Archive of Our Own ^beta

He turned and headed toward the Hawkins Library, ignoring Steve as he rolled his eyes and followed behind.

“This kid,” he muttered, running his fingers through his hair.

Dustin’s steps slowed as he walked inside, hesitant to meet the wrath of Marissa. He kept his gaze on the books the two of them passed.

Steve didn’t care about the books, though. His attention was completely and unapologetically on you.

You were in the corner of the children’s section, handing a book to a young boy with a smile on your face that outshined the sun. The boy jumped to give you a hug and your laugh traveled all the way down Steve’s body.

“Marissa doesn’t seem so bad,” he whispered to Dustin with an awestruck smile.

Dustin looked over at you as you walked to the front desk. “Oh thank god,” he breathed, quickly walking over to you. “Y/n!” he called out.

Oh, Steve thought. This isn’t Marissa then. 

You looked up when you heard Dustin called your name and glared.

It was the fiercest, cutest look Steve had ever seen.

“Henderson,” you said, looking around the open room and over your shoulder. “What the hell are you doing here? Marissa is going to be back from lunch any minute and she is out for your head after the shi- stuff you pulled in October.”

“But my paddles-”

“You know the lame paddles metaphor doesn’t work on me, bud.” You sighed, arms leaning on the desk as you whispered, “Look, if you have the books, I can try to say that they had been misshelved and this was all some big misunderstanding. Do you have them with you?”

Dustin nodded, pulling out his bag and digging for the various textbooks. “You’re a lifesaver, Y/n. I’m naming my firstborn after you.”

You giggled, and the sound was so amazing that Steve started chuckling himself.

Your eyes flashed to him and his laughter died on his throat, and his face suddenly burned.

“Who’s your friend, Henderson?” you asked, keeping your eyes on Steve.

Steve stood straight, clearing his throat and holding out a hand while giving you his best, swoonworthy smile.

“I’m Steve Harrington.”

Your brows shot up, and Steve watched as you bit the inside of your cheek and he suddenly wished that he could crawl into the Upside Down and never emerge because of how unimpressed you were by his moves.

Still, you took his hand and shook it. The feel of your skin against his was electric.

“Steve Harrington, I’m Y/n.” You looked over at Dustin. “Aren’t you too old for a babysitter?”

Both of them groaned. “He’s not my babysitter-”

“More like his chauffeur,” Steve muttered, and the corners of your lips twitched. He shrugged. “We’re buds.”

You softened at that, giving Steve a genuine smile that made him melt. “Well, nice to meet you, Steve. Are you a reader?”

His immediate reaction was to lie in order to impress you, but he had a feeling you’d be able to read through his bullshit.

“Only when forced, and even then, not really,” he replied sheepishly.

He braced himself for judgment from you, whether it be a disappointed scoff, or a you’re such a loser cackle.

Instead, your smile widened and you bit your bottom lip.

“I bet we can change that.”

MARCH

Dustin plopped his finished books on the counter, a satisfied grin on his face as Marissa scowled.

“See?” he said, gesturing at the pile. “All five safely returned! Again!”

“You’re not going to win me over that easily, Dustin,” she said, taking the pile.

“Someday,” Dustin said, then ran off to find his next round of tomes.

Steve, on the other hand, kept his one book in hand as he walked by the shelves, scanning the area for the other librarian.

He stopped short once he got to the history section, smiling as he watched you carrying a massive stack of books in one hand, balancing it under your chin as you shelved one of the books.

You were standing on your tiptoes, tongue sticking out as you reached up to one of the higher shelves. At first it seemed like you had everything under control.

Then, the stack in your hand wobbled, and your eyes widened as they started tipping over-

Steve jumped forward, grabbing the stack from you and securing it in his arms.

You gasped from the smooth, fluid motion, staring up at him in surprise.

“Harrington,” you breathed out a relieved laugh. “Good catch.”

He smiled and shrugged. “Yeah, well, after years of being the star athlete of Hawkins, I better have great reflexes.”

You rolled your eyes, still smiling. “Is that supposed to impress me?”

A chuckle. “Nah, if I really wanted to impress you,” he lifted up the stack of books, “I would go home and spend the weekend reading these bad boys.”

Your nose scrunched in disgust. “That would be quite the feat, even for me Harrington. I’m more of a fiction girl myself.”

You tried to make a move to grab the stack but Steve just shook his head, so instead you just grabbed the book at the top, turning to the shelves and running your fingers over the spines until you found its proper home.

It was such a small, seemingly insignificant gesture, but Steve found himself mesmerized by the tenderness of your fingertips as they touched each book, as if you were handing precious jewels.

“I finished Hitchhiker’s Guide, by the way,” he said after a few moments of silence.

Your eyes lit up as you turned to him. “And?”

He nodded. “It was good! Gotta admit I got lost during a few moments, but overall I liked it.”

“Totally fair. I had to reread it a few times to fully understand some parts. It sure gets wild.”

“I’d definitely read it again. Kind of wish it was a movie, too. That would be wild.”

“Well,” you said, taking another book to the shelf, “I don’t know about a movie, but they did make a tv show a few years back.”

