Flirting - Steve Harrington
╰summary: over the summer, you start flirting with your best friend's co-worker Steve Harrington, sure that he could never want you in the same way you want him. Right?
╰Warnings: mutual pining, reader and Steve being shy idiots, flirting, love confessions, heated making out, reader being described with female pronouns, no use of Y/N, set in season 3
╰word count: 3.7k (oopsie!)
It started on a seemingly random Saturday afternoon, where the heat of the sun felt like little daggers on skin. Wind gusts, if there were any, accomplished not even a fleeting moment of relief from the burning temperature currently holding Hawkins, Indiana in a chokehold.
Various people attempted to fan themselves with their bus tickets, puffing out their cheeks subconsciously to somehow keep functioning until their anticipated stop at Starcourt Mall. Loud chatter filled the vehicle, although you mostly managed to block it out by the music blaring through your walkman.
Summer break had begun just in time for the insane heat wave to wash over Hawkins. Normally, you would have met up with your best friend Robin on a lazy day like today. Maybe you would have driven to the lake to talk and sunbathe and enjoy each other's company without the pressure of society for once.
But Robin's mum had pushed her to take a job while she was still unsure about college, and naturally, given her convincing nature, she had gotten the first one she applied for; some ice cream parlor that had recently opened in the new shopping mall. So instead of meeting up with Robin at the lake, you thought it could be a relief to her if you visited the place where she would have to spend most of her summer.
The bus came to a jerky stop, the breaks squealing suspiciously before the doors opened. To your surprise, even hotter air entered the bus, and everyone hastily gathered their belongings before aiming for the door. Children yelled and stressed parents groaned before trying to catch up with them.
Packing the walkman into your bag, you flung the latter over your shoulder before heading for the doors yourself. Despite wearing a light sundress, you could feel a single sweat bead rolling down your back, and your thighs felt clammy from having sat so long.
Once inside Starcourt, an instant feeling of relief washed over you. Cool air blew into your face as you searched the mall for Scoops Ahoy. You knew Robin was there before actually spotting her; years of friendship did that to a person. A knowing grin spread across your features as you saw her interacting with some middle schoolers. Her features were telling you everything you needed to know; she seemed beyond annoyed.
''You really should be nicer to these kids, you know?'', you scolded her once the group was gone. Her eyes widened in surprise and a smile followed not a second later. ''I can't believe you're here!'', she exclaimed as she rounded the counter and pulled you in for a quick hug. ''Is it so boring without me home?'', she added. ''You couldn't imagine it if you tried,'', you rolled your eyes. ''So I thought why not visit you? I know you can't spend lots of time with me, but I have nothing better to do, anyway.''
Just as she was about to reply, a voice called her from the back of the store. ''Robin? Did you hide my hat again? Jesus, I swear to god-'', to your outmost surprise, Steve Harrington emerged from the stockroom, halting in the midst of his sentence as his eyes landed on Robin and you.
Being a year younger than Robin, you hadn't been in her and Steve's grade, but of course you knew Steve 'The Hair' Harrington. You willed your motor functions not to disappoint you and not let it show what kind of effect his mere presence had on your physiology. You knew Robin hated him, but you couldn't help but find him somehow endearing.
Robin's sigh brought you back into the moment, and for a second you thought Steve's lips were parted in surprise at seeing you. ''For the millionth time, dingus: I didn't hide it. Maybe just use your brain for once and remember where you put it.'', she crossed her arms in front of her chest and raised a single brow in annoyance.
Steve paid her no mind, eyes still fixed on you. He slowly placed his arms on the countertop and leaned against it in what he hoped was a casual way. ''And who is this stunning lady?'', he asked, grin tugging at his lips.
Heat flushed to your cheeks and suddenly you missed the burning hot from outside. ''No, no-uh, nope,'', Robin declared, taking a step between Steve and you. ''She's not a girl you can try to seduce, she's not a pawn in your game, you can't even look at her,'', she announced, arms outstretched to either side of you as if Steve was a wild animal ready to attack you.
Grin not leaving Steve's plump lips, he tried to catch a glimpse of you behind Robin's body. ''If you think I don't have a chance with her, why are you so protective?'' Color drained from Robin's face while she tried hard to maintain her stern stare. Although she was sure Steve's charm was hindered by his recent fall in popularity plus this ridiculous uniform, she knew all too well about your crush on him.
Arms falling to her sides again, she tried mustering up an answer. ''Because she's my best friend, is all,'', she muttered. ''There's nothing in our rules saying I can't flirt with your best friend.'', he countered. To your surprise, Robin mumbled something incoherently before joining Steve behind the counter, seeming even more annoyed than while dealing with eleven-year-olds.
