Even The Strongest Fall Sometimes // Steve Harrington // Stranger Things (S2)

[JRE111]

A month. He and Nancy had been broken up a month. 31 days. The hardest 31 days of his life. He tried his hardest to move on, to push down his feelings. He’d not been lying when he told Nancy it was okay. It was. It had to be.

And truly, every day Steve had been doing a little better. He’d been working on school assignments, ignoring Billy the fucking giant asshole, becoming closer with Dustin and Will and all of their friends, even the small girl who liked waffles.

But then December first hit and everything Steve had done to build up his walls came crumbling down.

-------------------

It started with a tickle in the back of his sinuses on November 30th.

He’d been in the middle of gym class, working on keeping his footing right during the 3x3 basketball game, when a tickle made itself known in the seniors head. Scrunching up his nose, not wanting to interrupt the game, Steve continued on, bouncing the ball as he shuffled around. The itch grew stronger, tickling his sinuses enough to make his eyes flutter shut and make him freeze. The ball was taken from him but he made no effort to retrieve it. 

Eyes shut, the brunette's breath hitched and he brought his arm up over his mouth and nose. 

"He'GTKTCHH! eh'ITSHHH! huh-GKTCHHH!" 

He ignored the few stares he felt, clearing his throat and blinking, sniffling softly. He nodded his thanks as a few classmates blessed him. 

During the walk from the main building to his car, the brunette sniffled and jammed his hands in his pockets. The air was cold in Hawkins, bitingly so, and it annoyed Steve that his nose was running from the climate change.

Sniffling again, the eighteen year olds breath hitched and he stopped walking, bowing his head, hair tumbling over his eyes as his nose became increasingly itchy. 

"Hehh..." he sniffled when the tickle went away, teasing him more than anything. 

Jesus what was going on with him today?

He finished the quick walk to his car and blasted the heat, not noticing Nancy’s eyes watching him from across the parking lot.

----------------------------------

Arriving at the Byers’ residence, Steve let a shiver crawl down his spine. He’d told Joyce that he’d be happy to watch the kids tonight, seeing as he had nothing but homework to do, and hanging out with a bunch of thirteen year olds and playing D&D was more entertaining than school work.

Joyce and Hopper were going to some movie, attempting to live normal lives. It made Steve smile, the idea of Joyce being truly happy again. She’d been through way too much in the past few months. Getting out of his car, Steve sniffled again and rubbed at his nose with his sleeve, coughing softly. Walking up to the door, he knocked gently and was soon enveloped in a hug from his favorite woman in town.

“Mrs.Byers, nice to see you again,” he murmured into her shoulder, allowing the comfort of a mother figure to wash over him. It wasn’t like his own mother had been around, not since she divorced his dad four years ago. Shaking his thoughts away, he leaned back and smiled at the smaller woman. Joyce beamed at him before her smile dropped a bit and she bit her lip.

“You look pale honey, are you feeling alright?”

Steve’s eyebrows knit in confusion but he nodded.

“Of course.”

Of course he felt alright. Sure, he was tired, but that was from studying late at night. Ever since he and Nancy broke up, and she wasn’t there to help him, his attention span was a hard thing to get control over. And yeah, he felt a little more worn down, but he chalked it up to working out a lot and watching the hellions that called themselves children. Joyce seemed to be satisfied for the time being and she let the teen in, ushering him into the warm home. Steve’s body visibly relaxed at the heat and comfort, the smell of dinner in the oven, the idea that he had a place to go that wanted him there.

He could hear Mike, Will, Dustin, Lucas, Max and El all in the living room, talking about some other kids and school. Steve was about to go say hello when his nose buzzed, tickly and slightly stuffy. Trying to keep his manners in mind, he looked up at Joyce. 

"Excuse mehh- h'NGGKKK'stCH! ehh'GTCHHH! eh'ITSCHHH!" Steve's nose was buried into his elbow, turned away from Joyce. No way in hell was he going to sneeze in front of Wills mom. 

Sniffling tiredly, Steve swiped at his nose and blushed a soft pink. 

"Excuse me," he repeated, and before he could be asked anything else, he walked over to the living room, smiling at the kids. 

“Steve!”

“Steve’s here!”

“Did you bring the soda?”

Oh shit, the soda. How could he have forgotten? Sighing, Steve knew he’d be taking them all to the store down the road later for sugary drinks and probably some popcorn. The idea sounded overwhelmingly tiring.

