#steve harrington x eddie munson
promise me nothing.
pairings.steve harrington x fem!reader
about. steve and you cross paths, only for him to out find some bad news about you.
warnings.foul language, s4 spoilers sorta
ricky rocks. anotha one also part two or nah?
“long time, no see, harrington,” you nod as you pass him before looking up and unintentionally connecting eyes with five other people at once. “and kids…”
you nod again in acknowledgement, getting a good look before making a move to walk away from the car they were all huddled around, but steve grabs your arm, “hey, what’s going on?”
“i don’t know what you mean.”
he rolls his eyes, still holding your bicep firmly. he tips his head toward the swarm of law enforcement in the front of a house before raising a brow, “you’re telling me this is nothing?”
“just about.”
“y/n.”
“what?”
“i think we need to talk.”
you and steve go back; way back since pre-school days, and although neither of you were ever truly close, there was a mutual understanding that you both had each other’s backs.
you both came from similar backgrounds; life set up since day one, given nice cars, lived in nice houses, and grew up in the hawkins country club aspect for loser adults trying to relive high school popularity by flaunting money.
and you were only tied more together by the strange and abnormal encounters and fights for life against the sci-fi creatures that had no faces and were cover in head to toe with slime—that eventually turned into something way bigger than the mind could fathom.
ever since the mall fire during the summer after senior year, you hadn’t seen steve or any of his nerd posse—till now.
you almost thought you were seeing things, but then again, you should have guessed that when anything remotely strange or out of the normal happened in hawkins, they’d always turn up, immediately on the case.
just never this fast.
“i think i’m dying.”
“what?”
you stood in front of steve, nancy, robin, and three of his freshman friends. their presence made you suddenly anxious and you couldn’t help but begin to talk out of your ass as you slightly paced back and forth in your parents living room.
how steve coaxed you into talking to them—you weren’t sure—but it didn’t take long and it seemed you were almost more than willing to allow them into your home by the way you so easily opened your front door and offered snacks and refreshments.
yep, you were definitely dying.
they watched you with sudden concerned and confused looks, not knowing what to say and not expecting you to throw them this type of curve ball.
“brandon,” you mumbled, your hands shaking out in front of you. “jesus, i can’t even think straight…” you place your hand on your forehead, thinking over whether or not you should ever be speaking right then. “he’s dead.”
“who’s brandon?” dustin glances around to everyone but you, afraid to make eye contact almost.
“her boyfriend,” steve whispers, speaking as if you can’t hear them. and you almost couldn’t.
“i can’t even-i don’t even know-“
“hey, hey,” steve stops you in your tracks of speaking, sitting up from the chair he previously sat in. “you don’t have to say anything right now, just breathe. sit down.”
steve liked you, a lot. like, since day one, even as kids, he couldn’t get you out of his mind.
there was just something about you. you had a good head on your shoulders, you knew what you wanted, you didn’t let anything or anyone knock you off your feet, and you didn’t need anyone to save you. he hated that fact—the fact that you didn’t need him and he hated that sometimes it seemed you weren’t anything more than acquaintance.
“sit down,” he pulled you by the arm till you were close enough for him to place a hand on your waist, carefully guiding you to the chair he was previously in, giving you a soft look. “just breathe for a moment, alright?”
everyone glanced to each other at the gesture, almost not believing it. they looked to steve now where he stood in your place, his hand stroking his chin in thought, “i think it’s time we call in your pal eddie.”
**
it seemed you were in and out of sensibility as you thought over the past 24 hours, not believing it was real. you felt crazy, not being able to keep a stable thought in your head for more than a minute before turning into an emotional mess.
steve knew you weren’t in your right mind, especially after you let eddie into your home without a second thought. he didn’t think you even processed that moment or even realized what you were doing until—
“who are you?”
something you asked twenty minutes after he had been in your home.
“i’m eddie.”
“i think i know you.”
“well i hope so since we’ve been in school together since middle school before you graduated.”
