steve harrington | imagines

| nightmare |

steve harrington had been through a lot. that was an understatement. steve had seen and fought so much in the upside down. the demogorgans, mind flayer, seeing billy die, having to protect all the kids and now, vecna. he's never been able to get the images out of his head.

you always asked him to talk to you about it but he always assured you that he was fine, but you knew it wasn't true. you'd always see him zone out, nervously look around the room and he would always make sure you were okay, even if nothing had happened. you knew he wasn't okay but you didn't want to push him.

there was one night when you couldn't let this continue. you and steve were laying in your bed. steve's head was resting on your chest as you ran your hands through his messy hair. the feeling of your hands in his hair made him fall asleep rather quickly. you smiled as you continued running your hands through hair before you eventually fell asleep.

it wasn't long until steve's nightmare began. it looked the same as always. he was trapped in the upside down by himself, the only thing he had to protect himself with was his signature bat. he looked around, trying to find a place to hide. that's when he saw a figure hunched over, an arm clutching their stomach. "hello?" he yelled over at the figure, his voice echoing into the empty void. steve began cautiously walking over to the figure. he squinted his eyes, trying to make out who it was. as he got closer, he figured out who it was. it was you. "y/n?" he asked as he began running towards you. as soon as he approached you, you collapsed onto the ground. he quickly dropped to his knees and held you in his arms. you were coughing up blood. steve took your arm away from your stomach and he saw hundreds of bruises and scars, some deeper than others. "no, no, no!" he cried as he held you even tighter. "come on, y/n, you're gonna be okay." his voice was shaky as he held back tears. he placed an unsteady hand on your cheek, stroking it with his thumb. you gave him a sad smile before your breathing completely stopped. "y/n? y/n!" he cried out.

steve shot up in the bed, his breathing ragged. he looked over at you sleeping peacefully. he placed his head in shaking hands as he tried to slow his breathing. tears rolled down his cheeks. you tossed and turned beside him, your eyes slowly opening when you heard heavy breathing. when your eyes fully opened, you saw your boyfriend, hunched over with his head in his hands. "steve? you okay?" you asked, rubbing your eyes. steve didn't respond, still concentrating on his breathing. this concerned you. you sat up and wrapped your arm around him, making him jump and move away from your touch. "steve, what's wrong?" your voice was filled with concern. he looked over at you, making you see his red puffy eyes. your heart broke at the sight in front of you. he slowly moved back to where he was sitting before.

you held your arms out towards him. he moved into your arms and you wrapped your arms around him. he buried his head into the crook of your neck and immediately started crying again, wrapping his arms around you and holding you tightly, as if you were going to disappear. you rubbed his back as he cried. you moved your hands into his hair, running your hands through it. "it's okay. you're okay." you told him. you heard his crying slowly come to a stop. "everything's okay, steve. i'm here, okay? you're safe." you said softly. he removed his head from your neck and looked down, sniffling slightly. you lifted his face up to look at you, placing your hand on his cheek. he leaned into your touch and closed his eyes. "do you wanna talk about it?" you asked him. he opened his eyes and looked at you. he backed away slightly, crossing his legs. you did the same.

steve looked down, fiddling with his fingers. "i... uh..." he took a deep breath. "i was in the upside down. it was empty. i was looking for a place to try and hide from what was eventually going to appear and then i saw someone. i saw you. you... you..." he looked up to the ceiling, blinking away tears. "you were injured then you... you collapsed. i tried to help you but you just... you just died in my arms." he stammered, his eyes stinging from holding in tears. you didn't know what to say. you leaned forward and wrapped your arms around him again. steve wrapped his arms around you once again. you rubbed his back, calming him down.

you pulled back and looked into his eyes. "it was just a dream. i'm okay, we're okay. i'm not hurt. we're safe, i promise you." you said in a calming tone. he nodded. you smiled at him and pressed a quick kiss on his forehead and both of his cheeks. you saw his lips turn up into a smile. you placed your lips onto his for a quick second. "you feeling any better?" you asked, taking his hands in yours and squeezing them slightly. "still a little shaken up." he replied and you nodded. "think i need another kiss." he said, smirking slightly. you laughed and kissed him again. "there's the steve i know." you joked. he chuckled quietly. "do you wanna stay up for a while? help you calm down a little?" he nodded. you stood up and went to put the tv on but you felt steve tug your hand, pulling you back into bed. he lay down and lifted his arm up. you smiled and rested your head on his chest. he brought his arm down and wrapped it around you, squeezing you tightly. you leaned upwards and kissed his cheek before placing your head back onto his chest.

you both stayed up for a while longer until you heard steve yawn. you looked up at him. "go to sleep, steve." you told him. he looked down at you. "what if it happens again?" he asked. he looked quite scared. "if it happens again, you wake me up and i'll help you in whatever way i can, okay?" you said. he nodded in response and kissed your head. "god, i love you so much, y/n." you smiled at him. "i love you too, steve. now go to sleep!" you joked. he laughed.

he was so lucky to have you.

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