollowly, and Steve winces apologetically.

“Sorry. Shit gets mixed up in my brain sometimes. Buncha concussions, you know how it is,” he dismisses, and Eddie very much does not know how it is. Steve perks up. “Your turn.”

Eddie is, admittedly, kind of dumbfounded. “Uh, what’s your dream job?”

Frowning, Steve glares down at the tile. “Hm. I don’t know.”

At that, Eddie scoffs. “Oh, c’mon, you can’t be serious,” he says. “Everybody’s got a dream job, man, even if it’s totally outlandish. I mean, I wanna be a bigshot metal guitarist for a world-famous band—preferrably mine—even though I know there’s, like, an almost-zero chance of that happening.”

Steve just shrugs. “Maybe, like, be a teacher or something? But I couldn’t get into college, so…not likely,” he says. “What’s your favorite color?”

“Yellow,” Eddie says, “yours?”

“Swear you won’t laugh,” Steve says, and Eddie blinks at him. Steve crosses his arms. “Munson, swear it.”

“Okay, okay, I promise I won’t laugh,” Eddie says. “What’s your favorite color?”

“Tiffany blue,” Steve answers finally, and, come on, Eddie can’t help it if he chuckles just a little. “You said you wouldn’t laugh!”

Eddie snickers, trying and failing to hide it behind his hand. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, it’s just—that’s such a snooty color to pick,” he wheezes, and Steve glares at him.

He drags his hat around in circles on the ground with one finger and pointedly doesn’t look at Eddie. “Yeah, well, I like it ’cuz it’s my mom’s favorite,” Steve mumbles, brows drawn together, and now Eddie feels kinda bad for laughing. Only a tiny bit, though. Steve glances up at him. “If you had to pick a movie world to live the rest of your life in, which would it be?”

That’s…actually a pretty cool question. Not that Eddie would tell him that.

“Um…my favorite movies are horror movies, so those are a no-go,” he says, and Steve laughs. It’s good-natured and nice, stupid and sparkly. Eddie clears his throat. “But, uh, I’d probably go with Star Wars.”

“No way, me too!” Steve says, and Eddie blinks. Steve grins. “I like the one with the little teddy bear guys, you know the…”

He trails off into an impression of the ewoks, and it’s painfully charming. Annoying. Annoying, not charming. “You know those are called ewoks, not ‘little teddy bears,’ right?” Eddie asks, because he’s nothing if not a pedantic asshole, and Steve just smiles at him.

“Eh, tomato, to-mah-to,” he says. “Your turn.”

Eddie tilts his head back. “Who was your first kiss?” he asks, and Steve doesn’t answer for a while, which is weird. There’s this pained look on his face, and he won’t quite meet Eddie’s eye. “What, is it, like, someone you’ve deemed ‘embarrassing?’”

“That’s…not it,” Steve sighs. “It’s just—I don’t want you to, like, flip out and punch me or some shit, man.”

At that, Eddie laughs, but his curiosity is piqued. “Have you seen me, Harrington? I’m a total toothpick. I’m, like, pretty sure if I tried to punch you, I’d break my own arm,” he says. “Who was it, seriously? Some dorky chick you think I know? Is that why you think I’ll flip out?”

“No,” Steve tells him, “it was, um…it was at camp, summer after fifth grade.”

“I asked you who, not when or where,” Eddie says.

“And I don’t know who it was,” Steve shoots back.

Eddie makes a face. “Oh, bullshit, dude, you were at camp with this girl and you didn’t know who she was?” he scoffs. “I mean, I wouldn’t put it past you to forget, but just say you forgot her name, then.”

“I didn’t forget,” Steve tells him, “I don’t know.”

Crossing his arms, Eddie points his flashlight right at Steve’s eyes. “Be so serious. You gotta know. Why else would you think I’d flip out?”

“Because—! It doesn’t matter.”

“Just tell me! You’re not honoring the rules of the game, Harrington, you’re the one who wanted to play—”

“I keep telling you, I don’t know who it was!”

“Bullshit!”

“I never got his name!”

Record scratch.

Steve’s face goes bright red, and he ducks his head so that Eddie can’t see his expression. It’s just as well, because the flashlight clatters to the ground when Eddie drops it, and he hurries to scoop it back up, eyes as wide as humanly possible. There’s no way. There’s no way, right? He’s just doing this to fuck with Eddie, he has to be, that’s—that has to be what it is. It’s eerily silent, and Eddie shines the flashlight at Steve again, swallowing.

It’s audible. It toes the line between gross and annoying.

Eddie toes that line often.

“It was a dude?” Eddie asks, because he really needs some clarification here. “Your first kiss was with another guy?”

There must be something in his tone that he hadn’t intended to put in there, because Steve’s whole posture shifts. His shoulders square, his jaw goes tight, and he looks down his nose at Eddie, even though they’re both sitting on the ground, like it’s a challenge, like it’s a dare. “You got a problem with that, you keep it to yourself,” Steve says, voice carefully even. “We’re gonna sit here and—and we’re not gonna say anything ’til the power comes back on. Game’s over.”

He looks away again. Eddie’s flashlight flickers, and he turns it off, because it they might need it to get out of the mall once the power comes back, in case the timed lights turn off by the time it does. It’s silent for a long while, and Eddie’s kicking himself. He shouldn’t have pried. Shit, now Steve probably thinks he’s a total asshole.

“Sorry for ruining the game,” Eddie says after a while. “My bad, man, really.”

A long stretch of nothing. Eddie calls Steve’s name after another couple of minutes.

“It’s fine,” Steve says quietly. “I don’t know why I didn’t just, like, lie. I usually do, y’know, when that question comes up.”

“If it, um, makes you feel any better, I’m—I haven’t had one,” Eddie offers. “A first kiss, I mean.”

More silence.

“Are you messing with me?” Steve asks, several long moments later, and Eddie shakes his head, even though they’re bathed in darkness, and Steve can’t see him.

He scoots closer, close enough that he can feel the body heat radiating off of Steve without the two of them touching. “Nope. Cross my heart, hope to die, all that good stuff. Haven’t kissed anybody. Not for lack of trying, mind you, but, uh, pretty sure nobody’s exactly jumping at the chance to kiss the town freak, and it’s not like it’d be any good if they did, because, like I said, zero prior kisses,” Eddie rambles. “I’d probably suck at it.”

A light chuckle. Thank fuck. “Probably,” Steve agrees.

“Probably,” Eddie echoes.

They sit in silence for a while longer, though it isn’t uncomfortable this time, which Eddie supposes is a plus. The freezer is just barely less cold, which means the power’s still out, which sucks. How long are they gonna be trapped in here? It’s chilly as hell. How long is Eddie supposed to be trapped in a freezer with Steve Harrington, armed with the knowledge that he’s apparently kissed one whole boy before?

Eddie definitely isn’t straining to see the time on his watch. He definitely doesn’t watch it tick for fifteen whole fucking minutes before Steve speaks up again. “Hey, uh, what happened to your flashlight?” he asks.

“I’m saving the batteries,” Eddie tells him.

A beat. “Saving the batteries…for what?” Steve asks.

“Oh, I was planning on putting them in my Walkman, actually,” Eddie snaps, a little on the sarcastic side, because they’ve been trapped in here for a while, and the freezer is steadily dropping in temperature. Embarrassed, though, because Steve should arguably be the only really upset person in this freezer right now, Eddie barrels on. “Anyway, we may as well get used to being in the dark.”

“Yeah…” Steve murmurs, trailing off, like there’s another thought accompanying it that he just isn’t saying.

Eddie’s brows furrow. “What?”

“Well, it’s just not that great, is it?” Steve hums. “I wouldn’t mind looking at the mall again, and…maybe…looking at you.”

Eddie snorts. “Really? You like looking at me?” he scoffs.

“Uh…yeah,” Steve admits, voice soft. “I suppose I do.”

Eddie feels his face go hot. “Well, I like looking at you, too,” he confesses under the cover of darkness, because it feels a lot safer than it would if he could see the pitying wince that’s probably on Steve’s face right now.

“Oh, yeah?” Steve asks, sounding vaguely pleased, and Eddie doesn’t get him. He doesn’t understand King Steve, Steve ‘The Hair’ Harrington, Steve from Scoops Ahoy, who apparently babysits D&D-playing kids and likes the ewoks in Star Wars and kissed a boy at camp. Steve’s shoulder presses against his own. “Thanks. For that.”

Eddie swallows. It’s audible again, and he really wishes he knew how to cut that shit out, because it does a hell of a job of giving him away. “Yeah, man, no—um, no problem.”

“You know,” Steve starts, “I could be your first kiss. For practice.”

“For practice,” Eddie repeats flatly.

What an asshole. He should’ve known this was some elaborate setup to get Eddie to admit that all the rumors about him are true, to humiliate him or some shit.

Steve laughs, but it isn’t cruel like Eddie’s expecting. It’s soft, almost embarrassed. “Sorry, I just—that’s how the boy at camp got me to kiss him, figured I’d try the line out,” he says. “Guess I still don’t have my game back.”

“Your game?” Eddie asks, because what the hell is happening right now?

“You know, how I, like, suck at flirting lately,” Steve says. “I mean, I’ve been flirting with you all summer, and it took us getting stuck in a freezer for you to be even a little nice to me. Well, to get you to admit you don’t hate looking at my face, but I’ll take it.”

Record scratch number two.

“I—sorry, what?” Eddie asks, eyes practically bugging out of his head, and Steve shrugs with a quiet laugh. Eddie shakes his head. “Not fucking funny, man, you can’t just—you can’t say shit like that.”

“What, I can’t be honest with you?”

“You’re not—! You aren’t being honest, you’re fucking with me!”

Another little laugh. “Well, I’d like to be, but you don’t seem to like me very much,” Steve tells him. “What’d you say again? ‘When hell freezes over?’ Robin’s gonna have a field day with that ‘You Suck’ board of hers when I tell her I got rejected again.”

Eddie rethinks his entire summer.

Come to think of it, if he doesn’t consider a lot of Steve’s comments to be sarcastic, it actually does come across as incessant flirting.

Son of a bitch.

“How—why are you—what makes you so confident I won’t be an asshole about this?” Eddie asks, utterly bewildered.

Steve tilts his head—the shadows move, he sees the silhouette of Steve’s annoyingly perfect hair sway with the movement. “I mean, considering you apologized for ruining the game after I told you my first kiss was with a dude, figured I’d have nothing to lose except for my pride, of which I have remarkably little,” he says. “I’m pretty much shameless, man. And besides, your whole thing is, like, standing on tables and shitting on everyone else for conforming to society’s expectations, so…it’d be pretty weird if you were homophobic.”

This shit just gets crazier and crazier. “You paid attention to me in high school?” Eddie asks, and his eyes are adjusting to the light now. He can make out the faint, nostalgic smile on Steve’s face.

“Oh, I had the biggest crush on you my freshman year,” Steve tells him. “But, y’know, you made it very apparent you weren’t the biggest fan of jocks, and I’d already joined, like, a bunch of different teams, so—”

Eddie cuts him off by practically smashing his mouth against Steve’s, all jittery nerves. He’s not a very good kisser, but Steve lets out a tiny, pleased hum anyway as he lifts his hands to Eddie’s waist, tugging him closer just slightly. It’s insane. It’s bizarre. By all rules of both basic logic and the Munson Doctrine, this should not be happening. Steve Harrington should not be carefully and softly moving his lips against Eddie’s, but here they are.

“I’m sorry,” Eddie breathes, pulling back, “I don’t know what’s wrong with me.”

“You’re kind of an asshole,” Steve tells him, and Eddie can’t really argue with that, “but, uh, I’m sorry, too. The whole pigtail-pulling strategy really doesn’t work with you, huh?”

The mental image of Steve tugging his hair does something to Eddie that he’s a little too ashamed to admit. “Um,” he manages, “yeah.”

“Sorry about all of high school, then,” Steve says, and he kisses Eddie again.

And just as Steve’s hand snakes underneath Eddie’s shirt, the lights in the freezer come back on, and cold air begins to blast through the vents.

Once again, son of a bitch.

#steddie #steve harrington #eddie munson #steddie fic #steve x eddie #my fic #cross posted on ao3 #i really hope i did tumblr formatting right #i'm not used to it lmao

[slashersteve]

iii. winter

part three of confetti ✦ previous part ✦ series masterlist ✦ archive link

pairing: Single Dad!Steve Harrington/Female Reader

summary: As Hawkins enters the winter months, Steve starts thinking seriously about his romantic relationships - past and potential future ones - and isn’t sure he’s ready to let someone become a serious part of his and Cassie’s life. The problem is…he hasn’t been able to stop thinking about you.

warnings/extra tags: cursing, mentions of alcohol, the softest vanilla SMUT I’ve ever written like it's pretty vague but still enough to be considered nsfw so read at your own discretion, surprise character appearances, a parent trap alskjaskja, angsty tm so beware, daddy steve being my (your) beloved, go give @gothbitchshit a bouquet of flowers for dealing with me and these ridiculously long chapters, edited by me have mercy this chapter has been the beautiful bane of my existence

note: i publicly apologize for this being posted well into spring. Not to be a basic author note but *insert the horrors and atrocities right here* i also apologize in advance for something else in the end...anyway, I hope you all enjoy this extra long chapter of single daddy steve 💙

✦✦✦

Cassie loved the mall. 

She really just enjoyed the vibrant colors of it as it was the complete opposite color scheme of Hawkins itself. It was bright, and always full, and lively, especially when Christmas was just around the corner. If Cassie were being honest though, she would say she enjoyed going to Starcourt because her dad would get her ice cream every time, even on a day like this where snow covered the ground outside.

Also, it meant she could get the full day to be with her dad, even if he was busy behind the ice cream counter in his silly sailor uniform, complete with the white hat that read “AHOY” across the front that he’d somehow stuff his hair under. 

Cassie was given a matching one, but it sat on the table top of the booth she was currently sitting in, headphones placed over her head instead. She was nodding her head to the music, kicking her feet out to its funky beat. She hadn’t quite memorized the songs by title, rather by sound but she liked this one the most; really she liked all of them. 

It had all she had been listening to since Steve had given her your walkman you gifted her, and Cassie had been waiting on another mixtape from you (she had practically begged you when she last saw you last week, which was at a school presentation for school safety, she remembers…she also remembers looking over and seeing her dad pushing people just to stand by you).

In front of her was her over break homework packet, her math homework to be specific. Cassie prided herself in being good at it, having been applauded by her teacher Mrs. Holland numerous times in class. There were hardly any red marks on homework when it was returned to her, too, something her dad was always impressed by when she’d bring it back to him, especially if he hadn't helped her at all, so she wasn’t planning on falling behind. 

She counted away at the images of the apples. This particular section she was working on was on addition and she meticulously counted them all together with her candy cane themed pencil her teacher had passed out to the class the week prior. 

One…two…three…four…  

Twenty-two, there were twenty-two apples. She filled it in on the empty box behind the equal sign. 

The patrons were used to seeing Cassie here on occasion, though every so often somebody who was not from Hawkins and visiting from a neighboring town (as Starcourt was quite popular because of its size), would look at her and wonder why a little girl was sitting all by herself. 

If they asked Cassie, she’d simply point to her dad behind the counter and say, “I’m not alone! My daddy is right here!” Then, Steve would wave at her, and the person would awkwardly walk off. That was the typical Saturday spent at Scoops Ahoy, but today something different would happen, something neither Cassie nor Steve were expecting just a week before Christmas. 

In the middle of Cassie’s music playing, someone had taken off her headphones. She had gasped, feeling her heart jump out of her chest with fear and confusion as to what happened- she hardly got upset, and her streak still stands as the moment she turned to see who had done such a thing, her irritation vanished. 

“Robin!” Cassie shouted at the sight of the sandy blonde haired woman. She smiled widely at Cassie, opening her arms just as the little girl hopped into them, “I didn’t know you were coming!” 

“Long time no see, huh Tiny Harrington?” Robin Buckley had said, embracing Cassie warmly as it had been a while since she last saw her favorite child, “Where’s your dad? Is he- oh come on .” 

Her blue eyes darted to Steve behind the counter, not remembering the last time she’d seen Steve in the ridiculous Scoops Ahoy uniform they had to wear the summer they became unlikely friends. Cassie giggled, taking Robin’s hand in hers and leading her toward the counter. Steve had yet to see them, too focused on making a U.S.S. Butterscotch (complete with some peppermint candy swirls for the Holidays). He hadn't even heard Cassie shout Robin’s name so excitedly. 

Robin looked down at Cassie, placing a finger over her lips then winking at her as she rang the bell by the counter. Cassie giggled, but suppressed it as she didn’t want to alarm her dad.

“Be right with you,” Steve called back to her, and Robin scoffed and rang it again…then again…and then again. Steve’s shoulder’s visibly became tense, and he let out an exasperated sigh before he started to turn around. 

“Alright, alright what can I-” he stopped when his eyes fell upon Robin, and she smirked at him, “Oh my god, you didn’t tell me you were coming, Robin? Holy shit-” 

“I wanted it to be a surprise- and it certainly is, ” Robin gestured to Steve and then the entire place as she said, “You’re working here ? I thought you said you got a third job last time we spoke.” 

Steve’s cheeks became flushed, embarrassed that Robin had caught him red handed like this. The truth was that Steve was actually hiding this job from Robin, keeping his third job he mentioned in passing to her whenever they spoke over the phone very vaguely . 

“Daddy started working here in the summer,” Cassie stated, outing Steve even more and Robin’s jaw dropped, “I like it because I get free ice cream! He can get you free ice cream too, you know!” 

Robin looked at Cassie and ruffled her hair, “I spent way too much time in this place, I’ll pass on the ice cream, so hey…that just means more ice cream for you.” 

Cassie looked confused, but with Robin’s final statement she grew more content and nodded eagerly at the idea of more ice cream. 

“So all summer you’ve been working here, slinging ice cream- wearing the hat - you hated that hat,” Robin said, gesturing to him. Steve licked his suddenly dry lips, and turned away from Robin to finish completing the U.S.S. Butterscotch sundae as he said, “I needed a third job, and the manager remembered me…” 

“No way. I thought he might have you on the ‘Never Working Here Again’ list after the summer you well- we got fired,” Robin chided, and Steve laughed sarcastically as he turned and placed the sundae down, calling out the name of the patron. They took it, a few younger girls, and thanked him shyly before running off giggling. Robin scoffed at that, and Steve appeared to not even notice they were clearly crushing on the sailor who worked at Scoops Ahoy.

“Yeah…actually I had to bring Cassie up and he decided to give me the job when I proved she existed…hence why I’m wearing the hat and following…stupid company policy to keep the damn- ahem- dang job,” Steve finally replied, admitting that part to Robin. Robin crossed her arms, knowing that to be true as she had told Steve he could probably bring up that he’s a single dad and get away with anything. 

“Well, I’m not judging,” Robin lied, and Steve knew it, “You just could’ve been honest about it.” 

She wondered what other things he had been keeping from her…

“How did you find me anyway?” Steve questioned, glancing down at Cassie who was gazing up at Robin with wonder and disbelief in her eyes that Robin was here. It made him smile softly before his eyes lifted back up to meet Robin’s.

“Are you kidding me…ask any mom at the grocery store and I can get your entire schedule,” Robin said. She laughed at Steve’s horrified expression at the idea of that and waved him off as she said, “Joking. I asked Mrs. K and she said to check Scoops Ahoy. And here you are…she just didn’t say you would be working here.” 

She looked around, feeling nostalgia come over her from the memories in this mall ice cream parlor. She remembered the dread of being put on shifts with Steve Harrington, once King of Hawkins High and all around asshole, and then…she remembered the warmer parts, ones where they actually became friends and she started to actually have fun working and talking with him. He was very different than she thought he would be, and if someone had told her that first day she put on the silly sailor uniform and prayed a meteor would hit and kill her before her first shift with Steve that she’d consider him her best friend in the future…she would’ve laughed then cried into her hands dramatically.

“Robin, Robin,” Cassie was grabbing her hand, “How long are you going to stay? Please say for like… months .” 

Robin smiled at Cassie and replied, “Sorry kiddo, I’m only here for a few days because I’ll start to miss my other favorite person, but before you get sad- I have a lot of things planned for us, including finding you an early Christmas gift. What do you say? Want to go check out some stores while your dad slings ice cream into cones?” 

Her brown eyes lit up, and she turned to her dad as she said, “Can I go with Robin, daddy?” 

Steve crossed his arms over his chest, and said, “Did you finish your homework?” 

Robin rolled her eyes for Cassie, but she had practically ran to the booth, and snatched the paper off of the table before running back and waving it in the air. Steve took it, giving it a once over, before he nodded. 

“Yeah, go ahead- make sure you stay with Robin though, Cass, you know how crazy Christmas shoppers could be,” he told Cassie with a pointed look, Cassie nodded again. 

“I will, I promise!” 

“You know I’d never let anything happen to her, Popeye,” Robin said, bringing back the infamous nickname from their Scoops Ahoy days. Steve visibly grimaced at being called that, but he nodded, knowing that out of everyone he could trust Robin with his daughter. 

“Great, then we’ll come back, we’ll all go out to eat- hopefully you have a change of outfit- then we’ll catch up, yeah?” 

“Sounds like a plan,” Steve replied with a nod. 

So, the two girls were off, Cassie holding on tightly to Robin’s hand and already talking her ear off (though Robin could give her a run for her money for sure) as they exited Scoops Ahoy together and entered the crowd of Starcourt Mall in search of a Christmas gift for Cassie. 

✧ ✧ ✧

Cassie had dragged Robin to a lot of stores in the span of an hour and half, so much that Robin’s feet were already killing her, but she held on for Cassie as she seemed very particular on what she wanted…except the little girl wasn’t really saying what it was exactly. 

“You clearly want something specific, Tiny, so come on- spit it out,” Robin told Cassie after the fifth store they came out with nothing. She didn’t want to rush her, actually loving spending this time with Cassie as it had been since the beginning of the year she had enough time to make the trip down here from New York. 

It was unusual for Cassie to not say what was on her mind, so whatever it was…Robin was insanely curious. 

“Is it something your dad won’t approve of?” Robin gasped when Cassie didn’t reply right away, “Oh- well now you gotta tell me.What is it?”

Cassie looked up at Robin with wide eyes as she said, “I want… roller skates , but I can’t skate and I’m scared that Santa knows that so he won’t get me them, but I really want them.” 

Robin did not expect that. Not at all. She stared at the little girl blankly, and for some reason the only use of roller skates she could think of was one of those outdoor hamburger places where the service workers wear skates. Do they do that still? Robin shook her head at her thought. 

“So you didn’t ask Santa for them because you thought he probably wouldn’t give you them because you can’t skate?” Robin asked for further clarification. Cassie nodded, looking actually sad about it. Robin hummed in thought, looking around Starcourt, trying to remember a store here that sold roller skates for kids before she settled her eyes on Cassie, “Well thank god I’m not Santa. Let’s go find you some, Tiny.” 

Cassie was actually the one to drag Robin to the store, very clearly having had her eye on some already. She was the one dragging Robin now, up until they got to this sport’s store Robin doesn’t remember ever being here. Cassie led her toward the roller skates, saying hello to the worker who greeted them when they walked in, and then she stopped in front of a mini display. 

They were purple skates with yellow flower designs on them and the wheels were a darker shade of purple. Very clearly they were training skates for kids like Cassie who want to learn. And, Robin noticed, they were also on sale , which is very, very common around the holidays and good for Robin. 

“Oh wow these are cute,” Robin complimented them and Cassie nodded excitedly.

“I saw them when my daddy brought us here to buy more shoes!” Cassie told Robin, “I really, really want them.” She pressed her hands against the display, and just then the same worker who had greeted them was approaching them. 

“Is there anything I can help you with?” they had asked Robin. She looked at them, then pointed to the skates, telling Cassie to give them her shoe size. The worker nodded, saying they’d be right back and for Cassie to take a seat. 

She did as told, hopping onto one of the chairs and Robin leaned on one leg, wondering where Cassie might’ve found a sudden interest in roller skating. It can’t have been Steve, both him and her were horrible at ice skating that one year when Cassie was only 4 they decided to go to the ice rink set up in Hawkins Downtown for the winter. And he seemed way too busy to have suddenly learned how to skate properly…

“So…roller skates huh? Why the sudden interest? Your dad’s not skating again right? Because he’s horrible at it,” Robin said just as the worker returned with the proper sized skates. Robin shooed them away, deciding that she would help Cassie get them on herself. She knelt down in front of the girl as Cassie kicked her snow boots off, revealing candy cane themed socks. 

Cassie laughed at Robin’s jab at her dad before she said, “No, it’s his friend.” 

As Robin got the first skate on she shot Cassie a questionable look, “Friend? Your dad’s only friend is me .” 

Cassie nodded though, and then she said a name, your name, that Robin has never heard before in her life, at least out of Steve’s mouth. 

“She’s very nice! And I know that if I have these then she’ll teach me how to skate, she told me she used to skate all the time when she was little,” Cassie started to boast, a wide smile growing on her lips, eagerly talking about you . 

All Robin could do though was stare at Cassie with a bewildered look as she thought she? A woman? Steve’s friends with a woman?  

“Woah woah woah, wait- she’s your dad’s friend ?” 