“right,” you narrowed your brows, but didn’t say anything else, not knowing what to even make of him.
you knew eddie, but he was never someone you had ever talked to or had any interactions with. you didn’t care for him; you found him obnoxious and practically repulsing when you were still in school together—but right now, by the way he was looking at you—you didn’t mind him at all.
his expression was soft and full of sympathy, like he understood what was going through your mind and why you seemed so…bipolar in emotions.
“y/n, eddie’s here to talk.”
“why?”
“because what happened to you, is exactly what happened to him.”
you still had narrowed brows as you stared at him, not knowing what to say. there was a small proportion of recognition that struck you when you stared at eddie, not nearly enough for you to trust him, nor enough for you to spill your guts out to him about how your boyfriend was practically castrated right in front of your eyes.
“you’re afraid?”
you slowly nodded your head, eyes wide, not understanding the willingness that has suddenly taken over you, “yes.”
he nods and you feel the need to continue to explain yourself.
“i can’t get that image out of my head. god, i don’t even know if it was…”
“real?”
“yeah.”
he nods again.
“you said you think you’re dying, why?” he sat right across from you on your carpeted floor, now eyeing you carefully with the same cautiousness you had in your own pupils.
“because… the things that were happening to brandon before he was fucking possessed… are happening to me.”
“what do you mean,” he starred at you strangely now, his head slightly tipping, watching you carefully just as the rest of them did.
“the bloodied noses, the nightmares, the headaches, that noise…” you cringed as you spoke, almost shying away from saying more.
“what noise?” robin was leaned forward on her knees, her eyes wide with curiosity.
“a clock.”
it seemed right as you said it, the sound echoed through the room and the lights begun to flicker till there was no light at all and the only breathing body was you.
“you’re fucking kidding me,” your head lifted toward the hallway that opened up to your living room; exactly where the noise was coming from.
this had only happened once before; the first day you had come back from college while you were throwing up in your childhood bathroom. you couldn’t figure it out, you had never been sick before—not like that, but then suddenly your world turned dark and the sound of that damned clock was one of the only things you could hear.
you got to your feet slowly, continuing to stare into the dark as the sound echoed throughout your now empty home. the sound was jarring and something about it made you want to follow it like the last time. you were losing your mind, you had to get out of there.
you turned, only for your body to match right up against an unintelligible one. one much larger than your own.
your eyes went wide immediately, feeling a scream rip through your throat as fear set in fast and your head tipped to see such a haunting face you had never seen before.
“hello, y/n,” it looked like it smiled, examining your frightened state as you stared in paralyzed state. “your time is running thin,” it took a step forward, closer and closer. “you will soon be mine.”
you back peddle, fast, not thinking, not processing, but soon landing on your ass and back into the light where you sat in the same place before but with a pair of hands on your face, with voices yelling and screaming you back to conscious.
you were in shock, your limbs were numb and you could barely keep yourself up in a sitting position. you were breathing hard like you had been holding your breath for the past minute, practically dry heaving, feeling your stomach fold up into itself.
“what happened?” steve’s face was the only thing your could see as his hands clasped your face hard, his nose practically touching yours as he starred at you wide-eyed, dipped in fear.
you starred back, feeling every nerve slowly come back to life within your body—drawing out into a painful process. your body begun to shake, tears flooding into the corners of your eyes as you couldn’t even begin to process the switch between realities.
“steve, get out of her face, she’s going to throw up!” robin was yanking at his shoulder despite his constant persistence, clinging to your body.
“are you okay?”
everyone stood around you, wide eyes, wide with fear, wide with concern.
“are you okay?”
“what happened?”
**
“i was here, and then i wasn’t, but it’s like nothing changed other than you all being gone,” you stood now, guiding them all through the process of your episode. “it was that sound, that fucking clock sound, and i turned and it was something, like something you’d see out of a fucking movie, like the weird alien-monster things we’ve seen before. i don’t know—”
“vecna.”
“what?”
“she saw vecna,” dustin looks between everyone who all have seemed to agree with this consolation.
“will someone please translate what he just said?”
“vecna,” steve repeated, glancing up to you from the sudden heavy gloom laid upon him. “he’s the reason everyone’s been dying lately, you see him, you’re in an automatic death sentence… but you already knew that…”
you starred at him in disbelief, your eyes switching between each teen that sat on your couch, all avoiding eye contact at the truth that filled the air.
