Chapter Text
After:
Sitting on the floor in a bathroom stall wasn't where Steve pictured his day ending up. Neither was getting drawn into another government conspiracy—not their government this time, but that didn't make it better—or being interrogated while wearing his ridiculous work uniform. The Russians didn't get the memo about waiting until November like the rest of the monsters in Hawkins. Steve figured this summer would go a bit more like last summer had, only with more working since his dad had decided to be a parent for a hot minute.
He supposed he should have known better than to think any time was safe, so long as he was in Hawkins. With his face throbbing and the world still swimming in and out of focus, Steve almost wished the lab had chosen somewhere, anywhere but here to set up. Without them forcing that first gate open, there was no way the Russians would have chosen this town for their own secret mission. Of course, then he probably never would have dumped Tommy and Carol. Wouldn't even know Dustin's name, let alone get to call him his best friend. Wouldn't be … with … he blinked, shaking his head and regretting it right away.
"The ceiling stopped spinning for me," Robin said from the next stall. "Is it still spinning for you?"
Tilting his head carefully up, Steve blinked up at the blissfully still ceiling. "Holy shit. No."
Maybe they had puked everything up. Something about that seemed off. He gently touched his finger to the spot on his neck that hadn't stopped stinging since they jabbed that needle into it. Could you puke up something that had been injected? Next time he saw her he should ask...Steve blinked again. That interrogation must have done a number on him; he couldn't remember the last time he'd seen Nancy, let alone spoken to her.
He was distracted from his thoughts by Robin's suggestion of testing it out. His ribs didn't appreciate the way he laughed when she admitted peeing her pants earlier. He didn't blame her; Steve had nearly died more than once but that moment was near the top of the list of pants-shittingly scary things that he'd experienced.
Then she asked him, "Have you ever been in love?" and the laughter died in his throat.
"Yep. Nancy Wheeler," he told her, heart heavy as he thought about senior year. It felt like a lifetime ago, but it wasn't. God, these incidents really were happening closer together, weren't they? The next one would probably happen just as his face healed up from this. Scars were cool, right? They made up a great map for kissing. He was sure they … wouldn't … mind. Steve swallowed, grimacing at the leftover grossness from being sick.
"Are you still in love with Nancy?"
His stomach dropped and he almost thought he was going to puke again. He curled his hands into shaky fists. After a few deep breaths, he bit out a, "No," but it felt wrong. Everything felt wrong. The ceiling wasn't spinning and his head was mostly normal but there was something…
"What about you?" he asked, putting his focus on Robin to shove that wrongness away. Steve slid until he was in Robin's stall. Sitting across from her, he tried not to think about what was causing it. As Robin explained her crush, eyes getting wider with each word as though she couldn't help it, he knew what it was.
There was still at least some of that shit in their systems and his stomach didn't appreciate the lie he managed to choke out around it. He had more important things to worry about than the unsettling reminder that he was still in love with Nancy, though. Like the tears forming in Robin's eyes, the fear over telling him her secret plain on her face. A not entirely unwarranted fear, given the way he used to act in high school, the things he used to say before...well before Jonathan—Jonathan?—before goading Byers into that fight. And before he started figuring some things out about himself.
By the time Dustin and Erica found them laughing together over Tammy Thompson's singing voice, Steve had mostly managed to forget about the weirdness of it all.
Blanket wrapped loosely around his shoulders, Steve found the ambulance where Nancy was sitting with Jo—he shook his head—Byers. His chest gave a pang at the sight—of them together, of their injuries, of the fact that all three of them were here again and it hadn't even been a year since the last time. He wondered if one of them was going to end up dead before they managed an entire year without something like this happening again. At least the two of them only had another school year to get through; then they could leave for school and get a much needed break from all the crazy. Steve would never say so, but he envied that.
"Steve!"
Nancy sat up quickly, Jonathan close beside her once she was no longer leaning against him. Steve held out one of his hands like she needed steadying. He curled it into a fist around the edge of his blanket when he realized what he was doing.
Jonathan, arm still wrapped around Nancy, looked Steve up and down. "Did they look you over?"
"Yeah," Steve said, gesturing to his face. "Not all that much worse than the usual, you know."
Except for the bruising around his chest and stomach which was a lot worse than that one kick Hargrove had given him last year. And the way his neck still stung. At least the drugs were finally out of his system; he didn't feel shaky or wrong or anything else from his little white lie. He was already doing better than earlier.
They didn't look particularly comforted. Nancy reached out, tracing the tips of her fingers over his hair. He froze, not quite sure how to react. It had been...a long time since Nancy had touched him. Steve swallowed, glancing at Jonathan who only seemed concerned over how Steve looked rather than because of his girlfriend. Or maybe he was too tired to react correctly. It had been a long day, a long couple of days. For everyone apparently.
