#ex jock steve harrington

[hotluncheddie]

ex jock

this is fat steve, subby eddie, filth.. for the festive season! happy halloween freaks!

wc: 2,034 | rated: E | cw: no kink negation | tags: chubby dom top steve, sub bottom eddie, established relationship, mention of; free use, degradation, breeding, outgrown clothes.. and steve has a big dick

AO3

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eddie is brushing his teeth post shower in steve’s stupid big bathroom. the autumn rain falling agains the widow pane. 

‘i decided on my costume for robins party tomorrow ed’s’ eddie hears steve say from the corridor. 

eddie spits a wipes his mouth. hears steve come in and feels him stand close behind eddie, hands resting on his hips. 

eddie raises from where he’s dipped over the sink. breath catching in his throat and blood rushing straight to his cock. 

steve’s in his old hawkins high basketball jersey and a pair of running shorts. both are old and both are way too fucking small. 

steve smirks at him in the mirror, hands shifting lower, with just enough force to disturb the towel around eddie’s waist. it drops to the floor and eddie feels the hairy lower expanse of steve’s belly push up agains his backside. 

‘what do you think? ex jock, former basketball team captain.’ steve grinds agains eddie’s cheeks and all eddie can do is whine at the feeling of steve’s big hard dick, trapped and suffocated in his too small shorts. 

steve leans in close and kisses up eddie’s neck. snakes a hand around to eddie’s cock and squeezes. eddie’s leans on his arms and grips at the sink, legs feeling like jelly. 

steve swipes his thumb over his already leaking head, scooping up a little pre cum. eddie didn’t realise his eyes had shut till steve pulls at one of his hips, turning eddie around to face him. 

looking down his nose with a smile that’s all cocky and condescending, steve lifts his thumb slowly to eddie’s mouth. eddie opens, greedily sucking it in, moaning at the feel and the taste. eyelashes fluttering. 

‘pretty.’ steve humms. ‘you’d’ve let me do this after gym class right baby? in the showers? after i’d bodied you on the court?’ steve’s thumb slips from eddie’s mouth and he steps back towards the shower. turning to grab the lube they keep there, hidden amongst the shampoo. 

eddie takes the chance to watch steve’s ass and thighs jiggle in his too tight shorts, as he walks the few steps to the shower. takes in his bulging love handles that are pushing the waistband out and down. that gap of skin between the two garments gets a little bigger when steve reaches up to the top shelf to grab the lube. 

eddie feels his cock jump and leak once steve turns around. his belly had taken the brunt of his weight gain and he’s only gotten hairier in the years since high school. eddie grips the sink for dear life and he watches steve sway back towards him. shirt so tight eddie can see the soft nipples of his expanded pecks. steve’s belly pushes out in front of him, a soft indent along the bottom hem where the shirt sits, pulled tight around steve’s girth. belly exposed all the way up to his belly button. the jersey is so small. steve looks so hot. eddie is so fucking hard. 

steve stalks up close, stomach pushing soft agains eddies flat torso. eddie blinks slowly, taking a moment to breath deeply and feel the sensation of steve’s soft body agains his own. eventually his eyes focus and he stares at steve’s mouth. his head too fuzzy to ask for a kiss but steve must read his expression because his mouth quirks into a smug little smirk. lifting a huge hand up to the back of eddie’s head. steve pulls their mouths together into a sloppy kiss. just how eddie likes it. 

he looses himself in the feeling of steve’s tongue exploring his mouth, spit sliding down his chin. steve’s hand grips his hair and eddie moans. eyes rolling in the back of his head and mouth dropping open as steve sucks in his lower lip. 

steve pulls their faces apart an inch and eddie can’t focus on anything other than the kissed pink colour of steve’s mouth, glossy with spit. he vaguely hears the pump of the lube bottle but his eyes don’t snap up to steves till he feels strong slick fingers probing against his cheeks, towards his hole. 

eddie gasps at the sensation of steve’s strong thick arm encircling him to reach his entrance. the hand in his hair still holding tight, keeping his head in place. eddie sighs when he feels two slick fingers slide in with ease. 

(he’d fingered himself open during his shower, hoping something would happen tonight, never expecting all this. but hoping none the less.) 

‘baaaby’ steve coos. hand tightening in his hair and third finger prodding at his rim. ‘did you let someone have a go before me? little perv couldn’t wait till the captain was done?’ and eddie moans at the thought, feels filthy and alive. years out of high school (thank god) but lost in the fantasy. 

his cock ruts vaguely against steve’s underbelly. but between the sink and steve’s arm around him, there’s not much room. 

‘you gonna let me have a turn now baby?’ steve asks all honey sweet as his three fingers slide neat and quick in and out of him. all eddie can do is pant and nod, vaguely. 

‘need you to use your words for me.’ steve pecks at eddie lips and tugs sharply at eddie’s scalp to get his attention. 

‘pl- please.’ eddie rasps. drinking in steve’s round flushed cheeks, the love that he sees in his eyes. 

‘good boy.’ steve pulls his fingers out from eddie’s hair and hole in one swift motion. eddie takes a bit to register the quick hard slap against his cheek and another to feel that steve’s gripped his leaking red cock around the base. knowing way before eddie how that move would’ve sent him over the edge in seconds. 

still reeling, from the combined pain/pleasure, eddie let’s steve manoeuvre him back facing the sink and mirror. bending him at the waist so his elbows are against the counter, back arched. 

steve steps back in close to eddie. having shucked his too small shorts. eddie feels him line his slick cock up against his hole. teasing. 

‘eyes on me pretty thing.’ eddie lifts his head from where it was hanging between his shoulders. lost in the sensation of steve’s big thighs up agains the back of his. he focuses on the steve in the mirror. 

‘now then, you’re gonna let me have a special turn with you, aren’t you baby? you don’t want me feeling left out after all those guys on the team had a go before me, do you?’ and eddie whines, shaking his head quickly, feverishly. he’d never want steve to feel second than. he’s everything. 

‘good boy, so good for me baby.’ steve smiles at him in the mirror, ruts his cock between his cheeks. eddie keens. 

‘now.’ steve’s cock slips in just to the base of the round tip. teasing and slick. eddie’s mouth fills with spit as he listens. ‘you’re gonna let me fuck you nice and deep aren’t you baby?’ and eddie nodding again, trying to push back onto more of steve’s cock but the strong hands at his hip stop him. ‘and i get to do what all those other guys only dream of, isn’t that right freak?’ and eddie can only whine in confusion. caught between trying to focus on keeping his eyes on steve and the sensation of his cock sliding in another inch, stretching him open. 

‘you’re going to let me fuck you raw and deep aren’t you?’ and steve grinds in further, cock filling and stretching eddie’s hole. ‘you're going to let me breed you aren’t you, slut?’ steve grits, bottoming out and already pulling back out to start a punishing pace. 

eddie moans long and loud. too lost in the way those words light him on fire and the way steve’s cock fills him up perfectly to keep his eyes on the mirror. he squeezes his eyes closed and splays his hands agains the counter, holding on for dear life. 

steve shifts his grip, still thrusting hard and deep. one hand curls around eddie hipbone. pulling him back onto his cock and squeezing so hard eddie fucking prays he gets bruises tomorrow. the other hand slides up his spine, pushing lightly to get eddie to dip lower. 

looking up again at the mirror eddie watches steve. feeling his jaw go slack and he wouldn’t be surprised if some drool slips out and splatters onto the sinks expensive porcelain. 

because from this angle eddie can see steve’s flushed cheeks and knitted brow as he fucks in and out of eddie. his pecks and biceps bulging and flexing as he holds eddie where he wants him. eddie’s mesmerised by the movement and jiggle of steve’s belly as it bounces against eddies lower back. it’s still confined by the too tight jersey but the tops ridden up further over the course of the scene. allowing eddie to drink in more of its hairy, round expanse. 

eddie moans again, whimpering at the sight. ‘ste- stevie. i, i can’t. i’m gonna.’ eddie sounds like he’s about to cry. feels like he’s about to cry. 

steve moans, squeezing eddie hip harder. pants out ‘fuck, fuck. yeah baby, it’s okay. together, together okay?’ and he reaches his other hand down and around to grip eddie’s hard cock. 

the air punches out of eddie lungs, finally getting some attention to his dripping dick. he watches steve a moment longer. the way his belly and pecs move. the way his brow is furrowed and mouth is open and panting. he sees the way he’s leaning to one side in order to reach around and stroke eddie the way he likes. how reaching has caused his side to scrunch, one roll turning into two. 

‘fuck, fuck, i’m.’ steve manages as he bottoms out, so deep eddie feels it in his teeth. imagines the way steve’s balls tense up when he cums. feels steve’s hot load release inside him, filling him up. claiming him. 

eddie’s eyes roll back in his head. he cums so hard he blacks out. 

when he comes too it’s with his face smushed into the crook of steve’s shoulder. he nuzzled into the warm skin and feels steve squeeze where his arms are wrapped around his waist. eddie feels cum leaking out of him and dripping down his thigh. his cock gives a valiant twitch but he’s so exhausted it doesn’t go any further than that. 

steve gently lifts his face out and kissed him on the nose, his cheeks, his forehead and eddie just closes his eyes and smiles all dopey. 

once he feels that eddie won’t keel over if he’s no longer plastered to his front, steve steps back and rips the shirt off over his head, tossing it into the ground. ‘god that shit was uncomfortable. too fucking tight.’ but he’s smiling and eddie steps back into his space, caressing steve belly and soothing the red line where the shirt dug into him at the widest part. 

‘s’that really gonna be your costume?’ eddie asks, speech still slow and syrupy like his mind. voice a little raspy, he must’ve gotten pretty loud there at the end. 

steve grips one of his wandering hands and kisses eddie’s palm. he turns to put the shower back on and once he’s facing eddie again he cups eddie’s cheek with his palm. manoeuvring him so they’re eyes meet. steve kisses his nose again. ‘no silly. that was all just for you.’ 

eddie looks at steve’s lips as he talks. then back into his eyes once he hears what steve said. grinning he feels a blush colour his cheeks. a giddy giggle bubbles out of him as he slumps back into steve’s embrace. 

‘good.’ eddie murmurs, kissing steve’s neck. ‘don’t wanna share.’ 

steve laughs and squeezes eddie tighter, walking them both over into the warm spray of water with big lumbering steps. 

eddie sighs into the warmth, sinking into steve’s soft hold. letting steve clean him up and wrangle him into bed. falls asleep wrapped up in steve’s strong arms, his belly pushed up agains eddie back. 

halloween. best fucking time of the year. 

[jonathanbyersphd]

Jonathan having to work at family video in s5 and that's part of why he and Robin become besties 🙏 (Steve is pouting in the corner with the cardboard cutout of Phoebe Cates)

[smeddiemunson]

Eddie “accidentally” leaving intimate pictures he’s taken of Steve out on his desk.

The Corroded Coffin boys finding them and bringing them up in front of Steve (but not to Steve).

Steve flushing bright red and begging them to shut up, even though they ignore him.

But none of them can ignore the tent he’s pitching in his little shorts 🤭

[pretend-theres-a-name-here]

I’m really truly trying to not become a steddie fan account but I just finished my rewatch and my dash is full of them

Steve ‘I was neglected as a child so I don’t think anyone truly Wants to go through the Chore of loving me’ Harrington vs Eddie ‘overdramatic wears his heart on his sleeve’ Munson.

Steve’s only experience with love is the ex-girlfriend who faked it until she called him bullshit, the girls he only went out with bc he wanted to keep up the image (which usually meant he put in all the effort like complementing them and getting them flowers) and a lesbian his 15 year old best friend tricked him into liking

But Eddie’s over here performing medieval courting rituals because he’s a gay nerd and calls Steve every pet name under the sun. I’m not saying he’s smooth about it, he’s anything but smooth but it makes Steve blush either way so he keeps doing it, Steve almost cried when he showed up with flowers and had to take a minute to process when Eddie opened the car door for him because no one’s ever put in the same amount (if not more) effort into a relationship with him.

