“am i- are we too late?” PART 2!
steve harrington x reader
SERIES: part one || part two || part three
summary: steve and reader have been BEST FRIENDS for ages - they even work at the same place (scoops). reader is in love with him so she tells him at work. he turns her down. now they have to go to the upside down. but something happens to reader to make him rethink eveyrthing
info/warning: emotional themes, injury, blood loss, can be read with any pronouns as “you” is used, no y/n, puuree hurt/a little angst? and fluff!, mutuals pining at different times, steve being his oblivious self, times when steve thinks he’s being smart, NOT proofread! lmk if there are any mistakes :)
taglist: @ehlareym @sexyvixen7
wc: 1.3k
ash drifts through the air like dying snow. slow. silent. lifeless.
the upside down stretches around you in endless shades of grey and black. broken houses stand like hollow skeletons in the distance and the air smells like rot and storm clouds. nothing here feels alive.
except the panic ripping through steve’s chest. you’re still in his arms. your blood is warm against his hands but the rest of you is growing colder by the second. his fingers press desperately against the torn fabric at your side where the demobat bites ripped into you.
blood seeps between his fingers anyway. too much. far too much. “stay with me” his voice is rough and shaking. “please..”
beside him robin kneels on the dead ground, her flashlight trembling in her hand. she can see the blood. she can see the way steve’s hands are soaked in it. and she knows. the realization settles like ice in her stomach. steve leans closer to you, his forehead pressing against yours. “hey” his voice cracks. “hey look at me” your eyelids flutter weakly. your breathing is thin. fragile. like each breath might be the last.
steve swallows hard. panic climbs higher in his chest. “you can’t fall asleep” he whispers desperately. “you hear me?” your lips move faintly. “steve…” the sound of his name almost breaks him. “yeah yeah i’m here” his hands slide up to cup your face, leaving faint streaks of blood on your skin. “i’m right here”
your eyes try to focus on him. everything feels distant. foggy. like the world is slowly drifting away. “i’m sorry” the words barely leave your mouth. steve freezes. “for what?” “for telling you” his chest tightens painfully. “don’t.”
your voice trembles. “it made things complicated” steve shakes his head immediately. hard. desperate.“no..” his voice cracks again. “no it didn’t” he presses a trembling kiss to your forehead. “you telling me was the best thing that’s ever happened to me”
tears fall freely down his face now. hot against the cold air of the upside down. “i was just too stupid and too scared to say it back” robin turns away slightly, wiping her eyes with the sleeve of her jacket. she’s known this for months. the way steve looked at you. the way you looked at him. two idiots orbiting each other but never brave enough to say it. until now.
steve gently shakes you again when your eyes start slipping closed. “hey hey” his voice rises with panic. “stay with me”
you exhale softly. “i’m tired steve..” the words hit him like a knife. “no” his hands tremble violently now. “you don’t get to be tired” he pulls you closer against his chest. like he can keep your soul from leaving just by holding you tighter. “you’re staying with me”
your breathing falters slightly. robin looks back at steve. her voice quiet. worried. “steve we need to move”
he nods quickly. like the idea finally clicks into place. “yeah” his arms shift carefully beneath you. lifting you fully off the ground. your head falls weakly against his shoulder. your body feels frighteningly light. steve stands slowly. his legs feel unsteady. but he refuses to stop. “we’re getting you out of here” he mutters softly. his voice shaking. “you’re not dying in this place”
robin grabs the flashlight and walks beside him. the beam cuts through the grey fog as they move through the ruined streets of upside down hawkins. every step feels endless.
steve’s arms ache. his breathing grows heavier. but he doesn’t loosen his grip for even a second. your breathing grows quieter. more uneven. he looks down at you again. fear floods through him. “hey” he whispers quickly. “talk to me”
no response.
his heart begins to race faster. “remember scoops?” his voice tries to sound lighter but it breaks halfway through. “remember how robin kept eating the samples and pretending it was quality control?”
robin sniffs beside him. “that was a legitimate strategy”
steve barely hears her. his eyes stay fixed on your face. “you used to steal my fries during breaks” his voice softens painfully. “said they tasted better when they were mine”
your fingers twitch instantly around his shirt, weakly. steve stops walking for a second. hope flashes through him like lightning. “hey” he breathes out shakily. “that’s good” he presses another quick kiss to your hair. “stay with me, okay?” the gate finally comes into view in the distance. a faint rip in the air between worlds.
robin points. “there” steve forces his legs forward again. every step burning. every second heavier with fear. your breathing falters again. then pauses. for just a second. but it’s enough. steve feels it immediately. “no”
the word leaves him in a broken whisper. he shakes you gently. “hey” panic floods his voice. “don’t do that” his forehead presses against yours again. tears falling freely now. “please don’t die on me”
his voice cracks completely. raw. desperate. “you can’t leave me here okay? because if you do, who’s gonna watch movies with me? who’s gonna complain about me ‘wasting precious time’ when i’m doing my hair? who’s gonna want to sleep in my bed with me when i’m too stubborn to admit i hate being alone?”
robin’s eyes fill again as she watches him. she’s never seen him like this. never seen steve harrington this shattered.
steve’s voice drops to a quiet trembling whisper. “i love you” his thumb brushes weakly across your cheek. “i’ve loved you for so long” another tear falls. “i was just too scared to say it” he takes another step toward the gate. then another. his voice breaking into quiet pleading. “just stay with me a little longer” the gate grows closer. closer and closer.
your hand twitches faintly against his chest. steve freezes. his breath catching in his throat. “robin?” his voice barely exists now. “she moved”
hope flickers in his chest. small. fragile. but alive. he clutches you closer and keeps walking. toward the gate.
toward home. toward whatever waits on the other side.
AAAH LOVED THIS!! anyone want a part 3 or should i leave it as a cliff hanger?