Cassie hummed, “Mmhm, I really like her…and my daddy does too… a lot .”

She supposed that Steve was hiding a lot more from her than she thought, starting with him working at Scoops Ahoy again, and a mysterious woman Cassie claims he likes, in his daughter’s own words, a lot . Robin helped her get the other skate on, navigating in her mind this new information but deciding that she should get as much information as possible from Cassie before she definitely confronts Steve about it later. 

“A mysterious lady your dad likes… interesting …tell me more about her, my tiny friend. What is she like? How do you know your dad likes her a lot? What have you seen ?” 

Cassie stared at her, hanging onto every question before she looked away in thought, even placing her hand into her chin before she started to first tell Robin how nice you were, how she would give you carrots for lunch because she didn’t want them, she told her how you went apple picking with them and how you got Steve to actually bake (which shocked Robin very much), and how you even taught her to bake as well. 

She boasted on and on about you, before ending it on spending Thanksgiving together (something that made Robin’s jaw promptly drop in complete surprise), and telling her about your gift, gesturing to the walkman headphones that rested on her neck.

“Holy shit,” Robin said, pleasantly surprised by all this information, and kind of miffed that Steve hadn’t told her anything. She couldn’t even find it in herself to censor herself as her thoughts ran rampant. 

She knew Steve, before Cassie, before Cassie’s mom , and she knew him after as well…the possibility of him letting anyone in his life like this, so far as inviting them to a family dinner, seemed quite impossible…and well…at least she knew exactly what the main topic of discussion was going to be after Cassie goes to bed tonight…

Robin turned her attention back onto the skates Cassie was currently wearing, setting aside her intentions with Steve for now, and she stood up, and held her hands out. Cassie took them, and Robin could feel them shaking underneath his grasp. 

In fact, her legs were shaking too, like a newborn deer or something and it even made Robin nervous because she did not have good balance. She wondered if Cassie could ever want to learn how to skate…how you , and every other roller skater did it too. 

“I don’t know about this Cassie…” Robin admitted to her, but Cassie clenched her jaw and shook her head. 

“No…no I want them,” she stated, forcing herself to become more confident, “She will teach me if I have them…and then I’ll get good at it and maybe I can teach my daddy too how to skate.” 

The thought made Robin laugh, and she stepped backwards, Cassie rolling along with her, and almost falling forward and falling on her face had Robin not been holding her, “Gee…these are definitely not Steve of Approved…but honestly…looks like I have competition here with gift-giving…”

Robin’s eyes moved to the walk-man, before she rolled Cassie back to sit down and said, “Okay, I’ll get them for you…but I’m getting you literally every protection gear this place has to offer so your dad doesn’t have a heart attack.” 

Cassie almost cried with happiness, already kicking them off so they could gather the rest of her gift around the store. 

Afterwards, Robin decided to treat Cassie to a movie, buying her whatever snack she wanted and the largest popcorn as well. She enjoyed every second of it, giddy already because of the skates that were packed away into a shopping bag. 

Then, they returned to Scoops Ahoy just in time for Steve’s shift to come to an end. He had changed his outfit completely, wearing a striped sweater underneath the jacket he was currently zipping up and a pair of jeans. The outfit change made total sense considering the current snowy climate outside. 

Cassie was calling him, running into the ice cream parlor and he was quick to catch her and lift her up into his arms with a wide loving smile on his face. Robin strolled up a few seconds after, and Cassie hopped out of her dad’s arms and started to tell him that her Aunt Robin got her a gift. 

Steve stared at the large bag, and Robin smirked as she set it down on one of the empty tables as Steve said cautiously, “Uh…what did she get you?...What did you get her?” Steve was looking at Robin now almost suspiciously and Cassie climbed onto a chair. 

“Roller skates! She got me roller skates!” 

Steve’s brown eyes widened at Cassie’s answer, and Robin pulled out the box to show him the skates properly. 

“Robin- are you- are you serious?” Steve asked, being sure to not sound or look mad in front of Cassie, especially with how excited she seemed to be about this, but he was just concerned with how safe these things would be, already imagining Cassie falling and crying. The idea simply hurt his chest and filled him with fatherly fear. 

“Sure am,” Robin said, slapping the side of the roller skates like a brand new car, “Don’t worry, Popeye, I bought her the latest of protection gear, if she falls the ground would be more hurt than her.” 

Steve crossed his arms, still baffled by the gift. 

“Besides, I need to make sure I remain Cassie’s favorite aunt by coming to town once in a while and getting her whatever she wants,” Robin added, smiling at Cassie who was still beaming about the skates. 

Steve shook his head, amused by Robin’s statement and then he said, “I’m still not…I don’t know, I didn’t even know you wanted roller skates Cass.”

Cassie seemed to finally sense her dad’s hesitation, and she quickly turned to him and claimed that she would be careful, and that you could teach her. 

At the mention of your name, Steve felt the air in his chest release softly and his cheeks had grown quite warm, wondering how it didn’t occur to him that you were the reason for her newfound interest in this. It almost made him smile widely, but he settled on a small one that was barely visible. 

It was visible enough for Robin though who had made sure to look at Steve when Cassie mentioned you. She saw his flushed cheeks, his sudden hesitation all but vanishing in mere seconds. And then Steve settled his eyes back on the skates then at Cassie before he started to nod. 

“Alright, yeah, that’s true…she’s gonna love that you got a pair,” Steve said, voice filled with the warmth that matched his cheeks and now his chest. Cassie cheered, then Robin cheered too with Cassie, making Steve’s smile grow and uncross his arms. 

The three had gone out to eat at a diner after they left Starcourt, Cassie ordering belgian waffles for dinner, Robin’s treat again, before they were settling into the Harrington household. It was just a small house, two bedrooms, but the living room was pretty big for a small home. A Christmas tree was set up by the window in the front, lit up with vibrant colors and decorated with ornaments Cassie had made at school. Gifts were already set under the tree, wrapped pretty decently. 

Robin was lounging out the couch, having kicked off her shoes and she was watching Cassie roll around the living room, her head covered by a large purple helmet that matched the color of her skates and pads wrapped around her knees and elbows. 

She was laser focused, holding onto the wall for dear life and looking down with a determined look in her eyes as she rolled forward little by little. Steve was in the kitchen, and Robin could already smell the sweet scent of hot chocolate. 

With the heater kicked on, and the night still young, Steve came out holding two mugs, one for him and one for Robin, Cassie had declined any because she wanted to focus on skating during the hour before she would go to bed. 

So, while Cassie did that (trying not to crash into the tree for example), Steve and Robin decided to catch up. Robin told him about her job, and the new apartment she moved into with Vickie, she told him how Nancy and Jonathan were doing, and some fun anecdotes she knew Steve would get a good laugh at. 

Steve told her a few things, starting with the obvious that he was working at Scoops Ahoy again which made Robin tease him about it again. 

“Hey, like I said, I needed a third job, and he agreed to give me a set schedule, weekends only,” Steve told Robin as he leaned back on the couch. 

“No, no I totally get it, I just think it’s funny that you willingly put that uniform on again, you hated it more than I did,” Robin said, bending her leg against her chest and resting her chin on her knee as she laughed. 

“Yeah, but that was when I was fresh out of high school and still cared about my self-image, as a daddy now that wasn’t even a factor,” Steve said, smirking when Robin grimaced at him calling himself daddy . It was fine coming out of Cassie’s mouth, because Steve was her actual dad, but Steve calling himself that? It made her want to gag and Steve knew that. It’s why he said it in the first place. 

“If you’re not Cassie, I don’t want to hear you call yourself daddy,” Robin said, and Steve laughed in response. 

“Speaking of Cassie,” Steve started, turning his head to find her sitting on the floor defeated. He got up, concern crossing over his features for a second as Cassie looked up at him with a frown. She hadn’t fallen, no, they would’ve heard her crash and hit the ground. She was just upset that she wasn’t a master skater already. 

Amusement replaced that concern, and he held his hand out of her take and told her, “Call it a night, yeah? And don’t be so sad, Cass, it’s going to take more than one night of practice.” 

She sighed, and took her dad’s hand and he pulled her back up to her feet, rolling forward and he poked her sides slightly. Cassie giggled, finally smiling before he told her to get ready for bed. She complied, and Steve gave her a gentle push, letting her roll her way down the hall and toward her room. 

Robin got up, stretching her arms out before she decided to help out by taking the now empty mugs to the sink while Steve went with Cassie to help her take the skates and all the gear off. After a few minutes, Cassie came back out to thank Robin for the skates and to give her a big hug before she returned to her room for the night. 

Robin was walking around the living room, eying the various portraits that she hadn’t seen since she was last here. There were a few new ones, like Cassie in a tinkerbell costume in front of Mrs. K’s house next door. Her eyes shifted to the older ones, resting on Cassie when she was just a toddler before moving on to one of Steve and Cassie when she was only just born. 

He was sitting on a lazy-boy, one that used to be in Steve’s old house when he still lived with his parents. Steve was grinning widely, hair greasy and a mess, and he was holding Cassie who was bundled up in a mint green blanket against his chest. He was only 19 at the time, almost 20, and practically still fresh out of high school. Robin remembered when Steve had come to her and told her the news that he was going to be a dad. He was freaking out, and Robin could admit she didn’t help him calm down in the slightest. 

They both had just rambled, Robin shocked by him going to become a parent so young, and what he was going to do and then ranting off ways everything could go wrong and almost making Steve go into cardiac arrest at 19. It was Nancy who promptly calmed Steve down (and thus Robin too).

“Alright, I’m back- what are you doing?” Steve’s voice came from behind Robin, and she turned away from the picture and started to laugh. 

“I was looking at that photo of you and Cass, remember when you told me you were going to be a dad and I kind of sort of freaked out like I was the one about to be a dad or something-” 

Steve scoffed loudly, “ Yeah , you freaked me the hell out, Robin. I was ready to speed off to New York under a new name with all that shit you were saying! Thank god Nance showed up and talked me down.” 

Robin was laughing again, finding it funny now when it wasn’t funny at the time, and Steve started to laugh too as he fell back onto the couch and yawned loudly. Robin frowned, and joined him back on the couch.

“Oh damn, you’re not tired already, right? We have so much more to talk about, ” she said, knowing that she desperately needed to know more about this mysterious woman Cassie claims he likes so much, who got him to bake and joined him on Thanksgiving.

“I’m a daddy, I’m always tired,” Steve told Robin truthfully, to which she gave him a look for calling himself daddy again. He laughed and added, “I don’t really have much else to say-” 

“Oh that’s alright, I have something you can tell me about,” Robin said, cutting him off, “So during our little outing, Tiny Harrington told me something pretty interesting about this very pretty school office worker you seem to really like, care to share anything with the class?” 

Steve snapped his head toward her and he cleared his throat and turned his head back forward and said your name like it was a question. Robin nodded, “Yup, that’s it and you both keep mentioning her…so who is she? Tell me more about her.” 

Robin was now leaning in, needing to know more about this especially from Steve, the guy who hadn’t really been with anyone since Cassie’s mom, well there was one other woman, but she could hardly recall her face or even her name because of how quickly that flame went out. 

Steve pushed his hair out of his face and replied, “She’s just a friend.” 

Now it was Robin’s turn to scoff loudly and she said, “Oh really…do you normally invite friends to have Thanksgiving with your family and the Hendersons? Or to go apple-picking with you?” 

Steve nodded, “Yeah, yeah you can normally invite a friend to things like that.” 

He was very clearly deflecting, and Robin wasn’t buying it, not even when he added, “She’s super nice, really cool…moved here in the summer actually and you know, she doesn’t really have anybody or any family really nearby so I just…you know invited her to join me and Cassie…” 

Robin sighed, slightly disappointed by this and she started to say, “Steve…Steve, Steve, Steve, I know you…you don’t just let people in your life, in Cassie’s life, especially since her mom just up and left. I mean, there was what’s-her-face who you didn’t let her into your life at all which was why the relationship went up in flames in the first place… and now all of a sudden Cassie is telling me about this woman you very clearly like going places with you both and gifting her things…what aren’t you telling me?” 

He tensed up at Robin’s words, seeming to have forgotten that Robin was there for the majority of his life, even though she had promptly brought it up just minutes ago with that memory of him telling her the news. Robin did know Steve, probably more than anybody else in his life. She was there when Cassie’s mom was there, and there when she wasn’t , the aftermath of it all…Steve hated to think about that. He hated it, so he didn’t think about it.

He turned to Robin, who looked more serious now, wanting to know more about you, and wanting Steve to tell her. So he decided he should. 

“We really are just friends,” Steve started with, wanting to make that clear, “I mean…she’s something else , you know? Like…the more I get to know her, the more…amazing I realize she is.” 

He laughed nervously, pink dusting over his cheeks as his thoughts became consumed with you and the feelings you brought out of him.

“And Cassie absolutely loves her, I mean, she literally asked for skates because of her, and she seems to really like hanging out with me and Cassie too,” he continued, thinking of the smile you always put on his and Cassie’s face whenever you’re together, and he finished saying in a breathless voice like the mere thought of you took his breath away, “ Yeah … I really like her. ”

His heart was fluttering in his chest from having finally admitted that outloud to somebody. It became more real then, the feelings that would gather in his entire being whenever you were around, whenever you were even mentioned.

“Knew it,” Robin said, satisfied to get a confession from Steve, “So why are you still just friends then? Is she not interested or something?” 

Steve pressed his lips tightly together and shrugged, “I wouldn’t know, I never asked and…well, I don’t think she’s not interested, I mean… there is something there, like something electric…being with someone finally sounds good, but then-” 

Steve furrowed his brow, as he’s given many thoughts about this whenever it would come up, which was often especially following Thanksgiving when he was tempted to kiss you (and was positive you were going to kiss him too). It was all the same things that stirred inside of him, things that were almost unresolved from the impact Cassie’s mom left on him…he shut his eyes for a moment, the conflict swirling around in him and almost making his stomach hurt along with his head.

Robin was sitting cross-legged, hanging off of Steve’s last word, wanting to know what he was going to say next. 

He sucked in a tight breath then released it before saying, “I just…I don’t have time , you know? If there’s anything I learned from being with Brenda ,” Steve said, reminding Robin of the other woman’s name. Robin snapped her fingers and said quietly ‘ oh yeah Brenda .’

“From being with her, time is just not on my side with my jobs, especially now since I got a third one- I just can never be there for somebody else, I can’t commit to them in the way they want me to,” Steve tried to explain, “And…and I can’t do that to her, I can’t break her heart like that so…yeah she’s my friend, and it’s going to stay that way.” 

Robin frowned at Steve, slightly disappointed that it was still this that was holding him back, keeping him from pursuing any romantic relationship even when he seemed to want one. Hell, even watching him say that he and you were just going to stay friends he looked downright depressed and disappointed. 

She could only sigh, feeling kind of sad for Steve, and his luck with romance after Cassie’s mom, but she always thought that maybe he just hadn’t found the right person, and she still stands by that to this day. Somebody will come around, and for all she knows this right person for Steve could be you …and she feels like she’d know for sure if she met you and got to know you too.

“By the way you’re talking about this girl…I’d really like to meet her,” she said, making Steve look at her again and with squinted eyes he replied, “Absolutely not.”

Robin threw her hand over her chest, heavily offended by his immediate response and she said, “Why not! If she’s so amazing, I’d like to see it for myself. I’m not going to do anything that’ll embarrass you, scout’s honor.” 

“ Nope . No way.”

Robin rolled her eyes, wondering what on Earth she could do that’ll embarrass him more than he tends to embarrass himself, but something told her it was that if you met Robin , his best friend, then that would just let you into his life more…and honestly, maybe he needed that more than he believed he didn’t…

✧ ✧ ✧

It was cold. 

You were wearing more layers today than any other day since the snowy weather arrived. Your entire head was hidden underneath a gray beanie, and the bottom of your face covered by a baby blue knitted scarf you bought off of one of the student’s moms who sold them. 

Even in the confines of the coffee shop, you felt incredibly cold, and were concerned about a cough coming along, your throat a little drier than usual. It was just what you needed, considering the Holidays were just around the corner and you were going to spend it with Heidi’s family. You weren’t sure then, if you were getting sick, that you could go, which was quite disappointing. 

Your name was suddenly called, and you could already taste your favorite hot coffee, and were ready for it to warm your insides. Right after your name was called though, another name was called. You didn’t pay much attention, determined to get your coffee, that you hadn’t realized they had set the identical cups right next to each other. You just grabbed one, and turned away. 

“Oh, wait!” someone called before you could take a sip, and you turned your head to meet the blue eyes of a girl with short blonde hair and freckles decorating her cheeks, “That one is mine! My name’s on it…” 

You blinked and looked down, twisting the cup in your hand to see the name Robin scribbled on the side of it and not your name. You quickly apologized, feeling a little silly for not checking first and held it out for her to take.

“It’s alright, the cups look the exact same,” the girl, Robin, replied to you as she held your coffee out for you to take. She seemed like she was going to say something further, but stopped when her eyes glossed over your name written on the cup as you took it from her, “Oh… Oh …” 

She looked at you, blue eyes observing you closely and then your name before you properly switched. 

You turned away without another word, ready to return to finally take a sip and return to your car when the girl called your name this time. You stopped, thinking maybe you left something but only saw her standing there with her own drink and sheepish smile on her lips. 

“Sorry, I know I probably look like a complete weirdo , and even more so when I say this but…I think I know you, and that you probably know me too? At least by name?” she was saying, and you could only stare at her, trying to see if you could remember exactly who she was and if you’d seen her around here before or heard her name. 

You shook your head when nothing came up and replied, “I’m sorry, I don’t…I can’t really remember.” You laughed awkwardly and she did too. 

“I just thought maybe Steve would’ve mentioned me,” she said, his namedrop making you tilt your head curiously, “I mean he’s mentioned you quite a bit since I came back to town…just wondering if he’s ever mentioned his friend Robin to you.” 

She blinked rapidly at you, then smiled more widely at you. It took you a moment or two before your memory returned. Steve had mentioned her before, you remembered a specific time when you were looking for another movie to watch and he brought to the double VHS section and said something along the lines of “Yeah my best friend Robin made me sit through so many movies, I don’t normally do double VHS, but this one was really good.” And there were others too you would gradually remember.

“Oh yeah! He has! Uh, hi, this is so weird, not that you’re weird, I swear, just-” you laughed nervously, “It’s nice to meet you.” 

“Likewise,” Robin replied, stepping out of the way of other coffee patrons, “So, I hear you and Steve are pretty good friends too.” 

You nodded quite fast at that, then got a little embarrassed that you did so, especially when she raised both eyebrows at you. 

“Yeah I’d say we are,” you said, “Not as good as you two are I bet, I think he mentioned one time you’ve been friends since he graduated High School.” 

“Yeah, we worked at Scoops Ahoy together,” Robin said, and you stared blankly at her, not knowing what a Scoops Ahoy was. And you swore you’ve been to every place in Hawkins thus far, but not wanting to sound stupid by asking you just stayed quiet as Robin continued to say, “Anyway though, I’m sure you got places to be, I got places to be because you know, my mom is just dying to see me.” 

You couldn’t tell if that was sarcasm or not, but she bid you a good-bye before pausing and turning back to you to say, “Hey, wait, around like I don’t know 6, me, Steve and Cassie are going to that pizza place downtown…you should come.” 

“Oh,” you paused suddenly, then said, “I don’t want to intrude on a reunion.” 

Robin laughed at that, “You’re not going to intrude anything, you’re Steve’s friend, I’m his friend, it’ll be just a bunch of friends meeting for some pizza for dinner. I’m sure he’ll love to see you seeing as he talked about you so much.” 

You felt your cheeks heat up at that, then became too preoccupied with the heart in your chest leaping to see Steve again, something that’s become entirely common these days. You subconsciously counted down the days until you would see him again, though you’d never admit anything out loud. Also, she’s mentioned twice that he keeps talking about you…

Robin was staring at you expectantly, and you met her eyes before nodding and saying, “Yeah, okay that sounds like it could be fun.” 

“Yes! Alright, cool,” Robin said, a little too excitedly as she gave you a thumbs up with the hand that wasn’t holding her coffee, “Now, I’m going to go see my mom, and I’ll see you later, you know the one right?” 

You nodded, as there was only one pizza place in Hawkins, and waved a good-bye to Robin as she left the coffee shop before you. You dropped your hand to the side, then remembered that you were cold and that was the reason you bought a coffee. You lifted it to your lips, and drank the hot liquid, but it didn’t do much, as the thought of Steve had already made you warm enough.

✧ ✧ ✧

It was half after six, and Steve, Cassie, and Robin were barely being seated. Robin hadn’t anticipated the place to be so full, even though Steve told her it would be. It wasn’t a long wait, and Steve wasn’t impatient and neither was Robin, Cassie could be impatient, but as long as she had her walkman while they sat in the waiting area she was fine. 

Steve had noticed that Robin kept looking at the door every time it opened, eyes looking over every member of the family that was entering the pizza parlor. He had asked her if she was waiting for someone or something, thinking maybe she ran into the kids (they’re not kids anymore, Steve kept having to remind himself) who were home for winter break without telling him. Not that he would mind, but who the hell was going to pay for them to eat?

Eventually, Robin’s name was called by the hostess and they were led through the full pizza parlor and sat at a comfortable round booth that was actually elevated and underneath a dimly lit light. Cassie hopped in first, crawling on all fours until she was sitting right in the center of the table with a grin on her face and head banging as she was still listening to music. 

“This is a pretty big booth for just three people,” Steve said, eying Robin as he tried to see if she’d take the bait and just tell him who she invited to join them.

“Oh yeah, totally too big for three people,” Robin said, agreeing with him as she shot him a grin and sat down. 

“Right…” 

Steve sat down as well, thanking the hostess for the menus. He turned his attention to Cassie now, and tapped her nose to capture her attention. She looked at him and he gestured to his own ears. Cassie understood, and turned to turn off her walkman, then removed her headphones. They rested around her neck, a look Cassie Harrington had all the time, especially these days. 

“Welcome back,” Steve teased her as he handed her a menu. Cassie took it from her dad, giving him a toothy grin as her head was still nodding to nonexistent music. Steve chuckled and passed a menu to Robin, and then looked down, seeing he was holding two more. 

Robin definitely invited somebody else. 

At that moment, Steve looked up at the door, as Robin and Cassie became engrossed in their menus and were verbally deciding what toppings they wanted on each pizza they were about to order. 

He was looking for perhaps a kid, like Dustin, or Lucas as Robin mentioned running into him specifically, hell he even looked for Eddie Munson (Steve had seen him show up in the Family Video Store after he seemed to have vanished for weeks), but his eyes landed on you . 

You weren’t looking at him, your attention on the hostess as you spoke to her. The hostess had looked down at her clipboard, then nodded, telling you something with a smile before she turned around and started to walk in the direction of the table they sat at. Just as you lifted your eyes, Steve turned to look at Robin, all of it adding up at once.

“You didn’t- how- how did you even meet her? ” Steve was questioning her. Robin looked up from her menu, confused at first and then she grinned sheepishly. Before she could even answer, you were at the table. 

Cassie had gasped at the sight of you, and called your name excitedly while Robin grinned and looked at you. 

“You made it! I was afraid you wouldn’t!” Robin said, “Steve scoot over, jeesh, you too Tiny.” 

“No! Wait! I want to sit next to her!” Cassie announced, of which Robin seemed very intrigued by and Cassie said, “Daddy, you sit on the side!” 

Steve stared at Cassie for such a demand, but who was he to deny his daughter’s requests? He looked at you, finally, and you were looking at Cassie with a sweet smile on your lips before you turned to look at Steve. He sucked in a soft breath before nodding and scooting off of the seat. 

“Wait, do you want…” Steve gestured to your outerwear when he stood and you blinked before realizing what he meant. 

“Yeah! God I hate wearing all these layers,” you said with a shake of your head as you unzipped your large jacket. You were shaking out of it and Steve was suddenly behind you, reaching out to take your jacket off for you like the gentleman he is. You thanked him softly as he did, and he flashed you a sweet grin before you were moving to sit in the booth. 

“I didn’t know Robin invited you!” Cassie said when you settled in next to her. 

“She invited me this morning,” you told her, looking over at her then at Steve as he settled down right next to you. Steve slid a menu to you as well and you took it, another soft thank you being thrown his way. 

“Yeah, I ran into her at the coffee place, insane right? I mean I heard her name, because obviously Steve told me all about you,” Robin said, gesturing to Steve who snapped his head to look at her, “Cassie too , don’t look at me like that. Anyway, she took my coffee by accident and then we talked and now she’s here.” 

Steve shook his head.

“Yeah, that’s what happened,” you said, your cheeks a little warm as you were still a bit afraid that you were unwelcomed despite Steve literally getting up and helping you get your jacket off, “It’s not a problem for anyone here, right?” 

Steve turned to look at you, and quickly shook his head, “Oh no , never. You know I like seeing you.” He suddenly realized what he’d just said and cleared his throat before turning away to cough into his hand in an attempt to take the attention off that . 

You just sat there, pressing your lips softly together at his words, before you looked back at Robin and said, “Sorry for being late though, my car has been acting up especially with this weather.” 

You frowned at the thought of your car barely starting this morning, and then when you were on your way here. It started eventually, yes , but felt pretty much dead before that. Robin told you it was fine, as they were barely sat anyway.