He’s never had anyone obsessed with him (the people at high school don’t count cause they liked with King Steve) but Eddie practically worships the ground he stands on, he’ll go to Family Video with the intention of seeing Steve and then nearly pass out from having too much love when he sees Steve because he’s physically incapable of not showering him in affection

basically ‘doesn’t think they’re worthy of love x loves them like it’s breathing’ but they’re a emotionally repressed ex-jock and a nerd who plays dnd religiously

[allyricas]

imagine if eddie never got caught up in the upside down stuff in season 4. all the same people are still vecna'd, but chrissy never sought out eddie for drugs at school that day so he is oblivious to everything going on.

maybe he spends spring break playing music with the guys and getting drunk in the back of his van.

or, better yet, he's not even in town at all. he and the other members of corroded coffin are in indy for battle of the bands.

in fact, he literally has no clue what happened until he sees the news about the earthquake and he rushes back to make sure uncle wayne is alright. he's freaking out because when he calls his trailer numerous times, no one answers. he tries calling the plant to look for his uncle and they say he didn't show up to work.

chrissy was too intimidated to seek him out at school even in the privacy of the woods, so instead later that evening she goes to the trailer to look for him. she still gets vecna'd and the trailer becomes a gate.

eddie is never a suspect since he has a verifiable alibi. wayne still finds chrissy's body the next morning and still helps by telling nancy about henry creel. he can tell the teens are about to do something reckless and dangerous so he gets involved and ends up in the upside down instead of eddie.

he turns out to be very handy with various weapons and has a mind for battle strategy thus the party having a much better plan.

they win this time. steve gets really hurt, like nearly dies. wayne is the one who carries him out of the upside down and helps make sure he doesn't bleed out. they form a bond and wayne refuses to leave his side at the lab.

which is why eddie can't get ahold of him.

imagine eddie rushing back into hawkins only to eventually find out chrissy cunningham died on the porch of his trailer and that no one's heard from his uncle in days. he finds out from dustin that his uncle is at the hospital standing vigil over steve harrington's bedside, of all freaking people.

wayne looks pretty roughed up, but he's safe and he's okay. eddie is so relieved to see him with his own eyes that the reality of everything doesn't really sink in.

after everything is settled, the government compensates wayne with a new home. everything could have been a lot worse were he not involved and the earthquake split the trailer in two.

it's nothing fancy, just a three bedroom home on a nice plot of land. it's cosy and there's room for a fire pit in the backyard, maybe even a garden and a chicken coop. wayne manages to make anywhere feel like home, but this place has a certain charm.

once steve is well enough to go home, wayne all but insists that steve comes home with him and eddie. wayne tells steve he has a permanent home with him, that they're family. for once in his life, steve let's himself be loved and taken care of by an adult. wayne is everything his parents could never be.

wayne's heard all about steve's parents, noted that they never showed up to see their son and wayne doesn't want steve rotting alone in his big house. wayne always had a habit of picking up strays after all.

the problem with the situation is, of course, that eddie doesn't like steve. in fact, he absolutely cannot stand him and does not understand why his uncle is suddenly so close with him.

he steadfastly believes in his munson doctrine and has no plans to reevaluate. steve is a douchebag jock. in his mind, there's no way he has actually changed into this funny, dorky man who hangs out with his uncle for fun and drives around the younger teens just because he likes them.

he can't actually be best friends with band nerd robin buckley or close to his ex and her boyfriend. he can't be the man who put his body in front of someone else's. he can't be the man who smiles softly at eddie while he makes his snarky comments and refuses to budge and inch on his dislike.

steve harrington who helps his uncle plant a garden and build his chicken coop. who cooks and bakes far better than some rich kid should be able to. who asks about his band and hellfire and his books. who is far funnier than he has any right to be.

so, eddie is all snarky comments and rolled eyes every time he comes home to wayne and steve watching a game together. he is so jealous and can't say anything since wayne adores the guy...and since steve almost died.

he pretends that all the things he's learning about him must be a trick or a lie. steve can't be this person who fits so seamlessly into his life. even the other members of his band warm up to him

eddie will not budge. nope. never.

wayne knows his nephew. knows that eddie would like steve if he just gave him a chance. watches the way his nephew watches steve and waits for the day the eddie realizes what he thinks is loathing is a lot closer to something else. he loves the boy, but knows what a stubborn ass he can be.

steve likes eddie immediately and thinks he's adorable. he thinks eddie is cute when he's annoyed, enjoys the way he huffs and rolls his eyes. he is content to wait for eddie to catch up. he and wayne gossip over coffee and the subject has come up a time or two (or many) and wayne insists that eddie will figure it out eventually.

imagine a world where eddie never gets involved with the upside down but wayne does. even in this world he and steve are inevitable. wayne sees it the minute he watches them interact the first time in the hospital. he has a feeling they'd have found their way to each other somehow. he knows steve was meant to be apart of their family.

[wheneverfeasible]

It had just been a joke.

He’d been bleeding out, dying, the pain from the demobat bites fading as that unending cold started to seep into his limbs. He was dying and Dustin was crying over him and he didn’t want to say goodbye but what else was there to do?

Pounding footfalls and then Steve and Nancy and Robin were skidding to his side amongst the fallen demobats and Steve was telling him to hang on, to not die, that they were there. Nancy and Robin were tearing garments to wrap around his bites but he didn’t care overly much, figuring it was for nothing. Instead, he was focused on Steve’s hand in his, pleading with him to hold on, and it was clearly just him babbling, but he’d said he’d do anything Eddie wanted if he just hung on.

And really, what better time to come out as gay to your crush than on your deathbed? Or, death-patch-of-dirt anyways.

“Go on a date with me then, Harrington,” he coughed out, choking on blood that splattered on his chin. Sexy.

Steve was noticeably shocked, and confused, but he gamely agreed if Eddie just promised not to die. Eddie blacked out with a grin on his face. He’d thought that was it, thought it was all over, except then he started feeling pain again. Which fucking sucked. Kind of rude to feel pain in death, unless Hawkins had been right and he was in Hell now. Bummer.

But then he heard the beeping, felt the cold air being forced into his nostrils, and he blinked open eyes that felt glued shut. Things were all woozy and fuzzy, but he saw big brown eyes staring at him and a smile he’d never thought he’d see directed at him of all people, and Steve was holding his hand again and that was nice.

Apparently he’d been in a coma for a month. Hilarious.

Steve had told him he’d been begging him to wake back up, they all were, and Eddie was high enough on pain killers to tease, “Didn’t think I’d let you out of our date that easily did you, big boy?”

He’d fallen back asleep almost immediately afterwards, so he didn’t get to see Steve’s reaction to that one, which was probably for the best, all things considered. Except Steve kept coming back, and he kept up the joke about taking Eddie on a date once he was better, even using it as encouragement when Eddie wanted to just give up and die from the pain he was in due to the multiple surgeries he was recovering from and undergoing.

Despite all that, he slowly but surely healed, able to finally move into the small house the government’s hush money had bought for them with Wayne after they also got him cleared of all charges yadda yadda yadda. Pretty sick deal, all things considered. All it took was being framed for multiple murders done by a psychotic supervillain and nearly mauled to death by demon bats. Easy peasy.

When Steve had given him a time and date for their supposed date, Eddie was just happy that the guy was able to joke about it with him instead of freaking out in typical Straight Jock. Steve apparently acknowledged his crush and still wanted to be friends, which was better than he could hope for. Or so he thought.

Because there was Steve, on his front porch, flowers in hand and looking far spiffier than Eddie ever recalled him looking like before. It looked like he’d even gotten a haircut. Good lord.

And it was amusing really, truly it was funny how far Steve was willing to take the joke, but something broke inside Eddie too because he was For Real Super Gay For Steve Harrington, but for Steve it was Just A Joke. And Eddie couldn’t take it anymore.

He snapped, hurt by his feelings not being taken seriously, and ranted about ex-jocks and pretty straight boys who treated being queer like a joke. Though Steve looked shocked at first, he ended up just looking amused by the end, which annoyed Eddie further. He was just about to enter another diatribe when Steve cut him off with a simple sentence that took all the wind out of his sails and left him gaping like a fish.

“Thanks for calling me pretty, but I’m actually bisexual.”

Eddie blinked. Steve smiled. Flowers were pressed into his hand.

“Now, the only joke around here is thinking my date can wear sweatpants to our dinner reservations, so go change into something appropriate, Munson. Honestly.”

As Eddie was ushered to his bedroom to change into something more fitting than stained and holey sweatpants, he tried to figure out where he had, in fact, lost the narrative. Because it had just been a joke.

But somehow he had ended up with a first kiss, a real life boyfriend, and a happily ever after he never would have expected. Go figure.

[after-the-end-times]

Eddie's Never Been Chill a Day in his Life

For @steddieholidaydrabbles Prompt: Chill 🥶 Rating: G 🥶Words: 793 🥶 cw: none 🥶 Tags: Established Relationship, Corroded Coffin doesn't understand, Eddie has no chill, Eddie Munson loves Steve Harrington, Steve Harrington loves Eddie Munson

“Oh, will you chill? It's not a big deal”

“Chill? Chill?! Ha!”

Eddie strikes a dramatic pose, one hand on his hip, finger on his lips and, despite the smile spreading across his face, his eyes are wide and angry staring down his friends.

“No, I don't think I will chill! Because I tell you, my best friends, my band, my comrades in arms, that I, Eddie Munson, have finally got myself a boyfriend and you, what? Say I can do better? Tell me you don't like him?!”

Eddie throws his head back laughing.

Gareth looks at Jeff who looks at Freak. They sometimes forget how scary Eddie can be when he turns his dramatics up to 10.

Which means it’s even more creepy in the quiet after Eddie’s laughter cuts off. A car door slams on the other side of the garage door. Jeff’s mom probably getting home from work.

“Dude, we just mean he isn't really- You know.”

“What? He isn't the best thing to happen to me? He isn't the kindest, sweetest, most self sacrificing man that I’ve ever met? Because guess what guys! He is. He's all that and more. He's funny and sarcastic and goofy and so so smart!”

“Eddie, he's a jock! You've always said-”

“And I was wrong! Ok!?” He blows out a harsh breath, continuing calmer “I was wrong and I judged without knowing. So what if he likes sports? He has hobbies and interests. Isn't that a good thing? Or would you rather I be with someone boring? Someone who thinks and acts just like me? So we can just sit there and stare at each other, because we have all the same opinions about everything? 'Cause, actually, I think I like it better this way.”

“Ok, ok we get it. You like him." Gareth huffs out a laugh.

Jeff adds with a chuckle. "Guess even you couldn't resist a pretty face, huh?”

Eddie scoffs. They just don't get it.

“Of course he's breathtaking. But he's all the more beautiful because of who he is inside. Don’t you get it yet? He has a gaggle of children who he loves and would do anything for. He has a best friend who he would literally get tortured for to spare her any hurt. He's even friends with his ex and the guy she cheated on him with! He's just so kind and forgiving, and yes it’s sometimes more than I'd want him to be, but that's- He's just so- I just- I love him.” He looks at them with wide pleading eyes. “Ok, guys? I love him and he's gonna be mine for as long as I can keep him. So, you guys just need to get with it, I guess.”

Eddie runs out of steam after that and crosses his arms protectively across his chest. He's still building his strength back up and he's been gesturing wildly for his whole rant.

The door on the side of the garage opens and Steve steps inside, shivering. The tip of his nose and ears are nipped pink from the cold, his hands are red and slightly trembling; he’s clearly been out there longer than it takes to run from the car to the garage.

“Steve.” Eddie breaths out and walks over to take his hands in his. He cups them and brings them up to his mouth, warming the frozen finger tips with his breath.

Steve’s gaze, so wide and hope filled, has been locked on Eddie since he came in.

“Do you really?” He finally asks, in a low voice just for them.

Eddie flicks his eyes up to meet Steve’s. For a fraction of a second he considers asking what he’s talking about, maybe playing off the moment with a joke, but no. Steve deserves to know. And he wants Steve to know.

“Steve,” He kisses the finger tips at his lips, still so cold, but finally warming. “I love you.”

“Eddie.” Steve’s shaking, though whether it’s still from the cold or from the force of his emotions, Eddie’s not sure. Either way, he suddenly has an armful of a Steve Harrington who is laughing so joyously, like it’s the only way he can release the amount of happiness that has suddenly over taken him. He gasps in a breath. “I love you, too, Eddie. Oh my god, I love you so much.”

Eddie pulls back grinning, he needs to see him right now, needs to see the joy he’s put on Steve’s face just by loving him.

Oh, Steve is glowing.

And in that moment, Eddie knows, without a singular doubt, he’s going to spend the rest of his life making Steve glow with happiness.

And they’re going to have a beautiful life.

~Fin~

[missberrycake]

I’ve been thinking this morning about if Steve didn’t get back together with Nancy at the end of S1—I think there’s a lot of different ways that could go, but what if Steve ended up as one of Eddie’s lost little sheep?

Because even if Steve was popular enough to keep afloat in the choppy waters of high school, after his bust up with Tommy and Carole—and even when he’s seen talking with Nancy and Jonathan Byers of all people—he still doesn’t really have any true friends left. Sure, he has people he can chat to in class, but at lunch? After school? Nobody is really thinking about who ex-jock, ex-bully Steve Harrington is hanging around with. 

