an overheard conversation between steve and nancy weighs on you for years until you finally come clean
a/n: hi guys! this fic is very personal to me and something I’ve always wanted to explore with steve’s character. there are plenty of fics where steve and reader have their happy meal family, so I wanted to try my hand at what might happen if a reader wanted something slightly different than that. hope you all enjoy :)
cw: discussions of having children, anxiety, crying, angst w/a happy ending
-
It had been a normal day, in a normal week, in your perfectly normal life with Steve.
He had just gotten home from an away game with the Cubs, walking in looking a little worn down, sweat and traces of dugout sand on his face. He gave you a kiss and headed to the shower while you took his dinner out of the oven and put it on a plate.
Anxiety lined your actions; your breath shallow and fingers tremoring, but you tried to shove it down as much as possible. As the shower ran and Steve hummed a tune his middle schoolers undoubtedly got stuck in his head, your mind drifted back to spring 1986, in a trailer, sitting behind Steve and Nancy, pretending not to listen in on their conversation.
“Y’know, I always had this dream that I’d have six kids,” Steve murmured, quietly enough that you knew you weren’t meant to know. “Three girls, three boys, and every summer, all us Harringtons, we’d pile into a van just like this one and see the country.”
Your mouth had tilted upwards at Nancy’s incredulous “Six??” Before the weight of his words had come crashing down on you.
You didn’t know if you wanted kids at all at the time. And here was your boyfriend, confiding in his ex, that he wanted six.
The thought replayed in your mind any time things were going well between you and Steve. You hadn’t had the kid conversation yet, but you’d moved in together soon after the events of the final battle, holding on to each other as your friends went their separate ways.
You went to school and got an art degree, which ultimately became a job as the art teacher at Hawkins Middle. And Steve scored his coaching-slash-sex ed teacher gig around the same time as you. Things were going well. You two bought that house Steve had been eyeing for months. You made it a space that reflected the both of you and served as a safe haven for your friends when they passed through town; mostly holidays and long weekends now.
The further away the events of the Upside Down got, the more you allowed yourself to think about starting a family. You found yourself wanting kids with Steve, seeing him become a dad, having a mini version of the two of you. But no matter how much you tried to convince yourself, six kids never appealed to you. And so, a thin line of guilt followed you in your otherwise lovely relationship.
Insecurity followed, too: why hadn’t Steve brought up the question of kids? Of marriage? Did he still want that, but just not with you? If he wanted it, shouldn’t you set him free to go find someone that would give it to him?
The thought brings a sharp pain to your chest, and tears well in your eyes at the thought of losing Steve. Before you can control it, a sob rips through your throat and your knees buckle a bit where you stand in the kitchen.
“Baby?” Steve comes out of the bathroom, a towel around his waist and concern over his features. He crosses over to you and braces his hands on your shoulders. “Baby, what is it? What’s wrong?”
You look at him, his sweet brown eyes, the turn of his brows, and let out a whimper. He guides you over to the living room and sits you down on the couch. “Honey, please, you’re scaring me. Did something happen in class today?”
You shook your head, burying it in his bare chest. Steve wraps his arms around you instinctively. “Just tell me what’s wrong. You know we can work through anything,” he whispers.
You let out another sob before sucking in a shuddering breath, sitting up. You know you can’t let the anxiety eat at you forever, especially if you’re to the point of tears on a random weeknight like this. “I-I don’t want to have six kids,” you whisper, another sob making its way through fresh tears.
Confusion crosses Steve’s face, so you continue. “I heard what you told Nancy, a few years ago. In the trailer. About the six little nuggets and roadtrips every summer. And it sounds so nice, Steve, it really does. But… I don’t want six kids. I think I really just want one. Maybe two if the first one is good. But they’d have to be like, really good,” you chuckle through wet tears at how silly you sound, but keep rambling out of nervousness. “B-but I don’t want you to give up your dream of a big family for me. And we haven’t even talked about kids or anything and I just- I fall more in love with you every day, so I don’t want to wait another two or three or five years and then have this conversation and then break up because, I don’t think I could handle it,” you cut off to more tears, head in your hands out of embarrassment and sadness.