“Wait what’s going on with your car?” Steve questioned, becoming concerned at this information. You shrugged. 

“It’s…wonky, I don’t know,” you said lamely, “It takes a few tries to start, then when it’s on it feels like it’s on the edge of breaking down.” 

Steve was shaking his head at the idea of that, and said, “You know I can take a look at it after dinner if you want me to. I’ve gotten pretty good with cars these past few years.” 

Robin hummed, “Yeah, it’s really weird…like the moment he became a dad he gained all the traits of one like barbecuing and…falling asleep early on the couch or something.” 

That comment made you genuinely laugh, and Steve got a bit lost in your laugh even though it wasn’t him who made you laugh, but he quickly shook out of it and laughed sarcastically at Robin before returning his attention to you. 

“I’m serious though, I can look at it…also I fell asleep on the couch one time,” he said the last part to Robin who reminded him that it happened in the middle of their conversation the night prior before looking back down at the menu. You laughed again, then rested your hand on his shoulder, and replied, “I’d really appreciate that, Steve. Thanks.”

You both just gazed at each other for a long moment, before Cassie was tapping your arm, taking your attention off of him. Steve smiled to himself, then turned to look at his menu. 

“Guess what Robin got me for Christmas,” Cassie started with eagerly. You hummed in thought. 

“Beats me, Cass,” you said after a moment, and she smiled widely before announcing the skates. You dropped your jaw, “No way! You want to learn to skate then?”

Cassie nodded, “Yes! Can you teach me?”

You were more than obliged to teach her, which made Cassie even more happy. 

Steve looked up from his menu, staring at you while Cassie eagerly told you all about her skates, and he licked his lips gently, and Robin stifled a laugh. He looked at her now, giving her a pointed look, pretending that he was irritated with her when he wasn’t. If he was being honest, he liked this, he liked you being here sitting between him and Cassie, with his best friend sitting across from him. It was nice…comfortable even.

It’s like you just fit . 

And the heat spreading over him at this thought made his chest sting, happy because he liked you so much , but indifferent because he did . It made no sense, no sense at all, but this was no time to dwell on it, especially with you right next to him, your legs slightly touching and your pretty perfume invading his senses. 

Thankfully, the waiter arrived, taking an order of drinks, and your pizza. You all decided on two large pizzas, and when you ordered some strawberry lemonade, Cassie did the same, something that did not go unnoticed by Steve. She never drank lemonade, in fact every time they came here she got apple juice, and what he saw was Cassie bright eyes gazing at you. It made that feeling in Steve even more vibrant, that Cassie seemed to look up to you so much that she got skates because of you, listened to disco, and now ordered the same drink. 

It really hit Steve, at this moment, how much Cassie really liked you. She of course liked everyone else too, as she took a specific liking to Robin who was there in her infant and toddler days, and then took a liking to Dustin and especially Max. She had never actually tried to mimic them though, Max never inspired her to want to learn how to ride a skateboard and the interest in Dungeons and Dragons was all part of Dustin’s elaborate plan to get her to keep a high school club alive. 

You weren’t doing any of that, just simply existing and being such a good friend , that damned word again, that became a constant in his and Cassie’s life and she seemed to want to be just like you. 

Steve was a bit baffled at this, shocked into silence really as you and Robin were talking now. 

“Oh yeah, we went to high school together, right Steve? But we didn’t become friends until that one summer we were forced to work together at Scoops Ahoy,” Robin was saying, finally capturing Steve’s attention, “It was a summer for sure, your dad wasn’t the catch he is today.” 

Robin was talking to Cassie now, who looked over at her dad and asked, “Catch?”

“Oh, no girls liked him,” Robin said nonchalantly, which made Cassie frown.

“But he gets free ice cream?” 

“Right? Seems foolproof huh?” 

“Wait- are you seriously bringing that up? Come on Robin, you know it was a tough summer for me,” Steve said, grabbing his drink and sipping out of the straw. 

“Because now it’s a funny memory,” Robin replied with a shrug, and turned back to look at you, “Have you seen him yet? At Scoops Ahoy?” 

You cringed slightly, knowing it was time to fuss up that you had no idea what a ‘Scoops Ahoy’ was, and told her so. The table went quiet, as if Scoops Ahoy was a home name of Hawkins or something when really it was just between the three people at the table with you. 

“You’ve never been there?” Steve was asking you, making you look at him and shake your head, “So you’ve never visited Starcourt then?” 

You shook your head again, “I’ve been wanting to, but…I don’t know if my car will make it that far…”

Steve just stared at you, then nodded as if he was impressed that you’ve never visited the highly popular mall and Cassie was the one to tell you that it was an ice cream shop. She told you about all the free ice cream she gets sometimes.

“ Free ice cream? That sounds like a dream,” you told Cassie and she giggled and said that it wasn’t. Her dad could get free ice cream whenever he wanted essentially.

“Well I mean, I can get you free ice cream too if you want,” Steve said, turning to you, and Robin almost rolled her eyes because it was painfully obvious that Steve really liked you, and it was such a burden to know he did, but wasn’t going to actually do anything about it. 

“Oh really?” you questioned, resting your chin on your hand as you met his brown eyes.

“ Yeah , I think I’m pretty much a professional like I’ve mastered the USS Butterscotch ,” Steve said, making you furrow your brows in confusion at such a name, but assuming rightfully it was just some kind of sunday they served. 

Robin asked how you and Steve met, and he relayed to her how you were dying from allergies and did a late run to the market to get medication, and he just so happened to working that night, then you said you ran into him again at the video store, a job, Robin relayed to you that he’s been at that job for a while. It was Cassie who talked about the carrot situation in more detail, which made Robin laugh because it is something Cassie Harrington would do. 

She watched as you, Steve, and Cassie spoke, laughing together, and she had noticed herself how much Cassie had taken a liking to you as well. It was Steve mostly, though, she couldn’t recall the last time he was so interested in a woman like this. That other girl he was almost with didn’t even compare to how he was with you, and maybe…he was like that once with Cassie’s mom, very early in her pregnancy. 

He had been at her side almost twenty-four seven. Robin had liked her, as there wasn’t necessarily anything wrong with her, just that it was painfully obvious that she didn’t feel the same way toward Steve. Steve had known that, since he had told Robin this when she brought it up one night during a late shift at the Family Video Store. 

He was aware, yes, but they were going to have a baby together, he couldn’t help how he felt, how he always felt about her really as they were friends. But honestly, he had told her, he just wanted their child to have both parents, it didn’t matter to him whether he and she were together, as long as Cassie had her mom and had her dad who at the very least liked each other. Of course, they all know how that story came to an end…

It was something that clearly continued to plague her best friend’s mind, if their conversation from the night before meant anything. Steve liked you, he admitted that to Robin, which is a major step for the guy, and seeing you, seeing how you fell into place with him, with Cassie, something felt different, yet all the same. He wasn’t putting on some kind of show, because Robin knew if she invited the other girl he was with for a bit, he would’ve been actually irritated with her, he would’ve sat through it and been polite, but he wouldn’t have been happy. He seemed like…himself again…comfortable, and she liked seeing Steve like this again. She really did. 

And now, she felt like she owed it to him to knock some sense into him, like how he helped her out with Vickie all those years ago, who still remained her beloved and favorite person ever to this day. He would be crazy to at least not try , because he liked you, and sitting here, she can tell that you liked him too. 

The pizza had come, and the conversation turned to Steve and Robin now, and you sat there listening with amusement written on your features of the summer they became friends, about working at Scoops Ahoy, then at the Family Video Store, how he threw her a graduation party at his house that almost failed because someone forgot to bring cups (It was that guy Eddie again) until a girl by the name of Nancy Wheeler got fed up and left to get some. Steve even made her a cake apparently, or at least attempted to. It was something, Robin had said about that cake, surely something.

“You said you’ve never baked before,” you said to Steve upon hearing this information and he turned to you with a sheepish grin on his lips. 

“It’s one of the major reasons I don’t bake anymore,” Steve replied, making you laugh and say, “You bake now though.” 

“Thanks to you, I actually like it now, honestly…you know I still get compliments on those cookies…” Steve said, leaning back and subconsciously stretching and resting his arms on the rest right behind you.

Your heart sped up at this gesture, and you shifted in your spot. Steve stayed staring at you, a small grin on his lips that hadn’t left since all of you started talking. You settled back into place, with his arm technically wrapped around you and turned away, cheeks hot and your heart feeling like it was blooming. 

The check had come around, and Steve had reached into his pocket, and cursed softly.

“Damn…I think I left my wallet in the car,” he said with a cringe before he started to stand, “I’ll be right back.” 

“Wait!” Cassie called in between you and Robin, and Steve paused to look at his daughter, “Can I go?”

“Come on then,” Steve said, fully standing. You were about to move, but Cassie was diving underneath the table and crawling out from the other side. Steve just stared at her before he laughed and told her to put her jacket on. She did, and then he held his hand out for her to take. When their hands clasped together, they were walking toward the exit of the pizza parlor, leaving you and Robin. 

You had felt slightly bad, as you didn’t get to learn much about Robin herself. So, given it was just the two of you, you asked her about herself and Robin let out a breath. 

“I hate this question…” Robin said, fiddling with her rings as she laughed awkwardly. Before you could apologize, she shook her head and told you that she lived in New York with her girlfriend, Vickie, that she moved there with her when Cassie was around four years old, so around two years ago. She attends classes at a college there, and works at this department store. 

“Oh, so it’s like the reverse,” you suddenly stated, “I lived in the big city, moved to this small town- you lived in this small town and moved to the big city.” 

This made Robin laugh, “Hey, yeah, that’s true . It’s pretty insane, overstimulating, a lot of smog, too many people…I don’t hate it though.” 

You nodded, your childhood and adolescent days coming back to you at once, and you replied, “Yeah, a lot of people, but…I think that’s part of its charm.” 

“Oh for sure,” Robin replied, turning her head to see if Steve was coming back. He wasn’t and she commented, “I swear if he dined and dashed…” 

“Oh…oh he wouldn’t do that…would he?” 

“Nah,” Robin shook her head, “He always pays…guess that’s one of his charms, among many, I suppose.” 

She was looking at you again, and you leaned back in your spot, eyes lingering on the door, waiting to see him come back. 

“It’s still kind of weird to me,” Robin suddenly said thoughtfully, “I mean, if high school me heard me say that Steve Harrington was cool, and I was willingly having pizza dates with him and his daughter- she would be absolutely baffled .” 

You turned to her, a curious look in your gaze and she went on to say, “I’m pretty sure every high school had the same hierarchy, so you probably know what I’m talking about. Steve had thee title…basketball captain, swim captain, other other captain, I don’t know I was in band but…he was literally called King Steve.” 

“ King Steve? ” 

You’d never heard anything like that, at your high school there was one guy, the football captain, who dated all the cheerleaders and all that. You could actually picture Steve that way, the hot, popular jock all the girls fawned over…considering the unofficial Steve Harrington fanclub here made up of Hawkin’s Moms. 

“Oh my god, he’ll hate that I’m telling you this,” she said, chuckling to herself, “It doesn’t matter anymore though, because that was just you know- a facade. But yeah, I actually didn’t like him, like a lot- he knows this- but you know, underneath it all- he’s a good guy, probably always has been.”

You turned thoughtful, thinking of Steve in such a way. It had been mentioned before, when Heidi said she dated Steve once in high school and cried over him, or when Steve had told you during what you dared called a ‘lunch date’ in his car that one autumn afternoon that he got a lot of dates at 13. He didn’t seem to be getting them now, despite the attention he receives. 

“I’m just glad you got to know him now ,” Robin said nonchalantly, “He still has those charms, obviously I know you know the ones…” 

She eyed you and you couldn’t lie and say he didn’t. Steve was pretty irresistible, and that stupid charm of his that lingered in your mind for days on end after every interaction you’ve had with him since summer still made your stomach twist and heart flip.

“Yeah…” you said, albeit a bit breathlessly that made Robin laugh to herself. 

Steve was opening the door to the parlor, snowflakes decorating his hair and his jacket. Cassie looked the same, and she shook her head like a dog and held her dad’s hand tighter, happy about the warmth the parlor was providing.

The first thing Steve saw when he walked in was you and Robin. You were in conversation, and he watched as you smiled and laughed, and nodded and responded to his best friend in that round booth. You were enjoying it, talking to Robin, and he sucked in a tight breath, head a little foggy, and he was kind of… happy that it seemed Robin liked you. 

Cassie was saying something to him, pulling him out of trance, but he hadn’t heard what she said

“Hm?” he hummed curiously, looking down at his daughter now, seeing her gazing up at him with almost concern. 

“What’s wrong?” 

Steve paused, then laughed weakly as he tightened his grip affectionately on her hand and replied, “That’s the million dollar question, Cass…come on let’s go.”

He returned to the table, overhearing Robin say something about how she witnessed the aftermath of him accidentally renting out the wrong movie to a girl. Steve didn’t ask what she was talking about because he didn’t need to be reminded of that, and he was glad that you didn’t ask, just suppressing a laugh as he approached. 

“Are we ready to go?” 

You were all outside now, Cassie giving you a big hug good-bye before she was in between Robin and Steve, holding both of their hands, her hands were covered in these bright pink knitted mittens that were vibrant against their dark gloves. 

“I’ll get your number from Steve,” Robin had told you, to which you eagerly nodded. Steve wanted to say some kind of joke, maybe why are you stealing my new friend already? But he really loved that you and her got along that well. 

“Alright, let’s get you in the car, Tiny,” Robin said, saying a final good-bye to you before taking Cassie with her. Cassie waved at you as Robin led her to the car, and it was just you and Steve now.

“Well, I guess I’ll see you soon,” you said, standing albeit a little awkward beside him and Steve, well he looked even more awkward that even Robin cringed when she glanced over at him. 

“Yeah, I’ll call you,” he said, and you nodded, flashing him a grin before turning away. Suddenly, as Steve saw your car, he called your name, “Wait, I said I’d look at your car!” 

You stopped, looking at the car, then at him, then back at the car. 

“Let me see if it’ll start first,” you told him, not wanting to stand out in this cold further or make him stand out in this cold too. Steve followed after you regardless, standing by the car door as you settled in and put the key into its ignition. 

It started the first try, by some sort of miracle. 

“Oh, oh it’s working now,” you said with the shake of your head, embarrassed that your car made it seem like you were lying just to get Steve to look at it or something. 

“I could still look at it though,” Steve told you, leaning over the open door to look inside before glancing over at the hood, as if itching to get it opened. It made you less embarrassed and you nodded, agreeing that eventually he should, or you should get it over to the mechanics. 

With that, Steve said a sweet good-bye before lightly closing your car door for you. He even remained there, watching you go. He was also making sure the car didn’t suddenly break down once it hit the street. It didn’t, thankfully, and he finally went to his car where Robin and Cassie were waiting with the heater already on.

It was quiet, for the most part, Cassie had put her headphones on again, kicking her feet to the beat and gazing out the window with a sleepy look coming over her face. She was definitely going into a food coma.

Robin had suddenly turned in her spot in the passenger seat though to look at Steve. He could see her almost perfectly in peripherals. She was grinning at him almost slyly.

“What?” he asked, acting like he didn’t know why she was smiling like that. 

“I like her,” Robin stated. 

Warmth not from the heater washed over Steve when he heard that, and he swallowed thickly and played dumb, “You like who ?” 

Robin gave him a look, and replied, “I’m serious…you’re right when you say she is pretty amazing and I’m going to say this because I’m your best friend and I can…” 

Steve came to a stop light, and turned his head to look at Robin. 

“You would be a complete idiot if you don’t at least try and take a chance with her.”

There had been a small, amused smile on Steve’s lips, a happy one at that as well, when he heard that Robin liked you so much, but hearing this, Robin’s bluntness Steve’s smile turned into a frown and something cold came over him, like the cold breeze of the upcoming blizzard outside. 

He turned his head forward, just as the light turned green, and he started to drive through the intersection. 

Steve knows this, it’s been gnawing at him, sitting there next to you, seeing how well you fit in, how almost perfect you were to him, how perfect you’ve always been whenever he was around you. He hadn’t felt like this strongly for someone, the way the thought of you made your head buzz and insides turn delightfully, which would of course be followed by this sick, hollow feeling that he couldn’t quite describe, much like how he felt when he realized Cassie was trying to be like you in that pizza parlor. 

God, you preoccupy his mind so much, and there’s a voice in him that says ask her out, you idiot , and then another voice says just kiss her, for the love of god just kiss her . He’s felt that one on occasion, when that electricity sparked between the both of you, when your eyelashes fluttered gently at him, your lips waiting for his…

Then, there’s that other voice, the one that came out the night before when talking to Robin. You don’t have time…you know what happened the last time you tried…it’s not worth it…it’s not worth breaking her heart over . 

Most of the time, that voice was louder. 

Robin looked at her friend who was deep in thought, and reached over to pat his shoulder, “I’ll demote you back to dingus, I will.” 

That at least made Steve laugh, and he replied a little weakly, “Honestly…that’s only fair.”

✧ ✧ ✧

“Steve, I’ve only known her for like two days, if you count the day you finally told me about her.” 

Robin’s voice was coming through the phone. 

It was about a week after Christmas, and you had dropped by the market one night just before Steve’s shift ended to give him some gifts. You had finally made more mixtapes for Cassie, the bag full of them, and for Steve, you went simple and got him a Christmas card with an ice skating penguin wearing a red beanie on it with a gift card inside. It was quite a bit of money, and you insisted that he needn’t to get you anything in return. You didn’t really have anyone to buy gifts for, besides for Heidi and her family and a secret santa at the school, and wanted to do something nice.

Steve was touched, really touched, so much that the voice that kept telling him to kiss you had to be fought off with a mental broomstick. And now, he was kind of freaking out about it and had called Robin almost immediately during his break at the Family Video Store the next day. 

“It was just nice, alright, and I don’t want to get her something bad…god why am I freaking out about it though?” 

“Because you like her, dingus,” Robin teased from all the way in New York, she was on her break at her job too, “Get her like…I don’t know a mug or something, teacher’s love those. I actually love those.” 

“No…no she’s not a teacher, at least not yet,” Steve replied, pressing his hand against his face, feeling a bit ridiculous about how much he was overthinking this. 

“Get her one, speak it into the universe for her,” Robin suggested, then said like she read his thoughts, “You’re overthinking this Steve, and that’s a lot coming from me. I can’t just tell you what to buy, you know her way more than me.” 

He sighed into his hand, “What the hell am I doing…” 

“You’re a big guy, Steve, you’ll figure it out… oh hey…what about a candle?” 

She was very clearly looking at a candle someone walked by holding in the department store she worked at part-time. 

Another reason why Steve was freaking out was because he was going to see you very soon, like tonight soon and the store’s would be closing earlier than usual so that he’d have to go straight to Starcourt after his shift ends. 

He had invited you to the Wheeler’s annual New Years Eve party, yet another almost family thing he wanted you to attend because quite literally everyone in his life would be there, the kids (Not kids, anymore, Steve), Nancy Wheeler and Jonathan Byers, Joyce Byers and Jim Hopper… everyone . 

Robin did offer some good, basic presents, a mug, a candle…but what else? He wanted to at least add his own touch to it. 

With a good-bye to Robin, he was back at work, still inside his head of what to get you when Heidi, who he has known since high school, approached him at the counter. 

“Just returning,” she told Steve, placing them down on the counter in front of him. Steve nodded, turning to the computer set up until his eyes rested on her name again. He remembered then that you had mentioned you were going to be spending Christmas with her and her family, which could only mean that she was your friend as well. 

Steve stopped typing for a good second, turning his head to look at Heidi who was poking around the new concession stand they had set up (it was Steve’s idea). She seemed particularly interested in the kettlecorn, and Steve cleared his throat as he said, “So…Heidi…how was your holiday last week?” 

She looked up at him, and replied, “It was great, how was your Christmas with Cassie?” 

“Oh great, we spent it with the Hendersons, like always…” he trailed off, unsure of how to smoothly mention you and then try to see if she can help out in any way for getting you a gift, “Who’d you spend it with?”

Heidi answered her own family, and he said, “Nobody else?” 

He wanted to kick himself for making it so obvious. He could literally see it in her eyes when it clicked he was trying to bring you up without actually saying it. Steve hadn’t talked to Heidi like this in a long time, not since high school and not since they dated for like a month or so, he talked to her at the office, yes, but he talked to everyone there. Mostly you these days, if he was being honest.

“Wait…” Heidi trailed off and then asked if he was talking about you. Steve chuckled, and nodded, deciding to just own it. It wasn’t weird, it wasn’t suspicious, he was just asking about his friend . At least that’s what he tried to convince himself to make the anxious, racing of heart stop.

“Yeah, yeah I mean her…you’re pretty good friends, huh?” 

Heidi leaned on the counter, an intrigued look crossing her features and she said, “Yes, I think so, though…I don’t think we’re good friends like you and her are…” 

Steve took the tapes Heidi returned, trying to nonchalantly work while talking to her.

“I doubt it,” Steve replied, because if he and you were such good friends why couldn’t he decide on what kind of gift to get you. Heidi chuckled. 

“Right,” she said, not buying it clearly, “Is there something you want to ask me about her?”

“Well…” Steve started, then cleared his throat before continuing to say, “I want to get her something for Christmas, a little late I know, but she got me and Cass something and I just want to return the favor.” 

Heidi rested her chin on her hand, “Do you not know what to get her?” 

“I just need some ideas,” Steve replied quickly, making her laugh. 

“Well, maybe we both are just as good as friends with her, I had trouble getting her something too,” Heidi replied honestly, and that did make Steve a little more relieved, “I got her perfume, and my kids made her a s’more set, she seemed to love it. You know…I think…anything simple, really. She’ll love anything, especially if it’s from you .”

Steve thought it was the same for him, as he displayed that penguin Christmas card on his nightstand like it was some love letter. Heidi looked a little excited by this information, like he just told her some secret. He’d forgotten this quality of her, and found it oddly comforting in a way that she still held this aspect of her.

He finished processing the return for her, and she asked him if that’s all he wanted to ask. He nodded to her, and grinned politely. 

“Yeah, yeah that’s it, thanks Heidi,” he said, and she grinned back at him and turned to leave. He supposed a candle and a mug it was…still he hated how cheap it felt. You deserved more than that, but it would have to do. 

He had about an hour more to brew up some more ideas anyway.

Meanwhile, Heidi had called you the moment she could. You were at home getting ready for the party tonight when the phone rang and you answered, this was as Steve was rushing to Starcourt after his shift ended, and Heidi relayed everything to you. 

“You said there was nothing going on, you liar, he’s getting you a gift,” Heidi said, and you sucked in a sharp breath. 

“Friends get each other gifts, you got me one, I got you one,” you said, trying to play it off even though it was quite obvious there was something more between you and Steve, something strong and unspoken, something ready to burst any moment now. 

“Yeah, but I’m not him , he likes you, and you like him,” Heidi practically beamed, “I knew you weren’t immune to Steve Harrington’s charm. I mean, his daughter visits you all the time when she can…you got him to bake cookies…you spent Thanksgiving with him…he practically shoves the faculty just to stand by you at mandatory assemblies…he likes you.” 

“He’s a good friend,” you replied, cheeks feeling a little hot. 

And just like what Robin was saying about Steve to him when she first came to Hawkins, or what Dustin Henderson had said to his girlfriend Suzie, Heidi had said, “I don’t think you realize how insane all of that is for Steve freaking Harrington. Okay, he’s been practically off the market since Cassie’s mom just up and left town.” 

You frowned, and reminded her how she told you her friend had dated him. 

“Okay, but barely , she broke it off because he was never around, he never made time for her, he definitely didn’t invite her to go to a Holiday dinner, and she met Cassie like maybe once , twice at the most and that was by accident,” Heidi explained quickly, and you were going to say something, but she was speaking again, “And here you are, coming in from the city and making him trip over himself. I’m impressed, I really am.” 

You tried to fight the feelings mustering up in your stomach, “It’s not…he’s my friend.” 

“I find it interesting how he was saying the same thing,” your friend commented. 

“Because we are just friends,” you tried to emphasize, but knowing already that no matter what you said, your friend wouldn’t believe you. At this point, you were trying to convince yourself it was all you and Steve were, all that you would ever be because then if it never happens, you couldn't be disappointed. 

You’d just learn to live with the feelings and bursts of warmths that occur at just the simple thought of him, at the idea of seeing him, if anything, you were already doing it. Steve was a friend, a good friend, and you didn’t want that to change. 

You didn’t tell Heidi any of this, feeling almost embarrassed by your outlook, plus, you didn’t want to admit to her that you did like him, a lot. She can continue speculating, and you can continue pretending she was wrong. 

“I have to go,” you had told her finally after a couple more exchanges, “I have a party to go to tonight.” 

“With Steve ?” 

You scoffed and told her a good-bye and a “Happy New Year.”

She was giggling, and told you the same before you hung up. You hoped there would be alcohol at this party, and had you any left of your favorite wine you had brought to Heidi’s Christmas Party last week, you would’ve definitely started drinking now. 