Perhaps he spends the rest of his junior year dreading lunch hour, because he knows he’s going to have to deploy some serious charm tactics—taking as long as he can in the queue, chatting to the students either side of him—and perhaps if he lingers long enough at one of the tables of his more social classmates, pretends he’s just catching up, carrying on a conversation from class, he can make it seem like it’s all still as easy as it was before. 

Sometimes, though, he doesn’t have the energy to pretend. On those days he’ll retreat quietly to his car and eat his lunch behind his wheel, wondering how different it might have been if he’d never gone back into the Byers’ house that day last fall.

It’s on one of those days that Eddie sees him. It’s not like Eddie hadn’t noticed him before, he’s always on the lookout, after all, and Steve Harrington is one of those people who always drew his eye. He’d seen him scouring the cafeteria while queueing up for his state-mandated mac ‘n’ cheese, searching for a space where he could fit. 

And, of course, he’d heard the whispers about Steve—that he’d punched Tommy H in the face, gotten his crown beaten from his head by Jonathan Byers (though he didn’t seem to hold a grudge). If there’s one thing to know about Eddie, it’s that he’s a bleeding heart, and so when he sees Steve sitting alone in his car, winter frost glittering against the metal, he lets out a heavy sigh and trundles over. 

“Hey, Harrington,” he says, pushing down a smirk when Steve jumps (he is easily startled these days, isn’t he?).

“Munson,” Steve replies with narrow eyes. He doesn’t trust Eddie yet, not entirely. 

“There’s more space in my van. If you wanted some company.”

Eddie leaves it like that, keeps it casual, knows that he might get it shoved right back in his face—expects it to be, even. And so he’s surprised at how quickly Steve nods back at him, a real smile breaking out on his face, if only for a moment, until Steve clears his throat and says, “Sure, yeah. That’d be cool, I guess.”

It’s the start of something big. A delicate balance where the two of them pretend that it’s not that important, but somehow they’re more honest with each other than they’ve ever been with anyone else. Steve tells Eddie all about how he doesn’t even really know who he is anymore, and in return Eddie shares just how worried he is that he knows exactly who he’s expected to be, and that he can’t change his fate even if he wanted to.

By the time the next school year starts, it’s well established with the school population that Steve Harrington has somehow landed himself with an honorary spot in the Hellfire Club. He doesn’t play—refuses to learn, even if it’s clear that he’d do pretty much anything else that Eddie Munson would ask of him—but he helps set up the meetings, sits with them at lunch, smiles stupidly whenever Eddie gets up onto the cafeteria tables to rant about the shallow-mindedness of his peers. 

And if Eddie’s diatribes are directed at the popular crowd with a little more venom than they used to be, and if he seems to take great pleasure whenever Tommy H, or Carole, or those posers on the basketball team frown and scoff and sneer at him, it’s no great secret to everyone else in the lunch hall exactly why. 

[Yeah, I'm scouring the archives and trying to salvage as many headcanons as I can from my old deleted account, but let's just pretend this is brand new content.]

[eddieandbird]

Elevator—

After breaking up with your boyfriend, Steve unexpectedly swoops in to be your rebound.

a/n: this one was in the drafts for a min and i finally made it! enjoy! -bird

cw: smut | 3.5k words | f!reader | fuckboy!steve | protected | oral f! + m! receiving | fingering | pinv

————

The electric hum of the fluorescent lights seemed to taunt you as you made your way to the elevator door. You had been so raw with emotion for hours that you stood motionlessly as if any sudden moments would have you fall apart completely. Even the gentle ding of the elevator car arriving made you jump.

Steve Harrington was already inside when you practically limped in. Faint rings of makeup surrounded your eyes and your hair was carelessly tossed into a low ponytail. He chuckled, assuming you were having a similar morning to his.

A charming smile appeared on his lips as he said “Taking the ol’ walk of shame, huh? Me too-”

“Steve, please shut up. I just got dumped,” You interrupted him before he said anything that would humiliate you further.

His thick eyebrows connected as he processed what you said. “Oh damn. I’m sorry I just thought-“

“It’s fine, I’m fine. I just want to move on with my day,” You said shakily, brushing off any fake sympathetic bullshit you assumed he was going to make.

You and Steve had a few classes together and passed by each other quite a bit due to your now ex-boyfriend staying in the same dorm building, but nothing more.

Steve's smile dropped and was replaced by a pout as you cut him off. He stood up straight, leaning back against the wall of the elevator and crossing his arms over his chest as he let out a low whistle. "Damn. Sounds like it didn't end so great,"

He looked you up and down and felt a pang of sympathy in his chest. He was never good at comforting others, but he wanted to cheer you up somehow. He stayed silent for a moment before eventually blurting out "That boyfriend of yours sounds like a tool."

You snorted in response to his comment.

“Yeah, he was the fucking worst,” You laughed at yourself for having such a cold demeanor when you walked in. “I’m sure I saw something good in him in the beginning, but I’m not going to stick around for a guy who can’t figure his shit out,” You shook your head.

Steve chuckled, crossing his arms over his chest. "I think we all go through that phase," he reassured you. The corner of his mouth tugged upwards in a slight smile as his brown eyes flickered with mischief. "So, am I right in assuming you had a sleepless night? I can only hope he at least gave you a good send-off,"

You scoffed as you turned to look at him. “Are you asking if I had break-up sex, Harrington?”

You took slight offense to his insinuation, but what did you really expect from the jock with half a brain. You decided to take it lightly and not deck him in the face at this moment.

Steve raised his hands defensively, letting out an exaggerated gasp that turned into a laugh as he smirked back at you.

"Just asking the important questions, sweetheart. No need to get all fired up."

He leaned back against the wall of the elevator, cocking an eyebrow in a teasing manner. "I take it that means no, then?"

You bit your cheek, contemplating if you wanted to divulge that information.

“No, we didn’t have sex last night,” You admitted in a frustrated grumble.

A smirk threatened to creep up on your lips as you thought of how ridiculous this conversation was. You weren’t the type to share the gory details of your relationship, but here Steve was, somehow charming his way into talking to you more.

The elevator dinged and you walked out first. Steve couldn't help but let out a low whistle in response to your answer. His smirk grew a bit wider as he followed you out of the elevator. His eyes scanned over you for a moment before he spoke again.

"Damn, what a waste of a night."

He fell into step beside you, stuffing his hands in his pockets as he glanced over at you. "So, you must think I'm heartless now, huh? I'd be pretty surprised if you didn't think that, at this point,"

“I do think you’re kind of being an asshole. I did just get my heart broken and all,” You scoffed teasingly.

You were headed back to your dorm, not sure how to shake off Steve. Of course he was being incredibly insensitive, you didn’t expect much else from guys like him.

Steve chuckled, throwing out his hands in a defensive manner as he protested, "Hey, I'm just being honest here. If you want some sensitive bullshit, go find a guy with more depth than a puddle. I'm just giving my two cents,"

He walked right alongside you, keeping pace with your stride as he glanced over at you. He took note of your destination and smirked a bit. "So we're heading back to your place, huh?"

“No,” You said, shaking your head rapidly. “I’m going back to my place and you’re just following me around like a creep,”

You had a sarcastic smile as you walked a bit faster with your arms folded on your chest. Every few steps you’d look back to see Steve’s shit-eating grin.

Steve chuckled as he followed after you, his long legs easily keeping up with your pace. He matched your expression with a smirk of his own, enjoying your attitude even if you were trying to kick him out.

"Oh come on. Don't be like that," he sucked his teeth. "I'm not being a creep, I'm just making sure that you get back safely. Isn't that what a gentleman does?"

You rolled your eyes as you finally got to your dorm. You unlocked the door and said “My hero. How else was I supposed to travel to the building next door, in broad daylight, on a very private campus?” You stepped inside and closing the door halfway.

You poked your head out once more. “Thank you, Steve. I’ll see you around,”

Steve leaned against the door frame with a sly smile on his face. His eyes sparkled with mischief as he looked down at you, his arms crossed over his chest.

"You could at least invite me in, after I've been such a good chaperon, making sure you got back safe and sound."

You groaned before you swung the door open. “Fine. Would you like to come in, Harrington?”

You knew you shouldn’t let him in, but he was too persistent and irritating. You thought if you wasted enough of his time, he’d eventually get bored and get out of your hair.

Steve's smirk widened as you finally relented and opened the door wider. He sauntered in as if he owned the place, his eyes scanning the room with an almost predatory look.

"Don't mind if I do."

He flopped down on your bed, propping his arms behind his head like he was right at home, and winked at you.

You crinkled your nose in disgust as he lay there like he was expecting something out of you. You took a seat on your floor, studying him with a tilted head like he was a zoo animal in its enclosure. Steve watched take a seat on the floor, his eyes taking in your appearance without an ounce of subtlety.

"You just gonna watch me lay here, or...?" he teased, arching an eyebrow in your direction.

“Yup. Just waiting until you’re ready to leave,” You smiled with a fake innocence.

You brought up your legs, resting your chin on your knees with an unamused look. You were cursing yourself for even putting yourself there in the first place. If only you kept your mouth shut on that stupid elevator.

“I know you want me to stay a while," he teased, his voice low and sultry. "We're all alone, in your room just the two of us,"

You nodded and laughed briefly before your expression soured. The way he shamelessly checked you out annoyed you like nothing else.

“Steve, I’m not sleeping with you. I literally just got out of a relationship,”

Steve rolled his eyes, a mocking pout appearing on his face as he let out a low huff.

"Well, a guy can dream, can't he?" he retorted, his tone playful. “You know it might do you some good to get over that loser. I can guarantee you'd have a better time with me."

You sharply exhaled through your nostrils as you let the idea dance in your head for a minute. You hadn’t cried since Steve showed up this morning. You hadn’t even thought of your ex really since Steve showed up. You knew you were going to have to get a rebound sometime and he was already here in your dorm room, practically begging to fuck you.

“Alright, fuck it. I’m game, Harrington,” You said bluntly, almost harshly.

In two fluid motions, you tossed your top off and unzipped your skirt that fell to your ankles.

Steve's eyes widened as you started to undress in front of him, his cocky expression replaced with a look of pleasant surprise. He let out a low whistle

"Damn, you don't mess around," he stated, his eyes roaming over the expanse of bare skin. He swallowed, licking his lips before speaking again. "You sure about this, sweetheart? I don't want you to do something you'll regret."

“Oh, now you’re suddenly concerned about how I feel about this situation?” You rolled your eyes and scoffed. You rummaged through your nightstand drawer and tossed a silver sachet at Steve’s chest.

“C’mon Stevie put your money where your mouth is,” You teased, growing excited with the shift in the room.

Steve let out a low scoff as he caught the sachet in one hand, his eyes glancing down at it for a moment before returning to you. His smirk grew as he saw the excitement in your eyes and he sat up on the bed, his gaze trailing down your body once again.

He leaned forward and patted his lap, his usual cocky smirk returning to his face. "Come here then, sweetheart. Let's see if you can handle me." he quipped, a hint of amusement in his voice as he placed the condom onto the bed.

“Oh please, do you think that’s the first time I heard that?” You giggled.

You sauntered over to him with your hands behind your back, then loomed over him for a moment as he sat just a foot in front of you. “Don’t get shy on me now. Whip it out, Steve,”

Steve chuckled at your comment, his eyes flicking down to your hands behind your back. He raised his eyebrows in anticipation, his gaze following you as you approached.

"Not shy, sweetheart. Just making sure you know what you're getting into," he teased, his voice low and seductive.

He reached down and began to unbutton his jeans, his eyes never leaving yours. You broke eye contact first as he drew his pants and boxers down with an uncoordinated tug. As his length unfurled in front of you, you swore you heard it thump on his muscular thigh. Your mouth hung open involuntarily. You picked it up as you covered your mouth, preventing your giggles of pleasant surprise from leaking out.

“Woah… good for you,” was all you managed to get out.

Steve chuckled at your reaction, letting out a low laugh as he leaned back on one hand, his confidence fully returning as he watched you stare at him.

"Like what you see?" He was clearly enjoying the fact that he had managed to catch you off guard, his smirk widening as he saw your eyes widen slightly.

"Don't just stare, babe. You're more than welcome to touch too," he added, gesturing towards himself with a tilt of his head.

You scoffed humorously, re-tying your ponytail before crouching down on the floor before him. You fit yourself in the space between his legs, still admiring him in his bare glory.

“You know you don’t have to talk like we’re in some bad porno. I already agreed to this,” You muttered.

