Sof’s Mind Palace

“Morning, hon.”

He taps your knee twice before standing and making his way out. He reaches up to scratch at the nape of his neck, you see big scratches stretching from his lower back up to his shoulder blade.

You sit and sip, recounting the night. From Hells Kitchen to Queens, gang after gang, it seemed you guys couldn’t catch a break. Towards the end of the night, Peter’s web slingers jammed as he was flying down a skyscraper. Right behind him, your Spidey senses went off and he yelled out to you. You caught him in the last second but his back still skimmed the asphalt.

More awake, you pad into the living room. You find Peter hunched over the dinner table covered in your suits, fabric scraps, and micro tools. You reach out to him to scratch his head and place a kiss on his ear. He leans into you but his concentration stays on the needle weaving in and out of your suit.

“Hey, your breakfast is on the stove,”

You find a plate atop the stove top, it looks perfectly plated with care, with all the things you like. You bring the plate back with you and join Peter at the table.

You eat and watch as he patches your suit, occasionally massaging his bicep in appreciation. You don’t know how he does it, after the night you two had, to wake up early and make breakfast and repair our suits. You loved these domesticity of these mornings after a patrol. Made you feel like the Fantastic Four, Reed must do stuff like this to Sue.

When you finish you break out the medkit and position yourself behind him. You rub ointment over the injuries that paint his back and arm. Occasionally he winces or whimpers, you whisper ‘I knows,’ or ‘sorrys’ as you tend to the flesh wounds. You cover him in bandages til he looks half mummy, and kiss his shoulder blade in praise.

“I was thinking…” he starts as you pepper kisses behind his ear.

“…we could stay in and binge west wing?”

He looks to you. Your hand holds his jaw as you kiss him, not needy or hungry but tender and thankful. You inhale his scent and kiss him deeper.

He slips through the fire escape window and latches it shut. He pads through your bedroom carefully, heel to toe, you’re a heavy sleeper —he knows—but he doesn’t want to risk it.

He discards his mask on the tv stand and runs his hand through his sweaty mess of hair. He turns the shower on and lets out a deep sigh. He lets the steaming water wash over him as his muscles tense and relax. He uses your body wash and shampoo, loving nothing more than going to sleep engulfed in your scent.

He emerges from your bathroom with a towel wrapped low around his hips. Your face is then basked briefly basked in the bathroom light. He sighs into a smile. He takes the Tylenol and sips the water you left for him on his bedside table. This is what he loved most about you, your thoughtful little acts he feels he was undeserving of.

The linen duvet is softly folded back and the mattress dips as he achely lays down. He hits the pillows and is hit with your smell again. He turns to where you lay. He lays little kisses on your hairline, careful not to stir you. He is certain.

He’d been so careless; forgetting his discarded sweater at the station. It had been a hot day in the booth with all of the stereos running at full power. Usually he would have just left it until the morning, but something deep in his gut was telling him to go get his sweater.

Your eyes are still closed when his Beamer headlights shine through the blinds. Trying to decide on the next track you spin in your seat. By the time you open your eyes and roll yourself to the shelves of cassettes under the desk Steve is padding through the gravel towards the doors.

You grab the selected cassette, slide it into the player, and begin to fade out the police. You pull the mic close to you.

“That was the police, now to keep with the yearning ballad themes, here is time after time.”

Steve laughs to himself at your candor. He spins his key ring around his finger. He’s never met you, let alone know what you look like, but seeing you—even if only the back of your head—something magnetizes him.

In his trance, his keys slip off him finger. His eyes widen. Your head whips toward the sound. But you you find the studio empty. Your brain flips instantly to the worst, something akin to the mysterious earthquake.

He pops up, it is met with a gasp, then a pause. Your eyes squint.

“Steve?”

He says nothing as you take off your headphones and leave the booth. You hang up right at the threshold to give him a confused stare.

“Hey yeah sorry just left my sweater here wanted to come get it,” he motions to the said sweater laying on the couch.