✧ ✧ ✧

Steve had always been convinced that the biggest New Years in Hawkins was the one Karen Wheeler threw every year. It was practically full, every room decorated with streamers, tinsel, party hats, appetizers on every available surface and an abundance of alcohol. 

Now, it wasn’t a crazy party, like the ones he used to attend in High School and go to school the next day with a hangover, but it was pretty big and exciting. Overwhelming too, and he had warned you about it too. 

You seemed comfortable among his friends, although he considered them more as family, even after Cassie had taken your hand when you first arrived and started introducing you to everyone as ‘Her daddy’s girlfriend.’

This horrified Steve, as when he told Karen and everyone that he was inviting you, he made sure to not make the same mistake of Thanksgiving where he didn’t tell Dustin or Claudia that you and him were just friends. 

You were amazing though, just laughing when Cassie announced you as his girlfriend to everyone present and said, “Well I am a girl, and I am his friend.” 

“Exactly!” Cassie replied, a toothy grin that made Steve become suspicious of his daughter’s intention with that comment, as she’s never said anything like that about you before. He couldn’t really dwell on it though, as Cassie was eventually dragged away by the kids (Not. Kids. Anymore. Steve), leaving the adults like him upstairs.

There were a lot of people here, Steve had warned you prior that there would be, but everytime his eyes would find you across the room, he’d find you smiling and talking to someone, though he noticed it was mostly Claudia, who was absolutely delighted to see you again. 

“So…she’s really just your friend , Steve?” 

Nancy Wheeler was suddenly beside Steve, a woman he hadn’t seen for longer than he’d seen Robin. Steve turned away from you, and looked at her. 

“What?” 

Nancy laughed, “Nevermind. How have you been? Robin told me you’re working at Scoops Ahoy again…” 

Steve grimaced, but should’ve figured Robin would tell her this. He spent the next few minutes catching up with his old friend (And high school girlfriend), Steve telling her that he read one of the stories she reported on in the paper a while ago that gained immense popularity, and so on. She had done a lot, and really all he had to report was that he was working three different jobs, and made one new friend, which was you. 

His drink was gone by the end of it, and he excused himself to go some more in the kitchen and decided before doing so he should go down to the basement to see what Cassie was up to as it was going to be close to midnight and she might fall asleep. He walked down the steps of the basement, already hearing loud cursing that irked him. The ambience of the basement was suddenly not very Steve Approved. 

They were playing a Dungeons and Dragons campaign, Cassie included , sitting in between Max and Lucas as Mike Wheeler spoke dramatically, leaving everyone, including Cassie, on the edge of their seats. Well, except Max. She was giving Mike an unamused look. 

“Shit, I knew we shouldn’t have done that,” Dustin cursed when Mike came to the conclusion of his overdramatics, and Steve scoffed loudly. 

“Hey, hey, there’s a child present,” Steve told them, resting his hands on his waist. All of them looked over at Steve, and it was Max who said, “Well now there is, you just walked in..” 

There were cackles from everyone and Steve shook his head, unamused with that comment even though he felt like he walked right into it. 

“Yeah, yeah just watch your language. I don’t want my daughter cursing like a sailor,” Steve replied and they all sighed, a chorus of begrudging apologies and eyerolls being thrown his way. 

“What are you doing down here, anyway? Wouldn’t you rather be with your girlfriend?” Mike asked, leaning back in his seat and giving Steve a look. 

“Seeing if my kid’s alright, and she’s not -” Steve sucked in a breath, not wanting to waste it on telling everyone that again as the way they all looked at him told him they weren’t going to believe him otherwise. 

“She’s the same girl from the video store, right?” Max suddenly asked, making Steve pause for a moment and she added before he could respond, “The girl’s whose number you couldn’t get.”

“What?” Steve asked. 

“She was at the video store,” Max repeated, “Come on, you remember. Lucas, you were there too.” 

Lucas looked confused and Max scoffed at him.

It had taken Steve a moment before he remembered what Max was talking about, how in the summer one of the first times you met was in the video store and Max had interacted with you for even a few seconds. 

“Yes, it’s the same girl,” Steve told her, and Max snapped her fingers and gave a pointed look to Dustin, “I told you it was her.” 

“How was I supposed to know that? I wasn’t even there , I was just relaying the information of Steve’s new girlfriend,” Dustin said, before Lucas was suddenly nodding. 

“Oh, oh I remember her now,” he said, then looked at Steve, “Wait, if she’s his girlfriend then that means he did get her number.” 

“I thought it was pretty much established that he didn’t,” Max replied to her boyfriend. Steve watched as the short back and forth ensued, Cassie looking in between the two everytime one talked, and his expression became bemused as Max ended with, “He didn’t get her number.” 

She was right, he didn’t, but why he was offended by that he had no clue, because from what he remembers- he didn’t even ask for your number that day, in fact it wasn’t until a few weeks after he did (he was NOT going to tell them that though)…soon the conversation turned toward you though in the span of a few seconds. 

“I like her, she seems nice,” El had said, and Will had agreed with his sister. 

“She’s also cool, remember when I told you guys she’s interested in learning to play Dungeons and Dragons, so already better than Steve,” Dustin said, and all of them full-heartedly agreed. Steve knew it was just meant to tease him, so he didn’t take that to heart that much. 

“Right, well, I was just checking on Cass, so watch your language and please don’t make my daughter think I’m lame with your comments,” Steve said, pointing at all of them, and it was almost majestic how all of them snorted one after the other for that comment. He scowled, and was about to turn before Cassie called out to him. 

She was getting out of her seat, and then standing in front of him as she asked, “When are you going to give her our gift?”

Steve blinked for a moment before answering, “We can do it now, go get her and I’ll go grab it from the car.” He was already digging into his pockets for his keys, but Cassie was stopping him. 

“I’m playing!” she declared, “You give her it.” 

Steve furrowed his brows at his daughter and asked, “Wait, so you don’t want to watch her open the gift we got her?”

His daughter was shaking her head, but Steve felt like he saw something in her eyes, something mischievous and all in all suspicious . 

“I think I’m getting sleepy too,” Cassie said, then yawned dramatically after. Steve squinted his eyes at her, wondering why she was acting so strangely.

“Just give her the gift yourself Steve, jeesh,” Mike called, anxious to get back to the campaign and spend as much time as possible on it before the clock struck 12. Steve gave him a look before looking back at Cassie who was giving him a very sleepy smile. Sighing, he nodded and said if she’s that tired then she should lay down before he kissed her head and turned to go back upstairs. 

Cassie watched her dad go, before she turned and eagerly skipped back in her chair between Max and Lucas. 

“What are you up to, Cassie?” Max asked suspiciously, and the little girl could only laugh.

Steve had left the house, grabbing the gift from the backseat and came back in to find you. You were in the living room, sitting on the couch beside Nancy and having a conversation when Steve was suddenly placing his hand on your shoulder to capture your attention. 

You hummed as you looked up at him, cheeks a little warm from the alcohol you’ve consumed since you arrived at this party and smiling sweetly at the sight of his soft stare. 

“Come with me,” Steve told you, and you nodded, turning to tell Nancy you’d be right back. Nancy held her drink up to her lips as she said, “It’s almost midnight, don’t be away long you guys.” 

You chuckled as you stood up, taking your cup with you as you followed Steve into the kitchen. You stopped in front of the island at the center, and turned to ask Steve if everything was alright only to be met with a bright red bag being held in front of your face. 

You blinked softly, your mind moving a little slow that it was indeed a gift for you. The gift that Heidi had told you he was getting you. 

“Oh you didn’t have to…” you said, gazing at the bag. Steve shook his head. 

“No, I wanted to…Cass threw something in there too for you, by the way, I think it was a huge candy cane and a pencil, sorry to spoil the surprise.” 

You chuckled at that, taking the bag from Steve and twisting around so you could place it on the counter. Steve moved to the other side of the counter, leaning on it with both forearms as he watched with his brown eyes you start to take out the red tissue paper. 

The candy cane showed up first, and it was pretty big, the middle of it wrapped with a big red bow with a tag that said from Cassie in all caps. You smiled warmly, setting it aside gently before digging more into the gift. You didn’t find a pencil, but you did find a bag of carrots tied with the same red ribbon as the candy cane.

You laughed loudly, before your other hand covered your mouth and you tried to contain that laugh especially when you looked up and saw Steve’s face. He was completely dumbfounded staring at the carrots. 

“What the…when the hell did she put those in there?” He asked, bewildered by the reveal, “She said she put a pencil in there!” He pointed at them, before he turned his head toward the entryway to the basement, where he knew Cassie still was, knowing that if she was here she’d be laughing just like you were. Maybe that was why she was acting so weird…she threw carrots in there without telling him. 

You held the bag of carrots to your chest and said, “ I love them. Don’t know what’s going to beat these to be honest, but we’ll see.” You shook the bag lightly, feeling that it was pretty heavy, and something clinked together in there.

Steve turned back to you, horrified by what you just did and you shook it again lightly to freak him out some more before setting the carrots down and digging deeper into the bag. Your hand wrapped around something, and you knew what it was before you even brought it out. 

It was a bottle of wine. 

“ Oh .”

You looked at it closely, already feeling your mouth water just a little and you said suspiciously, “How did you know I was out?” He laughed at that, leaning away to push his hair out of his face nervously before leaning back down.

“I remember you bought that like weeks ago,” Steve told you quickly, “Then you bought it again before Christmas…I assumed it would be gone.”

You grinned widely, and set it down. You really can’t believe he remembered that. 

“There’s more in there, like two more things. Robin helped me figure out what else to get you.” 

“Then I know it’ll be good ,” you teased, making his sweet smile turn into an amused one. You took out the next thing. It was a candle, a three-wick one to be precise and you gasped loudly, tearing off the tin lid and bringing it up to your nose. 

You welcomed the sweet, vanilla scent of it, and sighed loudly. Steve was staring at you expectantly, eyes a little concerned as if he was afraid you weren’t going to like it. 

“You like it? Because I like this candle too, a lot, I’ve gone through like three of them and I thought you’d like it too,” Steve told you, and you smelled it again. 

“Are you kidding? It smells so good,” you replied, still holding the candle up to your face, “It’s so sweet, thank you.” 

You inhaled it again, before setting that aside too. Steve continued to watch with anticipation as you finally pulled the last item out. It was wrapped in paper, so you meticulously removed it before you realized it was a mug that said ‘ World’s Best Teacher.’ A little cheesy, but incredibly sweet as he said, “I know you’re not a teacher yet, but hey…when you are , you have the mug to prove it.” 

You just stared at the mug, your cheeks hurting from how much you’d been smiling and you lifted your eyes to meet him as you thanked him, “Thank you Steve…and Cassie too wherever she is.” 

You set the mug down beside the other gifts, feeling slightly overwhelmed (and a little shameful as all you got Steve was a card and giftcard). You relayed this to him and he laughed softly at you. 

“I literally displayed that card,” Steve said, before his cheeks turned red with embarrassment that he’d just said that, and he coughed into his hand before asking, “So you liked them?”

You nodded, “Yes, although…I think the carrots were my favorite,” you said jokingly. Steve scoffed at you, though the smug grin on his lips showed that he knew it was just a joke, especially as he watched you gaze almost lovingly at the three things he chose for you. 

You loved the gifts, you loved the candle, the wine…the mug …you loved…

You paused your thoughts, as they were about to say you loved him . It was silly…ridiculous even…to say you loved him. You could lie to yourself and say the love you felt for him was platonic, but you knew it was a lie. You fell in love with Steve Harrington. 

He was still looking at you, still leaning on his forearms on the island across from you, brown eyes soft and warm. Your heart just bloomed in your chest, and butterflies just erupted in your stomach, and then…you were leaning in without thinking. 

Steve went still when he felt your lips against his, having not been expecting it, not at all. You were kissing him, literally kissing him. His mind short circuited and he couldn’t keep up with it, that when you pulled away he almost thought it didn’t happen if not for the tingle left on his lips by yours. 

“I…”

Your voice was breathless, and your eyes horrified as you realized what you had just done. You stepped back, pressing your lips, that were surely tingling like Steve’s were, together and you said, “I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have…”

Steve’s mind caught up with him in an instant, and he stood up straight, not wanting you to go all of a sudden. 

“Wait…” he told you, stepping out from behind the counter and moving toward you. His body was engulfed in warmth, mind with disbelief really at what just happened, and he stood in front of you, looking at you almost tenderly. 

You stared back at him, still embarrassed, body a little rigid and tense and he opened his mouth to say something more, anything, and he seemed to be stuck on what he wanted to say, eyebrows furrowing and a frown overcoming his lips before he dropped his head slightly and said, “Don’t be sorry.”

Your own eyebrows furrowed at this, cheeks heating up somehow even more , not understanding what he meant. Suddenly, you felt his hand on your cheek, his touch electrifying, and then his hand was underneath your chin, making you tilt your head upward.

Your breath hitched, not being able to take your eyes off of him. His own brown gaze had flickered downward, resting on yours lips, the lips that were just on his and then…his eyes met yours and he was leaning in again. 

You held your breath.

Then, just as you felt his lips just barely graze yours, the sound of somebody running up the stairs ripped you and Steve out of this moment. He was stepping away from you quickly, and you backed up too, your back hitting the wall just as the door was flung open and Max, Lucas, and Dustin were there wearing their New Years Party hats with a noisemaker in each of their mouths. Dustin had two in his mouth though, weirdly. 

“It’s almost time for the ball to drop,” Dustin stated, voice muffled as he shifted to the side to let Mike, El, and Will walk by the both of them, stalking toward the living room. Cassie was behind them, wearing a party hat and holding another in her hand, which she held out to you. 

“Let’s go!” she said eagerly. You couldn’t really deny her, just standing almost motionlessly as Cassie took your hand and began to pull you. You cast one last look at Steve, who was just standing there with an unreadable expression on his features. 

It was Lucas who stood there silently, looking between both you and Steve, seeing whatever it was that Max and Dustin (and understandably Cassie) seemed to not be seeing at this moment, unless they were just ignoring it. He crossed his arms and hummed quietly to himself. 

Cassie managed to pull you away then, smiling cheekily as she dragged you toward the living room where everyone would be gathered when they ring in the New Year. Steve watched Cassie take you away, expression turning almost sad .

“Hello? Earth to Steve?” Dustin said, then blew the noisemakers, making Steve jump and give him a look. 

“I heard you, Henderson, jeesh,” Steve said, turning so he could place all your gifts back into the bag. They watched him do so, Lucas with a now knowing look in his eyes and Max with a raised brow. Steve walked to the living room without looking at any of them. 

They watched him go and Lucas said, “They definitely just made out or something.” 

“Well, why wouldn’t they? They’re dating,” Max replied, walking away first. Lucas huffed and followed after her while Dustin stared at the empty kitchen, knowing that Steve and you weren’t actually dating and just playing along with the joke. 

He shook his head and said, “ Seriously ?” to himself.

✧ ✧ ✧

It was almost two weeks into the New Year, and with Cassie starting school up again, Steve dove himself into work. He did this because it was the only thing that kept him from thinking about New Years, from thinking about you . 

And it was hard work because now that he knew how your lips felt against his, he couldn’t stop thinking about you, every crevice of his mind was overtaken by you. You consumed him completely, and if it took focusing on making ten USS butterscotches, rewinding tapes all night, or restocking a bunch of ravioli cans to get him back to a more stable state of mind, that’s what he was going to have to do. 

In the meantime, you had been doing the same. One of the assistant teachers had been out for a while for the afterschool program at Hawkins Elementary, and you offered to fill in. It was easy enough to distract you, as you were doing what you loved and wanted to do for a living, but the moment you were left with your thoughts it was just of Steve and you felt confused, a bit ashamed, and incredibly heated, as when you closed your eyes you could still see the way he looked at you, and feel his large hand on your chin, so close to leaning in and kissing you again. 

Your heart fluttered in your chest at the memory, and heat pooled in your stomach. 

Then, the shame would settle in cruelly, because now it felt like you couldn’t be around the guy, too embarrassed, and fearful that he didn’t want to be around you. You felt sick at the thought of that. 

Until the day Cassie came to see you. 

The conversation had been brief, considering it was at the school library, and it ended with her asking you to join her and her dad ice skating.

“I…I’m not sure, Cass,” you said, voice soft as you were still in the library. She was holding a stack of paperback books, and was shaking her head.

“But you have to, it’s going to close, and you said you could teach me to skate,” Cassie declared, making you sigh at the little girl. 

“ Roller skate,” you replied, and she shrugged then paused before she batted her eyelashes at you and said, “My daddy wants you there, he said we can go only if you go.” 

You stared at Cassie, watching as she said ‘ pleaseeeee’ before sticking her bottom lip out to really sell the puppy dog look she was giving you. You weren’t sure if she was telling you the truth about that, as Steve would’ve called you, but you also didn’t want to say no to Cassie. 

She had made that expression to you before, when she was practically begging you to help her and Steve bake, and you didn’t have Steve to scold her. You knew then that you were for sure going to join them ice skating, and your stomach twisted at the mere thought of seeing Steve. 

What the hell were you going to say to him? You felt like puking, the anxiety was too much, but Cassie had got you to agree to it. Saturday, tomorrow , at Scoops Ahoy in Starcourt (As the skating rink was set up in their parking lot). She had skipped away with a smile on her lips, probably happy knowing she got her way. 

✧ ✧ ✧

It wasn’t a busy day at Scoops Ahoy, as it usually goes in the Winter. There were quite a few people who enjoyed a nice scoop of ice cream or a sundae on even a day as cold as this one, which was probably the coldest day of the season. Still, even with those types of people it wasn’t busy, so Steve was able to easily hold down the fort on his own until his shift ended.

He mainly stayed in the back, doing extra work in counting the inventory of the freezer. He made sure, too, to stay close to the window, so he could hear if any customers approached the counter.

Eventually, the bell did ring, taking his focus away from the numbers on the clipboard he was currently looking over. He didn’t look up, wanting to finish what he was doing first, so instead he called, “Be with you in a moment!” His voice muffled as he had a pen between his lips.

He pulled the pen off of its cap, and it remained between his lips as he quickly jotted something down beside the vanilla ice cream portion. When he finished, he suddenly felt compelled to look up. When he did, he almost spit the cap out on the floor. 

It was the person who had been plaguing his every thought when it wasn’t focused on a task, the person whose lips had touched his if even for a second. It was you , and he had to blink a few times, wondering if he’d become so overworked that he hallucinated you. 

When you smiled sweetly at him, and waved a gloved hand at him, he knew for sure you were real. 

He’d never seen you here before, never , and he suddenly felt, for the first time since high school, very self-conscious in his silly uniform. Thank god he decided to go without the sailor hat today. He very quickly started to move, setting the clipboard aside and taking the cap out of his mouth before he smiled back at you and scrambled to the door that led back to behind the counter. 

“Hey!” Steve said, his voice a little higher than usual, especially when he saw you did a quick glance at the uniform, and he quickly asked, “What- what are you doing here?” 

At his question you lifted your eyes at him and tilted your head as you replied, “I uh…Cassie told me to come. I don’t see her anywhere though?” 

You turned away from Steve, as if not wanting to make eye contact with him as you gestured around the parlor, which made his heart tear, but not when he realized what you had just said. Cassie told you to come?

“Wait- she told you to come here? Right now?” he asked. You nodded, finally looking at him. 

“Yeah, she said something about going ice skating with you both? And well, she conned me into agreeing,” you said, then laughed lamely at your own joke. Steve didn’t laugh, not because he didn’t find it funny, in fact he liked when you laughed at your own remarks, but because…Cassie wasn’t here , and they never discussed going ice skating. Well they did, but the answer was no . 

“If you don’t want me to join because- well- I mean- you know - I can go, I really don’t mind,” you were starting to say, but Steve was suddenly resting his hands on his waist and shook his head.

“No! Well…I mean…I think she conned both of us,” he replied incredulously, “We’re not…she’s not even here - I won’t even see her until tomorrow because she’s at a sleepover.”

This had visibly taken you off guard, your eyebrows that were once furrowed were not raising before you opened your mouth and let out a breath. 

“She is?” you asked, “When was that planned?” 

“Earlier this week,” Steve replied, shaking his head in disbelief. What was Cassie thinking? Creating a fake plan and making you come all the way down here? He was genuinely confused by her strange behavior. Immediately, he started to apologize for her, “I’m so sorry, I don’t know why she would even do that. I mean, I know she wants to go ice skating really bad, but- I didn’t think she’d make something up in order to go ice skating, but, she’s not even here -” 

“No, no it’s okay, maybe I misheard her,” you said, though you were sure you didn’t, but decided to convince yourself that you did. You rather ended up laughing, finding a bit of amusement in the situation. Steve listened to your laugh, the awkward feeling he dreaded when he would see you again was replaced with a familiar warmth.

He laughed too, finally. 

“I know you said it’s okay, but yeah I’m sorry,” he said after laughing, and you nodded. 

“Well…since I’m here I can’t help but recall…” you trailed off, and Steve’s stomach twisted pleasantly, thinking you were going to bring up that New Years kiss, but you lifted your eyes away from him and looked at the menu before finishing with, “...that you said you’d make me a…what was it? A USS Butterscotch ?” 

Steve tilted his head, then laughed breathlessly as he remembered he did technically say he’d treat you to some free ice cream that night. Your eyes averted back to his, and he reached to grab his scooper from his uniform and flipped it expertly as he said, “Coming right up…and maybe, if you want , just to get Cassie back…we could go ice skating and make sure to tell her all about it.” 

The thought made you giggle, imagining his daughter’s face realizing her whatever little trick she had planned backfired and that they still went ice skating without her. 

Soon you were sitting at a booth, Steve sitting across from you and pushing the well-made sundae toward you, then he slid over a spoon as well. 

“I think this is the best one I’ve made,” he admitted to you, though his leg was still bouncing underneath the table, nervous for some reason that you’d hate it. He felt ridiculous because it was ice cream and he’s never met anyone who hated it, especially if it was free and as beautiful as the sundae he just made for you. 

“I like the cones as sails,” you commented, leaning down to admire the piece of art he’d made in an Ice Cream parlor, “It’s cute .”

“ Cute , yeah it is,” he said, though he wasn’t looking at the sundae and you noticed it. You smiled, your heart pacing in your chest before you took the plastic spoon from him, grazing your fingers with his in the process. That was an accident, but a happy one as Steve sucked in a tight breath as he watched you scoop some onto your spoon, taking a cherry one one of the scoops with it. 

It was good, really good, so much that you went for a second spoonful immediately and Steve grinned, “Enjoying it?” 

“This is delicious, damn, I bet it tastes even better in the summer,” you said before taking another spoonful, “Also, I didn’t say , but I love the uniform.” 

You meant it too, the sailor costume suited him somehow, and you thought the shorts looked pretty good on him too. You did feel bad, just a bit, that he had to wear shorts during the winter though. 

His cheeks turned red, and it made you chuckle into your spoon, “Hard to believe no girls liked you when you first worked here, honestly, I think I would’ve been in here everyday to see King Steve serve ice cream.” 

“Believe me, I would’ve had a much better time if you were in here all the time back then,” Steve replied, “You’d probably skate in on your disco roller skates or something, because more than likely you would’ve worked at the old skating rink.”

“ Old skating rink?” you asked, and he nodded and told you that there had been a skating rink where the mall’s arcade is now, but there was a fire a few years back and they never brought it back. You hummed with interest as you ate more of the ice cream. 

“Yeah, they had these uniforms too, not as ridiculous as this ,” he said, patting himself on the chest, “But it was vibrant, and I think they had to wear glow sticks , and then they’d be playing disco music constantly, you would’ve loved it.” 

“Was…” you suddenly paused, the question you were about to ask feeling like one that would overstep a boundary. Steve tilted his head curiously at you, and you shook your head as you averted your attention back to the ice cream. 

“What?” 

“Nothing,” you replied quickly, “Just a dumb question I don’t need the answer to.”

“Well, now I gotta know, come on…just ask,” Steve said, feeling his heart starting to blossom in his chest. He wondered if you were going to ask about New Years, even though it would seem quite random in the conversation. 

You set the spoon into the sundae, and said, “I was just going to ask if…Cassie’s mom was one of those girls.” 

Steve paused, not expecting that out of all questions. It’s never come up in conversation with the both of you, but it wasn’t all surprising after a second of contemplation. She had been looming over him lately. He shifted in his spot, and inhaled before he said, “Nah. She actually knew me before …we were actually friends …but…yeah it’s a long story. It uh…we actually worked at the video store together after me and Robin got fired from Scoops and well..yeah you know…I guess it does say something that we didn’t get together when I worked here.”

You were relieved he had replied. He leaned back in the booth, a troubled look coming over his features as if he didn’t know what else to say, and you cleared your throat as you ate another scoop then set the spoon down. 

“Sorry for asking, it isn’t my place,” you said, cheeks turning warm and feeling stupid, but he quickly shook his head. 

“No, no , it’s alright,” he said, “I mean Cassie had a mom, obviously, she’s just not here and I can’t be mad at you for being curious.” 

You smiled tightly, and he reached up to smooth his hair back before he exhaled softly and said, sensing you weren’t convinced it was okay, “Seriously. It’s okay. I can even tell you more actually, if you want. She…she was my friend once, then we weren’t friends for a while because she skipped town, then one day she came back and we were friends again and uh…then well… a year later Cassie was born and she left again .” 

