Archive of Our Own

“I’m a freshman,” Dustin says with an annoyed shrug. “You douche,” he murmurs.

Tommy’s windbreaker swishes as he crosses his arm, “Where did you end up going for college, Harrington?”

Steve hesitates, looking down at the off white tiled floor before looking over at Dustin, “I uh-“ his eyes glance over to Tommy, “I didn't.”

“So, you didn’t go to college, and now you babysit freshman?” Tommy’s brows furrowed, smiling widely. “What happened, King Steve?”

“He also has a job,” Dustin chimes in. “He works at Family Video.”

“The movie rental place?” Tommy laughs, shaking his head before he looks back at Steve. “Oh, Stevie boy, what has happened to you? Where did King Steve go? You babysit, you work at family video.. I feel sorry for you, man.”

Steve is silent, his face is trapped somewhere between an awkward smile and a grimace before he says, “Well, Tommy - it’s been great seeing you man, but we gotta get going.”

Tommy’s palm smacks flatly on Steve’s sweatshirt covered shoulder as he looks into his eyes, “ Hey, I’m throwing a party tonight, you should come. Bring King Steve, see if he’s still there.. somewhere deep inside of you. It’ll be fun. Hot girls, drinks - who knows what we could get into, Harrington. Or who we could get into.”

Steve rolls his eyes, “I’ll think about it.”

“Good,” Tommy gets close to Steve, placing his palm onto his cheek before giving it a light smack, “Cause I’m sure you miss King Steve, too.”

“Steve, let’s go,” Dustin says.

Tommy’s eyes remain on Steve’s, dropping his palm from his shoulder, “Yeah, Steve - go babysit. I’ll see you tonight.”

“See ya,” Steve says flatly, walking away from Tommy and heading towards the next item on the grocery list, ”Alright, we need celery.”

“Steve, you’re not actually going to that party, are you? We could hang out,” Dustin says, following beside Steve as he grabs celery, “You, me, maybe Mike? Is Robin working?”

“I’m still cool, right Henderson?” Steve’s voice is small as he inspects the celery before throwing it into the grocery cart.

“I mean, you mainly hang out with me and Robin nowadays, but I still think you’re pretty cool,” Dustin shrugs. “Screw what Tommy Hagan says.”

“Yeah,” he breathes, looking at Dustin. “Thanks, Henderson.”

-

Steve made his way through the busy front lawn of the Hagan residence, dodging drunk teenagers as he reached the opened front door - the music from inside booming loudly as he stepped through the threshold. He could feel the burning of eyes on him from all around as he traversed through the familiar living room, directly to the punch sitting on the kitchen counter, scooping a bit from the large bowl and it into a small cup.

“King Steve!” Tommy exclaimed, throwing his arms up in the air as he approached Steve. “I thought you weren’t gonna come! Figured you’d be babysitting, or selling movie rentals to hicks.” Tommy leans towards Steve, the smell of alcohol wafting into Steve’s face as Tommy whispers, ”Did ya leave a kid in the car, Harrington?”

Steve is quiet, eyeing Tommy and knocking back the entirety of the small cup of punch in his grip. “I’m kidding!” Tommy yells, before letting out a loud, and quite obnoxious belly laugh, slapping Steve’s arm as his face quickly drops, eyes squinting as he scans the room, pointing at the crowd, “You can have any bitch you want, which one will it be, King Steve?”

“I, uh- I need to pee,” Steve says quickly, tossing the empty cup into the trash can as he makes his way down the hallway.

He enters the bathroom, shutting the door behind him. Propping his large palms on the bathroom vanity, as he stared at himself in the mirror - one hand brushes through his thick locks as he shakes his head, letting out a long exhale. “Jesus,” he murmurs to himself, studying his features in the reflection - “Get it the hell together, Steve.”

He blinks - brows furrowing as he looks past himself in the reflection, over to the moving shower curtain to the right of him. He swallows, turning and gently stepping towards the shower, fingertips carding the side of the curtain before he throws it open, seeing a woman sitting in the tub - her wide eyes making direct eye contact with Steve.

