╭ ╮
━━━━ " 📂 "
𝙋 𝘼 𝙍 𝘼 𝘿 𝙄 𝙎 𝙀
╰ ╯
STEVE HARRINGTON'S ROOM COULD be overwhelmingly warm. From the beginning of October right through into the next year it was perfect, the type of warmth that made your cheeks flush after being in the cold. But when it came to summer, it meant that even though he had the fan plugged into where the hairdryer usually went and the AC on, one would awake with thin sheets twisted and sticking to their legs, unable to do anything but kick them off during the night and hope that when morning came, it would be cool enough to lay there for a moment.
That worked for the weekdays. But when it came to the weekend, it couldn't come into play.
Saturday morning was a blessing. Despite waking in what seemed like enough sweat to fill up the rest of the community pool, it was a day destined to be free of serving famed drinks or ice cream to whiny preteens and moms who would complain if they were even a fraction of an inch between two orders, the smell of the various savoury stores across the rest of the food court overwhelmingly strong.
When Sadie woke up that Saturday morning, a week and a bit before the 4th of July, the t-shirt she had borrowed was pulled high up over her waist and the covers twisted around her feet. She was still far too warm, yet that didn't seem to come for lack of clothing, but instead the fact that she currently had a boy attached to her side.
She found that, now that she and Steve actually were something of an official couple, he had become all the clingier whether he was aware of it or not. It hadn't stopped him before, because there had been numerous times when he was climbing through her window and breaking her trophies and she was being sneaked through the garage and up the stairs with her car parked halfway down the road.
Ultimately, the time they spent together ensured that on that particular Saturday morning, Sadie woke up to find an arm holding her tight across her waist and Steve's face pressed into the curve of her neck and his chest against her back. Slow breaths tickled the back of her neck and when he moved he pulled her closer, something that would have been sweet had she not felt as though she was attached to an oven.
But it so happened that this was a scenario she had woken up to many mornings before and was well practised in extracting herself without waking him; Steve tended to get tired more quickly than she did, after all, Sadie had practised for many years beforehand reading books from cover to cover before she even wondered about sleeping.
Her hand found his, where one of his fingers was curling beneath the hem of her underwear and gently moved it away, so slowly it felt like hours passed in mere moments, and then began to pull forward to try and sit up. They were certainly calculated movements, but despite her careful attempts and both knees hanging over the side of the bed, when Sadie went to sit up, she found the arm she had managed to pry away from her clamping back down.
"Oh no, you don't, Henderson." Nothing but a mere grumble left Steve's mouth as he pulled her back to him. "It might be hot as hell in here but that does not mean you're getting out of here quicker than you need to."
"That's an awful lot of words for someone who just woke up, Harrington." Came the curt but not unfriendly reply.
"You're my girlfriend, dickface, let me hug you."
"You sound so loving, Stevie." Sadie hummed, but didn't exactly protest against it and allowed him to slide a hand below the curve of her back and pull her even closer before, sleepy kisses pressed in circular patterns on the partially revealed skin of her shoulder. "You're lucky I could stay here forever."
"You don't really give me an option." Steve was awake now, but no closer to allowing her necessary freedom. "'M too comfortable."
"Which explains how you managed to sleep." She forced the reply out of her, finding herself in a similar position and slowly sinking back into the familiarity of sleep. "But it's too warm, Harrington."
"I know, I'm sweating my balls off here."
"Gross."
"A realistic analogy."
"Still gross." Sadie's hand passed over her navel and slid below his fingers, pulling them up off of her skin. "I have to move, Steve, I think I might melt."
"Me too, but I would melt happy." Steve replied, and knew there was no word of a lie in it. There was a certain warmth that came from laying beside her in the early morning, a certain warmth that overwhelmed the unnecessary heat of his room or the thrumming stab of hunger that came if he adjusted his position, because he didn't think he would ever be happier than in those very moments at whatever time in the morning when he could wake up and feel like it was genuinely just him and her in the world and nothing else existed.
