fireworks - steve harrington

1.07

AFTER

Steve Harrington was a fucking idiot. Such a fucking idiot.

He had fucking sprinted into the Byers' house, which was clearly extremely dangerous. The fucking lights were flickering, for god's sake. And not to mention he had the fucking audacity to kiss Ren, who definitely had feelings for him. Very very strong feelings.

So Ren just kept thinking, Steve Harrington is a fucking idiot. And I'm probably in fucking love with him.

He waited for what seemed like forever until Steve finally came racing out of the house.

"Ren! Ren, we gotta go now!"

"What? Why?" he asked as he sat down in the car and shut his door.

Steve slid in and slammed his door as well. "I have no idea if that thing is coming back, but I really don't want to find out. Buckle up, let's go."

"Oh, uh, okay." They sped away in silence until Ren had enough courage to speak up. "So, what is that thing?"

"No idea."

"Is it dead?"

"I hope so."

"So why aren't we staying to help?"

"Because I don't want to risk losing you."

"Wh-what?"

"You could die if we went back there and fought it some more, if it's still alive."

"We could both die, Steve."

"Yeah, I know, but it doesn't matter to me if I die. That's a pretty damn awesome way to go. Fighting a fucking monster. But if I lived and you died, I'd never forgive myself, especially knowing I could have done this, kept us both away. Kept you safe."

"Steve, I can take care of myself!" Ren yelled.

"Goddammit, I know that! I know you can take care of yourself. That doesn't mean I'm not still scared. Ren, I can't lose you. You're pretty much the only person who doesn't hate me right now."

"Is that the only reason?" Ren asked, the kiss from before still lingering in his mind. Please don't regret it. Please don't regret it.

Steve sighed. "No. I... I don't know what exactly I'm feeling right now, but I know that I feel something for you, something strong, way stronger than what I felt for Nancy. Wow, I'm just letting it all out, huh?" he muttered. "Look. It's okay if you don't feel the same way. Fuck, I'm sorry I kissed you. That was wa--"

Ren interrupted him. "I'm not."

"Wh-what?"

"I'm not sorry you kissed me. But I am sorry I didn't kiss back."

"So, you--"

"I feel the same way."

"You do?"

"Yes."

"Wait. What? I imagined so many different ways that this conversation could go, but absolutely none of them--"

"Steve. I like you. I have for years."

Steve stopped the car at his own house.

"I can drive you to your house if you want, but, uh, um... do you want to come inside?"

Ren just nodded once and gulped.

They stepped out of the car and walked around to the side of the house when he said, "You ever climb into the second story of a house before?"

Steve held his hand out to Ren once he had made it on top of the first story roof. Once Ren had made it up, they climbed through the window and everything changed.

"So you don't regret kissing me, right?" Ren asked quietly, shuffling his feet.

"Not at all."

"Did you, uh, do you want to t--" Ren was cut off by Steve's lips colliding with his. He immediately kissed back and they started to move toward the bed. His back hit the soft surface as Steve climbed on top of them. They made out for what felt like hours, until they were too exhausted to continue. And that's when more questions were asked.

"Do you regret that?" Steve asked quietly.

Ren whispered, "No," in response. "Do you?"

"No."

"Are we just gonna keep asking each other whether or not we regret this over and over again?"

"Maybe."

Ren chuckled.

"I'm sorry, I just really don't want to mess this up. I like you, Ren. And I don't know if this is gonna go anywhere, but I want it to."

"You do?"

"Yeah."

"I do, too."

When Ren woke up in Steve's bed the next morning, he immediately ran downstairs, dialed Tammy's number, and said, "You'll never believe what happened last night," only to get the worst response he could have possibly imagined.