He waits there staring as if needing to ask for permission to move. Your bewildered at his sudden shyness, you’d known Steve to be anything but that. You wave your hands towards the couch, he takes that as permission.

You crossed your arms, still leaning on the door, and watched him shuffle over to the couch. You hadn’t seen Steve properly since high school and maybe it was the sleep deprivation but, damn, his butt looked amazing. He turns around to apologize and your eyes flit up from his back jean pockets to his rugged face.

“I never do this really, sorry to bother you while you’re working,”

“Eh all good not much goin on as you imagine,”

“Yeah I bet,” his hands rest on his hips, then points to the speaker. “This is a great song,”

He walks up to the shelves of 7 inches and cassettes that line the outside of the booth. He slides a tape out and walks around the booth to where you stand.

“Here” he say, “play this one next, goes great after Lauper,”

He hands it to you; your fingers brush his in the exchange.

“Plus it goes good with your theme of yearning ballads” you both laugh lightly.

“Okay well the songs about to end so I should go,”

You then realize you’re at work; you get yourself back in the booth, slightly frazzled. You grip the back of your chair, his joke running through your head:’theme of yearning ballads’. Was he listening to your show?

You back up to ask him but all you see is his cute butt as the door swings closed.

You take a deep breath and take a seat. You slip your headphones on. You queue the cassette in hand while the song fades out. Your fingers hover over the play button.

“And now, by request…” you find yourself smiling into the mic. You press play.

You smile even larger once you recognize the opening notes of a top gun song. You had unknowingly been handed ‘take my breath away’ by the Steve Harrington, how smooth.

You perch yourself on the bleachers right behind the plate and put on one of Steve’s baseball hats, probably a real Chicago Cubs hat, to block the impending sunset. The coke can is cracked open as you watch the kids set up for the top of the first. Derek gives you a small wave, which you return, before slipping his catchers mask over his face.

Steve follows his wave to where you sit. He smiles, admiring how you look in those jeans and his hat. You don’t catch his gaze too transfixed on getting the lineup down.

Throughout the game, small glances would be exchanged. He would look for you after a questionable call to see a frustrated you staring back at him. He tossed you a wink every time he walks to coach third base, because he knows it makes you blush.

The game goes as well as the rest of the season has gone. The defending champs, the Hawkins cubs crush it 5-1. You wait for him to wrap up his huddle with the team, leaning against the chain fence. You watch Steve’s eyes glimmer as expresses how proud he is of the boys. He sends each one off, waiting for the dugout to empty before hustling over to you. You don’t mind waiting, your favorite thing is seeing him with those kids who absolutely adore him.

He looks around to check for any straying kids or moms before cupping your face and pulling you in. The kiss is hungry yet soothing. He leans his forehead in yours and strokes your forearm.

“Good work coach,” he laughs lightly at your platonic tone, just enough to feel his exhale in your cheek.

“Ah could’ve done better but I was just distracted by this absolute babe in the stands,” you smile as if you don’t play this game every week.

“Oh yeah who? maybe I know ‘er” you bite the inside of your cheek.

“I don’t know she just looked pretty sexy in this cubbies hat she was wearing,” you began walking now, as Steve took your hand in his he slid both into his front pocket.

You sigh and nod in response. He closes his book and looks at you a moment.

“ do you wanna go in one more time before heading in?”

“Only if you race me,” you say breaking into a grin.

You barely finish your sentence before making your break for it. You hear him laugh behind you as he attempts to catch up. You beat him by a measly few steps, but that doesn’t stop him from diving in dramatically, completely drenching you. When he surfaces you splash him back in retaliation.

You and him float among the gentle waves for a while until the tips of your fingers get pruny. on the way back to the house he refuses to let you help carry the chairs, claiming that carrying the towels is enough. It’s not exactly a long walk anyway, the Harrington’s beautiful beach house with worn shingle siding residing just beyond the dunes.

You both shower in the outside shower together. He lets you wash his hair, your fingers massaging your scalp. His head tilts back in pleasure, exposing the sun freckles that dot his neck. You wish you could use an outdoor shower for the rest of your life.

