Work Text:
Street lights flickered on as Jonathan made his way through Hawkins. He hadn't been through this way in ages since he began living in New York to attend college and pursue his film career. Sure, he often visited whenever he could to see his family and visit El's grave, but he was getting busier and busier. Of course he couldn't miss his younger brother's graduation though. Now, he was making his way to the party everyone was having in town in some nightclub, after visiting his mother and Hopper. He couldn't believe they were now engaged, well, he sort of expected it but it still felt nice that his mum was finally happy with someone.
He knocked on the door of a familiar house. He had memorized the path from his families place to here so well he could walk it blind. That probably meant he visited way too much.
"Hey, I'm almost ready." Steve opened, then crouched down to tie his shoe laces.
"I'm already late so I expected you to be ready."
"Well, I was busy with...stuff."
Jonathan raised his eyebrows, trying not to think too deep into that but he couldn't stop himself.
"Got somebody over?"
"Nah, haven't for a while." The other guy stood up and gave him a wink.
Jonathan had no clue what to make of that small gesture, he hoped it didn't mean that he was right. He didn't know why recently he felt so disappointed whenever Steve talked about girls or his dating life. Which wasn't going good, but still made him feel a bit sad. Earlier when them, Robin and Nancy were talking, he tried so hard to keep a normal face as Steve named off girls he had been with recently.
He also didn't miss the few looks Steve gave him as he spoke, making a fuzzy feeling spread through him that he tried to push away.
They got in Steve's new car, since his last one probably ended up in a million pieces or something in the upside down. The drive was quiet to begin with until Steve began talking about his job and Jonathan couldn't help but just watch him.
They made it to the place, a little bit late but got inside after a slightly annoyed Nancy greeted them. The kids apparently weren't here yet but she told them they would come after a campaign.
"They seriously doing that on their graduation day? How boring." Steve mumbled, slipping away and getting himself a drink.
Nancy stayed beside Jonathan, both watching Steve leave. She began speaking to him but he spaced out for a few moments.
"Hey, Jon, did you hear what I said?"
"Mhm?" He got hit lightly on the arm, making him snap back into the present.
Nancy smiled at him, rolling her eyes. "Yeah that just confirms it. Guess Robin and Vickie were right."
"What?" He laughed nervously, confused and feeling a bit awkward as Nancy nodded to Steve in the distance.
"We walked here together and Robin was talking about how close you and Steve had gotten recently. Is there something going on between you two?"
Jonathan froze momentarily, looking away from Steve at the counter, who was slowly making his way over with two glasses.
"Nope. No. Never. Of course not. He's...well, you know. It's not like that."
"Sure." Nancy smiled innocently and turned away as Steve got closer.
The man handed Jon a drink, clicking the glasses together. It felt weird being along with Steve, away from the crowd which was slowly building as the music got louder. He was so glad they were in a quieter corner.
"Cheers." Steve said, then took a long sip, along with Jonathan who was watching the other one's lips around the glass. He then mentally yelled at himself and looked away.
"Has Robin...said anything weird to you recently?" He asked Steve, spotting her across the room with Vickie and Nancy. He wondered if she had said the same thing to him as Nancy just said.
"Err, weird as in what?" Steve looked down into his drink, swirling it around. As if not wanting to look at Jon.
"Like..." He took another sip. "Nevermind actually, I have no clue."
They stood in awkward silence for a few seconds, until they both realized that they were being watched.
They turned around simultaneously, spotting Murray from across the room. He smiled at them and walked over as if them spotting him was an invitation to come over.
"Oh God." Steve groaned, taking a large gulp of his drink, trying to stop his face from twisting at the strong alcoholic taste.
"Hey boys! Been looking for you." Murray said cheerfully, giving them a smirk.
Steve coughed after another large sip. "We just got here."
"Yeah, a bit late don't ya think? What was the hold up?" The older man winked after them, making the boy want the floor to swallow him up.
"Nothing." That was probably the wrong thing to say. He should've just said he lost track of time. Actually, that would be way more suspicious.
He knew how Murray was like from his encounter with him a few years ago when he was with Nancy. He still remembered that awkward dinner sometimes in the middle of the night and it cringed him out so much it took him ages to get to sleep.
Murray raised his eyebrows, then got in between them and wrapped his arms around them, pushing them closer together, making both of the boy try to pull away. Which didn't work.
"Oh boy, we should stop lying to ourselves. Shouldn't we?"
"Excuse me?" Steve mumbled, gripping his glass and was probably seconds away from breaking it.
Murray laughed even though there was literally nothing funny about this conversation.
"Steve, you're an attractive guy. That perfect hair, even though its probably not gonna last much longer, really does attract the ladies doesn't it? Probably attracts more than just the ladies, right?"
"Thank you?" Steve glanced at Jonathan as if begging for help. Jon just stayed silent, his mouth clamped shut and his drink was left almost untouched.
"And you, Jonathan? You're cute, I can see what Nancy saw in you. You're a gentleman and a family man and all that shared trauma or whatever. But hey, we all pretty much have shared trauma now."
He stepped back, looking at them as if waiting for something to happen but Steve and Jonathan just stood motionless, as if they were just told off by their parents.
"Tough crowd huh?" Murray stood there smiling for a few more seconds then sighed. "Jesus, why aren't you making out already? Or i don't know, going somewhere private? Just hurry up already I'm sick of watching you two for years. I really thought you were so close to getting with each other when I heard Jonathan saved you on that tower, Steve. But no, you guys apparently hate me. Fine, suffer the rest of your days with your feelings. I don't care."
With that, Murray walked away again to get himself a drink and left the two guys standing there awkwardly.
Steve turned to Jonathan.
