stealthy-like-a-ninja

[stealthy-like-a-ninja]

Thinking I might revamp this with a proper OC and make it a whole story to go with the whole show hmmm 🤔

A Silent Vow

Where Steve reflects on what has happened and what’s to come.

Pairing: Steve Harrington x Henderson!reader

Steve laid back down beside you and let out a sigh. Although he was ridiculously tired, he just couldn’t fall asleep.

The lamp on your bedside table flickered a few times beside him, indicating its need for a new light bulb sooner rather than later, while Sting’s soothing voice played quietly from the record player that sat on top of your dresser. He lost count of how many times he’d gotten up to restart your vinyl copy of Synchronicity by that point but didn’t really care as he mindlessly tapped along to the rhythm and stared at the ceiling.

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[stealthy-like-a-ninja]

A Silent Vow

Where Steve reflects on what has happened and what’s to come.

Pairing: Steve Harrington x Henderson!reader

Steve laid back down beside you and let out a sigh. Although he was ridiculously tired, he just couldn’t fall asleep.

The lamp on your bedside table flickered a few times beside him, indicating its need for a new light bulb sooner rather than later, while Sting’s soothing voice played quietly from the record player that sat on top of your dresser. He lost count of how many times he’d gotten up to restart your vinyl copy of Synchronicity by that point but didn’t really care as he mindlessly tapped along to the rhythm and stared at the ceiling.

He was pretty sure that he was the only one awake in the house, seeing how late it was. Ms. Henderson had gone to bed fairly early that night while you and he were cuddled up on the couch watching Grease with Dustin. It was your turn to pick the movie so neither he or Dustin really had a choice in the matter, but your little brother still made sure to express his annoyance in not being able to watch A New Hope again as he flopped into the lazy-boy recliner and grumpily stuffed his mouth full of popcorn.

Once the movie concluded, Steve was reluctant about not waking you from the peaceful slumber you had dozed off into so that the two of you could go up to bed. Dustin, on the other hand, was less considerate and wasted no time in throwing a pillow at your head so that you’d get up.

“We’re helping the Byers’ and El move tomorrow, and I don’t want to listen to you complain about how sore you are because you slept on the couch all night,” your little brother grumbled as he climbed out of the chair. Steve was about to scold him for being a dickhead, but didn’t get the chance to before Dustin muttered a quick goodnight to the two of you and made his way upstairs to his bedroom because she was tired; even though you all knew he was really just calling his girlfriend, Suzie.

You and Steve, however, followed suit and made the trek up to your bedroom as well, deciding to call it a night with just how exhausted the two of you were.

It didn’t take long for you to fall asleep with how drainingly busy you had been. It was your last year at Hawkins High School along with Nancy, and you had been up to your ears in homework and extracurriculars. However, even with all the time you spent studying and doing other things, you never let Steve or any of your friends fall under the radar. You helped him create a new resume that he was to use to apply to jobs with Robin the following day, drove Dustin and the rest of the party to and from school almost every day, and insisted that you’d help with whatever the Byers’ would need as they prepped for their departure from Hawkins in the upcoming weeks.

Although you tried to hide it, Steve (and everyone else) was able to see right through your facade of not being too upset over the Byers’ and Eleven moving away. Jonathan was one of your oldest friends, Will and Eleven were two more little siblings you never had; as were the rest of the party, and Joyce was very much a motherly figure to you and always had been. It was only natural that you’d see them off despite how tired and worn out you truly were.

As the next song started playing from the record player, you unconsciously snuggled closer to your boyfriend, and he couldn’t help but grin warmly. You looked so peaceful. However, Steve couldn’t help but think about how that was a completely different story leading up to the events that occurred three months earlier. Soon leading him to let his thoughts begin swarming.

To say that you and Steve had been through a lot would be an understatement. In fact, the two of you had basically been dragged through hell and back, but still managed to function as if nothing had happened. Well, almost. A lot occurred since the two of you started dating around Christmastime the year prior, not to mention everything that happened before that too.

Soon enough, Steve was overcome with the fresh memories of his entire relationship with you.

The two of you always knew each other, Hawkins was incredibly small after all, but you were never really close. However, that all changed in the fall of 1983 when Will and your friend Barb were sucked into the Upside Down, and the first Demogorgon wreaked havoc on your beloved town... The stupid thing almost got you too, but Steve came out of nowhere with that nail-filled bat of his during that fight.