He was purposely not telling you specifics, and you weren’t going to press him, still feeling like you were overstepping even though he assured you that you weren’t. You took the spoon again, messing with the ice cream and tearing your eyes away from him as you said, “I’m sorry.” 

Steve shook his head again, then waved his hand for added effect, “You don’t have to be sorry about anything…you know…like on New Years.” 

At the mention of it, you froze, having thought that him not mentioning it meant there was silent agreement to not bring it up and just forget it. You were doing so well not being so awkward. You looked up at him, seeing his cheeks were a little pink before he leaned both hands on the table between you and shot you a sweet grin, and he said, “We were both a little tipsy.” 

For some reason, that made your heart drop and you realized you maybe thought he was going to declare his love for you or something. Not wanting to show it on your face, you were quick to take another scoop of ice cream and stick the spoonful in your mouth before you forced yourself to laugh.

Steve’s eyes flickered your expression without you noticing, a frown flashing over his lips before he too forced a laugh out. Then, both of you were saved by the bell. He turned his head, seeing a family standing by the counter and his eyes flashed to the clock. This would for sure be his last customer before clocking out, before you both go ice skating to spite his trickster of a daughter. 

Meanwhile, as he excused himself, you made it your goal to finish the sundae as a distraction from the conflicted feelings that were stirring inside of you. 

15 minutes had passed then, and before you knew it Steve was emerging from the backroom in a dark red sweatshirt and loose dark gray sweatpants while holding his winter coat in one arm. He certainly looked like someone who was expecting to go straight home after work, because after all it wasn’t planned and you told him that you didn’t have to ice skate if he’d rather go home. 

“No way. I’m not gonna let Cass do this to us without consequences,” he said as he shrugged on his coat, then helped you put yours back on like it was second nature. You didn’t even notice as you put your arms through the sleeves and he pat your shoulders down. 

“We could always just say we went ice skating,” you said, and Steve shook his head. 

“No, we’re doing this for real,” he said, determined to go ice skating even if it was starting to snow outside again, because after all the ice skating rink was set up in the parking lot of Starcourt. Couples, families, groups of teens already with their rental skates on skating in a circle by the time you were out there with Steve, holding your respective rental skates.

After getting the skates on, you placed your beanie on your head, and then your gloves while Steve pulled random gloves from his coat pocket and placed them on his hands as well. You wondered if he was warm enough as you observed him, eyes flickering over the snowflakes that decorated the strands of his brunette hair. 

You were a bit jealous of them, then felt ridiculous for being jealous of a damn snowflake. You scowled at your silly thoughts as you stood up, balancing on the skates with ease and Steve lifted his head at you then did the same. Although, he wasn’t as elegant as you. Immediately his arms spread out, and his legs twisted awkwardly. 

“Oh shit ,” he said, desperately trying to balance on the blades and you could only stand there staring at him, amusement replacing your self-embarrassment. 

“Are you good?” you asked, and after a moment he managed to keep still and without looking up from the ground he replied, “Totally. I’m totally good. Don’t worry about me.” 

You furrowed your brows before you said, “Have you ice skated before Steve?” 

“ Yeah ,” he said, trying to step toward you confidently but then cursing when his foot bent slightly. You caught his hands this time, laughing softly, “I’m just not, you know, good at it.”

“I find that hard to believe,” you said, letting his hands grip yours tightly as he found his balance again. You weren’t even on the ice yet. At your words, Steve lifted his head to meet your eyes, and your faces were in such close proximity that his cheeks grew warm. 

“What do you mean?” he asked. 

“Just Robin went on about how you were good at everything in high school,” you teased, starting to step backward toward the ice. Steve grasped your hands tighter, and replied with a nervous laugh, “Everyone has their weakness. I wasn’t a hockey player, I was a basketball, baseball, tennis, badminton…” he trailed off purposely with other sports that had nothing to do with ice skating, making you giggle. 

“Are you sure you want to do this then? Like I said we could always just say we went ice skating,” you said as you were right at the ice. Steve nodded confidently. 

“I mean, I already got the skates on, and then I have a skater to help me so…” 

“Well, I am better at roller skating…but if we both fall and get hurt at least we’ll have evidence we went ice skating,” you said, half-joking as you yourself were a bit nervous. You were for sure more of a roller skater than an ice skater, but it seemed like Steve didn’t know the difference. A skater was good at all kinds of skating to him. 

“God the last thing I need is to get injured,” he said, hands still clasped tightly around yours, “ Oh my god .” 

You were on the ice now, gliding backwards and pulling Steve with you. His legs spread out, he nearly fell onto you as you laughed. 

“Should we have brought Cassie’s elbow and knee pads for you?” You teased again, and he laughed sarcastically.

“Ha. Ha. Very funny,” he said then panicked when he almost slipped, and would’ve fallen had you not been holding onto him, “Yup, yup this was a bad idea,” he told you, eyes wide and cheeks even more red from embarrassment and the cold weather. 

You shook your head and said, “We’re already here! Come on, let’s at least skate one lap.” 

From afar there was a shout, then laughter and you both turned your heads to see someone had fallen and their friends were laughing at them. They flipped them off before moving to stand, and Steve grimaced, already imagining that to be him . 

“Here,” you removed one hand from his, and his eyes grew even wider, believing for a second you were going to do what some parents do when teaching their kids how to swim, just throwing them into the water so their survival instincts kick in (except you were going to leave him, a grown man, on a sheet of ice wearing knives for shoes), but you kept a firm hold on one hand, “Just focus on staying balanced, and if you think you’re going to fall…well let me go so I don’t go down either .” 

Steve glided away from you, but found a nice balance by just holding your hand. Truth be told, he was starting to get an idea, as it really wasn’t his first time ice skating. Just after the first time he vowed never to do it again, yet, here he was with the woman he couldn’t stop thinking about even before that tipsy (though you both knew you were anything but tipsy that night) willingly ice skating. 

“ One lap ,” Steve told you, and you squeezed his hand. 

“One lap,” you repeated, then grinned as you glided forward, Steve’s wobbling legs struggling to follow suit. 

From an outsider's perspective, you and Steve appeared to be a couple on some sort of date, and since there were people there who recognized the pair to be you and Steve, such as Holly Wheeler with her friends, and a few faculty members of Hawkins Elementary, it seemed to them that it was a date. That you and Steve, as they all suspected, were together romantically. 

Your laughs could be heard by them as you passed by, and whenever you were looking forward, Steve would be looking at you with adoration in brown eyes, blinking only to get the snowflakes off of his thick lashes because he didn’t want to have any other reason to take his eyes off of you. 

He was clearly, so desperately, in love with you from the eyes of others, clear to everyone but the two people it should be clear to. As far as you both knew (or convinced yourselves really), you were just friends who decided to skate together in the beginning of the final snow storm of the season, as the wind picked up and the snowfall became more frequent. 

You had skated more than one lap, your hands not leaving each other even once as you shared this moment together, and you would’ve gone for more had the rink decided not to close early. Both of you were disappointed, hating that the fun was over so soon, hating that you’d have to leave each other again, all so you both can go home and lay in your respective beds with warmth bursting in your stomachs at the thought of the other. You would both look at the phones, thinking if you should call the other, if the other would pick up right away because these feelings were killing them too. 

It seemed though that the night wouldn’t end that way, as Steve had walked you to your car like the gentleman he was, and it didn’t start . You were practically shivering as you attempted to start it again, twisting the key in the ignition and getting nothing. 

“Well damn ,” you said with a scowl, and a chatter of your teeth as Steve furrowed his eyebrows before he cursed himself. 

“I said I’d look at your car and I never did,” he said, finding a way to blame himself for your predicament, but you were quick to brush it off. 

“No it’s my fault, I had plenty of chances to get it looked at and I just…never did,” you laughed, feeling foolish, “It would break down in the middle of a snow storm though.” 

Steve laughed too, though it was more of a pity laugh before he said he’d be more than happy to take you home, promising that there’d be working heat in his car. You didn’t have to be asked twice, letting him lead you toward his familiar car. 

✧ ✧ ✧

The blizzard had gotten worse by the time Steve pulled up to your house, pulling the car into your empty driveway carefully with a hyperfocus driver’s in the snow should have. His lights were barely able to capture your garage door, stepping on the breaks as he did. Your seatbelt locked, and you bounced forward slightly as he quickly apologized. 

“It’s so bad out there, god,” you commented, not blaming him for almost crashing into your garage. You also silently thought to yourself it was just as well that your car broke down and Steve had to take you home. You probably would’ve never made it here had you had to drive alone from Starcourt. 

“ Yeah ,” Steve agreed, looking through the windshield as the wipers worked overtime to get the snow off, “I hope I can get home in this.” He shook his head with discontentment, and you blinked, an idea popping in your mind. 

“You don’t have to…we can put your car in the garage, and you can stay until it dies down a little?” you suggested innocently. Steve looked at you now, looking quite touched by your invitation and you offered a small smile. 

“Would it be okay to ask for something hot? Like coffee?” he asked you, and you chuckled. 

“You read my mind.”

It’s how you found yourself in your kitchen with Steve Harrington for the second time, except this time neither of you were covered in various baking ingredients. You were in front of your french coffee press, the thick scent of coffee beans filling the atmosphere. Steve was rubbing his hands together, desperate to feel some kind of heat as your heater was barely kicking on.

The wind blew outside, causing the boards of your windows to knock together loudly and then your house to shake momentarily as well. Steve looked around, and then blew into his hands as he said, “You mind if I take the couch? I doubt this is going to go down anytime soon.” 

You glanced at him, the idea of him sleeping over making your heart leap of your chest, as you felt the last thing you needed was the man you desperately wanted romantically, but couldn’t have to be sleeping under the same roof as you. You wouldn’t be able to sleep, but who would you be to refuse a friend , especially in a storm like this. 

You poured coffee into one of the mugs you had taken out of the cupboard, clearing your throat as you said, “No, I don’t mind, I’ll get some extra blankets and pillows after this…I actually wonder if Cassie is okay.” 

“Oh I know she’s loving this,” Steve replied, noticing you were pouring coffee into a mug and staring at the steaming mug with anticipation, “She’s probably only upset she’s not home because when blizzards like this happen I usually make her hot chocolate and we sit in the kitchen just listening to it or in the living room staring out the window. Weather like this intrigues her.” 

You smiled, and said, “That’s good. I’d be scared to death at her age, honestly.”

You held the mug out for Steve and he gladly took it, inhaling deeply and practically moaning. You laughed at that, cheeks becoming inflamed as you put creamer into your coffee to sweeten it up. Steve did the same. 

“Yeah, me too,” he replied to your prior statement, “I actually used to think the house was going to blow away and we’d end up halfway across the country.” 

“Honestly, at this rate, I wouldn’t be surprised,” you said just as another sharp gust of wind passed and gave a violent shake to the house. Steve looked around again, looking nervous now that it may be true, but the number of blizzards he went through in his childhood alone was enough evidence to know that it simply wasn’t possible. It was one of the main reasons he made sure Cassie wouldn’t have to endure a bad storm or blizzard like this alone.

Steve took a sip of his coffee then, not caring that it was still too hot to drink, and just wanting to feel some kind of warmth as it seemed your heater was struggling to fight against the cold. It should’ve been the first sign that something was going to happen. 

You leaned into your counter, holding your own mug with both hands and breathing in the steam deeply and closing your eyes.

“This is kind of nice, actually,” you admitted as you took a sip as well, listening to the harsh winds and Steve agreed.

“Thanks for letting me stay, by the way,” he told you, “I thought maybe I’d be pushing it by asking.”

You shook your head, as your concern wasn’t with him overstepping any kind of boundary. 

“Don’t. I mean, we’re friends, Steve,” you willed yourself to say into your coffee.

Steve averted his eyes to yours, seeing you were looking mindlessly at nothing, and he pressed his lips together before breathlessly saying, “ Yeah , friends.”

You both silently drank your coffee, enjoying its warmth and enjoying the way it eased the sudden awkwardness between the two of you. It was a perfect distraction, for the time being, until you both wanted more.

As you poured a second round of coffee into his mug, Steve cleared his throat and said, “ Great coffee.” 

You thanked him cheekily, and Steve dragged the mug closer to him, keeping his gaze on you as you poured more into your own mug. He didn’t know what to say, unsure, but there was a sudden hard gust of wind, and then it sounded like something crashed . You both had jumped, you were thankfully not holding the coffee, and before either of you could question what just happened, you were suddenly engulfed in darkness. 

“God, the lights went out!” you called, hands grasping your kitchen counter as you navigated in the darkness. Steve noticed you sounded further into the kitchen, and blinked his eyes a few times trying to adjust to the sudden darkness. 

“Got any flashlights?” Steve asked you, speaking the direction of a drawer being opened and rummaged through. 

“In the garage,” you told him, and then he saw a small flicker of light. You were holding an ignited match, and then, you were lighting a candle to at least give some light for your venture to the garage.

You approached Steve then, holding the lit up candle in your hand and Steve was immediately met with the familiar vanilla scented candle he had in his own house, the same candle he had gifted you on New Years. 

“Hey…I know this candle,” Steve said, and you chuckled softly as you replied, “ Yeah , huh, it’s like you knew we’d need this.” 

Steve inhaled deeply, loving the smell and you did the same, and said, “I love it so much.” 

Your face was illuminated by the candlelight, casting a pretty glow on your features and Steve had to release a breath, a breath of which almost blew the candle out. This made you laugh and lean away from him to make sure he didn’t and told him to follow you. 

You and him had gone into your garage, you picking out the flashlights that Steve turned on so you more light than the candle. It was the harsh cold in there that made you both realize that if the power was out, then you wouldn’t have your heater . 

“We’re going to freeze,” you said in a dreadful tone, already feeling a chill coming over you. Steve was holding your only working flashlight, and shined it around your living room as he said something about body warmth , before he paused and said, “We can light a fire? Have any wood?” 

You promptly looked over his body warmth comment, since he seemed to do so, and you paused as you remembered that in early December Heidi’s husband had given you a bunch of firewood because he had cut too many. You had planned to use it, but never found the time to actually start a fire, so it simply sat in your garage. You relayed this to Steve, and he seemed more than happy to go and get them. 

“We should bring all the blankets and pillows you have out here so we can sit on the floor,” Steve told you, and you nodded, turning to go grab those while Steve busied himself with starting a fire. You had decided, as well, that you were going to light various candles, or at least the ones you could find. 

You placed them on a few surfaces located in your living room, and just as you set down the last one, a fire was ignited in your fireplace and Steve was leaning over it, rubbing his hands in front of the growing flames and nodding as if proud of himself that you weren’t going to freeze to death, not on his watch. 

The sight made you smile, thankful that Steve was here and thankful that you never used the firewood. He turned then, looking around the dimly lit living room as he noticed there were more candles and you watched his brown eyes flicker all over the room until they finally found you. 

“Ah, there you are, come on, it’s warmer right here,” Steve told you, and you set down the candle and obliged. You fell to the ground next to him, not before grabbing one of your blankets, and sighed at the heat that emitted from the well lit fire. 

“Better?” he asked you and nodded. 

“ Yeah ,” you said, holding your hands out to the flame and Steve gave a nod as he said, “Good.” 

After getting a bit warm, Steve suddenly laughed and said, “Got any more of that wine I got you? Could help warm us up a bit more.” 

You were quick to stand, loving that idea, and Steve seemed surprised that you in fact did have the wine. You took the flashlight, and he listened to a bit of rustling in the kitchen and the sound of a cabinet being opened and closed followed by the sound of glasses clinking. 

As you were setting everything on the counter, there was another gust of wind that shook the house violently, and you almost dropped one of the glasses. You looked around, then shook your head and wondered as you grabbed the wine if you had a battery operated stereo. 

You did, actually, and thought Steve might appreciate something playing over the harsh sound of the blizzard going on outside…even if it was just disco music. 

It actually amused Steve, as he poked at the growing fire, and then started to busy himself with setting up the blankets and pillows you had thrown on the floor more comfortably, when he suddenly heard music from behind him. 

“So we don’t have to listen to this blizzard threatening to blow my house across the country,” you said with a giggle as you walk toward him, already feeling the warmth of the crackling fire. Steve grinned, and told you it was a good idea and you settled onto the floor beside him, holding out a wine glass to him. 

“Is this the same one I got you on New Years, or is it a whole new one?” Steve asked you as he took the wine from you, determined to be the one to pour it like the gentleman he was. 

“It’s the same one,” you said, holding out your own glass and watching him pour the dark liquid in it, “I didn’t have time to drink it…and if I did, we would’ve even had any because I wouldn’t have had time to get another anyway…” 

“Well, thank goodness for a busy schedule,” Steve joked as he finished pouring some into his own glass and he lifted it toward you, “Cheers.” 

You clink your glass with his with a soft laugh before you settled into the nest of pillows and blankets and begin sipping your wine. The house warmed up gradually, or at least in the living room where you sat, and the wine, even after a couple of sips, was doing its job as well. You felt a warm heat settle in you caused by the alcohol, and was growing more content with the situation you found yourself in with Steve. 

Plus, the fire was pleasant to just stare at him, the wood crackling and embers glowing. 

After another minute of silence, Steve turned to you and said almost jokingly, “So…I’m gonna be here for a while. Plenty of time for us to exchange our life story, actually.”

He laughed softly after and so did you, but then another silence fell before the both of you.

As Steve sat there, thinking about how to follow up with that, he suddenly thought of your question from earlier in Scoops Ahoy, and while he really didn’t mind you asking, he did wonder why you asked anyway. So, he brought it up again and that dread crossed your face was apparent. 

He thought it was cute though, seeing you distressed about it when you didn’t need to be and said, “I just wanna know. Did someone say anything because this town talks.”

You turned to him, leaning your elbow on the couch you were leaning on and told him that Heidi had brought it up, which didn’t surprise him.

“I was just curious,” you said lamely, “We were talking about you, and then it just came up about her leaving or something.”

Steve was about to sip his wine but stopped midway, ears almost perking like a dog’s reaction to the sound of a crinkling bag when he heard you and Heidi were talking about him. 

“You were talking about me?” He asked, adding a teasing element to his voice. You looked at him, and scoffed slightly, seeing him grin slyly at you even in the dim lighting from the fire.

You were going to lie to him, say that he was brought up in conversation because of Cassie or some school event, but something suddenly compelled you to tell the truth of the contents of the conversation before the New Year’s party, before you kissed him and he almost kissed you again. You brought your wine up to your lips, downing most of it in order to muster up whatever courage you could.

Steve was already holding the wine bottle out in order to refill your glass. You held it out to him as you spoke.

“Well, she was just saying that you’ve never spent so much time with another woman since Cassie’s mom,” you said, keeping your eyes on Steve to observe his reaction, “She seems to think that it’s because you like me…”

Saying it outloud had you inwardly cringing, as you felt like a teenager again trying to tell her crush that she likes him and hopes he likes her too. These feelings had a way of bringing that out, so much that you just kept talking.

“I keep telling her we’re just friends though,” you added quickly when he was done pouring wine, “But you probably know how she is…” 

As you continued to talk, finding excuses for what you’d just said, Steve could only watch you, drinking his own glass of wine, slightly amused by your rambling. 

“But that’s a lie because she did tell me that you had seen someone else, I don’t know her name but-”

“Brenda?” Steve said, and the sound of him speaking and you froze, realizing you had started to ramble and immediately shrunk in your spot as you forced yourself to meet his eyes and shrugged weakly. He sipped the rest of his wine, then went to pour more in his own glass, “God, this town probably knows more about my life than I do.” 

He laughed weakly, and you sighed. 

“I don’t purposely go around asking about you, by the way, I like to learn whatever it is about you with you, like now,” you said nervously, and Steve half-smiled at that. 

“Even if you did, I can't blame you, I don’t really talk about that part of my life because…well I’m more concerned with Cassie,” he said, then coughed slightly, “But uh- what else did she tell you?” 

You blinked softly, then said, half-lying to yourself, “For the record I don’t take her words to heart…but she said that…well you never did things with Brenda that you do with me.” 

Steve was very quickly reminded by Robin’s words the first night was back in Hawkins for a visit. She was right, Steve thought, Steve doesn’t just let people in his life. He doesn’t just invite anyone to Thanksgiving, and now New Years , go apple-picking with anyone who isn’t his daughter, and or suggest going ice skating when he knew he wasn’t very good at it. He doesn’t do these things, not since…well Robin had brought that up too . 

“It’s silly, I try not to think too much about it because-” 

“She’s right,” Steve suddenly said, and stared at the flames of the fire for a moment before he continued to say, “I didn’t do any of that with her…I haven’t done a lot of things with anyone since Cassie’s mom…until now that is.” 

It was a big step for him to even say anything, feeling slightly nervous, and you tilted your head gently. He pressed his lips together before chuckling breathlessly, hating that the thought of her mom in this context still bugged him so bad. 

But he did say you both would have time to share each other’s life stories, even though it was jokingly. He sipped his wine again, then licked his lips nervously before he said, “I was just not comfortable letting anyone into Cassie’s life, and she had told me she understood and would be okay with it…but I guess she changed her mind and forgot to let me know.” 

“So it just didn’t work out,” you said, and he nodded. 

“Yeah, and it made feel terrible, and stupid honestly, but…Cassie’s my number one priority, and always will be…after what happened with her mom…I have a hard time with you know, romance ,” he laughed bitterly at the end of his sentence, and it made you frown as you could tell it wasn’t out of amusement. 

“Did you love her?” 

It seemed only natural to the conversation for you to ask.

“Did I love Brenda? No,” he said, then felt bad how easily he said it, “God that sounds so bad...it just wasn’t really a loss like Cassie’s mom had been. Only disappointing.”

You pressed your lips together gently, then said, “So you loved Cassie’s mom.”

Steve paused. He never really thought of her in that aspect anymore, as he struggled to admit he had any romantic feelings toward her because of the frustration of her just leaving Cassie. But he did love her, he couldn’t change that…

“We were never… together though, always just friends, and when she came back to Hawkins a year after we graduated and worked together at the Video Store…we decided to hook up. It was one night, and then…she was pregnant,” Steve told this without warning really, but you were intrigued by the story you wouldn’t admit that you wanted to hear. You’d rather it from him, then anyone else to know what happened. 

“So… yeah I did love her, at least after, I mean, she was pregnant with our child you know? Totally unplanned, and I wasn’t about to just leave her, so I stayed and then I fell in love…but I guess I was the only one...to fall in love and to stay.”

He downed the rest of his coffee, and you took a sip of yours. 

“That’s… a lot ,” you said truthfully, not knowing what else to even say. Steve nodded. 

“Yeah, yeah you’re telling me,” he said, placing his mug down for the last time, “What about you? Have any tragic love stories?” He was attempting to lighten the mood after his short rant, and you could only shake your head. 

“Like that one? No , I’ve never had the time,” you said, which was something Steve could relate to, “I was really into my studies, always to myself, I barely even had friends …then you know, my dad got sick, so I stopped my life to be with him at the end of his...and now here I am.” 

You gestured around the room, and Steve shook his head as if he were in disbelief, “Really? Is it just me, the single dad in the room, who has a tragic love story?”

You laughed and shrugged, and he said, “Yeah…it’s rough , but…at least I have Cassie…and well… you .” 

He was taking a risk saying that to you, knowing he meant more than just as a friend. You found yourself smiling weakly at that, the heat of the room and alcohol intermixing with the normal warmth Steve always made you feel.

You sipped your wine slowly then, and you asked him if he could tell you what happened with Cassie’s mom. Steve looked torn by the question, eyes falling to the wine as he swirled it nervously and let out a breath. 

“I still don’t know the answer to that,” Steve said bitterly, then shook his head, “For a while, we just co-parented you know, then one day she dropped Cassie off and just…never came back.”

You looked saddened by his words, and Steve took another long sip of his wine, finishing his second glass. You grabbed the bottle, pouring some more in your glass before holding it out for Steve. He held his glass out, thanking you quietly. He hated talking about this, but maybe it was time he did. 

“Did you ever find her?” 

Steve shook his head, laughing bitterly at that. 

“Nope, and I tried. I really did, but…she just vanished off the face of earth.” 

You kept your gaze on the side of Steve’s face, even as you sipped your wine. You could barely see him in the dim lighting of the fire that was still ablaze in your fireplace beside the both of you. Steve sighed, rotating his wine glass again before he started to speak again.

“I was so fucking mad,” he admitted,  “Not because I had to take care of Cassie myself, no I could handle that, I was practically doing it already, it was just…you know… Cassie . She didn’t understand that her mom just left her.”

The memories of those days that followed flooded through his mind, memories that still made Steve mad. Cassie was so young, too young, and he remembered how every morning she would sit in the living room by the window just waiting for her mom to show up. He kept looking for her during those days, calling around, even actively going out , but her trailer was practically abandoned, everything left behind but all her clothes, the same suitcase she used when she stayed with Steve and his parents during the last month of her pregnancy, and her car. She just dropped Cassie off and left, and it was planned. 

He didn’t realize his fists were clenching, and his body was becoming tense. You did though, frowning softly as you reached over to touch his shoulder. Steve turned his head a bit, feeling your touch bringing him back to reality. 