A few moments pass. “Oh, honey…” Steve’s voice sounds raw. “You.. you thought I’d break up with you because you don’t want a happy meal?” He chuckles, causing you to look up at him. “I’ll admit, yeah, I did want a big family. And I wouldn’t mind having a whole lot of kids now but, I love you. I didn’t tell you because I didn’t want you to feel pressured to want that too. I mean, I teach sex ed now. I know a little more about what goes into, like, pregnancy and all of that,” he chuckles again, breathy and a little awkward. “I want whatever you’re comfortable with. One kid, two kids, full time babysitting business, it doesn’t matter. I know we’ll make it work,” his smile is so easy that it makes your face crumple.
“R-really?”
“Yes, really. I just, I never want our kids, or kid, to be lonely. I want to be involved in their life, sign them up for whatever extracurriculars they want, and take them on road trips… I just want to be a package deal with them, because my parents never really were with me. Does that make sense?”
You nod shakily. “I want to do all of that, too… I just don’t want you to resent me for not giving you the family you want.”
Steve shakes his head. “You’re the family I want,” he says definitively. “Anyways, I literally teach a team of twelve boys and have three classes of 26 kids every day. I’m getting my kid cup filled.”
You giggle at that. “You promise, Stevie?”
“I promise, baby,” he leans in for a kiss. “You should’ve said something earlier. How long has this been weighing on you?”
You shrug, “A while… pretty much since the day you told Nance.”
Anguish crosses Steve’s face for a moment. “Oh, babe… like I said. You’re my family, and I’m yours. You gotta tell me this stuff when it comes up so we can figure it out, together, okay?”
You nod, a bit sheepish. “Thank you, Steve. For being so understanding. I really thought-“ fresh tears line your throat. “I really thought I was gonna lose you over this.”
“Honey, you’re stuck with me for life,” he grins, and butterflies fill your stomach at the thought.
“For life?” You smile yourself now, seeing if you can get him to crack.
“Uh-huh,” he kisses you again, longer, slower. You pull away a bit breathless “I don’t wanna give too much away but… just keep your eyes peeled over the next couple of months, yeah?”
You pull your bottom lip between your teeth as you nod, leaning in for another kiss. “You got it, honey.”
After a while, Steve stands, still just in his towel. “Should we eat?”
You chuckle. “After you get some clothes on, mister.”
He winks at you as he saunters into your bedroom to change.
The two of you spend the night cozied up on the couch before moving to the bed and falling asleep tangled in each other, ready to do it all again tomorrow. Steve presses a kiss to your forehead in the dark. “It’s always gonna be you for me,” he whispers. “Always.”
You nod, smiling and hoping it carries in your voice. “And you for me, Stevie. Always.”
I need your help. I have an idea for a story that IS NOT FANFIC RELATED. It’s a concept I’ve had in my mind for a really long time and I think now might be the time to share it.
But, I have to know if anyone on here would be interested in what I want to write?
This is where you come in: interact with this in any way if I can send you my idea for this story and let me know your thoughts. I’ll decide then if I’ll write in on here or not. Even if one person is interested, I’ll be over the moon happy.
pick up the pieces (and put me back together again) - gator tillman | masterlist
when the sheriff’s department secretary, a new girl from the twin cities, piques the interest of none other than gator tillman, an unlikely friendship forms and turns into something more. two lone stars seek comfort in each other while trying to pick up the pieces of their own lives. oh, and Gator tries to PR manage a kidnapping plot to get his sister/step-mom/nadine back for his dad.
thinking about getting your period in the beginning of your and Gator’s relationship, you don’t want to say anything because you have a feeling he would freak out and the two of your just barely made it from casual hookups to friends with benefits to a semblance of dating exclusively/a relationship. so when he texts you on a tuesday afternoon and asks you how you are, you just say “I’m okay, not feeling so great so I called off work and trying to catch up on sleep”
gator texts back a “feel better sweetheart” and continues to check in here and there throughout the day, which you find very sweet. what you’re not expecting is for him to finally use the spare key you gave him back when you were starting the “with benefits” leg of your relationship arc that night. you snap up in surprise, under two blankets and a heating pad over your stomach, as your boyfriend walks in with a bag of takeout and a surprisingly good attitude for being off of a 10 hour shift.
“thought id help my girl out, isn’t that what boyfriends are supposed to do?” he draws out the word boyfriend a little and it makes the tips of your ears warm. he pulls the containers out of the bag and brings them over to you on the couch. you sit up and pull your blankets back to make room for him, and he furrows his brow at the heating pad that you almost forgot was draped over your lower tummy.
“y’got the flu or somethin?” he asks. you sigh, not wanting to lie.
