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nix-rose · 5 days

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What if all I need is you? - S.H

Steve Harrington x female!reader

Steve doesn’t know that keeping it casual is making her fall deeper in love with him and on a weekend away with his parents they both can’t take it anymore

A/n: friends with benefits, friends to lovers, pinning, teasing

Warnings: strong language, kissing, touching

Word count: 4.3k

Spring,

It started out as one innocent kiss in Steve’s garden after some party. But then either her, or how it was most of the time, he, kept pulling them back into whatever they had started. One kiss, turned into one touch, which became one night, then they just lost track.

She thought a lot about that first kiss, if it was meant to happen or not, if it was a mistake. But it was hard when they were like this, just sitting in her bedroom, waiting around for his family to come pick them up, to imagine anything that concerned Steve Harrington as a mistake.

He was tying his laces, sitting on the carpeted floor, a slight hint of a kissed bruise forming right under his jaw and something akin to a sunburn showing up across the bridge of his nose. It wasn’t even summer yet and he had caught the sun somehow.

It was like nothing had happened now, like just an hour ago they weren’t in her bed. He was too relaxed about it all and it made her sick because why was she losing sleep over how good it felt to be with him like this. Her friend, her Steve. And he was just fine.

There was a bottle of some cheap wine accompanied with some strawberries in a basket sitting on her kitchen table. It felt wrong not to take anything with her, even if Steve laughed at her and told her it wasn't necessary.

They were heading just slightly out of town, staying with his parents for the weekend. Steve always invited her along with him, she always stayed in his room, he always insisted on sleeping on the floor under a soft blue duvet set and he normally drove them too.

But they hadn’t been doing this all those times before and she knew pretending she wasn’t completely falling in love with him was going to be harder when she was stuck in the same house as him for the weekend.

He had come over that morning, she was still asleep and he had woken her up with the softest of kisses dotted along her shoulder, pulling away the sheets that were wrapped around her, all before the sun had completely risen, and she was supposed to act like that's what friends did. How did he do it?

Steve was now sitting, slightly cramped, in the back of his fathers car with her. There wasn’t nearly enough leg room for him in the back, everytime he moved, his knee knocked into hers. He had been fidgeting for a while, constantly putting his head in his hands or looking at the roof of the car.

He actually looked a little more flushed than usual. He placed his head closer to his legs again. She leant down, trying to see his face to see what was wrong. “You okay Steve?” He looked carsick and when she thought about it a little more, it was rare that Steve wasn’t always the one driving up front.

He forced a smile, throwing his head back against the headrest, she wanted nothing more than to push the loose curls sticking to his forehead back, to take a cold drink and hold it to his cheek, she wanted to help.

“Just feeling a little dizzy.” He looked over at her, hand touching her leg to give it a quick squeeze, letting her know he was fine even if she knew he wasn’t. His fingers burned against her bare thigh and she wished they lingered longer.

He looked behind her, at the passing trees, they were on a faster road so everything was going by quicker and he was looking straight out the window. She smiled softly, tapping his thigh a lot lighter than he had touched hers. “Maybe you shouldn’t be watching the road go past out of the window.”

He groaned and rolled his head back again, looking at the roof of the car, jaw tilted up. It was a horrible sight, because she knew exactly how it felt to kiss down his neck now, she knew how his skin tasted and how far his freckles disappeared under his shirt.

“You’re not just pretty, you know.” Her heart ached like it was about to give out on her. He had called her pretty before but that was in the confines of her bedroom or his, he had never said it so callously before. “You’re smart too, too smart for me.”

She felt the blood rushing to her cheeks and avoided making eye contact with his mother in the rear view mirror. Everyone knew about her little crush on Steve, they taunted her for it every chance they got. Especially their friends, it was just the boy in question left out of the loop.

“Just look ahead.” She offered, in a slightly more hushed voice than usual, fearful of it breaking and giving her away. Ignoring her own advice, she glanced out the window. It was better to be carsick than lovesick.

Steve was smiling, she didn’t have to look to know it, she could hear it. “Whatever you say.”

When they pulled up to the house she got that same fuzzy feeling, that strange warmth at the back of her neck that couldn’t be blamed on the weather. And it didn’t matter how many times she saw the porch, the big windows or the painted fence, it always reminded her of the kind of houses you walk past and say that’s where I wanna live someday, familiarity never changed that feeling.

She didn’t know if it was her mind tricking her but the second she stepped out the car the air felt softer and fresher already. Like the sunshine was filling her lungs, the feeling was similar to that first sip of sparkling wine, and it was a completely stupid thing to think, but it made her smile.

