Summary:
Based off of "There is no more room in the car and the roadtrip is four hours, I hope you don't mind sitting in my lap" AU, although it is more like "There is no more room in the car and the roadtrip is four hours, I hope you don't mind me sitting in your lap" AU.
Short and sweet featuring college boys, mild annoyance, and subtle pining. Enjoy. Notes: This is also ooc so you can fight me if you find a problem with this.
I don't know how wonderful this is, but I'm having trouble writing another quite long one-shot so I'm using this to flow my creativity. It's cute and was nice to write. Plus I don't write enough stonathan it's cute fuck off haters I'm gonna start now. Fallen out-X.
Work Text:
"Steve, what are you-?"
The sound of the man sliding against the rusting metal door shook Jonathan in an irritating way for a moment- he had been hoping to be free of the other man's rambling voice for at least a few hours.
"Hey Jonathan! So, you know how there are five of us going on this trip and I thought that there would be plenty of room in this six seater?" Steve asks, eyes owlish-ly wide and a large unapologetic grin stretching across his face.
Byers held in a sigh with adamant patience before speaking.
"Yes, Steve, I am aware of that." This couldn't be going anywhere good.
"Well, ha ha," he chuckles, "the funny thing is- there actually isn't room for the five of us in this six seater."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, uh-" suddenly, a bark.
Jonathan, poor Jonathan, sighs. This isn't what he signed up for.
"Please, for the love of God, tell me that you didn't bring along that dog."
"Surprise?" Steve says meekly, questionably. Jonathan flattens the palm of his uncomfortably sweaty hand over his face at the same time that Steve rubs at the back of his neck.
It could be worse, though, right?
"And, uh, here's the thing-" Steve goes on without wasting a second, eyes somehow even wider as his tongue darts out teasingly to lick at his lips, "I'm gonna need to sit on your lap."
Jonathan freezes- did he hear that properly? Did Steve misspeak? He has to what?
"Steve-" Jonathan starts to protest, although he is cut off by the frazzled man within seconds.
"Jonathan- I know, this isn't particularly..." agreeable? the best way to solve an issue? comfortable? "pleasant- but I mean, it could be worse, right?"
Jonathan lifts an eyebrow at Steve , his expression completely unamused.
"Could it?" he asks coolly, putting on a facade in order to hide the rush of nerves swallowing him whole. Steve? Holding physical contact with him for hours on end? Yeah, he has plenty of right to be made nervous by the prospect.
"I mean, it could be Billy sitting on your lap."
"Hey!" a gruff voice calls from somewhere nearby, although the tone is amused.
"Steve-" he sighs again, and he swears he can feel the beginning of a headache coming on, "I just- why me? I'm sure Tommy would be plenty happy to have you on his lap."
Steve blushes at the comment, eyes glancing to the floor of the van coyly for just a moment before they are back up on Jonathan's.
"I can't- he's sketching again. 'Said something about lions and zoology, has to perfect the anatomy? I don't know- but the point is that you're the best option!"
Jonathan gives him an unamused look once more, although he is completely aware of his dwindling resolve.
"Look- Nancy is driving and Billy is gonna be co-piloting in case her crazy driving puts us in danger, and obviously I can't sit on the dog, so this is the only viable option!"Steve is pouting now, chin tucked low and eyelids batting over chocolate brown eyes, and Jonathan can physically feel the last ounce of strength he had against the man fall away.
"...Fine..." he sighs with irritation, and Steve is crawling into the vehicle and onto his laps within seconds.
"Look, this isn't all that ideal for me, either," he says, although the winning grin he wears is as clear as day. Jonathan simply clears his throat quietly, eyes glancing out the window in an attempt to ignore the rushed beat of his heart and the swell in his chest. This, he knows, is going to be a long ride.
Within an hour of the trip, Tommy has fallen asleep with him head resting on Jonathan's right shoulder and the Golden Retriever- cleverly named after a DND monster with a twist claims Steve 'Demigordon'- has all but crawled past his lap and onto Jonathan's. Steve laughed at the antics of the slobbering puppy, pausing in his ramble about whatever the hell he couldn't shut up about for only a moment as he cooed, patting the mutt on it's head.
Jonathan shakes his head, the annoyance simmering in his stomach in place of nerves. Why him?
Within another hour, Billy himself is dead asleep, sending Jonathan into a moment of panic before he realized that Nancy was in fact not as bad of a driver as Steve previously deemed. It was no wonder everyone was falling asleep, seeing as the quintet set out on their spontaneous roadtrip at dusk. Were it not for the ceaseless stream of words flowing from Steve's lips, Jonathan himself most likely would have drifted off to sleep moments into the trip. Seeing how things are, however...
