fireworks - steve harrington

3.01

ROUTINE

"Steve!"

"Ren!" Steve's eyes lit up and he leaned over the counter. "You off for the night?"

"Yup," Ren said, popping the 'p'. He rested his arms on the ice cream counter, and was within kissing distance of Steve. But they were at work. Kissing could wait. "I know you still have to work right now, but I was thinking that I could run and grab us a movie since tonight is date night. What do you say?"

"I think that sounds wonderful. Can't stay up too late, though. I've got--"

"Class in the morning. Yeah. Don't worry, I remember. You've gotta get up bright and early at 8 am, and I get to sleep in." Ren shot him a wide grin.

Steve rolled his eyes. "You get to sleep in like an hour longer. That's hardly something to brag about."

"Yeah, but--"

The lights flickered in the ice cream shop, effectively halting the conversation. After a few seconds, the power completely went out. Steve heaved a big sigh and walked over to the light switch. He continuously flipped the switch on and off in an attempt to get the lights back on.

"That isn't gonna work, dingus," Robin chimed in. To be honest, Ren had kind of forgotten she was there.

"Oh, really?" Steve flipped the switch rapidly and Ren facepalmed.

About thirty seconds later, the lights in the entire mall suddenly flickered on again. Steve had a smug look on his face, stupidly thinking he had something to do with it. "Let there be light."

He walked back over to Ren and they started talking again.

"So, you were saying?"

<*>

"Ren, are you almost done?"

"Just a second. Popcorn takes a while!"

Steve sighed and leaned back against the couch. He tapped his fingers against the cushion and waited for Ren. A couple minutes later, he came jogging in with a full bowl of popcorn and two cans of New Coke.

"Seriously? New Coke? Come on, babe."

Ren got slightly defensive. "Hey, it's good! It's sweeter, bolder, and just plain better."

Steve deadpanned. "You're shitting me, right?"

"Not at all."

"Just sit your pretty ass down and keep your New Coke away from me please," Steve groaned and made space for his boyfriend on the couch. Ren cosied up next to him, his head tucked into Steve's chest as the movie started.

Every once in a while, one of them had to get up and hit the top of the television to get it to work correctly. It was one of the downsides to being on a budget like they were. With Steve's morning cosmetology school classes and them saving up for a house, they had to cut corners a lot more. Ren couldn't buy a new tv because his mom couldn't afford it and neither could he. Once a week, they splurged a couple dollars on a movie for date night, which had been moved to Wednesdays because that was the night Ren's mom worked late.

They started saving up in January, a couple weeks after their one year anniversary, but it became much more difficult when Steve got into the cosmetology school a few towns over. They had to spend most of their saved money on that, but it was worth it. It was what Steve wanted to do. They had many long talks about Ren achieving his own dreams, but Ren had insisted they focus on Steve's first. So that's why Steve got the job at Scoops Ahoy, and Ren got two jobs, one at The Gap and one at Orange Julius.

As they continued to watch the movie, their positions shifted. Ren laid down on his back with Steve laying on his stomach. They almost always wound up like that on their date nights, although it was usually because they were making out. This time it was just domestic sweetness. Ren had one hand on Steve's back and the other in his hair, slowly carding his fingers through it, while Steve slept, both hands resting on Ren's torso.

About five minutes later, right on schedule, the credits started rolling, and Ren heard a key in the lock of the front door. He gently shook Steve, who immediately knew what to do after months of practice. They cleaned up the popcorn, folded the blanket, turned off the television, and ran into Ren's bedroom. Steve rolled onto the bed and promptly rolled off the other side, gently landing on the floor, out of sight from the door. Ren slipped under the covers, turned the light off, and tried to calm his heartbeat. After thirty seconds, the door opened just a crack, Ren's mom leaned in, and then leaned out, satisfied that her kid didn't stay out past curfew. Immediately after the door closed, Ren lifted the blanket, and Steve climbed in. Ren attached his limbs to Steve like a koala bear, and they slowly drifted off to sleep.

At 8:00 am exactly, Ren's alarm clock went off, waking both of them up but thankfully not travelling to the rest of the house.

"Uhhhh," Ren groaned, just like he did every Thursday morning. "Stay in bed."

Steve stumbled out, almost tripping over his jeans that sat on the floor. "You know I can't, babe. I have to get to class."

Ren rolled onto his stomach and mumbled into the pillow, "Just five more minutes."

"Baby, I'm literally gonna see you in like four hours."

"Doesn't matter. Still want you here."

"Go back to sleep, Ren." Steve kissed his boyfriend's forehead and tiptoed out the back door as soon as he finished buttoning his pants.

Ren grumbled into the pillow one last time before falling back to sleep. And at 9:00 am, the alarm went off again, signaling that it was Ren's turn to get ready and leave the house for what was definitely going to be a long day.