“Hi,” she whispers, eyes darting to the bathtub before reluctantly scanning back up to Steve’s warm gaze .

“Hi,” he says with a small wave, furrowing his brows as he looks down, noticing the stranger’s tear-stained cheeks gleaming off of the bathroom lights. “Are you okay?”

Her arms wrapped around her chest, clutching something in her hand, “Yes, uh - I was trying to find a sliver of solace from this awful party here in this bathroom, but got clotheslined by somebody holding a cup of punch on the way in here. I was just trying to wash my shirt when you came in and… I’m sorry. Uh.. I just need to-“ she stands and Steve panics, realizing she’s shirtless. Slapping his palm over his eyes, he quickly turns on the heel of his foot, away from the beautiful stranger. “Do you, uh.. would you- Do you need my sweatshirt?” He scrunches his face, embarrassed by his fumbling of words.

“Wait, really?” He hears her step out of the tub - “I think I could wash my shirt in the sink. It’s really no big deal-.”

“-It’s totally a big deal,” Steve’s hand remained over his eyes - “It’s way too cold tonight for you to be in a wet shirt.” His hand grabs the back of his collar, pulling the fabric over his head quickly - his fluffy hair bouncing as it recoils - “Here, take my sweatshirt.”

Steve stands in an olive green long sleeve shirt, his right arm extended behind him as the shirtless woman grabs the sweatshirt, pulling herself into the fabric, wrapping her arms back around her chest.

“Thank you so much.” She smiles, looking at the back of Steve’s head, “You can turn around now.”

He slowly turns back to the girl, shyly smiling at her before his chocolate eyes scan back down to the tiled floor, “You can keep that if you need to.”

“Your sweatshirt? No! God no - I could throw my top into the dryer and it would be fine! Do you have thirty minutes to spare?” She asks.

”If that means you won’t be wearing a wet shirt the rest of the night - sure” - he nods, extending his right arm out to her, “I’m Steve, by the way.”

She lets out a small chuckle, taking his large hand into hers - “Oh, I know.”

Steve lets out a mimicking laugh, giving her an inquisitive face - licking his bottom lip before he smiles, saying - “You already know me? That must not be good.” He scrunches his face, “Should I go ahead and apologize? I used to be a real jerk.”

“No! No - I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to laugh,” she shuts her eyes as she shakes her head, still smiling widely as she says - “It’s just - you’re Steve Harrington. Of course I know who you are.. We graduated together. You’re the King of Hawkins High School,” She scrunches her nose, “Also - you stole my babysitting gig.” His head cocks to the side, studying her gorgeous face, continuing to grasp her hand in his, thumb caressing the webbing of her thumb and pointer finger.

And then it hits him.

He remembers her.

How the summer sun’s rays shone down on her, making her look like an angel as she laid on a yellow blanket on the perfectly green grass. Her thick thighs oiled up with sunscreen, her head shoved into a book.

“Hey!” Dustin yells, getting Steve’s attention as he throws a soapy rag at him.

“What?!” Steve turns, lazily spraying Dustin with the water hose.

“I’m just gonna go ahead and let you know that she’s way out of your league,” Dustin’s brows raise as a smile spreads across his face, nodding his head towards the yard over - suds dripping off of his mom’s car as he continues to scrub the sides.

Steve sprays the roof of the car - “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Henderson.”

Dustin lets out an exhausted huff - “She’s as smart as she is pretty. And she’s funny,” Dustin says. “And she was kind of like my sister growing up.”

“So that means I can’t even look at her?” Steve scoffs, turning back to glance at Dustin’s neighbor. “She is really pretty.”

“I knew it!” Dustin takes the soapy bucket in front of him, grasping it in his hands, tossing the liquid at Steve, “She isn’t just someone to date, Steve. She’s the kind of girl you want to settle down with. Hawkins’ own Princess Leia. So, not your type.”

Steve wipes water from his eyes, taking one last glance at the angelic woman reading on the lawn. “She could be my type, you never know.”

“Princess Leia,” Steve murmurs.

“What was that?” She cocks her head to the side, her brows coming together in an inquisitive furrow.