“no, i’m just on my period. it’s kinda bad the first day so I usually have to stay home until the pain dies down.”
gator blinks like he has no idea what you just said. you’re not really sure what else to say, so you take your container from him and dig in, patting the spot next to you for him to sit. he does, and you throw the blankets over his lap. he grumbles like he always does but makes no effort to push them away. after you both eat silently for a few minutes, Gator speaks up: “thought girls got all pissy before their periods,” he mumbles between bites.
you side eye him from your spot and turn the tv down. you know this is stuff he’s been force fed by his dad and the people Roy keeps around. “sometimes, yeah. other times, people can get really sad, or feel super anxious. all of these hormones in your body are changing so people can have different reactions month to month,” you try to keep your voice gentle so he doesn’t feel like he’s getting lectured.
he considers what you’ve said. “what’d’ya usually get?” he asks.
you smile a little. “usually I get sad or anxious. or both. and it can be over really little things.”
he nods like he’s filling this away for safekeeping.
then, so quiet you almost miss it, “my mom got real bad ones.”
you cover his free hand with yours, waiting. Gator never mentioned his mom. “like y’said, she’d spend a couple’a days in bed every month. dad always said ‘t was another way women were, y’know, beneath men, bein outta commission every month,” he sighed, heavy. “I just felt bad she had to go through it, I think.”
you lean your head on his shoulder. “i’m sorry she had to go through that, too.” he pressed a kiss to your head in response.
the two of you finished eating shortly after, and gator put the containers away. he came back and kicked his shoes off, cuddling up close to you on the couch, kissing your neck and relishing in your giggles as the two of you got comfy.
eventually, he whispered, “are y’hurtin from it right now?”
you nodded in the dim light. “yeah, a little.”
“where?”
“mmm.. like.. my lower tummy. right here,” you moved the heating pad and rubbed your hand over your stomach where the cramps were stinging, the skin sensitive.
under the blanket, gator moved impossibly closer and reached over until his arm covered your lower belly. heat radiated from him and into your skin, causing you to sigh as your body relaxed.
“feel good, sweetheart?” he whispers.
you crane your head to look at him. “yeah,” you nodded, reaching over to give him a sweet kiss.
the two of you stay wrapped up like that for a while, watching tv. gator whispered, “hey, next time-i mean, next month, will ya tell me when y’get it? I wanna know. i know ‘m not the best with all of this.. woman stuff but im tryin’”
you smiled, somehow snuggling even closer to him. “i will, gates. thank you.”
he kisses your temple and you lean back against him, thinking this is the first time you haven’t absolutely hated being on your period.
-
a/n: inspired by @snoopyharrington’s lovely soft!gator headcannons!!! please consider liking, reblogging, or leaving a comment if you enjoyed <3
a/n: just some gator fluff bc he’s been on my mind. something about introducing gator to the little luxuries in life and helping him slow down :’) hope you enjoy!
-
the second you got the delivery confirmation email, you threw the door to your apartment open and hauled in the box. months of saving your paychecks was about to pay off. with the closest thing to a decent latte in Lehigh being the diner cooling their drip brew in the fridge and putting it over ice, you finally decided to order yourself an espresso maker instead of making the 20 minute drive to the next town over anytime you felt like having a fancier cup of coffee.
you spent the afternoon putting the machine together and testing different pulls with the fresh bag of espresso you had bought from the one, tiny health food store in town. after a couple of tries, you nailed the perfect shot, and poured it into your favorite fancy glass cup with cute little ice cubes and topped it with a healthy serving of milk.
your first sip made you squeal with joy as the cool, smooth taste washed over your tongue. you'd nailed your usual order, and this was going to save you so much time and money moving forward.
the next day, Gator came over after a particularly exhausting overnight. you heard the spare key fumble in your lock just as the sun started peeking through your curtains before the door creaked open, Gator shutting it softly so as not to wake you. you smiled at the sentiment and shuffled over to make room for him in the bed. you heard him kick off his boots and shed his tactical gear before he padded his way to your room, gently pulling the covers back and laying behind you, wrapping his arm around your middle and pulling the two of you together.
a big sigh left his mouth as you felt his body melt into yours, allowing himself to relax for the first time in however many hours. you stretched in his hold, smiling and letting out a soft sound of content. "mm, mornin', Gator," you mumbled, turning to face him. his eyes were tracking over your face, an easy grin on his features.