You bit your lip, concentrating on his form. His cock bobbed with excitement as you softly dragged your fingertips down its length. A moan rumbled out of Steve, bringing a wide grin to his face. Steve chuckled, his smile widening as he watched you approach him, his eyes following you as you shifted into a comfortable position between his legs. He tilted his head back for a moment, his eyes fluttering closed before opening back up to watch you.

"Sorry. Just trying to set the mood," he mumbled through a low breath, trying to keep his cool but losing it quickly.

It was another answer you would easily roll your eyes at, but you couldn’t even think about right now. You could only think about touching him. Your fingers slowly found themselves around his girth, feeling the weight of it as you held his cock steady.

“Is this okay?” You asked in a choked breath. Slowly your fingers rolled against his length, squeezing gently with every stroke.

His size was something you weren’t going to forget anytime soon. You studied it, wide-eyed, wondering how you were ever going to fit it inside you. Steve let out a low moan, his head tilting back for a moment as his eyes fluttered closed again.

"God...yeah that-that's fine," he assured you, his voice low and rough as he spoke.

He lifted his head back up to watch you explore him, the look you had, only making his ego grow. He sat back, propped up by his arms. His happy trail of hair led up to his abs, led up to his broad chest, led up to his gorgeous face that was contorted in pleasure.

You leaned forward from your heels and fit as much of him as you could, your drool coating his dick thoroughly. Steve's eyes widened in surprise as he felt your mouth envelop him, his arms almost giving out as he let out a low, guttural moan. He kept his eyes trained on you as you took him deep, his breath hitching in his throat as he felt the warmth of your mouth.

Your hands adventurously found their way to the tops of his thighs, finding another point to steady yourself as you let his length part your lips and slip into your mouth. Wet smacks of spit sang in harmony with Steve’s moans.

“How was that?” You asked breathlessly as you bobbed your head back up to see him.

Steve’s eyes were hazy with lust and his chest heaving as he tried to steady his breathing. He'd never had someone blow him with such eagerness and enthusiasm, and he couldn't help but be in awe of you.

"That was incredible," he mumbled, his voice rough and breathless. "You're a natural."

You tried not to grin so hard from pride, but you could tell he was genuine in his compliment due to the hue of pink on his cheeks.

“Are you sure you’re not just saying that?” You teased, already knowing his answer. “You don’t tell that to every girl you hook up with?”

You pushed up on his thighs, bringing yourself back up to eye level with Steve. Your gaze flicked between his eyes and lips with an intense hunger.

"Oh sweetheart, I don't have to lie. I’ve got no reason to," he replied with a cocky smirk, his eyes roaming over your chest before meeting yours.

"You’re not like any girl I’ve been with." He leaned forward slightly, his hands reaching out to grab your hips, pulling you closer to him, his eyes sparkling with mischief. “And I’m definitely not like anything like your dog shit ex-boyfriend of yours. Want me to show you?”

What you would’ve done to get even an ounce of the attention Steve was giving you without a second thought. At a dizzying speed, he encircled your waist with his arm and spun you around, causing you to fall back on your bed.

Giggles caused your body to bounce against your mattress. Those laughs combined with soft whimpers filled the air as he lifted your legs a bit, planting your feet flat on the bed. He then took your previous spot on the floor, down on his knees, and draped over the bed with his body nestled between your legs.

“What are you doing, crazy?” You asked with a breathy tone.

Steve’s hands were firm but gentle as he maneuvered your legs.

"I'm gonna show you just how much better I am than that loser ex of yours," he stated matter-of-factly, a cocky smirk on his face as he knelt in front of you.

He ran his hands up your inner thighs, pressing soft kisses along the sensitive flesh as he moved closer to your center.

Curiosity caused you to tilt your head down to see him and you were instantly met with those giant brown eyes of his. You felt a puff of air fan your entrance as he chuckled against you. You were just getting used to the sensation before he replaced a slow, prolonged lick against your folds. Your eyes rolled to the back of your head and your head followed down to the bed.

His mouth worked away at you, making obscene and messy noises as he lapped and nipped at your throbbing clit. The overwhelming rush of pleasure was causing your legs to close in on him and your hand to grab a fistful of his shaggy chestnut hair. You rolled your hips into him, which he only encouraged with the way he was devouring you. Two fingers swiped back and forth over your eager hole, each motion applying more pressure than the last until they slipped right in.

“Shit… Steve,” You could only manage to whisper his name as you squirmed underneath him.

With every sound that managed to escape your lips, Steve only worked with more enthusiasm. He was fully enjoying this, feeling proud of himself for the reactions he was getting out of you. He expertly kept a steady rhythm with his digits, pumping in and out of you.

“I think… I think I’m going to-”

Your peak was just seconds away from being yours but was suddenly ripped away from you as he reluctantly pulled away. You were about to let him hear it. A letdown like that has never happened to you. With your body propped up by your elbows, you investigated what was the reason for your nearly-ruined orgasm.

“Something wrong, baby?” Steve’s smirk distracted you. Before you could let your anger make a mess of things, you looked down to see that he had rolled the condom over his achingly hard cock.

“Oh you impatient little thing,” he hummed as he pressed a hand down on your lower stomach.

A languid thrust brought the entirety of his length to slide inside of you. You could see stars in your vision as you felt him fill you. His body molded to yours as he was grinding down into you. He could barely stay coherent himself, but he managed to tell you “Shit, I don’t think I can go slow anymore, babe. Will you let me take you?” he asked in a gruff voice.

“No, please. I want it,” your voice had a similar hoarse quality to it.

“Let me just-” Steve muttered as he slipped his arms underneath you, hooking over your shoulders as he pressed his body into yours.

It was almost too easy with his feet still firmly on the floor. He lifted his heels to push himself repeatedly and at the same time, his muscular arms pulled you onto him. His forehead was on the mattress as he rutted against you repeatedly. With his ear right beside your head, it gave him the perfect spot to hear every filthy moan that slipped out of your mouth. His thrusts felt endless as if you would be stuck pulsing over his dick for the rest of your life, each one building that familiar feeling you were previously chasing.

“You’re getting tighter. Are you close?” He struggled to get out.

“Yeah, almost there,”

“Oh fuck,” Steve whimpered, the sounds getting higher in pitch as he climaxed.

The desperate pumps had you following right after him. The animalistic growls that escaped him completely overpowered your whines. He then collapsed onto you, his hot breaths covering your neck. Both of your delirious giggles filled the room as you combed through his sweaty hair. He lazily lifted his head, revealing his bright red face.

“Well, that was fun,” You mused as you traced your thumb along his jaw.

“See? And you weren’t going to let me in,” Steve kissed your cheek, making sure the noise from it was obnoxiously loud. “Your ex is a goddamn idiot for letting you slip away,” He mumbled into your collarbone.

[steddielations]

Single dad Eddie calls his daughter’s teacher in the middle of the night, “Yeah sorry to bother you Mr. Harrington, I know it’s the rule to keep the class pet in its cage when it’s our turn to take him home, but long story short, there's a ferret loose in my house and I need help finding it or Sir Butterscotch is gonna be absent from class forever."

And that’s how Eddie, who’s been trying to stifle the stupid crush he has on his daughter’s teacher (he’s also the baseball coach which makes it even worse ahem better) ends up with a hot ex-jock moving furniture around his living room like it’s nothing at 3am, while he stands there like an idiot in his Garfield pajamas.

Not to mention, Steve also has a daughter that he had to bring along because it’s the middle of the night and she’s not happy about it. Hands on her hips, that same pose that Eddie has memorized Steve doing on the sidelines, interrogating him about why he wasn’t following the rules.

Then Eddie’s daughter wakes up from all the noise and says, “Oh yay Dad, you finally got Mr. Harrington to come on a date with you!” And when Steve smirks at Eddie god damn it, he just blurts out that he found the ferret oh wait that’s a feather duster haha better keep looking.

[wuffgang-ameowdeus-moozart]

(after the kids come by the first time)

Robin: I must say I was not expecting Steve Harrington, ex-keg king, to babysit a bunch of middle schoolers

Steve: Ha. Shut the fuck up <3

Robin: I mean, no judgement dude. I would also get another gig if I wasn't so busy with school and stuff.

Steve: they're just a bunch of shitheads

Robin: Yeah. Capitalism owns our soul, amiright?

Steve: I mean, it's not like I get paid-

Robin: You don't get paid to hang out with the "shitheads"?!

Steve: ....

Steve: uhm .....I mean.......no?

Robin: So you saying that after your jock friends dropped you and your girlfriend left you for another you befriended a bunch of thirteen years olds?!

Steve: I'm taking my break

Robin: you already took your break dingus

Steve: Shut- HEY PUT THAT FUCKING WHITEBOARD BACK WHERE IT CAME FROM

[blushweddinggowns]

I can't stop thinking about Eddie having a massive bitch fetish for mean girl Steve, especially after they get together.

Like before, sure, he was just as much in King Steve's thrall as every other high school girl was, even if it was a secret he had planned on taking to the grave. Every time he'd hear him make a snappy comment to one of his friends or say something particularly cutting when he talked back to the teachers was enough to make Eddie flush.

But now that they're together it's even worse than high school Eddie could imagine. Because Steve Harrington is protective as fuck and when you mix that with being gay in small-town Indiana with a boyfriend whose the town pariah for murders he didn't commit, you get a lot of opportunities for bitchy Steve.

The check-out lady at the grocery store scoffs when she sees them holding hands? Steve's jumping in, "Wow Linda, guess you're not a champion for love huh? Is that why your husband left you last year?"

An ex-jock and current gas station attendant makes a comment about how Eddie should be in prison? "Weren't you the guy who shit his pants at Carol's party freshman year? Honestly, I feel like that's a worse social crime than anything my Eddie ever did."

An old teacher comments on how he's not "surprised" that Eddie never graduated when they run into him? "I guess that just goes to show how shitty of a teacher you were doesn't it? He passed his GED test on the first try, maybe you should just think of a different career option?"

He has an arsenal of embarrassing stories and tidbits for almost every person in Hawkins, courtesy of his near-daily gossip sessions with his mom. Even when they move in together, those don't stop, they just switch to weekly three-hour phone conversations. (The apple really doesn't fall far from the tree, does it?)

And Eddie loved how willing Steve was to stand up for him, he did, really. But every time Eddie had to bear witness to Steve tearing someone down for his benefit, it felt like he was losing his mind.

He'd flush, go bright pink, get weak in the knees, everything you would expect from a love-struck sixteen-year-old girl, not a twenty-one-year-old drug dealer. Half the time he had to drag Steve to the nearest unoccupied space just to kiss him, and the other half he was too busy trying to hide a humiliating hard-on.

Eddie keeps that specific obsession to himself, but he knows he doesn't have much time left before he figures it out. There are only so many impromptu make-out sessions mixed with snide comments before Steve puts two and two together.

And Eddie just knows that he will never let him live it down, which will only add fuel to the fire if he starts doing it on purpose to tease him. Steve already had him wrapped around his finger enough as is, he didn't need another thing to make him realize just how gone for him Eddie was.

No, this one was going to stay with him, a secret that he'd actually manage to take to his grave.

Or so he thought.

[andvys]

I knew you'd linger like a tattoo kiss | part 4

Warnings: angst, mentions of cheating, mentions of drugs, allusions to homophobia

Pairings: Steve Harrington x fem!cheerleader!reader , Steve Harrington x Nancy Wheeler

Summary: Steve finds himself yearning for your attention.

Word count: 7k+

A/N: @nemesis729 I had to put in one of your ideas/suggestions! thank you for the inspiration <3

series masterlist

-

Let go. Just let go. Let her go. He has been repeating those words in his head since, well, since he left you. He can’t understand what it is that just pulls him back to you all the time. Whether it’s all in his head or not. He keeps coming back to you and it irritates him because why does this keep happening? 

He left you because he didn’t love you, he left you because he fell in love with her but why isn’t it enough? Why isn’t his love for the other girl enough for him to finally push you out of his mind and out of his life? You seemingly had no problem doing it with him. You pushed him out of your life already so why can’t he do the same? 

The conversation with Billy only left him feeling more irritated. 

Shouldn’t he feel peace, knowing that you aren’t hurting anymore? Shouldn’t he be content with his life now that he finally got what he wanted? 

He doesn’t feel at peace and he doesn’t feel content and it causes anger to rise up in him because why? 

Why, why, why… 

Maybe it’s a good thing that he couldn’t find you anywhere after the conversation with Billy. He looked for you but you were nowhere to be found. He wanted to talk to you about the essay, despite you telling him that you’d call after school. He most certainly would have talked about something else, something that would make things even worse between the two of you. 