Steve clears his throat, “You should be happy to know that Dustin Henderson speaks very highly of you,” Steve smiles at her, his eyes glancing down at his hand still wrapped around hers and quickly drops it to his side. His chocolate eyes scan back up to her sweet gaze. “He says you’re smart and funny. He says you’re Hawkins’ own Princess Leia, actually.”

“Well, that’s incredibly sweet of Dustin to say,” she sighs. “I miss the hell out of that kid. How is he? I never get to see him anymore.. Not since he got this really cool babysitter,” she eyes Steve, smirking at him.

He blushes, smiling widely as his fingers rake through his thick locks, “Yeah.. Sorry about that.”

“It’s okay, Steve.”

God, he loved how she said his name. He loved how her mouth had to curl into a small smile whenever she said it.

“-I understand. Dustin thinks you’re way cooler than me, which isn’t true at all. He’ll come to realize that one day,” she bounces her brows at him. “After all, I am the person that introduced him to Dungeons and Dragons.”

He scoffs, “Hey now - we can both be cool. I mean, I am extremely cool - but since Dustin Henderson thinks so highly of you, I’d say we might be neck and neck on the coolness scale.” He’s unable to contain his wide smile as he looks back at the girl. “We should dry this shirt of yours before it gets too late.”

She wraps her arms back around herself, shutting her eyes as she cuddles herself into Steve’s sweatshirt, inhaling slowly, “But what if I want to keep wearing your sweatshirt? I mean - it smells incredible. And it’s so warm.”

Steve’s cheeks flush, grinning ear to ear as he watches her cuddle into the fabric, looking perfect in his clothes - “I mean - you can keep wearing it if you’d like. You could give it back to me tomorrow or- or really whenever you’d like. I think I’m gonna get out of here, though. Parties like this aren’t my scene anymore.”

Her hand reaches out and gently grabs Steve’s, “Would you please drop me off at my parent’s house? My friend that dragged me here left about forty minutes ago with some girl and I don’t have a ride. Please don't leave me here, Steve. This party is awful. If I hear Tommy Hagan’s stupid voice one more time I might explode.”

Steve’s fingers wrap around hers, “Of course. Let’s go right now.” He turns, still holding her hand as he opens the bathroom door - the house packed wall to wall with drunken teens dancing to music. “It’s a little crazy in here, stay close to me,” he turns, gently pushing her in front of him, his hand on her mid-back as the other keeps a protective shield in front of her as they make their way through the crowd.

Just as they near the door, Tommy H.’s voice rings out, “King Steve got the prettiest bitch in the pond!” He hops off of the table he’s on, drunkenly waltzing over to where the two stood, just feet from the door.

“The Drum Major graduates and gets hot. Who knew?” Tommy slurs, shrugging as he smacks his palm onto Steve’s shoulder. “I knew you were in there, King Steve. I knew I could drag you out of this old, tired version of yourself.” His breath wafts in both of their faces. Tommy’s mischievous eyes scan down to her’s, villainously smiling as he looks her up and down, “You gonna let King Steve treat you real good, yeah? What - are you a virgin? No! No - you band kids fuck like rabbits, don’t you - band girl?”

Tommy’s hand reaches up to grab Steve’s collar, his gaze turning as he breathes - “I wonder how many rounds she’ll last you, huh - King Steve? Four? Five?”

Steve grits his teeth together, his arm remains protectively wrapped around her waist as he looks down at Tommy, “We gotta go before it gets too late. Thanks for the invite, man.”

Tommy’s eyes glance back down to Her, “Wait a second.. hold your horses, you two-“ his fingers point to her chest, noticing Steve’s sweatshirt - “This is his.” Tommy’s fingers point to Steve, “You’re naughty, King Steve. You really had me fooled.” Tommy leans down to the woman, inches away from her face as he asks, “Tell me, beautiful. Where did you take it? In your mouth or in your a-“

Tommy is shoved back with force by Steve - the crowd gasping and whispering, forming an open circle at the entrance of the home as the two men stalk towards one another.

