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Steve hadn’t realized how badly hurt he was until you opened the front door. “Hey,” he said with a smile, right before his knees buckled, his legs gave way, and he crumpled down onto the porch steps.
“Shit, Steve!” You cried, shooting forward to try and catch him. “What the hell happened to you? What are you doing here?” You asked as you pulled him into the house and helped sit him down in the narrow hallway. “You’re bleeding!”
Something akin to a laugh slipped out of him as he leaned his bruised head against the wall. “Funny story, actually… though, you wouldn’t believe me if I told you,” he said. He had no intention of telling you what he’d been through, and you never expected him to. But you were the one he came crawling to when he got hurt.
Shaking your head, you glared at him. “Oh, shut up,” you muttered, flicking your finger onto his forehead and earning yourself a complaint from him. “Stay,” you ordered before getting up and scurrying into the bathroom at the end of the hallway.
“It’s not like I’m about to run laps,” Steve mumbled, making himself cough halfway into a hearty chuckle. “Have you always had moving stairs?”
You hurried back to him with a first aid kit in hand. “Can you sit still? You’re getting blood all over my carpet. Is this it?” You asked as you peeled the sleeve of his sweatshirt back, revealing a deep cut along his forearm.
“Got me on my back as well,” he said. “Probably ruining your wallpaper as we speak.”
A deep sigh left you as you began to clean his wounds and dress them as best you could. “I take one First Aid Class for extra credit and this is what I get? I should have taken Calculus instead.” You hoped that the cut wouldn’t need stitches, not that you were about to attempt any anyways. Scooting back to allow him some space, you gave him a stern look. “I need you to take your shirt off if you want me to look at the rest.”
“At least buy me dinner first,” Steve said. However, his humorous quips stopped when your gaze grew even more stern. “Fine.” He began to pull at his sleeves, being careful not to disturb the gauze you’d wrapped around his arm.
You tried not to stare as he undressed, but it was hard not to. No matter what condition he was in when he came to you, he was still Steve Harrington - the guy you’d been crushing on for as long as you could remember. You swallowed when he pulled the shirt over his head and tossed it aside.
“Okay. Let me just…” You decided not to finish your sentence, since you weren’t thinking straight anyway.
Steve leaned forward, seemingly not thinking either as he leaned his forehead against your shoulder. “Yeah, sure… I’ll just… rest a bit.”
You reached around him, wrapping one arm around him as the other gently dabbed the blood from the cut on his back. “You’re going to be fine,” you assured him.
“Of course I am, you’re taking care of me. Aren’t you?”
His words made you soft and fluttery on the inside. “That’s right. I’ve got you,” you said.
By the time you’d cleaned and dressed his remaining cuts and bruises, Steve had wrapped his arms around you, hugging you as you put the final plaster over what looked like a tiny bite. “Thanks,” he mumbled. “I’m glad I’ve got you.”
“You’d do the same if it was me,” you pointed out, and you knew that he would.
“Anything for you,” he said.
“Hey,” you said and reluctantly pulled back to look at his face. “You gotta stay awake for a while, okay? Stay with me for a while more.” You gently patted him on the cheek. “What happened to ‘sleep is for the weak’?”
Steve nodded slowly. “I guess I’m kind of weak at the moment,” he admitted with a guilty smile. “I’ll stay awake. I promise. Well… as long as you stay here with me.”
“I’m not going anywhere, idiot.” You sat down next to him and his head instantly fell to rest on your shoulder. “And if you aren’t going to tell me what happened, then at least tell me when I am going to tell my parents when they come home tomorrow night and there’s blood all over the hallway.”
“Oh, yeah. Easy. We just tell them…”
You didn’t actually listen to anything he said after that. Instead, you leaned your head atop his and focused on the sound of his voice and the warmth that radiated from him. You’d tell him what he meant to you properly one day.