#wayside school is falling down | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

red-riot-unbreakable-heart · 3 months

Text

Shoto Todoroki x Reader | First Kiss ❄️🔥💋

Fandom: My Hero Academia

Ship: Shoto Todoroki x Fem Reader! 💋

Note: The fic gets a bit saucy, so A18+ ONLY just to be safe!

Genre: Fluff, Romance, S*xual Tension, Making Out

CW: MDNI!, kissing, making out, boobs, fondling, romance, sexual tension, semi-spicy scenes, lemon

Link to My Master List

Its mid-afternoon in the UA library. The early Spring sunlight is streaming through the tall windows and across the sci-fi novel you're flipping through. You sigh; content to finally have a Saturday off after a grueling few weeks of classes, training and internship activities.

You think back to a particularly tough training session that had taken place the day before - you had finally kicked Shoto Todoroki's ass in front of the whole class. You smile as you remember the shocked look on his face as you reached down to help him back to his feet.

"You had it coming, hot stuff." You winked as he grabbed your hand and let you pull him back to standing position. His face had flushed red in humiliation at the loss.

You're suddenly jerked out of your reverie when a figure looms over you, casting a long shadow on the desk before you. You turn, startled. As if pulled from your daydream, Shoto Todoroki has materialized before you – tall and handsome. You look up at him in surprise, mouth half open.

"I think we should kiss." Shoto's deep voice says above you, his tone neutral.

"Huh?" Your mouth drops fully open. Shoto is looking down at you with eyes alight with determination. That cute blush is back - splashed across his pale cheeks and across his aristocratic nose.

"I was thinking back to our fight yesterday, and the reason why I lost. It was because I was thinking about kissing you the whole time. I let myself get distracted. I think that if we kissed, I could get over it and refocus on training." So matter-of-fact! That was one thing you liked about Shoto - he was straightforward.

"Um...okay." With an effort, you close your gaping mouth. You’re absolutely dumbfounded. Shoto has never shown any romantic interest in you before. You’ve never caught wandering eyes on you in class, he’s never stashed a love note in your locker. None of the typical school love tropes have been leveraged here. If anything, the two of you are loose acquaintances on the cusp of being friends. Maybe a few more months of class and group activities together would have helped you bridge the gap and fully form a decent friendship.

You wonder if he’s been into you all this time, or if this is just a whim he’s exploring. Either way - who are you to let an opportunity to kiss a hot guy go by the wayside? You snap your book shut and stand. "You want to do this right now?"

Shoto nods, and turns to walk away with the expectation that you’ll follow. You get up and sweep your things into your bag, heart beating double time. You quickly jog to catch up with Shoto – he’s already out the door. The two of you walk across the UA grounds in silence, your footsteps falling into a soft rhythm. Your mind is going at a million miles per minute – could this all be an elaborate prank? Shoto has never struck you as the type to play a cruel joke on a classmate. Quite the opposite – when he’s not training he seems so soft and sweet. He strikes you as more of an introvert than anything else. He keeps people at a safe distance. You’ve always been under the impression that when it comes to Shoto, trust is earned, not freely given.

You wonder if this kissing business means that you’ve earned a bit of that trust? Who’s to say.

“So…” you say, attempting to break the tension. “Where are we going?”

Shoto looks back at you, confused. “Isn’t it obvious? We’re going to my dorm room.”

“Oh.” You pause. “Wouldn’t that be a bit inappropriate? Like, what if someone catches us kissing in your dorm room? Won’t we get in trouble?”

“I’ll lock the door.” He says sensibly. “It’s no one’s business but ours.”

“Huh.”

“Oh – I think I understand what you’re getting at.” He runs a hand through his hair reflexively. “It’s no wonder you’re one of the top members of the class. A good hero always has a strategy. So we should come up with an alibi.” He brings his thumb to his chin as he stares into space, pondering.

“If someone catches us, I can say that I experimentally froze my lips with my power and that I asked you to help me warm them up. Naturally, the best way to do so was with your lips.” He turns to you expectantly to gauge your reaction.

What the actual hell, Shoto.

“You’re um…you’re fucking with me, right?” You look at him uncertainly. Shoto’s unusually harsh upbringing has caused him to be shockingly literal at times. Your eyes scan his face until the corner of his mouth quirks upwards into a small smile.

“Yes, I am.”

You burst out laughing at the unexpected joke, and his tiny smile grows into a full grin. He likes making you laugh.

“Listen…” He says reassuringly, “No one is going to bother us – it’s such a nice day. I overheard some of the girls saying they were going to take pictures near the campus cherry blossom trees. They roped Midoriya, Ida and a few other classmates into the activity as well. Bakugo, Kirishima and Sero are all training across campus in the gym. We should have at least an hour or two before anyone comes seriously looking for us.”

Wow. That must be the longest group of sentences he’s ever said to you directly.

“You’ve really thought this through.” You say, following him across the threshold of Class 1A’s dorm complex.

He smirks. “I’m strategic.”

You look at him appraisingly. He looks clean and trim in his tailored UA uniform. Aside from the scar surrounding his eye, he has the most perfect skin of anyone in your class. While the rest of your classmates have been stressing about moisturizer and SPF and acne treatments, you’ve watched Shoto sail through his hormonal teens without a skincare care in the world. The skin of his cheeks is the color of porcelain and looks so, so soft and deliciously kissable. His face holds a mixture of determination and apprehension.

You enter the kitchen and common room area of your dorm and see that it’s completely, blessedly empty - odd for a Saturday. Shoto is right - it is one of the first nice spring days on campus. You assume everyone is out enjoying the nice weather as he said. This is a good thing – it means your clandestine meeting with Shoto can stay secret. Everyone in Class 1A can be so nosy sometimes. You’re determined to keep this juicy little secret between the two of you.

He leads you up towards one of the hallways that encompasses the boy’s dorms, pausing in front of his door to fiddle with his key. His usually steady hands are shaking a bit as he turns the lock and pushes open the door to reveal his immaculately clean bedroom with it’s traditional Japanese décor.

You step inside and slide off your shoes, letting your bag drop to the floor.

“I forgot how traditional your space is, Shoto.”

He closes the door behind you and clicks the lock into place before discarding his keys on his desktop. He looks around the dorm room thoughtfully.

“It’s how I grew up. I never really had the chance to develop my own taste or style.”

“Maybe now that you have your own space, you finally can!” You say enthusiastically. “If you’d ever like to go shopping or want help putting together a Pinterest board, Mina and I can definitely help you find some inspiration.”

His flat line of a mouth quirks up into another small smile. “I haven’t really had the time to think about anything other than school work and the L.o.V. since we moved into the dorms. Maybe you’re right – this could be an opportunity to broaden my horizons. See what I like.”

“Yeah! There are so many fun ways you can bring more of yourself into this space. We can start with a throw pillow.” You say knowledgably, pulling up the Pinterest app on your phone. “What’s your favorite color?”

“Blue.”

You type the color into the search bar, and immediately the screen is flooded with hundreds of different shades of blue throw pillows – all kinds of patterns and sayings and beading and embroidery. You hand him your phone and encourage him to scroll through the options.

“I’m sure we can find something that makes you feel like you.”

His eyes soften a bit as he takes the phone from you, intrigued. He scrolls through the colorful images, overwhelmed by the options. After a few minutes of careful deliberation, he finally stops and double taps a picture, hyperlinking to a website.

“This. This feels like it could be me.” He sends himself the link so he can purchase the pillow later. He hands back your phone and you take a curious look – the image he’s drawn to is a long rectangle of fabric shaped like a whale. It has navy blue stripes along with a small curved tale and button eyes sewn on. You look up and see that the tips of Shoto’s ears are bright red.

“This isn’t what I was expecting – but I see now that it suits you perfectly.” You say, picturing the whale pillow in his room – a dash of whimsy against the otherwise stuffy outdated décor. He practically glows at the compliment. You realize that this is likely one of the first times someone is validating a choice he has made for himself. You cough and toss your phone into your discarded bag – the moment feels oddly intimate.

Shoto’s eyes scan across your face and he speaks his next words slowly, almost deliberately. “This is what I’ve always liked about you, y/n. You always seem to know what to say to get someone to smile or to open up. Admirable traits in a future hero.” You feel your own face heating up at the sweet compliment. Shoto has never given you so much direct attention outside of class, and it’s exciting and almost unnerving to have those two intense eyes focused in entirely on you.

“Thank you Shoto, that’s a very kind thing to say.” You suddenly realize how very close Shoto’s face is to your own. He’s only a few breaths away. Shoto is a few inches taller than you, so you need to crane your neck in order to get the full picture of his beautiful face. You wonder nervously if he expects you to initiate – should you reach out and grab his face? Your heart starts beating much too fast and you see his intense eyes dart down to your lips, wanting. You take a step closer to him, leaning up to meet his face, and…

“Let’s get started.” He says abruptly, breaking the moment. He walks over to his closet and pulls out his bedroll, hastily moving to set up his sleeping space so that you’ll have a comfortable place to sit. Once he sets up the space, he takes a seat on the soft mattress and motions for you to join him. This wasn’t really what you were expecting, but you remember that Shoto is pretty sheltered. He clearly has a plan in mind here, so you decide to let him take the lead.

“Alright, before we start – I just want you to know that we can stop at any point you’d like. I want you to be comfortable here, so please let me know if at any time you feel like you don’t want to continue. Ok?”

You nod, appreciating the dialogue and Shoto’s forethought surrounding consent.

He takes a deep breath and closes his eyes. Leaning his head back, he exhales slowly through his nostrils. After a moment of deep breathing, his eyes flutter open. “It’s an exercise my father taught me for clearing my nerves before a battle.” He explains as he runs a nervous hand through his two-toned hair.

“Are you anticipating a battle here?” You tease, reaching over to place your hand on his thigh. Shoto eyes the hand curiously before matching your gaze.

“Of course not. But surprisingly – I have the same feeling of anxiety now that I usually have right before a sparring match.” His expression is stone cold serious, not even the hint of a joke this time.

“I understand that. It’s nerve wracking to kiss a person for the first time.” You quickly double back on your words. “N-not that I’m implying that this is your first kiss or anything, I-”

Shoto blinks. “Oh – this is my first kiss. I thought it was fairly obvious.”

“Oh! Oh, Todoroki – I didn’t realize!” You trip over your words a bit and it brings out a soft smile in Shoto.

“I think that’s why I’ve been so distracted lately. Once I know how it feels, maybe then I can move on and focus back on my training and studies. Is this not your first kiss?” He tilts his head to the side, questioning. You see no hint of jealousy in his eyes – he’s legitimately curious.

“N-no. I’ve kissed a few people before. Never anything serious! Just here and there at summer camp.” You smile weakly, face burning. Shoto nods appreciatively at your candid answer.

“That makes sense – you’re very competent at everything you do. And very attractive.” This last part brings a blush across Shoto’s pale cheeks. “I had assumed there were plenty of people who have wanted to be kissed by you.” The compliment is unexpected and it makes a laugh bubble up your throat. You start giggling and Shoto seems taken by surprise.

“Did I say something funny?”

“No – no! You’re just so sincere and sweet and I am so nervous right now. Shoto you’re competent and attractive, too. I hope that you know that!” This brings his smile back out again, like the sunshine after a long rainstorm.

“Why don’t we just get it over with, then? I’ve read a few articles and studied some movies and…well, I think I’m as prepared as I can be.” Shoto’s face is so open and earnest your heart squeezes in your chest. He studied for this??

Slowly, carefully, Shoto reaches out a delicate hand to cradle the side of your face. He scoots somewhat awkwardly closer to you, but the rest of his movements hold his typical grace. He leans forward, eyes half closed, and brings his lips to your own.

You dip your head to receive the kiss, and you feel his soft lips melt against yours. You close your eyes and revel in the feeling of his mouth. Everything about him is soft and electric at the same time – the points where your bodies are connected feel charged with some kind of buzzing energy that leaves your breathless. And just as soon as it’s begun – it’s over. A brief peck, a stolen moment in time. Shoto pulls away from you, eyes wide, as he catches his breath.

“So?” You ask, trying for nonchalance but failing when you realize your voice is just a hoarse whisper. “What did you think?”

“It’s…” Shoto looks at you thoughtfully, touching his fingers to his tingling lips. “It wasn’t what I was expecting. I just feel like I want to do it more – like I need to keep going.”

You laugh – “Did you really think you’d want to stop after your first kiss?” Shoto shrugs, unwilling to answer the question.

“Can we kiss again? Please. If you’d like to, that is?” He asks, and you note the want in his voice. You’ve never heard Shoto Todoroki sound desperate for anything in his life before this moment. You’re surprised at how he sounds fairly desperate for you.

You smile at him and lean in close, bringing your foreheads together. You can feel different temperatures playing across his skin as he works to keep his quirk in check as excitement roars across his body.

“Follow my lead, lover-boy.” You whisper, before crashing your lips together. You move at a faster pace this time, showing him how to slide his mouth against yours to have a proper make out. He picks it up quickly and absolutely relishes in it. His eyes are closed and his hands find either side of your face again. You let him hold you like that for a few minutes before you decide to take the reigns a bit more. You reach out to place a hand on his chest and softly push him away from you.

“Here – this will make things a lot easier.” You stand up and move to straddle him, slowly sliding into his lap and wrapping your legs around his back. You place his hands on your waist and wind your arms around his neck. “Comfortable?” He nods, his eyes blown wide and almost glassy with lust.

“This is okay?” He asks, looking down at the way his hands grip your hips.

“Absolutely. You’re going to want them there for leverage.”

“Leverage?” He asks weakly, his eyes trained on your lips.

“You’ll see.” You smile deviously as you take in how absolutely undone Shoto looks. “Okay, next step – have you done any research on French kissing?”

Shoto nods again, looking a bit uncertain. “I watched a romantic comedy online and at the end the main couple kissed that way.”

“Well it’s super easy – I’ll walk you through it.” You tilt your head towards his and melt your lips back together, starting out with a slow and soft kiss. As he begins to get comfortable with the pace of your kissing, you move to deepen it – running the tip of your tongue across his lips. He naturally opens his mouth to you, and you move so that your tongues meet. You guide him into a light dance, your kisses becoming more frantic as your mouths and tongues collide. This brings out a ferocity in Shoto that you hadn’t expected, and you feel his hands grip your hips with almost bruising force. You groan, turned on by the contact. You automatically rock your hips into his and he stills at the motion. You blush as you realize that you can feel Shoto’s dick becoming hard beneath you. Shit.