"mornin' sweet girl," he said, leaning forward to kiss you.
"how was your shift?" you asked, snuggling into his chest.
"good, 'm dead tired, though."
you hummed again. "hey, you wanna try a latte from my new coffee maker? on the house," you teased, poking his chest lightly.
he huffed. "don't understand why ya spent so much money on that thing when y'can just make a pot of the stuff for two dollars."
you rolled your eyes, leaning up to peck a kiss to his cheek. "well, why don't you let me make you one and then you can decide for yourself?"
"fine. only 'cause you're usin' your charm to seduce me into sayin' yes."
"whatever you say, gator," you relent, your cheeks starting to ache a little at the smile that hadn't left your face since Gator climbed into bed, wiggling out of his hold despite his efforts to keep you in bed and padding into the kitchen, pulling out your supplies and two mugs.
as you got to work, gator followed you and stood against the entryway to your kitchen. "what's all that yer doin? thought makin' coffee was just puttin' a filter in and hitting 'brew'."
you beckoned him over to you and he stepped closer, wrapping his arms around your middle and resting his chin on your shoulder, moving with you as you explained the steps.
he watched as you measured out the beans, ground them, tamped them into the puck and hit brew, then as you poured the milk into your carafe and turned on the steam wand, turning it off once it reached the perfect airy, warm consistency. finally, you poured the milk over the shots of espresso into your two respective cups and handed him one.
he eyes it like it might jump out of the cup and bite him, which makes you giggle. "it's just a coffee, gates," you say, taking a sip. "see? not gonna hurt to try something new."
he relents, taking a comically small sip. you hold back a laugh at the way his eyes widen, knowing if you draw too much attention to him, he'll retreat back into the shell he's built over the years. he takes another sip, bigger this time. "that's.. that's really good, sweetheart," he whispers. "might have to stop here every mornin."
you smile, suddenly bashful at his praise, cheeks warm. "you know you're welcome anytime, gator."
-
the next day, you wake up to the crisp smell of coffee and soft sound of your espresso machine brewing. your eyes snap open at the thought of someone in your house, brows furrowing in confusion as to why a burglar would make themselves a cup of coffee before heading out with your things. you stumble out of bed and creep towards the bedroom door, peaking out of the crack.
to your surprise, you see gator's vest hanging off the back of your couch. breathing a sigh of relief, you pad out of the room, squinting against the bright morning light. gator turns from his spot in the kitchen, two mugs in his hand. your mouth drops open as you take yours from him.
"gator.. what's all this?"
he shrugs, tips of his ears turning pink. "after I went home yesterday, I uh... might've watched some YouTube videos on how to work these things. wanted to do somethin' nice for ya," his voice is uncharacteristically soft.
you smile, drawing the mug to your lips to take a sip. "gator..." you start.
"what? does it suck? god, I knew I shouldn't'a jumped the gun, fuckin' fancy machine n' all-" you cut off his rambling.
"gator, it's delicious!" you giggle. "I'm seriously impressed at how good this is. thank you for doing this for me, babe," you lean up and press a kiss to his jaw. he wraps his free arm around your waist and leans down to kiss you properly.
"y'mean it, honey?"
you nod. "of course I do. love you, gates."
a cautious smile works its way across his lips. "love ya too. wanna watch the news?"
you giggle at the simplicity of the question, how lucky you feel to have this little corner of Lehigh without the town's eyes prying in on the two of you and reporting back to roy. just the two of you, some surprisingly good lattes, and the morning news.
life with steve post season 5 looks a little like💭
- buying that house in forest hills and moving in together, feeling like the fresh start both of you wanted is finally within reach. spending your weeknights and weekends decorating and rearranging furniture, radio droning in the background as steve pulls you away from your project every now and again to sweep you into a dance and a sweet kiss
- working together at Hawkins middle, you as the art teacher and steve in his head coach/health teacher gig. the two of you drive to and from work together and eat lunch together in the teachers’ lounge when your breaks overlap. you get some eye rolls and whispers about how you’re attached at the hip, but after what you’ve been through together, neither of you pay it any mind
- you’re usually caught up in grading or room cleanup and have to stay past when Steve’s finished up with his admin work, so he swings by your classroom after he’s wrapped up. You’re usually sitting at a desk in the back grading projects or wiping paint off of the chairs and he dotes over the lesson plan, the artworks lining your shelves. Saying things like, “you taught em how to make this, baby? You’re such a great teacher.” And making your stomach flip with butterflies.
