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Steve Harrington had one thing on his mind: you. Well, you as an individual, and keeping you safe from Vecna.
After your first encounter with the dreadful being, Steve decided he'd be practically glued to you, so if the worst-case scenario were to happen, he'd be right there. Right there to fix it all, to save you.
"What's going on in that pretty head of yours, Stevie?" you ask the boy next to you, giving his hand a comforting squeeze.
"Just how much I love you," he responded, moving to kiss your forehead before continuing to trail behind Robin and Nancy. "Besides, you're way prettier," he finished as he kissed your hand.
"Oh, so what I'm hearing is that you think I'm pretty?" you ask the boy with a joking tone.
"Of course I do, y/n, anyone with eyes can see that," he responded, attempting to tuck your hair behind your headphones. A light blush crept up on you as you replied, "Well, Harrington, I think you're pretty gre-" you say before suddenly stopping, staring into nothing.
"Y/n?" Steve asked, turning to face you, meeting your blank stare. "Y/n, you're scaring me," he said, lightly shaking your frame while calling for the girls who were now several miles away. You had your headphones on; he could hear your music playing through them, he didn't understand. This isn't how it's supposed to work. You're supposed to be safe with your music. You're supposed to be okay. "Y/n, wake up, please " he pleaded, tears prickling his eyes as Robin suddenly appeared beside him, snapping her fingers in front of your face in an effort to wake you up.
When you suddenly began floating in the air.
No, this wasn't how it was supposed to be. You were supposed to be okay. Steve promised to take care of you.
"Vecna! Take me, not her!" Steve shouted in a moment of panic. He was willing to do just about anything if it meant you would be okay.
"Vecna, please!" he shouted, and in Steve's luck, Vecna heard. Suddenly, Steve was in the Upside Down, and he saw you seconds away from dying.
"Steve Harrington, you wanted to take y/n's place?" Vecna asked in an almost mocking tone. Steve could see you violently shaking your head no to him through his periphery. But all that mattered to him at that moment was keeping you safe. "Please," he whispered, before getting pulled back by vines and thrown against a wall. The vines slowly tightened around him.
"I think I'd rather make you watch," Vecna told Steve, before killing you, right in front of him. Steve thought the sounds of your screams would haunt him for the rest of his life. As much as he tried, he couldn't escape. He couldn't help you. He failed. He didn't know if watching you die here at the hands of Vecna or at Hawkins would have been better. Except no, he did know. Him dying instead would have been far better. But Hawkins never was a fair place.
Vecna slowly brought your lifeless corpse towards the boy as he struggled away.
Until he woke up in a cold sweat.
It was just a dream. Well, more of a nightmare. As he raked his hands through his damp hair, he knew that right now he just wanted to hold you. To make sure you were okay, and here with him. That you were safe.
As he turned to your side of the bed, he realized that you weren't there. You were gone. Panic quickly filled him as he worried: what if it wasn't a dream? What if you were actually dead?
But he heard what sounded like you coming from downstairs. He could only hope that you were okay, maybe getting a glass of water, as he reached for his bat in case his mind was playing tricks on him. Or, in case it was Vecna.
"Yeah, I think he's it for me Robs, I think he's the one," he heard what sounded like you say as he slowly crept down the stairs. Tiptoing into the kitchen, he saw the back of your head as you were on the phone, absentmindedly playing around with the cord while your laughter filled the room.
He dropped the bat on the floor as he realized you were okay. You weren't dead. No, the opposite, in fact. You were real, and you were here, with him, and you thought he was the one. He could cry. In fact, he did start crying when you jumped around, wild eyes alert as you made eye contact with the boy who looked like he had gone through Hell and back. Unbeknownst to you, he had.
"Um, Rob, I'll call you back." You rush out, moving to hang the phone up before slowly walking towards the poor boy.
"Steve are you-" you start before being interrupted by Steve's bone-crushing hug.
"You're okay," he whispered as you slowly nodded, realizing he must have had another nightmare. You were both used to the nights filled with terror after your several encounters with the Upside-Down, but Steve's never seemed to be this bad; you hugged him back though, tight as you could while confirming that you were okay.
"I'm okay, Steve. I'm okay, you're okay, the kids are okay, we're all okay," you tell him, playing with his hair as he squeezes you just a bit tighter.
"Do you wanna talk about it?" You tentatively ask as he shook his head no.
"I just wanna hold you," he said, voice slightly muffled as he hid his face within your neck.
"Okay, do you wanna do that here or the bed?" you asked.
"Bed," he mumbled, reaching for your hand as you grabbed the discarded baseball bat with your free hand.
As you both lay in bed, you playing with hair, him playing with your free hand, you both whispered sweet nothings to each other. Little "I love yous," "I'm here," and "we're okay's," filled the room. Talks of the future and laughter enveloped you both. You started telling Steve the story of when you first realized you were in love with him, in hopes of lulling him back to sleep. Surprisingly, it worked, as you soon heard the sound of his soft snores filling the room.
"I love you, Stevie," you whispered, as the boy hugged you just a bit tighter. You kissed his head while adjusting yourself to fall asleep with the boy you loved.
There was no way of knowing if you and Steve would always be okay due to all the Upside-Down nonsense, but with you in each other's arms that night, you felt like you both could be. No matter what, you would always have each other at your side, there to help and comfort each other no matter what, and that was more than okay.