His hands fly off of your hips and he sits back, mortified.

“I’m so sorry-” you start to say as he runs his hand anxiously through his hair again. Shoto takes a deep breath and looks at you, eyes still fuzzy.

“Don’t be sorry! That was amazing, I just…didn’t want to make you uncomfortable.” He looks down between you pointedly. He doesn’t want you to get freaked out by the fact that he’s got a boner.

“Oh I’m not uncomfortable at all! Actually, quite the opposite.” This answer makes Shoto’s sculpted eyebrows fly up into his hair.

“Really?” He whispers.

“Yeah. It’s actually really hot.” You reach down and take his hands in yours, moving them back to your hips. You make piercing eye contact with Shoto as you roll your hips experimentally again – feeling his hardness even through your clothes. He groans at the contact this time, a soft sound that is just: So. Goddamn. Hot.

You grind against him again, picking up a steady rhythm as Shoto enthusiastically moves your hips. Struck by sudden inspiration, you lean forward to kiss a sloppy line up his neck. This draws a moan from Shoto that you weren’t expecting – low and sweet. You smile as you continue to kiss his neck, using your tongue when you find a particularly sensitive spot beneath his ear.

Shoto grabs your face with one hand and tilts your head up before crashing his lips back into yours. His kisses are heated and passionate as he bounces you on his lap, making you both see stars. You’re so wet you can feel yourself soaking through your panties. You pray that your school uniform pants won’t get damp beneath you – how embarrassing would that be?! At the same time - you don’t give a damn; Shoto’s mouth and his hands and his dick feel far too good. At the moment kissing Shoto Todoroki feels like the only thing you were put on this goddamn earth to do.

Tentatively, you feel Shoto’s hands wander up from your hips. You moan into his mouth as his hands find your breasts. “How is this?” He whispers hoarsely, running delicate fingertips across the peaks of your breasts. “Is this okay? I can stop if you want me to.” You moan your consent enthusiastically, and when he begins to softly knead your boobs over your shirt, your hormones fully take the wheel.

You hop off your classmate so you can quickly unbutton your shirt – your tie flying off as you work. Shoto remains sitting on the floor and does the same with his own uniform. In a moment he is sitting shirtless and beautiful before you, chest heaving as he works to catch his breath. He stares at you with bright eyes as you stand above him in nothing but a bra and UA’s uniform slacks. He has never seen a woman with so little clothing on before, and he is in awe.

You kneel down beside him on the bedroll and reach out to touch his perfect body. Your hand hovers above his perfectly sculpted abs and you look up at him, eyes asking permission. He nods, giving you his blessing to touch. You smooth your fingertips lightly across the defined planes of his chest and abs, marveling in all that he is. Your palm comes to rest against his chest and you feel his heartbeat – a quick staccato beneath your delicate hand. You push him lightly so that he moves to lie on the ground before you.

“You alright with all this?” You whisper, moving slowly to straddle him on the ground.

“If I get to have you on top of me again – absolutely.” And he grins – a genuine smile that radiates comfort. You’ve never seen a look like that before on Shoto’s face and it stops you in your tracks. You just want to bask in the glow of the rare gift of his beaming face.

After a moment, you collect yourself and move so that you’re on all fours and hovering over him. You shiver – you’ve never been so close to someone in this way before. He seems to notice your hesitation.

“You look cold – do you want to grab a blanket?” He reaches up and runs his hands up and down your arms, giving you more goose bumps. You nod, and he reaches to grab a thick grey knit blanket that’s folded neatly to your left. He pulls you down to lay on top of him and easily casts the blanked across your intertwined bodies. The knit feels luxurious and expensive – and it smells deliciously like Shoto. A scent that’s a mixture of sandalwood and fresh sheets wafts around you. It’s comfortable and warm and you feel so, so happy to be sharing this moment with Shoto.

He wraps his arms around you and feels himself get hard again at the delicate feeling of your bare skin against his own. He pulls you in for a kiss – and this time the passion is slow, sensual. You’ve never kissed someone like this before – like you have all the time in the world. He moves his hands up and down your bare back beneath the blanket – warming you up. He’s keeping his ice quirk at bay – both of his hands are the perfect temperature as they run across your soft, supple skin. His hands come to rest on your lower back as he moves to experimentally kiss down your collarbone.

“Oh! Oh, Shoto, yes.” Is all you can say. The use of his given name seems to turn him on even more, because his kisses become sloppier and he runs the edge of his teeth against your skin. He continues to kiss down your shoulder, pausing for only a moment in order to roll you both over so that he can have a turn on top. You gasp at the sudden movement – the dynamics have unexpectedly shifted and Shoto is in total control.

He gazes down at you, shifting the blanket so that it doesn’t get tangled between your bodies.

“You’re so beautiful.” He says, a note of wonder in his voice. “Your skin is so soft…I never realized how great it would be to touch you.” He runs a light fingertip across the delicate skin of your neck and across the expanse of your collarbone. He watches as he runs his finger down the slope of one of your breasts, stopping when he meets the soft cotton of your bra.

“Can we take this off?” He whispers, moving to palm your breast over the delicate white material. You nod, and prop yourself up so you can reach behind yourself to unclip the clothing. With a light “pop!” the bra clip comes undone and Shoto helps you discard the item. He takes in your breasts with a look of absolute amazement and cautiously reaches out to touch them. He gently runs the palm of his hand across your right breast experimentally. You gasp at the contact, and he nervously glances at your face to make sure you’re not in any discomfort. You smile at him, encouraging him to keep going. He kneads the breast in his strong hand a few times before experimentally rolling his thumb over your nipple. You gasp at the contact as pleasure surges through you – you had no idea you were so sensitive. Shoto repeats the motion, earning a soft moan. He smiles at the praise – unexpectedly mischievous as he moves so that he’s kneeling over you, able to tackle a breast with each hand. He goes to work pinching and massaging and rolling your breasts between deft fingers, drawing the sweetest sounds from your mouth.

“Shoto!” You cry out as he moves to spread more kisses across your neck as his left hand plays with one of your breasts. You reach down and squeeze the muscular plane of his ass, begging him to grind into you. He gets the message loud and clear – moving against you gently so that you can feel his hardness graze against you.

He’s causing so many delicious sensations across your body with his lips, hands, hips, groin – it’s almost too much. You feel like you might drown in him when suddenly –

A knock on the door causes you both to still.

“Todoroki?” Mr. Aizawa’s voice is muffled behind the door. You’re both rigid with fear. Shoto’s lips are at your neck and his breath tickles your bare skin. Your fist is tightly squeezed around his left ass cheek. You stare at the ceiling as you start to panic, wondering wildly what you’re supposed to do in this situation. Oh shit oh shit oh shit.

Mr. Aizawa knocks on the door again. “Todoroki – your father is here to see you.”

“My father?!” Shoto blurts out before he can stop himself. He scrambles off of you and looks around in a panic. “Why’s my father here?”

The walls seem to be thinner than you thought, because Mr. Aizawa supplies an answer from the other side of the locked door.

“Endeavor had a press conference at a hotel down the road this morning. He wanted to check in and discuss internships. I left him waiting in the common area. I’ll be in my office if you want to grab any internship paperwork while he’s here. I wouldn’t keep him waiting, kid.”

“Of course – thank you Mr. Aizawa!” Todoroki calls through the door awkwardly, listening as your teacher’s footsteps recede into the distance.

You and Shoto stare at each other in absolute horror.

“Do you think he heard us? Do you think h-he knows?” You whisper, panic lacing your voice.

Shoto shakes his head no as he gathers up his shirt and shakily tries to re-button it. “No – I don’t think he was out there long enough to hear anything incriminating.”

You let out a breath of anxious air, reaching for your discarded bra. “Thank goodness.” You re-clip your bra and shrug on your shirt.

“Endeavor is here?” You eye Shoto with concern as he dawns his tie and straightens his hair in a wall mirror on the back of his door.

“My old man likes to pop up at inconvenient times.” Content with his hair, he looks down at you. You’ve started to fold up his blanked and bedroll, patting down your own hair along the way.

“We should probably talk about what just happened…” He starts to say, but you shush him as you hear heavy footsteps coming from down the hall.

“Shoto!” A booming voice rings through the hallway, sending shivers up your spine. The heavy footsteps come to a stop right outside Shoto’s dorm door. The doorknob rattles as someone tries the lock. “How dare you keep me waiting!”

“I’ll be out in a minute, old man!” Shoto calls back bitingly. He glares at the door, thankful for the meager lock. He turns to look at you, and his eyes fill with panic. You scan the room for a place to hide – there is absolutely nowhere to conceal yourself in Shoto’s sparse, plain room.

Suddenly, you’re struck with inspiration – you point to the window. Shoto nods in agreement, dashing to grab your things from where they lay abandoned at the threshold of the door.

Quietly, you pad over to the window and pull back the curtains by a foot. You unlatch the window and slide it softly open before hoisting yourself into the wide window frame. It’s lucky you’re not afraid of heights – because Todoroki’s room is on the fifth floor. There is a small escape ladder for fire emergencies (you smile at the irony of Endeavor being the fire emergency in this case). You move to settle your feet on the top rung of the ladder, with plans to climb your way back to the ground so you can re-enter the dorm building from the back.

Shoto leans out the window and hangs your messenger bag around your shoulder.

“Find me later so we can discuss this.” He says, looking apprehensively over his shoulder as his father continues to bang on the door and callout his name. “I’m sorry this ended with you having to sneak out the window like some sort of criminal.”

“Ah, it’s no big deal! Makes it more exciting.” You grin and he smiles back. He leans forward and presses a small kiss to the corner of your mouth before moving back to close the window.

As he slides the glass closed, he says to you “I don’t think this is going to help me refocus. If anything, I’m more distracted than ever.” You give him a wink as he shuts the window soundly, drawing the curtains to cover your escape.

Hastily, you climb down 5 stories worth of thin metal ladder, landing gracefully in the soft spring grass. You walk to the dorm’s back entrance and let yourself in, walking past the laundry room and up towards the common area. Mina waves at you as she tosses some clothes into the washing machine, and you say a silent prayer thanking the powers that be that none of your friends had come looking for you while you spent your blissful hour hidden away, half-naked and moaning, in Shoto Todoroki’s room.

You climb the stairs two at a time until you hear the voice of the Number 2 Hero grumbling in the common area. Curious, you peak around the corner to see Shoto and his father seated on one of the couches, sorting through paperwork. Shoto has a dead look behind his eyes as his father lectured him about the importance of networking. He nods blankly a few times before his eyes catch sight of your small frame hiding around the corner. His entire face softens at the sight of you. Endeavor notices and turns to see what’s captured his son’s attention.

“You there! Are you a member of Class 1A?” He booms out, almost polite in his delivery. You walk out into the room, drawing yourself up to your full height.

“Dad – this is my classmate Y/N. She lives on the girl’s side of the dorm. Her quirk is extremely powerful.”

“It’s nice to meet you Mr. Endeavor.” You say, trying not to blush at Shoto’s compliment. Endeavor waves you off with a fiery hand.

“Ah, that’s right. I recognize you from the Sport’s Festival. Your quirk and fighting style were both quite impressive.” He looks at you appraisingly. “Are you a close friend of Shoto’s?”

“She is.” Shoto answers smoothly. “Actually, she’s been tutoring me a bit lately on some techniques I’m not familiar with. She’s a greatteacher.” The subtext is not lost on you.

“Surely you don’t need help in your studies, Shoto. You’re at the top of your class.” Endeavor says gruffly, looking to his son for further explanation.

“Just showing him a few moves I picked up in one of my martial arts classes, sir! Shoto picks up new techniques like a Pro.”

Endeavor seems mollified by this answer. “Of course he does. He’s on track to become the best of the best.” The hero claps his hand on Shoto’s shoulder proudly, and you smile weakly at the discomfort that flashes across Shoto’s eyes.

“Well – I’ll let you both get back to your work! Shoto – if you want to practice those techniques again later, I’ll be in the library until 8 tonight.”

You see Shoto ever so slightly lick his bottom lip. His face is tinged with the lightest of blushes.

“Got it. I’ll see you there, Y/N.”

You have a feeling that Shoto isn’t going to be able to focus on his studies for quite some time.

