Work Text:
King
Steve actually gets the nickname King Steve in kindergarten on the playground. They all used to play king of the hill a lot on a pile of dirt on the playground leftover from renovation that no one ever bothered to do anything about. Without fail Steve was always crowned victorious. Tommy made sure of it by pushing other kids off the hill and protecting Steve and then when it was just the two of them left he always let Steve push him off.
It was wee little Tommy's way of taking care of the prettiest boy he knew and he keeps protecting him as they get older. At some point Tommy realizes he has a crush on Steve but it is not until after their fallout, after Steve’s fall from grace, after whatever actually happened at Starcourt because Tommy is pretty sure that what the news is saying is bullshit. It is only seeing Steve at a low point, needing someone to protect him that Tommy gets to do anything about his feelings, that he comes back to what he really wants.
Tommy finds Steve huddled behind the counter of Family Video on the fourth of July 1986 clearly having a hard time. He would normally see this as something to exploit even a year ago he would have seen this crack and tore at it but this is Steve his Stevie and Tommy has done a little growing up over the last two years. So he settles down next to him and offers an arm, smiling sadly when Steve looks at it with skepticism.
"Come on King Steve everyone needs someone to lean on." The old nickname is softer in his mouth than it has been in years, even before they had their fallout there was a growing bite behind the nickname.
"Don't call me that." Steve hisses right before he cringes at a loud boom and the back wall is painted red quickly followed by blue. Steve hesitates for a moment longer before shuffling closer and letting Tommy's arm fall over his shoulders.
"You're always going to be King Steve to me, no matter what happens Stevie you'll always be my king." Tommy says softly like a confession but for now he leaves it at that, to let Steve mull it over when he is not having a bad day. Steve is strung tight enough as it is, no need to make him puzzle out any feeling he may have at this exact moment. Tommy can wait to confess the feelings that have been growing under his rib cage since they were still back playing King of the hill and he saw the prettiest boy on the playground, he can wait until Steve is not so full of cracks.
-End