Nancy took her hand back, only to scoot the rest of the way to the edge of the bench and out of the ambulance. Steve held his hand out again, surprised when she took it to help her on the way down. She smiled. Jonathan followed her out, seemingly unbothered by the way Nancy kept holding onto Steve. She squeezed his hand in hers and took Jonathan's in the other.
"I'm"—she shared a look with Jonathan, before meeting Steve's eyes again—"we're really glad you're okay."
"Yeah," Jonathan said. The last time Steve had heard him so relieved, he'd just gotten his brother back from being possessed. There was a warmth in the look he gave Steve that reminded him of … the thought was gone in a flash. Being up for so long probably wasn't helping with the rest of what was wrong with him.
Steve cleared his already sore throat and regretted it immediately. Their concern matched each other's at his wince. He was so...his head was still a little fuzzy, or maybe his eyes, because Nancy looked upset when he took his hand back. "I, uh. I've gotta go check on Robin and make sure someone knows to get Dustin and Erica."
"We could—"
Steve shook his head, giving Jonathan what was sure to be an awkward smile between the pain and confusion over the beginning of his offer. "No, you guys must be exhausted."
Jonathan looked Steve up and down, eyebrows high on his forehead. Yeah, he wasn't wrong.
"Really, I'm going to have someone else get them. Then I think I might go sleep for a week."
Nancy laughed quietly, some of the tension in her shoulders going away. "That does sound good right about now."
Steve nodded. Jonathan looked around like he was making sure no one was watching and Steve didn't get it, even after Jonathan reached out to squeeze his arm. There was a familiar flutter in his stomach, the same one he got when he let himself look and think about. Things that he knew better than to think about, if he was being honest.
Or maybe he needed to puke again. That was probably it.
The smile on his face felt more awkward than before, but if they noticed neither of them said anything.
"I'll see you later," he said. He even wished it was true. They might see each other around town; with the mall closed, especially, everyone was likely to take their shopping back into the stores that were still open. But he knew how this kind of thing went now. Team up for taking down a monster and then little to no speaking again until the next one.
Jonathan's touch lingered a second longer than he expected. When he let go, Jonathan wrapped his arm around Nancy again. Steve did his best not to look like he was running away when he turned and went to find Robin and someone with a working car who could pick up the rest of the kids. Once he knew Dustin and Erica were taken care of, he could find a way home himself. Sleeping for a week sounded like just what he needed.
Before:
"No, stay!"
Steve sighed, hiding his face in Nancy's chest, ignoring the way her collarbone dug uncomfortably into his nose. She wrapped her arms around him, keeping him close. The fingers of one of her hands made their way to his hair and it took everything in him not to melt right into it.
"I have to go," he mumbled, sure the words were too muffled to be understood. With more effort than it should have taken, Steve lifted his head.
"No you don't," Nancy said, cutting him off before he could repeat himself. She stuck out her bottom lip and there was no fighting the urge to kiss her pout away. He got lost in it, in how good it felt to get to do this again. Even a month ago, Steve would have told anyone who asked that he would count himself lucky to be friends with Nancy again.
The scratch of her nails against his scalp was so good, and the way she slid her other hand down his neck to his shoulder was even better. A line of heat pressed up against him from behind. Steve hadn't even noticed the mattress dip with Jonathan's return to bed. He kissed a line up Steve's back, hand resting on Steve's side. It didn't stay there for long before slowly trailing down and—
"You're not making this easy for me," he told them. It was almost physically painful for him to cover Jonathan's hand with his own to keep him from moving it any further down. There was nothing he wanted more than to see what Jonathan had been planning. Especially with Jonathan still mouthing at his shoulder blades. He was sure his hair was standing on end when Jonathan reached that spot on the back of his neck. Steve couldn't help the way he leaned into it. His eyes slipped closed when Nancy joined in, kissing across his jaw and chin and finally his mouth.
He let his hand go slack, resigned to being late and worrying about the consequences later when Dustin's voice calling his name carried up from downstairs.
"Shit!"
Both Nancy and Jonathan scrambled off the bed. Steve would have laughed if he wasn't both incredibly frustrated and busy doing the same. He grabbed some clothes out of his dresser rather than waste time picking through what was his on the floor. When he was halfway clothed, he looked over and saw Nancy in his shirt from earlier. It did things to him, seeing her in his clothes again. Steve couldn't help the way he tugged her close for a hurried kiss. The grin on her face was worth being stuck shirtless when Dustin's voice got closer and Jonathan shoved him towards the door.