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

PART 2

Link to My Master List

850 notes · View notes

bracketsoffear · 3 months

Text

The Yellow Wallpaper (Charlotte Perkins Gilman) "The story is written as a collection of journal entries narrated in the first person. The journal was written by a woman whose physician husband has rented an old mansion for the summer. Forgoing other rooms in the house, the couple moves into the upstairs nursery. As a form of treatment, the husband forbids the journal writer from working or writing, and encourages her to eat well and get plenty of air so that she can recuperate from what he calls a "temporary nervous depression – a slight hysterical tendency", a common diagnosis in women at the time. As the reader continues through the journal entries, they experience the writer's gradual descent into madness with nothing better to do than observe the peeling yellow wallpaper in her room." Link to Project Gutenberg

Wayside School Is Falling Down (Louis Sachar) "Obviously all of Wayside School is a little Spirally -- the weird architecture, the cow invasions, occasional hypnosis, and more -- but this one tells a story of the nineteenth floor. Wayside School has no nineteenth floor. There is one teacher on the nineteenth floor, and only one class, who learn about how to alphabetize every number. Sometimes, new students arrive…"

#spiral poll #the spiral #poll #the magnus archives #leitner tournament #The Yellow Wallpaper #Charlotte Perkins Gilman #Wayside School Is Falling Down #wayside school #Louis Sachar

3 notes · View notes

thestobingirlie · 4 months

Text

conformity in stranger things

(as we see it through the characters of steve, dustin and eddie)

dustin meets steve while steve is already heading down his own path — he’s leaving behind ideas about high school and relationships, and figuring out who he is without them.

steve, by season two, had already become disillusioned with the idea of high school, and power struggles, and being the most popular guy in school. which is why he doesn’t react to billy’s taunts.

despite what the fandom may have you believe, steve’s seasons long arc about his struggle with conforming to the person people expect him to be is done.

don’t get me wrong, steve is still hanging onto some ideas in s2, like pretending you don’t care to get girls, and seeing nancy as different to all his other girlfriends (though i personally think that speaks more to steve’s prior relationships than the way he views woman).

and so, dustin and their friendship play a major role in steve fully moving on from the concept of ‘conforming’. steve doesn’t want to change who he is to get people to like him, or love him!

and with dustin, he doesn’t!!!

they make up dorky handshakes, and give each other advice. they talk about girls and steve teaches him how to achieve his signature hairstyle.

their relationship impacts both boys, but neither of them are conforming. it’s pretty much the exact opposite!!! despite what some fans would have you believe steve and dustin have a positive impact on each other!!!

dustin doesn’t change who he is to impress steve! he’s just as dorky as before, and in fact imparts some of that dorkiness onto steve!! steve and dustin help each other to find who they are, and figure themselves out.

on the other hand.

eddie had a negative impact on dustin.

dustin in s3 is dorky. he likes science, and school, and building great big radio towers up hills.

dustin in s4 is failing classes, treating friends like shit, his hubris is at an all time high; all aided by eddie’s high opinion of himself and ideas about conforming.

see. when eddie talks about conforming, he doesn’t really understand what he’s talking about (which is why his fans don’t either).

when he criticised people for ‘conforming’, all he’s really talking about is people being interested in things he doesn’t like. parties. band. science. basketball. he looks down on them all.

he makes snap judgments, and reduces them down to stereotypes. we literally watch him learn this on screen!!!

we literally watch as he verbally recognises that he knew nothing about steve, and yet reduced him down to his interest in basketball.

and here’s where the irony comes in. eddie is literally leading the club on conformity.

everyone in hellfire wears the exact same thing, and he makes fun of the clothes they used to wear. he seats himself on a thrown, and judges anyone that wishes to come before him before he deems them worthy to play a game. he’s not accepting all losers. he’s literally telling them they’re lesser than as he stands on tables in the cafeteria, and then fights against erica playing with them… just because he thinks she has to prove herself to him first.

that’s the point of eddie’s character!! that his whole big speech at the beginning of the season is wrong. and we literally see how he’s wrong scenes later when eddie interacts with chrissy.

people watch eddie learn and grow as a person, and then reduce his character right back down to who he was when he was first introduced.

tl;dr — if one of dustin’s relationships is about conformity, it’s his friendship with eddie, not steve. his brother dynamic with steve is about the complete opposite. about reaching across dumb nerd v jock social divides and finding a family.

in looking up to eddie, dustin has let his other interests fall to the wayside. he’s snarkier, makes fun of steve more (just like he’s been watching eddie mock jocks for months), his friendships with the rest of the party are at an all time low.

and yet. some people would have me believe this is dustin’s truest self? who gets his mormon girlfriend to hack into his school because he’s failing latin. who mocks steve for ‘wanting to be a hero’ when just the season before he was prepared to die by steve’s side.

#steve harrington #dustin henderson #eddie munson #stranger things #my post

286 notes · View notes

xiaq · 8 months

Text

Steddie Time Travel Fixit: Pt. 6

Ao3 Pt. 1 Pt. 2 Pt. 3 Pt. 4 Pt. 5 Pt. 6 Pt. 7

Steve wears the Hellfire shirt.

He wears it half tucked in to a pair of tight distressed jeans with black lace-up shitkicker boots, both of which Eddie knows Steve has never worn to school before because he would have fucking remembered.

His hair is just as stupidly teased as usual, but paired with the rest of him it looks a whole lot less preppy and a whole lot more like he should have a cigarette tucked behind his ear and a leather jacket over his shoulder.

And Eddie knows that he should be focused on whatever the hell is happening with the kids and Hopper and the fact that Steve apparently has war flashbacks involving D&D characters but all that mystery falls to the wayside when the former reigning jock king is walking around the hallways like a living breathing wet dream in a shirt Eddie created.

Eddie is but a man.

Distractible.

Fallible.

Horny.

Steve catches him staring from down the hall and gives him a lazy two finger salute, grinning with the kind of ease that comes from being attractive and knowing it.

It should be infuriating.

It is not.

“Is this a dream?” Gareth says, drawing even with Eddie. “This has to be a dream, right? No way is Steve fucking Harrington wearing a Hellfire shirt.”

“I don’t know about you,” Eddie says faintly, “but if this was my dream he wouldn’t be wearing anything at all.”

“Oh, gross.”

“Look at him,” Eddie insists. Ever since that time at Jeff’s last year when the band was all high and Eddie got a little too honest, they’ve all sort of ignored the fact that Eddie is gay. They don’t ask him about girls and he doesn’t talk to them about guys. But this is…a special circumstance.

And it’s fine. Because Eddie is not the only person looking. Everyone is looking—some with sneers or confusion but most with envy or probably equal amounts of the lust that Eddie is currently trying to subdue. Even the straightest guy in the world has to admit that Steve is—

“Yeah,” Gareth says. “I mean no, still gross because it’s Harrington, but yeah I can see how—no. Never mind. I’m going to class.” Gareth pauses. “Wait. Do you think he’s going to sit with us at lunch?”

He sits with them at lunch.

Eddie more or less sleepwalks through his morning classes and leaves History before the bell so he can get to the lunchroom first and he does not save Steve a seat. He has no expectations when he enters the cafeteria. No hopes related to the company he’ll keep while consuming his soggy PB&J. He just has a jacket that ends up on the seat next to him and when Jeff tries to move it he maybe glares at him a little.

When Steve moves the jacket so he can sit down, Eddie does not glare.

“Fucking figures,” Jeff mutters.

Eddie is never going to live this down and he doesn’t even care.

“Nice shirt, big boy,” he says, because apparently Eddie’s mouth is just saying things.

Steve stills. For a moment, Eddie is reminded of the night before–of terror and gasped breathing. But then, just as quickly, he’s grinning at Eddie like some sort of sunshine creature, like joy incarnate, plucking at the tight fabric straining across his chest.

“I dunno, I don’t think I’m particularly big, it’s not my fault you gave me such a small size.”

“Well, beggars can’t be choosers,” Eddie retorts.“Everyone who signed up at the beginning of the year got one custom made,” he gestures to the guys as proof before drumming his fingers against Steve’s shoulder. “This’s one of mine and the most exercise I get is hauling amps and running from cops.”

Steve reaches over to wrap his hand around Eddie’s bicep and it’s Eddie’s turn to go still under the heat of his palm and the weight of his attention. Steve meets his eyes for a fleeting second before they flick down to his own fingers. Steve squeezes.

“You seem plenty fit to me.”

“Amps,” Eddie repeats. It’s a little breathless. It’s fine.

“Jesus christ,” Jeff mutters.

Steve’s hand is still on his arm when nearly half the basketball team approaches, detouring to stop on their way to their standard table.

He wouldn’t say that a hush falls over the cafeteria but there are certainly a lot of eyes suddenly on their table. And not much talking.

“What the fuck, Harrington,” one of them––Eddie doesn’t know, nor does he care to know, his name––says. “You ditched us for the freaks?” He looks genuinely baffled, which Eddie has to admit is fair. “Is this some kind of joke? Does Munson have something on you?”

Steve leans away from the table, hand moving from Eddie’s arm to the back of his chair, he hitches his opposite elbow on the back of his own chair. He kicks one foot up to brace on the table leg. It’s the stereotypical jock position: chest wide, staking a possessive claim, except Eddie isn’t a cheerleader.

“I don’t like what you’re implying,” Steve says.

“Dude, whatever it is,” the guy’s eyes linger on Eddie in a way that Eddie really does not like, “we can take care of it.”

Steve sighs.

It’s long and loud and purposeful.

“Listen, I feel like maybe Hagan hasn’t held up his end of our bargain, so let me make this as clear as I can and we can all be mature about it. Ah––” he interrupts himself, raising his voice a little, “No, hey. Look at me. All of you.” His tone is calm and level and patronizing in a way that Eddie knows would be infuriating if it was directed at him.

“I need you to understand,” he says slowly, making eye contact with each of them in turn, “That I’m not joking. I’m not posturing. If you touch Eddie, if you touch anyone at this table, you’re going to have a lot more to worry about than passing your driving test or making the starting lineup. There are people in the world with real problems and if you fuck with any of my new friends, you’re going join them.”

A couple scoff. Tommy, near the back, is distinctly silent. And without their usual ringleader, no one else volunteers to step forward as the aggressor.

“What happened to you, man?” One of the guys says instead.

Steve sighs again. It feels more genuine this time. “I grew up,” he says. “I recommend it.”

And then he just…waves them off, like he’s tired.

And they leave.

The group retreats to their own table in a wake of low murmurs, and everyone lets out a collective exhale.

Except for Steve, who is leaning into Eddie’s space again.

“You were weirdly quiet through that,” Steve murmurs, pushing Eddie’s hair over his shoulder so he can whisper in his ear. It’s an entitled gesture. The heat of his breath, fanned against Eddie’s neck, sends goosebumps down his arms.

“If I’m mouthy, it tends to just piss people off,” Eddie mutters back. “And I’m trying not to cause trouble for you seeing as you seem to create plenty for yourself.”

“Do what you want,” Steve says easily. “I know how to fight.”

Eddie tells his dick to calm the fuck down.

Now is not the time.

“Besides,” Steve whispers, even quieter, lips practically against Eddie’s ear, “I think I prefer you mouthy.”

Fuck.

This is flirting, right? It has to be flirting.

He makes frantic eye contact with Jeff and––yeah, judging by the expression on Jeff’s face Eddie is not making shit up. Steve Harrington is hitting on him. In the school cafeteria.

“Oh hey,” Steve says abruptly, turning to pull a Tupperware container out of his stuffed full backpack. “I made cookies last night if you guys want some.”

“Cookies?” Gareth says faintly.

“Yeah, peanut butter chocolate chip. The kids I babysit wanted some so I made a double batch to share. They’re good, I promise. And I substituted applesauce for some of the sugar and oil so they’re not as unhealthy as they could be––but don’t tell the kids that.”

He peels off the lid and Eddie is hit with the second-most heavenly smell he’s ever encountered. The first may or may not be Steve Harrington himself, who is now handing him one of the cookies. Eddie takes it wordlessly, watching as Steve stands to carry the container around to everyone else.

Gareth leans across the table so only Eddie can hear him. “How confused is your boner right now?” Gareth whispers.

Eddie suppresses a slightly hysterical whine. “Oh, are we talking about this? We don’t need to talk about this.”

“I think we’re going to have to if he keeps this shit up.”

“No,” Eddie says. “No, no. I’ll be fine. I just need to…get my head straight.”

“Good luck with that.” Gareth takes a bite of his cookie, “Oh, damn, these are good.”

Eddie eats his own cookie and tries not to moan about it.

He’s fine. Everything is fine.

••••

Steve Harrington is good at D&D.

Eddie had been worried, at first, that Steve might not take things seriously. That he’d laugh at their silly voices or make fun of the guys who wear costumes or just…make it clear that he thought they were ridiculous. Childish.

Instead, he maybe takes things too seriously––asking detailed questions about terrain and weather patterns and doing so many perception checks that Jeff is about ready to strangle him an hour in, but his overly cautious approach uncovers more than one trap Eddie had set. Steve is excellent at strategy and disconcertingly good at organizing the party when there’s something to fight. Even more disconcerting, most of his strategies appear to involve martyrdom and it’s only through Eddie fudging his combat rolls a little that Steve’s character survives the night.

He’s not perfect, of course. Steve’s math skills are abysmal and he constantly has to be reminded what his modifiers are, which Eddie does gently and without complaint, because he’d copied down Steve’s stats the night before and he doesn’t want Steve to be embarrassed. The guys will definitely never, ever, let him live it down, but he figures he’s already lost so much credibility with them at this point a little more won’t be the end of the world.

And Steve keeps smiling at him, so.

Worth it.

When Steve’s watch alarm goes off, a minute before 7pm, he makes a hasty exit for the bathroom, bag in hand, and the other guys decide he must have some sort of medication he has to take and he didn’t want to do it in front of them. Eddie doesn’t correct them, doesn’t know how he would even try to correct the assumption because he doesn’t actually understand what Steve is doing. But it does remind him that there is a Mystery afoot and Eddie really should be trying to figure out what the hell is going on instead of just…mooning over Harrington’s pretty face.

Then again, nothing is stopping him from doing both.

The guys warm to Steve by the end of the session, patting his back and calling goodbye as they exit the doors under the external halogen lights.

The night is quiet and cool and when Steve offers to drive Eddie home, Eddie can only say yes. Eddie slides into the passenger seat, tossing his backpack into the back, and decides to take the opportunity to snoop. He opens the glove compartment and pulls out the handful of cassettes inside.

“Oh,” Steve says, “wait, that’s not––”

There’s Dio and Metallica, Iron Maiden and Motorhead, and then the artists Eddie suspected all along: Madonna, A-ha, Donna Summer, ABBA, Journey, The Eagles and—oh.

Fleetwood Mac. With Landslide on the B side.

It’s shiny and new. No scuffs on the case.

“Shit,” Steve mutters under his breath.

“When did you even have time to get this?” Eddie asks, baffled. And maybe he shouldn’t assume, maybe he’s completely off-base, but Steve looks like he’s been caught doing something illegal so he thinks the assumption is apt. “You left our place at like 10pm last night and you’ve been in school all day.”

“I have a free period before lunch. The record store is a five minute drive from campus.”

“But…why?”

“I don’t know,” Steve says, with the soft resignation of someone lying. It sounds more like, “I can’t tell you,” which makes Eddie want to shake him.

Eddie considers Steve’s shadowed face: his downturned mouth and his stupidly long eyelashes. He looks tired.

Eddie exhales. “Well, we’re listening to it.”

Steve doesn’t argue.

He doesn’t say anything else at all until they get to the trailer and he’s hurrying around to open Eddie’s door for him and get his bag from the backseat like Eddie is some girl he’s dropping off after a date.

“Oh wait,” he says, ducking back to grab his own bag. “I have—hold on, it’s—there we go.”

He emerges with another tupperware container in his hands, this one smaller than the one he passed around at lunch.

“I thought Wayne might want some,” he says shyly, eyes on the cookies in his hands. “As a thank you. For yesterday.”

Eddie is going to scream.

“That’s really nice. I’m sure he’ll love them, and if he doesn’t I’ll eat them because apparently you’ve been possessed by Betty Crocker’s ghost. Or—actually I don’t know if she’s dead or not. Or if she was a real person. Anyway, the point is that—“

Steve is smiling at him. Softly. Like he’d be happy to listen to Eddie ramble as long as he wants.

