A/N - This chapter was inspired by the song Hearts Don't Break Around Here by Ed Sheeran. It's set during season 4. I hope you all enjoy it.
Steve had been standing in front of you the second the last bat creature had taken flight and left you all alone. He looked terrified, his eyes all wide as he moved closer, his hands lifting to push your hair out of your face. His palms cupped your cheeks gently, his eyes darting between yours, his eyebrows furrowed slightly as if he was looking for something he couldn't find. Your breath caught in your throat at the proximity, his fingertips brushing the skin behind your ears. In all honesty, it had utterly thrown you for a second. If you didn't know any better, it would've been easy to forget where you were or what you had just been through.
You lifted your hands, your fingers wrapping around his wrists to keep him from moving, your thumbs drawing gentle circles into his skin as you swallowed the lump in your throat.
"I'm okay," you told him, the words coming out all warped with emotion. "We're safe now," you pressed on, your eyes finally meeting his fully, stopping them from making tracks over your features. He nodded slightly, letting out a shaking breath. "I need you to let go," you added, your grip on him still holding him in place. "I need to look at your stomach, see what damage those creepy little critters did to you, okay?"
His tongue darted out to wet his bottom lip and you could swear you'd never seen him look so scared in the entire time you'd known him. "It's not that bad. It doesn't even hurt-"
"Steve," you hummed softly. "They took a pretty big chunk out of you. You need to let me look."
He swallowed again, leaning forward to press his forehead to yours ever so lightly as his eyes dropped shut. "Just don't go too far away," he uttered, taking a deep breath to calm himself.
You nodded against him. "I'm not going to go anywhere," you agreed softly, prying his hands away from your face as his eyes fluttered open again. "It's okay," you reminded him, linking your fingers with his as you glanced down at his stomach. "We're going to patch you up, alright? Just need to cover it; make sure you don't bleed out."
He grimaced when your fingers brushed the skin on his stomach, barely missing the bleeding wound. "Shit," he bit out, winching and squeezing your fingers between his.
"I know," he uttered, pulling your hand back away from his injury. "I'm sorry, I know it hurts," you added. "But if we don't do this now it could get infected or you could get drowsy from the blood loss."
He nodded, gritting his teeth when Nancy approached, holding out a scrap of cloth to you. "We need to move," she told you, her hand squeezing your shoulder. "We can head over to my house. There should be medical supplies there."
*Time Skip*
You'd managed to find a vine-free couch to settle Steve onto when you'd reached the Wheeler house, and he'd quickly pulled you down with him, keeping you tucked into his side as his eyes drifted closed. The walk over to the house had taken a lot of his energy out of him, and in all honesty, you were pretty worn out too, so a couple of minutes of sitting wouldn't do either of you any harm.
Nancy had gone straight upstairs when you'd come in, headed for her closet and the guns that she was certain she had stored there. But Eddie and Robin had hovered in the doorway of the lounge, watching the two of you carefully.
"So, they're totally in love, right?" Eddie murmured. "I mean, the way she jumped into the lake after him. The way he cares way more about her than he does himself. It's obvious, right?"
Robin nodded, smiling softly at the two of you, huddled together on the couch. "Right," she hummed.
"But they aren't a couple?" Eddie pressed on, brow furrowed in confusion.
"Nope," she responded, letting out a soft sigh. She was well-versed in the questions at this point. People had always been pretty confused by the way you and Steve acted and as designated best friend to both of you, she was the only logical person to ask.
"And they totally act like a couple?"
"They do," she confirmed.
Eddie let out an exasperated sigh as if your relationship was a personal affront to him. "What the fuck is wrong with them?"
Robin let out a snort of laughter. "God, where do you want me to start?"
You shuffled slightly, listening intently to the conversation happening on the other side of the room. Glancing up at Steve with a small frown, you tapped his chest lightly to get his attention, his eyes darting down to look at you.
"We are in love, aren't we?" you uttered, watching his brow furrow slightly at the question.
"Yeah, I guess we are," he murmured, his fingers brushing over your hip lightly, a small comfort. "What are we even doing? Why aren't you my girlfriend yet?"
A soft bubble of laughter slipped out of you. "You never asked me to be," you told him, shrugging slightly.
"Shit," he mumbled, lifting his other hand to move your hair out of your face. "I guess I didn't, huh?" He paused, a small smile pulling at his lips as he looked at you. "Do you want to be my girlfriend?"
You bit down on your bottom lip as you grinned up at him. "Of course I do, dummy."
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