After that, things were quiet, and life resumed as regularly as it possibly could. Steve started seeing you a lot more, thanks to the budding friendship you formed with Nancy after losing Barb, Dustin’s friendship with her younger brother Mike and fighting the monster from the Upside Down together. You, her, and Jonathan grew insanely close after everything, which naturally led to Steve being around much more often as well since he and Nancy were still dating.

After what Nancy said to Steve at the party, he was crushed, but you were there. You went out of your way to try to cheer him up because you refused to pick sides when it came to him and Nancy. He appreciated it more than he could explain, and couldn’t help but notice a warm fuzzy feeling that formed whenever he was around you after that.

He never acted on those feelings, though. Instead, he tried to bury them deep down in hopes they would never surface; but, things changed once Dustin unknowingly brought home a cat-eating, future Demogorgon called Dart.

Steve soon got a firsthand look at just how badass you were when the two of you fought off the demodogs in the old junkyard after you demanded that the Dustin stayed on the bus with Max and Lucas. You naturally had each other’s backs during the whole thing and him fighting with his bat, and you with your trusty crowbar sure put a dent in those bastards from the Upside Down.

Billy showing up at the Wheeler’s house after the junkyard was probably one of Steve’s least favourite memories that you were involved in. It wasn’t because of how he got royally beat up, even though that sucked, but because of how helpless he knew, he made you feel. The sounds of you sobbing and screaming at Billy to stop as Dustin, Mike, and Lucas held you back was on a sickening loop in his mind for days after that, but he really couldn’t think about it at the time seeing he was only barely conscious.

The rest of that night happened in a blur. Steve woke up in the back of Billy’s car while Max was driving, and you nowhere to be found. He soon figured out that Dustin and Mike somehow locked you in the trunk because they knew you’d try to put a stop to their plan, and although they could all hear you yelling and thrashing in the back, none of the kids answered when Steve asked where you were.

“She’s fine, we’re almost there anyway,” Dustin assured while Steve just shook his head, that was until it dawned on him that Max was driving the car and he started freaking out.

He remembered how livid you were as soon as the car came to a stop, and kids opened the trunk again. But, even that anger was short-lived when you looked over to see him awake and basically falling out of the car. You were by his side in an instant, helping him stay upright, and joining him in telling the kids that they were not going down into those tunnels. Brave of both of you to assume any of them would actually listen.

Down in the tunnels, Steve led the group, and you went to follow at the end of it. However, Dustin said he’d go last; and despite your protesting, your baby brother was firm and did not take no for an answer.

“As the man of the family, it’s up to me to make sure you’re safe,” he argued.

“But Dusty-.”

“No buts, Y/N. Follow along.”

Steve watched as you smiled before reaching over to take of Dustin’s hat so you could ruffle his curls, even though you knew he hated when you did that.

“My hero.”

“Whatever,” he grumbled as he snatched his hat back before following behind you and Max.

Once the group was further into the caves and the six of you were a bit more spaced out from one another, Steve was still able to notice your distressed reaction to Dustin yelling from somewhere further behind. The commotion instantly caught his attention, and when he quickly whipped back around, he was able to see, from was what was visible, of your face go pale before you took off in the direction of your brother while he and the rest of the kids followed. When you all reached Dustin, and he started coughing and claiming he was ok, you immediately thumped him in the head and gave him shit for scaring you like that, something Steve couldn’t help but smile at before continuing on again.

As soon as the hub was on fire and everyone was running back to the entrance, you were so focused on getting the kids out first and making sure that they were ok. When a tentacle type thing wrapped itself around Mike’s ankle, you ripped Steve’s bat from his hands and used it to free the youngest Wheeler, and almost started swinging again at Dart once it showed up; but Steve held you back as Dustin took control of the situation. You instinctively gripped onto his hand as you watched your brother interact with the demodog out of fear, which Steve would tease you about after the fact, although the gesture secretly made him a little flustered.

Your little group passed Dart and started bolting back towards where you entered the tunnels originally, you were all aware of how fast you’d have to move based off the screeching of more demodogs approaching. Once everyone reached the rope used to get down there, you helped Max, Lucas, and Mike get out as soon as you could. Just as you were about to help Dustin up, Steve’s arms wrapped around you and started lifting you up so you could climb out.

“You’re next,” he muttered as a surprised yelp left your mouth, but you were quick in recovering as you grabbed ahold of the rope and climbed the rest of the way.