- Nancy, Jonathan, and Robin come stay at your house any time they’re free. Sometimes it’s just one person, other times all three of them stop by and it feels like old times again. You and steve pull the mattresses into the living room and all of you eat too much pizza and drink too much wine before falling asleep together, hearts full and minds a little fuzzy. you all wake up with raging hangovers the next day, of course, and make a groggy drive to the diner for the cure.
- once a year, Steve and Dustin disappear off to the woods somewhere for a weekend. you invite Nancy to come stay with you in the meantime, and the two of you spend your time reminiscing on the good old days, not quite believing where everyone ended up. She gives you a sneak peek into the articles she’s working on and you show her your most recent art project — half finished and no end date in sight, but it feels good to unveil it to your best friend. at the end of the weekend, you and Steve reunite and swap stories, highlighting how grateful you are to be able to take care of the people you love most.
- cooking dinner together on the weekends anytime the weather’s nice and eating it in the backyard, watching the sunset and talking about all of the things you want to do someday: going to see the Grand Canyon, saving up to buy a new Beamer, and taking the party on a road trip for Steve; visiting the east coast, finishing an art project, and getting a puppy for you. “Y’know,” Steve mumbles eventually, tracing patterns over the back of your hand as he eyes your ring finger, “there’s.. something else I wanna do, with you, someday. Or, more, ask you to do with me.” You smile and lean in and kiss him, sweet and slow, mumbling how you know your answer and are just waiting for the question, which makes his ears go pink as he leans in for another kiss.
- it’s late nights at the town drive-in, recreating your first date whenever it feels like time is passing too quickly. it’s swims at lover’s lake and dinner with the byers and driving aimlessly through the cornfields whenever the mood strikes you. It’s talking about marriage, about children, about picking up and starting a new life somewhere states away; hearts giddy at the thoughts of your life stretching into forever together. snuggled in bed, lights off, voices hushed as if the two of you are still nervous about jinxing it after all this time. It’s full of laughter and joy and hope, and everything you and Steve wanted it to be <3
-
a/n: this was inspired by this lovely piece @honorschem put out that made my brain go feral in the loveliest way!! Domestic post-season 5 Steve has my entire heart
you and steve aren’t on the best terms this week. what happens when you get attacked in the upside down?
a/n: this just like came out of me today! My contribution to “reader gets hurt in the upside down” trope, hope you all enjoy <3 requests are open for blurbs, headcannons, or thoughts about Steve, Gator, or Keys :)
cw: descriptions of pain, injuries, blood, some violence. arguing, angst. happy ending bc this is bells-bookshelf, hurt/comfort
The upside down stretches around you, thunder rolls and red lightning paints the sky over and over again in the distance. You don’t really know how long you’ve been walking, but the center of the storm never seems to draw closer.
Nancy and Robin walk up ahead of you, while Steve and Eddie clamber to avoid the vines behind, talking about… Ozzy Osborn? You shake your head. Every now and again you see Nancy and Robin turn around and glance at Steve. You can tell they’re worried about the two of you. You’re not sure what’s going on between Steve and Nancy this week. You weren’t the type to feel insecure over exes or friendships or any of that, but it felt like Steve was brushing you off to the side.
When you said as much after he tried to ditch you and the kids to join Nancy and Robin at the library, his defensiveness had startled you.
-
“So what if I wanna make sure Nance is being careful?” his tone was sharp.
“Steve, she said she could handle it. Did you forget that she went toe to toe with a giant meaty blob last year and won?”
“That was because of El and you know it,” he pointed a finger at you and you felt your chest crumple in at the action. You try to give him an olive branch
“It just— I’m probably being stupid, and I know this isn’t why, but it feels like seeing her again has brought up all of these.. unresolved feelings for you. I just, I guess I need reassurance that’s not the case here,” you sigh out. Hopeful that this will absolve whatever miscommunication has settled into your relationship.
Your stomach drops when Steve’s face screws up instead. “Oh, so that’s what this is, huh? You dont trust me.”
Your mouth falls open. “What?! Steve, no, I told you it’s probably just me-“
He cuts you off. “No, you know what? For once I don’t want to have to be the babysitter. If you can’t work through this yourself, maybe we should just take a break from all of this.”
Your heart cracks. “You don’t mean that,” you whisper.