“Oh, Stevie-boy! Did I hurt your feelings?” Tommy laughs, jumping up and down a bit as he holds his fists in front of his face - back curled inward as he starts to rock back and forth on the balls of his feet. “What? Ya gonna hit me, King Steve? Come on!”

Steve is silent, staring at Tommy through his long lashes - his hair fallen in his face as his chest slowly rises and falls.

“Do you even know how to fight anymore? Oh wait - you’ve never won a fight in your life, have you?” Tommy mocks, nearing Steve and throwing a punch his way.

Steve dodges the punch, retracting his body before his arm flies towards Tommy’s face, his fist knocking Tommy directly in his freckled nose. Tommy steps back dramatically, grabbing his face before he lunges at Steve again - arms flying around his thighs trying to throw him to the ground.

Steve’s thumbs dig into Tommy’s traps, shoving him away as he rolls up his sleeves, “Like I said, we need to leave. It’s getting late.” Tommy charges Steve again, punching him in the gut this time before he lands another punch to Steve’s nose - blood immediately pouring from his left nostril as he’s pushed back.

“Stop!” The girl yells, stepping herself in between Steve and Tommy - Tommy’s fist hitting her left cheek as she falls to the ground, letting out a small whimper as she holds her face in her palm.

Steve’s worried eyes snap over to where she had fallen beside him, swallowing as his heart raced - drumming hard in his ears as he felt his body burn with an animalistic rage seeing tears streaming down her beautiful face. His nostrils flare, grimacing as he stands - “You’re a pathetic piece of shit, Hagan. If you ever touch her again, I will kill you.”

“Fuck you, Harrington,” Tommy spits at him.

Steve rears back, punching Tommy in the nose once more - this time knocking him unconscious, hitting the ground with a loud thud. A few of Tommy’s friends gather around him and Steve turns, helping the beautiful woman up, “Come on. Let’s get you out of here.”

_

“Dustin was right,” Steve smiled. “That was very Princess Leia of you back there.”

The woman dabs Steve’s bloody nose, standing between his thighs where he sat on the kitchen counter, holding up a bag of frozen peas to her cheek -“What? Getting punched in the face?”

“No. Stepping in to help. It was very Princess Leia of you,” he smiles, his upper lips moving as the wet cloth wipes away the crimson stain. “You were a badass.”

She rolls her eyes, “You’re far too nice, Steve. You’re the one that was a badass back there. You beat Tommy’s ass.”

“He’s had it coming for years now,” he watches her concentrated face as she wipes the last bit of blood from his nose. “Is it bad to say that it kind of felt good?”

“No, I don’t think so - I think you had a real Han Solo moment back there,” she smiled, laying the wet rag beside Steve. “I was hoping to get the chance to call you a stuck-up, half-witted, scruffy-looking nerf herder.. But as it turns out, you're quite the opposite, Steve Harrington.”

“Wait, who’s Han in the movies again?” He hops down from the counter, now chest to chest with her - his warm eyes gazing at her.

“He’s a real scoundrel. A smuggler. But he ends up being one of the Rebel Alliance's greatest leaders. He’s a real hero,” her shy gaze falls to the ground.

“And what about Leia?” He leans closer to her, “What happens between them? Sorry that I need so much refreshing. Dustin insisted that I watch episodes four, five and six last Christmas break, but it's all a little blurry for me.”

“Han and Leia?”

“Yeah, what happens to them?” He asks, intrigued.

“Well, even though they want to wring each other’s throat sometimes, they fall in love,” she explains.

“Do they get married and have babies?” Steve asks. His tone is almost eager as his chest remains pressed against hers. “What about the hairy thing?”

“Chewbacca?” She asks.

“Yes! Yes - That’s Dustin,” he smiles.

She lets out a belly laugh, smacking her hand over her mouth, “I’m sorry for laughing!”

“What? Why? It’s true!” He laughs. “Now tell me, what happened to Chewbacca? What happens to Han and Leia?”

“Well, in Return of the Jedi - where Luke burns up Vader’s helmet at the ewok camp in the final scene,” she says - “Everyone is happy and celebrating. They’re all there together.”

