steve harrington imagines

and they were roommates

It's unusually quiet in your apartment for a weekend morning where both you and Steve are home. The radio is on, playing the current pop hits, but it's not enough to distract you from the distinct lack of conversation. If you wanted, you could probably chalk it up to the headache you were experiencing from your drinking last night, and assume Steve was feeling the same. And you tried, you really did. But you knew that wasn't the cause of the silence filling your apartment. 

Last night, you and Steve had had all of your friends over to unwind and hang out. There'd been lots of alcohol, and you'd ended up drinking way more than you'd planned to. Your drunk decisions were never your best ones, but you'd really outdone yourself last night. The stupid decision had almost been forgotten until you rolled over in bed to find Steve next to you, his perfect lips parted as he slept soundly. It wasn't exactly abnormal to wake up next to him, especially after a night of drinking, but nothing had ever happened between the two of you. Until last night.

You hadn't done anything more than kiss — albeit quite... passionately — but Steve was one of your best friends and your roommate, and a drunken kiss had the potential to ruin everything. Especially since there'd always been an unspoken tension between you, at least from your perspective, but you'd resolved to ignore it in hopes of it disappearing. Clearly it hadn't quite worked.

After silently panicking, you'd scrambled out of bed and escaped to the kitchen, busying yourself with making breakfast. Steve had stumbled out of your room into the kitchen not long later, but was still half asleep as he poured himself a bowl of cereal, slumped over the counter as he shoveled spoonfuls into his mouth. Maybe he didn't remember.

At the time, you'd told yourself it was probably good if he didn't remember. But now, as you silently clean the apartment together, you're not so sure. Would it hurt more if he really didn't remember the kiss, or if he was just pretending he didn't? Sure, you'd both been drunk, but it would be a lie to say you'd never considered the possibility, so the thought of it meaning nothing to Steve nearly eats you alive.

Empty beer bottles and cans clink loudly as you toss them into the garbage bag you're holding. It's louder than it needs to be, but you're trying to focus on cleaning, on the noise; anything to keep your mind from wandering back to Steve and the kiss you'd shared. Because the images of your kiss flash in your mind, of Steve's hands on your waist, soft lips pressing to yours, do nothing to stop your racing heart.

You can't believe he hasn't said anything, but then again, neither have you. Just the thought of mentioning it makes you flustered, and you're not sure you can face him without feeling like you're going to burst into flames, but you have to go back into the kitchen where Steve is washing the dishes that had been left out overnight.

Steve is humming along to the song playing over the radio when you walk into the kitchen, and only glances up from the dishes for a moment to flash you his perfect smile when the sound of the bag of garbage you're carrying betrays you. You manage to return the smile — though you're sure it's awkward and unconvincing — as you make your way across the kitchen to dump the bag into the bin. He's still not saying anything, and you're still not sure how to feel about all of it. Realistically, you know you should really talk about everything that had happened, even if it was just a one-time, drunken make out. You just can't quite get yourself to do it, though, and chicken out of saying anything as you dart out of the kitchen and up to your room.

Sitting on the edge of your bed, you grab your phone and dial a number you know by heart. Robin knows both you and Steve better than anyone else; surely she'll know what you should do. The phone rings once, twice, three times, and finally she picks up with a grumbled, "Hello?"

"Hey, Robs. Did I wake you?" It's nearly noon, but Robin's night had been similar to yours — without all of the kissing, of course.

She huffs, and you can hear rustling from the other side of the phone as she shifts in bed, "Yeah, but it's fine; need to get up anyway before my mom starts telling me about the dangers of drinking again. Like I drink all the time or something. Anyway, what's up?"

Suddenly the butterflies are back, fluttering in your chest, as you rub your free hand over your face, "Do you, uh... Do you remember anything that happened last night? I dunno how drunk you were but—"

Robin is quick to cut you off, "If you're talking about you and Steve sucking face, yeah I remember that."

You groan in embarrassment, face and chest filling with heat as you whine into the phone, "Jesus, Robin. Do you have to say it like that?"

"Well! That's what it was! What would you call it?"

"I dunno, anything but that! But that's not— I called 'cause... We haven't talked about it. I don't know if he even remembers or—"

A scoff cuts you off again and you can practically hear Robin's eye roll, "Holy shit, can you just talk to each other please? I'm too hungover for this and Steve's already called me about it."

"He did?"

"Yeah, at like four in the morning. It was freaking ridiculous. He said he'd talk to you. I think. I don't really know, I was half asleep."

Something like hope stirs in you as you thank Robin and apologize again for waking her up before you hang up. A call in the middle of the night could be good or bad, but Robin hadn't made it sound like it was anything bad. She's known about your crush on Steve, going so far as to insist that the feeling is almost definitely mutual, but you've never had the courage to make a move. You know it's now or never.

Opening your door, you run straight into Steve's chest with a muffled 'oof!' His hand is raised, as if he had just been about to knock, but his arm quickly curls around your shoulders to steady you, "Whoa! Sorry, I didn't mean to—"

Your own apologies spill out at the same time, "Shit, sorry! I didn't know you—"

Nervous laughter erupts from both of you, easing some of the awkward silence as Steve takes a step back. He looks a little nervous, with pink cheeks and wide eyes, which is strange for Steve. Lifting a hand, he scratches the nape of his neck for a moment and then murmurs, "I was just— thought we should talk and..." He trails off, eyes darting to the floor and back up to you before he blurts out, "I remember."

"You do?" is all you can think to ask, sounding much more eager than you want to.

"Y-yeah. I do."

"Oh," you breathe out, a ragged sound as your breath catches in your throat. "Is that... is that a good thing?"

Steve laughs, a sound of adoration, as his cheeks flush again, a dark pink underneath his pretty freckles and moles. He lifts a hand, fingers tugging at his messy hair, tongue darting out to lick his lips, "Um. I mean, I think so. If you also think it's good. Unless you regret it, and in that case, we can totally forget it happened and—"

"Steve," you say his name quickly to cut him off, the corners of your lips pulling up slightly as he stops mid-sentence.

"Yeah?"

You take a deep breath, and then just go for it, "I don't regret it at all. I really... I really like you, Steve."

"Oh. That's— yeah, that's good. Can I kiss you again? Since we're, ya know, less drunk."

When you nod, a little dumbstruck, Steve wastes no time in cradling your face in his hands as he steps in closer to you. His hands are warm against your skin, thumbs brushing out over your cheekbones as he gently tilts your face up towards his. His eyes flick to yours for a second, and then he's kissing you.

This kiss is more delicate than the one you'd shared last night, though his lips are just as soft as you remember. He tastes less like alcohol this time, thankfully, and more like the fruity pebbles he'd eaten for breakfast, and maybe a hint of his minty toothpaste. You can't help but melt into him, fingers curling into the worn fabric of his t-shirt to keep him close.

You accidentally let out a small noise of disappointment when Steve finally pulls back that makes him laugh, the tip of his nose nudging into the softness of your cheek. His lips brush over the corner of yours once more as he murmurs, "Thank god you let me kiss you again. I'd never have survived off of what I remember from last night."

"You can kiss me any time you want, Steve."