“I remember her just waiting by the window for her to just show up, then just watching her give up …” he continued, now looking at you, “And…to be honest, I’m so fucking scared what that is going to do to her. Right now she is okay, she is happy , but what happens when she gets older and when she asks me what happened to mom? And I have to tell her that her own mom abandoned her? And it’s suddenly a concept she fully grasps? What the hell am I going to do?”

He was asking you, even though he knew it wasn’t fair to. Cassie wasn’t your responsibility, but as the months turn into years the question has just been gnawing at him everytime he looked at his little girl, remembering her little face of defeat when she started to realize her mom wasn’t going to come back to her. When she stopped sitting by that window.

It broke his heart, and he wished somehow that he could’ve shielded her from it all. 

“It’s…not really the same thing, but…” 

You actually speaking made Steve’s eyes flicker back to yours. 

“I mean, I was also the daughter of a single dad, as you know,” you started, “My mom passed away when I had barely turned 5. Her funeral is one of the first things I remember, but even then it’s a little fuzzy. I barely remember her actually or even how she looked aside from a few pictures we had, but my dad never put any of them up again when we moved. She didn’t abandon me, not like Cassie’s mom, but as a kid who barely understood death it kind of felt like it.” 

You shifted in your spot, eyes looking at the fire now and it was Steve’s turn to stare at you. 

“My dad was always gone too, always working, and I never really had a constant person beside him in my life and even then, he wasn’t really constant. He had to work, you know, keep him and his daughter fed. We had our special moments though,” you smiled to yourself, though it was sad he worked so much you still cherished when you’d go out to a burger joint sometimes, when he saved up to buy you your first pair of roller skates, almost enough to make you overlook the years you spent by yourself. 

“There were some, like my fifth grade teacher I mentioned, you probably don’t even remember,” you laughed, but Steve shook his head.

“No I do, you brought her up when we were baking,” Steve said, and you felt a bit flushed that he remembered something as small as that, but promptly blamed it on the alcohol sloshing through you and making you warmer than usual. 

“Yeah, she was there for a bit, but then we moved- for the last time thankfully- to the city where there was more work for him,” you continued, “And…I was alone again. I did fun stuff, it’s where I was first introduced to disco…” You lifted your hand, gesturing to the boombox that had been playing the occasional 70s disco hit in the background of your conversation.

Steve smiled at that, disco suddenly taking a place in his heart in a way he never expected it to. 

“But I was alone , and a lot of the time I resented my mom, my dad too because at times it felt like they both left me,” you said, “I didn’t have anybody but myself, and…it certainly affects me even to this day.” 

You took a break to take a sip of your wine, in fact, you were chugging it and Steve just watched you. Despite Steve getting to know you, he knew what you meant. Every snippet of your life, from how you reacted to dinner with the Henderson’s in November, he could see how it does, and he understands it too in a way. It was easy to feel like your own isolated island. 

You set your glass down after downing it and turned to Steve, “Anyway, my point is, I was alone, you know? And Cassie…well it’s going to happen, she’s going to wonder why her mom left her and it will hurt, but…she’s not going to be alone. She has so much support from Robin, Dustin, Claudia, those abundance of kids who absolutely adore her, she just has so much love , but more importantly…she has a great dad.” 

Steve’s heart swelled in his chest by your words, so much that he felt like he was feeling it in his throat. He swallowed thickly, cheeks becoming flushed. You smiled at him, eyes looking quite foggy from the amount of wine you’ve both consumed.  

“I know I’ve barely got here, but…Steve, you’re such a good guy,” you were saying now, expression turning serious, “I can see why everyone is so obsessed with you here, and it’s not just because of your good looks…that’s just an added bonus. You’re a good guy.” 

He smiled at that, and you sighed softly, turning your body toward Steve and reached with the hand that wasn’t holding your wine glass to gently grasp the back of his head. Steve was a little disoriented by this, but his vision cleared when he saw you were at eye level with him. He grew still, just staring back at you breathlessly.

“Cassie is going to be okay because she has you .” 

It felt like something clicked into place when you uttered those words to Steve. He opened his lips, wanting to say something, but not knowing what. His mind picked up on the music that was playing, the soft, funky beat of the Bee Gees “How Deep is Your Love” flowed through the boombox’s speakers, traveling through the room and reaching Steve. 

He was gazing back at you, the fire illuminating half of your face and intensifying your gaze. It was warm in here now, from the fire, the wine, from you . His breath hitched, feeling that electricity again, except it was stronger, more intense and Steve couldn’t ignore it any longer. 

Then you come to me in a summer breeze…keep me warm in your love, then you softly leave…

“I wish I met you sooner,” he suddenly said, and you gently nipped your bottom lip and said, “Me too.”

Perhaps it was the wine he was drunk off of, or perhaps it was you he’s become drunk off of - it didn’t matter. He parted his lips, gently licking them before his eyes flickered down to your lips. He couldn’t take it anymore, and when he met your gaze again, and saw the tender way you were looking at him, he couldn’t stop himself, not like he could at Thanksgiving, not like he could everytime after that. He wanted to kiss you, he needed to.

He started to lean in slowly, up until his nose gently nudged yours. You did not stop him, in fact, you were guiding him toward you, inviting him to kiss you. He let out a hot breath, realizing that you wanted this too, even though it was silly to think for a moment that you didn’t, and he closed the space in between your lips like you had done in the Wheeler’s kitchen, laying his mouth on yours softly and sweetly. 

Your lips fell together in a tender kiss, and your hand on Steve’s head drew him closer to you. You dropped the empty wine glass you held, landing safely onto the pillows and blankets still gathered around you, and he felt this hand rest on his cheek.

You were warm, so very warm , and his head became dizzy and he too had dropped his wine glass. Except his glass still had wine in it. The glass tipped to the side, its contents spilling and staining one of the pillows and the carpet that peaked out between the pillows it had fallen on. 

Neither of you noticed, and if you did, you wouldn’t have cared anyway. 

His hands were on your waist now, pulling you toward him without parting his lips from yours, and you let him lead you to wherever he wanted you to go. Soon, you were straddling him, your legs sitting on either side of his and you finally pulled away. 

“ Steve ,” you said his name, voice breathless and tainted with wine just like Steve’s was. His hands rested on the expand of your thighs, brown eyes shining as he looked up at you. 

“Is this okay?” he asked you, voice low and an octave lower, “I can stop…we can stop.” 

You moved your hands to his hair, leaning forward to press your forehead against his, being able to see him better than he can see you. The light of the fire behind you now, the only light being from the small candles placed on various parts of your home, but he could feel your face against his, and he could feel you nod .

Like your lips were a magnet, he was kissing you again, combining your breath together as he consumed your lips with his with an intensity that had you falling against him and letting his kiss lure you into a state of mind that was just him . 

He kissed you, and he kept kissing you, tongue sliding between your wet, parted lips and licking into your mouth softly and almost sloppily. His hands started to move on their own accord, one upward toward the small of your back, lifting your shirt ever so slightly.

Your hands had started to wander too, without you realizing it. They were now flat against his chest, feeling the fast beating of his heart against your palm, and the other moved downward, gently grazing his ribs. 

He shuddered against you, eyes flickering open and lips parting from yours. He realized too that his hand had wandered, feeling the heat of your skin against his own hand, and he looked up at you, eyes questioning. You sucked in a soft breath, leaning away from Steve. 

“Sorry,” he said, referring to his hand that was moving up your shirt. You sighed deeply. 

Steve’s eyes had fallen, but when they did they caught the sudden movement of your hands. You were grabbing onto the hem of your shirt, and he snapped his head upward. No words escaped his mouth as he watched you remove your shirt and told him the same thing he told you on New Years… ‘ don’t be.’

“ Fuck ,” Steve said, wishing his eyes would adjust better, and he heard you laugh quietly, as if someone will hear you both, and you grabbed his hands, making them move to your abdomen. 

“Are you okay with this?” you asked him this time, perhaps a little too late, but you weren’t really thinking. 

“How could I not be? You’re so god damn beautiful,” he told you, and you melted into his lap when he did. He chuckled sweetly at you, then leaned up to kiss you again before his hands started to move against you, and he said again, breathlessly, “ God damn …” 

He sounded nervous as he then bit down on his lower lip, feeling your skin tremble underneath his touch. Goosebumps followed where his hands started to move, just over your sides and then upwards until he was touching your breasts. 

You hummed when he did, back arching slightly and he licked his lips, eyes moving from your breasts back up to you. He leaned in, pressing gentle kisses onto the skin of your neck, your collarbone, and lower to the mounds of your breast. 

You threw your head back softly, mouth falling open as the sensation of him kissing you where you were most sensitive. His brown eyes stayed drawn on you, and he drew his lips away to kiss back up your neck and just underneath your chin. 

His hands followed, now on the back of your hair as he brought you forward to crash your lips together in a more fervent kiss, more desperate, and hot. His tongue swirled in your mouth, colliding with yours as he drank you up second by second. 

His arms then were wrapped around you, feeling the slight tremble of your legs and before you knew it, he was leaning away and making you lay down. You fell against the soft blankets beneath you, arms falling over your head and Steve had taken his shirt off as well before he settled on his side next to you. 

His eyes were dark, you could tell that much by the light of the flames, and you reached your hand forward, falling into the temptation to touch his chest that was full of hair. He released a breath through his nose at your touch, smiling as he was amused. It had been a while since he’d been with anyone intimately like this, and when he felt your hand massaging his chest, he remembered how past partners had done the same. It felt sweeter coming from you though, and he placed his hand over yours and leaned in to press a chaste kiss onto your lips before moving your hand away to place a kiss against that to, then place it back over your head. 

He had other ideas, anyway. 

“Is this what you want?” he asked, voice almost a whisper. 

“Is this what you want?” you asked him back, voice a little shaky. He wasn’t ashamed to reply yes , and you stared at him for a long second before nodding, saying yes, me too . 

He smiled softly, eyes drawing over your face and down your body before he brought his hand upward, stopping at your lips. You kissed the fingers there before parting your lips for him, tremors rushing down your body as he pressed his fingers inside of your mouth…

He didn’t ask you again, and neither did you…not when his fingers were buried deep inside of you, making you come undone, not when the rest of your clothes came off, when you kissed each other all over…especially not when you were underneath him, his hips thrusting at a languid, sensual pace, his length pumping in and out of you.

The fire was dying beside you, but you didn’t need it anymore. You and Steve were keeping each other warm. 

You were caged in underneath him, seeing nothing but Steve gazing lovingly at you from above. His chest hair rubbed against your own chest, creating a delicious friction with every thrust of his hips that filled you up. 

Your hand dragged across his back, your nails scratching his shoulder blades, making pleasurable chills run up and down his back. His mouth was hovering just above yours, parted and releasing soft grunts and pants that intertwined with your own. Then, he was leaning down, lips only grazing yours as his tongue touched yours as his hips moved faster. He grunted, moving away as he did so.

Your back arched upwards, breasts pressing against his chest tightly and moaned his name out softly. He looked back down at you, smiling almost lazily. He pressed his lips against your cheek, before resting his head on your forehead, keeping his brown, hazy eyes open and on you. 

You tensed up underneath him, heart thumping out of your chest and lips releasing a cracked moan of his name as pleasurable heat washed over you for the second time that night. Steve kissed you, riding you through it, and whispered sweet nothing against your lips as he too came undone.

✧ ✧ ✧

It was warm when you woke up, your body cocooned in the thick covers you brought in the living room the night before. You were immediately met with an ache that buzzed over your entire body, but it was not unwelcome. It was a reminder of what just happened the night before, of the night you spent with Steve. 

Your eyes fluttered open then, adjusting as you stared up at the ceiling of your living room. Heat encompassed over you at the thought of last night, at the thought of Steve, and you looked next to you, expecting to see him, wanting to see him, but the space next to you was empty. You frowned then, starting to sit up when you heard movement in your kitchen. 

You sat up completely, turning your head and peering into the kitchen, only to see that man you were expecting to see laying in the pile of blankets next to you standing in front of your stove, his hair sticking it various directions and only wearing his boxers and an apron. 

It was a sight that took your breath away, especially when you could make out the marks that were left on his neck by you .

Then, you smelled the killer breakfast he was making. Eggs, bacon…was he making pancakes ? That made your stomach suddenly growl, and as if Steve had heard that, he was turning his head and meeting your eyes. 

“Good morning,” Steve called to you, his lips pulled upward in a sweet smile. A smile was brought to your face, cheeks feeling even warmer as he said, “Hungry?” 

You started to move to stand, tearing your eyes from Steve as you searched for an article of clothing to put on, only for your eyes to land on the stain left on your carpet. 

“Oh…oh damn ,” you said, “When did that happen?” 

Steve placed the bacon he’d just finished cooking onto a plate when he turned to see what you were talking about, and instantly he cringed when he saw you staring at the wine stain. His memory of the night wasn’t that hazy, but he could not recall how the spill even happened. It was a little lighter though, considering he spent a good 20 minutes after waking up trying to clean it. 

“I really tried to clean it,” Steve told you, wiping his hands with a paper towel. 

You could only laugh, turning and looking up at Steve as he came into the living room.

“It must’ve happened…well… yeah ,” you said, purposely not saying when you guys started kissing, and you turned your head to see Steve holding your sweater out to you, a smile on lips, and cheeks dusted pink. 

“ Yeah , I figured,” he said, understanding what you meant. You thanked him quietly as you took the sweater and he turned away, back toward the kitchen as he told you that he hoped you didn’t mind him making a big breakfast like this. 

You put your sweater on, then found your undergarments and placed those on too. The hem of your sweater stopped just below your thighs, and you finally moved to stand as you said, “No, no I don’t mind at all…”

Steve was holding two plates now, flashing you another sweet grin before setting them down on the small dining room table you had in the kitchen. You noticed even coffee was made, steam rising from the mug and as you got closer, you noticed that he had even prepared it the way you did. He must’ve watched you make yours the night before…

You sat down in the chair, right in front of the plate and coffee and when you saw the fluffy pancakes, you sighed with delight, “God, I fucking love pancakes…” You took the syrup from the middle of the table.

Steve laughed at this, taking the seat across from you. He had discarded the apron, choosing to just be shirtless which you mildly appreciated as the pancakes had consumed your hungry self entirely. 

“I remembered you told me that,” he told you as he took the syrup you were holding out for him. You paused as you sliced a part of the pancake with your fork, and glanced at him. He was looking at you, still smiling, and he said, “Go on and taste it. I wasn’t lying when I said I make good pancakes.” 

You did as told, Steve watching you intently for a reaction, and you hummed, and nodded as you chewed. They were the fluffiest, perhaps most perfect pancakes you’ve ever had. Steve had not been lying that day in the grocery store back in Fall, and had you already not been in love with the guy, this would’ve been the dealbreaker. 

“It’s delicious ,” you said finally, but you didn’t need to tell Steve that. He was already smirking smugly as he said, “I know” before taking a bite of his own pancake. 

You ate the rest of your breakfast pretty quickly, as it seemed your previous nightly activity drained all of your energy and finally, as you both washed the dishes, you asked him if the blizzard cleared out. 

“Yes,” he replied, then quickly added, “Streets aren’t clear still…so I think I’m gonna have to stick around for a bit longer.” 

Steve was looking at you a certain way, brown eyes telling you something he didn’t dare want to say out loud. Your heart flipped in your chest, then warmth that would turn into heat flooded you all over. Neither of you had said anything upfront about your night together, like you were avoiding it, but he wanted to stay …and without checking if he was lying about the streets not being cleared yet, you were more than happy to let him stay.

You spent the rest of the morning in your bedroom, tangled into the sheets with Steve. There were no excuses now, as the wine could’ve been blamed for the night prior. The only thing that was making your mind hazy was Steve himself, and the feeling of his hair between your fingertips as your back arched and you moaned his name…

✧ ✧ ✧

Steve was staring at the ceiling of your bedroom, one arm wrapped around you and the other folded and resting underneath his head. He liked this, he liked the way you felt in his arms, your bodies pressed tightly together, legs tangled together underneath your blankets. 

It had been almost 15 minutes since holding you like this, just laying together in silence and he liked that too. 

You shifted in your spot gently, untangling your legs from Steve’s in order to stretch them and he looked down at you as you decided to move away from him completely, saying,  “I’m gonna turn the heater off for a bit.” 

Steve nodded, as you removed yourself from the bed, holding one of your loose sheets around you. He watched you go, heart fluttering in his chest as you flashed him a sweet grin before turning and disappearing into your hallway. 

He sighed, smiling to himself as he moved to sit up and then run his hands through his now slightly greasy hair. There was a mirror on the dresser to his left, so he could see just how messy his face was, but he could also see the fresh marks you left on parts of his neck and chest. Right next to the ones from last night. He even touched them, feeling his stomach flood with heat, wondering if either of you could go another round because after all it had been quite a while and you just made Steve absolutely insatiable that he didn’t even want to leave after breakfast.

You had come back, holding a pile of clothes in your arms. It was the clothes Steve had discarded in the living room the night before and just never put back on. 

“Here,” you said cheekily as you placed them on the bed then went to the dresser. Steve took that moment to reach out and grab you. You gasped softly as he did, and he was grinning widely at you as he pulled you onto his lap. 

“Hi,” Steve told you, hands sprawled out on your bare thighs, gently squeezing the flesh there.

“ Hey ,” you replied breathlessly, moving your hands toward his hair as if it were second nature by now. He sighed through his nose and leaned up to kiss you again, and already, again , you were putty in his lap. You weren’t sure if you were ever going to get enough of Steve Harrington, especially now that you’ve gotten an actual taste of him. 

God, it was so easy to fall in love with him and you weren’t sure you’d ever want to be with anyone but him.

It was that thought that had you pausing, and Steve had felt you suddenly go still against him. He opened his eyes and leaned away to give you a curious look before asking what was wrong. You swallowed thickly, leaning away from him as well, but not leaving his lap. 

“Steve I…what…what is this?” you asked. He blinked gently, and you could see his eyes grow thoughtful before he peered back up at you. He was going to say something, but for some reason you were suddenly scared he was going to say it was a one time thing (thought one time turned into a few times that your sheets were gonna smell like him for a while), so you said, “I’m not expecting anything…we were pretty drunk last night…” 

Steve stared at you, before he licked his lips and said, “We weren’t drunk this morning…” 

The dread in your stomach gently faded at that, and you replied, “I don’t know…those pancakes were so good they did something to me.”

He laughed at that, and his laugh made you laugh as well and he kept his gaze on you the entire time, as if he loved watching you laugh and smile. You pressed your lips together in a smile, and he said, “I don’t…I don’t want it to be a one time thing, if that’s what you’re asking.” 

His expression had grown serious, and his hands that were squeezing the flesh of your thighs turned into gentle rubs, as if he was nervous. 

“ I like you ,” he said, though his voice sounded a little forced, because he didn’t want to use the word ‘like’ because his feelings for you were more than that, though you didn’t know that. You would take what you could though, and force yourself to use the same word as well, even though it was quite clear to you that you were completely in love with him. 

“So…what now then?” you asked softly. 

He sucked in a breath. The truth was, Steve didn’t know, well he did know, but he still wasn’t sure about it because he had suddenly thought of his daughter. The thought of Cassie made Steve frown, and a weird feeling crossed his chest that made him doubt the decision he was about to make. Steve wanted to be with you, but his stupid mind had started to talk him out of it, telling him he wasn’t going to work , you didn’t deserve his flaky nature, or to wait on him when he was too busy for you…he didn’t want to do that to you, just like he had told Robin the first night she came back to Hawkins. 

But then he also thought about the other thing Robin had told him…he’d be crazy if he didn’t at least try .

Alas, it was the thought of Cassie that halted any decision making on Steve’s part, as he realized that he was supposed to pick her up almost an hour ago, which was not helping the case in his mind. He forgot his own damn daughter, not that Delilah’s mother minds, nor does Cassie and Dee herself, but he still felt horrible. 

“Shit, I’m sorry, I have to go, ” Steve told you, failing to realize before he said it that he didn’t answer your question as he gently moved you off of him.

 Your heart had fallen down to your stomach, and Steve caught the expression on your face as he pulled on his boxers, and was grabbing his jeans. It was one of heartbreak, and it tore him inside to see it. It made him pause with his jeans halfway on, and he opened his mouth but nothing came out as he felt ridiculous with his jeans only up to his knees, so he pulled it on and buttoned it before walking toward you. 

“No! No, that- that wasn’t my answer,” he told you, fear in his voice that he messed up. 

“Steve, it’s okay-” you tried to say, but he reached over to gently touch your cheek and kiss you without really thinking. You went still as his lips pressed gently against yours, and he leaned with a soft sigh. 

“I’m late to pick Cassie up, that’s all,” he assured, his hand still on your suddenly very hot cheek, “I just…I want to talk again, okay?” 

“Okay,” you said, because you were at a loss of words of what his sudden kiss meant and didn’t know what else to say. Steve seemed content with that and nodded, before he gently swiped his thumb under your eye and told you earnestly, “I’ll call you.” 

Now you could only nod, and he returned that nod before grabbing his shirt and putting it on. You could only sit on the bed, the sheet still the only thing covering your bare body, and you watched him quickly put his shirt on, inside out but you doubt he cared as his concern was forgetting to pick his daughter up. 

He did spare you one last glance and small good-bye though before he was rushing out of your room and down the hall, where you could hear him cursing as he put his shoes on before you heard him open the door to your garage. 

When you could no longer hear him in your house, you suddenly felt very cold without him there, and you hugged the sheet around you tighter, already missing him and the warmth he always brought you. 

And you waited for that call, standing idly by the phone whenever you were home, keeping your stereo off even as you eventually scrubbed away at the wine stain on your carpet that would just not come out. When you folded all the blankets, washed the wine glasses, and tossed the empty one in the trash. It was pushed to the back of your mind for about an hour, when you called a towing company to get your car from Starcourt, and take it to the mechanic in Downtown Hawkins. When you got home though, it was night time, and you waited.

You waited for it, even the following day, and the day after that…you would even find yourself gazing at the door, wondering if he was going to walk through those doors, apologizing for not calling because he’d rather see you instead. 

But he didn’t. Steve was never the one to walk through the office doors in the days following the night and morning you spent together, was never the one on the other side of the line if your phone did happen to ring. You told yourself that you weren’t hurt, trying to convince yourself that when you said you weren’t expecting anything you were telling the truth. 

You fell in love with Steve Harrington, and then…well, you were sure that if he didn’t call or make the effort to see and speak to you even after everything he told you before he left your house in such a rush to pick Cassie up…then it must be his way of saying that nothing, nothing was to come from what happened between the two of you. 

He was busy, you knew that, he told you relationships weren’t his forte from the beginning, everyone did, and yet, he was so easy to like, even easier to fall in love with that you didn’t stand a chance. Still, your heart couldn’t try and rationalize his actions like your brain, and you were completely and utterly heartbroken. 

And then, you wondered just what the hell was Steve freaking Harrington’s reason for all this.

#its here #late #but HERE #listen to how deep is your love if you CAN #i wrote SO MUCh #steve harrington #it's so long i dont even wanna give a word count aslaskjaklsja #cause oof #stay tuned for spring #it'll be shorter than this bad boy #i say but then i end up writing for a thousand years #steve harrington x reader #steve harrington imagine #single dad steve au #stranger things #stranger things imagine #confetti series #lys writes again

[pendarling]

Yes, Master

They always ran back and forth down the coordinator and between each building. Sorting out all their personnel and their paperwork too. On some occasions Villain would even mess with them for fun. Push their luck and see how far they’d go but it was always the same reply they’d receive.

“Yes, master.”

“Whatever you desire.”

“Of course, boss.”

Never no.

Because to say no was to deny not only Villain themself but Assistant from gaining any respect out of it.

Was it attention they were seeking?

Villain thought this one day as they watched their Henchman struggle to organize a schedule they’d purposely forced multiple events into.

When Henchman approached them cautiously fidgeting around with the time slots in hand, Villain simply gave them a cold glare.

But now, watching them from afar as their eyes began to well up and their hands began to shake Villain couldn’t help but rethink their decision.

It wasn’t Henchman’s fault that they’d given them an impossible task. However, it was a sadistic thought that crossed their mind at torturing their beloved Right-Hand.

They adored the way they looked so frightened and disciplined. Quick to please their boss with every instruction that came out of their mouth.

It made the Villain grow fond of their Henchman even more with each day.

“Henchman.” They spoke as they approached the panic-stricken servant. “You look pale, what’s the matter?” They hummed knowing all too well exactly what was wrong.

“I— sorry nothing. I’ll…” their hands made way to scoop up a stack of sheets and pressed them up their chest. “I’ll figure it out on my own, boss.”

Villain wasn’t having it however, not today. Their hand shot up with surprise and tugged their hands away from their chest. The sheets of paper fluttering to the ground.

“V-Villain?!” They gasped, a bright red hue took over their face and with a charming sensation they pushed their assistant over to one of the walls and gleamed at their reaction.

Heart pulsing, breath quickening, and body squirming for a way to be free of this compromising position. Henchman was all too aware of their wrists tightly locked above their head.

And Villain loved watching them with an ecstasy they’d never felt before. Their eyes traced the curves of their figure intently, embracing their fear with much lust hidden behind the curtains.

“Villain…” they repeated again much to their Master’s delight.

“Working hard aren’t we, my dearest?” Villain teetered their head to one side and offered their words to their ear, “I must say Henchman you’ve grown on me.”