Eddie clears his throat. “Wayne should be home if you want to give them to him.”

“Yeah, sure. I’ll, uh, walk you in.”

So much screaming.

Steve does walk him in, hands over the cookies to a baffled-looking Wayne, and then touches Eddie’s hand—hardly a touch at all really, his first two fingers resting, briefly, on Eddie’s wrist, his thumb tucked just under the meat of Eddie’s palm, almost like he’s checking Eddie’s pulse.

“Goodnight,” he says.

Eddie doesn’t even know if he responds.

He’s still looking down at his wrist when Steve’s car engine starts and the headlights fan over the windows before everything goes dark and still outside.

“So,” Wayne says. “Is he…”

“What?” Eddie asks blankly.

“...your sweetheart?”

That’s enough to break Eddie out of whatever trance he’d been in. “My–? Jesus. No. You know who you’re talking about, right?”

“I know what I’m seeing,” Wayne mutters. “Not sure I’m happy about it.”

Eddie’s stomach immediately goes sour. They’ve never actually discussed Eddie’s romantic preferences. Wayne knew. He had to know, considering the circumstances in which Wayne became Eddie’s guardian. But they’ve never said anything out loud to each other and Eddie was hoping to continue that tradition potentially for forever.

“Wait,” Wayne says, moving forward to squeeze his shoulder, “I didn’t mean––fuck, you know I’m no good at this shit. Come sit down.”

They move to the couch.

They sit.

Wayne digs the heels of his palms into his eyes.

“I don’t care who you’re sweet on or who you bring home, you hear me? As long as they treat you right and they don’t get you into trouble. But that Harrington boy… I get the feeling he’s trouble. And with his folks being who they are, I just want you to be careful. That boy has a history and I don’t know what it is, but I’d wager it isn’t pretty.”

“I don’t know what it is either,” Eddie murmurs. “He’s not––I don’t think he’s bad trouble, though. He’s trying to protect me. Us. At school. Even though it’s put a giant target on his back. He’s quit basketball and joined Hellfire and he’s. I don’t know. I like him.” It feels like a confession.

“I wonder how his Daddy feels about all that,” Wayne murmurs. “You ever seen him come to school hurt?”

Eddie considers. “I don’t know. Why?”

Wayne just looks at him.

“You think his parents––?”

“I think I know the kind of boy his father was. I can imagine the sort of man he turned into.”

Eddie feels chilled all the sudden. He gets up from the couch to close the open window above the sink. It doesn’t help. He rests his hands, fingers splayed, on the countertop. He taps his nails on the fornica.

Abuse wouldn’t explain the kids or the panic attack or why he suddenly seems obsessed with Eddie. But it would explain some things.

“I’m not going to start avoiding him,” Eddie says.

Wayne sighs. “I didn’t expect you would. Considering.”

Eddie doesn’t ask him to elaborate.

He holds up the container of cookies Wayne had abandoned on the counter, then carries them over to the couch when he nods.

Wayne selects the largest one from the top. “Did he actually play your dragons game?”

Eddie nearly chokes on a laugh, helping himself to a cookie as well. “He did. Wasn’t half bad, either.”

Wayne takes a bite. His eyebrows go up. “Shit, did he make these?”

“He did,” Eddie says.

“Well. I suppose we can keep him around.”

Pt. 7

#steddie #steddie fic #steve harrington/eddie munson #steve/eddie #eddie/steve #myfic #time travel fix it #stranger things fic

256 notes · View notes

starryevermore · 7 months

Text

begging for you to take my hand ✧ leo campo

angst city™ library | send in a request (consult request faqs first)

request: leo campo requests?? did i read that right because yes please!! if you’d like to write something angsty with reader being in love with Leo but Leo loves Nikki? it can or cannot have a happy ending, whichever you feel like (although i am a sucker for happy endings hehe) but yeah and it can be anything you like

honestly anything with Leo you wish to write would be a great read 💙 thank you and no pressure, only if you’d like to - @sunshine-on-my-mind

pairing: leo campo x fem!reader

summary: you loved leo all your life, but he never spared you a second glance. when he finally starts to notice you, his attention is taken just as quickly. you’re ready to forget anything ever happened, but he can’t let you go.

word count: 5,717

warnings?: angst with a happy ending, pining, unrequited love (or so you think), insecurities, miscommunication, misunderstanding, love confession, ending is a little rushed, not proofread

Leo Campo was an easy man to love. What was hard, was not being the only person vying for his attention. And for most of your life, the person who won his attention was none other than Nikki Angioli. You understood, of course. Nikki was everything you weren’t. Beautiful, charismatic, smart as a whip. It was easy for Leo to love her.Whenever you were with Leo and Nikki, it felt like you were a third wheel. After all, they were practically born to be best friends. Their parents worked together, they got to see each other pretty much every hour of every day. Meanwhile, you were just someone they sort of…Well, not tolerated. It was more than that. You were sure they considered you to be a friend. But you were never someone they really sought out. You were there, and therefore you were their friend.

It’s just…it’s hard to be part of a trio. No matter how easy Percy, Annabeth, and Grover made it look, it was fucking hard. There was always, always, always someone left out. And that someone was almost always, probably 99.9999% of the time…You. You weren’t sure that Leo and Nikki meant to leave you out, but it always tended to happy. Perhaps it was because their families worked together for so long, perhaps it was because they were practically branded as besties ever since their mothers got pregnant, perhaps it was because they were twin flames or some cheesy shit like that. Whatever it was, you knew that you could easily fall to the wayside and neither of them would probably notice.

In a lot of ways, they didn’t.

It felt like every time something incredible happened to you, something awful would happen to either Leo or Nikki and all of the attention would be focused on making sure they were okay. If, Heaven forbid, something horrible happened to you, something would great happen to them and how dare you bring down the mood by talking about your struggles. Which—don’t get you wrong—it was absolutely valid to lend Leo and Nikki a shoulder to cry on or celebrate with them. It’s just, they so rarely kept the same energy for you.

The friendship fell apart quite easily. Between the rivalry between their fathers that forced Leo and Nikki apart and you taking on more responsibility at the bakery when your mother died, everyone drifted apart. You were still friendly when you saw them at school or around the neighborhood, and so were they, but it was different. It wasn’t the same, and you weren’t sure it ever would be. As you all got older, the distance grew even greater. Leo took on jobs at both his father’s pizza shop and at Luigi’s. Nikki moved to London to go to cooking school. And you…You stayed where you had been for years, working at your mother’s bakery, hoping that one day you might catch Leo’s eye.

Then, one day, it felt like the stars had aligned and all your wishes had come true.

You were about to close up the bakery for the night when the jingle of the bell above the door alerted you to the last minute customer. You barely looked up from your sweeping, shouting out, “We’re closed! Come back tomorrow!”

“Ah, you’re really gonna turn your best friend away?”

The broom nearly fell from your hands. You tightened your grip on it as you looked up to see the beautiful blue eyes you always dreamed of. (God, this was pathetic, even for a hopeless romantic.) You swallowed hard. “Would you keep Luigi’s open longer just for one customer?”

“If it was for a pretty girl, I might.”

Was that supposed to be directed at you? Was he calling you a pretty girl? Or was Leo just being quippy? Fuck. Just being around the man made you an anxious teenager all over again.

You huffed out a laugh and shook your head. You tried to not make it obvious the effect he had on you, but you weren’t entirely sure you were successful. “I suppose you’re pretty enough. What’dya need?”

“Ma’s birthday is coming up. I was hoping I could order a cake for her?” Leo asked, leaning against the glass case. “She always loved your cakes.”

You propped the broom against the wall and grabbed your order sheet and a pen. “Sure thing. Anything specific?”

Leo shrugged. “Nah, she’ll lover anything you make her. You can have total creative control.”

You smiled a little, jotting down a few ideas on the paper. “And when do you need this by?”

Leo was quiet. Which scared you, because Leo is never quiet. When you glanced up at him, he had a pink tint on his cheeks and he was trying to avoid your gaze.

“Leo…When do you need the cake by?” you repeated.

“Tomorrow? Morning?”

You gasped. Without thinking, you threw your pen at him. Your aim was terrible, so it soared straight passed his head became hitting the ground. But Leo flinched nonetheless, throwing his arms up to shield himself from anything else you might throw at him. “You’re a terrible son!” you said.

“I know! I know!” Leo slowly lowered his arms, trying to gauge if you were going to throw anything again. “I just got busy, ya know? Between Pa’s restaurant, and bartending, and coaching the kids’ soccer team, I lost track of time!”

“It took you all of five seconds to place the order! How hard would it have been to just call? Hell, you could’ve submitted an order on my fucking website!”

“I know!” Leo fully lowered his arms, pouting at you. “I just didn’t know if you wanted to hear from me.”

You were caught between wanting to yell at him more—because what did that mean? he was the one who stopped talking to you!—and wanting to melt into a puddle of goo. Instead, you found the happy medium of letting out a sigh. You said, “Leo, you know I always love hearing from you.”

Leo perked up a little. “So you’ll make the cake?”

“Only because it’s for your ma,” you said. “And you’ll be charged a rush fee.”

“Deal!”

“And you get your pretty ass in the back and help me make it, so I can actually get home at a half decent time.”

A smirk crossed Leo’s face. He leaned back over the case. “You think my ass is pretty?”

Fuck, you hadn’t meant to say that. Fuck, fuck, fuckity fuck. How do you recover from this?

“You, me, and the rest of Little Italy,” you said. A joke, it was. At least that got a chuckle from Leo. As he walked over to the other side of the case, you added, “And if you ever think about making an order the night before you need something, I have no qualms with kicking your ass.”

“Ah, but then my ass wouldn’t be pretty no more, would it? And what a shame that would be.”

“So conceited,” you said. But as he passed you to walk into the kitchen, you couldn’t help yourself from swatting at his ass. Leo yelped, his hands flying to his ass. He turned, looked at you scandalized. “Dunno, still looks pretty to me.”

“You’re awful.”

“Yeah, but you love me.”

Leo stares at you for a long moment. You almost begin to wonder if you took things too far. You’d hardly said more than “hi” and “can I get an amaretto sour?” over the last few years. Was this crossing a line? But finally, he offers you a soft smile. “Yeah. Yeah, I do.”

“Thank you so much, again,” Leo said the next morning when he came to pick up the cake. “I owe you big time.”

You shake your head as you ring him up at the cash register. “It’s for your Ma. I’d do anything for her after all the shit we put her through when we were kids.”

“True, but you really didn’t—” Leo frowned as he looked at the total. “Hey, where’s that huge rush fee you were telling me you were going to charge me?”

You raised a brow. “Are you really complaining about paying less?”

“When I made you stay after work for hours? Hell yeah I am. Charge me like anyone else!” Leo argued.

“Not gonna happen. I already made you pay by forcing you to help me and listen to my Taylor Swift playlist the entire time.”

“Hey, I loved the Taylor Swift playlist! Now, you charge me whatever exorbitant fee you can think of right now!”

“No, no way. Consider it a gift to a friend. Or better yet, use the money you saved from not paying the fee to get your Ma a gift from me. I saw her eyeing a bottle of wine the other day. I could point the bottle out to you—”

Leo leaned over the glass case, narrowing his eyes at you. “Fine. I’ll let you waive the fee and buy Ma some wine. But only if you agree to let me treat you to dinner tomorrow night.”

You laughed, shaking your head. “That sounds like a threat.”

“Consider it one,” he said. His face softens a little as he adds, “And maybe consider it an apology? For me being a shitty friend?”

You reached across the counter and patted Leo’s cheek. “For you? Of course.”

A grin stretched across the face. “Great. Come over to my place tomorrow around five?”

“It’s a date.”

Leo’s eyes twinkled as he confirmed, “It’s a date.”

He picked up the cake and left the store, but before shooting you a goofy smile and waved. You laughed, waving back. You were so engrossed with watching him jog across the street to his father’s restaurant that you didn’t notice Gabbie, your best cake decorator, sneak up beside you.

“A date, huh?” she echoed.

You jumped. How did you not see her before? Had you been that lost in Leo’s pretty blue eyes? Trying to play it nonchalant, you shrugged. “I don’t think he meant it that way.”

She raised a brow. “Are we talking about the same man? Because, lemme tell you, I don’t think he’s ever looked that mesmerized with a girl before.”

Gabbie never saw him with Nikki, you wanted to say. But, instead, you said, “He just feels bad because I didn’t make him pay the rush fee after he ordered a cake last night. He just feels like he owes a debt. Italian men and their pride, ya know?”

“That wasn’t pride and you know it, girlie. Look, if you wanna delude yourself, fine. But I’m telling you, there’s something there.”

What Gabbie didn’t know about you was, you were the queen of delusion. You spend practically your entire childhood deluding yourself with the idea that one day Leo would see you for the woman you are, to realize that you were his soulmate. And you got your heart broke in the long run because of it. You weren’t about to let yourself get hurt again. Leo was not going to break your heart. You wouldn’t let him.

“We’re just friends. That’s all.”

Gabbie eyed you, trying to see if there would be a crack in your resolve. “Whatever you say.”

When you came in to open the bakery the next day, you knew something was wrong. Mostly because Gabbie was standing at the door, waiting for you, with her arms crossed and a nasty look on her face. As you unlocked the door, you eyed her, trying to figure what was the source of her frustration. But all she did was turn her glare to the pizza shops across the street. And, well…Whatever that was about wasn’t good.

You were caught between addressing the issue and waiting for her to finally say what was on her mind. You leaned toward waiting, so you began running through all of the opening tasks. Gabbie would open up soon enough. She just liked to stew in her anger before she vented. So, waiting was the best option. If you pushed, she would only get more annoyed.

Finally, she asked, “You wanna know what I heard from Bella?”

You looked in her direction as you wipe down the counter. “Probably some rumor that could swing either way in its truthfulness.”

Gabbie huffed. “Don’t make jokes right now. This is serious!”

A frown settled on your face as you gave her your full attention. “What’d she tell you?”

“Nikki’s back in town,” Gabbie said as she placed a tray of cookies in the case.

“Oh?”

You wanted to read into it. You really, really did. But you forced yourself to stamp down your assumptions, your worries. That part of you was probably being irrational, anyways. All Gabbie said was that Nikki was back and that could mean anything—

“Rumor has it she and Leo went back to his apartment last night,” she continued. She leaned in, her eyebrows raised. “After getting drunk together and playing soccer in the rain.” Her face screwed up like she was sucking on a Lemonhead. “Isn’t that romantic?”

