Joe Keery Imagines Vol. 2

Reason I Quit - Steve Harrington

I held the test in my shaking hands as I went over the possibilities of how he could react to this. Sure, Steve and I have been dating for two years and are in love. We've even talked about spending the rest of our lives together. But this is big.

About six months ago, Steve and I moved into his parents' house. They moved to California after the "earthquake". When they moved, Steve begged me to move in with him and I did.

This changes things now. A baby changes our situation.

I looked at the clock on the wall and took a shaky breath. Steve would be home in a little over an hour. Which meant all I had to do was distract myself until he got home. To do this, I cleaned as much of the house as I could. Before I knew it, the front door opened and closed.

"Y/N?" Steve called out from the front door. "Where are you, baby?"

I cringed at the last word. I walked out of the laundry room, nervously playing with my hands. I headed downstairs, holding my breath as I waited for Steve to come into view.

"There you are," he smiled. He walked over, took me in his arms, and pressed his lips to mine. He broke the kiss when he realized I wasn't kissing him back.

"What's wrong, gorgeous?" He asked as he studied me.

"I umm. . . I'm just not feeling that well today," I whimped out. Steve reached forward and felt my forehead.

"You don't have a fever," he noted. "Any nausea? Dizziness? Have you been able to eat anything today?"

"Just some crackers," I said honestly. "I feel like I have a rock in my stomach."

"How about this," he started to suggest with a smile on his face, "we order some soup from our favorite diner. I'll run you a bubble bath while we wait. When the food gets here, we'll sit on the couch and watch your favorite comfort movie. Then we'll retire early and you can fall asleep as I rub your back."

"I love you," I sighed.

"I love you too, gorgeous," he said with a small chuckle. "Let's get your bath started and then I'll order dinner."

* * * * *

I didn't tell him.

We went through the night just like he said and I fell asleep with the secret looming over me. The next day he went to work and I snuck to the doctor. Luckily, she didn't ask me who the father was, but she did clarify that I was pregnant. After she confirmed it, I knew I needed to tell Steve.

To keep myself calm while waiting for Steve to come home, I put my feet in the jacuzzi. I didn't bother to go inside and greet him when he got home. I knew he'd find me. He always did.

"Hey, gorgeous," Steve said as he walked over. "You feeling any better?"

"A little," I shrugged as he kicked off his shoes and sat next to me. I smiled when he reached over and felt my forehead. "I didn't have a temperature yesterday and I still don't have one today."

I giggled when he leaned over and kissed my forehead. "Just checking," he smirked as he pulled away. "Are you sure you're alright? You've been acting kinda strange lately."

"Just worried," I stuttered.

"Baby," he sighed, "we got rid of Vecna. It's been safe for almost a year now."

"I know," I said slowly. "I'm still. . ."

"Hey," he whispered, scooting closer to me. "You know I'll protect you from anything that comes our way. I love you, Y/N. Nothing is going to change that."

I really hoped he meant that.

"I love you too, Steve."

A little while later, we were still by the pool, but we were sitting in the pool chairs. I subconsciously placed my hands delicately on my stomach.

"I'm gonna have a cigarette," Steve sighed as he pulled one out and lit it. Without looking, he handed me the container. He looked over at me when he noticed me not taking one. "You're not?"

"No," I said slowly. He lowered his hand as he studied me.

"Is everything okay, babe?" He asked, his voice soft.

"I need to tell you something," I whispered. He placed his cigarette in the ashtray on the small table between our beach chairs. He turned toward me and grabbed my hands, turning me toward him.

"Talk to me, gorgeous," he whispered.

"I don't want you to be angry," I admitted under my breath.

"I promise I won't get angry," Steve said instantly with a small smile on his face. He reached up and tucked a piece of hair behind my ear. "What's on your mind, gorgeous?"

"I'm pregnant," I blurted out, making Steve's hand freeze inches from my face. He stared at me as he slowly lowered his hand.

"Are you. . . Really?" He whispered. I bit back my tears as I nodded. With the hand that he had frozen in the air, Steve reached forward and caught a tear that had escaped. His voice softened as he asked, "Why are you crying, my love?"

"What are you thinking?" I asked, my voice breaking.

"I'm thinking how absolutely amazing this is," he chuckled.

"Really?"

"Of course," he said, his smile falling as he finally dropped his hand. "Why wouldn't I be happy? We've been together for two years, in love for most of that. We've talked about spending the rest of our lives together. Y/N, you're the love of my life and you're pregnant with someone that I'm gonna love just as much as I love you."

"It changes our plan," I whispered.

"I know that," he nodded. "But all it changes is now we're adding one other person to our future. That's an amazing thing."

"But Hawkins. . . A lot of crazy things have happened here in the past five years."

"And we will protect our child from all of it," he said instantly. "Or we could move away."

"You'd really move away from Hawkins? From those kids?"

"For you and our child? I'd go anywhere and do anything for our family."

I grabbed his face and pressed my lips to his. I felt him smile as he started kissing me back. He broke the kiss and looked into my eyes. He looked away and grabbed his lit cigarette. I watched as he put it out.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm quitting."

"But. . ."

"You're not smoking because it's dangerous for the baby," he pointed out the obvious. "I'm not smoking anymore because I want to show you that we're on the same team."

I smiled as he stood up and pulled me with him. He started to walk inside but stopped when he noticed I hadn't moved.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

"What if I can't do this?" I asked under my breath. Steve instantly pulled me into his chest.

"You can do this," he reassured. "You are going to be an amazing mother, Y/N."

"I'm scared," I whispered into his shirt. I felt him take a slow breath.

"I know, gorgeous," he whispered back. He pulled out of the hug and smiled down at me. "To be honest, I am too. But that's okay. We've got each other. And this amazing, awesome, badass baby has both of us. We're in this together. Every step of the way."