"Yeah, I think I know what you meant by if Robin had asked me something weird. Because that was even weirder. Nancy spoke to you too?"
Jonathan nodded, still a bit stunned and dying inside from the embarrassment. His cheeks were heating up and it definitely wasn't the alcohol because he only had one sip.
"Great well if you won't do anything then I will." Steve glanced back at Murray, who was turned away and then to the girls who were laughing with each other and not paying them much attention.
Nobody was paying any attention to them.
So Steve took this chance to walk towards Jonathan and gave him a small kiss on the cheek, then pushed past and went to the counter again. He turned around and smiled at the surprised Jonathan, who was trying so hard not to just run or melt away but managed a smile back and then followed him quickly, keeping a small distance but closer than before.
Safe to say that Murray was definitely still paying attention them.
★★★
The teens were heading to the party. Lucas, Dustin and Max were at the front, talking about what they were planning to do next and all of that life stuff.
Will was walking trailing behind them, Mike a little bit behind him. He was trying so hard to listen to the other three but he couldn't help but steal glances over his shoulder at Mike. The black haired boy was quiet, eyes on the floor. He was probably still thinking about the campaign, and El.
He was debating the whole way here whether he should talk to him and comfort him, but he didn't know what to say. They had talked a lot less after the whole situation in the upside down happened. Will knew Mike was still grieving and he was as well, even though he was trying to move on and not stay in the past for the rest of his life. He thought trying to ignore everything would help with the nightmares. It was sorta working.
Will saw Jonathan standing outside of the club with Steve beside him. He gave a small wave but his brother barely noticed him. He was probably drunk or too focused on his conversation. Dustin ran over to Steve, jumping on his back and almost making him fall over. That was when Jonathan spotted Will and walked over to him, trying to avoid the other two.
"Hey, you alright?" Jon asked, seeing how Will just seemed a bit off.
"Yeah, just tired after all that. We going in?" He tried to change the subject and any other time Jonathan would've instantly realized something was up but his brother just nodded. He was definitely drunk and looked a bit annoyed about being interrupted by Dustin. He must've been having a good conversation with Steve for sure.
When they went inside, the two older guys left into some quieter corner after Steve managed to sneak away from Dustin. The other three slipped into the crowd, leaving Will alone near the entrance. There were so many lights and the music was so loud it was almost deafening. He was about to follow the others until he realized Mike wasn't near him. He turned around, looking for him. He eventually found him when he left the night club.
"Hey, you coming?" Will called out to the pacing boy, then went a bit closer when he realized Mike wasn't making a move to go inside at all.
Will stood beside him awkwardly as Mike stopped pacing around.
"You look a bit weird just walking like that on the streets." He told the other boy, not knowing what to do with his mouth or hands. He pretended to look at the sunset instead of at Mike, trying to make it less awkward but it probably made it worse.
Mike shrugged. "I'll come in soon."
Will nodded, still not moving.
"You just gonna stand and wait?" Mike asked.
"Yeah."
"Why don't you go inside? I'll be there soon."
"Not much happening in there." He looked at Mike now, seeing the other boy already looking back at him.
"Well, go talk to the others."
"It'll be much better with you."
"Huh?" Mike raised an eyebrow, "Why?"
Will stopped, looking at the floor.
"Woah, a lover's quarrel. I'm loving it." Murray just appeared beside them.
They both flinched, not even noticing he was right there.
"I'm sorry, a what?" Mike glared at the older man, taking a tiny step back from Will, barely noticeable. But Will noticed, feeling a little bit hurt.
"Lover's quarrel. Couple argument. Whatever you want to call it. Carry on, I won't disturb you, I'm just very nosy."
"We're not together."
"I don't like guys."
Mike and Will said at the same time, glancing at each other momentarily. Will definitely did not miss how the other boy's eyes flicked to his lips for a millisecond before he turned back to Murray. He never missed those looks.
"Yeah. He doesn't like guys." Will confirmed, feeling a bit stupid.
Murray rested a hand on his hip, shaking his head.
"Then what the hell are you two doing with your lives?" He genuinely looked annoyed. "I have literally just got your brother a boyfriend, Will, so you better pick up the pace."
"Jonathan...AND STEVE?" Mike looked even more shocked than Will and especially at the Steve part. He must've also noticed them talking outside of the club. Will on the other hand just raised his eyebrows but didn't reply. He did always think it was weird how his brother was now friends with the almighty Steve Harrington. He did sometimes suspect something was up.
Murray let out a long, deep sigh. "I'm finished with setting your family up Will. You know how long I've been waiting with you guys? You two are the last ones so just- I don't know, you're eighteen now go do whatever to solve this argument and I can finally sleep at night."
With that, they were left alone as Murray walked back inside muttering under his breath.
"That was weird." Will glanced at Mike, once again seeing the other boy staring back. "Sorry about that."
Mike shook his head. "Why are you apologising? He's the jerk, not you."
"Well, he would've probably never been like that if I wasn't...you know."
"Well I didn't think Steve or Jonathan were like that and...guess you really do learn something every day."
Will laughed, his eyes lingering on Mike's for a bit too long before looking back at the nightclub. He subconsciously stepped closer to the other one, nudging his shoulder lightly.
"We going inside?" He asked, knowing the others will be wondering where they were.
Mike shook his head. "Nah, I'm hungry, want to go find somewhere to eat? Preferably close."
Will smiled and nodded. Then they both set off In the opposite direction. This day really was full of surprises.
Murray was glaring at them through the window and sighed in relief as he saw them both walking away into the sunset.
"There, mission two of the day a success."
"You absolute weirdo." Steve and Jonathan said in unison from the table near him.