And in turn that made Steve smile too. He had watched her, watched something shift the second they got out of town. It was his favourite thing in the world, that soft spring-like smile of hers. He was leaning against the car, his hands on his hips, she noticed he was squinting slightly as the sun hit him. At least he didn’t look so carsick anymore.

He always looked younger out here to her. Something about this house made her feel younger, like she was still seventeen and begging to go away for the weekend, her parents only giving in when they couldn’t take her asking anymore.

And it was comforting that even though she was clearly and obviously in love with him now he was still just Steve, his hair was just a little shorter and messier now, he tanned a little easier and his eyes were a little more sleepy now, especially in the early mornings. It didn’t matter that they were- that they had been- he could still just be her Steve here.

“Hey, you okay?” He asked, nicking her cheek with his knuckles so lightly it almost felt like a breeze. She wished he would just hold her face, cup her cheek, wrap his fingers around her jaw, just once to get attention outside of her room. But this was nice too.

She forced a smile the best she could, giving a quick nod of her head as a response. This weekend was going to kill her in the most dramatic of terms, a thousand little paper cuts right over her heart.

Steve stepped away, not looking entirely convinced but smiling anyway as he took her things from the back of the car, something he had always just done. She expected that from other boys now, he had set the standard.

Every and any boy she knew she compared to him and no one ever quite measured up. That was obvious when they sat down to lunch. They always had lunch outside, dinner too if it was nice enough. Right in the garden with its pretty view of neighbouring fields, sitting at a green table and chairs set with feet that curled into leaves. She wanted one just like it some day.

For now, Steve was still inside, along with his father, leaving his mother sitting beside her, staring at her so unabashedly that she could feel her cheeks heating up. She tried not to look, she tried staring at the lacy white table cloth or the open door that hopefully Steve would be coming through any second.

“Steve’s got this little bruise on his neck.” Mrs Harrington talked with her smile, just like Steve did. She made the girl beside her turn so fast her knee bashed into the table leg, she bit down on the inside of her cheek trying to pretend that it didn’t hurt and that there weren't images flashing through her head. Images of herself giving Steve that mark, that slightly red and purple bruise that made him throw his head back. “Did he hurt himself?”

“I think he-”

She cut herself off as Steve came back outside at just the right time.

He was carrying a tall glass of clouded lemonade that she hadn’t even had to ask for, he just anticipated that she would want one. He placed it right in front of her, leaving handprints behind in the condensation, which only made her think about how cold and slightly wet his hands must be right now.

Drinking it felt much sweeter than before when Steve had brought it to her.

He sat across from her, his trainers just leaning against her bare ankles under the table, his laces ticking her skin. Completely innocent but still making her lungs hurt with every breath. She could have easily moved away, but to put it simply, she didn’t want to.

It was impossible to focus on the conversation at hand. She kept slipping out of consciousness, wondering too much about how the breeze ran through Steve’s hair, how the sun kissed his cheeks, how the countryside agreed with him in ways their town just couldn’t compete with. Wondering if he would go without kissing her all weekend.

The rules were so vague and foggy, she wasn’t even sure if they had rules. More often than not Steve just kissed her and then she couldn’t help but pull at his shirt or his hair and then he slipped his fingers under the straps of her dress and then-

They didn’t talk about rules, about if mindless kisses were allowed, mindless touching was but kissing might’ve crossed the line. She didn’t know and it was driving her mad.

She missed the conversation moving onto sport, she missed the way Steve was grinning as he got an idea. She missed how he had been trying so hard not to look at her for too long. He hated staring at her, it made his stomach hurt and his throat feel tight.

The only time he let himself get lost looking at her was after, when he was sweaty and tired and not in control enough to look away. He took a deep breath, not wanting to think about that now.

He wanted to feel normal again and the only way to do that was to drag her past the fence and beat her at something, just like he always did. Steve tapped her foot a little harder, gaining her attention, a dirty ball in his hands for a few seconds before he tossed it over at her.

She flinched catching it, she hadn't even noticed where he had got it from. One second he was just sitting there, looking kissable, the next he was throwing a ball at her.

And it didn’t take much convincing for Steve to get her out in the middle of the field, a muddy ball in his hands and a cocky grin on his lips because when it came to anything athletic he was always better. But she couldn’t help taking the bait and following him, not after he leaned down, right by her ear and told her that he would let her win this time.

Steve already had dirt scraped across his knees, his shorts cut off on his thighs and it did nothing to help the fact he’d end up with a thousand little grazes over his legs that he would complain about later. He also already had sweat shining on his neck, it almost looked like glitter.

And finally he had already kicked the ball a little too close to her head numerous times, apparently it wasn’t on purpose. Her cardigan and his sweater were scrunched up on the ground, marking the makeshift goal but Steve had gotten bored of scoring and she was sure he was just trying to hit her now.