Steve scoffs. “Maybe I do. Maybe I don’t want another person to take care of right now.”
Your lower lip shakes as tears threaten to spill over. “Fine,” your voice cracks as you walk past him and out of the Wheelers’ basement.
-
When deciding who would be going out to lovers lake to investigate the gate, Steve had pushed for you not to go. It was Robin who called him out on his behavior when he finally relented.
Still, seeing him get pulled under the water, his expression shifting from confused, worried, and finally to fully terrified made your stomach turn. You dove in after him without a second thought, and when you came out of the gate to see him getting torn apart by those bats, you almost lost it.
After you had all somehow gotten rid of the brood guarding the gate, Steve rounded on you so fast you stumbled back into Eddie, the other boy steadying you with his hands on your shoulders. “What the hell were you thinking following me down here?” He seethed.
“Steve, what is your problem? I’m your girlfriend and I was worried about you! Or did you forget that?” You scoffed.
He shakes his head, panting from the exertion of fighting off the bats still. “It was a stupid idea. You could’ve gotten hurt.”
You roll your eyes. “Yeah and you could’ve been eaten alive!”
He opens his mouth to retaliate, but you’re both cut off by Robin pointing out the swarm of bats heading your way. Which leads you to now, you walking alone between the group. You think you see skull rock in the distance and breathe a sigh of relief, picking up your pace to hopefully get this over with faster.
You hear his voice call your name before you feel the sting of sharp needles in your leg, it giving under you instantly as you cry out, splayed face first across the forest ground. You thrash against the force, throwing your elbows back until you hear a squeal and it relents for a moment, allowing you to flip yourself over. You see it hover above you before it dives back in, biting the flesh of your thigh. You scream out as you try to pry it off of you.
“Steve!”
You feel a pair of arms under your shoulders and hear Nancy next to your ear. “You’re gonna want to close your eyes.” You do as she says. You hear Steve grunt, an object hit the bat as it squeals again, and feel your flesh tear out of your body as the creature’s sent flying in the other direction.
Your scream echos across the trees, your entire leg is on fire, and panic sets in as you look up at Nancy, eyes wide. She opens her mouth to say something but Steve rushes in before she can get the words out.
“There’s gotta be more coming, we have to get to skull rock.” His eyes rake over you, grimacing as he assesses your leg. Nancy steps back and stands.
“I.. won’t be able to walk,” you manage through gritted teeth.
“Yeah, I figured as much, honey. Hold still, okay?” The bitterness from earlier is missing from his tone, but when you look at him, his face is still set with hardness at the edges. Still, you nod as best as you can, looping an arm around his shoulders as he gently picks you up in a bridal carry. You whimper as your leg is jostled but bite your cheek to stop yourself from crying.
Steve starts walking, careful not to trip any vines. Eventually, Skull Rock comes into view. You feel your vision blurring at the edges as you try not to think about how much blood you’ve lost. Your head lolls, falling against Steve’s shoulder as you huff.
“Hey, hey, stay with me honey. You hear me? No passin’ out!” A sharp blade of fear works its way through you at his voice. If Steve is scared, what chance do you really have? You feel tears streaking down your cheeks, unable to control them anymore.
“Quick, get her under here,” you hear Robin’s voice at the edge of your consciousness. Shuffling, and then you’re being set down under the formation. You see Steve’s face above yours, eyes wild. Nancy kneels next to your leg, makeshift tourniquet in hand. You look over at her and shake your head, eyes wide. “N-no,” you mumble out. Steve clears your hair out of your face, turning your head towards his. “Hey, hey, she’s gonna have to, babe. You’re—“ he braces himself. “You’re losing a lot of blood.”
You look at him, blinking slowly before closing your eyes and nodding, hand fisting into the bottom of your jacket. You feel Nancy wrap the tourniquet around your leg and squeeze your eyes tighter. You feel Steve’s hand take your own away from the end of your jacket and squeeze gently. Nancy counts to three and yanks the tourniquet secure. You cry out, but it comes out as more of a whimper from the exhaustion. Instinctively, your body curls towards Steve’s, cheek brushing against the coarse hair on his chest. His arm comes up behind your back instantly, trying his best to soothe you. Your breaths are short, gasping, but the dizziness has stopped. Nancy sighs. “Okay. That should hold until we can get you back to Steve’s. But we should get going, and fast.”
