Matchmaker
Fandom: Stranger Things
Pairing: Steve Harrington x Reader
Requested: @partylikeits1899
“Okay okay okay so I saw your post about writing for other fandoms and I have a Steve request (from Stranger things) okay so like Steve has a crush on the reader and the reader has a crush on Steve and they’re too shy to admit it so Dustin and/or Jonathan tries to set them up and stuff and yeah I just love my boy”
A/N: This is my first time writing anything stranger things so i really hope i did this right and it’s not complete shit + I love my boi too and I loved writing this!! I’m not dead and i have risen from my seemingly eternal slumber of writer’s block!! Wow!! + Steve isn’t dating Nancy (and never did) in this fic just a heads up
A/A/N: This is season 2 Steve btw (If you haven’t watched season 2 yet then there might be some spoilers alright?) Alright let’s go.
Warnings: Swearing??
Words: 2432
“Do you wanna kill a monster with us?”
Steve Harrington was at your doorstep, iconic baseball bat in hand, asking you to go monster hunting.
Totally Normal.
“Are you kidding me?” Was your first response. Ever since you wound up at the Byers place on that fateful night of the demogorgon, you haven’t been able to go outside alone since. The way the lights flickered still sent you goosebumps, and the thought of seeing another monster didn’t make you think twice about your answer: No
Steve just pouted at you, in attempt of trying to persuade you to go with him and- Dustin, who appeared to be waiting in his car.
“C’mon Y/N, monster hunting is fun!” The brunette pushed, waving his nail-spiked bat slowly, inches from your face. You shook your head No again, only to be frowned at before getting dragged into his car.
“Steve! No!” You protested, giggling as he tickled you while attempting to carry you with his free arm into the back seat. He smirked, amused at how squirmish you were, then dropped his bat and targeted at your sides. Steve laughed at how you tried to dodge his incoming fingers; Smile, ever growing on your face; the corners of your eyes, crinkling with joy.
Steve would never admit it, but his heart had been pining for you for quite a while now. There was something about you that made him feel different. It was sometimes warm and fuzzy- like now; and sometimes it’d be hot, heavy and burning. He wouldn’t normally get these feelings when he went out with girls like Becky- or Amy. Something about you made you different from all the other girls- the only problem was, Steve couldn’t exactly pinpoint what.
Now, you had a crush on the brunette as well. He had quite the reputation and Hawkin’s High and you knew all about it. But you saw kindness in him no one has seen before. The way he’d stood up for Nancy when his so called “friends” mocked her- or the way he helped clean up the graffiti they left on the theater- To you, Steve Harrington was more that just a jock with good hair. Steve Harrington had a heart. Something you thought was impossible until he started hanging out with you.
You were now on your knees, curled up in a ball of defense as Steve’s fingers attacked your sides.
“Steve! Ah! Stop! I-can’t breathe!” You say between fits of laughter. The boy only addresses you with a smirk before going “Only if you come monster hunting!”
You nodded quickly, sighing in relief as his hands backed away, looking up to see him looking down at you with a smug smirk on his face.
“Wipe that smirk off before I whack it off your face, Harrington.”
The brunette only brought his face daringly closer to yours, smirk still evident on his face.
“Make me.” He taunted.
You raised an eyebrow, opening your mouth for a comeback before Dustin honked the car horn and eyed you two with a look of unamusement.
“Stop flirting shitheads, and let’s just kill this monster!” He complained, honking the car horn once more.
Steve and you blushed slightly before you both hopped in the vehicle, revving off to go kill whatever the two boys had planned.
Dustin was no love expert, but he knew you and Steve had this connection in a heartbeat.
Well, to be fair- anyone who had a brain could figure out at least one of you had something going on for the other. The little glances they’d take at the other when they thought no one was looking; or the how the hugs between the two of them were always a split second longer than they needed to be.
Maybe Dustin was some sort of love expert- at least he thought he was. He could tell if one liked another. He could also tell that you and Steve were hopeless without a “little push”.
So that’s why the curly haired little boy, had a brilliant idea- and decided to play matchmaker.
It started off as subtle actions: Making sure you and Steve were paired up when checking out his “pet” in the cellar was the first.
Dustin knew you had quite the phobia of all things- well.. Monster, So putting you down the cellar with Steve, was a must.