The tiny voice in his head that kept telling him to let go, eventually got to him. He gave up on trying to find you and he went to find his girlfriend instead. He took her out for a late lunch at Benny’s Burgers and then brought her to the book shop she loves so much before he ‘begrudgingly’ canceled their movie night– Nancy didn’t seem to mind it that much, saying that she would rather work on her project anyways. After he had dropped her off at her house, he went home, walked into his empty house and waited for your phone call. 

But you never called. 

-

“Is it just me or does Steve seem different?” 

Heather looks at you through the mirror, annoyance flashing in her eyes in an instant at the mention of your ex boyfriend. She lowers the dress that she was holding against her body and sighs. 

“Different how?” She asks as she hangs it back on the rack before she reaches for the purple one, the one you claimed as your favorite. 

You shrug, “I don’t know, it’s just, he seems less– nevermind.” 

Chrissy raises her eyebrows at you, “no, no.. keep going.” 

You blush a little, regretting bringing him up. You look around the bustling store, Heather isn’t the only one looking for a dress for the winter formal next week, a few girls from school are around as well. In fact, Carol Perkins is here too, currently holding up a baby blue dress, just the sight of her makes you want to throw up. 

You never liked her or her boyfriend. Steve had always been friends with Tommy. Carol only came along when she started dating the unfriendly jock. When you had only been friends with Steve, you never hung out with them, you didn’t like them and you didn’t get along with them, not even when you started dating Steve and you were forced to tag along. You always hated the way Steve behaved when he was with them, he always turned into someone else, he let them influence him into doing things that he normally wouldn’t do. They always laughed behind his back, they used him for money and for popularity. You tried showing him that they weren’t real friends but he didn’t believe you or maybe he just didn’t care about what you thought of them. 

She must’ve changed his mind after only one month of dating, he dropped his friends. She got through to him after only one fucking month. 

“He wants to work on the stupid essay with me– he never did that before, he always convinced me to write them for him, even when I wasn’t part of them and now he wants to write it himself and he started reading Pride and Prejudice, willingly!” 

“That’s because he’s already crawling back to you,” Heather mumbles, “they always do that.”

Chrissy nods.

“Not that I’d ever take him back but I don’t think that’s the case.”

“Then what is the case, y/n?” 

You shrug and look down, “I let go of things so I’m not holding onto him or what we used to have if you think that. I don’t want him anymore, not after what he did. It’s just, I’m starting to realize that he truly never loved me. He never changed for me. It’s not that I asked much of him, I just wanted him to drop his toxic friends and for him to start doing better in school so we could go to college together, I just wanted what’s best for him but he never cared about what I wanted. Yet, he cares about what she wants. He dropped his friends for her right away, he started doing better in school for her. That’s what you do when you love someone, you do better for them,” you pause, looking down, you play with the hem of your cheer skirt, “you are willing to change for the right person… So, I guess she is the right one for him. I never was.”

Heather and Chrissy share a look, one of pity. Both girls know that you have let go of your first love but the pain and the heartbreak is still fresh. Steve had always been there, all your life, he had been by your side. He was your friend and then he was more than that, you were hopelessly in love, blinded by it to see how bad he was treating you or how he never even deserved to have a chance with you. 

Neither of them can imagine the pain you are still going through– he was the one for you. 

“I don’t think that she is the right one for him, I think that he’s a blind fool, that’s what he is,” Chrissy says. 

Heather raises her brows, “he’s a real fucking clown, that’s what he is. He dropped the hottest girl there is because he set his eyes on some shiny new toy that’s no one touched before and now he is already crawling back. Not even two months in and he’s already back in your bedroom.”

You scrunch your face up at her words, raising your head, “don’t say it like that, makes it sound like we hooked up.”

“You wouldn’t, right?” Chrissy asks as she stares at you with big eyes, “h-hook up with him or, I don’t know.. kiss him?”

You instantly shake your head, “no! It’s bad enough that I have to do this stupid assignment with him. I don’t ever want him near me again, King Steve is dead to me– besides, he has her now so..”

“Yeah and he cheated on you with her,” Heather says with disgust in her eyes, “he’ll do it again– or, she will do it.” 

“Oh and she will.” 

At the sound of her voice, you all share a look of annoyance. Heather rolls her eyes, she throws the dress over her forearm, putting her other hand on her hip as she looks at the redhead.

You and Chrissy turn your heads to look at Carol, who as always, is chewing her gum and twirling her hair as her eyes flicker back and forth between the three of you. 

“I’m sorry but who invited you into this conversation?” You ask, giving her a false smile. 

“Oh, I just thought that you’d be interested in hearing about what I had to say but hey–”

“Tell us,” Chrissy says. 

Carol tilts her head, laughing a little. 

The cashier behind the counter raises her head, finally tearing her eyes away from the magazine she’s been staring at for the past forty minutes, she looks between you all, mumbling something under her breath that you can’t make out, the Christmas music is too loud. 

“Nancy has a new friend– Jonathan Byers.” 

“And?” Heather shrugs. 

“Well, they seem to be getting really cozy with each other. She is canceling date nights just to hang out with him and Steve is an idiot, I mean he always was so he is kinda blind to the whole thing but when Tommy made a comment about it, he blew up on us, he left us stranded on some parking lot–”

“We don’t wanna hear your sob story about why King Steve stopped being your friend, Carol.” 

She looks down at you where you are sitting on the couch, eyes flashing with irritation but the grin remains on her lips. 

“Well, all I’m gonna say is, their relationship isn’t going to last. Weirdly enough, she started being a little distant ever since he deflowered her. Wouldn’t it be funny if that’s all she wanted him for?” She giggles, giving you a pitiful look, “for sex? I mean, getting to have your first time with King Steve must be really special, right?” 

Irritation sparks inside of you but you don’t show it. A smile tugs at your lips and you shrug, “not really, Carol. There is nothing special about a man, ever.”

Your friends chuckle at your words. 

Carol lets a small laugh leave her lips, though it’s more sarcastic. 

“So, who knows, maybe she stole him from you to hop on his dick, maybe she has a thing for wanting things that she can’t have– although, she did get what she wanted,” she snorts, “but Nancy’s eyes are on the little freak and his eyes, well,” she pauses, smirking at you as she eyes you up and down, “they are elsewhere too,” she chuckles. 

Carol walks past you and Chrissy, staring at the dress in Heather’s hands, she touches the silk material with her fingertips before she brushes past her. 

“If I were you, I’d get him back, y/n.” 

You want to scoff and roll your eyes but that’s exactly what she wants from you. You tilt your head and raise your brows at her. 

She glances back at you over her shoulder, “I mean, losing your boyfriend to some loser is pathetic, especially for someone like you, y/n. I mean, the queen of Hawkins High losing to some little nerd?” She laughs.

You lean back against the couch and cross your arms over your chest. You couldn’t care less about your stupid title. 

Heather squints her eyes at Carol and steps closer to her, “you know what’s pathetic?” She asks, not giving her the chance to respond, “drooling over some guy who isn’t your boyfriend and walking around trying to stir shit up.” 

“Yeah, she moved on if you haven’t noticed,” Chrissy mumbles from beside you. 

Carol turns around, she looks at you before she eyes your friend, “with who? You?” She laughs. 

An exasperated sigh leaves your lips. The smugness on her face, the everlasting smirk and the amusement in her eyes is so irritating to you. 

You fail to notice the blush on Chrissy’s cheeks or the embarrassment in her eyes. Carol smirks, she notices the look on her face and so does Heather who narrows her eyes, glaring at Carol and eying Chrissy slowly. 

“I know what you are, Chrissy–”

“Don’t you have better things to do?” Heather interrupts her, “go and find yourself a dress, it’ll take you some time,” she says, eyeing the redhead up and down. 

Chrissy squirms in her seat, she begins to twist the ring on her finger. You frown when you notice it, knowing that it’s a nervous habit of hers. Carol’s words confuse you a little but you don’t think too much into them. She leaves after giving all of you her judgmental looks. 

Heather turns back to you both the moment Carol is out of eyesight. Rolling her eyes, she shakes her head, “I swear to god, she is everywhere– are you okay?” She asks you. 

You nod, “yeah, why wouldn’t I be?” You ask, plastering a smile on your face. 

Both of them look at you skeptically but instead of questioning you, they quickly change the topic, knowing that you desperately need the distraction. 

“You know what you should do? You should pick out the hottest dress,” Heather smirks as she looks through all the dresses, “show up at the snowball and make him see what he lost.” 

A smile tugs at your lips. 

“Yeah and make him regret everything,” Chrissy smiles, nudging your shoulder.

You giggle, shaking your head, “I don’t even have a date.” 

Heather laughs, waving you off, “I know a few guys who would be happy to take you to the dance.” 

“Yeah, me too..” Chrissy mumbles. 

You shake your head at them and get up, walking towards Heather, you reach for the dress in her hands, “how about we make you two look hot. I don’t feel like going anyways, so…” 

Heather sighs, her shoulders slump, “come on, we’ve been talking about this since the summer.”

“Yeah. We talked about our matching dresses,” Chrissy says as she gets up as well, “we can still find a pretty one for you, y/n.”

“And a date.”

You truthfully don’t care about the dance anymore, you only wanted to go there because of Steve, the thought of him picking out a tie that matches your dress and him inviting you for a slow dance seemed so perfect and romantic for you back then, now it’s just something that no longer matters to you. You don’t feel like going to the dance with someone who couldn’t care less about you and the thought of sitting at a lone table while your friends have the time of their lives makes you want to slam your head against the wall. 

Shaking your head, “no, there’s no one I’d wanna go with.” 

“Are you sure about that?” Heather mumbles as she squints her eyes at you. 

Furrowing your brows, you chuckle, “uh yeah, I am sure.”

Chrissy eyes Heather with a curious expression, “what do you know?”

“Nothing,” you snort, “she knows nothing, Chris.”

Heather smirks. 

“Is this about Billy Hargrove ‘cause if so, ew?” Chrissy mumbles, clearly not liking the idea of you going out with Billy. 

“Not Billy,” she smirks and turns around, “although he did tell me something very interesting,” she says, wiggling her eyebrows at you. 

Sighing, you turn away from your friends and chuckle, “you didn’t hear anything, Heather.” 

“Oh yeah?” She asks, “and what about the stoner you’ve been hanging out with?” 

Chrissy gasps, “what stoner!” 

“There is no stoner!”

-

Steve’s back aches when he wakes up, a groan falls from his lips, he opens his eyes, feeling a little disoriented when he looks around the living room. He fell asleep on the loveseat his mom always relaxes in when she reads one of her favorite novels. Rubbing his eyes, he frowns a little. Your book is lying on his chest, he must have fallen asleep while reading it– while he was waiting for your phone call. 

The phone call that never came. 

He waited and waited but you never called. Time wouldn’t pass, no matter what he did, it just didn’t pass while he waited for you to call him. Eventually, he reached for the book in his backpack and continued reading it, though his eyes kept straying away to the telephone. 

His thoughts kept going back to you just like they do now. 

What did you do last night? 

Where were you last night? 

Who were you with last night?

Why didn’t you call? 

Using a bookmark, he puts it in between the pages that he has to reread again. He closes it and puts it down. He feels a little irritated. What is this radio silence? You promised to call, you broke it, the promise. You were never one to break promises. 

He canceled his date with Nancy just for you, so you could both work on the essay, together. 

Frowning in annoyance, he walks towards the telephone, grabbing the receiver, he dials your number, still remembering it. But just like he suspected, you don’t pick up the phone. He calls you once, twice and a third time until he finally gives up. 

Why won’t you pick up? 

Sighing, he slams the receiver back into place. He runs his fingers through his messy hair and shakes his head as he makes his way into the kitchen to brew some coffee. His mind is occupied by you. Not her. You are not the girl he should be thinking about. He should be thinking about her, he should be planning a date or think about the right Christmas present he should get her, instead he thinks about you. It’s always you. 

The morning goes by and so does the afternoon. He takes a shower, he cleans his room, he reads, he starts writing the essay, he even cooks and still no call from you. 

By the time the evening rolls around, he is fuming. What is more important than an essay? You were never one to abandon school work, it was always your first priority. What changed?

He grabs his textbook, his coat and his car keys before he makes his way out of the house. Only as he steps out into the cold, does he notice the blanket of white enveloping the streets of Hawkins. Snowflakes are falling from the sky, the silence is almost eerie. 

The snow always reminds him of you, the way he kissed you for the first time after removing the snowflake from your lashes. 