“you’re fucking with me,” you scoffed, turning on your heal and beginning to pace. “of fucking course.”
“you don’t seemed so… terrified about this anymore,” max is quick to elbow lucas in the ribs who winces.
you ignore it, suddenly annoyed at the swift depressive mood change, “how do we kill this motherfucker?”
**
“you’re not giving up on me, are you steve?”
“of course not.”
the two of you stood on your back porch after steve had lightly pulled you by the elbow, recommending catching some fresh air.
you don’t believe his words. he seemed tired with almost the look of sadness in his eyes. this observation causes you to frown as you tip your head, slightly coming closer to steve to look at him better, “than why does it look like you’re the one dying and not me?”
he scoffs, “y/n.” he gets taller, straightening his posture from where he was previously leaned on your railing. he turns even more serious and it makes you frown. “why didn’t you tell me?”
“what would have made a difference?”
“we could have caught it earlier.”
“and be in the same position as we are in now?”
he doesn’t say anything, but still stares at you with a look that makes your chest tighten and your skin begin to flare up in heat.
and then, “i’m sorry about brandon.”
he wasn’t. he never liked him.
“i’m sorry you had to go through that,” he takes a step closer to you, his hand now clasping your arm. “we’re going to figure this out, i promise.”
“don’t promise me anything, stevie,” your hand softly caressed his cheek, giving him a thinned lip smile before walking inside, leaving him to himself outside.
perfect match.
pairings.steve harrington x fem!reader
about.steve has a little crush.
warnings.gif not mine, foul language maybe
ricky rocks. send me an inbox message
steve always felt like he was trapped in his own body after his world got flipped upside down when unexplainable things invaded hawkins as well as his own life and his biggest problem wasn’t getting into college.—and of course, when nancy broke up with him. and what was once home, was now just a shell that carried him around from one place to another.
everything he found fun before didn’t strike him with the same excitement. he suddenly became hyper aware of everything and where his life seemed to be heading toward, which wasn’t bad, just something nobody really wants—a cookie cutter life that resembled exactly his parents.
until he met you.
you were a lot different compared to a lot of girls he had met and put himself into social situations with. you were smart, sarcastic, witty, and actually had things going for you; hobbies, a job, things that mattered in the long run.
you were exactly what steve needed—according to dustin. and he wasn’t wrong; steve just wished he had realized that a lot sooner.
“harrington, i didn’t realize you still came to parties,” the first time he really saw you was when you were leaned on your forearms as you came to fill your red solo cup with the red punch placed on the island as an offering to all. steve stood on the other side, staring off into space while thinking he should have never came until your slight sweet smile came into sight.
“yeah, me too,” he sighed, sounding sorrowful as he took a drink from his own solo cup, trying to pay attention to who was speaking to him—he almost thought it was his own conscious reminding him there were better things to be doing.
“you’re too cool for all this now?”
“something like that.”
you hummed, finishing up the pouring of the punch. you had honestly hoped to get more out of him, but his mouth was practically a steel trap and he didn’t seem exactly present, so you walked off with a nod.
it took him awhile to recognize you, and your name didn’t hit him until it was too late and you had already across the room.
**
a month later steve was parked outside of dustin’s house, tapping his fingers lightly against his car, humming to the song on the radio patiently waiting for dustin to come outside when you were walking to get your mail and your eyes caught onto the familiar burgundy BMW parked across the street. you slightly grinned from where you stood.
maybe you could get him this time.
“hey, stranger,” you slightly tipped your head as you bent down to see him properly through his rolled down window, smiling once he turned his head, almost shocked to see your face. “didn’t know you hung around here.”
“oh-i don’t-i-i’m just picking up a friend.”
oh he was already starting off so rough.
“right,” you leaned back to your normal posture, looking to the henderson house for recognition. “didn’t know you ran with the middle schoolers now.”
he nervously laughed, already knowing this would eventually happen; someone would find out that he was practically best friends with an eighth grade—really his only friend at the moment.