“Thank you?”

Villain took in a deep breath of their scent, lurking in the way their body shivered immediately. “I should reward you soon, hm?”

Henchman bit their lip at the words as a thought dashed past their mind. Villain sensed their sudden tense and brushed their lips against their jaw slightly.

“Master… I…” Villain had to control themselves. Now wasn’t the time was it. Of course that schedule couldn’t wait all day.

Villain flashed a quick smile their way and removed their hand from their capture.

“Soon,” they winked. “You’ll be rewarded.”

The criminal patted their uniform slightly and walked out the door. Of course they knew what they’d done. Now all they had to do was wait for their beloved servant to come eagerly to their office, desperate to fulfill their duty.

~~~

MASTERLIST

#villain x henchman #villain #villainxhenchman #writing #writingblr #writing prompt #unrequited love prompts #villain x assistant #light smut

[hollowwrites]

It is Weasley Wednesday My Dudes

I have a Garreth x MC story in the works but for now have this…trash.

No one can convince me otherwise but Garreth has a nickname for everyone…do not question me!!

Imelda - Broomelda or Impy

He read a book once about Norse Mythology and found the Germanic Warrior Brunhild. Something about the powerful Valkyrie and shield maiden reminded him of Imelda and once he’d found a way of shoehorning her name into it that was it:

Imelda: (taking off her flying gear after running another time trial)

Garreth: How are we this fine Thursday afternoon, Broomelda?

Imelda: (turns to stare at Garreth)

Garreth: You know…like Brunhild the-

Imelda: I know who she is

Garreth: See you have a Broom, not a sword…and your name is Imelda…Broom…Imelda…Broomelda

Imelda: …No

After that went badly he started calling her Impy, short and fiesty…could kill you. She likes that nickname

Sebastian - Brother (occasionally Shortie)

Sebastian is an inch shorter than Garreth, if that. Only breaks it out if Sebastian is being bratty or he really wants to wind him up. Started calling Sebastian ‘Brother’ in their second year after he got mildly upset at Anne and Garreth hanging out after Potions.

Now they just call each other brothers out of habit. Anne still gets a little red faced when she hears it and Garreth will never admit he still has a thing for Sebastians sister. Will joke about it constantly though.

Garreth: Please tell me you took notes in Potions

Sebastian: I did

Garreth: Oh thank you Brother!!

Sebastian: (Chuckles) Anytime

Ominis: Is that still happening? This brother ordeal I have to listen to?

Garreth: Well I have to practise for when me and my beloved are betrothed

Sebastian: Yeah yeah, take your notes and be gone

Garreth: (Sighing affectionately) I can’t wait to be Garreth Sallow

Sebastian: Enough thank you!

Garreth: Calm down Shortie (ruffles Sebastian’s hair)

Sebastian: (Sighs)

Poppy - Bumbles

Found Poppy sat amongst the beehives doing homework. She laughed at him when he jumped out of his skin rounding the corner, her Hufflepuff Uniform blending in with the hives around her. Once said the way she flits around the school chasing after beasts reminded him of a Bumblebee. Too much of a coincidence!

Poppy: (Bumping into Garreth in the hallways dropping her books) Ooof Sorry Garreth, can’t see past these books.

Garreth: No problem, Bumbles. Where are we going? I’ll help you carry some

Poppy: Just back to the dorms

Garreth: After you (following after Poppy quietly humming) bzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Poppy: (Giggles) Stop it you!!

Amit - Stargazer

Pretty obvious one. I imagine Amit and Garreth don’t speak very often, Garreth head down in a cauldron and Amit staring off into the sky, their interests don’t always align but he likes to make people feel included.

Amit: Ah Garreth, Professor Weasley, er…your Aunt is looking for you

Garreth: Ugh, Thank you Stargazer. You are My Knight in Shining Armour. (Turns on his heels and walks in the direction he just came, away from his Aunt)

Ominis - Opal Eyes

Another obvious one. Got caught staring into Ominis’ eyes once and blurted out that he thought they were beautiful like Opals. Rolled with it.

Ominis: Bloody Wiggenweld, AGAIN. I hate that blasted potion

Garreth: Oh, Opal Eyes (throwing an arm around his shoulder) How many times have I told you? Sit next to me and I’ll smuggle you some of mine.

Ominis: I’m already blind I don’t want to lose my sense of smell too

MC - Sparkles, Sparkler, Sparks ETC (Modern AU would deffo call them Palpatine)

Have you seen anyone else shoot lightning from their fingers? Didn’t think so. Immediately came up with the name as soon as he witnessed their Ancient Magic for the first time. Teases them every Guy Fawkes Night (Bonfire Night) for hogging all the fireworks in their fingers.

Garreth: Hey I’ve run out of Sparklers, can I borrow you…Sparkler?

MC: Har Har very funny Weasley

Garreth: (stands behind them scooping their hands in his, waving them around as if they were alight)

Bonus:

Leander - Tabby

Thinks his nickname is because he’s ginger. Garreth doesn’t have the heart to tell him; 1) Tabbies aren’t ginger and 2) it’s because he prances around acting like a lion when in actuality he’s a pussy cat.

#hogwarts legacy #hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry #hogwarts oc #hogwarts #hogwarts headcanon #hogwarts houses #slytherin #hufflepuff #ravenclaw #gryffindor #ominis gaunt #sebastian sallow #garreth weasley #poppy sweeting #imelda reyes #leander prewett #amit thakkar #hogwarts legacy poppy #hogwarts legacy ominis #hogwarts legacy garreth #hogwarts legacy amit #hogwarts legacy leander #hogwarts legacy imelda #hogwarts legacy sebastian #hogwarts legacy #weasley wednesday #hogwarts fanfiction #fanfic #headcanon #trio chatter

[apompkwrites]

omg congrats on 2k followers!!!!!!1!1!!1!1!1 kk can i get kingscholar!reader x malleus (romantic) fic? i just find the idea funky like that 🥳 thanks!!!!!

graduation ceremony || black sheep expansion pack

masterlist characters: malleus, leona (platonic), falena (platonic) genre: fluff contains: cuddly malleus <33, my version of falena :D, timeskip summary: as the school year draws to a close, malleus finds himself returning to sweep his beloved off their feet. oh, and the kingscholar brothers are there too. notes: vv funky idea :D but it's a cute ship ngl :)) just a short lil fic for the cute lil couple event: [black sheep expansion pack]

oh, how ironic. leona couldn't help but laugh to himself at the thought.

who would have foreseen him, the second-born kingscholar, returning to NRC to witness his little sibling, the third-born kingscholar, graduate and be swept off their feet by the very man he had spent the better half of his school life despising?

falena, on the other hand, seemed delighted at the news of his "baby sibling", as he insisted on calling them, finding love. perhaps it was because he wanted to see them happy after all of what the elders had done. regardless of the reason, he was standing just on the other side of malleus, a bright smile on his face as he pat his back.

leona bet he would be bawling by the time malleus swept them away to briar valley.

"and finally, housewarden of savanaclaw, (name) kingscholar!" crowley suddenly announced, his booming voice catching the attention of the trio in the crowd. falena was the first to stand, excitedly shouting his youngest sibling's name as they walked across the stage.

malleus felt the urge to stand up but held himself back. deep down, he knew if he got up, he would have rushed over to the stage to sweep (name) off their feet. but, he could do that later. right now was (name)'s time to shine.

leona slouched in his seat, averting his eyes from his brother as if trying to distance himself.

(name), upon shaking crowley's hand, waves happily to falena before scurrying to the other side of the stage, standing beside ace. deuce and jack stood behind ace and (name), respectively, their dorm uniforms on full display for the crowd.

despite (name)'s stone-cold face as they stood in front of all to see, the trio could see their tail swaying behind them happily.

"(name)!" falena cheered as the ceremony ended, scooping his younger sibling into his arms.

"falena! put me down!" (name) screeched, kicking their legs wildly. "leo! malleus! get him off me!"

in unison, the two lightly (not so much on leona's part) pushed falena away. malleus' arms replaced falena's as he wrapped them around (name)'s midsection.

"thanks," (name) sighed in relief, seemingly melting in malleus' arms. falena pouted, prompting leona to roll his eyes and slap his brother upside the head.

"congratulations, my dear," malleus hummed softly as the brothers (mainly falena) began to bicker. he pressed his nose against their neck, a light smile gracing his lips as he pressed a kiss against their skin. "i can't wait to see what you do next."

"you have no shame, do you mal?" (name) huffed, nodding up to their brothers. "can't even wait until we get home, huh?"

"mm... not at all," malleus chuckled at (name)'s teasing. he was careful with his horns. they had grown since the last time he had been at NRC. he often risked poking his beloved lion in the head when he nuzzled his face into their neck, but they often argued they didn't mind.

still, malleus' neck strained as he kept his horns away from (name)'s head. he didn't mind, of course. he would endure anything for his beloved.

"gross," leona huffed when he turned back around, eyeing the man burying his face in his sibling's neck. "you're just as bad as falena."

"rude!" falena gasped, slapping his brother's back. "i'm standing right next to you!"

"mhm."

"leona!"

"can we go home now?" (name) sighs, opting to stop an argument before it could begin. "i wanna say bye to everyone before i move."

"don't remind me!" falena whined, shifting his attention to (name). ignoring malleus standing behind them, he lunged forward and did his best to wrap (name) in a hug, tears dramatically falling down his face. "do you have to leave so soon?"

"it would be for the best, falena!" (name) groaned swatting at falena's arm. "i'll leave without going home if you don't get off me!"

"wait, no..."

malleus merely chuckled at the sudden shift, resting his chin on (name)'s shoulder.

he never thought that he would be where he was, his beloved in his arms ready to be swept away to his hometown. he never thought he would find some sort of connection to his high school rival. and yet here he was.

and he wouldn't have it any other way.

taglist: @brokenncrown @help-meplz @destinationdesignation @rainys-personal-garden @kalims @sxftiebee @luxaryllis @auld-a @the-dumber-scaramouche

#black sheep #black sheep expansion pack #a pompk's events #twisted wonderland #twisted wonderland x reader #twst x reader #twisted wonderland headcanons #twisted wonderland imagines #twisted wonderland scenarios #twisted wonderland fluff #twst fluff #twisted wonderland malleus #twisted wonderland malleus x reader #twst malleus #twst malleus x reader #malleus x reader #twisted wonderland malleus draconia #twisted wonderland malleus draconia x reader #twst malleus draconia #twst malleus draconia x reader #malleus draconia x reader

[clovermunson]

dating steve harrington would include…

author’s note: the brain rot for eddie is strong, but the brain rot for this grade a dumbass is even stronger. is this piece a little self-indulgent, best friends to lovers kinda deal? …maybe it is. but i have absolutely no shame in my game. anyway, this is all i have to offer for right now. but this, along with the eddie headcanon list are precursors to the fics i’ll eventually publish on this beloved little hellsite. likes and reblogs are appreciated, but please do not repost my work!! —morgan🖤

you’d known Steve since kindergarten, and he’d become your best friend on the first day of school

the two of you did everything together, from classroom coloring activities to playground dares with each other and the other kids

by the time high school came around, you were still practically inseparable, even though now you were essential to Steve passing literature class and writing decent essays

did you both have crushes on each other once you got older? of course you did. everyone knew it but the two of you oblivious fools

he never really got the guts to ask you out until after he and Nancy had broken up, and it took a good little shove from Nancy herself to get him to do it

but jesus christ was he happy when he finally did and you didn’t turn him down (because let’s be real here, Steve was expecting the worst and a huge ego bruise)

it didn’t take long for you to find out about the upside down, and of course once Steve got fully dragged into it, so did you because you’d do anything to protect that group of kids you’d grown to love

you and Steve are The Babysitters™️

so of course dating Steve “the hair” Harrington comes with its perks

one of those perks being free ice cream when he worked at scoops, and him always giving you an extra scoop…or two. Robin isn’t amused in the slightest, but she isn’t surprised either

you get to see him in that ridiculous little uniform every day, but you’d be lying if you said it wasn’t cute. you totally agreed that the hat was blowing his best feature though

you’d always go visit him on his breaks, sometimes bringing him lunch and you’d sit and eat together

one time when you came in, he instinctively greeted you with “ahoy!” and you couldn’t stop laughing about it

so many car rides together, whether it’s the middle of the day or late night when you both just can’t sleep and need a little escape

Steve not being able to keep himself from leaning over and kissing you during said car rides

he doesn’t mean to do it, but he mother hens you sometimes too, always worrying over you and always being the first to check up on you when you’re hurt or sick

you’ve seen Steve’s entire change first hand from “King Steve” to the best, most caring version of himself possible

and you couldn’t be more proud of him for it

but the truth is, Steve is so worried that he’s not a good boyfriend, when in reality, he’s actually the best and then some

his love language is physical touch. no questions asked. he’s always holding your hand, hugging you from behind and resting his head on top of yours, or has his arm around you if he hasn’t already pulled you into a full-frontal hug

pda does not bother this man at all. if he wants to hug you in front of everyone, for any reason, he will. if he wants to kiss you like he’ll never be able to kiss you again, there’s absolutely no stopping him

so many cute nicknames. so. many.

‘honey’ and ‘sweetheart’ are his favorites though

he doesn’t like it when you two argue or fight for any reason and he always feels so guilty about it until you’re cuddling him and running your fingers through his hair

speaking of, he’s always such a sucker for letting you play with his hair, because he won’t let anyone else touch it and he absolutely loves the feeling

if you’re cold, he makes sure to have a spare jacket of his, and if he doesn’t, he’ll immediately give you the one he’s wearing…even if it is ten degrees outside

always expect flowers or gifts. even if you don’t actually expect Steve to get them for you, he’s already done it and he’s gonna surprise you with it

which means he will randomly show up to your house or your workplace, a gift and/or a bouquet of flowers in hand and a goofy little smile on his face

but when him and Robin start working at family video, movie nights become a tradition on friday nights, even if he got off at midnight or later and you both fall asleep not even halfway through the movie

he tries to act like a tough guy but you know the truth…he’s a teddy bear

all of his shirts have pretty much become yours since the first time you tried on one of his sweatshirts and he absolutely loved it

“i love you so much”

“not possible because i’ll always love you the most”

which makes everyone in the room fake gag

Dustin constantly asking the two of you for advice on his relationship with Suzie

and he quickly finds out that was a bad idea because now you’re both talking his ears off and he can’t process all the information

jealousy j e a l o u s y. Steve swears he isn’t jealous, but the second someone oversteps a boundary or gets just the slightest bit too comfy with you, he’s already pressed a kiss to the side of your head and wrapped an arm around your waist and they have to deal with him

but he’ll never get physical about his jealousy, he’s too much of a gentleman for that

there isn’t anything Steve wouldn’t do to protect you though

at the end of the day, all that matters to Steve is making sure that you’re happy and he’s more than happy to do whatever he can to make that happen

anyway, as y’all can see…steve harrington has me in a chokehold😂

#steve harrington #steve harrington x reader #steve harrington headcanons #steve harrington fluff #steve harrington fanfic #don’t ask me how i managed to write this in less than two hours #what’s important is i’m back in business baby #morgan’s writings📝

[ohtobeleah]

I LOVED the part in part 2 where the reader is like stuck in Vecna's dreamscape and he's trying to convince the reader that she isn't loved.

that would have been an actual memory the reader had with Steve at one point though? but completely the opposite right?

Unambiguous love Masterlist

Oh for sure. It would have been one of your most beloved memories with Steve, which makes it all the more heartbreaking to see it play out and how much damage Vecna is able to do to your mental stability and self worth in the short place of what could have been six minutes in total. 

But in terms of the actual memory? I could see it playing out something along the lines of this: 

It's your break, feeling like a sweet reprieve on your half an hour retreat from the rush of an ungodly amount of customers taking advantage of the one sale Waldenbooks has every year. You'd never seen so many people flood the aisles, usually an empty paradox. Making the five second trip it takes to visit the one person who managed to have your heart skipping beats like you were going into cardiac arrest every time you shared the same room as him. Steve Harrington. You hadn't realised how deep you were in it before it was too late, starting to second guess every aspect of yourself. Was Steve just being nice people he was a genuinely nice person or were you truly becoming more than friends. 

“What's up Y/L/N!” Steve beamed from behind the counter, his Scoops Ahoy uniform so utterly stupid it made you laugh every time you saw him wearing it. A true fashion statement if there ever was one. But he could instantly see some form of existential crisis plaguing you from behind your eyes. Usually clear and full of love, somehow smogged and distant. “Hey you good?” Without hesitation, Steve was handing his scoop to Robin, coming out from behind the counter to see you, up close and personal. Whisking you away to an empty booth. 

“Its so stupid–” you sighed, sliding into the booth as Steve followed you, trapping you between the wall and himself. An arm casually falling around the back of the booth as he closed you in. “Steve–”

“No seriously.” Steve interrupted. “Whats wrong Y/L/N? You're scaring me.” 

“Are we like, friends?” you began to try to explain where your head was at, feeling out of place to question someone else's feelings about you because you were feeling off about yourself, about where you stood with Steve and where he stood with you. “Or are we becoming more than friends?” The silence was deafening, Steve's eyes lingered on you, burning holes into your skin, hot and full of concern. Was this your way of letting him down gently? Were you trying to tell him you didn't like him like that? Were you trying to tell him you wanted to just be friends or even worse? Not friends at all. Steve could feel his heart beating out of his chest with panic. He hadn't felt love like this before. He didn't think you could break his heart before he even gave you a chance to hold it. But here you were, about to rip it right from his chest through his stupid salor uniform. “Because if we aren’t and i'm reading this all wrong, i'd rather you tell me to my face now so i can get you out of my system, i could manage it now but if i–” 

“Wait–” Steve tried to process what you were saying but it wouldn't compute. “Do you think that– wait hold up, Y/n no I–” Stumbling over his worlds Steve moved a little closer to you, his hip right next to yours as he fumbled for your hand, his fingers intertwined with yours. “I like you, alot.” it burned to say because he hadnt been honest with his emotions since his breakup with Nancy Wheeler. “So much, why would you think that I didn't?” 

“Because you’re you Steve, and i'm me and sometimes you make me feel like i'm flying and i feel like this could be real and other times i feel like i'm making all this up in my head because some guy is actually nice to me for once instead of trying to get in my pants for a new notch in his belt–” it caught you by surprise, the way his lips felt against your. The warmth and softness mixed in with such devotion and greed for your touch, the taste of a first kiss prominent. “Steve–”

“I wanna do this right this time, with you, with us.” Steve began to explain his motives. “I just wanna do this right and dont wanna rush you, no labels, no pressure, no overthinking, i just want to experience you for you and be able to get to know you before there's an us and everything becomes mixed and entangled because it will, it always will–” there was a moment of silence as Steve caught his breathe after spewing his guts to you. All you could do was sit still speechless, Steve harrington liked you and you liked him back and it felt so elementary but right all at the same time. “But please don't think for a second that you're not the best thing that's happened to me in a very long time.” 

“Okay now you sound ridiculous.” you smirked, your eyes soft as you leaned into Steve's side. His arm coming to rest around your shoulders. “I can't even begin to compare myself with the women you surround yourself with on a daily basis. Robin, Nancy–”

“Why would you compare yourself? Its you sitting with me now, isn't it?” it's you, it’ll always be you.” It was the way Steve leaned in once again that had you melting into him, his lips soft against yours as he begged you for more, allowing him more as your tongue danced with his slowly. The taste of him so sweet, like nectar. “It's you, not Robin who I'm sure actually secretly may be poisoning my water or Nancy who’s just so far in the past it's crazy, it's you, so just let it be you.” 

“You're pretty corny, you know that right.” you chuckled, leaning into Steve as he kissed your forehead gently. “But okay, but if you break my heart harrington, i swear to god, i'll remember this moment.”

“Ah, something tells me you’re gonna break mine a lot sooner than I could ever break yours.” Steve sassed. “But I'm not going anywhere, so it looks like you’re stuck with me Y/L/N. You're just gonna have to deal with it until I find the courage to ask you out, take you on a date down to Lovers Lake and just win you over with my charm and incredibly handsome genetics.” Steve wiggled his eyebrows as you softly chuckled to yourself, shaking your head. 

“How about we just make a deal to not break each other's hearts? That sounds like the easiest option, right?” you teased, looking at steve as he looked at you. Eyes trailing once again to your lips as you did the same. Drinking in the sight of Steve, glowing. 

“Deal.” 

#steve harrington angst #steve harrington series #Steve harrington fluff #stranger things season 4 #stranger things fanfiction #steve harrington x you #steve harrington x reader #steve harrington fanfic #Steve Harrington

[whatisthismandoinghere]

For the drabbles prompt:

"Haunt Me" - After being killed by Klink (who was protecting his prisoners from harm), Hochstetter haunts Klink. Shenanigans may or may not ensue.

Alternatively, Hochstetter haunting Hogan and seeing proof of the operation. Maybe making himself visible to Hogan in the tunnels, but nobody else can see him.

We're just gonna ignore the fact that this is definitely longer than 100 words 😂 but enjoy salty ghost Hochstetter and Klink who has ran out of darns to give

Klink groaned as he got up for the fifth time to shut the bloody window, which had once again been ripped open even though there was no breeze outside. Papers were scattered everywhere and just as he finished stacking them into a neat pile, his cigars went crashing to the floor. Weird things had been happening ever since the incident involving Major Hochstetter. 

“Unbelievable,” Klink muttered under his breath.

“Is it now?” a familiar voice asked from behind.

Klink looked up from the floor with a start, and his eyes nearly popped out of his head when he saw what was in front of him. It was Hochstetter alright, though not as solid and considerably paler. He was still dressed in his black uniform, which was immaculate except for the bullet hole right over his heart.

“Hochstetter?” Klink couldn’t believe it. “But you’re supposed to be-”

“Dead? Ja, you kindly made sure of that,” Hochstetter growled through clenched teeth.

“Well, what did you expect me to do?”

“You could’ve let me deal with Hogan for once! He’s the most dangerous man in Germany!”

“I believe you’re mistaken. That role belongs to our beloved fuhrer,” Klink said dryly as he scooped up the remaining cigars from the floor and sat them back on his desk. “Besides you had no proof of his involvement in the ongoing sabotage, and you never have. Therefore, he’s still under the protection of the Geneva Convention, and it is my duty to give him that protection. You were about to shoot him, so I did the only thing I could.”

Hochstetter was absolutely irate at the matter-of-fact tone Klink was using with him. And his nonchalant remarks against the fuhrer?! He could have him shot for that- well… actually he couldn’t now, so instead he just knocked Klink’s cigars off his desk again.

“Was that really necessary?” Klink sighed as he started to pick them up again.

"Considering the number of headaches you caused me while I was alive and the fact that you killed me? Yes.”

“I gave you headaches? Says the man who constantly came stomping into my office screaming at the top of his lungs ‘What is this man doing here?!’ That’s a laugh.”

“Glad you’re finally comfortable enough to share your real thoughts on me.” Hochstetter rolled his eyes and crossed his arms as he floated just above Klink’s desk.

“Well, you don’t have the power to have me killed anymore, and seeing as I won’t have to worry about what happens to the prisoners if I’m gone, I am finally able to speak freely. It’s quite nice actually. That and I usually have tact and you’re rather lacking in that department whenever we meet.”

“ME? LACKING TACT?!”

“Yes, thank you for proving my point.”

“BAH! Don’t think this is over, Klink! I will haunt you until the end of your days!”

Klink had to stifle a chuckle as he watched Hochstetter angrily float out of the room. Sure enough, two seconds later the window ripped open again, sending his paperwork flying all over the place. 

Oh well Klink thought to himself. A small price to pay for the pleasure of killing that man myself.

#thanks for the ask! #hogan's heroes #my writing

[belovedharringrove]

Hi! I was wondering if you had any favorite harringrove headcanons?

Also I love your user and pfp (and I'd like to get to know you better 🥰)

hello, lovely! i’d really like to get to know you better as well ❤️❤️

my user, well- harringrove are my beloved so i decided to use that as inspiration. i know, very original of me.

as for the pfp.. yellow sweater steve is one of my favorite steves. he’s fighting for top spot with scoops ahoy uniform steve.

now for my favorite headcanons, uh

billy Cannot keep his hands off of steve. steve is cooking? billy is there giving him a back hug and asking steve to let him try the food. watching movies? you bet billy is gonna cuddle steve the whole time. grocery shopping? billy’s hand is in steve’s back pocket and he will stare down anyone who even looks at them weird. driving? you bet billy’s hand is on steve’s thigh the whole time.

steve loves to play with billy’s hair. he likes running his hands through his hair and watching the golden curls bounce back into place, likes braiding it for him when they’re having lazy sunday mornings together. i also think he likes washing billy’s hair for him. he just loves the way billy relaxes when steve plays with his hair and how he pouts when steve stops. (billy will deny that he pouts. “i’m not pouting, i’m glaring at you. learn the difference.”)

no one believed them when they first said they were dating. i like to think they were a little bit hesitant with pda at first because billy was scared that n*il would find out and would separate him from steve, but they did always spend time together. however, they bickered a lot. like, a lot. and it wasn’t even a rivalry thing, they just. bickered. over where to go eat, what movies to watch, what snacks to buy for movie night, etc. eventually, after steve convinces billy that he isn’t going anywhere and that n*il will never separate them (“i’ll have him dead before he can even try.” “you’re not gonna kill him yourself?” “no. can’t cuddle you in jail.”) they start showing more pda and everyone is just like. oh. they weren’t lying.