He was about to do it again and she knew it. He smirked, running a little further away just to kick the ball inches from her shoulder. “Steve!” She called out his name but it didn’t sound like a warning at all since she was laughing through it.

He shrugged like he was the most innocent boy in the world, only giving up his façade when she gave him a push as she walked past. It was nothing more than a screw you for almost hitting me, but he grabbed her wrists in seconds to keep her from doing it again and spun her around so her back was pressed to his chest. It was like they were two seven year olds who had put too much sugar in their lemonade.

“Oh come on I’m trying to let you win-” He said it so arrogantly and with such a smile that she wanted to hit him. And kiss him, she desperately wanted to kiss him when he used that voice.

“Don’t you dare.” She refused to let him finish. She refused to acknowledge how his arms around her made her feel and decided to focus on how annoying he was being instead. He was not trying to let her win, he never let her win.

He spun her around again, twisting their arms in a way that was slightly painful but easy to ignore. It had only been that morning that they had been in such close proximity, but to her it felt like forever.

Their laughter died out, slowly and softly. She was stuck in that one spot, unable to move, looking up at Steve like her was everything because to her he was. She so badly wanted him to kiss her, not because he wanted to sleep with her but just for the sake of kissing her.

If he just slightly leaned down, tilted his head just to the side a little he could have given into temptation and kissed her but as much as he wanted to, and from the look on her face, she wanted him to, he couldn’t.

It felt like he was doing something he shouldn’t be. But for just a moment he wanted to, he really wanted to. Instead he let her go, stepping back and praying not to trip over. “Please don’t look at me like that.” He ran his fingers through his hair, a nervous habit.

She felt a sharp pain in her chest, unlike the feeling that someone had placed a knife there, more the feeling of someone’s hand holding her heart too tightly. The grass tickled her legs and suddenly she found the feeling irritating.

Steve laughed softly, awkwardly, like he didn’t know what else to do. She refused to look away, if he wanted to correct something she had done wrong he needed to tell her to her face. Even if all she wanted to do was sink into the ground.

“Why? You’re allowed to touch me whenever you want.” Her tone felt unfamiliar, she had never once sounded so hurt in Steve’s presence. She crossed her arms like a little kid, scrapping her shoes back and forth over the grass.

Steve’s shoulders dropped at the exact same time his eyes softened into a puppy-like stare. He stepped back over to her, hands gently pulling her arms away from her chest. His skin felt so warmed by the sun that the second he let go she felt a sharp shiver down her spine.

“I didn’t mean it like that.” His tone was no longer cocky and condescending, it was sweet and soft and almost coaxing her. He wet his lips and refused to take his eyes off hers. “I meant-” He swallowed down so harshly it hurt. “Fuck, I’m sorry, I meant-”

He couldn’t seem to figure out what he wanted to say, and Steve always talked a lot so the idea that he was tongue tied worried her. She wanted to tell him to forget about it, to pretend neither of them had brought it up, all just to make that look on his face go away.

He ran his fingers up and down her arms, almost drawing patterns. He just needed to calm down for a second and touching her seemed like the only way to do that. “It makes it harder.” He whispered and he hated that he did, he almost felt she deserved better than to hear how scared he was to admit how damn hard it was when she looked at him like that.

Her brows pressed together, “What do you m-”

“We should go back inside.” Steve cut her off, standing back, snapping into that other version of himself. He glanced back at the house, the sun was setting just behind it, another thing she hadn’t noticed because she was too busy looking at him. He smiled, like he wasn’t pressing his fingers into her heart. “I won after all, I get to shower first.”

He started walking backwards, smirking now. She hated that she had agreed to that, because he always got to use the bathroom first and it didn’t matter that there were others, she always waited then used his. She followed after him, whatever had happened just then quickly forgotten. It didn’t matter if she ran ahead and got back to the house first, he had earned the first shower.

And he seemed to be taking liberties with it that day. The only good thing about that stupid pact was that Steve was never too long in the shower, he took more time than any other boy she knew but he was always quick when he knew she was waiting. And yet she was sitting on the counter top, trying to fix a nick in her nail with a file, and it felt like he was taking longer on purpose.

“Steve, come on.” She shouted over the water, hoping to be heard, only knowing she was when she heard him laughing to himself. She just knew he was shaking his head at her too. Properly muttering something under the shower head about her being impatient.

She couldn’t see him through the tinted glass but her imagination plagued her, conjuring up pictures of Steve standing under the hot water. The droplets running down his ribs, dampening his chest, the soap caught in his hair, the steam turning his skin slightly red. His lips swollen and wet. She screwed up her nail.