He sighs, shaking the thought of the way your lips felt when they touched his for the very first time. He makes his way towards his car, removing the snow off the windshield before he gets inside. Throwing his textbook on the passenger seat, he rubs his hand together to warm them up a little before he starts his car. 

It’s only a five minute drive to your house, yet, tonight it feels longer than that. He doesn’t know why. 

He parks his car behind yours, which is luckily the only one in your driveway. But the house is dark, no lights are on. He doubts that you are home, he still gets out of his car.  Locking it, he puts the keys in his pocket. The snow crunches beneath his shoes. The cold air stings his cheeks a little. 

He rings your doorbell twice, the way he always used to do. 

You don’t open. 

He knocks and rings the doorbell again. 

Still you don’t open. 

Where are you? 

It’s on Monday when he finally sees you again. You are standing by your car, holding your backpack against your hip, rummaging through it. Your hair keeps falling in front of your face, you are muttering something under your breath. 

Steve approaches you with a frown.

You don’t notice him coming, only as he stops in front of you, accidentally kicking some snow towards you. 

“Where have you been all weekend?!” He asks, throwing his hands up. 

Raising your brows, you stop rummaging through your bag and lift your head to look at him. The stressed expression on his face makes you want to laugh. He has dark circles under his eyes, his hair is a little messy but that might be because of the wind. 

“I’m sorry?” You chuckle. 

His hazel eyes flash with confusion, he shakes his head a little, “where have you been?” 

“How’s that any of your business?” You mumble as you zip your backpack shut and pull the strap over your shoulder, brushing past him, he instantly follows you. 

“I– we were supposed to work together, remember?” He exclaims, staring at you in disbelief, “I waited for you all night on Friday, I showed up on Saturday night and you weren’t there!” 

You notice the curious eyes on you– not his but the ones of the students when you walk into the school with him hot on your heels. 

“I was busy.” 

“With what?” Steve asks, furrowing his brows, “I know school is your first priority, since when do you put anything else before it?” 

You shrug, looking over your shoulder to glance at him, “since I changed my priorities.” 

“And what are those?” 

“Those are none of your business, Steve.”

He follows you to your locker.

“We lost three days, y/n! We could have made some progress!” 

You squint your eyes and turn to look at him, he looks stressed. 

“Do you think I wanna work with you?” You mumble, “I got better things to do.” 

Steve shuts his mouth. Sighing, he leans against the locker next to yours and takes a moment to look at you. You abandoned your cheer uniform yet again. Your hair is open, you are wearing a sweater that looks way too big on you and a plaid skirt. He can smell your perfume, it’s not the same one anymore. 

“Like what? Hanging out with stoners?” He scoffs, rolling his eyes. 

“We got five days to work on this stupid essay, I can write it in one day!” You exclaim, not bothering to answer his question that he so desperately wants. 

You don’t look at him directly and you don’t tell him what he wants to hear, yet again. 

“I don’t wanna work on it on the last day!” 

Rolling your eyes, you shut your locker and put your hand on your hip, facing him again. 

“You know what, fine,” you sigh. You narrow your eyes at the redhead who walks past you, already wearing a smug look on her face when she looks between you and Steve. 

“Where do you wanna meet up today?” You ask with a bored expression on your face.

Steve blinks. For a moment, he stays quiet and he looks at you, he looks into your eyes, desperately trying to read them. What happened to you? You don’t seem like yourself, you seem different. He steps closer to you, your perfume isn’t the only thing he smells, there is a hint of smoke and weed lingering. He swallows, concern rushes through him. Your eyes are a little red rimmed, from crying or from smoking weed, he can’t tell. 

A part of him tells him to ask if you are okay, the other part tells him that it’s not his job to ask you this question, not anymore. 

“Hello?” You mumble, waving your hand in front of his face, pulling him out of his thoughts. 

“Uh, we could meet up at the coffee shop downtown?” He suggests. 

You nod, “yeah, sure. I’ll meet you there after school.” 

You don’t give him the chance to respond, you turn around and walk away before he can even utter a word. Steve frowns as he watches you leave. He might never get used to this, to the cold shoulder you are giving him. It’s been a long time since he had seen a side of you that he used to know, now you just seem like a stranger. You changed, it’s obvious you did. Every smallest thing about you is new to him. 

You used to be on time. Whenever he would pick you up for date nights or for school, you would already sit on your porch steps waiting for him with an excited smile on your face. He was the one who showed up late, now it’s you. 

It’s 5:25 pm when you finally walk into the coffee shop. I’ll meet you after school, you said. School ended two hours ago, he went straight to the coffee shop, he even chose your favorite spot and waited for you as he continually looked down at his watch. 

You look around and he has to restrain himself from rolling his eyes, he is annoyed. When your eyes find him, you take a moment to look at him, he sees the way you look at him, even from afar. You look irritated and annoyed, just like he does, still, you make your way over to him. Pride and Prejudice is lying open on the table, you see the page number; 301. Surprise is what you feel when you stare at the number, you raise your brows. Did he actually read that much? 

“Hi,” you mumble. 

Taking your coat off and scarf off, you throw it on the bench before sliding into the little booth. 

“Yeah, hi,” he mutters angrily, “I waited for you for two hours!” 

Leaning back, you raise your head to look at him. His hazel eyes are filled with anger and annoyance, it’s almost amusing to you. 

“Why?” 

“What do you mean ‘why’?” He exclaims. 

His brows knit together and his cheeks grow red. 

“We didn’t make any plans–”

“You said we’d meet after school, y/n.”

“Yeah but I didn’t say when,” you smile, “I’m here now so relax, Steven.” 

“Where were you?” 

Where were you, Steve? You had asked him this question so many times, yet you never got an answer so why should you give him one? 

“I was busy doing stuff.” 

He opens his mouth to speak but decides against it, he clenches his jaw and turns away from you to look out the window. He deserves it, he knows he does. It had taken him some time to realize some things but ever since Nancy and a couple of kids had stepped into his life, he began to see things a little clearer. He began to realize that he mistreated you, though he is still in denial because the guilt is just too heavy. 

He stood you up. He showed up late. He was awful to you. Now you are doing the same thing to him and he knows he had it coming. Deep down, he knows it. But he feels the ugly burning in his chest, the one he only ever felt when he saw Billy flirting with you or any other guy. 

Where were you? Were you with Billy? With the Stoner?

“Did you actually read it?” 

He turns back to you, you look at him in curiosity. 

“Yeah.” 

“Seriously?” You ask, “301 pages?” 

He nods, “yes.” 

You are genuinely impressed. For someone who always hated reading, he is quick. What did she do to him that you couldn’t?

Giving him a lopsided smile, you raise your brows, “impressive. Do you like it?” 

“Yeah, I mean, there’s some good quotes in there. I just don’t like the slow burn.” 

“Really?” You ask, leaning your elbows on the table, you move closer, “I love the slow burn– what quotes do you like the most?” 

He blinks as he stares at you, this is the first time you talk to him ‘normally’. 

“Uh, I’ve written some down,” he mumbles, squinting his eyes as though he tries to remember, “I think it’s uh – ‘they walked on, without knowing in what direction. There was too much to be thought, and felt– a-and… uh–”

“And said, for attention to any other objects.” You mumble, finishing the quote for him. You refuse to look into his eyes but your heart is bleeding in your chest.

“Y-Yeah.” 

“What’s your favorite?” 

“We do not suffer by accident.” 

He sucks in a sharp breath. He can see the way you stare at your hands, awkwardly, avoiding his eyes. The silence between the two of you is loud and awkward. 

“It’s a good one.” 

“Yeah..” 

Steve feels the urge to reach out and take your hands in his, he doesn’t know why. When you look up at him and your eyes lock with his, his heart stops beating for a moment. He can’t read you, not anymore. He knows that you have built up high walls around you, not letting him see you anymore. It bothers him because he wants to see you so badly, he wants to know what you are thinking about, what you are feeling. If you still have feelings for him.. 

“Y/n–”

“I started working on it already!” You interrupt him, “do you wanna read what I have so far?” 

He sighs, shoulder slumping and his expression sinking for a moment. “Y-Yeah, I wanna read it.” 

“Okay,” you whisper as you slide the notebook towards him, “I uh, I’m gonna get myself something to drink.” 

“Yeah sure.”

You push yourself up and smooth down your skirt before you take the first step away from the table. Your emotions are in overdrive, you still feel so much anger for him but deep down, beneath all the layers of anger and pain is the yearning, the longing in your heart that you still feel for him despite the way he treated you.

You preferred the radio silence between you two in those weeks you have pretended that he stopped existing. It was much easier to deal with all of this when you stayed away from him but now you can’t. The thought of spending time with him, every day for the rest of this week makes you want to cry. 

Having to look at him and feel yourself still wanting him, makes you hate yourself. It fuels the anger and worsens the ache in your heart. It makes you want to run away. At one point you even think it’s worth dropping the essay and risking failing the class just because you don’t want to be around him but you would only make things worse for yourself. Steve Harrington isn’t worth the bad grade.  

You make it through the evening, dodging questions that aren’t related to the essay. You continue giving him the cold shoulder, only speaking up when needed. You want this to get over with quickly. 

The next day goes by similarly, Steve asks questions and you stay silent. He tries to find out more about who you spend time with. He asks about Billy and mentions the Stoner, Billy told him about but he gets nothing from you, absolutely nothing. 

Why should you tell him anything?

Why should you tell him who you spend time with? Why should you tell him where you have been all weekend? You don’t owe him anything. He is not a part of your life anymore, yet he keeps acting like he is, he keeps prying and throwing questions at you that he knows he will get no answers to. 

You don’t care how annoyed or frustrated he gets with you, he has no reason to even ask those questions. 

On Wednesday, Steve finds himself in your bedroom again. He is sitting on your carpet, staring at all the chaos in front of him. You kept criticizing his texts, crumbling up all the papers and throwing them on the ground. It’s been hours and hours of writing and rewriting, you barely made any progress. 

Now you are rewriting his part.

The dark denim jacket is still in your room. Maybe it’s just yours. At least he hopes it is. 

“Why don’t you like Mr. Darcy?” You break the silence. 

“He’s arrogant.” 

You snort, “you should meet yourself.” 

A little offended, Steve scrunches his face up, “what is that supposed to mean?” 

“It means that you are arrogant and you’re a dick,” you murmur under your breath, thinking that he won’t hear. 

But he did hear, he doesn’t speak up, though. He wants to hear what else you will say about him. After weeks of no reactions, no arguments, no anger directed at him, he is left wondering what you think of him. The past few days you have been calm but the energy surrounding you tonight is tense. 

“You are wealthy and arrogant like Mr. Darcy and you can be condescending sometimes. That’s something I never liked about you, the way you treated people who are less popular and liked than you are. You can be mean.”

“Mean?” He asks. 

You push yourself up on your knees and look down at him, “yeah, you were mean to me.”

He looks up at you, a strand of hair falls in front of his eyes, his lips are set in a frown. He doesn’t look angry or pissed, he looks curious.

“When?” 

You promised yourself that you wouldn’t do this, that you wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of showing him that he got to you, that his actions hurt you. Another part of you doesn’t care, it’s all in the past, you don’t have to show him what you feel now, right? 

“All the time, Steve.” 

His face falls a little, his lips part, he looks like he wants to say something but he can’t form any words, right now. He stares into your eyes, the tugging feeling in his chest returns. The urge to apologize the way he wanted to do two days ago comes back. 

You look at each other for a while. The only sound being the howling wind outside. The music stopped playing a while ago. You watch the way his eyes soften, the way they flash with sadness and regret, it makes your heart hurt. 

Your hand itches to reach out to him, to run your fingers through his hair and smooth it out, to touch his cheek and feel him again. He looks at you differently now. He talks to you differently now and it hurts. 

He is much more gentle and kind. It hurts to know that it’s her whom he changed for.

He grew up with you, he was your friend first, he was your lover first, he was your boyfriend first but you were never good enough for him. You see the way he is with her, even when everyone, including him, thinks that you don’t look at him anymore, you do. You secretly watch him. He touches her gently, he kisses her softly, he stares at her and smiles when she isn’t looking, he kisses her hand and carries her books, he wraps his arms around her waist and he gives her his jacket when she is cold. He loves her, he genuinely loves her.

You wonder if he knows how horrible she is, how cruel her words can be – but then again, his words were just as cruel when he spit them in your face before he shattered your heart into a million pieces. 

Now he looks at you with those eyes that you longed for when he was still yours. Soft eyes. Now, you can’t stand them. You don’t want him to look at you like that. 

You force yourself to look away from him. You stand up and pick up all the papers on your bed, throwing some of them in the trash. 