As soon as you were above ground again, you immediately went back to the hole and looked down to help the other two, but much to your dismay, they were frozen as a massive pack of demodogs came rushing at them.

“No!” You yelled as the other kids called for Dustin to come on before watching in horror as Steve stepped in front of your brother to keep him protected from the oncoming heard, but then, the demodogs started running past them without attacking. Steve pulled Dustin close just in case one did attack, but you all knew they wouldn’t because they were too focused on something else. Eleven was closing the gate.

Steve and Dustin were quick in getting out of the tunnels after that, and you wasted no time in pulling Dustin into a bone-crushing hug and repeating the same thing over and over again.

“Thank god you’re ok.”

As soon as Dustin assured that he was indeed ok, you let him go and stepped back so his friends could take over.

Steve lingered nearby, watching the exchange happen between you and Dustin with a small smile as he patiently waited for the next step. But before he knew it, a pair of arms wrapped around his middle, and he was met by you crashing into his chest in a tight embrace.

“I’m so glad you’re ok too,” you stated, shaking your head as Steve instinctively put his arms around your waist, pulling you closer. “I don’t know what I would’ve done if something happened.”

“Hey, it’s alright,” he soothed as he started rubbing small circles on your back, his heart clenching when a choked sob left your mouth. “You’re ok, no one got hurt. We’re safe.”

“I know, I’m sorry,” you replied as you started pulling away. Steve could tell you were embarrassed about breaking down like that as you reached away to wipe away the tears spilling from your eyes, and that made him feel even worse. “God, I’m such a mess.”

“No, you aren’t, Y/N. You are one hell of a badass, though.”

A small gasp left your mouth as Steve gently placed his hand under your chin so that you’d be facing him. He didn’t say anything else as he used his thumb to wipe away a few of your stray tears before eventually meeting your gaze, and feeling himself soften. An unfamiliar feeling started swarming in his stomach as you two stood there, staring at each other. Although he had yet to admit it, you caused him to feel massive amounts of butterflies whenever you were around, and that little predicament was no exception.

Slowly, his gaze moved to your lips before fluttering back to lock eye contact with you and letting out a sigh.

“I might regret this,” he started. “But fuck it.”

His grip on your waist tightened as he started leaning down towards you, and you gulped. There was no denying that you had feelings for Steve by that point, but was he really about to kiss you? Your brain screamed at you to move away. He was your brother's best friend and mentor, not to mention one of your best friends exes, but still, as you watched his eyes flutter shut again while he moved to brush his lips against yours slightly, there was no way you were going to stop him.

However, something else did.

The headlights from the car parked only a few feet away grew extremely bright, causing you and Steve to move away from one another just so you could shield your eyes from the beam. You both stepped closer to the kids, confused as to what was going on as the brightness increased, but then it all clicked once the headlights shut off on their own. Eleven closed the gate.

After that, life went on to somewhat resume normally, well, as normally as it could in Hawkins.

Will ended up being ok for the time being after El took care of the Mind Flayer, and before anyone knew it, a month had passed.

During that month, Barb’s funeral happened, which was tough, but you all powered through it. Eleven officially became Jane ‘El’ Hopper, and you continued life as a high school junior. Fall soon turned into winter, and although it was hard to just forget about everything that happened, everyone tried their best to do just that. And to top it all off, you and Steve had barely spoken.

It was awkward as hell. You’d see each other in the hallways at school, and just avoid each other. Neither of you was sure how to even initiate a conversation after the almost kiss you shared, and it was obviously eating away at the both of you.

Jonathan, Nancy, and Dustin were the ones to pick up on how weird you and Steve had gotten to be around each other, not that it was tough for them to tell either. Dustin approached Steve about it (even though he wasn’t too keen on the fact that the girl his friend was fawning over was his sister at first) and told him to man the hell up (even though he didn’t), while subtly trying to get you to hang out with them; to which you consistently declined. You felt really bad about it all and continued avoiding Steve until Jonathan and Nancy called you out on it.

The first thing you did was apologize to Nancy for being a shitty friend, but much to your surprise, she just chuckled. She explained that it was ok if you liked Steve, but what wasn’t ok was how mopy you were because you hadn’t talked to him. Jonathan backed up her on her statements and explained how they were pretty sure Steve felt the same way, but still, neither of you spoke to the other.

