☆ ⁞ steve

^{❝ Your room— nice. ❞}

 ^{It just comes out, barely audible, riding the coattails of an exhale— sarcastic and apprehensive all at once. Because Steve definitely loves closed-in intimate spaces during difficult conversations. Who doesn’t?}

^{He pauses in the doorway, staring at Jonathan’s little family like a deer caught between a pair of headlights: Will and Joyce are sitting snug on the couch, VHS tapes and their sleeves strewn across the coffee table, and Steve has DEFINITELY interrupted… Something. Some kind of Hallmark movie scene spliced into real life. Do families really DO this, sit around watching movies together, appearing to actually ENJOY it? Must be because Will went missing and all that. Steve gives them a wave, mumbles an uncharacteristically shy ‘hey’, before pushing Jonathan down the hall and into his bedroom.}

^{❝ Listen, I’ll make this quick so you can get back to — you know.❞}

^{Steve doesn’t really know which words to put together to describe THAT, so he shuts Jonathan’s door behind them and keeps his feet rooted where he is. No use sitting down and getting comfortable.}

^{❝ I really just wanted to apologize for — well, let’s see.❞}

^{He looks at Jonathan and laughs, nervous as he fidgets with the seam of his jacket, because — there is A LOT he has to be sorry for. And the truth is, he really does feel like shit about it, which makes this whole situation much more difficult. He swipes his hand over his hair and directs his gaze somewhere in the middle distance.}

^{❝ That stuff I said about your family, man— it was out of line, and just… I didn’t mean any of it. And you being QUEER, god—  and your camera, and calling you out like that in front of everybody. I just thought— anyway. I was really shitty to you, like A LOT, and I just wanted you to know that I’m sorry. And not Nancy-is-making-me-do-this sorry, but like I-feel-really-bad sorry.❞}

^{Jonathan closes the door behind Steve, shoulders tense with apprehension. There are so many outcomes to this situation and he just hopes they can keep it civil. They did well together that night they fought the demogorgon, but Nancy was with them then - and it was obviously a life or death situation. It was no time for childish feuds.}

^{As he followed Steve, he paused by the couch and ignored his mom and Will’s curious looks, calming them with a reassuring, ‘I’ll be back, keep watching.’ There was no reason the fun should stop.}

^{When he’s in his room, he walks over to stand beside his bed, assuming neither of them would be there long enough to make a dent in the freshly made bed. But he did cross his arms over his chest, his own way to keep himself guarded and closed off. He was over the whole CAMERA thing, seeing how Nancy made up for it, but he wasn’t going to give in just because Steve flashed him his winning smile.}

^{But then Steve laughs and Jonathan knows what nervous looks like and then the other is going on a rant, apologizing for a few things Jonathan had even forgotten about. That fight was a while ago and he’s had so much on his mind since then, it was no wonder he didn’t forget the entire thing.}

^{His fingers uncurl from where they’d been digging into his arms, clenched jaw relaxing, as he keeps his eyes right on Steve’s face. He hates to admit it, wanting so much to keep his anger there, but he believes Steve.}

      ^{❝ wow, UM — thank you ? ❞}

^{He hates that it comes out as a question, so he clears his throat and tries again.}

                                                    ^{❝ no, thank you. this… took a lot to come way out here.❞}

^{His cheeks suddenly heat up at the attention being on him and he drops his arms down by his sides, looking down at his shoes as he lifts one shoulder and drops it right back down in a shrug.}

                             ^{❝ I was out of line, too — I don’t know why… I did that. ❞}

^{He could say it was a heat of the moment kind of thing, and maybe the picture was, but it didn’t excuse it. There wasn’t much more he could say on that, so he started scratching the back of his neck, his own nerves acting up. He looks back to Steve’s face, lips curling upwards slightly.}

                                                               ^{❝ — at least your face healed nicely. ❞}