Eyes falling on you again, Steve dampened his lips with his tongue, the corner of them pulling into a winning grin. Taking a step toward the counter, you leaned against the opposite side and raised an eyebrow expectantly. ''If I can guess your favorite flavor, can I take you out on a date?'' You could hear Robin let out an involuntary gasp at his question, but his eyes never left yours. Yours never left his, either.
Sure, there was that cocky grin, but you couldn't help but wonder whether the glint in his eyes was one of genuine hope. ''If I can guess how many girls that worked on today, do I win instead?'', you asked back. Robin let out a snort of a laugh at your reply, surely thinking this was you rejecting him.
Steve's smirk, however, did not waver. Eyes staying locked, he could see this was far from a rejection; this was flirting. His voice dropped a few octaves without it being intentional. ''And what do you get, if you win?'' Placing your elbow on the counter, you let your head rest on it and faked contemplating your answer.
''I'll have to think about that. But trust me, I'll let you know,'', you finally replied. Robin was, unfortunately, quick to catch on that this was in fact, not a rejection, so she stood wordlessly next to Steve, mouth agape and a look of utter shock on her face.
Turning your face towards your best friend and trying to maintain that confident and playful demeanor you had suddenly found, you just hoped Robin wouldn't be too hurt that you were flirting with her sworn enemy.
''I take it you know the answer to both of our questions?'', you asked her, ripping her from her silent trance. If she was genuinely hurt, she didn't show it. ''I do, yeah'' You turned back to Steve, raising an eyebrow in a teasing way.
The counter now seemed smaller than it had been before. With both Steve's and your arms being crossed on it, you were suddenly all too close to his face. ''Yoghurt,'', Steve breathed out, trying to be confident with his answer. ''Zero,'', you replied, then both turned your head towards Robin who was finally displaying a hint of a smirk again.
''It's hazelnut,'', her voice rang through the air, thick with schadenfreude. Out of the corner of your eye, you noticed Steve letting his head hang in defeat. ''And of course, zero is correct.'' Gaze focusing on Steve again, he slowly raised his head, eyes closed and brows furrowed in annoyance.
Then his brown eyes were finally focused on yours again. Without really breaking eye contact, he spooned a scoop of hazelnut ice cream into a cone and handed it to you with a lopsided smile adorning his lips. ''On the house.'', he offered, suddenly seeming shy. You hadn't known Steve Harrington could even be shy.
Taking the cone from him, your fingers slightly touched his warm ones and you willed your body not to shiver at the contact. The shyness had apparently passed on to you, because when you caught his gaze again, you were sure your mouth was agape for a second, too many thoughts running through your head to pick out what to say to him.
Your eyes were locked on the ground for a split second, before you forced yourself to look at him again. Same lopsided smile, same shy features, same kind eyes that made your insides turn warm against your better judgement.
''Yoghurt is a close second, by the way,'', you breathed out, quieter than your voice had been mere minutes ago. You could not help but notice his eyebrows raising up in hope. It seemed like both your acts of confident flirting subsided for a second, and there were simply two teenagers, standing in front of each other, trying to find the guts to tell the other they liked them. ''Really?'' You smiled then; a kind, warm one detached from your previous act of arrogance. ''Yeah.''
You found Robin's gaze next to Steve's. The look on her face could still be described as a shocked one, but you could nonetheless discern that of a supporting best friend. ''See you tomorrow, Robin,'', you smiled. ''You'll have to call me this evening!'', she demanded, and you nodded in reply.
Ready to turn away and head out the door, you could decipher Steve's voice in a whisper. ''Tomorrow, huh?'', arms crossed on the counter again, the glint of banter and flirting back in his eyes. ''Of course.'', you heard yourself saying.
Since then, weeks passed. Weeks of Robin slowly changing her mind about Steve. And then, weeks of Robin begging you to finally act upon your flirting, because C'mon please I can't stand your constant flirting anymore, just kiss and get it over with! But no, you couldn't. Sure, you enjoyed flirting with Steve.
Actually, it was your favorite part of any day.
But you couldn't. It was still Steve. You weren't sure whether he was really honestly interested in you. You had heard too much about him, had heard too many of Robin's stories (though now she was trying to get the two of you to hook up). Maybe that was the point. You weren't one to simply hook up.
You craved a relationship. One based on real connection and mutual trust, not a one night stand based on mere attraction.
So, your situation remained unchanged. You visited Scoops Ahoy several times a week, chatted with Robin, flirted with Steve, then went home and kept on contemplating your life.