When it came time for the snowball, Steve dropped Dustin off at Hawkins Middle School and was completely not expecting to see you all dressed up and helping out Nancy at the punch bowl. Sure he knew you were going to be there. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been needed to drive Dustin, but still, just the sight of you allowed the familiar feeling of a weight being placed on his chest form, and he just simply could not look away. As he watched you, he couldn’t help the small smile that tugged at his lips as you smiled at whoever came up to get some punch, or how you stuck your tongue out at Dustin once he entered the gym. He became entranced. So focused on you, that he actually jumped when you moved your head to the side and ended up locking eye contact with him through the window.

He froze instantly, as did you, but once Nancy noticed what you were gawking at, she smiled a little and nudged you to snap you back to reality. Steve watched as Nancy said something to you before you nodded in response and started walking towards him, almost as if you were on a mission. He remained parked in his spot as you pushed through doors and right up to his car.

“Uh, hi.” Was all he was able to blurt out as he got a better view of how good you looked in your dress.  

“Hey,” you replied back and crouched down so you could be eye to eye with him. “We need to talk.”

Slowly, he nodded, not having it in him to avoid the situation any longer. “Yeah, hop in.”

You did as he said and climbed into the passenger seat, not saying anything else as he pulled away from the door and into a parking space on the other side of the building.

Cyndi Lauper’s Time After Time started blaring from the gym as you and Steve got out of his car and moved to sit on the hood. Neither of you spoke up, but the silence was deafening, and you knew you’d lose your mind if you didn’t speak up sooner or later.

“So…”

“We almost kissed,” Steve finished, and glanced over at you. Your cheeks instantly flushed red, and you were extremely thankful it was a bit chilly out because it helped mask your blush a bit better.

“We did,” you replied, unsure of what to say next.

“I’m not sorry about it,” he blurted out and caused your gaze to snap to him.

“What?”

“I said, I’m not sorry about it,” he repeated, as you shook your head.

“Steve-.”

“I like you, Henderson. A lot. I’m not going to apologize for wanting to kiss you, regardless of how shitty that makes me seem for doing such a thing to Nancy…”

He trailed off on the last part of his sentence and slowly dropped his gaze to the ground. You blinked twice, wanting to make sure you processed the fact that he actually said those things before speaking up again.

“Is that why you were avoiding me?”

“Yeah,” he answered with a nod. “And I wasn’t too sure how Dustin would feel about the whole thing at first.”

“What do you mean, at first?” You questioned while furrowing your eyebrows.

“Pretty sure he’s been spending the last couple of weeks trying to set us up,” Steve laughed and looked back to you. “But I was still too nervous to actually talk to you.”

“Well, you had no need to be.”

“What?”

“Cause I feel the same, Harrington,” you explained and could’ve sworn you saw his eyes light up. “I was chicken too. I didn’t want to hurt Dusty or Nancy, but in actuality, they were the ones pushing me to not be such a coward and just speak to you.”

“Oh, wow,” he replied with wide eyes and let out a breath. “So, what now?”

“Well, I wouldn’t mind if you actually kissed me this time.”

He smiled at that before facing you again and shaking his head. “Don’t need to tell me twice.”

You didn’t have time to react before Steve was leaning in and crashing his lips against yours. Although you always expected to like the feeling of kissing him, you didn’t think you’d miss the sensation so quickly when he moved away. The two of you stared at one another before immediately reaching out and pulling the other closer than you already were. His arms wrapped around your waist, and your hands tangled into his hair as your mouths collided once again.

The two of you made out for a minute or so before the song in the gym changed and was replaced with the familiar riff of Every Breath You Take, causing you to moan slightly before slightly breaking away from the kiss.

“I love this song,” you mumbled against his lips with a smirk.

He let out a laugh before kissing you again and slowly leaning you back onto the hood of his car. “Sure sets the mood, alright.”

Before things could get any steamier, a deep voice called out and caused the two of you to instantly move away from one another.

“Is that you over there, Harrington?”

Of all people that could have noticed the two of you, it just had to be Hopper. Turned out, he was only a few feet away talking to Joyce, who was giggling as she realized what had just happened. “Oh, leave them, be, would you?”

Hop just shook once he saw you slowly stood up beside Steve and tried not to laugh. Steve could tell the sheriff wanted to say something but didn’t as he looked to Joyce and started walking in the other direction.

“Just stay out of trouble, you two.”

“And have a good night!” Joyce chimed in before following after Hopper.

Once they were out of sight, you and Steve glanced at each other and burst out laughing. After a few minutes of trying to catch your breath from laughing so hard, the two of you agreed to go get some food at the diner before having to come back and pick Dustin up.