“That’s a really good scene,” Steve whispers, his nose practically touching hers just as a low rolling of thunder shakes the house, rain starting to pour on the roof of the home. Lightning strikes, followed by another rolling of thunder.

“Jesus, I didn’t realize it was supposed to storm tonight,” she whispers, turning and walking away from Steve - opening up a drawer and grabbing a large black flashlight from it, turning back to Steve, “Just in case! The power is shitty here.”

“Do you want me to leave?” He asks, going to grab his car keys from the kitchen counter.

“No! Please stay. It isn’t safe to drive right now.. And honestly, I’m a little freaked out by being alone with it storming so badly,” she makes a face. “I’m kind of a sissy.”

“You are not a sissy,” Steve chuckles, dropping his keys back onto the counter and resting his hip on it, crossing his arms over his chest - “I’m a little scared of storms too. It’s something about control for me, I think. That storm is a hell of a lot stronger than I could ever be, and I can’t control its strength, therefore it’s easy to be scared of it. Ya know?”

“That was deep,” she says.

“Shocker, Steve Harrington can be deep,” he waves his fingers, playfully rolling his eyes at her.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it like that. It’s just crazy that King Steve Harrington is more than just a pretty face,” she smiles. “You see a gorgeous human - like a ridiculously gorgeous human, and you just automatically assume ‘this person’s gonna be an asshole.’ But you’re not. You’re wonderful,” she says.

Steve’s cheeks burn, smirking - “You think I’m ridiculously gorgeous?” His voice is raspy, stepping towards her, humming - “Huh, Princess?”

“Well, I just…” she shrugs, looking away from Steve before she shakes her head, “Fine.” Her eyes flash back to him, pointing the flashlight to his chest, “I think you’re ridiculously gorgeous, Steve Harrington. Happy?”

Steve brings his hand up to hers, wrapping his gentle fingers around the flashlight and taking it from her grasp, putting it in his back pocket. “Well, yeah-” His hands reach up, gently grasping her hand, “Because I think you’re ridiculously gorgeous..”

She looks confused, blinking a few times, “Is this really happening?”

“What?” He whispers, a small chuckle escaping from his throat.

“Steve Harrington finds me attractive?” She asks.

“And witty, and smart,” he adds with a nod, his left hand grasping hers while his right lazily rubs his thumb along the webbing of her hand. “Do you want to know what else Dustin said about you?”

She nods, her body melting into his touch as he continues, “He said I wasn’t even allowed to look at you because you’re out of my league. He says that you’re not someone just to date.. that you’re someone worth settling down with.”

“Is that really what he said?” She asks, her voice small. Steve nods. She smiles, “Well, that is very sweet of Dustin to say. What do you say?”

Steve chokes out a raspy, “What?”

“Now that you’ve met me, and we’ve spent- uh…” she looks past Steve to the clock above the fireplace in her family’s living room. “-Ya know, the last three, almost four hours together.. What do you say?”

Steve’s stomach drops, staring at the beautiful woman - “I would say that-“

Lightning strikes, the room goes dark, “Shit! We lost power? Come on!”

“You’re trembling,” Steve whispers, holding her hand a little tighter in his, his long fingers rubbing the webbing in between her thumb and pointer finger - bringing her a bit closer to his chest. The two are only inches away, standing in the middle of the kitchen - “Are you scared, Princess? You don’t have to be, I’m here.”

“My hands still have some of your blood on them, I’m sorry if they’re dirty,” she mutters - now close enough to Steve that her breath hits his neck.

“It’s okay - my hands are dirty, too,” his Nike covered toe hits hers. “But you’re still shaking.. So what are you afraid of, Princess?”

“Afraid? I’m not afraid,” she says. “If anything, I think you’re afraid.”

“Of what? The storm?” Steve retorts, his eyes adjusting to the darkness, now able to see the shape of her gorgeous face.

“Me,” she says.

His head shakes, “No - no, I’m not scared of you. Why would you say that?”