Now Dustin has had his fair share of romcoms and horrors, and if there’s one thing he knew about girls and horror, was that the girl would always cling to the guy if they were scared. (Well, that’s what he noticed anyways) And that’s what Dustin was aiming to do. Get you scared. -for matchmaking purposes of course.
“See anything down there guys?” he called, waiting for a response. When he didn’t get one, the curly locked boy peered down into the cellar, only to be met with a blinding light coming from the flashlight you were holding, and an unamused frown from Steve, who happened to be carrying some sort of skin.
“We found your pet’s- whatever this is.” You informed Dustin as you climbed up the stairs to meet him on the surface. “I think it’s skin or some shit- I don’t know.”
Steve followed behind you, bat in hand and handed Dustin the piece of skin his monster, apparently named Dart, had managed to shed off.
“Now what?”
“We find the stupid thing, obviously.”
Subtle actions did not work. You and Steve needed a bigger push than that.
So, when you had decided to play bench for a day, Dustin took this as his opportunity to get Steve to open up about you - or, girls at least.
The two of them were walking alongside the tracks of a railway by the forest, throwing scraps of meat in attempt to lure Dart, when Dustin stated his “Problem”.
He’d pretend he needed girl advice (to be honest, he did) and he was hoping the conversation topic of you would somehow come into play.
“The key to girls is acting like you don’t care.” Steve explained when Dustin had brought up his topic.
“Even if you do?” He had replied, throwing another piece of meat behind him, before turning back at the brunette. Steve nodded and told Dustin that “It drives them nuts”, which was a really shitty piece of advice, but Dustin took it anyway.
“Then what?”
Steve sighed, before going “You just wait, until you feel it.”
He threw down another piece of meat, wrinkling his nose in disgust, then explaining that Dustin needed to feel this sort of “electricity”.
“When you feel the electricity, that’s when you make your move.”
Who was Steve kidding when he told Dustin that.
Steve always felt electricity whenever he was around you. The mere action of brushing hands against each others brought sparks up his arm. How soft your hands were made him want to hold them- not just that that though, he wanted to not only hold them, but wanted to know that they were his to hold; that you were his.
And what did he do about it?
Absolutely nothing.
He didn’t make a move, fuck- he didn’t even address these feelings. Steve made it look like he genuinely didn’t care. But he did. He cared so much about you- the way he talked to you, how he acted around you- Steve even started to get a little bit self-conscious when that Billy boy came to town. He didn’t want Billy to take you away from him. He didn’t want to lose you to some sort of buff asshole- but yet, he did nothing. He did absolutely fucking nothing.
“Steve? Steve!”
Steve’s thoughts were interrupted by the whining of his curly haired companion, and he turned around to face him.
“What?”
“After I feel the electricity- is that when I kiss her?”
“No-no woah, slow down Romeo… you see- some girls want you to be aggressive…strong, hot and heavy- like a lion.” Steve began, throwing another scrap behind him. “But with others, you got to be slow.. Stealthy. Like a ninja.”
“What type is Y/N?”
Steve stopped in his tracks and felt the heat rise up to his cheeks. He was most definitely blushing now.
“She’s- she’s different.” He answered.
Dustin could see the blush spreading on the brunette’s face and gave him a knowing grin. His plan was working.
“In what way?”
“What?”
“In what way is she different? What makes her so special from all the other girls?” Dustin asked curiously.
Steve fell silent. He knew damn well what made you special: Everything. None of the girls made him smile more than you did. None of the girls made his knees weak, or his heart pound- none of the girls were you.
“She- she well… she-” The brunette fumbled with his words, wanting to just vent out everything he loved about you- but he wasn’t ‘supposed to care’. Dustin only stared at him with a raised eyebrow, waiting for a response from his so called ‘mentor’.
“You love her don’t you.” Dustin said quietly, grin suddenly spreading on his face when he realized how truly quiet Steve had become.
“You love her!” He repeated again, this time louder and filled with more energy. “You love Y/N and you’re too shy to tell her and you’re just trying to cover up your feelings by being this cool dude who supposedly doesn’t care!”
“Hey- hey! Shut up will you?” Steve complained, afraid that you might hear, even though your house was practically miles from where they were. Dustin’s grin only grew wider as he noticed Steve’s change of attitude.