“don’t worry i won’t tell,” you winked just as dustin came stumbling down his front lawn to steve’s passenger seat, already taking note of you.
you were already beginning to walk away with your hand shoved into your jackets pockets and steve suddenly felt a rush of embarrassment almost, “it’s not what it looks like.”
“i’m sure it isn’t,” you called back to him.
“really, there’s more to it.”
“maybe you can tell me all about it sometime.”
steve sighed seeing you were already on your front lawn—therefore too far to continue to explain himself without seeming like a douche.
“who’s that?”
“huh?” steve almost forgot about dustin as he turned to face him.
“that girl, who is that?”
“oh, just some… girl who’s in my physics class,” he was already having a hard time trying to explain it. he felt caught.
“just some girl?” he quirked a brow, not believing the shallowness of the statement.
“what?”
“dude,” dustin already had that blunt look on his face that steve hated so much—something that made him feel dumb as he stared back, waiting for the explanation to his dumbfounded voice. “that’s not just some girl, that’s like.. some girl you want to take home.”
“what?” okay, now he was really lost.
“what’s her name?”
“i don’t know, y/n?”
“you don’t know?”
“yes, i do know, it’s y/n.”
“good,” dustin shook his head, “because you gotta get on that, man.”
“what, no,” steve’s face screwed up, slightly caught off guard with the suggestion. “no way.”
“what do you mean, steve. did you not see that, she was flirting with you.”
“you’re on something henderson,” steve shook his head. “she was not flirting with me.”
“‘maybe you can tell me about it sometime?’” dustin repeated your words, hoping to lay it out better for him, “dude, steve, if that doesn’t mean ‘let’s have a candle lit dinner’ then i don’t know what does.”
he has to think about it for a minute, his head slightly turning as he leans on his wheel, thinking over the conversation the both of you just had ten seconds ago, “oh, she was definitely flirting.”
“see!”
“there is no way you’re giving me advice on girls right now,” steve shook his head, now moving the car into drive. “there’s no way.”
“hey, someone’s gotta give it to you,” dustin shrugs, “you’re losing your touch, harrington.”
“shut up.”
**
it seemed now everywhere he went you appeared. and you were no longer initiating the encounters, it was more of steve’s eyes wandering and they happened to stumble upon you walking down the hall. he cursed himself for noticing you first and your eyes not being there to meet his.
he didn’t understand the feeling eating at his chest as time passed and he thought about you more and more and with barely knowing you. he wasn’t even sure if the name he had for you was correct.
“thinking about her?”
“jesus, henderson,” steve slightly flinched as dustin fell into the seat next to him on the couch without warning.
“thinking about who?” robin’s ears perked as she suddenly took interest to the conversation just starting.
the three of them currently sat in steve’s basement for a movie night that had been constantly requested by both dustin and robin until steve finally cave—and was now deeply regretting.
“y/n y/l/n.”
good, he was right.
“really?” robins eyebrows raised in surprised. “not the typical bimbo you go for, this is new steve.”
“what do you mean.. y/n’s not a bimbo-i don’t go for bimbos.”
“my point exactly, it’s a little concerning,” robin slightly shrugs, “but i’m sorry my friend, you do in fact usually go for bimbos.”
“i do not-“ steve raises his hands before looking over to dustin for help but the boy only nods, having to agree with robin. “okay, whatever, i don’t even like her.”
dustin rolls his eyes, “who were you just thinking about then, huh?”
steve’s cheeks turn red and he can’t help but roll his eyes, “shove off, henderson.”
he begins to giggle, shoving an accusing finger into steve’s face, “you like someone.”
“yeah, yeah, don’t get too excited,” he slaps dustin’s finger out of his face but it doesn’t stop dustin from continuing to sing in mock.
“that’s a first,” robin huffs, “you sure this isn’t just another kelly situation where you think you’re in love but it’s actually just her butt?”
“who said anything about love, or like for that matter? you guys are just jumping ahead of yourselves.”
dustin continues to sing in the background as he hops foot to foot, making robin give him a pointed look, “match maker here seems to think it’s serious.”