And that was how it all began. As Steve looked down at your still sleeping figure, he smiled as he thought about just how hard and how fast he fell for you. It’d been a year since then, and he didn’t even have words to describe how happy he was just with you, even on top of what happened during the summer months.

It was supposed to be an uneventful summer. Steve started working at Scoops Ahoy, and you were working at a clothing shop on the upper level of Starcourt. Seeing as there wasn’t anything ever really going on in Hawkins anymore, and Dustin was away at camp, you and Steve tried to make the most of it, and spent what free time the two had together; even planning to save up and take a little weekend trip together before you started school again up to Chicago or Detroit, you guys hadn’t decided yet. However, that never happened.

Instead, your summer was filled with Russians, the return of the Mind Flayer, lots of death, and just overall a ton of traumatic experiences. You were kidnapped, and had to witness Steve get beat up, again; although he did win one fight, which you did give him credit for. The two of you, along with Robin, were injected with a truth serum that just created a mess of things when your boyfriend told your captors your brother's full name and resulted in you almost taking matters into your own hands by murdering him yourself.

Along with all that, many people you knew actually did die. Whether it had been because of the Mind Flayer and his army made up of people you knew (like Billy and Heather), the fall of Starcourt itself, having to fight off the Mind Flayer and face the possibility of losing any of the people you cared for most, or how everyone had to accept the loss of Hopper after he closed the gate to the Upside Down once again to prevent anything like that to happen again. It was sure one bitch of a summer, but still, somehow, you and Steve managed to survive.

It truly amazed Steve what the two of you had been through together when he thought about it. It’s been a shit show of a ride, but the two of you, Nancy, Jonathan, Robin, Erica, and the party, all ended up being ok, which is all either of you could have really asked for.

The sound of the record coming to an end once again brought Steve back to reality from his thoughts, and he let out a sigh. He glanced over at the alarm clock to see that it was almost three in the morning and let out a groan. With a roll of his eyes at himself for staying up so late, he sat up so he could reach over to turn off the lamp and call it a night, but froze when you started whimpering and moving around beside him.

You were having a nightmare. Steve had them too. He knew first hand how terrifying they were, filled with images and memories of all the things he’s had to face, and he absolutely hated the thought of you going through that.  

Your whimpers turned into pleas. You were begging for your boyfriend, Dustin, and the others to be left alone so that they could be safe, but with the way, your movements got more aggressive, and your breathing came more sporadic; Steve knew he couldn’t let you suffer through that.

“Y/N,” he whispered and started shaking your shoulders gently, not wanting to scare you even more. You began thrashing by that point, and his heart broke. “Y/N, I need you to wake up. Please babe, just open your eyes for me.”

After a brief moment, you gasped loudly and finally woke from your dream. Steve watched as you took a few deep breaths to calm yourself and blinked as your eyes adjusted to the light-filled room. Once your heart rate steadied, you finally looked to him and sent him a small smile.

“Hey,” he said softly and reached out to hold onto your hand.

“Hey,” you replied with one more deep breath and squeezed his hand. “Did I wake you up?”

“No, I couldn’t sleep as it was,” he explained before moving to brush some hair away from your face. “Nightmare?”

You nodded tiredly, tears welling up in your eyes. “The Mind Flayer almost got you in that one.”

“Hey, it’s alright,” Steve soothed as he shifted his position so that he could lay back down beside you and pull you into his chest. “I’m right here. Not going anywhere, ok?”

You nodded again.

“But what if something happens again, Steve? What if it’s worse next time?”

Your voice was barely a whisper as it was drowned out by a few sobs, killing him just a little bit more inside as he thought about what you said.

“You can’t think like that,” he told you firmly before placing a kiss to the top of your head. “We’re going to be just fine with whatever life throws at us. You know this.”

“I do,” you replied softly. “As long as we’re together.”

“Exactly. Now try to go back to sleep, you need rest.”

“Aye aye captain,” you chuckled before cuddling up even closer to him. He just smiled in response and reached over to turn the lamp off. Once he was done, he returned to his spot next to you and wrapped his arms protectively around your waist again.

It didn’t take long for you to fall asleep again, Steve even stayed up a little while longer just to make sure you didn’t have another nightmare. As soon as he was sure you were resting peacefully, he let himself drift off into sleep, but not without mumbling a quick ‘I love you’ while making a silent promise to himself to keep you safe from what life could possibly throw next at the two of you.