You slip on a flowy summer dress and retire yourself to Steve’s bay window. It provides a perfect view of the beach —all the way down to the fishing docks— to occasionally gaze onto as you read. Steve takes a seat across from you, opening his respective beach read. He’s wearing his old highschool sport shorts that have a Hawkins tiger on the seam and a worn shirt from a surf shop in town.

At a quarter to six, he switches into something a little dressier and you two take his parents baby blue bronco into town. You let the wind take your hair leaning back and splaying your arm over the side. He turns up the radio to hear Fleetwood Mac’s Landslide.

‘I took my love and I took it down’

You look to him and he looks to you momentarily while the verse plays.

‘Can I sail through the changing ocean tides’

You sit up and scoot closer to him in your bench seat. You wrap your arms around his bicep tight and place your head tenderly on his shoulder. You hold him as if he could slip away at any moment. He lays his head on yours briefly before laying a kiss on your temple.

‘Well I’ve been afraid of changin’

‘cause I’ve built my life around you’

You nuzzle yourself harder into his shoulder. You look at the way he taps the steering wheel, just like he did when you first met. You think about how different life would be if you had never taken that babysitting job. But you couldn’t have it any other way. You wish nothing would ever change, but you know…

You look at him from where you leaned against the car window. Chewing at your cheek, you see his furrowed brows and how his knee bounces. Like he was worried to leave you.

“Do you want to get ice cream?” He looks to you with the softest of eyes.

You whisper a ‘yeah’ and break into a small grin.

You wait on top of a picnic table for him, watching the begin to sun set over the playground nearby. He joins you shortly handing you your waffle cone while he licks the drippings of his vanilla cone with rainbow jimmies.

You take a lick and rest your head on his shoulder, still looking out on to the playground.

“Do you want kids?” Your question seems to stun him a bit.

“Uh yeah, lots,” he responds truthfully.

“Lots?” You raise your head to face him, furrowing your brows.

“Yeah at least three to four little Harringtons running around you know, they’re all each others bestfriend,” you smile at how much thought he’s already put in.

“And we’ll all go on these big roadtrips and our house will always be chaotic and loud,”

“Our house?” You raise your eyebrows lightly and search in his hazelnut eyes for an answer.

“Yeah I mean if you want it to be a house, it could be an apartment or shack for all I care,”

You pepper his cheek in grinning kisses, leaning back only to say, “I’d love to have a house with you Harrington,”

He takes your hand in his, “good,”

After finishing your cones you get on the road, seemingly driving no where. This time you ask,

“Do you want to go home?” Please say no, you think to yourself.

“Not really” “Me neither,”

“So what do you wanna do?” He asks.

“Just keep driving,”

As you keep driving, you keep taking. About everything. Where you want to live, dream roadtrips, the type of dogs you want.

Steve could listen to you talk forever, in this light, with your hair flowing in the breeze, talking about your future together. Looking at you like you’re the eighth wonder of the world.

Conversation ceases only when he pulls into your driveway. You scan his face and sweep a strand of hair out of his face. Still staring into his eyes you rub his cheek with your thumb. He reciprocates, grabbing hold of your forearm and rubbing gentle circles into your wrist.

You lean in close, noses touching, “you’re not naming one Steve Jr,”

“Rats” he whispers, leaning in to kiss you gently, then again with more hunger. He places his hand on the back of your head to give you a final deep kiss.

You sit back, breathless and reach for the handle before going back over the center console for one more kiss.

You trudged along to your ensuite to brush your teeth. You should have been frustrated about oversleeping but you could only feel conflicted about what happened between you and Steve. You take a beat to look in the mirror, why hadn't he kissed you? sighing you make your way to your drawer to pick out a swimsuit to wear. Should you have kissed him? Did he want to be kissed? Did you misinterpret his friendly banter as flirting? Endless questions run through your head as you contemplate what to wear. Frustration takes over and you pick your go-to blue gingham bikini set.