A small sigh involuntarily left your mouth as you stepped onto the escalator that led up to Scoops Ahoy. The mall was buzzing with customers, as it was nearly every day. Children were running around with food smeared on their faces and teenagers were giggling in corners about crushes that were changing every day. Hand placed delicately on the handrail, you took in your surroundings and wondered whether you were wasting your time coming here.
The cool air of the ice cream parlor greeted you in a familiar way now, and you tried mustering up a smile although you did not feel it. A few children were waiting in line in front of the counter, and you immediately caught Robin's gaze. Her face practically lit up upon seeing you.
''Perfect timing! I just sent Steve to get more chocolate ice cream, could you check the storage room and help him out?'' Though she tried to imply she was stressed about the kids in line, the smile on her way screamed mischief.
You arched an eyebrow at her, but her facial expression did not falter. ''Sure,'', you dragged out the word, waiting for any kind of unusual reaction from her, before squeezing past her and through the back door.
This wasn't the first time of you helping the two of them out. You were visiting nearly every day, so you might as well aid them when the mall was particularly busy and when the sun was striking down mercilessly hot.
You pushed through the door to find Steve's tall frame searching frantically through the various freezers in the room. He turned at the sound of you entering and ruffled a hand through his hair in a stressed manner.
''Oh. Hi,'', he muttered, turning away and continuing his search. ''Hi,'', you replied. ''Robin sent me,'', you explained, kneading your hands nervously. ''Why are you so stressed? Did you run out of chocolate?'', you asked.
He turned towards you again, his face one of utter confusion. ''Chocolate? Robin told me to search for a special edition popcorn ice cream in collaboration with the cinema,'' Just as he was finishing his sentence, you could hear the lock of the door turn behind you.
You whipped around, trying the handle, but to no avail; it was locked. ''Robin, this isn't funny,'', you yelled through the thick wood of the door. ''You'll thank me one day.'', she called back, and you could year the winning smirk in her voice.
You let your forehead fall gently against the door and closed your eyes. ''Did she lock us in?''
''Why would she do that?''
You swallowed and turned to Steve. Blood was rushing to your cheeks and you felt like a vulnerable thirteen-year-old, and you hated feeling that way around him. You shrugged, crossing your arms in front of your chest, mirroring how he was standing.
He was leaning against the opposite wall, one foot propped against it, arms crossed perfectly to show his trained biceps and hair strands falling into his face.
His eyes were studying you just like yours were studying him. ''Why would she say you'll thank her one day?'', he inquired further, and there was that cocky grin again. In hindsight, it had been there the whole time, how had you missed it?
You rolled your eyes. ''I don't know, Steve.'' You pushed away from the door and started pacing the room, gnawing at your lip in concentration.
''Are you, like, not interested in me anymore?'' His voice rang quietly through the small space you were occupying. You stopped dead in your tracks and stared at him, all color draining from your face.
''What?'', was all you got your brain to come up with. Steve's cocky grin had suddenly turned to a forced, sad smile, and you could not decipher why. ''She told you, didn't she?'', you asked, heart beating against your ribcage and breath hitching.
''Yeah,'', he breathed out. You were sure you were going to have a panic attack. Sure, there were moments in which you had feared Robin had told Steve about your crush on him, but you always came to the set-in-stone conclusion that she would never betray her best friend like that.
''Oh my god,''you muttered under your breath, and began pacing the room again. ''Hey, stop. You're making me nervous as hell.'' With your breath picking up and thoughts clamoring through your brain, you did not register his voice until you felt the light touch of his hands resting on your arms and stopping you from pacing.
You slowly looked up into his eyes, and they were as kind as they always were, though laced with slight concern. ''Hey,'', he tried again, hesitation evident in his voice as he lightly rubbed your arms in trying to calm you down.
You looked away again, not being able to stand the warmth his brown eyes radiated. ''She shouldn't have told you,'', you muttered. ''Why?'' The room was silent for a moment before he spoke again. ''Because it isn't true?''
This made you whip your head around, eyes finding his and you swore you could see sadness in them. This was your chance. You could deny it all. Yes, that's right. I'm not at all crushing on you. Haven't been for the past year or so, either!
You could save yourself from the shame and social downfall of being rejected by Steve Harrington. But you couldn't do it. Because there was a part of you, albeit a very, very small part, that hoped he would feel the same way about you.
''No,'', you brought out. ''No, it's true. But I'm not who you think I am,'', you tried explaining. Steve's face was one of confusion, but he didn't interrupt you, and he seemed like he wanted to listen to you talk all day.
