Stranger Things Oneshots

Let Me Take Care Of You - Steve Harrington x Fem!Reader

The sight of Steve's house had never looked so appealing to her before. Normally they would hang out there only because his parents were never home and they didn't have to worry about being walked in on or interrupted, not that they always did things that would warrant the worry of being walked in on mind. It was more them having the space to themselves to do what they wanted and it was fun to imagine that this was maybe what it would be like for them in the future when they got their own place.

A shiver ran through her body as Steve pulled his car onto the driveway, casting a weary glance in her direction. It was meant to be date night and once he had seen the state she was in he'd called it off immediately, "Baby I'm not going to force you to go out when you can't even breathe without coughing your guts up" he'd sighed as she climbed into his car.

She had tried to apologise but Steve wasn't hearing any of it. "It's not your fault these things happen but don't worry I'm going to take care of you" he smiles, taking hold of her hand and giving it a reassuring squeeze. The soft moment didn't last long as she pulled her hand away to cover her mouth as another round of coughs racked her body, leaving her teary eyed and panting. “Come on we’ll run you a bath, get you warmed up and then we’ll cuddle with a movie of your choice, how does that sound?”

She nods, following his lead as he gets out of the car and walks towards the door to let them both in. With a quick nod towards the bathroom, he tells her to wait while he gets some towels and some spare clothes for her for afterwards. He can hear the sounds of her coughing as he makes his way around the house and it spurs him on to do it as quickly as he can. Reaching the bathroom he thinks he’s done it rather speedily but upon entering he finds her looking at the door with sad eyes, arms wrapped around herself with a small pout on her plush lips which turns into a very small smile when he enters the room and he swears he hears her mumble something that sounds like finally. Not that he let’s it get to him, he gets it she’s ill and she just wants comfort and he doesn’t blame her that’s all anyone ever wants when they’re ill not that he experienced much of the sort until he met her as his parents were very much absent for the majority of his childhood, putting their work and social lives ahead of the family.

Pressing a kiss to her forehead as he passes to lay the things on the side, he begins fussing with the water temperature for the bath, wanting it to be hot enough that it’s going to warm her up but not so much that she feels like it's burning her.

“Missed you” she croaks quietly after another bout of coughing, her voice followed by a sniffle and he turns to find her eyes already on him. He’s a little confused but he figures she means while she was waiting for him because she can be quite clingy when she’s not feeling her best.

“Yeah? I’m here now though” he smiles, leaving the running water to come back over to her where she is seated on the closed lid of the toilet, smiling more to himself now than her when she leans forward to wrap her arms around his middle and buries her face in his front in an attempt to sypher some of his body warmth. He responds automatically, wrapping his arms around her shoulders and weaving one hand up to run through her hair in a way he hopes in soothing and her hum in response is answer enough.

“Are you going to join me?” she asks, tilting her head up to look at him as another sniffle leaves her which only makes him reach for some tissue, handing it to her and waiting for her to blow her nose before he answers.

“If you want me to, I can grab the small stool and sit by-”

She interrupts him with a shake of her head, “No I uh I meant” she stumbles over her words, dropping her gaze as she’s a little embarrassed by her question not wanting him to think she’s insinuating that she wants to do anything by it when he’s been so good in looking after her. He waits patiently for her to finish although he thinks he knows what she’s getting at by the way her eyes flicker between him and the bath, “will you sit with me in the bath? Just want to be close to you is all” she asks, voice quieter than it already was.

“If that’s what you want baby, I’d be happy too” he reassures her, taking his eyes off her for a moment to double check on the water which to him looks about ready and he gently untangles her from him with soft apologies as he reaches to turn the tap off. Gingerly dipping his hand into the water to check the temperature, he relaxes when he realises it’s not too hot, turning back to her, “You ready?”

He waits patiently while she undresses, averting his eyes so that she has some privacy until she’s in the water but he remains vigilant in listening to her movements in case at any point he has to leap into action if she slips and falls climbing in. Not that she will or does, he’s just aware she’s sick and her body is weaker than usual and he can’t fight the urge he gets to protect her. Once he’s sure she’s seated in the water he lifts his gaze back to her and finds that she’s already looking at him expectantly, so he does exactly what he promised her. He strips out of his clothes and climbs into the bath, sitting behind her as she positions herself between his legs with her back against his chest.

“That’s better” she hums, tipping her head back to rest against his shoulder and her eyes drift shut as the hot water and the press of Steve’s body against hers, relaxes her to the point where she could feel herself falling asleep. She fights the feeling, wanting to bask in the feeling of intimacy that she and Steve were sharing, the warm fuzzy feeling it was giving her was different to the other times they’d shared any sort of intimate moment. The only way she could describe it was that it felt more vulnerable than those times but it wasn’t a bad thing, she felt that it proved how strong their relationship was to be so vulnerable with each other but to feel so comfortable at the same time.

“Yeah?” he smiles, unaware of how his voice rumbles in his chest against her back and further relaxes her as she links her hands with his and rests them over her chest so that she can feel him wrapped all around her which was what she wanted when she asked him to say.

“Thank you” she mumbles after a while of quiet, Steve had been beginning to wonder whether she had fallen asleep in that time but her voice confirms she hadn’t.

Dropping his head to press a few soft kisses to her shoulder, he smiles as he feels her body shudder at the gentle touch, “You know I love you and I’d do anything for you baby, you don’t have to thank me” he says, tightening his hold on her.

“Still not everyone would be so understanding and take care of me like this” she hums, head still resting against his shoulder and with closed eyes she turns to press her own kisses to the column of Steve’s neck with it being the only skin she could reach in this position, “especially after I ruined date night” she sighs.

“Hey you didn’t ruin anything, anytime I get to spend time with you is a good time” he reassures her, “even if you are a little snotty and cough every two minutes” he chuckles, which makes her pout before the coughs start up again as if on cue. 

“Okay let’s get you out before the water gets cold, we don’t need you getting worse” he says once her coughs stop but she only groans in response. While the bath had warmed her up, it had also drained her of what little energy she had and coupled with how tired she was, she didn’t want to move at all. A quick nudge from Steve was all it took for her to let him up so he could get out and once he had a towel securely wrapped around his waist, he was back pulling her up and helping her out of the water before quickly wrapping a towel around her as well to avoid her shivering in the cooler air. 

“Too tired” she groans as Steve tries to get her to dry herself off so she can get dressed in the comfy clothes he’d brought in for her. Figuring he wasn’t going to get far with her doing anything for herself he steps in and with her permission he begins helping her get dry and within a few minutes she’s dry and dressed and on her way to climb into Steves bed where she thinks she’ll be lucky if she’s not asleep as soon as her head hits the pillow.

Steve follows her into the room, going straight for his drawers for some fresh clothes while she gets herself comfortable in his bed. By the time he’s ready to join her she’s tucked up with his covers up to her neck and eyes closed, though when he slides in next to her he finds she’s not yet asleep as she moves so she’s cuddled up into his side, head against his chest and arm slung over his front as she sighs in content.

“I love you” she yawns, her voice quiet as she finally gives into sleep now that she’s comfy in his bed with him next to her.

Steve’s reply of “I love you too” is automatic even though he’s realised that she probably hasn’t heard him say the words but he doesn’t care it doesn’t change the truth of them as he holds her, letting his hands trace over the skin of her arms and feeling just as content with having her in his arms as she is to be in his.