They all said their goodbyes to Joyce once Hopper was outside and soon Steve found himself sitting on the couch in between Dustin and El, listening to the six all carry on about how to strategize their game.

He barely even registered when his body grew tired, eyes shutting. Maybe he could nap for just a few minutes.....

 

Hope you all enjoy this!! I'll be updating it soon. 

[venuskiddo]

oh god fuck me up i love.....

[sickprincess]

I'm obsessed with this already!! can't wait for more <3 

[iluvemojis]

Oh my...

um, YES?!?

[queenie]

The idea of Steve, coming down with Something while babysitting, and nodding off, fills me with delight

these are the children who put two tiny rainbow bandaids on him while he was knocked out, they’re going to be so darling about this too, I can’t wait

[VividBubbles!]

So honestly babysitter Steve is my favorite thing in the world right now I can't explain how happy I am to see this fic. He's just so precious in this past season and his relationship with Dustin is especially adorable. I can't wait to read more!

[heckyeahsneezes]

I straight up almost screamed when i saw a steve fic oh my god.. this is perfect. I hope you write more!! 

[JRE111]

I am so so so glad you all like it! Steve is definitely my absolute fav, and I'm thrilled you all like him too. I hope I do it all justice. 

 

Part Two- 

"-ay! You can't just do that!" 

"Hell yeah I can!" 

Steve jolted awake from where he was sitting on the couch, feeling slightly disoriented. A quick glance let the boy know he'd slept maybe four minutes. Not a surprise. 

"Alri-" Steve paused, frowning when his words came out garbled and strained. Clearing his throat, he tried again. 

"Alright shit heads, what's going on?" 

Lucas and Mike started both going on about eachothers decisions but Steve didn't process any of it. As the two boys talked, his nose tickled, blooming into his sinuses. Scrunching his face up, he turned away from them, burying his face into his elbow. 

"huh'GXTTTCH! eh'TSCHH! hehh'TSCHHH-huhh!" Sniffling wetly, he felt his head swim a bit but turned back, freezing when he noted all the kids faces. They all looked...concerned? Even Mike, who was still warming up to him. 

"Bless you..." Dustin murmured, brow furrowed. "You okay buddy?"

Steve rolled his eyes. Typical Dustin. Acting like he was the adult in the situation. It annoyed the eldest usually, making him feel inspirer. He was the adult damnit. He could act like it. 

"I'mb finde." Sniffling again, internally cringing at the stuffiness that had made itself known in his head in the short few minutes he'd dozed off, Steve sighed and got up. 
"What do you guys say I order some pizza and we can watch a scary movie or something..."

Eleven brightened up at the idea of a scary movie, as did Lucas and surprisingly Will. Well, that was that then. If Byers wanted it, Steve would do it. He deserved to have a good night. 

"Yeah, that's cool, but which movie? I don't want some lame ass one.." Mike said offhandedly, their game forgotten. 

"The Thing, Friday the 13th, or Poltergeist. You guys can pick," he decided. In the back of his mind, he realized he probably shouldn't be showing any scary movies to these kids at all, but he was tired and his mental capacity had reached its limits. The jock noticed his head felt stuffier and his body was a little achy, much like after he'd gone a bit too hard on a workout. Yawning, he ignored Will giving him a worried look, deciding to focus on the task at hand. Pizza. 

He wasn't particularly hungry, but he ordered three large pizza's anyway. He knew between six pre-teens, they could easily devour it all. After calling and placing the order, he walked back in, listening to all six of them give their opinions on the movie choices. Head aching, he finally had had enough. 

"Alright, shut your traps, assholes. We're going to watch The Thing, and then you're all going to fall asleep and be great little angels, got it?" 

Dustin snorted. "Mike an angel? Yeah right..." 

The words caused another explosion of debates and Steve groaned. Why were kids so obnoxious? Walking to the Byers kitchen, he went to their cabinet that stored medicine and hoped Joyce kept some kind of decongestant or pain reliever. No such luck. 

"Jonathon usually has some stuff in his room in a box under his bed.." 

Steve felt himself jump and put a hand to his chest. 

"Will....jesus....you can't sneak up on people like that," Steve murmured fondly, ruffling the boys hair, earning a small sheepish smile. 