Steve’s eyes widened. “What! How did I miss that?”

“Probably all that athlete stuff you were doing,” you said, smile widening.

He narrowed his eyes at you. “Alright, sassypants. Well, is it worth the watch?”

You shrugged. “Not sure, I never saw it.”

Steve barked out a laugh loud enough for you to whip your head around at him, clamping your hand over his mouth. 

The two of you went wide-eyed at the sudden and unexpected contact and you pulled away as soon as the realization of what you had done sank in. Your eyes then averted from his as you looked around for any angry glares from the loud noise.

“Sorry,” he whispered. “I just can’t believe you just gave me shi- crap about not seeing it when you haven’t either!”

You scoffed. “What? Maybe I’m a purist who believes the book will always be better!”

“Well, there’s only one way to find out.” Steve’s lips turned downward. “We could….find out together?”

There was a pause as you shelved the next book, and Steve wondered if he had taken your witty banter too far, misreading the situation.

But when you turned to look at him, there was a light in your eyes that made his heart flutter.

“I’d be down for that.”

JUNE 

“Well, well, well, look who we have here,” you said as you approached the kid’s section, crossing your arms at the man sitting on the U.S. map rug reading a picture book.

Steve looked up at you with feigned annoyance. “Can you wait a second, please? I gotta find out what the hell this brown bear sees.”

“Harrington, you know you’re welcome to join me at storytime any Saturday morning you’d like. I’m sure it’s been lonely since Dustin left for science camp.”

He frowned, closing the book and standing up. “I’m not lonely!” he lied. “How can I be lonely when I have a million books and a stellar librarian to keep me company?”

You shrugged. “Or maybe it’s that you’ve now found better things to do and more interesting people to hang out with?” Though you were joking, he could hear the hurt in your voice. “Maybe that’s why you haven’t been here in months.”

Steve’s eyes widened, guilt and shame washing through him. “What? No way! I just-” he sighed, running his fingers through his hair, “I’m sorry, Y/n. Shit- stuff with my parents haven’t been great and I had to get a job at the new mall and….” now I’m just some loser.

“Hey,” you said, resting a hand on his shoulder. He tried not to make a big deal about you touching him so as to not scare you off, and luckily, it worked. “It’s okay, Steve. Life happens. The books will always be here when you need them.”

He cocked an eyebrow up and smiled at the meaning behind your words. “Well, I’m grateful for the books’ support.”

A sudden boldness that Steve had not felt in months washed over him and he rested his hand over yours, squeezing it gently.

You smiled.

“Alright, Harrington, are you finished with the bear yet? I have a whole pile of books I’ve been saving for you…” 

JULY

Steve’s eye felt like it was going to pop out of its socket.

When he first got beat to shit in the underground Russian lab, the pain as numbed due to the adrenaline rush, replaced quickly by the crazy truth serum shit they injected into him and Robin.

Now, as the drugs slowly left his system, he began to feel the pain pulsing through his body.

But he couldn’t focus on that right now. He needed to focus on keeping his legs moving as he, Robin, Dustin, and Erica ran full speed down the streets of Hawkins.

“We gotta hide somewhere!” Robin said in between curses.

“The library!” Dustin offered. “It’s not far-”

“No,” Steve growled, shooting a glare at his friend.

Henderson sighed. “Look, Harrington, it’s the closest thing we got! Besides, it closed hours ago. No one will be there.”

Steve read between the lines of what the twerp was saying. You wouldn’t be there.

It was still too dangerous. He didn’t want any of this to go anywhere near any part of your life if he could help it. “If it’s closed, that means it’s locked. So we can’t get in anyway!”

“Not a problem. I’ve broken in multiple times.”

Steve groaned. “What do you mean you’ve broken into the library-”

“PADDLES STEVE. FOR THE PADDLES!” 

Steve didn’t know what to do. He couldn’t let his friends get hurt any more than they already had, and an the Mindflayer army was readying an invasion through Hawkins any moment.

His brain was going fuzzy again from exhaustion and pain, and he had no more strength to fight.

“Fine.”

They continued down the streets, keeping their eyes and ears peeled for any approaching danger. Luckily, the coast seemed clear.

Until they made it to the main road where the library was, and Steve felt his heart stop mid-beat as they all scrambled to hide behind one of the buildings. 

He leaned over to look at the three figures on the other end of the street walking toward the library, bodies moving almost unnaturally, the expressions on their faces borderline lifeless.

Marissa was at the helm.

Panic rushed through him like a tidal wave.

Why would Marissa be heading towards a supposedly empty building?

Unless it wasn’t empty….

Steve turned to Dustin. “We need to get in there. Now.”

Dustin nodded. “Back door. Follow me.”

They crept behind the buildings until they reached the library. Dustin pulled out a key from his bag - because apparently he had a key to the library somehow- and unlocked it.

The door slowly opened with an aged creak to a dimly lit office space.

Steve stormed in, whipping his head around frantically as he looked for you.

“Stay in the office, run if shit goes down,” he said to the group before opening the office door.

He made his way into the library itself, jumping between shelves.

“Hello?” you called out, a hint of fear in your voice and Steve almost let out a whimper.

