steve harrington lovebot

keys was able to make the darkest of dark days seem brighter simply by being in them. and whenever he wrapped you up in his arms, it was like all the warmth and love in the entire world had been curated right there just for you, and only you. 

"ah, shit!" he lets out a frustrated curse the second you walk into the apartment. your ears being welcomed by the clamorous retorts as he sits at his desk — headphones on, empty cans of energy drinks by his side and fingers rapidly moving across the keyboard with ease. 

there was a reason you, and everyone else called him 'keys' after all. 

he lets out another groan of annoyance as you place your bag down on the sofa, slowly making your way toward him to see what had him so riled up. though, you're met with nothing other than a bunch of pages filled with coding.

deciding it wasn't even worth trying to figure out, you let your fingers trail down either side of his chest as you press a chaste kiss to his cheek, "oh, hey, baby. you just get home?" he slides his headphones to the side so that one ear had your fill undivided attention. 

"uh huh, just walked in the door." you sigh, ruffling the back of his hair and spinning around on your heels to walk over to the kitchen counter. you exhale as your weight hits the stool, the same way your day had hit you — hard and all at once. 

"that didn't sound like a very optimistic sigh..." he pulls his headphones off completely now and places them on his desk. there was a hint of worry in his eyes as he moves to meet you on the other side of the counter, mimicking your movements. he leans forward, resting his head in the palm of his hands the same way you had, and lets out an imitation of your sigh. "do you want to tell me what's wrong?"

"not right now," you smile lopsidedly, and though he doesn't want to, he lets it go. keys trusted you, he trusted your judgment, and he knew that if it were truly anything bad, you would've told him the second you walked in the door. "how was your day? did you finally work out that... thing?"

"the hiccup in the coding?" he asks rhetorically, knowing that that was exactly what you were talking about considering he hadn't stopped talking about it for a week now. "no, not yet. though, i did start working on this new npc skin that i think everyone is really going to love."

and just like that, keys begins one of his rambling sessions about his work, talking about things that you barely had so much as an inkling about. it astonished you how much he loved what he was doing, part of you envied it, but you loved the way his eyes flittered with joy the second you asked and the way they twinkled when he got to talk about it. 

after a few minutes, he finally takes a beat to stop talking and takes in your lost expression as you dazed up at him. "you have no idea what i've been saying this entire time, do you?"

you sigh, drawing your bottom lip in and shaking your head. "no, but you looked so gosh darn cute doing it that i couldn't bring myself to stop you." you reach forward, brushing the loose tendrils of hair out of his face. 

a soft chuckle leaves his lips, and he slowly rounds the counter to where you were sat, hands lifting to cup the sides of your face, "you ready to tell me what's got my girl so worked up?"

his thumbs move to run across your brows, smoothing out the creases that had formed on your forehead, and he presses a tender kiss in their wake. he hated seeing you come home completely drained and the way you exhausted yourself at a job that didn't appreciate you even half as much as they should. there was nothing he hated more in the world than to see you missing your spark. 

"just... tired," you exhale, though while he knew that may have been the truth, there was clearly more to it, for right now, he was willing to accept 'just tired' if that's what you were going to give him. 

his hands trail down your neck to rub circles along the tops of your shoulders, an unimpressed smile tugging at the corner of his lips and yet, all you can do is drink him in. his deep brown eyes etching with a hint of concern as he focuses on trying to help you relax, and the small quirk in his lips as he purses them. 

"i have an idea," he pronounces, taking a second to look back at his computer, as though to be checking everything was okay, and then offers you his hands. 

there's a glint of something in his eyes, though you couldn't quite pinpoint it as he now pulls you along with him, stopping just shy of the sofa to encapsulate you in his arms. letting his warmth suffuse through you and wash away all of the negativity that the day had been bestilled upon you. 

"how does... a nice shower, maybe some takeout, my treat, and all of the cuddles in the world sound?" his words are muffled against the top of your head, arms only growing tighter around you. 

but before you can answer, he's pulling you down onto the sofa with him in a surprise movement. the two of you land against the leather with a small thud and you let out a yelp from the shock of it all. you both fall into a fading fit of laughter, your head perfectly inclined by his chest as his arms remain firm around you. 

"or we could just stay here like this... i'm thinking... forever?" he presses a kiss to the top of your head, and he exhales. 

you go silent, taking in the moment as you let your eyes flutter closed. you didn't know what you did to deserve keys, but you thanked the stars every day that you got to go home to him. to see him light up at the mention of his work, to listen to him shout at the television when he died in a game, to watch him create something that he was so proud of. he was something truly remarkable — and he was yours. 

"as much as i'm loving this," you move your head to face him now, hands resting on his chest beneath your chin. the smell of his cologne and aftershave consuming your senses. "the former sounds like... heaven."