''I'm not the flirty, confident girl I presented myself as for all those weeks. Honestly, normally I'm shy, I don't know what's gotten into me, but I'm not as confident as I seem.''
Steve's face scrunched up into an expression you could only describe as utter adoration. ''Who is, though?'', he replied. You raised your pointer finger directly above his chest and lightly pecked him with it. ''You are,''
He took your hand into one of his and flattened it against his chest, holding it there. Your heartbeat was back to its maniac-like pace and his body involuntarily tensed under your touch. His took and released a deep breath, as if your touch physically affected him.
Steve shook his head in answer and let out a breath of a chuckle. ''Do you see what you're doing to me?'' Your eyebrows scrunched together in confusion and Steve raised his unoccupied hand and smoothed out the crease between them, making you tense as well. His hand hesitantly cupped your cheek, fingers softly cradling the back of your neck. Your head was spinning.
''I have the feeling I'm doing at least something similar to you, so could we please cut the bullshit and admit we like each other?'', he let out a shaky laugh, and you could feel his pulse hammering under his uniform. You could only imagine how fast your own was going.
''You...you like me?'' He chuckled at your question. ''I could sit here all day and tell you in perfect detail what I like about you, but I have the feeling I should at least take you out on a date first, because otherwise there is a very high probability that you'll think I'm nuts,'', he laughed again, but you could see the seriousness and hope in his eyes.
His thumb was caressing your cheek as it all came crushing down on you. This was it. He had lay himself bare in front of you. This was your moment to be brave.
At the split of a second, several things happened seemingly at once: You got on your tiptoes, raised your hand, gently grabbed the back of his neck, and pulled his face down towards yours.
His lips came down crashing down on yours and despite you having initiated the kiss, somewhy you were still surprised at the contact. Steve gasped against your mouth and it sounded suspiciously like a moan. His lips were warm and strong against yours, leading the kiss with ease.
A hunger you did not know was inherent to your body was taking full control of your motor functions. You would have been embarrassed had you not felt that same hunger in his kisses.
Your lips met again and again in heated kisses, and Steve slowly backed you against one of the walls, hand cupping the back of your head so you would not hit it against the concrete.
Steve's lips left yours to attach them to your neck, placing delicate kisses against your heated skin. Head rolling against the wall and eyes closed, you let out a moan at the sensation, goosebumps rising on your back.
You could feel Steve stilling at the sound and you ripped your eyes open in embarrassment. The familiar heat rose to your cheeks. ''Sorry,'' you muttered, and Steve groaned, before attacking your mouth with his again. ''Fuck,'', he muttered against your lips.
''Don't ever apologize for that,'', he clarified, as he snaked his strong arms around your back. Before you knew it, your feet were in the air and locking behind Steve's back. Your stomach did a loop at the feeling of being carried so effortlessly by him.
Your hands were buried in the soft locks of his hair as he gently placed you on the only table in the room. He was standing between your legs, lips never once leaving yours.
You were both way too busy making out as to have heard Robin talking to herself or the keys rattling in her hands. ''So I thought I had to make sure you haven't killed each othe- OH MY GOD,'', she exclaimed, standing helplessly in the doorway.
Steve didn't hastily pull away from you, he wasn't ashamed. One hand still cupping and caressing your cheek, he turned his head towards Robin, face contorted into an annoyed expression.
''I'm scarred for life,'', Robin continued, face motionless, and you snickered at her dramatic wording. ''You were the one to look us into this room!'', Steve exclaimed defensively. ''To share your feelings, not make babies!'', she yelled back. You clapped your hands in front of your face in embarrassment.
''We weren't'', Steve explained. Then added a teasing ''Yet.'' Robin threw her hands into the air at his comment and left to attend to impatient customers.
''That was so embarrassing,'', you whispered, arms snaking behind Steve's neck, eyes full of adoration. ''She'll get over it,'', Steve muttered, stealing another kiss and then grinning sheepishly.
''Steve, I'm serious, I need you back out here!'', you could hear Robin yell from the front of the store. Steve groaned and let his forehead lean against yours, before placing a few playful kisses on your cheeks.
You let out a giggle as he slowly staightened and reluctantly walked towards the door. Hand against the door frame, he looked back at you and a smile tugged at his lips. ''Can I take you out for dinner tonight?'', he then asked, voice somehow still shy after all that had just happened.
''Are you sure you want that?'', you teased. His eyes softened. ''I have rarely been so sure about anything, actually.'' Your heart skipped a beat. Or three. ''Of course you can.'', you replied, and he grinned before joining Robin at the counter.
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