It felt like your heart dropped to your stomach. Of course. Of course he would take her back to his place. Why wouldn’t he? They were practically destined to be together. And with the family rivalry? It was a star-crossed lovers situation if you’d ever seen one.

You swallowed your hurt. “So romantic.”

“So romantic I could kill him, you know,” Gabbie said.

You squeezed your eyes shut, trying to ignore the pain in your chest. “Don’t. I’m sure it wasn’t what it…I’m sure he…Fuck, I don’t know. But don’t kill him, okay? Not until I get a chance to talk to him.”

“He doesn’t get to make you feel like he’s finally seen you for the incredible woman you are and then welcome her into his bed the second she rolls into town!” Gabbie argued.

“He just said he was making me dinner to make off a debt. And I really don’t think he meant anything when I said it’s a date. Really, it would be my fault for reading into it—”

“I’m going over there right now to give a piece of my mind—”

You grabbed Gabbie by the elbow, stopping her on her warpath. “Don’t. Please.”

She huffed, rolling her eyes. Gabbie looked through the window at the restaurants across the street. If looks could kill, she would probably have exploded those buildings. “You’re too good for him, you know.”

But not good enough, you wanted to say.

The entire day, the questions of what could be happening between Leo and Nikki ate at you. Was there something between them? Were they finally acting on the tension that existed between them for all those years? Had you let your hopes get too high when Leo promised your dinner? If you went to his apartment, would you be left with only pain and heartache?

Though Gabbie was harboring all of your anger for you, she did her best to try to distract you. To not let your mind wander too far. But it was all for naught. Because, when you left the bakery, all you wanted to do was run home and forget all of this happened. If you ignored this, if you pretended you forgot, you could avoid all of the hurt. You wouldn’t be giving Leo the power to break your heart. And, in some ways, running away made you weak, but at least it would keep you whole.

Nothing could have prepared you to see Nikki standing out when you reached Leo’s apartment. Had Leo forgotten that he had made plans with you? Were you that replaceable? You took a deep breath, trying in vain to steady your nerves, and walked up, hitting the buzzer for Leo’s apartment.

Nikki looked at you, her brows furrowed together. She almost looked like she had something snarky she wanted to say before she realized who you were. “Oh my god! I haven’t seen you in ages!”

“That’s what happens you put an ocean between us,” you teased. You hoped you sounded lighthearted. You hoped bitterness didn’t creep into your voice.

If it did, Nikki didn’t give any indication. She held a hand up in defense. “Hey, you got me there. What’re you doing here?”

You nod at the door. “Leo promised to make me dinner.”

Nikki’s face drops. “Oh, shit. Are you two—”

“He just owed me, is all,” you are quick to add. “He ordered a cake for his Ma after I already closed for the day, and he needed it the next morning. I wouldn’t charge him the rush fee, so he insisted he make me dinner as a repayment.”

“Italian men and their pride,” she laughed. She glanced up at Leo’s apartment. “So, is he…?”

“Seeing anyone? Nah, he loves the single life too much for that,” you said. “What about you? What’re you doing here?”

Nikki raised the soccer ball she had had tucked under her arm. “I just came to see if he wanted to play a game or two. We tried last night, but it was pouring the rain and we were drunk, so not really a fair competition. Gotta see if I can still kick his ass or not, ya know?”

You laughed. “I’m sure you could. His pride gets to him, so he’s still easy to knock down a peg or two.”

“Right?” Nikki’s face dropped. “Oh, shit. I can go? Because you already have plans with him and all—”

Before you could say anything, the door swung open. Yours and Nikki’s head snapped to look at him. Leo looked between the two of you, as if this perhaps was his worst nightmare. His gaze settled on Nikki first. “Hey!”

Nikki smiled. God, she had a beautiful smile. You could see why Leo always had a thing for her. “Hey! I just came to see if you wanted to play a few rounds?”

Leo smiled, too. A part of you wished he would smile at you like that. But that was just the schoolgirl crush talking. It was never something that could actually happen. Not when his heart still sang for Nikki, even after all these years. “Yeah, I’d love to. Let me go get my shoes—” He paused, his head snapping toward you. “Wait. Actually, I already—”

“We can have dinner another time,” you said, already turning to walk away. “Not every day your best friend comes back to town, right? You can just, like, stop by the bakery when you get a chance and we’ll figure it out, yeah?”

“Wait—”

“It’s no big deal, really—” You began to walk away, waving goodbye. “Nikki, make sure you get him some ice packs, yeah? For when you bruise his ego?”

Nikki let out a laugh, waving back at you. “Will do.”

You nearly made your escape when you heard Leo mutter something to Nikki. Your heart stuttered in your chest as you heard him chase after you. Though you wanted to turn, to see if he was choosing you, you kept going. You weren’t going to let him break your heart. But damn him. Damn him and his long legs and his long stride.

Leo quickly overtook you, stopping in front of you, his hands held out in front of him like he was taming a velociraptor in Jurassic World. “Woah, woah. Stop, hey.”

You looked back at Nikki, who was staring at the two of you. “Go, Leo. I’m fine.”

“No, I promised you—”

“It’s Nikki, Leo. You could never say no to her before. I wouldn’t expect you to say no to her now.”

Leo’s brows furrowed together. He almost looked confused. But, how could he be? Was he really so oblivious to how he preferred Nikki over you for all those years? Did he forget in the few minutes that had passed that he was ready to ditch dinner with you to play soccer with her? Did he think you hadn’t noticed all of that? “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It’s obvious you’re into her. I’m not going to get between that.”

“There’s nothing going on between Nikki and I.”

You raised a brow. Seriously? Was he really going to route? Latching onto a technicality—that they weren’t really together? “But you want there to be. I mean, you have been head over heels for her since we were kids.”

“That’s not true!” Leo almost sounded desperate, like he couldn’t believe you were saying all of this. Was he this in denial about his feelings?

You fought the urge to roll your eyes. “Yeah? Then how come for years you chose to be with her over me? At every field trip, you wanted to be her buddy. For every group project, you chose her. How many times did you two run off without me? Leo, you didn’t even show up after my mother’s funeral because you spent the week helping Nikki look for her lost cat—”

“That’s not fair—”

“Whenever that stupid feud between your families started and you two couldn’t be friends anymore, you stopped hanging out with me. I wasn’t even fucking surprised by it, you know? And that maybe hurt more than you not being my friend anymore. Because you always meant more to me than I did to you. You haven’t spoken to me in years, and you only did because you needed something for your Ma. I’m not your first pick, and that’s okay. But what isn’t okay is you trying to rewrite history when you don’t like being confronted with the reality.”

Leo said your name softly. He reached for you, but you took a step back. You wouldn’t let him do this. You wouldn’t let him hurt you.

You took a breath. “Go, have fun with Nikki. Forget you even promised me dinner, okay? Consider your debt forgiven.”

Leo tried to reach for you again, but you stepped around him. He turned to look at you, but you wouldn’t meet his gaze. “You mean more to me than you think.”

“But not more than her.” You took another breath. You could feel the tears pricking at your eyes. It took everything in you to not cry. Because you wouldn’t. You couldn’t. Not in front of him. “Let’s just go back to the way things used to be, yeah?”

“I don’t want to—”

“But I do. I won’t play second fiddle anymore. I won’t let myself be hurt anymore.”

“I never meant to hurt you.”

“And that might be the worst part.”

You walked away, pieces of your heart leaving a path between you and him. If this was a movie, if this was a silly little romance novel, Leo might have been standing there, trying to collect the pieces so he might put your heart back together again. But, when you were turning a corner, you spared a glance back at him.

He was walking with Nikki, an arm around her shoulders.

The one thing about Leo was, he listened. So when you told him you wanted things to go back to the way they used to be, you knew he would abide by that wish. And he did. The most you ever saw of Leo was when you glanced out the bakery window and happened to catch him coming in or leaving his father’s restaurant, or when you ordered something at Luigi’s whenever Gabbie managed to drag you out. And when you did see him, you would never meet his gaze. You didn’t want to be faced with his hurt, or, worse, his indifference. It was better that you forgot the brief glimmer of hope that Leo liked you in the same way you liked him.

Gabbie would tell you that he was always looking your way, but you felt like she was only trying to make you feel better. Why would Leo bother himself with you? He finally had everything he could have wanted. It didn’t matter that you were not a part of his life, because it had never mattered that you were not a part of his life. If it had mattered, then how could Leo have spent all these years not paying you any mind? Little Italy was little. For Leo to avoid you, he would have had to gone out of his way to do so.

Sometimes, though, when you were in your apartment, you’d look out the window and imagine that Leo was out there, about to confess his love for you like this was one of those cheesy rom coms you held so dearly. He was never there.

If you were honest with yourself, you were a little surprised at how much it hurt. You had been no stranger to Leo’s absence before. So why did it feel like he had ripped out your heart and stomped it? (Damn him. Damn him for giving you a glimmer of hope.)

“Eat.”

Gabbie dropped a plate in front of you on the coffee table. You eyed the slice of pizza, your nose wrinkling. As you pushed the plate away, you grumbled, “Seriously? You break into my home and put pizza in front of you?”

“It’s from across town. Not even a pizzeria in Little Italy. It’s, like, the ultimate form of rebellion.” Gabbie sat next to your curled up body on the couch and reached out to rub your back. “You need to eat something besides the scraps at the bakery. I mean, it’s not even something healthy, so you can be in your eat-junk-and-cry spiral.”

“I would rather just be sad.”

“You can be sad and eat.”

“And I haven’t been crying.”

Gabbie raised a brow. She didn’t look like she believed you. You could hardly blame her. Ever since that day, you had been elbows deep in a shame spiral, trying to forget the hope you felt that Leo might, just finally might, like you the way you always liked him.

“I haven’t. Really, Gabs. I just…want to watch sad movies and pretend that he never showed up at the bakery.”

“You can’t even say his name, you can admit that you’re hurt—”

Gabbie was silenced at a loud knock at your door. She looked at you, her brows furrowed together. But you had no idea who it was either. You hadn’t ordered anything on lately, you hadn’t ordered takeout, and you certainly hadn’t invited anyone over. Gabbie was only here because she had a key to your apartment.

Who else could it be?

“Do you want me—?”

You shook your head, pushing yourself up. No, you had to see this. You had to see who had the audacity to show up. You wrapped your blanket around your shoulders a little more securely and padded over to the door. As you took a deep breath, trying to prepare yourself, when another series of knocks rapped at your door. You reached for the knob, turning it slowly, and pulled the door open.

What stood on the other side made you want to slam the door shut again. And he seemed to know you had that very thought.

Leo reached out, sticking his hand out, stopping the door from shutting. “Please.”

Your lip quivered. Fuck. You had been holding it together so well before. But now that he was here, standing in front of you, all of those emotions you were trying your damned hardest to ignore, were rising straight to the surface. But you couldn’t cry. Not in front of him. Not now.

“I thought I told you to leave me alone.”

Leo stepped closer to you, stepping into the threshold of your apartment. Part of you wanted to push him out, kick and scream, tell him that he didn’t have the right to force himself into your life, to pick you up and act like your friend when it was convenient to him. That you were a person, and you didn’t deserve to be treated like that. But another part of you, the part that still hoped for good things, wanted to pretend this was your rom com moment where the guy makes a grand love confession that sparks the happily ever after.

“You did. And I tried, I really did. But I missed you.” He tried to reach out for you, but you jumped out of the way. “I never wanted to hurt you. I know that doesn’t make this any better, but I’m willing to spend the rest of my life trying to get this right.”

You squeezed your eyes shut when you felt the tears start to prick. “You’re just saying this because you feel bad. You don’t…Look, just go be with Nikki. Don’t feel like you have to grovel or whatever for me. I’m fine. I’m a big girl.”

When you opened your eyes again, Leo looked like he might cry himself. But…That didn’t make anything. Why would he get emotional over this? He was the one breaking your heart? “Nikki isn’t the one I want. I-I don’t know that she ever was.”

A frown settled on your face. That…No, that didn’t make any sense. Nikki had always been the one he gravitated towards. Nikki was the one he always chose. You were just there. “I don’t understand.”

Leo took a step closer to you. This time, you didn’t move away. Not when he stood so close that you could feel his breath fan across your face. Not when he cradled your face in his hands. Not when his thumbs brushed away the tears that managed to fall. “I’m in love with you. I always have been.”

“B-But Nikki—“

“What about her?” Leo took a breath, his eyes fluttering shut. “I thought, once, that she was who I wanted. But, I realized that I was lying to myself. Trying to trick myself into thinking I liked her because I thought she was someone I could be with. I, I never thought I was good enough for you. You’re a fucking angel, and all I’ve ever been is a little shit. I didn’t think there was a chance in hell that you’d like me back.”

You sniffled. “You made me feel like you didn’t give a shit about me, Leo. You followed Nikki around like a puppy, and the second she left for London, it’s like you were finally free of me. Like you didn’t have to pretend to be my friend anymore.”

“I didn’t know how to talk to you. I know that’s no excuse, but it’s true. When Nikki was around, she was like a buffer. If I fucked up, she made sure things weren’t weird. With her gone, I was scared that I would lose you. I didn’t realize that I already was.”

You shook your head. “Then why were you going to ditch me to play soccer with her? Why, why did you take her back to your apartment the night she came back?”

Leo’s brows pinched together. “How, how did you know I—? She was drunk and she wasn’t ready to see her family yet. I offered her a place to stay. But nothing happened, I promise. She slept in my bed, I slept on the couch. That’s it.”

“And why you ditched me?”

“I was just excited to see my friend again, and I acted like a total ass. That was what I was trying to protect you from, because I knew that I would fuck up. I knew I would hurt you somehow without meaning to. I’ve been kicking myself ever since you left that day.”

You shut your eyes, leaning into his hand. You wanted to believe him. God, you wanted to so bad. “What took you so long to say all of this?”

“I was trying to do what you wanted. I was scared to lose you anymore that I already had.” Leo took a breath. “Then I told Nikki what happened, and she chewed my ass out. Told me I needed to get my shit together because you weren’t going to be around forever. I don’t want to lose you. I never did.”

You wanted to argue more. You wanted to push harder. You wanted to ask more questions. Because this didn’t feel real. This was the sort of shit that only happened in movies and romance novels. This wasn’t your real life. But…He was here. And he loved you.