Steve watches you, not taking his eyes off of you yet. 

“But also, you’re kind of a clown, so you’re very far from being like Mr. Darcy.” 

Steve tilts his head up to look at you with a frown on his face, a laugh tumbles from his lips, “a clown?” 

“Yeah,” you smirk when you notice the offended look on his face, “they call you King Steve but you’re really just a clown who entertains all the girls.” 

“Uh–”

“Really, I know college isn’t on your list of things to do in life but maybe a circus would do for you.” 

“Look who’s being mean now,” he murmurs as he stands up. 

“I’m not being mean, I’m just being honest,” you say, “you’re a clown just like all the other douchebags on the basketball team. Honestly, I don’t know how it just occurred to me that you all look ridiculous running after one ball – but then again, you also do that with everything else in life, you all see one desirable woman and you are all running after her like a hungry pack of wolves.” 

Steve looks a little caught off guard, though he doesn’t look mad, not even in the slightest. If you had said these things to him two months ago, he would have gotten off on you. 

“Yet you still go for clowns like me?” 

You laugh, “oh you admit to being a clown?” 

He rolls his eyes at you. 

“No, I don’t go for clowns like you anymore, Steve. I think I learned my lesson. I’d never do that again.” 

Instantly, his eyes flicker to the denim jacket on your chair. So it certainly isn’t Billy’s. 

“So.. you didn’t sleep with Billy?” 

A look of disgust that you can’t fight off this time crosses your face and you shake your head, “what ever made you think that I want to fuck Billy Hargrove?” You ask. “In what world would I touch that man?” 

“Well, he told me.” 

You snort and shake your head in disbelief. 

“Billy says a lot of things that aren’t true.” Except for the one time he did tell you the truth. 

He won’t argue with that, he knows you’re right. Still, a part of him believed him. 

You walk towards him and bend down to pick up the crumpled paper balls on the ground. You also throw them in the trash. 

“Who’s the stoner you’ve been seeing?” He blurts out as his eyes stick to the jacket again, “is that his jacket?” 

A part of you wants to laugh in amusement, the other part of you is pissed at him for sounding so jealous. If you wouldn’t have figured it out by the tone in his voice, then you would have known by the look on his face. 

You know Steve like the back of your hand. Right now, he is jealous. Why? You have no idea. He never loved you, he never actually wanted you. He wanted to own you and that’s what he still does in his head. That’s why he keeps asking you all these questions, that’s why he lets Billy’s words get to him. That’s why he hates the thought of you being someone else’s.

You walk towards him with a smirk on your face, “none of your business, Harrington.” 

To know that it troubles him so much to the point that his cheeks glow red makes you feel satisfied. 

“Just tell me, please.”

You snort, “no way.”

He steps closer to you and looks down at you with pleading eyes. What the hell? 

“Why should I tell you?” 

“Because I wanna know,” he mumbles. He pokes at your waist, making you flinch. He knows that you are ticklish. He does it again but this time, you grab his finger. 

“Stop that!” 

He uses his other hand, poking the other side of your waist, hard enough for you to giggle. 

“S-Steve, stop!” You snap at him, trying to keep a straight face but when he does it again, you flinch and try to step back but he pulls his finger out of your grip and wraps his arm around your waist to keep you from escaping. 

“I’ll stop when you tell me,” he says. His eyes light up when you giggle again. You squirm in his arms, trying to push him away. 

You don’t know how it happens but for a minute, you get so lost in the moment. For a minute, you forget about everything that had happened, you forget about the heartbreak and the pain that he had put you through, you forget about how he had cheated on you, how he had lied to you, you forget about the things he spit in your face, you forget about how he never loved you. For a minute, you forget it all. 

What starts off with him poking your waist, ends with him tickling your sides and making you giggle and laugh as you step closer and closer to your bed. Steve is chuckling as he holds your squirming body against his. You try to fight him off but he is much stronger than you, you poke his sides but you don’t get much of a reaction out of him, if anything, it makes him hold you even tighter. 

Tears from laughter well up in your eyes, your stomach begins to hurt from it all. As you near the edge of your bed, you stumble backwards when the back of your knees hit the mattress. Instinctively, you hold onto him and pull him down with you. When your back hits the soft cushions and he lands on top of you and you feel his chest pressed against yours for the first time in a while, you know that this should have been the moment for you to snap out of it and push him away but you are still in the bliss of the moment. Right now, you are in the past where things are still good. 

You are still giggling and he is still chuckling. His nose bumps against yours and it only makes you laugh harder as you look into each other’s eyes. He lets go of your waist but he stays on top of you. His heart is racing, you can feel it. 

Yours is racing too – and then, it flutters when his hand reaches out to cup your cheek. His fingertips graze your skin and his eyes roam your face. His other hand, pushes your hair away from your eyes, tucking it behind your ear. Steve is so lost in the moment, he admires you, your pretty eyes, your beautiful face, the feeling of your body against his, the racing of your heart. He finds himself moving closer to you. It only feels right to do it.

There is this feeling between the two of you. Neither of you can describe it but it only makes you yearn for more. It fills you with false hope knowing that it will crush you again, a moment later. 

While his smile lingers, yours falls quickly when you snap out of it and realize what is happening, right now. Your breath hitches in your throat, your heart stops beating and you freeze when you feel his lips brushing against yours.

Everything comes crumbling down, all the walls that you had built around you, all the strength you had found within yourself to push him out of your life, all the peace you have made with living a life without him. 

It all fell down and one minute is all it took.

next part

-

tagging friends and mutuals only

@mysticmunson @screammunson @wroteclassicaly @corrodedseraphine @corrodedcorpses @imjuststeddietrashatthispoint @hellfire--cult @sherrylyn628 @somethingvicked @take-everything-you-can

[ladykailitha]

The Harrington Pattern Part 1

Hey, guys! Sorry I'm late uploading today, but I went to bed early last night and forgot to schedule this.

Oops!

But! Welcome to what I've been calling Steve is a History Nerd agenda. We see in season two on Steve's essay for colleges that he can link his grandfather's military service with his prowess on the basketball court.

It is also surprisingly well written. *shakes fist at the Duffers stop telling us he's stupid and then showing the opposite, please! Let him be smart, too!*

Summary: The Renaissance Fair is finally back in Hawkins after three year absence (Starcourt was built on the fair site and after the fire it was bulldozed back to it's original field). Everyone is excited, even Steve to everyone's amazement. But Steve is hiding other hidden depths as he offers to help the kids make their costumes for the Fair.

Lucas is struggling with being both a nerd and a jock and fears the judgment of his friends. Steve sets out to help him overcome those doubts to be himself.

Tagging the untaggable: @mira-jadeamethyst @rozzieroos @itsall-taken @redfreckledwolf @emly03

***

Nobody expects Steve to be excited for the Renaissance fair. Dustin, Will and Lucas spend hours plotting bribes, schemes and out and out manipulations to get Steve to agree to take them. Even Robin expected him to side with her about the dust and the filth. Eddie expected him to be dismissive of the fantasy aspect of it.

Boy were they all wrong.

For it was Steve to bring up to the group after a rather successful D&D session.

In his hand was a bright pink flier and a wide grin on his face.

“Guys! The Ren Fair is back this year,” he said in lieu of a greeting. “I’ll finally be able to show off that tunic I’ve been working on.”

All heads turned to Steve in shock.

There was a cacophony of questions.

“Since when did you know how to sew?”

“What do you mean back? I didn’t even know Hawkins had one to begin with!”

“You want to go to the Ren Fair?”

“Why would you want to spend all day in the heat and dirt?”

Steve looked around at all off his friends in shock.

“Guys, I love the Ren Fair,” he muttered. “Didn’t you guys know?”

All their jaws dropped.

And Eddie? Eddie felt an icicle to the heart at the sight of Steve’s hurt expression.

“You’ll pardon the peasants, my liege,” Eddie said, bowing grandly. “I’m afraid we have all be harboring under the delusion that Ren Fairs were beneath your notice.”

Steve blinked at him a moment. “But I love that stuff. It’s the history and sword fights and jousting. It’s the like medieval Olympics. It’s the romance and chivalry of knights fighting for a fair maiden’s hand. It’s getting to dress up in fancy clothes and rip into turkey legs like a savage. What’s not to like?”

Dustin frowned. “Who here knew Steve liked history?”

Robin and Nancy raised their hands. They looked around waiting for me people to join them. But they stayed down.

Steve ducked his head and scuffed the floor with the edge of his sneaker.

“The ex-girlfriend I’ll buy,” Dustin continued. “But Robin didn’t become friends with Steve until after he graduated so how did she know?”

Robin blinked at them owlishly. “You mean you guys don’t know?”

Everyone looked around each other and then shook their heads.

“Steve was in my AP history class my junior year,” she said as if this was know fact.

“You do know that AP stands for advance placement, right?” Mike asked.

Eddie smacked the back of his head. “She was in it, dude. Don’t be an ass.”

Steve looked up at him and smiled a little.

Good, Eddie thought. Nothing like a little Mike violence to cheer up Steve.

“He wrote an essay for early placement college exams,” Nancy said. “He didn’t get a chance to turn it in because of our second go round with the Upside Down, but it was really good. It needed a little neatening up with the actual writing, but the history was solid.”

Steve blushed. “Thanks.”

Dustin looked skeptical. “What’s your favorite part of history?”

Steve opened his mouth and then closed it again. “I liked hearing about my grandpa’s time in the US army during WWII, but that was more because he made it interesting. But I really like the Industrial Revolution. Or rather the first Industrial Revolution. There have been four. The first one was from 1760-1840 and featured heavily in the textile movement.”

The room was silent.

“Why textiles, Stevie?” Eddie asked as the silence grew awkward.

Steve lit up like a child at Christmas morning and he began talking about the British textile movement.

“What the hell?” Dustin huffed, breaking into Steve monologue.

Steve ducked his head again and blushed. “Just because I’m not interested in science and fantasy doesn’t mean I’m stupid.” He straightened up. “And yeah, sometimes I get things wrong. But everyone does at some point. In fact I get a hell of a lot more flack for my intelligence than Eddie does and he repeated his senior year twice!” He took a deep breath and then ran his fingers through his hair.

“No offense,” he said waving to Eddie.

Eddie looked up at him with earnest eyes. “None taken. I concur.”

They all looked around at each other in shock. Like they hadn’t realized that they had done that.

After a few moments, Steve put his hands on his hips and pointed at all of them.

“So do you guys want to go or what?”

Eddie sat back with a smile as everyone roared their approval.

*

“No corsets,” was Robin’s only firm and fast rule for Steve when it came to dressing her up for the Ren Fair.

Steve looked her up and down. “Why on earth would I want you in a corset? Have you looked in the mirror?”

“Uh...” Robin said. “Is that a trick question? Of course I have. I don’t what that has to do with saying no to corsets though...”

Steve rolled his eyes. “In order to give you the curve you need to match the proper silhouette you would need to be cinched to hell. And as this is supposed to be fun.”

He grabbed her hand and started hauling her toward his car.

“Where are we going?”

“Thrifting!” he said with glee.

It took three different stores and a stop at the mall to get everything he needed.

“Give me three days,” he told her when he dropped her off at her house. “And I think you’ll like what I come up with.”

Robin eyed him warily. “If you say so.”

Steve laughed.

He crashed the next D&D session, showing up early to pick them up.

“What is everyone wearing to the Ren Fair?” he asked with a note pad on his lap and wagged the pen in his fingers.

“You want us to dress up?” Mike asked, eyes wide.

“Why not?” he asked with a shrug. “I’ve made my costume and currently reworking some thirfted threads for Robin’s outfit.”

Eddie blinked. “You made your costume?”

Steve shrugged again. “Yeah. I like sewing.”

There was suddenly an uproar and he held up a hand. “I can’t make you a full outfit before the Fair, but I can make over already made clothes to make them more historical. And maybe for next year I’ll have the time to make something special for everyone.”

Dustin eyed him suspiciously. “Like what?”

“Like tailoring pants to a tighter fit,” Steve explained “adding a sash or belt, turning old coats into vests and cloaks, things like that.”

They still weren’t sure how that would work out.

“Now I talked to Joyce and Claudia,” he continued. “And they’re both willing to help out in making sure everyone has something nice to wear. That includes Max and El.”

“Are the fair maidens joining us?” Eddie asked.

Steve nodded. “Yeah. Joyce is doing El and Will, Claudia is doing Dustin and Mike, and I’m doing Lucas and Max. Eddie said he already had a costume, so I didn’t have to worry about him.”

Eddie grinned. “You better believe it, pretty boy.”