“Y/n!” he followed your voice to the classics section and didn’t stop until you were a foot in front of him.

“Steve, what the hell happened to you?” Your eyes widened and a hand reached up to his swollen eye.

He shook his head, hands grasping your arms as his eyes bore into yours.

“You need to go. Right now. It isn’t safe.”

“Steve we need to get you to a hospital-”

“We can’t-” the panic was unrelenting. “Please, Y/n. Please you can’t be here I need to get you out of here I need you to be safe-”

“Steve, breathe,” you whispered, caging his face in your hands. You took a deep breath in and out, wordlessly telling him to do the same.

He took one breath in-

BANG

The two of you jumped as the entrance door slammed open, Steve covering your mouth before you could scream. He pulled you deeper into the shelves.

“Ohhhhh Y/n,” Marissa called as if coaxing a cat from underneath the bed. “Where are you?”

You let out the tiniest cry, muffled by Steve’s hand. His other arm wrapped around your waist as he clung to you, ready to pull or push you wherever you needed to go in order to be safe.

Marissa’s voice echoed through the room as she continued, and Steve used it as a path to escape. As her voice went left, you went right. She came closer, you moved back.

“I just wanted to have a little chat. I just met the most interesting people. They’ve got some big ideas and dreams that you might really like. Doesn’t take that much to join.”

You and Steve were close to the entrance now. He looked over the corner of a shelf, his hand securely around yours.

Marissa was gone.

“All it costs is your soul,” the possessed librarian said from right behind him. He whirled around just as she wrapped her arm around your throat, you gasping while she ripped you away from him.

Steve moved to jump to your aid, but was suddenly restrained by the two large men Marissa had been walking with.

“Y/N!,” he screamed, using every ounce of strength to try and pull away. One of the guys punched him in the stomach and he keeled over.

“STEVE,” you screamed back, arm extending out toward him. Marissa slammed your body against one of the shelves, hand wrapping around your neck as she lifted you in the air with superhuman strength.

“Now, now, Y/n,” Marissa cooed, head cocking to the side as a smile crept up her face. “You know the rules. No. Yelling-”

The guys holding Steve back let out a simultaneous oof as their hold on him loosened and they fell to the ground. Steve looked at Robin, Erica, and Dustin, who were holding those large busts usually displayed at the desk.

And then, he launched himself at Marissa, slamming his body into hers. The momentum knocked her off her feet and onto the ground, and you fell back against the shelf, gasping for air.

Marissa growled, standing up and crashing her fist into Steve’s jaw. He fell onto his back with a groan and she took the opportunity to straddle his waist and wrap both hands around his neck and squeezing with all her might.

“Well if it isn’t Steve Harrington,” she hissed, her eyes nearly black. “You’ve caused a lot of trouble with the boss trying to keep these kids safe over the years. He’d love it if I took care of the problem by killing you now-”

A thunk echoed in the library as Marissa’s eyes rolled to the back of her head and she fell to the side, unconscious.

Steve turned from her to see you standing over him, panting from adrenaline, a giant history book in your hand like a weapon.

He scrambled up to standing as you dropped the book. “Are you oka-”

His question was cut off as you lunged forward, crashing your lips to his.

Steve hissed in pain.

You pulled back in horror. “I’m sorry I’m sorry-”

His hands wrapped around your face and he smiled. “Nononowaitwaitwait,” he murmured as he pulled your mouth back till it connected with his.

A small sigh left your body as you leaned into him, and Steve felt like he was floating. 

When he finally pulled back, his eyes opened slowly, expression dreamlike.

Your eyes, however, were still wide and you bit your bottom lip. “I’m sorry,” you said again, softly this time. “I just…nothing like an unexpected near death experience to make you finally have the balls to kiss the guy you like.”

Steve chuckled, forehead leaning against yours. “Well, I hope it won’t take another near death experience for you to do it again. You can kiss me anytime you like.”

You smiled. “Really?”

He kissed you again in response.

“Uh, guys?” Dustin whined from behind as he continued kissing you. “Can we go back to saving the world again?”

AUGUST

Steve strolled into the library, plastic bag in hand.

As per usual, instead of being at your station at the front desk, he found you helping a group of young students pick out their last summer reads before school started.

He leaned against the desk, arms crossed as he watched you with a content smile on his face. It never got old, the joy spread across your face doing the things you loved most.

Nothing beat the way your smile grew as you looked up to see him there, the brightness in your eyes somehow becoming brighter. 

The way you scrunched your nose when he winked at you.

You handed the last student their book and patted them on the shoulder before walking over to him. He was about to say hello when you grabbed his arm and pulled him into the empty reference section, pushing him against the spines and leaning in for a deep, head spinning kiss.

“Man,” he said when you pulled away, the two of you a bit breathless. “I had no idea libraries were this much fun.”

You rolled your eyes, lighting slapping his chest. “Did you get the goods?”

He held up the plastic bag. “The first season of Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. Surprisingly easy to get my hands on, seeing that it apparently hasn’t been checked out in years.”

You shook your head. “Some people are such purists,” you muttered before pulling Steve’s smiling lips back to yours.