“Kiss me.”

Leo’s lips were on yours in a second. You could feel every ounce of desperation, of love, on his plush lips. He kissed you like a man running out of time. Like if he didn’t do this right, he would lose you. He kissed you like he was dying and you were breathing life back into him. It was everything you ever could have dreamed of.

“Holy shit, this is better than a Hallmark movie.”

You jumped apart, your head whipping around. Shit. You forgot Gabbie was still there. She eyed Leo, like she still might kill him for hurting you. But then she smiled as he tried to hide his bright red face.

“I think you still owe her a dinner.” Gabbie pointed to the pizza still sitting on the coffee table. “She’s starving, and refuses to eat that shit.”

Leo looked back to you, letting out a chuckle. “You want me to make you dinner?”

“Don’t let her tell you no. She hasn’t been eating anything but junk all week,” Gabbie said.

“Gabbie!”

Leo’s brows raised. “Well, we can’t have that, can we? C’mon, let’s go back to my place and I’ll make you something nice, yeah?”

You smiled, reaching for his hand to hold. “I would like that very much.”

You quickly slipped on a pair of shoes and grabbed your keys, ready to leave, when Gabbie called out, “Hey! If you break her heart, I get to break your neck!”

“Good to know!” Leo called back. To you, he whispered, “Your friend is scary.”

“And serious about the threat,” you said.

He gave your hand a squeeze. “Well, she doesn’t have anything to worry about, because I’m not telling you go.”

173 notes · View notes

corrodedseraphine · 1 year

Text

kiss me | one shot

pairing: steve harrington x fem!reader

summary: Your friend is desperately trying to find a person who will give him something more. Wanting to feel what it's like to be loved again and after many failed dates he gets the idea that it's time to go back to King Steve's famous tactics. Telling him that it's not the best idea gets you involved in a deal where you have to help him get another girl. Will helping the boy you're in love with turn out to be a good idea? Probably not. angst/fluff/smut (or an attempt to write one), steve and reader both are love-starved, friends to lovers

TW: mentions of killing, injuries after Upside Down and Vecna visions

the one shot is also avaliable on ao3

9 550 words

I got inspired while listening to "Kiss me" by Ed Sheeran

steve harrington masterlist | general masterlist

So, this is my first smut EVER. I am really sorry if it's bad and please don't hate me. I am so nervous right now 😭 but if you don't like it it's fine, you can tell me, don't be afraid to share your thoughts, maybe some tips or something.

"Hi Stephanie!" Steve's excited voice made you roll your eyes and walk off into the other end of Family Video.

"Hi Steve." the girl giggled as she approached the counter. The former captain of the Hawkins High cheerleaders was still in shape. Everyone said her athletic career had progressed at a killer speed after she went to college.

"What brings you to us this time?" he asked with a broad smile while leaning on the counter with his hands.

"I wanted to rent a flim." she said.

"Right, after all, that's just what you came here for." he laughed nervously, feeling embarrassed. When they had taken care of all the paperwork she thanked him and wanted to head for the exit, but Steve called her over. "Hey, I uh-I thought maybe you'd like to go to the movies this weekend?" he asked.

"Maybe next time." She replied and left.

"You're pathetic." Robin commented while looking at everything.

"I don't understand, she comes here almost every day, she gives the impression that she likes me, and when I ask her out she still refuses, I can't even remember which time it is!" he replied exasperatedly banging his head on the counter.

"Steve and Stephanie? That sounds disgusting. You should let it go, apparently she's not interested in you."

"There's no way I'm going to let go!" he looked in her direction. "I know what I'll do, from now on when she comes I'll ignore her or... make her jealous! It always worked in high school."

"Do I have to remind you once again that the King Steve era was the worst in your entire life? You were a very bad person Steve. I won't let you fall by the wayside like that again."

"King Steve at least didn't complain about being lonely," he rolled his eyes. When you heard him you snorted with laughter and his angry gaze landed on you. "You think it's funny?"

"You really think ignoring her or making her jealous is the only good way?" you asked, crossing your arms over your chest.

"Do you see anything else working?" he pointed with his hand toward the door.

"I'll enjoy watching your wonderful plan turn out to be one big failure." You smirked.

"Okay, lady 'I know everything about love'." He pointed a finger at you. "Since you're so confident help me! Help me get Stephanie."

"Why are you so desperate Steve? Besides, what's in it for me?" You raised your eyebrows trying to mask the surprise caused by his proposal.

"The awareness that you are a good friend?" he shrugged his shoulders ignoring the first question.

"If you succeed I want you to take all the evening shifts for me in January." made the condition.

"Deal. How are you going to do it?" he rested his hands on his hips and fixed his gaze on you.

"First of all, you certainly won't pretend that you don't care, King Steve is dead and his hopeless tactics too. You need to get over it." You said walking over to the computer. "Now we'll search the base and see what movies she has rented recently, you'll have to watch them, and next time she comes try not to make an idiot of yourself and talk to her about them. If you do well, she should finally agree to a date."

"And during the date, what would I have to do?"

"Plan a date, and take me out on Saturday, I'll see what you'll have to work on. Saturday night we'll go for it, I'll see what you'll have to work on. Of course, with me it won't be anything serious, just a little test version of your official one with Stephanie."

"Sounds... reasonable." he commented after a moment of thought.

Was the idea a bad one? Yes. Will this idea end very painfully for you? Yes. Was going on a fake date with a boy you had a crush on for a long time a good thing? Definitely not.

Your relationship with Steve was close from the very beginning when you started working with him and Robin at Scoops Ahoy. Your friendship developed very quickly, and everything between you grew even closer when you had to save the world from the Upside Down together. You were there for each other whenever you needed it. You were laughing together, crying together, being there for each other during your worst nightmares and sleepless nights. You took turns sitting by Max and Eddie's side in the hospital watching and waiting for them to wake up.

The first time the Russians got you, he was your shield. Without a second thought, he always threw himself in front of you to protect you from evil. You returned the favor when Vecna almost caught him in his grasp. When Nancy and Robin told you that music could snap someone out of a Vecna's trance you spent the whole night recording tapes for each of your friends. Terrified at the thought that anything could happen to them, you had to be sure you were prepared for any possibility at any time. From then on, you always made sure to have your walkman and tapes with you. It happened the night just after Eddie and Max were hospitalized.

Steve, bereaved in remorse that he failed to save them, became an easy target for Henry. Fortunately, as soon as you noticed that the lights were starting to blink you grabbed your little emergency kit and quickly ran to the room he was in. Seeing his eyes slowly roll back up you quickly tried to put on headphones and played music for him. Begging him to come back you watched in horror as he slowly began to float above the ground.

"They are dead." said Vecna approaching Steve, who was standing right next to the hospital bed on which Max was lying. "They are dead because of you. You did nothing to save them."

"Bullshit, they're alive! They're still fighting!" Not knowing where the sound was coming from, he started pacing around the room trying to locate him.

"Their hearts are still beating, but not for long, and that, Steve, will be your fault. And it's not over. Next will be Dustin, Robin, Nancy..." he began to list the names of everyone he cared about. He knew perfectly well that Steve was willing to die for his family. "At the very end it will be y/n. Poor thing will never forgive herself for not saving you. Devastated with a broken heart, she won't even resist me."

"Shut up!" Steve shouted. He was terrified, but didn't want to let it show. Then he felt someone put a hand on his shoulder. Feeling the sinister breathing straight at his neck he did a quick dodge and ran out of the room. Then the sounds of his favorite song reached him and his vision was swept by the image of your distraught face.

"Come back to me Steve, I beg you, come back." you were desperate. "Henry! Vecna! Come get me! Take me but leave him alone!" you started shouting hoping for a miracle. You couldn't lose him. The group would not be able to cope without its greatest protector.

"Do you see how desperate she is? She'll do anything to save you. Everything." Henry whispered in his ear again And began to move closer. When Steve realized what was happening he began to run again. He ran as fast as he ever ran in his life. He ran straight towards you.

The next thing he remembered was falling hard to the floor and you taking him in your arms. Still terrified, you checked and made sure nothing had happened to him.

Reassuring that Max and Eddie were still breathing and their hearts were beating, you returned with him to his house. You insisted that you would not leave him alone after that. To his bedroom you brought two radios into which you put the tapes. When Steve noticed that you didn't make a tape for yourself he took care of it the same day you told them about it. If something bad happened to either of you during the night all you had to do was press play. Leaving the bedside lamp on, you lay down in bed.

"Thank you." he said quietly looking up at the ceiling.

"You're welcome." you replied turning your head toward him.

"Thank you for saving me and for being here." he sighed.

"I'm your friend, Steve. I will never leave you." With your pinky finger you grabbed his making a silent promise.

"He said that Eddie and Max... that what happened to them was my fault, that the next one would be Dustin and Robin, and you. And it will all be my fault." his voice was beginning to break. The very thought that he might lose you was unbearable. And the fact that Henry could be right and it could be his fault did not allow him to breathe calmly. He had to do everything to protect the ones he loves.

"Steve he just wants to mess with your head. He wants to take an advantage of how much you care about all of us. Eddie and Max are alive, they'll be fine soon. None of us will die. We won't let that happen." you said, and your words made him look at you with his eyes full of tears. "Come here Steve." you opened your arms. He immediately took his place between them. "You can close your eyes, you can lay down to sleep." you were whispering. "That's what I'm here for, so that you don't have to be afraid at all." Your warmth, the rhythm of your beating heart and the fact you were gently stroking his hair with one hand lulled him to sleep. That night for the first time, holding him in your arms, you admitted that your feelings toward him were not purely friendly.

Several months have passed since Vecna was defeated, Max and Eddie have recovered and the Byers have returned to Hawkins. All of you tried to move on with your lives despite all the tarumatic experiences. Steve threw himself into dating again, which meant he didn't have much time to spend weekends in your company anymore. Every time he talked about his failed dates you felt like leaving the room. Jealousy was eating you up from the inside because you knew you would never get your chance. This time, however, you might have gotten something similar.

Waiting for your fake date with Steve, you sat staring out the window nervously shaking your leg. Snow covered all of Hawkins, Christmas decorations added to the town's charm, despite the fact that it still hadn't fully recovered from its downfall.

Finally, in front of your house you saw the familiar BMW. You walked outside, and Steve got out of the car at the same moment. In his hand he held a small rose.

"I know this isn't a real date, but I figured that if we're going to pretend we're on one today we need to get into character well." he explained "You can also take this as a thank you for your help" He smiled slightly.

"T-thank you." You said swallowing with difficulty. You quickly went back home to put the flower in the vase and returned to your friend. Feeling increasingly nervous the whole way, you didn't say a word.

"So, I thought we'd start here." he said when you arrived at your destination. "We both like sports, and the ice rink will probably come out to be a good place for a first date?" he asked opening the door for you. You were beginning to hate yourself for getting involved in this. Cursing yourself in your mind, you nodded your head and muttered that the idea was very good for them.

"I don't think we've fully thought it all through..." you sighed as you approached the rink.

"Why?" he looked at you. His honey-colored eyes watched your face which was getting redder and redder. Fortunately, you could blame it on the cold.

"That's a good idea, Steve, for real. But you won't practice it with me."

"What's going on?" Now his surprise turned into worry.

"I don't know how to ice skate." you admitted. "I've never tried."

"And that's supposed to be a problem?" he grinned. "You've fought monsters from another dimension and you're afraid to go onto the ice rink?"

"Shut up, Harrington." You hissed embarrassed by this situation.

"Come on, I'll teach you." He grabbed your hand.

Over time, you stopped counting your falls. At first with each one you felt like getting off the rink and going back to the car when you felt other people's eyes on you, but hearing Steve's laughter you finally relaxed a bit and started laughing at the situation too. You stood face to face with Steve and all the while he held you by both hands wanting to help you balance. When you made a little progress he took a position next to you, but still held your hand. In this way you slowly rode around. Your fingers loosely intertwined with each other were definitely consuming too much of your attention. Lost in your own thoughts, you couldn't keep up with what he was saying to you. You only heard single words. Stephanie. Date. I care. University. Sports. Basketball match. Everything merged into one big noise when, and despite the cold, the touch of his hand made you hot.

"Are you even listening to me?" he asked stopping you suddenly.

"Yes! I am sorry." you said feeling ashamed that you let your feelings take control of you so easily.

"Are you sure you're okay? You seem off." he squeezed your hand tighter wanting to let you know that he is here for you if you need it.

Nothing is okay. It's not okay because I want this date to be real, to mean as much to you as it does to me. You thought. Unfortunately, no matter how much you wanted to, you couldn't tell him. "Yes, I zooned out a little, sorry. Can you repeat that?" you replied instead.

"I thought if the first date worked out I'd invite Stephanie to Lucas' game before she goes back to college. You guys will be there too, so she'll get to know you at once if something more serious were to come out of it," he said.

"Good idea." you forced yourself to smile. If something more serious were to come out of it. This day will definitely test your limits.

After the ice rink, he took you out for pizza at your favorite restaurant. He stated that he would also like to take Stephanie here and kept asking if it was really a good idea, what he should order and which table you thought was best to reserve. With pain you answered his questions trying with all your might not to die of jealousy at the very thought of how Stephanie was going to become part of everything you shared together. When he finally exhausted this topic you started talking about something else. Then the atmosphere immediately changed. The stress and nerves disappeared as you joked together and talked about everything that didn't involve his date. Work, school, kids, what to do to make Robin finally dare to take a step towards Vicky, quite as if the distance between you had not happened for the last few months. You were close again. Again you were friends who have no secrets from each other and feel comfortable together. Sitting in front of you was Steve, who was sorely missing from your life. Who completed it like a missing piece of the puzzle.

The last part of the date was to watch a movie at his house. Since he had to watch the ones she rented anyway, he decided that the two of you could do it together. You sat on two opposite ends of the couch, and he put a bowl of popcorn between you.

"I can't believe I'm going to have to pretend I liked it." he groaned as the closing credits appeared on the screen.

"I must admit she doesn't have very good taste when it comes to this..." you sent him a disgusted look.

"It was awful. At this point I don't think he wants to watch any more, Jesus, how can anyone like something like that?" he shuddered.

"I have no idea, Steve." You laughed seeing his reaction.

"Look how much snow has fallen over this time." He changed the subject by walking up to the window. When you looked out through it indeed the layer of snow was getting bigger and bigger. All the roads were covered.