when people try to flirt with steve, billy scares them away by pulling steve close and making out with him until they get the hint and leave. when people flirt with billy, however, steve will just walk over to them and start having a conversation with billy while completely ignoring the person, but he’ll interrupt them or speak over them when they try to talk.

steve punched n*il once. don’t know, probably saw him walking down the street after he convinced billy to move in with him after graduation and- bam! hopper was there but he denied having seen anything. (“i was tying my shoelaces, i didn’t see anything. what do you mean you heard me laughing? i was just remembering a joke someone told me. yes, while tying my shoelaces.”) when billy found out, he was a bit scared of what n*il would do but he was also maybe a lot turned on.

steve said ‘i love you’ first and billy cried. they were having sex and when they were done, steve curled up close to billy and said those three little words as he laced their fingers together. billy cried.

that’s pretty much all i can think of right now. i’m sure i do have more, my mind just drew a blank when i tried to remember them 😅 i hope you enjoyed these and that they made sense :)

#iwigyousub #harringrove #steve harrington #billy hargrove #thank you for the wonderful ask! i had a lot of fun with it

[keerysquinn]

Anna's End of the Year Review <3

I started this blog back at the beginning of August with one purpose and one purpose only - to share a silly little steddie fic that I wrote at the encouragement of a couple friends after we had a conversation about how we needed to see Eddie in a Scoops Ahoy uniform. It flopped spectacularly. Maybe it's because I posted it the second I started my blog so it never showed up in the tags, or maybe it wasn't actually that good. I honestly don't know. The point is, I never intended to do much else with this blog other than to post the occasional story and maybe read a fanfic or two myself. But, I have gotten so much more out of this blog than I could have ever imagined. In an effort to not clog up the dash, all of my thank yous and declarations of love will be under the cut.

First and foremost, I need to thank @thefreakymunson and @xcatnapsx. Without your encouragement, this blog wouldn't exist, I wouldn't be writing fic, and there are a lot of really great things in my life that I just wouldn't have. I don't know if I can ever truly thank you enough for that.

@quinnkeerys, you truly are my other half, and I am so lucky to have you in my life. Every day, I am more and more surprised by how much we share a brain, and I couldn't have found a better person to be the Robin to my Steve. Thank you for encouraging my screaming about our rarepairs. You have made me such a better writer with your contributions and brainstorming, and the road trip au would not be the same without you as my co-author. I love you bunches and bunches, and I can't wait to yell even more about cheerscoops and our beloved little scrunkly with you this year.

In the same vein, I have to thank @hellfirehoe and @bowerquinn. Sarah starting that group chat so the four of us could unapologetically be the slut squad that we've become is one of the very best things that has happened to me since starting this blog. The three of you have talked me down from stupid anxiety and supported my ramblings, and I appreciate it more than I can say. I know that I can always come to you with anything without judgement. You're my ride or dies, and I love you all so damn much.

@creelhousesteve, thank you for being my first friend on tumblr. I know we haven't talked as much as of late, but you always brighten up my dash, and I have enjoyed sharing Steve headcanons with you so much.

@heroeddiemunson, you dragged me kicking and screaming into that edancy trashcan, and I am so grateful for that because some of my very best ideas have come out of shipping these two idiots. Thank you for encouraging my brainrot and making it a million times worse.

It would take too long for me to tag everyone in the jq server, the edancy trashcan, and the stranger things writers server that has had an impact on me, and I'm too afraid that I would miss someone, so please know that I appreciate all of you so much.

And a big thank you to everyone who read and supported "Coffee Cups and Unconditional Love." That story is one of my greatest achievements, and I poured my entire soul into that one. The outpouring of love for that fic is something I never expected, and reading everyone's comments brightens my day - even the ones telling me that I'm evil and I owe you therapy money.

And to all of my followers, whether you've been here since the beginning or you're just finding me now, thank you for choosing to support my chaotic lttle corner of the internet.

Here's to another year of writing and obsessing over my blorbos. I hope you'll all stick around for the chaos. <3

#she speaks

[rollielectro]

Slender waist

Penny's on patrol! Rod Stewart's wife is seen in her police uniform at RAF Northolt as Queen's coffin arrives in London for journey to Buckingham Palace Kittyhawk had flown her last: ROBERT HARDMAN watches as Queen's casket is flown from Scotland to London The Queen leaves her beloved Scotland for the final time: Emotional Princess Anne is at her mother's side as flight carrying Her Majesty's coffin takes off ROBERT HARDMAN: I've warned for years that millions more will want to see the Queen than has been planned for. Grieving for 'Granny': Queen's sombre grandchildren all arrive in London for Her Majesty's final night at Buckingham Palace 'I thought, "I've got to do something about this"': Gary Barlow reveals he removed all the mirrors in his house when his weight rose to 17.5st after Take That split Ryan Reynolds discovers an 'extremely subtle polyp' while undergoing a 'life-saving' colonoscopy on camera Jessica Alba opts for casual chic look in white top with scoop neckline while out and about in NYC Louise Thompson reveals she has suspected Asherman's syndrome as she updates fans on health woes while slamming NHS wait timesĮDEN CONFIDENTIAL: Newly single Jerry Hall eyes up £6million property in Tinseltown after divorce from Rupert Murdoch Leonardo DiCaprio, 47, and Gigi Hadid, 27, get cozy at a friend's party as they're seen together for FIRST TIME amid rumors of a romance Here's why the troublemakers won't mind tearing down the monarchyĪNOTHER pen disaster! Angry King Charles III tells flustered courtiers he 'can't bear this bloody thing' as his pen leaks while signing a document MEGHAN MCCAIN: No Oprah, Harry and Meghan's truce won't last. United in grief: Meghan and Harry join the royal family including the Prince and Princess of Wales to receive the Queen's coffin Princess of Wales' sweet tribute to the Queen: Kate wears elegant pearl necklace in subtle nod to the late monarch at Buckingham Palace Princess Anne says she 'was fortunate to share the last 24 hours of my mother's life' and 'it has been an honour to accompany her on her final journeys' Sophie in line to be Duchess of Edinburgh as daughter-in-law who called Queen 'mama' takes elevated royal role The King's vigil: Charles is seen waiting solemnly for his mother's final return to Buckingham Palace with ALL the Royal Family William and Harry will walk together with their father the King behind the Queen's coffin as it is transported to Westminster Hall on a gun carriage

#Slender waist

[indotrust]

Roger daltrey movies

Penny's on patrol! Rod Stewart's wife is seen in her police uniform at RAF Northolt as Queen's coffin arrives in London for journey to Buckingham Palace Kittyhawk had flown her last: ROBERT HARDMAN watches as Queen's casket is flown from Scotland to London The Queen leaves her beloved Scotland for the final time: Emotional Princess Anne is at her mother's side as flight carrying Her Majesty's coffin takes off ROBERT HARDMAN: I've warned for years that millions more will want to see the Queen than has been planned for. Grieving for 'Granny': Queen's sombre grandchildren all arrive in London for Her Majesty's final night at Buckingham Palace 'I thought, "I've got to do something about this"': Gary Barlow reveals he removed all the mirrors in his house when his weight rose to 17.5st after Take That split Ryan Reynolds discovers an 'extremely subtle polyp' while undergoing a 'life-saving' colonoscopy on camera Jessica Alba opts for casual chic look in white top with scoop neckline while out and about in NYC Louise Thompson reveals she has suspected Asherman's syndrome as she updates fans on health woes while slamming NHS wait timesĮDEN CONFIDENTIAL: Newly single Jerry Hall eyes up £6million property in Tinseltown after divorce from Rupert Murdoch Leonardo DiCaprio, 47, and Gigi Hadid, 27, get cozy at a friend's party as they're seen together for FIRST TIME amid rumors of a romance Here's why the troublemakers won't mind tearing down the monarchyĪNOTHER pen disaster! Angry King Charles III tells flustered courtiers he 'can't bear this bloody thing' as his pen leaks while signing a document MEGHAN MCCAIN: No Oprah, Harry and Meghan's truce won't last. United in grief: Meghan and Harry join the royal family including the Prince and Princess of Wales to receive the Queen's coffin Princess of Wales' sweet tribute to the Queen: Kate wears elegant pearl necklace in subtle nod to the late monarch at Buckingham Palace Princess Anne says she 'was fortunate to share the last 24 hours of my mother's life' and 'it has been an honour to accompany her on her final journeys' Sophie in line to be Duchess of Edinburgh as daughter-in-law who called Queen 'mama' takes elevated royal role The King's vigil: Charles is seen waiting solemnly for his mother's final return to Buckingham Palace with ALL the Royal Family William and Harry will walk together with their father the King behind the Queen's coffin as it is transported to Westminster Hall on a gun carriage

#Roger daltrey movies

[yourelivingwrong]

Popsicle

Steve Harrington x reader w/ vagina

Friends to lovers, Smut

Warnings: oral fixation, sex at work, lots of fucking

Words: 3479

Dean Winchester may be my husband but Steve Harrington is my beloved boyfriend. Excited to be sharing my first Stranger Things fic with you - it’s dirty, hope you don’t mind!

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Every day Steve Harrington heads into Scoops Ahoy, and opens the shop for customers.

Every day, he greets you when you come in start your shift.

Every day you laugh together, talking about life, debating Back to the Future and making fun of irritating customers.

And every damn day, Steve watches as you help yourself to a leftover popsicle at the end of the shift, and suck it slowly between your pillowy soft lips.

It drives him crazy.

There’s something about how positively sinful you look, lips wrapped around the rainbow ice that sends blood straight to his cock and means he has to hide his hard on behind the counter and think about his grandma or the president to cool himself off.

In the evenings, when he’s home in bed, it’s your lips he thinks about as he shudders in his hand and cums in thick ropes all over his stomach. Often, he has to talk himself out of doing it in the staff bathroom of Scoops Ahoy, with you ten feet away covering him at the front serving.

Steve didn’t used to be like this - like some twelve year old boy fixated on something. But he can’t risk your friendship, never mind your professional relationship: he really does enjoy spending time together, and it’s almost entirely down to you that he doesn’t hate coming into the Starcourt Mall in that ridiculous sailor uniform every day. You’re interesting, funny, smart and caring, and he doesn’t want the fact that his dick can’t behave itself to get in the way of that. So for months now, he’s held back. But that doesn’t mean the thoughts go away.

It’s been a particularly busy summer day, and with not long until close you’re restocking all the paper tubs and little plastic spoons, popsicle in hand. Steve’s serving what will hopefully be the last few customers, and as he runs them through the till and wishes them a nice evening, he catches sight of your damn popsicle.

It’s melting slowly, and when it drips down onto your hand and runs a pink bead of ice down your forearm, Steve watches transfixed as you shrug to yourself and run your tongue tantalisingly slow up your arm to catch up, before sucking the popsicle back between your lips with a satisfied little sigh.

Steve cannot take it anymore. By three minutes to he’s lingering by the entrance, and the second the clock hits 7pm he flips the sign to read ‘closed’, bolts the door, pulls the shutters down and turns back to you, who is watching him with a raised eyebrow as you pull the cover down over the counter.

“Got places to be Harrington?” you ask with a smirk that reveals the adorable dimple on your left cheek. He seems focused on something else, as he walks towards you with an intent you can’t quite figure out.

He takes his hat off and runs a hand back through his hair, “I am about to do something that could be…. damn near fatal for our friendship; so just yell at me if it’s a bad call and we’ll move on like it never happened, okay?”

“….Okay?” you stutter out, your eyes meeting his with confusion. He’s getting closer to you, and the sudden tension in the air makes your breathe catch, anxious. Without warning, Steve bridges the gap between the two of you, takes your head in his hands and presses his lips to yours.

At first you’re too shocked to respond, and you stumble back slightly so that your back is pressed against the register. “Holy shit!” your mind registers, and as your senses come back to you, you wrap your arms around his neck and kiss back with a fervent need. He tastes of butterscotch and smells subtly of hairspray, and you drink it in as he makes your head spin.

You never would have thought that Steve the hair Harrington would be interested in someone like you - he barely even looked at you in high school, not that anyone other than Nancy Wheeler ever caught his attention. But here he is, kissing you, cradling your head in his palms and sighing into your mouth like it’s something he’s been waiting for his whole life.

Momentarily pulling back for air, Steve looks at you with dilated eyes, “Is this okay?” he asks, slightly breathless.

“More than okay” you breathe, looking up at him under your lashes as you move in for more.

With a quick jump, Steve startles you by hoisting you up around his hips, and your legs automatically curl around his back to hold on comfortably. He rolls his hips ever so slightly, and at this angle you can feel his firm cock against your clit with a slight friction that makes you gasp. Without breaking the kiss, he walks you into the back room, letting the door swing shut behind you both.

Safely inside and out of the view of any last customers walking by inside the mall, Steve amps it up a notch and presses your back firmly against the wall in a way makes you whimper softly, heart racing. He seems more animalistic, like he’s letting himself go with you and god if it’s not sending heat straight to your panties.

“Do you know how infuriating it has been,” he says, punctuating every few words with kisses, “to watch you use that pretty mouth,” more kisses, “to suck on popsicles every day Y/N?” even more, delicious kisses, “Tempting me like that?”

He breaks away, pulling back to look dead into your eyes with lust “I’ve wanted you for months”.

Your mind is still processing what happening but you’re seriously turned on and all you can focus on is the fact that you’re finally touching Steve after all these months of admiring him working alongside him.

“You’re such an idiot,” you murmur against his lips. He pulls back, brows slightly furrowed in confusion, “You could have had me here on this floor the first time I walked in” you confess in a low raspy voice, punctuating your point with a soft bite to his bottom lip. He chokes on a moan, pressing you into the wall a little harder.

You drop your legs to the floor semi-awkwardly and push Steve back so his legs are against the centre table, then get down on your knees in front of him, thankful for the long uniform socks protecting your shins from the cold floor. Steve sucks a deep breathe in, cock straining against his navy shorts, his fantasy coming to life in front of his eyes.

“God Y/N you’re so fucking hot” he groans as you edge closer to him, running your hand up his thigh. When you palm his growing cock through his shorts his jumps stutter forwards into your touch, and you relish in the knowledge that it’s you that’s made him like this. You flutter your lashes at him, then pull his shorts and boxers tantalisingly slow down his hips just enough to pull his cock out.

You blink a little, surprised by his length and how fucking hard he is, then swallow and look up at him as you curl your palm around him. The reaction it has on him makes a pride thrill through you, and he throws a hand behind him to lean back on the table as a small whine escapes his throat.

“What do you want Steve?” you ask, with a small gentle pump to him, licking your lips ever so slightly.

He responds in a needy voice, “want you to wrap your pretty lips around my cock, please,”. The words send desire straight to your core.

“Well you could have just asked” you drawl with a small smirk, before parting your lips and taking his cock in your mouth.

Steve’s other hand flies to your head and his jaw falls slack. Your mouth, that same mouth he’s been fixated on for months, finally around him is enough to make him want to cum on your tongue there and then, and he has to focus to keep it together. A strangled groan leaves his lips as you take him into your throat, and when your eyes begin to water you start bobbing your head up and down his length.

The reality of the drag of your warm, wet lips along his cock is better than anything he could have imagined, and Steve can’t take his eyes off you, mouth agape and hand tight in your hair as he restrains from thrusting his hips into your mouth and fucking your face, soft moans falling from his lips.

Enjoying the control you have over him, you pull off him with a soft pop and spit on his dick, pumping him a fast few times with your hand before taking him immediately back in the opening to your throat. It’s a move that’s just too fucking much for Steve, and reluctantly, he leans forward and wraps a hand firm around the base of his pulsing cock, pulling himself from your lips and panting. You wipe the pre-cum from you lips and suck it off your finger in a way that makes him lose it.

“Lay back on the fucking floor” he demands, hair hanging in front of his eyes, chest heaving. You do as he asks, welcoming him back into your arms when he hovers above you, giving you a deep desperate kiss. You reciprocate, threading your hands in his hair and parting your lips for him to slip his tongue into your mouth.

Steve pulls away just an inch, and rests a gentle hand on the base of you throat forcing you to look at him. He speaks with authority and desire when he says: “I’m going to fucking devour you”.

Scoops uniforms are shed and thrown to the side as you desperately try to get closer to each other. There’s a desperate energy to how you both move, and now you’re each finally aware of how bad the other has wanted it for so long everything is so much hotter.

You spread your legs open wide, and Steve sits himself on his knees between your thighs, stroking his palms up their insides in a way that makes you shiver. You watch as he rests his gaze on your exposed pussy, eyes dark and needy, and before you can be self conscious he reaches two fingers up to your mouth.

“Open wide princess” he tells you. Your heart skips at the name, and you take him into your mouth, hollowing your cheeks and wrapping your tongue around his fingers in a way that makes him cuss quietly to himself.

“Good girl” he praises softly, making arousal leak from your pussy in want. Pulling them from your lips, Steve moves his two spit-covered fingers down to your clit, and, pausing to look up into your eyes, slowly makes contact, delighted as you respond by throwing your head back and crying out. Him touching you feels delicious, and when he begins to rub small circles over your clit you gasp out and bite your lip, throwing a hand down to hold onto his bicep. Your pussy is clenching around nothing, needing to feel something inside you.

“Steve please, I need-” you beg pathetically.

“Shh,” he hushes, pace on your clit increasing “I’ve got you baby, don’t worry”. He moves himself up to hover over you once again, and leans to press soft open mouthed kisses to your neck. When he’s sure you’re distracted by the new pleasure, Steve slides a long finger into your pussy.

“Oh god-” you yell out, nails digging into his arm as Steve massages your inside, slowly pumping his fingers in and out of your cunt as he strokes you with crooked fingers. His eyes are raking in your body, watching you fall apart at his touch and he’s loving every second of it. He adds the second finger, and you buck up in response.

“You’re so beautiful” he breathes out desperately, almost to himself, mesmerised by you. You’re writhing underneath him, coil building in your abdomen already. No one has ever made you crumble like this so fast, not even yourself alone in bed, and as his pace quickens you feel your orgasm looming. Your breathe is coming in whiney pants, and you move your hips desperately trying to slam yourself down on Steve’s fingers in time with his movement.

Steve swallows and leans in close to your ear, “You gonna cum for me princess?”. He moves his thumb to circle your clit and you can feel yourself on the very edge as you nod desperately, wordlessly at his question.

“Then cum” he demands. It only takes a second, and Steve’s fingers spiral you into your orgasm mewling and whimpering. He sits back to watch you as you shake, fucking you through it with his fingers and only stopping when he sees you begin to calm down.

“God damn Y/N” he whistles, stroking your shivering body. His cock is painfully hard, flush against his stomach with beads of pre-cum leaking from the tip when he sees how soaked your pussy is from his fingers - unable to resist, Steve moves his head forward to drag his tongue up your leaking, quivering pussy and attach his lips to you, suckling on your cum. Your body rises up and you make a sound not unlike a sob, as Steve drags a final bit of your orgasm from you.

“God fucking damn!” he exclaims again, leaning back onto his knees in lust and admiration. In a move that surprises you, Steve spits on your pussy (turning you on way more than you ever thought it would), then takes his cock in his hand and smacks against your sensitive clit a couple of times, making you convulse and swear under your breathe, fresh desire flooding you. He seems to have total control over your body and what you like already, and there’s something that tells you this won’t be a one time thing. Hooking an arm under your waist, Steve pulls you up flush against his chest, and smooths you hair behind your ear before kissing you deeply.

“Are you ready for me?” he asks, pumping his cock steadily with his free hand.

You nod, a little worn out but enthusiastic for more, “Please fuck me”.

Steve gives you a final kiss, locks his eyes with yours and, holding you tight, positions his cock at your entrance before slowly entering you.

Your pussy stretches around Steve’s cock as your body adjusts to take him, and the pleasure clears your mind of anything other than how good it feels to be filled by him. Your back arches into his chest as he hisses, dropping his forehead to rest against yours. You sink down on him until he’s fully inside you, speechless at the sensation, pussy fluttering around him, gasps from both of you filling the back room of Scoops. Steve lets out a long, heavy breathe through pursed lips, “Jesus Y/N, you feel like heaven”.

Shaking, you pull yourself up a little experimentally before dropping back down on his cock and the two of you moan wantonly at the feeling, clutching at each other’s skin.

“God Steve…” you moan out, head buried in his neck.

You rise up again, this time with Steve supporting your thighs, and fall back down, then immediately go again, and again, bouncing on his thick cock and building a rhythm that has you utterly consumed. Growling, Steve spanks your ass hard leaving a firm sting that spurs you on in a mixture of pain and pleasure, then pulls you in to whisper a stream of dirty praises in your ear: “So pretty bouncing on my cock”, “So good for me, baby, that’s it”, “Gonna fill you with my fucking cum”. He gives you messy kisses between each sentence, each one bringing a new wave of arousal that slicks your pussy and leaves you dripping down his cock already.

When you start to slow, legs getting tired, Steve sucks a hickey into your neck and rocks you backwards with a carnal energy so that you’re laying on the floor again gazing up at him in anticipation, then he roughly pulls your legs up so that your hips are off the ground and resting on his firm thighs. Taking your waist in his hands, he thrusts his hips toward you and buries himself fully inside you. You scream out and blindly reach for his arm to squeeze onto: from this angle it feels like he’s splitting you in two and hitting a specific spot that makes your whole body light on fire.

“Do that again,” you beg raspily, looking up at him with heavy eyelids, “Please do that again”.

Steve wants to be cocky about unravelling you like this but he’s too wound up, so he grabs your hips and thrusts back into you even harder. He sets a brutal pace, doing it again and again, hair falling in front of his face, unable to keep the stream of cusses and moans of your name from his lips as you moan beneath him, getting more high pitched with each moment as he ravages you.

“You like my- fuck - you like my cock fucking you… like this?” he grunts between thrusts, getting closer and closer to the orgasm he’s been holding off all night. Longer than all night, ever since he first saw you sucking on that popsicle rendering him unable to cum to the thought of anything else since. You wail in response, taking the pounding of his cock.

“Tell me,” he commands, gripping you that little bit tighter, “tell me how good it makes you feel”. He wants to hear you say it.

You raise your head to watch his cock disappearing into you over and over and cry out, the sight pushing you close to your orgasm, “It’so fucking good Steve I can’t take it, I’m cl-close, I’m so fucking close to cumming all over your cock”

Steve shudders at your words, his ability to hold off cumming worsening by the minute. He uses every bit of his strength and fucks even faster into you, bruises sure to form at your waist from his grip as he drives you to your climax.

“Touch your clit baby,” he groans through gritted teeth, “come on, give it to me!”.

You desperately reach for your clit, running the pads of your fingers around it for only a second before the band snaps. For all the noise you’ve been making so far, when you finally fall over the edge and cum again, you go silent. Your mouth is open in a strangled scream, and you shake and shudder as your orgasm rolls through you, Steve prolonging it by still pistoning his cock inside you even as you tighten around him in uncontrollable spasms.

“Yes baby, yes baby that’s it, so fucking hot oh god…”

With three more pumps Steve’s stilling and shooting his seed deep inside you and cumming with a series of deep, guttural groans, “Oh fuck, Y/N” he groans, slowing his rocking hips through the aftershock of his orgasm.

He falls above you, catching his weight on his outstretched arm. You’re both panting heavily, lost for words as you take a moment to come down from your highs. Jesus fucking Christ is all you can think, as the remnants of pleasure course through your body. After a minute, Steve smiles at you incredulously with an almost puppy dog face, clearly thinking the same thing, and reaches his free hand up to brush the hair from your sticky forehead and cup your cheek as he leans in to give you a deep kiss.

He pulls out as delicately as he can, and slumps to the ground next to you, arm thrown back over his forehead. You each sigh dramatically, staring up at the ceiling.

“Shit,” you pant, breasts rising and falling heavily with your breathe, “we still need to clean the store”.

He laughs at that, face screwing up in the adorable way you love, “Is that what you’re thinking? You’re such a dork Y/N”. You shove his arm pitifully with the small amount of energy you have left, and he moves to wrap it around you.

“Nope,” you chuckle back, “I’m mostly wondering if I’m gonna be able to walk out of here”. It’s funny, but you’re not kidding: your legs are still shaking.

Steve rolls to his side, resting his head on his arm and delicately strokes your torso, “I’ll help you baby,” he says with a soft, dopey smile. He presses a soft kiss to your lips, then asks: “Do you want to go get some food? I think Imperial Panda is still open.”

You smile up at him: “Just as long as it’s not popsicles…”

⋟─────────────────────────────

Does anyone else have a ban on how often they can rewatch Stranger Things to save themselves from falling into the trap of thinking of Steve Harrington 24/7 or is that just me?

Thanks for reading my first non-Supernatural fic - let me know if you want to be added to my Stranger Things taglist!

Stranger Things taglist: @shadowfoxey - congrats on being the OG!

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#steve harrington x reader #steve harrington smut #steve harrington x you #steve harrington #stranger things fanfic #stranger things smut #will i be thinking about this all year #yes