“You didn’t deny it.” Dustin pointed out, before throwing another scrap on the ground. His gaze was focused on Steve’s expression of realization and he smiled before going “She loves you too.”
“How are you supposed to know?” Steve complained, setting down his now empty bucket and pulling off his rubber gloves. “It’s not like she told you.”
Dustin did the same, fixing his cap in the process. “I’ve been to Mike Wheeler’s house, Steve. You know Nancy Wheeler and Y/N are good friends right?”
Steve only gave the boy a look of confusion. “What does that have to do with her being in love with me?”
“I can hear their conversations from the basement.”
“Nance, I’m telling you. He’s not as much as an asshole as you think! He’s so nice! His hair looks so soft! He looks so good in that jacket!” Dustin mimicked you, smirking at Steve’s reaction.
“She thinks I look good in this jacket?” Steve said to himself, smirking slightly at the thought of you swooning over him. “Well, shit- if she really said that, I should wear this jacket more often.”
Dustin gave him a toothy grin before nodding. “Uh huh. You know what she’d like more though?”
“What?”
“If you were to ask her out, dipshit.”
The brunette scoffed, then shot Dustin a look. “I didn’t know you were playing matchmaker now, Henderson.”
“Been playing matchmaker ever since you invited Y/N to this little escapade we’ve been going on.”
“And why is that?”
“It’s annoying seeing you two do all this couple shit together- yet still not be a couple.” The little boy stated. “And that Billy dude? He could steal your girl in a second.”
“Hey-wait.. How do you know about Billy?”
“Doesn’t matter. Now get your ass to it and ask Y/N out!”
Steve didn’t know how, or why he was following a kid’s advice, but he did it anyway. Dustin had a point- Steve did love Y/N. He could never bear to see her with someone else.
Besides, if he told her how he really felt, what did he have to lose?
It was now dark. The quiet little street you house resided in was empty, you being the only person in there. The lights were dim, and you were sprawled out on the couch, bowl of popcorn in hand, watching your favorite movie for the billionth time. As you lay down, heavily invested in the current scene, you were interrupted by a loud rapping at the door.
Groaning, you lazily got off the couch, bowl of popcorn still in hand. “Coming!”
You reached the doorknob and opened in up to see a nervous Steve, running his hand through his hair.
“Harrington? Here to ask me to go monster hunting again?” You teased, taking a handful of popcorn then popping it in your mouth.
“Uh.. no- I actually came to tell you something else..” Steve said, his sentence trailing off at the end.
“Mm- Then what are you doing inside, come on in. You can tell me while we’re watching the movie.” You invited, bowl of popcorn in one hand, the other grabbing at Steve’s wrist while dragging him over to the couch.
The brunette only sighed before stopping in his tracks, making you do the same.
“Y/N- this is kinda important…”
“Hey- Steve you alright?” Your brows furrowed with concern as you turned to face him. “Tell me what’s on your mind.”
He sighed, mumbling incoherently, bringing his head down, gaze down focused on the patterns on your wood floor.
“Steve- hey, what’s wrong?”
“Nothing’s wrong Y/N- it’s just.. I-”
You waited in anticipation, bringing the bowl of popcorn down, setting it on a nearby table. Your hand reached for his, holding it, in an attempt of helping him calm down. The brunette’s head shot up, gaze averting from the floor, now trained on you.
“You can tell me anything.” You smiled.
Without warning, his lips landed on yours. Your eyes fluttered closed and you found yourself kissing back. His lips tasted faintly of Coca Cola, and you felt him smile into the kiss. His hands were down at your waist and you found yours in his oh-so-soft hair.
Pulling back, you looked up at him, seeing he had a wide grin, similar to yours, spread across his face.
Your hand had slipped back into his, his smile widening at the mere action. His fingers curled around yours, gripping them softly- but still tight enough to give him reassurance that you wouldn’t go. You could feel the calluses on his fingers, and sighed happily to yourself knowing that his hand was yours to hold.
“So… You think I look good in this jacket?” the brunette smirked, breaking the comfortable silence that had occurred a few seconds before.
“Oh shut up and kiss me again, Harrington.”
“Will do.”