"I wonder how I will get home now." you said more to yourself.

"You can stay here. I'll drop you off in the morning as they clear the streets of snow." he replied. The suggestion made your heart beat faster.

"That won't be a problem?" you asked quietly.

"You used to sleep here almost every day, why would it suddenly be a problem now?" Right. After all, it was only your feelings that had changed toward him. To Steve, you were still just a friend.

"Okay." You sighed without taking your eyes off the falling wafers of snow. "So what are we going to do?"

"Definitely not watching this crap. If I'm going to die tonight it won't be from boredom, I'd rather freeze outside already." You laughed. Selfishly you held on to a spark of joy that he had found one flaw in the perfect Stephanie. And even if it was just her taste in movies, you were glad that something existed at all.

"We can do something about it." You said getting up from the couch. "Dress warmly Harrington. Let's go build a snowman."

"What?" he asked surprised. He couldn't remember the last time he had done something like that. Surely it was a very long time ago when his parents remembered they had a son.

"You heard me, come on!" he shouted coming out of the house. "See the one the Willsons made?" you pointed to the house across from you as he joined you.

"Yeah."

"We'll piss them off. Ours will be much bigger and cooler."

You spent the next hour and a half making big snowballs, feeling like you were carefree teenagers again. It was as if a few years of your life had not slipped away in the eternal struggle for survival. The snowman actually came out much larger than his neighbors one. Instead of the usual and boring scarf and hat, you put on him Steve's old sunglasses and an old plastic crown that he once got for the title of prom king. Around his neck you hung a gold tinsel. You mutually agreed that he was definitely the coolest snowman around. While Steve was still admiring him you moved away from him and formed a small snowball in your hands.

"Hey Harrington! Watch out!" you shouted and the snowball directly hit his shoulder.

"Do you have any idea what you just did?" he asked pretending to be offended. "You started a war!" seeing him running in your direction you started to run away. You were chasing each other all over the yard and throwing snowballs, when at one point he chased you into a dead end and you had no way to escape anymore, he jumped towards you knocking you both over a thick layer of snow on the ground. Your noses were almost touching and the amused smiles disappeared from your faces when you realized how close you were to each other. Steve, not knowing what that strange feeling in his chest was, began to look at you. Your eyes didn't take their eyes off him, your slightly wind-tangled hair that was sticking out from under your hat now spread out in the snow, your nose and cheeks reddened from the cold and running. His gaze stopped at your parted lips as you quickly tried to catch your breath, not knowing if it was through fatigue or his proximity that was causing breathing problems.

"You look... beautiful today." he said quietly, not knowing where it came from. You being in even more shock did not answer. After a moment, he grunted, stood up and then helped you. "I'm sorry." he said quietly.

"Nothing happened." you replied nervously.

"Let's go inside."

Without a word you followed him in. Inside, he gave you your clothes to change into, which you had left during the times you stayed here more often. To your surprise he didn't throw them away and still kept them in his closet. The rest of the evening passed for you in a nervous atmosphere. It was as if that moment had changed something between you. At night you didn't sleep a wink staring at the warm flame bursting from the fireplace in the Harringtons' living room, wallowing in your thoughts and heartbreak. At the same time, Steve, lying in his bed, could not fall asleep either, still rewinding in his mind the situation when you were lying in the snow. Why did he feel so strange when he was close to you? And why did he want to feel that way again?

Monday was your day off from work. You wanted to spend it similarly to Sunday, that is, feeling sorry for yourself and your stupid crush on your friend and lying on the couch staring aimlessly at the TV. You were dozing off when you were suddenly roused by the loud sound of the phone.

"Guess who just made a date with Stephanie!" Steve's excited voice rang out from the receiver.

"I don't know...Robin?" you said sarcastically sighing. You wanted to enjoy his happiness but unfortunately it was harder than you thought.

"Ha, ha. Not funny." You could imagine him rolling his eyes now. "It needs to be celebrated, can you come to my place on Saturday? Robin will too." You didn't answer the first time. You began to wonder if you'd be able to last a few hours listening to him admiring her and still pretend to be happy about it. "y/n? you there?" he asked after a while.

"Yes, Steve, I am here." you replied quietly.

"Will you come? Please, we'll be able to talk more details about the date."

"Fine." you agreed. No matter how much it hurt you, you couldn't refuse him.

Thus, after a whole week of pretending that everything was fine and you didn't at all feel like screaming every time you heard Stephanie's name, you walked straight into the lion's den.

"Hi!" he said smiling broadly as he opened the door for you. "Robin called that she couldn't come, so that means more wine for us." He shrugged his shoulders and walked toward the kitchen. You, meanwhile, took off your jacket and went to the living room to sit on the couch. The absence of your friend did not help you at all. After a while, Steve returned to the room with two glasses and way to expensive wine that belonged to his mother. It had to be admitted that Mrs. Harrington had the best taste when it came to wines. "Do you remember the movies we didn't wanted to watch back then?" he asked, placing everything on the coffee table.

"I remember, but I would rather not." you laughed, thus adopting a mask that was supposed to convince him that everything was fine.

"Huh, me too..." he began pouring wine. "But I accidentally lied that I watched them and that I liked them a lot, so I have to get through the rest to at least know about what I'm lying about." he rolled his eyes and sat down next to you on the couch.

"May the wine numb the pain." you said dramatically and took a big sip.

"May the wine numb the pain." he repeated after you, unaware that you were talking about two different kinds of pain.

You watched everything laughing out loud at every hopeless situation that was happening on the screen. The more wine, the more your comments were chaotic and stupid. At first you hated how great you felt in his company, but later you came to an agreement with yourself that you would end up with a broken heart anyway. It was inevitable. Therefore, you decided to give yourself over to the moment and let yourself enjoy the last moments of joy in his company. Two movies later, when you were halfway through the second bottle of wine Steve gave up.

"Next time I'll call Eddie for the strongest shit he has. Maybe that will allow me to get through the rest." he laughed while refilling another portion for you. Then the phone rang. Harrington somewhat wobbly walked over to answer it.

"Helllloooo?" His state amused you. "Well, Dustin, I am not DRUNK. Okay maybe a little...What do you want? Can't this wait until tomorrow? Jesus, fine! Wait a second-" he hung up the receiver. "Who normal at this hour I need some stupid radio? This kid is going to end me," he started whining to himself and slowly walked up the stairs. Hearing all sorts of cursing and sounds suggesting that he was looking for something in his closet you wanted to go help him but after a while you gave up on that idea. Instead, you took your glass and moved to the soft, fluffy carpet that lay in front of the fireplace. The quiet sound of cracking wood and the warmth of the flames that gently warmed your skin were very calming. Taking the opportunity that the wine had effectively silenced all the voices in your head and it was now completely quiet there, you closed your eyes letting yourself have that moment of relaxation. It didn't last too long because after a while Steve came back downstairs, replied to Dustun that he didn't have what he needed, hung up and joined you on the rug.

"Were you cold?" he asked.

"No, I let myself feel luxurious for a while." You laughed quietly still not opening your eyes. Little did you know that at that moment Steve couldn't take his eyes off you. A warm orange color fell over your face, your cheeks slightly reddened from alcohol or heat. Maybe from both. Then he remembered what you looked like at that moment when you were both lying in the snow. He had always found you attractive, but in that moment, for the first time in his life, the word beautiful popped into his mind as he looked at you. Surrounded by sharp white, on which was reflected the red of your face caused by the frost. Now, for contrast, a pleasant dim orange made you look equally beautiful. So beautiful that he didn't want to look away.

"Are you okay?" you asked when you opened your eyes and noticed that he was looking at you.

"Yes, sorry," he abashedly turned his head toward the fire. "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"Have you ever... been in love?" he asked and quickly took a sip of wine.

"Yeah, I think I was..." you replied doing the same. "I think we both were. But as they say, first love always has to break your heart."

"Despite everything... I'm grateful for it." He smiled slightly. "I gained a friend that night."

The night Nancy broke up with Steve was the one that also foreshadowed the end of your relationship with Jonathan. When he left you alone at that party to take care of Nancy, Steve found you crying in the garden. Even then you knew it was over. You spent the whole night talking about how awfully hopeless love is and drinking away your sorrows, until finally you both fell asleep in the back of his car.

"In that case, let's drink to a brutally painful first love." You raised your glass toward him and he clinked his own gently against yours.

"You once asked why I was so desperate..." he began, not knowing why he wanted to talk about it just now. He felt all his boundaries and limits disappear. "I go on dates all the time, hoping that I'll finally meet someone who really cares about me... And every time I hit a wall because every girl I see only wants King Steve. At first it didn't bother me because the sex is usually good, but there came a point when I wanted something more... " he sighed. "Unfortunately none of them were interested in more."

"You at least go on dates." When you said this sentence out loud it sounded much more pathetic than you thought.

"And you don't?" he asked puzzled. "I thought you just didn't want to talk about it."

"Unfortunately my friend, my soulmate is probably dead." You said with a slight wince, wanting to turn it all into a joke.

"When you were with Jonathan... did you feel loved?" he changed the subject.

"I think in the beginning yes... later it was all one-sided. And you?"

"Exactly the same. But those small moments, when I really thought she loved me... I'd like to feel it again. I would like to feel that someone loves me." His voice was filled with sadness and loneliness, the pain you felt in your heart at that moment caused something you would never have expected from yourself.

"I love you, Steve." you said without thinking. Only when his eyes met yours did you realize what you had done. "As a friend-" you continued panicked but had no time to finish because he silenced you with a kiss. The first four words that left your lips acted on him like a charm he couldn't resist. It hit him straight in the heart making some invisible force draw him to you. At first in shock you didn't know what to do. Your brain told you to move away from him until it wasn't too late, but your heart started beating so fast and loud that it effectively deafened the bastard. You quickly put the glass down on the floor and reciprocated the kiss.

"I love you too..." he breathed out feeling still enchanted. "We both love each other, even if as friends, it's still love right?" You couldn't keep up with his train of thoughts, so you didn't answer anything waiting for him to elaborate. "We both want to feel loved again... Maybe we can help each other with that? Just tonight, this one night before everything goes back to normal, let's help each other feel loved." he was desperate. He had a feeling that if your lips were not on his again in the next few minutes he would explode.

"Yes." you whispered. In that moment, you didn't care about anything. Your wildest dreams could come true tonight, and no matter how devastated you might be afterwards, you accepted the risk. It was worth it.

When your lips found each other again Steve pulled you on top of him you put your arms on his chest. You could feel his heart beating as fast and as strong as yours.

"I love you, Steve." you said as you moved your lips to his neck, kissing each of his moles.

"I love you, y/n" he moaned in your ear.

His large hands slid under your shirt, he gently squeezed your waist pressing you even closer. Through his too-fitting jeans you felt how hard he was. And it was all because of you. Not Stephanie. Not anyone else. Only and only you. Even if the setting of the whole situation was fiction, you let it fool you. That night, you were a fool who rushed headlong toward your doom without a thought. Not wanting your overthinking to destroy the moment, you decided to lose yourself in it even more. With a quick movement you took off his polo and threw it to the other end of the room. In front of you appeared numerous scars, reminders of the last years of the nightmare you lived in. You looked at each one in turn, touching them gently with your fingers and then leaving small kisses on them. Steve watched in shock and somewhat mesmerized as, despite the nasty imperfections, your eyes were still filled with adoration. He didn't know how you did it, but he could feel love in every brush of your fingertips. He felt what he was missing so much. He wanted to return the favor, which is why, after a while, your t-shirt joined his lying on the floor. You straightened up giving him access to your neck which he immediately began kissing like possessed. When you quietly whispered his name, he felt as if you had cast another spell on him, much stronger. He quickly found your lips again, and your hands sank into his hair. Once again he returned to your neck this time seeking further and not stopping. When his lips passed your collarbone line his hands began slipping the straps from your bra placing kisses along the cup. Unable to stand any longer you got rid of it completely, leaving nothing left on your top.

"Beautiful." he mouthed enthralled by the view and, like you, began to familiarize himself with every visible scar on your body. At one point he pressed you tightly against him and turned you so that you were now the one underneath him. Your heart was beating like crazy against his bare chest. His lips wandered over your body leaving behind whispers of single words of admiration and little I love yous. He felt like he was made to keep your body warm. As his honey eyes met yours, both of you could see in them desperation and desire mixed with the huge amount of tenderness you shamelessly poured out on each other.

Feeling him rubbing against you, you began to unbuckle the waistband of his pants and with his little help you got rid of them including his boxers. Still, you didn't dare touch him there yet, still waiting for his next move, which was to get rid of yours. Now he was lying down next to you, and without waiting a moment longer you found his lips. His hand from your cheek traveled all over your body stopping at the softly soaked material of your panties.

"Steve..." you said between kisses. "Please." You lifted your hips to make it easier for him to remove the last layer that separated you. As his hand returned to that spot making circles you pressed your hand to your lips to stop the sounds of pleasure.

"Baby..." he said slowing down. "Let me hear you. I want to hear you." Then he slipped one finger inside you, and with his thumb he continued to massage the point above your entrance. "I love you, I love the sounds you make, the way you say my name, let me hear that you love me, that you love what I do with you." In that moment, he felt as if he was losing his mind. What was happening between the two of you was something new. Steve had felt many things in his life, almost everything from hate to love to lust to truth, but that was nothing compared to what he felt now lying with you on the rug in front of the fireplace. The warmth not only surrounded your bodies, because your souls and hearts were also on fire. When his name resounded again with your voice he added another finger speeding up as his lips found your nipple.

"I love you, Steve." you said a moment before a wave of pure pleasure swept through you. You tightened your thighs around his hand but a moment later released it with a shuddering breath. Opening your eyes slowly still feeling drugged you felt you needed more. You knew that this was your only chance to be this close to him, so you had to take as much of it as possible. Without waiting a moment longer you pulled him towards you so that he was over you again.

"This is perfect, honey. So damn perfect." he himself had trouble catching his breath. He quickly reached for his pants, took the wallet out of his pocket and the condom out of it. Once he had dealt with everything, he focused all his attention on you again. Slowly running his hand along the length of your arm grabbed yours and kissed the top of it. Later he intertwined your fingers and slowly placed both of them over your head.

"Can I-" he asked looking straight into your eyes. And you just nodded your head affirmatively not letting him to finish the sentence. "Say it again, please." His voice faltered as he began to slowly filling you with himself.