You grab also your sunglasses, keys, and a oversized surf shop shirt to wear on top as you charge out your bedroom door. You bid a quick goodbye to your lounging father and snatch up the sunscreen from the foyer before pulling the front door behind you. The car door whips open; throwing yourself into the drivers seat and throwing your miscellanous items into your passenger side seat.

You hustled to make it to Mike's in record time. You honk to signal to them that you arrived. Mike's mom stepped out onto the porch and waved as the kids filed outside of the house towels and noodles in hand. You put on a smile and waved back trying to make up for your rude way of announcing yourself. You take a moment to sigh, close your eyes, and lean your head against the head rest while the kids file into the back. Max takes the seat beside you and you send her a quick smile before you put your car in drive.

the drive to lover's lake was peaceful, weaving around the turns with the windows down. You loved moments like these, air blowing in your face seemed to blow your worries away. As soon as you pull off onto a open beach the doors whip open with the kids anxious to mark their territory with towels.

Just as you step out of the car, you hear the gravel rumble and a radio grow louder. You look behind you to see steve's BMW pulling up right next to you. You avoid Steve's eye contact by grinning at the already beaming dustin in the passengers seat. You make your way around to his trunk to help carry the coolers and chairs. Steve comes around and he is sun kissed. More than you ever recognized, you thought. he lifts open the trunk door and his shirt rides up just enough to see the the subtle tone of his abs and the hair peaking out right above his waistband. you pick up a chair and the drinks cooler and make your way to the kids spot on the bank.

As you walk towards them you look towards the sand and smile to yourself. You look back to see if steve was following behind you but you find steve still at his trunk, looking. You whip your head back to the front knowing what that look was. he was checking you out.

You set the chair and the cooler down before laying down the law:

"before anyone gets in the water you must put on sunscreen I am not getting scolded by any of your mothers for burning their children because you forgot to put sunscreen on,"

they all groan.

"No, no wining you know she's right and if me or her have to put it on for you we will," Steve appears behind you with his usual parenting stance with his hands on his hips.

You lean down to pick out the tube of suncreen you brought out of one of the bags and toss it into dustin's lap. Standing back up you cross your arms and survey the kids as they pass around the sunscreen. You look up to Steve who is also watching. You mouth a thanks and he mouths back a quick yeah, reaching his hand up to scratch his face.

Its not long before they start sprinting towards the lake. Tossing off your shirt you follow the giggling group and Steve follows quickly after you.

splashes surround you as you settle quickly in the refreshingly cold water. you sigh and recline into the water letting it fill your senses. You rise from your brief meditation to see Steve chicken fighting with Will and Lucas. His smile reached from ear to ear watches and holds Dustin as he swats at Will.

Your body warms watching him with them. You've seen him babysit them countless time but it seemed different now. You'd never realize just how good with them he was, and how he loved them just as you do too.

You take your leave after a while and retire yourself to the shore. You lay down and bask in the warmth of the sun. You open your eyes to the sound of Steve walking back to you. Propping yourself up, you take him in, you lock eyes with him. He combs his fingers through his hair to push it out of his face. Water drips off of his bicep, water drips from every part of him. Your eyes wander, only momentarily, down. His handsome chest hair that practically drew a line down to his v-line. His subtly toned abs flexing as his breathed.

Your eyes followed him as he circled around you to sit down next to you. You close your eyes and attempt to ground yourself with a deep breath. You open them and fixate on the kids swimming in the distance. Act cool, you thought, don’t let him know you’re thinking about last night.

“For you,” you look down to see Steve holding out a beer to you.

“Ugh you’re an angel,” you grab the ice cold can and take a sip.

The coolness ran through your body, it was heavenly. Had he bought these just for you and him? it certainly wasnt for him to crack a cold one with Dustin. You take a big gulp before returning to laying in the sun. Steve scoots in every so slightly closer and also lays down.