Steve pushed the glass aside and she sighed ever so dramatically, as if he had been in there for hours. Shutting her eyes, she waited for him to put a towel around his waist. Seconds later she felt specks of water hitting her thighs, he must’ve been drying his hair because he always shook his head like a dog first.

He smiled, at the way she swung her legs and how her eyes were softly shut, how she didn’t even flinch when he got her wet. She looked so pretty like this and she wasn’t even doing anything. Steve found himself standing between her legs, his thumb smoothing over the height of her cheek as he held her face. “You don’t have to do that anymore.”

His voice made her heart thump, she had felt him get closer, felt his towel rub against her inner thighs and his breath on her face. She still didn’t open her eyes, it felt better not to, if she looked at him her heart would’ve sank and she would’ve thought too much about how much he was hurting her without knowing it.

Instead of kissing her lips, he pressed a soft wet kiss right under her jaw, dragging his mouth down her neck and nuzzling his nose against her skin. He had done it countless times before, once in the back of his car too. She used to think he did it just because it made her dizzy, but it seemed like Steve could never get quite close enough.

Her hand held his shoulder when she felt his teeth lightly scraping her skin, never enough to hurt just enough to ache, and her head tilted to the side to allow him as much access as he wanted.

He stopped at her collar bone, fingers already slipping under the straps sitting on her shoulders. “Please-” He started, pressing a quick kiss to her lips because if he didn’t he might die. “Look at me?” He couldn't find it in himself to care how much he sounded like he was pleading with her.

She did as he asked, opening her eyes as her hand slipped to his neck to pull him in for another kiss. Her nails lightly scratched the back of his neck, and she teased him with the idea of her pulling his hair, making him groan quietly against her lips. There was nothing he seemed to like more than her playing with his hair.

She smiled, ending the kiss, pushing him back with her hands pressed to his chest. “I thought you didn’t want me to?” Biting her lip she felt rather proud of herself for not getting too caught up in kissing him, even if her head was screaming at her for asking silly questions instead of muttering his name under her breath.

Steve grinned at her, some part of her felt like he was proud too. He fixed the straps on her shoulders, making sure they were sitting right, his fingers just running over the thin material over and over again. He shook his head. “I’m an idiot.”

She pushed his hair back, his curls were much tighter when his hair was wet, she adored it like this. He leaned into her touch like a purring cat, letting her pull out the tangles. “So I can look at you now?” She asked sweetly, purposely avoiding his eyes and focusing on her own hand.

He suddenly dropped to his knees, his mouth inches from her own. His hands found themselves wrapped around her ankles, his fingers digging into her soft skin gently, teasing her hem of her white socks. “You can do whatever you want, no matter how hard it makes things for me.” He kissed the side of her knee, hands slowly gliding up her legs.

“But why is it harder for you?” She whispered like they weren’t completely and utterly alone. She guessed she was scared he might say something awful, like he had no feelings for her at all and that’s why it was so difficult because she was so clearly head over heels for him.

Steve sighed, dropping his head into her lap, hands coming around the backs of her knees. She forgot how to breathe for a moment, something about it felt so domestic, so romantic. Steve Harrington had made sighing romantic.

“Because-I’m-in-with-.” He muttered into her skin and she could hardly make out a word. Laughing at him, just a little, she pushed his head up. “Because I’m in love with you.”

“You’re falling in love with me and you couldn’t let me have the first shower?” She tilted her head to the side like a confused dog, picking at her nails like they were having the most normal conversation.

Steve shook his head at her but to her it was the first thing that she thought of, if he was falling for her why didn’t he let her, or better yet why didn’t he let her win. He stood, hands at her waist taking her off the bathroom counter, spinning her around he walked her back into the shower.

“Steve-” He turned on the water, soaking her clothes and himself all over again. “What are you doing?” He pushed his hairs back and he was just as she imagined he would be, with water dripping down his skin and falling over his lips. One hand never left her waist, he must’ve know she would’ve tried to run.

“The quicker you get your shower the quicker we can talk about us.” He was being completely serious, already starting to unbutton her shorts, struggling at the denim stuck to her skin. “Fuck. These stupid-”

She held his wrists, stopping for him for a moment, as entertaining as it was to watch him try to undress her, she had the sudden nerve to tell him. “I love you, you know.”

She waited, looking at him with water splashing off her shoulders and onto her face. Looking at him like he was all she would ever need and for the first time he knew he hadn’t mistaken a harmless look for something else.

With both hands holding her face he kissed her, smiling through every second. Muttering through broken kisses in his breathless voice, “God I love you, love you, love you.” She laughed at him and he really didn’t seem to mind, he didn’t roll his eyes or torture her by stopping, he just gripped her hip until she stopped giggling against his lips.

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