Not his parents, not his lack of college placement, not Scoops Ahoy, not Orange Julius, and not Eric Murphy in that stupid beige uniform and his need to relentlessly interrupt their breaks by announcing the very second fifteen minutes was up.
In those moments, he could lay awake and enjoy life more than he had before because Sadie was wearing the t-shirt he had bought himself at the merch stand at the concert and it was her hand pulling through his hair and she was turning to smile at him so prettily.
"Huh." Sadie propped herself up on her elbows, turning to look down at him. His eyes were almost fully closed but he could just about see her expression through his eyelashes. He smiled, felt the curve of her palm on his cheek. "You sound high."
"I'm just tired." Steve knew she was probably right; they were all too familiar with that state of one another, thanks to visits to Skull Rock and his parents being away far too many evenings with Sadie having quick access to none other than Eddie Munson, who gave her a good deal on pre-rolls and however-many-grams that came in the plastic bags. "C'mon, sleep."
"I'm too awake now, Steve." Her voice sounded nothing but angelic as she said his name, despite the contents of them. "Can't."
"No... no.. you can." He nodded and brought the palm balanced on his jaw and fingers gently scratching at the small hints of stubble with him. "C'mon, Henderson, sleep with me."
"Well, now you're just making me blush."
"Just enjoy the morning with me. An hour. Then we can figure out what we're gonna do." Steve bartered without any true heart in it; he didn't need it, because with or without an answer, it would still end with him pulling her into yet another too-tight hug and keep a firm grasp on her until then. "Sadie..."
"I'm here, Harrington." Sadie's hand left his jaw despite the fact he clearly was not looking to let her go, but instead she shifted on the mattress and her head slipped back into the indent of the pillow. "See? All here."
She took his hand and twisted her fingers in his, the hold resting on the small stretch of mattress between them. "We can get breakfast." Steve murmured, lulled back to utter comfort and close to slipping back into sleep. "Or make something. I'm good at making something."
"You can make pancakes and nothing else."
"Then we'll have pancakes." Steve declared. "Banana and... other stuff." His voice trailed off, not quite in the midst of mental capability to come up with anything else. "Plans for today?" He asked, not wanting to bore her despite the fact he was far too close to falling asleep again.
"I'm helping Mrs Wheeler with Holly this afternoon. She needs to shop and take a couple hours to herself and I'm just about willing to go the community pool - for a good price, of course." Sadie replied in nothing more than a whisper. "Wanna come? Holly loves you."
"Can do." Steve nodded. "Don't want you to get bored without me." He smiled, eyes still closed but hoping the grin wasn't as dopey as it felt. Whether it was or wasn't, it didn't matter, because Sadie Henderson had lent forward to press a kiss against the very tip of his nose and was ignoring every warning sign that it was potentially dangerous to be this closer to anyone by slipping right into his grasp, hips pressed into his and her forehead resting against him, free hand coming through the ends of his hair.
Perfectly content, perfectly happy, and way too fucking hot.
✧
"Now what the hell is this? You can't tell me this actually does anything." Steve complained just a little too loud and caused several sales associates to glare in their direction. His eyes widened as he noticed and clamped his mouth shut, an arm wrapping around Sadie's waist as though he had to prove he was with someone who could actually shop there, pulling himself closer before letting go and watching as she examined the clothing.
His attention was directed at the bikini Sadie had shown interest in, needing one to replace another that had been through quite the ordeal when they went swimming the other week (it had gotten lost, and once they had found it ended up with beer spilt on it and then lost again). This one was by no means particularly revealing - no more than any other bikini anyway - but the spaghetti straps that would tie behind her neck seemed to invoke some kind of natural reaction in him.
"Come on, it's cute." Sadie held up the bikini to the three-quarter length t-shirt that was currently sticking to her body, turning towards the nearest mirror to admire the sight. "Besides, I thought you would like it. It's like the one Phoebe Cates wears in Fast Times."
"I know it is." Steve had seen the similarities quickly, and he knew many others would too. "I'm not saying you can't wear it... because believe me you can... just maybe not this afternoon?"