You turn your head towards him to see his slightly furrowed brow and the moles that detail his cheek. You turn back not wanting him to catch you looking. You were unaware but Steve had done the same moments later while you were fixating on if he had noticed your staring. He liked this color on you, it brought out a redness in your cheek. And your beautiful lips perfectly illuminated by the mid day sun. His observing is interrupted by you turning on your side completely towards him. You were prepared to take a nap under this warmth but you felt his eyes on you. You open your eyes to find him on his side, looking. 

“ I like this suit, this color is made for you,” 

He says with full sincerity. 

“Thanks, do you wanna borrow it some time” 

You both giggle softly. The closeness allowed him to lightly rub his pinky finger on yours. A small almost unnoticeable tender gesture you welcomed by moving your hand into his. 

"I really liked that movie last night,"

"oh yeah? good thing you cleared your schedule," you break a grin.

he huffs a quiet laugh and you watch his eyes crinkle as he starts to smile.

It was just like last night, the his light breaths hitting your cheek and being stuck in his eyes. Except now with a light buzz and the sun beaming down on you both you felt like it would happen this time.

"YOOHOO!" your breath hitches and the moment flees once again as you both sit up and look towards the kids.

--

You groan when you discover they wanted ice cream. You and steve begrudgingly load up his BMW and head to the ice cream stand.

Throughout the rest of the day you'd exchange glances and otherwise act normally like nothing had happened. You'd decide to not dwell in it and just enjoy the lovely weather and the day off.

After the kids had worn themselves out you packed up your cars with the towels and sandy feet and drove them back to yours to wash up. Steve took it upon himself to pick up pizzas to eat before heading back for the fireworks.

As the sun began to set Steve drove you and the kids over to empty space to watch the fireworks over lovers lake.

the kids had settled on blankets near the shore as you and steve watched them from a picnic table when the fireworks started. You sighed and leaned back onto you hands, relishing in the cool summer air. Steve leaned back too, watching you. You stay watching as the fireworks reflect onto the lake. You let him stare, see if he'll make a move. After a minute you finally look at him. He doesnt flinch when hes caught but sinks into the intimacy again, he looked entranced. You eyes danced over his face memorizing how the moonlight made him look. Was he gonna do it this time? Third times the charm right?

"Hey," he leans in slightly.

"hey," you respond leaning in also. You can see how his lip twitches as your words bounce off them.

You only feel his hand hold your cheek and you leaning in closer before your lips meet. It gentle and slow, almost asking for a response, which you do. the fireworks crackle and fill your ears as all your other senses become completely consumed by steve. You lean further into him, keeping the same slow and sensual pace. Your hand comes up to run your fingers through his hair and tug to bring him closer.

-

you glance at your watch and sigh as you stand by the the delivery access door with your foot against it to keep it ajar. they're five minutes late and at this rate they'll miss the iconic opening of the day of the dead. A opening you don't want to miss either; the seconds tick away as you contemplate ditching them to watch it for the third time by yourself or going back to your job of sweeping up theater two. And just at that moment you hear the growing bickering coming from the door.

you dip your head back into the hallway and glare.

"Hey! you're late!"

the group scurries in as you hold the door, "I swear if you make me miss this movie-"

"We're dead" the respond somewhat apologetically.

You all file into a row and take a seat. will unzips the backpack and begins passing out the snacks they smuggled in with them. You sigh and turn the other way to at least have plausible deniability. The projector whirs up and you lean to your right and bite your cheek in anticipation; you turn youre head already grinning as you watch them jump in their seats and the title card fades in.

-

“Hey are you ready to go?”

“Uh yep” robin responds as she closes the cash register.

“Robin your leaving? We still have 5 minutes until closing,” Steve responds exasperated.

“My ride is leaving so I’m leaving goodnight loser!”

You and Rob walk out and you say your goodbye: “have fun taking the kids home!”

You turn back walking towards the parking lot, and you hear a loud groan coming from the counter causing you two giggle with arms interlocked.

-

You and Steve bound because of the kids. But most of all Dustin. You were his real babysitter by choice and Steve was his babysitter by force.