“he’s delusional.”
“well,” robin slightly tips her head, “you have seem really distant recently, steve. and y/n y/l/n, whoo, i’d say she’s definitely an improvement from any past love interests.”
“you’re both delusional.”
**
“we gotta stop meeting like this.”
steve almost jumps, looking up through his car window to see your face. once again, you had caught him in the midst of your neighborhood and outside of dustin’s house.
“jesus,” he looks up to you, a lopsided smile twitching onto his lips, “you a stalker now, y/n?”
“you’d like that, wouldn’t you, harrington,” you smiled, shaking your head, standing up to your real posture. “i think you’re the one stalking since you are the one parked right across from my house.”
he scoffed, “you live right across-“
“from your eighth grade best friend?” you raised a brow, making him roll his eyes. “a little weird.”
“do you have anything else better to do than to be making fun of me?”
“no, not really,” you pressed your lips together in a thin line, shaking your head.
he sighs, slightly shaking his own in thought, not knowing if he was about to regret what he was going to do next. he thinks, biting his lip before tilting his head, “get in.”
“excuse me?“
“hop in…my car?” he nods his head toward the passenger seat once more and it takes a minute for you, with your own thoughts, to decide whether or not this was a good idea. you think not, but you still round the car and get into the seat.
“this how you treat all your girlfriends?”
“maybe.”
“funny,” you shook your head, slightly smiling.
“what?”
“just never thought i’d be sitting in steve harrington’s car outside of little dusty henderson’s house.”
“now, why not?”
“oh, you’re too cool for me,” you say sarcastically, looking over to him.
“really, me?” he quirks a brow, smiling, but you could see confusion tainting his expression—he didn’t know if you were serious or not, or even what to make of your statement.
“really, you,” you nodded, “everyone worshipped you, steve… but then you just like disappeared, and even then people still worship you.” you frowned, not understanding the reverence of high school.
you liked steve, you didn’t mind him and had no problem with him, but the obsession some people had with him, you didn’t understand and you almost found quite annoying.
his disappearance and lack of attendance at parties and functions that “popular” kids attended to was something strange and unlike him. he was missed, you didn’t really care, but a lot of people did.
“yeah… right,” he sighed, looking down to his lap for a moment, thinking of all that had happened in the past year before looking back up to you. it seemed his mood was suddenly struck down at your sentence, but you didn’t understand why.
“why?”
“i don’t know,” he shrugged, “there just seemed no point in them anymore.”
“right.”
“what, you don’t believe me?”
“not really.”
“wow,” he says, “and i suppose you find them so much fun, don’t you?”
“well, yeah.”
he narrowed his brows, “girl like you? there’s no way you do.”
“what do you mean by that?” you scowled at him, taking offense.
“i don’t mean it in a bad way,” he’s quick to defend, throwing up his arms, “all i’m saying is that… you seem better than that, y’know? i’ve noticed you before, and you’re not like… a lot of those girls.”
“thanks?” you don’t know if you should take it as a compliment, but you love the way he seems flustered, trying to explain, almost embarrassed.
“yeah,” his voice is low, and is barely above a whisper, almost not wanting to unsettle the awkward silence. he know turns to look at you, “you don’t-“
he’s interrupted once you lean forward, pressing your lips against his.
he’s surprised, almost not processing what was happening until it hit him like a rock all at once and he finally kissed you back. you couldn’t believe yourself. never had you ever been this bold, but it was now or never, and you had been waiting to do this for awhile.
his hand clasped the side of your face, his other placing on your waist, pulling you further and closer to him till some part of you that isn’t your lips, was touching him.
he smelled of soap and laundry detergent and whatever product was in his hair. he smelled good and you didn’t want to pull away, especially since he was a good kisser, a real good one. the rumors weren’t wrong.
he moved slow, like he wasn’t worried about time, and his lips were perfectly in sync to yours. steve was almost overwhelmed, worried that he’d mess up even as this was one of the things he was good at.
you now pulled away, breathing hard but smiling as you look to him with a sparkle in your eye. he smiled back, but was finding it hard to keep consistent eye contact.