They had eventually gotten up after far too long spent in Steve's bed alternating through various positions in attempts to cool down before ultimately giving up to shower and get ready for the day. After the promised pancakes, Sadie had expressed her wish to go to Starcourt Mall and pick out a new swimsuit to join her steadily growing collection. He had agreed because, well, why wouldn't he, and after she called her mom to let her know what was going on they had set off.
"I'll get it for another time, then." Sadie knew when to pick her battles, and seeing as Steve had followed every phrase that sounded even slightly horrible with a rumble of apologies, she knew he wasn't acting maliciously and there was an actual reason for his words that he wouldn't divulge in the light of day but instead mention half-heartedly when he had a can of beer in his hands and they were sat beneath the stars.
He would tell her everything, she found, when he was a little more comfortable in his surroundings - seemingly not his house or anywhere near it, but instead in the pink glow of her lava lamp or sat on a blanket somewhere up a hill, Skull Rock or when they decided to drive up to Indianapolis one late afternoon just so they could go to this diner they had found in their last visit again. Steve would tell her everything then.
Things she would never even realise he thought. Insecurities mostly, but also finding more out about his dad and what a dickhead he was, how his mom tried her best to keep the family together but it wasn't easy, how he wished they could've been as close as they were when they were younger, how he regretted a lot of his high school life, how he really fucking wished that he had ditched Tommy and Carol sooner because he was never able to talk to them like he could to her and she just made him so, so happy.
The Steve Harrington Sadie knew was a contradiction of his former self, and there was no one she'd rather spend her time with.
"Maybe at Lover's Lake?" Steve suggested, still eyeing the bikini held in Sadie's arms. "Maybe we can go tonight." He suggested, hand snaking around her waist again, except this time was because there seemed to be intimacy in just having that closeness, even if his elbow curved in the space between them and she wasn't sandwiched to his side.
"We spend way too much time together, Harrington." Sadie shook her head, her eyes trained on something in the men's section. "I'm babysitting, remember?" She took the lead, pulling them both towards what she had spotted. "And I'm taking Holly to the pool, so I might be a bit tired."
"At least let me pick you up," Steve said. "We don't have to go anywhere, just let me pick you up." He was cling, he really couldn't deny that, but he was making up for lost time and he couldn't help but be worried about any time spent with Billy Hargrove considering the gigantic scar on his girlfriend's knee was because he had pushed her and it was that which lead to something from the freakin Upside Down to attach itself to her.
"You can pick me up." Sadie agreed, reaching up to the polo shirt. "Here, this is cute." Steve watched as she held it up to him. "Something to wear outside of your uniform."
"Hey, you think my uniform is cute!"
"I think your uniform is dorky." Sadie corrected. "And I think Robin looks better in it than you do."
"That's not fair - it covers up my best aspect."
"Rock hard abs?"
"No, Henderson, my hair." Steve retorted.
"Do you like the shirt?"
"Yes."
"Good." Sadie pulled him along, coming to a stop in front of the register, where Ally was standing and chewing her gum just as obnoxiously as Carol used to do. Except this time, the Henderson believed she actually had a reason to be annoyed; there was cold air flooding through the store, but it was still way too warm in the mall. "Hi Ally, just these please." She began to dig through the bag hanging on her side that had absolutely no pockets in and meant that every little thing she put in it was lost to the depths of fabric as the girl processed the items.
But when she looked up, Steve was tucking one of the latest technological advancements in the finance industry; a credit card; back into his pocket. "Hey - Harrington." Sadie frowned. "This is supposed to be my-"
"I lost your bikini, I pay for it." Steve shrugged. "You can buy the ice cream."
Ally was watching with her eyebrows raised. "Huh." She nodded at Sadie as she slid over the bag. "Not what I expected from Steve Harrington." She added in a mumble, which both of them decidedly ignored.
"Thanks Ally." Sadie smiled, taking the bag and pulling Steve out of there far quicker than needed to. Once they were around the corner and out of sight of one of the many high schoolers they knew littered around the mall (in the short time it had been opened, Starcourt had become the place to go), Sadie punched Steve in the shoulder. "Dickhead."
