𝗨𝗚𝗟𝗬 // 𝗦𝘁𝗲𝘃𝗲 𝗛𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘁𝗼𝗻

055

We exit through the changing room curtains and find Steve once more, who's standing politely at the bottom of the nearest aisle, arms crossed as he sizes up every man who walks past me before I'm standing beside him again. He slips a warm hand on my waist, "all good?"

I smile, "all good."

Robin is walking down a different aisle now, a skip returning to her step as she picks up random weaponry and dumps it in the cart once more. Once it's just me and Steve, I turn to him, "I'm going to talk to Nancy about Barb."

We'd talked about her before, me and Steve. About the party, about the guilt he felt.
But Nancy was a whole other jar to open, a whole lot more history to share. I didn't want to remember everything, not while I was fighting for my life, not while I was already dealing with so much grief.

Not while death itself was haunting me wherever I stepped, in every way possible.

But now, as I was throwing out the bullets sat in Vecnas gun, I realise Barb is a whole other rifle.

He rubs circles on my waist, "good, I think you should, I'm proud of you." The sentence causes goosebumps to make their way up my neck, the ever known love to spread in my chest.

He plants a light kiss on my cheeks, lips hovering over my own for a moment before I finally bridge the gap between us and give him a quick kiss, but we both linger for more.

"Did you just kiss me in a store full of guns, Ruby White?" He whispers, staring down at me with long lashes and I can't help but chuckle and place my head in my hands, "oh god I did!"

He fakes offence, "how inappropriate! You know the men in here don't like emotion," he teases, "you're ruining my street cred."

"Please!" I slap his arm and turn away, full of sass and walking down the aisle ahead of him, he reaches out and stops me, grabbing my arm and turning me smoothly back to face him. The action makes me blush before he carries on gloating, "Didn't you hear Rubes? I'm the king of Hawkins high."

A roll of the eyes, "oh come on you graduated ages ago." A smug smirk in return, "yeh but a title like that is for forever."

"I fear there are better titles out there, Harrington." He always found it funny when I referred to him by his last name, like we were in some kind of cheesy movie, the kind he pretends he hates.

Steve takes a small step closer, hitching my breath, a reaction he clearly enjoys, "what? Like husband?"
The implication causes butterflies to reign in my chest, taking over my body, he's being silly, I know that, but that's two mentions of growing old and starting a family together in the same day.

I want that so bad.

I laugh at him.
But when we're older.

"I am 18 Steven!" I smack him playfully and his grin gets wider as I pretend to clutch fake pearls around my neck, "At least wait till a lady is 20!"

"Ok." He looks at me with tender warmth, "when you're 20."

Turning my back to walk ahead of him once more i can feel myself beaming.
Silly boy.

But I'm stopped in my tracks at the sight of Nancy at one of the counters, testing out a very scary, very large gun.

I know right now isn't the best timing, but I'm famously bad at finding that, so my legs run towards her on their own.

"Nance!" She turns back at me and greets me before staring in awe at the machinery in her hands. "Isn't she a beaut?" Her eyes twinkle, my throat fills with laughter, "a beaut?"