“are you blushing?” you smiled, slowly pulling away from his body. “is the steve harrington blushing?”
“shut up,” he smiled, his tongue poking into the side of his cheek as he glanced to his lap. “you’re not looking so hot either.”
“shut up, harrington,” you rolled your eyes, lightly shoving him. “i’m getting out of the car now.”
“wait, why?” he’s eager now, watching you shift in your seat.
“because i’m pretty sure your boyfriend just got a show,” you jerk your thumb to dustin who’s standing on his porch with a wide smile. you look back to steve who curses under his breath. “don’t worry,” you get out of the car now, “we’ll see each other again… maybe.”
“oh, c’mon now,” he calls out to you as you round his car, making your way back to your own home, “don’t be like that… call me!”
“so,” dustin is suddenly in his front seat, grinning from ear to ear, “are you two a perfect match, or are you two a perfect match?”
who’s the swim pro now?
pairings.steve harrington x fem!reader
about. will lovers lake rekindle yours and steve’s past friendship?
warnings.foul language, uh, STRANGER THINGS S4 SPOILERS OMG I FORGOT SORRY
ricky rocks. stranger things rebirth ☝️
five people in one canoe—this was not a smart idea. you realized now as you were practically tipping into the waters of lovers lake, watching dustin, lucas, and max grow smaller and smaller from the shore line as eddie and robin paddle you all further and further into the blue.
how you ended up in this position—you weren’t exactly sure but it all started with chasing down a news story for the hawkins high school paper, something you honestly should have stayed out of.
you sat in the middle of the boat, watching the waves slowly splash against the side, implementing cold weather to consume you. this wasn’t the way you imagined to spend your spring break, but you also never imagined to come in contact with steve harrington ever again.
“woah, woah, slow down guys,” nancy reached out causing both eddie and robin to stop paddling the boat, all of you now looking to her where she held the compass and it’s now derange state; shaking in the palm of her hand.
you watched the needle spin so fast it looked as if it would break off, making you narrow your brows. you watched until you looked to meet nancy’s eyes; she was smiling.
“what’s going on guys, why’d you stop?” your ears perked up to the sound of dustin’s voice through the forgotten walkie that sat in the back.
robin quickly grabbed it, “uh, dustin your compass has gone wonky to wonky with a capitol ‘ahh’.”
you all looked back to it before watching steve begin to unlace his shoes.
“wait, steve, what’re you doing?”
“somebody’s gotta go down there and check this out,” he explained. “unless one of you four can top being a hawkins high swim co-captain and a certified lifeguard for three years, then… it’s gotta be me. no complaints, all right?”
you watched him, your expression still tight with practically confused thoughts. steve now stood, beginning to take off his shirt.
“co-captain of the swim team, my ass. sit down harrington, and watch a pro go to work.”
he stared down to you hesitantly, looking you up and down, almost not believing the challenging expressions you had, but he shrugged, deciding why not and knowing you wouldn’t take no for an answer, “okay, y/l/n, show us what you got.”
you took his place in stance, now unzipping your jacket to reveal a plain tank top that barely laid over your stomach before running your thumbs around the waistband of your jeans.
“woah, don’t tell me you’re just gonna-”
“relax,” you gave eddie a pointed look before pulling down your pants, revealing the pair of boxers you wore for shorts. “ever heard of layering?”
he seemed to shy away at this after a clear exhale of relief came from the group, glad to know you weren’t about to reveal your bare ass.
“see you on the other side,” you between all four of them before tipping your head and turning, diving precisely into the cold waters of lovers lake.
it knocked the breath out of you almost immediately and you began to regret wanting to show up steve with volunteering yourself. it had been quite a long time since you had put your swimming skills to test due to quitting the swim team after freshman year.
but it was now or never to freshen up.
you kicked, praying your lungs wouldn’t collapse once you began to see the bottom of the lake floor and came to realization you’d now have to search with the factor that you couldn’t see a foot in front of you… and without a flash light.
stupid.
you mentally punched yourself but continued surfing the sandy floor, your skin now beginning to become accustomed to the cold water with each kick.
and it wasn’t long until you sawit.
it was almost beautiful if you weren’t scared. the glowing mash of colors of red and yellow and orange erupted into the dark blue, lighting up your vision.
you felt consumed.