"Sorry...I noticed you looked tired and thought you might feel sick," Will explained quietly, looking up at the other with big brown eyes. Steve sighed and rubbed his eyes. Will was too perceptive to hide anything from. They all were. 

"It's just a little headache, nothin' to worry 'bout kiddo," he promised. "I'm sure after some pizza and watching you guys scream like girls, I'll feel lots better," he teased. Smiling, he felt another sneeze building up. God he hated colds, probably more than anything. They made him all stuffy and sneezy and tired, made him feel gross without being a 'serious illness'. 

Sniffling, he watched as Will moved to grab something from behind him. Vision blurring slightly, he let his eyes fall shut and brought his elbow up again. 

"ehh'GXTCHH! snnnnnf, huh'GTCHHH! eh'ITCHH!" Groaning softly, he opened his tired eyes to see Will standing there with a few tissues in hand. 

"You didn't......thanks pal," Steve resigned himself, deciding as long as it was only Will who was worried, he could deal with it. 

 

NEXT PART COMING SOON <3 

 

[VividBubbles!]

Okay these kids are just too pure and their concern for Steve is so freaking cute. Especially Will! I feel like he'd really look up to Steve after what happened in season 2 and how Steve protected his friends during that whole debacle. Excited to read the next part!

Edited November 8, 2017 by VividBubbles!

[sickprincess]

You captured Will and Steve SO perfectly in this part. My heart literally melted. <3 I didn't know it was possible for me to be any more in love with Steve but here we are!!

[beau34]

I LOVE THIS SO MUCH!!!!! 

[JQLovesSneezes]

I haven't seen season two yet, so I'm glad this story doesn't have too many spoilers. xD I love this so much!! Keep it up @JRE111! 

[moxie]

I love it, just awww. Poor Steve <3

[Werewolf Sniffles]

On 11/6/2017 at 8:27 PM, JRE111 said:

A month. He and Nancy had been broken up a month. 31 days. The hardest 31 days of his life. He tried his hardest to move on, to push down his feelings. He’d not been lying when he told Nancy it was okay. It was. It had to be.

And truly, every day Steve had been doing a little better. He’d been working on school assignments, ignoring Billy the fucking giant asshole, becoming closer with Dustin and Will and all of their friends, even the small girl who liked waffles.

But then December first hit and everything Steve had done to build up his walls came crumbling down.

-------------------

It started with a tickle in the back of his sinuses on November 30th.

I can’t help but feel extra special because my Birthday was mentioned along with this beautifully worded paragraph of feels.

On 11/6/2017 at 8:27 PM, JRE111 said:

During the walk from the main building to his car, the brunette sniffled and jammed his hands in his pockets. The air was cold in Hawkins, bitingly so, and it annoyed Steve that his nose was running from the climate change.

Sniffling again, the eighteen year olds breath hitched and he stopped walking, bowing his head, hair tumbling over his eyes as his nose became increasingly itchy. 

"Hehh..." he sniffled when the tickle went away, teasing him more than anything. 

Jesus what was going on with him today?

He finished the quick walk to his car and blasted the heat, not noticing Nancy’s eyes watching him from across the parking lot.

I got the best visualization from this!

———————

I just love....love....love...your writing style.

I wish I could quote your whole story because really...... my favorite part of this is literally everything!

Anyway I’m going to go re-read this again....... so......

BYE!

I can’t wait for you to continue this!

 

[Elle]

Loving this so far! Damn good babysitter Steve is my fave.

[Pheonix_Mandrill]

PLS WRITE MORE! I just finished the series and steve was the best character by far  PLS WRITE MORE! MY HEART IS RELYING ON U 

[Sneesee]

Love this! Steve has become one of my favorite characters and I just adore the idea of him catching a cold. This was so good!

[LifeOfTheMarauders]

Oh my god...yes. YES. This was absolutely the cutest Stranger Things sneezefic that I have yet to read and I love it SO MUCH<3 Please continue because I am absolutely hooked and need to know what happens next. Your writing style is phenomenal and I'm anxiously awaiting Part 3!

[lsbn]

Awwww this is so cute!!! I freaking love Steve 😂 And you write him so well! Thank you!!! ❤️

[Rook]

FUCK ME UP I love Steve Harrington

[beatlelover22]

Awww... Steve having to watch the kids while he's sick. Such an adorable scenario!! I really hope there's by chance a part three!