Despite how much Dustin may claim he doesn’t need a babysitter, whenever the world was coming to an end you and Steve were there. And now you were there to welcome him home from his genius camp. You and Steve hung back watching el and them creep down the hallway to surprise him.

“So what are you doing tonight?” Steve attempts to break the silence coolly.

“Not much, me and rob are gonna see weird science supposed to be good…I mean it’s John Hughes,”

“Huh yeah so what is that like you’re 20th movie of the summer?”

“And what you’re going on your 20th date of the summer?”

“Ha, yeah I wish…no I’m working tonight” he looks back down to his feet.

Dustin’s voice grew louder as he walked down the hallway. “This camp was awesome it had an observatory, a billion telescopes, endless access to computers…” you’d never tell him but you missed hearing his geeky rants.

He finally acknowledges you and Steve’s presence when he reached the living room

“Hey I missed you guys so much. I even used the lady moves you taught me to get my girlfriend!”

There was a universal shock felt by everyone except Dustin. Girlfriend? You’ve barely been on one date and your little dork has a girlfriend?

“Oh you guys wanna meet her?” He grins as he leads the group out of the door.

“We’d love to dust but me and Steve have work, we’re happy you’re home”

“Yeah welcome home bud” Steve follows up as Dustin grins and shuts the door following his friends into the woods.

You mouth “girlfriend?”. He mouths back “lady moves?” with a genuine confused face.

You slap his arm laughing a little and open the door. He follows you to your respective cars.

“Hey if you’re not doing anything after work you should come see the movie with me and Robin it will be fun.”

He fixes his hair, “yeah maybe I’ll check my schedule” he says so not nonchalantly.

You chuckle a little considering five minutes ago he had nothing going on.

“Okay cool” you grin slightly, ducking into your car and turning your key.

-

You look up from your three ticket stubs to find Robin and Steve walking towards you, albeit totally engrossed in their conversation. the quarreling ends when they greet you with a sighing 'hi'.

"You came," you meet his eyes grinning.

"yeah I guess I made some time in my schedule," he responds cheekily, matching your grin.

Rob gawks at the locked eye contact between you too and takes it upon herself to break it up. "alright come on if I dont get cherry in the next 30 seconds I will kidnap one of your nerd kids to build me a new superhuman hot best friend".

You laugh at the reference and go to catch up with her. you look behind to find the joke to have gone over his head but following regardless causing you to laugh harder.

The three of you settle into your seats with your cold drinks and candy, all legally bought, and pass the popcorn around and the light dimming. It came as a surprise to Steve that you and robin were so vocal during the movie. Steve found a you he had never seen as he heard your laughs and jokes. For the first time this summer he had actually felt like he was having fun. He liked the movie but realized how much more fun everything can be with friends.

-

"okay lots of questionable character choices but feminism aside soundtrack 4.5/5, cinematography 3/5, and action 3.5/5 " you genuinely critic the absurd john hughes movie walking into the cool summer night's air.

Robin responds unprompted, "Um its a 5/5 on soundtrack, 2.5 on cinematography, and like a 3 on acting I mean what are they like 14? i dont know...what do you rate it Steve."

Steve had been visibly tuned out and was also confused by the conversation it seemed you two have had dozens of times. He scratches the space right above his ear. "It was good probably like a 4/5."

there was a silence of you and robin expecting more and exchanging a look confusingly. a honk came from behind.

"oh shit thats my mom, bye guys" she spits out quickly as she jogs to her moms chevy. "night" "bye" you and Steve respond.

He walks you to your car and you lean against it looking at his hazel eyes in the dim parking lot light. And he looks back at you in the same content way he did earlier in the night.

"I'm happy you came," you break the silence.

"I'm happy you invited me...movies are more fun with you guys"

"Oh yeah?" A smile begins to spread across your lips.

"more fun than I've had in a while actually," he steps in closer.

"Well I guess we'll just have to hang out more often" Your eyes flicker between his lightly tussled hair, his entrancing eyes. Your breaths get shallower.