**
“can’t believe you let her show you up like that,” eddie pulled a cigarette from his pocket, beginning to light it. “not typical of you steve harrington.”
“gross,” robin pulled it from his grasp before tossing it into the water. “bad habit, better stop now.”
he sighed, not even trying to stop it.
“yeah, well, it’s y/n.”
“you’ve known her?” nancy quirked a brow, the sound of his sentence sounding like your nature was nothing new to him and he was very familiar with it. she found this strange, she thought you and steve had only met that day, but it begun to make sense why the atmosphere always seemed so tense and awkward between you two.
“yeah, for awhile,” steve shrugged, like there was nothing to it, like there wasn’t much history as there actually was. “used to be neighbors before she moved. she was my best friend for the longest time, always came over.”
the sound of waves slapping against the boat was the only thing that filled the air.
steve thought about how close the two of you were. you were both inseparable and could never take a moment apart. you were the reason he learned poker and knew how to play it so well.
you taught him a lot of things—something he was slightly shameful about. every time he looked back on those memories, he couldn’t help but feel guilty for never reviving the relationship.
and then he thought about the day you moved out due to your parents divorce and how you both thought nothing of it, that it wouldn’t effect your relationship at all until it did.
you hadn’t seen steve for a long time after that and when you finally did—not a word was said between the two of you and he barely even waved ‘hi’.
and it didn’t get any better after that.
“hey uh, it’s been awhile, should we-“
you surfaced through the water fast, practically knocking eddie into the water with you due to him already being leaned over the side. you were gasping for air, your chest heaving up and down as you grabbed onto the side of the boat, looking for some version of stability.
“jesus, since when can you hold your breath that long.”
“you’re not the only life guard here, steve-o,” he chokes out a breathy laugh, almost in relief, his hand grabbing onto your forearm to keep ahold of you.
“what’d you see?”
“are you alright?”
“yeah, i’m fine, pull me up,” you attempted to haul yourself up as they all pulled you onto the boat. “it’s there and it’s a portal right through.”
“did you go through?”
“no,” you shook your head, “but-“
you’re suddenly pulled into the water, your body once again consumed by the cold water and you’re blind. you can’t see and you can barely catch your breath as a strong force pulls you back to the bottom, and finally right through the gate.
and you don’t remember any of it, not one bit, you don’t think you were even conscious; until steve’s hands are clasping your face and lightly shaking you back to consciousness. he’s cold and he’s wet, but in your splitting vision, you can see him slightly smile in relief that you were alive.
“thank god,” he sighed, leaning back a little before leaning back down, pressing his forehead into your shoulder. “y/n, you scared the shit out of me,” he pulls back away, shaking his head, almost as if saying you were unbelievable. “no more trying to prove your pro-swimming skills.”
you laughed, painfully, suddenly becoming aware of the aching sensation that resonated from your throat, “god, harrington,” you begun to sit up, your hand clasping the cut that was etched into your skin. “when are you going to just accept that i’m better a swimmer than you.”
he laughs tentatively, now helping you to your feet, “maybe when this monster-alien bull crap is over,” his hand is wrapped around your waist, steadying you on your feet, while his other one held your hand, “god, i thought i lost you.”
“i’m fine, steve,” you looked at him with sympathy, your head slightly leaning closer to him. “i’m good, i’m alive.”
“yeah, i’d find that a lot more reassuring if your throat didn’t look like it was slit.”
“what even happened?”
“story for another time,” robin clapped the both of your shoulders suddenly, “and if you want to live long enough to tell it, we gotta get going. kiss later.”
the two of you now looked to each other, both burning up in slight embarrassment and now becoming very aware of how close the two of you were.
you awkwardly cough, slightly shifting back and slowly following robin with a backward step, “guess this calls for a rain check, what do you say harrington?”
“i say you’re fucking crazy.”
If I wasn’t a Steddie shipper before I sure am now what the FUCK