Steve ducked his head and blushed. “So we’re all going thrifting with a $5 limit for each of you. But I wanted to brainstorm some ideas of what you wanted to go as so we don’t waste time wandering around.”

Everyone started shouting at once and it took Steve a good ten minutes before he got everyone calmed down enough to get what they wanted. Dustin wanted to go as a hobbit, but Steve had to nix that one.

“You don’t want to go running around the grounds barefoot,” he explained with a wince. “It’s not safe.”

“I’m going to have to agree with Stevie on this one,” Eddie said. “You guys have never been but there is all sorts of stuff laying around. It’s not indoors and the pathways are dirt lined. Think the state fair. It’s more like that then going to comic book convention.”

Dustin grumbled but conceded the point. Steve got them to decide on... well not quite peasant gear, but more rough around the edges than what Steve would be wearing.

Well, all but Lucas. He didn’t want to wear what they were wearing but he refused to say what he did want to wear.

So Steve dropped him off at home last.

They pulled into his driveway and Steve turned to him. “Do you not want to dress up? Because I won’t make you.”

Lucas picked at the loose string on his sweater. “It’s not that. I just remember the last time we did a group costume and they all thought I should be Winston because I was black like he was.”

Steve frowned for a moment. “The Ghostbusters, right?”

Lucas nodded. “I knew if I brought it up they’d shoot me down again.”

“So what did you want to go as?” he asked.

Lucas huffed out a sigh. “It doesn’t matter. It’s a stupid pipe dream anyway. Especially since you have to make Max’s dress and Robin’s costume, too.”

He opened the door to get out, but Steve reached over and slammed it closed.

“One, Robin’s costume is almost done,” he said counting out on his fingers. “Two, do you really think your girlfriend is going to want to wear a dress? And three, let me be the judge on what’s too much for me, okay?”

Lucas huffed a laugh at his second point. “Yeah, that was dumb of me.”

“So what is it?”

Lucas looked down again and heaved out a sigh. “An elf.”

Steve’s mind was whirling with the possibilities. “What colors?”

“What?” Lucas asked, not sure he heard Steve right.

“What colors would you want it to be?”

He pulled out the notebook and scrambled for a pen. Lucas pulled a pencil out of his bag and handed it to him.

“Uh I was thinking of a light blue and with a silver trim?” he said hesitantly.

Steve sketched something out. “Like this?”

Lucas leaned over to look at the drawing. “A little shorter so I’m not tripping over it and maybe those puffy pants?”

Steve adjusted the drawing and Lucas nodded.

“Yeah, like that.”

“All right,” Steve said. “I know exactly what to do and how to do it. It won’t be perfect because I don’t have time to do it right so I’ll be doing a lot of cheating. But yeah, it’s doable.”

Lucas gave him a hug. “Thanks, man.”

*

Steve called the one person he knew he could help him.

“Eddie,” he said the second the other man picked up. “I need your nerd connections to do a huge favor for Lucas.”

“Wha’cha got, big boy?” Eddie asked with a grin.

“You wouldn’t happen to know any Trekkies would you?” Steve asked chewing on his bottom lip.

“That depends, Stevie,” Eddie replied, “what’s the need?”

“Pointed ears.”

Eddie hummed. “I’m assuming you’re thinking Trekkie because of Spock and that’s a good thought. But I’m guessing since we’re going to the Ren Fair our stalwart ranger is wanting to be an elf?”

“Yeah,” Steve said. “Do you know anyone who can help?”

“Better than that,” Eddie said. “I know where to get the ears in the right... shade?”

Steve perked up. “Oh? I’m guessing Jeff?”

“Right in one, darlin’,” Eddie said with a soft smile. “I’ll give him a call and then call you back.”

“Thanks, Eds,” Steve breathed. “You’re the best.”

“Thanks, doll.”

****

I am so excited for this, guys. You have no idea. I'm little history nerd myself and this really fun to play around with.

Just a heads up. We WILL be addressing Mike's casual racism from the Ghostbusters scene because I don't like that it's never been addressed.

Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11 Part 12 Part 13

Tag List: @spectrum-spectre @estrellami-1 @zerokrox-blog @gregre369 @artiststarme ​@a-little-unsteddie @chaosgremlinmunson @messrs-weasley @chaoticlovingdreamer @maya-custodios-dionach @danili666 @goodolefashionedloverboi @val-from-lawrence @i-must-potato @carlyv @wonderland-girl143-blog @justforthedead89 @vecnuthy @irregular-child @bookbinderbitch @bookworm0690 @anne-bennett-cosplayer @yikes-a-bee @awkwardgravity1 @littlewildflowerkitten @genderless-spoon @cinnamon-mushroomabomination @dragonmama76 @scheodingers-muppet @ellietheasexylibrarian @thedragonsaunt @useless-nb-bisexual

[steddiealltheway]

Eddie finds himself up on a table in the school cafeteria, shouting at the dumb jocks and trying to live up to his reputation as The Freak of Hawkins High School. It’s not too hard to seal his fate, and with it comes some fear from other students who wouldn’t dare mess with him. Plus, the populars know he’s their weed supply, so they can’t say too much.

Honestly, it’s a bit fun. Getting on a table. Lecturing some people about shit that goes right over their head. It all kind of gives him a rush. And he loves when his friends egg him on.

Which is why when Gareth and Jeff start yelling his name, Eddie only speaks louder as he steps backward on the table, trying to get all his friends and the rest of the cafeteria in his view. He lives off of the praise. The way they shout his name in an encouraging tone-

Wait. Why do they sound nervous, and why are they reaching for him?

Before Eddie can process what his friends are trying to say WATCH OUT YOU ARE STEPPING OFF THE EDGE OF THE TABLE. Eddie is already falling.

Maybe he’ll actually graduate this year and he’ll be able to blame a concussion for his bad grades.

Only, he doesn’t hit the floor.

Surprisingly, he actually feels really supported and warm and…

Eddie opens his eyes and finds Steve Harrington staring down at him. And not only that, his arms are wrapped around him and holy shit-

“Am I in heaven?” Eddie asks.

Steve smiles and replies, “I’m pretty sure you’re still in hell.”

Then, Eddie is being let out of Steve grip and his feet are touching the ground. So… not in heaven. Steve just caught him. Jesus H. Christ.

“Uh, right. Joking. Um. Thanks… Steve,” Eddie stutters out, and since when does he stutter? Fuck.

Steve just smiles at him further and… why is he looking at Eddie’s lips? What the hell is happening?

“Maybe be more careful next time,” Steve says and winks at him.

Eddie just nods, and Steve walks off.

Eddie sits down in his seat, pressing his cold hands to his hot cheeks.

“Dude, what the fuck just happened?”

“Did you just get hit on by Steve The Hair Harrington?”

“And did you get flustered when that happened?!”

“Shut up!” Eddie yells and covers his face with his hands. He glances over to where Steve sits down across from his ex, Princess Nancy Wheeler, and her new boyfriend, Creepy Jonathan Byers. But then Steve catches his eye and winks again.

“Fuck,” Eddie mutters under his breath. “One more year, just one more year,” he says to himself trying as hard as he can not to look at Steve again.

It’s going to be a long year.

[steddieas-shegoes]

that's what friends are for

for @steddieholidaydrabbles prompt 'enemies to lovers' rated t wc: 996 cw: mention of hospitals and injury, mentions of selling and using recreational drugs tags: enemies is more implied than anything, getting together, canon events happening in the background

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

Somewhere along the way, Steve Harrington became Eddie’s number one customer.

It was mostly by accident, and Eddie should tell him to get lost and find another supplier, but he couldn’t.

Especially not after the last time they met up in the woods and Steve looked…haunted.

But Eddie wasn’t going to let Steve’s sad puppy dog eyes convince him that he was anything other than the asshole he’d always been.

Not even when he walked up to Steve furiously wiping tears off of his cheeks.

He cleared his throat awkwardly before sitting down, trying to avoid eye contact with the man who seemed to be trying to hide the fact that he’d been having any emotion at all.

“So, the usual today?” Eddie asked.

“Uh, you got anything stronger?”

Look, Eddie knew for a fact he had plenty of stronger stuff that he could overcharge Steve for, and Steve wouldn’t even bat an eye.

But he had a pretty strict rule of never selling the strong stuff to someone who didn’t pass the mental test. Someone who was crying did not pass the mental test.

“Nah, ran out. Got a new mix though, if you’re interested. Might help you sleep if that’s somethin’ you need.”

The dark circles under Steve’s eyes told him that was exactly what he needed, but Steve shrugged and acted like he was just here for fun.

Eddie didn’t care enough to push.

That’s what he told himself, anyway.

—----------

Steve looked like shit.

“You look like shit.”

Steve rolled his eyes. Or, well, eye. The other eye was swollen and bruised, probably hurt like hell.

“Thanks for the update,” Steve said.

“Don’t think weed’s gonna fix that,” Eddie said, not looking away from the cuts and scrapes along his cheek. “At least not the kind I have.”

Eddie looked down to see more cuts and bruises along his hands, and most shocking of all, a dull red line along both wrists.

Eddie’s brows raised as he looked back up at Steve.

“You, uh, you good?” He couldn’t help asking.

Anyone would be concerned to see these injuries on anyone, even the guy you definitely don’t like or have a crush on.

“Sure. Is $20 okay today? I can get you more for next time.”

“$20 is fine.”

$20 was technically $5 more than he would normally charge anyone who isn’t an ex-jock, so it’s not like he was doing Steve a favor.

Eddie watched Steve walk away with more questions than answers.

—-----------------

Robin Buckley was sitting next to Steve at the table, kicking her feet and rambling on about who knows what.

Steve wasn’t looking at her, but he could tell he was listening.

“I don’t usually like to be outnumbered, but something tells me I can handle myself if Buckley decides to throw a punch,” Eddie said as he walked towards the table.

Robin suddenly froze and tilted her head.

“Steve, why is Eddie here? You said we were meeting a friend.”

“Is that what we call buying drugs from someone these days?” Eddie laughed. “Times have changed.”

Steve rolled his eyes, but couldn’t quite hide a small smile.

Eddie tried not to feel flustered about making Steve smile.

“Well, I see you more than most people, so I’d say we’re friend-adjunct,” Steve said, handing over the usual $20.

“He means friend-adjacent,” Robin added, not unkindly.

Eddie nodded once.

“Well, if that’s all, your friend has another friend to meet behind the McDonald’s. All good here?”

“All good. Thanks.”

“Anything for a friend,” he winked.

—-------------------

He was pushing Steve against a wall, broken bottle to his neck.

“This doesn’t seem very friendly,” Steve said breathlessly.

Eddie held him there for a moment, then let out a small laugh, slowly releasing his grip.

“I have to be careful about who I consider a friend right now, man,” Eddie said, ignoring Dustin’s confused voice yelling behind him.

“We’re here to help. As friends.”

Steve’s eyes were big, that look that left Eddie wondering how he’d gone from hating him so much to wanting to understand everything about him.

“Not sure if you can help me.”

“We’re gonna.”

Steve sounded so sure. Eddie had no option but to trust him.

—-----------------------

“Hey, Wayne. Anything new today?” Steve’s voice whispered when he entered the room.

Eddie’s eyes were closed, but he wasn’t asleep.

They’d lowered his dose of pain meds slowly over the last 48 hours and he was barely getting any sleep as he adjusted to the constant aches of the bites.

“He’s tired. Nothin’ new, though. You okay?”

“Yeah. You got a shift?”

“Yep. Should be back by lunch tomorrow.”

“See you then.”

Eddie didn’t know how it happened, but Steve trading shifts with Wayne was an everyday occurrence.

They got to know each other, relaxing more as the days wore on, no end in sight for Eddie’s hospitalization.

“You know, I’m okay alone for a bit,” Eddie said as he opened his eyes.

“Nah, I’d rather be here.”

“Really?”

“That’s what friends are for, right?” 

Eddie nodded. “Yeah.” He frowned. “Is that what we are? Friends?”

Steve slowly reached over and grasped his hand. 

“Is that all we are?”

Eddie thought back to how he used to dread running into Steve at school, mostly out of his own fear that he would harbor a crush on him. He thought about how he wondered why the boy who seemed untouchable in high school looked so fragile last summer and how he could help. He thought about the guy who didn’t have to risk his life to save him from monsters made sure everyone was safe so he could rescue him.

“I don’t think friends sit in the hospital for days like this,” he finally settled on.

“I don’t think friends have crushes on their friends for years, either.”

If Steve didn’t follow those words with a soft kiss to the corner of his mouth, he probably wouldn’t have believed them.