“Because you’re the one that’s trembling,” she whispers, taking her free hand and wrapping it around Steve’s. Her touch makes his heart swell, his knees grow weak as he swallows, realizing he is the one that’s been trembling this whole time. “What are you so scared of, Steve?”

“I- I don’t know.. I..” he exhales - his handsome face drops, warm eyes blinking - “I just get this feeling whenever I look at you. Whenever you’re near me.. I just- I want to be close to you. It feels like something is drawing me towards you like a magnet. It’s a little scary.. I’ve never really felt this way before.”

He can hear her swallow, her heart drums against her chest “Y-yeah?”

Steve nods, his nose brushes against hers, “Yes ma’am.”

“Why’s that? This magnetism between us?” She asks.

“Because you are someone worth settling down for. I look at you, and I can see my future staring back at me,” one of his hands comes up and cups her cheek, “I don’t mean to be so forward.. I don’t know what’s wrong with me.”

“What kind of future do you see?” She asks.

“Whatever you want,” he says. “A future where you’re the happiest.”

“What if I said I wanted my future to have at least four kids in it?” She murmurs.

Steve pauses, smiling wide - so wide his eyes screw shut, “Then I guess I would need to go ahead and tell you my future involves six little nuggets.”

“Domesticated Steve Harrington? I’m in,” she laughs. “I like the thought of it. Steve with kids hanging all over him?”

“It’s the dream,” he nods. “Family vacations, only the best of the best for the holidays.. even changing diapers. It’s my dream.”

She’s quiet.

“Too much? I went too far, didn’t I?” He inhales sharply. “I’m so sorry. It was the future talk. I’m sorry..” he turns away, starting to walk towards his car keys.

Her hand grasps his, gently tugging him back towards her - their chests clumsily bumping together as her hand spreads, cupping his face. “You’re not too much for me, Steve.”

“I’m not? He whispers, swallowing back his nerves feeling the nearness of her.

She barely shakes her head, putting her hand on his drumming chest, “Never. Also, It’s gonna take a hell of a lot more than talking about babies and vacations to run me off, Steve Harrington.”

His anxieties wash away as his arm wraps around her waist, his palm cupping the nape of her neck. Steve’s warm lips brush against hers delicately, his body relaxing into her warmth - melting into her touch. Just the simple brush of flesh seemed to intoxicate Steve as his lips crashed into hers, feeling as if his knees could come out from underneath him as her fingers ran through his hair.

She breathlessly moans into the passionate kiss as Steve wraps her up closer, pressing his hips into hers as his tongue traces her bottom lip. Their tongues collide as Steve’s thigh presses against her pelvis - her legs spreading a bit as he starts to walk the two of them back, running into the kitchen table in the process.

They part, both laughing, “Are you okay, Princess?”

“Yeah, yeah - but I'm gonna have to stop you before you seduce me into making kid number one already. At least take me on a date first,” she mocks, her nose brushing against Steve’s.

He sighs, “I’ll take you on a date. Wherever you want to go, I’ll take you.”

“How about you take me to your favorite place?” She suggests, still wrapped up in his arms.

He inhaled sharply - “Well - my favorite place is with Dustin Henderson… who is going to murder us, especially me whenever he finds out about me kissing you,” Steve groans.

“Oh god.. Dustin is going to kill us.. I am not looking forward to his wrath.. like, at all,” she sighs. “Maybe we won't tell him for right now?”

“No, that’ll make it way worse,” Steve shakes his head. “What do we do?”

“I have an idea. What about a DND game? I’ll host it tomorrow, it’s Sunday tomorrow - no one should have anything to do. It’ll be fine,” she says.

“Are you saying that for me or for you?” Steve asks. “Because I feel like that was kinda for both of us.” He laughs.

“Wait-“ she looks at him, he can see her brows laced together with concern, “What if you wake up tomorrow and you don’t feel the same way as you do tonight?” She asks.

Steve’s hands cup her warm face, leaving a gentle kiss on the top of her nose, “These feelings aren’t going anywhere.” Steve smiles, wrapping his arms around her. “You’re stuck with me now.”

“Promise?”

“I promise.”

————