Steve nods and hauls you up into his arms again. The weight of everything starts hitting you as you start to cry softly against him. Steve ducks his head a little so you’ll hear his lilting voice. “Shh, you’re okay. You’re gonna be okay.” Repeated over and over like a prayer.
You look at him, his face streaked with dirt, the angry ring of welts around his neck, hair wild. “‘M sorry, Steve,” you whisper. His brows furrow, confused. “Sorry I had to become another person you have to take care of,” you whisper. His face crumples with regret. “Oh honey…” his voice is wrecked. “I was being an idiot.”
Your eyes droop, heavy with exhaustion and emotion. “Talk ‘bout it later, kay?” You manage to slur, giving into sleep. You feel a kiss on your temple as you fade into unconsciousness in his arms.
-
You don’t remember how you got back to the Steve’s house as you blink yourself awake in his bed. You’re in an old pair of gym shorts, near bandages wrapping around your thigh. You grab the water sitting on the nightstand and finish it off in a few seconds. The door creaks open gently and Steve walks in. His face brightens when he sees you. “You’re awake, thank god,” he sighs, sitting next to you on the plush mattress. You nod slowly, not having the energy to talk yet.
“Listen, honey, I was an idiot the other day for saying that stuff to you; for being so mean to you. You didn’t deserve that. There’s nothing going on between Nance and I, I swear. I just— we’ve all been through so much shit over the past few years. I just fucked up, when I said I should go with them, okay? I’m sorry.”
You shake your head. “It’s not that I don’t trust you, Steve. I think it’s just.. hard because she was your first love. You don’t forget that bond easily, and then she’s also been through all of this crazy upside down stuff with you. And she’s smart and pretty and…” you scoff at yourself. “It just caught up to me. Because you—you’re my first love, so I guess I got a little insecure and then hurt when you didn’t reassure me right away.”
Steve leans closer to you, tucking you under his arm. You go willingly, cuddling into his chest. “Nance.. she taught me a lot. About myself. But, at the end of the day, we didn’t work as a couple. And you know what?” You look up at him. “I’m glad for that. Yeah, it sucked when it all went down but I’m glad it didn’t work out because otherwise, we never would’ve started talking that night we were helping Dustin and Lucas and Max at the junkyard. Or if we had, I would’ve been a dick. And I never would’ve fallen in love with the best girl I know,” he whispers, pressing a kiss to your head.
You sniffle, wiping at your tears. “I love you Stevie, I’m sorry you have so much on your plate.”
He shakes his head. “Like I said, I shouldn’t have said that. This group of people.. looking after everyone, it gives me a purpose. I’m thankful for it, even if it drives me a little crazy sometimes.”
You chuckle softly. “You’re allowed to admit that we drive you crazy. I know what we’re capable of.”
He laughs but shakes his head. “Not you, sweetheart. Never. When that bat attacked you and you were bleeding out.. you looked so scared and in pain, and it scared me. I don’t wanna lose you, and with that fight it felt pretty damn close,” his voice is thick with tears. You reach up to wipe a stray one off of his cheek before leaning in to kiss him. He tenses for a moment before melting into you, wrapping you even closer in his arms.
“I’m not going anywhere Steve. We’re good, yeah? Just… next time, take a minute if you need it, and talk to me about what’s on your mind, okay?”
He nods. “Anything for you, honey. I love you.”
“I love you too, Steve.”
The two of you stay curled against each other for a long while before dozing off again. Reassured that the love between you two is messy, and imperfect, but impossibly strong.
i think you’re what’s wrong with me - steve harrington
summary: you’ve struggled with chronic illness for as long as you can remember. since meeting steve, you’ve had someone to weather the worst of it with you. lately you’re having symptoms that you haven’t before: headaches, nosebleeds, nightmares. as your underlying guilt catches up to you, bodies start dropping across hawkins. can Steve and the party save you before it’s too late?
a steve harrington x reader miniseries set in season 4
a/n: I’ve been cooking up this idea for a minute now. It was initially going to be a super long oneshot, but I think a mini series might be more fitting!
disclaimer: this series does not intend to glamorize or romanticize any chronic illness, specifically chronic illness related to pcos, endometriosis, or other female reproductive illnesses. the reader’s symptoms and struggles are based off of my own and people in my life who have gone through similar. please take care while reading <3
cw: descriptions of PMS/PMOS/PCOS symptoms, discussions of periods, discussions of sex, angst, hurt/comfort, established relationship