Not a minute too soon. Dustin was nearly to the top step.
"Hey, man," Steve said, shutting his door firmly behind him. "What're you—"
Dustin gave him that wide smile of his as he finished ascending the stairs. It fell when he seemed to notice Steve's lack of dress.
"I'm your moral support," Dustin said like it was obvious. Steve blinked, running a hand through his hair. "For your interview? It's today, isn't it? I marked the calendar for today. Why aren't you ready to go?"
"Uh," Steve tried to think fast, but he was distracted by the fondness he felt for this kid. He couldn't have mentioned his job interview more than twice, maybe, when he went over for dinner at the Hendersons'. And here Dustin was, ready to give up part of his afternoon to support Steve. He didn't think he'd even told Dustin or Mrs. Henderson how nervous he actually was about it.
"Clothes!" Steve blurted out, fighting hard not to roll his eyes at himself. "I, uh. Wasn't sure the right thing to wear."
"Pretty sure a shirt is a requirement," Dustin said. Steve did roll his eyes this time.
"Thanks, it would have been embarrassing if I'd shown up like this."
"Anytime."
Dustin grinned and Steve smiled back, shaking his head. "Grab a pop or something and I'll be down in two minutes, okay?"
"Okay. With a shirt, right?"
"Yes, now shoo," Steve said, waving Dustin downstairs.
Dustin turned, heading back down and saying, "Two minutes!" over his shoulder on the way.
Steve snorted, shaking his head. He opened the door to his room when he was sure Dustin was gone.
"Sorry, guys," he said when he came back in. Nancy was back in her own shirt, which was probably a good thing. Two minutes was already pushing it in getting ready. His hair was going to be a lost cause today.
"You have an interview today?" Nancy asked as he pulled on the first decent looking polo he could find in his dresser. He really wasn't sure what would be the best thing to wear, but it wasn't like he had an interview at his dad's company or something. The stores in the mall probably didn't care so long as he showed up looking at least halfway presentable.
"You didn't say anything," Jonathan said. He sounded curious, but there was something else there, too.
Steve grabbed a pair of socks, sitting on the edge of his bed to get them on. "I told you I had to go," he said, looking up at them when he was done.
"I thought—" Nancy tucked some hair behind her ear and shook her head. The smile on her face was one he recognized from before; when he'd been too blind to realize she wasn't happy. Steve liked to think he could learn from his mistakes.
"I'm sorry," he said, standing up and covering the short distance between them. "I should have told you guys. I'm just. Nervous."
And he hadn't been sure how to bring it up. This was all still new. It was a fresh start and he didn't want to screw it up before he had a chance to show them this could—would—work. So far, they'd spent more time together in their bedrooms than anywhere else. He figured he would ease into all the real relationship stuff later, when he was sure that was what this was.
The look on Nancy's face softened into something more genuine and the knot that had started to form in his gut unfurled. He took a chance, leaning down for a kiss she returned without hesitation. Jonathan was there when they parted, kissing him next before resting his palm on Steve's chest and pushing him, more gently than earlier, toward the door.
"Your two minutes are up. Better get down there before Dustin charges back up here."
Steve laughed. "Probably a good idea."
"Good luck," Nancy said, wrapping both of her arms around one of Jonathan's. Steve ached with the desire to say fuck it and stay, but he couldn't. Dustin really would barge right in if Steve took too long. And he was on thin enough ice with his dad already. Not getting hired after an interview was one thing; finding out somehow that Steve had ditched it? That wouldn't end well for anyone.
"You're gonna do great." The look on Jonathan's face was one Steve was still getting used to having directed his way. A small, comfortable smile usually reserved only for Nancy.
"I'll see you guys later?"
They nodded and Steve left the room.
Dustin was at the bottom of the stairs when he came down. "Finally!"
"Shut up," Steve said. He put his hand on Dustin's head and shook it. He wouldn't have thought it at the time, but Steve had really lucked out that day at Nancy's. Who would have thought he'd find one of the best friends he'd ever had in this dork? "Thanks for coming."
Dustin grinned. "You're welcome. Now hurry up. I'm pretty sure shoes are a requirement, too."
Steve rolled his eyes, but followed Dustin to the front door and shoved his feet into a pair. "Happy?"
"Ecstatic, now let's go. Don't want to be late!"
Steve let Dustin lead the way out of the house and to the car, glancing up at the second story as he got in and buckled up. His chest felt warm when he thought about the both of them up there, wishing him luck. It eased a bit of the worry he'd been carrying, about what this was. Really was. Maybe it wasn't solid yet, but it was getting there. That was worth a lot.