"And then I told him to fuck himself, you know? Because, I swear to god, Jonathan, the man doesn't know when he takes things too far-" Jonathan snorts at the chatter, the irony in Steve's words softened by the use of his first name.
"Yeah?" Jonathan mumbles along, seeing no use in blatantly ignoring the other. If he did that, Steve would only shift on his lap and find other ways to grab his attention.
"Professor Jefferson's a prick, Jonathan . I don't get how you can stand his presence. Seriously though, it's insane how much of a douche he is. Do you know what he said to me just the other day? He said..." and Jonathan drifts into his thoughts again, nodding along to Steve's story as he goes.
By the time the trip is three hours through, Harrington himself has fallen asleep. Jonathan laughs to himself for a second, staring at the frame of the man curled up in his lap. His hair is a mess on the top of his head, and the few strands that have managed to fall away from the jelled hair tickle against his face. For a second his face scrunches in discomfort before he is shifting once again in Jonathan's lap.
Nancy calls back after a moment to see how things are, and Jonathan pauses before responding. The both of them chuckle at the mention of a sleeping Steve, Nancy's is boisterous and cheerful while Jonathan's thankful and fatigued. Despite how thankful he is to have the rambling in his ears come to an end, the cause of his relief is double sided. Everyone knows that Steve's sleeping habits are worse-for-wear, and to have Steve catch some shut eye- even in somewhat of a compromising position- is a blessing.
Jonathan smiles to himself as he watches Steve's form scrunch up smaller against his chest, one hand curled across his chest while the other is knotted into the v of Jonathan's t-shirt. Both of his legs are curled up against his chest with toes spread precariously close to Tommy's crotch. Byers shuts his eyes for a moment, willing to allow himself some sort of comfort in the warmth of Harrington's body and the curl of his small frame. The silence is welcoming and calm, something he is accustomed to, a call of familiarity. Like calling to like. He relaxes into the stiff seat below him, one hand unconsciously coming up to curl around Steve's shoulder's, rubbing lightly against his back.
When Jonathan wakes up, it is to the flash of light nearly blinding him awake. Voices accompany it, sharp and hushed.
"What the fuck Nan? They're sleeping!" Tommy, he could tell.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I didn't know the flash was on!" Nancy.
"Well, now they're awake. Oh well, we had to wake 'em up eventually," and Billy.
"Guys? What's," Steve stuttered softly, before yawning, his voice filled with sleep, "what's up?"
"We have arrived at our destination!" Nancy announces, a clear grin in her voice. The puppy bounds against Tommys chest at the tone, and Jonathan groans inwardly at the sudden loudness of everything. His eyes remain closed for the moment in hopes that sleep will reclaim him.
He isn't quite that lucky.
"Johnny? Jonathan, hey. Come on!" Steve calls out in a lively voice. "I know you're awake, Byers, so come on! The ride's over, we can get out now!" and he goes on and on, poking and prodding at Jonathan's surprisingly (to Steve at least) built chest and abs until he finally opens his eyes in defeat. A quick whoop passes through the car before doors are being opened and bodies are climbing out, more than happy to stretch their legs.
"Hey!" Steve grins once everyone else has left, leaving only the two of them in the vehicles. "So, uh, thanks for, you know, letting me use you as a seat. And, uh, a pillow," he clears his throat, blushing and suddenly shy.
"No problem, I guess," Byers responds, equally as embarrassed, although far better at hiding it.
"So, uh-"
"You can get off of me whenever you like, you know."
"Oh! Yeah, uh, I- I'll just do that now! Did you know that, uh, Nancy is actually a far better driver than I thought? Yeah, we- we didn't even have to make any stops on the way up here or anything and that's pretty cool, cause, hey, more time up here on spring break! And, uh, well-" and Steve is rambling again, although this rambling is far cuter and less annoying than the usual type and Jonathan tells himself that he simply can't help it when he leans forward to place his lips gently against the flushed curve of Steve's cheek. Then, he scoots back and pushes Steve off of his lap and onto the pavement of the parking lot.
The look that Steve gives him is priceless- somewhere between lovestruck, shocked, and flabbergasted. Jonathan smiles to himself- and okay, yes, just a little(mostly) at to Steve- before stretching and stepping out of the vehicle. Boy, was he going to have some vacation.
Word count: 1795