"Dickhead who got you a new bikini." Steve didn't quite mind the punch; he almost definitely deserved it. "C'mon, it was cute; you'll look cute; Ally thinks we're cute."
"Ally doesn't really have a lot of meaningful opinions if you catch my drift," Sadie replied with narrowed eyes. The girl was smart enough to get her places, but certainly not enough for the credit Steve was giving her. "Don't do it again, ass."
"I can feel the affection." Steve grinned, because he really, really, didn't give a shit. "We'll go by the food court and see Robin."
"And see how cute she looks in her uniform?" Sadie blinked, all too innocently.
Steve stared at her. "I hate you." He said decisively, although he quite literally meant the opposite, instead stalking off in the midst of dramatics as always, leaving Sadie to watch after him, shaking her head. She caught up to him with ease, arm sliding into the curve of his elbow. "It's the stupid hat, I swear."
"I like the hat. Adds to the effect." Sadie hummed her appreciation. "And if you tilt it just right then I can still see the hair."
"Good." Steve seemed pleased at that and they continued to walk aimlessly around the sweltering walkways, dipping past the Jazzercise store, the Radioshack that remind Sadie far too much of Bob - she was completely unable to look at one the same, which caused quite the problem after she realised how much she actually frequented them - and the Gameplayer that she saw Eddie in too much because he worked there over the summer with one of his bandmates... Jeff, she thought.
And as they entered the food court, they were unceremoniously greeted by the overwhelming scent of fast food, which didn't mix well with the heat and created an all too sickly effect that they were way too used to now that the both of them had worked there for over a month.
"How lovely, my two favourite people." Sarcasm permeated the stench and neither really had to turn to set their eyes on Eric, who was leaning against one of the many pillars dotted around. "Taking the weekend off?" He asked, already knowing the answer.
Because, of course, Eric also had a job in Orange Julius, as did a couple of other guys on the basketball team, much to Sadie's luck.
"Obviously," Sadie replied shortly. "C'mon sailor, let's go find your first mate." She pulled Steve forward
"So that makes Steve the captain," Eric called after them. "Steve Harrington? The captain? Really?"
They made their way towards Scoops Ahoy, Sadie watching him out the corner of her eye. He didn't say anything, a hand pulled through his hair and the bag with her new bikini on swinging from her own until he took it from her. The pair approached the nautical-themed parlour, the black and white tiles just feet away.
"He so has a crush on you," Steve muttered.
"No, he doesn't." Sadie shook her head, spotting Robin trying to stop Erika Sinclair from getting another sample of U.S.S. Butterscotch. "He just never made it off the bench and actually play in the basketball team.... or made the swim team."
"He totally has a crush on you." The Harrington pushed on, hardly even considering otherwise. "You're right about the swim team, but he did make it off the bench for the basketball team."
"Yeah?" She looked moderately surprised. "What position?"
"Small guard, when all he ever wanted to play was shooting guard."
"I thought he couldn't jump higher than a foot?" Sadie hummed as she pulled forward to say something to Robin, and Steve couldn't help but feel a little lucky that even though he wasn't going to Purdue, he had two sports-related things to hold above Eric Murphy's head and a third, less sports-related and more Henderson-related, which was way more important.
❛ AUTHORS NOTE ━━ so we're back!! and we're back in summer!!! my fave season to write!!! and the title is a nod to one of my fave gilmore girls episodes - lazy-hazy-crazy days which is the first episode of s3 so it's rather appropriate, i felt.
as i've said, i've got a couple chapters planned and an idea of how to lead into s3 properly, but as of now i hope you enjoy my not-on-the-timeline chapters because i love writing them!
anyone have any ideas to what sadie's zodiac might be? steve's as well, but i have other public opinion on that one. i don't know if ive asked this before but i cant remember tbh
also, change by djo (aka joe keery for those who don't know) is so good go listen rn or else!!! the rest of his music too!!
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