"I love you, Steve. I love you so much." A single tear escaped your eye, which he quickly kissed away.

The goal was achieved. That night for the first time you both felt loved like you had never felt before. That's why when it was all over Steve pulled you close and hugged you tightly you didn't move from your spot fearing that you would spoil another beautiful moment between you.

"Can we pretend for a few more hours? Please?" he asked when his breathing calmed down.

"I love you, Steve." you repeated once again giving him confirmation that you agree.

"I love you too." He replied and without bothering too much about getting dressed again you simply went to his room to fall asleep cuddled up together. At that moment Steve Harrington was your safety and you were his. Thinking back to a few months ago when you lay in that bed and realized your feelings for your friend, you tried to catch the last moments of peace and warmth you felt when your bodies were entwined. Steve, still enchanted by everything you had discovered together today, with a slight smile, were laying stroking your skin. Thoughts popped into his head saying that this feels like falling in love, but being convinced that it was just the effect of fatigue, wine and all of the the emotions you had passed on to each other instead of saying something he kissed you on the forehead and fell asleep.

During Christmas you did not see each other, and when it was time to return to work neither of you brought up the subject of that night. Both of you tried to pretend that what happened between you didn't matter and everything was as it was. Steve tried to ignore the shivers that ran through him when by chance your hands met when you reached for the videotapes. You tried not to show that in your head you constantly heard every I love you that he said to you that day. You tried to hide the pain you felt at the thought that none of it was real, and Steve had to restrain himself from admitting how empty he felt now in his bed without feeling your presence there anymore.

The day after Christmas his desired date with Stephanie took place but he didn't say a word about how it was. You, not wanting to strike a blow for yourself, didn't ask either, afraid that you might hear that he had finally found the one he was looking for so much.

"Okay dingus, time to tell what's going on." said Robin when she found him in the back room.

"What do you mean?" asked Steve biting into his sandwich.

"For weeks you didn't shut up about her now you won't even say a word about your date?" she sat down in front of him. "What happened?"

"Nothing..." he muttered.

"What do you mean nothing?"

"Nothing! I did everything just as y/n and I planned, but everything looked wrong... At the ice rink she was always three steps ahead, completely as if I wasn't there, later I wanted to take her to dinner at our restaurant but she refused claiming she had to stick to her diet so all we ate all evening was a freaking salad!" he leaned his head against the wall. "Later we went to my place, I let her choose the movie and it was a tragic decision, I thought I was going to die it was so boring! I even suggested that we should skip the movies and go outside to make a snowman and she laughed at me not to act like a 12-year-old, Jesus! I am an idiot."

"Steve, you may be an idiot but maybe not because of this." She smirked.

"Why?"

"It was a good date, just with the wrong person. You did the exact same thing with y/n and for a week you didn't stop talking to me about how much fun you had."

"Robin, are you trying to set us up again?" He knew very well that his friend was right, he knew very well that on the "test date" with you he had a much better time than on the official one with Stephanie.

"I'm just saying!" she raised her hands in a gesture that said she was giving up.

"Let's wait until Friday, if nothing happens at the party I'll give up on her." He sighed.

The New Year's Eve party at Steve's house was initially supposed to be quite modest. Quickly, however, the crowd began to grow when friends brought their friends and those friends brought others.

"What are those gloomy faces?" you asked as you and Robin approached the guys sitting on the couch. Eddie, Argyle and Jonathan were smoking a joint, and Steve sat next to them with a drink in his hand.

"Stevie is sad because this year he's going to be a loser like us and won't have his New Year's kiss." Eddie cooed teasingly.

"Shut up Eddie! You know damn well that's not what this is about." An irritated Steve got up from the couch.

"Then what is it about?" you asked.

"She's avoiding me! She only spoke to me once, saying hello!" Just as you thought once again it was about Stephanie.

Feeling the familiar sting in your heart, you decided that you would not let it ruin your mood today. Putting down your drink, you asked who wanted to dance, Eddie and Jonathan declined, but Argyle eagerly moved toward you, and together with him and Robin you went out into the middle and began to move to the rhythm and fool around. In part, you managed to forget about the situation you were in, however, you couldn't help but stare at your friend who was definitely not enjoying himself. When your gazes met, you sent a slight smile in his direction, but he immediately looked away, and you slowly lost the desire to have fun. When you wanted to get off the dance floor Argyle firmly put his arms around your waist, lifted you up and began to spin you around laughing. Hearing your squeal Steve turned his head toward you. Laughing you asked your long-haired friend to let you go. This sight unlocked a whole new feeling in Harrington. Jealousy. He had never seen any other boy in such close proximity to you since you became friends. Now he felt like standing up and snatching you from his arms. What was happening to him? Confused and angry, he decided he needed to get some air. He went out to the now where the icy air greeted him. Now that the loud music was muffled he felt like he was left alone with his thoughts. And feelings he couldn't understand. Maybe Robin was right? Maybe he was focusing on a wrong person? He began to analyze all the moments when you were alone. Every I love you that left your lips that memorable night by the fireplace sounded sincere, went straight to his heart, and he knew he would do a lot to hear it again and feel that way. Then he remembered what Vecna had said during his vision. Devastated with a broken heart, she won't even resist me. Did you really love him this way?

He didn't have time to come to any further conclusions because everyone started to go outside as midnight was approaching. When you noticed him against the wall alone still looking sad you took another step in breaking your heart. What would be the next pin poked into it?

"You won." you said walking up to him.

"What do you mean?" he asked confused.

"My plan didn't work, I'm taking all your evening shifts in January, now come on." You grabbed his hand pulling him into the middle of the crowd. You looked around making sure you were perfectly in Stephanie's sight. "Now we will try your plan. It's time to resurrect King Steve, we'll make her jealous." you said moving closer to him, and everyone around started a loud countdown.

Ten.

Nine.

Eight.

"She's looking at us." You said looking back one last time. Steve still didn't know what was going on so he stood still holding your hand.

Seven.

Six.

Five.

Four.

Three.

Two.

"Kiss me, Steve. Kiss me like you wanna be loved!" you tried to shout out to the others. As soon as your words reached him without hesitation cupped your face. He didn't realize how much he missed your taste until your lips reunited. Reciprocating the kiss, you threw your arms around his neck. Feeling this, he felt like crying from the excess of emotions he was facing at that moment. He kissed you like he wanted to be loved and you returned the kiss giving him the feeling that he really was, once again you made him feel loved like he had never felt before in his life. This beautiful moment ended as quickly as the explosion of a firework. You moved away from him And when you saw Stephanie walking towards him without a word you walked away getting lost in the crowd.

"Steve!" the girl shouted coming closer. Distracted by how quickly you disappeared he began to look around. But there was no sign of you anywhere. "Steve?"

"Yeah?" he finally looked at her.

"Why don't we go inside together and talk about our second date?" she put her hand on his shoulder.

"But-" He wanted to say he didn't have time now. He wanted to say that he had to go, yet she was quicker.

"Come on, Steve. Come on." She grabbed his hand and dragged him into the house straight to his room. Taking off her jacket she threw it on the bed. And then she walked over to him. "How about a little preview of what awaits you at our next meeting?" she combed her hand through his hair and tilted his head so that she had easy access to his neck which she began to kiss.

"Woah, hey! What are you doing?" he felt panicked, now he was sure this was not what he wanted. He was sure Stephanie wouldn't be able to make him feel the way she did with you. What's more, he couldn't believe that the hopeless trick of making you feel "jealous" worked. He knew she wasn't jealous of him. Seeing him kiss another girl made her feel jealous of how quickly he found a replacement.

"Show me if all these rumors about King Steve are true." She grabbed him by the waistband of his pants trying to undo it, but he moved away rapidly. King Steve. King Steve was dead, and despite what you said today, no one is going to resurrect him. Another girl was not interested in just Steve. For her, all that mattered was what the former version of him could offer her. That is, definitely nothing serious.

"I think you should go now, Stephanie." he said with a sigh.

"You're a fucking loser, Harrington." she said and walked out slamming the door behind her.

"I know." Steve whispered to himself. "I know."

Throughout the night Steve didn't sleep at all. For the rest of the party he tried to find you but you disappeared without a word. Noticing Stephanie walking towards him then, you concluded that you had to withdraw, and not feeling like partying any more, you returned home. Not knowing where you were or what had happened to you until the very end, he locked himself in the room and did not come out of it giving himself far too much time to think.

Hearing the rest of the crew starting to wake up as well, he went downstairs to the kitchen. From the very beginning it was established that you would all stay the night. Witnessing your absence among this group was another stab to him. Ignoring all the words directed in his direction, he began preparing cereal.

"Does anyone know what happened to y/n?" asked Nancy also reaching for the bowl. Hearing your name he froze.

"She ran away right after her New Year's kiss with Harrington." said Eddie.

"Dude, it couldn't have been that bad!" grinned Argyle causing the rest to laugh. Then a lound bang reached them.

"Shut the fuck up!" Steve yelled, slamming his fist on the countertop. "I didn't know! I didn't fucking know!" Everyone looked at each other in shock then at him. They had been through a lot together but this was probably the first time Steve had raised his voice at any of his friends.

"Steve...what didn't you know?" asked Robin slowly walking up to him. Sensing that he was a mess she didn't want to trigger him even more but no one had any idea what he was talking about.

"She was in love with me, this whole time, for a long time. And I didn't see it, didn't see that everything I needed was right under my nose! Even that damn monster knew about it, he told me during the vision, and I still didn't figure anything out!" he kept shouting waving his arms and walking around the room, overtired and irritated he felt himself on the verge of a breakdown.

"Who's in love with you?" asked Eddie trying to keep up.

"Y/n" walked over to the fireplace and sat across from him remembering every detail of one of the most beautiful nights of his life. "When she said she loved me she was telling the truth, and I foolishly thought she was just faking it so convincingly, god what have I done," he said more quietly hiding his face in his hands. No one expected that the first day of 1987 would turn out to be the day they witnessed Steve Harrington crying over a girl, not her crying over him. "She told me she loved me right fucking here and I didn't believe her, I thought she was just pretending, that it was just a temporary, one-time thing, god I'm such an idiot," he felt miserable. Realizing that everything he wanted he had so close to him, and lost it through his own stupidity was like sticking a knife in his cage and twisting it in slow motion.

"Steve, maybe there is still a chance..." Robin sat down next to him hugging him.

"Just a few hours ago she kissed you, so surely her feelings didn't just disappear." Eddie added wanting to comfort his friend in some way.

"Maybe she needed some time alone with herself? Maybe that's why she went?" asked Jonathan.

"My dudes, time for a word of wisdom, wipe away your tears my boy!" Argyle slowly rose from his seat and stood in the middle. "One of the senses I acquired with the magic purple palm tells me that we are dealing here with a very fragile thing called love." his tone was solemn, everyone waited for the next part with slight amusement on their faces. Argyle, in his colorful mismatched clothes, did not resemble the wise men described in the books one bit. "It's not easy to gain, but very easy to lose, which doesn't change the fact that it's definitely worth fighting for." He smiled broadly and reached out his hand toward Steve, whom he helped rise from the floor. "Sitting here and crying won't get you anywhere, fortunately you have great friends who will clean up the chaos while you get in the carriage and go straight to the palace of the one of your heart's choice."

"Thanks man..." said Steve wiping away tears. Feeling and seeing their support involuntarily one corner of his mouth lifted.

"But uh- Steve?" interjected Robin. "As your best friend I have to say this so don't get angry. Before you go... take the damn shower." Hearing her last words some couldn't stand it and burst into laughter.

When Steve disappeared behind the bathroom door the rest lazily took to cleaning up. The shower brought him a kind of relief, still repeating in his mind that everything was going to be fine he got dressed and went downstairs where everyone threw words of encouragement at him as well and then literally pushed him out the door saying that they would wait for him to come back here with you.

You didn't live too far away so a few minutes later he was standing outside your door ringing the bell. All the windows were blacked out, and for a moment he wondered if anyone was home at all, but fortunately after a while your mother opened it letting him in. She knew that Steve was your friend so she saw no obstacle in letting him go straight to your room without telling you that you had a visitor. You were lying on your bed staring at the snow falling outside the window. When you heard a quiet knock on the door you just shouted that it was open. Thinking it was your mother, you didn't even turn around when you heard the quiet click of the door closing. The mattress next to you bent under someone's weight so only then did you turned to look.

"Steve?" you asked surprised and raised yourself on your elbows.

"I love you." he said looking you straight in the eyes. Now you stared at him dazedly wondering if you were sure you were awake that morning. "I think I've always loved you. I thought about it all night, about every possible moment we spent together, and even then I definitely felt something more for you, but almost the end of the world we lived through made me push those feelings aside, and that was a big mistake, because I know you love me too. And we could have found out about it much earlier than my blindness. Like a moron I went on dates that were King Steve style. The truth is that none of them were interesting. I know now that I was subconsciously comparing them all to you." Trying to keep up with his words, you sat on the bed without looking away from him. "That night, at my place, when we watched those damn movies and drank too much wine... It was the best night of my life. And I want you to know that every I love you that I said then was honest. I thought at the time that my heart spoke for me and I know that you were honest too, I know because I felt it with my whole self. I felt it in your voice, in your touch, even in your presence there and I know that if you had pretended I would never have felt that way. It's all one big chaos for me y/n I feel so damn lost, but one thing I'm sure of...I love you and I want to walk through this chaos holding your hand. I want to hold you as close as I can, so I beg you for a chance. For you to forgive me all these months and let me make it all up to you."

His words hit you with such force that you felt like you were about to fall off the bed. Stunned, you watched the emotions on his face change with each passing second. Fear. Anxiety. Hope. Desperation. He was desperate to get some kind of answer from you, he deserved an answer so you quickly snapped and opened your mouth to say something but to no effect. The silence frightened him more and more with each passing moment, but he still waited patiently wiping his sweaty palms in his pants.

"I... I love you Steve." That was the only thing you managed to squeak out. It was enough for him. He didn't need anything more to quickly approach you and kiss you. Once again, a kiss was your form of conveying emotion when words were lacking. Relief. Happiness. Love.

"I know." I gasped out into your mouth. "I know you love me."

"I know you love me too. I can feel it." You smiled and this time it was you who kissed first.

taglist: @i-me-mine @phantypurple

168 notes · View notes